The Road To Recovery Part 4

COMING CLEAN
The Road to Recovery - Part 4
DeAntwan Fitts
Outline provided by Rick Warren (used with permission)
November 30th 2008

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

R ealize I'm not God, I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and my life is unmanageable.

E arnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover.

C onsciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ's care and control.

O penly Examine and Confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust.

"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit." Psalm 32:1-2 (NIV)

I. THE REASON FOR THIS STEP

1. Guilt destroys my confidence.

2. Guilt damages my relationships.

3. Guilt keeps me stuck in the past.

"He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." Prov. 28:13 (NIV)

II. HOW TO DO THIS STEP

1. Take a personal inventory.

"Let us examine our ways and test them." Lam 3:40

"Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart." Psalm 44:21 (NASB)

2. Accept responsibility

"The lamp of the LORD searches the spirit of a man; it searches out his inmost being." Prov 20:27 (NIV)

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." 1 John. 1:8

3. Ask God for forgiveness

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 (NIV)

""Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD:though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." Isa. 1:19 (ESV)

4. Admit my faults to someone we trust

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" James 5:16 (NIV)

Who? Someone I trust

What do you say? I want you to hold me accountable

When? ASAP

5. Accept God's forgiveness and forgive myself

"All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins ." Rom 3:23-24 (CEV)

"There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" Rom. 8:1