Mt. Carmel Church | Where There’s A Will There’s A Way
Hello! We’ve been talking about this series lately and we’re going to finish it up today. It’s called ‘Where There’s a Will There’s a Way.’ I don’t know if it’s been impacting you at all, but it’s been doing a lot for me. I’ve enjoyed it and feel like God’s been teaching me a lot of things and helping me through a lot of things. So if it was just for me, it’s been good and a blessing. I hope God is speaking to you as well. If you’ve got your worship guide, your sermon notes are in there. You can pull those out or you can get on your YouVersion Bible app on your phones and you can follow along, as well as download the sermon notes, church.
Every time we open the word that God’s were expecting that he is going to speak to us. We know that his word is life to those who find it and health to all their flesh. So every time we open the Bible, we’re like, God’s going to speak to me today. I just believe that we have to know that God’s wanting to speak to us more than we want him to speak to us. So let’s get our Bibles out this morning. Let’s open them up to Romans chapter 1, Mt. Carmel Church.
When We Connect with His Way, Then We Experience His Will
Romans chapter 1, where there’s a will, there’s a way. In this series we’ve been talking about the fact that God has a will for our life and that it is based on his heart’s desire for us, but he also has a way, a method, a means a system to get into his will. So does the fact that God has a will for our life alone guarantee that we will experience his will? Now, there’s also away (a means or process), so it’s not like it’s just going to happen magically or automatically. God does have a will for my life, but he also has a way for our life and he says, when you connect with my way, then you get to experience my will. This is not because he’s holding out on us.
He’s just giving us the plan. He’s giving us the map. He’s given you the route you want, to get to the plan of God. He says to follow this route. It’d be crazy, you know, if Google maps starts talking to you and says, “Hey, in a hundred feet turn right.” But you go, “I don’t want to, but I still want to get there.” Well now, they’re going to have to reroute you. Not because they’re mad at you, Mt. Carmel Church, but because you didn’t turn where they told you to turn.
Oh, I guess I have to go two more blocks now because you’re all mad at me. No, it’s because you didn’t turn right when I told you to. And sometimes this is what we do with God. We get mad at him because we don’t follow his way. When we’re not experiencing his will, he says, “Hey, my way is just about helping you experience everything that I want for you. It’s not that I’m mad at you.”
Are you Looking for a Way Out or a Way In?
He says, “Hey, when I say do it this way, I’ve got a reason for it.” So we’ve been talking about that and we want to experience his way. So today I want you to give the theme. I want you to be the one who communicates the theme of our last installment of Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way. Say to your neighbor, or actually I want you to look at your neighbor now and ask him this question, “Are you looking for a way in?”
I want you give the second part to the other neighbor and I want you to ask them, “Are you looking for a way out?” They may have been your second choice but still ask them the question, “Are you looking for a way out?” You are looking for a way out of talking to them, but I made you talk to them anyway, so here’s the theme today. Are you looking for a way in or are you looking for a way out?
You’re looking for a way in, you may be looking for a while. Let’s go. Let’s look at our scripture in Romans chapter 1. My Bible is just automatically opening Romans chapter one right now. Verse 8 says, first I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all that your faith is spoken up throughout the whole world, Mt. Carmel Church.
For God is my witness. Who am I whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his son without ceasing? I make mention of you always in my prayers making a request. If by some means now, at last, I may find a way in the will of God to come to you for I long to see you. That’s what I want to do, that I may impart to you some spiritual gifts so that you may be established. That is that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith, both you and me.
I want to pray. Father, I just thank you for the reading of your word and I pray, Holy Spirit that you would just come and bring life to it. I pray you bring clarity of communication, and clarity of understanding. Lord, I want you to reveal truths to us, that we can see you in a different light, Mt. Carmel Church. We can see our situation and our circumstances from a different perspective, so God, I pray that life will truly be found in your word today. We give you praise for everything that happens in Jesus’s name.
Somebody say, amen! In verse 10 Paul says, I prayed that by some means. Now, at last, he may find a way in the will of God. I was going to move off of this. This is our last week and I thought, Lord, Romans chapter 1. Surely I can start with a different verse, Mt. Carmel Church.
