ADDICTION DEFINITION AND HYPOTHESIS

By Synthia Esther

Hypothesis: Addiction is an external response to an internal need, activated by free will.

Biblical definition of Addiction: James 1:13-15, “When tempted, no one should say 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone, (14) but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. (15) Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to death.”

Addiction is an uncontrollable need, obsessive desire, oppressive-escalating craving, seeking and use of a substance such as a drug or alcohol, or an activity you may compulsively indulge in, despite negative consequences. Examples include but are not limited to; alcohol, drugs, eating, gambling, gaming, cutting or sex. The mood altering latter stages of addiction produce a neurobiological long lasting chemical change within the brain.

Shifting from one addictive behavior to another also shifts neuropathway patterns. I call the addicts denial mentality, "The Blind Mind". In his book, “Don't call it love, Recovery From Sexual Addiction,” Dr. Patrick Carnes explains; "Addictive obsession can exist in whatever generates significant mood alteration, whether it be the comfort of cutting or food, the thrill of gambling, or the excitement of sexual arousal." These maladaptive self medicating behaviors are the addicts attempt to ease past and current pain. The real source of the problem lies hidden behind the behavior manifestations.

THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT

In the year 2000, two drafts of the human genome were published and made news around the Globe. The Human Genome Project has and will continue to advance our understanding of genes and suggest preventive and therapeutic strategies for many diseases. The thirteen year project coordinated by the U.S.Department of Energy and the National Institute of Health was completed in its original mission in 2003. Presently, hereditary genes have been shown to contribute to the novelty seeking personality trait, which is a major contributing factor in the addiction process. Most recent studies have indicated genes account for 30-70 percent of our hereditary linkage and total variation.

For instance, inbred lines of mice and rats have been created that will press levers to administer drugs to themselves or seek -out environments previously associated with the presence of addictive substances. Research has been done on mice engineered that lack certain genes, thereby demonstrating the importance of these genes in the addictive process. It should now be possible to create mice carrying the genes implicated in human drug addiction as well as mice bred to alter the expression of drug receptor genes and observe the effects on addictive behaviors.

It is a known fact that animals can be bred for aggressiveness. One such example is the Pit Bull Dog. Finnish psychologist Kristi Lagerspetz (1979) took normal albino mice and bred the most aggressive ones together and the least aggressive ones. After repeating the procedure for 26 generations, she had one set of fierce mice and one set of placid mice. Dr. Patrick Carnes in his book, “Don't call it love, Recovery From Sexual Addiction,” further reports evidence of experimental rats who were habituated to morphine or heroin and would go through much pain in order to obtain more. However, when the pleasure centers of their brain were stimulated releasing endorphins, rats would go through even more pain and suffering than they would for morphine or heroin. Sex creates this same form of naturally occurring peptides such as endorphins which govern the electrochemical interactions within the brain producing parallel molecular construction of opiates like morphine, but much more powerful (some claim four times stronger than heroin).

THE DRUG OF SEXUAL ADDICTION

The drug of sex addiction creates additional complexities, due to literally carrying your own supply, and having no noticeable physical reactions seen in the context of social interaction.   From a Christian prospective, my hypotheses is;  “Addiction, is an external response to an internal need activated by free will.”  

According to Ronald J. Comer in his fifth edition book,  Abnormal Psychology, "To what extent the environment and genetics play a role in the  temptation towards a lifestyle of addiction is still yet to be discovered.  As one expert put it, 'A gene is a framed canvas upon which the psychological environment paints the person' (Brown,1999).  Every trait, action, and attitude of every living organism has a genetic component: Without genes, no behavior could exist.  But without environment, no gene would be expressed.  Epigenetic theory (the newest developmental theory), emphasizes the interaction of genes and the environment, an interaction that is seen as dynamic and reciprocal (Gottlieb,2003).  Inherited traits are both multi factorial (influenced by many factors, including factors in the environment), and polygenic (affected by many genes).  Almost all traits are the result of interactions among several genes (Hoh&Ott.2003)”

It is our hereditary genes and environmental factors when coupled together make up our personality and behavior.   Together, these processes (nature and nurture), effect us spiritually, biologically and environmentally, producing molecular and cellular changes within the brain.  While we cannot choose our parents and how their genes and parental modeling styles effect us, we can choose how we react and grow spiritually to what we have been given.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF ADDICTION

I recently went back to college in search of additional educational answers to this question. I do not claim to be an expert, however, I do believe personal experience to be a very good teacher. This is a brief summary based on studies I have done within the last four years. Past documentation and research pointed to the first six years of a child's life as being the most important. Most researchers now claim the first two years of life set the foundation for the child's future. Parents are responsible for both genetics and environment.

During those early formative years, we develop according to conditioned (learned), responses, with attachment bonding being crucial. In their book “High Risk - Children Without a Conscience” Dr. Ken Magid and Carole A. McKelvey write, “The critical factor is bonding. Without effective bonding the infant won't become attached to his or her primary caregiver, the mother and/or father. A growing number of experts now believe this stage in a humans development has much greater significance than previously thought.” Experience shapes the brain for good or ill.

An example of the importance of experience comes from the reactions to stress. The production of stress hormones by the brain is lifelong, but the amount produced relates partly to early experiences (Gunnar&Vasquez, 2001). If too many stress hormones are required early on (for instance, if an infant is terrified or anticipates pain much of the time), then the developing brain loses the capacity to react normally to stress. Stress effects the unborn fetus.

Once again I quote from the book, “Don't call It Love, Recovery From Sexual Addiction,” Dr. Patrick Carnes. He elaborates, "Once born, and the environment continues to be volatile, stressful and abusive, the pattern for neurochemical venerability is set. Once this neurochemical vulnerability is present, deficits are created. These deficits create a neurochemical imbalance which is temporarily relieved by the high a substance and/or activity provides. Thus enabling the individual an opportunity to self medicate, in a desperate attempt to alleviate said deficits. It is the excessive and prolonged use of these highs that alter the neurochemical balance within the brain. Once the imbalance is present, as a controlling factor to maintain feelings of normalcy, the addiction is used to preserve the neurochemical imbalance. Over time, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the original highs as additional amounts or levels of the drug/activity ( self-medication of choice), are needed to continue to feed and fuel the addiction."

My summary:
“The lack of intimacy bonding and/or attachment, as well as abuse in the addicts early formative years, creates a thirst for a fix to fill their unmet needs of nurture, security, love, affirmation and acceptance. Jesus Christ is the only person who can fill your void and heal your broken heart.”

THE ADDICTS FAMILY OF ORIGIN

Families that base their love and acceptance on performance, create anxiety, shame and impossible standards of perfectionism which in turn set the programs for a life conducive, vulnerable and on-going to the temptation of the addiction process. This shame based environment creates conditional love and an open wound within the heart of a child. Their internal message: "You are worthless because you are not perfect!" With parental hypercritical standards that are impossible to achieve, that child grows to become an adult with a huge sore that never healed. This gaping wound desires the healing medication of loving attention, acceptance and affirmation.

It is within these childhood needs, that the cycling pattern of sexual addiction begins. Fathers and mothers actions and attitudes will either bless or hinder their children, with patterns of behavior and self worth that can last a live time (Proverbs 22:6). The heart of the child strives to avoid mistakes. If they feel they failed in their parents eyes, and are in constant fear of disapproval, they learn to shut down emotionally. When disapproval occurs the child believes they are unlovable, worthless, fears abandonment, and becomes ashamed. According to most authorities on sexual addiction it is this deeply ingrained shamed based complex that fuels the addiction process. This actuarially describes Ryan's life as a child, raised by a hyper critical mother whom he felt he could never please, and a passive aggressive father who demonstrated in action and deed, that he could care less (reference story, “Foolish Pleasure – The Love Story Of A Sex Addict, His Betrayal, And Crime”).

With core feelings of being unworthy and unlovable, loneliness is inevitable. In their quest for acceptance they turn to their drug of choice to satisfy and fill unmet, unresolved issues within their spirits core. The inner child within the adult has a void for love, care and acceptance that is not based on conditions. They keep the highs of the addiction process going to provide a temporary bandage on their inner turmoil.

Dr. Faye Snyder, a licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in trauma therapy and attachment theory, as well as forensic and clinical psychology and author of the Miracle Child Parenting Series, relates how we are raised as children in her work, “Killers are Made, Not Born”. She states, “What we imprint, we repeat. People reveal how they were treated by how they act. What goes in, is what comes out.” Dr. Snyder goes onto describe; “morbid and invisible neglect, which may lead to the schizoid personality. It results from minimal social interaction at home and leads into a lack of sentimentality as an adult, due to unmet needs, breaks or wounds, the young child never feels loved, valuable, seen or understood.” Unresolved childhood pain creates a void in the heart and soul of a person. The only one that can truly fill this void is Jesus Christ with his unwavering power of grace, mercy, and love. Addiction holds the user captive. Jesus Christ came to set the captive free!

