Matthew 6:24 – Get Out – Bible study

Matthew 6:24, 1John 3:8 Get Out Notice that our text mentions two masters and makes it clear, every human being serves either on or the other. Their names are Jehovah God and Satan. I want to make three statements in my introduction that should shock you. It may not because many of you have heard them before, but I want to emphasize them today in such a way that you really grasp them. 1. We are born serving Satan. 2. Manymosthave never stopped. Matthew 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. a. There is only one way to stop. b. You must move out of his kingdom. 3. The chief evidence of Satans influence in our life is sin. 1John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil. a. We all take sin too lightly. (1) Sin is the tale-tale sign that we are still living in Satans kingdom. (2) The more we sin and the greater our transgressions, the more enveloped into the devils kingdom we are. b. Satan and his kingdom have influenced us so much, that much of our "natural" behavior has been shaped and molded by them. John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. (1) We lie because our first king was a liar, and he influenced us to do so. (2) We steal because our first king was a thief, and he influenced us to do so. (3) We lust, are short tempered, are jealous, are lazy and so forth, because of the influences of our first king and his kingdom upon our lives. c. Now, that is not to lay on the blame of our sinful behavior on Satan. (1) The truth is that he may have put the carrot in front of us, but we all bite into it willfully. (2) We deliberately sought the joys and pleasures that we thought sin would bring us. (3) The Bible often speaks of the temporal pleasures that sin brings. Romans 1:32 Who (the lost) knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. 2Peter 2:12-13 brute beaststhat count it pleasure to riot in the day time. 2Thess 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. d. However, at some point, every sinful human being gets utterly sick of their sinfulness. (1) The drunk gets sick to death of his binge drinking. (2) The druggie gets sick of his need for a fix. (3) The sex addict gets sick of his need for lust. (4) The liar gets sick of his lying tongue. If you are at that point, it is time to move out of the devils kingdom. How do you do that? Let me give you three actions we must do. I am going to break these down into three separate acts although they really should happen at the SAME time. I. Reject King Satan A. Like it or not, Satan is the Lord and Master of all those born on this earth. 1. In this text, Jesus called Satan our master. 2. 2Cor 4:4 calls him the "god of this world." 2Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 3. Eph 2:2 calls him the "prince and power of the air." Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 4. While we cannot blame all our sinfulness upon Satan, it is accurate to say that a person who is under Satans lordship is going to do what Satan wants. 5. People are like cattle driven to the slaughter. Satan is directing and prodding us, but we are walking to the slaughter on our own legs. B. Even so, you dont have to continue having him as your king. 1. Jehovah God sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross so that you would have a choice. Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 1John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 2. The Bible emphasizes that the choice of which king you will serve is now completely yours. Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. 3. If you will acknowledge your sinfulness before God and accept what Jesus Christ has done for you, you may be wonderfully and gloriously saved. C. With that salvation, comes an instantons transfer out of Satans power and domain. Col 1:12 Giving thanks unto the Father 13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: D. The first step to being free from your sins is to reject the wicked king you serve. II. Leave Satans kingdom. A. Few seek the right direction (turning to God through Jesus Christ). 1. Some, however, do. (Hopefully, that is what each of you have done.) 2. But many of those who do, still do not leave the old kingdom. a. They still talk as they learned in their old kingdom. b. They still dress as they learned in their old kingdom. c. They still drink the same drinks, go to the same clubs, abuse the same chemicals, lose their temper the same way, handle their money in the same way, view the same kinds of images, listen to the same kinds of music, treat their family members in the same ways, and so forth. 3. Too many are like Lots wife. a. \#Ge 19:26\ She had left Sodom and Gomorrah, but she looked back and longed for it. b. She was out of the city but the city was not out of her. (1) So some say that they have deposed Satan as their king and exalted Jesus Christ to the throne, but they still want to live in Satans kingdom. (2) They enjoy living there. (a) Maybe they dont like all the repercussions but they dont hate them enough to leave it. (b) Theres too much of the old kingdom still inside them. (c) And as long as they enjoy living there, they will never be any more free than was Lots wife. 4. You cannot completely rid yourself of your old master if you dont leave his old kingdom. B. How do we leave the old kingdom behind. 