Overcoming Obsession and Addiction

welcome back to another episode of

Christian Natural Health today I'm

talking about overcoming Obsession and

addiction Obsession and addiction often

go together we tend to get obsessed with

whatever we're addicted to and can't

stop thinking about intrusive thoughts

are also in this category we don't want

them any more than we want an addiction

but by their very nature they dominate

our thoughts and thus become an

obsession all of these have a common

origin all obsessions start with

something good and then they twist it

evil defines Itself by the absence of

God just as Darkness defines itself as

the absence of light Satan cannot create

anything all he can do is pervert

something that God made and intended for

good so if evil itself is an inversion

of something created to be good then

nearly everything God created for our

pleasure and enjoyment can also become

evil or sinful if we make it our highest

aim or Focus obsessions and addictions

are placing anything before God God's

very first commandment to the Israelites

in the Old Testament was to have no

other gods before him Exodus 20:3 the

Israelites broke this commandment over

and over in a very literal sense

worshiping false gods first that they'

grown up with from Egypt and then the

false gods of the Nations they

encountered in the wilderness and in the

surrounding nations of the promised land

today most of us don't literally worship

false gods per se though that's becoming

more prevalent too rather we make some

desire or worry or need or love the

focus of Our Lives instead of God CS

Lewis wrote that romantic love a very

common substitute for God ceases to be a

devil only when it ceases to be a God

the same would be would go for any other

positive good that God created for our

benefit all could become something we

seek after more than we seek after God

that's really a prerequisite for any

Obsession or addiction Jesus told us

that if we'd seek him in his kingdom

first everything else would be added to

us Matthew 6

25-34 that's not just our needs either

God is The Giver of every good and

perfect gift James 1:17 if we make him

our primary Delight we'll get the

desires of our hearts thrown in psalm

37:4 if we're abide in him first we can

ask whatever we desire and it will be

done for us John 15:7 that's what it

means that if we find Our Lives make

that our primary focus then we'll lose

them but if we lose them for his sake

then we'll find it Matthew

10:39 the problem is most of us don't

actually believe that one of my favorite

fictional stories is the Superman myth

it's such a clear Parable and also

apparently the creators of Superman were

Jewish not Christian but they based

their character of Superman on Moses and

Samson of the Old Testament as well as

the Prophecies of the coming Messiah

some of the earlier Superman movies were

conscious of the Christ symbolism as

well Lois Lane fawns over Superman while

ignoring Clark Kent not realizing that

Superman remains elusive to her only

because it's clear she doesn't really

love him she only loves what he can do

for her if she'd only choose Clark she'd

get Superman thrown in I think God is

exactly like that he loves us and he

longs to bless us Psalm 103 1:5 but he

wants our hearts not our actions he

wanted a relationship with Israel after

bringing them out of the Wilderness but

they were afraid of him and asked Moses

to just be his mouthpiece and relay to

them what he' said and that's in Exodus

208 to 19 after that God asked Moses to

take 70 of Israel's elders and bring

them a little way up the mountain so

that he could eat and drink and they

could eat and drink in his presence even

though he was at a distance he wanted

them to catch a glimpse of him Exodus 24

that's 9-11 he wanted to have dinner

with his family God later made this a

part of how the Israelites were to

worship they were to bring all their

burnt offerings sacrifices tithes and

heave offerings of grain to the place of

worship and eat it together in his

presence Deuteronomy 125 to7 he blessed

them with increase and as their act of

worship he wanted them to have a big

feast and enjoy it he all he asked was

that they invite him to the party

understanding how much God loves us is

really the key to Faith Faith Works

through love Galatians 5:6 if we don't

understand how much he loves us we

aren't going to trust him to take care

of us and meet our needs Isaiah 26:3

that's why we'll take we'll take matters

into our own hands attempting to meet

our own needs as as in an anxious

primary fix not as the side benefit of

doing our work well for the purposes of

glorifying God Colossians 320 to

23-4 but if we do truly put God first

it's the antidote to all anxiety

addiction and Obsession willpower the

law won't work that's the whole point

Paul describes in Romans 7:14 to 24 what

happens when we try to suppress or

control any obsessive or addictive

tendency he writes for what I am doing I

do not understand for what I will to do

that I do not practice but what I hate

that I do for I know that in me that is

in my flesh nothing good dwells for to

