Our Addictions & The Saving Power of The Lord Jesus Christ (Part 1)

I don't know where to start. 

Help me Lord. Speak through me. This is going to be a really long post so please brace yourself. I struggled to write this. I knew God wanted me to write it, but I struggled with certain things.... but I know it is the right thing to do.

The loved one of someone I know opened up to us about their use of substance. They’d been hiding it and I believe that God spoke to them with this post to encourage them to open up. By the way, I know you are reading and I want to applaud your courage and your decision to throw off secrecy. You must be proud of this one step. I know you may often wonder if it was a mistake to open up but I can assure you, you’ve done the right thing and inside of you lies the strength to FIGHT. Inside of you- the YOU that is fueled by the power of GOD.  I also want you to know that, if I never told you, I love you very much, I pray for you, you are so smart, so bright, you have a beautiful heart, you are fun, funny, you are a package and inside of the package I see a person the Lord wants to use greatly to effect tremendous change in the world- and I’m not saying this to “motivate”, it’s a strong impression in my spirit, and so I want to challenge you to Fight hard and I know you can do this 💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾

I'd been under the impression that this loved one had been battling with an addiction to weed and that this was the issue but, alas, this loved one had progressed to a harder substance and was beginning to find that they were losing control over their ability to decide whether or not they wanted to use.... 

In trying to connect them to help, I was told that there is a current epidemic in Nigeria with young people, did they say especially in the East? I cannot remember now but basically that young people had somehow found out ways to make Meth in Nigeria and the result of this was an epidemic with hoards of people going mad. As in, becoming mentally unstable. As in, going insane. 

My heart is really broken. My heart is really broken. 

I don't know where to start to write because there is so much to say and I don't even know from whence to begin. I just know that God would have me write something for someone dealing with this. 

To any young person under the yoke of addiction, to any young person currently battling substance abuse and addiction and who is at a point where they cannot understand why they cannot simply stop using- You promise yourself today will be your last day and you won't touch this thing ever again and, yet, you find yourself going to this thing tomorrow evening. 

You tell yourself you are trying to mellow the effects of the withdrawal symptoms, the effect of the withdrawal is so uncomfortable, almost painful, and you postpone going through it by topping off just a little bit to "normalize" yourself..... because, now, your mental alignment, your physiology, now feels out of alignment when there is no substance in your body, when there is no poison in your system and your body has begun to feel "at home" with substance being in you and uncomfortable when you are clean- to any one going through this at this time, my advice to you is this, FIGHT. 

You are in the fight of your life, the fight for your destiny.

 

You see, your destiny will not be so attacked if the devil doesn't know that there is something inside of you that is a terror to his kingdom. I know you've probably heard it before but this isn't a cliché. 

There is something that you've been sent to do in the world- you are not here by chance- we all have a purpose and reason we were sent in at the time we were sent into the world by God. Oftentimes, the enemy is able to sense these things. The devil doesn't know your future, but he, through the technologies available in the spiritual realms, can tap into an intelligence of what you are called to do- he is an ancient creature and his age and knowledge acquired through these eons of years are one of his greatest advantages- and he immediately gets to work right off the bat to corrupt that destiny. So you see people with absolutely angelic voices who start out singing in the choir and who are diverted to begin to make worldly music, you see people who have excellent writing skills- scribes sent into the world to write for the kingdom of God- who come here and become bestselling novelists- and their books or skills have nothing to do with God neither does it contribute to God's kingdom agenda, their gifts are used to turn millions to the kingdom of darkness.... You see people who are called to teach and whose words would deliver billions and, very early on, they devil plants tares in their lives- they experience abuse early in their lives, have a foul tongue and can curse a living being into death- the same mouth God gave them to use to speak life and declare healing is what the enemy pollutes- eg of a person like this is Joyce Meyer. Until she encountered God and is now doing the very thing the devil was fighting from when she was a child.

You have people who are blessed with a passionate personality, people with a personality type that makes them throw themselves into something and grow almost obsessed in their pursuit of it, people whose innate passion for whatever holds their interest consumes them...... people like YOU, people like ME, people who are termed to have "addictive personalities"- this passion was given to us by God for the purpose for which we were sent into the world. In itself, by itself, it is not a bad thing. It is the same passion that has driven Fathers of Faith to seek God and to seek depths in God and to be used to advance the kingdom of God in their generation. God is after this thing he has put in us, but guess what? The devil is also after it- he wants to turn us into terrorists, substance addicts, activists of all perverse and satanic agendas and every negative extreme. So the devil is actively seeking to plant tares on our paths early on- lack of love/care/nurturing/guidance in our childhoods, a strong sense of inferiority complex, a toxic environment, a people pleasing personality (we adopt this attitude to help us make friends, keep friends and to get the love our hearts so desperately craves and this stops us from cutting off friends when we discover they are doing things that do not align with our personal values and our conscience), a destructive interest/habit- and there starts the journey he plans for our destruction. The end, for the devil, is simply, to destroy us. Make no mistake, this addiction you are battling with has ONE purpose- to destroy you. 

But I bring you hope. 

God's plan for you is for good and not evil to lead you to an expected end. ( Jeremiah 29:11-14- For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.) 

I do not care how far sunk you are into whatever thing that is holding you now bound, I want to tell you that JESUS WANTS TO SAVE YOU and I want you to know that you have an active part to play in your deliverance. 

