The Keys to Renewal
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Introduction:
Current Events
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Role Renewal Vide o
The Keys to Renewal
The Keys to Renewal
Last week we came together and began our series RENEWAL.
Our message was New year New me, a montra that is often stated at the top of the year. based on a defined goal or achievement we want to accomplish, We looked at the external and how it can effect our internal areas. For instance we Spoke about ou r thinking, how we ought not to allow our minds to be captivated with Condeming thoughts, but we should be incontrol of our thoughts and allowing our mind to focus on the promises of God.
Today we continue where we left off in Ephesians 4 we will read 17-25 again for a refresher.
Before we get there, i want to take us to a story in Luke 15, A story that has come very familiar, a story that has become a prayer for many believers. A story of a lifetime, drugged in the mud, a story that represents our saviors Love, a story that changes no, reforms a boys old ways and habits, to be radically transformed by the Grace of a father, and the Love to his children.
The story of the prodigal Son.
As familiar as you may be with it, follow along with me as we revamp the story into our own lifes.
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons.
12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.
15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’
20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.
24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.
27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.
29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.
30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ”
Ephesians 4:17–25 (NIV)
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
That, however, is not the way of life you learned
when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
I want to focus on two words used in vs 19
Sensitivity And Sensuality
Having lost all sensitivity
Sensitivity meaning is- a quality of being gentle, loving, and caring for another person
Deep feelings for others and sympathy for their needs.
I love, this is sacrastic, I love when the culture, takes a pure word and makes it hold a negavtive image.
I remember early in my men’s ministry career if you will, i was trying to bridge a gap between my generation and those of whom i found myself the PRIVILAGE of teaching and loving on.
Every time my generation came up one word imparticular that would come up with some of the fellas was, they are too sensative!
See i dont like when the culture has allowed a word to recieve a negative image, when in reality: the word brings us reality. In reality, Sensitivity has powerful Spiritual context.
You see having spiritual sensitivity is the ability to respond to the call of God or Just the spiritual needs of any given moment.
Example of if i were in counseling and bearing down on somebody instead of showing God’s love compassion and empathy.
See the spirit searchings all things, even the deep things of a mans spirit, I DONT! So i need to rely on ALL of God to lead me. See in the Leading of the Spirit for me the counselor, would only benefit the counsolee.
Having insight of God’s plan and vision within another persons life.
19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.
and then to further go in that passage to say..Instead…”they have given themselves over to sensuality”…
Sensuality is the enjoyment or pursuit of physical pleaseres.
Its reckless abandonment, lack of caring, or even known as prodigal living
refers to the lack of control over oneself, often in areas of access and uncleanliness. Listen to this, its OFTEN associated with undisciplined and wasteful living, this term or idea occus 10 different times in the new testament often linked with sexual sins.
(asotia)- which means “reckless abandon” or “prodigal living”
To make matters worst, other biblical themes or concepts that correlate with sensuality are, Apostacy, blashphemy, cursing, deception, Rebelliousness, Self-denial, unrighteousness, The book of romans refers to this passage as the christians entrance to sin and death.
To live in sensuality is literally to live “without restraints”,
Why are these words being mentioned, Well paul in our passages is speaking about a people, that have grown callouses around last week we saw callouses around there minds, and here a callous around there moral compass. Paul is saying people have lost the capacity of pain, it sounds like something we would want, but in reality, the extension of moral pain is a thorn in our flesh, that keeps us seeking holiness.
- When we build up a callous to pain we cut off the sensitive nature to God and grow into selfish desires of gain.
When we do this Gal 5 19 comes into play
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
Sensuality therefore signifies a lust devoid of all sense of decency, recklessly and grossly animal behaviors. Therefore sensuality works every bit of unclean thought into our lives, and to do so with “greed” in mind living a reckless abandonment to consequenses, delighting in every good feeling and ambitious thought that comes our way.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
to sum it all up,
Sensuality is giving into your desires
Sensitivity is using your senses to Imitate Christ-likeness
You see those are simply definitions, WHY DIDNT I JUST GIVE YOU THOSE RIGHT?
Because those are the simple illustration of a deep thing of God. And to walk in God we must mature in the deep thiings of scripture.
Thats two words, And just from the shortened renditions of these words. i know one thing
I dont wanna be chaiined up to my fleshly desires anymore, I want freedom!
Anyone else in the room looking for freedom?
Come on, anyone else want to hear and see God?
Anyone else want to be the Best version of themselves they can be?
Come on who in this room wants to find freedom through the blood and march into the kingdom this morning!
Then it all begins with Renewal.
Today were talking about the keys of Renewal. And those keys start with a realization just like the prodigal son had.
