Winning the War with Sin - Part A

Doing anything, you must first be learning something.

Learning always precedes living doctrine always comes before doing so, it is in a battle. You just don't go on quite a battle of armies through they plan a strategy. They assess their assets. They assess enemy and handout tactics that are familiar with before they engage about.

It's been said that the Christian life is not a playground but a battleground today on connect with Skip Heitzig Skip dig deeper into the spiritual war with sin in the vital first step you can take to be victorious before we begin, here's an exciting resource that will help the kids in your life know and love the Lord, the most recent state of the Bible survey revealed that only 9% of millennial's with the Bible on a daily basis most skeptical generation I record is also uninformed about the word of God. Small wonder such lifestyle confusion about your own children or your grandchildren passenger fitting to a younger generation so they don't become a statistic and stepped to help you encourage a young person in your life to get excited about God's word all he has for them, soaring to the Bible Skip Heitzig gives kids and twins.

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800-922-1888 or securely connectwithskip.com/offer. Okay, let's dive into today's teacher will be in Romans chapter 6 if Skip Heitzig begins the step, the Italian sailing team traveled to Australia to compete in the America's Cup race. They were outfitted by Italian designer Gucci with the latest sports fashion.

They decided to go to Australia a little bit early. They wanted to go rent a car and go out into the outback and they wanted to see kangaroos who did want to see kangaroos and they got Australia so their driving along the road out in the bush.

Not only did they see kangaroos they ran into a kangaroo so they stopped the Land Rover got out of the car. The kangaroo was lying on the side of the road and they decide to take pictures so they take pictures.

One guy gets the bright idea of taking off his nice Gucci jacket and putting it on the limp kangaroo to take photographs so he does. And just then, as he stepped back to take the picture. The creature came to life. He wasn't dead.

He was just dazed and hopped away, ran away before they could catch him off into the bush so somewhere in Australia. Outback is a very fashionably dressed kangaroo. He wears a Gucci jacket and in the pocket of the keys to the Land Rover and the team's credit card.

I use that little illustration because I fear we can make the same mistake. We have a false assumption that our old temptations are long gone. Maybe even dead. But they can seem to spring back to life.

When we least expect. The apostle Paul framed the very unique battle we find ourselves in. In the book of Galatians when he said the flash wars against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, the old nature that is prone to do evil wars against the new person we are in Christ and everybody every one of us knows that battle. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a book in the 1800s. That is become very very famous in been made into several movies since then. Call Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde's the story of a medical doctor named Dr. Henry Jekyll, who develops a potion that lets him become another man, Edward Hyde, Dr. Jekyll himself was a very nice compassionate even-tempered individual. Whereas Mr. Hyde is this cold-blooded killer. So the story revolves around this battle between two different characters trying to control one body. Somebody asked Robert Louis Stevenson were did you get your inspiration for your characters. He said I looked inside myself. He said I find there is always a struggle with the beast that lives within me now. This struggle between two natures is the struggle that every child of God, even the best of the children of God are familiar with.

Even Paul the apostle struggled even Paul said all wretched man that I am who will deliver me from this body of death. I don't do what I know I should do I do what I know I shouldn't do, and even he struggle I was reading an article about a very unusual lizard of these to me there's a there's a typo. Those are called the skink SKINK it's a very shiny glossy skinned lizard as like between 12 and 1500 different varieties and sizes. Some are very, very colorful, but the most unusual skink ever found was found by a homeowner, a house owner down in Jacksonville, Florida because this skink had two heads one at each end of its body. So talk about frustration right whenever he tried to run the legs would move in opposite directions. That is a struggle now. Sometimes you might feel like you are unique and you might be thinking nobody knows the struggle I have. Here's the truth. Everybody knows the struggle you have because every one of us, as it might be different than yours, but it is definitely a struggle.

It is a battle that never stops. It is a battle we all want to win. It is a battle we all must win as Gen. Omar Bradley, who was one of our military generals leaders during World War II stated he said in war.

There is no prize for the runner-up. You don't get second and third prize in the war. You either win it or you lose it, and so we find ourselves engaged in the battle and we have not just an enemy, but we have three enemies who are allies against us, we have the world, the flesh and the devil.

First of all, we have the devil and the Bible says the devil is in a myth with little horns and a pitchfork. He's a real spiritual powerful entity and he's got a lot to help in the form of demons, then we have our flesh and the devil wouldn't be powerful unless we had an old nature that can be lured away and pulled away and susceptible to his temptation, but then we have 1/3 analyst we had the third goes to would not be powerful and that is the world with all of its values and allurements that Satan uses to attract our flesh toward his cause to be of the world the flesh and the devil.

