Chapter 1 - The Confession Project

God’s Freedom Guarantee!

Instructions: Before you seek counsel from any human source, consult the Heavenly source that created you!  Put off taking your needs to a pastor or counselor until after you have gone to our loving Heavenly Father first. Let Father God be your first choice. After seeking the Lord, He may choose to lead you to a pastor, a counselor, a friend or some other person to speak life into your heart. Much time is wasted asking men to fix things that only God has authority over. No prescription, practitioner or pastor can destroy fear, heal shame or alleviate and forgive guilt.  It feels a bit restrictive, even though it is true, to say, “No one can forgive sin except the Lord.”  The good news is that the Lord Jesus can and will forgive sin. He will speak freedom into any person’s heart that asks for His touch in their life. Go to the healer first. Experience the power of His love for you.                        

The elders making confession before the throne of God (Rev 4)

This book is designed to encourage every believer to strengthen and build up the practical habit of running to the Lord with the day to day need of cleansing from the effects of sin in our lives. The first appeal for intervention help should be to the Lord. Speaking to friends, ministers, or professional counselors can follow getting counsel from the Lord but going to others should not be our first step. Asking God for intervention is the first step before we approach anyone else. Friends may listen well but their humanness will limit the amount of power they actually have to help you in your time of need.  Father listens better than anyone else in existence. He has unlimited power to intervene in your life and unmatched ability to help you. One of Satan’s biggest lies is that God has the power to help you but chooses not to help you. Have you ever had a thought like this? I know God heals. He’s just going to heal everyone but me. I know God answers prayer. He’s just going to answer everyone else’s prayer but mine.  He is going to ignore my needs and help everyone else. That type of thinking is from a reservoir of poison words out of Hell. Those words and thoughts are not from the Lord. God is willing to help you. His power will deliver you. Any hopeless vacuum created by the world, the flesh or the devil is a wound that can be healed and filled by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

    Father invites you through His word to come into His presence with confidence, regardless of your past. Nothing about your past will shock him. He knows everything about your past as well as everything about your future. God knows more about you than you will ever know about yourself. Even though God is all-knowing He still invites you to come into His presence without fear. This kind of unconditional love can be trusted without reservation or fear. Isa 1:18 says “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” RUN TO THE LORD and you will find help.  Find out what He says first. Too many words of advice and opinions can bring confusion instead of release. Please understand I am not against doctors and counselors. They are tools God sometimes uses to heal His people. There is a useful place for human counseling as long as we have gone to the Lord first. We must allow Him to be preeminent, to make the first call on what to do with our lives. Father God never makes a mistake. His assessment of what is true is always right on the nail. Ask HIM what’s wrong before you ask anyone else. God never steers us the wrong direction.

Did you meditate on Ps 139:23 - 24? I call this verse the “Search Me!” verse. What kind of thoughts did you start to have after you had read through the verses a couple of times? What did the Lord say to your spirit? Did you understand what the scripture was saying? I was praying for a specific truth to jump out from the verses and find a home in the deepest part of your heart. I think you probably already grabbed hold of what I am referring to but just in case you didn’t then here it is!

If you want to know the truth about yourself, ask God, not someone else about where you stand spiritually. The aim of this book is to attempt to teach you how to use these confessional verses to get free and walk full of the grace of God. There is an old wives tale that says there’s more than one way to skin a cat. I don’t know much about cat skinning but I do know about biblical confession. Confession unto cleansing is a one way street. There is no other way to get to what you need without going to the Source. Biblical confession is not easy but it is simple. Biblical confession is not convenient but it’s less inconvenient than rebellion. Biblical confession costs a great deal but it costs less than living apart from the blessing and protection of God. No person can be what they were created to be without going to the Source which made them. The only way to find out the truth about where you really stand with God is to ASK HIM! The only way to find out the truth about the value of your life is to ask Him! The only way to find victory over shame, and fear is to ask Him! Taste the power of these verses.

“Search my heart Lord God. Tell me what you find in me. Tell me what you find so that I will know the truth about me and so I can learn the truth about You.”

Chapter 3 – The Confession Project

God’s Truth Serum

It is an awesome thing to ask God to tell you the truth about you. It can be a little nerve racking too. A little fear and trepidation is pretty normal at this level of honesty with God. This is not a disingenuous statement. You need not be fearful of anything which God wants to do in your life. God is not the author of fear. His love will cast out all fear that could keep you from Him. The Lord Jesus is the only one that can and should be trusted implicitly. I can give testimony that His love is stronger than any failure of my past or any fear that I have faced. He’s caught me every time I’ve made a leap of faith toward Him. He’s never fumbled the ball. He’s always made the catch. The only condition to the equation is that we must be at a place where we’re willing to be real. Religious games will not work in the presence of the Holy One, the Lord Jesus.

No Holds Barred

  His equation is simple. He gave everything He had to redeem us. Redeemed people should give everything back out of thankfulness. Partial obedience is 100% rebellion. The fact that so many Christians are comfortable with partial obedience is why we have very little power in the church today. There are millions of believing Christians that live like practicing atheists. Let me tell you this. God will never reward rebellion. He will wait until we get our fill of emptiness. Emptiness is a natural byproduct of living on the world’s side of the tracks for long periods of time. Father knows He must wait for the time to act when we finally get sick and tired of being sick and tired. When we reach the point where we’re willing to trust Him and only Him, a sweet intervention will begin. He meets us at the point of our need as a response to the genuine brokenness in our souls.

Are you feeling a little tired and overwhelmed by the life you’ve been trying to live?

Sometimes the only way a person can learn is through failure. God will never bail anyone out until they learn how much they really need HIM! He waits patiently on us while we chase the powerless gods of the world. He will allow us to play those religious church games until exhaustion overtakes and overcomes us. It’s pretty draining isn’t it, to try and get fire from a god that’s deaf, dumb, dead and blind. Do you remember the lesson the old false prophets of Baal learned the hard way? They had to learn there’s only one true God of power. Some of us must learn the same lesson. The God of power allows us to try and fail for as long as it takes to break us from thinking we can live on our own strength. We are close to a breakthrough when we learn our lesson well enough to admit we are powerless to help ourselves. God knows we can’t find purpose apart from Him. He knows excluding Him from our lives is less promising than a dog chasing his tail. He knows human life is pointless without an ongoing relationship with God. He knows that most men filled with poison from the fleshy bite of the Lucifer snake must taste how bitter the venom really is before they’ll scream to Him in a desperate cry for deliverance.

