FREEDOM TRAINING

1. FREEDOM TRAINING Sins of the Flesh

2. Overview • Sexual sin • Repentance • Breaking soul ties • Fleshly sins • Addictions • Substance abuse • Deliverance • Extreme personality issues

3. Goal • We know many of you have already dealt with this material • But we want you to be able to easily walk someone else through it • Tools: • Forgiveness • Repentance • Curse breaking • Soul tie / unholy covenant breaking

4. Holy bodies • “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Romans 12:1 • “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” Rom 13:14

5. Members of Christ • Sex is a type of covenant… • “The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body... Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? … Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her?… Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” I Cor 6:13-20 • Marriage is a healthy covenant, whereas prostitution and fornication are unholy

6. Marriage • “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” Heb 13:4 • “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?” Prov5:18-20 • “And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” Matt 19:9

7. Sexual immorality • Jerusalem Counsel: “but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.” Acts 15:20 • ”Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery,... I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Gal 5:19-21

8. Sexual immorality • There are many types of sexual sin • “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” I Cor 6:9-11

9. Lust: heart issue • “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matt 5:27-28 • “And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” Mark 7:20-23

10. Sexual sins • Lust, fornication, adultery, autosexuality, masturbation, promiscuity, pornography, homosexuality, bestiality, exhibitionism, obscene phone calls, sadomasochism, voyeurism, prostitutes, massage parlors, incest, rape, molestation, coarse jesting, sexual reference to others, sexual harassment, orgies, … • Repent: take a moment and repent of anything that comes to mind… • Repent of fornication: even if you subsequently married the person. Repentance means you would not repeat this same sin again.

11. Sexual abuse • You do not have to repent if you were abused but you do need to forgive • Forgiveness is NOT reconciling or contacting the person • Some people blame themselves: “It was not your fault” • Create a culture of openness • Hidden abuse is not healed abuse • It should be part of your testimony of Jesus healing and restoring (ex. if you fell off a 30 story building you would want peoplel to know you survived) • You should be able to view yourself in Christ as an overcomer, not a victim • Remove yourself or your children from any situations of ongoing sexual abuse

12. Soul Ties • Soul tie: deep emotional bond to someone (all sexual relations create a soul tie) • Any relationship that comes before following Jesus is a soul tie • “Another of the disciples said to him [Jesus], ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.’” Matt 8:21-22

13. Breaking soul ties • Break soul ties / unholy covenants with any past sexual partners • NEVER break a soul tie with your current spouse • Repent by name of each partner you can remember • Cut the soul tie: ask Jesus to sever any joining that happened between you and that person (even if it was abuse) • This should result in emotional freedom from that person. They may feel this spiritual break try to get back into your life. • Do you feel an unusual attraction to a past boyfriend, girlfriend, or lover? • Have you been divorced? or a deceased spouse? • Do you have any items or pictures of past ungodly relationships? (somebody you had an adultery with, fornication relationship, etc.) • Have you ever formed a blood covenant with another person? (blood brothers, etc.)

15. Fleshly sins • Divisiveness, dissension, jealousy • Altered mental capacity • Drunkenness, illegal drugs, marijuana, magic mushrooms • Addictive substance problems • smoking, legal drugs, gluttony, particular foods, pornography, gambling • anything that controls you, instead of you having control over it • Chaotic lifestyle: lack of self control, partying, clubbing,... • Outburst of anger or rage • Greed – love of money, stealing, tax evasion, coveting, heavy debt

16. Flesh sins • “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy,drunkenness, orgies, and things like these… But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Gal 5:19-23

17. Addiction • “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” I Cor 10:13-14 • “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” I John 2:16

18. Drunkenness • “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.” Prov 20:1 • “This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.” Deut 21:20 • “Be not among drunkardsor among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags.” Prov23:20-21

19. Sobriety • Be sober: includes alcohol and drugs… • “’All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be dominated [mastered/enslaved] by anything. ‘Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food’—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” I Cor 6:12-13 • “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” I Peter 5:8 • “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit” Eph 5:18

20. Repentance • Repent of any addictions or flesh sins (whatever God brings to mind) • Divisiveness, dissension, jealousy • Altered mental capacity: drunkenness, illegal drugs, marijuana, magic mushrooms • Addictive substances: smoking, legal drugs, gluttony, particular foods, pornography, gambling • Chaotic lifestyle: lack of self control, partying, clubbing,... • Outburst of anger or rage • Greed – love of money, stealing, tax evasion, coveting, heavy debt • Walking out of addiction may take support of the church community. A healing session or one time repentance may start the process but joining a community group or getting in a mentor/shepherding relationship may be needed • Be sensitive to any roots: some people drink to cover up an abusive childhood, others smoke to calm anxiety, some people are promiscuous because they do not value themselves…

