Freedom From Your Negative Thoughts - Craig Groeschel
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00:00 I wonder how many of you have ever stopped to ask yourself,
00:05 why do you do what you do?
00:08 Why do you do what you do?
00:10 Because chances are in a similar situation,
00:14 you often respond with similar actions.
00:18 Why is it that you generally do what you do
00:21 in different situations?
00:23 For example, I'm gonna give you three
00:26 kind of common scenarios and ask you,
00:29 what do you do in the morning?
00:32 What do you do at a restaurant?
00:34 And what do you do with your money?
00:37 Why do you do what you do?
00:39 How many of you in the morning, be honest,
00:42 the alarm goes off and you hit snooze,
00:44 raise your hand, raise your hand,
00:45 you almost always hit snooze.
00:46 Those of you online, go ahead and type it in the chat,
00:49 I hit snooze.
00:50 How many of you, when your alarm goes off,
00:53 you jump out of bed or you maybe even might get out of bed
00:57 before your alarm goes off, raise up your hands,
00:59 raise your hands.
01:00 You're the first one to the meeting, you're wound up,
01:03 you make the rest of everybody crazy, that's what you do.
01:06 Why do you do that?
01:08 I wonder.
01:09 When you go to a restaurant, there's a healthy choice
01:14 and there's a better tasting choice.
01:19 How many of you go healthy almost all the time?
01:22 Almost healthy, almost nobody here.
01:24 With good tasting, raise your hand,
01:26 you can type it in the comment section.
01:28 You go with the healthy choice, you choose chicken.
01:32 You go with the better tasting option,
01:36 you choose chicken, fried steak with mashed potatoes
01:40 and gravy and okra and sherry pie and vanilla ice cream.
01:45 All of the glory of God.
01:49 Why do you choose what you choose?
01:52 When it comes to finances, and don't raise your hand
01:56 on this, but I wonder how many of you always put God first.
02:00 You're a steward and you worship Him with the first 10%
02:05 and you manage wisely what you have
02:08 and you see the faithfulness of God
02:09 and you almost always have money left over.
02:13 Or like many people in the world today,
02:16 I wonder how many of you spend almost all that you have
02:20 every single month or maybe even spend a little more
02:23 than you have.
02:24 If you ever stop to think about
02:26 why do you almost always do the same things,
02:29 why do you tend to do what you do?
02:32 There are some reasons,
02:35 what I'm gonna call some secondary reasons,
02:37 and we're gonna address those because they're real.
02:39 And then we're gonna look at the primary reason
02:42 that you do what you do.
02:45 Let's look at the secondary reasons
02:46 because there are some and they're important.
02:49 Why do you do what you do?
02:50 One reason you do what you do
02:52 is because you feel obligated to do it.
02:54 You wanna be a good mom or a good dad
02:57 or a good friend or a good worker,
02:59 or you feel obligated to obey God,
03:02 so you do what you do because you feel obligated to do it.
03:05 Another reason you do what you do
03:06 is because you actually want to do it.
03:09 You want to please God or you want to be disciplined
03:14 or you want to show love
03:17 or you want to make the wiser choice or whatever,
03:20 you do it because you want to.
03:22 A third reason, and many of us do this,
03:24 is you do what you do because you wanna be liked.
03:27 You wanna be accepted.
03:29 That's why you work so hard on taking the same fake photo
03:32 over and over and over again,
03:34 just to get the right filter so you get enough likes
03:36 because we're trying to create an image
03:38 that people would think that we are
03:40 what we want them to believe that we are.
03:42 We do what we do because we wanna be accepted.
03:44 There are many different secondary reasons
03:48 that we do what we do,
03:50 but there is a primary reason
03:54 that we behave consistently the way that we behave.
03:58 What is the biggest reason you do what you do,
04:01 if you're taking notes, is this.
04:03 You do what you do because of what you think of you.
04:10 The biggest driving force of our behavior is our identity.
04:15 We do what we do primarily
04:20 because of what we think of ourselves.
04:24 In the Old Testament, scripture says this, Proverbs 23, 7,
04:27 "For as he thinks in his heart, so he is."
04:31 Our identity, how we see ourself, drives our behavior.
04:36 In fact, I'm excited to tell you
04:39 that I have a book coming out.
