Embracing Our New Identity in Christ Through Prayer

"Engaging with God affirms that our old lives, have given way to our new lives in Christ. Don't forget that. Hang on to that. Know that you and your old life, your old way of living, is dead and gone, and that you have a new life in Christ. Not because of what you've done, but because of what Jesus has done for you. Not because of what you've done, but because of what Jesus has done for you. The reality is this. The reality is this. I could never ever wear this shirt again. Obviously because it doesn't fit me." [01:03:01] (34 seconds)


"See, the psalmist's heart is revealed about his relationship with God. He knows that his personal efforts have failed. And so what does he do? He cries out to God. He needs God's help. And he does this by asking God to engage with him. The psalmist desires a deeper relationship with God. It's intense. His request to God is simple, yet it's profound. He says this, teach me your word, Lord, and give me an understanding of it. This desire and longing is to know God more deeply." [00:42:30] (39 seconds)


"See, to honestly know God on a deeper level begins with a genuine desire to engage with him. Let me repeat that. To honestly know God on a deeper level begins with a genuine desire to engage with him. Do we desire to engage with God daily? Do we desire to engage with God throughout our day? Or do we just place God on the shelf, and when we leave the house, that's where we leave him?" [00:43:24] (37 seconds)


"See, through Christ, we're called to lead lives and live lives of holiness that stand apart from the world around us. And the Holy Spirit empowers us to glorify God, to overcome, our sin, our guilt, and our shame. See, ultimately it's this. Only God can deliver us from the influence of this world and our sinful nature, both in our past and our present. Only God can do that. But we have to get to that point where we have to acknowledge and need his help. But many of us don't." [01:02:29] (37 seconds)


"See, the psalmist recognizes that he attempts to be good and to follow God's commands have failed. But he must, and he's trying to understand that he has to rely upon God completely. And he asks God to turn his heart and his eyes towards him. The reality is this, God knows our hearts. He does. He knows the idols that we possess. He knows the identities. He knows the things outside of him that we gravitate towards." [00:53:12] (31 seconds)


"See, what happens is that when we're challenging this, we're going to go down this dark path, especially when God says no, and then we're going to fall, and we're going to fall into sin, and during this time, our old nature is going to rear its ugly head, and what happens when we fall into sin? Guilt and shame will begin to overtake us, but have heart that this is nothing new to God. The psalmist asked God to turn his heart and mind away from the shame and the guilt of sin." [01:00:46] (28 seconds)


"Don't let your past overshadow your present and your future. Don't do that. Don't let your past overshadow your present and your future. There are many times that we struggle with regret about our past, but there's nothing that we can do to change that, and see, our old nature tries to pull us back into these feelings of shame and guilt and living in constant regret, and when we do that, we become guilty. We become guilty. We become guilty. We become guilty." [01:01:07] (29 seconds)


"To truly engage with God is to be fully immersed in his directions, his guidance. But see, here's the battle. Our old nature, our old way of doing things often seeks us to lead us away from God, convincing us to forge our own paths in life. That's why people kind of contort the word of God to suit their lifestyle. God's word is eternal, but when we do this, we mistakenly believe that we know better than God." [00:49:38] (30 seconds)