[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Amen. What a wonderful song this morning. Please turn with me to Romans chapter number 6 and verse number 9, if you will.
[0:13] Romans chapter number 6 as we continue in the book of Romans. I love that, O church, come into the light. He is not dead. He is alive. And that's wonderful. I love being at church with all of you this morning.
[0:25] And you're more of an encouragement than you'll ever know. You may think that you just slipped in here and you'll slip out. But I get so much encouragement by seeing all of you in here this morning. As we were singing those songs that are so full of truth.
[0:37] I look back there and I see some of you can't keep a smile off of your face when you sing those songs. Or it may just be Ed's goofy grin that makes all of his smile. But either one of those is wonderful.
[0:47] And I just see you smiling and I think, that person knows what I know. And it changed their life and it changed my life. And I'm encouraged by that this morning. And this is wonderful news that we have in Romans chapter number 6.
[1:00] I love being in the Word. And as I got to study this week and you provide that opportunity for us to study. And as I study in Romans chapter number 6 and I see everything in life through that filter and what was going on.
[1:10] I got so excited about that. In Romans chapter number 6, verse number 1, just to kind of review. I'll read our passage and pray this morning. But it says, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
[1:23] So Paul's answering a question. God's answering a question through Paul. Because in Romans 3, 28 when he said, Therefore we conclude that man is justified by faith without the deeds of law. Because we're human, we ask ourselves, well if that's the case.
[1:37] If it isn't the law. And if God likes giving grace. Then why don't we let sin abound? If he likes grace. Then I will go about sinning so that he can go on giving grace. And why don't we do that?
[1:48] And I was thinking about it this morning as I was walking outside with an umbrella. And don't get scared. I know if you're superstitious, this is bad. I'm just a little stitious. I'm not superstitious.
[1:58] Just joking. But it's okay that I have an umbrella open here. But as I walked out the day with Thatcher, we were going to the van at home. And it was raining. And he doesn't seem to really know that getting wet's a problem.
[2:11] You know, it's fine with him to come to church wet. But he was standing by me and we were walking and I wanted to keep him close. And we were going. And I thought about what was keeping him from going.
[2:22] And I didn't want him to go out there. And I thought, I wonder if I could outrun him if I needed to. You know, if he decided he wants to run to the van, would I be able to keep up with Thatcher and run with him and keep the umbrella in front of him?
[2:34] And the answer is probably not. But in the passage of Scripture, we know that wherever our sin goes, grace abounds. He can keep up with this. And there's grace for our sin. But why don't I want my son to run out there?
[2:45] Not just because he's going to get wet. Because I want him to walk beside me. I want him to walk to the van with me. I want him to enjoy being with his dad and walking with his dad.
[2:56] And why don't I want to run out into this world and run into the sin? Because I want to be with my dad. I want to be with my heavenly father. And I want to stand close to him. And I don't want to run out there.
[3:07] So why would grace could abound if we keep on sinning? I have no idea how this thing works. I don't ever use an umbrella. All right? And let's see. All right. Oh, there we go. And why would I not want to just keep on sinning and going out?
[3:19] Because that's not where my father's at. Why don't I want to go into this world where there's sin? That's not where my father's at. I want to stay beside him. Plus, rain hurts. You know? Sin hurts.
[3:30] Rain doesn't hurt. Sin hurts, doesn't it? And I don't want anything to do with him. So I thought about that. That's what keeps us close to him. But if we'll be honest in here, we're not immune to sin. How many of you in here have been saved more than 10 years?
[3:43] Can you raise your hand? And how many of you in those 10 years said, I have zero problem with sin in those last 10 years. I'm so glad that I got that taken care of. And today, as you talk about a believer's relationship with sin, I can just check out and go home because I do not deal with sin at all.
[3:58] Is that you? Would you raise your hand? Okay. I'll let Brian finish the message today. We're going to switch seats. Okay. He's going to give us the truth. We deal with it, don't we? So it's relevant. Who's surprised that the Bible is relevant for where we live?
