The Struggle Part 1

“There is a Battle”

A few months back, I was teaching our teens the importance of evangelism.  We went through "The Romans Road", tracts, and lastly personal testimonies.  I asked our teenagers to write out their personally testimonies and give them to me.  As I looked at the testimonies of our teens, I saw a common trend within each one: There are still struggles we have in the Christian life. The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:31 that he died daily.  This didn’t mean that he killed himself everyday, but he had to die to self.  Everyday there are struggles, it is how we deal with these struggles that shows our true character in Christ. The first thing I want to point out is, “There is a Battle.”

• Root of the Battle – Genesis 3:1-7
• Sin is the Root to our Struggles
• Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”
• We all have a Sin problem – Romans 3:23
• The Epistle of 1 John was given to Christians and he says in chapter 2:1, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous”
• Jesus said in Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

• Response in the Battle – Genesis 3:7-8
• Shame is the Response to our Struggles
• Genesis 3:8, “And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.”
• When the Lord is in our presence we will fear shame for our sin. The Holy Spirit will convict us of that sin. We must react to that conviction by way of repentance to the Lord. 
• 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
• Isaiah 6:1-8
• 6:5, “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”

• Reaction in the Battle – There will be two very different reactions in the Battle:
• Surrender – A Feeling of Defeat
• There are many who have lost a battle with sin and are living a defeated life.  Christ is just wanting on them to come to Him and repent.  He WILL forgive.  Don’t live a defeated life!  There is forgiveness at the Cross!
• Serve – A Feeling of Determination
• Peter – Denied the Lord 3 times and yet, Christ forgave him and he preached one of the greatest messages that radically changed the local church. Peter was determined to serve even after losing a battle.

So many Christians today are living a defeated life, because they struggle with their sin.  Don’t allow your past and present sins keep you from going to the Father with your struggles.  He wants to hear from you and He wants to forgive you and have sweet fellowship with you once again.