#143 - About Promises: Joshua 21:45 & Luke 9:59-62 (Dr. Shaw)

God's Word says: "Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass." - Joshua 21:45 ESV [1] as opposed man's promises. Dr. Shaw picks apart 3 of the empty promises of the self help secular addictions world that won't be kept. The lies and empty promises found in Step 1: "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable." [2] (ADMISSION) vs Proverbs 28:13 which says, "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy." Is ignoring eternity okay? Is admission a form of concealing your transgressions? At what point was your life ever manageable? 7:47 Empty promises in Step 2: "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." [2] Is the person's problem drinking a problem of insanity or a problem of sin? What does the prevailing thought of the psychological world (of diseases and disorders) teach about insanity?  13:03 Lies/Empty promises from Step 12: "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs." [2] Who gets the glory for the results? 15:05 Does pleasing God contend with the goal of achieving sobriety? Luke 9:59-60 "To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:61-62 "Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” 17:26 Why is sobriety as your primary goal an empty promise? More training, addiction resources, and programs are found at TheAddictionConnection.org    For training to become a Commissioned Addictions Biblical Counselor with The Addiction Connection go here. www.theaddictionconnection.org/commissioning/     Contact TAC Addictions Biblical Counselors who can help here. https://www.theaddictionconnection.org/people/    Find more addiction residential programs at https://www.theaddictionconnection.org/residential-programs/ [1] Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible. [2] AA (R) Twelve Steps (R) and Alcoholics Anonymous (R) are trademarks of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services.  Alcoholics Anonymous ® The Third edition of the Big Book, the Basic Text for Alcoholics Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc, New York, 1976. The Twelve Steps(R) of AA are found at https://www.aa.org/the-twelve-steps accessed January 4, 2022.