Promoted in Temptation | Promoted | Pastor Derick Amsler

We are in week two of this series called Promoted. Help me out. Everybody say Promoted. Now let me just remind you of our aim throughout this series. It's not to look for formulas that will lead to blessings in terms of materialistic living.

The goal of this series is not to look for a formula for blessings, but rather formation of becoming and belonging. Come on. There are some things that money cannot buy, and God wants to bless your life in those. Tell the person next to you, I'm rooted. Come on, let them know I'm rooted.

I'm rooted. I want my life to be rooted. So many times we only talk about the fruit of blessing God's taught. God's trying to talk about the root of our becoming. That's what this series is all about.

And I'm excited about what God's gonna do. Admittedly, I have too many notes today, so if you're a note taker, eat your heart out, and we'll have a good time.

Three men in the Bible known for their incredible strength of mind, skill of hand, and all-out ability to lead individuals and nations. Three men. David could kill a giant and unify a fractured nation. Samson could tear a lion apart with his bare hands and carry off the city gates of his adversary, do a couple squats and deadlifts, and just to rub it in their face before exiting the territory. Solomon, the Bible says he's the wisest man who's ever lived.

And so kings and queens from literally around the world would come to his palace and search for his intellect and information. What is amazing is that some theologians would call these the three strongest men in the Bible. And while they had the capacity to literally lead thousands of people, all three of them had a little part of their soul that they could not manage. How is it that we can sincerely, deeply, authentically love God as we love them? And we mean it when we say we love them, cry in the worship services, go out into the community and serve our community in his name.

How can we sincerely, genuinely, authentically, intentionally love God and still have a part of us that is unmanageable? How is it that we can have enormous capacity and still have internal captivity? How can I confess that he who the Son sets free is free indeed and yet have part of me that is still praying for freedom? In this series, we're looking at how God strengthens the roots of our life so we can manage more appropriately the fruit of his blessings. And today I want to go after one of the three major spirits that brought good people down.

People that were blessed by God in significant ways. And yet they crumbled under one particular spirit. It runs rampant in the Old Testament, it runs rampant in the New Testament, and it runs rampant in our day and age today. Last week we talked about stress. This week I want to talk about sexual strongholds.

Sexual strongholds. Now. Now, I know what some of you are thinking already. Pastor, I just brought a friend to church for the first time. Really, bro?

This is what you're going with? And I just want to say hi to your friend. But. But secondly, we just talk about what the Bible talks about. And it's through the sovereignty of God.

The Bible talks about a lot of the things that we talk about. And if we don't talk about what the Bible talks about, we're leaving it up to the world to not just define, but describe that which God created. Hey everybody, good news. The devil is not a creator. The devil is a counterfeiter.

That means he cannot create new things. He can only manipulate God's creation and take a good thing and make it a bad thing. Or he'll take a good thing that God gave you in the realm of a blessing and turn it against you. So a good thing becomes a bad thing when it suffocates the very definition of how God defined it and described it to work with to begin with. And he takes a good thing, and he poisons you.

So if we don't talk about it, we leave certain events or situations or actions or words up to the world to define. I think we need to save a generation from TikTok theology and social media dogmatics. And we need to reclaim words that belong to us. Right, God? Watch this now.

So before we get to where we're about to get to, tell the person next to you it's going to be okay, just to let them know. Come on. Just like. Like it's going to be okay? Like we just talk about it.

We're just having a conversation. And I want you to know this. There are many directions we could take a subject matter like this. We could talk about God's design for marriage between a man and a woman. We could talk about unhealthy dating practices that lead to unhealthy marriage relationships.

We could talk about the sign markers of divorce. We could talk about pornography. We could talk about addiction. We could talk about cohabitation. We could talk about healing from sexual trauma or rebuilding trust after betrayal.

But the truth is all of those subject matters are so weighty, they deserve more than just a quick paragraph or rabbit trail in this message. So the Aim of this message is not to offer you a holistic theology on sexuality, but I don't want to ignore the subject either. So this fall, in October, we are hosting another round of a masterclass in which we're bringing in the world-renowned expert on a theology of sexuality. And for an hour and a half, he's going to unpack everything the Bible says about the subject matter. Come on, aren't you grateful that we, as a society, have questions, the Bible has answers.