REVERSE THE CURSE OF ADDICTION THROUGH SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION

As a  Christian, I believe as the Bible claims, that God can (and sometimes does), deliver and heal us instantaneously from the bondage of sin and oppression.   However, God  knows our hearts and if He did so  He knows if that would enable the addict, making it easier to relapse into the same temptation pattern again and again.  Most people would agree, pain often catapults one to change.  If the recovery process was an easy path to follow, we as humans could possibly be on the road one day and off the road the next, as many addicts in recovery prove.   It is the continual, progressive, spiritual and emotional change  that begins to produce  faith in a new belief system.  A belief system that places our Heavenly Father first in life.

With God's love and guidance, our personal worth, integrity, character, spiritual growth, and inner healing is made possible.  Having done the accountable hard work necessary to produce such fruit, looking back becomes the impetus to continue to move forward on the path of spiritual transformation, truth and  love.   In one sentence, "The closer we get to God, the more we know He was there all the time."  No matter what we experienced growing up, we are not a child anymore.  As we humble ourselves before the Lord,  He is always there to lift us up (James 4:10).  He is a Father who understands and a  Friend who never forsakes us.   We can take our burdens to the Lord and leave them there.

Who would want to go back to hell on Earth when you learn to accept and experience the love of God himself?   I believe God goes with us and before us on the road towards spiritual  progress, but He never walks the road for us.   We each have our cross to bear dependent upon our personal choices in life.   Jesus Christ carried his cross and He wants us to carry ours (Mathew 10:38).    He willingly suffered and carried the sins of all humanity on His shoulders.  Isaiah 53:5-8,  “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.  (6)  We all like sheep, have gone astray, each of us had turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the inequity of us all. (7) He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open his mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth. (8) By oppression and judgment He was taken away,  And who can speak of His descendants?  For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people He was stricken.”

When we walk the road towards spiritual truth with God as our faithful guide, we are less likely to have to ever walk it again.  Just like a young child who is told the stove is hot, it isn't until he/she experiences the pain of a burn that they  realize what "hot” truly means.   They  also realize that Daddy and Mommy were trying to protect them by repeatedly confirming, “don''t touch, hot, hot, hot!”   Pain can provide the lasting benefit of causing the human mind to understand, react, and remember!  As Christians, walking the journey becomes a sacred pursuit towards spiritual love, sanctification and acceptance.  Therefore, as you walk the road towards spiritual recovery remember the advice of those who have gone before you.

First, the hereditary cycle of addiction can be reversed by first admitting the problem exists, (you can't change what you don't acknowledge).   Secondly, develop symptom provocation techniques by recognizing the triggers, stresses or persons that cause the behaviors or acting out to manifest.  Also called "H.A.L.T." by some 12 step programs, which is an acronym for triggers expressed as hunger, anger, loneliness or being tired.    “ H.A.L.T.”  provides  a short list  towards  recognizing the psychological triggers that each addict may actually have, serving  as an impetus to  acknowledging  feelings/emotions as they occur.

     Thirdly,  developing behavior modification techniques in direct response to your emotional and spiritual needs, as well as an immediate Biblical response to temptation.  You have to learn to redirect your thought process “ immediately”  when confronted with temptation by memorizing and quoting scripture.     Maintaining the transforming quest for spirituality and God's truth and love provides a solid foundation.  This third step promotes hope and faith in God's love, and reliance on  His word the Holy Bible,  which is living and active sharper than a two edged sword (Hebrews 4:12-13).   All of which help to develop a life filled with faith, purpose, love, spiritual integrity, and character.

God'S WORD PROVIDES A COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL TRANSFORMATION

God's word provides a cognitive behavioral transformation by restructuring the thought processes and renewing the mind in a profound, divine way. 2nd Corinthians 10:5, “We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” More than positive thinking, you have to change the way your mind thinks, works and functions. Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praise worthy-think about such things.”

New information and learning skills affect your memory processes and physiologically your brain's neural pathways. This enables you to begin thinking, acting, and feeling differently. The sacred pursuit of God's word provides providential wisdom, understanding, and power. His presence within our heart, mind, and soul, becomes a comforting presence in our lives (Isaiah 43: 2-5). We determine our habits which become ingrained into our mental process. However, it is our habits that ultimately determine our choices in life. When we replace addictive behaviors with the healing power of the word of God, we exchange destructive habits for productive habits. We pray believing God will help us in our powerless condition, and He does. Isaiah 43:18-19, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. (19) See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” Perceive your future of hope by standing on God's promises (Jeremiah 29:11).

Faith without works is dead. You will need to stand firm on making your personal creed that as declared in Psalm 51:10, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Addiction didn't happen over night. It was a gradual day by day snaring process. The road towards recovery is at times difficult and filled with uncertainty. You will be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might (not your own), so that you might have great endurance and patience (Colossians 1:11). 2nd Tim 2:3, “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” 2nd Tim 1: 7, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self discipline”.

Salvation through Jesus Christ is instantaneous. Romans 10:10 , “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Once saved, it is the daily process of reading, praying, and speaking Gods word that will defeat the temptation Satan sends your way. Each day that goes by you become stronger and stronger in God's word, which in turn provides the loving foundation of spiritual truth. Psalm 119:11, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:133, “ Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.” Psalm 91 and Proverbs chapter 2 and 3 are personal favorites, and have helped me in times of trouble and temptation.

Peter writes: “the Lord knows how to rescue the Godly from temptation” (2nd Peter 2:9). We have God's assurance that He will not permit more pressure than we can handle to occur (1st Corinthians 10:13). Christs words of wisdom will provide you with an abundance of power, provision and peace. Restoration work is helped along through self introspection, professional therapy and journaling. By acknowledging and forgiving who, and what happened in your life that left you feeling lonely, unloved, abandoned and unworthy, you begin to unravel the web of hurt and injury Satan has used to defeat you. Such revelation begins the healing process, which ultimately produces love and the power to forgive. Addiction has at its core a wounded soul. Therefore, most of the vital work to be done is spiritual.

Affirmations of God's grace, mercy, and love are the beginning of the self restoration process. Romans 12:2 , “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, His good, pleasing and perfect will.” The greatest transformation occurs when you begin to realize just how much God loves you (John 3:16). He will never leave you or forsake you and He sticks closer to you than a brother (Proverbs 18:24).

The only way to learn of God's everlasting love and His will for your life is to read His letter to us, the Bible. 2nd Tim 3:16-17 , “ All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (17) so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” When we line up our thoughts and behaviors with the word of God as our guide, we overcome our negative thoughts/traits and re-enforce our positive thoughts/traits. During this continued process our spirit begins to change, becoming more equipped, and our mind is re-newed. For the anointed word ushers in the purging love and healing needed to transcend and eradicate sin, addiction, and shameful feelings of inadequacy.

This healing process not only effects us in our everyday life, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. It also short circuits negative behavior patterns, enabling our mind to think in new spiritual ways that foster positive self esteem and change. Romans 8:6, “The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the spirit is life and peace.” Colossians 3:15, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful”. Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.“

FOR A LIFE FILLED WITH PEACE - TRUST God, THE PEACE MAKER

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).   By reading, memorizing, speaking, and praying the word of God, we enable the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us unto all truth (John 16:13).   When we change our behaviors we literally change the way our mind works, responds, and develops.   We become whole, calm, and centered spiritually.  In one word, we become peaceful!   Philippians 4:7,   “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

CHANGE GENERATIONAL SIN PATTERNS BY LIVING God'S TRUTH TODAY

Generational curses and blessings are patterns of behavior, for good or bad, that we pass down to our children.  An example would be an alcoholic, sex addicted mother or father, who lived an unclean  defiled life.  Living life in a polluted manner,  he or she, opened themselves up to the dark side.   The trials and struggles we most often encounter within our lifetime have been handed down through generation upon generation.  Lamentations 5:7,  “Our fathers sinned and are no  more, and we bear their punishment.”  Jeremiah 32:18, “You show love to thousands but bring punishment for the fathers sins into the laps of their children after them.”   We read of Job, who went through trials, afflictions, pain, and sorrow, yet through it all he remained  loyal and faithful to God.  God blessed  Job  for his obedience.  Job 42:16,  “After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the forth generation.”  Proverbs 20:7,  “The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.”  

SPRITIUAL GENETIC'S

If you want peace in life its time to get right with God, draw the line in the sand (never crossing over it again), and change the heredity curses into spiritual blessings!  It is this peace of mind which comes from God, that we then empower our future generations with the “spiritual hereditary genetics” necessary to change the cellular and molecular make-up of past generational sins.  God's word explains this process.  

Deuteronomy 7:9,  “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping  His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.”    Psalm 103:17,  “But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear Him, and His righteousness with their children's children. 
 
Genesis 22:17 -18,  "I will surely bless you and your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, (18) and through your off spring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."  This was God's covenant promise to Abraham and his descendants.  We are from the seed of Abraham and share the blessings of the covenant, if we like wise obey His word, the Holy Bible.