  You do realize that we actually deserve for Him to leave us to die don’t you. The cool thing is instead of leaving us in the far country of rebellion, or in the desert of emptiness and shame our Heavenly Father offers a new start and healing for all that come to Him. The desert of denial is a lonely, intimidating place. Satan’s desert hotel and denial spa is so hot that any time spent in it will breed an insane level of unquenchable thirst. God has the monopoly on the only water that quenches desert thirst. The moment we throw our hands up and say, “I give up” Heaven rejoices. Father says, “It’s about time! I’m so glad to hear your voice. I have been waiting on you for a long time. I am so glad you are ready for me now” “Would you like a drink?”

“Yes Lord! Help me Lord!

What kind of words do we hear when we cry out to Him? Does He say “ok I’ll help you even though you don’t deserve it”, or “no I won’t help, you had your chance before” or “I told you that you’d eventually come crawling back”? No, all any man hears is “come unto me and I will give you rest.” “Gabriel would you have some ice put in some glasses and a pitcher or two of the Holy Ghost water brought in. My kids are thirsty and they’ve come to Papa for a drink! What grace! Thank you Lord!

Motive is important too. God knows what is in your heart. He knows if you are genuinely sorry for what you’ve done and where you have been or whether you’re just sorry you got caught.  You see genuine repentance involves genuine brokenness over the effects of sin in our lives. So let’s ask a few diagnostic questions about Motive.

? Motive questions

1.      Are you ready to give up democracy for theocracy? In a democracy you have a vote. In a theocracy the only policy maker is the Lord.

2.      Are you ready to give up your kingdom to be a part of His? God will oppose the building of any kingdom except His own. Our lives are best used for His glory. Is your ambition to build His kingdom or are you still distracted by other things that might take away from your ability to love God with your whole heart?

3.      Are you ready to be filled by being emptied?  Sometimes God calls us to be an Abraham. He calls us to lay down things that are precious to us. Sometimes God calls us to be an Isaac. His call involves laying down ourselves. We must be emptied of fleshy things before we can be filled with Godly things.

4.      Are you ready to serve a king and embrace being a servant? Serving Jesus is essentially making other people successful.  You will be a ruler in eternity, but for now you are called to serve others.

The process of cleansing and filling means losing your vote.  Losing your vote means you do not get to determine what you are going to do with your life. A big part of getting free is deciding to exchange your control for His control.  Frank Peretti says in his books that Father God is the High Holy Honcho of Heaven. I love that term for Father because it mirrors what walking filled with the Spirit is all about. Walking “fessed up” means making Him the High Holy Honcho of your Heart day by day.

Chapter 4 - The Confession Project God’s New Nature tune-up! 

Christian believers have two natures. Unbelievers have only one nature. The nature of the unbeliever defies God’s authority. This defiant nature is our “before Jesus” nature. The scripture says our “before Jesus” nature made us an enemy of God. Psalms 58:3 says “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.” Romans 3:23 declares that all people have sinned. Therefore the statements in Ps 58 about the estrangement of the wicked means all people that have ever lived have been separated or enemies of God since the day they were born.  Eph 2:1 is a “before and after” verse. Eph 2:1 says, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;” “Quickened” means to be “made alive”.  The apostle is writing to those who have been quickened or made alive. If you have not been quickened then you are still dead. He is writing to those that were formerly dead in trespass and sin. He is telling the quickened Ephesian believers to rejoice because they are no longer under the curse of death and the power of sin in the same way they were before they were saved. He is not saying the battle with sin is over. He is actually saying the battle has just begun. The battle with sin actually begins the moment Holy Spirit speaks life into our hearts and we become aware of how “dead” we have actually been. The moment we’re saved is actually when the two dogs “Old Nature” and “New Nature” begin to fight.

This project is designed to teach you how to feed the new nature Jesus gave you when he birthed you spiritually into His family. Every genuinely born again person has a new nature. The absence of a new nature is a declaration that you haven’t been genuinely born again. Having a new nature does not make you perfect or sinless. A new nature does give you the desire to sin less and a new nature does enhance your ability to trust God more! FYI, your new nature does change you in some very specific ways. Your new nature produces a developing sense of hatred for sin that you loved as a lost person. Your new nature will increase your passion for people. Your new nature will produce an aversion to the things of the world that ignore and dishonor your Savior. Genuine salvation will birth an entirely new conscience in you about things that probably never bothered you when you were lost. Why do these things happen? Here are a couple of reasons.  Since we became believers “it’s not I but Christ living in me now”.  I lost my claim of ownership when I received Christ.  Galatians 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Notice some things about Gal 2:20 (1) Jesus actually did the dying so we could live. (2) The life we’re enjoying in the flesh is a life of faith, and just in case we don’t have enough faith God places the faith of Jesus inside us. Jesus starts the process of cleansing and filling us. We could not save ourselves so, He saved us. In essence He did the dying so we could do the living. We couldn’t clean ourselves up so He does the cleansing for us. We can’t fill ourselves with the power we need to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil so He fills us with the power of the Holy Spirit and even gives us spiritual gifts or tools to do the work He calls us to do. Let me say it a different way. God has loved us for forever. He planned on saving us before He ever made the world. He planned on cleansing us before sin entered into the world. He wants us to have a forever life with Him.  He wants to bless us. He wants to prosper us. He wants to heal us. He wants to live in us. He is willing to walk with us as our Heavenly Dad. He knows His power is our only deliverance from sin. He has always PLANNED on dwelling in us through the Holy Spirit. This is why He promises to finish what He started in Phil 1:6

Before we can go any further I need to ask you, “Are you sure you are really saved?” I don’t’ want to put a Band-Aid on a tumor. Jesus can’t finish something we have not allowed Him to start. If you have struggled with assurance then turn to page 22!

