Breaking All Chains

Setting The Captives Free

DEPRESSION

By Peter James

This document should be regarded as preventative information and

application of the advice should be used with wisdom if used

to help others. I accept that others can disagree with the opinions

expressed in this document.

I have included verbatim some additional quotes and scriptures

that are relevant and have been given to me by my friend and fellow

Christian. I felt that all these comments could be helpful

if kept together, so they are together and are placed at the beginning

of the document. They are displayed in Green.

Today stress and depression is ravaging humanity.

It does not matter what strata of society, status or prosperity you enjoy.

It does not matter who you are, what size house or car you have.

Depression is taking its toll without any respite.

The counselling business is booming,

and psychology courses are amongst the most popular courses.

Nevertheless the problem increases without any regard to race,

sex or creed. All sorts of institutions are full of people needing help

as some are put into hospital, prisons, and mental homes as the system

does not know how to cope. Sadly, some who are overwhelmed by their

situation take their lives in spite of counselling and medication.

I am not a psychologist,

and I have no suggestions to offer in that area at all.

The only solution I offer as with every problem is Jesus Christ.

It is absolutely vital to change negative thinking and combat

the lies of the enemy. God’s Word is a mighty Sword to cut down lies

and accusation which every believer will have to face at sometime

during their Christian life. As the accuser of the brethren,

Satan will not stop his onslaught, unless of course we stay in apathy

and pose no threat to him.

We are not simply to ‘learn to live with depression’ but learn to

overcome it. We have the victory in Christ and as long as we stand

on God’s Word, we will remain standing.

We then must take up the fight and push forward against

the darkness and shine God’s light into it -

the Light of Christ drives all darkness away.

I am still learning to be an overcomer, but never again do I want

to be seduced by the lies of the enemy.

The secret is to stay close to The Master -

The Author and Perfecter of our faith.

It is ‘the Truth that sets us free’ and Jesus is the Truth –

and the Way and the Life.

Past issues need to be resolved in our minds and hearts -

forgiveness is the key.

The spirit of depression must be COMMANDED to leave -

taken authority over.

Our choice is very important -

spirits cannot stay when their ‘right’ has been denied them.

When our will is yielded to God, the enemy is denied power over us.

The enemy invades, whereas God gives us ‘choice’ -

free will - do we want Him or not?

Praise and worship, exalting God, defeats depression.

Our concentration during worship is on God rather than on ourselves

or our worries. We enter God’s Presence with thanksgiving and praise,

and in His Presence is healing and release.

Sometimes God allows us to ‘broken’ so that He can come in and set

us by His standard -

that is straight and true -

softening hardened hearts and renewing minds.

Psalm 51:10 and 17 Create in me a pure heart,

O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.......

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart,

O God, You will not despise.

As we release the tensions and hurts of the past to God,

He heals and restores our souls.

He makes us new, so we do not need to keep recalling events of the past –

in Christ our past has been redeemed.

It is the accuser of the brethren, Satan, who will try to keep

us dwelling on our past, rather than embracing our future with God

and living out our lives in the fullness

of Life that God freely gives us.

If Satan can keep us discouraged and depressed,

he can make us ineffective as Christians

and steal the joy of the Lord that God wants to share with us.

The enemy comes only to ‘kill, steal and destroy’.

Jesus came to give life and ‘life abundantly’.

Letting go of the past releases us to live for the future and for God,

rather than for ourselves where the problem originated.

God is a ‘God of the living’ and wants a relationship with you and I.

He wants us to concentrate on Him before all else.

We need to fight and defeat the enemy’s plan to steal,

kill and destroy our relationship with our Father God.

First we must submit to God - only then can we overcome the evil one.

James 4:7-8 ⁷Submit yourselves, then, to God.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

· ‘...humble themselves and repent of these attitudes......’

When we humble ourselves before God, He raises us up.

But ‘hitting ourselves with a big stick’ is false humility.

True humility is being repentant before God (repentant means ‘change’)

recognizing who God is and our need of Him.

2 Chronicles 7: 14 ...if My people, who are called by My name,

will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from

their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive

their sin and will heal their land.

1 Peter 5:5 "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore,

under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around

like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

1 Peter 5:9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your

brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

1 Peter 5:10And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal

glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself

restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

1 Peter 5:11To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 4:14 Therefore, since we have a Great High Priest

who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold

firmly to the faith we profess.

Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who is unable

to sympathize with our weaknesses,

but we have One who has been tempted in every way,

just as we are--yet was without sin.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,

so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Remember that God wants us to seek His face, not just

His hand. God is a living being, desiring relationship with us.

He also thinks and feels - seek the Giver not just what He has

to give us. Refusing to get angry etc. is exercising ‘self-control’

(fruit of the Holy Spirit) and will guard against

‘giving a foothold to the devil’. But this is not suppression -

give the problem to God and refuse to play the enemy’s game!

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,

peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Galatians 5:23gentleness and

self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified

the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

Galatians 5:25Since we live by the Spirit,

let us keep in step with the Spirit.

· ‘God will not leave you.....’ Hebrews 13:5

· Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with

· what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you;

· never will I forsake you."

Hebrews 13:6 So we say with confidence,

· "The Lord is my helper;

· I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?"

God emphasizes that He never leaves us -

He does not walk out on a commitment!

When the Lord of the universe is for us, who can stand against us?

Philippians 4:11 I am not saying this because I am in need,

for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

Philippians 4:12 I know what it is to be in need,

and I know what it is to have plenty.

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,

whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

Philippians 4:13 I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.

I heard one definition of depression as anger without enthusiasm,

or suppressed anger.

Anger, bitterness, and unforgiveness is always about something in the past.

These are root causes of depression.

The predominant factor is the self, dented self-esteem,

self-confidence, and self-importance.

Selfishness and self-centeredness can also be an issue.

Our self will has to be surrendered.

Depression is a result of sin whether you know about the sin or not.

Cain and Abel give us the first recorded incident of anger and depression.

Genesis 4:6 And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? and

why is your face sad?

Genesis 4:7 If you do well, will you not have honour? and if you do wrong,

sin is waiting at the door, desiring to have you ,but do not let it be your master.

There is an extremely important point here, sin, anger and depression

can be your master. In this instance it was with Cain because he was

angry with God and took it out on Abel.

Often when we are angry with others it points to our poor relationship

with God. If our relationship with God is good and there are no barriers

known or unknown and we are in unity with Him, it is unlikely that

we would be depressed. Of course we all have off days.

Genesis 4:8 And Cain said to his brother, Let us go into the field:

and when they were in the field,

Cain made an attack on his brother Abel and put him to death.

We look to the past and do not like how we were treated, something

happened to us as a child, teenager, young adult, working person etc.