However, we read in Exodus 20:5, "For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generations of them that hate Me."   Exodus 34:5-7,  “Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed His name, the Lord. (6) And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, (7) maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.  Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."  A few additional Biblical  resources of generational sin can be found in:

• Numbers 14:18
• Matthew 23: 31-35
• Jeremiah 2: 5-7
• Jeremiah 32: 17-19
• Deuteronomy 5: 9-10
• Malachi 2: 1-4
• Sin causing generational sin, murder and/or sex sin, 2nd Samuel 12: 9-14
• Lying, Zechariah 5: 3-5
• Hating God, Psalm 21: 8-10
• Theft, Zechariah 5: 3-4, Habakkuk 2: 9
• Idolatry, Exodus 20 :3-6, Ezekiel 14: 6-8

REVERSE THE CURSE

We do not know what all of those 16 people in our generational background were involved in, but we know that God says it affects us.  Not only can we inherit physical defects from our ancestors, we can also inherit emotional and spiritual defects.

WE ARE EACH HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT WE DO, THINK, OR SAY

In the end of our life, we are each held responsible for what we do.  We end up who and what we are in life because of our personal choices.  The only way to reverse the sin curse is to claim the authority in Jesus Christ, who's blood paid the price to deliver and redeem us from sin.  The instant you turn away from past sin and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior the curse is reversed and the healing power of His word is allowed to penetrate your heart, soul and mind.

Creating in you a new mind, fed by God's word, (not an addictive person, substance or activity), producing increased wisdom, understanding and peace.  Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”   1st John 5:3-5,  “This is love for God: to obey His commands.  And His commands are not burdensome, (4) for everyone born of God overcomes the world, even our faith.(5) Who is it that overcomes the world?  Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

1st John 3:9,  “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning”.  This does not mean we will live perfect holy lives, it means we will strive to live holy lives.  We will not lean towards temptation but run from it.  Repeating the same sin means we were not truly repentant.   In prayer ask God to direct you.   Psalm 119:133,  “Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.”   Have faith in  Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy (Jude 1:24).

John 16:33,  "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.   In this world you will have trouble.   But take heart!  I have overcome the world."  Because Jesus Christ overcame the world, through His power, we can too.   2nd  Corinthians 12:9, "My grace is sufficient for you, for  My power is made perfect  in weakness.”    Philippians 4:13,  “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”  Jesus Christ overcame sickness, sin and addictions on the cross of Calvary.  You are loved, accepted and made worthy by His shed blood.   You are not alone in your recovery process.   The  word of God (wisdom), and the Holy Spirit (understanding), is with you to guide you unto all  truth!   Do not fear, for God walks with you, before you, and as I can attest to, He's even got your back.

BUILDING YOUR FUTURE

God has more for you in the future than what you had in the past.  You have to leave your  destructive, dysfunctional past behind in order for your future, the favor of God and His blessings to manifest in your life.   Sin tolerated makes living by faith complicated.  You cannot hold onto the past with one hand (always looking back),  hoping to receive your God ordained future in the other hand.   James 4:4, “You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?  Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”   James 4:7-8,  “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (8) Come near to God and He will come near to you.  Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded people.”

God cares more about our obedience than He does our sacrifice.  In other words, we have to walk the talk, not talk the walk!  The enemy sends people in your life to weaken and destroy you, however, God sends people in your life to encourage and mentor you.   It is no accident that you are reading the words on this page.   God is speaking to you.  In a very direct way God  is calling you to embark on a sacred journey  home (reference story, “My Sacred Journey Home”).

SETTING HIGHER STANDARDS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

If your family of origin is your major oppression (and many times it is in the addictive cycle of  shame), look to find people and a church family who can love, encourage and affirm your spiritual growth.  Once you gain strength and maturity in the Lord, you could be used as an instrument of God to win your entire family to Jesus Christ.  God can use the witness of  them seeing a change in you, to produce a change in them.  The  key to this process is “change”.

Many times, the same problems occur again and again in families due to poor parental modeling skills.  This is in part due to  inherited generational sin patterns.   It is the collective consciousness of the family that contributes to the addicts shamed based mind set.  No family is perfect, for it is made up of human beings who are imperfect.  However, it is up to us to choose the good building blocks given us, not the defective ones, to improve our lives by setting higher standards of righteousness.   What you lack, God will provide.   God's word will help you in your learning process to choose the spiritual building blocks needed for a firm foundation.

When you live life according to Gods blue prints, the Bible, you can't go wrong.  Instead of the  “if only" mindset, your mindset will develop the "despite of," principle.   By your obedience to God, the Holy Spirit will empower you to make new things happen, reversing the sin curse imparted on your life.   No longer held captive by the bondage power of bitterness and addiction, you will gain placidity in a difficult time of sorrow.   You will begin to  display an unwavering faith in God and His mighty hand of providence.  The way your parents raised you became the foundation of who you are. However, it is a decision what mind set you feed and thus actually grow to become.  You can become bitter, or choose to be better.

Addiction begins in the heart when you justify your addictive behavior with an excuse.  You dismiss your  actions by giving them validation.  "I wouldn't be this way if... (insert excuse)."  This is a victim mentality mind set and it comes straight from Satan himself!  The list can go on and on as you justify  your addictive behavior.   Perhaps you have been terribly wronged, hurt and  abused.  We all have our stories of pain, regret, and sorrow, some much worst than the other.

       Just when you think your life is as bad as it can get you meet someone whose life is so much worst.

HE COMPLAIMED HE HAD NO SHOES, TILL HE MET THE MAN WHO HAD NO FEET

Like the story of the man who was grumbling and depressed because he had no shoes.  He changed his attitude to gratitude when he met the man who had no feet.   God can heal your pain and bring you the peace you long for.   John 14:27,  "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you."  It is God Himself who gives you new solid blocks on which to build on.   Satan and his lies will ultimately destroy you. However, it is you who decides to choose good over evil, or the light over the darkness.

     Once you've taken the first steps to ignore the conscience of your  hearts inner spiritual witness and you commit the sin, you by passed the spirit and continued down the spiraling path of  habitual addiction.  These self destructive  patterns were held in place and protected by the cycling pattern of denial.  Each time this process is repeated the addiction becomes stronger and stronger, eventually taking on a life (and spirit), of  its own.  It is these continued, cumulative "blind mind" decisions that enable you to continue to dismiss your inner spirit.  You live your life to accommodate the sin and its downward trail of destruction.  It is only when you look to Jesus that your direction is changed from downward to upward.  It is a battle for your soul and it is up to “you” to win the war.

THE WORD OF God BREAKS THE BONDAGE AND CYCLE OF ADDICTIONS

Instead of feeding your mind with sins anger and bitterness, denial, lies, and fantasy, start feeding your spirit the word of God, which breaks the bondage and cycle of addictions.   Romans 8:5-8,  “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (6) The mind of sinful man is death but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; (7)  the sinful mind is hostile to God.   It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.  (8) Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.  (9) You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.   And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.”

You can have the spirit of God  within you by humbly admitting your sins, believing and asking Jesus Christ to  forgive those sins, and inviting Him into your heart.  It is with that simple step in faith that you begin your healing, reversing the powers that bind and control you.  Replacing the holes in your heart with the only one who can fill them, Jesus Christ.  Then when life turns to difficult or sorrowful times, you have the peace of God to sustain you.   A peace and  love that passes all understanding.   Isaiah 55:12,  “You will go out with joy and be led forth with peace.”

OBSESSION

Obsession is an influence, notion, fixed idea, or a  troubled mind set, which persistently assails or vexes your mind and spirit.   A seemingly uncontrollable desire and temptation to dwell on an idea or emotion frequently involving an urge toward some form of action.   As Christians, we ex-change our obsessive compulsive thoughts and traits of  behavior that sin and the world have to offer, for love, mercy, and grace that God and His word offer.  

When obsessive, intrusive, thoughts arise you can redirect those negative thoughts with positive, healing, affirmative affirmations from God's word.   His word contains the healing power necessary to transform your life filled with negativity, into a positive life filled with joy.   When we put our trust and faith in God, we know that all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

POSSESSION

Possession: An altered state of consciousness in which the conscious personality of the individual is replaced with that of an other personality, thought of as a possessing entity (demon).   The entity is welcomed in by the host personality  with repeated and deliberate sinful degeneration of his or her mind, or by a deliberate personal invitation,(summoning demonic entities to empower them in order to gain knowledge, power and/ or control).   This includes mediums, channeling, spirit guides, aliens, past life regression, ghosts, summoning the dead and /or trying to receive their power/spirit, white magic, black magic,voodoo, Satan worship and the list goes on.  These  practices  are  detestable to the Lord (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

Characteristics of possession in MPD (multiple personality disorder), also known as DID (Dissociate Identity Disorder), can manifest due to trauma, rape, abuse or molestation.  In these situations and/or instances, altered personalities are formed in order for the individual to cope with the emotional and physical abuse they have had to endure.   Manifestations  of  DID, does not necessarily indicate demonic possession.  

