July 28, 2014–Six Secrets to Overcome Sin–Part 2

July 28, 2014 By

ShyjuMathew2(Be blessed by this DWOD for July 28, 2014 by guest contributor Shyju Matthew)

We trust you were blessed by yesterday’s post. We continue with Secrets 4, 5 & 6…

4. What You Feed Everyday is What Will Rule Over You Everyday!

No matter how incredibly anointed you are, if you feed your flesh, you will fall into sin.

Solomon is the best example of such folly. He knew everything, he even had an encounter with God, twice!! And, we all know the end of his story.

Ever wondered why you are too tired to pray? Distracted to read the Bible? Struggling to hear from God? Your flesh is too strong over your spirit.

You cannot feed your flesh with the things of the world and not expect your flesh to subdue your desires of the spirit.

What must you do?

–Consistently resist every infiltration of satan that tries to subdue the work of the Spirit of God.

–Draw lines with friends that feed your heart with sin and the thoughts and imaginations of sin. Be humble and loving but make it clear that your heart and mind is not the garbage of this world.

–Ignore sinful media. “Which celebrity is going out with whom?” “Who slept with whom in Hollywood?” “Who did what and how in your church!” How are those details going to help your heart be tuned with God? Quit now. Don’t feed your flesh. Get off those TV channels.

–Feed your spirit. Read things that fuel you for God. Watch videos that restore your love for Jesus. Read your Bible like it was your only meal. Pray without ceasing.

“Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” (Mark 14:38)

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (Ephesians 6:18)

“I pray that He would give you inner strength and power through His Spirit.” (Ephesians 3:16)

“… But you, dear friends, as you build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit, … Furthermore, continue to pray in the Holy Spirit.” (Jude 1:20)

Those are just a few tips, I’m sure you get the idea!

5. Understand Grace Wholeheartedly

The idea of grace is not only one of the most powerful life-changing revelations to a believer, but also one of the most abused because of certain wrong teachings. Grace is not an excuse to sin, it’s an empowerment to get you back up to the throne.

Understand that it’s all by His mercy and allow the understanding of grace to empower you to get back on your feet and not lie in sin. Get it?

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1)

Please hear me: “Falling in sin is human. Living in sin is abuse of grace. Rising up from sin is understanding Sonship. And living in pursuit of God is legacy.”

6. Finally, last but not the least, simple to understand, yet somehow not practised: Confess Your Sins and Turn Away From It.

Sin multiplies in the dark. To disentangle from sin, expose it to the Light of God. Don’t wait for a week to confess your sins to Jesus. Confess your sins right then and there. Expose your sins to your accountability partner. Expose it to your mentor. Expose it to your spouse. Pray together for restoration. At the feet of Jesus there is mercy and grace.

I conclude with reminding ourselves once more that our Commander waits for us. To send us out to the Nations for His glory!

Therefore: “No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.” (2Timothy 2:4)

Are you pleasing Jesus today? Start now!

(Born in India and presently living in Montreal, Canada, Revivalist Shyju Matthew continues to demonstrate God’s mighty Word through the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in crusades and conferences all over the world. This post first appeared on his blog Guarding The Heart)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

July 27–Six Secrets to Overcoming Sin–Part 1

July 28, 2014 By

pizza fast(Be blessed by this DWOD for July 27, 2014 by guest contributor Shyju Matthew)

The issue of sin is something that a Jesus lover cannot afford to ignore. That’s because our Master said, “If you love Me, you will obey My commandments.”

Becoming sin-conscious certainly does not help anyone overcome sin. But what does help is becoming aware of how our flesh reacts and responds. Knowledge in itself does not set us free, but it shows us clear paths to eliminate distractions.

I want to share with you 6 secrets to overcome sin, obviously not as one who is perfect, but as someone learning to love Jesus one day at a time.

1. Don’t Blame Someone Else for Your Sin

The Blame Game started in the garden of Eden with the fall of man. The more we shift blame, the less we take responsibility and the harder it becomes to overcome sin.

Adam blamed God for giving him a woman who would make him sin. Eve then blamed the serpent for all the evil (Gen 3:12).  This blame game continues today as an easy response to the carnal nature in us.

Wholehearted repentance starts when you take full responsibility for your shortcomings. So take responsibility for life and get things straight, the best is ahead of you!

2. Don’t Blame the Devil Either!

Like Eve, most Christians love blaming the devil.

Now it is true that the enemy does bring temptations to destroy a child of God. However let us not forget the foundational truth that the enemy is under our feet through Christ!

