“god’s at war!” – (little g) Imagine you have this cough that won’t stop. It starts small but keeps getting worse and worse. After a while it’s keeping you up at night, starting to affect you, your family, your job, your conversations… You’ve tried everything known to man to stop this cough but nothing works. It’s driving you crazy! You’re life has pretty much been consumed by and redefined by the cough. Now you’re sitting in the Dr.’s office to find out what this “cough” is all about because you just can’t take it anymore. He runs all the tests and discovers you have Lung cancer. Your Dr. knows how devastating it will be to tell you, so instead, he gives you a prescription for a really strong cough medicine. You break open the bottle right there and within minutes – the cough is almost gone! FINALLY, thank God! Thank God for what!? The problem wasn’t corrected and your Dr. just covered it up! Instead of dealing with the problem, he only dealt with the symptom. Every day we’re battling a cough…. although we call it other things: * Struggling * Stressing * Hurting * Lusting * Disobeying * Worrying * Cheating * Avoiding * Spending * Medicating * Searching * Satisfying * Choosing What is the Problem or the Root Cause? Is it sin? Isn’t Sin itself a symptom of a much deeper problem? John 3:19 – 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light… Romans 1:18 -25 ESV – 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. * They know God but don’t want to “KNOW” God. Don’t want an intimate relationship with God… I WANT this other thing instead of God. * They would rather believe a Lie instead of the Truth! (When we believe on something we act on it… Acting on a lie rather than the truth produces sin.) * God gave them up, abandoned them, let them have their way… left them to their lusts and desires… You want THAT instead of ME and ALL that I have to give you… The Root Cause: When we allow someone or something other than the one true living God a place on the throne of our heart… an opportunity to rule and reign in our life… and to be first and/or the most important thing in our life. The Problem or the Root Cause is Idolatry. Exodus 20:3-5 NLT – 3 “You must not have any other god but me. 4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. Wait a minute… We don’t have any idols in our life… we d...
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