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All right, amen over there in isaiah chapter number 22 and like I've already announced tonight. We are starting a Series called the seven habits of highly effective Christians and tonight is an introductory sermon and the sermon is titled inside-out and We're gonna start with the seven habits at our next service on Sunday morning But I'm gonna be preaching through this series not weekly But I'm just gonna be preaching through this every time that we have a service so Wednesday night Sunday morning Sunday night Wednesday night Etc and the series is based on a book a very well-known book called the seven habits of highly effective People and this book is a more of a business book to help people be effective and be successful But it is based. There's a lot of scriptural Things in the book there's a lot of scriptural truths, and I want you to know that The the sermon series is kind of based off the book, but of course I'm preaching from the board of God So I'm gonna be giving you truths from the Bible I'm gonna be reading portions from the book I don't want you to get the wrong idea if you read this book you'll notice that my sermons are gonna be very different Than what this book is like, but I thought it was an interesting idea and the seven habits I found as I was reading through it the seven habits I found principles in the Bible that agreed with these habits So I decided to do a series on it And I want to begin here in Isaiah 22 if you look at verse number 8 The Bible says this and he discovered the covering of Judah And now didst look in that day to the armor of the house of the forest You have seen also the breaches of the city of David that they are many and you have gathered together the waters of the lower Pool and you have numbered the houses of Jerusalem and the houses have you broken down to fortify The wall and what I want you to notice is that in this passage we find Jerusalem the city it was under attack and in order to create an appearance of strength and security They actually began to break down the houses in the city in order to build up the walls Of the city if you look at verse 10 again there It says and you have numbered the houses of Jerusalem and the houses have you broken down to fortify? The wall so the enemy is outside of the city and again They they want to look strong They want to look secure so they begin to break down the houses inside of the city in order to build up the houses Have you broken down to fortify the wall now? what's interesting is this that a city is not an Exterior wall a city is not a wall a city is the houses the families the people that are gathered Inside of that city a city is the interior dwellings of that city the wall is just an exterior wall That is there to protect what's on the inside, but these people actually began to break down What actually made them a city the houses that made them a city in order to put up this front of strength and security and what we see here is an illustration of how many Christians live their lives and Many Christians will do this well. They will build up the exterior at the expense of The interior and that's what we're talking about tonight. We're talking about this idea of Inside out now like I said this this series is based on This book the seven habits of highly effective people and I'm gonna read to you a little bit from it Keep your place there in Isaiah if you would we're gonna come back to it Go with me if you would to the book of Matthew and while you turn there I'm gonna read to you a story. It's a little bit lengthy, but I'm a read to you a story from this book written of course by Stephen Covey and It'll kind of just set us up For the idea and the thought and the truth in the sermon tonight So I'll read this to you quickly you turn to the book of Matthew if you would in the book He wrote this he said a few years ago My wife Sandra and I were struggling with this kind of concern one of our sons was having a very difficult time in school He was doing poorly Academically, he didn't even know how to follow the instructions on the test. Let alone do well on them socially He was immature often embarrassing those closes to him Athletically he was small skinny and uncoordinated Swinging his baseball bat for example almost before the ball was even pitched others would laugh at him Sandra and I were consumed with a desire to help him we felt that if success Were important in any area of life. It was supremely important in our role as parents So we worked on our attitudes and behaviors toward him and we tried to work on his We attempted to psych him up using positive mental attitude techniques come on son you can do it We know you can put your hands a little higher on the bat and keep your eyes on the ball Don't swing till it gets close to you, and if he did a little better. We would go to great lanes to reinforce him That's good son keep it up when others laughed. We reprimanded them leave him alone get off his back He's just learning and our son would cry and insist that he'd never be any good and that he didn't like baseball anyway Nothing, we did seem to help and we were really worried. We could see the effect This was having on his self-esteem. We tried to be encouraging and helpful and positive, but after repeated failure We finally drew back and tried to look at the situation on a different level He goes on to say this we began to realize that what we were doing to help our son was not in harmony With the way, we really saw him when we honestly examined our deepest feelings We realized that our perception was that he was basically inadequate Somehow behind no matter how much we worked on our attitude and behavior Our efforts were ineffective because despite our actions in our words what we really communicated to him was You are you aren't capable you have to be protected We began to realize that if we wanted to change the situation we first had to change Ourselves and we're gonna come back to the story later on at the end of the sermon But I kind of wanted to just begin by giving that story by way of introduction and what I want to talk about tonight I'm gonna give you three statements