The Power of Right Believing: 7 Keys to Freedom from Fear, Guilt, and Addiction (18 page)

After making that confession out loud, Walter said, “My addiction stopped. I just lost all interest, and I don’t feel even a little bit tempted. All the wrong desires are gone, and best of all, I know I love Jesus more than ever before and I can’t live without Him. I am renewed. I am reborn. I know that everything is in His control, and I am blessed and forgiven.”

Wow! What an amazing testimony of God’s power and goodness in this brother’s life. With just one declaration, he broke the
mental stronghold that the devil had placed him under for many years. That is truly the power of right believing. If you can change what you believe, you can change your life, just like this brother did.

Are there lies about your identity that you believe in today?

Break the power of those lies by declaring your identity in Christ. Say out loud, “I am a child of God. I am healed, forgiven, righteous, and holy in Christ Jesus.” Instead of believing the devil’s lies when he uses the first-person pronoun strategy against you, speak your true identity in Jesus.

Bringing Every Thought into Captivity

Unfortunately, unbeknownst to many believers today, the enemy has launched malicious disinformation campaigns that have effectively enslaved them for years to low self-esteem, self-hatred, guilt, eating disorders, perversions, inordinate fears, and all kinds of crazy habits and addictions. And that is why I’m writing this book—to expose the enemy’s lies and to help you see with pristine clarity the enemy’s deceptive and manipulative tactics. These lies will collapse like a house of cards the second you see your true identity in Christ.

The weapons of this warfare are not natural and physical. Your weapons are found in the truth of God’s Word, and they are mighty and have the power to overthrow and destroy every stronghold that has been built up through disinformation and wrong believing. And the way we can destroy these strongholds in our mind is by
“bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).

When I was a young believer, I was taught that it was my responsibility to bring my every thought into obedience
to
Christ. I tried and struggled with that for years and ended up with more mental oppression, stress, and guilt than I had started with. No one can bring every thought that crosses his or her mind to perfectly obey Christ.

One day God opened my eyes to see what He was really saying in that verse. He said to me, “Son, keep your focus and your thoughts always on the obedience
of
Christ, and that will be a powerful weapon to pull down the devil’s strongholds in your mind.” When He said that to me, it felt like the lights were suddenly switched on in my head.

If the way to destroy mental strongholds is dependent on your being able to perfectly capture every thought that crosses your mind and making it perfectly obedient to Christ, then that is a recipe for certain failure. Legalistic teachings always place the demand on man. Grace teachings always demonstrate how the supply comes from God. The law focuses on what man needs to do. Grace focuses on what Jesus has done and is still doing in our lives. You can apply this principle to test any teaching that you have received.

So what does it mean to capture every thought to the obedience
of
Christ? Let’s look at what the Word of God says about the obedience of Christ and allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. The Word tells us that, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19). What this means is that through
one man’s (Adam’s) disobedience, we were all made sinners. But through Jesus Christ’s (one Man’s) obedience at the cross, we were all made forever righteous the moment we believed in Him. God wants you to focus on the obedience of Jesus and not on the disobedience of Adam. Adam’s disobedience makes you sin- and judgment-conscious, whereas Jesus’ obedience at the cross makes you forgiveness- and righteousness-conscious!

Does that mean that there is no obedience on our part? Absolutely not! The more you believe that your righteousness comes from Jesus’ obedience and not by your own efforts, the more you will live a life of obedience unconsciously. People say that those who preach grace don’t preach on obedience. What they don’t realize is that under the old covenant of law, obedience was the root of all God’s blessings. But under the new covenant of grace, God blesses us first, and obedience is the fruit.

Our obedience today under the new covenant begins with choosing to
believe
that we are made righteous by
Christ’s obedience
at the cross. It is not this legalistic obedience to the law that many people are trying to bring back into the church. The apostle Paul describes our obedience as “obedience to the faith” (Rom. 16:26)—believing right about what Jesus has done to make us righteous. And when we believe right like this, we will find His grace motivating and empowering us to think and live right.

