Please take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Proverbs if you would. Book of Proverbs chapter 20. We're going to be looking at several passages of Scripture. I'm probably going to be repeating this verse of Scripture time and time again throughout the message, but I think it bears repeating. Proverbs chapter 20 and verse 1 says, Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. It's not wise, the Bible says, for an individual to drink wine because it's a mocker or strong drink because it's raging. Amen? That's a clear declarative statement in the Word of God. Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer. Lord, we do thank You. This is an important topic, especially in Christian circles. Lord, there are so many areas of life that Christians seem to be second-guessing themselves. They seem to be changing in their belief and philosophy and their stand. There used to be a day and time where Bible-believing fundamental people would hold to the clear teaching of the Word of God, and this was a non-issue. They stood against liquor and beverage alcohol in all forms. But Lord, nowadays it seems we are trying to take on so much of the world. Lord, I pray that you would just help us to see clearly from your Word tonight. Lord, I don't want to read into Scripture. I simply want to preach your Word. I want to make the sense of it as you give indication in Nehemiah chapter 8. Dear God, I pray that you would help those who may be hanging in the balance wondering whether it's okay or not to drink beverage alcohol. Lord, I pray that they would agree with you in this matter. In Jesus' name, Amen. I know that it seems like a pretty bold prayer to be praying and some pretty bold statements, but I really believe conclusively that God is against beverage alcohol. Almost on a daily basis, we hear in one avenue of media or another, either newspaper, radio, TV, about people whose lives have been taken or they have suffered immense pain and loss because of alcohol. In fact, in the newspaper, the Free Press, just this morning, as I was perusing the pages, I saw an article that mentioned, in regards to a life being taken this very week in the province of Manitoba, and alcohol was the main factor in that life being snuffed out and brought into eternity. I don't believe that God's for that. And I believe that a lot of the fights that we hear taking place, a lot of the domestic abuse that happens in our homes and families is because of the abuse of alcohol. Like someone said, there would be no alcoholism without alcohol. I mean, that's a no-brainer, isn't it? I mean, here we spend so much money trying to combat the effects of alcohol, and then we try to say it's okay. That doesn't make sense. I want to read for you, there's a little snippet of it, I believe, in the bulletin today, and I read the bulk of the article on the radio this evening. Alcoholism, illness, disease, or sin? If polluted city water caused a disease, would you build more hospitals and continue to drink the water? If not, why do we treat alcohol like we do and promote its sale? There would be no problem of alcoholism without alcohol. If it is a disease, it is a disease without germ or virus. If it is a disease, it is a disease that is self-inflicted. If it is a disease, it is the only disease contracted by an act of the will. If it is a disease, it is the only disease that is bottled and sold over the counter for a profit. If it is a disease, it is the only disease that takes thousands of outlets in every town and city to spread it. If it is a disease, it is the only disease that provokes crime and corrupts our courts and law enforcement officials. If it is a disease, it is the only disease that turns our boys into criminals and our girls into prostitutes. If it is a disease, it is the only disease that will cause father to go home and take his baby by the heels and beat his brains out. If it is a disease, it is the only disease that will cause a mother to desert her children and leave them to the mercy of the world. If it is a disease, it is the only disease that will take the clothes from their backs, shoes from their feet, and bread from their mouths. If it is a disease, it is the only disease that is bottled and sold, causing our reformed schools, jails, and mental institutions to be filled with alcohol abusers. If it is a disease, it is the only disease that is given for a Christmas present. Liquor advertisements promoted deceptive slogans, but there is one that really tells it like it often is. Our liquor leaves you breathless. That is right. All you have to do is visit the morgue or the funeral homes of the city to see those who have been left breathless by liquor consumption. I believe we need to call liquor what God calls and thinks about it, and that is sin. And I'll show you from the book of Habakkuk, where God says it's a transgression. And a transgression is sin. In Bible study, and many of you know this already, but in Bible study, two things must be kept in mind. One is the law of first mention, and the other is the law of clear statement. And you never ignore in a clear statement, you never ignore the declarative statements because of verses that may possibly mean something else. That's one of the problems with many of the false doctrines that are prevalent today that are causing so many Christians problems today. Number one, salvation. Number two, the security of the believer is because we have set aside the clear statements of the word of God and we try to get all hung up on those verses that possibly could mean something else. And so one of the laws of Bible study is when God says something, you take that as authority and then you build everything from that premise. So the law of first mention is also another law that's so important. If you want to know about a word, you would go back to where that word is generally first mentioned. And where it's first mentioned, you say, okay, generally speaking throughout Scripture, that's probably the way God's going to use that word unless the context clearly speaks otherwise. And here we find, if you were to punch into your computer, or if you were to begin reading your Bible, and you begin making a tick mark every time you come to the word wine, you would come first and foremost to Genesis chapter 9 and verse 18. I read this passage in another service, but I'm going to read it again because of the emphasis of this message, and also because of the liquor referendum coming up, and also because there are Christians that are halting between two opinions and trying to justify the use of beverage alcohol, and God's against it. And here we see an event taking place in the life of a family and how devastating liquor is to families. I mean, when I have a nine-year-old boy call me a couple years ago and ask me to come to his house because his dad's passed out on the floor, and I have to drag him over to his couch, and lay him on the couch, and wait till he sobers up, something's wrong with that. My God's not involved in that kind of stuff. When I hear about the men going and taking their paychecks and dropping it in the booze bottle rather than paying their mortgage payment and their car payment and taking care of their children, something's wrong with that. My God's not involved in that kind of stuff. He's not going to be anywhere near that kind of stuff. He's not going to hobnob with that kind of stuff. He's not in any way, shape, or form going to even use that in any way, shape, or form, even in communion. The law first mentioned, Genesis chapter 9, verse 18, it says, I trust you're there. It says, And the sons of Noah that went forth of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Ham is the father of Canaan. These are the three sons of Noah, and of them was the whole earth overspread. Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard, and he drank of the wine and was drunken, and he was uncovered within his tent. You notice how that nakedness Loose living always seems to go along with the liquor industry. You see, there are so many sins that are connected with alcohol. We're not just talking about drunkenness here. We're not just talking about the use and drinking something at a meal. We're talking about the whole ball of wax and we're talking about the train that's hooked up to it. Amen? And it says here that he was uncovered within his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren with half. And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered, it says, and covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him, and he said, Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren." Go to Genesis chapter 19. Genesis 19, we have the destruction in the earlier portion of the Scripture of Sodom and Gomorrah. And then Lot has been delivered. According to Peter, it tells us that the Lord knows how to deliver the righteous out of judgment. And here we find when judgment came to Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot being a just man, as the Scriptures tell us, God delivered him before the fire fell. He went out into the wilderness, and here we pick up the account in Genesis chapter 19, and I begin in verse 30. And Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountain and his two daughters with him. For he feared to dwell in Zoar, and he dwelt in the cave, he and his two daughters. Remember, his wife had turned back, wanting the old way, and she was turned into a pillar of salt. It says in the firstborn, said unto the younger, verse 31, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. See the diabolical planning that these two girls had to commit incest with their father. I mean, how despicable. How terrible! And you see, there's another sin connected to the alcohol industry. And we want to have a part in that. We want to say that's okay. We want to say it's not a big deal, it's just a relative of how much you drink. How much is too much. The first drop is too much. And it says here, come let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father, and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the morrow that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesterday night with my father, let us make him drink wine this night also, and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. They made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him, and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father." And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab, the same as the father of the Moabites unto this day. And the younger she also bare a son, and called his name Benami, the same as the father of the children of Ammon unto this day." And you see, many of the problems that happen in the Middle East today is because of the sin that happened in these early chapters in the book of Genesis. Amen? So we see that the clear statement of the Word of God in Proverbs chapter 20 and verse 1, it says, wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whoever is deceived thereby is not wise. You want to be called a dummy? You want God to look at you and say, you're a dummy? I mean, nobody wants to be called a dummy. I mean, that's fighting words, right? I mean, somebody comes up to you and says, you're a dummy. I mean, your sister doesn't even get away with that. Your brother doesn't even get away with that, right? Amen. Get the amens. And here God says, if you're deceived by strong drink and wine, you're not wise. You're not smart. That's not the thing to do. Stay away from it. That is a clear statement from the Word of God. Then you go to the illustrations and you find these illustrations and you say, look, I don't need that kind of stuff. I don't want that kind of stuff. I don't want my family involved in that kind of stuff. Amen? Amen. Now, what I've done is I have, we pulled off the website that they have at the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba, and then we also had them send us a hard copy that gives all the stats for Canada, for the province of Manitoba, in regards to alcohol. And so this is put out by the Alcohol Addictions Foundation of Manitoba. It's put out by them. This covers, it's reprinted in August 2003. It covers 2002. In 2004, they'll have the stats for this year. But so, as I read this, I'm going to read some things to you because I want you to know that I'm not just dreaming this up and I'm not just, you know, I just didn't you know, fall off the watermelon truck and bump my head somewhere. And I'm not just trying to raise a standard and make a stink in the community and try to be hard to get along with. But I want you to look at this, and you hear this, that you're going to want anything to do with alcohol. I don't think any Christian in his right mind will want to have anything to do with the liquor crowd. Now, during the gin epidemic of 1720 to 1750 in Britain, distillers produced strong, cheap, and plentiful spirits. Gin became highly popular among the urban poor, and resulting problems grew to such an extent that Parliament passed an Act in 1751 putting a high tax and restrictions on the sale of strong spirits to discourage consumption. So the taxation of the liquor industry began to try to discourage its use instead of promote it. But yet what they found out is they started making a lot of money in the sale of it. They started taking more advantage of the poor because the poor, who were drinking it before the tax, still wanted it after the tax. According to the World Health Organization, Alcohol-related death and disability cost to life and longevity exceed those caused by tobacco and are on par with the disease burden associated with unsafe sex. And we get all up in arms when we hear about HIV and all that, but how about the alcohol industry? You know, I mean, look at the cost involved, the money involved. And we'll just let you know that the country of Canada spent 13 billion dollars. Some 31 