Baggage Pt. 3 - Attached Baggage

Published: Feb. 21, 2011, 5:44 p.m.


\xa0(2 Corinthians 10:3-4)\xa0 \u201cFor though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.\u201d\xa0

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\xa0Title of my message:\xa0 Attached Baggage\xa0

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(Romans 7:15 NLT)\xa0 \u201cI don\u2019t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it.\xa0 Instead, I do the very thing I hate.\u201d\xa0

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\xa0Cycle of Destruction:

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\xa0You think it's your identity.

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\xa0You feel increasingly hopeless.

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\xa0You become defensive.

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\xa0You become a slave.

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\xa0You learn to live with it.

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(Romans 6:12-14 NLT)\xa0 \u201cDo not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God\u2026 Sin is no longer your master\u2026 Instead, you live under the freedom of God\u2019s grace.\u201d

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What has mastered you?

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Do your family and friends say you have a problem?

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Do you continue even though you\u2019re hurting people?

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Do you arrange your schedule around it?

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Can you go one week without it?

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Is it leading you to isolation?

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Are you trying to keep it a secret?

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(2 Corinthians 3:17)\xa0 \u201cNow the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.\u201d

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My plan to detach the baggage:

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1. Stop the excuses.

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(Luke 14:18-20)\xa0 \u201cBut they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, \u2018I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.\u2019\xa0 Another said, \u2018I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I\u2019m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.\u2019\xa0 Still another said, \u2018I just got married, so I can\u2019t come.\u2019\u201d

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(Philippians 4:13)\xa0 \u201cI can do everything through him who gives me strength.\u201d

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2. Cut the ties.

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(1 Corinthians 15:33-34)\xa0 \u201cDo not be misled: \u2018Bad company corrupts good character.\u2019 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning\u2026\u201d

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(James 4:7)\xa0 \u201cSubmit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.\u201d

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3. Fill the void.

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(Ephesians 5:18)\xa0 \u201cDo not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.\u201d

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Fill the void with:

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1.\xa0 God\u2019s Word.

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(Ephesians 5:26 NLT)\xa0 \u201c\u2026washed by the cleansing of God\u2019s word.\u201d

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2. Prayer.

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(Hebrews 4:15-16 NLT)\xa0 \u201c(Jesus) understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same temptations we do, yet He did not sin.\xa0 So let us come boldly to our gracious God.\xa0 There we will receive His mercy, and grace to help us when we need it.\u201d

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3. A Small Group.\xa0

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(Proverbs 28:13)\xa0 \u201cHe who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.\u201d

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(James 5:16)\xa0 \u201cTherefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.\u201d

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4. Serving.\xa0

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(Romans 12:21)\xa0 \u201cDo not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.\u201d