David Diga Hernandez - 5 Destructive Habits That Strengthen The Sin Nature

Number one, not knowing the word. Psalm 119:11 says, «I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you». If you don’t know what pleases God, then often you might be displeasing Him without even realizing it. If you want to please God, you must know the will and ways of God. If you wanna know the will and ways of God, you absolutely must know the word of God. The word of God is what strengthens your power to resist the urges of the flesh. The word of God takes away from the cravings of the flesh. In Matthew 4:1-4 we read this, «Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For 40 days and 40 nights, he fasted and became very hungry. During that time, the devil came and said to him, „If you are the son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread“. But Jesus told him no. The scriptures say people do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God».» Jesus didn’t use his experience to challenge the enemy’s contradiction of his nature. When the enemy said, «If you are the son of God». Jesus could have pointed to the time that he was baptized. And when the Father spoke from the heavens and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove, he could have said, «Satan, weren’t you there when I was baptized? Didn’t you hear my father pronouncing His affirmation for me»? But in this moment, the Lord did not rely upon his experience. Instead, he relied upon the word to combat the cravings, to combat the hunger, to combat the temptation, he spoke the word. The word of God will give you power over sin and temptation. I want you right now to make a public declaration in the comment section. Write three simple words, I love scripture.

Number two, being around the wrong people and in the wrong places. 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, «Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion has light with darkness». Godly connections accelerate your spiritual growth, but ungodly connections can be quite damaging. When you begin to allow others to influence you, when you begin to take on the philosophies and the thought patterns of this world, that affects you. You may look at certain people and say, «Well, it’s not so bad being around them». You may go to certain places and lie to yourself by saying that you’re not gonna participate in the things that are offered there. But this is where we really have to become honest with ourselves. We have to evaluate our lives. Look at the people you surround yourself with. Look at the places that you go. Do these people and do these places provide opportunity for sin? Do they influence your thinking in the opposite direction of scripture? Now, I’m not talking about quarantining the gospel. I’m not saying that we just throw our hands in the air and say, «Well, we ought to hide, run away and just seclude ourselves from the things of this world lest we become contaminated by this world». That’s not what I’m talking about here, neither is that what the scripture is talking about? This is talking about communion, fellowship. That’s relationship that influences you. Look, we all know that Jesus ate with sinners, but Jesus never allowed those sinners to influence him. He was always the light shining in the dark place. When you’re constantly surrounded by sin and temptation, that actually begins to weaken your ability to resist sin. Why? Because it becomes familiar. No longer are you shocked or offended by certain things. Instead, you become comfortable and complacent and you say to yourself, «Well, I’m gonna compromise in this area or that». And what you call balance is actually compromise. Now, just so we’re on the same page, I have to stress this one more time. I’m not talking about secluding from everyone and just living the rest of your life in isolation, but you have to be honest in your evaluation of your relationships and in the places that you go. Are these people, are these places influencing you negatively? If a friendship or a relationship pulls you away from God or the things of God, that’s a relationship that has to go. Watch for what influences you. Yes, be around people who need the gospel. Yes, you can spend time with your friends and family who don’t know the Lord. Be careful to be an influence and not be influenced lest you become more susceptible to sin and temptation.

Number three, not committing to prayer. In John 15:3-5 the Lord says this, «You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me». Verse five, «Yes, I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who remain in me and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing». Prayer is dependency upon God. Whatever strengthens my spirit, weakens my flesh. I’m amazed by how many believers don’t tap into the power of God daily through prayer. God has given us the ability to communicate with Him and to commune with Him. This means that you can invite the presence of the Holy Spirit into every moment of every day. You don’t have to go a minute without the grace of God empowering you to walk in holiness. You don’t have to go a minute on your own. The Holy Spirit wants to come alongside you and fight against the sin nature. The Holy Spirit wants to strengthen you under temptation. You invite that strength, you invite that grace. You partner with the Holy Spirit in subjecting the flesh through prayer. When we don’t pray, we’re pointing our finger in the Holy Spirit’s face and saying, «I don’t need you today. I can do it in my own strength». But when we pray, we’re saying, «Welcome, Holy Spirit. Help me overcome the sin nature». Those who lack prayer lives are at a great disadvantage when it comes to the fight against sin.

