RISE Part 2 – Week 2: How To Conquer Destructive Habits (Male edition)

Pastor Ashley Evans   -   February 28, 2022
FIVE REASONS WHY WE FAIL TO OVERCOME SINFUL HABITS
 
1. We try to conquer habits in the energy of the soul.
God wants us to conquer sinful habits through the power of His Spirit. Satan wants us to fight habits with the energy of our souls. Our souls (Greek: yuxń (psoo-KAY]) consist of our mental power, our will power, and our emotional power. These are no match for the bondage of sinful habits. Only through the power of God’s Spirit can we conquer sinful habits. “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:13).
 
2. We are double-minded.
A double-minded person has a desire to overcome sinful habits and a conflicting desire to enjoy them. God warns that such a person cannot hope for any consistent victory over sin. A double minded (Greek: diyuxos (DIP-soo-koss],”double soul”) person has not yet learned to hate evil; he will be unstable in all his ways. (See James 1:8.)
 
3. We fail to understand what it means to be in Christ.
The only way to consistently overcome sinful habits is to enter into the victory which Christ has already won over you. The precise steps for gaining this victory are explained on in the following..
 
4. We make provision for sinful pleasures.
We give outward evidence of hating evil when we remove from our lives all provisions for evil. This means cleansing the galleries of our minds of evil imaginations and cleansing our lives of all sensual possessions.
 
5. We attempt to hide secret sins.
One of Satan’s biggest lies is that secret sins will remain hidden. God clearly states: “… you may be sure that your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23). The Humbling which come when sin is properly confessed is actually a part of God’s provision to receive grace and conquer sinful habits. “…God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6). (See also I Peter 4.)
 
SEVEN STEPS TO CONQUER SINFUL HABITS 
1. Engraft Romans 6 and 8 into your soul

James 1:21So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and ENGRAFT the word of God for it has the power to save your souls.  22 Dont just be hearers of the word, but be doers of the word or you deceive yourself.  .
 
2. Picture yourself dead to sin.
God’s Word states that we are dead to sin.
Regardless of our own feelings to the contrary, God wants us to “reckon” ourselves dead to sin. To “reckon” ourselves is to count it to be so. In reality, what would this mean? If a dead man were propped up against a wall and a seductive woman were to walk in front of him, he would not even blink an eye. This is precisely the response that God wants us to have to the power and appeal of sin.
When did we die to sin? We died to sin when we became Christians. At that moment, we became part of Christ. Since we are a part of Christ, we share in all of His past achievements. When He was crucified, we were crucified with Him: “I have been crucified with Christ…” (Galatians 2:20). When He was buried, we were buried: “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death…” (Romans 6:4). When Christ rose from the dead, we rose from the dead: “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ…” (Colossians 3:1).
 
3. Compare the law of sin to the law of gravity.

It is one thing to say we are dead to sin. It is quite a different matter to experience it. Yet this is precisely what God wants us to do on a continuing basis. We can do this by picturing the law of sin as the law of gravity and the law of the Spirit as the principle of aerodynamics.

Picture an eagle soaring in the air.

