Transformative Hope: Embracing God's Power for Change

At the heart of our journey in "The Power to Change" series is the profound realization that hope is the catalyst for transformation. Whether we find ourselves at the lowest point of despair or seemingly thriving in worldly success, the absence of hope can leave us feeling trapped in a cycle of survival. This is akin to the children and families in Nicaragua, who, despite their dire circumstances, find hope when someone from the outside offers a glimpse of a better future. Similarly, many of us, regardless of our economic status, are in need of hope that transcends our own capabilities.

The 12-step program, rooted in biblical principles, offers a pathway to transformation by acknowledging our powerlessness and the unmanageability of our lives. The first step is admitting this powerlessness, but it is the second step that introduces hope: believing that a power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity. This power is not just any higher power; it is the God of the Bible, who offers a unique relationship rather than a set of religious obligations. Unlike other belief systems that require us to perform certain actions to access divine power, the God of the Bible offers grace and transformation through faith in Jesus Christ, who conquered death and offers new life.

Believing in this power is a process, much like building a relationship. It involves coming to know, trust, and ultimately surrender to God. This journey is not about having all the answers before committing but about entering into a relationship with God and allowing Him to work in our lives. As we grow in our understanding and trust, we begin to experience the transformative power of God, which is not dependent on our own efforts but on His divine power and goodness.

Key Takeaways:

- **Hope in Despair**: True hope transcends our circumstances, whether we are at the bottom or the top of the economic scale. It is the belief in a power greater than ourselves that can restore us to sanity and bring about transformation. This hope is not found in human efforts but in the divine power of God. [02:23]

- **The Uniqueness of God's Power**: Unlike other higher powers that demand actions or rituals, the God of the Bible offers a relationship based on grace. The cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrate that we cannot achieve transformation on our own; it is through His power that we find new life. [11:43]

- **The Process of Belief**: Coming to believe in God is a journey that involves knowing, trusting, and surrendering to Him. It is not about having all the answers but about entering into a relationship and allowing God to reveal Himself over time. [14:21]

- **Recognizing Insanity**: Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. We must acknowledge the areas of our lives where we are powerless and seek God's power to restore us to sanity. This requires humility and a willingness to seek God earnestly. [35:14]

- **Faith and Action**: While faith is essential, it must be accompanied by action. We must actively seek God and work the steps of transformation, trusting that He will do His part as we do ours. This partnership with God is where true change occurs. [42:16]

Youtube Chapters:

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:13] - The Worst Place: Hopelessness
[02:23] - The Power of Hope
[03:05] - Step Two: Belief in a Greater Power
[04:29] - A Conversation in Haiti
[06:34] - The Limits of Human Effort
[08:18] - The Source of True Hope
[09:23] - The Nature of God’s Power
[10:44] - Unique Relationship with God
[12:43] - The Process of Belief
[14:21] - Knowing and Trusting God
[16:27] - The Journey of Love and Trust
[20:26] - Recognizing Our Limitations
[22:57] - Avoiding Moral Philosophy
[35:14] - Identifying Insanity in Our Lives
[42:16] - Faith and Action: Working the Steps

**Bible Study Discussion Guide: The Power to Change**

**Bible Reading:**
1. Hebrews 11:6 - "And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
2. 2 Peter 1:3 - "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."
3. Matthew 23:23 - "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former."

**Observation Questions:**
1. What does Hebrews 11:6 suggest is necessary to please God, and how does this relate to the concept of faith discussed in the sermon? [19:20]
2. According to 2 Peter 1:3, what has God provided us for life and godliness, and how does this connect to the idea of divine power in the sermon? [24:09]
3. In Matthew 23:23, what are the more important matters of the law that Jesus emphasizes, and how does this critique religious practices relate to the sermon’s message about the uniqueness of God’s power? [30:55]

**Interpretation Questions:**
1. How does the sermon describe the process of coming to believe in a power greater than ourselves, and why is this process important for transformation? [12:43]
2. What does the sermon suggest about the limitations of human power and efforts in achieving true change, and how does this relate to the biblical concept of grace? [09:23]
3. How does the sermon illustrate the difference between religious obligations and a relationship with God, and why is this distinction significant for experiencing God’s transformative power? [11:43]

