The 7 Resolutions

It's help has you stuck in a cycle of failure.

Maybe it's time to try something different. Joining God is about joining God in his power does it mean we don't do anything. No dependent plus diligence equals all of God's promises and I truly believe 100% welcome building relationship with Dr. Gary Chapman, author of the New York Times bestseller the five love my today author, pastor and radio host Carl Clawson will overthrow the life system and take hold of God's promise future resource is his new book, seven resolutions were self-help is God's power for five lovely.com Gary, I'm excited about conversation today because I know Carl I know is hard and what I like most about his message is that the answer to getting out of the root is not a new program, not saying a mantra. It's something that you talked about for decades.

That is the power of God's love to change your hearts will think you're exactly right. Chris certainly we have a part to play. We have to respond to guard our hearts are to be open to God, but ultimately it's the power of God that changes our lives and so I really like the emphasis of this book, and I'm excited about this conversation with Carl, let's meet him. Carl Clawson, CLA, USO, and the husband, pastor, author, conference speaker, adventurer's passion for spiritual awakening runs through all that he does. He's had diverse life experiences like completing the Iditarod Trail sled dog race when he was 18.

Coaching a track team in South Africa and pastoring churches in Chicago and Alaska. Some of our listeners know him from his morning radio program on Moody radio Chicago featured resource is his book, the seven resolutions where self-help ends and God's power begins. You find out more.

Five love languages.com Carl welcome to Building Relationships fantastic to be here gentlemen, good to good to be with you before we get to the resolutions we want to talk about those for sure, but tell us a little bit about some of your journey itself somebody like God grabbed hold of your heart. At some point and would let you go you been through a lot.

I have no in many ways. I was raised with the silver spiritual spoon in my mouth and that I had great parents, phenomenal mom and dad and I my dad's 93 in still championing the grace of God as we speak. I mean he is an amazing man of God and yet I was raised in a church culture that gave me some mixed signaling and and I actually never really surrendered to Jesus Christ until in my young 20s even though raised in church walk down aisles. That means put forward a sign that I was given my life to Jesus baptized even involved heavily in youth ministry. It wasn't till February 11 of 84 in my late year of 23 that God brought me to the end of myself, displayed his power in my life to transform my soul. So I became no longer Christian in name only God transform you from the inside out that's that's my story Gary and that's that's what makes the power of the gospel so powerful is when God takes over when we're absolutely done. It's finished. It's over for us and sometimes you have to get to the end of the road right before before we reach out and accept what he said for us all along. You know this is interesting but I'm on my greatest concern for the West didn't westernize Christianity is that we've got this grand illusion of salvation and this is when we find in Matthew seven Jesus as many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord. He's he said dumb on the city. I never knew you we we might wish that those people were bellied up to the bar at happy hour knocking down Jack Daniels but the truth is, that was a very religious audience. They had done mighty works in his name. They were prophesying his name the casting out demons in his name.

He said I didn't know you and my story is I have dissolution of salvation. I was powerless to live a victorious life and all the promises of God, and I didn't know what Gary until the Holy Spirit pulled down the blinders of darkness from my eyes and who called me out of darkness and into the light.

Would it be fair to say that what you write about in the seven resolutions come straight from what God is done in your own life. Through the years not only straight from it. I think somebody asked me the other day. What great this book and I said it's my personal guidebook. If someone else wants to read it great with this is how I will II rolled with Jesus. This is how I close the gap between where I live in the promises of God. This is getting choked up right now.

This is my story, this is my life. This is my wrestling through them. The emptiness of bootstrap in my faith in trying to grow up in my power versus tapping into God's power that most people are familiar with making and also breaking New Year's resolution to break in a rut. But what makes the seven resolutions different than what is your hope as to how this will actually not dispute resolution, but is something that will change the person's life. You know I was thinking about this that self-help in and of itself isn't evil.

All it indicates. Of all the people to gravitate toward the self-help section. All it indicates is a bunch of people are aware my life needs to change. That's not bad.