[4:10] And Christ is risen from the dead. That was not only true 2,000 years ago we're celebrating. And it's not only going to be true when I die and I see the risen Savior, but today it has an impact upon my life that is huge.
[4:22] And I hope that we'll see this in the Scripture together. Verse number 9.
[4:55] Let me say that again.
[5:07] For sin shall not have dominion over you, but ye are not under the law, but under grace. So the title of today's message, and it's up on the screen when you came in, are these words that we should know and that we should reckon and that we should yield.
[5:23] Patrick, if you could put that title slide up there. Know, reckon, and yield. Will you say that with me? Know, reckon, and yield. We see these words in here and we see these truths, and I want to make sure you remember them here today.
[5:36] Verses 9 through 14. And we're told as a believer, our relationship with sin, that we need to know the truth of God's Word. We need to reckon it to be true, and we need to yield to it in our lives.
[5:47] Heavenly Father, I ask that you'll be with us today as we look at your Word, and that we will know these truths, Lord, that we will reckon them to be true. We'll believe them in our heart. And as we live out this week, Lord, we will yield to the work of the Holy Spirit inside of us, knowing that this body of sin had been destroyed upon the cross of Calvary, and that we will go out of here knowing that we're not fighting for victory, but we're fighting from victory.
[6:10] You've already conquered sin, death, and the grave, and we will leave people celebrating, walking in newness of life. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. In Romans chapter number, all of the, and so far what we've seen in Romans, when I was a student and proved back in 2003 or 2004, we would sit in the office with Pastor Gardner, and people would come in and ask questions, and one of the best ways we got to learn was that people would come in and ask questions, and then he would answer it for them, and we would see what was going on in the different churches.
[6:45] Well, as he was taking us through a Bible study in the book of Romans, we get to the book of Romans where it says, knowing this, that the old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
[6:57] And I remember just like it was yesterday that he read that verse, and we were going around and reading verses, and somebody read that verse, and he said, Trent, can you tell us exactly what that verse means?
[7:09] And when I went to tell him what the word might be destroyed, I took it to be that it could occasionally happen, or that it was kind of up in the air that it would happen, or that the decision for it to be destroyed was dependent upon me.
[7:23] Meaning that because Jesus died from the cross, I might overcome sin, and it's up in the air about it. And he began to show me that it was a result. Because Jesus Christ died on the cross, because that now our old nature was crucified with him, and that victory has been secured.
[7:39] And we joke and say, this is one of the few arguments that I will admit that I was wrong at. And I'm so thankful that in that argument, I was very wrong, and since then I've been wrong a few more times.
[7:49] But that day I was definitely wrong when he was showing that to me. And the reason I was fighting so much was because I was saying, well, I can't believe that I completely have power over sin, because I still feel so helpless to it so many times.
[8:04] And I didn't want to admit that. And also, part of me, I didn't want to admit that the victory won over my sin was won by Jesus on the cross, because when it felt like I overcame temptation, it felt like I did something big that was worth patting me on the back for.
[8:18] And so I didn't want to admit my struggle was sins, and I didn't want to admit that when I overcame sin, it was because of Jesus, and not my own strength. And we kind of see that conflict here in Romans chapter number 6, and we learn what's going on there.
[8:32] As I said it, that he answers it to them, and they say, will grace abound? He said, God forbid, only humans would think like that. That since he forgave us, and he's going to forgive us, why don't we just keep on sinning? And we don't want to do like that, because dead people do not continue on sinning.
[8:46] Romans 6, 22, but now being made free from sin, and became servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. We have been made free from sin, and we're now the servants of God.
[9:00] The Bible tells us we can't serve two masters, and that's just not a verse against polygamy. Those men that know that we only need one master and our wife, right? Man, that didn't go over so well, did it?
[9:11] And I didn't know my wife was going to be in here. I appreciate whoever's watching the nursery for her today. If I'd have known she was in here, I would have scratched that joke off for sure. All right, the Bible tells us we can't serve two masters, meaning we don't serve Satan, and we don't serve God.