This negative event can remain the focus if we permit it,

through out the life of an individual.

We also try to get our own way by manipulating and controlling others and

if they do not conform we sulk and get depressed.

Manipulation and control is simply witchcraft.

That is the purpose of witchcraft.

Depression is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the love,

joy and peace of the Holy Spirit. This does not mean that the Holy Spirit

is absent but He certainly is suffering from being effectively suppressed.

If you focus on the past, the past will become not only your present,

but also your future, and inevitably your life will slip away from before your very eyes,

and all too soon it is over.

The Bible In Basic English

Philippians 3:13 Brothers, it is clear to me that I have not come to

that knowledge; but one thing I do, letting go those things which are

past, and stretching out to the things which are before,

Some have asked can’t you just pray to remove

‘the spirit of depression’ from a depressed person?

God gave each of us freewill.

This entitles each and every one to choose.

We can choose from the opposite ends of the spectrum,

life on the one hand or death on the other hand.

The conclusion of our choice can be gradual or dramatic.

Further more God will honour our choice.

Although we might hurt greatly for others, we cannot go around trying

to control the lives of others especially without their permission,

even if it is as we might think, for their good.

That is definitely not of God as we just said that is witchcraft

When a problem arises, if it is not dealt with the development of

the person will be affected.

As one friend said, it is like a broken bone, if it is not set properly

it will mend in an unsuitable way. The bone then has to be broken again

and reset so that it can grow properly.

We obviously want to ensure that we do not need to be constantly

broken in order to grow properly. Truth, or Reality as this word can

also be translated, is essential to resolve this problem.

We cannot pretend that trauma has not invaded our life when it has done so.

It is folly to pretend as some suggest, that something which has

happened has not actually happened . It is better to quickly acknowledge

that there are some things which we cannot change and to meditate,

and hold fast to what Paul said and to let go of the things that are past,

and instead reach forward in faith to the prize ahead.

This is a very important principle.

We must let go of the past we do not have any choice.

We have to get past denial that there is a problem.

Until this is done, no progress will be made.

If we are angry or unforgiving, we have to recognise this fact.

This might not be as easy as it might at first seem.

You might need to have this revealed to you, directly by God,

or by a messenger of His.

I am certainly not saying that we should go around digging up our past

as some practice. This can be particularly devastating as experience shows

that it is possible to raise fictitious issues and make a bad situation much worse.

If we have been abused as children, or involved in the occult in some

way, whether we remember it or not, many years later it can surface

and wreck a relationship or marriage for instance.

Problems do need to be addressed.

We might need help to see why we are the bitter people,

that we have become.

There are some, who are angry, or unforgiving, and are happy to stay that way.

They say things like “that is the way I am you have to take me as you find me”.

It is quite astonishing that some would prefer to hold on to their anger,

and unforgiveness, which has caused serious sickness rather than humble

themselves and repent of these attitudes.

Effectively faced with the choice of life and death, some choose a lingering death.

Rejection

Is it a matter that our pride is hurt?

Is it that we have been rejected in our youth?

Is it that we have done our best,

yet we have been rejected without any apparent reason?

Is it that once there was a purpose to our life, and changed

circumstances cause us to feel that our reason to exist, has vanished?

Is this why we feel useless, frustrated and a failure?

Have we fallen from being the life and soul of the party,

to being just an ordinary unimportant guest at the party?

Are we stressed out as we continually are living a lie,

as we do things to impress those around us?

Have we been accustomed to controlling others,

and suddenly that is no longer possible,

because the children who are now adults have left home?

Are you surplus to requirements at your work, to which you devoted your entire life?

Does your church, or social group, now ignore you, and has it swept you

aside as if you did not exist at all,

in spite of your long standing dedication and devotion?

All of these things can be very hard to bear especially if you are a diligent,

and dedicated person.

If your focus is not on Jesus Christ and the Eternal’s larger plan.

The above points can be devastating.

We are human regardless of our best intentions and efforts,

we will let others down and they will let us down.

That is a simple fact of life.

The point is that God will not leave you nor forsake you regardless

of how black it looks. It may not seem like He is there but He is.

We know this because He said so.

But remember He is not just there in the distance looking at you, but He is in you.

Deuteronomy 31:8 And the LORD, He it is that doth go before you;

He will be with you, He will not fail you, neither forsake you:

fear not, neither be dismayed.

We need to appreciate that if you are a ‘Christian’, the Eternal God,

as the Holy Spirit literally dwells in you.

That is the clear teaching of scripture.

I know that many say that they have the Holy Spirit

and think that is as far as it goes. It is not.

There is only one God, you have all or nothing.

See the Documents: Jesus Christ Is The Holy Spirit Jesus Is God

The Holy Spirit Is God

We also have the spirit of Jesus Christ which should be a great comfort

to us as this is the Holy Spirit which was in Jesus Christ as He

experienced human life personally from conception right down to death,

resurrection and ascension. The eternal God knows first hand what it is

like to be dust, originally He only knew divinity.

Now He knows humanity by experience.

God really can and does relate to us in the most intimate way.

God will convict you of wrong doing but, He does not condemn you,

that is the angle of the enemy.

Rage

People today are becoming more and more angry.

There is road rage, shopping trolley rage, airplane rage, office rage,

anything you care to name rage.

You can attend ‘Anger Management’ or ‘Rage Rehab’ courses.

We have such terms as ‘Volcanic Anger’.

Our expectations increase as we want more and more things which

are often unattainable. Even if you do have everything you can still

be angry, and upset about something.

Our dissatisfaction with our status, people or things results in

pent up emotions which are themselves destructive.

When I was a youngster my mother constantly told me little sayings

that she had written beautifully in a book. Two of them were:

‘to your own self be true’ from Shakespeare’s Hamlet

‘godliness with contentment is great gain’.

Then, I had no idea where they came from, but they were very

excellent foundational principles.

As an adult it is easy to see these principles expounded in the bible.

The more we have the more we tend to want in any area,

and the less contented we are. We want a new model house, car,

husband, or wife as we are dissatisfied with the present one.

A contented individual is unlikely to be depressed.

In this dog eat dog world it is very important for us to understand,

who we really are. I do not mean who others think we are, or

who we would like others to think that we are,

but who we actually are in reality, the real you.

The problem is that we probably do not know ourselves as well as

we think that we do. It takes a lifetime of revelation by the

Holy Spirit for you come to know the real you.

The goal is then to let the Holy Spirit transform you into something

acceptable to Him, by the renewing of your mind.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world:

but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may

prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

We have to be poor in spirit.

Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Note that the kingdom of heaven not will be our but ‘IS’, present tense.

The abundance of what comes out the mouth shows what our spirit is rich in.

Revelation 3:15 I know your works, that you art neither cold nor hot:

I would you were cold or hot.

