Hosea 4:6: My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
ADDICTIONS CAN BE BROKEN THROUGH PROPER HELP:
Knowledge, (going to share today), and by Determination and Spiritual Transformation
I WANT TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF ADDICTIONS
In the general public, people have addictions and know it:
• But Christians may try to cover these things
• “I am a Christian I shouldn’t have this problem.”
• We have to know we have a problem
• Before we can seek to do something about it
IF WE CAME INTO CHRISTIANITY LATER IN LIFE, WE HAVE A PAST
• Some issues never get sorted because of shame, fear, or pride
• They remain secrets, and our Christian walk is affected in a negative way
• These secrets can cause a Christian to live a double life
• There’s only one remedy to a double life, and that’s the heart of REPENTANT SURRENDER.
o Or the bondage may grow and consume us
o Or we lose hope
THE LORD WILL PERFECT US. WE CAN NOT PERFECT OURSELVES.
Psalms 138:8: “The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.”
Denial: First thing to deal with. A person may not realize how bad the addiction is.
The Lord already knows our hearts:
Jeremiah 17:10: I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
DENIAL GETS IN THE WAY
When you break the word Denial Down in individual terms, you get:
Don’t Even Know I am Lying.
• In denial, people may say: “I can help myself.”
• I don’t need to go into any treatment
• Some people lose years of their lives struggling to ADMIT THE PROBLEM
DENIAL IS THE DISTORTION OF THE TRUTH THAT ALLOWS FOR THE PROTECTION AND CONTINUATION OF THE DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOUR.
• Denial is dishonesty
THE LORD DESIGNED THE BRAIN TO FUNCTION PRECISELY THE WAY HE DESIGNED
1 Corinthians 6:19 – What? Know ye not that your Body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
- When we take care of our Brain, we function correctly (like any other part of our Body)
Dopamine is responsible for the term dope
• and is the chemical messenger (neurotransmitter) that affects addiction Dopamine is the feel-good chemical messenger that triggers the pleasure in the Brain
THE NATURAL LEVELS OF DOPAMINE WE ARE SUPPOSED TO HAVE ARE AFFECTED WHEN WE HAVE ADDICTIONS.
• This happens : Because of all the dopamine surges that have been dumped into the Brain
• By the various addictions that we mentioned
JESUS CHRIST CAN FREE OF ANY ADDICTION
Acts 10:38: How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
Isa 53:3-5: He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Luke 1:37 – For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Mark 9:23 – Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things [are] possible to him that believeth.
Matthew 17:20 – And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Give your heart to Jesus today by saying this prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin. Please forgive me. Come into my life. I receive You as my Lord and Savior. Please, help me to live for you the rest of this life. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, I pray.
Amen.