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Pastor Wade Burleson




Divine Intervention: Overcoming Addiction (Part I)
God's People Have Their Relapses

Genesis65.mp3 (12.6 MB)

Genesis 20:1-2 (KJV)
  1. And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.
  2. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.

Divine Intervention: Overcoming Addiction (Part I)
God's People Have Their Relapses
Genesis 20:1-2

When Abraham journeyed southwest from Mamre (i.e. Hebron. Genesis 18:1) toward "the south country" (i.e. Gerar), he came to a plush land near the coastal plain of the western Negev. This land was controlled by a powerful tribal king named Abimelech. In fear for his own life, Abraham said to the king about Sarah, "She is my sister." Just a few years earlier, Abram had done the same thing (Genesis 12:10-20). God's people can have their relapses. Let's give a few definitions by way of introduction to help ourselves understand the terms we use.

  • Passion -- a love for, or devotion to, any object or behavior that is not deemed harmful.
    "If you're passionate about what you do, then you're going to always get better at it." J. Canfield.
  • Strongholds -- anything that masters you or controls you other than Jesus Christ.
    The Apostle Paul wrote, "I will not be mastered by anything" (I Corinthians 6:12). It seems in our text that Abraham had a stronghold in the area of fear. He feared for his own life.
  • Addictions -- inner obsessions or compulsions that lead to repeated, destructive behavior.
    These addictions can by physiological, emotional, psychological or even spiritual in nature. I am not sue that many of us fully understand what it means to be addicted, even pastors. I recently went to the bookstore and purchased, "Addiction and Recovery for Dummies" and other books to help me get a handle on the subject. I understand strongholds, and it is true that "addiction" is not in the Bible, but we must remember that psychology asks the right questions.

  1. It is possible for true Christians to have both strongholds and addictions.
    Have you ever heard anyone say, "If he were really a Christian he wouldn't do that!" The evidence of the grace of God in your life is not necessarily victory; it's vitality. Or, in simpler terms, the fruit of faith is a fight. Let me show you what I mean by that. "For though we live in the world we are not carrying on a worldly war, for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly but have divine power to destroy strongholds" (II Corinthians 10:3-4). Warren Wiersbe said, "The Christian life is not a playground, it's a battleground."
  2. A stronghold or addiction becomes a dwelling place for your accuser.
    There are two dangers with strongholds or addictions; behavior that controls you. First, it often harms you and those around you. It takes your focus off those things that should require your attention. Second, it becomes a handy tool for your accuser. Paul gives a list of twelve strongholds in Colossians 3:5, 8 and says "for which sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience" (Colossians 3:6). There are many Christians who stay away from ministry, spiritual growth and advancement by: "Who do I think I am? I'm a hypocrite. I am no better than those who are lost, etc."
  3. Freedom from strongholds and addictions come through grasping truth.
    For those of us who struggle with a particular stronghold, freedom can come to us all.
    1. The Spirit of God in us . . . "He who is in you is greater than . . ." (I John 4:4)
    2. The Word of God to us . . . as Piper says, "Theology conquers biology." Those strongholds in you -- anger, envy, lust, insecurity, etc., can be removed.
    3. The Providence of God over us . . . "I have kept you from sinning" (Genesis 20:6).
Trust Christ to the Hilt with Gutsy Guilt

Micah 7:8-9 is a picture of what you say to your enemy when he scoffs at your defeat. Here is what you say. My summary of these words is to call them gutsy guilt. I call it that because the believer admits that he has done wrong and that God is dealing roughly with him. But even in a condition of darkness and discipline, he will not surrender his hold on the truth that God is on his side. Listen to these amazing words. Mark them. Memorize them. Use them whenever Satan tempts you to throw away your life.

Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. I will hear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication. (Micah 7:8-9)

This is what victory looks like the morning after failure. Meditate on it long and hard when I am gone. Lear to take your theology and speak like this to the devil or anyone else who tells you that Christ is not capable of using you. Here is what you say:

  • "Rejoice not over me, O my enemy." You make merry over my failure? You think you will draw me into your deception? Think again.
  • "When I fall, I shall rise." Yes, I have fallen. And I hate what I have done. I grieve at the dishonor I have brought on my King. But hear this, O my enemy, I will rise.
  • "When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me." Yes, I am sitting in darkness. I feel miserable. I feel guilty. I am guilty. But that is not all that is true about me and my God. The same God who makes my darkness is a sustaining light to me in this very darkness. He will not forsake me.
  • I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my cause and executes judgment for me." O yes, my enemy, this much truth you say, I have sinned. I am bearing the indignation of the Lord. But that is where your truth stops and my theology begins: He -- the very one who is indignant with me -- he will plead my cause. You say he is against me and that I have no future with him because of my failure. That's what Job's friends said. That is a lie. And you are a liar. My God, whose Son's life is my righteousness and whose Son's death is my punishment, will execute judgment for me. For me! Not against me!
  • "He will bring me out to the light; I shall look upon his vindication." This misery that I now feel because of my failure. I will bear as long as my dear God ordains. And this I know for sure -- as sure as Jesus Christ, the Song of God, is my punishment and my righteousness -- God will bring me out to the light, and I will look upon his righteousness, my Lord and my God.

O my brothers and sisters, when you learn to deal with the guilt of moral failure with this kind of brokenhearted boldness, this kind of theology, this kind of justification by faith, this kind of substitutionary atonement, this kind of gutsy guilt, this kind of unshakable position that you have in the crucified, risen, invincible king Jesus Christ -- when you lear to deal with your guilt in this way, you will fall less often - because Christ will become increasingly precious to you. And best of all, your accuser loses.

John Piper, January 2007.

Genesis65.mp3



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Pastor Wade

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