"Power Over Sin"

There is something which we must do in order to have 'power over sin', and it requires being filled with the Holy Spirit. This is something which we all know and have been told over and over again; yet it is also the thing which is so easily forgotten when we are not yielding to the Spirit, but are yielding to the flesh. When I am talking about making a plan, what I am talking about, is knowing what we must do to avoid those things which cause us to stumble. Praying is always good, but avoidance is better. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that we should not pray; on the contrary, we are to stay in an attitude of prayer. What I am saying, is that we need to avoid those things which put us in the flesh; those things which our flesh craves are associated with a certain environment; and we need to avoid those environments, or those settings. I think you know what I am talking about. We can not think that we can have power over our sin, because, if we do, we are going to be in for a grime surprise; but we can have power to overcome sin by the Power of the Holy Spirit, which requires a yielding to the Spirit. Going back to the store on the way home; as soon as that thought came into your mind to stop is when you yield to the Spirit; not after you arrive to see if there is a spot or not to park. Here is the thing about 'making sin happen', is that we create an environment for sin to take place; which is the place we need to avoid. So for the store down the road example, when did sin take place? Was it when you actually bought the bottle? or was it when you arrived to see that there was no parking, and then drove around the block until there was one? Neither one; the sin took place in the heart as soon as it was conceived! As soon as you had the thought to commit the sin, and then made way for that sin, that is when the sin took place; by creating the environment for the sin, we are making way for ourselves to sin. We are to make no provision for sin; that means, we are not to create an environment for our sin to dwell. The problem that many people have, is that they think that means storing something away somewhere for later, like a bottle of something tucked away for a time of weakness; but it goes a little further than that. Because the place which really matters is the heart, and this is the place in which we must not make provision for sin; for that sin which we set aside in our hearts can hinder our being filled with the Spirit; which means that we will not have power over sin!!! "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Corinthians 6:17 & 7:1)