Sermon: “For the Rest of Your Life” by Rick Shabi, Apr 18, 2020

we know we live in a time that is ever ever-changing we've gone through this time where we've heard you are we you know we've been pretty much at a stay at home situation people are working at home so many people have been laid off no one really knows what the effect on the economy is going to be and as we watch the number of coronavirus cases in the country we're told begin to I guess reach the peak and begin to go down we see all of a sudden in the news the last few days this groundswell about opening the country back up again and of course it's come from the White House and it's appropriate some time we have to get back to life as it was before but in some states including I noticed even in Florida so there were protests among people that they want the state back open to get they want to go back to work they don't want to do what they've been doing you know for the last few weeks and you know hats off to the American public for for following the orders that they have and for being willing to stay at home and make the sacrifices in the in the wake of everything that's going on here in a very surprising situation there we have said many times that we will learn a lot of lessons from this time that we're in and probably some down we were down the road we'll talk about some of those lessons that we have learned that that will last us and that we need to keep in the back of our minds as we go forward well we see the country we see the country ready to take action again and and there's a move on how quickly can it happen you know how quickly can the sports arenas fill up again how quickly can the restaurants open again all these things that people want to do they want to go back to their old way of life and it's not so it is kind of maybe coincidental as I think about us coming out of the days of unleavened bread you know we've gone through a days of unleavened bread and a Passover the likes of which none of us have experienced in our lives before it's been a very interesting time I hope a very illuminating time to us to to look into ourselves more to see some of who we are and the things that maybe we need to change going forward and to understand the purpose of these days more and to and to embrace them and to observe them for the purpose of what they are as opposed to maybe some of the physical trappings that go around the physical just the days of unleavened bread and Passover so there's these things that we you know and as we come back out of the days of unleavened bread and as we stop eating the unleavened bread and we begin eating leavened bread again in our homes you know maybe there's that maybe there's that tendency among us to think it's over this time of intense examination this time of intense study this time of intense being with God and focusing on eating the bread of life eating the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth maybe we can relax a little bit and maybe we can kind of just go back to the way it was and we understand these things and we know these things and we might find that we we can become a little axe and as the days pass as the days pass we long to get back to the way things were before and maybe forget some of the lessons that we were in well let's look at Christ's words that we read know during these days of unleavened bread go with me back to John 8 and of John 8 you know just to refresh your memory what's in there it was the woman who was caught in adultery and she had been caught red-handed you remember the story there was no doubt that the law would say she should be stoned and she should be killed but Jesus Christ inter intervened in that situation and he said you know those of you who are without fault you'd be the first one to cast a stone on her and as he wrote in the sand or the dust or whatever he was writing in you know one by one they went away and he asked the lady you know where are your accusers now and she said they're not here and at verse 11 of John 8 he says something that we can use as our theme for today he says neither do i condemn you go and sin no more go and sin no more and if you look in your margin it'll say the majority text would say from now on sin no more you've been forgiven you've been spared I forgive you but go and sin no more don't go back to the way life was before now you have a mission now you know who it is now you know who has forgiven you now you understand these things even more clearly from here on out for the rest of your life go and sin no more no returning to the old way no returning to the old person moving forward for the rest of our lives and that's what he was telling the woman there in John 8 verse 11 and that's what we need to focus on as we emerge from the days of unleavened bread and and and every day of our life go and sin no more don't be the person that you were before whatever fault weakness attitude whatever it is that God showed you language entertainment sin that was revealed to you during these days of unleavened bread in the Passover is you're examined yourself overcome them and sin no more there's a mindset that has to happen if we're going to do this the rest of our lives you know it's very easy to say oh I get it I get it I'm not gonna do that anymore but you know as a week passes in two weeks passes and a month passes and six month passes it's very easy to have that out of our minds and to kind of relax and go back to the way we were before pat ourselves on the back and say hey I'm doing okay I'm doing okay the Christ would say to us remember remember what you've learned and go and don't do that anymore for the rest of your life you know in the world there's so many people you know so many people I US included right that have things that we need to overcome you know we could go down a list of addictions that are all over the world right there's there's alcohol there's drugs there's gambling there's sex there's shopping there's you name it pornography there's there's all sorts of addictions you could you could have a list of mile long of addictions and at some point in time people come to the realization that they cannot do those things anymore and they want to they want to well I can't even talk about criminals right people who end up in jail and they think they're rehabilitated and they'll never do those again but what is the what is the failure rate among those people how many criminals who are released from jail really learned their lesson for the rest of their lives don't return to the life they had before so many get readmitted how many people who are alcoholics have a relapse and maybe go back to that because they let down their guard and they think they've they've made it how many people start weight loss programs and are determined that they're going to do that and then after a month or six months or whatever boom it's