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Your Identity & the Amazing Power of God

Inside of You
Spiritual Growth, Miracles, Healing & Deliverance
Personal & Small Groups Addition

A Simple Approach to Building Faith

And a Closer Walk with Jesus

INTRODUCTION 5
My Story 7

CHAPTER 1 - PUTTING OFF THE OLD & PUTTING ON THE NEW 9

Gods Will & Rightly Dividing Gods Word 11
The Principle of Seed, Time & Harvest Sowing & Reaping 12
God is Our Provider 13
Nutrition & Common Sense 16

CHAPTER 2 - DECEPTION & FEAR, SATANS ONLY WEAPONS 18

Standing in the Light 21

CHAPTER 3 - SURRENDER & MOVING FORWARD 22

A Surrendered Life 22
How to Be Born Again 24
Moving Forward 26
Dealing with Pain 27
Godly Character 27

CHAPTER 4 - FORGIVENESS & BREAKING STRONGHOLDS 28

Trust God 29
House Cleaning 31
Pride, Self-centeredness & Fear 31
Resentments 32
Legalism & People Fixing 33
Jealousy or Envy & Codependency 34
Forgiveness 36
Breaking Strongholds 37

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CHAPTER 5 - FAITH & THE BLESSINGS of EVERY BELIEVER 40
You Do Not Need More Faith 41
Great Faith vs. Little Faith 41
WHO YOU ARE! 43
Your Blessings 45

CHAPTER 6 - BEING SPIRITUALLY MINDED 48

Positive Programming 50
The Power of Our Words 51
Being Spirit Led 52

CHAPTER 7 - THE AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER 54

The Proper Use of Anger & Spiritual Warfare 54
When Satan Attacks 56
When People Attack 56
Casting Out Demons 56
The Power of Praise 57

CHAPTER 8 - DEALING WITH TEMPTATION 59

Resisting the Devil 59
The Battle with Temptation 60
Resting in God & Being Spirit Led 63
Good Ideas Vs God Ideas 66
Bottoms Up 68

CHAPTER 9 - USING YOUR FAITH FOR LIFE & MIRACLES 70

Faith Building Verses 75
HEALING God does want all to be healed 77
Scriptures People Use Against Healing 78
Prayers of Faith & God's Word 79
Laying Hands on the Sick & Casting Out Devils 83
One on One Healing Prayers 86

CHAPTER 10 - MINISTRY & RELATIONSHIPS 90

Love 90
God Uses All Things 92
Marriage 93
Wisdom and Communication Skills for Helping Others 95
People Fixing 96
Sober Minded Ministry 97
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Maturity & Problem Solving 98

CHAPTER 11 - FOCUS ON THE SOLUTION 100

Focus on the Solution Not the Problem 100
Simple Things to Remember 103
Becoming Love, the Power and the Ultimate Solution 105

CHAPTER 12 - SPIRIT LED SMALL GROUP MEETINGS 106

Holding Meetings 108
Meeting Topics 110
Scriptures for Meeting Topics or Bible Study 114

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Your Identity & the Amazing Power of God Inside of You www.truthpowerandlife.com

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 Foreword and Introduction

This book is written for and to empower all people in their walk with Jesus. It con-
tains the information needed to turn things around for people who have problems
and provides the understanding of Gods word needed to grow in relationship with
God and to operate in His supernatural power as sons and daughters of God. This is
the right and inheritance of everyone who receives Jesus as Lord and Savior. It is
for everyone, from the person who has not yet been born again, the backslider and
those who have known Jesus for a long time and grown in their identity.

Having had a wrong legalistic understanding or Gods word for 20 years as a Chris-
tian which also led to extreme bondage, as I once did, this book also ministers to the
Christian who has backslidden and feels almost completely without hope.

The only thing that Gods promises are contingent upon is our willingness to
trust God and for us to move towards Him in faith. When we begin to under-
stand who we are spiritually and everything that Jesus has given us things
start changing and they will continue changing strongly and in a positive way
as we keep that as our focus. At the start of my journey I certainly had the willing-
ness to trust God but I lacked the ability to really trust him in a lot of areas. At the
core of that was doubt and unbelief which fed legalism and self-will. Our self-will
can only be gotten rid of as we purposefully make effort to place our trust in God or
as we learn to trust Him. Fortunately, no matter where we have been or where we
are right now God wants to have relationship with us even more than we want it.
All we have to do is understand that truth and begin moving towards God with the
tools at hand.

But regardless of our starting point, Gods blessings are paid for and belong to
EVERY believer, even to those who have backslidden. Even in that condition as we
move in faith to come back into a meaningful relationship with God - we have His
authority in His name, when used with faith, over the enemy in accordance with
Gods will. As we renew our minds with the truth of Gods word and we grow in
relationship with God we become less and less easily tempted by things that used to
draw us so easily into sin.

Relationship with God and understanding our true identity and our power in Christ
is the answer to every type of problem. Our power to live healthy and productive
lives which are useful to God and others is greatest with the knowledge and applica-
tion of these things. Even the person who is in what seems to be in the most
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hopeless state of mind and body will see some amazing things begin to take place
as they learn and apply the tools contained in this book. We are not powerless over
all of lifes circumstances. As we grow in relationship with God - and as we learn
His principles of faith from His word we change and become world changers
not victims of the world we live in or life. God makes us to be overcomers.

What is taught in most churches today is not even remotely close to what the real or
the true gospel is. If we have been born again (or if you have not been) but feel dis-
couraged, have a poor self-image and/or you are not operating in the supernatural
power of God as a co-laborer with Jesus and the Holy Spirit its time to forget
most of what we were taught and get ready for the good news.

What Being Saved Really Means

We have been taught that salvation is about having our sins forgiven so that we can
go to Heaven one day. But the truth is that God's intention and what Jesus paid in-
cludes a lot more than that. What the word "saved" (in the Greek "sozo) means:
"saved, healed, delivered, protected, preserved, made whole and kept safe and
sound." Thats what is really meant when God's word tells us that He didn't send
His Son to condemn the world but that through Him all men might be saved.

Its when we come to the end of trusting in our own thinking and start to whole-
heartedly trust God in every area that everything changes for the better. For most
people that happens in stages, but as soon as we start we start seeing miracles. That
is true for those who are newly born again and for those who are recommitting their
lives to Jesus.

My website & YouTube channel also contain a lot of free resources and videos for
renewing the mind with the positive truths of Gods word.

Time is short. We must stop making long term plans and commit wholeheartedly to
hearing from God and being of maximum service to Him and others as God directs.

Your Identity & the Amazing Power of God Inside of You www.truthpowerandlife.com

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My Story

I was born again at age 19. It was a life changing experience. I loved God, wanted
to save the world and witnessed for Him at every opportunity. But because of a
wrong self-image, not knowing who I was in Christ and a legalistic understanding
of Gods word it wasn't long before I felt a sense of condemnation and was headed
in the wrong direction.

About 20 years later I found myself heavily addicted to drugs with a legalistic un-
derstanding of God wherein I had come to believe that God was mainly a mean and
punishing God that was sending almost everyone, including and especially me, to
Hell. The drug addiction also led to getting beat up and robbed, having guns and
knives pulled on me and getting shot at by drug dealers. It was only by the grace of
God that I wasn't killed. Although deep down I still loved God and had Christian
values, I felt that I was completely beyond God's help.

One of the key turning points for me was when a friend told me "If God says He
will do something He has to do it." Although my understanding of God's word was
all carnal (natural, and therefore again very legalistic) that was great news. It made
sense. I knew that God could not lie or break His word. I had heard and read some
of the good things and promises in the Bible, but had thought they couldn't apply to
me. But nevertheless my friend's statement gave me some hope, which was what I
needed more than anything. A few weeks later, with the knowledge that God's word
said that I was "healed by Jesus stripes", I was healed of a progressive foot problem
that threatened to cripple me when I prayed a simple prayer in the middle of a park-
ing lot. Six months later I was instantly healed of a hernia as I laid in bed praying
the same simple prayer. Those events had me moving in the right direction but I still
had a serious drug problem and a horrible legalistic understanding of Gods word. I
knew that wrong understanding had to be gotten rid of and replaced with the truth if
I were going to live.

John 8:31-32 "If you continue in my word then are you my disciples indeed;
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Of course
Jesus was speaking about spiritual truth which is master over the natural realm also.
It was clear to me that if I was going to survive I was going to have to get back the
understanding of the character and nature of God as a loving God based on His
word I had when I first asked Him into my life. That involved getting rid of all of
my wrong understanding of scripture and replacing it with the truth. No 12 step
programs, including Christian ones, were equipped for that job. Fortunately not

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everyone has to do that but I had to first go back and identify every scripture which
created fear or which gave me a legalistic understanding of the God of love. About
that same time God gave me the help of a wonderful teaching ministry which teach-
es God's unconditional love and grace - with a focus on principles of faith.

In my journey I found one group that stood out above all of the others, although it
didnt do much to turn things around for me and I had a ways to go. It was a men's
group that used the Serenity Bible (KJV) along with scripture verses drawn from a
basket which also pertained to the 12 Steps. Although it was far from perfect, nor
did it do a good job of teaching the full gospel, the Holy Spirit worked very power-
fully in those meetings at times. Ticket meetings are the most powerful because they
give the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to run the meeting rather than an individual.
The ticket meeting format and tools in the back of this book is much more faith fo-
cused and powerful than the meetings mentioned that I attended.

The truth is God lives inside of every person who has been born again. Our born
again spirit contains all of the wisdom and power that is in Jesus and the same spir-
it which raised Jesus from the dead. There is nothing on Earth nearly as great as
that regardless of our present circumstances in the natural realm. Gods word says
in Isaiah 55:8-9 "For My thoughts [are] not your thoughts, Nor [are] your ways
My ways," says the LORD. For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, So
are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts."
Our carnal or natural minds are at opposition with our spirits and as we renew our
minds with the positive truths of who we are in Christ our thinking becomes more
and more like Gods thinking and we have the mind of Christ. Jesus already set
us free over 2,000 years ago, but experiencing the fullness of that freedom comes a
little at a time as we renew our minds with identity and begin operating out of that.

Freedom begins when we come to the place where we are trusting God in every area
and we understand who we are in Christ (in our Spirit) at a heart level. It requires
that we make that our steadfast commitment until it becomes who we are. Isaiah
26:3 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: be-
cause he trusts in thee." The work we need to do is in renewing our mind with
the right understanding of Gods word and positive spiritual principles and giving
ourselves without reservation to God. It isnt about performing which is an exterior
thing, but it is about replacing our natural understanding with spiritual truth and
identity in Jesus that we grow closer to God and begin operating in Gods power as
a result. It is about trusting God (surrender) and knowing the wonderful, almost too
good to be true, truths of how much God loves us and what He has given us.

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Chapter One

PUTTING OFF THE OLD & PUTTING ON THE NEW

In reality all of our problems stem from a lack of understanding of Gods love for
each one of us and who we are in Jesus in the spiritual realm, in spite of our fleshly
imperfections. The way to a more abundant life and operating in God's power is
through relationship with God, renewing our minds with the positive truths of God's
word with a fuller understanding of who we are in Jesus.

Regardless of how many bad things we may have done, every child of God has an
account in the spiritual realm, purchased by Jesus sacrifice that is more than
enough to meet every need that we have in every area spiritually, physically and
financially. So if it is true that God has already supplied all of our needs (Eph. 1:3
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:") and the Spirit of him
that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you (and it is true: Romans 8:11)
which means we access to everything Jesus had in His walk on Earth. The issue is
in renewing our minds with this truth and identity in Christ. Renewing our minds is
a process, but all we have to do is receive those truths by faith and begin walking in
them. So then the question is How do we obtain the faith that is needed to begin to
be one with God and to walk in Gods power? The truth is that each one of us al-
ready has that faith (the measure of faith Rom 12:3) but we are only limited in our
ability to see that truth and operate it by our thinking. So of course it is our thinking
which needs to be changed.

Most of our problems are of our own making or at least a result of our own thinking.
Learning to walk by faith is a process but even those problems we have presently
which resulted from the unwarranted attacks of Satan, other people or natural and
circumstantial causes in a way are usually a result of our lack of understanding
and faith because with faith there is no problem that cannot be removed. As Jesus
said, All things are possible with God (Matt 19:26 & Mark 10:27) and He says
in Mark 11:23 "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this
mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt
in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass;
he shall have whatsoever he says." There is only one qualification to Mark 11:23.
That of course is that we are operating in accordance with Gods word and His will.
Unfortunately a serious addiction problem usually is not removed on command,
except with salvation. Although it happens on occasion through deliverance the only

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way to get free and stay free is with a mind renewed with Gods word and spiritual
truth.

When we pray in faith many times Gods provision does not arrive immediately
because of various different factors but His power is "always" released when we
pray in faith and in accordance with His word. Through faith it is possible to have
every need met in every area. Not only is it possible but it would eventually come to
pass if we were to get to the point that we are operating in faith in every area and
with the right understanding.

The first thing that we have to understand is that we do not have to perform, get rid
of all of our bad habits or do anything other than to begin trusting God and operat-
ing in faith, following Gods guidance to see things start to change. As our thinking
changes so will our behaviors and habits. Although probably every Christian realiz-
es they are not perfect and have seen God answer their prayers in spite of their
imperfection, performance based religious thinking (doubt and unbelief) is extreme-
ly common, and the norm. Of course if it were true that we had to have it all
together and basically be sinless, probably almost no one would receive anything
from God (1 John 1:8). Things will start to change the minute we place our trust in
God. This is wonderfully good news. When you were saved God gave you every
spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3) and He will not take that back because God cannot
break His word. Romans: 11:29 "For the gifts and calling of God are without
repentance." To see positive changes we need to understand that we have not out-
sinned Gods grace and Jesus payment for it and God loves us in is spite of our-
selves and all of our sinful deeds. And as we begin to grow in our faith little by
little, little by little we will begin to act more like God wants us to. Of course we
need to be obedient and avoid sin as much as possible to avoid its negative conse-
quences and more importantly because we want to do what God wants.

If we have a legalistic understanding of Gods word its easy to come to a place

where we thought we had gone too far, that God abandoned us and that we were
destined for Hell. That misunderstanding came through the deception of the enemy,
our own carnal thinking, from the legalistic teachings of some ministries and proba-
bly from other believers who hold a false and legalistic understanding of Gods
word. Almost everything in life apposes faith in God and His unmerited grace and
generosity. We are taught that we get what we deserve and what we earn. If that
were entirely true probably no one would receive anything from God. We do reap
what we sow, but we start to reverse the process of negative reaping as we plant
good seeds and the positive truths of Gods word in our hearts. As our thinking and
understanding begins to change so do our behaviors.
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The really big changes we want to see will not always happen overnight but the
moment we start operating in faith we will see positive changes start to take place.
A person who doesnt understand Gods will correctly (which is His word) re-
gardless of their intentions will also at times be surrendering to Satans will instead.
If our understanding of God's word is legalistic or teaches that God gives us illness
and tragedy to teach us things - that can and almost always does cause great harm.
A person who falsely believes God gives people illness is at a major disadvantage
compared to a person who knows the truth that God wants them well and that by
Jesus stripes they were healed.

Early on as I was starting over in my understanding of Gods word - family mem-

bers and others who had seen that I operated in what seemed like unusual faith at
times wondered and sometimes commented Why cant you use your faith to be
free from the cocaine addiction? The reason why I could not was that in order for a
life-threatening addiction to be removed ones faith needs to be well rounded in
every area or in other words they need to be fully surrendered. Freedom comes
through relationship with God and knowledge of the truth. At the time I did not see
that in myself, and although I had developed my faith in certain areas, like most
people, I was riddled with doubt and unbelief in a number of areas. My heart had
been hardened and although I didnt see it at the time both God and I still had a lot
of work to do in me coming to trust God in something close to a wholehearted way.

Gods Will & Rightly Dividing Gods Word

It is the truth which sets us free. Gods will is simply and well stated in these pas-
sages: Matthew 22:37-39: "Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is [the]
first and great commandment. And [the] second [is] like it: 'You shall love your
neighbor as yourself. For all of the law and the prophets hang on these two
commandments." Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what [is] good; And
what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy and to walk
humbly with your God? John 8:31-32 "If you continue in my word, then are
you my disciples indeed; And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free." 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 "Pray without ceasing. In everything
give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Gods word is entirely true from cover to cover, but it is often taken out of context,
misunderstood and misapplied, which is why most of us need help from other spirit
filled Christians who walk in Gods power and love in coming to a good knowledge
of the truth. Everyones starting place is different.
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A scripture which is very often misapplied is Philippians 4:13. Paul had just stated
that he knew how to be contented under both the worst and the best of circumstanc-
es when he followed that by saying "I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me." Of course Paul was speaking about all things which Christ had
appointed him to do which would also be within keeping with Gods word. It was
Christ doing the work through him. This does not mean, although it is often applied
that way - that we can do anything we want or anything which seems to have a good
purpose. God has a plan for each one of us and prepares us in advance for the spe-
cific challenges we are going to face if we are following His guidance and renewing
our minds. A person does not usually go from running an 8 minute mile to a 4 mi-
nute mile overnight even if a 4 minute mile is Gods will for them. God does not
guarantee victory if we are fighting a battle we are not prepared for or not supposed
to fight. We will lose a lot of those battles if we try to take them on in our own
strength or we are fighting battles we were not meant to fight. Being in Gods will,
where He wants us to be, fighting the battles he wants us to fight in His timing and
letting Him fight the battle through us - is where the victory is.

The Principle of Seed, Time & Harvest Sowing & Reaping

When a seed is planted, whether that seed is good or bad, and then it is watered and
grows and eventually it produces either good or bad fruit. The fruit is much larger in
size than the seed that was planted and it takes a good period of time before the seed
matures to the point in which it produces fruit. So we reap more than we sow and
after a period of time usually. As we renew our minds with the positive truths of
Gods word our thinking changes and eventually, after we have matured a little,
most of what we plant will be good seeds and we will reap the good harvest. Our
thinking is what is at the root of all of our actions, so in order to be able to plant
good seeds for a good harvest we have to change our thinking and there is nothing
nearly as powerful a tool as the positive truths of Gods word. It provides the keys
for planting good seeds in every area of our thinking and our lives.

When a persons identity becomes solidly rooted in Christ to the point that that su-
persedes their own identity and their mind is renewed with the truth life
controlling problems, particularly the more damaging ones, have less and less abil-
ity to tempt us. Its when we come to the end of trusting ourselves and we begin
relying on God wholeheartedly that we begin experiencing freedom.

Miracles happen when we turn our lives over to God and sometimes God and His
Holy Spirit can do a quick work but growth is a process. Once we have developed a
closer relationship with God and positive momentum it usually takes some effort for
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us to go backwards or to backslide. We become repulsed by things which used to
easily tempt us.

God is Our Provider

In order to have a meaningful relationship with God we need to understand that God
is our provider and that He is the one who meets our needs. He is not just responsi-
ble for some of what we have. He is responsible for everything we have including
our material possessions that we worked for. He gave us life and the abilities and
skills to work for those things. We are only alive and breathing because of God. A
person who is unwilling to or who does not give back to God and His kingdom does
not understand these things. He also does not really believe God because God says
He will multiply what we sow. We cant out-give God. But we also of course give
to bless and honor others. We should be giving out of love rather than to get a return
although we certainly will receive it back from God if our giving is with the right
heart.

Many ministries have employed dishonest fundraising tactics to meet financial

needs and has robbed a lot of people of the truth. As believers we are meant to be to
be givers but Gods blessings and the things which Jesus payment on the cross pur-
chased cannot be purchased with money and they are already ours to be received by
faith. They say things like Send us a gift right now for $XXX because this is
Gods season for the supernatural. to create urgency when in reality every day
and every season is for the supernatural power of God. They also use Old Testament
scriptures and requirements of the law which are not meant for new covenant be-
lievers. Thats wrong. Jesus paid the price for every blessing and all we need to do
is receive those blessings by faith, although sowing money is a part of faith.

Its true that faith without works is dead, but faith is the first. God is more interested
in the size of our faith and the attitude of our heart faith than the size of our gift
although the second, relative to the individuals resources, is some evidence of the
size of their faith. But we need to make sure that we are not giving because we feel
compelled to. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 (KJV) "But this I say, He which sows sparingly
shall reap also sparingly; and he which sows bountifully shall reap also bounti-
fully. Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not
grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver." When our under-
standing and our relationship with God is right we will give gladly and cheerfully.
Its more about the attitude of our heart than the size of our gift but according to our
resources one will be proportionate to the other which is probably why 10% was

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specified for tithing, but those who give more than that cheerfully will also receive a
more abundant blessing.

The word is clear that we are supposed to be moving forward in our knowledge of
God and our pasts do little if anything to help in that respect except in remembering
the good things God has done. Our starting point is today.

Philippians 3:13-14 (KJV) Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:

but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching
forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

A corrupted understanding of Gods word mixed with some truth can be far worse
than no knowledge of it at all. Some of the key issues that need to be addressed and
understood are:

An abiding relationship with Christ is what solves our addiction and other
problems. Knowing God, which is relationship with God, is a growing pro-
cess. As we mature in our relationship with God there becomes no place
for life controlling problems. Its a done deal God already set us free
through Jesus but we have to know that truth at a heart level.

We are of great value to God and God does not love us less because of our
past mistakes and failures which Christ has paid for and covered, but we
have to grow in our faith to have the fullness of the abundant life Christ
died to give us.

God will honor our faith and trust in Him regardless of our past or current
weaknesses - in the same way that He does for all who believers, to the
degree that we are able to trust Him, and not based on works. But we need
to move forward in faith. Good works are the byproduct of faith. They do
not earn Gods favor but are the result of Gods grace and of faith.

