Personal History 1

This section of the Ministry Guide relates to the Spiritual History Information Form Part C.
Please refer to the questions and your responses for questions 1-6.

Because of its length, this section is broken up into four web pages. If you are reading this online, you will be able to click "Next Page" at the end of each page.

SECTION OUTLINE:
C. Personal History
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     Continual Sins & Sexual Disorders
          I. Receiving God's Forgiveness
               Key scriptures for meditation
               Steps in confession and forgiveness
          II. Suggestions for dealing with some specific sins
               In general
               Specific areas of need
                    Sleeping disorders
                    Anger
                    Forgetfulness
                    Sexual intercourse
                    Abortion
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     Part C 2 of 4
     Part C 3 of 4
     Part C 4 of 4

C. Personal History

Continual Sins and Sexual Disorders

Section C Questions 1 & 2 of the Spiritual History Information Form deal with sinful patterns the person may be living in, or has previously had difficulty with.

Part I deals with receiving God’s forgiveness.

Part II has suggestions for dealing with some of the sins listed in these sections of the Spiritual History Information Form.

I. Receiving God’s Forgiveness

The Biblical word "forgive" is translated from the Greek word "aphiemi" which, according to Vine’s Dictionary of New Testament Words, means "to send away from," or "to depart."

Sin enslaves us, causing us to sin again. Sin breeds sin. Ephesians 2:1-3 says that we were all slaves to sin. God wants our sins sent away from us--removed from us. He wants us to accept His way and His sacrifice. He offers us the removal of our sins from us, and the impartation of His nature to us.

God wants our sins to be placed on Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is the One of whom Isaiah prophesied:

"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:4-6 KJV)

The forgiveness of sins is the foundational blessing of being a Christian. No longer do I need to fear God’s wrath, since Jesus took my sin on Himself and bore God’s wrath on my behalf. No longer do I need to fear continuing to live in my sinful ways, since Jesus overcame my sinful ways for me. He said, "No!" to sin for me, and now He is able to impart His life into me. He not only died FOR sin for me, He also died TO sin for me.

Now I can receive from Him a life that wants to see my old ways put to death, and that wants and enables me to live in holiness through His Holy Spirit.

The strongholds caused by un-confessed sin can therefore be removed. The strongholds of sinful behavior patterns and addictions, hopelessness, guilt, shame, despair, and the results of the weight of sin, can therefore be broken. I can confess my old sinful ways and live in the new ways available to me through the impartation of the life of Christ into my being and the power of the Holy Spirit at work in me.

Meditating on the Scriptures below can bring faith and understanding into me, and following the steps listed below can help in appropriating these truths.

Key Scriptures for Meditation

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24 KJV)

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9 KJV)

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV)

".… put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:22-24 KJV)

"For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)" (Romans 5:17 KJV)

"But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." (Romans 13:14 KJV)

Steps in Confession and Forgiveness

1. Acknowledge your need of a Savior to pay for your sin and to give you a new life of freedom from your sinful ways. Thank God that He has provided Jesus for this purpose. Ask Jesus to live in you, helping you to confess your sins and to bring your sinful ways to death.

2. Confess the whole sin--not just the wrong action--for each of the sins you’ve committed from the list in this section of the Spiritual History Information Form. (Section C, Questions 1 and 2) Confess the sinful attitudes and desires that caused the wrong action.

3. See these old ways and attitudes being put upon Jesus. (1 John 1:9; Ephesians 4:22; 2 Corinthians 5:21) Remember, "The Lord laid on Him the iniquities of us all."

4. Receive the forgiveness of God. See the blood of Jesus cleansing you from this sin and its ways within you. See the Book of Life in heaven, with the blood of Jesus sprinkled on it. Realize that your sin has been blotted out of God’s remembrance through the blood of Jesus.

5. Present yourself to God; ask Him to impart His ways to you, through Jesus. See Him giving you something from Christ to replace your sin. (forgiveness for resentment, love for anger, truth for lying, etc.) Receive His new ways into your being. (Ephesians 4:24, Romans 5:17; Romans 13:14)

6. Pray for the Holy Spirit to empower the new ways, so that they will be written on your heart. (Acts 1:8; Philippians 2:13)

7. Thank God for His provision for forgiving you, for cleansing you, and for imparting new life to you. These things are all offered to you through Jesus--through His suffering and death, through His Holiness, and through His reigning in heaven for you

II. Suggestions for Dealing with Some Specific Sins:

These comments and suggestions are intended as further clarification for dealing with some of the sins in Section C of the Spiritual History Information Form. The steps of confession and forgiveness listed above in Part I of Section C are basic and should be followed in all cases; these suggestions will alert you to additional things you may need to attend to.

