INTRODUCTION: I'm excited about the possibility of change in my life. I am taking the 12 Steps that were originally written for Alcoholics Anonymous and applying the concepts in a Biblical context. The 12 Steps have been used to help people with a variety of needs. Drug addiction, over-eating, under-eating, gambling, co-dependency problems, perfectionists etc. Smoking, sexual addictions, name your hang-up and this will help you begin the long walk to freedom.

Some of you have tried 100's of times to make the necessary corrections, to no avail. You're sitting there looking skeptical at me and thinking, "It'll take more than 12 messages to move me."

I heard of a man named Schmidt who owned a VW that needed some repairs. It seemed that Schmidt always had that VW in the shop and wanted to help the mechanic fix the car. He was the kind of man that causes mechanics to groan when he enters the shop.

This day Schmidt drove the VW in past the white line where he was supposed to stop. The mechanic came out and thought, "Oh it's only 9:00 in the morning, that's much too early to handle Schmidt. He went over to Schmidt and said, "Schmidt, don't mess with me today. I'll fix your car, you stay here and don't follow me."

The mechanic drove the car over the hoist, looked in the rear view mirror and sure enough, Schmidt was following him. That really ticked the mechanic off. By the time he got out of the car Schmidt already had the hood up and said to the Mechanic, "I think the problem is right here." The mechanic said, "Schmidt, I can't take it, you're pushing me too far." Schmidt said, "But I'll save you time locating the problem. Just look at this."

The mechanic said, "Schmidt, come with me over here. Let's play a game." He drew a circle on the floor and said, "Schmidt, I'll bet you can't stay in that circle while I work on your car." Schmidt said, "This is great I've never played games while my car was being fixed." Schmidt got in the circle, the mechanic approached the car with a sledge hammer, raised it up and looked over to see what Schmidt might be doing at this point.

Schmidt was standing in the circle with a smirk on his face beginning to laugh. That made the mechanic very angry so he went through with it and brought the sledge hammer down on the car....WHAM!!! He turned around and Schmidt was laughing louder so he beat the car harder and now Schmidt was holding his side he was laughing so uncontrollably.

The mechanic went berserk, he lost it and furiously flattened the VW. When he turned around, Schmidt was on the floor rolling around inside the circle laughing himself silly. The mechanic took the sledge hammer over to Schmidt and said, "Look I've destroyed your car and your laughing like a hyena. You can sue me, you can call the police and put me away. "What in the world is going on?" Schmidt could hardly wait to tell him, "While you were beating up on my car I stepped out of the circle three times."

Schmidt has a problem, he's playing games while something very serious is going on. That reminds me of people, it reminds me of you and of me. It's so easy to play games while something very serious is happening in our lives. It's so easy to play games while our habits destroy our bodies. And we deny that it's happening.

It's so easy to play games while our marriages are being battered on the rocks of life's sea, and we say, "It's not my fault." It's so easy to play games while the spirit of our children gradually turns away from us and we say, "I'll deal with it tomorrow." It's so easy to play games while we lose one job and contract after another, all because we won't face some basic realities in our life. And we say, "There's nothing I need to change in my life."

It's so easy to play games as one by one our friends forsake us unable to take anymore of our barbs and we say, "This time I'll find a friend who really

understands me." I believe the time for playing games is over, it's time to face the reality of our situation and understand and accept the reality of STEP ONE.

"We admitted we were powerless over our problem and that our lives had become unmanageable." "We admitted we were powerless over the effects of our separation from God and that our lives had become unmanageable." "Wholeness is a process that begins with God."

I. Our Separation From God Causes Problems. The undeniable fact of life is that sin has screwed us up by separating us from our Creator.

Some people postpone the pain by drinking, drugs, legally or illegally; some smoke, others under stress eat, some don't eat; others move into negative self-talk (I can't do anything right etc). Some move into criticalness and shoot away at people, others into self-absorption, life centers around them. Others become abusive, physically, psychologically. Some are so good at lying, anger, resentment. Still others engage in ceaseless activity.

I have some news for you, this list includes ALL OF US. None of us play out our roles in life properly. Because of that, we all come from families that in one way or another are dysfunctional and need to understand. "Wholeness is a process that begins with God."

You hear people say, "I know my mom and dad loved me. True they never said it, but they let me live there, I ate for nothing, had my own room, it was a great place. I really appreciate them. It wasn't quite perfect, but nothing is."

When you come out of that type of setting you take on roles to deal with that type of home. Every person is stuck in some way, we all have a stuckness. The person who is stuck we call the stuckee and there's always a person who helps the stuck person stay stuck, that's the stuckor.

Usually the stuckor does this by silence, just putting up with it, allowing it to happen. For every person with a weight problem (the stuckee) someone (the stuckor) is offering a third heaping helping. So let's take a look at the stuck family album so you can see where you are.

Let's start with Dad and let's say he has an alcohol problem, he is the stuckee. Here's his wife and she's the stuckor. She is helping her husband stay stuck because she doesn't want to break up the family. People say to her, "Do you put up with that jerk?" Yes I do." "What a Godly woman you must be."

The kids see the drama as it unfolds and they want to save the family name. So one of the kids decides to go for it. He'll become a millionaire by the time he's 30 or decide to become a brilliant lawyer and he or she becomes driven.

