Counseling the Addict Inside of You: Part 3

1:03But in the book, Ed Welch gives this definition of addiction. Addiction is bondage to the rule of a substance, an activity, or a state of mind, which then becomes the center of life. So taking precedent over God, over everything else, really. Substance, an activity, or a state of mind. Becomes the center of life. Defending itself from the truth so that even bad consequences don't bring repentance. So it's such the center of life that it's going to remain the center of life, and anything that challenges it to be the center of life, it quickly defends itself. So addiction is bondage to the rule of a substance, an activity, or a state of mind. All of these can become taskmasters that rule over us and take the place of God in our lives.

2:07And they ultimately lead to further estrangement from God. So it goes from bad to worse, further estrangement from God. What is the cause of addictions? We began looking at this last time and really have to ask this on a personal level. What is the ultimate cause of my addiction? Whatever that addiction or addictions may be, what is the ultimate cause? We mentioned last time the importance of biblical terminology. When we're talking about sins, when we're talking about addictions, we need to use biblical terms. Otherwise, we could very much or very easily confuse the whole issue and deceive ourselves.

2:55There is a difference between the way the Bible and non-biblical sources describe. Sin. We looked at some last time. Certainly, an alcoholic, but the Bible calls an alcoholic a drunkard, a drunk. Some other ones, sometimes we'll refer to stress. Well, the biblical term is anxiety, being anxious. You've heard the word, oh, I'm grumpy. No, you're angry. And you're self-centered. I'm having a midlife crisis. No, you're discontent in your situation of life. You haven't learned to be thankful in all circumstances, but you are discontent.

3:46You're not having a midlife crisis. You're not being attacked. You are discontent. You've heard this one. So-and-so is having an affair. No, so-and-so is in adultery. The term homosexual. The Bible uses the word sodomite. Very different. Or the word trans, transgender. The Bible used the word effeminate. Or this one, hurt. I mean, you can go on and on and on, but hurt. You hurt me. You know what you're really saying? I'm mad at you. I'm embittered.

4:36I have unforgiveness in my heart. Not just hurt. I'm bitter. I overate. No, you're a glutton. You can see the importance of biblical terminology. If you address it with the biblical terms, you're able to deal with it in a biblical way. The importance of biblical terminology is that it distinguishes between the symptom and the cause. The ultimate cause is not in your body. Ultimate cause of addiction is in your soul, your relationship with God. It distinguishes between a mere victim and a responsible party. I am having an anxiety attack.

5:37No, you're being anxious. You're not a victim being attacked. You are responsible for what you believe, what you let into your life. But it also allows. For a new identity. When you say, I am an alcoholic, you remain an alcoholic. But Scripture makes it very clear that such were some of you. So our identity isn't in our fallen nature. Our identity is in our new nature: redeemed, washed, cleansed, child of God, in union with God. And life springs is to spring out of that. That's who you are, so that's how you live.

6:40And it provides hope for real victory. When you use the biblical terminology, it provides hope for real victory. This doesn't sound like good news, but guess what? You're a sinner. And guess what? That's good news because there is a remedy for sin. And sin affects you in ways that you don't even realize. It affects the way you think. It affects the way you feel. Yes, it affects the way you feel. It can affect you physiologically. You know, I like to, what you think really impacts you. You've heard me maybe tell the story about my son who really loved lemons as a little child. And I can remember taking a lemon and peeling it back, and you can see all the juice spraying off, and my son just looking at that lemon and going, and giving it to him, and him just taking that lemon and just and just a smile come over his face.

8:07Now, as I was telling you that, how many of you got a strange little sensation right here? Be honest. There's no lemon here. You were thinking about something, and it affected you, didn't it? Listen, what you think about impacts you, and it does have physiological consequences. And that's why truth is so important. So that's why biblical terminology, look, some of the best news is that you are a sinner, but there is a remedy for sin in Christ.

8:57And now you're a child of God, washed. Cleansed. Your biggest problem isn't your organic makeup. Your biggest problem is how you relate to God. Yes, I understand there are organic issues, and I'm not discounting organic issues. But I don't care who you are. I don't care what kind of physical capacity or limitations you have. You are called to a moral standard of righteousness in Christ Jesus. You are called to be a follower of Christ. And so, whatever your capacity is, there's righteousness that God expects in that capacity.

