Presented at 13th Street Church of God, LaFollette, TN
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Deliverance
Burdens Lifted And Bondage Broken
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Exodus 5:1-8
[1] And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
[2] And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
[3] And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.
[4] And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.
[5] And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.
[6] And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,
[7] Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
[8] And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
God sends Moses to Pharaoh and renews His pledge of deliverance. Pharaoh refuses to let them go. He (Pharaoh) then makes it harder for them to make bricks by cutting out their supply of straw, adding to their labor to have to search for it. He increased their burdens and bondage. Bondage is control by a person or substance. Burdens are concerns, cares or problems.
Exodus 6:1-8
[1] Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.
[2] And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:
[3] And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
[4] And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.
[5] And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.
[6] Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
[7] And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
[8] And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.
Here are some key phrases that we often read over that should stand out to increase our faith:
- I am the Lord
- I will bring you out from under the burdens
- I will rid you out of bondage
- I will redeem with a stretched out arm
- The Passover lamb was their strength
- We have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus!
- I will be to you a God
- I will bring you into the land concerning which I swore
- They received the promise of Canaan and we received the promise of Heaven!
Hebrews 4:9-16
[9] There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
[10] For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
[11] Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
[12] For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
[13] Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
[14] Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
[15] For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
[16] Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
When you start going God’s way the taskmaster (which is Satan) will press against you. Sin and temptations are our bondage. Fears, doubts, anger and helplessness are our burdens. Our strength can be found (even if the labor is increased) if you have that Lamb of God in your life.
Fight For Your Mind
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II Corinthians 10:1-6
[1] Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:
[2] But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.
[3] For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
[4] (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
[5] Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
[6] And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
How do we revenge our disobedience? Being willing to face the conflict! When you have a stronghold in your life only you can deal with it. People that intercede can take you so far but you must decide to fight the good fight too much. You cannot conquer what you will not confront. God has a weapon for every stronghold on your life. You must begin to see these strongholds as something that you must confront.
The work of the ministry is a spiritual warfare, with spiritual enemies and for spiritual purposes. Deliverance begins when we understand what it is that is holding us. People that will not begin to acknowledge that they have strongholds, done things wrong, or any form of bondage are limiting how far that we will go, limiting prophetic encouragement and our spiritual potential.
Acts 19:11-19
[11] And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
[12] So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
[13] Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
[14] And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
[15] And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
[16] And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
[17] And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
[18] And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.
[19] Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
If you are ever going to confront and overcome with success you must learn not to try to conquer things on your own. We must learn that we cannot do this on our own!
Judges 16:16-21
[16] And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death;
[17] That he told her all his heart, and said unto her. There hath not come a rasor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.
[18] And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand.
[19] And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.
[20] And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.
[21] But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.
Just admitting our weaknesses only makes us more prone to fall short. We must not give into weakness and still think we can overcome. We must learn to face the weakness by the spirit so that we go from being a people that cannot do it to people that know that they can win. It is very easy to fall into traps by giving into the enemies’ temptations. We must rebuke!
1 Peter 1:3-7
[3] Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
[4] To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
[5] Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
[6] Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
[7] That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
We are kept by the power of God through faith and not just to faith alone. It needs nurtured and stirred!
1 Corinthians 2:2-5
[2] For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
[3] And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
[4] And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
[5] That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
You can be wise in this world and lose your power in God! Be careful to abide in the true strength of God’s spirit!
Take Me To The Place Where God Is Real
By the almighty grace of God I write to you today with a renewed zeal within my spirit. In fact, I write each post, sing each song, and minister through the word being renewed within myself daily. In fact, the bible instructs in multiple scriptures to be renewed within your mind and for it to be frequently addressed. Some of you may wonder a couple things like a) what’s the point? and 2) why daily?
Throughout all of the bible you read the inspiring stories of triumph, victory and glory. When you hear people teach and minister over these moments do you ever ask yourself what it was within them that caused them to believe in the difficult times? I have often, especially in the most desperate moments of calamity; for when confusing is running rampart all about me I take moments in time and really try to understand where the men and women of God in the bible found their strength.
