Participants: Jac Colon
Series Code: RNN
Program Code: RNN000012
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00:18 If you will open your Bibles to Revelation 15,
00:24 Revelation 15:2, "And I saw what looked like a sea of glass 00:34 mixed with fire and standing beside the sea, 00:38 those who had been victorious over the beast 00:45 and they sang the song of Moses and the Lamb, 00:50 great and marvelous are Your deeds, Lord God Almighty, 00:53 just and true are Your ways, King of the ages." 00:59 I want to be standing on that sea of glass, don't you? 01:05 I want to be seeing Jesus sitting on His throne. 01:09 I want to sing that song, Moses and the Lamb. 01:17 I think if there's any one single word 01:19 that expresses the desire of our hearts 01:23 as we study the Book of Revelation 01:26 or in any matter for that matter that word would be victory. 01:33 We want to be victorious, don't we? 01:36 We want to be successful in life. 01:39 We want to be successful for Jesus. 01:42 We want to be successful not only in our Christian walk 01:46 but in our business life, our careers. 01:49 We want to be successful in our homes, 01:51 our families, our marriages. 01:53 We want to be successful parents. 01:55 We want to be successful people. 01:58 I have never ever met anyone 02:02 who said, I want to be a failure, have you? 02:07 We all want to be victorious. We all want to overcome. 02:12 The word "Overcome" is found over and over again 02:15 in the letters to the seven churches, 02:17 to him who overcomes, Jesus promises. 02:20 We want to be overcomers. We want to be successful. 02:23 But I've discovered that there are many Christians 02:29 living under a cloud of doubt, haunted by the fear of failure. 02:36 Discouraged because their lives 02:39 just don't seem to be measuring up 02:42 to the lofty standard of the Bible and what a pity, 02:45 because the laws for successful Christian living 02:48 are so clear in the scripture. 02:52 Sometimes I think we make Christianity be so complicated 02:57 that too many people just get discouraged then give up. 03:02 On the other hand, they are those 03:04 who reduce it to some meaningless simplicity 03:07 to where there's no difference 03:09 between a Christian or anyone else. 03:12 But I believe that little lady 03:14 who stood up at church one night at prayer meeting 03:18 to give her testimony hit the bull's eye. 03:22 She said, her language wasn't as polished 03:25 as it could have been but her message was right on. 03:28 I ain't what I ought to be and I ain't what I'm gonna be, 03:35 but praise God anyhow I ain't what I was. 03:42 And I think she captured 03:44 the essence of successful Christian living, 03:47 recognizing our lives are not all that they ought to be 03:52 and exercising a bold determination to do better, 03:58 praising God all the way for the victory that He's given us. 04:02 But as I already mentioned, most are just the opposite, 04:06 frustrated and discouraged with their Christian life. 04:13 But God's promises and I'm gonna read a promise 04:17 to you this morning that just lifts us up 04:20 beyond human comprehension, 04:24 it is so awesome and so powerful. 04:28 In 2 Peter 1:3, "His divine power 04:35 has given us everything we need for life. 04:41 His divine power gives us everything we need for life 04:49 and godliness through our knowledge of him 04:51 who called us by his own glory. 04:55 And through these He has given us 04:57 His very great and precious promises, 05:02 that through them you--" and here's the part, 05:06 "You may participate in the divine nature, 05:12 and escape the corruptions in the world 05:14 caused by evil desires." 05:17 So the promise is that we can participate 05:21 in God's divine nature and when we do, 05:26 He empowers us to escape the corruptions of the world, 05:33 to be successful, to be victorious in Jesus Christ. 05:42 Three laws for successful Christian living. 05:45 What is the first law? 05:46 Verse 7, "What shall we say then is the law sin, 05:51 certainly not, indeed I would not known 05:53 that what sin was except through the law." 05:56 Now which law is Paul speaking of here? 05:59 Watch, "I would not have known what coveting really was 06:02 if the law had not said, do not covet." 06:07 So, the first law that Paul mentions 06:10 is the Ten Commandment law, the one that says, 06:13 Thou shalt not covet, that's the first law 06:17 and we gonna discover that's the law that Paul wants to keep. 06:20 He wants to be obedient to God's Ten Commandment law. 06:25 There's nothing wrong with the law, the law is not sin, 06:28 in fact, he said in verse 12, "So then the law is holy 06:33 and the Commandment is holy, righteous, and good. 06:36 "Nothing wrong with God's law. 06:39 God's law is holy, it is righteous, it is good. 06:42 He wants to be obedient to God's law 06:45 but we discovered the real problem in verse 14. 06:50 We know that the law is spiritual, get that. 06:56 God's Ten Commandment law is spiritual, 07:00 the problem is not with the law, what's the problem? 07:05 The law is spiritua, Paul said, but I am unspiritual. What? 07:14 How can Paul the apostle say, 07:17 I am unspiritual, the law is spiritual? 07:22 How can he say, I am unspiritual? 07:24 In fact, he goes on, it gets worse, 07:27 I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin, 07:31 I do not understand what I do, 07:33 for what I want to do I do not do, 07:34 but what I hate I do and if I do what I do want to do 07:37 I agree the law is good, the problem is me. 07:41 The law is spiritual, I'm unspiritual. 07:43 How can Paul the apostle say, I am unspiritual? 07:47 He says it troubled some people so much 07:49 that they came to conclusion, 07:50 well, that was Paul before he was converted, 07:54 after he got converted, 07:56 then he could never say, I am unspiritual. 08:01 But the problem is Paul writing in his letter 08:04 to the church at Rome said, 08:06 we know the law is spiritual but I am unspiritual. 