God designed you with three distinct parts, and each of them are unique. We have a spirit that must be redeemed, a soul that must be restored, and a body that must surrender. At the moment of salvation, our spirit is made alive in Christ and immediately put in right standing with God (Romans 3:24, 5:1). However, the soul and body are not immediately on board. In reality, our bodies will never be on board. The soul will require time and effort to be conformed to the image of Christ, and then exercise influence on the behaviors of our physical bodies. This gradual process is called sanctification. God’s plan is that our spirits becomes the strongest part of our three-part design and be the “shot-caller” of who we are and what we do. This is spiritual order in the life of a believer.
Body, Soul, Spirit. Our souls include our mind, our will, and our emotions. The soul enables us to experience relationships, think with great intelligence, and express our emotions in a variety of ways. Our physical bodies (flesh) are temporary shells that house our soul and spirit. Our bodies have appetites, cravings, and dishes. Some are good. Some are bad and immoral. Some are neither good or bad. Since our flesh wars against the Christian’s spirit, for this study, we will call it “the other me.” The secret to living in freedom is making sure that our flesh remains in submission to our soul and making sure that our soul remains in submission to our spirit. That is proper spiritual order.
Week 3 - Freedom from The Other Me
(Order)
October 3, 2021
Week 8 - Freedom from Strongholds
November 7, 2021
Have you ever had a season in life that made you ask yourself, “How did I get here? Why do I do the things I do? What makes me continue to act that way? Why am I in this situation? The truth isn’t too complicated: each of us are in our current situation or current struggle because of one or a combination of three things:
Week 6 - Freedom from Rejection
October 24, 2021
Proverbs 18:21 says that “death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Obviously, words are potent and significant. With words, God spoke the entire universe into being. Words and language were His idea. He gave them to man and created man in His image so that our words carry power as well. Every time we open our mouth, we either build up or tear down. Our words can encourage someone or take the wind out of their sails. Our tongue can either advance the kingdom of life or advance the kingdom of death. God desires for us to speak words of life that build up, bring healing, and offer encouragement.
Week 5 - Freedom from Bitterness
October 17, 2021
Let’s start this week by facing facts. We live in a fallen, messed-up world. Things often won’t go as planned. People do stupid things. Hurting people hurt people. And in spite of what the age-old quote says about sticks and stones, words can hurt. To sum up this dreary opening paragraph, we will all face hurts and offense frequently in life. As with many other things in life, what happens to us is not nearly as important as our response to it. Offense can be difficult. Too often we end up harboring unforgiveness and getting bitter. Unfortunately, this does much greater harm to us than to the person we refuse to forgive. Offense is the bait that the enemy uses to lure us into bondage, and it causes us to build up walls around hearts. Walls may keep out the bad stuff, but they also keep out the good. It may protect us from the pain of hurt and rejection, but it also prevents us from experiencing love and life-giving relationships.