The good news is that people can be free from the past and become new creations in Christ. All of their critical needs can be met in Jesus. That is the message of the gospel made possible by a forgiving and loving God. When that is fully understood and appropriated, then people afflicted with addictions can be filled with the Spirit and not carry out the desires of the flesh (see Gal. 5:16). The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (see vs. 22,23); but the fruit of alcoholism is hatred (mostly of self), depression, anxiety, impatience, unfaithfulness and loss of control. A purpose of our church is to show how Christ is the answer, and how truth will set us free. The Bible says, “They overcame him [Satan] because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony” (Rev. 12:11). 

How Does Satan Tempt Us?

1. The devil questions our identity

You need to know who you are. You’re a child of God. You are the righteousness of God. What did Jesus do? He quoted Deuteronomy. He’s not making up scripture. Whatever He would have said would become scripture, but He held fast to the Word. Go back to the simple truths of the Word.

Romans 12:1-2 says “And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Bring your mind into subjection of the Word by feeding your mind the Word of God. If you’re dealing with smoking and drinking – your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Get in that Word, get your mind renewed, and replace those thoughts with greater thoughts. Open your mouth. Confess any scripture you know and that will consume the thoughts that have consumed you. God has given you this Word so you can be free.  

2. The devil convinces to temp God

Tempting God means needing to see God do what He said He would do before we believe what He said. It’s putting God in a position to prove He’s God. He won’t.

Jesus said it is written. It is written. It is written. And the devil left Him. Angels came and ministered to him. Satan leaves, but then you need to be ministered to. It takes energy to resist the devil. It takes persistence. It takes consistency. Build up that habit of speaking the Word.

I John 2:14 says, “I have written unto you young men, because you are strong, and the Word of God abides in you, and you are victorious over the evil one.” You’re strong when the Word of God abides in you. John 15:7 says, “If you abide in Me, My words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.” God takes that Word that you have abiding in you, and then He has something to work with.

Read 1 Corinthians 10:13. The devil wants you to think “I don’t know if I can handle this temptation.” But this verse says that God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. So, if you find yourself in a situation, be encouraged. You can get out of it. It’s not impossible.

Here’s how temptation works:

Fantasy -Flirtation -Fall First, you allow it to grow in your mind. Then you begin to flirt with it. Then you fall.

We need to deal with it in the early stages – of fantasy and thought life. That way if we stumble, we can still pull back. You can’t look at pornography. You have to watch over your heart with all diligence. You have to be careful where you go, who you hang around with, what you watch; because you have a responsibility to watch over your heart.  Peter 2:9 says, “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation.”

He gives us the knowledge how to avoid it ourselves. There is only one way to not be tempted – to be dead. Guess what we need to do then – be dead. Your flesh is going to give you impulses – be dead to it. I take up my cross and I die to this. 2 Tim 2:22 says “Flee youthful lusts.” Run with all your might. Run as if your life depended on it. Run with them that call on the Lord from a pure heart. Eccl 4:9 says “Woe to the one who falls and is alone.” Get help when you need it.

Here are a few simple steps to help you:

1. If you’re born again, you are a new creature. God says “Be ye holy, even as I am holy.” He says this over you. He says you already are holy. He made you in His image. If you’ve made Jesus your Lord, then as He is so are you in this world. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives inside you.

2. Repent. To repent is to change how you think. When you try to take a shortcut to change on the outward, you’ll never be able to change. Romans 12:1-2 says Be transformed by the changing of your mind. It’s your thought life. As I got my mind renewed, my desires changed. You’re not going to be able to strong will yourself into doing it. Addictions can be delivered instantly, but sometimes it’s just that you need your mind renewed. It’s like a pig – you can dress him up, make him look good, but when he sees mud, he’s going to jump in. Why? Because he’s not changed on the inside.

3. Know who you are in Christ. 

4. Know that the curse is broken. Addictions are sometimes passed down from generation to generation. The Bible says that God will visit the iniquity of the father’s up into the third and fourth generations. But you can make a decision that you can either be one of the four generations of curses, or you can be the first generation of blessings. You need to make that decision today.

Jesus says to you and I in Luke 10:19, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and NOTHING SHALL BY ANY MEANS HURT YOU.”

