May 31 2015 Freedom To Change

FREEDOM TO CHANGE

Romans 12:1-2
 
Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask him to remove my character defects. 

Romans 12:1-2 – Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him, and let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind.

I. Where Do My Character Defects Come From?

• My biological inheritance.

Genetics explain predisposition but don’t excuse sin.

• My circumstances, or how I was raised.

Character defects are often attempts to fill unmet needs.

• My choices in life.

Character defects are often positive qualities being misused.

II. Why Is It So Hard To Change Them?

1. Because I’ve had them a long time.

2. Because I confuse my identity with them.

3. Because they have a payoff.

4. Because satan discourages me.

III. How Do I Cooperate With God’s Change Process?

Romans 12:2 – Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

1. Focus on changing one defect at a time.

Proverbs 17:24 – An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions.

2. Focus on Victory one day at a time.

Matthew 6:11 – Give us this day our daily bread.

Matthew 6:34 – Don’t worry about tomorrow, each day has enough troubles of its own.

3. Focus on God’s power not willpower.

Jeremiah 12:23 – Can a leopard take away his spots?  Nor can you who are used to doing evil now start being good.

BUT…..

Philippians 4:13 – I can master anything with the help of Christ who gives me strength.

4. Focus on what I want, not what I don’t want.

Philippians 4:8 – Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right.  Think about things that are pure.  Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about. 

5. Focus on doing good, not feeling good.

Galatians 5:16 – If you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence.   

6. Focus on people who help me, not hinder me. 

Proverbs 27:1 – As iron sharpens iron, so people can improve each other.

7. Focus on progress not perfect performance.

Philippians 1:6 – God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in His Grace until His task with you is finally finished.

October 12 and 19 2014 It's A Different World (parts 1 and 2)

IT’S A DIFFERENT WORLD!

1 Chronicles 12:32 (NLT)“All these men [the men of Issachar] understood the temper of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.”

KEY IDEA: We’ve got to parent to THEIR CHANGES

Proverbs 22:6 (NLT)“Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older,

IN TODAY’S WORLD ... AMAZING KIDS NEED

1. They need affirmation.

Proverbs 12:6 (NLT) “The words of the wicked are like a murderous ambush, but the words of

2. They need communication.  

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NLT) “And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again.”

3. They need to be taught responsibility.

• Chores (Dougfields.com\amazingkids)

Proverbs 27:12 (NLT) “A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.”

• When natural consequences are too dangerous
• When natural consequences don’t exist
• When natural consequences are ineffective

Proverbs 3:11-12 (NLT)“My child, don’t ignore when the Lord disciplines you and don’t be discouraged when He corrects you for the Lord corrects those He loves just as a father corrects

WHAT DO PARENTS NEED?

1. Parents need to battle wisely.

Proverbs 2:3-4, 6(NLT) “Cry out for insight and understanding. Search for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure... the LORD gives wisdom!”

2. To Not give up, but hang on.

Philippians 1:6 (NLT)“God began the good work within you, and will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.”

3. They need to get the right relationship right.

Colossians 1:20 (NLT)“...by him [Jesus] God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross.”

Romans 5:1 (NLT)“Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”

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

June 10 2012 Healing For Hurting Parents

Healing For Hurting Parents

Luke 15:11-24

Jesus' beautiful story of the Prodigal Son is more than a lesson about God's love. It also illustrates some powerful principles for parenting. We see 3 stages in this parent-child conflict.

STAGE ONE: REBELLION (verses 11-16)

"... give me..."

What to do:

1. Let them go.
"... the younger son... set off for a distant country..."

2. Let them make their own mistakes.
"... and there squandered his wealth in wild living..."

3. Let them suffer the consequences of their choices.
"... after he spent everything... he began to be in need"

STAGE TWO: RE-EVALUATION & REGRET
(vs. 17-19)

"When he came to his senses... I will go back..."

What to do:

* You Pray.

* Commit them to God.

* Wait Patiently.

STAGE THREE: THE RETURN (vs. 20-24)

What to do: 

1. Love them faithfully
"... his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him..." 

2. Accept them unconditionally.
"... he threw his arms around him and kissed him."

THE SON'S CONFESSION: (Vs 21)

3. Forgive them completely.
"Bring the best robe... put a ring on his finger... and sandals on his feet."

"For this son of mine was dead, and is alive again; he was lost and is found!