Ep. 004 Habits Part 3

Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. We are a Bible-Believing Church located

in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part of the Christian Fellowship

Ministries with 3,000 churches around the world. We are a church focused on world evangelism,

discipleship and church planting. Here we will share recent sermons from P.H.S.A. Church

and other sermons from throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bickford and I will be

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are a blessing to you and bring you closer to God.

Hello, welcome back to the Potter's House podcast, the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast.

My name is David Bickford. I am the pastor of the Potter's House Salmon Arm and I thank

you for joining me here again today. Today's message is going to be about Habits Part 3.

Today we are going to group a couple of them together again and it is going to be Lust

and Greed or what I like to consider the signatures of our time. If you have a Bible and you are

going to follow along with me, the text that I am going to be using today is going to be

from Colossians. It is chapter 3 verses 1-25 with a heavier focus on verses 5-11. You can

Isaiah 3:1–25

kind of put that in the back of your head and we will get to that in a little bit.

But first I want to take a look at an illustration I found. There was a penny-pinching tyrant

and this is what we will look at first with the idea of greed. This penny-pinching tyrant,

she owns a string of hotels. She owns the Empire State Building. She is a billionaire.

Yet in September 1989, Leona Mindy Rosenthal Helmsley was convicted of 33 counts of tax

evasion for which she faces the possibility of being sent to prison for 100 years. According

to the Time magazine, she emerged as a penny-pinching tyrant who tried to stiff just about everybody

that she knew. No amount of money was too small to fight over and after the sudden death

of her son at the age of 40 in 1982, she sued and won the lion's share of his estate which

was only $149,000 leaving his four children with $432 each and his widow with $2,171.

Now I don't know the background to this story but even on its face you can see how amazingly

greedy or penny-pinching this woman must have been to even go through the process of suing

or trying to go through legal means just to keep what little money this was when compared

to her overall great worth. And so it's an interesting picture that greed is not based

on amounts as much as on a hunger. And again, this is kind of what I talked about with sins

of excess a little bit, right? Where it was with gluttony and things of that nature where

it's just this overwhelming desire for just getting more stuff or a desire for avarice.

So avarice being very strong in this person's life. So here's another story. This one's

titled Consumed by Their Own Lust and this is radio personality Paul Harvey. If you haven't

heard of Paul Harvey, he was pretty important radio broadcaster even as I was growing up.

He would give these stories and then he'd say, and that's the rest of the story. And

so he was a very good storyteller, lots of really good stuff from him. But in this illustration

here Paul Harvey tells the story of how an Eskimo kills a wolf. The account is grisly

yet it offers us this fresh insight into the consuming self-destructive nature of sin.

First the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then

he adds another layer of blood and another until the blade is completely concealed by

frozen blood. Next the hunter fixes his knife to the ground with the blade up. When the

wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks

it. Tasting the fresh frozen blood, he licks faster and faster and faster, more and more

vigorously. Lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare, but feverishly now harder and

harder the wolf licks the blade in the arctic night. So great becomes his craving for blood

that the wolf does not notice the razor sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue,

nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is beginning to be satisfied

by his own warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just craves more and until the dawn finds

him dead in the snow. So here's a terrifying tale of about how our lusts can literally

lead us into a position where we are willfully hurting ourselves, we are willfully harming

ourselves just to feed this gap in our soul, this gap in our heart with this desire. You

can see this illustrated very clearly with people who get addicted to certain drugs where

the lust for the high or the lust for these drugs becomes overwhelming to the point where

they're either unwilling to admit or unknowingly harming their bodies to fulfill that need

or that lust. Chris Zillinger had this quote that says, it is a fearful thing that people

can be consumed by their own lusts, only God's grace keeps us from the wolf's fate. That's

a critical part of our understanding is that mankind being wicked from the beginning, like

from since the fall, and it's only through God's grace that keeps us from succumbing

to a fate like that wolf's. So in our text, Colossians 3, 1 through 5, let's read. This

is about putting on the new self in Jesus Christ. So in verse 1, if then you have been

raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right

hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above and not on the things that

are on earth. For you have died for your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ

who is, your appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore

what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, covetousness,

which is idolatry. On account of these, the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once

walked when you were living in them, but now you must put them all away, anger, wrath,

malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that

you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on a new self, which is being

renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek or Jew, circumcised

or uncircumcised, barbarian, Synthian, slave-free, but Christ is all and end all. Put on then