What is needed to bring about positive change is for us to change the way
we think by renewing our minds with Gods word, spiritual principles and
identity in Jesus as a joint heir. We need to grow in our understanding and
appreciation for the love of God for us and others, our understanding of
who we are and his purpose for our lives individually.

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Colossians 3:15: And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also
you are called in one body; and be thankful. Being thankful is a byproduct of
understanding Gods love and grace, but it sometimes requires changing our focus
when circumstances are difficult and we begin focusing on those difficulties which
is why the verse reminds us to be thankful.

Although sometimes addictions may be acquired innocently, such as in the case of

addictions to prescription medications, addictions result from seeking comfort in
things other than God and the result is almost always greater pain and destruction.
2: Cor. 1:3 refers to God as the God of all comfort. We should be looking to God
to comfort in life and in overcoming our problems.

Deliverance comes with salvation, but a person needs to know that in order for that
freedom to be manifest in the physical realm and that is often a process. It also has
something to do with our flesh which is why so many of us still have addictions
after having accepted Christ because no one is ever entirely delivered from the flesh
although as we grow the flesh becomes less and less of a factor.

A truth which has been corrupted becomes a lie and then it becomes harmful. A lie
is not convincing or believable unless it is mixed with some truth - which is a tech-
nique used by every con-artist. The Bible refers to Satan as "The father of all
lies." In addition there is usually a time factor in the case of a believer who becomes
addicted after having received Christ with regard to growing in our faith before
freedom can start to be a reality. But it also seems that it is in Gods timing that we
are set free and it is He who brings about our freedom. Once the truth is planted in
our heart it needs to be watered to take root and then over some period of time it
grows and produces fruit good fruit if the seed is good and bad fruit is the seed
planted is bad. God also removes the weeds or the lies planted in our garden so that
they do not choke out the truth as we renew our minds with the truth.

We need to focus on Gods positive truths and continue to press forward regardless
of our failures or circumstances. Although we may be reminded of our mistakes,
past or present, from time to time - we need to understand that we are not just
human and what Gods word says about us is true even when those memories or
our emotions try to tell us otherwise. We have Gods spirit living inside us and ac-
cess to everything Jesus has including His supernatural wisdom and power. Growth
is always a process which takes some time, whether a little or a lot.

Religion uses fear to manipulate people to change their behaviors. God uses the
Holy Spirit and love to change what is in our hearts, not abuse and manipulation. It

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does not matter how we got our false understanding of God it is something we must
be rid of to experience the kind of life God has for us.

God is a good God and His great love for us is in spite of our mistakes and short-
comings. Gods standard is perfection and in Gods eyes we are perfect because of
Jesus payment for sin. God wants what is best for us in every area of life. Being
able to trust God and walk with Him is the key to recovery. It is no accident that
when we hear the phrase Trust God, clean house and help others that the first part
of that statement says to trust God. Jesus came to give us life and life more
abundantly (John 10:10). Many will be amazed to find out that means far more
than they imagined in terms of seeing their prayers come to pass by applying princi-
ples of faith.

Nutrition & Common Sense

Supernatural healing through God and faith is the best way to go, but until we get to
the place where we see that happen we can benefit from taking advantage of some
simple things that nutrition and science offers in order to help bring about healing
that also helps us to be better able to resist temptation. Although our primary focus
needs to be spiritual we also need to use some common sense. For decades its been
known in some scientific and nutritional circles that people recovering from alcohol
or drug abuse benefit greatly by supplementing their diets with Vitamin B which is
required for a healthy central nervous system and managing stress. The body does
not store vitamin B and sugar, fat, simple carbohydrates, caffeine, nicotine alcohol
this vital nutrient from our bodies so many people, can benefit from much Vita
min B supplements. We also need vitamin B to help us process sugar & fat. When
we are depleted of Vitamin B we are likely to be fatigued, moody, depressed and
have foggy thinking. Supplementing ones diet with Vitamin B can bring clearer
thinking, improves memory and increases energy levels. This is critically important
information for a lot of people suffering from or recovering from an alcohol or drug
problem.

Science has shown that most people who have abused alcohol have Hypoglycemia
(low blood sugar) and they generally do much better when eating lean meats and
lots of fruits & vegetables. In Such cases it has been shown that by taking large dos-
es of Vitamins B, C and Calcium Magnesium with meals and by supplementing
diets with full spectrum of amino acids physical health can improve and brains
function dramatically better. Unless or until we are able to get supernaturally healed
we need to do what we can to receive healing for these conditions. Also by replac-
ing sugar with Stevia, a natural sugar substitute which is actually good for us we can
16
do much to improve our overall health. Sometimes natural things can be a big part
of the problem.

1 Timothy 4:4-5 tells us (KJV) "For every creature of God is good, and nothing
to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the
word of God and prayer." What this is saying is that we can eat anything which is
placed before us if our attitude is right and we are thankful for it and bless our food
with prayer. I command my food to be blessed by the power of the Holy Spirit. But
obviously we should eat as sensibly as possible when we have the option and as
much as possible we should operate in principles of faith which promote good
health, which includes speaking Gods blessing over ourselves and our food.

To a significant degree the spiritual and natural realms work together, but spiritual
law far and away supersedes natural law. We need to understand and believe that by
Jesus stripes we were healed and receive that healing by faith, speak words of faith
and resist illness.

We should give precedence to spiritual principles and use some wisdom in applying
natural laws. There are a few dangers to following or being too focused on a com-
prehensive biochemical repair or nutritional programs. We certainly dont want to
make a religion out of those things. The assumption is that what is at the root of our
problems is completely biochemical or physical. Often times, if not most of the
time the root cause of illness is spiritual even when science has a different explana-
tion. Our primary focus needs to be on the spiritual and that by Jesus stripes we
were healed, but we are wise to take advantage of what nutrition and science have to
offer as needed while keeping a healthy balance.

We need to know Gods word and everything Jesus has provided. We need to pic-
ture and think of ourselves as being well, even if out of need we have to treat
physical problems with a natural approach. As much as possible if we want the best
results we also need to speak words that are in agreement with the fact that were
healed by Jesus stripes and not that we have such and such a problem, in spite of
what natural or medical things we are doing.

Your Identity & the Amazing Power of God Inside of You www.truthpowerandlife.com

17
Chapter Two
DECEPTION & FEAR, SATANS ONLY WEAPONS

Once we have some understanding of who we are in Jesus and our authority of Sa-
tan, his forces can only cause destruction through getting us to believe his lies,
which is why its so important to know and understand everything we have in Jesus
and our authority over the enemy. For Gods people the way he tries to do that most
often is by twisting what God says or by telling us it is not true or at least not for us.
Deception is how he was able to get Adam and Eve to commit the first sin and steal
the wonderful quality of life they had from them. The lie was that Gods word was
not true and that He was holding out on them and that once they understood both
evil and good they would be like God. Fear is the opposite of faith and it attracts
what we do not want. If the enemy gets us into operating in fear he is winning the
battle.

It may be that when we look at ourselves, very much in our thinking and our behav-
iors, does not conform to or is contrary to Christs example. What we are seeing are
simply the effects of wrong thinking and programming, being focused on carnal
things and the damage that was done to our minds and emotions through wrong
understanding and our lives in this world. We were sealed in our spirits when we
were saved and we still belong to Christ and as we renew our minds that will be-
come more and more evident in our thinking and our behaviors. Eventually God's
love and power will start to flow in our lives as a result of us growing in our rela-
tionship with Jesus and of our minds being focused on spiritual things.

God uses scripture to strengthen us spiritually. Satan will try to use scripture
to destroy us by twisting verses. Satan also tried to do that with Jesus in the wil-
derness. Also, whenever he can, Satan will speak through other people to us to give
us a false or twisted interpretation or application of scripture to try to destroy us.
There are a number of ways that the enemy will try to deceive us but if he is able to
make us believe the lie that God doesnt love us or that we are beyond His help the
devil is winning the battle in a very big way. More than anything else the devil
wants to keeps us from renewing our minds with Gods positive truths. He knows
that as we do that he has less and less ability to cause us any harm and that as we
grow stronger and stronger in our knowledge of the truth we will do increasing
damage to his kingdom of darkness.

One of the scripture Satan likes to twist to condemn Christians is Hebrews 10:26-29
"For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there
remains no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and
18
fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law
died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sorer punishment,
suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God,
and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy
thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" If that scripture scares you
now get ready for the good news!

Simply put, if you desire to grow closer to God that is all the evidence that is needed
to prove that you have not become reprobate. I remember reading Hebrews 10:26-
29, before I began renewing my mind with the help of my favorite ministry, and
feeling that verse described me perfectly. But when that was written being a Chris-
tian was not the passive thing that it is today as you could be put to death for it.
Back then (although those times are quickly coming again) you either were a Chris-
tian, which meant you had to be ready at almost any moment to give your life for
your faith in God or you completely rejected everything having to do with faith in
Christ. That passage is really speaking of someone who has received Jesus and then
completely rejected God despite unto the Spirit of Grace or in other words they
spitefully rejected God and have become an adversary of God. The verses pre-
viously mentioned in Hebrews are speaking of someone who has completely
rejected God, who hates God and is intentionally mocking God, their salvation and
the payment of Jesus for their sins. It involves renouncing ones salvation. These
verses are not speaking about someone who has sinned but is sorry and wanting to
do better. If Satan is able to twist our understanding of those verses so that we apply
them as judgment upon ourselves - we will be in very bad shape and defeated.

Hebrews 6:4-6 "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have
tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have
tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come. If they shall fall
away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the
Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. Hebrews 4:4-6 can also cause a
backslidden Christian to feel they are beyond hope if they do not understand that
verse 5 requires that in order to fall away they have to be mature and or operated in
spiritual gifts tasted the powers of the age to come first. A person cannot fall
away from something they never had. Also a 10 year old child cannot renounce his
parents by law even in these increasingly evil times and none of us were mature
Christians prior to becoming addicted.

The fact that you are reading this right now is proof that you have not become rep-
robate. Romans 1:28 "And even as they did not like to retain God in their
knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are
19
not convenient;" A reprobate mind describes someone who has rejected God over a
prolonged period to such a degree that God has rejected them. When that happens
they have no desire for the things of God and are driven only by evil desires and
wickedness. Romans 1:29-32 "Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,
wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, ma-
lignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors
of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant breakers,
without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of
God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same,
but have pleasure in them that do them." Someone who has a reprobate mind will
not seek the things of God. They will run from them.

MATTHEW 12:31, "Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy
shalt be forgiven unto men: but blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be for-
given unto men." Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is attributing the working of
the Holy Spirit to the devil. Paul said he received mercy concerning his blasphemy,
which he committed before his conversion, because he had done it "ignorantly in
unbelief" (1Tim 1:13). Therefor Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is both a
knowing and willful reviling of the Holy Ghost or His works.

If we are seeking and moving to come back into that relationship with a sincere de-
sire to serve Him that is proof that we have not gone too far. Gods desire is to heal
us and give us all good things as we come to Him from our present condition and
move towards Him in acknowledgement of His great love and generosity, knowing
it is only by His love and grace that He blesses anyone and that He is no respecter of
persons.

We need always see scripture through Gods eyes of love, as Jesus said in John
10:28-30 "and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, and no
one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who hath given them unto
me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's
hand. I and the Father are one" Hebrews 13:5 (KJV) Let your conversation be
without covetousness; and be content with what things you have: for He said, I
will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. However great our sin the price Jesus
paid is much greater and more than enough. God is our provider. That is the nature
of God. Under the new covenant and because of what Jesus has done sin does not
make us to become an enemy of God although it can cause much harm and destruc-
tion. As long as we are moving towards and believing God our victory is just a
matter of time.

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 Standing in the Light

If we focus on God and stay in faith the devil remains defeated. Mainly we need to
learn how to rest in God. That is why Satan does everything he can to try and dis-
tract us and to get us to a place where we are in fear which is the opposite of faith.

Obedience to God is vital to the victorious life but it starts with a mind renewed by
Gods word and spiritual truths. It does not start by doing works to please God, but
our works will look more like those of Jesus as we renew our minds with truth and
right identity. We operate out of our identity, rather than trying to become who we
already are in the spirit. We do not try to do good works out of our flesh so that we
can become spiritual. That is what Paul rebuked the Galatians so strongly for trying
to do.

One the most simple and powerful tools that we have to resist the enemy is to love
God and to hate evil. Romans 12:9 tells us Love must be sincere. Hate what is
evil; cling to what is good. Our love must be sincere and not for eye-service. Evil
is what apposes God and His plan. The enemy likes to take little problems and get
us to focus on them and get us into fear so that he can turn those little problems into
great big ones which can cause much harm or make us worry about things which
are no problem at all. We already have the victory and when we are able to simply
see and accept that fact we will also experience it and we will see it when we realize
what we have in Christ.

As we grow in relationship with God and the reality of who we are in Jesus and all
that that means - we gain some momentum positive change becomes automatic. As
we renew our minds with the truth and that truth begins to take root it would take
deliberate action to get back into some of the deceptions which caused our prob-
lems. But if we stop growing or renewing our minds going backwards into some of
those things can come easily.

Deception and Fear, Satans Only Weapons www.truthpowerandlife.com

21
Chapter Three
SURRENDER & MOVING FORWARD

A key point which seems to so often be missed or under-valued by religious stu-

dents of the Bible is that Gods desire is that NONE should perish and He has
gone to amazing lengths, paying an unimaginably high price, to get all people to
receive Him as an act of their free will, although not all will do that. Its important
that we understand that Gods desire is for everyone to make it. The depths of His
love are far and away beyond what the natural mind can understand.

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness;
but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance.

1 John 2:2
And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the
sins of the whole world.

Luke 22:42-44
Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not
my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heav-
en, strengthening Him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and
his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Jesus pain and suffering was very real it went way beyond they physical beating
and torture. It also included the spiritual, emotional and physical illness of bearing
the weight of sin and separation from God the father as he died on the cross. But He
went through it willingly knowing in advance what He would suffer because of His
love for us.

We need to remember Jesus love towards us and His payment is

100% without any merit on our part and nothing we can earn.

At that point we receive Gods Spirit and He begins working our hearts. The posi-
tive changes which take place in our lives result from the changes that take place in
our heart as we renew our minds with the positive truths of Gods word. God does
the work for us.

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 A Surrendered Life *

Life controlling problems are only a manifestation of a greater underlying

cause. The real issue is self-centeredness. Self-centeredness is when we are in con-
trol of our own life and carrying out our own plan in our own strength and
wisdom. Maybe Jesus is resident in your life, but not President.

The problem with this approach to life is that it doesnt work and that God never
intended one person to live this way. Some people seem to get away with it quite
well for a while, but it eventually leads to emptiness and brokenness.

God intended us to be in fellowship with Him in all that we do. He has a plan for
our lives and wants to providentially orchestrate our circumstances to provide all the
wisdom, time, energy, resources and power to carry out His plan.

Seemingly well-adjusted people seem to cope well without God being in control of
their lives. However, in the end they find that everything done apart from the Lord
is without true purpose and meaning. Some never find true peace and joy because
their stubborn self-sufficiency resists the blessings of the Lord.

When our best efforts fail and sooner or later they do it forces us to turn to the Lord
who restores us to the way he originally intended us to live. It is the easier softer
way. God is the one who does the work and we go along for the ride.

God does not call us to perform for Him. He calls us to be yielded (surrendered) to
Him and He performs through us. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man
remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do
nothing. (John 15:5 NIV) I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer
live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son
of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20 NIV)

When we learn to live a surrendered life, we are generally happy, joyous and free
and experiencing the fruits of the Spirit. A self-centered life eventually produces
fruits of the flesh such as: anxiety, depression, anger, worry, doubts, fears, inferi-
ority, insecurity and inadequacy. Not a pretty way to live.

It would seem the choice is simple either misery or happiness. Who would know-
ingly engage in a self-defeating, self-destructive approach to life? God created us as
objects of His love. Mostly, He wants us to be in fellowship with Him so He can

23
love us. God is Love. I encourage you to surrender yourself to God and allow the
Lord to bless you beyond your hopes and dreams.

The preceding provided by Richard Massman.

How to Be Born Again

Lord Jesus, Forgive me for not looking for you.

I surrender myself completely to you. I understand that doesnt mean that I will not
make any mistakes, but that I will follow you in everything. Thank you for suffer-
ing and dying on the cross to pay the price for all of my sins, and for making me a
child of God. Thank you that you are going to help me and set me free.

If you prayed the prayer and meant it its a fact that you are a child of God!

You can pray the same prayer if you are recommitting your life to Jesus.

If you invited God into your heart for the first time you should tell someone (anoth-
er Christian) as soon as possible. The enemy will try to tell you nothing happened
and steal the benefits from you. We need to be sure that we do not fall into the trap
of legalism or works after being saved. God doesnt get mad at us when we make
mistakes, but like any very loving father would do with a child He lovingly guides
and corrects us knowing that we are in the process of growing up.

Moving Forward

Gods word tells us that we are to be a living sacrifice. That means that we are
wholeheartedly committed to doing what God wants us to do instead of doing things
our way or the way of the world and that we have surrendered and submitted to God
and His word to the point that God is able to do as He wants with us. Being a liv-
ing sacrifice means that we surrender to God completely or to the best of our
ability and on a daily basis.

If we want to be led by the spirit of God as much as possible our surrender has to be
complete and ongoing. We will get no results in this area if we are intentionally
harboring desires for things that we know are wrong. Probably most of us experi-
ence ungodly desires from time to time of one sort or another. That is the nature of
our flesh. Our job is to operate out of our spirit and a renewed mind. Thats the best
and the easiest way to resist the devil. We need to understand that we are spirit first
and the Spirit is greater than the flesh. We operate out of that we have in our spirit

24
rather than out of our natural mind and intellect which are opposed to the things of
God.

God will guide us in the decision making process and what we need to be doing.
One of the main ways God leads us is through the peace He puts in our heart. Peace
which is a fruit of the spirit and does not come from the enemy and helps to assures
us when we are in Gods will.

Probably most people operate under doubt and unbelief and call that faith. They
either beg God to help or perform to try to earn His help, instead of asking and be-
lieving or speaking to the mountain. When we believe that God wants what is best
for us but that we must use the power our intellects to make those things happen
or we believe that God will only do so much to help us that is about a lack of faith
or about doubt and unbelief. Our lives are not about using the power of our own
intellect to make the best choices we can and then expecting God to bless those
choices, but it is in allowing God to make our decisions for us and then following
his instructions all along the way.

Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
to the which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

There are three instructions from God in this verse which we are provided to ensure
our success and happiness. First we let Gods peace rules our heart. That means to be
guided by His peace. Second, we are to have fellowship with other believers and be
a part of that body. Last but not least, as all of these things have equal importance,
we need to be thankful. If we are doing all of these things Gods power is flowing in
our lives.

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of
your heart.
As we take pleasure in God and the things of God He changes our hearts so that we
desire good things and He is able to give us those things.

The Cure for Codependency

Romans: 8:6-7 For to be carnally minded [is] death, but to be spiritually mind-
ed [is] life and peace. Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against God; for it is
not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. Romans 8:8: So then, those
who are in the flesh cannot please God. The Bible makes it clear that we are to
have fellowship with other believers and to be of service to them and our fellow
25
man. So God makes us to be dependent on others to a degree, but in a healthy way.
Dependency on others becomes harmful when we rely on others or our relationship
with other people for our sense of self-worth. The worst cases of codependency are
wherein the codependent person uses their relationships with other people or their
attempts to help other people as a replacement to God in meeting their needs for a
sense of self-worth or security or when we place our trust in people or an individual
or equal to or above our trust in God. The simple cure for harmful dependency on
others is to place our trust in God, first and foremost in every area. We have to un-
derstand that only He meets all of our needs. The word tells us that only God is
good. No one else including ourselves is good. The cure for codependency is to put
our trust in God wholeheartedly. When we understand that only God has the solu-
tion to our problems and He desires us to be happy and well in every area the task is
easy.

Codependent people fixing is playing God. First we need to understand that God is
God and we are not. Secondly we need to realize that it is God who meets our
needs, not other people and that other people are very much imperfect like we our-
selves are. Only God can change another person. The solution is in relying in and
trusting God and in being spiritually minded.

Dealing with Pain

We need not fear pain if we are in relationship with Jesus because God will give us
an abundant grace to go through it. That is how Jesus, Apostles and everyday saints
have been able to endure the greatest of adversities and even torture to the point of
death. Its why Paul who was imprisoned in almost every place he traveled,
whipped, beaten with rods more times than he could count and stoned and left for
dead and called was able to call all of those things minor afflictions.

For those of us who have had long standing addictions our lives have been full of
pain. That pain may have seemed unbearable at times. But when we come into rela-
tionship with God - that in itself delivers us from a lot of our pain: spiritually,
mentally and often even physically. Relationship with God doesnt eliminate all
pain but it relieves a great deal of it. Sometimes we will experience pain in the pro-
cess of spiritual growth and because of lifes circumstances; but it if so it will be far
less than the pain we experienced previously because we have God to comfort us
and the comfort which comes from being spiritually minded and the knowledge that
God will truly make all things to work for our good.

26
We need to look to God for our comfort. In the following verses the point Paul is
making is that because of his tribulations and the way that God comforted him
through them - he was able to comfort and encourage them that God would comfort
them. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforts us in
all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trou-
ble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. Because we
are in this world and because of the enemy we do have trials and tribulations and
because God comforts us we are better able to comfort and encourage others in their
tribulations.

Godly Character
Romans 12:9-21 (KJV) "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is
evil; cleave to that which is good.
Be kindly affectionate one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring
one another;
Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the
same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men
of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all
men.
If it be possible, as much as is in you, live peaceably with all men.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it
is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in
so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but
overcome evil with good.

