This is so hard. I need God’s touch. It’s hard with OCD, Anxiety disorder, and Autism. It’s hard for me to ever feel peace but I just want to feel love
Hello dear one, how I understand. I want to encourage you that you can experience peace and you can know and believe in the love that God has for you. It may not happen overnight, but little by little, you will get better. God is definitely willing to help you through this journey and He will as you continue to trust Him. He loves you beyond your comprehension and He will see you through as you keep your eyes on Him. I encourage you to seek God and to ask Him what the root cause(s) of your anxiety(ies) is (are). Then, you can deal with the corresponding troubling belief with His help. Whatever lie or deception is in there, at the root, it needs to be exposed, pulled down and replaced with the truth of God’s Word. Anxiety many times is caused by not knowing the end result of the dilemma at hand, or by being double-minded about something. It is important to deal with the root cause of our anxiety. Then, once we know the truth based on God’s Word, we then can choose to believe that truth and peace will either immediately or ultimately come as we surrender to that truth more and more. In those situations, we have three options which are: we believe the truth once we receive revelation of that truth and we experience the resulting peace, or we choose to remain double-minded about the dilemma, not committing to either side, and remain in anxiety, or we can believe the bad report and become depressed and downcast. God will help you uncover the root of your anxieties, then He will guide you into all the truth as you continue to acknowledge Him in faith and He will help you choose the truth and experience His peace. It is not an easy process to go through, but with God’s help, little by little, we can do it as we become more and more convinced of the truth with God’s help. :) In terms of the struggle with religious OCD, I encourage you to study on Law versus Grace. Two very good books that I encourage you to read are: By Grace Alone, written by Derek Prince and God is not mad at you, written by Joyce. I also encourage you to google for relevant Bible verses and do Bible Studies on how that we are saved by grace through faith and not by our own effort. It is of utmost importance to understand that God will never receive nor accept any self-effort at earning our salvation or at earning our right-standing with God. Our only hope to be saved from our sins is to run to Christ for mercy and grace. From there, we are given the gift of righteousness, we are empowered to live holy and we are changed from glory to glory. It will be essential for you to study and learn more about who you are in Christ, on the love of God, on being saved by grace through faith and not by works. Then you can meditate on these Scriptures, allowing the Word to do in you what you cannot do with any amount of effort or reasoning. In terms of the desire to feel God’s love. 1 John 4:16 NKJV says, “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” God can definitely at times literally cause us to feel His love. However, a lot of the time, it is simply that we know He loves us based on the truth of His Word. By faith, we know and believe in the love of God. We receive His love by faith based on His finished work at the cross and based on the truth of His Word. As we allow ourselves to receive and to abide in that love, we can enjoy that love more and more. I hope this helps you. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have more questions. God bless you precious one on your journey to recovery.
Wow, you really even replied to me. That’s such an honour. You are so much higher than me and I’m such a mess right now. Your words honestly Give me a lot of help. I hope you don’t mind if I do call on you for a question or two every once in a while. Thank you so much
You are very welcome. LOL, if you only knew (God uses the weak and the foolish things of this world to confound the wise ;)) Be encouraged, God will take your mess and transform it into a message. I don't mind at all; please do not hesitate to ask me your questions. You take care, God bless.
Hey, I think I’m starting to really filter this through my mind and it seems to be affecting me positively. I do have two questions though, if you have the time. First of all, what do you recommend I do to change my view of God. Anxiety always makes me see God as distant and angry and I know he is not like that(kinda)but it’s hard to Change that. Also, what about the verses that say “faith without works, is dead”, and “we will be judged by our works”? I Am not sure how to take this. Thank you. God bless you.
Hi! It is great to hear from you. So glad to hear you are beginning to experience positive change. My reply is so long (lol), I need to send it in two separate replies. Here is my answer to your first question. I will respond to your second question in a second reply. Answer to Question #1: I understand. The good news is that we cannot change any of that (the anxiety that we may feel) in our own strength, but by the Word of God and by dependence upon the Spirit of God. I encourage you to make sure that through it all, you constantly ask Him to help you and to see you through. During most of my recovery from legalism, I experienced anxiety. This actually caused me to learn to walk by faith, and not by my feelings. I trusted that my feelings would eventually catch-up, which they always do as our mind is renewed from glory to glory with the truth. As you renew your belief system and your mind with the truth and as you apply that truth to your life, anxiety will eventually go and be replaced with the peace of God. It is the truth of God’s Word that makes us free (See John 8:31-32). Once we come to God in truth about our sins, our struggles with legalism and religious OCD, and repent of them all and ask Him to forgive us and to restore us, we are forgiven. From there, God begins a work of deliverance, restoration and healing in us as we trust Him to do it. Anxiety is an integral part of religious OCD and legalism. That means, it may not leave right away. But because we gave God our sins and our struggles and asked Him to forgive us and to help us overcome, He forgave us immediately. Repentance doesn’t mean all anxiety is gone the moment we repented. Now, a renewal needs to take place which takes time as all the lies and deceptions that come with legalism need to be exposed and pull down one by one and replaced with the truth. This takes time. However, as we persist, peace will sooner or later be our portion. All the while, we are forgiven. Throughout my own journey, this is really when I learned to walk by faith and not by sight (and therefore, not by feelings). There were times when everything in me would cry out: God has condemned you! He has rejected you! He has spoken woe on your life! During those times, I would take this Scripture: “Against hope believed in hope (see Romans 4:18 KJV).” God being against me (which He wasn’t, but fear would try to make me believe that He was) for sure met the requirement of “against hope believed in hope.” I would also remind myself that He is the hope to the hopeless, which meant that He would be the solution to rid me of all of my fears even if those fears concerned Him. In fact, the Bible says that God is able to deliver us from all of our fears, not just a few but all (See Psalm 34:4). The thought of His nature, His great love for us, and that He is a savior at heart also helped disarm some of the fearful thoughts I was experiencing. Because God was to be my helper, I began seeking Him. I was in so much inner turmoil that I asked Him to deliver me from those thoughts and from my fears. I also know how guilt and condemnation are very strong temptations. The devil is a liar! I urge you not to shrink from God due to any feelings of condemnation, fear and anxiety. Instead, come to Him and pray anyway. God is for you, He is not against you (See Romans 8:31) and He is your only hope. The devil would love to keep you away from God due to anxiety. But the devil is a defeated foe. God is the only one who can rescue you from that demonic oppression. Remember that condemnation is not from God, but it is from the devil; for he is the one who accuses the brethren before the throne of God day and night (See Revelation 12:10). Because our new way of living as people who are in Christ, is by faith and by reliance on Him, it follows that God will never require us to stop our anxiety in our own strength. Not only does He not require it, this is the very thing that would displease Him: were we to try to stop anything apart from His help. Therefore, it follows that He is pleased when we come to Him just as we are, coming into His arms with anxiety and all, and depend on Him to deliver us from it all. Little by little, He works it all out as we continue to trust Him and to do what He shows us to do (partnering with Him in the recovery process) and as we study His Word in the areas of need so that our mind can be renewed with the truth. Romans 8:33-34 NKJV says: “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.” With regards to your view of God. Remember for instance, among other beautiful truths about His nature, that He is the ultimate Father. Surely, no Father on earth can be a better father than Father God Himself. And we know that there are fabulous fathers on the earth. Well, if the Bible says that God is love, that He is Holy, that He is perfect and that in Him there is no shadow of turning, it follows that there are no other beings in the whole universe as winsome as our Father God. No one will ever come close to the goodness and perfection of our Father God. He is the ultimate daddy. Legalism twists our view of God and steals the Father/child relationship and reduce it to a judge/slave relationship. A.W. Tozer said, “Nothing twists and deforms the soul more than a low or unworthy conception of God.” And “our notion of God must always determine the quality of our religion.” I encourage you to study anointed Christian books that properly describe God’s nature. Joyce Meyer has sound teaching and I encourage you to read her material and to watch her on TV. I also encourage you to find (you can google for them) Bible verses on the nature of God, the goodness of God, the love of God, etc, and read them over and over again as to allow them to sink into your heart over time until they become a reality to you. All the while ask God to reveal to you what is the proper view of Himself. And continually depend on the Holy Spirit to work a work of restoration in you and to help you see God properly-through the lenses of the Gospel of Christ. @@chanceweslowski7792
As soon as I started watching peace filled my heart, that was the Holy Spirit talking to me through you, I also ask this question “what was wrong with me?” Now I understand what is my problem, I also struggle with blasphemous thoughts about the Holy Spirit, and this broke my heart and soul thinking I was going to hell, but then I found out it was something many Christians go through! God bless you! Thank you! I know now what I have to attack and examine my self!
Ive been struggling about this too. First i have anxieties cause of overthingking. And its making me afraid everyday. It longs for weeks. And it become intrusive thoughts and became scrupulusity
Dear @Yna Uei, overthinking and reasoning are dangerous things to do. When we do that, we open a door to the enemy. The battlefield is in the mind. If we try to fight in our own wisdom and our own reasoning against the enemy, we will lose. The only way we can win the battle raging in our minds is by using God’s Word like Jesus did against the tricks of the enemy when tempted by the devil in the wilderness (see Luke chapter 4). We also overcome through faith and through prayer, depending on the Holy Spirit. We cannot afford to reason with the devil. Our part is to believe God and place our hope in His Word. The way to win in this spiritual war is also to learn how to wear and use our whole armor, the armor which God supplies (see Ephesians 6:11-17). We are not called to overthink or reason things out dear one, but to pray to God for answers (see Phil. 4:6-7), cast our cares on Him (see 1 Peter 5:6-7) and prayerfully search the Word of God for answers (see Psalm 119:114), constantly in dependence upon the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit guides us and leads us into all the truth when we depend on Him and trust Him for it (see John 16:13). Trying to reason things out leads to anxiety. Instead, the Bible instructs us to be anxious for nothing, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7 NIV) The way I came out of the place of overthinking and of trying to figure my way out was through becoming aware of and applying Isaiah 26:3 NKJV, ”You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” I came to the place where the more I tried to figure my way out, the more anxiety I felt. This is when I realized that I could no longer afford to try to think my way out, and that my only hope was going to have to be the Lord. This is when I started to fix my mind on Him, on purpose, harnessing my thoughts, on purpose. I started to place my trust in Him for Him to deliver me. I learned to stop allowing my mind to wander, and instead I focused on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith (see Hebrews 12:2). He was going to be the One to set me free. The only place I allowed my mind to go was in selected Bible verses and in prayer. I read many Christian books too on relevant topics as to keep my mind occupied on what could really help me and of course with the purpose of learning the truth that would bring freedom in my life: John 8:31-32 (NKJV), “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”” I stopped trying to reason my way out. As I learned to humble myself and cast my cares on God; as I learned to trust Him to deliver me from legalism and from the resulting fears, anxieties and obsessions, He did, not all at once, but little by little. It is very important for you to have the revelation that the real root issue in your life is legalism empowered by witchcraft. Scrupulosity really is pure legalism. I like the definition the online dictionary gives of legalism, “dependence on moral law rather than on personal religious faith.” Our faith is to be in Jesus’s finished work at the cross. Jesus paid the price for our sins. Jesus is our righteousness. It is a new covenant we are under now, the covenant of grace. It is a righteousness that is prescribed by faith. So, if you repented of your sins and placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you are righteous. The Bible says in Romans 6:14 that sin shall no longer have dominion over us because we are no longer under law but under grace. So grace is both the undeserved favor of God and the power of God to live holy. Grace is your answer. Mercy is undeserved. It wouldn't be mercy if mercy was deserved. The apostle Paul said in Galatians 3:10-14 essentially that those who try to live by and be justified by law (for instance, dos and don’t’s) are cursed, for cursed is the one who does not continue in all points to do what is written and prescribed by the law. But the law, he said, requires no faith. However, the new covenant is a covenant of faith. We are justified by faith (see Romans 5:1). Jesus is the end of the law as a means of righteousness to them that believe, the Bible says (see Romans 10:4). You can picture the law as what drives you to have to be perfect, all the time for fear that you will end up in hell if you are not perfect. So under the law, we fear sin and become obsessed with sin, because sin is a threat to our salvation. We never know if or when we have done enough. Under the law, one tries to earn their salvation and God’s acceptance through their own self-effort and self-righteousness. We can’t make it that way. Our only hope is Jesus and His finished work at the cross and to rely on His work at the cross. Through His work, we have been made new, we have been regenerated. We have been given the gift of righteousness and we have been made righteous in Christ. And from the position of being accepted through Christ, we begin to live righteously, but the moment we try to live righteous under the commands of law, it renders us powerless to live righteously. Under grace, there is also mercy available to us as we grow and learn in Christ. Under grace, God is our Father, under law, God comes across to us as a hard task master and stern judge who excuses nothing. You need to know your real enemy, otherwise you will be fighting the wrong thing. For instance, if all you attack is the unwanted thoughts, fears and obsessions, you are really only dealing with the surface. Legalism is the root cause of scrupulosity. And witchcraft spirits are at the source of it. They use legalism to control, rule and manipulate you in fear. That’s what you must deal with, with God’s help. I strongly encourage you to ask God to expose legalism in your life, and ask Him to forgive you of it, then receive His forgiveness, and ask Him to purge your life from it. From there, you will partner with God on your recovery journey from legalism. It will be a journey, allow for a process of change. Repentance doesn’t mean perfection, it simply means that we turn around with God’s help and begin to walk in the opposite direction from glory to glory with God’s help. All the while, we are forgiven and accepted in the Beloved (i.e. in Christ). Below is a link leading to blogs I wrote on the topic. I encourage you to read them all, starting from the first one. I encourage you to scroll all the way down to the first published blog and work your way up. I also encourage you to watch my other UA-cam videos. You can find them on that same website, or on my UA-cam channel. Please let me know if you have any questions concerning what I wrote to you in this UA-cam message/response. www.paulandkathleenministries.org/blog Take courage, God is willing and able to deliver you completely from legalism. Please let me know if you can’t see the link to my blogs above, sometimes people can’t see this link when I insert it as part of my UA-cam response. God bless you as you walk in dependence upon the Holy Spirit toward fullness of recovery from legalism.
You have explained this type of ocd so well. So many people suffer from this without even knowing it. Thank you. Keep posting if it is lead by the Holy Spirit.
Everything your describing is absolutely identical to what I battle . The blasphemous thoughts fear of the unpardonable sin the anxiety attacks fear of God leaving me and not forgiving me I suffer horribly
Dear @Spiritof lifeministry6369ky, be encouraged that God is willing and able to deliver you completely. It may not happen overnight, but little by little, you will get well as you partner with God on the recovery journey. Is your main struggle the fear of the unpardonable sin or is it also everything else I described in the video? If it is everything I shared in the video, then the following should be helpful to you: God showed me that the root cause of my problem was legalism and behind it was witchcraft. Knowing the root cause of our fears is essential to getting permanently well. Otherwise, we only attack the fruit while the root system gets untouched. As we deal with the root of our problem, the fruit (such as fear and anxiety) will eventually leave. I encourage you to seek God concerning legalism. Ask Him to expose any legalism in your life. Ask God to forgive you of it and receive His forgiveness. Then ask Him to purge your life from every trace, shape and form of legalism. From there, you will enter a journey of recovery from legalism with God on your side, delivering you, helping you, guiding you and counseling you to wholeness one step at a time. Studying the Word of God in the areas where you experience fear and confusion is essential to getting free. The Bible says in John 8:31-32 that if we abide in God's Word and the Word abides in us, we shall know the truth and the truth shall make us free. It is very important that you meditate on Bible verses regularly on salvation by grace through faith, grace vs. law, the love of God, about your identity in Christ, on the finished work of the cross, on being justified by faith and on godly humility and surrender to God. Google is a great tool to find Bible verses on specific topics. For instance, you can google for "Bible verses on being justified by faith". Etc. Ask God to lead you to Bible verses that will give you the revelations that you need in the areas where you have a need. Then study them. Meditate on them. Yield to the truth that you are learning and apply it to your own life. Let them renew your belief system. Let them replace the lies you have been believing. Also, I encourage you to watch my other UA-cam videos. You can find them all on my channel; just look for my name "Kathleen Kaczmarek" on UA-cam. I believe you should find 11 videos in total. One of them is also specifically on the fear of the unpardonable sin. I also encourage you to read my blogs. You can find them on my website: paulandkathleenministries.org under "my blog". I encourage you to start reading from the first one I published which you will find at the very bottom of the page and you can work your way up. Lastly, I encourage you to prayerfully consider buying any, or all, of the following books which you can find on Amazon: 1- By Grace Alone: Finding freedom and purging legalism from your life, written by Derek Prince, 2- God is not mad at you, written by Joyce Meyer, and, 3- The Law of Redemption: What must one do to go to heaven? Written by me. As you fill your mind with the truth, you will begin to experience healing, little by little as one lie gets pull down and replaced with the truth, then another lie, then another... Make sure to lean on God throughout the entire journey of recovery, actively trusting Him to set you free and placing your hope in His Word. Be encouraged dear one, this too shall pass with God's mighty help. God bless!
@@Spiritoflifeministryky When I am referring to legalism, I am referring to any law that one believes they have to comply with in order to earn their salvation and God’s approval and acceptance. It can be makeup and jewelry yes, but so much more. For instance, for me, I had reverted back to trying to earn my salvation through my own self-righteousness and perfect performance. So I never knew if I was good enough, or if I had done enough to meet the moral laws (as a means of righteousness) that were ever before me, which caused me to fear the sins that represented a threat to my being able to make it in. I like this definition found on the online dictionary: Legalism: “Dependence on moral law rather than on personal religious faith.” So I was no longer trusting in and relying on the finished work of the cross for my salvation, i.e. I was no longer relying on God’s grace through faith in Christ to make me right with God, but I was relying on my own ability to comply with moral and religious laws to make it in. On the other hand, grace is both the unmerited favor of God AND the power of God to live holy. Grace teaches us to say ‘no’ to ungodliness (see Titus 2:11-12). The Law has no power to change our human nature. Grace, on the other hand, does. Legalism is very subtle because it appears pious. It is also very deceptive. Legalism is another gospel, not that there is another gospel. Legalism appeals to human pride because if we can earn it, we can boast about it. I hope this helps clarify. Take care.
Dear @@LBrooks_037, I believe you later watched my video entitled, “Overcoming the fear of the unpardonable sin”. In it, you probably received the answer to your question. I also encourage you to read a blog I wrote on this same topic. You can find it here: www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/overcoming-the-fear-of-the-unpardonable-sin-1 I pray this helps.
I wonder how the religions themselves take no blame for some of the OCD they are actually causing. Every religion preaches purity-n submission- devotion-ignoring of your own critical thinking- buying into " the Book as the one and only word of god" - being perfect for god- being alike some holy creature like muhamed jesus or another saint and not being yourself- under constant observance of this higher power- sex is possibly smthg that will get you into hell- need i say more?
Wow, you are right, i have religious Ocd and i've been trying to please God all the time by the Law like you say, with my own strength and it's exhausting and makes worse my Ocd
Dear @christian davila, It is important for you not to see legalism and religious OCD as independent. On the contrary, legalism (empowered by witchcraft) is at the root. Religious OCD is just a term given to the fruits that stem from witchcraft and legalism in one's life. Begin to address legalism and you will begin to see real changes in your situation. I pray this really helps you see. When we fight the thoughts and don't attack their root, we are not making any real progress. But when the root cause is exposed (legalism empowered by witchcraft) and that we begin to renew our minds and belief systems in this area with the truth of the Word of God mixed with faith, then we really begin to make real lasting progress. I encourage you to prayerfully consider buying and reading the following three books: The Law of Redemption: What Must One Do to Go to heaven? Written by me By Grace Alone: Finding Freedom and Purging Legalism from You Life, written by Derek Prince God is Not Mad at You, written by Joyce Meyer Be encouraged, now that the Lord is revealing to you that legalism is a problem in your life, it is a major step forward. Believe God to purge your life from it and see His mighty work of deliverance in your life. Lastly, do not own legalism (religious OCD). This too shall pass with God's help. See yourself through His Blood. "It is finished." Take care.
Thank you so much for this video. I feel like I am struggling from religious ocd. I think sometimes maybe God won't forgive me because I am not sorry enough. I am afraid he will say to me you only repented for the fear of hell. I feel like I am in battle with my mind. I want so desperately to have a good relationship with God and Jesus. I was baptized by water submerging and was so proud to say I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior! Now I am having bad thoughts about Jesus. I just want his forgiveness. I wish he would show me the root of my problem.
Hi @Michele Hankins, Concerning the first part of your message and I quote “I feel like I am struggling from religious ocd. I think sometimes maybe God won't forgive me because I am not sorry enough.” I understand. This is something I have had to deal with myself too. The way to deal with any fear like this is through asking God to set us free and to prayerfully search for the biblical truth that will make us free. The Bible says in John 8:31-32 that if we abide in His Word and His Word abides in us, we shall know the truth and the truth shall make us free. Therefore, entrust God with all your struggles in faith, trusting Him to deliver you from all of your fears (see Psalm 34:4), and place your hope in His Word (see Psalm 119:81). So in this case, I encourage you to ask the Lord to lead you to Bible verses that will really disarm the fear through receiving revelation of the truth. We fight using the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. When these kinds of fear and thoughts come, you rise up using the Bible verses that you learn in this area and you stand on the truth of that Word and with it, resist the fear and the lies. You can quote back the Bible verses out loud (or under your breath if you are amongst people) against the unwanted thoughts all with God’s help, relying and depending on the Holy Spirit while on the “battle field” and while off the battle field. Basically, in all places, you take refuge in God and in His love. Secondly, when you repent, simply make sure to come to God with your heart. When we connect with God with our heart, than we know that He hears us (see 1 John 5:15). Come in honesty. Don’t try to put on a religious façade of contriteness and feelings if they are simply not there. If you believe you need some contriteness, simply ask Him for it. But whether you have feelings or not, by His grace, do not allow yourself to fall under condemnation because of it. Come in truth. Truth in the inner man is what God is really looking for. So you come as you are with a truthful heart. Whatever you have, that and only that do you bring before God. In truth you confess your sin to God connecting with God with your heart. Legalism and condemnation cause us to feel like we don’t have enough feelings when we “should” or we have feelings when we “shouldn’t”. We can never win under the law. God enables us to come truthfully to Him through His grace and by faith. Therefore wear the belt of truth; only presenting yourself to God in truth as you are and stand on the promises of God’s Word. That He will receive. But if we come with religious cliché and façade to try to comply with what we believe are religious expectations; that He is not pleased with. Repent from your heart, i.e. with a sincere willingness to turn around and with a hear and mind that agrees with God concerning the sin (with or without major feelings following). Just come in truth before God. We are no longer under law where we need to comply with religious rules and regulations. We are under grace where we are empowered to truly live out the righteousness that God first worked in us through our faith in Christ and Christ living in us. Now, according to the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition, repentance involves the change of one’s mind for the better, heartily amending one’s ways, with abhorrence of his past sins (See Mark 1:4 AMPC; Luke 5:32 AMPC; Luke 15:7 AMPC). It is a place where we agree with God and His Word concerning sin. It means turning away from, walking in the opposite direction. When we have a change of mind and a change of heart, our natural response will be to turn from it, and, by depending on God’s grace and applying God’s Word, begin to walk in the opposite direction. Repentance consists of the change of one’s heart and attitude toward God and toward sin. So whether you have a lot of feelings or a little, when you repent of your sins, it is first and foremost the agreeing with God concerning the sin and the choice, desire and willingness to turn around and begin walking in the opposite direction with God’s help and by His grace. Repentance doesn’t mean legalistic perfection. It is a heart change and choice to cooperate with God toward fullness of freedom in that area. So come to God with a sincere heart in truth being true to Him and to yourself, without putting on religious performance that don’t truly reflect your heart. Confess it to God having a repentant heart (i.e. agreeing with God concerning the sin and having the willingness and intention with God’s help to turn around) and receive your forgiveness. The receiving part is very important. Sometimes we confess but we don’t proceed with receiving it based on the promises found in God’s Word. Receive your forgiveness on the basis of the following Scriptures: 1 John 1:9 NKJV: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. NKJV 1 John 5:15 NKJV: And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. Concerning the second part of your message and I quote: “I am afraid he will say to me you only repented for the fear of hell. I feel like I am in battle with my mind. I want so desperately to have a good relationship with God and Jesus. I was baptized by water submerging and was so proud to say I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior! Now I am having bad thoughts about Jesus. I just want his forgiveness. I wish he would show me the root of my problem.” The root of your problem definitely sounds like legalism my dear, just like it was mine. But of course, seek Him. The way out is to bring it to God for Him to set you free and to cooperate with Him by studying the Word on the sound doctrine of being saved by grace through faith, on law versus grace, righteousness that is of faith, on the love of God, about your identity in Christ and on godly humility and surrender to God from the heart. It takes time to recover from legalism. God brought me a long way, and I consider that I am free and forgiven from it because I know the truth, but I still find myself to this day needing to recover in some respects of it if that makes sense. I need to go from faith to faith. Of course I am not where I used to be, but to this day, I have to be careful and I have to be sober and vigilant. It has been a weakness for me, though I have also come a long way in different respects too. I love what Joyce Meyer says “I am not where I need to be, but thank God I am not where I used to be. I am okay and I am on my way.” I still need to read and study on this topic regularly to help me and to strengthen the truths the Lord taught me. But I thank Him I am continuing to move forward and that He is completing in me what He started. One of the things God spoke to me through someone on the other side of a prayer line at the beginning of my recovery from legalism is “Remember that you won’t come out the way you came in”. We come into legalism through trying in our own strength to be right with God and to be perfect and righteous and through relying on our own ability and self-righteousness. The way out is by God’s grace through faith and by cooperating with Him through faith on the journey and by placing our hope in His Word. The same way we were saved is the way we live: by grace through faith. That is the way of life of the Christian. The new covenant. The Gospel. Lastly, I encourage you to prayerfully consider buying the following 3 books on Amazon: - By Grace Alone: Finding Freedom and Purging your Life from Legalism, written by Derek Prince, - God Is Not Mad at You, written by Joyce Meyer, and, - The Law of Redemption: What Must One Do to Go to Heaven?, written by me. I hope this helps. God bless, Kathleen
I have scrupulosity and nobody knows it. I really thought I lost God; like with these sexual blasphemous thoughts- of course God will abandon me. I thought I committed the unpardonable sin because of the bombardous thoughts (like what you said). But I hope God hasn't abandoned me. I really hope I'll get out of my scrupulosity completely because it is such mental torture. Thank you for the video; it really helped :)
You're not alone. God knew all of this before He saved you, He's there for you. I know what you're going through I've been there. From my experience the harder you fight the thoughts the more they come. Once I stopped fighting them and let the thoughts be, they stopped coming as frequently
Hello Claudia, you can rest assured that God hasn't abandoned you--far from it dear. He is a very present help in times of trouble the Bible says. I am very glad that the video helped. I encourage you to also watch the others, I believe they will also be helpful to you. I understand what you are going through. I too felt it was pure torture. You can rest assured that God is willing and able to deliver you completely. Go to Him and ask Him to deliver you from every trace, shape and form of legalism (scrupulosity). He will. Tell Him that you renounce it completely and ask Him to reveal revelation knowledge to you that will bring freedom in your life as per John 8:31-32. I also encourage you to study the Word of God in the areas of need, like on being justified by grace through faith, about your identity in Christ, the love of God, His nature, and on godly humility and surrender to God. And I agree with Larissa, i.e. what we feed gets magnified and what we starve eventually dies. Therefore, cast the thoughts on God, and dwell on the truth on who you are in Christ. The less you feed the thoughts with worry and the less you try to stop them in your own strength, the more they will lose power over you. Romans 6:14 says that sin shall not have dominion over us because we are not under law, but under grace. Therefore, make sure to deal with the thoughts and with scrupulosity under grace where you repent and receive your forgiveness and where you trust God to deliver you. On the other hand, when under the law, the things we don't want to do we do and the things we want to do we don't do (see Romans chapter 7). The law (for instance, "these thoughts must not cross my mind or I will be condemned") is the strength of sin (see 1 Cor 15:56). The grace of God on the other hand, will empower you to break free from the thoughts over time. Essentially under grace, you stop trying to stop the thoughts in your own strength and instead you place your trust in God and rest in Him for Him to deliver you. All the while there is no condemnation for you who are in Christ because you are repentant and because your faith is in Him to deliver you. There, you also meditate on the truth of God's Word to renew your mind from glory to glory. So under grace, you are no longer trying in your own strength, but you rest in God through faith, trusting that as long as you are believing, He is working. And there you also place your hope in God's Word for the Word to do in you what only the Word can do in you. :) God bless
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 thank you !! I agree; I'll continue to check out the rest of your videos, really appreciate you taking the time off to reply me :)
@@larissahill2755 I agree completely! The more I try to stop them the more they come ! I'm just gonna stop trying. What you said about how God knows that would have happened comforted me, because He has shown me so much grace prior to my scrupulsoity despite knowing my thoughts were going to come anyway
I am 58 - this is happening to me now! I have had OCD since I was a child and born and raised Catholic. I am a born again Christian, but the guilt I experience for leaving Catholicism is enormous and constant in my OCD thoughts!
Dear @Sheila Dyck, first I want to say ‘praise God!’ that you became born again! Alleluia! Just so I can better understand and add to this response if necessary, do you experience guilt before God or before man? I just want to understand the source of your guilt. Do you struggle with guilt feelings because you are fighting thoughts that God is perhaps displeased with your leaving the catholic church or do you struggle with guilt because you fear that maybe men (perhaps family members) are condemning you for it? I encourage you to do an in-depth Bible study on Bible verses that reveal that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ. So Bible verses that reveal that we are justified by faith (not by religious rituals, man-made traditions, buildings or institutions). Google is a great tool for finding Bible verses on topics of study. As you find and study Bible verses relevant to your needs, and as you learn that the righteousness which God prescribes is of faith (and not of dead fleshly works), and as you continue to meditate on this truth, you will begin to experience peace as you lean on, choose, believe and submit to the truth of God’s Word that makes you free (see John 8:31-32). I also encourage you to consider that OCD is the fruit of a root. Therefore, as you continue to deal with the root cause of your fears, what is called OCD will begin to dissipate little by little as your mind is renewed with the truth of God’s Word. Therefore, I encourage you not to overly concern yourself with the thoughts, but instead to cast them on God in prayer (see 1 Peter 5:6-7) and to begin to spend quality time in studying the Word of God (asking the Holy Spirit to open your understanding and to counsel you and to renew your mind as you study God’s Word), in the areas of need such as studying on who you are in Christ, on God’s love, His nature, God’s new covenant of grace, justification by faith, godly humility and loving submission to Christ. As you persist in doing that, you will begin to experience peace of mind as you learn, choose, believe, apply and yield to the truth of God’s Word that you study and learn on a consistent basis. :) Romans 5:1 AMPC: Therefore, since we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions. God bless!
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 truthfully Kathleen, I believe my guilt is with both man AND God! I come from a pretty dysfunctional upbringing, with w alcoholic parents and being an only child I have never felt like I could do ANYTHING right in my parents' eyes, thus - the guilt. My parents are both dead now, as are most of my Catholic family, and I didn't leave Catholicism until they had all passed away. However, that good old "Catholic guilt," has never helped my situation either. I was sexually molested at the ages of 4 and 5 by a neighbor and also mentally abused by a Nun in Catholic School. I've come a long way - but your words and encouragement have helped me immensely!! Thank you so much for your caring reply!
Maybe this can help. Pray Psambs 91 visualizing are lord jesus dieing on the cross for are sins. Trust that's issue here well it was with me. I know l am going through it. Put your eyes on god.
Thank you so much for posting this. I asked God what was behind my OCD, and I did hear a very quiet response telling me witchcraft, so this is confirmation for me!
