as part of our gospel<\/p>\n
identity we are killers we are<\/p>\n
executioners we're soldiers that's kind<\/p>\n
of what we are this one of the roles<\/p>\n
that we are given is killers<\/p>\n
executioners and that comes right out of<\/p>\n
Romans 8 and you know everybody goes to<\/p>\n
Romans because it's the best chapter in<\/p>\n
the Bible Romans eight is the best and<\/p>\n
you know there is now no condemnation<\/p>\n
you know who can separate us from the<\/p>\n
love of God all the the the best verses<\/p>\n
in scripture are right in that one<\/p>\n
chapter but one of the verses that we we<\/p>\n
meet in this passage is in verse 13 for<\/p>\n
you if you live according to the flesh<\/p>\n
you would die but if by the spirit you<\/p>\n
put to death the Deeds of the body you<\/p>\n
will<\/p>\n
live so God commands he builds into us<\/p>\n
this uh not he uh responsib ability to<\/p>\n
be sin Killers you are an<\/p>\n
executioner of sin now and this isn't<\/p>\n
this<\/p>\n
isn't unique to Christianity this is<\/p>\n
every religion every philosophy right so<\/p>\n
what we do in whatever whatever religion<\/p>\n
you are whatever philosophy you follow<\/p>\n
whatever you even if you're an atheist<\/p>\n
this is what New Year's resolutions are<\/p>\n
about right this is you you keep what is<\/p>\n
good you keep doing what what is good<\/p>\n
and you kill what is bad you kill you<\/p>\n
put to death the ways that you have<\/p>\n
failed you stop doing that which keeps<\/p>\n
you from your<\/p>\n
goals every religion agrees with that<\/p>\n
every philosophy already agrees with<\/p>\n
that the difference here with<\/p>\n
Christianity is that it is now<\/p>\n
possible it is now it is now something<\/p>\n
that we can<\/p>\n
do I mean think about it you can't keep<\/p>\n
your you can't even keep your New Year's<\/p>\n
resolutions except for ASA and Emy you<\/p>\n
cannot keep your New Year's resol I<\/p>\n
cannot last year I thought I'm gonna I'm<\/p>\n
going to get back down to like my my<\/p>\n
college weight you know like a 165 I am<\/p>\n
not 165 PBS or you know 70 kilos I am<\/p>\n
not that I can't do it because I'm old<\/p>\n
and fat and I have three kids and I just<\/p>\n
can't get there there's things that I<\/p>\n
cannot<\/p>\n
do and<\/p>\n
and and what this passage does what the<\/p>\n
spirit of God does through the Son of<\/p>\n
God given by the father is that he gives<\/p>\n
us help Hope and the ability to fight so<\/p>\n
on that<\/p>\n
note let me pray for us as we get ready<\/p>\n
to dive into this passage and I'm going<\/p>\n
to read just a a a little section at a<\/p>\n
time and we're going to go through this<\/p>\n
and I want us to look at four<\/p>\n
points and I'm going to keep them<\/p>\n
shorter uh you know usually preachers<\/p>\n
have only three I have four today sorry<\/p>\n
um the first one is the ability to<\/p>\n
fight and then the second one<\/p>\n
is the mindset to fight uh number four<\/p>\n
is power to fight and then the fourth<\/p>\n
one<\/p>\n
is so the obligation to fight so we're<\/p>\n
going to look at the ability the mindset<\/p>\n
the power and the obligation to fight so<\/p>\n
let's pray before we do that<\/p>\n
though father thank you so much for this<\/p>\n
amazing<\/p>\n
passage thank you that even when we<\/p>\n
cannot win the<\/p>\n
battle you can you have you will in our<\/p>\n
lives even<\/p>\n
when we are tempted to think our little<\/p>\n
sins bring Eternal Joy fullness of joy<\/p>\n
and Pleasures forever<\/p>\n
more you bring us back to the truth that<\/p>\n
that only comes at your right<\/p>\n
hand father we pray that you would help<\/p>\n
um help us to become better Killers this<\/p>\n
year to kill sin but not through trying<\/p>\n
not through effort alone not through um<\/p>\n
doing a bunch of techniques but<\/p>\n
through a grounding and a Reliance upon<\/p>\n
the spirit in the gospel we ask all this<\/p>\n
in your<\/p>\n
name so let's start with the ability to<\/p>\n
um to fight sin so I want us to to look<\/p>\n
at these two pictures here now now which<\/p>\n
one of<\/p>\n
these are<\/p>\n
correct is it this one this is it the<\/p>\n
right hand or the the left<\/p>\n
hand it's the left hand no it's the<\/p>\n
right hand for sure lions eat meat their<\/p>\n
nature is to eat<\/p>\n
