Day 21 "Love's Power on Sin"

With magnets, there are fields of magnetism that exists but cannot be seen by the naked human eye. We are able to observe them, however, by watching the affect that these unseen forces have upon objects that can be seen. Take metal filings for an example. Place a piece of paper down on a magnet. Then begin to drop metal filings around on top of the paper. As you can see from the diagram, the filings line up along the magnet's field lines, thus giving us a visual display of the forces themselves.

Love to is like that, too! We cannot visually see love itself, but we can see the affects that love induces upon others and upon ourselves. Kindness, generosity, charitable concerns,

gifts, acceptance, forgiveness, freedom, guiltlessness, and belonging are just a few of the visible expressions one can observe as results of love.

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What I would like to share with you today is how love can be seen as being a powerfully ally and deterrent to ward off our tendencies towards sin.

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As Christians, we believe that when we accept Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior, that God places within us his Spirit- the Holy Spirit- to lead and guide us.

Jesus speaking: "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate

(counselor) to be with you forever-the Spirit of truth. The world

cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But

you do know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not

leave you as orphans." John 14:16-18

"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach

you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." John 14:26

"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of

truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me." John 15:26

"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-

discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7

"God has poured out his love into our heart by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Romans 5:5

With his Spirit within us, the commonly held perception among church goers it that we are now empowered to withstand any sin- like mighty soldiers capable of fending any advancing armies. If this were true, however, why do so many Christians still grow weary and tired of trying so hard to resist various temptations only to finally capitulate and give in to them? Why have some of the most revered religious leaders fallen in dishonorable disgrace? The simple truth is that it is easy to place ourselves first again in our own order of priorities. When we put ourselves before the needs and interest of others, it is no longer love but selfishness. Selfishness and love are at polar ends to one another. Think for a moment of any sin that you have ever committed. Whose interest was placed first? Wasn't it yours? Okay, so what if you had instead place other people's before your own? Do you think you still would have sinned? Some people make the comment, "The big "I" in the word sin. See where the focus is placed? Are you beginning to get the idea? (1 Corinthians 13 is a great chapter to illuminate our understanding of love. Should you read it, ask yourself how much of the passage focuses on self?) Allow me to share a passage with you that has made a big impact in my life concerning loving. You will find it in the book of Philippians. Go to chapter 2, versus 1-8:

1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with

one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

I liken this passage to an "if then" statement. Notice the first verse. It begs the question, "Has your life really become different as a result of Christ?" (If it hasn't, let's go back to the beginning to see if you really understand what Christ did for you on the cross and how much he loves you) If it has, if your life is truly different than what it was like before, then:

1) Be like minded.

2) Have the same love

3) Be one in spirit and of one mind

4) Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit

5) Be humble ( Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less)

6) Value others above yourself

7) Lookout for the interest of others

8) Seek to become Christ-like in your mindset

You may not have caught the impetus to all of this found in the first verse, "if any comfort from his love." It is God's love that reached out to us first.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Trying to fend off sin by our own self-will is somewhat the same mentality as the little engine, "I think I can... I think I can..." Only in our case, we wind up defeated. Why? Because the very act of trying to resist is the very act that leads to our downfall. Let me explain. It has to do with something called neural plasticity. "Neural what??? " you might be asking right now. Neuroplasticity, also known as brain plasticity, or neural plasticity, is the ability of the brain to change continuously throughout an individual's life. In other words, we change change the way our mind thinks. This is a new field of study which has just surfaced in the last 15 years or so. It boils down to this: the thoughts in our brain are strengthened or weakened by the amount of time and emphasis that we give it. It has to do with the structure connection of synapses and neurons. The stronger and larger the connection, the greater the impact of the thought. The greater of an impact that the thought has in our everyday life, the easier it is for the brain to default to that thought. Some have referred to it as positive reinforcement. (When meant for good) It is why athletes will visualize their routines in their minds because the mind knows no difference between what is vividly perceive in the mind and that which is actually performed. Which is why consciously trying to resist a particular action only gives that thought more time in your mind to strengthen and be more pronounced in you mind, not less!

So what is the answer? The answer is replacement. We replace that which we don't want to do and focus on the things we want to do. The apostle Paul gives us a perfect template for directing the thoughts of our mind:

"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the

sinful nature, rather serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single

command: Love your neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:13-14

"So I say live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of your sinful nature.

For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is

contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not

do what you want. But if you are lead by the Spirit, you are not under law."

Galatians 5:16-18

So, what ever you wish to do, let your thoughts marinate on it. ( Notice, I didn't say what you wish not to do) To be practical, how do we put these things into action. Let's take pornography as an example ("Really, Mark, pornography?" you are probably asking right now. Yep!) How does online pornography affects Americans? About 200,000 Americans are classified as “porn addicts.” 40 million American people regularly visit porn sites. 35% of all internet downloads are related to pornography. So how does the power of love enter the picture and deter our actions?

First, our love for God. When you realize what you are and whose you are, it makes a profound impact of your choices. The following example might help illuminate this truth.

A king issues a decree throughout the land that prostitution is no longer

illegal and all prostitutes currently in jail are to be immediately released. Do you

think that such action would cause a prostitute to stop being a prostitute?

Probably not. But what if the king were to come up to one particular prostitute

and ask her to become his wife and queen? Do you believe that there is a high probability that she will change her lifestyle?

In Christ, we become God's children. When we continually see ourselves as God's children, and reflect upon the cost Jesus endured to make it so, the love for God and Christ helps to take our focus off of the temptation of pornography and place them upon a lifestyle that is honoring to being called a child of God.

Secondly, what about the person that you are looking at on the internet. There are approximately 20 to 40 million enslaved people today as a sex slave... Human trafficking is a crime that forcefully exploits women, men, and children. ... Many victims are runaway girls who were sexually abused as children. When love zeroes in on the object of our attention, care, kindness, compassion, empathy, honor, respect begin to set in. It is pretty difficult to continue to pursue sexual satisfaction for oneself when it comes at the expense of someone else. How do you know that the person you are watching isn't locked up somewhere being forced against her will to perform for you?

Thirdly, love for self. When God's unconditional love makes a home in your mindset, there is the tendency to begin to see yourself as God sees you. Free from shame and any abuse that has come your way, God accepts you as you are, not for what you have done. In wholeness through Christ, having been completely forgiven of all your sins, you will begin to experience a freedom from the negativity and condemnation that has besieged you and held you back in shackles. This newfound freedom will allow you to begin seeing your real potential and to move forward to embracing God's destiny for you and leave the negative things dragging you down behind.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set you free." Galatians 5:1

"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the

sinful nature (to serve yourself); rather, serve one another in love. The entire law (the

way to live life pleasing to God) is summed up in a single command: Love your

neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:13-14

"Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." Romans 13:10

"Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along

with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." 2 Timothy 2:22

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We don't avoid sin by consciously trying to resist it by our will. Instead, we run towards what we really desire- to love God and others as God first loved us.

Look forward to meeting with you tomorrow...

"Carpe Momentum in Love" (Seize the moment in love)