I read it again this week, I felt like he showed me what part he wants to emphasize. As we close the series out where it says by some means now, at last, I may find a way in, I may find a way in, and this is where he spoke to my heart and said, “Are you looking for a way in or are you looking for a way out?” They find a way in the will of God. Have you ever felt left out and wanted to find a way into something? It felt like you’re on the outside and you’re like, “Man, how can I find a way in, Mt. Carmel Church?”
Maybe you find a way into that job. I wish I could work that for that job. I’d love to get hired by them, and find a way into that. I would love to find a way into that business deal or that contract. I would love to find a way into that friend’s group or clique or find a way into a relationship. Oh, I wish they would ask me out. I’m trying to find away. You’ve been out there and like, “I wish I could find a way into something.” Sometimes we’re like that, but have you ever been on the other side when you’re into something and you wish you could find a way out of it, Mt. Carmel Church?
It’s better to want something you don’t have than to have something you don’t want
Maybe it’s a business deal. Maybe it’s a relationship. Maybe it’s that friend group that you couldn’t wait to get into and now you’re into it and you’re like, man, “How can I get out of this thing? It is terrible.” These people are selfish. I don’t want to be with these people, Mt. Carmel Church. You know, sometimes, and this phrase was a long time ago and I always thought it was good to say, it’s better to want something you don’t have than to have something you don’t want.
It’s a whole lot better to say, “Man, I wish I could have been” rather than say, “Man, I wish I didn’t have, you know.” This is what we’re talking about. Are you looking for a way in or are you looking for a way out? According to balance.com the average marriage in the United States lasts seven years. Again, that’s not to condemn or criticize anyone who’s not married or been divorced.
It’s just stating a fact that in marriage, for the overall average seven years, people are finding a way out and it’s not just in marriage. It’s also in our jobs, and in our employment. According to a 2019 Bureau of labor statistics report, the average number of jobs in a lifetime is 12, people can have 12 different jobs. They’re looking for a way out, or looking for a raise. They are looking for a promotion, or looking for advancement. There are all kinds of reasons.
None of those things are necessarily bad. The job tenure, the average person works less than six years at one job. It just happens. Sometimes people change, so a lot of times people are looking for a way out. You may be in a situation right now. You’re looking for a way out. You’re looking for a way out of what you’re going through or maybe an employment situation. Maybe it’s a relationship situation, but Paul prayed here in this verse, Mt. Carmel Church.
He said, by some means now, at last, he might find a way in the will of God. Why would we want to get in his will in the first place? What is our perspective on the will of God? This is what I always like to address. What is your perspective on the will of God? Is the will of God something we think is going to be enjoyable and good or do we think it’s going to be restricting and miserable and boring?
It’s like you say, “Hey, I’d love to find a way in the will of God.” In other words, somehow I’m searching. I want to find, not that I accidentally stumble and fall into the will of God, but you find a way like you’re searching for a way in the will of God. Why would we ever want to be in the will of God? Sometimes our problem with not wanting to be in the will of God is we don’t understand that the will of God. It’s Christmas time, right? You’re buying Christmas presents. How many of you, when you’re thinking through that list of people that you’re buying for, you look at their name on that list and you go, “Oh, what can I get for them that they would hate? What can I, what can I buy that would drive them bananas? Look, can I get that? They would just want to throw away. Let’s look at it.”
We don’t ever think about that. When we think about what we want to get them, we think about what they would like, and whether they’re going to enjoy it. Well, the Bible tells us in Matthew that, if you being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask of him? Who’s a better gift-giver than God? Nobody. That’s the answer to that question. Nobody. So why would we want to be in his will? Because we have to understand his will is good for me. Look at your neighbor and say it’s good for you. Just get in the will of God Mt. Carmel Church.
Get in the will of God. But here’s the problem. If God’s will is good for us, why would we ever want to get out of his will? It’s usually a lack of trust. It’s usually a lack of trust that his way is going to work for us. So let’s look at this. Are you looking for a way in or you’re looking for a way out? There are two types of power we want to talk about today. Write these down, Mt. Carmel Church.
The Power of Choice and the Power of Change
If you’re taking notes, jot these down. If you’re not taking notes, go ahead and jot them down anyway. There are two types of power. Number one, the power of choice is willpower. It’s about the selection. Number two, is the power of change. There are two types of power. We’re going to talk about the power of choice, will. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, the power of choice. Do you have power, Mt. Carmel Church?
