How We Make the Enemy's Law Ineffective
SIN LESS Part 15

November 30, 2014
MF Blume

Esther found out that the law about slaying Jews that date could not be revoked because the king’s name sealed it, and that meant the king could not even erase it.

Esther learned that the King provided all that was required for the Queen for her victory when he hanged Haman and gave Haman’s house to her.
Now the Queen had to do something.
This is an answer for believers.

Once she had touched the scepter of the kingdom and came into contact with power, Esther was given the ability to make a DECREE in the king’s name.

Esther 8:9-10 Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language. (10) And he wrote in the king Ahasuerus' name, and sealed it with the king's ring, and sent letters by posts on horseback, and riders on mules, camels, and young dromedaries:

Paul’s letters went to all the church in the New Testament.

He wrote in the name of the Lord.
And this is what he wrote:

Esther 8:11-12 Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey, (12) Upon one day in all the provinces of king Ahasuerus, namely, upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar.

The law gave the Jews the authority to defend their lives and to FIGHT BACK.

Paul said there's been a Crucifixion.

Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Serving sin is the struggle Christians face after they're saved.

Haman died but law still existed to slay Jews.

Watch how Paul refers to a slaying threat after the hanging and crucifixion.
Paul said there is a LAW that we will face that will cause us to struggle in a way that Paul described as being "slain".

Romans 7:8-9 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. (9) For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.

This is us trying to serve God and committing sins.

It kills our testimony and our victory.
So, picture your defeats like Haman’s law killing you.
The commandment of God speaks of the OLD TESTAMENT list of do’s and don’ts.
It instructed Jews to use their will power and make themselves obey the rules.

Lev 18:5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.

Gal 3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

For example, Mordecai could not worship anybody else but God.

That’s why he refused to bow.
And just as HAMAN took advantage of that law of God and used it to demand Mordecai’s death, SIN took advantage of the Law’s demand for us to use will power to make ourselves do good.
But SIN was stronger than will-power, and Paul said his failure was like law killing him, just as Haman set out to kill Mordecai.
Paul said his will-power was not strong enough and he ended up doing what SIN urged him to do.

Romans 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.

Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

He had the will power!

But it was not strong enough to stop sin that also dwelt inside him.
And sin is in all of us.
It’s in our flesh.
Just like in the land of Syria that LAW OF HAMAN was still present.
The Jews were going to die because Haman hated the Jews because they would not bow to him.
Like the three Hebrew children who refused to bow at the king of Babylon and Daniel who prayed to God.
They made laws to demand bowing and not praying.
BUT GOD STEPPED IN!

Paul analyzed his situation and got revelation from it.

Romans 7:21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.

It hit him!

Everytime Paul used will-power – used flesh – to serve God and make himself do good, another law would be fulfilled.
It was like clockwork.
You could count on it everytime!
WHEN we do good… using flesh, or will-power in other words, evil is present with us.
Evil is right there to work.
It’s like evil kicks into action WHEN WE USE WILL-POWER TO SERVE GOD.
But that’s what the OLD TESTAMENT demanded! USE WILL-POWER!
However, now that we’re saved by the CROSS, where sin is washed away because we die with Jesus and resurrect with Him, we’re not only free from sin, but we’re free from the limitation of having to resort only to will power, or flesh, to make ourselves do good.

Romans 7:4-6 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. (5) For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. (6) But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

The motions of sins were by the law, because everytime we went to obey the law by making ourselves do good through will-power, sin went into motion!

You could count on it everytime!
Only those who are saved can do this next point now: we do not have to stick to one method to serve God.
Serving God by the oldness of the letter is will-power service.
You’ll find out quickly that can’t work.
Will-power is like a child’s hand taking your other hand to do something good,
but everytime you do it, a giant’s arm-wrestling hand forces it to do wrong instead.
But we can SERVE IN NEWNESS OF THE SPIRIT.
That’s why we read:

Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Call on God and pull back from using your will-power alone, and ask His hand to use yours like an instrument of righteousness in his hand.

While serving God in oldness of letter using “will-power” is not strong enough to stop sin from working its motions in us, but actually FEEDS sin to work more the more we try, THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE makes us free from the law of sin and death.
It IS stronger than sin!
We do not use will-power when we keep the Law of the Spirit of LIFE.
We serve God in NEWNESS OF LIFE!
So we have to first recognize the difference and where our mistake was in using a commandment-type manner to serve God, and instead realize there is another METHOD.
It’s the law of the Spirit of life.
It’s newness of Spirit.

Rom 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

And we have to find out how we serve in newness of spirit.

Whatever this method has us do, it’s something we consciously have to first come to understand and stop using will-power to keep rules.

Here is where we go back to Esther’s entrance to the KING.

Romans 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but (1) yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and (2) your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

It’s one thing to finally get (1) the boldness to go before God in faith that HE WELCOMES YOU so you don’t have the unbelief that your prayers won’t be heard.

So many believers are stuck there.
They do not read their bibles in faith and come across these truths that inform us the work of the cross made us worthy to be received by God.
They feel no-good.
They need to study how the cross makes them good, not their good efforts.
So, when they pray their prayers lack faith and God simply cannot answer withoutour faith.
So, that’s how important it is for us to learn what the cross did for us to make us fit to be received and heard by God.
Once you get that down pat, (2) NOW YOU LEARN WHAT ELSE IS AVAILABLE TO YOU by ENTERING!