This just aint worth it.
Come on…………who in here knows that what this world has to offer….it just aint worth it!!…
Sex before marriage….…Its just not worth it
Bank account on empty……It’s just not worth it
Being depressed…………Its just not worth it
come on……yall help me out here
all the money in the world..it’s just not worth it
Arguing with my spouse…..…its just not worth it
not forgiving that person who caused you pain…..…its just not worth it
Running from your calling…..…its just not worth it
NOT singing during worship…..…its just not worth it
Skipping my prayer time…..…its just not worth it
Then today my friends we are going to learn how Renewal makes it all worth it!
Whos ready to recieve the keys of Renewal in your life?
Who’s ready to unlock a refreshing for your spirit?
Who’s ready to be strenthened in the word?
We receive the keys by becoming sensitive to God.
Lets dive in.
How to make your heart sensitive to God.
How to make your heart sensitive to God.
1. We need to make sense of it all
1. We need to make sense of it all
First sin is fun, Then it’s boring, and then it makes you insensitive and there was a time when you were very sensitive to the Word of God. It picked your conscience. It brought tears to your eyes. It made you uncomfortable, and now you turn away without any feeling at all. Your sleeping the sleep, You’be been sedated by sin. We must learn to say as David, Search me Oh God and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me lead me into the way Everlasting. SEARCH ME OH LORD.
Billy Graham
16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
If I were to ask a question like, how confident are you that God has ever spoke to you before?
I believe we would have about 30% of people in this room say they are confident.
We often place ourselves in the shoes of moses, or a fly on the wall with King David, or even Eljah.
We expect a voice as if mine is coming at you now.
But lets look at the prodigal son in reality.
He has for years been doing the first thing that comes to his mind, He has wired his brain now to do this.
And even more so, he is hungry, starving more than likely at this time. And right after scripture says he is hungry and would even eat out of a pigs pen……which my mom and casey have pigs, Thats nearly an impossible task, he is risking his own life more so then about to get some food out of that thing. My parents pigs are tiny and still could deadlift a semi truck. I mean they are strong.
And although this man is in despiration mode, He comes to his senses.
Negative ghost rider, I was hangry yesterday heading to a resturant with to be with my wifes family after service, and boy i tell you what, Until i had a noodle, nothing was making sense. It was one of those drives where you just zoned out for the entire ride and all of a sudden i find myself sitting at a table with 20 people and eating some noodles and shrimp and i click back into reality.
See, Holy Spirit speaks in exactly this situation many times over in our lives. And because we are so intwined with the illusion of “Self” we miss the spirit speaking.
However because of the fact that this man came to his senses, he was lead to his saving grace.
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
To come to one’s senses, is to reunite in the direction of the Lord, Under his direction. Now our own.
When we allow God to speak to us, we must understand, he may say, Why are you here, go back to the chaos you were in. For i had a plan for you there.
or we may be in the chaos and God says leave this place now.
What if the Lord doesnt speak? Or you dont know His voice?
2. Learn to wait upon the Lord.
2. Learn to wait upon the Lord.
Waiting upon the Lord is a very powerful weapon.
We wont read it or dive into it, but the prodigal son was a long distance off, and in the dilect of scripture we see he was in the middle of speaking when his father called out to him, I wonder how long was he sitting there, how long was he practacing, Did everything become real when he saw the place of the Lord? Did everything become scary? Was he not capable of taking another step without the guidance of His father?
I like to think, he was in limbo, waiting to see his father again from the distance, waiting to see if he was well, waiting to see his face, hear his voice, find his direction.
Have you ever seen an eagle fly? Have you ever seen an eagle flap its wings and fly?
What’s amazing about an eagle is it doesnt flap its wings so a whole lot, it simply soars, in the highest highest with ease, the eagle glides with rest.
if youve ever seen an eagle just before flight? What an eagle will do is put itself on a rock, or a shore, and what the eagle will do is just sit there and wait. There eyes are known for being able too see at a distance, and they are known for having this sensitivity to the wind.
And what they will do is sit there and wait. And with every gentle breeze of the wind, they will yield to that wind, and next thing you know is they will flap a little here and there, and next thing you know that wind is taking them, and they are mounting up into the sky, and when they are at there highest height, they just soar. Theres no moving no overexhurtion of flapping.
It’s just simple ease, rest and they are just soaring. This is how we should be. Just like an eagle.
31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Read the amplified version….
If an eagle were to continually flap its wings, it would not pick up drastic speeds, nor fly higher than there body would allow them too, they would just become exhausted and have to land again.
We are talk in scripture through imagery and parable, that we can be working, we can be dealing with the world, we can be doing our day to day and still receiving rest.
What is it to wait?
