Detoxing Your Life

DETOXING YOUR LIFE

Isa. 6:1-7

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR: SMART PILLS

1. Feeling listless, a woman bought some expensive "brain-stimulating" pills at the health food store. But it wasn't until she got home that she read the label.

2. He complained to her husband, "This is just rosemary extract! I can't believe I spent all that money for something that I have growing wild in my own yard!" "See?" said her husband, "You're smarter already!"

B. THESIS

1. In our society we often see signs which warn of dangerous hazards. We see signs with distinctive warnings on them: Biohazards, Radiation danger, Flammable Chemicals, High Voltage, Health Hazards, and Poison danger.

2. If we are exposed too long to any of these it can be toxic to our bodies. There are many other types of things that are SPIRITUALLY TOXIC to us.

3. So we’re looking tonight at the topic, “Detoxing Your Life.”

I. WHAT IS DETOXING?

A. DEFINITIONS

1. TOXIC definition: 1). poisonous: 2). unpleasant or unacceptable: 3). causing you harm and unhappiness. 4). It can describe harmful habits, relationships, or even the environment around us that creates negativity and stress. A “toxic relationship” is one that causes emotional pain and distress, often characterized by manipulation, drama, and a lack of respect for boundaries.

2. TO DETOX [-IFICATION] – is the process by which toxins are reduced until they are removed from the body/life.

B. EXAMPLE OF THE ENEMY WORKING

1. WHELK – a little ocean creature that attacks oysters. Their nickname is called “oyster drills.” This small mollusk lands on top of the oyster shell and drills a small hole in the shell. Through the small hole the whelk slowly devours the entire oyster. Little by little, the oyster’s body is ravaged by the Whelk.

2. That’s what the devil does. He attacks you, drills into your mind, spirit, or emotions – and begins to suck all the joy and peace out of your life. He sucks out your confidence, your courage, your hope. The enemy will drill down and set up a stronghold in your mind.

C. AN EXAMPLE IN MY LIFE

1. I used to watch a lot of horror movies. As a result, my imagination could conjure up the most terrifying monsters that troubled me when it was dark or I was alone. After I got saved, I figured out that if I quit watching horror movies, my fears would melt away.

2. If you’re watching videos on your phone, TV, or Ipad and it causes you to lose your peace and hyperventilate – you’re opening the door to the devil.

II. WE NEED TO DETOX

A. WHAT’S IN OUR ENVIRONMENT

1. If you watch the nightly news, it’s easy to see the many areas of our nation where toxic ideas have overcome people’s common sense. The result is devastated lives.

2. All around us are agents of toxicity:

a. Lingering poor health that discourages us.

b. Problems that won’t go away and that eat away at our soul. You may have the feeling you’re not going to survive your problem.

c. People around us are unkind, rude, & don’t care about our situation.

d. There’s a negative atmosphere in our country where people are angry about many issues, and they focus their angst on some unfortunate individual.

B. HAVING TROUBLE DEALING WITH YOUR WORLD?

1. Right in front of the Rockefeller Center on 5th Avenue in NY City stands a bronze statue of the Greek god Atlas, straining to carry the world on his back. It appears to be more of a curse than an act of courage. Atlas bends as the world seems to crush him.

2. What’s amazing is that right across the street is St. Patrick’s Cathedral. There you’ll find a statue of the boy Jesus behind the high altar. In contrast to Atlas bending under the weight of the world, the boy Jesus is holding the world in His hand.

3. You’ve got Atlas bent & crushed, and Jesus standing at peace. What a contrast. Are you letting Jesus hold your world or are you straining to bear it yourself?

4. KID’S SONG, “He’s got the Whole World in His Hands...” SAY, “He’s got the Whole World in His Hands.”

C. THE HOLY SPIRIT WANTS TO DETOX YOUR MIND!

1. Jesus said (John 16:33), “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

2. God gives us peace. Peace is promised, protected, and has been purchased. Peace does not get rid of the problems; NO, it’s God moving into the chaos. “He will keep them in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him” Isa. 26:3.

3. Peace is not a place; Peace is a Person. An old Puritan, Thomas Watson, said, “The world can create trouble in [the midst of] peace, but God can create peace in trouble.”