Participants: Shelley Quinn (Host), Bob
Series Code: IAA
Program Code: IAA000482A
|
00:01 Today on Issues and Answers we are going to be talking about
00:04 taking a personal inventory and then prayer and meditation 00:08 and carrying the message forward. Please join us. 00:41 Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn and we're very glad that your 00:45 joining us today on Issues and Answers. 00:47 If you have been following the last few programs 00:49 you know we've been talking about the 12 Step Program 00:52 of Alcoholics Anonymous. 00:53 Now let me make one thing perfectly clear, 00:56 we believe that there are far more people who are 00:59 overcome alcoholism in church, than actually do in 01:03 Alcoholics Anonymous because we just know by the 01:07 sheer numbers in statistics. 01:08 Yet, we also believe very strongly that it's a wonderful 01:12 program because it is based on Christian principles 01:15 and it is the last house on the block, so to speak 01:20 for people who may not be able to go to a church 01:25 because they have been offended or wounded, 01:27 or they don't believe in the Lord. 01:29 And the interesting thing is, once they begin to participate 01:32 in this 12 step program, they almost always end up 01:37 knowing God as their father. 01:40 Now, what we are going to do today, our guest is in the 01:43 shadows. His name is Bob and he is joining us, 01:46 he is a member of AA, so we are respecting his anonymity, 01:51 but I want to make it perfectly clear that he is not a 01:54 spokesperson for AA, and they have none. 01:58 But what we are going to do now...let me just very briefly.. 02:01 I want to...First Bob, welcome. Thank you, it's nice to be here. 02:07 Thank you so much for being here. 02:08 Let me go over the first nine steps that we've 02:12 already covered. And I am reading this directly from 02:15 the alcoholics anonymous book, and it says: 02:20 First, admit you are powerless over alcohol and the your life 02:24 has become unmanageable. Come to believe that a power 02:27 greater than yourself can restore you to sanity. 02:29 Make a decision to turn your will and lives' over to, 02:35 here's the name of the higher power. 02:38 To the care of God as we understand Him. 02:41 Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of yourself. 02:47 Admit to God, to yourself, and to other human beings 02:50 the exact nature of your wrongs. 02:52 Talk about...or be ready, let's see, ready entirely, 02:57 to have God remove all these defects of character. 03:01 Boy, it sounds like this is something all Christians 03:03 need to do. 03:05 Humbly ask Him to remove your short comings. 03:07 Make a list of all the persons you've harmed. 03:10 Become willing to make amends to them, 03:12 and willingness is first. 03:14 And this is a step that also involves forgiveness, 03:18 we discussed this last time. 03:20 And then make direct amends to such people wherever possible, 03:25 except when to do so would injure them or others. 03:29 That is a Biblical principle as well. 03:31 The idea of restitution for wrongs. 03:33 And it brings great freedom of guilt, condemnation, 03:38 it's a very freeing step isn't it. 03:40 That's right! 03:41 Alright, so once you've gone through those and 03:43 worked through those first nine steps... 03:45 Bob, you've been an AA member, you have been sober for 03:51 26 years. Correct! 03:53 Praise God! 03:54 That's one day at a time. 03:56 Sure! Wonderful! 03:57 So let's talk about step number 10. 04:00 Ok. Step 10 continued to take personal inventory 04:04 and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. 04:06 This is a step the is difficult. 04:09 Most of us don't like to admit it when we are wrong, 04:12 and certainly no alcoholic is real keen on doing that. 04:16 But, we've learned by experience that if we allow something 04:21 to fester for very long, it causes a much bigger problem. 04:25 For example, if I hang on to a resentment... 04:32 What I've learned about resentments is, 04:33 they grow roots overnight. 04:35 And, you know the Bible calls it "the root of bitterness'. 04:39 And we cannot let that take hold. 04:42 If I don't deal with my resentment that very day, 04:45 if I don't get rid of it that very day, 04:48 it will be like a dandelion. 