Embracing Vulnerability: A Journey to Spiritual Transformation

Devotional

Day 1: Recognizing Our Ruin and Need for Transformation

Recognizing our own ruin is the first step toward genuine transformation. It requires an honest acknowledgment of our inability to change or escape the consequences of our actions on our own. This realization is not meant to lead to despair but to open the door to a deeper relationship with God. By stepping down from the throne of our own universe, we allow God to take His rightful place in our lives. This surrender is essential for true inner transformation, as it shifts our focus from using God as a tool for our purposes to aligning ourselves with His will. [01:46]

Jeremiah 17:9-10 (ESV): "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 'I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.'"

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you have been trying to maintain control? How can you begin to surrender this area to God today?

Day 2: Bringing Intensity to Our Spiritual Lives

We often bring great intensity and dedication to pursuits like sports, music, or career ambitions, yet neglect our spiritual lives. This imbalance can lead to a spiritual drift, where our relationship with God becomes secondary to other pursuits. The call is to apply the same level of commitment and intensity to our spiritual journey, recognizing its eternal significance. By doing so, we align our priorities with God's purposes and experience a deeper, more fulfilling relationship with Him. [04:23]

Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV): "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."

Reflection: What is one practical step you can take this week to prioritize your spiritual life with the same intensity you give to other pursuits?

Day 3: Confession and Seeking God's Mercy

Confession is a powerful act of acknowledging our brokenness and seeking God's mercy. It involves a heartfelt admission of our sins, deceit, anger, and failures to love and express gratitude. Through confession, we open ourselves to God's boundless love and forgiveness, allowing His mercy to wash over us and bring healing. This act of vulnerability is not a sign of weakness but a step toward restoration and wholeness in our relationship with God. [06:47]

1 John 1:9 (ESV): "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Reflection: Is there a specific sin or area of brokenness you need to confess to God today? How can you create a regular practice of confession in your spiritual life?

Day 4: Embracing Vulnerability for Healing

In moments of vulnerability, we are called to confess our sins and ask God to reveal what is twisted within us. This openness allows for healing and transformation, as we seek to restore goodness in our lives and communities. By embracing vulnerability, we invite God's healing presence into our lives, trusting that He will guide us toward genuine transformation and restoration. [11:19]

Psalm 139:23-24 (ESV): "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you need God's healing touch? How can you invite Him into this area through prayer and vulnerability?

Day 5: Living as Children of God

Despite our shortcomings, we are reminded that we are God's children. This identity is grounded in His love and mercy, which lead us toward genuine transformation and restoration. As we seek His forgiveness and guidance, we trust in His ability to restore goodness in our lives and communities. Living as children of God means embracing our identity in Him and allowing His love to shape our actions and relationships. [11:02]

1 John 3:1 (ESV): "See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him."

Reflection: How does your identity as a child of God influence your daily actions and decisions? What is one way you can live out this identity more fully today?

Sermon Summary

In today's gathering, we are invited to engage in a profound dialogue with God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and the Redeemer of all humanity. This is not a moment for superficial emotions or fleeting feelings, but rather a call to focus our minds and hearts on what truly matters: the healing of the radical evil within our souls. Dallas Willard, in his book "Renovation of the Heart," emphasizes the necessity of recognizing our own ruin and the inability to change or escape its consequences on our own. Without this realization, there is no clear path to inner transformation. We must step down from the throne of our own universe and cease using God as a mere tool for our purposes.

The sermon challenges us to bring the same intensity to our spiritual lives that we often reserve for other pursuits, such as sports, music, or career ambitions. Examples of dedication from figures like Steph Curry, Tom Brady, and Pablo Casals illustrate the level of commitment required to excel. Yet, how often do we drift through life, neglecting our relationships, our souls, and our God?

A poignant moment is shared through a song by Greg Ferguson, inviting us to see ourselves as the prodigal son returning to the Father. This song becomes a prayer of confession, urging us to acknowledge our brokenness and seek God's mercy. We are called to confess our sins, our deceit, our anger, and our failures to love and express gratitude. In this moment of vulnerability, we ask God to reveal what is twisted and wrong within us so that healing can begin.

As we close our eyes and focus our thoughts, we are reminded that despite our shortcomings, we are God's children. We seek His forgiveness and guidance to restore goodness in our lives and communities. This is a moment of deep introspection and a call to genuine transformation, grounded in the love and mercy of God.

