Amen. We're going to turn in our Bibles, please, to 2 Corinthians and the chapter 4, just for a brief reading. 2 Corinthians and the chapter 4. It is a privilege to be along this evening. Thank Reverend McKee very much for the words of welcome, the invitation to come and to speak. And trust indeed that the Lord will bless. Thank those who have taken part already, Catherine, Ruth, and to Chris as well, and we trust that the Lord will bless them in their ministries. 2 Corinthians chapter 4, just reading the first six verses. Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully. but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. for God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, have shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Amen. We trust and pray that the Lord will bless the public reading of his word. Let's just bow very briefly in prayer. Heavenly Father, with thy word open and spread before us, we confess readily our need. We need to hear from God. Father, we pray that thou wilt Come and speak to each one tonight personally and yet powerfully. We thank thee for speaking to our hearts already. Bless thy servants as they continue to minister and lead them and guide them. Father, we pray tonight that we might see the Lord. It is our desire above all things that Christ will have the preeminence. Make much of the Savior, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. John Bunyan was a prolific writer and Puritan preacher, authoring over 50 books and tracts during his lifetime. It can be said of Bunyan that he penned the most influential book in the English language, that is apart from the King James Bible. The book that he penned, of course, was The Pilgrim's Progress, published in 1678 while Bunyam was in prison. It's a famous Christian allegory that is still in print. In it, the main character, Christian, became convinced by the book that he must escape the city of destruction before it's destroyed in judgment. And along that pathway, Christian, he encounters dangers and trials and disappointments and temptations, and yet he doesn't just press on through sheer willpower. He clings to hope. He comes to the cross. There, the burden of his sin is rolled away. Christian then makes his journey on to the celestial city. It's an amazing book of very significant literary importance. It's also a wonderful picture of God's salvation. However, four years after writing The Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan published another companion volume. This time it was called The Holy War. In the Pilgrim's Progress, the Christian life is set forth as a journey. The pilgrim is going from one city to another, a journey filled with difficulties and adventures, while the holy war, the same life, is pictured for us as a war of wars. The holy war is a battle story, that book that he penned, a battle story, an allegory. picturing the spiritual battle for the soul. At the center of his book, man's soul is a perfect horn built for the glory of its creator and leader, King Shaddai. In the story, the righteous and the honorable ruler Shaddai, and as some Immanuel, rule man's soul with justice and with equity. Bunyan wrote how the wicked ruler Diabolus, picture the devil, how he deceived Mansoul. And the town rejected the rule of the king, Shaddai, fell deep into bondage, sin, and into despair. And even throughout the characters there in the book, we find that they're given over to indulgence of the flesh and especially to excess. As the battles raged against good and evil, The redemption of man's soul was only possible through King Shaddai's son, Emmanuel. Bunyan intended the story to be a picture of the sinner saved by grace, the holy war. Bunyan specifically focuses on the spiritual battle that rages for every single soul. writing to the church at Corinth, the Apostle Paul was a man and a preacher who was very conscious that a great and a tremendous battle was taking place, a battle for the hearts, for the minds, a battle for the soul of individuals. We find that the Apostle there, writing in 2 Corinthians, He spoke, for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. And you also find there in the book of Ephesians, in the chapter 6, that very famous portion where the Apostle Paul lays before the very fact that we are engaged in a battle. All around us there is a warfare that's taking place, unseen to the human eye, a spiritual battle. And therefore, as believers, we're encouraged and we're instructed to put on the garments of salvation and the armor, should I say, of salvation. And we're encouraged to do that. Can I say that there is a great battle raging, still raging today? A battle for the hearts and minds, especially of young people. The devil has come as a thief to steal, to kill, to destroy. There's a battle raging for man's soul. Dear friend listening tonight, there is a battle raging for your soul. The devil uses many tactics and vices in this war. One of the many weapons that he has in his arsenal is a snare of addiction. He uses it with great effect, tremendous effect. and devastation. And tonight I want us to consider the attack of addiction. First of all, consider that we are brought to confront the reality of the attack. Whenever Reverend McKee asked me to speak on this particular subject, I must say that I counted it, first of all, a great privilege and blessing to be asked, but I was also greatly moved and thankful that the church, in particular, had the special series of meetings focusing on the family. Why? Because there is a great battle against the family. The devil is certainly waging warfare against the Christian church. And the subject of addiction is one of very great and vast importance. And it needs to be addressed. We're living in a day and generation, aren't we? When addiction, life-controlling habits, stubborn addictions are clearly seen all around