1. We must develop a new attitude toward your old sins. 1Peter 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: 11 Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. a. "Eschew" means to hate. b. Those who are traveling in the right direction on the right road, are to hate evil and do good. c. How do we know what good and bad are? Only through the Bible. d. This is a new attitude toward the things that we once took pleasure in doing. (1) Important question – Do we still enjoy the sins you engaged in when you were lost? (2) We must answer honestly. (3) Do we enjoy the occasional night out on the town? the buzz of the stimulants in your system? the excitement at viewing something you should not? (4) Until we change our attitude, and utterly hate sin, we will never get out of Satans kingdom! 2. We must confess your sins to Jesus. a. People like to think their sins are a private matter but they are not. (1) Sins are a spiritual matter. (2) That makes it a matter between you and God and whoever God brings into your life to help you. (3) By the way, you may want to keep it a secret, but after a certain point, God does not. b. When a true believer willfully sins, he commits an act of treason against God. (1) I selected the word TREASON on purpose. (2) It has not only the right definition but the right connotation. (3) Word web (an internet dictionary gives three definitions: (a) A crime that undermines the offenders government. (Sin undermines Gods rule in our life.) (b) Disloyalty by virtue of subversive behavior. (Sin is a rebellious behavior against God.) (c) An act of deliberate betrayal. (4) A willful sin is all of those. Hebrews 10:28 He that despised Moses law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath TRODDEN UNDER FOOT THE SON OF GOD, and hath COUNTED THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT, wherewith he was sanctified, AN UNHOLY THING, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? c. The Bible demands that we confess our sinfulness to God for such an act. 1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1) The word confess means to agree with God in our heart, but it also implies to specifically name our sin as sin with our mouths. (2) The idea is to first have a heart change about our sin and then to name our sin and tell God we now understand how wicked we were in committing it. (3) If we have changed our attitude about this sin and now you truly do hate it, there should also be some sorrow and remorse with it. (4) There may or may not be tears but there should certainly be a brokenness that is not soon forgotten. James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. III. Surrender yourself to Christ. A. This is not just a message of moving out. It is also a message of moving in. 1. Certainly we must depose the devil as our king, but at the same moment, we are installing Jesus Christ as our King. 2. We are moving out of the devils kingdom, but we are moving into Gods kingdom. B. What most people want to hear is that there is a third option. 1. You can be part of the devils kingdom or 2. You can be part of Gods kingdom or 3. You can be an independent kingdom. C. There is no third option. 1. All the time that you have thought you were doing what you wanted, you have really been doing what your master the devil wanted. 2. There are only two kingdoms and only two masters. D. I speak often of repentance. 1. I do so because I know for a fact that many religious people are like I was, lost. 2. They believe most or even all the right things, but they never surrendered to God as their Master. 3. Repentance is moving out of the devils kingdom AND moving into Gods. 4. You have NOT repented until you have done both. E. Gods kingdom is the kingdom of freedom. 1. It is not the freedom to do whatever you would like. Many say that, but it is not true. 2. It is the freedom to do whatever you ought to do. a. A drug addict does not have the freedom to walk away from his drugs. Only those in Gods kingdom can do that. b. A liar, luster, a thief, a pervert, a blasphemer, a coward, a drunkard, a worrier, a jealous person does not have the freedom to walk away from their vice. c. Only those in Gods kingdom do. 3. But those in Gods kingdom are not free to go back into sin. a. If they do not, they will surrender their freedom and be again entangled in the chains of those vices. b. Even worse, the fact that they are in bondage to sin may be indicating that they never were saved at all. 1John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil. c. There is a fine line between being AWOL and desertion! (1) AWOL is being absent without leave. (2) Desertion is quitting. (3) The only difference is time. (4) My understanding is that the military gives you 30 days. (5) Just how long has it been since you left God? F. I tell you this upfront because this is the cost of being free. 1. Too many ignorant and foolish people think freedom is free. 2. Freedom is never free. a. Someone always has to pay for it. b. Patriots and soldiers do it every day. c. They surrender their own freedom to defend ours. d. Some even surrender their limbs and their lives. 3. You might be thinking, "I thought Jesus paid the price for my freedom." a. He did. He died on the cross so that you could be free. b. However, just like every generation has to pay a price to maintain our nation freedom, so every Christians has to pay a price to maintain his spiritual freedom. c. The price – Stay in Gods kingdom and out of Satans camp.