HOW TO OVERCOME A LIFESTYLE OF SIN!!!

Very many people have been writing to me, men and women, young and old from one continent to another on a very critical issue which I can summarize as: “How Can I overcome this lifestyle of sin, I try to but I can’t stop this lifestyle of sin ?”

Some of the sins people are writing to me about are: Masturbation; Committing Adultery; Fornication; Smoking Cigarettes; Addiction to drugs; Hatred; Unforgiveness; Envy; Hypocrisy; Outbursts of Anger; Homosexuality; Lesbianism; Exam cheating; Backsliding; Stealing; Witchcraft; Pornography; Formation of ties with spiritual wives and husbands; Idolatry; Kneeling down and worship of statues of Mary and other saints etc.

The following are also sins: Murder; Abortion; Gossip; Slander etc.

And so The LORD is going to help us understand this very very very critical and fundamental issue that essentially is at the core of the destiny of mankind i.e. whether they spend their eternity in Heaven or in Hell.

It is very important to note that we are personally responsible for the sins we commit; we cannot blame anybody else including the devil (satan) for our sins. This is because we have freewill to choose which path and choices to make. Mankind started a lifestyle of sin at the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve committed sin by eating the forbidden fruit. This is well expounded in the book of Genesis 3:1-19 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children.Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

And therefore this brings us to the definition of the word: Sin. Sin as we have just read in Genesis 3:1-19 is an act of disobedience to God’s commandment(s) and direction. And so any action, thinking or plan that goes against the commandments and direction of The LORD God Almighty; The LORD Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit is: SIN.

And everybody is singularly responsible for the sins they commit, no one can blame their neighbor, colleagues or the devil (satan) for the sins they commit. This is because The LORD God Almighty has given mankind choices to make and through this He has also given us which direction to take and the commandments to follow. Therefore no one can turn and start saying: “You know what, the woman (neighbor) you put here with me she gave me some fruit (sin) from the tree and I ate it (committed the sin)” OR no one can turn and start saying: “The serpent (the devil/satan) deceived me and I ate (sinned)”. The LORD did not  thus tell the man and the woman that: “Its alright,I have now realized that you are not responsible for this sin that you committed, I will look for someone else to hold liable for this sin you committed!!!” . On the contrary, The LORD rebuked everyone who had sinned and held each one individually responsible for the sins they committed.

Committing sin has got consequences. Anybody who commits sin is cast away from the presence of The LORD and is thrown out to be punished in pain, suffering and darkness. The glory of The LORD covers those who are pure in heart and are walking in Righteousness, Holiness and Complete Surrender to The LORD Jesus Christ. But those who go astray and defile themselves by sinning can now no longer be covered by the glory of The LORD; they are thus left exposed and naked. This is well expounded in the book of Genesis 3:10-11 ‘“He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

 Punishment, pain and darkness is a consequence of committing sin and this is also well expounded in the book of Genesis 3:14-19 which we had read earlier where the man, the woman and the serpent (satan) had to bear the consequence of committing sin. 

 King David knew that the consequence of sin means being cast away from the presence of The LORD and that’s why after He sinned with Uriah’s wife by committing adultery with her, he went before The LORD in mourning and wailing once The Prophet of The LORD Nathan had rebuked him for the sin he had committed. David cried, mourned and wailed before The LORD saying: “Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing Spirit, to sustain me.” (Psalm 51:11-12).

Committing sin leads to one’s name being blotted out of the book of life; and so being no longer eligible to enter God’s Kingdom in Heaven. This is well expounded in the book of Exodus 32:31-34 “So Moses went back to the Lord and said, “Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold. But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

Committing sin brings about a curse on someone’s life. This curse goes even from one generation to another. And this is well expounded in the book of Exodus 34:5-7 “Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

Those who are committing sin are slaves of and to sin. Sin is their master and they are held in bondage by being enslaved by sin whose patron is satan. And that’s why The LORD warned Cain in the book of Genesis 4:6-7 “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? ⁷ If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

Committing sin leads to destruction and perishing. Anybody who is in sin is on a path to destruction and perish because The LORD God Almighty is A Holy God and He hates sin and destroys all that is evil. And that’s why The LORD states it as follows in the book of Genesis 6:11-13 “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.  God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.  So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.”And it is also because of sin that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed as expounded in the book of Genesis 19:24-25 “Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens.  Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, destroying all those living in the cities—and also the vegetation in the land.”

