When Christians become addicted to any kind of addiction it is a serious condition we must deal with…and most of you already know that. We feel like the longer and farther we go in our addiction the farther we get from God. It is like He is way off in the distance…and if I want to return to him, like the Prodigal son or daughter there is a long distance we must travel and we are not sure what to expect when we arrive.
Prodigals often feel unworthy and question if God even still loves us. Better to get the food of a slave than continue eating the slop for the pigs. We might even believe that there will be stiff consequences we must deal with to be welcomed back into a restored relationship with our Father…or even the thought that He might not want us back and the door to His kingdom has been locked to us and we are destined for hell.
If you are feeling that way or thinking that your sin has separated you from God I have very good news for you and let me make it plain and simple…
YOU ARE WRONG!!!
Our enemy is the one putting those thoughts into your head. They are not true, and they are not biblical. The problem is you are being double-minded. You are not sure of your eternal salvation and believe that God’s love for you is contingent on your ability to obey Him and walk in purity…which we all have failed in miserably.
When God saved you He made you a permanent member of His family. You went from being dead in your sins and transgressions to being alive in Christ, born again spiritually, and welcomed into the Family of God. Once that happens you have become a son or daughter of God and He has promised to never leave or forsake us. And if you remain in that no man’s land of doubt you will be afraid of God and think He is done with you.
You will also drift away from fellowship with other Christians because of your secret shame and become more and more isolated. I know that because I have been there with the added motivation that I was a senior pastor addicted to porn and sex for over 8 years.
Healing from our sin begins with having the faith to believe that God still loves us AND that He still wants to make us holy. Now that work will be finished in heaven permanently. Forever we will all be perfect and conformed to the image of Christ forever. But for now, here is our condition according to Hebrews 10:14;
For by a single offering
he has perfected for all time
those who are being sanctified.
Until we get to heaven we are being sanctified and that is a process we are all in for the rest of our lives here on earth. But here is the problem we are wanting to get as much out of this life on earth as we can, be as successful as we can, enjoy what the world is offering us which is nothing compared to what our Father has for us.
And I am learning that what we have is an AWE problem. We want horizontal awe. We want others to be in awe of us…and even we want to be in awe of us. We minimize the reality of our failures and think of ourselves as better than we are. And as long as we are seeking horizontal awe our vertical awe is grown stagnant.
Here is what Paul David Tripp writes in his book titled AWE…
“Horizontal awe is obsessive and addictive because the things to which I am looking have no ability at all to give me what God can give. At best, the buzz of these things is short-lived, and because it is short-lived, I have to go back again and again. Because I have to go back again and again, I am looking for it all the time. And because it doesn’t ever really satisfy me, I need more and more of whatever it is to give me the buzz that I am seeking. Because the physical, created world will never save me, it can never provide lasting rest of heart.”
Does that not describe what we are experiencing in our sexual brokenness? We get a buzz from porn, but it is always short-lived. Because it is short-lived we must go back repeatedly. Soon we want it all the time because it is an itch we can barely scratch and after scratching it we feel the itch again and again and again…and so we are looking for it all the time.
It is the vertical awe we need. It is a strong and growing AWE of God that we really are longing for. And since this is so important we are going to camp in this idea for a few days and learn how we can increase our AWE of God. And it begins here…
My awe of God will grow stronger when I learn more about Him.
I do not want to just give you some biblical and theological answers. I want us to experience an AWE for God by experiencing Him more in our daily lives. What is it we need to do to grow in our AWE for God? Well, let’s start small and work our way up.
I believe the first way we can grow in our AWE of God is by taking the time daily to give to God the praise and thanks to Him that He deserves. Paul tells us to give thanks in everything. Psalm 100 says…
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
If you can begin to develop a heart of thanksgiving for all God has done for you it creates a foundation on which our AWE of God will grow. More tomorrow…