We’ve all heard many sermons on right living, but you know what? I hear pastors lamenting that there is still little right living in the pews. My personal belief is that it’s not because believers want to be bad. They aren’t living the way they should because their belief systems have not really changed. God’s Word tells us, “The just [righteous] shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:17). You can say it like this: the righteous shall live by right believing. When you have right believing, you release the power of God to live right. When you believe the gospel, the true gospel that says you are righteous through Jesus’ obedience (see Rom. 5:19), you will have right living. The right results will follow.

My friend, when it comes to obedience, there’s certainly been a change because of the cross of Jesus. Under the old covenant of law, you had to obey before God blessed you. But under grace, God blesses you first, and then obedience is the fruit. The more you believe right that you have been made righteous and blessed through Christ’s obedience, the more you will see the fruit of obedience in your life. Wow! Praise Jesus for His marvelous grace!

The Enemy Doesn’t Play Fair

The enemy can only make inroads in your life when he successfully points you to your obedience or lack of it to determine your standing with God. He will use disinformation to make you feel rotten, dirty, and filthy, even though in Christ you are already completely righteous. Don’t forget, the devil doesn’t play fair.

Over the years, I’ve noticed that another one of the enemy’s strategies involves him sowing a bad thought in your mind, then
quickly turning around to condemn you for that very thought he planted. He’ll say, “What kind of dirty, rotten person are you? How can you think that thought? You are disgusting!” He will accuse you, condemn you, and disparage you and keep pointing out areas where you have failed.

Even when you do right, it’s never enough. If you read a chapter of the Bible, he will point you to someone else who read two chapters. He is a constant faultfinder. If you made a mistake, he will keep harping on your disobedience. If the devil can succeed in making you focus on your obedience or your lack of it instead of on Jesus’ obedience, he’ll succeed at all his mind games with you. That is why when you focus on
your
disobedience in your thought life, you will be discouraged, crushed, and oppressed.

So how should you respond when negative or even evil thoughts cross your mind? First of all, you need to know that those thoughts are not you; the real you is born again in Christ Jesus, a new creation believer! When bad thoughts come, focus on your true identity and who you really are in Christ by thinking about the cross of Jesus. Focus on His perfect obedience and how His obedience at Calvary makes you righteous, whole, favored, and complete. That is what it means to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Focus on Jesus’ Obedience

Scott, a brother from Florida, wrote to my team to share this very encouraging testimony:

I was born and raised in the church and have been a Christian all my life. However, I struggled to follow the law as that was what I had been taught, and I was always afraid to disappoint God.

The more I tried to be a “good Christian,” the guiltier I felt! I struggled with pornography and would look at adult websites twice a day. Short of destroying my computer, I had tried everything under the sun to break this habit, but had always fought a losing battle. As a result, I withdrew from church altogether because I felt guilty, shameful, and worthless.

One day my aunt introduced me to Pastor Prince’s teachings. His message was not on the law, but was filled with the missing ingredient—Jesus Christ! Everything that Pastor Prince taught resonated within me like a musical note in perfect tune. By grace, my relationship with Christ has been transformed, and I no longer carry that unimaginable burden of guilt and shame. Instead I feel joyful all the time! I also can’t stop telling my friends about how this has transformed Christianity for me.

Miraculously, ever since my focus has been on Jesus, and not on my struggle, I have not looked at any pornographic material! Whenever I struggle with lust today, I keep my eyes on Jesus’ unconditional forgiveness and feel joy instead of guilt. Jesus has cleansed me from my addiction, and I am amazed!

Thank you, Pastor Prince, for bringing new life and joy into my walk with the Lord. I feel transformed, joyful, blessed, and so much more! Praise God!

As I was reading this letter, I was especially moved when Scott shared how the missing ingredient is Jesus Christ! Once he began to believe right about Jesus, once he began to focus on Jesus’ obedience and not on his own disobedience, he experienced his tremendous breakthrough!