[9:23] We are now free from sin, and we are now servants of God. I believe they're going to have this on the screen for us, but let me tell you this, that Jesus gave his life for us, and then took our old life from us, so that he could give his life to us, in order that he could live his life through us.
[9:40] I'm going to read that again, but it's on the screen, but this is a summary of what we're talking about today. Jesus gave his life for us on the cross. Can I get an amen? Do you know this? And he took our old life from us.
[9:51] That was what was crucified with him on the cross, so that he could give his life to us. Today he lives through us. The Holy Spirit is working through us, in order that he could live his life through us.
[10:03] So he gave us his life, he gave us his life, and now he lives through us, and this is wonderful news. So the first thing in know, reckon, and yield, we first look at verse number 9. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more.
[10:16] Death has no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once, but he that liveth, he liveth unto God. So these are doctrinal truths, that we've looked at in the verse, and they matter a great deal, that you know these things.
[10:32] That's where discipleship comes in the life of a believer. There's truths that if you know them, it will come out in your life differently. And so we study his word. And now here that Adam plunged us into death.
[10:44] That we shouldn't continue in sin, as it said in verse number 1. Meaning if we were to continue in the sin, which means that up to that point of salvation, apparently we were living, running, walking, everything in sin.
[10:56] They said, why should we continue in sin? Which acknowledges that we had been in sin, up to that point before we had received grace, we had been walking in it. So that's the doctrinal truth we need to remember, that because of Adam, all of humanity was plunged in the sin.
[11:12] You were born into it, your kids were born into it, that you live your life, before knowing Jesus, you live your life continuing in sin. We die to the sin that we once lived.
[11:24] Verse 2, God forbid, how should we be that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? So what is something we're knowing up to this point, that we're being told in the following verses? That we know that we've been in sin since Adam, and we know that we're now dead to sin, because of the grace of Jesus Christ.
[11:38] And in our lives, death had reigned, but now there is a new king in town, and he brought life. Romans 5, 17, For if by one man's offense, death reigned by one, much more, they which receive the abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.
[11:56] So there's a picture here given to us, since Adam, sin reigned. It set up shop in our hearts, and there was a castle there, he was king, we came and went, and we were under its power, but now there's somebody new, that sits on the throne of my heart, and that is Jesus, which means sin no more has dominion, and no more has reign upon my life.
[12:15] I now have power to overcome that sin, because Jesus now has dominion, and reign in my heart. Christ promises us life, that the believer is now one in Christ.
[12:27] Verses 5 and 6, For if we have been planted together, in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness, of his resurrection. When he died, we died. Say that with me, when he died, we died.
[12:39] And when he was buried, and when he arose, we arose. You're good, you caught on quick. When he died, and when we were buried, I threw you off, didn't I?
[12:50] I messed that one up, huh? When he was buried, we were buried, and when he arose, we arose. That all that the victory he claimed, he gave to us, at the point of salvation. And as he walks, the newness of life, so we now walk, the newness of life, after him.
[13:05] Isn't it amazing, Brother Frick, that baptism often times, is taken, as people use it as a, a work, or a means of salvation. They think that they're, they're getting something, by doing that. But the whole picture, of baptism, shows you, being dead, and buried, and risen again.
[13:21] Which is to say, I had no power, upon this, but I am dead, and by faith, I believe, in Jesus. That we could take a picture, of saying that we are nothing, and he is everything, and that we were buried with him, and risen with him.
[13:34] That we could even take the picture, of that, and use it as a work. It's absolutely amazing, that we would do that. And then here's another truth, that we must know, is that I am new. That I am no longer, under the tyranny, of sin.
[13:48] Colossians 3, create. But now you also, put off these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication, out of your mouth. So the old man, is put off. We do not have to fall, prey to sin.
[14:00] So I'm not telling you, remember I told you, is this relevant to you today, if in the last 10 years, you deal with sin. I'm not telling you, that sin is not an issue, in your life, and I'm not trying, to minimize sin. But I'm trying to tell you, that you do have power, over it, as a believer.
