Celebrating Healing From Addiction | Pastor Vicki Harrison and Will New

Good morning.

So this is week two of our series on God's healing specifically related to mental health addiction,

In relationships and so last week we talked about depression and and anxiety and how god,

Heals us.

In different ways. Like we all receive healing in different ways and sometimes it's not in the way we want. But I hope that the one thing that you took from that message is that,

When it comes to mental health issues, god always cares, always. God always loves.

He always walks with us through the darkness. Now, today, we're going to talk about addiction.

And this message is a little bit different. I'm going to start out by giving some basic information about addiction and then we're going to have someone else who's going to come and give their testimony.

Specifically talking about what it means to deal with addiction and then lean into Jesus for help and healing,

So let's start it with kind of talking a little bit about kind of addiction and abroad sense. Now, I don't have these numbers on the screen. So, if you'd like, you can take your your blue sermon note. She eat me. You might want to jot some of these down.

We're going to start with the number 13635%.

And that is the percentage of Americans 12 and over who have used an illegal drug in the last 30 days,

So 13. Five% of Americans ages 12 and over have used in illegal drug in the last 30 days,

In 2023,

There were 107543 overdose deaths in the United States,

So that's 107543 write that down,

It's over 107 1000 individuals. Whom god loved? And Jesus died for.

Who lost their lives due to drug overdoses? Okay, the next number is 10. Two%. You can jot that down,

And that's the percentage of Americans ages 12 and over who have some kind of alcohol use disorder,

So that could be uncontrolled drinking. It could be a preoccupation with alcohol. It could be addiction. So one in 10. Of Americans 12 and over.

Now write down 24%.

24%. Of Americans 18 and over report binge drinking. In the last 30 days. One and four.

It's estimated that alcohol causes 10% of all deaths,

Of 15 to 49 year olds and many of those are related to motor vehicle accidents,

And then a little different but also very important. The number 11%.

An 11% of American men report being addicted to portography and that's probably underreported so one in 10 men report having an addiction to pornography,

Okay. Just gives you a little bit of idea just to scope. Of what we're talking about.

Addiction is the inability to stop using a substance or engaging in a behavior even though it's causing psychological or physical harm.

And there are quite a few common addictions and many of you are familiar with them. Alcohol and drugs we've mentioned, we mentioned pornography, especially in the last 10 to 15 years with the increasing online pornography that is

Become a much bigger issue.

You can be come addicted to gambling this very destructive sex food tobacco and vaping,

Social media and video games and even exercise,

And even when these behaviors are damaging relationships causing issues at work or creating some kind of financial or legal problems for the individual,

They could be damaging their physical bodies. They keep doing it. They keep doing it.

They are physically or mentally unable to stop even when they try to do so that is addiction.

So what is this have to do with our spiritual walk?

Well actually a whole lot the bible has some mention of drunkenness but not necessarily addiction,

But it does address addiction and it's very raw form,

A compulsive need for something other than god and you'll see that on the screen. So, basically, addiction in its most raw form.

Isn't a compulsive need for something other than god and I truly believe addiction is a disease.

It causes physiological changes in the brain. So, if we're talking about alcohol, drug use, gambling, pornography, if you put an addict's brain under an MRI,

You can see the changes the it changes the reward centers in the brain that's

When there's physiological evidence of that,

It has specific symptoms that can lead to a diagnosis and in the case of drugs and alcohol people experience physical withdrawal symptoms that can be quite severe.

Right addiction is much more than physical. It is a spiritual affliction and because addiction is when someone is enslaved to a substance or a behavior they are in bondage to something,

And that thing were their desire for that thing becomes the primary focus of their life. Their God if you will.

And that indicates a spiritual problem. So, my mind immediately goes to two places. First is the very first commandment,

Thou shall have no other gods before me, right? Now, we all break that commandment. We all put things before god.

But that is essentially what addiction is. Putting something before God.

And then I started thinking about the greatest commandment and you'll see this on the screen from Matthew 22 let's let's read this together,

Jesus replied love the lord your god with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind

This is the first and greatest commandment and the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself.

So, there's really no way we can love god with our whole heart.

