Playing Hurt - Getting Help

R.E.C.O.V.E.R.Y

· Earnestly believe that God exists, and that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Page 38 – “All of us have areas in our lives – things that bring us deep grief and pain. In fact, the things that we carry around can be downright devastating. When we carry hurt for a long time, we eventually find our identity in that hurt and become a victim. We may try to escape our pain by using drugs or alcohol. Or we may try to control all those around us with anger. The list goes on and on.

Two Major Things That Mourn Over

We Mourn Over Our Past Mistakes

We Mourn Over Our Loss of Control

Isaiah 61:1-7

How Does God Move Us Out of Denial

1. Crisis

2. Confrontation

3. Catastrophe

The Truth About God

1. He Exists – Hebrews 11:1-3, 6

2. You Matter To Him

a. God Knows About Your Situation Psalms 34:17-19

b. God Cares About Your Situation Psalms 103:11-14

3. God Has the Power to Change You and Your Situation – 2 Tim 1:7

God’s Triple Treat Position

1. Power – We need power to break bad habits.

2. Love – We need give and receive real love.

3. Self – Control – We also need self-control.

Philippians 2:13

How Do I Plug Into God’s Power

Believe & Receive

Believe That God Exists

Believe That You matter To Him

Believe That He Has the Power to Help You

John 1:10-14

Make the Choice – Take Action

1. Pray About It

2. Write About It

3. Share About It

Playing Hurt - Admitting Need

R.E.C.O.V.E.R.Y.

· Realize I’m not God. I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable. Blessed are the poor in spirit.

Page 13 – “Part of our human nature is to refuse change until our pain exceeds our fear. We simply deny the pain until it gets so bad that we are crushed and finally realize that we need some help. Why we don't save ourselves and our love ones a bit of misery and admit now what we inevitably are going to have to admit later. Life's Healing Choices, John Baker

Admitting Need

The Cause of Our Problems

The Consequences of Our Problems

The Cure for Our Problems

Making The Choice

Proverbs 14:12

The Cause of Our Problems

1. Our Tendency To Do Wrong - Romans 7:15-17

2. Our Desire To Be God - Genesis 3:1-6

3. Our Attempts To Play God – Genesis 3:7-10

How Do We Attempt To Play God?

· We Try to Control Our Image

· We Try to Control Other People

· We Try to Control Our Problems

· We Try to Control Our Pain

The Consequences of Our Problems

1. Fear
2. Fatigue
3. Frustration
4. Failure

The Cure for Our Problems

1. Admitting Weakness – 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

2. A Humble Heart

Admitting Weakness

1. Admit that I am powerless to change the past.

2. Admit that I am powerless to control other people

3. Admit that I am powerless to cope with my harmful habits, behaviors, and actions

Humble Heart - James 4:6-10

Make the Choice – Take Action

1. Pray About It

2. Write About It

3. Share About It

Hebrews 4:14-16

Playing Hurt - Finding Freedom

Page 1 – “How’s your person doing? Are you all put together? The fact is that many of us are a mess. …Each one of our lives is tangled up with hurts that haunt our hearts, hang-ups that cause us pain, and habits that mess up our lives.

Romans 3:23

· have sinned = past; fall short = present

· God has declared us all guilty.

· We all hurt, and we hurt others.

Isaiah 57:18-19 – God makes five promises

1. I will heal you.

2. I will guide you.

3. I will restore you.

4. I will comfort you.

5. I will give you peace.

Happiness is possible, but you’ve got to choose it…that is what this series & small group is all about. Making choices that will change your life: choices that will put you on the road to recovery.

Matthew 5:1-10 (The Beatitudes)

R.E.C.O.V.E.R.Y

· Realize I’m not God. I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable. Blessed are the poor in spirit.

· Earnestly believe that God exists, and that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

· Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control. Blessed are the meek.

· Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and someone I trust. Blessed are the pure in heart^.

· Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

· Evaluate all of my relationships. Offer forgiveness to those who hurt me and make amends for harm I’ve done to others, except when to do so would harm them or others. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the peacemakers.

· Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer to know God and his will for my life

· Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words.

Finding Freedom: regardless of your problem; emotional, financial, spiritual, sexual, or whatever; you don’t have to live with the pain anymore; you can be free of your unwanted habits; you can face the future with hope, with peace, and confidence.

Romans 7:18-25