It's such a breathe of fresh air when a believer can be vulnerable and honest like this! It says a lot about your character! I love authenticity rather than putting on a mask to please people. Respect!
Alcoholism isn’t just drinking in the morning, it’s binge drinking also. I was a binge drinker. I didn’t drink everyday, but when I did drink I would binge. Also alcoholism is drinking large amounts everyday, doesn’t have to be in the morning only. Alcoholism is a progressive disease. I‘ve been sober 13 years. Congratulations on your sobriety.
I didn't drink every day, which made me think there was nothing wrong with my drinking. I used to drink Thursdays and Saturdays, but I would drink a minimum of 12 beers each night. Sometimes more. My health was taking a hit, and so was my relationship with my wife. I decided to quit and im going on 1yr of sobriety this coming week. I love the feeling of not being dependent to a substance that has nothing good to offer you. I still love to hear these success stories, and it's what has kept me pushing forward this past year. Thank you
Great video Ryan, really great transparency and humor. I'm quite similar it seems in this regard. A great message and not the least bit condemning, it was really refreshing to hear. Going through a huge trauma this last year (which is still ongoing) having my only son withheld from me for 9 months and counting now without cause, this can (and does) destroy some men, but I'm holding on. All this pain has made me 'reliant' on it more and more to help 'deal' with the pain and grief. Time to start believing I'm strong enough not to need it.
Hey thanks so much for sharing brother. Sorry to hear about your situation. Standing with you for God to really come through for you in this one. Bless you.
Loved this video Ryan! Very open, transparent and real. One of my personal favourite biblical passages for promoting sobriety would probably be Romans 14, but specifically verse 21: "It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall." We are called to love one another and it's easy for some people to say that they can deal with alcohol fine (or really any other thing that can be addicting can be substituted here), but we need to make sure in everything that we do we glorify God and are making sure that what we're doing is not inadvertently causing other people to stumble. A verse I would use to say that drinking is not inherently sinful would be Mark 14:23, "Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it." If we're called to do as Jesus did then drinking is, at least in some circumstances, okay. The key is that alcohol is not in itself a sin but a tool, a tool that can be used for sin or for good. Jesus has demonstrated for us how to use it healthily, in a way that respects that our body is a temple, and how to do it to glorify His name. But on the flip side it can definitely be used in a sinful way, whether that's disrespecting our bodily temple, gluttony, leading to showing hate towards others or even just not in a way that does not glorify God. TLDR: There's nowhere in the Bible that tells us we have to drink or we cannot drink, and so as you pointed out in the video both options are perfectly valid and reasonable when done with the intent of glorifying God.
@@RyanRufusNNM I think the verse Rom:14,21 relates to a form of pagan worship as is the case with not getting tattoos for the OT Hebrews. they were symbolic of belonging to a certain cult. what I heard before was that Paul was writing to those who were both hungry and thirsty. and yet they fely guilty being at the shrines were food and drink was left in worship the false gods
So there's a few reasons I love this video. One is that you're not subscribing a "what worked for me must work for you" principle. All of us are different - what makes us tick, what we're more inclined to be addicted too, our attitudes towards alcohol, our chemical make up in our own physiology - and so your encouragement to do what works for you is key to getting folks to take responsibility for their own lives, make good decisions and rely on God's grace to empower them to live well in those decisions. Honestly, I think most of us have a tendency of addiction to something, whether it be coffee or chocolate... Being enslaved is the point you're making and Christ has set us free, so we can be free. I remember years ago the Lord showed me as clear as day how I used shopping as copping mechanism when I was depressed or disappointed. I found my soul uplifted when I went to buy something, spend money on clothes or shoes, etc. Instead of finding solace in Christ, I was finding I found it in material stuff. We all have our hurdles and challenges so how can we judge each other? Rather love each other and encourage each other as the Day approaches. Appreciated your total honesty. It was visible that you weren't sure how to share about your going out with a bang night, but so what... Right on and much love Ryan!
A man died horrifically while on holiday in Las Vegas, I believe he was drunk as he was walking in a high speed highway, his body was destroyed. alcohol is good for relaxation but to I can turn dangerous in excess, being the cause of death by accidents and more. Alcohol in moderation can be healthy, self control, and restraint are key, there is no condemnation for it, but care is required.I prefer tea, and being sober minded, I like being in control and conscious. God help us handle it with care and safety four our sake of health and safety of others, Amen. Love you Ryan, always handsome.
“Remember that we deal with alcohol-cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power-that One is God. May you find Him now! - Alcoholics Anonymous
Hi there, I echo Zane’s sentiments about the video. I do drink occasionally but as I find myself firmly in my 40s, like you I’ve started to feel my body fighting the alcohol if it’s anything more than one unit. As we start ageing, we really need to listen to our bodies if we want that quality time to still share the message of the Bible with people. I count myself lucky that I don’t have an addictive personality and really admire people who have made the choice to quit completely. Thanks for your videos, I have an absolute passion for Revelation and all related scriptures and the video expounding your counter-arguments to full preterism was very useful!
