I cover too much first service. So I'm gonna kind of home in what I really want to talk about today 1st Timothy 5 23 we've been going through the book of 1st Timothy and Paul says to this young man Who's leading a church the church of Ephesus. He said Timothy Do not go on drinking only water But use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and for your frequent Ailments now the context of this is important in verse 22. Paul has just said Timothy I want you to be a pure godly man guard your moral life Then in verse 23, he says Timothy I want you to stop just drinking water drink a little bit of wine for your stomach's sake the Implication on this was Timothy wanted so much to be a man of God He probably took a vow of abstinence not to drink any wine and Paul is saying to Timothy now Timothy No, I want you to drink a little wine for your stomach's sake Y'all use this verse All the time with me to justify social drinking I'm gonna go knock a couple down at Chili's cuz Paul told Timothy to drink a little wine for stomach's sake That's not what Paul is saying here. In fact, it's just the opposite in Timothy's day one of the sound gross, but one of the biggest killers of human beings was diarrhea Did you know that it was their their water back then was horrendous. It had so many parasites and so much junk in it And so they would drink that filthy water and Paul's saying to Timothy Timothy No, I want you to add a little bit of wine to that water for your stomach's sake again This is not an excuse to go to Applebee's and get drunk. Okay, what he's saying is for your stomach's sake drink a little wine Implied in that is there was some type of medicinal value to wine Again, we are so used to sanitary water that we don't realize most human beings throughout human History has had to deal with filthy water. In fact, I went to Sudan a few years with a couple guys We went over there to do some ministry We were in Khartoum at the capital city and we went to this up It's like an orphanage for boys probably the poorest place I've ever been in that little orphanage and we're the guest of honor And so they brought out some water and a little glass filthy glass and I looked at it and at first I thought they'd give me sparkling water because I thought these little bubbles coming up and I looked at and I said Those ain't bubbles those little worms in that thing and it was filthy water and I told my host I'm not drinking this he said I'll drink it.
I still know how he survived this. He drank that water so they wouldn't be offended Paul is saying to Timothy Timothy you're living in a time You're living in a day with filthy water Timothy put a little bit of wine for your stomach's sake and this isn't the first time That this is talked about in antiquity in Second Maccabees 1539 now that's not scripture, but it's an ancient writing a few hundred years before the time of Timothy It says quote in second Maccabees 1539. It is harmful to drink wine alone or again to drink water alone again, it's physically harmful not to put a bit of wine in the water and look modern science has backed this up the October 2002 journal the American Society for Microbiology So this is not a this is not a Christian publication This is not a publication from Bob Jones University This is the 2002 journal the American Society for Microbiology talked about two Microbiologists at Oregon State University who discovered that wine Inactivated or killed virulent pathogens in water like E. Coli Salmonella and staphylococcus within 30 to 60 minute the wine added to the water killed those and other pathogens and Interestingly, here's what I found.
It wasn't the alcohol in the wine that killed those pathogens in the process of fermentation malic and tartaric acid are released when Wine is fermented and it's the malic and tartaric acid that kills those microorganisms in the water It's kind of interesting But what I'm saying is science is going right along with what Paul is saying to Timothy in fact these scientists at Oregon State Said that the wine was as effective as hydrogen peroxide in killing the pathogens in the water So here's what I want to talk about this morning because this for some reason I don't know why this is big issue for some Reason this issue keeps coming up again and again and again at Cross Assembly Chad. Why don't you drink and Why don't you let your other pastors elders or deacons drink? We have that standard at Cross Assembly if you're gonna be a pastor an Elder or a deacon you can't drink alcohol. Why is that?
I'll hit that in a second. Let me say two things number one drinking Alcohol is not a sin. Some of y'all won't want to hear me say that but it's not a sin now That's where most of y'all just tuned out right there. Okay, it's not a sin.
