THE TREE OF LIFE TEACHING MINISTRY
Pastor/Teacher Maurice H. Sykes
DRUG ADDICTION: DECEPTION, DELIVERANCE
The wise man, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, said in Proverbs 20:1, "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is intoxicated [deceived, captured, led astray, errs] by it, is not wise."
This foundational passage leads us into the critical subject of drug
addiction. Let's note the importance of what we are dealing with
here: Crime statistics reported by law enforcement agencies in the
United States show that 70% to 80% of all prisoners have committed
drug-related crimes. Drug addiction, drug peddling and criminal
activity to finance drug purchases continues to escalate. God has
something to say about the drug experience. Much of the medical
professionals do not want to hear what the Bible reveals because once
they know the Truth, they have the responsibility to act on it, but
they will not. God not only surfaces the problem of addiction, He
surfaces its cause (volition) and He provides the solution. In this
life, one of the most vicious and insidious evils that enslave people
(and yes, Christians are included) is drug addiction. Be it alcohol,
cocaine, heroin or other poisons of choice, drugs continue to be a
tool and agent of mass deception.
Addiction respects no one, men, women and children, no one is exempt.
I am seeing more and more Christians trapped by drug addiction as I
travel, but it really is not a mystery. Primarily, all addicts no
nothing about God's plan for their lives and therefore they know
absolutely nothing of how to handle their lives. So then, we have
this Spiritual Truth and a natural fact of this life:
ADDICTION IS NOT A DISEASE - ADDICTION BEGINS WITH CHOICE! (Volition that is triggered by the desire to be made "whole" by counterfeit remedies.)
I acknowledge those honorable men and women who, in their military service for their country, were wounded and medicated with morphine. As a result of the continued use and need for morphine and other narcotics, they became drug-dependent. But there is the other category of drug-dependent individuals who have freely chosen to live a life-style that included drugs, and as a result of their volitional choice, they became addicted. And keep in mind, Christians do these things. Many got snared by thinking that drugs were cool and that they were cool by abusing the drug. According to the Word of God, addiction can be seen as bondage (Acts 8:23), idol worship (1John 5:21) and it's also manifested as slavery (Galatians 5:1). Addiction begins in the soul long before the physical slavery occurs, Proverbs 23:7, "for as he thinks within his heart, so is he."
The real battles of life begin in the soul, and believers are equipped to respond wisely against the forces that attack the soul. Further, addiction is not only sin, it goes far beyond sin. It's evil and it's a counterfeit for being whole. It's a type of "false prophet" because addiction promises what it can not deliver, that is, being whole, being well, being right!
Addiction, therefore, is a deception, and deceptions often look good and feel good, but only for a season, then all hell breaks loose. Addiction is a counterfeit of the Lord Jesus Christ's peace. It's a sham and it has one purpose; to first control the person and then to destroy the person, addiction wants to murder the addict!
Let's understand our working definition of Addiction. The true meaning of addiction is shown by the Greek word Tasso, which means to set under authority or to be under devotion to your authority; to be under (its) control. And note, the person who is addicted has voluntarily set himself under the authority of the drug being used, they chose it! They made a volitional decision to be set under (its) authority without any regard for its consequences.
Addiction occurs the instant you FIX YOUR FAITH ON THE PARTICULAR DRUG, OBJECT OR PERSON! Once we do that, we have thereby lost the battle in our souls (but not necessarily the war). As you continue to worship that drug, object or person, you have then been taken out of God's way, removed from His way, separated from His way, blinded to His way, it's called self-enslavement. Now you may assert, "BUT you don't know my problems, I've been abused, I've been heart-broken, I've been discriminated against all my life, I've come from the ghetto and never had a shot at making it." There is often truth to these circumstances, but never forget that a choice is still made as to how you are going to live your life. After you have come up with all the reasons for turning to a counterfeit solution (and I recognize that there are many real and hideous circumstances that hinder us and influence our lot in life), ask yourself this question: Did I suffer and die on the Cross? Was I ever as heart-broken as the Lord Jesus Christ? Did I take the abuse, the punishment and unfair treatment that Christ took? DID I EVER GO TO THE CROSS? That should be sobering.
