“Directly or indirectly, addiction to drugs, cigarettes and alcohol is
thought to account for a third of all hospital admissions,
a quarter of all deaths and a majority of serious crimes.
In the U.S. alone the combined medical and social costs
of drug abuse are believed to exceed $240 billion.”[1]
"It's easy to stop an addiction. Anyone can quit.
The tough part is not starting again." Morton Downey
Jr.
There is an enormous amount of frustration and pain
in the world of life-controlling habits. In part, the
frustration is so great because so many people are touched
in one way or another. Last year, more than 200 people
pinned their prayer to the cross looking for freedom
from one kind of habit or another. In many cases, other
people are impacted by the habit.
Almost everyone has tried to quit their particular
habit at one time or another. Many have tried to quit
any number of times.
This service is for each of you engaged in that struggle.
This is a day for Hope, Courage, and Faith.
It is a day of hope because many people have lost hope.
They have just quietly accepted that they will always
be controlled by the habits that have been griping their
lives. It is a day of courage because it takes courage
to hope when there has been a long history of failure.
It is a day of faith because faith is what God puts
in our hearts to believe for something better. Faith
is the active ingredient that makes everything else
work.
The faith that I am talking about is not blind, unthinking
faith. It is not just wishful thinking, or a faith in
faith. We are talking today about a dynamic faith in
Jesus Christ and what he came to do. When Jesus was
on earth he announced his mission statement
in Luke 4:18-19 "The Spirit of the Lord
is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good
news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom
for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the
Lord's favor."
Testimonies
Lori Rojas struggled with drug and alcohol
addictions. She was greatly helped by going through
Teen Challenge. John Nygard battled cocaine, heroin,
and cigarettes. He has been through two treatment programs.
His final breakthrough has come by being regularly in
church, in the Word, and in prayer. Terra Casisas was
raised in church, but not in a healthy way. She ultimately
got caught in alcoholism. In her life the twelve step
programs were helpful. Rob Zarcone was snared by alcohol
and cigarettes. His family and friends did an intervention.
He went to Sundown Ranch. He is now in Church and counseling
regularly. Craig Brandenburg, Jim and Sue Timpe are
among those who have struggled with food habits. Ruthie
Ross and Mary Brandenberg will give additional testimonies.
God has been preparing people for as long as you have
known about this service. I am reminded of Cornelius
who was prepared by an angel to send for Peter. When
Peter arrived and began to preach, the Holy Spirit fell
on Cornelius and the others. Even while the preaching
was happening, the Spirit came upon them.
During the remaining part of this message, if you feel
that God is giving you hope and faith for complete victory
over your addiction or life-controlling habit, make
your way to the front and pin your prayer to the cross.
Then kneel at the altar and begin to pray.
I am looking for several things to happen here today.
First, we need a divine revelation of who we really
are. We all operate with a certain level of self-deception.
Sometimes we pretend that we really do not have a problem.
Other people try to tell us we do, but we don’t
think so. We are like Morton Downey, Jr. We say "It's
easy to stop an addiction. Anyone can quit.” We
just decline to mention that “the tough part is
not starting again."
In the story of the prodigal son that Jesus told[2],
the key moment came when the young man came to his senses.
In that moment he understood where he was. He finally
came to realize the condition he was in. That moment
was a turn-around moment. It was a moment of self-understanding.
He saw himself as he really was.
God in his mercy, allows us to see ourselves as we
really are. Sometimes it takes some an accident or getting
caught in our behavior in some embarrassing way. Suddenly
we see ourselves as others see us. We may have thought
we were just a fun-loving “party animal.”
When something happens, we realize we are just an out-of-control
drunk or druggie.
Second, we need hope of change. I
love the prayer and statement of the Psalmist: “No
king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes
by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the
eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those
whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them
from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in
hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In
him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as
we put our hope in you.[3]
Third, we need faith. For that to
happen, we need God to give it to us by his Holy Spirit.
I am personally convinced that the most effective way
to overcome the temporary pleasure or good feelings
of a bad habit is to fill your life with a different
kind of joy. Rather than getting rid of the bad habit
by sheer will power or determination, fill your life
so full of the Holy Spirit that the other stuff gets
crowded out.
Fourth, we need healing. Most of these
addictions and habits came into our life to meet some
real need or resolve some real pain that we were experiencing.
If you are going to stay free you are going to have
to find out what was driving that thing in the first
place and ask Jesus to heal you at the heart.
Fifth, we need ongoing support. I
think we have a group for just about every kind of life-controlling
problem there is. Get involved in one of those groups.
Share your victories and defeats. Once you are free,
get involved in encouraging and helping others break
free.
2. Luke 15:17-20 "When he came to his senses,
he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food
to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set
out and go back to my father and say to him: Father,
I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no
longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one
of your hired men.' So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father
saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran
to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
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