If we're in bondage to addiction there's no way we can love our neighbor as ourselves. If we're in bondage to addiction.

And certainly while addiction is a physical disease it's most certainly also a spiritual affliction,

And as with any spiritual affliction or physical affliction for that matter. God is present. And God is willing to walk with us through it. Amen?

God offers healing.

In fact it's only God who can help us admit our addiction come to terms with it and begin to heal,

True healing only comes and the person that Jesus Christ,

So with that I'm going to invite Will New Forward he's going to be sharing his testimony and it's a powerful testimony,

Will has experience god's healing and an incredible way and I also want you to recognize how much courage and vulnerability it takes to come up here,

And share your story to own a pray over Will.

Lord Jesus I lift up my brother Will and I thank you for the work that you have done in his life,

We just give you all the glory and praise and lord I I just ask today that that you will take his words and use them for your glory,

The year holy spirit will be moving in this place in such a powerful way,

Whoever needs to hear what he has to say will be open to it,

We pray for changed hearts lord and change lives in the name of Jesus and give him just a sense of peace,

Let your words just flow out of his mouth.

We pray this in the powerful name of Jesus. Amen.

First Peter five verses eight through nine if you want to turn there you may I didn't put it on the screen. First Peter five eight through nine,

Be alert sober mind your enemy of the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour,

Resist him stand firm in the faith because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings,

You pray with me for just a moment.

Father, god, thank you so much for this opportunity to speak.

Be with me and give me strength to let the words that you want me to say to this group. Come out. Let it touch hearts. And lives. Thank you lord for the blessings and grace you've shown me my entire life.

Continue to be with me and be with this congregation. Your son's name. Hey, man. Well, I want to welcome you all here. I really appreciate the opportunity.

Thank you so much for your attention. Just to give you a little background on me. I was an educator for 20 years so I'm used to talking to a room full of people that may or may not be paying attention to what I say.

So if I see you not off or if I see you yawn I'm used to it. I taught high school for 10 years. So not a problem at all. I'm also good at dodging projectiles. So if you throw anything at me and you see me move, I'm good at that as well.

That goes with teaching. So, I just want to start by asking for your understanding. And and your grace. I know many of you have faced battles with addiction.

I am not the only one. You probably far far larger than I have and and I'm not here to claim that I'm the most qualified or the most knowledgeable.

I'm standing here simply because I feel god called me to share my story and 1 day you too might have that divine nudge,

To share your journey. And it can change hearts. And change lives.

Remember that addiction comes in many forms as Miss Vicky pointed out. Drugs, drinking, electronics, your cellphone can become an addiction.

FYI. Sex pornography. Anything that disruption your normal life. It can take a grip on you,

And it can affect you in ways you don't even realize.

So, to understand my journey, we need to tick back the clock a little bit. So, we're going to go back about 45 years. Yes, that's how old I am.

Alright. So, go back to the days of of bell bottoms and and you know, flannel shirts and all of that. So, we're going to go way back. 45 years.

I was born into a typical family had a mother had a father had a sister nothing extraordinary from birth you would have never hit the red alarm and said he's going to be an addict,

What happened? My dad was an army man. He was dedicated to his service but he came from a troubled background. He was raised by an alcoholic father that did very lot of times could be very abusive to him and his brothers and sisters.

I'm sure my dad had the best of intentions when it came to raising me and to raising me different.

My mom was a nurse. She was specifically with psychiatric care. She too had her own demons. She had a very strict upbringing and own problems that happened.

But to summer predictive behaviors ran on both sides of my family so it's no wonder my journey would be a little more complicated than most.

So let's fast forward I don't want to go all 45 years that would be entirely too long and I hear there's something going on this afternoon and evening that we all kind of want to get to. So, alright. So, it's fast forward a few years. When I was around eight, my parents divorced.

Now their hearts did they just became selfish filled with bitterness and mistakes were made and,

Damari just couldn't withstand it. Now, I'm not here to argue whether divorces right or wrong. I'm not not here to talk about that. I am just sharing what witnessed in my life.

Now my mom kept the home and she got to have the privilege.