Note also that a few things in section 1 are not sins--i.e. sleeping disorders, forgetfulness, etc.--but are behaviors the person probably wants to change and which may have roots in past hurt, judgments, family curses, wrong motives, etc. Thus they can be dealt with in much the same way as the other things listed.

In General:

1. Look beneath the surface behavior for root causes. For example, what is the person trying to accomplish by overeating? Why is the person beset by greed? When/why did the person start using foul language, and under what circumstances does it occur now? Dealing thoroughly with the root issues will make victory over the surface behavior much easier.

2. Be aware of (and/or ask the Lord to reveal) difficult circumstances at the start of the behavior: a traumatic event can be an entry point for the activity of an evil spirit--i.e. a spirit of fear, despair, hatred, etc.; resentment and bitterness that began because of a hurt can build up and cause havoc later; vows and judgments can be made, etc. Pray through these circumstances (and similar occurrences that have re-enforced the behavior), referring back to the appropriate section of the Ministry Guide as necessary.

3. Remember to take family patterns into account, and to repent of judging others for similar behavior. Again look beneath surface behavior, for patterns. For example, the underlying motive of escape could be worked out in succeeding generations or in various family members as addictions to alcohol, work, drugs, tv, shopping, and the like. The person would need to repent of the outward behavior but also of the drive to escape rather than dealing with life according to God’s will; then ask the Lord to reveal the causes for the desire to escape; bring Him any negative emotions; repent of any judgments of others, receive His healing for past hurts, etc. (See Section D, "Dealing with Generational Sin Patterns")

Specific Areas of Need

1. For sleeping disorders, ask the Lord to reveal the reasons for a lack of peace, starting if possible with the beginning of the problem. Such negative emotions as resentment, bitter-ness, worry, fear, grief, and anxiety are robbers of peace and therefore also of sleep. When the reasons are revealed, deal with them according to the applicable helps given elsewhere in this Guide.

2. In dealing with anger, be aware that beneath it is usually hurt and pain; the anger has been the person’s way of dealing with those who caused the pain. After confessing the anger as sin, ask the Lord to reveal that underlying hurt. Bring the hurt to Jesus, working through the steps in "Extending Forgiveness."

Often those who live in anger have welcomed it as a "friend," feeling it was their only defense against hurtful people. James 1:20 tells us, however, "...the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God." (KJV) In other words, the change they’re trying to produce in the other person will not be accomplished by anger, nor will their anger bring true justice or righteousness into the situation. Only the life of God can accomplish His righteousness. The person needs to renounce this thought pattern, recognize anger as the enemy it is, and see the truth that Jesus is there for him. While He may not prevent others from doing hurtful things, He is there for the person, waiting to take upon Himself his pain and to give to him His peace, comfort, and truth. The person should confess having resorted to anger instead of running to Jesus, and then receive Him and His healing and peace to replace the hurt and anger.

3. In dealing with forgetfulness, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal times or events the person has wanted to forget, thereby welcoming forgetfulness. Those things we have determined in our own strength to forget are not really forgotten but instead are repressed and can still effect us. As the Lord brings things to mind, deal with them according to the applicable portion of the Guide, and repent of having coped with the situations in the flesh rather that bringing them to Jesus.

4. Sexual intercourse causes a binding together of the souls and spirits of the people involved; therefore if there have been sexual relationships outside of marriage, the ties of body, soul, and spirit between the participants must be broken (in addition, of course, to confession, repentance, and receiving of forgiveness). Renounce all ties with the person and ask for the cleansing of the blood of Jesus.

The person may have received demonic influence through union with the other person or may be subject to persistent unwanted thoughts about the other person or may be tempted with some of the same sins the sexual partner indulged in. After the appropriate confession of sin, break these aspects of the ties between the two people and renounce the unwanted activity or influence. Pray for the impartation of the purity of Jesus.

Remember that Jesus said, "…whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:28 KJV) Therefore all the sins listed that do not involve actual physical contact with another person can be dealt with as if they did.

5. Abortion has many long-term, far-reaching effects. The deep guilt both parents carry for the taking of an innocent life must be acknowledged and brought to Jesus. Confess the sins--as well as the sinful motives behind them. See Jesus dying for those sins and imparting forgiveness.

Bring to Him also the remorse and the sense of loss. Release the baby to Him. Take authority over the spirit of death that has been welcomed into the womb. Command it in the Name of Jesus to be gone. Welcome the Holy Spirit to bring His life into the womb. Command the spirit of death and abortion to be gone from all aspects of life as well (aborted dreams, plans, projects, etc.), and receive the life of Jesus to bring about the fulfillment of the plans and purposes of God. If a spirit of depression is present, take authority over it, commanding it in the Name of Jesus to leave; ask for an infilling of joy by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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