Of course when it says that by doing good to those who wrong us we will heap
coals of fire on their head, that doesnt mean that its our intention to hurt those
people, but symbolizes the fact that they will feel a deep sense of remorse or shame
for what they have done. Hopefully, and in some cases that will also show them
their need for Jesus, the God that you serve.

27
Chapter Four
FORIVENESS & BREAKING STRONGHOLDS

The Bible is Gods word and His will. God's will is what His word says in spite of
our failures and our flesh which is contrary to God. We need to constantly be grow-
ing in our understanding of His word.

Legalism kills. Most of us have been harmed by legalistic beliefs and teachings
wherein the atonement of Jesus is not enough for salvation and we have to compen-
sate or help our salvation by way of our own righteousness or works, working from
the outside in - instead of letting God do the work from the inside out.

The truth is as Hebrews 10:10 says salvation is by the atonement of Jesus By that
will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for
all. That payment covers present and future sins as well as those committed before
we received Christ.

Relationship with God is based on Gods grace and our faith in God, not on our
works. Nothing stops the flow of Gods spirit and power like self-righteousness. If
we believe that we can somehow earn Gods love and favor by doing the right things
even though we may have a wrong self-image or poor self-esteem that is self-
righteousness. Instead we do the right things as He directs because we love God and
the life He gives us and He gives us the ability to do those things more and more as
we grow in the knowledge of who we are in Him, His love and of His word and His
promises.

Believers have the ability to operate in Gods supernatural power in accordance

with Gods word and our ability to believe on His word and that is not based on our
performance. Any form of thinking or teaching, religious or not, which reinforces
doubt or unbelief in Gods supernatural power and His desire to have us walk in that
power in accordance with His word is a lie and is not of faith, but of doubt and un-
belief. Such teaching violates the truths and the spirit of Gods word.

The Easier Softer Way

We move out of self-centeredness by loving God with all our heart and by loving
others as Christ loved us. If that is our focus along with a right understanding of
Gods love towards each of us we dont have to work hard at staying free of re-
28
sentments and self-centeredness because that solves all of those problems. But we
also need to understand that as Gods word says, as joint heirs we have the same
power, miracle working power, in our born again spirits, which is the same power
that raised Jesus from the dead.

Trust God

God and His word are entirely trustworthy. God can not lie. If He says He will do
something He will do it. If He broke His word the Universe would fall apart, be-
cause He created everything by the power of His word.

As Gods word says He is No respecter of persons so we can trust God, because it

is not about who we are - or about our relative goodness in comparison to other
people. No one is good, except God. as the word says but it is simply about our
willingness to believe that God is good and faithful to His word. All that is required
to receive what God has promised - is faith and understanding that God is good, He
loves us, wants us to be happy and that He cannot lie. Being certain of these things
we can put our trust in Him which enables us to be in relationship with Him and
follow His guidance and instruction which is the key to true happiness and health.

The verses below assure us that God wants to meet our needs and that He keeps His
word to do so.

Philippians 4:19: But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches
in glory by Christ Jesus. Paul prayed this over those who had supported His min-
istry. If we support Gods work from the heart financially (or otherwise if we cannot
do so at present financially) we can give thanks to God that He meets all of our
needs and do so with confidence, not because we have earned it but because Gods
word says so.in Matthew 24:35: Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words
shall not pass away. Psalms 138:2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, And
give thanks unto thy name for thy loving- kindness and for thy truth: For thou
hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

We can count on Gods word. God places importance on His word even above
His own name. We can believe in His love and promises.

BLESSINGS

These are paid for by Jesus. Although faith without works is dead, they are not con-
tingent on our performance as they were during the old covenant, but they are
29
contingent on our faith and trust in God and the price Jesus paid. We can believe
and receive or doubt and do without.

Deuteronomy 28:3-8
Blessed are you in the city, and blessed are you in the field.
Blessed is the fruit of your womb, and the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of
your cattle, increase of your oxen, and wealth of your flock.
Blessed is your basket and your kneading-trough.
Blessed are you in your coming in, and blessed are you in your going out.
Jehovah gives your, who are rising up against you--smitten before your face; in
one way they come out to you, and in seven ways they flee before you.
Jehovah commands with you the blessing in your storehouses, and in every
putting forth of your hand, and hath blessed you in the land which Jehovah
your God is giving to you.

We need to cooperate with God by believing His word and being guided by Gods
word and wisdom to receive everything purchased for us by Jesus but God promises
that we are blessed everywhere we go. We are blessed with prosperity in every area,
even if we have made. Everything we do is blessed and good things are coming to
us from every direction as we begin to act in faith and believe that truth. It is not a
matter of it being blessed at a later date when we become more perfected, but God
has already blessed us and all we have to do is receive those blessings by faith and
act accordingly doing what we are able to. We thank God believing that He has al-
ready given us all of these things and expecting to see them become manifested in
our lives as we step forward taking appropriate actions, such as giving in faith and
out of love.

Of course the flow of Gods blessing is contingent to a large degree on us being

submitted to God and that we are doing what He would have us be doing as we are
able. Sometimes we might act presumptuously thinking that something is Gods will
because the project we take on or the direction we take seems to be a good idea
and then we find that the decision we made to go in that direction only brings prob-
lems or produces no fruit. Other times we may be in Gods will but fail to complete
the task because of an attack of the enemy or because we allowed strife, doubt or
unbelief to get us off track. The best way to ensure that we are in Gods will is to
walk closely with Him, acknowledging Him in everything we do and being led by
His spirit and peace without self-seeking motives of any kind.

House Cleaning

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Proverbs 16:7
When a man's ways please Jehovah, He makes even his enemies to be at peace
with him.

As we focus on Gods love for us, and focus on putting God and others first we
get rid of much of our self-centered ways and thinking and our behaviors will auto-
matically become pleasing to God. We will also instinctively do our best to clean up
our mistakes when we make them.

Philippians 2:3

doing nothing out of selfish ambition or through vain conceit, but in humility
consider others better than yourself;

This expresses the importance of having the right attitude. If we are considering
others needs above our own we are not being self-centered, as long as what we
are doing is not for the purpose of getting recognition from others. God recognizes
and rewards our work.

Trust God, Clean House & Help Others: Each one of these things opens our eyes
and increases our ability to understand God as obstacles of self-centeredness are
removed.

Pride, Self-centeredness & Fear

Its been said that what is at the root of all of our problems is self-centeredness,
which is about being focused on ones own needs instead of others and on being of
service to God. Gods word speaks that truth, but almost all of our problems stem
from fear. The fear is that we will not get something we want or need or the fear
that we may lose something we have. Fear is what is at the root of our problems and
of course it is the opposite of faith. If we are trusting that God supplies all of our
needs and acting in faith we are not fearful.

Any reoccurring fear is evidence of a stronghold. It makes us easy prey for the ene-
my. Sometimes people will even hold onto beliefs which they know are not true as a
means of trying to protect themselves, their self-image or their ego, or as a means to
get what they want. That dishonest approach leads to insanity. As we grow we come
to understand most things, practically all of them, which we thought were problems
or which inspired fear in us were really no problems at all, but really they were op-
portunities for us to make improvements in the way we think and to grow in our
faith.
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When people think of pride they usually picture someone who is arrogant and
who thinks they are superior to everyone else. Probably that is the form of pride
everyone dislikes the most, but being timid or self-conscious is as self-centered as
being arrogant. Being self-conscious and having low self-esteem is about being fo-
cused on what others are thinking about us is usually about having a need or desire
for their acceptance or approval. A phrase used to describe the alcoholic personality
is as an egomaniac with an inferiority complex. That covers both extremes.

Of course money is not bad. God wants us to have an abundance of all things so that
we can share it will others and help build His kingdom. It is the love of money
which is evil as we cannot love God and money at the same time. But its when
people put their trust in money instead of God that they are in sin and moving in the
wrong direction. Jesus said in Mat 19:24 "Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to
go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. He
said this after the rich man showed that he preferred his money to God. Money does
solve a lot of problems and fears, at least temporarily, but it can never be a replace-
ment for God and it cannot bring fullness of life.

There is really only one way lasting way out of fear without bondage and that is
with the knowledge of Gods unconditional love and provision. The person who
knows Gods unconditional love and knows that God is their provider knows His
love does not fear. 1 John 4:17-18 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may
have boldness in the Day of Judgment: because as He is, so are we in this
world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear
hath torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. If we try to serve God
out of fear we are tormented by those fears, but if we know Him and serve He out of
love there is no fear.

Resentments

The best way to deal with resentments is not to get them in the first place. We need
to realize that we do not have any right to be resentful. Gods word is clear that
that is not part of His will for us, but instead we should be thankful for what God
has given us. Of course resentments usually hurt us more than whomever we are
resenting. God wants us to forgive for our own sakes because unforgiveness harms
our relationship with Him and opens the door for the enemy to bring harm. It pre-
vents us from being able to receive His love or operate in love as we should towards
others. Forgiveness is for our benefit as much as it is for the other person involved.

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But also when we start coming to the understanding that there isnt a right to be
resentful we will not so easily become offended by what others do or allow those
things to become resentments. But forgiving, like so many things, is often an act of
obedience and a decision that we need to make. No matter what another person has
done to harm us for our own good we need to decide to forgive them and that is
Gods will.

If we get or stay angry at anyone what is at the root of that is our pride, regardless of
what the other person did to us. If you remove the element of our pride (self-
centeredness: which is placing more importance on ourselves than we do on God
and others) there is little room for us to be angry. Proverbs 13:10 also gives us this
insight "Only by pride cometh contention."

When we realize that God is our provider and that He loves us unconditionally its
much easier for us to forgive. If we think that people meet our needs, which isnt
really true, then we are also inclined to be far too concerned about what they think
about us or about how they treat us. John 13:34 "A new commandment I give unto
you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one anoth-
er." This is greater than the old commandment of loving others as ourselves. God
loves us in spite of all of our weaknesses. When our focus is on seeing others come
to Jesus and saving them from pain and futility in this life and Hell in the next life
its not hard to do. It also solves a lot of other problems as Gods power will flow
through us unobstructed.

Legalism & People Fixing

Legalism is the opposite of grace and of faith. Legalism is about trying to earn sal-
vation and forgiveness of sin or relationship with God - through works instead of
receiving it by faith. We need to rid of the idea that God blessing and favor is de-
pends on our performance. Legalism is trusting in ones self instead of God and it
also brings bondage and not freedom.

We do want to avoid sin as much as possible because it works against Gods plan
and purposes and it opens a door for the devil to do harm in our lives, but we have
to be rid of the idea that Gods love, His willingness to answer prayer and His bless-
ings are something we can earn or are based on our performance. Mark 10:18 And
Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? [there is] none good but one,
[that is], God. Only God is good. Legalism is self-righteousness.

33
Of course we dont embrace sin or anything which is contrary to Gods instruction.
Sin gives the enemy a license to harm us. As the saying goes Give the devil an inch
and hell take a mile. Hell make you pay more than you wanted to pay and keep
you longer than you wanted to stay. We certainly do not want to give Satan any
opening but we should be always mindful of Gods grace towards us and others
through the sacrifice and atonement made by Jesus which was more than enough to
pay for all of our sins. Of course when we sin we should repent right away and con-
fess it to God to prevent it from causing more harm.

People Fixing

It's often easy for to see another persons problems in thinking, but only God can
clearly see or change what is in another persons heart and it is what is in the heart
that determines how a person thinks or behaves. Although God also uses people and
other things to help bring about understanding, ultimately understanding of God's
word comes through revelation through the Holy Spirit. We should be mindful of
the fact that God does things in His own way and according to His timing. Its "the
goodness of God leads thee to repentance." (Romans 2:4) When we take it upon
ourselves to play God and we try to coerce or manipulate people - or provide infor-
mation we think they need for change before they are ready for it - we will in most
cases be doing harm instead of good.

Although the word gives clear instruction that we are supposed to avoid or do away
many different kinds of harmful thinking and the behaviors that accompany wrong
thoughts and attitudes - it's interesting to note that the apostles only commanded the
early gentile church to abstain from four things and to trust God to lead them in
everything. Acts 15:28-29 "For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to
lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain
from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and
from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye
well." Of course that doesnt mean its ok to engage in any other sin we want, but the
point is that God instructed the apostles that they should not lay any greater burden
on them. Some people would like to provide us with a long list of things or rules,
usually using scripture, of things they think we must do. That is legalism.

Holiness is a fruit and not the root of salvation. The word instructs us you who are
spiritual (persons being led by Gods spirit) to restore our brother if he is overtak-
en in a fault and do so in the spirit of meekness (Galatians 6:1) but we are not
doing so if we are sticking are noses where they are not wanted or trying to fix or
change something that only God can and without God clearly leading us to do so.
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Always being true to Gods word, unless we are speaking about things like sexual
immorality, dishonesty, evil speaking (sins of the heart or immorality) we probably
should not take it upon ourselves to try to correct someone elses behaviors and then
we should only do it with Gods leading and direction. Identity in Jesus is ultimately
the solution to every type of problem.

Jealousy or Envy & Codependency

James 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every
evil work.

This is speaking about being in a self-centered struggle with others to get our needs
met. In this state of mind we are wide open to having the devil do much harm to us.
Its about being led by our flesh and the devil rather than being led by God. Its pure
pride and self-centeredness. Its the exact opposite of Gods way of doing things
which is to consider others first.

A person who is jealous of others is a person who is insecure and sees other people
as their source. That is what codependency is about.

There is nothing more self-centered than being jealous of others. Envy is spoken of
as being something very harmful in 20 different verses in the Bible. Jesus was killed
and Josephs brothers threw him in a well to kill him because of jealousy. Jealousy
is a wide open door to the enemy.

Operating in Strife & Envy must be avoided. James 3:15-16 "This wisdom de-
scends not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and
strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." The way of the world is to grab
everything you can get in competition against everyone else and is not true wisdom.
That is the way of the devil and opens the door for him to do all sorts of evil and
harm. The only way to avoid strife and envy is to know who we are in Jesus, every-
thing He paid to give us.

1 Peter 2:18-20

Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and
gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience
toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if,
when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do
good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.
35
This scripture helps to remove any of the excuses we have been keeping for being
resentful of others. Also this gives God an opening to do a work in the hearts of
others when people see how we are different from people of the world. We can turn
situations around completely and help God to soften the hardest of hearts when we
see things through Gods eyes and follow His instruction.

The more that we grow in our faith, dying to our own ways of thinking and seeing
things through Gods eyes, the less we can be harmed by the actions of others.
Thats Gods way to bring us to a place where we dont get offended by what oth-
er people say or do and have peace that passes all understanding and where nothing
harms us although the journey in getting there almost always requires some difficul-
ty and most of us get out of Gods peace from time to time.

Forgiveness

Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you:

Romans 12:19-21 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place
unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in
so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but
overcome evil with good.

It doesnt matter what the offense is - forgiveness is for our benefit and freedom and
that of others. And with that understanding comes freedom. We can forgive and
forget and let God be the judge and we must do this if we want Gods best in every
area of our lives. Excuses prevent us from forgiving. Excuses point out what the
other person did that was wrong and why we had reason to be angry. We need to get
rid of all of those excuses and understand that freedom comes through our ability to
forgive unconditionally. Unforgiveness is an open door for Satan to bring illness in
our minds and bodies.

We will also very often see that when we take the wrongful behavior of other gra-
ciously or without even becoming offended or when we show unmerited
forgiveness for an offense, God can use that to do a great work in the heart of the
offender, changing them and saving their soul. That is the greatest reward of for-

36
giveness. We are here to reconcile others to God, but that will almost never happen
when we are at war with the other person.

Matthew 5:44-45 (KJV) But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully
use you, and persecute you;

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. Nothing goes
more against our carnal minds than blessing people who curse us, but our reward is
great when we can do that and like anything else that God asks of us - we can do it
when we make up our minds to do so even though we may fall short of perfection. It
starts with making a decision to do what God asks and then believing He can em-
power us to do those things. It is also easy to forgive when we realize that all of the
evil things people do are done out of ignorance, which is why both Jesus and Ste-
phen prayed to God for their murderers Forgive them for they know not what they
do. As we learn to die to our own desires and to self, by placing our focus on God
and spiritual things a lot of our problems fall by the wayside without any effort at
all.

Much of the time the ugly things that people do are motivated by fear. When we can
see this it makes forgiveness much easier and often helps to prevent us from becom-
ing offended in the first place

We grow in our ability to do understand Gods word rightly only through the Holy
Spirit. Thats why having a degree from a seminary does not necessarily amount to
understanding Gods word, not to mention that many times they are filled with tra-
ditions of men that contradict the true meaning of scripture 1 Corinthians 2:14 But
the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are fool-
ishness unto him: neither can he know [them], because they are spiritually
discerned. I got a lot of help from other Christians who were involved in spirit
filled ministries which focused on Gods grace in learning to get rid of my legalistic
understanding and get the right understanding of scripture. The key things I have
always looked for in Bible instructors are:

1) A complete absence of legalism.

2) A right understanding of identity in Jesus and grace that does not deny in-
structions in Gods word.
3) A focus on love and principles of faith, evidenced by Gods power and in-
cluding signs and wonders.

37
Breaking Strongholds: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the
pulling down of strongholds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing
that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity eve-
ry thought to the obedience of Christ;"

Strongholds are wrong ways of thinking about certain things (lies) that the enemy
has set up in our minds through lies we have believed and usually reinforced by
circumstances. They rob us of life and identity in Christ. Overtime those lies or
strongholds do their best to convince us that we are substandard and not who Gods
word says we are. The way to break them is by replacing those lies with the truth
and identity in Christ. Although sometimes a stronghold may be broken through
hitting a bottom of one kind or another, so that we are forced to let go of something
we were believing, the better way to break them down is by knowing and believing
who we are in Jesus, speaking words of faith, walking the truth out and having fel-
lowship with other committed and like-minded, spirit filled believers.

To get free from a problem we usually need to be able to identify it, but the problem
is if our thinking doesnt line up with Gods word or more to the point if we do
not know what we have in Jesus we will be unable to see what the problems are.
Supernatural law (Gods word) supersedes and is master over the natural realm so
Gods word is true, not our experience which is contrary to what it says. Basically
all of the following are indicators or evidence of a stronghold:

If I cant, Thats impossible or anything that states that you are not just
like Jesus, a son or a daughter, is in our vocabulary - that usually amounts
to a stronghold, particularly if you hear those things coming out of your
mouth on a regular basis.

Recurring negative or hateful thoughts about an individual, types of people

or organizations are strongholds. We should hate evil things that people
and organizations do, but if our thoughts about ourselves or people center
on those things and are backed by negative feelings, emotions or fear that
is a stronghold.

If you are confessing and/or thinking that you are sick rather than healed
by Jesus stripes that is a stronghold.

38
 If you are confessing or believing that you are lacking in any area, includ-
ing finances, or that your needs will not be taken care of that is a
stronghold.

Although circumstances may agree with those things above they are not what the
truth is. Our problems, although we face problems in this fallen world, are almost
always the result of wrong thinking and wrong believing and speech. A lot of the
time we will see circumstances change the moment we change our thinking and the
words we speak. Other times it will take some time to see our circumstances change
as we stay in faith, believing and speaking the positive truth of Gods word until our
actions are also consistent with those truths. But circumstance will change. Faith
always works.

Your Identity & the Amazing Power of God Inside of You www.truthpowerandlife.com

39
Chapter Five
FAITH & THE BLESSINGS of EVERY BELIEVER

If you are born again, having received Jesus, this is for you. Even though we may
still have areas in our lives where there is some bondage every believer has the
blessing of God and His authority. Romans 11:29: "For the gifts and calling of
God are without repentance". God never leaves us no matter how much we may
have alienated ourselves from Him. Sin or negative sowing can harden our hearts
towards Him, but God never takes away His blessings, although sin and a hardened
heart can block us from receiving them or being able to understand that we are
blessed.

Galatians 3:13
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us:
for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree

Through sin, doubt and unbelief (and also wrong teaching which brings those
things) we can open up the door for Satan to do his worst and we also need to use
our authority over him in order to prevent curses from being able to have place in
our lives. But God never places a curse on anyone for violating the law as He
did in Old Covenant, prior to the atonement of Jesus generational or oth-
erwise although the enemy will bring them if he has opportunity. The solution is
in knowing the truth and taking our authority over the enemy.
The law of the Old Testament was not given because God took pleasure in people
having hardships or pain, but it was given so that people would understand the futil-
ity of trying to be good or trusting in their own goodness and trust God instead, as
well as to keep mankind from destroying themselves. Even in the old covenant peo-
ple had to "trust" in God in order to have God's kind of life, but now we have an
exceedingly better covenant.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by bearing our curse for us. Now,
through Christ, God never places any curse on us although we all violate the law in
some way.

Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we
are healed. The healing produced by Jesus bearing our stripes includes
our physical healing. Matthew 8:17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken

40
by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sick-
nesses. 1 Peter 2:24: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the
tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose
stripes ye were healed.

Jesus payment for our sins also includes healing.

You Do Not Need More Faith

Every Believer Has Been Given Gods Supernatural Faith

When you received Jesus and were born again, you did it with the supernatural faith
which God gave you as a gift so that you could receive Jesus. That was not your
own faith, but the faith God gave you.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of your-
selves: it is the gift of God:

Romans 12:3
"For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you,
not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly,
according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."

We all have the same measure (the measure) of this supernatural faith.

Great Faith vs. Little Faith

We can operate in great faith or little faith, but we all have been given the same
amount measure of faith. Great faith speaks about faith that is not polluted with
doubt or unbelief and little faith is about having faith that is easily diminished by
what we see in the natural. Little faith is when we allow circumstances or what we
see in the natural rob us of our faith. To a large extent operating in great faith is
about making a choice to believe and not doubt. Big faith is when we are able to
stay in faith and not be affected by circumstances. As we renew our minds with
Gods word and those faith principles contained in His word we are better able to
walk in faith and do that more and more consistently.

