The Causes and Cure for Spiritual Inconsistency

Today on Summit Life with Jiddy Greer. Where are we saying I can't but God says in actuality you won't. You see you need to start looking at your life like the unconquered territory of the promised land of Canaan and you need to look at those areas of your life where you feel like I can't obey God here and realize that where you say can't God says won't. Welcome to Summit Life featuring pastor, author and theologian Jiddy Greer.

I'm your host Molly Vidovich. On today's program we're launching a new study in the book of Judges called Broken Saviors. Over the next few weeks we'll discover that we're a lot like the Israelites who let fear get in the way of their progress. Today we kick off the series with a message meant to illuminate something that plagues us all. Spiritual inconsistency.

Can anyone relate to that? Now to get better acquainted with pastor J.D. and to see the wide variety of resources available to you stop by jdgreer.com. But right now let's get started with today's message called the causes and cure for spiritual inconsistency. If you got your Bibles this weekend I invite you to take them out and open them to the book of Judges. The book of Judges which is in what we call the Old Testament. The first of the Testaments that God gave. I think it's like the seventh book Genesis, Exodus, Davidicus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges. Take out your Bible and open it there.

If you'll find it you can keep your place there for the next several weeks because we're doing a beginning of a series through it called Broken Saviors. As you're opening your Bible there I will tell you that my wife and I always say that we have been married for 12 wonderful years. Even though we've actually been married for a total of 14 years we've just had enough rough seasons that we can't honestly include them in the 12 wonderful years.

So we say we've been married for 12 wonderful years and two other ones for a total of 14. For a few of our first years those rough seasons involved ironically enough are vacations. We could not be more opposite when it comes to a philosophy of vacations. My wife likes to have no real plan going into a vacation which is what in her mind makes it a vacation. She points out that's what the word means is that you vacate. So her daily activities are get up and get a bagel.

That's it. That's one day of vacation. Me, I'm the opposite. I have our day planned out in five minute increments. I get up and I think well if we get out by sunrise we can see the turtles do their morning routine and then head over to the planetarium at 10.05. We can see a movie there, come home for 18 minutes of downtime.

Then there's a new hot dog place I heard about and just that's how the whole day goes. So it has caused a considerable amount of strife and annoyance but we couldn't be more opposite. One redeeming thing that has helped though is that we both have a love for museums on vacation. I know that puts us in total nerd life but it's kind of the foundation of our relationship, a love for history and anything.

It annoys our kids. They're not into it yet but we both love going in and catching a snapshot of an entire epic of history, understanding the people, a movement, just all kind of in a glance. Well the reason I share that is because the book of Judges is somewhat like a museum of Israel's spiritual history. Particularly the first two chapters that we're going to look at today because in them you're going to see a snapshot of Israel's rather rocky history with God. You're going to see Israel go up and down in their faith. You're going to see how they're sometimes hot, sometimes cold.

Most often they're just lukewarm. There are certain temptations that no matter how hard they try they just can't seem to shake them. I feel like it's something that most of us can relate to. Do you ever find yourself asking why is it that you go up and down so much spiritually? A lot of us feel like we are spiritually bipolar. You're like, is that even a spiritual condition? If it is, that's what I am. One week you're super Christian.

The next week you're not even sure you believe. Or do you ever ask yourself why are there some sins that no matter how many resolutions I make I just can't seem to get rid of these things? Why is it that I have so little joy spiritually? Everybody else seems to have so much joy.

I see them at church and they've got their little Bible and they've got their smile on their face and they're saying bless you brother. I just don't feel like that all the time. I struggle.

I feel like I drag myself along. Those people by the way are liars and fakes just so you know. One of my core principles as a pastor is everyone is screwed up once you get to know them. If you can't see that they're screwed up you just don't know them that well.

That includes me. That's where most of us are which makes these first two chapters of Israel's spiritual struggles I think so helpful for me. You're going to see I think your struggle and their struggle and out of their struggles we're going to draw three kind of guiding principles that the writer of Judges used to shape the rest of the book.

The book opens like this chapter 1 verse 1. After the death of Joshua, Joshua you might recall is the mighty warrior general who had led Israel into Canaan. He had led through things like the battle of Jericho. He was a very victorious captain. He was a hero but when he died there were still large parts of the area of Canaan that had yet to be conquered.

