Get Out of Your Head - The Antidote for Victimhood and Complacency

The Bible says that we are more than conquerors in Jesus, but some days it surely doesn't feel that way if your circumstances for some of the wrong done to you down and you got to where your convinced why is there don't know how to get out from under that statement don't go away. Thanks for listening to this addition of living only with living on the international discipleship ministry between the daily Bible just a minute series guest speaker Jenny L. For those who don't know Jenny is a best-selling. The founder of the history Jenny spent identifying seven toxic thoughts that blew her mind and seven remedies that can stop them in their tracks. We hope this is very encouraging series for you would take a minute after the insured with a friend or by downloading the free MP3 Living on the Edge.well here's Jenny with her message. The antidote for victimhood and complacency. I guys, we are talking about something that can feel heavy I think is going to change your thinking and change your life because we had accidentally all become victims and I'm telling you you want to talk about something that robs joy. It is not believing we have responsibility of our lives that we have authority or power over our lives when we believe that we are victims to our lives to our circumstances to our thoughts to our feelings to our situation � that is where we become paralyzed, we become defeated. We become sad sad sad and so this one matters. It is absolutely rampant in our culture to some degree.

All of us have taken up this banner and victimhood in some way and might be in a relationship where you been wounded and might be with a circumstance that just feel so unfair.

We have been owning this idea that we are so wrong and I say no more, no more and the reason I say no more is because that is a miserable way to live and it's not even true that God has given us so much authority and power over our circumstances over our feelings over our mind over our attitudes about things that we can change we don't have to live like this. So let's first of all, there are real victims. I want to be super clear. I'm not saying that they're not real victims might gosh the news. You just have to watch it one minute and you see true atrocity against mankind like just things that you can't your stomach can even barely handle the difficult circumstances. So many of you are facing right now. It's unthinkable. Some of you have been victimized to such incredible level and so I just want to say to all of you that have been abused. All of you that have been wounded and hurt by people I am so so sorry.

And no, I'm not saying that you are a victim you are a victim to a crime to a perpetrator to an action that was done against you. You are a victim, but what's interesting is as I interviewed people that are victims. What I found is that so many of them don't even like that word. They don't want to. They don't want to use that word about themselves because they don't get that much power to the perpetrator. They like the word survivor better because that puts the power in their court.

There saying you know I survived you. I survived that attack and I think what I've heard and learned from them is that Dena survivor puts the power back in their court and they want to be those that are not defined by the thing that happened that what I'm speaking to is the victimhood mentality of all of us that continues to feel like we have been wronged, and life is fair and it's us against the world on the use a story about my son.

As an example when my son came home recently for fishing with some friends. He had this story and just, I mean wow it was bad like how he got treated white wind down. I was like wow this is pretty bad. Now Michael Cooper what did you do to to bring the sign and he said well you know I mean I mean it wasn't fair, but I got mad because so-and-so said this and then I threw his stuff in the lake.

Okay buddy, not so much of a victim and I think that's what I'm talking about is not true. Victims that have been completely sinned against and abuse. I'm talking about the fact that we are moving in and out of relationships in and out as circumstances where we continue to just go well is me.

I am being wronged by the world when likely we need to take some more responsibility for own actions and how have we contributed to the situation. Also I'm talking about victimhood that steals the power of God from a situation where we begin to speak as if there's helplessness and hopelessness when God is that I made you more than conquerors I made you more than conquerors and have equipped you like Randy and says with divine weapons, destroy strongholds, so we are not victims. I'm talking about just our stubborn well you know I'm stuck into the stubborn will and all of us to just says for me.

We have a poor me mentality and what happens when we live in that even if we start with an almost even if we struggle with victimhood from real serious hurt and abuse in crimes. We still can't live in a place of poor me a ring and lose all are doing were not to believe God for healing when I can believe God for future and hope. And so what I'm saying is we got a shift that. So let's look at the Scriptures. First Thessalonians 516 to 18, rejoice always, pray without ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. How does God say we change and shift our mindset from poor me to good God, and it is this is with gratitude. It is with gratitude is was worship is that we see the good in our lives. People that are great for happier.

