The Power To Change // Breaking the Cycle // Ps Sean Stanton
THE POWER TO CHANGE
I am convinced and sure of this very thing that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ, developing and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you. Philippians 1:6 (AMP)
Break the Cycle That’s Breaking Your Life
One day, Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. Judges16:1 (NIV)
Don’t you realise that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. Romans 6:16–18 (NLT)
A Pattern Of Teaching
But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. Romans 6:17 (NIV)
1. Begin Today
Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honour of setting the time for me to pray for you …that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs. … “Tomorrow,” Pharaoh said. Exodus 8:9–10 (NIV)
As the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” Hebrews 3:7–8 (NIV)
2. Examine Your Life
Let us examine our ways and turn back to the Lord. Lamentations 3:40 (GNT)
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalms 139:23–24 (NIV)
3. Confess It
People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord. Proverbs 19:3 (NLT)
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8–9 (NIV)
If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 (NIV)
4. Renew Your Mind
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against You. Psalms 119:11 (NIV)
Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Ephesians 4:22–24 (NLT)
5. Not “Try” But “Trust”
We’ve sinned and kept at it so long! Is there any hope for us? Can we be saved? We’re all sin-infected, sin-contaminated. Our best efforts are grease-stained rags. Isaiah 64:5–6 (MSG)
God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. Romans 8:1–2 (NLT)