When we are believing Gods word and His promises without doubt and unbelief
we see miracles come to pass and Gods power is able to flow through us unob-
structed.
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Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above
all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.

A little faith unpolluted by doubt and unbelief is great faith.

Luke 17:6 (KJV) And the Lord said, If you had faith as a grain of mustard
seed, you might say unto this sycamore tree, Be plucked up by the root, and be
planted in the sea; and it would obey you. Now we all have the measure.

In Mark 11:23 Jesus speaks about believing and not doubting in our heart. It also
shows that you can have faith and unbelief at the same time. For verily I say unto
you, That whoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou
cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those
things which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatever he says.

If we are believing something firmly in our heart its possible to have doubts pass
through our mind as long as we do not focus on those thoughts, but reject them
and still see the miracles or what we believing for come to pass. But if we are
doubting in our heart or if we speak out our doubt that will cancel the power re-
leased through our faith. Mainly the power or the effectiveness of our faith has to do
with what our focus is on and what we choose to believe in our heart and we release
that faith by speaking in accordance with what Gods word says.

If we speak out a doubt that enters our mind that releases a negative opposing
force against our faith which is likely to nullify our faith which was released.

The unbelief of others is NOT an excuse for our faith not working. Men &
women of God see people they are praying for healed in spite of them having great
doubt & unbelief and even with those people stating that they do not believe in God
or that God can heal them. They see atheists and even Satanists healed all of the
time, because they do not allow anything to effect their own faith and they oper-
ate in love, overcoming offenses, doubt & unbelief. But sometimes I believe that in
the case of a Christian we may need to minister forgiveness and repentance prior to
casting out demons or laying on hands to see them healed.

Before Jesus was resurrected, we see that even Jesus could do no mighty miracles in
his hometown. Its been taught that it was because of the unbelief of those around
Him. But it appears that they were also in strife and envy and did not want to be
healed because they were offended. This, I believe is the real answer, rather than
the unbelief of others being the issue. God does not violate peoples will or force
42
them to accept His love or provision. They have to be willing to receive or want
those things. Mark 6:3-5 "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother
of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with
us? . And they were offended at him.. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet
is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his
own house. And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands
upon a few sick folk, and healed them And we see here that in spite of their un-
belief (v.6) Jesus was still able to heal the sick. Mark 5:40 also seems to confirm
that offense and lack of willingness are the core issues. Mark 5:40 And they
laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he took the father and
the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entered in where
the damsel was lying. And then He restored the girl in the following verse.

Of course as we grow and mature in our faith and through renewing our minds our
faith and our ability to be consistent in that faith grows. But studying the word, even
if we are doing that with the help or instruction of others does not always mean that
we are growing in our faith. If we are listening to people who have a wrong under-
standing of the word that can hurt our faith instead of helping it.

WHO YOU ARE

A Child to and an Heir of the King. As such you possess His power & His author-
ity to act in accordance to His word and His will.

Galatians 4:7 (KJV) Wherefore you are no more a servant, but a son; and if a
son, then an heir of God through Christ.

You are designed and gifted by God to have a special and unique purpose in
the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:27-28 (KJV) "Now ye are the body of
Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first
apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts
of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. Even if it is something
as simple as a gift of hospitality you do have a primary gifting from God for the
purpose of being of service to God and helping others. 1 Corinthians 12:7 But the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit with all. And in your
spirit you have every spiritual gift.

In your spirit you have all wisdom, knowledge & power. (Col 2:2-3, Mark 6:2)

43
1 Corinthians 14:4 he who is speaking in an unknown tongue, himself doth edi-
fy, and he who is prophesying, an assembly doth edify;

The gift of tongues is for the building up of the inner man of the believer who is
using that gift. It is the only gift given to primarily benefit the user but God also can
and does use that form of prayer to bless others also as He prays in their behalf and
God also empowers us through it to be more effective in our ministry to others. As
we are built up in the inner man we are better able and more empowered to help
others. Although, it was never expected, some of the biggest miracles I have seen in
praying for others happened almost immediately after praying in tongues for a few
minutes.

The following passages in 1 Cor. Chapter 12 make it clear that God gives every
believer spiritual gifts and that the reason that He does is so that we can bless others
through the use of those gifts and of course so that we may benefit also by the spir-
itual gifts of others in the church.

1 Corinthians 12:31
But desire earnestly the greater gifts. And moreover a most excellent way
show I unto you.

Those of us who have asked in faith to be filled with the Holy Spirit have all of the
gifts of the Spirit but obviously the difference is - and the reason we are to desire
the greater gifts - is that God gives special or primary gifts of the spirit so that
members of the body of Christ may operate powerfully and consistently in those
gifts such as healing, prophesy, words of knowledge, etc. for the benefit of others.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (KJV)

"Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh
all in all.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of
knowledge by
the same Spirit;
To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same
Spirit;
To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discern-
ing of spirits;
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to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man
severally as He will."

Your Blessings

Its better to walk in Gods blessing than to receive a miracle.

Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,

God's power is unlimited. We are mainly limited in our power to do all of the things
God wants us to do, which includes walking in His supernatural power and seeing
miracles come to pass, by our carnal minds and our ability to trust in God's power to
work in us. God can and will do for us and others far beyond what we can ask or
even imagine as our minds are renewed with His word and we walk with Him in
faith and love.

Hebrews 10:10 By that will we are sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all. Jesus paid for all sin: past, present and future sins.

Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made
a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree:

Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us
with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

All spiritual blessings includes everything we could ever need including our physi-
cal or material needs because our supply of all things spiritual and natural comes
from the realm of the spirit.

Ephesians 1:4
According as he hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:

We are holy and blameless when God looks at us because God sees the Spirit of
Christ in us not our sin.

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We can probably not be perfect in this or confess every wrong thought that ever
enters our minds, nor can we be without sin if it was only for that reason, but we
need to limit sins effects on us and others as much as possible.

Through faith in Christ we have access to all of Gods blessings.

Proverbs 13:22 (KJV) "and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just."

2 Peter 1:3
According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto
life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory
and virtue:

Deuteronomy 28:3-13 (KJV)

"Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit
of thy cattle, the increase of thy kin, and the flocks of thy sheep.
Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou
goest out.
The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten
before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee
seven ways.
The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all
that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the
LORD thy God giveth thee.
The LORD shall establish thee a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn
unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and
walk in his ways.
And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the
LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.
And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and
in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the
LORD swear unto thy fathers to give thee.
The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain
unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou
shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be
above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the com-

46
mandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe
and to do them:"

Fortunately, in the new covenant, because Jesus paid the price for us and took away
our curses.

The Blessings of Every Believer www.truthpowerandlife.com

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Chapter Six
BECOMING SPIRITUALLY MINDED

Romans 8:6

For to be carnally minded is death;

but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

This is good news that if we focus on the positive truths of Gods word - all we get
is life and peace.

While we have received Christ, we are sealed with His spirit and our souls are
saved, we have to engage in the right kind of thinking to have Gods kind of life
right now.

Romans 12:1-2
And be not conformed to this world:
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of
God.

Confusion, doubt, unbelief, guilt, shame, depression and condemnation are forms of
carnal thinking and emotions (death) that do not seem to be directly rooted in lust,
but they are rooted in lust to the extent that they originate from sin. They are also
products of worldly or carnal programming and a lack of understanding or revela-
tion of the truths contained in Gods word.

When we sin guilt or shame is appropriate for us to experience only for a short mo-
ment as a warning sign that we need stop what we were doing and or to confess that
what we did was wrong and get back on the right course in our thinking and actions.
But those negative emotions should never dominate our thinking. If we wallow in
guilt or shame those emotions warp us and weaken our faith and our strength. Ne-
hemiah 8:10 Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your
strength!"

Colossians 3:16 (KJV) "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wis-
dom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Being spiritually
minded requires knowledge and understanding of Gods word and that gives us real
power over negative circumstances and thinking.
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Negative thinking has a negative effect on us mentally & physically. We cannot
walk in victory if we are filled with guilt and shame or any other type of negative
thinking. God wants us to be free and victorious. We know that God gladly cleanses
us of unrighteousness when we confess our sins. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unright-
eousness. The price Jesus paid was more than enough to pay for all of our sins and
His death was also to give us a more abundant life. If we have ongoing guilt or
shame there is a problem with our thinking which needs to be changed.

Negative thinking and emotions are often a warning sign that we are focusing on the
wrong things being carnally minded. Other times they may come as an attack
from the enemy. Occasionally a negative thought or feeling may also be a warning
that we are in danger.

Positive thinking and emotions are a sign that we are focusing on the positive truths
of Gods word being spiritually minded. When we allow negative thinking and
emotions into our minds, particularly if we allow them to stay, they will bring nega-
tive results to our minds, our emotions our bodies and every other area of our lives.

If we allow negative thinking and suffer negative consequences as a result, it is not

because God is punishing us, but its because of laws that God put in place to keep
the Universe in order. There is not any way to get around it, sooner or later, whether
we like it or not or whether or not we choose to believe it we are going to reap what
we sow.

DEATH LIFE

Lust, Anger, Resentment, Fear, Love, Peace, Joy & Happiness,

Depression, Strife, Grief, Faith, Health,
Pride, Greed Physical & Mental Health,
Mental & Physical Illness Humility
Anxiety & Compulsive Behavior Patience & Self-control

The moment we see negative emotions rising up is ourselves we need to be on high

alert. Usually we need to tell them to go the second they appear to prevent them
from growing and causing harm. We should do also that when we feel pain or dis-
comfort anywhere in our bodies. We command negative emotions or symptoms like
pain, swelling, stiffness, etc. to go in Jesus name as soon as we are aware of them.

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Becoming Spiritually Minded www.truthpowerandlife.com

Our Mental Programming

Every waking moment of our lives, and sometimes even when we sleep, we are
being programmed. Some people think that they can look at or listen to anything
they want without it having any impact one way or another. It all has an impact on
our minds and our thinking although that is something that we have some con-
trol over. For example, we can be in a negative environment and choose to ignore
that environment or otherwise focus on positive things. But what we focus on cer-
tainly will become a part of who we are in our thinking. If we focus on good things
it will have a positive effect on our lives and if we focus on negative things it will
have a negative impact.

Positive Programming

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever

things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be
any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

The born again believer who has just received Christ usually knows instinctively
what things need to be avoided, but by filling our minds with Gods word and spir-
itual wisdom we are strengthened and renewed so that we have more ability
instinctively do what God would have us do and to hear his voice under whatever
circumstances we may be going through.

Music is a part of our programming if we listen to it or are exposed to it. Some peo-
ple think all Christian music is good. But some of the lyrics contained in some
Christian songs are not things we should be thinking or meditating on. One very
popular Christian song states and repeats a prayer which requests that God remem-
ber His people and His promise. The lyrics mentioned above come from prayers
offered on behalf of others during the old covenant and completely discount what
God has done for us through Jesus in the new covenant. Just because lyrics contain
scripture it does not mean we should be mediating on them or speaking them out.
That is not true. We should glad we are not living in under the old covenant, that
God knows each one of us better than we know ourselves and that God does not
have any memory problems. Jesus makes all of these points very clear in Luke 12:7
telling us that even the hairs on our head are numbered. We need to focus and medi-
tate on positive truths from Gods word. We need to avoid listening to negative
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messages, whenever possible, which speak anything to us against the truth of Gods
love and provision for us if we want Gods best.

The Importance of Understanding Gods Word and Focusing on It

Proverbs 4:20-22 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my say-
ings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine
heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

The Spirit Man Vs the Carnal Man

We need to see ourselves according to who we are in Christ.

Fruits of the Spirit Gal 5:22-23

Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, tem-

perance

The Spirit Man & Love

Kind
Patient with others, long suffering
Is meek and humble
Behavior is to serve others
Not envious
Forgives and forgets harm caused by others
Never rejoices in evil, but rejoices in truth and goodness
Never gives up in doing good
Never loses faith
Is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance
Worships and trusts God only
Blesses even those who curse or misuse him

The Power of Our Words

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that
love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

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Our words release either life or death, one or the other - either blessing or
cursing.

Jesus said in Matthew 12:36 (KJV) "But I say unto you, that every idle word that
men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."

This doesnt mean that we can never say anything negative if it is done for a truly
constructive purpose, but these verses (Prov. 18:21 & Mat 12:36) show how im-
portant our words are. This scripture shows us that there really isnt such a thing as
an idle word. The NIV translates the word used to say idle as careless. All of
our words mean something and have an impact. No doubt careless is a better de-
scription and the correct translation there. Also the subconscious mind is very
powerful and it is programmed by the words we speak as well as what we hear
good or bad. Of course we hear our own spoken words.

As much as possible our words should be words of faith which agree with the posi-
tive truths of Gods word and those things around us which are good. But we do not
want to take this to extremes and say that things which are evil are good. Isaiah 5:20
(KJV) "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil;" Some people go so far
out of their way not to say bad things about people that they refuse to acknowledge
that the evil things those people do are wrong. We do need to be careful not to judge
others but we do need to acknowledge that evil or wrong actions are wrong for our
own benefit as well as for others. Sometimes we need to say something rather than
be silent because our silence can allow others to continue in their error with our
support. We can do that without being critical or judgmental of others in most cases,
but if we are unable to do so then we should probably remain quiet or wait for God
to gives us the wisdom and the ability to do so asking Him what He would have us
to say, if anything.

Being Spirit Led

Proverbs 3:5-9 (KJV)

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own under-
standing.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
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Peace belongs to God and He gives it and takes it away as a means of directing
our path. I find that anytime I have ignored the leading of my peace in favor of what
seemed to be a good idea it was a mistake with negative consequences. A great ex-
ample of being spirit led is when one famous Bible teacher had made arrangements
to go overseas to speak, but as the time drew closer he found himself hating the idea
of going more and more. Although he could not give a reason he called and let the
other parties know that he would not be coming. As it turns out the flight that he had
a ticket for ended up crashing into the sea and everyone on it died.

We need to come to the place where we abandon relying on our own thinking and
wisdom and rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Of course that doesnt mean
that we never use our common sense, but it means that we stop relying or trusting it
and focus on being led by the Spirit following the peace in our heart and give that
priority over all else, looking to His guidance as much as we are able to in our daily
walk and in making decisions. Its not just doing that one day at a time but minute
by minute we keep our hearts and minds open to what God would instruct us to do.
We learn to rest in the finished work of Jesus and stop trying to engineer things to
suit us or to make us happy but we place our trust in God to lead us and not in the
power of our intellects looking for Gods will instead of to satisfy our own will.
Even when doing these things we may make mistakes sometimes, but the spirit led
life is not about perfection as much as it is in making adjustments according to what
God shows us and following the peace that he gives us. John 8:12 "Then spake
Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me
shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

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Chapter Seven
THE AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER

Every believer has been given authority over all of the works of the enemy. Once
again, regardless of where we are in our walk with God the gifts and calling of
God are without repentance (Rom 11:29) and upon receiving Jesus we also re-
ceived power and authority over the enemy in conjunction with Gods word and
purposes.

Luke 10:19 -20

Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and
over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall in any wise hurt you.
Nevertheless in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but re-
joice that your names are written in heaven.

We have been given that authority to enable us to do Gods work. Having authority
over the enemy and using that authority is important but it pales in comparison to
right relationship with God.

Matthew 10:8
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons: freely you
received, freely give.

Its Jesus and the power of His name that gives us that authority. Its Gods power,
but He has given us His authority to act in His behalf. All that is required for any
demon to flee is that the person using the name of Jesus is born again and that he or
she uses that authority and the name of Jesus with faith and in accordance with
Gods will. If you are born again you have this authority regardless of how many
mistakes you have made. It is not contingent on our comparative goodness, which is
just self-righteousness: (Isaiah 64:6, NIV) "All of us have become like one who is
unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;" speaking about our own
works apart from Jesus, but the good news is now we are not apart from Jesus.

The Proper Use of Anger & Spiritual Warfare

Ephesians 4:26 (KJV)

Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Most people think and have been taught that this verse means that because we are
human we are supposed to get angry at people, but that we are supposed to get over
it by the time we go to bed. That is incorrect, although we do of course want to be
54
rid or anger as quickly as possible when it is stirred up towards other people. We
know that strife opens a door for the enemy to attack and I have noticed that I do not
have to be angry very long before things to start going wrong. The following verse
Ephesians 4:27 says warns us Neither give place to the devil. which is exactly
what we are doing the moment when we enter into strife with other individuals.
James 1:20 For the wrath of man accomplishes not the righteousness of God.

What Paul is really telling us is to never let our anger against the devil rest. We
are never to put it to bed. We need to have a violent and angry disposition to-
wards the devil, but we are to love other people even when they do wrong. Not
only is that so that we do not become apathetic but it increases our power over the
enemy when exerting our authority over him and gets greater results (See Matt.
11:12 below).

Shortly after I started putting all of my spare time into renewing my mind, I was
being pounded by ungodly thoughts which were coming into my mind. They were
flooding my mind one after another and robbing me of all of my strength. This had
been going on for a couple of hours and I knew that if something didnt change I
was going to fall in a very big way.

This was one of the first times I had ever taken my authority over the devil. But I
was extremely angry at the devil and I began addressing all of the kinds of demons
(manifesting through my thoughts) which had been flooding my mind. Taking my
authority, I bound them and telling them to go in Jesus name. When I was finished,
about 30 seconds after I started, the demonic power was completely gone and I was
completely restored to my right mind. This also fits with Matthew 11:12 & Prov.
8:13.Matthew 11:12: And from the days of John the Baptist until now the
kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. We need
to be violently opposed to the devil and wholeheartedly dedicated to bringing in the
kingdom of Heaven. Proverbs 8:13 says The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil:

Although we need to have some awareness of Satans schemes as the word tells us;
our main responsibility is to ignore demons. Focusing on demons or paying too
much attention to them only gives them more power. Through Christ we have au-
thority over all of the works of the enemy and we need to use our authority, but we
should be so focused on God that the enemy is not even an issue that is on our mind
most of the time.

The Authority of the Believer www.truthpowerandlife.com

55
 When Satan Attacks

Walking in dominion and love through a right identity in Christ prevents many
attacks but when the attacks do come when we are doing that we simply
pass through them without them having much, if any, negative impact on us.
So that should be our goal to do as much as possible.

When Satan is attacking me I know it. Often that will also be accompanied by Satan
using those who are around me for his purposes or to open doors for strife. But the
battle is spiritual and in the mind regardless of other peoples involvement. When
Satan tries to pull us back through an attack on our minds, emotions and or our bod-
ies we need to take action. Sometimes that action may be to simply rest in faith in
His provision and wait until the storm passes. Other times we need to take our au-
thority over the enemy.

Heavenly Father, Thank you that because of the price Jesus paid I am forgiv-
en of all of my sins. I humbly ask that You will set me totally free. I want to
serve You only. I want to be free to love You more. So in the Name, and by the
authority of Jesus Christ, I resist the devil.

"Satan, I am covered by the blood of His forgiveness. I belong to Jesus. And in

the Name of Jesus, I command you to go, to leave me alone, and never come
back! May the Lord Jesus rebuke you!

"Father, I Thank You for Your victory. Thank You for cleansing me and set-
ting me. Fill me now with Your Holy Spirit. Thank You, Lord! In Jesus' Name
I AM FREE! Amen!"."

When People Attack

Although its not an excuse for anything or anyone as we are told to resist the devil,
I believe Satan is directly and actively involved in almost every bad behavior or
evil deed because he is an opportunist. We must resist with right identity & prayer.
Of course if people are being used by the enemy, if possible we might leave the
environment for a few moments and pray.

The best way to resist the enemy is to keep our focus on God being thankful for
what He has given us in spite of anything the enemy throws at us or what people do.
We always need to be shooting for the perfection of Gods instruction for the best

56
results which tells us to turn the other cheek. When we are able to do that it honors
God, frustrates the forces of darkness and can make a positive impression that
changes the hearts of other people.

There are times when it is appropriate that we stand up for ourselves and for others.
But its best to take the high road and turn the cheek whenever possible. James 1:20
For the wrath of man accomplishes not the righteousness of God. Sometimes
evil or people doing evil things need to be dealt with, but we are not to take venge-
ance. Our job is to see people through Gods eyes of love regardless of
circumstances.

Casting Out Demons

There is no demon in Hell that cannot be cast out using the name of Jesus with faith.
When Jesus said in Matthew 17:21: "Howbeit this kind goes not out but by pray-
er and fasting." He was not talking about a certain type of demon that goes only
when we fast and pray but He was speaking about this kind of doubt and unbe-
lief which was the reason the apostles the apostles could not cast it out because of
their natural doubt and unbelief when the demon did not go immediately Mark
16:17 "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they
cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;"

We do not need an open heaven. The kingdom lives inside of us. Its a waste of
time for us to take authority over geographic areas. Jesus and the apostles never did
that and modern groups who have tried that have done so without seeing results of
any kind.

The Power of Praise

When we are praising God we can feel our inner man strengthened and a greater
sense of physical and mental or emotional wellbeing. Gods power flows when we
are praising Him from the heart with a joyful spirit. Also there is little which repels
Satan more than when we praise God. He hates praise to God and wants it for him-
self. Praise and Gods word are our two offensive weapons against the enemy.

Of course good, positive Christian music helps us to sing and worship God from
the heart. But not all of it is good, some is filled with Old Testament scripture and
asked God to give us things that Jesus already gave us. That is one of the reasons I
went to the trouble of making a Christian music playlist on my YouTube channel
Faith Works. Its amazing how listening to great Christian music, or even better

57
yet singing along with it can completely change our attitude when going through
tough moments in life. It was when Paul and Sirus were imprisoned after just being
whipped and beaten that they began singing and praising God that all of the prison-
ers chains fell off and the doors of the prison were opened. Praising God will also
set up free when if we get into depression, which is often a stronghold for doubt and
unbelief.

