There are many songs out there in a variety of genres that
make running off into addiction seem like a fun and exciting thing to do. I’m
sure you can think of a few. It doesn’t matter if you listen to rock, country,
blues or something else; most genres have songs like that. Many movies, TV
shows and books do the same thing. These forms of entertainment are popular because
they appeal to something in us. If we’re honest, we have to admit that we tend
to glamorize rebellion to some extent, or at least we used to do so. What we
fight against is that deeply rooted desire to “cut loose,” to escape reality
and responsibility at least temporarily, to live on the wild side if just for a
short while, to reward ourselves through an indulgent activity or fantasy,
basically to be a little bit of a rebel. It is a spark that can ignite the
self-consuming fire of addiction, an inferno that can also damage or destroy
things and people we care about.
We all have it in us. From Adam and Eve to you and me, there
is self-serving desire that is used against us. Through it we are tempted from
many directions and some of those temptations begin right in our own minds. Now,
even if you’ve overcome some temptations such that they aren’t temptations any
longer, that does not make you immune to relapse or cross-over addiction, nor
does it make you an expert that can change someone else. The root problem is
deeply imbedded in human nature; that’s why some level of selfishness and
rebellion are universal. You cannot change that in yourself, nor can you change
someone else’s desires, motivations, or resistance to temptation. You can’t
make someone stop self-destructing and start living in a healthy manor.
Even if the person does come to realize they are in trouble,
if they finally begin to see the path of destruction on which they are
traveling, that doesn’t mean they are making a hard right turn onto the path of
recovery. That doesn’t mean you can finally step in and fix them either. Every time
someone new walks into our Celebrate Recovery meeting, or a church gathering
for that matter, I know that all my life experience with addiction and recovery
as well as all the theology I learned from seminary do not give me the power or
ability to rescue someone from that deep down rebellious heart that leads to
addiction and idolatry. What my experience and theology do for me is remind me
of how easy it is to become addicted idolaters and how easy it is to relapse even
after a great deal of progress has been made; they teach me that the only way
to overcome the human characteristic of destructive self-seeking is to cling to
the Saviour Jesus and humbly yield to the Holy Spirit.
It is self-seeking that leads us to escape trouble, find
relief or release, exercise some perceived power, or enjoy some indulgence for
a time. I can’t change that characteristic in myself and I certainly cannot
change it in someone else, not with personal examples, hard evidence, pleading,
punishing, covering, hiding, heaping guilt, manipulation or separation. Only
God has the power to change the human heart.
Only the sacrificial Blood of Jesus Christ has the power
over sin, death, selfishness, addiction, idolatry and self-destruction. Only He
can set someone free and that is accomplished by His grace. None of us deserve
to be saved, because we’ve all rebelled against God the Father, but He extends
grace to those who humble themselves and accept the forgiveness available
though Jesus’ sacrificial death, burial and glorious resurrection.
Jesus breaks the power of the temptations and addictions
that so easily defeat us because He changes our heart and mind; He changes our
desires, our understanding, our way of seeing life situations, and our way of
seeing ourselves and others. He changes our rebellious heart into a joyful,
satisfied heart. Through faith in Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit who is our
ever-present help. He indwells us, comforts us, encourages us, and guides us.
We are always given a way of escape when temptation comes and given the power
to take that way of escape. When we cooperate with Him, He makes us able to
stand against the forces of evil that we battle against. Those forces of evil
may be in a bottle, a syringe, a computer screen, a dark alley, or a corner
office with lots of windows. Those forces of evil may come at us through the
words or influence of someone we know, or someone we just met. They may put
together an elaborate scheme to deceive us, or suddenly grab us out of nowhere.
That is why we need to cling to Jesus and the Spirit constantly because They
are the only ones who are with us constantly and always know what is going on around
us as well as what is in our hearts and minds.
How do we cling to Jesus?
First, you have to know that you cannot save yourself from
any addiction or idolatry because your heart is characteristically rebellious
toward God and you have sinned against Him in countless ways. This is Step 1 of the 12 Steps, isn’t it? Read Romans 3:9-20 which
includes this truth, “there is none righteous, no not one…there is none who
does good, no, not one.”
Second, you have to know Him. He is God the Son who came for
the purpose of dying to pay the price for your sin and rebellion, who rose
again three days later so that you may have new life in Him. This is Step 2. Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
which includes this truth, “Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day.”
Third, you need to put your faith in Him. You can’t save yourself;
you can’t recover on your own (you’ll just switch to some other addictive
practice). Through Jesus alone you can be forgiven by God, accepted by God and
united to God. This is Step 3. Read Ephesians 1:1-14 which
includes this truth, “in Him (Jesus) we have redemption through His Blood, the
forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace which He made abound
toward us in all wisdom and understanding.”
Forth, you need to cooperate with Jesus and the Holy Spirit
as They change your heart and mind, removing the old lies, rebellion, addiction
and idolatry and replace it with truth, love, wisdom and peace. This is Step 4. Read 1 Corinthians 2 which includes
this truth, “God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit
searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” Also, read 2
Corinthians 5:17-21 which includes this truth, “Therefore, if anyone is
in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all
things have become new.”
You can’t recover on your own and be made new. You can’t
make anyone else recover or be made new. Only God can make all things,
including you, new. He is “the only Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6).
Turn to Christ and trust Him.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Mark
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