What would you say is the third biggest health problem we have here in America? Why didn't I ask for your thoughts about the first biggest or the number one health problem we have? Because, we'll be studying today about the third.
Say, friend, it's great to have you with us today for Bible study — studying the word of God. No, not the word of a god. But, the word of God; the God of heaven and earth and everything that's in them. He is Lord of all.
The message today is not the subject that we had announced before. Because one morning while I was preparing the announced program, before I came to work I turned on my TV for the latest news. And, I first turned to a local station for the local news -- and weather what was expected for the day -- whether I'd need my raincoat. Then, I went to a national news program to see what's happening in the rest of the world. To my amazement, in the first, I saw a taped interview of a very popular man in the movie world, an Oscar winner, no less, who had suffered from alcoholism and had just completed --I believe he said, a two-year dry-out treatment. Then on the national news there was a story about a congressman, serving our nation and making our laws in Washington. Well, he'd apologized for the evil he'd brought upon the people because of his alcoholism and he'd agreed to a "dry-out" treatment, too, for his problem with alcohol. You know about him. You have read and heard so much about him in recent newscasts and newspapers. Those were prominent stories of people in position and power that have fallen victims to the national shame of alcohol --in the news on just one day. I thought, "Why O why doesn't somebody speak up with the truth about social drinking?" It isn't all glory and laughter, you know. Then, I thought "Well, I am one. Why don't I speak up about it?" So, friend, that's our subject for today, "The Truth About Alcoholic Beverages."
Now if you're disposed to be a user of alcohol as a beverage, you may be thinking, "Oh no! Not another sermon about drinking. I'll just turn this guy off." Please don't do that. I'm not here to scold you or anyone else. I'm not here to preach you and/or your friends into the torments of hell," or anything like that. I don't have an alcohol problem, personally. Never been a problem to me. But that doesn't make me any better than you. Sure, I have other problems. They just don't happen to be an alcohol problem. I simply want to help people who'd sincerely like help with, --well, if not to them a present problem, certainly a potential one. I'm just in search of the Lord's way for both of us --all of us.
If you think you might want a free copy or a CD or audio cassette tape, --or a printed copy of this message, just mail your request to In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083. Our e-mail address is Searchtv@aol.com. Just ask for the message of this date or by the title. Now, as always Ken Helterbrand's going to lead us in singing. Following the hymn then I'll be back for Bible reading and prayer We’re reading from the book of Habakkuk chapter 2, verses 15 and 16 only. “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle, even to make him drunk, that you may look on his nakedness. You are filled with shame instead of glory. You also – drink! And be exposed as uncircumcised! The cup of the Lord’s right hand will be turned against you, and utter shame will be on your glory.” Now let us go to God in prayer. Holy and reverend Father in heaven. We are so thankful that we can be together right now by these means. That you have provided for us in this modern age, to study Your word. In search of the Lord’s way for us in our lives. We pray you in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ to bless our study today. Bless us with open hearts. Helping someone who is desperately needing Your help with this special problem. We pray, Amen.
