SPIRITUAL PURPOSE
Spiritual purpose has nothing to do with where you work and everything to do with how you live. I always thought the two should line up. Wro
Month: May 2020
What The Bible Says
3 John 1:11 Don’t go along with evil. Model the good. The person who does good does God’s work. The person who does evil falsifies God, doesn’t know the first thing about God.
Exodus 23:2 Don’t go along with the crowd in doing evil and don’t fudge your testimony in a case just to please the crowd.
John 10:27 My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me.
GRUMBLERS
The grumbler takes no time to count their blessings.
What The Bible Says
God claims Earth and everything in it, God claims World and all who live on it. He built it on Ocean foundations, laid it out on River girders. Psalms 24:1-2
SEEING RED
God can remove sin from our lives. We don’t need to suffer the consequences of our past forever.
STOP HIDING
Proverbs 28:13 Anyone who hides his sins doesn’t succeed. But anyone who admits his sins and gives them up finds mercy.
It’s time to stop hiding our faults and flaws.
A lot of the faults and flaws in my life were things I developed to protect me. I no longer need to protect myself. Why? Because God protects me. He has the power, knowledge and wisdom of heaven and earth and He is my heavenly Father.
He promises he will never leave or forsake me. He will take care of all my needs and He will equip me to deal with whatever comes my way in life.
Why would I want to hide from Him? He loves me unconditionally and I trust Him.
Your recovery depends on dealing with the grunts, groans, and murmuring that became your every day living. How often did you refuse to confess your addiction ? Everyone on this planet, at some time, has agreed with the enemy’s lies and kept their secrets and frustrations locked inside
When I kept it all inside, my bones turned to powder, my words became daylong groans. Psa 32:3
Now I’m alert to God’s ways; I don’t take God for granted. Psa 18:21
Don’t, resent God’s discipline; don’t sulk under his loving correction. Pro 3:11
Prayer: God help me today to let You see the real me and make changes if You need to.
Any Lengths
Page 58 – Chapter 5 The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous
Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened and what we are like now. If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any lengths to get it you are ready to take certain steps. At some of these we balked. We tought we could find an easier softer way but we could not. Remember we deal with alcohol, cunning, baffling and powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power – that One is God. May you find Him now.
How far are you willing to go to achieve and maintain your recovery from addiction and compulsion? Have you tried and failed in the past? Do you get so far, seem to be going well and then relapse? Thinking you were going well as you became complacent, stopped attending meetings, implementing what you have learned?
Tonight, I want us to take an honest look at our willingness to go to any lengths. What are we doing to discover God’s will for our lives and seeking His power to carry it out?
I. TRUST GOD IN EVERYTHING
Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Proverbs 3:5-7
II. THE ENERGY YOU ARE EXPERIENCING IS GOD’S ENERGY That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure. Philippians 2:13
III. PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING
Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.” Matthew 26:41
IV. KEEP MOVING FORWARD
Your heart’s been in the right place all along. You’ve got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it. 2Corinthians 8:11
V. WORK AT IT Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won’t be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. 2 Timothy 2:15
VI. RECOVERY REQUIRES CHANGES
Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32
VII. THERE IS A PURPOSE TO RECOVERY
We neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing. Ephesians 2:10
DISCUSSION STARTER
2 Corinthians 10:3 I do live in the world. But I don’t fight my battles the way the people of the world do.
Recovery causes conflict. You will find that because of what you are learning in recovery you no longer think like other people. You no longer act like other people. For some of those people that is going create conflict.
In Luke 12:51 Jesus says “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you. I have come to separate people.”
There is no middle ground in recovery. You are either in or you are out. It requires commitment. Even when conflict arises. Conflict for me in the process of recovery meant moving away from everyone and everything I knew and loved. It added a new dimension to the phrase. If you love it set it free.
ARE YOU WILLING TO GO TO ANY LENGTHS TO OBTAIN AND MAINTAIN RECOVERY
ALL THIS AND MORE
The time has come When the Lord will save his people. Your shame and disgrace are ended. Everyone who sees them will know That they are a people whom I have blessed. Isaiah 61:2,7,9
The proclamation of Isaiah, six hundred years before Jesus came on His mission and ministry. Those of us who have experienced rock bottom are able to clutch tightly to this message of redeeming power. Centuries before His arrival on earth Jesus was announced as our Deliverer. Able to reach down into the lowest parts of our lives and carry out a rescue mission on our lives. The problem is not enough people on this earth have relented from their self-imposed captivity and called upon Him to deliver them from sin and oppression.
How blessedly relevant is the ‘Good News’ Christ IS our One True Higher Power. He brings us release if we allow Him complete control of our lives. He imparts songs of joy which overthrow sorrow and remorse, grief and distress. He is a life promoter. He establishes righteousness. He plants us like trees in His Kingdom, transplants us from our old wilderness.
All of this placed alongside the promise made to those who have squandered much of life. It is time to about-turn , trust God, turn to Him and allow His wonders to come into uout hearts and lives.
What The Bible Says
There’s no such thing as self-rescue, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. The cost of rescue is beyond our means. Psa 49:7-8
Wait and watch for God— with God’s arrival comes love, with God’s arrival comes generous redemption.
Psa 130:7
God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. Rom 3:24
“These are some of the signs that will accompany believers: They will throw out demons in my name, they will speak in new tongues, they will take snakes in their hands, they will drink poison and not be hurt, they will lay hands on the sick and make them well.” Mar 16:17-18
PRAYER
Maker of heaven and earth redeem my past according to Your will and purpose. Fit me for service, lift me from sin by Your saving grace. Bring me deeper into relationship with You. Amen
GOD’S PLAN FIRST
Proverbs 16:7When the way you live pleases the Lord, he makes even your enemies live at peace with you.
In the process of recovery, you will always have mockers.
As I have matured in recovery, especially in the early days it is surprising how many people have wanted to take credit for my development. I have often wondered how many of them would still want to take credit if I fell in a heap? One of the hardest things I had to do in my life is accept that I only have to please an audience of One. One of the best messages I ever received from God came from a throwaway line by Pastor TD Jakes who said ”What if God wants to do something totally different right now and He wants to do it through you?” I think about that question often
What The Bible Says
God is pleased when you are faithful to Him. It demonstrates you commitment. Joh 6:29 Jesus said, “Throw your lot in with the One that God has sent. That kind of a commitment gets you in on God’s works.”
God is pleased when yo obey Him. It demonstrates your love. Joh 8:29 “The One who sent me stays with me. He doesn’t abandon me. He sees how much joy I take in pleasing him.”
God is pleased when you trust Him. It demonstrates your faith. Heb 11:6 It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.
Have you ever had to ignore others to follow God?
REBUILDING
It is common for people to think that their experiences, their convictions, are true and should be the norm. Different peoples ideas are thought to be inferior or invalid. What matters is what God’s Word says. The more we know God’s Word, the more we read it, study it, memorize it, and meditate on it, the better we will be able to decide what is right and best practice for our lives.
We are in the business of repairing damage done to us and by us. This entails rebuilding our lives to a standard of God’ order.
Demolition of the walls we have erected and tend to hide behind can be ruthless and far reaching. Nothing of our past should be left untouched if we plan to move forward in our lives. The new plan for our life requires dismantling our whole structure of living.
No one can be my disciple who does not carry his own cross and follow me. “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if he has enough money to pay the bills? Luk 14:27-28
In 1990 I was involved in The Salvation Army’s Alcohol Awareness Week the slogan of which was “Some Drinking Costs More Than Money.” Recovery costs it is simple but not easy. Let God lead, let Him help you to rebuild your life and become the person He is calling you to be.