Parable of the Strong Man

Transcript

well good evening it's really nice to x share this time with all of you not just x Boston but I know there's folks tuned in x from all over the east coast and the x Midwest so it's nice to be with you x sister Chris also extends her greetings x to you x tonight we're going to talk about x perhaps the shortest parable of Jesus x and to be honest x when you look at it almost seems like x it's unnecessary to talk about it x it's so short and so to the point x that even the Lord's disciples didn't x ask him to explain it to him that seems x very obvious x now some of you may have heard parts of x this talk before I had given it about 10 x years ago x but as I learned more I Revisited it and x rewrote it so hopefully everybody will x get something out of it x also in case you're wondering x uh I'm standing up I just hate sitting x down teaching so tonight I'm in the x studio x or as Chris and I affectionately call it x the dining room x so hopefully uh I won't be moving around x too much for you x I want to give a couple points before we x go into this tiny Parable and these are x just very basic points to remember when x we're doing Bible study x Point number one x if you recall words spoken about Samuel x when he was a young man in first Samuel x 3 19 we read x and Samuel grew x and the Lord was with him x and did let none of his words fall to x the ground x and that word fall actually means to x fall as in a violent death x to be attacked to deserve to Fall Away x uh it also means to fail x it also means to waste away x God didn't force people x to understand Samuel to pay attention x but the people understood that Samuel's x words were so important x they wouldn't let them fall to the Earth x they wouldn't refuse to hear them they x were words not to be ignored and this is x just from a young man Samuel x so every word Samuel spoke was important x and the people understood it x the second Point Builds on that x in John 21 25 we read x and there were also many other things x which Jesus stood which Jesus did x the witch if they should be written x everyone I suppose that not even the x world itself could not contain them x think about what John just said x the only thing we know about Jesus are x four tiny little gospels hardly anything x about his childhood growing up x there's literally John says a world of x books that could be written x and his father edited out almost a world x full of books to just these four Gospels x and The Echoes we hear throughout the x rest of scripture x God edited out all this information x about his son x which tells us that the little words x left x are really important x he threw away everything else but the x words we read in the Gospels x so every word there every jot every x tittle x is important x and so if we approach Bible study with x that idea that God's words every word is x important x and also that the gospels in particular x to Jesus x were narrowed down we're weeded out to x just these few things that they must be x extremely important to the father x so here we go x for the rest of the class we're going to x consider this tiny parable x it's in Mark 3 verse 27. x Mark 3 27. x but no one can enter into the house of x the strong man and spoil his Goods x except Heath births mind the strong man x and then he will spoil his house x now you're already wondering how on x Earth are we going to spend a Bible x class talking about this x it's so simple no one asked for it to be x explained it was obvious what it was x talking about x or so they thought x unfortunately it went way over their x heads x in fact it went so far over their heads x that the very next day Jesus Illustrated x it x he was preparing them for what would x happen the next day x I suspect a lot of Jesus teaching x really took on a much deeper meaning x after his Ascension x when the apostles got to think about it x with the aid of the Holy Spirit you know x they probably would have felt x embarrassed about all the things that x they'd missed or misunderstood x so this little tiny parable of Mark 3 27 x let's start looking for Clues if words x are really important and if God thought x this little tiny Parable was worth our x attention x just a few verses before this Parable if x you're looking at Mark 3 you're going to x see that Jesus own family and it's not x distant relatives I believe it implies x his mother or at least his Brethren said x he's out of his mind x he's crazy x now the scribes x and it's all there the scribes surprised x at hearing this from Jesus owned family x sees the thought x and add more to the fire x they slander Jesus it says in Mark 3 22. x he hath belzebub and by the prince of x devils casteth theeel x castethia devils x so he heard his family saying he's out x of his mind and they immediately jump on x it and say well he has the elves above x and what happens next Jesus rebukes them x for this faulty logic right A House x Divided cannot stand Satan can't cast x out Satan x and then at this precise moment x with this image of the house falling x that can't stand if it's against itself x Jesus tells the parable so that's the x backdrop the backdrop is his family x wanting x thinking that something's really wrong x the Pharisees seizing on it and adding x wood to the fire so to speak say he has x a devil he's he's serving bills ebub x and so Jesus says x speaking of a house x no one can enter or no man can enter x into a strong man's house and