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Don't Go Back: Continuing in Him · In the Stillness Podcast

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  Hey y'all, it's friendly. Welcome back to In the
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  Stillness. Happy Monday.
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  We've got a new week, fresh start, and just more
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  opportunities to walk closely with the Lord and learn more
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  things. So today we are going to be
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  talking about something that is so simple, it's only a few
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  verses, but also they are so deeply convicting if we truly
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  sit with it. So I'm going to go ahead and get
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  right into today's passage. We're going to be in first John
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  chapter 2, reading through verses 28 to 29.
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  And now, dear children, remain in Him so that when He is
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  revealed, we may have joyful confidence and not be ashamed
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  when we stand before Him at His appearing.
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  If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that
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  everyone who practices righteousness has been divinely
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  fathered by Him. Now there is a keyword here that
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  we cannot miss, remain or continue.
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  Abide. We just talked about remaining
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  in Him in the last podcast episode, but now this is taking
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  it a step further, continuing in Him.
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  This is daily. It's ongoing and consistent,
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  meaning it's not seasonal or occasional.
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  It's not just when it's convenient for you or when you
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  feel like it. It's every single day because
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  the visible proof of a true follower of Christ is righteous
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  behavior. That does not imply perfection,
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  but direction. And when God gives you a new
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  heart, it births new desires, which then leads to new actions.
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  Yes, you still face your flesh's desires, but your greatest goal
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  becomes not to please yourself, but to please God.
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  And behavior is not ultimately what saves us.
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  Ephesians 28 makes that so clear that it is only God's grace and
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  we receive that in faith. But behavior does show if our
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  faith is genuine. That's what James chapter 2
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  verses 14 to 17 goes into. It talks about how you can do
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  good things but with no real faith.
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  Or you can claim to have faith but have no evidence of it in
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  your life. And both are super dangerous
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  because both can lead to shame when Jesus returns.
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  But those who have faith and those who consistently pursue
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  what is right and good, those are the people living
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  authentically in Christ. And I want to sit with this for
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  a second because continue obviously comes from continuous.
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  So that means it's not just showing up during certain
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  seasons of your life, like at Christmas time when you serve or
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  when life slows down and you have more time.
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  It's not just when you feel spiritually motivated or on a
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  high. It's not just when it fits your
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  schedule or energy. Following Jesus is a daily
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  decision. Jesus tells us to take up our
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  cross every day, so we get to choose Him every single day,
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  even when it's hard and even when it's costly.
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  And part of continuing in Him means this.
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  You do not go back to what He has already called you out of.
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  You don't return to what was killing you.
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  So old habits, toxic mindsets, environments, places, people are
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  patterns that you know are going to tempt you and lead you into
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  sin. During my quiet time this
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  morning, God gave me this picture and I don't know if it's
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  because I've been thinking of spring shopping, but I really
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  like it here. Why would you go back to your
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  grave clothes when Christ has already clothed you in
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  righteousness? Scripture talks about this in
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  Isaiah 61 verse 10, that we have been given the garment of
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  salvation and the robe of righteousness.
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  So here is what makes this even more powerful.
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  The process of sanctification is God daily making you more into
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  His image, into the image of His Son Jesus.
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  So you are not who you used to be, you're being transformed.
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  So of course, those old clothes, your past life, they're not
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  meant to fit you anymore. They're not made for who you're
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  becoming. And just like you would not try
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  to squeeze into clothes from middle school or maybe high
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  school, because you have grown and matured, your spirit has
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  grown too. You have outgrown those old
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  ways, those old habits, so stop trying to go back and wear what
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  no longer fits who you are in Christ Jesus.
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  Let's bring this into today's culture for a minute.
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  Who would choose a fake designer bag or shoes or clothes, a nicer
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  brand if you were actually offered the real one?
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  I doubt anybody would. So why do we do that spiritually
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  sometimes? Why do we return to the lie when
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  we've actually been freely given the truth?
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  Why do we settle for temporary pleasure when we have access to
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  something real? It's through the great exchange
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  that we see in 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 21, that Jesus took on our
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  sin and gave us His righteousness, His purity
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  instead. So with that, we are called to
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  live in it. And Jesus is the very embodiment
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  of righteousness. So if you're living in him,
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  you're walking in it. I heard the Lord say to me, you
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  are a daughter of the king, so carry yourself like it.
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  If you're a guy listening to this, you are a son.
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  So live like it. Not with pride, but in humility,
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  with confidence and freedom. Not shrinking back in shame, not
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  hiding, not going back because we now know the truth.
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  So don't return to the lie or the false identity that you once
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  had. And I just want to ask you guys
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  something. Do you just know this truth or
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  do you actually know and believe it?
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  Are you truly receiving it in your heart?
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  Because there truly is a difference.
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  And as you go throughout your day, pay attention to this.
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  Is there anything in your life currently that is keeping you
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  from walking in freedom? Anything that is hindering you
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  or pulling you back into old patterns, old mindsets, your old
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  grave clothes. What voices are you allowing to
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  shape your thoughts? Are they rooted in the Word of
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  God or are they just adding noise, confusion, or maybe even
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  condemnation? Because if it is not from the
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  Lord, it's not truth. And finally, I just want all of
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  us to sit and reflect with this. If Jesus returned in a few
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  hours, literally today, would you be sprinting to him?
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  Would you run to Him with that joy, confidence, and freedom?
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  Or would something in you possibly hesitate, wishing that
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  you would live differently, wishing that you had chosen Him
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  more? This is not meant to instill
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  fear, but to remind us that we are to continue in Him every
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  day, step by step, not in perfection, but inconsistency.
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  So let me go ahead and close this out in prayer.
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  Dear Jesus, thank you for making us new, for clothing us in Your
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  robe of righteousness. I pray that You would aid us in
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  not going back to what we have already been freed from.
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  Would You strengthen us to continue in You every single
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  day, Not periodically, not just when we feel like it, but daily
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  to choose You over ourselves, over sin, over comfort?
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  Would you transform us by the renewing of our minds?
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  Lord, shape our hearts and make us more like you every day.
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  I pray that we would walk confidently as your children,
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  whether as a daughter or as a son of the Most High.
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  Free us from any shame and may we live fully alive in you.
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  Jesus, we surrender this week to you.
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  We give you this day and we just praise you and we offer
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  ourselves to you as a fragrant offering.
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  We love you, Jesus, in your name.
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  Amen. OK you guys.
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  Well that's today's episode. Have a great rest of your Monday
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  and I will see y'all on the next one.