How Do I Truly Change?

so this text is powerful I told you before that you want to take Matthew chapter 15 in mark chapter 7 and put them side-by-side so as I said before the synoptic Gospels Matthew Mark and Luke are Gospels you can put down side by side and synoptic means seeing together so you can see those together it's important that you do that actually you take Matthew 15 and Mark 7 and you put them right by side by side because Matthew gives some details that Mark doesn't and vice versa and so you can really get a good understanding a full understanding of Jesus teaching on this subject for example what Matthew actually leaves out of the discussion that Mark puts into the discussion is mark 7 actually says when Jesus talks about foods going into you and not actually defiling you because they are expelled mark says and that this moment basically Jesus declared all foods clean which is kind of a big deal when you think in terms of being a Jew and God gave the holiness code the commandment contained in ordinances Paul says in Ephesians this very particular way of worship and lifestyle and diet and even dress that the people of God had in the Old Testament under the Old Covenant they had this very particular way they were supposed to live out all of this symbolism of holiness and it's important because in the Old Testament God gave the Jewish people training wheels and this goes right into our discussion today about how we actually live in a way that's pleasing to God and are transformed in the Old Testament God gave them training wheels in terms of a sacrifice they didn't have Jesus the perfect sacrifice as of yet so God gave to them the symbolism that innocent for the guilty sacrifice there had to be an offering there had to be a substitute and so God gave them for example on Yom Kippur we know it as today the day of actually atonements this is the day where the Jewish priests would rise up he was a sinner himself so the first thing he had to do when he represented the people of God is he actually had to provide a sacrifice for himself so a bull would die an animal would die and blood was shed for his own sins so much for being a good sacrifice or a good mediator he has sins himself he is just like you and I he's going to die one day as well but as he presented the sacrifices before the Lord and the people of God he would have the goats one was the goat that would die and one was the goat that was the scapegoat one would die and have it's bloodshed and one would have the priests hands laid on it the priest would confess the sins of the people of God on to the scapegoat and that scapegoat was pulled away from the people of God and it was taken off into the distance as far as the East is from the West you would watch your sins disappear over the horizon now Jewish tradition says because people wonder well what happened to the goat right they take this goat out in too far away from the people they watch this majestic symbolism of my sins being taken away from me and removed from me and the question arises with the inquiring person well what happens to the goats you don't want that goat as being let go off there and then three or four days later it comes wandering back into the town everyone's like running away from the goat right the goat with the sins confessed on it Jewish tradition says that they actually took that goat to a cliff and they threw it off a cliff to make sure that there was no way that those sins the symbol of those sins would return back to the people but you see these are training wheels right all these things are just reminders continual reminders to the people of God that their sins are not yet taken care of they have a temple that could fall they have a priest that can die and a new one takes his place they have all of this symbolism even down to their diets they have dietary restrictions of no shellfish you have no bacon which is horrible it's a couple it's thousands of years of just awful for the Jews right pigs walk by they're like man but these are dietary restrictions not in terms of the pig itself is infested with some sort of sinful disease and if they eat that pig they get sin inside of them these were training wheels to teach the people of God how to be holy how to be separate how to be different and distinct now when the New Covenant comes something amazing happens God enters into our experience takes on flesh he lives the sinless and righteous and blameless life that we've all failed and then Jesus dies in the place of his people he rises again from the dead he's ascended and seated on his throne as the promised descendant of David who rules over the world as king of kings and Lord of lords and he continuously always lives to make intercession for us Paul says in Romans 8 it's a once for all sacrifice it's done forever never to be repeated he has the high priesthood that meant that Hebrews chapter 7 says does not pass from one to another it does not get exchanged or passed on Jesus is the high priest forever he always lives to make that intercession with this perfect atonement matter of fact what did Jesus say to the Jews when they said he's saying he's going to destroy the temple and what does Jesus say he says destroy this temple and in three days I will rise it up again we have now in Christ under the new covenants a perfect sacrifice once for all a priest who never dies that always lives to make intercession for us and we have a temple now a city now not made with hands that can never be destroyed ever and now that we have Christ all of the boundary markers that actually marked off Jew from Gentile all those things are done away with as they were the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile now that we know Jesus we have Jesus now that God dwells within us with new hearts as regenerated people we don't need the training wheels anymore and so this little moment is it seems like such a small moment it's actually massive it blows apart so much where Jesus actually condemns the fact that they have Ray up a standard that runs alongside the Bible that supposed to teach them some sort of righteous piety that's supposed to be divinely inspired in a way this revelation that runs alongside the Bible that ends up eating the Bible up and destroying it and Jesus condemns them for their man-made tradition that they were putting on people's back saying this is true piety this is true righteousness obey this to be holy and