Introduction:
5 Things You Need to Get for Change to Stick:
- Get Real. with God.
Revelation 3:20 - Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
- Get biblical Counsel .
- Get specific about "Putting Off" and "Putting On" .
See Ephesians 4:22-32, Romans 6:19, Ephesians 5:18
- Get a new Fellowship .
1 Corinthians 15:33 - Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals.
- Get Hopeful .
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 - Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:00-00:14
Today's message, "Done with Addiction." The series, and this message in particular, is "I want to be done with my addiction." You know, there's a TV show all about addiction.
00:14-00:21
It's called "My Strange Addiction." How many people have seen "My Strange Addiction?" Okay, I've seen a couple episodes of it.
00:23-00:30
And if you're unfamiliar, this is a show about people with unusual compulsive behaviors.
00:31-00:40
It can be ritualistic daily activities, things they have to constantly keep doing, or bizarre personal fixations or beliefs.
00:41-00:49
But one of the things featured in the show are people that are addicted to consuming non-food things.
00:51-01:02
And I've seen a couple of these, but I looked it up online what other topics have been covered, what other addictions have been covered in episodes, and I was quite shocked.
01:04-01:09
We're talking about people addicted to eating chalk, or eating toilet paper.
01:10-01:15
One person was addicted to eating household cleaners, drinking, consuming household cleaners.
01:16-01:21
One person was addicted to eating couch cushions.
01:21-01:22
That's actually one that I saw.
01:25-01:27
eating drywall, eating dryer sheets.
01:27-01:30
One person was addicted to chewing on dirty diapers.
01:33-01:36
And one person even was addicted to consuming gasoline.
01:38-01:40
I'm a little skeptical about reality television.
01:41-01:44
Because I think a lot of it is staged, and if it's staged, that's sad.
01:47-01:50
But if this is real, that's even more sad, I would think.
01:53-01:55
Here's reality. Here's true reality.
01:56-01:57
Many of us are addicted to something.
01:59-02:04
And I would dare say most of us are addicted to something.
02:04-02:06
And it doesn't have to be a substance.
02:07-02:09
We talked about this last week.
02:09-02:10
All sin is addictive.
02:14-02:20
You know, when you're addicted to something and you look at other people's addictions, other people's addictions always seem so strange.
02:22-02:24
Okay? I gave you that list.
02:26-02:35
You're like, "Yeah, those things are all bizarre." But the things that we are addicted to seem so normal.
02:38-02:40
Because we've just tried to accept them as normal.
02:40-02:42
We say, "You know what? That's just who I am.
02:43-02:55
That's just part of how I am." Well, today, we're going to be addressing for the person who realizes that they're hooked.
02:56-02:59
See, last week we spent time just defining addiction.
02:59-03:00
Addiction is a worship disorder.
03:01-03:05
It's idolatry, it's adultery, it's foolishness, biblically.
03:08-03:11
Today's message is for the person who is enslaved to an addiction.
03:11-03:17
And I have to say this off the bat, in no way am I condemning anyone.
03:19-03:19
Okay?
03:20-03:24
there's an opportunity to beat down somebody who's struggling with an addiction.
03:24-03:26
That is not the case at all.
03:27-03:31
I heard a person say one time that the Christians are the only army that shoots their own wounded.
03:32-03:33
And I think there's truth in that.
03:33-03:35
By no means are we condemning anyone.
03:37-03:41
Because we all struggle, we're all a work in progress, none of us have arrived, right?
03:41-03:42
You with me?
03:44-03:51
But at the same time, while we are not condemning, we're also not going to minimize the issue.
03:53-03:58
Can we just agree that addiction is a serious issue?
03:58-04:07
If it is idolatry, and if it's literally a matter of life and death, it's a serious issue.
04:09-04:14
At the same time, the Bible says Jesus was known as a friend of sinners.
04:16-04:21
Jesus Christ can transform you no matter what sin you struggle with.
04:22-04:28
So all that to say this, we are not going to ignore addiction, but we're not going to condemn addiction.
04:29-04:32
We're going to see it for what it is, and we're going to seek Jesus.
04:33-04:33
Who's with me?
04:34-04:35
Alright.
04:38-04:38
Sin.
04:39-04:45
Addiction specifically, as a way of making Christians live in defeat.
04:48-04:50
Addiction makes Christians want to avoid fellowship.