I don't know I'm suffering this or not but each bible verse sometime convict me like I'm a false teacher because still fall in the same sin , I'm a wicked person and so on.. this very depressing.. Any thought about this? I feel I'm failed as Christ follower
Hello @Martin sandy, I am not sure if I understand your concern fully. I think what you are saying is that you have been struggling with a sin, which you don’t want to, but you keep giving into it, and you feel like you are a failed Christian because of your struggle to resist the sin. And I think you are saying that because of that, many Bible verses cause you to feel like a false teacher and a wicked person because of your struggle with this same sin. So I will answer in those lines, however please feel free to correct me if I misunderstood you. Forgiven: Jesus said in Matthew chapter 18 that if someone comes to us and ask us to forgive them, we are to forgive them 70 times 7. So essentially each time they ask for forgiveness, we are to forgive them. Jesus lives by what He preaches. This is good news my dear. The Bible also says in 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Therefore, each time you come to God with a sincere heart and confess your sin to Him and ask Him to forgive you and ask Him to help you change, you are forgiven by God immediately. It doesn’t matter how many times you need to come to Him, the moment you ask Him to forgive you, He does. It is super important to receive His forgiveness because guilt and condemnation are wide open doors to the devil in our lives. How to overcome a stronghold: It is not uncommon for a Christian to struggle with a sin at some point in their lives. Oftentimes, the hindrance in overcoming the sin is because the Christian panics and out of fear starts to try to stop falling in the sin in their own strength out of guilt. However, guilt and condemnation not only has no power to help us overcome sin, but they tie us to the sin we are desperate to be free from. That’s why we must learn to deal with sin, not under law but under grace. The law cannot change our human nature, only grace can. As a matter of fact, the law arouses sin and strengthens sin the Bible says. Therefore, the way out is not through trying harder under guilt, but by receiving God’s forgiveness under grace through faith in Christ’ work at the cross and through lots of praying and depending on the Lord to set us free. And from that position of faith and expectancy in God (and what I am about to tell you is very important in helping us overcome any stronghold) to cooperate with God through studying the Word of God in the area where we are being greatly tempted and tried. So we have a part to do as well. The Lord spoke to me years ago and said, “Remember that you cannot overcome in your own strength but by the Word of God.” These words changed my life, literally, because they taught me how to overcome the sin I was struggling with: by the Word of God. From that day on, I stopped trying to figure my way out through my own self-effort and reasoning, and I began to google for Bible verses relevant to the area where I was struggling. The Word of God began to transform me within, little by little in this area. I also began using God’s Word each time I came under temptation. I would quote Bible verses against the lies or temptations of the enemy. The Word became my spiritual sword. The Word of God when received in meekness, the Bible says in the book of James, has the power to save our souls (and really it has the power to save us in every area of need). The aforementioned Scripture really encourages me that no matter the struggle, the Word is powerful enough to save me where I need saving; whether it be in my mind, my emotions, my soul, my spirit, my will, it doesn’t matter! The Word taken in meekness can and will save us where needed when mixed with faith. It may not happen overnight, but from glory to glory it will do its work in us if we persevere in taking it in. Lastly, take for instance John Bevere. He is a wonderful teacher of God’s Word. He struggled with porn for years while a serious Christian. He is a minister of the Gospel! But God set him free. From what I remember of his testimony and if I am not mistaken, God’s Word was really key to renew his mind towards women so that he began to see them differently. Today, not only is he not tempted in this area, but he is repulsed by it. God and His Word changed him. It didn’t happen overnight, but it did happen. Legalism? Based on what you wrote to me, I wouldn’t necessarily say that you have full blown legalism in your life. The Lord however can show you. Just ask Him and He can reveal it to you. However, I would warn that legalism seems to be at the door so be careful. If you are trying to set yourself free in your own strength under guilt and condemnation and if you don’t allow yourself to receive God’s forgiveness, love and acceptance when you confess your sin, than these could become open doors to and even could be fruits of legalism. If unchecked and if not dealt with, legalism could gain full entrance in your life. So knock it down now. Do that by making sure to receive God’s forgiveness the moment you repent of your sin, and make sure to see yourself forgiven and righteous through repentance and through your faith in Christ. You can do that with God's help and through standing on God's promises found in His Word. With God's help, make sure not to allow your past sins to condemn you. Stand on God's Word. And do not try to earn your salvation in your own strength. That’s a no, no, and very dangerous. That would be a fruit of legalism. What is also very important to understand here is when it comes to strongholds, it is not as simple as repenting and never doing it again, because the point is, it has become a stronghold in your life. Therefore, realistically, you may not be able to guarantee you won’t do it again after you confessed it to God. So, when you come to God and confess your sin and repent, ask Him to change you, ask Him to help you not to do it again, and ask Him for revelation knowledge that will make you free (see John 8:31-32). A fruit for repentance is our putting our faith in Him to change us and our depending on Him to change us. Our faith in Him is what pleases Him, you see. So while God is working in your situation and while you are in repentance (i.e. you want to stop this sin, you are actively trusting Him to deliver you from the power of this sin in your life and you are cooperating with Him through studying God’s Word in this area) then your faith in Him is credited to you as righteousness. Stand on God’s promises, receive God’s forgiveness, and do not try to overcome sin in your own strength but through depending on the Holy Spirit and by the Word of God as mentioned above. Handle the struggle under grace and be transformed by the renewal of your mind with God’s Word from glory to glory. As you persevere, you will be made completely free from this sin. ―John 8:31-32 (NKJV) I pray this helps, Kathleen
I also agree that the enemy is definatly behind legalism.i didn't start of like that but slowly fell from gods grace and become estranged from Christ which means break in fellowship Paul told Galatians they.were foolish because the began by the holy spirit but we're caught in legalism or law
Dear Kimberly, I tried to reply to your comment, but somehow can't via UA-cam. Please let me know if I can reach you by some other means. Thanks! God bless.
I keep having this fear i’m going to hell, since i was young, Or the feel i get left behind when the rapture happens and im not saved (especially cuz i heard and read only 144,000 people are sealed to be saved 😪). I always knew i liked girls since i was like 4 years old, didnt think too much of it that i was different until i got older and had a crush on a classmate for the first time in middle school. I would be crying at night and begging God to please dont leave me behind when the end comes, i wished i was a straight man so i could be a ok to like girls, or at least straight woman. I would beg and beg with this fear im damned to hell because i was different and i promised myself i will not get married or date anyone, i will die alone so i don’t sin with a woman and go to hell. I always believed in the God, after highschool i came out and decided to just let the fear go and be me. But i would still try to do the right things, always, out of fear. Only difference was i always saw my homosexuality as my biggest flaw, as if “almost perfect” except this one thing. I feel like being gay is the worst sin i could do, i guess cuz people always say it. I was ok for a couple of years, dated girls here and there but still believed in God and wanted to be a good person. Until now, i’ve been dating this girl for a year and shes different. Shes sweet, shes the first to reciprocate love, equal give and take, healthy relationship. I love her unconditionally like i havent before, and she forgives me and accepts me for who i am and it feels like im experiencing God’s love in human form. But i had relationship Ocd start, homosexuality ocd start, and now this. I broke up with her out of fear im going to hell for loving her. I have been crying the past 3 days begging God to not send me to hell, even though her and i are not together anymore. I still cant let go of the fear, being with her or not. I thought i would be relieved but i dont. I asked for a sign from God if its ok to be gay and practice christianity and it was a yes but i still feel scared. Its gotten worse since ive heard these are the last days and to repent and change! Im so emotionally tired 😪😪i have been praying and stumbled upon this and i cried with relief for couple of minutes and thanked God but im still scared to let myself be with her. My fear is so much bigger than my love 😪
Also, hearing peoples testimonies of hell and visiting it doesn’t help 😔 and how the bible says to obey the laws makes it sound like what u r saying is contradicting 😔 i still overthink and also have a fear of choosing the right religion also, since christianity has many types of churches and beliefs
Hi Maizy, The good news is that the grace of God is both the unmerited favor of God and the power of God to live holy. Therefore, when we repent of our sins and place our faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done for us at the cross, we receive a new nature within us; the Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of us and we are changed. Then, we enter a journey in which God changes us from glory to glory. The Bible does say to repent from our sins and to turn to Christ and to make Him our Lord and Savior. From there, He helps us where we are weak. So in my video, what I am seeking to explain is that we don’t earn our salvation based on our self-righteousness and our good works. And I am seeking to explain that we can’t stop sinning in our own strength, but that we need the Spirit of God for that. Instead, we are saved by grace through faith. From there, we are empowered to live a holy life through Christ living in us. So when we are born again, we serve God because we are saved, not in order to get saved. When we are born again, we receive a new “want to”. Our new nature within hates sin and loves righteousness. I am not saying that we are never tempted because we still wear a robe of flesh. But something changes deep within us; we begin to want holiness not because we have to, but because we simply want to. So Christ in us empowers us. We literally become a new creation in Christ. We are given the gift of righteousness the Bible says. We are made righteous freely through faith in Jesus. Jesus came to save us from our sins (see Matt. 1:21). Romans 6:11 says to those of us who are in Christ to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. That is all made possible by the finished work of Christ at the cross. Therefore Jesus is your answer my dear. We are required to repent from our sins. Repentance doesn’t mean perfect performance, but it does mean that we choose and are thus willing to turn around and to begin to walk in the opposite direction with God’s help. We cannot stop sinning in the flesh, in our own strength. That is why we need Jesus our Savior. Jesus came to set us free from the power of sin (see Romans 6:14). However, the law strengthens sin (see 1 Cor. 15:56). In Christ, we live in dependence upon the Spirit and no longer in dependence upon the letter (or the law). Jesus set us free from the law so that we can serve God in newness of life. We are now led by the Holy Spirit and He empowers us to live victoriously and He helps us resist temptation too. He can make us strong where we are weak and where we were once greatly tempted, He can completely change us so that we won’t even be tempted anymore. This may not happen overnight, but by His work of grace within us, it can happen if we continue to trust Him for it. His power can do it, but we can’t change ourselves and the law cannot change our human nature. But He is looking for us to come in agreement with Him concerning sin and concerning who He is. If you have never received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, I encourage you to do so today. We can’t try in our own strength not to sin and we can’t earn heaven by our good behaviors. We need the Lord. Christ in us the hope of glory (see Col. 1:27). All of our righteousness is as filthy rag the Bible says. He is our righteousness. It is a righteousness that is prescribed by faith. The Good News! We need to depend on His Holy Spirit. Christ is our righteousness, our sanctification and our redemption (see 1 Cor. 1:30). We walk in dependence upon His Spirit from there. And actually, the grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness (see Titus 2:11-12). You are right, homosexuality is sin (see 1 Cor. 6:9-11). You can be encouraged with verse 11 that some were living in this lifestyle even in the Bible days and were gloriously saved. So be encouraged. You can be washed from this sin with the Blood of Christ. All you need to do is repent from it and place your faith in Jesus Christ. So you were right in breaking ties with the woman. Everything we think we heard from God must line up with the Word of God. Homosexuality is never approved of in the Word of God. Therefore, what you thought was a yes from God was not from God. We must always bring what we think we heard from God to the light of Scriptures. If what we think we heart doesn’t align with God’s Word, God’s Word always is the final authority. God loves you with a perfect love and He is willing and able to deliver you completely from homosexuality. My husband’s brother was a homosexual. He knew it was wrong but he found no power to stop it in his own strength. One thing that he did to help himself was to move from the area where he used to live because it was an area especially crowded with people living in the homosexual lifestyle. Then, the day came when he came to the end of himself and cried out to the Lord with everything that was in him. He said something in these lines, “God I tried and I can’t stop it. I can’t stop. So I will stop trying and instead I give it to you and I trust you to set me free because I tried and I can’t.” At that moment, God delivered him on a dime and filled him with the Holy Spirit. He was a new man and he was freed from homosexuality. Unfortunately, by that time, he had contracted AIDS so he eventually died from it, but he died passionate for the Lord and he is in heaven today. God is willing and able to deliver you totally as well. It is important to repent from this sin however, and to agree with God that it is sin because God will not go against your will. Of course, if you haven’t done so already, you need to make Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life because you can’t stop this sin apart from His help and you can’t be changed inside apart from Him. There is nothing that we can do to save ourselves. Again, all of our righteousness is as filthy rag the Bible says. We need Jesus inside of us. But once you repented of your sins and made Jesus your personal Lord and Savior, you can enter the rest of God and trust that you have everlasting life based on the promises of God’s Word. The 144,000 refers to the Jewish people who will be saved during the tribulation hour. It doesn’t pertain to the people who were, are being and will be saved on the earth in total. You can be at peace there. I pray this helps. Take care.
@@Smeeze8484 well, remember that there are a couple of saints in The Catholic Church that were scrupulous. There's a proof that scrupulosity doesn't automatically keep us from getting to Heaven
Thank you so much. I'm dealing with this now. I'm 31 and my parents are so religiously critical. No man that I meet is good enough for them and they make me feel like I have to do everything right and be good all the time to be accepted. So I developed this anxiety about having to do things to please God and them but God is bringing me out and delivering me. I've judged others because of this and failed to love and be loved.
Dear PrincessAmandaTV, I am so glad to hear that God is bringing you out and delivering you. God is such a faithful and a good God. He is indeed a very present help in times of trouble. Thank you for sharing! God bless.
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 my blasphemous thoughts are starting to go away, ive noticed that when these thoughts started, it was actually BEFORE I read about the blasphemy of the holy spirit and I used to try to do things with the 3rd eye, I came to Jesus asking for forgiveness and repented and as soon as I wanted to get serious random demonic blasphemous thoughts started...i got scared when I read about the unforgivable sin so I'm really starting to understand that it probably was an attack of the devil, I would've never conceived those thoughts by myself
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 and to think, knowing us before we were conceived and people who are never born are in heaven from miscarriages, abortions, when bad things happen to the blameless due to anothers deliberate sin, God doesnt allow the blameless to suffer for it, things done under the influence of Satan and a persons choice to sin against God he can turn around for good...he is...righteous
@@LBrooks_037 Hi Alex, I don't seem to be able to find or reply directly to a question you asked me a day ago. You asked and I quote, "What if you used to enjoy helping people when they needed it like a hungry person…now I feel like everything is only to earn favor with God after these thoughts." So I will respond here if that's okay with you. Here is my answer: This is not necessarily surprising after having undergone something like what you experienced. You will simply need to dive deep into the grace of God and the love of God for a while. I encourage you to prayerfully study the Bible and anointed Christian material on topics such as being saved by grace through faith, the love of God, the finished work of the cross, and about your identity in Christ for as long as you need. Also spend time in prayer and worship. As you refresh yourself in the aforementioned topics and get rooted and grounded again in the grace and love of God, such motives of love for others will begin to resurface again and you will find yourself be motivated by love to do things for others instead of being motivated by guilt or instead of being motivated to earn God’s love and favor. As you understand that there is nothing that God will accept from you as payment to earn anything from Him and as you learn again to depend on the finished work of Christ at the cross for your righteousness, you will begin to produce righteous deeds out of what God has already done in you. Accordingly, your motives will be purified and you will once again do things for others out of faith and love. Be thus encouraged.
Thank you so very much for this. This helped me understand why I had been suffering with Scrupulosity for years. May God continue to bless you and the ministry He gave you!
Hello Kathleen! God bless you! Wow. If this video couldn’t come at the right time. I’m really trying to build a relationship with Christ and I’ve noticed that I struggle from Scrupulosity. More so sexual blasphemous thoughts about him. I’ve noticed that it’s been here since I was a child because every time I would try to pray a sexual image of God would appear in my mind. And it wasn’t until I actually gave my life to Christ that the thoughts became more and more of course because as a believer I wanted to pray. I’ve found myself in this cycle of legalism...I believe that this will be my year of great Harvest. Where do I go from here Kathleen? Is it possible to reach out to you ? I Must Break free from this
Hello @Tokunbo Ashorobi, I encourage you to watch my video entitled “Religious OCD & Scrupulosity: How to Strip the Thought of Its Power.” Please let me know if you can't find it. You should be able to find it on my UA-cam channel. Essentially, it is important not to try in your own strength to stop the unwanted intrusive thoughts. Otherwise, the more you try and the more you panic or fear the thoughts, the more they will come and the more powerful they will be. The way to see the thoughts decrease and eventually leave is by coming to God with them and asking Him to deliver you from them completely and to trust Him daily to work in your situation; casting your care on Him for He cares for you. From there, you daily trust that God is working in your situation. You expect a breakthrough any moment. Ask Him to deal with the root cause of the thoughts, too. So you cast your care on Him and trust Him to deliver you. Then you expectantly wait on Him daily. When the thoughts come back, you simply brush them off like you would a fly without giving them any thoughts, and you continue doing what you are doing, being in faith and trusting that God is working on your behalf. Because you casted your care (i.e. the intrusive thoughts) on God and received your forgiveness, and because you are in faith, trusting and believing God to deliver you, there is no condemnation for you even if the thoughts come back for a while during the entire process of recovery. Therefore, with God's help, do not allow yourself to fall under condemnation when a thought comes because condemnation hinders progress. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, for those who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. Because you welcomed the Lord in your situation and are in faith for Him to deliver you completely, you are walking after the Spirit and there is no condemnation. The just shall live by faith. Now, what we feed gets stronger and what we starve eventually dies. So the less you worry when a thought comes and the less you give it any thought, worry or fear, is the less that you feed the thought. And as your heart gets more and more absorbed with Jesus Himself and as you hunger and thirst for Him more and more and for righteousness; as you focus more and more on the things that are from above and less on the unwanted thoughts, you will even begin to forget about the thoughts and they will eventually leave. The thoughts keep power over you so long as you fear them or dread them. But they will lose their power over you when you stop fearing them. That can only happen when you handle them under grace. As long as you are under a law that says "There must not be one sexual thought or image about God crossing your mind or you are doomed!", you will have no power to get free from the thoughts because the Bible says that the law is the strength of sin (see 1 Cor. 15:56). So make sure to approach this whole process under grace. Under grace, you repent, receive God's forgiveness and trust God to deliver you. From there, you trust God and expectantly wait on Him as He works in your situation. Over time, you will get better and better. All the while, during the entire process of recovery, there is no condemnation for you and you are accepted in the Beloved while God is working on your behalf. And that is because you are in faith, trusting Him to set you free and having your hope in His Word. And that way, the thoughts lose their power over you and the intrusive thoughts eventually die. For sin shall not have dominion over you because you are not under the law but under grace (see Romans 6:14). All of this will most likely take some time, but as you persevere in faith, being under grace, trusting the Lord to deliver you, brushing the thoughts off without attaching worry to the thoughts when they come, you will get better over time. So don’t get discouraged when the thoughts come after that you have given them over to God and began on your journey to recovery, but simply persevere being in faith. Eventually, the thoughts will be gone. And if they come back again at a later time or even every once in a while out of no where, you won’t worry because you will know how to come out given you will have already walked through this journey in faith trusting God. And it won’t be long until the thoughts are gone again because you will know what to do and you will understand why you don't need to worry. So I encourage you to watch my video that I mentioned at the beginning of this response to you. Please let me know if you have any questions. You can email me if you need further ministry at paulkathleenkacz@gmail.com. This too shall pass. God bless
Hi! Can you explain why I always have a blasphemous thoughts against God whenever I see or hear a bad words? Cause whenever I see it or even hear a bad words, my mind would constantly refer to God, for example, I see a 'Bad' word, my mind would always think of God, and tell that 'G-d is bad' why is it like that? And How do I overcome these? Cause this is always the cause of my blasphemous thoughts against God. And is this even an OCD?
Hi @El LA, I believe the thoughts come in these contexts because you fear them, you see them as a threat. You fear condemnation as a result of such thoughts and you fear to ultimately blaspheme God and end up in hell. That’s why anything coming your way that causes you to become aware of such threat causes the thoughts to come into your mind. Such fear is fueled and empowered by a religious law that says, in essence, “You must not blaspheme God or have a blasphemous thought against God or you are doomed.” Law has no consideration to the heart, but only to your performance regardless of your heart toward God. Under law, the thing you want to do you don’t do and the thing you don’t want to do you end up doing (see Romans chapter seven). I believe the following video will help you understand why these thoughts keep coming and how to deal with them. How to strip the thought of its power: ua-cam.com/video/aCmqzhsaShU/v-deo.html However, in a nutshell, the way to overcome such unwanted thoughts is through faith in the finished work of Christ at the cross. Such revelation of the finished work of the cross will lead to abiding in the love of God under the new covenant of grace through faith and will contribute to the filling of your heart with faith and love which will replace fear and condemnation. To abide in the love of God and to love Him in return. The latter will be difficult however if you are experiencing your relationship with God under legalism. This is why it will be important to study on the new covenant of grace, about your identity in Christ, the love of God, and the finished work of the cross. The more you know who you are in Christ and that God has given you the power, the authority and the right to be a child of God (see John 1:12), and the more you abide in God’s love through Christ, and that you respond to that love by loving Him in return, such fears and thoughts will begin to leave you. OCD is a term that the medical world has adopted for situations like this. I entitled some of my videos with terms such as OCD and scrupulosity, and I talk about religious OCD and scrupulosity in my videos and blogs, only because I know people dealing with such experiences will search for such terms. However, what I really seek to do is to deal with the root cause of the associated fears and you will find that typically underneath such obsessive thoughts is often fear of condemnation and guilt. The latter are often rooted in some form or degree of legalism (and the illegitimate power behind legalism is witchcraft as per Gal. 3:1). That is really what I seek to expose and to help people see and turn from with God’s help and by His Word. I pray this helps.
Basically my problems are that whenever I pray or I hear a curse word my mind automatically says that hurtful word to a religious person. I was scared I was blasphemous but I keep freaking out about the devil. I think he’s the one attacking me too, I’m freaking out and I really need help. These are uncomfortable to feel. I love God but I think I’m just scared. I try to wake up but then my mind is like oh she’s okay, okay play a blasphemous thought to bother her. I cannot stand it!!!!
Dear @I AM A QWEEN, I encourage you to prayerfully watch the following two videos. I believe they will help you in this area. ua-cam.com/video/aCmqzhsaShU/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/wFDZcVIy-fA/v-deo.html I also want to exhort you not to be scared about the devil. The Bible says that he is a defeated foe. Jesus won the victory on the cross against the devil. The Bible says in 1 John 4:4 that greater is He who is in the born again child of God than he (the devil) who is in the world. May I ask whether you are a born again Christian? If you are, wonderful! If you are not, I encourage you to become one today. :) The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Jesus, the Son of God, was born of a virgin and came on the earth to reveal to us the Father and to die on the cross to pay the price for our sins and rose from the grave three days later for our justification. To become a born again Christian, it is as simple as confessing to God that you are a sinner, then to repent of your sins (which essentially means that you choose to turn around and begin to walk in the opposite direction with God’s help) and to place your faith in Jesus and in what He has done for you at the cross on your behalf. Ask Jesus to come and live into your heart and make Him your personal Lord and Savior. Jesus is Lord. He wants to be your Protector, your Shield and your Keeper. The children of God have authority over the devil in Jesus name. Therefore, do not fear. The Bible also teaches us how to fight in this spiritual warfare. The battlefield is in our mind. I encourage you to read 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 and Ephesians 6:10-18. These are key Bible verses, among others, showing us how to successfully fight and win the battle that is in our mind. I pray this helps, Take care, Kathleen
I definitely have been struggling with with smoking, I have been trying to quit because I feel like I should (legalism) how does this work? It doesn’t seem right to keep smoking. Any suggestions??
Hi Mandy, I encourage you to take a step back, letting the legalistic pressure aside for a moment, and see what’s there when that religious burden to stop smoking isn’t present. From that place, under grace, examine the pros and cons of smoking and see if you have a desire to stop, and go from there. I believe you will find that you have a desire to stop smoking once you remove the legalistic pressure. Of course, the flesh won’t feel like it. That’s why it can be confusing at times. But once you approach it not under a religious duty, but out of a desire born under grace and out of your new nature in Christ, it will greatly help you stop smoking. It will help you make a quality decision so that if it becomes hard in the process of weaning off of cigarettes, you will be better able to resist the temptations because you yourselves won’t want to smoke again. The Lord is willing and able to help you through the process of quitting. The Word will also help you greatly. I encourage you to prayerfully search for Bible verses relevant to this area and meditate on that Word. Confess it in your life and stand on that Word. The Lord will also help you find Bible verses, as you ask Him to, that will support your decision to stop smoking and that will help you resist the temptations to go back while you are weaning off of cigarettes. I pray this helps. However, please let me know if you have any questions. Be encouraged.
Hello, I see scrupulosity as being guilt-ridden and anxious about doing something wrong, morally wrong, or religiously wrong, for fear of condemnation, punishment or hell. Such a one carries the burden of their salvation or right standing with God on their shoulders. However, the Bible says that only God can save us. Scrupulosity is thus the fruit of someone under legalism, i.e. someone who tries to work for, earn or merit their morally good standing with God, or salvation through their own self-effort and self-righteousness, instead of humbly receiving abundance of grace from God and the gift of righteousness from God Himself according to Romans 5:17 through faith in Jesus’s finished work at the cross on our behalf. When someone lives under law (legalism) instead of by faith in Jesus’s finished work at the cross, it can create much anxiety, fear, guilt, condemnation, works and rituals in the attempt to appease the guilt-ridden conscience and to earn right standing with God and heaven. Legalism is a spiritual problem and is also the fruit of a corrupted and seduced mind as per 2 Corinthians 11:3 (AMPC): “But [now] I am fearful, lest that even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, so your minds may be corrupted and seduced from wholehearted and sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” The Bible instructs us to put on the helmet of salvation (to protect our mind) and the breastplate of righteousness (see 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Ephesians 6:17 and Ephesians 6:14). The good news is the Lord is willing and able to set such a one free from legalism. As part of the healing kit for the one entangled and bound in legalism is to repent of legalism which is spiritual adultery (see Romans 7:1-6) by God’s grace, to be delivered by the Lord, and to be counseled by Him who is our Wonderful Counselor (see Isaiah 9:6) and accordingly, for such a one, to have their minds renewed with the truth of God’s Word by the power of God and revelation given by the Spirit of God. I pray this helps.
Wow, thank you for this video. I have negative blasphemous thoughts too every day and i also had a period where I was scared that I committed the unpardonable sin. I also having cussing my thoughts and maybe I'm trying hard to be perfect? Wow it would be nice to have you as a counselor to help me with this dark season that I am in because you've been through it too. I am going to ask God whats happening and why I am going through this. Thank you so much . God bless you
Hello @Amanda Nxumalo, I am not sure if you watched my video on how to overcome the fear of the unpardonable sin, but if you haven't I also encourage you to watch it. You can find it here: ua-cam.com/video/Z4fOTzkEjs0/v-deo.html I also wrote a blog on the topic. I also encourage you to read it. You can find it here: www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/overcoming-the-fear-of-the-unpardonable-sin-1 Be thus encouraged. I pray this helps. Take care
Suddenly I feel the need to confess my sins to people, especially I have sinned against indirectly against specific person.A voice says you won't be in peace,till you confess the secret sins to that specific person.I am having panic attacks, it feels like I will pass away.It is even telling me to confess the sin which I haven't done.Please reply
Hello @Mark Page, The devil is the accuser of the brethren and he is tormenting you. I recall Joyce Meyer saying a freeing statement. She said that one day, someone (I believe it was a woman, but I am not sure) came to her and confessed something that I think she must have either thought or said against Joyce. Once she unloaded herself to Joyce, she felt relieved and she eventually went her way. Like Joyce essentially went on to say (and I don’t have the exact words anymore), it felt to Joyce like a selfish thing to do what the woman did because now Joyce had to deal with having to forgive her and it was difficult for her to do that and now she was left with that thing and she had to deal with it. That person left “relieved”, but then Joyce was stuck with the problem of struggling to forgive and of having to really work with God to keep herself in a place of forgiveness. Joyce said it would have been preferable given the nature of what the person confessed to Joyce to keep it between God and herself and thus to confess it to God alone, but not to confess it to Joyce due to the nature of the thing. So, there are things we need to bring up to people and confess to them, but there are things, just by virtue of the nature of them, particularly if the thing is we had a bad thought about someone, that are to be brought to God alone, but not to the person. I pray this encourages you and helps shine some light for you on this. Make sure to welcome the Lord in this as He will lead you through this, but know that the devil seeks to steal your peace. Rest, knowing that God knows your heart. God is a God of the heart, Mark. God is not after a legalistic system of confession. He loves us and He desires to mold and shape us into Christ’ image from glory to glory. His ways are wholesome and constructive. The Bible says we are led by the Spirit of God, not by legalistic pressure. God wants to lead you. Rest in Him. He loves you and as your Comforter and Guide, He wants to lead you in peace and wisdom and grace. You are not on a treadmill of performance my friend. God will sort all of the out for you, in an environment of grace and love, not fear, guilt and pressure. The latter is a devilish pressure. It does not originate from your Father in heaven. Be thus encouraged. The Holy Spirit promises to guide you as you acknowledge Him. Be thus at peace and be encouraged.
I have the fear of being possessed or that evil is already in me, would that fall under this category? I’m trying to give me all to God. I don’t know where to begin doing so other then just praying.
(Part 1 of 2) Dear one, certainly, these sorts of fears can be the fruit of legalism in one’s life. When we are born-again, we become a new creation all together, the old is gone and the new has come (see 2 Cor. 5:17). A Scripture that has helped me tremendously overcome and resist fears of that nature is Ephesians 5:8a (NKJV): “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.“ This Scripture really is a game changer when it comes to enabling us and empowering us to overthrow these sorts of fears. Next time the devil comes to you with fears of that nature, quote back that Scripture to him and say “Yes, indeed, I was once darkness, but now I am light in the Lord”. Meditate on that one Scripture and allow it to renew your mind and your belief system. Your being good, light and righteous is not based on your own self-righteousness, but on Christ’s. It is not based on your works but on His work at the cross. It is based on Christ in you the hope of glory (see Col. 1:27). He is your righteousness; He is your light; He is your life. The Bible says that it is no longer us who live, but Christ Who lives in us and the life we now live, we live by faith in and of (some versions of the Bible say “in” and some “of”, I gladly welcome both :)) the Son of God Who loved us and gave Himself for us (see Gal. 2:20). Freedom may not come easy, and it may involve a little bit of fighting (the Bible says to fight the good fight of faith (see 1 Tim. 6:12)), but through Christ helping you and guiding you, you will get well (see 1 Cor. 15:57). The moment we were born again, we became the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21) and we were made right with God freely through our faith in Jesus Christ. Being evil doesn’t align with what the Bible says concerning us who are in Christ and such thought must be rejected right away at its onset. We are in a spiritual war and the devil loves to attack us where we are vulnerable. Furthermore, he is the accuser of the brethren and he accuses us day and night (see Rev. 12:10). Legalism is one of the most subtle and deadly artillery in the enemy’s hands. He watches for our weaknesses and, slowly, over a period of time, he attempts to bring us under guilt and condemnation if we let him―this is possible partly through a lack of deep revelation knowledge of the Gospel truth. Ultimately, he seeks to make us believe that our right standing with God depends on our own ability apart from God. If he can bring us there―where we no longer rely on Christ but on ourselves, he will be able to defeat us. When our trust is in God, the devil is no match. Once legalism is full-blown in one’s life, we find ourselves back at trying to earn our salvation and righteousness, in our own strength and ability. There we find ourselves constantly falling short because how can we know whether we are good enough or whether we have done enough? It is such an uncertain, double-minded and troubling place; never knowing whether we are good enough to God. There, we see all our faults and failures. There, we fear sin because sin becomes a threat to us. And the more we analyze ourselves, the worse we feel. We begin the fear everything that could cause us to be condemned and go to hell. As a result, some of us will fear being evil, possessed or of darkness. Jesus did say no one is good but God (see Mark 10:18). Our only hope is Jesus. That’s why He came―to save us from our sins (see Matthew 1:21). That being said, Christ makes us good, but it is not a goodness in and of ourselves, but our goodness is found solely in Christ. We when fall into legalism it is also because we have unknowingly took off the breastplate of righteousness which is an essential part of the armor which the Lord supplies. It pertains to our identity in Christ and it protects us against condemnation. The breastplate of righteousness is composed of faith and love (see 1 Thes. 5:8). The Bible says of those in Christ, that we were made the righteousness of God and that we are children of God through faith. It says that we are light in the Lord, not darkness or evil. Through the Blood of Christ and the Word of Christ, we are washed and made clean (see Matthew 26:28 and John 15:3). Not through our own self-righteousness. If the devil can bring us under law, then with the law will come condemnation and defeat (see 1 Cor. 15:56, 2 Cor. 3:9, Gal. 3:10-14). We can’t do it. And there we lose sight of the finished work of the cross and of our resulting identity in Christ. This is all because we stopped relying on Jesus to make us acceptable―somewhere along the way, we stopped placing our faith in the finished work of the cross as our means of righteousness. However the Bible says that Jesus was the end of the law as a means of righteousness for all who believe in Him (see Romans 10:4). When we place ourselves under law―placing our faith in religious or moral laws, religious expectations, and in our own abilities to meet them all somehow, we reap condemnation no matter how hard we try (see 2 Cor. 3:9). Our only hope is the grace of God. The grace of God will heal you. I encourage you to ask God whether legalism is indeed the problem in your life and if so, ask Him to expose every trace, shape and form of legalism in your life. Ask Him to forgive you of it and to deliver you completely. From there, God forgives you completely and immediately. And then, you enter a journey with God where, from glory to glory, He delivers you from every trace, shape and form of legalism. All the while, you are forgiven and accepted because you have chosen to turn around and to place your faith in Him. But you can’t save yourself from legalism. You need God to deliver you which He will do as you continue to trust Him to deliver you. You won’t come out the way you came in. Because of the many lies and deceptions involved with legalism, it will be important for you to actively trust and believe God to expose the different lies and to believe Him to lead you to Bible verses that will expose those lies and deceptions and to replace them with the truth revealed in those specific Bible verses. If your journey is at all like mine, it will take time, so do not get discouraged. Also, it will be important never to concentrate on how far you still have to go, as this always overwhelms and defeats us. Only fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith (see Hebrews 12:2). Trust Him that He has you right in the palm of His hand; that He sees exactly where you are; that He knows the way; and that He is leading you out step by step. Regularly say “He is working”. Celebrate your progress and do not feel pressured to be perfect now. Embrace the journey. Know that each day you are getting closer to fullness of freedom. Expect God to move on your behalf daily. Indeed, pray to God―prevailing prayer is key to getting better. Actively trust God to set you free. As you pray, believe God. Meditate on Bible verses relevant to your need and yield and align your inner man with the truth of the Bible verses you are studying. Never again reason with the devil. But only reply to him using God’s Word. So for any thoughts, imagination and philosophies that are contrary to who the Word of God says you are in Christ and to what the finished Work of the Cross has done in and for you, quote pertinent Scriptures, even if you have to do it under your breath. As you do that, ask the Holy Spirit to help you align your thoughts, beliefs and emotions with the truth of that Scripture. By His grace and mercy, as you trust God, you will overcome. Never fight in your own strength, but always depend on the Holy Spirit. Reject every thought that is not in agreement with the new covenant with God's help, regardless of how strong the feelings attached to the thought are. Study on your identity in Christ. If you must, study solely on that specific topic for an entire year. Furthermore, I encourage you to study Bible verses about being saved by grace through faith and on the love of God. Also, I encourage you to study Bible verses that will strengthen godly humility in you. Pride seeks to earn, humility surrenders and receives. Google is a very useful tool to find Bible verses on topics of choice. (To be continued in part 2 of 2)
(Part 2 of 2) The Bible does say to examine ourselves (see 2 Cor. 13:5 and 1 Cor. 11:27-31). If we become aware that there is something in our lives that we need to repent of, then we go ahead and repent. But we are not to go on a constant deep introspective expedition wondering whether there is something wrong with us either. The Bible says God is our keeper (see Psalm 121:5). Therefore, let us trust God that if there is something wrong with us, He Himself, will make it known to us. God is faithful. The devil seeks to have us under a vague feeling that something is wrong with us, without knowing quite what. So we remain in the dark, living with a sense of condemnation and speculation. This is not God’s way. Trust God with yourself. Entrust your soul with God. Then, if God shows you that there is something in your life that needs to change, or something you need to be freed from, repent as needed, and ask Him to help you and to deliver you. But with His help, do not give in to condemnation. Conviction and condemnation are two different things. There is no condemnation for us in Christ (see Romans 8:1). Our heart is repentant and our faith is in Him to complete in us what He started (See Phil. 1:6). When we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (see 1 John 1:9). Quote that Scripture every time the devil tries to condemn you of a sin you have already confessed and repented of. The just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17). There is no condemnation for the ones who trust Jesus. Furthermore, trust God that He promised not to allow you to be tempted above what you are able to bear but that with every temptation He has also provided a way of escape (see 1 Cor. 10:13). Temptation is not sin. It will be important to learn to discipline your mind and not to allow your mind to wander. Ask God to help you with that. Instead, fix your mind on Him. The Bible says that He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is set on Him because he trusts in Him (see Isaiah 26:3). You said, you are trying to give your all to Him. Legalism is all about trying in our own strength. Make sure any effort you make is grace-filled, faith-filled and Spirit-filled. I encourage you to try less and believe more :). Lastly, realize that your will is yours and no one has the right to control it. An important revelation the Lord gave me for my own life is that God gave us our free will and the enemy has no right to it other than what we allow him to have. He may roar, but he was stripped of his authority through Christ work at the cross. We have sovereign will over our own life and over the choices that we make and over who we want to be. The devil cannot choose for us what we will do or who we are. We serve God by willingly choosing God’s will over our own. Surrendering to God is not the wiping out of our will and of our identity and individuality and person. It is rather the declaring of “not my will but thine be done” (see Luke 22:42) which is done out of love for God (see John 14:23). Unlike the devil, God doesn’t require our will to become passive so that he can use us as puppets. Such surrender doesn’t correspond to God’s way. God does not annihilate our will. We choose God’s will over our own desires freely because He is God, because of His love for us, because of our love for Him, and because we know that God always has our best interest at heart. We know that God is good and we trust that His plan for our life is way better than our own. Your will is yours. God gave it to you. I encourage you to begin to ask God to help you fully restore your will from any passive state. Allow yourself to will. Allow yourself to be. Discover fully who you are in Christ. You are free to serve and live for God with your whole heart. Finally, I encourage you to watch Joyce Meyer's programs regularly here: joycemeyer.org/TodaysShow You can also read my blog about our identity in Christ here: religiousocdnomore.blogspot.com/2019/01/who-are-you-anyway.html I hope this was helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions. Know that God loves you and that He has a great plan for your life. God bless.
