How To Deal With Destructive Habits

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>How To Deal With Destructive Habits</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id356.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Keeping In Touch With Home"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id358.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Partnering With Others"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org"><U>stan@stanbaker.org</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>"How to Deal with Destructive Habits"</B></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, February 16, 2003am</B></div> <bR> <div>      Psalm 1:2 suggests that spiritual maturity can be compared to a strong tree, well-watered and fruitful. With that in mind, here are some timber guidelines.</div> <div> <B>Quality:</B></div> <div> Presidential Timber - Leaps tall buildings with a single bound.</div> <div> Vice-President Timber - Must take running start to leap over tall buildings.</div> <div> Timber - Can leap only over short buildings or medium buildings with no spires.</div> <div> Deadwood - Crashes into building when attempting to jump over them.</div> <div> Toothpick - Cannot recognize buildings at all, much less jump.</div> <div> <B>Initiative:</B></div> <div> Presidential Timber - Is stronger than a locomotive.</div> <div> Vice-President Timber - Is stronger than a bull elephant.</div> <div> Timber - Is stronger than a bull.</div> <div> Deadwood - Shoots the bull.</div> <div> Toothpick - Smells like a bull.</div> <div> <B>Use of Time:</B></div> <div> Presidential Timber - Is faster than a speeding bullet.</div> <div> Vice-President Timber - Is as fast as a speeding bullet.</div> <div> Timber - Not quite so fast as a speeding bullet.</div> <div> Deadwood - Would you believe a slow bullet.</div> <div> Toothpick - Wounds self with bullets attempting to shoot gun.</div> <div> <B>Communication:</B></div> <div> Presidential Timber - Talks with God.</div> <div> Vice-President Timber - Talks with angels.</div> <div> Timber - Talks to himself.</div> <div> Deadwood - Argues with himself.</div> <div> Toothpick - Loses those arguments. </div> <bR> <div>      You don't want to be a "spiritual toothpick." If you are reading this, I assume you have a desire to grow in your relationship with Christ. But maybe you have tried and failed, and tried and failed to deal with specific areas of sinfulness in your life. You realize that sinful habits are by their very nature destructive habits, and you have seen the effects in your life and family. Such areas of sinful behavior might include sexual sin and lust, dishonesty, greed, anger, unkindness, pride, laziness, or selfishness. But you can be different! You can grow and develop in Christ!</div> <div>      How do we grow and get over destructive, sinful habits? Someone has said, "People do not really decide their future . . . they decide their habits and then their habits decide their future." Here are seven steps to dealing with sinful habits from <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Col+3:5-14" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Colossians 3:5-14</U></A> and <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=2Pet+1:3-12" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>2 Peter 1:3-12</U></A>.</div> <bR> <div> <B>1. Identify what is now true of you as a Christian.</B> </div> <div>      This is recognizing who you are and what is true of you in Christ. How we think about ourselves affects our behavior, and thus affects our future. If you think of yourself as a success  or a loser, you will begin to act as a success or a loser (making decisions consistent with being a success  or a loser); and you will find yourself either as  a success  or a loser, whichever one you thought of yourself as.</div> <div>      In Christ, you are a new creation, you have put off the old and put on the new, you are being renewed, and you have been cleansed from your sin! (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Col+3:3-11" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Col 3:3, 7, 9-11</U></A>; <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=2Pet+1:9-11" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>2 Peter 1:9-11</U></A>.) Yes, you still struggle with the temptation to sin, but look at yourself in the light of who you are in Christ!</div> <div>      If you are married, the fact that you are a spouse and are married to a particular person affects what you do. You don't date around like you might have done when you  were younger (you had better not, anyway). As a spouse, your affections are reserved for one person. So it is in our relationship with Christ. Of course, if you are not yet a follower of Jesus Christ, there is no point in trying to change yourself to be worthy of him. Come to him first, confess your sins, and accept his gift of salvation and forgiveness. Check out <A HREF="http://www.evantell.org/question/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.evantell.org/question/"><U>this link</U></A>.</div> <bR> <div> <B>2. Identify and confess specific actions and attitudes that are inconsistent with who you are in Christ.