You have a will. Number two is way the power of change, the power of making a decision, or the power of connection if you will. So let’s look at the first one, the power of choice. God has a will, but so do you. You have a will for your life. Don’t underestimate, I want to encourage you this, don’t underestimate the power of your choice or don’t underestimate the power of your will. Let’s look at Romans. We’re still in the same book. Just go to chapter 12. Don’t underestimate the power of your will to make choices, or to make decisions. We’re going to talk about in this first power and how significant of difference that can make in our lives. The power of choice. Romans chapter 12, I’m going to start reading there in verse 2. It says, and do not, do not ever say do not. So if he tells us, do not understand this about the Bible everywhere God says do not. That means we can do not.
The Power of Choice
He never tells us to do not do something that we can’t do. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. This is the power of choice. Notice what he says and do not. So here’s the will, and the choice we have. Do not be conformed. Now I want to break this down for a little bit. That’s why I give you sermon notes and, and sometimes I want to break this down on a little more detailed level because I want you to get it. I don’t want to just read over the Bible and go, that’s cool and move on, Mt. Carmel Church.
I want you to understand what God is asking you and I have to do and what it means. So when he says, do not to you and to not be conformed, here’s what the word conform means. It’s a verb that means to shape, form, or mold one’s behavior in agreement with a pattern or set of standards. So you define that or roughly translate that to say, don’t shape or mold your behavior according to the world’s pattern or standards. Don’t shape your behavior, or your thinking, or your actions according to the world’s standards or pattern, Mt. Carmel Church.
We’re not using the world’s standards for our standards of behavior. We’re not using the world’s standards for our standards of thinking. Don’t be shaped. Don’t let your life be formed according to the world’s standards. How many of you parents, maybe you’ve heard this or maybe you’ve heard somebody say this, “Hey, well at least I’m not as bad as so-and-so. I’m not as bad as them.” Okay, dad I could be doing drugs. Okay, I understand that but how many know our standard is not supposed to be the worst person we know?
The kids said, “Well, dad, I’m at least I’m not doing drugs.” I said, “I know, but that’s not our standard. Our standard is not the worst person, the lowest person, the person that’s furthest away from God.” Let’s measure our standard, not from that standpoint, from the world’s eyes, whatever the worst person is in the world’s eyes, our standard is what God has for our lives. I’m not as bad as Joe is as a husband. He’s terrible. Well, Joe’s not our standard. Who’s our standard? Jesus. Love your wives as Joe loves his wife. Huh? I wish she’d said that. I’d feel a whole lot better about myself, but it doesn’t say that. It says husbands love your wives as Jesus loved the church. Whew. So who’s our standard? Jesus, our standard is Jesus, Mt. Carmel Church.
So he’s saying here, do not be conformed. Do not be shaped after that standard. Under the word conformed is important. Its two different types of voices. It’s a passive voice and a middle voice. And there’s a reason I’m going to break this down because I think it’s important. Do not be conformed, shaped, molded behavior. The passive voice means that the subject is being acted upon. In other words, something’s doing it it. So when he says, don’t be conformed by the world, he’s saying that there are things outside of you that can shape and mold you outside of you that can happen, Mt. Carmel Church.
That’s the passive voice, but it’s also the middle voice. The middle voice says where the subject is acting upon itself. There’s also a way that I can be confirmed. I can be shaped and molded by what other people do, but I also can shape and mold according to what I do to myself, Mt. Carmel Church.
There are Two Influences in our Life: Ourselves and Others
There are two influences in our life and that’s one we’ll talk about; the power of choice. There’s what other people do to me, and there’s also what I do to myself. There are thoughts that you can make me think about myself and there are things that I think about myself that have nothing to do with anybody else. I just do it to myself. Sometimes our biggest enemy is the enemy on the inside of us.
It’s not about, well, the devil, this or those people that sometimes as Michael Jackson said, it’s the man in the mirror. Sometimes it’s just us, but that’s what he’s saying. Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed. So we have the power of choice regarding what we’re going to be conformed to, but be transformed. That word means to change the essential nature of something. What do we transform by? We are transformed by renewing your mind.
That word renewing means to renovate, to become new and different, or better than before. Where are we becoming different? Where do we become better than before? We are renewed by the renewing of our mind. So notice what he’s telling us. Don’t be shaped or molded by outside influences or by your internal thinking. You have a choice. Do not do that. Do not be shaped according to the world’s thinking or according to your actions, but be transformed. How’s transformed that we’re transformed beings.
