The Path to freedom - Part 3

The next step along the pathway to freedom is taking time out to evaluate all my relationships.

Now, that takes some honesty and it takes guts because it means that I have to offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me. It means that I have to make amends for the harm I have done to others:  Ephesians 4: says this:

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.  Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you

You mean  if I want to be free I’m supposed to forgive those who have hurt me.  Why? 

I’ll give you 3 reasons – there are more, but these will do for a start!

                       

1: Because God has forgiven me:

Col.  3: 13:  Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

2: Because resentment just doesn’t work.

Job 5: 2:  For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy‍ slayeth the silly one.

The GNB version says:  ‘You are hurting yourself with your anger

I’ll give you an example: in Dec.2004, Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest was laying on the score table. It was a game in Detroit and a so called fan threw beer in his face. Artest jumped up from the table and charged at the fan in a violent temper.   The result was a riot. The NBA suspended Artest for 1 year without pay - that it costs him $5million Why?  Because he got angry at the fans.  He should have ignored them and let security handle it. 

Being and angry and resentful is never helpful

Actually its quite is unhealthy. It causes you to lose sleep and if it’s not dealt with, it can have quite severe health issues on the long-term

The 3rd reason why we should forgive is because I will need forgiveness in the future: 

Mark 11: 25  ‍ But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”

In the AMP version, this verse says to forgive and let it drop (leave it, let it go)

So, if forgiveness isn’t bad enough, now you’re telling me to make amends to those I’ve hurt. Why?

Hebrews 12: 15:  ‍ Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

So how do I go about make amends?

Well, you can start by making a list of all those people you’ve hurt and what you did. This could be, broken or forgotten promises, over possessiveness, verbal, emotional or physical abuse, unpaid personal debts and the list goes on….

Then, think about how you’d like other people to make amends to you.

Luke 6:27-32   “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!

Then of course there are those times when we know what to do, but we don’t know when to do it:  wait on God and He will guide your paths. He will give you a perfect peace on when to act.

It is important to have the right attitude:  we can know the right thing to do but if our heart isn’t right, we’re just blowing smoke..  if I order prime rib in a restaurant I want it to be tender, edible and palatable, not hard, leathery, and tough.

Ephesians 4: 15:  Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.

In other words, you need to refocus:

Job 11: 13-17:  “If only you would prepare your heart and lift up your hands to him in prayer! Get rid of your sins, and leave all iniquity behind you. Then your face will brighten with innocence. You will be strong and free of fear. You will forget your misery; it will be like water flowing away. Your life will be brighter than the noonday.  Even darkness will be as bright as morning.

See, when you put your heart right, when you forgive and release others for the things they’ve done to you, when you reach out to God… you can face the world again and the result is that all those past hurts and that past trouble will fade in your memory. See, victory comes when we sacrifice ourselves for the benefit of others:

OK, so we’ve started out on the path to freedom but how do I keep going when life gets in the way? How do I keep my momentum?

There’s a guy who was in danger of losing his momentum in Mark 14: 35-38  

He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Couldn’t you watch with me even one hour? Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

The Message Bible translates verse 37-38 like this:  

“He came back and found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “‍Simon, you went to sleep on me? Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert, be in prayer, so you don’t enter the danger zone without even knowing it. Don’t be naive. Part of you is eager, ready for anything in God; but another part is as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”

The fact is that the Path to Freedom and spiritual growth is not always smooth. Sometimes, we take two steps forward and then one step back. It isn't always easy. Sometimes we even fall back into our old self-defeating patterns of behavior.

That's called a RELAPSE. Just as the alcoholic goes back to drinking. If we’re not careful, we tend to repeat the patterns of our past.  It's very easy to slip back into old hurts, old habits, and old hang-ups. 

There are 4 things to watch out for - any of which are signs that we’re heading for trouble:

#1: COMPLACENCY:

You start getting comfortable with your short-term gains instead of looking for long-term change.

