Mind Games | Part 4

Share This:

S.O.A.P. – “Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer”

What is your attitude towards your past sins? What is your attitude towards your past self?

Once God had pronounced judgment on Satan for deceiving Adam and Eve, God turned his attention to the consequences of their sin: Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.”

And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”

Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live. And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. Then the LORD God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!”

So the LORD God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. After sending them out, the LORD God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:16–24 NLT

Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. Romans 7:24–8:2 NLT

Do you “belong to Christ Jesus?

Do you feel 1) condemned, or 2) forgiven by God? On what basis?

Lord, teach me to see myself from your eyes. Help me to set my mind on what you say is true and have peace, knowing that when my feelings suggest I am beyond repair, you say I stand faultless before you through the precious blood of Jesus!

What is the most important feeling/emotion, in your opinion?

For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. 2 Corinthians 7:10 NLT

Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. 1 John 3:20–21 NLT

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. Ephesians 6:10–18 NLT

The power of sin causes people to feel guilty and then respond by isolating/hiding from God and people. Unhealthy people hate themselves on behalf of God, or they hate God to protect themselves. Healthy people hate sin with God and let God love them in a way that informs how they love and treat themselves. YOU ARE NOT YOUR SIN.

What relationship(s) is God inviting you to restore—a healthy relationship with him? Yourself? People in your life?

Lord, your kindness overwhelms me. Teach me to trust in your patience and kindness, not as a “grace period” but as an ongoing healthy rhythm of life between you and me. Teach me to treat myself and others as you do. Thank you for giving us Jesus to show us how you genuinely care.

If a random stranger asked you to describe yourself, what immediately comes to mind?

Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Romans 6:1–14 NLT

What does it mean that you have joined Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection?

How does this Scripture help you relate better to God?

How does this Scripture help you understand a healthy approach to the problem of sin?

How is judgment of SIN different from judgment of SELF? How is action different than identity?

Lord, thank you for giving me new life. Thank you for not looking at me as my past or my temptations or my past failures. Thank you for creating me, making me new, and loving me deeply and unconditionally. Teach me to live wisely and not let sin control the way I live. Help me live under the freedom of your grace!

Have you ever met an ambassador from another country? What is required to be successful?

Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 5:14–6:2 NLT

“He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves.” Who is responsible for creating new life in you?

Why did God choose to bring you back to himself?

How are you going to participate in being an “ambassador” for God to help others be reconciled to him?

Paul calls Christians “God’s partners” and calls it a “marvelous gift of God’s kindness.” How will you embrace this incredible identity and calling?

Lord, thank you for reconciling me to yourself and sharing with me the privilege of helping others see, hear, and understand your kindness towards them!

When you hear the word “POWER,” what thoughts come to mind?

Jesus told his disciples the following about the Holy Spirit the night before he was crucified: But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate [Holy Spirit] won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. John 16:7–8 NLT

Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus: Ever since I first heard of your strong faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for God’s people everywhere, I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself. Ephesians 1:15–23 NLT

In what way does the Christian’s life rely on the power of the Holy Spirit?

Are you “living in your own strength” or “living in the power of the Holy Spirit”?

The power that raised Jesus from the dead LIVES IN YOU, if you are a Christian. How does that affect your beliefs about your 1) significance, 2) security, and 3) self?

Lord, help me live powerfully aware of your grace and not be distracted by the temptation to feel condemned by you because of my past and present failures. Thank you for giving me a rich and glorious inheritance, purchased by the blood of Jesus. Teach me to set my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith!

Mind Games | Part 4

Recent Bible Studies

Our Church | Part 3 | Week 6

Our Church | Part 3 | Week 5

Our Church | Part 3 | Week 4

Marion

Oelwein

Stoney Point

Online

Contact us

Locations

Watch

Connect

About