08:12 Was he telling the truth? 08:14 At the time that he wrote his letter to Rome, 08:17 he was the Apostle Paul and he said, 08:19 I the Apostle Paul, am unspiritual, 08:22 he didn't say I was unspiritual but I'm unspiritual. 08:28 The law is spiritual, 08:29 the problem ain't the law, the problem is me. 08:32 I have been sold as a slave to sin. 08:34 He didn't say, I sold myself as a slave to sin, 08:37 no, I have been sold as a slave to sin. 08:42 We all have this battle with sin to fight 08:46 the same battle that Paul fought. 08:51 If I do what I do want to do, I agree the law is good, 08:54 I don't know what I do. 08:55 He said, I don't even understand myself. 08:57 The good that I want to do, I don't do, 08:59 the evil I don't want to do that's what I wind up doing. 09:01 Oh, what am I gonna do? You ever felt like that? 09:06 It reminds me of a little girl 09:08 who got caught with her hand in the cookie jar, 09:11 mom comes in the kitchen, oh, oh, 09:14 mom scolds her a little bit, don't you ever do that again. 09:17 I promise, mommy, I won't ever do it again. 09:19 Next day, mom comes in the kitchen 09:21 and her hands in the cookie jar again 09:24 and she bursts into tears and she says but, mama, 09:27 I don't always want to do what I want to do. 09:31 And I think that's kind of what Paul was saying here 09:34 and I've got a suspicion that every single one of us 09:37 goes through that sometimes, 09:38 I don't want to do what I want to do. 09:42 There's a piece of me that wants to be obedient to the law of God 09:47 but there's another piece of me that every time I try, 09:50 I wind up falling far and miserably short 09:54 from the lofty standard that Jesus Himself set for us. 09:59 So what's the problem? 10:02 Second law, verse 21, now I find this law at work, 10:06 "When I want to do good, evil is right there with me, 10:09 for in my inner being I delight in God's law." 10:13 Now that's how you can know 10:15 that this is Paul the Apostle writing 10:17 and he's not talking about himself before he was converted, 10:21 that's impossible because he says, 10:23 "In my inner being I delight in God's law" 10:28 and an unconverted man cannot say, 10:31 in my inner being, I delight in God's law, 10:34 no way, impossible because in Chapter 8:7, 10:37 "The sinful mind is hostile to God. 10:40 It does not submit to God's law or nor can it do so." 10:44 So this is not a sinful mind, 10:46 this is not an unconverted person, 10:48 this is Paul the Christian, the Paul the Apostle. 10:52 In my inner being I delight in God's law 10:56 but I see another law at work in the members of my body 10:59 waging war against the law of my mind, 11:01 making me a prisoner of the law of sin 11:05 at work within my members. 11:07 So the Bible is telling us that there are two laws, 11:11 God's law, that's the one that he wants to keep 11:13 and then there's the law of sin that's holding him down 11:18 preventing him from being obedient to the law of God, 11:22 waging war against the law of my mind 11:25 and making me a prisoner to the law of sin. 11:28 He wants to obey but the law of sin is holding him back. 11:32 What a wretched man I am, verse 24, 11:35 who will deliver me from this body of death? 11:38 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 11:43 In the same breathe, what a wretched man I am. 11:47 The good that I want to do I can't do, 11:48 the evil I don't want to do that's what I wind up doing, 11:50 oh, what a wretched man I am, 11:52 who will deliver me from this body of death? 11:54 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Wow. 12:00 Is he describing life as we know it today or not? 12:05 That's the battle for the mind, watch. 12:08 So then I myself in my mind, I am slave to God's law, 12:15 but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. 12:23 Two laws, God's law, spiritual that he wants to keep, 12:29 the law of sin, preventing him, holding him down, 12:34 preventing him from keeping the law of God. 12:41 Aren't you glad that Paul didn't finish his letter 12:43 to the Church at Rome with Chapter 7? 12:48 But he gives us the solution to the problem in Chapter 8. 12:53 Therefore, verse 1, there is no condemnation now 12:56 for those who are in Christ Jesus, why not? 13:00 Because through Christ Jesus, the law, the spirit of life 13:03 has set me free from the law of sin and death. 13:08 The law of the spirit of life sets me free 13:12 from the law of sin and death. 13:14 It does not, notice, it does not set me free 13:18 from the law of God. No. 13:21 It sets me free from the law of sin 13:24 that is preventing me from obeying the law of God 13:27 in order that, verse 4, 13:29 the righteous requirements of the law of God 13:31 might be met in us. 13:35 So He sets us free from the law of sin, 13:37 so that we can be obedient to the law of God. 13:43 He doesn't set us free from the law of God, 13:44 don't let anyone tell you 13:47 that the cross sets us free from the law of God. 13:50 It sets us free from the condemnation of the law. 13:53 It sets us free from the law of sin 13:55 so that by the law of the spirit, 13:58 we can become obedient to the law of God. 14:02 Now we have to understand a couple of things 14:04 before we go any further. 14:07 And that is that Romans 7 and 8 14:12 are not instructions on how to get saved. 14:17 Paul devoted the entire first six chapters of Romans 14:21 on the fact that by the gospel, 14:23 we're saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, 14:26 not by works, but it's a gift of God. 14:31 Romans 1-6 define the gospel of salvation 14:35 by grace through faith in him but now 14:39 when we get to Romans 8, and 7 and 8, 14:42 he's talking about not how to get saved, 14:45 but how do we live our lives after we have been saved. 