When You're Sick Of Being Stuck

Speaker 1: 0:00

How many of you guys started 2024 with a goal to change something about your life? Anybody, yeah, okay, maybe we all kind of start with some goals. I'm going to ask you this next question how is it going? Oh, wow, someone is going great. I love it. I love it For you. Who's going good? Congratulations.

Speaker 1: 0:24

You are the exception of that because, according to a study of 40 million people that's a lot of people it's not going well for them. According to Inc Magazine, they wrote and found that the vast majority of us quit our New Year's resolutions by when the second Friday of January 14 days, baby, you know they were going for it, but they didn't. They stopped. Now, the vast majority of us started the year with really good intentions, but we didn't follow through, and the sad news is that many of us we have our goals, but by the end of the year, what kind of tends to happen? We weigh more than what we want it to weigh, we spend more than we actually make, and we have a desperate want to read our Bible, but we find ourselves still not spending that much time with God as we want. So what I want to do today is I want to talk to those who want to change. I want to talk to those who hope that they can change and I want to talk to those who have tried to change. But now you're in a place you're not even sure if change is possible, if it's even possible. So we start a brand new series today called the Power to Change, and we're going to go over this concept for the next six weeks. I'm so excited and part one of our message is called this when you're sick of being stuck, when you're sick of being stuck, I like this. So if you feel like many of us, if you feel frustrated, you feel exhausted, you feel embarrassed or even feel ashamed that you haven't changed, the good news is you're not alone. The good news is you're actually not alone about that.

Speaker 1: 2:09

In fact, there's a guy in the Bible in the New Testament, who wrote more than half of the New Testament, who can relate to how you feel the Apostle Paul. He understands what it's like to try to do the right thing, but you always end up doing the wrong thing. He says like this in Romans 7. He says I don't really understand myself. I can relate to that. I don't really understand myself. But what I want, what I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. I want to. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyways. That sounds kind of relatable, right? Oh, what a miserable person I am. Now. I don't know if you feel you can relate to that.

Speaker 1: 2:48

I know I have in my life before and because of that you may ask the question what in the world is wrong with me? What's wrong with me that I can't do the things that I know I want to do? You may say, man, I tried to change, I tried to do something different, I tried to do a different routine. I tried to change this year, I tried to change last year and I tried to change the year before that. I set goals, I made vows, I brought my workout clothes, I got my daily planner, I even made a vision board. I did everything.

Speaker 1: 3:25

You have the right intentions but unfortunately, like so many of us, we don't make the change. And I would suggest here you go, I would suggest many of us that we have the right intentions. We actually have the wrong strategy. We have the right intentions, but the wrong strategy. And the core purpose of this series, the power to change I want to give it to you today. So, if you're taking notes, I want you to write this down. And if you're taking notes, I just want you to know. I think heaven comes with a spa for you if you take notes. That's in the Bible, I think Leviticus, it's not. It's not in the Bible, okay, but if you're taking notes, I want you to write this down. Okay, this is so important. Are you ready? Use your notes app, but don't text people.

Speaker 1: 4:17

Real change is not behavior modification. Real change is spiritual transformation. Real change is not behavior modification, but real change is spiritual transformation. This is not changing what we do on the outside. It's allowing God to change us on the inside. It's not just the outward behavior modification, but real change is spiritual transformation.

Speaker 1: 4:46

And that's why the Apostle Paul, who wrote Romans 7, said I'm trying to do what's right, but I keep doing the things that I don't want to do. Why do I keep doing the things I don't want to do when I know there's things I want to do? Then he finished this. He says this he says who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Now, that's a. You know, he's feeling pretty dramatic right then, but I think we can relate to that. Who's going to free me from this? Because I'm doing things I don't want to do, I keep making decisions that get me in trouble and I'm trying to do the right thing. He says this, thank God. The answer is not my effort, is not my outward behavior, it is Jesus Christ, our Lord. It's not behavior modification, it is spiritual transformation. So what I want to do, so what I want to show us as everyday people who are learning how to become Jesus followers, I wanted to show us how we often will try the wrong way, but I want to give us the right way on how to change.

