Day 6 - God’s Strength & Overcoming Sin

The Jesus Clubs

Day 6 - God’s Strength & Overcoming Sin

David Matteucci • Galatians 5:16–26

SCRIPTURE:
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5:16-26‬ ‭NIV “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

Highlighted Verse:
Galatians 5:16 “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

ENCOURAGEMENT:
Every day there is a war being waged within us between our flesh and our spirit. Our flesh desires for everything that is evil and our spirit desires to draw close to God. When our flesh overcomes our spirit we find ourselves giving in to sinful desires but when our spirit overcomes our flesh we find ourselves near to God. So how do we determine who wins? The one who wins is the one you feed. Every day you can either feed your flesh or your spirit. If you begin your day by feeding your flesh with things that lead you towards the world (social media, shows and movies, secular music), instead of feeding your spirit with what leads you towards God (The Word, Worship, Prayer) then you will find that your fleshly desires become stronger than your spiritual ones and then you fall. Once you feed one, you become full and you do not have room to feed the other. That’s why if you first feed your spirit there will not be much room left to feed your flesh. Galatians 5:16 says “walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh”. If you feed your spirit, you will find that your spiritual desire to draw close to God in prayer and worship overcomes your fleshly desire to sin. Overcoming sin is not about being strong enough, it is about running towards the one who already overcame sin! So choose every day to first seek God and feed your spirit by spending time in His Word, prayer, and worship.

PRAYER:
In your own words tell God the things you struggle with and pray through these prayer points:

- Ask God for forgiveness if there is any sin you still find yourself falling into.
- Ask God for the strength to die to your own fleshly desires.
- Ask God to place in your heart the desire to seek His word and time with Him every day.

CHALLENGE:
Tag three friends (and @thejesusclubs) on an Instagram story and challenge them to see who can go the most days opening up the Bible before opening up social media.

Day 1 - We Are Sinners in Need of God

Brian Barcelona • 1 John 2:15–17, 1 John 1:5–10, 1 John 2:2

SCRIPTURE: 1 John 1:5-10 NASB “5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.” 1 John 2:2 NASB “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” 1 John 2:15-17 NASB “15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever.” Highlighted Verse: 1 John 1:5-10 NASB “5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.” ENCOURAGEMENT: When we walk with God, we walk in his light! And that light is in us! And the life of darkness can’t exist when we’re in the light! Like when you go into your room and turn on your light darkness can no longer hang in the same room! And as we walk in the light of Christ, we know we are cleaned by the blood of Jesus which washed us white as snow! The first step to be washed clean is being able to admit we are dirty, we have sinned against God, we have fallen! And when you do God is faithful to forgive you of all that has separated you and Him! Where is the joy in all of this? The joy is that forgiveness is available for those who ask for it and will walk in the light! Lastly, I’d like to share about 1 John 2:15, the only way you can not love the world is when you love God! The love for God replaces the love you once had for the world! The things of the world pass away but God remains forever! PRAYER: Take a moment to pray through the prayer points outlined below. If you are looking for a good song during your prayer time, check out: “Surrounded” by Upperroom Music. Prayer Points - Acknowledge your sins and ask for forgiveness. - Ask God to help you walk in His truth. CHALLENGE: - Acknowledge you have sinned against God and spend 5-10 minutes sharing with God the sins you know you have done. Ask God for forgiveness and to cleanse you according to what the bible says. Allow your mind and heart to receive God’s forgiveness! - If there is any sin you have committed against someone as a Christian, that you know of, ask them for forgiveness too. - Ask God to shine light in areas of your life you feel have been dark. - TAKE JOY TODAY! WALK IN HIS LOVE, FORGIVENESS, AND HIS LIGHT.

