Latest / HOTLCAST / [SERMON] You Can't Heal What You're Hiding | Vices 3.0

Transcript

[SERMON] You Can't Heal What You're Hiding | Vices 3.0 · HOTLCAST

0:05
SPEAKER_00: Well, today we revisit a series for the third time, and we we don't normally do that, but we do around here because we can.
0:13
SPEAKER_00: 330, we can have lots of threes, and this is the third.
0:16
SPEAKER_00: So this is Vices 3.0.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: And Vices we started three years ago.
0:21
SPEAKER_00: We started talking about the vices in our life sex, drugs, alcohol, all kinds of stuff.
0:26
SPEAKER_00: And uh this is kind of a series where people ask questions you guys talk about the hard stuff at church, and yeah, we do.
0:32
SPEAKER_00: Uh so basically we talk about all of our sins.
0:35
SPEAKER_00: And so, what does the Bible say about and how do we navigate it?
0:37
SPEAKER_00: And what a vice is, if you don't know what it is, it's on the screen.
0:40
SPEAKER_00: A vice is an immoral or wicked behavior, it's a weakness of character or behavior, it's a bad habit, or it's an immoral or wicked personal characteristic.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: This is how you can break down from like Webster's dictionary definitions of what a vice is.
0:56
SPEAKER_00: For us, we all have vices.
0:58
SPEAKER_00: Vice is just simply the sins in our life.
1:00
SPEAKER_00: Some of them are really, really bad, and some of them are just bad.
1:05
SPEAKER_00: And so, but we all have those things that hold us back from being the best person that we can be, the best person we can be in our relationship with the Lord, and really keep us from moving forward.
1:14
SPEAKER_00: Three years ago, when we did our original vices series, it was amazing to see God move.
1:20
SPEAKER_00: And God moved in such powerful ways that people like had their lives radically transformed by Christ.
1:26
SPEAKER_00: They would show up, and it was just it was cool.
1:28
SPEAKER_00: People would show up for church, and it would be like that week we were talking about their thing, and then God would just like speak to them and get a hold of them.
1:34
SPEAKER_00: There's nothing I did or we did, but like we planned the Vices series out months before we actually preached it.
1:38
SPEAKER_00: But it's amazing how God moves to send the people He wants at the exact time that He wants.
1:43
SPEAKER_00: And that's how we see the power of God, the Holy Spirit, and bringing people to church.
1:47
SPEAKER_00: And so today, two of those people are gonna come up and share with you.
1:51
SPEAKER_00: And I want, if you remember nothing else today, remember their stories.
1:55
SPEAKER_00: Because I asked them to share, I said, I want you I want you to testify so that it preaches.
1:59
SPEAKER_00: I want people to understand that God can radically transform your life if you allow him to.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: And so, really, today, as we talk about vices, there's a question, isn't this?
2:10
SPEAKER_00: It's this how do I honor God in my lifestyle?
2:14
SPEAKER_00: The way that I'm living and interacting in the world of today, how do I interact as the person of Kyle?
2:20
SPEAKER_00: How do I honor God in my life?
2:22
SPEAKER_00: And so today we're going a little further.
2:23
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna talk about uh a topic that hits some of the testimonies, but it hits all of us, addiction.
2:29
SPEAKER_00: And I know what you think, well, I'm not addicted to drugs or alcohol, so this isn't for me.
2:33
SPEAKER_00: We're all addicted to something at some point, right?
2:36
SPEAKER_00: For some of us, might be drugs, alcohol, might be pornography, it might be well some of the big ones, but here's a list that the Bible gives us in Galatians 5, uh 19 through 21.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: This is a list, not the list, of things.
2:48
SPEAKER_00: It says this.
2:49
SPEAKER_00: Remember, you get the yellow part to read out loud.
2:51
SPEAKER_00: Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.
3:12
SPEAKER_00: I warned you as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
3:17
SPEAKER_00: And then what it goes to and after this is one of the most famous Bible verses about the fruits of the Spirit.
3:22
SPEAKER_00: So the Bible says, hey, these are the bad things.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: These are bad.
3:26
SPEAKER_00: You're not gonna inherit the kingdom of God if this if you're lost in these things.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: But then it goes immediately the next verse to tell you, here's how you should live, right?
3:33
SPEAKER_00: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
3:36
SPEAKER_00: That's the very next two verses.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: And so this list encompasses a lot of us and our issues, our vices.
3:44
SPEAKER_00: Now you might say, well, I don't have the big ones.
3:46
SPEAKER_00: What about what about envy?
3:48
SPEAKER_00: Do you want things that don't belong to you that other people have?
3:51
SPEAKER_00: We live in a lake community with people with bigger boats, bigger houses, bigger cars, right?
3:56
SPEAKER_00: You probably always see something driving by, like, well, that's a cool Tesla truck.
3:59
SPEAKER_00: All right.
4:00
SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's things, but when you want it too bad, it becomes an addiction of envy in our lives.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: What about divisions?
4:08
SPEAKER_00: What about rivalries?
4:09
SPEAKER_00: What about fits of anger?
4:11
SPEAKER_00: Some of you are addicted to anger, right?
4:13
SPEAKER_00: Some of you got some tempers, right?
4:15
SPEAKER_00: Some of you got some frustrations.
4:16
SPEAKER_00: We're in a political season.
4:18
SPEAKER_00: How many of you are gonna be really angry after the election and leading up to it?
4:22
SPEAKER_00: And every time you go by uh the signs in yards and want to rip them out of somebody else's yards, right?
4:27
SPEAKER_00: That's that's an addiction, right?
4:31
SPEAKER_00: Idolatry, jealousy.
4:33
SPEAKER_00: I mean, last night we were sitting there, and last night, yeah, there was a lot of crazy football stuff happening yesterday.
4:38
SPEAKER_00: What we did last night at about 11 o'clock is we looked around the room and said, nobody's wearing Michigan stuff to church tomorrow and nobody's talking about it.
4:45
SPEAKER_00: Because we love people who somewhat have too much of a care about sports.
4:51
SPEAKER_00: Like we get addicted to sports.
4:52
SPEAKER_00: We do get addicted to rivalries.
4:54
SPEAKER_00: And we all said in the room, we love people more than the drama, because I've been to church when my team has not done well last week.
