“We Must Kill Besetting Sins!” (Bro. David- Barbados- 1990) Colossians 3:5 !!
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
We must mortify sin, that is put sin to death. We must fear God and hate evil and abstain from it. God is holy and has called us to pursue a holy life that will refuse to compromise with known sin. It is a daily battle! 1 Peter 1:14-15 “As obedient children, not comforming yourselves to the former lusts as in your ignornace. But as He who called you is holy, you also must be holy in all your conduct.” We must daily renew our minds with God’s Word and not fill our minds with the cultural garbage of this sinful world. 1 Peter 2:11 “I beg you as pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. God wants us to have pure minds, not polluted minds. The of the flesh and the of the eyes are not of the Father, but of this world. Our culture is ruled by the devil who hates God. James 1:27 says that pure Christianity is to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. This means we make daily choices that please God and reject that which will defile us. It’s all about “content”. Is is righteous or is it unclean? The major sources used by the devil to entice the flesh and eyes are”
1. TV, movies, DVDs with ungodly content
2. romance novels, magazines, and tabloids that are filled with ungodly content (as married couples we do not seek the advice of the wicked on how to have romance and intimacy. We don’t look to the Dr. Ruth’s of this world and secular writers that tell us how to enhance our sex lives. Concerning tabloids, why do we want to know all about the sinful details of celebrities that have no use for God? Tabloids are like soap operas, which are nothing but the glorification of sin and the disdain for everything that’s holy.)
3. Certain websites and YouTube videos with ungodly content. You must refuse to look at sites and lewd videos.
4. Music and music videos with vulgar, lewd, and ungodly lyrics. (Have we gotten to a point where we’re no longer shocked at sin and perversion?)
So the Christian must be very careful to abstain from taking pleasure in scenes of immorality or nudity and gross violence as seen in movies, videos, DVDs, TV and books. Friend, we must not be passive or lazy. We are running a race! We are pressing on! We are fighting a fight!
Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the man who walks not is the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night.” (Wow. Is this a reality in our lives?)
Covetousness is a real danger and can kill our witness for Christ. Christmas has just passed and many believers have overspent and have focused on what they get. The holiday is not a holy day for many Christians due to greed and materialism. We give to those who already have plenty, while we ignore the poor and the needy. Billions are spent on ourselves, while others have nothing. Some believers are shoeless, while we have too many pairs of shoes. Just how much do we need to live? Catalogs tell us we’re not happy unless we buy their product. How expensive does a watch have to be to tell time? Do we need a Rolex or a simple Timex to tell time? Giving gifts isn’t a sin, but where is the stopping point? My wife and I do not exchange gifts and we are at peace because we are content. We seek to give and be generous to those in need. We do give a few gifts to close relatives and friends but we remain wise and frugal and do not overspend. We feel liberated from a culture that pressures us to spend, spend, spend. It is God’s money and we must be wise stewards of it.
Scriptures
Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have.”
1 Timothy 6:6 “Now godliness with contentment is great gain.”
Col. 3:5 “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolitry.”
Hebrews 12:14 “Make every effort to be holy, for without holiness, no one will see the Lord.”
1 Cor. 9:27 “But I discipline my body and bring it to subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
Psalm 97:10 “You who love the Lord hate evil.”
Romans 6:12 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey it in it’s lusts.” [THE WORLD,THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL ARE REAL ENEMIES THAT WE CONTEND WITH DAILY.WE MUST MORTIFY SIN BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AND OBEDIENCE TO THE WORD OF GOD.Read Romans 8:1-16] And of course all of ROMANS Chapter 6 !! This sermon was being preached in a converted Bar/nightclub which was called”1st one in last one out”!! I I FOUND THIS PLACE WHICH WAS ON A STREET IN THE INNER CITY SURROUNDED BY BARS AND NIGHTCLUBS. I RENTED IT AND FIXED IT UP AND TURNED INTO A CHURCH/MISSION.It caused quite a stir on the island because the area was full of bars,drugs,prostitutes,drunkards and a host of other sin problems.
Duration : 0:5:58
The song is “Blackmores night – Ghost of a Rose”.