It is a metamorphosis or to change into something better, to renovate, to create a new nature or a new default setting, a new basis. In other words, a new normal. When I’m talking about your nature, I’m talking about your normal, not about what you have to conjure up and figure out. Oh, okay, that’s right. I’m talking about what you do by nature, Mt. Carmel Church.
Your natural response, that’s transforming. That’s your true base nature. He said the way you’re going to change your nature is by renewing your mind. When I changed the way I think I’m going to change my new nature or my nature. I’m going to change my default setting. So this is what we’re talking about, the power of choice. Let’s put it like this, it was right here. Do not be conformed, but be transformed by renewing your mind. So now we’ve got to work backward. How do I become transformed? How do I not become conformed? It starts by changing the way I think. Here’s Chad’s problem. Chad wants to change the way I feel and then I can be different.
You have to Change the way you Think to Change the Situation
I want the transforming part to come because I feel different, but that’s not what the Bible says. The Bible says, change the way you think and when you renew your mind, change the way you think about that situation. Change the way you think about yourself. Change the way you think about your spouse. Change the way you think about your friends. Change the way you think about your job and your school, your career, whatever. You change the way you think. Now you’re going to begin to transform your nature, Mt. Carmel Church.
In other words, your essential base structure. It’s going to change. When you start making the decision, I’m going to think differently. It’s not based on I feel most of the time when we don’t make changes because we look to our feelings and we take a pulse on our feelings and say, “Am I different? Well, I feel the same?” Therefore I am the same and the Bible says that’s not scriptural. When you change the way you think, you will start to transform because the word transform is passive voice.
In other words, the changing of your mind is what causes the transformation. It’s not, I’ll be transformed and then I’ll think differently when I become different. Now I’ll start thinking different. No, it’s backward. We start thinking differently and then we become transformed. Well, I want to be transformed magically. I know we all do, but it doesn’t happen that way. We have to choose the way we think. That’s the power of a choice. I’m not going to think that way about myself. I’m going to choose to think differently. It’s the power of making a decision. I want to encourage some of you. Some of you are one decision away from changing your life, Mt. Carmel Church.
We just seem to make a decision or make a choice. Well, I’ve got this reason, this reason, this. Are you looking for a way out? Are you looking for a way in? Make a decision. We’re going to be given excuses all the time to stay where we are, but at some point, we’ve got to make a change and make a choice. I’m done with that and I’m going to start thinking this way. That’s what God’s looking for in order for us to change our life. But sometimes we get decisions handed to us or we get choices handed to us because what we choose determines what we experience. But, but here’s what I do know. We don’t always get to get to determine the choices that come into our life, Mt. Carmel Church.
We don’t always Choose what comes into our Life, but We have a choice on what we do after
Everything that comes into my life. It’s not necessarily my choice. But here’s what I want to encourage you with. We always have a choice on what we do from what comes into my life. You may say I didn’t choose a divorce. I didn’t choose for my loved one to die. I didn’t choose for them to abuse me. I didn’t choose to get fired. I didn’t choose this. I didn’t choose that. I get it. There’s a lot of things that come into our life that we don’t get to choose the options that are in front of us, but we do get to choose which options we’re going to connect to. I get to choose where I’m going to go from here. I may not get to decide how I get everywhere I am and all that came into my life. I wasn’t expecting that Mt. Carmel Church.
What do I do now? But I do have the power to choose from here. Even if I didn’t get to choose everything that came here. Not everything that comes into your life, you’re going to get a stamp of approval. Would we all like to do that? Like everything before it comes into my life, God, could you run it by me so I can say, okay? It doesn’t happen that way, but I promise we get a say afterward.
So in which one we choose to agree with going forward. This is the power of choice. Notice the power of choice comes first and then it’s the power of change. There is a power of choice. There is a Willie Nelson song, the phrase when we did this title, this message where there’s a will, there’s a way will come first. It’s not where there’s away there’s a will or, where there’s a decision there’s a choice. We’ll find a way. Paul said I’ll find a way in the will of God. Some means by now, at last, I’ll find a way. There’s a will. Whether its weight, it’s not. Whether there’s a way there’s a will because there’s a lot of time. There’s a way, there’s no will. So there has to be a decision first, but that’s not enough. The power of connecting, of making that decision is the first power of choice.