5:02
SPEAKER_00: All right.
5:03
SPEAKER_00: And uh it's hard when people say things and it hurts, right?
5:08
SPEAKER_00: And people are so addicted to that conversation and that tension and that rivalry that we get addicted in this stuff that takes us away from God and it breaks down relationships.
5:18
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, there's the big ones, there's the drunkenness, there's the envy, there's all those things, but the Bible warns us about these things.
5:24
SPEAKER_00: And the question isn't just are these things wrong?
5:28
SPEAKER_00: Because I think we we know by the list that they're wrong.
5:31
SPEAKER_00: It's bigger than that.
5:32
SPEAKER_00: And we can spend all day arguing about things.
5:35
SPEAKER_00: Like if you go on TikTok, you'll have all these TikTok theologians who tell you all these things.
5:40
SPEAKER_00: Like, listen, if you tell me somebody on TikTok said something and sent me a video, I'm usually like, oh my goodness, what is this one?
5:47
SPEAKER_00: Right?
5:47
SPEAKER_00: It's usually something crazy because I know theologians, I know professors who like study the Bible and teach it.
5:54
SPEAKER_00: They're not on TikTok, they're at universities teaching classes about the depths of getting into God's Word.
6:00
SPEAKER_00: They're not TikTok theologians, so we have to be careful.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: And so we can argue about things like can Christians drink?
6:05
SPEAKER_00: What drugs are legal?
6:06
SPEAKER_00: What about marijuana?
6:08
SPEAKER_00: What about prescriptions?
6:08
SPEAKER_00: How much is too much?
6:10
SPEAKER_00: How close can I get to the line of that thing that I want to do and just stick over just a little bit, but I'm still safe because I'm not gonna fall off, and I can still sin just a little bit, get a taste, but still Jesus loves me and forgives me, right?
6:26
SPEAKER_00: That's how most, this is how a lot of Christians, I listen, I trust me, I know this.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: This is how most Christians live their life.
6:31
SPEAKER_00: Just on the edge, teetering to get away with as much life and as much culture and as much sin of today as they can while still not falling off.
6:40
SPEAKER_00: And so that's the danger.
6:42
SPEAKER_00: But I think when we when we fight about all this stuff, the eventuality is there's a more important question.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: The question is, not is it sin, but does it own me?
6:53
SPEAKER_00: Does that sin own me?
6:55
SPEAKER_00: Now, 1 Corinthians 6, we talked about this once this summer in passing, but this, I've shared this this summer.
7:01
SPEAKER_00: This is a filter, this is a Kyle filter.
7:03
SPEAKER_00: What I think through, should I do something?
7:06
SPEAKER_00: Should I allow myself to participate in this thing?
7:08
SPEAKER_00: I go through this filter.
7:09
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible says all things are lawful for me.
7:12
SPEAKER_00: As an American, we can do whatever we want, right?
7:15
SPEAKER_00: But as a Christian, we also have freedom to do whatever we want.
7:19
SPEAKER_00: But but whatever we want isn't necessarily always beneficial.
7:22
SPEAKER_00: It says because not all things are helpful.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: Just because I can doesn't mean that I should.
7:30
SPEAKER_00: And the problem is where we get ourselves out, oh, I can do whatever I want.
7:34
SPEAKER_00: I can just stick my toes just over the line because I can.
7:37
SPEAKER_00: I have the freedom in Christ.
7:39
SPEAKER_00: The freedom is American to taste in.
7:43
SPEAKER_00: The problem is that's not helpful to me in my relationship.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: It's not helpful to my Lord, it's not helpful to the community.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: When people see us do that, and so we have to ask, other translations will say, Well, is it beneficial?
7:55
SPEAKER_00: Is it helpful or beneficial?
7:57
SPEAKER_00: For me, if something is not helpful or beneficial, to me or to others or to my relationship with the Lord, the answer is I don't do it.
8:04
SPEAKER_00: I don't do it.
8:07
SPEAKER_00: So that's the filter.
8:09
SPEAKER_00: I could do it, I know I can.
8:11
SPEAKER_00: I have pastor friends that they do things that I don't think are helpful or beneficial, but they're allowed to do it.
8:17
SPEAKER_00: They have a different lifestyle.
8:18
SPEAKER_00: We disagree.
8:19
SPEAKER_00: It's some of those things that are the non-essentials that we have the liberty to disagree.
8:23
SPEAKER_00: But for me, I don't do it because I don't think they're helpful.
8:26
SPEAKER_00: Now, all things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated, addicted, enslaved by anything.
8:35
SPEAKER_00: That's the third filter, right?
8:38
SPEAKER_00: Can I do it?
8:38
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
8:39
SPEAKER_00: Is it helpful?
8:40
SPEAKER_00: Maybe, maybe not, but could it dominate me?
8:44
SPEAKER_00: Now, for me, there's some things in life where maybe it's helpful or not, but what about?
8:50
SPEAKER_00: Those things often can dominate me, they can enslave me eventually.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: And so if something has the potential to master me, enslave me, dominate me, create an addiction, the answer for me is no.
9:03
SPEAKER_00: Because why would I allow myself when scripture is very clear about how to live, why would I stick my feet over the line and just say, oh, how close can I get to the fire before I get burned?
9:13
SPEAKER_00: But a lot of us we live that way.
9:15
SPEAKER_00: See, addiction promises relief and eventually demands control of our life.
9:21
SPEAKER_00: Those things look good until they dominate us, until they enslave us.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: And so the question I want you to think about is what has gained enough control over you or me that we can continually surrender to it?
9:35
SPEAKER_00: What's that thing in your life?
9:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, maybe it's not the big ones, maybe it's not sex, drugs, alcohol, rock and roll, but maybe it's food, maybe it's sports, maybe it's leisure, maybe it's comfort, maybe it's a hobby, maybe it's a friend.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: And now you're surrendering your life, your priority, your finances, your thoughts to its control.
9:57
SPEAKER_00: While you think about that, I want to bring up my friend Angela Van Etten.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: And Angela is someone who I call when I get stuck in a situation where I don't know what to do or say, or I need I need another person, or I need a female who can speak into somebody's life.
10:09
SPEAKER_00: And Angela has never told me no.