This is not mysterious science stuff. This is science though. In a study that looked at universally people to just say things like, thank you.

They actually change their chemistry. They change the way that their bodies are working expressing gratitude because subjects in the study that the national Institute of health did to increase dopamine hits the reward transmitters actually send happy thoughts to your brain like this is something that changes our chemistry. This isn't just something that God says to do because is the right thing to do.

God hardwired us to be grateful. People are model for this is is Paul Wright and he was often in difficult circumstances, and yet he had this ability to view his life.

Within this framework of eternity and within this framework of great hope and great joy and great gratitude is all Paul saw where his circumstances and his imprisonment. Then he would've been despondent, but he didn't just see that he actually saw the power of God to use him in the midst of the circumstances, he saw the power of God to use him in the midst of generation by writing his letters to the churches he saw the power of God to eventually rescue him and bring him home so there was great hope in Paul that whatever his circumstances where they were God-given and how could he twist them instead of being the victim in prison. Even as an innocent man. How could he twist that circumstance and believe that he was in the exact right spot so that flipping says that even the guards are seeing the glory of God in him like this is what happened in prison is that guards were saved like that. He saw himself as a missionary. Even in prison. Even when he was so unjustly treated. I think this whole idea of living a life of gratitude instead of victimhood. It feels daunting. It feels like, how do I move into this and I think the way that we gotta do it is one we gotta believe in all of the situations that these supernatural divinely powerful weapons that contains talks about the real that we are actually fighting with real weapons, even though they're invisible it.

Gratitude is a weapon. This lady's darkness that prayer is a weapon that slays darkness that connection with other people and then fighting versus slays darkness time with God slays darkness so we can't treat these like oh I'm just gonna say a prayer. It's like fight the devil you know that's what were doing with prayer and so we gotta believe in these things that God is saying. His power dwells, and because it's supernatural fighting supernatural right and so with any want to stress away now to be an attempt to just not be able to do anything good to just sit there and feel sorry for ourselves and be passive recipients of a hard life until we get to heaven because that is a sad state of affairs.

The dangerous ones are the one to get up, grab the sword and go fight I mention my husband's grandfather who's in his 90s that fought in World War II. He was dropped out of an airplane is piercing been open. He crashes Blacks Audis and a prisoner of war camp in Germany and it was it was dark and horrible. He loses fingers he sees just as man.

It has everything stacked against them, and yet he's like no I'm in a go be a great husband.

I'm gonna build a great life. Him and obey God and can raise my kids love God. The good man and and I watched his life, and I got okay that is what it looks like like fighting the good fight is choosing delight in choosing joy and choosing gratitude and choosing cynicism and victimhood. This is what it looks like we say the darkness by choosing joy over choosing to pout our whole lives because life wasn't fair, and I'm not saying life hasn't been really unfair to you. Goodness gracious.

I'm saying that there is a God is bigger than it, and that living as a victim to it is not an option for you like. It is not a way to live and being someone who sees the good through it and I mean this is something my sister could preach so much better than me because she has tasted darkness beyond anything I could ever imagine.

She's tasted brokenness beyond anything I could ever imagine that I watched her up close and I can tell you. She chose gratitude and God protected her joy protected her delight protected her heart. She still loves him. She so loves us kids and she's not bitter and she's not angry and it is just forgiveness is a better way to live is a better way to live. So we have a choice. We consider our thoughts on the certainty that no matter what comes. We are upheld securely by God's righteous right hand. So how does this actually flush itself out. One, I think we got a seed in ourselves and we asked bold questions of our friends. We need to ask our friends. I do you see me being a victim to my circumstances.

To my mind to my emotions asked that question to people that know you really well and be ready for the answer because honestly is any that's fine for us. People see it and then we got on that and we gotta say okay what is it look like for me not to live as a victim to this.

What is it look like for me to with authority and power to trust God more and to hope more and to believe the truth about myself to believe the truth about my future and that can take war right where war.

All of these situations.

All these things. Remember these are enemies they are coming for us and we will fight back. We can't just passively get over this might have a positive thought to fight is a bigger way than just changing our thinking.