in this moment where the Lord of glory is walking among us this is the creator himself walking among us with flesh teaching us they're condemning Jesus in this moment when they say your disciples are eating with unwashed hands you realize that that was an indictment upon Jesus as a rabbi they were saying you're not a good rabbi you're not a good teacher because your disciples are not following a tradition of the elders they might be tempted to ask who cares who cares about the tradition of the elders well there was a big deal because they saw these traditions as essentially divinely inspired traditions now what does this teach us today how does it apply to us today here's the so what for Jesus God in the flesh he says there's an ultimate standard one and what Jesus always refers back to if he's not appealing to his own authority as the Son of God he always appeals to the word of the Living God one more example in Matthew in Matthew chapter 19 Jesus is thrown into the conflict of his day the difference between the hill alight marriage and the shemites marriage there was a marriage in Jesus day that he could be dissolved a form of divorce for any cause that was hello the school of hello Hill alight marriage and what it said was this you can divorce your wife for any cause all you must do is give a certificate of divorce and there was a more biblical and conservative view that said no you have to only get divorced on biblical commands biblical reasons and so they're throwing Jesus into the controversy it's a social controversy it's a political controversy in his day it's a church controversy in his day and they're essentially saying what say you and what does Jesus answer he could just the answer on his own authority but what does Jesus do he says have you not read and then he points them that from the beginning God created what male and female and Jesus says that a man shall leave his father and his mother and he shall come together with his wife and they should be what one flesh when Jesus is answering a political controversy a church controversy a piety controversy where does he always land the words of the Living God so how does this apply to us today as believers 2,000 years after Jesus we can see that when God became man he instructed us he modeled for us what were all two what we ought to do in terms of conflict there was an ultimate standard Jesus says in John 17:17 thy Word is truth the Word of God is the standard it is the plumb line it's how you know something is right and so what Jesus says is all these traditions if they make void the Word of God your tradition must go no matter how much you Revere it no matter how comfortable you are with its the Word of God is the very standard that's what we learn from Jesus here in Matthew 15 in mark 7 I will say one final word on that it sounds awfully similar to of course the Reformation catchcry Sola what scriptura Sola scriptura did not mean by the way this is important for Protestants today if they even know what it means to be Protestant it did not mean that it's just me and my Bible under a tree apart from the church apart from people all by myself my lonesome with Jesus Sola scriptura did not mean that traditions were unhelpful or not good so let's go door did not mean that the Creed's aren't good Sola scriptura meant that the Scriptures alone are the only infallible rule of faith and practice you want to know what's true look to the Word of God if you have one person saying something and the Bible saying another you go with the words of the Living God the controversy is always solved by Scripture so what does this teach us about spiritual authority that's important to spiritual Authority these people in this day had spiritual authority and were revered they were seen as holy pious disciplined spiritual people they were seen as leaders and what Jesus teaches us here is that even your religious authorities and leaders have to be underneath the Word of God it's the standard and so what does that teach us about pastors in our day if your pastor says something consistent with the Word of God then that is binding on all of us amen and if your pastor says something that is not consistent with the Word of God it is not binding no matter how spiritual he is no matter how much as ministry looks powerful and has spiritual authority your pastor must be submissive to the words of the Living God every word out of my mouth must be tested by Scripture and if it's consistent believe it embrace it delight in it if it's inconsistent don't buy it Amen that's the standard so Jesus teaches us so much in this text but here's where it gets really interesting after he confronts them over their tradition that's conflicting with the Word of God God says honor your father and your mother and you know what amazingly God's Word gives us the the perfect blueprint for Society wouldn't you know it God enters into the world he graciously gives his law to his people it wasn't oppressive and tyrannical it was a gracious act of God to reveal his own character and his standards of justice to his people and when God gives it to the people of Israel he says as much this was to be their wisdom in the sight of the peoples and all the other nations are supposed to look at Israel and their laws and they were going to say what kind of God is this and the people like this that has a God so near to them as this God with laws and statutes as righteous as these it was gracious of God to give his law problem was they were fallen problem was they were sinners it was not the law that was the problem but the people now what's amazing is that God's law gives a blueprint of how we're supposed to order our society and one of the things you can see in God's law is that parents were provided for the elderly were provided for by who their children now what the leaders of this day had done is they had set up a standard that said well I could work it out this way I can't take care of my parents because all of my money I've already dedicated it to God that sounds right just done that that's on so pious right sounds so good so holy so Christian right I can't actually see mom and dad I can't give you the money I can't take care of your needs because I actually dedicated all my money to the temple you see that's that's the problem and so I can't actually do it and that was a tradition is that you can do that korban role was I've dedicated a temple so you can't have it and