Speaker 1: 5:41

And now I can't take full credit from this illustration. This illustration that I'm about to share with you guys comes from a pastor. His name is Craig Rochelle. I encourage you to listen to his leadership podcast, the Craig Rochelle Leadership Podcast, if you lead in any capacity. But he came up with this idea that essentially shows that there's three mindsets that Christians typically have when it comes to change. Two of the concepts are wrong and one is correct, and I want to share this with you guys because I think it will be life-changing for you. Here you go. I encourage some more note-taking today. Okay, here you go.

Speaker 1: 6:14

The first one is this, and this is the one that many believe God then me, god then me. When it comes to life change, it's God, then me. When it comes to life change, it's God then me, then me. And in other words, god initiates. So we've been here. God initiates himself to us. His Holy Spirit moves on us, his grace changes us. We're saved by grace, we're heaven bound. God does the work to bring us into his family and we have the experiences. Oh God, this is so good. But then we kind of feel like God says hey, I saved you, I wooed you, I gave you my grace. Now you go and do it. Now you go and make the life change you need to do. Now it's all up to you.

Speaker 1: 7:01

And many of us we inadvertently believe in a God then me mindset Like if it's going to be me, if it's going to be, it is up to me, if it's going to be, it's up to me. And even if it comes, and it even comes down to our language, it even comes down to the way we talk. Here's what a lot of Christians say, a lot of people you hear them say I'm trying to not lose my temper with my kids. You hear that I'm trying not to. Other people say I'm trying to stop cussing so much, darn it. But really you don't say darn it, I'm trying to do this. I'm trying to do that. I'm trying to get close to God. I'm trying to stop spending hours looking at TikTok videos all day. God saved me, but we believe if it's going to be, it's up to me. And that's a wrong mindset to have. It's a wrong mindset to have about change.

Speaker 1: 7:57

The first one is God, then me. What's the second one then? Then it's God, not me. Now this one, come on, this one. While the first one is all about our efforts, the second one almost pardon us from taking any responsibility for our life decisions.

Speaker 1: 8:22

And there's some Christians who have this mindset it's God and not me. It shifts all responsibility to God. He has to do everything and I don't have to do anything. I don't have to do anything at all. It's all what he's going to do. And they will even quote verses in the Bible like for God loves. You know, they'll say all things are for good for those who love the Lord, who have been called according to His purpose. Well, yes, he does work, all things for good, but that means you still got to do something, though it's not like you just got to take your hands off.

Speaker 1: 8:46

For example, if it's God, not me, that person might say, well, I don't like my job, so, since I don't like my job, I'm just going to quit my job for the glory of God, and he's going to provide me another one. Well, he could, but I don't think God works that way. I think God's a God of order, and so you know. So it may not be your best strategy. Or you may think you know, I want to get closer to God, but I really haven't read his word that much. So what's up with him? Why doesn't he get close to me? Or you may be saying, man, I want to get close to God, but I haven't really made an ongoing effort to be in church since COVID happened. So why am I not close to God? To God, you know.

Speaker 1: 9:27

Or you may be like this. You may be saying, man, I know I'm in some financial debt and I know I really haven't been budgeting or taking care of my money. But, man, that mega millions is 1.6 billion. So, god, I'm going to trust you with this lottery ticket, even though someone in Oregon won it last night. So is that any of you guys? I'm just making sure because I was just waiting for your tithe. I'm joking. Okay, here you go. But for real, I kind of laugh about it.

Speaker 1: 9:54

But this is an honest way that a lot of people think Well, god, it's God, it's not me, I don't have to do anything, he'll protect me. And there is a misperception of trust and faith, Like, here you go. The first one is all about you have to do everything. Well, that's not good. The second one is all about well, I don't have to do anything, god's going to take care of me. Here's the correct mindset, here's the first one. The first two are wrong and dangerous. But this third one is correct.

Speaker 1: 10:19

It's God through me, god through me, god through me. And how do we really change? It's not about behavior modification. It's about spiritual transformation. It is God through me. And the reason why it's God through me is because our walk with Jesus is about a relationship with our God. It's about connecting to Him. It's about spending our daily lives connecting and learning more about Him and asking Him to take the direction and lead of our lives. And so, god, work through me. Help me understand your voice more clearly, god.

