Addiction and recovery

“same old time and the same old places, and we get locked into these prayer habits. We struggle with worry. We struggle with worry. What if I'm praying incorrectly? What if I'm not praying right? What if I'm missing something? What if I don't even really know how to pray? We struggle with shame. How can I pray to God after what I've done? We struggle with prayer.”

“struggling with the changing seasons and habits and patterns that I see in the life of my children. I think there's some parents and children who could say, I need prayer because I'm struggling with obedience and honor in areas of my life. Some need prayer for perseverance because you've been in a battle and you feel that you're losing out and that your love has not been effective.”

“Was there a moment that that crushing blow came and you just became who you are today? Well, it's about 14 years ago. You know, I was struggling in addiction and lost and broken, and brokenness is real. And I realized, you know, I've tried everything. I've had money. I've had fame. I've had success and all that I've done. But it was never enough to make me well. And my wife, you know, who's today, my wife Tracy, she told me, you need to take off the uniform and get over yourself and follow God.”

“that struggle with the addiction and the obsession of sexual morality, of pornography, of committing adultery. We have women who are broken, who are full of shame as they found out their husbands have been indulging in this or that they have had an affair where they would swear that they would never step out on their wife. They would never give in to their indulgences. But then they do this and then there's brokenness in the marriage. There's brokenness in the family. There's trauma that is experienced by the kids. There's so much that comes from this evil thing that so many people”

“How could he help but not spend an hour in the beginning in prayer? It's really hard for me to grasp. We struggle with time. We struggle with habits. We end up praying the same prayers in the same way at the same places at the same time. And it's just hard to bust out of that groove. We struggle with worry. What if I'm not praying rightly? What if I'm not praying for the right things? Should I be praying for this? Should I be pressing God about this? Should I be telling God how I feel?”

“but he wasn't just running from something, he was running to something. The problem with so many people when I work in the addiction space, when I'm trying to help people remove something from their life, you have to ask the question, what will you replace it with? Because you can't just run into a wilderness with everything that's familiar behind you. Because I promise the voice of familiarity sounds pretty attractive when there's nothing else to go to. We have to remove the distractions.”

“There is restoration that is available. I know because I've had it as a reality in my life. Many years ago, when I was a young man, I struggled with pornography and addiction. I was working in a church, of all places. And it took many years. And it took a lot of work and a lot of focus.”

“And you may be thinking, pastor, I've heard this. I've repented and I have prayed. and I've asked the Lord to help me, and I do for a little while, and then I slip back and I struggle. Trust me, I have heard this. One of the counselors, I'm over-counseling in Grovetown, and we have a sexual addiction support group, and I've heard that time and time again, but the reality is, as God instructed the church, we must repent, but then walk side by side together.”

“And if we're addicted to noise, we will really really struggle to hear from God and so Romans 8 5 through 8 for those of you who live according to the flesh aka addicted to the noise of this world for those of you who live according to the flesh have set their minds on things of the flesh if you're addicted to the noise you set your mind on the things of the noise but those who live according to the spirit set their minds on things of the spirit now the mindset that is on the flesh the noise is death this world is leading to death”

“we're gonna have to confront the strongholds that are around us. Think about a chain. Just think about how many of us are living right now in bondage to things like doubt and fear and addiction and bitterness and guilt and discouragement. I'm talking to a group of people who right now, this is like a chain in your life and because of the constancy of the thought processes that are going on inside of you, you just feel like you're living in lockdown.”

“was curious about becomes a pornography addiction in life. And that sense of, I'm going to just, you know, play a few games here and there. I'm going to just use a little money here and there. Suddenly there's compulsive gambling. And before we know it, we are absolutely addicted to all sorts of things and stimuli and attractions in life, and then there's desperation. There's no way out. What do I do? I can't break the cycle. I'm on the trail. And then it's”

“something I was curious about becomes a pornography addiction in life, and that sense of, I'm going to just, you know, play a few games here and there. I'm going to just use a little money here and there. Suddenly, there's compulsive gambling, and before we know it, we are absolutely addicted to all sorts of things and stimuli and attractions in life, and then there's desperation. There's no way out. What do I do? I can't break the cycle. I'm on the trail.”

