Message - Men's Fireside
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“Fighting the War for Purity in Community” June 5th, 2009
Matt. 10:32-39
“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I
have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a
man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is
not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does
not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his
life for my sake will find it.”
What’s the payoff?
Matt. 11:28-30
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me,
for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
At the beginning of the popular movie The Fellowship of the Ring, an elf creates the mood for the story with these
words … “The world is changed … I feel it in the earth … I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost … for none
now live who remember it.”
There is a deep yearning among the fellowship of the ring; an unspoken longing for something long lost. None have
known it in their lifetimes. Few can recite the tales of its splendor. But all desire its discovery and hope to play a part
in its restoration.
Like the Lord of the Rings (LOR), the words of the elf also describes the result of what happened in Genesis 3, as
dominion over the earth was surrendered to this world’s dark lord.
It describes what people in the villages of the Middle East felt as they awaited the birth of the messiah … the one
who is heir to the throne of David.
For like Middle Earth, our king lived a life hidden for many years until He fought the war on Mt. Calvary and won.
He slayed the foes of sin, sickness and death. Then He returned to heaven victorious, after turning over the kingdom
to His followers. He is seated and enthroned in heaven.
Middles Earth’s Ring of Power is a symbol. Let the ring symbolize LUST … for it was LUST that drove Smeagol to kill
his friend in order to possess this ring.
Like Bilbo, we can hold on to this ring, and think that we can do it alone. But it began, over time, to vex his soul like it
did to Smeagol.
As we learn from the story, this Ring of Power created an internal conflict within Smeagol, creating two people, as it
were, within him. Within him was what was left of Smeagol, and also Gollum the addict struggling to take control.
Never having enough. Always wanting more. Suspicious & even paranoid of others’ intentions as protects his
“precious”.
We believe that we must bear the burden alone. We can’t.
But this journey of destroying the LUST in our lives is not to be taken alone. It truly is a Fellowship of the Ring. We
must do this in community.
Gandalf and Bilbo left the ring to one hobbit, yet four hobbits arrived at Rivendell. From the beginning to the end,
Frodo was not alone for too long. And when he did send his faithful companion Sam away – his task and life almost
fell to ruin.
We are alone in this struggle. You are not unique … you are not the only one who has struggles, whatever they may
be!!
LUST distorts and diminishes the IMAGE of God in self and other.
God created us for a HIGH purpose:
We men are created for this HIGH purpose. God also creates women for this HIGH purpose. This is the IMAGE of
God that is instilled in us. To create … to dream … to bring His Kingdom on this earth … to bring freedom to the
world around us … to dream BIG DREAMS.
When we LUST after a woman, we objectify her and in our eyes we diminish the IMAGE of God in her. This practice
changes us and changes how we “see” women in our minds and then it follows that it changes how we then “treat”
women who we encounter in this life.
What is the line between attraction and LUST?
Its not sinful to have a sexual drive … God created it … but just like the word suggests … God intends our “drive” to
be “driving toward” something that’s healthy, i.e. marriage!!
Its not a sin to be attracted to someone … not unless you can take that attraction thought and image to God and tell
Him about it … AND you wouldn’t mind if He put those thoughts and images up on the video screen for all to see.
Ouch!! Yeah, me too!
Before I share with you some recovery thoughts of basic principles and practices, we need to look the two LIFE
SYSTEMS that we can live in.
Gal. 5:16-24 “The Flesh System OR The Spirit System”
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against
the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from
doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh
are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries,
dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that
those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who
belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Do you want to live in the flesh system or the Spirit system?
According to one of my seminary professors, verse 24 can be translated as … “and those who belong to Christ
Jesus have crucified the flesh with its MOODS and APPETITES.”
MOODS create the need for APPETITES. When we act out our APPETITES we sin!
Jesus is very careful to emphasize that we are not to have the mood of anxiety or worry. I’ve seen that anxiety can be
the cause for many kinds of appetites and addictions.
When I was a kid, I saw this movie called “The Creature from the Black Lagoon.” There is a swamp with dark water.
People go into the lagoon, the creature comes out of the water and takes away the people. He’s a scary looking half-
fish guy with webbed hands.
