Latest / PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES / When the Strong Get Tired/ The War Within

Transcript

When the Strong Get Tired/ The War Within · PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES

• 0:00
  There is a reality that every strong person eventually
• 0:02
  discovers. No matter how disciplined you are,
• 0:06
  no matter how gifted you are, no matter how mature
• 0:09
  you are, no matter how long you have walked with
• 0:11
  God, there are battles that cannot be seen. Battles
• 0:16
  that happen behind the smile, behind the title,
• 0:19
  behind the experience, behind the strength that
• 0:22
  everyone else sees. Because sometimes the greatest
• 0:25
  battles are not around us, they are within us.
• 0:29
  And before we can understand that battle, we
• 0:32
  must first understand the journey that brought
• 0:34
  us here. In episode one of When the Strong Get
• 0:38
  Tired, Barry Mwamba exposed one of the most overlooked
• 0:41
  weapons used against strong people, physical
• 0:44
  exhaustion. Because sometimes the enemy does
• 0:47
  not need to destroy a person, he only needs to
• 0:50
  wear them down. In episode two, he explored spiritual
• 0:54
  weariness. the slow fading of passion, prayer,
• 0:58
  and intimacy with God, the kind of fatigue that
• 1:01
  cannot be cured by sleep because it affects the
• 1:03
  soul. In episode 3, he examined the pressures,
• 1:08
  responsibilities, and battles that quietly drain
• 1:11
  even the strongest believers. In episode 4, he
• 1:15
  revealed how great people often fall, not because
• 1:18
  they lack talent, gifting, or opportunity, but
• 1:21
  because character failed to sustain what success
• 1:24
  had built. In episode 5, he uncovered one of
• 1:28
  the deepest wounds strong people carry, disappointment.
• 1:32
  The disappointment of betrayal, the disappointment
• 1:35
  of rejection, the disappointment of watching
• 1:37
  trusted people fail, and how disappointment,
• 1:41
  when left unresolved, can become bitterness.
• 1:45
  Now the journey continues, because after fatigue,
• 1:48
  after failure, after disappointment, another
• 1:51
  question remains. Why do believers still struggle?
• 1:56
  Why do people who love God still battle temptation?
• 1:59
  Why do strong believers still wrestle with weakness?
• 2:03
  Why does the war continue even after salvation?
• 2:07
  In episode 6, Barry Mwamba explores a reality
• 2:10
  every believer eventually encounters, the struggle
• 2:13
  between the flesh and the spirit, the war within.
• 2:18
  Welcome to Pamoja Podcast. a ministry of Life
• 2:21
  of Christ International, where we build stronger
• 2:24
  lives, deeper faith, and Christ -centered homes,
• 2:28
  one story, one message, and one revelation at
• 2:32
  a time. And now, your host, Barry Mwamba. Today,
• 2:38
  I want to talk about something that touches every
• 2:40
  believer, not some believers, not weak believers,
• 2:44
  not immature believers, every believer. I want
• 2:48
  to talk about the struggle of the flesh. And
• 2:51
  before we go any further, I want to say something
• 2:54
  that I hope brings freedom to someone listening
• 2:56
  today. Struggling does not automatically mean
• 2:59
  you are failing. Struggling does not automatically
• 3:03
  mean you are backslidden. Struggling does not
• 3:06
  automatically mean God has abandoned you. In
• 3:09
  fact, if we are honest, one of the biggest mistakes
• 3:12
  we make when reading the Bible is that we admire
• 3:15
  the victories of biblical characters while forgetting
• 3:18
  their battles. We remember Moses standing before
• 3:21
  Pharaoh, but we forget Moses struggled with anger.
• 3:26
  We remember David standing before Goliath, but
• 3:29
  we forget David struggled with desire. We remember
• 3:32
  Peter walking on water, but we forget Peter struggled
• 3:36
  with fear. We remember Samson's strength, but
• 3:40
  we forget Samson struggled with lust. We remember
• 3:43
  Jonah's prophetic ministry, But we forget Jonah
• 3:46
  struggled with bitterness. We remember Gideon's
• 3:50
  victory. But we forget Gideon struggled with
• 3:53
  insecurity. We remember Saul's position. But
• 3:57
  we forget Saul struggled with pride. Different
• 4:00
  people. Different callings. Different weaknesses.
• 4:05
  Yet every one of them was fighting something.
• 4:08
  And if we're honest, so are we. Maybe your struggle
• 4:12
  is not mine. Maybe mine is not yours. But everybody
• 4:16
  is fighting something. And perhaps the most encouraging
• 4:19
  example is Jesus himself in the Garden of Gethsemane.