14:51 We're still living in a world of sin. 14:54 We're still influenced by myriads and myriads of powers 14:58 trying to lead us down the wrong pathway, 15:01 so how can we be victorious in the midst of all of that? 15:07 So let's not confuse the two. 15:10 Three laws, the first law, God's law. 15:13 That's the one that He wants to keep. 15:14 The second law, the law of sin and death, 15:17 holding him down preventing him and us 15:19 from obeying the law of God 15:21 that we desire deep down in our hearts to do. 15:24 But the third law, praise the Lord, 15:26 helps us to overcome the law of sin 15:28 so that we can obey the law of God 15:33 and that's how the three laws 15:35 for successful Christian living work in our lives. 15:39 Well, how do we put the law 15:41 of the spirit of life to work for us? 15:44 That's the real question. 15:46 How do we get the law of the spirit of life to empower us 15:49 to live a victorious powerful successful life? 15:53 Well, I'm gonna show you how to do that 15:56 but first, it's quiz time. 16:00 It's quiz time so want everybody to answer together now. 16:06 We've just learned three spiritual laws 16:08 for successful Christian living. 16:09 The first one is the law of God, the Ten Commandments, good. 16:14 See if you can do better on the second one, 16:16 that was a little weak, see if you can do better, 16:19 the law that prevents us from obeying the law of God 16:22 holding us down is the law of sin and death. 16:26 Okay, now, since you did that one louder than the other, 16:30 you really need to be louder than sin on this last one right? 16:34 So the law that enables us to overcome the law of sin 16:38 to be obedient to the law of God is the law of the.. 16:43 Come on, you can do better. 16:45 Spirit of life. Spirit of life overcomes the law of sin, 16:50 enables us to be obedient to the law of God, 16:52 not in order to be saved but because we have been saved 16:56 by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. So you got it? 17:02 All right, now, I want to illustrate 17:07 how this works in the world of nature 17:10 because nature gives us good examples of the gospel. 17:15 When I was a little boy growing up in Louisiana, 17:21 every summer, my grandpa would rent a camp out on the Gulf. 17:27 Now down there, a camp is a little different 17:29 from what you think of up here. 17:31 A camp out on the Gulf was a cab, a big house 17:35 built on pilings out over the water 17:39 and there would be a long walkway up here 17:42 like going out to the house built over the water. 17:45 I can remember looking through the cracks in my bedroom 17:48 and seeing the water down there, I love going to the beach. 17:52 My favorite thing was to get out there 17:55 in that hot sun and white burning sand, 18:00 crystal clear water before Katrina messed it all up, 18:05 and just letting the waves flash up on me, 18:10 and watching the big brown pelican stretch out his wings 18:19 and just soar so effortlessly through the air. 18:23 I love brown pelicans, that's my favorite bird. 18:28 That's why I got one sitting right here on my desk, 18:31 see him, ain't he cute? 18:36 Big brown pelican just soaring through the air, 18:39 hardly moving a feather. 18:45 I wanted deep down in my heart, oh, 18:49 I wanted to fly like a brown pelican. 18:54 If I could just fly like that, 18:59 but I could have stood on the shore in the sand, 19:04 in the sun, in the water and flap my arms until they fell off 19:10 and I'm not gonna get off the ground 19:14 because the law of gravity is holding me down 19:20 and it prevents me from doing 19:22 what deep down in my heart I want to do 19:25 and that's to fly like the brown pelican. 19:30 The law of gravity is holding me down, 19:36 but there's a third law, the law of flight, 19:42 it's called Bernoulli's theory. 19:45 And the law of flight or Bernoulli's theory is that 19:48 when air moves across a surface, 19:52 it reduces the pressure that it exerts on that surface 19:58 and the faster the air goes, 20:01 the lower the pressure it exerts on that surface. 20:05 Now an airplane wing is designed in such a way 20:09 as to take advantage of Bernoulli's theory. 20:13 The airplane wing is curved on the top, 20:16 I don't know if you ever noticed that, 20:18 it's flat across the bottom. 20:20 So that means that as it moves through the air, 20:23 the air going over the top of the wing 20:26 as they travel a greater distance 20:28 than the air going straight across the bottom, 20:31 but it does it in the same time so the air across the top 20:35 has to go faster than the air across the bottom. 20:40 And the plane moves through the air fast enough, 20:42 the air across the top is so much less pressure 20:46 than the air across the bottom, it can cause the plane to fly. 20:49 I remember first time I walked out to the giant B-52 bomber, 20:56 and it was my first flight. 21:01 Boy, the closer we got to that airplane, 21:03 the bigger it looked, 500,000 plus pounds loaded. 21:14 The closer we got, the bigger it looked, 21:17 the smaller those eight engines looked. 21:20 And I started to think, no way, 21:24 that giant bird is never gonna get off the ground. 21:29 But we did all of our preflight checklist, 21:33 jump into the plane, got clearance to start the engines, 21:39 began taxing out to the end of the runway, 21:43 big heavy airplane. 21:46 Finally we got clearance from the tower to takeoff. 21:51 Taxied out into position 21:52 and all eight throttles full forward, loud roar 21:58 and that big plane began to just barely inch down the runway 22:03 and I knew we would never get off the ground, 22:08 but it started gathering speed faster and faster. 22:12 The air flowing over the top 22:14 was going faster than the air across the bottom 22:17 and we got to a certain speed 22:18 that the air over the top was so fast, 22:21 the pressure exerted on top of the wing was so much lower 22:25 than the pressure of the air under the wing was exerting, 22:28 that 500,000 pounds of airplane and me lifted off the ground 22:35 and finally I could soar with the pelicans even higher 22:42 because the law of flight enabled me 22:46 to overcome the law of sin and death 22:49 and to soar in fulfillment of the desire deep in my heart. 