It was a huge area so they weren't done. So the people of Israel inquire of the Lord verse 1 who will go up first for us against the remaining Canaanites to fight against them now that Joshua is dead. The Lord said Judah shall go up the tribe of Judah behold I've given the land into his hand. Well things start out great Judah went up the Lord gave the Canaanites and the Parisites into their hand and defeated 10,000 of them at Bezak. Verse 6 Adonai Bezak which literally in Hebrew means the king of Bezak Adonai Bezak he fled and they pursued him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes because that's just what you do. Verse 7 and Adonai Bezak said 70 kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table as I have done so God has repaid me. If you will allow me to digress for just a moment one of the problems that people sometimes have with the book of Judges is they ask how could God send an Israel to conquer a people this looks like a religious crusade and it looks unjust.

That is a good question but let me at least point out to you King Adonai Bezak's perspective on this whole ordeal. He did not say God this is so unfair he said God you have repaid me for my wickedness. Listen in Deuteronomy 18 and Leviticus 18 God made clear to Israel that he was driving the Canaanites out because of their excessive wickedness. Israel was his instrument of judgment. These were not innocent people that Israel was stealing land from they were cruel and wicked people that God was bringing judgment upon and Israel was his instrument of justice. Now you say that sounds like a very dangerous mentality people taking on themselves the mantle of God to be his instruments of justice and that is true.

People who adopt that mentality today commit horrific acts of injustice the difference is that Israel had a very clear mandate and very clear instructions from God. God simply does not do that anymore. With the coming of Jesus God began a new way of working in the world. Jesus came on a saving mission and those who follow him participate in that saving mission. He did not come to bring justice he came to extend mercy he did not take life he laid his life down. So those of us who follow him today are not the instruments of judgment on the world we are the instruments of mercy.

It is true that one day King Jesus will bring judgment and justice to the world but our role now is dispensing mercy not judgment and anyone who today claims they are on a mandate from God to bring judgment is either lying or they are pathologically deceived. You say oh but surely in these conquests there were innocent people affected like I mean if no one else the kids were innocent and that is true innocent people sometimes get caught up in judgment. But realize that is not just something that happens in judges it happens today. For example if a man cheats on his wife or cheats in his business and he loses his marriage and his job you might look at him and say well he brought that on himself and you would be right.

But what about his kids? They suffer too and the suffering they endure because of the sins of their father they had no part in. Well there are multiple ways that the Bible answers the question of why God allows the innocent to be caught up in someone else's judgment. But one thing that it assures you is that before the throne of God everyone receives full complete and impartial justice and that what we inherit in eternity is going to make anything we experience in our earthly life seem rather trivial. Think of it like this.

This is the best analogy I could come up with so it's not great but bear with me. Imagine that you discovered the post office had overcharged you 48 cents on a stamp. So you go down to the post office to complain and in response to your complaint they absolve you from any future responsibility to pay income taxes. You would say that on the whole your interaction with the U.S. government was fairly positive.

Am I correct? It's not that you couldn't complain about the stamp it's just that in light of what you received it's hard to complain about 48 cents when they've forgiven you with thousands of dollars of income taxes. By the way that's never going to happen.

Don't go try it and then send me a note like it didn't work. Okay I'm just using a ridiculous hypothetical. Well see what happens to us on earth compared to what we receive in eternity is like that 48 cents versus the huge gift of the freedom from income taxes. All people die and so when these kids died in this they got caught in this it's like God was collecting them early and what they received before the throne of God was full and complete and fair and what they receive in eternity makes anything they experience on earth seem rather trivial.

I know that doesn't answer the question fully but hopefully at least gives you a place to begin thinking or to do further research but let's get back to the story. Okay verse 19, and the Lord was with Judah he took possession of the hill country but he could not word could is really key he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. Well that makes sense of course chariots of iron. These were like the tanks of the ancient world just a couple dozen of them could mow down thousands of foot soldiers and all Israel had were foot soldiers. So of course they could not conquer these people because these people had chariots of iron that's why they couldn't drive them out. Verse 27, and Manasseh the tribe of Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shean and its villages or Tanakh or Dor or the Klingons and the Ewoks and all the rest of the people that are mentioned there. Here's why for the Canaanites there were determined to dwell in that land.

Well you see these people were just really difficult. Israel asked them politely to leave then they raised their voice then they sent some angry letters then they mounted a few attacks but these people were stubborn they were just determined to stay. So eventually Israel said okay well let's put a line a little piece of tape like in your room and you stay on your side I'll stay on my side you don't bother me I won't bother you. That makes sense ah even better verse 28 when Israel grew strong they put those Canaanites to force labor.

Well that's a win-win right that's even better now we get some free labor out of it. This is Summit Life with Pastor JD Greer. We'll return for the conclusion of today's teaching in just a moment but I wanted to quickly introduce you to our new resource just released today. Sometimes we have big questions and we need to know how to give answers for the hope we have. We just created a new resource to help you answer a few of those ethical and theological questions equipping you to be ready to engage in these hard topics with grace and love and truth. Pastor JD's new book takes 16 questions and answers them for you in just a few pages. A couple examples are is it okay to get divorced and is there such a thing as unanswered prayers?

