Join me for this podcast series, The Surrendered Self. To understand the concepts of surrender and self, we must plug them into the story of mankind's relationship with God, which is a story of redemption. In this episode, I remind you of the ongoing battle between the flesh and the spirit. I encourage you as a believer to find your identity and worth in Jesus rather than define yourself by your sin or fallen nature. Though we live in mortal bodies, the Holy Spirit dwells inside us and our days can be fueled by his spirit. I discuss how surrendering to God forms a secure foundation for our identities and equips us with the necessary tools to navigate the conflict between our flesh and spirit. Through this series, I aim to provide insights that could reshape your thinking, reaffirm your beliefs, and, ultimately, redefine your identity in Christ.
If you are ready to become the woman God says you already are, you have to join me in Clarity+Courage, my cost-effective coaching group for Christian women.
Learn more and enroll at www.myhappyvault.com/clarityandcourage
Questions? Email Jill directly at Jill@thehappiestlives.com
Join me for this podcast series, The Surrendered Self. To understand the concepts of surrender and self, we must plug them into the story of mankind's relationship with God, which is a story of redemption. In this episode, I remind you of the ongoing battle between the flesh and the spirit. I encourage you as a believer to find your identity and worth in Jesus rather than define yourself by your sin or fallen nature. Though we live in mortal bodies, the Holy Spirit dwells inside us and our days can be fueled by his spirit. I discuss how surrendering to God forms a secure foundation for our identities and equips us with the necessary tools to navigate the conflict between our flesh and spirit. Through this series, I aim to provide insights that could reshape your thinking, reaffirm your beliefs, and, ultimately, redefine your identity in Christ.
If you are ready to become the woman God says you already are, you have to join me in Clarity+Courage, my cost-effective coaching group for Christian women.
Learn more and enroll at www.myhappyvault.com/clarityandcourage
Questions? Email Jill directly at Jill@thehappiestlives.com
Hello everybody, happy New Year's. It's the beginning of something new, a new beginning. So and you know, really every day can be a new beginning. I like to think of each morning that I wake up that it is a new start. But it's particularly nice when it's a new year If you, if your brain compartmentalizes in that way to think this is a brand new year, it's a fresh new start. And so I wanted to start this new year with talking about a topic this month which really I talked about last week on the podcast, but I decided to make it into a whole series for the month, and so last week's podcast was titled the Surrendered Self, and I want to title the series the Surrendered Self.
Speaker 1:And as we talk about that and what that means, we have to put it all in the bigger picture of our story as human beings, the bigger picture of who we are as humans and what our plight is, what the problem is, to understand what surrender means. What are we surrendering? Why are we surrendering? We need a context. And so if you are a student of the Bible, if you are a believer, you realize that there are two paradigms that exist side by side and the that is the battle the paradigm of the flesh and the paradigm of the spirit. There's a battle going on between both of these things. This is the spiritual realm.
Speaker 1:As a believer, the flesh is not who you are. Sin is not who you are. Your new identity is given to you when the Holy Spirit comes and dwells inside you and you get to choose which you're going to nurture each day. Are you going to feed your flesh or are you going to feed your spirit? One of them is going to dominate your days. So the flesh is dying. It's selfish, it's prideful, it experiences pain and its moments are fleeting. Then we have our redeemed self, our spirit, which is eternal, it is selfless, it's kind, it's full of compassion, it does not age. When we receive Christ, we become these new creations, the old eyes and his spirit fills us, and it not only changes our destiny, but his spirit quickens our body, it changes our identity.
Speaker 1:Though we've been made new in Christ, we still live in dying physical bodies. So we find our self in the middle, in the already but not yet. We remain in this fallen world between two bookends of perfection Eden and heaven. When we see evidence of our flesh, we might become disheartened, we might become frozen in shame, overwhelmed, we may sink down into despair. And yet, frozen and shame contradicts the very gospel.
Speaker 1:Guilt focuses on our imperfection, our failure, leaving us feeling stuck, and redemption tells us that we are imperfect and not good enough. And yet we cannot make ourselves right, that our imperfection has been covered in the blood and been made right already, and so our identity has changed. Our works cannot redeem us, our works cannot make us better, and we need the Lord. So the very sin and falling short in our life that reflects our inadequacy as human beings and the inadequacy of the flesh, this becomes our bridge to wholeness. So there is where you are now and where you want to be. There is what you have now and there's what you want. There are things you want to do and there are things that you are currently doing. Now, and in between these polarities, we may experience a sense of misery as we are fighting against the weeds and thorns of life. We're fighting against our very flesh, though we long for the eternal. All creation is moving toward decay and extinction, and yet within us there is this hidden blueprint of who we are, a longing for more, a desire for things to last, and this seems to be part of our DNA.
