Free Indeed: The Key To Complete Recovery From Addictions

(Addiction myth) Now I want to deal with a myth about addictions, or what I like to call a false addiction doctrine. I know that I am probably going to make some people mad by saying this, but I believe what I am about to say is true. Anyway, over the years I have heard people make this statement, "That before you can be set free from alcohol or drugs, you will have to want to quit." And I am just going to be blunt right here, people that say that don't know what they are talking about. Because that's the dilemma, a person who is struggling with an addiction know that they need to quit, but they don't want to quit. If they wanted to quit, then they would. Let me go back to my testimony. I shared in my testimony that I didn't go through a secular or Christian recovery program, instead I went through Mom and Dad's tough love program. I moved out of my apartment and moved in with my parents, so that I had accountability. And I mentioned that I tried to sneak around and drink a few times, okay, why did I do that? I did that because I still wanted to drink. In my head I knew that I needed to stop drinking, but here was the problem, I still had a desire to drink alcohol in my heart. That's what this whole message is centered on, the heart, I mentioned earlier that the key to complete recovery is your heart. A person's heart has to be changed before they can be truly set free from addiction. Addictions are heart issues. Going back to my testimony, it took time before that desire left my heart. Remember, a person's heart doesn't change quickly, it doesn't change overnight. It takes time for a person's heart to change. Someone's probably thinking, "How did that desire to drink alcohol leave?" Well stick with me, I will be getting into that in a minute. That's why intervention, and some type of accountability are important in helping a person overcome this hurdle on their road to recovery. From pages 80-81. ( If you would like a copy of this book message me your mailing address, and i will send you a book free of charge!)

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(Spiritual garden) In Matthew 12:35 it says, "A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure [ of the heart] brings forth evil things." Think of your heart as a spiritual garden, of course in a physical garden we all understand that it will bring forth whatever you plant in it. If you plant tomato seeds, it will bring forth tomato's, if you plant watermelon seeds, it will bring forth watermelons's. It's the same thing with our heart, our heart will bring forth whatever is planted in it. If we have good things planted in our heart, like humility, it will bring forth promotion in our lives. If we have bad things planted in our heart, like bitterness, it will bring forth bitter things in our lives. By and large, the things that are coming to pass in our lives, are just a reflection of what is in our heart. This is one of the great mysteries of the bible, unfortunately this is still a mystery to many Christians. That's why it is so important that we guard our heart. Now later in Chapter 15, I will talk more about how to guard your heart. Let me go back to that statement I made a few moments ago, I said, "By and large, the things that are coming to pass in our lives are just a reflection of what is in our heart." And notice I said, "by and large," which means there are other things that can be a factor in the things that are coming to pass in our lives. Of course, other people can have an impact on our lives, especially if someone has been a victim of verbal, physical or sexual abuse, but here's the good news you don't have to remain a victim. The Lord can heal you of the hurt and shame. (From pages 18-19.)

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We have all heard the saying, "I am just a product of my environment." I can remember saying this when I was an alcoholic. Basically, what I was doing by saying that I was blaming people, situations and circumstances for the mess my life had become. Today as I look back on my life, I can see that it was my fault, I just made some really bad decisions. What it boils down to is I wanted to have fun, and I saw drinking alcohol as a way to have fun. My environment didn't make me an alcoholic. It's important that we take responsibility and not blame people or blame genetics. And I believe it is one of the first steps you're going to have to take on your road to recovery, because you cannot be an overcomer with a victim mindset. ( From page 16-17.)

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