The two men I mentioned earlier, the actor and the congressman, didn't set out in life to become and to be "alcoholics." I didn't know either of them personally, but I'm certain that wasn't their highest ambition they had. They didn't gain the respect and the influence and the position they had, by becoming and being alcoholics. No, as a matter of fact, they might never have realized their real conditions, had their worlds not come crashing down upon them. Had you or I had access to them and tried to warn them of the potential dangers posed by this socially accepted habit, it's likely they would have abruptly turned us off and turned us away. But, be that as it may, in addition to the tremendous personal losses, which they, only they can speak to, there's another dimension to this matter that we can't ignore. And, it's the endowment each of us makes to the social order, or disorder. The day I heard in the news of the congressman and the actor, I asked my staff to go to the internet and get me the latest statistics they could find on the present state of alcoholism in America. They found a recognition of a problem all right, by government, medical and health communities, educators and well others, too. It's the old question, then: "Are you a part of the problem? Or are you a part of the solution?" Look: with the information gleaned for me by the staff that day, an estimated 15,000,000 of us are alcohol abusers and dependent. Four and a half million of them are women. In 1999, 19,817 people in the U.S. died of alcohol-induced causes. That doesn't include accidents and homicides. There are more than 27,000 deaths from alcohol related chronic liver disease and cirrhosis every year. According to U.S. Government Information Resources, 41% of highway deaths are alcohol related. That's approaching one-half of them. Alcohol related highway accidents claimed the lives of 17,417 in 2002. That was the latest figure we had. Listen carefully now, will you? Just as a matter of comparison: Listen to these figures. There have been a total of 2,719 Americans killed to date in the war in Iraq, against more than 87,000 alcohol-related highway accidents in America during the same time period. Yet, we get a daily media update of the deaths in Iraq, which we all regret, and never, not one mention of the number of alcohol related deaths on our highways. Is beverage alcohol one of America's favorite gods? We hear more outcry against faith in God than we do against alcohol consumption. From a Mayo Clinic report $185 billion (spelled with a "b") --185 billion dollars are spent every year in the treatment of alcoholism and alcohol illnesses and accidents.
Now, please consider the effect this is having on our youth. One-thousand, seven-hundred college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die every year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes. Five-hundred-ninety-nine thousand college students between the ages of 18 and 24 are unintentionally injured under the influence of alcohol. More than 696,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are assaulted by another student who had been drinking. More than 97,000 students between ages 18 & 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape. More than 100,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 report having been too intoxicated to know if they consented to having sex. About 25 percent, one fourth of all the college students (one out of four, mind you) report academic consequences of their drinking, including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers and receiving lower grades overall. When these same students finish their education and enter their several professions, do you suppose they'll still be suffering from professional inefficiencies and inadequacies? We go to visit some of them for professional services, 25 percent of them are inefficient because of alcohol.
Well, that's enough to bring any rational person to acceptance of the truth that America does have an alcohol problem. It's real and it's a big problem, too, friend. Is alcohol some sort of a "sacred cow?" Is it something that no one dares to speak to. We faced up to the tobacco problem and, while I don't have any figures or time to discuss it right now, I do believe we've gotten some sort of a handle on that problem. Why not the alcohol problem which is far, far, far more critical?
My friend, alcohol as a beverage is no good. It isn't. It's always been productive of evil, never, never, never any good. Alcohol has been the cause of hell on earth for millions of people caught in the snare and their families with them. The first account we have of its use as a beverage in all of human history is when Noah came with his family out of the ark and planted his vineyards and drank until he was drunk. Under the influence, he like others who drink, acted irrationally, and did things that he would never have done otherwise. He exposed his nakedness to his family. That’s Genesis 9:20-24. Read about it there.
My friend, the Lord has a better way for you and for me than that! Hear what He says to us in Proverbs 23:1. "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler. And whoever is led astray by it is not wise." He speaks to us again in Proverbs chapter 23 verses 19-21. “Listen. Hear, my son, and be wise; and guide your heart in the way. Do not mix with winebibbers, or with gluttonous eaters of meat; for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags." In the New Testament book of I Corinthians chapter 5 at verse 11 God speaks to His church about maintaining fellowship with a member who is-- well, hear what He says, "Now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person." Why do you suppose God would say something like that to His church? Well, read the whole chapter. And when you come to verse six, you'll hear Him saying, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump?" Did you ever hear that before? Well, of course you have, and you know from life, it's very true, isn't it? God speaks to us again in Ephesians chapter 5 verse18 and this time He says, "Do not be drunk with wine in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit." All that's true. Of course it's true, it’s absolutely true; it's God's word, you see. Perhaps you're asking the same question that old Pharaoh in Egypt asked Moses and Aaron when they went there to deliver the people of Israel from his slavery. They said to him, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Let My people go." And Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice...? That is Exodus 5 verse 2. How many times he must have regretted asking that question! My friend. Don't be deceived. God will not" be mocked”. Galatians chapter 6 verse 7.
In the first Psalm God speaks again and He says, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but they are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish."