I'll keep doing let me finish Okay, number one. It's not a sin You can't find that biblically if it was a sin then every time you took Nyquil you've sinned against God drinking alcohol It's not a sin and number two Some of the most strong Christians who walk with Jesus They have a closer walk with Jesus than I do. I know some very strong Christians who do drink alcohols. I'm gonna make that really clear I'm gonna keep repeating it cuz I'll be misunderstood But I'm sharing what I'm sharing with you today for two reasons number one to let you know why we have this standard at Cross Assembly and the number two honestly for you to pray to the Lord and ask the Holy Spirit if the Spirit of God wants you to abstain from alcohol and If you pray about this and the Holy Spirit says no don't upset then just keep drinking. I'm not your personal Holy Spirit Okay I just want you to know why I have this stance and the number two to at least ask you to pray about this Okay We've actually had people leave this church over this issue Here's what I mean by leave they've left because Chad doesn't drink I'm gonna stand you understand you leaving if I do drink We literally have people leave because of the stance I have in not drinking alcohol and don't make any sense to me It's a church that preaches the Word of God. We're saving the lost. We're involved in missions We walk with Jesus Christ and you're leaving because we don't drink alcohol don't make any sense to me but I've gotten some help from some great pastors like James McDonald Has talked about this David Wilkerson.
How many all remember David Wilkerson from a Times Square Church? He's helped with this so I'm gonna rip them off a little bit today as well But let me give you six reasons why I Chad Harvey abstain from alcohol Actually, there's a seventh reason One is this expensive. I'm the cheapest guy in the world.
They cost money. I don't do it. Okay But I we were on vacation and I gotta admit I looked at a wine alcohol list not to order But I was wanting to say you see how much money I'm saving by not drinking alcohol But at any rate, so let me give you six reasons Why I abstain from alcohol and the first reason is this number one because the wine the wine that's talked about in the Bible is Different than our wine. We're comparing apples and oranges and it's different in two ways number one professor Samuel Lee of Cambridge University Cambridge is not a body It's not a Bible believing Christian institution But professor Samuel Lee of Cambridge University years ago went back to first century documents In other words, I want to read what historians who lived 2,000 years ago said about wine and alcohol And he found with people like Pliny. He was an ancient historian Pliny said here's what we do back in our day We boil wine To the point where that wine becomes a paste then we take that paste and we put it in wine skins and Then if you're traveling around and you get a thing of dirty water You just squeeze some of that paste like it was toothpaste you mix it up in there and you drink it And here's what Samuel Lee professor Lee found that if you boil wine like that, it takes out most of the alcohol content It's a negligible alcohol content That's one way that wine is different from then to now The second way is different is wine was watered down in ancient times Now again, we're not projecting that back in time We know that by reading historians that lived 2,000 years ago the ancient writer Plutarch said in his writing the Symposiacs that wine in his day was always mixed with water He says quote we call a mixture wine Although the larger part of the components is water We always mix it Jesus Jeff Why are you against Jesus turned water into wine? Jesus did turn water into wine wasn't Welch's grape juice.
It was wine But don't mention something Ethnically, what what was Jesus? He was a what he was a Jew according to the Oxford Classical Dictionary Wine in first century Judaism was heavily diluted with water The Jewish Mishnah says quote they do not say the blessing over the wine until water has been added to it and according to these documents the Jewish custom was three parts water to one part wine a three to one mixture of wine of three parts water to one part wine that gives you a alcohol content of about 2.5% now From understanding for something to be considered an intoxicating beverage today. It's got to be 3.2% This is below the level and a three to one mixture of what would be considered an intoxicating beverage today It's also common in those days to mix four parts water to one part wine. That's about a 1.5% alcohol content Professor Robert Stein says at that level the wine would have impacted your bladder long before it impacted your mind Homer's Odyssey, you ever heard of Homer? Homer's Odyssey talks about mixtures as high as a 20 to 1 ratio So we're talking about 1 to 2% alcohol modern distilling produces about a 50 to 75% alcohol and we're talking about a 1 maybe 2% alcohol you see the difference modern wine has about a 12% alcohol level and Again, what we're talking about if you compare it to the ancient times 12% to about 1% to about 1% and So and that was interesting. There was something called strong drink in Jesus's day and we also see this in the book of Proverbs Strong drink was either wine that wasn't diluted or wine that was 50-50 that was considered strong drink And I read one ancient writer that said only barbarians drink Undiluted wine or those who are partying and having orgies drink undiluted wine, which is why Paul Fussed at the church at Corinth because he said when y'all are having Lord's Supper you're coming in and you're getting drunk implication You're bringing your past paganism into the body of Christ and turning this into something that shouldn't be So why do I not drink alcohol? Number one is because we're talking about two different things from the Bible to today second reason I abstain is Is that in the Bible those with significant responsibilities were encouraged not to drink? priests couldn't drink Leviticus 10 9 Kings were encouraged not to drink Proverbs 31 Because as a priest you're representing God and we don't want something like alcohol to start changing who you are and give a bad representation to who God is as a King living in Israel You're representing the government and God and alcohol can make you do something stupid that would cause disrepute to God or the nation so priests and Kings Couldn't drink. He's a man. I'm off the hook then I'm neither a priest nor a king but revelation 1 6 calls you a king and a priest.
