Abiding for a Breakthrough - Purity 1415

Hello, welcome to the MT for Christ 247 podcast. I'm M.t. Clark, and this is today's photo. To see today's photo, go to mtforchrist.com or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Today's photo of a breakthrough sort of sunset at Port Norlunga on a day that didn't look too promising comes to us from Dave Bond Photography, as Dave shared the scene on social media 2 days ago stating he was glad he didn't give up and go home, and we're glad too. Uh, well, it's Wednesday, and I share Dave's breakthrough sunset on hump day to inspire us all to keep pressing in until we get over our humps and to not give up, uh, before we get our breakthrough. It's the last day of July, and I for one can say I started the month off with a keen determination to battle the flesh into submission and to break through to a new level of physical fitness, only to report today that I suffered some serious compromises to my resolve and food choices over the last few days that has me needing to repent and go back to the drawing board with the new month tomorrow. Last August 18th, I made the decision to fight my food addiction as an addiction. And while I'm happy to report that I didn't lose all the progress I had since last year, I have been yo-yoing between 200 and 210 pounds on and off ever since I reported my best weight ever of 198.4 on July 31st. So although this battle of 10 pounds could be seen as maintenance, I look at it— I look at it— I look at it as failure because my goal of 185 pounds was so close. And now it seems like it is the impossible dream because I have cycled into a regular pattern compromise on a weekly or at least a monthly basis. I have returned to the bad habit of having quote-unquote cheat days with the excuse of trying carb cycling and have the old familiar pattern of not seeing any real progress. However, in spite of this 8-month setback, oof, and although it may not, may not sound true, I have learned much about my tendencies and what works and doesn't work. When it comes to victory over the flesh, long sustained disciplined daily adherence, adherence to a food plan for about 3 months with zero compromise and no exceptions works. If you do 90 days or more with no deviations or cheating on your food plan, 50 carbs or less, low fat and high protein, and maintain a normal workout routine, you can fully expect a significant breakthrough in weight loss and an increase in your physical fitness. If, however, you can't string together that discipline over what goes into your mouth and that— and body for a significant duration of time, a breakthrough is not likely. Uh, what you intake is far more important than doing exhausting workout routines, and that requires crucifying the flesh, and that requires cultivating the fruit of self-control, which comes to us supernaturally when we decide to humble ourselves and submit to God. So repent. But let's get this straight, uh, before you start condemning yourself or literally start trying to whip yourself into shape, we don't need to try harder. We need to ask God for help and receive it. We need to start walking and talking with God about our hang-ups and habits, whatever they may be, and ask him to help us to take it away, away. And we need to do this one day at a time, every day, until we're free. Uh, instead of giving us grace for our repeated failures that keep us in bondage and trying to fix ourselves in the flesh, we admit our weakness and ask for God's strength and guidance to help us. That's how I overcame my addictions to drug, alcohol, and sex. And that is how I made a great breakthrough, uh, of progress in the area of food. And this is how I hope to continue in the remainder of the year, by taking these last 4 months and giving them to God. I have to surrender to his help once again and draw close to his presence in a spirit of renewed repentance. Today's Turning Point devotional um, from David Jeremiah touches on this topic, so I'm sharing it on the blog today to inspire us to abide with Christ. And, um, so in David Jeremiah's devotional today from Turning Point, he writes, the abiding presence, and he quotes 1 Peter 1:8, which says, though now you do not see him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. And he writes, in his Upper Room sermon in John 13 through 17, Jesus prepared his disciples for his departure. They had enjoyed his physical, visual presence for 3 years, but now he was leaving them by his death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. He explained he was leaving in order to send his Spirit who would be with them and in them. John 14:17. Years later, Peter told his readers that we can still love, trust, and rejoice in Christ even if we don't presently see him. We have his Spirit making him real to us, and the Holy Spirit can be with every believer across the world at once. That's why we must abide in Christ. We can enjoy his abiding presence by the indwelling Holy Spirit until that day when we see our Lord face to face. Today, ask the Lord to fill you with the Holy Spirit and rejoice in his presence.

And then he ends with a quote from J.

Hudson Taylor, which says, the branch of the vine does not worry, toil, and rush here to seek for sunshine and there to find rain. No, it rests in union and communion with the vine.