04:41 I'm very, very passionate about this message.
04:44 It's called "The Power to Change,"
04:46 "Mastering the Habits that Matter Most."
04:50 In it, we look at what God's Word says
04:52 about how we change.
04:54 We look at what God's Word says
04:55 and how they apply to our habits.
04:58 And we see how science confirms the teaching of God's Word
05:02 'cause God created science anyway.
05:04 And we apply these truths in a way
05:07 that can be very, very life transforming.
05:09 "The Power to Change" releases here in a few weeks.
05:13 And in the book, I cite a study
05:15 that is incredibly important,
05:18 giving us the power to change.
05:21 There's a study that talks about three questions
05:25 that all of us subconsciously ask in any situation.
05:30 When you face any type of situation in your mind
05:33 without even knowing, you just, in a split second,
05:36 subconsciously, you process three questions
05:41 that end up determining what you do
05:44 because what you think of you determines what you do.
05:47 And the questions that you ask yourself
05:48 without even knowing it, in a second in your mind,
05:52 in a split second, you ask this.
05:53 The first question you ask is this.
05:55 What type of person am I?
05:59 You face any kind of situation
06:01 and you are kind of categorizing yourself.
06:04 I'm a believer or I take shortcuts or I'm disciplined.
06:08 What type of person am I?
06:11 And you ask yourself, what kind of situation is this?
06:16 You don't even realize it.
06:17 Going on in your mind in a split millisecond
06:20 is what kind of person am I?
06:22 What kind of situation is this?
06:23 And then what does someone like me do
06:28 in a situation like this?
06:30 And that determines what we do over and over and over again.
06:34 What kind of person am I?
06:36 What kind of situation is this?
06:40 And what does someone like me do in a situation like this?
06:45 And you'll find yourself
06:47 in any number of different scenarios.
06:50 You're taking a test and you don't know the answer.
06:55 And you can see the answer on your buddy's sheet
06:59 and you're tempted to cheat.
07:01 Or you're tempted to take something that's not yours.
07:06 Or you're tempted to make somebody look bad
07:10 by gossiping about them.
07:11 Or you're tempted to be generous
07:15 and give to someone and be a blessing.
07:18 Or someone hurts you and you actually choose to forgive them.
07:23 Or someone does something that doesn't seem right
07:27 and you choose to believe the best about them.
07:30 Why do you do what you do?
07:32 You do what you do because of what you think of you.
07:34 What kind of person am I?
07:37 What kind of situation is this?
07:39 And what does a person like me do in a situation like this?
07:42 For example, in the morning, your alarm goes off.
07:45 What kind of person are you?
07:46 Well, you kind of know.
07:48 I'm the type of person that hits snooze seven times.
07:51 Bah, snooze, bah, snooze, bah, snooze.
07:54 That's the kind of person I am.
07:54 That's what a person like me does
07:56 in a situation like this.
07:57 Or you just said it earlier,
07:59 you're the type of person that often gets up
08:01 before their alarm goes off and attacks the day.
08:04 In your mind, that's the type of person that you are.
08:08 Or you're driving down the road and somebody cuts you off.
08:13 What type of person are you?
08:15 Some of you, you're the type of person
08:19 that brings justice on behalf of God.
08:22 (congregation laughing)
08:23 Oh, no, you don't, and you run 'em down
08:26 and you preach to 'em.
08:27 There's only one way to God and it's this way,
08:29 and you show 'em the one way.
08:30 Peel the banana, buddy, peel the banana, right?
08:34 That's the way some of you are.
08:39 I've seen you in the church parking lot.
08:42 Little sanctification coming your way,
08:45 in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
08:47 Or you're the type of person that goes,
08:49 ah, man, they cut me off.
08:51 I did that yesterday.
08:53 Maybe they're in a hurry.
08:54 Maybe they're about to give birth to some kid, maybe.
08:56 Maybe there's someone in the hospital.
08:59 Maybe they're just a bad driver.
09:01 I'm gonna give 'em grace because I've done the same thing.
09:04 What type of a person are you?
09:05 Someone brings donuts to the office.
09:09 What kind of person are you?
09:11 I'm a type of person that knocks everybody out of the way.
09:15 Baby, I'm gonna get the first two.