right back to the way it was before there's a mindset and the rest of our lives that you and I have been called to because God calls us to the rest of our lives live the way that he's called us to the rest of our lives but as each time we learn or it's brought to our attention a fault or a failure or a weakness that we have to work on that and put that put that away from us you know we talked about overcoming and yes you know the Bible is clear to he who overcomes you know it says over and over and over in Revelation as I talk to the 7 church and to he who overcomes and we've talked about overcoming and we know what we need to do we have to have God's Spirit and we have to we have to make the decision we won't do that anymore and train ourselves that for the rest of our lives we won't do that anymore and catch ourselves and it's a hard thing to do it's a hard thing to do but we must do it if we're going to please God and and live the life that he has called us to so we are talking about overcoming and we certainly talk about repentance because repentance is something that's there you know for those who are listening who are in the process of constantly for baptism you know repentance is something we have to do when God calls us we realize our lives have been lived apart apart from what God wants we may have thought we were very righteous people when we were doing all these other things that when God opens our eyes aren't in the Bible at all we weren't pleasing him at all and when Christ says if you love me keep my Commandments do the things I say follow my example we learned we weren't we weren't it's a bitter pill to swallow but for the rest of our lives once we know we live that way it's the same for all those of us who have been in the church 5 10 15 20 50 years every year there's never a time that we could say nothing more to repent of repentance is something of our past because it happens to the rest of our life as God perfects us and brings to our attention those things that we to work on as each year he gets us closer and closer if we're following him to the purity that he wants us to have the blamelessness that he wants us to have the spiritual maturity that he wants us to have and then when we realized those things and we go through the process it's really for the rest of our lives those things are past us but how do we how do we do that how do we do that how do we know we're on the track how do we you know what is this process of change that we go through that we've all been called to and that's so many I mean I'm everyone in the world too has something they need the change in it's somewhere in their life we need to change yeah maybe it's financial bad habits maybe it's eating bad habits maybe it's from a chronic disease or a terminal disease that you have to have a lifestyle change how do you do it well I want to talk to you today from something that that I you know worked with back at the time when I was employed in the medical field and we ran programs for hospitals and and things and we one of the one of the things that we taught people with chronic ailments as they were coming out of out of some situations that they needed to adopt a lifestyle change for the rest of their lives if they didn't want the recidivism you know it's become one of the revisions were citizens of and recidivism rates of going back to where they were before that they needed to do and there was a man that we came across back in the night in the 90s as we were putting these programs together by the name of James Prochaska and then James Prochaska is an interesting man he's a clinical psychologist today's with the cancer prevention Institute up in the University of Rhode Island but recently he was named as one of the three most influential clinical psychologists of all times and he did an extensive study back back in the I guess 80s and 90s leading up to the time that we were working with with some programs and ended he identified a process of change of people who were able to change for the rest of their life what did they go through what were the stages that they went through and it was a model on you if you're going to change you have to be aware of what you're going through and understand what you're going through and the pressures is going to be on you and so he had he published a book at that time called changing for good but in it he outlined six he outlines six stages of change necessary change in someone's life and I want to talk about those today but I want to talk about him from a biblical sense you know often when I when I look at things and read things I think you know I compared them to what the Bible says and then I think oh the Bible that matches what the Bible says the same processes therefore it must be good therefore we can teach it therefore we can apply it into our lives I want to talk about that today as we go through our change whether we're very new in the church or whether we've been around for a long time and have things that we need to overcome changes that we need to make in our lives so that we're aware of what's going on so let me let me begin with the first stage I'm gonna tell you what he called the stage this but then we'll give the biblical name as well stage one he says is a pre contemplation stage in this stage mister protesta says and by the way the book has so much more information that I'm going to give you today this is just kind of an outline of what it is that you can find on the internet any place as you search but the pre contemplation stage is one that people aren't even really aware that they need to make a change or maybe they're just in denial everything is okay and I don't need to make a change they don't see a solution to their problems they don't even most of the times see the problem they're not aware that what they're doing is contrary to everything that would be good in their life it can be in an aisle or can just be plain ignorance and you know God talks about us with plain ignorance let's go back to acts 17 and we'll call this stage for our purposes the state of ignorance in acts 17 we have Paul giving his sermon if you will at the Areopagus and he's talking to the people assembled there about the unknown God and as we come down to to verse 30 now verse 29 says and as he's talking to them about the idols that they serve he says therefore since we are the offspring of God we all not to think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone something shaped by art and man's devising and you can see where he's going with this he says truly these times of ignorance God overlooked but now commands all men everywhere to repent there always was a time in our life that all of us have been ignorant ignorant of what God's will is ignorant of what God's commands really we're ignorant of what Christ's example was ignorant of the faults the little personal faults and