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What enemy did King David describe as bone-rotting and strength-sapping? Unconfessed sin. In this first installment of “Getting Over It,” Pastor Connor talks about the importance of confessing our sins to God. We often shy away from confession, even though there is great joy in being forgiven. The challenge lies in coming to agreement with God about the destructiveness of our sin. Pastor Connor gives some practical tips for being attentive when God convicts us of our sins and calls us to turn away from them.This week, our hosts go over our new series called "Getting Over It", where they go over the emotion of guilt, they talk about how we should be genuinely seeking God and His guidance, and the importance of confessing to God. Oh and tune into the beginning to hear our hosts talk about Jasons Easter laundry story.If you would like to watch the video podcast, find us on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMhDfGn0zfzi6XjcKkSVcFAFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/discovertbcInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/topekabiblechurchWebsite: https://www.discovertbc.com/
Garth Heckman TDAgiantSlayer@gmail.com The David Alliance Demon possessed or demonized? If you are a non Christian you can be demon possessed. If you are a Christian you can be demonized… both are dangerous and horrible to be under. But for today lets talk about being a Christian who is demonized? What does that mean? You have demonic spirits attached to your mindset, habits, personality, thoughts and even your body. They can manifest in addictions, sickness, pet sins, demonic dreams… and that is just touching the surface. We have a deliverance ministry here at our church and what I have seen and now understand makes me completely convinced that every Christian should go through a deliverance process… connect with me if you want more information. * Unconfessed and Unrepented Sin: Many Christian traditions teach that sin creates a barrier between God and humanity. Persistent, unconfessed, and unrepented sin can be seen as providing an "opening" or foothold for negative spiritual influences. This isn't necessarily seen as demonic possession in all cases, but rather as creating vulnerability to temptation, oppression, or spiritual attacks. Examples might include ongoing patterns of lying, stealing, bitterness, unforgiveness, or sexual immorality. * Involvement in Occult Practices: Practices explicitly condemned in the Bible, such as divination, witchcraft, seeking guidance from mediums, astrology, and other forms of occult engagement, are often seen as directly inviting demonic influence. But did you know music, movies, video, porn are all a part of this occult practice. The rationale is that these practices bypass God and seek power, fulfillment or knowledge from sources considered to be opposed to Him. * Holding onto Strongholds of Negative Beliefs and Emotions: Deep-seated patterns of negative thinking, such as persistent bitterness, resentment, fear, or unbelief, can create "strongholds" in the mind. Some interpretations suggest that these strongholds can become entry points for negative spiritual influences that align with those destructive thought patterns and emotions. Look we can get sick physically - yes Jesus bore stripes on his back for our healing, but we still live in a fallen sin filled world with sickness, disease, germs etc… and it can make us sick. In the same way we live in a world where we can pick up strongholds that make us sick…. Bitterness is a big one but not the only one. You hang on to this and it will invite demonic strongholds into your life. * Exposure to Demonic Influence Through Others or Environments: You gotta be prayed up when you go to a secular concert, go to an environment where there is a heavy LGBTQ presence, or to a cultic religion center… now if it is your practice to be around such people and places on a regular basis check to see if this is Gods will. **You may say well God hung with sinners…yes he did, with 12 other believers. There is strength in numbers. * Spiritual Neglect and Lack of Spiritual Armor: A lack of consistent engagement in spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible study, fellowship with other believers, and living according to Christian principles is sometimes seen as weakening one's spiritual defenses. This neglect can leave a person more susceptible to temptation and negative spiritual influences, not necessarily as a direct invitation but as a lack of protection… but over time it can manifest in demonization. Now listen I know people will think that I have the opinion that I blame everything on demons… no, not quite… but more than ever I see the demonic playing out itself in people who claim to be followers of Christ. And as someone who has been a follower of Christ for more than 50 years and still have demonic influences in my life… im telling you you need to be careful and also you need to check out some spiritual deliverance ministries.
SummaryIn this episode of Coffee in Christ, Robert Bolden shares insights on finding peace through Christ and the importance of understanding God's guidance. He discusses the prerequisites for receiving God's guidance, emphasizing the need for conversion, commitment, confession, concern, and compliance. The conversation culminates in a reflection on the journey from worldly success to spiritual significance, encouraging listeners to align their lives with God's will.TakeawaysThe podcast is spontaneous and authentic, reflecting Robert's real-time thoughts.Finding peace in Christ is essential amidst worldly troubles.Deception is more dangerous than temptation; awareness is key.Conversion is the first step in building a relationship with God.Commitment to God must be an ongoing process.Unconfessed sin can hinder our relationship with God.A genuine desire to know God's will is crucial for guidance.Compliance with God's will is necessary for receiving further guidance.Delighting in God's will leads to a fulfilling spiritual life.The journey from success to significance transforms one's purpose. Chapters00:00 Introduction to Coffee in Crisis02:01 Finding Peace in Troubling Times06:02 Prerequisites for God's Guidance13:45 From Success to SignificanceRegister for the Challenge: https://lifetransformed.podia.com/lifetransformed-hope2purpose-challenge-registration-july-2025Ready to become part of the community? http://www.lifetransformed.podia.com, message us and we will give you free access.Check out our website: http://www.life-transformed.comSchedule a serve callhttps://www.picktime.com/LifeTransformedInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/bbolden18?igsh=cnlvdjQ5eGJwZTM%3D&utm_source=qrYouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx6sszulCUrjodEyThd-rBwPodcasts Join me live from Odd's Cafe here in Asheville… message me for the exact time. https://www.oddscafe.com/Email: robertbolden@thisworldfreedom.com
Send us a textFor an ad-free version of the podcast plus the opportunity to enjoy hours of exclusive content and two bonus episodes a month and also help keep the Bible Project Daily Podcast free for listeners everywhere at;patreon.com/JeremyMcCandlessSubscribe here to receive my new church history podcast every few weeks at.https://thehistoryofthechristianchurch.buzzsprout.comWelcome & Episode Notes: "When Things Aren't Going Right – Achan's Sin (Part One)" (Joshua 7:1-23)Welcome:Today, we look into a powerful and sobering lesson from Joshua 7—the story of Achan's sin.Have you ever felt like no matter how hard you try, things just don't work out? You put in the effort, but success feels out of reach. Sometimes, life's struggles are just part of the journey, but other times, there's a deeper reason—one we might not want to face.Joshua 7 gives us one possible explanation: hidden sin can block God's blessing and bring trouble not just to us, but to those around us. Achan's disobedience didn't just affect him—it led to Israel's defeat at Ai, revealing a sobering truth: what we do in private impacts others in ways we can't always see.Join us as we explore:Why Israel lost the battle of Ai despite their previous victories.How hidden sin disrupts not only personal lives but entire communities.Why confession and repentance are essential for spiritual renewal.What it truly means to glorify God—even in failure.Let's unpack these lessons and discover how to realign our lives with God's will.Episode Notes:Key Themes in Joshua 7:1-23:The Hidden Sin That Brought Defeat (Joshua 7:1)Israel's Defeat at Ai (Joshua 7:2-5)Joshua's Despair & God's Response (Joshua 7:6-12)Achan's Exposure & Confession (Joshua 7:13-23)Practical Takeaways:Sin is never private. It affects those around us in ways we don't always realize.Unconfessed sin hinders victory. We can't move forward spiritually while clinging to disobedience.God disciplines His people. He loves us too much to let sin go unchecked.Confession glorifies God. Admitting our sin aligns us with His truth and leads to healing.Victory requires obedience. We can't expect success while ignoring God's commands.Reflection Questions:Are there hidden areas in your life that might be blocking God's blessing?Have you experienced setbacks that could be connected to unaddressed sin?How can you ensure that your actions don't negatively impact others?What steps can you take today to confess, repent, and realign with God's will?Final ThoughtFaith That Challenges. Conversations that Matter. Laughs included. Subscribe Now!Breaking down faith, culture & big questions - a mix of humor with real spiritual growth. Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showFor an ad-free version of my podcasts plus the opportunity to enjoy hours of exclusive content and two bonus episodes a month whilst also helping keep the Bible Project Daily Podcast free for listeners everywhere support me at;|PatreonSupport me to continue making great content for listeners everywhere.https://thebibleproject.buzzsprout.com
Send us a textFor an ad-free version of the podcast plus the opportunity to enjoy hours of exclusive content and two bonus episodes a month and also help keep the Bible Project Daily Podcast free for listeners everywhere at;patreon.com/JeremyMcCandlessSubscribe here to receive my new church history podcast every few weeks at.https://thehistoryofthechristianchurch.buzzsprout.com"When Things Aren't Going Right – Achan's Sin (Part One)" (Joshua 7:1-23)Welcome Message:Welcome to The Bible Project Daily Podcast! Today, we look at a powerful and sobering lesson from Joshua 7—the story of Achan's sin.Have you ever felt like no matter how hard you try, things just don't work out? You put in the effort, but success feels out of reach. Sometimes, life's struggles are just part of the journey, but other times, there's a deeper reason—one we might not want to face.Joshua 7 gives us one possible explanation: hidden sin can block God's blessing and bring trouble not just to us, but to those around us. Achan's disobedience didn't just affect him—it led to Israel's defeat at Ai, revealing a sobering truth: what we do in private impacts others in ways we can't always see.Join us as we explore:Why Israel lost the battle of Ai despite their previous victories.How hidden sin disrupts not only personal lives but entire communities.Why confession and repentance are essential for spiritual renewal.What it truly means to glorify God—even in failure.Let's unpack these lessons and discover how to realign our lives with God's will.Episode Notes:Key Themes in Joshua 7:1-23:The Hidden Sin That Brought Defeat (Joshua 7:1)Israel's Defeat at Ai (Joshua 7:2-5)Joshua's Despair & God's Response (Joshua 7:6-12)Achan's Exposure & Confession (Joshua 7:13-23)Practical Takeaways:Sin is never private. It affects those around us in ways we don't always realize.Unconfessed sin hinders victory. We can't move forward spiritually while clinging to disobedience.God disciplines His people. He loves us too much to let sin go unchecked.Confession glorifies God. Admitting our sin aligns us with His truth and leads to healing.Victory requires obedience. We can't expect success while ignoring God's commands.Reflection Questions:Are there hidden areas in your life that might be blocking God's blessing?Have you experienced setbacks that could be connected to unaddressed sin?How can you ensure that your actions don't negatively impacFaith That Challenges. Conversations that Matter. Laughs included. Subscribe Now!Breaking down faith, culture & big questions - a mix of humor with real spiritual growth. Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showFor an ad-free version of my podcasts plus the opportunity to enjoy hours of exclusive content and two bonus episodes a month whilst also helping keep the Bible Project Daily Podcast free for listeners everywhere support me at;|PatreonSupport me to continue making great content for listeners everywhere.https://thebibleproject.buzzsprout.com
So far we have learned from the Lord's teachings on prayerin this passage in Luke 11, that prayer concerns our Father's presence, ourFather's purpose, our Father's provision, our Father's pardon, and our Father'sprotection. I couldn't help but notice that before we pray for His protection asbelievers, we should have the assurance that we have our own sins forgiven,which only comes because we have forgiven “everyone” who wronged, sinned, hurt,or offended us. This is crucial if we are going to be able to expect theFather to protect us from the attacks of the evil one. Unconfessed sin in ourlives become a “stronghold” of Satan in our minds and hearts. Those strongholdscan only be destroyed by the mighty weapons of the Word of God and prayer: 2Corinthians 10:3-6 reminds us: “For though we walk in the flesh, we are notwaging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not ofthe flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy argumentsand every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take everythought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, whenyour obedience is complete.” Did you also notice that in this basic model and pattern ofprayer we are not taught to pray for the Father to keep us from experiencing sickness,suffering, pain, or discomfort. We are not taught to pray that we won't die.For sure, no doubt, it is not wrong to pray for our physical, mental, andemotional needs, or even for these needs in our family and friends. But farmore important than our circumstantial needs, it is clear here that the emphasisis on our character needs! We are all goingto suffer afflictions and pain and one day face death. That is the reality of life! But we have been promised thatthe Lord will give us grace and strength to go through it all with His presenceand therefore we don't need to worry or fear (Psalm 23:4). What is important isour faith and trust in our heavenly Father to supply for every need we have(Philippians 4:19). We should also note that when we pray, “Do not lead usinto temptation”, that it means that the Lord is the One who might beleading us to do something wrong or evil. No, this statement is a way of sayingthat we need the Father's protection from the solicitation of the evil one to sinor do wrong. James make it very clear that God does not tempt us with evil: “Blessedis the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he willreceive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Letno one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannotbe tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 1 John 2:16 reminds us that all temptations we face in thisworld concern three areas: “For all that is in the world--the lust of theflesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but isof the world.”These are the same things that the Devil tempted Jesus with(Matthew 4:1-11). Peter warned us: “Be sober, be vigilant; because youradversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour”(1 Peter 5:8). Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:11-12; For we donot wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, againstpowers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hostsof wickedness in the heavenly places.” That is why we pray for our Father's protection against theevil one and his temptations. But we must also do our part by: “But put onthe Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill itslusts” (Romans 13:14). If we are “drinking of the water of Life” that Jesusgives us in His Word, we not be thirsting for the dirty water from the well ofthe world (John 4:13-14). And remember Psalm 119:11: “Your word I havehidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!” Today, are you experiencing “deliverance from the evilone”! God bless!
