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Seemingly Insignificant Choices

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Seemingly Insignificant Choices

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Seemingly Insignificant Choices

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We each have different habitual sins we struggle to overcome, but all sin shares certain qualities in how it ensnares us and in what it will take to defeat it. Here are some tools you can use to overcome any sin in your life.

Transcript

[Troy Phelps] In Revelation 2 and 3, we find that God gives John, in a vision, seven messages for the seven early New Testament churches found in Asia Minor. Each of those seven messages contain promises, and all those promises are to individuals who overcome. As Christians, I think we're aware of the battle that we face each and every day against sin. A battle over our human nature that wants to go its own way versus what God has called us, to overcome that nature and to become like Him and our elder brother, Jesus Christ.

God has called each of us to understand His truth and have a great opportunity before us. To be a part of His very real and incredible spiritual family. And to be apart of this family, we must be overcomers. We won't go through Revelation 2 and 3 in detail, but to start this message, here are some of the promises that Revelation 2 and 3 also contain.

Revelation 2 says, "To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life.” “He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” “To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on that stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” “And to he who overcomes, I will keep My works until the end, to him I will give him power over the nations."

And then chapter 3, it says, "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, that he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.” “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne."

And finally, in Revelation 21:7, "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.” So it's clear from these verses the great importance that God places on overcoming. And these incredible promises all relate to the same thing. God promises those who overcome will be a part of His great and awesome family and live forever as spiritual members of that great family.

From this quick review, we see this incredible importance that God places for each and every one of us to become overcomers. The Greek word for overcomes means to subdue, to conquer, to prevail over, to get the victory. And as we said before, we live every day in this fight. A daily spiritual battle against the ruler of this world, and it's a constant warfare.

And I think while we understand that, it doesn't take away from the fact that it's incredibly hard. The fact is each and every one of us all sin. And we all have these areas where we miss the mark. And we have some sins that have been in our lives for a long time that become a part of our lives, and we wish it wasn't that way. In our hearts, we don't want to be sinners, do we?

We want to overcome these sins. We may even have sins in our lives that are present year after year, Passover after Passover, as we take that time to examine our lives, and we're like, "It's still there. It's still a part of me." Those sins that we habitually repeat we could even label as addictions. I will give my title a little bit later in the message, but today in this message, we're going to examine strategies that are used to overcome addiction and how they can help us overcome our habitual sins that we may have.

A definition I want to use for addiction that comes from mentalhelp.net says, "Addiction is the repeated involvement with a substance or activity despite the substantial harm it causes because that involvement was and may continue to be pleasurable and/or valuable.” We see that habitual sins, sins that we often repeat, fall under this definition. It's repeated involvement with an activity that causes harm because God's way leads to good things, Satan way always leads to harm for us and, often, for others. And we receive some sort of a pleasure or value from that repeated sinful behavior. Some habitual sins or addictions are easy to identify, easy to label.

Things like drug abuse, over drinking, pornography, just to name a few. Some, however, tend to be much more subtle in nature, and sometimes these addictions may even pass under the radar, so to speak. These could be things like constant gossiping, losing our temper on a regular basis, spending more money than we have to spend, having lustful thoughts for someone you're not married to. How about envy? Having negative thoughts about someone because something good that's going on in their life. Or being jealous of others, coveting, lying, hatred, using hurtful words to people, and the list goes on. The fact is, your sin may not be my sin. We may struggle with different things.

In 1 Timothy 5:24, I'll just read it. It's one verse. 1 Timothy 5:24 says, "Some men's sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later." I like how the New Living Translation also says this, it says, "Remember, the sins of some people are obvious, leading them to certain judgment. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later."

But regardless of whether our sins are the ones that are maybe a little more easy to see or ones that are easier to hide, God certainly knows all and eventually, all must be dealt with. God has called each of us to become overcomers. To overcome the sins that we find in our lives. The ones that are both clearly evident, and the ones that are perhaps hidden. The sins we all struggle with are not the same.

I haven't been tempted in my life to gamble. It's not something that's tempting to me. I don't get the urge to go to a casino or a track. And it would be easy for me to look down on somebody who potentially does struggle in that way and say, "Hey, what's your problem? Why can't you get your life together?" It's not something I'm drawn to, so that would be easy for me to say. Simply, "Hey dude, don't gamble. Easy." But when I have a sin I have been struggling with, not so easy.