[14:14] I'll illustrate it, in a way that I've been shown, before. Hazy, will you help me out here, today? These aren't nunchucks, okay? So don't worry. I'm going to be over here, if you'd like to join me. Alright? And so here, in the illustration of it, it was shown to me one time, if you'll go down there, as a puppet on a string.
[14:31] So if you'll put your hands, in that one there. Alright? I appreciate that. And if you'll do the same, right here, we're going to have a good time, here for a moment, okay? This is what happens, when you have the youth pastor, to preach.
[14:42] Alright? Put your hands down. Alright? I ain't doing anything. Alright? Here we go. So as I would bring his hand up, alright? He has no option in it, right? And as I would go down, he would go down. And as I would come up, he would go up.
[14:54] And then I would bring both hands up, like we're on a roller coaster. To the right? To the left? Alright? Maybe you should get a bigger jacket, we'd have more fun today. Alright? Hands back down. Alright? Here we go. And so he doesn't have much option, in this.
[15:05] You can do this. Right hand. Left hand. Right foot. Yeah. Yeah. Father Abraham. Alright? So take a... And so now, because of Jesus, you can take these off.
[15:17] And so he still has an option, doesn't he? If I raise this, raise your right hand. Simon didn't say, you're not very good at this game. Alright? Raise your left hand. Alright? Put your hand down. Now, I'm going to tell you to raise your right hand, but you don't want to raise your right hand.
[15:30] So let's see what's going to happen. Hazy, raise your right hand. Hazy, raise your right hand. Hazy, Simon says, raise your right hand. We're not playing right hand.
[15:41] And that's your left hand. Go sit down. Alright? So we see that. We see that this isn't... It's not there anymore. That the power on us, the chains of sin, we have an option, and this is gone from our lives.
[15:51] So can Hazy raise his right hand? Of course he can, if he wants to. Does Hazy want to? When he knows, and when he reckons, and when he looks into who he really is, does he want to do that? I mean, when people come to pastor, or they come in counseling, and they say, I'm dealing with this problem, I'm dealing with pornography, pastor says, do you want to look at pornography?
[16:09] No, I don't want to look at pornography. Then why are you doing it? Well, I don't want to do it. I've done it. It isn't the real me that's doing it. And that's what's being said here. I'm not telling you that now you're perfect because of that.
[16:20] We're being sanctified in the process. But I want to remind you that this is not on you no more. You have no strings to hold you down like Pinocchio. That this right here has been destroyed and taken from your life.
[16:31] And that's an important thing. And you say, well, this is just positive thinking. Yeah, this is very positive thinking, I would say. It's the kind of thinking that the Bible tells us to have about it. And that's how when we go out there and we walk in newness of life, when you see that thing that you've been struggling with, you need to look around and say, you know what?
[16:47] I don't have to do that. You know what? I don't even really want to do that. And we see that here in Scripture. So I am new. The knowledge is so important to us. Hosea 4.6 says, My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge because they have rejected knowledge.
[17:02] I will also reject thee. And so this is a powerful thing to show us here that knowledge has a power and it's so important that people are destroyed by a lack of knowledge. Meaning people do not live up to what they could live up to because they lack the knowledge.
[17:16] We know that in the Gospel, right? That knowledge is important. That the Gospel changes everything. That it makes them a new creature. And knowledge is also important to you as a believer. That's why we spend time in this Word.
[17:26] Because knowledge is so important to us. Philippians 4.8 tells us that we should think. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are a good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, does it say act on these things?
[17:44] Well, of course we should. But it tells us that we should think on these things. So you cannot tell me for a moment that God is not concerned about what you think upon. And so first of all, when it comes to the believer's relationship with sin, you must know your relationship has changed because of the cross, that He has risen from the grave.
[18:04] And we now stand in that light that we sung about. This new man is renewed in knowledge. Colossians 3.9 and 10. Lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge, after the image of Him that created Him.
