FAITH IS NATURAL! | Brother Chris by God's Heart TV - Dailymotion

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‘Faith Is Natural’ is a program on God’s Heart TV with short words of inspiration and encouragement for your daily life from the Living Word of God - in the beauty of His creation.

Transcript

00:00Grace and peace to you all in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ, welcome everyone to

00:15another edition of Faith is Natural here on God's Heart TV and what a thing of joy it

00:23is to be surrounded by the beauty of God's creation that testifies to His glory, His

00:32majesty, His power, His goodness. Thank you to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now people

00:41of God, I want to address today a very common excuse we tend to give to justify ourselves.

00:55It's very common today for people to blame weakness for wrongdoing. You hear people say

01:05things like, I'm battling with my weakness. This is my weak area. This is the weakness

01:13that I've been struggling with. In fact, many times when I speak to people on the phone,

01:18I hear them say words like, oh brother Chris, I just cannot help myself. I'm trying to change

01:26but I can't. My weakness is just too much. I can't help myself. Oh, it's painful people

01:35of God is provoking and painful to hear such language because this is one of the biggest

01:43lies orchestrated by the devil to lull us into a false sense of immunity to the responsibilities

01:57and repercussions of wrongdoing. This is what I want to talk about in today's Faith

02:05is Natural. Stop blaming your weakness for your wrongdoing. Now, let me be clear with

02:17everyone. I'm not saying that weakness is not a factor in wrong. No, it's a factor,

02:27but we must recognize the devil is a deceiver. He delights in twisting the truth and the

02:35most effective lies tend to contain an element of truth. The devil is a liar. Although weakness

02:46is a factor in wrong, it should never be used as an excuse for wrong because God always

02:59provides a way out for his children. Now, I want to remind you of the words of our Lord

03:08Jesus Christ. Famous words in the book of Matthew chapter 26 verse 41. He said, watch

03:17and pray lest you fall into temptation. Why? Because the Spirit is willing that this flesh

03:29is. Yes, there is no one without weakness and there is no one above temptation. But

03:40as you see from that scripture, the identification of your weakness is a reason for watchfulness.

03:50It's a reason to humble yourself before a mighty God. It's a reason to recognize how

03:59much you need him, to depend on his strength day by day. Yes, God knows we are weak. That

04:10is why he sent his spirits to help us in our weaknesses and that is why he always provides

04:21a way of escape when temptation strikes. I want to read a very beautiful promise of God.

04:32Well-known scripture from the book of first Corinthians chapter 10. Turn with me if you

04:38have your Bibles there. First Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13. And it says this, no

04:45temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. But God, God is faithful

04:57who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation

05:04will also make the way of escape, the escape routes that you may be able to bear it. What

05:13a beautiful promise. What a glorious promise people of God. Well-known scripture. But I

05:19want to emphasize something. If you read the entirety of this chapter, first Corinthians

05:27chapter 10, you would discover that this promise is accompanied by a condition and

05:38an instruction. In verse six, taking the example from the children of Israel, the condition

05:52upon which this promise is premised is clear. To set your hearts on the things above, the

06:05things of God, not to lust after the things of this world, the lures and the cares of

06:13this world. What am I emphasizing here people of God? The issue is not actually weakness.

06:23The real issue is what you set your hearts on. What you set your hearts on will set you

06:35up to succumb or to overcome. What you set your hearts on will set you up to succumb

06:49to temptation or position you to overcome temptation with the help of the Holy Spirit.

07:00There's a condition. There's also an instruction. The verse following verse 13, immediately after

07:07that promise we read this. Verse 14, therefore my beloved flee from idolatry. Run from sin.

07:17Disconnect from anything that tries to disconnect you from God. This is an instruction. Therefore

07:27flee from idolatry because anything you place above God in your hearts becomes gold.

07:38God. Now

07:43here is the key principle I want you to take to hearts today, children of God, from this message.

07:52Please take note of this. Your weakness is a reason to flee from sin,

08:05not an excuse to flirt with sin. I'm going to repeat it. Your weakness is a reason to flee,

08:18run, depart from sin, not an excuse to flirt with sin, to toy with sin.

08:27Look at the case of Joseph in the book of Genesis chapter 39 and the temptation he faced from

08:35Potiphar's wife. Look at how he handled that situation when the heat of Joseph's temptation

08:43intensified. He fled the scene. He fled from sin and he did not fall into sin. A word of warning.

09:00If you flirt with sin, it is just a matter of time before you fall into it.

09:09If you toy with sin, it will soon trap you.

09:20You will eventually succumb to what you set your hearts to because the journey

09:30from your hearts to your hands is shorter than you realize.

09:39This, this is why, children of God, the identification of your weakness

09:49is a reason to flee from sin and avoid temptation, not an excuse to flirt with sin and invite temptation.

10:03That's what we see in that scripture, that promise in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13.

10:11When you set your heart on the things above and flee from sin, yes, temptation will come

10:20but you will overcome with the help of the Holy Spirit. But if your heart is set

10:27on the fleeting treasures and pleasures of this world and because of that weakness of your flesh

10:36you flirt with sin, temptation will come and that temptation will overcome you and your weakness will wound you.

10:47At this point, I want to highlight to you something important about Joseph's

10:59perception of lust and sexual immorality that influenced the way he handled that temptation.

11:10Let me turn there, the book of Genesis chapter 39

11:15and I'm going to read verse 9. This is when Potiphar's wife tempted him,

11:23come and lie with me, come and sleep with me and at the end of verse 9 he says this,

11:28How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?