weaknesses that we have the leaders kind of may be going along blissfully and didn't even realize that the things we were doing were harming ourselves though the things we were doing were harming ourselves spiritually or even physically we all have been in that state of ignorance every single one of us not only at the time before we were baptized but in so many other areas of our life there is a time of ignorance and mr. prohaszka says this is a time we're all in understanded and God says he winks at and in the old like the way says it in the old King James God winks at it doesn't mean it was right but he understands that we were ignorant but when we know when we know then it's time then it's time to repent then it's time to turn from the old way and turn to God and start doing things the right way or his way for the rest of our lives now we can we can look at Paul here for a moment because he's a pretty good example of the stages that we're going to talk about let's go back to Paul just a few chapters back in acts back in acts 8 and verse 1 we see the type of man Paul was before he became the Paul we know a totally different man and at that state that he was in he was completely ignorant that he wasn't serving God he thought he was Paul or Saul verse 1 of chapter 8 was consenting to his death talking about Stephen at that time the great persecution rose against the church was a which was at Jerusalem and they all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles and devout men carried Stevens who is burial and made great lamentation over him as for Saul he made havoc of the church entering every house and dragging off men and women committing them to prison totally ignorant of what he was doing and that it was not what God's will was October 2 chapter 9 verse 1 then Saul still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogue's of Damascus so that if he found any who were of the way whether men are women he might bring them bound to Jerusalem hey it's not enough to do this around Jerusalem I'm gonna go out and search these people out wherever they are as he journeyed as he journeyed he came near Damascus and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven he thought he was doing God's will and then a light shone on him now his light was a very bright light it caught their attention but you know what in every single one of our lives a light shone at some time and we knew we knew and we came across something when God opened our minds oh I'm not serving God the way he wants to be served I'm not worshiping the way he says to worship Him now that would be before baptism but even as we go through life whether or no longer how long we've been in the church at some point we could be milling merrily along and thinking everything is fine and then all of a sudden boom the little spotlights comes down and someone says something to us or or we have someone make a comment about something that we do or the way we act or the way we talk or the way we present ourselves or some weakness or whatever it is it could come from spouse it can come from children it can come from friends that can come from co-workers and a light shines and all of a sudden it's like oh oh there's something there we were ignorant other before but at some point and all through our lives God lets that light shine as it did for Paul and as that happens we move for the pre contemplation or the state of ignorance into the next stage that mr. prohaszka lists and that is the stage of that is the stage of contemplation now we have something to think about now we have to something that oh there's there's something in my life there's something here I need to think about says I wrote down here in this stage you begin to see there's a problem and there's a solution out there somewhere you begin to look at things in a new way you look at your life see where you've been begin to see what's been done wrong and you might find that you are unsatisfied with well the way that you've been living you begin to contemplate that things need to change because all of a sudden this light has gone on as we see in X 9 verse 3 and we begin to see oh that's not that's not what I'm supposed to be something happens to move people from stage one to stage two has happened to all of us and it so happened to all of us many times in our life and I hope as God is still working with us that has happened to us even during these past days of unleavened bread and the time leading up to Passover this guide has shown us some things that we need to work on and things that we may be look at our in our lives in just a little bit different way than we think you know there's a verse you can mark it down in 1st Corinthians 10 and verse 12 for those of us who have been in the church for a while you know it says it says if any of you thinks he stand stands take heed take heed lest you fall and you know what there's a danger with all of us who have been in the church for awhile saying you know what I do everything I do everything I keep the Sabbath day i tithe I go to the holy days I make my offerings I don't use foul language I'm not you know I study the Bible I pray we can kind of we can find of you know maybe you get a little proud of ourselves and and let things happen and that can put us in that state of ignorance now when we hear someone say something to us we think not me not me we always have to be aware because there will be something that takes us and Chinese that light on us and shows us something that is the dark part of us that needs to be changed when those lights shine we have to think about it for a while you know Paul had very very expedited calling if you will here in acts 9 for some of us it takes some time to think about those things and we remember when we were coming into the church it's like yeah I do need to be keeping that Sabbath day yeah I do need to not be working on the Sabbath day yeah I don't need to be keeping Christmas and Easter all those things don't happen like immediately that way for some do some just stop it immediately but for some it takes some time to think and work through it and that's what this contemplation stage is for if we will go forward here in acts 9 you know as we read through we see Paul you know going about his business in a state of ignorance boom the light shines in verse 3 and then look what happens to him look what happens to him he fell to the ground and he heard a voice saying to him Saul why are you persecuting me and Paul said who are you Lord and the Lord said I'm Jesus whom you are persecuting it's hard for you to kick against the goads so Paul Wow the light has shone on he's got it now it's like whoa this is Jesus Christ speaking to me so he trembling and astonished said Lord what do you want me to do the light is in a there's something I'm not doing right I've got to think about this so I just been told what I'm