meat nobody should ever eat broccoli<\/p>\n
it's no one's nature to eat broccoli and<\/p>\n
we mess no I'm just<\/p>\n
kidding this is the nature of the lion<\/p>\n
and the nature that he that God has<\/p>\n
given him is to is to thrive to live on<\/p>\n
meat now you may see some freak Show<\/p>\n
lion that eats vegetables or fruits<\/p>\n
whatever that's not real the real lion<\/p>\n
thrives on<\/p>\n
meat this passage shows us two ways to<\/p>\n
live it shows us it shows us who we are<\/p>\n
now that we are in Christ and and and<\/p>\n
like the lion that's eating broccoli sin<\/p>\n
starves us it it it's not what we're<\/p>\n
designed for sin and we're going to sing<\/p>\n
a response I saw this in the bulletin<\/p>\n
thank you Tim for this song Satisfied or<\/p>\n
we have been when we eat when we we have<\/p>\n
a constant diet of sin when we when we<\/p>\n
allow sin to be our our constant<\/p>\n
um when when it's what we do it's when<\/p>\n
it's who we are when it controls us it<\/p>\n
starves<\/p>\n
us and we are not satisfied<\/p>\n
so let me let me um read this passage<\/p>\n
this is Romans 8<\/p>\n
1-4 I'm I'm not going to get this I<\/p>\n
think okay I'm just going to read it and<\/p>\n
then we'll catch up later on the slides<\/p>\n
there is<\/p>\n
therefore now no condemnation for those<\/p>\n
who are in Christ Jesus for the law of<\/p>\n
the spirit of life has set you free in<\/p>\n
Christ Jesus from the law of sin and<\/p>\n
death for God has done what the law<\/p>\n
weakened by the flesh could not do by<\/p>\n
sending his own son in the likeness of<\/p>\n
sinful flesh and for sin he condemned<\/p>\n
sin in the flesh in order that the<\/p>\n
righteous requirement of the law might<\/p>\n
be fulfilled in us who walk not<\/p>\n
according to the flesh but according to<\/p>\n
the spirit so what we see here is that<\/p>\n
in this passage right and of course we<\/p>\n
often look at verse one there is now no<\/p>\n
therefore for no condemnation for those<\/p>\n
who in Christ Jesus which is glorious<\/p>\n
and one of the most amazing passages in<\/p>\n
scripture and we we only focus there<\/p>\n
which is which is fine but the next<\/p>\n
verse for the law of the spirit of life<\/p>\n
has set you free in Christ Jesus from<\/p>\n
the law of sin and death what happens at<\/p>\n
Salvation what happens when we come to<\/p>\n
Christ is this we are changed our nature<\/p>\n
is changed we are set free from the sin<\/p>\n
from Death from the things that have<\/p>\n
ruled over us for years and years for<\/p>\n
all of our<\/p>\n
life and it is a change of nature not<\/p>\n
just not just we change our<\/p>\n
minds this is why the Christian Life Is<\/p>\n
So radical because it is God's spirit<\/p>\n
coming in and changing us and so that<\/p>\n
without this passage without there is<\/p>\n
now therefore no condemnation without<\/p>\n
for the law of the Spirit of life has<\/p>\n
set you free there is no fighting<\/p>\n
sin fighting sin only happens that<\/p>\n
way without gospel fighting sin is just<\/p>\n
religion with my kids every morning we<\/p>\n
do scripture and we do uh catechism so<\/p>\n
it's like questions and answers from the<\/p>\n
faith you know about the faith and um<\/p>\n
one of their uh one of their most recent<\/p>\n
ones is about the Covenant of life does<\/p>\n
everyone know what the Covenant of life<\/p>\n
is my kids could tell you um so it's<\/p>\n
it's a basically it's an agreement that<\/p>\n
God made with Adam at creation where<\/p>\n
perfect<\/p>\n
obedience to God's commands would result<\/p>\n
in eternal life so that means it's just<\/p>\n
the Covenant it's an agreement that God<\/p>\n
made with Adam saying if you do what I<\/p>\n
say you will live forever that's the<\/p>\n
Covenant of life<\/p>\n
now so what I did the other day when we<\/p>\n
were learning this this Cate catechism<\/p>\n
question was uh you know my uh Ransom my<\/p>\n
seven-year-old and Abigail my uh<\/p>\n
9-year-old we were sitting there and we<\/p>\n
were talking about it and I said all<\/p>\n
right because they W they really want a<\/p>\n
Nintendo switch and<\/p>\n
um and we said well okay here's the<\/p>\n
thing if you keep the Covenant of life<\/p>\n
until Friday we will get you a nintend<\/p>\n
Nintendo switch and they said ah okay<\/p>\n
maybe and I said okay that means no<\/p>\n