You say to yourself, "I don't need any more help, my pain’s not too bad anymore…I got it. I can live with it now.” So, instead of following the Path to freedom all the way to the end, you abort your journey and set up camp

#2 CONFUSION: 

You start rationalizing "Maybe my problem really wasn't so bad after all. I think I can handle it myself now." Know when you’re likely to fall into that trap? When you start developing selective memory”! 

#3 COMPROMISE:  

You go back to the place of temptation. You go back to that risky situation that got you in trouble in the first place. Playing with temptation is always a losing game.

#4 CATASTROPHE: 

You give in to your old habits and the old problems come back. You give in to your old hurt and the resentment comes back. You give in to your old hang-up and the insecurity comes back.

You need to understand that the collapse is not the relapse. The catastrophe is not when the relapse happens; it started much earlier.  The catastrophe is simply the result of the pattern you initiated. 

So, even when we know the right way to go and the right thing to do, why do we tend to go back to what we know is wrong? How to we guard against backsliding? We read the answer in Mark 14:38

Mark 14:38 (MES)  Stay alert, be in prayer, so you don't enter the danger zone without even knowing it. Don't be naive. Part of you is eager, ready for anything in God; but another part is as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.

Jesus tells us that it is human nature to backslide, to go back to things that mess us up even though we know they’re gonna mess us up!  It’s human nature to let old habits, hurts and hang-ups come back to haunt us That’s why the Word of God gives us some SAFEGUARDS:

1.     Evaluation. 

2 Corinthians 13:5 (LB)  Check up on yourselves. Are you really Christians? Do you pass the test? Do you feel Christ's presence and power more and more within you? Or are you just pretending to be Christians when actually you aren't at all?

Lamentations 3:40 (LB)  Let us examine ourselves instead, and let us repent and turn again to the Lord.

So, we need to take some inventories on a regular basis.

PHYSICAL:  What is my body telling me? It’s a barometer of what is happening inside.

EMOTIONAL:  Am I allowing my true feelings to surface, or am I just denying them? Denying your feelings is like shaking the soda can as soon as you pull the ring, it’s going to explode.

Use the mnemonic HEART

           

H	Am I hurting?
E	Am I exhausted?
A	Am I angry?
R	Am I resentful?
T	Am I tense?

RELATIONAL:  Am I at peace with everyone?  Why are you letting some people live rent free in your mind? They hurt you 20 years ago and they live 1000 miles away, but you wake up thinking about them. Your preoccupation with them gives them the power to control you.

SPIRITUAL:  Am I maintaining a close and open relationship with God?

When you do an evaluation, yes, you need to confess your failures, but you also need to celebrate each victory, no matter how small.

You need to practice SPIRITUAL BREATHING. That’s when you make a mistake, you confess it (breathe out) and receive God’s forgiveness (breathe in). You need to learn to do that on a moment-by-moment basis,a thousand times a day if necessary. It should become as natural as physical breathing. Keep short accounts with God – don’t let those sins stockpile!  (How often do you need to take out the garbage?!)

Galatians 6:4 (NIV)  Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else,

2.     Meditation.

Meditation is a good biblical word that has been co-opted by a lot of other people. It simply means: Slowing down long enough to hear God. That's all it is!

Psalm 1:1-3 (LB)  Oh, the joys of those who do not follow evil men's advice, who do not hang around with sinners, scoffing at the things of God. But they delight in doing everything God wants them to, and day and night are always meditating on his laws and thinking about ways to follow him more closely. They are like trees along a riverbank bearing luscious fruit each season without fail. Their leaves shall never wither, and all they do shall prosper.

The key to spiritual growth is to have roots deep in God's Word.

Psalm 119:11 (LB)  I have thought much about your words and stored them in my heart so that they would hold me back from sin.

Here’s the thing - If you know how to WORRY, then you already know how to meditate!

3.     Prayer.

A final tool that will help you maintain your momentum is PRAYER. Prayer is the way you plug into God’s power. Realize this: PRAYER CAN DO WHATEVER GOD CAN DO! You can pray about ANY need in your life. God is your Father (maybe the loving Father you never had), and you can take ANYTHING to Him in prayer.The Lord’s Prayer is not WHAT we should pray (a ritual prayer), it is HOW we should pray (a model prayer) …

Matthew 6:9-13 (KJV)  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Now there’s one final stage on the path to freedom I want to talk about. And that’s Recycling Your Pain

Let's talk about Why God allowed my pain.

Deut. 11:²⁶ ‍Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;‍ ²⁷ ‍A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:‍ ²⁸ ‍And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.‍

The Bible tells us in Genesis that we’re made in the image of God. So, how are we like God? Well for one thing God gave each of us the power of choice; you can choose right or wrong, God or Satan, life or death. God took that risk when he created us because He wanted people who would love Him voluntarily!

Now You can't say you love someone unless you’ve had the opportunity not to love them. You can't say you're good unless you've had the option to be bad. 

Our free will is not only a blessing but it's also a burden, because sometimes we make dumb choices. And those dumb choices cause all kinds of painful consequences in our lives. I don’t believe that God likes us to suffer pain but most times it’s just a part of the package that comes with having a free will. Now, not only does God give YOU a free will, He gives EVERYONE ELSE a free will too. Sometimes THEY don't do the right thing and YOU get hurt as an innocent victim.

Could God have prevented that hurt from happening to you? Yes, all He’d have had to do would be to take away that person's free will to do wrong. But if He’d done that, to be fair He’d have to take away YOUR free will too.  The problem is that by having a free will we get blessing, but we also get a burden. And God says, "I'm not going to overrule your will."

God doesn't send anybody to hell; you choose to go there by rejecting everything that He does for you. If you say “NO” to Him, you can't blame anybody but yourself because you have a free will. So, God has also allowed my pain to get my attention. Pain is a warning light on the dashboard of life, Its an alarm that says it’s time to act.

GNB Proverbs 20: “Sometimes it takes a painful situation to make us change our ways.”

Pain is not your problem; it's just a symptom of your problem.  Pain just says, "Something is drastically wrong in my life."

It's God's megaphone. God whispers to us in our pleasure but He shouts to us in our pain. We don't change when we see the light but when we feel the heat. 

2 Cor. 7:9:    ⁹ ‍Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after‍ a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

So we see that it is the positive end result that God is after.God allowed my pain to teach me to depend upon Him.

2 Corinthians 1:8-10 (LB)  I think you ought to know, dear brothers, about the hard time we went through in Asia. We were really crushed and overwhelmed, and feared we would never live through it. We felt we were doomed to die and saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God, who alone could save us, for he can even raise the dead. And he did help us and saved us from a terrible death; yes, and we expect him to do it again and again.

You don't know that God is all you need until God is all you have. If you never had a problem, you'd never know God could solve problems!  The truth is that there are some things we only learn through pain. It is life’s greatest teacher. 

Psalm 119:71-72 (LB)  The punishment you gave me was the best thing that could have happened to me, for it taught me to pay attention to your laws. They are more valuable to me than millions in silver and gold!

God allowed my pain to give me ministry to others

2 Corinthians 1:4 (NLT)  He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

Pain makes me humble in spirit, and also makes me sympathetic and sensitive to the needs of others. Pain prepares you to serve. 

Everybody needs restoration of some type, and who better to help them than someone who has been through the same situation themselves! God wants to recycle the pain in your life to help others, but you've got to be open about it.

God’s bigger than those situations and those people that hurt you. No matter what other people have done to you, God can turn it around and use it for good. 

Genesis 50:20 (NIV)  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

God never wastes a hurt.  But you can waste it if you don't learn from it and if you don't share it with other people.

So  How do I use my pain to help others?

1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)  But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

You need to always be prepared to give an answer to this question: “HOW DID YOU MAKE IT?”

