Sponsor

Principle 4: Openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust.

“Happy are the pure in heart.” (Matthew 5:8)

Step 4: We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

“Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:40)

 

Before we begin Step 4, we must review Steps 1-3.  Step 1 is understanding that I cannot deal with my hurt or habit on my own.  Step 2 is understanding that God cares about me and He has the power and desire to help me recover.  Step 3 is choosing to commit all of my life and will to Christ’s care and control.  We must understand these 1^st 3 steps and choose to commit.  Trying to move onto Steps 4-12 without fully understanding Steps 1-2 and especially without the decision to give your life to Christ’s care in Step 3, will only lead to more frustration and failure.

Tonight we continue to recognize our need for help and reach out for it.  Tonight, those who have been through the 12 steps and have been living for Christ need to make themselves available to be part of that help to someone else.  Tonight we talk about sponsors.

The Biblical precedence for sponsors.  Let me start by saying that “sponsors” are not mentioned in Scripture, but the role of sponsors in CR is modeled after Biblical instruction and examples.  So, while the people we will discuss from the Bible are not called “sponsors,” they served the same kind of role as a sponsor for CR.

There are many statements in the Bible that tell us we need other people to not only hold us accountable for doing the right thing, but also for people who help us grow in our relationship with the Lord.  One example is Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, “    Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.  For if they fall, one will lift up his companion, but woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up…Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

This teaching supports the idea of an accountability partner, someone who is working toward recovery with you, at roughly the same step as you.  Some other examples are Proverbs 27:17 and of course James 5:16 (which is the key verse for Step 5).

As for sponsors, Proverbs 19:20 is a good example, “Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days.”

Perhaps you’ve heard of the Apostle Paul?  God used him in writing about half of the New Testament.  Paul started off named “Saul” and he persecuted followers of Christ, had Stephen stoned to death, killed and sent many others to jail.  But then he gets saved on the road to Damascus and begins to follow Christ.  When he arrives back at Jerusalem, the church did not trust him and would have turned him away.  That’s when Barnabas (whose name means “son of encouragement”) began to intercede for Saul.  You can read about it in Acts 9:26-30.  Later, Barnabas was sent to help the new church in Antioch and he goes and gets Saul to help him.  During that time, he mentored and instructed Saul as they served Christ together (Acts 11:19-26).  After a couple years, the Holy Spirit calls Barnabas and Saul to go on a mission, preaching the Gospel and during that first trip, Saul’s name is changed to Paul and he takes the lead of the group Acts 13:1-2).  Barnabas was greatly used by God in the life of Paul, equipping, encouraging, and instructing him.

Paul soon begins to do the same for some others including Luke, Timothy, Silas…and Onesimus.
We learn of Onesimus in the New Testament book of Philemon, which is a “God-breathed” letter from Paul to his friend Philemon.  Philemon owned a slave named Onesimus.  Onesimus had betrayed Philemon and run away, along his way he runs into Paul who leads Onesimus to faith in Christ.  So Paul sends this letter in Onesimus’ hand back to Philemon, asking Philemon to forgive Onesimus and tells Philemon to charge any amount owed to “Paul’s account.”  He also encourages Philemon to recognize Onesimus as a brother of Paul, and himself…  Paul asks that Philemon send Onesimus back to him as he was a great help to Paul.  Paul was investing in the life of Onesimus, equipping, encouraging, and instructing him.

That is what being a sponsor is about: investing in the life of another.

SPONSOR – the 5 common questions
1.  Why do I need a sponsor and/or accountability partner?
Because I need someone who speaks truth…
Not someone to fight your battles, but to help, support, encourage, and be an advocate.  Paul wrote to Timothy in preparing him to begin mentoring others as well, “use the Word of God for ‘doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work’” (2 Tim 3:16-17).  A sponsor is not proud or feeding you his/her opinions…a sponsor speaks God’s Truth into your life from God’s Word.

Because a sponsor or accountability partner hold me accountable for my actions…
Helping you maintain an honest view of reality at each Step; many people fail to recover bc they are not honest with themselves.  See that you make fellowship with the Body of Christ (CR, church, etc) a priority in your schedule; hurts and habits don’t take time off of pursuing you!  Holding you accountable for prayer, feasting on the Word of God, and loving/obeying God; if you omit this, you’re done.  Encouraging you to serve within the Body of Christ – at church and CR; getting your focus off of you!

Because a sponsor / accountability partner help guard against relapse…
Their feedback rebukes dysfunctional & self-defeating patterns that you might not even recognize in yourself.  They confront in love without placing blame or guilt as Ecclesiastes 7:5 says, “It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise than for a man to hear the song of fools.”

2.  What is the difference between a sponsor and an accountability partner?
Sponsor = someone who has completed the 12 steps, is living a victorious life, and who is themselves dependant upon the Word of God, and loves the Lord with all of their heart, mind, soul, and strength.  A sponsor is someone to help guide you through the program & keep you focused, share Truth from the Word of God, especially with step 4 coming!

Accountability partner = someone who may be at the same point in recovery as you.  The goal is mutual accountability for certain areas of your life.  This can be more than one person.

Seriously, many people give up on their recovery in step 4, you need a sponsor and accountability partners!  If you meet the qualifications of a sponsor, others need you as a sponsor!

3.  What are the qualifications of a sponsor?
No one is going to be perfect and no sponsor is your “saviour.”  But here are some basic things you should look for in a sponsor.  First and foremost, a sponsor is growing spiritually in Christ and submitted to the Holy Spirit.  They are living the 8 principles and “practicing what they preach.”  They desire to help others in their recovery and spiritual growth, loving, encouraging, helping, confronting, and speaking the Word of God.  They show compassion, care, and hope (not pity).  They are a good listener but are willing to confront your denial or procrastination.   They are willing to share his/her own struggles with you.  And last, but very importantly, they offering Godly wisdom, not human wisdom or their own opinions.

4.  What is the role of a sponsor?
A sponsor is to talk about issues in detail that are too personal or to involved for a CR meeting.  They should be available in times of crisis or potential relapse.  They serve as a sounding board and give wisdom from God’s Word.  They encourage you to work the 8 Principles and 12 Steps.  They model a Christ-like lifestyle.  Again, no one is perfect, but these are basically what a sponsor is supposed to do.

5.   How do I find a sponsor / accountability partner?
Here are some helpful hints.  Most of all, tirelessly seek God’s leading (pray) – no rash decisions!  Second, it must be men sponsoring men, and women sponsoring women.  Third, invest some time in fellowship with the Body of Christ so you can get to know potential sponsors (at CR and church).  Besides all that, keep in mind that sponsorship is not a lifetime commitment, you cannot put that kind of responsibility on anyone.  Also, don’t take a “no” as rejection (good sponsors are few and far between and they could very well be overloaded.

Conclusion
True recovery is a process.  It is the process of learning to trust God and love Him.  Trusting Him to enough to let Him lead you to the person He wants as your sponsor and over time, leading you to be a help and sponsor to other people.