spoil his x Goods x except he will first find the strong man x and then he will spoil the house x well how would his disciples understand x that parable x right what would the people think who x would they think of when he talks about x the strong man x so brothers and sisters let's think put x ourselves in the audience x who was the only strong man in Scripture x who was bound x I believe there's only one x and you've already guessed that it's x Samson x Samson was the only strong man who was x found I don't believe there's anyone x else x and after Samson was bound x the Philistines were free to plunder x to spoil the house of Israel there was x no one to oppose them x you know I wonder if anyone thought x about this Parable and what Jesus was x getting at x keep that thought in mind for a minute x second question x if that's true if Samson was the only x strong man bound and that's what Jesus x is thinking of x what was it about Samson x that Jesus wanted to draw our attention x to x and maybe a further clue related to the x parable but we find it in Samson's life x the goal of the Philistines was to bind x him x all right seven times that word or that x idea occurs in regard to the Philistines x Desiring to bind Samson I'm going to x read them for you real quick you don't x need to turn them up uh if you don't x want to x judges 16 verse 5. entice him x see wherein his great strength lieth x and by what means we may prevail against x him that we may bind him all right x sounds like the parable of the Lord x or judges 16 verse 6. x tell me I pray thee we're in thy great x strength lieth and wherewithal might us x be bound to afflict thee x or judges 16 7 if they find me x judges 16 verse 8. x and she bound him x Judges 7 16 verse 11. x if they bind me fast x with new robes x and eventually the Philistines did x prevail x it says but the Philistines took him put x out his eyes x brought him down to Gaza and bound him x with Fetters of brass judges 16 21. x and just adding to the misery of the x story x even Samson's own countrymen x his fellows sought to bind him in fact x they thought it was expedient to bind x Samson to preserve their own lives x judges 15 verse 12. x we are come down to bind thee that we x may deliver thee into the hands of the x Philistines x so we have a strong man x and we have that desire to bind him and x he being bound in the end x so I think based on just that we're x pretty confident that when Jesus told x this little tiny parable x he was thinking of Samson x Samson's the only one that fits this x description x but we're still really no closer right x to interpreting this what's this little x parable about and why is Samson being x drawn into it x well just a quick look at Samson kind of x points out what we should understand x Samson was God's deliverer x the angel proclaimed that he would begin x to save them from their enemy the x Philistines x uh unfortunately the the men of Judah x worked to help find Samson to the x Philistines too x so Samson was a deliverer to begin x saving them x so that idea needs to be tied into this x little parable x the fellows that the fellow Jews of x Samson his countrymen saw his signs x saw some things that I would call x miracles x but none of them believed x none of them would follow Samson x in the end x Samson stood alone x by rejecting Samson they had chosen to x remain in bondage x to their enemies instead of becoming x free men x God's people x would be ruled by sinners x and all their possessions would belong x to their enemies x that was their choice when they x delivered Samson x to the Philistines x now keep all this in mind when we return x to Jesus uh x speaking to his friends his foes and his x family x you're starting to realize now that the x men of Judah x just like they sought to find Samson x the countrymen of Jesus x sought to binds him in fact not only his x enemies x but even his own family sought to have x Jesus x found x and it's all there in Mark 3 21 we're x still in this little kernel of x scriptures just a few verses around Mark x chapter 3. x we're told when his family heard about x it they went to get him x they said he's out of his mind x and that word get him x regardless of the version you're reading x the Greek is translated to lay hold x to restrain to seize by force says x Weymouth x to lay hold on him x like Samson's brethren x Jesus physical brethren x wanted to have power over him to bind x him up x and like Samson Jesus was bound and x finally delivered to his enemies x and it was Jesus Brethren who did this x in Matthew 27 just to show you Matthew x 27 1-2 says x all the chief priests the Elders of the x people took counsel against Jesus to put x him to death and here's the key again x and when they had bound him x they led him away x so again in the end like Samson x Jesus would stand x alone x I think it's pretty easy to understand x Samson being a strong man right you x think of everything Samson did x what we fail to appreciate is that Jesus x was truly the strong man of Israel and x we're told that in the Psalms x some 80 verse 17. x let thy hand be upon the man of thy x right hand upon the son of man whom Thou x made strong for thyself x I mean God made Samson strong the spirit x fell upon him and he moved x and here's God saying he will do that x for Jesus he will be a strong man who x God made strong x so there really are a lot of x similarities between Jesus and Samson if x we look at him x but why