will is present within me but how to

perform what is good I do not find for

the good that I will to do I do not do

but the evil I will not to do that I

practice now if I do what I do not what

I will not to do it is no longer I who

do it but sin that dwells in me I then

find a law that evil is present within

me but the one who Wills to do the one

who Wills to do good for I Delight in

the law of God according to the inward

man but I see another law in my members

Waring against law of my mind and

bringing me into captivity to the law of

sin which is in my members oh Wretched

Man that I am who will deliver me from

this body of death I thank God through

Jesus Christ Our Lord so then with the

mind I myself serve the law of God but

with the flesh the law of sin this

describes the experience of every yo-yo

Dieter every sugar addict every

alcoholic or everyone addicted to any

other substance or behavior Paul repeats

the same concept in Galatians 5 ver1 17

when he says there for the lust the

flesh lusts against the spirit and the

spirit against the flesh and these are

contrary to one another so that you do

not do the things that you wish you

might be able to exert willpower against

those things for a time but the very Act

of denying yourself actually makes the

desire for the thing denied grow

stronger that's what the Old Testament

law was designed to do to make us aware

that we were incapable of keeping it

apart from God's help Romans 75 to6 Paul

addresses the next logical objection

when he says what shall we say then is

the law sin certainly not on the

contrary I would not have known sin

except through the law for I would not

have known covetousness unless the law

had said You shall not covet but sin

taking Opportunity by the Commandment

produced in me all manner of evil desire

for apart from the law sin was dead I

was alive once without the law but when

the Commandment came sin revived and I

died and the Commandment which was to

bring life I found to bring death Romans

7:7 to10 this is just the way of our

flesh it Rebels against any rules placed

upon it even if the rules are neutral or

if you know that they're for your good

and will achieve a desired end and even

if they're self-imposed this is the

whole concept behind any type of

forbidden fruit that phrase itself

alludes to the single fruit in the

garden forbidden to Adam and Eve from

the Tree of the knowledge of Good and

Evil though God had given them so much

abundance elsewhere in Genesis 3 the

very fact that it was forbidden called

their attention to it making it more

attractive this is also why for instance

a perfect recipe for insomnia is to try

to will yourself to sleep the harder you

try the more Wide Awake you'll be it's

also why trying to suppress any

intrusive thoughts will have the

opposite effect don't think about a pink

elephant what are you thinking about

right now fortunately the story doesn't

end with 7 though Paul is tracing the

story of God's relationship with

Humanity through successive covenants

before the law came he did not impute

sin to men in Romans 78 to9 which is why

after Cain murdered his brother God

actually protected him Genesis 4:13 to15

yet after Noah's Covenant which was the

first to include a command which was not

to murder then murder was to be punished

as Sin Genesis 95 to6 at this point it

was the only sin to be called out though

so it was the only sin that carried a

punishment until the Mosaic Covenant

made the rest explicit this is the law

Paul Paul describes in Romans 7 and the

entire Old Testament dramatizes the fact

that men are incapable of being

righteous by works that was Paul's Point

God wanted us to know that we're

incapable in our flesh so we'd be aware

that we needed a savior to do it for us

that's why Romans 8 follows Romans 7

Romans 7 is all about us our flesh

trying to keep the law any law by

ourselves by contrast Romans 8 describes

what happens when we have the help of

the Holy Spirit and it says for the law

of the spirit is life of life in Christ

Jesus has made me free from the law of

sin and death for what the law could not

do in that it was weak through the flesh

God did by sending his own son in the

likeness of sinful Flesh on account of

sin for to be carnally minded is death

but to be spiritually minded is life and

peace so then those who are in the flesh

cannot please God but you are not in the

flesh but in the spirit if indeed the

spirit of God dwells in you Romans 82 2

to11 this is about salvation yes but

it's also more practical than that those

of us who are saved can still choose to

walk in the flesh by our own efforts or

we can surrender to God and walk by his

spirit with his help that's the main

message of Galatians Paul writes did you

receive the Spirit by works of the law

or hearing of Faith are you so foolish

having begun in the spirit are you now

being made perfect by the flesh

Galatians 3 2:3 obviously this is

rhetorical but it's clear that even

those who have received forgiveness for

their sins can choose to return to the

efforts of their flesh if they want to