9:55And so, yes, we sin. Yes. But that's good news because we have a Savior who delivers us from sin, from the consequences of sin, and the pattern of sin, and he teaches us by his grace to say no to ungodliness. So there's hope for real victory. So sin is our deepest problem. We looked at this last time. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on it, but autonomy from Adam, autonomy was Adam and Eve's desire in the Fall. You know, there's consequences of sin. There's guilt, shame, blame, corruption, isolation, decay, death, all of that. You see in the early pages of Genesis. Sin is a blinding power.

10:46And we are fundamentally addicted to our own ways. We are blind in our obedience to ourselves. We're far more committed to self than we realize. And we live in the consequential aftermath of sinful choices. That's us. Sin, as Ed Welch says it, is a worship disorder. Now, I think he's being clever. Yes, sin is a word. Something is out of order in the heart of humanity. It's a worship problem. Sin is fundamentally a worship problem. Disorder.

11:30Sin is self-worship. It's basically what sin is. It's self-deification, it's self-rule according to one's own limited knowledge. Look, we don't know all the facts of the universe. So when you decide to govern yourself in a world where you don't understand, you only know so little about yourself, so little about the world which you live in, and you have limitations in knowledge, limitations in wisdom. And you live according to your fleshly desires. So, sin is that self-deification, self-rule, according to our limited knowledge and fleshly desires. And so, addictions are a form of self-worship and therefore sin. When you let an addiction, a substance, an activity, a frame of mind take priority over God and the way He calls you to think and the way He calls you to act, when you bow yourself to a substance, you elevate yourself as the one to be pleased over God.

12:51And the one thing that all these sins of addictions have in common, they do something for the body, whether it's a substance that takes you up, calms you down, whether it's food that satisfies, whether it's a touch that feels good, or whatever it may be, there is a connection between the flesh and addictions and elevating ourselves above, as the one, above God, as the one. To be served. Well, what do all addictions have in common? Well, I've got seven basic ones here.

13:41You can see these in Romans 1, or we will in a minute. But some of the elements, just as you summarize the elements of sin, self-worship, we tend to go from bad to worse. Addictions tend to go from bad to worse. And what happens in an element of one of the elements of addicts is that they yield in tempting situations. There's a fleshly response. James 1, 13 says it like this: Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself does not tempt anyone.

14:33But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. There's a circumstance. There's something out there that our flesh is drawn to. And so we are tempted. We are carried away by something that's pulling us. Something that we naturally want to connect with. And that's so temptation creates an opportunity for. us to connect to something that we want. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. And when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Death, separation, decay, some third element common to all addicts is that they suppress the truth. You can look at Romans 1, verse 18. Actually, just looking at verse 16, let me just read the heading of all of this in Romans 1. I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. So the whole preamble, the whole heading of all of this, what Paul is about to say, is, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. The reason I'm preaching the gospel is because it is the power of God for the salvation for everyone who believes. The wholeness, for the wellness, for the complete salvation of everyone who believes. That's how he starts this section. And then he goes on and starts talking about sinners. What happens with addicts is that they suppress the truth. For the wrath of God, verse 18, is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness, and all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power, and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

16:54And so there is a suppression of truth, a protection of itself by suppressing the truth. And that's there's denial on multiple levels, blame, excuse, justify themselves to pursue whatever they want. That is a suppression of truth. Another element is there's choice. Not only is there a suppression of the truth, but there is willful choice. In verse 21, for even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image of the form of corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals, crawling creatures. So there is a choice. So on the one hand, sin suppresses the truth. On the other hand, sin is voluntary. It is purposeful. They know enough. It's in control. It's high-handed. This is a real element of addictions.

18:05But it also goes on to show that there is a real bondage, an enslavement. Verse 25, 24. Therefore, God gave them over to the lusts of their hearts to impurity so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. Think about that. They wouldn't honor God. They willfully chose a pattern of sin. Guess what the consequences of sin is going to be? Death. It's going to be, it's not going to go well with your body, even. And so there is a, he gives them over to the lust of their heart to impurity so that their bodies would be dishonored.