Three allies that formed the perfect storm all exploiting our weaknesses. You've heard the old saying God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Not a wonderful thing to note it is true, God loves you and he does have a wonderful plan for your life. But the opposite is also true. Satan hates your guts and has a miserable plan for your life. So the question is facing this battle. How do we win the war with sin. Well, fortunately, we are given a battle strategy in Romans chapter 6 and I want to give you a force Process in winning the war with sin. It's in your worship folder. I've given you four words that take you through the steps we reason we reckon, we resist we replace those four steps will ensure that you win the battle against sin. Let's begin with the first we reason.

Now I know that the text that I am looking at begins in verse 11 where he says likewise you also reckon yourselves to be dead, but that is not the first step. The first step begins in the mind begins with your reasoning begins with knowledge fact by take you back to verse three of chapter 6. Notice the the word a few words in or do you not know Mark that do you not know then go down to verse 60 says it again, knowing this, then look at verse nine first word again knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead, so this is where victory begins there certain things you need to know if you want to grow. There's things you need to know that's where it starts and that's true with anything in life.

If you do anything in life you need to first learn about it so if you want to work on cars you need to know about engines. If you want to be an artist, you need to know about different mediums to present your art with whether it's paint palette knife, watercolors, sculpting, certain things you need to know if if you want to be a surgeon. Please, please know. Learn.

Get all you can before you cut into us and operate. So in doing anything, you must first be learning something. Learning always precedes living doctrine always comes before doing so, it is in a battle.

You just don't go on and fight a battle. Armies think it through. They plan a strategy. They assess their assets. They assess the enemy and and up tactics that they're familiar with before they engage in about several years ago I had this Bible signed by one of my heroes in the faith. JI Packer, and in it he writes James Packer, and then afterwards second Peter 318 will I did know that was at the time so I looked it up and I now know second Peter 318 grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We need to grow in knowledge the prophet Hosea said my people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge, not lack of commitment, not lack of dedication not lack of love there destroyed because they don't know Jesus said to the leaders of his day you are airing because you don't know the Scriptures nor the power of God. So we begin with the knowledge base begins in the mind. What are we to know exactly well first of all, go back to verse three we are to know that our old life is over its past, or do you not know verse three that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death. Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death, the just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. The old Skip was publicly executed in an event called baptism.

I stood in front of people. One day years ago before I was baptized in that swimming pool in friend's backyard and I declared to everyone by my baptism. The old me is gone and the new me is about to emerge.

That's why baptism is so important.

I don't know why people wait so long to get baptized sometimes. About phase people in the state. When did you come to Christ ago. 20 years ago while KO I'm glad you're here and glad you're getting baptized. I'm glad you're making this affirmation, but you know baptism in the New Testament and in many other places happens immediately or very quickly after salvation because it is the public declaration that things have changed I gone to India and it's interesting when a person comes to Christ in India because of the Hindu background they will often within a few days.

March with a group of believers getting baptized March through their town, singing the song to get everybody's attention. Looking down the streets because they wanted by their voices say.

I used to be like you. But now I'm different. I'm identifying with Jesus Christ I'm doing it publicly. I make a lot of noise. I want you to know what's happening so baptism is like that public execution. The old way of life is gone. That's what you need to know the second thing you need to know is that not only is the old life, past but the old lifestyle is powerless know some of your thinking. It is, I don't think it is I think is very very powerful that old lifestyle.

Let me put it another way, you need to know that your old lifestyle has been rendered powerless. Look at verse six. Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin, for he who has died has been freed from sin.

First of all, whenever you read the word old man in the Bible does not mean your dad that's a term from the 1960s. I remember people used to say that phrase along with far out groovy.

What's your bag. They would talk about the old man and the old lady they met mom and dad, but in the Bible. The old man is the older you identified in Adam before you came to know Jesus Christ. So what is happened. What is happened is this our old man was crucified with him that the body of sin might be done away with kata Gero is the Greek word, it means to be put out of business so Jesus went to Satan's headquarters, so to speak, and there you were working for the devil until Jesus handed Satan the certificate announcing his crucifixion and his resurrection and basically said okay buckaroo it's time for you to close up shop in terms of this individual, which means I am no longer an employee of the devil. I don't work for them any longer. The wages of sin is death. Thank God we can quit before payday. So we have Jesus hung out the sign out of business over my life.