Galatians 6:1-2 (LB)  Dear brothers, if a Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help him back onto the right path, remembering that next time it might be one of you who is in the wrong. Share each other's troubles and problems, and so obey our Lord's command.

This is a COMMAND –if you are a Christian, you’re to share in the problems of other people!  Help them like God has helped you!. But when you do, you need to remember 3 things:

BE HUMBLE. When you witness to someone, it’s like one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. You’re not saying that you have it all together,you’re saying that we’re all in the same boat together!

BE REAL. Be honest about your hurts and your faults. Be courageous enough to be vulnerable and real, because that’s when you really can help someone else open up to God. And it’s this atmosphere of acceptance that we want to cultivate in our church family.

BE KIND.  Just share your story. God wants you to be a witness, not a defense attorney!  You can’t argue anyone into Heaven, and you can’t hate anyone into truth. Just share what happened to you, and let God do the convicting.

Something amazing happens when you are willing to honestly share your story – it not only gives HOPE TO THEM but it gives HEALING TO YOU. Every time you share your story with somebody, you get a little bit stronger, and you're healed a little bit more.

Acts 20:24 (NLT)  But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about God's wonderful kindness and love.

There are only two things you can’t do in heaven. One of them is sin. The other is witness. Which of those two reasons do you think God left you on earth for?

Two thousand years ago Jesus Christ preached the greatest sermon in history; we call it the Sermon on the Mount.

 He started out by saying "I want to give you eight steps that will bring happiness to your life." we call those eight principles the Beatitudes.  When you look closely at the Beatitudes that Jesus gave, you’ll find that they are a summary of the steps to freedom  I’ve been talking about

Matthew 5:3-10 (TEV)

·         Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!

·         Happy are those who mourn; God will comfort them!

·         Happy are those who are humble; they will receive what God has promised!

·         Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires; God will satisfy them fully!

·         Happy are those who are merciful to others; God will be merciful to them!

·         Happy are the pure in heart; they will see God!

·         Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them his children!

·         Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!

God wants to use your experiences to help other people. He wants to use YOU. He wants to recycle the pain in your life for the benefit of other people. Usually we think that God only uses really gifted or talented people. But that's not true – God uses ordinary people. 

We pray that God would use our STRENGTH, but God declares that He wants to use our WEAKNESS. Do you know why? Because people are not helped by seeing your strength; they're helped when you're honest about your weaknesses.

When you share your strength they say, "I'll never have that." But when you share your weaknesses they say, "I can relate to that."

When you understand that God can use your weakness, hurt and pain for His purposes, life takes on a whole new meaning.  And when you begin to practice this last step, then and only then do you truly have genuine freedom 

The proof of your freedom is when you begin to focus outside of yourself. 

You stop being so self absorbed, and you start asking,  "How can I help other people?"

The Path to Freedom - Part 2

           

I want to carry on with my new mini-series called “The Path to Freedom”. Let me start by giving you a very quick recap on where we were last time:

At the very start of our lives, when we’re born we’re kind of like a brand new car that’s just off the show room floor. all clean and shiny and it with that ‘new car smell’. Bit like a new born baby – all clean and shiny – with that new baby smell…

But over time, that new car has a tendency to pick up some dents and some dings and the older the car gets, unless you really look after it, the worse looks. Over the years - all that wear and tear turns that bright shiny brand new car into a beat up old rust bucket…                                              

Well, Life’s like that too. .It has a way of bringing dings and dents and rust into our lives.  And those scratches, bruises, and hurts we pick up along the way can literally wear us out!  Then we wind up looking pretty much like that worn out, beat up old car:

Now, we’ve all been through situations that have left us with emotional pain. And we’ve all got hang-ups that we’d like to say goodbye to.  And it’s all those hang-ups, and those hurts, and those habits that makes us like that old rusty old car. 