Kathleen Kaczmarek, thank you so much for your reply. It honestly means the world to me. I’ve been going thru a lot of anxiety and panic attacks and I convinced my self that this is the devils work. I will absolutely do as you said and continue to grow a relationship with god. I will work on trusting the lord and caring god in my heart, instead of focusing so much on what I’m doing wrong. You’re absolutely an amazing person and I truly believe it was a blessing that I came across your video. Thank you so much....your newest subscriber !
I struggle against unwanted blasphemous thoughts and I think I accidentally said something blasphemous to the Holy Spirit although I Really didn't mean to dishonor the Holy Spirit. Maybe it's just the devil trying to condemn me, but Im still Trusting on the LORD. Acts 2:21, Psalm 51:17
Hello @Levy LB, indeed, the devil is the one trying to bring condemnation. Resist him in the faith, through God's might and through standing on the truth of God's Word. What you said wasn't your heart. God knows that dear. The good news is God is a God of the heart, not of outward performance or flawless lip service. :) What He cares about first and foremost is your heart. Does He have your heart. That is what God cares about. Therefore, you do not need to worry about accidentally saying something blasphemous. :) Yes, the Lord is trustworthy! I hope this helps. God bless
Hello @Freya Aldrnari, it is important to understand that we have an enemy, the devil. He loves to throw a thought in our head and then to stand back and accuse us of the thought he whispered in our head. We must learn how to wear the whole armor of God as per Ephesians chapter 6. It is also important to understand that God is a God of the heart. He sees and knows our heart. In the born again believer in Christ's heart is faith and love. This is where you want to abide; deeply rooted in Christ and in His love through faith (see Ephesians chapter 3). Lastly, it is important to dwell on biblical truths about who you are in Christ. Knowing who we are in Christ is essential to victorious living. To stand on the finished work of Christ at the cross. We fight the good fight of faith, the Bible says. I encourage you to prayerfully watch the following video I made as well as to read the following blog I wrote on the same topic. I pray this helps. Be encouraged, God is willing and able to help you and He loves you. He will see you through; only trust Him and place your hope in His Word. Take care. Video: ua-cam.com/video/Z4fOTzkEjs0/v-deo.html Blog: www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/overcoming-the-fear-of-the-unpardonable-sin-1
Hello @mohamed Mahdi, if you do not live in America (Canada or USA) it will be hard to find a way to talk. Just let me know. However, you can email me at: paulkathleenkacz@gmail.com Hope this works for you. Thanks!
What is literally the difference of living under law(legalism) and living under grace, i have a lack of understanding for these can you elaborate for me like in a situational please 🙏
Hi James, when one lives under law they feel like or believe that their salvation is tied to what they do and don’t do. So there is that sense of guilt hovering over them. They try to pay for their sin. Their salvation rests on their self-effort to meet what they believe are laws, rules, regulations, traditions, works, sinless perfection in their own strength as a means of righteousness, as well as is dependent on their own abilities, and self-righteousness. The range of example is wide and can affect and infiltrate many aspects of one’s life. Their motivation for doing right is centered on them, to preserve themselves in the Lord, to earn God’s love, His acceptance and heaven. Under grace, one is freed by God's grace through faith in Jesus and they are freed to grow in love and to become more and more motivated by a selfless motive of love for God and others. I pray this helps.
And also, when I have the thoughts i try to push them away or like fight them. Should I do this, even though it makes the thoughts come in even more or should i just leave them , even if i will feel guilty for it
Hi @Amanda Nxumalo, I encourage you to watch the following two videos concerning this question. You can find them here: How to stop the thoughts (Part 2): ua-cam.com/video/wFDZcVIy-fA/v-deo.html Practical ways to deal with intrusive thoughts: ua-cam.com/video/3pCSPRINDCQ/v-deo.html I pray this helps. Be encouraged, God loves you and He will see you through; only trust Him and place your hope in His Word. Take care
This is my problem too! I even get this inner urges and they are soooo blasphemous. It hurts me even to talk about it. It makes me feel like I have most definitely committed the unpardonable sin. It comes and it goes 😭😭😭
Hi @Tina Campbell, the urges you are experiencing are in essence mainly triggered by the law you are under that says "thou must not have those blasphemous thoughts or you go to hell". See Romans 7:8-9 (AMPC), " But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment [to express itself], got a hold on me and aroused and stimulated all kinds of forbidden desires (lust, covetousness). For without the Law sin is dead [the sense of it is inactive and a lifeless thing]. Once I was alive, but quite apart from and unconscious of the Law. But when the commandment came, sin lived again and I died (was sentenced by the Law to death)." You won't see those urges leave by putting yourself under a religious pressure that says you must stop it all now or you are at risk of going to hell. Instead, go to God with the thoughts, and ask Him to help you see the thoughts leave. then rely on Him to help you. Ask Him to help you go through this under grace. For grace will bring with it the empowerment needed and the freedom needed to see the thoughts leave over time (see Romans 6:14). So, don't engage with the thoughts, don't try to figure out how somehow you can stop them. This will lead to more confusion and it will strengthen the thoughts you are desperate to be free from. It will fuel and feed them all the more. Instead, cast your cares on God, ask Him to forgive you of the thoughts, receive His forgiveness, and from there ask Him to help you and depend on His grace, on His Spirit and on His Word to help see the thoughts leave. By His grace, don't experience the thoughts under law, but under grace. This too shall pass; only trust Him and His Word. He is for you and He loves you; this is important to keep in mind at all times. Condemnation isn't from God at all. Condemnation only empowers the unwanted thoughts. His grace will empower you in this. I encourage you to also watch the following videos: ua-cam.com/video/aCmqzhsaShU/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/wFDZcVIy-fA/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/3pCSPRINDCQ/v-deo.html I pray this helps. Be encouraged. God bless
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 thankyou so much for your reply Kathleen. So very thoughtful and very beautiful explanation. Have you yourself ever suffered from this? Are you free from it now?
You are welcome @Tina Campbell, to God be the glory. I have experienced things of that nature yes; I teach based on my own experience in these different areas and by God's grace seek to share what the Lord has showed me to help me, and also for the sake of others. I love Joyce Meyer's statement and it goes as follows: "I am not where I need to be, but thank God I am not where I used to be, I'm okay and I'm on my way!" God has done a lot of work in my life and He taught me a lot, and I know there is still to learn. He is perfecting in me what He started: He who began a good work will complete it (see Phil. 1:6). God bless
Sis I wanted to email you privately since alot of what im struggling with is personal and really overwhelming but I dont know if what im struggling with is this OCD thing because I was starting to have these Excessive thoughts that I had sinned like obsessive and i would repetitively confess to God it but the thing is is that i didnt do it physically but i would still confess it to God anyway btw the sin was (masterbation) But I had not committed the act physically and I would get thoughts like "you masterbated you sinned against God!!!" And the fear and worry i had was dreadful i also am dealing with this unpardonable sin fear and i feel like God has left me or like i did commit it and feel as other people say in the comment section unredeemable it was like cycling in my head but it wasnt making any sense and it would make me worry so much that I got insomnia and could not sleep im not sure if this is Religious ocd or if it isn't can you please explain to me what im experiencing sister? And Please please pray for me I need it so badly🙏🏽🙏🏽
Hello @Laura, I first want to say that I am sorry for not responding before. Somehow, I didn't see your comment until now. Yes, you can email me at: paulkathleenkacz@gmail.com It is important to understand that we have an enemy, the devil, and that we are in a spiritual warfare. Because of that, it is important that we learn how to put on the whole armor of God as per Ephesians chapter six. The good news is, through Christ we are more than conquerors (see Romans 8:37). I will await your email and we can continue from there. In the meantime, I encourage you to study on who you are in Christ. It is important to learn to live by faith in what Christ has done for and in you and not by your feelings or by what you see. By faith, you stand your ground that you have the mind of Christ and that you are the righteousness of God in Christ. This will help you see yourself properly and discard thoughts or accusations contrary to what the Word says about who you are in Him. I pray this helps.
Hello Laura, I thought I would send a more thorough answer here and please feel free to email me if you have any additional questions for which you would be more comfortable to discuss via email. OCD is a name that the medical world attributed to people struggling with obsessive thinking and torments which often is accompanied by compulsions that the person performs as a way to relieve their guilt or anxiety. I make videos using the term OCD so people who are battling things of that nature can find them here. However, I do not agree that OCD is an illness or a brain dysfunction. Rather, I seek to help people discover the real reason or root cause behind their fears and obsessions. Generally, you will find the root cause is rooted in what they believe deep down. Typically the best way to find healing from fears and obsessions is first and foremost to ask the Lord to expose the real issue underneath. Generally I have found that legalism is at the core of much of it and in your case, based on what I am reading, it does look like at the root the devil is seeking to bring you under law instead of resting in the finished work of Christ at the cross. It is very important especially in such seasons of warfare where the enemy is attacking your nature and who you are in Christ, to dive deep into the Word on topics related to the sound doctrine of grace, being justified and made right with God through faith, being given the righteousness of Christ freely through faith in Jesus, the finished work of Christ at the cross, the love of God and who you are in Christ. The fact that you have obsessive thoughts about a sin you are not guilty of, and also that you struggle with the fear of the unpardonable sin are strong indicators to me that the devil is indeed seeking to cause you to start to rely on your own ability to live righteously instead of resting in Christ and His work at the cross on your behalf. We are made righteous through faith in Jesus. We are made a new creation in Christ. Also, we can trust God to work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure (see Phil. 2:13). We need to rely on the Holy Spirit and to depend on Him and on God’s Word to empower us and help us work out what God has worked in us. the Bible says in Romans 6:14 that sin will have no dominion over us because we are no longer under law, but under grace. Therefore, living under grace is key to your dilemma. That’s why I advise you to study on the sound doctrine of grace and what it really means to you. Please let me know if you want me to suggest material of study. Make sure to dive deep into the truth of the sound doctrine of grace and ask God to expose legalism and its religious subtleties. Concerning the fear of the unpardonable sin, I made a video on this topic and I also wrote a blog. You can find them below, I believe they will help you. Finally, I encourage you also to watch my other videos as I believe they will also help you and I encourage you to navigate through and read my blogs as well. Overcoming the fear of the unpardonable sin video: ua-cam.com/video/Z4fOTzkEjs0/v-deo.html Overcoming the fear of the unpardonable sin blog: www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/overcoming-the-fear-of-the-unpardonable-sin-1 UA-cam Channel: ua-cam.com/channels/V1xrpm36J_kzLYCwN0-P8Q.htmlvideos Blog page: www.paulandkathleenministries.org/blog Faith is your victory and not your self-effort in trying to live free from sin. Please let me know if you have any questions. God bless
Help me sir please I am an Indian and I am suffering from religious ocd for the past 10 years My parents are very religious too but i dont think they have ocd. I have done infinite compulsions and obsessions. But now in my graduation time my ocd has become very very severe. Almost every second i have obsessions. Mu exams are just 2 months away and I have not studied anything because of my ocd. My ocd has become so severe that in the 24 hours of my day whatever i do i feel like iam offending god. So once i assumed that god doesn't exist and then i thought that now i am gonna be okay, but few days back my did a fast for my career and long life. And due to my ocd a thought came in my mind that now if my heal, that means god healed me. This was a trigger for my obsessive thoughts. So now i think that god is healing me and i am just offending god as before. So indirectly i 'm not healing and i have lost all hope of healing. I know that due to my ocd i gonna ruin my career or end my life. Iam a very poor person and i cannot afford to see a psychiatrist and even if i arrange money and go to a psychiatrist people will think that he is mad and boycott me and my life will ruin anyway. I think my case of religious ocd is more complicated than anyone else in the whole world. Sir please help me. Please sir please. So overall my main problem is i think that if i heal it will be done by god due to that fast and i feel guilty that god healed me and i am still offending god as before. So i lost all hope of ever healing truly.
Dear @Mohit Sharma, I just want to let you know that I have just seen your message and that I am hoping to respond as soon as I can either tonight or tomorrow night (Eastern Time).
Hello @Mohit Sharma, when you say you are an Indian, do you mean you are a Hindu? Or do you mean you are a Christian Indian? This will help me respond to you. Thank you. :)
Hi @Mohit Sharma, while I am waiting for your response to my previous question to know whether you are a Hindu or a Christian Indian, I wanted to send something as soon as possible. Be encouraged that you can be made whole and be healed fully. What you are describing looks like legalism. Legalism is dependence on a religious or moral law (any law) to please God and earn entrance to heaven instead of reliance on personal faith in Jesus Christ. Legalism is pure torture. Under legalism God becomes a huge source of anxiety and burden to us because we believe that we must do everything perfectly right at all times if we want to earn His love, His acceptance and ultimately salvation and entrance to heaven. Legalism is slavery. However, legalism is not from God and is not a true portrayal of God. Legalism brought to its extreme will cause the one under it to doubt everything they do because any failure to meet religious expectations could mean condemnation and hell. Under such legalism, everything we do is a source of anxiety because we can never be sure that we do it right, or that we do enough or that what we do is good enough for God. We question whether what we do (or don’t do) is sin and we fear that what we do may displease God and condemn us to hell. The good news is that Jesus Christ is the end of religious laws as a means of righteousness to all who believe in Him. Jesus loves you tremendously and He died on the cross to pay the price for your sins and mine in their entirety so that we would not have to live under endless religious requirements and torment to please God. Jesus Christ came to save everyone willing from sin and religious laws; everyone who will call on His name. The good news is Jesus did all the hard work; He died on the cross on our behalf so that we can be set free from the tyranny of sin and of religious law. Jesus said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus Christ is gentle, humble and loving. Furthermore, in Jesus, we literally become children of God and we become accepted just as we are unto the way we are going because we repented of our sins and placed our faith in Him. From there, we enter into a journey where God molds us and shapes us into Christ’s image from the inside out, little by little. All the while we are accepted in Jesus Christ who becomes our righteousness through our faith in Him. Suicide would mean going to hell. Therefore, this is not an option. If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, I invite you to give your heart to Jesus Christ and make Him your Lord and Savior even now and receive His free salvation. Then spend time with Him and in His Word (the Bible) and you will get to know Him more and more. Knowing Him will help you as you discover that Jesus is not this harsh, perfectionistic and mean God that legalism portrays God to be. God is love. God is good and He loves you dearly. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Hello @Mohit Sharma, thank you for your response. Therefore, my last comment applies to you. I encourage you to read it as many times as needed. I was once bound with legalism myself and I was under pure torture, fear, anxiety and panic attacks day and night. I too felt like I was offending God constantly. I felt like everything I did wasn't good enough and I felt like I was falling short all the time. I was under the burden of sin, guilt and condemnation constantly and I feared hell all the time. Then one day I cried out to Jesus with my whole heart, and He literally supernaturally intervened and spoke to me that night in dreams and the next morning in interpretation of the dreams. This is when He revealed to me the source of all my distresses: witchcraft and legalism. Jesus then counselled me back to wholeness step by step. He is willing and able to deliver you, too. I invite you to give your heart to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The good news is He came to reconcile you to God through His death at the cross and His resurrection from the grave :). Through Jesus, you can have peace with God. Jesus paid the price for your sins so that you can be made acceptable to God. Therefore, if you are willing, tell Jesus you repent of your sins and place your faith in Him as the One who paid your debt before God in full. Then receive His free gift of salvation and forgiveness of sin. Then I encourage you to find a Christian church and attend regularly. I also encourage you to read the Bible on bibleGateway.com. I believe you may even find a version written in your native language on that site! Please let me know if you have any questions. Be encouraged, God loves you and He has a plan and a future for your life. Kathleen
Thank you so much.. I identified with so much of your story and all the torment torture of nights without sleeping panic attacks anxiety, thinking I should die because of all these bad feelings and thoughts that I’m evil.. true hell. There is one thing that pulls me down is the feeling and thought of anger that comes. I feel scared to share this because I will be seen as immature, spoilt, bad .. but I will share it. I get so mad and frustrated at God and many times I end up shouting and crying in anger at him: how can you allow me to go through all this pain and suffering and for SO LONG, time after time of trying to pray and shouting out to you but i became so weak and sick I couldn’t even think or pray and was just thrown around helplessly. I get angry and wonder how God can just be there watching me be so tortured and burned to the depths of hell even though I’m screaming for him to make it stop and He is just there watching and letting it happen. It breaks my heart because I feel how can a good father let me go through that and just watch me suffer silently. How can I trust a father like that? I don’t understand... And then I get scared, angry and upset at myself for being angry at God because I feel ashamed to even think I dare to be angry at God because God is never wrong and so it’s just all me. And then I feel abandoned because God doesn’t respond because I am an ungrateful, unruly horrible child to even be angry at him. He is like how dare you.. you have no right to feel those feelings or question me, I am God, I can permit whatever I want to happen to you and there’s nothing you can do about it. So I feel completely like it doesn’t matter how bad I feel or how horribly I’ve been treated by my family and their violence... I feel unsaveable even to God because I can’t question God and his ways, I just have to let what he allows to happen to me. Because I don’t want to be chucked into the depths of hell so I will try with everything to always listen to him and be an obedient child. But I can’t always do it and I get so upset and scared and angry ... and I’m just scared I am beyond saving because of my “entitlement” and bad attitude :( I hate it and I hate myself that I am like this. I know it is said that he is good and doesn’t condemn me but maybe it’s because I had a violent aggressive dad and also detached dismissive mum so I dno if I just get confused with life and everything. How do I try to process my anger at God allowing all this and letting this happen to me. I hate myself and I hate life and dare I say, I hate that God can let this happen - and I hate myself that I could dare feel or think of hating God. I’m sorry I just have to say how it really is for me and I’m sorry that it’s just so ugly. Sorry it’s long but I am very upset and trying to pull myself out of rock bottom. I am scared because I have been here in the pits for so long and I’m scared I will be here forever.
Hello @Cece Me, I just want to let you know that I have seen your message and that I hope to respond tonight or by end of tomorrow night (Canada Eastern time) the Lord willing. I can assure you that God loves you and that there is real hope for you.
Actually, @Cece Me, you said you have been going through this for a long time. You mentioned also about scrupulosity. Could you tell me more details about what you have been experiencing? This will help me help you better. Do you also recall how it all started and approximately when? If you are more comfortable to write the details in a more private setting, you can email me here: paulkathleenkacz@gmail.com Essentially, when you say you have been struggling with scrupulosity, in which way has it been expressing itself in your life? What are the recurring fears, thoughts, obsessions? What wakes you up at night? What are the underlying torment and fears? Also, are you born-again? Your answers to my above questions will greatly help me help you by God's grace. Thank you, God bless
Hello @Cece Me, in the meantime as I wait for an email from you, I encourage you to watch many of my UA-cam videos as many times as needed. You can find them all here: ua-cam.com/channels/V1xrpm36J_kzLYCwN0-P8Q.htmlvideos In order for our minds to be renewed, we need to read or listen to the same thing usually many times because we need to become rooted and grounded in the biblical truth that we learn. Be encouraged that as long as we are trusting God with our situation, He is working, and as we begin to do what He shows us to do, real healing begins to take place. God bless
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 thank u so much for all your responses. It was extroardinarily timely and gracious of you. it has not gone unacknowledged and unappreciated. it helped me in my greatest time of need, and I was truly in a mighty storm then so I apologise for not being able to reply promptly. but I do feel your help was an important first rung to pull myself out of my pit of despair. I am so thankful. especially with your reply on your viewpoint on Joyce Meyer too on another comment. I am very encouraged by your strength in standing by your faith. I have once again revisited Joyce Meyer and I will share a video that has so especially helped me too in this walk out of scrupulosity. I feel your good word in her strength here too: ua-cam.com/video/SpCoQG723yk/v-deo.html thank u again Kathleen, god bless truly.
I struggled with religious ocd/scrupulosity for many years. I found Kathleen's videos shortly after she began her UA-cam ministry. God worked very powerfully through her to reveal legalism in my life and ultimately set me free from blasphemous thoughts. I also had a very distorted perspective of Jesus through years of the devils lies. God has also worked mightily to heal me in that area and to help me to see Jesus rightly, in a way that is in line with scripture. I am a living testimony to the anointing that God has placed on Kathleen's ministry and the work that He is doing through her. To anyone still going through this, just stick with it and follow the Spirit's leading in your deliverance. There will be some very hard times, but He will see you through. Kathleen, I saw you came under attack again recently in legalism. The Lord is using you in a mighty way and Satan is losing strongholds in the lives of believers. He is fighting you to discourage you. "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
Dear Amy, I am so blessed with your message, praise the Lord! He is so good. I am so glad to read that you are free! Oh Alleluia! Thank you so much for what you wrote; what a blessing and an encouragement for me. Indeed, last year, I was attacked by the enemy, and praise be to God it worked out for my good and for the good of others! God is good. :) Thanks again Amy! Much appreciated. God bless you!
sister I know exactly what you mean it's horrible,I have dealt with alot of the same stuff you have and I'm still dealing with it.thetes days where there seems to be such darkness over my life,and I can't make sence of anything and feel so numb and disconnected from God please pray for me your videos are encouraging but I've been dealing w this so many years it feels like I'll never come out of ocd religious legalism etc
Dear Randy, I understand how you feel. Faith is in your mouth; make sure to confess and speak Scriptures and promises from God's Word over your life, and continue to expect God to move in your life daily. The Bible says that God teaches us a little here, a little there, line upon line, precept upon precept. Step by step you are being renewed, be a prisoner of hope and determine that with God's help through trusting Him, you will come unto the other side as more than a conqueror through Him who loved you and gave His life for you. I encourage you to read this blog I wrote, I believe it will help you. www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/fighting-from-a-standpoint-of-victory On this journey we do need to learn to live beyond our feelings as we press toward fullness of freedom, and by faith stand on and confess and appropriate God's promises; laboring to enter into God's rest, though it is not a labor in our own strength but through learning to lean on God and to stand on His Word. I pray this helps. Be encouraged.
Oh glory be to God! I am so glad to hear my video was helpful to you! Now that you know legalism is the real problem, you will no longer be fighting in the dark! OCD is the term given by the medical world, but the real underlying problem is legalism empowered by witchcraft. I encourage you not to own OCD. Instead, go to God with this new found truth and ask Him to forgive you of having surrendered to legalism, receive His forgiveness and ask Him to purge your life from legalism. He will! One thing I discovered on my journey to recovery is that God is willing and able to help and deliver us. Now that the true problem in your life has been exposed, you can attack it at its core through God's might, with His help, His guidance and through revelation of the truth found in His Word, and you will get well, over time. God bless!
OMG I AM ON THE SAME BOAT! My father is a pastor as well and ever since my father retired religious OCD has kicked my butt! Thank GOD I’m not where I was a year and a half ago but I still struggle w/ aggressive demonic thoughts of me going to hell but I know I’m saved because I believe in Jesus and accepted him as my savior at a young age. Please show me techniques and prayers of me escaping this debilitating darkness. Thanks for this video and God bless you both!
Thank you very much for your comment. Very well said! Someone under legalism tries to earn their salvation through their own effort and their own ability to meet a law, tradition and/or moral standards. Such a one tries to save themselves in their own self-effort; in their own strength. Legalism adds requirements for our salvation in addition to our faith in Christ. However, when the jailer asked Paul and Silas what he had to do to be saved, they responded, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (See Acts 16:30-31). And the same way we were saved is the same way we live-by grace through faith. Thanks again! God bless.
Dear @@36742650885 I will most definitely be praying for you. Do not despair, you will get well. It is only a matter of time dear one, only fix the eyes of your heart on Jesus. God is willing and able. Also, in times of depression, it is important to remain hopeful regardless of what is going on. Make sure to keep hope no matter what the lies of the enemy are. Remember what I said, remain in hope. The road to recovery may not be easy, but with God's intervention and with His very present help in times of trouble, as you keep your trust in Him, you will get well. I also encourage you to read "God is not mad at you" written by Joyce Meyer. If you must, read it as many times as you feel you need to. I also encourage you to google for Bible verses relevant to you in the areas that are causing depression. I will keep you in my prayers. We can keep in touch too. Should you want to email me sometimes, my email address is part of the text underneath the video. God loves you, abide in His love. Will be praying.
Kathleen Kaczmarek it seems that Ian know truths and give correct answers regarding security in Christ but. Not experience them as a reality in my life. Because I can sense doubt and fear in my heart I don’t know how to apprehend and. Keep the revelations ie. putting on Gods armor. And live in victory
Hello dear, I just want to let you know I saw your message and I am looking forward to answering. I am away visiting some family members and am having a hard time finding the needed time to answer. But I am hoping to be able to reply early next week. ☺
I am having panic attacks and have intense anxiety, because a voice is constantly telling me , that you have to tell about Christ to everybody,if you don't tell then you won't be able to sleep.I am suffering from anxiety and panic attacks since last 3 months.I had different fears before now it's taking god's name to torment me.Please help me.I am not at peace at all because of this.The voice says God can force you to do anything.I can't rest at all.please help
Dear @mark page, the way to deal with evil thoughts and suggestions such as these is through learning the truth of God’s Word and standing on the truth that you learn. So, in every area where unscriptural thoughts, suggestions, feelings or insinuations come, you need to ask God to help you find Scriptures that will expose the lie. Then, by and in faith, you begin to meditate on these Scriptures that you found so that you can become rooted and grounded in that truth. As you do that, you will no longer be easily moved to and fro with every wind of doctrine, unscriptural thoughts or unbiblical suggestions. Everything we believe must align with God’s Word. Everything that isn’t biblical you need to reject and cast down, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV). You do that by the power of God’s might in faith and by standing on God’ Word. We are in a spiritual war so do not be surprised if at times your mind gets attacked with unwholesome thoughts. The good news is God has given us an armor (see Ephesians 6:11-18) and He promised that He is a very present help in times of trouble (see Psalm 46:1). Therefore make sure never to try to fight unwanted thoughts and evil suggestions in your own strength, but always welcome the Lord in your battle and use God’s Word. Never try to reason your way out. Use God’s Word and speak only God’s Word. This too shall pass. Ask God to deliver you and to show you your part and to help you do your part. Lean on God, depend on Him. Trust Him and place your hope in His Word. When a lie comes (because you will learn through the Word to discern what is false and what is true), you rebuke and reject it in the faith and you quote Bible verse(s) against it, just like Jesus did in the wilderness when the devil came to tempt Him (see Luke chapter 4). Not every thought that crosses your mind is from God. Only God has the right and the legitimate authority to dictate what you should do and what the consequences for your actions are. Devilish insinuations have no right to dictate your life. Jesus is Lord. The devil is a defeated foe. You will need to, through God’s might and using relevant Bible verses, refuse, rebuke and withstand against the lies of the enemy. We do that through wearing the whole armor of God: Know who you are in Christ and live and walk accordingly, walking by faith and walking in love (that’s the breastplate of righteousness), use the shield of faith to block the darts of the evil one, stand by faith on the truth of God’s Word, use the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Having done all, stand. (Please refer to Ephesians 6:10-18 for more details there). So for instance, the voice that says “you have to tell about Christ to everybody, if you don't tell then you won't be able to sleep”, you can use Scriptures to come against it and to help you resist it, such as: Romans 8:14 NKJV: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (The idea here is you are not led by a religious rule that says you must witness to every person you come in contact with or you won’t sleep. That is a legalistic rule and finds its root in witchcraft and legalism. The children of God are led by the Spirit of God, we are not subjected to dead works religion, but to the Spirit of newness of life.) 2 Corinthians 3:17 NKJV: Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (When we are led of the Spirit, we are not bound to rituals, religious methods, dead works and legalistic forms) John 3:8 NKJV: The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. (So, if we cannot tell where we go next being led of the Spirit, it follows that we shouldn't be able to predict who is the next person you will witness to, or when you will witness, really. The Bible says that the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (see 2 Cor. 3:6). This evil suggestion (rule) isn't scriptural and is ministering death to you, not life from the Spirit. Therefore, refuse it as such.) Luke 2:11 NKJV: For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Jesus is Lord! Him alone will you obey.) While you may witness to a person, the one whose heart is ready to be harvested may pass you by. That is why it is important to be led of the Spirit and not subjected to religious rules and regulations that have no life in them. Legalism is dead works religion and it bears no lasting fruit. So these evil thoughts are not from God and accordingly you need to refuse them and to use Bible verses to come against them. Also learn to guard your heart with all diligence (see Proverbs 4:23) through resisting fear using the Word mixed with faith against thoughts that are not scriptural. The devil’s evil schemes are being exposed in your life now so your complete recovery is only a matter of time as you trust God and use His Word. I encourage you to watch this video: ua-cam.com/video/B8S-pB263fw/v-deo.html I also encourage you to read the following blog to help you resist the fear of the unpardonable sin and be at peace there as well: www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/overcoming-the-fear-of-the-unpardonable-sin-1 (Please let me know if you can’t see the links of the video and of the blog and I will send the information in a different way.) I advise you to study on the new covenant of grace, on the finished work of the Cross, on the love of God and on your identity in Christ as to get deeply rooted in the grace of God and to see your life purged from legalism. I encourage you to watch my different videos on the topic. I also encourage you to ask God to purge your life from every trace, shape and form of legalism and to prayerfully consider getting some anointed Christian material on the topic. The following three books are relevant books which I believe will be of help to you. If you are interested, you can find them all on Amazon. By Grace Alone: Finding Freedom and Purging Legalism from Your Life, written by Derek Prince The Law of Redemption: what Must One Do to Go to Heaven?, written by me, God Is Not Mad At You, written by Joyce Meyer Be encouraged, @mark page, God is willing and able to deliver you completely and now that He is revealing truth to you, you are well on your way out already. Only continue to trust Him and place your hope in His Word. I pray this helps. You take care.
Hi @mark page, I realized that I didn’t address the other lie of the devil in my first message and I quote what you wrote, “God can force you to do anything.” Similarly, you need to prayerfully look for Scriptures that will expose the lie found in this devilish statement. And you do that with whatever other lie the devil may come to try to tempt you with. Everything God does cannot contradict His Word, “I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!” (Psalm 138:2 AMPC) It must always align with the whole counsel of His Word. The Bible is clear that we are free will agents and that God doesn’t force us like robots to do anything. The devil, on the other hand, seeks to do that with us. So it is important to know how God operates and how the devil operates. God wants a love relationship with us where we willingly choose God’s will. The devil, on the other hand, wants to reduce us like robots and puppets where we blindly and passively do his bidding. God tells us what is good and bad and then He leaves us with the choice to obey or disobey. You can use the following Bible verses to come against the devil’s lie there: Joel 3:14 NKJV: Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. Deuteronomy 30:19 NKJV: I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live. Hebrews 3:15 NKJV: While it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (So we are free to soften our heart to God’s voice or to harden our heart to His voice. The choice is ours.) Just in case you didn’t realize, I sent you a first response already, this one here is as a continuation of the first message I already sent you. Please make sure that you see the first message that I sent to you a few minutes ago. I pray this helps. Take care.
I am a believer in Jesus but I struggle with this. My issue is wondering if something is a sin that is not explicitly stated in scripture but I believe has become an idol. I am trying to avoid idolatry at all costs after reading the book of Ezekiel. I feel anxious when going to church because I keep thinking about all the sins I have committed that week. I worry I am doing repetitive sins. For instance, I write creative stories. I started in high school and I felt no guilt writing them whatsoever. However, I now feel guilt whenever I write the story because I feel like I may be idolizing my writing by spending a lot of time doing it and getting more enjoyment out of it than I get out of church. I love Jesus, but I worry I am not loving Him enough. I feel really guilty after writing for hours on the platform. How can I tell the difference between God's conviction and anxiety and condemnation? If my story writing is a sin then why did I not feel guilty back then? If it is not, then why do I feel like God keeps bringing it up to me in church? Could that be anxiety?
Dear @Lindsey Horist, I just want to let you know that I have seen your comment and that I am hoping to respond before the end of the week (i.e. by Friday end of day on Canada Eastern Time). God bless
Hello @Lindsey Horist, I just want to let you know that I started drafting a response and I am hoping to respond by the end of day tomorrow (Canada Eastern time). However, I have a few of questions. Your answers will help me answer your questions with God’s help. When you say that you worry you are doing repetitive sins, are you referring to your concern that writing stories for hours a week is a sin? Or are you referring rather to general sins and not only about your concern about the writing of the stories? If you are referring to sins not exclusively related to the writing of your stories, are they as a result of a bondage or a stronghold you have been struggling with, are they deliberate sins, or are they sins and slip-ups as a result of the weakness of your flesh? Or else? You mentioned and I quote, “I feel really guilty after writing for hours on the platform.” When you say that you write for hours on the platform. Do you mean you are part of the ministry team at the church you are attending and while the church service is going on, you are on the church platform writing? I am not sure what you mean by “on the platform.” Lastly, you mentioned, “if it is not, then why do I feel like God keeps bringing it up to me in church? Could that be anxiety?” When you say you feel like God keeps bringing it to you at church, is it because you write your stories while the church service is going on (similar to point above) or do you mean your writing keeps coming to your consciousness with guilt attached each time church service is going on (but you are not writing your stories during church service)? Thanks! Kathleen
Dear @Lindsey Horist, I sent you a message yesterday with some questions. However, I hope my response below is helpful: You mentioned that you are concerned your writing has become an idol. It is true that we want to be vigilant as to not allow anything to become an idol in our lives. And indeed, even things that are not evil in themselves can become an idol in someone’s life over time. Now, we do not want to disregard that God may have given you a desire for writing and a gifting there because He may want to use your gift and passion for writing for His glory. I encourage you to seek Him there to see if this is indeed the case and to see what He wants you to write about. However, we don’t want to love the gift more than the Giver of that gift thus your concern. If writing has indeed become an idol, that may (or may not) explain why, you didn’t feel guilty about your writing while in high school (because back then it wasn’t an idol in your life), but now you feel something isn’t right about it. Something may have started inoffensively―not as an idol, but over time began to take the place that should belong to God only. Therefore, perhaps writing wasn’t a problem before but has become a problem now. Balance and moderation is also important because the devil preys on excess (see 1 Peter 5:8). On the other hand, this struggle could just be the accuser of the brethren, the devil, seeking to steal your peace and trying to bring you under condemnation. Now, if you write while the church service is going on, then yes, that would be wrong (especially if you write on the church platform while the church service is going on) then, indeed, that would need to stop. It is as simple as asking the Lord to forgive you and stopping writing during church service. Then, receive His forgiveness. Receiving God’s forgiveness after we confessed our sin to Him is very important. You mentioned you are concerned you find your writing more enjoyable than going to church. The more important matter is not so much whether your love your writing more than going to church, but rather whether you love writing more than you love Jesus. And this is where you want to seek God to find out whether writing has become an idol for you or not. The way to deal with this uncertainty and resulting fears is to find out from God. Until you clearly know, double-mindedness will keep you in anxiety and fear and it will be an open door to the accuser of the brethren and he will gladly bring you under guilt and condemnation concerning your writing. You need to eliminate double-mindedness on the matter. This is something that only God can do. He will reveal it to you as you sincerely seek Him on the matter. I encourage you to place yourself in neutral with God’s help on this matter and seek Him for an answer. When we come openly and humbly before God about the things that we go through, He freely reveals to us our true state which then enables us to deal with it accurately with His help. Therefore, I encourage you to seek God with your whole heart on this and ask Him to expose to you if the writing has indeed become an idol or not. He will show you. If He shows you that it has become an idol, repent and be willing to turn. Then ask Him to show you what to do from there. He will. Be confident that God is a good God. He knows how much you enjoy writing. God can even use your writing for His glory. Again, perhaps it is part of His calling over your life; to use your writing to write for Him. Of course, He wants to be first (by far) in your life and not the gift (writing). Trust God and He will sort this all out for you. He will show you if, where or how writing fits in your life. Again, trust Him that He knows what’s best for you and that He is a good God. You can trust Him with His decisions and His guidance. You said, “I feel anxious when going to church because I keep thinking about all the sins I have committed that week.” And “I worry I am doing repetitive sins.” 1 John 1:9 is the answer. It is important when we sin not to wallow in condemnation and guilt, but to confess our sins, repent (i.e. be willing not to do it again and ask God to help you turn from it and begin to walk in the opposite direction) and receive His forgiveness. If we don’t do that, we open the door to anxiety, guilt and condemnation. So in order to guard your heart from these, you will need to stand on 1 John 1:9 and apply it each time needed, and live in the free forgiveness of God based on the promise found in that verse (confess, repent, and receive His forgiveness and cleansing). You mentioned, “I love Jesus, but I worry I am not loving Him enough.” We can’t force ourselves to love someone. The good news is we don’t have to try in our own strength to love Jesus. Instead, the Bible says in 1 John 4:19 that we love Him because He first loved us. As you focus on His grace and His love for you, and as you meditate on what He has done for you at the cross, your love for Him will grow. As you concentrate on what He is doing for you today, as you study on His nature and as you draw close to Him and get to know Him more and more, it will all cause your love for Him to grow. Also, as you walk in obedience to Him, you will be feeding love for Him. Jesus made the connection between our love for Him and our obedience to Him, “If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.” (John 14:15 AMPC) So our level of obedience shows how much we love Him and I believe as we choose to continue to obey Him, it helps, strengthens and nurtures our love for Him too. The way you can tell the difference between conviction and condemnation is that conviction comes with grace-filled enabling to rise up higher. There is no condemnation whatsoever in conviction. It empowers us to walk away from the sin or from the thing God is dealing with us about. You can know whether you are under condemnation or under conviction by the effect it has on you. Condemnation strengthens sin and keeps you in bondage to it so that you cannot get out. Condemnation keeps you in defeat. On the other hand, conviction brings with it the grace needed to overcome. You will never overcome sin by placing yourself under a load of condemnation (nor will you ever help anyone overcome sin by placing them under a load of condemnation). Doing so will only discourage you (or them) all the more and cause more damage. It is crucial that we understand it is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance, not His anger. (See Romans 2:4 NKJV) I pray the above helps. Be encouraged, God is a good God and He loves you with a passionate and everlasting love. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path (see Proverbs 3:6). You take care, Kathleen
This is very useful. What I take from it is that when our faith is based on a narrow understanding based on fear of punishment, meticulous compliance and salvation that is self concerned based on following rules and rituals, this strapping of understanding is going to lead to a form of rebellion from the self, a reaction against this narrowness because it is false and fake.. It is a call from the self to requestion our religious understanding and broaden it towards a faith based on understanding and a loving relationship with the divine and with life. If we conceive of a tyrant God we are going to be tormented by tyranical thoughts as a reflection of this tyranny.
Thank you @Fadi, I am glad the video was useful to you! Praise God! I love how you describe legalism as “when our faith is based on a narrow understanding based on fear of punishment, meticulous compliance and salvation that is self-concerned based on following rules and rituals”. I also love what you said here “If we conceive of a tyrant God we are going to be tormented by tyrannical thoughts as a reflection of this tyranny.” It reminds me of what A. W. Tozer said in his book “Fiery Faith” and I quote: “Nothing twists and deforms the soul more than a low or unworthy conception of God.” And “our notion of God must always determine the quality of our religion.” The Bible says that anyone who is under the law is under a curse: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”” (Gal. 3:10 NKJV). All the law can do to us in the end is condemn us given it is the ministry of condemnation (see 2 Cor. 3:6-9). The letter kills but the Spirit gives life (see 2 Cor. 3:6). The good news is that our old self was crucified with Christ: “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (Rom. 6:6 NKJV) Our old self is actually the one that is independent and rebellious. Such old self was dealt with at the cross. All God can do to our self-life is to crucify it and give us an entire new life, the one found in Christ: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17 NKJV) When we are under legalism, we experience all the tyranny that comes from submitting ourselves to a law we can’t meet. There we also keep control over our lives. Such life is a rebellious life; submitting to a law instead of submitting to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Thus the anxiety and the fear. Peace comes when we submit to God’s authority (see Isaiah 9:7a) and to His ways. And the way to salvation is faith in Jesus: “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 NKJV) Thanks again @Fadi for your comment! God bless!
I did pretty much the same, I went to the field to cry out to God. I have a lot of feelings of guilt for the past doing that goes against moral standards. Also I have severe anxiety along with OCD with thoughts of harm. I never knew legalism was witchcraft. I will discuss Scrupilosity to my CPN. I have been involved with many religions that has strict rules, Jehovah's witness and Mormonism. Does this apply to Lordship Salvation?
Dear @Vince & Stuff, I just want to let you know that I have seen your message and hope to answer to it by end of day today or tomorrow (Canada Eastern Time). God bless
Hello @Vince & Stuff, Jehovah Witness and Mormonism aren’t Christian religion and yes, I believe both are legalistic religions. Be encouraged that legalism has been exposed to you. This is great news! Now that you know what you are dealing with, you can believe God to purge your life from legalism. If you haven’t given your heart to Christ, this will be the first step. The Bible says that it is Christ in you the hope of glory (see Col. 1:27b). Concerning your question about Lordship salvation. Are you asking whether Jehovah Witness and Mormonism are Lordship salvation, or whether what I am teaching is Lordship salvation?
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 In relation to Lordship salvation, it is not really towards the Mormons or Jehovah's witness but general Christianity such as Anglican Churches, Evangelical churches. I don't really understand Lordship Salvation and do find it quite confusing. There are some Christians who are legalistic as well, particularly my parents who I disowned this year due to their abuse while being in Anglican Churches after memories of it lead to illnesses that nearly killed me. I currently see a CPN due to these and several OCDs which has lead to Scrupulosity. This illness lead to losing the will to live which would of resulted in Psychogenic death if I went through with it. Something told me to get on to the mental health team. This happened in April this year. There are a lot of videos who teaches against Lordship Salvation such as Once Saved Always Saved and there are some that teaches repentance similar to the Mormons way of teaching. If you don't make your self better you will go to hell or something. Many Christians will argue that each other are either false doctrine or heresy. As for your videos, this is 1st video I seen as I was trying to understand scrupulosity more.
Hello @Vince & Stuff, I wrote a blog which I believe will encourage you. It is entitled “disturbing doctrinal confusion untangled by His voice”. I encourage you to read it. You can find it here: www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/disturbing-doctrinal-confusion-untangled-by-his-voice I also encourage you to watch the following two UA-cam videos I made to help you understand the sound doctrine. Becoming like a little child again: ua-cam.com/video/LND8HFWWc_Q/v-deo.html Finding freedom from scrupulosity: ua-cam.com/video/RupxZtTWz7I/v-deo.html I also encourage you to prayerfully consider buying the following two books to help you understand the sound doctrine as well. You can find them on Amazon: The Law of Redemption: What Must One Do to Go to heaven? written by me, By Grace Alone: Finding Freedom and Purging Legalism from Your Life, written by Derek Prince The Bible says that Jesus saved us from our sins (see Matthew 1:21). Grace is the unmerited favor of God. This means salvation is given to us as a free gift through believing in Christ (see Ephesians 2:8-9). That’s because the law couldn’t save us from our sins and we can’t save ourselves. We need a Savior and Jesus is that Savior provided by God; the perfect Lamb of God who shed His blood for the propitiation of our sins and who rose from the grace for our justification. Jesus said, repent and believe the gospel, “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” When we receive Jesus, we receive a new heart, a new nature (see Ezekiel 36:25-27). We become a new creation in Christ Jesus (see 2 Cor. 5:17). The Spirit of God comes and lives inside of us and we become children of God (see John 1:12). We become dead to sin and alive to God (see John 6:11). This doesn’t mean that we are never tempted or that we never sin, nevertheless there is a change in us in that we receive a new nature and through such new nature and by such new nature we become bent and inclined toward God. God works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure the Bible says in Philippians 2:13. So, yes (though I had never heard the term Lordship salvation before), to be born again is to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. But the thing to understand is that we are made acceptable to God through His free grace; His favor. We live from there. We live under the constant umbrella of His favor and such unmerited favor and care causes us to serve Him acceptably, with pure motives. Hebrews 9:14 (NKJV) puts it this way, “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Essentially, through His Blood, we serve God out of love and not out of religious duty, guilt and condemnation. We are set free to serve Him and others out of love, out of a sincere faith, a clean conscience and a pure heart (see 1 Tim 1:5). Only His grace can do that in us. Only a free gift can purge our motives from self-centeredness. We can’t make ourselves free from sin and we can’t make ourselves acceptable to God, so in His love and compassion He gives us His righteousness as a free gift (see Romans 5:17). Jesus becomes our righteousness, sanctification, redemption and wisdom (see 1 Cor. 1:30). The moment we are born again, we are saved and we enter a relationship with Christ and we are led by the promptings of the Holy Spirit (see Romans 8:14). Jesus becomes our Savior, our Lord, our wonderful counselor… We become children of God and God becomes our heavenly Father (see Romans 8:15). The Holy Spirit becomes our helper, comforter our guide…. We want to serve and live for the Lord as a response to His extravagant grace, favor and love that He first bestowed on us. It is unforced and a natural joyful response to His favor. His grace saves us from the dominion of sin (see Romans 6:14). To live rebellious lives in disobedience to God and independently from God is to live in sin and rebellion to the appropriate authority (God). Grace saves us from sin. As we yield to His grace and to His work inside of us and to His Spirit, we serve Him and live by faith because we love Him, i.e. not out of a religious duty. In fact, the law arouses sin (see 1 Cor. 15:56, Romans 7:8). Only grace can change us inside and empower us to live victorious lives. And God changes us from glory to glory (see 2 Cor. 3:18). Please also see the following verses: Romans 8:1-4 (NKJV): There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. John 14:23 (NKJV): Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 1 John 4:19 (NKJV): We love Him because He first loved us. Titus 2:11-12 (NKJV): or the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. Romans 5:1-2 (NKJV): Therefore, having been justified by faith, [a]we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 2 Cor. 5:17 (NKJV): Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Cor. 5:21 (NKJV): For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Romans 4:5 (NKJV): But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. Romans 4:14-16 (NKJV): For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. Romans 6:14 (NKJV): For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Acts 16:30-31 (AMPC): And he brought them out [of the dungeon] and said, Men, what is it necessary for me to do that I may be saved? And they answered, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ [give yourself up to Him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping] and you will be saved, [and this applies both to] you and your household as well. Be encouraged, God is willing and able to sort everything out for you. He loves you and He has a great plan for your life. Never give up, but trust God to deliver and heal you from legalism and from doctrinal confusion and He will. It may not happen overnight, but precept upon precept, He will reveal truths to you that makes free (see John 8:31-32). I pray this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions. God bless.
Hi @Bone Thug, may I ask first whether you are born again, i.e. have you surrendered your life to Jesus Christ and received Him as your personal Lord and Savior? This is the foundation and basis upon which everything else will be built as you walk on the journey toward fullness of healing and restoration. If you haven't received Christ yet, I encourage you to do so right now by placing your faith in His finished work at the cross for you and be saved from your sins through faith and regeneration of the Spirit of God. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him the Bible says in Isaiah. Please let me know if you have any questions. Be encouraged, God is willing and able to deliver you completely from legalism, fear and anxiety. I encourage you to watch my other UA-cam videos as well. I believe they will help you also. God bless
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 Hi I believe Jesus is my Lord and saviour, I just recently changed and quit smoking weed, nicotine, porn. Etc, but ever since turning myself to Christ and praying everyday and reading the Bible, I've been experiencing some form of religious OCD, but the worst part is extreme fear during the day and evening, I need your email so we can chat there, I have many questions and I feel I'm mentally tormented. 🙏🏿
Dear @Bone Thug, for some reason, I didn't receive a notification when you replied to my message two days ago so I didn't realize you had responded to my message. I can share my email address, however I may not be able to respond right away. Here it is: paulkathleenkacz@gmail.com In the meantime, I do encourage you to watch my other UA-cam videos as well as I believe they will help you. Know that the moment you repented from your sins and gave your heart to Christ, all your sins have been washed away with the blood of Christ never to be remembered again. God forgave you of all your sins. The devil is the accuser of the brethren the Bible says. We overcome the devil and his lies by the Blood of the Lamb and by the Word of our testimony (see Rev. 12:10-11). Your testimony is that Jesus saved you from your sins and made you a new creation in Christ Jesus. Behold old things are passed away, and all things are new! (see 2 Cor. 5:17) This is good news my friend. The Word of God is also your testimony and it is your sword against the lies of the devil. Ask the Lord to lead you to Bible verses that will help you where you feel tormented. Rest in the truth and promises of God's Word in the areas under attack. Continue to submit to God and stand your ground in faith and the devil will flee from you. Faith is your victory. Be encouraged, God loves you and He will sustain you, He will uphold you with His righteous right hand.
100% God. I was undeserving, in sin and helpless and He showed me mercy, grace, kindness, compassion and purpose. I am glad God has been using my videos to minister to you. :) God bless!
Dear @Aric Jiang, actually I am able to respond tonight after all. :) This statement is taken from 2 Timothy 3:5 (NKJV) “Having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” Essentially, I was battling against sin in my own strength, in unbelief, as opposed to resting and trusting in the finished work of the cross. Hebrews 10:14 (NKJV) says “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Romans 6:14 (NKJV) says “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Furthermore, the Bible says that Christ came to set us free from our sins (see Matthew 1:21 and John 8:36). The Bible is clear that we cannot save ourselves from our sins (see Ephesians 2:8-9). However, I was trying to save myself from my sins. I was working hard to live a righteous life in my own strength, without any dependence upon the Holy Spirit (See Galatians 3:3). I had outward religiosity in that I appeared righteous through my laboring hard not to sin, but it was only an outward religious appearance, I didn’t have the corresponding inner righteousness that can only come through faith in Christ. When we believe in Jesus, we receive the gift of righteousness for free by simply trusting in Jesus and in His Work at Calvary and we are thus empowered to live holy through dependence upon the Holy Spirit. So, I was denying the power of the work of Christ in me which had made me a new creation in Christ Jesus. And I was not relying on the Holy Spirit to help me resist temptation nor was I relying on the Holy Spirit or on God’s Word to transform me from the inside out from glory to glory. I was working in my own strength without relying on the power of Christ. Therefore, I was not being changed as a result and I therefore only had the appearance of godliness―I was religious and I was working hard, and yet I was in unbelief, not really trusting in the only work (the work of Christ on the cross) that could truly change me from the inside out―I was denying the power thereof. I hope this makes sense to you. Please let me know if you have any questions. God bless.
it doesnt go away for me.. i have this urge to curse at God.. and it's almost uncontrollable.. I've prayed and prayed about it but it's only gotten worse.. It's really affecting my daily life.. its literally tormenting.. And its not just the cursing but. yeah.. its hard to explain.
This is both astonishing and freighted to me. Such a big help to me. Personally I have been shackled up by doubt and unbelief, lock up in double mindedness. 10 years ago when I went up to the alter I said the sinners prayer but never felt right with God. I was influenced that salvation meant I "felt," saved and forgiven. I felt so fake because it seemed everyone mood become happy to accept Jesus as Lord, but I felt the same. Years have gone by since then. Ten years and I understand salvation is by faith not feelings, that I have made my emotions Lord and I repented over it. Yet I repent daily even hourly repent for not believing in Jesus Christ, for having doubt, unbelief and double mindedness. I feel my repentance isn't enough. That I'm not genuine. I feel stuck in a merry go round, that I'm not a real believer and won't change. These thoughts break me, because I know God is real, but yet a relationship with Jesus Christ feels so unreal.
Hi @Andrea Y, You are correct in saying that we are saved by faith and not by feelings. When you prayed the sinner’s prayer ten years ago, did you agree you were a sinner in need of a Savior and did you want to turn from your sins at that moment and surrender your life to Christ? When you prayed the prayer, were you giving Jesus your heart sincerely? If you did then these are the marks of someone who became born again. If instead you went through the motion perhaps because you felt religiously pressured to go, then maybe it was more of a religious prayer without giving your heart to Christ. If the latter is true, it is as simple as coming to Him today and securing your salvation by giving your life to Him this very day and making Him your personal Lord and Savior; consciously choosing to trust Him alone and making Him and His work at the cross your only hope for heaven and nothing else. It is also important to understand that the devil is the accuser of the brethren. He will come and cause us to feel unforgiven, to feel wrong. That’s when it is important for us to know the Word and to know what Christ has really done for us. The Bible says that Jesus is our righteousness, our sanctification and our redemption through faith in Him (see 1 Cor. 1:30). We don’t stand justified because we are good, but we stand justified through faith in the One who is good. Then, His goodness and righteousness in us is what makes us acceptable before God and is what empowers us to produce righteousness and goodness. You see, we cannot produce what we don’t have. And even if we have it, if we don’t believe we have it, we will struggle to produce it just the same. Therefore, it is important to understand that we have an enemy the devil who tries to bring us under guilt and condemnation. We must resist Him in the faith and by knowing the Word of God and using it against the lies and temptations of the devil like Jesus did in the wilderness when the devil came to tempt him. We are in a warfare and we do need to fight the good fight of faith and to wear the whole armor of God as per Ephesians chapter six. All with God’s help and by His grace. Now, having doubt and unbelief doesn’t mean that we are not in the faith nor does it mean that we have no faith. If you struggle with doubt and unbelief, the way to deal with this is to study the Word of God in the areas where you experience doubt and unbelief. The Bible says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17 NKJV). It is also by coming to God honestly about our doubts and asking Him to convince us where we need convincing. Thus inviting Him in our doubt and unbelief and asking Him to help our unbelief. We then cooperate with Him by trusting Him to help our unbelief and we study the Word of God in the areas where we need our faith to be increased and strengthened. That’s the way to deal with doubt and unbelief without striving in our own strength and in panic to stop unbelief in our lives. I made a video on a related topic and I wrote a blog also. Please find the links below. I encourage you to watch the video and read the blog. In all of this, make sure to come before God openly, hiding nothing. But confess to Him exactly where you are and what is happening. It is important not to present ourselves to God trying to comply with what believe we should be like, but instead to come before Him in truth exposing our true condition, weakness, shortcoming and heart struggle with the goal to receive His forgiveness and be changed in those areas by Him. Only when we do that can we experience real repentance, forgiveness, deliverance, help, healing and restoration. Trying to come to God with perfect faith under a religious duty or pressure will not work. But coming to God honestly about our doubts and fears will work wonders and help bring deliverance and healing in those areas and help making us strong in those areas where we were once weak. Also, seek God for truth. Ask him to help you come to Him truthfully hiding nothing and leaving nothing out. It is the truth of God’s Word that makes us free, Jesus said in John 8:31-32. It is important to understand repentance. You said you feel your repentance isn’t enough. Perhaps it is because you are going about it under a religious pressure causing you to go about it superficially under a religious expectation instead of confessing to God what is really going on in your heart. Allow your true heart to come forth before God and confide in Him from the heart. Don’t try to do or say things you should do or say under religious perfectionism, but come and open up to the One who sees and knows everything anyways. Nothing is hidden from Him. It can be hard to admit certain things to God and to ourselves because of what we picture as acceptable Christian standards. But unless we allow ourselves to be bare before Him, admitting our doubt, our unwillingness in certain areas and/or whatever else is going on inside of us, we can’t be made free in those very areas. We can only be made free going through. We cannot seek to a detour so to speak. Therefore, whatever your true condition, confess it to God. Confronting truth about yourself and where you are right now will be the launching place to genuine healing. Then, you will enter a journey of restoration with Him all the while being forgiven. Repentance doesn’t mean perfect performance or instantaneous change, but coming in agreement with God concerning the sin and choosing to turn in the opposite direction with His help, and cooperating with Him on that journey. Below I also included a video on understanding repentance as well as a video about the passive will as I believe they will minister to you as well and help shine more light. Please let me know if you have any questions. I pray this helps. Videos: Overcoming the fear of losing one’s faith: ua-cam.com/video/NDdPl0YmSfQ/v-deo.html Understanding repentance: ua-cam.com/video/7StFxR0HWB4/v-deo.html The passive will: ua-cam.com/video/GpdRR52eB4Y/v-deo.html Blog: Overcoming the fear of losing one’s faith: www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/finding-freedom-from-the-fear-of-losing-one-s-faith
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 I truly appreciate you writing back to me. Honestly thank you for taking the time, to write back to me. I actually been saying the sinners prayer for ten straight years, because I felt I didn't mean it enough. It just in my heart I don't feel I trust Jesus Christ enough. I've been measuring my faith in feelings. As best as I could I've been honest with Jesus. That I've made my emotions Lord and I really don't trust him, because I'm afraid to get hurt by fully giving him my trust. I told him I believe but help my unbelief. I just feel stuck not able to have faith. I grew up in abusive. Mainly by my mom, so with years my heart been walled up by distrust. When I heard the gospel I was compel and sobbing because how much of a sinner I am, and how Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I really do believe Jesus Christ is the only way to get to heaven, it just trusting is so hard for me. I find my heart just not accept this free gift from God. That I have to do something, that I have to earn it. Work it up, which I know I can't. Jesus Christ earn it and by believing in him I'm saved. I will gladly look at your videos. It ironic Kathleen I just subscribed to you and my next video was "what true repentance." I'm happy for this video because it honestly put a language to what my feelings been. Being obsessive/compulsive, about if I believe enough or said this prayer right this time. I just really want to have child-like faith to Jesus and have a genuine relationship with him.
Hello @Andrea Y, this is very helpful for me to have a better understanding of what you have been going through. And you are most welcome. Also, I am glad that the video on repentance popped up shortly after you subscribed to my channel, God truly is at work and He is a God of timing! He is good :). You can be encouraged that He who began a good work in you will also complete it until the day of Christ (see Phil. 1:6). Please let me know after you watched the videos if you have any questions. I really believe based on what you wrote in your latest message that the video about overcoming the fear of losing one’s faith and the corresponding blog will actually really help you. There is another video I think will bless you also based on what you wrote to me. It is entitled, “Becoming like a little child again”. You can find it here: ua-cam.com/video/LND8HFWWc_Q/v-deo.html It will likely take some time Andrea, but little by little, as you ask and look to God to help you trust Him, He will do just that. We can’t even believe in our own strength my dear. And again, having some doubts doesn’t mean that we have no faith or that we are not in the faith. We go from faith to faith the Bible says (see Romans 1:17). You will notice that, as you continue to look to God to help you, that He will bring truths and revelation to you throughout your journey that will cause you to trust Him a little more, and a little more, and a little more, until the day comes when you trust Him fully. Do not get discouraged, the process is normal. From glory to glory. And like you said, given your background too, there is healing needed there. God sees that. What the devil meant for evil, God means it for good and in the end, it will work out for your good and for the good of others to His glory (see Romans 8:28). I advise you to prayerfully google for Bible verses related to your need. For instance, you can google “Bible verses to help with trusting God”, “Bible verses about God is trustworthy” etc. You will get a list of verses. Then you prayerfully read them and particularly focus on the ones that really minister to your heart. Don’t try to believe and to trust Him, instead let the Word of God do its work in you. Your part is to invite God in your situation and to lean on Him and look to Him to help you trust Him, He will. Also, your part is to simply spend time meditating on the Word that you read and to take those accounts and stories you read in the Word as well as promises and verses from His Word and to stand on those, to meditate on those and to confess those out loud and over your life. The Word of God will work in your heart as you continue to take it as medicine for your soul. Little by little, you will see your faith and trust in God increase. But if you try to believe in fear and if you place yourself under perfectionistic expectations, such perfectionism will actually hinder a genuine work of the heart and it will hinder true progress. If you try to behave right to earn God’s acceptance, it will only minister death to you and this is where you will feel just the way you have been feeling, like it’s never good enough, or constantly having a sense that you don’t believe enough and that you are falling short. Instead, cast this care on God and depend on Him and His Word to do the work in you. You simply cooperate with God by praying, by waiting on Him with expectation that He is working, and by studying the Word, especially in the areas of need. And so, you are right in that you can’t earn your salvation or His love. It can only be received by faith. Furthermore, it is the grace of God that teaches us to say no to ungodliness (see Titus 2:11-12). I encourage you to study on the new covenant of grace and on the finished work of Christ at the cross as well as on the love of God. I wrote quite a few blogs on relevant topics. Maybe you can navigate my blog page and see if some catch your attention and prayerfully read them (and re-read them as needed). You can find my blogs here: www.paulandkathleenministries.org/blog I encourage you to read and re-read this message from me. It typically takes more than once to get something into our spirit. I pray this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions or if something isn’t clear in what I just wrote here. God bless
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 Thank you for the resources and how to seek God in my problems. It so helping reading what been the stumbling block for my break through. Even though I want to have faith in Jesus Christ, I've been trying to earn it still by having this check list. I have to not watch UA-cam for this amount of hours, I have to confess over and over I doubt and have unbelief. In my own strength I was trying to be a better believer and follower of Christ. I love what you said, to just allow God word to work on me. To invite God in the area I struggle. I actually been praying and asking God to help me believe in him, to help me have faith in him. I ask Jesus Christ for peace in being a believer in him and not on my feelings. Again God bless you for writing back to me. It just shows you've been down this road too, and God help you be free. Wow, I too want to be set free 😊❤
You are most welcome. Indeed, I have been on that road. I can assure you that as you stop trying to believe in your own strength, and instead as you rest in Him and in His Word to do in you what only He and His Word can do in you, you will be made whole and your faith will grow and grow in grace, freedom, true righteousness and peace. As you walk on this journey with the Lord, do not focus on how far you think you need to go, but instead focus on and celebrate the mini-breakthroughs throughout the journey and celebrate your progress. With God and His Word, it is only a matter of time. God bless
My ocd is making me feel unredeemable hopeless I need a personal revelation like you got. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can hardly sleep at all and I am asking for everybody’s prayers and help but then I’m afraid I won’t get it and then that makes me more fearful. It’s horrible. It makes me wish I wasn’t born sometimes. It took like a trap
Hi @Anson Howard, This revelation was given for the benefit of all, not only for me my friend. Begin to seek God concerning legalism. No one is unredeemable. That's a legalistic lie of the devil. The Bible promises us that if we confess our sins to God, repent and place our faith in Christ, we shall be saved. Also, OCD isn’t what people think it is. Religious OCD (scrupulosity) is a medical term doctors assign on people who essentially struggle with religious and/or related to moral standards obsessive thinking and/or unwanted recurring (intrusive) thoughts and they label it as a mental illness and a brain dysfunction, but in reality, it is not. It is dangerous to believe you are suffering from a mental illness or brain dysfunction because it prevents you from dealing with the real issue underneath and the sufferer is robbed of the gift of repentance, deprived of the power to cooperate with God toward change, and stripped of any hope and vision for a better future. This is a spiritual problem and God will set everyone free who come to Him in faith for it. Heal the spiritual disease, and the brain tracks will change and shape in new forms over time. Deal with the root (legalism) and the fruits (unwanted thoughts and fears) of the root will leave over time. If there is no root to produce the unwanted fruits, then the unwanted fruits will lose their power and leave over time. Replace the root with faith in Christ and His finished work at the cross (grace covenant) and you will become better over time. Like I mentioned in the video, the root cause of my problem was legalism empowered by the illegitimate power of witchcraft. Now, you won’t likely come out overnight, and you most likely will experience setbacks as you learn the truth of the sound doctrine of grace and seek to learn with God as your Teacher how to live under grace instead of under law. But that's normal, don't worry about it. I have experience numerous setbacks on my recovery journey myself. But the first step will be to stop labeling yourself with OCD and instead to repent from legalism, receive God’s immediate forgiveness and enter a journey of recovery from legalism with God in which as you trust Him, He will purge you from legalism, little by little. This is a process and it will likely happen over a period of time, so you will need to be patient with yourself. Perfectionism paralyzes all progress. So allow for the process of change. Understand that God accepts you completely the moment you sincerely confess and repent from your sins, including the sin of legalism, and that repentance allows for a process of change; i.e once you repented and chose to turn in the opposite direction, you are forgiven and God changes you from glory to glory through your faith in Him and in His Word. There are all kinds of lies and deceptions with legalism that need to be exposed and cast out and replaced with the truth of God’s Word mixed with faith. Thus, recovery will happen over a period of time. And over time, you will be transformed from the inside out by the renewal of your mind (see Rom. 12:2) and thus of your belief system. I encourage you to prayerfully watch all, or most, of my UA-cam videos. I also encourage you to read my blogs. You can find them here: www.paulandkathleenministries.org/blog I strongly encourage you to start with the first one published. For that, you will need to scroll all the way down. Then you should reach the one entitled: Religious OCD/Scrupulosity/”the doubting disease”. Start with that one and then, one by one, prayerfully work your way up. Invite the Holy Spirit asking Him to open your understanding to the videos you are watching and the blogs you are reading. I strongly encourage you to watch and read them numerous times each or at least the ones that really minister to you; we need to do that so that the truth we are learning can take real roots in our heart. Then, we become not easily shaken by every wave of doctrine. Be thus encouraged. This too shall pass; only trust God. He who began a good work in your will also complete it until the day of Christ (see Phil. 1:6). Take care. I pray this helps, Kathleen
I'm not sure whether I suffer from scrupulosity. For the past few days I've been restless. My conscience is telling me to delete all my music, throw away all my clothing, and throw away my video games. Today it went as far as giving away my pet and leaving all my friends. I thought back to Jesus telling a man to sell all of his possessions and you will have treasure in heaven. Is it necessary to sell or get rid of every single thing that may be idolatrous?