09:17 Chocolate frosted and cherry filled
09:18 in the name of the Father, Son.
09:20 Those are mine.
09:21 Or, I'm the type of person who likes donuts,
09:24 but I brought healthy snacks and already had them
09:29 so I don't need the donuts.
09:32 I'm the type of person, honestly,
09:33 that walks up to 'em, looks at 'em, smells 'em,
09:36 walks away and asks for help.
09:37 That's what I do, but I'm just telling you.
09:39 That's what I do.
09:40 I literally smell them and then I walk away.
09:43 And occasionally, I'll eat a half of one
09:45 and tell myself it doesn't count when you eat a half,
09:47 and I'll come back later and eat the other half
09:50 and tell myself that somehow it's better
09:52 when you spread it out by 12 minutes.
09:54 But that's just me.
09:57 Anybody know what I'm talking about?
09:59 Type it in the chat.
10:00 Say, I've got that theology too, Pastor.
10:02 I've got that theology too.
10:04 In every area of your life,
10:06 you tend to do what you do
10:11 because of what you think of you.
10:15 What kind of person am I?
10:19 What kind of situation is this?
10:22 What does a person like me do in a situation like this?
10:25 Years ago, when our office was in a shopping strip,
10:31 some high school students came up,
10:33 maybe 15 cars flying in the parking lot,
10:37 and everybody got out and two guys took their shirts off
10:40 and started fighting.
10:41 And so I was studying the Word of God
10:45 and decided it was time for a break
10:47 and ran through the office yelling, fight, fight, fight,
10:49 fight, fight.
10:50 Pastor Robert Wall, who's still on our staff,
10:54 came running out with me,
10:55 and together we watched these guys
10:58 just tearing into each other for 12, 15 seconds or so.
11:03 And then I stopped and asked myself,
11:05 what kind of person am I?
11:07 A Christian.
11:09 And a pastor Christian.
11:12 What kind of situation is this?
11:14 Students fighting.
11:15 What does a person like me do in a situation like this?
11:18 I said, ah, come on, Robert.
11:20 And we went and broke up the fight.
11:22 In every kind of situation,
11:25 your mind goes through these questions.
11:30 You do what you do because of what you think of you.
11:34 How come I can't change?
11:37 How come I still lose my temper?
11:39 How come I still look at things I don't wanna look at?
11:42 How come I still find myself going back
11:45 to the same bad habits again and again?
11:49 Here's a key thought, and don't miss this.
11:50 Let me set it up.
11:51 You do what you do because of what you think of you.
11:54 Write this down.
11:55 If you wanna change what you do,
11:58 change what you think of you.
12:01 If you wanna change what you do,
12:05 it's time to change your identity
12:07 and change what you think of you.
12:10 I wonder how many of you are like me.
12:13 How many of you would say
12:14 that when you think about who you are,
12:16 it's often easier to believe the bad things
12:19 than it is the good things?
12:20 Raise your hand.
12:21 You can type it in the comment section.
12:23 It's easier to believe the bad things.
12:24 It is for me.
12:26 Why is it that we tend to believe
12:28 the bad things about ourselves?
12:31 The reason is because the devil is a liar.
12:35 And the devil has been lying to you
12:39 since the day that you were born.
12:42 Scripture says this, Jesus said in John 8, 44,
12:46 he said this, "The devil has always hated," what?
12:50 Let's say it aloud.
12:50 "He's always hated."
12:51 He hates the truth.
12:52 He hates the truth because there is no truth in the devil.
12:57 When he lies, it is consistent with his character.
13:02 Why?
13:03 Say it with me because who is he?
13:04 He is a liar and the father of lies.
13:08 Why does he do what he does?
13:09 Because of what he thinks of it.
13:10 He is a liar.
13:11 Now watch what Jesus says next.
13:14 Jesus says, "The devil is a liar,"
13:16 and then watch what Jesus says.
13:18 "So when I tell you the truth,
13:20 "you just naturally don't believe me."
13:24 You've been believing the lie
13:27 from your spiritual enemy for so long.
13:30 When Jesus tries to tell you who you are,
13:34 you've been so pre-programmed by the lie
13:36 that you don't believe the truth
13:38 and that truth will set you free.