The bottom line is that we do not have an excuse, we've got no case! When your life appears to be crumbling and you've fixed your faith on drugs, objects and people, note the advice from the Lord Jesus Christ in Haggai 1:5, 7 "consider your ways." Or you can start with Rebound and make the same choice that the prodigal son made in Luke 15. This son, who is typical of many people, had been addicted to carnal thinking and worldly living, "came to himself" and made a volitional decision to return to the original character building teaching of his father, the Word of God. In fact, what he did was to first give himself back to the Lord (Rebound) then he went back to his father's house.
Spiritual Truth here: Most often, the Christian must hit rock bottom before going back to his true foundation-the Word of God/Bible doctrine.
Natural fact: The addict only comes to himself once he has been broken and hit rock bottom. Then he considers calling on the Lord. There are simply too many fathers and mothers and girl friends and boy friends who continue to enable their loved ones to remain in the life of addiction by supporting them financially instead of setting strict limits with them, in love. If you love them, you'll allow them to hit the bottom. And, never underestimate the grace of God. Commit the addict to the Lord (Luke 10:2), trust God and He will BRING THE BOTTOM UP TO THE ADDICT! God is gracious and desires to rescue people. Remember, you can never change the other person.
Again, I recognize that there are circumstances where the cure for certain medical conditions can lead to addiction, like cancer patients and severely wounded veterans who were medicated with strong and continued doses of morphine and other narcotics. But our message is dealing with the addict who, by volitional determinations, has put himself back into the slave market of addiction. So, let's note a few principles about addiction and solutions.
Here's the deal: First and foremost, the solution to addiction is always the Word of God/Bible doctrine. Appropriate medical treatment is vital to recovery, but THE SOLUTION IS THE WORD OF GOD/BIBLE DOCTRINE! The addict who desires to break free and stay free must, first, "change his mind." Meaning, that he must have strength in his soul in order to be able to withstand the author of his enslavement: the kingdom of darkness, Satan. The addict must make up his mind to submit to the authority of the Word of God/Bible doctrine and not submit to the authority of the drug, object or person. Life itself, and length-to-life (spiritual life and the quality of life which comes as a result of God's grace) is in the Word.
PRINCIPLES ABOUT ADDICTION
Every battle that a Christian fights, wins or loses is done so in the soul. If you do not win the battle there, you don't win! Your body will basically do what your mind determines. If you can not win the battle of addiction in your soul, based on the Word, your body will keep screaming for the drug, object or person, Proverbs 23:7.
Addiction is not the REAL problem, the problem is THE CAUSE of the addiction. The battle ground is the soul, and when the soul loses the battle the physical body pays the price. Also, when the addict is ready to deal with the enslavement, he has only to ask God why he has chosen the drug over freedom. Once he knows the root of his behavior, then he can do something about it. Get wisdom about the matter from God, says James 1:5.
Addiction is evil and it enslaves the human will. One of our most precious grace benefits from God is free will, volition, the power to exercise choice. But the deception of addiction causes free will to be enslaved, trapped by self-deception. The addict's soul is being influenced by the kingdom of darkness. But with God, the addiction can be broken. The power of God should not be underestimated, Isaiah 10:27; John 8:31, 32, 36; John 6:63; 2 Corinthians 1:3,4.
Drugs are not sin in and of themselves but the wrong application or abuse of drugs is the sin. Continued use is the evil. Just as guns are not sin, the wrong application of guns is the sin. Wealth is not sin, the wrong application of the wealth is the sin.
In Matthew 19: 16-22 the rich young man thought that he wanted eternal life until he learned that his wealth had to take second priority to following The Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. This rich young man was addicted to his wealth. He worshiped his wealth. He set himself under the authority of his riches. He fixed his faith on his wealth. Yes, he possessed wealth, but his wealth actually possessed him. Addiction, Self-enslavement.
Without confrontation there is no resolution. The Lord Jesus Christ commanded His Disciples to "Come to terms quickly with your adversary." Matthew 5:25. This great principle is vital because the longer the addict puts off coming to terms with his problem, the stiffer the price of addiction, until he repents or until he dies.
