There is great spiritual power in prayer and fasting. Addiction is a spiritual bondage that must be fought with spiritual weapons. Fasting and prayer will enable you to be empowered by the Holy Ghost and allow His anointing to break the yoke that binds you.

Mark 9:17-22a
Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth. So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”
And he said, “From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him…”

John 10:10a
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

The cost and consequences of alcoholism and drug dependence place an enormous burden on American society. According to the “National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence,” Addiction is the nation’s number one health problem. Addiction strains the health care system, the economy, harms family life and threatens public safety.
There are more deaths and disabilities each year in the U.S. from substance abuse than from any other cause.

• About 18 million Americans have alcohol problems; about 5 to 6 million Americans have drug problems.
• More than half of all adults have a family history of alcoholism or problem drinking.
• More than nine million children live with a parent dependent on alcohol and/or illicit drugs.
• Heavy drinking contributes to illness in each of the top three causes of death: heart disease, cancer and stroke.
• Almost half of all traffic fatalities are alcohol-related.
• Between 48% and 64% of people who die in fires have blood alcohol levels indicating intoxication.
• Fetal alcohol syndrome is the leading known cause of mental retardation.
• One-quarter of all emergency room admissions, one-third of all suicides, and more than half of all homicides and incidents of domestic violence are alcohol-related.

Alcoholism and drug dependence are not just social or medical issues, the outward manifestations of violent acts and lewdness associated with drunkenness and drug highs confirm that addiction is spiritual bondage that must be fought with spiritual weapons.

Romans 6:16
Do you not know that if you continually surrender yourselves to anyone to do his will, you are the slaves of him whom you obey, whether that be to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness.

Your mind is the battlefield of the spirit. Whether you’re bombed, blasted, whacked, wasted, drunk, stoned, or high, on alcohol or other drugs, you’ve given the thief the opportunity and the right to enter into your mind. Altered states of consciousness can also be accomplished through eastern mysticism, transcendental meditation and bio-feedback. Whether by means of distilled spirits or by occult practices that open the dark side of the spiritual realm, the result is still the same – spiritual bondage.

Satan comes disguised as an angel of light. Sin feels good for a season. By getting high on drugs or by the habitual drinking of beer or other alcoholic beverages many have surrendered themselves to the will of the evil one and have been enslaved by sin.

“How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him…” Mark 9:21-22

Usually when we think about suicide, we imagine one act of desperation. Someone jumps off a bridge or takes a loaded gun to their head. This demon possessed young man often was thrown into the fire to burn alive or into the water to drown since childhood. Yet, this biblical account is not quite as uncommon as you would suppose. There are millions of Americans and even some reading this teaching who since childhood have been choosing to slowly kill themselves.

More Americans are killed by cigarettes than alcohol, car accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide, and illegal drugs.

John 10:10a
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;

Cigarette smoking is a major cause of cancers of the lung, larynx, oral cavity, pharynx and esophagus and is a contributing cause in the development of cancers of the bladder, pancreas, uterine cervix, kidney, stomach, and some leukemias.

Smoking is a major cause of heart disease, bronchitis, emphysema, and stroke and contributes to the severity of colds and pneumonia. Tobacco has a damaging affect on women’s health and is associated with increased risk of miscarriage, pre-term delivery, stillbirth, and infant death, and is a cause of low birth weight in infants. Furthermore, the secondhand smoke from cigarettes has a harmful health effect on those around the smoke.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Mark 9:22b
“… But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

It was not only the son that needed help, relief and deliverance but the father as well. How often have we found comfort in times of trouble when a friend was compassionate enough to listen to our problems? The father grew hopeless, not only as he endured through years of agony seeing his own son suffer; but unable to even offer some measure of comfort to his son who was mute and unable to speak to his father of his fears and pain.

Today, how many fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, suffer when they see the ones that the love bound up by addiction? How many have grown hopeless after years of enduring the broken promises and lies?

“… But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

Mark 9:23
Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

The father, after many years of emotional pain and dwindling hope, again suffers the disappointment of finding the disciples of Jesus unable to help. Understandably, the father then questioned Jesus by saying, “If You can,” have compassion on us and help us. Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, is full of compassion and unlimited in power. Instead of rebuking the father for questioning the Master’s ability or desire to help, Jesus challenges the father to step out in faith. “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

The father was not only subject to the pain of his child’s suffering but also to the stigma of a child who evidenced demonic possession. Had he failed as a father? Was it his fault that his son no longer was in control of his life? If Jesus was unable to deliver his son, wasn’t the father going to suffer public disgrace once again?

Mark 9:24
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

“Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” This short, but sincere and honest prayer was immediately answered. Both the father and his son were free after years of physical pain, emotional suffering and spiritual bondage.

Mark 9:25-29
When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

Addiction is not limited to alcoholism, drug dependence or smoking. There are blood-bought Christians who are struggling with pornography, eating disorders, lust, anger, or jealousy.

“This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

1 John 3:8b
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Jesus was anointed to proclaim release to the captives and to set free those who are oppressed…

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Before we can be made clean, we must first recognize our sinfulness.

Recently, I took a panhandler to breakfast and asked him his name. He called himself “Doc.” He had a PHD from Michigan State in English literature… He had been living on the streets since 1999. He had been a lecture in his church up north; meaning that he often read publicly from the Scriptures and assisted in serving communion. He even insisted that he had a relationship with Christ and was able to quote some verses. Why then, was he living in the streets pan-handling, filthy, diseased and undernourished? It wasn’t because he was a drug addict, he only had a couple of beers each day and he never got rip-roaring drunk.

I told him that he could not serve two masters, Christ and beer. His response was honest, although it brought me to tears. He said, “I guess I’ll have a couple of beers every day until I die.”

Many people seek Jesus as savior but they refuse to make Jesus Lord of their life.

Are you willing to make Jesus Lord of your life by submitting your will to His? Will you allow the Son of God to do a work in you so that you may be wholly sanctified spirit, soul and body? Will you cry out to Jesus, “I believe you can deliver me” “Help my unbelief!” Will you fast and pray in order to be empowered by the Holy Ghost and allow His anointing to break the yoke that binds you? Then pray this prayer:

“Lord Jesus Christ,
I know that I am a sinner and there is nothing that I can do to earn my way to heaven. Although I deserve God’s wrath, by God’s mercy, I accept your free gift of eternal life by faith. I believe that You were born of a virgin and died on the cross to pay the price of my sins. I believe you were buried, rose again on the third day, have ascended into heaven, and will soon come again. Lord, please forgive me of my sins, come into my heart and take control of my life.” AMEN

Then you have just made a decision by faith, to accept the free gift (God’s grace) of the substitutionary sacrifice of the Messiah (the Christ), whose suffering and death paid the price of your sins.

Please contact us, we want to rejoice with you!

You have been born again. As a new born, you need to be nourished.

Acts 2:38
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In order to grow and mature spiritually you need to:

• Be baptized into Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ)
• Speak to God each day through prayer.  (Pray each day in the name of Yeshua/Jesus).
• Read your Bible every day.
• When you read the Bible, God speaks to you through His Word. (If you don’t own a Bible, then will help you get one.)
• Find a Bible believing church and attend regularly – both worship services and a Bible study.

Share with someone what God has done for you.