1. Throw off all secrecy. Do not keep this secret anymore. 

Speak to someone who can help you. I remember telling my parents very early on when I realized I was battling an alcohol addiction. I'd been about 19 or 20, I think. I had written my dad a letter as I couldn't face him, I knew I needed help and so I thought I tell them and they had been so angry. I now understand that anger. This is because I felt a flash of it momentarily when this loved one opened up to me- I couldn't for the life of me understand why they would think to further experiment with harder substance even though they knew they were already having issues with the one they were having an issue with. But immediately the feeling flashed through me, the Holy Spirit also immediately highlighted that this was not the response. The response is love. The response is love and prayers. Do not help the devil do his work of condemnation because, believe it or not, everything you want to tell the person in this situation has probably gone through their head- they are probably beating themselves up more than you ever will- and the devil is actively using it to condemn them, he is relentless. It would take about 5 more years in my own struggle, from the point where I wrote the letter to my dad, for my mum to acknowledge that, indeed, I needed professional help beyond shouting, beating, humiliation, taunting and shaming. If anything, these tactics further drove me into the hold of addiction. I honestly did not need to tarry at that mountain for as long as I did, in retrospect- but maybe it was allowed for a reason....

2. There is a choice before you right now- LIFE or DEATH. Choose Life. You can choose Life. Here's how. 

Right now, there are two choices before you- 

Life- stopping the use of substance and never going back. 

Death- continuing to use because it's so hard to resist and, as a result, watching your life ebb away unto inevitable death- the absolute end is death, destruction, madness (mental disorder/ insanity)- and I KNOW that you know this (you have probably become an expert at researching what would be the outcome of your usage. Stop researching those things that fuel fear. Begin to research the word of God).

My advice to you is to choose LIFE. My brother/sister, what I have found from my own journey is that this is a spiritual battle. Science is great and can proffer some great solutions, but there is only so much science can do to help. Ultimately, you have to become who you are meant to be in Christ- who God has called you to be. To be honest, this challenge is a reason for you to step into your God-ordained destiny and the faster you make the choice, the decision, the resolve, the better for you. It almost becomes a training ground for you. God's training ground. The principle of what the enemy meant for evil, God means for good (Genesis 50:20- You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people). So whilst the enemy led you to this snare to kill you, it becomes an opportunity for you to see and experience the futility of flesh and acknowledge that the arm of flesh (man, people, humans) cannot save you no matter how hard it (they) tries (try) and that ONLY GOD can save you. Because of this, you run to God, He begins to take you on this journey of knowing Him, of transformation, little-by-little, He's taking you until, you eventually turn back and see that ALL of that is now a thing of the past, all of that is so far back that you cannot believe the transformation that has happened in your own life! It often feels like these things are a story because when you tell it, you are in awe, afresh, of HOW God saved you. And your life becomes a tool to save others, a tool to minister to others that are in the same position that you were.... 

Psalm 124 : 6-8 NLT- Praise the Lord, who did not let their teeth tear us apart! We escaped like a bird from a hunter’s trap! The trap is broken, and we are free! Our help is from the Lord,  who made heaven and earth. NKJV- 7: Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the [c]fowlers; The snare is broken, and we have escaped.

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But, you HAVE TO come to God FULLY. You cannot simply become Born Again and then be a nominal Christian, doing all the very things you used to do when you had not given you life to Christ- eg, fornication, lying, cheating, scheming etc etc, you must come with CLEAN HANDS and be committed to a life of HOLINESS- as uncommon and almost alien as it it in this generation. 

Let me explain with some background, before I began having those challenges, I was just a regular girl, smart, went to church and I loved God- but I was also in the world. So I had one leg in the world and one leg in God. I wasn't totally sold out to God and I still wanted to be a cool girl, a babe, a correct girl, the last thing I ever wanted someone to call me was "spiricoco" i.e, someone who was churchy and who spent their time after lectures in church services or praying. I remember feeling embarrassed that someone I began dating at the time asked me to go to his church with him and when we got there, he began to kabash- like proper speaking in tongues- I had not known he prayed "like that". I sat down and tried to cover my face with my hands as I didn't want people to know I came with him, I wanted to look as dissociated from him as possible. I was mortified. So this was the level I was at. I went back to school to gist my "friends" about the kabashing the guy was doing and we were all "mortified" all over again at this man who was.... speaking in tongues.... Oh, the devil does have plans indeed, plans to ensure that what is GOOD and EXCELLENT is viewed as "embarrassing" to you until he sets his perfect plan of destruction for your life....

So, sure, I went to church, but I went on Sunday, as a good "christian" girl, to wear my nice church clothes and to go through the motions. Remember, I "loved" God but on my terms- I didn't want to give up anything for Him, to give up my time to know him, to give up my status as a "correct girl", to give Him anything matter-of-fact, I felt I was good with whatever it was I had with him. 

