DEFEATING
THE TWO GREATEST ENEMIES OF THE KINGDOM: INSECURITY AND
INFERIORITY
MF
Blume
May 16,
2010
pm
Luke 16:13-18
KJV No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate
the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and
despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
(14) And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all
these things: and they derided him. (15) And he
said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but
God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is
abomination in the sight of God. (16) The law and the
prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is
preached, and every man presseth into it. (17) And
it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law
to fail. (18) Whosoever putteth away his wife, and
marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that
is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
In the above passage we read
this morning, Jesus attacked the entire
error of the Pharisees, the strictest and very powerful sect of Jews.
- He saw how these
Pharisees
were USING GOD’S LAW to vaunt themselves up in the eyes of
the people in order to gain respect and self glory.
He then spoke of causing
someone to commit adultery if departs from a
marriage.
- Many think this is out
of
place, but really it is part of the same conversation.
Then Jesus spoke of the rich
man and Lazarus.
- It is not a lesson
about
hell, but rather about how the esteem of men in this world may give you
peace now, but it is better to walk the way of Life and deny self now
to gain everlasting peace.
- It is about self
exaltation
as opposed to KINGDOM Christianity.
But notice how Jesus spoke of
adultery when talking about Law and
Kingdom.
- Jesus was removing the
LAW
from the people since the KINGDOM PREACHING had come instead.
- Since LAW was what
Pharisees
were using to exalt themselves, they took it as a personal attack from
Jesus, and desired to kill Him as time went on.
- But the issue of
adultery
was mentioned here.
- Some think this is out
of
context, and should be put in the Sermon on the Mount.
- Jesus just said
it’s easier for heaven and earth to pass than Law to fail.
- Time is not an issue
when it
comes to law as it is with heaven and earth.
- But what is the issue
is
WHAT IS FREES US FROM LAW.
- That is why Jesus
mentioned
marriage and adultery.
- Look how Paul connected
Adultery and marriage with Law.
Romans 7:1-4 KJV Know
ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them
that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long
as he liveth? (2) For the woman which hath an
husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if
the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her
husband. (3) So then if, while her husband liveth,
she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but
if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no
adulteress, though she be married to another man.
(4) Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the
law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even
to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit
unto God.
Notice LAW and MARRIAGE bind
a person so long as they are alive.
DEATH ALONE breaks that up,
except for the cause of fornication that
Jesus noted.
- But Paul stressed the
issue
of DEATH here.
Kingdom preaching is DEATH BY
THE CROSS to resurrect and live a Life
freed from Law.
- Heaven and earth cannot
outlast Law to see it end, but Kingdom Preaching DID!
- It is not a matter of
being
able to endure longer than Law, but rather ending Law by DEATH.
- This is how Jesus
destroyed
the power of the devil with the devil’s own power of death.
- The devil thought he
had us
sin, we had to die.
- But Jesus took that
doom of
death and worked it against the devil by saying HIS DEATH WOULD COUNT
FOR ALL OUR DEATHS, and had us pay its penalty and YET STILL LIVE!
You can no more escape LAW
than you can easily escape a MARRIAGE and
marry someone else.
- Aside from the issue of
adultery, DEATH is the biggest reason people become freed from marriage.
- Paul used that to say
that
freedom from LAW was just as serious and complicated.
- But instead of the
other
dying so you can remarry, in this case with Law YOU DIE WITH CHRIST,
since law only has power over you so long as you are alive.
- AND KINGDOM PREACHING
is
preaching about DEATH OF SELF to free you from Law and
AND DEATH TO SELF is actually
the very thing that PHARISEES cannot
stand.
- They desire to get
identity
and glory and awe from PEOPLE.
- They use LAW and the
things
of God to do it.
FLESH HATES KINGDOM PREACHING.
- You have no chance to
exalt
yourself if you are going into the Kingdom.
- If you seek self glory,
you
will not enter the Kingdom any more than the folks who cried LORD LORD,
and did wonders in Jesus’ name, but did their OWN WILL
AND NOT THE FATHER’S WILL.
This morning we emphasized
how that Satan knew that getting Eve focused
on self exaltation, by making her think she did not have the status she
could have, would plug her life so full of herself that God could not
manifest through her.
- He knew the KINGDOM
opportunity in using Adam and Eve was ruined when
these people focused upon themselves so much.
- So he made her feel
insecure by asking her if God really did say
something.
- Then inferior by saying
SHE COULD BE LIKE GOD, implying she was not.
- SHE WAS LIKE GOD!
Genesis 1:26 KJV And
God said, Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all
the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
And we are COMPLETE IN CHRIST!
