“Pastor Brian, could you give me twenty dollars? My daughter is sick and my friend needs gas so we can visit her up at Ruby Hospital. Just twenty dollars.”
I asked him his name and he reminded me. I’ll call him “Jimmy”. He spoke in a very fast manner. I let him step into the kitchen.
“I can’t give you cash, but I can meet you down at the gas station in a minute.”
Jimmy’s eyes were jumping all around as he clearly was checking out the place.
“No, no. I just need cash. My friend will be over in a while to pick me up.”
Red warning signs were going off in my brain.
Deuteronomy 18:15-20; Psalm 111; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Mark 1:21-28
“I’ll tell you what. Saundra, this guy needs to check on his daughter up at Ruby. Are you up to a trip?”
Saundra came around the corner. “Sure. Let me grab my coat.”
Sheer panic appeared in the man’s face. He quickly said, “That’s ok. I only need $10. “ His eyes flashed back and forth. His hands were shaking.
After a couple of more exchanges, he said he actually just needed cigarettes. And he left.
We met him many times afterwards, and eventually he opened up to me that he was addicted to meth. Like I didn’t know.
One evening, a few years later, Saundra and I took him to a treatment center. I’ve heard that Jimmy’s now in jail. We pray for him. He has several daughters. We especially pray for them...
And then, of course, there are those who are possessed by evil spirits.
Our Gospel reading today speaks of Jesus visiting Capernaum. Capernaum was a decent sized town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. When Saturday rolled around, Jesus went into the synagogue to teach.
And His teaching was different. At the time, most teachers hated to make strong claims. “Rabbi Gamaliel says this and Rabbi Hillel says that. You’ll need to make up your own mind.” And what was really frustrating was when you went to read something by Gamaliel or Hillel, they did the same thing, except they referred to men of the previous generation. Who could give a definitive answer?
Jesus did. Jesus taught as one who had authority. “You have heard it said “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. But I say this.” And Jesus would give His answer as definitive.
Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
What was this episode all about?
To our 21st century sensibilities, there are four groups of people who dominate the world around us. Each group has it’s own opinion about this episode.
First are the scientifically minded who don’t believe in spirits, ghosts, demons, or God. To them, this story is pure hogwash. Spirit possession is nothing more than mental illness, they say.
There are also many people in America who are fascinated by spirits, by ghosts, by zombies, witchcraft, magic, and devils. They tend to admit that this probably happen, but don’t think through the consequences of a man who could command a spirit to leave a man. After all, the stories and movies often show a priest or minister that can command an evil spirit to leave a person. But this group of spirit fans don’t consider why priests and ministers have this power over spirits.
There are also the mature Christian believers who have a balanced view, giving credit to scripture when it speaks of spirits, but not getting terribly caught up in the issue.
And then, of course, there are those who are possessed by evil spirits.
The Bible is filled with mentions of spirits, demons, angels, and gods. Yet, we can become confused about these. For different parts of the Bible appear to teach us different things about these supernatural creatures. Do they exist or not?
In the Old Testament, there are many mentions of other gods, particularly Baal and Asherah, who were worshiped by the people of Tyre, a city in what is now Beirut, Lebanon. Baal worship came to Israel because King Ahab of Israel married Jezebel of Tyre, who was a priestess of Baal and the daughter of the king of Tyre.
The worship of Baal involved the sacrifice of infants. The worship of Asherah involved tall, round poles and rituals that would be found in an X-rated movie today, for she was a fertility goddess.
Famously, as told in I Kings 18, the great prophet Elijah challenged King Ahab and the priests of Baal and Asherah to a public battle of the gods on Mount Carmel. The challenge was simple. Both sides would build an altar with sacrifice and pray to their god to set fire to the altar.
After many hours of chanting, dancing, and cutting themselves, the priests of Baal found no results. Elijah then prayed and fire came down from Heaven, setting the altar on fire and even boiling away the water that Elijah had dumped on the altar. And Elijah quickly had the people kill the priests of Baal.
So it seems that this evil god had no power at all. Repeatedly throughout the Bible, it is said that the idols in the temples of the other gods are mere statues, that they are gods created with human hands, that they are nothing more than artwork that men and women have carved, that other gods don’t exist. And this much is true. For there is only one Creator God, only One Being who is worthy to be worshiped. That is the Holy Trinity – God the Father, God the Son who is Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit.
