Monday, May 26, 2025

In our society today there is the Hollow Song of Escapism, but there is also the Healing Song of Christ. We each will choose our song.

I love what the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 5:18 – “Do not be drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit.”

So many people today are broken, empty, guilty, lonely, hurting, afraid to die, and are longing for belonging. They are and feel this way.

Some run off to various churches for various reasons. Others drift off into bars, into nightclubs, or off to parties—searching for love, comfort, and real connection. They've seen how harmonious this type of lifestyle can be in TV sitcoms--yes, so harmonious it's much like a decent family. But worldly escapes offer only hollow comforts. Do you need a family? The Church must rise up with the living Word (Christ--He's the ultimate Solution) at the helm as the true place of healing, hope, and holy fellowship.

As sinners, let's run to Jesus -- we all need Him most! The landscape is spotted with fractured and splintered marriages and families. The real churches can offer real answers for real questions that are being asked today. We can point the up-and-outers, the down-and-outers and everyone else to the Lord who can forgive, heal and restore in the very deepest places of a person. Bars and those who entertain in them don't do that. A pub is not a smart place to hang out if you've had a tendency of being tempted by beer.

Many people have felt loved and accepted in bars, more so than is some so-called churches with dead wood at the top.

The bar, honky-tonk, or nightclub is the church-perverted. There wouldn't be one if Adam and Eve hadn't fallen in the garden. They have their own illixure of comfort, their own collective worship times with the celebratory tunes and special talented singers. They have their basic subculture rules to abide by. They recruit new people who willingly pay even at the door. They have their own sincere type of fellowship. You've undoubtedly seen one with his arm around a jilted buddy who is bent over and crying into their beer.

This is my own figurative expression highlighting some differences and the negative aspects associated with worldly nightlife compared to spiritually healthy places of biblical worship.

In our modern society, both types of worship venues serve as acceptable gathering spots for people (for their "night-life needs"), but these spots differ greatly in their root-purpose, aims and atmosphere.

Hey, I don’t judge anyone or any Christian believer who wanders into a local eatery that has a bar.. for a meal and a glass of wine. That'd be stupid and think of the wait-help how need to earn a living by serving others. Man, who wants to be some legalistic judge, or stiff religious fool, or feel "better than thou" as we believers impose our own personal conviction onto others? I sure don't. I don't have all the facts and besides.. somethings can appear one way and be completely different. I often frequent eateries that have a bar in the back. (Sure, I’d like the place better if it didn’t, because I don’t really see any good that comes from drinking really). I'm a saved sinner and like many, I used to drink like a gold-fish during my high school days, and it wasn't for the flavor. (Now am better off than many [not better than]--yes!)

Is getting drunk a sin?  Yes. That's from God's word.
Need some comfort? Have you yet found a wholesome place to fit in?

I. The World’s Counterfeit: Escapism That Enslaves

God says in Proverbs 20:1 – “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”

  • A. Is A Bar The World’s False Church? (There are many types of false churches where people go to worship these days)

    • A bar has music, rules, “fellowship,” and a false sense of belonging.

    • A bar offers its arms in the air, music distractions and celebratory dance, not deliverance. (maybe a temporary relief from the pain, but that brings more pain, complications and difficulties)

  • B. There's an Illusion of Comfort

    • The buzz will wear off. Many problems worsen going unaddressed. The wounds remain. (Are there so called Christians who ignore their bills and cause themselves worsening problems too? Sadly yes. There are worldly and carnal Christians in many types of churches. Be genuinely saved according to the Bible, and a doer of the word, not a mere hearer who deceives himself.)

    • CDC reports over 140,000 U.S. deaths yearly from alcohol-related causes.

  • C. The Deeper Pain Beneath that Drunk Party

    • Many are “laughing on the outside, masking, and bleeding on the inside.”

    • Let's please the Lord and be contented in Jesus as Lord. Author C.S. Lewis: “We are far too easily pleased.”

✦ Need a Wise Application for Evangelism, Believer?:

  • We each are called of God to go live the life (not merely put on some Sunday show for applause), and compassionately point people to Christ who can meet every need of man or woman, we are not called to play Holy Spirit, or to accuse, or guilt, or cast the final judgement, or to condemn people. Let the Holy Spirit convict those loving their destructive ways. All sins are destructive, and some can be pleasurable for a short season. Have you ever noticed that it takes more today to try to satisfy the fleshly nature than it took yesterday? Ask an addict about this. A life in sin and dead religion can get so moldy so fast, but a simple life in Jesus does not. He really satisfies when the world cannot. Money can address a lot of things, but even it can't satisfy the deepest needs and longings in a person. 

  • Be present and honestly empathetic with your ears where people are hurting, believing, while not participating in their sin. Instead, lovingly offer the light of truth.