A  person with Dissociative Identity Disorder, develops two or more distinct personalities, often called sub personalities, each with a unique set of memories, behaviors, thoughts and emotions.   At any given time, one of the sub personalities takes over and dominates the person's functioning.  Usually one sub personality, called the primary or host personality, appears more  often than the others.  The transition from one sub personality to another called switching, is usually sudden and dramatic (APA,2000, 1994).

Physically the switching at times appears to be demonic in nature, as the affected individual twists their face, growls, and may yell obscenities while changing personalities.  At times, people with Dissociative Disorder can recover on their own (Kihistrom, 2001).  Jesus Christ can heal you!  Therapists typically try to bond with the primary and sub personalities, (Klluft, 1999, 1992).  The final goal of therapy is to merge the different sub personalities into a single, integrated identity.

There are additional mood and personality disorders that can effect your life.   Schizophrenia, Bi-polar Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Narcissistic and/or Anti Social Personality Disorder, Depersonalisation Disorder, just to name a few.  Therapy and medication are often needed to help stabilize moods swings and mental stability.  Seek the advice of your doctor, and take the medications prescribed.  God can and often does use Doctors to better your health and life.  Depending on each individual circumstance, fasting, prayer for inner healing and deliverance, are spiritual interventions which can provide additional healing power only Jesus Christ can give.   Please note: If you are in need of medical attention, or you are under medical care and supervision, do not fast without your doctors consent (reference Synthia Esther Ministries disclaimer policy).

God is able to deliver you!  Psalm 103:3-5,  “Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, (4) who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.(5) who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.”   Matthew 10:1,  “He called His twelve disciples to Him and gave then authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.”   We have that same authority.

ADDICTIONS AND THEIR DEMONIC STRONGHOLDS

I have personally witnessed my ex-Ryan (reference story “Foolish Pleasure – The Love Story Of A Sex Addict, His Betrayal And Crime”), who was plagued with an addiction to sex, lose his capacity to speak of his own freewill on several occasions.  His exact response when I questioned him concerning this alter ego was,  "I don't know why I say the things I do.  I hear myself speaking and yet I have no control over what comes out of my mouth.   I try to stop talking...but I can't!  I don't understand what happens to me?"   I even mentioned that his statement sounded like demonic possession.   Proverbs 17:20,  “A man of perverse heart does not prosper; he whose tongue is deceitful falls into trouble.”

On another occasion, because Ryan was at times extremely angry, I asked why didn't he try therapy and psychological counseling for anger management?   He responded with sincerity, “I don't want to go ....what if they find out somethings wrong with me?"  Now knowing of Ryan's double life, his secret deviant sexual addiction,  and his  trance states of consciousness, I understand his concern.  He knew something was wrong with his inner spirit. 

I tried to be compassionate concerning his anger due to knowing how persons involved in war (Ryan was a military pilot in the Iraq war), can be effected.  My father, a war veteran, as well as many other war veterans all confirmed the trying times of coping with the trauma of war.  Post- traumatic stress is often a by product of war.  For that matter, so is being raised in an abusive, negative, cold, unloving, stressful shame environment.

SEX ADDICTION: A FALSE SUBSTITUTE FOR LOVE

Ryan's secret sexual addiction was a coping mechanism for his inner turmoil.  This inner turmoil began as a child growing up in an abusive, dysfunctional home.  His mother, a critical, debasing, seemingly obvious case (according to every research book and psychological description-DSM V, that I have studied), of Borderline Personality Disorder.  She could be their poster person.   Her shamed based personality, lack of love and affirmation was combined with a husband (Ryan's father), who was passive aggressive and seemed to be emotionally absent.  

Ryan lived with pent up emotional distress his entire childhood.  Both he and his sister have suffered.  Ryan couldn't remember ever being told he was loved by either parent and expressed wishing his mother was dead.  However, even her death would not erase the devastating effect she had on her children's lives.   Their father, with his passive aggressive spirit only re-enforced feelings of abandonment.

SHAME AND BLAME MANIPULATION - WHERE IS THE LOVE?

I describe Ryan's up-bringing only to demonstrate the feelings of hopelessness within many of the addicted.  They have less good building blocks to model after, as well as attachment bonding and intimacy issues.  Unless they change their hereditary modeling pattern those same building blocks are passed down to their children.   Ryan's parents gave verbal credence to God's word, yet they lived life in direct violation and opposition to the words written within its pages.

Their self righteous double standards were all Ryan had as a child to base his spiritual ideals and convictions upon.  God doesn't like a person to be lukewarm – neither hot nor cold in deeds and action (Revelation 3:16).   Ryan's parents had a  self centered, “me” based attitude which was riddled with conflict in its self seeking, self serving, power and control mindset.  Since birth, this deceptive shame and blame manipulation had been his role modeled pattern of behavior.   As an outsider looking within this family's social structure of survival, one has to ask, “Where is the love?” 

One day at the age of 11,  Ryan  was at a neighbors house and found hidden  pornography magazines.  Who do you think set that trap?  Satan.  That opened door led to the secret fantasy life of  Ryan's dreams.  The one sure thing he could count on to satisfy his emotional distress and fill the holes in his young heart was sex, fantasy and masturbation.  He would never feel abandoned again.  Satan provided Ryan with a false substitute for the love he felt he didn't deserve and never received.

THE FANTASY LIFE DEVELOPS - DEMISE AND DEATH ENSUES

Ryan began fantasizing about the cheer leaders at his school.  Then there is one  lady I met in a sex addiction support group  who recounts how her ex-husband's sexual fantasy life began, "He would fantasize and play with the air around him when his parents, for discipline took away all other privileges."  It is this escape method of the mind that Satan  continues to use to his advantage.  An interesting note:  According to many research studies, those who mentally learn to escape and dissociate  from all feelings have a higher incidence for developing MPD, (Multiple Personality Disorder, currently referred to as Dissociative Identity Disorder).   It is also the one contributing factor that almost all research points to in persons being easily hypnotized.

Satan knows our weaknesses and he lures us in with a bit of pleasure he knows we will respond to.  Proverbs 12:11,  “He who works his land will have abundant  food but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment.”   Sin begins with a seed of temptation planted in the fertile soil of your mind.  It is when we nurture and water that seed with our own free will, that it develops into a full blown problem.   Being tempted is a natural occurrence  in life.  Ryan found the porn magazines but it was his freedom of choice that gave way to looking at them.  

Like the saying goes, “Curiosity killed the cat.”   In Ryan's case,  pornography and sexual addiction  provided a  false sense of love, security, and adoration.  His family's dysfunctional chaos had literally destroyed and  killed his ability to trust, relate, and intimately love another person because in the deep recesses of his heart and mind he didn't love  himself. I am often asked if I thought Ryan loved me.  He did love me as much as he knew how to do, he would have literally given his life for me.  But he could not stop his deviant sexual addiction.

SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?

When a person is confronted with the reality that they are involved with a person who lacks personal integrity, character, and spiritual accountability before both God and mankind, you have to ask yourself;  “Is this what I want in my life, is this the type of relationship I think I deserve , and  will this relationship lead me closer to God and His plan for my life?   Will it bring me spiritual growth, happiness, peace, love, personal satisfaction, and joy?”

For me the answer was an affirmative “no”.   Personally sacrificing your well being, self worth and personal  integrity to be in a dysfunctional relationship is too high a price to pay just to be with someone.   God came to give us life, love, peace of mind,  joy, happiness and security.  The lack of trust in a relationship breeds insecurity.  The older I become the more I realize “unless a person truly knows the love of God, they can never truly love you.”  

God can and does change a heart of stone into one that is lovingly true and sincere.  The real question becomes, in my opinion, “If I choose to stay will my actions prove to be spiritually beneficial to both us?  Or would leaving the relationship behind provide a greater opportunity for spiritual growth and maturity for all involved?”  Only the persons involved can provide the reasoning necessary to make such a decision. 

A REWARD FACTOR

Continuing to think about and act on temptation is where sin begins, and like a cancerous cell in the body, begins to multiply and destroy (James 1:13-15).    The fantasies became all Ryan lived and hoped for.   It was his reward for having a successful day, or it was his reward for having a bad day, or his reward for starting early in the day, or late finishing the day, or when he would have to study hard to pass pilot-recurrent training, or to celebrate when recurrent training was over.  There was always a stress or reward factor that provided  Ryan  with an endless array of excuses to act out and revert to the escape mechanism's of fantasy over reality.   No longer did he feel the wounds of a mother who never said,"I love you,” or a passive father that acted as if he were the carbon copy of the monkey's claim, “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil,”  and would just ignore the problem.