[18:20] We are renewed in knowledge as we think and we realize who He has made us to be. And you cannot live out what you do not know. We're told that as we grow in grace in 2 Peter 3.18, we do it in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to Him be glory now and forever.
[18:38] Our growing and our sanctification happens by our knowledge of His Word and what He has done to us. We're not working to become Christians, but because He has now made us new creatures, we're learning more about it, which means our relationship with sin is different, which means when we deal with temptation, it should affect the way that we act.
[18:56] So number one is the word, no, alright? Number one, the word is, no, and the second word is reckon. Being from Kentucky, I'm always looking for an excuse to use the word reckon in an outline.
[19:08] Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed in the sin, but alive in the God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body that ye should obey it and the lust thereof.
[19:19] So it says, in likewise manner, with all the truth that we've learned in the first ten verses, now let's hold on to them and continue through them as the same truth that we're looking at. We find in our church, we talk about be, do, serve, and train, that our duty always flows out of our doctrine, what we know.
[19:35] Because you now know these things that we said, now let's reckon them to be true. Let it have an effect upon our behavior. And this deals with our heart. So Philippians told us that we should think upon these things, that we should study it and we should know it.
[19:48] Now we're told that we should reckon it and that it should be dealt with not only in our mind, but it should be concluded or affirmed and believe these truths. And now that comes to our heart. Why is it hard for us to believe that I'm not a victim of the old nature?
[20:02] One reason is simply maybe you've never been taught this truth. Maybe you've been taught that it's just simply addition. That the old man is in there, but he's now got a new roommate. And so that the old nature is simply as powerful as the new roommate, which is Jesus living in your heart.
[20:17] And maybe that's what you've been taught your whole life, that it's kind of a toss-up of the coin because either one of them are equal in power. Maybe it's because Satan doesn't want you to believe this. How many of you believe that to be true?
[20:28] Satan, do you think he's excited about the fact that we're saying that there's victory in Jesus? Satan is the accuser of the brethren, we know that. And he not only accuses us one to another, but he accuses ourselves.
[20:38] He tells us, you have no power over this. The believer, when you get to a point in temptation and sin and you say, I cannot overcome this sin, you must acknowledge, one, that the Holy Spirit does not dwell inside of you because the power to overcome death is the same power to overcome sin and temptation.
[20:56] So you're saying, I'm really, I'm not a believer or you're saying, I'm not reckoning to be true what he has taught me. So as a believer, we can overcome temptation. Basically, and the third one is because this new creation we made is not experiential.
[21:10] When it happened, I did not change from looking like one thing to another. When I became born again, I didn't get a halo above my head. So since we didn't see it, it's oftentimes hard to remember it.
[21:22] Because I do not see my new home in heaven, sometimes I'm so worried about earthly possessions because I don't reckon it to be true that I already have more than I will ever need and I already have that for me in heaven.
[21:34] So because we don't see it, sometimes it's hard for us to believe that we have victory. And the conflict with sin in us makes us wonder how it could be true. Paul speaks about this, that there's a real battle in us.
[21:45] Because we battle so much with sin, we wonder, is there really victory over it? How are we going to believe in it when it doesn't seem possible? We're going to do it by faith. The same way Abraham believed God, the same way Noah built an ark before he saw the rain.
[21:58] And if you want to be frustrated, can I tell you that you can believe that you're a self-sinner, the brave sinner, that it's somehow supposed to produce holiness with his life. That's a good way to lift frustration.
[22:09] Can I tell you that you are a person that has the Holy Spirit living inside of you and victory is won on the cross for you so you are able to overcome any temptation that comes in your life.
[22:22] My grandfather, Johnny Albert Nelson, he has served in World War II, got a purple heart. They called him, his nickname was Rollover Johnny. It first happened because when he drove a concrete truck, he rolled it over and it set up and so it stayed there for a while and they called him Rollover Johnny.