22:56 And that's the way it is with God. 22:58 We want to obey the law but sin holds us down. 23:02 The law of the spirit of life enables me to overcome 23:06 the law of sin and soar in obedience to the law of God, 23:11 not in order to be saved, no, 23:15 but because He saved me by grace 23:17 through faith in Jesus Christ to do good works 23:20 that He prepared in advance for us to do. 23:26 So how do we put it to work for us? 23:30 How do we get that law of the spirit of life to work? 23:35 There are two steps, the first step is your part, 23:42 the second step, God's part. 23:47 You do yours and God will do His. 23:52 So what is our part? 23:54 I'm gonna read it to you in Roman 8:5 23:58 and see if this phrase doesn't just jump off the pages to you. 24:03 Romans 8:5, see if you pick it up, 24:05 the key to the law of the spirit of life, 24:08 "Now those who live according to the sinful nature 24:11 have their minds set on what that nature desires 24:17 but those who live according to the spirit 24:19 have their minds set on what the spirit desires." 24:25 Did you get it? What's the key? 24:29 Set your mind, the mind set on the spirit 24:36 is gonna do the things of the spirit, 24:40 the mind set on the sinful nature 24:44 is gonna do the things of the sinful nature. 24:48 Set your mind, that's your part, you do your part, 24:55 God will do His. What is your part? 24:58 Set your mind on the things of the spirit. 25:03 I call it mental discipline, mental discipline, 25:09 not to be confused with some of the classics, 25:14 they're old but they're still taught 25:15 in the basis for success teaching today. 25:19 Some of the old classics, 'Norman Vincent Peale, 25:21 "The Power Of Positive Thinking." 25:24 Maxwell Maltz, "Psycho-Cybernetics." 25:26 Napoleon Hill, "Think and Grow Rich." 25:29 These are old classic books 25:31 but the basic principles in there are still valid today. 25:35 The problem is that they all miss a very important key point. 25:43 And I used to teach success seminars 25:47 and sales training seminars based on those principles, 25:53 but once I became a Christian, 25:57 I discovered that all of those principles 25:58 worth anything at all were already in this book. 26:02 I used to charge $600 for a seminar 26:06 and now you get it for free. 26:10 The laws for successful-- 26:12 how do we get the law of the spirit of life to work? 26:14 There are three steps, three verses, 26:16 first one, I'm sure you know it by heart. 26:19 Proverbs 23:7, "Whatsoever a man thinketh in his heart, 26:26 what, so is he." 26:31 Whatever you think determines what you are. 26:41 You are what you think about. 26:45 Now that's something to think about, isn't it? 26:49 Your thoughts determine what you are. 26:52 That's the first step. 26:54 The second step in Luke 6:45, Jesus said, 26:59 "The good man does good from the good stored up in his heart. 27:03 The evil man does evil from the evil stored up in his heart, 27:07 so not only do your thoughts determine who you are 27:12 but your thoughts determine what you do. 27:17 Your behavior is controlled by the way that you think, 27:22 that's what Jesus said, can you trust Him? 27:26 The good man does good from the good stored up in his heart. 27:30 How do you store up good in your heart? 27:31 By thinking right, by thinking about the things of the spirit. 27:35 So your behavior determine 27:37 or your thoughts determine what you are, 27:39 your thoughts determine what you do. 27:41 The third step in Romans 12:2, it's just common sense, 27:46 if your thoughts determine what you are 27:48 and your thoughts determine what you do, 27:50 then in order to change what you do, 27:52 in order to change your behavior, 27:54 you simply need to change your mind, 27:58 be transformed by the renewing of the mind. 28:02 Romans 12, you see, it's all in the Bible. 28:07 So your thoughts determine who you are, 28:09 your thoughts determine what you do, 28:10 in order to change what you do, change your thoughts, 28:12 change your mind and your behavior will follow. 28:18 But it's not that easy. 28:21 It's not as easy as it sounds, why? 28:23 Because we think in terms of thought patterns. 28:29 And these thought patterns are called habits. 28:37 Now when I said habits, you probably thought bad, right? 28:49 But a habit is bad only if it's a bad habit. 28:56 Habits can be good. 29:00 In fact, some tell us that as much as 90% is what we do 29:06 on a daily basis is the result of habit and I believe that. 29:12 These habits are very, very powerful 29:19 and they're formed by the process of repetition, 29:22 thinking a certain way over and over again 29:26 and it becomes a habit. 29:29 And these habits are so powerful 29:31 that it's difficult to change the way we think. 29:35 But you can't change your behavior 29:37 unless you change your thoughts. 29:42 Let me give you an illustration how habits are formed. 29:47 How many of you know how to drive a car? 29:50 Okay, a few. Let me ask this one. 29:56 How many of you know how to drive a stick shift? 30:01 Now, that's interesting. 30:04 Every place I go, I find more people 30:08 know how to drive a stick shift than know how to drive. 30:13 You explain that to me. 30:16 Yeah, I drive stick shift, you know, drive, all right, 30:21 remember that when you learned how to drive a stick shift. 30:25 I remember, well, I sat in that car, 30:29 my dad thought me how 30:31 and he had me going through a little list in my head 30:34 of all the things I needed to go, 30:36 make sure the break was set, then put that key in there 30:39 and I even had to think about which way, 30:41 this way or that way, how does it go? 30:45 Put the key in there, and I did everything, 30:47 and then finally may be a little gas and turn the key, 30:53 it started right up, oh, man, I'm driving. 