That's good. I think that's healthy but in Christ we made a fatal flaw in this gets me on my soapbox here because this is this is my story. I was radically altered by the power of God utter dependence on him and then I made this huge shift and leap to wow since God's done all this for me. I need to bust my tail. I need to check the box. I need to be a good Christian now and better fact I thought this I need to produce fruit in my life. Jesus never said that he never said that. So I thought I need to live this thing in my strength.

You know that got me Gary live in back in the squalor of almost although I'm redeemed. I'm living like I'm a lost guy. I am powerless to get victory over the things that God wants me to get victory over what you think so many believers experience a gap between God's promises and and what they experience in their day-to-day life they don't in Iraq in the underground church in China in the underground church. I think that our look, I'm I'm a capitalist I'm let's go. I'm an adventure. I'm up by United commercial fish didn't West Coast of Alaska for each season that worked in the oil fields in Alaska north of the Arctic Circle run the Iditarod. I love getting stuff done.

I love it. My dad taught me how to work harder to your very young age, but you know what this this Western mindset of reaching get it go. Make it happen. The American dream.

The dream is similar to God's promises but the means of getting there is totally different and here's what we forgotten. We forgot that you said this in the lead in and this is what I'm a champion of yes were to be called to be diligent but not diligent in our own strength.

It's diligent with the grace of God is my favorite passage and all the Scripture that will, if you listen right now and you feel like you're out of whack in you feel like why is there this monster gap between God's promises and where I'm living, this one will irrigate your soul.

Listen to this Titus to for the grace of God, the power of God. I mean you can call it unmerited favor that just an academic iPad. I'd I'd fill that out in the seminary to pass the test, but that is really the best definition. Grace is more than unmerited favor of God. It's the power got doing us what we can't do so for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, doesn't stop there. Verse 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and live self cult controlled upright and godly lives in the present age is answer your question, Gary, were born again and utter dependence on God and then some more long. We believe the lie that we gotta get up in our strength and make this sanctification process work and it doesn't work does not work and I may be this bold. I think you can go live out "The 5 Love Languages" in your strength okay you can but you want powerless. Five love languages you find the power that is discovered when you are staying at that point where you were when you were born again in utter dependence on him and those five love languages with whom they come to life and I often say, the way we need to walk with Jesus is the way we came to Jesus in utter dependence on him, and God will come up with creative ways to keep us there for listen and absolutely powerful you shared a story or book about your own life of relapsing into drug use. Shortly after becoming a follower of Jesus Christ. Why is this moment so vital to understand the rest of your book and share it for the longest time Gary how embarrassing or am radically transformed by the power of Jesus. God set me free from here.

I am a young man completed the Iditarod making big money in the oil fields of Alaska get a horrible cocaine addiction crown royal addiction and then by God's grace. He set me free. Pardon me, I feel like crying right now. It was that overwhelming was that powerful.

Three weeks after I'm born again I find myself now.

I moved immediately to get mentored by my uncle and central caliph. I myself with my nail bags on it was a pretty skilled carpenter.

At this point build in a big racquetball club got a job immediately. I go out with the some guys I'm working with, and they asked me to go to a little waterhole and have a wine cooler will you know what that was like for me at that time that's like jumping on top of the biggest slippery slide on the planet and think and I can somehow stay on top without sliding down and I slid slid slid to the point within a matter of a few hours. I found myself on the wrong side of the tracks in this town. Would you believe, oh my goodness, here's Carl Clawson radically transformed young man and I am taking a pipe of crystal meth from a guy sitting across from me on never met before and I'm with some of the most hurting broken people on the planet and I can almost see demons in that room and I ran out of that room and I ran home to the home I staying in my uncle. His golf pro played in the tour years ago with earning those boys is golf pro radically committed to Jesus. Just few years prior. I ran home to my uncles home ran into the bedroom and I knelt beside the bed and I said kill me. God said kill me. You saved me know kill me because I can't win some more scampi want soda to sit with some more scampi want some guys you can't change and he said to me, yes I can. And on that day I began to learn what I now know the art of agreeing with God to let him permeate every aspect of your life and when you agree with God. Not that you're going to go out and be a good Christian, but you're gonna let Christ in me be the hope of glory. Lookout now. Things are going to change. This is Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman, author of the New York Times bestseller "The 5 Love Languages" . I guess today is pastor and author Carl Clawson, our featured resources. His book the seven resolutions where self-help ends and God's power begins.

