INTRODUCTION

Did you know? All you have to do to allow junk to accumulate in your heart and your soul is to do nothing. So chances are if you cannot recall when the last time you examined your inner self, you are overdue for a Personal Temple Cleaning (PTC).

It is easy for us to blame our external circumstances for the difficulties we face. Yet the Bible reminds us that many ‘bad’ things that ‘happen’ to us are actually the result of sin. For example:

1. Sickness (Psalm 32:5)
2. Unanswered Prayers (Isaiah 59:2)
3. Damaged Relationships (Genesis 3:7)
4. Darkened Understanding (Ephesians 4:18-19)
5. Ineffective Ministry (2 Timothy 2:21)

How do we do a PTC to clean out our inner being? It is to build a practice of confession in our lives. We cultivate the practice of confession by desiring the following: 

1. Figure out a regularity – Confession should not be triggered by an emotion or a prick of conscience. It should be incorporated as a regular part of our routine to examine ourselves.
2. Confession means to agree with what God is saying – Confession is not born out of guilt, regret or remorse, but a desire to repent. The Greek word for confession, homologeō, means ‘saying the same thing’. In the Biblical context, it means to come to an agreement with what God is saying.

DISCUSSION

1. Do any of the manifestations of sin mentioned above strike a chord with you? If so, God may already be softening your heart to hear from him!

    

   a. Reflect on whether a difficulty you are facing in your life could be the result of a personal sin you have yet to acknowledge.

   b. The lists set out in the section below (under ‘Examination’) are useful tools to help identify behaviour that has fallen short of what God wants for us. Pick one of the lists to read through, is there any item that you agree (or even disagree) with? Discuss.

   c. Be warned, these lists are not meant to be a drop-down menu for us to choose which sin of the week we would like to confess to. Is there a specific act/incident in the past week that the Holy Spirit brought to mind?

2. A negative example is usually used in the Bible to illustrate a positive principle.

   a. Pick one of the sins/negative examples in the lists below, and discuss what positive principle is being protected/illustrated? E.g. In Galatians 5:19-23, drunkenness (a work of the flesh) may come about because of a lack of self-control (fruit of the spirit) when consuming alcohol.

   b. If there is a sinful behaviour that God is drawing you away from, consider what positive principle or promise of blessing he is instead pulling you towards. Read Psalm 32:1-2.

3. If we stop short of acknowledging our many sins, we will be trapped under an overwhelming sense of guilt. We cannot clean out our own sins. Hence the need to receive the gift of the Cross.

    

   a. Read Matthew 26:27, 1 John 1:9. What is the promise that Jesus gave?

   b. If you have the elements, take communion on your own or as a group. As you take communion, will you receive in your heart the gift of forgiveness for the specific sin you have confessed?

   c. Read James 5:16, and 1 John 1:7. What is the value in confessing our sins to our brothers and sisters in Christ? Take this opportunity to pray for one another.

WHAT WILL YOU DO

1. Preparation
   a. Set aside time to ask the Holy Spirit to prepare your heart
2. Examination
   a. Seven Deadly Sins – Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, Pride
   b. Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17)
   c. Works of the Flesh vs Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:19-23)
3. Confession
   a. Be specific in your confession (see Psalm 32:1-5, James 5:16)
4. Reception
   a. Receive God’s forgiveness (see 1 John 1:9)
5. Restitution
   a. Genuine repentance leads to a desire to redress wrongs which includes making restoration whenever possible (see Luke 19:1-10, Acts 26:19-20)

MEMORY VERSE

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9