Of raising us nice all my dad in the summer is an occasionally throughout the year but he was mostly not around day to day,

Recent study that I looked at as I was going through some some growth recently.

Talked about the man being in a home and how statistically speaking when a man is in the home with children they are statistically highly less likely to engage in drugs

Gangs violent behavior criminal activity drinking,

Etcetera. No, I'm not here to downplay the moms. Moms are critical. No question about it.

The impact of a father on the child is immense and it mirrors very much the way our father god affects our lives.

So as time spent ahead I found myself in high school having moved from my childhood home where I spent most of my time in Orlando Florida and I moved out to Zephyr Hills,

The culture shock was real. If you've never been out to Zephyr Hills, it hasn't changed much in the last, you know, 50 years.

There's a prison. There's some golf courses. That's about it.

So, when I move from Orlando, Florida, I was living in the hub, the epicenter of everything cool in Florida to zepher hills. I wanted to fit in. Now, shockingly enough, I didn't touch drugs or alcohol.

Until I moved out to the country.

You think it would be the other way. Really wasn't. But I wanted to fit in so I experimented but I always remembered. I was always reminded. You've got an addicted personality. You come from an addictive background. You've gotta control it. And I thought I was.

Really I was just getting warmed up. This was just the first inning. So to speak.

So, after graduating high school, went off to college, not that I had much of a choice. My mom made it very clear that free loading was not an option in her house.

Just a side bar the way you frame your kids and their existence and seeing them as a blessing or a burden it can profoundly affect their self worth and their self esteem,

No, I'm not saying to spoil your children. I don't spoil my children.

But least let them know that they didn't ruin your life. So, jumping to my 20s and 30s, I became an educator. I was desperately trying to figure out what it meant to be a man.

I had no real mentor guiding me in my adolescent years. So, as a 20 year old, had a little bit of money.

Little bit of money. I was an educator. I turned to social media. I turned to TV, friends. They carry just as much baggage as I did.

So it was perfect fit we all just drank and laughed and tried to forget how truly lonely we all were,

We all came from broken backgrounds. We all came from family problems. So, we were all just broken people. Doing what the world told us to do. Self dedicate. And we were good at it.

So as I'm in my 20s and 30s during this time in my life I encountered a person it was destined to save me,

Not god. We'll get to him later. With my wife, Mandy, she was a true blessing. One I never knew I needed and a partner I hadn't been seeking and a friend that I would cherish forever.

Back then we were in our pre 30s.

Living for the moment. Our nights were filled with laughter. We would close down bars till 3 AM and somehow rolling to work at 7 AM. No idea how we did that. If I don't go to bed at 930 now, I am a wreck the next morning.

But in your 20s y'all can get away with that. I don't know how we did it. Anyway, now,

You'd think you would think nobody'll buy all accounts. We had a house. We had two great jobs. We had a new fun and exciting future to the outside world. We seem to have the perfect marriage.

But there was so much beneath the surface that was just waiting. To come out.

And then at 30 kids entered the picture. Wow.

Those of you who have children, you understand, those of you who don't have them yet, just wait. I know those of you who are still children, thank your parents.

For not killing you when you're a child. No. When kids enter the picture, they rock my world. I never change the diaper. I was in my 30s. I'd never changed a diaper.

Let alone raise the child. And here he was. Literally, they handed him to me. When he was born, I'm like, this is cool.

What do I do with it? I had no clue.

I had an absolutely no clue. But just so you know we it does it really does really wreck your world and it really does change things. So,

I tried to escape what I've always done. Self medicate. You have a problem? You're depressed. You're sad. You're scared. Have a drink.

So, I tried to avoid being a dad. I would stay out late. I would come home. I would go to bed. I would sleep in. I wouldn't have to deal with all the baby stuff because that was her problem.

Right?

Not so much.

All my incredibly patient and loving wife. At one point offered me a choice. Either step up, be a dad, be present. Hit the road. She wasn't going to raise a child with a man in the house by herself.

Rightfully so. Glad you were strong enough to tell me. I had to fully commit. You think I'd have the realization that I would have pushed me to get my act together. My first child, my dad now, get it together, Will.