04:50 Anybody that's ever tried to pull out dandelion's 04:54 knows full well that pulling them out just seems to 04:57 multiply them and especially since they seem to be able 05:00 to flower and put out their seeds in a very short period 05:05 of time, and the more I yank the seeds out, 05:07 they are going to fly everywhere and they are 05:08 just going to multiply. Um, The root of a dandelion 05:11 goes very deep and the more I try to dig it out, 05:15 the less I get anywhere because all I do is I just stir it up 05:19 and it seems like I can never get to the root of that problem. 05:22 and I need to get it before it grows deep into my heart. 05:25 That's just a little... I think in pictures, so for me 05:29 that works. 05:30 In the scriptures that come into my mind is too... 05:33 It says: "In your anger, do not sin." 05:35 Also "Do not let the sun go down on your anger." 05:38 That's right. So this is some- thing about the daily inventory 05:41 so that you don't develop that deep root. 05:44 That's right. And once it's there, then only God Almighty 05:48 can do anything about it because if I think I can get 05:51 rid of my resentments, I am sorely mistaken. 05:54 You know, I hear people talk about their character defects 05:59 and they say, I really need to work on this, 06:01 and I have to smile and think to myself, 06:03 let me know how that works for you? 06:04 Because it really doesn't. 06:06 The more I try to change myself, the worse it gets. 06:10 And so, in step 10, we watch specifically for dishonesty, 06:14 we watch for selfishness, we watch for self-seeking, 06:20 trying to get our way, manipulating people 06:22 to get our way and we look for fear. 06:25 And when these crop up, the step asks up immediately 06:29 to ask God for forgiveness, and then go and make things 06:33 right with the people that we have harmed. 06:35 If we do this on a daily basis, we can sleep in peace. 06:39 One of the things I noticed when I started working this 06:43 step is how much better I felt, and suddenly 06:46 I made the connection. The fact is that today 06:49 when I go to sleep, I am asleep in a few minutes. 06:53 That didn't use to be the case, I would toss and turn, 06:56 I would play thing over in my mind over and over again. 07:00 The people I was angry about, how dare they do this to me, 07:03 how come so and so is acting this way? 07:07 All these things would just roll around in my mind. 07:09 When my side of the street is swept, 07:11 when my side of the street is clean, I go to sleep 07:14 very quickly. Wonderful! 07:15 This, and again, it amazes me as we have been going 07:19 through these steps Bob, how much they apply 07:22 to all of our lives. We all should be taking a daily 07:25 inventory and going through this same process. 07:28 If you don't mind, I would like to talk about step 11... 07:32 Yes. This is a big step sought through prayer and mediation 07:35 to increase our conscious contact with God as we 07:37 understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us 07:41 and the power to carry that out. 07:43 Most alcoholics have learned to pray early on because we 07:49 know our power comes from the Lord. 07:53 There is no other source of help for us, no human resource 07:57 can keep us from drinking. No human being can help us 08:02 stay sober in those moments where can't reach them, 08:05 so we need to rely on a power greater than ourselves. 08:08 At this point, it is important to increase our conscious 08:13 contact with Him. It brings to mind the Bible texts 08:17 that say pray without ceasing, in all things. 08:20 You know in prayer and supplication, talk to the Lord. 08:23 Make Him your best friend, talk to Him about everything 08:27 that is going on at every moment of your life 08:29 and step 11 reminds us to do that through prayer and 08:33 through meditation. 08:35 Now the whole concept of prayer and meditation came from the 08:38 original group that spawned Alcoholics Anonymous... 08:42 We didn't get into this but it was called the Oxford Groups, 08:44 and it was a group of people who got together and tried to 08:51 practice early Christian principles basically, 08:55 they studied the Bible, they found the principles that they 09:00 believed would help them practice that heartfelt 09:05 Christianity in the early days of the Christian Church 09:08 and there were always periods of prayer and meditation 09:12 that were done not only as a group, but encouraged 09:15 every morning to spend quiet time with God. 09:17 And the Oxford Groups used the Bible, in fact AA 09:23 used the Bible for a long long time in the beginning 09:25 because they had no other literature. 09:27 They would...especially they enjoyed reading 09:31 The Sermon on the Mount, the chapters about the 09:34 sermon on the mount, and the other big favorite 09:36 was the book of James, which you will find AA principles 09:40 all over that, or should I say the other way around. 