War Between Your Selves (Romans 7)
There is a famous phrase, ‘Jekyll and Hyde.’ Probably most of you
have heard this phrase. The phrase ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ is used to refer to someone
whose actions cannot be reconciled with each other. In some sense we all have
Jekyll and Hyde within us. Everyone of us in this room has a war between Jekyll
and Hyde within ourselves. We all want to do good and live a moral life, but
none of us feels satisfied and can say “I have attained the goal.” There is a
reason for this. It is because inside of ourselves there is a desire for evil (“sinful
nature”) as well as a desire for good. In Romans 7:21 the Apostle
Paul says, “So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil
is right there with me!” The problem is that a desire for evil is stronger than
a desire for good. So Paul cries out in despair, “I know that nothing good
lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is
good, but I cannot carry it out… What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me
from this body of death?” (vv. 18, 24) Therefore, none of us can win the
battle. This is man’s natural state. But this is not the end! When we
become a Christian, the battle changes. The deepest parts of ourselves
transform, so that for the first time our most inner being delights in the law
of God. Pastor Timothy Keller rightly says when we become a Christian, “we
move from a battle we cannot win to a battle we cannot lose.”[1]
“Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (v. 25)
Daily Triumph Brings Great Triumph
The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Yes, we still fight a
battle. But it’s a totally different kind of battle. Now we Christians fight
the battle we cannot lose. However, it doesn’t mean we automatically win
the battle. We must take up our position and do our part. In this respect, we
can learn form Joseph how to overcome temptation to evil and win the battle.
The first principle is this: daily triumph brings great triumph. What
does it mean by that? In today’s passage Joseph faces the greatest test of his
life when he is the most vulnerable. The tempter came to Jesus when he had just
finished a 40 day fast. We see temptations increase when we feel exhausted,
discouraged, and vulnerable. Now temptation of the most enticing kind is
lurking and dangled before Joseph. It is bold, pushy, and persistent kinds of
temptation. The Bible says Potiphar’s wife kept putting pressure on Joseph day
after day (Gen 39:10, NLT) But Joseph conquers! He wins the battle! How can
it be possible? What is the secret of Joseph’s power? His great triumph
is not the triumph of the moment of battle, but it is in the preparation that
precedes the battle. Joseph learned and suffered and trusted in the days
before. In other words, there is no great triumph without daily triumph.
We all love the story of David and Goliath. We tend to think David’s
triumph is mere good luck and the triumph of the moment of battle. But in fact,
it was not. David was well prepared for his triumph over Goliath. In King Saul’s
eyes, David is only a young and inexperienced boy and Goliath has been a
warrior from his youth (1 Sam 17:33 ). But David tells Saul a
story. He tells about his daily triumph. He says, “I have so much experience
fighting and winning the battle against lions and bears in my everyday life.
Today this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them!” (vv. 34-36) David’s
triumph is not the triumph of the moment of battle. He was prepared and learned
and won the daily battles in the days before. When great adversity came, David
was able to conquer. Daily triumph brings great triumph. There is no great
triumph without daily triumph.
Living Coram Deo
The essence of the Christian life is our daily walk with Jesus.
How do you exercise daily in your walk with Jesus? For Joseph, he lived Coram
Deo. Coram Deo is a Latin phrase translated “in the presence of God.”
To live Coram Deo is
to live our entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of
God, and to the honor and glory of God. Joseph constantly stood before the
face of God. He refused to accept the enticement of Potiphar’s wife. What was
the reason? He said to her, “How then can I do such a wicked thing and sin against
God?” (Gen 39:9) Joseph lived Coram Deo. When we practice Coram
Deo, when we practice the presence of God, other people begin to notice God’s
presence with us. When Joseph was sold and became Potiphar’s slave, the Bible
says, “His master could see that the Lord was with him, because the Lord
made everything that he did prosper” (v. 3, ISV). When Joseph was wrongly
accused and put in prison, the Bible says, “The chief jailer did not supervise
anything under Joseph’s charge because the Lord was with him” (v. 23, NASB). The
head jailer could see that the Lord was with Joseph! When Joseph was called and
spoke before Pharaoh, the king could see something different. He said, “Can we
find anyone else like this - someone in whom the Spirit of God lives?” (41:38
ISV) When we place top priority on Coram Deo, “constantly standing in
the presence of God,” our life changes. And people around us also begin to
notice that.