Also important is the fact that the addict impacts the lives of all who are in his space. He becomes a danger to family and friends. He can not be trusted, he's unpredictable and can erupt with violence if the addiction so dictates to his mind and body. An addict is basically a coward who is afraid of the pain and agony of withdrawal. So he lives according to the dictates of his emotions. The drug controls his emotions and may influence him to get violent in order to feed his habit. In proportion to his slave-mentality, the addict will steal, rob, lie and use violence against any one who stands in the way of him worshipping his drug. Therefore, without confrontation there is no resolution. 1 Corinthians 14:46 says that "the natural is first, then the spiritual." This is a vital principle because there are too many wise-guy Christians who beat up on addicts with their self-righteous, arrogant, pious attitudes. They say to the addicts, "You don't have enough faith to be healed," showing them no grace and absolutely no Truth. Addicts need encouragement, grace and valid solutions. Without a doubt they need the Word of God to sweep their souls, set them free in their souls and let them know that they are free indeed. But the addict also needs sound natural medical treatment, not religious intimidation nor the guilt trip ministry. Here's the deal: The addict knows his failures, knows that he's enslaved, so the focus needs to be on solutions. What he doesn't need is more condemnation! He needs to be encouraged with grace and Truth. He knows that he's dying slowly by the poison, the drug. But he can be rescued by sound medical treatment and by the power of the Word of God, Bible doctrine. The valuable element to physical healing is right counseling from a health professional (an unbeliever or a believer who has the expertise.) Hospitalization, away from the area, is often called for because the addict needs a new environment to be built up in. Often, the same environment presents too much of a temptation and a danger and only hinders the addict's ability to overcome the slave market.
Natural help is critical (as opposed to the religious wise-guy Christians) because you can not get the attention of the addict until he is stabilized&ldots;not under the excruciating pain of withdrawal. But caution! Counseling and medical treatment can not deliver the addict, it can only stabilize him. Deliverance is of the Lord. The natural and the spiritual are required to build up the person who has been set free.
All space and time must be filled. Once you get cleansed of something, that space must be filled with something else. An empty soul is fertile ground for renewed deceptions to snare the drug-free believer. My point: Once the addict's body is free and cleansed of the drug something with more power must become his foundation for living. The person will feel empty because his body has been accustomed to being filled with pleasure, the drug. Once free and cleansed of drugs, THAT'S WHEN THE REAL BATTLE BEGINS IN HIS SOUL. His mind will tell him, "you're not whole, you're not really well, you could really feel better, you need something to help you deal with life." The lie! The false prophet! It's a very powerful attack which is pure deception. The real battle has been launched in his soul. Without right equipment, The Word, Bible doctrine he has little hope of winning. I say little hope because God, in His sovereignty may step in and through His grace deliver the person for His glory and for the believers good. The drug free Christian needs power to fight this battle. Now, this brings us to our next critical principle.
POWER YIELDS TO NOTHING BUT POWER, AND THEN ONLY RELUCTANTLY! Be reminded that in Matthew 9:33 the Lord Jesus Christ had to drive out a demon. In Luke 4:35 before the demon yielded to the power of God, the demon became extremely violent, then it departed. Again, POWER YIELDS TO NOTHING BUT POWER, AND THEN ONLY RELUCTANTLY! So then, once the power of the addiction is defeated, it must be replaced with a greater power that will sustain the Christian. There is only one true solution here, the Word of God. Therapy, counseling, more medication and support groups are band aids trying to cover a compound wound. It can not sustain the believer nor can it deliver the believer. But Bible doctrine can deliver and sustain the person according to Romans 14:4.
It requires a volitional decision to keep on inhaling the Word and then keep on trusting God, based on His Word. The Power Source-In-Residence (God the Holy Spirit and God the Living Word) is the solution. The power of God does not fail nor collapse. Here's what God says: "FOR HE WHO FINDS ME (the Word, Wisdom, Bible doctrine, the mind of Christ, grace and truth) FINDS LIFE, AND OBTAINS FAVOR FROM THE LORD." Proverbs 8:35. And we know, that the Word of God, believed and applied, not only leads to eternal life, but the believer can have what is called "Length to Life." This is a quality of life from God's grace that is astounding and can not be explained any other way than by His grace. But the person must want to rise above the slavery of addiction and the consequences of addiction's power.