Soon enough, the devil launched his plans, I began having these struggles after going through a really bad break up, I suddenly discovered a quicker way to heal the pain I was feeling. I never quite learned to endure and pass through emotional pain. I do now. Eventually, when it suddenly seemed like my life was going awry and I couldn't understand the things that were happening to me- I gave my life to Christ- I had refrained from "becoming Born Again" even when I would hear the Altar calls and when I'd be wrestling with the pulls of the Holy Spirit to answer to it because I was shy- there would normally be people from my University at the service, who recognised me as a “correct babe”, what would they say? I can’t even believe the things that mattered to me then 😭😭😭. Also, I felt it would mean that I'd drop my then school boyfriend and start living this churchy, fellowship life I saw some people living in school which looked utterly boring to me- the idea of living THAT life made me run away from the very idea of getting saved (in retrospect, my ONLY regret in University was not giving my life to Christ in YEAR 1 and joining the school fellowship. If I could turn back the hands of time, THAT would be the FIRST thing I would do- because from there, other things would have fallen into place. I would have given my self to the pursuit of knowing God TRULY- not on the shallow, carnal level I was at for so long, I'd have been in a godly environment, been prayerFULL, been focused on my academics, everything would have gone differently). But then, all hell broke loose. It was like the devil thought they already had their strategy for my destruction planned out and perhaps it so happened that the demon that was supposed to be bringing the cravings had been asleep that fateful day when I went to church and so, it's like at the declaration of my surrender to Christ- the alarm bells in their kingdom went off saying "This captive has escaped, this captive has escaped! Get them back NOW!". That was how it felt. The addiction was on overdrive - what before was mellow became raging and I did not know what to do, where to go, I was lost. All I could offer up were desperate prayers to God to save me. I was surrounded by people talking about me, friends had turned their backs on me due to my excesses (the very friends whose association got me into the habit), I was losing my mind, people were whispering, my parents were disappointed, I was so afraid, so so afraid, for my life, about what was happening to me, for what my life would turn out to be ......... But GOD! BUT FOR GOD. 

Now, AFTER I gave my life to Christ, I had still not FULLY given myself to Christ. I wasn't properly discipled and I basically made the decision, tried to attend church in the flesh and, soon enough, I fell into the way of the Fleshly Christian- still going to church but living as though they weren't Born Again. I still did everything I would do as a non-Born-Again Christian, the only difference was that I'd struggle a lot with some sins, pray and cry to God to save me. There were some sins that didn't quite still feel like sin like being quick to tell a lie, bend the truth, scheme my way out of something, anger- for me, at the time, what constituted sins that I'd struggle with were sexual sins, doing things that were against my conscience- but, oftentimes, the presence of substance would make me do them and, eventually, when I'd be sober, I'd be depressed, going through intense self disappointment and having absolutely NO ONE to talk to except God and my journals- I didn't even think of them as journals, they were just books where I'd write my heart to God and my mum said she'd hide to read them and these used to be what gave her the assurance, somewhat, that God would deliver me. So, in the midst of all of that, I was reaching to heaven and asking God to keep me in His hands, to save me, I'd tell Him to not allow this thing take me out..... I strongly believe that God, in His mercy, saw my heart and my struggle. I believe also that because I had put myself in His hands, often searching the Psalms and telling Him to not let me go down into Shoel, I believe He saw the genuineness of my heart and ensured that I was delivered from all of this.

But as the years have progressed, I have been able to look through the years and to see where the problem had been. 

• I was still in the environment that fueled the addiction- both the mentally toxic environment and the fact that the substance was everywhere - the lure was irresistible. If I had found another environment, a community, a church (I was looking, and when I did find, I needed to spend money I didn't have at the time to get to the place as it was a distance from where I lived- when I realized it wasn't feasible to worship at the places that stirred my Spirit really strongly- House on the Rock and The Carpenter's Church in PH as they were far from my home- I started to try to attend the other Pentecostal churches close to my house. It was not always the same, some would be so rowdy and noisy, I wouldn't be able to connect to God, some would just be so dry. I had come to recognize the places that stirred my Spirit to be the places where I'd be lost in worship and be in tears- I began to understand at the time that different houses of worship had different atmospheres- I started looking for a place where that atmosphere of peace, of calm,  of the Presence of God, was. I would just sometimes go to a nearby church, any church where I've felt that atmosphere in and just kneel there and pray and cry, asking God to help me, to deliver me, I just wanted to be near and in the house of God as I felt a sense of Peace in there), to plant myself and feel cared for, to worship with fellow believers, to be able to open up to a pastor who had authority over me to speak over me, things would have been different. | The answer to this, prayerfully seek a community, seek a church. Thank God for online churches, attend a few, find who is speaking to you. Ask God, in prayer, to show you your teacher(s). To send you a Spiritual Father or Mother who would have Spiritual Authority over you. Get into virtual Christian families- I'll put some links below for you to check out. If you desperately need a physical family, ask the Lord to show you a church with leaders who receive you with love and who have the anointing to not only speak to who you are to become in Christ, but to speak over you and to preach deliverance to you. ( Luke 4: 18 - The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to PREACH DELIVERANCE TO THE CAPTIVES, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised) Lord, it is you who sets the solitary in families, it is you who heals the broken hearted. Lord, I pray in the name of the Lord Jesus that as many as those who read this, stricken, and who desperately need a Christian family to love, nurture and disciple them into deliverance, healing and wholeness, that they are directed to this family and that this family receives them wholly and supports them through and through in Jesus name. Amen.
• Like I said above, I was not FULLY in God. I didn't understand what HOLINESS truly meant and that HOLINESS meant HOLINESS, even when things were REALLY tough. Holiness meant holiness, even when you are broke and a rich ex boyfriend who used to spend so much on you wants to "help you out", holiness is knowing that he may want to get entangled with you sexually and saying no to that, choosing to be broke and not give in to the difficulty of the moment. These are the kinds of situations that trip us up. We don't understand because it's not really taught except in, maybe, Deeper Life. Holiness is holiness- it is hard and you will be tested by circumstances- a chance to lie and gain something, just a little lie, a chance to cheat someone, to do something you know you shouldn't do- and I'm not only speaking about the main pull of substance but the attendant schoolings of the flesh that you had before you became Born Again. I truly think that, sometimes, it's best to do something really drastic, join yourself to an almost extreme Holiness preaching church like Deeper Life. Although I had my struggles with Deeper Life, that church saved me. That church opened my eyes to the prevalence of incorrect teachings in the Nigerian church. It was after I left the church to attend another church that my family attended that I realized how much the prosperity gospel had proliferated the church- and I couldn't believe that I couldn't SEE this untruth before- until I passed through Deeper Life. All I now heard was money, money, money- no holiness, people were not even being taught how to be good Christians, how to live for Christ, how that some of the very normal things we did as "Christians" were not normal at all but sin- we spoke anyhow, gossiped at will, swore, were cunning, talked about people, were jealous and envious without giving thought to what was happening in our hearts, but we went to church- Deeper Life helped me A LOT. For certain reasons, I couldn't go back there (reasons from my own personal failings almost. Well, not failings, the personality strength that is PASSION that is the reason some of us are here reading this. Like I've summarized, I tend to enter into things I find joy in with such ferocity and passion and before long, the no lipstick, no earring stance started making me see every preacher- of truth too- around me as going to hell who was wearing these things. I would be so distracted trying to listen to a female preacher teaching who was wearing a pair of trousers  (I would struggle to listen to Joyce Meyer and Heather Lindsey). Also, I had grown very judgmental. For the sake of my sanity and my heart, I knew I needed balance. But the church was a saving grace for me at the time and now that I have balance, I can love from afar, I still follow the teachings of Papa Kumiyi, a great servant of God, I am in awe of how he has lived for God, and I truly think they were part of the instruments God used to set my heart and focus right) and I couldn't unsee or unhear some of the truths I had heard from that church- it had transformed my mind so much so that I could see through a lot of empty teachings that lacked power-  So many churches have helped me one after the other. The Carpenter's church in Portharcourt was where I gave my life to Christ. Then I can remember the next transformation I had was from the teachings of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome (Christ Embassy), then the next transformation I would have was Deeper Life (Despite attending other churches in between all of these churches I'm naming), then from Deeper Life, it was a dry spell as I couldn't find anywhere Truth was being preached, my eyes were not even opened to them and I was praying for direction until I heard someone say that she used to pray to see her teachers. I adopted that into my prayers until God showed me my teachers- Apostle Joshua Selman, DDK, Apostle Osayi Arome, Reverend Onyiks Alfred. There are some of the preachers I listened to before that I cannot listen to any longer because they are no longer speaking to where I am on my journey with God. So, please, if you haven't already started doing this, begin to ask God to show your your teachers for the season you are in. * I'll stop at these two to not let this post get longer than it already is- but I will write another blog to expound on more points as God gives me the grace to. 