11:45I believe one of the greatest challenges facing believers in today's generation,

11:56most especially the young people of today's generation, is the internal reclassification

12:06of lust as weakness rather than wickedness.

12:15Here at God's Heart TV, we receive thousands of prayer requests and one of the most common

12:23problems people ask for prayer concerning is the issue of watching pornography, masturbation, lust.

12:37People reach out and say, please pray for me because of my battle with the weakness of lust.

12:46I'm struggling with pornography. I'm in the bondage of masturbation. I can't help myself.

12:57We have reduced the wickedness of pornography to a battle with weakness.

13:05We have lowered the threshold of immorality to accommodate our selfish desires

13:13with the argument that, well, it's better than fornication.

13:17It's better than adultery or no one sees me or I'm not harming anyone.

13:27But when you watch pornography,

13:33you are degrading a person made in the image of God.

13:43Someone's daughter, someone's son, you are degrading a person to an object

13:54for your personal pleasure, for your fleeting enjoyment.

14:04And what you see as

14:07entertainment is actually entanglement.

14:19Because any attempt to satisfy lust only intensifies it.

14:29People of God, this is cause for reflection, sober reflection.

14:36Stop opening a door that is beyond your power to close.

14:45I can't help myself. I can't help it.

14:50You don't have the power to stop it, but you have the power to stop feeding it.

14:55You don't have the power to overcome it, but you have the power to run from it.

15:00You don't have the power to halt it, but you have the power to hate it.

15:05What must you do?

15:06Starve your weakness, feed your strength, position yourself for the Holy Spirit to help you

15:13and he will stop blaming weakness for wrongdoing.

15:26I want to emphasize at this point, we all fall.

15:31I'm not saying there's a perfect person.

15:34We all make mistakes. We all fall.

15:36The key is to get back up.

15:41But take notes of this.

15:44When you are fleeing from sin and you make a mistake, you will learn from it.

15:52But when you flirt with sin and fall into it, you will end up repeating it.

15:58And the cycle goes on and on and on.

16:02You may express momentary regrets to mitigate any immediate consequence,

16:11but there is no real repentance

16:15fueled by the prompting of your conscience by the Holy Spirit.

16:21Real repentance, genuine change springs from within.

16:30And the evidence is not just a superficial remorse.

16:33The evidence is learning from your mistake, growing through your mistake.

16:41What is the sign that you're on the right track with God?

16:45When your mistakes become a tool that mature you spiritually,

16:52when your weaknesses create a sense of dependence on God,

16:58know that you are a child of God.

17:05As I bring this message to a conclusion, remember,

17:11God always provides a way out for his children.

17:18He always provides an escape route.

17:22But it can only be discerned when your heart is set on the things of God.

17:30It's only when you seek God's heart that you can truly see life clearly.

17:42If your heart is set on the things of this world,

17:46the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life,

17:53you will not see a way out of your weakness.

17:57You may attempt an escape route, likely when things have gone too far.

18:07But any escape routes you attempt outside of Christ

18:13will only entangle you deeper in bondage.

18:21So the choice is yours.

18:25What will you do with your weakness?

18:30Will your weakness become a gateway to your destruction

18:36or a pathway to your dependence on God?

18:41The one who has promised to manifest his strength in our weakness.

18:53I want to read a scripture,

18:59a word of exhortation to conclude this message.

19:04In the book of 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 22, it says this.

19:13Flee also youthful lusts, but pursue righteousness, faith, love,

19:25peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

19:34What are you fleeing?

19:39What are you pursuing?

19:46May God bless his word in the midst of our hearts.

19:50And remember, there is always room for repentance.

19:56Right now, it is time to pray.

19:59Right now, it is time to pray in the name of Jesus Christ.

20:15People of God, let us pray.

20:19Is your mind polluted by thoughts of lust,

20:27sexual immorality that bombards you right now

20:33by the precious blood of Jesus Christ?

20:36Be cleansed, be cleansed right now.

20:41Right now, is your hearts troubled by guilt and condemnation?

20:51The weight of guilt and condemnation right now

20:56in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

20:59Be purified, be purified, be purified.

21:06Behind every spirit, behind the addiction to pornography,

21:16masturbation, sexual immorality, that spirit of lust,

21:21I command you to come out right now,

21:25out in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

21:29Every spirit pushing you down the path of perversity,

21:33be cast out, be cast out, be cast out

21:40in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

21:44Right now, whatever trap set up by the devil

21:54to derail you spiritually, receive the wisdom to avoid it.

22:02Be alert to overcome it, overcome it, overcome it

22:07in Jesus' mighty name.

22:13Receive that strength to maintain your resolve.

22:21Receive the strength to maintain your commitments.

22:26Receive the strength to maintain that desire

22:31to serve Jesus in spirit and in truth.

22:35Receive it today.

22:40Remember, if you don't stand for something,

22:48you will definitely fall for something.

22:52I pray you receive the divine courage

22:59to stand for what you believe.

23:02Receive the divine courage to hold fast to your principles,

23:08even in the face of pressure.

23:10Receive that courage to stand firm

23:14on the solid rock of God's word.

23:17On the solid rock of God's word, in Jesus' mighty name.

23:23Thank you, Lord.

23:24Holy spirits, oh, holy spirits,

23:29help us to learn from our past

23:35without living in our past.

23:40In the mighty name of Jesus Christ,

23:45we pray and the people of God said,

23:49amen, amen, amen.

23:54Thank you, Jesus.

STOP Blaming Your Weakness! | Brother Chris

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FAITH IS NATURAL! | Brother Chris

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