Life Choices Part Two Series

Life choices part 2

Matthew 5:1-5:12

This sermon was gleamed out of material from Rick Warren and the starting of a celebrate revocery group at our church.

last week we began a series looking at life choices.

We will be starting a recovery support group at Rosedale.

One of the things that happen when you launch a new group or study is that most people never really grasp what it is that is done in those groups. This is why we are spending a few weeks talking about the group and how it ties to Scripture of what a church ought to be doing to help people in their hurts, habits, and hang-ups.

We borrowed from John baker of celebrate Recovery the Acrostic R.E.C.O.V.E.R.Y. The Eight principals from God’s Word and the 12 step program that can help people recovery and move forward. We got thru 2 from the Acrostics.

R. - Realize that you are not God

“Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

We saw that happy are those that realize without God that they are spiritually bankrupt.

Admitting that you are powerless to control the situation is the first step in any recovery.

That trying to fix things that only God is able to fix is not only frustrating, but will still leave you broken.

We sometimes are in denial. We say things like “I can handle it.”, I’m okay, I don’t need your help, I can quit anytime.

E- Earnestly believe that God exists.

Denial will keep us from God’s help and distance us from those that want to help us.

We know that God exist, we don’t want to admit He is there because that would be a blatant rejection of Him.

We prefer to run from Him and reject the facts that are in front of us and claim ignorance or a lack of finding Him for a relationship.

Realize today that God exists and that you matter to God.

Stop running away from Him and start running towards Him.

Time is a band aid for the problems that we face today. Time does not heal, only God heals.

“Blessed are those that mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Don’t be confused, it does not say, blessed are those that moan, blessed are those that mourn, and they will be comforted.

Happy are those that realize that God does have the power to help and that He desires to help.

God has the power to take you out of a situation, and He has the power to help you get through what you are going through. He uses both processes to help us.

Last thought before we get to new stuff is that 3 kinds of burdens.

Shared- we need each other and God puts people in our path to help us on our journey.

Shouldered- there is some things that because of things we have done, there is consequences and we alone have to carry those burdens. God is there to help us through.

Shed- Christ has given us victory over many things and He desires that they be dealt with and thrown into the sea of forgiveness.

New stuff- following from outline in your bulletin

C- Consciously choose-

Consciously chose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control

“Happy are the meek.”

#1Realize you need help

#2Asking God and getting help

#3 letting go and letting God in to help

Rick Warren tells the story of a delivery truck driver that was driving and at every stop light would jump out of the truck with a 2x4 and would bang on the back door of the truck. He did that at several stops until the guy behind him could stand it no more. He ran around the door, bangs on the back door of the delivery truck and the guy stops him and says what are you doing? It is a 2 ton truck and I have 4 tons of canaries on the truck. I have to keep 2 tons of the birds in the air at all times.

That is how some live their life everyday. People are desperately keeping their hurts and hang-ups up in the air so they do not come crashing down on them.

Another way of saying that is we are trying to balance too many plates and some are crashing down on us.

There is a cycle of despair.

Guilt, anger, fear, depression. Sound familiar?

You want to stop doing these things, you want help, but feel guilty about your behavior.

You wish you could stop, but you can’t.

You reason that you should be able to change.

When you cannot, at some point there is anger.

Anger over time turns to fear that you will never be able to stop, and the cycle continues.