ALIVE Wesleyan

Can people really change when it comes to family and friends?

 

If left alone and there is not a constant introduction to outside energy, everything will move from order to disorder and chaos.

 

Probably the greatest pain you have experienced and the greatest pain you have caused was in the context of a relationship.

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People see me as ______________.

 

Behaviors are an overflow of what is inside.

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Can people really change?

 

Imagine living in a world where we didn’t believe change was possible. I don’t want to live in that world.

 

Vision—what would life be like if someone opened the door to freedom?

Intention—what must I choose to do differently?

Strategy—what will my plan be to freedom?

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Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord of God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul. 

 

Today I want to talk about what may seem like an oxymoron, I want to talk about the Satisfied Soul. Unfortunately, all of us have to learn to resist the temptation to be satisfied too soon. This detox is for heads that are full, but hearts and lives that are empty. 

 

We are often kept from our goals, not always because of obstacles, but a clearer path to a lesser goal.  – Will Mancini

 

We have the potential danger of making the supernatural common place. The temptation that God making himself known to us, would no longer amaze us. – Nancy Leigh DeMoss

 

My brothers and sisters, comfortable Christians is an oxymoron. It is wanting a Savior, but not a Lord. It is asking God is to bring you out of the fire, but resist him when he wants to send us back in to save others. I’ve come to realize again this week that God is not concerned with our comfort, he is concerned with our growth. He is not committed to our little kingdoms, but he does want to advance his Kingdom.

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We are not a body with a soul; we are (first) a soul with a body.

 

Exodus 20:3–5 (NIV84)  3 You shall have no other gods before me. 4“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything . . . 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. . . 

 

Our souls are created to worship the One true living God.

 

Deuteronomy 4:16-19 So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form...whether a man or a woman, an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky, a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea. And when you look up in the sky and see the sun, the moon, and the stars-all the forces of heaven...don't be seduced into worshiping them.

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What if my soul has been seduced? What if I have been seduced into elevating what might be a good thing and making it a supreme thing?

 

Identify the idols of our souls.

 

Psalm 24:3–4 (NIV84) 3Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? 4He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol.

 

How do I spend my time?

How do I spend my money?

What do I talk about?

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Psalm 40:12 New Living Translation (NLT)

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.

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He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8: 44b



These lies are part of a strategy to rob the world of the beautiful transformation you could be living out. These lies are what will keep you so busy managing a toxic soul that you don’t have the time or energy to gift the world with all you were created to be.



16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16

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Research tells us that we judge people in areas where we’re vulnerable to shame,

                         

14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! Hebrews 9:14



What happens is the world misses out on you and your story. So much of our energy is used up managing our sickness we can’t be who we were created to be. 



34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:34





There is another resource here at ALIVE and they are a group of trained volunteers called Stephen Ministers.  They are a group of highly trained volunteers who spend one on one time with people who need care.  The relationship is confidential so this may be the first step to healing.  

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Genesis 2:7 (NIV84) 7 The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being (nephesh, soul).

We are not a body with a soul; we are a soul with a body.

Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV84)5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart"

Psalm 139:13–14 (NIV84) 13 "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb."

What is the state of your soul?

Psalm 51:10 (NIV84)10 "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

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The Christmas story is one of real people who had real lives and faced real events that sometimes got real weird and produced real fears in a very real Bible.

• Hope God cares for me.
• Hope God has not forgotten me.
• Hope I am not alone.
• Hope God hasn’t given up on me.
• Hope is the only way we move from fear to faith. 

I stink at waiting.  Waiting is part of learning to trust, its part of having hope. 

Luke 2:25 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting (to remain in a place or state, with expectancy) for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 

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Luke 2:8–20 (NIV84) 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 

God is good and He keeps His promises.

15 . . . “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 

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God chooses real people to do things we never thought possible in ways we never considered.

Faith is the belief that God is who he says He is and will do everything He has promised to do.

The belief I’m good enough (qualified) and I can do (solution) and will do (ability) everything that needs to be done.

 I wonder if there are two kinds of faith. 

Faith that saves us.

Faith for the battle at hand.

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I wonder if we have almost sanitized the Christmas story so it’s believable as a Fairy Tale for children and yet not believable as adults who know better.

Baby Jesus came to die on the cross because we had to be forgiven.

But that is too dark for us, so we sanitize it and prefer to think of Christmas this way.

These were real people who had real lives and faced real events that sometimes got real weird and produced real fears in a very real Bible.

“How did this happen?”

“What will I do now?”

What would I do if that happened to me?

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