Key Takeaways

1. Realization of Our Ruin: Recognizing our own ruin and inability to change on our own is crucial for inner transformation. Without this bitter realization, we remain on the throne of our universe, using God as a tool rather than surrendering to His will. [01:46]
2. Intensity in Spiritual Life: We often bring great intensity to pursuits like sports and careers but neglect our spiritual lives. This sermon challenges us to apply the same dedication to our relationship with God, recognizing the eternal significance of our spiritual journey. [04:23]
3. Confession and Mercy: The song "I'm the Man" serves as a powerful prayer of confession, inviting us to acknowledge our brokenness and seek God's mercy. It reminds us that despite our failures, God's love and forgiveness are boundless. [06:47]
4. Vulnerability and Healing: In moments of vulnerability, we are called to confess our sins and ask God to reveal what is twisted within us. This openness allows for healing and transformation, as we seek to restore goodness in our lives and communities. [11:19]
5. Children of God: Despite our shortcomings, we are reminded that we are God's children. We seek His forgiveness and guidance, trusting in His love and mercy to lead us toward genuine transformation and restoration. [11:02]
** [11:02]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:36] - Engaging with God
[00:59] - Healing Radical Evil
[01:14] - Realization of Ruin
[02:00] - Surrendering the Throne
[02:30] - Not God: A Lesson from AA
[03:07] - Intensity in Pursuits
[03:33] - Dedication of Legends
[04:23] - Spiritual Drift
[04:41] - The Prodigal Son's Song
[05:07] - Prayer of Confession
[06:18] - Seeking Mercy
[07:07] - Vulnerability and Healing
[09:09] - Confession and Remorse
[11:02] - Children of God

Sermon Clips

Dallas Willard writes this on page 60 of renovation of the heart, few today have discovered they have been disastrously wrong and that they cannot change or escape the consequences of it on their own. There is little sense of woe is me for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips and my eyes have seen the living God. [00:01:07]

Without this realization of our utter ruin, and without the genuine re-visioning and redirecting of our lives which that bitter realization naturally gives rise to, no clear path to inner transformation can be found. It is psychologically and spiritually impossible. We will steadfastly remain on the throne of our universe so far as we are concerned, perhaps trying to use a little god here and there. [00:01:41]

The struggle for every alcoholic is to come to the realization I am not god and unless they hit bottom unless there is this bitter realization that I'm lost and I cannot save myself then there is no hope but if that's found there is no hope so will you bring great intensity to this. [00:02:40]

Why do we bring that intensity to games and hobbies and music and work and money when we live this one life and I have children and I have a spouse or I have friends, I have a soul, I have a god, I just drift through it. [00:04:15]

He has written a song, I'm the man, and I want you to listen to this song as though you are the prodigal son returning to the father. Did I make you cry, did I break your heart, then prepare as you listen to this song to make a prayer of confession and to cry to help to god and then we'll do that together. [00:04:41]

Lord I don't know where to begin counting the cost of all my sin, how could I go day after day testing your love for me this way, have I won't did you lord have I caused you to cry have you run out of patience for once such as I yet I've learned that your mercy extends to the sky so I'm asking you lord to forgive me one more time. [00:06:18]

Now this is a hard prayer, a prayer of confession and remorse, the prayer of the prodigal coming home so I invite you wherever you are close your eyes as best you can god will help you focus now your memory, your thoughts, your will, your heart, and then whatever it is that you have to confess to god to come home. [00:09:02]

I'm a man of unclean lips a woman of unclean lips, my deceit, my ego, my anger, can't seem to control god my toxic thoughts of resentment, hatred of those that I want to love, the way that I hide, that budding addiction, all those things I have left undone the moments of love that I could have lavished on other people. [00:09:43]

Now heavenly father in this moment hear our cries, even in the midst of in spite of all this we are your children your sons and your daughters and we want to ask your forgiveness, we want you to show us as we're able to absorb it, what it is in our minds, our thoughts and our feelings and in our wills and in our bodies and our habits and our relationships with other people and in our souls what is warped and twisted and evil and wrong. [00:11:02]

So that you can heal it, and be with us in the community where goodness can be restored, we can't, you can, we pray in jesus name, amen. [00:11:33]

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