Recover Yourself
I.
2 Timothy 3:6-8-You can
resist the truth; you can oppose the truth and set yourself against the truth
A. Satan is subtle – Creep-To move secretly, to move
so as to escape detection
B. They are bound because
they are dealing in lies – Lead
captive-Capture
1.
If
they enemy can lead you into lies and error he can bind you up
a. 7-They never got the
truth and that’s why they were bound captive and led into error
2.
Notice
it didn’t say, “They forced these women against their will,” because that’s not
how the enemy works; he can’t work that way
C. This is such a picture of
the enemy’s approach, he attacks and pressure your thinking to move you away
from the truth
1.
Led away-To move, impel: of
forces and influences on the mind
2.
Lusts-Desires, cravings,
longing – These things take place in your thoughts
D. This is how people get
off, the listen to stuff they shouldn’t be listening to; that’s how these women
got off, they listened to lies long enough until they believed it
1.
Ever Learning-Amp-These weak women will listen to anybody who will teach them
2.
What
you listen to enough you will eventually believe
3.
Should
you just listen to anybody? No. Why? Eventually you’ll believe what you listen
to
E. The men doing this to
these women resist and oppose the truth
1.
Resist-To set one’s self
against, to withstand, to resist, to oppose, to set against
a. Ephesians 6:10-14-We are
supposed to be standing against, withstanding, resisting, opposing the lies and
deception of devil that would bind us up, not the truth that is supposed to
make us free
b. 11,13,14-Stand against, Stand, Stand-Stand
immoveable, stand firm, does not waiver (He’s trying to move you and you’re
resisting him)
c. 13-Withstand-Same word 2 Timothy 3:7-8, withstood and resist (In the
evil day you’re supposed to resist the devil’s lies)
2.
Corrupt minds-Notice where the enemy
came after them and attacked them and how he gained victory over them; through
them yielding to wrong thoughts and thinking and believing wrong to the place
that they are actually against the truth and as they oppose the truth that
would make them free and preserve them and protect them, they oppose themselves
3.
If you are resisting the
truth the enemy has got you way off and into error-1 John 4:6
a. One of the greatest things you can learn as a believer is
what things you should be resisting and what you should be yielding to
b. They are resisting what they should be yielding to and
yielding to what they should be resisting
II.
To resist the truth and
oppose the truth is to oppose yourself because the truth would make you free
A. 2 Timothy 2:25-They are
not acknowledging the truth and that’s why they are bound
1.
Acknowledge-To own, To admit to be
true, To recognize something that is true as true, To declare openly, To
confess frankly, To concede; The opposite would be to reject, to deny, to
ignore
2.
26-The enemy has these
people bound, he has snared them and taken them captive at his will; They are
not free, they are bound, because they’ve believed a lie – John
8:32-Truth makes you free, lies bind you up
a. The enemy binds people up like this by getting them to
believes lies NOT just overriding their will and overpowering them
3.
Because
they are opposing the truth like this they are opposing themselves; they are
rejecting the very thing that will make them free
a. How would a person oppose
himself? When you oppose the truth (that makes you free) you oppose yourself
b. Why would a person oppose
himself? They are deceived and they are opposing themselves and they’re unaware of it
B. *2 Timothy 2:26-People
who are deceived are unaware that they are deceived and unaware of the truth
and unaware of reality and they are unaware that they are thinking wrong and
believing wrong
1.
Recover
themselves; This gives the picture of them not being aware of the truth, of
reality of what’s really going on; they are thinking wrong, they are believing
wrong, they are believing lies, they are opposing themselves and they are
unaware of it
a. Recover themselves-Return
to soberness; be circumspect-looking around, alert, aware; Sober-not
intoxicated; BECOME AWARE
b. Snare-Of snares in which birds are entangled and caught, Implies
unexpectedly, suddenly because birds and beasts are caught unawares; Whatever brings peril, loss, destruction (deception
brings destruction so deception is the snare)
c. Return to soberness-You
were once aware and alert and not intoxicated and not thinking wrong, but now
you are (they’ve gotten off)
1)
The
devil has snared them and taken them captive in their mind, he’s darkened their mind; that is what
spiritual warfare is all about
2.