Dear Wilson, what you are describing certainly strongly “smells” like legalism (which is the root cause of scrupulosity). No, it is not necessary for you to sell or get rid of every single thing that may be idolatrous. If you go down that path, what will be the end? Will you need to ultimately get rid of everything just to be safe? How will you be able to measure when it is enough? Who determines what is idolatrous or if it is truly idolatrous to you? I am not saying the Lord will never ask us to walk away from some friends if they truly have a negative impact on our lives and relationship with Christ, nor am I saying that the Lord may not lead us to get rid of some types of music, games or videos if they prove not to be appropriate. But be careful that it is not a condemning spirit trying to torment you and bring you under law. The Bible says that the sons of God are led by the Spirit of God (see Romans 8:14). The Lord Himself will make it known to you if something is getting to be a problem for you. The devil is legalistic and he is trying to cause us to live under law, where everything depends on us; where we feel like we doubt every decision we make and every move we make. Where we find ourselves struggling with a guilt-ridden conscience. Such system isn’t of God. I strongly encourage you not to make any drastic decisions until things get sorted out on this matter for you. I do not have a lot of time today, but the Lord willing, I am hoping to touch base again with you tomorrow evening (Eastern Time). I encourage you to seek God and ask Him to lead you to Bible verses that will bring light for you in this situation. Until then, I encourage you to restrain from taking any other steps alike. Take care, God bless. Kathleen
Dear Wilson, I re-read your comment and my answer to your comment from yesterday. I think what I sent yesterday actually covers the highlights of what I would like to share with you in response to your question. I would however like to add this little something. The bible says that we have been made the righteousness of God through Christ (See 2 Cor. 5:21). We do not have to do anything to earn righteousness, Jesus is our righteousness (see 1 Cor. 1:30). You are righteous through faith in Christ (see Romans 5:1 and Romans 4:5). We serve God because we are saved, not in order to get saved. From there, the Holy Spirit leads us (see Romans 8:14). What did Jesus say when people asked Him what they must do that they may work the works of God? He said, this is the work of God that you believe in the One whom He has sent. God is your keeper (see Psalm 121:5). If there is something that needs to change in your life of which you are not aware of, the Lord will make it known to you. The devil comes with that vague feeling that something is wrong with us and we are left in the dark with that sense of guilt, trying to figure out what is wrong with us and anxiously trying to fix whatever it is. However, God is light and He deals with us honestly and straightforwardly. If there is something wrong, He puts His finger on it in such a way that it is clear to us that something is wrong and in need of change. The Bible says He who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps (see Psalm 121:4). We are God’s adopted children and so He who watches over us neither slumbers nor sleeps just the same. Furthermore, God convicts us, He doesn’t condemn us. And there is a difference. Daddy convicts and even disciplines the child He loves just like any loving parent does. But conviction and discipline do not mean rejection. Condemnation comes from the devil. The devil condemns us day and night before the throne of grace (See Revelation 12:11). On the other end, the Bible says that there is no condemnation to those in Christ, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit (see Romans 8:1). The latter essentially means that we are led by the Spirit and that we live in obedience and dependence upon the Spirit. Let the Spirit guide you dear. He is well able to keep you and to complete in you what He started (see Phil. 1:6). Romans 8:15 (NKJV) says “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” Your heavenly Father loves you and He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully (see 1 Peter 5:7 AMPC). God bless.
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 Thank you good sister for taking the time to reply to me. You have lifted my spirits and I continue to pray for God's help. I pray that you have a good week.
Wow thats so trueeee. I deal with this compulsions letters sounds ugh its horrible trying to change the negative thoughts to positive. Wish i never fought it. I listen to derek prince. I need prayer :(((
Dear one, how I understand. Be encouraged that you now know the root cause: legalism. That is such a major step forward! I made a couple more videos on recovering from religious OCD that I believe can help you too. If you are interested, I also listed a whole bunch of relevant and very helpful scriptures at the bottom of the third video. I encourage you to meditate on those and to confess them out loud to help them get deep into your heart. God will see you through as you depend on Him all the way. He is willing and able. Take heart, there is a way out :). I will pray for you too.
did you deal with the enemy trying to change what the Word of Gods saying its horrid :(((( like I am trying to say Gods word but the enemy tries to switch what it says he brings feelings it horrible. :((((((
Yes, I dealt with that too and I had to really set my face like a flint through the power of His might. What a battle it was for me. During that period of time, I began to learn more than ever what it meant to walk by faith and not by sight (and therefore not by feelings). It was such a warfare. But as I learned to fight from a standpoint of victory ("it is finished"), over time, my belief system and my mind began to be renewed more and more with the Word as I persisted with "it is written" back to the devil and throughout the day. I would meditate on the Word night and day it seemed. Fear and anxiety would be all over me with all of these contrary and insistent thoughts, and, by the grace of God, I would ignore the fear and the anxiety as to not feed them all the more, and I moved forward little by little by His strength and by His Word. I also had many setbacks during my recovery process, but I would keep my faith standing anyways. I essentially chose not to focus on the anxiety that I felt and I sought to remain focused on Him and on the Scriptures that I kept meditating on. I read very good anointed books relevant to the topic too. That kept my mind busy with the truth and I was encouraged by the teachings. Daily, I placed my hope in Him that He would provide another revelation that would bring another mini-breakthrough until the entire puzzle was all put together. Oh dear, I had to constantly speak "it is written". For a while, it felt it was 100 times a day or more. But He saw me through and He will see you through, too. If you want, perhaps we can continue our conversation via email if you feel a need. Here is my email address: paulkathleenkacz@gmail.com. Feel free to email me and we can pick it up from there, as you wish.
Hi! I know this is a late comment but I was wondering if it’s possible to get deliverance? I’ve been getting deliverance for a while but I’m getting these thoughts that are just so ungodly especially after I made the commitment to re-dedicate my life to God and Christ. There’s these thoughts that are the same that keep bombarding me, no matter what the deliverance. I have trouble sleeping and I keep having obsessive thoughts and it’s tiring me out. I just want to be free and I know these thoughts aren’t mine. I don’t know if it’s a demon inside of me or something inside my house. My heart wants to worship God and live for Christ, but my mind keeps saying “worship Satan,” and I keep thinking about my past and I feel like my sins were never forgiven and are unpardonable. Please, I just want peace and I know God has not condemned and it’s Satan. God bless you! 💕
I also want to add that I re-dedicated my life to God and Christ at the end of October and I started attending an SDA church and I am not sure if it’s the doctrine or legalism that I have an issue right now, but I just want to be free.
Hello @ashtastic, I just want to let you know that I saw your messages. No worries, I still review comments from my older videos so it's not a late comment. :) I just want to let you know that I hope to answer your questions by end of day Sunday or by end of day Monday, Canada Eastern Time, the Lord willing. Concerning attending a SDA church, I strongly encourage you to reconsider. The SDA's doctrine is indeed a legalistic one and I believe you have been picking up on that thus why you said and I quote, "I am not sure if it's the doctrine or legalism that I have an issue right now". I encourage you to prayerfully seek God for a church that teaches the sound doctrine of the new covenant of grace. Please let me know if you would like me to help you with that. Good night
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 Hi Mrs. Kaczmarek, thank you so much for the quick reply! The reason why I am attending the church is because they go to church on Saturday which in the 10 commandments is the Sabbath. I have much to learn by actually reading my Bible, but I will take your advice into consideration. I am not officially a member yet and I have felt an urge to just give up on man-made religions. I really feel like God just wants me to worship him in truth and spirit. I really want to be obedient and follow Christ and it’s harder even now since I haven’t figured out anything myself or read the entire Bible myself haha. Anyways, thank you again, I’ll let you know when God gives me an answer back about the church and stuff, as far as I know, they go by what the Bible says? At least, that’s what I have heard them preach and stuff. 🤷🏻♀️
Hello @ashtastic, The devil only needs to throw at us the first unwholesome thought and from there it depends a lot on how we respond. If we believe the thought is ours, we will begin to own it, to fear it and of course we will feel guilt and condemned because of it. Also, if we begin to respond to those thoughts with condemnation instead of through faith in the finished work of Christ at the cross, it actually will begin to empower and strengthen the thoughts we are desperate to see leave. So, even if you keep receiving deliverance, if you are responding to the unwanted thoughts under law or if you fear what the thoughts say instead of responding through faith, the thoughts will keep coming back. What we magnify through feeding it through fear gets bigger and what we starve lose its power and eventually dies. Hear what the apostle Paul said in Romans 7:15 (NKJV), “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” This is a statement he made when he was trying to obey the law in his own strength. I came to see in my own experience that recurring intrusive thoughts and tendencies opposite to life and truth aren’t always a continual and direct intervention of the devil. Yes, he surely threw at me the first unbiblical thought. He may even come back here and there to try to keep me in fear, but really, after he suggested the first devilish thought, it depended a lot on how I responded…through faith in the finished work of Christ at the cross, or through fear of the law’s demands. It all depended on whether I responded under the influence of grace, or of law. Each time I bit and allowed myself to give into fear and condemnation through legalistic pressure and commands, most of the devil’s job was done. Because the sin that dwells in my members was aroused (see Romans 7:8-12) by the law that said, “You must not have this evil thought or you go to hell!” It rendered me powerless to stop the obsessive thoughts. The outward dictate of law over my life strengthened the sin from which I was desperate to be free (see 1 Corinthians 15:56). From there, the daily battle with the unwanted sinful thoughts and with legalistic temptations was not so much with the devil as it was with the law of sin and death dwelling in my members that was strengthened by the religious law I placed myself under (see Romans 7:23). Therefore, dear one, the only way out is through, by and under the grace of God. The Bible says that sin shall not have dominion over us because we are not under law but under grace (see Romans 6:14). Grace I believe, will ultimately be your antidote. I encourage you to watch the following three videos, I believe they will help you. Here they are: How to strip the thought of its power: ua-cam.com/video/aCmqzhsaShU/v-deo.html How to stop the thoughts (Part 2): ua-cam.com/video/wFDZcVIy-fA/v-deo.html Practical ways to deal with intrusive thoughts: ua-cam.com/video/3pCSPRINDCQ/v-deo.html I also encourage you to browse through my blog and reads some as the Lord leads. You can find them here: www.paulandkathleenministries.org/blog Concerning the SDA and I quote what you said, “The reason why I am attending the church is because they go to church on Saturday which in the 10 commandments is the Sabbath.” Here is what the Bible says in Colossians 2:11-23 (NKJV): Those of us in Christ are no longer under the old covenant of the Law (see Galatians 5:18). If we are led by the Spirit of God, we are not under Law (see Galatians 5:18). The Law is made for the sinners, not for the righteous (see 1 Timothy 1:9). So when we are governed by the Spirit of God, we will inherently do the righteous requirements of the Law without having to be told “thou must do this or that”: “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (See Romans 8:3-4 (NKJV) So Romans 8:3-4 shows us that the Law is powerless to change our human nature, that’s why God sent Christ. If we begin to submit to the law as a means of righteousness, it will render us powerless to obey it (see 1 Cor. 15:56). On the other hand, now that we have the Holy Spirit in us, we are led by the Spirit of God (see Romans 8:14) and empowered by Him to live holy. Grace is both the unmerited favor of God and the power of God to live holy. I encourage you also to read 1 Timothy chapter 1. I also encourage you to prayerfully consider buying the book, “By Grace Alone: Finding Freedom and Purging Legalism from Your Life” written by Derek Prince. You can find it on Amazon. I pray this helps. Kathleen
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 Thank you so much Kathleen! Your answers have helped me greatly. I will definitely check out the links and book that you advised for me, but is it okay to attend the church still? I am not officially a member but I just enjoy the people and stuff and I really do believe God brought me there. Regardless, I will do my best to follow the advice of living under grace and not law. Thank you again! :) 💕
What do I do if whenever I read the Bible I feel super guilty whenever I’m doing something else besides reading, spreading the gospel, or praying, (and even sometimes I would feel guilty while doing those things) I just don’t know what to do, I feel convicted about everything, like I’m so confused. God bless
Hi @bella brown, What you are experiencing isn’t conviction, it is condemnation. It is not from God but from the devil. What you are experiencing is a huge warning sign that the enemy is trying to lure you away into legalism. It brings me back around the first year I was born again; the devil was already working hard at trying to lure me away into legalism. It was a Saturday afternoon, I felt tired and badly wanted to take a nap. But at the same time, the thought of taking a nap instead of reading my Bible made me feel guilty. I was somewhat tormented with this inner battle, and I was so double-minded. Should I have a nap, or should I read the Bible? If I read the Bible, I am so tired that I will hardly get anything out of it. But if I go to bed and don’t read the Bible, am I not keeping from doing what I should be doing on a Saturday afternoon as a Christian? After all, if you have free time, you should be reading the Word, shouldn’t you? O the torment that comes with legalism! Finally, I gave into “the temptation,” and I had a nap. But God is so good, I tell you! He is with us at all times, and He sees our struggles. He noticed the struggle and the lie that the enemy was trying to plant in my soul. And during my nap, God gave me a prophetic dream. The dream was very vivid. I saw many planes hovering in the sky, ready and waiting for the go-ahead to drop a bomb. They were standing by, waiting for a “yes” to attack or a “no” to retreat. Suddenly, they were given the go-ahead. The answer was “yes” to attack, a bomb was dropped from one of the planes, and I awoke. Although I am not one to follow politics, I knew President George W. Bush was about to make a decision concerning whether he should go ahead and invade Iraq or not. Very soon after I received this dream, he made the decision to invade Iraq and gave the go-ahead; the answer was “yes.” God, in His goodness, gave me a prophetic dream during my nap. He showed me that having a nap was okay with Him, and I didn’t need to feel guilty. He wasn’t displeased with my choice and all was well. Here is what Jesus said to those who asked what they must do that they may work the works of God: “Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”” (John 6:28-29 (NKJV)) The Bible says that the sons of God are led by the Spirit of God (see Romans 8:14). Our work for God stems from faith and love, not from guilt. @bella brown, I strongly encourage you to dive deep into the study of law versus grace. Study on the new covenant of grace. Study on salvation by grace through faith. Study on the finished work of Christ at the cross. Here is a book I strongly encourage you to buy and read. It is written by Derek Prince and is entitled, “By Grace Alone: Finding Freedom and Purging Legalism from your life." You can find it on Amazon. Please let me know if you have any questions. I pray this helps.
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 thank you so much! This really helped me understand what’s happening! Now I actually do have another question though, why do I doubt my salvation? Sometimes I feel like I’m absolutely saved and God loves me so much! And then sometimes I feel like I’ve already been condemned to hell for all of eternity. It’s extremely exhausting and scary. Do you have think I’m actually not saved? I don’t want to worry about this and I also don’t want to feel like I shouldn’t feel saved because I heard in an article that the devil likes to make saved people feel unsaved and unsaved people feel saved. You see why this is so frustrating? Yeah that’s all thanks so much!
Dear @Trill Favor. Yes, legalism is sin. The wonderful news is the moment we go to God and confess our sins with a sincere heart, He forgives us immediately. Today I am so glad that God showed me what the real problem in my life was. Knowing the truth about my true condition is ultimately what really helped me. From then, I was no longer fighting in the dark. Understanding legalism was the real problem in my life and that legalism was sin actually really helped me. It caused me to become more anxious at first, true, but it quickly became the truth that set me free. You see, when we understand that trying to earn God's love and acceptance through our own perfection or through trying to comply with laws as a means of righteousness is sin and displeasing to God, we are strongly motivated to renounce trying in our own strength to earn our salvation or to change ourselves. As we renounce legalism and ask God to teach us the sound doctrine of being saved by grace through faith and as we understand that the grace of God is both the unmerited favor of God and the power of God to live holy, things really begin to change; one of the fears of the legalist is, won't the grace of God cause me to excuse my sins? Won't it cause me to sin more? However, when we understand that the grace of God is both the unmerited favor of God and the power of God to live holy, such fears leave us. So, be of good cheer, I fell deep into legalism. Yet, the moment I confessed to God and chose to turn in the opposite direction with His help (because I couldn't get out without Him helping me―you see, we can't come out the way we came in (i.e. in our own strength)), He forgave me right away. From there, I entered a journey of recovery where God began to purge my life from legalism, little by little. All the while, I was forgiven. The same is true for you and for everyone who will come before God in truth and repent of legalism and ask Him to forgive them and purge their lives from legalism. Be encouraged @Trill Favor, only the truth can make us genuinely free. The moment we learn (and face) the truth about our true problem, half the battle is over for we stop fighting in the dark. From henceforth, we accurately target the real problem. God bless
I struggled with religious OCD alot. My mind is stuck in a belief for salvation. I don't know how to handle it because it's the mind. I simply wanted to be saved when I found out the truth about God but I haven't been able to be saved because I watched many different sermons on salvation and got confused and fearful. Now I get the idea of the gospel that it's not by our works but by Jesus'. I'm still stressed and anxious and need help for this.
Dear @Flavio Garza, Indeed, we are not saved by our works of self-righteousness, but only through faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done for us at the cross. All of our own righteousness is as filthy rag, the Bible says in Isaiah 64. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, "“Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me. For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.”" (TPT). The Bible says in Romans 10:9-10, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (NKJV). To be saved from your sins, all you need to do is to receive the free gift of salvation. You don’t have to do anything to receive it. It is a gift given to us from God. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV) puts it this way: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Therefore, if you want to turn from your sins, to be saved from the power of sin and to give your life to Jesus Christ, then, with childlike faith, receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. The Bible says in Matthew 1:21 that Jesus came to save His people from their sins. The following prayer is a suggested prayer. You can pray something in those lines or simply repeat this prayer after me from your heart and be saved: “Lord, I confess to You that I am a sinner deserving of Hell, and I ask You to forgive me of my sins. I confess that I cannot save myself and that only You can save me. I believe, Jesus, that You are the Son of God and the Savior of the world who died on the cross to pay the price for my sins and rose from the dead three days later for my justification. I ask you to save my soul and to make me a new creature like Your Word promises. I repent of my sins, and I trust You alone as my way to heaven. Come and live in my heart. Have Your way in me, for I belong to You. Thank You for giving me the gift of eternal life. In Jesus’s name, amen.” Welcome into the family of God! The Word says in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (KJV). The Bible also says that through Jesus Christ, we enjoy peace with God the Father: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1 KJV). We have this promise from God: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 KJV). Finally, when we are born again, we become a new creature in Christ, old things are gone and everything has become new (see 2 Cor. 5:17). We receive a new nature from God and we become alive spiritually. The same way we were saved is the way we live: by grace through faith. This simply means that now that you are born again, i.e. now that the Holy Spirit lives in your heart by faith and that you have become a child of God, God will lead you daily by His Spirit living in you. This is wonderful news. Also, this means you no longer need to try to perform. You can now rest in Jesus and depend on His Spirit within you to guide you and to help you in your daily living. God molds and shapes us into Christ’s image from glory to glory. And again, God will guide you by His Spirit and by His Word, the Bible. You are not alone! Enjoy your new found relationship with our heavenly Father. I encourage you to prayerfully find yourself a church and begin to attend. If they are not open due to covid-19, you can find many churches holding services online. Then attend those for now. You will also need to feed your spirit with spiritual sustenance, i.e. with the Word of God. I therefore encourage you to read the Bible daily. Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like some help with the choosing which church to attend. God bless!
I encourage you to read it a few times carefully. If you still can't understand after you re-read it a few times, then write to me what you don't understand and where you need clarification and I will try to help you in those areas specifically. I pray this helps
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 I don't know. My mind can't grasp the idea of belief or faith in something like that. I'm so confused and stressed. I know deep down God is real but the whole thing is illogical to my brain I guess.
Don't worry. Be patient with yourself. Now, I encourage you to do the following: I encourage you to receive Christ just as you are with your struggles and confusion because He will come along side you and help you sort everything out for you little by little. I encourage you to pray the prayer to God I wrote for you and from there, start to talk with Him daily and to read the Bible daily. Ask Him to help your faith. Ask Him to lead you to Bible verses that will help your faith too. Also prayerfully find yourself a church to go to. Please let me know if you need my help there. Begin to read the Bible daily. The Bible says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (see Romans 10:17). As you read it, ask the Holy Spirit to open your understanding to the Word you are reading. Perhaps start with the book of John and the book of Ephesians. As you read the Word of God, it will help your faith grow. If you can rent movies, perhaps rent the following movie: The Case for Christ. This is a true story of an atheist who became a Christian. Faith is something that happens in your heart. The Bible says that we need to become like little children; we receive Jesus like a little child. The Bible says that by faith we understand (please read Hebrews chapter 11). We don't reason our way to God, we simply choose by God's grace to believe and receive what the Bible says. The Bible says that without Christ, we are all dead in sin. Because of our sins, we deserve hell. So our sins need to be punished and paid for. God in His great mercy and love for us, as well as to fulfill His justice, sent Jesus to die in our place and to take God's wrath upon Himself so that we won't have to be condemned, punished and go to hell. In the old testament, the Jewish people had to sacrifice animals (blood had to be shed) to cover their sins. Jesus became that eternal lamb of God and shed His Blood so that if we believe it and surrender our lives to Him, our sins are washed away freely with His shed Blood and we are forgiven and made righteous with Jesus's righteousness. I pray this helps. I encourage you to re-read this message also a few times and to do the things I advice you to do. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Good night!
Why do I have horrible blasphemous thoughts against the spirit and I associate legalism with repentance? How about hearing someone talking about Jesus and telling jesus out loud that I'm having a thought about associating this person with bad witch stuff and I was not directing it to that person because I cant do that and I was terrified of blaspheming the spirit...i feel so lost..help me..what about repentance I already told jesus that I accept him...and im legalistically trying to repent but I get blasphemous against the spirit and jesus thoughts all because I'm afraid of blaspheming the spirit
Dear @alex perry, concerning the blasphemous thoughts against the Holy Spirit and Jesus, I just responded to another related comment I received from you. In it, I also referred to a blog I wrote on the topic. I believe it will help you there. But also understand that we are in a spiritual war and that we have an enemy, the devil. And so, for a born again Christian to have thoughts like that, understand that the devil attacked you with these thoughts in the first place. To see these thoughts leave will depend on how you respond to them: in fear or in faith. The more you fear the thoughts, the more enslaved to them you will be. The more you fear them and the more guilt and condemnation are the driving motivation to stop the thoughts, the more it will empower the thoughts to stay. However, as you deal with the thoughts under grace and as you stand on the promises of God’s Word that tell you who you are in Christ and what Jesus has already done for you at the Cross, you will eventually come to the place where you even forget the thoughts and they will eventually leave. I also encourage you to watch the following three videos. I believe they will help shine more light on this and help you get better. Be encouraged that God is a very present help in times of trouble the Bible says. Run to Him and trust Him to deliver you and He will. So long as we are trusting Him, we can rest assured that He is working in our situation, whether we see it or not. He will see you through. Be thus encouraged. Additional Videos to watch: How to strip the thought of its power: ua-cam.com/video/aCmqzhsaShU/v-deo.html How to stop the thoughts (part 2): ua-cam.com/video/wFDZcVIy-fA/v-deo.html Practical ways to deal with intrusive thoughts: ua-cam.com/video/3pCSPRINDCQ/v-deo.html With regards to your concern and I quote “How about hearing someone talking about Jesus and telling Jesus out loud that I'm having a thought about associating this person with bad and I was not directing it to that person because I cant do that and I was terrified of blaspheming the spirit.” Understand that the devil is the accuser of the brethren and he is legalistic, too. He wants to bring us under guilt and condemnation, he wants to bring us under legalistic bondage. God is a God of the heart. What the Lord is after is our heart, first and foremost. Everything else will naturally stem from there. God knows your intentions and your heart. You therefore do not need to be concerning yourself there as well. Right now, the devil is using fear to bring torment into your life in these areas. It will be important for you to stand firm on the promises of God’s Word. I encourage you to meditate on Bible verses on the finished work of Christ at the cross, on the love of God, on who you are in Christ, on being saved by grace through faith. It will help you anchor yourself on the truth of God’s Word. You can google for lists of Bible verses on these topics and prayerfully find yourself a few encouraging verses to stand on at this time. The Lord willing, I will try to get back to you about your question on repentance hopefully today, if not in the next few days. This goes also about your third question/comment you asked me which I saw on the channel as well. I pray this helps.
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 what if you confessed a bad thought about somebody talking about god to jesus and telling jesus that you had a very bad thought about associating them with bad witch stuff and telling jesus its a false thought and you WILL NOT speak against them like that or use your words to direct that at him because its not my place to speak against anybody like that, but still told jesus your bad thought that you dont agree with....is that blaspheming the spirit? We will be held accountable for our words
Hi @alex perry, with regards to your question on repentance. It is true that generally, the more we experience our relationship under grace, the more the motivation for repenting will be love for God, love for righteousness and hate for sin, and the less it will be fear of judgment. Now, when it comes to what you have been going through, i.e. having blasphemous thoughts bombarding your mind and wondering whether repenting from these thoughts is legalistic. You may also feel this way because these thoughts are actually not your heart. So you wonder, do I really have to repent if they are not my heart in the first place. That is a relevant question as God looks at the heart and at the intent of the heart. You see, we have a personal relationship with God. So, if your faith is strong enough not to need to repent because you have the understanding the thoughts are not from you, then you don’t need to repent and you simply look to God and cooperate with Him to see the thoughts leave. Those sorts of thoughts will leave as your focus begin to shift from them to something else. The Bible instructs us to mind the things of the Spirit (see Romans 8:5). Therefore, as you persevere in faith in keeping your heart and mind filled with purpose from above and as you persist in ignoring the thoughts by faith and with God’s help, and don’t attach worry and condemnation to the thoughts, it won’t be long that the thoughts will leave. On the other hand, if your faith is more where you still feel the need to repent, you can do that too, and there is nothing wrong with that either. I have done both, honestly. And actually, the first time this happened to me of which I made mentioned in my video, I worried for quite some time, until God spoke to me in the dream. I didn’t know yet how to respond to thoughts like that. I have also come to God, repent and then tell God, from here, I will no longer repent and confess the thoughts each time they come because I want to be able to move on, I want to be able to forget the thoughts so they can leave. I have observed that when we forget the thoughts, they leave us. So I would let God know before I adopt that approach. That way, I felt secure in that I let God know ahead of time before more thoughts come of what I was going to do and that way, I knew God knew when other thoughts would come and the entire process toward freedom was covered and God was invited in my situation from beginning to end until the thoughts leave. And/or I would do that, and in mid-way in the process do it again. It’s all about our faith, you see. You can just come to God and tell Him “God I have these thoughts, but I don’t want them. Please forgive me of them and deliver me from them. I ask you also to help me not to fear them but to place my trust in your finished work knowing that I have the mind of Christ through such work and that I can stand my ground in faith that I am a new creature and that such thoughts don’t arise from my new nature. Please help me.” Then you trust God to help you and to deliver you. You can even tell God, “Lord I recognize that the more I give the thoughts attention and the more I engage concerning the thoughts that it seems to strengthen the thoughts and cause them to reoccur. Lord I am therefore asking you to forgive me of them and I just want to let you know I don’t want them and I ask you to guide me out and to deliver me and I will not keep confessing them from now on because I am letting you know now that I am sorry and I don’t want them and I want them gone and that from now on, with your help, I will seek to ignore the thoughts, standing in faith on your finished work at the cross, and I will shift my attention on the things above so that I can forget these unwanted thoughts and by virtue of forgetting them, they will leave.” Now, generally speaking (just in general and not specifically talking about this instance), repentance after salvation isn’t legalism. And I am so glad there is such a thing as repentance! Without it, we would not have the possibility to make choices for the better and to change! Repentance simply means the agreeing with God concerning the sin and the choosing to turn away from it and to begin to walk in the opposite direction with God’s help. It is a change of heart and mind concerning sin; it is a change of direction from the direction we were on. When we become born again, indeed we repent from our sins and place our faith in Christ. The moment we do that, the Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of us. We become new creature in Christ Jesus, the Bible says. From there, we enter into relationship with God and we also enter into a journey of change with Him. Now that we are born again, we have new desires, and a new heart. Part of this whole journey is the renewal of our mind (see Romans 12:2). On this journey, we grow, we are being transformed as the Lord molds us and shapes us into His image by His Spirit living inside us from glory to glory. We learn to walk by faith, and to depend and be led by the Spirit. We also have a robe of flesh. Jesus did say, pray that you enter not into temptation for the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (see Matthew 26:41). (I would like to add that temptation isn’t sin.) So if we sin or mess up, what do we do? We can come into the light; we come to God and confess to Him what we did or where we struggle and we ask Him to forgive us and to help us not to do it again and we can receive His immediate forgiveness and cleansing (see 1 John 1:9, 1 John 1:7 and 1 John 2:1). Repentance also allows for a process of change. Sometimes, we struggle in an area and even though we choose to turn away from the sin, we find ourselves struggling to do so. However, when we sincerely choose to turn from it and to depend on God in faith and to cooperate with God toward lasting change, this is acceptable repentance to God. And God will help us overcome and He will teach us the truth that will make us free (see John 8:31-32). Sometimes, it can be a lengthy process of time, but once we repented we can observe the progress forward as we continue to actively trust God to deliver us completely and as we cooperate with Him in faith on the journey of recovery. Now we don’t need to fear losing our salvation each time we miss the mark. We are in a relationship with God and He has become our Father. The Blood of Jesus is our hope, not our self-righteousness. God is merciful and under grace, it is understood that there will be a process of change and growth. Grace is all about a work of the heart. Thus, we are made right with God by faith in Jesus’ Blood. Only the Blood of Jesus is acceptable payment for our sins. Nothing else will be accepted. We are made righteous through faith in His Blood. Period. God is a God of the heart. What He is after is our heart. When our heart is right: i.e. we are repentant and our faith is in Him, and as a fruit of such faith and repentance we seek to live in obedience to Him out of love for Him because of what He has done for us, then all is well. Salvation is a free gift and the grace of God is undeserved. The grace of God is also the power of God to live holy (see Romans 6:14). Mark DeJesus made some excellent videos on repentance. I strongly encourage you to watch the four of them (part 1 to 4). You can find them below. They will be a great source of enlightenment and encouragement to you on this important topic of repentance. I pray this helps. What is repentance? Part 1: ua-cam.com/video/WInjpw4ccLA/v-deo.html What is repentance? Part 2: ua-cam.com/video/1FGtUvuOk9g/v-deo.html What is repentance? Part 3: ua-cam.com/video/b-PH_htZ1h0/v-deo.html What is repentance? Part 4: ua-cam.com/video/Cx_0KZcPS20/v-deo.html
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 so intrusive unwanted blasphemous thoughts about calling god jesus and the holy spirit of bad/evil/devil demon monster stuff isnt actually the unpardonable sin? It's just nasty thoughts from lack of strong faith? So its a devil attack? Because I hate these thoughts
Dear @alex perry, concerning your question about your confessing and telling Jesus that you had a bad thought about someone and that you will not speak against them like that anymore, etc. It is important to understand that it is the devil who is legalistic, not God. God is a God of the heart. We are also called to test the spirits to see if they are of God (see 1 John 4:1). Not all spirits are from God. Of course, even if we were to genuinely find out they are not of God, we shouldn't start to go around disrespectfully and say all kinds of manner of bad words against the person, but we can pray for them and trust God to deal with the situation and the deception. It doesn’t mean that we can never say a word of caution to someone, but we can do that gracefully and we can ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom. He will show us what we need to do and how and when. If you haven’t watched my video on overcoming the fear of the unpardonable sin yet, I also encourage you to watch it, it has further answers in it. Even the archangel Michael didn't dare to condemn satan for slander but said "the Lord rebuke you!" (See Jude 1:9) Sometimes, a preacher can be totally from God, but it doesn't mean that everything they say is always 100% right on. So if at times something they say don't agree with our spirit and we can clearly see by the Spirit of God and by the Word of God it doesn't align in that instance, we are simply to reject what they said there and receive the rest they say which is good. And so in terms of your fear of having confessed to Jesus words you spoke for which you are repentant of and of which you agree of them being wrong, your purpose was confession. You were seeking forgiveness and cleansing. Your intent wasn’t to slander the person. What God is interested in is the heart and the true intent of what we speak. He is not after our eloquence of speech or in the words in and of themselves which are, in a way, the mere shell of what we intended to say with our heart. Of course, sometimes we say things we didn’t mean to say or sometimes we may literally say wrong things and we need to repent. And so we do. But you do not need to fret these things which you mentioned as God is a God of the heart. He sees the intent with which you prayed to Him and confessed to Him. The devil seeks to accuse us with every little thing. He also loves to twist things and he can even use the Word of God to try to condemn us or to cause us to give in to his lies. See for example how he tempted Jesus in the wilderness: using God’s Word! (see Luke chapter 4). The devil can also come and twist something we said and try to make it sound like something we never meant or intended it to say in the first place. He comes with fear and with accusations. With God’s help, stand your ground in faith and stand on the soundness of God’s word. This too shall pass as you rely on God, on His counsel and as you learn the truth of God’s Word and as you stand on the truth of His Word and apply it to your situation. I encourage you to experience your relationship with God from your heart. I also encourage you to read the following blog I wrote. www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/god-wants-your-heart I believe my response here might generally apply to the remaining questions you have asked me until now. However, please let me know if you don’t think so. I pray it will help you. You take care
This is so hard. I need God’s touch. It’s hard with OCD, Anxiety disorder, and Autism. It’s hard for me to ever feel peace but I just want to feel love
Hello dear one, how I understand. I want to encourage you that you can experience peace and you can know and believe in the love that God has for you. It may not happen overnight, but little by little, you will get better. God is definitely willing to help you through this journey and He will as you continue to trust Him. He loves you beyond your comprehension and He will see you through as you keep your eyes on Him.
I encourage you to seek God and to ask Him what the root cause(s) of your anxiety(ies) is (are). Then, you can deal with the corresponding troubling belief with His help. Whatever lie or deception is in there, at the root, it needs to be exposed, pulled down and replaced with the truth of God’s Word. Anxiety many times is caused by not knowing the end result of the dilemma at hand, or by being double-minded about something. It is important to deal with the root cause of our anxiety. Then, once we know the truth based on God’s Word, we then can choose to believe that truth and peace will either immediately or ultimately come as we surrender to that truth more and more. In those situations, we have three options which are: we believe the truth once we receive revelation of that truth and we experience the resulting peace, or we choose to remain double-minded about the dilemma, not committing to either side, and remain in anxiety, or we can believe the bad report and become depressed and downcast. God will help you uncover the root of your anxieties, then He will guide you into all the truth as you continue to acknowledge Him in faith and He will help you choose the truth and experience His peace. It is not an easy process to go through, but with God’s help, little by little, we can do it as we become more and more convinced of the truth with God’s help. :)
In terms of the struggle with religious OCD, I encourage you to study on Law versus Grace. Two very good books that I encourage you to read are: By Grace Alone, written by Derek Prince and God is not mad at you, written by Joyce. I also encourage you to google for relevant Bible verses and do Bible Studies on how that we are saved by grace through faith and not by our own effort. It is of utmost importance to understand that God will never receive nor accept any self-effort at earning our salvation or at earning our right-standing with God. Our only hope to be saved from our sins is to run to Christ for mercy and grace. From there, we are given the gift of righteousness, we are empowered to live holy and we are changed from glory to glory. It will be essential for you to study and learn more about who you are in Christ, on the love of God, on being saved by grace through faith and not by works. Then you can meditate on these Scriptures, allowing the Word to do in you what you cannot do with any amount of effort or reasoning.
