note: Members can discuss this workshop in the Message Boards HERE
Obie-host Welcome to CIR’s Workshop:”Satan’s Role in Addictions and Dysfunctional Behaviors” This Workshop is presented by noted author Don Umphrey
The Workshop will be held Wednesdays September 9, 16, 23 30 9:30-11:00 PM Eastern Time
We strongly suggest you get a copy of his latest book Seeking Spiritual Clarity This will help you to get the most out of the workshop. We recommend this workshop for all aspects of recovery (not just addictions).
Let us open in prayer…..
Heavenly Father….
We thank You for our many blessings….
We thank You for the gift of recovery……
Please annoint Don as he leads this workshop….
open our hearts and minds to Your Word…..
as Don teaches us…..
in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.It is my great pleasure to introduce Don Umphrey…….
Don has lead some wonderful workshops here before….
Don–author Hello. I’m Don, an alcoholic.
Obie-host and I am very excited to have him with us again….
Please go ahead don.
6:34:23 Don–author Thanks, Obie, proud to be with you tonight
Through the grace of our loving God, my last drink was Nov 6, 1973.
Late last year I conducted a 12-week CIR seminar on the steps.
This time, we will focus on Satan’s role in addictions
This series is based on the book I wrote, as mentioned by Obie
But you don’t need to buy one to be here tonight
or to benefit from our four sessions together.
As we did in our sessions last fall, I will present the lesson
and then you may ask questions or make observations
about how the lesson applies to your own life.
Our series will focus on the following 3 questions:
1 How does Satan—the source of evil—attempt to impact our everyday lives?
2 How does our perspective change when we :”take the bait:”
and succumb to his temptations?
3 What does it take for us to do an :”about-face:” and seek the Lord?
Let’s get started.
If you pay any attention to the messages in the world around you,
it is easy to get some false ideas about the nature of Satan.
For example, sometimes he is portrayed as cartoon-like;
sometimes he is the monster in a Hollywood movie.
Many scholars would have you believe that the devil is a myth
created by people to account for man’s evil in the world.
Others present evil as affecting only the worst people—
mass murderers, Adolph Hitler, child molesters–
certainly not :”nice:” people like you and me.
But let’s look at a few scriptures that reveal the truth about Satan.
Satan :”leads the whole world astray” Rev. 12:9
Satan is :”the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them
before our God day and night” Rev. 12:10
Satan is :”the prince of the world” John 12:31
:”The whole world is under the control of the evil one” I John 5:19
:”He (the devil) was a murderer from the beginning,
not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies,
he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” John 8:44
Based on scripture, let’s make an important point about Satan
that will serve as our topic of tonight’s session:
Satan’s defining characteristic is to be God and he wants you
to follow him and do the same thing. I call this :”playing God”
Let’s look to scriptures that serve as the basis of these ideas.
In an end-time prophecy, either Satan or one of his minions is called
:”the man of lawlessness:” (who) :”will oppose and will exalt himself
over everything that is called God or is worshipped,
so that he sets himself up in God’s temple,
proclaiming himself to be God” (II Thessalonians 2:3-4)
God quotes Satan as saying, :”I will ascend to heaven;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God…
6:4I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14)
(Note in the above quotation, the word :”stars:” refers to angels.)
Satan led a revolution against God resulting in his expulsion from Heaven
along with one-third of the angels who were his followers. (Rev. 12:4, 7-9)
All of these scriptures point to one idea:Satan wants to be God.
In tempting Jesus, Satan said, :”All this I will give you if you
if you will bow down and worship me.”
Satan wanted God in the flesh to worship him! Are there
any doubts as to Satan’s falsely high opinion of himself?
Now let’s look at how Satan’s motivation shows up in temptations to us.
In the Garden of Eden, Satan appeared as a serpent.
He lied to Eve and then tempted her with :”playing God:”
if she would only eat the forbidden fruit.
:”You will not surely die,:” the serpent said to the woman” (Gen. 3:4)
That’s the big fat lie. He then continued:
:”For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened,
and YOU WILL BE LIKE GOD, knowing good from evil” (emphasis mine)
Anyone who follows Satan and :”plays God:” is on a course of self-destruction—
mental, physical, spiritual. Thankfully, we are saved through the grace of Jesus.
