Well, you may wonder what this gray-haired woman's doing up here. Well, I've been following my husband around for 51 years. And we have really been a team. We've been missionaries in Sierra Leone, Africa. And he was president of Fort Wayne Bible College at one point. And I was teaching in a Christian school. And then he finished that career and we went to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. And I worked in a seminary library, which I just loved. And I was in charge of circulation and then in charge of interlibrary loans. And I got to work with the students and the professors and that was fun. And then after that, well, it was retirement age. And so we retired, but this has become the busiest time in our lives. So we looked around. It would have been nice to go where it was warmer, maybe down here in this area. But we just felt like we should go back to Fort Wayne, Indiana. And it's been good because God has kind of healed the relationship that was needing healing and also we have been used at our church to start a freedom ministry this year. And we've been at that church about 12 years, 13 years now, and finding with the time. And so some of the people that we took through the steps are now taking people through the steps. And that makes us very, very happy that we're ready to lay down our equipment and Go to our eternal reward, award, reward. So anyway, that's a little bit of a kind of a background. Thank you. That's a little brighter. You look brighter. You do well sitting through all these sessions. And then another one in the evening. You'd like to be congratulated. Well, I hope this won't be boring for you tonight, that I'll put you to sleep. Well, my husband and I have been with Dr. Neil Anderson's organization since 1993. The Steps to Freedom have been the main tool that we have used in discipleship counseling. Now tonight I asked that we pass out the manual to you so that you can refer to that. I need to tell you up front That is Simone. If you'd like to own it, you can maybe see them. Like Jim, I think, standing there would be glad to do it, since he takes care of books. OK? So if you need another copy, you might want to pick one up. Well, it was when I grasped the truth that the results in taking someone through the steps to freedom was really the Holy Spirit's work, and that I could relax And I could put my confidence in Him. It made all the difference to me. And because, you know, ah, think of taking somebody through the steps, a little scary. And I didn't have to be concerned about being, oops, sorry, being perfect and having all the answers and everything. But I could depend upon the Holy Spirit. And I sought to, I seek to honor Him and ask in prayer for his wisdom and his guidance before beginning a session. And it makes all the difference. Well, I want to talk about the Holy Spirit's role. There's an outline, I'll try to follow it tonight, so in case you're wondering. It was when I grasped the truth that the results in taking someone through the steps to freedom that I say that I could relax and just give that over to him. Now, the first time that we get together is many a time to get acquainted and to hear their story. And we use a simple little genogram. And I think that you've got one, a sample of it in your papers that were distributed. Yes. Here we are. And have you ever seen a genogram before? So you know how it works pretty well. A code that you could use in using this is over here at the side. Anyway, this is where we can use this to record some generational information and some additional facts. Since we will be meeting about three more times, a quick review of the genogram will help recall their history. That really helps when you see a number of people you don't remember. And so it really is helpful that way. And then on the back page of the paper, I usually make just a little key to, well, the history, teaching, Page 5, there's some special things to do there. And then 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, the steps. And then when I, on that session, if I check those, I'll know right where I finished and what I need to be done next. So that's a handy thing. When I forget to do that, I'm in trouble. So after this has been adequately covered, I begin teaching to present the heart of our industry. which is who they are in Christ and living out their identity in life. And this truth is explained using the biblical worldview. And if you know my husband, I've heard, how many have heard Tim teach this? Good. I see almost everyone. Thank you. And so you understand what I'm talking about, being a child of God, being born, Saved through the cross of Jesus Christ, born into the kingdom, adopted as a child, and seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. And to help them to learn how to live that out in life can be so transforming for them. So we really emphasize that as we go through the steps with them. Well, during our times together, it's important, I believe, not to be judgmental. I've been aware of this different times in certain situations that it has made a big difference because I'm not there to be their judge. God's the judge. But I'm there to help them and to listen with a kind and understanding spirit, striving to be gentle and sympathetic. Choosing words carefully as you ask questions and discuss things and second Timothy. Maybe you know this Do you know second Timothy 2? 24 to 26 it's a very Clear on this technique as well and the Lord's servant must not quarrel Instead he must be kind to everyone able to teach not resentful those who oppose him he must gently instruct in the hope that God will grant them repentance, leading them to the knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil who has taken them captive to do his will. So that's, I think, when they know that you're that kind of person, and somebody shares the fact that they've gone through the steps with someone, then they can encourage them that they will be confident there in a presence like that. So I encourage you that direction. And how many take people through the steps? Good for you. Okay. And I'm sure you know what I mean. Well, I've taken, since we began in 93, around 400 women through the steps. And I've just learned a lot along the way. And so, onward and forward here. Dr. Anderson, you know his basic books? And I think you may be required to read some of that. What, Victory of the Darkness and Bondage Breaker? Good. And of course, we need to remember that the bondage breaker is Jesus Christ, not us. We're not the ones to do that. And Christian counseling is an encounter with God. The steps are all based on the scriptures, and I think that's powerful, that you can tell that to a person. You're just going to say about this what God says in your life. And you need to create a safe place where they know that you are trustworthy and loving, and where it's safe to confide things that are private. And just recently I had a young woman come She came to a point where what she wanted to share was a little embarrassing, and she was reluctant to say it. But I told her, you have a safe place here. And she went ahead and shared. So when they know that, then they are not threatened. And God has given us a ministry, all of us, a ministry of reconciliation to Him. And that's an awesome responsibility and a great privilege. Next, we're going to look at issues frequently or encounter that may take people through steps. First of all, divorce and the Christian woman. Women who come for discipleship counseling are frequently living in a divorce state. Some are about to be divorced, some have been divorced, and some