Take me to the place where God is real. I’m not just referring to counting your everyday blessings, but I am talking about a moment you can recall where you felt the presence of God strongly upon you. What happened in the moment when that transpired? Was there something amazing that happened?
I do not have to go very far back to find places throughout the history of my life where God was real for me. In a time when I needed deliverance from drug and alcohol addiction I found a very real experience through my sovereign savior. As I have testified in the past I literally felt the weights lift from the sin and attacks of my past. I was never the same. It was one of the pivotal points in my life where I went from knowing of God from others to knowing God for myself.
One of the key concepts that is part of the foundation for my life is that I am renewed in my present day from the blessings of my past. These same blessings are the stepping stones for my faith, leading me to know and believe that if God has performed miracles in my past that I can realize them through faith in my future! If I did not take the time to renew myself the faith I carry for a season may fade from my personal weakness.
I would have never thought the day would have come that when I would preach, teach or sing that I would see the crowd begin to get use to my obedience and therein decrease their active support. This day will come for anyone in an environment where you may be a part of a ministry in the long-term. So how do you stay effective for people that come in new? Take me to the place where God is real.
Every time that you will stir your faith by the blessings that were real to you it renews the hope within your heart to be effective and affectionate in your anointing for others. Put simply, it’s the strength that stirs the joy within you even when people may fail you.
So where is it for you? Do you remember where that moment that stirs your heart? Take me to the place where God is real for you!
You Will Not Be Received Everywhere But Will Be Where God Wants You
One of the biggest lessons that I ever had to learn in my life was through a very hard personal experience. I share this testimony to you to speak for and to show how amazing the healing power of God’s spirit works. Or in other words, please read as a person of Godly character.
Since I have been born I have always been in church somewhere. Out of all the places that I have ever attended, there was one that I spent most of my time in. It was the church I grew up in, my heritage, my starting place. It was the venue that I started life in my mothers womb as she played piano at and grew up through the age of accountability. For a space of time once I began to enter into my teen years I had a falling away from church and God all together. In the few times that I made it to church though people loved me and helped me (even when I looked like I didn’t deserve it). However during this time and season I was going back and forth driving by that same place I had grew up all my life in and remembered all of the words and love that I had heard and felt all of my life…but yet a thought began to provoke me: where was the love I needed outside of the building?
As it turns out the same place that I had been educated and led by God to salvation would not be the venue of my prodigal son moment; for as it turned out it was in a place of completely different denomination and people I had never known. In the first few weeks of my deliverance I began to have a great boldness and zeal for God (as we mostly do starting out). I had actually announced my calling to preach and had began working in a few churches. It finally hit me one day, “Why don’t I go by and visit that church?” In doing so I came to discover something that left me greatly confused: not only was the reception different than it used to be but it declined with every visit.
When I realized what God was teaching me, my heart broke. I now knew something I did not know before. As I began phasing out it became evident that the lack of love and support was never to do with where I came from but where I was now. And whether anyone will ever read this or not I am stating it anyway: working together as churches, ministries and people should never be separated by a name on the door or the doctrine it represents. To this day the door has never been opened for me to come and minister to where my heritage began. I’m not grieved, though. In fact to this day I thank God that he appoints my open doors and sends me to places where I can be of help. And to this day I hold nothing against anyone and love each and every person dearly that helped be a part of the earlier years of my life. In fact, I have had an abundant outpouring of those who were rallying for me to continue to grow knowing the circumstance!
In conclusion, here’s what I leave you with today: if you have to leave all that you have known behind to step into your calling and walk in the favor of God, do it! If people will not receive you then let go of the affliction that this would bring (shake the dust from your feet) and move on. Please do not ever let anything be as a hindrance to the true will of God for your life!
Learning To Adjust To Adversity With God As Your Guide
One of lifes unpredictable pieces represents the part of it that changes it the most: the people around you. This is something that with each and every one of us at some point I’m sure have tried to fight or change the opinions or perspectives of, but never succeed. As you are reading this, please consider your own life as well as to how much you are able to adjust to others.
