Touching The Untouched
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“I place this day, my life, my loved ones, my work in the Lord's hands. There is no harm in the Lord's hands, only good. Whatever happens, whatever results, if I am in the Lord's hands it is the Lord's will and it is good.”
― Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
On the surface, you may think this is talking only about perhaps a ceremony of communion....but i believe there is a more profound meaning.
If we are to walk this walk and profess this profession…we are to examine ourselves and walk humbly before our God.
In the way we look at this scripture a little deeper....so should we ourselves.
All to often, our good behaviors and intentions can be hindered by our poor behavior and actions.
Instead of taking a more productive look at ourselves, we gloss over who we are and chalk it off to being human.
We, as human beings are often products of excuses rather than action or change.....
George Washington Carver said:
“Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Being transformed by the renewing of our mind means:
to make like new : restore to freshness, vigor, or perfection
to make new spiritually : REGENERATE
to make extensive changes in : REBUILD
God desires to rebuild, reshape and restore our minds that have been bombarded by this world to the degree that it is a total product of this world and not of God.
A mind that is unrecognizable and unusable to God.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
deceitful means a tendency or disposition to deceive or give false impressions (deceptive or misleading)
Our hearts and minds can mislead us even when we think we are right.
The bible says that Gods ways are not our ways, his thoughts are not our thoughts.
We’ve all heard the saying “love is blind”.
of course meaning that sometimes we can think we are in love when in reality, it may not be true love....other factors play in.
Our hearts can deceive us even when we think it is true.
wickedness: Any and whatever distinction can legitimately be made indicates that wickedness is an active, virulent form of evil. It is that which is evil or false before God (Gen 38:7; Isa 5:20; Amos 5:14–15); that which is contrary to God is wicked. Perversity of mind is wicked (Prov 15:26). In the words of Jesus, “wicked” (Gr.) describes the heart of the Pharisees (Mt 12:34–35; 22:18). The wicked are contrasted with the righteous (Mt 13:49). Wicked works alienate the unbeliever from God (Col 1:21).
And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
My point is not to draw attention so much to deceit and wickedness as much as in pointing out the condition of the heart of man.
When we first come to God, we are transformed by the renewing of our minds and hearts…meaning the process of change, taking the bad traits and habits and replacing them with new
This is indeed a beginning of an ongoing process
“If you want things to be different, perhaps the answer is to become different yourself.”
― Norman Vincent Peale
The reason I called this lesson “Toughing The Untouched” is because all to often, we come to God but don’t allow change in all areas of our lives.
There are often things hidden beneath the surface that we don’t want to acknowledge or deal with.
Acknowledgement is the first step in removing bad habits.
all to often we cant see the forest for the trees.
Our bad habits blind us from the truth (we are deceived by them)
In order to change this, we must replace the bad habits with good ones.
There has to be a positive change from the old to the new.
Not only does there need to be change but, the changes must become permanent and part of our daily lives.
changing bad habits for many can sometimes be like going on a diet....
we change for a time but then revert back to the bad habits when stress or difficult situations come.
Therefor first and foremost for there to be any lasting change, a person must want to change.
Lets look at some of the negative qualities
Negative qualities are almost similar to character weaknesses such as shyness, lack of confidence, self-criticism, or arrogance.
But to address those, acknowledgement must be the first step in removing habits.
all to often we cant see the forest for the trees.
Our bad habits blind us from the truth (we are deceived by them)
Therefor, to permanently remove old or bad habits or traits, We must replace the bad habits with good ones.
Only this can bring about a lasting and positive change.
changes must become permanent.
changing bad habits can sometimes be like going on a diet....
we change for a time but then revert back to the bad habits when stress or difficult situations come.
Unless a person wants change, it probably won’t come. A person must want to change.
Just as importantly, Negative character traits don’t allow us to reach our goals and use our full potential either in social relationships or at the workplace or for the kingdom of God.
Here is the list of some of the most common negative character traits that most assuredly need attention.
List of 10 Negative Interpersonal traits (or Traits involving relations between People)
Negative interpersonal traits are revealed in the process of communication with other people.
Apathetic
Argumentative
Cowardly
Impulsive
Self-centered
Dishonest
Unable to empathize
Jealous
Sarcastic
Arrogant
List of 10 Negative Intellectual Traits.
Intellectual traits are the most obvious in the academic field. Some of the most common intellectual traits include independence, confidence, fair-mindedness, or integrity. But people also possess plenty of negative intellectual traits which can hold them back from reaching success
Inattentive
Lazy
Rigid
Irresponsible
Forgetful
Impatient
Indecisive
Inflexible
Weak-willed
Foolish
But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
In other words to strongly desire something: which stresses the strength of feeling and often implies strong intention or aim.
As in....A desires to start a new life
Bad habits or bad traits can be looked at in the likeness of our Salvation plan.
The first thing in correcting bad habits is to recognize that we have them which would be equivocated to.....
Repentance
Negative character traits slow down our progress and don’t allow us to feel absolutely comfortable about ourselves. We can only develop positive traits if we acknowledge our negative traits.
repentance is an acknowledgement and a turning away from sin....a change of mind....as in a new way of thinking.
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
The second thing is that we purge ourselves of those bad traits
Baptism:
For the remission of sin.
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
The third thing is we replace those bad habits and traits with good ones
Infilling of the Holy Ghost
The Holy Spirit is there to strengthen us and to leads us and guide us into truth.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
I know that all of us and most Christians value the plan of salvation…but all to often they stop there......
Never carrying that over to their daily walk with God.....they forget about the renewing process that must take place.
Not only the transformation from death to life, but the daily growing process
Although we don’t see it or even recognize it but, It is possible for a positive trait to bring about a negative outcome if used or asserted in a wrong way
It so important that we search the scriptures....that we continually contend for the faith that has been given us.
That we earnestly search ourselves…as the bible says “search me o Lord
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
This scripture is calling for a deep and intense searching of truth
Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.
There is a quote by a man named Brain Tracy and he said:
"Your mind is like a garden. If you do not deliberately plant flowers and tend them carefully, weeds will grow without any encouragement at all.
What a powerful statement that is:
Poor habits come easy but good traits and habits require attention.
They require some effort.....
We sometimes say to ourselves “wouldn’t it be nice to be that perfect person”
Someone everyone likes
someone that isn’t bothered by stresses
someone who isn’t effected by other peoples rudeness.
someone who can control their emotions and attitudes
While we will never be perfect....If we actively search ourselves and recognize our faults and undesirable traits we stand a much better chance of turning those traits around for the good.
Just like we have to feed our bodies healthy foods to improve our physical wellbeing,
We also have to feed our minds with positive information and thoughts to develop a more positive and constructive personality.
This involves taking control over your mind and eliminating negative thought cycles that may have held you back in the past.
Mental fitness is very similar to physical fitness in that you won't see results overnight. Instead, you will develop strength and resilience through practice and training.
See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Circumspectly mean:
Carefully and accurately
According to Merriam-Webster:
careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences : PRUDENT
It also means:
To be sensible; to be reasonable
to be of sound mind
To be self-controlled
In conclusion:
So often we look at ourselves as “doing the best we can”
We often use the phrase “I’m only human”
but we all to often use these as a crutch....an excuse to not change....to blame the other guy.
Rather than looking inwardly and taking a deeper dive into being more like Christ....
To be an actual help to someone else and first and foremost…bringing glory to the one who gave it all to us....Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.
“Plant seeds of expectation in your mind; cultivate thoughts that anticipate achievement. Believe in yourself as being capable of overcoming all obstacles and weaknesses.”
― Norman Vincent Peale