The other thing I want you to know is this. If the only thing you hear me saying over the next few moments is don't do it, I didn't do my job right. All right? I grew up in a church environment that whenever, if ever, it talked about sex or sexuality, it was this. It's gross, it's dirty, and it's ugly.

Don't do it. Save it for the one you love. It's like, if it's so gross and dirty, why do I want to save it for the one I love? You know, like, what is that all about? And, and so listen, sex is not the villain in the story.

Sex is something that God created. And he didn't just create it for the realm of procreation, he created it for, for, for our enjoyment. And so the devil is a counterfeiter. He's just going to take what God created and he's going to, and he's going to use it against you. God isn't out to destroy the desires of Christians.

You need to know that. It's not like, follow Jesus and he takes away all the fun. No, following Jesus. Jesus said, you can follow me, and I give life. And life is more enjoyable, not endurable enjoyable.

Jesus didn't come to take away your fun. He came to take away your pain. So following Jesus is not about eradicating good desires. It's about making sure good desires don't master you. Are you ready to do some work today?

Let's have some fun. In Proverbs, chapter 7, the context is King Solomon, the wisest man who's ever lived. He has something heavy on his heart. Maybe his son is about to go back to school. It's a new season.

There's something going on in his society. There's something plastered all over television and social media. Every scroll, every ad, every billboard, every marketing technique. The world is selling sex and the world is buying. Solomon wants to have a talk with his son and basically say, son, I need to share some information about you.

And it's to protect your life. It is to preserve the Rich anointing that God has for your life, for your calling, and for your purpose. Son, I don't want you to hear it from anybody out there. I want you to hear it from your old dad. And so we kind of picture him walking around the palace.

It's late at night. The hustle and the bustle of the market has ceased. The laughter of playful children have now resided inside. Night lamps are now turned low as people turn in for the night. And Solomon hears some commotion outside the palace.

And so he walks to his window. He parts the lattice, and below, he sees a group of teenagers. And by the way, let me just say this, though he's talking to his teenage son, this topic isn't limited to teenagers. You know, after the first service, somebody said, thank you for this message. My son needed to hear that.

He's in middle school. I said, well, you. You did too. And we did too. Have you noticed the devil doesn't stop tempting you at a certain age?

He's 45. Better leave him alone. No. And. And it's in that environment, Solomon goes to the chambers of the prince and he begins to share his wisdom.

So let's just put it in modern terms. Hey, buddy, how was school today? And his son says, what? Your son says, buddy, I don't even know what that means. Do you have a good day?

Nothing. Okay, well, do you mind if I tell you about my day? So maybe he scoots him over on the side of the bed and his dad sits at the foot. He says, I want to tell you about something I just saw earlier tonight at the window of my house. I looked down through the lattice and I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who had no sense.

Now, when the Bible says an individual is simple, it doesn't mean stupid. It means unformed, not uninformed. Unformed. There's a difference, and that distinction matters. Unformed means I need more education or information.

Uninformed means I just need to know more things. Unformed means I still need to become informed into a certain type of person. So uninformed says, son, what he's doing is dangerous. Here's why. Unformed says he does not have the capacity or the internal capability of understanding why this is dangerous.

For example, if. If. If a kid came up and said, hey, I need to borrow your car, I may say, no, you don't have your driver's license. You are uninformed. You need to go study to show yourself approved.

Right? You don't know how to operate the vehicle. That's uninformed. Or a person may come up to me and they have their driver's license. Derek, can I borrow your car?

And I say no, because you are too immature for my car. One is a lack of information. The other is formation. Jesus is after forming our soul. Here's the danger.

An unformed appetite of any kind. An unformed appetite will eventually become an ungoverned desire.

I'll run it back. An unformed appetite, a good desire that has not been properly formed. It will eventually become an ungoverned desire in which now the desire controls you. We would call it a stronghold. Everybody say stronghold.

You say, what's a stronghold? It's a stronghold on you. It's something that has you. It controls you. The Bible's not ignorant of strongholds.

The Bible is very aware of. Hey, we all have something in our life that has a stronger grasp on us than we would care to admit. Come on, let's be honest. It's just me, you, and a few other people eavesdropping on our conversation, right? It's just me and you.

We all have something in our life that if there was a magic button to push and we would be set free from some insecurity or addiction or generational curse, we would smash it every day of the week. Week. That's why one of our models around here is to know God, find freedom, so that we can discover our unique purpose and calling for our generation. And then we can get out here and go make a difference. Paul one time was talking to a group of people about strongholds.