If you have ANY doubt as to whether you have been changed by the Spirit of God. Please stop reading for a moment and turn to page 43. Find the same “do you know that you know that you know” graphic which you see here. Go through the description for biblical salvation and make sure you are saved. Many unsaved people are religious and love the church. Many unsaved people love the idea of Jesus and believe He exists but have never surrendered their lives to Him. You can’t “rededicate” something that’s never been dedicated. Religious activity is no substitute for spiritual life.

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Step 4
Our Response

Man must accept this gift in order to have eternal life with God. This simply involves asking God for His gift and believing that He will do it based on what the Bible says:

·        I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24)

Is there any reason why you shouldn't cross over to God's side and be certain of eternal life? Can you think of any “good” reason to miss spending eternity with Jesus?

What does it mean to call on the Lord?

Many today tell us that just saying the words of a prayer . . .  are what the book of Romans means when it says “Call on the name of the Lord and you will be saved.” I can’t say this strongly enough. Anyone teaching this is wrong. Salvation is not about the prayer. Salvation is about the one you are praying to. Salvation is not about how much faith you have but in whom you place what faith you do have. There is no other name under heaven by which men can be saved. No one has ever gone into the grave and come out. The only one with power over death is Jesus. The only one with the power to forgive sin is Jesus. This is why the bible says call on the Name of Jesus and you will be saved.

 Calling on Jesus is like signing a contract. In exchange for the forgiveness of my sin I transfer the ownership of my life. Calling on Jesus is more than deliverance from the fire or eternal fire insurance. Calling on Jesus is surrendering your life to His control. If all you have done is pray a prayer of words that did not include the transferring of the ownership of your life to Him, you have not been saved. Yet! You can get it right today. God is willing to save you if you are willing to admit your need for real salvation and that you’ll receive it on His terms!

If you have never experienced what I am talking about please stop right now and ask Jesus to come into your heart and change you and save you.  Here’s how. 

How to receive Christ:

1.            Admit your need (I am a sinner).

2.            Be willing to turn from your sins (repent).

3.            Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave.

4.            Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and control your life through the Holy Spirit (Receive Him as Lord and Savior of your life).  

You are transferring the ownership of your heart to Him.

What to pray:

Dear Lord Jesus,

I know that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe that You died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite you to come into my heart and life. As much as I know how I trust you with my entire life.  I choose to follow You as the Lord and Savior of my life. Thank you for saving me just now. I will gladly tell others that today I have given my life to you and no longer belong to myself. Thank you for dying for me. Thank you for defeating death and the devil for me. Thank you for rescuing me today from the penalty of my sin. I bless your name Lord Jesus. Thank you for giving me new life today!  In the name of Jesus Amen.

God's assurance of eternal life

If you've prayed this prayer and trusting Christ, then the Bible says that you can be sure you have eternal life.

Receiving Christ, we are born into God's family through the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer ... this is called regeneration or the "new birth."

Wow! What joy for me to just write about “How to meet the Lord”! Would you email me at missions@allabouthim.org if you asked Jesus into your heart?  We want to rejoice with you for making the most important decision of your life. It will make our day to hear that you have done what God says makes His day too!

Now that you have trusted Jesus go back to the   Go Time! button on page 11 and finish the Confession Project!

Chapter 5 - The Confession Project Gentlemen start your engines!

If you know for sure you are saved, born again, filled with the life of Jesus through the Holy Spirit then please get ready because it’s  Go Time!  

It’s a good thing in your Christian walk to learn as early as you can how to get freedom from the wounds and hurts that originate from your past. There is no better time than right now to get healed up. Freeing us from bondage is what Jesus does. The freedom Jesus offers to His children is more than living with Him later. Trusting Him now is more than a “pie in the sky in the sweet bye and bye” solution. He wants to give us a taste of Heaven now. He wants us to know that eternal life with Him begins today! We preachers are pretty talented at telling people what they need to do. I’m afraid we’re a bit less talented at giving steps to accomplish such lofty goals such as walking in the power of the Holy Spirit and experientially living the victorious life the New Testament talks about over and over again.

   We are at the point in the project where we start presenting the “HOW” for walking in victory every day of your life. There’s work between where you are now and where you want to be later. Learning how to walk “fessed up” before the Lord has a prize at the end that is worth all the sacrifice that must be made. I am praying you’ll take this first step. All of heaven is praying you’ll take this first step. The Lord himself is waiting for you to take this first step. Before you set sail on this project, let me remind you that the Holy Spirit never brings up anything from our past to shame us. The only reason the Lord brings up a wound from your past is that it is still having an adverse effect on your walk with Him. He intends to heal every wound in your heart. He knows unforgiveness and bitterness harm the vessels in which they are stored more than upon whom they might be poured. Father offers to give you a new start with a new hope and a bright future. Listen with your heart to these words from the Lord!

Jer 29:11-14 I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out — plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. 12 "When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. 13 "When you come looking for me, you'll find me." Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, 14 I'll make sure you won't be disappointed in me." 

You may not know this. Our Heavenly Father is a good dad. He will do anything necessary to help get you to a place where the two of you can fellowship together. He wants the very best for you.  The Lord says we are to run to Him no matter what life or the devil tries to throw at us. In the picture on page 18 the little boy is sitting beside his father getting help with his homework. In a sense, the boy is resting in his dad’s lap. That‘s a picture of what the Lord  asks his kids to do too. Crawl up into His lap and let your spiritual Dad bless you. In Ps 42:1 David prayed “As the deer pants after the water brook O Lord, so let my soul pant after thee. Deer run to the water for two reasons. They run to the water when they are thirsty and they run to the water when they are trying to hide from an enemy. Are you are pursued by the enemy? Run to the Lord! Is your soul is dry and thirsty? Run to the Lord!

