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CONFESSIONAL PROJECT The purpose of this project is to help prepare your heart and mind for God s work in the world One of the most important exercises we can learn is confession in order that we might be ready in season and out of season 2 Timothy 4 2 This Confessional Project is based on the understanding that Holy Spirit is a better counselor than any human being Go to Him with your heart before you go to any human source If it is He that called you to minister then it will be He Who prepares you for that ministry No person can do this for you In addition Holy Spirit is our deliverer and He knows exactly what cleansing we need whether we know or not Because He knows what we do not we need to be in intimate relationship with Him not only as we prepare for ministry but as we live our daily lives The fundamental scriptural basis for this Confessional Project is Psalm 139 23 24 STEP ONE Sins Weights STEP TWO Make a List STEP THREE Do the Work STEP FOUR Release to God Search me O God and know my heart t ry me and know my anxious thoughts And see if there be any hurtful way in me and lead me in the everlasting way

CONFESSIONAL PROJECT The purpose of this project is to help prepare your heart and mind for God s work in the world One of the most important exercises we can learn is confession in order that we might be ready in season and out of season 2 Timothy 4 2 This Confessional Project is based on the understanding that Holy Spirit is a better counselor than any human being Go to Him with your heart before you go to any human source If it is He that called you to minister then it will be He Who prepares you for that ministry No person can do this for you In addition Holy Spirit is our deliverer and He knows exactly what cleansing we need whether we know or not Because He knows what we do not we need to be in intimate relationship with Him not only as we prepare for ministry but as we live our daily lives The fundamental scriptural basis for this Confessional Project is Psalm 139 23 24 STEP ONE Sins Weights STEP TWO Make a List STEP THREE Do the Work STEP FOUR Release to God Search me O God and know my heart t ry me and know my anxious thoughts And see if there be any hurtful way in me and lead me in the everlasting way

CONFESSIONAL PROJECT The purpose of this project is to help prepare your heart and mind for God s work in the world One of the most important exercises we can learn is confession in order that we might be ready in season and out of season 2 Timothy 4 2 This Confessional Project is based on the understanding that Holy Spirit is a better counselor than any human being Go to Him with your heart before you go to any human source If it is He that called you to minister then it will be He Who prepares you for that ministry No person can do this for you In addition Holy Spirit is our deliverer and He knows exactly what cleansing we need whether we know or not Because He knows what we do not we need to be in intimate relationship with Him not only as we prepare for ministry but as we live our daily lives The fundamental scriptural basis for this Confessional Project is Psalm 139 23 24 STEP ONE Sins Weights STEP TWO Make a List STEP THREE Do the Work STEP FOUR Release to God Search me O God and know my heart t ry me and know my anxious thoughts And see if there be any hurtful way in me and lead me in the everlasting way

STEP ONE Pray this scripture What this means is that you personalize this scripture by restating it in first person I or me and use the text of the scripture as the words to a prayer back to God Before you pray be sure and understand what you are asking Let s do a quick word study The word search means to penetrate to examine intimately The word heart is the most interior self the place of emotion will and intellect It is the very center or core of something So now when you put all that back in to the verses you get this prayer Penetrate me Father Examine me intimately into my darkest places into the core of my being into my heart Test me Holy Spirit Gather the evidence You need to use to show me my own thoughts Investigate what I think about what I meditate on what consumes my mind Behold my idols and show me my sin See what I ve made with my own hands and set up and worshipped instead of You The word try means to test to investigate to put to trial with evidence Consider the mental pain and anguish that is locked up in my head and show me the weight that holds me down Gaze at my ways Look at me I m looking at You to transport me to the freedom You have promised See means to behold consider gaze with the idea that one is looking at another It is not just looking around in general it is looking AT something or someone specifically You are my guide out of here Lead me on to what You ve wanted for me since the beginning of time I yield myself to You and Your flashlight Show me what is keeping me from walk ing in the Light as You are in the light By Your grace set me free The word hurtful is interesting it means an idol fashioned by hands or physical or mental pain and anguish The word lead means to transport or guide Everlasting means from the beginning of time ancient In Jesus name I pray Amen After you pray you can expect God to answer your prayer right away The answer to your prayer will come as thoughts in the form or memories The Holy Spirit will remind you about two types of things