so Jesus says how dare you how dare you violate God's command and his law where God says to honor your father and your mother but you say well I've already dedicated it to the temple so I can't so Jesus is saying to them shame on you you voided the word of God for the sake of your tradition now this angers them and the disciples say don't you know you've offended them now by the way it's obvious he defended he offended them because what does Jesus call them he says you are what hypocrites you're pretenders you're pretending to be holy and pious and righteous and to love God's law all the while you're setting up standards that violate the very words of God in his law and so they're offended and what Jesus does is he says every plant that my Heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up and he says this here's how you treat false teachers here's how you treat them you treat them with a heavy hand he says what he says let them alone they are blind guides and if the blind lead the blind both have fallen to the pits until G and so Peter says to him explain the parable to us and he said are you still are you also still without understanding do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled that should be obvious to you Peter he says this but what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart and this defiles a person now I want to just as we get into now how do we actually work this out as Christians I just want to say because this gets complicated and it gets intense this gets very very intense for us as believers I mean I wanted to say as we enter into this to talk about how a person changes and we deal with our hearts I just want to I want to encourage you to think about something that is both encouraging and also devastating to the way we've been living it is transforming in a good way but also in a way it pinches you see listen true religion true relationship with God true intimacy with God is never going to be satisfied with the external ever and that's frustrating to people who want to fake it so in this room right now I will say there are people who are truly regenerate they truly know God and have new hearts they've been saved and justified they're being sanctified and there are those who maybe have never thought to turn to Christ and trust in him and I hope that you do and there are those in this room that are deluding themselves into believing that they are in Christ but they have no new affections they're in church they like the culture maybe you were born and raised in a Christian home maybe you like having a Bible on yourself maybe you lie Christian music maybe this is something you're comfortable with but you have never actually experienced new passions you've never actually had all-over the holiness of God and desired that you've never actually checked your heart to see to what do I really know him do I want him or do I just not want he'll one day because you see the message of Jesus is cutting in a way that world religions man-made religions cannot be cutting you see men and women who aren't real with their sin who want to fake it who are truly hypocrites they're wearing a mask they are never concerned with what's going on in the inside all they care about is that everything on the outside looks religious looks spiritual and I look fine Jesus condemned the religious leaders of his day and he told them that they were always concerned with the outside of the cup that's what religion does it cleans the outside and Jesus says you ought to be concerned with cleaning the inside of the cup and Jesus does it again in Matthew 23 when he's confronting them the religious leaders he says to them you're whitewashed tombs your outside looks pure and white but on the inside you're full of dead men's bones you're full of rottenness inside and this irritates hypocrites now by the way don't let that word please pass from this pulpit into your hearing right now and think that in any way I mean it to offend or to be abusive or to use it as shock value I mean it in terms of cutting through the shell that we prop up that shell that external outside religious affection right it looks so good on the outside but it doesn't deal with the hearts Jesus says to them he says what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart and this defiles a person I said last week that the old and new testament use this term a lot the heart and the heart according to scripture is the very foundation it's the seat of your passions it's not the physical thing bumping in your chest but it's the it's the inside it's the it's the real bottom line you its the passions of yourself the foundation of your passions it's where everything proceeds and Jesus is saying what if you want to know what's truly inside somebody if you want to know the condition of you then what proceeds out of the mouth gives the revelation of what's actually there someone might say this watch they ever heard this someone will say well you can't you can't judge me you don't know what's in my heart and the truth is is a yes you're right I don't know the condition of your heart that's true and we're not as Christians to go we're not as Christians to go around simply trying to guess what's in someone's heart and just lobbing bombs at people based upon our own speculation however there's a flipside to that and that's this if you want to know what's in somebody's hearts give them enough time and what comes out of their mouth will show you so while we ought not to simply speculate over what's inside someone's heart and make these solid hard directives of that's it we can say that if you give enough if given enough time we do know what's actually in somebody's heart we can see what's actually there and Jesus teaches us what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart and this defiles a person I pointed you to something last week and I just want you to think of it in terms of an example and this is important because for me this tells the whole story Jesus actually talked about a Pharisee and a tax collector and the Pharisee in the story is before God bragging on his piety he's comfortable to look up to God he's happy to do so and he gives God the glory for it you see religion doesn't always just brag on self religion will mix God's grace and power with my own efforts and the Pharisee does this he says god I thank you you get the glory you get the credits and he says I'm not like other