In fact, Paul wrote in our reading today from I Corinthians that
We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
There were many so-called "gods" sitting on shelves in homes and temples, and many statuettes and men called "lords", but there is but one God and one Lord.
Yet, in Ephesians 6, Paul writes:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
We read where Jesus is tempted by Satan in the desert. King Saul meets with a medium who conjures up the dead prophet Samuel. And repeatedly, Jesus and the disciples run into men and women who are possessed by evil spirits or demons.
So do they exist or not?
Well, like Dorothy, we’ll have to pull the curtain back a bit, so we can look at the Great and Terrible Oz.
Scripture teaches us that the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the Universe. In John 1, we find that the Christ is the Word, the logos of God. And in Genesis 1, “Elohim” – a plural Hebrew word for God – created the heavens and the earth. The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Then God spoke – there’s the Word – and there was light. Creator, Word, and Spirit.
Genesis goes on from there to talk about Creation. And what amazes me about the whole thing is that something written down hundreds of years before Christ, a story of Creation that had been passed down to Moses by word of mouth, a story which has the order of Creation following in the same order that our geologists tell us, matches up so closely to the scientific narrative. What do I mean?
Around the world, there are many creation stories. The Iroquis tell us the world was created on the back of a giant turtle. The Japanese talk about a war between two gods and the body became the world. In India, a lotus flower springs up from a god’s bellybutton and becomes the world.
But the Bible’s story talks about the world being created from a formless void and then, light appears first. Just like the Big Bang. How did Moses know?
And then, the planet appears with the dry land consolidated and then plants, and then animals, and then finally people. How did Moses know?
But there were others created. God created the angels, messengers and servants of God. Satan led a rebellion and a third of the angels followed him to the earth where they ruled. But we need to understand something about angels. Angels exist at the boundary between spirit and flesh. Sometimes they walk around in a physical form, at other times they stand before the Spirit God the Father in Heaven – other times, they only appear to us in a vision or a dream. And therefore, the origin of evil spirits are the fallen angels.
These are the evil spirits. Evil spirits who possess people for their own ends.
I have a friend who was a missionary in Jamaica. Jamaica and Haiti and Brazil have substantial numbers of people who practice Yoruba, or voodoo, a variation of an ancient religion from the Nigerian area.
In this religion, people attempt to become possessed by various spirits. And according to my friend, they are successful. But the spirits are not good for the people possessed, for there are many spiritual forces of evil – but only one Holy Spirit of God.
In the Old Testament, the word “fool” is used as the opposite of one who is wise. To be foolish means to lack wisdom. And, as our Psalm today notes,
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
“I’ll tell you what. Saundra, this guy needs to check on his daughter up at Ruby. Are you up to a trip?”
Saundra came around the corner. “Sure. Let me grab my coat.”
Sheer panic appeared in the man’s face. He quickly said, “That’s ok. I only need $10. “ His eyes flashed back and forth. His hands were shaking.
After a couple of more exchanges, he said he actually just needed cigarettes. And he left.
We met him many times afterwards, and eventually he opened up to me that he was addicted to meth. Like I didn’t know.
One evening, a few years later, Saundra and I took him to a treatment center. I’ve heard that Jimmy’s now in jail. We pray for him. He has several daughters. We especially pray for them...
And then, of course, there are those who are possessed by evil spirits.
Our Gospel reading today speaks of Jesus visiting Capernaum. Capernaum was a decent sized town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. When Saturday rolled around, Jesus went into the synagogue to teach.
And His teaching was different. At the time, most teachers hated to make strong claims. “Rabbi Gamaliel says this and Rabbi Hillel says that. You’ll need to make up your own mind.” And what was really frustrating was when you went to read something by Gamaliel or Hillel, they did the same thing, except they referred to men of the previous generation. Who could give a definitive answer?
Jesus did. Jesus taught as one who had authority. “You have heard it said “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”. But I say this.” And Jesus would give His answer as definitive.
Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
What was this episode all about?
To our 21st century sensibilities, there are four groups of people who dominate the world around us. Each group has it’s own opinion about this episode.
First are the scientifically minded who don’t believe in spirits, ghosts, demons, or God. To them, this story is pure hogwash. Spirit possession is nothing more than mental illness, they say.