• 4:23
  Now let me be clear. Jesus never sinned. Jesus
• 4:27
  never yielded to temptation. But he experienced
• 4:31
  the full weight of human pressure. In Gethsemane,
• 4:34
  we see Jesus wrestling with the suffering that
• 4:37
  stood before him. The burden was so heavy that
• 4:40
  the Bible says his sweat became like drops of
• 4:43
  blood falling to the ground. He prayed. Then
• 4:46
  He prayed again. Then He prayed a third time.
• 4:50
  And every time, He brought His struggle before
• 4:53
  the Father. What does that teach us? It teaches
• 4:56
  us that struggle itself is not sin. Feeling pressure
• 5:00
  is not sin. Feeling overwhelmed is not sin. The
• 5:05
  victory of Jesus was not that He never felt the
• 5:07
  weight. The victory was that He surrendered His
• 5:10
  will to the Father. Not my will. but yours be
• 5:14
  done. Sometimes maturity is not the absence of
• 5:17
  struggle. Sometimes maturity is choosing obedience
• 5:21
  in the middle of the struggle. And that brings
• 5:23
  us to an important question. Why do believers
• 5:26
  struggle at all? Why would someone who loves
• 5:29
  God still battle thoughts, desires, fears, emotions,
• 5:35
  temptations, and weaknesses? The answer begins
• 5:37
  by understanding something many Christians never
• 5:40
  fully grasp. Salvation happens in stages. Your
• 5:43
  spirit has been redeemed. Your soul is being
• 5:45
  transformed. But your body is still awaiting
• 5:48
  redemption. Think about that. Your spirit belongs
• 5:50
  to God. Your heart desires God. Yet you are still
• 5:53
  living inside a body affected by the fall. You
• 5:56
  are carrying a redeemed spirit inside an unredeemed
• 5:59
  body. And that creates tension. A war. A conflict.
• 6:03
  The flesh pulls one direction. The spirit pulls
• 6:05
  another. That battle is not unique to you. It
• 6:08
  is the reality of every believer. The question
• 6:11
  is not whether the battle exists. The question
• 6:13
  is whether we recognize it and learn how to fight
• 6:16
  it. Because the flesh does not look the same
• 6:18
  for everybody. For some people, the struggle
• 6:20
  is appetite. Look at Esau. One meal. One craving.
• 6:24
  One moment of weakness. And he traded something
• 6:27
  eternal for something temporary. The issue was
• 6:29
  never the stew. The issue was self -control.
• 6:32
  Sometimes the flesh wants comfort now. Pleasure
• 6:35
  now. Recognition now. Satisfaction now. The flesh
• 6:38
  says, give it to me now. Faith says, wait on
• 6:42
  God. For others, the struggle is lust and desire.
• 6:45
  Samson is one of the clearest examples. The enemy
• 6:48
  could not defeat Samson through strength. He
• 6:50
  defeated him through desire. Every compromise
• 6:52
  weakened his resistance. Every wrong relationship
• 6:55
  lowered his defenses. Until eventually, the strongest
• 6:59
  man became vulnerable. David faced a similar
• 7:01
  battle. One evening, when kings were supposed
• 7:04
  to be at war, David stayed behind. One glance
• 7:07
  became a thought. One thought became a desire.
• 7:09
  One desire became a decision. One decision became
• 7:12
  a sin. And one sin became a chain reaction. The
• 7:16
  battle did not begin on the rooftop. The battle
• 7:18
  began long before the rooftop. Then there was
• 7:20
  Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. Yet wisdom
• 7:24
  alone could not protect a heart that stopped
• 7:26
  guarding itself. Knowledge without obedience
• 7:28
  eventually becomes dangerous. For others, the
• 7:31
  struggle is anger. Moses struggled with it. Peter
• 7:34
  struggled with it. Jonah struggled with it. Moses
• 7:36
  struck the rock. Peter cut off a servant's ear.
• 7:39
  Jonah became angry because God showed mercy.
• 7:42
  Think about that. A prophet upset because God
• 7:44
  forgave people. The lesson is simple. Strength
• 7:47
  without self -control becomes dangerous. One
• 7:50
  emotional decision can damage what took years
• 7:52
  to build. For others, the struggle is fear. Gideon
• 7:55
  was hiding when God called him a mighty warrior.
• 7:58
  Peter denied Jesus because of fear. The Israelites
• 8:01
  refused to enter the promised land because they
• 8:03
  were intimidated by giants. Fear focuses on circumstances.