men he says this he says I tithe of all that I get I fast I pray and he says you haven't made me like this miserable sinner over here essentially that's his message God thank you that I'm not like this guy and when the story changes over Jesus said that the Pharisees trusted in themselves that they were righteous and now the tax collectors are way off and it says that he won't even lift his eyes to heaven and this is that this is the pinch it's what I want you to grab hold of because it tells the whole story for a Jew it says that he's beating his what chest he's beating his chest saying God have mercy on me a sinner what's he beating he's beating the very place he's beating the place with a seed of his passions he's beating that place as though he's trying to tear it out he's acknowledging before God God my heart is wicked God my heart is wicked this is the source of it God and all he says is this says God have mercy on me a sinner that's all he has to offer which is nothing and it says watch that he went to his house justified he went to his house declared righteous and here's the horrifying words here's the terrifying words ready rather than the other the Pharisee went condemned he went to hell but what about his righteousness what about his acts of piety what about all of us fasting and his tithing and his praying it says what he trusted in himself that he was righteous and the tax collector knew that in his heart he was broken and wicked and foul and he's trying to get at the very source of it and all I can do is plead to God God have mercy on me a sinner he knows his condition do you think it's an accident that Jesus in giving that illustration do you think it's an accident of the text just a random thing but of all of Jesus discussion about the heart that in a story of a person that is justified in a person who is not a person who has saved and a person who is lost Jesus adds the line that he's beating his chest we know what Jesus teaches about the heart that's the source that's the foundation and so we have to deal with our heart and here's what it says for out of the heart come evil thoughts murder adultery sexual immorality theft false witness slander these are what to file a person but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile up anyone see the world looks at the external so what do we do we work on behavior modification that's what the world does if they don't want it to be a religious kind of system the world looks at behavior modification I often use my experience at a drug and alcohol addiction hospital because I saw so much of how the world handles true brokenness and I and often times I would sit in meetings with therapists and doctors and psychologists in the group setting and I would listen to these therapists these secular therapists try to handle the problem of people who were truly lost and broken and had passions and desires that were so conflicted and broken they didn't quite know how to handle it so oftentimes if you had a person that was dealing with a lot of anger there always exploding with anger and that would lead them into using heroin or cocaine or alcohol they would have courses on behavior modification so here's how they dealt with a person that had explosive anger and then went to use they would say things like this you need to take a cold shower here's what I want you to do when you have these explosive moments and you're really really angry let's modify that behavior they would say I want you to take deep breaths now don't we all know with our big boy and big girl pants on that if we're throwing a fit might be a good idea to walk away or to take a breath do you think these 20 and 30 and 40 and 50 and 60 year olds knew that they ought to take a breath walk out of the room calm down yes but did that ever stop them in the past from having explosive anger no so they would say well how about this take a cold shower or how about this go on a walk and look at nature or it got deeper as the session went on if you get really really angry and you want to actually hit something here's what I want you to do I want you to have a special pillow that you use for punching so they told these people that what you want to do is assign to yourself a special pillow maybe you can draw pictures on it maybe you can staple a picture of the offender onto it and you could just beat the pillow rather than the person so what they would try to do is modify the behavior but never deal with what never deal with the hearts or you had a person that was lonely they had sessions on how to deal with loneliness and they would say if you're really really lonely here's what you do there's all kinds of fantastic online groups that you can join to have conversations with people and there are great getaways with these people you can pay a small fee and you can go on a cruise with a bunch of strangers let me tell you what that sounds like hell to me totally and they would say things like well get a Facebook account make some new friends if you're dealing with loneliness when you're really lonely rather than going to use the heroin or the alcohol here's what you do go see a movie call an old friends but see here's the problem if your heart is truly according to Jesus the seat of it all and the source of it all here's the thing wherever you go there you are and here's the problem I can see every movie I can talk to old friends and at some point I'm going to lay my head down on the pillow and it's 3:00 a.m. and I am grieved why because I'm lonely why loneliness as a result of the fall God is triune Father Son and Holy Spirit's God has never been lonely from all eternity he has been in infinite bliss and delight and fellowship Father Son and Holy Spirit from all eternity there has never been loneliness in God not a moment not a blip on the map never and God creates us in his in his image the imago Dei if we are the image of God then loneliness is not supposed to be a true part of our experience notwithstanding the fall because what does God give to us in infinite limitless place of joy and delight and fellowship in him here's the thing that's true if you're in Christ there is no such thing as loneliness truly because the depth of our relationship and intimacy with God is to such a degree that God will never leave me or forsake me I'm in his hand Jesus says and I will never forsake you I'll never lose you you're in my father's hands and you'll never be lost Jesus