“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.”

For a while, I have been talking about being built up in the WORD, by giving the example from the book of Matthew, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Genesis. The house built on the rock is found in the book of Matthew. The building of the walls is found in the book of Nehemiah. The building of the temple of LORD is found in the book of Haggai. The book of Genesis contains Noah building the ark. 

I believe that in this time, we are called to build the house, the temple that we’re in, on the WORD so that we live and breathe the WORD. To live and breathe the WORD leads us to think different, see different, and be different. How you respond to situations, peoples, and yourself, will be a reflection of how you are living and breathing the WORD. 

As I mentioned, when we are dwelling in the WORD,  we grow to know who we are and whose we are. In 1 Peter 2:9, the WORD says that we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation, peculiar people, to show forth the praise of Him, who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. 

Before we knew the WORD, we were in darkness. We lived in darkness. There was no light in us. We lived in the world, conforming to its rules, standards, and laws. Doing this and doing that, seeing the darkness as a normal way of living. We did not know the LORD, we did not know GOD because our thoughts and minds were far away from the holy ways, standards, and purposes of GOD. But bless the LORD Jesus Christ who was sent to a dark place and shone His light to us, so that we could see that there was another way to live, the way that we should have lived before the Fall. 

He took our sins away and washed us with His blood. He was the life that was the light of men. He shone His light in us so that we could also have that light, pushing and casting out the darkness from us. 

We became the children of GOD,  children day and not of night. Children of light and not of darkness. 

Now because we are building the house on the rock, the ark, walls, the temple, this gives us the authority to reign over sin. 

In the book of Genesis 4, we see Cain and Abel were presenting their offering before the LORD. The LORD approved of Abel’s offering, while for Cain, the LORD did not. How we offer ourselves to the LORD is important. In Romans 12:1, Paul says the we ought to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, Holy and acceptable unto the GOD. What does that mean? That there are certain offerings that are acceptable to GOD and there are offerings that are not acceptable to the LORD. 

Paul says that we ought to offer ourselves as a LIVING sacrifice, HOLY, ACCEPTABLE, to GOD.  Going back to Genesis 4, the LORD accepted Abel’s offerings because it was HOLY and ACCEPTABLE to the LORD. Unfortunately, Cain’s offering was not acceptable because it was not HOLY and ACCEPTABLE to GOD. So Cain got upset, at his brother for giving a better offering to the LORD. But the LORD told Cain that if he did what was right before the LORD, he would accept his offering, but He also warned him to not let sin, that is crouching at the door, control him, but that Cain reign over it. 

The LORD is calling us to be a living sacrifice that He would accept to be used for His purpose. And to be that, the WORD needs to be our food, even the very air we breathe. We need to love and delight in the WORD of GOD. This brings about in us a transformation that will produce life and life in abundance, therefore, we being a living sacrifice, Holy and acceptable to the LORD.

When we are a living sacrifice, we are filled with the Life of GOD, His very WORD, Jesus Christ, who was the life that was the light of men. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). 

Again, being a living sacrifice when we are filled with the WORD. When Paul mentioned that we ought to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice before GOD, he then said, to not be conformed to the pattern of this world. To be a holy and acceptable offering, living offering unto GOD, requires us to not conform to the patterns of this world. But be ye transformed by the renewing of our mind so that we, overall, know GOD’s pleasing, good, and perfect will. Living in the world, conforming to the world will not in ANY way lead us to know the will of GOD. The will of GOD is not found when we are conformed in the world. It is only found when we are in the WORD.

So when we are a living a sacrifice, meaning that we are living/breathing the WORD of GOD, we will know, we will walk in the will of GOD. Like Abel, I believe he knew the will of GOD, which led him to be have his offering to be accepted by the LORD.

Looking to Cain, I believe that his was not accepted because he did not know the will of GOD. And I am not saying that he did not know GOD’s will at all, but for this purpose that I am placing before you, Cain, I believe he did not know the will of GOD, therefore his offering was not accepted by GOD. 

This led Cain to be angry and he allowed sin to control him, leading him to murder his brother. 

I mentioned that the WORD protects us, it is a shield around us, especially on the mind. When we know, live, breathe the WORD, we are able to be firm, to withstand sin. Now it is not by our might nor by our power, but by the Spirit, and the WORD, who is Jesus Christ, is also the Spirit of the LORD. So the WORD sustains and makes us firm so that we will not sin. 

In Psalm 119:11, the WORD says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” David kept the WORD of GOD in his heart so that he might not sin against the LORD. The WORD is such a powerful life giving WORD that protects us from the darkness because it is life and light.

For Cain, he did not allow the WORD of GOD to protect him. GOD told him to not let sin control him but he MUST rule over it. When you say no to sin, you rule over it. You have authority over it. You are who you follow. We are children of GOD who follow the WORD and have authority over sin. But those that do not have the WORD, the light of GOD in them, sin controls them.

To reign over sin is to walk and breathe the WORD. Sin is darkness, but the WORD is light. Psalm 119:105, the WORD says, “your WORD is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”

Because you are made in GOD’s likeness, by His WORD, it is necessary to also live His WORD. His WORD sustains us, prospers us, and gives us the authority over sin and saying NO to it.

We are the children of GOD who are called to reign over sin. We cannot allow sin to control us. Now this is not saying that we won’t make mistakes. But if these intentional behavior/temptation is desirable, pleasurable, lusting, then we need to cut it off our lives, because the WORD says to cut it off our lives then having our whole bodies go into hell. 

If we have one foot in sin and then another foot unto GOD, then we are not walking in the light. We are not a presentable offering, a living sacrifice before the LORD, that He could use for his purpose. 

My brothers and sisters, beloved, your way of living can only be found in the WORD, not in the world where sin controls people. GOD said to Cain to not let sin control him, but to rule over it. Cain, as well as us, live in a world where sin always sees an opportunity to control us. But we are in Christ, who took the keys of death and Hades, who bore our sins so that it won’t have control over us anymore. We must not become who we follow, pertaining to sin, But follow Christ. Live Christ. It is not I that live but Christ that is within me. Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4).

When you are living/breathing the WORD of GOD, by meditating, studying, uttering it, you will be strong enough to reign over sin. Because Jesus Christ, the WORD who is GOD, is in you, the hope of glory.