Unconfessed sin can take over your mind and even affect your health. But you can be free! Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth helps you discover the joy of clearing your conscience, on Revive Our Hearts. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/453/29
Unconfessed sin can take over your mind and even affect your health. But you can be free! Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth helps you discover the joy of clearing your conscience, on Revive Our Hearts. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/453/29
Unconfessed sin can take over your mind and even affect your health. But you can be free! Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth helps you discover the joy of clearing your conscience, on Revive Our Hearts. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/453/29
Unconfessed sin can take over your mind and even affect your health. But you can be free! Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth helps you discover the joy of clearing your conscience, on Revive Our Hearts. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/453/29
As we get into this series, I have noted that there are mountains of significantly different kinds that separate us from Him as believers. Unconfessed sin is quite different than affliction, but both are barriers that He overcomes. Today we look at a mountain that is more of a condition: worldliness. He overcomes it too.
Does God still heal? Can we...should we... pray for it? And, if so, just how much faith does it take to get the miracle you're looking for? Here in James 5, we come to the topic of sickness and healing. And while I can't give a comprehensive teaching on the subject in one message, we do get some insight from this passage that can help us.Before we talk about healing, we need to lay a foundation by discussing sickness. REASONS FOR SICKNESSThese reasons can be categorized under three headings: 1. The fall of man. Sickness and death were never part of God's “very good” original creation. But because of their sin, deterioration came to the human race. We get sick, weaken, and eventually die simply because we are human. 2. An attack of Satan. Though he was rendered a death blow at Calvary, the Evil One still prowls this earth and there are occasions when his attack comes in the form of sickness. 3. One's personal sin. Some sickness is part of God's judgment or discipline for unconfessed sin. Returning to James' instruction, we find some…GUIDELINES FOR HEALING Verse 14 begins, “Is anyone among you sick?” James is not speaking of a lightweight ailment here – a headache or a cold or the flu. Praying about that sort of thing might fall under the instruction of verse 13. What he has in mind here is a sickness or disease that incapacitates. In such serious situations, you should… 1. Call for the elders or other spiritual leaders.This first step appears to be an act of faith and point of submission. The person who is sick takes the initiative: “I'm in trouble and I want to bring God's power to bear upon this by asking His people for help.”2. Take a thorough spiritual inventory.We noted earlier that personal sin can be a reason for sickness. Unconfessed sin robs prayer of its power. Is there any sin that would preempt what God might want to do? Are there any relational breakdowns that need to be addressed? Are there any behaviors that need to be confessed?God desires our spiritual healing much more than our physical healing. Once the sin is dealt with, healing can flow.3. Receive anointing and prayer. When the elders are called for, the text says they are to “pray over” the person. This could imply that the elders are to lay their hands on the person as they pray.They are also to “anoint them with oil.” To anoint a sick person with oil might be a way of setting them apart for God's special touch. It's a way of saying, “Lord, give this person to You asking for their healing. Most of all may this situation result in Your glory.”The elders are also to pray “in the name of the Lord.” To do something “in the name of “ a person invokes the authority and the will of that person. Thus, to pray “in the name of the Lord” not only calls upon the power of Jesus to heal, but it also surrenders to the prerogative of Jesus' purposes. Whether the person is healed or not is a matter of His will, not ours.4. Leave the results in God's hands. Does God heal? Yes! Does He sometimes do it through medical means? Yes! Does He sometimes do it supernaturally as we pray? Yes!Does God always heal? No – not always in this life. But no matter what the outcome, can we trust Him and the way He runs His business? Text: James 5:13-18 Originally recorded on June 13, 2010, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN
1. When we need to pray A. When troubles come our way B. When blessings come our way 2. When I need intercession A. Call on the elders B. Anoint with oil 3. When prayers are unanswered A. Not the will of God B. Unforgiving of others C. Problems in your marriage D. Wrong motives e. Unconfessed sin 4. Confess to one another A. Private sins confessed privately B. Public sins confessed publicly 5. Becoming effective in prayer A. Being a righteous person B. Being persistent in praying C. Being passionate in praying
(Genesis 4:6-17) When we fail to confess our sin to God, it eventually consumes us. You cannot excuse or hide your sin. Unconfessed sin multiplies into more sin and divides you from God's plan. Study the life of Cain and choose to live a clean life before the Lord. (0825240129)
Introduction For about 40 years now, I have been a Christian Disciple - a follower of Jesus. It has been an exciting journey on the road of life. I have had my ups and my downs through that journey of 40 years. Most of it I have forgotten. But this I do remember - I know that Jesus has been there with me. I know, that I know, that I know. After my conversion and baptism, I was taken in hand and discipled. Once a week, for about a year, I had a midweek meeting with a mentor, for prayer, bible study, accountability and guidance. Right Mouse click to save this as a mp3 audio file From my observation of Christianity today, that experience would now be rare, as Discipleship is generally in the control of a home group. That works well if that new convert gets some form of bible study, prayer and accountability. Often though, that is not the case and the home group is more an extended social club. Or we are just told to get on with it ourselves and the church isn't interested in helping in lifelong discipleship, outside of Sundays or home groups. The Christianity I see today is broad and wide, but it is also in large parts, wafer thin - there appears to be not much depth to it. ----more---- The very idea of discipleship is almost anathema in some church circles today, and dare I say, that is why churches are depleting across this land - even within those that would identify themselves as 'evangelical'. People in those churches may know what to believe, but they probably do not know why they believe it and how it affects their behaviour. People coming in the front door and going out the back door - that's if they even enter a church in the first place! I know many Christians who don't attend a church regularly, for all sorts of reasons. So given that, what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and what difference does it make? 1. What is a Disciple? Firstly, let's look at what a Disciple is! As I said, the words 'Disciple' and 'Discipleship' are almost dirty words in some church circles today. I guess because we don't like the word 'discipline' in the church today. A Christian Disciple, is somebody who has accepted Jesus call on their life and they are a follower and learner of Him. Before He ascended, Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:18-20: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." In these verses Jesus commanded his Disciples to go and make other disciples. Note Jesus did not say go make converts. Billy Graham once said, "To only go around making converts and not offering some form of discipleship and aftercare, is a form of spiritual abuse." Many people have been hurt down through the years this way. It's like leaving a newborn baby floundering for help, only for the cries to go unheard. No! Jesus said go train people, give instructions to others about this new way of living and mark them with baptism! Discipleship of Jesus means that Christian Disciples are to train, be trained, instruct and be instructed in the way of life Jesus showed. To listen to some Churches today, Christian Discipleship is all about a form of spiritual belief where it is just believing, and nothing to do with training, instruction and following Jesus' way in life. Too many Christians I talk to and know have fallen into the belief, that belief is enough. Note, I did not say they were not saved! Oh they may have their salvation, but they are also holding onto that salvation by their fingernails rather than having a full grip! They are being taught that church is all about having a high entertainment value. They are being taught, either implicitly or explicitly, that they don't have to work out their own salvation. They are being taught that they don't have to take up their own cross daily. I know they are being told that, because I have talked to them! A disciple of Jesus Christ is not just somebody who believes in Him. Rather, being a disciple means accepting Jesus' call to follow Him, and letting Him permeate every aspect of life. Discipleship involves taking up your cross daily in response to Jesus' command over you. Taking it up daily, not as a once in a lifetime offer or once a week on a Sunday. Is that you? So if that's what a Christian Disciple is, what is the goal of being a Disciple? 2. What is the goal of a Disciple? The Apostle of love, John, wrote in 1 John 2:3-6 "We know that we have come to know Jesus if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." The ultimate goal for any Christian Disciple, is to be radical and living a life worthy of Jesus and undergoing constant life change and transformation. A Christian Disciple is somebody learning to be like Jesus in every facet of life, practising His presence with them every second of every day, and so engaging their life with Him so that He truly lives through them. It is living a life which reflects Jesus the Son of God, by total submission to the Holy Spirit, which is to the praise of God the Father. It is not done out of some slavish form of guilt, but borne out of a desire and love! Christian Disciples are to be radical and endeavouring to reach the goal of being Jesus to others! This is done by a constant renewing of the mind and having a willing heart to be transformed. It is by loving others in such a way, that the end of a Christian Disciple's generosity is only when their resources have expired. How generous are you towards others, particularly those others who are not within your own circle of friends? A Christian Disciple is to live and walk as Jesus did; imitating Jesus and obeying his command to take up their cross daily and follow Him closely. A life imitating Jesus, not out of guilt, but out of love! Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it like this: "When Jesus Christ calls a person, he bids them die, die to their own selfish self." Dying to ones self, is the loving of others, in action. Again, that is not a popular message in churches today. Loving others sacrificially, is radically showing Jesus' command to "love one another" (John 15:17) and putting those words into practise. That means all Disciples of Jesus Christ are expected to be self-sacrificing, having taken up their own cross - looking to the interests of others, before fulfilling their own interests and desires. How is that for being radical Disciples of Jesus Christ in the 21st century? How else can people out there in the community know that we love God, if not by seeing that we love each other and them with extravagant generosity? Being a Disciple of Jesus Christ is being called to a life of total loving obedience and freely submitting to Jesus Christ. Being a Disciple of Jesus Christ is freely letting that obedience and submission permeate all areas of life! As Christian individuals, whether we like it or not, we are linked together in a Christian community through rebirth, and our relationship exists only through our relationship with Jesus Christ. Look around you now. If that person next to you or at the other end of the row is a Christian, then they are in relationship with you, through Jesus Christ. That person in another church in this town, who is in relationship with Jesus Christ, is in relationship with you, through the same Jesus Christ. Whether you like it or not, that is fact. You cannot escape that person - however much you may like to think that you can. We, as Christian Disciples, are interdependent upon one another, bound by a corporate inclusivity. The church community of disciples of Jesus Christ is to be dynamic by nature. Within the church in Ringwood, and by that, I mean all those who would say they are Christians in this community; there are too many individualistic Christians. Not just Ringwood, but certainly in the Western Church in general, and that I think, is one of the great failings of 21st century Western Christianity. There are far too many Christians, who wants all the benefits of being a Christian Disciple, but don't want to the responsibility of working at living and growing as a Christian Disciple! For instance, if we say "I love my neighbour" and yet refuse to help when that person needs help, what does that tell your neighbour? It certainly doesn't say that you love them! And who is your neighbour? Look around. Loving others is an endemic part of living as a Christian Disciple. Loving God and loving others shows you are reaching towards the ultimate goal for any Christian Disciple, which is to be radical and living a life worthy of Jesus and undergoing constant life change and transformation. Now a couple of questions to delve deeper and ponder to ourselves for a few minute... Q1. How have I taken up my own cross in order to follow the Master, Jesus? Q2. How have I wanted all the benefits of being a Christian Disciple but not the responsibility? 