Ep 65: Addictions vs. Strongholds Pt. 1

Hi there, I’m tom Mahairas and I am so excited to begin this new uh teaching and study that we’re going to have on addictions versus strongholds. We want to understand what’s going on with the drug problem with the alcoholism today with all the pills going on and what does the bible have to say? Does the bible have anything to say, Vicki and I are going to be discussing this in our study together, so come and join us, welcome back with tom and Vicky and it’s all greek to me, we’re gonna be talking about a whole new subject which is probably one of the most important things we can talk about today and that is addiction versus strongholds. And so right off the bat, we want to just kind of define what that means to me and to you, Vicki and then to our audience that’s listening to those that are studying the bible with us addictions are from my perspective, are in the physical arena, whether it’s an alcoholic, whether it’s a drug addict, uh maybe it’s gambling, maybe it’s uh, you know, somebody’s got, gotta use those credit cards, it’s, you’re buying stuff, it’s in the physical arena, I think of strongholds in the spiritual arena with demons and with satan and it’s got a a hold on me and on you that is beyond our physical, it’s it’s demonic and so that’s my take on it. What about you? Well I agree with you um the strongholds in my life that I’ve experienced were before I came to know christ and the power of God in my life I really didn’t feel like I had the ability to change those things just in my natural nature. And when I accepted christ I felt that these strongholds I have the ability to walk away from them to have a whole nother mindset about it and even an emotional feeling towards those things. All right so we’re gonna just get into some of the passages that deal with this. Uh You know what you have here a pills and a syringe. You have a glass of whatever alcohol. Some some just strongholds that bind us. Uh whether it’s an alcoholic or a drug addict strongholds that actually bind us in the C. D. C. Opioid injury center Uh is talking about the drug overdose epidemic. And I just got a few uh data a few facts from them and behind the number numbers of data overview nearly 841. Which now is because this was this was old information Uh 19 2018. But now it’s more than 841,000 maybe it’s over a million people that have died since 1999 from a drug overdose. Here’s another statistic in 2020 more than 75,000 people. Mostly young people have died ah Because of opioids according to the CDC in 2021 more than 100,000 young people that was last year died because of opioids. This is the number one cause of death in America for young people, 17 to 45 the number one death. Now is the subject we’re talking about. Not only the physical problem, but more importantly, now we’re going to deal with the demonic attack. The satanic attack to steal, kill and destroy. This is what Jesus said in john chapter 10 verse 10, he said the thief comes only but the steel and to kill and to destroy that is he comes to to steal uh you know, and steal our mind, kill our body and destroy our soul. But jesus said, I’ve come, I have come that you may have life and might have it more abundantly, please a real life that you, you’re in love with what you’re getting up in the morning now you gotta go out and and you know, get a bottle or get a, you know, get smoke or get high, pop a pill or shoot some heroin or snort some coke in order to, to find the power to, to move on and have the joy to move on illegal drug users in the United States. Look at this Vicky marijuana, I mean we knew this, but man to have this perspective that this gateway drug, Look at how wide this gate is. We’re looking at 43.4 million people have been on marijuana in America, meth ecstasy, heroin, LSD crack cocaine and and you can see the numbers and there are millions and millions of people here is what’s happened in the last few years, maybe Vicky, you can see from 2000 and 19 how much fentaNYL came in and just kind of read, write and it starts off with being the seizures at the border and right now we have a totally open border in America back then. They didn’t. Yes, So um it’s £2,804 in 2019, in 2020, 11,000, more than doubled in 2021 when the border became open, £11,201. And this year so far, just since last October is £22,707. And how much does it take to, to kill somebody? Oh, just a fraction. Just a fraction. Now, let me, let me say this to you, this is what they seized, this isn’t what got through. And so you’re looking at a major problem this year. Close to 200,000 are coming through the southern border per month and you don’t know about the cartels and you don’t know about the gangs and what they’re bringing in and how they’re getting it in in the, in the tens of thousands of pounds. Now that are coming in that are going to and they’re gonna kill My prediction is over 150, maybe pushing towards 200,000 People, young people 17-45 are going to die this year in America not because we fight a war, but because there is a war right now with addiction that we are losing because people are just not aware of where this problem is coming from now the bible says and it uses the word never fall first Thessalonians 58 Vicky will pick up and start reading, but since we are of the day, let us be sober, nympho having put on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. Now this reminds me of first Corinthians 13 13 because it says now abides faith, hope and love, But