And here's what he said in 2nd Corinthians 10. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world. So we are in a fight. We just don't fight the same temptation like the world does. On the contrary, our weapons have divine power to demolish strongholds.

And now watch what he says. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. And we take by force every thought and we make it obedient to Christ. Notice the language he's talking about strongholds. We tend to think behavior.

Paul's talking about strongholds. And he uses words like arguments, pretensions and faults. So we think of stronghold as an addiction that has us physically. Paul says, no, a stronghold is a lie. You have believed mentally.

Another definition of stronghold would be this. A prisoner locked by deception. It's one thing to be incarcerated. That's painful. It's another thing to be incarcerated by a lie.

You're telling me that I could have been free this whole time. You were telling me that I was locked from the inside. You were telling me that I gave myself a life term sentence, but I could have walked out of here and pursued freedom at any moment. You're telling me. Telling me that I've wasted time, I've wasted years.

I've wasted tears, I've wasted conversations, I've wasted arguments. I've wasted defensiveness. I've wasted so much time trying to be free when I was free all the time. A stronghold is somebody who was trapped by their own deception. They have believed a lie from the enemy for so long.

Listen, a lie. A lie doesn't have to be totally believable to incarcerate you. It just has to be believable enough to become livable for you.

Strongholds. At the window of my house, my boy, I saw someone who was unformed. And watch how the story unfolds. Going down the street corner near her. Going down the street near her corner.

Walking along in the direction of her house at twilight as the day was fading, as the dark of night set in. I just want to pause here for a station identification to let you know he's not done anything wrong yet. He's okay. Everybody just breathe a sigh of relief. What's he doing?

He's just walking. What is he doing? He's walking along the. Walking along in the direction of her. He's just walking.

No sins committed, no flags thrown on the field. Nothing to worry about. He's just walking. He's just walking. He's just walking.

That's all he's doing. He's just walking. Leave him alone. He's just walking. He's not hurting anybody.

He's just walking. He's just texting. He's just walking. It's just music. He's just walking.

It's just movie. It's just entertainment. And just watch it for the drama or the cinematography. He's just walking. It's just a flirtatious touch.

He's just walking. He's just having a conversation. It's just a joke. It's just undressing with my eyes. It's just a thought.

It's just a dream. It's just a fantasy. I'm not hurting anybody. It was consensual after all, in my own mind. I'm just walking.

We live in a day and age that says as long as it's not hurting anybody. Leave me alone. Who are you to tell me what to do? I'm just walking. I'm just walking.

You Judging me. I'm just walking. Matter of fact, go ahead and say it. I'm just walking. Gotta get your voice up there.

For some reason, but which brings up an uncomfortable reality if we're serious about freedom, that sometimes we earnestly pray for God's deliverance while still being bent on our direction. God deliver me from this direction, but this is the direction I'm going. A prisoner locked by deception. It reminds me of the old poem, short story from Portia Nelson. You probably grew up in school learning it.

It's. A man was walking down the street and he accidentally fell into a hole in the ground because he did not see the hole. The next day he saw the hole and he still fell in the ground. On the third day, he saw the hole try to walk around the hole. Still fell into the hole in the ground.

On the fourth day he got to where he wanted to be because he took a different street.

Solomon saying that there sometimes is victory in retreat. There's victory in finding a new street. Sometimes victory is on the other side of saying, I gotta be mindful of my street corners. Solomon is saying, I can see what you cannot see. You're living in the moment.

And I get it. I was once a youth too. But, brother, from my vantage point, I can see what lies in wait for you down the corner of her house. So listen to your old dad. Watch this from here out.

He's actually going to describe how the devil tempts us. Remember, the devil's not a creator. He just repeats the same formula for thousands of years. Watch how temptation works. And there we will find where freedom rests.

Proverbs, verse 10, chapter 7. Then out came a woman to meet this young man dressed like a prostitute and with crafty intent. She's got something on her mind. Now in the street, now in the squares, now on social media, now in every scroll, now in every advertisement, at every corner she lurks. She took hold of him and kissed him.

That's what we would call the direct approach. Right? Just like a. And with a brazen face, she said.

With a brazen face she said. Notice temptation always addresses the mind with a story the body can live with.

