The Truth about True Freedom

On the 1st day of January, in the year of our Lord 1863, all persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a state, the people thereof shall then be in rebellion against the United Sates, shall be then, thence forward and forever [free]." Those words are part of the great document issued by President Abraham Lincoln known as the Emancipation Proclamation. It freed all slaves in the U.S. forever, and guaranteed that slavery would never again taint America's states. In a similar way, God declared our spiritual emancipation proclamation through the death, burial, and resurrect in of our Lord Jesus Christ. The moment Jesus rose from the dead, Satan tasted utter defeat and lost the legal right of mastery and control over the life of any believer. Satan possesses no legal, spiritual, or actual right to run our lives! However, though the enemy has no legal right, many Christians experience his intrusion into their lives due to unresolved issues of unconfessed and unrepented sin. This is why Paul commands us to "not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1). Clients come to counseling looking for the spiritual guidance that will lead them to freedom from sin and growth in Christ. True biblical counseling seeks to equip an army for warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil by helping them put on the spiritual armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-12). The result of such guidance is true freedom in our inner person-a freedom to serve God and love those around us, a joy while sharing our faith, and even a smile or two. That's what Riley found out. A pastor friend referred Riley to me, saying that Riley was hearing voices in his head. Riley had told the pastor that the voices had been speaking for the past twenty years, telling Riley he was no good, he was stupid, and he should curse God and Christ. When Riley arrived, I had an opportunity to get acquainted with him and his wife. I asked him to explain his situation, and he said, "When I got out of the navy, I was diagnosed as being schizophrenic. I have voices that scream in my mind. With enough medication they now have them down so that it's more like a conversation in the back of my head." It has been my experience with schizophrenics that medication sometimes takes away the voices. However, there are times when the voices are not speaking because of a biochemical problem, but rather there is an enemy behind them. I could tell that Riley had a heart that loved God and he was sincerely seeking help, so I asked him an important question. When did the voices start?" "When I was in the navy," he said, "I became involved in some homosexual activity. That was the beginning of hearing voices." I asked if he had ever asked God to forgive him for those wrongs and asked God to take back the ground he had given to Satan. To his best recollection he had not. We prayed together, I asked God to grant him repentance, and he asked the Lord to stop Satan's influence in his life. Afterward he looked at me with the most surprised look on his face and said, "This is absolutely amazing; the voices just stopped." I praised God, and Riley asked, "What do I do now?" I said, "Why don't you take a walk. Maybe enjoy life, enjoy the Lord. Come back in a half an hour and we will evaluate." He took a half-hour walk and came back. When we sat down in my office again, he said, "The voices are still silent. I can't believe it." We began to meet together on a weekly basis, and it was astonishing what would happen from week to week. After the first week he reported that his psychiatrist had said his schizophrenia had gone into total remission. He would no longer need medication. After the second week he said that for the first time in twenty years he was able to work. The third week he said for the first time in twenty years he was able to truly read the Bible, concentrating and praying on it as he went. The fourth week he shared with me that his love for his wife was growing by leaps and bounds. They now had an emotional connectedness that they had not had since the time he had met her. It has been several years since then. Recently I received a phone call from a man who goes to Riley's church. he said, "Ken, let me give you my perspective on Riley. He works a full-time job, he is out for calling every Thursday night, he plays on the church baseball team, and he teaches a Sunday school class. But none of that is the most amazing thing. The most amazing thing is that he grins all the time. I could only laugh for joy at this transformation that happened as a result of a little prayer of confession and the receipt of forgiveness. My friend said, "If I had gone through what Riley had gone through, I believe I would grin all the time, too." Most of us will not hear voices, but many of us still need to claim our freedom in Christ. Such freedom prepares a person to go forward in truth and to stand with Jesus Christ against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Often that all begins with a single prayer of repentance. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Choosing how to Respond