**Application Questions:**
1. Reflect on a time when you felt powerless in a situation. How did you respond, and what role did hope play in your journey through that experience? [02:23]
2. The sermon discusses the importance of recognizing areas of insanity in our lives. What is one area where you might be repeating the same actions and expecting different results? How can you seek God’s power to bring about change? [35:14]
3. Consider the process of knowing, trusting, and surrendering to God. Which stage do you find most challenging, and what steps can you take to grow in that area? [14:21]
4. The sermon emphasizes the need for faith accompanied by action. What is one practical step you can take this week to actively seek God and work towards transformation in your life? [42:16]
5. How can you cultivate a relationship with God that is based on grace rather than religious obligations? What changes might you need to make in your spiritual practices to focus more on relationship than ritual? [09:23]
6. Reflect on the sermon’s message about the uniqueness of God’s power. How does this understanding impact your view of challenges you face, and how can it influence your approach to seeking help from God? [11:43]
7. The sermon mentions the importance of seeking God earnestly. What does earnest seeking look like in your daily life, and how can you incorporate it into your routine? [19:20]

Day 1: Hope Beyond Circumstances
Hope is a powerful force that transcends our current circumstances, whether we are in despair or experiencing worldly success. It is the belief in a power greater than ourselves that can restore us to sanity and bring about transformation. This hope is not found in human efforts but in the divine power of God. In the same way that children and families in Nicaragua find hope when someone offers them a glimpse of a better future, we too can find hope in God, who offers us a new life through faith in Jesus Christ. This hope is a catalyst for change, enabling us to break free from the cycle of mere survival and move towards a life of purpose and fulfillment. [02:23]

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." - Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)

Reflection: In what area of your life do you feel trapped in a cycle of survival? How can you invite God's hope into this area today?


Day 2: Grace Over Rituals
The uniqueness of God's power lies in the relationship He offers, which is based on grace rather than rituals or actions. Unlike other belief systems that require us to perform certain actions to access divine power, the God of the Bible offers transformation through faith in Jesus Christ. The cross and resurrection demonstrate that we cannot achieve transformation on our own; it is through His power that we find new life. This relationship with God is not about fulfilling religious obligations but about experiencing His grace and allowing it to transform us from the inside out. [11:43]

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)

Reflection: Are there any rituals or actions you rely on to feel close to God? How can you shift your focus to embrace His grace today?


Day 3: The Journey of Belief
Believing in God is a process that involves knowing, trusting, and surrendering to Him. It is not about having all the answers before committing but about entering into a relationship and allowing God to reveal Himself over time. This journey is much like building a relationship, where trust and understanding grow as we spend time with God. As we grow in our understanding and trust, we begin to experience the transformative power of God, which is not dependent on our own efforts but on His divine power and goodness. [14:21]

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

Reflection: What is one step you can take today to deepen your trust in God, even if you don't have all the answers?


Day 4: Recognizing Powerlessness
Recognizing the areas of our lives where we are powerless is crucial to seeking God's power to restore us to sanity. Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. This requires humility and a willingness to seek God earnestly. By acknowledging our limitations and turning to God, we open ourselves to His transformative power, which can bring about true change in our lives. This step is about letting go of our own efforts and allowing God to work in us. [35:14]

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." - 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you feel powerless? How can you invite God's power into this area today?


Day 5: Faith in Action
While faith is essential, it must be accompanied by action. We must actively seek God and work the steps of transformation, trusting that He will do His part as we do ours. This partnership with God is where true change occurs. It involves a commitment to not only believe but also to act on that belief, allowing God's power to work through us as we take steps towards transformation. This is a dynamic process that requires both faith and action, as we trust in God's power to bring about change in our lives. [42:16]

"So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." - James 2:17 (ESV)

Reflection: What is one specific action you can take today to align your life with your faith in God? How can you partner with Him in this process?

So we're at the beginning of a series called "The Power to Change," and it actually kind of starts out a lot like what we just heard about in Nicaragua. It starts out with a situation where kids, families in some cases, are at the dump, and they're just surviving. It's just about survival, and that's about the worst place you can possibly be. The worst place you could be is at the dump with no hope that life will never get better than this, that your best hope being something good shows up in the trash.

Now, sometimes it's easy to look at something like that and forget that a lot of us are in that spot without being at the dump. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of people with nice houses and great jobs. The thing that they look forward to is forgetting about everything on Friday night when they get plastered. The best thing that they have to look forward to is the euphoria they feel when they look at something on a computer screen or they put something in their system. Others... The best thing... The best thing that they have to look forward to is another relationship, as destructive as it might be, where they at least feel like they're needed somehow.

The worst place is to be at the dump with no hope. But if you find yourself at the dump, and some folks come from the outside in and say there's hope, you can put up with a dump for a season. Because there's hope. Because there's hope. And when we talk about the power to change, what we're talking about is there is hope. Whether you're at the bottom of the economic scale or you're at the very top of the economic scale, there is hope beyond what you yourself can provide, what you yourself can do. We're talking about hope.