God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and

patience, bearing with one another and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving

each other. And the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. And above all these

put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ

rule in your own heart, your own hearts, to which indeed you are called in one body and

be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one

another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns in spiritual songs with thankfulness

in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name

of Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and Father through him. Now here are some rules for a

Christian household we pick up again at 18. Wives submit to your husbands as fitting to

the Lord. Husbands love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Children obey your

parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Father, do not provoke your children

lest they become discouraged. Bond servants obey in everything. Those who are your earthly

masters not by way of eye service or people pleasing, but in sincerity of heart fearing

the Lord. Whatever you do, work heartily as the Lord and not for men, knowing that from

the Lord you will receive your inheritance and reward. You are serving the Lord Christ

for the wrongdoer will be paid back for wrongdoing he has done. And there is no partiality. Now

I know that might be a bit overwhelming, that scripture, because it's a big chunk, it's

a whole chapter. But the reality is as we focus on verses 5 through 11, again that's

to put on death therefore what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion,

evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Now we know that we're being called to do

these things, but we're not being called to do these things under our own power, but rather

through Christ Jesus. And then I left in the rules for Christian house because it talks

about wives submitting to husbands, which is very, very hard for our generation to understand,

but really also it calls husbands to love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

There's a portion of this too where it basically is talking about what love is, is to be self-sacrificing.

So when the Bible talks about love, the ultimate love is what the love of Jesus Christ did

for us. In other parts it talks about how that is what a husband is supposed to do,

is to be willful or willing to lay down their life even unto death in service to their wife,

to their children. And so that's the call for husbands. So let's look at the battle

against our nature then and let's define lust. Lust is the strong craving of sexual desire,

typically is the way we look at it, right? It also can mean hunger from anything, like

a lust for power. While lust isn't a dirty word, it is a strong word. You don't have

to lust for something you don't really care about. Lust is a strong, powerful desire,

whether it's a noun or verb, you lust for things that you deeply crave. Someone greedy

lusts for money. Someone gluttonous lusts for food. The most basic meaning of lust then

is an unquenchable desire for sex, but people lust for all sorts of things, as I've mentioned.

So some synonyms for lust would be lecherousness or craving, hunger, thirst, animalism, which

I really like that one, animalism, because the world today wants to tell you you're nothing

more than an animal. And I contend in Christ that we are far more than just a simple animal.

And lastly, another one is carnality. And we use that quite a bit in the Christian world,

because to give into your animalistic thoughts is to live a carnal life. And we are called

not to live carnally, but to live unto the Lord. So then some antonyms or some opposing

words to this. Again, I find this pretty interesting, but the words are apathy, dislike, hatred,

or chastity. Now the interesting thing here is that apathy being what I've kind of categorized

is not a sin of excess, but a sin of lack, like slothfulness. So apathy can be just as

dangerous in a way, but chastity can be righteous. So let's define then the next one with this

is greed. Greed is the overwhelming urge to have more of something, usually more than

you really need. Watching kids at a birthday party furiously grabbing for candy from a

pinata, you might find yourself surprised by their greed. There's no way they're going

to be able to eat that much candy, but they want that candy and they'll never be happy

until they get more and more of the candy. Greed is often connected with money and a

desire to acquire as much of it as possible, but it can refer to that kind of urge towards

anything as well, like food or material possessions. When you see greed, it can be a very ugly

thing. You're observing a greedy person or the greed of a huge company that treats its

workers badly in order to make money. Greed comes from the old English word gradig or

voracious, which means always hungry for more. So again, you see again a similarity here

to gluttony, whereas gluttony is more specifically looking at food alone. Greed can be anything.

And then it's so closely tied to the idea of lust because you can lust after money,

but then greed makes it so that you're never happy with the amount of money that you have.

And so you become greedy in all things. Some synonyms are avarice, excess gluttony, oddly

enough, and then selfishness because again, greed is only about your belongings, what

you have, what you control, your power. And then some anonyms or opposing words are benevolence,

generosity, and apathy. So the first two of those benevolence and generosity show a great

kindness, a leader who is benevolent, who does things not for himself, but for the benefit

of his people, is considered a benevolent king. We serve the highest of benevolent kings.

