Still Crazy After All These Years – Maintaining Your Freedom Purity 1270

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning! Today's photo of a hazy sunset over Skodak Creek comes to us from yours truly, as I was moved to capture the view from my driveway at the end of the workday yesterday afternoon, basking in the unseasonably warm weather and being filled with peace. Well, it's Friday, thank God. And it is my prayer this morning that my friends who are reading or listening to this message will find some peace at the end of the workday today to take into the weekend with them, and to consider taking some time this weekend to reach out to a friend that you haven't heard from in a while, to share your appreciation for their friendship, and to check in or to report, uh, and hear how the Lord has been moving in both your lives. That suggestion is both timely and God-inspired, as I reached out and met with an old friend just last night after the Lord put them on my heart during prayer a few days ago. Instead of letting the thoughts of them just dissipate into the ether, I reached out via Facebook Messenger and we arranged to meet last night just to shoot the breeze and to encourage one another in our walk of faith. An old Paul Simon song is on my mind this morning as I think of our meeting last night, and so now I will infect you with its lyrics to possibly inspire you to see how old what's-her-name is doing. The song goes, I met my old lover on the street last night. She seemed so glad to see me. I just smiled, and we talked about some old times. And we drank ourselves some beers. Still crazy after all these years. Still crazy after all these years. Forgive the song choice, but that's what came to mind. Warning: I am not trying to inspire reaching out to old lovers or to encourage you to have a drunken nostalgic time that— well, a nostalgic time that leads to drunkenness is what I So we sort of highlighted the drunkenness. But to simply share your appreciation for a friend that you haven't seen in a while. That's all. That's all I'm suggesting. And to satisfy your curiosity about whether or not they are still crazy after all these years, and if applicable, to share the good news of Jesus Christ to ensure you will see your old friend in eternity. An amazing amount of my past friends in low places have come to have faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and it is within the fellowship of the body of Christ where we can really be sure that we can be best friends forever. Anyway, the friend I talked to last night isn't really that old of a friend. They were actually one of the first students of the Freedom in Christ course that I first facilitated back in the early months of 2022. So the length of our relationship hasn't been too long, but the quality of it is what is dear to me because it has Jesus at the center of it. While we have different backgrounds and similar past struggles, the fact that we have Jesus and Freedom in Christ in common makes our friendship one that will endure. No matter how crazy that may seem to the rest of the world. My friend had a significant shift in his life through the Freedom in Christ course and through going through the Steps to Freedom in Christ. He was set free from condemnation and sex addiction, and since our time together has moved on to lead other men to freedom from sex addiction through facilitating an online Conqueror Series men's group. It is truly a blessing to see how my friend has received his freedom and has taken it to inspire other men to find theirs. But my friend's journey to lead others in freedom from sex addiction wasn't a flawless one. He admitted that after a time he regressed into in his recovery a bit and was inspired to sign up to be a facilitator for the Conqueror Series in part because he wanted to reclaim the freedom that he had previously had. He testified that after we had parted ways that he had enjoyed his freedom for a long time, but became lax in maintaining a daily spiritual practice and began to seek comfort in the ways of the flesh instead of abiding in the ways of the Spirit. And that's what I admire about you, M.t. Clark. You have your spiritual disciplines that you do every day, is what my friend said to me, realizing that, um, that was where he had gone astray. And it's true, I'm still crazy after all these years. I can't recall exactly when I started rising early to pray, read the Bible, and to write about my walk with God since I was born again in 2010 and went into recovery in 2015. But I know it was and is a major factor in maintaining my freedom. Every morning I rise early and ground myself and my identity in Christ through prayer, reading scripture or scripture-heavy Christian resources, practicing gratitude, and writing about my life with God or various aspects of our faith. You might call me crazy when you consider how early I get up, to do all this, but the results of living this vida loca with Jesus is crazy amounts of peace, freedom, victory, and joy. And it is in maintaining this walk in the Spirit that I have not only maintained my freedom but have moved in— moved