So it's important for us to all recognize that while we may not have the same sins that other people struggle with, the same temptations to those sins, you know, each of our sins are difficult, but they're not the same thing. So while each of these struggles are not the same, what's interesting about them is that they all have similarities that they all have in common. And the keys to overcoming habitual sins, all have the same process and same keys that can apply across the spectrum of sin. Overcoming our habitual sins can be incredibly difficult, but it is absolutely possible.

I would like you to bring to mind a sin in your life. Maybe one that you struggled with for longer than you would like to admit. And I imagine for most of this… most of us, maybe this isn't as difficult as we might wish it was to think of one. As we move through this message, think about how these lessons could directly apply to that sin in your life and help you with overcoming that sin.

I began… or became drawn to the addiction cycle in my very last course in college. I almost randomly took this course. I needed a 300 level biology or science course to get my last credits that I needed so I could graduate. It didn't matter what it was, just had to be a 300 level biology course.

So I saw this course, and it had a cool title. It was called, "Biology and The Future of Man." And I was like, "Oh, that sounds cool. I love sci-fi and stuff. This might have maybe flying cars, you know, lightsabers, something cool in it that I can think about." So I signed up. Why that class was called that? I still have no idea to this day.

The class ended up being about half on sexuality issues and their perversions, and the other half was on licit and illicit drugs. I guess they knew that's where man's headed. All part of a well-rounded education, right? While parts of this class certainly made me feel gross and like I needed to take a bath after, it also started though within me a real passion for understanding the addiction cycle. Why was it so hard to stop harmful behavior?

And while that answer is very complex, and we're not going to go into that today, you know, chemical dopamine releases, family history, and lots of things. What I started trying to figure out, is it possible to overcome addiction to sin? Is it possible? Are these addictive cycles possible to overcome? And while I'm not a counselor, and I don't have qualifications in those areas, I began to see from the research that people who are experts in those areas, that people, whilst they all struggle with different things, that sin and all sin share certain qualities.

There are initial rewards that people get, and there's typically a depressing time that comes after that that when they feel bad about sinning. I also saw that there were cycles and patterns that all sins have in many ways and that all overcoming of sin starts with the same few strategies. Before we go any further and talk about the strategy that really is the focus of today's message, we would be remiss not to start with first thing's first. The first and most important step to overcoming any sin, we must admit to God that we are sinners, that we have sinned in this area. And that we continue to struggle over and over with this particular sin. And repent.

That's step one to overcoming any sin. 1 John 1:9, I'll read verse 9 and 10, contains amazing promises that free us to overcome. It says in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." I'm sure none of us fall into that category. Thankfully we have a very patient and a very loving God who wants… who wants to forgive us. Aren't we all incredibly thankful that that is true? So that's where we start. And then second, we have to start by asking God for help.

Matthew 26:41 says, "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak." That's Matthew 26:41. It says, "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation." We have to be on guard, but we also have to ask and pray to God for help. To help us avoid temptation. This is one of the areas where A.A. or Alcoholics Anonymous has done such a great job with their program, and other programs that help free people from addiction almost always start with a variation of these first seven points of the program. I'm going to just make it more general than talking about alcohol and just apply them to general sin.

It says in one of that… those programs, it says, we admit that we are powerless over sin and that our lives have become unmanageable. Two, came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. Four, made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Five, admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. Six, we're entirely ready to have God remove these defects of character. And the last one I'll read is seven, humbly ask Him to remove our shortcomings.

So any successful plan is going to start with admitting to God, asking for repentance and asking for His help. As Christians, this is where our battle to overcome must always begin, asking for forgiveness, asking God for help and knowing that God wants to help us overcome all of our sins.

Let's go to 1 Corinthians 10:13. 1 Corinthians 10:13. It says, "No temptation has overtaken you except such as common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able,” and that's a promise, "but with the temptation will also make a way escape, that you may be able to bear it."

We have a faithful and caring God who is involved in helping us to overcome. He's our biggest fan. Our biggest group… or support system. And He promises that it is possible to overcome sin. A key to overcoming sin is also to understand that temptation and sin are not the same thing. That temptation and sin are not the same thing. We can know this is an absolute truth because of what we read about Christ when He was tried and tested. Hebrews 4:15. Hebrews 4:15 says, "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin."