09:43 AA has those principles that James talks about. 09:46 For example: 09:47 Not to set yourself higher than anyone else. 09:50 Not to esteem yourself above anyone else. 09:54 Not to treat people differently. In AA there is this amazing 09:58 equality. Every member has every right to say or do 10:04 whatever they want. There are no controls in AA but 10:07 yet there are controls that constrain us and that is 10:10 alcoholism. We are forced to toe a line, because if we stray 10:15 off that path for very far, we end up getting drunk. 10:18 And so, we use the disease as a tool if you will, 10:22 to keep us on track, and we are grateful for that tool. 10:25 I have to believe I would probably not be sitting here 10:28 on a Christian program, were it not for the fact 10:32 that God knew that alcoholism would make me toe the line. 10:36 I know that today the worst thing that happened in my mind 10:40 turned out to be the best thing that happened 10:42 because it really helps me stay close to the Lord. 10:46 I know my need. Sometimes I'm saddened when I go in church 10:49 because it feels like many of the people in church 10:53 have no idea how much they need God. 10:55 And yet, you go in to an AA meeting 10:57 and they know, they know, because they can't stray 11:01 very far before it's so obvious to them 11:05 that their lives are falling apart. What a precious thought. 11:07 You know the idea that Romans 8:28, 11:09 "That all thing work together for good, for those who love 11:12 the Lord and are called according to His purpose." 11:14 And that being that He predestined to conform us 11:17 to the image of Jesus Christ. But what a precious thought. 11:22 That you can now, in all things give thanks, 11:26 the Bible tells us, that you can give thanks for this 11:30 condition of alcoholism, because it is what brought you to your 11:36 recognition of your need of God and total dependence 11:40 and please hear what I am saying, 11:42 if there is anything we need to learn, it is this. 11:46 God's plan of salvation is total dependence upon Him. 11:50 The Old Testament and the New Testament 11:53 both say that salvation belongs to God. 11:57 There is nothing that we can do to save ourself. 11:59 Now, we believe that as God is working in us 12:03 to change our will and line it up with His 12:06 and then He works is us to do His good pleasure. 12:10 Of course there are certain standards and principles 12:13 we follow because it's the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 12:16 but that is not obeying His commandments. 12:19 It's not what saves us, we obey because we are saved 12:23 and because He is working in us, but that's exciting. 12:26 One of the things that you talk a lot about in AA is 12:30 lining up our will with God's will. Amen. 12:32 Which I was actually quite interested in the fact that 12:38 so much of the language that's in our books, lines up so 12:43 much with another author that wrote along those lines 12:46 along that time and that was Ellen White. 12:48 For example, the term "character defects". 12:52 You don't hear that in every day language. 12:54 You don't read that in other books, 12:56 but those words, specific words, "character defects", 13:00 are prominent in Ellen White's writings, 13:02 and they are prominent in AA's writings. 13:04 The man who wrote the book, one of our co-founders 13:07 Bill W., was almost a Contemporary, actually he was, 13:13 they were alive at the same time and I have every reason 13:15 to believe that he read some of Ellen White's books because 13:18 the ideas are way too obvious, and they are worded 13:22 specifically. The other idea of lining up our will with God's 13:26 will, she writes about that quite a bit. 13:27 I'm a visual guy, so I think of for example, moving sidewalks. 13:33 I go to the airport and I love walking back and forth 13:36 on the moving sidewalks. And one day as I was doing this, 13:39 it dawned on me that that's what it is like to step onto 13:42 God's will, to line up my will with God's will. 13:45 I'm still walking the walk, but I am going five times faster 13:50 than I have a right to because I am lining up with God... 13:53 I'm doing...if there is an easier, softer way it is 13:56 to do God's will. 13:58 So in step 11 when it says, asking for knowledge of His will 14:02 for us and the power to carry that out, we can't go wrong 14:07 if we are asking God to show us His will and to give us the 14:12 power to step onto that sidewalk, so to speak. 