Summary: In the spiritual Body of Christ, we only have to please Christ. We don’t have to convince influential church member of our theological positions. We don’t have to pretend that we’re something that we’re not, and we don’t have to avoid our true feelings or our insecurities about being discovered to be a sinner. We know, and God knows, we are sinners. This world wants to keep us, as believers in Christ, in a box. It wants to keep us locked behind church doors. Why? Because inside the physical church we, as believers, we do the work of our adversary. Signs of a wrestler ready to quit; They do a lot of back pedaling… Easier to get them to the edge of the mat (stop wrestling) They take longer to get back in the fight They become Inactive, stall, no hustle They act desperate and make bad decisions They complain, to the ref showing frustration They stumble, showing fatigue They burst into Anger, last ditch effort before breaking They don’t get back up, stay on they’re back Paul said, believers are in a wrestling match; Eph 6:12 Elijah was in a wrestling match for his spiritual life; He back peddled; 1 Kings 19:3-4 He complained; 1 Kings 19:13-14 God put him back in the fight; 1 Kings 19:15-19 David found himself on the ropes; 2 Sam 24:10 David had great success for God; 2 Sam 23 David still fell But God put him back in the fight God will forgive us any sin; 1Jn 1:9 Will God forgive any sin? What about the "Unforgivable Sin"? What is the "Unforgivable Sin"? Matt 12:31-32 Blasphemy is to vilify or reject someone Forgive means to send away... Is there anything God can’t do? Is there anything we can do that God can’t rectify? Mark 3:28-29 Luke 12:8-10 The "Unforgivable Sin" is the act of not accepting God’s forgiveness, and therefore not allowing your sin to be sent away… But, believers have no sin; 1 John 5:16-18 Romans 8:1 3 Things we need to remember when we’ve fallen; Focus on Him, and what He did, not what we did… Accept His forgiveness Continue the fight, by moving forward with Christ; Be in the center of God’s plans… Be energized by His strength… Refuse to be depressed and stay active in serving Him… Every time we get knocked down, Focus, Accept, Continue. Focus on Christ (not ourselves), Accept His forgiveness (stop beating yourself up), and Continue your walk of following Him (don’t stay on the mat). And if we see a brother or sister struggling in their battle with sin, how should be react? Encourage them to Focus on Christ, motivate them them to accept His forgiveness, and inspire them to continue their walk with Christ.