HE LOST HIS SELF IN SEXUAL PLEASURE

Ryan developed a fantasy world where all young girls and women desired him, and he welcomed the physical variety his fantasy's provided.   Eventually skipping the magazines he turned his attention to the interactive Internet.  No fear of rejection or abandonment, he lost himself in sexual pleasure.   Ryan experienced pure bliss in a fantasy world he created and lived in.   A world where everyone wanted and desired him.

In his mind filled fantasy he is an idol,  a God,  with many loving and sexually-longing admirers.   Each fantasy encounter Ryan engaged in was done to fill a void he couldn't fill.  The Internet is filled with women, young teens, and children, who swoon at his beckon  call and they are only a click, chat, or phone call away.  Like Ryan, many such young adolescents, teens, women and men involved within the sex industry, are searching to fill the holes within their hearts.  They too yearn to be loved and cherished, yet continue to concede to sins false illusions of reality, all the while deadening their spiritual core.

THE VEIL BETWEEN FANTASY AND REALITY BEGIN TO BLUR

After many, many years of repeated sin, the veil between fantasy and reality begins to blur. Your mind altering exposure to more violent forms of pornography and sadistic fantasy arouses your curiosity, tempting you to act out your fantasies.  You become  hyper sexually, sensitive to  the waitress at the restaurant who laughed at your joke, or the flight attendant who smiles when she brings you a drink, or the young girl at the grocery store check out counter who hands you your change and just happens to brush your hand in the process..  In your grandiose sin mind mentality, you believe they are coming on to you. 

Little insignificant looks or smiles become advances and provocation for sex or rape in your sex addicted fantasies mind.  Your grandiose-perverse sin filled  mind creates a reality where there is none.  Then this same mind set steps it up a notch and temps you to act out the triple XXX - rated movies or the obscene and violent sex, rape, bestiality, crush  and snuff murder acts you view.

You become a predator, thinking all women want to be secretly raped,  like the women and children  in your warped sex craved mind.   You've become voyeuristic beyond the computer screen.  Always seeking and acting upon a new sadistic thrill, watching to get a glimpse of a body part that excites you. Up-skirting is acted out, or maybe flashing gives you a thrill.  The old sin method of compulsive masturbation to magazines or Internet pornography doesn't seem to satisfy you anymore.  You have to up the ante to get the same thrill.  This escalation effect continues to desensitize your mental-thought process.   What was once contrary to your moral standards now seems harmless.  Including your neighbors 5 year old daughter, and 8 year old son.

Or maybe it's the lack of attention from those around you, who like your mother or father ignores you, or doesn't show you the love and respect you think you deserve that triggers you to act out.  It's this angry mind filled mentality that prompts the obsessive compulsive, demonic power with in you to emerge, control, and conquer.   As Solomon has stated in Ecclesiastes 7:9 , “...anger resides in the lap of fools.”   There are many research and data-based books that detail the role fantasy, visualization and pornography plays in predisposing some males to want to rape, as well as linking serial killers and the sadistic murders they commit.

DISASSOICATION, HYPNOTIC TRANCE, AND ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

The fantasy, rituals, and/or acting out process produce a trance-hypnosis that sends the sex addict into an altered dark, disassociated state of consciousness.   I have seen this altered hypnotic trance state take over Ryan's entire body.  I knew and felt its demonic influence and power.   I have also heard the testimonies of other women who's mate was sexually addicted describe this same hypnotic trance state which they have related could be triggered just by hearing the humming noise of  their computer booting up. 

Dr. Helen Morrison, is a forensic psychiatrist who is well known for her research into the minds and psychology of serial killers.  Morrison states,  "Serial killers are able to avoid the moral consequences of their actions because their minds are too divided and disassociated to actually bring every thing together."  Dr. Morrison has more experience than I do having interviewed  about 80 serial killers.

From my personal experience, as well as the personal testimony of the many wives and victims of sex addicts that I have heard, she is one hundred percent right in her assumptions.  On many occasions after Ryan first lost his daily computer access and he thought the police were possibly watching him, I personally saw his trance and disassociated alter personality take over.  This would occur by him simply watching the weather lady on the news, or a commercial that sold its product using sexual content. 

I even saw his trance-hypnotic state go into effect when he looked at one of my older VSH tapes and saw its title, "Beauty Pageants".   Just the title of the tape caused him to go into a hypnotic trance as he lost himself in his mind's fantasy.  These episodes occurred during the short period of time I tried to remain a supportive friend and spiritual witness, when Ryan  first began his recovery process.  The last time I spoke with Ryan was by phone when he called in January of 2006.   He stated  at that time he had not continued in his recovery support efforts.  I have since changed my telephone number.  I am at peace with myself for attempting to show Ryan  the open exit door, but it is he who has to walk through it.  Obviously, like most addicts, he thought the exit door was way too narrow.

Ryan's mind and sexual thought life sought out a replacement fix due to not having daily access to pornography off of his computer anymore.   He also suspected someone in authority could be watching him, so he could no longer freely act out his fantasies, prostitution services etc.    Ryan's  inner sexual demons were hungry.  I couldn't even go with him to the local grocery store, or any public arena, even church, due to his heightened sexual obsessions and the highly focused trances he would go into.

"SEX ADDICTS WHO'VE GONE WILD, AND YOUNG GIRLS AND GUYS WHO HAVE GONE WILD WITH THEM!"

If he saw anyone who was remotely attractive, busty, or a young teen with her mid-drift and belly ring showing, his sexual demons came out in full force wanting to be fed their fix.   It was like he became a zombie fixated on his subject.  On one occasion while shopping at a large department store, I  had to literally speak firmly, raise my voice, state his name a few times, look him straight in the eyes while touching his arm, to get him to come out of his dissociated trance state.

What and who caught Ryan's  attention?   A young female teen ager, about 15 or 16 years old,  who was dressed in tight jeans and a short  midriff top,  out shopping with her boyfriend.  Sex addicts (both female and male gender), are everywhere, including the very church's in our pews, and many  preachers at the pulpit.  Welcome to the 21st century of technological advancement.  Pornography on the Internet is helping to create a world filled with sex addicts who've gone wild, with young girls and guys who  have gone wild with them.

INSTANT RECALL - GO INTO A SEXUAL TRANCE AT WILL

Another occasion Ryan called me by cell phone, mentioning he was watching  a young teenage girl and guy making out and kissing.  He admitted in all honesty  he fantasized it was him being kissed and having sex with her.   These obsessive compulsive, sexual fantasy thought processes plagued his mind continually.  His sexual addiction all began with the visual habit of pornography and masturbatory conditioning, which in turn fed, fueled  and programed his mind. 

After habitually using pornography with induced  physical reinforcement/anchoring  by masturbation, all Ryan's mind had to do was play "instant recall,” to go into a sexual trance at will.  Even with the computer gone, his mind was so programed with hard core pornography, the sexual deviant images would remain intact forever.   Ryan's only hope as a die hard sex addict is to reprogram his mind with God's word, which is living and active (Hebrews 4:12-13).

SPRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL WITHIN THE HEAVENLY REALMS

The satanic forces of evil follow those in sins darkness.   Here are a few biblical examples: Mark  5:9-13,  Then Jesus asked him,"What is your name?" "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many". (10)  And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. (11) A large  herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside.(12) The demons begged Jesus,"send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." (13) The herd, about two thousand in number,rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.  

Then there is Luke 4:33-36,  In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit.   He cried out at the top of his voice, (34)  "Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are-the Holy One of God!"  (35)  "Be quiet!"  Jesus said sternly.  "Come out of him!"  Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.  (36)  All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching?  With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!"  
 
Another account in the Bible of a demonic evil spirit is found in Acts 19:11-16,  “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, (12) so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched  him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. (13) Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who  were demon possessed.  They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out".  (14) Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. (15) One day the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know of Paul, but who are you? (16) Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.”   We are told in  Ephesians 6:12,  “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

God KNOWS THE SECRETS THAT YOU KEEP

God warned us of the consequences of our sin.   By his mercy and grace He forgives our sins. Proverbs 28:13,  “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”   However, we must be repentant.   1st John 3:18, “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”   We must truly desire to turn from sin and follow the path of righteousness.  God  knows our heart.  Psalm 94:11,  “The Lord knows the thoughts of man, he knows that they are futile”.  Nothing is hidden from God.   Luke 8:17, “For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.” God  knows the secrets that you keep.

SATAN'S BAIT AND SWITCH - MODUS OPERANDI

Degenerate sin is a bait and switch on Satan's part.   Galatians 6:7-8, “ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.   A man reaps what he sows. (8) The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life.”   Sin is fun for a season. 

You  think you are gaining power and control however, once possessed/obsessed and you are taken over by a demonic entity (inhabited), or you become oppressed by demonic spirits you consequently lose all power and control.  Many of the sexual serial killers I have researched have commented on this inner demonic power or entity.  Some describe it as the other person who took over, one described a demonic hideous looking frog.