Every time we are tempted, the first thing the devil does is whisper a story we can live with. I got it. I'm not hurting anybody. It's manageable. It's nobody's business.

I'm just trying to relax, just trying to chill. I deserve this. After all, temptation addresses the mind with a story the body can live with. Watch the argument. Here's how temptation Works.

She says to the young man, today, I have fulfilled my vows. I have food from my fellowship offering at home. That doesn't mean that she went to a restaurant and took home a doggy bag. This is church language. This is Old Testament church language.

What she's saying is, hey, this morning I went to church, and I was reminded about the grace of God and the love of God and the forgiveness of God. And the worship team started singing that song. And I was like, he went with me. He ran before me. God is not against me.

And I was reminded that God loves us and God is merciful and loving. So I took out all my sin bucket and I dumped it out on the altar and. And here I am to fill it back up with you. That's what she's saying. That's what she's saying.

She's using church language. Watch this. It's okay. God's gonna forgive us anyways. It's all right.

God is loving. It's okay. God is kind. It's kind of like what he has to do. Like, we can go do whatever we want to do.

We just come to God and be like, God, forgive me. And he's like, okay, here we go again. Fine, you're forgiven. And she's using church language, which tells us something. You can be religious and divided at the same time.

You can worship and be divided at the same time. You can be a leader and be divided. You can be a servant, be divided. You can be a giver and be divided all at the same time. The devil knows what story we need to hear in order to entrap us in his stronghold.

Notice what she says next. Again, she's whispering something into his subconscious. Before the desire is fulfilled, she says, I came out to meet you. I looked for you, big boy, and I have found you, my man. I came out to meet you.

I looked for you. I found you. And there it is. Temptation will always make you feel seen, understood, and respected and desirable. They're the only one who gets me.

This is the only thing that understands me. This is the only thing that's able to take the edge off. This is the only thing that actually helps me thought. This is the only thing. And it knows how to.

It knows how to speak what we need to hear. Knowing that God will forgive us anyway. That draws us into this game of entrapment. She continues. Come, let's drink deeply of love till morning.

What?

Notice how temptation always reframes the action. Temptation reframes the action for acceptance. She doesn't say, come let's have an affair till morning. She says, it's just love again. It's just flirting.

It's just pornography. It's just entertainment. It's just whatever. And by the way, our culture does this as well, because if it can redefine and redescribe what sin is, it's more appealing to our appetite. We accept it easier.

We live in a culture that does this with sexuality all the time. It's just physical. That's all it is. It's just physical. Don't worry about it.

Or it's just recreational, it's just fun. Or it's. It's isolated, it's just one time. It's just. It's just me and her.

Her. It's just. Or. Or. Several years ago, our church was in Shepherdstown, next to Shepherd University.

And there was a kid over there who was known for having a bit of a reputation for messing around with quite a people. He came to our church, got saved, was baptized, but that part of his life was really hard for him to let go of. And so. And so him and I sat down and we're meeting, and he goes, he goes. He was borrowing language from his evolutionary education and he was saying, pastor, I don't understand what the big deal is.

It's just. Animalistic was his term. It's just animalistic. It's like our animalistic influence instinct is what it is. I was like, bro, you're telling me you walk every day into class like a wild turkey.

Is it just an animal.

Or the white tailed deer in heat?

No, you ain't doing that. No. Because self control is also a fruit of the spirit. And there's something more than just taking place. It's not just animalistic.

But the irony is, again, the devil has no new tricks. Reframing, redescribing, redefining terminology to make it more appealing for people has been in the devil's toolbox from the beginning of time. There is a. There's a church in the city of Corinth. We have a letter written to them by the apostle Paul.

It's called Corinthians. And they were known for sexual immorality at the nth degree, matter of fact, they would build massive temples to pagan gods and then sell tickets basically to buy women, forcing them to become prostitutes as an act of worship to their God. That's how steep in sexuality they were. Paul writes the church in that city a letter, and he uses that practice as an example. He says, he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her body.

The word one there, it doesn't mean, like a physical interaction. It means a glue. It's the. It's the Greek word for glue. We would say bond.

It would bind them together. And then he overlays Genesis in God's creation over it. He says, for the two become. There's a word again. One flesh.