10:11
SPEAKER_00: She's always like, Yes, I will help you.
10:13
SPEAKER_00: I will call that person.
10:14
SPEAKER_00: And I have just watched her grow just in the last three years.
10:18
SPEAKER_00: It's been amazing to get to know her and to see her heart.
10:20
SPEAKER_00: She actually sets up communion every week.
10:22
SPEAKER_00: She's just an amazing person to know.
10:24
SPEAKER_00: And I want her to share her story with you and how God has been moving in her life.
10:34
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
10:36
SPEAKER_01: Romans 10 9.
10:38
SPEAKER_01: Romans 10 9 says, if you declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10:47
SPEAKER_01: I accepted Jesus as my savior during Bible school at Hanover Baptist Church when I was six years old.
10:54
SPEAKER_01: I remember the very moment, and I remember feeling different.
10:57
SPEAKER_01: Even though I was a little girl, um, I could just tell something was different.
11:02
SPEAKER_01: And I remember that I felt full of joy, and I just wanted to tell everybody about that.
11:10
SPEAKER_01: I I would sit in church, and even though I couldn't read, I would look at the Bible, and I remember looking at the letters in red and just I don't know, somehow God was connecting with me even though I wasn't reading the words.
11:24
SPEAKER_01: Um when I accepted Jesus as my savior and he cleansed me of my sins.
11:29
SPEAKER_01: Um now that I'm of an adult, I've learned that that is justification.
11:35
SPEAKER_01: I think that's a big word, but I now understand what that means.
11:39
SPEAKER_01: Um I was so full of joy, I wanted to just tell everybody about that.
11:43
SPEAKER_01: I had Jesus in my heart.
11:44
SPEAKER_01: I went home and I told my dad, I said, Daddy, I accepted Jesus as my savior.
11:50
SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure if he fully understood what that meant, but I know that um as time went on, he saw Jesus in me.
11:59
SPEAKER_01: And throughout my life, I've depended on the Holy Spirit to guide me through um a lot of trials and a lot of joys.
12:06
SPEAKER_01: I joined the military when I got out of school, and God was with me through all of that.
12:12
SPEAKER_01: Um I got pregnant when I was 19 years old, and I placed my baby for adoption, and only through God's power and the power of the Holy Spirit was I able to do that.
12:24
SPEAKER_01: Um I've been with my husband for 36 years.
12:27
SPEAKER_01: We've had a lot of hard times, lots of great times.
12:30
SPEAKER_01: We um have built two houses from the ground up, and uh we had twins.
12:36
SPEAKER_01: That's a time in my life.
12:38
SPEAKER_01: Um after being a young adult, you know, I kind of got away from the Lord, um, went and did some of my own things that I shouldn't have been doing.
12:46
SPEAKER_01: Um, but when I had my twins, God really just brought me back to Him and I had to rely on Him on a daily basis.
12:54
SPEAKER_01: I also homeschooled my children, so um you know, on a daily basis, I just had to continue to count on God to get me through those things.
13:03
SPEAKER_01: As I got a little bit older and just kind of got distracted in life, um, I was offered some cinnamon whiskey called Fireball, and that was about 15 years ago.
13:15
SPEAKER_01: Um, the slogan for this whiskey is Taste Like Heaven, burns like hell.
13:20
SPEAKER_01: And that's exactly where it took me over time.
13:23
SPEAKER_01: Uh it tasted so good, I didn't even realize that there was a picture of the demon of a demon right on the bottle.
13:29
SPEAKER_01: Um like I said, it tasted good.
13:33
SPEAKER_01: I drank some more the next weekend, I drank some more the next weekend after that, the next weekend.
13:38
SPEAKER_01: Um, after a while I thought, well, I'll have some after work.
13:41
SPEAKER_01: So then I would have it at work at night, and pretty soon I was drinking it on a daily basis and drinking way too much way too often.
13:51
SPEAKER_01: I didn't like the person that I was becoming.
13:53
SPEAKER_01: I didn't like um that feeling of knowing that I had sin in my life every day, and I knew that I wasn't a good example to people around me, even though I tried to hide it from most people.
14:06
SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, my family knew that I was drinking, and I just I just felt terrible about it every day.
14:12
SPEAKER_01: I wanted to quit.
14:14
SPEAKER_01: Um so I decided I would quit on New Year's, but I didn't quit.
14:19
SPEAKER_01: I thought, well, I'll quit on my birthday, but that didn't happen.
14:22
SPEAKER_01: I'll quit um on the first day of spring, couldn't do it.
14:27
SPEAKER_01: I'll quit the next week, you know, on and on.
14:29
SPEAKER_01: I just kept saying that I was gonna stop and I couldn't.
14:32
SPEAKER_01: I I was surprised to find out that even though I was asking God for help, I just couldn't do it on my own.
14:40
SPEAKER_01: Um I came to church, I was coming to church here.
14:43
SPEAKER_01: I used to sit way in the back and I would come in and didn't really want to talk to people because I was living in that life of sin.
14:49
SPEAKER_01: Um, but I wanted to be close to the Lord.
14:52
SPEAKER_01: And one Sunday Kyle was doing the Vices series, and um I found out that there was a 12-step meeting here at this church.
15:02
SPEAKER_01: So I started going to that, and the people there accepted me just as I was, and I found out they were going through the same problems that I did.
15:14
SPEAKER_01: They had that same problem I did of you know, starting out with just an innocent drink, and then it became more and more and more, and then um being stuck in that sin and not being able to get out.
15:27
SPEAKER_01: This uh game of tug-of-war between my flesh and my spirit went on for over 10 years.
15:34
SPEAKER_01: First John 1.9 says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
15:43
SPEAKER_01: I finally humbled myself and I started attending the 12-step meeting here.
15:48
SPEAKER_01: Uh, a 12-step meeting is a peer-led support gathering for people recovering from addictions or compulsive behaviors.
15:57
SPEAKER_01: These people accepted me as I was and they showed me how to live life one day at a time, relying on God and making the 12 steps away of my life.
16:08
SPEAKER_01: After a few months, I was finally able to get through one night without that first drink, then a second night, then a third night, and pretty soon 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, and finally a full year without drinking.