CRIMINAL SHADOWS

David Canter, Ph.D. professor of psychology at the University of Liverpool, England and a chartered forensic psychologist is author of the book,  "Criminal Shadows", Unlocking the Minds of Serial Killers and Sexual Predators-and Cracking cases. He writes of many violent men leading different lives which could be understood in the extreme fictional expression of the story, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  

He sites on page 220,  Andrei Chikatilo, a school teacher in Rostov, (southern Russia), convicted of killing fifty-three children and young women over a period of twelve years, said;  "I gave myself to my work, my studies, my family, my children, my grandchildren, and there was nothing else in my life, but when I found myself in a different setting, I became a different person, uncontrollable, as if some evil force controlled me against my will and I could not resist."  Chikatilo was impotent, yet he was sexually excited by the frenzy of power, killing, blood, torture and death.  The Soviet psychiatrist who interviewed Chikatilo said; "He feels no remorse for his victims, only pity for himself."

Serial killer Ted Bundy, had all-American good looks and a likable personality that even the judge at his Miami trial in July 1979 liked him.   After sentencing Theodore Bundy to death, he said: "Take care of yourself, young man.  I say that to you sincerely.   It's such a tragedy to this court to see such a total waste of humanity.  You're a bright young man.  You'd have made a good lawyer,,,".    Ted Bundy had finally been arrested in Pensacola, Florida, after he tortured, brutalized and killed as many as thirty-six girls and young women in four states.   Ted had a large appetite for pornography and talked about an “entity” inside him that drove him to rape and murder.   He confessed, “sometimes I feel like a vampire.” 

"WE SERIAL KILLERS ARE YOUR SONS, WE ARE YOUR HUSBANDS, WE ARE EVERYWHERE." - TED BUNDY

He called this entity the other Ted.   Bundy stated in a videotaped interview  hours before his execution, "You are going to kill me, and that will protect society from me.  But out there are many, many more people who are addicted to pornography, and you are doing nothing about that."   Dr. James Dobson, an evangelical Christian who lobbied and took a firm stand against pornography and its harm to society, was the last one to interview Bundy prior to his execution.   One of Bundy's most famous quotes can be found in Dr. James Dobson's book,  Life on the Edge: "We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands, we are everywhere.   And there will be more of your children dead tomorrow."

This entity-force however described, is a very powerful, evil, demonic, controlling spirit that takes over the persons mind and body as they commit horrific crimes of horror.  This controlling power doesn't happen overnight.   Sin and the temptation process is  gradual and cunning.  Satan comes to you as an angel of light.  He provides a temptation that looks good, feels good and is good, for a while. Then it is Satan who plays the double agent. 

You think you are fooling everyone with your razzel, dazzle double life.   The last laugh will be on you!  Satan has played his game and beat you with his lies of  deception.   It is he who played the trump card.   It is he that lured like a spider's web his trap of deception and bondage.   James 1:13-15,  “When tempted, no one should say," God is tempting me," For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.   (14) but each one is tempted when by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. (15)  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin: and sin when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

THE EVIL DEEDS OF A WICKED MAN ENSNARE HIM

Each of us has an inner spirit that tells us when we are doing something wrong.   The more we ignore the inner Holy Spirits witness the softer it speaks to us.   Until one day it doesn't speak at all.   It is as if we turn the volume off.   It is then that we are most susceptible to the principalities and powers of darkness.   God's still small voice of warning is ignored.   Psalm 106:43,  “Many times he delivered them, but they were bent on rebellion and they wasted away in their sin.”

Even  getting caught, tried and in prison hasn't rid most, (if not all), sexual predators of their  demonic-bondage and compulsive obsessions.   Once released, the diabolical predator seeks its victims once again.   Proverbs 5:21-23, “For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all his paths. (22)  The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. (23) He will die for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.”   Isaiah 65:12,  “I will destine you for the sword, and you will all bend down for the slaughter; for I called but you did not listen.  You did evil in My sight and chose what displeases Me.”  

John 8:47,  “He who belongs to God hears what God says.  The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”    Then read  Romans 1:18-32,  Verse  (29)  Furthermore, since they did not  think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

Once you've entered the grandiose "Superman of Sin" stage and you think you've fooled the world and God with your double life, your free will becomes useless.   You are literally powerless!   It is only by  the  deliverance and redemptive power of Jesus Christ that you can once again claim not only peace of mind, but true power, given to us by the Holy Spirit.   When you become a born again Christian the Holy Spirit dwells within you and becomes your helper.   Within our lives there is a spiritual warfare going on and its up to each of us to decide whose side we are on.

There is power in the word of God.   Read it and gain peace, power, wisdom, knowledge and blessings.  Hebrews 4:12,  “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  The  Holy anointed power of God's word I equate to using an automatic machine gun, or an atomic bomb.  Without the word of God  you are shooting at Satan's attacks with an empty water pistol. 

A FEW SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES PERTAINING TO DEMONIC ACTIVITY:

• Oppression:
  • Acts 10:38
• Obsession:
  • Luke 6:18
  • Acts 5:16
• Possession:
  • Mark 5:2-13
  • Mark 7:25-30
  • Luke 4:33
  • Luke 8:36
  • Acts 8:7
  • Acts16:16-18
• Consorting and consulting evil spirits:
  • Leviticus 19:31
  • Leviticus 20:6
  • Leviticus 20:2
  • Deuteronomy 18:10-11
  • 1st Samuel 28:7
  • Acts 16:16
  • Acts 19:11
  • Mark 7:25
  • Luke 4:33
  • Luke 8:3
  • Matthew 12:43-45

Notice this last scriptural reference.  Mathew 12:43-45 , “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.  (44) Then it says, I will return to the house I left.  When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. (45) Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there.  And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
It's all or nothing with God.    God is  not into playing games.   He seeks true repentance, nothing else will do.  

HOW TO OVERCOME

Jesus Christ defeated Satan on Calvary's cross.  Colossians 1:13, “For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”    Paul states in  Ephesians 4:25-27, “Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. (26) In your anger do not sin; do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, (27) and do not give the devil a foothold.”  No secrets, no lies, no bitterness or anger.  In order to overcome, truth, love and obedience to God's word must prevail.  To obey is better than sacrifice (1st Samuel 15:22).

Submit yourselves, then to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you (James 4:7).  We resist Satan by standing firm in our faith, being self-controlled and alert (Peter 5:8-9).   We follow God's guidance when we obey His commands.  1st John 2:3-6,  We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. (4) The man who says, “I know Him,” but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (5) But if anyone obeys His word, God's love is truly made complete in him.  (6) Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.  But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation –  “if” you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel (Colossians 1:21-23).   Peter says, “And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast (1st Peter 5:10).  The God of all peace will sustain you when you place your trust in Him. 

MAN IS A SLAVE TO HIS DESIRES

The Bible clearly states in 2nd  Peter chapter 2-19. “..for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.”   Ephesians 4: 18-19,  “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their heart.  (19)  Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a  continual lust for more.”

The Bible explains the Superman grandiosity mind of an addict in  Psalm 36:2,  “For in his eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.”   Once entrapped by the addiction you literally become a slave to it.  Your sex life seems boring with your wife, as your only desire is “sex”, not intimacy.  You blame your boring sex life on your wife's or husbands weight gain, or the old- faded cotton t-shirt she/he wears to bed.  

Perhaps it is the cellulite on your wife's body that turns you off, or the stretch marks from the children she bore you.  Maybe it is your husbands hair loss or beer belly. Then again it could be your partner's body odor, bad breath or hair color.  In contrast to the images on the pornography sites, your wife/husband  doesn't wear make-up nor does she  polish her nails and toe nails bright red, fushia pink or black. 

There are no five inch high heels, black leather boots, hand-cuffs,  whips and chains.   Perhaps her breast are too large, or too small.  His penis is too small, skinny or curved.  Maybe he/she prefers comfort over style and you never see your partner cleaned up with a  dash of perfume or mens fragrance filling the air around them.   In one word,  he or she has become “inadequate.”   Love and intimacy are long gone because they were  never there to start with!   You have limitless reasons to reinforce your denial of a sin that has so enslaved you.

TESTIMONIES OF WOMEN WHO HAVE MARRIED SEX - PORNOGRAPHY ADDICTS

DIANE

 My husband and I have been married for two years.  Just recently I found out he is a cyber/porn sex addict.  It started with pornography, and then strip clubs followed by massage parlors who service their customers with sex.  It was really devastating, I never thought it would happen to me, but it did.  This addiction has consumed him, he wouldn't be able to function without it!  And I don't know if I can function without him.  We have a baby girl to raise.

Synthia's note:  Could you learn to function with out your sex addict husband if you knew your daughter would one day grow up to become a “Hot Porn Star”,  just like the girls Daddy loves to watch?   Diane meet Jody...