04:52-04:57
We feel guilt and shame, and we feel robbed of spiritual vitality.
05:00-05:05
If any of that describes you, I want to tell you this morning, that that is not what Jesus wants for you.
05:07-05:11
And you're like, well, what a coincidence, Pastor Jeff, because this ain't what I want for me either.
05:14-05:15
How did I get here?
05:16-05:19
Look, I get it.
05:21-05:33
Anybody that's struggling with addiction, that person doesn't start out saying, "I got an idea. I'm going to get hooked on something that's going to completely ruin my life." Nobody starts that way.
05:35-05:38
The reality is when an addiction starts, it's seemingly no problem.
05:39-05:40
got this under control.
05:41-05:51
Okay, so I kind of do this on the side, nobody really knows about it, but it's not really hurting anything and the bills are still getting paid and I'm still taking care of my family and everything's fine.
05:53-05:54
That's how it starts.
05:55-06:00
And then suddenly, the addict is losing everything.
06:02-06:03
Like how does that happen?
06:05-06:06
You know what it's like?
06:08-06:15
It's like being outside at dusk during the summer and trying to pinpoint the exact moment it gets dark.
06:15-06:16
Have you ever done that?
06:17-06:18
I've tried it.
06:18-06:19
You can't do it.
06:20-06:23
Getting darker, getting darker, and then suddenly it's like pitch black.
06:23-06:24
You're like, "I missed the moment!
06:24-06:28
"When did that happen?" That's what addiction's like.
06:29-06:47
Getting a little dark, but can still see, still manageable, no problem, then suddenly, "How did I get here?" And when we're trapped, addiction is so hard to break because we are able to justify it.
06:48-06:53
We are able to make any excuse to indulge our addiction.
06:56-07:00
If you're addicted to a substance, you can, and I can, make any excuse to indulge.
07:00-07:04
I had a great day today, I'm going to celebrate with this.
07:05-07:08
Or I had a horrible day today, I'm going to medicate with this.
07:10-07:12
I just had a terrible fight with my wife.
07:14-07:15
This is going to make me feel good.
07:18-07:25
And the boss is really on my case at work, but this is going to let me end the day on a good note.
07:27-07:30
and any emotion can be justified into indulging your addiction.
07:31-07:35
I do it when I'm happy, I do it when I'm sad, I do it when I'm angry.
07:36-07:58
I do it when I'm discouraged, and I do it when I'm lonely, and I'm doing it when to do to get it.
08:02-08:04
Some addicts turn to selling drugs.
08:07-08:10
Lying, stealing.
08:11-08:23
Do you know how many stories I've heard over the years of an addict stealing something from a loved one, something valuable, something sentimental, and selling it for a quick buck?
08:25-08:26
Did you get a hit?
08:29-08:36
Aaron and I even, at our former church, ministered to somebody who was prostituting themselves for drugs.
08:37-08:39
Can you wrap your brain around that?
08:39-08:52
The addiction is so strong that this woman was saying, "I'm willing to give my body up so that I can feed this addiction." That's horrible.
08:53-08:55
Absolutely horrific way to live.
08:58-08:59
That's the bondage that addiction brings.
09:02-09:05
Maybe you're sitting here and you're like, "Okay, I've heard this before.
09:07-09:08
And you know what, I tried to quit.
09:09-09:12
I tried to quit, Jeff, and I was great for like a few days.
09:13-09:13
Went back at it.
09:13-09:19
You know what, one time, like back in 2016, I made it two weeks.
09:20-09:23
I got caught up in the habit again.
09:24-09:29
So the question is, how can I finally be done with my addiction?
09:31-09:36
Because you're certainly not sitting here wanting to get your hopes up again to be disappointed again, right?
09:36-09:38
That would be a big, fat waste of time.
09:41-09:48
Well, you will not be disappointed if you truly go after it God's way.
09:50-09:52
because God's way never fails.
09:54-09:59
And it has to start with you knowing God the way a child knows his father.
09:59-10:00
It has to start there.
10:01-10:02
That's how you have to know God.
10:05-10:17
And if you're not a member of God's family, then you're not eligible for His promises, and His Holy Spirit is not indwelling you to empower you.
10:19-10:21
You need God's Holy Spirit more than anything.
10:24-10:26
You can join God's family today.
10:27-10:36
You can cry out for God's mercy today through Jesus Christ and receive the forgiveness of sin and the eternal life that He offers.
