Let's Get READY To Rumble!

Illustration of football

Let’s look at tonight’s lesson.

Principle 5: Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects.

“Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires.” (Matthew 5:6)

Step 6: We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:10)

One of the reasons that Principle 5 “separates the men from the boys” — or the women from the girls — is because it states that we are ready to “voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life.”

Tonight’s acrostic will show you how to get READY to allow Him to do that.

The first letter tonight stands for RELEASE control.

That reminds me of a story I heard.

A man bumped into an old friend in a bar. He said, “I thought you gave up drinking. What’s the matter, no self-control?” The friend replied, “Sure I’ve got plenty of self-control. I’m just too strong-willed to use it!”

Now in Principle 5, you need to be “entirely ready,” willing to let God into every area of your life. He won’t come in and clean up an area unless you are willing to ask Him in.

Simply put, the R —release control — is “Let go; let God!”

It has been said that “willingness is the key that goes into the lock and opens the door that allows God to begin to remove your character defects.” I love the way the psalmist invites God to work in his life: “Help me to do your will, for you are my God. Lead me in good paths, for your Spirit is good” (Psalm 143:10, TLB).

The E in ready stands for EASY does it.

These principles and steps are not quick fixes! You need to allow time for God to work in your life.

This principle goes further than just helping you stop doing wrong. Remember, the sin is the symptom of the character defect.

Let me explain. The sin is like a weed in a garden: It will keep reappearing unless it is pulled out by the roots. And the roots are the actual defects of character that cause the particular sin.

That takes time, but God will do it. He promised! “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it and he will” (Psalm 37:5, TLB).

The next letter is A: ACCEPT the change.

Seeing the need for change and allowing the change to occur are two different things, and the space between recognition and willingness can be filled with fear. Besides that, fear can trigger our old dependency on self-control. But this principle will not work if we are still trapped by our self-will. We need to be ready to accept God’s help throughout the transition.

The Bible makes this very clear in 1 Peter 1:13 –14 (GNT): “So then, have your minds ready for action. Keep alert and set your hope completely on the blessing which will be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Be obedient to God, and do not allow your lives to be shaped by those desires you had when you were still ignorant.”

Let’s move on to the D in ready, which is extremely important: DO replace your character defects.

You spent a lot of time with your old hang-ups, compulsions, obsessions, and habits. When God removes one, you need to replace it with something positive, such as recovery meetings, church activities, 12th-Step service, and volunteering! If you don’t, you open yourself for a negative character defect to return.

Listen to Matthew 12:43 – 45 (GNT): “When an evil spirit goes out of a person, it travels over dry country looking for a place to rest. If it can’t find one, it says to itself, ‘I will go back to my house.’ So it goes back and finds the house empty,.... Then it goes out and brings along seven other spirits even worse than itself, and they come and live there.”

The last letter in ready is the Y: YIELD to the growth.

At first, your old self-doubts and low self-image may tell you that you are not worthy of the growth and progress you are making in the program. Don’t listen! Yield to the growth. It is the Holy Spirit’s work within you.

“The person who has been born into God’s family does not make a practice of sinning, because now God’s life is in him; so he can’t keep on sinning, for this new life has been born into him and controls him —he has been born again” (1 John 3:9, TLB).

The New King James Version (Chapter 10)

Rich Young Ruler

17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.

19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”

20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”

21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Difficulty of Riches

23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”

24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!

25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

26 And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”

27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

Of all the people who ever came to the feet of Jesus, this man is the only one who went away worse than he came.

Sin is rebellion against the holy God. It is not simply an action; it is an inward attitude that exalts man and defies God.

Jesus offered this man the gift of eternal life, but he turned it down. It is difficult to receive a gift when your fist is clenched around money and the things money can buy. The Greek word translated “grieved” gives the picture of storm clouds gathering. The man walked out of the sunshine and into a storm! He wanted to get salvation on his terms, and he was disappointed.

Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 146.

Fill In the blank.

What is Jesus asking you to get rid of?

Are you willing to?

Invitation