1. The Cost of Addiction
• The cost to society
• The cost to families
• The cost to yourself
Proverbs 23:19-21, NIV
“Listen, my son, and be wise, and keep your heart on the right path. Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-11, NIV
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the
kingdom of God.” “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
2. The Course of Addiction
• Hurt/Trauma
Proverbs 18:14, NIV
“A man’s spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?”
• Escape
Proverbs 14:12, NIV
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”
• Deception & Denial
Isaiah 44:14-20, NLT
He cuts down cedars; he selects the cypress and the oak; he plants the pine in the forest to be nourished by the rain. Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire. With it he warms himself and bakes his bread. Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it and makes himself a god to worship! He makes an idol and bows down in front of it! He burns part of the tree to roast his meat and to keep himself warm. He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.” Then he takes what’s left and makes his god: a carved idol! He falls down in front of it, worshiping and praying to it. “Rescue me!” he says. “You are my god!” Such stupidity and ignorance! Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see. Their minds are shut, and they cannot think. The person who made the idol never stops to reflect, “Why,
it’s just a block of wood! I burned half of it for heat and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat. How can the rest of it be a god? Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?” The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes. He trusts something that can’t help him at all. Yet he cannot bring himself to ask, “Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”
• Bondage
Genesis 4:7, NIV
“Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”
Proverbs 23:31-32, NLT
Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down. For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper.
Romans 6:16, NIV
“Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey – whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?”
3. The Cure for Addiction
A. I must Acknowledge my addiction
Romans 7:15, NIV
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
Romans 7:17-19, NIV
As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.
Romans 7:24, NIV
What a wretched man I am!
Proverbs 28:13, NLT
People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.
B. I must Admit that I am powerless on my own
Romans 7:18, NIV
For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
Romans 7:24-25, NIV
Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
C. I must Allow God control of my life
Romans 6:11-13, NIV
“Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus … Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.”
D. I must Always be continually filled with the Holy Spirit
Ephesians 5:15-18, NIV
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”
Galatians 5:22-23, NIV
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
E. I must Abide in the truth of God’s Word
John 8:31-32, NKJV
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
F. I must Apply myself to prayer and fasting
G. I must Amend damaged relationships
H. I must Accept the support of Godly people
1 Corinthians 15:33, NIV
“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’”
James 5:16, NLT
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.