How Do You Stop Sinning?
Day 1—You don’t stop sinning by trying harder. You stop sinning by staying nearer.
Most people fight sin by trying harder. Psalm 119 shows a better way.
You do not overcome sin by force. You overcome it by love.
Sin weakens when Jesus grows near.
Jehovah Raah
The Lord is my Shepherd.
I think we have all stood in this place.
Why can’t I stop this sin…this habit…this pattern.
We run to Romans 7 and quote Paul
“I do what I do not want to do.”
We count the days without the sin.
Then we turn the days into trophies.
Then the sin knocks the trophy off the shelf.
I have been there.
I carried one sin for ten years.
What I am learning with you this week is what I wish I knew in year one.
What sparked this?
I read Psalm 119 this morning. It gives a pattern for fighting sin.
The psalmist says
“I have restrained my feet from every evil way so that I may keep Your word.” Psalm 119:101
He reaches that place because of what he said four verses earlier
“Oh how I love Your law. It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97
The law is the Torah.
But the deeper truth is this
You love the word because you love the Author.
You love the Author because the Author loved you first.
“We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
The psalmist knew God’s love through two streams
He meditated on God’s word
He remembered God’s testimonies
Knowing God’s heart produced love for God.
That love strengthened him to restrain his feet from sin.
When you know you are loved
Your desires change
Your feet change direction
Your heart grows allergic to sin
Your mind grows hungry for God
Your will moves with Him instead of against Him
Think about a child.
They want mom or dad to watch them.
Why?
Because love received becomes love returned.
So how do you fight sin today?
Never Finished Challenge
Start with receiving love
Ask Jesus to reveal His heart to you.
Open your Bible.
Sit with His word until one verse rises.
When it does, slow down and use the SOAP method.
Meditate before you fight
The psalmist did not fight sin first.
He filled himself with God first.
Replace, not just resist
You cannot push sin away by force.
You pull God close by pursuit.
As you draw near, He reveals the why behind your sin.
Walk with Him, not just away from sin
Relationship is the engine.
Obedience is the fruit.
Stay in the word daily
The word trains desires.
The word sharpens sight.
The word strengthens feet.
Sin loses power when love gains ground.
Stay near Jesus, and your feet will learn a new way.
You do not stop sinning by trying harder.
You stop sinning by staying nearer.
What does today say about God?
Jehovah Raah.
The Lord my Shepherd.
This name rises from Psalm 23.
David experienced it.
He was a shepherd.
He fought off lions and bears.
He slept in the fields.
He led from the front.
God does the same.
May He guide you so you hear His voice.
May His voice steady you and keep you close.
His way leads to life.
Life everlasting.
What a Shepherd.
What a King.
What a Father.
Thank you, Jesus.
Amen.