13:41 You're so used to hearing that you can't change
13:44 and you're not that and you'll never be faithful
13:47 and you're not a real man of God
13:48 and you're not a good mom
13:50 and you're never gonna be financially free
13:51 and you can never overcome that
13:53 and you're always gonna be addicted
13:55 and you're always gonna be stuck
13:56 and it's easier to believe the lies.
13:58 I know it because I do it.
14:01 I had an interesting moment with Amy.
14:05 I told you a few weeks ago that my dad died
14:08 and my schedule has been just jammed.
14:11 And like, honestly, I am looking for time to grieve
14:16 because I haven't processed it.
14:21 And so the emotion sneaks out in weird times.
14:26 I was reading a verse in the Bible
14:28 and I read a verse and I just started crying
14:29 and thinking about my dad.
14:32 Just sneaks out.
14:33 So the other day I was feeling down
14:36 and Amy said something and I was short with her.
14:40 And she's, "Why are you being short with me?"
14:43 And what I didn't think was,
14:44 I'm almost always loving to her
14:46 and I really do tend to treat her well
14:49 and I am a godly person, I'm grieving and she'll understand.
14:52 What I thought was, I suck.
14:54 That's what I thought.
14:55 And I thought, I'm selfish.
14:57 And I thought, I'm not good enough for her.
14:59 And I thought for a moment, she'd be better off without me.
15:01 That's what I thought.
15:03 Because when you do something you're not proud of,
15:07 the devil doesn't tell you,
15:08 that was just a momentary thing and God is really with you
15:11 and you're still really full of the Holy Spirit.
15:12 No, the devil doesn't tell you you did something bad.
15:15 The devil tells you, you are bad.
15:18 The devil attacks your identity.
15:20 You're not worthy.
15:22 You should be ashamed.
15:25 You're pathetic.
15:26 You're not the real thing.
15:28 You're a hypocrite.
15:30 You're an addict.
15:31 You're a loser.
15:32 You're never, you can't change.
15:34 This is just the way you are.
15:36 And what is he trying to do?
15:38 He's lying to you about your identity.
15:41 And here's what happens.
15:42 You can write this down.
15:44 Your distorted identity starts to sabotage your success.
15:49 Your distorted identity starts to sabotage
15:54 your spiritual success and your progress along the way.
15:58 And you start to think,
16:00 well, I'm just got an addictive personality.
16:03 And so this is what I do to cope.
16:06 I pop the pill, I drink the bottle, I look at the porn.
16:09 It's just what I do.
16:10 It's just how I have to do it
16:11 because you think this is my identity
16:14 or you think I just stink at handling money.
16:17 And so I'm always gonna struggle financially.
16:19 I'm never gonna get ahead.
16:20 I'm always gonna be broke.
16:21 So you just go to Amazon and click buy, buy, buy, buy, buy.
16:25 Or you tend to think, I've never really had close friends.
16:30 So I can't trust people.
16:34 So you continue to put on a false front
16:37 and you keep people from a distance.
16:39 And you might scroll and double click
16:40 and scroll and double click and put on the fake face,
16:44 but you never really let anybody in
16:48 because you believe you aren't worthy to be loved.
16:53 And there's this very deceptive cycle
16:57 that the devil tries to do in your life.
17:01 You can write this down.
17:02 What he does is this,
17:03 is he takes your distorted identity
17:06 and uses it to create destructive habits.
17:10 Your distorted identity creates destructive habits
17:15 and your destructive habits
17:18 reinforce your distorted identity.
17:22 You think poorly of yourself,
17:24 therefore you do the wrong thing.
17:25 And the wrong thing confirms
17:27 that you're really not honoring God along the way.
17:30 How do you break the devil's destructive cycle?
17:36 Well, if you wanna change what you do,
17:40 you have to change how you think.
17:43 And that's why I wanna tell you,
17:44 you are not who the devil says you are.
17:48 You are not who others say you are.
17:53 You're not even who that little critical voice
17:55 in your own head that tears you down
17:59 and rips apart your confidence says that you are.
18:04 Jesus is speaking the truth about you
18:07 and you need to believe the truth about you.
18:11 When instead of having a distorted identity,
18:15 you start to have a Christ-centered identity.
18:19 I am who he says I am.
