0:00 Well, I invite you to turn with me in your bibles to Romans chapter eight. Romans chapter eight. And as you're turning there, I I just wanna remind you and today we will finish looking at this wonderful this glorious doctrine in reality for the Christian. Romans chapter eight verses twelve and thirteen. The Apostle Paul says, so then brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh to live according to the flesh.
0:45 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Let's pray. Heavenly father, as we open up your word together, may you be in our midst. Father, may your glory be shown through these words, through these pages, and this glorious doctrine of sanctification.
1:20 And Lord, I pray that you enable me to speak clearly, to speak without error, to speak in a way that helps your people worship you. Lord, drain me of myself. Fill me with your spirit. And I pray for the people here today that you will soften hearts, that you will, by the power of the Holy Spirit, awaken hearts to new desires, to new glories, to new treasures in Jesus Christ. And may the seeds that are scattered here take root and yield abundant fruit.
2:00 In Jesus name, amen. The Puritan writer, theologian, and pastor, John Owen, he looked at these words in Romans, and he wrote a book called The Mortification of Sin. And in that book, he recognized that growing in Christ likeness, being sanctified as a believer is a battle. He saw the power and the devastating effects that sin could have on believers, but he also saw that the believers, us, you and me, we are equipped with the power to defeat that sin. And he admonished his readers, be killing sin or it will be killing you.
3:01 In other words, Owen was saying that we are in a war every single day of our lives. As Christians, we war against sin. We war against our fleshly desires, our old natures. And if we do not actively kill that sin, it will be killing us. Now the Bible says, Christian, your life is a journey.
3:29 You're on a pilgrimage where you will face times of trials and tribulations, sufferings and strivings, and yes, you will have a constant daily fight for holiness, for personal communion with God. You will have this fight for sanctification. And we we are in this battle as Christians because we love our savior, because we wanna know him more. We wanna experience joy in Christ now. We wanna experience peace with God now.
4:08 But also we are on this pilgrimage for the joy that is set before us, for that heavenly Jerusalem where we will be with God and delight in Him forever. One day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. That's our goal. That's our goal. And this road to heaven, this road to eternal life truly is the road called sanctification.
4:38 I gave you a definition of sanctification several weeks ago. Let me repeat it here for us now. Sanctification is the progressive, supernatural transformation of a believer into the image of Christ. It's becoming more like Christ. Yes, in our outward actions, actions, in our outward behaviors.
5:04 Yes. But even more so through our internal transformation of our hearts. Sanctification, we looked at and saw is a necessary component of the Christian life. The Bible does not speak of a Christian who is not being sanctified. We learned that, yes, justification is by faith alone, but true saving faith is never alone.
5:35 Let me repeat that. Justification is by faith alone. You can't do anything, but true saving faith is never alone. True saving faith is always accompanied by fruit, by evidence that you are becoming more like Christ. Changes in our thoughts, changes in our attitudes.
6:10 So much so that we are in the image of Christ, that we have Christ's desire so much so that on our last day, we can truly say, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. And today, we will focus our time on the believers fight for sanctification because truly it is a battle that we are in on this earth to grow more like Christ. And to do that, we will look at three points today. We will look at the fight, the weapons, and the victory. The fight, the weapons, and the victory.
6:56 You're in Romans chapter eight. We're going to spend a lot of time there today, so I encourage you put a bookmark or your finger in there. Romans eight thirteen, the fight. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
7:16 Paul's language here and elsewhere is one of battle. It's one of war. Paul is telling Christians right here, you have to put to death the deeds of the flesh. You have to fight. He says in first Timothy six twelve, fight the good fight of faith.
7:35 And then in Colossians chapter three verse five, don't turn there. He says, put to death therefore what is earthly in you. Now look, our sin nature as believers, our sin nature is dead. We are no longer slaves to sin, but the reality is sin is still powerful, it's still active, and sin is constantly trying to enslave you again. The bondage of sin is broken, but we all know that the baggage can remain.
8:12 We all experience this. While in this unglorified body, indwelling sin does not go quietly away. It's always looking to master us again. That's why Paul describes this constant struggle for believers using himself as an example. Flip back to Romans chapter seven at verse number 25.
