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April 14, 2021 6:00 am
You find yourself repeating the same old sin, you know, the one that seems impossible to kick you try harder and harder and yet you just feel guiltier and guiltier.
But there doesn't seem to be an answer and you're just about ready to give up. Don't give up. There's hope you can break out of that and today I want to show you from God's word. How you can have victory beginning today stay with welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge with just our Bible future for this daily discipleship program motivating Christians to live like Christians in the literature will continue series.
Yes, you really can shape last time you talked about the horrible cycle of apathy that hinders genuine life change will build on that idea in this program by giving us the prescription just before we get started if you're new to living on the jury missed any of these messages. You can always catch up on the chipmaker map Ella to the rest of chips message how to break out of the destructive cycle from Ephesians chapter 4 issue is you really are an immoral lifestyle contradicts who you are who you are, but also contradicts who Jesus is. But Jesus was not someone who sin. Jesus was someone who loved Jesus as someone who is pure in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus, so externally trying to keep these rules is in at the heart of the new life. How you become transformed. How does it really work and he's going to give us the general outline in verses 22 to 24 is gonna say there's a three principles of renewal. Three specific principles that progressively yes at a point in time you're justified.
God fills you with the spirit he forgives your sin. He declares you he sent you in the heavenly places. He says now this. There's a journey of walking we achieve personal purity by following God's threefold principles of transformation. Number one, we put off the old notice what it says put off the old self. It's it's a metaphor it's a picture like having shabby dirty stinky torn clothes and it's in a tense of the verb that means at a certain time at a certain point you make a decision to come off for some of us you've come to Christ and you struggle with an addiction to alcohol or codependency or drugs for some of us you have an addiction to pleasing people or you find your worth and work with a lot of these you know sins that we come to get rewarded for, and says at a certain point you need to make a decision. The need to take that off my identity I please people, because I think I'm only acceptable my identity as everyone likes me all the time so you're overextended for your workaholic like I have been you feel like I am my performance how much I do how much accomplishment had the uneasy feelings I just start working because when I work I feel better. Some of you have eating problems when you have that dissonance in your soul you eat and go to the refrigerator because when you eat, you feel a bit better for just a little while. He says at some point you make a decision and you say I drink every night after dinner because there is this stuff going on inside of me and it used to be just an occasional glass of wine, but I can't not do it and it went from an occasional glass of wine to a few margaritas and then went from that to get a shot of Jack Daniels really can't help you sleep better and you had friends and people talk to you and say you know hey honey are I think that's in the on to social I got this freedom in Christ and you do with a number people were saying that you have a drinking problem. Here's all I would say we just don't drink anything. The next seven days, but I could do that but you can't. But here's here's the issue, the focus is trying hard try hard stop drinking. Try hard, try hard to get off the Internet. Try hard, try hard put pleasing people. It's a decision to realize I'm gonna take that off. That can't fill me in the notice of cycle and have your mind renewed you to think differently. You need to see yourself as a son.
You need to realize okay for me.
I do say I'm gonna stop working crazy hours and put a box around it and people pleasing I had to set some boundaries and say I'm going to eat dinner at home on a regular basis. I'm not gonna get with people until I get with God, only to work X number of hours a week for some of you. It's you know what I'm gonna stop smoking weed. Even though I know it's illegal and kinda really helps me connect with God, believe me I've heard it all, but it's a decision, but what you need to understand is behind that it's not just about the external behavior is what that is doing to your relationship and it's your identity that you don't understand.
And so then you get your mind renewed you begin to think differently and you realize my work and performance isn't who I am. See when that changes have the power in Christ and not have to work all the time. This blog is that I get when I feel low and discouraging worn out for some of us were addicted to TV. I mean, you go home and you literally your pattern as you blow about 2 to 3 hours every night watching TV in the name of just sort of chilling out and in your bombarding your mind with all con information that pulls you away from all the things of the person you long to be and who got what you did. The third step is this it says then put on a point in time the new someone said for some of us it's a liar doesn't cease to be a liar when he stops line a liar cease to be a liar. He stops lying starts telling the truth. A workaholic doesn't cease to see, but just to behavior him to stop working amuck to do so much him to cut back and we get march in your life. How many of us have said that about a million times. How's that working for you see at the core. If your mind is it renewed and you don't realize my work is not me what people think of me is not me this buzz that I get that kinda gives me that's not me I'm a son or daughter. I'm already loved. I'm already precious and so in my workaholism I say I'm going to stop. I have my mind renewed my work is it me I'm accepted by him and then I put on Sabbath and so for me all day Fridays. No voicemail. It's no email. I'm not can work okay some of you, you're addicted to materialism right mean you buy stuff you don't need your credit is off-the-wall because when you buy stuff and do stuff that makes you feel better and you think it will.
