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The Puzzle Of Addictions – Part 2 of 2

Running to Win / Erwin Lutzer
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September 26, 2024 1:00 am

The Puzzle Of Addictions – Part 2 of 2

Running to Win / Erwin Lutzer

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September 26, 2024 1:00 am

Addictions give us false promises. The human mind has an amazing capacity to deceive itself, especially when addicted to a substance or a behavior. In this message from 1 John 1, Pastor Lutzer describes four aspects of walking in the light. Individuals, and even marriages, can come out of the darkness of addiction—but we can’t do it alone.

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Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. The human mind has an amazing capacity to deceive itself, especially when addicted to a substance or behavior. Even when it's obvious to others that we are addicted, we tell ourselves we're not.

Today, overcoming addictions and facing up to our tendency to deceive ourselves. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, I've learned to listen to my wife carefully when she needs to set me straight, since I know I might deceive myself otherwise. Dave, you're very wise. When you were giving your intro, what came to my mind are the words of Scripture that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.

Who can know it? By the way, the very next verse says, I, the Lord, try the heart. Simple fact is that not a one of us sees ourself the way God sees us.

Our potential for evil is almost unimaginable. That's why this series of messages is so critical, and especially as we speak about addiction. This is one of the last days we're making a very special resource available for you. It's these messages in written form. And this book has the transcripts, yes, of course, but questions also, links to the messages.

I have to say that I think that this is one of the most critical series I've ever preached. For a gift of any amount, we're making it available for you. Go to RTWOffer.com. That's RTWOffer.com, or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. I want you to listen to the message, but following the message, I'm going to be giving you this contact info again. I believe that you may need this message, and if you don't, you certainly know someone who does. How does an addict live with self-deception?

A couple of suggestions that he lives with. First of all, self-deceptions, I should say, a couple of them. Number one, I can quit whenever I want. I'm in charge. That's a lie.

Of course you're not in charge. The addiction is. You're like Mark Twain who said, of course I can give up smoking. I've done it a thousand times.

Sure. The self-deception that you are in charge when you're not. Let me give you another, and that is consequences. I can handle the consequences.

I'll follow the devil today and I'll deal with God tomorrow and handle the consequences. Somebody said a man who is committing adultery, who is being unfaithful to his wife, is like somebody who chooses to jump out of the 60th floor of a high rise. And after he gets enough nerve to jump out of the 60th floor, he says to himself as he passes the 25th floor, this is great.

The exhilaration really is wonderful. But he's on the 25th floor and you know where he's going onto the street. So you see addicts, they rationalize it all.

I can take care of it. And so what you have is shame, fear, and huge massive self-deception. Well, if that's what walking in darkness is, what does walking in light mean? You'll notice it says God is light and him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, if we deny that part of us, if we deny that part of us that is dark, we can't have fellowship with him.

We lie, we do not practice the truth, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light. So what does it mean to walk in the light? First of all, light reveals to us who we are. You've had the experience and we used to as children when we used to go to a town, you realize that I was born on a farm six miles from a town of 75 people.

Going to town was great. It had a store where we could buy some candy and gum, but it also had a street light. And you know, as kids, you could, you could go away from the street light and you'd have this long shadow. In fact, you couldn't even see the end of the shadow, but as you came closer, the shadow became shorter and shorter.

And then when you stood right under the street lamp, basically there was no shadow. You see, light reveals who we are because it's not who I say I am. It's who God says I am. Light comes, you see, and darkness is what I think of myself and light is what God thinks of me. He sees me in the light. So as I come to the light with my darkness, the shadows become shorter and suddenly I'm revealed as to who I am.

But I stand there and I finally acknowledge that God was right about me. But if I deny the shadows, if I don't admit that there are no shadows, then I can't walk in the light. You know, light is fascinating. I'm just amazed at the light of the sun. You know, I have a number of different suits, all of which are blue and several of which have stripes.