million people in this country spent 13 billion dollars on liquor. And we're wondering about the poor. We're wanting raises. We're wondering how we're going to make it the next week, the next month, the next year. I mean, we just need to cut that off and we'd have 13 billion more dollars flooding into the economy. Men do most of the drinking worldwide. According to the data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the production of beer and distilled spirits has risen, while production of wine has generally fallen. Spirits account for the highest volume of global production in thousands of hectoliters, followed by beer and wine. men, young adults, and those with higher incomes, post-secondary education, and current employment are more likely to drink here in Canada. So it's not just for the poor. We find predominantly in our developed nation that actually the educated, those who are the up-and-comers, those who are the movers and shakers, seem to be those who are the most likely to drink. It asks this question, have different countries determined a relationship between alcohol consumption and suicide rates? Studies in Hungary and Portugal have illustrated the close correlations between per capita alcohol consumption and suicide rates. Alcohol dependence was one of the two most prevalent chronic mental disorders among those who committed suicide in Taiwan while alcohol abusers in Norway were 6.9 times as likely to commit suicide as the general population. How are other people affected by other people's drinking? That's a question that's asked. And here's the answer. Almost half the people surveyed in the General Social Survey, 43.9%, say they have had problems from other people's drinking, such as being disturbed by loud parties, being insulted or humiliated, and having a serious argument. Once again, it talks about here in 1999 and the year 2000, Canadians spent $3.36 billion on spirits, 2.93 billion on wines, including cider, sparkling beverages, and coolers, and 6.72 billion on beer, for a grand total of 13 billion on alcoholic beverages. That's a lot of money. That's statistically proven. That's not some fuddy-duddy, fundamentals, Bible-preaching preacher who's got an extra grind. These are the facts. My God's not involved in that. Why do AFM clients drink? It's reported a wide variety of reasons for drinking and using other drugs. The clients attending programs in 2000-2001 reported that they sometimes or usually used alcohol or drugs for the following top five reasons. Number one, to socialize or to have fun. If we're going to need alcohol in one hand to enjoy a hockey game, if we're going to need a beer in one hand to enjoy a game of Monopoly, there's something wrong with us. When we have to alter the truth and what reality is so that we can have fun, so that we can socialize, something's desperately wrong with that kind of life. Also, number two, for the high. People like the buzz. 65.8% said, hey, that's why we like the buzz we get. We like to be able to forget. Number three, to relieve emotional pain. I want you to know as we look at the statistics and I read through these things, do you realize that Jesus Christ to the believer is to be the help in every single one of these situations? You want to have a proper social life? Follow the Lord Jesus Christ. You want to be relieved from emotional stress? Look to Jesus Christ, the author and finisher of our faith. Amen? I mean, He's the healer of our diseases. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice, the Bible says. Let your moderation be known unto all men. Be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God that passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. That's what God will do for you. Not a bottle. You see, He'll give you lasting peace, and as Proverbs 23 points out, and we'll look at that in a moment, Proverbs 23 points out that when you get high in a bottle, then when you get off that high, you've got to get back in the bottle to get back that high. But when you have Jesus, He's enough. Paul said, who's sufficient for these things? Our sufficiency is of Christ. He's to be our all in all. Amen? Amen. It also says 60.4% said that they drink out of habit. And number five, to cope with problems. To cope with problems. People are trying to leave reality, trying to bury their pain, trying to ignore their pain, trying to run for their pain instead of face it and take it to the foot of the cross. What is the relationship between having a drinking problem and getting into trouble with the law? According to Addictions Foundation of Manitoba client data, just over 70% of the clients involved in adult rehabilitation programs in 2000 and 2001 reported that they have been charged or convicted of a criminal offense at some point in their lives. 70%. How much money is added to the Manitoba economy as a result of the sale and regulation of alcoholic beverages? And I believe this is where the rubber meets the road. And I believe what's behind the liquor industry is one thing, and that's money. They want our money. They want our money. There's big money, big profit in liquor. According to the 2001 Annual Report, the general and administrative expenses of the MLCC amounted to $36.6 million. That figure includes $23.5 million for salaries and benefits, $4.1 million paid out for leased and rented premises, 961,000 for maintenance and repairs, 1.1 million for delivery charges, and 1 million for advertising, promotions, and social responsibility programs. But they take in a huge sum of money. It says revenues for the year ending March 31, 2001. Now notice, the total expenses to regulate And to have the sale of alcoholic beverages came to $36.6 million. What were the revenues? $400.8 million, which is $7.3 million more than the previous year. Says a lot right there, doesn't it? They want our money. The recipient of MLCC's net profit is the province of Manitoba. In 2000-2001 this amounted to $158.6 million, an increase of $2.3 million over the previous year. Oh, can communities in Manitoba be dry? Yes. According to provincial legislation, a municipality can be under local option, meaning that a majority of eligible voters have voted against the local sale of liquor. Once this local bylaw is passed, all liquor stores and licensed premises must cease operations and no new ones can be established. Sounds good to me. Is alcohol a stimulant or a depressant? Alcohol is a depressant. High doses of alcohol produce motor impairment, sedation and sleep. However, shortly after a small amount of alcohol is taken, stimulatory effects such as increased spontaneous motor activity occur. These effects are similar to, but weaker than, those that occur after using the amphetamines and other stimulant drugs. Because alcohol can produce first stimulation and then depression, its actions are said to be biphasic. Interesting, isn't it? Interesting. And then it goes on to let you know how it works in the body. Alcohol