You can find out more at our website. Five love languages.com go what you shared before the break was so powerful of coming after really knowing Christ personally coming to the end of the road and realizing you didn't do this God you can even you can get me out of this God of course can and did CSO now I let let's talk about the book the seven resolutions that tell us the basis for the seven resolutions that were where they come from. These are core themes that are found from Genesis to Revelation and there certain themes that I think are apropos or best applied to different people at different times in different cultures and I think in the Western faith we created such a man centered gospel where we gotta make it happen. The goal of these resolutions for me applied to my life and scores. Hundreds of people that I've had the privilege of discipling and mentoring actually units what if I've been struck on this lately. It's almost like a modern day ordering your private world. This builds a construct for a life that can actually be discipled and it clears up some of those proverbial messes that we have in our life that we wonder how the world we can get victory over this. It clears that out so that God can begin to move in our life in a fresh way.

That's what they're all about, but let's look at them.

Gonna walk us through these resolutions and give us a just a brief explanation what each of them is love it love it. The first one is joined God. And this is paramount.

It's about you partnering with God and experiencing his power. This is this all that I've already said and it's the crux of everything that follows. So it limits the linger with one little illustration when I first learned out of waterski and I loved waterskiing.

By the way, got a slalom ski for my high school graduation present, but when I first learned how to waterski it was in a Bible camp in Alaska. Cold cold cold water, even in the middle of summer. It's cold up there but I got down and there got a boy vest on and the and the guy on the schema teak a beautiful boat out front of me. I got my tips up in the air the ropes between my tips and he says you know what you gotta do yelling over the din of the motor and I said I got it and the rope went tight and I yelled to and here we go, and I'm got my beginning to come up out of the water and then I break the rule waterskiing 101. I tried to help the boat and when I tried to do is I tried to take my extended arms and pull myself up to the surface. I thought that 24 inches was going to do a lot for me. Well guess what he did all of my self effort actually just put me into the lake. I felt like I had about three lake trout go through each nostril. I got a nose wash like you can't believe in the lesson and the lesson was this, he came back. Randy said Carl keep your arms extended, let the boat to work. Joining God is about joining God in his power does it mean we don't do anything. No, don't know, but it means dependence first selects it this way, dependence plus diligence equals all of God's promises and I truly believe that 100%. Let's join God.

The second one is think truth is about having a mind that is so renewed that we are freed from destructive thinking those reckless words of parents that the demonic utterances that we hear in our mind, bombard us daily. God's got a plan for that. The third resolution. Gary is most surprising and most compelling to people that have read this it kills in your finally putting to death those sins that it been killing you, Gary. We been good at this brother come on you counsel enough people were good at managing sin were good at denying we have sin were good at deflecting sin. We were good at looking at the 95% were women, but block out that sin and what did Jesus say if your eye causes you to sin, gouge that thing out now.

He was radical in sin, and so this third resolution is all about killing sin we get choosing friends and that's about having people around you who actually lift you up. Rather than take you down and in it we find that God grants us permission to pick those friends taking risk is the fifth resolution.

You know I was trying to build a theological construct Gary for a dreaming big because I used to come and gone there in messages before.

Come to find out I got no theological foot to stand on.

But there's no theological basis to dream big.

There's great theological basis to join God and then to take risk to walk by faith. But this, this, this resolution impacts that and then focusing effort is the sixth. It gives you. How sweet would be to listen right now and you get such clarity around how God's designed you and the passion you have that you actually know what to say yes to and what to say no to.

That's what that resolution is all about in the last ones redeeming your time because we got these little machines that we carry around in our hip pocket bitter and added distraction.

What they even had 2000 years ago Gary absolutely those are powerful concepts and hope the listeners are thinking what I'm thinking man. I will read this book… Now you say we should never measure God's power to change us by looking at how we are currently living. Explain why this isn't helpful.