teaches there's no loneliness for those who truly know Jesus now you might say well I'm a Christian I've struggled with loneliness I would say that's called the need for sanctification and to trust the Word of God and not your own feelings and emotions and not your own inner monologue because what God says about himself is true whether you like it or not whether you feel like it or not but see what does the world do the world says here's how you deal with it modify the behavior fix the behavior punch a pillow take a cold shower take a pill make a friend and here's the problem that'll never curb self-indulgence it'll never change you what what does well you have to think about your condition my condition Jesus says it's the hearts he says other things too by the way he says this is powerful and it goes with our catechism he says whoever commits sin is a slave of sin so we're slaves to our sin but then he gives the promise of this but if the son sets you free you shall what be free indeed so we're its slaves to our sin we're Ephesians two dead in our sins and trespasses we are a core Romans chapter eight in the flesh unable to please gone unable to submit to his law so we are in such a place that we are completely and totally lost and unable to save ourselves or to transform ourselves what's the Bible say about our condition it says can a leopard change its spots the answer is what no Jeremiah 17:9 talks about the depth of our hearts and it says this the heart is deceitful above all things in some translations I like to say sick beyond cure who can know it the condition of the heart is what's wrong and Jesus points to it constantly so if our condition has fallen corrupt broken alienated from God hostile dead in our sins and trespasses what's the hope the hope is promise long before Jesus walks on the earth in his earthly ministry he says this in Ezekiel 36 just mark it down it's one of our life verses at apology a church couple verses you'll learn an apologia after being here for a little while romans 1 for sure he's equal 36 and pretty much the entire book of Romans we like that right but he's equally 6 God says this long before Jesus comes he says that he's going to do something new and new in the new covenant he says not for your sake he says but for the sake of my name he says that you've profaned among all the nations I'm gonna act and it's not for your sake it's for the sake of my name and he says this I will sprinkle clean water on you and you'll be cleansed he says that's watch I will cleanse you from all your idols I will cleanse you from all your idols he says I will remove the heart of stone that's within you and I'll give you a heart of flesh so where there was a heart that was hard to God God says I'll give you a heart of flesh that is malleable it's moldable it's soft towards God and here's the beautiful thing for those who are in Christ he says with that new hearts I'll put my spirit with in them and I will cause them to observe my statutes hi like that you see I often got in trouble as a pastor at this hospital I did I got in trouble a lot I was in the principal's office quite a bit they had a Christian program they had a secular program in my program was constantly colliding with their program and what they were saying and I would oftentimes say to these people who were in there for the Christian program who had turned from sin and come to Christ I would say right now you want to grow in this beautiful thing of delighting in God you want to get to know him grow in intimacy in obedience to God and I said what's more important than your a a groups or your intensive outpatient programs what's more important is this that you walk with God daily you surround yourself with God's people who can love you and keep you accountable and encourage you and speak the Word of God into your life and it's more important than all of your medical groups and AAA groups and aah-aah a groups and NA groups and all the rest and then I get called to the principal's office and they would say pastor Jeff you you can't go around telling people that Jesus is the only way to God and you can't go around telling people that their their commitment to going to church with God's people is more important than a a you can't do that and my response was well fire me and they were say well no we don't to fire you the program is doing well it was making a lot of money in it say we don't want to fire you just please tone down the language and I would say well you hired a Christian pastor and I'm gonna make a Christian pastor and so I won't do that and I said if you'd like to you can fire me they said we'll see you next week pastor Jeff and so what would happen is I would say to people this I am not ashamed at all that what I'm saying to you is entirely supernatural and miraculous I'm not ashamed of the fact that what I'm saying to you goes against what you are taught here and elsewhere in the world that what watch what has to happen in you is something that you can't manipulate and control what has to happen in you has to be an act of divine grace and divine will what happens in you must be miraculous or it's fraudulent it's fake and you want to know the proof of it when we're talking about behavior modification and all the stuff addictions sexual morality anger evil thoughts all this stuff they used to say in those groups to people you will never not be an addict you will never ever stop being a drug addict and this is why when you're in the group you must stand up and say hi my name is Bob and I'm a alcoholic or I'm a pill addict why because they wanted you to stand up according to their program and say that your identity is forever locked in the addict so you must stand up stay straight and identify so what I got in trouble with is I would tell people that if you've turned from your sin to trust in Christ you have a new identity and the Spirit of God lives within you and though yes you still need to be changed and drawn into a deeper relationship of intimacy and obedience to God if you're in Jesus by faith you are alive from the dead and a lot of trouble for that and it never ended they would stand up in the group and they would say hi I'm I'm so-and-so and I'm forgiven in Jesus because you see they were taught according to scripture not according to the world system they were taught that the foundation of my being changed in my heart new is something that exists solely outside of my will