Day 2 - Repentance

Joel Bomberger • 2 Corinthians 7:1–11

SCRIPTURE: 2 Corinthians 7:1-11 “1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one. 3 I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. 4 Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction. 5 For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus; 7 and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more. 8 For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— 9 I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. 10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. 11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.” ENCOURAGEMENT: Repentance is more than feeling bad for what you did. Repentance doesn't take hours or days of agonizing pain & prayer and it can actually be joyful! It’s joyful because we are turning from sin, the thing that leads to death & pain, and in turn we get Jesus, the author of love & life! The Greek word for repentance is metanoia which means a change of mind. We’re changing our mind to reject sin & turn from it to desire life with God. 2 Corinthians 7:9 says that we should only be made sorrowful until we REPENT (change our mind about the sin we were in). Verse 10 says when we have true repentance, we have no regret & receive the salvation of Jesus! Whereas merely feeling bad, like the world does, only leads to death. John the Baptist talks about “bearing fruits in keeping with repentance.” This is not just saying sorry & feeling bad. It’s a change of mind, & a change of life direction away from that sin towards God. True repentance will produce zeal & longing to change as Revelation 3:19 says “be zealous and repent.” Lastly, think of the example of God’s mercy & salvation through repentance. In Acts 2, the VERY SAME religious leaders who LITERALLY crucified Jesus listened to the preaching of Peter. It says they were cut to the heart. Imagine you killed Jesus yourself, you think you would need weeks of sorrow & penance in order to gain God’s approval again. But Peter simply tells them to “repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” May we continually turn from our sin, and receive His forgiveness & power of the Holy Spirit. PRAYER: Take a moment to pray the prayer outlined below. If you are looking for a good song during your prayer time, check out: “Obedience” by Lindy Cofer & Circuit Rider Music. The 4 R’s Prayer — Repent, Receive, Rebuke, Replace REPENT: I repent of my sin. (Name the sin & admit it was wrong. Ask for forgiveness.) RECEIVE: I receive your forgiveness, God. REBUKE: I rebuke the enemy’s stronghold & tell it to leave my life! REPLACE: I replace the lies with the truth of God’s word. (Example: I am loved, I am free, I am forgiven, You have not given me a spirit of fear.) Example: “Lord I repent of my sin, I turn from it & ask your forgiveness. I thank you for forgiving me, I receive it in Jesus’ name! I command every demonic Spirit attached to that sin to get out of my life & leave my mind in Jesus’ name! I say it must leave right now! I thank you, Jesus, for setting me free! That I am dead to sin & alive in you! That I am your child, & nothing can separate me from your love! In Jesus name, Amen.” CHALLENGE: - Ask the Lord if there is any area you need to REPENT of today. Wait on Him to tell you! - Then stand up & boldly declare your repentance, forgiveness, & rebuke the enemy out of your life! Do this with each thing that God brings to mind until you feel His joy permeate your soul! - P.S. Do this with a SMILE knowing when we receive His forgiveness it’s DONE & we get to walk in the new life He gave us!

Day 3 - The Blood of Jesus

Jeff Mattheis • Hebrews 10:19, 1 John 1:7, Hebrews 9:14

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 10:19 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus” 1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” Hebrews 9:14 “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” ENCOURAGEMENT: The blood of Jesus is like a bar of soap. It isn’t until we apply it to our lives that we get to experience its power. What Jesus did on the cross has the power to cleanse you of all of your sin! 1 John 1:7 says “if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” PRAYER: Take a moment to pray through the prayer points outlined below. If you are looking for a good song during your prayer time, check out: “Nothing But The Blood” by Sean Feucht. Point 1: Jesus, I choose to walk in the light as you are in the light. I don’t want to walk in hidden sin any longer! Point 2: Jesus thank you for your blood, thank you for what you did on Calvary for me. Point 3: I pray that the revelation of what you did on the cross would settle in my heart in Jesus’ name! CHALLENGE: My encouragement and challenge to you is that you would walk in the light. Maybe you have some hidden sin in your life or things that you are ashamed of. The power of the blood of Jesus is so much greater than you could ever imagine. As soon as you put your sin in the light, you can be completely washed white as snow.