And in the same note, all that is evil and unclean will not enter the kingdom of The LORD God Almighty in Heaven, they will in turn will not have their names written in the book of life or will be blotted out and so they will be cast out into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth forever and ever in Hell and the Lake of Fire forever and ever. This is well expounded in the book of Revelation 20:14-15 “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”

It is very important to note that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God Almighty and thus requires to be redeemed and restored back to God Almighty. And because sin must be punished for through pain and suffering, that’s why God Almighty sent His son The LORD Jesus Christ to pay for the sins of mankind by suffering and going through pain, suffering and darkness so that mankind can now be redeemed and restored when they accept the sin offering given by The LORD God Almighty: The Holy Holy, Spotless and blameless Lamb of God Almighty; The LORD Jesus Christ. And since The LORD Jesus Christ was sent to the earth by The LORD God Almighty as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of mankind, Isaiah foresaw this and described it very eloquently under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit in the book of Isaiah 53:2-12 “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray,each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him  the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many,  and made intercession for the transgressors.

And so all those that want to be redeemed and restored back to the LORD God Almighty must accept the sin offering of The LORD God Almighty: The LORD Jesus Christ. And this is well summarized in the book of John 3:16-21 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

And therefore in summary, we can only overcome a lifestyle of sin by surrendering completely our life to The LORD Jesus Christ and accepting the blood offering that He shed at the cross of Calvary, so that we can be washed and covered by the precious blood of The LORD Jesus Christ. And then asking The LORD to baptize us and anoint us with the power of The Holy Spirit to guide us, comfort us, help us, counsel us and to lead us. This is a journey we cannot walk in alone because this road is very narrow and we require a helper, a guide, a comforter and a counselor: The Holy Spirit (Ruach Ha Kodesh). And since The LORD has given mankind freewill to “Choose yea today whom you shall serve”, The LORD will help us, but as a benchmark on this journey of walking on the narrow road as we overcome a lifestyle of sin we must embrace Absolute Repentance, Living in Righteousness, Holiness, Truth and Complete Surrender to The LORD Jesus Christ. And this means coming out of lifestyles of sin and may also include letting go of even some friends, colleagues and relatives who may be pulling us into the broad road that leads to destruction and perishing. This at time may mean standing alone and walking alone under the inspiration of The LORD who will keep you company through the baptism and the anointing of The Holy Spirit.

This means coming out of the lure of the lifestyles that inadvertently leads to sin e.g. If wearing of miniskirts (ladies) and sagging trousers(men) exposing your undergarment normally leads you to committing sexual immorality then this is the moment to stop wearing them and discard them. Infact any God fearing person should dress in the fear of The LORD, and wearing of miniskirts and sagging trousers exposing your undergarments does not portend any fear of The LORD because it leads to people lusting after you and in essence committing sexual immorality with you. There is currently a debate in some parts of the world with people petitioning to be allowed to walk while totally naked in broad day light, they no longer want to put any inch of clothing on them; what an abomination!!! And how low mankind has fallen!!!

Come out of lifestyle of going to discos and bars because there lies the evil spirit of drunkenness, foul language and sexual immorality. In most countries of the earth, most people are always looking forward to Fridays nights and Saturdays in what they call “member’s day”, a time when people drink themselves silly, commit all kinds of sexual immorality, smoke all kinds of drugs. I urge you and beseech you to Run and Run away from such lifestyle so as to escape the net of sin bondage whose chain master is satan (the devil). Don’t allow Him to chain you any more in this his very wide net.

Come out of a lifestyle of watching pornography; soap operas; Hollywood movies; Nollywood (Nigerian)Movies ; Bollywood (Indian)Movies because these have in them elements of sexual immorality,anger,slander,gossip,idolatry,unforgivenness,blasphemy of The LORD in them. When you watch these, evil spirits of these sins pop out of the screen into your soul and they lure you, torment you and keep you in bondage of such sins.

Come out of a lifestyle of masturbation and other sexual immorality e.g. lust, fornication, committing adultery, homosexuality, lesbianism etc and also other sins committed in the body, by knowing that your  body is the temple of The LORD. And so use your body, mind, soul, spirit and heart to honour, glorify, praise and worship The LORD. Fasting is a very very important tool to empty and kill the flesh and build the Spirit. You need to fast occasionally so that the desire to gratify the desires of the flesh stops and so you aim at gratifying the desires of the spirit which include amongst others: meditating before The LORD, Praising and worshiping the LORD etc

Read The Bible as often as you can daily so that you know the word of The LORD as regards His Righteousness, Holiness and requirements for one to walk in His Righteousness and Holiness. How will one know how to walk in Righteousness and Holiness unless they spend time reading the word of The LORD? Remember the Bible says that: “My people perish for lack of knowledge” And so this knowledge can only be got by reading the word of the LORD in the Bible and as you do this pray to The LORD to anoint you with His Holy Spirit so that the Holy Spirit may reveal to you the understanding of what is written in the Bible. 