Colossians 2:9-10 KJV
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of
the Godhead bodily. (10) And ye are complete in
him, which is the head of all principality and power:
When someone is used of God
powerfully, anyone who is dedicated to the
KINGDOM will rejoice and be filled with praise to the Lord!
- But people who seek to
exalt
self and abuse God and his blessings will become JEALOUS.
- I recall a miracle
happened
to me in NF, and sinners were more excited than some believers.
- We should watch out for
jealousy.
- Always be on guard
against
it.
- Use the truth of WHO WE
ARE
IN CHRIST to combat against WHO WE ARE IN THE WORLD.
- It is so easy to slip
into
wanting to IMPRESS PEOPLE, and this is where we exalt ourselves.
- In God’s Kingdom,
CHRIST IS EXALTED, and you cannot exalt self, so those who exalt self
are not allowed in.
Look how people can start so
well and lose it IN THE KINGDOM.
1 Samuel 18:5-9 KJV And
David went out whithersoever Saul
sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of
war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in
the sight of Saul's servants. (6) And it came to
pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the
Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing
and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with
instruments of musick. (7) And the women answered
one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands,
and David his ten thousands. (8) And Saul was very
wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed
unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands:
and what can he have more but the kingdom? (9) And
Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
Saul was so self focused that
he was enraged at someone who was touched
and blessed by God more than he was.
- This is because he made
the mistake of seeking identity in something
other than God and His Kingdom, and set out to establish his own
kingdom where HE GOT ESTEEM.
Saul had feared the people
and sought THEIR ESTEEM and wanted to
IMPRESS THEM.
It starts a few chapters
beforehand.
1 Samuel 15:9-24 KJV
But Saul and the people spared Agag, and
the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the
lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but
every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
Notice SAUL spared the king
and the animals.
(10) Then came
the word of the LORD unto Samuel,
saying, (11) It repenteth me that I have set up
Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not
performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the
LORD all night. (12) And when Samuel rose early to
meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to
Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and
passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. (13) And Samuel
came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I
have performed the commandment of the LORD.
After not obeying the Lord,
he lied and said he did.
(14) And Samuel
said, What meaneth then this
bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I
hear? (15) And Saul said, They have brought them
from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of
the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have
utterly destroyed.
He said the PEOPLE were to
blame since THEY did wrong.
(16) Then Samuel said
unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee
what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say
on. (17) And Samuel said, When thou wast little in
thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel,
and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? (18)
And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy
the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be
consumed. (19) Wherefore then didst thou not obey
the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in
the sight of the LORD? (20) And Saul said unto
Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way
which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and
have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. (21) But the
people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which
should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God
in Gilgal.
Lied more and said the people
sacrificed.
(22) And Samuel said,
Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold,
to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of
rams. (23) For rebellion is as the sin of
witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou
hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from
being king. (24) And Saul said unto Samuel, I have
sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy
words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
He finally told the truth and
said HE FEARED THE PEOPLE.
We need to FEAR GOD and not
the people.
- Fear of God is the
beginning of wisdom.
- But we fear people when
we want them to be impressed with us and make
so much effort to get their esteem.
- We have to deny the
good feeling we get when people are impressed with
us and seek to IMPRESS GOD.
- But the problem is that
God is impressed by the opposite of what
impresses people.
The same thing happened
earlier:
1 Samuel 13:8-14 KJV
And he tarried seven days, according to
the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal;
and the people were scattered from him. (9) And
Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings.
And he offered the burnt offering. (10) And it came
to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt
offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he
might salute him. (11) And Samuel said, What hast
thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered
from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that
the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;
(12) Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now
upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I
forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
(13) And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou
hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded
thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel
for ever. (14) But now thy kingdom shall not
continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the
LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou
hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.
Saul was so worried about
what PEOPLE THOUGHT OF HIM.
- We can lose our part in
the
KINGDOM AS WELL.
- Notice the KINGDOM
revelation today with Jesus on the right hand throne is not where JESUS
IS SON OF SAUL, BUT SON OF DAVID?
- When David sinned, he
made
no excuses like Adam in trying to defend HIMSELF.
Psalms 51:1-4 KJV To
the chief Musician, A Psalm of David,
when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to
Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness:
according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my
transgressions. (2) Wash me throughly from mine
iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. (3) For I
acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
(4) Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this
evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest,
and be clear when thou judgest.
NO SELF DEFENCE.
2 Samuel 12:13 KJV And
David said unto Nathan, I have sinned
against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put
away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
No lying and defence.
Luke 14:8-11 KJV When
thou art bidden of any man to a
wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man
than thou be bidden of him; (9) And he that bade
thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin
with shame to take the lowest room. (10) But when
thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that
bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then
shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with
thee. (11) For whosoever exalteth himself shall be
abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Mark 9:34-37 KJV But
they held their peace: for by the way
they had disputed among themselves, who should be the
greatest. (35) And he sat down, and called the
twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same
shall be last of all, and servant of all. (36) And
he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had
taken him in his arms, he said unto them, (37)
Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me:
and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.
Children impress no one.
Some people seek identity
with a certain TEACHING that they feel
impresses others.
- They feel offended to
think
you might have to teach them something about that issue since
they’ve chosen to associate their identity with that subject,
and they feel superior to others since they feel they know more about
that subject than others.
- And when you try to
tell
them something about it they feel you are robbing them of their
confidence.
1 Samuel 17:42 KJV And
when the Philistine looked about, and
saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of
a fair countenance.
2 Corinthians 5:14-19
Complete Apostles' Bible (14)
For the love of Christ compels us, having concluded this: that if One
died for all, then all died; (15) and He died for
all, so that they who live should live no longer for themselves, but
for the One who died for them and rose again. (16)
Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even
though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him
thus no longer. (17) Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, all
things have become new. (18) And all things are of
God, who reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and who gave to
us the ministry of this reconciliation, (19) that
is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not
reckoning their transgressions to them, and committing to us the word
of this reconciliation.
The only people who impressed
Paul were the new creation people.
- He spent his time
around new creations in Christ.
Philippians 3: (7) But
what things were gain to me, those I
counted loss for Christ. (8) Yea doubtless, and I
count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ
Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do
count them but dung, that I may win Christ, (9) And
be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the
law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith: (10) That I may know him,
and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his
sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
What is GAIN TO SELF IS LOSS
TO CHRIST.
- People look to build
their confidence in the things of the flesh.
- Preachers want to get
confidence in themselves with big churches.
- It looks like desire
for the Kingdom but it is often actually THEIR OWN
KINGDOM.
- Even in working for God
we get the attitude that "I'll show them," in
order to impress people and make them realize we did the right thing
they may have disagreed with.
- It is not really
seeking God's glory, but our own.
- Satan loves religion
when these things go on.
- When we seek to exalt
ourselves it exalts his kingdom of SELF!
- He started it and he
loves to brag about how HIS WAY is best!
- It exalts HIMSELF.
Romans 15:1-3 Complete
Apostles' Bible (1) We then
who are strong are obligated to bear with the infirmities of the weak,
and not to please ourselves. (2) Let each of us
please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.
(3) For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is
written, "The reproaches of those reproaching You fell on Me."
We feel insecure and unsafe,
and we seek to get esteem of people in
order to feel good about ourselves.
- Kids join gangs.
- People take up
cigarettes.
- Others buy bigger cars
and houses.
- Keep up with the Jones'.
- Get a higher position
in the company.
- Hold onto a position in
church.
We need to instead say, "No,
I am going to be spiritual and get the
esteem of God, and consider those things to be carnal and
manifestations of carnal Christianity."
- What is gain to me is
loss to Christ.
- What impresses people
is loss to Christ.
- What impresses God is
what is always going to be gain to Christ.
Romans 8:31-34 Complete
Apostles' Bible (31) What
then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against
us? (32) He who did not spare His own Son, but gave
Him up on behalf of us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give
us all things? (33) Who shall bring an accusation
against God's elect? It is God who justifies. (34)
Who is he that condemns? Christ is the One having died, but rather also
having been raised, who is even at the right hand of God, who also
intercedes on our behalf.
Hebrews 1:1-14 KJV God,
who at sundry times and in divers
manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
(2) Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom
he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the
worlds; (3) Who being the brightness of his glory,
and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the
word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on
the right hand of the Majesty on high; (4) Being
made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained
a more excellent name than they. (5) For unto which
of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I
begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to
me a Son? (6) And again, when he bringeth in the
firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God
worship him. (7) And of the angels he saith, Who
maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
(8) But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever
and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy
kingdom. (9) Thou hast loved righteousness, and
hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with
the oil of gladness above thy fellows. (10) And,
Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and
the heavens are the works of thine hands: (11) They
shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a
garment; (12) And as a vesture shalt thou fold them
up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years
shall not fail. (13) But to which of the angels
said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies
thy footstool? (14) Are they not all ministering
spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of
salvation?
Romans 8:17 KJV And if
children, then heirs; heirs of God,
and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we
may be also glorified together.