Wrapping the Conquer Series
Tonight is the final evening of our 10-week course called the Conquer Series. You may remember that we had started the series at the end of February and only made it 3 sessions in before COVID shut the world down. Fast-forward to October and with a newfound desire to start back up, we restarted the 10-week course and continued on.
There were roughly 5 of us that were able to commit this time around, however, due to illnesses that were not COVID, we maintained 3 people for most of the sessions.
God works in wonderful ways. Due to the nature of the course, we understood it to fall under the BC regulations of Group Support Meetings. With the new restrictions in place in November, the 3 of us were able to continue meeting at Wildwood Fellowship Church. The personal connection and interaction made all of the difference for each of us to open up and be vulnerable with our current and past struggles. We learned the science behind the effects that addiction has within the brain and the body and how it is never as simple as Just Quit, Stop Sinning or Read Your Bible More. The Battle is in the Brain! We also discovered that addictions to pornography and other sexual behaviours, often stem from wounds that have occurred in our past. Much of the battle is facing the various cuts and bruises that we have accumulated through the years and finding healthy ways to cope with the stress and hurts in our daily lives. God is the only one who can heal us and He is the only one that can heal you. Those of us that understand that feeling of being trapped in the cycle of addiction know that we cannot do this in our own strength. Only God can give us freedom from the bonds of addiction.
At the beginning of the course, my prayer was that each of us would not be looking for a quick fix to this problem of sexual sin.
Paul wrote these words in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10: Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
For many of us, this battle will be life-long. I am nearly 4 years into a life of freedom, but I still battle sexual sin each day. God is the one that provides me with victory each day. My prayer for those that went through Conquer and for any that desire to find freedom from their sin or from addiction is this: God, give victory and freedom to those who ask for it but may they embrace the journey of healing and use the process to above all, Glorify You, God.
God does not expect us to live a "sinless life". We are humans and we will make mistakes. Jesus came to pay the price for our sin so that we could be in relationship with Him. Don't live your life simply trying to rid yourself of sin. Live your life first and foremost to glorify God. Conquering sin comes with that, but God wants us to love Him with our hearts, souls, minds, and strength first.
Please keep each of us that attended in your prayers that the Spirit will continue to transform us more into the likeness of Christ.
If you are interested in attending the Conquer Series one day, please contact me at david@cornerstoneneighbourhood.com