16:30
SPEAKER_01: And by the power of the Holy Spirit and the help from my sponsor and our group on October 10th this year will be three years that I haven't taken that first drink.
16:46
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
16:47
SPEAKER_01: Even with the Holy Spirit, we Christians can still experience an internal war against our human weaknesses.
16:54
SPEAKER_01: Alone, we are powerless over our addictions.
16:58
SPEAKER_01: Most people cannot recover unless there is a group and a higher power.
17:04
SPEAKER_01: James 5.16 says, confess your sins to each other so that you may be healed.
17:11
SPEAKER_01: As a Christian, I don't confess my sins to maintain my salvation.
17:16
SPEAKER_01: I confess my sins on a regular basis to become more like Christ.
17:21
SPEAKER_01: This is sanctification and is driven by God's grace and the Holy Spirit working inside of me.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: My recovery is a daily practice of maintaining my sobriety, accepting the things I cannot change, and helping others to achieve sobriety.
17:39
SPEAKER_01: And also putting my relationship with Jesus first.
17:43
SPEAKER_01: Today I have found a new freedom and a new happiness.
17:48
SPEAKER_01: God has restored the joy of my salvation.
17:52
SPEAKER_01: He can also restore yours.
17:54
SPEAKER_01: Um I encourage you to find a group to confess and get help from each other.
18:01
SPEAKER_01: Um we do have a couple groups that happen at this church, and there's also some information out here in the lobby.
18:10
SPEAKER_01: Yep, thank you.
18:11
SPEAKER_01: Um, or you can get some information if you want to.
18:14
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
18:24
SPEAKER_00: That is what domination, bondage, addiction looks like when it gets a name and a face and a story, and you can overcome it.
18:32
SPEAKER_00: You can overcome it, you can get out of it.
18:34
SPEAKER_00: And you might say, Well, I don't I don't have a problem with alcohol.
18:37
SPEAKER_00: Great.
18:37
SPEAKER_00: You probably got a problem with something.
18:39
SPEAKER_00: So, and it's probably something somebody in your life has told you about.
18:42
SPEAKER_00: Your parents, your friends, your loved one, your spouse, neighbor, right, stranger, hey, it might be a problem with for that for you.
18:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:50
SPEAKER_00: What is the thing you're struggling with?
18:52
SPEAKER_00: Because what you keep obeying can become what you serve, what puts you in bondage.
18:58
SPEAKER_00: Romans 6, 16 says this.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, that you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness.
19:15
SPEAKER_00: When we are addicted to something, we're in bondage to it, we're obeying it.
19:18
SPEAKER_00: We're enslaved to it.
19:21
SPEAKER_00: Whether it's food, whether it's drugs, whether it's alcohol, whether it's comfort, whether it's leisure, whether it's sports, we're actually addicted to that thing so much so that we obey it and it leads our life.
19:35
SPEAKER_00: What we're supposed to do is put that to death, and we're supposed to obedient to God and his word, which leads to righteousness and right living.
19:43
SPEAKER_00: See, sin always wants more than your participation.
19:47
SPEAKER_00: It wants mastery over you.
19:49
SPEAKER_00: The devil wants to own you, control you, and dominate you.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: He just doesn't want your participation.
19:56
SPEAKER_00: So when we stick our, we stick our toes over the line and get close to the fire, or we're falling off, we're actually opening ourselves up to that sin which is going to suck us in to master us.
20:09
SPEAKER_00: See, addiction is so deceptive, it doesn't normally introduce itself as slavery.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: It starts with a promise.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: Here's some of the promises.
20:21
SPEAKER_00: It promises relaxation.
20:22
SPEAKER_00: Hey, if I if I just take another hit, another drink, I'll be able to relax.
20:29
SPEAKER_00: What about I can escape from reality?
20:33
SPEAKER_00: I don't have to think about work, I don't have to think about my kids, I can just escape.
20:37
SPEAKER_00: Or it'll give me confidence.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: If I just take this pill or this shot or whatever, I'll I'll have confidence.
20:46
SPEAKER_00: Or what about I'll get some sleep?
20:48
SPEAKER_00: Finally.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: I'll get some sleep.
20:51
SPEAKER_00: Or I'll feel like I belong.
20:53
SPEAKER_00: If I just do this thing and keep doing this thing over and over again, I'll belong.
20:58
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe it'll numb the pain of my life, or my memories, or my past.
21:03
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe it'll just help me forget.
21:07
SPEAKER_00: We use food for numbing pain, right?
21:09
SPEAKER_00: A lot of us.
21:11
SPEAKER_00: You don't think about it being an addiction until you recognize every time you want numb the pain, you get another thing of ice cream, right?
21:19
SPEAKER_00: Or whatever your thing is.
21:22
SPEAKER_00: What about just feeling something?
21:24
SPEAKER_00: Or feeling nothing?
21:26
SPEAKER_00: Those are the things that drive us into and lead us down the path of addiction because we just think we're gonna escape.
21:32
SPEAKER_00: See, but what promises relief can eventually demand our allegiance.
21:38
SPEAKER_00: We reach for substances to change what we feel, and that's the problem.
21:44
SPEAKER_00: When what we should be reaching for is God's word.
21:47
SPEAKER_00: God's word.
21:49
SPEAKER_00: And that should change how we feel, how we respond, how we deal with things.
21:55
SPEAKER_00: There was a time in my life, and Patty and I had this conversation last week after the Western Michigan game.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: There's a time in my life that would have been a rough week for me.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: Like I was definitely addicted to Michigan football.
22:07
SPEAKER_00: Soon after I got out, it was my whole life for four years.
22:09
SPEAKER_00: I got out and it was still my whole life.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: It would ruin my week.
22:12
SPEAKER_00: It would ruin my month.
22:13
SPEAKER_00: It would ruin my year if Michigan wasn't doing well.
22:16
SPEAKER_00: It's an addiction.
22:17
SPEAKER_00: It is.
22:17
SPEAKER_00: You can break it.
22:18
SPEAKER_00: Last week, yeah, it wasn't a great week.
22:20
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't a great performance by Michigan.
22:22
SPEAKER_00: I had a great week nonetheless.
22:24
SPEAKER_00: Didn't affect me.
