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Oh my new affections, my new love for God is really making a huge difference in my life.

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So I'm talking about the principle of the greater affection. It's one of the great

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ironies of life. It's kind of counterintuitive. The very thing that you're doing in your life,

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an affection that you have in your life, an idol that you have in your heart,

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that's causing problems for you, is actually not to be focused on. So this is kind of

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counterintuitive. So I think in some counseling groups that are healing groups, therapeutic

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groups, there's a focus on the sin. There's a focus on the addiction. And I'm not saying anything

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wrong with that. I think that's good too. But I do believe that unless in one's journey to be

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free from that addiction in one's life, there isn't a greater affection, a greater power,

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and even a greater passion to replace that old addiction, you're not going to get set

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free for very long. In other words, your identity is still going to be in getting

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free from the old addiction. And I'm saying there's a new identity in Christ where we're a

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new creation in him. And the old has passed away and the new has come. I'm calling that

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the principle of the greater affection. So here's my thesis today. The only way to be free,

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and I'm going to say consistently free for the rest of your life, free from a sinful affection

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is to replace it with more passion for a holy affection. Another way to say it would be the

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only way to replace an old affection is with a new one greater than the former one. Let me give

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you three thoughts on the principle of the greater affection. Here's the first. Focus on the new

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affection. Focus, number one, on the new effect. Don't focus on the old life. Don't focus on the

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addiction. Now you may need to give some time and energy to it by asking the question of why

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I'm doing this, why I'm drinking alcohol all the time, or why I'm taking drugs.

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That's important. Believe me, I'm not saying it's not because those are usually rooted

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in childhood shame issues in our life. But you're not going to get completely set free

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until you're focusing on a new affection. To get rid of some of the old sinful habits in our life

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is not actually focusing on them, but beginning to focus on the healthy and the holy. Focusing

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your heart toward the holy thing, the good thing, the healthy thing in your life. Now listen, this

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is important. Feelings don't guide focus for very long. Now they may a little bit at the beginning,

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but feelings are not going to guide your focus in your life, but focus can guide your feelings. So

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let me say that again. Feelings don't guide focus, but focus can guide your feelings.

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I'm going to just use an example again from sports. As an athlete, you have a focus on

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that routine that you're working on. If you're a football player, you're focusing on the block in

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front of you or the play that you're going to run, whether you feel like focusing or not.

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And you do it. And man, if you break through and score a touchdown, then certainly the feelings

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follow. That's wonderful. But if you live your life, and a lot of people do, don't get me wrong.

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This is probably, this is why this is number one, in my opinion, focus on the new affection is

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because they focus way too much on the old affection, how bad it is, how bad they are,

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who their parents were and what their parents did or didn't do or their ex-wife or their ex-husband

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or whatever it might be. I say, forget that. Forget about that. Focus on it maybe briefly

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or some healing that needs to happen, but then you've got to make the shift. You've got to make

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the shift to the new affection and falling in love with the new you, falling in love with Christ,

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falling in love with the power and the love of the Holy Spirit. So that's number one,

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focus on the new affection. Feelings follow faith. Faith does not follow feelings. Feelings

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follow faith. Feelings follow focus. Focus doesn't follow feeling. Really, really important. So number

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two, number two, discipline your heart. Discipline your mind. Discipline your heart and mind. 1 Peter

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1.13, Peter writes, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, rest your hope fully upon the grace that

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is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. That's exactly what I'm saying,

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is that we have to discipline our mind. It's

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talks about girding up the loins of your mind.

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What that means is that like in ancient times

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when Peter wrote this, men wore gowns,

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men wore these long robes, but if they needed to run

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or they're in warfare or something,

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they would take the center part of the gown or the robe

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and they would pull it up and then they would tie it

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in the middle so that their legs had full mobility.

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That's girding up the robe and he's using that

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as a metaphor for girding up the loins of your mind,

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be sober and rest your hope fully upon the grace of God.

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Some translations say gird up the loins of your mind

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for action, set your mind for action, get ready to run.

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So you've gotta discipline your mind and heart.

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Motivation means nothing.

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Let me just say it again.

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Motivation in the heat of our old affections means nothing.

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Discipline is what you need.

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You have to have discipline and discipline's trained

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over time in our life.

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Discipline can empower you to change,

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to push through, to not quit.

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As a runner is running a marathon

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and they hit that 20th mile, there is zero motivation.

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There is nothing left in them.

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The only thing that's left is discipline.

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That discipline needed to push through

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and that discipline needed to push through

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was developed in all the training beforehand.

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So when we come to that place where the temptations

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and the affections that are unhealthy and unholy

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in our life come our way, it's gonna be discipline

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to push through that, that gets us through.

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Discipline is not our feelings and not our emotions,

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but the discipline of our life.

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And so if we start to have feelings toward another person

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and it's feelings that are based in sexual desires

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and that person's not our spouse

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and we know that it's wrong,

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it's gonna be the discipline of girding up our minds

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for action that we look away and we push forward

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and that's the affection of our life.

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So first, focus on the new affection.

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Number two, discipline your mind and heart.

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And then lastly, number three,

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allow yourself to experience the difference.

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Allow yourself to experience the difference.

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So what I'm talking about is detach.

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You gotta detach in your life and look at the difference

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that discipline, girding up your mind for action

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and being focused has already done in your life.

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So you begin to see, wow, I feel better.

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Oh wow, I feel more peaceful.

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Oh my, I've lost 15 pounds

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and I don't have those headaches anymore.

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I don't have that afternoon slump anymore

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because I'm drinking a lot more water.

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I'm just full of healthy things in my body.

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That's an example of detaching.

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So you give yourself time to experience the difference.

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That's an example of the new life that you have in Christ.

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And so as a new believer in Christ,

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we're growing in Christ, sometimes just stop.

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Just stop and think, wow, my life has really changed.

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I've got better relationships now.

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I eat better.

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I'm not, I don't have any more hangovers.

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The headaches are gone.

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I'm not puking in the bathroom all the time.

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I'm not experiencing that comedown

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with being high from drugs.

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I'm becoming more even tempered.

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I'm becoming more balanced in my decision-making.

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I'm starting to think through my future.

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I've now got a vision for my future

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because I got a clear mind.

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See what I'm saying?

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Sometimes we get going so fast, we forget

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and we don't stop to detach from our circumstances enough

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to realize, oh, my new affections,

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my new love for God is really making

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a huge difference in my life.

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And so I'm gonna keep going after that.

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I'm gonna press into that.

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And the guilt starts to go away

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and the procrastination starts to go away.

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The unhealthy habits that we had

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are being replaced with healthy habits.

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So for some of you, you need to be working out.

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You need to work out every day.

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You need to get up first thing in the morning

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and you need to work out.

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And you're gonna see a difference within,

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it'll take two weeks.

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Believe me, it'll take two weeks.

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But in two weeks, you'll start to feel different.

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Your clothes are gonna fit different.

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You're going to have more confidence, you're going to have more peace of mind.

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Then you start, with that, you start eating better.

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And as you start eating better, you're getting more energy.

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And with more energy, you're thinking better.

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And as you're thinking better, you're having a greater vision for your future

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because you have the ability to analyze your life and say,

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well, that's dumb, I don't know why I did that,

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or I don't know why I spent my money on this.

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So you're learning and you're growing.

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So you detach yourself enough to realize and experience the difference

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that God's bringing into your life.

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So the principle of the greater affection, let me say the thesis again.

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The only way to be set free from a sinful affection

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is to replace it with more passion for a holy one.

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The only way to replace an old affection

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is with a new one greater than the former one.

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Number one, focus on the new affection.

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Number two, discipline your mind and heart.

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And then number three, allow yourself to experience the difference.

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I believe, men and women, this will be huge

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in tearing down the idols of your heart

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and replacing those idols, those affections,

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with new affections, new discipline, new convictions.

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And you're going to walk in victory.

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You're going to become the worshiper warrior God wants you to become.

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You're going to become the man of God, the woman of God that you were created to be.

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You're going to be a better husband.

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You're going to be a better friend.

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You're going to be a better student.

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You're going to begin to live Christ flowing out of your life,

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and people are going to see a big, big difference in your life.