I Sold Myself

Jesus asks us in Matthew "What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?"

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Transcript

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I'm Alexa Loryn, and welcome to my podcast heart of a seeker. Today's episode is called, I sold myself. I know that is a pretty strong title. But I really believe that there's times in life where we have compromised, and we have lost bits of ourselves along the way. And where I normally open up with prayer, I want to open up with the scripture first it's from the Message Bible from Matthew 16, verses 24 through 26. Jesus says, anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat. I am. Don't run from suffering, embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how self help is no help at all. self sacrifice is the way my way to finding yourself. your true self.  What kind of deal is it to get everything you want and lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for? Father God right now in the name of Jesus, we just thank you, Lord, for being a good father, for loving us. And we just come and ask that you would come and minister to our hearts today, that you would begin to reveal the truth and by the truth, we would be set free. I pray that the ones listening today, Lord, that you would give them wisdom, that you would give them peace that surpasses all understanding, and above all else, that they will show themselves grace as you show them grace, and you Father, God, and Jesus name we pray, Amen. I want to start off by kind of going back to this last part in that verse that says, what could you ever trade your soul for? When I was younger, I sought love in all the wrong places. I thought to receive love and to be loved. I had a resemble the world. I didn't realize with each relationship or encounter to find love. I left pieces of myself. With each compromise. I looked more like the world and less like Christ. I remember being asked one day, in the end, how did it make you feel with each compromise in my life? And each area that I compromised? How did I end up feeling in the end? I remember when I was asked this question. I was began reflecting on just my 21 years of life at that point. When I was 19, I began to seek God, I knew he called me to ministry. I had told him though, I'm young, I want to go out and I want to have fun. I continued down my path and other two years, hardly recognizing the girl that had become I remember God led me to the scripture in 1st Timothy 412 that said, don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for others in speech and conduct in love in faith and impurity. The biggest lie Satan sells us is the temporary pleasures of this world. The world offers different types of highs. Sometimes it looks like love, success, admiration from others. But in the end, we think that we can attain all these things outside of God. By believing our worth can be found in places other than God, we stay

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tied to the lie, not realizing the value we are carrying inside of us. And that's what Satan wants us to believe that we are bound to this success to these highs. And then we go through these lows, because we're trying to find and fill ourselves with things outside of the Lord. We must learn to take every thought captive in Second Corinthians 10, three through five it says, For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy argument and every lofty opinion raise against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ. The importance of us learning to practice self control and seeking God is so important to help us and not continue giving into the lies of the enemy. in Titus 211 through 14, it says, For the grace of God has appeared that offer salvation to all people. It teaches us to say no to the ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age. While we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us From wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. For years, I failed to admit the sexual sin I was enslaved to, I would pray for freedom and could not seem to break it. One night reading in my room, I randomly open the Bible to First Thessalonians, four, three through five, it says, it is God's will that you should be sanctified, that you should avoid sexual immorality, that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not impassionate, less like the pagans who do not know God. Maybe I didn't sell myself for monetary gain. But slowly, I sold myself to the lies of the enemy. I was losing myself for temporary pleasures. When I stopped and asked myself the question that I asked earlier. What areas did I compromise? And how did it make me feel in the end, I realized, in the end, I was still alone, unhappy, and more broken than before. It was then I chose to give God my heart fully an eager to seek to do good, and learn his ways. I truly believe in order to find freedom, we have to take off the mask, we have to stop trying to act as though we have it all together. I know that the Word of God says the truth will set us free. And often there's times that we will keep things hidden, and we won't expose them. Because we feel that shame. We're afraid of what people might say or think. And when I started this podcast, I wanted to be transparent. I wanted to share the things that I had personally struggled with. And I shared all these words today, to encourage you guys to know that wherever you are currently, it doesn't matter what you're seeing what you're struggling with. If you seek God, He will begin to deliver you and break those chains. And the more you submit to Him, the more he will begin to break those chains in your life. And James it says, resist the devil and he will flee from you. And I have learned that personally, for years I struggled with the choices that I had made with habitual sin. And though I tried to pray and sought deliverance and want it to be broken of the very thing that I felt bound to, I realized that God began to deliver me and by being truthful with one another and I began to share my struggles with people that I trusted people that I can be open and honest with because the Word of God says that we were overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. So how powerful is your testimony to bring freedom to somebody else? And that is why many times I am transparent, and I tried to be open and shared. What I've learned and work on has set me free. Because