30:57 Then I had to release the brake, 31:00 the clutch in and let that clutch in and give the gas 31:04 just at the right rate in the right point, 31:08 let out the clutch and you know what? 31:10 The first time I did that I just took off so smoothly. 31:15 You believe that? What happened? 31:19 Jerk-jerk-jerk-jerk, it quit on me. 31:23 I had to try it again and jerk-jerk-jerk-jerk, 31:27 quit on me again, jerk-jerk-jerk-jerk, quit, oh! 31:30 I'm never gonna get, jerk-jerk-jerk-jerk, quit, 31:33 finally I went jerk-jerk-jerk-jerk-jerk 31:36 and went on, oh, I'm driving, I'm driving, almost hit a tree, 31:40 got so excited, you remember that? 31:46 You remember the first time 31:47 you stopped at a red light on a hill, 31:53 and there was a car behind you, oh, man, 31:57 but do you remember the last time that happened? 32:02 Probably not, why not? 32:06 Because through the process of repetition, 32:10 all those thoughts become established 32:13 as patterns or habits, 32:17 and the truth is you probably barely remembered 32:21 driving to church this morning. 32:24 You just jumped in your car, you didn't think about 32:26 which way the key goes or which way to turn it 32:28 or clutches or anything, you just jump in the car and go, 32:32 because it's a habit. 32:35 And habits are good 'cause it sets your mind free 32:38 to do other things while you are driving 32:41 like watch for traffic. 32:45 So habits are good if they are good habits 32:48 and most of what we do 32:50 is the result of a habit and they're powerful. 32:54 Let me show you how powerful they are. 32:55 If you let me do a worldly illustration, 33:00 I've tried to, pastor said it's okay, so I'll do it. 33:03 I try to keep coming up with something better but I can't. 33:08 Let me tell you a little jingle, 33:10 Pepsi Cola hits the spot, about four or five of you got it 33:17 12 full ounces that's a lot, 33:20 there are few more getting on down wagon here. 33:24 Now how did you know that? 33:29 And when you first heard that jingle on the radio, 33:31 did you say, oh, man, that's cool. 33:34 No, they weren't saying cool back then. 33:35 Oh, man, I like that. Yeah, I really like it. 33:39 I'm gonna memorize it, I'm gonna write it 150 times 33:41 still I didn't get it perfect. 33:42 Pepsi Cola hits the spot, 12 full ounces that's a lot, 33:44 over and over and over again till, oh, I got it, 33:46 yes, I learned it, is that what happened? 33:49 Nope. What happened? 33:51 You heard it over and over and over and over 33:56 until it became established as a habit pattern, 33:58 a thought pattern or habit. 34:01 Now, oh, you're gonna hate me for this. 34:07 Do you know how long it's been 34:08 since you've heard that on the radio? 34:14 Well, let me just say it this way, 34:16 over 40 years, way over 40 years, 34:23 you have heard that jingle way over 40 years 34:28 and yet now I can still say Pepsi Cola hits the... 34:32 and you instantly respond with spot. 34:36 Habits are very, very powerful creatures. 34:41 And that's why it's not always so easy to change our behavior 34:45 because in order to change our behavior, 34:46 we have to change the way we think. 34:48 Now there's one other thing that we need to understand 34:51 before we actually apply these Bible texts 34:53 and put them into practice in our lives 34:56 that is that your brain has two halves to it, 35:00 the left half and the right half. 35:03 The left side of the brain is where we learn things 35:08 and memorize things and store information 35:12 and we think logically and sequentially 35:15 and we work math problems and all of that is done 35:19 on the left side of the brain, 35:20 language is stored on the left side of the brain. 35:24 The right side of the brain is emotional for the most part. 35:28 Now I've realized for those of you 35:30 that are experts in healthcare, 35:32 I'm being oversimplifying a little bit 35:34 just to keep it simple. 35:36 But the right side of the brain is basically emotional, 35:39 that's where our feelings are seated. 35:45 Now when we learn things, 35:48 we put the information into the left side, 35:52 the right side through the process of repetition 35:56 picks it up and the right side 36:00 automatically follows the instructions given to it. 36:04 It's like a General and the army. 36:07 The General looks at the whole situation with his staff 36:12 and plans strategically what to do and where to strike 36:16 and with how much and then he issues the orders. 36:22 He gives the orders to the army, the troops 36:26 and the troops carry out the orders. 36:28 They don't modify it, they don't change it, 36:32 they don't stop and think, well, this isn't a very good order, 36:36 I think we'll do it this way instead of his way. 36:39 No, if it's a good army, 36:41 they're gonna automatically obey the orders that they're given 36:45 indiscriminately just obey it. 36:48 Now that's the way the brain works. 36:50 The left brain is the General, 36:52 the right brain, that's the troops. 36:55 The left brain makes the decisions, 36:57 the right brain can't do that, it just takes the orders 37:00 from the left brain and automatically 37:02 doesn't decide is this a good thing or a bad thing, 37:05 it just does what it's told to do. 37:09 So through the process of repetition, 37:11 those orders become embedded in the right brain 37:15 and they automatically function 37:18 without you even thinking about it, it just happens. 37:23 That's why it's so hard to change. 37:26 We have to through the process of repetition 37:28 establish a new habit that's stronger and more powerful 37:31 than the one that's been in force for years and years. 37:35 So that's way it's hard to change your behavior. 