We have to actually go to war with go to war with these weapons. And I'm telling you. Gratitude is one that helps us when you are going through something where you feel beat up what you feel like backed in a corner where you feel helpless, hopeless. I want you start noticing noticing the good in people, noticing the good from God noticing the good in your life and all descendents I call you know what everything is not going to hell and handbasket actually see God advocating for me. I see good happening around me I see good in myself. I see myself being stronger than I was yesterday. I see myself getting up today, and taking care of my kids when I didn't think I could breathe start to notice those things and you start to realize how strong you are strong.

God has made you and how good he has been to you and how much he's watching a movie. It is a different way to live it supernaturally differently listening to all Jenny Allen hero living on the Chip Ingram and Jenny as our guest speaker for the series get out of your head.

Today she's been talking about the dangers of the victimhood mindset. This group 3rd generation for the rest of today's program she's going to highlight the seventh and last toxic thought that threatens distiller joy complacency. Jenny continues today from Galatians chapter 5, so let's look at the Scriptures you my brothers and sisters are called to be free.

But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh to be lazy, adding that myself.

Rather, serve one another humbly in love and wanting to be lazy because I do believe it is a temptation. Our generation to check out to none out it's all too much were bombarded with too many problems. What can we do about it. How do we even help and we pull back and get online and we zone out and we now mount and we get complacent and I'm in a interchange that were lazy with this because I really believe that we need to hate this word I can. Complacency sounds kinda neutral, but laziness that's not okay.

But the way the enemies getting us to it is. He's just overwhelming us to the point that we we don't think we can participate in this big story because there's just too much to do has always says the definition of leadership is taking initiative for the good of others, and so as we start to reject positivity and we lean into the needs around us. What happens to our minds is that they get set on the things of God. They get sent on other people and they get set on things of God have talked about this before that Hebrews 12 is a theme passage for me. I want to say something about it again that it says we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfected our faith, we throw out the sin and the weight that so easily entangles us, and run the race except for us didn't get the order right on that. But it doesn't matter, because what I believe happens is that happening simultaneously that all three of those things are happening at the same time that as we run the race is set before us, we have to fix our eyes on Jesus because we need him and the sin and the weight falls off of us because we got a mission and were busy and were tired and were running after God and so that idea of mission and intentionality leading and loving. Well that God called us to that idea doing it.

It feels big to us. It feels unknowable to us. It feels like were not equipped for it and we dismiss ourselves, but y'all as you get on the track and get off the sidelines and just start doing it.

You cannot believe how much of your Senate weight falls off of you don't have time to think about yourself so much. You don't have time to think about your problems and what you want time to be a victim. You have time to sit around so sorry for yourself, but you do have time for God because you need him because you're actually taking risk and you're nervous and you don't know what's about to happen and you're praying more and you're asking God for miracles in your friends lives in your praying for God to move around you and so there's this movement in your life that is God centered and God propelled but requires our initiative to participate. God does this. I mean, ideally, is if I'm God I would just make everybody robotlike you will participate in the movement of my work because I want you all to do what I want you to do. But that's not how God built as he built us with the choice we talked about this a lot throughout the series that we had a choice made a choice what we think about.

We have a choice how we live. We had a choice in our perspective and we have a choice when it comes to spending our lives to ourselves, selfishly, lazily, or we have a choice to spend our lives. Well, for the glory of God and the good of people and I'm telling you is the best way to lift signs would tell you that subconsciously you want to please yourself. You want to take care of yourself. You want to feed every desire that you have by that brains that actually don't do that that serve others and spend more their time thinking about other people are the healthiest brains. Those are actually the ones that are driving the science research that I did on this said consistently that serving others reduces stress that there is a deeper connection in your life to other people. People who live with purpose actually sleep better and they live longer like this is physically affecting us. Our brains are made to serve other people.

I really cannot sell this hard enough and the reason I mean it is because as you serve God and you get on board with his mission.

So many things fall in the place you are dependent on him. You are quick to ask for forgiveness of the mission isn't disrupted. I think in my own life because I'm on mission.

How many times I am a little out of complacency.