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how are you going to bail your friend out of jail? If you're in jail with them? How are you going to set the captives free when you're still held captive yourself? We have to stop believing this lie and allowing shame to condemn us, allowing shame to keep us from doing what God has called us to do. God promises he will continue perfecting us until the Christ until the day of Christ, He promises that he will begin to deliver us and heal us. But we have to submit to Him we have to take every thought captive like it says in Corinthians, Second Corinthians, we have to submit every thought to Christ, because we're not fighting in the flesh. It's things that begin to attack our minds. And we begin to believe these lies. And the other day I wrote this down in my notes, and it said, one of the other biggest lies Satan ever did was make us think we were worthless because of the value we have inside of us. We have so much value and so much power. But yet, we have allowed ourselves to believe that we don't have the same power and authority that Christ has given us. Jesus says, Truly, truly I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the work that I do, and greater works than these will he do because I'm going to the Father, john 1412 that is so powerful. We don't realize why it is Satan's job to try and keep us captive to keep us believing that we can do things outside of God, believing that we don't need God that we can be successful that we can attain all these worldly pleasures and not have any consequences because of our sin. And the truth is That is the saddest thing we can believe. Because there's so much power in us through Christ, so much deliverance, so much freedom that we can unlock his words such as free, he delivers us because by Jesus His stripes we are healed. He can heal our minds, he can heal our hearts, he can heal us physically. And as we continue to submit to Him, we do begin to realize the peace that surpasses all understanding, begin to truly grasp that. And we have to sometimes leave the understanding and begin to hold tight to the peace. And yes, maybe you won't be happy. Maybe there'll be things that are going on, that are hard and difficult, and there will be seasons that are painful. But he can give us peace through that storm. He can strengthen us through that season, he can teach us through our pain. And as we read at the beginning, beginning as said, embrace suffering, embrace it. Sometimes we want to live this just perfect life. We think that when we see God, we're never going to suffer. We're never going to struggle. But it's through the power of the Holy Spirit and him healing us that we can share our testimonies and bring deliverance to other people's lives. He can restore marriages, he can deliver the addict, he can deliver people from sexual sin and pornography, he can wash you with His word and make you holy, impure. But it's through trusting him and submitting to him and allowing him to do that work. I really love the scripture that I read at the beginning. And I want to kind of dissect it a little more. And it says, again, anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. Jesus is telling us we need to let him lead our lives. You're not in the driver's seat. I am. How many times have you tried to do it on your own, and you just feel like a wreck. You feel like, you crashed and you're burned and you're just exhausted, and you're broken, and you're hurt, and you're crying and you're just like, God, please help me. I can't do this anymore. I'm exhausted. And that's why he's saying, let me lead your life. Let me help you. Let me strengthen you. And then it goes on to say, don't run from suffering, embrace it. Through those storms, God can bring healing into our lives. Through those storms, God can show us his power, it will begin to make our faith grow and rise up, we begin to see that he is a powerful God who loves us and wants what's best for us. He says, Let me show you how self help is no help at all. Sometimes we're trying to get delivered from these addictions to these enslavement that we have through these bondages. But he goes, stop trying to help yourself. Let me help you.

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Let me heal you. Let me deliver you. And he's just wanting us to just come to him with an open heart. It says, I will show you how self self sacrifice is the way my way to finding yourself. self sacrifice is the denying of the flesh, saying no, I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to go that way. I'm going to resist the devil. I'm not going to allow him to take over me It says the devil prowls around like a lion waiting for someone to devour. He's just waiting for you to get to that moment where you begin to lose hope where faith is lost where you're weak, that you're not seeking the Lord and he's just waiting to pounce on you. But we can't give him that pleasure. We have to rise up and we have to say, God, I'm tired. I'm feel so weak right now. I just can't do it. Please help me there's so many times I cried and prayed. There were so many times where I was like God, why do I put myself in these situations? Why am I in this place? Why am I in this position? Please deliver me Please help me. And through that pain. He brought light he began to free me from the lies of the enemy, he began to show me the power that was in my own life that I could begin to pray and declare and break things off in my life. The next part is says finding your true self. We're not the world but we were born in this world. But an often we feel like we have to resemble this world. But we're not as through seeking God and self sacrifice, learning that self control, letting him lead us that we find who we are in Christ. Christ begins to become more in us and begins to heal us and deliver us from the past thinking and renewing our mind. And it says what kind of deal is it for you to get everything you want, but lose yourself? Did you ever have a parent that gave you everything you wanted? Maybe you didn't, maybe you didn't. My dad didn't. My dad was very strict. And he definitely didn't give me everything I wanted. He made me work for a lot of things. I remember I wrecked a car once in a while, actually, I wrecked two cars. And one week.

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That's another story for another day. But he made me pay the deductibles and he put me to work to pay for what I did. And I remember that taught me responsibility. It taught me not to be reckless, it taught me that it's painful to be a wreck and get in a wreck and then have to pay the consequences for you know, having those accidents.

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And

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from there, it says, what could you ever trade yourself for? is giving into the worldly pleasures? Giving in? Let's be honest, for a few minutes, a pleasure or that Hi, that lasts maybe? A few seconds, a minute, an hour? And then what? And then how do you feel? How do you feel in the end? That's the question I want us to leave with this week. And I want you to think, where have I compromised? What areas in my life have I compromising? And is it really bringing me happiness? Is it really bringing me pleasure? Is it really worth it? So Father, God, we just close today, in the name of Jesus, we just thank you for this word. I pray that would fall on good soil. Father God, I pray that it would take deep root in this person's heart, I pray that you would strengthen them. I pray that you would show them more your way that they would learn that self sacrifice is the way of finding their true self, Lord, that they would allow you to lead their life and that they would not continue giving into the lies of the enemy, but they would rise up and take authority because Jesus says, greater authority we have greater things we will do. Because Jesus went to you Father God, we thank you for all these things. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai