When You Need a Fresh Start

A Rick Warren Sermon Summary
  • Stop making excuses:
  • "I don’t have what it takes." - Depend on God (Judges 6:15-16).
  • "I have made many mistakes." - Don’t let your past imprison you (Isaiah 53:18-19). Renounce them. Depend on God’s mercy (Proverbs 28:13).
  • "I can't control them." - Control the controllable. Keep trying. Trust God for the rest (Proverbs 24:10 CEV).
  • "I don’t know the future." - Waiting for perfect conditions gets you nowhere (Ecclesiastes 11:4 LB).
 
Identify your assets. Christ is our biggest assets (Colossians 2:10).
  •  Remember what you've learned. Pain and failures are the best teacher (Galatians 3:4, 2Timonty 3:14).
  • Seek out those who can help. Ask them (Proverbs 15:22).
 
Plan, but count on God to direct you (Proverbs 16:9 LB). Then act. Trust God, who is moved by your faith (Matthew 9:29).
  • Set up multiple goals and plan them out.
  • Set up character goals. God is more interested in character than accomplishments.
 
Have fresh thoughts (Ephesians 4:23).
  • Listen more to God’s words than to the world (Psalms 1:1-3).
  • Challenge and ignore unhelpful thoughts (Proverbs 4:23).
 
Accept your ignorance.
 
Everything has its timing (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 8:5-7).
Sometimes you are called to wait.
  •  Ask others to pray for you (Romans 15:30).
  • Seek wise counsels from many (Proverbs 11:14, 12:15).
  • Quietly listen to God’s words (1 Kings 19:11-13). Run from your past mistakes (Psalms 119:59-60). Observe and understand your current conditions (Proverbs 24:32).
  • Identify where you were the most productive and satisfied in helping others (1 Peter 4:10).
  • Take the time. A good decision is better than a fast decision. It's easier to get into something than to get out (Proverbs 20:25).
  • The final outcome is in God’s hands (Proverbs 16:1). If things don’t work out, trust God and His timing. Be humble lest you stumble (1 Peter 5:6).
  • Nothing belongs to you; everything is His. Be ready to surrender your timetable and control to God (Psalms 31:14-15). If you yoke up with Christ, you should let Him set the pace (Matthew 11:28-29, Romans 3:28). 
 
God specializes in fresh starts (Zechariah 10:6; Hosea 14:4-5; Psalms 145:13-14). Through Christ, you have a new heart, new thoughts and new desires (Psalms 51:10, 2Corinthians 5:17).
 
Trust God. He will lovingly and firmly remake you for His glory and your good, like a caring potter starting over but with the same clay (Jeremiah 18:4-6).
  
Summarized two sermons by Rick Warren.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3EvJBEb0YU starting at 28 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW8A46whrmY