is Jesus still drawing our x attention to this that there has to be x more to it I mean it's so obvious the x connections x and brothers and sisters all we've done x is just look at the words and follow the x Concordance x this isn't anything deep it's just x following the trail it's thinking about x it putting yourself in the scene and x thinking about what you would have heard x and you come to a really fascinating x Parable in an interpretation a meaning x of it x so when we look at them x there's more similarities both Jesus and x Samson at their births they were x announced By Angels they were told x they'd be deliverers they both performed x signs and miracles x and I guess roughly about that point the x similarity stopped between Jesus and x Samson x but in the end x unlike our lord Jesus Samson ended up x being a Slave x in his enemy's house x and he would die with them x so that was always a sad ending in my x mind about Samson x well let's think about this little x parable x who had heard it x and let's try to figure out why a few x other things were introduced x scripture is really clear that the x scribes and Pharisees always seem to x understand more than his disciples x they were always one step ahead at the x disciples they interpreted Parables they x perceived when it was about them x they put scripture to use and they x understood what the Lord was talking x about Time After Time x in this parable of the strong man x they didn't want Jesus to be thought of x as a savior x they wanted to knit that in the bud they x knew Jesus was talking about Samson they x made all these Connections in their mind x and the last thing they wanted was Jesus x to be perceived as a savior a deliverer x and so they throw a monkey wrench x into the parable x and it's interesting how they build on x the parable of Jesus x they make reference to a Philistine God x called belzebub x I don't think that was a very common God x to be worshiped in the New Testament but x they referenced a Philistine God and x said Jesus served him x why belzebub why not another God why x that particular attack was taken by them x to throw into the parable x so they took Jesus parable and said no x no that's not true he serves fails above x that's the source of his power x in fact it's been suggested that perhaps x the house that Samson uh died in that x house or that Temple could have been x belzebub's Temple x and so they slandered Jesus by saying he x serves a Philistine God who gives him x power x so that kind of explains that but we x still haven't solved the parable right x I mean Jesus dealt with it we talked x about A house divided against itself x can't stand but it explains why they use x a Philistine God to explain it but we x still don't know who the strong man is x really it's not Samson he ends up dying x with the Philistines what's Jesus x getting at and what's he trying to teach x his disciples x Samson fills many of the gaps but x obviously it's not complete x when you read Mark 3 really careful x you find out that the strong man being x referred to x is given x evil cannot cast out evil x the strong man of the parable was sin x sin needed to be bound x sin is what x binds all of us to death right x and as strong and as powerful as Samson x was x even that strong man couldn't find sin x so let's go through we're really just x following a bunch of strings a bunch of x Clues all leading back to this Parable x in mark 3. x I think maybe the real question in Jesus x parable is is this x if the only strong man in Israel's x history x Samson couldn't find sin x then who could x who can bind the strong man of sin was x the question really being asked x and there's only one man stronger x than the strong man of sin there's only x one man who combined him we all know x it's it's our lord it's Jesus x now before we move forward anymore x there's a few more details of the story x we're going to just talk about because x these little details really fill it in x and again this is just basic concordance x work following the clues x the Greek word balzi Bob used in mark x means lord of the house right ruler or x Lord of the house x and when you think of this slander x directed at Jesus by the Pharisees and x scribes x sin was never the ruler x was never the possessor x of the House of Jesus his body his mind x sin never possessed it despite what they x had slandered him with x in fact until Jesus lived sin x successfully resisted every attempt to x have it bound x Samson failed and everyone before and x after Samson failed at the same task x sin ruled in the house in the minds of x people x and here's the key to the parable x Jesus was always the Lord of his house x not sin not balesy Bob x Jesus would never be under the Dominion x of sin x Jesus every moment x with all his energy bound x every evil thought that would enter his x mind x he would bring it under his control he x would bind up every thought x every wrong thought x and cast it away x and he did that his entire mortal life x Paul picks up on that in Hebrews 2 and x you you all know this verse Hebrews 2 14 x and 15. x that through death he might destroy him x that had the power of death x that is the devil and deliver him who x through fear of death where all their x lifetime x subject to bondage x So Not only would sin not rule in the x house of Jesus in his body whereas he x refers to it his Temple x he would destroy it and he would also x deliver others who were captive to sin x