Winning the War with Sin - Part B

This turns the battle from a defensive position into an offensive position.

You know the best defense is often a good offense. The best way to deprive my old nature is for beautiful surveys minutely feed my new make them soon this just stops and we must run from sin and run to God today on connect with skip-scriptures help putting your focus in the right place to be a game changer in the battle against sin.

Now we want to tell you about a great resource that will help the kids in your life engage God's word like never before.

The Bible is the most important information you can pass along to the next generation in your family and that can be a challenge right in this book, this Bible there are 66 separate books, some long some very long. Some very, very short 31,173 versus sound like a big book it is as if I success the Bible can seem overwhelming during kids and grandchildren. That's why you want a copy of this new resource Skip sorting to the Bible gives kids and cleans an overview of the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

In a fun travel engaged all God has requested your copies story to the Bible differently resource donation of $35 or more. This program going strong to you and others to God's word. Call now to give 800-922-1888. You can also give online securely connectwithskip.com/offer movements chapter 6 and Skip Heitzig extorts to the extent Dwight L. Moody is the holders 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 said your word. I have hid in my heart that I might not sin against you were begins begins reasoning, thinking, knowing the truth of God's word is the first step. The second step after we reason is we reckon that's verse 11. Likewise, you also reckon your cells 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 early-season from southern Tarsus that are not.

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.

It 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 belief that it is true.

Somebody once said the longest journey lever 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 and a conviction to give an illustration of what it means to reckon in a Jewish family and Orthodox Jewish family. If, let's say, a son or a daughter converts to Jesus to believing in Christ to Christianity there such an uproar in that family that the father will declare my son is dead to me 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 summary write you a check for hundred dollars if you actually believe money is in the account. What you do, you sign her name to and you cash so you're dead to say. 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 is not mean you never sin, but it does mean you never have to sin is 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 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. He said reckon yourselves to be dead to sin understand it and then act on it. So after knowing certain things. The knowledge becomes a deep conviction. So far I think you can see that the steps are all inward writer. All they're all going on in our thought process in our heart like the Bible says as a man thinks in his heart so is he that takes us now to the third step we reason we reckon. And third, we resist.

Verse 12 therefore and whenever there's a therefore find out what it's therefore right so it's tied to a previous thought.

The fact that you know certain things and you suppose as true.

Those things are true in your life. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its less notice the wording, the very fact that it's worded this way, the Paul says don't let sin reign in your mortal body. It shows me that there's an element of personal control involved. All it wants to rain all I am tempted by. I don't have to let it take over.

Do not let sin reign in your mortal body. There was a pastor who was pulled over by a police officer pastor pulled over for speeding wasn't me. It could've been.

But it wasn't me and this pastor decided to pull up to play the ministry card.

You know, so he he turned over his license and registration and as he gave it out the window to the police officer looked up and he said blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Police officer smiled didn't even bat an eye handed him a citation and said go and sin no more. You don't have to do it.

So don't let it happen. Don't let sin reign sin is a dethroned monarch. It makes this claim on you. You don't have to let that happen. Now let me just add a side note to that. I understand that some people struggle with besetting sins. I understand its people deal with habits from the past or addictive behavior that might need support from a group or a counselor to get them through that. I understand that but here's here's the point. Don't let sinful impulses call the shots. What is James chapter forsake resist the devil and what will he do, he will he will flee from you. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

So once we are plugged into this power source. The resurrection power. We can stop we can stop being servants of sin, so if knowing has to do with the mind and if reckoning has to do with the heart that deep conviction, then resisting has to do with the will were about the mind, the heart and now the will know you your hearing just some of you heard this before many times in your thinking will skip. These are nice thoughts that you're bringing but how do you implement this practically let me give you some practical things to do to implement this knowing and reckoning, and resist practical thought. Practical tip number one proximity maintain proximity. Don't get too close to that sin. Don't let that sin get too close to you. Stay away from temptation. If you get if you get so close to being tempted to go over that line every time. If you try to sail so close to the lake of fire your sales or to get cinched, stay away, maintain proximity member. The new story that broke three years ago there was a four-year-old boy named Isaiah Dickerson in the Cincinnati zoo who climbed underneath the fence to the gorilla enclosure. So here's a little boy gets in the gorilla cage. His parents are horrified the officials are called in and they have to make an immediate decision and they did it. They shot the 17-year-old gorilla her Romney was his name and killed that gorilla to save the boy it cause public outrage and a lot of debate made the news. But here's the deal.

Sin is a lot like a wild animal at the zoo.

Those animals are dangerous. They can harm you. But as long as you stay behind the barriers that are put there for your safety, they cannot hurt us.

It's only when we go around the barriers were crawl over the fence or under the fence and get in that cage with them that we are in danger. Martin Luther put it this way, you can't stop birds from flying above your head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair. Maintain proximity that's that's tip number one unresisting tip number two in resisting not only maintain proximity, but cut off opportunity, because you see, even when you put distance between you and temptation that temptation likes to follow you around and just sort of poke its head in your way. So here I am present itself to you. So what you do, let me give you another illustration. We have a piano on stage I'm in is go over to door amicably. A song so on this piano. There are petals on the bottom one panel makes things softer.

One petal is the sustained title. So if you hold a court and have the same family just keeps ringing, take it off it stops now if I push the Sistine petal and I sing a note in the piano.

Do you mind okay you hear my voice sustained right you know why those strings vibrates in response to my voice. That's not how piano designed to work piano is designed to have the strings vibrate, not by a human voice or by hammer hitting. That's how temptation works.