STEP ONE Pray this scripture What this means is that you personalize this scripture by restating it in first person I or me and use the text of the scripture as the words to a prayer back to God Before you pray be sure and understand what you are asking Let s do a quick word study The word search means to penetrate to examine intimately The word heart is the most interior self the place of emotion will and intellect It is the very center or core of something So now when you put all that back in to the verses you get this prayer Penetrate me Father Examine me intimately into my darkest places into the core of my being into my heart Test me Holy Spirit Gather the evidence You need to use to show me my own thoughts Investigate what I think about what I meditate on what consumes my mind Behold my idols and show me my sin See what I ve made with my own hands and set up and worshipped instead of You The word try means to test to investigate to put to trial with evidence Consider the mental pain and anguish that is locked up in my head and show me the weight that holds me down Gaze at my ways Look at me I m looking at You to transport me to the freedom You have promised See means to behold consider gaze with the idea that one is looking at another It is not just looking around in general it is looking AT something or someone specifically You are my guide out of here Lead me on to what You ve wanted for me since the beginning of time I yield myself to You and Your flashlight Show me what is keeping me from walk ing in the Light as You are in the light By Your grace set me free The word hurtful is interesting it means an idol fashioned by hands or physical or mental pain and anguish The word lead means to transport or guide Everlasting means from the beginning of time ancient In Jesus name I pray Amen After you pray you can expect God to answer your prayer right away The answer to your prayer will come as thoughts in the form or memories The Holy Spirit will remind you about two types of things

SIN He will speak to you about sin This sin will be current sin that is in your life that you are allowing and or acting out and this sin will also be past sin that is unconfessed and or unhealed that is hindering your ability to have a free flowing relationship with God Weights are different than sin although each has the same negative effect on our attempts to walk with Jesus in His Spirit A weight is anything legal moral or acceptable that actually causes you to compromise your commitment to Jesus It may be OK for others but not for you Write any of these hindrances that come to mind These basic sin ideas are listed in Galatians 5 19 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 This is a passage with a list of things which God says is sin If you want to be at peace with Him then you must be in agreement with Him God s definition of sin is very different from the opinion of the world most of the time So if your mind fills up with thoughts about any event or attitude that fits this list make sure to write it down specifically WEIGHT He will also tell you about areas that are potential stumbling blocks in your walk with the Lord These are areas that could turn into sin if not dealt with quickly The idea of weights is presented in Hebrews 12 1 2 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 STEP TWO Make a sin list Write down everything which comes into your mind God is ready to speak to you as soon as you are ready to listen Get a pad of paper Start off with numbers 1 10 but be ready to add to the list as He leads Weights and Sins all go on your list Whatever He says write it down Don t be vague be specific It may be ugly to look at but it s worth it

SIN He will speak to you about sin This sin will be current sin that is in your life that you are allowing and or acting out and this sin will also be past sin that is unconfessed and or unhealed that is hindering your ability to have a free flowing relationship with God Weights are different than sin although each has the same negative effect on our attempts to walk with Jesus in His Spirit A weight is anything legal moral or acceptable that actually causes you to compromise your commitment to Jesus It may be OK for others but not for you Write any of these hindrances that come to mind These basic sin ideas are listed in Galatians 5 19 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 This is a passage with a list of things which God says is sin If you want to be at peace with Him then you must be in agreement with Him God s definition of sin is very different from the opinion of the world most of the time So if your mind fills up with thoughts about any event or attitude that fits this list make sure to write it down specifically WEIGHT He will also tell you about areas that are potential stumbling blocks in your walk with the Lord These are areas that could turn into sin if not dealt with quickly The idea of weights is presented in Hebrews 12 1 2 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 STEP TWO Make a sin list Write down everything which comes into your mind God is ready to speak to you as soon as you are ready to listen Get a pad of paper Start off with numbers 1 10 but be ready to add to the list as He leads Weights and Sins all go on your list Whatever He says write it down Don t be vague be specific It may be ugly to look at but it s worth it

STEP THREE Do the work Write until nothing else comes to mind When Holy Spirit is finished talking to you and is ready to end this session you ll run out of things to write This list is for your eyes only so be honest You won t have to show anything you write to anyone unless you want to Confession is for your benefit not His He s still going to be God whether you cooperate in this process or not What you don t write down will only affect you and your relationship with Him and your ability to live and minister in full power What you refuse to accept from Him will only serve to keep you from fully walking in the call of ministry that He has for you God already knows so nothing you write down will shock Him He loves you unconditionally and will not hurt you Holy Spirit convicts specifically your enemy accuses generally Holy Spirit draws you to repentance your enemy shames you in hopelessness For example Holy Spirit might bring to your mind that you lied to your friend on a specific day about a specific issue a sin He will tell you how to bring that sin into the light and be rid of it Satan will simply call you a liar and offer you worthlessness Or Holy Spirit might show you that your exhaustion a weight is because you haven t honored God s call to Sabbath with Him and truly rest like He called you to He will show you that your schedule is overbooked and that you need to be more discerning so that you can fit time with God back into your life Satan will show you how incompetent you ve become because you can t think straight and will tell you that you re just stupid and it s just a matter of time before everyone finds out Get it STEP FOUR With your sin list in hand personalize and pray 1 John 1 9 to the Lord Personalize this scripture prayer like Psalm 139 23 24 above Here is an expanded version of 1 John 1 9 If I freely admit that I have sinned and confess my sins You are faithful and just true to Your own nature and promises and will forgive my sins dismiss my lawlessness and continuously cleanse me from all unrighteousness everything not in conformity to Your will in purpose thought and action Amplified Bible Remember that God is for you not against you Receive the promise of this If Then scripture If you confess then He will forgive and cleanse Rejoice in the work that will be accomplished in you as you confess your way down this list