lying no disobeying when we tell you<\/p>\n
something you have to do it immediately<\/p>\n
um and that also in your heart and in<\/p>\n
your mind you can't think anything<\/p>\n
that's<\/p>\n
mean or not good and they said I don't<\/p>\n
think we're ever going to have a<\/p>\n
Nintendo switch<\/p>\n
Daddy and it's right it was a they they<\/p>\n
said this is impossible we can't do<\/p>\n
this and this is the message this is the<\/p>\n
message of Romans 8 is that we cannot do<\/p>\n
it but Christ has done it so here in the<\/p>\n
gospel we see one the law fulfilled on<\/p>\n
our behalf verse two we see the<\/p>\n
punishment of our the punishment that we<\/p>\n
deserve for our Disobedience for our not<\/p>\n
keeping the Covenant of Life dealt with<\/p>\n
Christ himself dealt with it and then we<\/p>\n
see the believer raised to live and walk<\/p>\n
in Christ in the spirit and as as verse<\/p>\n
two says we are set free from the law of<\/p>\n
sin and death so we are<\/p>\n
given the ability to fight sin so as you<\/p>\n
go into the new year realize you have<\/p>\n
the ability not because of your goodness<\/p>\n
not because of your discipline not<\/p>\n
because you're a generally good person<\/p>\n
but because you have been set free by<\/p>\n
Christ to walk in the<\/p>\n
spirit the second one the mindset to<\/p>\n
fight the mindset to<\/p>\n
fight all right here we go all right<\/p>\n
everybody know who this is I feel like<\/p>\n
every third sermon I preach here there's<\/p>\n
Mike Tyson somewhere in the<\/p>\n
illustrations I love Mike Tyson I love<\/p>\n
boxing I love fighting um<\/p>\n
one of my favorite things about Tyson<\/p>\n
and if who who here grew up in the 80s<\/p>\n
anybody grew up in the 80s there like<\/p>\n
four of us we're the old people here<\/p>\n
that's crazy um all right so when you<\/p>\n
were watching Mike Tyson in the 80s<\/p>\n
there was nothing that had ever been<\/p>\n
like this man I mean it was just like a<\/p>\n
hurricane in the boxing ring and it was<\/p>\n
it was be if you like fighting it was<\/p>\n
beautiful if you're like my wife it was<\/p>\n
disgusting but it was it was just this<\/p>\n
amazing um no one had ever been like him<\/p>\n
um and his<\/p>\n
mindset like I I was just watched a<\/p>\n
video about about Tyson and the way he<\/p>\n
trained the way he fought and it was it<\/p>\n
was this amazing mindset and it was I am<\/p>\n
a warrior no one and he really believed<\/p>\n
no one on earth could defeat<\/p>\n
him and so this mindset affected every<\/p>\n
single area of his life nothing was left<\/p>\n
out it it affected everything the way he<\/p>\n
trained the way he ate ate the way he<\/p>\n
slept everything everything was filtered<\/p>\n
through this mindset I am a<\/p>\n
warrior and his life his whole life was<\/p>\n
about one thing and that was defeating<\/p>\n
everyone who stepped in the ring with<\/p>\n
him and he did for a time until he lost<\/p>\n
that mindset so if you if you if you<\/p>\n
know his story you realize once that<\/p>\n
mindset went away he started getting<\/p>\n
beat let me read this passage Mage to us<\/p>\n
because I believe this gives us the<\/p>\n
mindset to fight as well for those who<\/p>\n
live according to the flesh set their<\/p>\n
minds on the things of the flesh but<\/p>\n
those who live according to the spirit<\/p>\n
set their minds on the things of the<\/p>\n
spirit for to set the mind on the flesh<\/p>\n
is death but to set the mind on the<\/p>\n
spirit is life and peace for the mind<\/p>\n
that is set on the flesh is hostile<\/p>\n
towards God for it does not submit to<\/p>\n
God's law indeed it cannot those who are<\/p>\n
in the flesh<\/p>\n
cannot please<\/p>\n
God so this is this is common with Paul<\/p>\n
he actually talks about this in a couple<\/p>\n
other places where he calls US soldiers<\/p>\n
he's said we are at War this is wartime<\/p>\n
we have a wartime mentality the way that<\/p>\n
we are to think about life is war is a<\/p>\n
fight that we are<\/p>\n
Fighters and so this passage also means<\/p>\n
that no matter which side you choose no<\/p>\n
matter which side you're on whether you<\/p>\n
are in this willing to fight over it<\/p>\n
we're will and to die over it and that's<\/p>\n
just the way we<\/p>\n
are and this this passage uses the<\/p>\n