Speaker 1:The Bible refers to this place perfection as Eden in later heaven. The story of our existence Begins in the garden, which is perfect, and it concludes in heaven, where there are no tears, there's no sorrow. But in between these two bookends of perfection there is pain, suffering, sorrow, death, brokenness and sin. So how did this imperfection come to be? Well, in Genesis we move from the bliss of the garden of life To Adam and Eve's disobedience when they eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Their consequences affect all future creation as man becomes aware of these two conflicting forces, with this new knowledge comes pain Immediately.
Speaker 1:Adam and Eve saw their nakedness and they went and hid in shame. And isn't that what shame does it wants to hide, even though God sees all. And when God confronts Adam and Eve, they start to blame each other and they blame the snake Resisting God's authority. Adam and Eve created separation between themselves and God's goodness. In addition to their new knowledge, sin placed a curse on creation. Woman would not only experience pain and childbirth, but Women would also desire to control their husbands. Men would labor and toil, they would wrestle with the thorns, only to move toward imminent death. The snake would suffer the hostility of the humans, and you and I are born into sin. So we refer to this natural state as the flesh.
Speaker 1:Yet our story does not stop there. The Bible is a book of redemption. God set up an atonement for original sin. He became the required sacrifice in the only sacrifice that would redeem us by giving us a spiritual rebirth. As we refer to this new self as the spirit and you can read about that in Romans, chapter 8, and Ephesians, chapter 2 With his death and resurrection, christ took the keys of death and hell. In other words, he held authority over the curse. He Provided redemption.
Speaker 1:So how do we step into this place of salvation, victory and freedom? The Bible tells us. You know, throughout the New Testament we we learn how to do that. But if you want to look at John, chapter 1, we see that it is merely by believing that Jesus is who he says he is and we submit our minds and our deeds to his authority. Throughout scripture, even before the coming of Christ, we see that Stepping into this belief in God's loving Lordship requires Exposing our heart to his light, asking him to search our hearts. Christ calls us to uncover our sins and repent. Second Chronicles 7, 14, 1st John 1, 9, proverbs 28, 13, Acts 3, 19.
Speaker 1:It's all over the place. The pain of wrestling with our flesh and the thorns of life Wears us down as we aspire for more, as we aspire for that blueprint etched on our souls. So trying to do and be better on our own feels unsustainable and it feels impossible Until we expose and receive. We are flailing in this sea of suffering, a place in between our fallen and redeemed selves. Isn't it beautiful that our brokenness is the entry place for wholeness and salvation. In the place of misery, god loves us, transporting us to wholeness and victory. If you feel like you're floating down a river of misery, jesus is there and he's waiting for you to call on him. He's always there. The fruits of your flesh are shame, pride, fear, bitterness, self pity, blame, despair, worry, all of that. It keeps us in hiding. And yet when we invite the Lord into our place of brokenness, we find healing. Even if you have already received Christ, you Encounter him repeatedly. This is how you abide in him and he abides in you.
Speaker 1:Although there is a moment when we enter into this relationship with the Lord like any growing relationship, we must continue to turn toward him, to hit refresh, to root ourselves in his love, to remind ourselves who we are and that we are dependent upon him, that we need him. We can't do it ourselves. In a sense, we repeat the process of our salvation exposing, believing, engaging, pressing on as we engage in a dynamic Life, a dynamic relationship with the Lord, we invite him into all the places. So, just like you don't get married and say I love you just one time, rather, you continue to plant yourself in the relationship by always going back to a straight forward, repeatable foundation within your Within, your marriage, within your relationship, you nurture your relationship through repetition, through turning toward, through expressing fondness and admiration, by deepening your understanding of who the person is, deepening your hitting, reflect refresh on those love maps.
Speaker 1:And it's the same way with Christ. We remain in him when we come to him, at all points of weakness and hurt, and in that river of misery and that sea of suffering, he is always there. On the shore of the sea of Galilee, jesus performed many miracles, including walking on water, calming the storm and feeding 5,000 people. Where we see Finiteness and impossibility, there's always a possibility when our eyes are on Jesus. So consider the pain you're experiencing in your relationships. Maybe you have a lot of pain in your marriage, in your marriage. Let that be a directive.
Speaker 1:It is an invitation to come and dine with your father, to dine with the king, and it begins with your neediness. Without his forgiveness, grace, without him covering us, we are never going to be good enough. We're always going to fall short. When we're lacking, when we feel depraved, blemished, insufficient, we can turn to him and in him and through him, we are reminded that we are worthy, whole, righteous, that we have everything that we need, and he fully restores us to the glory of who God made us. We were created in the image of God, to reflect his glory.