and power it's something done by God and not I me and that I have a new identity in Jesus and God sees me a new relationship with him I am forgiven I am NOT lost I am a son I am no longer an enemy of God I am a child of God no longer a child of wrath that's what the Bible teaches us and so I want to point you to attacks in terms of how do I change if our condition is totally fallen and God promises a new hearts then certain things must be true of me and I will live now on the basis of that and I want to show it to you in Scripture so you can see from a biblical perspective how does change happen how does my heart which Jesus says is the source of all this evil how does it get worked on and made new go to Colossians chapter 2 first Colossians chapter 2 now I want to point you I'm actually when I focus on Colossians 3 here but I want you to see Colossians chapter 2 the very end so look what the Apostle Paul says about how the world deals with change behavior modification nothing's changed what is cleese EST say it says there's nothing new what Under the Sun just repackaged things all the same this is the first century Paul is dealing with people who would think that you can change and curb self-indulgence through discipline and behavior modification here's what he says in verse 20 of chapter 2 if with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world why as if you were still alive in the world do you submit to regulations do not handle do not taste do not touch referring to things that all perish as they are used according to human precepts and teachings these have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body but they listen are listen of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh some translations you might have in your hands right now says they have no value in curbing self-indulgence what's that saying watch the first century very much like today just repackaged they had people that were teaching you can essentially beat your body into submission to be more spiritual and to be changed into curb self-indulgence you have people we know right you know in history people that have separated themselves from society even they've become monks right what's that saying right evil is over there so in order to actually combat that evil and not embrace it I need to be over here I'll I'll separate myself I won't handle I want touch I won't taste I saw that all the time in the hospital here's how you're gonna get out of this you're never not going to be an addict they would say this ready all the time all the time fake it until you make it right what's that now you heard me say this I don't want to use the word hypocrite to wound you but just to tell the truth about the situation if you're putting on a mask and faking it it's not real relationship with God it's not real change there's no real transformation there and so they would tell people and it's all over the world system they say this fake it until you make it what's that mean be a hypocrites don't be honest with yourself and what's truly going on inside of you fake it until you make it until it looks like you're no longer that although you're always going to be that fake it until you make it what's that mean beat yourself up discipline yourself work on behavior modification don't touch don't taste don't smell don't go there and then you'll be able to stop what's going on in your heart and here's what Paul says to that it doesn't work for all of you guys listen for everybody in this room that's frustrated with all the ways that you've tried to change yourself all the ways that you try to beat your body into submission your body into submission all the ways that that failed in the past here's good news in Christ there is new life and a new heart and a new identity that is the foundation of everything that happens after this this is the good news Paul says this chapter 3 verse 1 if then you have been raised with Christ seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God set your minds on things that are above not on things that are on earth for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God when Christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory so watch when I said I'm not ashamed to admit that my my claim is that what happens in us is wholly supernatural and miraculous I mean that on the basis of Colossians Paul says this will never curb self-indulgence it will never touch it it'll never work its way into the recesses of your heart it'll never get there here's how it works if you've been raised up with Christ then you are seated with him in the heavenly places and if you say to me Jeff explain to me what that means I don't know and what I mean by that is not that I can't fathom it or explain it to you logically and put a picture to it what I mean is it's incomprehensible to have so great a salvation that according to God he sees me as fully identified with Jesus in such a way that I am seated with him that's madness from a human perspective that God sees me as so new with such a new identity that I am now formed into Christ in such a way that I am with him seated and my life Paul says is hidden with Christ in God so watch the way that according to the Bible our heart is worked on it's this god rips it out he takes it out and he puts a new one there and he takes somebody who is hostile to him enemy to him dead unable to work and move and cooperate and he breathes life into that death and he takes that person and he joins them to his son so that Jesus death I am joined to so that my life of sin and depravity and hostility is nailed to a cross so that there's an old self that's nailed to a cross and I am raised with Jesus in a new way and I am made a new creature so Paul says put to death therefore what is earthly in you and notice what he noticed what he talks about because Jesus talks about it as well in Matthew 15 what is it sexual immorality impurity passion evil desire and covetousness which is what idolatry so Paul says this here's the foundation of it it's the only way it works this is it this is Christianity 101 it's the only way they'll ever work you can write a book supposing it won't be biblical it doesn't matter it's the only way you changed only way you change you are either in Christ with the new identity turn from sin to trust in Jesus and God does the raising up or you're still dead your heart still fallen your desires still fallen and you are hopeless