and that's what Paul says in Hebrews 2. x or think about Romans Romans 6 verse 16 x or baptism chapter x no you not that to whom you yield x yourself servants to obey x his servants you are x whether of sin unto death or of x obedience unto righteousness x so this simple Parable starts to open up x to us x sin is the strong man is the master x that has ruled mankind x it's the strong man that demands our x submission x sin expects obedience from us x but the parable goes on x see there's two metaphors hidden and x this is again where you need to use a x Concordance x it says spoil his Goods except they'll x bind the strong man you can't spoil his x Goods x well I looked that word up it just I was x just curious what it was referring to x and the word translated x Goods x actually means vessel you know we're not x talking about a house we're not talking x about a car and a TV and a toaster the x word Goods means vessel x and if you look in scripture where else x this word vessel or container is used x 19 out of 22 times x it's x it's Transit translated vessel and it x I'm sorry x and that vessel is a metaphor for the x body so again that word Goods isn't x household goods it's really the word x vessel and that word vessel in x scriptures is used as a metaphor x for your body and mind and we see that x in first Thessalonians x uh chapter 4 verse 4. x that every one of you x should know how to possess his vessel x for sanctification and honor where the x Bible in basic English says x keep his body x holy x so it wasn't the strong man uh having to x be subdued to take his things x the straw man had to be subdued x to rule his body x to have control over someone x so that word Goods really isn't a very x good translation it should be vessel and x and I think it's borne out in the New x Testament it's almost always translated x with that word x and that word's a metaphor for our x bodies x and to be honest that's where Samson x that's where you and I have failed uh x for us to successfully possess our x vessel means that everything that x previously was in it in other words sin x needs to be displaced to be poured out x to be swept clean so there's nothing in x it x and then it can be filled with right x things good things the fruits of the x spirit x Jesus was the only one to do what we x failed to do x he truly took possession of his own body x he took his body and all the desires x that ran counter to God and he kept it x bound up tightly x he took it captive x he spoiled it so to speak he owned it x and that's exactly what Paul teaches x Philippians 2 7. x speaking of Jesus it says but emptied x himself x taking the form of a servant being made x in the likeness of men x he emptied everything that didn't belong x there x and filled it with everything that x should be there x and that brings up our second metaphor x hidden in this tiny little parable x it says spoil the house x well that word house means an inhabited x dwelling yeah that's pretty obvious x but I also found in the Greek and in the x Greek x index in in the online Bible it also x means the inmates of the house x so not only is it an occupied house but x the metaphor is it's really unoccupied x prison x filled with prisoners x now that's an interesting example too in x this little tiny parable x all of us x each one of us are inmates x we're all locked in a body of sin x we're all prisoners who are hopefully x seeking their freedom x and that can only happen if someone more x powerful x than x the man running the prison the the x strong man of sin frees us we need to be x freed someone has to x find the person running the prison x I don't think we think of sin x were the infirmities of the flesh this x way x but brothers and sisters we are all x bound x that's the reason we have sin and death x that's the reason before class we're x talking about praying for brothers and x sisters who are struggling who have x health issues because we are all bound x to a mortal body x and in one of The Parables of Jesus he x really makes that clear listen for the x word it'll be pretty obvious x behold x there was a woman which had a spirit of x infirmity 18 years and was bowed x together x and could in no wise lift up herself x and once and when Jesus saw her he x called her to him and said unto her x woman x thou art loosed x from thine infirmity x see all the ailments all the aches and x pains all the spiritual difficulties we x go through x but because we are bound x we need to be Unbound we need to be x loosed like this woman x now consider verse 16 in the context of x this parable x and ought this woman x being a daughter of Abraham whom Satan x hath found Lo these 18 years x be loosed from this Bond x on the Sabbath day the seventh day x so you see the pieces are all starting x to fall in place right x Jesus is the only one who can Unbound x I'm sorry unbind who can unloose x us x who were in bodies of sin x now to be honest if we stopped right x here this would all I in my mind is x pretty cool it takes this little Parable x really blows up the meaning when we x start getting images of this woman being x saved or of Samson and his struggles it x really brings this little Parable to x life it really has a large meaning x but it actually continues x because only now x Jesus is bringing everything to our x doorstep remember I said it went over x the disciples head they didn't x understand any of this I believe the x scribes and Pharisees did x let's see what