Speaker 1:So there is this battle going on between the flesh and the spirit, the old creation and the new creation. The flesh, however, is not who we are. It does not define us. The spirit defines us. You become this new creation when you enter into the relationship with Christ through confession and receiving. So we ask the Lord to expose our hearts and we believe what he says.
Speaker 1:Scripture tells us that the old is gone immediately when we establish this relationship and the new is put into place. It goes into effect. We can read about that in 2 Corinthians, 5, 17,. Just like that, we're redeemed, we're changed, we're made new, and yet we still live in our fallen flesh, mortal bodies moving toward death. This place is the already, but not yet. We will not step fully into our spiritual self until our flesh dies. However, the more we feed the spirit, the more we experience the victory of heaven. The more we deny the flesh, the more we step into the joy of our salvation. In this way, our relationship with Jesus is full of engagement. It is living and dynamic. It is always fresh and relevant.
Speaker 1:Ephesians 4 tells us to put off our old selves and be made new in the attitude of our hearts as we put on our new self. Galatians 6, 7 through 10 reads do not be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will, from that flesh, reap corruption. But the one who sows to the spirit will, from the spirit, reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. The Book of Romans also does a beautiful job talking about this conflict between the flesh and the spirit, and so if you wanna understand more about your salvation in this battle that has already been won, I suggest diving into the Book of Romans so I teach you guys the heart scan process, and so there's a whole series on that within the podcast and it's built into all the coaching groups that I do, and I like to look at my heart scans as the contrast of the flesh versus spirit.
Speaker 1:So too often, my unintentional model reflects my depravity, selfishness, fear and uncertainty, whereas my intentional model reflects my wholeness. It reflects my spiritual and redeemed nature. It reflects who I want to be. The blueprint of Eden in heaven. Between these two models is not just my misery and suffering, but that is where I meet Jesus. Because of the unintentional model my flesh I find the Lord. I recognize that I need him In this place. I receive his invitation Over and over again.
Speaker 1:I respond to my father's invitation, except the times when I resist. I resist because I think I should be able to be better. I become focused on me my determination or I focus on me in a negative way, my own shame. I feel like I should be self-sufficient. That is my pride. I am justified. I start to justify feeling these ways and maybe I wanna blame others for what I'm doing, and so that's my pride and my fear. However, when I surrender all of that, this sense of self-sufficiency, of pride and fear which is rooted in the flesh, I step into the spirit and find peace and joy. So your sin is not who you are.
Speaker 1:In Romans 7, 15, and then 18 through 19, we read that. For I do not do what I want to do, but the very thing I hate. I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out, for I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. And in Romans 7.17, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is in my flesh, for I have the desire to do it as good, but I cannot carry it out. Romans 7.21 through 24,. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand, for I delight in the law of God in my inner being, but I see in my members another law, waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. What a wretched man am I? Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Speaker 1:In the book of Romans, paul lines up the plight of mankind by asking a question why do I do what I do not want? And notice verse 17,. It is not I who does it, but it is sin living in me. From this I understand that sin is not who I am, it is not my identity. In the next part, paul asks who will deliver me from my body of death? The answer is Christ. When I see sin in me, when I see my own wretchedness, god's kindness leads me to godly sorrow and repentance, and repentance leads me to joy and peace, which is found in a relationship with Him. Because of Christ's love and our relationship with Him, we are redeemed and perfect.
Speaker 1:Sin no longer defines us. Remnants of the flesh are reminders that we still live in a fallen world. However, the flesh no longer defines me. It no longer defines you. It is not who we are. I love that. I rejoice that my sin does not define me, and because Jesus defines me, his work defines me, I shift my focus off of myself and onto Him, because sin is not who I am. There is no room to stay stuck in guilt, shame or condemnation. I love to remind myself that when I disappoint other people, when I disappoint myself, when I miss the mark, when I don't show up in the way that I would aspire to, that is not my identity. My identity is so much more than that. I am responsible for feeding the spirit in me, and only when I feed the spirit do I experience the fruit of the spirit. I have to abide. I have to abide in the Lord. He is the vine, I am the branches. So I have to engage. I have to abide to bear the fruit.
