Dead To Sin, Alive To God

Let's pray first, father, god.

We just thank you, lord, for the word tonight.

Father, holy Spirit, we invite you.

Father, holy Spirit, I thank you that you are a teacher, our guide, our comfort, and we just lean on you.

It is not my word speaking, but it is you using me, and we just thank you that our hearts are open to your word, our ears are open and the eyes of our arms understanding, our enlightened through your word, and we just thank you for everybody watching tonight, father.

I thank you that they'll receive what they need.

Father, because your word is powerful and it is sharp.

Father, in Jesus' name, amen, amen.

And so the title of my message tonight is Dead to Sin and Alive to God.

Dead to Sin and Alive to God.

So we have in youth, this new theme called Made New, and our theme scripture is 2 Corinthians 517, and I wanted to read that to you in two different translations.

The first one is the new living.

It says this means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.

The old life is gone and a new life has begun.

And then the dean translation.

It says a true Christian is not merely a man altered, but a man remade, and so I just love that translation that, hey, you're not just altered, but you're totally brand new.

How do you get in Christ?

Well, romans 10,.

You know, if you believe with your heart and confess with your mouth, you shall be saved.

And so it's a new way of living, a new way of thinking, a new way of doing things, new habits, new friendships, new supernatural relationships.

And so the old is gone, and here is the brand new.

So you're a brand new person.

And so how many of y'all know we're a three-part being, you know we're the real, you is a spirit, but we have a soul and we have this body.

And so here on this earth, we have to make sure, you know, that our spirit is strong, so it does.

So we're not carnal Christians, so we're not led by the flesh.

And so tonight I just wanted to share a couple of scriptures with you guys concerning sin.

You know the Bible has a lot to say about sin.

And so if you turn with me to Romans 6, verse 5, and then you, king James, for if we have been united together in the likeness of his death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we shall no longer be slaves of sin.

Romans 6:5

For he verse 7, for he who has died has been freed from sin.

Now, if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, and knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.

Death no longer has dominion over him, for death has that.

He died.

He died to sin once for all, but the life that he lives he lives to God.

Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead, indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Therefore, this is verse 12,.

Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lust and do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead and your members as, talking about your bodies, as instruments of righteousness to God.

For since I have no dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace, and I wanted to read verse 12 in the message, I thought it was really good verse, actually verse 12 through 14.

That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives.

Don't give it the time of day, don't even run little errands that are connected to that old way of life.

Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full time.

Remember you've been raised from the dead.

Amen into God's way of doing things.

Sin can't tell you how to live.

Sin can't tell you how to live.

After all, you're not living under that old tyranny any longer, you're living in the freedom of God, and so amen isn't that good.

So the challenge here is when it comes to our flesh right, our spirit.

I mean, we said yes to Jesus.

Remember when you said yes to Jesus.

And so you know.

And again, romans 10 isn't just for, it's not just a prayer or salvation.

Yes, we use that, but it's an everyday thing.

We confess with our heart, we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart Jesus Christ died for us, and so it's our flesh that tries to creep up right.

And so I just want to encourage you dig into the word.

Romans is so good.

I mean Romans, I mean it is just full of wisdom, and I mean it talks about God's wrath and His grace and the will of God for your life.

It's just such a good book.

And so the real challenge is when it comes to our flesh, our soul, our thoughts, what we're thinking about, and so our earth suit.

And if you turn with me to Romans 12, 1, in the New King James, it says I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice wholly acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

And then, in the Amplified, it says I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you, in view of all the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies, presenting all your members and faculties, excuse me as a living sacrifice wholly devoted, consecrated and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable, rational, intelligent service and spiritual worship.

So let me read that again to make a decisive dedication of your body.

So, mama can't do this for you, daddy can't do this for you, your husband can't do this for you.

You here, paul is saying you, your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost.

You have to make a decisive decision.

You know sometimes we make things so complicated.

Well, you don't know my life, you don't know what I've been through, you don't know who I live with.

You know you don't know my family, and so you, it does.

All of that doesn't matter, god sees it all.

But you can just say yes to the will of God, you can say yes to Jesus, you can be say yes to being led by the Spirit of God.

It doesn't have to be complicated, it's not.

The word of God is not complicated.

Sometimes we complicate it.

And so here Paul is saying hey, make a decisive decide today that you're going to be led by the Spirit of God and not by your flesh, amen.

And so, before you know we act the way we do, is that pleasing to God?

You know these questions we it's good to ask Before we we say what we're going to say.

Is that pleasing to God?

Will is the Holy, will the Holy Spirit be grieved if we say those things, or if we think those things, or if we go there or if we do those things, and so so we should.