We'd like to encourage you to reserve your copy of Honest Questions Quick Answers right now by calling 866-335-5220 that's 866-335-5220 or visit us online at jdgreer.com. Thanks for being with us today now let's finish up today's teaching here's Pastor JD. Tim Keller who wrote an excellent commentary on judges that I'll be using a lot during the series says, taken on its own terms chapter one of the book of Judges reads like a collection of Israel's press releases about their campaign. It's their spin on why they weren't as successful as we and God might have expected. As you read Judges chapter one we are lulled into sympathy with the Israelites. We are told they could not drive out the Canaanites and we are inclined to agree.

They did their best and they found a more economical solution to boot they got some free labor out of the deal. All in all pretty savvy if you ask me but then comes God's assessment verse two of chapter two you have not obeyed my voice period. Look at that verse two I brought you up from Egypt I brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers yet you have not obeyed my voice what is this that you have done so now I say I will not drive them out before you but they shall become thorns in your side and their gods will become a snare to you.

Here is lesson number one small areas of disbelief produce large areas of disaster. These Canaanites that they left in the land became a thorn in the Israelite side a source of constant warfare. Eventually some of these people like the Philistines would rise up and subjugate them. Israel response to God is but God we couldn't drive them out we tried. God says actually it's not that you can't it's that you won't it has nothing to do with you not being strong enough because it's never been about your strength it has only to do with you not being confident enough in my grace. Don't you remember Jericho was there anything about your strength that had to do with the walls falling down all you did was march around it seven times and holler I was the one who knocked the walls down if I knocked the walls down at Jericho don't you think I could continue to take care of these Canaanites here is a question that you and I should ask ourselves where are we saying I can't but God says in actuality you won't. You see you need to start looking at your life like the unconquered territory of the promised land of Canaan and you need to look at those areas of your life where you feel like I can't obey God here and realize that where you say can't God says won't. Where are you saying that in your life here are a few areas that I thought of by way of example maybe it has to do with your integrity you say well God if I were totally honest in my job I would lose it you can't be expected to play fairly in this career field and survive maybe it has to do with extending forgiveness God I know that I'm supposed to forgive him or her but I can't I'm just not there yet God maybe it's avoiding some kind of sexual temptation you say I know the Bible says it's wrong but I just can't say no a lot of times people will begin to rationalize their behavior and they'll say well I the Bible can't really mean that this is wrong because it just feels so natural to me I love the person it makes me happy doesn't God want me to be happy it's just who I am I really can't say no maybe that compromise is being in a relationship you know you shouldn't be in I know all kinds of single people who get in or stay in relationships that they know they shouldn't be in because well God I'm just afraid of being lonely so I'm going to have to do this my way in this section I'm not going to trust you to provide because I need this one of the most common compromise areas I see is in the area of financial faithfulness generosity well God I can barely afford things the way they are much less be generous give you the first fruits of what you give to me I can't afford that I know wealthy people who say I'm just not sure the church is the best investment for the future I know people who begin to cut out interaction with God's kingdom in their life with God's people because they say I got to work all the time all these areas are areas that the enemy sets up a little camp where you say I can't and God says nope it's not that you can it's that you won't and these areas become the areas of defeat where the enemy brings cursing into your life a great example that's that forgiveness one Paul said in Ephesians that when you refuse to forgive somebody it becomes a foothold a literal outpost in the promised land of your heart that Satan puts his soldiers in that he uses to tear apart the entire land Israel at this point listen to this had not ceased to be zealously religious they just ceased to walk by faith and there is a huge difference in those two because the mark that you are walking by faith is full and absolute and unconditional and uncompromised obedience you see there are two ways to approach a relationship with God one way is a way that you really do your own thing but you do enough that you feel like you'll keep God happy so that you can use him as a safety net this is the vast majority of people in church the other way to approach God is you yield him complete and total control because you trust him completely the only question you have in every area is what does God want over the years I've used an illustration to kind of depict these two ways of approaching God and it has a story to go with it if you've been around here you've heard me use it before but I'll I'll review it for you again the illustration is repelling when I was 16 years old I was with a group of friends that we used to rock climb in the weekends it probably wasn't the smartest activity that we did none of us knew what we were doing but I'm alive today so anyway the one of our friends read something in the book about going repelling and managed to convince the rest of us that he knew how to repel so we all gullible 16 year olds go up to the you know hanging rock state park and we're going to repel he somehow I get volunteered to go first which I'm not sure still how that happened but I remember standing there as he kind of you know ties it into the little belay system whatever they call that and he tells me um I've got a 75 foot drop behind me he's like now you're supposed to just