I continue to consume accessive amounts of alcohol kind of muddling through year after year hiding it mostly and trying to just get by,

Well, 6 years later, our second son came Luke and I thought I was ready. I was like, I got 6 years of fatherhood under my belt. I got this. I know what to do.

If y'all don't know having two children it is not times two it's not a multiplier it's an exponential not used to teach math and I'll just let you know that exponentials they get really difficult really fast,

Alright those of you who have two children know exactly what I'm talking about and if you have three children bless you,

Cuz I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. I had two and I was like, baby, please, no more, please. I had a conversation with my wife one time. She's like, I want to have five and I went.

I ain't the one. So, we have two beautiful boys and we are very thankful but I continue to just muddle through year after year and,

Eventually, 2 years, 3 months, and 5 days ago, I know that because that's how long I've been sober,

An event happened. Something that changed everything. I went out at night. I was drinking with my colleagues and as the company buys, I consumed. I consumed too much.

I ended up making a critical error in my marriage and it was all to see. The secret was out.

Now with that being said all my poor choices have been brought up they caught up with me and the truth spilled out and I found myself standing at a crossroads,

Ephesians 510 through 14.

And find out what pleases the lord. Please have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness but rather expose them. It is shameful even dimension what the disobedient do and secret,

Here's the important piece. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible. And everything illuminated becomes a light.

My sin and evil had been shown light. And i had to change.

In that realization I had a choice to make sober up or leave Manny had shown me grace beyond measure but it was time for me to confront my addiction,

And I had reached the juncture facing every addict. Every addict will hit their bottom. We talk about it when you meet with other addicts. You reach a bottom. You reach a moment where it's a decision.

Do I continue with my addiction and leave every good thing in my life behind?

Do I give up the addiction and keep everything good in my life?

It's a choice. Freewill. It's what separates us from every other creature on this planet. It's the thing that god blessed us with and probably doubts himself every chance he gets.

But it's the freewill. It's our choice. So, with that, again, I was standing at a crossroads.

In that realization I had a choice so I had to go ahead and face the face the facts of the life that I really really wanted,

So I make my first real step towards true change.

Embarking on a long and often painful journey towards sobriety and accountability. It wasn't easy. I had delay bear all of my sins. You couldn't keep anything secret anymore. It was out there.

Confessing to others despite my best attempts I would deflect blame from time to time.

But the truth always came back. It was me. I was the problem.

The consequences of my actions over the years began to reveal themselves and I realized I had to face the music for what I've done,

Have we read last week and when Paul talked to the Corinthians in his second letter 12 19?

But he said my grace is sufficient for you for my powers made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness so that Christ power may rest on me.

And in your weakness you really do find yourself with the lowest point and you'll ask god why am i here? And then you reminded or he reminds you you made the choice to get here. That's why you're at the bottom but now I'm going to fix you.

I'm going to help you. I was with you this whole time.

And I'm still here. You know, for far too long, I lived under this misconception that god's love was something to be earned. You had to earn his love. So, if you did two good deeds and one bad deed, it was a net plus one.

Some mathematical equation I'm a mathematical teacher that works right now,

I was worried constantly thinking, man, if I mess up, god's going to be angry and he's going to punish me. Because that's what my dad did.

So we talk about god the father I was always punished when I screwed up. So I thought that's what God was going to do.

But through my journey I've discovered this profound truth.

God's love and grace are unconditional. They are unearned and we are undeserving and we get it anyway.

Every day all the time.

It might feel wild to think about but the realization reshaped my understanding of what faith is and what grace truly can be,

Addiction thrives in secrecy.

Often convincing us that it's manageable. That we can keep it under control. And you might even tell yourself, I only indulge a few times.

Or i can handle my intake of the seductive substance whether it's alcohol, drugs, electronics, whatever it is. You see we all wear masks to hide our true selves when we do that.

I certainly did for decades. I wore a mask around. Well, all of you. Every time I came here, I would put on my face.

And I appeared fine. How you doing Will? Fine. How are you? Fine. Fine is fine. Fine is rain. Fine. Everything's fine. Are you fine? I'm fine. You're fine. They're fine. You know who's not fine? And then we start to talk about somebody else.