us in the book of Judges. We read the words in Judges chapter 17 in the words of verse 6. Surely we are living in very similar times and days. Many people, the majority, being self-centered, self-pleasing, self-gratifying, self-indulging, doing that which is right in their own eyes. And can I say that there is a multiplicity of addictions, not just one or two or a few, but a multitude of them. I'm currently working on the last booklet that I'm seeking to produce with the help and aid of our Youth Council. It's part of a series called Teaching the Truth, and it deals with three subjects. The first one I brought out was Teaching the Truth About Drugs. And if you haven't got a copy of that booklet, we can make sure you get one. Just finished the booklet on alcohol, Teaching the Truth About Alcohol. And the last booklet that I'm doing is teaching the truth about online or social media. And it's a subject, therefore, that I've been delving into a lot, and I've been looking at, I've been studying and researching. And I know that the subject has already been addressed this week, and we thank the Lord for that. I just want to leave a few facts with you in regards to social media, because I found them really challenging and eye-watering. For instance, are you aware that 59% of the world's population uses social media? Whenever we look at developed countries, of course, that number increases. Billions of people use social media every day. 62% of teens. use social media every day. The average person spends one hour, 40 minutes on social media daily. The average internet user has eight or more social media accounts. The main one being Facebook, then you have YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram. Here's a startling figure. Over 60% of men, 55% of women are addicted to social media. Now, it can be said that there are times when social media can be of great benefit and great help. And I'm looking around the congregation, and I think of some people who very kindly sent me text messages and used WhatsApp, whatever, to send a verse. And we can encourage one another through the use. It can be very helpful, even going out live on the various platforms. But of course, it can be very dangerous. And the use of it can be very harmful and cause great injury and great hurt. We think of the addiction side of it and the consequences. I personally have seen a massive increase with regards to drug addictions, alcohol addictions, especially over the last couple of years. You think of gambling. We now have 24-hour gambling. Just recently, I was speaking to someone about a gambling addiction. I must admit, I felt a little bit naive. Even though I work in the whole field of addiction, I could not grasp just how much They had spent on online gambling. Gambling literally right throughout the night. And I was saying to them, well, how can you gamble throughout the night? And they said, well, don't you realize that throughout the night it's daytime in Australia? And you can gamble on events there. All the live betting and gambling events, use of drugs, and the problem of addiction is now deeply rooted and ingrained in our communities. There are some areas that I'm working in, and I must confess, It seems as if there's hardly a family that's not affected in some way by addiction, whether that's drink, drugs, gambling, whatever the crippling addiction may be. And as we consider addiction, I think it's very important that we Think about what addiction really is. Because we tend to think, don't we, that addiction, if I asked you, for instance, what's the first word that comes to mind, you'd perhaps say drugs, gambling, destruction, wasteful harm. And many addictions, most addictions are like that. But do you know or are you aware that there is such a thing as a helpful, holy addiction? Just turn with me briefly back to 1 Corinthians in chapter 16. And here, verse 15, we think about this family conference and the focus on the family. I pray that the Lord would be pleased to give to us this addiction. Here is a good addiction to have. Look at 1 Corinthians 16, verse 15, where Paul, summarizing this first letter, the church of Corinth said, I beseech you, brethren, you know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints. Now, we're not going to go into this passage and look at it in any detail, but let me just say that the house of the Stephanas, they were converted by the grace of God. Salvation brings a change. Praise the Lord for that. They were converted, and now they are given over to the Lord and to his work. They have a new addiction. They have new desires. They have a new goal in life. to serve the Lord and to be a blessing. I can just picture Stephanas there and his family getting up in the morning and they're basically praying. They're saying, Lord, who can we help today? Who can we be a blessing to? What a great addiction. So not all addiction is unhealthy and unhelpful. So we've been looking here. and confronting the reality of addiction, let's consider the root cause of addiction. Secondly, the root cause. Now, in God's Word, there are a number of titles given to the devil. For instance, he is the old serpent. He's the fowl of the air, that fowl that, in the parable of the sower, the fowl that comes down and stays away and seeks to snatch away the good seed of the Word of God. And so the devil doesn't want you to hear. wants to take away your attention, wants to steal away that good seed, doesn't want to take root in your heart and bring forth fruit. In John chapter 12, the Lord Jesus referred to the devil as the prince of this world. He is Satan, Lucifer, the tempter, Beelzebub, the dragon, the deceiver. And there are many, many more titles. But when we turn to 2 Corinthians in the chapter 4, here in the words of verse 4, we read about another title of the devil. It says here in verse 4, "...in whom the God