Utmost Men’s Retreat 2025 Session 1
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Welcome
Welcome
So welcome!
Some familiar faces! It’s good to see you all!
SO, it’s been a year since we were together, for those of you who came last year. We covered 1 Corinthians 16:13-14
13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
14 Let all that you do be done in love.
and we dove deep in to what that meant for each man of God. As I was spending time with the Lord leading up to this years retreat, I kept wondering….
How did each man do in their walk with God after they left? Did they become or remain watchful? Did they stand firm in their faith? Did they demonstrate A courageous manhood as they lead their family? Did they rely on the Lord’s strength to be strong? Did they let all they did, be done in Love?
Now, i realize that’s a tall order! One that none of us could pull off perfectly, but that’s not what I’m really getting at. My question intends to dig a little deeper and go just below the surface of the obvious.
So much of our walk with Christ is learning to do just that, walk with Him. But what is it that keeps us from walking with him when all our intentions are in the right place. We know what we could do an we know what scripture says in regards to how God desires for us to live our lives, but sometimes we just miss it. Something keeps holding us back.
In this life, we know that we have 3 main obstacles that we fight against. The World, The Flesh, and The Spiritual Realm. Each pose their own threat but each can be over come.
What I want to take you through this weekend is a frame work that was put together by a dear brother of mine Jim Landis from Victor MT. I came across Jim early in my time as a new pastor. Around 2017 I went to Jim because I heard he had developed a tool that was being used to bring victory and freedom to men and women from all walks of life. It’s called the 21 Transformational process. I have used it with Men from Montana to South Carolina over the past 8 years and I truly believe it is the missing link for a lot of people when it comes to getting “unstuck” from what is holding us back from living the Life that God desires for us!
This isn’t a clever book written by Jim it is a journey through God’s word where we learn or are reminded of the truth of Who God is, that he an be trusted, and what we are to do with the whole thing.
What I want you to consider this weekend is this, What one hangup, or stronghold as scripture calls it, has the most negative effect on your walk with Jesus?
We have in scripture both the sins of commission, in other words the sins we commit, that we do and we also have the sins of omission or the sins that are things we omit or don’t do. So, as you sit here today for this first session, thinking back on your last year what is the one thing you do, or even don’t do that creates the most strife in your walk with Jesus?
It could be more of a negative mind set as well.
Jim Landis: It could be in the area of our thought process where someone says something to us but we take it in the wrong way and find ourselves thinking a negative statement or response
that we would like to say back to them. Even though we don’t verbally speak the statement we are building a negative attitude towards that person in our minds, that when we just think about them
our emotions move to a wrong and unhealthy place.
Maybe you find yourself verbally responding to others with a negative, bitter or angry tone and just can’t understand why your emotions get so out of control. Certain situations and circumstances just seem to set off this type of response on our part and we just don’t understandwhy we continue to go down that same road.
If you are tired of going down the same road and reaching the same dead end to where nothing seems to change, the answer is near. Let’s take a look at how these things are defined.
Every addiction (obsession) begins with a choice that becomes a consuming influence that establishes a stronghold. To overcome the addiction (obsession) you must make a choice to renew your mind, to develop
a transformational process that becomes a conquering force resulting in the destruction of the stronghold.
I want you to name it! Whether it’s a sin or what we will call a negative, life dominating thought action or speech.I want you to name it, whatever it is. You don’t have to name it out loud to me, but you need to write it down in your journal and then confess it to someone you trust who can walk with you through the struggle.
What Do You Believe About God?
What Do You Believe About God?
As you start down your journey of overcoming this sin or negative life dominating thought, action or speech, you must understand that God can be trusted to empower you to overcome to such a degree that you will never again be under bondage to your particular sin or negative life dominating thought, action or speech.
Write down what you believe about God as it relates to you overcoming your particular sin or negative life dominating thought, action or speech. Be honest with yourself, not what you think you should believe but what you are living out.
A.W. Tozer in his book Knowledge of the Holy says this about the importance of what we believe about God.
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. ... Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like. We tend by a secret law of the soul to move toward our mental image of God. This is true not only of the individual Christian, but of the company of Christians that composes the Church. Always the most revealing thing about the Church is her idea of God, just as her most significant message is what she says about Him or leaves unsaid, for her silence is often more eloquent than her speech. ...”
It is what we believe about God’s goodness, God’s power, God’s ability to affect every part of our lives that impacts how we live our lives. Including what we choose to hold onto and what we surrender to Him.
I have a few bible verses to take us through before we get too much further. I pray that everyone here has a biblical world view, meaning that you look to the truth of scripture to help guide you through and inform you how you view everything in your life and world. So, if that’s truth, then I want to look at what scripture says about God himself. Reading these verses is intended to remind us of the truth of who He is which will directly impact our lives and how we live them out.
The first hurtle that most everyone has to overcome is that God can be trusted.
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
I AM - הָיָה hâyâh, haw-yaw; a primitive root (compare H1933); to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)
In essence I AM means The Always Existing One.
The first leap we all have to make is that we agree with that statment. Do we believe that He exists and that he has always existed?
6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
I want you to write down a true statement about the God we believe in but in regards to you overcoming your stronghold.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me,
22 “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
What have we learned about God in these passages? HE’s the always existing one. He rewards those who seek Him. He is the only true God.
What do we learn about ourselves in these passages? We must believe he exists and turn to Him to be saved. If we seek Him we will be rewarded. He will equip/gird us when we turn to Him. That means “to belt:—bind (compass) about, gird (up, with).”
19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
I want you to now, write down a statement in your journal an application statement in regards to what you learned in these passages and how it applies to you overcoming your stronghold.
Transformed by His Word
Transformed by His Word
As you continue in your journey of overcoming the particular sin or negative life dominating thought, action or speech, you need to understand that God cannot lie. You can trust that what He says in His Word He will do. As you do todays study ask God to give you a full and clear understanding of the transforming power of His Word.
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,
2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,
18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.
We know that God can not lie, it’s not in His character. God is the same yesterday today and tomorrow! HE doesn’t change. He backs up His word with an Oath because there is nothing higher to swear by. He watches over it to ensure it accomplishes what He sends it out to accomplish. It never returns void! It brings us faith, healing, and deliverance from our “DESTRUCTIONS”. As we follow it, His Word, is truth and as we live by this truth it sanctifies us.
His word cuts to the heart of our thoughts and intentions, and is profitable for reproof, corrections and training in righteousness. His word is the ruler that we should measure everything by.
Write down a statement of application based on these truths as it pertains to you overcoming your particular sin or negative life dominating thought action or speech.
5 Statements Praise
5 Statements Praise
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Sin Is My Problem
Sin Is My Problem
34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.
7 If you do well, will you not be accepted(will your countenance be lifted up)? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.(you must learn to master it)”
23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.
24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.
How we view God in light of our slavery of sin.
10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord.
11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt?
12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.
14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward.
5 Statements of Thanksgiving
5 Statements of Thanksgiving
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My Weakness His Power
My Weakness His Power
Compare now how the Israelites responded to the Lord and His messenger in Exodus 14 to how they responded in 2 Chronicles 20.
3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.
12 O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.
17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.
WHo’s battle is this?
What are we to do?
In the midst of your sin or negative life dominating thought action or speech, are you Worshiping the Lord?
19 And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
In the midst of your sin or negative life dominating thought action or speech, are you praising the Lord?
20 And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.”
21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
In the midst of your sin or negative life dominating thought action or speech, are you giving thanks the Lord?
What is another truth that you can write down about our God? Write it down in your journal, right now and maybe even how it applies to you over coming your stronghold!
Let’s pray!