8:35 Romans seven twenty five. This is Paul talking about himself. He says, so I find it verse seven or chapter seven verse 21. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
9:06 Wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. Speaking about himself in his unregenerated state before he was a Christian.
9:31 They say, you Christians, when you become a believer, you do not have this struggle with sin anymore. You live in perfect victory. Some will even say that Christians, you can attain perfection in this life. Just flat out wrong. Paul is talking about his battle against sin as a Christian.
9:57 Yes. We see this through the wider context of Romans five, six, seven, and eight. But just briefly because of time, let's look at verse 23 or 22 again. Paul says, for I delight in the law of God in my inner being. Unbelievers don't say that.
10:15 Unbelievers can't say that. So the fight for Christians is real. And remember, our sanctification is not something that happens passively. We just don't sit back, do whatever we want, live however we want, and expect to be sanctified, expect to be growing in Christ likeness. No.
10:37 Sanctification is active. In Genesis chapter four verse seven, what God is speaking to Kane, and he says in Genesis four seven, if you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well look at this. If you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.
11:09 You must vanquish it. You have to defeat it and kill it. Yet still, do not underestimate what sin can do in the life of a believer if left to flourish. Be killing sin or it will be killing you. For the Christian, sin will kill your relationships.
11:35 It will kill your marriage. It will kill your churches and ministries. And even more so, sin left unchecked will kill any peace, any joy, and it will destroy the sweet intimate communion that you want with God. Now think about it. In your own experiences, you've watched Christians, brothers, sisters in Christ, you've watched them be destroyed by their sin.
12:04 Yes, we we see it on the news, a scandal here, scandal that happened over there, but but even more so in your own life, your own friends, your own family members, you have witnessed the devastating effects of sin. And you yourself, all of us, we've experienced the devastating effects of sin in our own lives if we let it live. Now, in America and in the West, we are so used to comfort and ease that we bring that mentality into our walk as believers, don't we? Drifting, coasting, complacency. Call it what you want, but it amounts to this.
12:53 It amounts to getting in the back seat of your life and letting your sin and your desires drive for you. And I tell you, look, if that is you today, if you are sitting here and you can honestly say, look, I am drifting. I am coasting. Shake off your lethargy today and wake up. Get in this fight today, this hour or sin will be destroying you.
13:25 Now killing sin means that we don't make peace with our sin. Romans seven twenty three, Paul says, I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Don't make peace with your sin because your sin is not making peace with you. First Peter chapter two. You don't have to turn there.
13:57 Just listen. First first first Peter chapter two. He says, beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. Yet, Christians at times, we make peace with the very thing trying to destroy us. How so?
14:24 Well, we make excuses. We justify our sins. We try and domesticate our sins. Gossip. It's not gossip.
14:35 It's it's it's not a big deal. I'm I'm talking about issues. I just really wanna help that person. That's why I'm telling you about it. Or greed and the love of money.
14:46 We say to ourselves, look, savings is good. Building a nest egg is good. I don't wanna be a burden for anybody, so I have to save, save, save, accumulate more, more, more and build bigger and bigger barns. Or we say, it's minor. Preacher, why are you getting so uptight?
15:08 Don't be legalistic. I can wear what I wanna wear. I can expose what I wanna expose. I can watch what I want to watch and speak in any manner that I want. Excuses and the justifications.
15:26 I've heard from, from, from people. I'm not addicted to this, so it's not a big deal. It's not a sin. Or No one's perfect. This is just who I am.
15:39 It's it's cultural. How about that? It's cultural. I fly off the handle. I'm angry.
15:44 I'm a busybody. I'm dismissive because that's just my culture and tradition. So it's okay. Don't make peace with your sin. And what's the other way people make peace with their sin?
15:56 Well, they deny that their actions are even sin at all. And the timely example of that is just look around. It's the month of June. Pride month. It's a whole month dedicated to celebrating, to rejoicing in sin, to celebrating actions that will literally destroy you.