the greatest of these is love and these are the three also mentioned here and they’re viewed as weapons, spiritual character and power that God gives us. And the opposite of that is the word uh you know getting drunk and getting high and it uses the word sober, we are of the day, let us be sober and and and and the idea there is not having, you know sobriety is the opposite of drunkenness and and drug addiction and so forth. So we’re just gonna keep on going Vicki to be sober, not drunk or intoxicated being free from illusion caused by the intoxicating influences of sin, like selfish passion and greed. The picture there was of the armor being on us and and the character of christ in us. You know faith, love and hope, Sony foe is intoxicated. Having the presence of mind and clear judgment. So someone can be temperate and self controlled knife. Oh, uninfluenced by intoxicants means to have one’s wits and faculties about them, which is the opposite of being irrational. You know, this is a believer, this is a christian. Most of the time, people don’t know what they should do. I mean is what’s right? What’s wrong? What are the reasons that we’re not putting all this stuff in us? Because we want to be free to be able to listen to the voice of God and do the will of God. Get into the word of God, let’s let’s continue. First timothy 32, it says that if you want to be a spiritual leader in the church, an overseer, then must be above reproach the husband of one wife morally. He’s got to be faithful to his wife, temperate nie folios knee folios, which is prudent and respectable and hospitable and able to teach as well. So this person has got to be temperate knee folios and that is somebody who is sober, he’s not drinking. He’s not getting high, he doesn’t have a reputation for those things. Then in 1st Timothy 3 11 women must likewise be dignified. Not malicious gossips, but temperate nine folios, faithful in all things. No folios means sober, not toxic ated and free from negative influences, intoxicants. Clear minded walking, circumspect, lee free from life dominating influence is very good to me. It’s it’s it’s that you you have not given over the control to any other influence, but the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit and he is gonna and truth these these set us free. Yeah, the truth will set us free. The sun will set us free. And the Holy Spirit that is in us will keep us free and he has given us everything we need for life and Godliness. This, this is exactly what we’re talking about to be able to enjoy water, drinking water or enjoy just uh, you know, a healthy meal just without having to take something to feel like, you know, now I’m complete, you know, I’m high or I’m drunk or whatever. Go to, let’s go to a party in order to do that. It’s a whole different world. Second timothy 45, but you be sober, we’re commanded in all things endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. Now, it’s a prerequisite not only for a pastor, teacher, but it’s also a prerequisite for an evangelist and also a prerequisite for women in the church. Let’s move on. But as for you speak the things which you are, which are fitting for sound doctrine. In other words, the doctrine is demonstrated by how you behave. Older men are to be temperate. There’s that word again, knee folios, sober, dignified, sensible sound in the faith in love in perseverance. Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior not malicious gossips nor enslaved. That’s the word Julio, which is Dulles is a is a slave, a bond slave. Too much wine. We can’t just negate these verses or these thoughts in the bible. God clearly tells us we can’t be prisoners of a bottle, we cannot be prisoners of pills, We cannot be popping pills to find our strength or to to uh take drugs to find our power. And then this clearly says that the doctrine, the sound doctrine is demonstrated by holy and healthy living. Now we’re gonna go into self will versus God’s will. This is so important, the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are these are the torero, the works of the flesh, What the flesh, not only are are are Soma are our hands and our feet our mouth. We’re talking about the flesh as the impulse that wants to do its will. In fact, I’ll let Vicky read the definitions here and then we’ll talk about it. Well, socks, socks is properly flesh or carnal merely of human origin or empowerment. It is generally negative. Used of decisions, actions done according to self, apart from faith, not of gods in working and empowerment. What is of the flesh? Carnal by definition is displeasing to the Lord even what seems respectable. So what we’re gonna try to see is what how the demons and how does satan, how are they able through the socks through this? Uh, it’s still very much alive. God. That’s why jesus tells us to when we follow him to take this self to the cross and on a daily basis Crucify the socks. Okay. And so it is not the same as the old nature or the sinful nature, but rather humanity acting on its own impulse rather than God’s direction and power. Very important. The flesh rejects christ lordship in favor of self government being self determined. This is the main reason for strongholds and addictions in people’s lives because they are not surrendering their flesh on a daily basis to God. They’re not going to the cross. Like jesus tells us the apostle paul, I am crucified with christ Galatians 2 20. Nevertheless I live it is anti who lives, it’s christ who