In terms of the desire to feel God’s love. 1 John 4:16 NKJV says, “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” God can definitely at times literally cause us to feel His love. However, a lot of the time, it is simply that we know He loves us based on the truth of His Word. By faith, we know and believe in the love of God. We receive His love by faith based on His finished work at the cross and based on the truth of His Word. As we allow ourselves to receive and to abide in that love, we can enjoy that love more and more.
I hope this helps you. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have more questions. God bless you precious one on your journey to recovery.
Wow, you really even replied to me. That’s such an honour. You are so much higher than me and I’m such a mess right now. Your words honestly Give me a lot of help. I hope you don’t mind if I do call on you for a question or two every once in a while. Thank you so much
You are very welcome. LOL, if you only knew (God uses the weak and the foolish things of this world to confound the wise ;)) Be encouraged, God will take your mess and transform it into a message. I don't mind at all; please do not hesitate to ask me your questions. You take care, God bless.
Hey, I think I’m starting to really filter this through my mind and it seems to be affecting me positively. I do have two questions though, if you have the time. First of all, what do you recommend I do to change my view of God. Anxiety always makes me see God as distant and angry and I know he is not like that(kinda)but it’s hard to Change that. Also, what about the verses that say “faith without works, is dead”, and “we will be judged by our works”? I Am not sure how to take this. Thank you. God bless you.
Hi! It is great to hear from you. So glad to hear you are beginning to experience positive change. My reply is so long (lol), I need to send it in two separate replies. Here is my answer to your first question. I will respond to your second question in a second reply.
Answer to Question #1: I understand. The good news is that we cannot change any of that (the anxiety that we may feel) in our own strength, but by the Word of God and by dependence upon the Spirit of God. I encourage you to make sure that through it all, you constantly ask Him to help you and to see you through. During most of my recovery from legalism, I experienced anxiety. This actually caused me to learn to walk by faith, and not by my feelings. I trusted that my feelings would eventually catch-up, which they always do as our mind is renewed from glory to glory with the truth. As you renew your belief system and your mind with the truth and as you apply that truth to your life, anxiety will eventually go and be replaced with the peace of God. It is the truth of God’s Word that makes us free (See John 8:31-32). Once we come to God in truth about our sins, our struggles with legalism and religious OCD, and repent of them all and ask Him to forgive us and to restore us, we are forgiven. From there, God begins a work of deliverance, restoration and healing in us as we trust Him to do it. Anxiety is an integral part of religious OCD and legalism. That means, it may not leave right away. But because we gave God our sins and our struggles and asked Him to forgive us and to help us overcome, He forgave us immediately. Repentance doesn’t mean all anxiety is gone the moment we repented. Now, a renewal needs to take place which takes time as all the lies and deceptions that come with legalism need to be exposed and pull down one by one and replaced with the truth. This takes time. However, as we persist, peace will sooner or later be our portion. All the while, we are forgiven. Throughout my own journey, this is really when I learned to walk by faith and not by sight (and therefore, not by feelings). There were times when everything in me would cry out: God has condemned you! He has rejected you! He has spoken woe on your life! During those times, I would take this Scripture: “Against hope believed in hope (see Romans 4:18 KJV).” God being against me (which He wasn’t, but fear would try to make me believe that He was) for sure met the requirement of “against hope believed in hope.” I would also remind myself that He is the hope to the hopeless, which meant that He would be the solution to rid me of all of my fears even if those fears concerned Him. In fact, the Bible says that God is able to deliver us from all of our fears, not just a few but all (See Psalm 34:4). The thought of His nature, His great love for us, and that He is a savior at heart also helped disarm some of the fearful thoughts I was experiencing. Because God was to be my helper, I began seeking Him. I was in so much inner turmoil that I asked Him to deliver me from those thoughts and from my fears. I also know how guilt and condemnation are very strong temptations. The devil is a liar! I urge you not to shrink from God due to any feelings of condemnation, fear and anxiety. Instead, come to Him and pray anyway. God is for you, He is not against you (See Romans 8:31) and He is your only hope. The devil would love to keep you away from God due to anxiety. But the devil is a defeated foe. God is the only one who can rescue you from that demonic oppression. Remember that condemnation is not from God, but it is from the devil; for he is the one who accuses the brethren before the throne of God day and night (See Revelation 12:10). Because our new way of living as people who are in Christ, is by faith and by reliance on Him, it follows that God will never require us to stop our anxiety in our own strength. Not only does He not require it, this is the very thing that would displease Him: were we to try to stop anything apart from His help. Therefore, it follows that He is pleased when we come to Him just as we are, coming into His arms with anxiety and all, and depend on Him to deliver us from it all. Little by little, He works it all out as we continue to trust Him and to do what He shows us to do (partnering with Him in the recovery process) and as we study His Word in the areas of need so that our mind can be renewed with the truth. Romans 8:33-34 NKJV says: “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”
With regards to your view of God. Remember for instance, among other beautiful truths about His nature, that He is the ultimate Father. Surely, no Father on earth can be a better father than Father God Himself. And we know that there are fabulous fathers on the earth. Well, if the Bible says that God is love, that He is Holy, that He is perfect and that in Him there is no shadow of turning, it follows that there are no other beings in the whole universe as winsome as our Father God. No one will ever come close to the goodness and perfection of our Father God. He is the ultimate daddy. Legalism twists our view of God and steals the Father/child relationship and reduce it to a judge/slave relationship. A.W. Tozer said, “Nothing twists and deforms the soul more than a low or unworthy conception of God.” And “our notion of God must always determine the quality of our religion.” I encourage you to study anointed Christian books that properly describe God’s nature. Joyce Meyer has sound teaching and I encourage you to read her material and to watch her on TV. I also encourage you to find (you can google for them) Bible verses on the nature of God, the goodness of God, the love of God, etc, and read them over and over again as to allow them to sink into your heart over time until they become a reality to you. All the while ask God to reveal to you what is the proper view of Himself. And continually depend on the Holy Spirit to work a work of restoration in you and to help you see God properly-through the lenses of the Gospel of Christ.
@@chanceweslowski7792
As soon as I started watching peace filled my heart, that was the Holy Spirit talking to me through you, I also ask this question “what was wrong with me?” Now I understand what is my problem, I also struggle with blasphemous thoughts about the Holy Spirit, and this broke my heart and soul thinking I was going to hell, but then I found out it was something many Christians go through!
God bless you! Thank you! I know now what I have to attack and examine my self!
Ive been struggling about this too. First i have anxieties cause of overthingking. And its making me afraid everyday. It longs for weeks. And it become intrusive thoughts and became scrupulusity
Dear @Yna Uei, overthinking and reasoning are dangerous things to do. When we do that, we open a door to the enemy. The battlefield is in the mind. If we try to fight in our own wisdom and our own reasoning against the enemy, we will lose. The only way we can win the battle raging in our minds is by using God’s Word like Jesus did against the tricks of the enemy when tempted by the devil in the wilderness (see Luke chapter 4). We also overcome through faith and through prayer, depending on the Holy Spirit. We cannot afford to reason with the devil. Our part is to believe God and place our hope in His Word. The way to win in this spiritual war is also to learn how to wear and use our whole armor, the armor which God supplies (see Ephesians 6:11-17). We are not called to overthink or reason things out dear one, but to pray to God for answers (see Phil. 4:6-7), cast our cares on Him (see 1 Peter 5:6-7) and prayerfully search the Word of God for answers (see Psalm 119:114), constantly in dependence upon the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit guides us and leads us into all the truth when we depend on Him and trust Him for it (see John 16:13). Trying to reason things out leads to anxiety. Instead, the Bible instructs us to be anxious for nothing, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7 NIV)
The way I came out of the place of overthinking and of trying to figure my way out was through becoming aware of and applying Isaiah 26:3 NKJV, ”You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” I came to the place where the more I tried to figure my way out, the more anxiety I felt. This is when I realized that I could no longer afford to try to think my way out, and that my only hope was going to have to be the Lord. This is when I started to fix my mind on Him, on purpose, harnessing my thoughts, on purpose. I started to place my trust in Him for Him to deliver me. I learned to stop allowing my mind to wander, and instead I focused on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith (see Hebrews 12:2). He was going to be the One to set me free. The only place I allowed my mind to go was in selected Bible verses and in prayer. I read many Christian books too on relevant topics as to keep my mind occupied on what could really help me and of course with the purpose of learning the truth that would bring freedom in my life: John 8:31-32 (NKJV), “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”” I stopped trying to reason my way out. As I learned to humble myself and cast my cares on God; as I learned to trust Him to deliver me from legalism and from the resulting fears, anxieties and obsessions, He did, not all at once, but little by little. It is very important for you to have the revelation that the real root issue in your life is legalism empowered by witchcraft. Scrupulosity really is pure legalism. I like the definition the online dictionary gives of legalism, “dependence on moral law rather than on personal religious faith.” Our faith is to be in Jesus’s finished work at the cross. Jesus paid the price for our sins. Jesus is our righteousness. It is a new covenant we are under now, the covenant of grace. It is a righteousness that is prescribed by faith. So, if you repented of your sins and placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you are righteous. The Bible says in Romans 6:14 that sin shall no longer have dominion over us because we are no longer under law but under grace. So grace is both the undeserved favor of God and the power of God to live holy. Grace is your answer. Mercy is undeserved. It wouldn't be mercy if mercy was deserved. The apostle Paul said in Galatians 3:10-14 essentially that those who try to live by and be justified by law (for instance, dos and don’t’s) are cursed, for cursed is the one who does not continue in all points to do what is written and prescribed by the law. But the law, he said, requires no faith. However, the new covenant is a covenant of faith. We are justified by faith (see Romans 5:1). Jesus is the end of the law as a means of righteousness to them that believe, the Bible says (see Romans 10:4). You can picture the law as what drives you to have to be perfect, all the time for fear that you will end up in hell if you are not perfect. So under the law, we fear sin and become obsessed with sin, because sin is a threat to our salvation. We never know if or when we have done enough. Under the law, one tries to earn their salvation and God’s acceptance through their own self-effort and self-righteousness. We can’t make it that way. Our only hope is Jesus and His finished work at the cross and to rely on His work at the cross. Through His work, we have been made new, we have been regenerated. We have been given the gift of righteousness and we have been made righteous in Christ. And from the position of being accepted through Christ, we begin to live righteously, but the moment we try to live righteous under the commands of law, it renders us powerless to live righteously. Under grace, there is also mercy available to us as we grow and learn in Christ. Under grace, God is our Father, under law, God comes across to us as a hard task master and stern judge who excuses nothing.
You need to know your real enemy, otherwise you will be fighting the wrong thing. For instance, if all you attack is the unwanted thoughts, fears and obsessions, you are really only dealing with the surface. Legalism is the root cause of scrupulosity. And witchcraft spirits are at the source of it. They use legalism to control, rule and manipulate you in fear. That’s what you must deal with, with God’s help. I strongly encourage you to ask God to expose legalism in your life, and ask Him to forgive you of it, then receive His forgiveness, and ask Him to purge your life from it. From there, you will partner with God on your recovery journey from legalism. It will be a journey, allow for a process of change. Repentance doesn’t mean perfection, it simply means that we turn around with God’s help and begin to walk in the opposite direction from glory to glory with God’s help. All the while, we are forgiven and accepted in the Beloved (i.e. in Christ).
Below is a link leading to blogs I wrote on the topic. I encourage you to read them all, starting from the first one. I encourage you to scroll all the way down to the first published blog and work your way up. I also encourage you to watch my other UA-cam videos. You can find them on that same website, or on my UA-cam channel. Please let me know if you have any questions concerning what I wrote to you in this UA-cam message/response.
www.paulandkathleenministries.org/blog
Take courage, God is willing and able to deliver you completely from legalism. Please let me know if you can’t see the link to my blogs above, sometimes people can’t see this link when I insert it as part of my UA-cam response. God bless you as you walk in dependence upon the Holy Spirit toward fullness of recovery from legalism.
You have explained this type of ocd so well. So many people suffer from this without even knowing it. Thank you. Keep posting if it is lead by the Holy Spirit.
Thank you so much Clara! God is so good and He is so faithful. God bless!
Everything your describing is absolutely identical to what I battle . The blasphemous thoughts fear of the unpardonable sin the anxiety attacks fear of God leaving me and not forgiving me I suffer horribly
Dear @Spiritof lifeministry6369ky, be encouraged that God is willing and able to deliver you completely. It may not happen overnight, but little by little, you will get well as you partner with God on the recovery journey. Is your main struggle the fear of the unpardonable sin or is it also everything else I described in the video? If it is everything I shared in the video, then the following should be helpful to you: God showed me that the root cause of my problem was legalism and behind it was witchcraft. Knowing the root cause of our fears is essential to getting permanently well. Otherwise, we only attack the fruit while the root system gets untouched. As we deal with the root of our problem, the fruit (such as fear and anxiety) will eventually leave. I encourage you to seek God concerning legalism. Ask Him to expose any legalism in your life. Ask God to forgive you of it and receive His forgiveness. Then ask Him to purge your life from every trace, shape and form of legalism. From there, you will enter a journey of recovery from legalism with God on your side, delivering you, helping you, guiding you and counseling you to wholeness one step at a time. Studying the Word of God in the areas where you experience fear and confusion is essential to getting free. The Bible says in John 8:31-32 that if we abide in God's Word and the Word abides in us, we shall know the truth and the truth shall make us free. It is very important that you meditate on Bible verses regularly on salvation by grace through faith, grace vs. law, the love of God, about your identity in Christ, on the finished work of the cross, on being justified by faith and on godly humility and surrender to God. Google is a great tool to find Bible verses on specific topics. For instance, you can google for "Bible verses on being justified by faith". Etc. Ask God to lead you to Bible verses that will give you the revelations that you need in the areas where you have a need. Then study them. Meditate on them. Yield to the truth that you are learning and apply it to your own life. Let them renew your belief system. Let them replace the lies you have been believing.
Also, I encourage you to watch my other UA-cam videos. You can find them all on my channel; just look for my name "Kathleen Kaczmarek" on UA-cam. I believe you should find 11 videos in total. One of them is also specifically on the fear of the unpardonable sin. I also encourage you to read my blogs. You can find them on my website: paulandkathleenministries.org under "my blog". I encourage you to start reading from the first one I published which you will find at the very bottom of the page and you can work your way up.
Lastly, I encourage you to prayerfully consider buying any, or all, of the following books which you can find on Amazon:
1- By Grace Alone: Finding freedom and purging legalism from your life, written by Derek Prince,
2- God is not mad at you, written by Joyce Meyer, and,
3- The Law of Redemption: What must one do to go to heaven? Written by me.
As you fill your mind with the truth, you will begin to experience healing, little by little as one lie gets pull down and replaced with the truth, then another lie, then another... Make sure to lean on God throughout the entire journey of recovery, actively trusting Him to set you free and placing your hope in His Word. Be encouraged dear one, this too shall pass with God's mighty help.
God bless!
Kathleen Kaczmarek
Ty for your reply ..
When you speak of legalism I’m assuming you mean like wearing makeup jewelry etc am I correct ?
@@Spiritoflifeministryky When I am referring to legalism, I am referring to any law that one believes they have to comply with in order to earn their salvation and God’s approval and acceptance. It can be makeup and jewelry yes, but so much more. For instance, for me, I had reverted back to trying to earn my salvation through my own self-righteousness and perfect performance. So I never knew if I was good enough, or if I had done enough to meet the moral laws (as a means of righteousness) that were ever before me, which caused me to fear the sins that represented a threat to my being able to make it in. I like this definition found on the online dictionary: Legalism: “Dependence on moral law rather than on personal religious faith.” So I was no longer trusting in and relying on the finished work of the cross for my salvation, i.e. I was no longer relying on God’s grace through faith in Christ to make me right with God, but I was relying on my own ability to comply with moral and religious laws to make it in. On the other hand, grace is both the unmerited favor of God AND the power of God to live holy. Grace teaches us to say ‘no’ to ungodliness (see Titus 2:11-12). The Law has no power to change our human nature. Grace, on the other hand, does. Legalism is very subtle because it appears pious. It is also very deceptive. Legalism is another gospel, not that there is another gospel. Legalism appeals to human pride because if we can earn it, we can boast about it. I hope this helps clarify. Take care.
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 what if you have blasphemous thoughts saying horrible evil things about the spirit and the lord? And feeling condemned?
Dear @@LBrooks_037, I believe you later watched my video entitled, “Overcoming the fear of the unpardonable sin”. In it, you probably received the answer to your question. I also encourage you to read a blog I wrote on this same topic. You can find it here:
www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/overcoming-the-fear-of-the-unpardonable-sin-1
I pray this helps.
This was incredibly helpful in something it seems that I've struggled with daily. Thank you and God bless.
I am so glad to hear it was helpful. God is So good! God bless you too. :)
I wonder how the religions themselves take no blame for some of the OCD they are actually causing.
Every religion preaches purity-n submission- devotion-ignoring of your own critical thinking- buying into " the Book as the one and only word of god" - being perfect for god- being alike some holy creature like muhamed jesus or another saint and not being yourself- under constant observance of this higher power- sex is possibly smthg that will get you into hell- need i say more?
Mic Sondorp sex itself isn’t bad in the Bible, you can use good things to destroy yourself
Wow, you are right, i have religious Ocd and i've been trying to please God all the time by the Law like you say, with my own strength and it's exhausting and makes worse my Ocd
Dear @christian davila,
It is important for you not to see legalism and religious OCD as independent. On the contrary, legalism (empowered by witchcraft) is at the root. Religious OCD is just a term given to the fruits that stem from witchcraft and legalism in one's life. Begin to address legalism and you will begin to see real changes in your situation. I pray this really helps you see. When we fight the thoughts and don't attack their root, we are not making any real progress. But when the root cause is exposed (legalism empowered by witchcraft) and that we begin to renew our minds and belief systems in this area with the truth of the Word of God mixed with faith, then we really begin to make real lasting progress.
I encourage you to prayerfully consider buying and reading the following three books:
The Law of Redemption: What Must One Do to Go to heaven? Written by me
By Grace Alone: Finding Freedom and Purging Legalism from You Life, written by Derek Prince
God is Not Mad at You, written by Joyce Meyer
Be encouraged, now that the Lord is revealing to you that legalism is a problem in your life, it is a major step forward. Believe God to purge your life from it and see His mighty work of deliverance in your life. Lastly, do not own legalism (religious OCD). This too shall pass with God's help. See yourself through His Blood. "It is finished." Take care.
Thank you so much for this video. I feel like I am struggling from religious ocd. I think sometimes maybe God won't forgive me because I am not sorry enough. I am afraid he will say to me you only repented for the fear of hell. I feel like I am in battle with my mind. I want so desperately to have a good relationship with God and Jesus. I was baptized by water submerging and was so proud to say I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior! Now I am having bad thoughts about Jesus. I just want his forgiveness. I wish he would show me the root of my problem.
Dear @Michele Hankins, I just want to let you know that I have seen your message and am hoping to respond by end of day today. God bless
Hi @Michele Hankins,
Concerning the first part of your message and I quote “I feel like I am struggling from religious ocd. I think sometimes maybe God won't forgive me because I am not sorry enough.”
I understand. This is something I have had to deal with myself too. The way to deal with any fear like this is through asking God to set us free and to prayerfully search for the biblical truth that will make us free. The Bible says in John 8:31-32 that if we abide in His Word and His Word abides in us, we shall know the truth and the truth shall make us free. Therefore, entrust God with all your struggles in faith, trusting Him to deliver you from all of your fears (see Psalm 34:4), and place your hope in His Word (see Psalm 119:81). So in this case, I encourage you to ask the Lord to lead you to Bible verses that will really disarm the fear through receiving revelation of the truth. We fight using the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. When these kinds of fear and thoughts come, you rise up using the Bible verses that you learn in this area and you stand on the truth of that Word and with it, resist the fear and the lies. You can quote back the Bible verses out loud (or under your breath if you are amongst people) against the unwanted thoughts all with God’s help, relying and depending on the Holy Spirit while on the “battle field” and while off the battle field. Basically, in all places, you take refuge in God and in His love.
Secondly, when you repent, simply make sure to come to God with your heart. When we connect with God with our heart, than we know that He hears us (see 1 John 5:15). Come in honesty. Don’t try to put on a religious façade of contriteness and feelings if they are simply not there. If you believe you need some contriteness, simply ask Him for it. But whether you have feelings or not, by His grace, do not allow yourself to fall under condemnation because of it. Come in truth. Truth in the inner man is what God is really looking for. So you come as you are with a truthful heart. Whatever you have, that and only that do you bring before God. In truth you confess your sin to God connecting with God with your heart. Legalism and condemnation cause us to feel like we don’t have enough feelings when we “should” or we have feelings when we “shouldn’t”. We can never win under the law. God enables us to come truthfully to Him through His grace and by faith. Therefore wear the belt of truth; only presenting yourself to God in truth as you are and stand on the promises of God’s Word. That He will receive. But if we come with religious cliché and façade to try to comply with what we believe are religious expectations; that He is not pleased with. Repent from your heart, i.e. with a sincere willingness to turn around and with a hear and mind that agrees with God concerning the sin (with or without major feelings following). Just come in truth before God. We are no longer under law where we need to comply with religious rules and regulations. We are under grace where we are empowered to truly live out the righteousness that God first worked in us through our faith in Christ and Christ living in us.
Now, according to the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition, repentance involves the change of one’s mind for the better, heartily amending one’s ways, with abhorrence of his past sins (See Mark 1:4 AMPC; Luke 5:32 AMPC; Luke 15:7 AMPC). It is a place where we agree with God and His Word concerning sin. It means turning away from, walking in the opposite direction. When we have a change of mind and a change of heart, our natural response will be to turn from it, and, by depending on God’s grace and applying God’s Word, begin to walk in the opposite direction. Repentance consists of the change of one’s heart and attitude toward God and toward sin. So whether you have a lot of feelings or a little, when you repent of your sins, it is first and foremost the agreeing with God concerning the sin and the choice, desire and willingness to turn around and begin walking in the opposite direction with God’s help and by His grace. Repentance doesn’t mean legalistic perfection. It is a heart change and choice to cooperate with God toward fullness of freedom in that area. So come to God with a sincere heart in truth being true to Him and to yourself, without putting on religious performance that don’t truly reflect your heart. Confess it to God having a repentant heart (i.e. agreeing with God concerning the sin and having the willingness and intention with God’s help to turn around) and receive your forgiveness. The receiving part is very important. Sometimes we confess but we don’t proceed with receiving it based on the promises found in God’s Word. Receive your forgiveness on the basis of the following Scriptures:
1 John 1:9 NKJV: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. NKJV
1 John 5:15 NKJV: And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
Concerning the second part of your message and I quote: “I am afraid he will say to me you only repented for the fear of hell. I feel like I am in battle with my mind. I want so desperately to have a good relationship with God and Jesus. I was baptized by water submerging and was so proud to say I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior! Now I am having bad thoughts about Jesus. I just want his forgiveness. I wish he would show me the root of my problem.”
The root of your problem definitely sounds like legalism my dear, just like it was mine. But of course, seek Him. The way out is to bring it to God for Him to set you free and to cooperate with Him by studying the Word on the sound doctrine of being saved by grace through faith, on law versus grace, righteousness that is of faith, on the love of God, about your identity in Christ and on godly humility and surrender to God from the heart. It takes time to recover from legalism. God brought me a long way, and I consider that I am free and forgiven from it because I know the truth, but I still find myself to this day needing to recover in some respects of it if that makes sense. I need to go from faith to faith. Of course I am not where I used to be, but to this day, I have to be careful and I have to be sober and vigilant. It has been a weakness for me, though I have also come a long way in different respects too. I love what Joyce Meyer says “I am not where I need to be, but thank God I am not where I used to be. I am okay and I am on my way.” I still need to read and study on this topic regularly to help me and to strengthen the truths the Lord taught me. But I thank Him I am continuing to move forward and that He is completing in me what He started.
One of the things God spoke to me through someone on the other side of a prayer line at the beginning of my recovery from legalism is “Remember that you won’t come out the way you came in”. We come into legalism through trying in our own strength to be right with God and to be perfect and righteous and through relying on our own ability and self-righteousness. The way out is by God’s grace through faith and by cooperating with Him through faith on the journey and by placing our hope in His Word. The same way we were saved is the way we live: by grace through faith. That is the way of life of the Christian. The new covenant. The Gospel.
Lastly, I encourage you to prayerfully consider buying the following 3 books on Amazon:
- By Grace Alone: Finding Freedom and Purging your Life from Legalism, written by Derek Prince,
- God Is Not Mad at You, written by Joyce Meyer, and,
- The Law of Redemption: What Must One Do to Go to Heaven?, written by me.
I hope this helps.
God bless,
Kathleen
Ty I needed to hear this
Thank you so much! I am doing so much better! God bless you!
Sorry reply took so long but I was just notified that someone commented.
I have scrupulosity and nobody knows it. I really thought I lost God; like with these sexual blasphemous thoughts- of course God will abandon me. I thought I committed the unpardonable sin because of the bombardous thoughts (like what you said). But I hope God hasn't abandoned me. I really hope I'll get out of my scrupulosity completely because it is such mental torture. Thank you for the video; it really helped :)
You're not alone. God knew all of this before He saved you, He's there for you. I know what you're going through I've been there. From my experience the harder you fight the thoughts the more they come. Once I stopped fighting them and let the thoughts be, they stopped coming as frequently
Hello Claudia, you can rest assured that God hasn't abandoned you--far from it dear. He is a very present help in times of trouble the Bible says. I am very glad that the video helped. I encourage you to also watch the others, I believe they will also be helpful to you. I understand what you are going through. I too felt it was pure torture. You can rest assured that God is willing and able to deliver you completely. Go to Him and ask Him to deliver you from every trace, shape and form of legalism (scrupulosity). He will. Tell Him that you renounce it completely and ask Him to reveal revelation knowledge to you that will bring freedom in your life as per John 8:31-32. I also encourage you to study the Word of God in the areas of need, like on being justified by grace through faith, about your identity in Christ, the love of God, His nature, and on godly humility and surrender to God. And I agree with Larissa, i.e. what we feed gets magnified and what we starve eventually dies. Therefore, cast the thoughts on God, and dwell on the truth on who you are in Christ. The less you feed the thoughts with worry and the less you try to stop them in your own strength, the more they will lose power over you. Romans 6:14 says that sin shall not have dominion over us because we are not under law, but under grace. Therefore, make sure to deal with the thoughts and with scrupulosity under grace where you repent and receive your forgiveness and where you trust God to deliver you. On the other hand, when under the law, the things we don't want to do we do and the things we want to do we don't do (see Romans chapter 7). The law (for instance, "these thoughts must not cross my mind or I will be condemned") is the strength of sin (see 1 Cor 15:56). The grace of God on the other hand, will empower you to break free from the thoughts over time. Essentially under grace, you stop trying to stop the thoughts in your own strength and instead you place your trust in God and rest in Him for Him to deliver you. All the while there is no condemnation for you who are in Christ because you are repentant and because your faith is in Him to deliver you. There, you also meditate on the truth of God's Word to renew your mind from glory to glory. So under grace, you are no longer trying in your own strength, but you rest in God through faith, trusting that as long as you are believing, He is working. And there you also place your hope in God's Word for the Word to do in you what only the Word can do in you. :) God bless
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 thank you !! I agree; I'll continue to check out the rest of your videos, really appreciate you taking the time off to reply me :)
@@larissahill2755 I agree completely! The more I try to stop them the more they come ! I'm just gonna stop trying. What you said about how God knows that would have happened comforted me, because He has shown me so much grace prior to my scrupulsoity despite knowing my thoughts were going to come anyway
You are welcome @Claudia :). God bless
I am 58 - this is happening to me now! I have had OCD since I was a child and born and raised Catholic. I am a born again Christian, but the guilt I experience for leaving Catholicism is enormous and constant in my OCD thoughts!
Dear @Sheila Dyck, first I want to say ‘praise God!’ that you became born again! Alleluia!
Just so I can better understand and add to this response if necessary, do you experience guilt before God or before man? I just want to understand the source of your guilt. Do you struggle with guilt feelings because you are fighting thoughts that God is perhaps displeased with your leaving the catholic church or do you struggle with guilt because you fear that maybe men (perhaps family members) are condemning you for it?
I encourage you to do an in-depth Bible study on Bible verses that reveal that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ. So Bible verses that reveal that we are justified by faith (not by religious rituals, man-made traditions, buildings or institutions). Google is a great tool for finding Bible verses on topics of study. As you find and study Bible verses relevant to your needs, and as you learn that the righteousness which God prescribes is of faith (and not of dead fleshly works), and as you continue to meditate on this truth, you will begin to experience peace as you lean on, choose, believe and submit to the truth of God’s Word that makes you free (see John 8:31-32).
I also encourage you to consider that OCD is the fruit of a root. Therefore, as you continue to deal with the root cause of your fears, what is called OCD will begin to dissipate little by little as your mind is renewed with the truth of God’s Word. Therefore, I encourage you not to overly concern yourself with the thoughts, but instead to cast them on God in prayer (see 1 Peter 5:6-7) and to begin to spend quality time in studying the Word of God (asking the Holy Spirit to open your understanding and to counsel you and to renew your mind as you study God’s Word), in the areas of need such as studying on who you are in Christ, on God’s love, His nature, God’s new covenant of grace, justification by faith, godly humility and loving submission to Christ. As you persist in doing that, you will begin to experience peace of mind as you learn, choose, believe, apply and yield to the truth of God’s Word that you study and learn on a consistent basis. :)
Romans 5:1 AMPC: Therefore, since we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions.
God bless!
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 truthfully Kathleen, I believe my guilt is with both man AND God! I come from a pretty dysfunctional upbringing, with w alcoholic parents and being an only child I have never felt like I could do ANYTHING right in my parents' eyes, thus - the guilt. My parents are both dead now, as are most of my Catholic family, and I didn't leave Catholicism until they had all passed away. However, that good old "Catholic guilt," has never helped my situation either. I was sexually molested at the ages of 4 and 5 by a neighbor and also mentally abused by a Nun in Catholic School. I've come a long way - but your words and encouragement have helped me immensely!! Thank you so much for your caring reply!
You are very welcome, @Sheila Dyck. He who began a good work in you will also complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (see Phil. 1:6). :) God bless!
God led me to a movie called “ The perfect stranger “. and a book by Bob Lenz called “Grace for those who “Think” they don’t measure up”
I really like the title "Grace for those who 'think' they don't measure up". I have never seen "The perfect stranger". Thanks for sharing!
God bless you spiritually, mentally, and physically in the name of Jesus amen!
Maybe this can help. Pray Psambs 91 visualizing are lord jesus dieing on the cross for are sins. Trust that's issue here well it was with me. I know l am going through it. Put your eyes on god.
Thank you so much for posting this. I asked God what was behind my OCD, and I did hear a very quiet response telling me witchcraft, so this is confirmation for me!
I don't know I'm suffering this or not but each bible verse sometime convict me like I'm a false teacher because still fall in the same sin , I'm a wicked person and so on.. this very depressing.. Any thought about this? I feel I'm failed as Christ follower
Hello @Martin sandy, I am not sure if I understand your concern fully. I think what you are saying is that you have been struggling with a sin, which you don’t want to, but you keep giving into it, and you feel like you are a failed Christian because of your struggle to resist the sin. And I think you are saying that because of that, many Bible verses cause you to feel like a false teacher and a wicked person because of your struggle with this same sin. So I will answer in those lines, however please feel free to correct me if I misunderstood you.
Forgiven:
Jesus said in Matthew chapter 18 that if someone comes to us and ask us to forgive them, we are to forgive them 70 times 7. So essentially each time they ask for forgiveness, we are to forgive them. Jesus lives by what He preaches. This is good news my dear. The Bible also says in 1 John 1:9 that if we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Therefore, each time you come to God with a sincere heart and confess your sin to Him and ask Him to forgive you and ask Him to help you change, you are forgiven by God immediately. It doesn’t matter how many times you need to come to Him, the moment you ask Him to forgive you, He does. It is super important to receive His forgiveness because guilt and condemnation are wide open doors to the devil in our lives.
How to overcome a stronghold:
It is not uncommon for a Christian to struggle with a sin at some point in their lives. Oftentimes, the hindrance in overcoming the sin is because the Christian panics and out of fear starts to try to stop falling in the sin in their own strength out of guilt. However, guilt and condemnation not only has no power to help us overcome sin, but they tie us to the sin we are desperate to be free from. That’s why we must learn to deal with sin, not under law but under grace. The law cannot change our human nature, only grace can. As a matter of fact, the law arouses sin and strengthens sin the Bible says. Therefore, the way out is not through trying harder under guilt, but by receiving God’s forgiveness under grace through faith in Christ’ work at the cross and through lots of praying and depending on the Lord to set us free. And from that position of faith and expectancy in God (and what I am about to tell you is very important in helping us overcome any stronghold) to cooperate with God through studying the Word of God in the area where we are being greatly tempted and tried. So we have a part to do as well. The Lord spoke to me years ago and said, “Remember that you cannot overcome in your own strength but by the Word of God.” These words changed my life, literally, because they taught me how to overcome the sin I was struggling with: by the Word of God. From that day on, I stopped trying to figure my way out through my own self-effort and reasoning, and I began to google for Bible verses relevant to the area where I was struggling. The Word of God began to transform me within, little by little in this area. I also began using God’s Word each time I came under temptation. I would quote Bible verses against the lies or temptations of the enemy. The Word became my spiritual sword. The Word of God when received in meekness, the Bible says in the book of James, has the power to save our souls (and really it has the power to save us in every area of need). The aforementioned Scripture really encourages me that no matter the struggle, the Word is powerful enough to save me where I need saving; whether it be in my mind, my emotions, my soul, my spirit, my will, it doesn’t matter! The Word taken in meekness can and will save us where needed when mixed with faith. It may not happen overnight, but from glory to glory it will do its work in us if we persevere in taking it in.
Lastly, take for instance John Bevere. He is a wonderful teacher of God’s Word. He struggled with porn for years while a serious Christian. He is a minister of the Gospel! But God set him free. From what I remember of his testimony and if I am not mistaken, God’s Word was really key to renew his mind towards women so that he began to see them differently. Today, not only is he not tempted in this area, but he is repulsed by it. God and His Word changed him. It didn’t happen overnight, but it did happen.