There are people who all their life are going for it. They're in perpetual motion. One of the other children becomes the "lost child." This is the child that the parents say, "No problem at all with this kid, she's a model child, unbelievable, you never hear a peep out of this kid." That's the problem, the kid hasn't peeped yet, or for that matter entered the human race yet. Some of these children grow up in life not marrying and dying early.

A third child in that family is the scapegoat. This child takes on a problem for himself to draw the attention away from the family problem. This child gets pregnant or gets into drugs and everyone wags their tongue and says, "Oh, oh, oh, isn't that too bad about that young person and the poor parents have to face the problem." The pregnancy and drugs of the children is not the problem. That's just a symptom of the real problem.

The fourth child is the mascot, the one who sees life as one big party. They laugh about everything, even in the midst of crisis. They say the dumbest things because they just want to keep moving and not face the problem. This person never grows up, partying and busy all the time.

As you look at this family from all outward appearances, they make it. They are the all Canadian family, yet each member is out of joint in one way or another. Question, how many of you see yourself in the stuck family album? These children from the stuck family marry children from other stuck families and do you wonder why the world is in a mess today?

Do you understand what I mean when I say, "Wholeness is a process that begins with God." Adam and Eve did not come from a dysfunctional family. They are the only ones I know. So here we sit this morning, everyone of us with psychological problems whether we want to admit it or not. We prefer to call these problems "rough edges." They are really problems we should be working through but we say the're only "rough edges."

It's the same when people die we say, "They passed away or they passed on to the next life." We like to colour everything. We suppress or re-press the problem we don't want to face. The problem does not go away. We bury the problem and it remains alive and active inside of us.

There are three constant undertows working in our lives.

When they arrived at the village, the Rabbi paid the driver and then said, "I know why I came to this village, I'm called to be the Rabbi. I know why you came here, you brought me. But what I can't figure out is, why did Risky come? Tell me, do you know why you insist on dragging your problem through life with you? "Wholeness is a process that begins with God."

Step 1 Recovery Worksheet

1. What difficulties are you having in recognizing your powerlessness and your life's unmanageability. Psalm. 6:6-7

2. Most of us re-act to the negatives of the environment we were raised in. Some of us take on the role of being super-responsible while others of us withdraw and become super-irresponsible. Some can identify pain and others don't feel any loss or pain but they recognize the impact. Name an event in your life that has brought the realization of the negatives from your past to light today.

3. As we begin to accept the reality of our condition, we naturally look to others for answers. No matter how many outside sources we seek, there will be no relief for us until we, by ourselves, in our own minds and hearts, acknowledge our powerlessness. Then, will we begin to see that Step one in the beginning of the way out. Why is it necessary to believe that on our own we are powerless?

4. Read 1 Corinthians. 8:2 What does this verse tell you about yourself?

5. Step one is not a once-for-all commitment. We must remember that our old traits, habits and behavior patterns are still with us. They are unconscious reactions to the common stresses of life. When we admit our powerlessness and seek God's help, new courses of action will open up for us. In what area of your life do you experience the strongest need to be in control?

List the potential consequences if you are unable to control this area.

6. Read Mark 4:35-41. List the emotions the Disciples experienced and then tell how you experience these same emotions today and how they contribute to your feeling of powerlessness.

7. List the two descriptive conditions of our lives that step one talks about.

We need to be totally honest in order to drop the disguises and see things as they really are. When we stop finding excuses for our behavior, we will have taken the first step toward achieving the humility we need to accept spiritual guidance. It is through this spiritual guidance that we can begin to rebuild ourselves and our lives. What areas do you experience the greatest unmanageability?

8. Cite some specific instances where you find excuses for your behavior.

9. Read John 15:1-8. This is a picture of God helping us in the process of making our lives manageable. Which non-productive behaviors (branches) of your life need to be eliminated?

10. Just as the healing of physical disease can only begin when we acknowledge the disease, so the spiritual healing of our obsessive/compulsive behavior begins when we acknowledge the existence of the problem. Describe the specific action Bartimaeus took in Mark 10:51.

11. Read Luke 15:17. Describe the similarities between your life and that of the person in Luke.

12. During this series you will discover that true lasting change does not happen by trying to alter our life conditions. Although it is tempting to think so, exterior adjustments cannot correct the problem that exists within us. Deep and profound healing requires surrendering the belief that we can heal our lives by manipulating our environment. We must faithfully walk through the steps. Describe how in the past you have tried to alter your life conditions by manipulating your environment.

11. Read Romans 7:18-20. List the examples that indicate you have a desire to do what is good, but cannot carry it out.

12. Read 2 Cor. 12:9-10. What does "for when I am weak, then I am strong" specifically mean to you?

13. As we begin our journey toward recovery old truths will have new meaning for us. We will know what it means when we say we will never be separated from the love of God. Our faith in God and our renewed emerging faith in ourselves and others, will sustain us as we experience the inevitable pain and suffering that our rigorous self-examination will cause. It is the only way out for us; the only way to new life in Christ. What are your fears concerning the pain and suffering you may experience as a result of self-examination?

14. Read Proverbs. 28:26. Why is trusting yourself not a wise thing to do?