</B></div> <div>      Paul says that because of who we are in Christ, we must put off the old way of life and put on a new way of living that is consistent with who we are in Christ (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Col+3:5-14" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Col 3:5, 7-8, 12-14</U></A>). Peter challenges us to add to our faith character qualities that reflect the reality of our faith in Jesus Christ (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=2Pet+1:5-7" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>2 Pet 1:5-7</U></A>). Evaluate your life according to the Word of God. Do you  have presence of sinful actions and attitudes in your life (what you should "put off")? Is there an absence of doing that which is right (what you should "put on")? Identify those things as specifically as possible and confess them to God. He already knows about them. He wants you to view them the same way he does.</div> <bR> <div> <B>3. Consider yourself dead to sin. </B></div> <div>      This phrase comes right out of Paul's words in Romans 6:11: "in the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." In Romans 6:2, Paul said, "we died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" Even though you still struggle with sin and the temptation to sin, you are no longer a slave to sin. You are free in Christ to do that which pleases Christ. Therefore, Paul challenges us to "put to death" and "put away" sinful behaviors and attitudes (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Col+3:5-8" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Col 3:5, 8</U></A>). When someone is so offended by someone else that he says to him, "you are dead to me," it means that he will treat him as though he doesn't exist any longer. In the same way, we are to consider ourselves dead to sin. Sin does not possess the same power over us that it once did, before we trusted Christ. We must no longer consider ourselves victims of and slaves to sin, but us people who are free in Christ to do the will of Christ through his power.</div> <bR> <div> <B>4. Put on right actions gradually. </B></div> <div>      When someone gets a makeover, they get new clothes. Spiritually, we are to "clothe ourselves" with new clothe (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Col+3:12" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Col 3:12</U></A>). 2 Peter 1:5-8 challenges us to <I>add</I> character qualities to our lives in <I>increasing</I> measure.  We are to gradually, progressively, and continually be growing in Christ. We are to replace wrong actions and attitudes with right actions and attitudes (put off and put on - don't stay naked!). 1 Timothy 6:11 shows this replacement process. Paul challenges Timothy: "But you, man of God, <I>flee </I>from all this [the love of money and the evil that results from it], and <I>pursue </I>righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness." We are not just to flee the wrong, we are to pursue the right.</div> <bR> <div> <B>5. Be diligent with your best efforts.</B> </div> <div>      <A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=2Pet+1:5-10" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>2 Peter 1:5, 10</U></A> challenges us to "make every effort" and to be eager, diligent and disciplined in the process of growth. We all have to start somewhere, regardless of whatever failures we have experienced. Begin with small victories. Be diligent to guard your influences. Keep going back through this process. During the church service, I demonstrated my lack of skills on playing the guitar. I don't know how to play an E chord or an A chord. I could have stayed all afternoon, <I>trying</I> to play the guitar and make it sound good. I would have failed. Trying hard is not the answer; training, learning, growing, and developing is the answer. While I fail as a guitar player today, with a little training, guidance, learning, and lots of practice, I would be able to play. The same is true of dieting and exercise, of education, of learning any new skill. Success is found through learning and practicing the basics, one step at a time; then learning and practicing some more, one step at a time. The same is true for your spiritual life. Are you willing to put forth the effort in the training process? Growth will not happen without it.</div> <bR> <div> <B>6. Partner with Christ, through the Holy Spirit.</B></div> <div>      Of course, growth will not happen without God's help. Give yourself to God, prior to or in moment of temptation. Consciously pray and offer yourself to God to be empowered by him to do his will (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=Rom+6:13" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>Romans 6:13</U></A>). Recognize your resources in Christ (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=2Pet+1:3-8" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>2 Peter 1:3, 8</U></A>). He has all the power you need. Jesus said in John 15:4-5, "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." Philippians 2:13 says, "For God is working in you, giving you the <I>desire</I> to obey him and the <I>power</I> to do what pleases him" (NLT). You cannot grow in Christ apart from Christ and his power at work in your life. Depend on him, even while you put forth effort.</div> <bR> <div> <B>7. Recognize the need for reminders.</B> </div> <div>      We need repeated exposure to the truth of God's word (<A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=2Pet+1:12" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U>2 Peter 1:12</U></A>). Hearing it once is not enough. Keep being reminded of the truth. It is through repeated exposure to ideas that we are influenced by them in our values and behavior.</div> <bR> <div>      Next week, we will discuss another essential. It is the need for community. It is the need for people working together and helping each other toward the same goal. You cannot grow spiritually without help from others on the same path.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2003, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>