This is this the issue is not like our you dealing with this is just how much right you decide. No longer will what I have or what I wear what I buy. Define me, I renew my mind but I need to move from that to being generous with my time generous with my resources. That's the process of sanctification and so many people are stuck trying hard trying hard to stop cussing stop logging on the Internet I can stop buying the stuff I can stop eating the stuff I got a stop stop stop stop stop. You try hard, try hard, try hard you fail.
Try hard, try hard, try hard.
You failed when you try hard, try hard and you start faking it. We got Christians all over America and around the world faking it.
And so the next best things you learn a few verses you come to church. Some, and you're always living sort of this conflict between guilt, guilt, guilt, God loves me God loves me and God says you're my son you're my daughter.
I paid for you. Your deeply love. I put my Spirit in you. I want you to renew your mind.
I want you to understand who you really are and what you and your notes right in the middle right Romans 12 to mean what Paul is doing in these verses 2223 24. He's giving you the shortest overview of Romans Chapter 5, six, seven and eight. If you read that he's key he would lay out. This is what God is done. You've died with him.
You been resurrected and say take off. Don't present your members anymore to sin, have your mind renewed present yourself to God as someone who's been raised from the dead. That's Romans six Romans seven he'll talk about the conflict that happens even as a believer were all going to struggle in our walk will fall down and in chapter 8 of talk about the power of the Spirit to live his life through when I meet people and this is so struggle will have someone to share this with you.
I meet people all the time but so long down inside to break out of the destructive lifestyle, but you keep putting stuff in your mind that destines you to do the same stupid stuff over and over and over again in the past few decades the fortune among us have recognized the hazards of living with an overabundance of food. Obesity and diabetes and have begin to shift our diets. Most of us however not yet understood that the news is to the mind what sugar is to the body.
The news is easy to digest the media feeds small bites of trivial material tidbits that don't really concern our lives, and don't require thinking.
That's why we experience almost no saturation. Unlike reading a book or a long deep magazine article, which requires thinking we can swallow limitless qualities of news flashes like bright colored candies for the mind. It's a long article it's called avoid the news towards a healthy news diet by role for the belly and then he does a number of research. He has like 13 1415 things about what watching the news. Does the news and inhibits a good thinking and decision-making. Because you're flooded with information. The news is costly because it cost you a lot of time. The news kills creativity and the news creates passive people by research am I telling you that it's sinful or wrong to ever watch the news, of course not what I'm telling you is is that you live in a world where you're going to be the product of your thinking as a man or woman thinks in your mind so you become the mind set on the flesh is death. The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. This central part of renewing your mind. We know what is Jesus a man can't live you can't walk, you can't be transformed by physical bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And so there's this process.
It's a decision is like on your computer and is a program you delete. So the point in time you delete when you install a new program right in its install. This is just a minute it's booting it's booting loading you did you do do do do do do right and then after loads and you click on isn't it interesting that we create computers exactly the way God created our minds to work for some of you he brought you today and he says here's what I want you to do. Click delete on sexual immorality. Click delete today on workaholism or pleasing people or alcohol. I don't know what it is but you do. But now what to say is if all you do is click delete. What would you do on your computer you gonna install a new program you have put new things in your mind. So instead of all that news you need to get into God's word. You need to take a walk outside and see beauty. You need to read a good book that causes you to think you need to read some things at a refreshing and inspiring in some biographies you need to hang out with some people and talk about what you reading and what are you thinking when you start your reloading and then you put on and so instead of being a people pleaser. I become a servant and I set some boundaries instead of being a workaholic. I have some Sabbath and I renew myself instead of being an alcoholic and in one to cover. I filled the spirits that fill the stuff to what they both do as they influenced me how I think what I do, how I behave.
Here's the hope and I really want to get this.