The Power of Change
But now let’s look at the second one, the power of change. The power of change. Paul prayed that he might find a way in the will of God. The power of change is about connection. We can have a will to change, but if we’re not connected to the right way or disconnected from the wrong way, we will not experience the change that we desire, Mt. Carmel Church.
Having the power of choice, or the will that says I want to change, but the power of way or the power of connection. If I’m not connected to the right source and disconnected from the wrong source, I’m not going to experience the will that God has for me. Having a will is great, but the will decides on what I’m going to connect to. It’s like, okay, I choose to plug into that. I’m going to unplug from that thought and we’ll plug into that thought, Mt. Carmel Church.
I’m going to unplug from those feelings and plug into those feelings. The choice decides which ones I get plugged into, but the source that I’m connected to makes the change. Am I making sense? I can make a choice to come to church, but if I never plug into the church, it’ll never change my life. I can choose to read the Bible, but if I don’t connect with what the Bible says and say, that’s the way I’m going to live, then I’m never going to experience the will that he has for me.
Where there’s a will, there’s away. Let’s look at it this way. The power of choice determines what I’m connected to, but the power of change brings about the change. So are you looking for a way out? Maybe any of these may resonate with you. Are you looking for a way out of depression, discouragement, self-esteem problems, fear of anxiety or anxiety, hopelessness, financial difficulty, pain or sadness, confusion, or relationship issues, Mt. Carmel Church?
Are you looking for a way out of any of those or maybe none of the above? Maybe there’s something else I’m looking for a way out of. These thoughts, Chad, they’re just bombarding me all the time. I’m looking for a way out of addiction. I’m looking for a way out of this or that. What if the way out, is not so much about what we’re trying to get out of, but what if it’s about what we need to get into? What about that? What if I’m looking for a way out of my current situation, but what if the answer is not in just getting out but it’s getting into. Are you looking for a way out or are you looking for a way in? Let me illustrate it for you. You can be out in the front for a year and you can go out of that front door for years and not necessarily come into the auditorium. You can go out of that room and never come into here, but you cannot come into here without going out of there. 30% of you got it so far.
To Walk out of Something, You Need Something to Walk in to
That’s all right. You can want out of a problem. You can want to walk out of something but never walk into something to replace it. You can want out of addictions, and want out of pornography, and want out of whatever it may be. You can want out of these situations, but if you don’t walk into something bigger and better, it will just be something I want out. That’s great that we want out, but what are you walking into, Mt. Carmel Church?
What if the answer is not what we’re trying to get out of, but the answer is what we need to walk into. When I walk into the right thing, I will walk out of the wrong thing. Too many times our life, we’re just saying I want to walk out of this. I want to break this habit. I want to walk out of this discouragement. I want to walk out of this fear. I want to walk out of this anxiety and stress and we want out. We’re focusing on what we’re trying to get out of and we’re not focusing enough on what God wants us to walk into when he says, “Hey, you know the reason why you can’t get out of it? Because you haven’t chosen what you want to get into yet.”
We have to decide on what we’re going to connect to that’s going to replace what we’re trying to walk out a lot of times. How come we rehearse things? I don’t know if this is your experience spiritually, but I know it’s mine sometimes when I don’t get out of a situation because I’ve not decided on where I’m going yet. You have to decide where you’re going from here. I don’t want to think this way anymore. Okay. What are you going to start thinking? I don’t know. I just don’t want to think that anymore. That’s not going to work. I don’t want to have this fear anymore. Okay. Well, what do you want to start having? I don’t know. I just don’t want to be afraid anymore. It’s not going to work. I have to have something to replace it, Mt. Carmel Church.
I have to connect to some new thoughts. I have to connect to a new truth. This has been my truth my whole life. How am I going to get out of it? You get a new truth to replace it and start plugging into the new truth. Oh, this is what I’m supposed to think. This is what I’m supposed to see, and how I’m supposed to see myself. This is what people have always said about me. This is what I’ve always done. So this is the reality. God said, “No, this is who you can be.” So once you start plugging into that, you go into that and you come out of that. But we’re never going to come into something new if we aren’t willing to leave where we are. So what if the problem is not so much about what we’re trying to get out of, but what we’re trying to get into, Mt. Carmel Church?