Sin leads to people being destroyed and perish because anyone who is evil and unclean due to sin cannot enter the kingdom of God in Heaven but will perish in Hell. To help you come out of a lifestyle of sin, open your Bible and read it every time temptation to sin comes over you. And remember also that there is no big sin and small sin, all are sin and must be Repented of and cleansed of. Remember The LORD Jesus Christ Himself said that anyone who breaks any one of the commandments is guilty of breaking them all.

Pray as often as you can every day. To avoid falling into the temptation of sin one must pray and put on the full armour of God as stated in the book of Ephesians 6:10-18 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

To come out of a lifestyle of sin and to set on a new journey on the narrow road that leads to eternal life, you need to Embrace Absolute Repentance. To Repent is to turn away from sin by taking full responsibility of the sins committed and being remorseful for the sins committed and going before The LORD with sincerity in your heart and praying and pleading with The LORD to have mercy on you and to forgive you of the sins. And in so doing we need to Repent also of generational sins and curses; we need to Repent of all The sins we have committed from the time we were born till today by saying: “I repent of all The sins from the second I was born until now!!!” . And thereafter let’s sin no more. Let’s now not deliberately sin because in so doing we are returning The LORD Jesus Christ back to the cross to be crucified.

Let’s Repent as often as we can every day and plead the blood of The LORD Jesus Christ over our life which is body, soul, spirit, mind and heart because as one brother puts it: “We are sinning machines”, and thus we require to Repent as many times as possible every day. Remember we cannot Over-Repent and so absolute Repentance is a sure way of overcoming a lifestyle of sin and staying on the narrow path that leads to eternal life: The Path of Righteousness, Holiness, Truth and Complete Surrender to The LORD Jesus Christ.

Those who are slaves of sin and are in bondage of sin have been chained by the devil into the sin. Such people always say: “However much I try to come out of this sin and to stop it, I cannot!!!” But today I have got news for you, if you are in a sin(s) that leads to you making such a statement, because Him whom The LORD Jesus Christ sets free will be free indeed. Run!!! and Run!!! and Run!!! and fall at the feet of The LORD Jesus Christ on your knees and pray to The LORD Jesus Christ to baptize you with the power of The Holy Spirit. And then don’t go back again to the broad road of sin characterized by addiction to sin and gratifying the desires of the flesh instead of the spirit. 

Walk in Absolute Repentance, Righteousness, Holiness, Truth and Complete Surrender to The LORD Jesus Christ. Fast and fast as often as possible; maybe ones or twice a week or more as led by The Holy Spirit. It can either be a dry fast, a water-only fast, a juice-only fast or Daniel’s fasting. By undertaking this fasting, your spirit will be built and your flesh emptied, tamed and killed. Fasting and prayer leads to one being humble and being filled with the anointing Of The Holy Spirit since the baggage of a flesh craving for desires of sins to be fulfilled have been emptied and tamed. A holy and a true fasting is very well expounded by The Prophet of The LORD, Isaiah under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit in the book of Isaiah 58  ““Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion  and to the descendants of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right   and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,  and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today  and expect your voice to be heard on high.  Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice  and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you,  and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;  you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.“If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight  and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way  and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.””

And remember also that some deliverances and healings only come through prayer and fasting as said by The LORD Jesus Christ Himself in the book of Mathew 17:21: “But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Everything we have discussed today and what actually everything else eventually comes around to is: Repent OR Perish i.e. Its Heaven (For those who embrace Absolute Repentance) OR Hell (For those who do not embrace Repentance since they eventually perish because they do not have the blood covering of The LORD Jesus Christ offered as a sacrifice for sin-Remember nothing impure, unclean and sinful enters the Kingdom of God in Heaven).

And so the question everybody reading this should be asking themselves as we conclude is: “Ever since I was born and/or born again, Have I really embraced Absolute Repentance and living in Righteousness, Holiness, Truth and Complete Surrender to The LORD Jesus Christ so as to be able to overcome the lifestyle of sin ?”

SHALOM!!!

PREPARE THE WAY IN ABSOLUTE REPENTANCE, RIGHTEOUSNESS, HOLINESS, TRUTH AND COMPLETE SURRENDER TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST (YAHUSHUA HA MASHIACH). TIME IS ABSOLUTELY OVER; THE MESSIAH JESUS CHRIST IS IMMINENTLY COMING TO PICK HIS BRIDE!!! 

 REPENTANCE PRAYER  

Precious Jesus,

I acknowledge today that you are LORD and savior of all mankind,

and today I have recognized my shortfall,

I repent and turn away from all sin.

Please cover me with your precious blood,

and establish your word in my life,

that I may be found in righteousness and holiness

and write my name in your book of life

and baptize me with the power of the Holy Spirit

in the mighty name of The LORD Jesus Christ.

Amen.   

Shalom!!! Shalom!!! Shalom!!!

Kevin Mirasi