Revelation 3:16 So then because you art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,

I will spue you out of my mouth.

Revelation 3:17 Because you say, I am rich, and increased with goods,

and have need of nothing; and (you) know not that you are wretched,

and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Revelation 3:18 I counsel you to buy of me gold tried in the fire,

that you may be rich; and white raiment, that you may be clothed,

and that the shame of your nakedness do not appear;

and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

We see ourselves one way ,and because we cannot see the reality

of ourselves, our Father has to show us our true situation.

When you are poor it means that you are having a lack of whatever

you are poor. If your spirit is not clogged up with materialism,

there is space in which the Holy Spirit can operate.

We have to make this space available to the Holy Spirit.

The other aspect of ‘you’ is the indwelling of God in you.

This takes another lifetime, to begin to understand what it means,

to have the Eternal God dwelling in us.

This will only be comprehended in the resurrection and eternity.

This means that we have the inbuilt power given by the grace of God

and the indwelling of the Eternal God to deal with any and every situation.

It is no wonder that Revelation 12:11 says they loved not their lives

until death. This is how the apostle Paul coped with the beatings,

imprisonment, rejection, etc.

There is no other way.

To think that we can love others, who are literally killing us or our family,

or who have abused us by our human strength is really futile.

It is not difficult.

It is impossible.

Genuine Love and forgiveness is an activity of the Holy Spirit.

We often give the appearance of love and forgiveness.

You will really know that you have forgiven someone when God calls you

to minister, and assist someone who has effectively destroyed you.

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb,

and by the word of their testimony;

and they loved not their lives unto the death.

To constantly preach to people that they can and must change themselves

will result in confusion and depression.

Wrong preaching will result in wrong experiences.

The listeners can easily feel everyone else is succeeding but

“I am failing”.

“I am useless”.

The truth is, that the person giving such a message is not achieving

what he is telling his listeners to achieve either,

because humanly it is not possible.

This transformation is produced by the Eternal God.

Like a fish caught on a line, we often try to resist the leading of the

Holy Spirit, with all the strength and determination that we can muster.

God will bless us, and bless us, and bless us, and try to get our attention.

If that fails,

God will press us, and press us, and press us, until He does get our attention.

We have to choose which one it will be.

If that still fails there is always ‘the tribulation’.

What is certain is that when God wants your attention

He will get it one way or another.

He got the attention of Jonah with a massive storm and a few days

in the stomach of a fish.

Jonah woke up, and finally carried out what he was instructed to do even

though he was not happy about doing it, but nonetheless he did his assignment.

We can be certain that what the Eternal has started He will finish.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that

He which has begun a good work in you will perform it

until the day of Jesus Christ:

The Bible in Basic English

Philippians 1:6 For I am certain of this very thing,

that He by whom the good work was started in

you will make it complete till the day of Jesus Christ:

Darby

Philippians 1:6 Having confidence of this very thing,

that He who has begun in you a good work will complete it

unto Jesus Christ's day:

This is not maybe, this is a definite statement.

Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;

who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising

the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

You are loved by God Himself.

Every single human being is an utterly unique creation.

There is not another person on the planet either living now or

who has lived or who will live who will be exactly like you.

You may well look in the mirror and say I do not like this,

that and the other about me, however, God likes everything about you,

although He hates what you do.

He loves you, when you do not love yourself.

He loves you, when no one else loves you.

He loves you, when you hated Him and were His enemy.

He loves you, so much that He died in your place even before

you physically existed.

Watch the Video: Why Did Christ Have To Die ? Notes Why Did Christ Die

These are all facts.

You have to be clear in your mind that as a Christian, your goal

is the partaking of and the full manifestation of Christ in you

and you in Christ.

You must never forget that you already have Eternal life.

Often I say, it is really strange our Father in heaven has given

us Eternal Life, and yet we keep pestering Him for an ice cream and we sulk

if we do not get the ice cream.

There is nothing wrong desiring physical things,

but we focus so much on the physical that we often overlook the spiritual.

The point is regardless of the human situation,

we have the Eternal God in us, and we are in Him therefore nothing else

really matters. When we suffer He suffers with us.

The apostle Paul was fully aware of this, thus he regarded beatings,

shipwreck, imprisonment etc as light affliction, and we should constantly

have the permanent things in our mind instead of the passing problems.

2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment,

works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

2 Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen,

but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are

temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

You are special, very special indeed, you are a one off.

For you to come into existence science says that there were something

in the order of 200,000 eggs which your mother carried in her body.

One specific egg had to meet and join with one specific sperm cell out

of something in the order of 300,000,000 to 500,000,000 sperm cells,

for you to be formed. Do not forget than in the lifetime of a man,

the total number of sperm cells which he produces, is totally incomprehensible.

It would be trillions x trillions x trillions. . . . .

Your parents had to meet, they may have lived continents apart.

They had to have a relationship that caused that specific egg to be

fertilized by that one specific sperm cell, not any of the others.

Both had to be at the right place at exactly the right time.

The cells had to survive all the perils, which they faced.

If it were technically possible, all the sperm cells of one man could

theoretically produce offspring that would over populate the world

many times over. I understand that there are something like 49

lottery balls used in the lottery and some weeks no one guesses which

5 or 6 of them will be chosen.

There are only 26 letters in the alphabet and

look at how many words there are in a full dictionary.

Apparently the odds of 1 specific egg out of 200,000 eggs meeting

1 specific sperm cell out of say 400,000,000,

surviving and fertilizing taking place, is a figure we cannot even begin

to contemplate, calculate, or write down.

That, however, is only the start, as this very same thing has happened

for every single generation of your family right back to Adam.

I think that it would require probably a book the size of the world to write

the odds of this happening, yet it did.

You exist.

In all of this the freewill of the people involved was not compromised

and God called you from before the foundation of the world not just

the creation of Adam some 6,000 years ago.

I mean however many billions of years the scientists tell us that

earth came into existence. Mumble and grumble and complain as much

as you like but, you are indeed very special and unique.

As a chosen vessel in which God will dwell, you can be sure that great care

and investment has been put into you, much more than you would do, when

building or purchasing a new luxury home.

Further more the Eternal God died for you.

If you want something to be depressed about,

that is something you could be depressed about.

The fact is that the Eternal God should personally die for you.

But you do not have to be depressed as He died for you

out of His great personal love for you.

Your DNA is unique to you.

When you add the mind blowing coding of your DNA to the above egg and

sperm scenario, we can only fall on our face and worship our awesome God,

who holds the world, you and I in His hands.

He gives us every breath, even when we act as spoilt children

and hurt him in every way, which is our normal conduct.

Never ever look at anyone else and envy them or be jealous of them.

You cannot do what they were created to do,

but neither can they do what you were created to do.