16:24 Yet people say homosexuality, transgenderism, and those who support such behaviors, it's not sin. Don't you know the Bible was written two thousand years ago? It doesn't apply to us now or it's been corrupted. There's so many errors you can't even trust it. It can't be sin to love who I want to love and how I want to love them.
16:52 That's the way people make peace with their sin. And you know what what that really is. No matter how you make peace with your sin, whether you justify it, whether you deny it's sin at all, you know what it's like? It's like having a baby lion in your house. Yeah.
17:08 It's cute. It's cuddly. You you you hug it. It's and and so you you you play with it, and you you feed it, and you nurture it, and you watch it grow, and you think you can control it, and you watch it grow bigger until one day that lion kills you and devours you. The fact of the matter is, we cannot tame sin.
17:34 We cannot control sin, and we cannot domesticate it in any way, shape, or form. Our only option the only option for you, the only option for me is to call sin for what it is and recognize its dangers. So I ask you today, what kinds of sin in your life are you tolerating? Are you making peace with? Are you basically given up the fight against this sin and this struggle and said, this is just the way it is.
18:09 I'm happy with it. To you, I tell you, don't be surprised when those very areas that you are tolerating sin are the very areas that will cause your life the most pain, misery, and discouragement. Our only option is to identify sin, target it, and put it to death, which leads us to point to the weapons because we are not defenseless. God has not left us defenseless in this fight for sanctification. If by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
18:56 So how do I kill sin by the spirit? Well, you kill sin by wielding the sword of the spirit, by wielding the word of God. Take it. Use it. Train with it.
19:10 Equip yourself with it. We all know this. Ephesians chapter six verse 17. Paul is talking about the spiritual armor available to every single Christian. And he says in verse 17, take up the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
19:28 It is our offensive weapon against sin. Hebrews 12 or Hebrews chapter four verse 12. The writer says about the word of God, for the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit of joints and of marrow and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. So reading, studying, memorizing, knowing the Bible is actively fighting against sin. You kill sin.
20:05 You kill temptation with the word of God. Look at Jesus as an example. Matthew chapter four, the temptation of Christ. Satan tempted him over and over again. And what is Jesus's defense?
20:20 It is written. Every single time, it is written. He went back to the Bible. Do you know your Bible well enough to say that when you are confronted with sin? It is written.
20:33 The Bible says this. And remember, people will use the Bible to tempt you. People will use the Bible to try and deceive you and get you to sin. Satan did it to Jesus. He said, Jesus, it well, it's it's written white right right here.
20:51 So people will use the scriptures for your detriment. But Psalm one nineteen eleven briefly it says, I have stored up your word in my heart. Why? That I might not sin against you. The Bible is how we can recognize sin for what it is.
21:12 And so when people try and convince you this or that is not really sin, you know better. When faced with every lie, every temptation, every opportunity to sin, shine the word of God on it. Run to the word of God on it and hold it up to the word of God to see if it is true. And the only effective way to do that is if you know the word of God. And I can tell you this, knowing the word of God will not happen with just two hours once a week here in church.
21:50 It just won't. It will take time. It will take effort, and it will take commitment. But I ask you this, what other reading is more important? What other activity is more important?
22:08 As we sang it, these are the words of life. I've come across people who might not say this explicitly, but implicitly, they believe it. Reading, studying, memorizing, deep studying of the scripture is really only for certain people, for pastors or seminary students or academics. It's not for everybody. We all we we have other things we have to do.
22:39 We have jobs that we have to do. I hope that is not anyone in this room today. Even through default, even through your own actions, I hope that is not you. But if it is, then reject it with every fiber of your being. Look, it is the duty of every Christian to know the word of God.
23:02 But never forget, our duty is also our delight. Think about it. For over fifteen hundred years, people did not have the Bible in their own language. When the Bible was read, nobody could understand it except for a select few. But the gift of God is, you have it in your hands now.
23:24 We have it on our phones. We have it everywhere and yet, we don't read it. Don't neglect this word. Devour it instead. Jesus prayed for his disciples in John seventeen seventeen.
23:40 Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. Do you wanna see godly transformation in your life? Do you want to increasingly overcome sin in your life? Then become a lover of God's word.
