The Great Experiment, Day 9

Transcript:

Hi. Welcome to another day of The Great Experiment, November 1st through the 10th, 2019. We are really thankful that you've joined us in this effort to seek God for ourselves, for our communities, and for this nation. We want to see revival, and we know that that starts with God's people drawing close to Him and seeking Him with all of our hearts. Part of what we know is needed, as we draw close to Christ and we seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit, is first to be emptied of ourselves. That happens through repentance, through us identifying, by the help of the Holy Spirit, what is in our lives that should not be in our of our lives, that is not of the Holy Spirit, and having Him pull those things out of us, and us choosing that, "Hey. I don't want to have any of this in my life whatsoever. I want to be 100% devoted to God." That's what it means to be holy, 100% devoted to God.

Here's a verse from 1 Corinthians 3:1 that helps us in this regard. It says, "Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh. As infants in Christ, I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you're still not ready for it, for you are still of the flesh." For Paul to say that Christians are of the flesh is quite a statement, because he says that the flesh is opposed to the Spirit, if those who are of the flesh can't please God, and they don't submit to God, and they don't have their minds set on the things of God. What were the things that Paul saw in the Corinthians that had him identify them as people of the flesh?

Well, he says in the next verse, that I didn't read, that there was strife and there was jealousy. Paul says many other things in Galatians 5 about what the works of the flesh are: sexual immorality, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, all kinds of things. What Paul says about these people who are ... who should be Christians and should be walking in the Spirit, they're really walking in the flesh, and what has happened? It stunted their spiritual growth. They're infants in Christ. So, sometimes when we look at our lives, when we feel like we've plateaued as Christians, it's a good chance that we can look back and we can say, "Where are the works of the flesh present in my life?"

The Lord wants to show us these things not to shame us or cause undue guilt. What He wants to do is show them, so that we can remove them, so that we can have our internal heart desires change, so that we don't desire the things of the flesh, we don't desire the things of this world, we don't desire things of sin. We desire the things of the Spirit. We desire the things of Christ, the things that are good, and lovely, and excellent, all those things for God's glory and to be filled with Him. So, today, as you are going through the five Rs, I just encourage you, take time to allow the Holy Spirit and ask the Holy Spirit, "Show me any ways that are of the flesh that are still in me, because I want to be rid of them, and I want to be wholly set apart for Jesus, my Savior, and to be used for His glory. God bless you today.

______

______

Here is your guide for the “Five Rs” of The Great Experiment, November 1-10, 2019.

1. Read and Pray
Spend 30 minutes every morning reading the Bible and praying, and also spend time in the evening doing the same. To intensify your devotional times, consider fasting for some of the days. We have created a daily 30-minute devotional that you can use.

2. Repent.
What sins do I need to repent of today? What hindrances to my devotion to Christ can I remove today?

3. Respond to the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit, what is the one thing you most want me to do today? (Write it down, and do it today).

4. Represent Christ. 
How will I bear witness to Christ today? With whom shall I share the Gospel today?

5. Raise Your Faith.
Be bold and courageous in living out your faith. Choose from one of the following options for a “Joshua Faith Challenge”:

1. Host an all-night prayer meeting. Set a date during November 1-10 and invite friends to come and pray with you for revival in America.
2. Every day, pray for ten friends and family members to come to faith in Christ and look for opportunities to share the gospel with them.
3. Share an evangelistic post on social media every day from November 1-10.
4. Anything else the Lord burdens you to take on that will require courageous faith.