Satan calls and you vibrate you. Do you want to respond to his voice, your Lord. So when Satan calls you know the right responses. The right response when Satan calls like that close the top closes up clearly exhibit the voice close the top. That might mean you need to actually run away so you close the top. Joseph did that when Potiphar's wife grabbed that young man is. Let's go to bed. He did say when I like to negotiate. He does that. I'm not here right he actually streaked out of the house naked she was holding his robe best thing he could've done. The Bible says flee temptation don't negotiate temptation, get out of there, maintain proximity cut off opportunity, close the lid. Here's 1/3 practical suggestion foster accountability sometimes you need people around you to help you and support you in the struggle and I've discovered just telling another brother or sister about your temptation. The things you struggle with often causes that temptation to lose its power and its grip over you. This is why Solomon said to are better than one, though one may be overpowered by another two can withstand him just having that group that brother that sister that counselor that accountability can give you the extra courage to walk away from the temptation, but there's a final step in this final step is really the coup de grace in the battle. This final step is what cements the victory for you so we reason we reckon we resist but finally number four we replace we replace verse 13 says do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members.

That is, your body parts as instruments or weapons of righteousness to God for sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace now. This turns the battle from a defensive position into an offensive position.

You know the best defense is often a good offense. The best way to deprive my old nature is for me to cultivate my new nature feed my new nature. So if knowing has to do with the mind and if reckoning has to do with the heart and if resisting has to do with the well this has to do with my walk this. That's the final step I replace it. That is, I don't. I can get so focused on the temptation that's bothering me and I'm dealing with it and I'm being tempted and I'm struggling or I can get so busy with serving God, sharing Christ Fellowship and with other believers reading the Bible, praying, expanding the kingdom of God. I don't have much time left over for doing anything else but that I'm cultivating the new nature is a great old song says turn your eyes upon Jesus look full in his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace through that upward focus maintaining that pursuit of God seeking first the kingdom of God makes the things of earth grow dim. There's a little girl who fell out of bed one night she cried out, her mother rushed into her room, picked her up and held her tight.

Then put her back into bed tucked her in and said sweetheart why did you fall out of bed. She was I don't know mommy, I think I stay too close to where I got in.

That's our problem. We get in Christ, we just were to stay where we got in we just stay on the edge stay on the board. We need to move into the grace of God moved into the love of God grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How do we do that we do it by presenting ourselves to God. That's the word he uses here, do not present your members who are parts of your body as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead saying God hears my body. I'm given to you write Romans 12, I beseech you, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, which is your reasonable service to say here I am, I'm yours.

Today I want you to use my mouth my ears my eyes my mind my hands my feet for your glory, by the way that word instruments can be better translated weapons since he's talking about a battle here and that sin is a dethroned monarch doesn't have to rain anymore so you win by presenting your body parts for God's purpose instead of letting the devil.

Use your mind your eyes your ears your mouth your hands you present your ears your mouth your hands or feet your mind to God and let him use it. That's basic military strategy right there basic military service.

Don't give your weapons to the enemy right not basic what a soldier forgot to an enemy.

The time I boot would you call my gun for a minute stupid so don't be stupid in the battle don't get the devil your weapons. Don't give the devil your the use of your mortal body. The start up at the top are mind. Did you know that you can offer your mind as an instrument of wickedness.

To think unwholesome thoughts that were the problem.

The battle begins in the mind move down a little bit to the eyes. You can offer your eyes to look at unholy things, impure things, wicked things like pornography or the wrong kind of literature the wrong kind of movies the wrong kind of television but with goat little bit further south your mouth anybody here ever have problems with their mouth that we all do right James that is like a forest fire can destroy things regarding definitely gotten the trouble that part of our body are ears listening to evil reports listening to gossip without substantiation, and I can move any further south than that, I think we can all realize that every single part of our body can either be used for good or for bad, for righteousness or unrighteousness. But what we need to learn is the lesson the dogs learn you've ever trained a dog alike. I have tried in the past and its work on occasion but so you take a little goodie a little treat, put it on the floor like this and then you tell your dog this. What I didn't know and they said there not the dog will do something the dog will not look down at the little treat. Because the temptation is too great. If it's focused on that little treat. So I put it down I go now and the doll looks right up to me and then I say okay right. What's the secret of the dog is looking at its masters face. It's focused on the masters face is waiting for the master to say yes or no. Turn your eyes upon Jesus look full in his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace that the true so in summing this whole section up, it's pretty obvious that God is aiming in our lives as believers and this is a sermon for Christians he's aiming at righteousness transformation. What we call your life change. He's aiming at holiness. He wants all of you there was a man, a painter who was hired to pay to church a different color.

The painter came to the job, but he realized he did not have enough paint to finish the job so we added paint thinner so we can go further and he started painting the walls of the church on the outside but he was running else we added more thinner and he kept painting the he was running us added more thinner and he kept painting the next day like last night we had that rainstorm in that town and the paint was completely washed off the building.

The pastor was so angry he went to the painter and said repaint and sin no more. Good advice. Right sort of like repentance, sin no more repaint and sin no more.

Could it be that you have just covered over your life with a thin layer of morality or religiosity or ceremony, but there's no conversion. God wants all of you and he wants you to win this war sin and it's possible it's doable.

You don't have to let sin reign any longer. It's been dethroned know it reckon it resisted replacing that skit with the message from the series want to let you know about a degree program where you can dive into the truths of the Bible should transform your life.

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