affects the central nervous system. It is immediately absorbed into the blood after it passes directly through the walls of the stomach and small intestine. The bloodstream then carries it to the liver and the brain. Thus, even the first few sips of alcohol can cause changes in mood and behavior. While in the body, alcohol is metabolized, meaning burned or broken down, by the liver at a fairly constant rate, when a person drinks faster than the alcohol is metabolized, it accumulates in the body and causes intoxication. Notice a few sips affect you. Affect you. You know, that's why the Bible says, don't be drunk with wine. Well, what does it mean to be drunk with wine? You're affected by the first drink. And to that extent, I've met people that when they take that first drink, their son, they can down a 24 and just seemingly keep on clicking and you wonder, how in the world? And then you find others, they down one. And they've got slurred speech. The human body is affected differently in regards to that. But the Lord says in another clear statement, don't be drunk with wine, where it is excess, but be filled with the Spirit, not spirits. The Holy Spirit. Amen? And so what we've done as a society, and we have cut God out of the equation, and instead of acting and trying to get close to Him, we're trying to find our peace and contentment and happiness in something else other than God. And that plays us right into Romans chapter 1, that we don't like to retain God in our knowledge. We don't like to give Him His due. We don't like to bend the knee to Him. And yet, that's exactly what we need to do. We need to submit to His authority in our lives and do things His way. I've got so many things listed here, and I don't want to bore you, but at the same time, I want to give you enough of a background in this so that you can have a good idea. How does alcohol affect attention and memory? Alcohol impedes the capacity to absorb information from more than one source at the same time to switch from one source of information to another. Higher levels of alcohol also adversely affect attention, measured in reaction time, like breaking. Acceleration. Some tests measuring speed and accuracy suggest that alcohol affects accuracy and consistency more than speed. Memory storage processes are particularly disrupted by alcohol. Intoxicated drinkers have trouble processing new information and recalling it later. With acute doses of alcohol, memory blackouts may occur without loss of consciousness. Alcohol impaired drivers require more time to read a street sign or to recognize and respond to traffic signals than those who are sober. Accidental injuries are unfortunately a common side effect of excessive drinking. For example, in Manitoba in 1992, People who were injured in a fall while drunk spent a collective total of 15,894 days in the hospital recovering from their injuries. 16 Manitobans died as a result of injuries from accidental falls. That's for one year. 2000 and 2001 annual statistical review revealed that AFM adult rehabilitation clients had experienced several emotional problems and issues such as depression, anxiety, grief. Those three because of alcohol. Does alcohol affect women differently than men? A woman who drinks the same amount of alcohol as a man of the same weight will have a blood alcohol level that is approximately 25% higher. This is because women have about 20% more body fat than men and alcohol is not very fat soluble. Then it goes on and gives you the three different stages of alcohol control. I'm not going to read that. Notice this, it says, low-risk drinking guidelines. You know, when the government gets involved or somebody gets involved trying to, instead of coming right out and saying, don't do it, don't do it, don't do it, they try to dance around the issue because they don't want to be dogmatic on something and go on record. Guideline number three, it says, if you abstain, do not start drinking alcohol for its protective benefits against heart disease. And I hear this amongst believers so much trying to justify liquor. You know, they say if I drink alcohol, then it's going to thin my blood down. It's good for my heart. But here they're telling you that, hey, don't start doing it. There are less risky alternatives. Amen. Okay. Guideline five. People who should not use alcohol or who should limit their use to less than the guidelines include. people with certain health problems such as substance dependence, uncontrollable high blood pressure, liver disease or psychiatric illness, people taking certain medications such as sedatives and painkillers, people with a personal or family history of serious drinking problems, women who are pregnant trying to conceive or breastfeeding, people who are operating vehicles such as automobiles, motorcycles, boats, snowmobiles or bicycles, people who need to be alert. It sounds like almost everybody, right? Okay? And it said, people who should not use alcohol are these people that I'm reading about. Okay? People who need to be alert while working on machinery, while engaging in challenging physical activities, or when responsible for the safety of others or public order. How about yourself? Okay? And then lastly, people who are under any legal or other restriction on drinking personally or because of their environment. Folks, just leave it alone. And now, it's a shame. You know when someone trusts Jesus Christ as their personal Savior? You know what they do? They want to leave off liquor. Then they get with a bunch of people over here who say, I'm saved, I'm on my way to heaven. It's okay if you have a few. They're trying to justify their sin. These people have been delivered from sin, from the chains of sin, and they don't want to get back in the bondage. And so Christians need to say, look, even if I have to take heat, even if I'm misunderstood, even if I'm hated, even if it costs me money, even if it costs me a job, even if it costs me ridicule and criticism, then I'm willing to do it because it's right. And that's part of leadership. Leadership is not just taking the benefits of a position. Leadership is accepting the responsibility of a said position. And Christians, we're to be leaders. We're to be lights in this world. Amen? And so that means we're going to have to take the heat sometimes. And all they that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Just mark it down. The liquor industry is not going to like us. They're going to think we're fuddy-duddy. They're going to slowly but surely, they're going to try to have that undercurrent. They're going to try to get us somehow, some way. You say, Pastor, you're one of those conspiratorial... No! It's just the way it is. Study history. Liquor wants to come into this community. And what's going to happen if it comes in and something happens to a life or someone loses a limb? What's going to happen when we make it so readily accessible? Are we going to hear this message