I always want to point people back to the word of God are standard for living is in God's word and if we begin to measure God's impact by where were living we can actually believe we've got a powerless God. So there is nothing like receiving his proverb says where there is no revelation from God. The people become discouraged is actually the best way that's translated so the more we hear from God, the better we get a true North for a life and we measure not God's power based on where we are, but we look at where he calls us to be and amazing things can happen. I been married 34 years up to you what I stunk. As has been the first two years I was awful. I could if I could written a book in could probably still authored. I've got enough. Remember memories from that of how not to be a newlywed man, but when when God's word began to call me.

I like to say this, if you read the Scriptures you will find chivalry eight that it all my goodness, but if you if you read the word. Also, God gave me the standard, and then he showed me Carl. You're not loving Janine, as Christ loved the church, but you can do now get on your face before me and you spend time early in the morning and you go ahead and shed a few tears over your falling short. But then I'm in a fill you up by the power my Holy Spirit. That's that's the difference. Absolutely that's a high standard is yes. There's nothing we can't hearing Gary here, we care only got Janice absolutely, absolutely.

You talk a lot about the broken systems. Most of us live with.

What are some examples of broken systems that you seen or experienced notes interesting.

I get this from the prophet Jeremiah don't get it out of my home brain here, but Jeremiah what it what a prophet. Boy what a job everybody thinks you speak for God men you must have front row seat of tradition has it he was stoned to death for being bold. For God so it wasn't a good gig.

But Jeremiah spoke to the nation of Israel. He said you have forsaken these living waters and you have carved out reservoirs call them cisterns the can even hold water. No, we do Gary. We forsake the power of Christ. Even after were born again. Sometimes, and then we carve out a life for ourselves. That can't hold water.

Those are systems, broken cisterns, broken systems, I bring that equation all the way through this. These seven ribs resolutions are designed to build systems, cisterns, carve out a life for yourself. That can actually hold water and broken systems are thinking. I've got a produce fruit my life and what I've learned to look at John 15 you got a choice you can focus on proximity to the vine. That's what Jesus said branches need to do or we can focus on producing fruit and every time I focus on producing fruit, which is a broken system I lose proximity to the vine. That's just a reality.

So the goal here is take these broken systems like having friends around us that we didn't choose. They chose us in their Dragon us down and tried to learn and to take risk could not be sitting in a corner and huddled in fear but put yourself out there to God's glory and walk by faith not by sight just taken these broken systems, and even the time that we have that squandered away if if anyone needs a day planner these days. I mean this Gary anyone needs a day planner is a Jesus follower because there is no possible way we can sort through the menagerie of opportunities that faces every minute on our machines and appointments and things coming out us. If I and I believe this I believe calendars can be one of the most holy investments any person, disciple of Jesus Christ can make it. Carl, you mentioned on the 15 in verse five it takes me back in my own mind to a real personal experience had when I finish college and I went to the navigators out in the Colorado Springs as their headquarters for the summer training program and they assign you an eight hour job and my job was in the printshop and it was to operate a folder that took huge sheets of paper made it into a small booklet whom I can visit they gave me instructions on how to do it and I worked all day long and I can get it to work in the next morning they gave me more instructions. Winona worked all day long.

This went on Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday morning I was reading my Bible and dry moat on a rock and I read John 15 verse five were Jesus it what you just said I'm the vine you the branches you stay connected to mill yet to bear fruit, and then that line without me you can do nothing and I just broke down whipped SS is look can't even run a folder without you, Gary, that was grace of God like that that allow that dumb folder not to work as he had a lesson for you believe it.

I believe it and others said God.

I'm asking you to show me how to run the program.

I do it that I would forward is ran itself all summer long. By the way that that's a lot of people listen to that name. I think mine is at real, let me taste them when you trade off trying to do something in your strength for living in the power God. I like this I like this.