• 8:07
  Faith focuses on God's promises. Fear says, what
• 8:11
  if I fail? Faith says, what did God say? And
• 8:14
  many destinies have been delayed because fear
• 8:16
  became louder than faith. Then there is pride,
• 8:19
  perhaps one of the most dangerous struggles of
• 8:21
  all, because pride hides. Saul did not begin
• 8:24
  proud. He began humble. He was hiding among the
• 8:27
  baggage when God called him. But success changed
• 8:30
  him. Recognition changed him. Power changed him.
• 8:34
  Eventually, He became more concerned with protecting
• 8:36
  his image than obeying God. Pride convinces people
• 8:39
  they no longer need correction, no longer need
• 8:42
  accountability, no longer need counsel. And that
• 8:45
  is when danger begins. Then there is bitterness.
• 8:48
  Some struggles come from wounds. Joseph had every
• 8:51
  reason to become bitter. David had every reason
• 8:53
  to become bitter toward Saul. Yet both chose
• 8:56
  forgiveness. Bitterness feels justified. That
• 8:58
  is what makes it dangerous. It convinces us that
• 9:01
  our prison is reasonable. but bitterness slowly
• 9:04
  poisons the person carrying it. And then there
• 9:06
  was Paul, the great apostle, the missionary,
• 9:09
  the church planter, the man who carried the gospel
• 9:12
  across nations. Yet even Paul experienced abandonment.
• 9:15
  People left him. Some walked away from the mission.
• 9:18
  Some walked away from him. One of the most painful
• 9:20
  examples was Demas. Imagine giving your life
• 9:23
  for the gospel and watching trusted companions
• 9:26
  leave. Sometimes the battle is not lust. Sometimes
• 9:29
  it is discouragement. Sometimes it is loneliness.
• 9:32
  Sometimes it is rejection. Sometimes it is the
• 9:35
  temptation to quit. And perhaps one of the biggest
• 9:38
  struggles in our generation is comfort. The flesh
• 9:41
  loves convenience. The flesh avoids sacrifice.
• 9:44
  The flesh loves shortcuts. Prayer requires discipline.
• 9:48
  Fasting requires discipline. Serving requires
• 9:51
  discipline. Studying God's Word requires discipline.
• 9:54
  The flesh asks, what is easiest? The spirit asks,
• 9:58
  what pleases God? Many believers are not defeated
• 10:00
  by obvious sin. They are defeated by comfort.
• 10:03
  But there is another form of flesh that is even
• 10:05
  more dangerous, because it does not look sinful.
• 10:08
  It looks spiritual. Sometimes the flesh appears
• 10:11
  as religion. Sometimes it appears as self -reliance.
• 10:14
  Sometimes it appears as trying to do God's work
• 10:17
  without depending on God. Paul confronted this
• 10:20
  issue in Galatia. He asked, Having begun in the
• 10:23
  Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the
• 10:25
  flesh? What a question. They started in the Spirit.
• 10:29
  They experienced God's power. They experience
• 10:32
  God's grace, but somewhere along the way they
• 10:35
  began trusting themselves more than God. And
• 10:38
  if we're honest, many believers do the same thing.
• 10:42
  We begin dependent on God. We pray about everything.
• 10:45
  We seek His guidance. We trust Him completely.
• 10:48
  Then come a few victories, a few promotions,
• 10:51
  a few accomplishments, a few years of experience,
• 10:55
  and slowly we begin relying on ourselves. The
• 10:59
  flesh does not always pull us into obvious sin.
• 11:01
  Sometimes it simply pulls us away from dependence
• 11:04
  on God. Then there was Corinth, gifted people,
• 11:08
  talented people, spirit -filled people. Yet Paul
• 11:11
  called them fleshly. Why? Because gifts are not
• 11:15
  the same as maturity. A person can be gifted
• 11:18
  and still be jealous, gifted and still be proud,
• 11:21
  gifted and still be divided, gifted and still
• 11:24
  be immature. Activity is not transformation.
• 11:28
  Being busy for God is not the same thing as becoming
• 11:30
  like Christ. And then Jesus addressed the churches
• 11:34
  in Revelation. Many of them had not abandoned
• 11:36
  church. They had not abandoned activity. They
• 11:39
  had not abandoned religion. But they had drifted.
• 11:43
  Ephesus lost its first love. Pergamum tolerated
• 11:47
  compromise. Sardis looked alive but was spiritually
• 11:50
  dead. Laodicea became lukewarm. Notice the pattern.
• 11:55
  Most did not collapse overnight. They drifted.