24:03 Next, you kill sin by the spirit through prayer. Romans chapter eight. Told you we spent a lot of time there. Romans chapter eight verse 26. Likewise, the spirit helps us in our weaknesses, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
24:28 The Spirit, the Holy Spirit himself is praying for you. And look, this is this is still a fight. Right? This is not the when I read this verse, the sense that I I I get from this is not a person sitting back in his recliner just hoping that Holy Spirit prays for him and sanctifies him. No.
24:46 The picture of this verse is a believer on his knees crying out to the Lord, desperate for the Lord, desperate for the Holy Spirit to work in his life, to vanquish this sin that keeps on coming up again and again. And the Holy Spirit answers and gives him the words to pray and prays for binds all of the other spiritual armor together. Ephesians six eighteen. After after Paul list out all the spiritual armor for the Christian, you know what he says? Put on this.
25:21 Put on this. Take up this. Take up the sword of the spirit. And then what? Praying at all times in the spirit with all prayer and supplication.
25:32 Yes. You take up your armor. Yes. You wield the sword of the spirit, but know this, true and effective preparation for spiritual battle always includes prayer. Matthew twenty six fourteen, in the Garden Of Gethsemane, Jesus tells his disciples, watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.
26:02 The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Now, we have to be careful too. Prayer is not some magical incantation that we whip out when we're faced with with with with temptation as if it's a it's it's a war against sin and the devil. That is not prayer. That's why I'm telling you this now.
26:26 That's why it's not biblical and it's not prayer to recite the Lord's Prayer. 50 times in a row. It's not prayer is. It's humbly acknowledging our weaknesses and our inability before the Lord. We cry out for help.
26:43 We cry out for strength and endurance. But even more, what our prayers do is we cry out, Lord, give me new desires. I'm tired of these old ones that never satisfy. Give me a new change in my affections. I don't wanna go after worthless things anymore.
27:01 That's what prayer is. That kind of prayer fights against anxiety. It fights against fear and depression and lust and greed. It fights against everything that is waging war against your soul. And that's individual prayer and corporate prayer.
27:24 So So Christian, in this fight for sanctification, what does your personal prayer look like? Be honest with yourself. Is it an afterthought? Is it something you only do right before you eat a meal? Or ask yourself, does it even exist in my life?
27:49 Because without regular, sincere, heartfelt prayer with the Lord, I guarantee you, your love for the Lord will grow cold. Your zeal for the Lord will wither and die, and sin will defeat you again and again and again. Prayer is how we wage war against the flesh, how we put it put it to death. So are you struggling today with a particular sin that you can't seem to beat? Pray.
28:29 Are you wanting to change to be more like Christ? Pray. Or are you stuck spiritually? It just seems like a hamster on a wheel. You just the harder you try, the the the no progress is being made.
28:42 Pray and keep on praying. The Bible talks about striving in our praying. It's not easy when you don't see results right away. But the Bible says, keep on doing it. Keep on striving for the You know, another aspect of prayer is corporate prayer.
29:06 Yeah. Here every Wednesday as the church to pray. Yes. For the needs of the church. Yes.
29:13 For the corporate needs. But also individual needs. Things that you are struggling with. Things that we can come alongside you and pray for you and with you. And and look, I know Wednesday is the middle of the week.
29:27 We all work very, very hard. But let me ask you this. Do you value corporate prayer? Have you ever been here on a Wednesday night? This is not to guilt you.
29:42 This is not to make you feel sorry for yourself, but this is for you to assess. Do you value corporate prayer? Are you able to make it here and just don't come? Tell you that people people you ask anybody who comes on Wednesday night, they can attest to you that the prayers prayed on Wednesday night are answered. Over and over again.
30:05 Example after example, we see God answering the specific prayers that we pray right here in this room. So value prayer in your life individually and corporately. Spurgeon said, prayer sweeps the battlefield. It slays the enemy and buries the bones. Don't neglect prayer in this fight for sanctification.
30:35 You also kill sin by the spirit through the church. Romans chapter eight verse number 14. And I'm I'm I'm truly excited about this one. Romans eight fourteen through 17. For all who are led by the spirit of God are sons of God.
