Desire Paths - Alcohol

A few weeks back, I preached about maybe fasting

from social media and the devices that we use.

And in the book that I referenced, The Anxious

Generation, by the last name H -A -I -D -T, hate,

he talked about one of the things that our kids

have started losing is the risk of going out,

playing face -to -face, and being able to have

some risk -taking, and how that kind of shapes

how they deal with anxiety later. because they've

experienced some risk here, and that gives them

something to compare it to later. So that's a

really great thing for us to be praying about.

All right. Well, good morning. Again, my name

is Greg Hampton. I'm one of the pastors here.

If we've never met, I would love to meet. Put

it on your connection card that you're a first

-time guest. I'll follow up with you. I'd love

to buy you a coffee or soda, something like that,

and hear your story, get to know you. We're in

our third week of a series that we're calling

Desire Paths. And we're doing this series throughout

what's called Lent in the church calendar. It's

a 46 -day season in the church calendar when

we remind ourselves that we don't just live in

the resurrection of Jesus every day. We also

remember the suffering that Jesus experienced

on the way to that cross, on the way to that

resurrection. One of the ways that we remember

during Lent is by fasting. Fasting is when you

abstain from something that you think you need

or that you think that you want. Something that

might actually be difficult to give up. I remember

growing up and meeting different people and being

like, oh yeah, I'm giving up chocolate for Lent.

And I always thought like, oh, that's so silly.

But that's hard for some people. But consider,

what is something that might be difficult to

give up? Jesus taught his disciples to take up

their own cross to give up their own ways so

that they could live in his ways. There are plenty

of things that plenty of us are holding on to

that do not help us live like Jesus. I heard

someone say, say it again, pastor. There's plenty

of things that we hold on to that are not helping

us live like Jesus. Jesus. And so during Lent,

what we do is we fast. We pick something or some

things that we want to find out what place they

really have in our lives. Maybe we want to post

our opinion on social media and instead we lift

our voice to the Lord. We give that space, that

time to talking to Jesus. When we want to feed

our hearts with the food of fighting and complaining,

instead we open our mouths to receive something

better. From Jesus. We all have paths that we

have cut for ourselves. We all have desire paths

that we have created. Ruts that we have run through

someone else's grass. God's lawn, if you will.

Fasting is saying, I won't take my way. I will

follow Jesus. I will let go of this thing and

every time I want that thing. And the space that

thing took, I will think of and pray with Jesus.

And today's desire path is alcohol. Alcohol can

be a pretty divisive thing, not just in the world,

but in the church. Some teach that you should

never touch it. Others have kegs at their church

picnics. I'm not making that up. That's a real

thing. I have seen and experienced pretty much

all of that. I worked at a Lutheran church about

20 years ago. And I don't know if Cindy remembers

this or not, but we went to like a gathering

at the pastor's church. And it was like a church

gathering. It was at the pastor's house, the

lead pastor's house. And as soon as I got there,

the pastor's wife handed me a frozen daiquiri.

And I was like, oh, oh, okay. What's this? I've

never seen one of these. Wink, wink. On the other

side, when I was a worship pastor in Georgia,

I would go to watch Monday Night Football with

the senior pastor at the local bar and grill.

It wasn't that big of a town that we were in,

so there was really only one place to go. And

we would sit on the bar side because that's where

the TVs were. But he would not let me order a

beer because he was worried about what it would

look like. And I was like, we're already sitting

in the bar. Anyone that comes in and sees us

is going to think that we're drinking. So sweet

tea and Cokes it was. Did you know that in Georgia

that liquor stores are called what? They're called

package stores. The Bible Belt is so holy, they

will not put the word liquor, beer, or wine on

a sign outside of a building. I think maybe they've

started to change that. But I remember I was

so naive. I had no idea. And the package store

was maybe like... A hundred yards from the church

building that we moved into. And I had something

I needed to ship. And so I told someone, oh,

yeah, I'm going to take it to the package store

and ship it. It's so great that there's a package

store right next to the church. They're like,

Greg, why would you take your thing there? I

was like, because I need to ship it. Like, that's

not what they have there, man. That's a liquor

store. I was like, why does it say package store

then? And they said, because we're holy. No,

they didn't say that. The old joke goes, what's

the difference between a Lutheran and a Baptist?