3. Living and Growing as a Christian Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:18: 'And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.' Living As 21st century people, we are inculcated to think that success is instant. We like everything instantly, we want it now, and if we don't get it now, watch out! We live in an instant society which wants everything now and to be gratified instantly. Just a cursory look down the High Street will tell you that! But success, as I am sure you are well aware, is not instant. Ask those Olympic Gold medallists if their success was instant and they just turned up in London 2 weeks ago, to compete in a sport they had never played before. Of course it wasn't - it took a lot of hard graft and determination! The same is true in living successfully as Christian Disciples, as followers of Jesus Christ. It can be hard work, but again, we are not left alone to do anything in our own strength, but in the strength of the Almighty Holy Spirit who lives within us! Living as a Christian Disciple is not a matter of expecting spiritual maturity to occur overnight, it is an exiciting journey with many wow factors through out! Fullness of life is achieved as we allow Jesus Christ to live this fullness of life through us, so that we start to think and respond like He would, to the people and circumstances around us. Where we are learning to see circumstances and people from God's perspective, rather than reacting on the basis of feelings. Yes it is hard, but it is worth it, and it can be done if we rely on the Holy Spirit who lives within us and empowering us. Growing A vital part of living is growing - just as babies grow to be adults! The process of growing, becoming more like Jesus is, in one of the big words of theology: sanctification. It is like the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly. It is a cleansing, and a yearning to live a life worthy of the Master Servant, Jesus Christ. Sometimes it's a difficult path, but nobody said that growing to be more like Jesus was going to be easy. But He is with you, through the Holy Spirit who is within you! How easy we forget that fact! Now you may well ask, that if I am growing and being sanctified, why do I still continue to sin? Firstly, you sin because you choose to sin. Nobody else can take the rap. The devil and the world may tempt you to sin, but it is only you that does the sinning. So do not succumb to the wiles and ways of the devil and the world! Tell them to get lost! Secondly, when you became a Christian, you gained a new nature, albeit in embryonic form. As this new nature grows, your old nature shrivels and shrinks yet refuses to die quickly. So our new nature, now that you are a Disciple of Jesus, fights against your old nature. So what can a Disciple do? As Christian Disciples, we are not left alone to fend for ourselves. We overcome sin & temptation through the power of the Holy Spirit, who was promised by Jesus. The Holy Spirit works in us, and assists our new nature in overcoming the old nature. We may struggle in our own strength, but with the power of the Holy Spirit, our old nature shrivels. Remind yourself that temptation itself is not sin! Otherwise Jesus Himself would have sinned, and we know that even though He faced constant temptation, we know for certain, that He did not sin. It is rather, that as Christian Disciples, having died and been raised with Jesus Christ, we now live in the freedom of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The beloved Apostle John wrote in 1 John 4: "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." Christian Disciples aren't made of Chocolate and melt under pressure. Christian Disciples are born of the Spirit of God and His power is ever reliable! We as Christian Disciples are to love. If however, a Christian Disciple does succumb to temptation and sins then, when that Disciple recognizes that they have sinned, they need to repent quickly! Unconfessed sin soon becomes a heavy burden. Confession & repentance are needed. Not a confession borne from constant grace-less guilt but rather a repentance born from grace! In a lot of church services, that is why the confession of sin comes at the start of services. It is as John Stott once said "penitence is to come before praise!" Lets have a time once more to reflect again, delve a bit deeper with a couple of questions and then after a couple of minutes, we will have another song. Q1. How can I live a life worthy of, and pleasing to, Jesus? Q2. What pressures am I constantly confronted by? 4. Going on! Lots of those who claim to be Christian, would also rightly claim to be John 3:16 people "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." But we are not to just leave it there, we are to press on and be 1 John 3:16 people "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." Not only are we to live and grow as Christian Disciples, we are also to go on and persevere as Christian Disciples. Yes, I know sometimes life can be difficult but we can persevere because as Christian Disciples, we have the living God inside us, the Holy Spirit empowering us, comforting, consoling and counselling, ever encouraging us onwards and upwards. At least that's my experience of Him! Not only are you to live as a Christian Disciple, you are also to grow as a Christian Disciple. Not only are you to grow, you are to persevere. As a Christian Disciple, here is a hallmark to signify that you are persevering. That word is servant. Servant. The word servant as I am sure you know, is key in Scripture. The supreme servant, Jesus, talked about it a lot as well as living a life of service! When a Christian Disciple serves, God's honour is released, because service shows the beauty and glory of Jesus Christ to those being served and to those watching. That is to be our motive for service - the release of God's honour and He is glorified. Serving is never to be about what you and I can get out of it. When that is the motive, God is not glorified. Serving is to be borne out of love for others and no other reason. We can choose to serve selfishly as Judas did or we can choose to serve lovingly like John did. God's glory, honour and supremacy are to be the goal of a Christian Disciple's life. Spiritual growth comes from serving. This is because what ever is given in service of God and others, faith grows and Jesus Christ gives back even more. Why do we do the things we do for the church and others? Is it motivated out of love for Christ? Or is it motivated out of some vain self satisfying glory and duty? Serving others is a sign of faith in God and are trusting in Him. It's a visible aspect of invisible faith. Service is the outward expression of inner beliefs. Serving is an outward expression of inner faith - an external working out of salvation. Serving God and others is the mark of a spiritually mature (or spiritually maturing) Christian Disciple and through service, the greatest servant of all, Jesus Christ, is reflected. It is one of the main hallmarks of a living, growing and persevering Christian Disciple. Not only are we to serve but we are also to show our dependency on others by allowing them to serve us when we are in need. Again this is counter-cultural - a culture where people are to be independent of others. Remember Jesus washing the feet of his disciples and what he said to Peter when Peter protested about having his feet washed? As Christian Disciples, we are interdependent upon each other. In the same way one part of the human body is dependence on another part. That is why we serve each other and use generously for the benefit of others what we have been given by God. The Gospel is "God helps those who cannot help themselves." Yet so often, we deny it. We want it for ourselves, and more often than not, we are not willing to have that attitude towards others. An endemic part of Discipleship is our active work of service, loving others and allowing others to serve and love ourselves - all to the glory of God alone, through Jesus Christ and in the creative power of the Holy Spirit. As Christian Disciples, we are to be as Jesus Christ to others, to serve and be served by submitting ourselves to the Holy Spirit and His authority. By doing this the lives of other people could be changed to the glory of God! I know people who are worried about how others are serving. Don't worry about how that other person is serving God and other people. Be more concerned how you yourself are serving and why you are doing it. People can be changed for God's greater glory because of your acts of service and worship. Now a further couple of questions to ponder to ourselves for a few minutes! Q1. How can I, both improve my serve and also allow others to serve me? Q2. Why do I do what I do for others? 5. Warning And now lastly, very briefly, we have a warning! The Apostle Paul writing in Philippians 2:3-4 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Contrast those Paul-ine values to those of our society, where morality can be summed up with this kind of attitude: "Good is self and self is good. Greed is good and good is greed!" It is used in advertising to great effect. A brief walk down the High Street will show you that! That is where the importance of ones own self, is placed at higher importance than other people. Individualism imbued with self-reliance and personal independence. Even when help and compassion are offered, so often there are strings attached and hoops to be jumped through. Sadly, it is not just within society that this exists, but it has also infiltrated into some parts of the Church. Where that occurs, it is in denial of the basic rule of compassion and mercy, which dictates that Christian Disciples are to be lovingly helping and serving others, because those others are also humans created in the image of God, loved by God and so should be loved unconditionally by those who proclaim to be God's people - the Church. Denying that basic need to others is selfishness and places others below our own selves. Individualism is not showing love towards others, and can never be considering placing others higher than your own self. It certainly could not be construed as serving other people, to always place your own desires above those of others. Individualism hampers spiritual growth because it impedes loving others and our servant-hood of God and others. Conclusion We have seen that those who claim to be Christian Disciples, are to live for Jesus, grow in maturity and keep on going forward in faith in Jesus. We discovered together that we are to train, be trained, instruct and be instructed in the way of life that Jesus showed. We discovered that the Christian Disciple is to live a life which is constantly "dealing with God" in all matters - just as Jesus the Master Servant did. The growth of those claiming to be Christian Disciples is discerned in their love for, and service of, all others - not just those within their close circle of friends & acquaintances. The world out there is watching. I know they are watching, because they tell me. Each church is only one generation from closing. Let us go from here, determined to be a transformed people, living, growing and serving for the glory of God the Father, through Your Master Servant Jesus Christ the Son in the creative power of the Holy Spirit who lives inside you. Right Mouse click to save this as a mp3 audio file Click on the appropriate link below to subscribe, share or download our iPhone App!
If it seems like your prayers aren't being heard - it May be due to Unconfessed sin; - it's not that God is mad at you, No - He Loves You So Much that - If you are Walking Contrary to His Will - He will be Silent… In Order That you might Begin to Ask God to “Search your heart” and see where you have some Unconfessed sin.