10:40-10:44
I said this last week, if you're not a believer in Christ, you get a bigger problem than addiction.
10:46-10:48
Your journey needs to start with receiving Christ.
10:49-10:54
But today I want to address the people who are believers, yet still struggle.
10:56-11:02
How do I finally get out of this bondage, out of this enslaving thing that's consumed my life?
11:04-11:08
On your outline, five things you need for change to stick.
11:10-11:13
Five things you need for change to stick.
11:15-11:20
Right now somebody's thinking, "Wow, Pastor Jeff is awfully presumptuous.
11:20-11:33
He's going to conquer addiction with one sermon!" I would be a fool to think that I can cover it all with one sermon here today.
11:34-11:35
That's not my goal.
11:36-11:39
My goal today is simply to point you in the right direction.
11:40-11:41
And to give you hope.
11:44-11:51
If you go after these five things, if you get these five things, you'll be done with your addiction.
11:54-11:56
Easier said than done, for sure.
11:59-12:03
Five things you need to get for change to stick.
12:03-12:04
Number one, jot this down.
12:04-12:05
Get real with God.
12:06-12:08
Get real with God.
12:08-12:11
That means we're done with excuses.
12:11-12:15
We're done with blaming everyone else, That's something true of addicts.
12:16-12:17
It's everybody else's fault.
12:17-12:25
It's my dad's fault for this, and my mom this, and the school that I went to that, and my wife that.
12:25-12:27
You've got to be done with the blame.
12:30-12:40
Done with, "I deserve the relief that I get from this substance." Done with, "It's God's fault that He made me this way." It's time to own up to your choices.
12:42-12:44
Here in Revelation 3.
12:46-12:49
Verse 20, this is what Jesus said to the church at Laodicea.
12:49-12:52
He said, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
12:52-13:02
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me." Now, this is something Jesus was saying to a church.
13:05-13:08
But there's a principle I want you to see here that is so important.
13:10-13:10
And the saddest part of that is this.
13:13-13:21
Jesus doesn't barge in and take control over somebody's will.
13:21-13:22
He could.
13:24-13:25
I mean, couldn't He?
13:26-13:27
Couldn't Jesus just kick the door down?
13:28-13:33
Just be like, "God of the universe here, and I'm going to set some things straight." He could do that.
13:33-13:37
He could do that to Laodicea, and He could do that in your life.
13:38-13:45
What we see here is that's not typically how He operates.
13:47-13:54
Using this image of Jesus standing at the door knocking instead of the church at Laodicea.
13:54-13:59
Imagine Jesus is standing outside of your house and knocking.
14:01-14:05
Have you ever heard somebody knocking on your door and you weren't expecting company?
14:06-14:38
happened to you? Has it ever happened to you? Yeah. What sets in when that happens? I don't know about you, but for me it's panic, right? You know, because I'll be, you know, I'll be like in my gym shorts singing Frankie Valli in the Four Seasons while I'm doing the dishes or whatever. You're welcome for that visual. And then there'll be a knock on the door and And I'm like, "Oh no! What did I forget?" But we hear that knocking, and we panic.
14:40-14:46
For the addict, hearing Jesus knocking, they're panicking, saying, "Look, my house is a mess.
14:46-15:12
And if I let Jesus in..." The addict says, "If I let Jesus in, He's going to make me feel worse than I already do." So I'm okay with Jesus standing on the porch but I really don't want Him in because I'm afraid of what He might say." And I just want to remind you, when Jesus is standing at the door knocking, it's not like He doesn't know what's happening inside, right?
15:12-15:16
From His perspective, your whole house is made out of glass.
15:17-15:21
He sees, He knows exactly what's going on.
15:22-15:26
And when Jesus shows up, He doesn't show up to condemn.
15:28-15:29
He shows up to help.
15:32-15:43
Jesus is waiting for you to get to the point where you say, "Lord, I've made a mess." You open the door and say, "Jesus, I'm so glad you're here.
15:43-15:45
I have really made a mess.
15:45-15:55
Would you please help me straighten this up?" And Jesus said, "That's exactly why I came." Is an addiction destroying you?
15:56-15:58
Jesus wants to heal that.
15:59-16:05
Whatever pain drove you to the addiction, Jesus wants to heal that pain.
16:06-16:08
You just have to want Him to heal.
16:11-16:13
But for that to happen, you've got to get real with God.