30:56 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, Abba Father. The spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and if children then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Do you see it? Do you see the language there? We are children of God.
31:27 We are fellow heirs with Christ. We have the same father, the same spirit of adoption. We're part of the same family. We're part of the church of Jesus Christ. So in this fight for holiness, God has given us through the spirit brothers and sisters in Christ to fight right alongside of you.
31:49 That's the church. The gathering of believers in the local assembly. It's where hear me now. It is where prayer and the word of God are joined with the fellowship of the saints to drop a bomb on the sin in your life. Hebrews chapter 10 verse twenty four and twenty five.
32:14 Just just listen. Don't don't don't try to turn there. Just listen. And let us consider the writer says, how to stir up one another to love and good works. Not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
32:33 Look, the world is not getting better. The world will actually continue to get worse and worse until Jesus Christ returns. SINWALABA. All the more. Temptation will increase.
32:52 People will invent new ways of doing evil. And through all that, the writer says, don't neglect gathering together. Because it's through the fellowship of the saints that we can fight sin effective. And this is a reminder to us, And this is a reminder to us as we think about what church is. It is a reminder to us as we gather here, this is not a country club.
33:21 This is not a social group or social gathering. And that means that clicks and favoritism and factions of any kind have no place in this church or any other church. We are here for encouragement, for edification. And yes, we are here for rebuke, for correction, and accountability. That's how we collectively fight and kill sin in your life and in my life.
33:59 And so you know what that means practically church? It means practically if that's the purpose, one of the purposes of church, that means you might forego sitting by a friend or a family member so that you can welcome and talk with somebody new or somebody you don't know. It means that you are free and you should open up to other people in this church about your struggles and temptations and trials that are going on in your life. We're not interested in fake smiles here. But on the other side, that also means that you be a trustworthy person that someone can come up to and share their soul with.
34:39 That you don't use private information as a weapon to gossip, or to backbite, or to slander. Being the church of Christ, the church of the living God means that before we talk about politics, we talk about God in the Bible. It means Come back to the Lord. Don't do it. Don't go there.
35:15 Come back to the Lord. Do you feel that as we gather here? Do you feel that sense of urgency for the church? It is God's appointed means for our growing to be more like Christ. And because of that, because of that, this is God's appointed means, know this, you will be stunted in your walk with the Lord if you neglect the people of God.
35:49 You know, a good test to gauge your love for the church, to gauge your love for the fellowship of the saints, Ask yourself, what keeps me from coming here? Because to be honest with you, if you miss out on this gathering, on this Lord's Day service regularly, habitually, to sleep in an extra couple of hours, be you stayed up late last night, or to go shopping, or to relax at home, or go to brunch, or spend times with your friends. If that is you, that shows what your priorities truly are and how you feel about the church. Fathers, lead your family and bring them to church. Mothers, nurture your children.
36:42 Help your husband and bring your family to church. Brothers and sisters of every age, every sphere of life that you're in, make this a priority because your sanctification, your growth, your fighting sin literally depends on it. In fact, church, the fellowship of the saints, the community of believers is so important that if you voluntarily neglect or abuse or hinder this gathering, you do so to your own peril. Victory in our sanctification. And it's true.
37:29 Left to ourselves, left to our own abilities, our own strength, we would fail this fight every single time. We would lose each and every temptation that comes along. Yes. Okay. Maybe you might have temporary success in in screwing up your own determination and and I'm not gonna look at that.
37:50 I'm not gonna look at that. I'm not gonna go there. Yeah. You might have temporary success, but you're never gonna have any lasting change. But thanks be to God.
38:00 Thanks be to God. You know, Christ's death didn't just satisfy the penalty for our sin. Christ destroyed the power of sin over us. Romans six fourteen says, for sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under the law, but under grace. Grace brought you from death to life.
38:25 The old man is dead. The new man has come. Christ is in us. The Holy Spirit resides in us and empowers us. I see that in Galatians two twenty.