He gives a sort of this delete install new program and run verses 2223 and 24 because he's then going to save let me show you how this actually works in the most practical areas of life and he's going to give us five specific of areas that instead of trying hard how to go into training and how you really change it back when they give you hope as we wrap this up.
This is a a I have from a friend. What I want you to listen for is stop decision. He put off the old self like a bad, ugly, very close install renewing of his mind and then click he runs new program, greetings from San Quentin for my prison friends from death row is a very bad guy who lost all sensibility you don't get on death row for doing small things I'm embarking now he's a new Christian to change in my walk with Christ. When you first receive Christ, and he gives me the date I felt compelled to isolate myself for a season here. Note to the point really from temptations that I wasn't yet able to resist, so I haven't been out to the yard. Since then, and that from a man that used to hit the yard every day for my first for five years here, and oh yes, I was part and parcel of all that happened with the convict mentality and all the goes with it. And so he pushed delete.
He said, so I decided I'm not to go out in the yard for season now runs a new program. Meanwhile, I saturated myself with God's word in various ways. Now if you're ready to face my old nemesis had on this is a time and also feel I need to get around some other Christians have real fellowship with other believers. I tried to find some other genuine believers in this yard but I kept coming up short. And then I heard about a group of believers. Another cellblock of rural general believers that meet the chair God's word their living it out in the prison and so I requested of the warden to move me from my cellblock to that cellblock and I was told this absolutely never happens ever in any rights to me says, but what I know is that the king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of Lord and God can do anything and turns.
Whatever way he wishes he said.
I told the Lord in my walk of faith.
If you move me great if you don't. Great, I receive it. I want to do whatever you want to do here. The surrender is in God's word stop. I can't keep going there and and be the man God wants me to be. I'm going to reprogram my mind with truth in the word and now I need people and then he gets an answer.
The warden says we reviewed your files.
We seen an amazing change from the Rick that we all knew to the Richard that you become. Simply put, he says we reviewed your file and used to be quite a guy shamefully so and so he says, as I now will be moved to the new yard. I'm only going to attend the chapel service once or maybe twice a month and ease my way in to make it as painless as possible on the others who probably can't believe that I'm a genuine Christian is. This is like salt up all I want to go to chapel too often will think I might try and kill him. I'm excited to tell you this, I'm reaping the fellowship with other believers.
Now that I so desperately needed.
God is changing my life. Please pray for me there. Some of us sitting in this room your prisons as relatives.
Your prison is as real as his he's free now, he's not a slave.
He's not on death row in San Quentin in the eyes of God. He's born again, he has a future. He's heaven bound.
He's forgiven. There's no condemnation. He's a son is not a slave is not a person that has to live forever and ever with what he's done in the past is been put behind them. He's becoming a new person but try to become this new person in that environment just like your environment is very hard and what he understands is that who he now is has to be demonstrated by how he now lives in order to do that he needs to put off the old self decision, a point in time that some of you need to make today. Today I make a decision and then I'm gonna run a new program and I would encourage you to turn off the TV for three or four days or just stop watching the news or cut back and start getting into God's word and take a walk and look at nature and listen to some good music and do things that renew you and input on take some baby steps in positive areas and fuel track with me and let God work 90 days will be a different person. Last night a guy walked up and he said with the Salvation Army drug rehab program and I just he walked up and I remember him a few months ago. He walked up and then there's no hope man in his drugged out. I prayed with him and this and that he skipped up here last night and he put his arms like that about 6 feet from me anything. He lit up. I said what's happening. I'm 90 days clean any sick will like this everything you talked about how it works.
I said I know Scott's word once and for you a new life.
Millions new life will be right back.
This message how to break out of the destructive cycle your listing to Living on the Edge and were in the middle of chip series. Yes, you really can train if you're feeling burdened by your pastor, find yourself stuck in an unhealthy behavior. Don't lose hope. A changed life is not only possible, it's God's will for all of us, so we hope you'll keep listening to this series to learn how to experience ongoing life change and were here to help you along the way. Download chips message notes stream our exclusive video content or take a look at ship's newly revised book and as always, the MP3s are free. Learn more about all the resources for yes, you really can change by going to LivingontheEdge.org or calling AAA 83336003 hapless nurse simply taps special offers chip before you give us your application for this message. I think it's important we stop and acknowledge something many people were listening to us right now feels spiritually stuck. Tried reading the Bible were setting aside time to pray but they never really feel like they're getting anywhere that can be very discouraging when you say to help people break out of this frustrating cycle.