have had multiple marriages that have ended in divorce. And the result is that children have been produced with different fathers, so there are many problems that they face. In our society today, unfaithfulness to marriage partners is very common. The marriage covenant made at the altar before God is not embraced as a lifetime commitment. No. There's always the possibility of a divorce. if this doesn't work out. And sometimes a husband or a wife just walks away, leaving a wife or a husband with children to care for and all the complications of doing that as a single parent. Sometimes they are themselves products of divorced parents and may be influenced by that fact in their own marriages. There have been some sad cases that I have seen recently. One lady's husband is having an affair and wants a divorce. This affair is being carried out in the very house that they co-own. But she is going through all this as she is. She is trying to walk deeper with the Lord. It was beautiful to work with her. She completed walking through the steps, and through my encouragement, she was baptized this last summer. And then she decided to go to join the church in order to be more involved. But what really makes this difficult for her is that she still loves him, and she has to deal with the divorce proceedings as well. And I just met her at church just a couple weeks ago. And she stopped to talk to me. And she said, I still love him. And that's tough. That's real tough. Another dear woman's husband took off with her secretary, leaving her with her child. She has since married a really fine Christian man. And they have a remarkable ministry together. that is being blessed of God with significant fruit. God gives her wisdom in dealing with CEOs, and they have been able to lead a number of them to Christ. It's been fantastic to hear them tell about it. Well, she is receiving healing for a traumatic childhood and working through the steps with me a little bit at a time. Actually, she is an SRA, so she has a lot to work through. Another person came knowing she wanted out of marriage. She was a vivacious young woman, but she just was, actually she went into her marriage not wanting, not really being excited about being married, and not really wanting to be married, but went through it, and now here she is wanting to break her vows. And her husband completed the steps going through them with my husband, but she has not yet done that. And I really doubt that she will. And I really fear for the marriage. She's just determined to put an end to it. He's a really fine handsome big guy. Why? A woman wouldn't want a guy like that. It's amazing. So what is my role then as a Christian discipleship counselor? One thing for sure, I am not a divorce counselor. But here they are carrying their hurts, yet wanting to go forward with God. And that is exactly what my role is. That is to help them see things from a biblical perspective. With the aid of the Steps to Freedom, We have a platform in which they can look at things from God's perspective and agree with him about things in their lives and then move on with God. The Holy Spirit is our teacher, our helper, and our guide. He will often give insights and words to speak that are just right for the situation. Sometimes I'm aware that a thought I just expressed It really had to be from him. I don't know where it came from. And I trust that you'll experience those things as well. Well, next we want to look at sex and the Christian woman. You know, sexual experiences can begin very early in life. Even very small children are the objects of sexual abuse. And these experiences can mark them for life if they're not resolved. Satan takes advantage of such experiences to create strongholds in them. You know, I believe that the demons watch for that opportunity in little children to get a stronghold in there. Well, there was a Trinity graduate came to see us with his wife one Saturday morning. We got a phone call. Can we come? Things are just out of whack over here. And he came in and she did with him and he no sooner sat down than a demon spoke through him. And he said that it was going to destroy his marriage. That morning, and his anger over the messy house and they had two small children and that's kind of hard to keep a house pretty neat on a Saturday morning with that. Well, he had broken the telephone. In the course of dealing with his problem, he revealed that he had had a sexual experience at five with his mother. He was struggling with demonic control over certain compulsive behaviors. He was full of rage, and he was a closet pornographer. This man was graduating from seminary, ready to take a church, looking for a church. Wouldn't you like a pastor like that? And this childhood experience that he had was the basis for his demonization. And when he confessed his sin, And one of his sins, I might as well mention to you, was that he was compulsively driven to go to a porn shop and examine things there. And this is not a very good thing for a young minister. And when he confessed his sin, the demon said that he is in your control, and he left. That wasn't hard. I mean, it was a knockdown drive out, getting that demon out. Just go to the source and deal with it. And yes, then they have no more ground to be there. And today he is successfully pastoring, and Tim has kept contact with him. So we're thankful for that. Well, looking at effects from having sex outside of marriage next. By the age of puberty, while still in grade school, children are having sexual contacts and that at an increasingly earlier age. Oral sex has become common in middle school. Intercourse and oral sex are common among young adults in high school. Date rape is a problem among high school and college age. What began at an early age is continued on as adults are having multiple sex partners. These are common practices among Christians as well as non-Christians. And our society is a sexually promiscuous society, agree? And you can't turn on that television without something of that order. Well, Satan will attack girls who have been raped or have entered into sexual relationships against their better Dutch judgment and convince them that since they have crossed the line that they can't go back and they have become depressed and perhaps even more rebellious. Women with these experiences come to me to go through the steps. They are sad and they are ashamed of their past. They're ashamed of how they have been so casual in the use of their bodies. They're full of regret and wanting to get right with God. Rare is the woman who is without any kind of sexual experience outside of marriage. When they come to me, they make long lists many times of sexual partners. A woman who had high moral values succumbed to a man who was in the ministry, whom she thought she could trust. After he broke with her, he was with another woman. She came seeking help, but she wept so hard as she tried to tell me her story, that she just couldn't continue, and so she left. When I called her later, She said that she wasn't able to face the problem, and she's never called again. Her shame was too great. She was a fine woman, but fell, and then felt so regretful for it. Each woman has a story to tell concerning her life and relationship with men. If they are not married, many desire to marry a Christian man, and yet they have not kept themselves pure. This is often the case for men as well, according to my husband. We are sexual beings, and we are looking for our Prince Charming to make us his princess, hoping to live happily ever after. We all have a dream, but sometimes difficult to accomplish. Well, many of the women I see are products of homes where abuse has taken place physically, emotionally, verbally, and sexually. Some are homes where parents have not nurtured them with love. and children grow up without the essential formation of a much-needed love foundation. And Jeff Bacone has referred to that as well as Marcus and filled that out in more detail for you. This need is so great that they will search for love all their lives. But it is a bottomless pit which craves more and more. It's like a funnel where you pour in abundance of love, but just a little bit of it is received, a little bit trickles to the ground. We worked with a woman for three years while we were at Trinity, and she was an SRA, and that was the case. We poured in, and Marcus was there as well, he knows, we poured in lots and lots of love and care for that woman, but she received very little of it. Well, I believe that really only God's love can feel so deep a need. Sometimes a woman has been molested, perhaps by a babysitter, or a family member, or even a parent, or by a stranger, or a neighbor, or while on a date. The scars there will last for a lifetime. And the trauma and emotional damage is really hard to heal. Their recovery varies, and often their marriage intimacy is difficult. I remember when we were in France, we were ministering with a couple there, and they really had wanted us to come see them because they were in that category. She had had sexual molestation in her a relationship with her father, and it was really affecting their marriage. And today, I think they have found some healing, and they are very much involved taking people through the steps, and they're at a college doing that. Well, dealing with step six, there are three parts, so if you want to turn to that, And that's on page 17. The first part of step six is this fleshly bondage. And looking through those, we're not going to refer to them now, but those are all things that are still hanging on after you come to Christ that really need to be renounced and turned from. But the middle part is on page 17 called Resolving Sexual Sin. Now, I will be referring to, on the page that has these two prayers, I guess we call them, on the bottom one, I'm going to be referring to that as we go through this step. This is how I approach this. If it's helpful to you, maybe you would like to do that as well. Following along as you read there, it is our responsibility not to allow sin, rule, or reign in our mortal bodies. We must not use our bodies or another person's body as an instrument of unrighteousness. Sexual immorality is not only a sin against God, but also it is a sin against your body because it's the temple of the Holy Spirit. So to find freedom from sexual bondage, begin by praying the following prayer. Then of course you have, where the dark print is, you have that person read that prayer out loud. Lord Jesus, I have allowed sin to reign in my mortal body. I ask you to bring to my mind every sexual use of my body as an instrument of unrighteousness, so that I can renounce those sexual sins and break those sinful bondages. In Jesus' name, I pray. And then I go on and read this for them. As the Lord brings to your mind every immoral sexual use of your body, whether it was done to you by rape, incest, sexual lustration, or willingly by you, through pornography, masturbation, sexual immorality. Every experience needs to be renounced. So before I introduce this next prayer and how to take care of this, I keep some lined paper in the back of my loose leaf notebook that I'll be referring to later. that I use to keep everything together when I'm walking someone through the steps. And I'll refer to that later. But I keep some paper that I can just pull out a sheet and give them one. And they make their list. And sometimes there's just maybe one or four or maybe a whole page full. And yet, each one of them needs to be renounced. And noticing this prayer, this is how we're going to be handling it. I renounce having a sexual experience, and I don't need to say what it is. Was it intercourse? Was it heavy petting? Was it oral sex? Because they want to clear the deck here, and we're going to be honest about it. And then they have to name the person on their list that they're doing that about, and name that person. you're asking God to do, to break that sinful bond. And because I really think there's a strong soul tie there that's been involved, I have them add that word there, because I think it strengthens it. And if, do you have on your sheet, I think you do, 1st Corinthians 6 16 Okay, and it says do you not know that? He who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body For it is said the two will become one flesh and you know when a person is has united flesh with another person outside of marriage and Can you imagine how fragmented they are with all the people they have been involved in? And we've had a man and a woman come who were having marital problems. And she ended up having over 200 men that she'd been involved with, and he had 40. Well, I can imagine how fragmented they were and how difficult that was to try to be unified in this marriage. Well, so I will have them say, I ask you to break that sinful bond and soul tie with, and repeat that person's name, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. And because when I take some women through the steps, I teach them how to command. command the enemy to leave. And I'll be referring to that again more fully. But at the bottom of this First Corinthians passage is what I add to this prayer of enunciation. I ask you to send, if it's a male she's talking about, or maybe they even had a female relationship, or maybe a man and two men, My husband and the man, they could use this. I ask you to send his spirit back to him and to bring my spirit into wholeness from that relationship. Wow. I'll tell you, that adds so much power, I think. You know, to know that that fragmentation is going to be broken and you're going to be whole again. And then here's the command. In Jesus' name, I command every evil spirit who has had a foothold based on that relationship to leave me and to go where the Lord Jesus Christ sends you. So, my experience is, I have a sensitivity to demons, and I sense when they leave, and not everyone has that kind of a gift, but I do, and so when they leave, And each one, shingling, we go through that prayer with each one. It takes a long time sometimes, because when they come in, I feel them leave. They touch, I feel the pressure and the tingling. How many have some kind of a spirit, sensitivity to spirits like that? Okay, there are a few people. Yeah, so you know what I'm talking about, right? I'm not off the wall somewhere. Okay, okay, all right. And you know what I think after this, and they get through that, that is such a wonderful way to take care of that problem and close the door there to the work of the enemy. Because the amazing thing is that the enemy hangs around, and he hangs around for a long time. Well, I love this prayer at the end. Those of you who are familiar with it know what I'm talking about already. But let's read through it. so that all of you know about it. Lord Jesus, I renounce all these uses of my body as an instrument of unrighteousness, and I admit to my willful participation. I choose to present my physical body to you as an instrument of righteousness, a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to you. I choose to reserve the sexual use of my body I reject the devil's lie that my body is not clean or that it is dirty or in any way unacceptable to you as a result of my past sexual experiences. Lord, thank you that you have cleansed and forgiven me and that you love and accept me just the way I am. I choose now to accept myself and my body as clean in your eyes. In Jesus' name, I pray. And I think that's a wonderful way to bring a conclusion to that. Well, one lady came with her love tank practically empty. She craved touching and quality time with her non-emotional husband. Their sex life was okay, but she was angry and even thinking of divorce when she came for counseling. I found out that her love foundation was not filled from her childhood home experiences. So she started out in marriage very needy in this area. Now she was starving because her husband wasn't filling her love tank. I suggested that they read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, read it together, and to discuss each chapter, identifying each other's love language. How many are familiar with that book? Good. If you haven't, that's a good tool to have in your satchel. We've now completed the steps together, and I trust that going Step six, like we just looked at, will have broken the ties to former out-of-wedlock experiences that she had. The husband has finished the steps, going through them with Tim. But he could use a tune-up, and my husband and I have talked about that. So I think he'll give him a call. Well, a few years ago, my husband was a guest speaker at a Mennonite conference. A woman arrived unexpectedly who was not part of the conference. She said that her purpose in coming was to give witness to the freedom she had received by going through the steps to freedom. Her story was that she had been sexually abused by her father since she was a child. This led to her becoming promiscuous as an adult. Her mind had been filled with condemning thoughts, especially telling her that she was her father's sex toy. She was a counselor herself, but could never speak of her condemning thoughts that would shame her. She had gotten hold of the steps to freedom and learned of the battle for the mind. She learned of how Satan's work is to try to take us captive by his lies. flooding our minds with negative things to try to defeat us. She learned who she was in Christ and the authority she had in Christ to take her thoughts captive and to renounce them. She recognized the thought she was having as Satan's lies. She renounced them. She affirmed God's truth that she was a child of God and that he had forgiven all her sins as she had confessed them to him and washed her clean in Christ's blood. Thus she won the battle for her mind and she was free from condemnation. She was there to give testimony to her exciting freedom from Christ. I thought it might be interesting to read what she gave my husband a copy of. And these are letters to Jesus. I won't read all of it, but enough so you know what she was thinking. Dear Jesus, it's been quite evident over the past few weeks that Satan would do just about anything to keep me from being free in Christ. This is the first I have really sat down to write and to purposely work through the steps for myself. The voices and onslaught and the screaming in my head have been phenomenal. I never mentioned to anyone that I heard derogatory voices because I knew they would think I was crazy and hallucinating. I've always lived with a memory of numerous apparitions appearing to me as a child. Some I welcomed because they seemed to comfort me. Others I hid from because, excuse me, others I hid from because they frightened me. I have always had nightmares. I still am plagued with horrid dreams about blood and death, particularly my own death, even though I have not been actively suicidal since I destroyed my sleeping pills about two years ago. The other thing that has occurred to me as a result of watching two videos of Neil Anderson is that I have been unwilling to take responsibility for my own thoughts. I've wanted some kind of help from the outside without being willing to do the work necessary for myself. I'm recommitting myself to Jesus here and now, and I'm asking the Holy Spirit to to bring to mind those areas of my life that need to be renounced, forgiven, cleansed, and released. I choose life. I choose to begin to walk through the steps to freedom." And then she had three pages of honest confession. And then she listed all the lies, some lies that she was hearing. I have no business being part of the church because of my past. I have nothing to offer. No one wants me around. I will only destroy those who try to get close to me, so I better not let anyone get close. Who do you think you are trying to minister to others when your life is such a mess? You're defective. That's why your dad abused you. That's why others are out to harm you. You have no right to take up anyone else's time with your difficulties. You ought to be able to handle them yourself. You're a failure, a loser. You'll never get out of abuses of the past, and so on. And lots of people have this negative thinking. And you know the source of that, don't you? It's from the enemy. Well, she goes on to say, and this is a letter to her therapist after going through the steps to freedom, as I've thought about and weighed what happened in God's presence and your office, I am awestruck at the reality that not only has Christ completely severed the spiritual bond between myself and this person she was living with and all the others I was involved with, but that he would also touch the deeper issue, a place where I have held the belief that I actually became the slut, whore, adulterer, the evil one, the witch that mom and dad had always said that I was. Facing the reality of that truth, or rather what I believed to be the truth about me, has been more than I believe God could ever make clean or redeem. I could not escape the embarrassment, nor could I forgive my willing participation The violations were easier to renounce because I was not choosing them for myself. It is possible that as I've continued to renounce, not just the sexual acts themselves, but also the beliefs that I became the embodiment of evil I participated in, that the Lord would expunge the record and that he would expunge and cleanse my life. I am no longer under the names of my father, but I am truly a new person in Christ that I, as you say, clean as a houndstooth. I have always thought of myself as a slut and adulteress, thanks to my heart, who was just taking up space in the church, but could never take a position of responsibility or ministry because my past was so evil. It's like God has taken a giant sponge through the battered and bloody portion of my life that has been a major stronghold, absorbed all the blood, all the pain, all the lies. And as he took all of this away, he left me new and free and clean in him. I don't have to contend with the weight of that sin because it's forgiven, nailed to the cross through the blood of Jesus. I have known all the lies in my head and have wanted to believe that God's word was true. Today I know in my heart and spirit. As I renounced these things, I thought, how can these words set me free? How could they not? They are the power of God. And she came to this midnight conference and wanted to give witness to what God had done. Well, now looking at the importance of forgiveness. Since this is often a major issue and lengthy, I like to start a step with this. I like to start a session with this step. And so I don't necessarily take the steps in order. You know, I begin with step one and sometimes it takes the whole time together to do that step. There's so much stuff there. And then there are some of the steps that take less time. So I can, three always takes, forgiveness always takes, a lot of time, and so I like to start a session with that. Well, you can turn to page 11, and that will be the forgiveness step. I just want to speak to its contents while you're looking at it. The first column is not where I start. Where I usually start is, let's see, turn to it in my book here. I want to show you a picture. Okay. This picture illustrates forgiveness And the first square, this is the person who was offended. This person said or did something. And it was like a chain was cast over on them. It connected the two of them. And there was a hurt on her and a guilt on him. That's a long chain. That chain can go to the graveyard. Or you can go to Timbuktu. It goes right along with you. My husband gave a seminar at a church, and a young man came to him afterwards and said, how do you forgive somebody who's dead? And my husband told him the same way that you forgive when they're living. Well, the next day, he came and knocked on the door. And he was all smiles. He says, do I look different? What he had done was to ask somebody, a friend, to go to the grave of his father. And he stood on his father's grave and wept and forgave him. And we had heard that he had a really hard, difficult father. And so we knew what he was talking about. And so he was free. He says, I wish somebody had told me this years ago. I have hurt my children and my grandchildren with this bitterness that I carry. And so he was free. And God doesn't want us to stay like this. He doesn't want us to be a captive and a victim. God wants us to choose to take those chains off of that person and forgive them. It's really between us and God, isn't it, when we choose to forget? doing it his way. And that's the only way that God has for us to be free. And this is the picture of freedom. This person no longer chained to that person and the Lord has taken the chains away. So that's a good way to introduce this. I'll show you on the On the second column, as you look there, and on the column B, the next page, is more instruction about forgiveness. And I always read that. Sometimes we alternate reading. They read one paragraph and I do the next. And then it's real important to know that here's the prayer that we follow in choosing to forgive. And once again, they're going to have to make a list, aren't they? People they need to forgive. What I do when I finish talking about freedoms, go back to that first column and read it and then have them also read aloud that prayer. And then make a list. Give them a sheet of paper and have them write down the people that they need to forgive. I mean, sometimes that's also a long list. There's some real heavy things on it. And what I ask them to do, if there's someone that's like a father or mother, you know, there are lots, maybe lots of things. So I suggest that they write down what it is they want to forgive so they cover all the bases as much as they can. Well, going back to what I want to read here, one woman, Let's see, I got that covered. One woman with whom I was working was on step three, which is about forgiveness. And this woman had made her list of names of people to forgive. And after forgiving one who had been a sexual partner, we then turned to the Lord for his work through inner healing prayer. We talked about the apostate today. We do an inner healing prayer that's not quite as complicated as theaposity. And it's something the Lord's just taught us years ago. Just begin to learn about looking inside and seeing what God wants to say or show a person. It's all His works, not mine. We don't suggest anything to them. Okay, let's see what happened. She was able to see this man in her mind, but she also saw about five other men attached to him by chains. She recognized them as those on her list with whom she had had sex. Immediately, I knew what had to be done, and we turned to step six, and that's what we just looked at, revolving sexual sin. So we work through renouncing each sin she had committed with each of the men using a process we have, the process we just looked at. After she completed that, we returned to the inner healing. When she saw inside her mind again all the men that were attached, and all was dealt with in God's name. Aren't you thankful that he does that? And it is such a blessing, this inner healing. We've got some wonderful things, and I'm going to share a little bit about that. And if you... I packed this. I'm going to take this and do this right now. I had this photocopied because she was willing for this to be used. And this will give you an insight Sometimes when they have a really amazing or powerful picture inside and learn something really important from it, I like to have them write it down so they know what they saw and what they heard. Well, this woman writes, first of all, about her dad. I forgave dad today. When I closed my eyes, I saw Dad and I sitting down. He was in a big chair, and I was at his feet. I was just a little girl, and sometimes they do, they see themselves small. I saw the chains that were around him and around myself. I was asked to talk to the big Carla, that's this person's name. But she was seeing herself small. So she was asked to talk to her as an adult. But I wouldn't. I was asked to look at Jesus. I knew he was standing behind my dad. And it doesn't make sense here. But when little Carla tried to look up at Jesus, all she saw was complete darkness. Eleanor prayed. The demons get away, and they left. Big Carla went and met Little Carla, and they walked away together. Big Carla embraced Christ with a loving hug. He loved me. So there was some disassociation there, you know, from that childhood experiences that she had, and there was a merger of that. Well, today I forgave this person. This man is an ex-husband. For all his pain, he put on me. When I closed my eyes, I saw Kirk constantly moving and me constantly trying to get close. When I saw the chains on us both, I asked Christ to come and be with us. Christ said to leave this man emotionally. And I said, I can't. He's my husband. I can't completely abandon him. Eleanor said I could still pray and hope for him, but not be emotionally attached. That made me feel good to still be able to care about him. But I know the emotional attachment to Kurt has been unhealthy for me. and I renounce the connection the demons are trying to hold me to him with. I let the chains go, and Christ and I are going to be healthy together. And this one, she's talking about her present husband. I forgave him for the hold Lori has on him, and for the chains of his past and not communicating well. When I closed my eyes, I saw him with a big chain around his neck, almost choking him to the point of death. And some other chains, the chains were hooked to me. I asked Christ to help me forgive him. And I said, I would. But what about tomorrow when he hurts me again? Christ reassured me. that the two of us are going to get healthy and not to worry about tomorrow, to trust him for the day. I said, I can handle that. My husband and I throw the chains to Christ and he threw them away. He and I hugged and Christ put his arms around us both. And then another person, a woman, and her husband. I forgave them for the chains they choose to keep on themselves that bond them together in an unhealthy way. A big, thick chain around this woman's neck and also her husband's neck, locking them together. I saw as if a small chain was linking me to my husband and with him in the middle, I asked Christ to help me take the chains off all of us. And he took them off of me, but not of my husband and this woman. They grabbed the chains around their neck and would not