When I walk in the wilderness or mountains, there are so many different objects that you can interact with in many ways and with all senses. By comparison you can find unique things and people that differ all around you. I have walked through the mountains and seen some people admire the beauty of the rocks while others would throw them. I have seen others take plants as something special while others step on over it without even knowing what it is. In essence we are the same way with the way that we become preferable to some and not others. That’s how you can classify why it is easier or harder to love; for in a lot of the cases it is within how we perceive them to direct our feelings. I have also seen people destroy trees and smash rocks to try and fit them for other purposes as well. Even if you alter the original state of an object, it still does not negate from the fact that it was an object before it was changed, right? So what are we getting at today?
There are going to be plenty of people out there that you attempt to reach out to that may be totally different than what you are used to (or even prefer!), but that does not mean that God does not love them the same nor that the opportunity for salvation and deliverance isn’t just as free. We as children of God must learn to love all of God’s creation and learn to appreciate and love one another. With that said, doing this is a huge adjustment but not impossible!
Trust God to help you stay adjusted to have a love for all and and charity for those in need. Never forget that you are God’s creation regardless of all of life’s adjustments. Hang in there and cling to the promises of God today!
Evaluating Our Hindrances
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Exodus 14:8-9
[8] And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.
[9] But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon.
Pharaoh’s pursuit of Israel is a very good representation of how evil forces in our lives pursue us today.
Luke 22:31
[31] And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
Jesus even was saying to Peter during His life on earth that Satan desired to have them. The word “have” is a very strong word when it comes to the ownership of your life or soul.
Exodus 14:21-22
[21] And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
[22] And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
The opening of the Red Sea when compared to today is a good comparison to the hindrances in our life being removed.
Luke 23:34
[34] And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
The way was completely made when Jesus made the sacrifice for us; it was made for our deliverance. How powerful were the words “Father, forgive them”? It immediately remitted our sins and provided the way we know today!
Exodus 14:19-20
[19] And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
[20] And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
Reading about the pillar of cloud and fire reminds me of the divine presence of God that is with us now!
Acts 2:17-21
[17] And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God,I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
[18] And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
[19] And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
[20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
[21] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
His presence is still with us! So what do we begin to do about our hindrances? How different are we than these we read of here?
Exodus 12:38
[38] And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.
The mixed multitudes demonstrated then what we would know as the worldly element that is present in a church without the leadership of God in it.
Exodus 16:3
[3] And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
The flesh pots get right down to where we are with our sensual pleasures of life. Dependency on sin can be a direct hindrance, whether we choose to acknowledge that or not. So what do we have to overcome our hindrances?
Exodus 16:4
[4] Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
The manna here for them is our representation of Jesus Christ to us today; for He is the bread of life to us as He is in us each and every day.
Exodus 17:6
[6] Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
The water from the rock was refreshing then, but how much more is the refreshment of knowing that we still have access to the living water through Christ!
1 Corinthians 10:4
[4] And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
When reading that they drank of the Rock, the Rock here to me is what we base our faith and beliefs upon; that Jesus came and died so that we could have life and it more abundantly!
The Substance Of Things Hoped For
Deuteronomy 7:9 – Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
Psalm 143:1 – Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
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When I begin trying to understand important phrases in the word of God, I try and comprehend the roots of the important pieces that apply in my life. When we think of faith, we think of “the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen”, right?
In considering the meaning of substance, one would know several relevant definitions: The quality of having a solid basis in reality or fact; The quality of being dependable or stable; The quality of being important, valid, or significant; The most important or essential part of something; the real or essential meaning.
The basis of the beginnings for what I hope for (in faith to God) has to be the most important thing to me. The “substance” or “essence” of what exists to what I believe God for must exist and has to be active within me! A substance is something that exists! This could be: your thoughts in prayer standing in the gap for others, believing God for deliverance for those that are bound, or trusting God for your own trials! All of these different types of things to believe God for begin to be unlocked upon the basis of your faith!
So I ask today, what is the substance that you have in your mind? What are you hoping for in your heart? Are you hoping? Change your frame of mind and set in your mind the hope for what you want to believe God can do, for God has no limits! Do not allow your heart to be broken simply on what you have seen or heard. Set your sights beyond that by seeing through what the word of God has provided you with. Faith!
