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Two Natures Warring and You Must Make a Choice | Carl Polk | Podcast Notes — Hello Pastor

Sermon Notes

Two Natures Warring and You Must Make a Choice

The Lighthouse Church of Houston • Jul 14, 2026 • 27 min

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Take this message with you through a journey of Scripture, reflection, and prayer.

Summary

Every believer experiences an ongoing spiritual battle between the fleshly sin nature and the new spiritual nature given through Jesus Christ. While sin distracts, breaks fellowship with God, and brings spiritual death, Christ has completely broken its power and made us new creations. Whichever nature receives our time and spiritual focus will ultimately control our choices. By releasing past guilt, feeding on God's Word, and surrendering our will to Him, we can walk in the daily victory and divine plan God has prepared for us.

Themes

Spiritual Warfare & Two NaturesVictory in ChristOvercoming the PastSowing and ReapingWalking in the SpiritTrusting God's Plan

Pastor's Points

1.

1. Sin distracts by appealing to the senses and giving a false facade.

2.

2. Sin disconnects by breaking fellowship and eating away at our hunger for God.

3.

3. Sin brings death, which is the penalty for choosing it.

Key Points

1.
Sin exposes believers to things God never intended for them to deal with, causing them to draw back and hide from His presence.
2.
Sin operates in three stages: it distracts the senses, disconnects fellowship with God, and produces spiritual death.
3.
Although sin and death entered humanity through Adam, Jesus Christ defeated sin once for all, offering total redemption and eternal life.
4.
When you accept Christ, you become a new creation; victory over sin is maintained by giving your attention and time to your new spiritual nature.
5.
Fulfilling God's calling requires letting go of past mistakes and guilt, following Paul's example of forgetting what lies behind and pressing toward the prize.
6.
A daily war exists between fleshly desires and the Holy Spirit within every believer, and the nature fed the most will determine one's actions.
7.
A carnal mind is hostile to God and lives for self-gratification, whereas a spirit-led mind seeks to serve others and please the Lord.
8.

Sermon Moments

“When sin is involved, sin will introduce and expose to you things that God never intended for you to have dealings with.”

“Sin does three things: it distracts, it disconnects, and it brings on death.”

“This is the only way that we can put our old sin nature in check is by giving our attention to the new nature.”

“In order to move into your future, you must release your past.”

“You are no longer a 'was'—you are now an 'is.' Everything that happened in your past is behind you.”

“There are two warring natures, and the deciding factor in which one wins is where we give the most time.”

“The only way we can maximize the life that God has given us is to take our hands off of our life and say, 'Not my will, but Your will be done.'”

This Week

Give daily time and attention to feeding your new nature in Christ through Scripture reading and prayer.

Recognize and reject sensory distractions that pull you away from fellowship with God.

Choose to forgive yourself for past mistakes, refusing to let the enemy accuse you with things God has already forgiven.

Press forward into your God-given purpose by actively letting go of past failures and regrets.

Pause before making decisions to discern whether you are being led by fleshly desires or the Holy Spirit.

Surrender personal control of your life to God, adopting Christ's mindset of 'Not my will, but Yours be done.'

Hide God's Word in your heart daily so that it guides your path and guards you against sin.

Remember This

The spiritual nature you devote the most time and focus to will determine your choices and actions, so keep the old sin nature bound by feeding your new life in Christ.

A Challenge for You

Take your hands off of your life and allow the Spirit of God within you to reign. Hold fast to your confession of hope without wavering, knowing that He who promised is faithful to fulfill every word in your life.

These are personal sermon notes shared to help you remember the message — not a replacement for Scripture, your church, or your pastors.

Read each passage, or hear where it was taught.

1 Corinthians 15:21-22

Genesis 1:28

Galatians 6:7

Psalm 51:5

Romans 6:23

1 John 3:8

1 Peter 2:24

John 10:10

2 Corinthians 5:17

Psalm 118:6

Matthew 10:28

Psalm 90:12

Philippians 3:13-14

Ephesians 2:10

Galatians 5:17

John 6:63

Proverbs 16:7

Philippians 2:5

1 Peter 5:6

Proverbs 3:5-6

Hebrews 11:6

Philippians 1:6

Jeremiah 29:11

Psalm 37:23

Isaiah 55:8

Numbers 23:19

2 Corinthians 5:21

Matthew 5:8

Matthew 5:6

Psalm 84:11

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God holds purposeful plans filled with hope and peace for every believer's future, and He is faithful to complete the good work He began in us.

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