Repentance 4
Notes
Transcript
Handout
We have been talking about what happens when we don’t have a soft heart.
We ended last week with asking God to soften our hearts and give us a heart of flesh
One of the ways that we recognize not having a soft heart is by a lack of the fruit of the Spirit
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
If we don’t have this fruit, why?
1. Desires of the flesh
1. Desires of the flesh
This is mostly what we have been talking about so far
So, what happens is we need to transform our minds
I want you to notice in the following verses the language of continual change
Romans 12:1–2 (NIV)
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)
18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Colossians 3:9–10 (NIV)
9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
So, there is this process in the flesh that is happening where we are becoming like Christ - sanctification
Theologically speaking, at salvation these happen:
Salvation - saved from spiritual death and consequences (eternal separation from God)
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Justification - being “justified” in Christ. We are legally in right standing before God - debt has been paid by Jesus
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Adoption - grafted into God’s family now as a “son” no longer a “slave”
5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—
Regeneration - spiritually “dead” being made “alive”
5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
Sanctification - 2 parts
Consecrated - set apart to be made holy - happens at salvation
Process of becoming like Christ - continual
So, we have an idea of what is happening in the believer’s like once they are saved
More groundwork to lay, which leads to where we are going
What makes us, us?
It comes down to our makeup a little bit
We are 3 (some say 2) part beings:
There is no universal agreement among the Church nor any creed on this topic
It truly is open for debate!
Where I land I think makes the most logical sense
1. Body (flesh) - bones, skin, blood, etc. - will be renewed after we die/return of Christ
2 Corinthians 5:1–5 (NIV)
1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
2. Soul (heart) - mind, will, emotions - being made new until return of Christ
1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV)
12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
3. Spirit - part that connects with God - made new/alive at salvation
Ephesians 2:4–5 (NIV)
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
These three parts of us are all inter-connected to a point.
For example: if you are stressed, where would that be in your person? - soul
Now, can this affect your body? Sure can!
Or, when we exercise, that is good for our mind!
Likewise, our Spirit can have an effect on our soul. When we connect with God, we may/should have parts of us that experience God’s presence!
Ex. - reading the bible can lead to emotions - peace, joy, hope, conviction, etc.
Also, worship can stir up emotions as well
Possibly why position matters in worship! - our physical bodies are expressing what our emotions are
These parts of us interact, but with all things, you can take this too far!
The idea of manifesting (not in the christian sense) is a real idea.
Taking what’s in the spiritual (metaphysical) world and manifesting into the physical
Things like: karma, sending thoughts, these concepts
Sorry to go into the weeds, but these things matter and as Christians, we need to be able to discern what is true and what is not!
There is some connection between the three parts of us, but don’t go extreme - I can’t sit on the couch eating potato chips and 800 oreos all day and not lose weight. No matter how much I believe that I will!
Psychological certainty is not faith!
Back out of the weeds!
The reason that we went this route is because we need to see that being a three part beings, means that we are still becoming like Christ and which part of us that is
So, our souls, are not completely in tune with God just because we are saved! It is a process (sanctification) of becoming like Christ
This process happens in different ways including: reading the Bible, praying, slowing down and seeing how God will respond
If we are still struggling in this process, it is possible that enemy has some ground in our lives
I don’t want to overemphasize this idea of spiritual warfare, but I want us to be aware.
I believe it was Greg Laurie on the radio who said “we need to be aware of the enemy, but not afraid”
It is helpful to understand satan and how he works, but I think there is an unhealthy place we can go with this.
There is a reason that we know relatively little of satan compared to what we know of God!
This to say, being aware of how the enemy works, helps us be prepared to defeat him
The enemy works in a military system
notice the military words
Ephesians 6:10–12 (NIV)
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:13–15 (NIV)
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
Ephesians 6:16–17 (NIV)
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
You see the military perspective of putting on the armour. Likewise a couple chapters before the amor of God, we read:
Ephesians 4:26–27 (NIV)
26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
The word “foothold” here is a military term for gaining ground
You overtake the enemy by gaining small footholds
Similarly,
2 Corinthians 10:4–6 (NIV)
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
So, the enemy works like a military and tends to get these strongholds or footholds in our lives and we war or battle against them to find freedom
How do we do this?
Luke 4:18–19 (NIV)
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit, the same person in us to do these 5 ministries:
1. Proclaim Good News - preach the gospel
2. Proclaim liberty to the prisoners - probably those imprisoned by sin
3. Recover sight to the blind - physical healing
4. Set at liberty those who are oppressed - strongholds of the enemy
5. Proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor - a time of God’s favor wiping debts and setting people free
The ministry that Jesus began continued into the book of Acts - they did the same things that Jesus did!
I believe that God is still doing these ministries through His Spirit that is within us!
Today, we are talking specifically about oppression of the enemy
He has influence in our lives, how do we find freedom?
Process for finding freedom:
Recognize/Confess the lie of the enemy
Renounce the lie of the enemy/rebuke demonic presence
Replace the lie with the truth
Resist the enemy by faith
What we are doing is getting rid of the power that the enemy has and allowing God to be powerful in our lives!
As we wrap up this series, maybe you are struggling with repentance and it’s because the enemy has as stronghold in your life.