Episode 228 – Seriousness of Sin – Part 7 – A Flood of Sin Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The goal of Anchored by Truth is to encourage everyone to grow in the Christian faith by anchoring themselves to the secure truth found in the inspired, inerrant, and infallible word of God. Script: The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. Genesis, Chapter 6, verse 5, New International Version ******** VK: Hello! Welcome to Anchored by Truth brought to you by Crystal Sea Books. I’m Victoria K. If this is your first visit with Anchored by Truth we want you to know that Anchored by Truth has a single focus – to restore a widespread understanding that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. For thousands of years God has guided His people with His special revelation. Those cultures and communities that have embraced His guidance have been blessed. Those who have rejected it have suffered. And while many in our culture think that they may safely dismiss the Bible’s transcendent truth they are wrong and our society is paying the price. That’s why we’re so happy that you are able to join us today on Anchored by Truth. We’re in the midst of a series we call “The Seriousness of Sin.” Thus far in this series we have talked about both the current and eternal consequences of sin, the reality and nature of hell and, most recently, the enormous consequences of the first sin in the Garden of Eden. As he has been throughout this series, to help us continue to think through hard truths that accompany sin’s existence, we have RD Fierro. RD is an author and the founder of Crystal Sea Books. RD, in our last two episodes of Anchored by Truth we talked about the consequences that arose because of that first sin in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. And today you want to point to another Biblical illustration of how seriously God treats sin. Where are we going today? RD: We are going to move forward in the book of Genesis and look at possibly the second most serious consequence of sin described in the Bible – the flood in Noah’s time. VK: Why do you say the 2nd most serious consequence of sin? Seems like a flood that wiped out all the people, birds, and land animals except for those on the ark is about as bad as it gets. RD: Because without a doubt the most serious consequence of sin in all of history – the most serious consequence possible – was the death of God’s only Son on the cross. The flood of Noah was about as serious as it gets on this earth, but the implications of Jesus’ death on the cross transcended space and time. VK: Well, the Gospel of Mark, chapter 15, verse 33 does say, “Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, … ‘My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?’” That is a fascinating verse of scripture. Jesus was God incarnate. How could God incarnate be abandoned by anyone much less someone He would address as “my God?” As you said the implications of the transaction that took place on the cross boggle the mind. RD: Right. As many Bible commentators have noted at that moment on the cross heaven and earth were once again connected by the Divine Being that had created both. Every sin committed by every human being was committed on earth. Yet every sin has heavenly implications because all sin is rebellion against a God who presides over heaven and earth. Jesus was both fully divine as well as fully human. He had to be fully divine for his death to be of infinite value. When a human sins against God they sin against an infinite Being incurring an infinite debt. A finite person can never pay an infinite debt. VK: Which is why finite people when they are consigned to hell must remain there eternally. Their punishment lasts eternally because they are there to pay an infinite debt. But they can’t. Only a being of infinite value can pay an infinite death. Because Jesus was fully divine as well as fully human His sacrifice was fully sufficient to satisfy our sin debt to God. When we place our trust in Jesus God applies Jesus’ righteousness to our account. It’s similar to an accounting transaction on earth. You or I may owe a debt that we cannot pay. Then our father walks into the office, takes out his wallet, and says “how much do my children owe?” It doesn’t matter how much we owe because when we accept Jesus as our Savior our Heavenly Father looks at Jesus’ account instead of ours. Jesus’ sacrifice is credited to our account. That’s why it is so important for us to engage in that transaction while there is still time. RD: Correct. Jesus paid the infinite sin debt that we owed when He died on the cross for all those who place their trust in Him. So, in terms of value, nothing can exceed the value of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. But, to get back to the topic of our series, the seriousness of sin, Jesus’ sacrifice would have been unnecessary if man had not sinned. That’s why we have to take note that the most serious consequence of sin was that it necessitated that God sacrifice His only Son to atone for sin’s consequences. If sin were not so serious, Jesus would not have had to die. But sin is serious. And one way we can see how serious sin is by looking at what happened when God surveyed the earth and could only find one righteous man on it. VK: We heard part of that portion of the Bible in our opening scripture. In verse 5 of the 6th chapter of Genesis we hear that “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” Verses 6 through 8 go on to say, “The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” I don’t suppose there can be anything much more serious than when human beings do something that causes the Lord to “regret” that He had made them. Wow. The human beings of Noah’s age were so wicked they gave the Almighty and Perfect King regret. RD: Well, a couple of notes are necessary here. When the Bible says that the Lord “regretted” that He had made people, that is what is called anthropopathism. VK: It’s a what? RD: Saying that God regretted making man is anthropopathism. The term “anthro” just refers to something pertaining to human beings. Anthropology is the study of human beings. The Bible in this case is depicting God in terms of human emotion and experience. God is omniscient. God knew that after Adam and Eve’s first sin the world would continue to descend into more and more wickedness. God was not surprised by the descent but He was saddened by the descent. God is a Personal Being and He experiences emotions and the Bible records these emotions from time to time. But, God continued to give warnings to people just as He had warned Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. VK: The fall in the Garden of Eden is described in chapter 3 of Genesis. In chapter 4 we have the famous incident of Cain and Abel. Even before Cain killed his brother Abel God said to Cain “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 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.” You might have thought that Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Eden would have been a severe enough punishment to make sure that they and their descendants avoided sin for decades or centuries. After all, they had just experienced, in a very real way, the consequences of sin. You might have thought the consequences of the very first sin would have been enough of a warning. But a gracious God continued to give explicit warnings to His children. RD: You might have thought that Adam and Eve losing paradise would have been enough of a warning, but, no. Sin begets sin. It did then. It does now. The very next chapter in Genesis we hear the Lord warning another human being, Cain, of the consequences of sin. But, of course, Cain didn’t listen. Cain killed his brother, Abel. And as a consequence Cain was also cast out from his homeland. VK: Verse 16 of chapter 4 says, “So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” Adam and Eve sinned and were cast out of the Garden of Eden. Cain killed his brother and was even sent away from the region of Eden. Our first parents weren’t deterred by the seriousness of sin nor was their oldest son. RD: And things didn’t improve in succeeding generations. While Biblical scholars aren’t unified in their opinions on when the flood of Noah actually occurred, Dr. Jonathan Sarfati, the Lead Scientist for Creation Ministries International, places the date of the flood 1656 years after creation. Dr. Sarfati provides a detailed discussion of his calculations in his commentary on the first 11 chapters of Genesis, The Genesis Account. I would highly recommend serious Bible students have a copy in their personal library. So, taking Dr. Sarfati’s date, we know that for the next 1,600 years following Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden and Cain’s murder of Abel things just continued to get worse. They got so bad that the Bible uses the human emotion of regret to express what God felt about people continuing to engage in ever more sinful behaviors. VK: And just as with the first sin, consequences were going to follow this steady progression of sin. The first sin in the Garden of Eden brought death into the created order and caused mankind to lose paradise. Cain’s sin resulted in him being sent away from his family and home. But in Noah’s day sin had proliferated so much that expulsion was no longer appropriate. Mankind had pushed God from expulsion to extermination. RD: Yes. The flood of Noah which resulted of the death of all the people, animals, and birds except for those on the ark is, to say the least, a very graphic illustration of how seriously God treats sin. But God always precedes the consequences with a plain warning of the consequences. God warned Adam and Eve that if they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil they would die. They didn’t listen and death entered creation. God warned Cain that “sin was crouching at this door” and he needed to “rule over it.” But Cain didn’t listen. He didn’t get a handle on his anger and it cost him his home and family. By Noah’s day this pattern of not listening had been going on for 1,600 years. We are not given the all the details of the progress of sin but its progression was so bad that there came a time when “every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.” VK: We know that sin has multiplied in our culture in recent decades. Behavior that would never have been tolerated in previous times is now routinely featured on TV, in movies, on the internet, and sadly on our streets. We can see sin’s progression in our time and we know that things are bad now. I’m not sure we can envision how bad they must have been in Noah’s time for God to record in His word that “every inclination of human hearts was only evil all the time.” Yikes. RD: Exactly. The people of Noah’s day knew or should have known how serious sin was. Noah’s life span overlapped Adam’s great-grandson Cain’s life by as much as 300 years or so. It’s entirely possible that Noah was alive when Adam’s grandson, Enoch, was alive. Noah’s father, Lamech, and grandfather, Methuselah, were alive while Adam was still living. The knowledge of Eden and what happened in Eden was readily available. We have to get our knowledge of the first sin and its consequences from the Bible (and thank God we have it) – but there were a great many alive in Noah’s day who could have gotten it from Adam himself. VK: You know that’s something we never think about. In our world 1,600 years spans a lot of generations. But in the pre-flood world it wasn’t that way. Noah was only in the 10th generation down from Adam. As you said it was possible that Noah’s own father could have spoken to Adam face-to-face. And yet the availability of that personal knowledge did not stop sin from steadily escalating. RD: And that’s how dangerous sin is. That’s how serious sin is. Noah’s father and grandfather could have spoken personally with the very first sinner and obtained first-hand knowledge of how serious was. But for whatever reason they didn’t and they died in the flood along with everyone else. If they had been as righteous as their son or grandson they could have had a place on the ark. But they weren’t and they didn’t. They paid the price for their wickedness alongside everyone else of their generations. VK: That’s something we rarely contemplate. We see the names in the Bible, especially the ones in Genesis, and we think that all of those people must have been godly people. I mean they are in the Bible. But Noah’s own father and grandfather died in the flood that God sent into the world to punish the wickedness of that time. Most commentators think that it took Noah 50 to 75 years to build the ark. Now, we don’t know whether Noah built the ark near his father or grandfather but he might have. It’s an amazing thought that Noah’s father could have witnessed his son building this huge boat for 50 to 75 years and yet been so complacent about sin that he ultimately died even when salvation might have been right over the next ridge. RD: And of course that same observation could be made of everyone else alive on the earth at that time except for Noah and his family. They were so insensitive to the seriousness of the steadily increasing evil that they just kept partying right up to the point that God made it clear He won’t put up with sin forever. VK: Jesus observed in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 17, verses 26 and 27, “When the Son of Man comes, things will be just as they were when Noah lived. People were eating, drinking, and getting married right up to the day when Noah went into the big boat. Then the flood came and drowned everyone on earth.” That’s from the Contemporary English Version. RD: The phrase “when the Son of Man comes” is a euphemism for Jesus’ return. What Jesus said was that just as in Noah’s day there will be a time just before His return when sin will be so pervasive people a great many people will be indifferent to it even though destruction is right around the corner for them. VK: Why is that? RD: Jesus’ return will usher in the beginning of eternal bliss for His children but it will usher in eternal destruction for those who have rejected Him. Just as the people of Noah’s day could see Noah preparing a means to be saved from the judgment of the flood and rejected the means, people today are rejecting the only means of being saved from a coming worldwide flood of judgment. Let’s take a quick look at how God has always dealt with the human race. God initially created everything and then shaped it to be a perfect world for man to occupy. VK: Man was not created until day 6. By this time the sun was in the sky providing light and warmth, the oceans had been restrained so he was able to walk about, and their plants in place bearing edible fruits and vegetables. Moreover, the land animals had been created so Adam had the opportunity to be productive and creative right from the start. And Adam and Eve had each other so they had companionship. We hear all that in Genesis, chapter 1, verses 27 through 29 say, “God created humans to be like himself; ... God gave them his blessing and said: Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth. I have provided all kinds of fruit and grain for you to eat. … And so it was.” That’s the Contemporary English Version. RD: And let’s not forget that God had put them in the midst of a garden designed for them. They had everything they needed to live peaceful, joyful lives including the ability to add to their family. God created the world and shaped it for man to fulfill the purpose for which man was created. But man chose to ignore God’s warning and creation was blighted. God then immediately began a plan of redemption. Fast forward 1600 years. Man has, in fact, multiplied but not in a good way. Man’s increase has been accompanied by an even greater increase in sin. VK: So, God again issues a warning. The warning was given to Noah but all of Noah’s neighbors would have heard about the warning. Building a big boat for 50 to 75 years would surely have occasioned some neighborhood gossip. But no one but Noah and his family heeded the warning. The consequence about which Noah had been warned then occurs. The flood arrives and God reshapes the world by it. We don’t have time today to go into all of the reshaping that took place but even secular scientists agree that at one time in the past a super-continent was broken up into the configuration of the continents we see today. RD: The dispersion of the land masses around the world then helps promote the worldwide dispersion of animals and people. This is consistent with God’s initial instruction to “fill the earth.” We see, then, three major themes repeated through the flood that we saw when we looked at the very first sin in the Garden of Eden. First, God warns people about the consequences of sin. Then man sins and the consequences of the sin arrive just as God warned. But, second, God continues His plan of redemption just as He had purposed before the foundation of the world. And, third, God continues to bring about the original mission He gave to Adam. VK: Said slightly differently, man’s disobedience does not derail God’s sovereign ordination. This is a truly amazing thought. Man’s sin does not and cannot affect God’s sovereignty over the created order. Again, it boggles the mind how God can keep His plans on track regardless of whether man chooses to be obedient. RD: Yes. God never enacts consequences for sin without giving a warning first. We see that pattern repeated throughout scripture. When the Israelites were coming out of Egypt God promised them blessings if they were obedient once they arrived in the Promised Land and warned them they would fall into exile and captivity if they began worshipping idols. They did exactly what God warned them not to do and they were eventually conquered by the Assyrians and the Babylonians. VK: But through the Persians God kept His plan of redemption on track and the Jesus, the Messiah, was eventually born in the Promised Land just as God had ordained. The disobedience of the Israelites caused them to suffer but it did not derail God’s plan to bring a Messiah out of the nation descended from Abraham or His grand plan of redemption. God warned the people of Noah’s generation of the consequences of their continued wickedness. But, as Jesus observed, they ignored the warning completely – until they were destroyed. And one of the reasons we are taking the time to go through this history is to point out what happens when people don’t learn the lessons that God is trying to teach. We are all confronted with that same choice today. Obey God, accept Jesus, and be blessed for all eternity or disobey God, reject Jesus, and reap an eternity of condemnation. It’s a stark choice. RD: It is a stark choice. That’s how serious sin is. Unconfessed sin and sin for which we do not repent has consequences. It has consequences in the here and now and it has even graver consequences after this life is over. God gave us the example of the flood of Noah as part of the warning to our world and our generation. The wise among us will learn from the lessons that are contained in the Bible. VK: And just to be sure that those lessons were clear Jesus restated them during his earthly ministry. Most Christians, and even a lot of non-believers, know John, chapter 3, verse 16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” RD: But most people do not know John 3:18, just two verses later. “Whoever believes in [Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” Sin is serious. I don’t know how the Bible could convey that more clearly. In example after example in the Bible we see that we ignore God’s warnings at our peril. And, as this verse says, the biggest warning that the Bible conveys is the danger of ignoring Jesus. The people in Noah’s world ignored the warning that God was going to punish the widespread wickedness of the day. I’m sad to say that it appears that many in our generation are making the same mistake. VK: So, the big idea that we wanted to introduce today is that once sin began in the Garden of Eden it did not stop. Cain continued the sin by killing Abel. And as succeeding generations were added they continued adding to the warehouse of accumulating sin. Eventually, God saw only one righteous person left and so God reshaped the world by a flood to continue the progress of His plans. We cannot derail God’s plans but we can create suffering for ourselves and others by trying. Sin is serious in part because sin causes misery and suffering. We should imitate Noah and heed God’s warning to us by being obedient. Our obedience does not save us. That is accomplished by the blood of Jesus. But our obedience can keep us safe through the storms of life while those about us are perishing. This sounds like a great time to pray. Today let’s listen to a prayer for persecuted Christians – our faithful brothers and sisters who holding on to Christ’s promises despite the storms they are facing. ---- PRAYER FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS (TREY) VK: We’d like to remind our audience that a lot of our radio episodes are linked together in series of topics so if they missed any episodes or if they just want to hear one again, all of these episodes are available on your favorite podcast app. To find them just search on “Anchored by Truth by Crystal Sea Books.” If you’d like to hear more, try out crystalseabooks.com where “We’re not perfect but our Boss is!” (Opening Bible Quote from the New International Version) Genesis, Chapter 6, verse 5, New International Version
Forgiveness is a challenging topic. In part 1 of the 2-part episode, we will focus on God's forgiveness of man's sin. Are all sins equal, and will God forgive all of them even if we continue to commit them? Join us!
