Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Recap of three Steps

We addmited that we were powerless over our problems - That our lives had become unmanageble (We looked at the example of Paul)

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

(God is working in us)

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

(Giving up Control)

STEP 4 -

We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ouselves.

(Facing up) (Taking Responsibilty).

Mat 7:

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Most of us falter at the prospect of making an honest personal inventory.

Discussion

Why is step 4 so Hard?

Rationalizations and excuses for avoiding this step abound.

The bottom line is that we know there is an enormous amount of sadness awaiting us, and we fear the pain that facing the sadness will bring.

The Jewish exiles who returned to Jerusalem after captivity in Babylon had lost touch with God.

During the Exile, they hadn’t been taught his laws, so naturally, they hadn’t practiced them either.

After rebuilding the city wall and the Temple, the priests gathered the people together to read the Book of the Law.

The people were overwhelmed with grief and began weeping, because their lives in no way measured up.

The priests said to the people, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this!

For today is a sacred day before the LORD your God. . . .

Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. . . .

Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!”

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The next day marked the beginning of the Festival of Shelters, a required Jewish feast celebrating the Israelites’ escape from bondage in Egypt and God’s care for them while they wandered in the wilderness.

When we set out to face the pain and sadness of making a moral inventory, we will need the “joy of the LORD” to give us strength.

This joy comes from recognizing, even celebrating, God’s ability to bring us out of bondage and care for us as we pass through the sadness toward a new way of life.

Arterburn, Stephen.

The Life Recovery Bible NLT .

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

As we make our moral inventory, we will probably find ourselves listing our destructive habits, our defects of character, the wrongs we have done, the consequences of wrong choices that we now live with, and the hurts we have caused others.

It’s like sifting through all the garbage in our past.

This is painful, but it is a necessary part of throwing away those rotten habits and behaviors that, if not dealt with, will almost certainly spoil the rest of our life.

The returned Jewish exiles “confessed their own sins.”

This phrase speaks volumes.

The idea of confession involves not only owning up to one’s sins but being truly sorry for them as well.

Sins are offenses against God, including any transgressions against his will.

The natural follow-up to true confession, after owning up to our sins and bemoaning them before God, is to turn from them.

The Israelites’ confession can serve as a model for us to follow as we take our moral inventory.

We can list the occasions of our offenses, our destructive habits, and the consequences we have brought into our life and the lives of others.

Then, after accounting for all the garbage, we can “take out the trash.”

In their confession, the Israelites owned, bemoaned, and then discarded their sins.

After this they were better able to make a new start.

We can “own” the garbage in our own life by taking personal responsibility for our choices and actions.

Arterburn, Stephen.

The Life Recovery Bible NLT .

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

A Choice

We can “bemoan” it by allowing ourselves to grieve.

We can “discard” it by leaving it behind and turning toward the future.

Turn to the next devotional, on .

Arterburn, Stephen.

The Life Recovery Bible NLT .

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Discussion

Will God be angry with us when we confess our sins?

Taking Personal Responsibilty,

Huting people hurt people.

We are not just victims we are perpetrstors,

We have not just been sinned against we have also sinned ourselves.

Blaming Others

Arterburn, Stephen.

The Life Recovery Bible NLT .

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Our family of origin has had an influence on who we are today.

Some of us want to pretend that our family was, or is, nearly perfect.

Others of us may tend to avoid responsibility for our actions by blaming our family.

Whatever the case, when we think about our own life, we also need to deal with our family and the effects its members have had on who we are today.

We are told that the returned Jewish exiles “confessed their own sins and the sins of their ancestors” ().

They blamed their ancestors for their captivity and the difficult situation they were facing.

They said, “[Our ancestors] refused to turn from their wickedness.

So now today we are slaves in the land of plenty that you gave our ancestors for their enjoyment! . . .

We serve [conquering kings] at their pleasure, and we are in great misery” ().

It’s all right to admit the truth about what brought us into bondage.

This might very well involve the wrongs committed by our parents and other family members.

It’s perfectly all right to express our anger and regret over what has been done to us.

We have a right to hold others accountable and grieve over the negative effects their actions have had on our lives.

That is all part of the real picture.

It’s not all right, however, to use this as an excuse for our wrong choices or for staying in bondage.

Our relatives may be partly responsible for bringing us to this point, but we are responsible for moving on to a better place for ourselves and our family.

Turn to the next devotional, on .

Arterburn, Stephen.

The Life Recovery Bible NLT .

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Arterburn, Stephen.

The Life Recovery Bible NLT .

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Arterburn, Stephen.

The Life Recovery Bible NLT .

Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Finger Pointing BIBLE READING: We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

There have probably been times when we have ignored our own sins and problems and pointed a finger at someone else.

We may be out of touch with our internal affairs because we are still blaming others for our moral choices.

Or perhaps we avoid self-examination by making moral inventories of the people around us.

When God asked Adam and Eve about their sin, they each pointed a finger at someone else.

“‘Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?’ The man replied, ‘It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.’

Then the LORD God asked the woman, ‘What have you done?’ ‘The serpent deceived me,’ she replied” ().

It seems to be human nature to blame others as our first line of defense.

We also may avoid our own problems by evaluating and criticizing others.