Let’s focus on how you or I might :”play God”
The first of the 10 commandments reads like this:
:”I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt.
you shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 29:2-3)
Notice that the verse mentions :”gods:” with a lower case :”G”
What are these :”gods” They are the same things as idols.
Namely, anything we put ahead of God is our god.
What is number one in your life? When I was drunk every day,
alcohol was my false god. An idol could be a drug,
a hobby, a job, one’s children, one’s obsession, one’s fear.
It could be our desire to exert power over someone else.
It could be our perfectionism
or our desire to get even with someone who harmed us.
Anytime we disobey God, we :”play God:”
because it is like saying that our judgment is superior to God’s judgment.
I have come to believe that :”playing God:” is at the root
of any sin with which you and I might become involved.
How did Eve play God in the Garden of Eden?
She already knew that God had forbidden her and Adam from eating
:”from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat
of it you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17)
Satan told her just the opposite:that she would not die
and that she would be like God.
Eve was then at a turning point:Would she believe
her Creator or the serpent?
She :”played God:” by following the serpent”
As a result, she and Adam did die and
Don–author we all live in this fallen world that is marred by sin.
Let’s explore one other idea before we turn it over to
your questions and observations.
Let me quote the earlier cited entire scripture where God quotes Satan”
:”You said in your heart,‘I will ascend to heaven;
‘I will raise my throne above the stars of God.
‘I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain
‘I will ascend above the tops of the clouds,
‘I will make myself like the Most High.’:” (Isaiah 14:12-14)
In the foregoing passage, how many times does
Satan talk about God’s will? Zero!
How many times does he say, :”I will”? Five times.
This is another defining characteristic of Satan—
I call it me-me-me, but it may be said that he has :”I trouble:”
or ego-run-amok.
When we :”play God,:” we get a :”me-me-me:” perspective
where we put ourselves in the center of the universe
and expect everything and everybody to revolve around us.
In an Old Testament story, the prophet Samuel was
seeking out King Saul, who had already :”played God:”
by substituting his ideas over God’s commands.
When Samuel asked about Saul, he was told,
:”Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor”
Godly people build monuments to God—
Saul built one to himself.
When me-me-me is in charge, we do the same thing.
Time for your observations or questions.
Done for now.
Obie-host Thank you Don
We now will open up the floor for questions and observations…
You can make observations on anything Don has said or points you would like to make in regard…
to the topic tonight…
also, feel free to ask questions…
and remember….there is no such thing as a dumb question! 🙂
Who would like to share?
BobR !
Obie-host GA Bob
BobR I loved what you said about “I trouble”…..
I sure had that for years…..
it was all about me….
and I can see now that I was making an idol of my own self…
my concerns….
my worries and all that….
and I can see how satan can easily twist me into that kind of thinking…..
I guess my question is ….
what are our best defences against satan and his tricks?
done
Don–author Good question, Bob.
No easy answer.
It starts with our focus on God
…through prayer,
guidance from His word
asking for strength to not succumb to temptation
Asking to have world-view like Jesus Christ…
Casting our fears and doubts on God
and trusting that he will guide us through tough times
Do you remember when Peter walked on the water?
He was doing fine until he took his eyes off of Jesus
THen he began to sink
Done
Who else has some observations or questions?
7:03:20 hank !
7:03:24 Obie-host GA Hank
Don 36 years sober
that is awesome and
how often are you tempted today than when
you were 10 years sober?..done
Don–author Thanks, Hank.
Temptation is constant–no matter how much time I have.
There seems to be plenty of lust to go around.
And that continues to be a problem.
I was a university professor for nearly 30 years
and continue to have plenty of academic pride.
I often take credit for things that have been handed to me by God.
I believe that pride is such a part of my life that I don’t
even realize the extent of it.
I usually don’t think about drinking.
But sometimes stuff piles up and I get the feeling that I
would like to have an escape from the bondage of self.
