As I looked out over the landscape of my life, I saw that I was falling to the enemy over and over: I was getting drunk and high, then engaging in other sins of the flesh. It was as if I had no power over these temptations.
I would get drunk to try to drown out my guilt over failures in my past and as a means of escaping having to think about them. I would take weekends away from my family and indulge in all kinds of substance abuse, which led me to more sins. It was a vicious cycle.
Much of my involvement with over-drinking, drugs, and smoking was because of the bitterness in my heart. Other people hurt me by their failures, and I did not forgive. My failures made me angry, and I blamed other people for them. I lived with this internalized anger, this bitterness for many years, blaming others for the wrongs I had committed and the failures I had experienced. This bitterness kept me in bondage to sins of the flesh and to abusing substances. We will see the solution for bitterness later in this course.
I gave in to these same temptations repeatedly and experienced the consequences of them. Then I would be swallowed up in guilt and shame for long periods afterward. Do you identify with this?
Question 5. Please consider your own life and sin struggles. Where have you been falling? Please be as specific as possible in your answer:
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My Battle Plan
As I sought the Lord for freedom from these substances that were dominating my life, He led me to Romans 8, telling me to put to death the misdeeds of my body, especially concerning the substances with which I had been abusing my body. I had to fight it to the death, for victory doesn’t usually happen spontaneously; it happens by planning and careful and prayerful execution of the plan God gives.
As the Lord changed my heart by looking at the cross, He gave me godly sorrow over my sins and enabled me to repent of them and formulate a plan to be free. My God-given plan looked like the following:
I got off social media so that old friends who encouraged me toward substance abuse could no longer reach me, and I couldn’t reach them.
I put a filter and ad blocker on all my devices to avoid seeing ads that would tempt me.
I began bringing home receipts for all the money I spent so that my wife would know where I had been and what I had been doing.
Instead of going away for weekends of indulgence, I began spending time with my wife and children and serving them.
I began to avoid places and activities that would remind me of substance abuse. I even changed my music.
I began studying the Bible with a passion, and the Lord led me to Ephesians 5:18, which says, “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit” so I asked God to show me how I might be filled with His Spirit fresh every day.
This was war, and after doing these things, I had the hope of winning, finally! “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13). I was now beginning to practice Walking by the Spirit.
The above was just a start, but it was a good start. There was no compromise; everything had to die! The cross puts the world to death with all its allurements, and it puts us to death to those things that used to entice us. The cross is a double death which is actually a double victory for us who believe. Notice this “double death” and “double victory” in Galatians 6:14:
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
Galatians 6:14
The cross puts the world to death with all its allurements, and it puts us to death to those things that used to entice us. The cross is a double death which is actually a double victory for us who believe.
Friend, this is just a start today. There is much more that needs to be addressed and discussed, but it’s a start.
Your Battle Plan
Right now, I want to leave space for you to consult the Lord about how to kill your own lusts. Consider the areas you’ve been falling to as listed in your answer to question 4, and pray and ask God how to put those areas to death. Wait on the Lord to answer you, as He will give you very clear plans and ways for you to overcome these things through dying to them. Then, when ready, please answer the following question:
Question 6. What is your battle plan to crucify your own lusts? Be willing to be extreme in this; it's life or death!
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In the next lesson, we want to see what part Washing at the cross plays in our battle plan. For now, please take 6 minutes and watch this life-changing video.