WESTSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH
PASTOR: TERRY VAUGHAN
SERMON TITLE: LETTING SIN WIN
“For God so loved the world , that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18
TEXT VERSE: ROMANS 6:14 “FOR SIN SHALL NOT HAVE DOMINION OVER YOU: FOR YE ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW, BUT UNDER GRACE.”
LET US PRAY: Father we thank you Lord for this opportunity just to be in your presence. Lord, we’re so thankful and so blessed that you could come down from heaven anytime to be in our midst. This morning we call upon the Greatest name ever given under heaven, the name of Jesus. Lord you’ll hear us even before we pray. We pray for your strength and your wisdom and for your knowledge. We pray Lord for your spirit to lead, guide and direct us in the message you’ve laid on our hearts this morning that we’ll not deviate from your word or your spirit but we’ll only preach that Lord which you’ve laid on our hearts. We pray for every member and every visitor that is here today that they might be able to understand the word of God and receive it with faith and that they’d be able to react upon it and I pray they’d come in Jesus name I pray, amen.
There’s often times in our life that we don’t feel like Christians. There have been times in our lives when we’ve done things or said things and we just wondered why we seem sometimes to be so far from God when we know we’ve been saved by His marvelous Grace. If you’ve been saved it does not mean that things are not going to happen. The Bible says we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. The most trying time in my life is when we’re going through those times when we know we’re saved by the Grace of God and we wonder why these things seem to happen. I want you to know this morning that God is the one that sent the Grace. We didn’t generate it by ourselves. By the Grace of God it was a gift given by God. There’s not fault in Grace. There’s only fault in the flesh. God don’t allow sin where He lives. But it’s always present where we live. Sin is always present where we live. But thank God, Paul said, “Sin will not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law but under Grace.” Now if you’re here and you’re lost....sin does have dominion over you. You can get out of that sin this morning by giving your heart and your life to Christ. But as a born again believer the hardest times is when we go through these things and we wonder why. We begin to start doubting God. It doesn’t matter what you’re going through. What matters is where you’re going to. If you’re saved by the Grace of God, he’s still got His grip on you. If we know that sin will not have dominion over us, why is it that so many Christians seem to let sin have dominion over them? I want to preach to you for a few minutes on letting sin win. And I want to say this, you don’t have to. The Bible said that God sent His son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin and the Bible said He condemned sin in the flesh. So if sin is the dominant factor in your life it’s your fault and not God’s. His Grace is sufficient for every need. People who let sin win in their lives instead of claiming Victory their accepting defeat. Instead of being a blessing to others, their being a burden. Instead of winning the battle their losing the war because sin is in their life. Instead of advancing forward, their falling back. Sin seems to have dominion in their lives and they don’t understand why because they’re saved, it’s their own fault. Instead of righteous living, they have ridious living. Don’t you let sin control your life, your families life, your church life. You let God be in charge. Sometimes people wonder how you can be so strong, I’ll tell you. I don’t let sin worry me. I know that I’m a sinner saved by the Grace of God. I know we’re going to sin and come short of God’s glory. It’ll never win over Grace. I don’t care where you’re at or what you’re going through, Grace will always win over sin.
JAMES 4:17 says “THEREFORE TO HIM THAT KNOWETH TO DO GOOD, AND DOETH IT NOT, TO HIM IT IS SIN.”
To him, not HIM. In ROMANS 6:23 it says “FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH; BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.”
In ROMANS 5:20 it says “MOREOVER THE LAW ENTERED, THAT THE OFFENCE MIGHT ABOUND. BUT WHERE SIN ABOUNDED, GRACE DID MUCH MORE ABOUND.”
But what causes people to let sin win in their lives? I want to share a few points here.
NUMBER ONE: When you don’t HEAR Him.
AMOS 8:11 “BEHOLD, THE DAYS COME, SAITH THE LORD GOD, THAT I WILL SEND A FAMINE IN THE LAND, NOT A FAMINE OF BREAD, NOR A THIRST FOR WATER, BUT OF HEARING THE WORDS OF THE LORD.” If God’s trying to speak to you and you’re not hearing, Sin will win in your life. You’ll be somewhere where you don’t want to be and sin will keep you there longer than you want to stay. When John the Baptist, baptized Jesus and He came up out of the water, they heard that voice. Here’s what God said: “Here’s my beloved Son, hear ye Him.” We’re supposed to be listening for God. We listen to everybody else. We need to be listening to God. He’ll direct you in the right way other wise we’ll end up in sin. The Sin will rule in our lives. We don’t need sin to be the ruling factor. We need God’s grace. Look around at all the Christians in the world living like the devil. It ain’t right. If you’re going to be a child of God, act like one. Quit letting sin win against you and your family. Theirs a lot of families out of church today. They used to go to Church and now they don’t go anymore. You know why? Sin is winning in their life. Their daughters are growing up in prostitution, gays and homosexuals everywhere, drugs in the streets. Not only are drugs in our streets they are in our schools where our children go. You know why? Because somebody is letting sin win in their life. Don’t you look up toward God and say it’s His fault. It’s not God’s fault. Somebody’s not listening to Him. He’s calling but their not listening to Him.