The Authority of the Believer www.truthpowerandlife.com

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Chapter Eight
DEALING WITH TEMPTATION

Romans 6:11 "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,
but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

If we are of the mindset that we are dead to sin and cannot derive any kind of pleas-
ure from it because of that fact which is also a spiritual reality - its harder or even
impossible to be tempted by sin, depending on the depth of our belief. Our strength
is in understanding that we are alive to God and dead to sin.

We have to exert ourselves towards God to get and to stay free from the enemy as
we renew our minds with the truth. We have to spend time focusing on our identi-
ty in Jesus and our place in the kingdom before it will take root and start to produce
fruit. We need to keep our focus on the things of God and not focus on what our
weaknesses or shortcomings may be in the flesh, because we attract whatever we
focus on whether that is good or bad. The kingdom of God is all positive but of
course we do need to avoid or reject what the word tells us to.

Sometimes its necessary for us to fight with demonic forces to have victory. But a
lot of the time we simply surrender to God, put our trust in Him and let Him fight
the battle.

Resisting the Devil

James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

First we submit to God by valuing our relationship with Him above all else and by
making our thinking conform to what His word says. We submit to God also by
acknowledging that we are who God says we are and that we have what He says we
have. Then in God's strength we are able to resist the devil. Often times that means
that we just need to get out of the way and give the problem to God.

Other times we need to take our authority over the devil. We should resist any
things which would hurt or retard our spiritual growth. We need to be prepared in
advance to say No! to immorality and not give place to thinking or activities
which open the door for it.

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We are not powerless over people, places and things if we are operating in Gods
will and according to His word and seeing things through Gods eyes. The well-
known Serenity Prayer also teaches this truth as it asks God to give us insight and
courage to change the things we can and the wisdom to know the things we can-
not change.

James 1:14-15 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own
lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin,
when it is finished, brings forth death.

Temptation always starts from within, although it can also result from an attack of
the enemy. When people see or hear the word "lust" they often think that is referring
to sexual desire, but that word is simply defined as "a strong desire". A person can
lust for money, power, recognition or for almost anything.

The Battle with Temptation

We are in trouble the moment we start to entertain a sinful thought or desire. That
opens the door for temptation to lead us into sin. Mainly we need to avoid tempta-
tion as much as possible. But as our minds our renewed and our desires change
temptation becomes less and less of an issue.

We gain power to resist as we renew our minds. We have to fill the vacuum to keep
from having it filled for us by things we do not want. The only thing that can fill the
void in our heart is God.

When we are walking in love we are actively resisting Satan and there is little or no
opportunity for him to do anything and there is nothing else we need to do to resist
him. But Satans attacks can be very subtle and will usually start with one little
thought. We need to also learn to recognize those thoughts and reject them as soon
as they arrive. If we act to replace those thoughts immediately with the right think-
ing they will often go without us even having to say a word. If they do not go
immediately we need to use our authority and command them to go.

Of course a lot of the time the best way to resist the enemy is simply to ignore him.
One of the main ways that he tries to get an advantage over us is by trying to make
us think that he has more power than he does or that our circumstances are beyond
what even God can fix. The devil is just a liar. Sometimes there may be a circum-
stance which cannot be fixed, but God if it cant be fixed God can always give us
new circumstances that are far better. Why bother to argue or listen to someone who

60
is only capable of lies? When the devil sees that we are not listening he goes else-
where.

Galatians 5:26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another,
envying one another.

James 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil
work.

These verses (Gal 5:26 & James 3:16) tell us strife and envy allow the devil to cause
confusion and all types of harm in our lives.

Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the
lust of the flesh

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentle-
ness, goodness, faith,

Satan almost always attacks us at our must vulnerable moments. Usually he will use
other people to push our buttons to provoke us to think or act in ways that we ordi-
narily would not. Often times he will use those who are closest to us. That is why
renewing of the mind is so important. As our minds become renewed we are able to
react the way God would have us to react in those difficult times when we are under
attack.

If we fall it's important that we not wallow in guilt or shame. We admit our mistake,
make amends to anyone harmed when possible - and ask for God's forgiveness
thanking Him that He leads us in righteousness. We should thank God for His for-
giveness and that He makes it possible for us to grow in our relationship with Him
and overcome the problem in our thinking which caused the problem behavior.

MILLION DOLLAR QUESTIONS

We need to be following God's instruction and not our own plan or agenda. We
need to follow the path that He puts us on and make course corrections as He guides
and directs. When we are troubled by anything the root problem is fear or lack of
faith in God so the million dollar question are: What would Jesus do? and What
are the scriptures I need to focus on and/or what do I need to do replace the wrong
thinking with the right thinking?

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 Humility
When a Christians is self-critical or they say negative things about them self which
are contrary to Gods word that is not humility, but it is a false humility which is a
type of pride.

True humility is about being more focused on Christ and others and saying what
Gods word says about us and speaking the truth without being fearful or concerned
about what others will think. What other people think has some importance because
we are supposed to be helpful to them but our focus needs to be on Christ above
what others think about us. Of course being focused or too concerned about what
others think is about pride. Our focus needs to be on Christ.

Does God Control Everything that Happens?

When we are surrendered and walking in Gods will He controls probably most of
our circumstances. But the simple truth is that while God is able to make all things
work together for our good He does not control everything that happens. We play a
part in circumstances and how we react to them. And God does not control every-
thing other people do or everything that the enemy does. It robs us of much if we
believe that God is responsible for the harm that Satan is actually causing. If we
believe that God is behind illness or other harmful things we cannot operate in faith
to overcome those problems or take our authority over Satan who is the true author
of such things. John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill,
and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it
more abundantly."

James 1:13-17 (KJV)

"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be
tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man:
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and en-
ticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is
finished, brings forth death.
Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is
from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no varia-
bleness, neither shadow of turning." We are in error if think God gives us illness
or tragedy,

1 John 1:5 "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare
unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." God does not give
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us illness or tragedy, as some think that he does for the purpose of teaching us
things. Very often the negative circumstances we are dealing with are simply the
products of circumstances, of our own poor choices; but very frequently they are
also the result of living in a fallen world, attacks of the enemy or other peoples free
will.

God can not lie or break His word so He must operate within the framework of His
written word. But the good news is God gives us power to overcome all of the
things which come against our bodies, minds and finances. Its our responsibility to
know Gods word and the blessings paid for by Jesus. Then we need to receive them
and walk in them by faith and take our authority over the devil as we speak Gods
word over our circumstances.

The Full Original Copy of the Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to dis-
tinguish the one from the other.

Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship
as a pathway to peace, Taking, as Jesus did, This sinful world as it is, Not as I
would have it, Trusting that You will make all things right, If I surrender to
Your will, So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy
with You forever in the next. Amen.

The Serenity Prayer (the shortened version often spoken in A.A.) speaks about the
courage to change the things which should be changed. But faith, believing and
knowing are better than courage any day. This prayer also expresses the under-
standing that God does not control everything. If God did control everything we
would not need to change anything and there would not be any need to resist the
devil or need for wisdom. But if our understanding and identity is right there is no
such thing as hardship if we are steadfast in our trust in God because we know its
only momentary and everything will end up working for our good.

Resting in God & Being Spirit Led

Psalms 37:4
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

When we delight ourselves in the positive truths of Gods word as they pertain to us
and mankind - God changes our heart in a positive way. And only by taking pleas-
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ure in the things of God can we be spirit led. Anytime we allow any kind of nega-
tive thinking to dominate us we know that we are not being led by Gods spirit, but
on the other hand something is wrong if we are not repulsed by evil. When we de-
light ourselves in the Lord that allows God to bless us with the things that we desire
as He also changes what is in our heart, which are also be the things which are good
for us, as our minds become renewed .

Its amazing how so many of us have some type of weird and negative religious
view of how God will go about changing us or giving us what we need. That was
true in Jesus day also thats why He said the following to show us how wrong our
negative view of God is: Matthew 7:9-11 (KJV) Or what man is there of you,
whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he
give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto
your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good
things to them that ask him?

I remember listening to pastor about what his initial thoughts were about God
providing him with a wife as he spoke about that with a sense of humor. The pas-
tors thoughts were that he was sure that God would give him a good wife but not
really one like he was wanting. He thought Oh sure, she will have a good personal-
ity and be full of virtue and kindness, but she would be ugly. I didnt hear the end
of that story but I am certain that the woman whom God gave that pastor was one
whom the pastor found very attractive physically. I am quite sure that God gave him
the desires of his heart.

Being able to rest in God requires that we be able to trust Him. Its hard to trust
someone if you believe that person is going to show you their love by giving you a
life driven by hardship and pain or teach us how to be Godly by giving us things
that destroy us. God wants us to prosper in every area 3 John 1:2 "Beloved, I wish
above all things that thou may prosper and be in health, even as thy soul pros-
pers." Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says
the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

In this life we have to experience some trouble. But God takes no pleasure in seeing
us suffer and gives us grace to go through negative situations with His peace. Where
there is peace there is an absence of pain. God wants us to have good things. God
promises to meet our needs and give us peace and joy that comes from knowing
Him and placing our trust in Him.

Our faith and the powerful way that God works through it will also change many of
the negative circumstances we face, but when walking in our true identity and inher-
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itance and we face what used to seem like negative circumstances we pass through
those things and find that in most cases that they are actually positive circumstances
because they give us an opportunity to manifest the things of the kingdom and
Gods power. God's blessing is not based on our goodness or lack of it but it comes
out of God's love and goodness and what Jesus paid to give us and flows from our
relationship with God. He has already given it to.

The Bible refers to God as "the God of more than enough". God had given King
David an abundance of wealth & possessions and far more than an average person
could possibly ever need. Then he told David "If that had not been enough all you
had to do was ask and I would have given you more". This does not mean that God
wants us to be materialistic or burdened by those things, but it is not His desire that
we should suffer from lack when it comes to material things which we need to live
happy and productive lives. God is not a miser and wants us to be well equipped for
life and His service to others.

Growing in our ability to trust God in every area is a process for almost everyone,
but really it is mainly about a choice. We can make a decision to believe God, even
when things are not going our way. Its our option to give in to fear and what cir-
cumstances may be telling us or to believe God. The more often that we trust God in
spite of circumstances the easier making the right decision to do that becomes. We
will see some big changes take place every time we learn to place our wholehearted
trust in God in any particular area of our lives.

We need to be single-minded in our trust of God to get the best results in life. In
order to be single-minded in our trust of God we have to keep trusting in God when
times are tough and we may be tempted to take the easy way out by putting our trust
in worldly things. Worldly things may give us temporary relief, but the cost is al-
most always very high and takes us backwards. Nothing is of more value than our
ability to trust God. When we make a mistake we need to turn from it, get right back
up and keep moving in the right direction

Entering into Gods Rest

The Israelites were taken out of slavery in Egypt by way of tremendous miracles,
but in spite of Gods supernatural provision and meeting all of their needs they were
full of doubt and unbelief. As a result of their doubt and unbelief they were not able
to enter the Promised Land. They doubted that God really wanted what was best for
them. As a result they never seemed to appreciate or be thankful for anything God
did for them.

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We have to realize God wants whats best for us and the best way for us to make a
change in that area of our thinking is to meditate on the positive truths of Gods
word. God promises, in the new covenant (New Testament) which is His word to
us, to bless us and provide for us. We do not have to do anything except to trust &
believe God and allow Him to be in control of our life. A lot of the time finding
Gods rest comes when we finally become exhausted by our own efforts and come
to the point where we are willing and able to put our wholehearted trust in God,
believing and knowing that He is the One who meets our needs because that is all
that is left for us to do it seems. When we come to the end of ourselves God is there
waiting that He would come into our lives and fill our hearts with His love, peace
and joy, which is Who and what God is in character and nature.

Most of us have been in the habit of making all of our own decisions most of our
lives. It isnt Gods desire that we go through hardship and devastation to come to
the place that we stop struggling in our own efforts, surrender to Him and enter into
His rest. But because of our worldly training (programming) and thinking its the
way probably most of us come to trust in and rest in God.

There is no better way to learn to rest in God than to Learn and focus on the positive
truths contained in Gods word. Then we need to speak those positive words over
ourselves and others.

Good Ideas Vs God Ideas

If we are analyzing everything very deeply to figure out the best answer to a prob-
lem or some type of obstacle we can get into trouble, if we are not careful, because
the things which may be influencing our thinking may be just the products of our
limited carnal minds. Our carnal minds are by nature not in tune to spiritual things
and are susceptible to being influenced by fear, the enemy and by natural things.
But God is not susceptible to the enemy. God is not tempted, nor does He tempt
any man. (James 1:13) If we are analyzing everything and trying to live life by
our best thinking and own physical efforts we are not trusting God. Trusting in our
own skills and abilities and then expecting God to bless our efforts without being
instructed or led in and throughout our work usually will lead to complete failure
sooner or later because chances are we will not be following Gods plan and de-
sign however good our intentions may be. As they say in some Christian circles
Theres a difference between a good idea and a God idea. Our best intentioned
plans and our most well-constructed thinking are not worth anything if they are out-
side Gods plan for our life and He does have a plan for each one of us.

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Mainly God leads us thru the peace He puts in our heart. Peace is a fruit of the spirit
and does not come from the enemy. Gods peace assures us when we are in Gods
will. A feeling of loathing or repulsion in regards to something we are considering
is almost always a clear sign that we should go the opposite direction of whatever it
is that brings that instinct out in us.

Matthew 16:16 &17, 22 & 23 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him,
Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but my Father which is in heaven. From that time forth began Jesus to show
unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of
the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third
day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee,
Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee
behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savors not the things
that be of God, but those that be of men. One moment Peter was hearing from
God and the next (probably only seconds later) he was listening to the wrong voice.
This demonstrates that even men of God can listen to the wrong voice at times but
knowing Gods word properly helps to prevent that.

Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which also
you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and

supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus.

These verses tell us we should not be anxious. Those of us who have lived through a
life threatening addiction should have little problem being thankful for that and all
that God has given us even if we presently have little or no material possessions.
And if we know that it is God who is meeting all of our needs our circumstances or
whats going on is totally irrelevant. Of course realistically speaking most of us
allow what we see with our eyes to affect our faith a lot of the time, if not the major-
ity of the time. But we should try not to do that. When faith in God becomes a habit
and where we live from walking in dominion things which used to cause great fear
have little or no impact on us. Gods will for us is for our hearts and minds to be
filled with peace and He gives us a promise of the peace which passes all under-
standing.

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Probably most of the time can know with confidence that we are doing what God
wants us to do if ask ourselves a few simple questions:

Does what I am thinking line up with Gods word?

Did I take the time to ask God about the situation in faith that He would an-
swer me and having the attitude that I will do whatever God instructs me to do
knowing that it will be for my best?

Is what I am thinking confirmed by Gods peace in my heart?

Bottoms Up

Sometimes a lack of faith is about a lack of patience. At times I have gotten ahead
of God wanting to make up for time lost or wanting to bring about a result before it
was Gods timing. That can create huge problems.

Not everyone has to hit bottoms of one sort or another, some seem to be gifted from
the start with the kind of faith that prevents that from happening. We hit a bottom in
life when our way of thinking or doing things fails completely in some area and we
usually end up suffering some very unpleasant consequences. Then we are forced to
let go of the wrong thinking or believing that caused the problem.

Hitting bottoms is not a requirement if we are committed to trusting God and we

understand who we are in Jesus, but if or when they happen it is something that we
should choose to be happy about. God will always use them to teach us things and
take us to a new level as long as we are committed to keeping our trust in Him
throughout the process.

It would be wrong to say that God caused the negative circumstances that occur to
bring a person to a bottom. And God usually does what He can to minimize those
consequences. He is able to use what the enemy intended for our harm, even our
own failures in some cases, for our good and in amazing ways.

God instructs us through His word and His spirit so that if we are tuned into God
and putting Him first we do not have to learn through painful experiences if we are
continually growing. That is the better way to learn things and improve our relation-
ship with God - by renewing our minds and growing closer to God so that He can
remove what needs to be removed without us having to go through painful experi-
ences in order for us to be pliable enough to cooperate with and hear God.
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Getting ahead of God and not being patient caused me some major problems in my
journey. Patience is needed. James 1:4 (KJV) "But let patience have her perfect
work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."

Dealing with Temptation www.truthpowerandlife.com

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Chapter Nine

USING YOUR FAITH FOR LIFE & MIRACLES

The worst teaching in the body of Christ which is also very prevalent in 12 step
groups is the idea that God controls everything or He allows and thus causes
bad things to happen. If we fail to walk in our inheritance and dominion or we fail
to use our authority in Christ - a lot of unnecessary harm will occur that would have
been prevented otherwise. God does not control everything other people do. He also
does not give people sickness as a means of teaching them something (John 10:10).
Probably more than for any other reason the reason why people like to insist that
God does those things (or controls everything) is because they have heard that said
by some religious leaders but it also relieves them of the responsibility for their bad
decisions and/or their responsibility to act in faith in order to be set free from prob-
lems. We are responsible for knowing the truth, regardless of what religious leaders
teach.

God has given us power over all of the works of the enemy, but if we wrongly be-
lieve that those things come from God, instead of the enemy, we are giving Satan an
opening to do much harm because we are not going to take our authority over him.

The more that we use any gift that we have been given the better able we are to use
it and the stronger it becomes. We also cannot afford to be complacent as the enemy
looks for us to put our guard down. We need to put on the whole armor of God and
yield the sword of the spirit. Hebrews 5:14 "But strong meat belongs to them that
are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to
discern both good and evil."

When I first received Christ I went to a denominational church that did not believe
in miracles. I instinctively knew that there was something wrong with that. How
could almighty God who created the universe not be a God of miracles? And why
would He stop performing miracles just because the apostles were gone? Neither of
those things made any sense although I knew little about Gods word at the time
which also very clearly shows that the whole church is instructed to operate in the
power of God. Fortunately my belief in miracles was something the enemy was not
able to take from me and that is probably why I am still alive and growing.

Not only do we usually need miracles for living healthy and productive lives in gen-
eral but we also need miracles in order to do everything God has instructed us to do
and for the purpose of leading as many people to Christ as possible. Jesus per-
70
formed miracles like no one else before or after Him. Probably more than anything
else He did that out of His great love for people, but it was also how he brought
people to God and made them to understand the greatness of Gods love for them
and that the things He was telling them were true and from God (John 10:38).
Throughout the New Testament Gods word tells us that Jesus healed everyone who
needed it. Matthew 8:16, 1 Peter 2:24, Matthew 4:23, Matthew 9:35, Matthew
12:15, Luke 6:19, Luke 4:40, Acts 10:38 He didnt just heal some, people who were
living relatively good lives in comparison to others. He healed everyone regardless
of who they were, what they knew or didnt know except that we see that they had
to believe. Mathew 9:29, Luke 7:19. As believers all things are possible when
we believe and our belief can supersede the unbelief of those we are praying for
at times. These signs (Mark 16:16-17) follow us not those we are praying for.

We need to operate in Gods supernatural power to help bring the lost to Jesus. It
was when I was at a point where I was in some ways the farthest away from God
that He used a miracle to break some of my hardness of heart and my doubt and
unbelief and get me moving strongly towards Him again. Jesus told us to heal the
sick and cast out demons (Mat 10:18). He also said those who believe will cast out
devils and speak with new tongues (Mark 16: 17). They shall lay hands on
the sick and they shall recover. If we are not doing those things we are falling
short of Gods instructions and doing far less than we are capable of for God and
others. I have seen people who had little or no knowledge of the Bible and who had
probably rarely or never entered the doors of any church instantly healed in re-
sponse to prayer. The expressions on their faces and what they had to say afterwards
made it clear that it would be an experience they would never forget and that they
were thankful to God. When a person is healed of a serious or a painful physical
condition that experience can only do good things in terms of bringing them to God
or improving how they relate to God.

Both for life and to see miracles come to pass for ourselves and others we need to
develop our ability to focus on and believe Gods word and apply our faith. In the
spirit realm everything we could ever need has already been supplied. Its not a mat-
ter of getting God to supply our needs. He has already done that. We just need to
receive it from the spirit realm into the realm of the natural by faith.

2 Corinthians 8:9 (KJV) For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that,
though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His
poverty might be rich. Taken in context it is clear this is speaking about money.
But He was only poor in comparison to His riches in Heaven. He had money and a
treasurer to carry it. He could have acquired anything He wanted and could have
71
had an abundance of money, but He did not do that for our sakes. So Gods provi-
sion is for our prosperity in every area, even finances. Of course financial prosperity
is not meant for us to feed our lusts but so that we are equipped for every good
work, for helping finance the gospel and for helping others.

God has supplied everything we need. Health, healing and prosperity in our minds,
our bodies and finances already belong to us through the death and resurrection of
Jesus. So we can confidently expect God to supply everything we need in any area
provided we are not asking for the purpose of feeding our lustful fleshly desires.
James 4:3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong mo-
tives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. Of course we also
need to operate according to other Biblical principles like working and giving.

The only thing that a person needs to see God do miracles in their life is to stop
thinking about all of their weaknesses and understand that God has already blessed
us because He is good and not because we are. But we are good in Gods sight be-
cause He sees Jesus and not our defects when He looks at us. Once we see that
simple truth the only thing we need to do is ask God knowing that He will provide
because His word is true as long as what we are asking for is according to His word
and the kingdom of heaven.

God wants us to have financial abundance, as well as spiritual prosperity, so that we

can bless others and further His work. Prosperity, like every gift, except the gift of
tongues, it is for the benefit of others primarily and not for ourselves.