Speaker 1:Joey and a Weaver compares the battle between the flesh and the spirit to the old Cherokee story of two wolves. In the story, a father tells his son that two wolves are fighting inside all of us. The first one is evil and the second one is good. And the boy asks which wolf will win, to which the dad answers the one you feed. You can feed your mortal self, your flesh, or your immortal self, your spirit, and it's up to you. We have the free will to choose. When I feed his spirit living in me, I rejoice that I am forgiven, loved and covered by his blood. And from this place of security and freedom I discover that I'm lovable no matter what and love and grace are always available to me. My love for others falls short until I experience that grace for myself, until I receive the love God gave me in my lowly estate. I can't experience feeling the same love for other people. When I realize sin is not who I am and step into the spirit, I can also see that sin is not who my husband is. It's not who other people are my husband, if we're talking about a relationship with somebody, he is more than the ways that he falls short. I am more than the ways fall short. We are defined by our creator. So whether we step into that identity or not, we get that free will and we cannot choose that for another person. But we can love other people when we see them as the Lord sees them, and whatever loving someone looks like, love always feels victorious, peaceful and kind.
Speaker 1:I have heard it said that you aren't who you think you are. You aren't who other people think you are. You are who you think other people think you are. It is in relationship with others that we begin to define ourselves. As others offer thoughts about who we are, we hear their thoughts, we assign meaning to them and we accumulate a vault of belief about ourselves. So thoughts repeated over and over again become our belief system and these beliefs become our identity. The Bible offers us a story about who we are. It defines us in relationship to God and what he says about us in scripture and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, which quickens our spirit and as believers we have a foundation of God's truth to build our life and form our identities. Our thoughts become who we are.
Speaker 1:Our brain is the filter between the outer world and our inner world of emotion. Our brain receives information and processes it With repetition. Our brain forms belief systems through neural pathways. Beliefs are habitual ways that we think about the world, including our identity, our beliefs about who we are. So, as a child's brain develops and is shaped by the relationships surrounding him, by their peers, the authority figures in their life, all of these other people, they are offering the child beliefs in the form of sentences oh, you're so cute. Or maybe there's a parent that's saying you are just worthless. What is wrong with you? You're fat, you're stupid, you're not smart. Or maybe a child's being built up. Oh you're so smart, you are amazing, you're extraordinary. Thank you, you're beautiful.
Speaker 1:Over time, the child develops default beliefs about their self through the repetition and assessment. The result of this process of repetition is the creation of neural pathways in your brain. Much like you create the trails in the woods, so what you think and experience repeatedly becomes your default belief, for better or worse. With repetition the pathways become stronger and more entrenched. In the words of neuropsychologist Donald Hub, neurons that fire together wire together. So we want to believe who we are on purpose. So, just like the trails in the woods, new paths can be laid in our minds, changing our brain's neural structure.
Speaker 1:When we intentionally change our thinking. By practicing new thoughts repeatedly, we change our thoughts, our feelings, our actions and our results. So your life does not have to happen from a place of default. You can intentionally decide what you want to believe about yourself. You can practice and choose those beliefs over and over again and as you do, you will start to believe. When we believe, we find evidence of that belief. And yet so often we approach our beliefs in the opposite way. We're looking for evidence first and then believing. When we approach our beliefs this way, rarely will we see change. Will you let other people's thoughts determine your present and your future? Will you perpetuate your past and let it define you repeatedly, or will you consciously feed your mind truth about who God says? You are Consciously rewiring your brain by believing new thoughts about yourself.
Speaker 1:I love how science and faith work hand in hand. They should, since God created all things. Andrew Newberg is one of the foremost researchers in neurology and spirituality. He has done empirical studies on brain functioning among various spiritual practitioners, ranging from Catholic nuns engaging in sintering prayer to Pentecostals praying in tongues. His work and others conclude that the human brain is hardwired for faith. Repeatedly, neuroscience shows that prayer makes a noticeable difference in the physiological functioning of the brain. So, standing on scripture, we can reprogram our thinking. And when we combine the truths of scripture with other spiritual practices such as worship, prayer, meditation and fellowship, we are engaging the brain on many levels and reinforcing our beliefs. So, looking to scripture for keys to who we are, we can view the Bible as our neurological handbook. We need only embed its teaching into our daily thinking to create a secure sense of identity and worth.
Speaker 1:When you come into a relationship with Christ, you enter by believing. This approach to God is very different from legalism, which focuses on following a set of rules. So legalism does not work because it focuses on changing our actions and our works. It is rooted in fear and negative emotion and it's not formed around a relationship. When we create change starting with our actions and trying to bypass our minds and heart, we cannot sustain the efforts. Only Christ can enable us to change. Our actions are essential. However, they must start in the heart. When we start in our minds, we look to God's word as the blueprint for who he is and who we are. God created everything by speaking words. He spoke in material and living things came into being.
