Five Easy Ways to Wreck Your Life: Part 3, Five Easy Ways to be an Addict

(1 Corinthians 6:12) “Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything.”   What has mastered you?   We’re seeking to find what only God can provide in something besides God Himself.   5 Easy Ways to be an Addict.   1. Never admit you have a problem.   (Jeremiah 3:13) (NLT) “Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree.”   2.  Gratify your fleshly desires.   (Galatians 5:16-17) “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.”   3.  Rationalize your behavior and make excuses.   (Luke 14:19-20) “The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’”   4. Always keep your addiction a secret   (Proverbs 28:13) “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”   5. Depend on your own power, never God’s.   (Psalm 28:7) “The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.”   (2 Peter 2:19) (NLT) “They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.”   (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."   (2 Corinthians 12:9) (NLT) “Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”   (Galatians 2:20) (NLT) “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”   (Philippians 4:13) “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”   (Revelation 12:11) (GWT) “They won the victory over him because of the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. They didn’t love their life so much that they refused to give it up.”   (Proverbs 28:13) (NLT) “People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.”   (James 5:16) “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”   He alone meets every need I have.