So we know Christ was sinless. He was tempted but did not commit sin. This knowledge is so important because, in this life, we are absolutely are going to be tempted to sin. There's no way around that. But temptation does not have to equal sin. But that moment of temptation is a critical, critical moment to overcoming sins that are in our lives.

Let's go to James 1. James 1 is… James is my favorite book in the Bible. It's five easy to read chapters. I feel like it's a guidebook for being a true Christian. It kind of has everything in that book.

It also contains some incredible clues for overcoming sin. We'll start James 1:12. We'll read through 15. "Blessed is the man who endures temptation,” means to… endure is to bear the trial, to persevere. This man is blessed, “for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." In other words, the same as we read earlier in Revelation 2 and 3, "Blessed is the man who overcomes temptation to sin."

It's possible to overcome temptations, and the reward is eternal life for doing so. Verse 13, "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone." Then 14, "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed." That's what the New King James calls it, desires or our own desires.

The King James Version that you might be reading from says lust, but the word there actually just means desire in general, an earnest wish for anything. Notice where it says our temptations for sin come from. They're from us. We each have our own desires. That's why our temptations are different. We each have our desires that are part of our human nature and a part of our natural physical desires.

Notice, it also says, "He is drawn away by the temptation by his desires and enticed." This word for enticed means to bait or catch with bait. So due to the temptation and our own desires that arise out of that temptation, we are drawn toward that tempting thing like it's bait on a hook. The Greek word is actually a hunting and fishing term. So let's think about this then, for a… from kind of a silly example of a fish's perspective. You're a fish going about your natural day. You're cruising through the green-hued murky water of the lake you're swimming in, and then all a sudden, up ahead, you see floating near the water surface, a big, delicious, juicy worm. Mm-mmm.

You are tempted to go get a bite of that worm. And in this example, that worm is sin for you. There's other things you can eat but not that worm.

So far, you haven't committed any sin. You have just seen the tempting worm. But you keep looking at it, and your big fish mouth starts to water. Actually, I don't think fish have salivary glands but just go with it. You begin to swim toward it.

You're drawn away from whatever you were thinking about as a fish before, the course you were on, and you slowly start swimming toward this delicious worm. With every single moment, you get closer and closer, and turning back gets harder and harder, moment by moment. And then, in a moment, you lunge for the worm. At this moment, of what James is talking about, you have been tempted, you have been enticed, drawn away, and baited.

Notice verse 15, “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death." The Greek word for conceived means to seize, to take one as prisoner. At that moment, you have sinned. The hook is set. The choice has been made, and there's no getting away.

This message was inspired quite a while ago based on a conversation that I was having with a friend who struggled with an addiction to sin. This friend had struggled with this addiction for a long time since he was young. And eventually, it caused him to hit rock bottom. So much so that he even had to spend some time in jail.

He began to seek professional help which I admired greatly that he had the courage to do so. And he and I were taking a walk one day, and he shared with me a phrase that was used during one of his counseling sessions. The term was "seemingly insignificant choices." Right there was a major key to overcoming our habitual sins. The seemingly insignificant choices. It was in some ways the missing link, the critical next step in overcoming sin.

From that day until now, I've been stewing with the idea of this message, working on the concepts, and in fact, I decided to hold off on giving it to give me time to practice whether it worked in my own life. So over the last couple years, I've taken areas where I've struggled, and I've applied these theories to life, and I have found that they truly work. That these, for me, these seemingly insignificant choices could change the path that I made in my life, and it was a key to overcoming sins that had been there for far too long.

For the rest of this split sermon, we're going to examine the keys to overcoming habitual sin, and I'd like us to focus on the seemingly insignificant choices and the role that they play. And that's also today's title, “Seemingly Insignificant Choices.” Because like that fish, we can all be going through life with no thought of sinning, no desire to do so, but one billboard, one commercial, one bar along the way, one juicy tidbit of information that someone shares that then brings to mind all the tidbits you know about that person, one wrong place at the wrong time, one temptation turns the mind away from the course of the day toward that big, fat, juicy worm.