The picture of the dad with his son is a great visual for what God wants you to do in a spiritual sense with Him. Crawl up in his lap. Just say, “Help me!” Crawl up next to Father and say “In Jesus name, cleanse me!” It makes God glad when we come to Him with our needs. It’s a good thing when we allow the Lord to love on us like he’s always wanted to do the since the day we were born. Jump to Him. It will be FINE!  He caught me when I finally jumped to Him. He will catch you too. He will not let you fall.  Let go and jump to Him in faith. Do it! Do it! Do it!

Ready? Set! Go!

Chapter 6 - The Confession Project

God’s Step by Step by Step to Freedom

Let’s review a few things. This section gives more detailed information about how God speaks to you when you pray a “search my heart” prayer. Try to follow the plan as closely as possible. I don’t want you to miss out on the freedom miracle which is waiting for you as a gift from the Lord Jesus. I’ve tasted Father’s freedom and probably one of the reasons I have written this book is because I am a satisfied customer. It won’t be long before you’ll begin to experience this freedom too. As healing comes you’ll probably begin to get as excited as I am about the grace of God!

Step One

Pray or personalize Psalms 139:23 – 24 to the Lord!

Here are two translations of the same verse that I combined to use as a guide. Use these words as your prayer to God. Speak them to Him as much from your heart as you can.

Investigate my life, O God and find out everything about me. Cross-examine and test me, and get a clear picture of what I'm about; See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong then guide me on the road to eternal life. “Search ME dear Lord and then because I have a tendency to lie to myself, please tell me what YOU find so I can know the truth about where I am in my quest for victorious living day by day!” Ps 139:23 – 24 *

Personalize means to pray the verse back to the Lord, using His words as your words.

1.      Pray this first. Father I believe in Jesus name that you will answer my prayer. I know you want to set me free from every area of bondage in my life.  I give you permission to do whatever is necessary to heal my heart.

2.      Now, pray the Ps 139 verse. Sit back and open your mind up to meditate on what you just prayed. .      

3.      What thoughts are in your head right this minute?  Holy Spirit is speaking to you right now by bringing these memories to your attention.

Chapter 7 - The Confession Project

God loves Lists!

Step Two - Make a Sin and Weight list! God is speaking right now. You will hear His voice through your thoughts as soon as you are ready to listen.

 What things should I write down? I am glad you asked. The Holy Spirit will whisper to you about two types of things.

·        First, He will speak to you about sin. Some sins are from the past. Some sins are active problems right now.  Unconfessed sin from the past shuts down our present tense communication with Holy Spirit. These strongholds hinder our fellowship with Father.

·        Secondly, He will speak to you about weights. Weights are non sinful areas that have become stumbling blocks in your spiritual walk.

·        Expanded material defining a weight is in chapter 10 on page 33.

Don’t put this off! Get to it! (1) Get a pad of paper (2) Start by numbering 1 – 10, but don’t be surprised if you need more numbers later. (3) Make a list of any thoughts that involve memories of these types of things – bitterness, fear, hatred, moral impurity, greed, sins, or weights. If you start having a thought about something that seems harmless or even godly go ahead and write it down and then judge it after you have read the material on weights. Most people are surprised by the “good” things that have actually become harmful in their walk with the Lord.

When you reach a point where you can’t think of anything else to write down move on to the next discussion.

 Freedom Principle! Let God define what is sin, not your friends or family or the world.

Galatians 5 is a passage showing part of God’s sin list. Let’s read Gal 5:19 and get a taste of what God’s definition of sin might be.

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissentions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.

Due to 2000 years of cultural changes this sin list is not exhaustive. Regardless of what kind of moral and ethical path society has taken Galatians 5 is a good place to start when you are trying to determine whether or not something is sin. I will say this also. If we have to ask if something is sin the Holy Spirit has probably already waved a red flag around in our hearts.

Questionable things don’t usually turn out to be holy. For “on the line” or “gray area” things I would suggest that you ask  three questions about whatever you are unsure about.

·        Is it pure?

·        Is it right or factual?

·        Is it holy?

Notice that God’s Galatians 5 definitions of sin are pretty black and white compared to the gray opinions of the world.  Someone must define what the boundaries are. The 100, 000 dollar question is who is qualified to draw the lines of demarcation. When men try to define sin boundaries you’ll notice the list of sins changes from denomination to denomination, from culture to culture and even from family to family.  I am sure you have already come to this correct conclusion. The only one qualified to define sin is the Lord God himself. God is the only one righteous enough to determine where the moral fence lines should run and which ones are necessary to live life to the full. Get in agreement with Him and you’ll be at peace with yourself. Get in agreement and you’ll be at peace with Him. God does not make rules to restrict us. God’s rules are to protect us from the enemies that would like to steal our joy, kill our hope, and destroy our relationship with Father.

God’s words bring life!  Make a note of this. No other person’s opinion matters any longer once God has made His opinion public. I used to see a bumper sticker that said “God said it and I believe it. That makes it true!” The bumper sticker sounds really good but truthfully it makes a false statement. If God said it, whether I believe it or not, God’s word is always true. His words are true whether we agree with them or not. I can say the words which declare God doesn’t love me. Just speaking the words does not mean they are true because no matter what I say or believe the Lord Jesus does love me. How do I know? His word says so. We can say there’s no hope.  But there is hope in the name of Jesus. People can accuse you of being a worthless failure. In the perspective of the world you may be. God looks at our existence and place in this life differently. He is the God of the 2^nd chance. Nothing is too hard for Him and that includes cleaning you up to where you can enjoy spending time with Him both now and in eternity. Words that wound and bring shame are curses from the demons of Hell. Word curses are planted in human minds by the accuser of the brethren. His words kill joy, wound hearts, and destroy hope. God’s words bring life and healing. In their eyes you may be a failure.  But hear this! You are not a failure lost cause in God’s eyes. God’s word says we are precious to Him even though we have all sinned. God says he loves us and that there’s hope in Jesus. God’s word says that life is precious and that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made. The only words that carry any weight are His! His words about himself over-rule any words I speak about Him. His words about me over-rule the words I speak about myself. His words about us even over-rule the words other people speak about us.