David looked up and saw the sun, the moon and the stars and he proclaimed, “There is a God and the heavens declare His glory” (vv. 1-6). David looked into the Word and experienced the living influence and impact on his life and came to the conclusion that it was better than the finest gold or the sweetest food (vv. 7-11). David then looked within his heart and knew there was a deep-rooted problem and that he needed a Redeemer (vv. 12-14). Unless we have a personal relationship with the Lord so that God is our Father and Jesus is our Redeemer, what we see in creation and what we read in the Bible will not do us much good. The Magi in Matthew 2:1-12 started on their journey in the East by following God's star, a special messenger in the sky to direct them. Then they consulted God's Word in Jerusalem, and found that the King was to be born in Bethlehem; so they went to Bethlehem and there found and worshiped the Savior. When you study God's creation with a Bible in your hand, you can't help but see Jesus! He is seen in the vine (John 15), the sun (John 8:12; Mal. 4:2), the stars (Num. 24:17), the lambs (John 1:29), the apple trees and lilies (Song 2:3, 16; 6:3), the seed planted in the ground (John 12:23-24), and the bread on the table (John 6:35). The Word in the hand is fine; the Word in the head is better; but the Word in the heart is what transforms us and matures us in Christ (119:11; Col. 3:16-17). The Word is a light (119:105) and a mirror (James 1:22-25) to help us see ourselves, search our hearts (Heb. 4:12), and recognize and acknowledge our sins. "By the law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:20; 7:7-14). "Secret sins" are those we don't even see ourselves. "Sins of ignorance" are ones we don't realize we've committed. The Old Testament law made provision for their forgiveness (Lev. 4; Num. 15:22-29) because the sinners were guilty even though they were ignorant of what they had done (Lev. 5:17). However, the law provided no atonement for “presumptuous sins” (Num. 15:30-36; Deut. 17:12-13). When David committed adultery and arranged to have Uriah murdered (2 Sam. 11-12), he sinned insolently with his eyes wide open and therefore could bring no sacrifice (Ps. 51:16-17). When he confessed his sins, God in His grace forgave him (2 Sam. 12:13), but David paid dearly for his transgressions. Unconfessed sins, even if committed ignorantly, can grow within the heart and begin to rule over us, and this can lead to our committing willful disobedience which is "great transgression” (v. 13). Creation is God's "wordless book," and the Scriptures are God's holy Word to us, but God wants to hear our words as "sacrifices" that please Him (Psalm 141:1-2; Hos. 14:2; Heb. 13:15). The word translated "acceptable" refers to the priest's examination of the sacrifices to make sure they were without blemish. If the sacrifice wasn't acceptable to the Lord, the worshiper was not accepted by the Lord (Lev. 1:1-9; 22:17-25; Mal. 1:6-8). The words we speak begin with the thoughts in our heart (Matt. 12:33-37), so it's important that we meditate on God's Word and God's works, the first two themes of Psalm 19. If we delight in God's Word, we will naturally meditate on it and give expression of His truth with our lips, and this will help to keep us from sin (Psalm 119:9-16, 23-24, 47-48, 77-78, 97-99). And when the Word reveals our sin, we must confess it (1 John 1:7-9). Because of our sin we need a Redeemer. Jesus is our “Redeemer” (Gal. 3:13; 4:5; Titus 2:14; Heb. 9:12; 1 Peter 1:18), and He became our "kinsman" when He came in sinless human flesh to die for us on the cross. Jesus is both our Rock (“Strength”) and Redeemer (v. 14), for He not only paid the price to set us free, but He also keeps us safe. God bless!
Read Nehemiah 9:1-38. When things are going wrong in your life, what do you do? Do you complain that it's everyone else's fault or that events are conspiring against you? Or do you confess your part in what is going wrong? Complaining comes from a sense of pride; confession comes from a sense of humility. God responds to those who confess their sins and their failures with a sense of humility. Having listened to the Book of the Law and realised just how far they were from God's standards for their lives as God's people, Nehemiah and the Israelites humbly confessed their sins. The decisions to fast and wear burlap and dust on their foreheads were all signs of their desire to be humble before God in their confessions. God responded with forgiveness, mercy and grace. Unconfessed sin creates distance between God and us. A prideful attitude that leads to complaining about others or our circumstances simply deepens that distance. Only humble confession allows our holy God to bridge that gap and to answer our prayers as we agree with him about our sin. God will never reject a broken, repentant, and humble heart. Give him yours today. THINK IT OVER Think about the following: • Why do we struggle to be honest and humble about our sin when we know God already knows all about it?
Main Points1. Unconfessed sin leads to a guilty conscience (vv. 14-16).2. Unconfessed sin leads to faulty thinking (vv. 17-20).3. Unconfessed sin leads to more sin (vv. 21-28).4. Unconfessed sin affects others (vv. 21-29).
Main Points-1. Unconfessed sin leads to a guilty conscience -vv. 14-16-.-2. Unconfessed sin leads to faulty thinking -vv. 17-20-.-3. Unconfessed sin leads to more sin -vv. 21-28-.-4. Unconfessed sin affects others -vv. 21-29-.
Main Points-1. Unconfessed sin leads to a guilty conscience -vv. 14-16-.-2. Unconfessed sin leads to faulty thinking -vv. 17-20-.-3. Unconfessed sin leads to more sin -vv. 21-28-.-4. Unconfessed sin affects others -vv. 21-29-.
Elder Beene
Day 197 Today's Reading: 2 Timothy 1 The apostle Paul gets three verses into Timothy's second letter as a young pastor and reminds him that serving God must be done with a clear conscience: “Timothy, I thank God for you—the God I serve with a clear conscience, just as my ancestors did. Night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers” (2 Timothy 1:3, NLT). Serving God with a clear conscience. This is paramount in our relationship with God. For the most part a clear conscience helps us to know the voice of God. One of my dear friends and mentors Winkie Pratney said: “A clear conscience is absolutely essential for distinguishing between the voice of God and the voice of the enemy. Unconfessed sin is a prime reason why many do not know God's will.” Your conscience is where you hear the whisper of God and feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The old saying goes, “Conscience does not keep you from doing anything. It just keeps you from enjoying it.” I love a small boy's definition of what the conscience is: “something that makes you tell your mother before your sister does.” A clear conscience makes you stop before it's too late. It helps you to slam on the brakes before you say and do something that you will regret later. So many people skip a clear conscience and keep going till consequences show up. And so many Christians assume it's okay to blow by the warning of their conscience and to continue on when really God has given us a mechanism to pause before moving forward. Our goal is to have a clear conscience. There are different types of violated consciences in the New Testament, which are important for us to take note of. It comes after a conscience that was not kept clear: • Paul warns Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:2 of a seared conscience. • Paul tells Titus in Titus 1:15 to be aware of a defiled conscience. • The writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 10:22 warns of an evil conscience. I believe that every time we fail to keep our consciences clear, you border on a defiled or evil or even seared conscience. Do not dismiss conviction. It's the brake for moving forward into regret. Many of us have regrets because we did not respond to conviction. And so it's important for us to respond to conviction instead of waiting for consequences. What makes us stop and pause? Conviction or being caught? Conviction is when we feel something deep inside that is like an alarm telling us there is an intruder. Embarrassment will make us stop late, but conviction will go deeper to make us seriously pause early. Have you ever been in the middle of a conversation and were about to say something that was not edifying about a person, something that was gossip, and you felt this feeling, Don't say it. That's God's warning mechanism for a clear conscience. Don't finish that statement. Don't start that joke—it compromises who you are. Don't . . . Stay in tune with the whisper of God. That will promote a clear conscience every single day, not just on Sundays at church. When you serve God seven days a week, you fight every day to keep a clear conscience. There was a ship that had a regular route from California to Colombia. One day shortly before leaving for California, some drug dealers sent the ship's captain a message that offered him $500,000 to allow a small shipment of drugs to get through to the United States. The captain replied with a no. On his next three trips, they raised the offer each time until they reached $2 million. He hesitated, and then said, “Maybe.” Then he contacted the FBI, which set up a sting operation, and the drug dealers were arrested. One of the FBI agents asked the captain, “Why did you wait until they got to $2 million before contacting us?” The captain replied, “They were ge
The “Seasons” in our lives “Embrace the seasons of life, for it is just that….. a season” I would like to share with you church, an experience or encounter I had with God, at around 1:45pm, some time ago. And the Lord spoke so clearly to my heart, and I was so excited, that I even woke my wife and told her about what God revealed to me! I actually wrote it down the next morning, because I knew that I had to share this someday, so here it is…. God spoke to me in such a quiet, gentle tone of voice …. Saying, “As there are seasons in nature, and as they come to an end and a new season starts, so is the season that you're in right now, about to end. I will pour out rain on your dry and parched land and your pastures will be green …. And you will eat of the fat of the land again!” But that's not all (everybody) So I pretty much knew what I was about to share with you all, and then last week Sunday, Pastor George prophesized over the congregation, quoting: Isaiah 43:19 (NIV) – “See I am doing a new thing; Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” As I listened to Pastor George, I realised that God mentioned the beginning of a new season, through the prophet Isaiah! “I'm about to do a new thing” meaning that you're currently in a situation, a season, that is about to change, amen! Vs. 18 “Forget the former things and do not dwell on the old.” “For I am about to do something new!” So, I have it on high authority today, that God is about to change your seasons, if you'll allow Him to! But that's not all. Pastor Kobus Massyn then came up to preach the Word, speaking from the Book of Ruth! He also mentioned the season in Naomi's life, where she left the land of Judah in abundance, with a husband, two sons and two daughter in laws, only to return in a season of emptiness. Ruth 1:20 – “Do not call me Naomi (sweetness, pleasant) but call me Mara (bitterness) for the Almighty has dealt bitterly with me!” What more confirmation could I ask for, church? In one night two men spoke about the seasons in life. Please turn you Bibles to Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV) – There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 2a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 6a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. There is indeed a time for anything, a season for every activity under the heavens! I am 100% sure that every human being on planet earth, is in a season right now… every single one in this service or those watching online! You're in a season, Amen? Some or many of us are enjoying the “summer season” right now, all is well, with long lazy days of warm sun and carefree days…. Others are in “Spring” with all its awesome colours, flowers blooming, and you have a sense of rebirth and renewal. Many other people are in their “Autumn” season... You're beginning to notice the shorter days of sunlight, a colder breeze at night… while others are smack-bang in the dead of winter!! (Anybody?) But please realise church that seasons represents different times or experiences in our lives… we will experience joy, laughter, and happiness, but also sorrow and grief, loss, and pain! Yes, it is so! Realise today church, that it takes different seasons in our lives, for God to mould us and make us what He wants us to be, amen? But unlike the only 4 natural seasons, we will face many in our lives! Today I can mention so many Bible characters, who went from summer, autumn, winter and spring, who endured their seasons, but never gave up on life! James 1:12 (NIV) – Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. This Scripture reminds me so much of Job (anybody?) Job was in his “summer season”, he had plenty, he prospered in everything… there was no one like him in the land. Job 1:1-3 (NIV) – In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2He had seven sons and three daughters, 3and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. Until God gave Satan permission to test Job. Job went from a place of abundance, to a place of misery and grief. From luxury to an ash-heap, scraping his boils, even cursing the day he was born! But in all of this (seasons) Job did not sin against God! WOW Well, maybe you're like Job right now, having lost everything that was precious to you, and people around you are actually surprised that you're still standing... well church, Job realised that the same God who brought him to it, will also bring him through it, amen! Job realised that every setback, is just a setup for a comeback, and so should we, church! “And the Lord restored to Job twice as much as he had before.” This promise is for somebody here today… God will restore to you twice as much as what you had before! Can I just say: that being faithful like Job means that we will endure challenges along the way… we will encounter sad, bad and negative events and emotions… but if we patiently wait upon the Lord, we will see His salvation in every situation, amen church? I have a strong sense in my heart, that there are people here today present, and you feel like you're stuck in winter all your life, your life is like a typical Cape Town winter's day. Your seasons are just not changing; well Maybe it's a result of sinful habits, or offenses that was never dealt with, never confessed, never left at the foot of the cross. Unconfessed sin is unforgiven sin! Can I just say church, family & friends, that the longer you hold onto your hurt, pain and disappointment, the longer you will be stuck in that season. Let go and let God! For the feeling of negativity will infect your walk with God, but happy are those who find joy in every season of their lives! Conquerors endures! But just as God turned Job, Naomi, Ruth, Joseph, David and so many other lives around, so we can't expect Him to move us from one season to the next, with expectation of what He is about to do in us and through us. Embrace your seasons, church … for there is a reason for every season in your life. (Yes it is so!) Amen? Conclude: By saying to you all, “However long the night, or season, dawn will break, seasons will change, if we remain faithful to God and His purpose for our lives, amen? Come let us pray!