Legalism?
Based on what you wrote to me, I wouldn’t necessarily say that you have full blown legalism in your life. The Lord however can show you. Just ask Him and He can reveal it to you. However, I would warn that legalism seems to be at the door so be careful. If you are trying to set yourself free in your own strength under guilt and condemnation and if you don’t allow yourself to receive God’s forgiveness, love and acceptance when you confess your sin, than these could become open doors to and even could be fruits of legalism. If unchecked and if not dealt with, legalism could gain full entrance in your life. So knock it down now. Do that by making sure to receive God’s forgiveness the moment you repent of your sin, and make sure to see yourself forgiven and righteous through repentance and through your faith in Christ. You can do that with God's help and through standing on God's promises found in His Word. With God's help, make sure not to allow your past sins to condemn you. Stand on God's Word. And do not try to earn your salvation in your own strength. That’s a no, no, and very dangerous. That would be a fruit of legalism. What is also very important to understand here is when it comes to strongholds, it is not as simple as repenting and never doing it again, because the point is, it has become a stronghold in your life. Therefore, realistically, you may not be able to guarantee you won’t do it again after you confessed it to God. So, when you come to God and confess your sin and repent, ask Him to change you, ask Him to help you not to do it again, and ask Him for revelation knowledge that will make you free (see John 8:31-32). A fruit for repentance is our putting our faith in Him to change us and our depending on Him to change us. Our faith in Him is what pleases Him, you see. So while God is working in your situation and while you are in repentance (i.e. you want to stop this sin, you are actively trusting Him to deliver you from the power of this sin in your life and you are cooperating with Him through studying God’s Word in this area) then your faith in Him is credited to you as righteousness. Stand on God’s promises, receive God’s forgiveness, and do not try to overcome sin in your own strength but through depending on the Holy Spirit and by the Word of God as mentioned above. Handle the struggle under grace and be transformed by the renewal of your mind with God’s Word from glory to glory. As you persevere, you will be made completely free from this sin.
―John 8:31-32 (NKJV)
I pray this helps,
Kathleen
Thank you so much. This video helped me so much. hugZzzzzz
I am glad, praise God!
I also agree that the enemy is definatly behind legalism.i didn't start of like that but slowly fell from gods grace and become estranged from Christ which means break in fellowship Paul told Galatians they.were foolish because the began by the holy spirit but we're caught in legalism or law
Dear Kimberly, I tried to reply to your comment, but somehow can't via UA-cam. Please let me know if I can reach you by some other means. Thanks! God bless.
Please pray for me. I'm suffering. Thank you
Dear @Candice Pep, I have prayed for you. Be encouraged, the Lord loves you perfectly, and He is willing and able to deliver you. Be encouraged.
Thank you.
So true confusing consume us.. Wen we try to think about Jesus for us. I understand i felt the same.. Praise God for real..
I keep having this fear i’m going to hell, since i was young, Or the feel i get left behind when the rapture happens and im not saved (especially cuz i heard and read only 144,000 people are sealed to be saved 😪). I always knew i liked girls since i was like 4 years old, didnt think too much of it that i was different until i got older and had a crush on a classmate for the first time in middle school. I would be crying at night and begging God to please dont leave me behind when the end comes, i wished i was a straight man so i could be a ok to like girls, or at least straight woman. I would beg and beg with this fear im damned to hell because i was different and i promised myself i will not get married or date anyone, i will die alone so i don’t sin with a woman and go to hell. I always believed in the God, after highschool i came out and decided to just let the fear go and be me. But i would still try to do the right things, always, out of fear. Only difference was i always saw my homosexuality as my biggest flaw, as if “almost perfect” except this one thing. I feel like being gay is the worst sin i could do, i guess cuz people always say it. I was ok for a couple of years, dated girls here and there but still believed in God and wanted to be a good person. Until now, i’ve been dating this girl for a year and shes different. Shes sweet, shes the first to reciprocate love, equal give and take, healthy relationship. I love her unconditionally like i havent before, and she forgives me and accepts me for who i am and it feels like im experiencing God’s love in human form. But i had relationship Ocd start, homosexuality ocd start, and now this. I broke up with her out of fear im going to hell for loving her. I have been crying the past 3 days begging God to not send me to hell, even though her and i are not together anymore. I still cant let go of the fear, being with her or not. I thought i would be relieved but i dont. I asked for a sign from God if its ok to be gay and practice christianity and it was a yes but i still feel scared. Its gotten worse since ive heard these are the last days and to repent and change! Im so emotionally tired 😪😪i have been praying and stumbled upon this and i cried with relief for couple of minutes and thanked God but im still scared to let myself be with her. My fear is so much bigger than my love 😪
Also, hearing peoples testimonies of hell and visiting it doesn’t help 😔 and how the bible says to obey the laws makes it sound like what u r saying is contradicting 😔 i still overthink and also have a fear of choosing the right religion also, since christianity has many types of churches and beliefs
Hi Maizy,
The good news is that the grace of God is both the unmerited favor of God and the power of God to live holy. Therefore, when we repent of our sins and place our faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done for us at the cross, we receive a new nature within us; the Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of us and we are changed. Then, we enter a journey in which God changes us from glory to glory. The Bible does say to repent from our sins and to turn to Christ and to make Him our Lord and Savior. From there, He helps us where we are weak. So in my video, what I am seeking to explain is that we don’t earn our salvation based on our self-righteousness and our good works. And I am seeking to explain that we can’t stop sinning in our own strength, but that we need the Spirit of God for that. Instead, we are saved by grace through faith. From there, we are empowered to live a holy life through Christ living in us. So when we are born again, we serve God because we are saved, not in order to get saved. When we are born again, we receive a new “want to”. Our new nature within hates sin and loves righteousness. I am not saying that we are never tempted because we still wear a robe of flesh. But something changes deep within us; we begin to want holiness not because we have to, but because we simply want to. So Christ in us empowers us. We literally become a new creation in Christ. We are given the gift of righteousness the Bible says. We are made righteous freely through faith in Jesus. Jesus came to save us from our sins (see Matt. 1:21). Romans 6:11 says to those of us who are in Christ to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. That is all made possible by the finished work of Christ at the cross. Therefore Jesus is your answer my dear.
We are required to repent from our sins. Repentance doesn’t mean perfect performance, but it does mean that we choose and are thus willing to turn around and to begin to walk in the opposite direction with God’s help. We cannot stop sinning in the flesh, in our own strength. That is why we need Jesus our Savior. Jesus came to set us free from the power of sin (see Romans 6:14). However, the law strengthens sin (see 1 Cor. 15:56). In Christ, we live in dependence upon the Spirit and no longer in dependence upon the letter (or the law). Jesus set us free from the law so that we can serve God in newness of life. We are now led by the Holy Spirit and He empowers us to live victoriously and He helps us resist temptation too. He can make us strong where we are weak and where we were once greatly tempted, He can completely change us so that we won’t even be tempted anymore. This may not happen overnight, but by His work of grace within us, it can happen if we continue to trust Him for it. His power can do it, but we can’t change ourselves and the law cannot change our human nature. But He is looking for us to come in agreement with Him concerning sin and concerning who He is. If you have never received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, I encourage you to do so today. We can’t try in our own strength not to sin and we can’t earn heaven by our good behaviors. We need the Lord. Christ in us the hope of glory (see Col. 1:27). All of our righteousness is as filthy rag the Bible says. He is our righteousness. It is a righteousness that is prescribed by faith. The Good News! We need to depend on His Holy Spirit. Christ is our righteousness, our sanctification and our redemption (see 1 Cor. 1:30). We walk in dependence upon His Spirit from there. And actually, the grace of God teaches us to say no to ungodliness (see Titus 2:11-12).
You are right, homosexuality is sin (see 1 Cor. 6:9-11). You can be encouraged with verse 11 that some were living in this lifestyle even in the Bible days and were gloriously saved. So be encouraged. You can be washed from this sin with the Blood of Christ. All you need to do is repent from it and place your faith in Jesus Christ. So you were right in breaking ties with the woman. Everything we think we heard from God must line up with the Word of God. Homosexuality is never approved of in the Word of God. Therefore, what you thought was a yes from God was not from God. We must always bring what we think we heard from God to the light of Scriptures. If what we think we heart doesn’t align with God’s Word, God’s Word always is the final authority. God loves you with a perfect love and He is willing and able to deliver you completely from homosexuality. My husband’s brother was a homosexual. He knew it was wrong but he found no power to stop it in his own strength. One thing that he did to help himself was to move from the area where he used to live because it was an area especially crowded with people living in the homosexual lifestyle. Then, the day came when he came to the end of himself and cried out to the Lord with everything that was in him. He said something in these lines, “God I tried and I can’t stop it. I can’t stop. So I will stop trying and instead I give it to you and I trust you to set me free because I tried and I can’t.” At that moment, God delivered him on a dime and filled him with the Holy Spirit. He was a new man and he was freed from homosexuality. Unfortunately, by that time, he had contracted AIDS so he eventually died from it, but he died passionate for the Lord and he is in heaven today. God is willing and able to deliver you totally as well. It is important to repent from this sin however, and to agree with God that it is sin because God will not go against your will. Of course, if you haven’t done so already, you need to make Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life because you can’t stop this sin apart from His help and you can’t be changed inside apart from Him. There is nothing that we can do to save ourselves. Again, all of our righteousness is as filthy rag the Bible says. We need Jesus inside of us. But once you repented of your sins and made Jesus your personal Lord and Savior, you can enter the rest of God and trust that you have everlasting life based on the promises of God’s Word.
The 144,000 refers to the Jewish people who will be saved during the tribulation hour. It doesn’t pertain to the people who were, are being and will be saved on the earth in total. You can be at peace there.
I pray this helps. Take care.
@@Smeeze8484 well, remember that there are a couple of saints in The Catholic Church that were scrupulous. There's a proof that scrupulosity doesn't automatically keep us from getting to Heaven
Thank you so much. I'm dealing with this now. I'm 31 and my parents are so religiously critical. No man that I meet is good enough for them and they make me feel like I have to do everything right and be good all the time to be accepted. So I developed this anxiety about having to do things to please God and them but God is bringing me out and delivering me. I've judged others because of this and failed to love and be loved.
Dear PrincessAmandaTV, I am so glad to hear that God is bringing you out and delivering you. God is such a faithful and a good God. He is indeed a very present help in times of trouble. Thank you for sharing! God bless.
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 my blasphemous thoughts are starting to go away, ive noticed that when these thoughts started, it was actually BEFORE I read about the blasphemy of the holy spirit and I used to try to do things with the 3rd eye, I came to Jesus asking for forgiveness and repented and as soon as I wanted to get serious random demonic blasphemous thoughts started...i got scared when I read about the unforgivable sin so I'm really starting to understand that it probably was an attack of the devil, I would've never conceived those thoughts by myself
@@LBrooks_037 Hi Alex, I am glad things are coming together for you and that you are starting to feel better. God is good!
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 and to think, knowing us before we were conceived and people who are never born are in heaven from miscarriages, abortions, when bad things happen to the blameless due to anothers deliberate sin, God doesnt allow the blameless to suffer for it, things done under the influence of Satan and a persons choice to sin against God he can turn around for good...he is...righteous
@@LBrooks_037 Hi Alex, I don't seem to be able to find or reply directly to a question you asked me a day ago. You asked and I quote, "What if you used to enjoy helping people when they needed it like a hungry person…now I feel like everything is only to earn favor with God after these thoughts." So I will respond here if that's okay with you. Here is my answer: This is not necessarily surprising after having undergone something like what you experienced. You will simply need to dive deep into the grace of God and the love of God for a while. I encourage you to prayerfully study the Bible and anointed Christian material on topics such as being saved by grace through faith, the love of God, the finished work of the cross, and about your identity in Christ for as long as you need. Also spend time in prayer and worship. As you refresh yourself in the aforementioned topics and get rooted and grounded again in the grace and love of God, such motives of love for others will begin to resurface again and you will find yourself be motivated by love to do things for others instead of being motivated by guilt or instead of being motivated to earn God’s love and favor. As you understand that there is nothing that God will accept from you as payment to earn anything from Him and as you learn again to depend on the finished work of Christ at the cross for your righteousness, you will begin to produce righteous deeds out of what God has already done in you. Accordingly, your motives will be purified and you will once again do things for others out of faith and love. Be thus encouraged.
Thank you so very much for this. This helped me understand why I had been suffering with Scrupulosity for years. May God continue to bless you and the ministry He gave you!
I am so glad to hear; praise God. Thank you.
Hello Kathleen! God bless you! Wow. If this video couldn’t come at the right time. I’m really trying to build a relationship with Christ and I’ve noticed that I struggle from Scrupulosity. More so sexual blasphemous thoughts about him. I’ve noticed that it’s been here since I was a child because every time I would try to pray a sexual image of God would appear in my mind. And it wasn’t until I actually gave my life to Christ that the thoughts became more and more of course because as a believer I wanted to pray. I’ve found myself in this cycle of legalism...I believe that this will be my year of great Harvest. Where do I go from here Kathleen? Is it possible to reach out to you ? I Must Break free from this
Hello @Tokunbo Ashorobi, I encourage you to watch my video entitled “Religious OCD & Scrupulosity: How to Strip the Thought of Its Power.” Please let me know if you can't find it. You should be able to find it on my UA-cam channel. Essentially, it is important not to try in your own strength to stop the unwanted intrusive thoughts. Otherwise, the more you try and the more you panic or fear the thoughts, the more they will come and the more powerful they will be. The way to see the thoughts decrease and eventually leave is by coming to God with them and asking Him to deliver you from them completely and to trust Him daily to work in your situation; casting your care on Him for He cares for you. From there, you daily trust that God is working in your situation. You expect a breakthrough any moment. Ask Him to deal with the root cause of the thoughts, too. So you cast your care on Him and trust Him to deliver you. Then you expectantly wait on Him daily. When the thoughts come back, you simply brush them off like you would a fly without giving them any thoughts, and you continue doing what you are doing, being in faith and trusting that God is working on your behalf. Because you casted your care (i.e. the intrusive thoughts) on God and received your forgiveness, and because you are in faith, trusting and believing God to deliver you, there is no condemnation for you even if the thoughts come back for a while during the entire process of recovery. Therefore, with God's help, do not allow yourself to fall under condemnation when a thought comes because condemnation hinders progress. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, for those who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit. Because you welcomed the Lord in your situation and are in faith for Him to deliver you completely, you are walking after the Spirit and there is no condemnation. The just shall live by faith.
Now, what we feed gets stronger and what we starve eventually dies. So the less you worry when a thought comes and the less you give it any thought, worry or fear, is the less that you feed the thought. And as your heart gets more and more absorbed with Jesus Himself and as you hunger and thirst for Him more and more and for righteousness; as you focus more and more on the things that are from above and less on the unwanted thoughts, you will even begin to forget about the thoughts and they will eventually leave. The thoughts keep power over you so long as you fear them or dread them. But they will lose their power over you when you stop fearing them. That can only happen when you handle them under grace. As long as you are under a law that says "There must not be one sexual thought or image about God crossing your mind or you are doomed!", you will have no power to get free from the thoughts because the Bible says that the law is the strength of sin (see 1 Cor. 15:56). So make sure to approach this whole process under grace. Under grace, you repent, receive God's forgiveness and trust God to deliver you. From there, you trust God and expectantly wait on Him as He works in your situation. Over time, you will get better and better. All the while, during the entire process of recovery, there is no condemnation for you and you are accepted in the Beloved while God is working on your behalf. And that is because you are in faith, trusting Him to set you free and having your hope in His Word. And that way, the thoughts lose their power over you and the intrusive thoughts eventually die. For sin shall not have dominion over you because you are not under the law but under grace (see Romans 6:14).
All of this will most likely take some time, but as you persevere in faith, being under grace, trusting the Lord to deliver you, brushing the thoughts off without attaching worry to the thoughts when they come, you will get better over time. So don’t get discouraged when the thoughts come after that you have given them over to God and began on your journey to recovery, but simply persevere being in faith. Eventually, the thoughts will be gone. And if they come back again at a later time or even every once in a while out of no where, you won’t worry because you will know how to come out given you will have already walked through this journey in faith trusting God. And it won’t be long until the thoughts are gone again because you will know what to do and you will understand why you don't need to worry.
So I encourage you to watch my video that I mentioned at the beginning of this response to you. Please let me know if you have any questions. You can email me if you need further ministry at paulkathleenkacz@gmail.com. This too shall pass. God bless
I have the same problem.
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 thank you for the most needed message
@@ushakrishnan7005 You are very welcome; God is so good.
Hi! Can you explain why I always have a blasphemous thoughts against God whenever I see or hear a bad words? Cause whenever I see it or even hear a bad words, my mind would constantly refer to God, for example, I see a 'Bad' word, my mind would always think of God, and tell that 'G-d is bad' why is it like that? And How do I overcome these? Cause this is always the cause of my blasphemous thoughts against God. And is this even an OCD?
Hi @El LA, I believe the thoughts come in these contexts because you fear them, you see them as a threat. You fear condemnation as a result of such thoughts and you fear to ultimately blaspheme God and end up in hell. That’s why anything coming your way that causes you to become aware of such threat causes the thoughts to come into your mind. Such fear is fueled and empowered by a religious law that says, in essence, “You must not blaspheme God or have a blasphemous thought against God or you are doomed.” Law has no consideration to the heart, but only to your performance regardless of your heart toward God. Under law, the thing you want to do you don’t do and the thing you don’t want to do you end up doing (see Romans chapter seven). I believe the following video will help you understand why these thoughts keep coming and how to deal with them.
How to strip the thought of its power:
ua-cam.com/video/aCmqzhsaShU/v-deo.html
However, in a nutshell, the way to overcome such unwanted thoughts is through faith in the finished work of Christ at the cross. Such revelation of the finished work of the cross will lead to abiding in the love of God under the new covenant of grace through faith and will contribute to the filling of your heart with faith and love which will replace fear and condemnation. To abide in the love of God and to love Him in return. The latter will be difficult however if you are experiencing your relationship with God under legalism. This is why it will be important to study on the new covenant of grace, about your identity in Christ, the love of God, and the finished work of the cross. The more you know who you are in Christ and that God has given you the power, the authority and the right to be a child of God (see John 1:12), and the more you abide in God’s love through Christ, and that you respond to that love by loving Him in return, such fears and thoughts will begin to leave you.
OCD is a term that the medical world has adopted for situations like this. I entitled some of my videos with terms such as OCD and scrupulosity, and I talk about religious OCD and scrupulosity in my videos and blogs, only because I know people dealing with such experiences will search for such terms. However, what I really seek to do is to deal with the root cause of the associated fears and you will find that typically underneath such obsessive thoughts is often fear of condemnation and guilt. The latter are often rooted in some form or degree of legalism (and the illegitimate power behind legalism is witchcraft as per Gal. 3:1). That is really what I seek to expose and to help people see and turn from with God’s help and by His Word.
I pray this helps.
Basically my problems are that whenever I pray or I hear a curse word my mind automatically says that hurtful word to a religious person. I was scared I was blasphemous but I keep freaking out about the devil. I think he’s the one attacking me too, I’m freaking out and I really need help. These are uncomfortable to feel. I love God but I think I’m just scared. I try to wake up but then my mind is like oh she’s okay, okay play a blasphemous thought to bother her. I cannot stand it!!!!
Dear @I AM A QWEEN,
I encourage you to prayerfully watch the following two videos. I believe they will help you in this area.
ua-cam.com/video/aCmqzhsaShU/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/wFDZcVIy-fA/v-deo.html
I also want to exhort you not to be scared about the devil. The Bible says that he is a defeated foe. Jesus won the victory on the cross against the devil. The Bible says in 1 John 4:4 that greater is He who is in the born again child of God than he (the devil) who is in the world. May I ask whether you are a born again Christian? If you are, wonderful! If you are not, I encourage you to become one today. :) The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Jesus, the Son of God, was born of a virgin and came on the earth to reveal to us the Father and to die on the cross to pay the price for our sins and rose from the grave three days later for our justification. To become a born again Christian, it is as simple as confessing to God that you are a sinner, then to repent of your sins (which essentially means that you choose to turn around and begin to walk in the opposite direction with God’s help) and to place your faith in Jesus and in what He has done for you at the cross on your behalf. Ask Jesus to come and live into your heart and make Him your personal Lord and Savior. Jesus is Lord. He wants to be your Protector, your Shield and your Keeper. The children of God have authority over the devil in Jesus name. Therefore, do not fear. The Bible also teaches us how to fight in this spiritual warfare. The battlefield is in our mind. I encourage you to read 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 and Ephesians 6:10-18. These are key Bible verses, among others, showing us how to successfully fight and win the battle that is in our mind.
I pray this helps,
Take care,
Kathleen
Same
I definitely have been struggling with with smoking, I have been trying to quit because I feel like I should (legalism) how does this work? It doesn’t seem right to keep smoking. Any suggestions??
Hi Mandy,
I encourage you to take a step back, letting the legalistic pressure aside for a moment, and see what’s there when that religious burden to stop smoking isn’t present. From that place, under grace, examine the pros and cons of smoking and see if you have a desire to stop, and go from there. I believe you will find that you have a desire to stop smoking once you remove the legalistic pressure. Of course, the flesh won’t feel like it. That’s why it can be confusing at times. But once you approach it not under a religious duty, but out of a desire born under grace and out of your new nature in Christ, it will greatly help you stop smoking. It will help you make a quality decision so that if it becomes hard in the process of weaning off of cigarettes, you will be better able to resist the temptations because you yourselves won’t want to smoke again. The Lord is willing and able to help you through the process of quitting. The Word will also help you greatly. I encourage you to prayerfully search for Bible verses relevant to this area and meditate on that Word. Confess it in your life and stand on that Word. The Lord will also help you find Bible verses, as you ask Him to, that will support your decision to stop smoking and that will help you resist the temptations to go back while you are weaning off of cigarettes.
I pray this helps. However, please let me know if you have any questions. Be encouraged.
So is scrupulosity a spiritual problem making us mentally ill (anxiety...) or a mental health problem influencing our faith or a mixture of both?
Hello,
I see scrupulosity as being guilt-ridden and anxious about doing something wrong, morally wrong, or religiously wrong, for fear of condemnation, punishment or hell. Such a one carries the burden of their salvation or right standing with God on their shoulders. However, the Bible says that only God can save us. Scrupulosity is thus the fruit of someone under legalism, i.e. someone who tries to work for, earn or merit their morally good standing with God, or salvation through their own self-effort and self-righteousness, instead of humbly receiving abundance of grace from God and the gift of righteousness from God Himself according to Romans 5:17 through faith in Jesus’s finished work at the cross on our behalf. When someone lives under law (legalism) instead of by faith in Jesus’s finished work at the cross, it can create much anxiety, fear, guilt, condemnation, works and rituals in the attempt to appease the guilt-ridden conscience and to earn right standing with God and heaven. Legalism is a spiritual problem and is also the fruit of a corrupted and seduced mind as per 2 Corinthians 11:3 (AMPC): “But [now] I am fearful, lest that even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, so your minds may be corrupted and seduced from wholehearted and sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” The Bible instructs us to put on the helmet of salvation (to protect our mind) and the breastplate of righteousness (see 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Ephesians 6:17 and Ephesians 6:14). The good news is the Lord is willing and able to set such a one free from legalism. As part of the healing kit for the one entangled and bound in legalism is to repent of legalism which is spiritual adultery (see Romans 7:1-6) by God’s grace, to be delivered by the Lord, and to be counseled by Him who is our Wonderful Counselor (see Isaiah 9:6) and accordingly, for such a one, to have their minds renewed with the truth of God’s Word by the power of God and revelation given by the Spirit of God.
I pray this helps.
Wow, thank you for this video. I have negative blasphemous thoughts too every day and i also had a period where I was scared that I committed the unpardonable sin. I also having cussing my thoughts and maybe I'm trying hard to be perfect? Wow it would be nice to have you as a counselor to help me with this dark season that I am in because you've been through it too. I am going to ask God whats happening and why I am going through this. Thank you so much . God bless you
Hello @Amanda Nxumalo, I am not sure if you watched my video on how to overcome the fear of the unpardonable sin, but if you haven't I also encourage you to watch it. You can find it here:
ua-cam.com/video/Z4fOTzkEjs0/v-deo.html
I also wrote a blog on the topic. I also encourage you to read it. You can find it here:
www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/overcoming-the-fear-of-the-unpardonable-sin-1
Be thus encouraged. I pray this helps. Take care
Suddenly I feel the need to confess my sins to people, especially I have sinned against indirectly against specific person.A voice says you won't be in peace,till you confess the secret sins to that specific person.I am having panic attacks, it feels like I will pass away.It is even telling me to confess the sin which I haven't done.Please reply
Hello @Mark Page,
The devil is the accuser of the brethren and he is tormenting you. I recall Joyce Meyer saying a freeing statement. She said that one day, someone (I believe it was a woman, but I am not sure) came to her and confessed something that I think she must have either thought or said against Joyce. Once she unloaded herself to Joyce, she felt relieved and she eventually went her way. Like Joyce essentially went on to say (and I don’t have the exact words anymore), it felt to Joyce like a selfish thing to do what the woman did because now Joyce had to deal with having to forgive her and it was difficult for her to do that and now she was left with that thing and she had to deal with it. That person left “relieved”, but then Joyce was stuck with the problem of struggling to forgive and of having to really work with God to keep herself in a place of forgiveness. Joyce said it would have been preferable given the nature of what the person confessed to Joyce to keep it between God and herself and thus to confess it to God alone, but not to confess it to Joyce due to the nature of the thing. So, there are things we need to bring up to people and confess to them, but there are things, just by virtue of the nature of them, particularly if the thing is we had a bad thought about someone, that are to be brought to God alone, but not to the person. I pray this encourages you and helps shine some light for you on this.
Make sure to welcome the Lord in this as He will lead you through this, but know that the devil seeks to steal your peace. Rest, knowing that God knows your heart. God is a God of the heart, Mark. God is not after a legalistic system of confession. He loves us and He desires to mold and shape us into Christ’ image from glory to glory. His ways are wholesome and constructive. The Bible says we are led by the Spirit of God, not by legalistic pressure. God wants to lead you. Rest in Him. He loves you and as your Comforter and Guide, He wants to lead you in peace and wisdom and grace. You are not on a treadmill of performance my friend. God will sort all of the out for you, in an environment of grace and love, not fear, guilt and pressure. The latter is a devilish pressure. It does not originate from your Father in heaven. Be thus encouraged. The Holy Spirit promises to guide you as you acknowledge Him. Be thus at peace and be encouraged.
I have the fear of being possessed or that evil is already in me, would that fall under this category? I’m trying to give me all to God. I don’t know where to begin doing so other then just praying.
(Part 1 of 2) Dear one, certainly, these sorts of fears can be the fruit of legalism in one’s life.
When we are born-again, we become a new creation all together, the old is gone and the new has come (see 2 Cor. 5:17). A Scripture that has helped me tremendously overcome and resist fears of that nature is Ephesians 5:8a (NKJV): “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.“ This Scripture really is a game changer when it comes to enabling us and empowering us to overthrow these sorts of fears. Next time the devil comes to you with fears of that nature, quote back that Scripture to him and say “Yes, indeed, I was once darkness, but now I am light in the Lord”. Meditate on that one Scripture and allow it to renew your mind and your belief system. Your being good, light and righteous is not based on your own self-righteousness, but on Christ’s. It is not based on your works but on His work at the cross. It is based on Christ in you the hope of glory (see Col. 1:27). He is your righteousness; He is your light; He is your life. The Bible says that it is no longer us who live, but Christ Who lives in us and the life we now live, we live by faith in and of (some versions of the Bible say “in” and some “of”, I gladly welcome both :)) the Son of God Who loved us and gave Himself for us (see Gal. 2:20). Freedom may not come easy, and it may involve a little bit of fighting (the Bible says to fight the good fight of faith (see 1 Tim. 6:12)), but through Christ helping you and guiding you, you will get well (see 1 Cor. 15:57).
The moment we were born again, we became the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21) and we were made right with God freely through our faith in Jesus Christ. Being evil doesn’t align with what the Bible says concerning us who are in Christ and such thought must be rejected right away at its onset. We are in a spiritual war and the devil loves to attack us where we are vulnerable. Furthermore, he is the accuser of the brethren and he accuses us day and night (see Rev. 12:10). Legalism is one of the most subtle and deadly artillery in the enemy’s hands. He watches for our weaknesses and, slowly, over a period of time, he attempts to bring us under guilt and condemnation if we let him―this is possible partly through a lack of deep revelation knowledge of the Gospel truth. Ultimately, he seeks to make us believe that our right standing with God depends on our own ability apart from God. If he can bring us there―where we no longer rely on Christ but on ourselves, he will be able to defeat us. When our trust is in God, the devil is no match. Once legalism is full-blown in one’s life, we find ourselves back at trying to earn our salvation and righteousness, in our own strength and ability. There we find ourselves constantly falling short because how can we know whether we are good enough or whether we have done enough? It is such an uncertain, double-minded and troubling place; never knowing whether we are good enough to God. There, we see all our faults and failures. There, we fear sin because sin becomes a threat to us. And the more we analyze ourselves, the worse we feel. We begin the fear everything that could cause us to be condemned and go to hell. As a result, some of us will fear being evil, possessed or of darkness. Jesus did say no one is good but God (see Mark 10:18). Our only hope is Jesus. That’s why He came―to save us from our sins (see Matthew 1:21). That being said, Christ makes us good, but it is not a goodness in and of ourselves, but our goodness is found solely in Christ.
We when fall into legalism it is also because we have unknowingly took off the breastplate of righteousness which is an essential part of the armor which the Lord supplies. It pertains to our identity in Christ and it protects us against condemnation. The breastplate of righteousness is composed of faith and love (see 1 Thes. 5:8). The Bible says of those in Christ, that we were made the righteousness of God and that we are children of God through faith. It says that we are light in the Lord, not darkness or evil. Through the Blood of Christ and the Word of Christ, we are washed and made clean (see Matthew 26:28 and John 15:3). Not through our own self-righteousness. If the devil can bring us under law, then with the law will come condemnation and defeat (see 1 Cor. 15:56, 2 Cor. 3:9, Gal. 3:10-14). We can’t do it. And there we lose sight of the finished work of the cross and of our resulting identity in Christ. This is all because we stopped relying on Jesus to make us acceptable―somewhere along the way, we stopped placing our faith in the finished work of the cross as our means of righteousness. However the Bible says that Jesus was the end of the law as a means of righteousness for all who believe in Him (see Romans 10:4). When we place ourselves under law―placing our faith in religious or moral laws, religious expectations, and in our own abilities to meet them all somehow, we reap condemnation no matter how hard we try (see 2 Cor. 3:9). Our only hope is the grace of God. The grace of God will heal you.
I encourage you to ask God whether legalism is indeed the problem in your life and if so, ask Him to expose every trace, shape and form of legalism in your life. Ask Him to forgive you of it and to deliver you completely. From there, God forgives you completely and immediately. And then, you enter a journey with God where, from glory to glory, He delivers you from every trace, shape and form of legalism. All the while, you are forgiven and accepted because you have chosen to turn around and to place your faith in Him. But you can’t save yourself from legalism. You need God to deliver you which He will do as you continue to trust Him to deliver you. You won’t come out the way you came in. Because of the many lies and deceptions involved with legalism, it will be important for you to actively trust and believe God to expose the different lies and to believe Him to lead you to Bible verses that will expose those lies and deceptions and to replace them with the truth revealed in those specific Bible verses.
If your journey is at all like mine, it will take time, so do not get discouraged. Also, it will be important never to concentrate on how far you still have to go, as this always overwhelms and defeats us. Only fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith (see Hebrews 12:2). Trust Him that He has you right in the palm of His hand; that He sees exactly where you are; that He knows the way; and that He is leading you out step by step. Regularly say “He is working”. Celebrate your progress and do not feel pressured to be perfect now. Embrace the journey. Know that each day you are getting closer to fullness of freedom. Expect God to move on your behalf daily.
Indeed, pray to God―prevailing prayer is key to getting better. Actively trust God to set you free. As you pray, believe God. Meditate on Bible verses relevant to your need and yield and align your inner man with the truth of the Bible verses you are studying. Never again reason with the devil. But only reply to him using God’s Word. So for any thoughts, imagination and philosophies that are contrary to who the Word of God says you are in Christ and to what the finished Work of the Cross has done in and for you, quote pertinent Scriptures, even if you have to do it under your breath. As you do that, ask the Holy Spirit to help you align your thoughts, beliefs and emotions with the truth of that Scripture. By His grace and mercy, as you trust God, you will overcome.
Never fight in your own strength, but always depend on the Holy Spirit. Reject every thought that is not in agreement with the new covenant with God's help, regardless of how strong the feelings attached to the thought are. Study on your identity in Christ. If you must, study solely on that specific topic for an entire year. Furthermore, I encourage you to study Bible verses about being saved by grace through faith and on the love of God. Also, I encourage you to study Bible verses that will strengthen godly humility in you. Pride seeks to earn, humility surrenders and receives. Google is a very useful tool to find Bible verses on topics of choice.
(To be continued in part 2 of 2)
(Part 2 of 2) The Bible does say to examine ourselves (see 2 Cor. 13:5 and 1 Cor. 11:27-31). If we become aware that there is something in our lives that we need to repent of, then we go ahead and repent. But we are not to go on a constant deep introspective expedition wondering whether there is something wrong with us either. The Bible says God is our keeper (see Psalm 121:5). Therefore, let us trust God that if there is something wrong with us, He Himself, will make it known to us. God is faithful. The devil seeks to have us under a vague feeling that something is wrong with us, without knowing quite what. So we remain in the dark, living with a sense of condemnation and speculation. This is not God’s way. Trust God with yourself. Entrust your soul with God. Then, if God shows you that there is something in your life that needs to change, or something you need to be freed from, repent as needed, and ask Him to help you and to deliver you. But with His help, do not give in to condemnation. Conviction and condemnation are two different things. There is no condemnation for us in Christ (see Romans 8:1). Our heart is repentant and our faith is in Him to complete in us what He started (See Phil. 1:6). When we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (see 1 John 1:9). Quote that Scripture every time the devil tries to condemn you of a sin you have already confessed and repented of. The just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17). There is no condemnation for the ones who trust Jesus. Furthermore, trust God that He promised not to allow you to be tempted above what you are able to bear but that with every temptation He has also provided a way of escape (see 1 Cor. 10:13). Temptation is not sin.