I don't know where this phrase came from but I love it Katie bar the door. God's dominion absolutely. Absolutely the experiences yesterday I was looking for particular book that I had read in my notes on that I'm going to revise and I couldn't find it can find the book that made all these notes and I looked at my house look to my writing house looked at my office look look look look spent several hours couple days ago and so yesterday on this a God. I can't find that book and I know you know where it is. This ask you to my attention that I was sitting there, my desk in my office and I looked over there in a stack of books they're not there in the middle of it was looking for love their one moment right that's powerful.

That's powerful, and I think what you're saying that Gary is God and get an Carl God is in every part of our lives. And maybe that is one of the things that we can talk about to allow him in so that we can join him that that is part of the resolution that will transform us just that awareness is it right, 000 guys will betray something I it was it was several years ago now. I was knocked over by the what I call in this book, the secret, but it's no secret I nonwhite title to that that little section map and it sounded good.

It's, it's that the secret of getting position for this power is this it's humility. If you read God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble you humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and he will lift you up at Andrew Murray wrote a book called humility, and in it he says this he says humility is the birthplace of every other virtue. Gentlemen, I need to know some Gary it is absolutely true. And here's what's bizarre. Humility is not the fruit of the spirit. It's not the result of all if I read enough Bible women to be more humble or if I fast maybe four days instead of three. Also, and I might be this humble giant humility is an act of the will prompted by the Holy Spirit to get yourself under God's authority and to let him infuse his power in you and I'm convinced of it.

Man, II live each day saying each day God bring me to a point being so under your hand and I'm so filled with your power that you give me a front row seat to see you at work. That's all I need and it's awesome. Thanks for joining us today for Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman, author of the New York Times bestseller "The 5 Love Languages" are gassed his pastor and author Carl Klassen talking about his book, the seven resolutions where self-help ends and God's power begins. You can find out more at findlovelanguages.com that's five love languages.com girl before the break were talking about the power of God and recognizing that we can't do what the goal was set out there for us to be like Christ.

But that there someone listening who shaken their head and they're saying to themselves. Yeah I hear you talk about God's power to change but you don't know my lies you don't know where I am I'm never going to change what you say to that person and I don't know where you are. I know know your situation but I do know that God is met me in my situation.

I'll give you another very vulnerable story that if this isn't anecdotal. I don't know what is of God's power on it rocks my world. Some already crying here. Pardon me, everyone but you know my bride and I were married several years we going to Africa on together. We had been there for the apartheid regime being pulled down and I was coaching a multiracial track and field team and we come back stateside and going to Denver seminary.

Actually, Robert Lewis came and headhunted me out of could Colorado good friend of mine Robert is and asked me to come down to Little Rock and lead a singles ministry down there couple years.

Ministry was booming been mentored by Robert was amazing and walk into my house one day and I see my wife sitting on the bed and urchins quiver and I walk I'm walking past her and she grabs my arm and she's I said what is wrong. She said I'm scared to death to call me Bubba color babe said what's wrong she said I don't love you anymore, and it scares me to death. Now I need to be real honest with you, you, you listen right now our ministry is thriving people come to Jesus.

I mean stuff was happening down there that could only be chalked up to the Holy Spirit.

But I had a big blind spot my life I was not loving my wife is Christ love the church interprets the battle here was the battle. It is so easy. And when when I when she let loose my arm and urchins quiver and I've always been the answer guy I can fix it. I can build that all climate will will smoke swim across it will get there I was, I had nothing. Gary, I had no answer at nothing and walk around the corner in the bathroom and looked in the mirror and I had hills screaming in my ear and I the Holy Spirit yelling and the other one and I was in a fight for my future that day. I I heard voices of Sheen got it together. Look at all these things going on in her life, and you know what to that very day, and since then my brother wife would've ascended anyone of those but Satan wanted me to pylon with all those things in God said to me, I want you to be man enough to look in the mirror and on what you can own and I looked in the mirror and I told God I said, you're right. I have made an idol out of ministry.

I've made a substitute God out of leading people to Jesus and God began to I call it save twice as you get saved in your born-again annoyance can snatch from the hand of God.

But then you get saved from self-help and oh baby, nothing to be different more different than that.

And that's the power of God in us, so he began to change me and now 34 years of marriage. Janine is truly my best buddy.