let go. Christ said he couldn't take them off. My husband and this woman, he couldn't take them off them unless they choose. I saw the two of them with evil forces flying around them. Christ said, now I know what I am up against and how I can get strong and healthy and fight the enemy. And one more here. I forgive this person, this man, for the disrespect he has for me and for the qualities he has like another person. I closed my eyes and immediately saw Miho putting chains all over this man and they were not big ones but so many little ones that they were weighing him down. I started to ask Christ to come in our presence. And when I opened my mouth to ask him, he said, I'm already here. I asked him to help take the chains off this man and myself. And I looked at Christ, and he was already taking them off. He said, he's been waiting for this to happen. I asked Christ what I should do about my sin. my son, or what to do with him. And Christ said, he needs you. I asked, how does he need me? And he said, he needs you. You know how he needs you. I saw me and my son, and let's see, and the security has something has taken, has, Sorry, you can't read that word. It's written over. With me, when I lay in bed and hug him, that must be your husband then, Christ just kept saying, he needs me. And there is one more. Are you ready for that final one? It's interesting, it shows so many different things, you know, that can happen. And I forgive myself today I closed my eyes and saw Christ standing by the cross. I told him all the sins I was individually laying at the cross. I asked Christ to forgive me for each one. And he said, just leave them at the good cross. They are forgiven. And we walked away together. I saw myself with Christ walking. Christ was walking along and I was running around him, dancing with freedom from my chains. I saw, she, her name's Carla, we already know that. I saw little Carla and big Carla sitting on each side of Christ's lap. I told Christ that I wanted little Carla to love, to come alongside, inside of my, of me because we were ready to become one maturing adult, and in less than a second, the little Carla just floated over to big Carla and went inside. Let's see. Something missing here. And they were gone from sight and felt as one, complete. So that's many, many different things happen that's not The usual one that's unique to each person. So, how many have ever done an inner healing praying with a yoga? Yes. And it works. Yes, it works. Okay. Well, one thing to be careful of is that you're not visualizing for them. This is only the work of the Lord. And that's one thing you need to be careful. You're not the one that's doing it. Okay. Now we'll look at the weapons of our warfare. I devised the term myself, double-barreled shotgun. Because I think these two things that we're going to talk about are part of the weapons of our warfare. And I trust that it will be helpful to you. Well, we Christians are engaged in a war. Ours is a lifetime of battles against our enemy, Satan. Our weapons are not of this world, but our spiritual weapons, according to 2 Corinthians 10, 3 to 5. And we need to use what I call a double barrel, a spiritual double barrel shotgun to defeat our enemy and Satan and his evil ones. So, winning the battle for sin because the first barrel is going to be dealing with sin. One barrel needs to be filled with the knowledge of how to deal with sin. James 4, 7 says, submit to God, resist the devil. and he will flee from you. The steps, prayers are all based on James 4.7. Well, I asked myself, well, how do you submit to God? And if I submit to God and I know how to do that, then I'll be able to resist the devil and he'll flee. So, well, the first thing is we need to agree with God that what we did was an offense to him, so I need to confess that before him. And you have a paper there to follow if you need it. Yes, on the top of the other prayer that we did for step six, you can follow along with that. Well, the first one, as you see, under submit to God is confession. And if I confess that sin that was offensive to God, 1 John 1 says, if I confess my sins, what will He do? He will forgive us, right, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So the second thing is forgiveness, and I need to receive that forgiveness. You know, some people sin, confess, sin, confess, sin, confess, They never receive that forgiveness. And that's very important. You'll never be able to forgive yourself if you don't receive God's forgiveness. So that's important. When you're helping a person to go through this, they need to acknowledge that. All right, the next one is that word renunciation. And renunciation, I think, is a real powerful word in the spirit world. Because you're saying, I renounce that sin back there and I'm turning from it. And it's like repentance, and you're turning from it. And you're committing yourself to follow God's way, to walk in his spirit. And so I think when you've done that, you've really submitted to God, haven't you? You've really taken care of your sin. Well, it says now that I can resist the devil and he'll flee from me. So, how do we do that? We can only resist him through the name of Jesus and by his authority. And because we are in him, we have been given the right as his child to command the devil to leave. So here's an example. I wrote out this first prayer because I thought it says what's taking place. Heavenly Father, I thank you that on the basis of my confession, renunciation, and commitment, you have taken away all legal ground that Satan has claimed against me. Sin gives Satan the legal right to be there. And it's like garbage. is to the rats, it attracts them. You get rid of the garbage, get rid of the rats. You take care of the sin, you can get rid of the enemy. And so now we need to, because how many people know how to command the enemy to leave? A few of you, yeah. You know the church doesn't know how to deal with an enemy. I have to teach these women how to command men to leave. And so I've written that out. Now in the name and authority of my Lord Jesus Christ. See, he's given me that authority to do this. And you don't do it in yourself. You do it in his name. So in his name and the authority of my Lord Jesus Christ, I command all evil spirits. That's not asking you to leave. You're commanding them. You have that authority. God has given you. I command all evil spirits who have had a foothold in my life, through my participation, say, in the Ouija board, Magic 8-Ball, horror scopes, all kinds of things, the sins that you have confessed, I command that in Jesus' name that they leave me and that they go where the Lord Jesus Christ sends them. I think it's up to Him. It makes it easy for me. Some people send him to the pit, but he'll take care of it, and they have to leave. Now, one thing that's different when I take someone through the steps, and I feel free to say this now, I was concerned whether I should add this, but I've already told you I have this spiritual gift from God, and I don't know what else to call it, because it's certainly not, it is from Him. And that is sensitivity to the demonic spirits. And so when they command, I will feel the chill and the pressure. And we will know we've hit pay dirt and they're leaving. So I mean, it really convinces people of the activity of the enemy when that happens. And they realize that it's real. And they really are up against it. And I've had women think about their children and what their children get involved in and the fact that they're, oh, hey, if we had our eyes open to it, the spirit world, pretty busy out there, isn't it? Yeah. Well. So. So