16:14-16:15
You've got to get real with Him.
16:15-16:17
He already knows.
16:19-16:20
It has to start there.
16:21-16:21
Get real with God.
16:22-16:23
get biblical counsel.
16:26-16:30
Something else you need for change to stick, you've got to get biblical counsel.
16:31-16:38
Come and see me, or go see another pastor, or another committed or knowledgeable believer.
16:39-16:44
But you need to enter a time of regular, intense counseling, prayer, and accountability.
16:46-16:47
Again, you can do that here.
16:48-17:00
And I get it, some people might be a little shy about that, to say, "Well, I'd feel better maybe talking to somebody I'm not as close with." Go over to Northway. Go to the counseling center across the street.
17:01-17:05
Do you have another pastor that you know that you'd be willing to talk to?
17:05-17:06
Go see him!
17:07-17:11
I would say, go wherever you are willing to be open in arms.
17:14-17:18
Whoever you are comfortable just bearing your soul.
17:21-17:22
But do not try to go it alone.
17:23-17:25
God never intended that we try.
17:25-17:27
You know that. That's the purpose of this church.
17:30-17:32
None of us are meant to try to figure things out by ourselves.
17:33-17:36
So get real with God. Get biblical counsel.
17:36-17:39
Number three, we're going to spend a couple minutes on this.
17:40-17:43
I'm going to get specific about putting off and putting on.
17:46-17:54
I need you to pay real close attention to this one, because some of you maybe have never heard this before, but this is something that's all through the Bible.
17:57-18:01
We're just going to spend a couple of minutes on this, but it's so absolutely critical.
18:03-18:07
If you're an addict, this is absolutely critical for you to be done with your addiction.
18:07-18:11
Because most groups, most programs, most systems teach this.
18:11-18:13
We're going to help you quit the addiction.
18:14-18:18
And the goal is to stop the addiction.
18:19-18:26
But did you know that the New Testament does not teach that we should stop sinning?
18:27-18:28
Did you know that?
18:29-18:34
Hang on, I'm going to need to listen to the podcast here because I don't think he said what I think he said.
18:34-18:37
It sounded like he said the New Testament doesn't teach we should just stop sinning.
18:37-18:38
That's right.
18:39-18:41
The New Testament does not say that we should just stop sinning.
18:43-18:44
Sin isn't to be stopped.
18:47-18:59
Biblically - and this is also in the Old Testament - biblically, sin - not stopped - it should be replaced with something else.
19:01-19:09
And if you just stop or quit your addiction, then you're only an addict who's temporarily not engaged in a habit.
19:11-19:13
What you need is change.
19:14-19:18
But not just negative change, as in taking something away.
19:18-19:22
You also need positive change, which is adding something too.
19:23-19:27
And only when you do that, will you change permanently.
19:31-19:36
And the concept we see in the New Testament is putting off and putting on.
19:36-19:38
Again, this is all through the Scripture.
19:39-19:41
But just look quickly with me.
19:41-19:42
We're going to go through this lightning quick.
19:43-19:45
Ephesians 4.22-32.
19:46-20:03
It says, "Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires." Okay, so there's the "put off." He says, "And to be renewed in the spirit of your minds." Look at the next phrase.
20:04-20:14
"And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
20:16-20:23
Therefore, having put away falsehood..." Now he's getting specific here with this concept.
20:24-20:29
He says, "Having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth as neighbor.
20:30-20:31
For we are members of one another.
20:31-20:32
Be angry and do not sin.
20:32-20:35
Do not let the sun go down on your anger.
20:35-20:38
And give no opportunity for the devil.
20:40-20:51
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands so that he might have something to share with anyone in need.
20:52-21:01
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up if it's the occasion that it may give grace to those who hear.
21:01-21:06
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
21:08-21:15
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
21:16-21:26
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." See that?
21:27-21:52
He doesn't say, "Stop sinning." He says, "Replace sinning with an act of righteousness." The example is quickly, he says, "Put away falsehood." So you put that off, and instead he says, "Let each one of you speak the truth." You put off falsehood, you put on the truth.
21:53-22:00
He says, "Let the thief no longer steal." He doesn't just say, "Stop stealing!" He gives an alternative.
22:00-22:11
He says, "What you need to do instead is get a job, and earn some money, and share with people." So you see, the remedy for stealing isn't not stealing.
22:11-22:12
The remedy for stealing is giving.