I mean I get up to go in radio in the morning sometimes shows that you got a minute to talk and get to things on the heart and it's 315 in the morning what couples do that unless you're in love. You gotta be in love.

So it's wonderful. These resolutions what resolution do you see or have seen people connect with the most and why you think that's true, it's kill sin to be the third resolution of the reason is is that we weave creating.

I say we are not being very let me be very self implicated fears that word them and let me implicate myself, that's better. As a lead pastor of a church that grew and thrived in Alaska with 5000 people on the weekends.

It was on fire.

I mean it was on fire. I mean we were the talk of the town. In many ways. I can't tell you after all these years of ministering. The thing that is the Achilles heel for the Western church is that we are trying to manage sin rather than get a holy hatred for it and do everything we can to get it out of her life.

In fact, I'm not going to give you a lot of content here of most of these resolutions, but I'll give you three that are right from the word you got to expose it were called to expose sent bring it into the light man you want to sanitize your your blankets in the summertime get him outdoors. Let them flap in the breeze. She got exposed. Secondly got attack at Jesus set up your constant eye because you sent out out your your arm because you sin, cut it off. Now he was in the literal use being dramatic. Make no mistake about it, we better get serious about killing what's killing us and then the third thing is overwhelmed. I love what we find in Galatians Galatians 5's pulses.

If you are being filled with the Holy Spirit. You will not fulfill the gratifications of the flesh. Well you know what were doing were and were managing gratifications of the flesh were doing everything we can to try to keep it down, suppress the flesh. All that God said bring it in the light expose it. God said do everything you can to attack it and God said do everything he can overwhelm it and overwhelm it.

By the power the Holy Spirit, so kill sin.

Third resolution is the big boy here for short.

That's all of them applied to all of us, but I'd say kill sin for the gin pop the general population.

Yeah, that's a big say that there one of the reviews of the book says, and I'm quoting that this book balances a life motivated by grace, yet also shows the need for spiritual disciplines." So this isn't about trying harder to tow the line. That's legalism right absolutely, this is not about that when we find Galatians do a lot of this for my heart here. So here we go. Paul says in Galatians 3, verse one, who has bewitched you and goes on to say that he began in the spirit why the world you try to work it out in your own strength equals the flesh. It's the self will him self-help and self effort is the enemy of God's promises and Paul knew that we were in a spiritual war. Galatians is written to deal with the tendency of people to try to work out in their own strength. What only God can do and that's it. I just if you cut me right now that's what I believe. I believe the power of God and in only his power now, does that mean we don't have anything to do know the minute God displays power in your life and you get in proximity with him you dig walking agreement with you need to move as he says move. The problem is we aren't joining God were out on our own so so how do we approach the spiritual disciplines like prayer and reading the Bible without it becoming an obligation or something we do to earn God's approval and so glad you asked that Gary I spent years trying to fast my way to prove myself to God. I spent years.

Witness said it preached otherwise. But my Bible reading was to check a list that I get good things out of it, yet short, God works in spite of us all the time just read Philippians 1.

But here's the problem it and that is that I was trying to do disciplines to prove my love for God.

Yes I need that disciplines for him to prove his love and power for us. That's a what what we done in the in the church. I mean I'm I'm again implicating myself here for many years. We kind of sub and in it isn't overtly it's a subconscious countercultural vibe that says I owe I/O so off to church. I go you know I gotta get in the Bible all II got it. I really should be praying Mark Nono that's that's at the that's a mental assent to a flawed theological premise that somehow we got a prove ourselves to God Nono the if the posture is my goodness, I get to open up God's word and God is gonna shower his love on me in his power that changes everything you search the energy with which we approach those disciplines totally approach them absolutely, but ones come and will will drink the other ones come into a board to check a box. I'd rather come to will the drink. Thanks for joining us today for Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman, author of the New York Times bestseller, the five level Carl Klassen as our guest today in our featured resource is his book, the seven resolutions where self-help ends in God's power begins. You can find out more at 5lovelanguageis.com girl here is a huge lightbulb moment in the book the difference between joining God and working with him versus working for him, speak to that bingo you know regarding regarding to touched on this justice gauche, but this is this is the Achilles' heel for someone right now that is got that thing that is just eating their lunch.