My friend, there is a real battle for your mind. Many people succumb to it almost immediately when they have a sinful thought and then begin to feel guilty and condemned for having those sinful thoughts. Thoughts are triggers for your emotions. The enemy knows that if he can get you to believe those wrong thoughts of defeat, anxiety, greed, envy, and lust, then he can push your emotions toward feelings of guilt, fear, and condemnation. When you succumb to those self-destructive, toxic emotions, he can draw you in even further and tempt you to act out those sinful thoughts.

I pray that today you will be able to see that through the power of right believing, you can victoriously break out of this vicious cycle of defeat. The next time you have negative thoughts, catch yourself and look toward the obedience of Christ. See the cross. See Jesus. See Him washing your mind with His precious blood.

Beloved, your new righteous identity is found in Christ Jesus. And as He is, so are you in this world!

S
everal years before my television ministry began broadcasting in America, I received a letter from Max, a United States Navy personnel, who had passed through Singapore and had a life-transforming encounter with the gospel of grace. It contained a beautiful story best told in his own words:

Pastor Prince, it has been my desire to write to you for some time now to share what God has done in my life through my experience in Singapore. I cannot tell you how thankful I am to God that I was miraculously led to your church.

I attend the US Naval Academy and will be commissioned in four months as an officer in the US Marine Corps. I have been a Christian for about three years, but for well over a year, I was in heavy bondage. Like you, I was convinced that I had committed the unpardonable sin. To me, grace was a bad thing. I knew that I deserved to go to hell under the Old Testament, and because Jesus had come and I still sinned, I felt that I deserved hell all
the more. So in my heart, I wished that Jesus had never come. To make a long story short, I got desperate. I was willing to do anything to find peace with God.

Unfortunately, I did not realize that my focusing on doing more for God would only lead me farther away from the peace that I so desperately desired. Before long, I became very judgmental. I cut myself off from my Christian friends and even convinced a few that they were on the road to hell with me. I cannot tell you the hopelessness and misery I felt that year. In a journal entry on the night of April 18, 2001, I wrote, “What would I not pay for someone to show me the way to the Lord, not to a religion but to the living God.” Little did I know at that time that God was preparing my heart, for fifteen pages later in the same journal, I would write words of hope and joy.

Well, the end of my junior year came around, and I received orders to catch a submarine out to Thailand. The day before I left, I was told that we would no longer be going to Thailand but rather to Singapore. The first four days after my arrival in Singapore were spent doing touristy things. One night I went out with all of the officers to a bar. The bar was especially distasteful, and I left early with a friend.

On my walk back to the hotel, I prayed to the Lord desperately for some fellowship. I said good-bye to my friend and continued walking down the busy street. Then, to my amazement, I heard a man ask me, “Are you looking for a church?” Of course I said yes to this
man who turned out to be a member of your church. He gave me his home phone number and the directions to the church. He told me there was a Bible study service the following day. We only talked for about a minute before we both went our separate ways.

I am thankful that I managed to attend the Friday night Bible study service. I was still really judgmental so I was questioning everything, but the message that I heard was like nothing I had ever heard before. Then on Sunday, I attended the service at your church again and even ordered thirteen of your tapes. Like I said earlier, I was willing to try anything to find God, although I didn’t really think these tapes were going to have an impact on me. I left that day on the submarine, and I listened to
Winning the Battle of Your Mind
about eight times in a row.

My life has never been the same. I listened to the other tapes and caught my first glimpse of God’s grace. When I returned to the US after only three weeks on the sub, my mom could see a huge change in my attitude. Where there was once depression, there was joy. Where there was once a judgmental attitude, there was love. When I returned to the academy in August, I gave those tapes to the friends whom I had convinced were going to hell with me. The next time I saw them, they were full of joy!

My hope and desire is that this email encourages you. I pray that some day God can use me to take this message of His to the churches of America and the Marine Corps. I appreciate any prayers you could say for me.
I pray that some day I would be able to visit Singapore and your church again. I know Marines are supposed to be tough, but my desire to fellowship with you and your church is so great that it almost brings me to tears sometimes. I look forward to listening to new tapes some day. May God’s grace and peace be with you and your family.