There are also many people in America who are fascinated by spirits, by ghosts, by zombies, witchcraft, magic, and devils. They tend to admit that this probably happen, but don’t think through the consequences of a man who could command a spirit to leave a man. After all, the stories and movies often show a priest or minister that can command an evil spirit to leave a person. But this group of spirit fans don’t consider why priests and ministers have this power over spirits.
There are also the mature Christian believers who have a balanced view, giving credit to scripture when it speaks of spirits, but not getting terribly caught up in the issue.
And then, of course, there are those who are possessed by evil spirits.
The Bible is filled with mentions of spirits, demons, angels, and gods. Yet, we can become confused about these. For different parts of the Bible appear to teach us different things about these supernatural creatures. Do they exist or not?
In the Old Testament, there are many mentions of other gods, particularly Baal and Asherah, who were worshiped by the people of Tyre, a city in what is now Beirut, Lebanon. Baal worship came to Israel because King Ahab of Israel married Jezebel of Tyre, who was a priestess of Baal and the daughter of the king of Tyre.
The worship of Baal involved the sacrifice of infants. The worship of Asherah involved tall, round poles and rituals that would be found in an X-rated movie today, for she was a fertility goddess.
Famously, as told in I Kings 18, the great prophet Elijah challenged King Ahab and the priests of Baal and Asherah to a public battle of the gods on Mount Carmel. The challenge was simple. Both sides would build an altar with sacrifice and pray to their god to set fire to the altar.
After many hours of chanting, dancing, and cutting themselves, the priests of Baal found no results. Elijah then prayed and fire came down from Heaven, setting the altar on fire and even boiling away the water that Elijah had dumped on the altar. And Elijah quickly had the people kill the priests of Baal.
So it seems that this evil god had no power at all. Repeatedly throughout the Bible, it is said that the idols in the temples of the other gods are mere statues, that they are gods created with human hands, that they are nothing more than artwork that men and women have carved, that other gods don’t exist. And this much is true. For there is only one Creator God, only One Being who is worthy to be worshiped. That is the Holy Trinity – God the Father, God the Son who is Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit.
In fact, Paul wrote in our reading today from I Corinthians that
We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
There were many so-called "gods" sitting on shelves in homes and temples, and many statuettes and men called "lords", but there is but one God and one Lord.
Yet, in Ephesians 6, Paul writes:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
We read where Jesus is tempted by Satan in the desert. King Saul meets with a medium who conjures up the dead prophet Samuel. And repeatedly, Jesus and the disciples run into men and women who are possessed by evil spirits or demons.
So do they exist or not?
Well, like Dorothy, we’ll have to pull the curtain back a bit, so we can look at the Great and Terrible Oz.
Scripture teaches us that the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the Universe. In John 1, we find that the Christ is the Word, the logos of God. And in Genesis 1, “Elohim” – a plural Hebrew word for God – created the heavens and the earth. The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Then God spoke – there’s the Word – and there was light. Creator, Word, and Spirit.
Genesis goes on from there to talk about Creation. And what amazes me about the whole thing is that something written down hundreds of years before Christ, a story of Creation that had been passed down to Moses by word of mouth, a story which has the order of Creation following in the same order that our geologists tell us, matches up so closely to the scientific narrative. What do I mean?
Around the world, there are many creation stories. The Iroquis tell us the world was created on the back of a giant turtle. The Japanese talk about a war between two gods and the body became the world. In India, a lotus flower springs up from a god’s bellybutton and becomes the world.
But the Bible’s story talks about the world being created from a formless void and then, light appears first. Just like the Big Bang. How did Moses know?
And then, the planet appears with the dry land consolidated and then plants, and then animals, and then finally people. How did Moses know?
But there were others created. God created the angels, messengers and servants of God. Satan led a rebellion and a third of the angels followed him to the earth where they ruled. But we need to understand something about angels. Angels exist at the boundary between spirit and flesh. Sometimes they walk around in a physical form, at other times they stand before the Spirit God the Father in Heaven – other times, they only appear to us in a vision or a dream. And therefore, the origin of evil spirits are the fallen angels.
These are the evil spirits. Evil spirits who possess people for their own ends.
I have a friend who was a missionary in Jamaica. Jamaica and Haiti and Brazil have substantial numbers of people who practice Yoruba, or voodoo, a variation of an ancient religion from the Nigerian area.
