The Place for Abiding

1. Self-righteousness is a main contributor to defeat
--find oneself repeating the same sins over and over with no power over the flesh to control them
--self-righteous person is one who is attempting to make themselves whole by their own effort. Don't have to be vocal about it, some of the most self-righteous people are the most quiet! Working feverously to get closer to God.
-no one knows what they are really dealing with on the inside--part of the problem!
-creates a beautiful fassad of a building from the outside, but get to the door and its padlocked shut. just a window and wall and nothing behind it (like the old western movie set houses)-just putting on a front.

2. "I can't" opens the Abiding Door, while "I can" closes it
--PRIDE!
-our first response to sin, temptation, defeat, is, "I can do this, I'm strong enough, I should be strong enough"
-focus is on the "I", it's all about "me"
--Humility is the one key that opens the door
-not about putting oneself down, but accepting who I am apart from God
-saying "I can't" opens up the abiding door, adds value to our life. Not a magic word, what our heart says I can't.

3. Long term victory over sin and the flesh comes as you moment by moment open the abiding door of your heart
--Never going to have it completely figured out
--duffel bag analogy, replacing things we learn with Christ=pride

4. God allows failure and defeat in your life to bring you into an awareness of your need for abiding in Christ
--viewing defeat as more than just a slap on the hand, but as a path to living in an abiding relationship with Christ
--failure and defeat are simply pointing toward our need for Christ in our life
--when we fall in the christian life it's not a measure of our weakness, it's a mark of how much faith you have ex: looking good in the lodge vs. taking risks on the slopes and falling down
--if you didn't want something greater, then there's no failure. if you never fail, not living by faith