doing is not in accordance with God's will or the word of truth that we have in front of us the Lord said to him arise and go into the city and you will be told what you must do and the men who journeyed with him stood speechless hearing a voice but seeing no one so Saul rose from the ground and when his eyes were opened he saw no one but they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus and he was there three days without sight and neither ate nor drank now he was in a contemplation stage during that time there was no distractions for Paul during that time the light shine shone on him he knew something needed to change and for three days three days he contemplated we see that he was praying you know as he was doing that thing he was in total darkness he was thinking about what had Gus going on with him it's the way that we have to think about things that go on with us when we come to realization and and kind of put things together and someone tells us something about something about us you know if we've been in the church for a while it's like you're so we actually just know that's not me that's not a problem but then we think about it and then the light begins a little bit clearer and clearer and you think back to situations like and that is me when I think about it that is what I do that is how I am that is something that I haven't seen in my life and you as you come to it you've got to come to that realization and that's what happens during this stage we have to think you know and people who are counseling for baptism you know so many times you know I guess churches in the world will just baptize you immediately the emotion hits and so you get baptized that day when this spirit moves you as they say but in the church we say no you've got to take some time to think about it you've got to understand what it is you have to see who you were and who you need to be because you've got to be repentant and understand who you were before that and what needs to change and that can't happen overnight there has to be some kind of contemplation time that goes through all that you know during this time we have choices to make yeah Deuteronomy 30:19 all of a sudden that verse applies to everyone what are you gonna choose God said blessing or cursing life or death the choice is easy when you just lay them out side by side but not so easy when we actually have to start doing the things and make the choice and along with the choice do the things that support that choice and as we go through this contemplation phase changes should happen begin to happen in our life as the realization sets in let's go back to Luke and see what those changes with the Bible you know says those changes that we see are called in Luke three we have John the Baptist he's preaching a gospel of repentance and he's down and he's baptizing people a lot of people so let's look at verse seven Luke three verse seven he said to the multitude John the Baptist did that came out to be baptized by him brood of vipers who warned you to flee from the wrath to come now him baptized many of them and it says in Matthew they confess their sins right so John could see they were repentant they recognized the truth but then he would see these other people coming it's like well who are you what are you doing here to be baptized for and he says in verse 8 therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance if you say you have you understand that if you spake in the time to contemplate if you recognize that you need to change there should be changes in your life there should be some fruits of repentance because you do things differently when you contemplate it as you go through that stage and you realize what's right you make changes in your life as you recognize what is right and what isn't therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance and don't begin to say to yourselves we have Abraham as our Father for I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones don't just pat your back on the pat yourself on the back and say I grew up in the church or I do this or I do that fruits worthy of repentance the contemplation stage some of those things begin to emerge as we understand we have a financial bad habit or a health bad habit and we get it we make changes we don't just continue with the same things because as we get it we need to change and that's what Paul is or this is what John is saying here and so the people verse 10 asked him saying well what do we do what are you talking about John what are you looking for and he said to them he who has two tunics let him give to one who him who has none and he who has food let him do likewise I want to see that you have love for one and I want to see that beginning to emerge not the selfishness that was always there not the self-centeredness that was always there not doing things the way you always did but beginning to change as you get it the tax collectors came to him to be baptized and they said that's him well what do we do and he said do your job but do it honestly you know the whole society around you may be doing it this way you go out and you do your job but just collect what is owed to you don't pat it to get more for yourself even though every other tax collector is doing it and people in the society expect that that's the norm you don't be like that do the job honestly first 14 the soldiers asked him saying well what do we do and he said to them don't intimidate anyone are accused falsely and be content with your wages whatever you're doing do your job be honest with them don't look to make you know don't play politics and say if I accuse this person or that person to be content with what you have as we you know talk about and we talked about contentment before just do what God says and be content I need to see some changes if you're getting it that has to precede baptism or precede lasting change for the rest of our lives then we need to begin to see some of these things in this time of of contemplation you know Luke 14 we could turn there I guess I guess we should turn there just to read it in verse 28 a principle that we were all talked to before baptism and those who are in that process now or will ever be we'll talk about this in first twenty eight Luke 14 Christ says which of you intending to build a tower doesn't sit down first and count the cost whether he has enough to finish it lest after he has laid the foundation and isn't able to finish all who see it begin to knock mock him saying this man began to build it wasn't able to finish no God doesn't call us for just a short time repentance isn't just a one two or three time thing it's the rest of our life type thing change and changing for the rest of our lives and putting the old out and putting the new in it's for the rest of our lives and God says you know what before you go down this road count the cost it begins