NUMBER TWO: When you don’t LOOK to Him.
PHILIPPIANS 3:20 “FOR OUR CONVERSATION IS IN HEAVEN; FROM WHENCE ALSO WE LOOK FOR THE SAVIOR, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.”
There’s a lot of people that are looking at material things. These material things will never get you close to God. I don’t care how good they look, how good they are...if you don’t look to God, you don’t have anything. God said He’d supply all of our needs according to His riches in Glory. He’s always done it for me and He will do it for you. If you’re not looking to your Savior, sin will win in your life. The Psalmist said I will look to the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from above. When Daniel prayed the Bible said he opened his windows toward Jerusalem and he prayed to the God of Heaven. When we look to him that means prayer. It means having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You ever wonder where your next meal is coming from? I know a God in heaven who cares. I’ve been there and I prayed, God I’m doing everything you want me to do and I have a need. You know what? God sent me some food. Don’t go walking around gloomy looking for people to help you. Look to the Lord Jesus Christ. If you put somebody else before Him, you ain’t gonna get no help. We have to seek first the Kingdom of God and all these other things will be added unto us.
NUMBER THREE: When you don’t believe in Him.
MARK 9:23 “IF THOU CANST BELIEVE, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE TO HIM THAT BELIEVETH.” Do you believe He can do something for you? I do. He can do some of the greatest things I’ve ever seen. The Bible said he raised people from death unto life. He can do all things. He took a boy named Enoch from this life and put him right into heaven without dying. He can do all things. Theirs a lot of people that aren’t believing. Sin is not a pretty picture. It will divide your family. It will strip you of everything. The fist thing you’ll see when you’re in sin is this: you think you never do anything wrong. You’re always right and everyone else is wrong. You’ll be preaching the word of God and God will be dealing with somebody and they’ll say, “He’s not talking to me.” Listen, if God’s not talking to you then why am I preaching it? God drew you here for something this morning and I want you to get what God has for you. You’ll won’t get it if you let sin rule in your life. Do you believe that God can do all things? The Bible says that with God all things are possible. I believe in my God. I’m a firm believer that God is in charge. He’s everything and I’m nothing. I believe He can save a lost soul today. You know why? Because the Bible says that today is the day of Salvation. This might be the last day or the last opportunity to bow down on your knees and ask God to save you.
NUMBER FOUR: When they don’t FOLLOW Jesus.
LUKE 9:23 Jesus said, “IF ANY MAN WILL COME AFTER ME, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF, TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY, AND FOLLOW ME.” When you don’t follow Christ, sin will start taking over. There are men, women, boys and girls; professing to be a child of God and you don’t even see them come to the house of prayer to fellowship or worship. If you’re following Christ, Sin will not win in your life. There’s somebody today that has sin in their life and it’s winning. Instead of looking for something good in what the preachers preaching, they are always looking for something bad. If you’re doing that, sin is winning in your life. They’ll leave the house of worship and they’ll go out and talk about their brothers and sisters in Christ. Sin is winning in their life. I’m going to tell you how much of a follower I am of Him. If He said, “Terry, you and your family pack your bags and go to Hondorous and be a missionary.” I’d go. I’m going to follow Him until the day He calls me home.
NUMBER FIVE: When you don’t ANSWER Him.
Now we said in the beginning when you don’t Hear Him. Well if you don’t hear Him you aren’t going to answer Him. But a lot of people know that God is talking to them. They feel the spirit drawing them to the altar, and they know God is dealing with them and they don’t answer Him.
ISAIAH 66:4 “I ALSO WILL CHOOSE THEIR DELUSIONS, AND WILL BRING THEIR FEARS UPON THEM; BECAUSE WHEN I CALLED, NON DID ANSWER; WHEN I SPAKE, THEY DID NOT HEAR; BUT THEY DID EVIL BEFORE MINE EYES, AND CHOSE THAT IN WHICH I DELIGHTED NOT.” He’ll bring delusions and fear upon you. If sin is the dominant factor in your life then you’ve pulled far, far away from God. It’s sad when Christians are trying to do God’s work, yet they never hear him, they never speak to him, they never look to him, they never believe in him, they don’t have faith in him. They do things on their own accord. Isaiah said, “Here am I lord, send me.” God spoke and Isaiah heard and answered.
If you’re here this morning and you’ve never heard Him speak to you, you need to be saved. Because if you’re lost, the only thing you’ll hear him say is (thump thump thump) that’s Him knocking upon your hearts door, telling you that you are lost. He said, Behold I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice and open the door (you’re the one who has to open the door) I’ll come in and sup with you. Are you hearing him this morning. Maybe you’re a child of God and it’s been a long time since you’ve heard him. There’s no greater feeling than the voice of God.
Are you hearing the voice of God? Are you looking to Him? Do you believe on Him? Are you following Him? Are you answering Him?
LET US PRAY: Father, I have HEARD you speak and I want to ANSWER. I BELIEVE that you sent your only begotten Son, Jesus to die on a cross for my sins and I ask for Forgiveness of these sins. I want to FOLLOW you as your servant and may I always be found LOOKING to you for all my needs and guidance. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
