Turn in your Bibles, if you would, to Ephesians chapter four. This morning we're going to look at the subject, the doctrine of sanctification. as it relates to sexual sin or to habitual sin. It's the same. You can swap the sin out. It isn't relevant. It is a biblical treatment of dealing with this subject. And then Ephesians 4, this great epistle that lays out God's ultimate purpose and great doctrines and truths in the first three chapters, applies that in chapter four, that we are to walk worthy of that calling, to live that out. And then in chapter four, I want to look at verses starting in verse 20. But you have not so learned Christ, talking about the Gentiles that walk after the vanity of their mind. Let me just back up to verse 17. This I say therefore and testify in the Lord that you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart. who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if so be that you have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." So in this series, we have tried to have a biblical perspective of pornography or any besetting sin or problem, And we have discussed that this battle is primarily a battle against sin. Sin is the enemy. Sin is fortified by the world, the flesh, and the devil. But contrary to evolutionary thinking, sin is not primarily a product of our upbringing or our environment. They may contribute other influences to the conflict, but sin is the problem. When we put on immortality, we will have no more problems. When sin is removed, the presence of sin is removed permanently from our body, all of our problems will cease. It will be removed from the creation as well. It will be a pervasive thing, but sin is the problem. So the biblical response is to have an experiential understanding of how to apply the Bible's remedy for sin. The Bible's treatment of sin is pervasive, it's comprehensive, it's widespread. We must understand experientially the doctrines of justification. regeneration, mortification, and sanctification in relation to sin. What I mean by that, and also their relationship to each other, when I say an experiential knowledge of these doctrines, what I mean is not just an abstract theoretical understanding of each of those doctrines. but a practical understanding of how those doctrines apply to sin in our life. That's what I mean by experiential. Not just a theoretical concept, but that is understood and applied in our lives. Humans are complex creatures. The combination of body and soul spirit and how those relate to each other is not a one-dimensional problem. Like a car that has multiple facets, right? You have the engine, the transmission, the chassis, the steering, the electronic components, All of those components are complex and they pale in comparison to the complexity of the human body. But because of that complexity, few things are as frustrating as car problems. What's the problem with this thing? With human complexity and sin, it requires applying these inspired doctrinal principles to provide a diagnosis to the problem. Does that make sense? That's the main thrust I'm trying to accomplish in this series, is to look at sin through the lenses that the Bible gives of justification, regeneration, mortification, sanctification, and how it speaks into those problems. It would be nice if we just had a scanner that we could just plug in and it would scan and tell you, well, here's a code, here's the problem, here's what you need to replace. Well, we may have that for a car, but we don't have that for people, right? We can't just plug into a scanner, whoa, code, code, multiple codes, we've got problems, right? And so this is where it requires a comprehensive perspective of how the Bible addresses the issue of sin comprehensively. It addresses, you've heard me say, the penalty of sin, the punishment of sin, the power of sin, and the presence of sin. All of these doctrines are what God has done through Christ and His Spirit and His Word to deal with our sin problem. This is what gives a Christian a significant advantage in diagnosing the problem. Secular philosophies do not have the category of sin. They can't even diagnose what the real problem is. So in dealing with significant sin, like sexual sin or other besetting sins, it requires a triage. Is this a justification problem? Do we understand the gospel and the forgiveness of sins? Has there been regeneration or the new birth and a release from the enslaving power of sin? Is it a mortification problem? Is provision being made for the flesh to keep sin fed and strong? Is there a sanctification problem? So each of these doctrines are distinct, but they're also related in how they affect and diagnose and treat the Bible's answer to the sin problem. When there is habitual sin, it demonstrates a systemic breakdown in one or more of these areas. When there's a habitual problem, there's often not a simple formula and a quick fix. It requires a comprehensive biblical perspective to address the problem. Let me go back to the check engine light analogy again. When that light comes on, it can come on for a number of reasons. Some very small. Could be a simple sensor. Could be a simple fuse. When that light starts to blink, it's saying there's a more significant problem. I had a car that, once it got past the blink, it would be a red light saying, shut the car off. You're going to damage the engine. Pull over, literally, on the dash. Pull the car over and shut it off. Well, that's clear. So these, when