do so but it will only produce bondage

if they do Paul writes Stand Fast

therefore in the Liberty by which Christ

has made us free and do not be entangled

again with the Yoke of bondage Galatians

5:1 Obsession and addiction is the

compulsion to obey a master other than

God that's bondage Paul writes do you do

you not know that to whom you present

yourselves as slaves to obey you are

that one slaves whom you obey whether of

sin leading to death or of obedience

leading to righteousness that's Romans

6:16 so how to get free walking by the

spirit Paul's ju position in Romans

opposite walking the flesh is by walking

by the spirit but the big caveat is that

we don't walk by the Spirit by trying to

walk by the spirit if we try we try

we're doing it from the flesh that will

never ultimately work and it will likely

have the opposite effect eventually

that's how all works of the flesh are we

don't ask God to do it for us either

though because he already did it he can

he can't give us again something he

already gave us instead our part is to

acknowledge what Jesus did for us and

thank him for it Paul wrote in fiman 1:6

that Fan's faith became effective by the

acknowledging of every good thing which

is in you in Christ Jesus and what has

Christ provided 2 Corinthians 5 ver 17

says therefore If any man be in Christ

he is a new creature old things are

passed away behold all things have

become new that's past tense this is

ours in the spirit but not necessarily

In the Flesh we're to work this out in

our souls and flesh with God's help

Philippians 2:12 Galatians 220 says I

have been crucified with Christ it is no

longer I who live but Christ who lives

in me and the life I now live in the

flesh I live by faith in the Son of God

who loved me and gave himself for me

second Peter 1:4 by which he has granted

to us his precious and very great

promises so that through them you may

become partakers of the divine nature

having escaped from the corruption that

is in the world because of sinful desire

1 Corinthians 2:12 to16 now we have

received not the spirit of the world but

the spirit who is from God that we might

know the things that have been freely

given to us by God we have the mind of

Christ and Philippians 4:13 I can do all

things through him who strengthens me 2

Timothy 1:7 For God gave us not a spirit

of fear but of power and love and of a

sound mind we also have the Fruit of the

Spirit we don't have to conjure it up

and indeed we can't but it's already

ours the fruit of the spirit according

to Galatians 5:22 is love joy peace

longsuffering kindness goodness

faithfulness gentleness and

self-control we don't Strain To Live

from this place we thank God that it is

ours already Philippians 46-7 our labor

now is only to enter that state of

resting in what he has already done

Hebrews 4:11 Satan contributes to

obsessions and intrusive thoughts of

course whether they originate with him

or with our flesh it's certainly his

agenda to keep us in Chains but thank

God the power of Satan was sin that was

the Old Testament curse and Jesus

redeemed us from the curse Galatians

3:13 the power Satan has over us now is

only the power to deceive us that's why

Paul tells us that when Satan comes to

us with lies we're to fight back with

the weapons God gave us taking every

thought captive and making it obedient

to Christ 2 Corinthians 10:5 but they're

God's weapons not ours in Ephesians 612

to18 Paul enumerates them they are truth

being well grounded in God's word so

that we can recognize Lies when we hear

them even and especially if they are

half truths righteousness understanding

that we are righteous because of what

Jesus did not because of anything we do

and that we are righteous already so

that we can come boldly before the

throne of grace and expect to receive

help in time of need Hebrews

4:16 peace which guards our minds

Philippians 4:7 Faith you can't have

peace peace without faith that's Isaiah

263 salvation which also means that we

have the Holy Spirit living in us as our

guide and the sword of the spirit God's

word this is the only offensive weapon

the only one Paul lists the holy spirit

will bring to our remembrance those

scriptures we know when we need them

John

14:26 so the keys God gave us to achieve

Freedom are to remember that he gave us

his Spirit to thank him that although we

can't free ourselves he freed us already

and to use the spiritual weapons he gave

us to enforce what is already ours and

then go about your business the business

of the kingdom of God fix fixating on

trying to solve your problem will only

keep you stuck in the loop of thinking

that you can solve your problem you

can't but he already did we can try TR

him for the full manifestation of that

freedom just like Jesus told us to trust

him to meet our physical needs Matthew

62-34 and he says we can get those by

going about his business by seeking

first some after something greater than

ourselves when we do that Jesus promised

that we'd get everything else thrown in

so thank you for joining me and I hope

that was helpful to you

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