We ask Lord then you’d be pleased to continue to equip us for the battle. Arm us with jealous cares in thy sight to live, thy servants Lord prepare, a strict account to give. We bless your name Lord, we admit thine is the victory, the glory, the majesty. Now and Forever. Amen.
Take Courage! Rise Up! Be courageous in this striving against sin.
What is your besetting sin if you have one? Maybe it’s late to bed and late to rise. Maybe it’s prayerlessness Maybe it’s gluttony. Maybe it’s silly talk. Maybe it’s laziness. Or some other form of lust. I don’t know what it is, I don’t need to know by definition of a besetting sin you know, what it is.
Whatever it is. There it stands before you like a Goliath. Defying the power of the living Christ! And are you going to let that thing blaspheme the name of the Lord? Why not rise up and take courage and like David hit it in the head. Or like David, do it up like he did to the Jebusites
“And David and all Israel went to Jerusalem, which is Jebus, where the Jebusites were, the inhabitants of the land and the inhabitants of Jebus said to David. “Thou shalt not come hither”? Nevertheless! David took the Castle of Zion, which is the city of David.”
Here you are. You have this victory and that victory and the other victory in Canaan’s fair and happy land. You have tasted of the milk and the honey, you have seen them routed out. And here’s this stronghold, the stronghold of the Jebusites.
And they’re saying to you, “You shall not come here, you’re not going to take this one you’re not going to conquer this one there’s no victory over this one. Your not coming in here.”
There’s the devil saying that to you, like those Jebusites. Well look at the next word. “Nevertheless!” Nevertheless David took it. He came in, it didn’t phase him a bit, “We’re going to take it like we took the rest of them.” Courage. Take heart, remember the example of David and the Jebusites.
Be radical to find victory over your besetting sin. Be radical. Again I like David words in Psalm 18, He said “I pursued my enemies and I overtook them” “I did not turn back until they were shattered” “And they fell at my feet and were unable to rise.”
Remember what he did to Goliath, he not only hit him in the head but he took the sword and cut his head off to make sure he wasn’t going to rise up. Radical!
“I shattered them so they were unable to rise.”
Don’t play around with it, don’t go for a half victory Don’t pamper it.
Here’s a man with a problem of gluttony and obesity And what does he do, but he goes off on some weight watchers and parcel diet. Instead of being radical and going right to the root of it and plucking the weed out by the root. Why not declare a fast!? Why not run up the white flag!? And deal with it! You take a doctor that prescribes the pills, isn’t this right Doctor Campbell? He prescribes these pills and he says “Make sure you patient, make sure that you take them all! Don’t just take half the bottle and then quit. Your liable to have a relapse take all the pills and make sure that all of them are killed.”
Be Radical. Be Persistent. To gain victory over your besetting sin, be persistent. You’ve got a sore on your arm or whatever –It’s not enough to put the ointment on just one day. You’ve got to keep applying it, applying it, and applying it and be regular and persistent everyday until it’s healed. Keep at it, keep on it, deal with it!
Another thing, if you want victory over a besetting sin is be vigilant. Remember the example of the Syrians in 1 Kings Chapter 20. Here the Lord, unbelievably, had given King Ahab, the wicked man that he was, victory over the Syrians, and then Ben-hadad. And what happened? The prophet came to Ahab and he said “You go and strengthen yourself because their coming back at the turn of the year.” That’s the way with the devil He left the Lord until an opportune time. Make sure, watch out, be vigilant Because it’s coming back. To try to get in again and get a foothold on you. And if it does it is liable to get seven times worst then it was the first time. What we’re saying brethren is to be all out for God. All out for Him! To be violent in the things of the Kingdom, radical in the pursuit of the Lord and in the matters of holiness.
You don’t know how consecrated you really are, you don’t know how consecrated you really are until you gain victory over that besetting sin. Until you fight for the heat of the battle is on. And you don’t know the riches that the Lord has for you until you deal with that besetting sin. The riches of peace, glory, and goodness and gladness! You don’t know the riches that the Lord has for you until all on the altar is laid.
I one time was told a story, I guess, of Genghis Khan. Here that man was going through the land, sweeping through the land with his army taking one city after another. And they came to this one city and there they had taken it all expect this one Buddhist temple or whatever it was. And they got into that temple, and there they went into the inner sanctuary. And there they found those priests, all bowed down around this here mighty idol. And the main head priest he rose up and he came to that great leader and he plead with that leader. “Take everything, take anything, but would you just spare this one!” And the leader at first, he said “Alright.” But then he thought “No! cut her down!” And they knocked that idol and split it wide open, and there came out buckets of jewels! If he can just keep one stronghold sin in our life. He knows that he is holding back riches of the Lord from us.
To have victory over a besetting sin it just means believing God. Have faith in God! That’s what all those witnesses were crying out in Hebrews Chapter 11. By Faith! By Faith! By Faith! Have faith in God. And really what sin is it, that’s too big for the Lord? Isn’t that why the Lord came, to set his people free from their sins? Doesn’t it say in Titus 2:14 he gave himself for us that he might redeem us and deliver us from all iniquity! Every lawless deed, and to purify for himself a people zealous for good works. The Lord will deliver me from every lawless deed. And preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom. I mean it says every, it says all.
Isn’t there power in the blood? To deal with that thing that seems so impossible in your life That seems unconquerable in your life. Isn’t God sufficient? Isn’t the Lord sufficient? Isn’t the blood? Isn’t the cross sufficient for that? Really what your doing by putting up, by tolerating a besetting sin in your life, in a measure you’re blaspheming, you’re insulting the cross of Christ.
And brother Leiter has been preaching the doctrine of regeneration. And what does it mean If it doesn’t mean this, that there’s victory over sin, no matter what it is! The Lord has given us a new heart, and now it’s only natural To be free from sin Only natural to fight against sin, only natural to see those sins drop off. It’s the natural thing, that’s the way God has wired us up. And so you don’t need it! You don’t need to put up with it, you don’t need to tolerate it, you don’t need to go on with it. There’s victory, it’s right at your fingertips. It’s real in you already. Believe God, cash in on it, write out the check that God has laid out here before you, fill it in! Only natural.
You have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Here, what is that grace teaching you? Titus 2:11 says that the Grace of God has appeared, teaching you, actively teaching you to deny ungodliness and worldly lust, to live soberly, honestly and godly in this present world. That’s what Grace does.