Unconfessed sin hurts our relationship with God.
Psalm 51 was written in response to the prophet Nathan's confronting David over his sin with Bathsheba. If we are believers, we have experienced this repentance. This Psalm gives us insight into our hearts. Unconfessed sin can weight us down.-What is genuine repentance---3 parts--1. 51-1-2 Appeal to God's mercy, to his very character- to His covenant kindness. David experienced mercy in his life-God is true to his promises. We can cast ourselves on God's mercy.-2. 51-3-6 Confession of our sin. Unconfessed sin will make us miserable. All sin is ultimately against God, an act of autonomous rebellion. v.5 is a proof of original Sin- we are sinful from birth. -gen 3- -God delights in repentance.-3. 51-6-12 petition for renewal. we plea for renewal- wash me, blot out my transgression. When God washes, we are made clean. God restores the Joy of Salvation. David now focuses on his relationship with God. God gives us a clean heart.
Psalm 51 was written in response to the prophet Nathan's confronting David over his sin with Bathsheba. If we are believers, we have experienced this repentance. This Psalm gives us insight into our hearts. Unconfessed sin can weight us down.-What is genuine repentance--3 parts--1. 51-1-2 Appeal to God's mercy, to his very character- to His covenant kindness. David experienced mercy in his life-God is true to his promises. We can cast ourselves on God's mercy.-2. 51-3-6 Confession of our sin. Unconfessed sin will make us miserable. All sin is ultimately against God, an act of autonomous rebellion. v.5 is a proof of original Sin- we are sinful from birth. -gen 3- -God delights in repentance.-3. 51-6-12 petition for renewal. we plea for renewal- wash me, blot out my transgression. When God washes, we are made clean. God restores the Joy of Salvation. David now focuses on his relationship with God. God gives us a clean heart.
Unconfessed sins block the human heart from feeling God's forgiveness! One of the healthiest heart choices you can make is to confess your failures to God and accept His forgiveness for them.
What dims the light of Christ from showing through us? Unconfessed sin and pretending you never sin. Don't deny God the right to forgive and cleanse by insisting you have no sin to confess. Get real with God and get right by his forgiveness.
Unconfessed sin often leads to paranoia and a fear of "getting caught". In Genesis 42 we read about Joseph's brothers reluctantly going to Egypt (they knew that's where Joseph was sent years earlier) in search of food. Watch an amazing story of God's faithfulness begin to unfold!
1. The Reality of our Sin-- Words used to describe sin-- Unconfessed sin brings suffering-2. God's Blessed Forgiveness of Our Sin-- Words describing God's Forgiveness-- Our response to God's Forgiveness
Confession. I'm not going to beat around the bush…this is a tough one. This is a practice that requires a lot of vulnerability. And if we're being honest, most of us struggle to get to a place of complete vulnerability. You know, where we actually open up and share the deepest and darkest parts of ourselves. But as hard as it may be, confession is an incredibly important part of our spiritual formation journey. We need it. Not only does it kill our sin (because it's been dragged into the light - it's been exposed), it brings healing to the soul. Unconfessed sin produces anxiety. It produces a sort of depression. David expresses this beautifully in Psalm 32. But when you've confessed your sin in the presence of a loving community (which may only be one or two trusted individuals), you no longer have to look over your shoulder anxiously wondering if someone is going to find you out. You're known. And when you're known, you're free. Now, I want to be honest. Confessing your sin is not always going to feel great. In fact, it may suck at first. People aren't always going to have the best reaction. And you may have to work through some of the repercussions of your sin (like broken relationships, broken trust, etc.). And that won't feel great. But over time, as the dust settles, it does bring about genuine freedom. Because, as we've said, you're known. And when you're known, you're free. In this episode, Ryan dives into the practice of confession. He sets the stage by highlighting the goal of our confession, examines some of the reasons we may struggle with confession, and - in a moment of vulnerability - shares a little about his journey with this practice. So stick around. We hope you enjoy this lesson as much as we did. Resources Ryan used in preparation for this talk: John Mark Comer: Live No Lies: Recognize And Resist The Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace Dane Ortlund: Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Seeking the Face of God: Nine Reflections on the Psalms Visit our website at wearesfc.org Check us out on Instagram @sfcinternational Like us on Facebook at Snowboarders & Skiers for Christ Support this podcast by giving to SFC at wearesfc.org/donate
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Today, Friday September 17 What's Keeping You From Praying 1 John 5:14-15 “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” During my first years at Lynchburg Baptist College (now Liberty University), we heard Dr. Jerry Falwell make a statement over and over again; “Nothing of eternal value ever happens apart from prayer.” He encouraged us to read books on prayer by Andrew Murray such as “With Christ in the School of Prayer” and “Intercessory Prayer”. He introduced us to other books on prayer written by E.M. Bounds, Watchman Nee, Oswald Chambers and others. And it was obvious that Dr. Falwell was himself a man of prayer and faith! I had a great example of what it means to pray without ceasing! We need to ask the questions, why don't I pray more or why don't I spend any time in prayer at all? What keeps me from praying? Does prayer really make a difference? What does it mean to pray? The Bible is full of encouragements and examples of prayer. The disciples of Jesus never asked Him to teach them to preach or how to be a church leader or administrator, but they did ask Him to teach them to pray! (Luke 11:1) It appears that most of our praying today is motivated by trying to get out of mess we are in! This is ok but if we really are going to understand the real purpose of prayer and have confidence that our prayers will be answer we need to know that there are conditions we must meet. First, we must have a heart that does not condemn us. “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.” (1 John 3:21-22). When we are not being “obedient children” we lose our confidence that God is going to hear and answer our prayers. Unconfessed sin is a serious obstacle to answered prayer. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” (Psalm 66:18). Is there any unconfessed sin in your life today? If there is, remember 1 John 1: 9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Unless we are abiding in Christ, in love and obedience, our prayers will not be answered. “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7) Prayer is communion with God, spending time with Him, listening to His heart, seeking His will, and letting Him know that you love and need Him! Today, we need to have confident hearts, confess our sins and make sure we are abiding in Christ! Then prayer will take on new meaning and have a consistent place in our lives! God bless!
Today, Saturday August 7 “We Cannot Keep on Sinning” 1 John 3:9-10 “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” Yesterday we discussed how we now have a new nature that we received the moment we trusted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. And just as physical children bear the nature of their parents, so God's spiritual children bear His nature. The divine "seed" is in us. The old nature produces sin, but the new nature leads one into a holy life. A Christian's responsibility is to live according to his new nature, not the old nature. One way to illustrate this is by contrasting the "outer man" with the "inner man" (2 Cor. 4:16). The physical man needs food, and so does the inner, or spiritual man. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). Unless we spend time daily in meditating on the Word of God, our inner man will lack power. When we feed our new nature from the Word of God, we will have power to live a godly life. We are to "make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof" (Rom. 13:14). The physical man needs cleansing, and so does the inner man. We wash our hands and face frequently. We should look into the mirror of God's Word daily (James 1:22-25) and examine ourselves. We must confess our sins and claim God's forgiveness (1 John 1:9). Otherwise the inner man will become unclean and this uncleanness will breed infection and "spiritual sickness." Unconfessed sin is the first step in what the Bible calls "backsliding"—gradually moving away from a close walk with Christ into a life filled with the alien world in which we live. God's promise, "I will heal your backslidings" (Jeremiah 3:22), implies that backsliding resembles physical sickness. First is the secret invasion of the body by a disease germ. Then infection follows and there is a gradual decline: no pep, no appetite, no interest in normal activities. Then comes the collapse! Spiritual decline works in a similar way. First sin invades us. Instead of fighting it, we yield to it (James 1:14) and infection sets in. A gradual decline follows. We lose our appetite for spiritual things, we become listless and even irritable, and finally we collapse. The only remedy is to confess and forsake our sin and turn to Christ for cleansing and healing. It is my prayer today that you will grow spiritually by feeding on God's Word and confessing any sin that has slipped into your life. Remember Jesus said, “Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken to you!” (John 15:3) God bless!
"If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear." Psalm 66:18 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dan-owusu3/message
Follow Back Home (Luke 15) Watch the whole service with music on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NEBaptistChurchSATX/videos/4167565206684388 Take it Deeper: If you were given a large amount of money, what would you do with it? 2. Read Luke 15:11-32. What do you think this story is about? Money? Rebellion? Family? Forgiveness? Anger? Love? What? 3. Who do you identify with most: the younger son? The older son? The fattened calf? 4. How did the father respond to both sons? 5. How does that change the way you live and relate to our Father in Heaven? 6. Even if we're truly forgiven, what damage is done in our lives when we don't embrace and believe we can be forgiven of our sins? 7. Unconfessed sin affects Christian community. When have your relationships suffered because of unconfessed sin or to the inability to believe you were truly forgiven?