18:21 When you have a Christ-centered identity
18:23 that breaks the destructive cycle.
18:27 Write this down.
18:28 A Christ-centered identity
18:31 leads to Christ-honoring habits.
18:35 And Christ-honoring habits
18:37 reinforce a Christ-centered identity.
18:42 Why do you tend to do what you do?
18:46 You do what you do because of what you think of you.
18:49 If you wanna change what you do,
18:51 change what you think of you.
18:53 You are not who your spiritual enemy says you are.
18:57 When you believe that, you live the wrong habits
18:59 which reinforces the wrong identity.
19:01 You are who Christ says you are.
19:03 And when you start with that identity,
19:06 it brings about God-honoring habits
19:08 which reinforce the God-honoring identity.
19:11 Let me try to explain it 'cause some of you
19:14 are looking like the cow looking at the new fence.
19:16 (audience laughing)
19:17 I don't get it.
19:18 Let me slow it down.
19:20 I want you to get this.
19:21 This is so important.
19:22 I'm gonna give you an example
19:25 of how this played out in the life of Jesus
19:28 and I'm gonna modernize it for fun.
19:30 Those of you that wanna criticize me,
19:33 you're being a heretic, this isn't in the Bible.
19:36 This is for fun.
19:38 If you don't like it, email me
19:39 at craig@idontgivearip.com.
19:42 (audience laughing)
19:44 So it's a real email.
19:45 It's got an auto response.
19:46 Try it if you don't.
19:48 (audience laughing)
19:49 Believe me, it's there.
19:50 Okay, so let's just pretend this is going on.
19:53 This is a real Bible story with modernized picture.
19:56 So let's just say some guy comes up and says,
19:58 "Hey, I'm a PR agent, Jesus.
20:01 "What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna give you an idea.
20:03 "I want you to do a YouTube live event.
20:05 "You do a YouTube live, we're gonna reach
20:07 "millions of people on YouTube live,
20:08 "it's gonna be amazing."
20:09 And Jesus says, "No, no, no, no, no."
20:10 He refuses, "Because I wanna be with the people.
20:13 "I like the gathering."
20:16 And so the guy says, "Okay, we'll do this
20:17 "hermit on the mountain."
20:18 They promote it and they sell out faster
20:21 than a Taylor Swift concert.
20:23 (audience laughing)
20:24 It's sold out.
20:25 Jesus is there teaching and the Pharisees
20:27 are there protesting.
20:29 Get Jesus canceled, get Jesus canceled.
20:32 At the end of the event, everybody there,
20:35 security says, "Jesus, we gotta get you home."
20:37 And Jesus says, "No, I wanna pray for the people."
20:40 So he goes to pray for the people,
20:42 but most of the people want selfies.
20:44 That hurt his feelings.
20:47 When he got done, he came back and regrouped
20:49 the disciples and said, "How do you think it went?"
20:52 And Peter was mad because Jesus didn't tag him
20:55 in the photo on Instagram.
20:57 And Jesus said, "I'm done with y'all."
20:59 Didn't really happen.
21:02 It's not in the Bible, in case you're new to the Bible.
21:05 It's a modernized version of it.
21:07 So Jesus goes home.
21:12 What does he do?
21:12 What does he do?
21:15 He's physically exhausted.
21:16 People let him down.
21:19 He feels maybe discouraged that they weren't responding
21:23 the way he wanted.
21:24 What does he do?
21:26 Does he veg on his favorite Netflix series?
21:30 Sound like a good plan to me.
21:33 Does he sneak in the kitchen and finish off the brownies?
21:36 Or does he take a bath with soft music
21:42 and turn all the bath water into wine?
21:48 What does he do?
21:55 You with me?
21:56 What does he do?
21:57 He's tired.
21:58 He's all God and he's all man.
22:00 His body is tired and maybe he's discouraged.
22:03 What does he do?
22:04 Well, if he asks, "What kind of person am I?"
22:09 What would he say?
22:12 He would say, "I'm the type of person
22:14 "that needs intimacy with my father."
22:16 What kind of situation is this?
22:20 I'm physically exhausted and emotionally discouraged.
22:23 What does a person like you do in a situation like this?
22:28 They go and spend time praying to the Father.
