How to Let Christ Live in You

This is a classic sermon of Pastor Smith on the topic of how to gain victory over besetting sins and temptations.

Instead of putting up a fiercer fight, learn a better way - the biblical way... Listen to pastor Smith as he explains the "how" when it comes to dealing with temptation.

A must watch for every sincere Christian!

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Sermon Excrept

"When we are tempted, there is the enticement, the affinity and the drawing to it, and so it is natural to us as Christians to put up an effort to resist it, and ask God to join in with us in this battle, in this fight against yielding to temptation.

It is natural for us to do that.

But it is not biblical. And it doesn't work."

In this sermon, Pastor Smith focuses on how to do it.

How should we react to temptations? If we cannot resist them, what are we supposed to do?

As a bonus, you will witness a live testimony from a man who successfully experienced consistent freedom from sin for the fist time in his life.

How to Let Christ Live in You - Sermon Summary

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

So far we discussed:

Struggle every Christian has with temptation & sin
Even though sinful nature’s power broken at cross
- That fact alone not give victory over sin.
We not have ability to overcome temptation & sin
- No matter how much effort we exert
- Even if ask God to add His power to our effort

Until Christian comes to understand and experience:

What it means to let Christ give him the victory
Will not experience consistently obedient life

Today discuss: How to let Christ live out His victorious life in you.

How Does it Work?

James 1:14-15 - How temptation works

How do we let Jesus live out His life in us?

When become aware of temptation to sin choose to turn your mind immediately away from it
Believe that your sinful nature’s power broken.
Believe Jesus is in you.
Ask Him to manifest His virtue in you in relation to the temptation – anger, impatience, impure thoughts.
Believe He will manifest Himself in that manner.
Rest in that belief and don’t fight the temptation.

When we fight temptation we are actually focusing on it & trying to resist it in our own strength.

Thank Him for the deliverance He has just given you.

In this manner:

You allowing Jesus to live out His life in you every moment of every day.
The victory is His.
You are simply choosing to let Him manifest His virtues in and through you.

Your part; Choose to give your will to God concerning a particular temptation.

You are always free to not make that choice and focus on the temptation.
When that happens the sinful desire is conceived and will bring forth the sin (James 1:14-15).

Example: Perhaps someone has hurt you deeply.

"Dark pleasure" by holding onto the anger and choosing not to forgive them.
Feel they don’t deserve to be forgiven
God commands us to forgive (Mark 11:25-26)
God commands us to love them - Matthew 5:44

Because of our sinful nature:

We unable to forgive and love our enemies.
We may do it intellectually,
Our pride & selfishness not allow us to forgive from the heart.

Example: Person named Jim who has hurt you.
You can simply say,

"Lord I am a sinner and cannot forgive Jim or love him. So I give up trying.
I ask You to manifest Your forgiveness and love toward Jim through me.
I trust You, and rest in the fact that You are doing this right now.
Thank You Lord for the forgiveness and love you are manifesting in me at this very moment."

I can also say from experience:

You will feel the compassion of Jesus for the person you are asking Him to forgive and love through you.
You will feel within yourself the desire to pray for them and perhaps even with tears.
In this manner Jesus’ character, love, virtues become a integral part of our life.

Choose and believe, choose and believe

That is Christian’s part in obtaining the victory over every temptation and sin.

Where most Christians err:

They think giving God their will means they are to also exert their "will power" in order to obey.

We are to give our will and let God provide the power by:

Christ living in us and manifesting Himself in and through us.

Thorns in the Flesh

This truth presented when Paul describes his struggle with the "thorn" in his flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Many things can be thorns in the flesh.

Paul lists some of his; infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, distresses.

Paul prayed for God to remove it.

God said no.
Why?
God’s grace was all Paul needed in order to deal with the thorn.

God also gave a very important truth when He said,

"My strength is made perfect in weakness."

The more weak we know ourselves to be,

The sooner we stop trying to exert our puny strength to overcome a thorny temptation in our life,
The sooner we will begin experiencing God’s mighty power in our life.

Our own exertion of effort to over come a temptation

Gets in the way of God’s power to deliver.

God wants to do much more than "help" us.

He is the victory.
Christ is our deliverance from temptation.

This is why the Lord will leave some thorns of temptation in your life.

I’m sure you have prayed for God to remove these thorns of besetting sins.

They have brought discouragement and defeat
God leaves them because He wants you to learn the lesson that His strength is made perfect in your weakness.

When you begin experiencing Christ’s deliverance

You along with Paul will declare,

"Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

Thank You for the Thorns!

You will come to the point that you actually thank God for the thorns in your life. Why?

Because of them that you came to experience the amazing delivering power of Christ.
Because of them Christ has become even more precious to you.
You have found Christ giving you ever present victories over your temptations
Your praises of Him fill your heart.

You also rejoice in the thorns because:

They are opportunities for God’s glory to shine forth through you as Christ manifests His life in and through you.
They are opportunities for you to become more and more like Christ in those areas of your life as He manifests Himself more and more in your life.

This is what James was speaking of when he wrote:

James 1:2-4

You will experience what Paul describes "as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing" (2 Corinthians 6:10)

Even in midst of most difficult circumstances you will be able to rejoice
Because Jesus is manifesting Himself in you.

Your faith in Christ develops an endurance that will lead to Christ manifesting Himself in you fully.

Conclusion

I pray that each of us will experience Christ’s full manifestation in our life- every moment-every day.

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Sermon: How to Let Christ Live in You