God gives us prayer for our own good. The question is: Why don't we pray more often? In this podcast episode, “The Refreshing Power of Prayer,” Pastor Greg Laurie gives us guidance on praying with passion and persistence from Matthew 20. It's the first message in Refresh: What Every Christian Needs to Know, a brand-new series from Pastor Greg. Notes “Times of refreshment come from the presence of the Lord.” —Acts 3:19 You will be spiritually refreshed when you read and study the Bible. You will be spiritually refreshed when you think of others more than yourself. You will be spiritually refreshed when you help others. How can you be spiritually refreshed? Spend time in God's presence, study His Word, be generous, and serve others. We don't pray more because we don't think we have the time. “One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at that Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time.” We don't pray more because we don't think prayer is that important. We don't pray more because we think that prayer doesn't really work. The primary objective of prayer is to align myself with the will of God. Sometimes God says, “No.” Sometimes God says, “Slow.” Sometimes God says, “Go.” In a time of crisis they prayed, and so should we. They prayed with passion and persistence, and so should we. Their prayer was heard by Jesus. Unconfessed sin can hinder our prayers. “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way in me.” —Psalm 139:23–24 Idols in our heart can hinder our prayers. Unforgiveness in our heart can hinder our prayers. Unbelief can hinder our prayers. Prayer is the privilege of the child of God. Scripture Referenced Psalm 19:7 Proverbs 11:25 Proverbs 25:13 2 Peter 1:13 Philippians 4:6 Psalm 8:3–4 Psalm 50:15 James 4:2 Ephesians 6:18 Jeremiah 29:13 Isaiah 59:1–2 Psalm 66:18 Ezekiel 14:3 Mark 11:25 James 1:5–7 --- Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners. Support the show: https://harvest.org/support See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Is your conscience bothering you? Do you feel guilty over something you’ve done – perhaps something that nobody else knows? Sometimes our guilt weights us down – even affecting our health. But remember, there is forgiveness. Absolutely. There is forgiveness for you and for whatever it is you’ve done. Click to be encouraged in this … Continue reading Finding Forgiveness: The Baggage Of Unconfessed Sins →
Is your conscience bothering you? Do you feel guilty over something you’ve done – perhaps something that nobody else knows? Sometimes our guilt weights us down – even affecting our health. But remember, there is forgiveness. Absolutely. There is forgiveness for you and for whatever it is you’ve done. Click to be encouraged in this … Continue reading Finding Forgiveness: The Baggage Of Unconfessed Sins →
Is your conscience bothering you? Do you feel guilty over something you’ve done – perhaps something that nobody else knows? Sometimes our guilt weights us down – even affecting our health. But remember, there is forgiveness. Absolutely. There is forgiveness for you and for whatever it is you’ve done. Click to be encouraged in this … Continue reading Finding Forgiveness: The Baggage Of Unconfessed Sins →
Is your conscience bothering you? Do you feel guilty over something you’ve done – perhaps something that nobody else knows? Sometimes our guilt weights us down – even affecting our health. But remember, there is forgiveness. Absolutely. There is forgiveness for you and for whatever it is you’ve done. Click to be encouraged in this … Continue reading Finding Forgiveness: The Baggage Of Unconfessed Sins →
Is your conscience bothering you? Do you feel guilty over something you’ve done – perhaps something that nobody else knows? Sometimes our guilt weights us down – even affecting our health. But remember, there is forgiveness. Absolutely. There is forgiveness for you and for whatever it is you’ve done. Click to be encouraged in this … Continue reading Finding Forgiveness: The Baggage Of Unconfessed Sins →
Is your conscience bothering you? Do you feel guilty over something you've done - perhaps something that nobody else knows? Sometimes our guilt weights us down - even affecting our health. But remember, there is forgiveness. Absolutely. There is forgiveness for you and for whatever it is you've done. Click to be encouraged.
Hello Everyone! On this episode of Paranoid in My Paradise with @saimfarooqui @brooklynletson @merouvic share why sleep is important for your mental health! We touch on learning and integrating new skills, mastering skills; such as communication, time management, also life lessons; 'using your head and not your heart' 'nothing in life comes easy' Always remember you are not alone, talking to someone whether it be a friend, family member, or counsellor/therapist is beneficial
Pastor Jermey Kobernat preaches the 6:00PM Sunday evening service on January 31, 2021 Youtube: https://youtu.be/Fx8eEXFDCp8 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vbcrr/videos/136383094978467
We talk about drinking tea, dealing with stress, and questions we want you to ask yourselves as you take spiritual inventory this week. Things to think about when taking spiritual inventory: i. All Christians should have the same assurance. They should be confident that God will hear their prayers. When prayer seems ineffective, it is worth it to take a spiritual inventory to see if there is a reason for unanswered prayer. The Bible tells us there are several possible reasons why prayer may not be answered. ·Not abiding in Jesus (John 15:7). ·Unbelief (Matthew 17:20-21). ·Failure to fast (Matthew 17:21). ·A Bad marriage relationship (1 Peter 3:7). ·Unconfessed sin (James 5:16). ·Lying and deceitfulness (Psalm 17:1). ·Lack of Bible reading and Bible teaching (Proverbs 28:9). ·Trusting in the length or form of prayer (Matthew 6:7).
TEXT: 1 John 5:14-17 Warren Wiersbe said, “It is one thing to know that Jesus is God and that we are God’s children; but what about the needs and problems of daily life? Jesus helped people when He was here on earth; does He still help them? Earthly fathers take care of their children; does the Heavenly Father respond when His children call on Him? Christians have confidence in prayer, just as they have confidence as they await the judgment. As we have seen, the word confidence means “freedom of speech.” We can come to the Father freely and tell Him our needs. Of course, there are conditions we must meet. First, we must have a heart that does not condemn us. Unconfessed sin is a serious obstacle to answered prayer. It is worth noting that differences between a Christian husband and his wife can hinder their prayers. If there is anything between us and any other Christian, we must settle it. And unless a believer is abiding in Christ, in love and obedience, his prayers will not be answered.
Intro: There are so many "How to" books on the market such as how to be a good parent, how to have a good job, how to have a good marriage, and many more. We probably have more self help books published more than ever before and yet, in general, things are getting worse. It seems to me that the Bible has much to say about having a full life. I would love to suggest that if we ignore what the Bible says, we settle for cheap and temporary substitutes. A blind man discovered how to live a full life in John 9. As you know, this man was blind from birth. Jesus met him and restored the blindman's sight. This resulted in the Pharisees become infuriated because only God can heal... In this passage, Jesus plainly illustrates to the Pharisees that He is God in the flesh. He does this through the use of 2 illustrations; the gate and the good shepherd. In this encounter, Jesus reveals the simple and precious truth of the gospel. As He speaks, He also reveals the pride and nearsightedness of the Pharisees. True Shepherd vs. a False ShepherdJesus makes these statements and affirms them as absolute truth e.g. "Very truly..."A true shepherd enters the sheep pen by the gateThe sheep knows the voice of their true shepherdThey will follow the shepherd who calls themThey know each sheep by name e.g. there is a relationshipA false shepherd climbs in the pen in some other wayThey are not there to protect, nurture, or care for the sheepSheep will run from false shepherds because they do not know their voiceThey have no relationship with the sheep and they don't care for their welfareThey are there to steal and destroyThey are only interested in their own interests and greedThe Pharisees still didn't understandTrue shepherds protect, feed, and care for the sheep at the peril of the shepherd's own lifePharisees, false shepherds, lay unnecessary burdens of the people which only benefit the Pharisee and destroys the peopleJesus, the Only Way to a Full Life and FreedomJesus makes a very forceful statement which infuriates the Pharisees, "I am the gate for the sheep".Jesus makes this affirmation twiceWhen something is repeated, it is very importantHe says this statement is the absolute truthJesus, being fully God and fully man and our Great High Priest, is the only way to be saved e.g. reconciled to God, forgiven, free, and living a full lifeHe laid down His life for His sheep so that they might enter into eternal life by faith and repentanceAny other shepherd only brings destruction and death, not life and freedomJesus gives an open invitation to enter eternal life and forgiveness through the gate which is HimselfIn Christ, there is salvationIn Christ, there is the protection of the ShepherdHe will leads He will feed usHe will care for usHe protects us from the predator, SatinHe broke the power of sin and deathHe will discipline us to restore usOnce we enter through Him by faith and repentance, we have real freedom to lovingly obey the Shephard and live a full lifeClosing: You and I need to remember and meditate on these great "I Am" statements that Jesus made. It was the miracle of the incarnation that sent to us the Gate to eternal life and the freedom to live a full life. It was the miracle birth of Christ who sent into this sin sick world the Great Shepherd of our souls. The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ makes possible for everyone who repents and believes in the person and work of Jesus Christ to be forgiven and life a full life. As believers, there is something which is able to distract us from living freely for Christ. Unconfessed sin can break our fellowship with Jesus and thus distract us from living a full life in Christ. And so, we come to the Lord's Table. This is a sacred time during which we can have close communion with God through Jesus Christ. This is a time for reflection and asking Jesus to reveal unconfessed sin in our hearts. He can reveal this through His Word and the Holy Spirit. When that specific sin or sins are revealed, then we need to humbly ask God to help us turn from that sin because it hurts Him and others and ourselves. The Bible tells us that when we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleans us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9).
John 14:16 The Holy Spirit gives you the supernatural strength to survive in this devil's world. He is the power for you to live the Christian way of life. He'll enlighten you and encourage you. “I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” (John 14:16). “Who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Cor 1:22). Unconfessed sin in your life will cause a roadblock and prevent His divine ministry in you. Christ has several claims on you. First, you were bought and paid for by means of His spiritual death on the cross. “In Christ we have redemption through His blood (spiritual death) the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace which He lavished upon us” (Eph 1:7-8) The transcript of this episode is unavailable at this time. If you need a transcript to access the show leave us a message. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/rick-hughes/message
When I was a little girl, it was so hard for me to tell a lie. I would do something that my mother or father asked me not to do and when they asked me if I did it, I would burst into tears. No poker face with me. I felt so bad even when I did lie that before the sun went down, I would write a note and place it on my mother's pillow confessing. At an early age, I did not like how my secrets made be feel. They were to heavy to carry. If I tried to carry them, my attitude would be different. I could not be the happy, smiling, and free little girl my family had known me to be. Unconfessed sins will do that for us. They hold us hostage in a mental and spiritual jail cell that change our true nature and the only way out is through confession. Listen in on why confession of our sins is the beginning of becoming a woman of God. Subscribe to this podcast and follow Zenobia on FB @https://www.facebook.com/QueenTruthSpoken/ ( https://www.facebook.com/QueenTruthSpoken/) IG @https://www.instagram.com/naturallyqueenz/ ( https://www.instagram.com/naturallyqueenz/)
Joy is Expressed in Hopeful Prayer Philippians 1:3-11 What are the elements of thankful prayer that demonstrate joyful living? Joy of Remembering the People of God Joy of Interceding for the People of God Joy of Partnering with the People of God 4. Joy of Knowing that Christ is Completing the People of God Salvation is a Divine work Salvation is a Noble work Salvation is a Powerful work “God … is not like men. Men conduct experiments, but God carries out a plan. God never does anything by halves” William Hendriksen God's work of grace qualifies men for work for God. 5. Joy of Loving the People of God He Loved them. They stood with him. What Robs Us of Joy? False Salvation Satanic Influence Not understanding God is in control. Prayerlessness The emotional low that frequently follows a spiritual high. Focusing on the circumstances. Ingratitude Forgetfulness Uncontrolled Feelings Unwilling to forgive or accept forgiveness Unconfessed, unrepented sin. (List Adapted from Macarthur commentary on Philippians)
Today on Karl and Crew Mornings, we continued our weekly theme, "5 Decisions That Change Everything", and the topic was the sins we need to kill. Our scripture references were Psalm 32:1-5 and Psalm 38:3-8. Unconfessed sin is deadly and too heavy of a burden for us to carry. We must let God search our hearts because a heart that is unexamined by God is a place where sin hides. We asked listeners for a time they let God examine their hearts, and then they were able to confess and offload their heavy weight of sin. We also prayed for our country in lieu of damaging hurricanes, fires, and city violence. Finally, take a listen to the Karl and Crew Showcast to hear the highlights from today.
August 16, 2020 | Pastor Nathan Elms • Jesus authenticated Himself as divine by healing people. • Healing was given in the New Testament as a Spiritual invitation and as an evidence that the Kingdom of God is here now. • Jesus used a physician as a witness. Medicine is not an enemy to faith. Physicians simply help give the body an opportunity to heal. There are things that only God can do such as emotional & spiritual healing. • Healing gives a testimony that cannot be argued against. • Healing is ultimately up to the will of God & isn't a right for a believer, True faith accepts God's will for our lives, much like Jesus surrendered to the will of God concerning the Crucifixion. • Four things that can hinder our healing: 1. Unconfessed sin. 2. We can simply cope with the problem instead of asking God for healing. We can then use our suffering as identity. 3. Failing to surrender to what God wants. 4. Lack of faith. When our faith is wavering, we should ask help from believers that we are close to. • Healing is the lesson that continually reminds us of our need for Jesus Christ.