18:50So on the element, one element of addictions is that there is real bondage. There is real enslavement. It's automatic. It's out of control. Addicted. So on the one hand, there's choice. On the other hand, there is brutal slavery. They are without excuse. There is no place you can put the blame. And the seventh basic element of all Addicts is that they stand in need of the gospel. And this is why Paul, at the very beginning of all this, says, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Power for holy living, for victorious living, is in the gospel. See, we treat an addiction as if it's the main thing and sometimes the only thing. And the Bible looks at addiction as that is a symptom of a much greater problem. You fundamentally are not letting God be God in your life. You're elevating yourself, and that's going to show up in a whole lot of ways. And so the Bible goes and deals with the ultimate solution beginning at the very core of our being, and that is, who do we worship? Who do we honor? And when it comes down to push or shove, who is going to be honored? God or my flesh? And that becomes the very core issue of all of us. And out of that spring issues of life.

20:58Well, I want to spend a little bit. Of time talking about some basic categories of temptation. You can turn to 1 Corinthians 10. This is a very popular verse. If you've been involved in any kind of addiction counseling, or if you've been involved in any kind of real sin counseling, you've certainly come across this verse. No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man. And God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

21:55No temptation has overtaken you, but such is common to man. Say, well, you don't really understand me, what I'm going through. I probably don't, but the Bible does. And nothing has overtaken you that isn't common. In fact, you'd be surprised how many people can identify with what you're going through, even if they haven't been through exactly what you've been through. You'd be surprised at how we can relate. Because the temptations that have overtaken you are common to all of us.

22:39Maybe you've gotten farther down the road in some of these than some of other people, but we all struggle with these temptations. So then the question becomes: if you look in the context of 1 Corinthians 10, what is Paul talking about? Well, he talks about, look back at verse 1. He gives us some Old Testament examples in verses 1 through 5. Let me just read to you those. For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and they all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them, God was not well pleased, for they were laid low in the wilderness. So he's got all these examples of people being laid low in the wilderness.

23:48That word is very graphic. You've got all these people that came out of Egypt, and yet they were laid low in the wilderness. They were strewn throughout. The wilderness. It's this picture of bodies after just strewn throughout the wilderness. And you look at Israel's experience. They all died except for a couple of them in the wilderness. They all were strewn. And what a picture of addictions. It just kind of lays bodies out, right? It has slain their thousands and tens of thousands.

24:35But the purpose, Paul says in verse 6, now these things happened as examples for us so that we would not crave evil things as they craved. So all of these Israelites that came out of Egypt, who were strewn across the wilderness, all these things happened as examples for us so that we would not go down the same path as they did, so that we would not crave evil things. They craved evil things. They wanted something other than God. They craved something that God didn't want them to have. They craved evil things.

25:30And so, what can we learn? These things happen to them as examples. Verse 11. Look down at verse 11. These things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ages, the ends of the ages, have come. So, these things happened, verse 6, so that we wouldn't crave evil things like these things happened, verse 11, for our instruction. So, we do well to learn. And so, in between verses 4 through, I can't see my in between verses 7, 8, 9, and 10, four verses, they give us four basic cravings that we all need to pay attention to for our instruction. So, Paul describes four basic categories of evil cravings from Israel's time in the wilderness, which are common to all people. So, I want to take a few moments and just walk through what those are so we get a good picture of the major categories that you and I are going to be tempted in.

26:55First is idolatry, idolatry. 1 Corinthians 10, 7, Paul says, Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and to drink and stood up to play. This is probably a reference, certainly, to the golden calf of Exodus 32, 1 through 6. You remember? They had just come out of the wilderness. I mean, they had just come out of Egypt. Moses went up to the mountain, and they got tired of waiting. It was up there 40 days. And they decided to make their own calf, make their own God.

27:42Actually, it wasn't so much that they were making out their own God. They wanted to make a representation of who they thought God was. In fact, they wanted to make this calf and take it back and say, look, this is the God who pulled us out of Egypt. Wanted to take him even later, maybe go back. But what it was, boils down to is the Israelites wanted to define what God was like and worship him the way they wanted.