Understanding this will give great peace of mind.

RSV 2 Corinthians 10:12 Not that we venture to class or compare ourselves

with some of those who commend themselves.

But when they measure themselves by one another,

and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.

The works planned for us to do are unique to us.

Weymouth Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's own handiwork,

created in Christ Jesus for good works which

He has pre-destined us to practise.

We do not have to try to impress others, you can believe whether

you know it or not the people whom you are trying to impress are full

of troubles and insecurities of their own.

Often even those who have a good relationship with God sometimes

are looking for a shoulder to cry on, much less those who do not have

a relationship with God. They will feel utterly hopeless and without the

Eternal they are indeed hopeless.

It is time to humble ourselves, quit the pity party and

to stop playing the forever a victim role.

The self earnestly desires pre-eminence in all things, and we are warned about this.

Bible In Basic English

Luke 14:8 When you get a request to come to a feast,do not take the best seat,

for a more important man than you may be coming,

Luke 14:9 And then the giver of the feast will come to you and say,

Give your place to this man; and you, with shame, will have to take the lowest seat.

Luke 14:10 But when you come, go and take the lowest seat,

so that when the giver of the feast comes, he may say to you,

Friend, come up higher; and then you will have honour in the eyes of all

the others who are there.

Luke 14:11 For every man who gives himself a high place will be put down,

but he who takes a low place will be lifted up.

The apostle also Paul warns us on how we should view ourselves.

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 has dealt to every man the measure of faith.

The suggestion here in this and other translations is that to think more

highly of yourself is the equivalent of being drunk.

To be demoted in public is an open invitation for a traumatic temper tantrum.

This is happening all the time.

Those who have exalted themselves are being brought

low, and the inevitable depression is the result.

God has a personal special interest in you as an individual.

It is not only that you are unique, but He knows, and is better informed

about you than you are about yourself.

He knows and cares about you in every minute detail and to the very

smallest particle. I could not even tell you how many teeth I have and

I see them and clean them every day.

I would actually have to count them.

Do you know off hand how many teeth you have?

Do not let us even start speaking about counting hair.

King David had the right idea.

Psalm 56:8 You tell my wanderings: put you my tears into your bottle:

are they not in your book?

I can go further I have seen God use someone to cry the tears which He felt

and cried for me. You had better believe God cares about you beyond your

wildest imagination. He knows what you need before you ask Him.

You cannot and should not act like a spoilt child.

Matthew 6:8 Be not you therefore like unto them:

for your Father knows what things you have need of, before you ask him.

I have heard messages where the speaker has said that God is too busy

running the vast universe to be interested in your small problem.

That is a blatant lie and is of the spirit of anti-Christ.

We are told that all our hairs on our head, and I am certain that

everywhere else are numbered, not counted.

I know that is only the very tiniest tip of the iceberg.

We need to realise that when we pray for healing and God intervenes

we have to understand that it is atom by atom that we are healed.

It is the fusing of only two cells that produced you and I.

They included everything to produce each one of us.

Ministry

We often confuse activity with ministry.

We feel that we have to cram as much activity into 24 hours as possible,

seven days a week.

The inevitable result is burnout.

If we somehow fail to achieve the often ridiculous self imposed schedule,

we feel that we are failures.

We think that we are doing the ‘Work’, when we are rushing about.

However, but we are told ‘Be still’.

It is not a matter of just singing a song or being lazy.

Psalm 4:4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon

your bed, and be still. Selah.

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among

the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

I heard one estimate that a newly ordained minister can expect to burn out

in three years. Those who are in charge of others need to remember,

that they will be accountable for how they treat others.

There should be no doubt in our minds about that whatsoever.

When we destroy someone and make them a vegetable,

we should fear and tremble and be aware that what we sow we will reap.

It is inevitable.

A day of reckoning is on its way.

We need to see that we are all saints.

There are elders and deacons.

These are positions of service and not positions to control others.

The various gifts of the Spirit are not positions of authority but

functions of service for the benefit of all.

1 Corinthians 12:28 And God has set some in the church, first apostles,

secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles,

then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.

When I am confused about some doctrine what I need is a teacher.

When I am sick I do not need a teacher but someone with the gift

of healing. They are both equal, and supply the need at the time.

Words & Thoughts

Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked:

for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.

What this is saying is that if at some time we do not reap what we sow

God would be mocked.

Therefore we must reap what we sow.

There is no escape.

Therefore we need to be careful, which words we speak over our lives,

because we are sowing events that will surely grow and mature and

eventually come to pass.

We need to recognise the power of our words and thoughts.

It is by words that the creation was brought into being.

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by

the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things

which do appear.

Being made in God’s image we also speak unseen things into existence,

negative or positive. It is quite normal to hear people speaking and calling

negative things into existence over their lives, and over the lives of others.

It is quite common to hear sickness, failure, even death pronounced over others.

We are then shocked when these things come to pass.

We really do need to think before we speak, and be very careful what we say.

Thoughts

Job went through an exceedingly severe time,

but the events that overtook him were not random events,

they were precisely the things that he worried about.

So we can see that this also shows that our thoughts are very important.

A.V. Job 3:25 For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me,

and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

This was all happening in his mind before the events took place.

The Bible In Basic English

Job 3:25 For I have a fear and it comes on me,

and my heart is greatly troubled.

Job 3:26 I have no peace, no quiet, and no rest; nothing but pain comes on me.

R.S.V. Job 3:25 For the thing that I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me.

Job 3:26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet; I have no rest; but trouble comes.

Do not entertain negative thoughts and negative emotions.

They are never from God.

1. Negative thoughts:

We need to be exceedingly careful not to harbour any negative

thoughts or attitudes. If we nurture them the problem will escalate into

a huge physical and spiritual problem.

Read the Document: Coping With Negative And Accusing Comments

Guilt & Fear

Guilt and fear are negative thoughts, which can assault us relentlessly.

In the case of guilt, although we have confessed, and genuinely repented of a sin

the enemy continues to confuse us that we are still guilty.

We need to stand firmly on the word of God,

against the thought of condemnation which is of the enemy.

This can leave us very depressed.

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 unrighteousness.

We need a simplicity of faith.

Mark 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If you canst believe,

all things are possible to him that believes.

Matthew 9:29 Then touched he their eyes, saying,

According to your faith be it unto you.

Matthew 8:13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go your way;

and as you have believed, so be it done unto you.

And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

The above statement is exceedingly clear,

and needs no explanation whatsoever.

In the past we did not believe God, today we are called to believe.

Our Father is not a man, neither does He think or act as a man

If God says it, that is how it is, that is the end of the matter.

I know that many ministers do not agree with this simplicity as they try

to bring their intellect, logic, opinions, feelings, and reasoning to bear

on situations. It would be wiser to believe God.