And I'd like you to write these down and I want to begin with this idea of inside out and when we say inside out What we mean by that is this that change must come from the inside if you are going to Succeed in life if you're going to win in life if you're going to be what God has called you to be in life It must begin from the inside and it must work itself out I want to give you three thoughts in regards to this and I'd like you to write these down if you're there in Matthew Go to Matthew chapter 23 and look at verse number 25 notice what Jesus said Matthew 23 in verse 25 The Bible says this will want to use scribes and Pharisees hypocrites for you may clean the outside of the cup and of the platter But within they are full of extortion and excess. Here's point number one tonight It's this we tend to focus on the exterior Over the interior as human beings and in our lives We tend to put the focus the energy of our lives on the exterior Over the interior and if you need an illustration for this just look at Facebook Just look at social media. Just look at You know these platforms that are designed to show people not necessarily who we really are but who we project ourselves as how we want to be seen how we want people to see us and we generally as human beings tend to focus on the exterior over the interior and even Even not just on social media even in person you know in church It's very common to come to church and dress nice And and try to look the part and try to act like you're maybe more spiritual than you really are and I realized that we Should you know act appropriately and that we shouldn't just put all of our Issues and sin out there for people to see but what I want you to notice and what I want you to understand is this Don't assume that the exterior is an accurate reflection of the interior Don't assume that what you see from the outside is Necessarily an accurate reflection of what's actually in the inside. This is what Jesus is saying about these Pharisees He says you may clean the outside of the cup of the plan and the end of the platter He says but within they are full of extortion and excess he says on the outside you look clean you look religious You look pure, but on the inside you've got extortion You've got excess look at verse number 27. Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites He says you're a hypocrite because what you what you portray on the outside is Different than what's actually going on on the inside. He says for ye are like unto whited sepulchres. What's a sepulcher? It's a small room in which a dead person is laid or buried It's a it's a place where they would put a dead body And he says, you know you are like a whited sepulcher because if you go down to a funeral home If you would look at one of these sepulchers, you'd see a nice fancy building a beautiful building with all sorts of Decorations and it'd be nicely done. He says look this is what you're like You're like a whited sepulcher which indeed appear beautiful outward but are within full of dead men's bones He says when you look at a sepulcher you look at a building and it's beautiful and it's nice and has Decorations and engravings, but you know if you were to open it up, you know what you find on the inside You'd find dead men's bones. You'd find a corpse You'd find a dead body and all and of all uncleanness and Jesus said about the Pharisees That's what you are You are like a whited sepulcher which indeed appear to be beautiful outward but are within full of dead men's bones notice verse 28 even so ye also outwardly Appear righteous unto men but within ye are full of Hypocrisy and iniquity he said look on the outside you look righteous, but on the inside you're full of sin You're full of hypocrisy. You're full of iniquity So don't assume that the exterior is an accurate reflection of the interior because we tend Here's point number one. We tend to focus on the exterior over the Interior go to the book of Galatians if you would Galatians chapter number six you're there in the book of Matthew So just go Mark Luke John Acts Romans first and second Corinthians Galatians Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans first second Corinthians Galatians Galatians chapter number six see a true exterior a true exterior of strength a true exterior of Righteousness a true exterior of whatever is actually on the inside What we portray on the outside Being actually found on the inside a true exterior Must take deep roots in the interior The problem is not with looking righteous on the outside the problem is with looking righteous on the inside when inside you are full of excess and Iniquity the the problem is not with looking good on the outside. The problem is not the city of Jerusalem There's no problem with them having a beautiful wall on the outside the problem was when they tried to portray strength and Prosperity on the outside when if you would have looked in you would have seen a bunch of broken down a bunch of burnt down houses see the strength must truly come from the inside true a true exterior must take deep root in The interior this is taught in the Bible as the concept of reaping and sowing Life is all about reaping and sowing. Are you there in Galatians 6 look at verse 7? Notice what the Apostle Paul says he says be not deceived God is not mocked for Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. He says look you cannot deceive God you cannot you can he said you can go ahead and deceive yourself, but you cannot deceive God He said you're not gonna mock at God. He said there is a law That God has put in place called the law of reaping and sowing and he says whatsoever a man So if that shall he also reap and look the law of reaping and sowing it's neither good nor bad It's not like it's a positive law or a negative law. It's just a law It could be positive and it could be negative if you sow good things You'll reap good things if you sow bad things you'll reap bad things It's just a law that God has put in place where he says for whatsoever man soweth that shall he also reap notice verse 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption But he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting He says look you can sow to your flesh or you can sow to the spirit But what you sow is what you will reap you if you sow to your flesh You'll reap corruption if you sow to the spirit you'll reap life everlasting Or he says you'll reap in that which is eternal in that which is spiritual then he says this in verse 9 He says and let us not be weary in well-doing for in due season We shall rate if we faint not and here's what he's saying. He's saying in your life, whatever it is that you reap in life What do you want in life? You know, if you were to ask somebody hey, what do you want in life? I think most Christian conservative people would say well, you know if they're married They're gonna say I want to have a good marriage if they have children I know they're gonna say I want my children to turn out right, you know, if you ask them What do you want in regards to your finances? You're people aren't gonna say well, I want to go bankrupt I want to succeed financially, you know by the grace of God with the help of God If you ask people about what about your health, you know, I want to be healthy. Nobody says I want to have diabetes Nobody says I want to have a heart attack people say I want to be healthy and I want to be healthy enough to be able to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord to be able to enjoy my family to always You know live long enough to to invest into my children and grandchildren, maybe great-grandchildren. See when it comes to life We all have this idea of what kind of fruit we would like to see but here's what the Apostle Paul is teaching You will reap what you sow So if you want a healthy life, but yet you're sowing smoking cigarettes every day. Hey, you cannot deceive God You're not gonna just mock at God and say well I'm sowing certain things and I'm hoping to reap Something differently. I'll read to you a little portion from this book The seven habits of highly effective people he says this he says it's like cramming your way through school You sometimes get by perhaps even get good grades, but if you don't pay the price in and day out You never achieve true mastery of the subjects of the subjects you study or develop an educated mind Did you ever consider how ridiculous it would be to try to cram on a farm to forget to plant in the spring? Play all summer and then cram in the fall to bring in the harvest The farm is a natural system the price must be paid and the process followed you always reap Which is so there is no shortcut and in life. There is no shortcut We tend to focus on the exterior over the interior, but the truth is that a strong Exterior must flow from a deep rooted interior and whatever area however you want to apply this in life We must focus on The interior point number one we tend to focus on the exterior over the interior. Here's point number two keep your Place there and go back to the book of Isaiah if you would Isaiah 22 point number two is this our Problems are a result of the interior not the exterior Our problems and look you fill in the blank if somebody were to ask you. What are your problems in life? You could come up with the list You for some people might say well I have marriage problems I'm the biggest problem my life right now in my marriage for some people that might be child rearing Biggest problem my life is with my kids and trying to raise them, right? You know for some people it would be their health for others It would be their finances for others it might be their career for others it might be their spiritual life You know my spiritual life is not where it should be when the question is asked What is your problem and you fill that question in know this that our problems are a result of the? Interior not the exterior see because we tend to focus on the exterior over the interior we also Tend to think that if we build up the exterior that'll solve all our problems and The reason we think that is because of this we think build up the exterior because the problems are out there No one ever thinks to themselves the problems are right here are inside We always think when we think of our problems. We think our problems are out there are there nice at 22 look at verse 10 notice what the City of Jerusalem is doing and you have numbered the houses together and the houses have you broken down to fortify The wall see the exterior looks strong, but there really was No inner strength. They said build up the exterior Because the problem they would say is that Babylonian military is that a Syrian military out there? It's the enemy out there build up the exterior because the problem is out there Well, they didn't realize was to know the problem was actually inside The problem was them the problem was God bringing judgment upon them and in your life look please understand this our spiritual problems are an inside problem Your marriage problems are an inside problem your child-rearing problems are an inside problem your ministry problem Whatever it is your whatever problems you have in life. They are an inside Problem go to the book of Romans if you would Romans chapter number two you got Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans Romans chapter two While you turn there, I'll read to you another little excerpt from this book. It says this most people are convinced that their problem is out there and If they meaning others would shape up or suddenly ship out of existence the problem Would be solved see most people think our problems are just out there And look we fall we fall into this type of thinking you have financial problems. You think well if I could just get X amount of dollars my problems will be solved, but using if somebody gave you that money It wouldn't solve your problems in fact There's been studies done of people who won the lottery who were broke and bad with their finances they win millions of dollars and guess what just a few years later, they're broke and They're bankrupt you say why because the problem was never on the outside. It was on the inside the problems that you and I have are on the inside and this is why in the Bible the emphasis of scripture is always to Work on the inside not the outside Romans chapter 2. Are you