[22:38] And he took that name with him and when he was in the military, the war had ended. I don't exactly remember where he was at, but the other soldiers had got word that the war was over and they got out of the bus that they were in.
[22:50] They started shooting their guns in the air and my grandfather took his gun and rolled over underneath the bus and he was set up and he was looking around as he told me because of the gunshots going off.
[23:01] He didn't realize that they were celebrating victory. They weren't in the middle of a war and it was pretty comical. I remember that story he told me. He would always laugh about it and could you imagine seeing him underneath the bus just ready to fight when everybody else is shooting their guns and celebrating and the reason he was doing that was because he did not know what the other people knew, which is that the war had ended and so one group of people were doing an act in obedience and another one was doing it in a fight and that's where we're at today when it comes with our struggle and sin.
[23:34] The fact that you know that the war is over and that it is won by Jesus is going to help you so much in your Christian life and so many of us are underneath the bus just waiting for something to happen because we think if I don't work really hard I don't have a chance to get this thing.
[23:49] Can I tell you that that old nature was crucified with Jesus and so how are we going to believe it? We're going to believe it by faith because the knowledge we now reckon and we believe it in our heart. So what does this mean to you and I?
[24:00] It means that sin cannot take you back from God. Verses 9 and 10 Knowing that Christ being risen from the dead dieth no more death has no more dominion over you for in that he died he died unto sin once but he that liveth he liveth unto God because he died once for your sins your sins are eternally paid for which means that nobody is taking you back from God.
[24:20] So when you face sin you ought to know that sin cannot take you out of the hand of God. That also that at death the war someday that we can face it with joy knowing that we have faced death through the death of Jesus Christ because death will not be new to us.
[24:33] When we go to die the real death has already happened. We can also have confidence in temptation knowing that there is no temptation where there is no escape. That we face temptation being in Jesus Christ and that ought to give you incredible confidence knowing where you come from.
[24:50] My brother-in-law Stephen and I we were at a Disney World we took our families that would have been weird wouldn't it? We were at Disney World a couple weeks ago or last week and we decided to park our cars near this hotel called the Polynesian and so we parked there and we got on the monorail which goes into Disney World and we were both kind of joking because we were getting on the monorail at this really fancy hotel and we were joking about how everybody was going to look at us and say there is no way you stayed at the Polynesian and they were going to call us out and throw us off the monorail so we made up a big elaborate story we were joking about how we stayed at the Polynesian the night before but even though we were joking you know when I got on that monorail coming off the Polynesian I was kind of walking kind of high I was kind of strutting you know onto that monorail like so where did you guys come from?
[25:35] Oh you parked over there? Yeah I stayed at the Polynesian you know I'm just going to Disney World I could walk there but I'm not going to you know and so I kind of felt that way even though it was all pretend I felt that way getting on there because the position of where I was at when the monorail came made me feel different when I entered the monorail later on that week we felt like everybody else waiting in line with everybody as we got on the monorail can I tell you that I'm not saying that sin is not a formidable the foe in the fact that it does hurt us and it comes to us so we can fall to temptation but when sin comes to me I remind it I am in Jesus Christ that I am in the Polynesian that I stayed and I live in Jesus which means he's already conquered you he's conquered all the sin that's ever happened all the sin that will happen and he did it on the cross so just recognize that temptation when you come around that I'm a person who is in Jesus Christ and that's how you should speak to the sin with that type of knowledge that you can overcome it only that which you truly believe moves you into action Psalm 119.11 says the word have I hid in my heart that's more than just a mental knowledge but that's an emotional belief you've hid in your heart that you will not sin against thee not only that we're told that what is on your heart will fill our minds