Speaker 1: 10:59

I want to make decisions that honor you, that put you first. It's not God, then me, I guess I have no support, it's not God, and then I don't do anything, but it's God in partnership and relationship with you. I want you to know the God who created the heavens and the earth, that put the stars in the sky and all the fish in the sea. That God, that God, is interested in having an ongoing relationship with you. He thinks it's so important to have a relationship with you that he gave His one and only Son that all the things that get in our way. He said I'm going to bridge the gap. I'm going to bridge the gap. Come on, that's good news, isn't it? And so it's God through us, so it's God through us, I, it's God through us, and I want to show you how the apostle Paul recognizes this amazing principle, because he's the guy that we can relate to.

Speaker 1: 11:51

I want to change. If I keep doing the things I don't want to do and the things I want to do, I don't do, what's wrong with me. Why do I keep doing all the things I don't want to do but the things I want to do In his writing and I love the humility that he has. 1 Corinthians 15, he says this. He says for I am the least of the apostles. Now come on Paul. He may be a little hard on himself, because Paul is the guy who wrote most of the New Testament. Paul started a bunch of churches.

Speaker 1: 12:17

Paul says, based on my qualification and all my sin, I rank low, I'm not very good, I'm the least of the apostles. And he says and I do not even deserve to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church. He said, man, I made some bad decisions in my life, I did things that weren't good. But watch this. He says but not by my talent, not by my education, not by my good works, not by my efforts, but by what he said, but by the grace of God. By the grace of God, and I want you to know today, the same grace that saved you is the same grace that changes you. It's the same grace that moves through you. And he says I am what I am and his grace to me was not without effect. In other words, he says I'm not very good, I don't deserve this, but God's grace impacted me and I am what I am because of his grace, because of the work that he has done on the inside of me.

Speaker 1: 13:15

Then he says this. He says no, I worked harder than all of them. I love this. I love his honesty. He's like, honestly, I consider myself the least of the apostles, but I've worked harder than all of them. And he's true, he's done. He did it. He was the guy who got up early. He was the guy who stayed up late. He was the guy who started more churches, raised more leaders. He preached the gospel without fear. He was beaten and beaten and arrested. He was left for dead. He was whipped and snake bitten. He was shipwrecked. He came back and he was persecuted and they tried to kill him and he came back. But watch this, but watch this. He said I worked harder than all of them. I brought everything in me. He said, yet not I, but the grace of God that was within me. He says, yeah, I did put in the work, but I was only able to do it because God's grace, because I lived in His grace, I trusted Him. It was God through me. I'm not any good by myself, I don't deserve to be here, but by His grace he did something in me and it changed me. So I brought every energy, every effort of my physical body, but it wasn't me alone, it wasn't me alone, it was His grace through me. And this is what I want to say again Real change is not God, then you.

Speaker 1: 14:35

Real change is not God, not you. Real change, the change that you seek, the change that you want in your life, the change to be the better husband, the change to be the better wife, the change to be the parent that you want to be, the change to be the person that God has called you to be, is God through you. It's God through you, working in you, through you. Real spiritual change is God through you, because it's about a relationship. It's about a relationship. It's not behavior modification, it is spiritual transformation.

Speaker 1: 15:09

So you may be like all right, pastor Jacob, what does that look like on a Monday when all I want to do after work is eat three bags of Doritos? I feel you on that. What does that look like on a Monday when my boss says something to me again and I want to take him hostage for ransom money, all to the glory of God? Like, don't do that, that would be weird. But yeah, what does that look like in my everyday life? What does that look like? How do I do that? If real change is God through you, what does it look like? What I'm about to say again is so important. What I'm about to say right here is so important. So take notes, okay, what I'm about to say.

Speaker 1: 15:53

If you want to know what it looks like to have the change that you want, for change to be spiritual transformation, here you go. You ready for this? For change to be spiritual transformation, not behavior modification, but for change to be spiritual transformation, it has to be spiritual. It has to be spiritual, it has to be connected to something higher than yourself. For it to be spiritual transformation, it has to be empowered by the Holy Spirit and not your own willpower. And I'm going to tell you this, friends there is a difference between the Holy Spirit and your willpower. It is, there is, and here you go. And this is what we're going to do. We're going to learn more about this as this series goes on, but you know we're going to get a lot of practical steps in this. But this is what we're going to do. We're going to learn more about this as this series goes on, but you know we're going to get a lot of practical steps in this, but this is the truth.