Well, you've heard it said (perhaps you've even said it yourself), "God doesn't say it's a sin to have a beer or a drink or two of vodka or something else with a friend." Oh my! How many people have been deceived by that, only God knows! But God does say, and I've given several (but not all) the passages in which He says, don't take your first drink, or, don't take your next drink. You see that one drink contains enough alcohol to produce in a measure the kind of thinking and the kind of behavior that God disapproves. Don't be deceived by that old promise of the devil, or the one you heard so often: "Drink wisely." Remember? Proverbs 20:1, "Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is deceived or led astray by it is not wise."
"Well," you say, "that's what I don't like about being a Christian and following the Lord's way. There are too many rules. I like my freedom." But, my friend, the alcoholic is not free. If not now, his life will eventually be absolutely enslaved to "one more drink." Don't take my word for it. Ask any alcoholic. And you will eventually find one that agrees with me. Let me make three suggestions for you right quickly to help you avoid it. (1) Yield not to the temptation for the first or the next drink. (2) Try hard to be content with the circumstances that are troubling you, over which you have no control. Recovering alcoholics are taught "The Serenity Prayer: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; The courage to change the things I can; And the wisdom to know the difference." God says, "Godliness with contentment is great gain" (I Timothy 6:6). (3) Practice self-control. You are free to control yourself, my friend. Self-control is one of the "Christian graces" or virtues listed as the fruit of the Spirit in the Christian's life in Galatians chapter 5 verses 22 and 23. Well the fourth thing, I would say, is reserved for special emphasis after this hymn. Let us pray. Father, we are so thankful that you have warned us of the pitfalls that there are in life. And ? ways we know that we can follow in Your footsteps and be free from all those hindrances. Help us Lord, to be that kind of people. We pray you in Jesus’ name, Amen.
My friend, Christ has a will and a way for you and your life. It is better than anything you've ever experienced without Him. But His way is not as simple as just sitting there in your easy chair and saying "Come into my heart, Lord Jesus." It isn't as simple as just repeating the sinner's prayer. But it isn't difficult either. And it's very practical and it makes sense. In order to enlist his help, you must believe in Him as the Son of the living God. I mean, not just as a nod of the head in His direction in time of some great need in your life, but an obedient believer. I mean believing in him enough to do what He says to do.
Of course, you'll need to assume full responsibility for your behavior. You can't deny that you have the problem with alcohol --or whatever it may be. Having taken that big step, you must now resolve that with the help of God you are going to turn from that lifestyle and follow the Lord's way of peace and sobriety. That's what the Bible calls "repentance." And, all who come to God are commanded to repent (Acts 17:30). You're no exception to that. And with God's help you can do it.
Well, there are other ways to sobriety such as AA --and there are others, but Christ's way is the only way that also offers you forgiveness of all your past sins. That's because the only thing that can wash away the guilt of anyone's sin is the blood of Jesus Christ which He shed on the cross. And to avail yourself of that saving power of his blood which He shed in his death, you are baptized into his death. You're buried with him in baptism, and when you're raised from up the grave of water in the likeness of His resurrection from the tomb, you are raised to that new life that's only in him (Romans 6:3-4). Will you do that today? Oh, I hope you will.
Thank you for inviting us into your home today. I pray that the program dealing with one of the major social and spiritual problems of our generation, has been a source of encouragement to you. It just borders on the impossible, that in the vast audience that we have every week, we would not be speaking to someone who has a problem with alcohol. And I know we have spoken briefly and hurriedly and plainly in such a program as this, but we had to. But, if we may be helpful in any way even after we've gone off the air, we'd like to hear from you. We're here to do all the good we can and help you in every way we can, and do you no harm at all.
For a free CD or audio cassette tape or a printed copy of the program titled, THE EVILS OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE, you may write us, In Search of the Lord's Way, P.O. Box 371, Edmond, OK 73083. By internet it is Searchtv@aol.com. Just ask for the program that you heard on this date or you might give the title for it. Be sure to enclose your name and address. You may use our toll-free telephone number, if you would like to call. That number is 1-800-321-8633. We’ll be back next week. Hope you will too. God bless you. We love you. |