Jesus sets the captives free and I have proof.
My name is Leanne Friesman and this is Restoring Words Ministries and I want to talk to you
today about restoration and addiction.
I have living proof that Jesus came to set the captives free because of an amazing man
in our lives, Robert Friesman, my father-in-law, and he was a very violent, very abusive alcoholic.
It was really, really bad for many, many years and the people that were in his life suffered
greatly, horrifically because of his addiction.
He might have had a good reason to be addicted and we didn't find that out until years later.
Whatever it is that you're using in your mind to somehow justify your addiction, I've got
good news for you today.
Jesus came to set you free and I know he will set you free if you will humble yourself and
say, help me, I need help.
It takes humility and it really takes the will for somebody to decide that it's time
to get sober.
Now, I don't necessarily want to get into talking about alcohol itself because sobriety
really it has to do with a certain level of self-control and maybe you're addicted to
gambling or you're addicted to porn or meth or food or gambling.
We are to live a life in Christ that's free from addiction.
He came to set the captives free and I have proof that it can happen because I've watched
it in the life of my father-in-law.
On the other side, I have other family members I love dearly and they are hopelessly addicted.
They've been caught driving drunk three times.
They should have gone to jail.
They've done and said horrifically hurtful things.
You never know if you're talking to the person or to the alcohol.
It's why they call alcohol spirits because when someone comes under the influence of
something you're not talking to them anymore.
You're talking to the substance that is controlling them.
Somebody has to really want to get free.
My father-in-law had more common sense than a lot of other believers that are out there.
He was going to Alcoholics Anonymous and he was sitting around looking at all these alcoholics
and he knew they were still drinking and you know what he had wisdom to get out of there
and no longer affiliate with even the people at AA that were still drinking.
They were lying about what they were doing.
They were deceived.
If you want to get free of whatever it is that you're into or whatever is holding you
captive, you have to surround yourself with people that will help you and who will hold
you accountable.
Bondage will ruin your relationships.
Bondage will destroy your family.
Bondage will destroy your finances.
Any kind of addiction that you might be walking in ultimately will destroy your body.
My father had a wonderful secretary who worked for him for years and she was drinking vodka
and destroying her liver and my dad had to take her to a doctor and get her on medication
to help her get free.
If you know someone who's addicted to something, we as believers are to try to help and to
restore in love.
But being loving doesn't say, Oh, I love you so much.
I'm just going to go buy you a bottle of brandy.
No, restoring somebody in love is saying, I love you enough to tell you the truth and
hold you accountable and say, this is killing you.
You've got to get sober.
And I'm not going to enable your addiction anymore.
You know, bless my husband, it got really, really bad and at 22 years of age, he had
to basically kick his dad out of the house and out of the family and he said to his dad,
we don't want you anymore.
We don't want you in this house anymore.
We don't need you.
Get out.
now that sounds very unloving but in reality that was the most loving thing
he could have said because it was that unloving thing and that unloving action
that in reality was the moment that caused my father-in-law to admit he had
an issue and to go into treatment and the process began and because of the
confrontation he was able to go into treatment and get counseling and get
help but somebody had to confront in love and it wasn't fun who do you love
today that's addicted what's going on in your life today where you know somebody
needs help it's it's really not helpful to enable somebody if you enable a
person or you enable a person's sin or you cover up for someone I got news for
you they're just gonna do it again see an alcoholic or it doesn't matter what
you're addicted to coke meth gambling porn you know if somebody's addicted to
pornography you don't buy him a playboy somebody's an alcoholic you don't buy
him brandy okay you have to find a way in love to establish boundaries so that
you don't get in trouble and those but those boundaries for the person who's
trying to walk in but that's not legalism that's wisdom okay oh yeah
you're just so legal no this is wisdom okay if you're an alcoholic don't hang
around with people that are still drinking if if you're a gambler I went on
vacation with my family and I I had to walk through the casino to get to
another part of the ship and I'm just amazed there's all these people and
they're just and they just gonna spin those wheels one more time just one more
time I'm gonna get my payday and guess what payday never comes how much money
do you lose again it's so sad Jesus came to set the captives free you have to be
sober-minded you have to walk I put together these scriptures today on
sobriety I've got seven pages of scriptures here I could just sit down
and read you a bunch of boring scriptures in the Bible and tell you all
these promises trying to warn you that guess what the thief comes to steal kill
and destroy but God came that you may have life and you may have life more
abundantly but you're gonna have to walk in it you're gonna have to establish
some boundaries you're gonna have to put some people in your life that will not
enable your sin and you're gonna have to just with humility acknowledge that
you've got a problem see that that's really one of the issues it's really
humility you have to be humble enough to acknowledge I need help you have to be
humble enough to say this isn't working and I need help no I can I can I can do
this really
you're just gonna continue to walk in addiction and and all of these people
that you love are gonna be damaged because of your addiction it's not it's
not healthy you've got to get honest with yourself and you know what nobody
can help you nobody can the best therapists in the world cannot help you
the most compassionate family member cannot help you and even Jesus cannot
you unless you get honest and when you get honest and you humble yourself and
you admit that there's an issue and you get tired of it then you there's
something that God can work with in the meantime the other family members like
a God I'm praying I'm praying I'm praying why isn't God answering my
prayer because the human will is powerful and a person can will to stay
addicted because they will not humble themselves and acknowledge the fact that
they need Jesus and they need the Holy Spirit and they can't do it
Do it without him.
Some people can't go to God
because they have other God issues
or they have other issues in their life
that they're medicating.
Whatever you have to deal with,
whatever issue you have to dig up and confront,
whatever is buried or that you've put underground
so you won't have to deal with it
and it's in your subconscious memory,
whatever is in your closet
and you just don't want to open the door to
and deal with the issue,
whatever is causing the addiction,
I beg you in Jesus' name,
have the humility.
People love you.
People care about you.
People need you.
And you are deceiving yourself into thinking
that you can just continue to go on the way you are.
You think the addiction's just about you and your pain?
No, your addiction is destroying other people
and you won't deal with it.
And then what do you do?
You put other people around you
to accommodate your addiction.
They enable your addiction.
I'm not an enabler, you know?
If somebody's addicted, I'm gonna get rid of it.
If you have an alcoholic in your life,
you know what you need to do?
You need to go through the house
and find every single bottle and throw it out.
Pour it down the drain.
Oh, they'll be mad.
It's what you need to do.
An enabler will cover up what someone's doing,
make excuses.
I mean, my husband can tell you stories
of Christmas after Christmas,
holiday after holiday,
moment after moment where excuses were made
and nobody really wanted to deal with the real issue.
It's not gonna be helpful.
Humble yourself.
Invite Jesus into your life.
Ask him to come into your heart and into your life.
Put yourself in a place
and surround yourself with believers that will help you.
That's my prayer for you today.
There are people that will help you,
but you have to humble yourself.
You have to ask him into your heart.
In fact, I'm gonna pray for you right now.
Father, in the name of Jesus,
I pray for every listener
within the sound of my voice right now,
whether it's a family member
or whether it's someone who is addicted
or a loved one who knows and loves someone who is addicted.
God, give them wisdom and strength
and direction to deal with the addiction.
God, I ask that by the spirit of God now,
my listeners would be set free.
Lead them into paths of righteousness for your name's sake.
Bring them people in their lives
that will help them and set them free in Jesus' name.
Thank you for listening.