The Lutheran will say hi to you in the liquor

store. It's funny, but it can be very divisive.

Alcoholism is an issue that hits close to home

for a lot of us. And whether we realize it or

not, we all know someone that is struggling with

alcohol. According to the National Institute

on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about 30 million

people in the U .S. struggle with alcohol use

disorder. That's about 1 in 10 adults. Then about

140 ,000 people die every year from alcohol -related

causes. That's a lot. With those kinds of statistics,

you would think that the Bible would forbid alcohol

completely. But it does not. Psalm 104 says,

he makes grass grow for the cattle and plants

for people to cultivate, bringing forth food

from the earth, wine that gladdens human hearts,

oil to make their faces shine, and bread that

sustains their hearts. As it turns out, wine

is a gift that God gives his good creation. Chapter

2, some of you are familiar with this, that Jesus'

first miracle was what? Turning water into wine.

And not just any wine, it says, but the best

wine. Later, you have the Apostle Paul writing

to the pastor at Ephesus, young Timothy, and

telling him, you know, hey, I've heard that you're

having stomach problems. He says, stop drinking

only water, but drink a bit of wine to calm your

stomach. As far as the Bible is concerned, alcohol...

has its place. Because, like everything else

in God's good creation, it can be a good gift.

But the scriptures also make it abundantly obvious

that even gifts can be dangerous. Proverbs 20,

Proverbs 20:1

verse 1. Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler.

Whoever is led astray by them is not wise. We

just got done doing an entire series on wisdom.

Isaiah 5 .11 warns, Woe to those who rise early

in the morning to run after their drinks. Paul,

that wrote to Timothy, also said to that same

church in Ephesians 5 .18, Do not get drunk on

wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be

filled with the Spirit. It can be a gift. Alcohol

can also be the mountain cliff that you thought

was a molehill. Later today, look up what happened

to Abraham's nephew Lot when he was drunk. Look

up Elah. Look up Nabal. Look up Amnon. Look up

Belshazzar. Wine and drinking isn't prohibited

in the Bible, but drunkenness is universally

negative in the Scriptures. Because drunkenness

doesn't... just affect us, it has an impact on

the people around us. This is what Paul told

the church in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 11. It

says this, verse 27, whoever therefore eats the

bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy

manner will be answerable for the body and blood

of the Lord. Examine yourselves, he says, and

only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup

for all who eat and drink without discerning.

The body eat and drink judgment against themselves.

That unworthiness and examination. It sounds

like he's telling you to think about all your

sins. To make sure that your heart is clean and

you've repented. But that's only because we didn't

read the verses that come before this. When you

back up a few verses, you find the context is

this. Verse 20. When you came together, when

you come together, it is not really to eat the

Lord's Supper. For when the time comes to eat,

each of you proceeds to eat your own supper,

and one goes hungry while another becomes drunk.

What? Do you not have households to eat and drink

in? Or do you show contempt for the church of

God and humiliate those who have nothing? Paul

warns the church, how you eat communion is leaving

people out. Getting drunk leaves people out.

The people that get there late. The people that

are poor. The people that had less. They've come

to receive the bread and the wine of Jesus as

well, but you got drunk and you ate all the food

and you thought only of yourself. When he says

you're taking this in an unworthy manner, he's

not talking about eating communion without thinking

about your sin enough. He's saying you're taking

communion without thinking about each other enough.

When he says, for all who eat and drink without

discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against

themselves, the body he wants us to discern is

the body. It's each other. Because in their drunkenness,

they only thought of themselves. That is an unworthy

manner to receive this table. We don't have wine.

The Lutheran church I was at, they had wine.

We use juice, so presumably no one is going to

be getting inebriated on communion here. But

listen, the same heart condition that led the

Corinthians to drink and get drunk on the elements

of bread and wine and leave people out can exist

with crackers and juice. I heard someone say,

say it again, pastor. The same heart condition

that led them to act the way that they did with

bread and wine can exist with crackers and juice.

The same self -righteousness, the same selfishness,

the same pride, the same inconsiderate nature.

If we are honest, we can admit that we become

drunk on more than alcohol. We can be just as

drunk on self -righteousness and pride. and high

-minded theologies, but this table is for everyone.