I you know I my goodness, Gary, I, II love when I get to interview you in Chicago because there is a holy Christo centricity about you where you're bringing back people back to the cross. The we even the way you promote five lovely I just love it when you're bringing people back to the cross, but we we have made a grave error when we have spoken of salvation as an event as opposed to a life to be lived. Work out your salvation with fear and trembling pulses now is salvation. In the event you better believe it was for me. February 11, 1984 under the influence of Celt cocaine Crown Royal God came into my car in Anchorage, Alaska at 23 years of age I was making back then good money 2000 week after taxes in the early 80s was good money working in the oil fields, and I was. That was my minimum Jackson. He tapped me on the shoulder.

I'm dabbing up a nosebleed from hidden too much cocaine and he said are you done yet that's what got asked me.

He said to me, are you done yet and I wrote in my car.

I say In unity the art in the mystery of the power of God is staying position before God. You know it's interesting the fort before Christmas I was looking at the life of Mary. I stumbled on something in Luke one that blew my mind in the first Christmas song ever written or ever song it was written by Mary. In it she explains why God found favor in her this but she says I don't have it open here, but I got close enough. She says God found favor in my wood I found favor in God's eyes, because he saw me in a humbled postured estate and I thought oh my goodness you know why God used Mary, he chose her out among them, not because she had gone to more Bible studies, not because she's more done more Bible study Fellowship for a pick on people and okay Arthur she's a good friend of mine. I've gone through precepts through everything Kays ever done. No no no no no no no, because she was humble. That's why God visited her and and you know that's that's the commodity that changes everything, as Scripture indicates that there is guys out there may be preaching the word and elders of churches that don't know the power of God one bit. So what how do we how do we ascend the hill of the Lord clean hands, your heart humbled before him utterly needy and I said it early and Shaw said now I I gotta tell you, the way we come to Jesus is the way we need to walk with Jesus when I'm preaching on the stage all often say this is where I found Christ on get on my knees and then I'll say this is how I learned to walk with Jesus and I'll stay on my knees and I'll just shuffle across that stage, Gary it's it looks a little crazy but it's really biblical, absolutely it will the other resolutions has to do with thinking truth and you say that many of us have never learned the art of thinking truth. How can we think truth we have to set our minds on things above, for we died in our life is now hidden with Christ in God. Get live. The salvation reality.

And here's the problem like my wife and I had a bathroom in our guest bathroom in the hallway in Little Rock Arkansas that was. We walked into that thing we bought that home. We love that home at the wallpaper that's bad at wall paper was bad and we said we gotta get the wallpaper bout but over time we forgot about the wallpaper and after a while we became accustomed to it all the way to the point when we moved out, five, six years later we looked at that. I look my body simply never got this wallpaper to hear these poor guests of ours been looking at this wallpaper was ugly, then it's ugly now you know what some of us a grown accustomed to the wallpaper of bad thinking in her mind, and it's time to pull it down if you got reckless words were spoken over you by a parent very often true. Sometimes parents didn't mean poorly but they did poorly and those words gotta come down gently that wallpaper after you've had words said by colleagues or kids on the playground and nobody had your back in those words stuck to you. I mean, they stuck to you and up to you what you gotta do you gotta go in there and you get a set your mind on things above and very candidly on Obama to break it to you right now I don't care. I'm here where you're at today until you have a view of you the way God sees you. You are never going to be what God designed you and has called you to be and I'm begging you get the wallpaper that's ugly down and get the truth of God's word applied to the walls of your mind. If we sell ourselves the way God sees us hear you saying it would transform their lives. I'm just barely beginning to scratch it how God sees me, and I've been at this thing too long to Celt dear scary, but it's a beautiful ride mothering. Most Christians go back to this whole concept of sin.

Most Christians know that sin is anything that goes against God's will, but what is the mistake that many of us make over trying to get rid of sin in our lives we attempt to do it in our own strength. I'm thinking, let me get anecdotal here I'm thinking of the guy that 10 this is very common since can hit home for some of you right now and it's not just guys it's gals in our culture.

