OVERCOMING THINGS OF THE WORLD

Beloved, as we live in a sinful world we will always have struggles with sin, however it is very important to remember that as a child of God we do not belong to the world though we are in the world...

"not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world"  1Cor 5:10

Beloved, Apostle Paul says you would have to leave this world to be free from sins, however, we need to remind ourselves that we do not belong to this world.

 Jesus said; John 15:19

"The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you."

Brethren, there are many people who are struggling with certain sins or addictions even after the knowledge of the truth... this is because there are certain things they are not doing, I will like to share certain principles of overcoming lust

 PRINCIPLES OF OVERCOMING SIN

1.The first thing is to REPENT and ACCEPT JESUS into your HEART as your Lord and savior: You need to be born again

The Bible says

"for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 1 John 5:4-5

2. SURRENDER

Brethren, after you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and savior, you need to surrender your life to obey Him,.. the issue of surrender is very important, many make Jesus their saviour but not their Lord: what does the word "lord" mean?

Lord means:- "master" or one who possess Control or the owner; one who has control of the person

Jesus said; in Luke 6:46

“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?

Yielding your heart to obey Jesus or the Word daily is an evidence of His lordship in your life.

To make Jesus your Lord, is to surrender your heart to obey Him, to please Him..to surrender has to do with SELF DENIAL or yielding up yourself to obey the Word.

Many have accepted Jesus but they are still holding back certain interest or doing things they desire, when that happens they won't be fruitful in their Christian walk. Jesus said

"Then He said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must DENY himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Luke 9:23 NIV

Luke 9:23 NLT

"Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must TURN FROM your SELFISH WAYS, take up your cross daily, and follow me."

Beloved, surrender is self denial, it is giving your whole being to obey Jesus.. when we surrender our hearts to Him, the Holy Spirit will empower us to overcome all things through Christ who strengthens us... When you surrender, there's no turning back, Jesus said

Luke 9:62

"But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and THEN LOOKS BACK is NOT FIT for the Kingdom of God.”

If you have surrended all to Jesus, you will never be comfortable with sin... surrender your heart to the Holy Spirit to experience the joy that is in Christ.

Today, make a commitment to trust and obey yielding your heart to Him.

3. FEED ON THE WORD & PRAYER:

Beloved, when you examine certain Christians who struggle with particular sins you will notice that they don't have a prayer life or time to study the Word.

When we have no time to study or meditate on the Word of God, we create a void in our minds that can be dominated by sin... this is why some Christians still struggle with certain addictions like lust, masturbation or pornography.. They more we spend time in the Word the greater we experience breakthroughs that comes by the Word.

Personal fellowship with the Lord empowers the Believer.. this is very important for every Christian

To grow in Christ to the full stature of maturity in the faith, you need to spend time with the Word... the Bible says

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Rom 10:17 NKJV

The Word of God builds faith in us and this faith make us to overcome sin... David said in the Psalms

Psalms 119:11

"I have hidden your word in my heart,that I might not sin against you."

When you have the Word of God in your heart; the knowledge of the truth prompts you to do the right thing, the more you feed on the Word, the more you are filled with the Spirit for the words are spirit and they are life (see John 6:63)

The Bible says

Romans 12:2

"Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God TRANSFORM you into a NEW PERSON by CHANGING the WAY you THINK. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

Beloved, the transformation of a person's life begins from the MIND through the WORD OF GOD, the more we spend time with the Word, holding to it's precepts, the more we are transformed from glory to glory( See: 2 Corinthians 3:18)

The reason why some Christians sin is because of the lack of knowledge, this is why the scriptures says "for lack of knowledge my people perish.."  this will lead us to our next principle

4. KNOW YOUR IDENTITY

The scriptures says  "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.." Hosea 4:6a

Beloved, if you don't know who you are, you will not live the life that is expected of you...

 assuming you have been made a Royal but you are not aware of your identity you will end up living an ordinary life but immediately you receive the knowledge of your new identity, you will begin to live the expected life: THE ROYAL LIFE...in the same way, when we receive the right knowledge of the gospel of who we are in Christ: Children of God, holy and righteous in Him, Royals; Kings & priests, ambassadors and citizens of heaven then we will live the life that is expected of us as Christians, a life free from sin to reflect Jesus to the world.

