The War Within

If you have your Bible, I'm going to invite you

in a moment. I am beginning a couple of weeks

series called Battles That Build Us. Battles

That Build Us. And this series will show us how

God uses the battles we face to form and shape

us into the people that he's called us to become.

And I want to read today out of Genesis chapter

Genesis 25 · chapter mention

25. And verse 21, to begin this series, battles

that build us. Here it says, now Isaac pleaded

with the Lord for his wife because she was barren.

And the Lord granted his plea. And Rebekah, his

wife, conceived. But the children struggled together

within her. And she said, if all is well, why

am I like this? If all is well, why am I like

this? So she went to inquire of the Lord. And

the Lord said to her, two nations are in your

womb. Two peoples shall be separated from. Today

I'm going to speak on the thought, the war within.

Let us pray. Father, I thank you for your word.

I thank you for your presence, God, that fills

this place. Surely you were waiting for us before

we ever got here. And now, God, after we have

lifted our hands, sang our songs. We are ready

to hear your word. And I pray that in these few

moments that we have together, God, that we receive

more than information, but that we receive revelation

that leads to transformation. God, I pray for

an anointing to rest upon each and every heart.

Give us an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying

to the church. Not what man, but what the anointing

is speaking to the church, God, that we might

be edified and strengthened and motivated and

encouraged in the name of Jesus. God, we pray

and we ask this right now in Jesus' name. Somebody

say in Jesus' name. Amen. God bless you. You

may be seated today. I am perplexed. I find this

perplexing question that Rebecca asked to be

one that is one of those types of questions that

has captured my attention. It really highlights

something that we all... Go through at times.

The question was. If all is well. Why am I like

this? If all is well. Why am I like this? It's

an interesting question. It's. A bit of a contradiction

of terms. Here is this. Woman who is pregnant.

With child expecting to bring into the world

something that is joyful. This is supposed to

be a happy time. This is supposed to be a joyful

time. This is supposed to be a moment where families

begin to plan and dream and think about what

their future is going to be like. This is a special

time. One that I, as a father, as a parent, remember

quite well. Before our children were born, when

my wife was expecting. And just, you know, all

the things that go through your mind when you

think about what that next phase of your life

is going to be like. You parents in here today,

you can remember that same time as well. And

for Rebecca, I think... Probably for the beginning

of her pregnancy, that's what it was. It was

joyful. It was the husband and wife talking about

all the good things that are going to come. That

God had answered a prayer and done something

that only He can do. And so this was supposed

to be a high that she was to ride in her life.

But in the midst of that high, in the midst of

positive talk and positive vibes, in the midst

of all of that, something started to shift and

change in her that she wasn't expecting. Something

didn't feel quite right. Despite all of the baby

talk, despite all of the... The planning and

trying to pick a name and trying to think about

what color his or her eye is going to be. And

all of these fascinating things that these soon

-to -be parents are talking about. Something

didn't quite fit right and things started to

shift. And all of a sudden she found herself.

Dealing with an internal struggle. And sometimes

we face the same perplexing question that Rebecca

faced when she said, if all is well, why am I

like this? If I'm saved, why am I struggling?

Amen, somebody. If I'm in His will, then can

somebody tell me why is this so hard? If I'm

blessed, then why do I feel anxious? Why do I

feel broken? Why am I confused? If I'm in his

hands, if things were supposed to get better,

then why am I like this? And I really began to

look at that question, really began to look closer

at these words. If all is well, if everything

is supposed to be better, then why am I like

this? These contradictions occur when our feelings

contradict or conflict with our true standing

in God. The thing about feelings is that they

can change from day to day. The way you feel

today is going to be different than how you might

feel tomorrow. And while a feeling might indicate

to you in the moment, report to you in the moment

what is happening in your body or in your mind,

we've got to be careful that we don't give our

feelings more weight than they deserve. And allow

them to declare something over our life that

is not consistent with what God told us about

who we are. You know that your feelings could

lie to you. Amen, somebody. The Bible teaches

us about the heart and how deceptive it can be.

The heart is deceptive, right? Who can know it?

Deceitful above all things. It cannot be trusted

at times. But there are moments and there are

times that our feelings will accurately or realistically

tell us that something is indeed wrong. Because

for Rebecca, what she was feeling was not necessarily

a lie. There was something going on in her life.