But I was fine. You were fine. We were all fine. Well,

On the surface when you attend church we participate in social events and we've been to maintain this facade this positivity inside however I was struggling,

And while I am not perfect now I know stretch my wife will tell you,

I will tell you I'm sober but I'm not I'm not perfect she will tell you I can genuinely say that I'm in a better place right now because of god's grace his love and his forgiveness that I have ever been. In my entire life.

Keep in mind that our lives that we tell ourselves whether it's a diction or some other lie it's just masks we wear to present this polished exterior while hiding turmoil within will my mask shattered,

Those two plus years ago and I had no choice but to let the light in. Allowing god to work wonders in my life.

And as I was embarking on this new journey I am grateful for the incredible people who have joined me along the way lifting me at every turn my family,

My wife obviously my friends and my church community. Without even know it, you guys played a huge part.

But during a period of my life I did find the perfect group of men these brothers in Christ that offered not just support but a fresh perspective on who I am,

They're all here in the green shirts if you're wondering it was a group called Forge that we did here and it came at the perfect time.

And there's always a quote that I think about John Lennon was famously saying that life happens while you're busy making other plans and that's a fact but I think John just stole it from god because god always has a better plan.

And he knew god knew exactly when to put these men in front of me,

And it's saved me and it opened my eyes to what faith, love, grace, manhood can really be,

And what it should be. Cuz being a biblical man has nothing to do with the commercials we're going to see tonight at the game. Alright. Just so you know. Alright.

I would love to think there's going to be some biblical men commercials at the game tonight. I'm going to put money down. That's not happening.

But being in that group and being in a group of accountable man holding me accountable day after day moment after moment did you read the book did you memorize your scripture are you living a good life as Vicky says with the band groups is it well with your soul,

Having that accountability it's important life was never meant to be a singles game. You are meant to do it with others,

If you're not connected to someone, you're not accountable to a larger group of Christians.

Get some. Please, it will save you.

Now,

So if you're been told you maybe drink too much or indulge excessively in too many things take a moment and reflect,

You can't gain your habits by comparing yourself to others who drink worse. I did that for a long time. I had a lot of buddies that drink a lot more than me. And I would always tell my wife, but babe, I don't drink as much as him.

But is that the measuring stick?

I mean think about it should we be measuring ourselves again Jesus right that's the point so I just ask myself would Jesus be at the bar at 1 AM,

No. Unless he was given a parable, then maybe, otherwise, no. Would Jesus be at the beach with a cooler full of beer? No.

I did that but you shouldn't do it would Jesus be carrying on casual conversations with the opposite sex just to maybe have a night of you know.

So you can't measure yourself against that body of yours or that coworker of yours who is way worse than you. Don't do that. Okay.

Now I know some of your spouses may be nudging you right now. He got better. You knew that was going to happen. Alright, I'm sorry. You know, ladies, man, whoever may be getting nudged right now.

But that's not nudge is really AA critical invitation to start a deeper conversation first have that conversation with god,

Then you can have it with each other.

Come with the right heart come with the right attitude. If my wife had given up on me and just simply kicked me out. Which would have been the easy answer.

I wouldn't be here today. I promise you I'd be one or two places. At the bar or in the ground.

I guarantee it.

So wives don't give up on your husband's husbands don't give up on your wives it takes a strong man to take correction from a woman and it takes a stronger woman to correct that man,

So just remember it works both ways,

So, we often tell ourselves lies. We cover up our flaws. We're waiting until we get caught. Don't wait till you get caught.

My wife and I always instill in our children the own it mentality.

Screw up make mistakes. But own it. Improve upon it and get better. And that's how we live our lives.

I want to thank you for taking a moment just to reflect on this message,

As you're listening to it consider how you can help others who might be battling with an addiction and considering if you're battling with something getting help yourself we host several groups here at our church.

There would be very beneficial to you. If nothing else, find someone who can hold you accountable, find someone who you convent to, you can be with, and can make you better,

That might be the one thing you do that can save your life before it ends.

Again, thank you so much for for your time and attention. Remember, as you have these these questions, don't forget to hand it over to God. Continue to keep praying. Let's share in this journey towards healing together. Thank you.