Colossians chapter 2 says this, as you, therefore, received Christ Jesus, the Lord. Walk in him rooted and built up in him, established in the faith as you’ve been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Let me jump down to verse 9. It says for in him, we’re going into, are you looking for a way out? You’re looking for a way in. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead body and you are complete. Let me read verse 10 again, so you can participate with me.
Okay, let’s try it again and you are complete in him. In him, sorry Jerry Maguire, but we’re complete in him. We’re complete in him. Who makes you and I complete? He does. Getting in him, that’s what completes our life. He’s the one who brings that fulfillment into us as so it’s not about what we’re trying to get out of.
It’s what we’re trying to get. The way in is our way out. Think about it right now. What are you trying to get out of church? What would you like to get out of? Maybe it’s a habit. Maybe it’s thoughts. Maybe it’s whatever. I don’t know what it is but you’re saying “Chad, I would love to get out of that right now.” Well, your way out is your way in. You need to have God show you what my way is in and become a person who’s looking for a way in.
Your Way In is Your Way Out
Let’s go and do something silly there. Don’t do that now. I’ve have to refocus, man. It’s like you get these moments now where do you go? And this is online even. Hey, what’s up? How are you guys doing? Hey, our way outcomes from our way in. If I encourage people that are wanting to change their life, it is not focusing on what you want to stop doing. It’s focusing on what you start doing. Your way in is your way out. You’re like, “Chad, I need a different life.”
Okay, get into a new life and you’ll walk away from your old life, but as long as you keep dabbling in the old and hanging out with the old, I’m not looking for a way out in my life. I’m looking for a way in. I’m not looking for a way out of my relationship with God through guilt and condemnation, Mt. Carmel Church.
I’m looking for a way and I’m telling you, the devil will talk to you right out of a relationship with God. You have to look for a way into your relationship with God. Stop blending them. He fools us just because we do something wrong. He starts putting guilt and condemnation and we start bailing, looking for a way out. No. We look for ways into our relationship with God. You have to look for a way into your marriage. Don’t look for a way out. What we focus on is what we will see, right? If you’re looking for a way out of the church, hang around for five minutes, you’ll find one.
Yeah, we’re a bunch of human beings. We all make some mistakes, and have different perspectives. We looked at if you’re looking for a way out, an offense will come. Jesus said this, offenses may come. Don’t look for a way out. Look for a way in. There’s going to be plenty of opportunities for you to walk away from your relationship with God, but don’t look for ways out. Look for ways into it, Mt. Carmel Church.
I want to be a person that looks for ways in which I’m not giving up easily. I’m not going to be denied. I’m going to keep looking for a way in because when we’re connected to God, let me throw this in. When I’m connected to God’s way, I don’t want to say it this way. The power of change comes from our connection. So what I’m connected to becomes my source. If I plug into this now it becomes my source.
Let the Fresh Water Push out the Old Nasty Water
It’s like when we were kids, we used to drink out of a garden hose. Nobody does that anymore. You have to have water in a plastic bottle that’s been sanitized and all that, but we used to drink the straight out of the garden hose. You know when you first turn on that hose, it’s me. You’ve been sitting there for a while. You know the water I’m talking about. There’s water already in the hose but you, but you don’t necessarily want to drink it, but it’s connected to the right source. If you will turn it on and you will let it run long enough, then what is not good will be pushed out by what is good, Mt. Carmel Church.
It’s not just about getting the bad water out. It’s about getting the right water in. You can sit there and just don’t turn the water on and you just try and hold the hose up and drain all the bad water out. How tedious would that be that I get it all? No, just crank on the good water and let it flush it out. This is what our relationship with God’s supposed to be like. Just turn on the good thoughts of God. Turn on the ways of God and watch it wash out all the bad ways, but a little wash out all the things you don’t want in your life. I’m not looking for a way out. I’m looking for a way for freshwater to get in. Bad water can’t help the get out when freshwater starts coming in. This was what God is saying to us, Mt. Carmel Church.
We’re focused too much on, I wish I wouldn’t think those thoughts. I understand. Second Corinthians chapter 10 say we take thoughts captive, but if I don’t plant new thoughts and meditate, the Bible tells me what to meditate on. I’m not looking for a way out. I’m looking for a way in. I’m looking for a way into new habits. I’m looking for a way into new thoughts. I’m looking for a way in. I was praying about this and meditating this week and all the time I kept getting thoughts and negative thoughts and I kept saying, you know what? I changed my mind. I’m not thinking that way anymore. There are discouraging ideas from the enemy that tell me all kinds of things. I’m no good. Nobody likes you. Nobody listens to you. He tells me all these things.