There was a question that was unanswered. There

was a struggle that she was dealing with. And

it shows us, she shows us that when there is

a struggle within you that you cannot explain

and there seems to be a contradiction from what

you feel versus... What you believe. What you

feel versus what God's word says about your life

and his plans for you. What you feel versus what

word has been declared over you. She shows us

that help is only a prayer away. Let us rewind

a bit to understand the back story of this moment.

Rebecca's story began like a fairy tale. From

a young woman drawing water. at a distant well

to being swept to the arms of a man whose name

literally means God laughs or laughter. Her life

was swept from the background to the forefront

of Scripture overnight. This is not exactly the

life that she thought she was going to live,

maybe as a young girl growing up, but from one

moment to the next, she found herself In the

midst of God's story with his people that began

with Abraham. Found herself married to a covenant

family. But dreams of starting a family and continuing

that legacy were soon dashed by the painful reality

of infertility. But thank God that her husband

was a praying man. A God -fearing man. A miracle

child himself. Who went before the Lord and pleaded

to God to do the impossible again. Because Isaac

himself was the product of a miracle. Whose own

mother was not able to bear children. He was

able to go to God with a certain amount of confidence.

Amount of trust and belief. The same God who

had allowed his mom to birth him could do that

for his wife. That's a powerful thing. When you

see God do something in your life, you're able

to go to God again and say, God, I believe that

if you did it before, you can do it again. Amen.

If you healed my mama, you can heal me. If you

healed my brother, you can heal me. If you did

it for them, you can do it. If you did it for

that family, you can do it for my family. Why?

Because you're the same God. And we know that

you do not change. Yesterday, today, and forever.

Why don't you give God a praise for that? God

doesn't change. So they run into a bit of a problem

in the early stages of their marriage. They find

out that she cannot conceive. And there are no

tests you can go to. There is no modern science

at that time. So they're left to wonder, what's

going on? So even from the onset, there is this.

trouble brewing in the family. Uh -oh. We're

supposed to carry a legacy and now we seem to

be at a point where we seem to run into an impossibility.

It seems as if though the dream that we're supposed

to experience has become a nightmare. But he

goes into prayer and he pleads before God. I

don't know if he got on his knees or if he laid

prostrate with his face to the ground. But I

can assure you that he prayed with everything

that he had. I mean, he realized everything is

on the line here. You know, God made a promise.

And what are we going to do now? So he prays

with everything that he has. And so God answers.

Praise God. He finds out that his wife is expecting.

And before you know it, there's probably a little

kicking going on in the womb. Hey, something

is happening. And so we see God already moving

and working in their life, and things seem to

be working out okay. And in the process of all

of that, Isaac's thinking, hey, God did it. You

know, going to work every day, coming home, thinking,

man, you know, I'm living the dream now. Everything

is good. Everything is great. You know, I can't

complain. Got a happy wife. You know they say

happy wife, happy? Some of you men who are not

married, you don't know that, but some of us

who are, we know. Happy spouse, happy house.

You think I got a happy wife? Everything is good,

you know? House is nice. Everything is working

out. We're blessed. Money in the bank. 401K,

man. The stock is up. I mean, things are, he's

riding a wave of success now. Feeling good about

himself. And then one day, maybe after a hard

day's work, he comes in and he sees that look

on his wife's face. Uh -oh. I know that look.

He's thinking, what did I do? Uh -oh. Something

on the honey -do list that I missed or what happened?

You know, he sees that look on and he knows something

is wrong. And sure enough, maybe over dinner,

maybe at night or laying in bed, he says, I got

to tell you. I've been wanting to tell you, honey.

I've been wanting to tell you. But you've been

in such a good mood lately. I didn't want to

rain on you. I didn't want to, but. But I got

to be honest with you, Isaac. I got to tell you,

like it is. I waited. I thought it was just a

little thing. I thought maybe it was just a little

funk I was in. I thought, you know, it was the

menudo that I ate last night. I don't know what

it was. Hallelujah. You know, I'm not sure. I

thought maybe I just had an upset stomach. I

took the Pepto -Bismol, you know. But it's not

going away. I got to tell you, there's a problem

internally. Something is not right. Something

is wrong. And I would imagine that the two of

them looked at each other with puzzlement. And

Isaac looked at Rebecca. And Rebecca looked at

Isaac and said, wait a minute. This was not in

our five -year plan. This wasn't supposed to

happen. How many of you have ever had that happen

to you? You said, wait a minute. Something unexpected.

Something that was not on your radar physically,

spiritually, emotionally, financially. You said,

wait a minute. This wasn't supposed to happen.

Hello, somebody. This is not how it's supposed

to go. Wait a minute. This is not what we talked

about. I thought you were pregnant and things

are supposed to get better from here on out.

