What's Next?

Whether you heard the message from Sunday or are part of one of our “What’s Next” groups at Venture, here’s a way for you to go deeper.

this week's next steps

I will memorize Hebrews 4:13

I will talk to my pastors or small group leaders or mentors about what I am hiding

I will begin the process of destroying the stronghold of hidden sin

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This week's Bible reading plan

This week's fill-in notes

This week's study

WEEK TWO: HIDDEN SIN

Unconfessed sins (sins we work hard to keep hidden) are not hidden from the Lord or from our enemy. These hidden sins become open doors for the enemy to take “ground” or “turf” in our hearts and lives until we confess these areas as sin, repent and turn from them.

Numbers 32:23 says: Be sure your sin will find you out.

The Bible question site GotQuestions.org has such great things to say about this verse and what it means, we are quoting their work right here.

When Moses said, “Be sure your sin will find you out,” he did not mean, “Everyone will find out about your sin.” Rather, Moses’ warning that they could be sure their sin will find them out hints at the strange-but-true nature of sin.

In several places in the Bible, sin is described in terms that make it seem as if it were a living being with a mind and will of its own. God poetically warns Cain that “sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:7). James explains how, figuratively speaking, people “are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:14–15). Paul, in Romans 7:14–25, describes sin as though it were a being living within him, enslaving him against his will and making him do what he himself hates and condemns: “It is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (verse 20).

In the statement “be sure your sin will find you out” is revealed the mystery of sin. The nature of sin is such that, whether or not others discover your sin, your sin will “discover you.” You cannot run from the consequences. Sin carries within itself the power to pay the sinner back, and sin’s payback is hell. Don’t even think about toying with sin. It cannot be tamed, outrun, or shaken off. No matter how safe you think you are, if you are a sinner, your sin will find you out.

Moses’ warning to the tribes of Israel, “be sure your sin will find you out,” is echoed by Paul: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7–8). The only way to escape sin’s consequences is to be forgiven of your sin by faith in the death and resurrection of Christ (Romans 10:9; 1 John 2:2; Revelation 1:5).

The bottom line? Hidden sin is never truly hidden.

The bottom line? Hidden sin is never truly hidden.

PRAYER:
Day 1: Pray for God to Search your Heart
Psalm 139:23–24 – Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.
Ask God to uncover anything you’ve ignored, excused, hidden or justified in your heart.

Day 2: Pray for the Light of Christ to Expose Darkness
Ephesians 5:11–13 – Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness, instead, expose them. Space it is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them.
John 3:20–21 – All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do it is right come to the light…
Pray that God’s light will shine into your motives, desires, and actions, exposing what needs to be confessed.

Day 3: Pray for Conviction and Godly Sorrow Leading to Repentance
2 Corinthians 7:10 – For the kind of sorrow, God wants us to experience, leads us away from sin and results in salvation…
Psalm 51:10–12 – Create me a clean heart o God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Ask not just to “see” sin but to feel its weight rightly, so you turn fully away from it.

Day 4: Pray for Deliverance from Deception
Jeremiah 17:9–10 – The heart is deceitful above all things … I the LORD search the heart and test the mind.
James 1:22 – Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says.
Ask God to break through self-deception, rationalization, or blind spots.

Day 5: Pray for Humility and Willingness to Confess
1 John 1:8–9 – If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful, and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
Proverbs 28:13 – People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will have mercy.
Ask God for courage to confess sin openly before Him (and trusted believers if needed), instead of hiding.

Day 6: Pray for Renewal and Transformation
Romans 12:2 – Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
Ezekiel 36:26–27 – and I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart, and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my spirit in you so that you will follow my decree and be careful to obey my regulations.
Ask not only for cleansing but for transformation — new desires, strength to resist, and a Spirit-led walk.

Day 7: Close the Doors
Pray a prayer like this for yourself and then pray that the conviction of the Spirit will sweep through our church.
Lord, I repent for leaving the door of (state specific sins you are turning from here) open and giving the enemy access and an opportunity to reap destruction in my life. I choose to willingly turn from my sins and shut the doors of (state specific sins you are turning from here) in my life. I plead the blood of Jesus over my mind, my physical body, my will, and my emotions. I ask that this door be sealed closed door with the blood of Jesus who paid for my sin on the cross.

REMEMBER: Sin exposed allows God’s grace to be unleashed.

Questions to Consider:

Why do you think we are often tempted to keep certain sins hidden, even from God?
How have you seen the truth of “your sin will find you out” play out in your own life or the lives of others?
What does it mean for sin to be “crouching at the door,” and how can we recognize when that’s happening?
How does bringing sin into the light change its power over us?
What specific steps can you take this week to invite God to “search your heart” and reveal any hidden sin?