My brother/sister, I may not know who you are, where you are from, if you are a "Christian" (As you can now appreciate, a "Christian" is different from a "believer", a child of God, living for God in Holiness and Truth) or an Atheist- But, if you are the former, a "Christian", I want to tell you that it is time to take a drastic turn and make a drastic decision to find God for yourself, to take your relationship with God more seriously, to make your walk with God the sole focus of your life from this day forward (the principle of Seek ye first the kingdom of God and ALL things shall be added unto you- Matt 6:33). 

If you are the former- an Atheist, I'd like to introduce you to a God who will save you. I'd like to introduce you to the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please say this prayer below and also read this post:

Receive Christ today and be saved ❤️

If you do not know how to go about it, say this prayer first:

Lord Jesus, I believe that you came into this world and that you died for my sins, to set me free and to reconcile me to God. I bring before you my life and surrender my all to you. I confess that I have been a sinner and have done wrong, mostly because of my ignorance and because of my unbelief. I come before you asking that you forgive me and that you help me. I surrender all to you, please help me, please guide me, please direct me, order my steps- help my unbelief and point me to the teachers to teach me.
Help me. Thank you for the gift of salvation and I am ready to start this journey with you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

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CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! You are now born again and I announce to you that it doesn’t matter what your past was up until this point, you are now a new creature in Christ Jesus, hallelujah!

“When anyone belongs to Christ, they become a new person. Their old way of life has gone. Their new life has begun! All this is what God does for us. Because of what Christ has done, God has brought us back to himself, as his friends. Now he wants us to bring other people to be his friends too. That is the job that he has given to us.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5:17-18‬ ‭EASY‬‬

https://www.bible.com/2079/2co.5.17-18.easy 

3. Now that you are Born Again/Have rededicated your life to God, here's what I'd advice you to do: 

 a) Fast and Pray a lot. Commit to a lifestyle of prayer: Let me explain why I need you to start with this. You see, underlying your current struggle is a host of demonic entities that have assailed your life. Drugs and Alcohol open you up to be possessed and assailed by demonic spirits. They assail your life with depression and all kinds of trouble and torment and keep you in that state where you are in that constant low place, needing that supply of substance. As you've given your life to Christ, the Holy Spirit immediately comes in and dwells in you- a measure of Him (Ephesians 1 :13 - 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.). 

The idea is that you give your life to Christ, get proper discipleship, are exposed to a bombardment of LIGHT through teachings, study, prayer, fastings and spiritual exercises (fasting, praying, worshipping) and are transformed and are full of light- but that often isn't the experience of a lot of us- as you can appreciate from my story above. Some of us gave our lives to Christ, didn't receive any clear discipleship that made any difference and were just encouraged to attend a "good church". A lot of times, the "good church" may itself be one that is not itself transformed and that preaches a different doctrine than the one Christ preached or that focuses on only one side of the new creation realities- particularly materialism. What then happens is that the New Convert is often disillusioned, they don't feel their lives are any better for this new life they've chosen and they fall back into old patterns.