28:20And such a desire comes out of an obstinate heart. Exodus 32, 9. The Lord said to Moses, I have seen these people, and behold, they are an. Obstinate people. Listen, God is God. We do not define Him. He defines us. We do not decide how He ought to be worshiped. He alone defines how He is to be worshipped. And He calls for us to have no other mind, heart, disposition, any other thing in our lives that would take precedence or priority over Him.

29:05Those who think they can honor God while pursuing immoral and worldly vices bring judgment upon themselves. Listen, we are accountable to God, and He calls us to worship Him. And that's why there's always a way of escape. You're called to worship Him. And when you indulge, when you are tempted, and you give in, you are elevating yourself as the one to be worshipped over Him. But the exclusive command is the same: Exodus 23, you shall have no other gods before me. That was the word as soon as the Israelites came out of Egypt. When you get to the end, To the book of Revelation, guess what the command is? Worship God.

30:08That's the exclusive command. It's the same. Worship Him. You know what the word worship, it really just boils down to who you bow down to. When we get to Revelation 5 and you get the big worship scene in heaven, it's bowing. Bowing. It's who you bow before. Worship is who you bow before. And so the exclusive command is the same. Worship God. And the all-encompassing prohibition is still the same. As John said in 1 John 5:21, little children, guard yourselves from idols. Guard yourself from any mindset, any substance, any disposition, any pursuit that would take priority over God.

31:08A lot of pursuits are fine in themselves, but a good pursuit can become an idol when it becomes the ultimate standard. And listen, sin is never to be our ultimate standard. We ourselves are not. The body is. For the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. When we worship anyone or anything besides God, we engage in idolatry. And this, of course, includes substance abuse, not limited to substance abuse, but it's part of the holistic picture of a heart that has a worship problem.

31:58And this is a common temptation for all of us. As we go through life, we're going to be tempted to elevate something, someone, some vice, something to be a greater authority in our lives than God. It's a common temptation. In fact, we have to learn, we have to, as John said, guard yourself from idols. We're going to naturally have a disposition to bow before that which is not God, create gods, and then bow before them. Another one, second category of sin is sexual immorality. 1 Corinthians 10:8, nor let us act immorally as some of them did, and 23,000 fell in one day. This could either be a reference to the golden calf episode in Exodus 32, or perhaps.

33:01The sin of Peor, which I would lean at the second, but either one, it was a constant problem. Sexual immorality happens in Numbers 25. What happened is that Israel joined themselves to Baal, the sin of Peor, and they committed harlotry. And it was so connected to idolatry. The sexual immorality and idolatry were very much closely connected. But it's important to understand something. You've heard me say this before: that sexual desire, as God intended it, is good. God had good purposes for sexual desire.

33:56It's when it gets out of its channels that it can become very devastating. You remember Hurricane Katrina? Remember what? It wasn't the hurricane that really destroyed New Orleans. It was the breach in the water, right? The levees didn't hold up. The water got out. And so if you think about sexual desire as a current, as a flow, that it's good in its boundaries. Boundaries. But when it gets out of those boundaries, there is relational carnage when one person starts using another person.

34:47It can be devastating. But idolatry and sexual immorality went hand in hand. One, they went hand in hand because, and it makes sense. Sexual immorality is something that stimulates the body. There's something there that the body enjoys. And to do so, you have to elevate physical gratification over God. And this happened at the temples all the time. Idolatry, sexual sin, and they're hand in hand. In Corinth, where Paul, in the context of Corinth, you have on the top of the hill, you have the temple to Aphrodite, who had a thousand ritual prostitutes. Likewise, you had the temple to Apollos, which also involved sexual perversion.

35:49And most of the social occasions in Corinth itself involve some form of idolatry and also some form. Form of sexual immorality. You couldn't live in that town without social and idolatry and being confronted with idolatry and sexual immorality all around. And so what Paul is exhorting the Corinthians is they could not live carelessly around corruption without being corrupted. And neither can we. They were in a society that was sexually charged, idolatrous in nature. And what Paul is saying is: look, you're going to have to be deliberate. You cannot live carelessly.