38:38 Most of you probably know this by heart. I have been crucified with Christ. And what? It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
38:55 Because of Christ living in you, you can know victory in your daily fight with sin. And now victory in this body does not mean perfectionism. Victory does not mean sinlessness. Victory means a daily refining and purifying and changing into the image of Christ. That's our sanctification.
39:25 And and unless you'd be deceived, there are not two tiers of Christian of Christians. There's not some people will try and tell you, well, there's there's the regular Christians, and then there's the spirit filled Christians. The spirit filling happening at a second time after your salvation because it's there. You just gotta tap into it. And it's only for a select number of Christians.
39:50 Not true. The Holy Spirit empowers every single believer in Jesus Christ. And the holy spirit in you, the weapons that we just talked about and more at your disposal to fight against Romans eight:five-six says this. For those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh, spirit. Four, to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace.
40:39 Life and peace. So yes, set your mind on the spirit and you can know freedom from your addictions. Set your mind on the spirit and yes, you can know the peace that comes from breaking free of generational sins that has seemed to plague your family. Set your mind on the spirit and you will be able to truly say from the bottom of your heart. I don't give a rip about the world's definition of beauty or the world's definition of success or the so called American dream.
41:20 I want more of Jesus. So the question comes up in this fight for our sanctification. We're not gonna attain sinlessness in this life. So what do I do when I fall? What do I what I do when I do give into that into that temptation?
41:38 When my fleshly desires went out? Because let's let's be honest everyone. It's going to happen every single day. And if I'm honest, it happens many many times a day. Right?
41:49 So what do we do when we sin in our sanctification fight? I don't wanna make this more complicated than it has to be. First John one nine. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Hear me.
42:13 When you sin, confession is how you continue to fight. Repentance is how you continue to fight. Because truly, conviction itself conviction of your sins, remorse over your sins comes from the holy spirit himself. When you sin, when I sin, the antidote the the the way we continue to fight is we go to God every single day in humility and in contrition and say, Lord, I need you. I can't do this without you.
42:47 I can't do this on my own. Help me. So each failure in your life, look at it as another opportunity to run to him and rely on him all the all the more. And the more you do that, the more you truly humble yourself before the Lord, and the more you truly wield the weapons that the Holy Spirit has given to you, you will see progress. You will see sweeter communion with God, and you will become more like Christ.
43:25 I wanna read one last passage. Encouragement. It is an assurance for you as we continue in this fight for our sanctification. Romans eight. I love Romans eight, by the way.
43:45 Romans eight, verse 31 to 33. Paul says, what shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
44:14 Things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. Yes, Sanctification is a fight. Yes. We are in a war. We are in a battle with our sins.
44:26 But you know what these all things include? How will he not also with him graciously give us all things? It includes the power to fight this battle. All things includes the weapon to wage war against this sin in our lives, but even more so even more so, all things include new desires. I don't want the same things I used to want.
44:52 All things include new pleasures. I don't feel the same way that I used to feel. And through Jesus Christ, all things means new treasures. Keep your gold, keep your silver, keep your clothes and entertainment and popularity and vacations and houses and everything. Keep it all, but give me Jesus.
45:15 That's sanctification, brothers and sisters in Christ. That's victory that we have through Jesus Christ. So today, wage war against your sin. Fight your sin but do so with the hope and the assurance of Romans chapter eight verse thirty one and thirty three, that Christ through Jesus Christ, you all have all things to win this fight and know victory. Let's pray.
45:53 Heavenly father Lord, we thank you as we briefly look at this fight for sanctification. Lord, we thank you that you do not leave us by ourselves. And we thank you that you don't save us, just defend for ourselves and use our own efforts. But Lord, that you save us and you empower us. But Lord that you save us and you empower us to live this life victoriously.
46:24 And Lord in our struggle with sin, in our daily fight for holiness, More and more, may you give us joy. May you give us peace. May you give us new desires, new affections for you, and may our infatuation with the world, the trinkets and the baubles of this world that never satisfy, may that diminish more and more every day until it's annihilated completely. Help us, Lord. We cannot do this without you.
46:58 Help us, we pray. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. As we rejoice in what the Lord has done, as the praise team comes, let's give him all the glory.
47:11 And remember the weapons that we have, the word of God,
