teaching/sermons/col-1-15-20/expansion/icoc_alpha_omega/clean/16-getting-unstuck-spiritually-jose-jolissa-meza.md

Getting Unstuck Spiritually | Jose & Jolissa Meza

Col 1:15-20 prep relevance: MARGINAL

Why kept: Lesson on overcoming spiritual stagnation (John 8, Isaiah 59, 2 Cor 10). Cites Col 2:8 once verbatim as anchor for resisting Satan's lies, but doesn't develop the Colossian situation further.

Key excerpts:

00:00:00 So, this is a class getting unstuck spiritually. If that's not what you're looking for, you're more than welcome to stay. We'd love to have you. Uh, but that's might not be your room if you're looking for something else. Um, before we get started, I just want to say a quick prayer for you guys. Um, I just want to Some of you really don't know me, but I'm proud of you. I think it's really hard to be in a position to go, "Hi, I need help, right?" And to be that in a room with other people, that's powerful. And so I don't know you, but I'm proud of you, and I hope you're proud of yourselves for at least doing something to actually just take a step

00:00:30 closer to God. It's one step at a time. So, I just want to pray for you'all. Sound good? All right. Um, Dad, I just want to say thank you so much for the the the souls here, the hearts here, God, um, that crave you. Um, the psalm says, "As the deer pants for for water, my my our my soul thirsts for you, my God." And, um, God, we can't make it without you. We know that. And that's why most of these people became Christians here is because we knew we need you. So with your help, God, with your love, with your grace, God, I pray that we can grow closer to you and can come out of these seasons of feeling stuck wherever we're at. So thank you

00:01:01 for who you are and what you're doing. I pray it's all in Jesus's name. Amen. >> Amen. >> I'm going to play a clip right now. Uh if you have a seat next to you, please just raise your hand. All right, we got a couple people walking in. If you have a seat next to you, all right, take a look, guys. Those you coming in, take a seat. >> One right there. >> You may not you may not be able to sit next to your friend, but I promise you they'll be there afterwards. All right, so don't worry. >> Or you can make a new one. >> And these other people are Christians. They tend to be nice. All right, from what I hear. fight. >> All right, guys. I'm going to play a clip. Please uh just for a moment consider is is this how you're feeling today?

00:01:31 [Music] >> That's how long ago. [Music]

00:02:11 Still on my way. [Music] and I will [Music] go.

00:02:56 All right, that's from The Amazing World of Gumball, right? You start out in your Christian walk like Darwin here. I'm on my way. Like, I'm gonna go see Jesus. I am on my way. I I I've got lungs. That's a start. I've got love in my heart, right? Like I'm I'm so optimistic. But then what happens to Darwin? Little old Darwin here. What happens to him? The world is tough, right? It's hard. The journey is long and slow and he gets

00:03:26 crusty. He gets tired. He gets hurt. Right? I may be tiny and alone, but he says, "But I won't stop until I'm home." How many of us are feeling like that today? This class is about breaking through and finding freedom from sin. Replacing short-term pleasure with long-term freedom. We're going to give you some ideas as to how you guys can break through the cycles that you're facing today to live a life that God wants you to live and make this life count. Um to intro introduce us, I'm going to have my wife come on up.

00:03:57 >> Hello. Also, feel free to >> feel free to fill the aisles if you can't find a spot to sit. We got space in the on the floor in the aisles if you want to be there. We got space up front >> right here. Right in front of the slides >> right here. >> Wherever you need to fit in. >> Um just like Jesus. Jesus had to get up on the boat and people were all along the shore. You guys sit wherever you fit. >> Yeah. >> All right. Well, like he said, we're the Mess. Uh I'm Jissa. He's Jose. And we've been baptized disciples to since 2016.

00:04:27 Uh and we are currently in our third year of leading the college ministry in Fresno, California. Mhm. >> Um our our journey here has been a long one. Um but and once upon a time we were stuck at the top of the shephering list. Um and if we were the last people you would want to lead other people spiritually and we'd be the last people to talk about this subject. Um and even now as Jose and I navigate being a young married couple and young college ministers, we have found ourselves in many seasons of spiritual stag

00:04:57 stagnation of being stuck. Um, our hope today is to pass on to you foundational truths that have helped us break through those seasons and press forward. >> That's right. An alternative uh title to the today's lesson is the truth will set you free. There's a QR code. I encourage you guys go ahead and pull it up if you guys want to. If you want to follow along slides on on your phone, um you want to look at this afterwards, but yeah, feel free. But the alternative title to today's lesson is the truth will set you free.

00:05:31 Today's lesson is rooted in the passage or inspired by the passage John 8:31-32. I'm changing the slide. Ready? 3 2 Jews who had believed in him. Jesus said, "If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciple. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." It says here that knowledge and action according to truth is what's going to lead you to freedom in your life. I imagine that's why you guys came today is because you believe that it's still possible to live

00:06:01 in an unshackled life, to live a life unyoked to the things that Jesus had once called you out of. I want you all to take courage today because he's saying this is completely within his power. If you're here today, it's going to be fine. Like, I want to encourage you with that today. You're going to be fine if we decide to live a life according to the truth and action. Amen. I have five uh really uh truth I have five truths that we're going to

00:06:31 share with you guys today as to what's going to help you out of your time feeling stuck and they are I need help. It's just a season. God's love is what transforms. The battle is spiritual not physical and only full surrender produces full freedom. Uh if you think about these five things throughout this time that in your life it's going to help you get through it. I I promise you it's going to help you get through it. Truth number one, and Julice is going to start us off with this.

00:07:01 >> Truth number one, I need help. Um, does anyone know the first step to alcohol is an anonymous? >> Anybody? Anybody? Anybody? >> Admitting that you have a problem. >> The website says, uh, the first the first truth is or first step is we admitted we were powerless over alcohol that our lives had become unmanageable. Mhm. >> I present an alternate first step to sinners anonymous. >> We admit we were powerless over sin.

00:07:31 That our lives have become unmanageable. >> Right. >> It is time to realize that we are powerless over our sin. >> Yeah. >> Um and so in John 8:33 through36, as we continue, oop, sorry, part one of this truth is I am powerless. And as we continue the scripture that that Jose mentioned where Jesus talks about how if we uh follow his teachings, we will truly be his disciples. We'll know the truth and the truth will set us

00:08:01 free. Right after they answered him, we are Abra we are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free? Jesus replied, very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed. As soon as Jesus offers these people who

00:08:33 believed him freedom through truth, they immediately become defensive. These believers, they're having a hard time believing that they're in a situation that they could not possibly take on. um they're reluctant to believe or see themselves as slaves to sin. Um how many of us here can be like that? How many of us can can have that kind of pride? I I grew up a kingdom kid growing up in church. I got a lot of pride in me. Um but yeah, some of you might have came here today because you already know

00:09:04 that you're stuck. You're in sin. Some of you might be coming to help someone else who you know is stuck. But some of us in here do not even know that we have chains on us. >> Some of us don't even realize that we're a slave right now. I wasted so much time over the years stuck in the same spot wondering why I wasn't growing because I couldn't see the chains on me. I kept telling myself things like, I just need to get through this busy season. This is just a rough season. I just need to get through it. I'll be fine after. Or all these emotions, they're they're just in my head. I they aren't as bad as I think

00:09:36 and I just need to muscle through it. Or I just have to keep working on this area of my life. I just I'm I just got to keep trying and and somehow it's it's going to work out. You know, I have hope. But when you're a slave, you can't be freed by yourself. Maybe physically you can get out of out of those chains. You can make a run for it, but you're still owned by someone else. >> And if you're ever caught, you'll be sent right back to your owner. You are powerless to change the status of your freedom. Someone else has to free you.

00:10:09 And notice how the things I told myself are about how I had to make it. I have to muscle through. I have to figure this out. I was trying to use my own power, but I was powerless over my sin. And so are you guys. You know, you will not reach for a higher power if you think that that power is in yourself. >> You're not going to reach for a higher power. >> No. >> If you think it's in yourself. So we have and you're not going to crave

00:10:39 freedom if you already believe you're free. >> So we have to realize that we're powerless. >> We also need to recognize the symptoms. How do you know when you're sick? >> Any you guys real question. >> How do you guys know when you're sick? >> Cough. >> Cough. Symptoms. You know because of symptoms. And you can also tell when you're going to sick. when you're going to get sick usually because symptoms start a little bit before or maybe you get you start getting that achy feeling

00:11:09 in your tummy or something like that. Like there are symptoms beforehand. Symptoms can tell us when we're about to get sick and what we're sick with. It's the same with our spiritual walk. Many of you may be feeling these things today. You've become apathetic. You don't feel connected to God. You feel desensitized to your sin. It's difficult to feel remorse or experience godly sorrow. You find yourself falling further in rather than running away from sin. You don't care how your actions affect others. You

00:11:41 feel alone in God's kingdom. You're isolated. Maybe you consistently allow other life events to be prioritized over time with God and the body. You keep people at arms length, not allowing others to help share your burdens or see your brokenness. You avoid talking to people about life decisions you're making that'll affect your walk. You become depressed in your thinking. You start devaluing yourself, devaluing your sit situation, and devaluing the hope for the future. Maybe

00:12:11 you think it's easier to run away. I know that's usually me. I'm like, "Oh, I could just run away and join the circus and, you know, start my life from scratch." Blessings become burdens. The the answered prayers in your life suddenly become the things that you're complaining about most. You asked God for a job, but now you're complaining about that job all the time, right? Blessings become burdens. Bitterness and resentment, anger towards other people in your life or towards God, a lack of eagerness to serve in God's kingdom, and

00:12:41 especially a lack of feeling freedom and joy. >> Yeah. >> If you don't feel free right now, if you don't feel joy, something might be wrong. You know, these are all signs of being stuck. And this list isn't exhaustive. And having just one of these does not guarantee that you're stuck yet, but it might be time to assess. Am I about to get sick? You know, >> pray about it. If you see these signs, pray about it and get other people's opinions, too. Recognizing your symptoms will help you get stuck less less often

00:13:13 and for shorter periods of time. Become familiar with your symptoms so you can anticipate the season and get the help you need. And the last part of this is it is unmanageable. Isaiah 59:es 1-2 is unmanageable. It says, "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor is his ear too dull to hear, but your iniquities have separated you from your God. Your sins have hidden his face from you so

00:13:43 that he will not hear." This scripture pretty clearly tells us that sin separates us from God. It it veils God's face from us. He can still see us, but we get this distorted figure of of who God is, >> right? >> He's hidden from us. >> And I want to be clear that that what Jose and I don't wish to communicate is this is all your fault. You walked here. You made the decisions to get yourself here. You intentionally walked away from God. That is not it. >> Yeah. >> Most people do not end up stuck

00:14:13 intentionally, right? Not every sin is intentional. I don't know if you guys have read much of Leviticus and about the law, but or about the sin offerings and things like that, but the Israelites, they do not just have offerings for intentional sin. It's for unintentional sin. The beginning of Leviticus 4, it talks about this is what you need to do when you unintentionally break my law. God knows we're going to unintentionally sin. Um, sin can be intentional, but it can also be unintentional. Sin is anything that doesn't line up with God's will for our lives, right? Sin is not just uh the

00:14:45 stuff that hurts me or other people. It's not just stuff that's bad. It is anything that does not line up with God's will for our lives. So that can include when we choose not to believe what he says about who we are. That includes when we decide to go out on our own strength. It includes when we feel like God has called us to make a decision in our lives, but we choose to hold off or to go the other way. And when you start thinking about that, you're like, "Oh gosh, I've been sinning a lot more than I thought. And how could I possibly manage to live a life without

00:15:15 sin?" That's the point. You can't. >> Yeah, >> you cannot do it. It is unmanageable. Not without God's grace, not without his mercy, not without the sacrifice of his son, not without the Holy Spirit. We cannot manage it. It is unimmanageable. Not all sin is intentional, but seeking spiritual restoration must be. >> Right? >> So, going back to that original first step, right? And I want you guys to read this with me. All right. One, two,

00:15:45 three. We admit we were powerless over sin that our lives have become unmanageable. >> Unmanageable. >> Unmanageable. >> Um, we need help. >> Yeah. How many of us when we're in a spiritual drought tell ourselves that I'm the only one going through this? Yeah. >> How many of us tell ourselves a lie that because it's dry, I guess it just doesn't work, this whole Christian thing.

00:16:16 How many of us have ever felt the urge to give up being a Christian? Right. Plenty of times. To quote GK Chesterton, a philosopher, Christian apologist, and author, he says, "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried. Too many of us give up before a breakthrough happens. >> Too many people go to the gym and stop going because they're discouraged not seeing enough progress right away. Too many people give up in their classes going in college before they actually

00:16:46 get a chance to comprehend the material and keep and actually be successful in it. It happens all throughout life. But this happens so often in our spiritual walks because we are stuck. Many of us falsely believe that this season is going to be forever, >> which is our the second truth. It's just a season. Being spiritually stuck is not the end of your story. God is still writing. It's just a chapter. 1 Corinthians 10 12-13, it says, "So if

00:17:16 you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall. No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful. Say that with me, guys. God is faithful. One more time. God is faithful. >> He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so you can endure it. No temptation that that you're feeling or sins that you've done in your life are things that first time humanity has ever experienced it. You're not the only

00:17:46 one who's going through this. I mean, guys, where in the Bible have people never been stuck in sin? All of it. Yes. Yes. All of it. Right. David, Samson, Jonah, and guess even people who feel stuck spiritually like the Samaritan woman, the bleeding woman for 12 years. So many people throughout the throughout the scriptures are in need of God. Help me. The Bible is full of men and women who have hit their walls walls in their walks with God. Guys, getting stuck is

00:18:16 common. But even more than that, frankly, it's expected. I don't know if anyone's ever told you that. Hey, you're going to feel stuck at some point. You only I mean uh math for example, right? I mean, you go go to school up until 12th grade having a certain general education in math and you go to an algebra class at college and you go, I don't know this stuff. Well, yeah. How many of you guys have been Well, let's see. How many How many of you are 21 years old? 21. How many of you have been 21 before? Right. None. All right. This is your

00:18:46 first time doing it, right? It's your first time living this life. So, of course, you're going to feel stuck like how do I do this? Let's look at uh Paul's words here in Romans 7. He talks about I I I do things I don't want to do and I and I don't end up doing the things I really want to do. He says, "I find this law at work. Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being, I I delight in God's law, but I see another law at work in me. It's waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law sin at work within me." He he

00:19:17 ends saying like, "Well, what a wretched man I am." How many people feel that way? I just I'm just a I'm a dirty, rotten sinner. I'm messed up. I'm broken. Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Paul, the the most I mean, arguably the most prolific and impactful disciple in the New Testament, I he wrote half of it, right? He he says here, he he gets stuck in these cycles as well of I'm a sinner. I need help. He had trouble overcoming his sin, the sin in his life. And so, here's

00:19:47 something I want you guys to know. Even mature Christians get stuck. Even a mature Christian like Paul in the New Testament, I need help. Many of us wrongly assume that only young and immature disciples will get stuck spiritually. Too many of us wrongly assume that only the weak falter or will consistently struggle with things. But I want to both reassure and even honestly warn you guys a bit. Getting stuck is not a question of if, but just when. Right? Like Jalissa

00:20:19 mentioned, none of us want to. It just it feels it kind of just happens. And honestly, there's some poor decision-m we can make along the way. But along with that, I didn't want to. I just I find myself in this place of and I don't like being here. But guys, even older Christians just they do that. It's again, it's their first time going through life as well. But I want you to know it's just a season. It's just this time in your life and it will pass. But here's the thing. It's not a season that just happens once. I I live in the

00:20:49 Central Valley. All right. It gets stupid hot. I wish it only happens once and I'm done with it for the rest of my life. But it gets hot every year. All right. Easily into the hundreds. Some people are like, "That's cute." All right. 110s. Same. But this was a nice summer actually. So it's pretty good. Um, but seasons are going to come and they go and eventually they come again. And if you've been through uh through a hot day before, you go, "All right, I know what that's like. I know what I need to do. I need to go inside and put the AC on or take a cold shower and

00:21:21 chill in my room with my chonies for a little bit." Like, you know, but you figure it out. You figure it out, right? But you know what to expect. The young and old go through it. But I think honestly the storms occur a lot more often when you're younger spiritually. You're just not very stable emotionally, spiritually. I mean l literally the front of your brain is still developing. I'm still tell about 25. So good luck for a bit. You know, you'll work on that. But they happen a lot more when you're younger. And the older you get, they happen less often. But I'm telling you right now, they get

00:21:51 harder. The storms blow a bit harder. All right? Life gets a more a lot more complex. You have a lot more that's writing of responsibilities on you. And it it gets hard. But it's not impossible, but it will pass. Um, how do you guys how do you guys think you uh if you were a tree, how do you think you'd make it through a drought? >> Roots. Thank you. Who said that? Thank you. Good job. Roots. You need to have deep roots. Another minister shared this with us here at the conference just a couple days ago, and I wanted to share

00:22:21 with you guys, but uh anyone ever seen a redwood before? >> Stupid big, right? Seoas like that. Crazy. They're huge. They're massively large trees. For for perspective, they will grow twice as tall as this building we're in right now. They're taller than the Statue of Liberty. It's 379 feetish. Like that. Crazy. At 37 stories. This, think about it, this building goes about 16. Double it. Give it to the next person, right? Like

00:22:51 they're huge, right? They need a ton of They need They need incredibly thick and and strong roots to not only just keep them upright, but to keep them well fed. Their roots, however, they only go down about 10 ft. Does that make any sense? They only go down about 10 feet. But here's the thing. They go out horizontally about 60 to 80 feet. So, in other words, they they they they grow outwards and they grab onto each

00:23:21 other and they keep each other strong and in the ground. Uh, anyone know who this king is right here? This this awesome guy. >> Who is that? >> Caesar. What is the whole analogy with the stick? What does he say? >> Apes together strong. >> Apes together strong. >> Heck yeah. >> His point is right, one stick just breaks easy, but you have a bundle. They don't break as easily. Guys, there's there's there's power in unity and collective action.

00:23:51 All right? You're stronger together. We need deep roots, guys. If you desire to weather through the season of feeling stuck, check your roots. How how are your relationships at this time? Are you doing this alone? Right? Do do are you are you uh uh are your roots wide? That's what I'm trying to get at. But also, are they deep? How is your relationship with Christ today? I'm not talking about church and your all your activities. I'm talking about how is your honest experience with your

00:24:21 relationship with Jesus today? >> Are you full of him? We need deep roots. Romans 7:25 says, "Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord." Getting spiritually unstuck doesn't mean pretending you're fine. It means uh returning daily to the well that never runs dry. We need to develop resiliency and consistency. The world will never give you the kind of nourishment that you'll need during a drought. The best it can ever do for you guys is to keep you distracted,

00:24:51 right? Instagram, whatever, binge, whatever you Yeah. Whatever you guys choose to spend your time with, keep you distracted, but it doesn't get away get rid of the problem. Distraction is not the same as deliverance. Okay? It's not the same thing. Would you rather pretend things are better or for things to actually be better? And there's only one person who actually quenches that thirst of ours and it's our Lord Jesus Christ. So every day it's a surrender. It's the good news that that doesn't expire and it's still good today especially when you're in a drought. So to recap again this point idea, seasons of drought are

00:25:22 common. You need help beyond yourself from God and others. And then faithfulness in Jesus, not perfection is what carries you through dry seasons. Staying in there. Here's truth number three. God's love transforms. Romans 5:6-8. And I'm sorry, those you're taking notes. I want to make sure you guys get through the rest of this. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person. Though for a good person, someone might possibly dare

00:25:53 to die. But God demonstrated his own love for in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Church, he he died for you when you're at your worst. I think too many of us think we don't deserve all this stuff until we're doing our best. But the truth is Jesus died way before any of that. He died for you at your worst. God loves you. This is the first point we teach people when we teach them how to evangelize and even for themselves. This is the gospel message. But it starts up with this idea when God made creation. He says he loved it. He says it was very

00:26:24 good. How many of us look in the mirror and go, I'm bad. Like God's upset with me. God disappointed. God loves you. I mean, I don't know where you get this from, but God loves you, >> right? >> He lo He died for his creation. He died for you. You don't die for someone you don't care about. You die for someone you care about. You love. But God loves his creation. So, yes, we're broken. We have things to to acknowledge that we fall. But that's why Jesus comes to reconcile us. And but we have a response. There's a response that's needed of us to act in according to

00:26:54 that. So, your value doesn't come from your performance. It comes from the simple fact that God made you and he loves you. That's it. Period. Remember what Romans says about the love of God. There is nothing in all creation that'll be able to separate you from the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing. Angels, demons, whatever spiritual battle you see going on, that's not enough to stop God from loving you. But here's the thing. Not even you are strong enough to make God stop loving you. I'm going to say that again. You're not even strong enough to stop make God

00:27:25 stop loving you. All right. Hopefully that feels relieving because like I'm pretty bad. I feel that. Uh there's a song uh uh come thou font prone to wander Lord I feel it like God I'm just this I'm a struggler but that's I'm not even strong enough to make God stop loving me. Anyone familiar with um well actually sorry before I move on I want to make sure I hit this right. Not even you but seasons of feeling stuck does not disqualify you from his love. His love does not change even when we do. All right. He is constant even when we're

00:27:56 not. All right. Anyone familiar with this uh circus act right here? >> What is it called? >> The trapeze. Fine trapeze. Right. Okay. Great. Great. Does anyone know what makes this like actually work? >> Trust. Come on y'all. Let's go. The the the person who's flying through the air is only able to let go, fly confidently, do these amazing aerials is because they trust that someone's going to catch them. They actually believe that the person

00:28:26 who promised they're going to be there is actually trustworthy. They're going to catch them. 1 Corinthians 13 gives us this amazing list of what love is like. All right? And we've all seen it, probably heard it before. I'm going to use 1 John 4 as a what the implications of this. 1 John 4 tells us that God himself is love. So if we replace his name, here's what we get. God is patient. He He is kind. He does not envy. He does not boast. He is not proud. And he will not dishonor you. He is not self-seeking. He is not easily

00:28:56 angered. He He keeps no record of wrongs. God does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Is this your view of God? Is this the God you think of? Because if it's not, you've been lied to. You've been deceived. Like Jula brought up, sin will lie to you. It is not your friend. Satan is not your buddy. He is not going to tell you what God's

00:29:26 nature is really like. Sin will convince us to run from his love and correction rather than trust it every time. And look at Titus 2. I'm going to end up with this and then move on to Jalissa. But for the grace of God that is up here that offers salvation to all people. It meaning God's grace teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions to live self-controlled and upright lives in this present age while we wait for the blessed hope and that we can to be people that God is

00:29:57 proud of. It is the grace of God guys that's going to lead you out of this season. Growing is not about trying more or fake it till you make it. But still, sadly, we use other terrible motives like fear, guilt, and shame to think that's going to get me out of this. I got to be more upset with myself. Then I'll be I'll do better. You know what's wrong with the motives like fear, guilt, all that stuff? What's wrong with those? What's the problem with using those motivators? >> Doesn't last. >> They don't last. >> They hold you back.

00:30:27 >> They hold you back. I find from my experience that they always lead me away from relationships and not wanting to be open every single time. They do not make me feel like I can be more honest about it. They feel make me feel like I cannot possibly talk about it. They never lead us to a relationship and being in the light. They usually result in us feeling like I'm never going to be enough. That I can't work through this. But guys, God has given us the formula right there. It's his grace that's going to teach you how to get out of this. It's actually like Jul said, acknowledging the truth. I need help. I

00:30:58 need I need a savior. I need help. And I say this as a married man. It's difficult to keep hurting the person you love. that when I real and not I just realized but I see the impact of my my uh my sinful nature and hurting my wife day in and day out I I feel so discouraged and I'm just expecting the day when she goes I'm done with you I feel that way a lot she doesn't say it but I feel it but just when I think she's done she says no Jose I love you I'm not going

00:31:28 anywhere more than that I'm going to keep loving you more than you probably deserve um I'm telling you guys right now that is humbling and embarrassing but I feel love transforms when you're loved in a way that you do not deserve, right? That is grace. That is undeserved merit. All right? Undeserved blessing in your life. And when you continue to see that in your life with God, that changes your brain chemistry. I'm telling you, it it it does that for you. But it's through God's grace that's going to help you come out of this time. And it only happens when you're 100% honest and dirt

00:31:58 humble. This kind of revival only comes when yes, you have biblical fear and conviction, but it's also built on the foundation that God loves me. Period. That's not changing. He loves me. >> It says in Titus, it's going to teach you how to say no. Not that you won't feel desires. You're going to you're going to still feel sinful desire, but you learn to more to say, "No, it's not worth it. I love my wife." Well, then go for that. So, to recap the points, God loves you at your worst, not just your best. All right? Guilt and shame can't sustain growth. Only grace can. And real

00:32:28 transformation comes from receiving, not earning God's love. Here's Jalissa with truth 4. >> Truth four, the battle is spiritual, not physical. Ephesians 6:10-12 says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the

00:32:58 spiritual forces of evil and the heavenly realms. What a cool scripture. I feel like I I like stuff like D and D and things like that. I'm a big nerd, so that stuff is like, oh, this feels very fantasy-esque, but this is reality. And you guys believe God is real, right? >> Yeah. >> Come on. >> You better believe that Satan is real, too. Well, >> and Satan is ticked off that God has the victory. He is ticked off because many of you have had victory by making Jesus

00:33:28 Lord of your life by being baptized and being freed of the shackles of sin. And so, his objective now is to get you back into those shackles. >> Yeah. >> To do whatever it takes. >> In John 10:10, Jesus says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." We have a vision and a promise from our creator that we can and will have life to the full and that promise is true. How many of us went in search of God

00:33:59 with hope in our hearts? How many of us felt ecstatic initially when we had that first taste of freedom of realizing peace and joy in those fruits of the spirit? >> Yeah. >> But how many of us have come to a place of feeling like we were disillusioned? the the life that we have is not the one that God promised. Or maybe we made a mistake in believing that that promise would was meant for us. >> The problem is is that most of us don't even realize we're being robbed. We put our thoughts and cycles of sin down to

00:34:29 I'm just lazy. I can't overcome the flesh. I'm the problem. Mhm. >> One of the most devious ploys that Satan uses is one, convincing people he doesn't exist, and two, for those who do believe he exists, he has them looking for the wrong signs of his presence. >> 1 Peter 5'8 says, "The devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." When you see a lion hunt, he's not all loud and like just running around. He's quiet. He's hiding. He is doing everything he can to mask

00:35:00 his presence. and he has got his eyes in laser focus on his prey. Satan does the same thing. He's analyzing each and every one of us, looking for an opportunity and in the meantime masking his presence so we don't see him coming. Maybe when you visualize Satan, you're visualizing some sort of super villain right here. You know, a little evil voice that's telling you stop following God, you know, or you're not enough. And in some cases, I think Satan will act in

00:35:30 overt ways that are meant to scare us, but honestly, it's not his his main mo. It's not the most effective way to win us over. >> If you've ever tried convincing someone of doing something, telling them or to stop a habit, telling them not to do it because it's bad, nine out of 10 times it's not going to work. You know, and if you were serious about trying to convince someone to not follow God, telling them not to do it is not your first tactic, right? So, it would be foolish to think that Satan would do the same. Um 2 Corinthians 11:14 it says, "And no

00:36:01 wonder for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." Now this this is the look. Oh man, it's covering it. >> Got it. The format. >> The format. But you know, you know, >> you know what I'm talking about, though. >> Yeah. >> This is what Satan will look like. >> This is a devil. >> This is a devil. I had to put in a plug for K-pop Demon Hunters. This is This is >> Come on. >> I had to do it at least once today.

00:36:31 Please watch it. Please watch it. If you haven't watched it, K-pop Demon Hunters, it is a spectacular movie. I feel like it really encapsulates a lot of what we're talking about today. How Satan works, how he deceives, how he convinces us that we're stuck and we can't get out. So, please, please, if check it out. It's on Netflix. It's less than an hour 30. The soundtrack is, >> you know what I'm talking about. Peek, peek, peek. It's amazing. All right. Okay, I'm done. We're moving on. Satan is a deceiver. >> Yeah. >> And you want to know how to get someone to believe a lie? This this is the this

00:37:03 is the key. >> You create doubt. >> He takes advantage of confusion. You keep a bit of the truth and you use the desires against them. I won't get all into the details of this. Um this is exactly the the way that he does the the initial fall of man with Eve. He creates doubt. He takes advantage of her confusion because she says, "Uh, oh, we can't, um, if we touch it, we'll die." That's not what God said. So, she's confused. He takes advantage of that. He keeps a bit of the truth. God didn't, oh, you won't die if you touch it. And so, she finds it out. He takes advantage

00:37:33 of that. Uses the desire of uh, >> them wanting it looks appealing. And also, she wants to be like God. She loves God. She wants to be close to God. And Satan's like, "It it'll make you more like God." He's using her desires against her. Yeah. >> This is how he will lie to you, too. Yeah. >> So, when you're hearing thoughts in your head, okay, >> when you hear thoughts, questions in your head of of did God really say you'd be forgiven of all your sins? Or did God really say you can't listen to any secular media? Or did God really say you

00:38:04 shouldn't date anyone outside the church? You'll come in and you'll say, "Oh, well, he didn't say that, but he said this." But is that just coming from your opinions, or is that based on truth? Is that secondhand knowledge or is that based on God's word? >> Yeah. >> Cuz if if you are not firm in your convictions and it's based on the word, then Satan will take advantage of your confusion. >> So, we won't go I wish we could go more into this maybe later, but he knows how to create the perfect lies for you. 2 Corinthians 10:es 3-5. For though we

00:38:35 live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. And we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. >> You need to learn to take captive your thoughts. >> You need to learn how to do that. You need to learn how to tell yourself the truth. This is the most important thing that any of you can do is learn how to

00:39:06 find the truth. And here's kind of the a little layout for how you can kind of do that. Um, you have to ident identify a feeling when you're feeling negative. Like, okay, what am I feeling? Am I feeling fear? Am I feeling scared? Am I feeling alone? And why am I feeling that? Oh, because because if if I did this, then that means I'm stupid. If I did this, it means I'm not capable of overcoming this. I'm incompetent. I'm this. Is that from God? Is that a thought from

00:39:38 God? >> Or is that from Satan? >> Right? >> And if that doesn't line up with what God says about his love about who I am, who he says I am, then it has to be coming from him, >> from Satan. >> And do I trust Satan? >> No. Satan is a liar. We just established that. He is a liar. He's a thief. >> So at that point, it's like one, I shouldn't believe this, but I need to replace this with the truth. Right? >> So, you need to find and seek the truth. And maybe you can't figure that out on your own. You know, maybe at first you

00:40:09 won't be able to figure that out on your own. I have a hard time. It's why I have to go to therapy. I need somebody else to tell me tell me the truth. Um it's why I have discipling relationships cuz I need someone else to help me find the truth. Um so, I think it's so important you need to find the truth. Seek the truth for yourself, but also have other people in your life that you can trust to tell you the truth. >> And lastly, pray it away. >> Pray it away. Um, when we we talked about how sin is anything that goes against God's will, these these thoughts that are from Satan and hanging on to those thoughts, that can be sin. If we choose not to listen to God and we're

00:40:39 listening to Satan instead. James talks about how if if we confess our sins, we can pray for each other and then we will be healed. That includes these thoughts. Get open with the thoughts that you're not enough, that you have these insecurities of your brokenness. Bring them to other people and pray for one another. Don't just say, "Oh, can you pray for me?" Let's pray right now. M >> if you hear someone here today who's struggling with some someone, do not say, "Oh, I'll pray for you about that." Pray for it now. >> Take the moment now. It doesn't take long. >> It doesn't take long. You don't have to babble for hours and hours. God doesn't

00:41:10 want that. No, >> you can pray for it now. Pray with someone. Pray with people. Break break the strongholds down. It has divine power. Do not underestimate the power of prayer. >> Come on. Yeah, >> it is important. It will create healing in you. >> Come on, Jelissa. >> Truth five. Oh, well, actually, sorry. Truth is, Satan's the enemy. He's a liar. You need to demolish arguments. Okay? >> Satan is real. He's the true enemy. He's a liar. He'll do anything to deceive you. You need to demolish arguments. Truth five. I have to reach back towards

00:41:41 him. Full surrender produces full freedom. Only full surrender produces full freedom. Okay. Matthew 19:16-26. Maybe you've heard this before. Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. There is only one who is good. "If you want to enter life, keep the commandments." "Which ones?" he inquired. Jesus replied, "You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery.

00:42:11 You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. Honor your father and mother. And love your neighbor as yourself." "All these I have kept," the young man said, "What do I still lack?" Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me." Oh, sorry, I hadn't been pressing these things. When the young man heard this, he went away sad because he had great wealth.

00:42:43 This man is lacking something. We can be lacking something. I know there are times when I feel like, God, I'm giving you everything. I'm giving you 80. I'm giving you all this part of my life. I'm I'm doing ministry. I'm helping people. I'm I'm spending all my time on you and and trying to read my Bible. But there's still some sort of disconnect. And the fact is is that I still lack something. And we can see in this man what the issue is. If you notice the one commandment that Jesus did not mention is do not put any gods above. You will

00:43:15 have one god. >> You will have one god. Only one god. This man has made his wealth his God. >> So all the other stuff he's keeping. >> Yeah. >> But he's forgotten the most important one, which is putting God first over anything else. So there are things usually in our lives that we have not surrendered. Times when I've been stuck, there's usually something that I'm not truly surrendering. You know, there's some an expectation or standard that I've held God up to that I'm being disappointed in because it's it's it's based on a lie or based on something

00:43:45 that I've created. um when I'm expecting uh God God loves those he blesses and and so if I'm going through suffering or these hard times and that must mean that either God doesn't love me or he doesn't care you know but the fact is if I if I look at the truth blessing is a state of relationship with God blessing to have God's blessing is to have his favor it's not about my circumstances >> we cannot act like we're surrendering when really we're hanging on to things in our hearts

00:44:17 Ask yourself, ask yourself the question, is there Oh, sorry. Yeah, this is us. This is the creation of Adam, >> God straining towards us. And us, we're like, God, why aren't you meeting where I'm at? Like, I'm I'm really struggling. Why aren't you there? And there's something we are not we're not reaching across that la last bit of distance. Well, you're like, I'm giving 80%. Why can't you just meet me right here? And he's already he's like, I we can reach if you just give me that last percent. But we have to be willing to do it. So, is there something in your life you have not fully surrendered to God yet? What

00:44:47 is stopping you from letting me go? When I I won't get into my full testimony, but essentially I got baptized in the teens. I did not really truly make Jesus Lord of my life. I was hanging on to a relationship that I I just could not let go. I could not It was the idol of my life. I also hid sin. I hid sin in my life. I did not want to share that I was samesex attracted because I was like if I do then people will treat me different and I don't want that. So I'm just I can just be a disciple and I just won't pursue that lifestyle and nobody has to

00:45:18 know and I will be okay. And for two years I spiritually struggled and I could not grow and I ended up falling back into impurity and I ended up falling back into this emptiness and depression and I was like why can't I get out of this and God kept making it clear you have not brought everything to the light and you have not given me everything. And so I did not have the Holy Spirit to transform me because I had never that that it was a bath. I took a I just took a bath. I did not actually get saved because I had not given everything to God. And so I think

00:45:48 it's good for you guys to ask yourself, have I surrendered everything to God? >> Right? >> What do I need to surrender? The arm of the Lord is not too short to save. But if we're leaning away, it's kind of hard. I'm a big Spider-Man fan. Um, and this is one of my favorite issues. This is The Amazing Spider-Man 33 and um Spider-Man Homecoming does a little homage to it, but I really love the actual words and verbiage of of getting to hear Spider-Man's thoughts and stuff.

00:46:18 And this is right after Spider-Man has this big fight and then he's stuck under some rubble and he's just tired. And so he says, "I've got to try and free myself, no matter how impossible it seems. And lifting is the only way. The only way I can't. so exhausted after all that fighting. I feel so weak. That's how we can feel, right? We're like, this this this obstacle in my way feels impossible to move. And I know that it's going to take work, but I've already been fighting for

00:46:49 so long. How could I possibly? You're asking me to do more. You're asking me to keep pushing. I can't. But then Spider-Man, he remembers why he's doing it. He remembers his purpose. And we have to remember our purpose, right? God's love. And and also even just thinking about when Satan lies to you, why would he want to convince you of those lies? It's because he sees you as a threat. >> He sees you as a threat. You have so much potential. You have power in you through the Holy Spirit, but he wants to

00:47:19 stop you. So, you got to remember your why and your power. And I love what Spider-Man says here. I'll try not to get emotional, but I I love this part. It says, "Anyone can win a fight when the odds are easy." >> It's when the going's tough. When there seems to be no chance, that's when it counts. Anyone can be a disciple when nothing's going wrong in their life. >> Anyone can be a disciple when there's no obstacle. >> But it's when you actually have to deny

00:47:49 your flesh, when you're in these moments where it actually counts that you made the decision to make Jesus Lord of your life. >> This is the moment where you take up your cross and you die to yourself. This is when it matters. When it feels like there's no way when it feels like there is no way I can get over this. There's no way God could forgive me. There's no way I could be enough. God is the way maker. I love this last part. And then as the agonizing ache in his limbs seems unendurable as his

00:48:19 superbly muscled body suffers the torment of a virtually indescribable ordeal. From out of the pain, from out of the agony comes triumph. I did it. I'm free. Getting spiritually unstuck is not easy. Following these practicals or the things we're telling you, it's not easy. It's going to be painful. It's going to be hard. Having to bring yourself broken before people, it's hard. Having to to start to deny yourself, it's hard. It's

00:48:49 agonizing. But when you go through it, you will you will be free. You will be free indeed. That's what Jesus said. >> Yeah. >> You will have freedom. You will have triumph. You will have victory. And the things that you're ashamed of today will be the things that bring God glory tomorrow. >> Yeah. >> So remember that. I'm going to have Jose close up. >> So to overview the truth that we talked about today is you got to be able to admit I'm stuck. We need to be able to humbly admit that the sin in our lives

00:49:20 become is become unmanageable and we can't do it alone. Two, it's just a season. Remember that this all too shall pass. One day it'll it'll come again, but God and his love will help us through like he's done so many times before. God's love transforms. Making that your focus. Establish a firm conviction that it's through God's love and grace that will lead you to the kind of spiritual transformation that he actually seeks. Three, the battle is spiritual, not physical. It's not just you. Satan is the enemy on the proud. So know the enemy and know how to demolish his lies. And five, how to reach back

00:49:50 towards God. God is asking for 100%. And if you want to surrender it all, um you won't ever forget to fully uh experience his grace, but if you surrender it all, you will. Um here's some self-reflection questions. I encourage you guys um take time to pray. If you're here at this class, hopefully it's because you want to do the work. Um but taking time to uh to ask yourself these things, maybe even talk about it with someone else. Um what lies or halftruths have you been hearing and why are they so pervasive? Where are they coming from? Do you think most of

00:50:21 your selft talk brings you closer to God or further away from him? And what are those examples like? What are those exact thoughts you've been having? And what kind of truth do you need to hear but tend to avoid? What stops you from actually facing it? Um if you have more questions or or not questions, but if you want to get connected with us, please feel free to stop us anytime during the conference. We're not your ministers, but we're happy to minister you guys and be your friends because we believe in you. So, >> we also have a lot of resources and practicals that we did not get to put in here. So, if you want more practical

00:50:52 stuff, this is a lot of the heart, but if you want more practicals, please come see us after. We'll write you write your email down and we'll send you some resources and stuff. Okay, >> that is our class. Thank you guys for coming today. [Applause]