April 3 2016 Why Do I Do What I Don't Want To Do

WHY DO I DO WHAT I DON'T WANT TO DO?

What do you have a hard time controlling?

• My temper
• Spending
• Eating
• My moods
• Drinking
• Sexual desires
• Procrastinating
• Bad habits

1. THE PROBLEM:

Romans 7:15-16, 18 (LB) "My own behavior baffles me. For I find myself doing what I really hate and not doing what I really want to do! I often find that I have the desire to do good, but not the power. I don't accomplish the good I set out to do, and the evil I don't really want to do I find I am always doing!"

Mark 14:37"The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. "

Results: 

• Confusion.
• Frustration.
• Defeat and discouragement

Romans 7:24 It is an agonizing situation. Who can set me free from the prison of this mortal body?

II GOD'S PROMISE:

John 8:22"Jesus said '.., When you know the Truth, the Truth will set you free. 

FACT: Behind every self-defeating behavior is: A LIE THAT I’M BELIEVING

III. THE PRESCRIPTION:

Acknowledge THE ROOT OF MY PROBLEM

“Sin”: "I'M IN CHARGE AND I DON'T NEED GOD."

1 John 1: 8 (LB)"If we say we have no sin we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth."

To stop defeating myself, I must stop DECEIVING myself.

John 8:34 (Phillips) Jesus: "Everyone who commits sin is its slave " 

Believe that Christ can change me.

Romans 7:24-25"Who can free me from this prison... " I thank God there is a way out through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Romans 8:2 (Ph)"For the new spiritual principle of life in Jesus Christ lifts me out of the old vicious circle of sin... "

John 14:6"Jesus said, 'I AM" the Truth!"

Commit ALL I AM TO CHRIST

2 Corinthians 5:17 (LB)"When anyone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!"

2 Timothy 1: 7"The Spirit God gives us doesn't make us timid,- instead his Spirit fills us with power, love, and SELF CONTROL. "

Stop Trying! Start TRUSTING

2 Corinthians 3:17"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. '

July 19 2015 The Person God Uses

The Person God Uses

2 Chronicles 7:14

THE PROCESS OF RENEWAL

Christians pray, God cares
Christians repent, God shows us ourselves
Christians minister, God empowers and equips

THE PERSON GOD USES

1. That person has one great purpose.

Philippians 3:7-14

To “know God” there must be:

Evaluation How well do I know God?

Exchange What must I do to know Him better?

Trade off What price will I pay to know Him better?

2. That person has, by God’s grace, removed every known hindrance.  Hebrews 12:1-2

Observations:

1. We can have victory over all sin.

2. If God’s Word says lay it aside, it can be done.

God didn’t say these things to frustrate us, but help us by God’s Grace.

“Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off the relish of spiritual things, whatever increases the authority of your body over your mind, that thing for us is sin.” (Susanna Wesley)

3. That person has placed themselves at God’s disposal.

Romans 12:1-2

Observations:

1. For those who have been saved.

2. Sign my name to a blank sheet of paper.

3. Give Him control of your life.

4. That person who has learned to prevail in prayer.

James 5:13-18

Observations:
1. Things beyond my control.

2. Things that are bigger than myself.

3. Things that seem impossible.

5. That person is a student of the Word.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

6. That person has a giving Spirit.

John 3:16

7. That person expects results.

Romans 4:16-21

8. That person lives under the anointing of God the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18-20

“The renewal we need is simply a return to normal New Testament Christianity, where the Churches are full of prayer, full of power, full of people, full of praise full of divine happenings all the time.  We want something normal, not just ‘special.’  God’s normal, that is.  God’s normal is greater than most of our specials put together. (Dr. Armin Desswein)

February 23 2014 How The Bible Changes Us

How The Bible Changes Us 

Psalm 33:6 “The Lord merely spoke and the heavens were created. He breathed the word and all the stars were born.”

John 6:63 “The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.”