   Do you know why? He’s the eternal One. He’s the one we’ll stand before in eternity. We won’t stand in front of our friends, or our family. We will stand in front of Him, the Lord Jesus.  No ones else’s opinion matters concerning the definitions of sin.  As you pray, make sure to write specifically any thoughts about events or attitudes that fit this Gal 5 list. 

     Chapter 8 – The Confession Project

God’s Onion Patch

Step Three - Do the Work! Picture the layers of an onion. Confession is God’s way of peeling away hurtful stuff one layer at a time. Write until nothing else comes to mind. Put down all the gory details if there are any, because this is all between you and the one that already knows. You should not show your list to anyone else. When the Holy Spirit is finished talking to you and is ready to end the session, you’ll run out of things to write.  He will deal with more in your next session when you have recovered your strength.  He won’t dump the whole load on you at once.

List making 101 for onions and others!

The basic principle for making a freedom list is the Holy Spirit decides when enough is enough. He decides whether all the layers are exposed that He wants to deal with at that particular time. Once you have started running this race, make a vow in your soul to finish the course. There’s an old hymn that says, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.” I’m telling you that we don’t have to wait until we can see Jesus physically to experience His power and to get full of His grace. Tears and sweat are a price that is worth paying. God’s will is for all of us to get healed up and filled up during this life. We don’t have to wait until later. That is what makes “later with God” so mind boggling. This is what makes the promise of heaven so sweet to me. If this life can be so incredibly awesome then “my, my, my” how wonderful is the home He is working on for us in eternity going to be!

Be honest and write it all down! – The Lord is a counselor you can trust!

Here are important components to help you to correctly make your sin list.

1.      Privacy is guaranteed - This list is for your eyes only. No one is going to make you show anything you write to anyone else, unless you want to.

2.      Transparency is expected – Be Honest! God already knows everything so nothing you write down will shock Him.

3.      Trusting Faith is a key to success - He loves you unconditionally and will not hurt you.

4.      Focus on the prize at the end, not the pain on the path - Confession is for your benefit, not his. Prayer does not change God. Prayer changes us.

5.      Finish what you start! - After you reach a point where there is nothing left to put on your list that is a sign the Lord is finished with you for the time being. There will be other layers He will deal with later. I am sure this has been painful up to now. The good news is that the whole process is about to become a time of joy, and a time of hope as the Lord  begins to heal the areas represented by what you have written on your “sin list”.

6.      Worship is how we show gratitude - Be sure to spend time thanking the Lord for every breakthrough you experience. Some healing is quick. Other types of healing may involve a process that lasts for days, or months or years. You didn’t get the way you are overnight. Be patient and diligent to continue seeking the cleansing of God on a daily basis. I speak healing and restoration in the Name of Jesus on all that read this text. May you get free and stay free and walk in the power and the anointing of the Holy Spirit the rest of your life.

Chapter 9 – The Confession Project

God’s Filling Station

Step Four – It’s time to stop confessing and start getting some cleansing.

This next chapter is where we are going to get to lay aside a bunch of that baggage you’ve been carrying for years. Come on! It’s going to be great. With your sin list in hand, pray 1 John 1:9 to the Lord.  Here is the text – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Here is an expanded version of 1 John 1:9 to help you know what you are praying.  

If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, the Lord is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].  AMP

Do what the verse says and God promises today will be a day of healing for you. Here’s a personalized version of 1 John 1:9 for you to pray back to the Lord right now!

“Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus. Lord you’re the only hope I have to get free. Lord Jesus I’m confessing my sin to you and I’m counting on you to be faithful and just to forgive my sin, and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness just like you said you would. Lord I’m doing exactly what you tell me to do in 1 John 1:9 and I am expecting by faith that you’ll do what you say in response to my doing what you told me to do. Thank you in advance Lord for cleansing my heart from the sin and the unrighteousness of my past. Amen!”

1.      Remember God can not lie. If He says He will do something, then He will do whatever He promises. He loves you as much as anyone alive. He is for you, not against you.

2.      Rejoice! You are about to be set free from all kinds of hurtful memories and habits. The angels are poised and ready to start the celebration as soon as Father looks on your heart and says, “IT’S FINISHED!” As the healing touch of the Holy Spirit chases those spirits of shame and emptiness away, the band in Heaven will be playing, and the chorus of angels will be shouting “Glory, glory! All because you just accepted the forgiveness of our Father. God isn’t angry with you. He just wants you free from the clutches of the enemy that hates Him, who also has dedicated himself to trying to steal, kill and destroy you and your families’ lives.

3.      Receive the “If – Then” promise of 1 John 1:9. An if/then promise means (1) when a certain action is performed, we can (2) expect a predictable result. In this case, if we confess our sin, God will cleanse every area that our mind, will and emotions have been corrupted by sin. Confession begins the spiritual process to restore everything which sin has broken.

4.      Renounce! Go to the top of your “sin” list. Do what 1 John 1:9 says.

1.      Begin with number one on your list and confess your way through each numbered entry you wrote on your list.

2.      Confess every entry on your paper as personal sin, no matter who was at fault. Jesus took our blame even He was not to blame. He knew no sin at all and still took the penalty for our sin on Himself.

Sometimes we must take the blame for others to be reconciled to them and to God. It works like this. When someone hurts me it’s natural for my heart to be broken. When I forgive them, and respond by praying for them to be blessed instead of cursed I become part of the answer. When I ask God to deal with them by returning good for evil I’ll never be in danger of allowing their actions to cause me to harbor my hurt and eventually become bitter. Hurt is part of life. How we deal with hurt determines whether we live in victory or defeat. Bitterness is the next step for someone that has not learned how to forgive properly and how to vent our anger spiritually. The blame is on our shoulders when we become bitter.  No matter whose fault the original offense was bitterness is never acceptable to God.

5.      Repent! - Don’t just admit the things on your list are wrong. Turn from them, and let go of them. Verbally tell the Lord you’re willingly to give all of them up.