Another good example is David. For him, living in God’s presence
mattered most. When he sinned, he prayed, “Do not cast me away from Your
presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” (Ps. 51: 11).
David did not pray, “Do not take my crown from me. Do not take my army from me.
Do not take my family from me.” David knew what mattered most. The presence of
God! In Psalm 139 David acknowledges God’s omnipresence, “Where can I go from
your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” He then listed
the various places he found God: in the heavens… in the depths… on the far side
of the sea. Basically, David found God everywhere. Our version might be like
this: “Where can I flee from your presence? If I go to the rehab clinic… the
nursing home… the ICU… the doctor’s office… even there you would guide me.”[2]
David concludes his prayer in this way, “Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting” (vv. 23-24). Let’s do likewise. Let’s make
God’s presence our top priority. Let’s make God’s presence our passion.
When David was fleeing from Saul and living in the wilderness, some
people came to him, and David became their leader. 1 Samuel 22:2 says, “All
those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and
he became their leader. About four hundred men were with him” (1 Sam 22:2). Basically,
the 400 men were social misfits and troublemakers. But the amazing thing is
David did not become like one of them. Instead, those 400 men became like
David. At first, they were worthless men and troublemakers, but later they
became founding contributors and leaders. How can it be possible? It is because
David spent more time with God than with those 400 men. That’s why he
was able to face daily challenge and transform his men in the end. In Psalm 25:15
David says, “My eyes look to the LORD continually, because he's the one
who releases my feet from the trap” (ISV). If we just focus on traps and
problems, we will never overcome them. But when we fix our eyes on God’s
presence constantly, we are safe. And we win the battle.
Practicing the Presence of God
The more we live in the presence of God, the more our life becomes a
life of integrity. We live a life of consistency,
coherency and unity. We become a same person in church and out of church. We
become a same person as a spouse and parent at home and as an employee at work,
because God is omnipresent, and we live before his face all the time. Now we
know living in God’s presence matters most. But still one question remains: How
do live in the presence of God? Because it does not just happen. We need to
practice the prescience of God. So how can we cultivate the consciousness of
God’s presence? I asked this question when I had a Bible study at Gardiner this
past Thursday. One person said, “Talk to God constantly!” Another said, “Come
to the Bible study.” For me, personally, missionary Frank Laubach’s advice was tremendously
helpful. In his book Frank Laubach provides us with very practical exercises of
the presence of God. He says when in conversation, have a picture or symbol of
Christ in front of you. When at the table, have an empty chair for your
Invisible Guest. When reading a book or newspaper, have a conversation with him
inwardly about the pages you are reading. While cooking, washing dishes, and
caring for children, hum or sing favorite hymns.[3]
How do you like it? For me, personally, nowadays I have a picture of Christ on
my desk both at home and at church office as a constant reminder. And I talk to
him and ask him continually. I sing hymns especially when I am exhausted and
discouraged. There are many ways to practice the presence of God. But the key
is this practice should be intentional.
Our battle with the enemy is fierce. He prowls around like a roaring
lion. But our Lord Jesus Christ promised, “In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world.” We are weak and powerless in our
sinful nature, but God sent his own Son in our messy lives. And he gave himself
as a sacrifice for our sins (Rom 8:3). He already had triumph over the enemy by
the cross once for all (Col 2:15b). Let us remember this: in Christ we fight
a battle we cannot lose. We fight from victory, not for victory.
Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment