Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
How many of you have been woken up in the middle of the night by a large snapping sound? It peaked your curiosity, causing you to rise up out of bed and to check the small trap that you had set previously that evening. Many years ago, in the 1890s, an interesting little invention was created. It was a fairly simple design, using a strong spring, some wire, and a treadle that were mounted on a board. You could bait it with cheese or just about anything to attract any unwanted nighttime visitors who were sneaking around in the dark and raiding your home. Although at times it may have mistakenly caught one of our household pets, it was designed for the purpose of eradicating undesirable mice that had taken up residence within its walls. With all of their scurrying and scratching, it’s very hard to get a good night’s sleep. I mean, how many pillows have you thrown at a wall to try to get them to be quiet? A mice infestation can present quite an annoying problem in one’s life, one that needs to be permanently done away with.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Just like getting rid of mice in your home, Christians must eliminate sin in their lives through mortification. It’s a matter of putting them to death, by setting your own mousetrap.
Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
When the Apostle speaks about the flesh, it is the sinful carnal nature of man. The deeds of the body are the sinful actions that it produces. These are things such as covetousness, adultery and fornication. To inherit the kingdom of heaven, we must cast these things out of our lives. The old man and his sinful deeds must be put to death and replaced with a new creature In Christ.
Ephesians 4:22-24 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Colossians 3:9-10 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
When something is dead, it no longer has any feeling anymore. The carnal nature must be put to death, to the point that its sinful desires no longer have any control over you. All of us are sinners who will need to learn to shun sin if we want to inherit eternal life. We must allow ourselves to be controlled by God’s Holy Spirit rather than the spirit of disobedience.
Ephesians 2:2-3 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Romans 6:12-13 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 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.
Just like a tomato seed produces tomatoes in your garden, the seeds of sin will only produce death.
Galatians 6:7-8 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Romans 6:19-21 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. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
At a job, you perform certain duties for which you will eventually receive a paycheck. It is a reward and payment for the work that you have done. Sin must be destroyed in one’s life because it will only accumulate like money in the bank, storing up a retirement of God’s eternal punishment.
Romans 2:5-11 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
It is your works that will determine where you will reside forever.
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Colossians 3:1-6 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
After you have removed all the mice from your house, isn’t it true that you sleep a lot better?
Romans 8:5-8 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Like unwanted mice, the hidden sins that are creeping inside the walls of one’s heart, must be completely eradicated. To do this, you will need to take on the job of an exterminator, and become your own contractor. The truth is that nobody else is going to be able to do this job but you. You will need to address the problems and take care of the issues at hand. You will need to initiate that process by doing what has to be done. You will need to put an end to the infestation of sin, by reaching deep inside of the cupboard, and setting your own………
……….Mousetrap
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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