I like the word NOTHING here. It is similar to the verse in Isaiah 54, where He says, “NO weapon formed against you shall prosper.” It is all-inclusive and definite! It covers every aspect of our lives: whether it be weapons of terrorism, weapons of fear, weapons of sickness and disease, weapons of debt, weapons of emotional pressure – NO weapon can prosper!

How do we Activate this word?

1. First, understand God’s previous covenant.

In Exodus 12 the children of Israel are commanded by God to kill a lamb and put the blood over the doorposts of their houses so that when the plague of death came to strike down the first born of each house, it would PASS OVER them. “…And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you…” (Exodus 12:13). God honored the blood of a lamb. He brought divine protection to the children of Israel through the blood of the PASSOVER lamb. This is understood as a blood covenant.

2.  Next, understand how God’s new covenant, applies to us  

In I Corinthians 5:7, Jesus Christ is called “our Passover lamb.” So He is to us what the Passover lamb of Exodus was to the children of Israel: divine protection and deliverance from plagues, destruction, and bondage.

3. Understand the difference between these Passover lambs, or covenants.

In Hebrews 8:6, it says that Jesus has obtained a “more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a BETTER COVENANT, which was established on BETTER PROMISES.”

Notice, the differences here between the Old Covenant, which was very powerful and effective, versus the New Covenant:

1. The New Covenant is MORE EXCELLENT.
   b. It is a BETTER COVENANT.
   c. It has BETTER PROMISES.

When I go to the store and see a product like shampoo that says it is NEW and IMPROVED, it means that it has to do at least what the OLD PRODUCT did AND THEN SOME. When we accept that we have the Blood of Jesus as our PASSOVER, we must understand that the New Covenant will do at least as much as the old one did, AND THEN SOME.

This is a BETTER covenant, with BETTER Promises, established by BETTER blood; therefore, you and I can expect BETTER results!

Now, how do we walk in this BETTER COVENANT with BETTER PROMISES?

1. We must declare it with our mouths.Romans 10:10 says, “…with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (deliverance, wholeness, protection). We must say that the blood of Jesus protects us, delivers us, and prospers us.
2. We must know that this covenant went into effect when Jesus died on the cross. “For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives” (Hebrews 9:17).
3. We must come boldly to the throne of God’s grace and make our request known to Him. “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19).
4. We must hold fast our confession of faith even when things are not going good.“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).
5. We must remember this covenant by celebrating communion on a regular basis– reinforcing before ourselves, before God, and before all the devils in this world that we are under God’s divine protection through the blood of Jesus. There is a unique and magnificent power released every time you receive the body and blood of Jesus in communion.

The Blood of Jesus is more powerful than you think! Check out these top Bible verses!

My debt is paid, once and for all

“So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” (Hebrews 9:28)

 I am justified

“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. “ (Romans 5:9)

 I am forgiven

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7)

 I am spared from God’s wrath

“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. “ (Romans 5:9)

 I am being spiritually healed; one day even my flesh will be replaced with an incorruptible body

“…who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sin, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” (I Peter 2:24)

I am spiritually alive

“Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53)

 My judgment has been satisfied and I am at peace with God

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

 I am cleansed

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (I John 1:7)

 I have the power to overcome the enemy

“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.” (Revelation 12:11)

 I am no longer under the curse of the law

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”).” (Galatians 3:13)

 I have been reclaimed from the enemy

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” (Ephesians 1:7)

I am no longer a stranger to the covenant of promise

“…that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:12-13)

I have been moved from the enemy’s kingdom into the kingdom of God

“Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Colossians 2:15)

 I have gained the unmerited favor of God

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” (Ephesians 1:7)

 I have been declared righteous

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

 I have been justified by God’s forgiveness

“being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed…” (Romans 3:24-25)

 I am able to come close to God

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13)

 I can participate in the sweet communion of remembrance of His sacrifice

“Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.” (Luke 22:20)

 My redemption will never perish

“Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)

 Jesus testifies on my behalf that I am clean

“…and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood and has made us kings[ and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 1:5)

 I am free

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)

I am freed from a conscience defiled by guilt

“let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22)