36:52And so, I think it's also important to make a distinction here about active and passive involvement in sexual immorality. The Bible is very clear that there is active sexual engagement and there is the passive element, the passive party. And I won't get into a whole lot of the details, but you get the, you understand that there is a, when describing sexual sin, In the Old Testament, it was one shall not, a man shall not lie with another man, a man shall not lie with close relations, a man shall not lie with an animal. And the idea is one of somebody who is actively going and seeking someone, something, to fulfill a fleshly desire.

38:00There is passive involvement, sure. But the sins tend to move, tend to highlight this active aggressor, this active hunger, this active thirst. I think a lot of people who have been abused or have been taken advantage of think of themselves as guilty in the same sense as an active party. Maybe more of a victim, or maybe not clearly dialed in to everything that's happening or did happen. They tend to carry a lot of guilt associated with that.

38:56But when you're talking about sexual sin, What is being highlighted is this active ingredient, this active element. And there are a whole lot of ways that people use people. So it's anytime you use a member of your body in a way that seeks fulfillment, immoral fulfillment for yourself. And there's all kinds of settings that the scriptures lay out. One shall not lie with an individual in this manner, or another individual, or another. In fact, you could even say it like this: when somebody picks up a mouse with their hand and they move it to go to a site, they are actively engaging in sexual immorality. They are using a member of their body for the purpose of satisfying carnal desires. That's the movement, using their members. It's in the same category.

40:30This idea with sexual sins is like, well, I ain't as bad as that person. That person's far down the much farther down the road, or that person's really. Me, I'm feeling pretty good because I'm over here. Listen, sexual immorality is using your body in any capacity to go and take from someone else. It's common, it's common. What could be a good desire can very easily get out of its challenge, out of its channels, and pervert, warp, distort.

41:26And that is a very strong, fleshly pull. Don't use your members for that. It's for the Lord. The body is for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. So, when you're thinking about sexual immorality, first there comes temptation, and then giving into temptation. So, first there's going to be temptation, and then there's going to be the youth. To that temptation, take heed. That's the way it works. Take heed so that you avoid temptation. Don't live carelessly.

42:14There are avenues all around that are going to tempt you, and it's going to play upon your fleshly desires. And of course, this applies to substances, the avenues, the memories, the thought. There are, we'll talk about this in the future, but you need to recognize the access points of temptation because first temptation is going to come, it's going to play upon you, and then you will. The next is giving in. One of the best ways to defeat temptation is don't show up for the battle.

43:04Recognize, live circumspectly, know where those access points are, and be ruthlessly brutal in cutting them out so that the enemy doesn't have access to the control center, to the heart. Know the dynamics. Well, four basic temptations. Common to all people, idolatry, sexual immorality. There's two more. Testing the Lord and grumbling. I will quickly run through those. I don't want to spend as much time on those, but you can see the nature of addictions, really idolatry, sexual immorality. But testing the Lord, just real quickly. 1 Corinthians 10, 9, nor let us try the Lord, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents. This is in Numbers 21, the fiery serpents. In Numbers 21, 5, the people spoke against God and Moses, Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food. You see, God had provided everything they needed for a healthy and glorious time in the wilderness. But the people were not satisfied with God. They were not satisfied with his provision.

44:30That dissatisfaction is going to lead to other things. They were impatient with God and accused him of evil intentions. And so, what this boils down to is they complained, they questioned God's goodness, and then they overtly vocalized their hatred toward God. They had no concern, no genuine concern for pleasing God, and they were angry at God. Why? Because God did not please. Them. Bottom line is, they didn't use their new freedom to serve God. And there is a real temptation to blame God for not serving us better than we think He should.

45:21And they were quickly destroyed. It's not uncommon for somebody who has suffering some bad consequences because of their sin to get angry at God. But listen, friends, you and I are going to be tempted. God has given us everything we need and so much more. Use your freedom. Use what God has given you to serve Him, not test Him. I'd love to spend some more time on that, but I want to move on to another category: grumbling against the Lord. May sound like the same, but there is a distinction. 1 Corinthians 10:10, nor grumble as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Number 16 speaks of Korah's rebellion, and that's what Paul seems to be referring to.

