“Let Not”
From the desk of Pastor Blankenship
TEXT: Rom. 6:11
Ro 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. {instruments: Gr. arms, or, weapons}
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
1. Dominion Over Sin
Ro 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. {from...: Gr. to righteousness}
21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
2. Dominion Over Pride.
Ga 5:26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one
another.
Ps 73:6 Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.
Pr 16:18 ¶ Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
1Jo 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
A minister, a Boy Scout, and a computer expert were the only passengers on a small plane. The pilot came back to the cabin and said that the plane was going down but there were only three parachutes and four people. The Pilot added, “I should have one of the parachutes because I have a wife and 3 small children.” So he took one and jumped.
The computer whiz said, “I should have one of the parachutes because I am the smartest man in the world and everyone needs me.” So he took one and jumped.
The minister turned to the Boy Scout and with a sad smile said, “You are young and I have lived a rich life, so you take the remaining parachute, and I’ll go down with the plane.”
The Boy Scout said, “Relax, Reverend, the smartest man in the world just picked up my knapsack and jumped out!”
Pride is the only disease known to man that makes everyone sick except the one who has it.
3. Dominion Over Anger
Eph 4:26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Anyone can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, and in the right way-that is not easy.
Ps 30:5 For his anger endureth but a moment;
Ps 103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
Col 3:8 ¶ But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
Pr 15:18 ¶ A wrathful man stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.
4. Dominion Over Sloth
1Th 5:6 ¶ Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
Jg 18:9 And they said, Arise, that we may go up against them: for we have seen the land, and, behold, it is very good: and are ye still? be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land.
A farmer was sitting on the porch of his house when a stranger cam by and asked, “How’s things?”
“Tolerable,” came the reply. He continued, “Two weeks ago a tornado came along and knocked down all the trees I would have had to chop down for this winter’s firewood. Then last week lighting struck the brush I had planned to burn to clear the fields for planting.”
The stranger responded, “That’s remarkable, what are you doing now?”
The farmer answered, “Waiting for an earth quake to come along and shake the taters out of the ground.”
If you don’t want to work
You have to work
To earn enough money
So that you won’t have to work.
5. Dominion Over Trouble
Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
The story has been told of a bricklayer who was hurt on the job and sent the following letter to his boss requesting sick leave:
I arrived at the job after the storm, checked the building out and saw that the top needed repairs. I rigged a hoist and a boom, attached the rope to a barrel and pulled bricks to the top, I secured the rope at the bottom. After repairing the building, I went back to fill the barrel with the leftover bricks. I went down and released the rope to lower the bricks, and the barrel was heavier than I and jerked me off the ground. I decided to hang on. Halfway up, I met the barrel coming down and received a blow to the shoulder. I hung on and went to the top, where I hit my head on the boom and caught my fingers in the pulley. In the meantime, the barrel hit the ground and burst open, throwing bricks all over. This made the barrel lighter than I, and I started down at high speed. Halfway down, I met the barrel coming up and received cuts and bruises. At this time I must have lost my presence of mind, because I let go of the rope and the barrel came down and him me on the head. I respectfully request sick leave.
Ps 20:1 ¶ <
Ps 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
Ps 32:7 ¶ Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
Ps 46:1 ¶ <
6. Dominion Over the Flesh
Eph 5:3 ¶ But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Ec 11:10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are vanity.
Ro 6:19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Ro 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Ro 8:1 ¶ There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Ro 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
2Co 7:1 ¶ Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
7. Dominion Over Double-mindedness.
Jas 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
double-minded--literally, "double-souled," the one soul directed towards God, the other to something else.
Double-minded; one who halts between faith and unbelief.
It means unsteady, fickle, staggering, reeling like a drunken man. Surely to James such "doubt" is no mark of intellectuality.
Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
