Emanuel Valdovinos

TUESDAY BIBLE STUDY: DYING TO THE OLD SELF There comes a point in every man’s life where the next version of him cannot coexist with the old version of him. we pray for a new life. New opportunities. New relationships. New levels of wisdom. New levels of responsibility. But sometimes we keep trying to drag the old man into the new season. GOD is not always asking you to add something. Sometimes He is asking you to let something die. Old habits. Old identities. Old anger. Old addictions. Old environments. Old ways of thinking. Old versions of yourself that were necessary for survival but are no longer necessary for where GOD is taking you. VERSE 1: 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Interpretation: Notice the order. The old passes away and the new comes. We cannot ask GOD for transformation while fighting to preserve everything about who we used to be. Becoming a new man requires surrendering the identity of the old man. Sometimes we hold onto our past because it is familiar. Even pain can become comfortable when we have carried it long enough. But your history may explain you, it does not have to define you. the question is not who have you been? The question is who is GOD calling you to become? VERSE 2: Romans 6:6 “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed…” Interpretation: The Bible doesn’t say manage the old man. It says crucify him. There are things inside of us that cannot be negotiated with. You cannot keep feeding the same habits, thoughts and behaviors that created your old life while expecting a completely different future. This is where discipline becomes spiritual. Every time you choose prayer over distraction, discipline over comfort, forgiveness over resentment, responsibility over excuses and obedience over emotion, another piece of the old man dies. Transformation is rarely one massive decision. It is thousands of small decisions that prove you are no longer who you used to be. VERSE 3: Ephesians 4:22-24 “That ye 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 ye put on the new man…” Interpretation: This is powerful because Paul gives us the process. Put off the old man. Renew your mind. Put on the new man. There is something between letting go of the old and stepping into the new: renewal of the mind. If your thinking doesn’t change, eventually you will return to the same behaviors. This is why we have to be careful what we consume, who we surround ourselves with, what we repeatedly tell ourselves and what we allow our minds to focus on. You cannot build a new life with an old operating system. WARRIOR SUMMARY Men, sometimes the hardest funeral you will ever attend is the funeral of the man you used to be. Because that man got you here. He survived things. He fought battles. He made mistakes. He developed defenses. He learned how to survive. Honor the lessons, but do not worship the identity. There will be seasons where GOD begins removing things from your life and it feels like everything is falling apart. But sometimes what feels like destruction is actually preparation. The seed has to disappear into the ground before anything new comes through the surface. Stop trying to resurrect versions of yourself that GOD is asking you to bury. The angry man has to die. The undisciplined man has to die. The victim has to die. The man who constantly needs validation has to die. The man controlled by his past has to die. The man who knows what GOD is asking him to do but keeps delaying it has to die. Not physically. Spiritually. And on the other side is a man with greater peace, discipline, wisdom, patience, strength and obedience. Warriors rise!