Now, God has plans for our Christian lives’. And one of them is to get us back to showroom condition. That’s what we might call a restoration project. But the Bible says He calls it transformation. And so today I want to look at the next couple of stops along the way to freedom

One of my favorite verses of scripture comes from Mathew 11: 28 - 30:  Jesus is talking: 

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.‍ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.‍ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.‍

We talked last time  about how Life has a way of wearing us out and bruising us…and if we don’t allow ourselves to be cured and recover we’ll only get worse. And we talked about healing from bruises and how that Jesus declared in Luke 4:18 that a vital part of His mission was to set at liberty them that are bruised.

The Greek word for bruise in that verse means to oppress. to break in pieces, or to shatter. So here, Jesus is talking about more than just a dark blood spot under the surface of your skin. He’s talking about spiritual and emotional bruises….bruises of the soul.  Those bruises that we can’t see – but cause us so much pain. 

To be emotionally bruised means to be emotionally downtrodden, emotionally crushed, and emotionally broken down by the trials we face. See, when you’re oppressed and bruised, it takes a tremendous amount of emotional energy just to get out of bed ….If you’re emotionally downtrodden, it seems like each day’s going to be another drag….There’s nothing to look forward to.  And life itself becomes a burden that’s too heavy to bear   

So, this whole series is about recovery from the bruises.  Remember how we talked about Isaiah 57: 18 and how that the Lord said:  

¹⁸ ‍I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.

If you’re bruised on the inside, ask yourself this question:  what could keep me from taking the step to accept Jesus’ invitation to come to Him and be restored?

I think that there are several answers:

How about Pride: 

That’s the attitude that says I never  admit that I need help.  But lets look at what the Word says about pride:

Proverbs 18:12:  Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor

I Peter 5:5 says, And all of you, serve each other in humility, for   “God opposes the proud but favors the humble.”

So, maybe pride’s not in your way – but What about Guilt ?

Its really easy for those feelings of guilt that we cant get past to keep us from coming an accepting Jesus offer of help

Psalm 40:12:  For troubles surround me— too many to count! My sins pile up so high I can’t see my way out.  They outnumber the hairs on my head.  I have lost all courage.

That leads us right up to the next stumbling block: Fear

If you’re controlled by fear, it’ll stop you dead every time. All the time people make the excuse: I would come to Jesus, I really would BUT I am afraid of what I’d have to give up: Jesus has something to say about that too!

Mark 8: 35  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.‍ For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?‍ Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?‍  

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.‍

Here’s another road block that stops people accepting Jesus invitation: Worry

See, when we’re worried, we tend to confuse decision phase with the problem solving phase. 

I Peter 5: 7:   ‍Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.‍  

This word care is equivalent with anxiety and we all know what this feels like. Have we not come across your road block yet?

OK, then what about Doubt?

Doubt gets in the way when you believe that your faith is too weak or small for the task

Mark 9: 23:  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.‍

So, if I can get past all those road blocks’. All those things that would get in the way of my personal restoration project.

How do I take the step of  accepting Jesus’ invitation to come to Him?

Well, first and foremost you have to be sure you’re born again.

God can’t do anything with you while you’re still in the world. Is anyone reading this NOT born again?

2nd part of the deal is that we accept God’s word as my standard for living. 

You would be amazed at how many Christians have their own translations of the Bible Translations that give them the exception to be able to live how they want….

II Tim 3:16 tells us:  All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:‍ 

You know what that means - even the genealogies (family trees) are inspired!

In Luke 9: 26Jesus said:  ²⁶ ‍For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.‍

3^rd thing we have to do is to accept God’s will as my strategy. 

Psalm 40: 8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within‍ my heart.

