Word Keeper

Worship song:

Come to Jesus

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The audio

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Celebrate RECOVERY is program that helps people recover from different situations. The program uses the eight Beatitudes in Matthew 5 to help people with their problems…. Today we’ll look at all eight, but we’re going to focus on the first three.

Do you have an addiction? Alcohol? Tobacco? Pornography? Gambling? Drugs? … Maybe it’s not something we normally classify as an addiction. Anger? Lying? Perfectionism? Control? Fear? Anxiety? Shame? letting go of your past? Relationships that don’t work out? … Or maybe you don’t have these problems, but you probably know someone else who does. You can share this method with them. … These are also steps to the Kingdom. It’s how you can come to God.

Each of these statements is a paradox. They are the opposite of human nature.

Matthew 5:3-5

Realize that you are not God. Admit that you are powerless to control your tendency to do the wrong thing (5:3). The reality choice. … You cannot manage your problem on your own. We all think we can handle our own problems, and we’ll almost always try to do it on our own first because it’s our human nature to do so. … Jesus says that’s the wrong way to go. We have to admit that we can’t do it on our own, and that we need His help to overcome the problem. … We all need His help, we are all “poor in spirit” but only those of us who admit it will truly be happy. … This is also the first step in becoming a Christian. … Here’s the video we watched in church. (You may want to skip forward in the audio about three minutes now.) Do you have a pet gorilla?

Earnestly believe that God exists, that you matter to Him, and that He has the power to help you recover (5:4). The hope Choice. … After admitting you have a problem, you will be bothered by the pain that it has caused. You will mourn the pain that you caused your loved ones and yourself. But without pain, there is no healing. … Until you are broken, you cannot receive anything. … those who grieve will be comforted. There is hope for those who grieve. … As long as you are comfortable with what they are doing will be afflicted. Those who mourn will be comforted.

Consciously choose to commit all of your life and will to Christ’s care and control (5:5). The commitment choice. … The word ‘meek’ is misunderstood too often. We often associate it with being weak or wimpy, but it really means strength that has been committed or surrendered or submitted. … Jesus was meek, but certainly not weak. Remember how He cleared out the temple in the last week of His life? He hung on a cross and could have called down angels to save Him, but He had submitted to God the Father. … We need to follow Jesus’s example and commit our life to God so He can help us when we need it.

… Here’s the other five.

Openly examine and confess your faults to yourself, to God, and to someone you trust . The house-cleaning choice.

Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in your life and humbly ask Him to remove your character defects. The transformation choice.

Evaluate all your relationships. Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt you and amends for the harm you have done to others. The relationship choice.

Reserve a daily time with God. The growth choice.

Yield yourself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others. The sharing choice.

… It’s more than a head decision. It’s an issue of the heart.

Jason religion, Sunday Sermon