It's at that moment, this one moment that we have the greatest opportunity to overcome temptation and be successful in our obedience to God in the avoidance of sin. This small window of decision-making holds a major key to overcoming. The reason many fail to overcome habitual sins is because they see these choices in the first few seconds of temptation as insignificant. So I looked up the definition of insignificant, and it said, “too small or unimportant to be worth considering.” And that's how we look at these, too small or unimportant to be worth considering.

But they aren't. And that's why the word "seemingly" is there. Seemingly, “so as to give the impression of having certain qualities.” They seem insignificant.

God gave us choices, and each of us is constantly making choices. In those first few moments when we see the worm, the temptation, we have choices to make. Those choices often zoom by without us giving them much thought at all because they don't seem that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. But that's the lie. That's the danger. And it's in these seemingly insignificant choices that we… that hold such a major key to us overcoming sin. So go back and think about that habitual sin that you've struggled with in your life.

What are some of the first temptations that start you down that path that James talks about? What was that first temptation to be maybe unloving or disrespectful or share gossip? Sometimes we really have to spend time in meditation, and in the course of this message, maybe it's not enough time for you really to go back far enough. We have to back up.

And it's often so much further back than we even realize. The first things are so small. What was the first thing that took your mind away from swimming through the pond? What choices do you make right at that very instant of whether you would swim toward the worm or swim away? The ones that may seem very small.

What other choices were options at that time for you? I've talked to friends who have struggled with pornography, drugs, alcohol, addictions, and the world certainly doesn't do them any favor. For example, someone who struggles with lust, they're driving to work, and then all of a sudden there's a billboard of a half-dressed woman on it. And that can be enough to start that person down that path.

They didn't seek that out, they weren't looking for it, but it was right there in their face. As a tangent, I think that's why it's so critical that we dress modestly. I mean, no one wants to be the reason why someone who wasn't wanting to sin is then, kind of, taken down that path because there's a temptation right there in front of their face. That's why modesty is so important.

Even as they, you know, often come into a room where, like this, where we should be… feel safe. You know, this is a place where we come to worship. We should be careful with how we dress so we can help people in their struggles. If your problem is spending money, you know, maybe it's the buy one get one free sign, and that's all it takes.

That single little instant, and all of a sudden, you're now wanting to spend money you hadn't even planned to spend before that second. Or maybe it's gossip. And maybe all it was was a simple comment about someone. You weren't looking to gossip, but now, all of a sudden, you're drawn toward that pleasurable feeling that's created when you can captivate an audience by sharing all the information that you know.

James understood this fact. He understood that temptations absolutely happen, and we each have desires that lead to these critical moments. And it's at these critical moments that we have the best chance for avoiding sin. For a sin that we've really struggled with, this may be, this one moment, the only chance you have to correct the behavior right there. These early seemingly insignificant choices represent your best chance to overcome.

In the article, "Understanding Relapse," by Terence Gorski, it described the relapse process as a long series of increasingly heavy dominoes. The first domino hits the second domino which hits the third domino which hits the fourth domino, and the progressive chain reaction occurs. Initially, these seemingly insignificant choices could seem like a lightweight that's easy to control. That domino is simple for me to pick up.

But what if each domino got heavier and heavier, larger than the one before? There would come a point in the process where the size and the weight of the domino could not be stopped and it would crush you. In our human reasoning, we often don't recognize the importance of these seemingly insignificant choices and we allow a domino to be knocked over. But no big deal, it's small, it's insignificant.

I'm not doing anything wrong yet, but that choice knocks over another domino. And that thought or choice knocks over the next and the chain reaction is started. And before we even know what's happened, we've opened our mouth, or we've said something we regret, or we allow thoughts or actions that we'll later regret and feel depressed about to happen. And the cycle has played out again.

Certainly, part of the answer is to void the sin relapse process altogether and never tip over that first domino, not putting ourselves in situations where we know there will be a problem. If you struggle with gambling, going to a guys' night where they're playing poker probably isn't a great idea for you. Certain friends sometimes have to be avoided. But sometimes, avoiding the temptation isn't always possible.

So avoidance can't be our only strategy for avoiding habitual sins. The wise time to stop, James 1… the James 1 process or this domino effect, is at the very beginning when it's the smallest and the easiest to manage. Our best chance to stop sin is to learn to identify what's called trigger points, to manage those very first thoughts and seemingly insignificant choices that we make, those smallest of dominoes. Trigger points are these moments, things, situations that we come to understand, lead us down a path that we ultimately can't control.