It starts, though, with the hopelessness. We talked about this last week, right? We're looking at the 12 steps, which are spiritual principles that come from the Bible, that have helped person after person in different languages all over the world from all kinds of backgrounds experience transformation and power in an area that they were powerless.

And the first step we looked at last week is that we admitted we were powerless and that our lives had become unmanageable. And this lack of power put us in a dilemma. I mean, it's a first step. You won't get help if you don't understand you need help. It's a great first step. But it's not a good place to be in being powerless. You don't want to be left at the dump with no hope.

So there's got to be something above and beyond, and that is step two. Step two is our hope. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. That is our hope. And it makes all the difference. It makes all the difference in the world.

Now, this evening, I have the privilege. I'm going to be flying out this evening to Haiti to do some vocational training. I've been there, I think, every year for the last eight years or so. I started going right before the earthquake. And it's a much different experience now going than it was then. Now I go, the flight pretty much kind of feels like most American flights. But when we first started, when we started going over, it was pretty much all Haitians, mostly speaking, did not speak any English. And it was our team and maybe one or two other Caucasians, white folk, missionaries and the like that were going.

And so you kind of knew who was going over there to do mission work. It was pretty obvious. I'm sure there were a lot of Haitians that were going over too, so maybe it wasn't extremely obvious. But most of us that were literally like myself, though I'm not Lily by any means, but you could tell. And so I got in a conversation with a gal. Like I say, it was obvious that we were both kind of going over. And she started telling me a little bit of her story. She was from Sweden. She was a young gal, 20-something. And she wanted to make a difference in the world.

And so she decided to choose an organization that wasn't like just represented one area or one government, but really represented the best of the world. So she volunteered and joined the UN. She was a worker for the UN. And she had been on some leave, and now she was going back to do this. And we began to talk. And the first thing was she was kind of shocked because we were flying. This was shortly after the earthquake. And so a lot of the changes and the stuff that's happened in Haiti had yet to occur.

You need to know that, I don't even know if it's, it might still be in effect. But when I first started going, if you went on our government site in regards to Haiti, they told you don't go. It was an unsafe country. And so she was interested because we were going to fly in and hop over to a small airport. And then fly to the middle of the country. And then we were going to go to some people's home, which was just, you know, four walls, which was still more than a lot of people had. And we had no security. We had no guide. We were just kind of going.

And she couldn't believe this because she would show up at the airport. Security from the UN would meet her. They would take her in a secure vehicle, some of them armed, from the airport to the UN compound. And she would not leave that compound. And so we got in this kind of discussion. And then as we got in this discussion, something interesting happened. She began to kind of share the response. I think it was about a year or so after the earthquake. The response by the UN and the US and all this money came in. But it really wasn't in her mind's eye making a difference.

And she began to cry. Cry. OK, now I know you think, well, that's, you know, a pastor. That must happen to pastors all the time. No, it doesn't. Matter of fact, most people, when you're a pastor, they just don't want to talk to you anymore. But she began to cry. She began to talk about the hopelessness. Here she had joined this organization that was supposed to represent the best of the world. She began to cry.

And all the resources of the world at this time, initially all the resources of the world were focused. They were given. And millions, hundreds of millions of dollars had been poured in. And some of the best resources that we had to help were being poured in. And she didn't see really any change. The irony of the situation is I began to tell her, I had a different story. About this couple, just this couple and their home and what was happening in their neck of the woods of how people were being, they weren't just being fed, they were being empowered.

They were learning how to garden better. They were learning how to help each other, which is a huge problem in Haiti. They were learning not to live in fear of voodoo. Their words, not mine. Fear of voodoo. But to live in the freedom of Christ. And there was great hope in this community. It was just a contrast. And the stark difference was this. The end of her hope ended with people. And the end of my hope, of our hope, of our team's hope, of this couple's hope, ended with God.

And somehow, God was able to do a little bit more with a lot less. Amazing. It really is amazing. I don't really completely mean that tongue-in-cheek. It really is amazing. And that's the heart of step two. And I would just, I just kind of want to take a sidebar, if you would, side note here, if you would. The recovery program has tried to make the gate as wide as it possibly can. So it just starts with a power greater than yourself, generally.

But I just want to be really clear. The founders of the program, in all its forms now, they believed in the God of the Bible. Yahweh is the Hebrew word. They believed in Jesus. They were very specific about the power they believed in. Now, they open it broader because they realize it takes time. And we'll talk about it takes process. But I just want to say, just right up front, there is fundamentally difference about this higher power than every other higher power you think.