For some reason your Facebook posts have been showing up on my feed this past week. That led me to this video. I'm originally from Ireland and grew up Catholic (living in America now) and since the age of 14 I would spend my weekends drinking and passing out a lot. The social norm back home. Every week would start out "I'm not drinking again, I'm giving it up." But it would end with heading out on Saturday and passing out on Sunday. For years this went on. I despised it. But it became my identity, because I'm Irish and that's what Irish people do. When I met my wife in 2006 (an American girl) and moved to America in '08 we got married and she introduced me to non-denominational Christianity. I gave my life to Christ in 2012, baptized and struggled with a lot of spiritual warfare for 7 years. I rededicated my life to Christ in 2019 and began a deep search for God. As we were preparing to go home that Christmas, I was searching God for 6-7weeks on where alcohol fit into my life now that I dedicated myself to him. I had not answer, so naturally when we went home, we celebrated Christmas and alcohol was a central theme. One night after about 3 or 4 cans of Guinness, it was time to put my daughter to bed. As my wife and I lay her down in bed, I received a vision and it was a pint of Guinness suspended in the air with veins coming out to the left and right. God spoke to my spirit and said "if this is in you then there's no room for me." It was an 8 second vision. I'd love to say I quit right away, but we had planned to meet some friends a few days later and "catch up" since I was now living in America. That was New Years 2019 and we stayed out all night. My wife and I were so hungover New Years day 2020 it was basically a repeat of my teenag years. I told her, that's it I'm done. God had spoken to me and I didn't listen now I'm done. About 2 weeks later I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the next 3 months were tough because everyone couldn't believe I actually quit. I had drinks put in front of me at work, my family were in shock but I was completely done. I consecrated that part of my life to God and I haven't looked back since. Praise the Lord! I wanted to quit for years and couldn't but when God spoke to me, he made it clear and I showed him I couldn't do it without his help.
Even though I don`t drink, I find your message very uplifting and quite refreshing because I feel the tremendous encouragement without an ounce of condemnation! And the scripture you said at the end it's a brilliant example of choosing not to drink because of your purpose and identity! Well done, Ryan! Still waiting for new books to release on your Grace Bible Commentary, when are they going to be released? Hope you're ok!
Thank you. Bless you for sharing this. I'll be releasing Romans 12 soon. Each video is really time consuming unfortunately. I need to find a way to work quicker but for now it's slow going. God bless.
Had my first taste of beer at age 5. Drank too much since age 17....until now....I drink lightly now....last week 5 drinks....this week only two glasses of wine....past few years was approximately 40 drinks per week. I'm kicking my demon.
Thanks. Yeah, it's a fact that quitting booze not only makes your world a better place to be in, any good program or resource like Steffon Barkload's Quit Drinking Forever, that’s the best shortcut I go’ogled that took less than 2 weeks to work.
"God didn't leave us on earth to see how much sin we could overcome, but to see how much of heaven He could bring to earth through our lives! The supernatural transformation in the spirit of a person, at the point of salvation, is more powerful than any external law or discipline you could apply to a Christian to get them to "be holy" or live for God. Grace awakens the nature of God in the believer and empowers a life of encounter with Him. It s through this that we are continually transformed, here on earth, into who we already are in the heavenly realms in Christ." - Sanctification by Grace, Ryan Rufus, 2009. What happened to this guy? :(
Strongest scripture that lets believers know it’s ok to drink alcohol: Jesus’ first miracle when he turned water into wine in the wedding in Cana in John 2. Normally the best wine is brought out first but they ran out of wine at the wedding and Jesus turned the water into wine 🍷
Hey bud Thanks for being vulnerable and real and well done for overcoming it. Instead of alcohol how about our catch up over steak, it's the best fuel for running. 😄
I'm coming up on 4 years alcohol free and thought this video might be interesting. As soon as he started with the "scripture", I was out. People who watch might be of another faith or no faith at all. Scripture means nothing to them and, therefore, you lose viewers. Too bad. I would have watched the whole thing.
Hi Mark. Thanks for your comment. Yeah I understand not everyone is into the Bible. I was just sharing my story which includes my faith. I'm sorry if it put you off. Hey congratulations on 4 years alcohol free!
So what if scripture means nothing to them? Why would you be ignorant like them? So much scripture is easily relatable to anyone who is honest about their journey in life. The faithless still know truth and won't reject a testimonial like this. After half an hour, zero scripture pushed up, and an open, sensible dialogue about how better life goals and a basic cost/benefit analysis of alcohol consumption made the decision to stop drinking an easy one.
@@lifeandlifeabundant2024 what if I had a book a magic spells and witchcraft that I used to discuss sobriety. I doubt you'd stick around but please, tell us more about your "scripture".
A couple things I noticed. You quit for your pocket book and to not feel so guilty in the morning. But you left the possibility open for reunification to your unbelieving friends you were getting drunk with.. You never acknowledge the hypocrisy you were living as a man who claim to be an "elder" in God's Holy church that was paid by the price of God's Holy Son. There was no real mourning and repentance towards the sin of drunkenness and it was left open to personal opinion. Therefore many that struggle can perceive it as "no big deal" Do you realize that it's dangerous to play with God's Holy Gospel. Drunkards will not inherit the Kingdom of God. As an elder it does not appear to me as though you fully understand the severity of your sin. You were almost nonchalant about the whole matter. Trampleling under foot the blood of the Son of God is no small thing. Elders will be held to higher severity. I speak in tongues and have had many miracles in my life, but nothing is an excuse to take our sin lightly as a casual thing. It's a lukewarm message. Fear the Lord for HE IS HOLY, we must be Holy through Christ Spirit.