37:39 I remember the, first-- have you ever been to a country 37:42 where they drive on the wrong side of the road? 37:45 Our son is in London and we were over there 37:49 visiting a few years ago and rented a car and here we go, 37:54 I'm driving down the wrong side of the road. 37:57 We drive on the right side, they go on the wrong side, 38:01 left side, and so I'm driving along 38:04 and as long as I could think about it, 38:06 you know, yes, stay on the left side, 38:08 stay on the left side, stay on the wrong side, you're okay. 38:12 We did fine, but then we would start talking, 38:16 now I look over there and say something to Dina 38:18 and she says something back and we get all into the conversation 38:20 and before I know, she's going, 38:21 Jack, You're on the wrong side of the road! 38:24 I'm looking up, oh, yeah, 38:26 back over there on the wrong side. 38:29 You know, because I know what to do 38:31 but it didn't overhear in my right brain yet to do 38:33 without me thinking about it. 38:37 Now if we're gonna change our behavior, 38:43 we have to change those thought patterns. 38:47 And those thought patterns are generally given 38:49 to the right brain as orders in term of images and pictures. 38:54 The right brain processes pictures. 38:56 Let me show you what I mean. 38:58 I'm gonna say a word, are you ready? 39:02 Car. Now what did you see? 39:06 Did you see the letters, C.A.R., 39:09 or did you see the picture of a car? 39:12 You saw the picture of a car, your car maybe, 39:16 maybe one you wish was your car, 39:18 but you saw the picture of a car. 39:21 See, our instructions get into the right brain 39:24 in terms of images and pictures, 39:27 so that means that if you are a student 39:32 and you see yourself as a failure, 39:36 then you're giving instructions to your right brain 39:40 to watch TV the night before the exam 39:42 instead of study, you're gonna fail. 39:46 If you see yourself successful, 39:48 then you're given instructions to succeed. 39:54 You see yourself as a successful Christian, 39:57 soaring in obedience to God, then that's what you gonna do. 40:03 If you see yourself as a failure, 40:05 that's what you're gonna do. 40:08 And while we're talking about this parents, 40:11 I have to confess that there are times when I just quench, 40:16 when I see the way some parents talk to their children, 40:20 they may be getting into a little mischief, who doesn't? 40:24 And they'll say something like, "You are so bad, 40:29 You're gonna wind up in jail." 40:32 What kind of image are they forming 40:34 in the minds of their child? 40:39 You are just worse than a bunch of monkeys around here. 40:43 And they wonder why does my son act like a monkey. 40:49 Because they've been told over and over again 40:53 that that's what they are 40:54 and that's the image they have and they're gonna do it. 40:59 So parents be careful of what you say to the little ones. 41:06 Does this really work? 41:08 Folks, it does. God made us that way. 41:12 That's how He made our brain to work. 41:15 Let me prove it to you. 41:16 I want you to sit with your feet flat on the ground, 41:19 put your feet down, hands in your lap, 41:21 relax but don't close your eyes 41:24 or close your eyes but don't sleep, 41:25 let's do it that way. 41:27 Close your eyes, if you sleep it won't work. 41:29 It isn't gonna hurt, all I want you to do 41:31 is just picture in your mind a bright yellow lemon, 41:36 crystal clear, get it sharp focus, 41:39 turn it around so you can see 41:40 the green letter, sun kissed, written on it. 41:45 You see the dimples in the skin, 41:47 the little stem on the end, lemon. Get it in focus. 41:52 Now picture a razor sharp knife slicing through the lemon, 41:59 juice explodes all across the blade, it is so juicy. 42:05 Picture yourself picking up half of that lemon 42:09 and squeezing it over your outstretched tongue. 42:14 Give it a good squeeze, squeeze, 42:16 drip, drip, ooh, wow, it is so sour. 42:22 Squeeze it again, get some more, 42:24 get a mouthful, pick up the other half, 42:26 squeeze it over your tongue, swallow it, 42:29 get another big mouthful, oh, it is so sour. 42:36 Okay, you can open your eyes. 42:39 How many of you noticed your mouth began to water? 42:42 Did it? Did you say mouth water? 42:48 No, you put the image there 42:51 and your right brain took that image as an order 42:54 and your mouth began to water. 42:58 It works. That's the way God made you. 43:02 That's the way He made your brain to function 43:05 and so that's why He said 43:07 you need to set your mind on the things of the spirit. 43:12 Because that's giving your right brain 43:14 instructions of what to do. 43:16 People come to me and say, 43:17 "Pastor, I don't know what's wrong with me, 43:18 I just can't grow spiritually." 43:20 I would say, "What do you watch on TV? 43:23 What kind of books you read?" 43:25 You see you can't fix your mind on the filth 43:27 and the cesspools of this old world 43:29 and expect to soar in obedience to God. 43:33 In the computer industry, they have a formula, 43:35 it's called GIGO, GIGO, garbage in, garbage out. 43:43 You cannot program a bunch of errors into a computer 43:48 and expect to get the right answer. 43:50 You can't take the picture of a pile of sewage 43:56 and expect it to come out looking like a rose, 43:59 unless you have photoshop. 44:04 But did you understand what I'm saying? 44:06 What do you read? What do you watch? 44:10 Fix your mind on the things of the spirit 44:13 and that's what you're gonna do. 44:15 That's the law of life, that's the way God made you. 44:18 In fact, why do you think Paul said in Philippians 4:8, 44:23 "Finally brothers, whatever is true, noble, right, 44:26 whatever is pure, lovely, whatever is admirable, 44:28 if anything is excellent or praiseworthy 44:30 think about such things." 44:33 What a God, He tells us how to think 44:35 and then He tells us what we should be thinking about. 44:38 That verse should be printed out in big letters 44:41 and pasted on the top of your television set. 44:44 Is it noble, is it pure, is it trustworthy, is it right, 44:48 is it lovely, is it admirable? 