clear that whatever we sow to, that we will reap. Since we know that it works with sin; that should be confirmation to us that it also works with sowing to spiritual things. Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he also will reap. 8 For he sowing to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh. But he sowing to the Spirit will reap life everlasting from the Spirit. But we should not lose heart in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not faint. James 1:15 Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin. And sin, when it is fully formed, brings forth death. 2.) As long as we are alive we will opportunity to be enticed into sin. It really is a matter of what we do about it. 2Ti 2:22 But flee youthful lusts, and follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
3.) We are called to cast our cares upon Him. He doesn’t take them from us, we cast them upon Him. 1Pe 5:7 casting all your anxiety onto Him, for He cares for you.
4.) We need to be aggressive to cut off that which causes us to be drawn away from God. We need to see the bigger picture of what we have in Him. Mat 5:29 And if your right eye offends you, pluck it out and throw it from you. For it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand offends you, cut it off and throw it from you. For it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be thrown into hell.
5.) We need to covenant our lives; settle some things before God; to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Job 31:1 I made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I look upon a virgin? Mat 5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
6.) We need to be aware that as long as we are alive, Satan will be ‘out to get us’. We need to remember that he is already a defeated foe and that in Christ we have the victory. Gen 4:7 If you do well, shall you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at the door; and its desire is for you, and you shall rule over it.
7.) The choice is up to us individually what we will do; no one can do it, or pray it for us. We make the choices, day by day; moment by moment. Deut 30:19 I call Heaven and earth to record today against you. I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life, so that both you and your seed may live,
8.) “We must assume the inevitability of attacks by an enemy hostile to our spiritual interests and build our defenses in the places he is most likely to attack” -Gordon MacDonald ‘Rebuilding Your Broken World’ PDI (personal defense system) PDI #1 Adopt a repentant life-style PDI #2 Pay the price of regular spiritual discipline PDI #3 Cultivate key relationships PDI #4 Resist the ‘applause’ that belongs to Christ PDI #5 Take time to have fun PDI #6 Hold things loosely PDI #7 Be filled with the Spirit of God
9.) We need each other:
GRACE
Genuine Accountability: 1Sa 18:1 And it happened when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was joined with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as he did his own soul.
Right Relationships: 2Co 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfected; be comforted; be of the same mind; live in peace: and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
A Servant’s Heart: John 10:15 Even as the Father knows Me, I also know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep.
Constant Safeguards: Eph 6:10 Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Embrace God Intimately: James 4:8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners; and purify your hearts, double-minded ones. -“The Shepherd’s Covenant” from Focus on the Family Pastoral Ministries http://www.parsonage.org/
10.) It still comes down to His grace Eph 2:1-22 And He has made you alive, who were once dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience; 3 among whom we also had our way of life in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us (even when we were dead in sins) has made us alive together with 5 Christ (by grace you are saved), 6 and has raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. 11 Therefore remember that you, the nations, in time past were in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 and that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who were once afar off are made near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He is our peace, He making us both one, and He has broken down the middle wall of partition between us, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity (the Law of commandments contained in ordinances) so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, making peace between them; 16 and so that He might reconcile both to God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity in Himself. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off, and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. 19 Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, 20 and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom every building having been fitly framed together, grows into a holy sanctuary in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built together for a dwelling place of God through the Spirit.
For further help go to my website: http://www.riverofhopeministries.org/ to the links page
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