WHY DO I DO WHAT I DON'T WANT TO DO?
Romans 7:15, 21-25
THE PROBLEM
Romans 7:15–16,18 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 18 For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it.
Mark 14:37 "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."
1. Confusion.
2. Frustration.
3. Defeat and discouragement.
GOD'S PROMISE
John 8:31–32 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Note "set you free".
The secret to personal change is not will power.
Jesus said that the way you break free from a hurt, from a hang up is by knowing the Truth.
Bad beliefs cause bad behavior.
If you want to change the way you act, you have to change the way you believe, the way you think. You've got to have the truth.
Behind every self-defeating behavior is a lie that I'm believing.
Jesus said “ you will know the Truth, the Truth will set you free."
THE PRESCRIPTION
ACKNOWLEDGE THE ROOT OF MY PROBLEM
S-I-N is the problem.
Sin is an attitude that says, "I'm in charge and I don't need God."
1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
To stop defeating myself, I must first stop deceiving myself.
The problem is that too often we have to hit bottom before we admit anything.
The first step to breaking free is to admit it. Not just "I've got a problem but I am the problem
John 8:34 "Everyone who commits sin is its slave!"
BELIEVE that Christ can change me.
Romans 7:24–25 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me fr om this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
You don't have the power to change but God does.
Romans 8:1–2 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
John 14:6 Jesus said "I am the Truth".
COMMIT all I am to Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Cor. 5:17 "When anyone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!"
2 Tim. 1:7 "The Spirit God gives us doesn't make us timid; instead his Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-control."
Stop Trying and Start Trusting.
2 Cor. 3:17 "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."
Happiness is a choice.
You depend on yourself or you depend on God. You live in frustration or you live in freedom.
It doesn't matter where you've been, what matters is the direction your feet are headed right now.
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