Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (KJV)

HOW TO CONQUER- STOP FEEDING THE PYTHON

My pastor told the story of a man that kept a snakelet as pet. The snakelet belonged to the boa constrictor family of snakes. It was a python actually. He fed the python well not knowing that he was feeding a predator that would work against him. As the python grew, it’ll crawl into the living room and stretch to its full length on the bodies of the man’s children to measure its height against that of the children.

The python did this occasionally until it grew as tall as the eldest child of the man. The man travelled and left the python hungry. As usual, the python crawled into the man’s house but couldn’t find anything to eat except the man’s children. He swallowed one of them to satisfy his hunger.

Can you relate with that story? What brings men down are things they’ve been feeding secretly. We have examined several cases of men in the bible who missed it because they didn’t deal with what they thought was little. The little character flaw or habit eventually led to their downfall. It didn’t jump on them all of a sudden, it grew gradually because they fed it.

What is the path to victory? The first thing is to identify the destructive seed growing in you. It is impossible to confront and conquer what you haven’t identified. Identification is not enough but knowing how to deal with it is what guarantees victory.

Internalize the word of God: “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” ( Psalms 119:11 NLT). When the word of God is strongly rooted in your spirit ( not just in your head), it has the power to mortify any evil seed. That’s why we encourage daily study of God’s word.

The second step is to be watchful. 1Corinthians 10:12 says: “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12 NLT). Further, avoid being in environment or around people that nurtures or trigger the growth of that destructive seed. Take the case of sexual immorality as an example, you can’t stick to porn and be around those that do not value sexual purity and still remain pure. Never! It won’t work.

You must consciously starve the destructive seed in you and cut off every source of its nourishment. Do not forget that prayer is a tool that binds all others together. It is warfare. Through prayer, grace is released for victory. Under grace, sin shall no longer have dominion over you.

Rom6:14 says, “Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace”(NLT).

PRAYER: Father, I receive grace to overcome the destructive seed growing in me In Jesus name.