Absolutely Dave, I don't think it's unusual to get spiritually stuck. I can tell and know people I have different seasons in my life where sometimes it circumstances, events, challenges, and pretty soon you kinda find yourself going to the motions, and even those that are faithful where you numbering the Bible and praying, but like I'm not getting through, or are not very motivated and what I found was often it's meeting with another person. It's digging it it a fresh level. Applying the Scriptures in a way that really help you get out of your pattern. This not taking you anywhere. And so I've developed a brand-new daily discipleship. Many of you have already gone through one of these before, but this is built on this series. Actually it's built on Ephesians chapter 4, and in it I help people understand this is the process of transformation. And here's where the power comes from. Here's the kind of environment that it requires but sitting down, not as the teacher, but more is the mentor and just putting my arm around people and saying let's walk to this passage, together, let me help you take these steps. I'll never speak more than 10 minutes. I'll give you a little worksheet that you can spend at least 10 minutes on what I can tell you is we meet every single day. God gives breakthroughs. That's really what we want to see happen. We long to help people connect with God in a way with the spirit of God takes the word of God and makes it alive and were transformation happens from the inside out. It's not wrong to be stuck. We all go through some down seasons. Daily discipleship is a way to get unstuck. I hope you join me daily discipleship with chip are short daily sessions with Chip where he walks you through how to study a passage from the Bible and really hear God's voice. These sessions are designed to help you get into the practice of doing that every day. The study chips. Recommending is based on his current series from Ephesians chapter 4 yes, you really can change.
Understanding the process of how genuine life change really happens is essential to getting spiritually unstuck. If you think meeting with chip would help you do that. I hope you make it a part of your routine for the next few weeks you'll find the daily discipleship with chip@livingontheedge.org on the homepage hapless nurse just tap discipleship as you listen to today's message.
What went through your mind and what is it in your life that when you're very honest you save yourself.
I really want to change that. But I've tried and tried and tried and the fact is that it's it's still there, but what you know is trying hard doesn't work okay.
I know that you know that it begins first with the choice of the passage is very clear. You have to put off certain things renew your mind and then put on this truth and allow the spirit of God to develop the life of Christ in you, only he can do that but your part is you start with the choice and you say I'm gonna stop looking at pornography. I'm gonna stop pleasing people all the time. I'm gonna stop being a workaholic and a stop at that level of alcohol consumption or that drug or whatever it is. So that's the beginning, but the key is what you put in your mind.
There's a reason why you're behaving the way you're behaving. And it makes sense to you right now because what you put in your mind is telling you that this will relieve the pain. This'll sedated this will answer it for a while but your experience screams. No, it doesn't egg example I just got a email from a gal in our church and she's a real prayer warrior and just you can just see that the life of Christ in her and she mentors a woman in prison. She's met with her multiple times and she sent me a an email from this lady and this lady is been there quite a while a mentor very very horrendous things and she said I've always tried hard to stop certain things and that she was teaching her about the miracle of life change.
Ephesians chapter 4, and she goes when I started renewing my mind. It's like there's a whole new world for some of you what you need to realize is turn off the TV. Stop searching the web. You don't need to watch that much YouTube there certain people you need to force two weeks just stop being around them and take some small section of Scripture.
Maybe it's Psalm 23. Or maybe it's this little passage in Ephesians, but read 45 verses and and don't just keep reading meditate and ponder and think, write it out on the card pray it back to God to memorize all of Romans chapter 12 is just one short chapter, but just saturate your mind for two weeks in the truth of God in an area that you're struggling with and say no to.
Some things are going in your mind and then you email me in two weeks. You know you email Living on the Edge. I will guarantee that you will see the spirit of God.
Take the word of God and begin to change you from the inside out. Don't delay choose to do it today. Tell one friend. What you gonna do picture passage and let me know in two weeks. What God does.
Just before we close. I want you to know that as a staff we ask the Lord to help you take whatever your next step is.
If there's a way we can be helpful.
We'd love to do that. Maybe give us a call at AAA 333-6003 or connect with us@livingontheedge.org and while you're there you'll find resources on all kinds of topics, many of them absolutely free one. Glad you've been with us and until next time, this is Dave Drury say thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge