Previously on YOUR REASONABLE SERVICE – BIBLE STUDY SERMON
1 Corinthians 3:16, 17 ( Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the spirit of God dwells in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are)
When Jesus was about to die, he said, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He asked God for reinforcement to help him accomplish what he came to do. This is how it is for everyone who wants to perform his reasonable service unto God; if you aren’t full of the power of the Holy Spirit, your reasonable service will be hypocritical.
No wonder the service of many Christians is born of their selfish desire, for it’s very difficult to submit oneself if the flesh is unwilling. It’s by taming the flesh that you will bring it under submission to the authority of Jesus Christ.
That is why flesh must be nailed to the cross and all its carnal desires, to control one appetite is not easy if not empowered by the spirit of God, the spirit might be willing but the weakness of the flesh wont allow it, that is when you’ll see a septugerian whose body won’t absorb somethings because of age, started drinking all sorts of beverages because he could afford it, not knowing that he has open door to bring his life to abrupt ending.
Had he had the power to control his appetite, he wouldn’t have brought danger to his health with his reckless eating.
I used to wonder before that if someone knew that this particular habit is the cause of his afflictions, but still went ahead in doing it, without controlling himself against it, but now I know that” it’s not by power nor by might but by my spirit says the LORD” and by flesh shall no man prevail.
No one living is controlling themselves. It’s either you’re being controlled by Go, or by the devil; those who live under the control of the flesh are still subjected to the forces of darkness. That is why flesh needs to die for God to have absolute control; the power you obey is your master, so also the controller of your body.
I was preaching to a lady who wants deliverance from the spirit of masturbation. She said that when the demon starts manifesting, she won’t have the power to control it; if she tried, it would be as if she were going mad. Until she masturbates, she won’t be normal.
This is a Christian whose part of her body is hijacked by the devil and makes the whole body become rejected by God. This is what Satan wants; he doesn’t need to take over the whole body, a part is sufficient enough for him to condemn the whole body before God.
All sin is backed by demons; that is why he’s asked us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to him for those demons not to have leverage over you. As he protects the souls, he protects the spirit and the body, to have complete preeminence over your totality.
Whether that sin has become an addiction or not, the power behind it won’t let you go; even gluttony becomes a sin when you can’t control your appetite. Whatever defiles the body is damaging the habitation of God; whenever a demon is present in the body, it will find a way to exhibit its nature of sin. It’s when you’re alive that you are useful to God, for He can’t inhabit a dead body.
The bones of Elisha that brought back a dead man could do it because his body was dedicated to God while living, and the energy in it was still retained to bring back the body that touched it.
You can’t break the power of addiction without the assistance of the Holy Spirit, most Christians are addicted to porns and all sorts of films, secular or spiritual, you can’t enter into a strongman house without first bind the strongman, the stronger than the strongest is the lord Jesus, he has bind the devil over two thousand years ago, and all the demons of addiction that takes men captives has been spoiled by the power of the cross, only if you know what Christ has done to set you free from that bondage, you would not allow satan to take advantage of you.
Some Christians whose tongues are yet to be purified won’t be able to control themselves till they destroy others and ruin their own life in the process; some need to visit the throne of God to see their wretchedness and correct it.
God took Prophet Isaiah to his throne and showed him the place Satan laid his strongholds. He asked for mercy to wash his lips and purify his tongue. By the mercy of God, coal of fire was released from the throne to sanctify his tongue to be able to deliver the raw message without pollution to humanity.
Which area of your life or a part in your body that Satan still lay claimed to, if you don’t bring it under the power of the cross, that will be the area that will condemned every part of your body before God.
Jesus Christ said, ” If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off, for it’s better to enter life with one hand than for all the parts of your body to be cast into hell.
This is the gravity of the body not surrendering to the authority of Christ; no wonder God says, present your body as a living sacrifice, the sacrifice unto God must be without blemish, for it to be acceptable before him, else your service will become unreasonable.
Prayer: Father lord, I offer myself as a living sacrifice on your altar, use me as you wish in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