22:25
SPEAKER_00: Because I decided I don't want to be near that line where that's all I think about.
22:29
SPEAKER_00: People were asking me now, what do you think about this season in the players?
22:32
SPEAKER_00: I don't even know who's on the team at the moment.
22:33
SPEAKER_00: So I know some of the guys, but I used to know everybody, where they came from, how they were recruited.
22:39
SPEAKER_00: Used to know all that stuff.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: And some of you, that's you.
22:42
SPEAKER_00: Because you're too close.
22:45
SPEAKER_00: And we got to back away.
22:47
SPEAKER_00: Because there's the risk that it'll pull us into the point, it dominates our life.
22:51
SPEAKER_00: And then addiction then attacks our sobriety.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: Sobriety is just being of sober mind.
22:56
SPEAKER_00: It means you're in control.
22:57
SPEAKER_00: That you're in control of making decisions for your life, not that thing or not another person.
23:03
SPEAKER_00: Ephesians 5.18 says this and do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the spirit.
23:13
SPEAKER_00: These created things, you can just put anything in here for wine.
23:16
SPEAKER_00: Drunk with food, right?
23:17
SPEAKER_00: Drunk with that, whatever.
23:18
SPEAKER_00: You can just put it as drunk with sports.
23:20
SPEAKER_00: Because that is ultimately something that's replacing the spirit in our life.
23:24
SPEAKER_00: These things that control us, they take the place of the spirit of God in our life, and they drive our wants, our desires, our feelings, our finances.
23:35
SPEAKER_00: And so I ask this question a lot, and I think we should always ask this question of ourselves.
23:40
SPEAKER_00: Am I intentionally surrendering the very self-control and discernment that God tells me to exercise in my life?
23:46
SPEAKER_00: Is there something in my life that's taking over to the point of I'm surrendering what belongs to God, my heart, my life, my direction of my life?
23:55
SPEAKER_00: Am I allowing the other thing to control it?
23:58
SPEAKER_00: See, 1 Peter 5.8 says this.
24:01
SPEAKER_00: It speaks about sobriety.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: It says, be sober-minded, be watchful.
24:06
SPEAKER_00: Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
24:11
SPEAKER_00: You have an enemy that wants to enslave you, capture you, put you in bondage to a created thing.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: It might be drugs, it might be alcohol, it might be pornography, it might be food, it might be sports, it might be whatever, entertainment.
24:29
SPEAKER_00: And the Bible's clear.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: Be sober-minded, which means be in control, and then be watchful.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: Not only are you supposed to be sober-minded and make good decisions, then you're supposed to be watching out for the things that can pull you away.
24:42
SPEAKER_00: It's not just like, well, I'm just gonna happen through life, and maybe I'll get lucky and not get ensnared by something.
24:48
SPEAKER_00: No, we're supposed to be watching out for the things that will hold us up and then say, I don't want to do that because there's a danger to that for my own life and direction.
24:56
SPEAKER_00: I want to bring up my friend Sarah Walters and Sarah is someone who I rely on quite a bit, just like Angie.
25:03
SPEAKER_00: When I get in a situation, I don't know what advice to give or who to direct them to.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: I'll call Angela sometimes, I'll call Sarah sometimes, and both of them they take the call.
25:13
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, yeah, I'll reach out.
25:14
SPEAKER_00: And then they call that person, and they usually have a meeting with that person, and like it's amazing how God transforms a story, so then those people can go help others be transformed.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: It's awesome.
25:25
SPEAKER_00: This is Sarah.
25:31
SPEAKER_02: Hi, everybody.
25:33
SPEAKER_02: So you've probably seen me up here before.
25:37
SPEAKER_02: Um, I've been leading worship here, and I run sound sometimes and pretty active in the church.
25:44
SPEAKER_02: Um, but I wanted to talk to you all about the fact that I battled with addiction, a drug addiction for about 10 years.
25:53
SPEAKER_02: Um and it wasn't it wasn't a descent that was all of a sudden, it was very gradual, right?
26:02
SPEAKER_02: It was a slow unraveling.
26:05
SPEAKER_02: And I think I had a lot of emotional wounds.
26:11
SPEAKER_02: I had a lot of unresolved trauma that the world told me were normal, um, that led me to seek comfort, like Kyle was saying, in substances, uh, alcohol, cocaine, those were my two main issues.
26:28
SPEAKER_02: And what began as an escape became my prison.
26:33
SPEAKER_02: I couldn't just have one drink.
26:36
SPEAKER_02: That wasn't my style.
26:37
SPEAKER_02: When I drank, I drank till I passed out.
26:40
SPEAKER_02: And if I was having some extra strong emotions that day, I would have a little bit more cocaine and it kept me up, feeling good for hours into the night.
26:53
SPEAKER_02: At one point toward the end, for about six months, I was consuming two grams of cocaine and a fifth of whiskey every day by myself.
27:06
SPEAKER_02: I had it on my nightstand at night, and then at 7 a.m.
27:10
SPEAKER_02: I'd have to get up and drink another because otherwise I'd have the shakes, you know.
27:14
SPEAKER_02: I just couldn't believe I got to that point that I was having the shakes, you know, like people talk about.
27:21
SPEAKER_02: And I was just so blinded by this facade of, well, this is what having fun like an adult is like, right?
27:31
SPEAKER_02: Like this is how how adults have fun.
27:32
SPEAKER_02: I really thought that that was it.
27:33
SPEAKER_02: We were going to the bars, and you know, when we drink, all of the friends would have drugs there, and it was just this lifestyle that I fell into, and it became something that was it had me in his grip.
27:47
SPEAKER_02: Um, I was living for money, for drugs, everything that felt good, but it was ruining my soul.
27:54
SPEAKER_02: Sobriety didn't come through a single dramatic moment.
27:59
SPEAKER_02: There was one moment I'll tell you about.
28:02
SPEAKER_02: Um, but it was really through a series of hard choices, painful lessons, um, and and a deep desire to live a different kind of life, not just survive anymore.
28:15
SPEAKER_02: My dad, Mark, he kept praying for me to come back to Jesus for years and years and years, and I'm so thankful he did that.
28:25
SPEAKER_02: Uh, he always said, being a Christian, it's not about rules, it's about a relationship with Jesus.
