Messages
from the Bible
A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick
Within the Assemblies of God, we trace our history to two Pentecostal events - the first Pentecost as recorded in the Book of Acts, and more recently, what took place at the beginning of this century, with a man by the name of Charles Fox Parham.
Ever since this dramatic beginning, churches associated with this "Pentecostal Movement" have placed great emphasis on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. However, sometimes the emphasis has been more on the outward manifestation of the Spirit's work, rather than on the inner changes which take place.
But there is so much more! One factor which is included in the "more" is a promise of Jesus associated with the Holy Spirit - it is the promise of "Peace."
Most people, who read the Bible regularly, will remember the verse:
"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." (John 14:1)
Usually we associate this verse with the promise of heaven, for in the very next statement, Jesus says, "In my Father's house are many mansions."
But it's often forgotten that the promise of peace is repeated later in the chapter, just after Jesus promised the coming of the Holy Spirit. There Jesus says, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you." (John 14:27)
In these verses, it's obvious that the opposite of "peace" is a "troubled heart". The idea is found in Psalms 109:22, "For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me." And also in Psalms 55:5: "Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me."
But what did Jesus mean when He spoke of the "troubled heart"? The word here is "tarasso {tar-as'-so}, which simply means "to agitate", or "to trouble a thing, by the movement of its parts to and fro". Think about the washing machine, with the "agitator" as it troubles the water, and all the clothes inside. Don't you feel that way some times? In fact, the only time the word is used in the New Testament in this literal sense having to do with the "agitating" of water, is in the story of the sick people and the Pool of Bethesda, when the angel of the Lord would come down and "trouble", or "stir up" the water.
Figuratively, the idea of this word "trouble" is this: "to cause one inward commotion, take away his calmness of mind, to disquiet, make restless, stir up, or to strike one's spirit with fear and dread, to render anxious or distressed."
Let me give you some examples of this word.
2. A New Testament king, Herod, upon learning that Jesus was born, ". . . was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him." (Matthew 2:3)
3. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist was troubled when he saw the angel - Luke 1:12; and the disciples were troubled when they saw Jesus walking on water (Matthew 14:26).
4. Jesus was also "troubled" at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:33) , and again, just after He predicted His death, referring to the grain that must fall into the ground and die. (John 12:27)
5. Later, when Jesus met with disciples after the resurrection, "He said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? - Luke 24:38
6. The same word is used to describe the uproar in the city when Paul and Silas preached. (Acts 16:20)
When the word was used in relation to the early Christians, this word is used in two particular ways: it described the mental confusion caused by false teachings (Acts 15:24; Galatians 1:7; 5:10), and also referred to the intimidation intended to be brought about by persecution (I Peter 3:14).
But the point of the promise of Jesus in John 14 is that with the coming of the Holy Spirit, there can be an end to this "trouble", it can be replaced with peace.
But before concluding, I want you to notice that Jesus says that the peace that He offers through the presence of the Holy Spirit, is "not as the world gives".
So we must ask the question, what kind of peace does the world offer? Think about it. The peace that the world offers would be described as is a brief moment of escape. We understand the abuse of alcohol, drugs and even food this way. And we can see the escapism being played out at the casino as crowds travel to a paradise of fantasy, luxury and false hopes. But it's also true of what could be called the most dangerous of all places to escape from the turmoil of life - the world of pornography.
In less than 30 years the porno industry has grown from less than $10 million to over $13 billion a year. In one year alone, more than 8,000 new porno videos were produced; in 11 years, the rental of hard-core pornographic videos increased from 75 million to 665 million per year. The Playboy Internet site currently averages more than 5 million visits each day! And we wonder why sex related crimes are climbing so rapidly. Listen to these terrible facts:
More than 25,000 children each year are victims of incest at the hands of their own family members.
But not only are the children victimized. Women are exploited, degraded, demeaned and dehumanized - they have been reduced to mere mindless sex objects who only exist to bring pleasure on demand to men. Pornography promotes the lie that women are readily available and willing at a moment's notice to fulfill a man's twisted requirements. Marriages are being broken up as marital intimacy is destroyed when men develop unrealistic expectations for sexual performance.
Knowing all this, why is pornography on the rampage, even among men who once considered themselves spiritual leaders in their homes and churches? The reasons are many, and the matter is very complex. Some might be quick to blame it all on a so called "demon of lust". Others see it as a kind of disease that is contacted early in life when a boy finds the hidden magazines of his father, and gets hooked by images burned in his memory at a time of utmost vulnerability. Still others will try to easily dismiss it as a phase men go through as they seek to find male identity and affirmation.
But there's a reason often overlooked which may provide a better explanation than all the rest. That is, men keep going back to seek pornographic pleasures because it provides an easy escape from their world of boredom, stress and emptiness. For example, one man referred to pornography as his "outlet". He would purchase a magazine, or visit an adult theater during his lunch hour, especially if his day was not going too well. He believed that pornography gave him an easier and more pleasing world to escape to. One counselor, Jeff Olson explained, "While loneliness can trigger the use of pornography, most of the men I've counseled report much stronger feelings of boredom and stress. They feel purposeless, uptight, and worn out. And fast, simple relief is only minutes away - the time it takes to drive to an 'adult' bookstore or log on to the Internet."
Jeff, in his little booklet, "When A Man's Eye Wanders", tells the story of a man he calls Greg.
"As he sat in his car after work, the thought of going home wasn't much comfort. A different set of pressures waited for him there. Once again, thoughts of escape and risk turned his thoughts in a familiar direction.
