The Greatest Change Agent Ever

1 Corinthians 15:50-57

Change is not easy for most people. It can take us out of our comfort zone. Even the smallest change can be disruptive. As a result, we resist change because the status quo is safer. We know what to expect. We have more control of our world when everything remains the same.

So what does it take for us to change? To get some idea of how to answer this question, here are the first three steps of Celebrate Recovery, a Christian twelve step program that specializes in change.

1. We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable. 

2. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.

 These steps tell us that in order to change requires reaching the bottom. When that happens you realize that your life is out of control; that you are powerless; that you can’t change on your own. Finally, you understand that you need the greatest change agent ever, Jesus Christ.

 Eugene Peterson in The Message, paraphrased that change agent in Matthew 5:3-4.

³ “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

⁴ “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

This is from the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is speaking to common people; not to folks in a twelve step program. He’s telling them that in order to change, you have to hit bottom in some sense. Otherwise, there is no need for Jesus.

Today’s passage is about when Jesus brings us home with our resurrected body. From then on, there is no sting from death nor struggle with sin. Only the joy of living life as it was meant to be; living in the presence of our Creator.

 Jesus is the greatest change agent ever. He specializes in taking us home. Thanks be to God.

Bring it into the Open

1 Timothy 5:24 (MSG)
The sins of some people are blatant and march them right into court. The sins of others don't show up until much later. The same with good deeds. Some you see right off, but none are hidden forever. 

Many of our sins are against God and against local law. These sins are obvious to everyone around us and will get us into legal trouble as well as grieving the heart of God. These sins might make the headlines in our local news, causing our neighbors to shun us.

Our actions bring public shame on us and our families. They taint our reputation and could have long-lasting repercussions.

Our credit could be affected, thereby impeding our ability to buy property. Privileges like voting or driving could be revoked. These obvious sins that are out there for the world to see and judge us by cause lots of problems; for us and those who love us.

But, there are other grievous sins which aren't obvious to the world. Evil lurks in some hearts and is concealed from the world. Given all the happenings we view on the evening news lately, we understand and recognize blatant transgressions, but there is also another element, the hidden sins.

Those sins we commit in our heart: lust, covetousness, gluttony and so on, the world does not see, but God does. These indiscretions can become habit and quickly a part of our daily routine. If not checked, they can change our character, turn us into someone we don't recognize; it can happen quickly.

Principle 7 in Celebrate Recovery, the Christian 12-Step program says for us to, "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."

Each day or night let's take time to examine ourselves, our hearts and our motives and spend time in our Bibles reading and praying. See if things don't change, see if we don't feel God's presence in every waking moment; enabling us to recognize a hidden sin and step away from it.

1 Timothy 5

Check out Celebrate Recovery here.

If you're not moving Forward, You're going Backwards

Nehemiah 9:32-38

 

Football coaches say stuff like this all the time. This mantra seems to be ingrained into them as they push their players to become better by continually improving. Urban Meyer was recently quoted as saying, “That’s my job – to push”.

 

Leading up to today’s passage, the Levites recounted how God had been faithful to the Hebrews over the centuries. He was always with them and never let them down. However, with all that the Living God did for them, the Israelites were constantly rebelling. They were as consistently inconsistent as God was consistently faithful.

 

Verse 33 says, “In all that has happened to us, you have remained righteous; you have acted faithfully, while we acted wickedly”. Recognizing this, they made yet another promise to God to be faithful to Him.

 

Does that sound familiar to you? It does to me. There have been so many times in my life when I told God, “I’m never going to do that again”, only to turn around and do it again – not just once but over and over. What is it about human nature that does that? More importantly, what can we do to counteract it?

 

In Celebrate Recovery (a Christian twelve-step program at UALC), everyone is encouraged to have a sponsor and/or an accountability partner. That person is there to help push you to improve. But pride keeps us isolated and thinking, “I can do this. I don’t need anyone else”. But we do need others because we can’t change on our own.

 

“Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed”.            James 5:16

 

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  Galatians 6:2

 

“See to it brothers and sisters that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the Living God, but encourage one another daily so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”             Hebrews 3:12-13

 

God is faithful. He is always with us. But we need someone to push us; to hold us accountable. A coach who will push us to be the best that we can be; to grow in our faith; to move us forward towards, and not go backwards from, our Lord Jesus.

 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Nehemiah%209%3A32-38&version=NIV;TLB

https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/Neh.9.32-Neh.9.38

 

John's Birthday Song

Zechariah is no longer speechless and began vocalizing with Praise.  Luke 1:68 (NIV)  "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people."  Zechariah prophesied the coming of Christ the Savior and he further predicted that his own son would pave the way.  What a proud and humbling moment that must have been.