In this religion, people attempt to become possessed by various spirits. And according to my friend, they are successful. But the spirits are not good for the people possessed, for there are many spiritual forces of evil – but only one Holy Spirit of God.
In the Old Testament, the word “fool” is used as the opposite of one who is wise. To be foolish means to lack wisdom. And, as our Psalm today notes,
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow his precepts have good understanding.
There are many people in this world who are foolish and do not have a fear and respect of the Lord. Instead, like children playing with matches and gasoline, they play with things they do not understand – nor are able to control.
And so people play with Ouija boards, they play with tarot cards, they look for crystal balls, they pretend to have seances, they delve into books on magic and witchcraft – not the magic of sleight of hand and mirrors and spring-loaded flowers stuffed up sleeves – but the magic that is dark and intended for power.
Is it just the chemicals? Or is there another force at work here?
C.S. Lewis pointed out that there are two opposite mistakes Christians can make about spirits and witchcraft and the occult and things that go bump in the night. First, we can assume that all these ideas are just superstitions, that there are no evil spirits, nor devils, nor dark magics. Our culture wants us to ignore this spiritual aspect of things. We are not supposed to look behind the curtain and find that behind the emerald curtain there are spirits working in our world, pretending to be things they aren’t, like the simple carnival huckster that became the Great and Power Wizard of Oz. Our culture would prefer we ignore the spiritual war that is going on. Did you ever wonder why?
The other mistake Christians can make is getting caught up in the study of these things, letting our curiosity hook us, reading books and watching movies that take us too close to the gasoline of evil. For too much investigation almost always leads to a desire to want to try, to see what it tastes like, to just have one potato chip.
And there are gateways into this evil.
Some are more obvious than others. The Ouija board, the mediums, the fortune tellers, the supernatural horror films – these lead us down into the nightmares. Oh, yes, the vast majority of mediums and fortune tellers are con artists, simply trying to take your money. But it is the real ones who are dangerous. King Saul died because, God’s Word says, Saul consulted a medium.
But the other gateway is when you let your mind become more open to evil thoughts and spirits, by lowering your guard. Alcohol, illegal drugs, even prescription pills can lead us to become easier to attack. Is it any wonder that those who hear voices, those who drink a lot, those who are involved with illegal chemicals are more likely to commit crimes, to harm others, to even kill others? Is it just the chemicals? Or is there another force at work here?
But consider – if our body can be infected with physical viruses that cause physical illnesses such as the flu, measles, chicken pox, or even some cancers – isn’t it possible that there are spiritual viruses that cause spiritual illnesses? It is interesting that over a third of the people treated at Monongalia General Hospital for addiction are what are known as “dual diagnosis”, meaning they have an underlying mental illness. Isn’t it possible that the ancients were onto something when they defined certain mental illnesses as possession by evil spirits or demons, with the treatment requiring spiritual treatment?
Oh yes, there are many people, perhaps most people who have chemical imbalances in their brains that lead to their problems. Proper medical care helps in many cases. But for every person that medical drugs help there is another person that the drugs simply don’t help. Their problem isn’t a physical problem with the brain – it is a spiritual infection that can only be treated by an encounter with the Son of the Creator of the Universe.
The Bible is filled with stories of men and women who were demon- or spirit-possessed. We don’t like to talk about it because it is frightening. What happens if a spirit or a demon attempts to possess us late one night when we are alone in our room with the doors locked and the curtains drawn?
Look what happened in our Gospel story today.
A man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
The Son of God controls even these spirits. Jesus is far stronger than any evil spirit. And if you are possessed of the Holy Spirit – you have within you the good Spirit of God.
By ourselves we are nothing. But with God’s help, we are protected against all things – if we ask for help. Our great weakness is that we often do not want to give up control to the Holy Spirit. Instead, we would rather flirt with those spirits that are around us…the spirit of addiction…the spirit of anger…the spirit of revenge…the spirit of pleasure-seeking...the spirit of laziness.
We would rather be led by a random spirit into a never, never land where we forget our lives than become part of the Body of Christ, seeking a full and productive and purpose-filled life. It is easy, for these spirits are deceitful while the Spirit of Christ is always polite, asking us rather than duping us, giving us the opportunity to decide rather than forcing us, walking with us rather than chaining us to an addiction.