there look at verse 28? Let's just run a few verses Romans chapter number 2 in verse 28 notice what the Apostle Paul said He said for he is not a Jew which is one outwardly Neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumstition is that of the heart in the spirit and not in the letter whose praise is not of man But of God go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 if you would you're there in Romans 1st Corinthians 2nd Corinthians 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 and verse number 16 Romans 1st Corinthians 2nd Corinthians 2nd Corinthians 4 16 the Bible says this for which cause we faint not But though the outward man perish yet the inward man is renewed day by day Go to Ephesians chapter 3 if you would you're there in 2nd Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Ephesians chapter 3 and verse 16 2nd Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Ephesians 3 16 the Bible says this that he would grant you According to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with my by his spirit in the inner man See the Bible puts the emphasis on the inside not the outside the Bible put now the Bible don't ignore the outside In fact, we're gonna talk about the outside here in a minute But the emphasis in Scripture is on the inner man the emphasis of Scripture It says though the outward man perish yet. The inward man is renewed day by day. Hey, he's not a Jew Which is one outwardly he says that which is of the circumcision was outward in the flesh says he's a Jew which is one Inwardly go to 1st Peter chapter 3 if you would 1st Peter jump 3 towards the end The New Testament you start the book of Revelation and head back. You have the book of Jude 3rd 2nd and 1st John 2nd and 1st Peter 1st Peter chapter 3 1st Peter chapter 3 and Look at verse number 3. This is talking to ladies, but this could be applied to everybody in 1st Peter 3 3 he says this who's adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plating the hair and of wearing of gold and of putting on of Apparel he says look ladies don't let just the focus be on the outward how you look on the outward Verse 4 he says but let it be the hidden man of the heart and that which is not corruptible Even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is in the side of God of great Price see the Bible puts the emphasis on the inside on The interior and we tend to think no no all the problems are on the outside if you do marriage counseling you'll often find that Couples will come in and they'll tell you all about the problem with Her the problem with him people always want to you know well if my husband did this if my husband did that if they fix This problem if they fix that problem. We'd be fine You know if my wife would do this if my wife would do that if they would fix this problem if she would fix that We'd have no problem and see we always get this idea the problem is that if you have kids that are fighting You know you bring him into the room. What's going on? She did this he did that everyone always assumes just by nature We think the problem is on the outside and what God says is look you must start from the inside I? Said number one we tend to focus on the exterior Over the interior I said number two our problems our problems are a result of the interior Not the exterior. We think build up the exterior because the problems are out there But God says no work on the interior work on the interior go to the book of Matthew if you would Matthew 23 we were there earlier Matthew chapter 23 And let me give you point number three. Here's point number three to be successful to be successful We must focus on the interior not the exterior to be successful We must focus on the interior not the exterior, and I want I want to be clear about this I don't want you to take this sermon as oh God doesn't care about the outside God very much cares about the outside in fact the Bible talks a lot about the exterior the Bible talks a lot about how we Look and how we dress the Bible tells us how men should dress the Bible tells God tells you how long he wants your hair To be he tells us that men should have Short hair and that lady should have long hair he tells us that Men should put on breeches and pants and he talks about modesty he talks about how we dress He says he talks about how we look he tells us to abstain from the appearance of evil God very much cares about the outside But God wants us to begin with the inside remember the Pharisees Matthew 23 we read verses 25 27 and 28, but look down at verse number 26 Matthew 23 and verse number 26 He said this thou blind Pharisee Cleanse first now notice He doesn't say cleanse only he says cleanse first that which is within the cup and the platter Then he says this that the outside of them may be Clean also so notice he doesn't say well cleanse the inside and don't worry about the outside Isn't that what the liberal churches tell us today? Oh, don't worry about the outside You can look like the world you can look like you're worldly you can look like a Christian hip-hop band You can look like a Christian rock as long as you're right in the inside But what the Bible says is this hey cleanse first that which is in the cup and the platter and then he says that the outside Of them may be clean also see the truth is this and this is what Jesus is teaching and he's getting at he's saying look The inside will always work itself out You cannot clean up the inside without cleaning up the outside Do you understand what I just said? The inside will always work itself out But the outside does not work itself in See here's the truth you cannot have a young person That's right with God in their heart and not have that work itself out in their Appearance in their attitude and in the way that they live their life You can't have a Christian who's right with God who has cleaned up the inside and have that not spill out in the outside but you can force someone to clean up the outside and They that you know if it's if it's a kid and they're being forced to by their parents if it's a wife That's being forced to by her husband or a husband's being forced to by his wife You know you can't force someone to do