John 14:6 Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:

no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

We must have the faith to believe what the Eternal says and not

the lies of the enemy. He was a liar from the beginning and still is.

We speak English, our adversary speaks lies.

John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father

you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth,

because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie,

he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

We have to be very careful that what we say, and that our unbelief

does not make God out to be a liar.

1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar,

and His word is not in us.

The truth is that the price has been paid in full by Jesus Christ for all sin,

and all sins by His death on the cross.

It is the cross of Christ,

It is the blood of Christ,

It is the death of Christ,

It is the resurrection of Christ that makes us totally victorious.

You need to tell Satan this every time that he assaults you.

Satan is a defeated devil, whose destination is the lake of fire.

That is where he should be now, not persecuting you with anxiety, guilt and fear.

Fear

Many people are filled with fear for one reason or another.

This is something that can very easily beset us thus we are told constantly

‘Fear not, be bold and courageous’

Read the document: Fear Not – Be Not Afraid

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not,

nor be afraid of them: for the LORD your God,

He it is that doth go with you;

He will not fail you, nor forsake you.

Fear is the opposite of faith.

Fear is the conviction that negative things will happen,

this is of the adversary. This means we believe that Satan is able to carry

out his wishes regardless of God

Faith is the conviction that positive things will happen, this is of God.

This means that we believe that God is really our caring Father in heaven

Fear

Many people are filled with fear for one reason or another.

This is something that can very easily beset us thus we are told constantly

‘Fear not, be bold and courageous’

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not,

nor be afraid of them: for the LORD your God,

He it is that doth go with you;

He will not fail you, nor forsake you.

Fear is the opposite of faith.

Fear is the conviction that negative things will happen,

this is of the adversary. This means we believe that Satan is able to carry

out his wishes regardless of God

Faith is the conviction that positive things will happen, this is of God.

This means that we believe that God is really our caring Father in heaven

and in overall charge of everything that exists and we can trust and rely on Him.

Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief:

for verily I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed,

you shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place;

and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

The question is, will we believe Satan or God?

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us the spirit of fear;

but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

What this tells me is that there is

A spirit of fear

A spirit of power

A spirit of love

A spirit of a sound mind.

It then goes on to tell me that the spirit of fear is not from God.

These fears attack us when we are awake or even asleep, in nightmares.

The spirit of fear then must be from the enemy, and should be treated as such.

It then says but God has given us,

the spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.

Unfortunately much confusion abounds today.

It is possible to have organised and controlled services but that does

nothing to remove the confusion around us. In fact we can be so pressurised

that there is not time in our schedule for God and so organised that

there is no room for God in either our private lives or public meetings.

See The Document: Thief Of Time.

Confusion and a sound mind are at variance with each other.

Many professing Christians do not even know what their church believes.

To make matters worse, what they are taught in many areas often

directly conflicts with the Bible.

Is it any wonder that many are confused and depressed?

Is it any wonder that the churches are becoming emptier every day,

as they are found to be irrelevant to the practical needs of people,

in the real world.

It is imperative that we vocally reject negative thoughts when the

enemy tries to inject them into our minds. We must immediately refuse

to accept them. The criteria for evaluating such thoughts is this.

If it is from God, it will be good and perfect. If it is not from God it

will not be good and perfect, it will be negative and even destructive

and it must be vocally rejected outright.

Satan cannot read our thoughts.

If he could, he would have known where Jesus was when He was born.

He simply would have read the thoughts of the wise men and passed

the information to Herod, and he would have acted similarly with Moses.

We give Satan far too much power and ability.

Right now he is stronger than us, but he is defeated and weaker than

Christ who dwells in us.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,

and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness,

neither shadow of turning.

This is the first level which we will all encounter from time to time in our

daily walk. So our first defence is to reject the negative thought.

The battlefield is our mind.

2. Pressure from an evil spirit:

The second level will not be as common, and we should neither be fearful,

nor should we see demonic activity in every situation.

Possibly the truth is that most of us are doing very little,

if anything, to cause Satan to worry, and harass us.

The main target will be those causing him the most problems.

If you are a useful tool in God’s hands, you can be certain that the enemy

will try to mess up your life anyway that he can.

You are a target that is worth pursuing, because you are a pain to him.

Amazingly many of these people think that they are somehow immune,

and that in itself makes them much more susceptible to Satan’s subtle attacks.

We should seek wisdom, and perception,

so that we can be aware what is taking place.

When we feel in our spirit that we are under attack by an evil spirit,

the answer is to apply the solution of

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of

the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;

and they loved not their lives unto the death.

This means that we rebuke the enemy and tell him to get on his way

because we are under the blood of Christ, and under the righteousness

of Christ, not our own righteousness. We tell him that his residence

is the lake of fire, and that is where he should be, not harassing us.

He is terrified of the blood of Christ which spelt his doom.

Therefore lay it on to him thick and good.

Many people tend to get everything out of balance.

If they understand this point, they can spend more time rebuking

the adversary than praising, thanking God, living a Christian life as

led by the Spirit.

This is crazy.

We should be seeking to give the Eternal God pleasure and to satisfy Him.

It is true that the spirit of disobedience is widespread in the world,

and that we will therefore come into contact with people,

who are wrongly influenced.

Although we hopefully are not walking that way,

the situation which we left behind still exists.

Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past you walked according to the course

of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,

the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience:

3. Demonization:

The third level is much rarer, but does exist.

We see that dealing with these situations were a part of Christ’s ministry

and dealing with these situations were also in his commission to the church.

We are also told that dealing with these situations would follow believers.

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;

Mark 16:18 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.

Dealing with this type of situation is the very first act of healing by

Christ recorded in Luke. Interestingly this demonised person was in the

synagogue, the last place that you would expect him to be.

He had to look and to appear normal, in order to get into the synagogue

in the first place. There were people at the entrance, to ensure that

only acceptable people were let into these places.

Maybe there is a lesson that we can learn here.

There may well be people in our churches, which is the last place

you would expect, who are also in need of help.

Let us humble ourselves and help any that need help

from the greatest to the least.

Today fraudulent, money making Deliverance Ministries,

is a great plague in the ‘Christian Church’.

Read the document: Satanic Deliverance Ministries

Luke 1:23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit;

and he cried out,

Luke 1:24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with you,

you Jesus of Nazareth? are you come to destroy us?

I know you who you are, the Holy One of God.

Luke 1:25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold your peace, and come out of him.

Luke 1:26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried

with a loud voice, he came out of him.

Some situations come in to existence when events have gotten completely

out of control. They can originate either ignorantly or by wilful activity.