He's saying, I know the culture of Corinth says it's just casual, but casual doesn't make it inconsequential to God's plan and purpose for our life. The Corinthians had a slogan because they were just so steeped in idolatry and whatever they wanted to do. Their popular slogan was, everything is permissible for me. In Greek, it would roll off the tongue a little easier, but everything is permissible for me. In other words, I can do whatever I want to do.

I can do whatever I do. Paul says, yeah, okay, I guess you can. There are some things that aren't illegal in Corinth. There's some things that are not illegal in Rome. You can do anything I guess you want to do, but just because you can do anything you want to do doesn't make it beneficial.

And he says, I will not be mastered by anything. So watch this. Does freedom mean I should obey every appetite that I'm free to satisfy just because I can? Paul says, no. Freedom isn't the ability to satisfy every appetite.

Freedom is the ability not to be ruled by every desire. And that's true of sex. That's true of money, approval, alcohol, success, anger, even your iPhone. How do you know if something is starting to become master or a stronghold in your life? I'll put it up on the screen.

If I must have it to feel. Okay, if I hide it in order to keep it, and if I can't surrender it when God asks for it, Something is starting to master me.

The devil has no new tricks. All he does is have new shame tones on how to shame you.

Back to Solomon, verse 21, he tells his son. And with persuasive words, she led him astray. All at once, he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, little knowing it's going to cost him his life. See, eventually, something you once choose starts choosing you, and you can no longer choose anything else anymore. Here's the root of the issue.

Solomon. After telling his son about the events he saw earlier in the night, he then tells him, do not let your heart turn to her ways. Now, that's surprising. After a conversation like this, I think he would say so. Stay off the street corner or be careful or pay attention to where your feet go and your hands do and your eyes see in your mind.

He says, don't let your heart turn to her ways. Because a stronghold isn't only about what your body desires. It's about what your heart is trying to feel in the desire. Too many times we come to church and we're looking for a formula for behavior modification. Just tell me what not to do anymore, or, pastor, what can I do?

How close can I get, and it still not be a sin. What? Just tell me what needs to come out of my life. But then we're frustrated that freedom never comes, and that's because all we addressed was the behavior and not the belief system or what the temptation was trying to feed in the insecurity in me that made it so desirable to begin with. If we want to cut the fruit of sin out of our life, we've got to address the root of its desire.

It's discovering what the root of temptation is using to lure me. Can I speak practically so you can delete the app if you struggle with pornography, but if the root of pornography is how you've learned to medicate rejection or abandonment or insecurity in your life, deleting an app won't heal rejection. Should he do it? Yeah, but that's not gonna heal what the temptation was after to begin with. Notice what she said?

With persuasive words, she gave him a story he could live with.

Freedom is not just learning what to run from and what to delete out of your life. It's discovering what the root of temptation is and how to replace something bad with something great.

And so let me switch gears and call timeout on myself and just address the shame in the room, because some of you, you've never heard a message about sexuality or sexual temptation that hasn't been through the lens of shame, guilt, and therefore pain and agony and resentment and regret. And I just want to tell you I'm sorry that that's the only time you've ever heard conversations like this. For that is not from the voice of your heavenly Father, and that is not the spirit of the Bible. The Bible says there is now, therefore, no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. I say this all the time, but let me just say it again for those in the room.

The devil knows your name, but he refers to you as your shame. God knows what calls the shame, but he calls you by name.

And so for those that are beating yourself up right now because the devil is now shaming you. Let me just. Let me just finish what Solomon told his own son. Verse 26. Many are the victims she has brought down.

Her slain are a mighty throng. In other words, this sermon is not about weak people. Why can't you be better? No, no, no, no, no. This is simply a warning that you can be strong in one area of your life and need strengthening in another area of your life.

And in that gap, there is the formation of God's patience and grace and mercy and kindness. Your life.

The reason why I wanted to have this conversation, or honestly, the reason why I felt like the Holy Spirit impressed it on me so heavily this week, is because we live in a society that has normalized sexual behavior, but then normalized what addiction to sexuality looks like. It was just normal. It's just normal. Did you know that the pornography business is brought in more money last year than the NBA, NFL, and the National Hockey League combined? The world is selling and the world is buying.

But God has something greater for your life than the limitations of captivity and strongholds. He wants to set you free and bring purity back into your mind and your heart and in your life and intimacy in your relationship. Relationship. So where they normalize the sin. I want to normalize the struggle.