phrase a few different times set your<\/p>\n
minds on or bakai so what are you<\/p>\n
setting your mind upon what is your<\/p>\n
mindset going into this new<\/p>\n
year what are you setting your mind<\/p>\n
upon and I want to give us three<\/p>\n
questions real quick to help us think<\/p>\n
through this a little bit<\/p>\n
it because we go into this new year we<\/p>\n
go into every by the way this is not a<\/p>\n
fight you will finish until you die this<\/p>\n
is a fight that you will do every day<\/p>\n
until the day you die so what is your<\/p>\n
mindset going into this fight and three<\/p>\n
questions that will help you I believe<\/p>\n
one who are we Robin cry so we are<\/p>\n
according to what we've just read in in<\/p>\n
in verses one all the way to 8 we are<\/p>\n
are forgiven Sinners forgiven Sinners<\/p>\n
Rebels who deserve death and Hell who<\/p>\n
have been set free who have been<\/p>\n
forgiven who have been<\/p>\n
redeemed from the law of sin and death<\/p>\n
set free to New Life and then who's are<\/p>\n
we these questions help our mindset<\/p>\n
who's are we we are<\/p>\n
redeemed<\/p>\n
ransomed and therefore we belong to God<\/p>\n
when we're<\/p>\n
fighting when we're struggling with our<\/p>\n
sin ask these questions of yourself who<\/p>\n
am<\/p>\n
I and who's am I it will help kind of<\/p>\n
direct your mindset<\/p>\n
because this isn't something that we<\/p>\n
just fall into accidentally you don't<\/p>\n
become holy you don't fight sin<\/p>\n
accidentally it happens with<\/p>\n
intentionality and then the last<\/p>\n
question therefore who is my<\/p>\n
enemy now James says that the devil is<\/p>\n
like a roaring lion prowling around<\/p>\n
seeking someone to devour devour right<\/p>\n
it is sin is sneaky sin is wanting to<\/p>\n
devour us and so we have to we have to<\/p>\n
know who is our<\/p>\n
enemy are we<\/p>\n
hostile<\/p>\n
towards and I know this sounds<\/p>\n
oldfashioned but it's just true are we<\/p>\n
are we hostile towards what God<\/p>\n
says is sin is wrong or are we hostile<\/p>\n
towards what makes us uncomfortable what<\/p>\n
challenges our Idols what our culture<\/p>\n
around us culture around us says is the<\/p>\n
highest the best thing are we what are<\/p>\n
we hostile<\/p>\n
towards third let's go to the power uh<\/p>\n
Power to fight uh do we everybody know<\/p>\n
what this game is<\/p>\n
huh you know what it is what do we call<\/p>\n
what do we call this In<\/p>\n
tha what is a mole in time anyway whacka<\/p>\n
mole right<\/p>\n
so so when I grew up in the 80s this was<\/p>\n
the height of video games basically you<\/p>\n
know uh this was you know I always<\/p>\n
dreamed of finding a whack-a-mole cuz<\/p>\n
where I grew up was like in the country<\/p>\n
you never saw these<\/p>\n
things but if you've ever played<\/p>\n
it it after about a about 15 seconds it<\/p>\n
becomes impossible<\/p>\n
right um the other day I was playing<\/p>\n
with uh Ransom my boy CU he loves these<\/p>\n
kind of things anything with a hammer<\/p>\n
where you hit things he loves to do that<\/p>\n
kind of thing and so we were playing and<\/p>\n
and there were two hammers there so I I<\/p>\n
grabbed it and started helping him too<\/p>\n
and we still couldn't get it<\/p>\n
sometimes fighting our sin feels a<\/p>\n
little bit like whack-a-mole right with<\/p>\n
a lot worse consequences of course uh<\/p>\n
wakao has no consequences except for you<\/p>\n
lose your money but our sin feels like<\/p>\n
this you you press down in one area you<\/p>\n
defeat you think you defeat one area and<\/p>\n
then something else pops<\/p>\n
up and then you deal with that and then<\/p>\n
something else pops up over here and it<\/p>\n
it's just the way our lives feel right<\/p>\n
sometimes that's why our resol utions<\/p>\n
never work right because we can't<\/p>\n
control all these areas of our lives and<\/p>\n
we we're forgetful we're blind we<\/p>\n
whatever and it's discouraging it's<\/p>\n
frustrating sin is a little bit like<\/p>\n
whack-a-mole you know it it just it<\/p>\n
defeats<\/p>\n
us this passage that we're about to read<\/p>\n
encourages us it assures us of power<\/p>\n
that is ours to fight sin<\/p>\n
you however are not in the flesh but in<\/p>\n
the spirit if in fact the spirit of God<\/p>\n
dwells in you anyone who does not have<\/p>\n