in stage two when you're contemplating it and you realize this is the way I need to go this is the way this is where the light is shining and it continues in stage three which is preparation preparation okay now you've made a choice this is the way I need to go now I need to start looking at things because my life has to change or my behavior has to change or the what I do for entertainment has to change if we've been in the church for a while or the language I use has to change or whatever it is that has to change because the light has shown and I've taken the time to contemplate it and not just throw it out and say it's not me because when we say immediately you know we're all prone to do not me there's a little bit of pride there and we have to realize maybe we need to step back and look at ourselves from the way God looks at us so now it's time to prepare ourselves during this stage mr. protoss says people begin to make the final adjustments mentally before they begin to change their behavior for good they start making mental adjustments to the way they think and what we do mentally is so important you know just like what we do at the days of unleavened bread and Passover the physical things we do are important but it's what we do spiritually with those things the mental preparation of the spiritual preparation that we have that really makes the difference and so it is with this preparation time as we go through change okay I get it I see I see it I've contemplated it and now I've got to count the cost for the rest of my life I can't do that anymore or I shouldn't do that anymore for the rest of my life this is how I need to be and I need to build that in easy words to say very difficult to do and often times you know there are people in the world who are able to do some of these things for the rest of their lives but we need God's Spirit to give us the strength and to give us the ability to do that and the cognizance to do it and to catch ourselves when we're about to slink back into our old habits or old ways of doing things and immediately repent and then get up and start moving forward again forward to perfection always keeping in mind that for the rest of their lives we are changing ourselves for good in accordance with what God would have us to do well we mentioned in acts 9 verse 11 I won't turn back to acts 9 right now the paul was praying he was beginning to prepare he had gone through the contemplation page phase and then he was praying and often there's a lot of praying and studying that goes on and a lot of mental preparations you know as we go through our lives because we have to train our minds and it's of course God's Spirit that gives us a sound mind but we see this and we've talked about preparing our heart before you know you can go back and somewhere on in our archives on the on the web there is a sermon on preparing the heart but let's go back to Daniel and lo it's just a couple things where you know we have to be prepared to do this it's throughout the Bible and the scriptures that we talked about in that scripture but here in Daniel one we see Daniel you know for the rest of his life I mean he went into Babylon for the rest of his life he obeyed God he never yielded the Babylon no matter whether he was active in the government or if he was standing by the wayside and even as a young man as he came over there Daniel 1 verse 8 it says Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the Kings delicacies or the wine which he drank he purposed in his heart he didn't make that decision the day hero arrived in Babylon he made that decision as he was being exiled as he saw Judah falling and as he thought about what he would do and how he would live his life I purpose in my heart I will not I will not eat the Kings delicacies I will not drink the Kings wine I will I just will not become part of that society at that time later in his life we see him doing the same thing and situation back in chapter 10 as these prophecies are coming to him and and he wonders what is going on what do they mean and you remember as Daniel prays in chapters 9 and 10 what do they mean show me what it means and God doesn't answer him immediately in a chapter 10 in verse 12 you know as the angel came to him it says Daniel that was written here he the angel said to me Daniel don't fear Daniel for far for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God your words were heard and I've come because of your words he set his mind to seek God's will he didn't give up when the answer didn't come after one try two times two months three months he waited and he kept it because he set his mind to understand and God watched it and Daniel's mind was that way it's the same way we have to be we have to set our minds set our minds on the goal that God has set before us that's the kingdom but also the purity and what we need to become that whole that whole transition and transformation in our lives that has to become part of our route to the kingdom it has to be marked with change becoming more and more and more like Jesus Christ as each year passes as God shows us this needs to be weeded out this attitude is is wrong this idea is wrong this is a sin this is a fault you need to become more this way whatever it is then we do it and we set our minds and ask God as Daniel did and as we we know Paul did to ask him to create that in us but we have to take that we have to make those decisions to do that as well we have to adjust our lives and it has to be us who drives it God will give us the strength but we have to make we have to make it happen you know prochaska one of the comments he makes about this stage is that those who cut short this stage and don't prepare themselves mentally lower their ultimate chance for lasting success and change preparation is key counting the cost is key setting your mind that this is for the rest of my life is key I'm not going back to that anymore that's the old man that has to be buried that's the old way that has to be buried I have to put in this new man as we read through Colossians 3 this new thing a new way of looking acting behaving eating whatever it is that we have to do and the mind has to be set and it doesn't happen overnight it takes months and months to do that to set your mind is for the rest of my life and that's what must happen if we're going to please God well that's why baptism is an immediate and that's why God has us work in our lives as we go through however many it is from the times that we begin that he shines the light on us and he opens our minds to the time that we die this is the process we go through and over and over again sometimes with major things sometimes with minor things but it's the same process now in stage four then we have the action phase you become mentally prepared you've made it as you've made a choice I'm going to do this from here on out