[26:46] Joshua 1.8 this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth that thou shalt meditate therein day and night that is really getting something from your head down into your heart that way we can observe to do all that is written therein that we meditate on the word so that not only do we know it but we truly believe it in our heart how many of you as Christians don't raise your hand but you just feel powerless over that temptation you feel powerless over that sin because all you do is you look at your track record and you say last time that temptation came around I failed so apparently I do not have the power to overcome that temptation and fill in the blank whatever it is that's going on in your life and can I tell you when you look at a track record don't look at your track record look at Jesus Christ let his story be your story I joked about this at the summit I believed when I went to heaven they would show the story of my life and all my failures but if you were to show the story of Trent Cornwell's life in heaven it would look a lot like the Jesus story because he traded lives with me he lived my life for me and he fulfilled the law so you have a track record in overcoming sin and it's found in Jesus and as a believer you should know that you are in him so not only say first of all the first word is no and the second word is and the last word is yield neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness of the sin but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God for sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under the law but under grace so no effect that our mind reckon affects our heart and now yield has to do with our will that we should yield to it neither yield we are dead and we know it so don't let sin reign we're told in first Peter chapter number two verses nine through eleven that's a great passage for you to write down because it reminds you of who you are in Jesus Christ it tells you who the real you is but you're a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation a peculiar people it says that we're out of darkness into his marvelous eyes that we were not a people but we're now the people of God and it says that we've obtained mercy and in verse number eleven it says based upon these things that are true about you now I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims abstain from fleshly lust which war against the soul it says all these things are true and they're made possible by Jesus now know and reckon and yield avoid sin because all these things are true about you the other day
[29:19] Chris Fees and I were in his little ranger and we were going somewhere and we kind of got to an intersection and I was saying Chris I think you have the right of way and across the way from us was a big Mack truck and Chris without missing a beat he says no the Mack truck always has the right of way in any situation if you're in a Ford Ranger and you meet a Mack truck the Mack truck has the right of way and we just kind of stared at each other and we said we're not going anywhere until you pass by can I tell you in Romans 6 it says we shouldn't let sin reign in our mortal bodies and that is the real you the real self his holy name and we should yield to the truth Paul knew what this was about he said it is no longer I that do this who is this it's sin that dwells in us Paul says now then it is no more I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me he says it's not the real me he says yield to the Mack truck temptation I see you and before I fall to temptation I'm going to wait a moment and I'm going to yield to the thing that is biggest inside of me which is the real me which is the person that Jesus Christ has made and they yield to the Mack truck when you come to temptation this week and you look at it you know what the Bible says about you you reckon it to be true in your heart and then you yield to the bigger factor in your life which is who Jesus has made you to be so we yield our members the commands in the Bible are not to God but they're for us your will is a key factor here
[30:44] Philippians 2 12 and 13 tells us that this is a working from the inside out wherefore my beloved as you have always obeyed not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God with worketh in both you to will and to do of his good pleasure that if we will yield to him he will give us the power to do his good pleasure which is overcoming sin in our lives and we yield our members to them I remember being at a youth camp growing up and a man talking about sin and he said tell your friends when they come up to you and they offer you drugs and they want you to smoke it tell your friends that you would but you don't have any hands tell your friends that you would but you don't have any lungs tell your friends that you would do it but you don't have any lips and I'm thinking what are you talking about I got hands and lips and lungs he says I tell you this because Jesus purchased you at the cross of Calvary which means your members are yielded over him as servants which means you don't have any members given to Satan anymore and that was powerful it didn't really go so well as a teenager when I tried to explain it to my friends but it made a big impact in my life at that moment that is exciting we could be used as a weapon of righteousness
[31:56] Job was a weapon in the righteousness God showed faith there we raise our kids to be weapons of righteousness and we see them as arrows and you know that you here are a weapon for righteousness this week and do not let Satan come and confiscate you and use you for something you were not created for there is nothing wrong with our bodily parts so as we look at these members and we think man Satan may use my hand to do something wrong so I should just chop it off that will solve the problem but we find that in Romans 12 1 that we our body can be presented to him holy and acceptable that this body does not have to be given to Satan for his use but my body can be given to God for his use and so that means our body is not evil and then now we see law verse grace and there it says remember I tell you here it says verse 14 or 15 it says and then shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace God forbid so why did it decide to bring up law in this passage law and sin go together law commands the law condemns but can't conquer sin to be under the law is to be powerless is to be damned to be under the law is to be ruled by a tyrant of sin but grace embodies all the righteousness of God shall we sin that grace may abound no no no we are no longer under this tyranny anymore this is the way of victory that we would know reckon and yield so it says it has no more dominion it has no more reign sometimes I joke with my wife when we watch a TV show about having a home and they have a mother-in-law suite