lean back I don't know if you've ever done this or you remember that moment but you're like what just I mean just just lean back and the rope will catch you there's nothing in you that is going to do that at the if I if my manhood had not been on the line there is no way that I would have done it but at 16 years old your manhood is always on the line and so I stood there and I remember like my everybody was kind of staring at me and I was like uh and I remember I kid you not I asked Jesus to come into my heart again because I just wanted to make sure um this is a long time before I wrote that book stop asking Jesus in your heart um I did this just in case those guys were right I just wanted to have all my bases covered and I remember holding on to that rope and I remember like leaning back and I kept you know rocking and eventually I felt you know kind of wait give and I'm falling backwards and it's just like here it is this is the end and and then you you catch and there I am I'm like you know perpendicular with the rock and parallel with the ground and I'm looking straight up into my friend's face and he's like okay now you gotta jump and let go of the rope and uh so I worked up every ounce of courage that I could muster and I leap with all of my might and I jump probably an inch and a half I mean you're barely perceptible it's like he's like did you jump I was like yep he's like you gotta do it again so I did it again and I five feet 10 feet 20 feet because I'm a really fast learner and um get down to the ground well my best friend was um next uh my best friend was even more afraid of heights than I was I say best friend he was better looking than I was he was more athletic girls were more into him than me I hated this kid but he was my best friend and so he was like I said scared of heights I can see him from 75 feet below I can see his whole body just like just shaking and he stood there for no lie like 10 minutes for 10 minutes he didn't move he just stood there and eventually I saw him take his leg and kind of reach it down the rock face and find like a you know one of the foothold and he reached his other leg down and he found another foothold and he begins to work his way down the rock face well he gets to a point on the rock face the rock face was kind of shaped like this like a real sharp angle there and then it curves and then it was inverted if you're a decent rock climber you can climb on a you know this angle but unless you're built like Chris Gaynor you're not going to be able to climb on an inverted rock face and so um he gets to that vertex in the the wall and he kind of hovers there and he looks for a foothold and eventually he just climbs back up now if you had been watching us from a distance it would look roughly like we were doing the same thing we're both using a rope we're both coming down the mountain but there's a world of difference between rock climbing and using a rope as a safety net and actually repelling because when you're rock climbing and using the rope as a safety net your confidence is really in your arms and your legs to move up and down the rock and you're just using the rope there if you fall whereas when you're repelling you have shifted the weight of your body off of your arms and legs and onto the rope entirely there is a picture in that for you of what it means to walk by faith versus being religious there are a number of people who are religious still using their arms and legs to get through life and they got God kind of tipped off so that he's there when they need him but that is not the life of faith the life of faith is a life that has yielded full and complete confidence and trust onto the rope that is God's promises and your only question is where and how so if you are a religious person what you find is that you're going to come to some points like that vertex where you can no longer go on in obedience and that's when you just go back the other way you stop obeying God financially you stop obeying him in the area of waiting on him if you are single for the choice that God has any number of areas you're going to just not be able to obey and you're going to feel like you can't but God said it's a more fundamental problem and that is you won't because you've never actually learned to trust me Israel's compromise started with a failure of belief all sins start with a failure of belief again you got to start seeing your life like the unconquered promised land of Canaan lurking in every crevice of your heart are your own little Canaanites of unbelief and sin and you got to send out warriors of faith to subjugate them which is why we say you got to preach the gospel to every part of your life to your worries your ambitions your goals your temptations your security your needs you got to drive out the enemy from your heart because those areas of unconquered territory become the means by which the enemy enslaves you you're listening to summit life and pastor jd and pastor jd greer is just getting started in this new teaching series called broken saviors and we have a new resource for you this month that also covers some strange but brutally honest topics like we find in the book of judges we have created a second volume of honest questions quick answers this new book by pastor jd is full of questions and answers like what is an idol and is it okay to ask for success and is gambling morally wrong let's make sure you get that as soon as possible we'll send you this new release as our way of saying thanks for your financial gift of 35 or more to support this ministry and for a small additional donation we also have volume one available for those who missed it the first time be sure to ask about it when you call join this mission today when you give by calling 866-335-5220 or go online to give at jdgrier.com while you're on the website don't forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter get ministry updates information about new resources and pastor jd's latest blog post delivered straight to your inbox sign up when you go to jdgrier.com i'm molly vinovich inviting you to listen again next week at this same time pastor jd greer will continue his message called the causes and cure for spiritual inconsistency that's right here on summit life today's program was produced and sponsored by jd greer ministries you