28:30
SPEAKER_02: And I really didn't, I didn't grasp what that meant.
28:33
SPEAKER_02: Like, what do you mean, a relationship with Jesus?
28:36
SPEAKER_02: But thank God he kept praying that I would have that.
28:43
SPEAKER_02: He always, or uh when I first began to think I needed help, I completed probation, intensive outpatient treatment twice.
28:52
SPEAKER_02: Uh, once after a DUI, again after a possession of narcotics charge.
28:57
SPEAKER_02: And I started therapy.
28:59
SPEAKER_02: I surrounded myself with some friends and support networks that believed in my ability to heal.
29:06
SPEAKER_02: But I would stay sober only for a few months, right?
29:09
SPEAKER_02: And then I'd have a difficult day and go buy a bottle, and the bottle would lead to the drugs, and there I'm back in the cycle again.
29:17
SPEAKER_02: My husband and I we drank together for years socially, thinking that it wouldn't, you know, wouldn't lead to anything bad, but he and I both know that slippery slope.
29:30
SPEAKER_02: Uh, and our marriage was completely broken, uh, and it led to divorce.
29:36
SPEAKER_02: We actually got divorced in 2022.
29:41
SPEAKER_02: But we loved our kids so much, we kept communicating with each other through it all, and um, I started going to the women's 12-step meeting here on Thursday nights.
29:52
SPEAKER_02: This was before I was attending church.
29:54
SPEAKER_02: Uh, one night after a couple days of sobriety, I relapsed as I took the final swig of my Jack and Coke.
30:03
SPEAKER_02: I started to feel a deep conviction, and now I know that that was the Holy Spirit.
30:09
SPEAKER_02: I had not felt that conviction before.
30:12
SPEAKER_02: And I remember I looked up to the ceiling and I just begged God because I didn't know what else to do.
30:18
SPEAKER_02: Nothing else was working, right?
30:22
SPEAKER_02: And I went to bed that night, woke up the next morning, and I didn't really think anything of it, but now looking back, ever since I prayed that prayer, my taste for alcohol is gone.
30:37
SPEAKER_02: I have not had one craving for cocaine for anything.
30:44
SPEAKER_02: And yeah, praise God.
30:45
SPEAKER_02: Because that next Saturday, after that moment, it just a thought popped in my head.
31:01
SPEAKER_02: Honey, let's go to church.
31:03
SPEAKER_02: We we haven't gone to church.
31:04
SPEAKER_02: Let's try the cut the God thing, right?
31:07
SPEAKER_02: Because I don't have any cravings anymore.
31:09
SPEAKER_02: I think I had like a my guilt was lifted a little, I don't know.
31:14
SPEAKER_02: And so we came here to the only church that I felt would accept me for who I was, because my grandfather started this church back in the 70s.
31:25
SPEAKER_02: It's my family church.
31:27
SPEAKER_02: Um my dad still was going here, still was praying for me.
31:31
SPEAKER_02: And guess what?
31:32
SPEAKER_02: I was in for a huge surprise that morning.
31:35
SPEAKER_02: That Sunday was two years ago, Kyle's Vice's sermon on alcohol.
31:44
SPEAKER_02: Isn't that funny?
31:45
SPEAKER_02: Thanks, God.
31:46
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
31:48
SPEAKER_02: So he really he really got a hold of me that that Sunday and Michael, both of us.
31:53
SPEAKER_02: We were just like, wow.
32:00
SPEAKER_02: So God took me from the lowest time of my life, and then he showed me a real sign, right?
32:05
SPEAKER_02: This church was like, he was chasing me this whole time.
32:08
SPEAKER_02: He was creating the perfect timing and whispering, I love you still.
32:14
SPEAKER_02: Another miracle that I want to tell you guys about.
32:18
SPEAKER_02: Oh, excuse me, I gotta go back because after the decision to move back in with Michael to be closer to the kids, he began to change.
32:26
SPEAKER_02: And he started, you know, just completely being a different person.
32:32
SPEAKER_02: This person that I fell back in love with.
32:34
SPEAKER_02: We went to therapy, um, and we got married, remarried, in October 13th, 2024.
32:45
SPEAKER_02: So we were divorced two years and then, yeah, got remarried in this church.
32:50
SPEAKER_02: Pastor Kyle married us.
32:57
SPEAKER_02: And we had a conviction this time to wait until marriage.
33:01
SPEAKER_02: I'd never done that before.
33:03
SPEAKER_02: How has this changed?
33:05
SPEAKER_02: Another miracle, my Carter, my son, he was 15 at the time that we were.
33:10
SPEAKER_02: Well, this was a hard time for him when he was turned 15.
33:13
SPEAKER_02: He started becoming really depressed.
33:15
SPEAKER_02: It was COVID time, suicidal.
33:18
SPEAKER_02: And I was really worried about him.
33:23
SPEAKER_02: When I started making the huge changes, started going back to school and church, AA, rehab, and therapy, and Carter's like, wow, mom, you guys are different.
33:33
SPEAKER_02: Like, this is different.
33:34
SPEAKER_02: I don't know what's going on with you.
33:36
SPEAKER_02: And I started test, you know, testifying, like, this is God.
33:39
SPEAKER_02: It wasn't me.
33:40
SPEAKER_02: God took this away.
33:41
SPEAKER_02: God's doing all this.
33:43
SPEAKER_02: Um, and Carter said, Well, maybe I should give this God thing a chance, since it's changed my mom so much.
33:51
SPEAKER_02: And let me tell you, this man, young man, is so on fire right now.
33:58
SPEAKER_02: He has been leading Bible studies with his friends in his basement.
34:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
34:12
SPEAKER_02: After leading a women's discipleship class uh a couple weeks ago, I drove by and he and his his car was at the Hoddle House at the men's Bible study.
34:22
SPEAKER_02: And I was like, oh my gosh, I just lost it.
34:25
SPEAKER_02: Thank you, God.
34:27
SPEAKER_02: And he's actually deciding to uh sorry, I'm bragging on you, Carter, a little bit.
34:31
SPEAKER_02: Uh he changed his major from uh an engineering major to Christian Studies at Spring Harbor, where I go.
34:42
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
34:45
SPEAKER_02: Uh fast forward three years.