[33:30] I think what guy would provide a room for his mother-in-law to come live in you know I don't mind her visiting me but I definitely don't want her to think that there's a room here for her and she can just show up anytime she wants man and so I don't want to have a room for it so it tells us that sin may come into your body and you may sin but you know what you say hey there's no room for you here I know that you've been here for a little bit and I know that you kind of called the shots in the living room and I did some things that I shouldn't but sin can I remind you that there's no mother-in-law suite for you there's no sin suite for you there's no place for you to leave so I believe it's time for you to leave I believe it's time for you to go because you have no more dominion in this place this place is not zoned for you anymore there's a new king and you're not tired anymore so why don't you just leave because you're not welcomed here we are not hospitable to sin in our lives we do not let it have the family chair we do not bring it something to drink we do not provide a room for it and no longer has dominion in our life and when it shows up you remind that to that sin and you remind that you know and reckon and yield and it should keep on moving through there and we will not continue in sin because God forbid because we can't continue to walk in that because we're walking with our father and he has grace for us so here can I talk to you in here
[34:45] I don't know all of your hearts and lives and even if I spoke to you I still wouldn't know if you're an unbeliever in here can I tell you that you should acknowledge that you're helpless against sin that you will still under the law and that brings death that you can try to do some things right but if you're going to try to do one thing right you're going to have to try to do all of them right if you expect that's going to earn your salvation you have not been crucified with Christ and the fact that this promise is not given to you the promises are only true to those of us that are in Christ it's not true of those that are in the church building but it's only true of us that are in Christ and your eternal home will not be in heaven but it will be eternally a lake of fire prepared not for you but it's prepared for the devil and his angels and the day you can come and be in Christ and these promises can be for you and that this body of sin that you have that old nature can be crucified with Christ and not only do you have a place provided for you in heaven but the battle of sin today will be won for you in Jesus and I would love nothing more than an opportunity to talk to you about that in a moment after the invitation and everything is said and done
[35:51] I'll be standing right over here and if that's your story why don't you just come up and let us know that and I'll show you from the word of God I can't make a decision for you and nobody in this room would demand a decision that you're not ready to make but we know some things and we've reckoned some things to be true in our lives and we'd love to show you what we know from the word of God and believer the passage is speaking to you today it's time for you to know, reckon and yield find your place at your seat or here at the altar and thank God for securing you victory in the battle that you're facing live out who you are in Christ so maybe sins become really big to you but can I tell you you need to yield as Chris yielded to that Mack truck you need to yield to the knowledge that you have from God's word you need to reckon it to be true in your heart and you need to allow him to do something in your heart today so why don't you sit there and do some self-evaluation and say this temptation my experience says I'm not very good at it my experience says that I'm losing but the word of God says that that has no more dominion over me it says to us here it says that these things here no longer are on us that this is what was destroyed you still have the ability to sin but you don't have to the tyranny is over and some of you are acting like this is still on you so if you're dealing with the temptations today and you're not finding victory let me tell you where you find victory it's already in here it was already fought for you it was already secured and now you need to claim the victory and reckon it to be true in your life heavenly father
[37:19] I thank you so much for your powerful word how this knowledge Lord it changes our heart it changes our mind it changes everything about us Lord I pray that there's some people in here that will get victory when it comes to temptation I pray that there's believers in here that today based upon what they know they will now reckon it to be true and they will yield to you in life I pray that in here if there's an unbeliever and they've never yielded their lives to you they've never come to you for salvation that today will be the day that they will do that this message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia for more information log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times location contact information and more audio and video recordings see you in the next post and review and credit helps