Now, if you're new to the church, you're like going, oh, yeah, he's trying to sell us something. I get it. I get it. I know a lot of preachers do that. You're just going to have to just hear me out. Now, okay, here's the difference. Every other higher power. Well, first of all, a lot of people enter into the recovery program. The higher power, they say, well, you can't choose anything. If you don't believe in a higher power, then choose the group, the group itself, because at least some people in recovery.

The problem is this. The group is made up of people. And the people that you're trusting, sooner or later, many of them are going to let you down because they're addicts just like you. They got messed up lives just like you. So you always have to be careful when your higher power is the government, your 401K, anything that relies on people, you're in trouble.

But secondly, if you compare, if you look at all major or even minor religions, most of them, the higher power requires you to do something. You need to say a certain prayer certain times a day. You need to do something. You need to make a special trip. You need to get your yin and your yang lined up. You need to do something in order for the power to work.

What is unique about the God of gods who created everything, what is unique about the power that is described in God's word, the 66 books, this isn't one book, it's 66 books written over hundreds of years by lots of different kinds of people. What's different about that is that, what's different about the cross represents the fact that you can't do it.

See, it's not a religion of what you need to do. It's a relationship with the one who says, you can't do it. I get it. I'll take care of it. And the cross, the resurrection is the example, the power of not only Christ's power over death, but Christ's power of new life of change. Nobody else can claim that. Nobody else can claim that. Muhammad is still in his grave. Buddha is still in his grave. I know there's some reincarnation issues there. Only Jesus rose from the dead. He didn't have to come back as somebody else. He's himself.

And that gives us hope. It's a unique power. So what I want to do is I want to just kind of walk through this really quickly. I'm not going to answer all the questions. I'm not going to be able to completely unpack it. But I just want to walk through this idea that we came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity and its importance to us as God's word kind of reveals it.

First of all, those first three words, "came to believe," is important. In the book, "12 Step Sponsorship," it says this. It says, working step two is a process. The first three words say as much, "came to believe." And then it breaks it down this. It is said that first, we came physically to the 12 Step program.

So the first step is, for some reason, whatever insanity that you're living in, at some point you stop and you go, I need to read a book. I need to go to church. I need to talk to somebody who's following God. You come. Step two, then we came to. In other words, we came out of our addictive or compulsive fog. Now, it doesn't mean all of a sudden you weren't addictive anymore. It means that you were caught in your addiction. You were caught maybe even in your self-centeredness. And for a moment, you came to your senses and said, that is insanity, the life I've been living.

You come out of that fog to begin to seek. To begin to learn. To begin to look outside of your little bubble that you've created. And then third, finally, we came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. It's a process. Believing and knowing God is a process. It's like a relationship.

Okay? A little over 19 years ago, I proposed to my bride. Unknowns to me, I proposed to her on April Fool's Day. Not recommend that. But I was more concerned about my question than the date. So I asked her, and to my amazement and great pleasure, she said yes. And I knew Lynn, my bride, pretty well when I asked her to marry me. We had been friends for a long time. There was no really romantic entanglement. That's a long story.

And so I was blessed to know her better than a lot of people know, but I still didn't really know her. As a matter of fact, after 19 years, I'm still getting to know her. But here's the thing. It would have been, it would be ludicrous if 19 years ago, I'm like, you know what? There's still more to find out about Lynn. So I think I'm going to wait until I know everything before I commit to this relationship.

Well, 19 years later, I still wouldn't have asked her. Matter of fact, some other smart guy would have got her by now. And yet many of us approach God that way. You know, I have so many questions. I don't understand this about God and how, and it's kind of like, if I don't have everything answered, I'm not going to commit to this. That's insanity.

It's a process, but it's a process that you need to enter into and commit something to in order for the process to take place. Now here at our gathering, we don't believe we're the church. We just believe we're one gathering of Jesus followers all over the world. This is just one location of many.

But at our gathering, we say that what it means to follow Jesus, to do what we're called to do is three things: love Jesus, live Jesus, and give Jesus. And then we break each of those down in a process. So I want to specifically kind of share when we talk about what it means to love Jesus, we have this little image right here. We do a triangle because we're a Trinity and Trinity church, three sides, just act like it's smart.

And we talk about the process of loving Jesus. The process of loving God is a process that first you have the top, you need to believe, or you need to know. You can't love someone you don't know. That's the first step, right? You go out on a date or you do something with someone, not being able to tell who, what someone is thinking about you this whole time, but they're listening. You don't need to run into get to a guy. You need to recognize what that is, you know, that's the first step is to know them.

But it does not end there. As many of you know, you knew, you thought you knew the person that you were marrying if you've been married. And those first two years were a shock, is right. Because those first two years is the next step of love, which is trust. It's one thing to know someone. It's another thing to trust them, to trust that they have your best in mind.