“sometimes i've had some moments where i've prayed god-sized prayers and in a moment he's shown up and done something and he can and he does i pray that before these services god would you give me like a prophetic word that would speak to a marriage or to a child or to a relationship or that would just undo someone of their brokenness or addiction that's the kind of prayers i'm praying every time i come up here because i just believe he can do more in a moment”

“the bondage yet i'm bonded to these chains and he's struggling and i have a hunch we don't have we don't know it for sure in scripture but i have a hunch he knew his imminent death was very close and what we found out according to scripture is he's beheaded and his head put on a platter this is not g-rated the bible let me just say that today but that's the reality of where he's about to go and the martyrdom death that he's about to experience and i think john probably sensed”

“regardless of whether they've been in there a week or month or a year uh they would say I'm so and so and they'd say and I am addicted to alcohol or I am an alcoholic like their identity who they were the first thing they said was I have a problem and I need accountability and I need help in my life so that that this doesn't progress and this doesn't destroy my life and you may ask like why did”

“years ago. Can I just be honest with you? We haven't scratched the surface of the darkness and the lostness in North Augusta. And I believe he just wants very surrendered people, ordinary Joes like me and you, not with it all put together, struggling, still still having hard days, still having sin habits I'm not proud of, but still anointed. I believe he wants to use you just as you are, not some future better version of yourself, like you as you are today, surrendered to his will”

“it doesn't satisfy. Alistair Begg, a wonderful pastor that I love and appreciate, said this, if there's anything worse than the addiction that money brings, it is the emptiness that it leaves. If there's anything worse than the addiction that money brings. It is the emptiness that it leaves. I'm a gum chewer. I don't know. Anybody else chew gum? You like to chew gum? I really am. For the last few years of my life, I love ice cubes. They're”

“and that's one reason that drove me back to Christ. I mean, I was thinking education was the answer. My dad was a country preacher, get more education, you know, but I saw my dad kneel down with people, and they were going to, you know, think they were going to get a divorce, prayed with them, got back up, and they stayed married the rest of their life. I've seen him kneel down with alcoholics, and they get up and quit drinking. And yet I go to a course in addiction, and they say, how much do we even do for alcoholics? I'm thinking, wait a minute. My dad, he knew nothing. This guy's got a doctor's degree. My dad knew nothing. He can help alcoholics.”

“So I think discouragement is a big reason that men just get snared and stuff. And so our feelings say, I don't feel good. Our feelings say, make me feel good, make me feel good. So that's where the addictions come in and the sins come in. But the thorns can get around men so easily. I'm sure the conference will address those. so you're talking about staying but is this a struggle for you i mean even though you have proven”

“said, I want to wake up on purpose with intentionality and live in bondage. But the reality is that many of us live our lives in absolute bondage to our sinful tendencies, our bad habits, and our affections and our intentions and our thoughts that are apart from the thoughts of God. And so for freedom, Christ has set us free. Therefore, stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. I tell my boys all the time that freedom comes at a cost”

“are still in bondage. But still, through fasting, perhaps more than any other practice, the power of the Holy Spirit to break the chains of sin is released into our bodies themselves. So what happens when we fast is that we inflict our stomachs intentionally in order that our sinful, broken habits that come to the surface when we're hungry and when we're vulnerable are surfaced in such a way that we can pray in those moments and ask God in those moments of”

“and commonly cited triggers for relapse. Addiction thrives in isolation. Active addiction often leads to damaged relationship, burned bridges, a retreat from social connections. In early recovery, individuals might feel isolated even when physically around others, struggling to reconnect with healthy friends and family, are finding themselves alone with difficult emotions that they use substances and indulgences to avoid.”

“to go to God for the seventh time. I want you to hear what I'm saying. I'm saying that we've experienced God from heaven this week and I'm saying we've experienced the God of the Bible this week and people have confessed addictions. They've made wrongs, right? They've confessed sin. They've repented. People have given their life to Jesus. We've seen fire fall but I'm more concerned that on Monday morning would you still have the same faith? I'm concerned that this weekend”

“and says, you know what? I think I'll ruin my marriage today. I'm gonna go have an affair. Nobody gets up in the morning and simply says to themselves, you know what? I think I'm gonna just destroy my testimony for Christ. I think I'd like to become an addict today. Wonder how I can get on that journey. You know, I think I'd like to spend the next 10 years in prison. Do you think people ever get up and say, that's what I want to do with my life? No, they are deceived by the desires”

“And what happens over time is that we've lived much of our life apart from Christ and before we knew Christ, and we pick up these bad habits that when I hear something or somebody treats me a certain way, I respond a certain way. And they're usually sinful and broken. And if we're not careful, we'll just live in these bad habits the rest of our lives. Because our minds have this weird way of mapping things. I remember I moved houses”