SundayJuly 17, 2016 Phone: 570.829.5216

Pastor David Miklas e-mail:

Message:Developing Godly Character - #17 Text: Matthew 26:41; I Corinthians 10:12-13

Character- When the Flesh is Weak

INTRODUCTION: I need to have you look at two passages of scripture to lay the foundation for this lesson on “Character - When the Flesh is Weak.”

Number 1: In I Corinthians 6:19-20 we read, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (20) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” This verse is telling me that within me right now, you too if you are saved, resides the Holy Spirit of God.

Number 2: In Matthew 26:41 we read, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Before I was saved, within me was the FLESH, the OLD SIN NATURE, which was causing me to do wrong, causing me to sin. After I was saved the FLESH, the OLD SIN NATURE, did not leave me.It is still there, but into me came the Holy Spirit to encourage me to do right. Let me explain.

One day an Indian was talking to a missionary and said, “It is hard to live for Christ.” So in the best way he knew how he said, “Inside me lives white dog and inside me lives black dog. Black dog is the old me who wants to do bad things. White dog is the Spirit of God, He wants to do God’s thing. The white dog and the black dog, they fight all the time. White dog wants to do RIGHT; black dog wants to do WRONG.” The Missionary said, “Well, who usually wins the fight?” The old Indian answered, “Whichever one me feeds the most.”

Within you lives the Spirit of God who wants you to do right.But also there is that old nature in you which we call the flesh -the black dog, if you please. That old nature wants you to do wrong. The nature you feed the most is going to be victorious. “Are you feeding the Spirit of God or are you doing that which would strengthen the flesh?”

The Bible tells us there are times when we will be weak. The depth of our character should cause us to avoid these times, so we can be victorious in our Christian life.

FIRST:We are weak at night. Proverbs 7:7-12 says,

"And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, (8) Passing through the street near her corner, and he went the way to her house, (9) In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: (10) And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. (11) (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner)"

It was dark, and it was a late hour. A young man passing through a certain block in his city met a wicked woman who wore the attire of a harlot. The Bible lists many characteristics of this woman. She was loud. She was subtle, clever and sly. She was dressed in a wicked, seductive way. Proverbs 7:21-22 says,

"With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. (22) He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks.”

The young man committed a terrible sin, perhaps thinking no one would see him during the late hours.

John 3:19 says, "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." I believe we are weakest when it is dark. Remember, “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

The nighttime hours have always held certain enticements. A big time at a bar is the late evening hours. The big time at a dance is during the evening hours. Robbery, murder, and violent crimes usually take place when unseen during the evening hours.

This is why I have for years instructed parents to set the curfew for their children to be home no later than 9:00 pm during the week, and perhaps by 9:30 on the weekend. Probably 95 percent of the incidents of immorality are committed at night. Why?Because there is something about darkness, the night, and the midnight hour that the Devil enjoys using. We know that evil lurks in darkness. Therefore, we must realize that the evening hours are when we are weakest.

SECOND:We are weak when we alter our usual schedule. II Samuel 11: 1 says,

"And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him,and all Israel,' and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem."

As leader of the forces, David should have gone to battle with his men, but David chose to tarry at Jerusalem. In other words, David got out of his usual routine.

Because he was home, he saw Bathsheba bathing on the roof of her home. David lusted after her and called her to come to his home, where he committed immorality and eventually tried to cover his sin by having her husband killed.

Allow me to explain why all that happened. Quite simply, David wasn't where he was supposed to be when he was supposed to be there. "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." The Bible says it was a time for kings to be in battle; David set himself up for a time of weakness.

When teens get “off-schedule” watch out! The Devil knows it is a time he can attack. Teens cause more problems on the weekend than they do during the week. Why? During the week they are scheduled; they get up each day at the same time and spend that day at school. While there people in authority tell them when to sit, eat, talk, close the door, and even when to walk. For the most part, the schedule is accepted and followed, but once teens get ‘off-schedule,” they are apt to get in trouble. That is why a teen ought to have a schedule of things to do all the time, even in the evening.

Be careful during your weekends. More people get away from God on the weekend than they do during the week. Keep yourself on schedule during the weekends.

THIRD:We are weak when hungry. Matthew 4:1-4 says, "Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. (2) And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. (3) And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. (4) But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." The Bible says in Matthew 4 that Jesus had been fasting and praying. The Devil knew Jesus was hungry, so he told Jesus to turn the stones into food.

In Genesis 25 the Bible gives another example of the weakness that can be caused by hunger. Esau, the firstborn son of Isaac and Rebekah, had been out hunting. He arrived home tired and hungry - so hungry he believed he would die.

Jacob happened to be cooking, and Esau said in Genesis 25:30, "Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage, for I am faint."