it is of that nature, when sin is no longer, when it becomes habitual, it's not an isolated problem. It's not an individual thing. It indicates that there's other things that are happening. So today we're gonna look at the subject of sanctification. The process of being made holy. We've talked about justification and regeneration. Those are not a process. Those are a state. You are justified or you are not. You are regenerated or you are not. But sanctification is not a state. It is a process. Every person in this room is at a different place in sanctification. It's not static. It's dynamic. It's always changing from day to day. As you know, certain circumstances can happen in our life that test us and changes our level of sanctification in a moment. Children have a special gift in this area. You may be at a different place in sanctification today than you were last week. I think it's probably safe to say that you are. You maybe have made progress or you could have what we call backslid and moved back. And so it is not something that is just a state that this is where I'm at and it doesn't move. So as we look at this doctrine, these doctrines do not work in isolation. As I mentioned, they're comprehensive, they're connected, kind of like a car that has all of these components are all working in the same direction. Another term for sanctification I heard just this week is to view it as external justification. It is the working out externally what is true internally, which is where in Ephesians 4, if this has happened to you, If the word of God is entered, you've been called according to God's purpose. If that is true internally, then you need to work that out externally. You have to live that out, and that requires putting off things that are no longer consistent with your position in Christ. Putting on things that are consistent with your position and identity in Christ. So we are looking at this doctrine of sanctification, which is the process of being conformed to Christ. That's what sanctification is. It is a process of being conformed to the image of Christ. It started in our regeneration. It continues in the process of sanctification, and it will be completed at our glorification. When Christ returns, the resurrection happens, sanctification will be completed. Right now, we live in that tension between our regeneration and our glorification. And we're living that out in our day-to-day. And so we want to have an optimistic that what we shall be, we're not there yet, but also a tempered understanding that this is a war, that we're in a fight, and that this is a process, and we're trying to make progress on a daily, day-to-day basis. Sexual sin needs to be viewed in the broader category of sanctification instead of treating it as an isolated problem. It has to affect, here's my two main points this morning, our hearts, and by that I mean our motivations, and our habits. We are often inclined, would you agree, to treat the symptom of the problem, generically, and not address it holistically. I mentioned the check engine light. I've actually seen people who took electrical tape, black tape, and just put it over the light. Problem solved. That's dealing with the symptom of the problem. The problem isn't the check engine light. And this is our, by nature, we want it to be easy. We don't want it to be a fight or a war. That's why understanding that this is a war. John Owen gives this broad definition of sanctification. He says, the Holy Ghost works in them in their whole souls, their minds, their wills, and affections. and he works a gracious supernatural habit and disposition of living unto God. That is what happens in regeneration is the Spirit of God is changing everything that sin marred. We believe in total depravity, that sin affected every part of our body, but we also believe that in regeneration each part of that is being changed and in sanctification being conformed to the image of Christ. Understanding this broader picture. In this intensive battle with sin, the gospel must be applied to the heart in justification. That justification must be externalized and worked out. There must be the putting off of the old man and putting on the new man, which is consistent with who we are internally. This requires not just changing our habits, but the changing of our heart as well. One man said, the heart must be engaged for Christ or the hands will soon hang down. Another said the affections must be enlisted into his service or our obedience will soon stand still. So both of these are necessary. Our heart, our affections, our motivations, and our habits. This is why Thomas Chalmers gives the description that the appetites of the flesh must be replaced with what he called the expulsive power of a new affection. There is a tension between, is this just a habit or a practice I need to change? Or is this a heart affection motivation problem? Which one is primary? Do we need changed hearts or changed habits? I'm proposing this morning we need both. That we have to fight in both theaters, if you will. If you're familiar with the biblical counseling movement, some of the big players of this were Jay Adams, and he emphasized and advocated that the issue is primarily habituation, a habit problem. And then David Powlison comes along and says, well, it's also a heart motivation problem. And so you had this tension in the biblical counseling, which is it? Is it a habit problem, where we just need to put off our habits and put on