  • Share your own story with confidence. People need to hear it. Yes, your testimony of how Christ entered and replaced all the counterfeit comforts with His real joy. What were you like before you met Jesus? What did you think would help you--what did you feel like before and after running to the world's so-called solutions? Don't glorify those brief periods that were exciting or "sophisticated" or glamorous in the world's corrupt system. What were you thinking, feeling, and doing when you decided to repent and believe in the Son of God? What helped you see things more realistically? What has your life been like (with the trials and opposition at times) since you've come to know and walk with the Lord?

II. God’s Design: Real Belonging in the Family, the Body of Christ

Key Verse: Romans 15:7 – “Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.”

  • A. Jesus Offers What the World Cannot Offer

    • He doesn’t numb us—He transforms us. We have a clean conscience, free forgiveness, abundant life. We have eternal life in fellowship with Him and other believers! 

    • He doesn’t ignore the pain—He addresses what caused it, and He heals it.

  • B. The Church as the True Fellowship

    • A Spirit-filled Bible teaching Church can be warm-hearted, welcoming, and worshipful (in an acceptable way).

    • We are called to have a part in creating a holy community where people feel seen, acknowledged, affirmed and accepted in the Holy One. Where people are both safe and completely saved. Christian, you are totally "accepted in the beloved" (See Ephesians 1:6). While you were still enemies of God, He has accepted you as a believer, not because of any earned merit on your own part, but through the rich grace and love that was shown in Jesus Christ. The Cross and the Resurrection were not if vain. You know the evidence and now know Him. 

  • C. Life in the Light, Not the Shadows

    • 1 Thessalonians 5:5–6 – “Ye are all the children of light.. let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober.”

✦ Wise Application for the Church:

  • Build warm, grace-filled communities that welcome the wounded (no matter their background or color).

  • Make church feel like family because we really are a forever family—yes, that acts genuinely 24/7/365. Be real, honest, above reproach and Christ-centered.

  • Practice the warmth of hospitality. Invite people to Jesus, to church, to your healthy small Bible study group and of course into your life, not just your services.

III. There's a Call to Godly Wisdom and to Witness for Jesus

Key Verse: Ephesians 5:15–16 – “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time…”

  • A. Reject the Numbing and Embrace the Knowing

    • John Piper: “Drinks and entertainment become gods when God is ignored.”

    • Choose sobriety one day at a time, like they do at AA. It's not beyond any of us to get overly confident in our victory that God gives us. Don't be proud like I've got this and always will. We are to remain dependant upon the Spirit in our walk, and interdependent as we learn principles of victory from each other. It's not just for morality’s sake—but for your mission’s sake.

  • B. Be ye Filled with the Spirit, Not any Lame Substitute

    • Ephesians 5:18 – A life full of the Spirit produces clarity, courage, and real love. Study the fruit of the Spirit and choose to walk in the Spirit. Remember, refills are free. 

    • Spirit-filled believers impact the world more than some buzzed ones ever could. The Great Commandment and the Commission is for every believer! I like all the Bible commandments--good guardrails for safety! 

  • C. Live as Pure Lights for Jesus (seek Him first) and For Blessing the Lost

✦ Application for All Believers:

  • Ask daily: “Holy Spirit, Does this glorify God the Father or gratify the fleshly nature?”

  • Who are my closest friends and how have they been influencing me? Who do I pray for and influence to get closer to God and closer to those real believers in His church? 

  • Live intentionally. Don’t flirt with the world or with the edges of spiritual compromise. Why do you need to flirt at all? Live a no-spiritual-compromise life in the Lord! 

  • Choose wisdom over liberty. The lost are watching. The Church is edified when saints walk wisely.

EXHORTATION: A Better Song

The world’s song is seductive and impure, but it ends up in sorrow. Christ’s song is healing and holy—and it never fades away! 

“You don’t need a bottle or lame buzz. You need the God of the Bible. His name is Jesus Christ. You don’t need a barstool. You need the altar and a family who will actually help you.”

✦ Reflect A Bit & Have A Response

✔️ Is there any place of escapism I’ve run to instead of to Jesus? Lord, lead me to a spiritually healthy Bible teaching church for fellowship. 
✔️ How can I help my church be a place of healing for the busted and broken?
✔️ Who in my life needs the invitation to leave the darkness for Christ and His light? Come as you are willing to be changed -- God will make you more you than you've ever been before. He created you. 

🔹 Final Quote: Charles H. Spurgeon

“Drunkenness is not only the devil’s way of making fools of men, but it is his method of making sure he has their souls.”

EMBRACE THE FATHER'S INVITATION TO JESUS AND HIS GREAT SALVATION

Ditch that dungeon of doom. If you’re tired of the hangovers, the lusting, the heartaches, and all those hopeless nights—come to Jesus the Ultimate Victor. He doesn't just change your direction. He changes your desires inside. He won’t just take away your pain—He’ll give you a purpose. He changes us from the inside out.

Come home. Come to Christ. He’s waiting. Don't put it off. No excuses. 

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