this is my life from here on out during this stage people people overtly modify their behavior and surroundings they make a change and that change is visible to their friends when they make those changes it's a public statement of the change they need to make when we're baptized it's a public statement I choose this way I renounce my old self I renounce my old beliefs I'm following this way for the rest of my life if it's if it's a financial change if it's a job change if it's a what days do we celebrate change there are things that happen or a food change the way we ate the rest of my life this is what's happening no longer keeping these days no longer doing this or that or whatever and people begin to see because there's public statements that we make when we overtly change the way we are now let's go back to acts 9 and see this with Paul again Paul is an expedited case for us it's much longer but the phases continue in that way in acts 9 verse 18 you know Paul has been there he's praying in verse verse 18 you know after Ananias prayed for him in verse 18 it says immediately there fall from there fell from Paul's eyes something like scales and he received his sight at once and he was a row and he arose I was baptized Wow for someone who just days earlier was persecuting people of the way and looking to haul them over to Jerusalem and do whatever he needed to here's someone who's making a public statement he's baptized so when he received food he was strengthened and Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus people he hated before but now that this is who he's hanging out with this is the people that he's hanging out with not his old friends he didn't go back to Jerusalem and say you know I'm gonna hang out with you more he was of a totally different mindset now I'm not gonna be with the same people anymore I'm gonna hang out with these people the disciples at Damascus and immediately what did he do he went and preached Christ in the synagogue's that he is the son of God public statements very public statements it says in verse 21 all who heard were amazed what is Paul doing what's the change that has come over him but look at everything that he did look at all that he's done he's now got a new group of people that he's associating with because they believe the same way that he does you know first Corinthians 15:33 says you know corrupt company or evil company corrupts good habits and as we as we come into the church if we go back if at the time you know what the people we want to hang out with we're not the people that we used to hang out with right I mean now we wanted or we were now we wanted to be with people of like mine now we were a people of a new family we wanted to be with people who saw things and understood and believed things the way that we did that God opened our minds to do that's what Paul did we've made statements to our friends maybe we went to our boss and said I'm not working on Sabbath's anymore I'm not going to that Christmas party this year I need to have this day off and these days off for the Feast of Tabernacles because it's God's will and whatever you do to me I'm still gonna do God's will Oh statements that we make putting on the new man doing those actions that become very public as people look around us let's go back to Psalm Psalm 1:19 for a moment you know last year in the home Bible studies that we did last winter we talked about Psalm 19 a little bit and I mentioned that you know this wouldn't be a bad Bible study for everyone to go back through and look at the various stanzas that are here in psalm 119 because they're different messages in each one of those stanzas as as David talks about God's law and what a benefit it is to him so let's look at but one of the stanzas here beginning in verse 57 of psalm 119 and I think in these these these eight verses here one two three four five six seven eight verses that we have from 57 to 64 we see some of the things we've talked about already verse 57 you are my portion Oh eternal I have said that I would keep your words this is my statement to you I will keep your words I entreated your favor with my whole heart be merciful to me according to your word I thought about my ways I contemplated them I thought about my ways and I turned my feet to your testimonies I thought about me I thought about the way I do things and you know what I made the decision to turn to you I made haste I didn't delay when I knew what I needed to do I did it because I knew it was the right thing to do I did not delay to keep your Commandments oh the chords of the wicked have bound me you know one of the things we'll see and one things that happen to us the people that we hang out what they're gonna Kylie want to have us to go back to the way we were before our old friends will say it's not that bad there's nothing wrong with doing that or this it's all innocence the chords of the wicked have bound me but I haven't forgotten your law it's with me forever at midnight I will rise to give thanks to you because of your righteous judgment verse 63 I'm a companion of all who fear you and of those who keep your precepts they're my family they're my friends I am a companion if any of them that's my group now as in birds of a feather flock together and so it is as we make those outward statements of who we are and what we're doing there's new ways sometimes there's new surroundings sometimes there's new jobs that we go to I know when I was baptized where I was working it got to the point where I just didn't feel that I should be there anymore but I let it put in God's hands and he opened up an opportunity that turned into be one of the best things that could have ever happened to me in my life and I left that never regretted because I learned a lot in the situation I was in at that time in that hospital that stunned me well but I knew it was time to leave but waited for God to open those doors we can do the same thing put it in his hands he will lead us to where he wants us be let's go back to acts acts 9 we read about Paul here in this action phase and the statements that he's making and it took people I by surprise but he wasn't private about it he didn't try to keep it secret in verse 23 of Acts 9 it says not now after many days were passed to Jews his old friends plotted to kill him why did they kill him we don't like we don't like what you're doing now we'll kill you you know Peter talks about this as well back in 1st Peter 4 first Peter 4 and in verse 3 says where we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles when we walked in lewdness lusts drunkenness revelries drinking parties abominable idolatries in regard to these they think it's strange that you don't run with them in the same flood of dissipation and they speak evil of you why do they do that why do they speak evil of you they want you to come back to the way you were and