"Losing Yourself" | Take Your Life Back | Week 1

[Music] hi I'm Steve our turbine founder of New Life Ministries and a teaching pastor at North u Church I am so delighted that you've decided to go from just listening to the message during a weekend service to discussing some important principles and concepts that hopefully will help you take your whole life back or just one or two areas that are troublesome for you so I welcome you to a deeper journey into the book take your life back now sadly as Christians we often think our faith should take away the pain and the struggles of life and then when it doesn't we become very disappointed and disillusioned and then we feel like our problems are getting worse are not getting better and we get very very discouraged and disillusioned with the whole faith concept well some of us even feel like our lives are out of control and we wonder if we will ever get better or maybe we're on some miserable path even though we're Christians well no matter where you are on this continuum from fulfilled to misery we all know one thing and we often don't do anything about it we know that doing the same old things in the same old ways won't change anything so I want to start by challenging you to have the courage to see your situation from a different perspective and have the willingness to do some things that you may have never done before and if you will no matter how difficult things are I believe in four weeks from now when you finish with this study I believe your life is going to be better and that you're going to be glad that you had the courage and the willingness that are needed for change and for those of you who don't really identify any real problem right now it's hard for you to really address that well thanks for joining the study and I hope that by staying with it that you might discover some area where you could work a little bit or grow a little bit so let's get started session 1 using yourself and creating a false self it's a known fact that everybody has something and it's something that's not good it's a habit or an obsession an unhealthy relationship a struggling child maybe it's an unhealthy parent or a secret alliance perhaps it's shame from a troubled past or anger that turns to rage or anxiety that turns into a paralyzing fear or a thousand other things that can interfere with being the person that you're meant to be are fulfilling the purpose that God has called you to carry out well it's also a known fact that many of us spend a lot of time and energy covering up whatever it is that we have and our feelings of being less than are sicker than or weaker then we create a false self and lose the real self that God intended us to be and to live yes everybody has something and whatever it is it can dominate and it can control our lives especially if we keep it to ourselves our secrets make us sicker and our willingness to open up about our lives can be a giant step toward taking our lives back you know being in a group like this can be a very powerful experience if everyone's willing to be open and honest about what they've been through or maybe some area that they struggle with right now well we need to start somewhere and starting with sharing our deepest darkest secrets well that wouldn't be a very good place I was in a group one time and shared about a struggle I was having well I didn't think it was any big deal I guess because I had so many struggles but no one said a word after that it was just too much too soon well let's face it if you're not accustomed to sharing in a small group it can be really uncomfortable but when it happens it bonds people together and the group becomes really effective now I hope that some of you are gonna open up about some of the things that you've been through and that the end result is going to be that no one is going to feel like that there alone in dealing with issues that maybe date back to early childhood even beyond so if we've established that we all have something to work on something to resolve or something to change then the most logical area to examine are some of the beliefs about change and spiritual growth and it's even okay to bring up something an interesting friend or family member believes about change or spiritual growth or character development and no one is allowed to say hey is that about you or is that about the friend so here's the question how do you really think personal change really happens I mean really way down deep inside in the very core of your beliefs what do you really really believe about what really produces change that makes life better and restores broken relationships now I know that's a lot of real ease but I'm hoping that they encourage you to avoid the expected answer or the so-called right answer and reveal where you've really landed on what matters when it comes to a person making a big change for the good of their lives now here are some options to start with there are some people who don't think real change is possible they think that quote unquote the it your problem that it's in your genes or it's programmed in from birth and whatever your it is it won't go away and you can only change it temporarily and that that change is only going to be superficial well rather than try to change they just try to cope and then that big it just causes more pain more heartache isolation and loneliness others believe that change is possible and they believe that when you need to change you need to pray more you need to read the Bible more you need to spend more time with God in a quiet special place well you know without these we tend to drift spiritually so it only makes sense that change comes when we get back to them there's another set of beliefs that focus on the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit that through the power of the Holy Spirit we can instantly be delivered from the most serious of problems addictions and relationship disasters you could say that they're waiting for a miracle or they think that the miracle occurs when a person comes to God and God makes it happen they often seek out spiritual leaders who claim to help facilitate the work of the Holy Spirit through deliverance and miraculous healing other options might include working a 12-step recovery program like in a life recovery group obtaining therapy from a licensed Christian professional working with a mentor or getting pastoral counseling through the church or a whole lot of other things that people have tried over the ages now I hope that during this first group you're going to take some time and get as many different ideas as possible into the discussion to hear what everyone honestly believes is needed for a person to change or to take their lives back when you review the list that I gave you of how people think change occurs you can see that all of the things that are on there are good things Bible studies good prayer is good being delivered is really good I've known people who were instantly freed of an addiction but what those people weren't instantly changed into the thing that they were missing right from the moment of being delivered was mature godly character that only occurs over time you know I've never met anyone who was instantly delivered into godly character that requires some work well there are a lot of things that help us build character and you know I've seen people build amazing character by joining the Special Ops for the United States of America and becoming a Navy SEAL I mean you can't make it without character now since most of us are not willing to sign up for that assignment or to be accepted by them if we did I hope that you'll take some time to share with each other anything that you've been involved with that has helped you build character and then discuss these and see if you can come up with a short list of the best options for building strong godly character finally we have some very very direct direction in Romans 12:2 it says here that if you want to change if you want to experience complete transformation it says in the New Living Translation don't copy the behavior and the customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way that you think then you will learn to know God's will for you which is pleasing and perfect it is a very clear direction with two astonishing results you have to give up some things that you have become accustomed to and you have to be willing to change the way that you think do those things and you will be transformed into a new person well that's easy to read and it's easy to say but it's very hard to do when it comes to this transformation into a new person well you get to understand the perfect and pleasing and good will of God now I can't think of anything that brings greater security than knowing God's will for your life and living in and out of it well that's what I'm hoping is going to happen to you over the next few weeks keep coming back and you will get the help in taking your life back from something small or bothersome or something that has destroyed so much of what God had for you keep coming back and continue to look at what needs to be altered in your life and open your mind to a whole new way of thinking it's God's Way of thinking and you just might find yourself with a whole new life full of joy meaning and purpose well that's what I've been praying for you and in these final minutes you might want to spend some time sharing anything that has come up for you during this time and remember that your sharing may be the very thing someone else needs to hear to open up for the first time then spend some time praying with each other and praying for each other and prayed it God will reveal to you what he wants for your life in the weeks to come thanks for joining me on this take your life back journey I think you're gonna like where it takes you and I think you're gonna let go of some of that false self that you've created and you're gonna be very happy with the real self that's been down there all along

Channel: Northview Church

Views: 2,136

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Life Group Series, Take Your Life Back, Lafayette, Indianapolis, Steve Poe, Northview Church, Westfield, Fishers, Indy North, Steve Arterburn, Stephen Arterburn, Carmel, Northview

Id: _7C37ZAjTPI

Length: 11min 49sec (709 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 10 2017