If we really trust God and that He is our provider, we will trust Him with our mon-
ey. The word tells us that that is the smallest area that we can trust Him in and that
faith without works is dead. 2 Cor. 9:10 tells us that He will multiply what we sow
into His kingdom. So the first thing we need to do is give to God and others cheer-
fully (2 Cor. 9:7). This is not just speaking about giving money, but it includes
giving money.

What stops faith from working or stops us from using the faith God has given us is
our thinking. In order for our faith to be effective have to be asking for things or
speaking things that are in agreement with Gods word. Secondly, but just as im-
portantly, our heart has to be believing that God is able and willing to do the good
thing we ask, not because we deserve it but because God is good and He wants to
give us good things because we are His children and He paid a high price to give us
those things.

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The other thing we need to work on which takes practice and probably none of us
will ever be perfect at - is standing in faith regardless of whats going on until we
see our request come to pass. Peter was walking on the water until he took his focus
off of Jesus and started focusing on the wind and the waves. That is what made him
sink.

MIRACLES

Although it is better to walk in Gods blessings than to need and receive a miracle,
most of us are in situations from time to time where a miracle is needed. Miracles
meet our needs in an emergency. All that is needed to receive a miracle is a little
faith, with an absence of doubt and unbelief and for us to speak to that need releas-
ing Gods power. This is not a theory. It is the word of God and its also the
experience of almost every man and woman of God who is familiar with and be-
lieves the simple truths about the use of faith which are contained in the word of
God. Anyone, regardless of their religious office who has not seen miracles come to
pass lacks an understanding of those simple truths or at least they have not applied
them. The Bible makes it clear that miracles are for every believer. Its not a ques-
tion of whether or not you will see miracles come to pass. Its a fact that you will
experience them if you operate in these spiritual truths with faith.

Our faith is not good for anything if we do not use it but when we operate in faith
and in accordance with Gods word His power is always released.

John 14:12
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be
thou removed, And be thou cast into the sea;
and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he
says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says" Jesus

There is great power in what is said when what is said is believed from the heart, in
accordance with what God's word says. Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. This is also the greatest miracle
of all when one is saved by Jesus and becomes a true child of God.

1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree that
we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes you
were healed

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We have already been healed in the spiritual realm in our bodies and in every area.
Its just a matter of receiving that healing by faith into the physical realm.

I was instantly healed of serious physical conditions on two different occasions

praying the following simple prayer Heavenly Father, I thank you and praise you
that by Jesus' stripes I am healed. Your word is true and the devil is a liar

Proverbs 18:20
A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the in-
crease of his lips shall he be filled.

This verse tells us that what we say brings forth what we receive, good or bad.

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that
love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

The words are not as important as our faith, but we do need to address the specific
problems by name when possible. I have used a prayer very similar to this one,
speaking death to the injury and speaking life (healing) to pray away an injury to
my hand when it was slammed in a door : Problem (illness, pain, swelling, etc.) in
the name of Jesus I command you to go.. Now I command healing to flow into
_______ (the affected area). The injury was significant, but after praying over it
for about 10 minutes, praying in the spirit also, all swelling was gone and my hand
was healed.

Thankfully getting our prayers answered, which are in agreement with Gods word,
has very little to do with our disciplines. The power we operate in or which mani-
fests in our prayers has very little to do with any quality or disciplines we have, for
the most part, except for our ability to believe God and His word. All that is re-
quired is that we use the faith given to us by God and in accordance with His word.
It is faith that we believe that God has given the authority to do these things Jesus
told us to do. The exact words used are not important except that they are in agree-
ment with Gods word; but the faith behind them, combined with a lack of doubt
and unbelief, is important.

Ephesians 6:5-7: Servants, be obedient unto them that according to the flesh
are your masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto
Christ; not in the way of eye service, as men-pleasers; but as servants of Christ,
doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as unto the
Lord, and not unto men:
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Anything good that we do in our submission to authority, whether in our work life
or our personal life, is to be done for the purpose of pleasing God, not for the pur-
pose of getting recognition or favor from men although in most cases favor and
recognition will end up being a result.

If we are in a place where doing good goes against the will of those who are in au-
thority over us we need to take a look at whether or not it is a place where God
wants us to be. If we are being told to do things which we know are wrong or that
are not what God would have us to do we need to obey God rather than men.

The next verse (8) tells us that it is God who will reward us for doing those good
things.

Ephesians 6:8 Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same
shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.

Faith Building Verses

John 4:14
But whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but
the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into
everlasting life

Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you.

John 14: 11-12 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or
else believe me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than
these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

It is true that salvation is the greatest miracle, but taken in context John 14:12 it is
clear that Jesus is speaking about the same types of miracles that He was performing
- and greater ones of the same nature ("the works that I do"). This is not just speak-
ing about leading others to accept Christ or reaching millions through television.
Also without the ability to show people Gods power we will not lead or help lead
nearly as many people to Jesus.

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Verse 11 shows us that Jesus used healing and the casting out of demons to show
that He was from God and that what He was teaching was true. Verse 12 shows that
we are called to do those same things to draw people to Him and verse 13 (below)
goes on to show that the power for doing those things comes from Jesus for the
glory of God.

Mark 11:23
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be
thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart,
but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass; he shall
have whatsoever he says.

It does not matter where any of us have been or where we may be right now in our
faith. This is God's will and desire for every believer. Jesus said "Verily, verily" to
make sure that we heard what He said and understood that He was not joking or just
speaking figuratively. The word mountain here simply means problem. Our
problem may look as big as a mountain but it will disappear if we command it to go
with faith and do not doubt in our heart. These things go against what most of us
have been taught. Unfortunately rather than adjusting their thinking to the truth of
what Jesus is very clearly stating, many people would rather change what Jesus is
saying than change the way they think.

John 14:13-14 And whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that
the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask any thing in my name, I
will do it.

1 John 5:4-5
For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory
that overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcomes the world,
but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Matthew 6:30
Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomor-
row is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O you of little
faith?

Using Your Faith for Life & Miracles www.truthpowerandlife.com

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Luke 12:32
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.

Matthew 21:21-22 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you,
If you have faith, and doubt not, you shall not only do this which is done to the
fig tree, but also if you shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be
thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall re-
ceive.

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and
of love, and of a sound mind.

If we are being troubled by fear or ungodly thoughts or desires we need to do some-

thing about that right away. I will usually pray a simple prayer like I command that
evil thought to go in Jesus name and that works very well.

HEALING God does want all to be healed

A person who wrongly believes its Gods will for some people to be sick will be
infected with doubt and unbelief that will make it more difficult for them to receive
healing and to see healing come to pass for those they pray for. They will probably
see very few healed. The difference between them that believe (Mark 16:16-17) and
those that dont is tremendous and easily observed when it comes to seeing results
in prayer. To be of maximum service to God, to others and for our own benefit we
must be free from that thinking which opposes Gods word. Acts10:24 says, God
is no respecter of persons. The following verses 1 Peter 2:24, Matthew 4:23,
Matthew 8:16, Matthew 9:35, Matthew 12:15, Luke 4:40 ,6:19 and Acts 10:38 tell
us Jesus didnt just heal some, He healed everyone regardless of who they were or
their circumstances. Below are just a few of those examples.

Matthew 12:15 "But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and
great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all;"

Luke 6:19 "And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue
out of him, and healed them all."

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Luke 4:40 "Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with di-
vers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of
them, and healed them."

1 John 1:5
"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you,
that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all."

James 1:16-17
"Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is
from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no vari-
ableness, neither shadow of turning."
It is error to say that in the New Covenant Jesus brings sickness and illness. But
instead it is Satan who brings those things. Jesus explained both of these truths very
clearly in John 10:10.

John 10:10

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it
more abundantly. Jesus

Scriptures People Use Against Healing

There are a few different reasons people get from scripture, which keep them in
bondage to illness and make them ineffective at seeing others healed, but the most
commonly used one is 2 Corinthians 12:7 "And lest I should be exalted above
measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a
messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure." However, taken
in context this is obviously not speaking about sickness or a physical ailment and
this is explained clearly through other passages. Instead it is speaking about perse-
cution. We must be rid of any reservations about Gods will to heal and the fact that
He has already provided that for all people who will receive it. No one needs to feel,
nor should they feel, condemned if we havent been healed but if we want Gods
best we need to seek it in faith and without reservations.

The phrase thorn in the flesh did not originate from Paul. It was an Old Testament
term that referred to persecution and problems caused by the ungodly. Joshua

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23:13" they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and
THORNS IN YOUR EYES. Judges 2:3 says, but they shall be as THORNS IN
YOUR SIDES...". The people of Pauls day knew exactly what Paul was speaking
about which was persecution not illness.

Another verse people use to say that God gives people illness or does not want eve-
ryone healed is John 9:3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his
parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. Sometimes
people are born with a deformity as a result of Satans work or natural or environ-
mental causes, but never because God makes that happen. Jesus was just saying that
now He was going to turn the situation around by healing the man for the glory of
God. James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and
comes down from the Father of lights,"

1 Timothy 5:23
"Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often
infirmities." Timothy was always drinking polluted water in the field (they didn't
have water treatment back then) & Paul was most likely just telling him to take a
simple natural solution for a simple natural problem.

2 Timothy 4:20 "Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum
sick." is another verse people use to say God does not want everyone to be healed.
We do not even know if Paul was present or able to visit Trophimus after he became
ill. Also the scripture didnt say Trophimus stayed sick, but just that Paul left him
there in that condition. Sometimes it takes a while for healing to manifest after
prayer.

Prayers of Faith & Gods Word

Isaiah 55:11
So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto
me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the
thing whereto I sent it.

We can count on Gods word accomplishing what it is sent to do so we should

speak it over our lives and use it in our prayers. Theres great power in Gods word
when we speak it from our heart with faith. Below are a few examples of how you
can use Gods word in your prayers. The wording is not as important as it is that
what is spoken agrees with what Gods word says.

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Sometimes I lack the ability to remember the wording of scriptures. I find that it
seems to work just as well when I simply pray what Gods word says using my own
vocabulary. During my work day I often pray blessed are all of my storehouses
and all of the work of my hands (Deut. 28:8). God knows what I mean and alt-
hough I am not quoting Gods word verbatim my words are in agreement with His
word. But we can also pray in the spirit when we dont know what to pray.

Also, similarly, when exercising my authority over the enemy sometimes I will say
something simple like I command that evil thought to go in Jesus name.

Help me to stay focused on you and to love others as you have loved me. I
surrender myself to you to do only what you would have me to do.

Thank you for blessing me with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly plac-
es in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3) While God has blessed us with all spiritual blessing
in heavenly places we have to be of the mind to receive them and we should speak
words which support those truths and not words which deny them.

Christ did come to set us free, but in most cases we will not experience that freedom
in the natural until after we are able to see ourselves as being free. It is when our
minds line up with what is true in the spiritual realm that we see those things be-
come true in the natural. We need to be moving in the right direction with faith,
however long it takes, and we will eventually see those truths come to pass in the
natural realm also.

I thank you that you guide and direct all of my steps and that blessed is all of
the work of my hands and blessed are all of my storehouses.

The faith that we pray with is more important rather than our words but I pray this
way to remind myself that thankfully Gods blessing is not based on my perfor-
mance or on trying to be good. We reap what we sow good or bad but Gods
gifts are without repentance or irrevocable so even our mistakes do not stop the
blessing of God if we are speaking and operating in faith.

In Matthew 18:19 Jesus says "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall
agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father which is in heaven." So for more serious or difficult matters
sometimes I get another believer to agree with me in prayer and I stay in faith by
continually thanking God that those things are coming to pass regardless of circum-
stances or what appears to be happening in the natural world which may be contrary
to what I have asked for.
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Lord, fill me now and always with the Holy Spirit. I open my heart to yield to
the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 5.18) Scripture shows us that the members of the early
church received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (or second filling for those who
prefer) through the laying on of hands, but many people receive it simply asking
God for it in faith. We all need to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, by faith,
the same way that we received Jesus.

Dear Holy Spirit, cause me to bless the Lord at all times. I want His praise to
be continually in my mouth. (Ps 34.1)

Dear Father, make me to be swift to hear; slow to speak, and slow to wrath.
(James 1.19)

It is You God who arm me with strength, and make my way perfect. (Ps
18.32)

Finances
Heavenly Father, I thank you that as your word says, I am blessed in the field
and blessed in the city and You bless the work of my hands in everything that I
do. I thank you that you are blessing all of the seeds I have planted and multi-
plying them. I thank you that you meet all of my needs according to your riches
in Glory in Jesus. I command money to come to me from the North, the South,
the East and the West in Jesus name

Persecution
Father, I thank you that no weapon formed against me will prosper and that
you make me to be at peace even with my enemies. They come in one way and
go out seven others. Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world. I
thank you that you make me to serve only You, wholeheartedly and with sin-
gle-minded purpose which is what I desire

Illness
Sickness (naming it specifically) I command you to go in Jesus name. I com-
mand the fever and swelling (symptoms) to go. I command healing to flow to
(the affected part) Father I thank you that by Jesus stripes I am healed. I thank
You and praise You that Your word is true, but the devil is a liar.

There is power in the word of God and even Jesus used it against Satan when He
was being tempted after 40 days of fasting in the desert. We need to use Gods word
in prayer. But we need to be careful to not fall into the trap of becoming religious or
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thinking that you have to say things just the right way in order for it to work or for
God to hear us or for faith to work. The faith behind our prayer is the most im-
portant thing but our words when praying need to say what Gods word says
regardless of whether or not we are quoting scriptures verbatim or simply stating
what they mean. Sometimes our prayer might be as simple as pointing at a problem
and saying Go.

Make What is True in the Spiritual - Manifest in the Physical

Romans 4:17 (as it is written, A father of many nations have I made thee) be-
fore him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead, and calls the
things that are not, as though they were.

God has already given us all things. But we need to appropriate those things which
are needed from the spirit realm into the physical by calling things that are not phys-
ical as though they were. This goes along with the instruction of Jesus Who told us
that when we pray we need to believe that we have (present tense) our request and
that we will (present or future tense) receive those things (Mark 11:24). We need
to speak Gods blessings over every area of our lives including our health, finances
and relationships. We need to speak back to the enemy and to whatever speaks lack
to us proclaiming what we have in the spiritual realm. 2 Peter 1:3 seeing that His
divine power has granted unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,
through the knowledge of Him that called us by His own glory and virtue;

Philippians 4:6 In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and suppli-

cation with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Being
anxious is not only about being in a hurry but it also usually involves worry or a
sense that we or things will not be ok if that thing we want or need is not in front of
us quickly . Of course being worried is the opposite of having faith or trusting God.

Being thankful for what we already have we also should be thankfully expecting
God to meet our request if we are asking in accordance with Gods word believing
that He is granting our request as He says He will and we should thank God out
loud. Jesus said in John 14:14 If you shall ask anything in my name, that will I
do. So if we do not immediately see our request which is according to Gods word
any future prayers about the issue should be to thank Him that His power was re-
leased to meet our request. When I pray about something more than once I do that
mainly to get myself back into faith and I pray by thanking God that He is meeting
that need.

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Pain will go when we command it to go in faith, but if we cannot get rid of the pain
or if it is severe and persistent or if we have a problem that is visible our doubt and
unbelief that comes from what our natural senses are telling us can stop us from
receiving our healing which has already been purchased for us. As best as we can
we should chose to believe and speak words that are in agreement with that belief
regardless of what our senses tell us.

Laying Hands on the Sick & Casting Out Devils

Matthew 10:8
"Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have
received, freely give."

Luke 10:9
"And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is
come nigh unto you."
Our ministry wasnt meant just to be inside of four walls, but everywhere we go and
this is for every born again believer.

These Signs Shall FOLLOW THEM THAT BELIEVE

Mark 16:17-18 "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name
shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up
serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall
lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."

Of course we are not supposed to play with poisonous snakes or drink poison for
entertainment or to prove something to others, which is what mockers suggest we
do, which would also be tempting God. But Gods word is absolutely true and
those who truly believe will end up laying hands on the sick, see those people re-
cover and will cast out demons.

Its not about knowledge or maturity. It is simply believing that we being to see
Gods power manifest through prayer and I have seen some amazing miracles. But
for the sake of those who have not yet stepped out in their faith yet to heal the sick
and cast out demons I will tell you about some of my experiences. You will see
these same types of things happen.

I once cast demons out of a man who was highly demonized and in great pain. He
was sitting in a meeting place and when he walked out he left carrying his crutches
83
totally unaware of anything that had happened as I commanded the demons to go
quietly so that he and others who were around could not hear me although I had to
do that 3 times before they left.

I prayed for a man from Mexico in his late 40s at a water machine who had a prob-
lem with the discs in his back and his pain went away as I walked away he
continued to thank me and I simply told him that he was healed by Jesus stripes. Of
course it is all about Gods love for people and if we will simply believe and be
willing and desire to be used of God to help others with Gods supernatural power
we will be.

I have seen people receive healing for a multitude of different of different problems,
most of the common ones you could think of and at this point, I consider myself
very new, relatively speaking to the laying on of hands and praying for the sick.

Here are few of my favorite, recent healing prayer experiences:

HEALING OUTSIDE of STORE... MAN STANDS UP FOR THE FIRST TIME IN

4 MONTHS - AFTER AN ATTACK WITH A BASEBALL BAT.

The man about 60-65 years old was sitting in his wheelchair scratching lottery tick-
ets when I tied my dog up next to him to go inside. He was having fun scratching
the tickets and laughed when he saw curly tailed Raotis smiling at him. I was in a
bit of a down mood and almost decided that because of that it wouldn't be wise to
pray for him. But when I came out he was still sitting there. As I untied my dog I
heard a voice inside say "So what is your excuse for not praying for him? He is right
next to you."

I prayed once and he said he felt "tingling" but still felt some pain. I prayed again
and the pain left. I said "I'll bet you could stand up right now if you wanted to." He
said "It's been 4 months." So I said the same thing again and he was able to stand
up.

It turns out he had been attacked walking home from the post office when 3 young
men ran up to him and one of them hit him in the leg with a baseball bat. He also
had a metal pin in his leg as a result.

I asked if He knew Jesus. He said "Yes, a long time ago." I said, Well you can
know Him again. He is working in your life right now."

A SURPRISE - AND MIRACLES AT CHURCH IN THE GHETTO

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Although one or two of my suggestions were implemented for the church outreach,
I hadn't been to church in a few weeks - so it came as a surprise when I walked by
there on Wednesday night and found out it was going on then. I also hadn't been to
that church but a few times & did not know any of the church members personally.

One of the first ones to get healed was a Mormon man with a hip problem who saw
the gathering and walked up to see what was going on. After being healed he was
crying and wanting to give money to the church. Most likely he will visit the church
again as he said. Almost everyone I prayed for - I think about 8 received healing,
about 5 of whom were church members.

CIRRHOSIS, PANCREATITIS, PAIN & SWELLING INSTANTLY HEALED.

I was at a small church group meeting. There were only 3 others in attendance. One
of them was a man around 30 years old who had Cirrhosis of the Liver and Pancrea-
titis as a result of many years of alcohol and drug abuse. He told me that he had
great pain and swelling throughout his body. I placed one hand on his belly and the
other on his shoulder. As I commanded the conditions to go and his organs to be
healed he began to cry. God had taken every bit of pain and swelling away and he
was healed.

God will work through anyone who believes in Jesus and His willingness to work
through them and wants to bless others. It was great to see many people get healed
but what I like even more is that I know God will build on the work. It is Jesus and
the Holy Spirit who do the work and get all of the glory.

Matthew 17:20

"And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you,
If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain,
Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and NOTHING SHALL
BE IMPOSSIBLE TO YOU."

Many people think, as I did for a long time, that taken in context with the verses that
follow Matt 17:20 that the disciples could not cast the demons out because they had
not been praying and fasting, but Jesus would not have rebuked the apostles if they
did not have the ability to get the job done. Jesus was telling them they could have
done it, but because of their unbelief they failed. Jesus was not saying that this
kind of demon only goes by prayer and fasting but this kind of doubt and unbe-
lief.

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 One on One Healing Prayers

When praying in person or over the telephone most of the same basic principles
apply and I have seen (heard ecstatic testimonies) of people I prayed for over the
telephone healed also. Of course praying in person often gets better results because
we can lay hands on the person we are praying for but Gods power knows no limits
of time or space.

In Jesus Earthly walk and ministry, and that of the Apostles, we see that He laid
hands on the sick and in the case of demonic spirits He simply commanded them to
go. Of course we always want to use Jesus as our example, though we also learn
from other men of God. But whether we just pray a prayer of faith and or lay hands
on the sick as circumstances and the leading of Gods peace would indicate, our
effectiveness mainly rests on our knowledge and belief (faith) that we have the
same authority over the works of the devil that Jesus does. It has little or nothing to
do with any other virtue that we may or the fact that we may presently have physical
or other problems, even addictions. It only requires that we have a simple faith in
these Biblical truths which are the words of Jesus.

Though I am certainly not the most experienced in this area I would estimate that
regardless of the problem I have seen an instant manifestation of healing probably
about 80 of the time when praying for the sick. Although we are empowered to do
even greater works than Jesus as Gods word is always true, unfortunately as far as I
know, no one sees 100% positive results as Jesus did all of the time. But also some-
times healing will manifest at a later time. Our job is to stay in faith and not give
power to what we dont see with our eyes or experience in the natural realm. God,
the Holy Spirit and spiritual law is master and above all and will do beyond what we
imagine.