I could have swore that there were times in our early years of marriage that Lynn was out to get me, just to frustrate me, right. There are certain things like, for instance, just going to the airport, right. The worst torture in the world was to sit at the airport for two hours. Why? Now, this was pre-9-11, okay. Why? I mean, that's when your seat was assigned ahead of time. So it didn't matter what time you're getting there, it was the same seat. They didn't charge you for bags, so you could check whatever you wanted. There was always plenty of space because not everybody was trying to stuff their huge bags in that little space.

So you get there 15 minutes in advance. Now, my bride, Lynn, she doesn't like to rush. She hates to be rushed. So she wants to get there two hours early because they recommend two hours early, which was ridiculous. Then it was. So she's like trying to get outside the door, and I'm like, we got plenty of time, and I could have swore. She just wanted to torture me.

And of course, you know, we worked that stuff out. But it took time to know, as I got to know her more, to learn, hey, you know what? When she wants to do something, when she wants to go a different direction, it's not that she's going against me. She's either going with her personality, or there's actually some really wise stuff behind it. I mean, it took me 19 years, but the fact is, she's smarter than me.

Now, she's not in here, so don't tell her I said that. And I had to learn to trust. But it was a process. And then eventually, that trust leads to surrender. Surrender means that there are things that I do in our relationship, there are things that she does in our relationship, that just, you kind of, it leaves me scratching my head. But you know what? I know my wife, and I trust her, and I know and trust that she's a wise woman.

And so a lot of times, I just go with it. I surrender to it. But that didn't happen on day one. If we had to wait to get to that point before we got married again, some other smart guy would have snatched her up. To believe. It's about that first step, but it is fundamental. Hebrews 11:6 says this. In the book of Hebrews, the author writes, "And without faith, it is impossible to please God." Faith is belief with action.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him, being God, must believe that he exists, that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. In other words, you cannot trust God if you don't believe he's there, and you don't believe that he's actually looking out for you, which makes complete sense.

And so to unleash the power of God in your life, you must believe he exists and that he has your best interests in mind. Second part, we came to believe that a power greater than ourselves, and this is a stumbling block for many. You have to believe that the power is greater than yourself. I love this quote. You see this all through the recovery program. It says, "What we need to know about God is that there is one, and we are not it." I love that. There is a God, and we're not it.

Now, I think a lot of us fundamentally would nod our heads to that, but here's the thing I would say to you. If there really is a God, and I'm not talking about like the Greek gods. The Greek gods were really people with superpowers. I'm talking about God, creator, know-it-all, can-do-it-all. He is going to be, she is going to be, the spirit of it, however you want to picture it, is going to be so other from me.

I mean, if there's a God that you can get your mind around, that's not God. Like I said, that's just a person with superpowers. We need to understand that we do not arrange the restoration. Neither does a spouse, a new house, a nicer apartment, the right car, or a better paying job. None of these things has the power to restore us to sanity. It's only God that can do that.

The big book says this, "If a mere code of morals or a better philosophy of life were sufficient to overcome alcoholism, or whatever you're struggling with, many of us would have recovered long ago. But we found that such codes and philosophies do not save us no matter how much we try." It was just a matter of believe this. It was just a matter of follow these three simple steps, right?

I mean, if you really think that this is a good thing, then you're wrong. I'll write a book for you. I'll give you three simple steps, but I'll have pretty much the result of every other how-to book. It'll last for two weeks, maybe two months, and then you'll buy another book next year.

And I want to kind of take a sidestep here again and just talk to those of us who are raised in the church. You need to be really careful. We need to be really careful that we don't just come up with a Christian moral philosophy. That we don't just come up with a Christian moral philosophy. We're not putting our hope in, you know what, if I just believe, you know, what Jesus said, the good things that Jesus said.

If I don't just, you know, be an advocate for prayer in schools, and anti this, and vote this way, then I'm... But understand that fundamentally, fundamentally, if it's not about knowing God, not following his moral principle, but knowing God, and tapping into that power, we're on the wrong track.

2 Peter 1:3, the Peter who followed Jesus, who failed miserably. That's a guy I can relate to. It says it this way. It says, "His divine power, being God's divine power, Christ's divine power, has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him." Notice this, who called us by his own glory and goodness.

You know what I love about that? God doesn't do this. God doesn't say, you know what? I'm looking for who are worthy. You got it going on, I choose you. You got it going on, I'm choosing you. God's this way. You know what? It's about my glory and my goodness. So I really like the people who are really messed up. Give me the people who are so messed up that there's nothing but up and I'll do my best work.