outside Outwardly things, but just because you force them on the outside doesn't mean that they've gotten right on the inside See the inside will work itself up Jesus says look you just worry about cleaning the inside and don't worry about the outside because if you clean the inside the outside Will be cleaned as well, but if you only focus on the outside Then the inside will not be cleaned up go to book of Philippians if you would Philippians chapter number two if you kept your place in Ephesians just right after Ephesians you have the book of Philippians Philippians chapter number two see the truth is this If You want to be successful in life if you want to be effective in life If you want to live life to its fullest to its max Capacity to its efficiency Jesus said you know the thief cometh to steal and to kill and to destroy But I am come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly God wants you to live the abundant life God wants you to live the effect of life God wants you to live the successful life you say That's a life that I want well you must understand that the life of success Must begin the the work of a Christian must begin from the inside out That's the only way to do it. Let me read to you from This book one of the lines here. He wrote this Albert Einstein observed The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them He goes on to say this if you want to be trusted be trustworthy He says this the inside-out approach says that private victories proceed public victories And here's what he's saying if you created problems you have problems in your marriage you have problems your finances You have problems in your spiritual life you have problems with your kid He said if you created problems Then you cannot solve the problems at the same level in which you create them You're gonna have to grow you're gonna have to learn you're going to have to do something different Philippians chapter 2 are you there? Look at verse 12 Philippians chapter 2 in verse 12 the Bible says this wherefore my beloved as you have always obeyed Not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence notice his words He says work out your own Salvation with fear and trembling he says work out your own salvation with fear and troubling now sometimes It's fundamental as we shy away from this verse because this verse is often used by people and they take it out of context They try to prove a work salvation because he says work out your own salvation They say see you got to work in order to be safe look the Bible is clear for by grace You're saved through faith and that not of yourselves It is the gift of God not of works the Bible says not of works of righteousness Which we have done look the Bible is clear that salvation is a gift. It's not something we earn It's not something we work for here He's not talking to somebody that he's trying to get them saved He said work out look if he's saying work it out is because it's already it and what he's saying is look Yes, salvation is free It's a gift that God gives you you call upon him for salvation you believe in your heart once you got the Holy Spirit inside Of you hey you have it inside of you and here's what you need to understand when it comes to the spiritual It's always from the inside out Salvation is inside working out I mean if you listen to false religions false religions are always going to tell you know Salvation is on the outside working in I live a good life. That's outside. I repent of my sins. That's outside I get baptized that's outside. I go to church. That's outside. I you know I take holy communion. That's outside Hey if I if I if I believe that salvation is from the outside working in you're gonna die and go to hell The Bible says salvation is not of works I become a member at church that's outside, but see salvation is inside and it ought to work itself out Salvation something that we're told hey work out your own salvation by the way. It's not just salvation Spirituality we already talked about it. It's inside working out You don't become spiritual by doing outside things you don't become Spiritual by dressing a certain way by doing certain things you become Spiritual by getting right with God in your heart and when you get right with God in your heart And you begin to walk in the Holy Spirit of God hey the outside you clean up the inside and the outside will begin to Get cleaned up as well Salvation is inside working out Spirituality is inside working out sanctification is inside working out, but you know what in life success is inside Working out he says work out your own Salvation with fear and trembling go back to the book of Isaiah if you would as they had chapter 22 Isaiah chapter 22 Look at verse 10 He says you have numbered the houses of Jerusalem and the houses you have broken down to fortify the wall You made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool But you have not looked unto the maker thereof neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago and in that day the Lord God of hosts called to weeping and to Mourning and to baldness and to girding with sackcloth, and I want you to notice what Isaiah is emphasizing here He's saying look you are so concerned with looking a certain way You've broken down the houses to fortify the wall He says you made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool He says you want to make sure you have enough water for the seeds that's coming He says he says but you know what your real problem is your real problem is that you have not looked unto the maker thereof He said the God that gave you this city the God that gave you that water the God that gave you this place He's like you're so concerned and looking like you have what you need He said you ought to be concerned on the inside But you have not looked unto the maker thereof neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago He says he says in verse 12 You know what you ought to do is get right with God And in that day that the Lord God of hosts called to weeping and to mourning and to baldness and to girding with sackcloth He says you ought to humble yourself. Here's what Isaiah is saying. He's saying you're so concerned