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Put Into Practice:
One of the hardest things that I ever had to overcome was trusting God to move for my job. I was not happy where I was, and was definitely in a state where I had little faith. For a while there I truly thought I was going to be stuck! However, as we (being me and my wife and other family members) began to bind together for what seemed like months upon months, God moved and opened another opportunity for me!
It could have been easy to have stopped praying and to have stopped being faithful. And if it were easy to be faithful and endure to the end of each trial, everyone would be doing it! So I ask you to find the hard things in your life and begin to dedicate time in prayer and dedicate faith to believing the better outcome and to release yourself from feeling stuck forever!
A Whole New Attitude
Esther 4:10-16
[10] Again Esther spake unto Hatach, and gave him commandment unto Mordecai;
[11] All the king’s servants, and the people of the king’s provinces, do know, that whosoever, whether man or woman, shall come unto the king into the inner court, who is not called, there is one law of his to put him to death, except such to whom the king shall hold out the golden sceptre, that he may live: but I have not been called to come in unto the king these thirty days.
[12] And they told to Mordecai Esther’s words.
[13] Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews.
[14] For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
[15] Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer,
[16] Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
There are many times in our lives when it seems easy to essentially “stay out of the way” or “let someone else deal with it”. And by our common nature and by popular opinion, this seems very fair to do to others. My eyes were opened in a greater way from a wonderful message brought recently, so I wanted to bring out the points that stood out to me. I hope this speaks to you like it did to me.
The story of Esther can be even related to us in the modern days we live in. She came into greatness, becoming the Queen of Persia with King Xerxes. And just like we all have sometimes, she carried a great secret, being an Isrealite. There was a man, Haman, who became angry at Esther’s adopted father, Mordecai. Haman’s hate went as far as to consult King Xerxes to make it legal to kill all Isrealites. Esther had a dilemma before her: she could have easily sat by and let this measure of hatred be carried out on her own people, or she could try to do all that she could. As indicated by the verses above, she took the selfless attitude that I have came to admire. “If I perish, I perish.”
Many of you out there have a call in your life to make a difference to others, but the presence of many enemies around you leave you to be in fear of what impact you could make if you actually tried. I know that none of us want to see anyone lose their life without being free from their bondage and coming to find salvation. However, there are many that suffer primarily from our lack of efforts as the loving, caring Christians that people look to us to be. If we but take this attitude to heart and remember that it is better to try then not at all, there will be many lives changed! Don’t forget the great calling that you have came into, and trust God and follow the leadership of the spirit.
There is nothing that you cannot conquer when God gives you the favor just as Esther received. After the fasting and efforts preparing their hearts for what was to come, Esther did her part, and spoke to the King about this matter concerning Haman’s plot. The King heard her, and her people were safe.
There are many people out there that need you to have that attitude and stand in the gap for them. Otherwise they may never receive the help that they need, allowing them to leave without ever knowing Christ. Let’s make it a personal goal to never let anyone perish that we are a part of. They mean too much to us to just let them rot away in their despair. Let’s rise and stand against the enemies we face and trust God, for through his favor and divine power there is nothing or no one that He cannot reach!
Breaking Addictions
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Today I want to talk to you about something that is a topic that I feel is very close to home, especially to our local community. I hope that as I begin to talk about this that you help us in starting to change the outlook of the people of God.
An addiction is defined as being abnormally tolerant to and dependent on something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming. When considering the various amounts of things that are in our world today that people can find addicting, it’s brings me to a state of fear. I couldn’t even begin to tell you how many things come to mind when I think about what we could come dependent on. Rather than talking to you about the things that I do not know anything about, I’ll speak on the things that are close to my heart and try to relate my battle with my former addictions to convey the message that is on my heart today.
For several years, I had addictions that were a physical and psychological dependence on drugs. Not only that, but the friends and environments that were surrounded with it also. I’m not going to sit here and talk about all my party stories or tell you how awesome life was on the wild side. I’m going to tell you about the reality of the situation.