that's part of our mental preparation that no matter what no matter what comes our way we're not going back we're not going back when Christ calls us he says you have to deny self no matter what man will do to you or threaten to do to you follow me he says what can man do to you he can take your life but he can't take your eternal life that's part of the mental preparation no matter what happens to me no matter what is in my on the road that I didn't even count on I won't turn back for the rest of my life I will continue to follow you you know revelation 3 verse 11 it says to the Philadelphian church the church that god says or his called out ones right the ones who he says nothing negative body says you take you take heed and you hold on to your crown no matter what winds are going no matter what thunderstorms may come that way it could be a tornado it can be the biggest hurricane that ever hit the earth you hold on to that crown you don't let something else take it away from you keep your eyes on the one who will deliver you to his kingdom don't give up don't fall back keep on acting so Stage four is action but you know changing for good for the rest of our life doesn't end with action now we look at it spiritually you know some some churches might say it doesn't with action once you're baptized you're completely sealed and we know that that's not the case so I can give you you know Hebrews 10 to look at you know other places as well change for life never ends with action it never ends with action mr. prohaszka says there are two more stages that we need to go through the next one is next one is maintenance maintenance he says maintenance involves being able to successfully avoid any temptations to return to the bad habit people at this stage tend to remind themselves above how much progress they've made people in maintenance constantly constantly are acquiring new skills to deal with life and avoid relapse they are able to anticipate the situations in which a relapse could occur and prepare coping strategies in advance now some of these things as I read them should turn on bells to you right just like God gives us opportunities to strengthen ourselves trials come our way coronavirus things come our way health trials come our way financial trials come our way any other thing that comes our way their opportunities okay I have to I have to develop the strategy to look to God for this they are able to anticipate the situations in which a relapse could occur and prepare coping strategies in advance they remain aware that they what they are striving for is personally worthwhile and meaningful they are patient with themselves and recognize that it often takes a while to let go of old behavior patterns and practice new ones until they become second nature to them even though they may have thoughts of returning to their old bad habits they resist the temprature temptation and stay on track there's a lot of that right maintenance you know how many people if we take a simple program like weight loss how many people fail in the maintenance age they get down to the weight and then they stop doing the things that they need to do they need to keep doing of the rest of their life it's not a three-month program or six-month program it's the rest of your life program if you do it the right way and aren't relying on medicines or whatever else people rely on it's the rest of your life and there's mental adjustments that happen to happen along that way and there has to be reminders along the way to yourself as you change the way you think now I'm gonna add to this something mr. prohaszka doesn't have but we've got to keep God's Spirit in mind in all these things right because without His Holy Spirit we will we will fail all of us would fall away you know I've given the statistic before that someone told me years ago that of all the people who have ever been baptized in the church somewhere around 80 or 90 percent didn't stick with it till the end somewhere in their maintenance phase they fell apart they didn't stick with it to the end and them and Jesus Christ calls this maintenance phase what Matthew 24:13 he who endures to the end that's the maintenance pay phase we've been baptized we're walking along the walk we find these things that we need year-by-year to change in our lives it's the maintenance phase he says endure to the end endure to the end watch what's going on around you don't fall prey to it don't think that you're so you know that you're standing so strong that nothing can knock you over humility has to be a huge a huge part of it let's go let's go to Hebrews 6 Hebrew sex I mentioned Matthew 24 verse thing about 24 verse 13 about enduring to the end but let's look at Hebrews 6 in verse 11 the author here says we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end not the initial flash of energy not the first ten years for the rest of your life that you display that same diligence until the end that you don't become sluggish but imitators who through faith and patience inherit the promises let's go back to Matthew 24 because there are pitfalls along the way we know you know we all have our own personal pitfalls the things that sin that does so easily beset as it says in Hebrews 12 but there are things that we can fall prey to if we're not watching what we're doing if we're not paying attention to the maintenance phase if we're thinking we're okay and nothing can knock us off our perch sure enough something will because certainly with us Satan is looking for any opportunity any opportunity to knock us knock us back Matthew 12 let's look at verse 11 leading up to what or I'm sorry not Matthew 12 Matthew 24 Matthew 24 verse 11 many false prophets will rise up and to say I've meaning many he says leading up to verse 13 but he who endures to the end shall be saved well it would be a false prophet someone with a little different idea that kind of piques your imagination that you think you know a little bit more than what the Bible says whatever it is get off on a little twig as opposed to the trunk of the tree many false prophets will arise up and deceive many he's not talking about to the world here he's talking about you and I who could become prey to this and because lawlessness will abound why do we live in a lawless society today more and more we see lawless is because law this will abound not in the church but in the society we live in the love of many will grow cold and it'll be just like you know what things are going ok I don't need to do that not a problem God's ok with it I'm doing ok God has no issues with me when we start thinking that way is the time we should be really throwing ourselves back into the repentance side repentance stage and looking at ourselves very closely you know Luke 21 verse 34 says don't get caught up with the carousing of the world and the cares of the world that can be very