"Forbidden images had been lingering in the back of his mind all day, but now they were all he could think about. As he made his way across town, he found himself turning down familiar streets that would eventually take him where he had been many times before.
"Being seen at the liquor store was a risk. But as he paid for the magazine, Greg knew there was no turning back. Driving to a secluded parking lot, the boredom of the day was gone. He felt pleasurably nervous and alive. Once he parked the car, he began to thumb through the pages. The danger worked for him. Naked images ignited his passions. Self-absorbed in his own fantasy, relief came easy.
"For a few moments, Greg enjoyed the passing ecstasy. But then self-hatred and shame tore through him like a violent storm. He felt so foolish. He breathed a heavy sigh and put his hands over his face. He couldn't believe he had done it again."
Here are the options - turn to the world for its momentary escape, or turn to Jesus for His lasting peace. When He went away, He asked the Father to send the Holy Spirit. The Spirit has come, and He has brought peace.
Let me share with you a testimony of a man struggling with an addiction to pornography.
I gave my life to Jesus when I was about 12 or 13 years of age. I'd been brought up in a Baptist church, but a personal relationship with Jesus was never really emphasized, to me it was just 'Read your Bible and pray every day, and make sure you go to church at least once a week./
"I had one fantastic encounter with the Lord Jesus when I was seventeen. I had a bladder complaint that the doctors couldn't figure out, never mind cure, that was miraculously healed at a Christian camp called Spring Harvest. One or two years after my healing I had more or less totally walked away from Jesus and from the church that I had grown up in.
"I bought my first pornographic magazine when I was sixteen or seventeen.
"I say that I was disgusted with myself when I realized that I had bought my first "girlie" magazine, so disgusted in fact that I went and threw the magazine into a bin at the end of my road (I didn't want my family to find the magazine in the house). However I wasn't so disgusted with myself that I could stop myself from going back to this bin later on that night so that I could retrieve the magazine and take a second look. Now I cannot count the number of times that I have bought pornography and thrown it away only to go back to the place where I had thrown it in order that I might use it again. Sometimes the bins had been cleared and so I had to journey back to the news agents to buy the magazines again. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I have bought the same magazine four times in one month.
"In March 1996 a good Christian friend of mine invited me back to church, not to my old church but to a new one called St. John's in Havering Atte Bower. He didn't know about my pornography problem but I think that he knew that I missed my relationship with Jesus. I'd tried to get back into church a few times between 1991 and 1996, I'd seen Billy Graham and Morris Cerullo, I'd pray with people afterward, I'd recommit myself, but was never really that serious, I'd go to my old church a couple of times but soon fall back into pornography abuse. When I walked into St. John's things were different. Although the church meets in a Church of England building, so one could be forgiven for thinking it would be some sort of boring, religious assembly, the Spirit of God is moving with power there and the people are so full of love. Within one month I had given my life back to Jesus. I stayed away from porn for about three weeks but gradually slipped back into it. Now it seemed worse than before. But Jesus had given me a new resolve to fight my addiction. He put a Christian brother next to me who had been through the same problems. I had prayer and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I now had a deeper relationship with Jesus than I had ever had before. In my early teens there was a semblance of relationship bogged down under a set of rules. Now Jesus was saying to me, "I love you." God was saying, "You can do nothing to appease me; nothing you can do can earn your forgiveness; it is a free gift from me to you through what Jesus did for you on the cross."
"What could I do to appease God for walking away from him and falling into pornography addiction? Nothing, nor do I need to; I just have to accept Jesus as Lord, as he has already done it all. As surely as God raised Jesus from the dead will he set me free from a lifetime of pornography abuse.
"I am convinced my pornography addiction lowered my self-esteem; it made me feel ugly and me think of girls as just pieces of meat. God is healing me in this area too, giving me healthy relationships with girls when before they had been nothing more than objects of lust to me. Knowing God is enough. He is a friend that is closer than a brother; he loves me despite all my lustful faults. He's changing me, I am starting to feel good about myself, I have a more positive outlook on life, and I am beginning to see other people in a different light. I'm not trying to give up porn to avert God's wrath; I'm trying to give it up so that I can see more of him released into my life. I'm saved, loved, and forgiven; I feel accepted; I am accepted by the true and living God. He wants me to stop using porn so he can fill me up with his love more and more. If I fall he forgives me and cleans me up. Thanks to Jesus and the relationship that I have with him my life is on the up. It's getting better all the time."
Holy Spirit Inspired Peace
John 14:1,27
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1. King Nebudchadnezzar's dream in Daniel 4:5: "I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in my bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me."
87 percent of molesters regularly use pornography.
86 percent of convicted rapists have confessed to the regular use of pornography.
"Greg wondered if the day would ever end. He was good at his job, but he did only what he had to. Work bored him - and the phone rang constantly. Each call was another drain on his energy: finish those reports, schedule another appointment, follow up with a disgruntled customer, pick up milk at the store, and don't forget about the committee meeting at church. Between phone calls, he stared aimlessly. As the day dragged on, the monotony of his day and the demands on his life left him feeling pointless, overwhelmed, and annoyed.
This is the peace that the world gives. Just a moment of escape into pleasure, but then quickly followed by guilt, shame, and a world filled with brokeness. No, there is no peace, only more trouble, inward commotion, restlessness, agitation, a spirit filled with fear and dread, anxiety and distress.
"I am 23 years old and come from England. I have been addicted to pornography since the age of sixteen.
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