So these demons are still hanging around you, and if you continue to succumb to substance, you will manage to quench the Holy Spirit ( 1Thessalonians 5:19 -  Do not quench the Spirit) and these demonic entities carry on with their torment- often in a more ferocious manner, worse than it previously was because they realize you now have the tendency to "escape" and so any chance they get to get you on substance or in the position of helplessness/spiritual weakness, their aim is singular- to destroy you. 

I believe in the power of prayer and fasting to break yokes as these have been the methods that have been effective in my life. A desperate 3 day fast I have found to be sharp and effective. Seeking the face of God and asking for Mercy, for help, to deliver you from that which is seeking your destruction and asking the Lord to fight this battle for you- to contend with that which is contending with you. Fight with your words- pray the scriptures as you Fast. I believe that with prayer and fasting comes deliverance. I will do another separate post on Prayer and the power, need and relevance of prayer.

Please Note: My aim is not to make you paranoid about demons but to make you aware that the struggle you are having is a demonic one but guess what, a born again Christian has authority over the devil and his demons ( Luke 10:17- The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name; Mark 16: 15-16 - 15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”)- you are sitting in heavenly places with Christ Jesus- above every principality and power but you must begin to ENFORCE this AUTHORITY by rising up and taking charge of your life, by declaring the promises of God over your life and enforcing the finished works of Jesus Christ over your life. You must begin to plead the blood of Jesus Christ over your life and to resist the devil- please do not be scared- God has not given you a spirit of fear but the Tripartite Spirit of Power, of Love and of A Sound Mind (the very thing the devil is trying to destroy in your life now) so begin to declare over your life- "I have an excellent Spirit and A sound mind! I have the Spirit of Love, of Power and of a Sound Mind!" This is a battle of WORDS! YOU MUST SPEAK OVER YOUR LIFE! YOU MUST RELEASE WORDS INTO THE ATMOPSHERE, INTO YOUR ROOM, YOUR HOME, INTO YOUR DESTINY. Think of the babalawos and all the demonic/village people from whence some of these arrows/curses are coming from- how did they do these things? Words. Incantations. Blood. But we have the Blood that speaks better things than the blood of Abel (human blood used for sacrifice), chickens and animals - We have the BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST! Plead the blood over your life and your destiny. Worship with music that talks about the Power of the Blood of Jesus Christ! Read books by Fathers of Faith to understand and come into a Revelation of the saving power of the BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST! Begin to speak back your own words cancelling every curse, declaration and negative pronouncement over your life and begin speaking LIFE! LIGHT! LIBERTY! ADVANCEMENT! DELIVERANCE! It doesn't matter if you've declared for 3 months and have seen no physical changes to your circumstances to prove that there has been some progress and breakthrough, I want you to know that the change is happening in the Spiritual Realm, do not ever stop your declarations, your prayers and your words- they are going before you to undo things that had been done over you and you will SURELY see the FRUIT of your Words- it will be made manifest. You just keep declaring scriptures over your life.

 

Revelation 12: 11 - For the accuser of our brothers and sisters

    has been thrown down to earth—
the one who accuses them
    before our God day and night.
11 And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
  and by their testimony.
And they did not love their lives so much
    that they were afraid to die.

Hebrews12: 22 - 24: But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the [j]general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel

 b) Commit to getting knowledge: Read books by Fathers of Faith. 

Learn about who you are in Christ, about Faith in God, about the new creation realities. 

Read, read, read. I'd recommend you read books on Prayer, Fasting and the power you have in Christ. Listen to teachings by Truth Preachers. Please be very sensitive, there are a lot of false preachers and teachers. I would recommend that you sit with Apostle Joshua Selman's teachings- and that is APOSTLE JOSHUA SELMAN NIMMAK OF KOINONIA- 'cos people often mistake his name for another person. I'll recommend Apostle Osayi Arome, I'd also recommend pastor Andy Osakwe, Pastor Segun Obadje, Pastor Kingsley and Mildred Okonkwo, If you are a Lady, I'll recommend that you listen to Pastor Debola Deji Kurunmi ( you can find PDDK in her many expressions- but for the purposes of this post, I'll put the links of three- as a Coach at Immerse-first link- as a person and as a pastor, here), Cindy Trimm, Reverend Onyiks Alfred. 

Remember that saying by the Lord Jesus where he says that when the demons are expelled and after going about looking for where to stay and finding no place, they come back to their former "home" and finding it swept clean and empty, they go to get other even more wicked demons to dwell in this person.

Matt 12:43-44- When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.

Well, the "empty" there stands for just that, empty. It's not enough to Fast, Pray and break the addictive cycle and then carry on with your life as normal. You must "fill up" your life which is why the Scriptures says we must renew our minds with the Word of God. 

Romans 12:2 - Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

You must commit to getting Light, getting Knowledge, getting Wisdom. The degree of Light you get ensures that you are not only permanently set free but that you firmly step into who God has called you to be. A lot of young people are getting caught up with this thing at a time in their lives when they should be getting the Light they require to launch them into Destiny, into the next phase of their lives- you think it's by accident? Not at all, the devil is intentional. He wants our lives so muddled up that we are walking about, groping in darkness, in foolishness, headed for destruction- but I pray for you even right now that the Light of the Lord shines in your life and causes everything that is darkness to become Light in Jesus name, Amen. I declare over you that you are Lighted. I declare that the Holy Spirit breaks every yoke of addiction off of your life and gives you the ability to live for the Lord in Jesus name. Amen.

