“My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes observe my ways.
For a prostitute is a deep pit;
an adulteress is a narrow well.
She lies in wait like a robber
and increases the traitors among mankind.
Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
Those who tarry long over wine;
those who go to try mixed wine.
Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
In the end it bites like a serpent
and stings like an adder.
Your eyes will see strange things,
and your heart utter perverse things.
You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
like one who lies on the top of a mast.
‘They struck me,’ you will say, ‘but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I must have another drink.’”
(Proverbs 23:26-35 ESV)
Have you ever been there where you looked to strong drink or to sensual pleasures to drown out your sorrow and your pain? Sadly, I have been there, a long while ago, but I did go down that pathway for a short while. I had had a lifetime of abuse at the hands of others who were supposed to love and to protect me, and the hurts kept piling on to the point to where I finally gave up and gave in to my flesh, and looked for a way out of my suffering other than through the cross of Christ and his love and grace and mercy.
But, thanks be to God, he rescued me from all of that, and he put me back on my feet and he gave me a firm place to stand, and eventually he called me to this writing ministry which is what I do now fulltime. It breaks my heart to think of what I did, and sometimes I wonder how I ever got there, but I know it was the lies of Satan and his beating me down continually to the point to where I finally surrendered to the flesh and I did not trust the Lord with my circumstances as I should have. So I know failure big time!!
But I am not here to condone such behaviors as this nor to give excuses for my behaviors nor for anyone else’s, especially for those who profess faith in Jesus Christ and who know way better. I am here to share what the Scriptures teach on these subjects with regard to the wrongness of such activities and the dangers of them and the destructive force that they are in the lives of those who surrender to them. For strong drink and sexual immorality of any nature are a deep pit that you don’t want to fall into.
For one, we cannot serve the Lord Jesus Christ with our lives if we are giving ourselves over to strong drink and to sexual immorality. And we cannot love others with the Love of Christ if we are sinning against them by our addictive behaviors and sinful practices. And if you have professed faith in Jesus but then you continued to walk (in conduct, in practice) in sin, the Scriptures teach that you don’t know God and you don’t have eternal life with God. So you must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow Jesus in obedience.
When you are under the control of strong drink or of sensual pleasures, you cannot be under Holy Spirit control, and you end up sinning against those you claim to love, even your spouses and your own children and other people, too, in various ways, because your lives are not committed to following Jesus, but you are giving way to the flesh. And under such influences as these we can lose all sense of moral propriety and good common sense, and other people’s lives will be impacted by our sins.
These types of situations which are a person’s lifestyle, and life practices, and have been for a very long while, with no hope for change in sight, end up destroying marriages and families and children’s lives and their own lives, and they can end up doing permanent damage which cannot be retracted, in some cases. And that is just a very sad reality, for it is all so hopeless, and so destructive, and so selfish, too. And so there will never be true peace for those who are captivated by such sinful practices.
The only hope, and the only way out of such situations as these is total surrender of our lives to Jesus Christ, laying it all down to follow him with our lives and to forsake our lives of sin in order to walk in obedience to his commands. And this involves us accepting God’s sovereignty over our lives and that our lives are going to have ups and downs and heartaches and hurts and disappointments and mistreatments, etc. And these we must give over to the Lord and trust him to help us through them.
We have to also let go of any resentments, bitterness, unforgiveness, pride, or whatever it is that is leading us in the wrong direction, for out of our hearts come both good and evil. And out of our hearts come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander. These are what defile a person. So if what is stored up in our hearts is bitterness, pride, resentment, and unforgiveness, evil is what is going to come out. So our hearts must change first (Luke 6:45; Matthew 15:17-20).
So, if you are at the place of considering either strong drink or sexual immorality as a way to drown out your sorrows, please don’t go there! All you will do is add sorrow upon sorrow along with tons of guilt and regret, and not only will you destroy your own life, but you will have the possibility of destroying other people’s lives, too. And if this is where you are now, please stop! And surrender your lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and trust him with your circumstances and rely on his strength and wisdom.
Jesus Christ is our only hope for healing of our wounded souls and hearts and minds. Other things may be able to mask the pain temporarily, but in the long run they will do more harm than good, especially if they are things which are against our Lord’s commands. So, wherever you are in this, surrender your lives to Jesus Christ today and let him rule in your hearts and minds. Get rid of all bitterness and anger and resentment and pride, and forgive those who have hurt you, and now love your enemies.
Then daily make it your practice to deny self, to die daily to sin, and to follow Jesus Christ and his commands and to wherever the Lord leads you and wants you and desires to use you for his purposes and for his glory. Instead of yielding to the flesh, yield to the control of the Holy Spirit. For the grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, is training us renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. And therein we have peace with God and the hope of eternal life with God.
[Titus 2:11-14; Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Peter 1:15; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Sing to Me of Heaven
Songwriters: Ada Powell / Benjamin Burke Beall
Sing to me of Heaven, sing that song of peace
From the toils that bind me it will bring release
Burdens will be lifted that are pressing so
Showers of great blessing o'er my heart will flow
Sing to me of Heaven, as I walk alone
Dreaming of the comrades that so long have gone
In a fairer region 'mong the angel throng
They are happy as they sing that old, sweet song
Sing to me of Heaven, tenderly and low
Till the shadows o'er me rise and swiftly go
When my heart is weary, when the day is long
Sing to me of Heaven, sing that old, sweet song
Sing to me of Heaven, let me fondly dream
Of its golden glory, of its pearly gleam
Sing to me when shadows of the evening fall
Sing to me of heaven, sweetest song of all
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMeC-hZnhuo
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