22:32 And so what does Jesus do?
22:36 According to Scripture, he goes to the Mount of Olives,
22:39 not just any place, but a beautiful place,
22:43 330 feet above Jerusalem, a gorgeous view of the city
22:48 where he can overlook the people that he's praying for.
22:52 And Scripture tells us how often he went there to pray.
22:58 The Bible says in Luke 21, 37,
23:00 "Each day," everybody say, "Each day."
23:03 "Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple
23:05 "and each evening," everybody say, "Each evening."
23:07 "Each evening he went out to spend the night
23:10 "on the hill called the Mount of Olives."
23:14 What did he do?
23:15 His habit was to teach in the day
23:17 and his habit was to pray at night.
23:21 Luke 22, verse 39 says,
23:23 "And Jesus came out and went," as what?
23:26 Say it with me, "As was his habit to the Mount of Olives."
23:30 What I want you to see is that Jesus wasn't going like,
23:34 "Oh, I better pray."
23:36 No, he's the type of person that prays.
23:48 He's the type that prays.
23:51 And his prayer habit reinforced his spiritual identity,
23:56 which therefore strengthened his habit.
24:01 How do you change?
24:04 If you wanna change what you do,
24:06 you change what you think of you.
24:08 Here's what you do, you ready?
24:10 Write this down, write this down.
24:11 You start with who before do.
24:16 Look at the person next to you and say, "Who before do?"
24:19 Type it online, type it in, "Who before do?"
24:21 Who before do?
24:22 Who before do?
24:23 Who before do?
24:24 Instead of focusing on what you wanna do,
24:27 you start with who you wanna become.
24:30 And I wanna ask you right now, not what do you wanna do,
24:34 start with identity.
24:36 Who do you want to become?
24:38 Who do you wanna be?
24:40 Who do you wanna be for the glory of God?
24:44 Because what you think of you determines what you do.
24:47 So we're not starting with the action,
24:49 we're starting with the spiritual Christ-centered identity.
24:53 And I'm gonna give you some examples
24:55 and you can pick your own, and I hope that you do.
24:59 We'll start general and then we'll go specific.
25:01 Who do you want to become?
25:03 You might say, "I wanna become a mom
25:07 "who is fully present and wholly intentional."
25:11 How many think that might be a good person to be?
25:14 God bless both of you.
25:15 Great, we'll try another one.
25:17 How about this one?
25:18 "I'm a teenager who's found purity in Christ
25:22 "and doesn't look at porn."
25:26 I found purity in Christ.
25:28 Here's another one.
25:29 You might say, "I'm a man of God
25:31 "who will lay down my life to serve my wife and my children."
25:36 That's a good identity.
25:37 Who do you wanna be?
25:38 Another one.
25:39 "I am someone who is sober and is a testimony
25:42 "to the power of Christ to change a life."
25:45 Come on, somebody.
25:46 Is that who you wanna be?
25:48 Why do you do what you do?
25:50 Because of what you think of you.
25:52 We might even get specific if you want to.
25:54 I can hear some specific ones.
25:55 You might say this, "I'm a person who doesn't skip workouts."
25:58 That's the type of person that I am.
26:01 You might say this.
26:01 You might say, "I am a Christian
26:03 "who reads the Word of God every single day."
26:08 That's the type of person I am.
26:09 You might say, "I'm a person who puts God first
26:13 "in my finances and with everything in my life."
26:16 You might say what I say, "I am disciplined,
26:20 "but not in my own power."
26:22 What is it?
26:22 It's Christ in me that is stronger
26:26 than the wrong desires in me.
26:29 Start with who before do.
26:31 Let's play it out.
26:32 Let's say you're like, "I'm a mom
26:34 "who wants to be fully present and wholly intentional."
26:38 And every time you're with your kids
26:40 or you're with your husband and your phone dings,
26:42 ding, ding, ding.
26:43 And every time you don't look at it, what have you done?
26:48 You have reinforced the identity that I am a parent
26:53 who is wholly intentional and fully present.
26:56 You might say, "I'm a Christian
26:58 "who reads my Bible every day."
27:00 And every day you wake up
27:01 and you open up the living Word of God.
27:04 How in the world can we do life without God's bread
27:07 feeding us, nourishing our soul?