again? Are we going to hear, well, you know, they're going to start making those excuses. They're going to absolve themselves of the responsibility. Why? Because of that right there. You know, I don't care if people want to hold conventions in Winkler, we don't even get on their radar screen. We talk about a progressive community, and this community has grown. I've been here for 15 years, and I've been seeing some great growth. It's on the verge of growing more, and I don't think liquor is going to be the cause of it. And liquor didn't bring us to this point. If anything, the back behind the liquor industry has actually hurt us. Just ask some of the families that have to contend with it. How about the people that have been saved out of that room? And you've been delivered from alcoholism. And we shouldn't put our stamp of approval on a slave by it. It is a substitute to the Lord Jesus Christ. And just by the word spirits, I want to be filled with spirits. You want to be filled with spirits? That sounds demonic to me. I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Amen? There's a difference. A big difference. Praise the Lord. Oh my. Where do you stop and start? Is alcohol a drug of choice for Manitoba high school students? Yes. Alcohol was the drug most used by Manitoba high school students during 2001. As mentioned previously, just over 80% reported using alcohol in the past year, compared to the third most used drugs, tobacco and marijuana, which were used by 39.5%. Other drugs used by a smaller percentage, and it goes on the list, those. But that was the number one. Where are students drinking? The most common location for students drinking was at parties. and at a friend's house, as reported by those surveyed who drank in the past year. Socials were also popular with 56.3% drinking there, while 50.8% reported drinking at their parents' or guardians' house. Come on, parents. You say, but somebody gave me a bottle of wine when my baby was born. Get rid of it. I went over to the guy's house and had trouble with alcohol, and he said, in his drunken stupor, he said, I'll show you, Pastor Sullivan, I don't need this stuff anymore. And he pops that lid, and he set that bottle in the center of the table, and he said, I won't touch that. And I said, and I called his name, I said, you better pour that down the sink right now. In fact, I'll do it for you if you let me. He said, no, I won't touch it. I said, if you don't pour that down, when I leave here, by the time I get back, you'll have that thing drunk. And you know what? I left for an hour and came back, and it was empty. And not only that one, but several other bottles. My God's not involved in that. Students reported the highest consumption when the reason for drinking was to get drunk, followed by to celebrate or at a party, to forget their worries, and to feel good. That was the reasons for college students. Here's what were some of the consequences of drinking for college students. The most frequent drinking consequences reported were having a hangover, regretting their actions, memory loss, missing classes due to a hangover, and missing classes due to drinking. Of the hazardous drinking measures, students were most likely to report having unplanned sexual relations. How many virgin men and women have lost their purity because of alcohol? My God's not involved in that. He says, resist the devil and he'll flee from you. And anything that alters your ability to say no, you need to stay away from. It says, driving a car after drinking too much, drinking while driving, and having unsafe sex. Male students were significantly more likely than women to report experiencing both of the drinking and driving consequences. My, how much do you have to read before you get the idea? I mean, this is statistically proven stuff that the world tracks for themselves. If we didn't have any Bible verses alone, but just general principles, and forget the clear statements, if we just had the general principle of the Word of God, you'd have to say, that's not for us. That's not for us. Are the reasons that seniors drink alcohol different from younger people? Yes. As people age, they face substantial changes in their lives. In varying degrees, these changes can include environmental, social, psychological, and health changes. Loss, which is not a common theme for youth, can be an overriding element of this change for some seniors. And then they list some of the other reasons. Loss of loved ones. Loss of self-identity and income that accompanied paid work. Loss of health resulting in increased illness and possibly chronic pain. Loss of self-esteem and personal dignity in a society that reveres youth. Geographical separation of family members. Loss of privacy with both spouses at home all the time. Loss of body functions and skills. Loss of sensation as senses become less acute with aging. Loss of thinking ability, perhaps the most traumatic loss. Sometimes seniors turn to alcohol as a form of self-medication for chronic pain or to help them sleep. Ironically, alcohol may help a person initially fall asleep, but can cause wakefulness later in the night. Suicide among the elderly is a major issue. In the US, the rate of suicide for those over 65 is five times that of the general population, and after 75, the rate is eight times higher. Depressive disorders are also more common among the elderly than among younger people and tend to co-occur with alcohol misuse. Among persons older than 65, moderate and heavy drinkers are 16 times more likely than non-drinkers to die of suicide, which is commonly associated with depressive disorders. My, you think God's in that? I don't think so. A troubled child can be an indication of alcohol problems in the family. Also, boys of alcoholic parents are more likely to suffer from attention deficit disorders with hyperactivity than are children of non-alcoholic parents. Girls of alcoholic parents are more likely to experience eating disorders or depression later in life. And you remember the statistic already that over half the young people said that they were drinking there under the watchful eye and with the stash of their parents and guardians. Families with an alcoholic member unconsciously develop three rules. Don't talk, don't trust, and don't feel. Is there a relationship between alcohol and family violence? The National Violence Against Women Survey concluded that alcohol was a prominent factor in wife assault. In one half of all violent relationships, the abuser was drinking. The rate of assaults against women who lived with men who drank regularly, four times a week, was triple the rate of those who lived with men who did not drink. The risk of violence by men who frequently consumed alcohol was six times the risk of violence from men who did not drink at all. How many family program clients have been abused? As well as growing up in a family with an addicted member, a large percentage of these clients report that they have been emotionally, verbally, physically, and or sexually abused sometime in their lives. 