Because when you are ashamed, the sin gets hidden and the cycle gets repeated. But when you can normalize a struggle and search out freedom, then freedom becomes the normal. Now listen to this. Freedom doesn't mean that you'll never have a desire again. Freedom means that the desire doesn't have you.

You may spend the rest of your life struggling with a particular desire, but that desire doesn't make you enslaved because you can spend the rest of your life living with a desire and still be free. It's a. Recognizing the tactics of temptation, Paul writes to this church. He's drowning in sexual strongholds. And then he says something that some of you need to hear.

He says, and that way of life that was. Some of you, some of you were okay. But then he says, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified. That means made right before God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God. Notice the words devil.

Says, who you are now is based upon where you were. Jesus says, no, no. Who you are now and where I'm leading you is based upon what Christ has done for you on the cross. There is now no condemnation because you were washed, you were sanctified, and you were justified.

So the gospel, the good news of Jesus, is not him standing Outside your prison, shouting out regrets. Too late now. It's God busting down every barrier in your life. And he's coming in and he's redeeming you and restoring you back into his promised land that he has for you. You.

The lie of the enemy is that if people really knew, they'd leave you. They'd judge you. The truth of the matter is no. It's what Jesus has done. In my life, I have been washed, I have been sanctified, and I have been justified.

The lie of the enemy is this. You'll always need this vice to feel okay. Jesus says, you shall not be mastered by anything. For he who the son set free is really, truly free. Indeed.

So the goal of the message, then is this. I don't want you to leave with another emotional promise, I'll never do it again. That's not the goal. The goal is to leave with a plan, not a promise. Are you ready?

I gotta fly. How would the Bible encounter us or encourage us to break free from the strongholds and the lies of the enemy? Number one, you got to reveal what he's saying. James 5, 16. The Bible says, make this your common practice.

Well, just normalize it. Confess your sins to each other and pray for one another that you may be healed. In other words, you need somebody in your life that you can look to and say, help me win. Help me win. I'm tired of losing to this hole in the street.

Help me win. I believe in myself enough, and I love myself enough to pick myself back up, but this time holding the hand of God himself. Help me win. And you need somebody in your life who will just normalize that, not shame that, but then bring you to Jesus every time you need that. Sometimes the presence of Jesus shows up with a cell phone number that looks like a trusted friend who says, I got you.

Let's win. Now let me encourage you. You need to tell somebody. Well, the devil's been speaking to you, but don't tell everybody. God forgives and forgets.

People can forgive, but they still remember. So don't tell everybody. Don't tell everybody. Don't show up to work tomorrow. Don't put it on Facebook tonight.

Everybody, help me win. No, no. You need a trusted mentor in your life. And by the way, if you don't have somebody like that, I really do wish you would call the church and let one of our team members pray with you and encourage you. May this be the year marked by freedom and breaking generational curses off your life.

There's so much stigma and trauma around subjects that God clearly addresses. Let's walk through life free. Number one, reveal it. Number two, remove it. We have to understand what is triggering us and what emotional void is it trying to speak to.

And then, number three, we replace it. We replace what? We replace that emotional void that temptation is speaking to with God's plan and God's purpose for our life. The goal isn't just to be free from something. The goal is to be free for something.

And that is found in someone. Jesus, the holistic nature of our life, worships him.

So one more time, let me read how Paul ends this subject matter when he's talking to that church in Corinth with promises like this to pull us on, not hold us back. He says, dear friends, and I want you to feel that spirit when you leave this place. We're friends having a family conversation because this is your year for freedom, baby. Dear friends, let's make a clean break with everything that defiles us or distracts us, both within and without. Let's make our entire lives fit and holy temples for the worship of our God this season.

I hope God blesses what's in your hands. But some of his greatest blessings will be setting a soul that's once been captive free indeed.

Find your freedom in him. Stand up with me across this place.

Lord, I pray that you would renew the voice of the Holy Spirit that speaks words of life and grace and truth over your people. Lord, I pray that you would remind us that we are not our past, we are not our action, but we are who you say that we are. So, Lord, I pray for a clarity of mind and an understanding understanding of what your beautiful love looks like and feels like. Make it so real that we don't want to run back to past things, but we want to run to a new thing. And that is freedom.

That is breaking generational curses off of our life. That is the transformation that comes from a renewing of our mind in the mighty name of Jesus. And everybody said, amen. Amen.