Now, those who have it pretty much together, there's hope for you too. But generally, we don't go to him for help. And if you feel like you're helpless, you're hopeless, let me tell you, you're the prime candidate because it's by his glory and goodness, not your own, that his power is unleashed. That should be good news. That's great news.

Now, like I said, this idea of God's power can trip several people up. And there's no way I'm gonna kind of, I'm not gonna try to argue anybody into believing this, but let me just kind of address three general kinds of people. And it's a very generalization. First, let me address those who just out and out disbelieve. You might call yourself an atheist or agnostic. You just don't, God, the whole idea, you're only here to make somebody else happy or you're watching online because they asked you to.

But really, God, you're the prime candidate. That's the fundamental idea of God. The 12 steps and 12 traditions says this. It says, "This AA business," in other words, they can relate to that. "This AA business, I thought, is totally unscientific. This I can't swallow. I simply won't consider such nonsense." This is one of the original members of AA saying this. This is what he thought.

Then I woke up. I had to admit that AA showed results, prodigious results. I saw that. I saw that my attitude regarding these had been anything but scientific. It wasn't AA that had a closed mind. It was me. What he's saying is this. What is the nature of scientific discovery is this. You keep an open mind and anytime you see something, you inquisitively keep an open mind and search it out.

So what do we know that's true? People who have faith have a power greater than other people who don't. That's scientific. It doesn't matter who you are, that's science. It's just science you can observe it. What has this program shown? It's shown that people who have given themselves over not to themselves but to God, to whatever they're understanding, do better than people who don't.

And so I would just caution you not to accept everything lock, stock and barrel but I would challenge do you really have an open mind? Are you really as scientific as you think? Are you open that maybe, maybe there is a power greater than yourself? Maybe there is a God. And if you're not open to that, well, you're being dishonest with yourself.

Second, there's what I'm going to just generally refer to as the drifter. The drifter is someone who was diverted from their childhood faith. It was something you believed in a long time ago. Maybe you were raised this, but then the overconfidence of youth or young adulthood sets in. You're glad for good religious training; it gives you a good moral code if you would. But life begins to happen and certain material success or ways of just gaining happiness, if you would, of joy in life that are outside of your moral code begin to kind of work.

And so you feel like you're winning at the game of life. You're getting what you always wanted, what the church and your parents, quite frankly, kept you from. And so you're not, you're not, and then eventually you just begin to say you don't really think about those ideas anymore. You definitely don't think about eternity because I'm going to live in the now. It's about the now, and the here and now is good enough initially.

And you believe your way will win the day, but then life begins to have its way. It's not immediate; it's gradual. But you wake up someday and you go, I'm not going to live. What have I made of my life? And for many of us, we have made a case in our minds so long against church, against God, against Jesus, against whoever. It's like by our own stubbornness, I can't go back that way because then I'm admitting I'm wrong.

So what do we do? We just try this, we try new that, we try this. How? To those of you who are what I would call people of religious disgust, religious disgust. You're just plumb disgusted with religion and all its works, right? It's really the people themselves that, religious people themselves that, I mean, you read the news and all these religious wars and you don't really see any difference between ISIS and the Christian haters who, you know, try to pass laws against homosexuals in their restaurants and stuff like that.

And you're just like, this just drives you nuts, the hypocrisy and the bigotry and the crushing self-righteousness of religious people who go around saying, I love you on one side of their mouth and then everything that they hate about people on the other side of their mouth. You're just like, I don't want any part of that.

Actually, the big book talks about this kind of person because these people were like that too. That was their wall between them and a higher power. And it says this, it said, "We looked at the human defects of these people, religious people, and sometimes use their shortcomings as a basis for wholesale condemnation. We talked of intolerance while we were intolerant ourselves. We missed the reality and the beauty of the forest because we were diverted by the ugliness of some of its trees. We never gave the spiritual side of life a fair hearing because ultimately what he's saying is we used a few to justify our wall that we put up between us and God."

Now I'll tell you, you are not alone. If you were disgusted by religion, Jesus was disgusted by religion. His harshest words were for the religious. Matter of fact, Matthew 23, verse 23 says this, Jesus is speaking to the religious leaders, to their faces. He says, "Woe to you." In other words, I got a warning for you. You're missing the mark. Woe to you, teachers of law and Pharisees. Those were the two, two of the religious groups, leaders of the day. It was like, woe to you, clergy. Woe to you, pastors. Woe to you, bishops. Woe to you, teachers of the law and the Pharisees, you hypocrites, he says.