We have a real choice in how we respond to the daily situations of life. Many Christians exclude God and make terrible decisions when the circumstances of life intrude on them. Our lives can go from wondrous to disastrous in a moment, and we do not respond well. A parent has died. You've lost your job. You've learned a good friend is dying of cancer. How do you respond to such tough developments? Many Christians choose to respond by blaming God. They feel that God has "messed up" their happy lives like some kind of divine Grinch. Thus, when they face trouble, they have a true choice: to go God's way or their own. Some people refuse to go God's way, saying, "His way isn't practical" or, "It doesn't make sense." Some argue, "God's way is too hard." Thus, they reject God's directive. They exclude or ignore God in their decision making. You can be sure Satan will jump in at that point with his own alternative. How can we move in the direction of choosing God's answers for our problems? Through doing two things: knowing God and talking to Him daily. Almost every client I have counseled did not know who God truly, is. The enemy had distorted their perception of who God is; he still does that. In fact, every lie of the enemy is a distortion of either God's Word or His person. Furthermore, most clients I've counseled did not have a prayer life. People who drift away from God are never prayer warriors. They have replaced dependence on God with self-sufficiency, thinking they are masters of their own destinies-a big lie of the enemy that leads to prayerlessness. To counteract such lies, I try to help counselees build into their lives two resources: (1) a knowledge of who: God truly is, and (2) a dynamic prayer life. As we lay this twofold foundation, God fortifies us for the day of battle. The harsh situation you may be in may not be your choice; but your response is. The truth is that we have a choice about how we react in every situation. We can choose to trust God or blame Him; we can go His way our our way. But we are never "forced by circumstances" into some action. We can and must choose to trust God. Carol's problem reflects the unwillingness to let God control her life because she did not know Him well. She struggled with a sleeping disorder for twenty years and eventually ended up in a mental hospital, diagnosed as being schizophrenic. A doctor placed her on anti psychotic drugs, but after years of medication, another doctor said she was misdiagnosed; she had a bipolar dysfunction. When Carol changed churches, she learned her root problem might be spiritual. She told her minister about her treatments and the changed diagnosis. "My new pastor shared with me that mental illnesses may be real, but sometimes they are the results of harboring sin, bitterness, etc., in one's heart." At that point this pastor referred her to me. Carol waited several months for an appointment, and during that time the Lord began working in her life. Before her visit she sensed God leading her to a number of verses. One from Deuteronomy 10:12 was an eye-opener: "What does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." During our first session, Carol was open and revealed her childhood experiences of sexual abuse. Carol felt justified anger toward the people who had hurt her and believed that anger, a form of revenge, was right. In the process of our sessions, God revealed this lie the Evil One had placed in her heart. At first, though, she struggled. Because of her childhood abuse, she felt a deep-seated anger toward God. In time, Carol forgave her mother and a number of other people. She repented of her anger and hatred toward those who had offended and abused her. And she repented of her anger toward God and for doubting God's willingness to keep His word. The morning after our session in which she'd expressed and done these acts, Carol told me "My time in the Word was sweet, God gave me a special verse. "Many a time they have afflicted me from my youth; yet they have not prevailed against me" (Psalm 129:2). The next week an issue between Carol and me came up. She felt I spent too much time teaching her about the issues of repentance and forgiveness and she became angry with me. That evening she attended a mid-week church service and heard her pastor say "When you are under pressure the real you comes out. Your choices reveal what you really believe. True repentance results in a change of heart, not just some modification of your behavior." Carol sat there stunned. Had the real Carol shown herself in her seeking to perform for God? Was doing the things to impress Him what really mattered her her? Was control the thing she always had to have in order to feel safe? That night, Carol repented of wanting to control every situation. She sensed God's forgiveness and for the first time she felt truly free. She had learned to accept doing things God's way, not her way. Later she wrote me about what she was learning through her times in the Scriptures and prayer: "God is teaching me how to die to self and surrender to Christ daily, I am learning in a new way that God is sovereign and in control....I have learned to allow Christ to live His life through mine. The Lord will continue to enable me to over come bitterness and anger in my life. Praise God, for only He could set me free. Carol saw for the first time that following God's way through her Scripture and prayer time fulfilled her. By submitting to Him, she would enter into His plan and live out the reality of life in Christ that she had always wanted. I marvel that God's Word and power can cause such amazing changes in as person's life. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.