Four Benefits to Admitting Your Mistakes

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Better Together

Four Benefits to Admitting Your Mistakes By Rick Warren — May 28, 2015 “Admit your faults to one other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” (James 5:16a TLB) There’s a secret ingredient that builds community faster than anything else: admitting our mistakes. But why in the world would anybody risk honesty? Because it’s worth the risk. God says there are four benefits of being honest about our mistakes, our feelings, our faults, and our fears. Emotional Healing The Bible says in James 5:16, “Admit your faults to one other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” (TLB). There is a big difference between forgiveness and emotional healing. If you need forgiveness for something in your life, all you need to do is confess it to God. Emotional healing comes from telling somebody else. A Fresh Start Proverbs 28:13 says, “A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance.” One of the most helpful things you can do in your small group is help people forgive themselves. A lot of people need somebody to say, “You’ve admitted it to God? Then you are forgiven. You’ve confessed it? Then you are forgiven. Let it go.” God’s Power to Change “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor”(James 4:10 NLT, second edition). How does this work? The Bible says that God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. God’s grace is the power to change. When you get God’s grace, you can change the things you’ve always wanted to change in your life. But it only comes through humility, and humility comes through honesty. Deeper Fellowship The Bible says, “If we live in the light — just as he is in the light — then we have fellowship with one another” (1 John 1:7a TEV). We think that if we’re open about our fears, hang-ups, imperfections, and secret faults, people are going to think less of us. The opposite is true! Actually the more honest you are, the more people like you and want to be with you. Many of you have realized, “My life is messed up. I’ve got some serious hang-ups, habits, bad responses, and bad relationships. There’s no way I could admit to all of the bad stuff in my life.” God wants to turn your hurt into healing. Then he wants to use you in the lives of other people. He’s just waiting for you to surrender. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick. Talk It Over Is it sometimes harder to admit your mistakes to people within God’s family? Why do you think this is so? What are the things that you need to accept forgiveness for so that you can move forward to emotional healing? What does it mean to “live in the light”? Today’s Scripture “What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness?” (Romans 3:3, NIV) SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS Don’t Let Others Limit Your Dreams Have the opinions of other people caused you to water down your dreams? There will always be critics and naysayers in life. It’s not what’s said about you that affects your life, but what you say and believe about yourself. One of the most important things you can learn is that other people don’t have to believe in you in order for your dreams to come to pass. Other people don’t set the limits for your life — you do. In Romans 3:3, the Apostle Paul is saying, “It doesn’t matter if other people don’t believe. Their unbelief is not going to keep me from believing in my dreams.” When God puts a promise in your heart, it’s not up to other people to bring it to pass, it’s up to you! You don’t need everyone to validate you. You have to follow the voice of God for yourself and allow Him to order your steps. Remember, God sees the hidden treasures that you’ve had buried on the inside of you. He wants to bring those treasures out and make your dreams reality! As you get rid of old, defeated thoughts and replace them with what God says about you, you will remove the limits and live the abundant life God has in store for you! A Prayer for Today “Father, thank You for another day to see Your goodness in my life. Today, I take off the limits and embrace the dreams You’ve placed in my heart. Empower me by Your Spirit to fulfill Your plan for me in Jesus’ name. Amen.” PS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPh8peG1Hlg