We serve our Lord Jesus and our Father in heaven. And before anybody gets too far off

the road, praying for a politician to save the day for us, just remember that the actual

kingdom that we belong to is a kingdom. We have a king in our Lord, and he is a benevolent

king for sure. But that's one of the things I always like to talk to people about is,

what's the best form of government? Well, obviously on earth, kingship is not the best

form of government because all men are wicked. And we know that because when we look at when

the children of Israel were clamoring for a king, they were punished by being given

a king, right? When King Saul was chosen, there was a warning attached to the anointing

of that king in 1 Samuel. But before I get too off in the weeds, as I was saying, the

best government is a benevolent kingship in heaven because our Father is just. But on

earth, obviously, I would aspire to say that a democratic republic is the best form of

government, not pure democracy, but rather a representative government, a republic.

So let's look then next then at the biblical wisdom against gluttony. As we saw in our

text in Colossians 3.1, chastity or self-control can help us to cure lust by controlling passion

and leveraging energies for the good of others. Charity cures greed by putting the desire

to help others above storing up treasures for ourselves. As we looked into that piece

of text in Colossians 3.12 through 17, it says, put on then God's chosen ones, holy

and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, bearing with

one another. And if one has a complaint against the other, forgiving each other as the Lord

has forgiven you. So you must also forgive. And above all these things, put on love, which

binds everything together in perfect harmony and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts

to which you, which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful, be thankful.

Let the world of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all

wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts. And

whatever you do, do it word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving

thanks to God the Father through him. These temptations of sin that we fight are not from

God. In 1 John 2.16, it says, for all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh

and the desires of the eyes and pride of light is not from the Father, but it's from the

world. This is an important thing to understand and

encapsulate into your head is the idea that what we fight through is not from God, but

it's from this fallen world. It's from the sin that entered into this world. And that's

why we are called to put on our new self in Colossians 3 verses 1 through 4. If you have

Colossians 3:1–4

been raised in Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right

hand of God. Set your mind on these things that are above and not on the things that

are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ,

who is yours, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory.

And that brings me to my final point this morning, which is, how do we win the battle?

What is winning the battle? In Matthew 5, 27-30, it says,

You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone

who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for

you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And

if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better

for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go to hell.

Now if we take these words that are from Jesus to heart, then we know that we are responsible

for not only our actions but our thought life. This is a critical thing that a lot of Christians

have a hard time with. And I've even heard some Jewish leaders like Dennis Prager recently

talk about how if it's just in your thoughts, then you can't be judged by it from a godly

perspective. And that's as we can clearly see from Jesus's words where there's a big

distinction between the old worldview and the Christian worldview or the today's worldview

and the Christian worldview. In the Christian worldview, you are very much judged for what

you allow to happen in between your head, in between your ears here. You got your ears.

So in between here, what you allow to sit in here to grow, what you allow to, you know,

if let's say you're going to jump into Facebook's metaverse or some virtual reality thing, what

you do in that space, you will be judged for. So if you're doing ungodly, horrible things

within your mind's eye and you're not taking those thoughts into captivity, there is judgment

for that. And that's why we're told by Jesus himself that it's like adultery. If you sit

and ponder about it, it's just as bad as doing it from a biblical sense. This means that

we need to take accountability for every thought and judge it. The way that we can overcome

greed is through charity and we have to bring that charity before the Lord. The way that

we overcome lust is with chastity is to bring it into the Lord. So therefore, what do I

mean by that? Well, it's pretty simple. If you have an issue of being greedy, go do some

more charity work, right? Go do something that's going to take your mind and your actions

off of you and do it in service to somebody else altruistically. Now, you might not be

doing it altruistically in the beginning because you're a greedy person and you have an issue

here and you have to break through that and put it under the blood of Jesus Christ. Similarly,

if you have issues with lust, you need to abstain or get away from situations that are

going to cause that to grow within your own spirit and you need to put that in the blood

and prayer. Use the spoken word to come against your unspoken word. So as you are struggling