Unbelievably some 'practising Christians' are involved with

secret societies that give the appearance of doing good, witchcraft,

Ouiji boards, tarot cards, astrology, psychics, Far Eastern practices and

other highly questionable activities.

The fruit from this tree, the tree of death matures slowly but surely.

There will come a time when it will have to be dealt with.

It will not go away if we ignore it and pretend that it does not exist.

We cannot give evil spirits legal authority to mess our lives up,

because that is literally what we are doing.

We cannot open ourselves up to spirits of fear, anger and jealously and

think that we will live happy, peaceful and joyful lives.

That is impossible.

Video and Documents here: What Is Sin?

The authority of Jesus Christ has to be brought to bear on the situation.

Love, patience, understanding and kindness is needed to support people in

these situations. We need to be there for people in this predicament.

We need to accept that we are all capable of being viciously attacked.

We certainly must NEVER look down on others as but for the Grace of

God that person could be us.

Deliverance without a support system can result in a worse situation.

It is the very same with conversion.

Without support a new convert can easily be destroyed.

Matthew 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man,

he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.

Matthew 12:44 Then he says, I will return into my house from whence I came out;

and when he is come, he finds it empty, swept, and garnished.

Matthew 12:45 Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked

than himself, and they enter in and dwell there:

and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

+++++++++++++++++++ Up to Here +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

We should pay attention to the last sentence of this quotation.

It is very sobering. We are told that a wicked generation can backslide

and become much worse than they were by a factor of seven.

Many make a big issue out of these three points and the contention

escalates at point 2, and is greatest at point 3.

This is also something that does not make sense.

My position is that prayer is the solution to all of these issues.

Often prayer is a ‘gimme’ or please do this list.

(See separate document on 'Prayer')

I have heard that we should study to see what promises are there for us

to claim. This is ok but I certainly feel that the main point of study is

to gain in life. This needs to be a life that is worth living.

Christ is life and light and it is very important to be in His will.

If we are not in the will of Christ we are deceived.

Love

To be unloved and rejected is a humiliating experience.

It is no wonder those in this situation are depressed.

They feel that physical, mental and emotional abuse is their lot in life.

Their self-esteem is nonexistent, they feel utterly useless and failures.

These are often, educated, successful and attractive women.

In some cases which I know, if the wife made the mistake to seek

counselling about how she was being treated, the tables were turned on

her and she was told to just make sure that she was treating her

husband correctly. The sad position of the wife was completely ignored.

The back lash to this is that some women feel that they have to compete

and show that they are as capable and competent as men.

This produces its own problems.

Women were made to complement men, we are to complete not compete.

That single letter makes a world of difference.

Neither is complete without the other, that is what we are told in Genesis.

Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should

be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

(Youngs) 20 And the man called names to all the cattle, and to fowl

of the heavens, and to every beast of the field; and to man has not been

found an helper--as his counterpart.

Unlike any of the rest of the creation we are made in God’s image.

It takes both the man and the woman to get the full ‘image of God’.

As God’s image we are to express and represent God using His authority.

This is completely contrary to depression.

It is not that man is in the image of God being a male, and a woman is not.

God called them both ‘Adam’, they were one flesh.

Genesis 5:2 Male and female created he them; and blessed them,

and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

If we do not understand our role as male or female,

we will be confused and quite unhappy.

Man was created to dominate and rule the earth and the creation.

He was also to have authority over the prince of the power of

the air, Satan. Sadly Adam failed.

On the six days of creation except for the second day, you will notice

that every day God said that He saw it was good and on the sixth day

when man was created, it was very good.

After the second day He never said that it was good, because the air

space was the dwelling place of Satan.

We are to overcome Satan and his kingdom.

He is the author of negative thoughts and incomprehensible anger and depression

Revelation 12: 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,

and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives

unto the death.

He has made inroads into the Church as you can read this in Revelation 2 & 3

Man was not created to rule over each other and certainly not to smash

each other with a rod of iron as many are eagerly waiting to do.

In the millennial kingdom it is the wrong activities that will be smashed not the people.

As I speak to many Christians there is one word that has caused utter

devastation particularly to ladies.

That word is submit.

Whether they are married to Christians or non-Christians.

The wives accept and some still do the arrogance of their husbands as

their duty to do so. However, when they married their husbands they

did not marry out of duty but out of love.

Their husbands were Mr Right, a Knight in shining armour.

The verse mainly used is

Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands,

as unto the Lord.

We do not hear the preachers, who are mainly men,

focus on the previous verse.

Ephesians 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

Men strut around as peacocks whilst the wives will tell you,

many with tears in their eyes, that the reality is that they feel like a ‘floor cloth’.

I have heard of the most atrocious counselling where the women are

told effectively that now you are married, you are a non person.

Your sole purpose is the happiness and welfare of your

husband and these men just lord it over their wives.

Becoming a non-person is enough to make anyone depressed.

Ethnic minority groups also experience this on a daily basis.

This can also happen to either partner when rejection walks through

the door. The question is where is the love ?

We hear about duty but when we just act out of duty,

the love has surely gone or is certainly on its way out of the door.

Many couples sleep together out of duty.

Love was at the top of the ladder and it descended

to the bottom of the ladder and landed in duty.

Christ did not come and die for us out of duty, but out of love.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son,

that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

Duty and love are a world apart. To operate out of duty will surely be

exceedingly depressing and even be humiliating.

Sickness

We need to remember that spiritual involvement can have positive

or negative effects on human beings.

Christ dealt with various forms of serious physical distress,

by casting out demons.

Blindness Matthew 12:22 Then was brought to him one possessed

by a demon, blind and dumb, and he healed him,

Dumbness so that the dumb man spoke and saw.

Deafness Mark 9:25 But Jesus, seeing that the crowd was running

up together, rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to him,

Thou dumb and deaf spirit, *I* command thee,

come out of him, and enter no more into him.

Lunacy Matthew 17:15 Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is lunatic,

and suffers sorely; for often he falls into the fire

and often into the water.

Female Hormones

This is another point that has been raised.

It is the question of hormone upheaval in women which can cause depression

and there is also post natal depression.

I am not an expert on how the female anatomy functions, however,

there are a couple of points which can be made.

Some say that curses cannot be inherited but most women will confirm

that what was told to Eve does in fact happen and it is not a blessing.

The whole reproductive process carries with it pain which was greatly

increased from what it was in the beginning.

Bible in Basic English Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said,

Great will be your pain in childbirth; in sorrow will your children

come to birth; still your desire will be for your husband,

but he will be your master.

The solution that I offer is the same as for other issues such as

debilitating diseases. Seek the support and involvement of Christ to get

through these difficult times.

I also suggest we seek the healing that we are offered.

Isaiah 53:4 Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:

yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

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.

During these times of difficulty husbands and other family

need to be supportive.

To fail to love is to fail utterly even to self destruct.