Books I recommend: 

* The Atomic Power of Prayer and Fasting- Philip Emory 

* Following God's Plan for your Life- Kenneth Hagin 

* Resist the devil- Watchman Nee 

* Satan, Get Lost- Bishop David Oyedepo 

* 80 Reasons why we should Fast- Rev Franklin Hall 

* PUSH - Cindy Trimm 

* When Kingdoms Clash - Cindy Trimm 

* He came to set the captives Free- Rebecca Brown 

* Be on Fire for the Lord- Billy Joe Daugherty 

* Sit, Walk, Stand - Watchman Nee 

* Kingdom of Words- Debola Deji Kurumi (So good for declaring scriptures and God's position over your life consistently) 

And, personally, for anyone in active use and actively battling addiction, I'll advice fire power prayers- mountain of fire type prayers straight from Pastor Olukoya himself and the books I recommend are - 

* Deliverance through the watches 

* Dealing with hidden curses 

* Marching orders to fulfil destiny 

* How to obtain personal deliverance 

* Power Must Change Hands 

* The power in the blood of Jesus 

Now whilst some of this can sound a bit dramatic, almost like a Nollywood movie title, I encourage you, this is a matter of life and death and in the face of that, all hilarity and humor should be cast away from your mind right now- this is not a joke. Please take this as a serious call from God to save you. 

c) Be planted in a godly community. Find a church. I said this earlier but I'll just repeat. Find a community. Begin to attend services. Attend a couple of churches to find which one feeds you- which one stirs the Spirit of God in you. 

Do this prayerfully. Ask God to show you where to go, to show you your teachers, to send you destiny helpers- the people that had been preordained to walk with you on this path of Life. 

Be planted. Be rooted. Serve in the church you find yourself. If, like me, you never really had the opportunity to find a physical community, find a virtual community. I know that Debola Deji Kurunmi has a community for Women called Kingdom Women Global- seek to get in touch and become a family Partner if God leads you there. There is another female community called The Fervent Woman (you can email them at theferventwomen@gmail.com if you are interested in getting plugged in) Movement. There is the Kingdom Community- which is for both Men and Women (Please send me an email if you want the link to join KC- I'm not sure it's a link I can share publicly- but I'll ask and update this blog accordingly). Join their platforms- For the Kingdom community, you can go through trainings that will help your spiritual growth called Hosting The Presence- this will help you step into your Prophetic side and gift. 

Yes! You didn't know that those dimensions were available to you? Don't mind the devil trying to distract and derail you- there is so much ahead of you, so much to enter and step into in God. 

Be planted. Surround yourself with godly folks and do this CONSCIOUSLY. Your flesh might struggle at first. It wouldn't want you to go to church, pray etc but you must force yourself and continue to force yourself prayerfully, continually asking God for the grace to know Him, grace to know His ways and that He put a love for Him, His ways, the things that concern Him, in your heart. After a while of striving in the flesh, it will get easier (it's like when you are overweight and trying to get in shape and start exercising- it's initially really tough to do but as you consistently work out, eventually the fat begins to move around, the stiffness is less, the soreness goes away and you soon grow used to exercising).You will begin to find yourself parched and wanting to be in God's presence and you'll find yourself just basking in worship, tears washing through you, feeling refreshed in God's presence. 

That's fellowship. That's the refreshing fellowship you were lacking and that you were temporarily trying to create with substance which was opening you up to demonic fellowship and demonic depression. 

Start, today. Say, "no more". 

 d) Cut off Unhealthy Influences: Stay away from the friends you had that do drugs. The truth is that you are probably very easily influenced so, keep away from those friends. Yank off their numbers from your phone. Cut off, cut off, cut off.  Change your circle- join a church. Since you know you can be influenced, force that to be the right influence. It's better to be alone (with your books that are helping to renew your mind and to help you grow) than to be around the wrong people. 

Also,  stay away from worldly music- MUSIC IS SPIRITUAL! It's a POWERFUL influence and I'm begging you in the name of God, you cannot be attending church, praying for deliverance and direction and, to relax, you listen to a little bit of "Vibe killer", "Me I just want to be high", Davido, Wizkid, - It might sound a bit irrational and Over the top but I think that if you know that a thing is about to kill you and that, to escape it totally, you need to effect all of these strategies in your life, I don't think it's too much to do or give up. Your destiny is at stake. Change things up- Listen to Hillsong, Elevation Worship, Dunsin Oyekan, Bethel Music, Paul Wilburn, Maverick City, Victoria Orenze, Nathaniel Bassey, Zach Williams, Sinach etc. 

Create an environment that feeds your Spirit man and that allows the Holy spirit to flow through you. Separate yourself for God. 

Guard your heart because out of it flows the issues of life and in guarding your heart, mount guard over your eyes, your ears, what you put into yourself, your Spirit. Be careful what you watch- kill your tv if you must. Take out Netflix to spend more time reading spiritual books and listening to teachings. 

Give time to God and to the pursuit of Him. Ask God to teach you His ways. He is about to take you on the journey of your life and I have no doubt that this mountain you are at will not only be levelled but that God will empower you with the ability to help others who find themselves at this very mountain to gain deliverance, liberation and to find their purpose in God just as you will in Jesus name, Amen. There is purpose behind what is happening to you now, the devil will not win this battle over your life in Jesus name. Amen. 