That's why when I lead communion, I try to invite

different people to carry the trays around. I

hope that you've noticed. We invite everyone

that leads communion to invite different people

or to lead in different ways because we want

a diversity of how we experience the table in

this congregation. One of the ways that I do

it is that I invite different people. And sometimes

that's someone that's only been here for a couple

of weeks. Or I'll invite a teenager. Or I'll

invite a parent to help their small child carry

the tray around. Because who am I to say that

they haven't been here long enough, they don't

understand this enough. Or that they're not old

enough. Because I am 47 years old. I have been

a pastor for nearly 25 years. And I do not understand

this enough. It is a mystery of our faith. It

is not meant to be understood in high minds.

It is meant to be experienced in sober bodies.

When I say sober bodies, I don't mean that someone

that is drunk cannot come and receive it. I mean

sober of knowing. that this is for all of us,

that we are not drunk on our own ways, that we

are not drunk on our own desire paths, that we

are not drunk on our own thinking. So Paul, he's

asking them and he's asking us to be clear -headed,

aware of each other as we receive this, to consider

the body and to be present with. The body. Here's

the truth, whether we like it or not. And the

line is different for every single one of us

because every single one of us has a different

body, a different makeup. But when it comes to

alcohol, each of our bodies will respond differently

about how much we can receive before we get to

the point where we're not really present anymore.

I grew up with alcoholism in my home, and I asked

for permission to talk about this, and so no

one is surprised. I'm not outing anyone, but

I want to tell you a story. Last year, my mom

brought this over. I'm going to leave it up here

for anybody that wants to be awed at how cute

I was. There are many, many incriminating photos

of a young Greg in here. But there was something

that I noticed for the first time that I hadn't

noticed before, and I want to show you. This

first picture, Clara, it's a picture of Christmas

1987. I was nine years old. I'm there at the

top. My notes say, pause for oohing and aahing.

That plane, to that point in my life that I can

remember and recall, was the coolest gift that

I had ever... It was as big as me. I remember

taking it outside and throwing in it and would

do loop -de -loops. I'm pretty sure that it started

breaking within days because it was, in fact,

made of styrofoam. If you look, okay, I've also

got some bubble bath there. That was hot commodity

in 87. And then my sister's gifts are over here

on the right. You can see books. And clothes.

It was a good Christmas. Now, this next one,

this is a picture of Christmas 1988. Yes, I'm

wearing the same shirt. I do not know why. I

promise it was a different year. The difference

between the gifts is dramatic. There's other

pictures. You can see, if you come and look at

this, there's other photos that have the clothes

in it, that have the books. But this year, my

sister got an electronic keyboard, a typewriter.

I got an electronic keyboard that had a drum

machine in it. These were the biggest gifts that

we had ever, ever received. And then maybe if

you noticed in the top there, in the top left,

what's that? That is our Nintendo. That Nintendo

probably saved my life. The Nintendo was released

in 1986. This is Christmas what? 88. A full more

than two years after it was released nationwide.

My parents did not know, but in the summer I

was breaking into our neighbor's house so that

I could play their Nintendo. That's how badly

I wanted a Nintendo. I stopped after I accidentally

broke one of their windows. But this Nintendo,

that Nintendo probably saved me from a life of

crime. Like, I would probably be talking to Andy

for a completely different reason in my life

right now. Now, what I had never noticed before

was the timing from 87 to 88, because the reason

that there's such a jump from 87 to 88 is because

that's the year that my dad quit drinking. You

can afford a couple bigger gifts when some of

your finances isn't going to another place like

a bar. I'm not trying to make Christmas or even

getting sober about materialism because the other

thing that I hadn't put together until she brought

this over and I started looking at it was that

if my dad hadn't quit drinking, Christmas 88

would have been our first without him. See, because

that summer my mom told him. She drew a line.

She said, you lose your drink or you lose your

family. The biggest gift that we got that Christmas

wasn't a Nintendo, it was our dad. And it was

because my mom was brave enough to say so. For

some of us, the reality is that we don't want

to be present. We drink because we're trying

to forget where we are. Some of us don't want

to be present. We're drinking because we want

to forget where we are. Some of us, we drink

because we're in pain. Mentally, emotionally,

physically. Or maybe we're shy. Later, I asked

my dad why he quit drinking. And he said, well,

I had to choose my family. And he said, I drank

because I was shy. It made it easier for me to

have fun and feel like I was able to be that

guy. He said, if I had to choose between friends

at a bar and my wife and kids at home, I'd choose

my family. Some of us drink because we think

it makes us more present. This Lent, I wonder

if maybe God wants you to test that hypothesis.