22:14-22:15
Putting off stealing, putting on giving.
22:16-22:17
Comes from working.
22:18-22:20
"Put off the corrupting talk," he says.
22:21-22:24
Instead, put on talk for building up.
22:25-22:31
Stop the foul, perverted jokes, and instead, think about how can I use my words to encourage people?
22:31-22:39
And then at the very end of the passage, he talks about hateful attitudes and things, bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander.
22:39-22:40
He says put those off.
22:40-22:41
Instead, put on what?
22:42-22:44
Kindness and tenderheartedness and forgiveness.
22:46-22:47
Put off, put on.
22:51-22:56
That's how sin is to be handled biblically.
22:57-23:00
Not stop sinning, replace sinning.
23:00-23:01
Put off, put on.
23:02-23:03
Put off, put on.
23:03-23:04
What does that sound like?
23:04-23:05
It sounds like clothes, right?
23:07-23:10
My friend Mike here was out working in the yard all day.
23:10-23:17
He's mowing and he's painting and he's weed eating and he's chopping down the trees or whatever yard work Judy has you doing.
23:17-23:28
And then he comes inside and Judy says, "Hey, we're having dinner with our daughters today and their families and I laid you some clothes out if you'd get ready." What's Mike gonna do?
23:28-23:35
Is he gonna go over and put those clothes on over top of his nasty old grungy sweaty clothes that he was just mowing the yard with?
23:36-23:39
You're like, "Well, he might." No, he's not gonna do that.
23:40-23:50
He's going to take off the nasty clothes and he's going to instead put on the clean clothes.
23:51-23:54
And I hope to heaven there's a shower in the middle of that story somewhere.
23:56-23:57
You see the point, right? It's pretty obvious.
23:59-24:01
You put off and you put on.
24:01-24:05
And the Bible says that's how we handle besetting habitual sin.
24:06-24:09
We stop this and we replace it with that.
24:09-24:11
Paul says the same thing in Colossians 3.
24:11-24:12
Verses 8-10.
24:13-24:14
Paul says it in Romans 6.19.
24:15-24:27
He says, "For just as you once presented your members "as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, "leading to more lawlessness, "so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, "leading to sanctification." There it is again.
24:27-24:39
He doesn't just say, "Hey, stop being a slave to sin!" He goes, "No, no, be a different slave." Instead of being a slave to sin, instead of being a slave to righteousness, it's put off, it's put on.
24:42-24:52
At every point, the new lifestyle has to replace all of the ways associated with the old one.
24:54-25:02
You know, there's a key verse in your New Testament that describes the replacement dynamic regarding addiction that we mentioned last week.
25:02-25:04
Ephesians 5.18 Look, here it is again.
25:04-25:05
"Put off, put on.
25:06-25:11
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit." Do you see the "put on"?
25:12-25:26
He says, "Put off the drunkenness, instead put on being filled with the Spirit." That word "debauchery," that's an interesting word.
25:26-25:35
The Greek word is "asotia." And just by the way I've heard it used, I kind of always associated debauchery with just like partying, right?
25:36-25:46
The word literally is "unsavable." It's talking about a life that's ruined, destroyed, beyond reclamation.
25:47-25:50
And here, Paul's saying that's the end of drunkenness.
25:52-25:58
Unless Jesus Christ intersects the path of a drunk, this is where it's going.
25:59-26:02
The botry, which is total ruin.
26:06-26:12
It just takes over and destroys everything.
26:13-26:18
And if the addiction is not put to an end, soon everything else will be.
26:20-26:24
But on the other hand, He says, "Be filled with the Spirit.
26:24-26:34
Have life and joy and wisdom in the Holy Spirit." Now when we talk about being filled with the Spirit, What does that mean?
26:36-26:49
Well, it means the Holy Spirit, the life of Christ must be alive - get this - in every single area of my life.
26:50-26:51
Every area.
26:53-27:05
The Lordship of Christ, the direction and power of the Holy Spirit at home, at work, at school, at play, in my public life, in my private life, The Holy Spirit permeates every single area of life.
27:06-27:14
You see, when we think of being filled with the Spirit, I think we often think of, I am a cup, and the Holy Spirit is like liquid, and He fills me.
27:18-27:19
But that's not exactly the picture.
27:21-27:24
Because it's not exactly like the Holy Spirit can half-fill you.