4. You may Fall. But here is the mindset to have: Whilst on your journey to freedom, you may slip up- especially if you are still personally striving with effecting drastic changes to your life like planting yourself in a godly community, praying and fasting, cutting off influences and generally just because it can be a process. This is not an allowance to have you tarry at this mountain for a long time at all, there are people who decide once and for all that they have had enough and that's it, they never go back. But a lot of times, it's not always the case for a person who has had this resolve several times and failed to keep to it due to the compulsive nature of both addiction and the type of substance one is using- but I want you to have this mindset- tomorrow is another day. 

So you started out Fasting today and somehow, it didn't go as planned, Or you slipped up and used, don't allow the devil condemn you or make you feel like there is no hope for you- tomorrow is another day. 

Place yourself in God's hands, obtain grace from God to continue and to wait on Him and stay in your Father's Loving, Protective Presence. 

- Proverbs 24:16 NLT - The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked. 

Never give up FIGHTING. There is Destiny at the other side of this FIGHT- and I can tell you that. I remember reading a book by Napoleon Hills some years back- in the middle of this struggle- and he was saying:

"..Every adversity, every unpleasant circumstance, every failure, and every physical pain carries with it the seed of an equivalent benefit...", the book was You Can Work Your Own Miracles. I was reading this in 2009 and at the time, I couldn't help thinking, 

"Lord, what can possibly come out of this situation? Lord, how can you ever use this Lord, please help me, Lord, help me". The word that you find everywhere around me, on my lips, in my journals, in my heart - everywhere is simply, "Help Me Lord". He did do a final work of deliverance and drew me into a place of continual, desperate hunger for more of Him and I am ever seeking to enter into depths - to get deeper and deeper- I'm so hungry for more of Him and I pray that this hunger is, even right now, imparted into your Spirit. That the Lord comes and dwells in you and that He will do a work in you, giving you speedy deliverance and restoring everything it seems the enemy is trying to steal and has stolen from you- the Lord will restore you speedily and do a quick work in your life in Jesus name, Amen. 

 5. Have Faith. Don't let doubts and Fear set you back. Sure, there are examples of people in your situation who fought with this and eventually died from the struggle. But there are also plenty others who have successfully fought and overcome substance addiction- yours truly being one of them. I can assure you that the ONLY guarantee you have of overcoming addiction is being in God FULLY i.e, becoming who you need to be in God and living from the Spirit. Becoming a person of the Spirit. You will then realize that the only way to fill that "low" when you feel it (you will no longer feel it the way it is happening currently- but when you even sense it) is by praying, worshiping, and just basking in a time of refreshment in God's presence. You will find that you never want to lose the ability to just enter that place of refreshment- you'll never play with it or allow carnal things meddle with it. 

Have Faith, this, too, shall pass but you need to get to work upfront and begin this journey of destiny with God. 

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 Please just say these declarations to and over yourself: 

- Lord, I come by the Blood of Jesus Christ to your Throne of Grace. Lord, I repent from all my known and unknown sins and I renounce the sins of my forefathers and my own sins. Lord Have Mercy on Me (Let this be a constant declaration of yours). Let your Mercy and Grace Speak over me.

- I cancel every covenant I have ever entered into, knowingly or unknowingly, with the devil and I declare that the ONLY covenant I submit to is the COVENANT of Life in Christ Jesus. I live for Jesus Christ! I receive the Life of Jesus Christ! I receive the Freedom in the Life of Jesus Christ.

- I declare that the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin and death, therefore Sin and Death have no power over me in Jesus name. Amen. 

- I shall fulfill the mandate of the Lord over my Life in Jesus name. 

- I shall not die but I shall live to declare the great works of the Lord in the land of the Living

- I have Life and I have it more abundantly 

- I am taught of the Lord and great shall be my peace and I fulfill the purpose of God for my life and no devil shall stop it 

- I make progress in Jesus name and the Lord has gone before me and has broken in pieces every gate of Brass and has cut in Sunders every bar of Iron 

- I am dwelling in the secret place of the most high God and no weapon formed against me and my destiny shall prosper 

- I declare that eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things that the Lord has planned for me but the Lord has caused it it come to pass in my life by the Holy Spirit

- The lines are falling unto me in pleasant places and I have a goodly heritage in Jesus name, Amen

- I have run into the name of the Lord and I am safe. The Lord delivers me from ALL my troubles because I am the Righteousness of God in Christ and Many are the afflictions of the Righteous but the Lord delivers them from ALL of them

-Who is he that speaks and it comes to pass, when the Lord has not commanded it? The Lord has said that I shall not die, but I shall live to declare the great works of the Lord in the land of the Living and the Lord strong and Mighty, The Lord Mighty in Battle, He fights this Battle, He contends with everything contending with me, He delivers me, He makes His word come to pass in my life in Jesus name. Amen.

- I plead the blood of Jesus Christ over my life, over my destiny, over my future and I declare that I fulfill the Purpose of the Lord for my Life in Jesus name. Amen.

-The Hand of the Lord is upon me, No temptation has overtaken me except what is common to mankind and even in this struggle, the Lord gives me the Grace, even right now, to endure and ride through these cravings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

-Where the Holy Spirit is there is Liberty, Freedom, Move Over me Holy Spirit- Rise up within me and quench every assault of the enemy

-I surrender my Life, My Will, my All to you Abba. Let your Kingdom come over the entirety of my Life. I submit to your rulership and recognise you as KING and recognise myself as a subject in your Kingdom, my Abba, I surrender to your Dominion, my Abba, use me as your Battle Axe, Lord, Use me as Your Weapon Of Warfare. I surrender ALL to you.