new habits? Or is it a heart motivation problem? Well, the answer I would argue, and I think biblical counseling has gotten here presently is, is that it's both. They talk about in that movement, the first generation was this, the second generation was the fuller balancing of and seeing that it is a both and proposition. So let's look at these two points this morning. What is meant by new hearts, new affections, new motivations, new ambitions? Regeneration provides a new heart. writes God's laws on our hearts so that we love God and our neighbor. But these affections need to be cultivated because they will be challenged in this world. I hope that probably doesn't surprise anyone. If you look over in the book of Colossians chapter 3, for example, It says, if you then be, in verse one, Colossians 3, if you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God, set your affections on things above, not on things of the earth. And then it gets into mortification in the rest of that chapter. And what this gets at is a principle G.K. Beal wrote a book on it called, We Become What We Worship. We become what we worship. Turn over to Psalm 115. Let me show you this principle. Of our affections have a shaping influence. Beal says it this way, what people revere, they resemble. What people revere, we imitate and resemble, either for ruin or restoration. This is why a young boy learning to play baseball watches Major League Baseball players and their stance, and they imitate that. They want to look like that, they value that skill and they want to resemble that and they want to perform like that athlete. What Beal is advocating is that this is part of who we are and the way God made us. That we are made to worship. that we are going to worship something, and what has that chief place of affection in our hearts, we are going to ultimately resemble and become like. So look at Psalm 115. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens. He has done whatever he hath pleased. Listen, their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. Do you see the contrast there? Our God is in the heavens. Their God are idols. They have mouths, but they speak not. Eyes have they, but they see not. He's describing an image, an idol. They have ears, but they hear not. Noses have they, but they smell not. They have hands, but they handle not. Feet they have, but they walk not. You get the point here? It's just a dumb piece of wood covered in maybe a precious metal. Neither speak they through their throat. Look at verse 8. They that make them are like unto them, and so is everyone that trusteth in them. I think it's the NAS and the ESV both say, they that make them become like them. Do you see it? That you become like what you worship. Now, how does this play out? in the Scriptures. Do you remember, and this is Beal's argument, Isaiah 6, and the calling of Isaiah when he's before the presence of God, and he calls him and he says, I'm gonna, who will go for us? And Isaiah says, here my Lord, send me. And then God says to him, I better just turn over there so I don't, but let me make one point and then can I go to Isaiah? Then the rest of the psalm is a contrast. Israel, trust in the Lord, verse 9. Verse 10, Aaron, trust in the Lord. Verse 11, ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord. Don't trust in idols. And then he goes on to describe God's blessing. If you trust in the Lord. You see that? I can go on. Go to Isaiah chapter 6. If we worship, value, treasure, and worship the Lord, we will resemble Him. We will become more like Him, which is Ephesians 5.1. The imitators of God is dear children. So Isaiah 6. You know this great scene? Look in verse nine, and he said, go and tell this people, hear ye indeed, but understand not. See indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, their ears heavy, shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert and be healed. Is that a familiar text? What he is saying is, Israel has gone after its idols and they're becoming like them. They don't have the ability to see or understand. Let me give you another example. The golden calf. They worshipped a golden calf. The psalm says, you turn the glory of God into an ox that eats grass. And what is a common criticism that Israel is called? Stiff-necked. That's a picture of an animal that you're trying to lead, and they won't move, they won't turn, they have a stiff neck. They're becoming like the golden calf. As he describes them wandering off. Like an animal or a sheep that refuses to obey, it wanders off and does its own thing. That they are becoming like what they worship. What we revere, we resemble. Now that passage in Isaiah 6 is quoted multiple times in the New Testament. I want to say it's the most, if not the most, I don't think it's the most, I think it's the second most quoted scripture in the New Testament. All four Gospels quote it. The book of Acts, Paul quotes it, to show this principle that you become like what you worship. Think with me for a minute of the book of Romans. In Romans chapter 1, if you want to turn over there, Romans chapter 1. they have a worship problem. They're changing, verse 23, the glory of God, of the uncorruptible God into an image made like the corruptible man and to birds and beasts and creeping things, wherefore God gave them up. And then their behavior begins to resemble animals. Okay? How about Romans chapter eight? What are we supposed to be being conformed to? The image of His