about the outside Try to worry about the inside Because the true work the real work comes from the inside out I began the sermon by reading to you from this story from Stephen Covey talking about these problems that they were having with their son and how they were trying to influence them from the outside in they're trying to encourage him and Manipulate him and of course in a loving way and in a positive way But they were really manipulating him to be who he became I want to end By reading you the end of the story. Here's what he says he says through deep thought and the exercise of Faith and prayer We began to see our son in terms of his own uniqueness We saw him within layers and layers of potential that would be realized at his own pace and speed We decided to relax and get out of his way and let his own personality emerge We saw our natural role as being to affirm Enjoy and value him we also consciously worked on our motives and cultivated internal sources of Security so that our own feelings of worth were not dependent on our children's acceptable behavior We loosened up our old perceptions of our son and developed value-based motives new feelings began to emerge We found ourselves enjoying him instead of comparing or judging him We stopped trying to clone him in our image or measure him against social expectations We stopped trying to kindly Positively manipulate him into an acceptable social mold because we saw him as Fundamentally adequate and able to cope with life. We stopped protecting him against the ridicule of others he goes on to say this as The weeks and months passed he began to feel a quiet confidence and affirmed himself He began to blossom as at his own pace and speed he became Outstanding as measured by standard social criteria Academically socially and athletically at a rapid clip far beyond the so-called natural Developmental process as the years passed he was elected to several student body leadership positions Developed into an all-state athlete and started bringing home straight a report cards He developed an engaging and gawless personality that has enabled him to relate and non-threatening ways to all kinds of people Sandra and I believe that our son's socially impressive accomplishments were not were more a Serendipitous expression of the feelings he had about himself then merely a response to social reward And as we begin this series that we're gonna dig into over the next several weeks I just want to ask you this question. It's this what have you found out that all your problems in life? Whatever those problems are Whether they're with your kids Your marriage your finances your health Your career your job your business Spiritually, what have you found out that all the problems in life were actually that you are experienced were actually a problem with you What have you found out that every problem in life could be fixed by you? Giving up the idea that you must work on your wife you must work on your husband You must work on your children. You must work on your boss You must work to manipulate those around you and make them do what you need because the problem is outside What if you found out that you could fix every problem from the inside out? Over the next several weeks Over the next several services, excuse me We're going to learn some biblical truths I'm going to give you seven biblical truths seven habits that you can develop to have an effective Christian life and these habits are Divided into two sections in the first section we're going to begin with what we call private victories We're going to talk about your private life We're gonna talk about the inside man and developing the inside man and making sure you're healthy on the inside Then we're going to begin to talk about public victories and things that you can do on the outside in order to succeed in all Your relationships to succeed in all the areas that God has given you but before we can begin to dig into those seven habits We have to begin by understanding this idea that it all starts from the inside out So when you think of your problems when you think about your issues when you think about whatever it is What's bothering you about your life? and you say you know I just I just need to fix this and if and if she would only or if he would only or They would only or if this would happen if you begin to realize that the Bible says Hey focus on the inside that the Bible says Work on the inner man that the Bible says work out your own salvation that the Bible says You can fix all your problems from the inside out if you realize that the problem is you Then you would be encouraged to say that's a very discouraging. I'm the problem well Here's the encouraging thing about knowing that you're the problem Because you know why you're frustrated No, you're frustrated with your kids No, you're frustrated with your spouse No, you're frustrated with your employer with your boss. You're with your neighbor. You know you're frustrated Here's why because you can't control them The encouraging thing about saying hey, I'm the problem the encouraging part of understanding That is this that you have control over you and you can begin to live the effective Abundant life that God has called you to live from the inside out So I hope you'll join us over the next several services as we learn and we study these habits To live the effect of Christian life. Let's go out here tonight. I want to pray our heavenly father Lord we thank you for allowing us to be able to have this time And what I realized that this is not necessarily what we want these live stream services But Lord it's what we have and we're thankful for and we're going to learn to be content and whatever state we find ourselves You know what I pray that everybody listening Would take heed to what's been said Lord We must focus on the inside That we must work out our own salvation That the answers to all our problems are really from the inside out And Lord I pray that we would learn that We would grasp that That we would embrace that and that we would begin to live Our lives in that capacity in the matchless name of Christ. We pray Amen, we're gonna have brother RJ come up and lead us in a final song