27:26-27:26
Right?
27:27-27:38
"Hey Pastor Jeff, how's your spiritual walk?" "I'm about half full of the Holy Spirit this week." You're like, "I'm not glad to know that." That's not exactly the picture.
27:39-27:42
I'm three quarters filled with the Holy Spirit.
27:42-27:46
Nor is it like the Holy Spirit is divided up.
27:46-27:49
Like, I have half of the Holy Spirit.
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He's a person. You don't get half of Him.
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And you don't get a quarter of Him.
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He's a person.
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The matter of being dominated or controlled.
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Right? We get that.
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By the Spirit, not the addictive substance.
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We mentioned this a little bit last week.
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He says, "Do not get drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit." The drunk is controlled by alcohol.
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It controls how he walks.
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It controls how he talks.
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It controls how he thinks.
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He says, "No, no, no. The Holy Spirit should control this thing.
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The Holy Spirit should control how you walk, and how you talk, and how you think." But you have to see that this being filled with the Spirit carries over to every single arena of your life.
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Like, what does that look like?
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Well, contrast it with addiction.
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Somebody's an addict.
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It controls every single aspect of their lives.
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Think about that.
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Let's talk about drunkenness, since that's again the example in the text here.
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Let's talk about drunkenness.
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Let's say you have a person that struggles with that addiction.
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A lot of people do.
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Because they're drinking so heavily the night before, They're hungover and unable to perform at work.
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So they do a terrible job at work.
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And they get chewed out by their boss.
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And they're disappointed in themselves, so now they feel bad.
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So what do I do as a drunk when I feel bad?
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What do I do?
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I drown it out, right?
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I drink!
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And that'll make me feel better.
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You know, my health is suffering, because I haven't been sleeping, and I've been dealing with hangover-type symptoms I'm not going to gross you out with.
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And my health is really suffering for this.
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And what can I possibly use to make myself get a little bit of physical relief?
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Any ideas?
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drink because I get a little numb for a while, right?
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But you know my wife, she sees all this going on at work and with my health and she's genuinely concerned but I don't see that. I see a nag. We should get off my case about that.
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And oh she's just constantly on my nerves and how do I handle that? I drink, right?
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And they drown out the feelings.
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So do you see how what happens in one area of life affects the rest of life?
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For the drunk, every single thing he does contributes to his drinking, and his drinking contributes to the failures of every area of life.
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If we're going to have freedom from life-dominating sin, that means we have to change in every area of life.
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Where instead of alcohol dictating what's happening in every area of life, and the solution and the response filled by the Spirit, needs to fill every area of my life.
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You're like, well, what does that look like for me, Pastor Jeff?
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That's why you need to see number two.
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That's why you need biblical counseling.
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Because you need to sit down with somebody and work through this.
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This is an exercise.
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What you're going to have to do is you're going to have to make a list of concrete ways that you've been failing God and failing others.
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And you need to be specific, and you need to be thorough.
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These are all of the things that I've been doing to feed my addiction.
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And then, you need to consider biblical alternatives to each act.
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Again, your pastor or counselor needs to walk through this exercise with you.
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"Well, can you give me an example?" Yeah, I'll give you an example.
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Maybe on your list, the pastor sits down with you He says, "Okay, what's been contributing to your problem?" You say, "Well, you know, I go to the bar every Friday night, and I have like zero self-control there." Okay, well, we're going to replace that.
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Instead of going to the bar, you're going to volunteer at Light of Life every Friday night.
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You're going to go down there, and you're going to serve other people.
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And now put yourself in that place.
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Oh, and the money that you were spending on alcohol and partying, Instead, you're going to give that money to...
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missions, whatever.
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You're going to give that somewhere else.
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Put off, put on.
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What are some other areas?
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Well, you know, I'm just so used to having that drink after supper.
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And you know what, that's how it happens.
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I have that drink, and then I sit down in the recliner, and I watch sports or whatever, and the next thing you know, I've had six drinks.
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Okay, so instead of that drink, we're going to put that off.
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What are we going to put on instead?
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Maybe instead of that drink after supper, you're going to just take a walk through your neighborhood and pray for your neighbors.
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How about that?
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I don't know.
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It's a customized thing, an exercise you have to walk through.
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What are the areas that you need to put off?
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And let's think of things that we're going to put on instead.
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You're not going to stop sinning.
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are going to replace cynic.
