Feeling Better

MUCH BETTER, THANK YOU

(POWER OVER SIN)

I. OPENING TIME

QUESTIONS:

How would you complete the following statement: “Just when you think things can't get any worse...”?

Have you ever lived through a period of bad weather and wondered, “Will the weather ever get better?”

What are some illnesses people have that could cause them to wonder if they would ever get better?

Have you ever tried a new sport and wondered after a time, “Will I ever get better?”

Have you ever tried to teach someone else a new sport and wondered, “Will he/she ever get better?”

Have you had a child start to learn to play a musical instrument (violin) and wonder to yourself...

Will people with A.I.D.S. get better?

If your vehicle needs a tune-up, will it eventually get better?

Have you struggled with a particular sin in your life and wondered whether the problem would ever get better?

The four preceding lessons, WHAT IS SIN, Parts 1-4, closed with the need for confession of sin. This session asks...and hopefully answers the question, "Will the problem of sin in my life ever get better?"

SCRIPTURE:

The following passage from Psalm 32 is an account of how David dealt with his sins. (...Which, in David’s case included murder and adultery.) As a result of sin, David found himself under immense strain and pressure. How did he deal with them and prevent them from destroying him? As we look at David, we should bear in mind that we, like David, could find ourselves burdened with fear and anxiety produced by sin...unless we discover how God plans for us to get better at dealing with this issue of sin in our lives.

FEELING BAD...

PSALM 32:

3. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

In these two verses, King David describes himself when he refused to confess his sins.

What are some ways we would describe his condition today? (Burn-out, mid-life crisis, denial, stressed out, anxiety or panic attack, mental breakdown, manic depressive, suicidal.)

Is it possible people today still struggle with the same problem as King David?

How do people try to deal with their guilt?

Do you think some people have little hope of ever getting better?

FEELING BETTER...

PSALM 32:

1. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
2. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.
5. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

These three verses give the alternative to verses 3 and 4. What does King David say is the reason for this?

What did David say happened to his sins and transgressions in verse 1 and 2?

What did he eventually do with his sin (relative to God) in verse 5? (Acknowledged them.)

What had he been doing with them instead of confessing them to God? (Covering up His iniquity.)

What are some of the potential effects on us when we refuse to acknowledge and confess our sins to the Lord?

What did God do as a result of David confessing his sin?

Although it is good to know how to confess sin and experience God's love and forgiveness, it is also helpful to know God made provisions for us to get better at dealing with sin. Let's read on:

WALKING BETTER...

PSALM 32:

8. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.

Verses 1-7 tells about a bad situation brought on by sin that is solved through confessing sin to God. God doesn't stop there, however. What does He say He will do in verse 8?

In order for us to know which way God wants us to go and hear His counsel, we need better vision, direction and hearing. What do you think God does then?

BETTER SIGHT and BETTER DIRECTION...

ISAIAH 42:

16. I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.

The people have four obstacles to their walking with God in this verse. What are they?

1) They are blind.

2) They are on unfamiliar paths.

3) There is darkness all around them.

4) There are rough places in their road.

What provisions does God make for each of these needs?

1) Leads the blind.

2) Guides through unfamiliar paths.

3) Turns darkness into light.

4) Makes the rough places smooth.

Have you ever felt blind when choosing which direction you should walk?

What does this verse say to you?

Have you ever felt as if you were trying to walk down an unfamiliar path?

What does this verse say to you?

Have you ever felt as though you were trying to see something in your life and all you could find was darkness?

Has the pathway of your life ever seemed to be riddled with rough places?

How does this relate to the issue of getting better at dealing with sin in our lives? In the prior lessons on sin, we saw that sin causes us to be blind to God's standard of right and wrong, that a lifestyle of sin is like walking in darkness, and that walking down a pathway or in a lifestyle of sin is filled with rough places. What God is saying in Isaiah 42:16 and Psalm 32, is that not only does He want to make provisions for us when we sin, He wants to help us get through the places in life that would be impossible without His help. He wants us to get better at handling sin in our lives.

BOTTOM LINE:

When we look at the issue of sin in our life, do we say to ourselves, “I wonder if this problem will ever get any better?”?

How many of the popular phrases today like ‘burn-out’ could be describing the issue of unresolved or unconfessed sin?

How many people would love to be free from guilt as David described in Psalm 32?

Would people be encouraged if they knew God not only wants to forgive their sins, but freely offers them His help in avoiding sin?

CLOSE WITH PRAYER.

TABLES (Small Groups)

QUESTION: What sport or hobby have you taken up in which you improved as time passed? (Perhaps you would prefer to tell about the sport or hobby you have avoided participating in because you feared you would not do it well.)

BETTER HEARING...
ISAIAH 30:
21. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."

In the opening session, we saw where God promised to give us direction. What does this verse say to us?

Notice that in all these verses, God is promising to give us direction as we walk through our lives, choosing the path He wants us to take. How does He give us this special sight and hearing?

...THROUGH DIFFERENT, AND BETTER INPUT;
ROMANS 12:

2. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.

What does verse 2 say we should not use as a pattern for our lives? (This world.)

What are some of the ways we might pattern ourselves to this world?

What are some ways we can be transformed by the renewing of our minds as this verse says? (Reading the Bible.)

What will be the result of this transformation? (He will be able to test and approve what God's will is.)

As we transform our minds, something else begins to happen:

A BETTER MASTER...
ROMANS 6:
16. Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey-- whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to
obedience, which leads to righteousness?
17. But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.
18. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

How is a slave defined in this verse?

Before we learn to confess our sins as King David outlines in Psalm 32 and in I John 1:7-10, to what are we slaves?

As we begin to transform our minds to respond to righteousness rather than sin, what do verses 17,18 say begins to happen?

Considering what you know about sin, would you choose sin or righteousness as a master?

BETTER GOALS...

PHILIPPIANS 3:

12. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
13. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
14. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Many of us are goal-oriented and live our lives by setting goals. What is Paul’s goal in verse 12?

What does he do in verse 13?

Relative to the issue of sin in our life, why is it an excellent idea to forget what is past?

How does not forgetting sins in our past hinder us from winning the prize for which God has called us?

In our next lesson, WILL SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME?, we will see how God has made provisions to help us do all the things we have looked at in this lesson.

BOTTOM LINE:

HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

Does God want me to get better at dealing with sin in my life?

Do I want to get better at overcoming the sins in my life?

On the basis of the verses in this lesson, what does He promise to do to help me?

CLOSE WITH PRAYER.