Renew Remain Acknowledge Ask

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Hello and welcome to The Overflow Podcast. My name
is Craig Booker. The title of this episode is Renew

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Remain Acknowledge and Ask. A lot of the material
for this week’s episode was inspired by Craig

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Groechel’s book The Power to Change – Mastering
the Habits That Matter Most.  Note: I will talk

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a lot about mental health but please note this is
not a substitute for therapy or mental health care

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I am not a counselor or a physician if you need
help with mental health challenges please find a

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qualified mental health professional title of this
episode is Renew Remain Acknowledge Ask. In the

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past episode we talked about it’s all you we’re
going through the idea that willpower doesn’t work

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but God’s power does and it’s available accessible
active and abundant so that was in last episode so

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in this section Craig Rochelle opens by telling
another story about an old house that he and

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his wife Amy lived in early in their marriage and
this house was built in 1910 so it was rather old

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um and he tells this story about uh his den and
just the small living area that had a couch a

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lamp and a just a little TV and one night they
tried to turn on the lamp and it wouldn’t come on

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and they tested the TV you know and and nothing
else was working either uh and so thinking that

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it might be a fuse that had blown uh Craig told
his wife Amy that he would try to fix it and

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he goes into detail saying that fixing things or
being handy around the house is not his strength

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um quite the opposite and so you know he makes
this Joe’s joke about it might just be a fuse

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so while he was trying to work on it what they
did in the meantime so they would have power

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in this this living area was they brought
in extension cords that they would plug in

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in another room and kind of drag them like
throughout part of the house through their

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dining area into the den so they would have
power in this area and so you know these chords

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he said they created an eyesore so they were
just something you had to look at that were

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ugly that you would trip over and they they
lived like this for three years uh with no

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power in this living area and one day as they
were getting ready to move out they found this

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light switch that they hadn’t seen before
and so I think you know Craig started to

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put ideas together and go you know I wonder what
this light switch does and he flips the switch and

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um he goes and of course he had to disconnect
the extension cords and reconnect them in this

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living area and what he discovered was that they
had had power all along it was this this light

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switch that they didn’t know about that would
turn those outlets off in that room comment was

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that for three years they had had power they just
didn’t know how to access that power he says in

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the book he said this is also a fairly solid
description of my early years of following Jesus

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I needed God’s power it was available to me but I
didn’t know how to access it how to live in it how

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to walk by the spirit and so this this section
or this introduction is kind of setting up this

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section of the book saying that he didn’t really
know how to access the power that’s available

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through the Holy Spirit and so it says whoever it
is that you want to become or stop being whatever

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it is that you want to do or stop doing you will
need more than willpower you will need God’s power

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so God can give you the power to love
someone who is difficult to love serve

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when you’d rather be served give when it’s
scary to give study when you’d rather play

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spend time with your child when you would
rather relax so it goes on to say how do you

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rely on God’s power rather than willpower
to overcome the temptation to do wrong

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uh he asked the question how do you
walk in the spirit in these moments

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right he says here are the four words I introduced
to you at the end of the last chapter renew remain

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acknowledge and ask he says there are two for
before the moment and two for in the moment so the

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first one is renew and Craig Rochelle again tells
a story about a time in college when he decided

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he wanted to live for Jesus and he struggled
with this decision because he didn’t want to

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give up sex he realizing how difficult this
would be he knew he needed God’s power he felt

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led to give up dating for an extended period
uh and this time would serve as a point of

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renewing his way of thinking about women
and relationships all right in Romans 12

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1-2 it says to walk in the spirit in God’s
power we need to renew our minds therefore

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this is a quote from the book let me clarify
that so to walk in the spirit in God’s power

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we need to renew our minds and then here’s Romans
12 1-2 it says therefore I urge you brothers and

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sisters in view of God’s mercy to offer your
bodies as Living Sacrifice holy and pleasing

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to God this is your true and proper worship do
not conform to the pattern of this world but

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be transformed by the renewing of your mind then
you will be able to test and approve what God’s

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will is his good pleasing and perfect will all
right he continues and he says the key to living

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out God’s good pleasing and perfect will is
being transformed by the renewing of our mind

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when we allow God to change the way we think
it will change the way we act how we respond

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to opportunities and temptations how we
treat people it will change everything

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this takes us full circle back to who before do
uh you do what you do because of what you think

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of you you renew your mind by consistently reading
the Bible your success depends on your commitment

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another way to renew our minds is by
memorizing scripture and this can be done by

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using index cards or maybe a Bible memorization
apps uh a third way to renew your mind is to

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listen to good Bible teaching uh become part
of a church Faithfully preaching the Bible or

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by listening to great teaching online or both so
that is renew so that’s one of these ideas that

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he was talking about to prepare us before the
moment that we get to the second part is remain

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well it looks like this is from John 15 4-5 in
the NLT it says re Main and me and I will remain

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in you for a branch cannot produce fruit if it is
severed from the vine and you cannot be fruitful

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unless you remain in me yes I am the vine
you are the branches those who remain in me

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and I am them will produce much fruit
for apart from me you can do nothing

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so if we look at this what it’s saying here at
the end of this apart from me you can do nothing

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you know this really ties in to these ideas of
acknowledging that I can’t but God can and if

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we really bring this into the Practical everyday
of the changes that we’re trying to make the the

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positive uh changes to our brain health that we’re
working on uh we really can see full circle like

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how we get to our goal it’s not through our own
strength or our own willpower we’re learning that