When approaching people on the street, with or without any prior conversation, if
its not obvious that they have some kind of a physical problem I will simply and
casually ask, Do you have any pain or anything in your body that is bothering you
right now. I have been surprised that it seems the majority of the time I ask they
do, even though a lot of times you would not be able to see that. Then I simply ask
Do you mind if I pray for you about that real fast? It has been to my amazement
that people give me permission about 95% percent of the time.

Here are some simple steps that myself and probably anyone who has a good degree
of success in the healing ministry applies. Do these things in faith and I am sure you

86
will see results. These are just general instructions the Holy Spirit will be your
guide:

1) Identify the root cause or problem. We can do that by simply asking the
person we are praying for. By the time we are done we should have identi-
fied and prayed for, every significant problem the person has, one at a
time.

2) Ask to find out where the pain and or problem is and what caused it.

3) Speak to the problem (mountain) the name of the condition and any related
issues such as pain, infection and command them to go in Jesus name.
Preferably when possible, you should place your hand on the affected part
of the body you are speaking to. But do not worry if for some reason that is
not practical. In such cases you can simply point at it.

4) And thanking God for the person you are praying for and healing com-
mand the problem or problem area to be healed and made whole in Jesus
name.

5) Tell the person to check themselves and move around to see what hap-
pened. After praying ask the person about what they are feeling in their
body and if there is still or symptoms and if they have noticed any im-
provement. In most cases, there will be.

6) Continue to pray and check for symptoms at least one or two more times if
needed, until they are all gone or until praying does not produce more posi-
tive results.

What you should NEVER do if you dont see results.

If you do not see results. Never tell the person being prayed for that they were not
healed because they do not have enough faith. That is a horribly wrong thing to do.
By doing that we are bringing guilt and shame to them and hurting them rather than
helping them. Jesus said these signs shall follow them that believe not those that
are being prayed for. Also if we do so by speaking out the doubt that they were not
healed we just cancelled the faith that was released for their healing. Likewise we
never say that it didnt work even if the person is no longer around. Again, if you do
that you cancel the faith released and give the enemy legal right to bring the prob-
lem back or stop the healing which he most likely will do.
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 After Praying for the Person

After praying for a person that we see healed we should be sure that we are not
attaching strings to their healing, like trying to persuade them to go to our church,
but if they dont know Jesus of course we want to lead them in a simple prayer but
without any pressure. If they are open to it we might also casually know about
teaching resources that might help them, remembering that not everyone has a com-
puter, particularly street people of course.

It is the Holy Spirit who does the work in their hearts after they are healed, so we
want them to have space to enjoy their healing experience, not making them to feel
any sort of pressure to pray a prayer or do anything and as a co-laborer with the
Holy Spirit, we encourage them.

Of course if we see there is opportunity or sense a person is open to it we should

lead them in a prayer for salvation and mentor them or get them off to the right start
as much as possible.

Then I was healed for the first time many years ago, after a simple prayer I prayed
in the middle of a parking lot, of a painful and progressive foot problem, although I
knew the job was finished, it was only a couple of minutes before the pain and
symptoms came back. But through the Holy Spirit revelation God had just given me
I knew that it was just the enemy so I prayed the simple prayer I prayed the first
time to rebuke him and it instantly went away. Satans forces tried to bring it back
several times over the next several months and I would just confess the same thing
Father I thank you that by Jesus stripes I was healed, Your word is true and the
devil is a liar. and the problem would always go away immediately.

About six months after my first healing I was instantly healed of a hernia I had giv-
en myself moving a huge crate, after about 10 nights of pain, by praying the same
simple prayer. And that time it never came back again. So sometimes the problem
will try to return and sometimes it does not.

We need to use some discernment with regards to the person we are ministering to
and everyone is different, but to help ensure that the person keeps their healing I
recommend the following:

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 1) Ask if they know Jesus. If they say yes then explain how they although the
symptoms may never return but if they do return they need to use their au-
thority and tell them to go in Jesus name the second they appear.

2) If they dont know Jesus, ask if they would like to and lead them in a sim-
ple prayer like the one in the one at the end of Chapter One and then if
possible perhaps lead them in the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

3) If they are open to it give them a few helpful suggestions to get them mov-
ing in the right direction or if possible, even better yet, mentor them. But
we need not worry too much because again it is the Holy Spirit is at work
and He can do much in a person who has just been healed of pain and
physical problems.

Just after I wrote this, a lady contacted me on for prayer. She had many problems
and received healing for all of them. Prior to coming over she with her boyfriend
said that she wanted to be used in healing which is unusual because most people
with long term pain can only think about being healed themselves and cant get be-
yond that to see themselves as being used to others healed. So after I prayed for her
she prayed for her boyfriend and he was healed.

If you havent yet had experience in laying hands on the sick and are born again,
believe what Gods word states knowing that it applies to your regardless or your
shortcomings, read these instructions and get them established in your mind, then as
opportunity presents itself, carry them out in faith and with love and you will see
people healed and set free.

Since writing first this book in 2014, with new revelation from Gods word I have
seen atheists and even those who were mocking me instantly healed through prayer.
I talk about that in my new book The Power of the Real Gospel & Your True Iden-
tity. We need to see things through Gods eyes and know that All things are
possible to them that believe.

Using Your Faith for Life & Miracles www.truthlifeandpower.com

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Chapter Ten
MINISTRY & RELATIONSHIPS

LOVE

Love is patient & kind

and envies no one.
Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude;
Love is never selfish or quick to take offence.

Love keeps no score of wrongs, does not gloat over anothers sins,
but delights in the truth.
There is nothing love cannot take
Has faith, hope and endurance for all good things,

Life exists in faith, hope & love.

But the greatest of these is Love

1 Corinthians 13: 4-13

This is the way God loves us and how we should love others. Love is easy as we
learn to look at others through Gods eyes of mercy and love.

Love is without hypocrisy and there is no hypocrisy in God. He doesnt ask more
than He gave. He gave us His very best sending His Son to die for us and sinless
Jesus willingly and knowingly came down from Heaven, leaving His position as
God, to become a man and suffer mocking, torture and death for us. Only as a result
of knowing Gods love for us can any of us love in the way described in 1 Cor. 13.
John 13:34 "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as
I have loved you, that ye also love one another." This is greater than the old
commandment of loving others as ourselves. God loves us in spite of all of our
weaknesses. When we love others that way it solves all problems with unfor-
giveness and resentments.

Love is about being unconcerned about our own needs and focusing more on the
needs of God and others. As Gods word says there is nothing greater than love.
Love is infinitely superior to knowledge. We must make our knowledge a servant to
love. "The greatest of these is love". If we fail to do that we become arrogant and
the love that is in us is ineffective, but when we do act in love, regardless of circum-

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stances, putting the needs of God and others above our own we are walking in
power and the reward of that for us and everyone around us is great.

Sometimes love requires self-sacrifice but it manifests out of what is in our heart
and what our focus is on. Its more about the attitude of our heart than what we do
but if our heart is right our actions will follow and faith without works is dead.
When, at Gods direction, we give away things God always supernaturally meets
our needs and we find have given away in most cases we have not lost because God
replaces what was given away with something better.

The following story, shared with me by the young man who helped lead me to ac-
cept Christ, paints a good picture of what Jesus did for us, although He did far more
than that:

There were two brothers who lived in a city. They were twins. One day one of the
brothers killed a man. When his brother found out about this he was heartbroken
because he loved his brother dearly. So he went home, found his brother's bloody
clothes, put them on and then he went before the judge and confessed to the murder
that his brother had actually committed. So the judge had him put to death for the
crime.

When the brother who had actually committed the murder heard of what his brother
had done - he was filled he was filled with shame and sorrow - so he went before
the judge and said "I am the guilty one. I am the one who actually committed the
murder. My brother was innocent. So now please have me put to death." But the
judge replied, "No. The debt has already been paid. You are free."

Jesus did even more than that for us. Coming down from His thrown in Heaven He
was mocked, tortured, beaten and murdered on the cross. He did this willingly and
came for that purpose, so that we would not have to pay the penalty for our sins and
so that we could have a close and personal relationship with God. And beyond that
he gave us His authority and "every spiritual blessing in heavenly places" and giv-
ing us power over all of the works of Satan. It is our job to do the same things Jesus
did in destroying the works of the enemy.

When we understand and receive Gods love us its easy for us to love others. God
would not ask us to do something he will not give us the ability to do and walking
in love and forgiveness is a requirement for us to grow in the image of God and
have fellowship with Him. It isnt something that would just be nice if we could do
it. We can do it and forgiveness is easy when we are really trusting God.
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Nothing is more powerful than being in a group that speaks the full gospel being led
by the Holy Spirit. Only through knowledge of Gods love for us can we love others
the way that we should. When we understand Gods love and forgiveness towards
ourselves as individuals its easy to overlook others shortcomings and to not take
offense even when they treat us with contempt or disrespect. Gods love combined
with our faith is a shield which extinguishes all of the fiery darts that come our way.

God Uses All Things

Raotis Canine Servant of the Lord

Gods word lets us know He uses all things to accomplish His purpose.
Raotis (the dog) was put in my care against my will. Although I generally love
dogs, it seemed like a tremendous imposition. Raotis was raised by drug addicts and
also being part pit bull he had some behavioral problems. Although he was affec-
tionate if you tried to make him do anything he didnt want to do he would growl
at you and show his teeth in a way that made you know that he really meant busi-
ness and you were going to get bit if you didnt leave him alone even when what I
was leading him to do was for his own good. He insisted on sleeping next to me on
my bed which was too small for both of us and I would have to kick him off many
times during the night. At the time I seemed to have enough problems and he
seemed like just one more to deal with.

Then one day I took a picture of him with my camera phone. At the time I thought
of him mainly as an ill-tempered pain in my backside, until I looked at the picture I
had taken a few days later. Looking at this picture, for the first time I was able to
see the great love that this dog had for me. Over the next couple of months Raotis
went from being rather self-willed and often hostile dog to being very sensitive
and very obedient. Hes a wonderful dog that everyone loves and he softens the
hearts of many people. All he needed was a little love.
What God showed me was how wrong I was in my attitude towards people who
(like I had often been) were a little rough around the edges and how they would
change if they were shown love. He also showed me that while I had often times
been self-willed and self-centered He had still given me His love anyway and so I
should be sure to always do so with others. Above all else of course we must not
harbor any kind of resentment towards others for any reason whatsoever.

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Of course the message here is not to go get a dog if you do not already own one, but
that if we are seeking God He will speak to us in many different ways and we
should always be walking in love. We know the message is from God if it agrees
with His word. Also, of course the truth is that we are also never to have an attitude
of judgment towards anyone regardless of their actions.
By the way, later, Raotis at only about 27 pounds, got rid of two burglars who
kicked in my door while I was away. He is small but mighty and probably had the
men running for their lives so God used him in His service again. He still does to-
day as people sometimes come up to see him when we are out and they receive
prayer and healing.

Being Right or Being Helpful

Of course if we are walking in love we will be more concerned about how we can
help others than we are about being right or about presenting them with information
which is technically correct and accurate but which does not help them. We need to
use discernment and Gods leading to determine what information to share with
other people. Paul spoke about giving people milk who were not mature rather than
giving them meat like he would with more mature believers.

I once heard a speaker say God does not care if I am right. He only cares if I am
helpful. Of course the truth is always important and we should never lie even if we
are trying to spare hurting someones feelings. Instead of telling them a lie which is
likely to end up doing them some kind of harm and that does not honor God we can
either tell the other person in a simple way that they can understand and which will
not cause them harm or if we do not have the ability to do that in a particular case
we can ignore the question or politely tell them that we would rather not comment
and do that as gracefully as possible, if the issue is not one of much significance.
But if the issue is actually an important one we should gently and humbly show
them the solution to the problem. If we do not have a solution to the problem most
times the Spirit will probably lead us to be quiet.

Our actions and words should speak the truth with our main focus on being helpful
to others. Gods kind of love is not dishonest and it does not lie.

Marriage

Many people if they are single or divorced desire a mate to fill the void, but Gods
word tells us not to seek a mate. 1 This would seem to conflict with 1 Corinthians
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7:27 but it doesnt. Art thou bound unto a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art
thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife. Pauls instruction is not to seek a mate
if a person is not married. If a person needs a mate God will provide the right one
and He will provide that mate in His timing and when both parties are ready. Dating
is not Gods way to find a mate. The danger is among other things that if we are
getting physically involved or engaging in lustful thinking it makes it difficult to
hear what God is saying.

1 Corinthians 7:2 says: "Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have
his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

Marriage needs to be to the one whom God gives us, so mainly a single person
needs to be sure that the one they marry is one God gave them. And we need to put
God and His word above all else. Whatever the problem in any relation, our obliga-
tion is to see the other person involved through Gods eyes of love. By operating in
our identity God is able to flow through us and change what is needed on both
sides of the relationship.

Ephesians 5:21-25 (KJV)

Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the
church: and he is the savior of the body.
Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own
husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave
himself for it

A mans primary need is to be honored. A womans primary need is to be loved and

protected.

Ephesians 5:21-25 : tells men that we are to love our wives as Christ loved the
church that we would even be willing to die for her. Christ sacrificed everything for
the church and put the needs of the church above His own. Wives are to honor and
obey their husbands as if he were Christ provided his instruction honors God as
Colossians 3:18 also says as is fit in the Lord. That would not include anything
that would violate her conscience in God.

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 Wisdom and Communication Skills for Helping Others

Philippians 2:3

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let
each esteem the other better than themselves.

'STRIFE" & "VAINGLORY" refers to struggling in order to have our own needs
met and get recognition from others.

Our motives need to be right if we are going to be effective in helping others. We

have to be helping the other person from the standpoint of having their best interests
at heart and considering their needs ahead of our own.

Galatians 6:1 "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual,

restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also
be tempted."

Our ministry to others should always be for the purpose of strengthening them - and
never for tearing them down. We are instructed to correct wrong thinking and re-
store our brother gently. The word restore tells us that we are not judging him
but bringing him back into right thinking and relationship with God. Not only that
but we need to support and stick with them to help them overcome the problem
whatever may be involved in that.

If we lack mercy in dealing with our brother it opens us up to temptation, as we reap

what we sow, and in that case we are liable to be overcome by the same sin we are
judging our brother or sister for.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good man-

ners.

Although we are supposed to love others we are not supposed to have fellowship or
hang out with people who speak, think or behave in evil ways. We will pick up
some of their corruption if we do, unless we are ministering to them. Mainly this is
talking about us not having fellowship or close personal relationships with such
people. Of course we are also not to partake in or even listen to gossip.

1 Corinthians 5:11 "But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if
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any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or
a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no not to eat.

Of course 1 Corinthians 5:11 should not be applied in the case of a brother or sister
who has a problem in one of these areas but is working to overcome it. Whether in
regards to an unbeliever, or a believer who is very carnal, if we are spending time
with such a person it should be for the purpose of ministering to them, if we have
the ability to do so and we need to be sure that we are the ones doing the minister-
ing.

People Fixing & Teaching the Law

People fixing is playing God. We need to be careful that we do not engage in as-
sumptive behavior or trying to fix people, particularly when they did not ask for our
help. Our intentions may be good but only God can change another person, and of-
ten only He knows what exactly needs to be changed and how to go about bringing
that to pass. We make a horrible substitute for the Holy Spirit when we try to use
our natural minds to address problems in others or ourselves. We can do a lot of
harm, regardless of how good our intentions may be when we assume what needs to
be changed in another person and then act on that assumption especially when it is
not at their request or without their permission and consent. The person we are try-
ing to help is likely to become deeply bothered by such behavior particularly when
our assumptions turn out to be incorrect.

We should be careful that we are not teaching the law because teaching the law only
strengthens sin as 1 Corinthians 15:56 (KJV) tells us "The sting of death is sin;
and the strength of sin is the law." Paul gives us insight in Romans 7:7-8 "What
shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by
the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not cov-
et. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of
concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead." Before Paul had heard that
coveting was something he was commanded not to do coveting was not something
he thought about so it was not an issue, but once he became aware of the com-
mandment it became something he couldn't stop doing. Whatever we focus on
becomes what we attract and the more that we focus on something the stronger it
becomes. Somewhat similarly if someone were to tell you: "Do not think about the
word rhinoceros for the next 2 minutes." the word rhinoceros would go through
your mind in rapid succession, if something else didnt get your attention. Not only
would you be thinking about that word but you would probably also be picturing a
rhinoceros in your mind.
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I once attended a church meeting where a leader made the statement about another
group member who was present. The leader said, I am mad at .. because he will
not stop smoking. The leader wasnt doing anything to help him by the statement,
but doing harm instead. Guilt and shame almost always strengthens sin and is often
the root cause of addictions. Its through love that God changes what is in a persons
heart. Its Gods goodness that leads people to repentance (Romans 2:4) and it is in
His timing and through knowledge of what we have in Jesus that people are set free
from bondage not through manipulation. A person who tries to manipulate others
into change has a problem that can be as destructive as many addictions and it is a
wrong and harmful way to minister.

Sober Minded Ministry

1 Timothy 3:2 (KJV) "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one
wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach;" This
word "sober" refers to more than just not intoxicated. The Greek word "SOPHRON"
literally means "safe (sound) in mind, i.e. self-controlled (moderate as to opinion or
passion)" (Strong's Concordance) being void of speculative imaginations. This is
describing people who can control themselves in action and emotion. For a person
to be of a sound and sober mind they cannot be focused on, overly concerned or
speculating about what others are thinking about them or always trying to read peo-
ples' minds.

There are two communication skills that are needed to be of maximum service to
others we would help if our help is to be in the form of providing the other person
with information or advice. The first is good listening skills. To be a good listener
we have to listen as the other person speaks - without anticipating or assuming the
next thing that they are going to say. We have to be patient and attentive to find out
what the root issues are.

Secondly, but just as importantly, we need to ask good questions to find out what is
the thinking which is at the root of the problem or what the real problem is if it is
not obvious or the person does not know. We need to ask open ended questions
which are not leading ones asked for the purpose of getting an affirmative answer to
something we have assumed without significant information or the other person
saying so.

Of course Jesus had such power there was no need to ask people questions, but He
so did for the purpose of helping the other person to see something He knew they
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were not seeing. Engaging in assumptive thinking and behaviors is dangerous. We
need to use the tools available to us, wisdom and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Too often people in ministry will take one or two statements that a person makes
and then draw a conclusion and call that discernment when in reality its nothing
more than a conclusion based on their thinking or experience. It will also often be
entirely incorrect or doesnt take into account some important issues which need to
be considered. The assumption is that the other person thinks like we do or other
people we have talked with or ministered to. The reality is that everyone is an indi-
vidual and their lifes experience and or thinking may be a lot different from ours or
those we have ministered to, in spite of whatever similarities there may be. If we
think that we know exactly what they are thinking, short of them telling us or before
we have asked at least a few questions to find out what the facts are we are going to
make a lot of mistakes and end up doing some harm, if we do not have a clear word
from God on the issue.

God does give His people supernatural discernment as His word says, but it is prob-
ably only very rarely in the form of telling a person exactly what another is
thinking. We need to ask good questions to find out what people are thinking or
going through rather than assuming that we know. If we fail to be careful not to be
assumptive it is guaranteed that we are going to find ourselves in situations where
we harm other people and ourselves if we proceed to give those people any kind of
advice or speak out the assumptions which we have made.

Maturity & Problem Solving

In the case of a brother or sister who is engaging in wrong behavior we may be ob-
ligated to speak to them about that and usually we should do so if it is harming
themselves and others.

Speaking with regard to when someone commits an offense against us (although

that can also be applied in cases where we know that person has harmed others) the
word instructs us to do that lovingly or gently and on our own Matthew 18:15
(KJV) Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his
fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy
brother. Its obvious that we are not supposed to talk to anyone else about the
person who offended us until we speak to that person first.

Galatians 6:1 (KJV) Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are
spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest

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thou also be tempted. The instruction is to restore such a person, not make
them feel guilty in any way but help them to replace their wrong thinking with the
right thinking and do that in a loving way. The right thinking is that, regardless of
anything, they are a child of God with great value, greatly loved and destined for
better things. You who are spiritual refers to people who are dependent on and
operating in the Holy Spirit. If we have people who are running around and trying to
fix everyone around whether they are spirit filled or not we should put a stop to it.

Both Matt 8:15 & Gal 6:1 instruct us to go to the individual alone at first. Going to
or talking to other members about someone before we have spoken to the person
involved, if others are not already aware of the problem, amounts to gossip. Mat-
thew 18:16-17 (KJV) But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or
two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be es-
tablished. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he
neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publi-
can.

If the offender will not listen to you then you should go to them with one or two
others and the matter should be brought up openly before the group if that does not
work. If they still will not listen, in some case they may need to be expelled from
the group. The key instruction here is if the person does not listen. A well-
established pattern of thinking and the negative behaviors which follow cannot al-
ways be reversed at once and it often takes a period of time for the individual to
replace their wrong thinking with the right kind of thinking. This is true, generally
speaking, with all human beings, although sometimes the right word spoken in love
at the right time and with Gods leading may have immediate and profound positive
effects. If a person is open to the truth God is able to change them and He is the
only one who can.

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Chapter Eleven
FOCUS ON THE SOLUTION

Focus on the Solution Not the Problem

Always be coming from a place of victory. Jesus already did the work and
won the battle. We are children of God empowered to destroy the works of the
enemy. To the degree that we can simply believe, stand on and step out in that truth
it will begin to manifest and become reality in our lives.

Rigorous honesty is an important principle for us to follow for spiritual growth

and for relationship with God, but some people get the mistaken impression that
means that we have to tell everyone our business or explain ourselves to everyone.
Thats not true and in most cases doing so is unwise and exposes us to problems
with others that we dont need. That approach opens us up to being criticized un-
necessarily and makes a person more self-centered in a lot of cases.