of this world," that's Satan, "...hath blinded the minds of them which believe not." He is the God of this world. Now, we know and we understand that God is sovereign. He is ruler. He is governor over His creation. But Satan here is referred to as the God of this world in reference to the fact that all mankind are his captives due to the fall that took place in the Garden of Eden. You think, if I were there in the garden, God said, Adam, you can eat from every tree in the garden, here but one. You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam, the day you eat, you're going to die. Let me read there how that Adam disobeyed and he sinned against God. He rebelled against God. And of course, we sinned in Adam. In the original, it speaks, God says, in the day on Edesteroth, thou shalt die. If you have a Bible of margin, it would actually translate as dying thou shalt die. Adam did die that day. Now, not physically. There would come, of course, a time when he would die physically, but he died spiritually. Adam died to all spiritual knowledge the day that he transgressed that divine commandment. A man, therefore, stands guilty before God, condemned before God, lost before the Lord. And every man and woman born into this world is born under the bondage and the dominion of sin. We are sinners by birth, nature, and by practice. Man, as a sinner, therefore, has a natural addiction to sin and immorality. And as a sinner, he cannot break the power of the bondage of his sin. The Bible reminds us Wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster, to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." Many years ago, I remember listening to a sermon. It was really the testimony of a dear brother in the Lord, the late Lester Roloff. Lester Roloff was a unique man, Baptist preacher out in America. He opened the cities of refuge, rehabilitation centers, But Roloff described the time when he went to visit the doctor. It was really him telling a story. In telling that story, he was giving a testimony. And he talked about how he went to see the doctor because he was feeling unwell and feeling sick. He went in before the doctor, and the doctor was Dr. Law. And Dr. Law immediately just looked at him, and he said, you're condemned. You're going to die. And so he left the doctor's office that day. He went out, and he tried various other types of doctors. He tried Dr. Goodworks, Dr. Religion, Dr. Self-Righteous. He went all the way, but all the while feeling no better, and he came right back to the surgery and to speak to Dr. Law. When he walked in the door, he tells of how, and he painted the picture of how Dr. Law sternly looked over those glasses, and he said, I told you you were sick. You're condemned. Well, doctor, what can you do for me? Nothing. You're condemned. Tells of how I left the doctor's surgery that day. He went out and there across the corridor was another title, Dr. Grace, and he went in. And, of course, it's a picture of the gospel. And he said, Dr. Grace, can you help me? What can you do for me? And, of course, the doctor said, it's not what I can do for you, it's what I have done. And it was a message of the cross about Christ and his love. Why am I telling this story? Because we stand condemned under the law. We're guilty. We're addicted to our sin. We can't break free from that sin. The law teaches us God is holy. Man is sinful. Man is a slave to sin, addicted to sin. You think of the devil's strategy. What is that strategy? We look at 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and the words of verse 4 again. Here we read about it. He hath blinded the minds. I want to be crystal clear here. If you are not a Christian, the devil does not want you to become a Christian. He is opposed to you becoming a Christian. And there is a great battle, therefore, for not only your soul, but for your mind. He will use any means, any methods. Nothing is off the table. He will use any vice possible to captivate your mind, to control your mind. to steal away your thoughts. He will use anything possible to stop you from thinking clearly, to think about your need of God, and to consider your need to be saved. Why is he blind to mine? Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, whose image of God should shine unto them. Matthew Henry said, the design of the devil is to keep men in ignorance. And when he cannot keep the light of the gospel out of the world, he makes it his great business to keep it out of the hearts of men. The focus this week has been on the family. Focus on the family. Let's be really clear, the devil does not want you to become part of the family of God. He doesn't want you to turn from your sin to embrace Christ, to be born again and become part of that family. Every child of God, of course, needs to be aware of the devil's strategy as well. You think of how it's applicable. to the Christian as well as to the unbeliever. We think about the devil. The devil comes as a roaring lion. You think of the strategy there of the lion. It's to get the animal on its own. I don't know about you, but when you watch a nature program and you see a herd of antelope, wherever it may be, the animals, and there's a lion that's in the long grass, and it's concealed away there, and your heart just sinks, because you know what's coming next, don't you? It's going to isolate. It's going to, first of all, look for a weak animal, a young animal, an aged animal. And then it's going to capture it. It's going to devour it. It's not going to let go. Sadly, in my ministry to the addicted, I not only work with folk from backgrounds where there's no gospel and Certainly no Bible teaching, but sadly from young people and men and women brought up in Christian homes. You think of not only astrology, but a subtle day. He is very, very subtle. He is a master of deception. Genesis 3 verse 1 reminds us that. The very first mention of the devil reminds us that he hates the Word of God. He's opposed to the Word of God. It's only a cigarette. It's only a drop of drink. It's only a smoke of dope. No, it's not. For many, It has been the start on the road to ruin. You think of the devil's snare. 