The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge; the Bible was given to change our lives. -D.L. Moody

SIX WAYS GOD WANTS TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE WITH IS WORD.

1. God’s Word recreates my life.

James 1:18 “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth…

1 Peter 1:23 “You have been born, again not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God.”

2. God’s Word eradicates my guilt.

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins to God he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Romans 8:1 that says “There is now no condemnation no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 5:25-26 “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word.”

3. God’s Word activates my faith.

Romans 10:17, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ.” 2

Exodus 23:29-30

4. God’s Word stimulates my growth.

Acts 20:32 “I commit you to God and to the Word of his grace,which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17“All Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

5. God’s Word elevates my mood.

Romans 15:4 “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

6. God’s Word liberates my potential.

John 8:31-32 “If you continue in my Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free!”

HOW DO I GAIN THESE BENEFITS?

1. I’ve got to learn it.

Mark 12:24 “Your trouble is that you don’t know the Scriptures…”

Proverbs 14:12 “There’s a way that seems right to men but it always ends in death.”

2. I have to accept it.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 “When you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, – the Word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”

3. I have to act on it.

John 13:17 “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” 3

Memory Verse: Psalm 119:18. Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”

August 18 2013 Beyond GPS Staying The Course

Beyond GPS: Staying The Course

James 1:5 “If you need wisdom – if you want to know what God wants you to do – ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.”

THE DANGERS OF GETTING OFF COURSE

• I will miss Relationships God has for me.
• I will miss Opportunities that God has for me.
• I will miss the Spiritual Growth that God has for me.

Ephesians 4:14-15“We are not meant to remain as children ... but to grow up in every way into Christ...”

Memory Verse: Proverbs 14:14“There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.”

THREE REGULAR HABITS THAT KEEP ME ON COURSE

1. I Apply WHAT I READ FROM THE BIBLE.

2 Timothy 3:16-17“The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right. It is God's way of making us well prepared at every point, fully equipped to do good to everyone.”

James 1:22“Do not fool yourselves by just listening to the Word. Instead, put it into practice.”

2. I Talk to God WITH PERSONAL PRAYERS.
 
Philippians 4:6“Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

3. I Invite My Friends TO A SUNDAY SERVICE.

Matthew 20: 19-20“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

April 28 2013 How To Bring Change Into Your Life

HOW TO BRING CHANGE INTO YOUR LIFE
Philippians 2:12-13
Continue to work out your Salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.

* Work out: This is our part.

* Your Salvation: It’s our responsibility.

* God works in you: This is God’s part.

I. God’s part in changing me.

3 TOOLS HE USES
1.) God uses the Bible.
II Timothy 3:16-17 - The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives, it straightens us out and helps us to do what is right. It is God’s way of making us well prepared at every point.

2.) The Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:11 - Once the Spirit lives within you, He will bring to your whole being new strength and vitality.
I Corinthians 3:18 - As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him.

3.) Circumstances.
Romans 8:28-29 - To those who love God and are called according to His plans, everything that happens fits into a pattern for good. For God chose us to bear the family likeness of His son.
Proverbs 20:30 - Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways.



My part in changing me.

3 CHOICES
1.) I can choose what I think about.
Proverbs 4:23 - Be careful how you think. Your life is shaped by your thoughts.
Ephesians 4:23-25 - Your mind must be renewed by a spiritual revolution so that you can put on the new self that has been created in God’s way.

2.) I can choose to depend on God’s Spirit.
John 15:4-5 - Take care to live in Me and let Me live in you. For a branch can’t produce fruit when severed from the vine. Nor can you be fruitful apart from me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit.

3.) I can choose to respond correctly to my circumstances.
James 1:2-4 - When all kinds of trials crowd into your lives, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends. Realize that they come to test your faith and produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed and you become people of mature character, people of integrity, with no weak spots.
Romans 5:3-4 - We can be full of joy right here and now, even in our trials and troubles. These very things will give us patient endurance. This in turn will develop a mature character.

YOU CAN BRING CHANBE INTO YOUR LIFE