So here it says at the end of that verse, and the amplified it says holy, devoted, consecrated and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable, rational, intelligent service and spiritual worship.

So the way we live our lives, you know, should be out of these walls here in I would say four walls, but really it's around building.

But the way we live our lives, you know the way we worship.

Sometimes we think it's just oh, we're going to worship God on Sunday at 10 am when I come to Glorious Way Church.

And yes, we do get together, we do assemble and worship together and I love that.

I love coming together and assembling it, you know, with you guys for family and worshiping.

But really, how you live your life every day, what you do with your body, what you say is worship, how, what you think about is worship, how you act on the daily basis is worship.

So here he says it's reasonable, it's not too much to ask.

So he's not asking much.

So so every day we should be worshiping God and not planning on messing up.

Maybe there's something that keeps on tripping.

You Don't plan.

It's like, oh, that's just going to.

You know I come here to church, I get filled up, but I know Monday morning comes around and I'm, you know that thing is just no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Don't think that way.

Dig into the Word of God, make a decisive decision that you know what I'm going to be spirit led, I'm not fleshly ruled, right.

So there's two kinds of Christians there's, there's, I would say, and the youth have said before, there's a baby Christian which you would think you know.

So baby Christians said yes to Jesus, but then there's Christians that act like a baby.

They're fleshly ruled, and so don't be those baby Christians that are fleshly ruled.

Allow your spirit to grow, because it wants to grow the spirit.

I know I wrote this down your spirit is to be the king of your life.

We're supposed to be spirit dominant.

Amen.

First, corinthians 9, 27,.

But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection Less when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

So there he's saying hey, you might be disqualified.

So there are some qualifications to be a Christian.

You know, christian, there are some qualifications to running your race.

It's not like just yes, you know, I came to church on Sunday morning, check.

Or I said yes to Jesus, check, and that's a good start, you know.

But there's qualification and you read about them in the Bible.

So I just want to encourage you, dig into the word.

It's not that we're always struggling, but the flesh to try, to try to creep up.

Galatians 5, 16.

And this is the fruit of the spirit.

Through 21 in the new King James, I say then walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh, for the flesh lust against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary to one another.

So you do not and do the things that you wish.

But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanliness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, rivalries and the like, so and the like.

Always, you know, like well, check, check, I haven't done any.

And the like, like those things right of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Against such there is no law, and those who are in Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit.

Okay, and so this is just a good.

You know the fruit of the spirit we should be.

At the beginning.

It says walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

So the more we walk in the spirit.

Well, how do I do that?

Well, I mean dig into the word, just like Pastor says.

You know, sometimes you have to go back to the basics.

Have you been reading your word?

Have you been praying much in the Holy Ghost?

What is your thought life?

Who have you been hanging around with?

You know, sometimes it's good to just shut off social media and shut off the news and dig into the word and just spend quality time with God.

And you know, listening to Pastor and listening to other preachers and listening to podcasts does not replace you spending time in the word of God, because that's where you're gonna grow, that's where God is gonna show you things and reveal things to you, where you know what.

Maybe you're asking God, you know, or believing God for a certain thing and he'll show you in those moments.

You know, when you spend in your prayer, closet and in time, in those times of reading the word of God.

So social media and podcasts shouldn't those are great and those are awesome and you know you should have those as extra, but nothing replaces you digging into the word of God and just spending time with God, amen.

And so the more we walk in the Spirit, the more you come to those crossroads right, the more of you know Spirit and flesh, like decisions that we make.

And it can be just in the little, you know minute things, where you're confronted with the doctor's report or your husband or wife or family member just told you devastating news and it's like, well, what am I gonna do now?

I can choose to walk in the flesh and get upset and look at the doctor's report and just like, oh, it's all downhill from here.

Or you can choose to walk in the Spirit.

Bless God.

I thank you, lord.

I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

You got my back.

I don't care who leaves me, who forsakes me, but you got my back.

It doesn't matter what the doctor's report says.

I know by the stripes of Jesus I am healed, and so we don't go by our natural senses.

So it's in those moments, it's in the everyday, where we come to those crossroads and we have to decide what we're gonna do.

And so every time you choose a decisive decision, like I've decided, you know I'm gonna choose walking in the Spirit and walking by love and by joy and preferring my brother and sister.

I've just grown right in the Spirit, cause anybody can be nice to anybody who's nice to them, but it's let's be nice to somebody maybe who left the church and maybe you haven't seen in a while.

And if you saw him at a restaurant, it's okay.

You don't even remember what happened because you're walking in love, it doesn't matter.

And so you come to those crossroads, right.

And so we choose to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh.

And so it's in the daily, it's in the, it's in the.