Amen.

The recommended reading for this passage, uh, for today's devotion was, uh, 1 Peter 1:3-8, which says, all praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance, an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed at the last day for, for all to see. So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold, though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. Now, this passage reminds us that it is because of God's mercy that we, we were born again. We didn't do this. We couldn't save ourselves. And it tells us that it is through our faith that God is protecting us and will help us to endure the trials we face. These trials will test us, but if we act in faith, abide in Christ, and trust God, we will come through these trials and one day rejoice. So let's end this month and begin the new month tomorrow with the assurance that God is with us, that when we draw close to him, we will receive his protection from without and from our own worst enemy, ourselves. And be empowered to make it through the trials we face. If we stay with the Lord and trust him to help us, we can walk further into our inheritance of freedom and victory, and we can rejoice knowing that it was because of his mercy that we will be able to overcome. Today's Bible verses come to us from the Quick Scripture Reference by John G. Cruis. This morning's meditation verses come from the section on fear, and today's verses are Hebrews 13:5-6 from the NIV. The word of God says, keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, the Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? Today's verses fall under the second point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on fear. The second point is: You need not be afraid if God is your helper. Uh, today's verses remind us that God never leaves us or forsakes us and that he is our helper. These precious promises of his presence and help are realized when we abide in Christ by drawing into his presence through our daily spiritual practices and through our surrender to living according to his ways and for his will for our lives. We need not fear what man or what the circumstances of this world will throw at us when we live in and proclaim his presence and help in our lives. As always, we encourage everyone to go to mtforchrist.com, where we always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist our brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament by Stephen Jeff Alford. And in Alford's devotional, he prompts us to read a chapter of scripture, and today's scripture is Ephesians 6. And from Ephesians 6, he shares a portion of verse 2, which says, commandment with promise. And he writes, the apostle states that the command given in verse 1, children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right, is the first one to carry a promise with it. Now elsewhere, the apostle teaches that all promises are yes and amen through the Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Corinthians 1:20, and also that what God promises he also performs, Romans 4:20-21. So with that in view, it is very instructive to note that the twofold promise is that it may be well with you, Ephesians 6:2, prosperity of life. Then, uh, you may live long on the earth. Ephesians 6:2, perpetuity, perpetuity of life. The first coincides with the first half of the command: obey your parents. Obedience is the absolute willing and unreserved submission to the will of the parents.

The second blessing fits in with the second part of the command: honor your father and mother, verse 2.

Hold them in respect and reverence and godly fear. And he ends his devotion by praying, following your commands— commandments, Father— always leads to a life of promise.

Amen.

Amen. And, uh, there's some— there you go. The unconditional love of the Lord sometimes, you know, in his will for our lives, sometimes has conditions for obedience. Uh, we honor our father and mother, it'll be well with us, and we will live long on the earth. You know, we'll have prosperity and we will have perpetuity.

Wow.

Um, that's the one. So you should be— you should honor your mother and father. Um, I'm happy to say I spent time with my mother and father yesterday, uh, as I visited with a cousin who was visiting from California.

Um, uh, cousin I hadn't seen since, you know, I don't know when, since early childhood.

Um, but it was, uh, it was a good, good short visit with mom and dad and my cousin.

I was able to, uh, speak some encouraging words to my cousin Kevin, basically, uh, assuring him that it's a life with God at the center, uh, of it that is the, uh, the good life, and that I encouraged him and his wife to to support one another, uh, in their marriage and in their parenting of their two young boys, um, with God, you know, at the center of their marriage. So, um, you know, I've, I've learned most of the things I've learned through trial and error. Um, school is one thing, you know, there's a lot to learn in seminary and Bible college, um, that's valuable, but, uh, life experience, uh, comes in handy too. And that's what we do.

We, through fully surrendering to God, we test God's word. We put it into practice with the way we live.

And when we, when we do that, we can discover that he is with us and that he is our helper, that he will never leave us or forsake us.

Through the darkest days of my life, I leaned on the Lord and he helped me out of the darkness.

He gave me comfort and peace and joy, uh, even in the midst of big trials, and he helped me to overcome.