6.      Rebuild and Re-Fuel - Finish praying through your list and ask the Lord to let you get filled up with the good stuff. Out with the bad, and in with the good! Confession and repentance miraculously empties our souls of really hurtful things.  After each cleansing session, ask the Holy Spirit to fill each part of your mind, your will and your emotions with his power. Ask for a Spiritual filling in every area which was once occupied by something on your list.

7.      Fill’er Up! Get a whole tank full! - If you will allow the Lord to cleanse you and then fill you on a daily basis, you’ll have many wonderful things to give back to Jesus when we get to Heaven.

8.      Take hold of your healing in faith - God said it and that settles it!  I like to burn my lists to symbolically represent my cleansing in the Holy Ghost. Don’t just do this once and then quit!  Do this project every day for 21 days and you’ll have a new spiritual habit which will train your heart to walk in victory. Paper will become obsolete after a few days of working the project. As you get “fessed up” there won’t be much need for paper because your “sin list” will be so short! You are building new spiritual habits.

9.      Pray without ceasing - You are becoming what the Apostle Paul describes as someone that prays without ceasing. Praying without ceasing does not mean talking incessantly 24/7. A big part of this type of praying is listening. The realization that we are always in the presence of the Lord can be a revelatory concept.  Real prayer is a two way conversation. Sin has a way of blinding us to the fact God is really with us. Sin blinds us, while Holy Spirit opens our eyes to truth. Sin dulls our senses while Holy Spirit lets us sense the world around us with the heart of the Lord Jesus. Sin shames us, while Holy Spirit exhilarates us. Sin desires the light while those filled with Holy Spirit seek the light of Jesus. I am proud of you for getting this far. Do the work. Receive your freedom. It has already been bought and paid for. Claim it in Jesus name. Enjoy it and tell everyone that will listen what great things God has done in your life. Blessings in Jesus Name!

Chapter 10 - The Confession Project

Weights and Sin

In scripture, a sin and a weight are different. Most people would say this. I think I know what a sin is but what is a weight!  Heb 12:1-2 is where weight and sin are shown to be two different things.

 “therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.  This passage refers to entanglements called weights.

 This discussion is added material to use after you’ve worked through the project at least once. In the previous chapters we attempted to biblically identify and define what sin strongholds were and to get the reader familiar with the process of confession. Now we want to learn how to confess and pray through strongholds called weights. Weights are a little more difficult to identify but are still very devastating if left unchecked.  Weights are different than sin but weights have a similar effect in our walk with the Lord in that they weaken our spiritual hearing and they allow the enemy to have permission in our lives to oppose the work of God in our hearts. Weights must be identified using different methods. Weights usually subtly distract us over a long period of time from loving Jesus with our whole heart. A weight is an attitude or a possession or an activity which may be OK for others, but not for you. Sin is just . . . well . . . sin. Sin is more black and white and is easier to identify than a weight.  A weight can be anything legal, moral, or acceptable that actually causes you to compromise your walk with Jesus. Sin is a little more tangible.  Sin is less difficult to deal with logically. A weight is more abstract. Determining a weight to be a hindrance demands a more subjective consideration than defining a stronghold of sin, People caught in the bondages of immorality, lying, stealing, bitterness or anger don’t usually require a lot of convincing that these types of things should not be in their lives. Sin is usually an attitude or action that has already become a problem.

Weights are attitudes or actions that might become a problem. Therefore, convincing a person that a weight is hindering their walk with God usually takes “revelation” knowledge from the Holy Spirit. Most people need a word from the Lord before they see the need to be willing to give it up. Many weights are acceptable things and sometimes they are even Godly things in another venue. I have seen the desire to build a big church become a weight in the lives of many pastors. They in a sense break their covenant with their wife and children to build a covenant with a church congregation. They sacrifice their marriage or the relationship with their children to “build” a ministry. God’s eyesight is so imperative because He does not judge on surface information. I mean how would it sound to tell a preacher that he is in bondage to a weight and to get rid of it he must lay his ministry down for awhile. That kind of talk sounds crazy doesn’t it? Without God’s spiritual sight none of us can judge or see how damaging a weight is becoming until its too late. Some weights are actually desirable or helpful to other people. So how could they be detrimental to us? Do you see how tough identifying a weight can be? This is also why self exams can’t be trusted. Self exams make us indentured servants of that which is logical and practical. God will search our hearts and examine everything in light of how it affects eternal things in our future. This is why the only exam we can trust must come from the Great Physician. We misjudge the weights in our lives because our “sight line” is limited. Our human gaze uses present tense knowledge derived from past tense experience to evaluate the effects which present tense decisions might have on our future. Did that confuse you? Here is why! Men take simple things and make them complex. God takes complex things and makes them simple. Father is able to make complex decisions look simple because He has a superb vision of the whole playing field. He also makes decisions that are mistake free.

Making the right choice would be fairly simple if you were 100% sure that IBM stock was going from 25 dollars today up to 200 dollars tomorrow?  God sees our lives this very way. He knows how the things in our lives today are going to affect us and our families tomorrow. He sees everything in light of the past, the present and the future because He is not affected by time. In fact, God experiences everything, the past, the present and the future in an eternal “right now.” His decisions concerning us are based on what he sees in the big picture of eternity.  Limited sight can be overcome by developing a trust relationship with someone with clear sight. It doesn’t matter how well you can see if you have the right friend.  Regardless of our limitations we can walk in victory by simply trusting the information our eagle eye friend.

Partial obedience is complete rebellion. The root of delayed obedience is either rebellion or unbelief. Just refusing to obey until we are inclined to do what He asks is a delay caused by rebellion. This behavior is not a weight. This kind of behavior is sin. James 4:17 says, “To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not to him it is sin.”  Refusing to obey because of fear that God might not know what He’s doing is a delay caused by unbelief.  Unbelief is sin but could be a weight masked as caution or prudence. Therefore unbelief could be sin or it could be a weight.