happens the next day x it says the next day x Jesus crossed the Galilee x and when we read it we know his sole x intention of crossing the Galilee x was to heal one man x Legion x and Legion did not stand alone it wasn't x just him x we are many x Luke 8 27 and there met him a certain x man which had Devils a long time neither x Abode in any house but in the tombs x that's us right x we're all dead men in a sense without x being in the Lord x this says in Luke 8 29 and he was kept x bound with chains and in Fetters x it's an image of Samson and he break the x bands and was driven out of the devil x Into the Wilderness x so here we have x Legion x a strong man x representing sin who could not be made x who could not be bound x and where was he he's living in the x tombs we are many x so who could conquer this strong man x think about it who could find him nobody x could find Legion at all no matter their x efforts no matter how strong they they x tied them the thickness of the ropes the x thickness of the chains no one could x find the strong man Legion x Jesus x overpowered him x because we next see Legion x sitting at the feet of Jesus x in his right mind x and the Greek for that word right mind x means to exercise self-control x to curb one's Passions x at the feet of Jesus we too can bind the x strong man of sin x and with Jesus help x we can have self-control x over ourselves x so let me explain I think you're already x understanding where we're going here x when you think of our Lord Jesus x the real battle with Jesus was inside x himself x and Jesus defeated the strong man of sin x he defeated all the efforts to to get x him to think and to do wrong x he strangled every evil thought he bound x them up tightly and cast them aside x constantly x here's how Paul explains it to the x Corinthians x for though we walk in the flesh x we do not war according to the flesh x casting down imaginations every High x thing that is exalted against the x knowledge of God x and bringing every thought into x captivity to The Obedience of Christ x but as we all know the only way to truly x defeat sin x is to put the body of sin to death x and that's exactly what Jesus did on the x cross despite never sinning never x allowing a reckless thought to take x control of him and lead him astray x you can't preserve a sinful body x it had to be put to death x what a what a life Jesus lived that this x constant bombardment which never stopped x he successfully combated x it wasn't until he was raised and closed x an immortality x so Jesus Took captivity x captive he took sin that was in him x completely captive x no more suffering x the ill effects of wrong thoughts and x desires coming into him x when he was changed x he took sin captive he now was the x master and sin was the prisoner never to x have control over him x Ephesians 4 verse 8 Builds on that x wherefore he saith when he ascended up x on high he led captivity captive x so for him at that moment sin was x conquered and destroyed x now think about this comment from x Brother Roberts x brother Robert said Jesus entered into x the arena of sin x in his own body x and defeated it x Jesus entered into the arena of sin x in his own body and defeated it x well who's that sound like x that sounds like Samson to me and Samson x was in the arena in the house of a x Philistine God he had his arms stretched x out between two pillars x and he destroyed that house of sin x he brought down that evil building x around him and in the process x Samson destroyed his own body of Flesh x and S is full of type as Samson could x have to representing the Lord x one day he'll be resurrected and the x type the symbol will be complete but he x fully x mimicked the death of Our Lord x that's the important lesson that Jesus x wants us to understand about Samson x but only Jesus could say destroy this x Temple or this house and in three days x I'll raise it up x you know when we look at the verse in x Psalms that Paul quotes a few times x it Bears out this understanding x thou has to send it on high x thou has led captivity captive thou Hast x received gifts for men yea for the x rebellious also x that the Lord God might dwell among them x blessed be the Lord who daily loaded us x with benefits even the god of our x salvation x he that is our God x is the god of salvation x and unto God the Lord belonged at the x discharge from death x so one day all of our sins will be held x captive will be the prisoners of the x Lord never to rear up their heads x our strong man x Jesus says x to him who overcomes x and perhaps a better translation to that x is to him that conquers x I will make a pillar in the temple of my x God and he shall go no morale x Jesus now possesses the house x When sin is conquered Psalm says that x the Lord will dwell with us x but he will never dwell with sin x being bound to sin obviously brings x death x being bound to Jesus is life I mean x that's the reason all of us are here x now I want to read the same verse we x read before but from a slightly x different version as we wrap this up x in Ephesians 4 verse 8. this is from x Weymouth x for this reason scripture says he x ascended on high x he led captive a host of captives and x gave gifts to men x and what's that gift that Jesus will x give us x Romans 6 23 the wages of sin is death x but the gift of God is eternal life x through Christ Jesus x so let's just stop for a moment I just x want to make one thing clear to us x because maybe