And, um, so thus I do the daily, uh, message, um, basically in the Sunday Bible study as, uh, an encouragement to show people that a life of faith is possible even in the midst of a secular life where I have a secular day job.

Um, I seek to encourage people all the same, um, to be in the world and but not of it, um, to encourage people that they don't have to be super saints to, uh, to live by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit, um, that they can just have a simple daily practice of drawing into God's presence through the word and through prayer and, uh, By practicing that, your faith, with the way you live throughout your day, um, turning to God on occasion to talk to him and to thank him for what he's doing and ask for his help and guidance. This is what walking in the Spirit looks like. Um, it's— it doesn't have to be super complicated or hyper-spiritual. It's pretty simple, um, to try to do what's right according to God's word with the way we live. And, uh, when we do that, he'll draw us into, uh, and, you know, into ministry.

Um, for me, well, tonight is the night, uh, for breakthroughs, as we will be hosting the Celebrate Freedom support group at Starpoint Church.

Um, our meeting begins at 6:30 this evening.

For anyone in the Capital District of New York, you're invited, uh, to join our fellowship of Christian recovery and discipleship. Where we, we help you, uh, encounter God, uh, by drawing into his presence and by encouraging you and who you are in Christ, and, uh, by providing good teaching, um, and fellowship and accountability, uh, if you want it.

And we, we emphasize who we are in Christ and walking in the Spirit as the means to victory and We've discovered it, so we just want to pass that hope along.

For those who are not in the Capital District of New York and want to be set free, we recommend discipleship classes by Freedom in Christ Ministries. And the good news is, um, it's not too late to sign up for the fall classes that'll be offered through ficm.org. There are several different classes available, one of which is a men's class on Tuesday nights at 6:30 Eastern time.

And I'm happy to report I have a few students signed up for the class already, so I'm looking forward to, to prepare for that, uh, over the next month, uh, and then begin, uh, begin a new journey of freedom in Christ on September 3rd. So we encourage people to check out the offerings, uh, because there are classes for co-ed, classes for women and for men, um, for Freedom in Christ, and different courses offered. And you just have to check them out and sign up.

You don't have to leave the privacy of your home.

You just need a good internet connection where you can connect via Zoom for the, uh, the classes and to view the videos and, and the material that they, uh, they provide.

All right, um, that's the announcements for today. And we always ask the question, are you empty for Christ too?

Um, you know, the—

today's message talked about being filled with the Holy Spirit. What you do that is you surrender and you submit to God and ask for the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Of course, the infilling is only going to come when you, um, have faith in Jesus Christ.

So that's the first step. Put your faith in Jesus as your Lord and Savior and then ask to be filled. You—

when you do that, you are filled with the Holy Spirit, and, uh, he can regularly empower you with, uh infilling, you know, refillings of the Holy Spirit to give you strength, to give you joy, to give you a sense of his presence, to empower you for what?

For ministry, usually, to walk into your calling, whatever that is. And your calling is sanctification, to become more and more like Jesus, and to spread the good news, to answer the Great Commission, to make other disciples. Of all the earth. And, uh, when we do that, we'll know what it's like to be walking and talking with God. So we encourage a life of faith, and, um, we, we invite you to follow Jesus and follow me as I follow Jesus, as they say.

Anyway, um, that's it for today.

Let's pray.

Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we thank you for the victory you've given us And we ask for that victory and freedom that continue and increase, Lord, as we press in to repentance season once again, uh, for today, the last day in July, and tomorrow, the first day in August.

Uh, we're calling for your help again, and so we're going to draw in, um, to your presence and, and see what you can do with this, with this plateau that I found. Um, we know that you can provide help and that when we are weak, you are strong. And so we're asking for your help today, um, and going forward.

And Lord, we also ask for the help, your help with, uh, anyone who's listening or reading today's message or watching it on YouTube.

We pray for you to be with them on their prayer requests, their walk of faith, Lord, because we all need your help. And, uh, we're asking, Lord, today, uh, Lord, we just want to represent you in your kingdom and, uh, to do your will for our lives, and we need your help with that. So please help us, Lord. Open our eyes to the things you want us to see today. Lead us in the way we should go today. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.