And we got the job, so everything is supposed

to be good. Hello? And we got the house, and

we're supposed to be happy, and we've got the

family we always wanted, and we're supposed to

be in good spirits, and we got the new car, and

we got the promo. And now you're telling me there's

a problem. This is, wait a minute. This is not

supposed to happen. What do you mean there's

a struggle inside of you? What do you mean? Something

is not right. And she tells him, there's a struggle.

There's a struggle inside. And I can't imagine

what now Rebecca is feeling because now she has

conceived and she's pregnant, but she's realizing

something. Number one, let me just, got a couple

points for you today, is that the promise does

not exempt you from the conflict. Oh, she's realizing

something that every believer must realize in

their walk with the Lord, that just because God

makes a promise in your life, just because God

speaks a word into your heart and speaks a word

over your life prophetically, just because God's

got a purpose, God has anointed you, God has

called you, does not exempt us from the conflict

of life. And sometimes we think that the will

of God will always feel smooth. But many times,

can I be real with you today? The favor of God

brings us into unexpected conflict. And so you

don't have to battle. It's just realizing that

answered prayers are not solely designed to make

your life easier. I don't care who told you what

or what. I'm here to tell you that not every

answered prayer is going to make your life easier.

You ever heard the saying, be careful what you

ask for? Oh, if I was the boss, this is how I

would run the place. Oh, really? And God makes

you the boss, and all of a sudden, you're like,

man, what was I? What did I get myself into?

That doesn't mean that that was the wrong thing,

the wrong opportunity. What we got to remember,

and for those of you that are looking at those

next stages of life, marriage, children, you

say, hey. Everything's going to be great. It

can be and it will. God's going to bless you.

But don't think for one moment that just because

God blessed you, just because there's a promise,

just because there's something good God's doing,

it exempts you from conflict. Amen, somebody.

Because then you get married and then you realize

you didn't just marry her, you married her family.

And you married her. Her weird, you know, cousin

that likes to show up unannounced. This is not

what I signed up for. Hello, somebody. You know?

It wasn't supposed to be like this. You know,

if I ever get, if they ever give me, if pastor

ever gives me the mic, my God, the glory of God

is going to come down. I'm going to show this

church what praise looks like. Amen. So you get

up there and you finally get your solo, right?

And then your voice screeches. And you're like,

oh, wait a minute. I'm human. Or more is asked

of you than what you, and then you start to doubt

yourself. You finally get the opportunity. You

know, just put me in. I'm willing to serve. I'm

willing to do it. And then once you start serving,

working, doing. Then come the doubts and then

come the questions. I wonder if I'm really called.

I wonder if God made a mistake. And all of this

conflict starts to happen. And so half the battle

is understanding that these things do come. And

they are a part of the process. And they are

part of God working through our lives. But the

conflict is not always an indication that something

is wrong. It's an indication that God is forming

something powerful in your life. And you simply

have to trust God through that process. And realize

that just because there's a bit of an issue,

just because there's some conflict, just because

there's some predicament you find yourself in,

some challenges and struggles, doesn't mean that

God has forgotten about you. Doesn't mean that

God has abandoned you. Doesn't mean that you're

no longer needed. Doesn't mean that there's not

a promise over your life. It simply means that

God is forming something in you, and it's not

always going to be easy. Initially, the presence

of conflict and struggle starts to cause us to

doubt ourselves and what God is doing. We start

doubting God's love. God, I thought you loved

me. Why would you let me go through this? Why

would you allow this to happen? God, I thought

it was favored. I thought you had called me.

Why are you allowing this? If all is well, why

am I? like this. She couldn't make sense of it.

God had reversed her infertility. But now the

very promise she carried was producing a struggle

that she could not explain. Our questions are

similar to those of Rebecca's. We say, God, why

am I not? Why am I unhappy? I've got this. I've

got that. I've got everything. You're supposed

to need to be happy. And why am I still? Why

is it not enough? Hello? You get that? He said,

if I just get mad, I'm going to be happy. If

I just buy that. Why is it not enough? Why is

my health failing me? Finally got money in the

bank. Finally can go on. Finally could take the

trip I've always wanted, but now I've got, my

health won't let me go. my health failing me?

If all is well, then why am I like this? Why

am I conflicted? Why am I confused or worried?