Learning to identify the earliest of our trigger points is critical because if we can be successful right there, right at the beginning, then the rest of the heavy dominoes never get going and never crush you. This is consistent with what the Bible teaches on temptation. As soon as you recognize temptation, you get far away. Two examples in the Bible of that is 1 Corinthians 6:18, three words, "Flee sexual immorality."

New Living Translation says, "Run from sexual sin." 2 Timothy 2:22 says, "Flee also youthful lust." It says run. Get out of that situation. Many times early in the slippery slope of sin, it's not something physical we have to flee from. It's an early thought. It's something that must immediately be brought under control.

Let's go to 2 Corinthians 10:4. 2 Corinthians 10:4. Thankfully again, we aren't alone in this. God is always with us and helps us to be successful. 2 Corinthians 10:4, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds… strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God," and notice, "bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."

Every single thought has to be under control. In addictions, they use the term, "relapse." The etymology of that word means to fall again. Each progressive problem that it leads to sin and relapse or falling again is called the relapse process.

Each individual problem or domino in that sequence is called the relapse warning… a relapse warning sign and the entire sequence is the relapse warning list. An important concept to understand is we don't sin because of the last problem in that list or in that sequence. Like James 1 lays out, we sin because the entire sequence was allowed to begin and get out of control. We failed to make the early important choices, the ones that were the seemingly insignificant choices but, in fact, very significant that absolutely impact the final outcome.

As each of us strive to overcome habitual sins, we must give adequate time and thought to our trigger events. What happens early in a relapse process that was allowed to begin knocking the dominoes over. We must pray that God will help us to identify our trigger events, help us to identify those seemingly insignificant choices that we make that led down the same old path to habitual sin and that He can help us in being successful in overcoming those strongholds in our lives. Matthew 6:13, I'm going to read it from the New Living Translation.

It's part of the model prayer of things that God… or that Christ told us we should pray to God about. And He said, in the New Living Translation, Matthew 6:13, "And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one." It was something He told us to pray about all the time. Don't let us yield to temptation. They're going to be there. God gives us help through His Spirit and power to go above our natural abilities to be successful.

Like addiction to substances, recovery from habitual sin takes time. People who have been addicted to drugs and alcohol may be clean for years, even decades, but they often still refer to themselves as addicts. They have learned that they will always be at risk again for falling down and repeating a sin for relapsing. They say it usually takes about a year or two for recovery to be established, but a common mistake that many make along the way is to think that they have grown strong enough that they would able now to control the habitual sin that once held a sway over them. And this type of thinking can have very bad consequences for them.

It's also worth mentioning that there are times that we are at greater risk for relapse and others, and it's important to understand that so we can take measures to prevent sin during that time. Some of the internal risk factors that exist that heighten the likelihood for relapse, things like being in a persistent negative mood, feeling stressed or depressed, even boredom all increase the risk of relapse. Trials in our life, things like a health trial, a loss of a loved one, financial trials. All these increase the risk for someone to stumble again. Understanding that we are at higher risk during these times can help us to take steps to maybe not be alone, maybe not be bored, maybe to get extra help during those times.

When we are faced with temptation and desire, here are some other things also that we can do during those earliest of choices that can help us lead to success. I took this from addictionsandrecovery.org. Addictionsandrecovery.org. The first thing they tell you to do is “play the tape through.” Play the tape through. Because with our human nature, we tend to forget pretty quickly what this path has done before. Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?"

Our human nature will lead us astray. We like to think that this time we're going to be able to control ourselves. "I'll only go to the party and drink soda. Or maybe I'll have one drink.” “Or maybe I'll only tell this piece of information about this person. It's really not gossip, and then I'll stop.” “I'll only gamble 20 bucks. I'll only borrow $100 of my tithe, then I'll pay it back in 2 weeks.”

Let's go to Proverbs 6:27. Proverbs 6:27, we'll read through 28 as well. It says, "Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?" Verse 28, "Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared?" Play the tape through.

What has happened in the past? Has one drink often led to too many drinks? Has one piece of information usually led to you gabbing for the next 10 minutes on everything you know about someone? The next day, you'll feel depressed and disappointed with yourself.

