AWAKEN TO CHANGE 40 DAYS DEVOTIONAL 2021 THE JOURNEY ONE CHURCH ONE DEVOTION 40 DAYS #Journey40Days theJourney.cc Share What Impacts You #Journey40Days CONTENTS WEEK ONE .................................1 WEEK FOUR ..............................51 Day 1 ................................. 2 Day 21 ............................... 52 Day 2 ................................. 4 Day 22 ............................... 55 Day 3 ................................. 6 Day 23 ............................... 57 Day 4 ................................. 8 Day 24 ............................... 59 Day 5 ................................. 10 Day 25 ............................... 61 Day 6 ................................. 12 Day 26 ............................... 64 WEEK TWO ................................15 Day 27 ............................... 67 Day 7 ................................. 16 WEEK FIVE ................................71 Day 8 ................................. 18 Day 28 ............................... 72 Day 9 ................................. 20 Day 29 ............................... 74 Day 10 ............................... 22 Day 30 ............................... 77 Day 11 ............................... 25 Day 31 ............................... 79 Day 12 ............................... 27 Day 32 .............................. 81 Day 13 ............................... 30 Day 33 ............................... 84 WEEK THREE...........................33 Day 34 ............................... 87 Day 14 ............................... 34 WEEK SIX ...................................91 Day 15 ............................... 36 DAY 35 .............................. 92 Day 16 ............................... 38 DAY 36 .............................. 94 Day 17 ............................... 40 DAY 37 .............................. 97 Day 18 ............................... 42 Day 38 ............................... 99 Day 19 ............................... 44 Day 39 ............................... 102 Day 20 ............................... 47 Day 40 ............................... 104 CONTRIBUTORS ...................109 REFERENCES ...........................110 ii INTRODUCTION All of us have said, “Something needs to change,” at some point. You may find yourself saying it often! We are constantly looking for ways to improve our situation. Maybe you are desiring change in your marriage, singleness, school, job, finances, or in parenting. The real question is what have you changed? We truly desire change, but the problem is when we look to ourselves to change it. What can WE do to create the change we want? Is it a new spouse? A different schedule? A better job? A different major in school? Another self-help book? But we end up feeling like a failure when the change we are seeking doesn’t come. We are left still wanting something more. We scroll through social media and think that other people must have just stumbled upon the change they desired. “They are so lucky!” Is change something that we just stumble upon? Or is it something that we Awaken to? Join us for 40 days as we learn that change is all about following Jesus. Real, lasting change happens when we are following Him with our whole heart. Throughout these 40 days we are going to look at how every area of your life can be transformed through Christ spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically, relationally, and even financially. The Gospel of Jesus Christ can change everything. You just have to be willing to Awaken to Change. I believe these next 40 days can completely transform your life. Though there is nothing magical about the number, the Bible reveals that God considers 40 days to be a spiritually significant time period in which people are transformed. In fact, in the Bible, any time God wanted to get His people ready to be used mightily for Him, He took 40 days to prepare them. If you are faithful and journey with us during these next 40 days, iii I know God will bring the Gospel to life and help you Awaken to Change. You are heading toward an encounter with the living God that will overwhelm you with more joy, engulf you with more hope, and astonish you with more love than you have ever known before. But like any journey, in order to follow Christ, you have to take some faith steps. I am asking you to commit to the following faith steps as we go through this 40 Day journey together: 1. Participate in all six weekend worship experiences. Each week, the sermons will examine what it means to what it means to be awaken to change. 2. Read the daily readings in the 40 Days devotional. Set aside about 15 minutes at the same time each day to read the text, think about the principles, and allow God to change you as you gain a deeper understanding of how you were made for so much more. Every relationship takes time. Your relationship with Christ is no exception. Guard this time. 3. Join with others to discuss the week’s teachings. True transformation never happens alone, but by challenging each other to seek hard after God. If you are not currently in a small group, you can join one of our 40 Days Short-Term Groups. Visit theJourney.cc/ groups to find out more. 4. Memorize a simple Bible verse each week from the 40 iv Days devotional that will help you focus on accepting Jesus’ invitation. Each week you will be given a weekly Bible verse to memorize that fits the theme of the week. Write this verse down and hang it someplace where you will constantly see it. This will help you memorize and meditate on the verse throughout the week. Memorizing scripture may seem like a challenge, but I encourage you to take this opportunity to grow deeper in your walk with God through this key spiritual habit. 5. Sacrifice just one thing over the next 40 days as a statement to yourself and to God of your commitment to follow Him. Sacrifice helps you to clearly focus on God and allows Him the opportunity to really work in your life. This means that for 40 days, you will give up something from your everyday life that occupies your time in order to free you to spend that time with God. You never feel more satisfied than when you are walking in God’s purpose for your life. My prayer is that over the next 40 days, God will use His Holy Spirit, His Word, the community of small groups, and this devotional to show you that you were made for more. I am asking you to commit to the following faith steps as we go through this 40 day journey together. In Christ, Pastor James Hilton v WEEK ONE THE SOURCE OF CHANGE MEMORY VERSE Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1–2 NIV Everyone wants to change, but very few people actually experience change in life—but that is about to end for you. It’s time for defeat to end and for you to walk in wholeness. It’s time for you to live again, believe again. God can turn bondage into breakthrough, difficulty into destiny, obstacles into opportunities, and brokenness into beauty you just have to be willing to let Him work. Change is only as strong as its source. Your source for change is not a routine or program. Change is available to anyone who is willing to simply follow Jesus Christ! Jesus offers a totally new way to live, resurrection power flowing through you that transforms you completely. Awakening you to who God is, who you are to God, and all that God can do through you. 1 DAY 1 The Only Source for Change By Pastor James Hilton Read Hebrews 12:1–2 and 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 One of the greatest joys of pastoring at the Journey is that God has given me a front row seat to see profound life change in people’s lives. People whose lives have been awakened to change through the power of God. Yet, my heart also hurts when I see so many people still living in defeat and despair. People who are trapped by severe insecurities, gripped by constant fear, and overcome with guilt. When I hear their stories, they express they feel hopeless and stuck in defeat. They have tried to change, desperately clawing to be freed, but nothing seems to be changing. How did some people experience constant breakthroughs and others stay stuck in defeat? Why do some people change and others feel like victims, wishing that change will one day come? We will spend the next 40 Days answering that question. But, let me just give you the answer up front so you don’t have to turn to Day 40 for the answer. Are you ready? It’s your faith in what changes you that actually changes you. What you place your faith in to change, determines how you think about change, how you understand difficulties in seeking change, and, ultimately, what course of action you take to get the breakthrough you want. It’s critical that you place your faith in the right source to change you, or you will constantly feel defeated, trapped, and overwhelmed because change will never come. If your source for change is not powerful enough to actually change you, then it is not the right source. Change is only as strong as its source. Over these 40 Days, you will see that your source for change must be God. If God is not the source, change is just a wishful thought! 2 It’s your faith in Jesus Christ that is the source that awakens you to change. Jesus, Son of God, lived a perfect life, died for your sins, and was raised from the dead on the third day. This event becomes the foundation for change. Through Jesus Christ, you are given the invitation to live a new life with God. You can place your faith in Him to change you because “The One who calls you is faithful, and He WILL DO IT!” (1 Thessalonians 5:24 NIV) When Jesus died on the cross, He died to take away your sins, satisfying the demands of God’s law, so that you can live reunited with God. Jesus triumphed over Satan, disarming the power that Satan holds over people—the power of sin and death.