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.
To the point of saying I quit! It will not get better. And then you have to deal with depression.
This cycle continues until it is broken.
How do you break that cycle?
By committing yourself to God.
Realizing that He is the only one that can help you.
You realize that there is a God and that He cares about you.
You matter to God.
Instead of running away from God. You take a step toward God.
You admit that you are not going to do this by yourself.
For those that have never committed their lives to Christ, that means today that you do that. For those that have committed their lives to Him, and have drifted away, today, you recommit your life and give Him care and control.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
I will make it easier
I will help you
I will give you rest.
Great deal, why would anybody turn that down?
Because He says we have to commit to Him.
We have to choose Him.
We have to take our hands off the things that we cannot fix.
Begin to move forward.
Taking a step forward sometimes feels like you have Herman Munster shoes on. Heavy and you cannot pick up your feet.
I heard a good phrase-
It’s not the size of your faith that matters; it is WHO and WHAT you put your faith in that matters.
You have to commit and decide what you want.
Step across the line of decision and commit. Okay God, here I am. Help me.
Illustration-
I have tried to tell you some things about me and I have been transparent, not because I have such a great story, or that that is easy for me, but because God doesn’t give up on us and I am proof of that. I committed my life to him at 14 years old. Between the ages of 14-28, I made plenty of mistakes, some shared, some shouldered, and a lot that were shed under the blood of Christ, I had them all. But God did not give up on me. He made Himself known, I knew after I committed myself to him that He wanted me to change, but I fought Him on it. ( Know what I am talking about?)
Commit…you can’t outrun Him and you cannot fool Him. You have to bring the broken pieces to Him and commit to Him.
O. Openly examine
“Happy are the pure in heart.”
There has to be an occasional housecleaning in your life.
You cannot outrun your past and you cannot continue to carry the burdens to the point of breaking.
1 John 1:9-
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
The Bible tells us to confess our sins to God, not because He does not already know them, but because we want Him to intervene and help us. We also need an accountability partner and should seek help from someone we can trust.
If we are to ever know the joy of the Lord, the joy of a pure heart, it will come from letting go and letting God deal with guilt and shame and move us to repentance and a clear conscious.
Guilt destroys our confidence and God restores.
Guilt keeps us stuck in the past and God want us to live in the future.
Guilt damages relationships and God wants relationships restored.
Things that need to be done
Confess them to God- Make it right where you can.
Take responsibility for them.
Ask God for forgiveness.
Repent and turn away.
Accept God’s forgiveness and forgive yourself.
Here’s the thing, God gave us a mind and a conscience.
As a believer, He also gave us His Holy Spirit. We cannot hide from ourselves. That is why we cannot move away from our problems, change jobs, start a new relationship. These will not help the problem if you are the problem.
Do not deceive yourself
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
God will help us when we ask, and when He does, make sure you forgive yourself.
Note- if you have been abused, physically or sexually- I cannot imagine the pain you have, but I want you to know that you can write not guilty across that offence. No part of that abuse was your fault. Reject the lie that any part of it was your fault.
Receive God’s healing, receive God’s comfort, and be determined that you will not let the past define how you are going to live the future.
V- Voluntarily submit-
You and I need a transformational change from God- not man-made. We need to ask God to remove character defects and replace them with God given talents and strengths. We keep grabbing the wheel and we keep heading in the wrong direction because we are trying to do it in our strength instead of God’s strength.
Once you realize and accept He has forgiven you, you will let Him change you.
God loves you too much to leave you the way you are- ever heard that before?
Why does it take so long to change a character defect?
Because we have had it so long. Human nature is to hold unto something you have had or done for a long time. Even if it is bad for you.
Because change is hard and Satan will discourage you every chance he gets.
Because we identify with our character flaw instead of who we are in Christ Jesus.
Closing,
This morning I want you to focus on changing one defect in your life and let God have and do it in your life.
I want you to focus on a victory that you get this week and maybe you will have to look real hard, but find and hold unto it this week.
The Lord is in the healing business and our new celebrate recovery group will see God do some amazing things and we know that the devil will be mad.
Voluntarily submit to Him those things that need to change. There is something that each and everyone of us could give Him this morning.
Next week, we will try to finish up and you will hear a testimony from Leo on God’s goodness and His mercy and love. You want to hear his whole story, you will have to come to recovery sessions.
Amen.