Motivation precedes movement. As the Lord Jesus Christ said to Cain, in grace, "will you master it?" Genesis 4:7. That's the question, do you want to master it? It's your call! Remember that Christians do fall into chemical dependency, addiction. Then there are those who are addicted to self-righteous arrogance, sex, ritual, women, men, children, gossip, maligning, lying, un-forgiveness, legalism and all types of idols that they do not consider as addiction. We must be stripped of every excuse that feeds the addiction, and only absolute truth, the Word can accomplish that, human reason, human solutions cannot. You can not apply human solutions to spiritual problems. Addiction is not the true problem it's a manifestation of the real problem in the believer which causes him to make the choice to be enslaved rather than to live free in the Lord. Our great Role Model (the Real Model) is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Never was He addicted. He kept His faith fixed on the Word and the mission. There was purpose in His pain. The Lord kept on relying on the power of the Holy Spirit in conjunction with the doctrine that He knew. Christ recognized His Power Source-in-Residence would sustain Him. And, it's interesting to note that even our Christ had to deal with the issue of drugs. Even while He was on the Cross He had decisions to make. At His weakest moment on the Cross, Christ had to make a big decision: Accept the drugs to lessen His excruciating pain and suffering or "hang in there." He chose to "hang in there."
Now in the accent world, the women of Jerusalem would provide a certain drink, gall, to the criminals who were being crucified. The drink was an act of compassion to lessen their pain and the suffering. Being nailed to the cross simply can not be adequately expressed nor explained. Pure pain, pure agony. Many of those who suffered crucifixion actually lingered up to nine days. Pure pain, pure agony. Their time on the cross left them literally wasting away, their human flesh deteriorated, birds and insects would feast on their flesh. And no doubt, those being crucified probable prayed for death to come quickly. Most often, death did not come quickly. So again, while suffering on the Cross Christ was offered wine mingled with gall. Gall was a needed but gross concoction. In the Greek language, Cholees means gall: "a greenish hue." Gall was also called bile, a bitter, yellow-greenish extract from wormwood, a sweet smelling plant that gave bitter liquid. The drug or narcotic actually came from the poppy plant. Morphine and heroin come from poppies. The narcotic, when mixed with cheap wine turned to a gross looking yellow-greenish drink which was given to those on the cross. The narcotic dulled the senses of those being crucified, and they could then bear the pain and suffering. They were drugged. They accepted the gall which blunted their pain.
Christ rejected it! Here He is on the Cross, body wracked with pain and suffering. His mind and body screaming at the intolerable pain, He's being humiliated to boot. All He had to do was to drink a little gall and He's home free. No more pain, no more agony no more shock to His body and mind. He would then die "peacfully." He rejected it. In His pain there was purpose: Our freedom from the slave market of sin depended on Him! And through it all, pure pain, pure agony, The Lord Jesus Christ toughed it out because it was God the Father's plan for Him. He had to experience every nuance of pain, agony and suffering as a penalty for the sins of the world. He chose to "hang in there!" According to Matthew 27:34, while suffering on the Cross and enduring its indignities, bearing up courageously at the vile treatment at the hands of the Romans, and after having His body and mind go through extreme shock, He was offered a narcotic. Verse 34, "They gave Him wine to drink mingled with gall; and after tasting it He was unwilling to drink." He rejected being sustained on the Cross by human means. He stayed there under the strength of His Power Source-in-Residence. He suffered for you and me, pure pain, pure agony. And He won! His victory on the Cross and His victory in resurrection assures us that we can win the daily battles.
My friends, Addiction can be defeated. Do not take the Cross of Christ lightly. It Delivers! Addiction is robbing us of our children, young men and women, our time, treasure and talents. Infants are even born into addiction. It's pure evil! But you: Choose Life, that you may live.
In His Grip, Maurice H. Sykes
Maurice H. Sykes is the Pastor/Teacher at St. Luke UAME Church and the writer for The Tree of Life Teaching Ministry at St. Luke in Camden, New Jersey.
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