When Esther got bold enough to go before the king, that represents presenting yourself to God as those alive from the dead.

But when she went further and wanted to see her enemy Haman dealt with and stop the law he initiated, that is related to presenting our BODILY MEMBERS as instruments of God’s righteousness.
That is the part in our lives when we start overcoming sin.
Overcoming what Paul calls death when we sin and fail in serving God.
In Esther’s story, she was told to USE THE KING’S NAME AND AUTHORIZE JEWS TO FIGHT BACK!
Here is how you FIGHT BACK.
When we know we can go into the holiest, which represents faith that God will hear us and answer us because of the work of the cross on our lives, WE BRING HIS POWER INTO THE EQUATION.
Before, we only used will-power.
But we STOP doing that.
The first part of 6:13 (1) shows us we’re fit and alive from the dead. Our standing, position.
But the second part (2) is where OUR BEHAVIOUR COMES IN.
It deals with the problem of being defeated.
After you present YOURSELF to Him as one fit because you’re alive from the dead (which means you’re free from the sin that makes you repulsive to Him), YOU ALSO PRESENT YOUR BODY PARTS AS HIS INSTRUMENTS FOR HIM TO USE!
It's your body that commits actions that are sins which is how sin slays you.
Now, it’s not just brain impulses from “will-power” that course through your arms to do what is good, which barely works, BUT YOU HAVE GOD’S POWER INVITED TO USE YOUR BODY PARTS!
You believe that HE WILL EMPOWER YOU to affect YOUR BEHAVIOUR NOW.
Remember the whole issue of Romans 6-7 is about Paul wanting to do good but finding himself sinning instead.
Your WILL works with HIS NOW.
So it regards behaviour and sinning.
That’s our enemy.
That’s how we’re slain. That’s what is represented by killing the Jews in Esther.
So, gaining this power from GOD to affect our behavior is how we overcome being slain by committing sins AND since we know we’re fit for God to answer our prayers now, THIS KIND OF PRAYER may be beyond the limits of anything we every even thought to pray before, but HE WILL ANSWER IT, TOO!
And so we walk away in faith KNOWING GOD WILL DO WHAT WE ASKED, since we were fit to enter because we’re alive form the dead meaning we’re free from sin that hinders Him from answering us, AND WE WAIT UPON THE LORD.

Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD (NOT USE WILL POWER) shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Wings of eagles are not NATURAL to us any more than OLIVE OIL is natural to ALMOND TREES.

It’s UNNATURAL POWER that we receive.
And what GOD could do by possessing that power is what Isaiah says we can do.

Isaiah 40:28-31 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. (29) He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. (30) Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: (31) But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

God, who does get weary can GIVE POWER TO US, so WE WILL RUN AND NOT BE WEARY like He never gets weary!

It’s unnatural to us, so using will-power to gather up all your natural power to do good is certainly not to be compared to GOD GIVING YOU POWER to be able to experience what HE EXPERIENCES!
WAITING means you are not doing something using will-power.
You put will power on hold and WAIT for the inspiration from God.
You are not alone trying to serve Him now but COOPERATING WITH HIM for you to serve Him!
You’ve pulled his power into the equation now.
THE LIFE you live by is not natural, but it’s the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus!
UNNATURAL divinely-empowering life!

Mordecai put it in letters sealed with the king’s name for the people to stand up and fight back.

Now you can fight back against the law of sin and death and stop this cursed sinning all the time that is as good as slaying you!
The letters of Paul are there in the New Testament!
Study and read them.
Believe them.

1 Corinthians 14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

Paul said he wrote in Jesus' name.

Paul wrote but God commanded.
PRAY IN JESUS’ NAME and call on God.
Take the letters you received from Paul and do what they said!
Give God yourself and your bodies to use, instead of giving them to your will power.
Your will is not abandoned.
It’s just not the primary force any more.
YOU WORK WITH GOD as he empowers you.
That is what it means to go in the name of the Lord!
You are going in his authority and his authorization for you to go in his power!
His Spirit is on you to overcome sin.
Your faith has allowed Him to bless you with strength.

Think of the need to stop relying on will power when you read this:

Zechariah 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

You believed God for HIS SPIRIT to work with you now.

When you pray in unbelief thinking something about you is lacking, the faith God needs to answer you is absent, and He cannot help.
He made you worthy but you do not believe it.
You look to something else to make you worthy aside from his work on the cross, which is your will-power to make yourself do good.
And God sees you attempting a prayer outside the holiest when he cannot hear you, so to speak, out there.
But once bold enough to go in, you then discover the same source of flesh you looked for to make yourself worthy, that you now know is ridiculous, is the source you looked for to fight sin in your life.
Your will-power to be good not only stopped you from entering the holiest, since it gave you a sense of not being good enough in its lies, but you realize also that you cannot use it to serve God and stop committing sins!
Reliance on will-power alone was the problem in both cases!
And the answer to both cases is the work of the cross!
It not only gets you in to see you’re alive from the dead (which means you died were made free from sin and are alive again freed from that sin, making you worthy), but the cross also made you fit to receive POWER that God only gives to people free from sin.
So you believe for HIM TO empower you and His Word says you will see victory over sin in your life!
YOU FIGHT BACK IN HIS POWER!

SERMONS

How We Make the Enemy's Law Ineffective SIN LESS Part 15

How We Make the Enemy's Law Ineffective
SIN LESS Part 15