Well – the dark water of the lagoon is the negative moods of life. The creature is the sinful appetite that’ll kill you. So
often, we see our friends try to keep the creature down under the water but he pops up and creates trouble. We try to
search for him and we can’t find him alone, he keeps popping up where you least suspect and takes a bite out of
you. The problem is that you can’t do this alone.
What we really need to do is to DRAIN the lagoon. If you drain the lagoon, you can easily catch the creature.
We need to turn in to God our negative moods and in return we will get the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy and peace. The
dark water came from poor mentoring and painful events in our lives. The mere presence of dark water means that a
creature can hide there. You may be able to drain off some of the dark water, but if there still is ANY dark water
present, I’ll bet there’s a creature hiding there, waiting to take a bite out of you.
This is another reason why we need community. We need others to help us to drain the lagoon. But how do we help
each other?
2 Cor. 10:3-5
“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our
warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every
lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
Every thought and image and fantasy and idea must be taken captive to the obedience of Christ. The weapons of our
warfare are Spiritual, Spirit-led and Spirit-empowered.
We need community for confession and for deliverance from these strongholds.
Principles (3)
1. Admit that you can’t do it on your own.
2. Begin to see God in new ways.
3. Surrender everything to Him.
Practices (4)
1. Practice Awareness.
2. Practice Daily Vulnerability with God.
3. Practice Healthy Community.
4. Practice Self-Examination.
FINAL THOUGHTS
My final thoughts to leave with you come from Romans 12:1-2. Paul encourages us to present our body to the Lord
and to be in the process of Mind Renewal. This is a process. It is a surrendering process.
Presenting our bodies to Him means that we desire to be conformed to His nature with respect to our behavior. The
Lord wants us to give Him our bodies and to be conscious that we can either follow Him in the Spirit System or
default to the Flesh System. It matters to Him how we use this temple, it should also matter to us.
The Lord desires that we become renewed in our mind, our emotions and our will.
So, in Matthew 10, Jesus says … “whoever finds his life, loses it. And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Let’s all willingly give up what we could never hold on to, so that we can gain what we could never deserve!!
His LOVE draws us into this adventure. Rejoin the Fellowship of the Ring; deepen your community. Bring along as
many powerful people as you can. Surrender your LUST to the LORD’s Holy Fire. Magic rings won’t help you. You
CAN take part in restoring what was lost. Dream big dreams. Desire to do exploits for the KING. Like Bilbo and
Frodo, you’ll get to tell a story about your journey!! Like Hobbits, you and I may seem small and insignificant, but the
King has an incredible plan for us; gifts, ministries, passion, and Hope.
Let’s get walking, but somebody tell me which way it is to Mordor …
“Fighting the War for Purity in Community” June 5th, 2009
Matt. 10:32-39
“So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I
have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a
man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is
not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does
not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his
life for my sake will find it.”
- Christ came to bring a sword.
- He came to fight a war!
- He calls us to join Him in the war!
- Joining that cause will demand a change in community and a willingness to surrender everything!!
What’s the payoff?
Matt. 11:28-30
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me,
for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
- Rest … true rest. Rest from the heavy burdens of life.
- Taking His yoke / being yoked together with Him. It fits well. Being discipled by Christ, the lead ox was older and
more experienced.
At the beginning of the popular movie The Fellowship of the Ring, an elf creates the mood for the story with these
words … “The world is changed … I feel it in the earth … I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost … for none
now live who remember it.”
There is a deep yearning among the fellowship of the ring; an unspoken longing for something long lost. None have
known it in their lifetimes. Few can recite the tales of its splendor. But all desire its discovery and hope to play a part
in its restoration.
Like the Lord of the Rings (LOR), the words of the elf also describes the result of what happened in Genesis 3, as
dominion over the earth was surrendered to this world’s dark lord.
It describes what people in the villages of the Middle East felt as they awaited the birth of the messiah … the one
who is heir to the throne of David.
For like Middle Earth, our king lived a life hidden for many years until He fought the war on Mt. Calvary and won.