The stats are is that pornography is ravaging the church ravaging the church. So the question is what you do with this stuff. If you try to do it in your strength.

It's going to eat your lunch.

It's going to come back over and over again.

I bet Pliny things that I've tried to send that I tried to get out of my life and it doesn't work in my own strength and so when I find that people come forward with sin. The needs become alive… They were taken on pornography. Okay to say were taken that on there some proactive things that you can do to take this on. See back in the day when I was growing up you you you basically either had to have the courage to go into a store and look at bad magazines which I didn't thank God we had to have a friend whose dad was kinda perverted and that had playboys laying around will now you get these crazy little machines in that mean you got bad stuff within striking distance and this is why I'm convinced it's killing so many Christian men you can break free and here's how bring it into the light. Take extreme measures. You know what I've learned to do as a pastor. One of the best tutoring things of ever done.

I am learning how to make smart phones, dumb phone, scary though I'm not getting it and you can do it. I got and I got an iPhone, that by the way, my wife has all my passwords.

She has a locator beacon on my phone. I do know she uses it when I set it up.

I just set it up so she's nowhere on that because she's like all men maybe can pick me up some shall know if I'm at whole foods or from a Cosco shall know, but here's is what we gotta do we gotta take extreme measures to bring into the light. These things partner with other Jesus followers to help us do this and then sit down at the well of the Holy Spirit. What we find in Ephesians. Don't be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit and the key to this is just like alcohol makes you you can spot a drunk without even a bottle in the sanctity staggering down the road so someone is filled with the spirit you can see what was a sinful walk now straightened out by the power of the spirit. The key to this, though. First and foremost, this where we fulfill the war we try to do it in the shadows every triumph you try to kill sin in the shadows it'll out punch you all day long. Carla, as we come to the end of our time together you dedicated this book 7 resolutions to your wife, June and the two of you have walked a hard trail recently share that with us if you will that wrote the dedication before it happened. We came back from a trip party for me. Actually, that you that plan was delayed by coving to Bermuda got back from Bermuda and she felt like because she was beginning to running train for some run in the she was doing and she said feeling something here. Boy we went on a fast track to something that shocked us. We found out that my bride had ovarian cancer Gary and she's healthy like what and you know I gotta tell you, we got a great report in that the prognosis is great if you know anything if your your cancer. If you have cancer right now or can cancer survivor. You know what I'm talking about right now you know that the breath that it takes way when you first hear it, but to my waste rock sink I've never seen someone you know you can really tell someone what's inside when their cup gets bumped because when a cup gets bumped to see what's coming from the inside out, and this this thing my wife Scott, but what came out his faith in God and up to you though what it did for us and what it does for us is we live in a broken world with a lot of pain and were living in these old tents that one day are getting it traded in for these new glorified bodies, but right now it's tough sled and sometimes and it hit us out of the blue. Yes, my wife has a great prognosis, one a 80 8/10 women will never see ovarian cancer again and Gary this a girl into a youth size football and another mass. It was a softball. Would you believe the expert surgeons at University of Chicago got in there got it all out without rupturing and there is no sign of any cancer anywhere that's wonderful, that's wonderful. But here's what it did to us. Gary God uses the tough things in our life and people come to me all the time and try this whole interview Gary people come to me all the time ago. Why why this pain. Why the only thing I can tell you is this from my experiences that we go through pain we are strategically positioned to experience the power of God that we otherwise would never be.

If will let him well I can certainly identify with that because my wife went through the cancer journey 10 years ago and she's free and but this was a year of tremendous growth update other thing car for us and I'm sure for you. You come to appreciate each other even more alone than you ever have another word in order to do my brother and the little things that used to irritate you. Say to you anymore… All the impediments to "The 5 Love Languages" are not removed or listening) so great to have you on the day. Thank you for sharing and they believe God to use this book to help a lot of people turn in the right direction to live the Christian life, and this is not in our power. But thanks for being with us. Think women encouraging and hopeful conversation and if you want to read more. Call Clawson's been with us today.

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