Speaker 1: 16:49

The new year is going to roll by. We're already in April, which is crazy. The year is zooming by and there's another year coming and you're going to say, man, I want to change, I want to do this. You may say to yourself I want to start wearing those nice skinny jeans I got, you know. You may say to yourself, I'm going to do that. And then your why behind that? Or your how behind that may be. Well, I'm going to do whatever workout plan my friend did. It seemed like it worked out for them. I'm just going to do that, you know. But you said I did CrossFit last year, I'm going to do pickleball this year. It may not work.

Speaker 1: 17:25

No, no, now you're going to have to find your why and you're going to have to find your how. And it has to be spiritual. And what I want to suggest to you is to add your spiritual why and how to it. Now I'm going to get practical with you. Okay, here you go. You want to have a spiritual why and you want to have a spiritual how. Your spiritual why is God's purpose for you? Your spiritual why is God's purpose for you? Okay, and your spiritual? How is God's power through you? Your spiritual, why is God's purpose for you? And your spiritual, how is God's power through you? Those are so important. Okay, it's not your effort, it's not your behavior modification, it's spiritual transformation. So how does this play out?

Speaker 1: 18:02

Here you go, you get that little notification on your phone that said you spent 92 hours of screen time on your phone and you're like dang, that's a lot, but you know, you know, you want to spend less time on your phone. So what are you going to do? You're going to say, well, I want to spend less time on my phone because I don't want to spend time on my phone. Well, that's a bad reason why. That's not a good motivating reason why You're going to say, well, let's get a spiritual reason. Who is God? What is God? God is love. What is the greatest commandment he gave us to do? To love others. How loving can we be when we're consistently in front of our phones? We can't be, we can't be, we can't be. So the spiritual why behind it? The way I'm going to reduce my screen time? Because I want to love God more and I want to be present with the people around me. Are you tracking with me today? Okay, we're going to add a spiritual thing to it. We're not just doing it just because, but we're adding a spiritual reason to it. That's your spiritual why.

Speaker 1: 19:04

Maybe for you you want to say I want to get better with my money, why? You may say because I'm tired of being broke. That's a good reason, that's a good reason, but, but we've got to add something spiritual to it. You start to say, well, everything I have comes from God, and one of the best ways I can worship and honor him is by stewarding wisely and managing wisely the resources he's given me. I'm not trying to live my life paycheck to paycheck. I want to be a blessing to people. So then you start to make some changes with that. You add your spiritual why to what you want to do, to your spiritual heart.

Speaker 1: 19:37

You may say I want to be in better shape. And you may say why? Your why may be because I want my hashtag HSB Hot summer body. I've been trying to get that since I was about 19. I haven't got it yet. Now that's a good why, but it's not a great one. You know that. Why isn't that great when I got a whole bag of Doritos in front of me. You know, kind of forget about it, especially when they always got the new flavors that I got to try every single time. I'll kind of forget about it, especially when they always got the new flavors that I got to try every single time. But instead, instead, you say well, my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and I want to honor God with my temple and the body that he gives me. So you add a spiritual why to it. It's not just because here's the truth If you're just trying to get in shape, because you want people to look at you and say, dang, you look good. People's opinions come and go and sometimes they hurt hard. But I want you to know when you say I'm going to steward my body because I want to bring glory to God, it changes. It changes your approach. It changes your approach. It's a spiritual why. So what's your spiritual why? For spiritual transformation to take place, it's got to be spiritual. Come on, I'm trying to keep it easy for us today. It's got to be spiritual. What's your spiritual why? And then you're going to have to find your spiritual how. You want to do your spiritual how. I love.