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our willpower is very limited and will run out
and fail us but God’s power won’t and his power is

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is easily accessible if we understand how to
tap into his power so it says when we remain

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in Jesus God’s power will be evident in our life
in the book he talks about he says all of these

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verses that we’ve been looking at contain the
same words we have we have translated in John

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15 4 as remain so the word that gets translated
to is Mino like m-e-n-o uh and that is for remain

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and so there’s a series of verses here that all
use that and I’ll read those uh here it says Mary

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remained with her about three months and returned
to her house Luke 1 uh 56 nkjv and then for two

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whole years Paul stayed there in his town rent
in his own excuse me he stayed there in his own

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rented house and welcomed all who came to see him
acts 28 30. and then when Jesus stepped ashore he

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was met by a demon-possessed man from the town
for a long time this man had not worn clothes

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or lived in a house but had lived in the tombs
this is Luke 8. I believe that’s supposed to be

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27 and I put two seven seven so then stay there
eating and drinking whatever you whatever they

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give you for the worker deserves his wages
do not move from house to house Luke 10 7.

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I said there are other verses where the word Mino
is translated stay so those previous verses were

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as Mina was translated as remain and there are
other verses where it’s translated as stay uh for

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example they said Rabbi which uh Rabbi which means
teacher where are you staying John 1 38 and then

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Peter State and Joppa for some time with a Tanner
named Simon asked 9 43 third it says erastus

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stayed in Corinth and I left profemis sick in
malettis and it says second temp that was second

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Timothy 4 20. it says in these verses Jesus is
inviting us to make him our home and stay in him

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it says if you remain in Jesus before the moment
you’ll be ready with God’s power in the moment

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so there’s two parts to this we’re gonna
be uh con you know consistently seeking god

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um preparing before the moment so that when
the moment happens we are ready we’re prepared

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so the renew and remain the two r’s is
what he refers it to ref refers to them

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as is before the moment so now we’re going
to look at in the moment these two words

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and the first one is acknowledge it says a
time will come when you can start the Habit

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you’ve decided to start or maybe you will be
tempted to do something you don’t want to do

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in that moment you’ll hear a voice not necessarily
an audible voice I it will be cheering you on it

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might say you’ve got this it’s all you and Craig
Rochelle says we have to ignore this voice because

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this voice is from our flesh or the human part of
us says uh ignore that voice and acknowledge that

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you don’t have the power you need say with Paul
I want to do what is right but I can’t and that’s

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from Romans 7 18 NLT and with Jesus who said apart
from Jesus I can do nothing and it says this is

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personalizing John 15 5. that is acknowledge
and then he goes on to talk about you know the

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12-step program that is associated with Alcoholics
Anonymous and he says in step one of that program

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we admit we were powerless over sin that our
lives had become unmanageable and then step two

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of that program we came to believe that a power
greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity

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uh and then he goes on to say in telling a
story about quitting drinking during college

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Craig says I couldn’t do I couldn’t do what I
needed to do but then I could I quit drinking I

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could when I admitted I couldn’t so he could
when he admitted he couldn’t there was that

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acknowledgment and he said I had what it took when
I could no longer deny that I did not have what it

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took so it’s a mouthful but it was at this point
when he admitted he needed help that he needed

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God’s power that he was able to make progress and
then the last one is ask and in this part he’s

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talking over James chapter four he starts out in
James 1 that says he’s talking about the desires

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that battle within you and James writes you desire
but you do not have you cannot get what you want

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uh so that’s I think verse 1 and verse 2 there
and then it says so what is a real problem James

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continues you do not have because you do not ask
God from verse two it says so ask James chapter

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1 says you should ask God who gives generously to
all without finding fault and it will be given to

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you uh and he says that’s from verse five uh and
then we see we know we need a power greater than

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ourselves to make positive changes successfully
and God is generous and loves to give good gifts

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to his children Matthew 7 9 through 11. uh we must
first acknowledge though we must say God I know I

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can’t but you can and then we say God I know you
have the power I need and you generously give to

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your children God I’m asking for your power in
this moment something we might say in the moment

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when we’re struggling with something we need help
before the moment we’re going to renew and remain

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and then in the moment we’re going to acknowledge
and ask Our God loves it when we come to him so

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the point is ask him ask him for his help tell
him you need him acknowledge that you don’t have

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what it takes to do what you’re trying to do all
right so we have an exercise uh from the book and

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it says use the four words and this chapter as a
guide for a prayer and complete these sentences

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the father I pray today you would renew my mind to
help me do blank so whatever you’re trying to do

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and then father help me to remain in you today
as or when I blank okay and then third father

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today I acknowledge my weakness and your power I
know I am weak but you are strong in and fill in

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the blank and then father today I recognize your
great love for me and how you desire to give me

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good gifts so I ask you to blank so there there’s
this exercise um and that you can use it as much

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as you need it but I think it’s a good practice to
help us get in the rhythm of seeking God’s power

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so we have a principle for this section that
says if you renew and remain before the moment

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and if you acknowledge and ask in the moment
you will have God’s power to walk by the spirit

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uh then we have a scripture John 15 4-5 in the
NLT it says remain in me and I will remain in

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you for a branch cannot produce fruit if
it is severed from the vine and you cannot

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be fruitful unless you remain in me yes I
am the vine you are the branches those who

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remain in me and I in them will produce much
fruit for apart from me you can do nothing

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that’s all for this episode thank you for
watching if you liked the video give us a

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thumbs up and be sure to subscribe so
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