We are in a series called Give It Up!  Rick Warren and his church have pointed us toward some truth and Hope and we want to pass it on to you.

 

Ok… you have (or are doing) your inventory from Sunday.  You are sharing it with God and with a trusted friend.

After that, you are ready to move on.  Here is where you need to go:

Voluntarily submit to any and all changes God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects.

 

We all have character defects.  Some of these are must part of our genetics and they have been handed down from generation to generation in our families.  Others are from our life situations.  We have learned behavior from others and picked up ways to handle stress and problems… destructive ways, harmful ways.  We think they help us but in the long run they hurt us deeply.  iF we choose a behavior or reaction long enough, it becomes a habit.  Once it becomes a habit, we are stuck.  Things we never intended to develop in our lives  now become the norm.

 

Once this character defect becomes part of my life, it seems almost impossible to change because it has been with me for so long.  It took me years to develop it and perfect it… and it is not going away overnight.  I know it may not be the best thing for me but deep inside, it is comforting to me.  I might even begin to think it is just who I am.  At this point we confuse the defect with our identity.  

 

It is tough to let go.  Let’s face it.  We keep doing certain things because we like the payoff.  That behavior gives us something we want.  

 

But that is not what God wants.  This step is based on the verse, “Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him … and let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind.”  Rom. 12:1-2.  Transform, change of your mind.  The way we are transformed is by having our minds changed.  

 

Romans 12:  “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”  Transformed.  Renewing of your mind.  Your thoughts are your auto-pilot in life.  If you want to change your life you’ve got to change the way you think.  The Bible says, your thoughts determine your feelings, your feelings determine your actions.  

Here are seven ways you can cooperate with God as He makes you what you have always wanted to be.

 

You should only focus on changing one defect at a time.

Proverbs 17:24: “An intelligent person aims at wise action but a fool starts off in many directions.”

Take your inventory, the one you just finished and shared with God and a trusted friend, and ask God for wisdom.  Ask, “Which defect is most destructive to me right now?”  And perhaps that is the wise place to start.

 

You can only focus for one day at a time.

Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day, our daily bread.”

Not bread for the week… just the day.  One day at a time.  How often have we said, “I promise I will never do that again!”  And days later we are right back to doing it.  It is because we can’t promise more than today.  Focus on today.  It is all you have.  Yesterday is gone.  Tomorrow is not here.  All you have is right now.

 

You must focus on God’s power, not your willpower.

If you had the power, we would not need this discussion.  If you had the power you would have already corrected the problem.

We can do anything with Christ who gives us the strength to do it.  It is not our strength, it is His.

 

You will need to focus on what you want, not on what you are trying to quit.

Philippians 4:8: “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and good, and right.  Think about things that are pure.  Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about.”

If you focus on what you can be and what God wants to be in your life, then you move that way.  Whatever has your attention, has you.  If you say, “I’m not going to think about sex, I’m not going to think about sex…”  What are you thinking about?  Sex.

Memorize verses of God’s truth.  Focus on that!

 

You are going to have to focus on doing good, not feeling good.

Galatians 5:16: “If you’re guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self indulgence.”

Keep doing the right things and eventually your feelings will catch up with you.

 

You are going to have to bring people into your life who are helping you make the positive changes in your life and walk away from the relationships that are hindering you.

The Bible puts it this way, “Bad company corrupts good character.”

 

And finally, to cooperate with God who wants to make changes in your life, focus on making small, daily progress, not perfection.

This is a long process.  You won’t see change quickly.  Keep doing the right things and then, this time next year, look back and see how far you have come!

 

“God who began the good work with you will keep right on helping you grow in His grace until His task within you is finally finished.”  God’s going to do it.