I was struck by this paragraph from Gill’s exposition of the Bible:

“…the woman’s seed, ‘shall bruise thy head’ (Genesis 3:15); and which has had its accomplishment in Christ, who has not only destroyed the works of the devil, but the devil himself, and spoiled the principalities and powers, and bruised him and them under His feet, when he led captivity captive; and though, for the trial of the graces of his people, Satan is permitted to attack them in various shapes, yet in a short time he will be bruised under their feet, as he is already under their Lord and Master’s.”

The knowledge of how the enemy is powerless does nothing to you. But when that knowledge becomes a revelation in your spirit through pursuit of God, then there will be a massive empowerment from God that will release the grace of God on you to overcome all the wiles of the enemy.

It’s time we quit making the devil more powerful than he actually is.  Resist the devil & he must flee! Time to resist! Are you on it now?

3. Don’t Reason or Argue With Sin

This is one area where I have failed a million times. So often we think we are good enough to out-smart sin. However God is clear about the power of sin over the fallen nature of man. You can never overcome sin in your own strength, that’s why the Bible is clear—FLEE ! (2Timothy 2:22) Therefore it is not wise for a child of God to go for a fist fight with sin as it will cause you to fall. The solution is simple, flee! Flee sin and then resist the devil.

Don’t try to master sin in the name of resisting the devil. These are two different things. Fleeing sin is the tangible part of the obedience to Jesus, resisting the devil is the warfare in the invisible realm. So you flee in obedience first and then when you are far from it, then you try to overcome it.

To put it in one line: You cannot hold yummy pizza in your hands and expect God to give you grace to fast! Flee first!

Show no mercy to sin! Enough said.

Don’t miss secrets 4-6 in tomorrow’s DWOD!

(Born in India and presently living in Montreal, Canada, Revivalist Shyju Matthew continues to demonstrate God’s mighty Word through the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit in crusades and conferences all over the world. This post first appeared on his blog Guarding The Heart)

Filed Under: Guest Authors

July 26, 2014–Follow-Through Prevents Falling Through

July 28, 2014 By

baseball swing follow-throughIn the summer of 1981, the United Church of Canada sent me on a four month internship to two churches in Northern New Brunswick.

My living quarters during this stint was a cute little one-bedroom house located right on the premises of Upsalquitch United Church. It was also a gathering place for the children of the village who would come every day after school looking for the student minister.

Of course, they were not content to simply sit and chat. They were used to being active. One day they suggested that we could have a game of softball soon. So I went to Campbellton and picked up a glove. (Did I tell you that I did not tell them that I’d never played softball before in my life?)

The next day came…everyone showed up with their gloves. Play Ball! Soon it was my time to bat. The pitcher lobbed the softball in my direction. It looked about the size of a Florida grapefruit. I swung the bat as best as I could and made contact. The ball was in play heading toward third base.

So far so good, right? I started running toward first base. (Did I tell you that I’d never played softball before in my life?) All I could hear was the sound of laughter as they watched me run for my life with the bat tucked under my arm. My cover was blown.

The interesting sidebar is that they were too busy laughing at my faux pas, that I made it safely to first base. My first ever hit. Wow!

Once their bellies had ached enough, one of the boys was kind enough to teach me what to do with the bat after one hits the ball…and a few other elementary principles of hitting.

The main thing I learned from this quickie lesson was the emphasis on the Follow-Through of the swing. He demonstrated how when you follow through properly, the ball travels farther. Otherwise, I would continue to hit little nubbers with a poor excuse of a swing that stopped once contact was made between the bat head and the ball.

Those of you who are golfers understand what the follow-through is all about too, don’t you? Making contact with the ball is great. But the ball is not likely to go too far unless you follow through with your swing!

One of the greatest joys of serving Jesus is helping those who do not know Him as Lord and Saviour to make a personal commitment to follow Him. But, we need to realize that this is simply the point at which the bat head makes contact with the softball.

It is our responsibility as those who “make disciples of the nations” to carry on with the Follow-Through process. This may entail several visits over a cup of coffee or a meal where you answer questions and teach basic things such as how to read the Bible and how to pray. It could mean that you take them with you wherever you go and show by example how to live as Jesus did. You may need to keep in touch with them over the phone or social media every day, sometimes several times every day.

All this Follow-Through will prevent that newly minted believer from falling through the cracks. And your impact upon their lives will be way more than you could ever ask or imagine. Some of the people you mentor/parent will exceed your expectations and make you go “Wow!” Who knows what would’ve happened had you not taken the time and the effort for the Follow-Through?

Dear DWOD friend, please make sure that whenever God gives you the opportunity to make contact with someone that you also Follow-Through. It is a surefire way of preventing newbies from falling through the cracks.

Filed Under: Pastor Jeeva Sam