You might even say like David did, my God, my

God, why have you forsaken me? I've come to tell

you God has not forsaken you. God has not left

you. God has not abandoned you. But that struggle

is not the proof that God has left you. It's

proof that something has been formed in you and

you've just got to be a little patient and go

through the discomfort. Don't abort. Don't give

up on what God told you. So I'm going to give

God a hand of praise today. Amen. Hallelujah.

I need to encourage you today. It's proof that

the conflict, the conflict within points to a

greater purpose. There's a greater purpose that

God has. There's a greater purpose that God is

working in our life. Rebecca thought it was just

a pregnancy issue at first. Huh? She thought,

wow, you know, that it was merely physical. But

it was actually a struggle over the purpose that

she was carrying. The Lord told her this. He

said, two nations are in your womb. Rebecca,

this is not just a normal complication that you're

experiencing. This is not just the normal changes

that a body goes through, that a pregnant mother's

body would go through, being with child. There's

more to it than that. This is not just physical.

There are not just two babies in you. There are

two nations in you. What does a nation represent?

A nation represents an identity. It represents

a culture. It represents a people. And so God

is telling you, what you're feeling, that conflict

you're feeling, emotionally, mentally, the battle

that you're in right now, Rebecca, is because

there are two opposing identities. There are

two opposing forces in your life that are trying

to pull in one. directs like a tug of war in

opposite directions. Historically, Rebekah was

carrying two sons who would become two nations,

Jacob, the nation of Israel, and Esau, the nation

of Edom. And spiritually, if I can break this

down for you in the time that I have remaining,

I won't be much longer, but this is a teaching

part of this that I want you to understand. It

gives us a picture of the inner conflict that

every believer faces, the war. Within us all.

The war between the old nature and the new nature.

Esau, the firstborn of the twins. He came out

first. That makes him the firstborn. Can represent

the natural man. Our first birth. Thank you.

Our first birth. Our flesh. The old nature that

we inherited through sin. As David said, I was

born in sin and shaped in iniquity. That's our

sin nature that we inherited from Adam. Jacob,

the second son, represents the spiritual man,

the new birth, the new nature, the life that

we receive in Christ. The Bible says if anyone

is in Christ, he is a new creation. Amen? All

things have passed away and behold, all things

have become new. So within this is a picture

of the spiritual conflict, the conflict that

we go through in our lives as we are seeking

to do the will of God. As God is forming us and

making us and building us, there is this conflict

within us. Just like it was within Rebecca. Two

natures competing against one another. What kind

of a struggle is it? It's a fight between the

flesh and the spirit. Amen. Between the old man

and the new man. Between who you used to be and

who God called you to be. The Apostle Paul illuminates

this conflict of his own when he writes in Galatians

5 and 16. Walk in the spirit. And you shall not

fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh

lusts against the spirit and the spirit against

the flesh. And these are contrary to one another.

So that you do not do the things that you wish.

Paul is telling us that there is two natures.

That there's a battle, a war within us. That

there's a war between the spirit and the flesh.

And one is pulling you this way and one is pulling

you the other way. And the spirit is willing,

but the flesh is weak. This explains the conflict

that is happening sometimes in our life. It's

a struggle over your destiny in God. It's a struggle

over who God is calling you to be. It's a struggle

over your purpose in this life. This struggle

points to a greater purpose. Furthermore, Paul

wrote of his own internal war in Romans 7 and

21. Watch what he says about his own struggle.

He says, Huh? But I see another law in my members,

warring against the law of my mind, bringing

me into captivity to the law of sin, which is

in my members. Notice what Paul, the Apostle

Paul, says about this eternal war. He says, I

find a law that evil is present with me. Think

of this. Paul is saying, no matter what I try

to do, evil is present with me. I've got this

evil twin that's with me everywhere I go. Yeah,

I'm trying to do the will of God. I'm trying

to delight. I delight in the law of God. I'm

reading my word. I'm in prayer. I'm trying to

feed my spiritual man. But no matter how hard

I try, I've still got this other law. I've still

got this other force in my life that is warring

against my mind and trying to drag me down and

conflict and muddy the waters and confuse me

and disrupt me and discourage me. And then he

says, look, it's bringing me. to captivity. This

is the Apostle Paul here. Amen. One of the greatest

Christians to ever live. He's telling us what

some of us are afraid to admit about our own

relationship with God is that I struggle. I pray

and I still get tempted. I fast and I still doubt.

I worship and yet evil is present with me. another

moment he lays it all out there he bears his

soul to us and he says what especially if you're

in leadership god forbid uh those of us in ministry

or leaders uh uh preachers of the word be this

transparent to say hey evil is with me and he

is so wrecked by this that he writes in the next

verse 24 he said oh wretched man And the next

day you got to pick me up off the floor. One

day I feel like a conqueror. And the next day

I feel like a loser. One day I've got it made.