44:50 If it is, okay, if it's not, don't watch it. 44:54 You can't program all that garbage into your mind 44:57 and expect to be obedient 44:59 empowered by the law of the spirit of life. 45:03 We have to die to sin. 45:05 Discipline, mental disciple must be total. 45:09 We need to die, Paul said, we die to sin. 45:12 Dead people don't respond to anything 45:16 and that's the way we need to be. 45:17 We need to be dead to the temptations of sin, 45:20 we die, we don't respond. 45:22 Sometimes people ask me, 45:27 "Pastor, I don't know what's wrong with me. 45:31 I keep getting all these 45:32 bad thoughts in my mind all the time." 45:35 And I surprise them, I say, "There's nothing wrong with you, 45:41 there's nothing wrong with bad thoughts coming into your mind, 45:45 it's called temptation." 45:50 It only becomes wrong when you choose 45:52 to keep those bad thoughts there." 45:56 We need to put them out of our minds. 45:58 We live in a world of sin. 46:00 We're gonna see things all around that are bad, 46:02 that's temptation, but when we get a bad thought, 46:05 we need to put it out. 46:07 I'm gonna tell you the secret of the banana tree. 46:12 Now you don't know that up here, 46:14 'cause you don't have banana trees. 46:17 So let me tell you about it. 46:19 We bought a house when we lived down in South Texas, 46:22 we bought a house that had banana trees. 46:26 And so I as a good banana plantation owner, 46:31 had a big plantation, It was about this big. 46:35 I brought a machete because you might not know it, 46:39 but banana trees make one bunch of bananas 46:43 and they die, they're finished. 46:47 But they send up little shoots, make new banana trees. 46:51 Now the problem is if one tree sends up a lot of shoots 46:55 and if you just let these things grow, they get so thick 46:59 that they will choke each other out and they all die. 47:02 So you have to weed out your banana trees. 47:05 Well, I got there, got my machete 47:08 and my two little guys helping me 47:10 and I chopped through that first banana tree, 47:13 it was about that big around, and they are heavy. 47:17 And I had to drag that banana tree 47:19 down to the back of our lot, big ditch back there, 47:23 my two guys were gonna help me. 47:25 They rode on the leaves while I pulled it. 47:30 I got that tree back here, I'm tired, man, 47:32 it's heavy but there were more, 47:35 so I'll cut down another one, drag that, 47:38 oh, man, I'm getting tired, only two, 47:41 I've a lot a more to do and I'm doing another one, 47:43 I don't know if I can do this one or not. 47:45 Finally I make it to the back, I come back thinking, 47:48 you know, maybe I'd done enough for today 47:50 and then all of a sudden, ah-hah, 47:53 I saw it, a banana tree that big, 47:59 so I took my machete and I went 48:03 one flick of the wrist and it was gone. 48:07 Bent down, picked it up, put it in my pocket, 48:13 found another one, picked it up, put it in my pocket, 48:17 another one, put them in my pocket. 48:23 Pretty soon, my pockets were full of banana trees. 48:27 I just walked to the back of the lot, emptied my pockets. 48:32 See, it's a lot easier to get them when they're that big 48:34 than when they're full grown. 48:38 And so the secret is when a bad thought comes into your mind, 48:43 put it out immediately, put it out. 48:48 Don't let it take root, 48:49 don't let it get to be a big banana tree, put it out. 48:53 Learn how to recognize the bad thoughts 48:55 by studying your Bible, studying the word of God. 48:58 And then when a bad thought comes in, 49:00 immediately recognize it, put it out, 49:02 that's the secret of the banana tree. 49:05 Don't let them take root and they'll never result in action. 49:10 It'll change your life, mental discipline. 49:16 A man had learned one night at Revelation Now 49:20 that his body was a temple of the Holy Spirit, 49:22 and he was smoker, he says, "That's it, 49:25 I don't want to put anything in my body that defiles it, 49:28 I want to keep healthy and strong 49:30 so I can understand God and what He's trying to say to me. 49:33 He is a farmer in Oklahoma 49:35 driving around a big tractor around the field, 49:38 that day he said that's it, I'm gonna quit smoking. 49:41 So he takes his cigarettes out of his pocket, 49:43 and throws them over his shoulder 49:45 and then turned around to see where they hit in the dirt. 49:49 He's driving around, he said, 49:50 "I wonder how long I'm gonna be able to go." 49:53 Then he goes around the field, 49:54 oh, man, I could just have one more cigarette, 49:57 oh, it would just taste so good if I could have one more. 50:00 Then he gets back to that spot where he threw them out, 50:02 and he got off the tractor, picked up the cigarettes 50:05 and he started smoking again. 50:07 And he's thinking, good night, what's wrong with me? 50:10 I've gone longer than that without smoking 50:12 not even trying to quit. 50:15 So he's disgusted with himself, 50:17 he throws them down and buries them in the dirt 50:19 and he gets on the tractor, goes round and round the field, 50:22 sun's getting right to set, pulls into the barn, 50:25 goes to his house and there's a big farm dinner, 50:29 his wife has spread out on the table for him. 50:31 Oh, wow, it was so good, his tummy is so full 50:34 before he knows it he is digging around in his shirt pocket, 50:37 no cigarettes but he wants a cigarette. 50:42 So he gets up and he goes over to the drawer 50:44 where he keeps them, no cigarettes, 50:47 his wife got rid of them all. 50:49 He goes running around looking in the all the ash trays, 50:52 just a butt, that's all I want, just a butt, 50:55 she emptied them all and threw it all out. 50:58 But he did find a flash light. 