I get my strength from Gods power: What does that mean? Simply this. Instead of trying to do everything in your own power you confess the scripture in Phil 4: 13  that says

 ‍I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.‍  

NOW: when you’ve done all that

• You’re saved
• You’ve accepted Gods way as the rule for your life’
• You’ve accepted Gods will as the strategic plan for your life
• And you’ve stopped trying to do everything in your own strength
• There’s something else very important that you need to do
• And that’s this

Its time to come clean

Now, most people have heard of Barbara Streisand….She’s a well known singer and actress, but just suppose that she struggles terribly with stage fright….You’d never know it, but just maybe each time she goes out on stage, she’s afraid that she won’t sing well and that she won’t do as well as people expect and that everybody will find out….

Now, that stems from an internal fear and insecurity….And internal fear and insecurity are born from internal guilt…People like this are always worried what if somebody finds out…they may reject me….and this hammers their self-confidence…

So the critical reason for this step for coming clean…..is simply to deal with our guilt!

Sir Author Conan Doyle was the guy who wrote the Sherlock Holmes books…Now, he was a bit a prankster and one day he decided to play a trick on some people. He wrote an anonymous letter to 5 of the most prominent men in the city of London. It simply said, ‘all is found out, flee at once.”  Within 24 hours all 5 of them had left the country!….And that is a true story.

It's sort of like being high and being near a cop and even if the cop doesn’t come near you. You kinda know that he knows that you’re high….or you think he knows, but because your sense of guilt is so powerful an guilt emotion….you think he must know.

So, for the righteous ones in here, it’s the same as being followed by a cop when you’re driving……

Our emotions are so powerful that we tend to think that everybody’s feeling what we’re feeling…it's not true, but our emotions can make us so miserable that we need to deal with them before they ruin our lives.  

So guilt is a powerful emotion…..and we are talking about the path to freedom.  The definition of the word guilt is remorseful awareness of having done something wrong. Here’s the thing: without remorse there is no guilt

Our Guilt causes us to hide from God. (Adam and Eve)

Genesis 6:7  ⁷ ‍And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons‍. ‍ ⁸ ‍And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool‍ of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. ‍

Guilt causes us to flee and run. Guilt destroys our confidence…And Guilt damages our relationships….Sometimes when parents feel guilty for neglecting time spent with their kids. They’ll try and make up for it by buying the kids an excessive amount of material things. Now, that stuff will never be able to make up for the neglect…but guilt is a powerful emotion and it causes people to behave in peculiar ways.  When Christian people have sex outside of marriage they carry the guilt of that into the relationship and it has a negative effect.

Guilt keeps us stuck in the past. Guilt is like trying to drive your car while looking in the rear view mirror….it’s necessary to glance at it once in a while, but if you keep your eyes only on that rear view mirror, you’ll crash…That’s exactly what happens when we try to live our lives always looking in the mirror of past guilt….

That’s why I’m teaching this stuff, so that we all know why it’s so important to come clean with God and how to go about accomplishing the goal of coming clean with Him.

Did you know that Guilt is so powerful that it can actually make you physically sick.

Proverbs 28:He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.‍

How do I do that? Well, that’s where the courage comes in. It means I have to take a long, hard, objective look in the mirror. But so often people don’t do that cos they’re afraid of what they might see. Now, we all fight fear at some time or other but courage is about doing the right thing in spite of our fear and anxiety. So, we have to start by getting alone with God, we need a pen and a notepad and then we say to God, search me and tell me what I need to fix in my life….its just you and God, but if you really do this…I m[promise you it’ll make a big difference. 

Ask questions like: what am I feeling guilty about…ask God to bring some things to mind…what are some things I feel unconsciously guilty about…

Lamentations 3:40:  ⁴⁰ ‍Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the LORD.‍ ⁴¹ ‍Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.‍

Psalm 139: 23:  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:‍ And see if there be any wicked‍ way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. ‍

Do you have the courage to quote that verse back to God, Can you be open and honest enough with Him to allow His love to really have a no holds barred view of the internal condition of your soul?   It takes some sincerity, but I promise if you will do this that by this time next week you’ll have more freedom in your life that you have right now  

So, how do we accept responsibility for my faults. 

Well, we can start by refusing to play the blame game.   