I don't know how that happened, but that's just the way it is. So sometimes I'm at home and I take the pants and I take the suit coat and I sit there and I look at it and say, yeah, it's a match. And then I go in the sunlight and I say, oh, yo, yo, this doesn't match. It's amazing what light does. In the very same way, God's light shines upon it and suddenly we begin to see what we're doing. Suddenly we see the consequences. Suddenly we see what we're doing to other people. But mind you, we'll never see it unless we come to light.

The rationalizations are too deep, too strong. So it reveals who we are. It reveals our path. It reveals the path. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

You know, you're walking along in life and you don't know where to step next when you are in darkness. By the way, I hope you learn to love the Bible. Are there any Bible lovers out there?

Any of them? I mean, you take, for example, there's a proverb and there's also a verse in Psalms and don't ask me for the reference because I don't know it right now, but I promise you it's there and I'm paraphrasing. It says the wicked stumble, but they don't know what they're stumbling over. Of course not because they're walking in darkness. You know, when you stumble on something in the darkness, you don't know whether you stumbled on a stone, a piece of concrete or a piece of gold.

You don't know. And here are people who think, you know, as long as you have lots of money, lots of sex and lots of drink, you're supposed to be happy when they're not happy. Then they say, well, I need some drugs too to cover the emptiness that my life creates, but this has to be the path. So they keep stumbling, stumbling, stumbling, and they have no idea why they're stumbling or what they're stumbling after. Light reveals their path. Now listen, some of you say, pastor Luther, if I were to take this sermon really seriously like God wanted me to take it, I'd have to break a sinful relationship I'm involved in because you're living in an unholy bed and you say to yourself, it's unthinkable.

Like one woman said for me to give up what I'm doing, ask me to pick up a building and move it to the other side of the street. Listen, when you come to the light, God begins to show you the path and it is a path and the light will help you. And the light also, it not only ends up revealing our path, but it ends up also showing our destination. You know, the Bible says in the book of revelation that someday when we were with God, we're going to dwell with him in light. It says regarding the new Jerusalem, there is no need of the sun nor of the moon to shine upon it for the Lord God almighty is the temple of it and the lamb is the light thereof. And it says that those who believe in Christ will walk with him in light, live in darkness. Oh, don't receive Jesus Christ as savior, eternal darkness, receive Jesus as savior, eternal light.

Could the contrast be any greater? So now how do we make the transition? If we walk in the light, it reveals who we are. It reveals our path. It reveals our destination. How do we make the transition? Some practical pastoral help here.

Number one, we must come to the light when we feel the heat, when we feel the heat. You see, there's some of you here who today are going to continue to hide. And the reason that you're going to continue to hide is because you still think that your secret, well guarded that it is, is yours to manage. And as a result of that, that secret is going to hurt you.

And unfortunately, human beings, what they are. Saturday morning, listening to a program on WMBI, they had a man who has helped more than 3000 couples overcome adultery and pornography. And one of the things he said that I often suspected, but I never heard anyone say it is this, that most people who are delivered are those who were caught.

We usually don't come on our own. I remember a friend of mine involved in an adulterous relationship and he told me later, very close friend among my top five or six friends in the world. He said, a year or two ago, I wanted to come to you, but I couldn't. Oh, he would have spared himself so much grief.

Of course he was involved in this and there were consequences, but what happened after was far worse. Don't wait until you're caught. Come to the light.

It's better to do it that way because it's only going to get worse. This past week I received a letter from a woman who said that her brother almost died of a drug overdose seven years ago, but that's so woke him up that today not only is he sober for seven years, but he's leading people to faith in Jesus Christ. But why does it take almost death before you come to the light? I hope that this message enables you to feel the heat so that you don't have to end up splattered against the pavement before you wake up. So first of all, what we do is we must come when we feel the heat parenthetically. I should have mentioned it earlier.

If you're living with an addict, you ought to really go to various groups that are helpful for you. Received a letter from someone who said that Al-Anon, for example, saved her life. There are groups that help you to understand the chaos that you are dealing with. So anyway, number one, we must come when we feel the heat. Secondly, we must come and agree with God. You say, oh, pastor Luther, get specific.