Suppression is not overcoming.

Men and women react differently to emotional stress.

God can and will intervene in any situation which you request regardless

of your age, race or sex.

Sometimes you will want to cry.

If you want to cry then you should cry.

Do not bottle it up.

Often crying accompanies the intervention of the Holy Spirit.

It can be part of the healing process.

Anti-depressants are one of the most commonly prescribed drugs,

as refuge is sought from a bottle.

However, a spiritual problem requires a spiritual solution.

Various drugs are bought over the counter by the million for headaches,

from stress and other problems. I have absolutely nothing against medication

and the medical profession. The crux of the matter is that God has

to be given credit for any intervention on your behalf,

whether it is a surgeon's knife or a pill.

He made the surgeon and his mind. He made the materials for the medicine.

The Eternal God said everything belongs to Me.

Job 41:11 Who has prevented me, that I should repay him?

whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.

Many feel that if they bit their tongue and said nothing,

they were overcoming. The end result of suppression is serious sickness

not overcoming. Pray about any and every situation,

pass your cares and burdens to the Lord.

With Jack in the box when you shut the cover of the box,

Jack is still in the box waiting to spring out the next time that you open the lid.

Things beyond your control.

It is futile to worry about personal, national, or international situations

which are beyond your control.

A.V. Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He shall

sustain you: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Bible In Basic English

Psalm 55:22 Put your cares on the Lord, and He will be your support;

He will not let the upright man be moved.

We need to be doing the opposite of what we tend to do.

Replace your cares with the easy yoke of Christ.

Just this advice from Christ Himself and the advice in Psalm 55 above,

should greatly cause depression to flee.

Matthew 11:30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.

Anger

Weymouth translation Ephesians 4:26 If angry, beware of sinning.

Let not your irritation last until the sun goes down;

Instead of confronting people we need to confront the issues

that are impacting and destroying us and the one behind the attacks on us.

As has been quoted Satan is not only a liar but he is also a murderer.

That means he wants to kill us one way or another.

This is not a parable, but a fact.

When he is given an inch he goes the full mile and beyond.

This is one of the lessons of Job

Job 1:8 And the Lord said to the Satan,

Have you taken note of my servant Job,

for there is no one like him on the earth, a man without sin and upright,

fearing God and keeping himself far from evil?

Job 1:12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold,

all that he has is in your power; only upon himself put not forth your hand.

So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

You and I would have thought that he would attack the material things

that Job owned, but no Satan promptly first time around wiped out all his children as well.

Bible In Basic English Job 1:18 And this one was still talking when another

came, and said, Your sons and your daughters were feasting together

in their oldest brother's house,

19 When a great wind came rushing from the waste land against the four

sides of the house, and it came down on the young men, and they are dead;

and I was the only one who got away safe to give you the news.

We can so easily blame God for Satan’s activities.

Sometime ago one of my friends, and adult with children told me how

sometimes she got very angry with God. She said that she would go

for walks in the park scream and wave her fists at God and even banged

her head against a tree. I have heard messages which said that it is

fine to do this. Personally I find this appalling

I have to tell you that this person is very unwell now.

I much prefer and practice what Job did although I appreciate that

it was Satan who had actually attacked him, God permitted it.

God has his specific plan for each of us.

We are being trained for positions in his kingdom.

Sometimes pain is part of the process.

Bible In Basic English Job 1: 20 Then Job got up, and after parting

his clothing and cutting off his hair, he went down on his face

to the earth, and gave worship, and said,

21 With nothing I came out of my mother's body,

and with nothing I will go back there; the Lord gave and the Lord has

taken away; let the Lord's name be praised.

22 In all this Job did no sin,

and did not say that God's acts were foolish.

This is by far a preferred way of operating.

Worry

Often it is worry rather than work that wears us out.

We have to trust God and believe what He says.

To be able to quote the verse is not enough if we do not believe it.

Here are some illuminating translations.

The Bible In Basic English Matthew 6:34

Then have no care for tomorrow:

tomorrow will take care of itself.

Take the trouble of the day as it comes.

The Modern King James Version

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow;

for tomorrow shall be anxious for its own things.

Sufficient to the day is the evil of it.

Weymouth Translation

Do not be over-anxious, therefore, about to-morrow,

for to-morrow will bring its own cares.

Enough for each day are its own troubles.

Anger, unforgiveness and worry all lead to depression

Forgiveness

We have to forgive. We do not have any other option available to us.

If you do not forgive you will be in deep trouble. You will not be forgiven.

True forgiveness just like love has to be from the Christ dwelling in you.

Anything else would tend only to be the appearance of love or forgiveness.

It is imperative that we are not bound to another by unforgiveness.

(See separate document 'Forgive & Loose')

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

Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive men their trespasses,

your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

Matthew 6:15 But if you forgive not men their trespasses,

neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Soul Ties

Due to our lifestyle today, many people have had several partners

before and even after marriage.

Although these past relationships are history, their effects will continue

until these are specifically broken by prayer.

This results in many problems that can easily surface as depression.

This principle, plus others has to be implemented in cases of membership

of demonic societies, witchcraft and the like.

(See separate document 'Forgive & Loose')

Getting Even

There is a very high cost to getting even,

you cannot afford the price.

Do not spite others, you only hurt yourself.

Hate

Do not hate, the one you hate is your victor and has mastery over you.

When you are staring at the ceiling at 2.00 in the morning,

he is sound asleep.

Bless do not curse

If you curse others you curse yourself, as you reap what you sow.

Luke 6:28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them

which despitefully use you.

Romans 12:14 Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

Love do not hate

Again you reap what you sow.

Never have an attitude of condemnation, or judgment.

You re unlikely to know all the facts.

Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that you be not judged.

Rejection

This is very common and it can start even before a child is born.

The parents do not want the baby.

The child continues through school with bullying.

As an adult rejection continues at work, and at home in the family.

When the gloss of a marriage wears off, one or other party can be

rejected. You can be rejected for absolutely anything,

rejected for your sex, race, colour, size, disability, religion, politics,

age, clothes etc. etc.

We can take comfort from the fact Christ was also rejected

from birth. Christ the embodiment of the Creator God, who gives

us every breath and who made and sustains all things by the word

of His power was rejected right up to the point that He was eventually

killed by the very people claiming to be His people, the religious people

who were supposed to be His representatives on earth.

After Christ's resurrection it was the religious people who caused

serious difficulties for the early church.

As a matter of fact Christ turned from the temple and

Jerusalem and went to gentile Galilee. The letters to the

churches in Revelation 2 & 3 can be viewed as a warning to the

church to come out of 'Religion

Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows,

and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him;

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

We need to read this verse very carefully.