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Note- I just want to say, in closing, that all of these things I've listed above are things I have learned from years of falling, trial and error, being clean for a stretch and falling etc. I have come to recognize, over a period of over a decade battling this thing, the lifestyle to have in order to permanently close the door to these struggles- and that lifestyle is to be FULLY in Christ. There is no other way. 

Talk therapy and seeing a therapist and being in Addiction groups will help you for starters. Infact, I STRONGLY recommend doing a detox with professional help if you are currently ensnared by this plague and if you can afford it. Part of my prayer has included that God help me open a rehab that people can access for free- because rehab is expensive- but some of these strategies should hopefully help you build up the mental grit required to go through the detox yourself and start strengthening your walk with God. 

Whilst inside this detox system, begin to prayerfully ask God to show you your teachers, to set you in a community- We are all looking for connection and it's often the lack of real connection that causes these emotional problems, begin to implement the strategies I've highlighted above. 

Take drastic steps. Drastic Measures. Like, if your thing was being in the cool gang, being an IT girl, join Deeper Life. Join Assemblies of God. Join a Living church. Serve in a unit- not just any unit, Join the Prayer Unit. You need some fire in your life. You need A LOT of fire in your life, but it will start small and then enrapture you. Make drastic U-Turns. A person with this type of struggle cannot afford to be undecided- the attacks you'll have will come even in dreams. These demons will begin to present you these substances in calculated dreams and whilst medical people call it hallucination, induced dreams etc etc,  these are Spiritual attacks and the Believers amongst the medical people know this and some would nudge you to seek God. 

So, whilst all of these professional steps helps a person having these struggles at first, by themselves, they are not enough. Eventually, the person will fall and every fall is costly- cos the person may not make it out alive.  

I have almost come to look at it like, addiction, whilst being something the enemy plants in our lives in order to destroy us, becomes a tool that keeps us permanently in God's will- if we give it to Him. It stream lines your life and keeps you on the very path that you are supposed to be- on the Path of Life- panting after your Savior. And guess what? His yoke is Light. His yoke is the persecution from the world you will face- people that bad mouth your new fervent lifestyle, people who curse God, people calling you a "jew" person AKA a person who is no longer socially correct/relevant, who isn't fun- in that worldly sense. But there is also FUN in God, in walking with God. There is peace, Joy, Love, Fullness- a FULLNESS of Joy, there is hunger. And whilst certain persecutions may hurt us even unto death- we are not of them that are without hope, we will be with Jesus in eternity. His yoke, in the face of ALL kinds of persecutions, is still light.

I leave you with this: Psalm 42: 1 - 4

As the deer pants for streams of water,
    so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
    When can I go and meet with God?
3 My tears have been my food
    day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
    “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember
    as I pour out my soul:
how I used to go to the house of God
    under the protection of the Mighty One[d]
with shouts of joy and praise
    among the festive throng.

You cannot tell me David was not an addict of some sort. Panting after God like a deer pants for streams of water? That's a real addiction. That's hunger and obsession, the very kind we ought to have. After many years of struggle, this is my conclusion- in God, in Christ, GENUINELY walking with God, is your freedom. Every other means fails overtime. 

I hope this helps you. I hope this blesses you. If you want any of the books I've listed here, please join these Christian communities on Telegram, this and this and search their files for the books and download them. Read like a drowning person. 

You'll be able to get all the books you need, all the messages and teachings from some of the anointed Apostles I've mentioned and I pray over you that your deliverance will be speedy, quick, final and permanent in Jesus name. Amen.

God bless you and You are very SPECIAL and that is why this unique struggle has come to you but know this, 

1Corinthian10:13

13 No temptation  has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[e] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

For whatever reason you turn to God to save you, For whatever reason you realize the futility of flesh and all the things you’ve been seeking- For whatever reason at all- failure, substance addiction, heartbreak, depression, Abuse... All well and Good. All well and Good. God is reaching out to save you. Jesus is eternally interceding for your salvation, reaching out to you to come. To come back to Him. He will save you. Just, commit. Start your walk with Him. Commit to HOLINESS as uncommon and almost alien as it it in this generation. Let me assure you, there is an army that the Lord is raising. A new breed without greed. Without the taint of materialism. Made so by discipling, the schooling of the Spirit and the forth going of prayers. And I believe the reason the Lord has made you see this blog, in the midst of the addiction you are battling, is because you are a part of this army. YOU, who think you are a mess, who feels you are a junkie- you are reading this because God is calling you to be a part of this army, will you run to him to save you? Will you desperately commit - even through your struggles?

Take Root Downward and Bear Fruit above. Meaning, Take root by committing to Spiritual growth, by beginning to implement these strategies, Fasting, Praying, Listening to teachings, Declaring, Changing your Circle, Studying, Studying, Studying, More praying, developing your self as well even outside of the Spiritual side- career, health, self development- but we'll talk about that another time. For the purposes of a person in the grips of addiction NOW, Take root downwards in Christ Jesus and Bear Fruit above.

God bless you. I love you. I'm praying for you. I may not know you, but I am praying for you as long as you have seen this blog and I want to assure you, God will save you. He has NEVER lost a battle. He will save you.

Stay blessed,

Your Sister,

Judith Onyegbosi.

Ps. - Please watch this short video by Aposle Osayi Arome on the power of Prayer. Praying is so important and I know you may feel like what He is saying is a stretch but, start where you are, where you can- 10 mins, 20 mins. Even if all you prayed was "Lord have Mercy on Me, Lord Help Me, Lord Deliver Me, Lord let your Kingdom come over my life, Lord Save me!". It will be just fine.