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 24 to 26. You can read that or look at that passage later, 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 24 to 26. It's a fundamental passage when it comes to speaking about addiction. Maybe you're in addiction, you're caught in addiction and you can't break free from that addiction and you're wondering, is there hope for me? Can the chains ever be loosened? Let me encourage you tonight to turn to God's Word because God's Word has the answer. It says there in one of those verses, there in 2 Timothy chapter 2, that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil. It's the devil's snare. These are his tactics. This is what he uses. We can be very quick, can't we, to point the finger and to say, well, there is an individual there who needs to be freed from addiction. And outwardly, there are the signs. I think of the folks that I work with in addiction. Oftentimes, it has an effect upon them physically and psychologically and all the different ways. But you can see very clearly the drugs, alcohol, and it's affecting their life. But then, of course, there are those hidden addictions, lust, jealousy, pride. anger, gossiping, those hidden addictions that we don't see. They're not in the outward appearance. But can I make it very clear, every bit as destructive and harmful? Let's move on. We've thought about the need to confront the reality of the attack, to consider the root cause of this attack. It comes from the devil. We need to concentrate on the remedy to the attack. That's what we need to focus on. If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Man is bound and fettered by the chains of his addiction to sin. And the devil uses whatever that addiction may be to make sure that that does not change. But praise the Lord tonight for the glorious gospel, for the remedy, for the answer to man's greatest need. Paul personally had encountered that remedy. You think of the Apostle Paul, who was a man who with every ounce of energy and of strength, he hated the gospel. He persecuted the Christian church. The very name of Jesus Christ made his blood boil. He hated with a passion the name of Jesus. But there on the Damascus road, he was wonderfully, miraculously saved and transformed by the grace of God. He met Christ, and his life would never be the same. He's a man preaching with great power, preaching about the remedy. And when he was speaking here about the awful plight of man and his condition, being lost in sin and his mind barred and fettered, man's mind been blinded, Then wasn't it John Newton who penned those beautiful words? Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found. I was blind, spiritually blind. But now I see. Praise God for the remedy. What is the remedy? What do you need? You need Christ. The remedy is the glorious gospel. That's what the remedy is. Christ is the gospel, and the gospel is Christ. You think of the author of that glorious gospel. The Lord himself is the source. He is the fountainhead. In 1 Timothy chapter 1, we read that it is a glorious gospel of the blessed God. God plans salvation. God sent forth his Son into the world. He is a source of redemption. You think of the authority of this glorious gospel. You see, it's founded and it's based upon the Word of God. The Word of God, which is quick and powerful. The Word of God, of course, which gives and brings life. We praise the Lord tonight. If ye shall know the truth, the truth shall make you free. But the devil doesn't want you to know the truth. He doesn't want you to focus upon the truth or to grasp the truth. And so he will use whatever addiction to keep your mind blinded, to keep your mind closed to hearing God's truth. You think of the ability of this glorious gospel. Praise the Lord. It's founded upon the person and work of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ. And he is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God by him. What a great Savior we have. My friend, tonight, whatever your need is, whatever your addiction, whatever it binds and fatters you, Christ is able to deliver you. He can free you. And can I say that there is a vast difference between being made free and being set free. Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Back in the old days in the Wild West, you think of those who would have been out and perhaps wanted, and a wanted poster would go up. And somebody would have been caught and brought to prison. Maybe his bodies would have came to the prison and they would have set the gelignite, the explosives, they would have blasted them and would have set him free. But here's the reality, he was still a wanted man. He was still under the penalty of the law. He was still going to be sought out and put to death. But the gospel frees man from the very power. Praise the Lord for that. Time is gone. I'm not going to take any more time tonight. Just to say, I had a final point, but I'm not going to develop it. The challenge to you as you respond to this attack. What are we going to do? How are you going to respond? You're not a Christian. Are you going to get saved? Are you going to come to Christ? What about you, child of God? The God of this world have blinded the minds of them which believe not. Speaks of those that are lost. That word lost means perishing. What a great need there is. What a great Savior there is. He's the only Savior. There's only one way to know freedom from addiction. Addiction to sin. It's Christ. It's the power of the blood. May God bless His word to our hearts. I'm going to hand back over to Reverend McKee.