Number four, and this one may be a major eyeopener for you. Debating with sin instead of fleeing from it. Here’s how the scripture tells us to handle sin and temptation. 1 Corinthians 6:18, «Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body». 2 Timothy 2:22, «Flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart». You see, there’s this moment that happens when you’re being tempted, where you’re forced to make a decision. Do I flee from the temptation or do I debate with it? And many believers choose the debate thinking that they’re somehow going to accomplish something, but here’s the reality. The moment you begin to debate temptation, you’re at a disadvantage. It’s better to flee from temptation than it is to fight it. So instead of allowing yourself to come into circumstances where you’re weighing the options of holiness and sinful pleasure, holiness and sinful pleasure, it’s better that you just flee from the temptation altogether. In that very moment that you’re being tempted, throw up your hands, cry out to God and say, «Holy Spirit rescue me. Get me out of here. Get me out of this moment». Don’t debate with it, flee from it. That’s where the enemy wants you. He wants you in that wrestling match, in that back and forth, in that weighing of your options. But if you’re in that mode of debate, then you’re giving the flesh an opportunity to overcome and we should make no for the flesh. In fact, Jesus takes this even further. In Matthew 6:13, He tells us to pray this, «And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil». Here Jesus is saying that you should pray that you not even find yourself in the place of temptation. Far too many believers think that they can constantly place themselves under temptation and then just fight to resist the sin. But you and I must make no provision for the flesh. You and I must get as far away from that line of compromise as possible. Don’t ask yourself, how close can I get to the line without sinning? Instead, ask yourself, how far can I get away from that line? And how far can I go in to the glory of God? How far can I go in my advancement in holiness?

Number five, thinking you can handle it. 1 Corinthians 10:12 says, «If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall». Remember this, anyone can fall in any season of their life. Anyone can fail no matter how much they’ve accomplished in their walk with God. Here’s what Paul the Apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:27, «But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway». We’re talking about one of the most influential figures in all of church history, Paul the Apostle. And Paul the Apostle has the concern that he could possibly be a castaway or possibly fail in his task if he doesn’t keep his body in subjection. Now, we know that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, so the body isn’t evil unto itself. But Paul the Apostle is writing about keeping his body disciplined because the body remembers patterns from the sin nature, from the old mindset. So you and I must train ourselves. You and I must discipline ourselves to not fulfill the desires of the sin nature. You and I must not be overconfident. If Paul the Apostle was worried about failing, if Paul the Apostle was worried about his flesh, I promise you, you should be worried about it too and so should I. And I’m not talking about worry in the sense of paranoia, I’m talking about vigilance. I’m talking about keeping compromise out of our lives. I’m talking about dealing with sins that do creep in before they become larger. Deal with those little things, deal with those little compromises. Take care of those seemingly insignificant character flaws, lest they become bigger and bigger and eventually destroy you. Don’t be too confident in your ability to stand. Yes, we trust in the Holy Spirit to sanctify us, and yes, we trust that the Lord will complete the good work in us that he’s begun, but we also must take up the responsibility of Christian discipline. We also must take up the responsibility of living clean, of walking according to the holiness that God called us. Don’t allow compromise to destroy your future. Don’t allow compromise to slowly erode at your character. Instead, realize that you and I are not above falling and therefore we should remain vigilant.

Here’s a quick recap of what we’ve covered.

Number one, not knowing the word.
Number two, being around the wrong people and in the wrong places.
Number three, not committing to prayer.
Number four, debating with sin instead of fling from it.
Number five, thinking you can handle it.