 I am no longer condemned

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1)

I have been separated from the world and declared holy (wholly) to God

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

 I can proclaim total victory

“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.” (Revelation 12:11)

I have further revelation of who God is

“who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” (Hebrews 1:3)

I can enter boldly into the holiest of holies…and live

“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)

 I have further revelation of who God is

“who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” (Hebrews 1:3)

Our words have creative power. When we  speak something either good or bad we give life to what we are saying. Too many people say negative things about themselves, their families, and about their future they say things like I’ll never be successful, this sickness will get the best of me business is so slow I don’t think I can make it, flu season is coming I’ll probably catch it, they don’t realize they’re prophesying to their futures. The scripture says we will eat the fruit of our lips, that means we will get exactly what we’ve been saying. Here’s the key, you have to send your words out in a direction you want your life to go. You cannot talk defeat and expect to have victory. You can’t talk lack and expect to have abundance, you’ll produce what you say. If you want to know what you will be like five years from now, just listen to what you’re saying about yourself. With our words we either bless our futures, or cursor futures, We should never say I’m not a good parent, I’m unattractive, I can’t do anything right , I’ll probably get laid off, those thoughts may come to your mind, but don’t make the mistake of verbalizing them the moment you speak to them out  you allow them to take root.

Here’s what I’ve learned, you believe what you say about yourself more than what anybody else says. On a regular basis we should say I’m blessed ,I’m healthy, I’m strong, I’m valuable, I’m talented , I have a bright future, those words go out of your mouth and come right back to you over time they’ll create the same image on the inside. The scripture says,” let the weak say,’ I am strong.’” Notice it doesn’t say,” let the weak rehearse  their weakness. Let the week call five friends and discuss their weaknesses.” Don’t talk about the way you are, talk about the way you want to be. Refuse to throw away your confidence

I will not allow what I see to discourage me.

I will not allow what I see to pull me down and to make me throw away my confidence.

I make a decision that I will not throw away my confidence, because my confidence has a great reward. (Hebrews 10:35)

It may take a while, but I have patience. For in a little while, what He promised will manifest because I am the just, and I live by faith and because I live by faith, I will not shrink back. Because when I shrink back, God has no pleasure in me and my number one goal is to be pleasing to God. (Hebrews 10:38)

I maintain, therefore, an attitude of faith, a spirit of faith, a position of faith that is always pleasing to God. And, therefore, the manifestation will come; because I maintain my position of pleasing God by using my faith and holding fast to my confession and never letting it go. (Hebrews 11:6)

I will not draw back.

I will not let go of my confession no matter what I see, no matter what I feel, no matter what other people say or do, no matter how many people shrink back.

A thousand may fall on my side and ten thousand at my right hand, but it shall not approach me. It’s not coming near my dwelling place because I’m holding fast to my confession. (Psalm 91:7)

 * I confess I’m blessed.

 * I confess I’m healed.

 * I confess I have wisdom.

 * I confess I’m happy.

 * I confess I have the money I need.

 * I confess I have the job I need.

 * I confess I’m a soul winner.

  * I confess I’m the head and not the tail.

 * I confess I will not give up.

 * I will not let go of my confession of faith.

 * I will not be discouraged when I don’t see results. Therefore, I refuse to throw away my confidence.

 * I will not change my confession.

 * My love will not grow cold.

 * I abide in love.

 * I remain in love.

 God loves me and I love others and, therefore, my faith works. (Galatians 5:6)

And as long as my faith is working, my giving continues.

As long as my giving continues, my harvest is on the way.

As long as my harvest is on the way, bitterness cannot enter in and defile my roots.

My roots are healthy roots.

My roots are productive roots.

I’ve got the Word of God in my roots.

The Word of God is what I meditate on day and night.

And I’m like a tree firmly rooted, firmly planted in streams and rivers of living water and,
therefore, I will bring forth fruit in my season.

My leaf will not wither.

So, I make the confession that bitterness will not be rooted in my life.

In whatever I do, I will prosper. (Psalm 1:2-3)

My harvest will not stop because my giving will not stop, because my faith will not fail, because my love will not grow cold, because my confession will not change, because I will not throw away my confidence.