And I'm doing good. And the next day I don't

know if I can even make it to church on Sunday.

But I've come to tell you that nothing is wrong

with you. But it's a fight. And the devil is

doing everything he can to destroy you. jesus

christ our lord i've come to encourage you that

there is hope in jesus that there is strength

in jesus that there is a future in jesus somebody

give god some praise today oh hallelujah hallelujah

hallelujah god as i close listen i i i thought

about so deeply what paul Right. Paul puts language

to the struggle that Rebecca was feeling many

generations before. He puts language to it. He

gives it language. All Rebecca said was, you

know, if I'm well, then like, why am I like this?

You know, why can't I just be settled? You know,

why can't I just be free? Why can't I just be

happy? And, you know, why am I like this? But

Paul takes it a step further. He gives us a New

Testament revelation. And he's telling us that

it's not so strange. And you're not a spiritual

oddball. And you're not a spiritual misfit. And

you're not abnormal. No, it is very normal for

us to experience this. And to be conflicted within

ourselves. And just kind of go like, I don't

know, like, oh, wretched man that I am. What's

going to happen to me? What can I do? Am I a

lost cause? Am I a throwaway? Am I fired from

the team? Am I just supposed to figure it out

on my own? Am I left to my own devices? What

am I to do? Am I cursed? You know, do I just

go to the corner somewhere? What do I do? Do

I cry? Do I laugh? What do I do? But he says,

I thank God. He said, because through Christ

Jesus, my Lord, God understands exactly where

you are today. But do you know, as you stand

with me this afternoon, this is what God wants

you to do. He wants you to do like Rebecca when

Rebecca didn't know what to do. And she said,

if all is well, why am I like this? The Bible

says that she inquired of the Lord. God is saying,

you may not get the answer that you want all

the time. Life may not get easier for you overnight.

But if you hear me today, church, the secret

to getting through these difficult times, the

secret to surviving those moments of confliction,

those moments of affliction, those moments of

struggle and doubt and confusion and worry and

anxiety, the secret to getting through all of

that is learning how to go to the Lord in prayer

and laying it all down. I feel the Holy Ghost

and laying it all down at the altar and say,

God, I messed up. God. God, here I am again.

I don't have it all together, God. I haven't

figured it out, God. I'm a work in progress,

God. My faith is still under construction, Lord.

But, Lord, I know that you receive me as I am.

So I'm coming to you with my doubt. Come on,

somebody. I'm coming to you with my worry, with

my confusion, with my doubt, with my frustration.

And I'm leaning at the altar, God. And I'm saying,

here I am again. Is there somebody in the house?

of God today that can come to an altar and say,

God, I don't got it all together, but here I

am. I inquire of you, God. God, you don't got

to take all of it away, but give me a revelation,

God. Show me, God. Show me what it's all about.

Show me why. Why, God? Give me a picture, Lord.

Give me strength. Give me hope. Give me. I wonder

if there's somebody here today. You need to inquire

of the Lord. Oh, God. Somebody needs to inquire

of the Lord right now. David said there's one

thing that I have a desire to the Lord and that

will I seek that I may dwell in the house of

the Lord all the days of my life to behold the

beauty of the Lord and to inquire. inquire to

inquire to inquire oh i wonder if there's somebody

that can inquire today oh somebody that can inquire

to the lord i need to inquire of him god i've

got to talk to you today come on why don't you

talk to him right now god i've got to talk to

you today oh i gotta inquire of you today lord

i gotta inquire of you today god i gotta inquire

I got to inquire. I need to inquire. And we need

to teach this generation how to inquire. We got

to teach this generation how to inquire. Oh,

I'm going to read it again. This is what David

said in Psalm 27 and verse 4. He said, One thing

have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek,

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all

the days of my life, to behold the beauty of

the Lord and to inquire in his temple. You see,

some of us, we're always praying just for an

answer. We're always praying, God, just take

the pain away. We're always praying, God, just

remove the mountain. But what do you do when

God doesn't move it? What do you do when you're

still in pain? What do you do when you still

got problems? What do you do when you still got

situations? I'll tell you what you do. You don't

give up. That's what you don't do. You don't

walk away. You don't throw in the towel. You

don't say, forget it. It's not worth it. You've

got to learn how to. inquire of the Lord and

say, God, if you're not going to remove it, at

least show me why God is here.