LESSON 23:
Illegal Drug Use
1: In this lesson we are going to talk about a subject that is causing a great deal of concern on the part of adults these days because it is becoming a truly frightening problem. We are going to talk about the use of drugs.
2: Both youth and adults need to understand the dangers of and the nature of various drugs. No child is safe from the pusher of drugs these days. Classmates at school may be secretly urging him to try them "just this once!" "It won't hurt you!" And no parent here need think that your child is immune. The pressure of associates is very strong when one is young.
3: What are drugs? Drugs are chemical substances that affect the central nervous system. Generally speaking, they fall into three classes in their effects. There are drugs that stimulate; these are called stimulants. There are drugs that depress; we call these depressants. There are drugs that distort messages from the brain, or make up false messages to the brain; these are known as hallucinogens.
4: It is the illegal use of drugs is of great concern to thinking people all over the world, and we hear a great deal about L.S.D., Marijuana, heroin, opium and others. Here in our country, many people are enslaved by drugs and do not even realize what is happening to them.
5: Sometimes a person wants to study extra late, so he takes a pill to help him to stay awake and be alert. Some people are high-strung and nervous, so they take pills to calm themselves down. Some people have trouble going to sleep, so they take sleeping pills. Some people take pills so they will not feel pain. All these pills affect the brain and the nervous system. Now it is being discovered that the continued use of many of these seemingly simple things can have far-reaching effects both on the physical and mental characteristics of the users.
6: Mrs. Sharma's husband was a man whose business caused him to travel very much. Because Mrs. Sharma felt increasingly nervous when her husband was away her doctor gave her some sleeping pills. They were called Barbiturates. One night when particularly sleepless, Mrs. Sharma took two extra pills. From then on she did not remember what had happened. Under the influence of what is termed "automatism" she unconsciously began to swallow one pill after another until she had swallowed all the pills the doctor had prescribed for a three week's supply. Fortunately, Mrs. Sharma's life was saved by fast medical help and care. But every year many thousands of people die from accidentally taking too many sleeping pills.
7: Very often people who become accustomed to taking amphetamines or "pep" pills to increase their sense of "feeling good" find that after a while it does not work, even when taken in large quantities. So, the person moves on to a stronger drug, and he may easily find himself "hooked."
8: But you should not think of drugs in those somewhat extreme terms alone. Actually, many people are caught on drugs who do not even suspect such a thing. For example, how many of you smoke tobacco? How many of you drink tea or coffee? Tobacco has powerful drugs that first stimulate and then depress the central nervous system, so that one cigarette calls for another.
9: Tobacco, tea, coffee, and cola drinks also contain stimulants upon which you can come to depend much more than you realize. They may make you feel less tired and more alert, but actually, among many other undesirable effects, they irritate your nerves and your stomach, and they affect your heart and blood pressure.
10: You see, drugs do not cure! They only change the symptoms. A cup of coffee in the morning does not actually soothe your nerves. It really acts like a whip to a tired horse making it run even though it does not feel like doing so.
11: Several years ago a Swiss scientist wanted to study the life cycle of a certain kind of spider that lives on the Eastern Coast of the United States. As he studied these spiders he found that they built their webs in the early morning hours; between 1 o'clock and 3 o'clock. He was telling a friend of his about this and wished he could cause the spiders to build their webs earlier in the evening. The friend, who was also a scientist, suggested giving a spider a little caffeine from coffee to see if this would give the spiders extra pep and enthusiasm. They calculated how much the spider should get if he drank 2 cups of coffee. Ordinarily, the spiders built perfect webs. These spiders are very large, measuring about 4 inches across and the webs are large :as big as 3 or 4 feet across. The webs are very symmetrical and beautiful.
12: After the spider was given the caffeine it was full of pep all right; but it could not build a decent web! Its nerves were so affected that its web came out a mess, much to the surprise of both the scientists. It took the spider more than 24 hours to come back to normal and be able to build a proper web. Caffeine affects the nervous system and the results of the web show it. Yes, people who depend on drugs, give themselves a health handicap.
