Lesson 2 POWERLESS
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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.
“Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor.” (Matthew 5:3)
Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable.
“For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” (Romans 7:18)
Shane Pruitt said, “You’re created to believe in Someone bigger than “self”. Jesus didn’t say to His disciples, “believe in yourself.” He said, “deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Me (Matt. 16:24).”
Illustration of being delivered and hands raised
I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;
And so it was, when Solomon had finished praying all this prayer and supplication to the Lord, that he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.
Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
Hear the voice of my supplications
When I cry to You,
When I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
If you are willing and able please stand for the reading of God’s Word
And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.
When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”
And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Prayer
scribes- don’t quench the Holy Spirit
The friends
the paralytic ARISE AND WALK
Tonight our acrostic will help us to focus in on the first half of Principle
1: powerless.
Powerless
Our acrostic tonight demonstrates what happens when we admit we are POWERLESS. We begin to give up the following “serenity robbers”:
The first letter in tonight’s acrostic is P. We start to see that we no longer are trapped by our PRIDE:
The first letter in tonight’s acrostic is P. We start to see that we no longer are trapped by our PRIDE:
“Pride ends in a fall, while humility brings honor” (Proverbs 29:23, TLB).
Ignorance + power + pride = a deadly mixture
“I got this”
Next we begin to lose the ONLY ifs. That’s the O in Powerless.
Next we begin to lose the ONLY ifs. That’s the O in Powerless.
Have you ever had a case of the “only ifs”?
Only if they hadn’t walked out.
Only if I had stopped drinking.
Only if this. Only if that.
Luke 12:2 –3 (GNT) tells us: “Whatever is covered up will be uncovered, and every secret will be made known. So then, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in broad daylight.”
The next letter in powerless is the W, which stands for WORRYING.
The next letter in powerless is the W, which stands for WORRYING.
All worrying is a form of not trusting God enough! Instead of worrying about things that we cannot possibly do, we need to focus on what God can do.
Matthew 6:34 (TLB) tells us, “Don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.”
The next thing that happens when we admit we are powerless is that we quit trying to ESCAPE. That’s the E.
The next thing that happens when we admit we are powerless is that we quit trying to ESCAPE. That’s the E.
Trying to escape pain drains us of precious energy. When we take this first step, however, God opens true escape routes to show His power and grace. “For light is capable of ‘showing up’ everything for what it really is. It is even possible (after all, it happened to you!) for light to turn the thing it shines upon into light also” (Ephesians 5:13 –14, PH).
The R in powerless stands for RESENTMENTS.
The R in powerless stands for RESENTMENTS.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:26 –27: “‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”
But if we try to maintain our false power, we become isolated and alone. That’s the L in powerless: LONELINESS.
But if we try to maintain our false power, we become isolated and alone. That’s the L in powerless: LONELINESS.
“Continue to love each other with true brotherly love. Don’t forget to be kind to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” (Hebrews 13:1 –2, TLB).
When you admit you are powerless you also give up another E, the EMPTINESS.
When you admit you are powerless you also give up another E, the EMPTINESS.
Jesus said, “My purpose is to give life in all its fullness” (John 10:10, TLB). So let Him fill the emptiness inside. Tell Him how you feel. He cares!
The first S stands for SELFISHNESS.
The first S stands for SELFISHNESS.
I have known people who have come into recovery thinking that the Lord’s Prayer was “Our Father who art in heaven ... Give me ... give me ... give me!” Luke 17:33 (TLB) tells us, “Whoever clings to his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall save it.” Simply said, selfishness is at the heart of most problems between people.
The last thing that we give up when we admit that we are powerless is SEPARATION.
The last thing that we give up when we admit that we are powerless is SEPARATION.
Some people talk about “finding” God —as if He could ever be lost.
Separation from God can feel real, but it is never permanent. Remember, He seeks the lost. When we can’t find God, we need to ask ourselves, “Who moved?” I’ll give you a hint. It wasn’t God!
For I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death
can’t, and life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away.... Nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us (Romans 8:38 –39, TLB).
full surrender
hands raised
scribes
friends
the paralytic ARISE AND WALK
Invitation