Rev.12:10: And
I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now is come salvation, and strength, and
the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our
brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons so many of God's children are living
defeated lives, is because of guilt. Guilt is one of Satan's biggest weapons
against us. It tears us down, it makes us feel dirty, unworthy, robs us of our
faith and confidence in Christ Jesus. Jesus not only came to cleanse us from
our sins, but also set us free from the guilt of our sins. If you want to live
a life of spiritual victory, you need to have a conscience freed from the guilt
of your past.
Two
kinds of guilt
There are two kinds of guilt in the Bible. There's Godly sorrow that
leads a person to repentance (2 Cor. 7:10), which is known as conviction and it
comes from the Holy Spirit (John 16:8, "when He comes, will reproof the
world of sin..." -KJB). Once a person repents, the guilt lifts and they
feel relieved and joyful that their sin(s) have been forgiven. Then there is
another kind of guilt, and that's condemnation or accusations from the devil.
Satan loves to torment God's people by reminding them of their pasts, and
continually holding their sins before them even after their sins have been
forgiven. This is condemnation and there is no good that comes out of it
whatsoever. It tears us down, makes us feel dirty, unworthy and robs of us of
our faith and confidence in Christ Jesus. It's a lie from the father of lies,
and it needs to be ignored. In fact guilt can be an open door to be tormented
by evil spirits or demons.
How
guilt is cultivated and nurtured
Guilt is cultivated when you continually allow yourself to dwell and
think about how badly you've messed up, your pasts, the sins you've committed,
etc. The enemy loves to remind us of our past failures, so he can keep us
thinking about them. The problem is, if we allow ourselves to fall for this
trap, it allows the enemy to build what they call a stronghold in our minds.
You have to know what is going on and stop satan dead in his tracks. Stop
listening to condemnation because it comes from the devil (satan) and it allows
satan to weaken us spiritually through the strongholds he forms in our minds.
The stronghold of guilt
When a person who has repented of their sin(s) but continually feels
guilty day after day, even after being told that their past has been washed
away and their sins have been forgiven, is facing what they call a stronghold.
A stronghold is a lie that is believed, which results in an incorrect thinking
pattern. The stronghold of guilt is often not alone; it is usually accompanied
with an incorrect perception of themselves or an incorrect perception of God
(which are both strongholds in themselves). People who have a stronghold of
guilt rarely see God for who He really is (including His awesome forgiving
nature) or they don't see themselves correctly. Although in Christ we are new
creatures who's pasts have been washed away (2 Corinthians 5:17), the
strongholds in your mind will prevent you from simply believing it.
How
to deal with guilt
Step 1: Understand the
nature of God's forgiveness towards you. God is not a man that
will lie. Once He has forgiven you of your sins, He has. Keep this promise in
your mind always. Let not satan change that with his lies. (Rev. 12:10c).
Step 2: Repent of your
sin(s) if you haven't already done so. The big key to
being forgiven is repentance. (1John 1:9kjb; Rom. 6:1-6)
Step 3: Know that your
past sins have been forgiven, and that you are now clean in
Christ Jesus. Stop thinking about your past sins and start thinking about the
new person you are in Christ. (Phil 3:13kjb)
Step 4: Forgive
yourself! Jesus made it clear that we are to be
forgiving, and that includes forgiving yourself. You need to release yourself
from the bondage of unforgiveness. If God chose to forgive you, who are you to
hang onto something that God chose to let go of?
Note that the feelings of guilt may not disappear overnight, because strongholds
of guilt need to be torn down by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2). A
great place to start is learning how to recognize condemnation from the devil,
and stop paying attention to it. When guilt is thrown at you, you need to guard
your thoughts, and when you see condemnation coming your way, pay no attention
to it. Treat it for what it really is... a
lie from the devil. Take control of your thought!
Know
this
There are
particular evil spirits that go around and hang around people like a thick
black cloud, constantly making them feel dirty, unworthy and guilty. But the Blood of Jesus takes sin away (Hebrews
10:1-22kjb, Revelations 1:5kjb, Psalms 103:12kjb).Christ died so your conscience could be cleansed. Why do you think
God wanted us to be new creations when we enter His royal family? (2Corin.
5:17kjb). Because He doesn't want your past to be a part of you anymore! He
wants you to be washed clean from all your sins and wiped clean from your past!
(Isaiah 43:25kjb)
God knew that if He didn't forget our sins, they would
forever be before Him, and it would hinder the closeness that He desires to
have with us. Therefore, God Himself said that for His own sake, He chose to
not only forgive your sins, but also forget them and cast them into the depths
of the sea (Micah 7:19).
Finally
Jesus tells us that, "God is a Spirit: and they that
worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24) The
truth is, if we have repented of our sins, and believe upon the blood of Jesus
to wash us clean, then we are clean from those sins, and if we approach God in
worship with a dirty conscience, we won't be approaching Him in truth. In
Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus tells us, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. What kind of people are heavy laden and
labor in their souls? People who are laboring under the burden of guilt. Jesus
wants you to come to Him, and shed your old heavy burden of guilt. He died so
you could be released from it... won't you make the choice to let go of it
today? Amen!
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