I was a little hasty x Legion x represents all of us x we are all trapped in the tombs x without the Lord we are surrounded by x death there's no hope there's no way out x we are like Legion and we'll perish in x the tombs x you know sometimes we teach that Jesus x crosses the Galilee with the sole x purpose of saving Legion x that's wrong x Jesus crossed the Galilee to show that x he will save all men x including Legion x and bring all men to his feet x into his subjection x We Are Legion x and our needs are the same as the needs x of legion x and finally One Last Detail and this is x how Jesus brings the lesson home to us x in in Matthew's account of this little x tiny parable of the strong man Matthew x adds one little comment x he that is not with me x is against me x he that gatheth not with me x scattereth abroad x you know that's a challenge of Jesus to x all of us x are you going to battle the strong man x of sin x are you going to keep him from occupying x your body x are you resisting x the story of Legion ends with a blessing x especially to that man sitting at Jesus x feet but to all those who resist sin and x sit there mark 5 19 says x but Jesus said unto him x go home to thy friends and tell them x what great things the Lord hath done x and how he hath compassion one day x and so this little Parable ends up being x about Jesus and us x controlling sin x seeking freedom and being Freed at the x End by our Lord x and living in his house forever x because that's all neat to me that's x pretty neat how this little Parable has x all these types and pulls things in and x it brings it back to our hope and x wanting to be with the Lord in the x Kingdom x but how on Earth do you stop sinning x you know what do we do x every Sunday in our meeting the brother x tends to read but let a man examine x myself examine himself right and when I x examine myself it's like oh boy I I go x back to what Paul was preaching to Felix x because this is what I'm lacking Paul in x Acts 24 27 says and he reasoned with x Felix of righteousness self-control and x judgment to come x well I understand righteousness I x understand the coming judgment and x Kingdom x but self-control x unlike pilate when pilate heard this he x said Paul you know I'm leaving I'll come x back later and sometimes I'm like that I x I can't do self-control x my sins tend to be the same ones over x and over again and perhaps that's true x for you how do we stop sinning x I'm assuming a few of you feel this way x I have three things real quick to pass x on to you x self-control x by itself is worthless x it's been proven it doesn't work at x least in terms of controlling your x thoughts and this has been studied x studied and here are a few comments by x people who study self-control x Brian Gala says Studies have found that x trying to teach people to resist x temptation either only has short-term x gains or can be outright failures we x don't seem to be all that good at x self-control x and I'm guessing most of you agree with x Professor Gala x and what they also found was people who x said they were really good at x self-control x in reality weren't x listen to this comment about people who x thought they were good at self-control x he says we tend to think of people with x strong willpowers people who were able x to fight this battle effectively x actually the people who were really good x at self-control x never have these battles in the first x place x and what a number of Studies have shown x the way to avoid temptation x is to avoid the sin you don't have to x have self-control if you never allow x yourself to be confronted by the things x that bring you down x the key in all these studies was avoid x temptation x and you don't have to worry about x self-control all these people who said x they were good at self-control when they x actually gave them self-control tests x they failed as much as everyone else x they were always successful because they x avoided Temptations x what simple advice for us x if you ever knew somebody was going x through Alcoholics Anonymous or x substance abuse the first thing they x tell them is avoid Temptations avoid x your old friends change your environment x if you walk by a bar that used to have x problems you know that you used to go to x that would cause you problems don't walk x by it change your route change your x routine x don't allow yourself to be tempted x and the ones that had self-control x were the ones who avoided it in the x first place x the people who were best at self-control x has been found that they were best at x avoiding Temptations and we could go x through lots of scriptures showing that x you may have heard of a thing called the x Marshmallow Challenge it's kind of an x old x study now but they would take kids and x put them in a room by themselves and in x front of them they would put a x marshmallow and they would say x if you don't eat this marshmallow when I x come back x I'll give you two x you can eat it now or you can wait for x me to come back and you can have two x and most kids failed at it they would x eat the marshmallow x but the ones who didn't failed x their strategies were x they stopped looking at the marshmallow x or they imagined it to be something x yucky x something they wouldn't want to taste x and and by looking at the marshmallow x differently x it kept them from giving in x and so their strategy was to look at x things differently if we actually think x about Sin for