The main issue is this. Anything that stands between you and total commitment to the Lord must be laid to the side. And this is why God deals with sins and weights the same way.

·        He asks us to lay all of them down in confession and let Him decide what goes and what stays.

·        He takes what could hurt us away.

·        He gives back the things that help us honor Him with our lives.

God hates sin and He hates weights. He hates anything that keeps us from Him. Do you know why? Because He loves us!

Here is another thought. One sign or evidence of the filling of the Holy Spirit is a progressive love for what God loves and a growing hatred for what God hates.

A biblical picture to help identify a weight is the act of circumcision. Without going into all the details let’s say it this way. Circumcision is the cutting away of two things - things are (1) un-necessary and (2) things which could cause disease in the body at a later time.  God sees our past, our present and our future. Some harmless looking things in our lives now have a propensity for disaster in the future. Even though things may appear harmless we must obey quickly when we are told to put something aside. We must trust Father so that when He sees the harmless things of today becoming the harmful things of tomorrow, He knows He can ask us to lay them down before they become problems.

  We may be tempted to ask “Why” as if God owes us an explanation. He doesn’t because if you will remember we became his property when we got saved. Don’t wait for an explanation. Just lay it down! Father is not trying to control you. He is trying to protect you!  The quicker we obey the better. Obedience is how God protects us from ourselves and from the enemy. The quicker we obey what Father says the less opportunity the enemy has to gain permission into some area of our lives to wreck havoc.

Rom 8:1 THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.

Another visual example of a weight – A weight is like trying to run a 100 meter foot race wearing combat boots filled with cement. It’s legal to wear the boots. The question you must ask yourself is this. Why would you wear the boots if you didn’t have to wear them? Why would you wear the boots if you knew they were going to be the reason you lost the race? Well duh, preacher. I wouldn’t wear them! That is right! Correctamundo! You wouldn’t wear them if you expect to compete in the race, much less win.

Another visual example to consider - Another illustration according to the Word of God would involve a man’s work.  The scripture says men are expected to work and provide for their families. Therefore, work is always God’s will, correct? Not necessarily. The reason many men miss going to church with their family is because they work so much overtime.

Some men feel they NEED a huge house, a brand new vehicle or two, a boat, and a bunch of other temporary stuff. Truthfully those things are the things we want, not the things we need. There is a choice. They could choose a smaller house, or an older car. They could sell the boat and maybe be able to choose to not work as much. This option is usually never a consideration. The “weight” in this case is choosing temporary things over eternal things. This type of living says “Material stuff” matters more than “spiritual stuff”.  Our families see an attitude that says, “I’ll serve you Lord, as long as there’s nothing better to do!” NO wonder our children “raised in church” go off on their own, start their own families and leave Jesus out of their lives. They learned it from us!  My question is this. If you think it’s not prudent to wear combat boots to a footrace, then why would a man choose a big house over making sure he was around to take part in the spiritual training of his children?  Do you know what Mark 8:36-37 says?  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Pretty tough question huh? It gets worse. Listen to an application of those same verses.  “What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose the souls of his children, or the respect and love of his wife? What will a man trade for the souls of his family?”  

    God’s perspective is clear. There is a difference between a need and a want. Working to purchase wants instead of needs at the expense of the spiritual training of your family is a weight.  Now that you know what are you going to do?  Did the Holy Spirit bring any weight-like hindrances to your mind? They need to be written down on your confessional sheet.  Write them all down regardless of whether you think they are sins or weights then go to 1 John 1:9 and work through your list. I’m praying for another layer to get peeled and healed. Blessings in Jesus name!

Chapter 11 – The Confession Project

Questions and Answers

Here is a question some have asked? What about things I have already confessed? Why don’t they stay gone? My sins seem like a boomerang!  Things I confessed last year left and stayed gone awhile but now they are back in my mind. Why am I remembering things I already prayed about or asked forgiveness for? Didn't God forgive me?

“FESSED UP and FREE!”  Here's what happens when we do the project properly! 

 Most of us get sloppy in our walk. We let down our guard. The moment we let down our guard, the Enemy is waiting with his friends. The world, the flesh and the devil are patient and vigilant. They always lie in wait for an opportunity to counterattack and nail us with the quickness of a cobra grabbing a field mouse. Sometimes the enemy will try to mimic the voice of God. What could be better than to try and get us thinking that Father is angry and ashamed of us? Satan has become adept at attacking through our closest friends and relatives.  He may use a whisper about a time of failure or having someone bring up the name of an enemy we’ve had trouble releasing in forgiveness.  Wham–o!  We’re right back in the cesspools of the past, looking around with a blank face wondering what happened! Satan laughs at our ignorance.  God weeps for our pain.  Our hope dissipates. Our faith quivers. Our resolve weakens. Our spiritual house begins to shake a bit. Good news! Father says we are still welcome to come to him and throw ourselves on his lap and rest and receive forgiveness again and again. He will in no wise cast us out. Pretty good huh? He wrote that himself!

How does it happen? Actually pretty simply! We usually go back psychologically into the cess pool of our past because of an illicit soul tie. We pick up the excess baggage again in our mind, will, and emotions. An illicit soul tie can be a connection to a painful event. Illicit soul tie can come from a death or a divorce or the anniversary of the day you got beat in the state finals.  Soul tie can come from hearing a song that connects you to a sinful memory or reminds you of a person that shared in the making of that sinful memory.  Sometimes a soul tie can jump up and bite us because we haven’t forgiven ourselves.  Unbelief is rejecting God statements that He has really forgiven us like He said he would. Usually we don’t even know what we have done when we pick up baggage from our past. So . . . even though those offenses have been “cast as far as the east is from the west” in the mind of God, they become active wounds again that need to be put under the blood. Picking things up does not mean he “un-forgives you. Picking them up becomes a whole NEW offense, thereby a new confession is necessary to get clean again. Those “soul-ties” need to be broken and put under the blood. Put them all back on your list. Give Father God permission to break any connection or soul tie you may have to potential doorways the enemy might use to counter-attack.

The proper perspective in dealing with old sins is to ask forgiveness for “picking those old stinky things up”.  Write on your list a confession that you have been acting outside the realm of faith, in the natural.  Picking things up that we have already confessed to the Lord is living as if they have not been forgiven at all. I heard one preacher say that this is how a practical believer can live like a practicing atheist.

The Lord anticipates the very instant we pick up burdens that need to be left under the Blood! I believe grace provides everything necessary for a child of God. Our Heavenly Father is all knowing. Nothing sneaks up on Him and surprises Him. The moment we step from freedom into the cesspool of past failure, Father makes grace, restoration and forgiveness available. The moment we return, repent, and receive His forgiveness again by faith we are restored. The exact millisecond we confess our sin frees us as quickly as we got bound up. We don’t have to stay in the pigpen and do penance.  The Cross was all about penance on our behalf. God did penance for us at Calvary so the resurrection could appropriate grace into our lives just for the asking. The Lord reminds us the grace package he purchased with blood has freed us from the power of the cesspool whether we choose to live like we’re free or not. The key is keeping “short sin lists”.  A short sin list builds the habit of confession and repentance into our daily lives.

No perfect people, just one perfect Savior!

Holy Spirit promised to finish what he started in you. Phil 1:6 says “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” You can rest assured the Lord will never give up on you no matter how many set backs occur. The best course of action when a thought, or an action or a relationship is “red-flagged” by the Lord is to confess it as quickly as possible. Don’t wait for an explanation. Just do it. Father will never tell you to let go of something unless there is spiritual harm in holding on to it. You see real victory is not sinless walking. Victorious walking is sinning less. Victory comes by getting “fessed up” quickly.  Confess each sin specifically.  Confess each sin quickly. His voice is the one that lifts you up. He points out the sin specifically. He gently reminds us that our past has been dealt with through the death of Jesus, and it should be left permanently where the debt was paid. At the cross!!

For the Christian, CONFESSION is never in regard to heaven and hell in eternity. Our eternal destination has already been settled by grace.

Confession for the believer is to re-establish fellowship or to enhance and fine tune our relationship with the Lord Jesus.

Chapter 12 – The Confession Project

What words are from God and what words aren’t!    

You can know without doubt whose voice is speaking to your heart. God’s words will always have specific root in the Word of God, the Bible. His word does not come from the Koran, the writing of Confucius, or great Grandma Lucy who taught you “God helps them that helps themselves.”  It is interesting to me how so many people give the Words of men the same authority as the Words of God. We let people define truth by what is logical to them instead of strictly what God has said already in the written “Word.” No wonder we have so much confusion.  Declaring and defining absolute truth is dangerous when the definitions are written by selfish and imperfect men. Look at the little table below. It has some contrasting “words”

Godly Conviction vs. Satanic condemnation

Comparison 1

Comparison 2   

Comparison 3   

Comparison 4  

Application 1 – The enemy will tell you things like “you are a failure, or a hypocrite.” Those words are true. No big news there. Even God has already said, “You have all sinned and fallen short.”  The majesty of God’s adds this little statement to the indictment that we’ve all sinned. I gave my son to die so I could offer the gift of forgiveness to you anyway. Glory! I like God’s words better than the other dude’s!

Application 2 – God put His promises in scripture to set us free. Satan insinuates He wrote the scripture to condemn us. When Satan lied to Eve it was on the basis of attacking the character of God. He suggested to them that God was not trustworthy. Father is the ONLY one we can trust to speak truthfully. A word from God is to improve our lives and more importantly increase our usefulness to Him in the work of the kingdom. Men filled with shame don’t usually have a good sensitivity to other people. Women filled with fear don’t usually step out on the limb of faith with God to try and do something great that will impact eternity.

Application Three – Winston Churchill during World War II gave the shortest speech he ever gave to a boy’s school. “Never, never, never give up!” Satan bombards you with words to stymie your joy, kill your drive, point out your deficiencies, publicize your shame, and with words which continually open your wounds again and again. He wants you to give up. He wants you to quit.  Have you ever said, “Does this ever end? Will this ever be over?” These statements are sure signs we have received words from the enemy that need to be confessed, renounced and released from our hearts. The words of God will always encourage and empower you to go on to the end with Jesus.

Application Four – Ps 37 says, “Fret Not!” Worry is the sign that the wrong words have found a resting place in your soul. Our souls have three parts. Mind, will and emotion. Worry paralyses the mind, deadens the will and kills the emotion of joy and contentment. Colossians 3:15 is one of my favorite verses. Pay attention to the word “rule” as you read it. “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”

The English word translated “rule” in Col 3:15 is the Greek word from which we get our word “umpire.” What does an umpire do at a ball game? Picture the scene with me. The score is tied in the bottom of the ninth inning and there’s a runner on first base and two outs.  The hitter smacks a double down the line to left field. The runner rounds second base and is going to try to score all the way from first. The fielder picks up the ball and throws it toward home plate. The runner has rounded third and is barreling down the base line toward home with the winning run. He slides into the plate in a cloud of dust. The ball hits the catchers’ glove. The glove touches the ankle of the runner simultaneously with the sound of the runner’s foot hitting the base. The crowd has gone nuts! Everyone leans toward the plate to hear the call of the umpire!  The call of “safe or out” can only be made by the umpire. Does he say, well I’m not sure.” No, he makes the call. SAFE! The home crowd is ecstatic. The point is this. The peace of God is the “yes” in your heart. A lack of peace is a “no” in your heart. The Word in Col 3:15 gives you a tool to make practical decisions without just doing a bunch of things and “hoping” you were doing right. The more of the Word we know the less susceptible we are to the half-truths and lies of the enemy.  God's correction in our lives will be based on the things he's already said, not "new" revelation. Prophesy is still a gift of the Holy Spirit to the church today. The check and balance for using prophesy today is that no prophetic word will contradict any past word God has spoken in His Word.  As we come to a close of this part of the teaching I want to leave you with a short list of the things God says to enable you to get in the habit of making the right confessions day by day.