in these situations, in these areas, make sure that you're praying against these things

and that you're reading your word and putting it under the authority of Christ and not under

your own authority. And again, I say that prayer is the tool that speaks to faith and

confers the creator. So this is where you really need to spend time reading the word

of God will instill Godly wisdom and tear away at the ungodly beliefs that we fight

against. The word is pure and clear, but we can also pray to God to open our eyes for

the truth of the word so that it can be written upon our hearts. The church allows us to live

together and strengthen each other, building godly relationships and provide accountability

and responsibility in our lives. This is why you were told not to forsake the gathering

of the brethren. In Hebrews 1025, it says, not neglecting to meet with others as is the

habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing

near. Personal contract with other Christians is not merely a suggestion of the Bible. It

is a command, a practical reason for us was given in the prior verse. Relationships with

other believers are one way to be encouraged to live a life of faith that we proclaim.

We are called to hold fast through our own spiritual maturity. Growing faith, however,

is greatly influenced by having Christian examples around us. And that is why the Great

Commission was for the church to make disciples, not merely to talk about Jesus. Matthew 28

18 through 20, verse 24 commanded Christians to look for opportunities to inspire others

to love and do good works. And then lastly, so lastly, we have Ephesians 6 10 through

20, putting on that whole armor of God, finally be strong in the Lord and strength of his

might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes

of the devil, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against

the authorities and against the cosmic powers over this present darkness against the spiritual

forces of evil and heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may

be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all stand firm, stand there for having

fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness. And as

the shoes for your feet, having put on readiness given by the gospel of peace and in all circumstances,

take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the

evil one and take on the helmet of salvation, the sword of the spirit, which is the word

of God praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication to that end.

Keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for the saints and also for me that words

may be given to me and opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel for

which I am an ambassador in chains and that I may declare boldly and ought to speak.

So that brings me to the close. And if I could just, you know, if you're not driving, have

every head about every eye closed, no matter where you are, because this at this moment

is the invitation. At the end of every message, there's an opportunity. And this is something

that I hold truly dear to in my life is the fact that every message needs to come with

the opportunity for those that aren't saved. What does that mean? If this message is spoken

to you, if you battle with these things, have you ever taken the opportunity to give your

life to Christ and try it his way? Is your way working? Is your way working? And I contend

that even if you think it is, it probably isn't working as well as you thought. I contend

that every everyone needs to turn to Jesus Christ, but not all will have ears to hear

it. But if this message did resonate with you, then I give you this, that you can too

be saved. And it's very simple on how to do that. You just have to repeat. It's not

it's not an incantation. It's a revelation. You have to accept Jesus Christ your Lord

and Savior. You have to turn from your sins. That's what Jesus always did whenever he was

talking to somebody like the woman at the well. He said, you know, I'm I am the son

of God, right? There's a revelation of who he is. And there's a turning of your sins

or repentance. So if you need it in like a prayer form, it's pretty simple. It's just

simply Lord God, I know that I'm a sinner. I know that I'm not perfect. I'm not my sinner.

I turn from my sin or I repent. I turn from my sin or I repent. And then I accept you,

Lord Jesus, to be my Lord and Savior, my my God. I thank you for sending your son, Jesus

Christ, to die for my sins. And I thank you for the gift of salvation through grace in

Jesus name. Amen. That simple prayer takes you from living a life of sin and enters your

name into the book of life and gets you free admittance into heaven and eternity. But more

than that, it will change your heart. If you learn to, you know, pray, read your Bible,

find a Bible preaching church, and by all means, if you're in salmon arm, come and visit

with us. Because Jesus Christ is changing lives. He hasn't stopped changing lives. A

lot of people might have stopped listening in certain parts of the world, but that doesn't

mean that he isn't still speaking to people. So I thank you for taking the time to listen

to me this morning or this evening, whatever time it is for you. And I really pray this

message resonates with you and I pray that you'll come back again. And I just, you know,

quickly I want to give a little prayer for your day. Dear Lord God, I just pray that

you'd help this message to go forth into the world to change people's lives so that they

can too be free from greed, from lust, from any of these sins of lack or sins of want.

I give you all the praise and glory and I pray that you'd help them have a beautiful

week. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you.