Let me show you how many believers end up feeling like losers… guilt-ridden by their pasts. It all starts with a simple voice of condemnation from the enemy. Satan, through his network of evil spirits (that’s how the devil speaks to people, since Satan can’t be everywhere at once), injects thoughts into their mind that remind them of their past and their failures. They begin to listen to his voice and agree with it. They did sin, and they failed. But instead of looking at the solution, which is repentance and the blood of Jesus (which washes away sin), they continue to listen to the enemy who keeps reminding them of their past. As they continue to do this, stronghold(s) are formed. A stronghold is an incorrect thinking pattern based on lies and formed in deception. Once a stronghold is in place, the person naturally thinks of their past instead of focusing on the fact that their past has been forgiven and wiped away. They believe they are a failure instead of believing the truth in God’s Word, which tells them that they have been forgiven, washed clean, and even God Himself has chosen to forget their dirty past! So instead of feeling like a child of God who was washed clean in the blood of Jesus, they feel unworthy, guilty and consider them self a loser. What a shame for a child of God to feel that way!
How it works
Two voices are speaking: Satan likes to come along and tell you, “Look at that sin you did 5 years ago! That was so bad! You are such a failure!” But Jesus, through God’s Word, tries to tell you that if you turn to Him, you will be forgiven (1 John 1:9), and your past will be forgotten: Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”
You are faced with a choice: You can either listen to Satan’s lie that you are a failure, or you can listen to God’s Word that tells you that your past has been washed away and you are a new creature in Christ! 2 Cor 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Whichever voice you listen to will crowd the other one out: If you have two dogs who fight all the time, and you can only afford to feed one of them, how do you know which one will win? The one you feed! The same is true in the spiritual realm. The more you listen to Satan’s lies and deception, the more he will build strongholds in your mind, and the more strongholds that go up, the harder it will be to hear God’s voice. The other side of the coin is true too… the more you feast yourself on the truth in God’s Word, the more it tears down strongholds and makes it harder for the enemy’s voice to penetrate your system.
If you listen to Satan’s lies that you are a failure, he will continue to feed you that lie, and it will grow into a stronghold (a lie that is believed, or an incorrect thinking pattern). Your feelings are quite often a direct result of your thoughts. If you think you are a failure, you will feel like one.
If you listen to your heaven Father, who is speaking truth to you through His Word, you will begin to tear down the strongholds in your life. When you meditate on the truth in God’s Word, it will become part of you, and before long, you will be feeling different, simply because you are exchanging lies of the devil for the truth in God’s Word. When you believe that your sins are forgiven, you can then allow your conscience to be cleansed from dead works by the blood of Jesus: Hebrews 9:14, “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
The power of your thoughts The power of your thoughts – Where many strongholds begin
The enemy loves to put thoughts into the believer’s mind. Those thoughts (if meditated on), produce strongholds, which produces feelings, which lands you into bondage… all because you listened to the devil more then your heavenly Father! I am going to use a common stronghold here in this teaching as an example… an incorrect perception of who you are in Christ. There are many other strongholds out there, but this teaching will give you a general idea of how many strongholds are formed.
What is the difference?
Conviction shows you the answer (the Blood of Jesus, which washes away sin), while condemnation shows you the problem (the sin, the past and your failures). Condemnation shows you the problem, but conviction shows you the answer.
Condemnation shouts, “Your past! Your sins! You loser!” But conviction shouts, “The Blood of Jesus washes away sins! Come to Jesus and be forgiven of your sins! You can be forgiven! Your sins and past don’t have to be a part of you anymore!”
What is conviction?
Conviction is known in the Bible as Godly sorrow. God’s Word tells us that Godly sorrow is what leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). Condemnation tells you, “You are such a failure! Look at what you did!” while conviction tells you, “Come to me… and I will forgive you!”
Not only is God willing to forgive your sins, but He longs (deeply desires) to do so! Isaiah 30:18, “Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.” (NASB)
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.”
Romans 2:4, “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”
Conviction shows you the answer to your problem. Conviction shows you the blood of Jesus that wipes away your sins!
What is condemnation?
Condemnation comes from Satan and is meant to tear you down. Condemnation continually points out what a failure you are, and how badly you’ve messed up. Condemnation is showing you the problem, but avoiding the solution.
Jesus did NOT come to condemn the world (John 12:47). There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Satan on the other hand is KNOWN for accusing the brethren (Rev 12:10).
Why won’t you ever hear God telling you what a failure you are? Because Jesus said, “I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” (John 12:47)
Condemnation versus Conviction
A lot of believers hear condemning thoughts, and some believers even think it’s God telling them these things. My friend, nothing could be further from the truth! God NEVER tells you what a loser you are. Jesus said He came not to condemn the world, but to save it (John 12:47)!
My advice to you
First, sit everything that bothers you on the back burner, and seek your heavenly Father’s love. Seek out a living relationship with Him and seek to learn of His deep love for you… it will change your life! If you are up to reading a book that will lift you up and build your relationship with God… I recommend a book called Blessed Beyond Measure by Gloria Copeland. I want to warn you, it is known to change your whole perspective on life!
Second, make the choice to release those hurt feelings, and allow God to heal the wounds. As you grow in His love, this choice will become much easier to walk out. If you continue to seek out a loving relationship with Him, it will change your whole perspective on life, and forgiving others will come naturally, and healing of those wounds will also become a very real and tangible reality.
How do you forgive somebody?
Forgiveness is a choice. We must choose to forgive those who have done us wrong, then lay the whole mess in God’s hands, and leave it there. Give your hurts and hard feelings to Him. Think about Jesus… here they murdered Him (they didn’t do that to you or I!), and yet one of the last words that left His mouth were crying out “Father, forgive them!” Look at the depth of God’s love for us! God’s deep love for us was expressed through Jesus’ death on the cross. When we begin to comprehend the great expression of love that was towards us, that same love will begin to grow in our hearts, and flow out to others. That is why it is important to grow in God’s love and become well aware of how deep and rich it is, because when we understand His love for us, we will find that forgiving others becomes naturally and the choice becomes much easier to make.
A little real life story
One time I had somebody say some things that was very belittling about me, and most people would have been offended. After they were gone, the Lord spoke to me… He told me to go turn on some worship music and spend some time with Him… I did… and within no time, instead of thinking about what they’ve done to me, I was weeping before the Lord for them in prayer… begging God from the bottom of my heart to bring them to come know Jesus… I felt a love inside me well up that was not mere human emotion… I felt the love of God flowing through me! Instead of letting it get to me, and looking at what they had done, I got my eyes on God’s love for me, and that love flowed right through me to them… as a result, I loved them as Christ loved me. It’s one of the most beautiful feelings in the world!!
Persecution Live 