as a person goes through the steps, they need to say about things in their lives what God says about them. Yeah, agree with him. So they'll be praying James 4, 7 prayers frequently through the steps. I have learned through the years that even on the other steps, I begin to teach this on the first step, and we're going to look at that now, but that we use it on practically every step because there are always demonic fears involved with what they're confessing. Okay, let's turn then to our books once again and to pages six and seven. Okay. This page, this step is called counterfeit versus real. Well, you know that the enemy likes to take advantage of people and his modus operandi is deception, right? So if he can deceive them and they get involved in something that's counterfeit, not real, then often it opens the door for satanic activity in their lives. So these things that are listed here are common. I've had one woman who was involved in What do you call it? New Age. And she had several pages of things she had been involved in and had to renounce all of those. Well, in the first paragraph, notice that it has the word renounce in the second line, meaning verbally reject. So we've already discussed renunciation. And so when a person goes through this, they'll check, you know, what they have been involved in. Some people are squeaky clean and aren't anything there. And then other people really have a lot. And so what we do is go through that. And then I will introduce how to take care of it, that there are going to be confessing it and doing all these things here. And then, and that I should point to this, that on the page seven up in the corner on the right hand side is the prayer. And notice the content of that prayer. You see the word confess, renounce, last line forgive. And that prayer in between there about the Holy Spirit You know what that is? Commitment. Right? Commitment. So that prayer really has all the elements of submission to it. So you do that, then what they need to do is add this. And I usually have them start on the command. Because they've taken care of the sin, now they can command the enemy to leave. Isn't that great? And they know how to do it. And you know they get the place where they want to do that on these steps because they see the effect of it. Well, yes, the next part there says the winning, winning the battle for the mind. Well, you know, we filled our spirituals Double-barreled shotgun, the first barrel. How to take care of sin, haven't we? James 4, 7. You know what that is now? What are the four things? Renunciation. Yeah, you had that in there, didn't you? I didn't hear it. Yeah. Everybody, confess, forgive, renounce, commit, That's all you have to do, and then command. All right? Take your authority in Christ, command the evil one to leave that's involved in that sin. That's one of the spiritual warfares that we have. And then on that same step, on page 7, you notice where it says additional questions? Okay, on the first column. Well, the second one, second question. Have you ever heard voices in your head or had repeating nagging thoughts? Okay, we've already kind of talked about that, haven't we? Well, I decided that this was a good opportunity to teach the battle for the mind. So whenever we're on that step is when I start talking about this. And you have a copy of it? Okay, the battle for our mind, we know that this is the battleground where Satan works. You know, he's lying to us, he's trying to deceive us. If we're deceived, do we know it? No. And that's his motive self around us, you know, so. Anyway, this scripture, 2 Corinthians 10, 3 to 5, for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. You see what we've been doing? Yes. And we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. And here's our responsibility. We take every thought. We take every thought to make it obedient to Christ. So that's our responsibility, is what's going on up here. Is this true? Or is this something I better be aware of that's not from God? So, this is how we deal with it then. This side are all the lies and the negative stuff that Satan says. I'll just let you read through that. And on this side are all scriptures. God refutes this lie over here and we need to take it captive, right? So I renounce this lie over here. I renounce that the lie that I am worthless and that I'll never amount to anything and I can't do anything right. And I choose to agree with God that I am his child and I was worth the death of his son and I'm adopted into his family. And I replace the lie with the truth and it's important, I believe, to go back and command the spirits behind that lie to leave because you want to get rid of it. Okay. So, this to help you and when it comes time to help someone with the battle for the mind. Okay. The, this second barrel for your, yeah, this is the second barrel for your double barrel shotgun is how to deal with a battle for the mind. and how to be victorious. The spiritual weapon is now loaded and you have victory over sin by submitting to God and resisting the devil. You can win the battle for the mind by taking captive every thought, making it obedient to Christ, renouncing the lie and affirming the truth. Now, it doesn't mean that every single time you go through that process, but you recognize it and you command, you just say, get out of here with that lie in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Get out of here. You know, I don't think you have to make it a big deal all the time, but sometimes it's bad enough. I think it's a good idea to go back and do it this way. Okay. A pastor's wife came for counseling. And she was defeated. She learned to use her spiritual weapons and won the victory. She sent me a card. She was so excited to learn about her victory over the enemy. I mean, she was so under him. He was just really pulling the rug out from her. And in her marriage and in her ministry. And so she wrote, Dear Mrs. Warner, I can never begin to thank you for all you and the Lord have done for me these past few weeks. The time, compassion, truth, prayer, discernment, wisdom, understanding, encouragement, and so forth. Giving and going through the steps to freedom has touched my life like none other, except when I was first asked Jesus to live in me. God has used you in my life and I praise him for you and for the ministry you shared with me. I will never be the same. God bless you. I am free. Isn't that great, going through the steps of freedom? I'm thankful for that. Well, you know, if she dresses for battle by putting on the armor, you know the armor, even sick, Yeah, can you say the parts for me? The bell of truth. Righteousness. Yeah, the feet. Right. And the shield of faith. And the word of God. That's our weapon, right? Okay. Now, if she's fully clothed, in her armor, and she has her double-barreled shotgun along with her. She's going to be ready for battle, isn't she? And why? What a difference that can make in a person's life. Well, I think our time has come to an end, and I was hoping to go through the rest of the steps with you. If you're not familiar with the steps, I encourage you to get a copy. and quench yourself and put that tool in your case and use it. Okay, I have this one card, I've got a couple minutes. And this is from Cassie. And Cassie, I saw her and she was kind of a troubled girl. But listen to what God was doing. I want to let you know how thankful I am that you went through this Freedom of Christ with me. It truly is a life-changing experience. I still read the Daily Declaration of Dependence. That's one of those prayers in the back. And the bedtime prayer as well. And I go through the parts that I struggle with. My marriage is being restored. And I feel like I am a much better mother because I am able to teach these things to my kids by example. And I am not the same person as I was before. You definitely made a difference in my life, and that was the Lord. And I thank you for that. But what a privilege it is to be used of God to help people find freedom and to know the truth and know the victory that they can have in Christ. Well, thank you. I hope this has been helpful. And I don't know, it's time, but if you've got any questions, if it's burning, or comments. Well, I got that picture inserted in my book, and I start talking in general about what forgiveness is, And that's why I go to the second column and we start reading about explanations of what forgiveness is. And then we go back and start to step. I also have to introduce that prayer. And there's also at the end of that, if you notice, there's a good prayer that at times that kind of conceals it. And I don't know, I may have it right here. I could just read what that is. Lord Jesus, I choose not to hold on to my resentment. I relinquish my right to seek revenge and ask you to heal my damaged emotions. Thank you for setting me free from the bondage of my bitterness. I now ask you to bless those who have hurt me. And you can name the people. And in Jesus' name, you know, God knows what kind of blessing they need. So you can ask God to do that. You know, I haven't had that and it is so convincing. because of the gift that God has given me. You know, I had two women that I trusted that hear from God, asking why he's given me that gift. And they said, so I know the battle's real. And it really does do that. It really does confirm that we're in a battle. And when they find that out, and we pray about the thing that they're questioning, and there's something there, done deal. You know? that it was a sin and the enemy took advantage of it. Anything else? Yes. Well, you know what? They keep changing and then I have to change. And so I try to keep up to date. But there's one thing, for instance, It used to be in another one that's not in this one, and so we have made a copy and put it in this. Excuse me, I arranged things here. But is this the right one? No, that's not it. Here it is. And I needed to, it's called Idolatry. Do you remember that? Is that in yours? And I take this out. And when they check on the list, the next, the last thing, it says false gods, money, sex, power, pleasure, and so forth. Well, they can check this, go through this, and this lists very normal things, but they have put so much emphasis on that that it's a usurping God's place in the rightful. place of honor. So this is their opportunity and those things occur in this. So I just haven't, we just haven't go through that. And it's very effective. This is from another staff. If you would like to have a copy of anything that I have here that you may, I'd be glad and I think that Jim, you would be willing to make some copies. So if you'll give us your name. How do you want to do that? Okay. Yes. I'll be glad to do that. I happened to see that originally in a manual of another ministry, but it was so on target for our ministry. And I don't think they're even functioning anymore, but we use it. But I almost had to pull that out to have it copied for you. Yes. Well, you know, I gave you, and I didn't refer to it, I'm sorry, but I gave you my husband's chart and worldview, and I think you could talk to them, you know, this victimization down here, I think you can talk to them about this is not their true identity, that when they have come to Christ, that this is their true identity, and then how to live in this world. Here's something else I'll show you. Is there anyone who doesn't understand this, that hasn't had it before? Okay, I could explain it further to you, or even somebody here could explain to you, who's been through it. There's, and I'll show you this too. And this I got in, I used to be in the library, this book passed across my desk and I saw this and showed it to my husband and we've used it ever since. Jeff Van Vonderen's Tired of Trying to Measure Up is the source of this. Tim's done a little fooling with it, it's a little different than the original. But I like this because this to me is the world we're living in. We try hard and we feel like giving up sometimes. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. But when we live our true identity based on God's performance, I'm a child of God, seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, and I live in this world of fluctuation, steadfast in my identity. I know who I am in this world. And that is so powerful to overcome complications like you're referring to. So some of this teaching is the basic teaching that they need, okay? So, if anybody wants copies of these, okay, I'll have these as well. Yes? Uh-huh? Yes, well, yeah, pardon? Oh, I'm sorry. Sure, I'd be glad to. Well, asking a follow-up, what do I do? Well, I always, let me just close this and turn back to it there. Leave these out. Too many papers and stuff. Get this out of the way. Clean up later. Okay. In the back of the steps, first of all, I'll just mention what happens. Maintaining your freedom on page 21. And I always read that and really encourage them to be in the word. Read and meditate on the truth of God's word. And I'll take my Bible and, did you ever hear of the hand? This is a simple little thing, but I love it. You can hear the word and you're in touch with the word. And you get a lot out of hearing the word. But if I read the word, I'm going to have a better hold on it. If I study it, then I'm digging deeper. And if I memorize it and meditate on it, I've really got hold of the word. So I usually use that little illustration at the end there to get something in their minds to think about. what it is to study God's word. Then we have these prayers that this one woman said she was going over a lot, this daily prayer, prayer at bedtime. And then how to cleanse your house, you know, and dedicate it to the Lord, there's a prayer for that. And then this last page here on 23 is the in Christ. In Christ I am, all these things. And there is a book, and I don't know, Jim, who I am in Christ. That is excellent. There's a chapter on each one of these. Makes a very good daily devotional book if you want to read a chapter. Do you have that? No. Do you have a copy? No. No. Okay. Then there is a 21-day follow-up, Walking in Freedom. that's also available to them that goes over this stuff again and just helps them keep that in mind. And that's a good follow-up book. And then we keep a number of books there. And because my husband's an author, we can give them to them at a good price. So I can show them. Maybe it's fear that they have, or they're having complex about themselves, you know, where there are books that Neil has written that address a number of different things. So, they get that. There are some follow-ups like that if they will read and if they'll spend a little money to get those books. Yes. Well, I, you know, sometimes, yes, I've, especially poor reading, You know, and yeah, so you do very patiently with them, work with them. Yes, and I've worked with a black lady and she just loved to come and I loved to have her and we have a love relationship ever since then. She's in my Sunday school class. Yes. If there's anything that sounds like the enemy, all I have to do is say, I command Jesus' name that you get out of here and you're gone. Then we're back to, you know. So if it's something not happening, yeah, use your authority. It works.