34:47
SPEAKER_02: So on September 24th of this year, I'm also like Angie, gonna be three years sober from drugs and alcohol.
34:59
SPEAKER_02: Through prayer, God led me to getting a degree in social work.
35:04
SPEAKER_02: And now I'm working on my clinical social work degree so I can work in a uh a rehab or an addiction center to work with other addicts that need to find God.
35:17
SPEAKER_02: Um I they I want to encourage everyone here today, your journey's not over.
35:24
SPEAKER_02: God has so many plans that we don't know about yet that are coming for all of us.
35:29
SPEAKER_02: Uh, we just gotta get out of our own way.
35:33
SPEAKER_02: Get rid of whatever God is keeping or whatever is separating you from God.
35:38
SPEAKER_02: Um matter how bad things seem right now, God's not done with you.
35:46
SPEAKER_02: He can turn your life around from any point.
35:48
SPEAKER_02: Just surrender.
35:50
SPEAKER_02: Thank you, guys.
36:00
SPEAKER_00: It's powerful.
36:01
SPEAKER_00: God can change your life, your marriage, your family, everything.
36:07
SPEAKER_00: If you let him.
36:09
SPEAKER_00: But addiction loves secrecy.
36:11
SPEAKER_00: And so we love living in secret because we want nobody to know how much I've done or how much I'm doing or how much I'm taking.
36:22
SPEAKER_00: We don't nobody knows how often, nobody knows what I'm taking, nobody knows what I'm hiding, nobody knows how many times that I've promised to quit.
36:29
SPEAKER_00: See, these secrets, we we think that if we tell people, they're gonna judge us and think about different.
36:34
SPEAKER_00: Like these two women, I I know their stories.
36:38
SPEAKER_00: I don't care.
36:40
SPEAKER_00: I love the people that God has transformed them into because they are so helpful in relationship with other people who are also lost, hurting, broken, and struggling.
36:49
SPEAKER_00: It's they're glorifying God and who they are and how they're loving.
36:53
SPEAKER_00: Like, are we all got a past?
36:54
SPEAKER_00: All of us, you all got past.
36:57
SPEAKER_00: Who cares?
36:59
SPEAKER_00: Once God forgives you from it, it's gone, right?
37:02
SPEAKER_00: So stop hiding from the past and embrace who you are in Christ and move forward in relationship with who are you gonna be in Christ.
37:10
SPEAKER_00: See, shame tells you that you shouldn't let anybody know.
37:15
SPEAKER_00: They'll judge you.
37:16
SPEAKER_00: They'll and I I've been in church my whole life.
37:18
SPEAKER_00: Yes, there are Christians, there are churches who will judge you.
37:20
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, it happens.
37:21
SPEAKER_00: I've been in those.
37:23
SPEAKER_00: But we are working really hard to create a culture here where that's not this place, and that's not these people.
37:28
SPEAKER_00: So when people who are lost in a hurting and broken walk through these doors, they're loved, and no one cares about their sin.
37:34
SPEAKER_00: What we care about is their soul and Jesus.
37:38
SPEAKER_00: That's the goal.
37:39
SPEAKER_00: And freedom usually starts when your secrecy ends.
37:42
SPEAKER_00: If you're hiding something, if you're hiding an addiction, a struggle, a frustration, you gotta tell somebody.
37:47
SPEAKER_00: Somebody you love.
37:49
SPEAKER_00: Spouse, kid, parent, friend, pastor, those two ladies are amazing.
37:54
SPEAKER_00: Call them.
37:54
SPEAKER_00: Pastor Ryan got up here.
37:56
SPEAKER_00: Pastor Ryan just celebrated five years of sobriety, I think, last Friday.
38:00
SPEAKER_00: It's awesome, yeah.
38:04
SPEAKER_00: He's away right now at Save Warrior, helping helping veterans walk through their struggles.
38:12
SPEAKER_00: But call Pastor Ryan.
38:13
SPEAKER_00: You can call me, Cody.
38:14
SPEAKER_00: We will help you walk through it because you cannot heal what you keep hiding.
38:18
SPEAKER_00: You just can't.
38:19
SPEAKER_00: And bondage does not get the final word in your life.
38:22
SPEAKER_00: Jesus does.
38:24
SPEAKER_00: Jesus does.
38:25
SPEAKER_00: And so, what does this mean for you?
38:27
SPEAKER_00: Why are we talking about it?
38:28
SPEAKER_00: Because I I told you this, I've told you this like three or four times this summer.
38:31
SPEAKER_00: I have sent more people into resources for struggling from drugs and alcohol in the last this summer than I have in the whole time I've been here.
38:40
SPEAKER_00: It's just been like that has been the thing.
38:42
SPEAKER_00: So if we're leading up to we already had this schedule to devices months ago.
38:46
SPEAKER_00: So when it comes down to it, it feels like God is doing something and we just need to be responsive.
38:51
SPEAKER_00: And so if you're struggling, this is for you.
38:54
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's not drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, whatever.
38:57
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's food, maybe it's sports, maybe it's whatever, anger.
39:01
SPEAKER_00: But you gotta go through the test that I use.
39:03
SPEAKER_00: You know, the test that says, is it lawful?
39:05
SPEAKER_00: Right?
39:06
SPEAKER_00: Is it helpful?
39:07
SPEAKER_00: And that's over here.
39:08
SPEAKER_00: Okay, is it lawful?
39:10
SPEAKER_00: Is that thing you're doing, yeah, it's lawful.
39:12
SPEAKER_00: They're all lawful, right?
39:13
SPEAKER_00: Well, potentially not.
39:14
SPEAKER_00: And there's a lot of things that aren't lawful, but and then is it helpful?
39:17
SPEAKER_00: Is it helping your life to hide in secrecy to that thing that's addicted you're addicted to that you're in bondage to?
39:26
SPEAKER_00: Hiding it from your spouse, hiding from some of you may just need to go tell your spouse you struggle with pornography.
39:31
SPEAKER_00: That's a regular thing.
39:32
SPEAKER_00: 70% of men and 50% of women in churches look at pornography on a regular day, regular daily basis.
39:37
SPEAKER_00: That's a thing.
39:38
SPEAKER_00: 86.4% of all Americans will drink alcohol at some point in their life.
