The Disease of the Soul
Why do we crave certain sins? Why can’t we ever seem to overcome habitual sins? Is there hope for me? In this series we look at why we sin, where these sinful desires come from, and how Jesus Christ brings healing and victory.
Compassion for the Lost (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
Hopefully you have experienced a measure of God’s grace and victory over sin as we have studied our indwelling sin and the grace of God that delivers us from that sin. How do we maintain this grace and grow in this grace? We must let past sins humble us We quickly forget that we were once hopelessly lost in sin. We forget what we were before Jesus delivered us by His grace. Because of this we can quickly lose compassion…
Grace (Luke 15:1-2, 11-32)
As we draw our study of sin and temptation to a close, how does it all fit together? Our sin has ruined us Like the prodigal son, we have followed our heart’s leading, and it has ruined us. Our relationship with God, our marriage, our health, our finances, our family relationships, etc. are riddled with brokenness, guilt, shame, and devastation. All of this has been brought about by our sin. Like the prodigal we are in rags starving to death…
Dealing with Sources of Temptation (Matthew 5:28-30)
As we seek victory over habitual sins, we must remember that Jesus taught us to pray that we would avoid temptation. We like being tempted We like the feelings of temptation; we just hate the guilt of the sin. If we could have the sin without the consequences, guilt, and shame we would normally choose the sin. We like to walk as closely to sin as possible without actually falling into sin. In doing so we deceive ourselves into thinking…
Open Confession of Sin (John 3:19-21)
As we seek to have victory over habitual sins, the questions becomes, “How do I break the hold this sin has on me?” Seek help We often deceive ourselves into thinking that we actually want salvation or victory over sin. Most often we want our reputation restored, the feelings of guilt to go away, escape from consequences, etc. This is clearly seen in that we will not even so much as ask others to pray for us. We will not…
Economics – It all belongs to God
We are now going to look at a Theology of Economics. We want to see how our theology directly affects our view of money and property. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.Genesis 1:1 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all…
Happy in God (John 4)
As we seek to live for God’s glory our desires for sin seem to constantly trouble us. Is there any hope? Can these desires be turned off? The woman at the well found Something Jesus uses the physical thirst of the woman at the well to show her that she is spiritually thirsty as well. She is trying to fill the thirst of her soul with sexual immorality. However, after her encounter with Jesus she is so satisfied that she…
Living for God’s Glory (John 15:5)
As we truly begin to examine our hearts in light of Scripture the Spirit of God will begin to stir within us a desire to be different than what we are. Only Jesus can change us As we try to overcome our sin it becomes painfully obvious that only Jesus Christ can deliver us from our sin. As this truth dawns on us we can become increasingly frustrated that He does not come and instantly deliver us and change us.…
Brokenness (Matthew 7:24-27)
It is very tempting to immediately seek a surface remedy for our sins without truly digging deep into our souls; however, we so often do not dig down deep enough to build our lives on the Rock that is Christ. Because of this our faith wavers and easily falls. Pride is our issue Pride precedes every fall into sin. Pride is refusing to see ourselves for what we truly are. Pride places the blame for our sin upon other people…
The Search for Pleasure (Proverbs 16:25)
We were created to find joy in God. However, because of our sinful nature and willful rebellion against God, our heart’s desires are broken. We seek pleasure everywhere but God Our internal cravings are broken. We believe that we are craving porn, drunkenness, etc., but what our souls really need is God Himself. These desires seem right, but they can never fulfill us. In our depraved state we will constantly seek after things that bring fleeting pleasure, yet will not…
The Disease of the Soul (Psalm 16:11)
Over the next few weeks we are going to be taking a break from John to take a closer look at the human condition. We want to see why we were created, how the Fall affected us, and why we desire certain sins. Throughout the whole study we want to see how Jesus forgives us, heals us, and delivers us. It is my prayer that this study will help you see victory over habitual sins, find peace in Christ, and…