it into different areas of my life. My series of teaching, the Celebrate Freedom Discipleship Course, hits what I thought were Super Important Keys to My Victory, and there's a link to the playlist on YouTube on the blog this morning. But ascension was my, was my wording of the concept of progressive sanctification, because I realized that if it wasn't, if I wasn't moving from my victory, from my victory over one area of my life to take on another one, it would it would only be a matter of time before things would fall apart. As Christians, we are called to keep moving forward and to answer the upward call of God on our lives. So we claim our freedom and victories, and we look to the next thing that the Lord, um, that the Lord wants to do in our lives, be it a new way to serve the body of Christ or a new area of our lives that we need to put under the control of God's will for our lives. But I understand, I mean, we need to know how to maintain our freedom if we are going to move forward. So I'm going to share Neil Anderson's advice on maintaining your freedom from, from his book Restored. But these instructions are also in the Steps to Freedom in Christ to encourage a lifestyle of Christian discipleship that will keep relapses at bay will help you continue to fight the good fight of faith and will give you peace and purpose each new day. Yep, had to let the cat out, so that's great. Anyway, uh, Neil Anderson writes, Maintaining Your Freedom. Uh, experiencing your freedom in Christ is exciting, but what you have gained must be maintained. You have won an important battle, but the war goes on. To maintain your freedom in Christ and grow in the grace of God, you must continue renewing your mind to the truth of God's word. If you become aware of lies you have believed, renounce them and choose the truth. If more painful memories surface, then forgive those who hurt you and renounce any sinful part you played. Many people choke choose to go through the Steps to Freedom in Christ again and make— again to make sure that they have dealt with all their issues. Sometimes new issues will surface. Some will— some go through the steps again as a periodic housecleaning. He continues to write, after going through the steps, people sometimes have thoughts like nothing has really changed. You're the same person you always were. It didn't work. In most cases, you should just ignore those thoughts. We are not called to dispel the darkness. We are called to turn on the light. You don't get rid of negative thoughts by rebuking everyone. You get rid of them by repenting and choosing the truth. I encourage you to read Victory Over the Darkness and The Bondage Breaker to continue growing in the grace of God. Then he gives the following, uh, 5 points on how to maintain your freedom: 1. Get rid of or destroy any cult or occult objects in your home. 2. Get involved in a small group ministry where you can be a real person, and be part of a church where God's truth is taught with kindness and grace. 3. Read and meditate on the truth of God's Word each day. 4. Don't let your mind be passive, especially concerning what you watch and listen to— music or TV. Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Number 5: Be open and honest with God in prayer. So if you don't have your freedom— that's, that was all for me, Neil Anderson, now it's me. So if you don't have your freedom, you can experience it through the prayerful repentant process known as Steps to Freedom in Christ. You can get the book Restored for free from Freedom in Christ Ministries by going to the blog today and clicking on the link for free resources, or go to ficm.org and look for free resources, and you'll see Restored as one of the links. And, you know, Restored will teach you about the process and take you through the steps, and then you can follow Neil's advice about maintaining your Freedom. freedom Um, not surprisingly, it involves abiding in Christ, practicing spiritual disciplines every day, and living a Christian life with the way you live. You know, it tells you to read the Bible, tells you to pray, tells you to get involved with the church and the small group where you can be a real person, and to get rid of any occult things out there, and to be careful what you put in front of your eyes through TV and music in your ears. Um, so yeah, so live it. Um, so get free and stay free by making Jesus your Lord and Savior. And, well, actually your Savior and the Lord of your life. When you follow Jesus, you find a new life of freedom, peace, and joy. So get started or keep on walking and talking with God. Today's Bible verses come to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Kruis. This morning's meditation verses come from the section on communication, gossip, and lying. And today's verses are Proverbs 11:11-13. And the word of God says, by the blessing of the upright, a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown. Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent. Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keep the thing covered. Today's verses are the first of 5 passages of Scripture that fall under the 11th point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on communication, gossip, and lying. That 11th point is: Do not hurt your neighbor by gossip or careless talk. Control your tongue. Today's verses give us practical advice on relationships with our fellow man and how to use our speech to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are not to belittle or slander our neighbors through gossip. Instead, we are to stop the sin of gossip before it happens by remaining silent and keeping secrets covered. Sharing someone's dirty laundry isn't helping them. Keeping confidence does. Our not sharing dirty secrets establishes trust with others and gives us a platform from which we can encourage repentance and guide others in the way of the Lord. So, be silent when it comes to sharing juicy stories, but speak boldly to those we protect about the abundance of fruit that comes from walking in the Spirit. As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my 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 F. Alford. And, uh, those are— that's her collection of devotional journals from 1940 and '41. And today Alford encourages us to read Mark chapter 2 from the New Testament, and from that chapter he quotes verse 1, which says, 'He was in the house.' And Stephen Alford writes What happens when Christ is in a house? Notice the following things: there is a drawing power. Immediately many gathered there together so that there was no longer room to receive them, receive them. In verse 2, wherever the Lord Jesus is, there is drawing power. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself. And Jesus said in John 12:32. Stephen Offered also writes, there is preaching power. He preached the word to them in verse 2. Luke adds, the power of the Lord was present to heal them in Luke 5:17. Paul tells me that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty in 2 Corinthians 3:17. And when Christ is in the house, there is a perfect liberty for preaching. There is healing power, period. The quote— to quote Luke again, he says, 'The power of the Lord was present to heal them' in Luke 5:17. Notice also the healing of the palsied man and also the forgiving of his sins. And Alford closes his little devotional by praying, 'Lord, take your rightful place in my house.' So just to summarize, Alford's Alford's thoughts. What happens, what happens when Christ is in the house? There's drawing power, there's preaching power, and there's healing power. And so I would encourage you to invite Christ into your home to receive the power that he can give to you, to draw others to you because of your preaching and the healing that'll come through it. So that's why we share the gospel because we know it has life-giving power. It gives you the forgiveness of sins and a brand new life in Christ when people hear the word and put their faith in Jesus. And that's what we encourage here, is a lifestyle of Christian discipleship where you walk in freedom and victory from one thing to the next. And, um, it's a life that's good. It's defined by the fruit of the Spirit. Includes peace, joy, love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience, and self-control. And, uh, we're still a work in progress, but we've discovered that when we walk in it, we experience those things more often than not. So we encourage you to go. And just because you make a mistake like my friend doesn't mean you can't get back on the path of Christian discipleship and experience your freedom again. You know, none of us are going to be perfect in our walk with the Lord, but we'll experience the perfect love if we keep on walking and talking with the Lord. So thank God it's Friday, and I have to work today and tomorrow, so my weekend is reduced to one day on Sunday. But I don't hold that against anyone. It is what it is, and we we have vacation next week, so we're looking— well, at the end, at the end of next week, a week from today, I'll be on a plane to Florida and Disney World, so I don't feel too sorry for myself today. Um, so let's pray though. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. We thank you so much for the freedom that you've given us. We thank you for old friends who've come to Christ. And Lord, we pray for those who haven't, uh, Lord, because we know that everyone desperately needs you as Lord and Savior. And, uh, Lord, we pray for that today, for our loved ones and our relatives and our old friends that don't know you. And Lord, we also pray for anyone who's listening or reading today's message. I apologize for my cat and the distractions, but we pray for you today, uh, that the Lord would bless your walk and come alongside your prayer request. And to help you, um, go in the way that he would lead you. Lord, we pray for ourselves too, that you would open our eyes to the things you want us to see today and move us in the way we should go, because all we want to do is represent you in your kingdom. Um, that's all we want to do, and we desperately need your help to do that. Or so we thank you, we praise you, and we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.