14:15 Um, we're going places, we're growing spiritually 14:19 and to me, that's important. 14:21 The other aspect of step 11 that is talked about quite a bit 14:25 is the idea that we pray only for knowledge of His will 14:29 for us. A lot of us have spent a lot of time trying to 14:34 figure out what is best for everybody else, 14:36 and sometimes we pray wrongly. In AA they talk about 14:41 selfish prayer don't get us anywhere, and you can see why. 14:45 God's not going to do for us, give us selfish things 14:49 that we ask for selfishly. And it also cautions us to be 14:52 careful not to assume that we know what God's will is 14:56 for another person. 14:57 Specifically it talks about people who are sick, 15:00 we don't know if it is their best interest for them to be 15:05 healed, we cannot demand anything. 15:08 What we ask for is God's will to be done in that person's 15:11 life and we learn to trust that God knows what is best. 15:16 And a lot of that step helps us growing not only closer to God 15:20 but also to trust Him more. 15:23 One little prayer that I say quite often and I try to say it 15:27 every day...I'm not sure I could say I do it perfectly, 15:29 but I ask God to remind me all day long that He is there 15:34 with me. My prayer is God, 15:36 tap me on my shoulder, let me know that you are there, 15:39 and every time I think of You, my promise to you is I will 15:44 acknowledge you. I will speak with you, 15:46 and you know what, those are the best days of my life. 15:48 Because we are talking all day long, we are dialoging. 15:52 I'm praising Him all day long, I'm thanking Him, I'm searching 15:58 for Him all day long and He is there all over the place. 16:01 And I also...The way I word it is a little differently but 16:04 I just...I have Him tap me on the shoulder. 16:07 I just pray Lord, give me a divine awareness of your 16:11 presence within. Because He is always with us and there are 16:14 times... Have you ever found this Bob that there are times in 16:17 the day you can get so involved in your work, 16:21 that it's kind of like you come up for a breath of air, 16:24 and all of a sudden you realize, I've been ignoring you 16:27 Lord. You could've probably helped me through this 16:30 a little bit. It could have been easier if I had really included 16:33 You and it is amazing how It's like you can be sitting 16:37 and talking with Him almost, if you were... 16:40 You know, like you were talking in an earlier program, 16:42 like if He were in this chair and you were here. 16:44 You can have that prayer or conversation with Him, 16:48 start off right, but then things start happening 16:51 and it's kind of like you just giving Him the 16:53 silent treatment, put Him over there and forget 16:55 He's right there with you. That's good. 16:58 If I can, I want to make sure and spend a little time 17:02 on step 12. Sure! 17:03 And that is having had a spiritual awakening as a result 17:07 of these steps. We try to carry this message 17:11 to other alcoholics and to practice these principles 17:14 in all our affairs. 17:15 This is the culmination of those 12 steps. 17:19 This is where we have become fully aware of God 17:25 moving in our lives. We have had what they call a spiritual 17:29 awakening. All along the way we've had spiritual experiences 17:33 as AA puts it, but at this point we are fully awake. 17:37 We are aware of God moving in our lives and we are aware 17:41 of the people He is putting in our path, 17:43 not only to help us, but for us to help. 17:46 And there is an element of actively seeking another 17:50 alcoholic to help. One of the saddest things 17:53 I've ever seen in my life, are Christians who have been 17:57 delivered from alcoholism for example, 17:59 and they come up to me and very quietly whisper to me, 18:03 I used to have a drinking problem, 18:05 I used to be an alcoholic, I have not had a drink 18:09 for so many years, but I don't want anyone to know. 18:12 And I don't say usually anything to them except I think 18:16 to myself, how sad that you have been forgiven so much, 18:19 and yet, you will not give your witness for the Lord. 18:23 You are uniquely qualified to help another alcoholic 18:27 and you choose not to. I think that makes God's heart 18:30 very sad, and for me, it's incredible. 18:34 You know one of the things we learn in AA is that 18:38 strenuous work one alcoholic with another is vital to 18:42 permanent recovery. I need to give it away, 18:45 if it stays inside of me, it rots, it dies. 18:48 I become self-centered and selfish all over again 18:51 and it's just a very sad thing. 18:52 You know, it's shame based fear, is why people 18:58 don't want to share. 18:59 For so long in my life, I didn't talk about the dysfunction 19:06 of my upbringing. I didn't talk about the family problems 19:10 or my sister's problems, or my mother's problems 19:12 or anybody's problems, I didn't talk about mine. 19:14 And when I came into full time ministry, 19:18 the Lord impressed upon my heart that I had to share 19:22 from a gut level. Now I will say, I don't always talk about.. 19:26 I talk about BC days, before Christ, but I don't' go into 19:30 great detail to give the glory to the devil. 19:33 But I think that we all need to...So many people... 19:37 You look, and maybe you see somebody on television 19:40 and you think, oh, they are just perfect, 19:42 and you put them on a pedestal, and we are all in the same boat. 19:46 We all have the same problems, we have the same challenges, 19:51 we have to overcome this flesh day by day, moment by moment. 19:55 And so I think it's good for us to, at least in my experience, 20:00 it was very healing for me to come forward and talk about 20:05 the problems, the spiritual problems I had, 20:08 because every teaching that I share, is how God led me 20:12 out of that, so it's something that it is not theory, 20:17 it's what you've walked through, and you know the power. 20:20 And just when someone has been healed of something, 20:24 it is sad to me that they are not using their testimony 20:27 as a witness to God, it should be something to 20:30 celebrate, rather than be ashamed of. 20:32 Shelley, one of the...you know, I spend a lot of time chasing 20:37 a high through alcohol, through drugs, through other things, 20:41 but the truth is, there is no better high in this world 20:44 than to listen to somebody's first prayer. 20:49 Than to share your experience and see the hope come 20:53 into their eyes, to watch them recover, to watch them help 20:57 other people, and know that I've had a small part of that. 21:01 I can't get anybody sober, I can't get anybody drunk, 21:05 that's not something I take on. 21:08 I don't worry about something I say or do is going to get you 21:11 drunk. It's impossible. 21:12 If an alcoholic chooses to drink, it's because they've 21:16 let go of God's hand. 21:17 You know in AA we talk about slips sometimes, 21:21 you know, so and so slipped, and everybody knows 21:24 what that means, but they don't know where that came from. 21:26 It came from our other co- founder Dr. Bob Smith 21:30 who many many years ago started talking about slipping 21:34 and they asked him, what do you mean by a slip? 21:39 He said, they've slipped from the grace of God. 21:42 God could not hold on the them if they are not hanging 21:47 on to Him, and so at some point that happens. 21:52 So once I recognize that I can not do or say anything that 21:59 will get anybody sober or get anybody drunk, 22:01 I thought, what is my part? 22:04 My part is to be a channel, my part is to be the conduit 22:08 of God's grace and God's love. To give somebody the answer 22:11 that I found it the greatest joy in my life. 22:15 In fact, you know, I can't keep quiet about it, 22:17 I don't have to broadcast it. 22:19 In fact, this is the first program where I've actually 22:22 talked about this and as you know, I'm doing this 22:26 anonymously because it is not about me. 22:28 It's about the Lord. But I cannot be silent, 22:32 if I'm given the opportunity, I need to share that, 22:35 especially one on one, one on one is what it's all about. 22:40 Alcoholics Anonymous said it's core is simple, 22:42 it's just one alcoholic speaking with another one 22:46 and sharing their experience, strength, and hope, 22:48 believing that that person will can and will get sober if 22:51 they try what we've done, they will get the same results. 22:55 Once again, this idea of sponsorship and sharing, 23:00 it's a Christian principle, this is discipleship. 23:03 I mean we are all to be if you were, Christian sponsors, 23:08 for people, other sinners like ourselves and to encourage them 23:13 to share the good news. So it's actually or partly... 23:18 well, I mean in part, we all are fulfilling the 23:22 Great Commission and that's what you are doing here. 23:24 Go and tell! Yes! Let me ask you this question. 