Speaker 1: 20:53

What Zechariah 4, 6 tells us is this he says it's not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord Almighty, when it's God's spirit working through you. Paul said it's not about me, it's about His grace. And, nick, you can come and play something on the keys for us. See, when God's Spirit is working through you, you begin to understand His grace for you more, and then you begin to understand the loving nature of a father, that he cares for you. And because here's the problem when we're all focused with our behavior modifications, I'm going to change this. And you might have changed it for a week, two weeks, a month, and you might have seen some great breakthrough. But then things happen, and then you fall back into these routines. And then what happens? You start to feel guilt and shame. You go man, what's wrong with me? But when you allow grace to come into your life, you say God, I'm giving you my spiritual why. I'm going to find a spiritual how, even when we make mistakes, we see that God's love for us is right there, not pointing a finger at us, but picking us up again. Picking us up saying you got this, you can do this, you're not on your own, but you have a stronger power.

Speaker 1: 22:15

For example, a newer family tradition that we have in the Gaines house, as we've been doing for about three years now, is we run the turkey trot together. On Thanksgiving morning we run the turkey trot. I got a picture of, I think, me and Kingsley at the turkey trot. Maybe no, I don't, never turkey. I got a picture of, I think, me and Kingsley at the turkey tribe. Maybe no, I don't, never mind. I forgot to hit send on that email. She's so cute though in the picture. But what we normally do is we go down to Virginia Beach on Thanksgiving and the morning of there's a local YMCA down there that hosts a 10K run and a one-mile fun run turkey trot. Now I do like to do the 10K. That's kind of been my thing I do for a long time, but recently I've been running the one mile with my family. So Aaron and the kids and my daughter enjoys the running part.

Speaker 1: 23:04

But you want to know, her favorite part about the race is when she gets to do the turbo boost. Now you may be wondering what's the turbo boost? The turbo boost is when she can hop on my back and I got to run as fast as I can. That's her favorite part of the race. Now this last year, since she's five now, I said, hey, there's only three turbo boosts during the run. I said you can do this, you can do this. So she said, okay, okay, so we're running, we're running. She's like dad turbo boost and I put on my bat, she starts, I run and then I put her down, we run again. She hops on my back another time later, we do it and we do it three times and at the end she gets. She runs through the finish line by herself. She gets a little. They give her a little trophy thing that they have and I share that with you is because the truth is this In a way, we have a turbo boost.

Speaker 1: 24:01

Did you know that you have a heavenly Father that does like to pick you up, that does like to say hey, if you trust in me, I'll get you through this race. I'll get you through this race. I'll get you through this race faster and stronger than you can by yourself. And I want some people to know that you've been leaning on yourself too much. You've been saying you've been saying it's God, then me, then my efforts and my thing and my and you keep finding yourself coming up short. But there's God through you. There's God through you and he gives you this supernatural strength. When we are connected to a spiritual why, with a spiritual how that's not just focused on outward modification, you have spiritual transformation. I'll be transparent with you guys.

Speaker 1: 24:54

Just recently, about a year or so ago, aaron and I, we finally said we made a decision and we said we love this church. We love this church and we believe that God has called us to Richmond. We believe that God has called us to Central Virginia. We believe that there should be a local vineyard church all throughout Williamsburg, all the way up to Fairfax, virginia. That's what we truly believe.

Speaker 1: 25:17

The vision that Aaron and I have for this church goes beyond just the Midlothian area. It goes far, because I actually believe you may call me crazy and that's okay I actually believe if everyday people, if moms and dads and doctors and general contractors and people who are going through life, managers of stores, if everyday people can have a relationship with Jesus, it would change everything. It would change everything. Our whole world will be different, lives will be changed, families will be restored. Marriages that were on the edge of divorce can be healed. People who felt like they had no place in the church can be welcomed home and say no, you belong here. We believe that it's a crazy dream. It's a crazy dream, but it's a God-sized dream. It's a God-sized dream.

Speaker 1: 26:09

But we had to start, for lack of better words, putting our money where our mouth was. And so what we actually did because we've been financially blessed because of Aaron's job and God's provision we finally got a financial coach. We said, man, god, you're blessing us too much with this. So we went about. Almost two years ago, we got a financial coach who helped us get our ducks in a row, and all that stuff Because our spiritual why was this?

