GOD ON ALCOHOL-What Does The Bible Say About Drinking?
These are the notes from the message not an actual transcript so please follow along as best you can.Alcohol by nature is not bad... 1 Timothy 5:23 NIV 23 Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. Ecclesiastes 9:7 NIV 7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do. But we must be very careful with alcohol... Proverbs 20:1 NIV 1 Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise. 1 Peter 4:3 NIV 3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. Proverbs 23:31,32 NIV 31 Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! 32 In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.
BEFORE YOU TAKE A DRINK...PAUSE
There is a lot at stake. You could lose your...(said this last week)- FAITH
- FAMILY
- FUTURE
STOP AND THINK...
Our culture (media, friends) glorifies drinking. Cool people drink and can handle their alcohol. Actually a high tolerance for alcohol the first sign of alcoholism. Key age: 21 (From Jack) Brain isn’t developed fully to make wise decisions until age 21 Impulse part of brain overpowers the reasoning side Many start drinking at age 12 If you start drinking/smoking before age 21, you have a much higher chance of addiction Guess where kids get their alcohol? In their home. Parents are role modeling. Kids will copy what you do, not say. Parents need to spend more time with teens, not less. Don’t give kids alcohol to teach them how to drink. People say... I need a drink. No you don’t. I drink because I have problems. Actually you have problems because you drink. Wisdom from Paul... 1 Corinthians 10:23,24 NIV 23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. Many of us know how destructive alcohol can be to our lives and those we love, but we can’t control our craving for the bottle.2 STEPS TO VICTORY:
I’m going to give these to you in reverse order. The 2nd step we need to take is... ADMIT THAT I NEED HELP Until we tell someone our problem, we will always have that problem2 Ways to live:
1. CONCEALING
CONCEAL = DEATH As long as our craving is a secret, that secret has power over us. Once we bring it out into the light, it begins to lose its power. We can choose to bring it into the light or God will eventually Luke 12:2-3 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. "God exposes what we cover but He covers what we expose" ...Josh Isenhardt2. REVEALING
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16 NIV) REVEAL = LIFE James 5:16 only place in scripture that we are commanded to confess to another human being. He says to confess it to each other. Not just God. This gets messy. If I only tell God then I can stay in hiding and may never really change. We play games by only telling God and feeling good about that. Thats a good place to start, but we must tell another person. But once I tell a person, then I’m accountable. He is saying open up your lives & souls to each other. Let the light of God's truth shine in here. I: My Porn Struggle (1985) Lions trip looking at Pay TV for 30 seconds I now had a secret Was amazed at the power that this craving had over me Scared to death to tell anyone The day I told Ann was possibly the most courageous thing I’d ever done Told 3 Steve, Mark & John that week Healing began with that confession A: The most courageous thing that you will ever do is tell someone and ask for help. This confession can save your life and your family. Don’t come up today and tell me. I cant walk with you. You need to tell someone who will go on the journey to victory beside you.CR - is the safest place at Kensington.
You can go there and find honesty with no judgment. A community of people who want real victory and will help each other achieve that victory together. We can’t do it alone. Celebrate Recovery at Kensington is safe place. First step to victory...ADMIT THAT I AM POWERLESS WITHOUT GOD
The Bible says that in admitting my weakness, I actually find strength. 2 Corinthians 12:10 (MSG) I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. We start here. We must admit that we just don’t have the power to say no. We do fine for awhile, but then in a weak moment we give in.WE ARE ALL POWERLESS
This is the first step to getting your act together. You must admit that you’re powerless to do it on your own—that you are spiritually poor—that you need God and other people. A: If you think that you don’t have a problem with drinking then don’t drink for 30 days and see how you do. Last time we suggested that, I had dozens tell me that they realized they had a problem. By the way if a friend/spouse has told you that you have a problem with alcohol, then you do.CRAVE TOKEN:
At the end of this series (January 28), we are going to end the series with a call to bring your crave token and leave it on the stage. A Crave Token is an object that represents that craving that you have struggled to say no to. It’s time to leave it behind snd find victory. So leave a symbol of thst struggle at church that day. Examples:- Vodka Bottle
- Porn Magazine
- Cigarettes
- Clothes worn for approval
- Dollar bill (Money addiction)
- Poker chips
- Drugs
- Credit Cards
IT’S TIME TO ADMIT IT
Part of our human nature is to refuse change until our pain exceeds our fear—fear of change, that is. We simply deny the pain in our lives until it gets so bad that we are crushed and finally realize we need some help. Why don’t we save ourselves a bit of misery and admit now what we’re inevitably going to have to admit later? We are not God, and we desperately need God because our lives are unmanageable without Him. We’ll be forced to learn that lesson someday. We may as well admit it now. We can’t ignore the pain in our lives.WE ARE ALL ON A SEARCH FOR POWER...
I: Sawsall- Has no power by itself
- We take this cord and plug into different power sources to find happiness, power to live...
- There is only one place that we will find real power, life, happiness
- Plug into power cord and pull the trigger
- Now I can cut through whatever is in my way
- I can saw through it all when I have an external power source
Celebrate Recovery Kensington Church Christian Drug And Alcohol Rehab was first published on RehabNear.me
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