Speaker 1:We read that in Genesis one in Psalms 33, six through nine. It's so amazing. John 1, jesus is called the Word. Jesus and the Word are used interchangeably in this passage, both having existed from the beginning and both being sent to the world. God's Word is powerful, as we see throughout Scripture and in the testimonies of other believers. We can see the Centurion's servant was healed at the Lord's Word in Matthew 8. On a ship and a storm, the physical elements obeyed the voice of our Lord in Matthew 4. Lazarus rose from the dead at the Lord's verbal command. John 11,.
Speaker 1:We are changed when we abide in Christ and we invite His words to take root. So our purpose, your purpose, is rooted in your identity as believers were made to love and glorify God. All of us are made to love others and to glorify God. This is the purpose of creation is to declare God's glory. You can read that in Psalms 19, 1, romans 1, psalms 8, 1. Our purpose is to fear God and keep His commandments. We read that in Ecclesiastes 12, 13,. Matthew 10, 28,. Hebrews 10, 31,. Revelation 20, 11 through 15, a Luke 12, 5. Our purpose is to glorify God 1 Chronicles 16, 9 through 10 and 29,. Isaiah 43, 7, psalms 50, 23,. 1 Corinthians 10, 31,. Philippians 2, 11.
Speaker 1:So have you ever asked the Lord specifically how you can carry out your purpose and step into your identity of being the king's daughter? He will show you how and he will give you ways to spread His love and to lift His name high, to spread His fame. God has given us each different callings and roles and in them all we can ultimately glorify the Lord In all facets of our life, including our marriage. God calls us to be who he says that we are and to carry out His purpose, which is excellent and glorious. 1 John 3, 19 through 20,. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him, for whenever our heart condemns us, god is greater than our heart and he knows everything. When you look within, it may only remind you that you have failed to measure up to the glory, majesty and perfection of God's absolutely perfect will. Does your own heart turn against you to shame and ridicule? When your heart condemns, you, know that there is one who is greater than your heart. He speaks a better word, a greater word than your heart can or will ever speak.
Speaker 1:So often we walk in and out of His perfect love and presence. We forget who we are. Abide in Jesus consciously. He has already changed. You Walk the pathway of truth repeatedly and you will continue to rewire your beliefs about yourself, anchoring yourself in truth. 1 John 4, 16,. Commit daily, moment after moment, to His truth about who he is and who he says you are. And to tie all this, I know I've gone a little deep, deep and wide.
Speaker 1:But to tie us back to the surrendered self, as we understand the story of who we are, I want you to consider the gift of dependency, that we are dependent upon the Lord, and it is such a gift that we have a God that we can depend on 100%. To depend on Him is what he wants. When we do, we find evidence that he takes care of us. This dependent relationship with a God who created and loves us intertwines us in a very intimate and powerful way. We know that our success, our happiness, our goodness and righteousness comes from God. Our own righteousness is as filthy rags. We may think we're stronger or that we did this or that, but only because he has allowed us to. Because of this, we should seek His will, submitting our plans to His. We should humble our hearts before Him. We should worship Him. This is the surrendered life, this is the dependent life.
Speaker 1:The gift of feeling dependent is that it connects us with reality. When we think that we're strong, when we feel invincible, we are out of touch with reality. When we think we don't need the Lord, we are so wrong. There are always consequences for our own self-sufficiency and pride, anxiety, fear, insecurity and depression. However, when we experience those vulnerable feelings, they can be the very things that loop us to reality that we need Jesus. When we fill this need, we engage with our Creator, who is always there. When we don't know what to do, he always shows us. So get your eyes off the problem and on to Jesus. Bring it all to Him and he will show you what to do as you remember His faithfulness and as you worship Him and lift up His name. So being dependent on Christ is in contrast to being dependent on other people.
Speaker 1:Though God gave us a partner, he gave us a helpmate. He gave us another community of other believers to walk with. He never intended those people to fulfill our every need. He never intended your spouse to fill all the deepest places of your heart. Other humans are always going to disappoint us, and you are going to disappoint other people, but God will never let us down.
Speaker 1:When we make God the one on whom we depend, we have a secure foundation and from that secure base, we can love others, knowing that we have all we need already. So, as you live the surrendered life, remember that there is a battle going on between the flesh and the spirit. The flesh wants to define our identity, but God's spirit has to find who we are. The only way we can know who we are is when we surrender our hearts, our minds, to the Lord, when we ask Him to search our heart and we receive, we believe, what he says about us and what he says about Him, and when we get ourselves in alignment with His spirit. That is when we become our true selves. Thank you guys for listening today and I'll talk to you again next week.