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I have a good friend who is a contractor who had a horrible life of addiction.
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And when I asked him how he was able to get it behind him, do you know what he said?
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He said, "I took every side gig that I could, every side job, every single one." Why'd you do that?
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He says, "Because when I sat at home, all I could think about was drinking.
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That's all I ever thought about.
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But when I'm out working, distracted and focused, Addiction is long in this guy's past now.
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Because he didn't stop sinning, he replaced sinning with something else.
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So use your list and restructure every single area of life.
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Put off, put on.
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You have people that will help you with that.
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Okay?
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Number four.
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Hey, these last two points aren't as long as that one.
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Number four, we're talking about things you need to get.
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Things you need to get for change to stick.
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Number four, get a new fellowship.
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Get a new fellowship.
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Meaning, cut off all former connections.
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Cut 'em off.
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Whoever you were partying with, whoever you were using with, whoever you were drinking with, whoever was supplying you, burn the bridge and burn it now.
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And in church, you're like, "Wait a second, Pastor Jeff, shouldn't I be witnessing to these people?" Absolutely not.
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You should not.
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Until you have completely put on the new way of life.
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I mean completely.
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I mean, that addiction is history.
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Until then, no, we don't have contact with them.
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You're like, "Well, Pastor Jeff, I disagree.
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and abandon them.
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They're not gonna influence me.
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I'll influence them.
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Do you know what 1 Corinthians 15.33 says?
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We're gonna remind you.
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It says, "Do not be deceived.
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"Bad company ruins good morals." You know that bad company ruins good morals.
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You're around the wrong kind of people that are going to affect you negatively.
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You're like, "We all get that, right?" Look at the first phrase.
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Look at the first phrase.
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Do not be deceived.
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Do you know why he said that?
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Do you know why he said that?
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because this is an area where we deceive ourselves.
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I'll influence them, they won't influence me.
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And God says, "Ha ha ha ha. Don't fool yourself, man.
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Don't fool yourself. Don't be deceived." Burn those bridges.
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Get in a small group for prayer and fellowship and accountability.
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Get with people who are going to encourage you in the Lord.
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Wholesale change, get a new fellowship.
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And finally for today, number five, get hopeful.
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We get hopeful, and we land here exactly where we landed last week.
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You know, Paul ministering to the Corinthian church.
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The Corinthian church was full of people who were dominated by besetting and addictive sins.
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The whole church was full of it.
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1 Corinthians 6 says, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
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Do not be deceived.
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nor the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards - addiction to substance, whatever.
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Like I said, drunkard is the biblical poster child for addictions of all kinds.
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Nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
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He says if you're on that list, you are not going to heaven.
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He says, "And such were some of you." That's who you were.
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That's not who you are.
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Like, well, who am I now?
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You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
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You know, Jesus Christ who did so much healing in the Corinthian church, I realize He's the same Savior alive and at work in the church today.
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Did you know that?
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He's the same Healer.
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And He brings about the same transformation that these people experienced.
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Therefore, get hopeful, because the same testimony is available to you.
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You could say addiction, yeah, yeah.
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An addict?
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That's who I was.
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But thanks to Jesus, that's not who I am anymore.
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I'm done with addiction.
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Let's pray.
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Father in heaven, I pray that Your Word points us in the right direction today.
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I know this was a hard subject cover in one sermon.
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Father, I don't presume to be able to fix anybody.
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Father, You have the power, and You have the willingness, and You have the love and compassion and strength that Father, You can fix anybody of anything.
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So Father, I pray for the person that's hearing this and struggling with an addiction of any kind.
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Today is a day of hope.
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Today is a day of optimism, because maybe we've tried things the world's way, and now we're ready to try them your way.
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Father, we thank You for the washing, the regeneration, the sanctification, the power that You give us by Your Spirit.
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And I pray, Father, that You would glorify Your name by continuing to set captives free.
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Fully and wholly turn our hearts to You.
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We pray in Jesus' name, Amen.
Small Group Discussion
Read any of the passages from this week’s message
What was your big “take-away” from the message?
Explain why “just quitting” is not enough for deliverance from addiction. What else has to happen? Be specific. See Ephesians 4:22-32, Romans 6:19.
Imagine a friend in your neighborhood confesses a serious drinking problem to you. How would you help? Where would you tell him/her to start? Why?
Breakout
Confess any addiction issues you struggle with and pray for one another.