Well, I think I was pretty specific, but now I'm even going to get more specific. Verse 9, I can't help but read verse 8 first. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. You see, what John is saying is there are those who walk in the light. They are up to date with God and they believe that they are in fellowship with God. God has fellowship with them and they begin to think, you know, I'm perfect. In fact, there are whole denominations that teach that you can be perfect. Could you imagine ladies living with a man who believed he was perfect? Not a pretty picture. I remember meeting a man like that.

His wife wasn't at all convinced of his perfection. It says, if we say that we have no sin, oh, I'm so holy because I walk in the light. I have no sin now. Hey, we deceive ourselves because even those who walk in the light, even when we're walking in the light, we still have some darkness that's still there too.

We are very interesting human beings. But now notice, it says in verse 9, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from each individual unrighteousness. Now this was written to Christians, but it's going to apply to those of you who are investigating Christianity, to those of you who are on the fringes, I'm going to apply it in just a moment. But first of all, to those of you who are Christians, this is what it means to confess. It means that you agree with God. You agree with God and you say that what I'm doing is sin.

It's displeasing to you. Lord, it is creating darkness between you and me. And this darkness causes me to run. You know, there are people who don't want to come to church and the reason they don't is because this light begins to shine on them and they don't want to come to the light and it's very, very uncomfortable. When you confess your sins, you agree that this is sin.

You agree that God has a right to take it from your life forever. You agree totally and say, whatever Lord you ask me to do, I'm going to do because I am going to fully and totally agree with you on everything. That's the way you walk in the light. And those of you who are believers, you will know and it's true of my experience also that every day we have to come and we have to say, Lord, today I want to walk in the light. And when we walk in darkness, as we sometimes do, we have to bring that darkness to the Lord and say, Lord, here I am. And I'm going to claim this verse that you're going to forgive me and cleanse me. Don't just stop at forgiveness. You ladies who've had an abortion, if you stop at forgiveness, you're going to be haunted even though you are forgiven because the text says he is faithful and just to forgive. You need to also accept the cleansing.

The cleansing means that our consciences become clear in God's presence. And so we not only are forgiven, but we sense that we are forgiven and we stand in that forgiveness because the text says that if we agree with God, this is known as repentance. And the man who helps 3000 couples get out of pornography and adultery said that at the end of the day, what is really necessary is deep repentance.

And I thought, amen, that's what necessary. And, and all of us need to deeply repent and we need to repent every day. We have to confess that we agree with God if we're going to walk in the light. Now, for those of you who have never trusted Christ as savior, I need to clarify something. You don't necessarily begin by confessing your sins because there's no way that you could remember all of your sins. Any one of us could not possibly remember all of our sins. Could you imagine me sitting down and saying, I want to remember all of my sins? I mean, I'd have to sit there for a year and a half, use 10 note papers and then I wouldn't have a clue whether I had all of my sins. So what you need to do is you need to transfer your trust to Jesus.

Now I've got some good news for you. Boy, are you in the right place today if you're investigating Christianity, because this is what the Bible says, that when Jesus died on the cross, his death was a sacrifice for sinners. And catch this, that when we believe in him as our substitute, having died in our place and we receive him as savior personally, the Bible says that we are translated from the domain of darkness into the domain of his dear son, Colossians 1 13. So you see, before you can begin to even walk in the light, you have to be translated into the domain of light, the domain of his dear son. And God alone can translate you from the kingdom of darkness where demons rule and where all the rationalizations take place to remove you from that kingdom and put you into the kingdom of his beloved son where you will still have battles as a Christian.