JODY

Jody appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show – July 13, 2007.   She described how she found out her husband George was a sexual offender.  “I open the bedroom door and I just couldn't believe what I saw.  I walked in and saw Georgie in my thong underwear masturbating on the bed, watching (a pornographic film) with my baby next to him, naked.  Jody then  hides her daughter outside in a tent goes back inside now armed with a gun, to confront Georgie who laughs at her.  George then rushed her... and she shot him dead.   Jody was sentenced and charged with second-degree murder.  The jury found her “not guilty.”  On the same Oprah Winfrey Show, July 13, 2007,  Leanne Perry tells her story...

LEANNE

After 8 years of marriage Leanne Perry found out her husband James was a sexual offender when 17 – FBI officers arrived to search the house and arrest him.  James had video taped himself having sex with an 8 year old girl and sold it on the Internet.  James, considered to be an ordinary father of two, confessed to 40 assaults on children, and was given a sentence of 375 years in prison, which is the longest in Wisconsin's history.  Perry states in a courtroom film clip, “I would sell my soul to Satan if I could take it all back.”   Oprah Winfrey responds to the clip stating, “You already have.” 

GINGER

I've been married for 16 years and I can count on one hand the number of times my husband and I have had sex in all those years.  We didn't even have sex on our wedding night!  He has always suffered from something called “Inhibited Ejaculation” so even when we have had sex he was never able to have an orgasm.  He can however achieve orgasm by masturbating alone and watching porn on the computer which he does almost every night.  We have been to 3 different marriage counselors and he has been to 4 different sex therapists but no one has been able to help.  One doctor told us this problem can be caused by the man masturbating to porn from a young age and conditioning his body and mind to only get aroused by hardcore porn and the tight grip of his own hand.  He asked me  when we did have sexual intercourse, if my husband ever complained that his penis felt numb.  I almost fell out of my chair because he complained about the fact he couldn't feel anything every time we had sex.  The doctor explained that a vagina can never match the tight grip and super vigorous up and down action a man uses while masturbating so of course he doesn't get the hard stimulation with me that he does when he masturbates.  Plus men get hooked on the fantasy of being able to have a different women and different types of sexual activity just by clicking the mouse and downloading a new porn movie or going to different porn sites on the Internet.   My advice to women who's husbands are masturbating to porn is to do something before it is too late.  If the number of times a week or month that you have sex has been dwindling or if he is having problems ejaculating or keeping his erection, it could be caused by the porn.

KARLA

This Internet porn is just crazy!!!  It is soooo easy for my husband to access and some of it is really hard core.  How can I compete with that!?  The perfect bodies these young girls have and the fact that they seem willing to have any kind of sex the man wants.  My husband seems to like videos where the guy has two or three women at the same time.  It makes me sad  because he is a good father, helps with the housework and spend loads of time with our kids.  You couldn't ask for a better man except for the porn habit.  He needs his computer for his business so I can't throw it out the window.  I am at my wits end about all this. 

Even if Karla and her husband were able to ditch the computer it would not solve the problem.   Refer to my personal story "Foolish Pleasure - The Love Story Of A Sex Addict, His Betrayal, And Crime", to read about the problems Ryan encountered  when he no longer had access to his computer and the  daily pornography fix the Internet provides.  Obsessive compulsive sexual behavior is just a mask hiding deeper emotional pain and problems. 

No matter what Karla physically looks like,  her husband would continue in his addiction cycle of acting out even if she looked “better” than the girls or women he watches in his pornography activities, or the prostitutes he pays for.   He  has conditioned his self to like the variety his fantasy sex life provides.  You  can never compete with the power of the mind behind the “ fantasy.”   Karla's  husband has to come to “his” wits end before significant change can occur.   Karla doesn't sound like she's going anywhere, (reference co-dependency short story "The Roller Coaster Ride From Hell"), so there is nothing to motivate him to change.   Change can only take place within your life when you desire to change yourself! 

SONYA LEE

I have noticed my husband,  a self confirmed sex addict, who likes to  masturbate using Internet  pornography and watching hard core porn movies, can no longer maintain an erection when we try to have sex.   He stated when I  asked him about his noticeable difficulty, that is was because we had been together for so long.  We have been married less than 3 years!   I  sarcastically replied, “I never had that  problem with my ex-husband (this is my second marriage), and we were together over ten years!” Then my husband began to only desire sex in the mornings when his erection was easier to maintain.  I know this part will sound strange...when we do have sex he stiffens his body straight and thrusts his penis in and out in a  fast movement mimicking the same type of movement he does with his  hand when masturbating.  He also has stopped wanting to kiss, have foreplay, or after play.   The therapist he briefly went to stated he probably didn't want to kiss to avoid intimacy.  I found out he likes to pay for a prostitute every now and then.  At first this bothered me, until he explained it wasn't an emotional connection, just a physical act with a little money involved.  I think he is a good guy and I don't want to loose him.  I guess my biggest  fear is that I will end up alone with two children to support.

Synthia's note:
If  Sonya Lee doesn't  do something about the dysfunctional family she is raising her children in they will most likely  grow up to become just as addicted and dysfunctional as she and her husband are.  Sonja Lee is co-dependent and in denial, living with a  husband who  is a self confirmed sex addict.   She is also  placing her needs above her own children's  future emotional health and well being.  “What we imprint, we repeat,”  Dr. Faye Snider.   Both she and her husband would benefit from personal therapy.   A partner in life doesn't complete you, nor do they  bring you the happiness you long for, only God can do that.

SEXUAL DEFICIENCY - YOUR PENIS CANNOT FUNCTION!

Your attempts to have sex are impossible as your penis cannot function without pornography and your deviant fantasies.  You continue to blame your sexual deficiency problems on your partner.   You have no problem with sexual performance when you are alone and masturbating to your sexual fantasies.   You can continue to maintain your erection and masturbate many times a day as long as your sexually acting out your  fantasies.   So you surmise nothing is wrong with you, it is the fault of your boring partner who doesn't excite you.

CAN'T GET ENOUGH SEX?

Perhaps your sexual demons have caused another type of manifestation to occur within your mind, body, and soul, as you can't seem to get enough sex.   Such was the problem of serial killer Albert De Salvo.   His lawyer, F. Lee Bailey wrote that he was, 'Without a doubt, the victim of one of the most crushing sexual drives that psychiatric science has ever encountered.'    A Boston, Massachusetts handyman, De Salvo was neat in appearance, and never drank or smoked.   A former middleweight boxing champion for the US Army, Albert De salvo, according to his wife, demanded sex up to 12 times a day.

His double life included being known as the "Measuring Man", due to posing as a model talent scout who lured young would be female hopefuls.  The young ladies often allowed themselves to be felt and measured by him, many times agreeing to sex for possible future career opportunities.  His addiction to sex continued to escalate as he began to rape women at knife point.  Referred to by his victims as the "Green Man" due to the green trousers he liked to wear, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his "Green Man" criminal offenses.  While in prison in 1965, he also confessed to being the  infamous Boston Strangler, however that fact remains uncertain.   De Salvo died in 1975 in Walpole State Prison after being stabbed to death by an unidentified inmate.  

ARE YOU INTO BONDAGE AND CONTROL?

Are you into bondage and control?  Your sexual fantasy obsession and compulsions not only control your sexual performance with a live partner, they can ultimately control your  entire life!   It is then that the sin process takes its finial blow as you realize you live according to the demands of your addiction.  You no longer control your addiction, it controls you!   Consumed and vexed by your fantasies you realize you have lost your free will to your sexual- ritualistic patterns of destruction.   You have had so much exposure to fantasy/deviant sex acts with the reinforced-conditioning pattern of repeated masturbation to orgasm, that you have not only lost your will power, you have lost a lot of your life to its demands.   This is Satan's ploy as he seeks to kill and destroy you.

The tempters trap is set with the sweet smelling intoxicating pleasure that only the fantasy  temptation or the deviant addiction can bring.   You consume with ever increasing frequency until your belly is full and your gratification is satisfied (reference story, “Don't Feed The Pig, He Could End Up As Big As Hogzilla”).  You claim this is the last time and vow it will never happen again.  But it does happen again, and again, and again.   The last verse in 2nd  Peter chapter 2 verse 22  says it best, Of them the proverbs are true:  “A dog returns to its vomit," and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”    Jeremiah 13:23,  “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard change its spots?  Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.”

RECLAIM YOUR HOPE

You have tried everything within your power to beat the addiction.  You feel you have no hope, no life and certainly no joy.   But the real solution to your problem rest not in your power, but in Gods power to deliver and sustain you.  You can reclaim your hope ,your future and your life in Jesus Christ.  Ephesians 3:20,  “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.”    Philippians 4:13,  “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”   Do you feel powerless over your addiction?  Romans 5:6,  “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the unGodly.”