If I am hungry, angry, lonely, tired, it is easy to look in the wrong place for that.
done
Ty Don
Obie-host Who is next with some questions or observations?
Soli_Deo_gloria !
Obie-host GA Soli
Soli_Deo_gloria Ty Obie…
Practicing keeping our focus on godly things, in prayer…
what are ways that we can find to practice
“being in the world but not of it”…
I’ve been sober 11 months
I am mostly calmer and more at peace…
but I still act out when I let the world intrude on my boundaries.
I guess I’d like ot hear a bit about that if you can Don?
done
Don–author Good to see you again.
In regard to your question–whew!
A good question for me to always ask myself is
where am I putting my faith.
It is so easy for me to put something ahead of God
like money, hobbies, thoughts of writing a best-seller.
THere is a big part of me that continues to clamour for
pats on the back and recognition in the world.
I need constant reminders to keep #1 as #1.
The further I go in this Christian walk, the more I recognize
when I am not doing that.
BUT
I also recognize more ways that I can possibly go in the wrong direction.
One thing about attempting to live a spiritual life–
the challenges continue, no matter what stage we’re in.
Does that answer any part of your question?
Soli_Deo_gloria yes thank you Don
Obie-host !
Don–author Yes, Obie
Obie-host The last two days I have felt very much under attack…..
it is hard to explain but things that have happened …
and things that have been said to me…..
have all weighed on my shoulders very heavily….
it has felt like the world is going at 1,000 miles an hour and I am just hanging on….
I have been trying to focus more on God and not so much on me…
and my reaction to what is happening around me…..
but when that feeling of powerlessness and total feelings of being overwhelmed…
flood over me….
it is very difficult to handle my emotions….
it seems to me that Satan is an expert at manipulating our emotions…
so much so that we see a false or veiled version of reality…..
and when we do not see things as they truly are (e.g., God is in control, He is Almighty,etc.)…..
it is easy to spin out of control…..
with addictions and/or dysfunctional behaviors…..
just an observation….
not sure you can comment on that or not. done.’;
Don–author I would like to comment on that.
I believe you just described stuff that we all feel
So weak, so powerless.
And here you are
a woman who pioneered the whole idea of online meetings
and I know that you work hard in keeping all of this going.
Many people would look to you and never expect
that you have terrible times like that.
But I’m confident that all of us do.
Here is what the Apostle Paul wrote in I Cor. 13:12
“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
This is described the veiled view you talked about
It is a view we have as we trudge our way through this life.
It seems to me that not a day goes by without something going wrong
And it seems like I am always upset about something.
Going back to that passage
“face to face” is our face-to-face encounter with God when we
leave the flesh
and go to Heaven
Then we will immediately understand the extent to which
our view here on earth was perverted by living in a fallen world.
The whole thing will be perfectly clear then.
In the meantime, it is a constant struggle to just break even sometimes.
You agree?
done
Thank you Don. Well said. And I definitely agree.
The floor is open for other questions and observations.
anyone care to share?
7:28:20 Obie-host Feel free to share about your own experiences and feelings.
Don–author Yes, how has me-me-me affected your life?
Soli_Deo_gloria !
Soli_Deo_gloria Me me me… has affected my whole family… mother, father brother, and myself.
I thought I was “the good” one…
but that of course was a lie.
I can see that a lot of the decisions I made, about relationships
and even my work
I sought out “being the good one”… and what happened was it
turned me into an ego maniac… so obesessed and compulsively working over
what happened every day…
that there wasn’t room for anyone else in my life.
Not my husband… not my family.
Not friends….
you get it.
But when I stopped drinking… the booze fueled
compulsiveness stopped.
I was wide eyed and blinking…
the big book talks about the wreckage of our past…
and boy they weren’t kidding.
I felt a shame like no other when I realized who I was.
And thank goodness for the program and steps…
because I wouldn’t be sober without a way to
bring it all to God, leave it at his feet… and after a review
try to do His will for me the next day.
Thanks
Obie-host Thank you Soli….
Don–author Yes, a good example of me-me-me at work.
In sobriety, though, it will find other ways to manifest itself.
done
Soli_Deo_gloria ty Don
Obie-host Anyone else care to share?
hank !
Obie-host GA hank
hank looking back my biggest problem was me
and in recovery it seems i need to get over me
and as you mentioned
escape from the bondage of self.
that could be a number One seller..done
Don–author Thanks, Hank
Don–author anyone else?
G3 !
Don–author Yes, G3
ty Don ..
i read the first 2 chapters of your book lastnight
and there was a point in chapter 2
about how we get so blinded by self we loose sight
that we are being blinded
don;t have the book with me so working best i can from memory
but could u expand a little on that topic
done
Don–author Thanks, G3
AS a part of a me-me-me perspective,
we turn our backs on Jesus and journey in the direction of Satan.
The closer we get, the more we have Satan’s perspective.
I think of it sometimes as wearing Satan’s glasses.
That journey leads to a complete black-out of the truth
if we keep on going in that direction.
We will discuss this in greater detail
next week when we talk about Satan as a liar
and how he leads us into denial, where we lie to ourselves.
Glad you are reading the book.
There’s so many things I’d like to say that
I don’t have room for or time for in this forum.
done
G3 ty Don lookin forward to next week
Obie-host I strongly recommend everyone get a copy of Don’s book and read it….
It is absolutely wonderful!
Any final shares tonight?
Anyone?
Don’t be shy
Moonsong !
Obie-host ga Moonsong
thank you Obie
I am wondering about abuse and Satans use of it…
I don’t know ..
I’m stuck in my thoughts right now…
he seem s to use old messages on me…
or old feelings of inadequacy…
things that were perpetrated on me and a little boy
trust was broken…
I developed ways to survive…
now it is mind blowing to turn it all over…
it is a real struggle most of the time…
have you seen God break that kind of bondage…
and strangle hold on emotions…
does that make any sense? done
Don–author Absolutely!
When we play God, we go on a path toward self-destruction.
Some people get so blinded by me-me-me that they serve as
agents of self-destruction in the lives of others.
Of course, Satan would want you to stay beaten down by past abuse.
But Jesus doesn’t.
In fact, I believe that God is big enough to use even the worst
parts of our lives for His glory.
Please allow me to quote from II Corinthians 12:7 and following:
There was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me.
(This is the Apostle Paul speaking)
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
But he said to me
“My grace is sufficnet for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boasat al lthe more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
End of quote.
I have a Ph.D. and am a professor emeritus at a prestigious university.
But that’s not what God uses in my ministry.
He uses the worst day of my life
the day I committed myself to a mental hospital on the verge
of suicide.
I know that anything on top of me being in a mental hospital or dead is by
the grace of God.
My resume for serving God has the worst day of my life right a the top.
And gonig back to your statements, Moonsong
God can use the worst things that have happened to you
to bless others who have been victimized in the same way.
DOes that work for you, Moonsong?
7: done
Moonsong oh yes…thank you Don..I need to hear that…
thanks for the scripture
Obie-host I agree wholeheartedly with Don
Moonsong and testimony
Obie-host It was the worst days of my life that have turned out to be the most fruitful for the Lord…
If I had not been through hell…..
CIR never would have been started…..
Our time is coming to an end for tonight’s workshop…
please remember that Don will be leading 3 more workshops….
each Wednesday night in September at the same time….
You will benefit more if you do get his book…..
Seeking Spiritual Clarity
Seeking Spiritual Clarity
Here is the link:http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0971495882/christiansinreco
Don would you like to close us in prayer this evening?
Don–author Yes, I would.
Father, we are grateful for the words of your
servant Paul in II Cor. chapter 1:
“Praise be to the GOd and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the FAther of comparssion and the God of all comfort
, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those
in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
Please use us as your servants, Father. Help us to use the worst parts of our
lives to your glory and honor.
We thank you for our blessings Lord.
It is through our Savior that we pray, Amen.
G3 amen
Soli_Deo_gloria Amen
bj amen..AMEN
Obie-host Amen
hank Amen
Soli_Deo_gloria Ty Don and Obie
AlanH amen
Moonsong Amen!
BobR Amen
Soli_Deo_gloria Night all…
grace amen