Son. God has predestinated that we be conformed to the image of His Son. In Romans chapter 12, what is the plea for the believer? Not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed and conformed to the image of his son. Those things that we treasure and value and worship and revere, we will resemble. If God is who we worship and value and treasure and follow, we will become conformed into his image. We will become more like him. Why do I say that? Because it is an issue of the heart. It isn't just a narrow issue of this certain area or a problem. For example, Powlison says, we must widen the battlefront in order to cure souls. It is a sanctification problem. It's a broader problem. And as we frame it as part of our progressive sanctification, it becomes evident that it's a matter of our heart. That's where it starts. setting our affections there. Chalmers said this, the love of the world cannot be expunged by a mere demonstration of the world's worthlessness, but it may be supplanted by the love of that which is more worthy than itself. That's what pushes it out. It is a matter of the heart. He goes on to say, the object of the gospel is both to pacify the sinner's conscience and to purify his heart. And it is of importance to observe that what mars the one of these objects mars the other also. The best way of casting out an impure affection is to admit a pure one. And by the love of what is good to expel the love of what is evil. And so what I'm saying is, is why the putting off and putting on is necessary, is it isn't just I need to fix this problem. It goes all the way back to our hearts and our affections. What am I truly loving? And dealing with it at that deeper level. What is it that I am treasuring and valuing more than Christ? What is it that needs to be mortified? Identifying those motivations of what I am, the great question in biblical counseling is, what do I desire so much that I am willing to sin against God in order to get it? I'm putting something in that place that's a matter of the affections. We need to no longer be satisfied with earthly pleasures. C.S. Lewis says we're too easily satisfied. We're satisfied with making mud pies because we don't really believe we can have a holiday at the sea where there is a genuine, a greater than our hearts can imagine, a fellowship with the Trinity and the living God. What does that mean? We have to identify, and this is where it's uncomfortable, what is it that I am treasuring and valuing more than Christ? I've probably mentioned before, one of the greatest idolatries in my life has been ministry idolatry. You say, well, isn't ministry a good thing? Not when it takes the primary thing. It becomes an idol. This is why Beal describes an idol as whatever your heart clings to or relies on for ultimate security. That's why that Psalm 115, don't trust in these things. Our trust is in the living God. We sang it this morning, that our hope, our trust is in you, in the living God. And so as we look at sanctification as this comprehensive thing dealing with our hearts, we're aware of where is sensuality and the desire for other things growing? One man said sensuality grows best in the soil of a self-indulgent life. Overeating, oversleeping, avoiding difficult challenges is symptomatic of deeper unresolved spiritual problems at the level of the heart. If we want to cultivate a love for Christ, a fruitful garden, A life of enjoying fellowship with the triune God that has to be cultivated. Randy Elkhorn charges and encourages us to take time to cultivate your inner life. He says, the battle for sexual purity is not won or lost in the noisy trenches of the world's temptations. but at home, in quietness, on our knees. An over-full schedule and constant activity erode the soul. Busyness wears down the ability to hear, to listen to the promptings and warning signals of God's Spirit, His Word, and His people. Fatigue becomes disorienting. It makes us oblivious to what's really happening in us. And so we have to be aware of what am I desiring to make me happy, to find my satisfaction in life? Do I really believe that Christ can fill that and satisfy that and that nothing else can? Not even ministry, not even accomplishment, productivity, They can't satisfy. Ryle says it this way, the fear of punishment, the desire of reward, the sense of duty are all useful arguments to persuade people to holiness, but they are all weak and powerless until a person loves Christ. Once let that mighty principle get a hold of a man and you will see his whole life changed. We don't want to think of Romans 1, the great exchange, that we are exchanging other pleasures for Christ. But that really brings it down to the root of the issue. Where am I pursuing my happiness? What are the heart motives that are feeding my behavior? We must get to the heart level where the affections, ambitions, desires, and hopes are. There's a book that came out years ago by Rosaria Butterfield. Maybe you've heard of it. It's called The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. As she describes, and she does a very good job of not glorying in her past, but just a very sober treatment. But she was a lesbian, living with her partner. She was a professor of English at Syracuse University. She was the department chair, developing a gender studies program. I mean, about as far on the far end of the spectrum as you can get. And she explains her journey of how a pastor and his wife were kind to her, used hospitality