He slayed the foes of sin, sickness and death. Then He returned to heaven victorious, after turning over the kingdom
to His followers. He is seated and enthroned in heaven.
Middles Earth’s Ring of Power is a symbol. Let the ring symbolize LUST … for it was LUST that drove Smeagol to kill
his friend in order to possess this ring.
Like Bilbo, we can hold on to this ring, and think that we can do it alone. But it began, over time, to vex his soul like it
did to Smeagol.
As we learn from the story, this Ring of Power created an internal conflict within Smeagol, creating two people, as it
were, within him. Within him was what was left of Smeagol, and also Gollum the addict struggling to take control.
Never having enough. Always wanting more. Suspicious & even paranoid of others’ intentions as protects his
“precious”.
We believe that we must bear the burden alone. We can’t.
But this journey of destroying the LUST in our lives is not to be taken alone. It truly is a Fellowship of the Ring. We
must do this in community.
Gandalf and Bilbo left the ring to one hobbit, yet four hobbits arrived at Rivendell. From the beginning to the end,
Frodo was not alone for too long. And when he did send his faithful companion Sam away – his task and life almost
fell to ruin.
We are alone in this struggle. You are not unique … you are not the only one who has struggles, whatever they may
be!!
LUST distorts and diminishes the IMAGE of God in self and other.
God created us for a HIGH purpose:
- To usher in His Kingdom on this earth
- To make disciples of all nations
- And To destroy the works of the devil
We men are created for this HIGH purpose. God also creates women for this HIGH purpose. This is the IMAGE of
God that is instilled in us. To create … to dream … to bring His Kingdom on this earth … to bring freedom to the
world around us … to dream BIG DREAMS.
When we LUST after a woman, we objectify her and in our eyes we diminish the IMAGE of God in her. This practice
changes us and changes how we “see” women in our minds and then it follows that it changes how we then “treat”
women who we encounter in this life.
What is the line between attraction and LUST?
Its not sinful to have a sexual drive … God created it … but just like the word suggests … God intends our “drive” to
be “driving toward” something that’s healthy, i.e. marriage!!
Its not a sin to be attracted to someone … not unless you can take that attraction thought and image to God and tell
Him about it … AND you wouldn’t mind if He put those thoughts and images up on the video screen for all to see.
Ouch!! Yeah, me too!
Before I share with you some recovery thoughts of basic principles and practices, we need to look the two LIFE
SYSTEMS that we can live in.
Gal. 5:16-24 “The Flesh System OR The Spirit System”
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against
the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from
doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh
are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries,
dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that
those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who
belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Do you want to live in the flesh system or the Spirit system?
According to one of my seminary professors, verse 24 can be translated as … “and those who belong to Christ
Jesus have crucified the flesh with its MOODS and APPETITES.”
MOODS create the need for APPETITES. When we act out our APPETITES we sin!
Jesus is very careful to emphasize that we are not to have the mood of anxiety or worry. I’ve seen that anxiety can be
the cause for many kinds of appetites and addictions.
When I was a kid, I saw this movie called “The Creature from the Black Lagoon.” There is a swamp with dark water.
People go into the lagoon, the creature comes out of the water and takes away the people. He’s a scary looking half-
fish guy with webbed hands.
Well – the dark water of the lagoon is the negative moods of life. The creature is the sinful appetite that’ll kill you. So
often, we see our friends try to keep the creature down under the water but he pops up and creates trouble. We try to
search for him and we can’t find him alone, he keeps popping up where you least suspect and takes a bite out of
you. The problem is that you can’t do this alone.
What we really need to do is to DRAIN the lagoon. If you drain the lagoon, you can easily catch the creature.
We need to turn in to God our negative moods and in return we will get the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy and peace. The
dark water came from poor mentoring and painful events in our lives. The mere presence of dark water means that a
creature can hide there. You may be able to drain off some of the dark water, but if there still is ANY dark water
present, I’ll bet there’s a creature hiding there, waiting to take a bite out of you.
This is another reason why we need community. We need others to help us to drain the lagoon. But how do we help
each other?
2 Cor. 10:3-5
“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our
warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every
lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
Every thought and image and fantasy and idea must be taken captive to the obedience of Christ. The weapons of our
warfare are Spiritual, Spirit-led and Spirit-empowered.
We need community for confession and for deliverance from these strongholds.
Principles (3)
1. Admit that you can’t do it on your own.
- Die to yourself and doing it in your own power
- Admit that you are not God, you don’t have the power and ability to do it alone
2. Begin to see God in new ways.
- Begin to sort out what you think you know about God
- Put off the old & the lies
- Put on the TRUE truth about who God really is
3. Surrender everything to Him.
- Give to God your pain and wounds
- Yield to Him the presumed “right” for revenge; begin to forgive
- Accept His forgiveness
- Receive your new identity from God
- Become yoked to Christ and community
- Make Him your PASSION. In 2 Cor. 11:2, Paul shows us that we are betrothed to Christ.
- The best intervention for recovery is that we become so taken up with Him that everything else just falls away as
we get “higher and higher with Him”!! - Surrender yourself to the LOVE of GOD, the love He wants so much to POUR out into your life!
Practices (4)
1. Practice Awareness.
- Increase your awareness of your own pain; that pain that caused the dark water
- Seek awareness also from your community; others have something to say about what they see in your life.
Healthy vulnerability i.e. “being known” will be very important to get the whole picture. - Be aware of your triggers; HALT the BS.
- H = hungry; looks at physical issues & how we take care of self
- A = angry; looks at how we deal with emotions
- L = lonely; are you in healthy community, growing and healing relationships
- T = tired; do you get the rest & sleep that is needed
- B = bored; do you have a purpose, a dream, a challenge that keeps you passionate about life every day
- S = stressed; are you working hard or smart, are you carrying stuff that you’re not supposed to carry
2. Practice Daily Vulnerability with God.
- Practice your attractions & temptations with Him
- The “how to’s” of this process
3. Practice Healthy Community.
- Healthy community is balanced
- Unhealthy community will disintegrate and we won’t be honest
- Ask each other:
- … tell me the good stuff about how the week went, what worked real well, where did you succeed
… what went wrong this week? Where did you go too far off the path?
… where do you want to spend more time next week?
4. Practice Self-Examination.
- Do a check-up regularly. How are you doing in this process? What are you leaving out?
- Are you regularly vulnerable in community?
- What’s not working?
- Go through the Principles and Practices again to see what you need to “beef” up on!!
FINAL THOUGHTS
My final thoughts to leave with you come from Romans 12:1-2. Paul encourages us to present our body to the Lord
and to be in the process of Mind Renewal. This is a process. It is a surrendering process.
Presenting our bodies to Him means that we desire to be conformed to His nature with respect to our behavior. The
Lord wants us to give Him our bodies and to be conscious that we can either follow Him in the Spirit System or
default to the Flesh System. It matters to Him how we use this temple, it should also matter to us.
The Lord desires that we become renewed in our mind, our emotions and our will.
- Every time we choose God’s ways, we renew our wills. Every time we look to God and say, Lord I want to want
what’s right Lord, Help me to want better things.” This renews our will. - Every time we give our worry to Him pray that He will give us peace, we renew our emotions. Every time we ask
God to fill us with his LOVE and JOY and seek the fruit of the Spirit, we renew our emotions. - Every time we capture every thought or image and ask for God to fill our minds with His dreams and His
promises, we renew our minds. - It’s not that complicated, though it isn’t easy.
So, in Matthew 10, Jesus says … “whoever finds his life, loses it. And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Let’s all willingly give up what we could never hold on to, so that we can gain what we could never deserve!!
His LOVE draws us into this adventure. Rejoin the Fellowship of the Ring; deepen your community. Bring along as
many powerful people as you can. Surrender your LUST to the LORD’s Holy Fire. Magic rings won’t help you. You
CAN take part in restoring what was lost. Dream big dreams. Desire to do exploits for the KING. Like Bilbo and
Frodo, you’ll get to tell a story about your journey!! Like Hobbits, you and I may seem small and insignificant, but the
King has an incredible plan for us; gifts, ministries, passion, and Hope.
Let’s get walking, but somebody tell me which way it is to Mordor …