lives in me and the life that I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. So it’s a daily thing. It’s you don’t just do it once you do it now, every single day. Very important. Um let’s move on here. These are evident these works of the flesh. You can see them clearly and here they are immorality when people are immoral satan has influenced their life and you get pornography from this word poor Nia. The root of the english term pornography or pornographic, which is derived from Bernalillo to self to sell off uh something of myself properly as selling off or a surrendering of sexual purity? Promiscuity of any and every type you see. And that’s and here of course is adultery. It’s you know marital unfaithfulness. The second one is impurity. Ah Garcia from Not and Catherine rose which is clean and unmixed and pure ritual purity impurity caused by leprosy or an open infection. Now this can be not only in the body but also in the mind and in the mouth and so forth. When you when you are impure sensuality a stallion which is brutal, properly violent spite. This rejects restraint and indulges in lawless insolence and wanton caprice. Let’s move on idolatry though. Lo lo la la tria correct from an image of worship and so we worship things that we want to see with our eyes were tempted by our visual eyes. Those are the words in that those compound words sorcery. Now this is the one I wanted to get to pharma Kia from pharma cabo administered drugs properly. Drug related sorcery like in the practice of ancient Magical Arts, 80 Robertson said. And then pharmacy a drug related enchantments operates by the art of mind games using hypnotic sorcery. Zoos and a cultic incantations. Formulas to sway the mind. These tactics were often enhanced and practiced with the use of drugs Barkley the commentator, Pharmacopeia is the root of the english term pharmacy pharmaceutical. The world is is just uh swimming and drowning in drugstores pharmacies. Big pharma controlling young people and old alike. It is incredible to me that God pinpoints this word and this word pharmacia pharmacia or pharmaceutical in english Pharmacopeia is translated a sorcery because the physical opening of your physical body through a drug, let’s say it’s marijuana, let’s say it’s opium or hashish or then getting into morphine or heroin or meth or coke. These drugs open up the spirit for demons to come in and control our mind, our emotions, our spirit and our soul Pharmacopeia. Vicki pick it up right there, magical arts or witchcraft is the practice of drugging. Hence especially from the use of mysterious liquids, sorcery, witchcraft, inextricably combined with idolatry. This magic focuses on the use of certain potions or drugs and the casting of spells and that is a big thing on the planet right now. Exactly. And Vicki, you remember how innocent we were. Look at this picture here. I mean we were so innocent. Oh, we’re just when I first met her 16 years old, we’re just gonna smoke a marijuana joint. Do you smoke? Let’s go And we open, we take the joint and we smoke it the marijuana stick and we are not aware, we don’t know the bible. We don’t understand pharma Kia that this is opening our spirit to sorcery. The demons to come in and influence the way we feel the way we think and the way we behave now people say, Well how do you know to talk about this, here is tom and Vicky at the age of 17. Here, this is a year after we met and this is me getting more deep into drugs and finally almost lost my life because of drugs. God spared me. I know many of my friends that are dead. I can tell you about Butchie link, I can tell you about chatter, I can tell you about Tony janeiro people that I grew up with and took drugs with that are dead because as young men, as young people, we didn’t understand the power of the drugs that we were taking and how satan was coming to steal and to kill and to destroy. We’ll continue next time with this whole subject of addictions versus strongholds. So where do you get the power to change? Where did you get the power to tear down the strongholds to stop the addiction? And I thought to myself, what does the bible have to say about victory and power? So I’ve I’ve put some scripture together. The power to destroy the strongholds of satan and demons in our lives now, we know that satan and demons have been in infecting and affecting people through alcohol and through drugs Many other ways. But that is a primary way right now where we have over 100,000 young people, men and women and Children who have overdosed and died 100,000 because of fentaNYL and because of heroin because of all kinds of drugs. And uh I just want to share with you some of these scriptures, the power of the Holy Spirit. But you will receive power Vietnamese when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and in all judea and in samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth. The power of the Holy Spirit. You see it’s we’re not alone as believers. Not only is God the father and God the Son for us and with us, but inside of us, the Holy Spirit of God is there and we can always fall down on our knees and cry out to him. And even if we don’t fall on our knees, we can walk and he’s there, we can think and he’s there whatever we ask or think it’s amazing. The second thing is the power of the Cross. It happened 2000 years ago but the impact is still working today. The Apostle paul has said, I am crucified with christ. Nevertheless, I live, it isn’t I who lives, it’s christ who lives in me and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself For me that’s Galatians 2 20 but it identifies that the Apostle paul was using and quoting and thinking about the power of the cross right then and there, even though he it was years before that it had happened. And here it’s the Power of the Cross. First Corinthians 1 18 for the Word of the Cross, that is the message of the Cross. That is the Gospel of the Cross, stavros is foolishness to those who are perishing, But to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. The cross is the power of God. That’s what annihilates and uh takes away the power of sin. It’s nailed to the cross. All 20 different kinds of sin are nailed to the cross of Jesus Christ Where he shed his blood was buried and arose again to take that away from us. 3rd, we have the power of the Kingdom of God. First Corinthians 4 20 what is this For the kingdom, brasilia of God does not consist in just words, but in power. You see the Kingdom of God, even though heaven is far from here and we’re on earth, the Kingdom of God is within us. It’s a spiritual dimension. And there’s power because of the Kingdom of God, jesus christ is the king. He has subjects of the kingdom and here it identifies in First Corinthians 4 20 that the Kingdom of God does not consist in what just we say. But in power, there is true power that, that the rule of God. The Kingdom of God is right here right now and then. The power of the Gospel first Thessalonians 15 for our gospel, Evangelia did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit. And with full conviction, quiero Fauria, full conviction, full brought in full conviction. Just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. That is the power of the Gospel romans 1 16. The Gospel is the Power of God and the salvation for everyone who believes to the jew first and also to the greek. And then we have five. The power of his word Hebrews 13. He is the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature. He upholds all things by the word of his power. This this is the word rima, not logos of his power when he had made purification of sins. He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high the power of the rima. And then in Hebrews uh 7 16, the power of an indestructible life. You can’t kill jesus, he died, he was buried, he arose again and now he lives forevermore, never to die again. Who has become such, not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. A the word is in the greek language. And then the power of the coming of our Lord jesus christ. He is coming. There is power in that second Peter 1 16 says for we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power in the coming Paracha of our lord jesus christ. But we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. There’s gonna be power when he comes back in such a way the dead will rise first We who are alive would be grabbed caught up together to meet him in the air and we’ll be with him forever. The power of the blood of Christ look what it says in revelation 12 and verse 11, they overcame him because of the blood Emma of the lamb and because of the word of their testimony and they did not love their life. Even even when they face death. Listen to me the blood of christ is what overcomes the devil, what overcomes our sin, what overcomes this world, What overcomes our selfishness and our ego And then the power of the name of Christ. The 70 returned back in Luke chapter 10, rejoicing that even the demons were subject to them. But Jesus said, don’t rejoice in this, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven. There are other things. The power of the word of God, the power of prayer the power of the resurrection Who was declared the son of God with power by the resurrection Philippians 3 10 that I may know him in the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings to be made even confirmable unto his death. These are incredible concepts of power to the believer so that we can overcome the drunkenness, the drug drugging and the life of a so tia totally debauched and and raunchy life, jesus christ gives us power. So and the power that works within us. There are many others. Uh God is right now working within us to him who is able to keep us from falling now to him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think by the power that works within us for his glory in the church and in jesus christ onto all generations, that power is working in us. All we have to do is turn it on right now, you’re listening to my voice, you may be on drugs, you may be an alcoholic, you may just be partying and you’re not understanding what’s going on. You’re living the life of asso asso toes, unsaved, unchurched, unreached, Unredeemed. You’re not really with God, you don’t even care about it. But let me tell you if you take uh if you take a chance on the greatest thing of all, if you just say you know what what do I have to lose? I could cry out to God, I could cry out to jesus christ for help and he will help you for whosoever shall call upon the name of the lord shall be saved. That’s you do it today and jesus christ will hear, you will forgive, you will come into your life and all of these concepts and scriptures that I talked about, power will immediately be applied to you and all you gotta do is turn on the switch. God bless you until next time with thomas Harris. It’s all greek to me. Come on and follow this program and invite your friends to do the same.