When you acknowledge the
truth you become aware of reality & recover yourself out of the snare of
deception that they devil caught you in
a. The way out is to
acknowledge the truth and became aware of reality and come to yourself
b. You’ve been thinking and
believing wrong; you need to wake up and become aware and the way to do that is
acknowledge the truth
c. People are deceive are
living in a fantasy world, in falsehood and they are unaware of it; they
believe their fantasy is reality
3.
The
way that you recover yourself is by acknowledging the truth, owning the truth
and repenting and you get free
a. Before you’re going to
repent and not perish there’s going to be a time when have to own the truth and
acknowledge the truth
III.
Luke 15-You can recover
yourself out of the snare of he devil by acknowledging the truth
A. 12-When he asks his
father for his inheritance he’s got it in his mind that he’d be better off away
from his father and he’d have more fun out there away from his father and that
life would be better out there on his own; He’s off in his thinking and he
believes lies and he’s unaware of it;
they devil has him snared in deception and he has no idea
1.
The
devil has him thinking, “Oh you don’t
want to stay here. There’s a great
big life out there and fun out there that you could be having, but you won’t if
you stay here. The women and booze
will be flowing and you’ll be the man cause you’re rich and the world will be
yours.”
2.
He’s deceived; He didn’t
leave his father thinking it’s going to end up in destruction; he left
believing and thinking it’s going to be a great life and it seemed right to him;
He’s thinking and believing wrong and he’s unaware of it; He’s unaware that
leaving his father is not the right thing to do, it’s not going to end up good;
He’s swallowed up in darkness-Proverbs 14:12
3.
The
devil has lied to him and led him astray and led him into error and gotten him
to believe lies and when do you think this started? It probably started one day
when dad did something the son didn’t like (made him work, corrected him) and
in the middle of that happening the son had a thought, “He never lets you have
any fun around here and you’d be better off on your own,” and rather than
resisting it he yielded to it --- The enemy gets him to oppose himself
B. He’s unaware because he
won’t acknowledge (recognize, perceive, ascertain, own, accept, concede, admit)
the truth
1.
John
16:13-The Father gives you truth and will lead you and guide you into truth so
there is no way that this father didn’t tell his son the truth and the truth
was you’re not better off without me and it’s not going to be good for you out
there; but the son wouldn’t acknowledge it
2.
He
doesn’t believe what he Father says (truth), he’s believing these lies and this
fantasy and this falsehood
C. 17-He came to himself; Where was he if he wasn’t at himself? He was living in a
fantasy world, in falsehood and lies
1.
He wasn’t thinking wrong
and believing lies, but he was unaware of it, but right here he becomes aware
of truth, aware of reality because he acknowledges the truth (And the truth was
he missed it and he’d be better off at home than on his own)
a. 18-Sinned-Error and wander from the path of uprightness: He has
missed it, he has gotten off and he acknowledges the truth and owns it
b. This is when he recovered himself and he’s not longer being
swallowed up in darkness, but the might of the light is giving him victory
2.
The enemy didn’t override
his will and force him out here; he lied to him and got him thinking and
believing wrong
a. 13-16-The devil has him
snared and has taken him captive; he’s got no money, he’s got no friends, he’s
got no food, and he’s eating with the pigs and he’s desperate and he’s in
bondage because he believed lies and not the truth
3.
He didn’t come to himself
by himself; God shined some light it in his heart and rather than closing his
eyes to the light and resisting the truth, he received it
a. 17-24-He acknowledges the
truth and the truth that he acknowledges and accepts and receives made him free
b. It’s going to take some
humility to head back home and admit the truth and admit that you missed
it