When we live in our identity in Christ, we are able to bear fruits... however, those who fail to live in this way have forgotten they have been cleansed from their past sins and hence struggle with sin (see: 2 Peter 1:9)

5. DON'T ENTERTAIN SIN

Beloved, sometimes we fall into certain habits because of certain ungodly associations, when we entertain sin it becomes irresistible to us when it appears... The Bible says;

James 1:14-15

"Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.

These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death."

Pay close attention here: it says when sin is allowed to grow...

NURTURING SIN

Beloved, do you know sometimes we are drawn into sin because we allow sin into our lives? It begins when we compromise and entertain things we ought not to... the Bible says:

"Catch for us the foxes, the LITTLE FOXES that RUIN the VINEYARDS, our vineyards that are in bloom." Songs of Solomon 2:15 (Emphasis)

Did you see the little foxes ruin the vineyard....yes, that little compromise can ruin your spiritual experience; as harmless as it is, when it is fully grown it will bring your destruction... the Bible says

"but each one is tempted when, by HIS OWN evil DESIRE, he is DRAGGED AWAY and ENTICED. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." James 1:14-15 NIV(emphasis)

Beloved, these little foxes are our own evil desires that are lurking within the flesh, and when we give in to these desires, it grows to the point that we are being dominated by such evil desires; at this point such a person is being indulged in a particular sin.

Example;

• Drunkards did not become drunkards overnight, they begun with a LITTLE sip and then it became a habit.

• Many are addicted to drugs, it all started with a LITTLE

• Many addicted to Masturbation did not get addicted overnight, it begun with a LITTLE watching of sexual contents or pornography

• Many did not wish to commit sexual immorality but they are into it, it all started when they entertained what they were not supposed to, just a LITTLE meet up or kiss. ETC....

The Bible says; Romans 7:5

"When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death."

Do not nature the evil desires that comes to you... they little foxes will ruin your life;

~ That little flirting or texting can ruin your marriage

~ That little exposure can corrupt your mind

~ That little enjoyment can desrupt your destiny

~ That little hook-up can plunge you into a life of immorality

~ That little fashion can draw you into worldliness

~ That little love for money can draw you into a life of greed and corruption

~ That little drugs can draw you into addiction

~ That little quarrel can lead to bitterness and defiling of your soul

~ That little unforgiveness can can steal your peace

~ That little anger can land you into prison

~ That little pride will bring your downfall

~ That little desire for materialism can steal your desire for humanity or doing good. ETC..

Beloved, what sin are you naturing; what are you doing that you know it's against God's will, don't entertain that sin...

The Bible says: Romans 8:6 NLT

"So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace."

Catch the little foxes... Allow the Holy Spirit Control your mind and life by living a life of faith, cut off anything or little foxes in your life if you really want to please God.

Jesus said "deny yourself, turn from your selfish ways Carry your Cross and follow Me"

Don't entertain sin in your courts... You are a child of God, remember Samson when he entertained sin his end results was death.

Irrespective of who you are, the wages of sin is death.. those little foxes that you entertain can ruin your life.

Do you have little foxes in your life... what are you entertaining that you shouldn't as a child of God?

6. AVOID BAD COMPANIES

Beloved, our associations can affect our Walk with Christ... the Bible says

1 Corinthians 15:33

"Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

When we associate with people who don't fear the Lord and follow their advice, the end results will be sin... King Joash feared the Lord as long as Johaiada the priest was alive, after the priest died, Joash sinned against God by following evil advice... the Bible says

2 Chronicles 24:2,17-18

[2]Joash did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight throughout the lifetime of Jehoiada the priest.

[17]But after Jehoiada’s death, the leaders of Judah came and bowed before King Joash and persuaded him to listen to their advice.

[18]They decided to abandon the Temple of the lord, the God of their ancestors, and they worshiped Asherah poles and idols instead! Because of this sin, divine anger fell on Judah and Jerusalem."

Many people have forsaken the Lord due to ungodly associations, check the people you move with, are they impacting you one way or the other or you are the one rather impacting them...to be free from sin and temptation in this sinful and adulterous world one needs to be careful with his or her associations

Beloved, let us walk in the faith and not entangle ourselves with snares that weigh down our Christian experience.... the Bible says

James 4:4

"You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God."

Are you a friend of the world? Are your associations worldly?... the Bible says

2 Corinthians 13:5

"Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith."

May the Lord strengthen us to walk in faith...

Amen!