22. Protocol for deliverance • We NEVER diagnose or label people or even suggest a label (ex. DID, borderline personality, bi-polar, schizophrenic, …) Send someone to a licensed professional if needed… • We NEVER agree with people’s self diagnosis • We do not have to believe everything people tell us (don’t judge), just take the story/situation to Jesus • People sometimes change their stories or have false memories. It is not our place to judge. It may be part of their healing process. Just take the situation to Jesus • A person may have DID (multiple personalities) or it may just be demons. Take it to Jesus • Not all demonized people were sexually abused (never assume abuse) • Never suggest to a person that they may have been abused or help them build false memories

23. Extreme personality issues in deliverance • Many deliverance manuals get into extreme personality issues • Manipulations, arrogance, condemning attitude, constant complaining,… • Some give them Biblical names (ex. Jezebel, leviathan, Ahab,…) • Sometimes it is demonic, sometimes it is learned behavior or extreme brokenness • Even if a demon leaves, usually it takes time to walk out of all the bad patterns and the root issues that caused the patterns • Clean up the trash and the rats leave: do not expect too much from a one-time deliverance session. Ongoing patterns can take time to walk out of… • Encourage people to join a community group and get a mentor/shepherd to walk with them

24. Extreme personality issues • We all have some bad tendencies, BUT for some people these things are extreme and define their lives (ex. hoarders, victim mentality, controlling, arrogance,…) • Lack self control - lazy, slothful, lust, gluttony, addiction, procrastination, filth, hoarding, extreme obesity, drugs, alcohol… (there may be a root, ex. abuse, belief of powerlessness, addiction,…) • Disobedient - God speaks clearly and you do not listen (ex. Jonah), do not get baptized or obey clear Scriptural guidelines, disobedient to authority: break healthy laws,… • Performance – doing actions looking for approval or belonging, people pleasing, fear of man, your value comes from what you do or what others think about you, having standards of church size or educational background, could be grades at school, career focused, evangelism or church works even • Religious - pious and judgmental, constantly opinionated, weighing others, earn sanctification, rule keepers: they do not need a relationship with God just rules, grey areas treated as black and whites, ex. modesty rules, dating rules, makeup rules, hair rules, tattoos, piercings, defined gender roles, stereotypes/racism, eating, medication, vaccination,…

25. Orphan / Victim / Powerless • Orphans • act abandoned or unloved, even when surrounded by loving individuals • no amount of love will fill them • Victims • regularly see themselves as the abused ones or a doormat • feel like everyone hates them • failed relationships are other’s fault • Powerless • whine, complain, feel depressed • want others to battle for them and make them feel better • do not believe they can win every battle (ex. all men lust, all women are nags,…) • they have special sin that is harder than other peoples or they have an exemption like a physical/mental diagnosis that makes it impossible for them to fight a battle (ex. suicidal thoughts are normal with this condition…)

26. Extreme relational issues • False savior – knight in shining armor, try to fix or improve people, rescue others instead of letting Jesus, martyr, making others dependent on you, solving other’s problems instead of teaching/supporting them to do it • Control • Leaders - do not let their people solve their own issues or minister to one another (it might be messy) • People – like to be controlled, run to the leader to solve all problems, require the leader to tell them what to do and define their roles • Manipulation – may use your body, money, flattery, or influence to get what you want, psychologically breaking others down, emotionally manipulating people by crying or outbursts to get your way, promoting your feelings over anything else, dividing and conquering people to get your way, leading people on with promises or implications • Divisive – bitter, unforgiving, quarrelsome, out to separate groups of people, want to keep a person to yourself…

27. Extreme personality issues • Arrogant – prideful, haughty, only focus on their needs, wants, and desires even at a cost of others, full of themselves, unsubmitting and no mutual submission, they think they have the best ideas, may not let others talk or demean their ideas, regularly show off their accomplishments • Condemning / Critical – belittle those around you, want people punished, tear people down, think less of people who fail, have a set of standards, expect things of people that God has not called them to and then condemn them when they fail • Intimidating / Abusive - scaring people into doing what you want them to do, crying or outbursts of anger to get your way, threatening, any type of emotional, physical, verbal, or sexual abuse • Fearful – paranoid, insecure, conspiracy theories, world is ending, finances are failing, won’t travel,… • Rejection, unbelief, complaining,…

28. Freedom… • An extreme personality issue can leave a person open to demonic oppression • Not all personality issues are demonic (some are just very broken people) • A stronghold may be small or it may be a fortified castle • Regularly clean up any small issues in your life • Do not live in shame/guilt… you are clothed in Christ’s righteousness