"You give a tenth of your spices." That means that they give, it's like giving to the church. "You give a tenth of your spices, mint, dill, and cumin." In other words, not only did they give money, but they took the spices that they grew in their little herb garden and they were giving a portion of that to God. That's how religious they were. Woo! But he says you're hypocrites because you do that, but you've neglected the more important matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faithfulness.

"You should have practiced the latter. It's good to give, but you should not have neglected the former, the more important matters." Jesus hated religion too. Jesus hated religion too. But if we're really honest with ourselves, we often find what it says in "12 Steps and 12 Traditions" is this. "At no time, we asked what God's will was for us. Instead, we have been telling him what it ought to be."

If we're honest with ourselves, a lot of times we're like, okay, God, in essence, I want you to be a holy spiritual Santa Claus. And here's the deal. You exist if my life works. I know. I know you exist if so-and-so does not die. I know you exist if this trouble that I'm in, if this terrible abuse I'm in ceases, then you exist. I know you exist if I get this job. I know you exist if you make my marriage work. I know you exist, and we give him our list.

It's what I used to do when I was a kid, right? And we didn't have the internet at that point. Gore hadn't invented it yet. And I used to take the Sears catalog, and I'd circle everything I wanted. And I'd double circle the things I really wanted because the truth is, I circled everything. And then I would give it to my parents. I'm like, this is what I want. And that's what we do with God. Our view of God is he's a spiritual Santa Claus.

And if you really exist, God, then we give him our list. But we forget the nature of God. If God is the creator, who not just created the world, but he created us for a purpose. We don't get to tell him how he exists on, how he exists. Because if you're doing that, that ain't God you're talking to. The very nature of something being God, of someone being God, is that he is God and he gets to tell you, he gets to tell me how it works.

And most of us, our experience with God is, I showed up on my Christmas list and Santa didn't deliver, so Santa doesn't exist. And many of us, we're really prideful because we came to that conclusion. You'll see a verse in your handout there, 2 Corinthians 12:9, where Paul wrestles with us. And he comes to the conclusion that God's grace is nothing. It's not by his strength, it's by God's.

But I want to go on to the last part of this step. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Could restore us to sanity. I love this. I mentioned this last week, but this definition of insanity is this. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, but expecting different results. It's in your handout there.

And many of us, many of us do that. Many of us tell ourselves, you know what? I'll just do a little bit of drinking tonight. You know what? I'm going to jump right back in a relationship, but this time, you know, I'll pick somebody who's healthy and not unhealthy and abusive. This time, I'm going to go to a job that is satisfying me, and I won't get caught up in the hours and the 401k and whatnot and neglect my family. This time, it will be different.

This time, when we get in the car on the way to church, I ain't going to yell at those children. But here's the deal. It might work once, but it rarely works ongoing. You should do the same thing expecting different results. And by the way, that is also true if you think you can just pick up the newest how-to book and it's going to change everything.

We kind of see this insanity in Mark chapter five. I'm not going to go through the whole thing. It's an interesting historical event because it involves a man who's literally influenced by demons. Now for some of you, already your antenna just went up. Oh my, oh no, no, that's where I draw the line. And I get it because it's weird. It's not usually within our experience. But if any of you've ever been to a third world country or maybe you've dabbled in some of the other things, if you've been to Santa Cruz and some of the things that they dabble in, it's real, okay?

But at this point, you don't have to accept this reality. Just listen to this event. This guy was influenced by multiple, not one, but by multiple demons. And Jesus shows up and explains him this way, starting in verse three, says this man lived in the tombs and no one combined him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day, to destroy him, he came to the tombs in the hills. He would cry out and he would cut himself with stones.

I don't know there's a better description of somebody who's insane. Now don't hear what I'm not saying. Everyone who's mentally unstable and sane has got a demon. I'm not saying that, okay? Not saying that at all. There's a lot of different reasons for things like that, okay? In this guy's case, though, that was the issue. It's like saying everyone who's got a messed up teenager, it's because they parented badly. That ain't true. They're teenagers.

But in this guy's case, that's what was going on. But if anyone could see insanity, it would be this case. And if you look at him, though, there are some things that are common amongst many of us. First of all, he was an outcast. Right? He lived where others. He had been put in a place where he was as far away from others as possible. Second of all, he was alone. He was alone. He was depressed. He was sad. It said he cried out night and day.

And he was self-destructive. Now, all these things he was in an extreme way. They're all signs of insanity. But here's the deal. We are all on this continuum. You may not be living in the tombs or in the trash heap. But that doesn't mean there's not an insanity of your life where things in your life that you do could be what you watch, could be anger that's inside of you, could be that you're so absorbed with the things that you bought that you cover up feelings that you feel alone.