the spirit of Christ does not belong to<\/p>\n
him but if Christ is in you although the<\/p>\n
body is dead because of sin the<\/p>\n
spirit of Li the spirit is life because<\/p>\n
of righteousness if the spirit of him<\/p>\n
who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in<\/p>\n
you he who raised Christ Jesus from the<\/p>\n
dead will also give life to your mortal<\/p>\n
bodies through his Spirit who dwells in<\/p>\n
you so I don't know if you noticed there<\/p>\n
but there's like four times in this<\/p>\n
passage where Paul wants to focus on<\/p>\n
these words if the spirit of God dwells<\/p>\n
in you or dwells in you the spirit of<\/p>\n
God dwells in<\/p>\n
you he's trying to usually it's not hard<\/p>\n
to figure out the focus of any passage<\/p>\n
of scripture especially in a place like<\/p>\n
this where it's just rep he it over and<\/p>\n
over and over the spirit of God dwells<\/p>\n
in you the spirit of the Living God<\/p>\n
dwells in<\/p>\n
you this passage tells us that we do not<\/p>\n
fight sin<\/p>\n
alone you what's the old the the the<\/p>\n
Liverpool Liverpool fans here You'll<\/p>\n
Never Walk Alone this I'm I don't I<\/p>\n
don't know anything about soccer that's<\/p>\n
all I know about soccer right<\/p>\n
there but You'll Never Walk Alone You'll<\/p>\n
Never Walk Alone in Christ there is now<\/p>\n
therefore no condemnation for those who<\/p>\n
are in Christ and if his if we are his<\/p>\n
his Spirit dwells in us and we will<\/p>\n
never fight sin<\/p>\n
alone it tells us that all who are<\/p>\n
his also have help to fight our sin it's<\/p>\n
not something you're doing because<\/p>\n
you're disciplined or you're doing now<\/p>\n
you need discipline and we should be<\/p>\n
disciplined and we should develop that<\/p>\n
and cultivate that in our lives but it<\/p>\n
is not the thing that kills sin the<\/p>\n
power that kills sin is the spirit of<\/p>\n
God dwelling in us and it tells us this<\/p>\n
passage also says that we have<\/p>\n
resurrection power in the spirit listen<\/p>\n
to this if the spirit of him who raised<\/p>\n
Jesus from the dead dwells in you okay<\/p>\n
this is the same Spirit who ra who did<\/p>\n
the most incredible miracle in the<\/p>\n
history of the world he raed<\/p>\n
raised a dead man back to life if this<\/p>\n
Spirit lives in you he who raised Christ<\/p>\n
Jesus from the dead will also give life<\/p>\n
to your mortal bodies through his Spirit<\/p>\n
who dwells in<\/p>\n
you this Spirit isn't like a force it is<\/p>\n
not just an idea but it is an it is the<\/p>\n
resurrection causing spirit of God the<\/p>\n
one that we celebrate every Easter that<\/p>\n
Christ raised from the dead that thing<\/p>\n
that we celebrate the power that did<\/p>\n
that the one who did that not the power<\/p>\n
but the one who did that dwells in every<\/p>\n
single<\/p>\n
believer Christian we can be really<\/p>\n
encouraged by that you do not fight this<\/p>\n
battle<\/p>\n
alone God Is With Us in us for us<\/p>\n
fighting in us for us with<\/p>\n
us and he has defeated sin already and<\/p>\n
he is defeating it right now in our<\/p>\n
bodies and all who are with him and the<\/p>\n
last one obligation now this is a somber<\/p>\n
sobering picture um many of you have<\/p>\n
dealt with this all of us probably in<\/p>\n
this room have dealt with this this my<\/p>\n
my father-in-law died a couple years ago<\/p>\n
this both my mom and my uh stepmom uh<\/p>\n
have been affected by this and are still<\/p>\n
dealing with the effects of cancer uh<\/p>\n
cancer it it is it eats away at our<\/p>\n
bodies right and often the way cancer<\/p>\n
works is that it is hidden sometimes for<\/p>\n
years and and then it just it just pops<\/p>\n
up some symptom happens and it causes us<\/p>\n
to have to go and and get checked out<\/p>\n
and we find<\/p>\n
oh we're done this is it we will not our<\/p>\n
we will not live much<\/p>\n
longer this past<\/p>\n
message really and the way that the<\/p>\n
Bible thinks about Sin is just like this<\/p>\n
sin is a cancer it's not a fun side<\/p>\n
activity it's not something that we play<\/p>\n
with but it is a cancer in our<\/p>\n
bodies in our<\/p>\n
souls so let me read this passage for us<\/p>\n
so then and so then you know when he<\/p>\n
says so then he's he's referring back to<\/p>\n