No question about it. We'll have battles, we'll wrestle with lust and greed and some of these sins until we die. But you are on the winning side and you know enough about the Christian life to know how to walk in light, to walk in fellowship, to confess your sins when God brings it to your attention and to be free. Something else walking in the light does, it not only is coming to the light when we feel the heat confessing our sins, but also it means that we connect with other people. Now notice what the text says back in verse three. It says that which we have seen and heard, we proclaim also onto you so that you too may have fellowship with us. In this context now, he's talking about fellowship with other believers. One day there was a man in Colorado giving a seminar to help people overcome pornography. I wish I could have attended it, but I was giving a seminar simultaneously on a different topic, so I had lunch with him and said, tell me you know what you told him.

I was expecting some brand new great truth that was going to be revolutionary. What he said was the best way is through healthy, honest relationships. You can't get out of it alone. You need others. You see, that's why we have the men's fraternity at Moody Church. That's why we have TMC communities. It's not as if, you know, we do these things because we want to keep people off the streets and find out something that they can do. We want you to be able to connect with other believers. And what you must do is take advantage of these opportunities because guess what?

You can get into that pit alone, but you need others to help you get out of that pit because you can't do it alone. And therefore, what we encourage you to do greatly is to make sure that you end up in those relationships that are going to be healthy. Now, it is a journey out of addictions. It begins by receiving Christ as savior. It begins by agreeing with God. It begins by confessing to people whom you have wronged. It begins by having your eyes open to the consequences and to give up this crazy illusion that you are in charge when you're not. And what it means is therefore that through humility and repentance before God and as necessary before others, we finally come out of the darkness. I've never yet met a person who is in an addiction where God delivered him or her and they said, you know, I'm delivered from my addiction, but it wasn't worth the cost.

The exposure was just too much or, you know, it just hurt too much. No, no, no, no. Imagine being free. Imagine walking in the light.

So this God about whom we know only so little, but he has revealed himself in his holy word that we have fellowship with him and he has fellowship with us because he loves us and he wants to connect with us even more than we want to connect with him. Could it get any better than that? Could it?

I don't think so. Finally, what you need to do is to get found. I love the little book Robert Fulghum wrote.

All I really needed to know, I learned in kindergarten. He says that in October when he was a child, he and his friends would play hide and seek under the leaves. There was always one kid who hid so well that nobody could find him. Eventually the others gave up on him. When he finally showed up, they would explain there is a hiding, but there's also a finding and he was not to hide in such a way that he could not be found. Then Fulghum says, as I write this, the neighborhood game goes on and there is a kid under a pile of leaves in the yard just under my window. He's been there a long time now and everybody else is found and they are about to give up on him. I considered going out to the pile of leaves and tell them where he was hiding and I thought even about setting the leaves on fire to drive them out. Finally, I just yelled, get out kid, get found.

And it scared him so bad he probably started crying and ran home to tell his mother. Sometimes it's hard to know how to be helpful. Today God led you here. Today God led you to listen to this message, however means you're listening to it. Get found. Open to God.

Tell him you want to walk in the light. My friend today, this is Pastor Lutzer. Maybe you like that child are hiding under a pile of leaves, hoping that no one will ever see you when God is saying to you today, get found. A good place to begin is Psalm 139 where the psalmist prays and says, O Lord, I ask that you will open my eyes, see if there be any hidden way, any evil way in me and lead me in the everlasting path. Many of you need to seek God for wisdom as to what your next step should be.

As you are under the curse of addiction, it controls you, you hide it. It's a terrible life. It begins by welcoming you, but then ends by ensnaring you. That's why I think that this series of messages is so critical, perhaps for you, yes, but also for people whom you know. This is one of the last days we're making this series available to you in written form, written book form. The book has transcripts of course of the messages. It also has some questions, some links to these messages.

As you contribute to us, I want you to know that we invest whatever it is that you give for the cause of the kingdom, but here is the info. Go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. As I've already emphasized, this is one of the last days we're making this resource available.

Right now, go to rtwoffer.com or pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60614. Running to Win comes to you from the Moody Church in Chicago to help you understand God's roadmap for your race of life.

Next time, the tragedy of what happens when to have and to hold turns into to hurt and abuse. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.
Whisper: medium.en / 2024-09-26 02:12:33 / 2024-09-26 02:21:45 / 9

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