to invite her into their home to win her to Christ. It's wonderful. And as they won her, she recounts her journey that this isn't just a physical desire problem. This is much more Deep-rooted in that. But she goes on to testify of how she ends up believing the gospel and becoming a Christian. And is now the wife of a pastor. And a homeschool mother. I mean, it's rare that you see these far-end extremes to this side, to far-end extreme on the other side. And as she recounts that it comes from the heart. The affections you have to deal with what I'm pursuing. This is the deception of sin. We don't want to think that we're just duped. That sin is just like Adam and Eve in the garden duped us. We believe a lie. We exchange the creature for the Creator. But it's at that heart level. We have to examine our hearts, our affections, our motivations, and say, is the absolute dominating principle of my life a love for Christ, a desire to fellowship with the triune God? Is that the dominating principle in my life? Secondly, then the new habits. The putting off, the putting on. The bringing the external in line with the, I wanna establish that first and clearly. And then there is, as I said, it's a comprehensive bringing my life into conformity to that. This is what I profess. How do I bring my life into conformity of that? Which things in my life are not consistent with that? Which is really what Paul fleshes out in the rest of the book of Ephesians. Because there's help here. One man said his habit of buying pornography could not be broken until he thoroughly repented of other sins which he had conveniently overlooked. They're not all isolated, separate. It's a tangle. Sometimes when you pull weeds, you know how they just have things going all over. John Owen said we don't have the, what is it, the privilege, not the privilege, the ability to just deal with one issue at a time. It'd be nice if we could just deal with one at a time. They come in clusters. It requires the development of new habits and a new walk of life. The biblical terms for this are patience, endurance, diligence. It requires dealing with bad habits, wandering eyes, lingering stares, nursing lustful thoughts. One man said, sanctification is a direction you are heading. Repentance is a lifestyle you're living. It's not easy. If it was easy, we would be better at it. Would you agree with that? But it's a direction. I am committed to going from this regeneration to glorification, going that direction. And I'm going to continue to have to repent of my sins along the way to get there. that everyone that names the name of Christ must depart from iniquity. It's taking captive every thought to the obedience of Christ. It requires circumspection, self-examination. Ryle says it this way, do nothing that you would not like God to see. Say nothing you would not like God to hear. Write nothing you would not like God to read. Go no place where you would not like God to find you. Read no book which you would not like God to say, show it to me. Never spend your time in such a way that you would not like to have God say, what are you doing? Don't we use that as parents? We know our kids are, what are you doing? What's going on here? You understand, but walking in the fear of God is a realization that he's aware of all of that. We're not able to hide from him like Adam and Eve in the garden. And so it's taking a broad view of our spiritual life, cultivating healthy habits. Think of it this way. If a young man comes home from a long work week exhausted, starts to binge on Netflix, devours a half gallon of his favorite ice cream, stays up until 2 a.m., relaxing in his fleece jammies, what are the chances when sexual temptation comes he's going to mount a strong resistance? Our flesh gets used to being satisfied. It has to be resisted. New affections, new habits placed in there. Contrast that with a man who wakes up promptly at 6 a.m., does 30 minutes of exercise. I don't like 30 minutes of exercise. I can't get myself most of the time to do five minutes of exercise. He showers, spends an hour reading scripture and prayer, eats a healthy breakfast, is diligent at work, spends his evening managing responsibilities, listens to a sermon, reads a Puritan paperback, and fades to sleep at 10 o'clock. Which habits are more likely to be conducive to holiness? One man likens this process to weightlifting. Thought it was interesting. He says, growing strong, this is specifically referencing sexual purity, growing strong in your sexual purity is akin to weightlifting. If you lift weights one time and then stop, your body remains weak. But if you lift weights consistently over a long period of time, you will see results as your body becomes stronger and the discipline of lifting becomes easier and more natural to maintain. Making a one-time commitment to be sexually pure is as effective as buying a gym membership for the new year but never using it. Reading this book once won't cure you of sexual impurity. The most frustrating thing about weightlifting, though, is that you really can never stop doing it. As is true for the area of spiritual maturity, sexual purity is not something you achieve and then store on the shelf. Wouldn't it be nice if there wasn't atrophy? if we didn't have to keep doing it. Wouldn't it be nice if we could just attain to a high score in sanctification, post it, and that's where it sticks. That high score is always there. Anytime there's a problem, I'll just look