STEP THREE Do the work Write until nothing else comes to mind When Holy Spirit is finished talking to you and is ready to end this session you ll run out of things to write This list is for your eyes only so be honest You won t have to show anything you write to anyone unless you want to Confession is for your benefit not His He s still going to be God whether you cooperate in this process or not What you don t write down will only affect you and your relationship with Him and your ability to live and minister in full power What you refuse to accept from Him will only serve to keep you from fully walking in the call of ministry that He has for you God already knows so nothing you write down will shock Him He loves you unconditionally and will not hurt you Holy Spirit convicts specifically your enemy accuses generally Holy Spirit draws you to repentance your enemy shames you in hopelessness For example Holy Spirit might bring to your mind that you lied to your friend on a specific day about a specific issue a sin He will tell you how to bring that sin into the light and be rid of it Satan will simply call you a liar and offer you worthlessness Or Holy Spirit might show you that your exhaustion a weight is because you haven t honored God s call to Sabbath with Him and truly rest like He called you to He will show you that your schedule is overbooked and that you need to be more discerning so that you can fit time with God back into your life Satan will show you how incompetent you ve become because you can t think straight and will tell you that you re just stupid and it s just a matter of time before everyone finds out Get it STEP FOUR With your sin list in hand personalize and pray 1 John 1 9 to the Lord Personalize this scripture prayer like Psalm 139 23 24 above Here is an expanded version of 1 John 1 9 If I freely admit that I have sinned and confess my sins You are faithful and just true to Your own nature and promises and will forgive my sins dismiss my lawlessness and continuously cleanse me from all unrighteousness everything not in conformity to Your will in purpose thought and action Amplified Bible Remember that God is for you not against you Receive the promise of this If Then scripture If you confess then He will forgive and cleanse Rejoice in the work that will be accomplished in you as you confess your way down this list

Renounce the Sins and Weights that Holy Spirit has guided you to list on this paper Start at the top and work your way down take each item separately confess it separately and receive forgiveness for each one separately Do not lift up the list and say Forgive me to cover the things that you have listed Note Make sure what you re confessing is about you You cannot confess the sin s of others They may have hurt you but what you did with that hurt may have become your sin You cannot confess their sin that hurt you but you can confess that you chose bitterness and unforgiveness about what they did Repent as a way of turning your heart back toward God Admitting that the thing was wrong is only half the job You must also turn away from it and commit your heart to walk differently without it Refuel with a filling of Holy Spirit After you finish praying through your list ask Holy Spirit to come and occupy the space that is now vacant from the sins and weights that you just emptied out Confession and repentance miraculously empties our soul of some really bad stuff After each cleansing session ask Holy Spirit to fill each part of your mind will and emotions with His power Ask for a Spiritual filling in every area which once was occupied by something on your list You may want to burn your list to symbolically represent cleansing Don t just do this project once and stop The more you empty out the things that are not of God the more room you have for the things that are from Him Our thanks to Illuminate Ministries for sharing this resource www illuminate ministries com

Renounce the Sins and Weights that Holy Spirit has guided you to list on this paper Start at the top and work your way down take each item separately confess it separately and receive forgiveness for each one separately Do not lift up the list and say Forgive me to cover the things that you have listed Note Make sure what you re confessing is about you You cannot confess the sin s of others They may have hurt you but what you did with that hurt may have become your sin You cannot confess their sin that hurt you but you can confess that you chose bitterness and unforgiveness about what they did Repent as a way of turning your heart back toward God Admitting that the thing was wrong is only half the job You must also turn away from it and commit your heart to walk differently without it Refuel with a filling of Holy Spirit After you finish praying through your list ask Holy Spirit to come and occupy the space that is now vacant from the sins and weights that you just emptied out Confession and repentance miraculously empties our soul of some really bad stuff After each cleansing session ask Holy Spirit to fill each part of your mind will and emotions with His power Ask for a Spiritual filling in every area which once was occupied by something on your list You may want to burn your list to symbolically represent cleansing Don t just do this project once and stop The more you empty out the things that are not of God the more room you have for the things that are from Him Our thanks to Illuminate Ministries for sharing this resource www illuminate ministries com