Everybody good to be back with you on the becoming a whole podcast. Listen, today’s podcast, I have three simple mental shifts for you. Three simple changes you can make, the way that you’re thinking about things that will help you in your journey towards sexual integrity. And what my hope is that I offer these three simple mental shifts, it’ll actually open up kind of a new world for you in regards to how you’re thinking about how you’re approaching your journey towards sexual integrity. So you’re ready, here they are. Simple shift, simple mental shift, these are all mental shifts, simple mental shift, number one, when you have an opportunity to sin, when you feel that sense that this man is you know, that the stars have aligned, and this is just too good to pass up. You know, maybe you’re home alone, and something and you have an opportunity to look at pornography, maybe somebody crosses your path and, and you, no one’s around, no one will see you looking, maybe just that person is coming up to you at the bar on your business trip, whatever it might be, I want you to mentally shift thinking about opportunity to sin. And instead shift to this is an opportunity to grow. So mental shift from this as an opportunity to sin to this as an opportunity to grow. And the crux of that really is that every single one of us if we have wrestled with habitual sexual sin, addictive, sexual sin compulsive sexual sin, the reality is that we’re going to encounter times where we do not want to resist, where it’s going to be difficult, we’re going to face resistance, towards healing towards integrity towards righteousness. And so those opportunities to sin actually have to be faced and flipped on their head. So they really are opportunities to grow and making it through making it past an opportunity to sin. And finding yourself on the other side without having sins actually means that you have moved towards your goal you have grown. And I think you know that feeling, I think you’ve had at least a glimpse of a moment where you resisted sin, and it felt so good when you when you got to the other side of that and the sin was and the temptation was gone. Like man, I want more of that. It’s an opportunity to grow. That’s the simple mental shift. Number one, simple mental shift number two, and this is actually it’s simple. But it’s a biggie, you’re ready. I want you to shift from recognizing or thinking that every time you hear the word I or me, in your thoughts, shift to asking the question, Is it really me talking to simple mental shift? So for example, I’m talking specifically around temptation. When you hear yourself saying things like, I want this, or I can’t help myself, or I love this in too much, or I’ll start tomorrow, or I’m just gonna give myself one more time. Those kinds of things. Ask yourself, is that really me talking? Or could it be the enemy? Could it be the enemy of my soul? Talking? Neal Anderson writes this in his book bondage breaker years and years ago, he wrote this, he said, when the enemy speaks to us, he often uses the first person not identifying himself as who he is, but pretending to be us pretending to be our voice. And when we can recognize that difference and make that simple mental shift in our mind that this is actually not me wanting this, this is the enemy wanting this for me. And so just try this. Try this simple mental shift when you hear yourself saying things like I want to sin, I want to watch this porn. I want XYZ, change the word to you. You want this and see if it doesn’t change how it feels in your heart. I mean, it’s one thing to be saying to yourself, and this is why the enemy I think uses the first person’s one thing to say, I want to indulge in this sin it’s nothing to hear a malevolent voice saying to you, you want this sexual sin and so shift the shift that the person to you to the second person and hear it as your enemy speaking to you and see if it doesn’t kick up your resistance a notch see if it doesn’t help you to go Hold on a second. Now that’s just that’s the mental shift but I also add this don’t just listen to yourself don’t just listen to that that voice also talk back to it in Jesus name. So I really want to indulge in the sexual said, Oh, I can’t pass up this opportunity. Shift the mental shift to hearing it as you can’t pass this up. It’s the malevolent voice malevolent voice means you harm saying you can’t pass this up. You You want this you know you do. And then you respond to it. I do not want this, my desire is the Lord, my body is made for the Lord, not for sin, in the name of Jesus, no. And you might even want to speak out loud to it. Because sometimes the enemy likes to just get in our head. So speak out loud, and use the name of Jesus. Because if it is the enemy, the enemy hates the name of Jesus. So use it. So mental shift, recognize that sometimes when you hear I or me that first person, it’s actually the enemy talking to you, and hear it in that voice. And listen, even if it’s not the enemy, if even if there’s not outside temptation. And it’s just a voice that you’ve heard yourself saying over and over again, recognize this, the enemy would be saying it to you. And so speak to yourself, don’t just therapist I know says don’t just listen to yourself, speak to yourself. So even if it is just you, it doesn’t hurt to in the name of Jesus say No, I don’t want that in Jesus name. I say, No, I want wholeness in my life, I want to walk rightly with the Lord. Or that’s mental shift number two, ready for mental shift number three, again, it’s a, it’s a slight one. But it’s a big one. Hopefully, it’ll open up a world for you begin recognizing when you’re thinking about temptation, that you are not really thinking about temptation, you are thinking about people. Let me explain. So oftentimes, especially if somebody travels to a certain part of the country, or spring rolls around, and people start to wear less clothing, I’ve heard so many people refer to those times, like there’s temptation everywhere. I’m being tempted on every side. So shift your mental thought there from I’m being tempted on every side, or there’s temptation everywhere to there are people everywhere. There are people everywhere, there are people on every side of me should make that mental shift and practice that because she is not a temptation, he is not a temptation, that is not who they are. That’s not their identity. And that’s in the core of who they are in their heart of hearts. They don’t want to be thought of as a temptation. They want to be a human person and treated with the dignity and honor and love that they’re made for by God. And so make that mental shift from I’m being tempted, or there’s temptation around me to, there are people around me. And part of what I hope that does for you is it opens up a world to to begin to see not body parts, tempting you, not sexual activity, tempting you, but a person, a human person who has the deep longings and desires and needs and wounds and hurts that you have. Because they’re human person just like you. So those are the three mental shifts. Simple, right? First mental shift, shifting from thinking about this as an opportunity to sin, shifting it to this as an opportunity to grow. Alright, you come home, no one’s home, not an opportunity to sin, opportunity to grow. Secondly, shift from this is me talking. This is me, wanting to wanting sexual sin wanting temptation right now to know this is what the enemy of my soul wants for me. So shifting from the first person to the second person, not hearing yourself, say I want to sin sexually, I want to indulge sexually, but hearing that as a malevolent voice saying, you want to sin sexually. You want to do this and then talking back to that voice in the name of Jesus. No, I don’t I was made for the Lord, not for sexual sin. And then mental shift number three, shifting from thinking about temptation as temptation to thinking about as people, especially in the area of sexual sin, we are not tempted by temptation. We are we are tempted to wrongly see people and so shift from thinking about the people around you. And their body parts system station to these are people these are whole people with stories, and loves and needs just like I have. Lord, help us to see and think rightly, we want to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, Lord, and so would you help us to renew our minds by making these mental shifts in whatever way and whatever times will be most helpful for us? We ask these things the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Amen.