Did you know that? The Bible calls you in first Peter 2 9 a king and a priest you represent God you represent Jesus And I'm just scared that I would do something and get intoxicated and bring disrepute to the cause of Jesus Christ I'm a priest and a king and so are you? Let me say this as well Because we I've found out recently we actually have a lot of pastors watching us online I met some of the gathering a few weeks ago. So let me say something I'm gonna take it just a step here for just a second I'm getting very concerned about a glib attitude toward alcohol that I'm seeing among among the young pastors today You're in the Assemblies of God if you're gonna be an Assemblies of God minister You have to sign a commitment every year that you won't drink alcohol I've seen guys in our denomination and I've seen guys in other denominations Sign off that they won't drink so they go to this Christian school Or I can get my credentials with the Assemblies of God and they laugh while they're doing it because they say I want to get Drunk this year.
I'm just signing this thing so I can go to that school get that credentials. That's an integrity issue You're a liar. You say to me? I'm going to sign this off so I can be a pastor knowing that I'm gonna get drunk. That's an integrity issue and And somebody needs to start ringing the bell. We got some problems in the body of Christ dealing with this thing right here. I Don't think we pastors can hold our liquor as well as we think we can hold our liquor And I hear pastors lecturing all the time Well, I can drink as long as I don't get drunk problem is we're all getting drunk Y'all been watching the news lately.
We've seen this stuff all over the place It's bringing a lot of disrepute to the cause of Christ. I Was at a pastor's gathering. It's been a while back And there's a self-righteous angry pastor there who was fussing at us pastors They're who have a vow not to drink alcohol. He said y'all are legalistic You got this religious spirit and I just pray one day got a delivery from that religious spirit his friend That was with him co-pastors like yeah, you know, I had to fly here and this guy I was sitting next to on the airplane He was talking so much. He wouldn't shut his mouth It took me three mixed drinks to finally calm my nerves and I said to myself I guarantee you he's got an alcohol problem. Guess what?
I found out recently. He's got an alcohol problem Leader of a major church movement that whole movement collapsed over this thing We sing some of their songs on Sunday morning. He said well, I I went to this lady's hotel room at this conference's Christian conference, and I shouldn't go into her hotel room But I drank a little bit too much got a little bit tipsy didn't know what room I was going to Alcohol brought that man down. I Know of a Bible preaching mega church where the staff got drunk at their staff Christmas party The pastor's wives started flirting with other men the senior pastor with slurred speech Went to a neighbor and asked if they had any more vodka because they had run out of vodka at their church staff Christmas party.
It's a great witness. And so I don't look Here's what some of y'all and I'm not trying to whatever y'all want to know where the line is. Okay, Chad There's a line between right and wrong I Want to know where that line is because I want to stay as close to that line as I can Without going over.
I don't want to be there. I want to be as far away from that line as possible So if the enemy doesn't pull me over that line, okay They're gonna say it again Drinking alcohol is not a sin and I know great Christians who drink alcohol and if you leave here and you're like, I want to keep drinking You're still my friend. I love you, and I still respect you, but I want you know why I have this standard Third reason I abstained from alcohol is I don't want to make other Christians stumble in the faith Romans 14 21 says this it is good not to eat meat or drink wine Or do anything by which your brother stumbles If y'all I'm just being honest with you if y'all saw me out of the bar knocking down alcohol It would make some of you stumble in your faith you say yeah, but I'm not a pastor Yeah, but the Bible calls us a nation of priests.