During the Christmas season, so many of us struggle to teach our children the real meaning of Christmas. We have difficulty ourselves, remembering why God sent His Son.  We get caught up in the impossibility of Jesus work and forget His is God and nothing is impossible for Him. I heard a teaching at a Celebrate Recovery meeting that put this in such a great perspective for me.

It was pointed out that the holidays are not so 'merry' for many people.  The sins of the world weigh heavily during these days meant for merriment.  Many of us dread Christmas and just want it over with.There are too many unpleasant memories from times past and we replay those tapes every year.  The dark recollections may be of our behavior or someone else's, but either way they put a damper on the season.

Jesus came to change all that. The redemption He brought changes everything for us.  It is the Christmas gift and is meant to give peace [of mind], and comfort and joy. We who were listening to the recovery teaching were reminded Jesus didn't come to heal the healthy, but to bring wholeness to the sick. (Matthew 9:12-13) 

It was made clear that Christmas is for sinners, for the brokenhearted, for the sad and lonely; it is for you and for me. The point driven home was that Immanuel means God with us, and that he is with. No wonder Zechariah was prophesying with the words, "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people."  He was aware of the difference this would make to us, as he was the proud father of the one who would prepare the people for this Christmas message.

Luke 1:67-80

The Third Visit

2 Corinthians 12-13

　
Paul seems to have spent more time visiting, writing letters and probably praying for the Corinthian church than any of his other churches. In some ways, the Corinthians were his "problem child". In fact, 2 Corinthians was written because a group of men, who called themselves apostles, were bad-mouthing Paul despite all that he had done for the Corinthians.

These men were false teachers who were challenging Paul’s personal integrity and his authority as an apostle. That is why Paul is boasting about his hardships and suffering. In essence, he is defending himself to the Corinthians in order to validate his ministry and therefore his apostleship.

It would be easier for Paul to just quit or to give up on the Corinthians or to rationalize taking the easy way out of not confronting them. But he doesn’t do that. He cares too much for them. He loves the Lord too much. So he keeps reaching out to them. According to my study Bible, Paul wrote them four times and visited them three times. This is more than he did with any other church. Why? Paul answers this question himself.

"Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you." 12:14
If I was a Corinthian and read this it might bring a tear to my eye. Paul doesn’t want anything from them, but them. On the one hand that is very touching, but on the other hand it is kind of scary. Giving yourself is always harder than giving your possessions.

"Everything we do dear friends is for your strengthening". 12:19
Following this verse Paul speaks of expectations, both his and the Corinthians. He makes himself vulnerable by sharing his fears that when he arrives everything could fall apart. Despite his feelings he continues forward for his third visit so that the Corinthians might be strengthened.

Doesn’t God work in our lives in the same way? Doesn’t He keep drawing us closer to Him? Isn’t He faithful in our relationship with Him? Hasn’t He sacrificed much for us?

Even though we turn from Him. Even though we let others lead us astray. Even though we find sin more enjoyable than sanctification. He continues towards His "third visit" with us. And He doesn’t want our possessions. He wants us – every part of our being.

Therefore, don’t hold anything back. Turn it all over to the Loving God who gave His only Son for you.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20corinthians%2012-13&version=NIV;MSG
http://www.biblegateway.com/audio/mclean/niv/2Cor.12-2Cor.13

Galatians 6:1

The Christian 12-Step program, Celebrate Recovery, uses our scripture for today as the Biblical reference for Step 12. "Having had a spiritual experience as a result of these steps, we try to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs."

Biblical reference = Galatians 6:1
"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted."

Take a look at the words, restore him gently. There is a lot of grace in these three words. When I must have a difficult talk with someone, it is wise to ask God to give grace to my words. It is much more likely my conversation will be heard when said in a calm and loving voice; one that is full of grace and truth.

If there is a healthy dose of grace peppered within our confrontation our words will be swallowed more readily.  Do our words flow gently off our tongues so they can be heard easily and grasped willingly?  There have been many times in life when I have wished I could take back something I said.  I imagine all of us have these moments.

For me, that is what restoring someone gently is all about -- Speaking the truth with love and lots and lots of grace.  For someday each of us will be on the receiving end.

Romans 8:5-11 - Life through the Spirit

The Scripture lessons for today about the Holy Spirit in our life, could be a teaching right from a Celebrate Recovery moment.  Paul's words reveal to us the fact that we as Christians, have two natures: the sinful nature and the spirit nature. There is a constant battle going on to overcome the sinful and embrace the spirit nature.

Once we understand this we can make more sense from Paul's words in Romans 7:15-18, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." 

