Sunday, July 7, 2013

Abundant Living.L18.Victory with Robbie Sedgeman




Victory

Victory is the dream of everyone in a competition – for your team to be crowned as champions or to cross the finish line first.  But, in order to win, victory must be more than a dream or an intention.  It must be your goal, your focus and your vision.  You must act on it.  1 Corinthians 9:24 says, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”  Great victory is available through Christ.  But we must make it our goal to gain that victory and obtain abundant life here and now.

Verse 25 goes on to say, “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”  We are in intense training right now.  We are doing the work and pressing forward through pain and struggles to win the freedom that God’s truth brings into our lives.  Yet God’s ways are not our ways.  A major component of our ‘training’ involves learning how to ask God for his help and to allow him to do the work in us.   For some of us, that means a change in our mindsets from ‘if I do X, Y and Z, then I will be healed’ to ‘I’ll wait to act until I hear from God.”

Last week Lillian defined the terms in the principle we are working:  “Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects.”   I encourage you to look back to last week’s lesson for definitions of submission, humility and character defects.   She also mentioned four ‘truths’ at the end of the talk. One of them was this:  ‘Changing me is God's business.’  God is the one who can change us from the inside out.  Our role is to start the process by asking for his help and to continue the process by submitting to his way of change.

There are many who claim gods other than Jesus, but none of those gods are as kind, loving and compassionate as the one true and living God, Jesus, who forgives and helps all who ask.  “If we confess or sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  (1 John 1:9)  Victory is possible!  Let’s look at some principles that will enable you to claim that victory.


What to Change?
Consider the list of your character defects and decide which you would like to change first.  Be realistic – we can’t change everything at once.  What character defects are causing the most trauma or drama in your life?  Or which ones seem to come to mind most frequently?  It may be useful to go back to your inventory and review the wrongs, shortcomings or sins you discovered.

Ask God to remove those that are causing the most pain to you or others.  He knows which ones are most harmful and which ones he desires to remove first.  Proverbs 16:9 say, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”  Ultimately, his will is accomplished, so it’s best for us to get on board with his plan from the start. 

Once you decide which defects to work on first, keep your focus on them.  Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by other issues.  The others will change in time.  Give yourself some grace in those other areas as you work on the hardest hitting issues first.


Change your Mind
The next step is to change your mind in regards to those defects.  Be determined and purposeful in the process of change.  Your thoughts, which have led to your actions, have been working in you for a long time.  It’s time to let go of your own thoughts and reasoning and make way for God’s.

Isaiah 55:7-9 says:  ‘Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.  Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”’ 

It may take awhile to empty yourself of your own thoughts.  Much of our reasoning is unconscious, developed over a long period of time.  Here’s a starting point:
·        Ask yourself why you behave as you do.  What do you think a particular action will accomplish and why?
·        Consider if you are ready for a new view.  Ask God to help you be open to a new way of thinking.  “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2a)
·        Ask for different views.  Talk to (safe!) friends or knowledgeable people about your situation.  Consider short-term counseling.
·        Read books on the subject.  A multitude of good books are available on the victorious Christian life.  Look for ones that apply to your particular situation.
·        Listen to Christian teaching.  Even if the subject matter doesn’t relate specifically to your issue, God’s Word will not return void.  Fill your mind with good teaching when you need encouragement.  God will provide you with a pertinent word.
·        Read biographies of victorious Christian lives.  More and more books are available that provide testimonies of how Jesus changed lives.  Although God works in each of us differently, he uses some of the same concepts from one person to another.

Verses 10-11 of Isaiah 55 continue:  “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth:  It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”  God is willing to change you.  Are you ready to be changed?


Change is a Process
You became a new creation when you submitted your life and will to Jesus.  In your spirit you are alive and have a place in God’s home in eternity.  But that doesn’t mean that everything ‘magically’ changed in your life in the here and now.  That is a process.  

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘one day at a time.’ Not so popular, but just as true, is the saying, ”life by the yard is hard; but life by the inch is a cinch.”  Whether we are working on changing a character defect or completing a project at work or home, it is accomplished one step at a time. 

Multi-tasking has some value, but most things have specific tasks that build upon each other.  One task must be completed before the next can be done.  You need to wash the dish, then dry it and then it is ready to be put back into the cupboard. 

The same is true with character defects.  It may seem almost impossible to change our long-term behaviors, but we can change our actions today.  Just focus on today.  “So don’t be anxious about tomorrow.  God will take care of your tomorrow too.  Live one day at a time.”  (Matthew 6:34)  Our worrying and continually considering the future, sometimes referred to as ‘projecting,’ is not based in reality.  It can’t change the future and it doesn’t allow us to focus on changing our behavior today.  The result is stagnation.  And the vast majority of what we worry about never comes to pass.  By the time the day arrives, circumstances have changed and the scenario played over and over in our mind does not come to fruition.  Concentrate on today and leave tomorrow to God.


Perfection Not Required!
As a person who has perfectionist tendencies, driven by fear of failure, I often remind myself of a saying I first heard from a friend:  ‘Completion, not perfection!’  When I am stalled on a task or project because it is ‘not good enough,’ I remind myself that I will never be perfect.  I can strive for excellence, but also appreciate my abilities and skills just as they are today.

I also remind myself that I really don’t know what ‘perfect’ looks like.  My thoughts continue to be influenced by the world, my flesh and Satan’s lies.  During those times I try to look to God and ask him for his opinion.  And if I don’t receive an immediate answer, I force myself to withhold judgment, to move forward and trust that God will re-direct me if needed.  And he will do the same for you. 

As long as we keep our focus on the One who can change us, we will continue to change for the better and experience more and more of the abundant life Jesus came to give us - and His ways will satisfy you.

 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think.  Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you.”  Romans 12:2 in the Living Bible translation.


Group Work


  1. What character defect(s) will you work on first?
  2. Are there any thoughts and reasonings you are willing to turn over to God in exchange for his wisdom?  What actions will you take to change to his way of thinking?
  3. What does ‘change is a process’ mean to you and your recovery?  Discuss the pros and cons of taking one step at a time.
  4. Do you struggle with projection and worrying about the future?  What can you do to focus on the present instead?
  5. Do you allow the lack of perfection to stall your continued growth?  How can you combat that?

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