You shall be free indeed

Objective

• To gain a working knowledge of addiction, to be able to recognize types of addictions among ourselves and our friends and to be able to have the tools to empower us to take necessary steps to get help including spiritual and professional medical help when needed.
• To recognize that addiction is both a sin and a disease that resembles a tornado that circles around the entire person from every aspect and destroys him. Hence the best way to deal with addiction is to never fall into it.
  

Memory Verse

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19)

Introduction

• If I asked you to name some addictions, what would you say? No doubt you would mention drugs,  alcohol, tobacco, gambling, pornography, sex and food. what about these things make then 'addiction"? The habitual and progressive nature of the problem you cannot stop even when you  it is harming you. So, we label these problems " addictions." In this lesson, we will not spend much
  on the type of addictions, as much as identifying the source of the problem and what the Bible teaches us about leaving our addictions behind.
  

Lesson Outlines

• Often addictions start with habits that begin at an early age. Our goal should be to empower the students to know addiction in its many forms and the everlasting effects of addictions not only on the individual student but among
  the student's friends and family.
  
• Addictions occur in many forms. The old traditional forms are addictions to substances such as nicotine, alcohol or drugs. The newer forms are behavioral addictions such as electronics, sexting, gambling, pornography, social sites (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat) etc.
  
• Of particular importance are the cyber track or footprint that many of addictions can leave behind, the spiritual damage, the social stigma, the image and the lasting effects that can haunt one in their college entrance applications or graduate school potential
  
• Marijuana is a gateway drug that opens the door to a lifestyle of addiction. Even though it is approved as a medicine and in some states even for recreation, however, it has been proven by all the experts in addiction to
  being addictive and has its negative impact on youth
• Addiction to substances such as nicotine, alcohol, and drugs can cause numerous physical and mental disorders. Behavioral addictions such as gambling and porn addictions can damage people socially, psychologically
  and spiritually.
  
• Read Mark 7:14-15. Think again about what we usually consider to be addictions. How many of those are things "outside a man's (Tobacco alcohol, drugs, food, and pornography - to name some.)
  
• How can Jesus say that none of those things make a person "unclean?"
  
• Read Mark 7:17. Well, well! The disciples had the same reaction as you did how did that happen?
  
• Read Mark 7:18-19. Is Jesus calling you stupid because you thought what He was saying was wrong? (He says we are a little slow to grasp the truth. That must mean the truth is obvious once we think about it.)
  
• What is Jesus' logic for saying that things "outside" our t body do not make us unclean? (Jesus says the things we drink, eat, ingest, smoke, et.. are processed and expelled from the body.)
  
• Read Mark 7:20-23. What is the true nature of addiction? What is the true source of addiction? (Our mind, our thoughts and our desires are at the heart of our addictions. Science has found, for example, that nicotine is one of the causes of addiction to smoking. No doubt there are physical components to addiction. But Jesus says that the real source of addiction is how we think. Our attitude towards these things.)
  

Treatment/Cure:

• Some addiction cases that develop physical dependence causing tolerance and withdrawal need professional medical treatment by a specialized addictionologist.

However, the spiritual cure is always necessary, and we will discuss it here:

• Read James 1:13-15. How does the Bible say that we slip into addiction? (It starts with our own evil desires. After we let that desire mature in our mind; "it gives birth to sin." Sin grows," full-grown"" and we find ourselves in a life-threatening situation.) What does this suggest to you about the cure? Read (Galatians 5:19-21). Are any addictions mentioned here? (Yes)
  
• Read Galatians 5:22-25. We have decided that the root of addiction is our mind, our thoughts, our heart. What steps should we take to attack the root of our addiction? ( The Holy Spirit gives us different fruit. We must ask the Holy Spirit to rule our mind, our thoughts and our heart.)
  
• When the text refers to having "crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires," is that referring to any action on our part? ("Crucified" reminds us that Jesus defeated sin. We must choose to accept Jesus' sacrifice. Thus, at a minimum, we must yield to the working of the Holy Spirit.)
  
• What is the Bible telling us to do when it says to "keep in step with the Spirit?" ( This clearly tells us that we must assert some effort to have the Spirit reign in our minds. We need to look for the standard set by God and
  walk towards it.)
  
• Can you see how this agrees with James' warning against letting sinful desires grow in our mind? Read Romans 6: 8-13. What practical steps can we take to "offer " ourselves to God instead of sin?
  
• If you make an "offer" to buy something, what steps have you taken? (You have gathered the money and taken the steps necessary to make the purchase). How would this translate into making an offer to the Holy Spirit or making an offer to your addictions? (We make logical preparations to obey rather than disobey.)
  
• Think about your addictions. Read Romans 13:14. What practical advice are we given about how to live a Spirit-led life? The Bible tells us don't think about how you can be involved in your addiction. Turn your thoughts away from the addiction and towards what Jesus has done for you.
• Will taking these practical steps to live in the Spirit and not the flesh be easy? Read (Galatians 5:16-18). No. The Bible tells us that a war is going on in our minds. Sometimes we do what we do not want to do. That does not change our battle plan.
• Friend, will you, right now, ask the Holy Spirit to come into your mind, your thoughts and your heart to help you live a life pleasing to God? will you determine to take those practical steps to walk away from your addictions and be led by the Holy Spirit?

Conclusion

• The Lord has given us His spirit to overcome and remain powerful to resist the devil and flee from him. Should one fall into addictions of any kind there are spiritual tools as well as documented and effective processes that can be used to help overcome addictions.