God help us to hang up that same sign that some we need to know that the old lifestyle has been rendered powerless. We need to hang up that sign. Maybe you can relate to this prayer dear God, you're really going to be proud of me.

I haven't gossiped lusted or lost my temper today.

I haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent, and I'm very thankful for that. But Lord in a few minutes I'm gonna get out of bed and from then on, I'm going to need a lot of help. Amen. The poor boy just started, so we we need to know that our old life is past our old lifestyle has been rendered powerless and also we need to know that with new life comes new power.

Verse nine, knowing knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead, dies no more death no longer has dominion over him. He's a dethroned monarch for the death that he died he died to sin once for all, but the life that he lives, he lives to God. Jesus conquered death by what resurrection he got up again.

He lived again, so Jesus resurrection becomes the battery the power source for my victory over sin that brings death.

So what that means is I am both dead and alive over the old Westerns. The posters wanted dead or alive. Here's God's poster wanted dead and alive, dead to the old you alive in Christ to serve him dead to sin and alive to him.

The problem is many Christians live in between lives in between death and resurrection in between Good Friday and Easter that Jesus died for them, but there's no real advancing life giving life transformation that takes place. So the first step, then in winning the war with sin is we need to know certain truths to know is to grow. Dwight L. Moody used to hold his Bible in front of his congregation say this book will keep you from sin, but sin will keep you from this book. I like the way David put it, he said your word. I have hid in my heart that I might not sin against you. Us were begins begins reasoning, thinking, knowing the truth of God's word. That's the first step.

The second step after we reason is we reckon that's verse 11. Likewise, you also reckon you ourselves to be dead indeed to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Now verse 11 proves that Paul was a Texan as he said, reckon releasees from southern Tarsus out of no you know the term reckon this is not a word we use a lot today. Of course, in the South. It is a word that means to guess or suppose you ask a person how you doing you doing okay and they say Iraq and so means I I think so. I suppose so, but the word means something much stronger than just I think so or I suppose so.

It's the Greek word login semi-we get our word logic from that word, it means to calculate or better yet to estimate something to be true. It is a word of conviction is a word that basically means I believe that what God says to be true in his word is true in my life that is a big difference between knowing something and believing something just having knowledge or having the conviction the deep seated heart believe that it is true.

Somebody once said the longest journey will ever make is the 18 inches from your head to your heart or something is just really a part of you. So our theology must become RB ontology we need to be we be need to be convinced and convicted of these truths we need to turn our knowledge into conviction. Given illustration of what it means to record in a Jewish family and Orthodox Jewish family. If, let's say, a son or a daughter converts to Jesus for believing in Christ to Christianity there such an uproar in that family that the father will declare my son is dead to me now that does not mean his son physically died, but what it means is relationally.

I am reckoning I am counting I am supposing my conviction is he has done something that separates him from me and my son is dead to me. So we are to reckon ourselves to be dead. In that same manner. Sort of like endorsing the check. Somebody write you a check for hundred dollars if you actually believe money is in the account.

What you do, you sign your name to and you cash so your debt to it is a well if sin is dead in my life I wish it would just lie down visitor gives me a lot of trouble. Here's what you need to know sanctification.

That's were talking about becoming holy, being set apart by God to be sanctified does not mean you never sin, but it does mean you never have to sin. There's a big difference. John Stott put it this way, sin is inevitable, but it is never necessary. You don't have to do it.

You can't keep saying the devil made me do it. I couldn't help myself.

It's just who I am what it means is when you are attacked when you are in this battle, and the temptations come, you reckon you say I don't have to be a slave to that any longer. Notice that Paul did not say feel as if you are dead to sin because we don't said reckon yourselves to be dead understand it and then act on it ask you a message for you today from the series heart and soul you Skip to tell you about how you can keep encouraging messages like this coming your way as you help connect others to the good news of Jesus. If you're in Christ you're a new creation. That doesn't mean life is easier necessarily, but it does mean that your life has meaning and purpose and through your support today you can help others find that same hope that Jesus offers. So please consider how you can take action now to help reach more people with the truth of God's word.

Here's how you can give today you can give online@connectwithskip.com/donate. That's connect with.com/donate or call 892 to 1888, 800-922-1888. Thank you tomorrow Skip Heitzig shares her putting your focus in the right place can be a game changer in the battle against this turns the battle of a defensive position into an offensive position. You know the best defense is often good offense is the best way to deprive my old nature cultivates my new need my castle Skip presentation of connection communications to God's unchanging truth