23:26 We have just a few minutes left. Sure. 23:28 In these 12 steps absolutely changed your life. 23:33 Yes. Working. Excuse me. God working through the 12 steps 23:38 changed your life. 23:39 It's interesting to me, I knew very little about AA 23:44 but I had heard various things. Some people don't think AA 23:49 really acknowledges God as God. We had an engineer who worked 23:53 for us who...and I may have shared this on an earlier 23:58 program, I don't recall, but he did not believe in God, 24:03 he was an atheist and so he called on a higher power 24:06 or kneeling at a tree one day praying, he heard a voice say 24:11 to him, my name is Jesus Christ and I am your higher power, 24:17 and he became a very devout Christian. 24:19 But where has...sometimes I think AA gets a bad wrap 24:24 from Christians, like it's somehow denying the power 24:28 of God if you have to to through a 12 step program, so... 24:32 it's very much...especially I know in your group, 24:37 it's very much Christ oriented, God oriented, so... 24:42 There's no doubt, anyone who believes that we deny the 24:46 power of God has not been to a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. 24:49 They will hear God mentioned from every corner, 24:52 from people, and this is another miracle is watching 24:55 people who come in who have only used the word God 24:58 in a swear word, suddenly within days and weeks 25:03 they are talking about God in loving terms 25:05 and the transformation is amazing. 25:07 You know there is way too much evidence, even if they sit 25:11 silently in AA meetings, they see the changes happening 25:15 day to day, week to week, and they hear the acknowledgement 25:19 constantly that God is doing for us, what we cannot do 25:21 for ourselves. The results of prayer, the results of doing 25:25 the right thing because you know it's the right thing 25:27 and because God empowers you to do that. 25:29 There is a lot of mis- understanding, that's true, 25:33 but AA says keep your hand to the plow, do what you know 25:38 to do. Don't worry about what other people think of you, 25:40 worry about what God thinks about you. 25:42 Yes. And if you know what God thinks of you, you know He is 25:45 crazy about you. Amen! This is Christian principle. 25:48 Absolutely. We don't worry too much about that, 25:51 we don't do sensational advertising, we have 25:54 12 traditions which could be a whole nother series 25:56 which are also Christian principles, amazingly 25:59 in that we hold our groups together this way with our 26:04 12 traditions, and they are easily... 26:07 you can locate these easily on the internet. 26:10 There is a lot of misinformation, sadly there are 26:13 a lot of people that believe that they can cure alcoholism 26:18 in other ways. We believe it's a disease that is incurable 26:21 on this earth, on this earth in the new world of course 26:25 it won't be, but that it's fatal, that it's progressive 26:29 that it's incurable. But being a mental, physical, and spiritual 26:33 disease, there is only one solution and that's a spiritual 26:37 remedy connecting to God who gives us the power to not only 26:41 to stay sober, but to help others and live happy 26:45 productive, wonderful lives. 26:46 There are many people I know who come to AA who eventually 26:51 make their way to church, AA does not push them to church, 26:54 but they are connected to God and God draws them 26:59 to where they need to be and that's fun. 27:03 Several people in my group have become Seventh-day 27:06 Adventists because of it, and I think that is wonderful. 27:09 Amen! Amen! Well, what occurs to me once more is that 27:13 as we have gone through these 12 steps, that these are steps 27:18 we can all use for whatever we're trying to overcome... 27:23 If there is something that's been holding you back 27:25 you've got to admit that you are powerless over it, 27:29 that only by God's power can you overcome, 27:32 you need to turn your will over to the Lord 27:35 admit to God, to yourself, to others the exact nature 27:40 of your wrong, be ready to have God remove your character 27:45 defects, humbly ask Him to remove our short comings... 27:49 Make a list of those we've harmed, make restitution 27:52 to those and then take that personal daily inventory... 27:56 Seek God through daily prayer and meditation, 27:59 and then as God re-awakens you spiritually, 28:03 go out and share the good news of the power of God. 28:07 Bob, thank you so much for being with us, 28:10 this has been a pleasure to have you here, 28:13 and it's been a real joy and very educational. 28:16 For those of you at home thank you for joining in. 28:18 Share these programs with some- one who really needs to know, 28:22 there is HOPE in God. |
Revised 2017-02-09