Maybe it's time to fast from drinking and be

present to the Lord. You might also find out

who else needs you to be present. I had a friend

once that used to tell me that he needed to have

a couple drinks before he got home because it

made him a better dad. It made him more lighthearted,

made it easier for him to get along with his

kids, and I knew that he was wrong because I'd

lived it. So to those who drink responsibly,

giving up alcohol might be easy. Maybe you don't.

have a problem. And to that I say, I guess you'll

find out. You're not addicted, but that doesn't

mean you haven't learned to drink out of a habit.

I was telling Destiny before the service that

when I go to a baseball game, like the River

Bandits, or if I get to go see a Cubs game, I

have a tradition. I get a hot dog and a beer.

One hot dog, one beer. It's the tradition. I'm

at a ball game. You know, I don't know. What's

the line between habit and addiction? I know

that for myself that I'm going to choose for

the rest of Lent to abstain. I'm going to test

my hypothesis. Maybe you should join me. To those

who know they struggle with alcohol, you're not

alone. There is hope. There are people. There

are programs. There are people in this congregation

that will walk with you. And Jesus will help.

I encourage you to put it on your connection

card at the end. I'll follow up with you. I'll

help you get connected. I'll help you take next

steps. Just don't give up. Don't believe the

lie that this is all you'll ever have. To those

hurt by alcohol, healing is possible. It doesn't

erase the past, but God can redeem your past.

A few years back, I was at my dad's house and

we were out in the garage. And he asked me, he

said, hey, back when I was drinking, did I, and

then he filled in the blank. And I said, yeah,

yeah, that happened. He said he was sorry. And

I said, Dad, I've forgiven you for everything.

I don't hold anything against you. Because God

has redeemed all of that. God has redeemed me.

God has changed my heart. God has healed me.

And God has healed that man right there. He's

changed us. Listen, God will not hold what you

have done against you. He can redeem anything

that we have done. But if you are hurting someone

with your alcoholism right now, he wants you

to stop. And if you have been hurt, he wants

you to begin healing. And then to those who are

drunk in other ways, whether it be self -righteousness

or anything else. I want to remind you of your

baptism. Because in your baptism, you went down

into the waters of the grave of Christ. And your

old self died. And being raised from the waters,

you were brought to new life in Jesus Christ.

It is no longer you who lives, but Christ in

you that lives. You must no longer look at people

like the world looks at people. 2 Corinthians

5, 15. And he died for all, and those who live

should no longer live for themselves, but for

him who died for them and was raised again. 16.

So from now on, we regard no one according to

the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in

this way. We do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone

is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old

is gone. The new has come. If you have ever been

baptized, whatever you are drunk on died in those

waters. And I encourage you to remember that.

To let go of one drink and hold on to the water

that your body drank in. Let the water of the

Spirit fill you. Do not be drunk on wine, which

leads to debauchery, but be filled with the Holy

Spirit. If you've never been baptized, put it

on your card. Seven weeks from now, Mother's

Day, every year on Mother's Day, we do baptisms.

Maybe it's time. Maybe it's time for you to let

go of the old, to live in something new. This

Lent, there is a persistent question that we

are going to ask every week, whether explicitly

or just implicitly. The question is this, what

path will you take? The one that is well -worn

by our own hearts and habits. Or the one that

has been set by Jesus. Amen? Let's pray. Father,

I thank you for redemption. I thank you for salvation.

I thank you that you change people. I thank you

that I'm living a future right now because you

change people. I pray that every person in this

room would get a glimmer. A glimpse of the hope

of the future that you have for them. They are

living currently in something that's difficult.

I pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit,

you would break, break any hold that alcoholism

and addictions have on us. That your spirit would

work in the way that your spirit works. Even

now that we would feel your spirit moving, breaking

it off, pulling up the roots, cutting off the

limbs, felling that weed, burning it away, till

all that remains is chaff and the purity of your

heart within us. Amen.