Speaker 1: 26:36

We believe that God wants to use our resources to expand His kingdom. It wasn't just so we can go on vacation or just so we can have a savings account for our kids and all that stuff is great and we should do that, but it was more about His kingdom for our kids and all that stuff is great and we should do that, but it was more about his kingdom. And so, over about you know, I guess about two years of figuring this out, we're debt free, we're able to do all this different stuff. And now and I'm going to share a little bit more about this next week and now, because of that, we can financially give above and beyond to this church, and we can do that. And the reason why why are we doing that? It's because we actually believe that when everyday people learn how to become Jesus followers, it changes everything. It changes everything.

Speaker 1: 27:24

But naturally I don't know if you're ever familiar with a guy named Dave Ramsey financial peace. They say, in every couple there's someone who's a spender and someone who loves to save money. The problem with Aaron and I both of us are spenders, we love to do that. That sounds great and we're both naturally generous too. We like to bless people. But we had to become disciplined. We had to become disciplined because of what we saw was the better, was the better, was the better. We had to find our spiritual why and that was a kingdom vision. And then we found our spiritual how. We got a financial coach to get all up in our business and help us manage it well. And so what I want to, what I, so, if you want change, this is what I want to say. I was vulnerable because, if you want change, maybe you had a goal and it did end on the second Friday of the year.

Speaker 1: 28:20

Maybe you have, maybe you want to overcome an addiction we all have at some point in our lives. Maybe you want to get more organized. Maybe you want to pray regularly with your spouse. What do you do? Add your spiritual why. By the help of Jesus, I will overcome this addiction, because I am not a slave to sin, but by the power of Jesus, I am set free. That's my spiritual why. You may say I want to get more organized because God is the God of order. Therefore, I am set free. That's my spiritual why. You may say I want to get more organized because God is the God of order. Therefore, I'll organize my life around the things that matter the most. I want to pray with my spouse. Well, who is Jesus? Jesus is my number one and my spouse is my number two, so I'll always seek the one with my number two and we'll get closer together with Jesus as we do that together. What's your spiritual why? And then you're going to get and this is what we're going to get into in the upcoming weeks is really unpacking and discovering your spiritual how, how do we do this thing, how do we do this, and that is God's power through you. Last thing I want to share is this Every morning, I do what I call a daily decoration.

Speaker 1: 29:34

A daily decoration. I say this thing every single morning of my day and it's mainly because it's to help remind my head and my heart of what God has for me, and I want to share this with you guys, and there's a couple parts that I really want to point out. But I do this because I have a mission that God has given my life, and I refuse to allow my anxiety, allow my fear, to allow negative voices to disrupt what God has called me to do. And I pray, I pray for you that you will get passionate about your life in the same way that you will say I'm not going to allow a depression, I'm not going to allow a fear, I'm not going to allow this thing to disrupt what God's doing in me. And this is what I pray Every morning. I talk to Jesus and you can use this, feel free to grab it, modify it. It helps me.

Speaker 1: 30:20

My daily declaration I say this every morning. I talk to Jesus. I say, jesus, you are first in my life. I exist to love, serve and glorify you. I love Aaron and I will lay down my life to serve her. Sometimes, spouses, you got to get raw like that. You got to say, man, I love my wife, I love my husband and I will lay down my life for them, because there is no greater love Jesus tells us, than to lay down your life for a friend that includes your spouse. I love Kingsley, jameson and Hayden, and they will know they are loved by God and by me. I will show my family by my deeds and words that living for you, jesus, is the best life possible. I will deposit in them the truth that they can do anything for God's kingdom and that they can be agents of change to this world. I've got to remind myself about that sometimes.

Speaker 1: 31:41

This part, check this part out.

Speaker 1: 31:43

I am disciplined. Christ in me is stronger than the wrong desires in me. Declare that over my life. I am anointed, innovative, creative, focused and blessed beyond measure. Because of the Holy Spirit in me. I love people. I'd add it in there again I love people. That's not something I do. That's why I am here. I do my best in this. I am pure, I am honest, I am kind, I am joyful, I am honest, I am kind, I am joyful, I am playful, the world will be different and better because I served you, jesus. Today I am a servant of the most high God. Jesus died and rose again because he loves me and I declare that every day over my life, when I wake up and feeling great and when I wake up and I feel sad and depressed. I say day over my life. When I wake up and feeling great and when I wake up and I feel sad and depressed, I say this over my life because it's the truth. And the one part I really want to bring out and I want to highlight is that I am disciplined. Christ in me is stronger than the wrong desires in me. Why do I say this? Because the reason I say this is because by nature, by the way I naturally am, I am not disciplined. I am not a disciplined person. I like to eat whatever I like. I wake up early. Now, that took a long time. I'd rather sleep in. I wish that the kids just slept in, but no, I wake up early. I'm lazy by nature. My nature is my sinful nature is not disciplined. But I declare and I renew my mind that I am disciplined and what I want to do.