It ends by saying that He was despised but first of all it says

He is despised. This is present and continuous and it is still the case

today even by his supposed followers.

The Bible In Basic English

3 Men made sport of him, turning away from him; he was a man

of sorrows, marked by disease; and like one from whom men's faces

are turned away, he was looked down on, and we put no value on him.

We do not have to worry about what others might think about us.

In fact the more you are doing what God has called you to do the

more rejection you can expect. Rejection is the price Christ paid and

we will pay the very same price. He said so and further more this hate

will be without a cause. This reality and we were warned therefore

we should not be surprised.

John 15:18 If the world hate you,

you know that it hated me before it hated you.

John 15:25 But this cometh to pass,

that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law,

They hated me without a cause.

The Lord Jesus Christ knows exactly what you are going through and

He is right there suffering with you. See Shadrach, Meshach and

Abednego in the fiery furnace in the book of Daniel.

Christ was in the furnace with them. He did not choose to blow out

the fire neither did He choose to prevent them from going into it.

In fact He allowed it to be heated to seven times greater than it was

originally heated. This shows us that however fiery your trial is,

Christ is immune to fire he can deal with it. Often when we want

to be delivered out of a situation what Christ wants to do is strengthen

us so that we get through it.

Sometimes this allows Christ to be able to say to Satan see my servant

was not shaken by the pain you put my servant through.

This is exactly what happened to Job.

It is a war and we must never forget that.

(See separate document ‘Tribulation’)

Learn the lesson:

We have to also be aware that often our difficulties are of

our own making because of choices we have made, often these

are bad choices. God in His will allows these things to happen.

Fortunately for us He will work with them so that we can be refined

and perfected as all things work together for our good. But many times

we are responsible for situations in which we find ourselves.

It is no use blaming everyone else under the sun.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to

them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

In many situations it is not a matter of rebuking demons or any such thing

at all. Rather it is a matter of submitting to God and listening to Him and

not acting as spoilt children with an attitude of,

God if you don’t do thus and such I am going to sulk.

We should seek to see where we are going wrong and seek to allow

God to make the appropriate change that God is trying to make in us.

I firmly believe that it is God’s will that we are in good health and

that God is faithful and heals according to His Word.

Scripture does not tell us that sickness is sent by God to teach us

anything. Our tutors are the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.

However, God will use any situation to carry out our transformation

to perfection. No opportunity is missed, to renew our minds with

the mind and life of Christ.

Prayer is meant to be a faith filled communication with God and not a

fancy sounding meaningless ritual that achieves nothing.

(See Separate Document on Prayer)

Often prayers are faithfully answered and those who prayed do not

realise this. When you speak to such people you notice that they

expected nothing and they got nothing, yet they complain.

I do not feel for a moment that any amount of prayer will override

anger, unforgiveness etc.

These issues have to be faced and dealt with, of course with prayer.

From time to time we will all be a little bit under the weather,

that is not depression. However, depression is something that has

to be attacked and destroyed by the power of the Holy Spirit which has

been given to and resides with the whole Godhead within every Christian.

We are called to have Christ magnified and manifested in our life.

That is what should be manifested in our life regardless of our situation.

When people see us that is what they should see.

They should see Christ exalted.

They should see the love, patience, and all the other aspects of Christ.

To be depressed is the exact opposite of this.

What we focus on is extremely important.

To focus on negative things, Satan or demonic activity

will ultimately have a negative effect on us and can even be our undoing.

We are not only what we eat but we are more importantly what we think.

Sometimes we can deepen our situation by the television programs

which we look at and probably even more than this by the music

that we listen to when we are feeling down.

Minor key music is all very well. It is beautiful but it is not uplifting.

In the seventies when one was feeling down, on went the country music

and Jim Reeves. That was the worst thing that you could do.

Woe is me music is not a good idea at all. These type of music can

push someone from depression to suicide. At these times we need

positive music, even uplifting prayer and worship music. This is an

exceedingly powerful weapon of war and should not be under estimated.

Psalm 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast you established

praise because of your adversaries, to still the enemy and the avenger.

God dwells in the midst of our praise.

Darby Psalm 22:3 And you are holy, you that dwells amid

the praises of Israel.

Jewish publication Psalm 3

Yet You are holy, O You that are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.

In Praise we come into the presence of God and deny Satan the

very thing that he desires, which is our worship.

Often people who are in trouble either associate with others who are

in the same position. So that we have the blind leading the blind. Sometimes

they lock themselves away from or avoid like the plague the very people who

might be able to help them.

Either case aggravates the problem and both situations are very common.

You are affected by the company you keep.

There is a good chance that you might well not like the person who is able

to help you or the means that will be used.

Naaman did not like it either but until he did what a mere servant

and servant girl told him his leprosy remained with him.

2 Kings 5: 2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies,

and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid;

and she waited on Naaman's wife.

3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with

the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy.

10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan

seven times, and your flesh shall come again to you, and you shall be clean.

11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought,

He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD

his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus,

better than all the waters of Israel?

may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned

and went away in a rage.

13 And his servants came near, and spoke unto him, and said, My father,

if the prophet had bid you do some great thing, would you not have done it?

how much rather then, when he said to you, Wash, and be clean?

14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan,

according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like

unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

It is interesting to notice that it mirrored being born again.

His flesh became like a child.

That is how we need to become internally.

A new beginning no depression.

There is more likely than not, someone in your very congregation

who can point you to someone who can deal with the problem facing you

or point you in the direction of a solution to your problem.

That person may well not be the official minister, but some little

non-assuming one talent old lady sitting in the back row of the meeting.

Focus on the positive your position in Christ and reject all negative things.

If we make the following verses an intrinsic part of us,

I think that depression would be a very rare thing for you, even impossible.

The purpose of this document is to point out things that we can deal

with ourselves and at the same time to encourage us to seek competent

help when we need to do so.

I pray that this does this is some small manner.

I am not saying that this document deals with every cause of depression,

however, I do believe that the document certainly covers several

important areas. Experience has shown that some have benefited from

the points mentioned in this message.

The death of Christ dealt with every negative thing in the universe.

His death also released all the positive things including the abundant life

and sound minds. Of course we only see these things in part today and

we need to seek these things as a priority in our lives.

On no account let anyone speak negative things over your life regardless

of their qualifications or relationship to you.

If someone speaks negatively over your life immediately counter it rebuking

and rejecting their words.

The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy but the will of God is that

we are in health and lead an abundant life.

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.

Think and meditate on these positive things.

Philippians 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.

5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by

prayer and

supplication with

thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7 And the peace of God, which passes all understanding,

shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

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.

Amen.

What are you going to do about it before it is too late?

See The Video: Obedience Is The Only Way Of Escape

Be Humble Repent Listen To The Eternal God Obey Him

15.08.10