it could be very distracting can't they there's many things that we could do in our lives that can keep us busy and keep us totally away from God and we find our priorities being there instead of where they should be not that there's anything wrong with doing things and we have to live our lives but keeping our focus on who we are and what God has called us to you know back in first Timothy first Timothy Paul you know was prone to all the things the same trials temptations that we are you know every through Romans 6 and 7 and you see that Paul had the same kind of thoughts that we did along the way you know he he he had issues that would come up and he thought man am I even doing what God wants am i am i handling this the right way romans 6 and 7 can be a very encouraging chapter to us as we see someone like Paul struggling with same things that you and I you know struggle with and he comes to the conclusion I can do it through Jesus Christ our Lord it's like he pulls himself up by the bootstraps and says I can do this not by my strength but by the strength that God gives me now where was I going here Oh second Timothy 2nd Timothy 4 second Timothy 4 you know many you can go through and you can read in the Bible so many didn't endure to the end and so many today don't endure to the end that it's a sad thing when we look at the scope if we've been in the church 5060 years look how many didn't endure to the end that we even that we even know the second Timothy 4:7 Paul from all the things that he went through and he went through so much more than you and I did he says I fought the good fight I've finished the race I have kept the faith he endured to the end he endured to the end yes he had God's holy spirit but yes he had all sorts of opportunities to give up just like you and I do but in 1st Corinthians 9 in verse 27 he tells us something that we have to keep in mind as we are in the maintenance phase okay 1st corinthians 9 verse 27 leading up to this he's talking about the race and who the prize goes to the VIC the the the the victor the prize goes to the winner of the race and verse 27 he says but I discipline my body we might add mine to that as well I discipline my mind I discipline my body when I want to give up when I'm tempted to go back when I'm tempted to just enjoy it for a little bit I discipline and say no I engage God's Holy Spirit I ask him to give me the strength and I determine I'm not doing that for the rest of my life I'm not going back there I'm going on to perfection as it says in Hebrews 6 verse 1 the thing that God has called us to I discipline my body and we can add in mind and of course that comes with God's Holy Spirit I discipline notice what he has to do though God will give us the strength but we have to do things I discipline my body and I pistol in my body and bring it into subjection lest when I have preached to others i myself should become disqualified so in this stage of maintenance so many people will relapse right we could probably add a section in on relapse but if people relapse and alcoholism or drug abuse or you know the life that they need to do after they come out of a chronic illness you know they have to they have to have the discipline to pick themselves back up and get on the right track again right and start walking in the right way again I don't want to I don't want to dwell on that because you know many people relapse but it doesn't need to be the end you just get up and get going again and discipline yourself to get back on the horse as they say and ride to the finish line so the six stage you know we endure through maintenance and remember this is a study that that mr. prohaszka did a people who were able to change the rest of their life the stages they went through the sixth stage he says is termination termination in this stage there is zero percent of temptation to engage in problem behaviors and there is 100 percent confidence that one will not return to old behaviors or in our case or depart from the truth 100 percent assurance that that person won't go back to the way they were before and that relapse is not even a possibility of anymore it almost never happens in life and in our life as long as we're breathing it doesn't happen that stage of termination that stage of becoming perfection doesn't happen in our lifetime but it is it is in our future it is on the plan that God has called us to let's go to first Corinthians 15 first Corinthians 15 and verse 50 now this I say brethren Paul writes this resurrection chapter the flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God nor does corruption inherit incorruption behold I tell you a mystery we shall not all sleep but we all shall be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible their life is finished they lived the way of God died with his holy spirit died in Christ they endured to the end all those phases certainly the the big one has to begin our life with guy but all the little ones along the as well when we have to put those things out of our lives that we learn year by year or maybe week by week they endure to the end and they were dead the dead will be raised incorruptible for this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality so when the corruptible has put on incorruption no longer well we're incorruptible bodies we can sin we can relapse we can fall away but when we're dead and it's done the script is written when we're resurrected incorruptible perfect no longer the temptations no longer the things that we have to fight every day and as we put on the armor of God to help us fight the things that we could fall back into in corruption its perfection in the resurrection for those who endure to the end and go through those stages as many times as God would put us through for however major or minor the things that he wants us to change are as he sees our attitude and commitment to become like he wants us to become then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written death is swallowed up in victory and verse 58 Paul says therefore my beloved brethren be steadfast immovable always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord keep working keep your focus keep on for the rest of your life it's what we've been called to it's what God has in mind for us it's the way to the kingdom and if we want to be in his kingdom it's what we must do as we go on to perfection let's keep our focus let's change for good let's be aware of where we are and as we find ourselves maybe feeling weak at times catch ourselves catch ourselves and get our focus back and realize that we must endure to the end the changes that God brings about in us we must keep on doing for the rest of our lives

Channel: United Church of God Orlando

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Length: 62min 29sec (3749 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 18 2020