{"id":559,"date":"2018-07-27T12:16:27","date_gmt":"2018-07-27T16:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.westlakebaptist.org\/blog\/?p=559"},"modified":"2018-07-27T12:16:27","modified_gmt":"2018-07-27T16:16:27","slug":"s-t-a-y","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westlakebaptist.org\/blog\/s-t-a-y\/","title":{"rendered":"S.T.A.Y."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>What if I was to tell you that there is a fairly simple answer to problems in your marriage, family, job, church, and even our country? \u00a0Would you believe me? \u00a0I don&#8217;t even know if I believe that entire statement. \u00a0The word I would change is the word &#8220;simple.&#8221; \u00a0That is because anytime there are problems in our lives, seldom is the answer to the problem simple to fix. \u00a0However, there is something that can help us learn to better navigate through problems in marriage, family, church, and our country. \u00a0I would love to take credit for this, but I can&#8217;t. \u00a0The credit for this one goes to a pastor who I am blessed to call a friend. \u00a0The answer is the title of this blog, S.T.A.Y. \u00a0You probably have noticed that the word &#8220;stay&#8221; is going to be used as an acronym. \u00a0S.T.A.Y. stands for, Stop Thinking About Yourself. \u00a0That&#8217;s it, that&#8217;s the answer to navigating and working through many the problems we face. \u00a0It is just that simple, yet also that complicated.<\/p>\n<p>How do we know that is the answer? \u00a0We know it is because most of the problems we face we want to play the victim and blame others. \u00a0We often convince ourselves that if people would do things our way, then everything would work out just fine. \u00a0We convince ourselves that everyone else injures us, and we seldom see how we have injured others. \u00a0Those things come natural, because they are rooted in our sin nature. \u00a0They are physical manifestations of our pride. \u00a0However, if I choose to not see myself as a victim and I choose not to blame others; rather, I do some introspection and ask, what is my role in this, things can be changed for the better. \u00a0How do we know this? \u00a0We know it from what Scripture says in Philippians 2:5-8, &#8220;Let this mind be in your, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made i the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.&#8221; \u00a0There are three words in this passage that are important. \u00a0They are the words: humble, servant, and obedient. \u00a0So let&#8217;s ask the question that we ask towards the end of every sermon at WBC. \u00a0How do we do this? \u00a0So what?<\/p>\n<p><strong>How Can We S.T.A.Y<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>It is only possible through the power of the Holy<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Spirit<\/strong>. \u00a0If we are going to have the mind of Christ, then we must belong to Christ. \u00a0As a child of God, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit to indwell us for the purposes of conviction, teaching, and helping us walk with Christ. \u00a0Blaming others and playing the victim are evidence of our sin nature. \u00a0Choosing to put others first is a work of God.<\/li>\n<li><strong>We must be humble<\/strong>. \u00a0Humility is choosing to put others first. \u00a0It is intentionally putting their needs, wants, and wishes ahead of yours.<\/li>\n<li><strong>We must see ourself as a servant<\/strong>. \u00a0Scripture is full of verses and passages that remind us that we are stewards or managers, not owners. \u00a0James 1:17 tells us that &#8220;every good gift and perfect gift comes from above.&#8221; \u00a0Jesus, God Himself as we see in Philippians 2 and many other passages, the One who deserves to be served said in Mark 10:45, &#8220;The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.&#8221; \u00a0If Jesus, while in human form, saw Himself as a servant, how much more should we see ourselves as a servant? \u00a0Instead of asking, how can this help me or how can others help me accomplish what I want; we need to ask, how can I serve you?<\/li>\n<li><strong>We must be obedient<\/strong>. \u00a0This is where the rubber meets the road. \u00a0It is one thing to know what to do, it is another thing entirely to actually do it. \u00a0Yet James 1:22 tells us, &#8220;Be doers of the world, not hearers only deceiving ourselves.&#8221; Too often we become spiritually constipated, that is we listen to preaching, we read Scripture, but then it just stays in our minds. \u00a0It never affects how we live. \u00a0And satan convinces us that we have somehow worshipped and we are doing what God wants us to when all we do is passively listen or agree with Scripture. \u00a0Yet Scripture tells us that blessings from God come when we read it, heed it, and do it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let&#8217;s be honest, this isn&#8217;t easy. \u00a0It hasn&#8217;t been easy and it won&#8217;t be easy. \u00a0But if we want to see God move in our hearts, heal our marriages, strengthen our families, strengthen and use our churches, and change our country; this is what we must do. \u00a0So the word for today and the next time we feel hurt, used, or neglected, choose instead to S.T.A.Y. \u00a0Love God, love others, and serve everyone for the glory of God!<\/p>\n<p>Pastor Justin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What if I was to tell you that there is a fairly simple answer to problems in your marriage, family, job, church, and even our country? \u00a0Would you believe me? \u00a0I don&#8217;t even know if I believe that entire statement. &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westlakebaptist.org\/blog\/s-t-a-y\/\">Read More <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westlakebaptist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westlakebaptist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westlakebaptist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westlakebaptist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westlakebaptist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=559"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.westlakebaptist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":560,"href":"https:\/\/www.westlakebaptist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559\/revisions\/560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westlakebaptist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westlakebaptist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westlakebaptist.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}