13: Actually, no one should take any kind of drug unless it is specifically prescribed by a doctor for a specific time and purpose. Even such a seemingly harmless thing as aspirin may not be as harmless as you think. Many people get into the habit of taking aspirin almost as if they were candy. But too much aspirin can damage bones and cause iron-deficiency-anemia. It can damage your kidneys and the lining of your stomach.
14: If you are having tired feelings, find out why, do not cover them up with drugs. If you are high-strung and nervous, find out why, do not lean on drugs to calm you down. If you are having difficulty sleeping, find out why, do not depend on drugs for sleep. In other words, do not look to drugs as an escape from uncomfortable situations and problems. They are not the answer.
15: Do you know that the number of suicides rises every year? We live in a world of confusion and mounting pressures. We need some kind of assurance. Looking ahead, the picture is not so very hopeful. Many people wish they could be sure of a happier world beyond, but they dread death because they fear the burning fires of hell or the tortures of purgatory. Can we be sure of anything? We have loved ones who have passed beyond the problems and troubles of this life. But what is their actual state now? Would you like to know the answers to some of these things?
16: The Bible says, "Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12. Everybody is a victim of death. Death has become the lot of men. In our topic now, we shall consider different aspects of this death.
17: What happens to a man when he dies? Do the dead know anything? Does he go to heaven or hell or limbo or purgatory? If a man dies, will he live again? Let the Bible give us the answer to these very puzzling questions.
18: "For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward for the memory of them is forgotten. Also, their love, and their hatred and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in anything that is done under the sun." Ecclesiastes 9:5,6. This text explains very clearly that the dead know not anything.
19: The dead cannot do anything. 'Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou guest." Ecclesiastes 9:10. King David under the inspiration of God said; "For in death there is no remembrance of Thee; in the grave who shall give Thee thanks? Psalm 6:6.
20: Dead people cannot pray, neither can they think anything. "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish:' Psalm 146, 4. Job says, "So man dieth and wasteth away: yea man giveth up the ghost and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: so man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." "0 that thou wouldst hide me in the grave. Job 14:10:13.
21: After death man stays in the grave or becomes dust of the earth. Solomon says, "For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: As the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth" Ecclesiastes 3:19:21.
22: So at death everybody goes to the grave and they turn to dust. They sleep in the grave, as it were, until Jesus comes and awakes them. If the righteous people after death go straight to heaven and the wicked to hell, then there is no need for Jesus to come back to take them to heaven.
23: Jesus comes to this earth only after the judgment is over. Before the judgment how can anyone be condemned or be rewarded? Jesus through His prophet said, "Behold I come quickly and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Revelation 22:12. The dead are all asleep. Of the death of Lazarus, Jesus said the same thing. "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep." John 11:11. Jesus called Lazarus from the grave and not from heaven or any other place. Lazarus came out of the same grave where he was buried.
24: Jesus said, "Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice. And shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation." John 5:38, 29. "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the Patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried and his sepulcher is with us unto this day." Acts 2:29.
25: "The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Genesis 2:7. Please note it was the union of dust with the breath of life that brought into existence a living soul.
26: The doctrine that man never dies originated with Satan in the garden of Eden when he said to Eve, "Ye shall not surely die." Genesis 3:3. It is this falsehood that has deceived the world today and people talk of the soul that cannot die.
27: In fact, Jesus Himself said, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" Matthew 10:28. Job 4:17 reads, "Shall mortal man be more just than God?" Man is mortal. God alone is immortal. "Who only hath immortality" 1 Timothy 6:16.
28: Immortality is a promised gift to the righteous at the second advent of Jesus Christ. "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." 1 Corinthians 15:53.
29: May the lord bless us so that at His appearing we may have the privilege of putting on immortality. Now is the time to meet the conditions for an immortal and eternal fife. May He guide us to be aware of Satan's lies and evil devices.
Here are additional passages of Scripture on the topic of death and eternal life:
"The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence." Psalm 115:17.
"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:12.
"He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." John 3:36.
"To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality." Romans 2:7.
"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23.