Speaker 1: 33:23

What I want to leave you guys with is this Because real change, the change that you want, it's not in God, then you, it's not God, not you, it's God through you. It's connecting to the heart of your heavenly Father, of knowing what Jesus calls for you. Because don't miss this if you only change your behavior and this is what happens to so many of us if you change your behavior but don't change your heart, the behavior always comes back, always comes back. And that's why we're not trying, but we're in training. We're not trying, but we're trusting. We say Jesus, we're going to follow you, we're going to learn your rhythm, we're going to learn how you move, and it's not just a spiritual motivation, it's God's power in you, working through you. Real and lasting change is a reflection of God's power through you. So, if you're sick of being stuck, I got really good news for you today. There's a lot of people who can relate to you. There's a lot of people who can relate to you. There's a lot of people who can relate. But the good news I have for you is that God wants to work through you and the reason.

Speaker 1: 34:52

You may ask yourself well, why do I keep doing the things I don't want to do. Why do I keep doing that? And there's a lot of things that we can add to that, but the primary problem is a spiritual problem. The primary reason is a spiritual problem and this is what it is. You're trying to meet a need or relieve a hurt with something else besides God's grace. That thing, that addiction, that person, that habit, that routine, that addiction, that person, that habit, that routine. You're asking for relief.

Speaker 1: 35:25

And I want to end with the Apostle Paul. He says this, he writes this. He says God said my grace is all you need. Yeah, we can get on a good diet, we can do all the things and that stuff is good, but at the end of the day, at the end of the day, god says my grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness. So now I am glad to boast about my weakness. Paul says so that the power of Christ can work through me. It's not God, it's not God then me. It's not God not me, but it's God through me.

Speaker 1: 36:01

So if you find yourself in any area of your life that's you to say God, I need you to work through me. I got great news for you he loves to work through you and connect with you, because it's about relationship. It's not about behavior modification, but it's about spiritual transformation. So, god, jesus, holy Spirit, communication, but it's about spiritual transformation. So, god, jesus, holy spirit, we thank you for your love, we thank you for your goodness, we thank you that you work through us and I just really do feel that illustration of needing a turbo boost. For some of you, your turbo boost is found in getting that daily time with God down pat. I just really feel like the Holy Spirit is saying that he's saying I'm trying to give you turbo boost. Spend time with me, spend time with me, holy Spirit, give us the power to spend time with you Like the disciples.

Speaker 1: 37:10

We say teach us how to pray, because we need you, lord, yep, and I just feel a heavy spirit of shame. You've been trying to do things and you haven't hit the goals that you wanted. And there's this whisper all you can't, you never, you won't. You'll end up like them. You'll be like that person. And right now, holy Spirit, I rebuke those words. In Jesus' name and God, we pray for your words, your truth, to be spoken over us, that you say all things are possible for those who believe that you give us strength, that your grace is sufficient for us. So, god, we break and we end those agreements with those lies. Maybe you're in here right now and you have made some agreements with some lies in your life. It's right where you are. Say I break that agreement. I am not that person, but I am a child of the most high God. That is who you are. You do miracles. You're God above it all.

Speaker 1: 38:36

So if you're in here today and you don't know this Jesus I've been talking about, or maybe you haven't kind of walked away from your faith, I just want to lead you in a prayer. I'm not going to call you out. Have you come up front? Nothing like that. Just right where you are. If you want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life again, just pray this prayer with me. You can say it in your heart. Just say Jesus, forgive me for my sins, make me new. Today I trust you with my life. Today I follow you. God, I ask for spiritual transformation In Jesus' name, amen, amen. Let's give God some praise in here today.