SPEAKER_01
0:20 Well, this has been a good week together, gentlemen, talking about true spirituality. 0:24 What does it look like to be a man of God, to fight sin, and to fight to be the kind of men we're meant to be? 0:30 And it begins by understanding that we were fought for, that Jesus' arrival was a landed invasion and a rescue operation, transferring us out of darkness into the kingdom of the beloved Son. 0:40 And now spirituality is one movement with two parts, away from the ways I used to live, used to think that some of my buddies still do, that were stealing life from me and towards the activities that promote the life I was meant to live under God. 0:52 And so I understand that's not done in a vacuum. 0:55 I got an enemy coming after me. 0:56 He wants to tempt me, deceive me into thinking life will be found away from obedience to God. 1:02 And so when I understand that, I identify how he's coming after me, I eliminate the moment of temptation, I process downstream its result and upstream its deception. 1:11 And so I don't buy into the lie. 1:12 I become a good student of myself for the sake of my sanctification. 1:17 And now here at the end of the week, I just want to say the best defense against sin ultimately is a good offense. 1:24 The best defense is a good offense. 1:28 I remember the first time I bought a house, we had all these weeds in our yard. 1:31 And so I was pulling all these weeds, but they would come back. 1:33 And I remember talking to a yard guy, and he was like, you know, man, there's a place for pulling weeds, and it's pretty good to do. 1:38 And he goes, but I'll tell you what, you just cultivate the grass that's there. 1:43 Keep mowing it, keep feeding it, keep seeding it, keep watering it. 1:46 And what'll happen is the proliferation of grass will run out a lot of these weeds you have left. 1:53 That promoting what's healthy will actually choke out some of what's unhealthy. 1:58 I'd never heard that before, but it makes a lot of sense for us too. 2:01 One of the greatest battles against sin for us is to pursue intimacy with God, that I fight for a superior enjoyment. 2:11 Christianity is not against fun, it's against fun that costs too much in the end. 2:18 But Paul said in Philippians 3, 7, I count all things to be loss, rubbish, in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. 2:29 I'm gonna choose the better thing. 2:31 It's interesting the Puritans would often talk about this. 2:34 How do you dislodge a beautiful thing from the human heart? 2:37 They'd say. 2:38 If I'm really in love with some sin, some temptation, how do I ultimately dislodge this beautiful thing from the human heart? 2:45 Their answer, you replace it with a more beautiful thing. 2:51 Augustine, the great theologian, was a powerful orator, which made him very successful, which totally fed his ego, and also funded his sex addiction. 3:01 Probably the greatest thinker, second only to the Apostle Paul himself, was completely captured by sin. 3:06 And the more he got to know God and wanted to live a life that made a difference, he felt, hey, these things I was going to to find life are actually stealing from me what I ultimately want to be as a man. 3:16 And so he would pray, God, give me chastity, but maybe not yet. 3:20 And so you can read the confessions of Augustine. 3:22 He is struggling until he reads Romans 13, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh. 3:31 It's not just taking off the sin, it's putting on something better. 3:35 And he put his faith in Jesus, and he wrote this in his confessions how sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose. 3:47 You drove them from me. 3:49 You who are the true sovereign joy. 3:52 You drove them from me and took their place. 3:55 You who are sweeter than all pleasure. 3:58 Friend, the Christian life has a big no to it. 4:01 There's things you just can't do like you used to. 4:04 But there's also a big yes. 4:06 And it's not just yes to duty, it's a yes to delight. 4:10 It's a yes to enjoyment. 4:11 Psalm 16 says, In God's presence there's fullness of joy, and his right hand are pleasures forevermore. 4:19 I remember watching a friend come to faith and start hanging out with a group of us, other godly men. 4:25 And I'll never forget one time he looked up at us and said, Guys, I just didn't think it was possible to have this much fun sober. 4:31 It's like, what a tragic statement about your past life, but what a deception that you had believed that by inebriation only can I find enjoyment in life. 4:41 And what he found was no running with some brothers towards purpose in life, that is actually more deeply satisfying. 4:47 The best defense against sin is a good offense that I'm going to be a part of what God's doing in the world. 4:53 So let me encourage you, friend, what's the next step of obedience you can take? 4:57 Pray. 4:58 Here is your driving, here's your reading. 5:00 However, we're engaging in this devotional together. 5:02 Start by having an honest conversation with God. 5:04 Read the word that you don't just fill your mind with trash through your screens, but fill it with scripture to change the way your mind thinks. 5:11 But then join with some brothers, join with your church and do some things that are worthwhile. 5:15 Do some things that build up your community, not tear it down. 5:18 I've seen so many young men say, I have found more joy and satisfaction by banding together with some brothers and accomplishing something of worth and church than I ever found in my old life. 5:29 And I want to encourage you, friend, God's not trying to steal from you. 5:32 He is a fountain of living water that wells up into eternal life. 5:36 God wants to bless your marriage, your friendships, your work. 5:41 God wants to work in you and through you. 5:43 And so, friend, the best defense against your sin is a good offense. 5:48 I'm going to pursue redemptive practices for the glory of God and the good of my heart and the good of everybody he's put around me that I can influence. 5:55 So let me encourage you now, friends, start praying and ask him, God, what's the next positive step I can take? 6:01 That, yeah, I need to fight against sin, but let me pursue joy in you. 6:05 What would it look like to enjoy you? 6:07 Uh for me, when I started writing that down, I said, I love being outdoors and I love going outdoors and reading the Bible. 6:15 I love going places like that where I can sit with God and have my affection stirred for him because the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. 6:25 I want to enjoy God because the more I do that, the more sin doesn't look enjoyable at all. 6:31 So pursue righteousness, friend, along with those who call out to the Lord out of a pure heart, and know that we're cheering you on along the way. 6:38 God bless you, brother.