• 11:58
  One compromise at a time. One distraction at
• 12:01
  a time. One neglected prayer at a time. One act
• 12:05
  of complacency at a time. The flesh does not
• 12:08
  always attack through rebellion. Sometimes it
• 12:11
  attacks through drift. And perhaps that is the
• 12:13
  warning for all of us. Nobody wakes up one morning
• 12:16
  planning to fall. Most great falls begin with
• 12:19
  small compromises. Most spiritual failures begin
• 12:22
  with a slow drift. And this brings us to today's
• 12:26
  turning point. Maybe your struggle has convinced
• 12:28
  you that you are disqualified. Maybe your weakness
• 12:31
  has convinced you that God is finished with you.
• 12:34
  Maybe your battle has convinced you that everyone
• 12:36
  else is stronger than you. But when I look at
• 12:38
  scripture, I see something different. I see Moses
• 12:42
  struggling, David struggling, Peter struggling,
• 12:46
  Gideon struggling, Samson struggling, Jonah struggling,
• 12:51
  Paul struggling. I even see Jesus wrestling in
• 12:54
  Gethsemane. And yet God's purpose prevailed.
• 12:57
  Their struggle was not their identity. Their
• 13:00
  weakness was not their destiny. And yours is
• 13:03
  not either. The enemy wants you to identify with
• 13:06
  your struggle. God wants you to identify with
• 13:09
  his grace. The enemy calls you by your weakness.
• 13:12
  God calls you by your purpose. The enemy called
• 13:15
  Gideon a coward. God called him a mighty warrior.
• 13:19
  The enemy called Simon unstable. Jesus called
• 13:22
  him Peter, the Rock. The enemy called David a
• 13:26
  shepherd boy. God called him King. And perhaps
• 13:29
  while you are focused on your struggle, God is
• 13:32
  focused on who you are becoming. Because the
• 13:35
  story is not over. The battle is not over. And
• 13:38
  God's work in your life is certainly not over.
• 13:41
  One day the struggle will end. One day the flesh
• 13:44
  will no longer fight the spirit. One day corruption
• 13:47
  will put on incorruption. One day we will receive
• 13:50
  glorified bodies. and the war within will finally
• 13:53
  be over. But until that day, stay in the fight,
• 13:57
  stay in prayer, stay in the word, stay in God's
• 14:01
  presence, because the same God who saved your
• 14:03
  spirit is still working on the rest of your story,
• 14:06
  and He always finishes what He starts. Before
• 14:09
  we close, let me introduce where we're going
• 14:12
  next, because today's conversation raises another
• 14:15
  question. If strong people struggle, why do some
• 14:19
  recover while others fall? Why do some recognize
• 14:22
  temptation and walk away while others walk directly
• 14:25
  into it? I believe the answer often has less
• 14:28
  to do with the size of the temptation and more
• 14:31
  to do with the condition of their defenses. David
• 14:34
  did not fall when he was facing Goliath. He fell
• 14:37
  when he stayed home. Samson did not fall in battle.
• 14:40
  He fell in a relationship he should have avoided.
• 14:44
  Peter did not deny Jesus while standing beside
• 14:46
  Jesus. He denied him after exhaustion, fear,
• 14:50
  confusion, and isolation affected his judgment.
• 14:53
  The enemy rarely attacks your strength. He waits
• 14:56
  for your resistance to weaken. And that is exactly
• 14:59
  what we will explore in episode seven. When your
• 15:02
  defenses are down. The things that weaken resistance.
• 15:06
  The warning signs that defenses are failing.
• 15:08
  The conditions that make strong people vulnerable.
• 15:11
  And how to recognize danger before a fall ever
• 15:14
  happens. Because most great falls do not begin
• 15:17
  with a major sin. They begin with lowered defenses.
• 15:21
  And if we can learn how to protect our defenses,
• 15:24
  we can learn how to remain standing. Let's pray.
• 15:26
  Father, in the name of Jesus, give strength to
• 15:30
  every person listening today. Strengthen those
• 15:32
  who are tired. Encourage those who are discouraged.
• 15:35
  Restore those who have drifted. Heal those who
• 15:38
  are wounded. Remind us that our struggle is not
• 15:41
  our identity, our weakness is not our destiny,
• 15:43
  and our failures do not cancel your purpose.
• 15:46
  Teach us to walk in the Spirit. Teach us to remain
• 15:49
  dependent on you and finish the work you started
• 15:51
  in us. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for joining
• 15:55
  me today on Promoja Podcast. I'm your host, Barry
• 15:58
  Mwamba. Until next time, stay strong, stay vigilant,
• 16:03
  stay close to God. And remember, this may be
• 16:06
  your turning point.