Goodmorning 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 ask you a little question.
How many of you play some type of musical instrument? From a piano to an acoustic guitar, the music that comes from it is a result of one’s direct control over it. After all, you are the one who is strumming the music. You are the one who is tickling the ivories. By itself, it’s just an instrument that hangs on the wall or sits in its case until someone comes along, picks it up, and begins playing a song. But it can be played by many different musicians. One person might use it to glorify God, while another might use it for something evil.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Each of us is like an instrument, but we must be very careful who’s playing the tune. Our lives can be a great performance if we allow ourselves to be played by the Creator. Like a stradivarius in the hands of a great violinist, we are an instrument that can shine in God’s hands, becoming an instrument of glory, and a vessel unto honor.
Romans 6 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.
To reign means to rule over and command. It is to exercise power and authority over another. We are never to allow ourselves to be controlled by the sinful nature and its desires. We must possess temperance, and be in complete control of our actions, thoughts and feelings. We are incapable of doing this on our own, because in order to overcome sin, we must possess the strength of the Holy Spirit.
“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.” Romans 7:18
The flesh will try to gain control of you through temptations and earthly lusts, but we must resist, and allow God to rule our hearts. We must submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit, and humbly accept His guidance and authority in our lives. At one time, we allowed our flesh to control our activities, and behavior. It dictated our decisions and direction in life, but now we must submit to different leadership. It is the transfer of power, as we turn from the power of darkness to God
“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Acts 26:18
Like a potter molds the clay, we must allow God to shape our hearts. Does God rule your heart, or the world? Does God control your actions, or the carnal nature? In the past, we allowed ourselves to be played by this world, being used as an instrument of sin, but now we must give ourselves unto the hands of our creator, so He can perform righteousness and true holiness in our lives,…..and what a performance He creates!
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6
In this day and age many people play games on the TV. They have a controller that controls the movement of their character on the screen. Like a puppet, it does whatever you want it to do. You can make it climb a building or run across a field. You can make it jump over a river or fly in the air. But in the end, whatever that character does is the result of the person controlling it. Rather than allowing ourselves to be controlled by the lusts and desires of this world, we want to yield ourselves to the control of God. To yield means to submit or relent to somebody else.
“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?” Romans 6:16
Many years ago I used to fly RC planes quite regularly. When you taxi down the runway and the plane takes off, you are the one who’s in complete control of whatever the plane does. What happens during the flight depends on who’s flying it. If I handed over the controls to my neighbor who has never flown before, he would probably run it right into a tree. We want to make sure that God is in control of every aspect of our life so that we can eventually make a safe landing in the Kingdom of heaven.
“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.” Romans 6:19
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
In order to become a disciple of Christ, we must become His follower. We must submit and obey His leading, rather than following after the flesh. To inherit eternal life we must surrender our will to the will of God, because those who choose to follow the sinful nature will die. Jesus taught repent or perish.
Romans 8 ¹² Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 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.
Romans 8 ⁵ 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. ⁶ For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
We must hate evil so much, that we put it to death inside of our hearts
Galatians 6 ⁷ Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. ⁸ 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.
So, like an instrument, we need to surrender ourselves into the hands of our maker. Our lives can become a brand new song for Christ, it all depends on….
…..Who’s Playing the Tune
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, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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