If that eagle folded in its wings, it would begin falling to the ground because the law of gravity would take over. A law is a law because it always operates the same way under the same conditions.
All that the eagle must do to stop falling is to stretch out its wings. The air rushing over its wings sets up a new force, the principle of aerodynamics. This principle is greater than the law of gravity. It does not annihilate the law of gravity; it overcomes it.
If we stop meditating in the face of a temptation, we will begin to fall. Falling is a very real experience. It does not take many seconds to be defeated.
How do we overcome the law of sin? God designed the eagle to soar in the air, and God designed the Christian to speak His truth in his heart day and night. God tells us to pray without ceasing (see I Thessalonians 5:17), to meditate on His truth day and night (see Psalm 1), and to speak the truth in our hearts. (See Psalm 15:2.)
This weaving of the Word into our thoughts is equivalent to the Hebrew phrase “waiting upon the Lord.” God promises that as long as we meditate on His truth, we will soar above the power of temptation. “But they that wait upon the Lord … shall mount up with wings as eagles …” (Isaiah 40:31).
Satan wants us to believe that when we start falling, there is nothing we can do but surrender to the temptation. However, all we need to do is to stretch out those spiritual wings by quoting Romans 6: “Well then, should we keep on sinning…?” In a few moments the temptation will lose its power and appeal, and we will once again soar above temptation. In this way, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus lifts us above the law of sin and death. (See Romans 8:2.)
Why it is fruitless to pray for victory: One of Satan’s favorite tricks is to get us to pray for victory while we are falling into temptation. The prayer is not very effective because it is not based on Scriptural truth. God does not want us to pray for victory; He wants us to enter into the victory which He has already provided in Christ. We were part of Christ’s victory when we died and rose again with Him.
Why must we meditate the moment we are tempted? Just as the eagle has only a few seconds to stretch out its wings before falling to the ground, so we have only a few moments to visualize Romans 6 before we fall.
 
4. Personalize the truth of Romans 6.
Part of the process of engrafting Scripture is turning it into a first-person prayer.
As soon as you have a thorough grasp of Romans 6, begin to quote it to the Lord in the following way: “Well then, should (I) keep on sinning so that God can show (me) more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since (I) have died to sin, how can (I) continue to live in it? Or have (I) forgotten that when (I was) joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, (I) joined him in his death?…”

After personalizing this Scripture, there is one more important step to follow. It is identifying the particular temptation that Satan would bring to us. Rather than using the word sin, name the temptation.If you are tempted to be bitter, quote: “Well then, should (I) keep on (being bitter) so that God can show (me) more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since (I) have died to (bitterness), how can (I) continue to live in it?

 
5. Make no provision for temptation.

If we desire Christ’s victory over a particular temptation, but we have provided the means to continue that temptation, we are only deceiving ourselves.

God commands us: “clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Romans 13:14).

 
6. Become accountable for consistency.
a. Go to those who are concerned for your spiritual well-being, such as your spouse, church leaders, or mature Christian friends, and ask them if they would regularly check up on your progress toward spiritual achievement. Tell them what your spiritual goals are, and give them precise questions which they can ask you.
 
HOW WE YIELD TO SIN
1. We experience a sinful desire.
2. We visualize the sensual pleasure that we would receive from this act.
3. We decide to fulfill our sensual desire.
4. We become the servant of sin. “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey?…” (Romans 6:16).
5. We yield the members of our bodies to carry out the sensual pleasure (our hands click on the website, our eyes look at lewd material, our minds imagine further evil).
 
HOW WE YIELD TO GOD
1. We experience a Scriptural prompting. (e.g., to invite someone to church.)
2. We visualize the action required to obey this prompting.
3. We make a decision to obey the prompting.
4. Our decision confirms that we are God’s servants.
5. We yield the members of our body to carry out God’s prompting (we use our mouth to invite someone to church. (See Romans 12:1–2.)
6.  Acknowledge when we are wrong.
 
CHECKLIST FOR VICTORY OVER SINFUL HABITS
  1. I have memorized Romans 6 and 8:1-15.
  2. I am meditating on this Scripture day and night.
  3. I can personalize Romans 6 and 8.
  4. I have proposed to put myself to sleep each night while quoting Scripture.
  5. I picture myself dead to the power of sin.
  6. When I am tempted, I visualize how a man would respond to sin. While quoting Romans 6, I name the sin that I am tempted to commit.
  7. I have removed every provision for sinful habits.
  8. I have cleansed my heart and mind of impure imaginations.
  9. I compare the law of sin with the law of gravity.
  10. When tempted, I picture myself falling to destruction.
  11. I instantly quote Romans 6 and picture the principles of aerodynamics taking over.
  12. I am accountable to God-given authority.
  13. I have presented my body as a living sacrifice to God and my members as weapons of righteousness for His daily use.