in the world and yeah you might be able to have some behavior modification and change discipline and you might look like a clean cup on the outside but you'll never be changed amid never new without Jesus there's only one way to transformation according to God and that is you must be joined to Christ in his death and resurrection and raised in newness of life and so Paul says this watch if that's is the foundation if you're there as a Christian dead to sin alive to God Paul says this therefore only if that's true therefore put to death what is earthly within you now watch this how could you ever want to do that how could you ever say to a person who say is addicted to pornography put it to death here's the problem you can't put something to death that your heart still loves and longs for you can tell a person say who's addicted to alcohol who's a drunk put the alcohol to death you can't do that why because my heart is still sold out for it you can't tell a person who loves their idols to put them to death why because their passions are still sold out for those idols but the truth is watch if you've been made alive and new and you have a new heart and new affections God has placed within you Jeremiah 31:31 his law and what does this law say is the first commandment I hope we know it you shall have what no other gods before me so if God's laws penetrated my inward parts now and I've been made alive by God by His grace then my longing in my heart is for God and not the idol which means now there will be a war within a love for God a hatred for my idols and that can only happen in Christ with an old man and old woman crucified to Jesus and alive now with him so watch how do you put something to death how do you mortify this thing how do you kill it how do you put it to death only if you've been raised with Christ so watch here's that here's the rub of the whole thing watch if you struggle with sin in terms of still longing for your idols still longing for those things and your passions and desires are not really changed that here's the answer ready I have no tips for you I have no help in terms of behavior modification because it'll never curb your self-indulgence if your passions and desires are still towards those things sold out for them I'm not talking about struggling with them and hating and that's a Christian experience but if they're sold out for them I don't have any tips for behavior modification this is my this is my call to you repent and believe the gospel turn to Jesus and faith be joined to him in his death and resurrection because then and only then will you have new heart and new affections but here's to the Christians then now have this war within them right it wasn't there before you would love God you want to worship Him and know him you hate the idols now because you've tasted and seen you've experienced God you know him and you long for him above the idols but there are times where there's a conflict and brothers and sisters watch this you know that you're in Christ when there is a conflict if there's no conflict then Christ isn't there if there's a conflict it means now you have new affections new desires and now you're making war with the old self and God is transforming you from within but how do you put it to death I remember that I don't want to talk a lot about myself but I think this is relevant in terms of how I can see how this has blessed my life after my addiction to drugs and alcohol there was a really hard period of like six months or a year where I really struggled intensely where it's such a weird thing like I had this longing for God and love for God and I'm just pouring over the Bible and I'm listening to worship music and I'm literally pulling my car over to worship God and I'm just thanking him because I'm freed from all this stuff but I also had moments where I'd passed by the old stomping grounds and I would start to just really deal with this grief like just grief over the thoughts the memories and stuff like thoughts even conflicting like they eventually go back one more time and I've I'd be in tears and why did I think that I don't want that anymore I have old friends you know calling my house showing up knocking trying to get me to go back out into that life with them and what I did was put it to death when they showed up at my door I didn't answer and that was hard one of these people was somebody that I grew up with he was like my closest friend growing up and to not answer the phone or answer the door when he called was a pretty big deal it was traumatizing to both me and my wife to let go of these relationships and never even to call so shortly after I had turned from my sin to Christ I remember that I felt really grieved because one of these relationships with the person that was still using those related relationship was broken and it hurt because I loved him and so I remember that one day I think is about three months after I turned from sin to Christ I decided I'm gonna play this safe and I'm gonna go to his house just when the Sun is still up couldn't be using then I'll go to his house just to say hey I love you I care about you I'm not trying to like hate you and just leave our friendship but I just can't do this anymore so I thought I'll go like on a Thursday when it's super safe the Sun is still up and I showed up at his house I knock on the door and he shows up to the door and he's using and so I'm just there to tell you hey I don't want to do this anymore I'm not gonna do this anymore I've turned my life to God and I just want to know that I love you and I did I just can't I can't be I can't hang out with you anymore and so after a few minutes of them begging me to come into the house I collapsed I came in and I'm telling myself no I can do it I can fight against this I can war against this and I'm hating every second of this and then they open their hands and presented a pill and I'm telling him no no no and next thing you know I took the pill and I remember that I hated it from when I walked in the house to the moment I dropped that pill and let me tell you what they got more gospel the next five hours than they expected I saw it for what it was because I had tasted and seen my heart was new I had fallen into this sin and I saw it for the lie that it was it was false pleasure it was false intimacy this thing it was a lie and I'm preaching to him to the point where I'm preaching the gospel to them and