New Life Starts Now
Notes
Transcript
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
We need to allow ourselves to be humbled before God and ask for His help in our time of need. We can do this because we can be confident that Christ cares for us and wants to see us restored.
Instead of self-medicating your anxieties, cast them on God and let your worries be known.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
When we try to do right and overcome an addiction, Satan will always try to thwart our efforts. We need to put on the armor of God in the calmness of the storm so we can fight against the evil one when we are no longer in the eye of of it.
Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.
Surround yourself with good influences who will build you up and not tear you down. This will be one of the most helpful steps in your journey to staying sober. Hearing a good word when you need it will refresh your soul and can give you much-needed motivation.
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
This counsel encourages us to trust in the hope that we have in Jesus. We are called to accept the past, but not dwell on it, and move forward, trusting in all that God has done in our lives. We can trust that recovery and relapse prevention are possible through the strength and direction that God gives to us.
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
The Lord offers peace to us in our time of confusion, fear, anxiety, change, and new beginnings. God does not promise that all of our struggles and burdens will disappear once we give our lives to Him. He does, however, offer us peace and assurance in Him, which is more than enough to face the ups and downs that life inevitably brings. He calls us to trust in Him—the One who overcame the world!
I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
Looking back on all that we have overcome is a great reminder of God’s work within us. We can trust that He hears us when we call to Him. He wants to be a part of the details of our lives, and by recognizing how He’s come through in our past, we can believe that He will do the very same thing for us as we face future obstacles and burdens.
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
When we work through relapse prevention and the recovery process, it is normal and likely that we will feel exhausted by our efforts for maintaining a healthier life. Hard work is needed to make the necessary changes. When it feels as if it is too much for us to handle, God assures us that those who trust and hope in Him will be sustained by His immeasurable strength and boundless peace. Our troubles are not too much for Him to take care of. He is more than willing to meet us in our need and give us strength when we feel as though we aren’t capable of facing another difficult day. For we know the right path is Narrow
I want to remind you not to take my word for it but take the words word for it! - outside of God’s Grace, our actions brought us here! but take note that it is also our actions that got us out! We were once blind being led by the blind, no relationship with God and no understanding of Jesus or the Holy Spirit, but now we see. If we are grounded in faith, rooted in God, the way will become visible, the truth will become known and the life will be made new again.
Graduating is an amazing step forward, a step that you took with these men sitting next to you and with God, but now you face the challenge of moving forward without these men, without this structure, but you still and always will have God, so create the structure, create a new circle of these men who are headed in the direction your going!
I challenge you to love God more then yourself and love yourself more then you love the carnal desires of this world. Love is not a feeling, we have been watching to many movies, I just feel something I know its Love, Its not love, Its your flesh begging for you to feed its desires but love is not a feeling true love is what you do in spite of what you feel .
Love is fighting for the good of someone else even if they do not see the value in the sacrifice you have done, Love is what Jesus did on the cross, Love didn't feel good, he was not beaten and nailed to the cross celebrating how good it felt, that is LOVE because love sometimes hurts, we don’t understand the depth of the love that we are recipients of because in our minds we cant comprehend the level of pursuit it took to get to us!
You have been set free from the chains that once bound you, you have been set free from the enslavement of the forces that once had control of you, you have lived according to the flesh up until you checked in at safe harbor and now I asking you to live according to the principals, ethics, morals and values of this book, your life was not yours prior to coming here but you are leaving here with your life in you hands….surrender it to God and he will show you the way the truth and the life.
Prayer
Lord, You said that You have come to set the captives free. I pray that You will do that in the lives of of these men. Right now they need Your strength to make 12 months sober, 24 months sober and 24 months sober in to 48 months sober, this substance that has once entrapped them has been broken and set them free. I pray that You surround them with your love and take care of them as you have done in the last 12 months - we know you will remove from us temptation and depart from us the evil and wicked - thank you for always allowing us to always be in the right place in the right time for I know lord that it is you who orders my steps, thank you for allowing me to say the right thing at the right time to the right person to always make a divine impression lord for it is you who ordered my tongue, I pray that you bless my mind to interpret your truth, my heart to accept your truth, my ears to hear your truth, my eyes to see your truth, my mouth to speak your truth, my hands to build in your truth and my feet to walk in your truth In the name of the father the son and the holy spirit AMEN.