at my high score. But it's not like that. You say, well, I don't like atrophy. Well, that is the way God made the world. is that it requires all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, and all of our strength. And this is why I say that habitual sin, Owen made this point, is an antidote to lukewarmness. It just doesn't allow for it. If you try to take it weakly and buy a gym membership and throw a little bit at it, it's not going to be victorious. It requires dealing with it at the affection level, my heart, my worship, what I value and treasure, and then bringing my habits and conformity to that, to be working in that direction. And this is why I've described it as a death match. It's not going to end. I wish there was a pill, a shot, a drink, something that would end the battle of sin. But the only thing that will do that is the resurrection. And until then, for the glory of our King, we are fighting. We are pressing on the upward way. I wish it was downhill was the path of ease. It's not, it's the hill difficulty. And this is why the Bible calls us to run the race with patience. Let me close with a brief summary. You will become what you worship. Evaluate your heart affections. Evaluate your habits. Are they conformed to the world? But I want to give you this encouragement, because I can get discouraged. Anybody, every Christian, I think, has a proneness to discouragement because it just doesn't quit. God is working with us. He began the work He's committed to the work. He's not growing weary with the work. He's in it. He's for us, and He's with us. And He has given His Spirit. He has given His Word to say, we are in this war. He made this universe in the battle, and for His glory, this is the battle He has us engaged in. I wish it was a different one. And this is why when we see those struggling, we want to come in with encouragement. We want to provide accountability, like, hey, what am I not seeing, right? When my car breaks down, I tried this and this. What do you think, Pastor Matt? Well, did you try this? No, that isn't it. And then I try seven other things and come back and guess what? Oh, that was it. Should've listened. God is working in us. This is His work. We have those promises that He that began it is going to perfect it. Let me close with one illustration. This week, it didn't happen this week, but our garage was a disaster. I mean the kind of disaster that if you leave the garage door up, you're afraid the neighbors are going to question your Christianity. How could they call themselves Christian and have a garage that looks like that? And so it's been weighing on me, weighs on my wife. And then she'll mention it. And I really appreciate that reminder. Thank you for reminding me that the garage is a disaster. Didn't even occur to me. So it became the day. I think it was Monday. I don't even remember the day. We're cleaning that thing. So I get the boys together. And you could see them like, oh, no. Dad's on to cleaning mode. And so they get in there, and you can tell it's overwhelming. But Dad just gets in there. Ironically, the girls come home, and they saw it cleaned. And it only took 45 minutes. The boys were just amazed. One of the girls made the statement, Well, that didn't get done without dad yelling. They got that much done that fast. We know what that looked like. So the illustration breaks down at some point. But the point is, is that as dad's involved and the boys are there, and OK, this goes here, this goes there, pull this out, throw that away, dump that trash, and we're just getting things cleaned up. In 45 minutes, you could park a car in there. We didn't even know that was possible. My wife may or may not have made a comment about that. Because Dad was involved in this work. The kids were amazed. One of the strengths of temptation and sin is that it's overwhelming. You can't do it. Once you start into that, it's just going to take forever. Just throw it on top and close the door and pretend it isn't there. But if God's involved with it, we can expect victory. We can expect the power that He will equip us and strengthen us for that work. Let me pray. God, we confess our discouragement and frustration. Sometimes this process of sanctification seems overwhelming. Seems like you're asking too much, that you expect too much out of us, to be conformed to the image of your Son. Help us to be reminded of your encouragement that you're with us, that you're for us, that you have begun the work and you will complete it. that you have given your spirit, you have given your word, you have given the examples throughout scripture to help us. God, help us to be not overwhelmed with the task in front of us. Help us to reorder our affections where they need to be reordered. Help us to reorder our habits where they need to be reordered. We know that we can't do this in our own strength, but you have said you would be with us. We're thankful for that synergism. We need your help. Help us not rely on our own efforts and strength. Help us to confess our weakness, our dependence on you, Our need for honesty and transparency of not half-hearted efforts or excuses, but a desire for your glory. A desire for our lives to reflect Christ. We acknowledge how often they fall short. I pray that you would help us in this fight against habitual sin, to understand it, to hate it. Help us to be an encouragement and a blessing to each other. Help us, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.