[We are indebted to Pastors Rick Warren and John Baker for the many insights in this sermon.] 1
Maintaining Momentum the Growth Choice I reserve a daily quiet 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. 2
Four Causes of Relapse Backsliding. Getting Stuck. The Doldrums 3
1. Reverting to willpower. How can you be so foolish! You began by God s Spirit; do you now want to finish by your own power? Galatians 3:3 TEV You begin to think hey, I ve got this down. Look at me go. Sort of like Peter walking on water. Begin to trust in yourself in willpower rather than God-power. God will let you relapse if that s what it takes for you to realize you can t do it on your own. 4
You won t succeed by might or by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord. (Zechariah 4:6 GWT) A Basic qualitative difference. We try to start our day by praying specifically for concerns. Sometimes the first thing we ll do when we get to the office is prayer. Prayer is not separate from work. It s our most important work. 5
2. Ignoring One of the steps. Moral Inventory. Making amends. Forgiving. 6
You were doing so well! Who made you stop obeying the truth! (Galatians 5:7 TEV) You didn t get into your problems overnight; you re not going to get out of them overnight either. 7
3. Trying to Recover without support. Two are better than one If one of them falls down, the other can help him up. But if someone is alone and falls, it s just too bad, because there is no one to help him. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 TEV) We all need a friend or small group to help us along the way. For accountability and support. 8
4. Becoming prideful. Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall. (Proverbs 16:18 TEV) 9
If you think you are standing firm you had better be careful that you do not fall. 1 Corinthians10:12 TEV If you think you ve got it all together and under control, that s when you re really in danger, because pride is one of the most destructive forces in your life. Rick Warren says, It s when the whale come to the surface, and is about to blow, that he gets harpooned. 10
Maintenance Tools for Preventing Relapse 11
1. Evaluation 12
Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. (2 Corinthians 13:5 MSG) 13
Let s take a good look at the way we re living and reorder our lives under God. (Lamentations 3:40 MSG) 14
Four Kinds of Evaluation 15
1. Physical: What is my body telling me? He s a pain in the neck. I m just worked up in knots 16
2.Emotional: What am I feeling right now? Become aware of what you re feeling. Become able to identify a feel then trace it back to a thought. Life is not just what happens to us. It s a lot about how we react to what happens to us. And that has a lot to do with our thinking. 17
Give yourself a heart-check. Am I? Hurting Exhausted Angry Resentful Tense 18
3. Relational: Am I at peace with everyone? 19
4. Spiritual: Am I relying on God? When you re doing an evaluation don t just, What s bad in my life? You also want to ask, What s good in my life? You want to keep your inventory balanced. 20
How often should I evaluate myself? STOP-CHECK inventory throughout the day. DAILY review ANNUAL checkup When you let go of a hurt, you make room for God s peace. 21
2. Meditation Biblical meditation means to fill your mind with the Word of God and think deeply about what it says. It is thought digestion. If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate. Mull over a thought, a verse, again and again. 22
[Happy are] those who are always meditating on [God s] laws and thinking about ways to follow him more closely. They are like trees along a riverbank Their leaves shall never wither, and all they do shall prosper. (Psalm 1:1-3 LB) 23
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Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. They you will be prosperous and successful. (Joshua 1:8 NIV) 25
3. Prayer 26
Don t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don t forget to thank him for him for his answers. (Philippians 4:6 LB) Getting quiet time alone with God is the secret to spiritual strength. Return to God on a daily basis. 27
Maintenance Tools for Preventing Relapse 1.Examination 2.Meditation 3.Prayer 28
Make the Growth Choice Maintain Your Momentum 29