C.S. Lewis pointed out that there are two opposite mistakes Christians can make about spirits and witchcraft and the occult and things that go bump in the night. First, we can assume that all these ideas are just superstitions, that there are no evil spirits, nor devils, nor dark magics. Our culture wants us to ignore this spiritual aspect of things. We are not supposed to look behind the curtain and find that behind the emerald curtain there are spirits working in our world, pretending to be things they aren’t, like the simple carnival huckster that became the Great and Power Wizard of Oz. Our culture would prefer we ignore the spiritual war that is going on. Did you ever wonder why?
The other mistake Christians can make is getting caught up in the study of these things, letting our curiosity hook us, reading books and watching movies that take us too close to the gasoline of evil. For too much investigation almost always leads to a desire to want to try, to see what it tastes like, to just have one potato chip.
And there are gateways into this evil.
Some are more obvious than others. The Ouija board, the mediums, the fortune tellers, the supernatural horror films – these lead us down into the nightmares. Oh, yes, the vast majority of mediums and fortune tellers are con artists, simply trying to take your money. But it is the real ones who are dangerous. King Saul died because, God’s Word says, Saul consulted a medium.
But the other gateway is when you let your mind become more open to evil thoughts and spirits, by lowering your guard. Alcohol, illegal drugs, even prescription pills can lead us to become easier to attack. Is it any wonder that those who hear voices, those who drink a lot, those who are involved with illegal chemicals are more likely to commit crimes, to harm others, to even kill others? Is it just the chemicals? Or is there another force at work here?
But consider – if our body can be infected with physical viruses that cause physical illnesses such as the flu, measles, chicken pox, or even some cancers – isn’t it possible that there are spiritual viruses that cause spiritual illnesses? It is interesting that over a third of the people treated at Monongalia General Hospital for addiction are what are known as “dual diagnosis”, meaning they have an underlying mental illness. Isn’t it possible that the ancients were onto something when they defined certain mental illnesses as possession by evil spirits or demons, with the treatment requiring spiritual treatment?
Oh yes, there are many people, perhaps most people who have chemical imbalances in their brains that lead to their problems. Proper medical care helps in many cases. But for every person that medical drugs help there is another person that the drugs simply don’t help. Their problem isn’t a physical problem with the brain – it is a spiritual infection that can only be treated by an encounter with the Son of the Creator of the Universe.
The Bible is filled with stories of men and women who were demon- or spirit-possessed. We don’t like to talk about it because it is frightening. What happens if a spirit or a demon attempts to possess us late one night when we are alone in our room with the doors locked and the curtains drawn?
Look what happened in our Gospel story today.
A man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
“Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
The Son of God controls even these spirits. Jesus is far stronger than any evil spirit. And if you are possessed of the Holy Spirit – you have within you the good Spirit of God.
By ourselves we are nothing. But with God’s help, we are protected against all things – if we ask for help. Our great weakness is that we often do not want to give up control to the Holy Spirit. Instead, we would rather flirt with those spirits that are around us…the spirit of addiction…the spirit of anger…the spirit of revenge…the spirit of pleasure-seeking...the spirit of laziness.
We would rather be led by a random spirit into a never, never land where we forget our lives than become part of the Body of Christ, seeking a full and productive and purpose-filled life. It is easy, for these spirits are deceitful while the Spirit of Christ is always polite, asking us rather than duping us, giving us the opportunity to decide rather than forcing us, walking with us rather than chaining us to an addiction.
As long as they are alive, there is hope that they will find Christ and have Christ remove the spirit.
My friend Jimmy had given up his life to the spirit of addiction. He simply could not live his life anymore without having meth or pot or even heroin around. Feeding that spirit was the most important thing in his life. It had begun when he was young – about 10 or 12 years old – because men and women in his family, his neighborhood, men and women – teachers - he looked up to, men and women who parented his friends, who should have been taking him to church – they tried to ignore him, they left him on his own, they didn’t get involved, some even helped him find the supplies. And then, after a couple of years of smoking cigarettes, he tried pot, he tried alcohol, he tried meth, he tried heroin. He smoked, he took pills, he crushed and snorted the pills, he crushed the pills and injected them in his arm.
Each time, for just a while, that spirit let him feel really good for a while, a couple of hours. And then, the spirit said to him: “More.” And clamped the chains around his brain.
If you have a friend or relative that has fallen victim to one of these spirits, remember that Jesus controls even the spirits. And there is hope.