all that he's talked about all this the<\/p>\n
ability that we've been given therefore<\/p>\n
there is now no condemnation you have<\/p>\n
been set free by the spirit of life you<\/p>\n
are you are no longer hostile toward God<\/p>\n
but you are hostile towards sin uh sin<\/p>\n
is anyone who is in sin who is walking<\/p>\n
in sin is hostile towards God and then<\/p>\n
we have this power this Resurrection<\/p>\n
causing power living in us that allows<\/p>\n
us that gives us that empowers us to<\/p>\n
fight<\/p>\n
sin now so what therefore so then<\/p>\n
Brothers we are debtors we are obligated<\/p>\n
not to the flesh to live according to<\/p>\n
the flesh to sin for if you are living<\/p>\n
according to the flesh you will die but<\/p>\n
if by the spirit you put to death the<\/p>\n
Deeds of the body you will<\/p>\n
live so he uses this word debtors<\/p>\n
obligation we are listen we are always<\/p>\n
in debt we all understand debt and I<\/p>\n
think Thai people get this really well<\/p>\n
actually we we um you know we we talk<\/p>\n
about Ben you know sometimes not just<\/p>\n
phys like like money debt but but you<\/p>\n
had this sense of gr or uh you you had<\/p>\n
this when people have given to you you<\/p>\n
want to repay that kindness you right<\/p>\n
you you Tai people feel that better than<\/p>\n
farang do I think you that that<\/p>\n
obligation that comes from uh uh a gift<\/p>\n
or or or a series of gifts<\/p>\n
the biblical picture of sin here<\/p>\n
especially in Romans 8 this deadly<\/p>\n
cancer that is in the soul of every<\/p>\n
human<\/p>\n
being<\/p>\n
sometimes often<\/p>\n
times we live as if we are in debt to<\/p>\n
the sin which means we live according to<\/p>\n
our sin um actually John Piper has a<\/p>\n
really good illustration of this he he<\/p>\n
says it's like we've been moved we used<\/p>\n
to be in this apartment building<\/p>\n
sin we'd have to pay rent to sin as our<\/p>\n
landlord but then we moved God moved us<\/p>\n
he set us free from that and put us in<\/p>\n
his Mansion but we still try to keep<\/p>\n
paying rent to our old<\/p>\n
landlord whenever we walk in sin<\/p>\n
whenever we refuse to walk in the spirit<\/p>\n
whenever we do that which God says don't<\/p>\n
do or whenever we don't do that which<\/p>\n
God says do<\/p>\n
this we're paying rent to death we're<\/p>\n
paying rent to our own death we are<\/p>\n
fostering cultivating feeding the cancer<\/p>\n
that is in within within<\/p>\n
us and Owen you know I mentioned John<\/p>\n
Owen at the<\/p>\n
beginning this is his his famous phrase<\/p>\n
if you don't get anything from and I'm<\/p>\n
sorry I don't know if there's any o and<\/p>\n
and Tha but uh if you don't get anything<\/p>\n
get<\/p>\n
this this is his famous quote one of his<\/p>\n
famous quotes but the most famous One be<\/p>\n
killing sin or sin will be killing you<\/p>\n
we are under<\/p>\n
obligation why because it's death or<\/p>\n
life<\/p>\n
it's will we die or will we walk in<\/p>\n
life that's the<\/p>\n
obligation if we want to live God says<\/p>\n
walk in the spirit put to death the<\/p>\n
Deeds of the body put to death sin in<\/p>\n
your life anything that displeases God<\/p>\n
be hostile towards<\/p>\n
this now my I mentioned my mom you know<\/p>\n
my mom has health problems all the time<\/p>\n
and it's<\/p>\n
because and I kind of jokingly say this<\/p>\n
she has a a heart surgery and then<\/p>\n
she'll celebrate with a fish fry you<\/p>\n
know she she just like she cannot stop<\/p>\n
eating bad food she cannot stop living<\/p>\n
in a way that uh mom if you're watching<\/p>\n
this I'm sorry<\/p>\n
um but but she she walks in that<\/p>\n
sometimes now she's making changes<\/p>\n
there's good things going on here but<\/p>\n
how how often do we do<\/p>\n
this how often do we Feast at the table<\/p>\n
of sin how often do we Feast upon sin in<\/p>\n
our lives<\/p>\n
we need help we need help guys we need<\/p>\n
we need Gospel<\/p>\n
Power let's go through a few<\/p>\n
strategies and I just want to walk<\/p>\n
through a few strategies and this is it<\/p>\n
um and again I I want to I want<\/p>\n
to stress<\/p>\n
that fighting sin does not make God love<\/p>\n
you<\/p>\n
fighting sin and perfecting yourself<\/p>\n
first of all is<\/p>\n
impossible second of all God will not<\/p>\n