39:42
SPEAKER_00: Like that, these are real struggles that we deal with in our culture of today.
39:47
SPEAKER_00: Are they helpful?
39:48
SPEAKER_00: And then if you can say, well, I don't know if it's helpful or not, it's not really a thing, then will it dominate you?
39:53
SPEAKER_00: Does it have the potential to master you, enslave you, or dominate you and create an addiction?
39:57
SPEAKER_00: If it does, the answer for me is always no.
40:00
SPEAKER_00: And so there's a lot of things in my life I don't do that I could do, that I have the freedom to do, but I don't do them because they're not helpful.
40:08
SPEAKER_00: And they potentially will dominate me, enslave me.
40:11
SPEAKER_00: And so it's just not worth the risk to me.
40:14
SPEAKER_00: Like it's not because I don't, I don't, I'm a fuddy duddy.
40:16
SPEAKER_00: I have lots of fun.
40:17
SPEAKER_00: I cackled like a lunatic yesterday when stuff was shooting all over the room.
40:21
SPEAKER_00: All right.
40:23
SPEAKER_00: Like I have lots of fun, but I I'm trying to have fun in ways that don't dominate me.
40:27
SPEAKER_00: But anything can become an addiction if you allow it to.
40:30
SPEAKER_00: So you always have to go through this test.
40:33
SPEAKER_00: I'm always asking myself, is this thing dominating me?
40:35
SPEAKER_00: Is this thing helpful?
40:37
SPEAKER_00: And so you've got to run it through a test.
40:39
SPEAKER_00: And if you're struggling, you know that, hey, God's speaking to you this morning about whatever, seek out help for yourself.
40:46
SPEAKER_00: And if you're like, well, I'm doing pretty good, then good.
40:49
SPEAKER_00: Go seek out help for someone else.
40:50
SPEAKER_00: Go offer it to help somebody else.
40:52
SPEAKER_00: Go tell somebody who's lost, hurting, broken, I love you.
40:55
SPEAKER_00: How can I help you?
40:57
SPEAKER_00: How can I help you?
40:58
SPEAKER_00: I know you're hurting, I see it.
41:00
SPEAKER_00: How can I get around you and support you?
41:02
SPEAKER_00: Because that's who the church is supposed to be.
41:04
SPEAKER_00: And at heart of the lakes, we don't care about your sins.
41:08
SPEAKER_00: We care about you.
41:09
SPEAKER_00: I could care less that you have sinned.
41:10
SPEAKER_00: You're all sinners.
41:11
SPEAKER_00: When I look at every week, a bunch of sinners.
41:13
SPEAKER_00: I'm a sinner.
41:13
SPEAKER_00: When you look up here, when we look at our stage, guess what?
41:16
SPEAKER_00: We have a stage of sinners.
41:17
SPEAKER_00: We're all broken sinners, flawed, saved by grace through Jesus Christ.
41:21
SPEAKER_00: Always.
41:22
SPEAKER_00: Always.
41:24
SPEAKER_00: So let's not care about our past and the sins.
41:26
SPEAKER_00: Let's care about who we are in Christ and who we are moving forward.
41:30
SPEAKER_00: And let's help each other get to a better and better and better place in our relationship with the Lord.
41:35
SPEAKER_00: So don't leave here determined today to hide better.
41:39
SPEAKER_00: Leave here determined to get free.
41:41
SPEAKER_00: Leave here determined to get free.
41:43
SPEAKER_00: And you can get free in Christ.
41:44
SPEAKER_00: These two testimonies are proof of it.
41:46
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna have some more testimonies next week because we want you to know that God is real.
41:50
SPEAKER_00: If you want to know how Kyle Young knows who works in a church, and this is my job, how do I know that God is real?
41:57
SPEAKER_00: I know the stories.
41:58
SPEAKER_00: I've known Sarah for 10 years since I got here.
42:00
SPEAKER_00: I've I've seen the Lowe's.
42:02
SPEAKER_00: Right?
42:03
SPEAKER_00: And now I see who she is in Christ, and it's amazing.
42:06
SPEAKER_00: God has transformed her life, her family, her children.
42:10
SPEAKER_00: That's how I know God's real.
42:12
SPEAKER_00: Because when she herself at one point said that she's behind beyond hope and things were lost years ago, wasn't it?
42:20
SPEAKER_00: Wasn't beyond Christ.
42:21
SPEAKER_00: Because God is bigger than all those things.
42:23
SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
42:24
SPEAKER_00: And so, if he can do that for her, what can he do in your life?
42:28
SPEAKER_00: How can he fix your life?
42:29
SPEAKER_00: But you gotta trust him and you gotta be willing to get free through Jesus Christ.
42:35
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
42:36
SPEAKER_00: Heavenly Father, Lord, we just come together.
42:38
SPEAKER_00: We thank you for your son.
42:39
SPEAKER_00: We thank you for your word.
42:40
SPEAKER_00: Lord, we thank you for your spirit.
42:42
SPEAKER_00: And we, Lord, we know through those things we can become free.
42:46
SPEAKER_00: Free from those things that addict us, that enslave us, that keep us in bondage to sin.
42:52
SPEAKER_00: Lord, we know the enemy's crawling around just trying to destroy us.
42:56
SPEAKER_00: But Lord, you have a better plan.
42:58
SPEAKER_00: I pray for anyone here who you're just speaking to them today, Lord, you brought them here today because they need to hear.
43:03
SPEAKER_00: They gotta struggle.
43:04
SPEAKER_00: They've got something they gotta walk through and get get free from.
43:08
SPEAKER_00: And they gotta break the chains of bondage.
43:10
SPEAKER_00: I pray you give them the power to do so.
43:12
SPEAKER_00: You give them the courage to just tell some of your life, I'm struggling.
43:16
SPEAKER_00: I'm lost, I'm enslaved, and I need to get free.
43:22
SPEAKER_00: So we just pray that you can speak to them, give them the courage to do that, and ultimately, Lord, allow them to have success.
43:29
SPEAKER_00: So they can see that you're real, Lord, and you can transform their lives, their hearts, and their minds.
43:35
SPEAKER_00: So we just pray all this in Jesus' name.
43:38
SPEAKER_00: Amen.