Just because a lot has been given to me and a lot is expected of me in my flesh like Galatians I would like to use my freedom to serve my flesh. That sounds good on a lot of days, but the truth is I have a deadline. I have somebody that needs me. I have a meeting that is to serve an organization I care about have something that propels me out of bed and wait for Netflix on a given day, and I'm so grateful for that.

The times my life I've really taken too long of a break, I start to get selfish and I start to just do Internet shop.

I get online I start to shop and do I need another thing in my entire life. I really don't and Alston set back I'll just send to my house try to send of all the men are like. I know your type. You live in my house.

I know I know we frustrate you, but it's too easy, so what happens when I don't have enough to do.

I get selfish I get complacent I get lazy and get materialistic my flat fee my flesh, my flesh grows. I feed the spirit, the spirit grows and service needs. The spirit sacrifice feeds the spirit not talk about sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice and talk about obedient godly risky sacrifice for the glory of God and guys, it is a more difficult way to live. It goes against your flash and what you want to do with your own freedom. But I'm telling you it is how we were built to live and we are not joyful and we are not free any other way you want your mind to be free.

You go serve people and you get out from under the idolatry of yourself and I'm telling you, your mind starts to shift is getting in the game.

It is sitting on the sidelines with their arms crossed, being critical of everything happening on the field.

It's actually getting in the game and serving God. Now I know some of you are processing what is it look like to use my guess. I don't know what I'm good at. I don't know what God wants me to do you know what there is need right in front of you and that need. You don't have to go find some mysterious calling or mission field it right where you are.

What is the need in your neighborhood. What is the need in your kids friends lives. What is the need in your kids what is the need in your marriage. What is the need and friends lives. You look right in front of you and you meet need is a great way to live and as we do it and as we serve God. The supernatural power of service is that we are not so focused and fixated on ourselves. So we shift our gaze and we see that there's a greater plan for our lives, then building a comfortable life and we interrupt the spiral of self in this pattern of complacency.

When we run the race is set before us. This is how God designed us to live.

I know all of us were coming to the end of this and you're going to know I'm still thinking negative thoughts. You know what you're doing now that you didn't do before. This is your noticing your thoughts to now you even know that you're having negative thoughts.

You know that you're thinking about yourself too much and prior to this, that wasn't your story. We were just victims to our minds victims to our thoughts and what we can do when we notice our thoughts when we start to see these negative patterns in our life that maybe we didn't even know were there before we can start to fight it, and we had these weapons, service, gratitude, stillness with God connection, trust, delight, these are the weapons God has given us to fight the enemies of our mind and guess what y'all God wins these weapons are powerful enough to destroy strongholds. They are powerful enough to change your mind. The next verse in second Corinthians. When he talks about destroying strongholds next verses.

So we take every thought captive because we are no longer in bondage to the enemy of our mind. We don't have to submit to the enemy. Nevermind anymore.

If we are children of God we have power over it and Paul knows this visa so take the power and use it to this power and have authority over your thoughts.

Take this power and quit being so selfish and complacent and go change the world like that's what God wants for us. He has a plan for us to shift our circumstances in our mind, so that we can shift our world and that is contagious, healthy mind is contagious. Just like a toxic one is contagious and healthy mind is contagious.

When you get around somebody whose mind is fixed on Christ, whose mind loves and serves intentionally other people.

Those people you want to be around them. You want to be like them and you want me around them. My grandmother was this actually both my grandmothers but specifically my mom's mom.

I just remember she didn't talk about God a lot.

She loved him and she just lived so content, and she lived focused on whoever was in front of her.

You were her hero when you are in her present you are her hero. She believed in you, she fought for you she wanted you to know that she loved you she was a steady force and picture of the healthy mind and the woman was disciplined. I mean, she had her same things every day. She gardened she cooked my granddad gardened they had a simple steady routine and they kept their minds focused on the people that mattered and the things that matter and they love God and they showed that in their actions and the ways that they love people and guys. That's what this life looks like.

It looks like faithful, steady obedience, our mind fixed on Christ loving other people and as we do the world changes a little bit by little bit you want to live a life like this is contagious. You want a mind like this that is healthy. The power of God is within you.