love you more if you win the battle<\/p>\n
because you can't win the<\/p>\n
battle but it will make you love God<\/p>\n
more it will make you love him more when<\/p>\n
you walk in his spirit this is about<\/p>\n
your heart and my heart will we feed the<\/p>\n
cancer that is in every human soul or<\/p>\n
will we put to death these things so<\/p>\n
first of all remember that Jesus<\/p>\n
understands our<\/p>\n
struggles Hebrews four but Hebrews in<\/p>\n
particular is such a<\/p>\n
wonderful way to me it's such a<\/p>\n
wonderful meditation on this and many<\/p>\n
other things but on on several occasions<\/p>\n
in Hebrews it talks about Jesus being<\/p>\n
the great high priest and it<\/p>\n
says in 4:15 Hebrews 4:5 this high<\/p>\n
priest Jesus of ours understands our<\/p>\n
weaknesses<\/p>\n
for he faced all of them all of the same<\/p>\n
testings that we do yet he did not sin<\/p>\n
remember when you are facing sin in the<\/p>\n
upcoming days today in the upcoming<\/p>\n
minutes throughout your life until the<\/p>\n
day you die Jesus understands every bit<\/p>\n
of it Jesus understands what you did<\/p>\n
Jesus and Luke 4 was tempted to power<\/p>\n
and glory and to doubt God and to to to<\/p>\n
shortcut God's plan to make his plan his<\/p>\n
own go back and read Luke 4 sometime it<\/p>\n
is amazing that our savior faced<\/p>\n
Temptations before he even started his<\/p>\n
public<\/p>\n
Ministry second of<\/p>\n
all and this I want to be careful here<\/p>\n
this is not moralism this is not you<\/p>\n
earning your salvation but it is being<\/p>\n
intentional about your growth make a<\/p>\n
plan to fight sin make a plan you know<\/p>\n
this requires what we just read uh<\/p>\n
Romans 1 Romans 8 1-13 it requires that<\/p>\n
we have to be intentional and and this<\/p>\n
is something you're you already know<\/p>\n
this you're<\/p>\n
already I remember many many years ago<\/p>\n
when I was in shape when I was like I<\/p>\n
had bigger muscles and my waistline was<\/p>\n
smaller and my my clothes fit better it<\/p>\n
was a joy to go to the gym it was a joy<\/p>\n
to work out it was a joy to eat<\/p>\n
right our walk with God is like this as<\/p>\n
well we have to be intentional we have<\/p>\n
to put effort into it we have to take<\/p>\n
joy in it sometimes that means avoiding<\/p>\n
places avoiding situations avoiding<\/p>\n
people that would tempt<\/p>\n
you Paul says this is one of the the<\/p>\n
verses that has really helped me in my<\/p>\n
struggle with sin<\/p>\n
in he says clothe yourself with the<\/p>\n
presence this is Romans 13:14 uh and<\/p>\n
clothe yourself with the presence of the<\/p>\n
Lord Jesus Christ and don't let yourself<\/p>\n
think about ways to indulge your evil<\/p>\n
desires so we clothe ourselves we put on<\/p>\n
the presence of Jesus we one Theologian<\/p>\n
says we practice the presence that is<\/p>\n
already there we practice realizing<\/p>\n
walking in the presence of Christ him<\/p>\n
himself and we we do not make<\/p>\n
plans to th uh to to um indulge our<\/p>\n
flesh do you ever make plans to indulge<\/p>\n
your<\/p>\n
flesh all right here's a silly<\/p>\n
example I love Dairy<\/p>\n
Queen and<\/p>\n
sometimes when uh my wife says we need<\/p>\n
this and this and this from the grocery<\/p>\n
store I'm like well I should probably go<\/p>\n
to paradise mall or Tesco down in batat<\/p>\n
because they have a Dairy Queen I don't<\/p>\n
say that part out loud but I I say that<\/p>\n
to my heart and I make plans to walk by<\/p>\n
the Dairy Queen where I'm going to get a<\/p>\n
blizzard and I'm going to pretend to the<\/p>\n
lady can I have the big one I'm going to<\/p>\n
wrap it up and take it home no I'm going<\/p>\n
to eat the whole thing in my car you you<\/p>\n
ever done that you ever make plans to<\/p>\n
indulge your own<\/p>\n
flesh we have to work towards not doing<\/p>\n
that we have to make plans to stop doing<\/p>\n
that and and it's not if you don't if<\/p>\n
you fail you're going to hell no it's if<\/p>\n
you fail remember that Jesus understands<\/p>\n
remember that<\/p>\n
Jesus has done everything to cover that<\/p>\n
sin and then get back on the<\/p>\n
wagon so then also let your church<\/p>\n
participate in this this is a community<\/p>\n
this is a family let the people in this<\/p>\n
room participate in your fight with sin<\/p>\n
you can't do this alone now you have the<\/p>\n
spirit of God but he did not intend for<\/p>\n
you to walk alone in this only with the<\/p>\n
spirit and yourself that's not biblical<\/p>\n
God intended for you to walk in the<\/p>\n
midst of a community fighting sin<\/p>\n
together now I want to be very clear<\/p>\n
here your job is not to fight your<\/p>\n
neighbor's<\/p>\n
sin you know like I'm not here to call<\/p>\n
Justin sin out and to fight Justin's sin<\/p>\n
and to post about it on Facebook you<\/p>\n
know what Justin did this morning no no<\/p>\n
no my sin my fight is with my sin your<\/p>\n
fight is with your sin but you need help<\/p>\n
in that from your brothers and sisters<\/p>\n
third memorize and meditate for those<\/p>\n
who live according to the flesh set<\/p>\n
their minds on the things of the flesh<\/p>\n
but those who live according to the<\/p>\n
spirit set their minds on the things of<\/p>\n
the spirit how can you do<\/p>\n
that this question is asked explicitly<\/p>\n
in psalm 19 how can a young person stay<\/p>\n
pure young or old this works by obeying<\/p>\n
your word I have hidden your word in my<\/p>\n
heart that I might not sin against you I<\/p>\n
will study your Commandments and reflect<\/p>\n
in your it is really really<\/p>\n
hard to knowingly<\/p>\n
constantly practice sin when you are<\/p>\n
meditating on God's word when you are<\/p>\n
letting that word be a part of your<\/p>\n
day-to-day experience when you when you<\/p>\n
put the time in just to read study pray<\/p>\n
it if you want a victory over sin you<\/p>\n
have to fill your mind with God's word<\/p>\n
and then last of all we fix our eyes on<\/p>\n
Jesus in The Gospel so we need an<\/p>\n
example of how to fight sin go to Luke 4<\/p>\n
there's a good example<\/p>\n
Jesus quotes Deuteronomy to the devil to<\/p>\n
quote one<\/p>\n
songwriter focus on what your sin<\/p>\n
the thing that you want to play with<\/p>\n
whatever that little sin is what that<\/p>\n
cost<\/p>\n
Jesus it's a great old hymn says go to<\/p>\n
dark Gethsemane you who feel the<\/p>\n
tempter's power your redeemers conflict<\/p>\n
see watch with him one bitter hour turn<\/p>\n
not from his griefs away learn of Jesus<\/p>\n
Christ to pray so when you are focused<\/p>\n
on responding to the desire the urge to<\/p>\n
sin<\/p>\n
go to Jesus look at what your sin cost<\/p>\n
him like we talked about earlier<\/p>\n
remember who we are in Christ there is<\/p>\n
now no condemnation you are forgiven you<\/p>\n
are not condemned and then last of<\/p>\n
all and this is the hardest and the<\/p>\n
simplest of all is we have to find our<\/p>\n
joy in Jesus and this is there's not<\/p>\n
like a a secret trick to this you know<\/p>\n
um in your presence there is fullness of<\/p>\n
joy at your right hand oh God there is<\/p>\n
pleasure forever more do you believe<\/p>\n
that because that's the only way that<\/p>\n
you fight sin is that if you believe<\/p>\n
that what is better is what you already<\/p>\n
have available to you in Christ let's<\/p>\n
pray father we thank you for your spirit<\/p>\n
thank you for your love thank thank you<\/p>\n
for the reality that there is now<\/p>\n
therefore no condemnation for any of us<\/p>\n
who are in<\/p>\n
you and more than that you<\/p>\n
are with us you have kept your promise<\/p>\n
that I will never leave you or forsake<\/p>\n
you but youve actually sent your spirit<\/p>\n
to live in each and every one of us<\/p>\n
father help<\/p>\n
us to hate sin help us<\/p>\n
to help us to live under obligation only<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
you not because you're a hard<\/p>\n
Taskmaster but because you are a sweet<\/p>\n
Savior<\/p>\n
and in you is rest true rest forever<\/p>\n
rest convince us of that<\/p>\n
and as we go into the new year father<\/p>\n
help us to be better killers of our sin<\/p>\n
we ask this in your name amen<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20241230","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dxzOSamRRQM","video_id":"dxzOSamRRQM","video_duration":"39:19","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=307"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":308,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions\/308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}