27:10 And every day you do that, it reinforces the identity,
27:15 strengthening who you're becoming in Christ.
27:19 There's a fantastic book by my friend, James Clear.
27:22 If you haven't read it, I hope you do, "Atomic Habits."
27:25 And it's very, very practical.
27:27 In it, he says this, I love this quote.
27:29 He says, "Every action you take
27:31 "is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.
27:37 "No single instance will transform your beliefs.
27:42 "But as the votes build up,
27:44 "so does the evidence of your new identity."
27:49 Why do you do what you do?
27:50 You do what you do because of what you think of you.
27:53 Can somebody say amen?
27:55 While I get some water.
27:56 You guys are making me preach hard.
27:59 Here's what's gonna happen.
28:03 You're gonna start to seek God for a new identity.
28:06 Remember last week, we have a spiritual why?
28:09 This week, we have a spiritual who?
28:12 This is our identity.
28:13 And the moment you start to believe
28:15 that you can become who God wants you to be,
28:19 the devil's gonna tell you, you can't change.
28:21 Who are you gonna believe?
28:26 Because who you believe will determine what you do.
28:30 And I wanna show you a very, very powerful scripture
28:34 that I want you to let it soak into your heart
28:38 and build your faith.
28:39 Ephesians chapter four says this.
28:41 "Since you've heard about Jesus,"
28:45 and you've learned what?
28:46 Let's say it aloud.
28:47 "And you've learned the truth that comes from Him."
28:50 Here's what you do, watch this.
28:52 "You throw off the old sinful nature
28:57 "and your former way of life."
28:59 That's not you anymore.
29:00 You've been forgiven, you've been transformed.
29:02 "You throw off that former way of life,"
29:04 which is corrupted by lust and deception,
29:08 believing the lie.
29:09 Scripture goes on to say, "Instead," what do you do?
29:12 "You let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes."
29:17 Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world,
29:19 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
29:21 You don't believe the lies of the enemy,
29:23 but you let the Spirit of God
29:25 renew your thoughts and attitudes.
29:27 "You throw off the old nature,
29:29 "you put on the new nature, created to be," watch this,
29:32 "like God, truly righteous and holy."
29:37 You throw off the old self, you put on the new Christ.
29:41 And then when you believe who He says you are,
29:45 you start to live how He says you can live.
29:48 And no single action is gonna change your identity,
29:51 but multiple actions over time
29:53 change how you see yourself,
29:55 and eventually it changes your identity.
29:57 This, last week, remember, is not behavior modification.
30:02 This is spiritual transformation.
30:06 So I ask you,
30:07 who are you?
30:11 Who are you?
30:14 Who are you?
30:16 Let me tell you who the Word of God says you are.
30:21 Scripture says that if you have surrendered to Jesus
30:26 and called on Him, you are a new creation in Christ Jesus.
30:31 The old is gone and all things have been made new.
30:35 Scripture says that you are God's workmanship.
30:40 His poetic statement created in Christ Jesus
30:43 to do good works, which He prepared in advance
30:46 for you to do.
30:47 Scripture says that you are the light of the world.
30:51 A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
30:54 You're an ambassador of the Most High God.
30:57 You are the highest-ranking diplomat
31:00 sent from heaven to earth by God
31:02 to declare His kingdom principles in this world.
31:06 You are not who the devil says you are.
31:08 You are not who others say you are.
31:11 You are not who you think you are.
31:13 The Word of God says you are more than a conqueror
31:16 through Christ who gives you strength.
31:18 You're a child of the living God.
31:21 You've been forgiven because of the shed blood of Jesus.
31:24 You've been redeemed.
31:25 You've been chosen.
31:27 You've been called.
31:28 You've been set apart, filled with the very same Spirit
31:32 that raised Christ from the dead.
31:36 That is the truth of who you are.
31:40 The devil is a liar, but Jesus is the truth,
31:45 and the truth will set you free.
31:51 Why do you do what you do?
31:54 Lot of secondary reasons, but the primary reason is
31:59 you do what you do because of what you think of you.
32:03 And Jesus said the devil's a liar,
32:05 and the problem is when I tell you a truth,
32:07 you don't believe it.
32:08 Step into the truth.
32:13 Step out, put off the old nature,
32:16 step into the new nature,
32:17 and be who Christ created you to be,
32:22 like God, holy and righteous for His glory in Jesus' name.
32:27 Somebody say amen, amen at all of our churches today.
32:31 Father, we pray that your Spirit would do a work in us
32:35 as you're praying without looking around today,
32:37 nobody looking around.
32:38 Those of you who would say,
32:39 "There is something I wanna change,"
32:41 raise your hands right now.
32:42 Raise your hands up online.
32:44 Just say, "There's something that I want to change."
32:46 Type it in there, "Something I wanna change."
32:48 What I want you to do,
32:49 last week, we looked at your spiritual why.
32:54 This week, your assignment is your spiritual who,
32:59 who before do.
33:01 And our life groups will talk about it.
33:03 Over meals, we'll talk about it.
33:06 Who do you want to become?
33:08 A Christ-centered identity.
33:11 Father, open up heaven and show us who you want us to be.
33:16 Change our identity to be like your son, Jesus.
33:20 As you keep praying today, some of you right now,
33:24 you're like going, "Yeah, sounds all good and everything,
33:26 "but my life is a total mess."
33:31 If we sat down and just talked across a table from each other
33:33 maybe over coffee, and I ask you,
33:35 "Where do you stand with God?"
33:37 You might say, "Yeah, like I grew up in church,
33:39 "or I kind of believe in God, or I'm far from God,
33:41 "but you'd have to say,
33:42 "I'm not the type of person walking intimately with God."
33:47 Why do you do what you do?
33:52 Because of what you think of you.
33:54 And in a moment of time,
33:57 every lie that you've believed about you
34:01 can be freed by the truth of Jesus about you.
34:05 You may feel unworthy,
34:08 like you're not good enough for God,
34:10 like you've sinned too much for God.
34:12 And the truth is all of us have done that.
34:15 But the same truth is that we can never be good enough
34:18 on our own.
34:19 It's only by the grace of Jesus,
34:21 Jesus, the perfect Son of God, the Lamb of God,
34:25 who was slain, and God raised Him from the dead
34:28 so we could be forgiven.
34:30 No matter where you're watching from,
34:31 if you say, "I don't know God, I'm not walking with God."
34:35 We're gonna just take one step out of that old nature,
34:38 out of that old life, and surrender to Jesus.
34:41 When you confess your sins,
34:44 God is faithful, He forgives your sins.
34:46 You become brand new, forgiven, transformed,
34:50 not better, but new, but different.
34:53 All over the world, wherever you're watching from,
34:54 those who say, "I need that, I know I've done wrong,
34:57 "I want His forgiveness, I wanna be different."
35:01 One prayer, one moment, one God,
35:05 and your life is changed.
35:06 Wherever you are, "I need His grace, I need His forgiveness.
35:08 "Today I'm stepping out of my old life,
35:10 "I'm surrendering to Him.
35:11 "I know I've sinned, I know I need forgiveness today."
35:14 I'm giving my life to you, those of you who say,
35:16 "Yes, I need His forgiveness today by faith."
35:18 I give my life to Jesus.
35:19 That's your prayer, lift your hands high right now.
35:21 Lift 'em up all over the place, say, "Yes, Jesus,
35:23 "I'm surrendering to You."
35:24 Others today who say, "Yes, I trust You, Jesus,
35:27 "I give You my life."
35:28 At all of our campuses today,
35:29 as we have people calling out on Him,
35:32 type in the comment section, "I'm surrendering to Jesus.
35:35 "I'm giving my life to Jesus."
35:36 And we're gonna pray today with people all over the world.
35:39 Pray, Heavenly Father, forgive me all of my sins.
35:44 Save me, change my mind to think like You.
35:49 Fill me with Your Spirit so I can live for You.
35:54 My life is not mine, I give it all to You.
35:58 Thank You for new life.
36:00 You have all of mine.
36:03 In Jesus' name I pray.
36:05 I need a church to praise God, to thank Him,
36:07 to worship Him, to welcome those born into His family.
36:11 - Did this message on overcoming negative thoughts
36:13 speak to you?
36:14 We've got an entire series you can watch right now.
36:18 Click here to keep watching more content
36:20 on how you can live the life you want.
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