Keys To A Renewed Mind And Transformed Life! Part 1.

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Keys for a transformed life and a renewed mind!

Part 1 of 2

Introduction

Lifting the Band-Aid!

Credit given to David Riddell – Living Wisdom – Friend, Mentor and Supervisor

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In the last days – God’s Word promises us – that Christians will ‘leave behind sound doctrine, and gather around themselves teaches who will ‘tickle their ears’ and tell them nice things to entertain them and make them happy!’ (2nd Tim 4:3)

Now - I’ve had literally dozens of people thank me for being so honest and direct in the messages of the last several weeks,

…as we’ve looked at the way God works in our lives –

…to transform and sanctify our character – by bringing the ‘dross’ to the surface through the pressures of affliction and trouble. (Malachi 3:3, Isaiah 48:10)

But - I’ve had people ask me directly:

Once God has done that – brought my character faults and flaws to the surface,

• ‘How then can I change the darkness in my heart?’

• ‘How do I let go of the pain of my childhood?’

• ‘How do I find release from this cycle of destructive emotions?’

• I’ve dedicated two Bible Studies to these questions.

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Today’s study – titled:

Lifting the Band-Aid

Based upon Romans 12:2,

…and next Sunday’s sermon titled:

Going to the Heart of it!

Based upon Proverbs 23:7.

If there is ONE thing I want you to know today, is that it is God’s desire for you to experience healing, freedom and deliverance this morning!

It is God’s desire that you be ‘set free’!

And those whom Christ sets free – are free indeed! (John 8:36)

Praise God!

Question: Do you believe that – really believe that???

The reason I’m asking this, is that my personal experience is exactly the opposite.

I’ve found that most people don’t want to change.

What they want, is for God to wave some ‘magic wand’ over their lives where they are instantly changed – without much effort of their own!

They want to have a demon cast out of them, and think that will make them a different person.

Believe me – it’s never that easy!

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In fact, as I reveal the truth of how God transforms our lives, your reaction to this message will be an indicator of how serious you are about letting God change your heart.

Let me explain today what that sometimes involves – the process and steps along the journey.

Have you ever had a splinter or abscess in your finger or in your hand – or some other part of your body,

...and you’ve not even realized it was there – slowly festering away under the surface.

Until one day, somebody bumped you or touched you on your sore point – and the pain made you realise something was not right.

But your natural and immediate reaction was to withdraw, to pull away from the source of pain, from the person or situation –

…not realizing that the pain is actually inside you, and not from the person who brought it to your attention!

You know, sometimes we can go through life with splinters – or even shrapnel - imbedded into our heart, soul and emotions.

We think everything is okay, that life is fine – and then somebody ‘bumps’ into us, or says something, makes a comment, makes a decision, or we experience some pressure upon our lives.

And our immediate reaction is to pull away and withdraw from that person (church or friendship) – or else launch into a verbal or even physical attack!

And we realise, ‘Ouch! – There’s something below the surface in my life that needs attention!’

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Somebody just touched a sore spot!!!!

That our coping mechanisms or survival kits are not working as they should!

But what most of us do, is ignore the cause of our pain, and instead blame the one who made us realise our pain.

We ‘protect’ our wound - and blame others, instead of identifying that the pain is our responsibility to address, remove and heal.

To Trace, Face and Replace!

Well, it’s been said that the purpose of preaching is to: Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable!

Today I’m going to be lovingly honest and open with each of you.

We might even touch a few ‘sore points’ in some of our lives – in order to reveal the splinter, the shrapnel – and to start draining the abscess!

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You see, many people come to Christ, but their pain and sorrow, their dysfunction or prejudices remain the same.

Let me share some examples with you this morning.

How I’ve seen some people ‘baptize’ their dysfunction into the church and Christianity.