September 8, 2013

Celebrate Recovery: Growing together to be free to be everything that God created us to be.

Our goal is to help each other be truly free to become who we were created and redeemed to be.

Celebrate -to show happiness that something good or special has happened

Recovery-to get back something previously lost or its equivalent; the return of something to a normal or improved state after a setback or loss

Gen 1:26-28

Gal 5:22

Col 3:12-15

Phil 4:11-13

1 Peter 1:8

John 10:10

1 Peter 5:8-9 a

Gen 1:28

Satan’s only weapon is deception. He is the father of lies. He is against the human race and his agenda is to destroy the human race. He does that through deception.

Gen 3:1-5

The foundation of all of Satan’s lies are from two basic lies that are in the first lies recorded.

1. God is not enough.

The covert lie that God is not enough is the lie at the root of most of our problems.

2. The other root lie of Satan is, You are not enough.

3. This lie that I am not enough is the cause of most emotional problems. It is depressing to have the overwhelming feeling that I am not enough. It causes anxiety, fear, shame, condemnation.

Because we are in this battle, we need help.

Eph 6:12

The 8 Principles

Principle 1- Realize I’m not God; I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable. (Step 1) “Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor.” (Matthew 5:3)

Principle 2- Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover. (Step 2) “Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)

Principle 3- Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control. (Step 3) “Happy are the meek.” (Matthew 5:5)

Principle 4- Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust. (Steps 4 and 5) “Happy are the pure in heart.” (Matthew 5:8)

Principle 5- Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. (Steps 6 and 7) “Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires.” (Matthew 5:6)

Principle 6- Evaluate all my relationships; offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm I’ve done to others except when to do so would harm them or others. (Steps 8 and 9) “Happy are the merciful.” “Happy are the peacemakers.” (Matt 5:7, 5:9)

Principle 7- Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will. (Steps 10 and 11)

Principle 8- Yield myself to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words. (Step 12) “Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires.” (Matthew 5:10)