51:03 So he goes out in the field with a flash light 51:06 looking around in the dirt 51:08 kicking the clods around till finally he found them. 51:11 Sat out there in the dirt clods, 51:13 smoked three cigarettes in a row, 51:16 then he said, "That's it, that's it, 51:19 I'm gonna quit smoking 51:22 and I'm not even gonna think about it anymore." 51:25 As far as I know, 51:27 that was the last cigarette he ever smoked. 51:30 Mental discipline. 51:34 Fix your mind on the things of the spirit, 51:37 you do your part and then God will do His part. 51:41 But what's God's part? 51:44 Romans 8:9, "You however are not controlled 51:46 by the sinful nature but by the spirit." 51:49 If the spirit of God lives in you," 51:52 verse 11, "And if the spirit of him 51:53 who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, 51:57 then he who raised Christ from the dead 52:00 will also give life to your mortal bodies 52:02 through his spirit who lives in you, 52:05 and if by the spirit you put to death 52:06 amidst needs of the body you will live." 52:09 The same spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead 52:13 is willing to live in you and empower you to live 52:17 and break the habits that enslave 52:19 and destroy the mind and the body. 52:21 You can be free, you can be successful, 52:24 but it's the law of the spirit of life 52:27 that enables God's spirit to work in us and to empower us 52:33 to break those shackles and to be free. 52:36 We do our part, mental discipline, 52:39 fix your mind on the spirit and God will do His part 52:43 and you can live victoriously for Christ. 52:48 So why do I have to do my part first, 52:50 why don't God do his first, be a lot easier. 52:55 Well, God never forces, 52:58 the beast uses force but not God. 53:01 And we demonstrate to God 53:03 that we're really wanting to change us 53:06 by fixing our mind on the things of God. 53:11 If we say oh, God, I want to be a Christian, 53:12 I want to be saved but we keep focusing our attention 53:15 watching pornography on the internet 53:18 and watching all the bad things, 53:20 reading the bad, we're really saying, 53:22 God I don't really want to change. 53:25 We signal the change by fixing our mind 53:28 on the things of the spirit. 53:30 You do your part, God does His. 53:32 And this closing verse is so powerful, 53:35 I could have read it at the beginning 53:37 and it would have been the whole message. 53:38 So why didn't you do that? No, I have more to say. 53:44 2 Corinthians 3:18, "We who with unveiled faces 53:48 all behold the Lord's glory are being transformed 53:51 into his likeness with ever increasing glory." 53:54 By beholding Him, we become transformed into His likeness. 53:59 Fix your minds on Jesus. 54:03 And you will do the things of the spirit. 54:06 A friend of mine who does what we do, 54:10 an evangelist, tells a story, he didn't have the advantage, 54:15 I don't know if it's advantage or not, 54:16 the opportunity to be in the military 54:18 and to fly military jets and he love flying though, 54:22 in all his life he wanted to fly, 54:24 this was way back in the Vietnam War, 54:26 when the F-4 Phantom jet, that was it, 54:29 I mean, that was it, 54:30 everybody want to fly the F-4 Phantom. 54:33 He would love to have a ride on a Phantom Jet 54:36 but he wasn't in the military. 54:38 No hope, well, one day he was doing a seminar like this 54:42 and he accidentally let it slip out 54:44 that he wished he could get a ride on a F-4 Phantom jet, 54:48 afterwards a man came up to him, he says, 54:50 "You really want to ride a Phantom? 54:51 He said, "Yeah." 54:52 He says, "I'm a flight instructor over the air base, 54:54 I can get you a ride. Oh, man, he couldn't believe it. 54:58 So he went over and did a little bit of quick emeregency training 55:01 and preparation and finally the day came for him to ride 55:06 and he went over there and they had him fixed up 55:08 in his flight suit and helmet, oxygen mask, 55:12 oh, wow, fighter pilot, now he's gonna ride in that Phantom, 55:16 so he climbed in the jet and the pilot instructor, 55:19 "We have two rules for you while we're flying. 55:23 Number one, the microphones voice activated, 55:27 don't you say a word. 55:30 I don't care what's happening, don't say a word." 55:34 Oh, I won't talk, I won't talk, I promise. 55:37 "Number two, see that stick between your knees? 55:41 Don't even think about touching it, 55:44 that's for me, don't touch it." 55:47 I won't touch it, I won't touch it. 55:48 Okay, so they take off, happen to be formation flight, 55:52 another aircraft off on the right, 55:54 he was leading and they were flying 55:56 and my friend in the back noticed say, 55:58 "Boy that pilot's always looking out the side window 56:01 instead of the front? 56:02 He's looking at the wing tip of the lead aircraft. 56:05 And every time, they climbed, we climbed, 56:07 when they dove, and we dove, 56:08 when they did a split S we did a split S 56:10 and everything they did we did. 56:12 The pilot was just looking at the wing tip 56:14 on the other airplane. 56:16 Finally, they finished the flight, 56:18 they were getting ready to get back to land. 56:20 The pilot's still looking out the side window. 56:24 My friend's looking at the air base, he's right there. 56:27 and they're getting closer and closer 56:29 and the pilot still looking out the side. 56:33 And finally he starts getting nervous. 56:37 And he can't hold it in anymore, 56:40 and he said, "I know I'm not supposed to talk 56:43 but when you're gonna look up?" 56:48 Pilot looking out of the side window, 56:52 the wing tip of the other aircraft 56:55 he said, "When the wheels touch the ground, be quiet." 57:02 Now he was probably being a macho pilot, 57:06 I doubt if he landed it looking out the side of the window. 57:12 But, folks, we're headed into the kingdom, 57:22 don't look to the right, don't look to the left, 57:26 don't look behind, just look straight ahead at Jesus. 57:36 And don't move your eyes until your wheels touch the ground. |
Revised 2014-12-17