I John 1: 8:  ‍If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.‍

So to get guilt free we must Ask God for forgiveness.  This is basic to salvation, but it’s fundamental to being free from guilt….

I John 1: 9 says, ‍ ‍If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.‍ If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. ‍

When we really love Jesus  -  we don’t run from Him when He comes to help us.

Isaiah 1:18 tells it like this:  ¹⁸ ‍Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.‍ ¹⁹ ‍If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:‍

Here is how not to get forgiveness from God: 

·         Don’t beg

·         Don’t bargain

·         Don’t bribe. 

The next stop along the path to freedom is making some changes

Romans 12: 1-2  ‍I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.‍ ² ‍And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.‍

Change can be a scary thing…even when it’s positive and Biblical change. 

We all want spiritual and emotional freedom and God’s made provision for that to happen.  But we have to understand that new freedom always requires change to some degree. Even the most spiritual and upright people sometimes resist positive change. why? because by nature change makes us nervous.  So do get pas that we have to keep our eyes fixed on the benefits of the on the change. 

Have you ever rearranged the furniture in a room, and you grunted, sweated, it forced you to do some extra dusting and vacuuming, but when it was all said and done, you were glad you made the change?  It gave you a fresh feeling when you walked into the room…it gave you a feeling of freedom from the same old same old!

Biblical changes take submission. it only happens when we voluntarily submit to every change that God wants to make in my life and when humbly ask Him to remove our character defects. 

So,  where do my character defects come from?

Well that depends on whom you ask. Some people will tell you its all in the chromosomes or the genes (nature).Now, Genetics may explain predisposition (tendency), but genetics can never excuse sin!  Example:  laziness may be in your family history, you may be surrounded by lazy people but that doesn’t excuse it in your own life:  that’s true for any sin:  addictions, lusts, greed, dishonesty, etc. 

The there are those who will tell you that character defects come from our circumstances (nurture). And that character defects are often attempts to fill unmet needs.

Both of the above are codswallop!

Character defects come from Our Choices

The defects in our character come to the surface when we choose to misuse our positive qualities and we choose a lifestyle not based on God’s Word.

So, Why is it so hard to change them?

Because we’ve had them so long. Because we identify with them. And we’re afraid that if we really let go of this defect, will I still be me?”See, character defects have an instant payoff, but they’re just cheap imitations.  It's sort of like the difference between a genuine product that is well made vs. a cheap counterfeit substitute that may look good at first glance but it falls apart in a short amount of time.  It's like the difference between a genuine leather chair and a cheap vinyl chair that may look good and shiny at first glance, but won’t last nearly as long as the genuine leather chair with double stitching.

The good news is that Jesus paid for the real thing!

It was a heavy price to pay, but you and I don’t have to pay that price….He already did it for us with His own blood.

Another reason why it can be so hard to change character defects is because Satan discourages us.  He does this through:

• Fiery darts (Ephesians 6: 16)
• Satan is the Accuser of the Brethren (Rev. 12: 10)
• Satan is a liar:  (John 8: 44)

SO, then I accept God want to do the restoration and transformation in my life but how do I cooperate with God’s change process?

Romans 12: 2  be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind

II Cor 3: 17-18:  ¹⁷ ‍Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.‍ ¹⁸ ‍But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. ‍

Focus on changing one defect at a time

Proverbs 17: 24 MSG: “The perceptive find wisdom in their own front yard;  fools look for it everywhere but right here.”

Focus on victory one day at a time.

Mathew 6:11 Jesus instructed the disciples how to pray:  “Give us this day our daily bread” 

Mathew  6:34:   ‍ ³⁴ ‍Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.‍

Focus on God’s power, not your own will power. 

Jeremiah 13: 23:  ²³ ‍Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed‍ to do evil.

John 15:4:  ⁴ ‍Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.‍ ⁵ ‍I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

At the same time, with the Lord’s help: 

Philippians 4: 13:  ¹³ ‍I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.‍