Jacob said, "Sell me this day thy birthright." The Bible says Esau despised his birthright, and he sold it to Jacob for bread and lentils.

The two examples show that when you are hungry, it causes weakness of the flesh. These two illustrations both talk about physical food. However, people can be hungry for more than just food. There are other appetites some people crave to be fulfilled. Be careful that you do not allow your appetites to run wild. For instance, seeking money or fame can also cause weakness.

A man's uncurbed appetite for a woman will cause his flesh to be weak, and the Spirit may never dominate his life. We must learn to control ourselves. Young ladies also need to learn to control their appetites for members of the opposite sex. Get your appetites under control. Maintaining character means gaining and keeping control of your appetites.

FOURTH:We are weak when tired. I Kings 19:4 says,

"But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die,' and said, It is enough,' now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers."

Elijah had confronted more than 850 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.

He had called down fire from Heaven, which totally consumed a sacrifice that had been water drenched.

He had single-handedly slaughtered over 850 men.

When Jezebel heard of Elijah's victory and how he had killed her false prophets, in so many words she said, "I'm going to get him."

The result: Elijah ran from her. I believe he ran because he was dead tired.

One principle we can learn from the life of Elijah is to get the proper amount of sleep. Christians must learn to take care of themselves. Why? Many people who make irresponsible mistakes with their lives do so because they are too tired to make right decisions. Everyone must have the proper amount of sleep to function well. Becoming too exhausted to listen in church will lead toward making more mistakes. Never get so tired that you cannot do right.

FIFTH:Married people are weak when away from their spouse too much. In I Corinthians 7:5 we read,

"Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer,' and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency."

A married person who is away from their spouse in the area of intimacy is tempted easily. A husband and wife need to come together physically to remain strong in this area.

Would you again return to Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” I believe God would have us to understand a rather simple principle of life.Yet it is one in which we allow the Devil to devour us. Here is the principle:

Be careful the Devil doesn't trip you up at the STRONGEST point of your life in your WEAKEST moment.

Remember the Devil WILL ATTACK NOT JUST YOUR WEAKNESS; he'll attack YOUR STRENGTH at your weakest moment.

Let me leave you with three truths that will help you here.

TRUTH 1: Your strength becomes your weakness when you take it for granted. Proverbs 16:18 tells us, "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."BE CAREFUL, SOYOUR PRIDE WON’T GET THE BEST OF YOU!

Your strength becomes your weakness when you overlook it, when you don't recognize that your real source of strength comes from the Lord. PRIDE TAKES THINGS FOR GRANTED AND LOSES THEM!

TRUTH 2: Your strength becomes your weakness when you neglect it.LISTEN carefully, I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR STRONG POINT IS, YOU ARE NOT BEYOND SIN! You have not arrived at perfection in the Christian life; you still have room for growth. If I am going to be a good Christian, I'll have to work at it. It doesn't matter what I was six months ago. If I'm going to be a good Christian today I'LL HAVE TO WORK AT IT TODAY LIKE I DID YESTERDAY!

When you stop growing, you start dying. Your strength has become your weakness because you stopped going ONWARD, FORWARD, UPWARD! If you measure yourself by Jesus, you don't come to His shoelaces. Therefore you still have plenty of room to grow.

THIRD: Your strength becomes your weakness when you think you're immune to danger. In I Peter 5:9, we read, "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." I've seen Christians that do not have any respect for the Devil and his crowd, so they let their guard down.THEY DIDN'T THINK THEY HAD TO BE SOBER AND VIGILANT. THEY DIDN'T KEEP THEIR GUARD UP! Your strength becomes your weakness when you think you can't fall.

Return with me one more time to Matthew 26:41 and let’s read this together,

“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Everyone must learn to recognize the times when they are weak. During those times, you must do whatever you can to correct the situation. If hungry, eat. If unscheduled, purchase a schedule book and make a schedule.

Because we have the Holy Spirit living within us, we have the wherewithal to combat effectively the times of weakness we encounter. Amen!

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If God has spoken to your heart after reading the sermon “Character – When the Flesh is Weak”then right now talk to God about what He has spoken to you.

Do you have the assurance that one day you will go to heaven? If you have no assurance that you know Jesus Christ, then I trust you will decide to accept Him as your personal Savior. The Bible tells us in

Acts 16:31,“...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...”

Romans 10:13,“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

This prayer is here for those who need to ask Jesus to be their personal Savior: “I do want to go to Heaven. I know I am a sinner, and I do believe Jesus Christ died for me. I realize I cannot buy this great salvation, nor can I earn it. Knowing Jesus died on the cross and arose from the grave to pay my sin debt and to purchase my salvation, I do now trust Him as my Savior, and from this moment on I am completely depending on Him for my salvation.”

If you made the decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, let me know. Please send an e-mail to and I will send you some literature that will help you in your Christian life.

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