what it really is x why would we want it it's poison x it kills us you think of all the evil x headlines you see shootings murders all x the terrible things we see in the paper x or on the news x that's sin x why would I bring that into my body x and who wants to live in my body who x wants their thoughts to be my thoughts x it's our God x and our savior Jesus x if we want them to live in us if we want x their thoughts to be in us why would we x bring these other things into our mind x we need to really appreciate how evil x sin is to look at it differently x and that strategy is also very effective x and one last one I think I'm posted that x a time my five minutes you may have x heard me talk about this study too if x you want the full studies because we ran x out of time I'm happy to send them to x you this was called I don't versus I x can't x and it goes on when empowered refusal x motivates motivates goal-directed x Behavior it's a mouthful it's a research x study that was done x oh I don't have the time here but I'm x happy to send it to you x so what they did was they said x you have to control what you're thinking x about and how you think about Temptation x so there was two groups one group was x given a simple Temptation and they were x told that whenever you're tempted by x this x you say I can't do that maybe it was x people trying to lose weight x and so when they saw a cookie or or a x cake they were always told when you see x that Temptation say I can't do that x the other group when they were presented x with the same Temptation they were said x they were told to say to themselves over x and over I don't do that x so we go from a group that says I can't x do it to a group that says I don't do it x and this has been repeated x and it consistently comes out like this x people who were told to say I can't do x that behavior x uh they gave in 61 of the time in other x studies the numbers are similar x people who were told to say I don't eat x cake or I don't eat cookies x they only failed 36 percent of the time x you know nearly double the first group x because when you say I don't you x introduce that into your personality and x your character I don't do that x not that I can't not that oh I really x shouldn't where you get a little bit of x wiggle room but when you say I don't do x that x it reinforces your personality and x character x so we need to say I don't sin and x whatever the sin that easily besets you x you need to say I don't do that and be x firm and you're really just talking to x yourself x so that was pretty dramatic and they x conducted another study and this was x people's long-term uh health and x wellness goals like working out losing x weight you know things related to their x health and their Wellness x again there's three groups this time one x group was told to say I can't miss my x workouts you know I I can't not go to x the gym x the second group would say it was told x to say I don't miss my workouts you know x I always go to the gym x and the third group wasn't given any x strategy they were just told you know x try to lose weight you know try to meet x this goal x and listen to the results x ten days later they found that 3 out of x ten three out of 10 in the control in x the control group stuck to their goal so x people that weren't given any strategy x about 30 percent of the time x uh they stuck to their goals x so about one third of the time roughly x they kept their goals x the people who were told I can't x you know I can't miss my workout x only x only one out of ten x uh were successful it was a 90 failure x rate x so people without a strategy actually x did better than people who were told to x say I can't x and the group that was told I don't miss x my workouts x eight out of 10 of them were successful x eighty percent x you know that's astounding x and it's because you've made that goal x part of you I don't whatever x and you say it again and again and x eighty percent of the people with that x strategy were successful x people with the other strategy failed x even worse than people with no strategy x because they give themselves wiggle room x uh won't hurt if I do it this one time I x I can miss a workout I can have an ice x cream x and that wiggle room does you in x so tell yourself whatever the sin is x you're struggling x I don't do that x and then pray about it and you'll be x successful x now unto him that is able to keep us x from falling I think we all believe that x but we need to pray it x when you're trying to take captive the x strong man of sin in you can only be x done with the Lord's help x and there's a thousand verses about that x you know just think Jude 24 and 25 the x whole verse x so keep these strategies in mind and x they're proven to work and I'll tell you x the biggest failure x I know it works I I can think of desires x I had where I prayed to God to remove x them they would just always come back x and God removed that x it was no longer tempting me God x literally answered my prayer x and then I brought them back despite x that even though I wasn't being tempted x or thinking about it I chose to x reintroduce that temptation x and that's just the perverseness of our x bodies of sin x but if you pray about it you make it x part of you you will bind the strong man x of sin and the Lord will do the rest x so sorry that was a few minutes more x than five but thank you for your x attention I hope some of that was x helpful to you tonight