85.4% have been verbally abused, 83% have been emotionally abused, 49% have been physically abused, and 34.7% report experiencing sexual abuse. Now this talks about the effects of alcohol on the unborn child. Consumption of alcohol during pregnancy is the leading known cause of birth defects and mental disabilities. And then it's astounding that they would put this in print. It is 100% preventable. FAS was first defined and recognized as a birth defect in 1973. However, the connection between drinking during pregnancy and the harmful impact on children was recorded as early as the 18th century during the gin epidemic in England. A report to the British Parliament suggested that the gin problem caused weak, feeble, and distempered children who must become the charge of their country. If a woman drinks when she is pregnant, her baby drinks too. Alcohol passes through the placenta and onto the baby. This can have devastating effects on a child even before it is born. Alcohol can hurt the baby even before the mother feels its effects. And it stays in the baby longer than in the mother because the baby's system is unable to break it down. Alcohol can damage a growing baby's brain, organs, and body. This damage can affect how a baby thinks, acts, looks, and learns as a child and an adult. There is no known safe amount of alcohol a pregnant woman can drink. The tragedy of FAS is that it is entirely preventable. My. Sort of get the idea that you need to leave alone. With alcohol consumption, I'm almost done with the facts here. With alcohol consumption, the ability required to coordinate all these actions diminishes the more one drinks, even at low BACs, blood alcohol content. Subtle changes affect driving ability. For example, after drinking, rapid eye movement slows down and drivers make fewer visual scans, tending to look at one thing, such as a traffic sign, for longer periods of time. Therefore, important objects in other parts of the environment can be missed. As well, drivers experience reduced ability to judge the distances between moving objects. Some at BACs as low as .02. Night driving brings additional problems as low levels of alcohol impairs one's ability to adjust to sudden darkness. So recovering from the glare from oncoming traffic lights takes longer. People drive even after they have been drinking for three main reasons. One, they don't plan ahead. Two, they make decisions after consuming alcohol when their judgment is altered. I mean, have you ever talked to a drunk who admitted that he was drunk? Hardly ever. Most of them say, I'm not drunk. And they're drunk. How many times have you ever watched cops to protect them to serve, and they show them trying to take these tests that are on the highway? And what happens? People say, I've been drinking. I only had one or two. Well, already they lie. They said they hadn't been drinking, but only one or two. And then they can't pass the test. Why? Because they're drunk. They take risks. They feel they won't get caught rather than thinking about injuries they may cause to themselves or others. And what percentage of motor vehicle collisions in Canada is alcohol involved? Motor vehicle collisions were the cause of almost half, that's 48 percent, of all reported severe injuries in Canada during 1999-2000. The Canadian Institute for Health Information reports that one out of every eight of these collisions involved individuals who had consumed over the legal limit of alcohol. Has the number of traffic deaths from alcohol-related traffic collisions decreased. On average, about three people a day die on Canadian roads. How many of the fatal collisions in Manitoba is alcohol a factor? In 1999, 64.7% of the at-fault drivers in fatal traffic collisions had consumed alcohol. Of these, 38.2% had their driving ability impaired by alcohol, 26.5% had been drinking. In how many of these collisions resulting in injury is alcohol factor. Alcohol consumption was a factor in 27% of collisions resulting in injury. Of these, 19.9% of the at-fault drivers had their ability impaired by alcohol and 8% had been drinking. And you know what? For snowmobilers, it's worse. Of the 70.6% of fatality injured snowmobile operators who tested positive, about 1 in 5 were under the legal limit. Under the legal limit. And further, 25.8% were over the legal limit, with BACs between .08 and .15. And over half the drivers were well over the legal limit. Folks, God's not in this. There's no way in the world you can justify liquor. No way. Why is it when we read in the Scriptures, that we immediately think that when wine is mentioned, it's fermented wine? It's amazing how we get some ideas in our minds. And as soon as wine is mentioned, we immediately think it's fermented. Let me prove something to you. Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 10, it says that when we give, it says, So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. the presses of what was used to squeeze the grapes. When I was in Israel, what they had done is they had hewn some pool, it almost looked like kiddie wading pools, if you please, and it was down a hillside, and in the rock they had hewn out these vats, and they would throw the grapes in there, and I know this sounds gross, but what they would do is they would have people come and they would just start stomping the grapes and getting all this juice out. Isn't that gross? And what would happen is they had hewn in the rock. They had little, what do you call them, ruts, and the juice would come out of the grapes, out of this vat, and it would run into another pool that was hewn out of the rock, and you'd have other people that would be stomping any of the residue that had come down from the top. They would do this, and then at the bottom, they would catch this, and they would put it in containers for storage. And so when it talks about the presses shall burst out with new wine, it's talking about grape juice. It's not talking about fermented juice. So every time you see the word wine, if you look at yayin, which is the Hebrew word for you guys in the language, if you look at oinos, which is the Greek word for wine in the Bible, it can mean both. It can mean fermented, or it can mean unfermented. And so what you have to do is you look at the word, but you also see the context. Amen? God's not afraid to have His Word studied. And He's clear on this. Wine is a mocker. Strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." Now, storage was a problem back in those days. What they would do is many times they would take and they would, as we saw in Luke chapter 5 today, they would take the grape juice and they would put it in new wine skins. You know, the temperature varies quite a bit in the Middle East. It can go to the extremes past 30, easy, 35, easy in the daytime and then drop down almost freezing at night. So the storage, the