I just want to encourage you so you know, dig into your word, don't neglect reading your Bible and spending time with God.

Amen.

Hebrews 12,.

One in the new King James says let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who, for the joy, was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

And so here it says lay aside.

We have to lay aside every weight, every care, every distraction, every worry.

Well, this, I've been believing God for this, and it has a.

Lay it aside.

Keep focusing on the word of God, keep proclaiming the promises of God, amen.

So you have to lay aside.

Nobody else is going to do that for you.

You have to choose, make a decisive decision to lay that aside so you can run your race, because you can't run your race easily with all of that weight and all of those cares on you.

So you have to.

God, I just lay it aside, you know.

You see what's hurting me, you see that pain or whatever it is.

I lay that aside so I can run the race that you have set before me.

Amen, amen.

Romans 8, 1, and I'm going to turn there.

So, just a couple of chapters after Romans 6, romans 8, 1,.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus Say that's me.

If you said yes to Jesus, that is me, that is you who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit, for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

And so here in the Greek, made free says to liberate, to acquit, to set free, to deliver.

In the New Testament the word is used exclusively for Jesus's setting believers at liberty from the dominion of sin.

And so here there's no condemnation to those who walk according.

Walk with Jesus, don't not according to the flesh, because if you're a born again believer and you keep on saying yes to the flesh, yes, every day, I like just to say at our house we know who likes donuts.

At our house it is my husband who likes donuts and I'm like don't bring him into the house, because then I will like donuts and it's just a simple little thing.

But hot glazed donut, who can't resist a hot glazed donut?

But sometimes I do, just to say no to my flesh.

And it's a little thing.

You might think, celine, that's not a sexual sin, it's not smoking a joint, it's not beer, you know what it's in the little things, just to say no to my flesh.

And again, I'm not saying you can't eat donuts, you can have them every great once in a while.

But I'm just using that as an example.

Like you know what, I'm just going to say no because my flesh wants that and it sounds good and I haven't eaten.

And hot glazed donut sounds really, really good, but I'm going to say no, just to say no, no, flesh no.

And so it's in those little things where you know what You're going to say.

No, you're not going to go there.

No flesh, because your flesh talks.

Did you know that it speaks?

But here, in Romans 8, it says there is now no condemnation to those who walk, who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.

So you have been made righteous to live righteously.

The goal isn't how much I can screw up to stretch the grace of God and how much I can.

No, listen, we should be going days.

We should be going weeks and months without messing up as a born again believer.

We shouldn't like oh sorry, god, oh sorry, like, oops, I did it again, oops, no, no, no, we should be growing.

I just want to encourage you.

Grow stronger, you can do it.

You know what the good news is.

You can do it.

Amen.

The greater one lives on the inside of you, and so the little bitty devil, great big Jesus, right, little bitty, you know great big solution, great big promise.

It's all right here, all of the promises of God.

So I just want to encourage you don't let that sit Like you, just repent.

You know, if you did something, just repent.

It's in the past, and then we move forward.

We don't go back there, we don't do that, we don't think that way, right, we don't let that creep up, we move forward, amen.

So I just want to encourage you with that tonight.

Dead to Sin and alive with Christ.

And so the greater one lives on the inside of us.

You can do it, no matter what you're facing, no matter what you've been going through.

The greater one lives on the inside of you and he wants us to live a life of freedom, a life because if you're a Christian and if you've said yes to Jesus, but then you're dabbling in this over here or maybe you don't see it as sin, you know, loving, not loving your brother, sitting the one next to you, that's sin, you know.

And so there are these little foxes that can get in, you know, and spoil the vine.

And so you have to make sure, on the daily, that you consecrate your life to Jesus.

And so I just want to pray for you tonight, before I hand it over to Jay with the offering.

Let's pray, father, god, we just thank you, father, that we are alive in you.

We are dead to sin.

I thank you, father, that the greater one lives on the inside of us, father.

So I just pray over everybody right now watching this live stream tonight, or the ones that will watch it later, father, I just thank you that if they're struggling, father, or if they're dealing with something, father, I thank you that they know that they are forgiven, that it's under the blood of Jesus, father, as they repent, as they confess with their mouth.

Father, I thank you, father, that you have made them the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, father, that they're not going to think about those past failures, they're not going to think about the could of would of should, as Father, but I thank you that the Word of God is coming boldly out of their mouth, father, that they are bold as a lion, father, that they're not going to get trampled on, father, that they know who they are in Christ and that they've been made a new Father, that the old way of living, father, is no more and there's a new way of living.

There's a new way of doing things and there are new habits, father, new godly habits.

So I just thank you, lord, that you give them strength, father, and the comfort of the Holy Ghost is there with them every step of the way In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.