It is what the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous realized. They realized that there is a Twelve step process which is a spiritual process.
My friend Jimmy had given up his life to the spirit of addiction. He simply could not live his life anymore without having meth or pot or even heroin around. Feeding that spirit was the most important thing in his life. It had begun when he was young – about 10 or 12 years old – because men and women in his family, his neighborhood, men and women – teachers - he looked up to, men and women who parented his friends, who should have been taking him to church – they tried to ignore him, they left him on his own, they didn’t get involved, some even helped him find the supplies. And then, after a couple of years of smoking cigarettes, he tried pot, he tried alcohol, he tried meth, he tried heroin. He smoked, he took pills, he crushed and snorted the pills, he crushed the pills and injected them in his arm.
Each time, for just a while, that spirit let him feel really good for a while, a couple of hours. And then, the spirit said to him: “More.” And clamped the chains around his brain.
If you have a friend or relative that has fallen victim to one of these spirits, remember that Jesus controls even the spirits. And there is hope.
It is what the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous realized. They realized that there is a Twelve step process which is a spiritual process.
- We admitted we were powerless over [our addiction]—that our lives had become unmanageable.
- Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
- Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
- Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
- Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
- Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
- Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
- Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
- Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Almost all twelve step programs use these same twelve steps. The only thing that really changes is the addiction that is the core of the problem. It might not be alcohol – it might be painkillers. It might not be drugs – it might be cigarettes. It might not be a chemical at all – it might be video games. It might not be gaming – it might be gambling or pornography or anger. It doesn’t really matter – the problem is a spiritual issue. The problem is that an evil spirit has taken control of part of your friend’s life and only a spiritual cure will keep her free of that spirit. And until that spirit is gone, the victim will lie and cheat and steal and skip work and do anything to feed that spirit – because the spirit has put the victim’s brain in chains.
So begin with prayer. Pray that your friend or relative will come to the first step – admitting that the addiction has taken over their life, that their life is out of control. As long as they are alive, there is hope that they will find Christ and have Christ remove the spirit. But until they work through these twelve steps, they are vulnerable to relapse. Most addicts relapse repeatedly. They must have the spiritual awakening, or they will not succeed in getting free.
So until that awakening comes, we support them when they do good things and keep our mouths closed when they do wrong, for they know that they are doing wrong. We want to stay in their lives. We keep pointing them to Christ for their salvation. As long as they are alive there is hope.
And bring them to our Saturday evening AA group at Quiet Dell Church. 8 pm. You and them are welcome - and they don't care what chemical someone is addicted to. They only want to help people get free.
When Saundra and I took Jimmy to the treatment center, he handed over his needle and his tablets to the security guard. He was worried he’d be arrested. The staff assured him they were there to treat him and not punish him. After an hour or so, we left him and drove home.
A couple of months later, he showed up at my back door, looking terrible. “Pastor Brian, can you get me some lunch and some tennis shoes? Someone at the treatment center stole my old shoes.” I looked at his feet – he was wearing rubber galoshes. “And I need about $20 for my friend for gas for a ride to Ruby – my grandfather is in there and I don’t know how much longer he’ll live.” His eyes were jumping around again. Even though it was almost 90 degrees out, he was wearing long sleeves rolled down to cover his arms.
I remembered that his grandfather had supposedly died about a year earlier. I tried not to sigh too loudly.
I said, “Can’t get you any gas today, but I’ll get you some shoes and a hamburger.”
When Saundra and I took Jimmy to the treatment center, he handed over his needle and his tablets to the security guard. He was worried he’d be arrested. The staff assured him they were there to treat him and not punish him. After an hour or so, we left him and drove home.
A couple of months later, he showed up at my back door, looking terrible. “Pastor Brian, can you get me some lunch and some tennis shoes? Someone at the treatment center stole my old shoes.” I looked at his feet – he was wearing rubber galoshes. “And I need about $20 for my friend for gas for a ride to Ruby – my grandfather is in there and I don’t know how much longer he’ll live.” His eyes were jumping around again. Even though it was almost 90 degrees out, he was wearing long sleeves rolled down to cover his arms.
I remembered that his grandfather had supposedly died about a year earlier. I tried not to sigh too loudly.
I said, “Can’t get you any gas today, but I’ll get you some shoes and a hamburger.”
Where there's life, there's hope.