You could be living in a house filled with people, family that you supposedly love, but feel alone. Feel like an outcast. We're deep down. The outside world looks in and everything looks good. You got the Tesla. You got, you know, you're going to actually hit your retirement mark. I'm taking the best case scenario here, okay? I don't think we have anyone like this in this church. But let's just pretend we did. Right?

But deep down, you're this way. You can't stop feeling this way. You can't stop getting involved with that. It's destructive behavior. Now, the question is this. If you got that little bit of insanity in your life, do you really have to get to this kind of insanity to get help? Or maybe you can learn from those who started there that are now here. And go, there is insanity in my life. And I need to be restored to sanity.

So you don't have to be completely insane. But you do need to identify that there's insanity in your life. And again, I want to take a sidebar, sidestep here for Christians. And just speak to those of us who grew up in the church. Because way too often... We go to God and we just, it's just kind of like, I just want fire insurance, right? I want my eternity, a moral code that I feel good about and to know that I'm good with God in eternity.

And we try to manage our insanity ourselves. That's doubly insane. I mean, as we point fingers to the outside world, there's three fingers pointing back. You remember, have you ever heard that? That's doubly insane. You know why it's doubly insane? Here's this. It's like having a billion dollars. We used to say a million, that's nothing now. A billion dollars in the bank.

Now it's one thing if you have a billion dollars that was left to you by somebody who died that you know nothing about and you don't use that money. That's insanity, kind of. But you know what's really insane? You know you have a billion dollar bank account and all you do though is stress about your debt.

And many of us Christians who grew up in church, we have heard Jesus say, I have the power. Your life will not work. You can do nothing. Remember John? You can do nothing apart from me, John 14. And we keep going, you know, you just take care of eternity. Give me some ooey gooey feelings every once in a while. But I got this life thing worked out. That's insanity.

And we're the last word on this. It says you'll notice in step two, it says that the God could restore. It doesn't say he would restore. Again, in the book "12 Step Sponsorship," it says this, whether or not restoration occurs is up to us as well as the higher power. In other words, while faith is important, so is work.

Matter of fact, in the programs itself, they'll tell you after you come and you start these steps, they'll say you need to work the steps. God will do his part, but our part is we need to do something. He says we have to do our part by diligently working the 12 steps. It doesn't happen by magic.

And again, God will give us power, but if we don't believe he exists, if we don't take the time to get before him and begin to know him, and begin to trust Him so that eventually we can surrender to Him, we won't receive that power. It's a could-be. It's a could-be. Again, it's like saying, oh, I have a bank account. Great. But if you never write a check, if you never go to the bank and make a withdrawal, and many of us are like that.

You've got a part to make. You've got spiritual power, but you must go to, if you would, go to the spiritual bank. You must go to God and receive what He has for you. I must go to God and receive what He has for me.

So what now? All right. I kind of get it. Joel, what do we do? Well, actually, the big book does a good job of laying out three steps here. It says this. We have taken step two when our adventures before and after sobriety have convinced us of the following three pertinent ideas. Right? And, again, these are all ideas that are found in the scriptures.

Number one, that we were addicts and could not manage our own lives, or that we were powerless and could not manage our own lives. In other words, if you're still getting over this hump, like, I don't know if I really need God. Things are going pretty well. You've got to go back to step one. You've got to go back to step one. Listen to last week. Let that sit in your soul.

Number two, after that, you have to believe that human power, that no human power could have relieved, or alcoholism, or whatever the issue is. Because here's the thing that we know about ourselves. Okay? If there's any other way, we ain't going to go God's way. If there's any other way, we want to figure it out on our own. None of us, not a single one of us, want really to give anyone the credit for the good things that happen in our lives.

Now, sometimes we, because it's politically correct, do. But even then, we kind of try to, at least, maybe I'm just talking about myself. Even then, I try. I try to frame it in a way that, yeah, they helped me, but then I did something with it. Fundamentally, there's another way. We're going to, if there's another book to read, if there's another program, if there's money to earn, if there's some other way to do it, we're going to do that.

So we have to, in order to really get this help, we have to come to the point where we have to believe there is no human power that could relieve us from our bondage of this insanity that we live in. And then third, we have to come to believe that God could and would if he were sought.

And I love that because it's just, if you just seek him, it doesn't say if you got it together. It doesn't say if you understand it all. It doesn't say if you're willing to do the Ten Commandments or this, that, or the other thing. It just says if you're willing to seek him.

And that's exactly what Jesus said. Jesus says this in Matthew. I pray this in the name of Jesus, our Lord, who made it all possible. Amen.