Paul sinned after he became a Christian. You do too? But why?
In fact, I don't understand why I act the way I do. I don't do what I know is right. I do the things I hate.
Romans 7:15 CEV
God’s Plan – God could have made us perfect so we wouldn’t ever sin. Why didn’t he?
God's Plan for you:
I. Rescue & Restore you – Rescue = salvation
Many Christians don’t understand God’s process of restoring us. As a result, they are confused, sometimes angry or frustrated with God.
*THE 3 SANCTIFICATIONS– God’s process for restoring you to be sons and daughters of God requires us “to be made holy and set apart for God’s purpose” Sanctification.
**3 Parts of us are sanctified in different ways at different times
(1) Our spirits – immediate and complete when we are born again, our spirits are made holy, made perfect. Regenerated.
Born again – spirits regenerated, New nature. Our sin is removed.
(2) Our souls (minds, wills, and emotions) – Our souls are sanctified over time. This is the battle we fight daily. It is our souls that fight against our spirits .
Daily you must choose: who will you love – self, Satan, or Jesus?
(3) Our bodies- God sanctifies our bodies when we get to heaven by giving us new bodies.
II. The battle to make our souls (minds, wills, and emotions) fully God’s is how we learn to love and overcome self, satan, and sin.
o Through desire for God – love is a choice (e.g. chose my wife, choose her again and again) Choose to love God more than myself, evil, and things of the word
o Obedience to God – learning to trust God with everything – even things I don’t understand.
o Faith battles. Fight for people we love – addictions, poverty, sin, sickness and death, injustice, etc. Fight to do right in our own lives too.
o In this process, Holy Spirit replaces your character with Christs (Holy Spirit & the Word of God sanctify you – make you holy and set you apart for God’s service
III. Complete God’s Plan for Your Life – to join the family business of destroying the works of the devil, setting people free, and establishing the kingdom of God – His love and righteousness on the earth.
Satan’s Strategy
• Separate you from God. Tempt you to sin. Sin separates you from God. Spiritually and emotionally (guilt, shame) (Isaiah 59:2)
• Separate you from others. [offense, disagreement, strife, envy, etc.] (Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8. Lions isolate their prey. They don’t attack entire herds; they attack those who get separated from the herd.
•Don’t allow yourself to be separated from God’s family.
o God said of Adam in the garden, “It is not good for man to be alone” Then God created Eve.
o We need others. To encourage, support and help us love well.
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Hebrews 10:24-25
•Satan wants to Take you out of the battle – the war rages all around us, good and evil. God has specific works planned for you and He needs you in the battle for the lives of men.
ACTIVATION
Now you know what God is trying to do and Satan’s strategy too.
Defeat Satan’s strategy by forgiving yourself – do NOT let yourself be separated from God.
And forgive others too. Do not let Satan separate you from God’s people.
Love is God’s greatest weapon. Learn to love through the tests and trials of life.
Stay “in Christ” – keep loving Jesus and keep obeying Him to the best of your ability– He is both your Savior and Lord.
Pray the Prayer that is today's activation.