telling them this is all fake it's alive from the devil this isn't real pleasure this isn't even real joy that they were like shut up they couldn't take it they didn't want me around anymore and so what I learned was after that repentance you must put it to death putting something to death does not mean for instance Jesus says if your eye causes you to sin pluck it out and throw it from you or if your hand causes you to sin cut it off and throw it from you it does not mean scratching your eyeball or rubbing a butter knife against your wrist that's typical false repentance pretending like I'm grieved over something but not willing to do the hard thing of putting it to death throwing it from me and so Paul says this all these things if you're in Christ and you're alive new hearts put to death what is earthly within you and what does it look like for us we can't delude ourselves into believing listen that we could take fire into our chests and not be burned by it that's in the Proverbs by the way that's not me can a man take fire into his bosom and not be burned by it the answer is what No what else does the Bible say it says bad company corrupts good morals do I truly believe that I can hang out with the old crowd and be immersed in the old life and not be affected by it the answer is No if I'm not putting the old life to death then it's going to return and so when you consider the things that you struggle with as a believer with a new heart to these conflicted things that happen within us can I ask you this this the passions that you have for that thing how we're sold out for it at times why do you hate it something JC Rael wrote about in his book holiness that convicts me to this day and I want you to hear it please listen it's it's big it's challenged me for a long time I'd very few things you know someone wrote and you go that just changed my whole life he wrote in his book holiness something to the effect of why do you not do the things of the old life do you as a Christian not do it not behave in that way not go to those places not do that thing do you have you stopped doing it because truly in your heart your heart is broken and grieved that it offends God in private or watch do you not engage in that sin and do that thing because you don't want the consequences around you right like have you stopped using drugs and alcohol because of what you saw that it did to your family because I'll tell you right now yes we ought to be concerned with that but from a Christian perspective of relationship with God if you're not using drugs and alcohol because of what it does to your family and not primarily because it offends God and it's idolatry it is not true it is not real it is not a righteous affection its peripheral it's on the outside so ask yourself the question are you not engaging in the old life because you don't want to get caught like when you think about that thing that behavior do you not engage in it do you not do it because you think about my wife we'll find out my church will find out my friend will find out because that's not a pure affection the central place of why we turn away from these things is not because of the consequence not because the personal relationship it is it is truly fundamentally because God God and if that's not the primary affection then my brothers and sisters I want to ask you to please in this moment repent before God and cling to Jesus if my affections are unaltered but I profess Jesus I'm a fraud I'm a hypocrite if my affections are unaltered and I don't live the old life anymore because of any other reason than God I'm a fraud I'm a hypocrite brothers and sisters the foundation of our hope and heart change is Jesus and our union with him and so my call to you is of course to repent turn from sin and come to Christ for life trust in him and his work alone for forgiveness and salvation and in Christ you are alive from the dead so put to death the old life and the earthly things within you but brothers and sisters the only way to truly put it to death is if the heart has changed the only way the heart has changed through is through a relationship with Jesus through faith and what he's done so you have to consider the foundation and if you truly know yes Jeff I'm in Christ yes my heart is new yes I hate my sin yes I have eternal life I want to put it to death and brothers and sisters I want to encourage you don't box it don't wrestle it kill it when an enemy walks into your home to destroy you and your family you don't tackle them at the ankles you do what's necessary to put an enemy to death if this enemy seeks your life your family's life and all that is good around you then you do what is necessary to destroy the enemy and can I ask you in Christ with new affections in Jesus have you truly been putting that to death how do you confess it to others other believers you can trust that you love they'll keep you accountable have you been honest with it do you still keep a connection to it right you still have it within reach or you still have opportunity to go is there a person in your life who's drawing you away from Jesus what's Jesus say final word here this is it he says if anyone comes to me and does not hate father mother and there's naming everybody you love the most and he says even your own life you're not worthy to be my disciple he says watch don't come it's better that you don't it's better that you don't pretend he says don't come and so when you think about the things that leads you off to the old life when you have new affections and that connection to the old life because you've been made new and Paul says put off the old man and put on Christ put on his Grace's all of his graces Colossians 3 the things that are the antithesis of those passions put on Christ and his Grace's and that's how we're changed let's pray

Channel: Apologia Studios

Views: 58,467

Rating: 4.8916779 out of 5

Keywords: jeff durbin, apologia church, apologia studios, self help program, alcoholics anonymous, the big book, overcoming addiction, drug addiction, shocking youth sermon, paul washer sermon, t.d. jakes sermon, steven anderson sermon, john macarthur sermon, r.c. sproul sermon, james white debate, matt chandler sermon, mark driscoll sermon, tim keller justin bieber, tim keller sermon, tim keller, justin bieber, How do I truly change

Id: ymdOixfkVnY

Length: 61min 46sec (3706 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 08 2018