46:25Just give you an idea of what took place in Numbers 16:3, they, Korah and company assembled together against Moses and Aaron and said to them, You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst. So why do you exalt yourself above the assembly of the Lord? So what's happening? Then Moses says to Korah in verse 8, Hear now, you sons of Levi, is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to him? Isn't this enough what God has done and the place that he has given you in this role that you have a very unique and honored role?

47:24And he has brought you near, Korah, and all your brothers, sons of Levi, with you. And are you seeking the priesthood also? Korah was not content with where God had placed him. He wanted what Moses, in fact, I want to be where Moses, listen, I'm good enough. And so, but in Korah's case, the issue involved discontentment with God's plan for his life. He wanted more glory for himself. And he grumbled against God. But grumbling comes out of a heart that is discontent with God's good and his sovereign will for our lives and the lives of others. And when we complain about our station in life, we are challenging God's grace, challenging God's wisdom, his goodness, his righteousness, and his love.

48:25And we need to grow in contentment for two reasons. First, for our own well-being. When you're discontent, you're going to look for something else, right? And if you're not content with what God has given you, guess what? You're going to go find something else, and what you find is not going to add to your well-being. But second, for God's honor and glory. When we complain, we dishonor our heavenly Father. And when we are content, we glorify Him.

48:59So when you think about these basic categories, these are the ones Paul mentions here. And then He's going to say, no temptation has taken you. These major categories, idolatry, putting something, other pursuit, other thought, other substance, whatever it is, as the one to be pleased more than God. Immorality, testing the Lord, or grumbling against him. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take Take heed that he does not fall. These are the areas going on in your heart. These are common.

49:38Don't think that you can live carelessly in this world and stand. And it's here where he refers to: no temptation has overtaken you. No temptation, no form of idolatry, no form of sexual immorality, no form of testing the Lord, no legitimate complaint, no grumbling. All these categories, nothing. You're going to be tempted in all these categories. These are common to man. And God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond which you are able. But with the temptation, will provide the way of escape so that you will not, so that you will be able to endure it.

50:40I'm going to skip over this and come to it maybe next time. I want to take a look at the perfect man, Jesus, who he understands fleshly temptations on a level that you and I do not, no matter what we face. But what is the solution to? Addictions. Just a preview. The ultimate cause of addiction, sin, self-worship. What is the ultimate solution? Well, it's the gospel. It's the gospel. Like what Keller says, without the gospel, we hate ourselves instead of our sin.

51:28Did you get that? Without the gospel, we hate ourselves instead of our sin. Without the gospel, we're motivated through all sorts of awful fear and pride to change, and it doesn't really change our hearts. It just restrains our hearts. So without the gospel, yeah, we may enter into a mode of behavioral modification, but without the gospel, we hate ourselves because we're sinners. We do these things. And the gospel ultimately is what's going to wash, cleanse, renew.

52:12Matthew 11:28, Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Promise. Jesus saying, Come to me, everyone who's in any way heavy laden, come, I'll give you rest. Washing, cleansing, renewal, contentment, all of this. Come. He knows how to. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, my burden is light. It is there where coming to God, our guilt removed, our shame covered, new life given. It's there as we learn to put on Christ that we truly find rest for our souls and victory. Victory.

53:26But without the gospel, all you can do is self-loathe what you've done or start excusing it. And even then, that's a form of self-loathing, loathing, when you can't even be honest any longer. But that's why we proclaim what we proclaim. And in the weeks ahead, we're going to take this gospel now, take it from 30,000 feet and bring it down to how this actually fleshes out: how the gospel washes, cleanses, renews, and how we Learn the habit of putting on Christ.

54:04Listen, if you're going to yield to temptation, it cannot happen without breaking union with Christ. So if you'll learn from him and you'll follow him, he will take you right through it all. And we'll unpack that as the weeks in the weeks ahead. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your goodness. Thank you for the truths that you lay out before us. Father, we do want to worship you. Father, we recognize the categories of sins. We resonate with them. We have experienced them. We have sinned in all of these categories. And so, Father, we come before you recognizing that and thanking you for the gospel and thanking you for how you have purposed to give us good things, to change us, to renew us, and to set before us life. Father, it's in life, in union with you, under your headship, that we want to live. And so, we ask you to accomplish this in our lives tonight, tomorrow, and the rest of our life. In Jesus' name, amen. You're dismissed.