Do you feel you have committed sins that are beyond Christ's redemptive plan?  No matter the amount or how terrible you feel the sins you have committed are, all it takes is one drop of  Jesus Christ's shed blood to save and redeem you.   2nd Corinthians 5-19 ... “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.”   2nd Corinthians 5-21,  “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 

IF ANYONE IS IN CHRIST, HE IS A NEW CREATION

By accepting God's salvations plan you are covered by the blood of the lamb of sacrifice, Jesus Christ, becoming a new creation.   2nd Corinthians 5-17,  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.”    Romans 6:6,  “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that  we should no longer be slaves to sin.”  Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross of Calvary for all of humanities sin.   Romans 5:9,  “Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through Him.”  The price was paid in full on Calvary's cross.   Even if you were the only human soul on earth, He still would have paid the sacrificial price of His shed blood for your redemption.   He loves you that much.   Colossians 1:13-14,  “For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves (14) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

OUR CHOICES IN LIFE DETERMINE WHO WE ARE- AND- DETERMINE OUR FUTURE

No more bondage to sin, by Gods grace, love and mercy we are a new creation in Christ Jesus.  John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have life eternal.”    Romans 10:9,  “That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord: and  believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. “   salvation is a free will choice.  Deliverance is a choice.   Freedom from sin and shame is a choice.   It is our choices in life that determine our future destiny.

Many claim addiction is a disease.   According to every Biblical reference I have read and many that I have quoted, addiction is a disease called sin.   James 1:14-15 , ...  “but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. (15)  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. “   Sin is always a free will decision.   No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.  People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers.  The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart (Luke 6: 43-45).

ANYONE WHO TRUSTS IN HIM WILL NEVER BE PUT TO SHAME

Romans 10:11,  “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.”   Don't let the shame of your past keep you from claiming your hope  in the future.   Psalm 101:7,  “No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in My presence.   Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God (2nd Corinthians 4:2).   God blesses those who walk in His foot steps.   Romans 8:1, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”   God does not condemn His children.   He came to give you a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

You may feel discouraged and weak in your own past efforts, your spirit disheartened.   Tired of trying, you scapegoat, blaming your past for your present problems.    If only I didn't come from a divorced or dysfunctional family.  If only my father or mother hadn't  died.  If only I had not been abused or lied to, and the list goes on.  You have already tried running away.  Drugs, alcohol, sex, food, cutting, smoking, gambling, work, shopping, fantasy, money, success, power, movies, magazines, novels, the Internet, TV, have all been a means of escape.   Many a man has gone to the golf course to escape the reality's of a troubled life.  There are a lot of things in life that can become an addictive habit, including being addicted to people, approval and recovery it self!

The book of Hebrews teaches of endurance, perseverance and faith.  Hebrews 12: 1-4 ,... “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangle, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, (2) Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith who for the  joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  (3) Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.  (4) In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.  Verse  (11)  of that same chapter reads;  No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.  Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”   God and His providential provision of victory will see you through.

INVITE Jesus Christ INTO YOUR LIFE

If you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your life and sincerely surrender all your sorrow and pain, it is as simple as the following prayer;

Father God,
I ask you to forgive me of my sins.   I invite your Son, Jesus Christ my Redeemer, whose shed blood paid the price for my sins redemption on Calvary's cross, to come into my heart.  Creating in me a new heart, mind and spirit.   Thank you Father for your saving grace, mercy and love.
 Amen.  

 Isaiah 1:18,  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow;  though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

If you have said  that simple prayer you have just begun a new life in Jesus Christ.   Welcome to the Kingdom!   The deviant powers of darkness in your life will no longer prevail.   You are not alone as God, your heavenly Father walks with you.   He sends His angels to guard and keep you.   Psalm 91:11-12,  “For He will command His angels concerning you  to guard you in all your ways; (12)  they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”  God goes before you, walks beside you, and He's even got your back!   As Christians we are covered by the shadow of the Almighty.  God's faithfulness is our shield.  It is He that is our power and our strength!

DELIVERANCE, DOMINATION, AUTHORITY AND SUBMISSION

Once born again, you have God's spirit within you to defeat and dominate the sin and addictions that bind you.  To claim spiritual authority you have to put Satan in his place, which is underneath your feet.  Mathew 10:1,  “He called His twelve disciples to Him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.”   Mark 16:17,  “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues.”   Luke 10:19,   "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you."

Your deliverance is a simple three step process.

STEP ONE:

Accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior, then find a church with a pastor or priest that is Holy Spirit filled and believes in the deliverance power of Jesus Christ and His shed blood.  One who has faith and the anointing of God on his life.  Ask in prayer for God to guide you.   There are  many Christian faiths and denominations that believe in God's spiritual deliverance and power.   John 1:12,  “But as many as received him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

STEP TWO:

Confess your sin and addiction problems with the pastor/priest and at least one other elder within the church, asking forgiveness and Holy Spirit inspired power.   Mathew 18:19,  “Again I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My father in Heaven.”   Allow them to anoint your head with oil, pray over you, and with authority in the shed blood of the lamb, Jesus Christ, rebuke the demonic power of bondage out of your heart, mind, and soul.  Then it is by faith that you receive your healing, walking in obedience to God's word.  Faith without works is dead.

You can also agree in prayer with another anointed Christian mentor, it does not have to be a pastor, or priest.    God honors our obedience to His word and  He knows your heart.   He knows if you are truly sorry about your past sins or if you are only sorry you got caught!   2nd  Corinthians 7:10,   “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”

However, the person agreeing in prayer with you must be a strong dedicated Christian who is living a life of consecrated vigilance to God's word.   James 5 14-16 , “Is anyone of you sick?  He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. (15) And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up.   If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. (16) Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

STEP THREE:

Attitude Inoculation is a process of exposure to weaker arguments in order  to give yourself a mind set with reasons to just say “no”.   Jesus is much stronger than Satan.   If you read the story of Job in the Bible, you will know that God controls Satan.  So when thoughts or old behavior and self-indoctrinated patterns come, you can refute them by reading and memorizing the powerful word of God.   Place your faith on God's holy word.

When tempted (and you will be tempted Satan wants you back - be prepared for major spiritual battles), you can speak God's word.   You can also claim your spiritual authority and pray God's word for providential power.  Satan has no choice but to submit to God's authority.   Luke 10:20,  “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in Heaven.”   

Psalm 119: 11,  “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.” 

Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” 

POST ACUTE WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME (PAWS)

A group of withdrawal systems that can occur as a drug or alcoholic (and other addictive processes/behaviors), attempts abstinence.   The  withdrawal symptoms can include sleeplessness, unclear thinking, stress, generally appearing for 7 to 14  days into abstinence during the stabilization period.   Other withdrawal side effects can include; cognitive racing or recycling thoughts with impaired concentration and attention span, emotional absence or an excess of emotions with a tendency towards hyper reaction, and  short term memory loss.

THE WORD OF God DEFEATS SATAN'S ATTACKS

The anointed word of God is the ammunition needed to defeat Satan and his attacks.   Jesus Christ has proven this when He  himself was tempted of Satan ( Luke 4:1-13).   Jesus used the inspired Holy anointed word of God to defeat the enemy's attacks.    He gave us His example of faith to rely on.  He will vindicate  you.   Memorize and place within your heart Biblical scriptures.  The spiritual  tools necessary to win your battles.  Greater is He that is within you then he that is in the world.   If God be for us who can be against us.  Gods word will not return void.   Jere. 30:17,  "But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the Lord,..."     Jere. 32:27,  "I am the Lord, the God of all mankind, Is anything too hard for Me?"

I HAVE PUT MY HOPE IN YOUR WORD

 Your success will come as you draw closer to the one who defeated the tempter both in life and in death.  Then too you will decree:  I hate double-minded men, but I love your law.  You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in Your word.  Away from me, you evil doers, that I may keep the commands of my God! -  Psalm 119:113-116.    My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end (Psalm 119:112).   Other means of personal help many have claimed beneficial has been professional therapy, journaling, and Christian mentor ship.

ADDITIONAL READING RESOURCES BY SYNHIA ESTHER

• A Free Gift
• My Sacred Journey Home
• Your Pain Has A Purpose
• Planting Seed
• Surviving The Storm
• Advancing The Kingdom
• Integrity
• The Narrow Road To Life
• Sex Addiction/Escalation Warning Signs
• Foolish Pleasure - The Love Story Of A Sex Addict His Betrayal, And Crime
• Wicked Games People Play
• Co-Dependency - Delusions Of Reality
• Falling For The Stepford Woman
• The Roller Coaster Ride From Hell
• Don't Feed The Pig - He Could End Up As Big As Hogzilla
• The Secret Law Of Attraction - A False Reality Of A Conceptual Manner
• God's Law Of Defeasance - And The Victory It Provides

HELP OTHERS BY PASSING THIS FREE INFORMATION FORWARD

We at Synthia Esther Ministries,  pray this free information has helped you in your search for answers to any questions you may have had concerning addictions, with specific details pertaining to pornography and  sexual addiction.   In order to continue to provide this free informative service and outreach we depend  solely on your contributions.   If we have helped you in anyway, we pray you will pass it forward by supporting and donating to our purposeful cause.  Thank-you on behalf of others who will gleam knowledge because of your generosity and benevolence.

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