We are all representatives of God. Is there somebody in your life? I want you to be honest. Is there somebody in your life that knows you're a Christian?
And It would kind of take them aback and make them scratch their head if they saw you out drinking Let's just be honest and let me kind of get a little bit more in your business if I can. What about your kids? Are you making your kids stumble in the face?
Maybe you're not we're from Germany and that's what we do we drink and we okay. I got it, whatever but I think there's some parents here that may need to do a gut check and Wonder what kind of legacy are leaving for your kids? My dad got saved. I was like five or six years old I remember when he gets saved, you know The first thing he did when he got saved is he threw out all alcohol in the house Nobody told him to do that.
Nobody lectured him. He just got saved So, you know, I'm trying to raise a group of kids who gonna walk the Lord Jesus Christ and this might hinder him I'm gonna throw this alcohol out Second thing he did is he went to all of his 1970s Remember the records he threw out all these great records like Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles he threw all those out and say I'm gonna Buy a bunch of gospel records. Okay, whatever but the first thing I remember him doing is throwing out the alcohol It's just something to that Mama's is real popular now on these mommy blogs or mommy social media To post a glass of wine and for the young trendy urban mommy to say been a tough day took one of these to get through the day with these three kids and They think it's cute. I don't think it's cute. What are you saying to your kid kid?
You're such a bad kid that mommy has to drug herself to get through another day with you I just I don't know I just be careful about how you're walking in the faith of what kind of stumbling blocks you're putting up there For the reason I abstain from alcohol is I want to avoid the very appearance of evil King James Version translation of first Thessalonians 522 says beloved brothers and sisters abstain from all appearance of evil Let's say that on this big beautiful PowerPoint here I got a picture of cross assembly young adults having their young adult gathering And they're beautiful pictures up there and they're smiling. They're young good-looking. They all have full heads of hair and They're all thumbs up. They're laughing.
They're having a good time. Okay, so you got the picture? Okay Let's take that same picture and let me put some vodka bottles and some beer bottles there Which picture looks more holy? Does that second picture look less holy? Than the first I'm afraid it does in our society There is a connection between that kind of lifestyle and something that's not fitting for Christians I want to avoid that appearance of evil Fifth reason I abstain from drinking is I've seen as a pastor what kind of harm alcohol does As a pastor, I've never heard somebody say, you know My life got better after I started drinking.
We've never had anybody say that. You know if you have this church a lot My life really got worse once I took up that habit and in fact Proverbs 23 has some great insight Turn it flip over to Proverbs 23 if you would Proverbs 23 29 says this who has woe Who has sorrow who has contentions that is who's always fighting? Who has sorrow who has contentions that is who's always fighting?
Who has complaining who has wounds without cause who has redness of eyes? Who those who linger long over wine those who go to search out mixed wine? Do not look on the wine when it glistens red when it sparkles in the cup when it goes down smoothly at the end like a serpent it bites Like a viper it stings Your eyes will see strange things your heart will speak perverse things and you'll be like one who lies down in the heart Of the sea or like one who lies down on the top of a mast They struck me, but I did not come ill they beat me But I did not know it when shall I wake when I wake I'll see yet another Proverbs is very clear about what alcohol can do look at verse 29 It causes whoa, it causes sorrow. It causes contentions 178,000 people die every single year from alcohol related issues Gallup studies show that alcohol causes more family problems than any other single factor alcohol is involved in My mind alcohol is involved in 50% of child molestation cases Alcohol is involved in 35% of all domestic violence cases Alcohol is involved in 34% of all murder cases 50% of all rapists are intoxicated Verse 33 says you drink this you will see strange things and your heart will speak perverse things in other words, you'll do things under the control of alcohol that you wouldn't normally do it turns you into a different person I Gotta be real careful when I say this But a few years ago a pastor from Raleigh made national news Because he's on an airline flight Stood up and urinated on another woman And they asked him what in the world happened He's like hi, I just drank I didn't know what I was doing and I talked to people who know that guy They're like, you know, he's actually a really nice guy and honest I think you might be but it changes you into somebody that you're not And a symbol of God young as simple as God pastor a few years ago two years ago stumbled onto the court of a Miami Heat basketball game stone drunk I'm just telling you somebody guys start ringing the bell and say guys we got a problem here We're causing a lot of embarrassment to the cause of Christ because of this issue Verse 34 you drink alcohol. You'll be like one who lies down in the heart of the sea In other words, it makes you just pass out Look at this verse 34 like one who lies down on the top of a mask I got frat boy gives you this false confidence.