First and foremost, my life and my body has suffered greatly from the constant intake of all the poisons that I constantly put in it over time, and I feel like after the years that I’ve been clean now, that I finally feel normal. My family has also suffered from all the lying and all the taking from them through all the years of my needing to have the fix. They had to witness how bad it really was, seeing me go from a person who had a good heart, to a person who was heartless and wanted nothing but to feel high and just escape reality. Worst of all, the God who created me with such a special purpose in life, was there to help me all along and yet I refused to help when I chose to go my own way and to live the life that I chose with this lifestyle.
Listen, you can go and do the 12 step programs, the NA meetings, the self-help books, and go to the doctors if you wish. Try as you may. You can be as willing as you can to try and go and do all these things on your own. I even tried to beat my own addictions by myself too. At the end of the day, however, after you try all of that stuff, you are still stuck with the emptiness of knowing that you are still unhappy with your life, still unsatisfied, and still have no peace and no joy, which for most of us which was the reason that we started with drugs to begin with.
To all of you out there that are listening that need to hear this, I pray you hear this clearly. There is no better way to be free from your addictions than through deliverance by the spirit of God.
I’m here to tell you that it is a way that works, for I am here before you as one that is a tried and true believer of practicing what I preach. You don’t have to try and do this on your own, but there are some things that you have to try to do to make this kind of deliverance to come to pass. God sees the very moment in your mind and in your heart when you TRULY are ready to put it all down. It’s that moment when you finally are ready to be ABOVE your addiction, and not to let it rule your life any longer. When you are beneath it, it still controls you, and rules your thoughts, and makes you believe that you still have to have it, and makes you believe there is still some form of dependency.
1 Thessalonians 5:4-10
[4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
[5] Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
[6] Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
[7] For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
[8] But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
[9] For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
[10] Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
Do you understand where I’m coming from now? Do you know why my heart is so heavy? You see, there are legions of people out there, just waiting for the people of God to go, to use that power of prayer, the power and gifts and callings that you have inside of you, to make a difference in all of their lives. The saddest part of it all is that people’s lives aren’t being changed because we are at a standstill. We do nothing but talk about how bad that it is, talk about their problems, and never utter the first prayer to God. We’ll say, “There’s no hope for them” instead of “Lord I pray that you bring deliverance their lives, break the chains of addiction!” If you stay persistent in your fight for God to remove the holds that the enemy has on your loved ones, God will win the battle.
We put limits on God when we use terms like maybe, possibly, hopefully, and doubtful. God does not operate on our vocabulary. Words in the bible are words like SHALL BE, AND POSSIBLE, HEALED, FREE, SAVED, AND VICTORY, do you see where I am going? The world leads us to have an attitude of hopelessness; essentially to think that we have to give up on something based on the evidence that we see with our own eyes.
What if that would have been the case for me? It really pains me to wonder where I would be now if there wouldn’t have been that compassion and dedication for people to forgive me every day for what I was doing, and pray for me anyways, REGARDLESS of what they SAW or what they HEARD. If we put off the addictions we have and give them over to God, and truly surrender, and let the spirit have its way in our lives, God will set us free, so long as we are willing to believe! And in turn for all of the loneliness, emptiness, and despair that we feel, God will help us by filling us with love, joy, and peace!
Putting on the faith to believe you are free every day after that deliverance means you are one more day free than you were before, and helping you to finally be that person that God has always wanted you to be. You’ll begin to feel something build up inside of you, something in you that will want you to say no to temptation, to say no to your former friends, to say no to going to the places you use to go! Don’t let all the junk around you corrupt your life from bearing the good fruit. Even if you literally have to get rid of things, get rid of habits, lose some friends that are bad influences, or anything that would hinder you from being as fruitful as you can possibly be, it is well worth it. Cleansing your life from the things that would hinder you only brings you closer to God, which only unlocks even more blessings coming your way.
Be encouraged this day! Let’s take the chains off of our people that are in bondage! Use the power in your hands! Be above your addictions! You don’t have to live this way! You and God can run your life!
