DEV 14FN Spiritual Victory (Sin)

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=Session 14: Spiritual Victory (Sin) =

''In this session, you will discover what the Bible has to say about gaining spiritual victory over sin and temptation. ''

Heart of a Leader (40 min)

 * Worship together in the big group
 * Have participants get into groups of 3-4 people and discuss the following:
 * What are you learning and how are you abiding in Christ through word, prayer, obedience, PCS, relationships and fellowship?
 * What areas of your life is obeying God a challenge?
 * What unresolved conflict do you have?
 * What happened as you trusted God with your goals from our last meeting?

Vision Casting for the Heart
'Computers are great tools. They can be very useful. But they can also be harmful. It all depends on the heart of the user. If good things are put in, then good things come out. If bad things are put in, then bad things come out. It is the same with our hearts. Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” What we allow to be put into our hearts and grow, will determine what sort of fruit our life is producing. We need to encourage each other to keep investing in our hearts. How can we do this? The answer is found in the book of Psalms.' Read Psalm 119:9,11.

Celebration of Faithfulness (20 min)
[NOTE: Celebrate Faithfulness in the large group so that all can benefit and be encouraged.]


 * Give opportunity for participants to share what has happened since the last meeting. Ask them to relate it to goals from the last meeting.

Iron on Iron: Sharpening Myself and Others (45 min)
Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another.” 
 * Have everyone return to their Iron on Iron small groups, draw their network of missional communities and churches then share and evaluate with their group.
 * What is going well?
 * What is not going well? What obstacles are you facing?
 * What are possible solutions from the other group members?
 * What do you need to do to add the missing characteristics into each group?
 * Where will you start a new group or church this month?
 * Have everyone set goals for improvement from their evaluation and share their goals with their small group. Then have them pray for one another.

New Lesson (45-60 min)
Relevant Topic: Why is it important and helpful for us to know about gaining victory over sin?


 * Have participants get into new groups of 4-5 people (or they can continue in their Iron on Iron groups)
 * In the following sections, each group assign verses to each participant. Each participant will then read the passages below and tell what they learned.

Discovery Bible Study: Victory over Sin

'Introduction: The bible has a lot to say about sin. Even though we are now new creations in Christ and have a new identity, we still battle sin and temptation while we live in a broken world. Let’s look at what the bible has to teach us about the reasons we give into sin and how we can have victory over it.'

Section 1: Original Sin

The Process of Sin: Genesis 3:1-24


 * What caught your attention (or What did you like best?) Why?
 * Why did Adam and Eve fall into sin?
 * List the process of the fall

Summary: there are 3 reasons people fall into sin:

1. We don’t know the truth (don’t know God’s Word or are confused about the truth or -believe a lie – truth is mixed with non-truth) '2. We don’t believe (or are unsure about) what God says. Satan tries to raise doubts using deceit and lies (that’s the reason why he is called the deceiver).' 3. We give into our natural desires.

'Satan’s strategy is to try to twist the truth. The process of the fall: They Saw > They Desired (increasingly) > They Ate (fell into sin) > They Experienced the Consequences of Their Sin (judgment/death) '

Section 2: Temptations

Worldly Desires: 1 John 2:15-17

Temptation: James 1:13-15


 * After they have all shared their assigned verses, have each person in the groups share
 * What caught your attention (or What did you like best?) Why?
 * How can Satan tempt people in each of these ways? Ask participants to share specific examples.

'Summary: The desires we face today are the same desires that Eve had in Genesis 3:6. We are not tempted by something until that desire is in our heart. We are responsible for our sin.'

Section 3: Gaining the Victory

Jesus had Victory over Temptation: Luke 4:1-13

Truth about Sin: Romans 6:6-11

Our Victory over Temptation: Romans 6:12-14; 1 Peter 5:8-9; James 4:6-10; James 5:16


 * After they have all shared their assigned verses, have each person in the groups share
 * What caught your attention (or What did you like best?) Why?
 * What actions can we take to overcome sin?

Summary: Submit, Resist, Come Near, Victory 

One: Submit


 * Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10).
 * Say James 4:6-8 to remind you about the way out of temptation
 * Remember your commitment that the old self is “dead” (Romans 6:11).
 * Offer yourself to God in prayer (Romans 6:13).

Two: Resist

Three: Come Near
 * Remember you have authority over the powers of darkness in Jesus Christ (Luke 10:17-19; Romans 6:6-7).
 * Stand firm in resisting Satan’s deception and temptations (1 Peter 5:8-9).
 * Say Scriptures that remind you of the truth about that situation (Luke 4:1-11).


 * Pray asking for Jesus’ strength to resist the spirit or temptation. Pray continually until you can have victory and give thanks (Philippians 4:6-7).
 * Ask other believers to pray with you (James 5:16).

Fourth: Victory


 * Experience the peace of God (Philippians 4:6-7).
 * Give thanks to God every time you have victory over temptation (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

'There is a normal process of falling into sin: See > Desire (increasingly) > Give into sin > Eexperience the consequences of sin (judgment/death). We can practice these four points to help us overcome temptation and sin: Submit, Resist, Come Near, Victory. One of the purposes of the church is to provide a community of believers to help us fight temptation to sin.'

Preparing for Mission (20 mins)

 * In small groups, have each participant Evaluate their life and identify a temptation they struggle with. Have them Make a plan for how they will overcome it and discuss specifically how to overcome that sin.
 * Write “I will by when” statements. Include “Who will you teach this lesson to?”
 * Practice any additional skill that the leaders need in leading their groups or starting new ones

Sending the Laborers

 * Reinforce the overall vision: a church or faith community for every 1,000 people
 * Spend time in Prayer:
 * committing the goals that were set to the Lord
 * for God to raise up a movement of churches
 * for more laborers to come out of the harvest