Look at me. I can do anything Look at what the writer Proverbs says in verse 35 When shall I awake because when I wake up, I'm gonna want one more in other words Proverbs saying this is very addictive I let a man a few years ago many years ago to the Lord. There's a drifted addicted that crack cocaine powder cocaine and heroin When he got saved he quit all of that that day Do you know he told me the two hardest things for him to stop was alcohol and cigarettes?
It's interesting. I Followed this he was a pastor Professor author love this guy great great guy. He he was with the Dallas Theological Seminary This is there's no Miraculous move the Holy Spirit today. He was a professor there He got filled with the Holy Spirit and when I was seeking the baptism the Spirit It was his writings that I latched on to I wonder what had happened him I've not heard from him in years and he came out with a new book a couple years ago and in that book He said my wife and I were pastoring this church and we wanted a hobby to bring ourselves together So we decided that our new hobby because we're kind of urbane pastors would be wine tasting and that wine tasting Triggered something in my wife and she became a raving alcoholic and it ruined everything and that's what it's saying right there There's something addictive about this So what why do I abstain from alcohol? I see the harm that does and then the sixth reason I abstain from alcohol Is I'm trying to take care of my physical body You know when I was young, I don't know fellas if you're like this I used to work out because I wanted to look good Now I'm just trying to stave off death as long as I can. Okay, and I'm reading all these, you know these health gurus Guys, like a dr. Andrew Huberman. Dr. Andrew Huberman is a famous neuroscientist He's a famous podcaster and he says this quote the scientific consensus is that zero alcohol Consumption is the healthiest option Another guy follow.
I like this guy. Dr. Peter Atiyah He's a big longevity Doctor he said quote in contrast to the findings of many earlier observational studies researchers are now finding that all levels of alcohol exposure are Associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease contrary to the many epidemiological studies new research indicates that no Level of alcohol intake however small is good for cardiovascular health Dr. Daniel Amen says the even moderate alcohol correlates with lower brain volume and an increase in depression So Chad, what are you trying to tell me? What I'm saying is if you're drinking That's fine. Do it.
I still love you. You do whatever you want to do. I'm not gonna condemn you I know Christians who drink I get all that stuff But here's all I want you to know you don't need alcohol if you're born-again believer You don't need alcohol because you got the Holy Ghost when you have the Holy Spirit You don't need any other kind of spirit the Apostle Paul says this in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18 and do not get drunk with wine for that is Dissipation but be filled with the Holy Spirit speaking to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God even the Father in an interesting the Apostle Paul compares being drunk with Alcohol with being filled with the Holy Spirit what Paul is saying is when you have the Holy Spirit, you don't need alcohol Yeah, Chad, but alcohol calms me. Hey, you got the Prince of Peace. Let him calm you down Yeah, but Chad Alcohol makes me feel good in thy presence is fullness and joy at thy right hand are pleasures forever You got Jesus you don't need alcohol And I'm just telling you we're living in a society that is depressed and getting more depressed And I think there might be a connection with this In fact only 30 listen to this only 35% of Americans are happy 35% The 10 richest countries in the world Also have the highest rate of depression. The United States has the second highest rate exceeding exceeded only by France And I'm just saying when you get born again and you give your life to Jesus and your sins are forgiven They're washed away. You're given eternal life. You have a heavenly home and Holy Spirit comes to live in you There's a feeling that drugs cannot even compare with I Look, I don't know. I Don't know. This guy's really born again.
