Opening:
Out of all the things that are certain one of them is your sins will find you out’.
ILL: This young couple was about to get married….
A. Sin will make you do some crazy things, Amen?
1. And we are all infected with it so we have all done some crazy things in our lives.
2. Now granted, some are crazier than others but that’s beside the point.
B. The point I am trying to make this morning is that sin takes us further than we want to go, keeps us longer than we want to stay, and costs us more than we ever want to pay.
1. We know that if we allow it, sin will completely rearrange our lives and take control of our days.
2. Sin is a big problem in all of our lives, so we need to know how to fight back.
C. We can read clearly through the words of Paul that God wants us to fight the good fight of faith, but many people are still loosing this battle to sin.
1. People, God does not want us to be a slave to sin any longer!
2. He did not sacrifice His son for us to just be free from sin.
3. That sacrifice was made for us to be able to overcome that sin as well!
4. And the power to overcome sin comes through the knowledge found in Gods word.
So, how does God’s word tell us to fight against sin in our lives?
Read I Thessalonians 5:19-22
I. You see here that God says to test and abstain from all evil.
A. Now, the King James Version says “Abstain from all appearances of evil.”
1. So this means that it doesn’t even have to be a sin necessarily.
ILL: A perfect example is that virgin margarita you order at Chili’s that is ruining your witness with the people that don’t know there is not alcohol in it.
2. God is warning us here that just the appearance of sin is damaging in our lives.
B. But here we also see the word prove used.
1. Now, the word prove means to test.
2. So God is telling us to test the things in our lives.
3. Many times we allow things into our minds, our homes, and our churches that shouldn’t even be there.
4. We allow satan to weaken our sense of good judgment and we begin to think things like…
a. Just because it’s rated “R” doesn’t mean it will affect the children.
b. Just because I’m talking about her doesn’t mean I’m a gossip.
c. Or, you begin to think that lady in front of you at Wal-Mart does look really good.
C. But God says as these thoughts form, capture them and submit them to the authority of Christ, test them.
II. Next, we must focus on the things that are good.
Read Philippians 4:8
A. This scripture right here shows you how hard headed we really are.
1. God is telling us in black and white just what we are supposed to be focusing on.
2. It’s no wonder we live hectic, stressful, depressed lives.
3. We are many times focused on the wrong things.
4. Things that are not pure and pleasant and we act as if it is not a big deal.
B. But it is a big deal because your witness is the only thing that might keep some people out of hell.
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Read II Samuel 12: 13-14
1. You know, there’s no telling how many people are headed for hell right now because we didn’t stop and protect our witness.
2. It is very important that we clear our minds and focus on what is pure.
III. Then, we must understand our sin and flee.
A. You know, we find ourselves eye to eye with the same sins over and over again.
1. And that is because we don’t understand how powerful sin really is.
2. And because of our lethargic spirituality, we get beat up by our sins.
B. So, we must become aware of our temptations.
1. And to be aware we must operate in self-control.
2. Now, if you like to drink you know good and well that that one beer will turn into 2 or 3 or more.
3. If you have a problem with lust, you know that watching a movie with nudity in it is going to set you off.
4. You know that group of friends is going to get you into trouble every time.
C. So we have to see these things coming and get out of dodge!
1. We have to build up our spiritual immunity system so we can better defend ourselves.
2. And we do this by prayer and meditating on God’s word.
Closing:
Church, when are we going to learn that playing with fire is going to get us burnt?
For the past year sin has been attacking you and the church, but what have we done to fight back?