ability to store back in those days, they didn't have GE. They didn't have refrigerators. And so they would have to find a cave. They'd have to find a cool spot. They would actually use some cisterns and they would drop the wine skins many times into the wells so that it would keep cool. So fermentation would begin to take place immediately. And so at varying degrees, depending on the temperature, you would have varying degrees of fermentation. And so it was very tough to store. So what they did as well is they would take and they would boil off the juice and make a paste out of it. And then when it came time to drink, if they had that paste, they would take some water and then they would scrape the paste into the water and stir it. Like we would like a tea or something like that, or maybe you get some Hershey's chocolate and you put that in some milk or something, you stir it up. That's how they would do with the grape juice. And they would have their drink that way. Okay? Let's go now to the controversial passage of Scripture in John chapter 2, where Jesus turns the water into wine. He did not turn the water into an alcoholic beverage. John chapter 2. Verse 1. Now, if you were to study out the word, the semantic, the word. You know, the study of words is etymology. If you were to study wine, it has the meaning of what you drink, but it's also always brought in the idea of a time of celebration. And that's what a wedding is. Now, when we think today of wine and celebrating, we think of alcohol. But you know, it was a mark of high society if you could have the cleanest and best juice available, especially out of season. And it showed the prosperity of the family. I mean, if they could have the juice from the grapes, that showed that, hey, they were wealthy individuals. They were social individuals. It wasn't that they were drunks or promoting drunkenness. I mean, you think you've got to get drunk on your wedding night? That doesn't make sense. You don't want to know what's going on when you're married? Hello? You know, the reasoning. We need to think this thing through. Amen? It says here, in the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there, and both Jesus was called in as disciples to the marriage, and when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus said unto him, they have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And you see, that's how they would initially take the juice that was pressed from the wine press in these containers, and then they pour it into wine skins, or then they would take it over to a vat and boil it, and things of that nature, for storage. But he's taken the containers there, fills them with water, and he said unto them, draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast, and they bear it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was, but the servants withdrew the water new, the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, and said unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine, and when men have well drunk, than that which is worse, but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory, and His disciples believed on Him." He's talking about fresh juice. He's not talking about a fermented juice because at what level fermentation is there? At what level do you say this is good? There's only one standard of good when it comes to the wine, the grape juice. And that's when it's freshly squeezed. He was given pure juice. And the medicinal aspects of that, it's clear scientifically that the health benefits in grape juice are greater than those in any kind of alcoholic beverage you might get your hands on. Isn't that good? God's not going to be in any way, shape or form connected with the liquor industry. Now, I'm almost done, I promise. I do not need an alcoholic drink to celebrate my anniversary. I don't need an alcoholic drink to celebrate a victory. I don't need an alcoholic drink to celebrate the birth of a child. I don't need an alcoholic drink to conduct and seal a business deal. I don't need a drink to forget my problems. And I definitely don't need a drink to deal with life's disappointments. Jesus will help me through that. Amen? He wants to be our all in all. Let's real quick, like now, go to Proverbs chapter 23. I appreciate your patience, especially the guests here. We've got the privilege of baptizing tonight. It's exciting. Proverbs chapter 23, verse 26, it says, My son, now this is Solomon giving instructions to his son. And he's telling him how to get along with his fellow man. He says, My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. For a whore is a deep ditch, and a strange woman is a narrow pit. She also lieth in wait as for prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men, who hath woe, who hath sorrow, who hath contentions, who hath babbling, who hath wounds without cause, who hath redness of eyes. They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine, look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright." If you know anything about fermentation, if you look at it when it's fermenting and it's working, it's active, if you please. I know when I worked at the prison, they'd make hooch. And boy, you'd get a hold of some, you'd look at that hooch and it'd just be working there in the container they were trying to make that stuff with. And notice it says here, you're not even to look at it. That's pretty clear, isn't it? Well, Pastor, I think it's okay to drink. Well, how are you going to grab that glass when you don't know where it is? Because you're not looking at it. Right? Amen? Don't look at it, it says, when it gives us the color in the cup. It says, at the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an ant. He said, but it feels good. But not at the last. Not at the last. You know, the Bible says there's pleasure and sin for a season. People say, oh man, I went out and got drunk Friday night. Boy, it's the greatest thing. Hey, it's not the last yet. It's not the last. The Bible says, At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mass. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick. They have beaten me, and I felt it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again. And that's the merry-go-round of someone caught up in alcoholism. Seeking it again. Seeking it again. Seeking it again. Seeking it again. Gotta have some more. Gotta have a little bit more than I had before because I'm trying to get that same high that I experienced before. And on and on the vicious cycle goes. Proverbs chapter... Let's go to Habakkuk chapter 2. Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 5. Yea, also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, that gathereth unto him all nations, and keepeth unto him all people. Go to chapter 2, verses 15 and 16. Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that putteth thy bottle to him, and maketh him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness." Notice it's all combined. It says, Thou art filled, verse 16, with shame for glory. Drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered. The cup of the Lord's right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory. How embarrassed people have been when they've come out of drunken stupors, not really knowing what had happened. And other people say, You did this and this and you said this. And they're embarrassed beyond measure. Am I right or wrong? I've given this illustration before when I worked at the Indiana State Prison when I was going to Bible school. I don't know how many times guys were in prison because of alcohol-related crimes. One guy found that his wife was cheating on him. He went out and got drunk and he got his pistol. When they were coming out of the motel, he dropped five slugs into her. All of a sudden realized what he had done, threw him in the back seat of the car, and drove to the hospital. And the woman lived. But he did some time. There's another man, a grandfather. I could say his name. At that time, he was 67 years of age. When he should have been bouncing his grandchildren on his knee, he was doing 10 years in the maximum security prison. Because he went to the bar one night, got himself drunk, And on the way home, he slammed head-on into a car, and inside that car was a dad and a son, and both of their lives were taken. And by his own testimony to me, he said, he said, Officer Sullivan, I sat during all the court proceedings in Indianapolis, Indiana, hearing about the horrific crash and the fire that ensued that vehicle and killed that dad and that boy. And he said, I don't remember a thing about it. So night after night, he pillowed his head in prison for a crime he doesn't even remember, because he was drunk. Folks, my God's not in that. Wine is a mocker. Strong drink is raging. Whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 22, even if you want to walk the precipice and see how close to the world you can get, the Bible says, abstain from all appearance of evil. There's so much evil connected with the liquor crowd. We need to abstain from all appearance of evil. Write down, if you're taking notes, 1 Corinthians chapter 8. That's another principle to keep in mind. And I'm going to close with this passage of Scripture in Romans chapter 14. Romans chapter 14. I'm going to read verse 19 through verse 23. As you know, in Paul's writings, he spends the first half of the book usually laying out doctrine. And then he takes the second half of the book And He tells us how to live out that teaching. You never just run to the closing chapters of His book and try to find out how to live. You've got to believe right if you want to live right. The problem with many believers today is they don't know what they believe, so they don't know how to live. And that's why we end up living and doing certain things, and then we look back and say, man, I made a mess of things. If you go back and try to find out what God says, and how you're supposed to believe and act, then you'll be able to act. Amen? Because you'll have the clear instructions. So here you get to the book of Romans, and you get to the last few chapters here, and he says this in verse 19. Let us therefore follow after the things that make for peace. And things wherewith one may edify another. That word edify means to build. It means to build. In other words, everything that you and I as believers are involved in ought to build people up, not tear them down. Right? We shouldn't gossip about someone. We shouldn't be filled with passing rumors all over the place. Why? That tears people down. You see, we're to edify one another. Verse 20, For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for that man who eateth with offense. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak." Now I believe that there's a lot of folks here that are sincere about this issue. And you want to know what's right. But would you not agree with me, even if you disagree with all the Scripture I've pointed out to this point, would you not agree that this is a controversial subject in the Christian community? Would you not agree that there are many people who are offended by those who drink alcoholic beverage? Would you not agree that people are offended if they see you drinking wine? Would you? It says here, "...it is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak." That alone ought to say, we're against. We're against. We're against. We're against. We're against. We're against. So I say, God's already voted on the issue. He says no. I think we ought to agree with God on that. and say no. Amen? Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Let's all stand with our heads bowed and our eyes closed please. I know that this message tonight was focused exclusively on the Bible and alcohol. And there's other verses of Scripture we could have handled, but we could be here till midnight. But we tried to show in just two simple Bible study principles of the law first mentioned and the clear statement principle on what God says in regards to this issue. But it could be that there's someone here tonight and you're not saved. You don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. We never want to take for granted that everyone knows Jesus as Savior. But if God has spoken to your heart tonight at some point in the message, maybe it's not been anything I've said, but God has just pricked your conscience and said, you know, I'm not a child of God. I need to be saved. We're going to give an invitation in just a moment, and when we do, we're going to invite you to come forward, not to embarrass you, But if you'd like to be saved, we'd be thrilled to have someone take the Word of God and point you to Jesus. We're not asking you to join the church tonight. We're not asking you to be baptized tonight. We want to show you the way of salvation. Salvation is not in a church. It's not in an ordinance. It's in a person. The person is Jesus Christ. We'd be thrilled to do that at this time. It could be that there's another decision that you need to make in your Christian life. It may be that you're burdened about someone. It may be that You have come to a conclusion in this matter of alcohol. It may be personally that you need to make a decision that you're going to go home to that secret stash and you're going to get rid of it. No, you're not going to give it away. You're not going to sell it. You're going to pour it down the drain. You're going to get rid of it. That's what you need to do with it. That one bottle that you've got in the back of the refrigerator or up in the false ceiling, Or in the tackle box? You've got it hidden somewhere out in the shop? You've got it in a tractor? Where do you have it? That's what I'm talking about. You need to get rid of it. Make no provision for the flesh. Abstain from all appearance of evil. You need to make that decision tonight. I'm not drinking anymore.