I don't know if it's a false converse. I don't know but that actor Russell Brand recently claimed to have gotten saved and got baptized in the Thames River and Brand said this the feeling I got when I got saved and baptized Was like that feeling I used to have when I ran around having sex and drugs and getting drunk But it was a feeling that was deeper that hasn't gone away yet You know what? He's saying this buzz you get from my alcohol is a cheap Listen, it is a cheap copy of the real thing, which is to be filled with the Holy Spirit and I look I Preach three times when my brains fried and so I don't that I start this Sermon with a joke or not.
I can't remember if I told you did I tell you the joke? No, okay So this whole thing of being a spirit filled believer, it starts attracting this world to Jesus continue If that's if that survey is right that only 35% of Americans are very happy You start walking around the joy of the Holy Ghost. You can start attracting people to Jesus Have you heard of the Welsh revival took place in the early 1900s?
the Welsh revival in the country of Wales Holy Spirit fell and just thousands and thousands and thousands got saved and There was a young man in the Welsh revival that was so filled with the Holy Spirit so excited He's on a train going back to London and there's a grumpy old man reading a paper right across from him he's wanting to start a conversation to to witness to this man and So he said hey, sir. Did you enjoy the country of Wales? I just shoot the paper and kept reading He said sir. Did you enjoy Wales? He just grunted and shoot the paper. He asked the guy a third time. What did you think about Wales? Guy finally put the paper down. He said young man.
Let me tell you about Wales can't stand the place. It's cold It's wet and there's too many of those happy Pentecostals there Well, the young man said well sir you should go to hell it's hot it's dry and there are no Pentecostals there And I'm just saying when you come to the point in your life When you're filled with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and the joy of the Lord I'm just telling you the world can't touch it and The world is drawn to it. Say it again. You don't need alcohol when you have the Holy Spirit a couple weeks ago a group of us went took a guy from Springfield where the Assum's of God is located he and his son we took him out to eat Took him in a nice restaurant welcome to Raleigh And so we're in ministry my wife is there some other why I know Amy you were there and so we're sitting around the table and um It got louder and louder and like we're laughing we're cutting up and I'm kind of looking around We're actually louder at our table there without alcohol that everybody else is and all these other tables that are filled with alcohol and our waiter He noticed it He came up to us and he said He said you guys are loud. Y'all laughing you're having a good time and he said the same thing there's not a drop of alcohol at this table and I talked to him about the Lord. He said he said I recently got saved. He said I'm a new believer He said I needed to see what I saw here tonight You have a good time and be filled with joy and not need that alcohol like everybody else is great I Needed to see what you guys got I say it again when you have Jesus, you don't need alcohol when you have the Holy Spirit You don't need the other kind of spirit the joy the Lord's gonna be your strength you're gonna walk with boldness and Confidence and joy in these last days and the world's gonna look at you and say I don't know what you got But I want it and we're gonna say his name is Jesus. His spirit is living in me He's coming back for me one day one day. I'm gonna go home and be with him forever I have a joy the world can't touch a peace the world can't explain I got what you need and his name is Jesus Can the people of God stand and I want you to raise your hands right now And lift up your voice and just start praising the name of Jesus Would you do that look up and start praising the name of Jesus just bless the name of Jesus forever Praise the name of the joy maker. His name is Jesus bless his name You put your hands together Oh Oh Oh Oh Heavens ahead of us Hell and our past is behind us Holy Spirit lives in us God's all around us We're sitting in the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ and no one can pluck us out of the hand of God You are the most blessed people on the face of the earth y'all receive that Let's just leave here with the joy the Lord and let's let it start in that parking lot Y'all out there and somebody's pulling in front of you and you just smile and you bless him in the name of Lord Jesus Christ And that parking tenant tells you to stop and the joy the Lord just oozes out of you and you say yes Bless you Lord.
I can eat lunch here a little bit later. I'm gonna be alright. Let's let the joy the Lord Go ahead of us out of this place Read this again 35% of Americans are happy Everybody else is miserable Y'all leave here today knowing who you are and whose you are and where you're going and now to him who is able to do Immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine According to his power that is working in us Do him be the glory of the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever endeavor Amen, and amen. God bless you. Beloved. Let's go change this world for Jesus Christ