Lying never honors God, so if we want to honor God and do the right thing our
choices are to find the most tactful way to answer a question. Its wise if we do not
respond to everything we hear spoken and we are not required to answer every
question asked of us especially those that are asked for the purpose of drawing us
into a debate or to try and persuade us to adopt another persons carnal view of
something or to draw us into an argument and strife. Titus 3:10

As we grow spiritually we instinctively know what to share with others and what
not to share, when to speak and probably more importantly when not to speak.
Mainly those things should be things which will help those we are speaking to.

We need to forget the mistakes of the past for the most part and so we also should
not be talking about them.

Put God first in everything and love others as God loves you.

Pray without ceasing and pray in the spirit. Romans 8:26, Likewise the Spirit
also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we
ought: but the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which
cannot be uttered.

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The worlds greatest promise: Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all
things?

Romans 12:18
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Let Gods peace rule in your heart and guide you and remember that God has
given you a spirit of love, power and a sound mind.

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any
excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Ephesians 3:20
"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask
or think,
according to the power that works in us,

Give thanks to God throughout your day, starting with the moment you first
wake up. Hebrews 13:15 By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to
God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name This is
a way to stay spiritually minded throughout the day. It will keep Gods power flow-
ing in you and repel the enemy.

Be assured and know that God is a good God. Jesus said that if we know how
to give good gifts to others how much more shall your Father who is in heaven
give good things to them that ask him? (Matt 7:11). He wants us to prosper in
EVERY AREA. He wants us to prosper in our health, our finances, our minds and
our emotions.

Meditate on Gods positive truths. If our understanding of Gods word or certain

scriptures gives us an image of God being a mean and punishing God we are look-
ing at it the wrong way. If needed, we should seek the instruction of those who are
well studied and have a different understanding and love. Realize that God is no
respecter of persons (Acts:10:34). Be a ministry to God and others in your
daily activities. Probably more than any other single that we can do having fellow-
ship with other believers and ministering to others through Christ with the right
heart will separate us from the powers of darkness. Praying for others on the street

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or wherever we are should be part of that ministry if we have learned to pray faith
filled prayers which line up with Gods word.

Dont live in the past. What He is doing at the present, with our cooperation, is
what is going to shape tomorrow and what we experience. Phil 3:13-14 Brethren,
I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are
before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus.

Remember God has already blessed you. It isnt something you can earn.

Be thankful for good things you have right now and give thanks to God with
your lips. If we do not have great things in comparison to other people have we can
be thankful for the little things and the problems we dont have. One of the worst
things we can do is be unthankful and that is spoken about throughout scripture.

Praise and worship God with good Christian music to draw close to God.

Remember Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it
shall eat the fruit thereof. Proverbs 18:21

Avoid Strife & Envy: James 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is con-
fusion and every evil work. Being involved with others in a conflict where there
is strife and envy (arguments and jealousy) opens a door for negative things to occur
in our lives. We should do what needs to be done, as God leads us, to avoid such
situations. Rather than react in anger we are wise to walk away, hang up the phone
or close the door when needed. Always see things from an eternal and spiritual per-
spective and the fact that you are made to bless others and love even your enemies.

Learn Gods Principles for Prosperity Giving (positive sowing & reaping).
Gods word tells us that trusting God with our money is the smallest way that we
need to trust Him. God doesnt need our money but the issue is one of trust and not
about the amount of money we give, except as the word says if we sow sparingly
we will reap sparingly but if we sow generously we will also reap generously and
are giving should be done cheerfully and the size of our giving in relation to our
income is an indicator of faith (2 Cor. 9:6-7). This also involves the principle of
sowing and reaping. God cannot bless or multiply zero.

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 Simple Things to Remember

The only path to freedom is one which requires having a simple trust in God. In our
own intellects we do not have the ability to fix all of our problems or get rid of our
pride and self-centeredness which gets in the way of us growing closer to God. We
allow God to be in control knowing that He will take care of those things, patiently
waiting for His instructions, doing as He instructs and staying in faith regardless of
circumstances to the best of our ability.

Its a done deal. We have already been healed and God has already supplied all of
our needs, in spite of what we may see in the natural realm. He has supplied every-
thing we need in the way of healing, freedom from addictions and every other area.
To the degree we can accept what is true in the spiritual realm and believe it at
a heart level it will come to pass in the natural - in our bodies and minds and
every other area in time, whether that happens instantly or over a period of
time.

Verbally acknowledge the work of the Holy Spirit in your life and that it is He
who gives you understanding of spiritual things.

TRUST GOD with your whole heart. Knowing that the truth is all that is need-
ed for freedom.

Look at Gods promises instead of your problems. Be thankful. Romans 11:29:

"For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance".

The Million Dollar Question. When we are troubled by anything the root problem
is fear or lack of faith in God so the million dollar question is: What are the scrip-
tures I need to focus on and/or what do I need to do replace the wrong thinking
with the right thinking?

Three Keys to Victory Understanding: (1) Gods Grace, (2) Your Identity in
Christ & (3) Your Purpose.

Trust God, clean house and help others. Be loving, gracious, humble and gen-
tle.

Speak words of life instead of words of death. Speak faith and not fear even
when you do not feel like it. Keep your focus on God. Focus on the solution

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In times of mental or emotional stress or disturbance separate yourself from
others, abandon yourself to God forgetting whatever things are bothering you
and pray in the spirit until your peace returns. If you have not received the Bap-
tism of the Holy Spirit evidenced by speaking in tongues ask God for it or get
another believer to pray with you and lead you into it. This is one of the most pow-
erful tools we have against the enemy and something we all need.

Make your requests to God in faith and with thanksgiving. Let Gods peace
rule your heart and mind. The only really important thing is that you are doing
what you believe God wants you to do. In this light whether others approve of
you or what they think is entirely unimportant. We need not and should tell eve-
ryone all of our business or feel a need to explain everything to others

Live in the moment being thankful for the good things you have.

Do not give place to fear. And never beat yourself up about anything, but turn
from wrong thinking and actions. Reject every dark negative thought.

If Gods peace is not in what you are thinking take time out before you speak.
Never take revenge. Leave that to God. Dont worry about forgiving people
you are angry at. Just be willing to forgive and forget. God will do the work for
you.

In dealing with others have a servants heart and see things from an eternal
perspective.

Remember who you are in Christ. We are not our behaviors. We are who Gods
word says we are and as we grow closer to God our behaviors become more and
more like who we are on the inside. Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through Him that loved us. We are more than a con-
queror because we get to enjoy the benefits of the price Jesus paid for us. As long as
we are committed to trusting God regardless of circumstances He will make even
our mistakes to work for our good so in the end we always win.

Becoming Love, the Power and the Ultimate Solution

The character and nature of God is love. Love is what God is so becoming love
and operating out of that place is what we need to do. With fear there is torment, but
perfect love casts out fear.1 John 1:14 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love
104
casts out fear: because fear hath torment. He that fears is not made perfect in
love."

The things of the Kingdom of God are all positive. We need to get rid of every
type of negative or critical thinking if we want to walk like Jesus and have His pow-
er flow through us to the maximum extent.

The Apostle Paul spoke about the negative things other people said about him, but
he said that he considered that very unimportant and that he didnt even judge him-
self. When we are walking in love we dont judge others or ourselves, but we
simply look to how we can bless others. The only thing that Paul thought about was
being who God designed him to be.

Understanding who we are and what we have in Jesus, we are to walk in His love
and dominion being free from offenses and resentments. Becoming love is the ulti-
mate solution to every problem and Gods desire for each one of us. When we do
this we also see Gods power flow through us in the maximum way possible and we
experience the kind of peace and joy that God desires us to live in.

Your Identity & the Amazing Power of God Inside of You www.truthpowerandlife.com

105
Chapter Twelve

SPIRIT LED SMALL GROUP MEETINGS

There is no type of group meeting that is more powerful than ticket meetings that
are done the right way. This chapter provides all of the tools needed to hold power-
ful Holy Spirit led ticket meetings, whether those meetings are held at your church
or your home. Although this incredibly powerful approach has been around for
many decades you will almost never see it any church. Here is a chance for groups
to experience the ministry of the Holy Spirit like never before.

The Oxford Group Movement

While I appreciate that A.A. and 12 Step groups help a lot of people I am not a fan
of either thing because of the negatives that tend to go along with them, but certain-
ly the Oxford Group, which is where they all got their beginnings from was a
unique and one of the most powerful Christian Holy Spirit movements in the
1900s, back around the time of The Great Depression which started in 1929. I
probably wouldnt agree with all of their doctrines, but they were a fascinating and
powerful group that did a lot of good for the gospel. The ticket meeting portion of
this book also was inspired by it.

The Oxford Group was made up of people who were well studied in God's
word and extremely dependent upon the Holy Spirit for guidance in
all matters.

Below are a few excerpts from "For Sinners Only" by Oxford Group member
A.J. Russell.

"The Holy Spirit" so that was the amazing claim which had escaped Fleet Street's
attention. Not a man, but the Holy Spirit, had founded a new religious movement in
Oxford University, and here were three of His representatives
---------------------------------------------------------------

To say they just accepted the New Testament and lived it, or tried to, seemed inade-
quate. My Three Troubadours answered that Christ and Paul thought otherwise.
Further, there was no rigidity about anything they did, as the Holy Spirit might
over-rule and change plans, as Paul was sometimes over-ruled and re-directed in
other directions. But how are you going to convince the man who disbelieves the
New Testament?"
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...............................................................

Because the Holy Spirit was the real head of this Fellowship, "Frank" did not arro-
gate to himself full control. When guided, he would preside at Group meetings.
When guided he would leave the leadership to another. Sometimes he would be
seen at the back of the room listening to his colleagues whom he was training for
leadership, occasionally breaking in with a quick, clarifying phrase when a difficult
question came up. As at Oxford when someone asked the Group leader if she should
confess all her faults to somebody, "Frank" interpolated, "Not necessarily. But eve-
ryone should be willing to do so if guided by the Holy Spirit." The decision rests
with oneself always.

And for years I had nursed the conviction that if our religion were true then Chris-
tians should lead care-free lives under the constant guidance of the Holy Spirit.
News again! ..............................................................

No man or group of men is infallible, but a group of people each individually seek-
ing -God's will and closely united together is most likely to receive the clearest
consistent guidance. Often God reveals only one; step at a time. Sometimes we have
to go ahead on what seems probably right instead of acting on certainty. Guidance
ultimately rests on a basis of faith, and if we act sincerely on what God gives us, He
never lets us down, say the Group. "All things work together for good to them that
love God," is the guiding slogan
.............................................................

The extraordinary fact was that, in an age when, so far as I knew, converts to Chris-
tianity were practically nil in the churches, the Oxford Group were continually
witnessing men and women being changed into highly-vitalized Christians. Some of
the changes were real modern miracles: big sinners, key-men, intellectuals, aristo-
crats and commoners alike. Not emotional decisions, as witnessed in some of the
old-fashioned mass-revivals, but decisions taken in quiet heart-to-heart talks as a
result of tactful personal evangelism by educated men and women courageously
accepting, as they did two thousand years ago, the high challenge to give them-
selves completely to the cause of Christ, and telling their own experience of their
indwelling Master.

They were also against controversies. "We don't argue," said Garrett sternly, "we
leave conviction to the Holy Spirit." A battalion of M.A/s and B.A.'s, with no desire
to argue the truth of their convictions any more than Christ argued His case before
Pilate, or Paul before Agrippa! I disagreed with their attitude at sight. But I could
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see that the Group practice of not arguing their views might be right, seeing that 'the
Holy Spirit gave conviction, even as Christ's silence before Pilate was right.

Holding Meetings

Suggestions

Make sure in advance there are enough interested persons to have a meeting. Proba-
bly as few as about 6 people is enough for a start, but the more people the better.
The best size for meetings like these is probably anywhere from about 10 to 100
people. If you have as many as 100 of course you might need a little longer meeting.
For the best results you will of course want to get the word out about your meeting
on an ongoing basis.

Refreshments are usually a good idea. Given what we know about that blood sugar
disorders and the effects of sugar, fat and carbohydrates on people who have that
problem, not to mention that those things are generally unhealthy if we provide re-
freshments we should be sure that Stevia is available in place of sugar and provide
healthier snacks made with it or low in sugar, fat and simple carbohydrates.

Let God be creative through you.

Open and close the meeting with prayer.

Have a chair person instead of a group leader. One of best things about the program
of A.A. (which mostly originated from the Oxford Group) is that it provides us with
some good examples of how we can utilize the experience, strength and hope of the
group as a whole for the benefit of everyone who is attending. Groups who have
leaders who usurp all of the groups time with their experience or instruction tend to
be far less powerful and effective. The more that members of the group are allowed
to contribute to it the more powerful that it is. The Holy Spirit will guide and direct
the meeting if we give Him the opportunity to be in control. When allow the Holy
Spirit to be in control He will speak powerfully through members of the group and
even those who it might be thought would have very little to offer.

Have some flexible meeting instructions or guidelines that you read to the group
which also sets a time limit that each person drawing a ticket is allowed to speak,
based on the size of your group. Instruct speakers just to speak about the segments
of the reading they feel led to speak about. Let group members know that if they
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draw a topic that is in all Caps that that covers that whole chapter and they can
speak about anything they want as it relates to that chapter.

After selecting a topic and reading from the book on that subject (see the following
pages. Of course you may also add topics) - have the chair person or someone se-
lected (this could also be a volunteer) spend about 5 to 10 minutes speaking about
their experience, strength and hope regarding the topic and draw tickets or other-
wise allow that as many may share as possible. Selection of those sharing should be
by the Holy Spirit and not carnal selection which is why ticket meetings are general-
ly the most powerful.

In speaker meetings the objective is for the speaker to share their experience,
strength and hope. If you hold speaker meetings it is generally best that the speaker
does not talk longer than 30 minutes unless you have a speaker a powerful relation-
ship with God and a power testimony to fill the time. Another good approach is to
let them speak for as long as they like instead of setting that at a customary 45 mi-
nute or 1 hour for example. When the speaker is finished speaking a lot of groups
will open up the floor allowing group members to speak on a topic selected by the
speaker or by members of the group.

One of the other good things about limiting a speakers time to 30 minutes or less is
that then the speaker or someone else can suggest a topic and time may be given to
the group to share their experience, strength and hope regarding the topic. This is
powerful as of course the experience, strength and hope of the group will almost
always be greater than that of an individual. There also should be a time limit given
to each member who shares. Usually 3 to 5 minutes is the limit set depending on the
size of the group. Some groups will use timers to prevent members from taking
more time than allowed.

Provide opportunity at the end of the meeting for group members to pray for each
other in small groups of 2 to 4 people making. Share some scriptures regarding faith
and the power of prayer. If you want to see maximum results speak faith, expecting
miracles to take place by reading pertinent faith scriptures. Give testimonies of mir-
acles which you have experienced, have seen take place or have heard about
through people you know.

MEETING TOPICS By making copies of the pages below you can cut
out the meeting topics to be drawn out of a basket with tickets passed
out to everyone and drawn as a means of selecting the people to speak.

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 AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER 54

Battle with Temptation, The 59

BECOMING SPIRITUALLY MINDED 48

Being Spirit Led 52

Bottoms Up 68

Breaking Strongholds 37

Casting Out Demons 57

Dealing with Pain 26

DEALING WITH TEMPTATION 59

Deception & Fear, Satans Only Weapons 18

FAITH & THE BLESSINGS of EVERY BELIEVER 40

Faith Building Verses 75

FOCUS ON THE SOLUTION 100

Focus on the Solution Not the Problem 100

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 Forgiveness 36

God is Our Provider 13

God Uses All Things 92

Gods Will & Rightly Dividing Gods Word 11

Godly Character 27

Good Ideas Vs God Ideas 66

Great Faith vs. Little Faith 41

HEALING God does want all to be healed 77

House Cleaning 31

How to Be Born Again 24

Jealousy or Envy & Codependency 35

Laying Hands on the Sick & Casting Out Devils 83

Legalism & People Fixing 33

Love 90

111
 Marriage 93

Maturity & Problem Solving 98

Million Dollar Questions 61

MINISTRY & RELATIONSHIPS 90

Moving Forward 24

Nutrition & Common Sense 16

One on One Healing Prayers 86

People Fixing 96

Positive Programming 50

Power of Our Words 51

Power of Praise 58

Prayers of Faith & God's Word 79

Pride, Self-centeredness & Fear 31

Principle of Seed, Time & Harvest Sowing & 12

Reaping

112
 Proper Use of Anger & Spiritual Warfare 54

PUTTING OFF THE OLD & PUTTING ON THE NEW 9

Resentments 33

Resisting the Devil 59

Resting in God & Being Spirit Led 63

Rigorous Honesty 100

Simple Things to Remember 103

Sober Minded Ministry 97

SPIRITUAL GROWTH & DELIVERANCE 28

Standing in the Light 21

Surrender & Moving Forward 22

Surrendered Life 22

Trust God, Clean House & Help Others 29

USING YOUR FAITH FOR LIFE & MIRACLES 70

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 When People Attack 56

When Satan Attacks 56

WHO YOU ARE! 43

Wisdom and Communication Skills for Helping 95

Others
You Do Not Need More Faith 41

Your Blessings 45

Your Identity & the Amazing Power of God Inside of You www.truthpowerandlife.com

SCRIPTURES for Meeting Topics or Bible Study

SCRIPTURE PASSAGE PAGE NUMBER

1 Corinthians 2:14 37

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 44

1 Corinthians 12:7 43

1 Corinthians 12:27-28 43

1 Corinthians 12:31 44

1 Corinthians 13: 4-13 90

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1 Corinthians 14:4 44

1 Corinthians 15:33 95

1 John 1:5 62 & 78

1 John 1:9 49

1 John 2:2 22

1 John 4:17-18 32

1 John 5:4-5 76

1 Peter 2:18-20 35

1 Peter 2:24 73

1 Timothy 4:4-5 17

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 26

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 38

2 Corinthians 8:9 72

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 13

2 Peter 1:3 46

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 2 Peter 3:9 22

2 Timothy 1:7 77

Acts 10:24 77

Acts 15:28-29 35

Colossians 3:15 15

Colossians 3:15 25

Colossians 3:16 48

Deuteronomy 28:3-8 30

Deuteronomy 28:3-13 46

Ephesians 1:3 9 & 45

Ephesians 1:4 45

Ephesians 2:8 41

Ephesians 3:20 41 & 45

Ephesians 4:26 54

Ephesians 4:27 55

116
Ephesians 5:21-25 94

Ephesians 6:5-7 74

Ephesians 6:8 75

Galatians 2:20 23

Galatians 3:13 40 & 45

Galatians 4:7 43

Galatians 5:16 61

Galatians 5:22 61

Galatians 5:22-23 51

Galatians 5:26 60

Galatians 6:1 98

Hebrews 10:10 28 & 45

Hebrews 5:14 70

Isaiah 5:20 52

Isaiah 53:5 40

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Isaiah 55:11 79

James 1:13 66

James 1:13-17 62

James 1:14-15 60

James 1:16-17 78

James 1:20 55 & 57

James 3:15-16 36

James 3:16 35 & 61

James 4:3 72

James 4:7 59

James 5:16 38

John 4:14 75

John 4:17-18 32

John 8:12 53

John 10:10 62 & 78

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John 10:28-30 20

John 13:34 33 & 90

John 14: 11-12 75

John 14:12 73

John 14:13-14 76

John 14:14 82

John 15:5 23

Luke 4:40 78

Luke 6:19 78

Luke 10:19 -20 54

Luke 10:9 83

Luke 12:32 77

Luke 17:6 42

Luke 22:42-44 22

Mark 5:40 42

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 Mark 6:3-5 43

Mark 10:18 34

Mark 11:23 9, 42 & 76

Mark 16:17 57

Mark 16:17-18 83

Matthew 5:23-25 38

Matthew 5:44-45 37

Matthew 6:12 37

Matthew 6:14 37

Matthew 6:30 76

Matthew 6:33 75

Matthew 7:9-11 64

Matthew 10:8 54 & 83

Matthew 11:12 55

Matthew 12:15 77

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 Matthew 12:36 52

Matthew 16:16 &17, 22 & 23 67

Matthew 17:20 85

Matthew 17:21 57

Matthew 18:19 81

Matthew 21:21-22 77

Matthew 22:37-39 11

Matthew 24:35 29

Micah 6:8 11

Nehemiah 8:10 48

Philippians 2:3 31

Philippians 3:13-14 14

Philippians 4:13 11

Philippians 4:19 29

Philippians 4:6 82

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Philippians 4:6-7 67

Philippians 4:8 50

Proverbs 13:10 33

Proverbs 13:22 46

Proverbs 16:7 31

Proverbs 18:20 74

Proverbs 18:21 51 & 74

Proverbs 3:5-9 52

Proverbs 4:20-22 51

Proverbs 8:13 55

Psalms 18: 32 81

Psalm 37:4 25 & 63

Psalms 138:2 29

Romans 2:4 34

Romans 4:17 82

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 Romans 6:11 59

Romans 8:6 48

Romans: 8:6-7 25

Romans 8:32 101

Romans 11:29 10 & 40

Romans 12:1-2 48

Romans 12:3 41

Romans 12:9 21

Romans 12:9-21 27

Romans 12:19-21 37

Website: www.truthpowerandlife.com

Excerpts in Chapter 12 from "FOR SINNERS ONLY" , 1932, by Arthur James Russell Eleventh Print-
ing

Some of the information in the subsection "Nutrition and Common Sense" with regards to Hypoglycemia
and vitamin supplementation comes from Joan Larson Mathew's book "Seven Weeks to Sobriety" pub-
lished by Ballantine Books 1994.

Second Edition Your Identity & the Amazing Power Inside of You TPLIC Sept 26, 2015. All rights
reserved. Last edited Dec 20, 2015

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