Proverbs 23:29-35 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? (30) They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Alcohol is a mind-altering drug. It may have some limited use as medicine. But it is a home wrecker. What does the Bible say about drinking? There are over 600 references to drink and drinking - many strong warnings. 1. DRINKING BRINGS WOES Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? What a load of misery and grief! Contentions – strife – violence, drunken fights! Drinkers have trouble getting on with others. Trouble with the Law. Trouble with relationships. They rave and babble in foolish, crazy talk. Alcohol attacks the brain - it lowers the power of restraint and fogs the memory. It creates an altered state of consciousness in which people lose self-control. It brings much sorrow and heartache. It brings shame. Thine eyes shall behold strange women - it leads to looseness and lack of judgment in moral choices. It makes people say perverse things - things they would not say if they were sober. Daniel “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself” by drinking. Alcohol brings trouble and heartbreak. Isaiah 28:7-8 talks of vomit and filthiness.. 2. DRINKING BRINGS WOUNDS who hath wounds without cause? There’s wounds to the drinker, and wounds to the ones around him. Alcohol causes men to stagger and fight. It turns men into beasts. Alcohol affects the body. The eyes, the kidneys, the liver, the brain. The nervous system. The cardio vascular system. The reproductive system. An unborn child is as intoxicated as its mother. Alcohol has no beneficial effect but brings permanent damage. Heart disease, high blood pressure, strokes, cancer of the throat and mouth, cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes, pancreatitis. We are called to present our bodies to the Lord as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto the Lord. Our bodies are to be a temple of the Holy Spirit. Alcohol does damage. Violence. Mental illness. Abuse. Ruined lives. It’s a killer. Alcohol is responsible for 80% of home violence, 30% of all suicides, 60% of all child abuse, 60% of all divorces. Half of all traffic fatalities and homicides. The WHO classifies alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen. Drinking can lead to permanent genetic damage in your DNA. Alcohol affects the brain - judgment, reasoning and self control. It kills brain cells - and they are gone for good. It’s a leading risk factor for overall premature death and disease. It’s a toxin. Poison. Alcohol causes blood sludging and starves oxygen supply to vital organs of the body. Alcohol abuse shortens lives by an average of 10 to 12 years. Alcohol clouds the mind. It reduces self control, sight, ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY21TnbAoxc

It's easy to feel small, unimportant, unable. Insignificant. Like we don't matter. Maybe we can feel worthless, inferior, second rate? We can think ourselves as lacking, weak, unworthy, deficient, incompetent... We can think up all kinds of excuses about why we don't matter. We aren't able. We can discount ourselves and our value. Yet that's not the way God looks at you. You matter to God - the Lord Jesus wants you to know and follow Him. You can find purpose and meaning and value. Nazareth was an obscure, out of the way place. Insignificant. Little. A place that had a prejudice against it. Nothing good came out of there, so people thought. So they said. John 1:46 Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Who is Jesus? Jesus of Nazareth. That was what they called Him.The Lord Jesus came out of Nazareth. Maybe God places us in out-of-the-way places so He can use us there… The Lord Jesus was one rejected… Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief… He is still rejected by many. But to the believer He is truly precious. 1 Peter 2:7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious… The Lord Jesus was called a friend of publicans and sinners. He identified with the little people, and was their friend. He recognised and praised even a Samaritan. He touched and healed the lepers, the outcasts. The ones others would disregard and overlook. Our Lord praises those with faith as small as a mustard seed. Matthew 17:20 …If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed... God uses the lowly… The Nobodies. The Commoners. The Unknown. Look at who He chose to be His representatives on earth? He chose from amongst the FISHERMEN. Not people well regarded. They had no credentials to lay claim to… Acts 4:13 …unlearned and ignorant men… God chooses and uses from among the humble, the lowly, the meek, and the weak. Consider, the unknowns, the unlikely, the unqualified, the unworthy… It is from amongst the ranks of these that we find the true heroes of the faith… Consider, MOSES… Numbers 12:3 …Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. He was small enough that God could use him as His faithful servant. Moses tried to talk God out of it… Exodus 4:10 …O my Lord, I am not eloquent… I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. The Lord finds His workmen amongst the lowly. What about – GIDEON? God found Gideon hiding in a hole, fearful, hiding from the enemy. Judges 6:12 …The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour. Gideon confessed he was the least of his family and from the least of the tribes of Israel. The Lord doesn’t seek the strong and powerful or persuasive of speech. Yet he can empower and make us bold and mighty in Him. The Lord calls the least in the eyes of the world so that He is most glorified. We read of JEREMIAH… God tells him, I have ordained thee a prophet unto the nations… What does Jeremiah say? Jeremiah 1:6-9 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child… DAVID also was a humble leader, willing as a servant, as a shepherd…1 Samuel 18:23 …I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed. It was little David who defeated the giant and became the king of a nation. God searches out the humble and the unlikely and calls them to serve Him. God will use the poor in this world, rich in faith. God can use the most unlikely. The prostitute RAHAB. Imagine that! Also, RUTH – she wasn’t a woman who had some great position. She did not come from a famous, godly family. Ruth was a widow from an enemy nation. She was from Moab. Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? God uses ordinary people in extraordinary ways. He can choose you, even if you are from Nazareth. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: (27) But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; (28) And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: (29) That no flesh should glory in his presence. Answer the call. As with John the Baptist: John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease. It is not your bigness that God is looking for… It is your willingness to trust in Him. To know that He is with you. God uses people – little people who trust in Him. What makes the difference? God with us. Surely He can use you. Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Out of Elizabeth? Out of humble little Adelaide? Surely God can call and use you. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZRgPKX-2Ps

1 To God be the glory, great things he has done! So loved he the world that he gave us his Son, who yielded his life an atonement for sin, and opened the life-gate that all may go in. Refrain: Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, Let the earth hear his voice! Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice! O come to the Father through Jesus the Son and give him the glory, great things he has done! 2 Great things he has taught us, great things he has done, and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son, but purer and higher and greater will be our joy and our wonder, when Jesus we see. [Refrain] ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KJhrF0Ks6k

Roger shares of God's work in his life. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy7FAvbbcZE