Those in recovery for every hurt, hang-up, and habit begin to recognize their dependence on Christ for healing.  Like it or not, we are all in recovery.  As Christ followers who battles the daily forces of sin in our lives, we constantly struggle to do what is right.  We are always seeking to change and be more Christ-like.  That is recovery in its purest form; turning from sin/evil/addiction/gossip/food/control, and turning toward Jesus.

Romans 8:7-8 (NIV)
 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.
 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.     

As my friend Paul Nordman wrote, "Here's the truth of the matter: We who are in Christ have two natures. We still carry the old nature, which will never be like Christ; and we have a new nature, who is Christ. So it's not that we are one way or the other; we have both natures. The sin nature will never improve, so we do well to stop trying to improve it and to stop beating ourselves up over it. It is what it is, we have been saved from it, and it will not accompany us throughout eternity. Our new nature, by contrast, need not improve; indeed it cannot improve, for it is Christ in us. He is sufficient! Forever!"

Those of us in recovery recognize that Jesus us the only way to freedom.  We know that we cannot complete this journey on our own.  We all need a Christian Recovery Program because we all need Jesus. Jesus is the only way!

Read Romans 8:5-11

Listen to Romans 8:5-11

Judges 4:1-10

Too often we find ourselves in a fix.  Too often mistakes of the past come back to haunt us once again.  Too often we do not learn from the past, but jump right in with both feet and discover we are in over our heads.  There is a saying in the recovery world that goes something like..."We do the same things over and over expecting different results."  Isn't that true of human nature?

The fact that history repeats itself is the mark of man not learning from past mistakes.  My years in recovery have taught me to work my program.  For me it means that I must "let go and let God."  It means that I am not in control now, and that I never have been. Also, I have learned through Celebrate Recovery, the Christian 12-Step program, that God is there for me.  All I need to do is call out to Him, give up my strong-willed tendencies to Him.

The text today is of a time when "the Israelite's once again did evil in the eyes of the Lord, (doing the same thing over and expecting different results). The Lord turned them over to the enemy.  Has your behavior ever resulted in you feeling like you have been turned over to the enemy?  Sometimes our consciences can make it feel like this. The sinking feeling in your gut is a dead give-away.  This sick feeling should be a signal for us to stop, think about it, and make a course correction in our lives.

Once the Israelites recognized the enemy and acknowledged the deep seriousness of their situation,  "...they cried to the LORD for help." (Judges 4:30)  No matter how many times we fail, we always have the option to "cry to the LORD." 

Read Judges 4:1-10 here

Listen to Judges 4:1-10 here

Romans 14:1-12

I would title the scripture assignment for today, Freedom in Christ.  A number of years ago I began attending Al-Anon, a 12-step recovery group.  Soon I moved to a Christian 12-step program and it is there I learned much about myself and about the freedom one gains when walking with Christ.

Some of the best advice I was given in both programs was to mind my own business.  As an ACOA (adult child of alcoholics), I would mind everyone's business but my own.  I learned as a child to control my environment, to be aware of situations and what my reactions needed to be at all times.  I was very good at scene setting in my mind; always prepared to respond accordingly to any of a number of scenarios that might be waiting.

The recovery program changed my life.  The fact that it was a Christ centered recovery program changed my heart too.  Once I learned that I was the only person I could change and started to embrace the fact that God is in control, and I'm not God, peace surrounded me and life got so much better.  I was reminded of this when I read the Words for today.

"Your critical and condescending ways aren't going to improve your position there one bit. Read it for yourself in Scripture:

"As I live and breathe," God says,
"every knee will bow before me;
Every tongue will tell the honest truth
that I and only I am God."
So tend to your knitting. You've got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God." (Romans 14:11-12 MSG)

We are each on our own journey, with our individual flaws and faults.  You don't need me to try and change you, only God has that job.  We are to love one another as we love Christ.  It's just that simple.

Read the text here.
Listen to the text here.

Keep Telling Your Story - Acts 23:1-11

In the Christian recovery ministry, members often tell their story (lead) or testimony. It is called sharing our experience, strength, and hope with one another. Many times after sharing the story of my recovery journey with folks, they will stop me to say how my talk resonated with them. They will then share some of their journey with me and I can see how God has been at work in my life for many years.

People in recovery who share their story over and over again don’t necessarily enjoy doing it, but we know how important it is for people who are hurting and struggling their way through life to hear the tale of someone who has been there and came out on the other side. Christian recovery is so special to me, as I am able to share the power of Jesus, my personal ‘higher power’, with someone who does not yet know Him.

"The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” (Acts 23:11)

Every Christian is on a recovery path. Paul is no different; his journey is one which took him from persecutor to persecuted, from enemy to friend. Jesus revealed to Paul how vital his story is and that others need to hear. Now Paul is on his way to Rome to tell it again. “I love to tell the story, of Jesus and His love…”

Read the Acts 23:1-11 text here.