To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/603/29 Romans 5:10 -Unconfessed sin in our lives will make a Christian doubt our salvation and security in Jesus Christ. It is most important in times like this that we look to the Scripture for the promises that God has for us. Paul explains in Romans 5:10 that we are eternally safe and secure in Christ Jesus because of the work that He did on the cross. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones discusses our assurance by focusing on this one verse in Romans. First, God sacrificed His son on the cross to be the propitiation for our sin. That act removed the enmity between God and us; we were previously enemies with God! God chose not to impute our trespasses on us. Instead, He imputed the trespasses on himself and imputed to us righteousness. If God did such an act as this to show His love, how much more would He continue that good work in us? Our new relationship with Christ means that we are engrafted into Christ. Nothing we do can change thatstatus.
By Pastor Gil Dirmann Scriptures - Hebrews 10:22-23 (NKJV) - let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. - Isaiah 53:1 (NLT) - Who has believed our message?To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm? - Isaiah 53:1 (The Message) - Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this? - Isaiah 53:5 (NLT) - But he was pierced for our rebellion,crushed for our sins.He was beaten so we could be whole.He was whipped so we could be healed. - Psalms 103:1-3 (NKJV) - Bless the Lord, O my soul;And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities,Who heals all your diseases, - 1 Peter 2:24 (NKJV) - who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. - Proverbs 18:21 (The Message) - Words kill, words give life;they’re either poison or fruit—you choose. Message Points Confessing (concerning sin) - (gk) Homologeo - The verbal admission and honest abandonment of anything and everything false, unworthy or unclean according to God's righteous judgment Confession of sin to God is our initial response into salvation (Rom. 10:9-10) Confession of sin to God is our ongoing humility to cultivate a rich relationship with God (1 Jn. 1:8-10) Excerpt from Following Jesus: It is important that we understand that sin comes out of the life [through] a repentant heart, by way of the mouth. Confessing sin isn’t so much about saying ‘I’m sorry’ as saying ‘I did it.’ (pg. 82) Confession of sin to others is our righteous behavior, needed to maintain a right heart in our relationships with others (Matt. 5:23-24; James 5:16) Excerpt from Following Jesus: We are called to be a people who continuously confess sin to God, and to others we have, in a way, violated or wronged. (pg. 82) Forgiving - (gk) aphiemi - to set free; to release; to liberate completely. 3 Main Obstacles to Answered Prayer 1. Unbelief (not agreeing with and confessing God's Word) 2. Unconfessed sin toward God and others 3. Unforgiveness with others Excerpt from Following Jesus: Being honest and humble is an age of dishonesty and pride enables us to be counter culture Christians who live by the kingdom values of grace and truth. (pg. 87) Excerpt from Following Jesus: As followers of Jesus, we must, “resist the human tendency to repay evil for evil, and [instead] revel the Lord’s heart of overcoming evil with good.” (pg. 87) For further study: Romans 10:9-10 1 John 1:8-10 Matthew 5:23-24 James 5:16 Luke 17:3 Ephesians 4:32 Colossians 3:13 Ephesians 4:29-30 Mark 11:25-26 Luke 23:34 Romans 12:17-21
Sin defiles the heart. When our heart is defiled, everything is defiled. “Keep your heart with all diligence, for our if it spring the issue of life.” (Prov.4:23). Sin also weakens the spirit. All of us want an enthusiastic, steadfast spirit. God can create a new heart and give a steadfast spirit when we confess our sins before Him. Unconfessed sin in the heart defiles the whole body. Never hold onto a sin or cover it; confess it immediately. When you do, God can cleanse and restore you. David confessed his sin, and God forgive him. God cleansed David’s heart, strengthened his spirit and created something new within.
When we sin, it does terrible damage to our spiritual life. David’s sin affected his eyes, but it also affected his ears. Everything he heard was wrong. The good news will be bad news, and the bad news will be worse news. If your ears have not been hearing joy and gladness, perhaps the problem is not around you but within the you. Perhaps your heart needs to be cleansed. David prayed (v.7) “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” David also asks to be purged with hyssop, “The blood of Jesus Christ His son cleanses us from all sin” (1Jn.1:7), if we confess our sins. Unconfessed sin leaves you with the dirty heart. When your heart is not right you don’t hear joy and gladness—the music of God, when your heart is tuned to the music of God and the harmony of heaven, then everything around You will remind you of the Lord. Confess your sins to the Lord and He will forgive you and restore you.
David records here his experience after he sinned with Bathsheba and then confessed his sin to the Lord. He feels that heavy hand of God’s discipline. It’s difficult to have the heavy hand of God’s discipline on us, but it shows that God loves us. It’s good to know that God forgives sins. Let’s confess our sins and sing His praises. Unconfessed sin is a terrible burden. The hand that disciplines is the same hand that forgives and protects. Confess your sins and thank God for His forgiveness and protecting hand of grace.
Unconfessed guilt can take over your mind and even affect your health. But you can be free! Nancy will help you discover the joy of clearing your conscience.
Unconfessed guilt can take over your mind and even affect your health. But you can be free! Nancy will help you discover the joy of clearing your conscience.
Unconfessed sin will rob us of the joy of our salvation in the Lord, but repentance will always restore that joy.
Unconfessed sin will rob us of the joy of our salvation in the Lord, but repentance will always restore that joy.
Unconfessed sin in the heart of the Christian invite in satan, who is constantly looking for an opportunity for the God-Man to be betrayed.
Dear Unconfessed Love, Every year, I would have roses sent to you. I talked about you, and thought about you, for years and years. I placed you on a pedestal without thinking about how you might feel. I am sorry...
Unconfessed Sins is the second reason your prayer may be unanswered.
I am coming off of an exhilarating week with the BEST high school students you’d ever want to meet. In this PODCAST, you will hear my opening night message at Hartland Christian Camp. Believing that “openness begets openness,” I get very open, very real, very fast—with them, and now with you. May my words be a blessing. Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play. God bless you richly as you listen.
Romans 5:10 — Unconfessed sin in our lives will make a Christian doubt our salvation and security in Jesus Christ. It is most important in times like this that we look to the Scripture for the promises that God has for us. Paul explains in Romans 5:10 that we are eternally safe and secure in Christ Jesus because of the work that He did on the cross. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones discusses our assurance by focusing on this one verse in Romans. First, God sacrificed His son on the cross to be the propitiation for our sin. That act removed the enmity between God and us; we were previously enemies with God! God chose not to impute our trespasses on us. Instead, He imputed the trespasses on himself and imputed to us righteousness. If God did such an act as this to show His love, how much more would He continue that good work in us? Our new relationship with Christ means that we are engrafted into Christ. Nothing we do can change that status.
Clutter - something that gets in the way - something that has no useful purpose - unfinished projects Clutter causes problems 5 areas of spiritual clutter 1. Unresolved conflict - stay current - confront - unwillingness to forgive 2. Unconfessed sin - confess it 3. Unfinished tasks 4. Unaccepted challenges 5. Unnecessary activities
Clutter - something that gets in the way - something that has no useful purpose - unfinished projects Clutter causes problems 5 areas of spiritual clutter 1. Unresolved conflict - stay current - confront - unwillingness to forgive 2. Unconfessed sin - confess it 3. Unfinished tasks 4. Unaccepted challenges 5. Unnecessary activities
Blocking Healing & Deliverance Not willing or ready - As elementary as this sounds, many deliverances are unsuccessful because the person was not ready or willing to be truly delivered. They were merely looking for a quick fix for their problem, and were not willing to take the necessary steps to receive and maintain their deliverance. Unforgiveness - Bitterness is a very popular source of spiritual defilement (Hebrews 12:14). If you don't forgive others, God will not forgive you (Matthew 6:15). Unforgiveness puts us in the hands of tormenters (Matthew 18:23-35), which are demonic spirits. Strongholds - Strongholds are incorrect thinking patterns in our minds that we see things through. Many people see themselves as failures, so they feel like failures. Others see God as a cruel and dictating taskmaster, which causes them to feel distant and unloved by their heavenly Father. If you have a hard time feeling God's love, you can cast out all the demons in the world, but if you don't see God as a loving God who loves you, it's going to be very difficult to feel and receive His love. Unconfessed sins - If we confess and repent of our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us (1 John 1:9). But if we choose rather to keep our sins hidden and to ourselves, we cannot expect God's forgiveness. There is also power in confessing our faults to one another, as James 5:16 tells us, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Cursed objects - The Bible gives us a clear pattern of destroying false gods, idols, and so-called cursed objects. God warns us that bringing a cursed object into our home can bring a curse upon us as well (Deuteronomy 7:26).
Join us this morning as Pastor Nathaniel shares a message titled If You are Renewing our Spiritual Passions – To knew our Spiritual passion we have to avoid things that kill our spiritual passion Unbalanced schedule Unused talent Unconfessed sin Unresolved conflict Under nourished spirit – There are 3 spiritual discipline that if we apply … Continue reading "Renewing our Spiritual Passions"
“F.A.Q.: What Do I Do When God Seems Silent?” Hebrews 1:1-4 What Is Most Important . . . We have to be careful that we don’t become enamored with the means by which God spoke and miss the God who has spoken. “How God spoke in the Old Testament is not the most important factor. That He spoke is the crucial point.” Henry Blackaby God has chosen to speak to us in a more direct and personal In Christ, God has drawn nearer. (Hebrews 1:2) God Speaks . . . In the gospels, God spoke through His Son, Jesus. (John 1:1, 14; 14:9-10) Today, God speaks to us by His Holy Spirit, revealing Himself, His purposes and His ways. Through the Scriptures. Through prayer. Through life circumstances. Through the church (true followers of Christ). When God SEEMS Silent . . . Even when God seems silent, His nearness is loud. “The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth . . .He also hears their cry and saves them.” Psalm 145:18,19 “But You are near, O Lord, and all Your commandments are true.” Psalm 119:151 In silent moments, stay close. Our hearing dulls the further we wander. Anchor your heart and mind to the Word of God. In silent moments, evaluate your heart. (Psalm 139:23; Jeremiah 17:9,10) Unconfessed sin and misplaced affections often captivate your attention and distract you from hearing. In silent moments, don’t trust how you feel but hold on to what you know is true. Don’t let truth be sacrificed on the altar of your feelings. In silent moments wait on God. As a follower of Christ, the Spirit of God in you always affirms the voice of God. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:27
This episode of Pneumatikos will explore the what happens to us spirituall when we are living under the power of a life-controlling sin. Living under the power of sin is not the normal way of being for believing ones. God has giving us the resurrection of Jesus whereby we may live in spiritual freedom. However, when we allow sin to control our lives we are not abiding in Jesus. Unconfessed sin creates havoc and ruin in our lives, and disrupts our fellowship with God.
This week has really challenged so much of what we have been learning about prayer. Even last week, our pastor, walked us through the specifics of how he manages his prayer life. How revealing and personal that was, and if we apply it to our lives we will see God do some incredible things.
Unconfessed sin and unrepentance is never ignored by God.
Unconfessed sin suffocates our Joy in Christ.
Unconfessed sin suffocates our Joy in Christ.
Unconfessed sin suffocates our Joy in Christ.
Unconfessed sin suffocates our Joy in Christ.
A few years ago, Yvette Christianse was doing archival research in South Africa, when she came across a slave woman's story. The story haunted Christianse, and the book she wrote about, Unconfessed, has just been named a finalist for the prestigious Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award.
Yvette Christiansë was born in South Africa under apartheid and emigrated with her parents via Swaziland to Australia at the age of 18. She is the author of the poetry collection Castaway, and a new novel, Unconfessed. In addition to writing, Christiansë teaches English and postcolonial studies at Fordham University.She appeared in Goldwin Smith Hall on March 1, 2007. This interview took place earlier the same day.