You are not left alone as an orphan he is given as a counselor he's given as himself in the form the spirit and and that spirit, if you follow Christ is accessible to you and it is powerful and so we are not left alone to figure this out. I am telling you he loves you and is fighting for you and he wants to see take greater strides for his kingdom for his living will be good to go. This program for victimhood and complacency which is from her series get out of your head.

Jubal Jorgensen just a minute sure his application for this message. Let me ask you a question what drives your thought life. Is it anxiety, loneliness, feeling like the world's up to get you.

Perhaps you're really pessimistic or obsessed with being recognized when the series generally identifies seven common thoughts that are actually toxic to our lives and can be real or connection with God. Don't live so we can break free from these dangerous mindsets by wielding the power God's already given us. If you wanted to learn more about this topic.

What we encourage you to get your news book. Get out of your head. For complete details, go to LivingontheEdge.org or call us a triple late.

333-6003 that's AAA 333-6003, or LivingontheEdge.org hapless nurse top special offers trips with me in studio Dell and Chip Jimmy spent the last half of today's message talking about the toxic thought of complacency and how it's polluting Christianity take a minute if you wouldn't talk about how pervasive this problem is would Living on the Edge is doing about. We've got millions of people going to church going through the motions, many of them sincere ignorant about the gospel about truth. Their lives don't change. We have a whole generation of young people saying you can have your Jesus in your church inanity and I'm out here because they don't see reality and Living on the Edge has been called to declare war on religious activity that doesn't align with the Jesus of the New Testament, but we can't do it without you. I grew up in that environment and I turned away from God and I just praise God that he brought people into my life that clearly explained the gospel but as importantly, they lived it out and they lived it out in real life and love me and cared for me and they were holy and they weren't weird. God longs to do that in our day and the message of Living on the Edge is helping Christians like Christians, we do through teaching we create resources, but it requires a team and for us to do it moving toward the future as God is open more and more doors.

I simply tell you I need your help. Would you prayerfully consider partnering with us today and kinda move that good intention you thought about it I ought to help them out.

Yeah I already decided my head. I would, but the fact is you haven't acted on it yet act on it today. Let's make a difference, but strip partnering with Living on the Edges of mobile, it makes sense to you. We'd love to have you join us helping Christians live what Christians will change the world we live in, to give a gift, call us at AAA 333-6003 that's AAA 333-6003, or if you prefer to give all water and go to LivingontheEdge.org that's LivingontheEdge.org hapless nurse top donate. Thank you for partnering with us will know your strip with a few final thoughts for you to think about as we wrap up today's message and the entire series by Jenny Allen entitled get out of your head. I like to do a brief review as I walk through these very slowly. I'd like you to be thinking about which one of these toxic thoughts.

You need to address you maybe heard it earlier, but you think you know I need to come up with a plan to really address.

Listen carefully. Toxic thought number one noise number two isolation number three anxiety number four cynicism number five pride number six victimhood number seven complacency you know we all struggle with those things. I love Jenny's teaching. I love her passion and I love that she develops these fully in her book entitled get out of your head and just so that you don't miss the answers. The antidotes she didn't leave us with hey try hard to sit here is the antidote to silence this connection is trust its delight, its humility, its gratitude and intentionality. The overall message arming the take-home point is to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

What I've learned over these years is that we are a product of our thought life and if you want to do a very quick Bible study just look up passages that have the mind. Colossians chapter 3 the first four verses or Romans eight verses five through eight are Proverbs 23:7. I mean all of them talk about your thinking.

You are the product of your thinking and we have to replace the false and the lies in the toxic with the truth and then we have to believe that truth and put into practice what I love about having Jenny Allen on our broadcast was the opportunity for us Living on the Edge to hear God's word to another voice through another lens to the lens of a woman that's grown up differently than me or some of our other speakers of the lens of a woman whose reaching and touching and helping other women the lens of a woman that walk humbly with God that believes in the authority of Scripture and is practical is passionate and I think is helped us get out of our own heads and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ fixture as we close you a great way to stay engaged and convicted Chip Living on the Edges with the Chip Ingram up will get free access to all of Chip's recent messages whose message notes and much more. Not only that, but it couldn't be easier to call or email directly from the one to look starting this is the setting for this Edition of Living on the Edge