I’m like, I’m changing my mind. Don’t do it. After the first service, he said that was terrible. It was terrible. I don’t know what you thought you were doing, but it was not any good at all. Nobody paid attention to what you were saying. I’m just telling you the thoughts that I get that come to my mind, but you know what I said which changed my mind. I’m not connecting to that thought. I’m connecting to what God says.
I could stew on what the enemy said and think to myself, “You know you’re right. That was terrible. I saw that person in the fifth row. Second seat over man. They were looking, they were asleep the whole time.” The person frowning, they never smile. My jokes, I thought it was funny. They’re never laughing at all. I could focus on that. What we focus on is what will feed us.
Are you looking for a way in or are you looking for a way out. Let’s look for a way in. Let’s look for a way into the relationship with God that we desire. Paul said I pray that by some means, at last, I may find a way in the will of God. You and I have a will, so let’s find away. Let’s find a way for you to be a good friend, and find a way to be a good spouse. Let’s find a way to change my thoughts, Mt. Carmel Church.
Let’s find a way to change how you view your life. I’m going to find it away. If there’s a will, there’s away. Well, I don’t know. What if things go wrong? What if they don’t go wrong? What if things get worse? What if they get better? Be a person who is trying to find a way in. If we’re looking for ways out they’re going to be handed to us every day. Excuses are going to be handed to you.
They’re going to be given freely and without reproach. The enemy does not care to talk you right out of anything. He doesn’t care a bit to talk you out of it if you’ll let him. Well, this happened and that happened. How many times has disappointment tried to paralyze our walk with God? We have to say, you know what, a devil that did disappoint me that punched me right in the gut? Slap me right up in the face. I didn’t choose that. I didn’t choose to have. I didn’t choose that, but I tell you what, I do have a choice on what I do from today on, Mt. Carmel Church.
I didn’t choose for that to happen to me, but I have a choice on what I’m going to do with it. You may have meant for that to take me out, but let me tell you, I’m still here. I make a choice today and we’ll find a way in. I’m going to find a way in the will of God to do it. Joyce, I’m going to find a way in the will of God to be victorious amid defeat and amid circumstances that are going against me. I’ll make a choice. I’m going to find away.
Winners find a way. Losers set around and make excuses. Well, we’re getting beat. Who cares if you’re getting beat? Keep playing. Well, they’re better than what? Keep playing winners. Go for it. I’m going to get tired of this, go to find a way. Parents, if you’re failing right now, if things aren’t going well in your home, find a way to win. Find a way, if by some means now in the last man, I’ve been letting the devil do this to me for these last six months, I’ve been away from God, not serving God well. You’ve found a way to come to church. You’ve found a way to turn it online. Now you can turn your heart to God.
Say, “Listen, I’m going to connect with the right way and disconnect from the wrong way.” I told the enemy during worship second serves some people are going to think I’m schizophrenic or something, Mt. Carmel Church.
Your Freedom Comes the Day you Change the Way you Think
Like, I have these conversations. Promise them nothing but us, but I’ll have these thoughts as always, I raised my hands and I said, “Lord, thank you. I plug into your thoughts and I said, devil, raise your head again. I’m going to chop it off.” Maybe I’m a little violent, but I’m just saying I get a little competitive. I say you’re going to talk to me. I’m going to talk back because I’m going to find a way to win right here. You have to find a way to win right here. Here’s the battle. Here’s the battle because we think when the thoughts aren’t there anymore, we win. That’s not it. That’s what I used to think.
I think, well, when I won’t feel that way or not think that way anymore, then I’ll be free. God says, stop waiting for that, Mt. Carmel Church. You’re free. The day you change the way you think, the way you choose which thoughts you agree with. All kinds of thoughts are going to bombard you all this week we think, okay, I’d change my thinking. I’m going to win. Okay, man. Tomorrow, guess what? The whispering voice is going to tell you you’re a loser. You’ve lost. You tried that, and it failed. Which voice are you going to agree with? We don’t win because we feel. Oh, this is so important. If I can help people walk out the relationship, if I can help myself, I woke up my relationship with God. Here’s what I would tell myself, Mt. Carmel Church. Chad, quit waiting to feel what God has already said.
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