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.
Sometimes when you start to hear strange noises in the house, or begin seeing lots of ants crawling across your kitchen counter, many people will pick up a phone and call an exterminator whose job is to kill insects or animals such as rats or mice that can be both annoying and dangerous. Sometimes they will use sprays and powders to eliminate them from the home, along with sealing up any gaps where the pests might have gained access to the structure. There are many different types of infestations that can happen in a home, such as ants, cockroaches, termites and even bed bugs, but an exterminator will go through the house and completely eradicate all of these unwanted critters, by using whatever means possible to destroy them all!
This reminds me of the Christian life.
Scriptures teach us to mortify sin in our lives which means to actively put to death any sinful desires and habits that are outside the will of God. Just like getting rid of any unwanted pests in your home, sin must be eliminated and exterminated from one’s life.
Romans 8:12-14 (KJB) Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 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. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we are indebted to Him for His incredible gift of mercy and Grace, and it is for this very reason that the Apostle Paul referred to himself as a prisoner of the Lord. It’s not that we loved God but that He first loved us and forgave us for all of our trespasses. But when we finally step through the door of God’s grace, we must prove our love to Him in return by rejecting all of those things that are displeasing in His sight. We must kill off the sinful deeds of the flesh, and purify our hearts through faith. Sinful living can have terrible effects in somebody’s life, not only here on the Earth but in the world to come, and if you are not going to make the effort to kill off sin in your life, it is certain that it will eventually kill you.
Romans 8:6-9 (KJB) 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. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
In order to overcome sin we must learn to submit ourselves wholeheartedly to the leading of the Holy Spirit. What I mean by that, is our sinful wretched bodies are filled up with all kinds of sinful lusts that we must overcome in order to enter into eternal life. God empowers us with the gift of the Holy Spirit, but to defeat sin you will have to cooperate with its leading. For example, a student at school might try to convince you to steal another child’s bike, but deep inside of your heart you know that it’s the wrong thing to do. At that point you need to make a decision who you are going to listen to, and that is a defining factor of overcoming sinfulness in our lives. You must choose to listen and obey the Holy Spirit, rather than obeying the lusts of the flesh, which is a process that the Apostle Paul refers to as, “yielding yourself to God.”
Romans 6:16 (KJB) 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?
Whenever you develop a large infestation of pests, they can start taking over the home, but their reign must be brought to an end through the use of appropriate extermination techniques. Just like preventing an infestation of insects, you don’t want sin to reign in your life, but eliminate them all by the power of God.
Romans 6:12-13 (KJB) 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.
Inside of us, there is a battle that rages between the flesh and the Spirit, and they are contrary to each other just like the opposite ends of a magnet. In order to overcome sin you must walk in the Spirit, which is manifested through making the correct choices and submitting yourself to the will of God
Galatians 5:16-18 (KJB) This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Those who possess the fear of God understand that sin must be exterminated from our lives because the wrath of God is going to be poured out upon disobedient children.
Colossians 3:5-6 (KJB) 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:
We must rid our lives of sin just like ridding a home of pests.
2 Timothy 2:19 (KJB) Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
Unwanted pests in a home can wreak havoc, and if not taken care of quickly they can even destroy it. This is why we must rid ourselves from sin, a process that must be continued each and every day of our lives. Just make sure that you pay close attention before the problem develops into an infestation, because just like another day on the job for your nearest pest control technician, each of us will need to get up out of bed, and slip into the boots of,…
…….The Exterminator
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.
https://tlkjbc.com/written-sermons/
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2055335/episodes
https://www.facebook.com/share/14RHGVBBHbG/
tlkjbc.com
Note: Any copies may be printed and freely distributed among those who have no internet service. There is no AI creative involvement in my writings, and must be left intact because they are very personal to me. These are not to be sold, and are made public only for the free benefit of Spiritual knowledge to those who are genuinely seeking the will of God.
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 