What is it to wait?
Waiting is staying still until someone comes along. Allowing time to go by, until someone comes by or until you can do something.
Staying in one place, with the lord.
Waiting for instructions, waiting until you become aware of His presence
Waiting(Hebrew definition) to bind together or twist collect, to figuratively expect, gather together, look patiently, wait for, to wait upon.keva. To look eagerly for. To lie in, or to linger for. He waits in expectations of the Lord. When one waits for the Lord, he is looking for the Lord. To linger which means to wait in a place longer than necessary.
What is waiting? It’s a learning experience EVERY SINGLE TIME. And it’s again the opposite of sensuality.
When you wait, or linger in a place longer than necessary, in the natural, you will get antsy aggrivated, uncomfortable and want to go to a new place.
but really we never go to a new place, we tend to allow our desires to send us back to an old prior boring sensual desire of ours, which prolongs the waiting.
To get to a new place, we need the Lord to create it for us. For he is the creator of all good, pleasing thing.
When we become intentional with our sensitivity, we normalize our waiting periods with God.
What’s the point of rest?
Recovery.
31 but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Recovery is returning to a place of health through renewal and strength
Sensitivity is essential, as water is for the body, or rest for the organs development.
For all things we do comes from our Spiritual health. Our Spiritual health determines our mental stability, and our physical awareness.
So how do we regain Spiritual Health? By resting in the presence of God. Recieveing Renewal.
3. Recieve a swift touch of Renewal
3. Recieve a swift touch of Renewal
(maybe put this after the yoga)
Often times we dont even realize we are inside of this sensuality actions set. We do however find ourselves down on our knees yet again, praying.
God you know I love you, I need you to see me and provide for me in this financial need.
Lord I understand you are all around me, please touch my spouses mind and be with them allow them to change.
Father I need you, I know you are mighty, great Big God! Who can make anything happen, Lord make it happen that my body be healed in Jesus name.
Often, most of the time, we pray for our circumstances to change, rather than allowing God’s fullness to direct us.
Not all circumstances need to be touched, people need to be changed,
For all have another step, to grow, and to cultivate christ image, boldy, favorably, and courageously.
In Psalm 51 we have a beautiful moment between the psalmist; david most believe, and God.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
A sensitivity to God insures us to take a closer peak into righteousness, We dont want to be in sin, we want to distance ourselfs from it, Making it hard for us to sin, rather than easy for us to ignore the pressing of the Spirit. In the passage, david exemplifies this theme for us.
- A word that important to learn is Create (bara) & Make (asah) are used interchably in the Bible.
They mean to bring into existence what was not there before.
Here in this psalm, david isnt crying out for circumstancial awarness, but Spiritual, internal difference.
In our culture Meditating became a hot topic in the early 2000’s, With yoga studios popping up in major cities and even now in smaller towns. Even today there are meditation pods in Gym’s, and airports across our nation.
The Yoga/meditating practice, is to become one with your surroundings, focusing on nothing else but that of which is in your immediate area. It’s how you Posture yourself, breathing techniques, and listening to the sounds and lack therefore around you.
Emptying your mind to find inner peace and tranquility.
Its not uncommon for worldly practices to be the very opposite of what the Word says.
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.
which means you must know the word, and think of it often in practice.
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
And to finish
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Closing: Worship Team/ Pad Behind.
The Keys to Renewal
The Keys to Renewal
God speaks, the day you went without money, the day you lost a loved one, the day you gave up, the day you started a new journey. Those days are the busyist days, yet no matter the circumstance around you.
We should know, God is speaks. That diagnosis, that hiccup in the road God wants to give your spirit what it needs. That job, that coworker, God wants to give you renewal to deal with them in Love, that hurt, that caused pain, God wants to give you renewal.
Those hurtful words about you, God wants to give you renewal and identify you in Him. That past you had, nobody knows about, that haunts you, Oh my, God wants to give you renewal.
that time you stared death in the face, God gave you renewal!
That time you were at the end of your road, God gave you renewal!!!
That time the enemy stole from you God gave TO you!
That time the world labelled you, God claimed you!
That time the enemy took advantage, God gave to you restoration.
Come on, God can give you what you need!
Its time to be renewed in the presence of the Lord, Its time to be restore, its time to walk in Spiritual Abundance!
its time for more!
Are you willing to accept it.
I want to pray a prayer of sensitivity toward the presence here this morning. A prayer, of resilence in the midst of circumstances, a prayer of searching for God’s voice.
If you need this, if you have been moved by God’s Divine bible this morning, then its time to be renewed With a new spirit. Then I want you while we stand to raise your hands and recieve God’s touch.
CAN YOU STAND WITH ME.