Or maybe, you'll be in the gutter, and you'll think, "Well, I'm already in the gutter, so I'll just remain here." When we can play the tape through and kind of think back through this process, we see it's not so appealing. Play the tape through. Remind yourself of the problem that sin has caused for you in the past, the distance it's caused between you and your relationship with God, things that either you or your loved ones have suffered in the past, and the potential problems that it will cause this time.

Number two, “immediately redirect.” So when a wrong urge, impulse, desire first becomes known, immediately at that very moment, redirect your thoughts and actions to another direction. It's similar to trying to get a Christmas song out of your head when it's stuck in there. What's the best way?

You start singing something else immediately. I want that out of my head. I'm going to just immediately sing. This morning, I just had one from the week that just… it wasn't Christmas, it was just a song. I didn't want it in my head on the Sabbath. I had to keep singing these other songs to just try to get it out of my head. It's kind of that immediately redirect.

Examples of ways we can immediately redirect are things like taking a walk or exercising. It gets you out of the situation. It puts you in another state of mind. They recommend reading, calling, or talking with someone you trust.

In a sense, what you're doing is you're taking the domino that is falling, and you point it away from all the other dominoes. That urge or impulse, that temptation is redirected away from continuing down that slope. This is easiest when you're making the seemingly insignificant choices. The dominoes are still at the weight that you can manipulate and handle, but not for long.

Next, they recommend “developing a support system.” While it's ultimately our individual responsibilities to avoid sin, others can play an incredibly important role in this as well. Support groups or social support from friends can provide enormous help. Sharing your struggle with a close friend, asking them to help you with accountability when you're struggling.

You've probably experienced this maybe with a workout partner. I know, with me, I've been most successful when there's somebody holding me accountable to go to the gym. If I rely on my own willpower, I'm going to fail many times.

Verse 4… or number four on their list, sorry, not verse four, number four. “Learn to spot the warning signs.” What are the trigger events, those seemingly insignificant choice that leads down a certain path? What has led you down that path before?

What did you allow to continue that led towards your relapse? If we fall again, we have to learn from that sin and re-evaluate the early seemingly insignificant choices we made and how they led us to where we are. Each time, we must repent and make plans on how we can do better. Recovery from habitual sins is a lifelong healing process, and each time we relapse, it's like a neon sign saying, "You need to take stock, you need to re-evaluate and you need to modify your strategy."

And finally, or actually, we'll do two more. Five says, “take one day at a time.” Don't think too far down the road. It can get overwhelming. Matthew 6:34 says, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

In context, this is talking about worrying about, you know, clothes and food, and a roof over your head, but it's a lesson that applies to much of life. Looking too far down the road can cause anxiety and doubt. “How can I ever go a whole year without doing this or that?” Worry about things that you're facing today. Fight the fight against sin today. Worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

And the last one I'll read from them is six, “relapse prevention plan.” Relapse prevention plan. They say if you're brave enough, consider writing down on a index card two things, on one side, people you can call. You don't have to write down your sin. Doesn't have to list, you know, what you're struggling with, just people that you plan to call if you're struggling in a certain way.

And on the back, list some things you can do when you're struggling, so you're not trying to brainstorm it at the moment. And keep that in your pocket. So if you're outside, start jogging. If you're in the car, turn on the radio and start singing at the top of your lungs.

If you're in a bad conversation, excuse yourself to go get some food or something to drink. Brethren, all of us struggle with sin. We've all been called to overcome sin, to overcome Satan and the ways of this world that he has influenced. Our own nature is weak, and on our own, we can't be successful. But God is with us. God won't do it for us, but God has promised to help us through it with the power of His Holy Spirit.

When we repent, when we desire to change and fight, God can and will help us overcome habitual sins in our life. James 1 shows us a key to the… some keys to the dangerous path of temptation and desire and how easily it leads to death. Let's pray that God would help us to see these early moments in a temptation process where we can recognize the early warning signs, the trigger points, and these seemingly insignificant choices we make, and through the help of His Spirit to make immediate thought and course corrections to redirect ourselves from sin toward a life of overcoming. I hope all of us can see that regardless of the sins that are in our individual lives, and some of those may have been there for long… far too long, that we can apply these principles and recognize when it comes to temptation, there are no insignificant choices.