Clean & Sober
Jesus tells us a revealing story of the tragic lives of those who attempt to reform but are never transformed. The story is found in Matthew 12:43 and Luke 11:23. An evil spirit leaves a person when that person repents of their sins and begins to live clean and sober. The evil spirit goes out into a desert place but cannot find rest. He returns to the person and finds them living clean and sober. But the person has not filled their life with the love and power of Christ. They have not been empowered by the Holy Spirit. The evil spirit seizes the opportunity and recruits 7 of his pals. Together, they reenter the person. That person is worse off than before and controlled by another powerful form of addiction, existing in a state of delusional thinking. The tragedy is that the person tried hard to clean up their life and become sober, but they never filled the void with God's love and power. Self-discipline that reforms but lacks the transformational power of God, is futile in ...