It will be important to learn to discipline your mind and not to allow your mind to wander. Ask God to help you with that. Instead, fix your mind on Him. The Bible says that He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is set on Him because he trusts in Him (see Isaiah 26:3).
You said, you are trying to give your all to Him. Legalism is all about trying in our own strength. Make sure any effort you make is grace-filled, faith-filled and Spirit-filled. I encourage you to try less and believe more :).
Lastly, realize that your will is yours and no one has the right to control it. An important revelation the Lord gave me for my own life is that God gave us our free will and the enemy has no right to it other than what we allow him to have. He may roar, but he was stripped of his authority through Christ work at the cross. We have sovereign will over our own life and over the choices that we make and over who we want to be. The devil cannot choose for us what we will do or who we are. We serve God by willingly choosing God’s will over our own. Surrendering to God is not the wiping out of our will and of our identity and individuality and person. It is rather the declaring of “not my will but thine be done” (see Luke 22:42) which is done out of love for God (see John 14:23). Unlike the devil, God doesn’t require our will to become passive so that he can use us as puppets. Such surrender doesn’t correspond to God’s way. God does not annihilate our will. We choose God’s will over our own desires freely because He is God, because of His love for us, because of our love for Him, and because we know that God always has our best interest at heart. We know that God is good and we trust that His plan for our life is way better than our own. Your will is yours. God gave it to you. I encourage you to begin to ask God to help you fully restore your will from any passive state. Allow yourself to will. Allow yourself to be. Discover fully who you are in Christ. You are free to serve and live for God with your whole heart.
Finally, I encourage you to watch Joyce Meyer's programs regularly here: joycemeyer.org/TodaysShow
You can also read my blog about our identity in Christ here:
religiousocdnomore.blogspot.com/2019/01/who-are-you-anyway.html
I hope this was helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions. Know that God loves you and that He has a great plan for your life. God bless.
Kathleen Kaczmarek, thank you so much for your reply. It honestly means the world to me. I’ve been going thru a lot of anxiety and panic attacks and I convinced my self that this is the devils work. I will absolutely do as you said and continue to grow a relationship with god. I will work on trusting the lord and caring god in my heart, instead of focusing so much on what I’m doing wrong. You’re absolutely an amazing person and I truly believe it was a blessing that I came across your video. Thank you so much....your newest subscriber !
You are very welcome! God is so good! Glory be to God. Have a good night :)
I struggle against unwanted blasphemous thoughts and I think I accidentally said something blasphemous to the Holy Spirit although I Really didn't mean to dishonor the Holy Spirit. Maybe it's just the devil trying to condemn me, but Im still Trusting on the LORD.
Acts 2:21, Psalm 51:17
Hello @Levy LB, indeed, the devil is the one trying to bring condemnation. Resist him in the faith, through God's might and through standing on the truth of God's Word. What you said wasn't your heart. God knows that dear. The good news is God is a God of the heart, not of outward performance or flawless lip service. :) What He cares about first and foremost is your heart. Does He have your heart. That is what God cares about. Therefore, you do not need to worry about accidentally saying something blasphemous. :) Yes, the Lord is trustworthy! I hope this helps. God bless
Ask Jesus when you're in the depths of despair he answers that because he loves you
Is scruplosity nature or nurture
Same!!!! No sleep... Torture blasphemous thoughts
Hello @Freya Aldrnari, it is important to understand that we have an enemy, the devil. He loves to throw a thought in our head and then to stand back and accuse us of the thought he whispered in our head. We must learn how to wear the whole armor of God as per Ephesians chapter 6.
It is also important to understand that God is a God of the heart. He sees and knows our heart. In the born again believer in Christ's heart is faith and love. This is where you want to abide; deeply rooted in Christ and in His love through faith (see Ephesians chapter 3).
Lastly, it is important to dwell on biblical truths about who you are in Christ. Knowing who we are in Christ is essential to victorious living. To stand on the finished work of Christ at the cross. We fight the good fight of faith, the Bible says.
I encourage you to prayerfully watch the following video I made as well as to read the following blog I wrote on the same topic. I pray this helps. Be encouraged, God is willing and able to help you and He loves you. He will see you through; only trust Him and place your hope in His Word. Take care.
Video:
ua-cam.com/video/Z4fOTzkEjs0/v-deo.html
Blog:
www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/overcoming-the-fear-of-the-unpardonable-sin-1
This is an interesing story. D
thank you sister for sharing, god bless you and your people!
Thank you for this video. It was very helpful and informative. God Bless you'
Praise God! I am glad it was helpful and informative to you. You are very welcome. God bless you too.
Kathleen, i want to talk to you please
Hello @mohamed Mahdi, if you do not live in America (Canada or USA) it will be hard to find a way to talk. Just let me know. However, you can email me at: paulkathleenkacz@gmail.com
Hope this works for you. Thanks!
What is literally the difference of living under law(legalism) and living under grace, i have a lack of understanding for these can you elaborate for me like in a situational please 🙏
Hello James, I just want to let you know that I hope to respond by the end of the week.
Hi James, when one lives under law they feel like or believe that their salvation is tied to what they do and don’t do. So there is that sense of guilt hovering over them. They try to pay for their sin. Their salvation rests on their self-effort to meet what they believe are laws, rules, regulations, traditions, works, sinless perfection in their own strength as a means of righteousness, as well as is dependent on their own abilities, and self-righteousness. The range of example is wide and can affect and infiltrate many aspects of one’s life. Their motivation for doing right is centered on them, to preserve themselves in the Lord, to earn God’s love, His acceptance and heaven. Under grace, one is freed by God's grace through faith in Jesus and they are freed to grow in love and to become more and more motivated by a selfless motive of love for God and others. I pray this helps.
I thank you so much for this video. THANK YOU!
Thank you for this message, I was really broken and I felt like GOD abandoned me.
God bless you dear. i needed this!
Praise God! I am glad it was helpful to you. God bless
And also, when I have the thoughts i try to push them away or like fight them. Should I do this, even though it makes the thoughts come in even more or should i just leave them , even if i will feel guilty for it
Hi @Amanda Nxumalo, I encourage you to watch the following two videos concerning this question. You can find them here:
How to stop the thoughts (Part 2):
ua-cam.com/video/wFDZcVIy-fA/v-deo.html
Practical ways to deal with intrusive thoughts:
ua-cam.com/video/3pCSPRINDCQ/v-deo.html
I pray this helps. Be encouraged, God loves you and He will see you through; only trust Him and place your hope in His Word. Take care
This is my problem too! I even get this inner urges and they are soooo blasphemous. It hurts me even to talk about it. It makes me feel like I have most definitely committed the unpardonable sin. It comes and it goes 😭😭😭
Hi @Tina Campbell, the urges you are experiencing are in essence mainly triggered by the law you are under that says "thou must not have those blasphemous thoughts or you go to hell". See Romans 7:8-9 (AMPC), " But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment [to express itself], got a hold on me and aroused and stimulated all kinds of forbidden desires (lust, covetousness). For without the Law sin is dead [the sense of it is inactive and a lifeless thing]. Once I was alive, but quite apart from and unconscious of the Law. But when the commandment came, sin lived again and I died (was sentenced by the Law to death)." You won't see those urges leave by putting yourself under a religious pressure that says you must stop it all now or you are at risk of going to hell. Instead, go to God with the thoughts, and ask Him to help you see the thoughts leave. then rely on Him to help you. Ask Him to help you go through this under grace. For grace will bring with it the empowerment needed and the freedom needed to see the thoughts leave over time (see Romans 6:14). So, don't engage with the thoughts, don't try to figure out how somehow you can stop them. This will lead to more confusion and it will strengthen the thoughts you are desperate to be free from. It will fuel and feed them all the more. Instead, cast your cares on God, ask Him to forgive you of the thoughts, receive His forgiveness, and from there ask Him to help you and depend on His grace, on His Spirit and on His Word to help see the thoughts leave. By His grace, don't experience the thoughts under law, but under grace. This too shall pass; only trust Him and His Word. He is for you and He loves you; this is important to keep in mind at all times. Condemnation isn't from God at all. Condemnation only empowers the unwanted thoughts. His grace will empower you in this.
I encourage you to also watch the following videos:
ua-cam.com/video/aCmqzhsaShU/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/wFDZcVIy-fA/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/3pCSPRINDCQ/v-deo.html
I pray this helps. Be encouraged. God bless
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 thankyou so much for your reply Kathleen. So very thoughtful and very beautiful explanation. Have you yourself ever suffered from this? Are you free from it now?
You are welcome @Tina Campbell, to God be the glory. I have experienced things of that nature yes; I teach based on my own experience in these different areas and by God's grace seek to share what the Lord has showed me to help me, and also for the sake of others. I love Joyce Meyer's statement and it goes as follows: "I am not where I need to be, but thank God I am not where I used to be, I'm okay and I'm on my way!" God has done a lot of work in my life and He taught me a lot, and I know there is still to learn. He is perfecting in me what He started: He who began a good work will complete it (see Phil. 1:6). God bless
Sis I wanted to email you privately since alot of what im struggling with is personal and really overwhelming but I dont know if what im struggling with is this OCD thing because I was starting to have these Excessive thoughts that I had sinned like obsessive and i would repetitively confess to God it but the thing is is that i didnt do it physically but i would still confess it to God anyway btw the sin was (masterbation) But I had not committed the act physically and I would get thoughts like "you masterbated you sinned against God!!!" And the fear and worry i had was dreadful i also am dealing with this unpardonable sin fear and i feel like God has left me or like i did commit it and feel as other people say in the comment section unredeemable it was like cycling in my head but it wasnt making any sense and it would make me worry so much that I got insomnia and could not sleep im not sure if this is Religious ocd or if it isn't can you please explain to me what im experiencing sister? And Please please pray for me I need it so badly🙏🏽🙏🏽
Hello @Laura, I first want to say that I am sorry for not responding before. Somehow, I didn't see your comment until now. Yes, you can email me at: paulkathleenkacz@gmail.com
It is important to understand that we have an enemy, the devil, and that we are in a spiritual warfare. Because of that, it is important that we learn how to put on the whole armor of God as per Ephesians chapter six. The good news is, through Christ we are more than conquerors (see Romans 8:37).
I will await your email and we can continue from there. In the meantime, I encourage you to study on who you are in Christ. It is important to learn to live by faith in what Christ has done for and in you and not by your feelings or by what you see. By faith, you stand your ground that you have the mind of Christ and that you are the righteousness of God in Christ. This will help you see yourself properly and discard thoughts or accusations contrary to what the Word says about who you are in Him. I pray this helps.
Hello Laura,
I thought I would send a more thorough answer here and please feel free to email me if you have any additional questions for which you would be more comfortable to discuss via email.
OCD is a name that the medical world attributed to people struggling with obsessive thinking and torments which often is accompanied by compulsions that the person performs as a way to relieve their guilt or anxiety. I make videos using the term OCD so people who are battling things of that nature can find them here. However, I do not agree that OCD is an illness or a brain dysfunction. Rather, I seek to help people discover the real reason or root cause behind their fears and obsessions. Generally, you will find the root cause is rooted in what they believe deep down. Typically the best way to find healing from fears and obsessions is first and foremost to ask the Lord to expose the real issue underneath. Generally I have found that legalism is at the core of much of it and in your case, based on what I am reading, it does look like at the root the devil is seeking to bring you under law instead of resting in the finished work of Christ at the cross. It is very important especially in such seasons of warfare where the enemy is attacking your nature and who you are in Christ, to dive deep into the Word on topics related to the sound doctrine of grace, being justified and made right with God through faith, being given the righteousness of Christ freely through faith in Jesus, the finished work of Christ at the cross, the love of God and who you are in Christ.
The fact that you have obsessive thoughts about a sin you are not guilty of, and also that you struggle with the fear of the unpardonable sin are strong indicators to me that the devil is indeed seeking to cause you to start to rely on your own ability to live righteously instead of resting in Christ and His work at the cross on your behalf. We are made righteous through faith in Jesus. We are made a new creation in Christ. Also, we can trust God to work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure (see Phil. 2:13). We need to rely on the Holy Spirit and to depend on Him and on God’s Word to empower us and help us work out what God has worked in us. the Bible says in Romans 6:14 that sin will have no dominion over us because we are no longer under law, but under grace. Therefore, living under grace is key to your dilemma. That’s why I advise you to study on the sound doctrine of grace and what it really means to you. Please let me know if you want me to suggest material of study. Make sure to dive deep into the truth of the sound doctrine of grace and ask God to expose legalism and its religious subtleties. Concerning the fear of the unpardonable sin, I made a video on this topic and I also wrote a blog. You can find them below, I believe they will help you. Finally, I encourage you also to watch my other videos as I believe they will also help you and I encourage you to navigate through and read my blogs as well.
Overcoming the fear of the unpardonable sin video:
ua-cam.com/video/Z4fOTzkEjs0/v-deo.html
Overcoming the fear of the unpardonable sin blog:
www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/overcoming-the-fear-of-the-unpardonable-sin-1
UA-cam Channel:
ua-cam.com/channels/V1xrpm36J_kzLYCwN0-P8Q.htmlvideos
Blog page:
www.paulandkathleenministries.org/blog
Faith is your victory and not your self-effort in trying to live free from sin. Please let me know if you have any questions. God bless
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 thank you for taking the time to read my comment and by responding it was very helpful God bless you.
You are most welcome. Praise God! I am glad to hear. God bless you too.
Help me sir please
I am an Indian and I am suffering from religious ocd for the past 10 years My parents are very religious too but i dont think they have ocd. I have done infinite compulsions and obsessions. But now in my graduation time my ocd has become very very severe. Almost every second i have obsessions. Mu exams are just 2 months away and I have not studied anything because of my ocd. My ocd has become so severe that in the 24 hours of my day whatever i do i feel like iam offending god. So once i assumed that god doesn't exist and then i thought that now i am gonna be okay, but few days back my did a fast for my career and long life. And due to my ocd a thought came in my mind that now if my heal, that means god healed me. This was a trigger for my obsessive thoughts. So now i think that god is healing me and i am just offending god as before. So indirectly i 'm not healing and i have lost all hope of healing. I know that due to my ocd i gonna ruin my career or end my life. Iam a very poor person and i cannot afford to see a psychiatrist and even if i arrange money and go to a psychiatrist people will think that he is mad and boycott me and my life will ruin anyway. I think my case of religious ocd is more complicated than anyone else in the whole world. Sir please help me.
Please sir please. So overall my main problem is i think that if i heal it will be done by god due to that fast and i feel guilty that god healed me and i am still offending god as before. So i lost all hope of ever healing truly.
Dear @Mohit Sharma, I just want to let you know that I have just seen your message and that I am hoping to respond as soon as I can either tonight or tomorrow night (Eastern Time).
Hello @Mohit Sharma, when you say you are an Indian, do you mean you are a Hindu? Or do you mean you are a Christian Indian? This will help me respond to you. Thank you. :)
Hi @Mohit Sharma, while I am waiting for your response to my previous question to know whether you are a Hindu or a Christian Indian, I wanted to send something as soon as possible. Be encouraged that you can be made whole and be healed fully.
What you are describing looks like legalism. Legalism is dependence on a religious or moral law (any law) to please God and earn entrance to heaven instead of reliance on personal faith in Jesus Christ. Legalism is pure torture. Under legalism God becomes a huge source of anxiety and burden to us because we believe that we must do everything perfectly right at all times if we want to earn His love, His acceptance and ultimately salvation and entrance to heaven. Legalism is slavery. However, legalism is not from God and is not a true portrayal of God.
Legalism brought to its extreme will cause the one under it to doubt everything they do because any failure to meet religious expectations could mean condemnation and hell. Under such legalism, everything we do is a source of anxiety because we can never be sure that we do it right, or that we do enough or that what we do is good enough for God. We question whether what we do (or don’t do) is sin and we fear that what we do may displease God and condemn us to hell. The good news is that Jesus Christ is the end of religious laws as a means of righteousness to all who believe in Him. Jesus loves you tremendously and He died on the cross to pay the price for your sins and mine in their entirety so that we would not have to live under endless religious requirements and torment to please God. Jesus Christ came to save everyone willing from sin and religious laws; everyone who will call on His name. The good news is Jesus did all the hard work; He died on the cross on our behalf so that we can be set free from the tyranny of sin and of religious law. Jesus said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Jesus Christ is gentle, humble and loving. Furthermore, in Jesus, we literally become children of God and we become accepted just as we are unto the way we are going because we repented of our sins and placed our faith in Him. From there, we enter into a journey where God molds us and shapes us into Christ’s image from the inside out, little by little. All the while we are accepted in Jesus Christ who becomes our righteousness through our faith in Him.
Suicide would mean going to hell. Therefore, this is not an option. If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, I invite you to give your heart to Jesus Christ and make Him your Lord and Savior even now and receive His free salvation. Then spend time with Him and in His Word (the Bible) and you will get to know Him more and more. Knowing Him will help you as you discover that Jesus is not this harsh, perfectionistic and mean God that legalism portrays God to be. God is love. God is good and He loves you dearly.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 iam hindu indian
Hello @Mohit Sharma, thank you for your response. Therefore, my last comment applies to you. I encourage you to read it as many times as needed.
I was once bound with legalism myself and I was under pure torture, fear, anxiety and panic attacks day and night. I too felt like I was offending God constantly. I felt like everything I did wasn't good enough and I felt like I was falling short all the time. I was under the burden of sin, guilt and condemnation constantly and I feared hell all the time. Then one day I cried out to Jesus with my whole heart, and He literally supernaturally intervened and spoke to me that night in dreams and the next morning in interpretation of the dreams. This is when He revealed to me the source of all my distresses: witchcraft and legalism. Jesus then counselled me back to wholeness step by step. He is willing and able to deliver you, too. I invite you to give your heart to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The good news is He came to reconcile you to God through His death at the cross and His resurrection from the grave :). Through Jesus, you can have peace with God. Jesus paid the price for your sins so that you can be made acceptable to God. Therefore, if you are willing, tell Jesus you repent of your sins and place your faith in Him as the One who paid your debt before God in full. Then receive His free gift of salvation and forgiveness of sin. Then I encourage you to find a Christian church and attend regularly. I also encourage you to read the Bible on bibleGateway.com. I believe you may even find a version written in your native language on that site!
Please let me know if you have any questions. Be encouraged, God loves you and He has a plan and a future for your life.
Kathleen
Thank you so much.. I identified with so much of your story and all the torment torture of nights without sleeping panic attacks anxiety, thinking I should die because of all these bad feelings and thoughts that I’m evil.. true hell. There is one thing that pulls me down is the feeling and thought of anger that comes. I feel scared to share this because I will be seen as immature, spoilt, bad .. but I will share it. I get so mad and frustrated at God and many times I end up shouting and crying in anger at him: how can you allow me to go through all this pain and suffering and for SO LONG, time after time of trying to pray and shouting out to you but i became so weak and sick I couldn’t even think or pray and was just thrown around helplessly. I get angry and wonder how God can just be there watching me be so tortured and burned to the depths of hell even though I’m screaming for him to make it stop and He is just there watching and letting it happen. It breaks my heart because I feel how can a good father let me go through that and just watch me suffer silently. How can I trust a father like that? I don’t understand... And then I get scared, angry and upset at myself for being angry at God because I feel ashamed to even think I dare to be angry at God because God is never wrong and so it’s just all me. And then I feel abandoned because God doesn’t respond because I am an ungrateful, unruly horrible child to even be angry at him. He is like how dare you.. you have no right to feel those feelings or question me, I am God, I can permit whatever I want to happen to you and there’s nothing you can do about it. So I feel completely like it doesn’t matter how bad I feel or how horribly I’ve been treated by my family and their violence... I feel unsaveable even to God because I can’t question God and his ways, I just have to let what he allows to happen to me. Because I don’t want to be chucked into the depths of hell so I will try with everything to always listen to him and be an obedient child. But I can’t always do it and I get so upset and scared and angry ... and I’m just scared I am beyond saving because of my “entitlement” and bad attitude :( I hate it and I hate myself that I am like this. I know it is said that he is good and doesn’t condemn me but maybe it’s because I had a violent aggressive dad and also detached dismissive mum so I dno if I just get confused with life and everything. How do I try to process my anger at God allowing all this and letting this happen to me. I hate myself and I hate life and dare I say, I hate that God can let this happen - and I hate myself that I could dare feel or think of hating God. I’m sorry I just have to say how it really is for me and I’m sorry that it’s just so ugly. Sorry it’s long but I am very upset and trying to pull myself out of rock bottom. I am scared because I have been here in the pits for so long and I’m scared I will be here forever.
Hello @Cece Me, I just want to let you know that I have seen your message and that I hope to respond tonight or by end of tomorrow night (Canada Eastern time) the Lord willing. I can assure you that God loves you and that there is real hope for you.
Actually, @Cece Me, you said you have been going through this for a long time. You mentioned also about scrupulosity. Could you tell me more details about what you have been experiencing? This will help me help you better. Do you also recall how it all started and approximately when? If you are more comfortable to write the details in a more private setting, you can email me here: paulkathleenkacz@gmail.com
Essentially, when you say you have been struggling with scrupulosity, in which way has it been expressing itself in your life? What are the recurring fears, thoughts, obsessions? What wakes you up at night? What are the underlying torment and fears?
Also, are you born-again?
Your answers to my above questions will greatly help me help you by God's grace.
Thank you, God bless
Hello @Cece Me, in the meantime as I wait for an email from you, I encourage you to watch many of my UA-cam videos as many times as needed. You can find them all here: ua-cam.com/channels/V1xrpm36J_kzLYCwN0-P8Q.htmlvideos
In order for our minds to be renewed, we need to read or listen to the same thing usually many times because we need to become rooted and grounded in the biblical truth that we learn.
Be encouraged that as long as we are trusting God with our situation, He is working, and as we begin to do what He shows us to do, real healing begins to take place. God bless
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 thank u so much for all your responses. It was extroardinarily timely and gracious of you. it has not gone unacknowledged and unappreciated. it helped me in my greatest time of need, and I was truly in a mighty storm then so I apologise for not being able to reply promptly. but I do feel your help was an important first rung to pull myself out of my pit of despair. I am so thankful. especially with your reply on your viewpoint on Joyce Meyer too on another comment. I am very encouraged by your strength in standing by your faith. I have once again revisited Joyce Meyer and I will share a video that has so especially helped me too in this walk out of scrupulosity. I feel your good word in her strength here too: ua-cam.com/video/SpCoQG723yk/v-deo.html
thank u again Kathleen, god bless truly.
I needed to hear this! Thank you!
Praise God! I am so glad to hear this. God bless
I struggled with religious ocd/scrupulosity for many years. I found Kathleen's videos shortly after she began her UA-cam ministry. God worked very powerfully through her to reveal legalism in my life and ultimately set me free from blasphemous thoughts. I also had a very distorted perspective of Jesus through years of the devils lies. God has also worked mightily to heal me in that area and to help me to see Jesus rightly, in a way that is in line with scripture.
I am a living testimony to the anointing that God has placed on Kathleen's ministry and the work that He is doing through her. To anyone still going through this, just stick with it and follow the Spirit's leading in your deliverance. There will be some very hard times, but He will see you through.
Kathleen, I saw you came under attack again recently in legalism. The Lord is using you in a mighty way and Satan is losing strongholds in the lives of believers. He is fighting you to discourage you. "Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
Dear Amy, I am so blessed with your message, praise the Lord! He is so good. I am so glad to read that you are free! Oh Alleluia! Thank you so much for what you wrote; what a blessing and an encouragement for me. Indeed, last year, I was attacked by the enemy, and praise be to God it worked out for my good and for the good of others! God is good. :) Thanks again Amy! Much appreciated. God bless you!
sister I know exactly what you mean it's horrible,I have dealt with alot of the same stuff you have and I'm still dealing with it.thetes days where there seems to be such darkness over my life,and I can't make sence of anything and feel so numb and disconnected from God please pray for me your videos are encouraging but I've been dealing w this so many years it feels like I'll never come out of ocd religious legalism etc
Dear Randy, I understand how you feel. Faith is in your mouth; make sure to confess and speak Scriptures and promises from God's Word over your life, and continue to expect God to move in your life daily. The Bible says that God teaches us a little here, a little there, line upon line, precept upon precept. Step by step you are being renewed, be a prisoner of hope and determine that with God's help through trusting Him, you will come unto the other side as more than a conqueror through Him who loved you and gave His life for you. I encourage you to read this blog I wrote, I believe it will help you.
www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/fighting-from-a-standpoint-of-victory
On this journey we do need to learn to live beyond our feelings as we press toward fullness of freedom, and by faith stand on and confess and appropriate God's promises; laboring to enter into God's rest, though it is not a labor in our own strength but through learning to lean on God and to stand on His Word.
I pray this helps. Be encouraged.
You literally save my life I’ve been battling this myself and my dad is a pastor so just imagine my ocd thank you so much
Oh glory be to God! I am so glad to hear my video was helpful to you! Now that you know legalism is the real problem, you will no longer be fighting in the dark! OCD is the term given by the medical world, but the real underlying problem is legalism empowered by witchcraft. I encourage you not to own OCD. Instead, go to God with this new found truth and ask Him to forgive you of having surrendered to legalism, receive His forgiveness and ask Him to purge your life from legalism. He will! One thing I discovered on my journey to recovery is that God is willing and able to help and deliver us. Now that the true problem in your life has been exposed, you can attack it at its core through God's might, with His help, His guidance and through revelation of the truth found in His Word, and you will get well, over time. God bless!
OMG I AM ON THE SAME BOAT! My father is a pastor as well and ever since my father retired religious OCD has kicked my butt! Thank GOD I’m not where I was a year and a half ago but I still struggle w/ aggressive demonic thoughts of me going to hell but I know I’m saved because I believe in Jesus and accepted him as my savior at a young age. Please show me techniques and prayers of me escaping this debilitating darkness.
Thanks for this video and God bless you both!
God bless you!
Thank you Crystal! God bless you too!
Joseph Prince’s book Destined to Reign is a good book. I think our idea that our self efforts play a part in our salvation is the root.
Thank you very much for your comment. Very well said! Someone under legalism tries to earn their salvation through their own effort and their own ability to meet a law, tradition and/or moral standards. Such a one tries to save themselves in their own self-effort; in their own strength. Legalism adds requirements for our salvation in addition to our faith in Christ. However, when the jailer asked Paul and Silas what he had to do to be saved, they responded, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (See Acts 16:30-31). And the same way we were saved is the same way we live-by grace through faith. Thanks again! God bless.
Kathleen Kaczmarek please pray for me I’ve been suffering from depression and headaches thank you please ask the lord to rescue me
Dear @@36742650885 I will most definitely be praying for you. Do not despair, you will get well. It is only a matter of time dear one, only fix the eyes of your heart on Jesus. God is willing and able. Also, in times of depression, it is important to remain hopeful regardless of what is going on. Make sure to keep hope no matter what the lies of the enemy are. Remember what I said, remain in hope. The road to recovery may not be easy, but with God's intervention and with His very present help in times of trouble, as you keep your trust in Him, you will get well. I also encourage you to read "God is not mad at you" written by Joyce Meyer. If you must, read it as many times as you feel you need to. I also encourage you to google for Bible verses relevant to you in the areas that are causing depression. I will keep you in my prayers. We can keep in touch too. Should you want to email me sometimes, my email address is part of the text underneath the video. God loves you, abide in His love. Will be praying.
Kathleen Kaczmarek it seems that Ian know truths and give correct answers regarding security in Christ but. Not experience them as a reality in my life. Because I can sense doubt and fear in my heart I don’t know how to apprehend and. Keep the revelations ie. putting on Gods armor. And live in victory
Hello dear, I just want to let you know I saw your message and I am looking forward to answering. I am away visiting some family members and am having a hard time finding the needed time to answer. But I am hoping to be able to reply early next week. ☺
I am having panic attacks and have intense anxiety, because a voice is constantly telling me , that you have to tell about Christ to everybody,if you don't tell then you won't be able to sleep.I am suffering from anxiety and panic attacks since last 3 months.I had different fears before now it's taking god's name to torment me.Please help me.I am not at peace at all because of this.The voice says God can force you to do anything.I can't rest at all.please help
Dear @mark page, the way to deal with evil thoughts and suggestions such as these is through learning the truth of God’s Word and standing on the truth that you learn. So, in every area where unscriptural thoughts, suggestions, feelings or insinuations come, you need to ask God to help you find Scriptures that will expose the lie. Then, by and in faith, you begin to meditate on these Scriptures that you found so that you can become rooted and grounded in that truth. As you do that, you will no longer be easily moved to and fro with every wind of doctrine, unscriptural thoughts or unbiblical suggestions. Everything we believe must align with God’s Word. Everything that isn’t biblical you need to reject and cast down, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV). You do that by the power of God’s might in faith and by standing on God’ Word. We are in a spiritual war so do not be surprised if at times your mind gets attacked with unwholesome thoughts. The good news is God has given us an armor (see Ephesians 6:11-18) and He promised that He is a very present help in times of trouble (see Psalm 46:1). Therefore make sure never to try to fight unwanted thoughts and evil suggestions in your own strength, but always welcome the Lord in your battle and use God’s Word. Never try to reason your way out. Use God’s Word and speak only God’s Word. This too shall pass. Ask God to deliver you and to show you your part and to help you do your part. Lean on God, depend on Him. Trust Him and place your hope in His Word. When a lie comes (because you will learn through the Word to discern what is false and what is true), you rebuke and reject it in the faith and you quote Bible verse(s) against it, just like Jesus did in the wilderness when the devil came to tempt Him (see Luke chapter 4).
Not every thought that crosses your mind is from God. Only God has the right and the legitimate authority to dictate what you should do and what the consequences for your actions are. Devilish insinuations have no right to dictate your life. Jesus is Lord. The devil is a defeated foe. You will need to, through God’s might and using relevant Bible verses, refuse, rebuke and withstand against the lies of the enemy. We do that through wearing the whole armor of God: Know who you are in Christ and live and walk accordingly, walking by faith and walking in love (that’s the breastplate of righteousness), use the shield of faith to block the darts of the evil one, stand by faith on the truth of God’s Word, use the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Having done all, stand. (Please refer to Ephesians 6:10-18 for more details there).
So for instance, the voice that says “you have to tell about Christ to everybody, if you don't tell then you won't be able to sleep”, you can use Scriptures to come against it and to help you resist it, such as:
Romans 8:14 NKJV: For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (The idea here is you are not led by a religious rule that says you must witness to every person you come in contact with or you won’t sleep. That is a legalistic rule and finds its root in witchcraft and legalism. The children of God are led by the Spirit of God, we are not subjected to dead works religion, but to the Spirit of newness of life.)
2 Corinthians 3:17 NKJV: Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (When we are led of the Spirit, we are not bound to rituals, religious methods, dead works and legalistic forms)
John 3:8 NKJV: The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. (So, if we cannot tell where we go next being led of the Spirit, it follows that we shouldn't be able to predict who is the next person you will witness to, or when you will witness, really. The Bible says that the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (see 2 Cor. 3:6). This evil suggestion (rule) isn't scriptural and is ministering death to you, not life from the Spirit. Therefore, refuse it as such.)
Luke 2:11 NKJV: For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Jesus is Lord! Him alone will you obey.)
While you may witness to a person, the one whose heart is ready to be harvested may pass you by. That is why it is important to be led of the Spirit and not subjected to religious rules and regulations that have no life in them. Legalism is dead works religion and it bears no lasting fruit. So these evil thoughts are not from God and accordingly you need to refuse them and to use Bible verses to come against them. Also learn to guard your heart with all diligence (see Proverbs 4:23) through resisting fear using the Word mixed with faith against thoughts that are not scriptural.
The devil’s evil schemes are being exposed in your life now so your complete recovery is only a matter of time as you trust God and use His Word.
I encourage you to watch this video: ua-cam.com/video/B8S-pB263fw/v-deo.html
I also encourage you to read the following blog to help you resist the fear of the unpardonable sin and be at peace there as well:
www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/overcoming-the-fear-of-the-unpardonable-sin-1
(Please let me know if you can’t see the links of the video and of the blog and I will send the information in a different way.)
I advise you to study on the new covenant of grace, on the finished work of the Cross, on the love of God and on your identity in Christ as to get deeply rooted in the grace of God and to see your life purged from legalism. I encourage you to watch my different videos on the topic. I also encourage you to ask God to purge your life from every trace, shape and form of legalism and to prayerfully consider getting some anointed Christian material on the topic. The following three books are relevant books which I believe will be of help to you. If you are interested, you can find them all on Amazon.
By Grace Alone: Finding Freedom and Purging Legalism from Your Life, written by Derek Prince
The Law of Redemption: what Must One Do to Go to Heaven?, written by me,
God Is Not Mad At You, written by Joyce Meyer
Be encouraged, @mark page, God is willing and able to deliver you completely and now that He is revealing truth to you, you are well on your way out already. Only continue to trust Him and place your hope in His Word. I pray this helps. You take care.
Hi @mark page, I realized that I didn’t address the other lie of the devil in my first message and I quote what you wrote, “God can force you to do anything.” Similarly, you need to prayerfully look for Scriptures that will expose the lie found in this devilish statement. And you do that with whatever other lie the devil may come to try to tempt you with. Everything God does cannot contradict His Word, “I will worship toward Your holy temple and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and for Your truth and faithfulness; for You have exalted above all else Your name and Your word and You have magnified Your word above all Your name!” (Psalm 138:2 AMPC) It must always align with the whole counsel of His Word. The Bible is clear that we are free will agents and that God doesn’t force us like robots to do anything. The devil, on the other hand, seeks to do that with us. So it is important to know how God operates and how the devil operates. God wants a love relationship with us where we willingly choose God’s will. The devil, on the other hand, wants to reduce us like robots and puppets where we blindly and passively do his bidding.
God tells us what is good and bad and then He leaves us with the choice to obey or disobey. You can use the following Bible verses to come against the devil’s lie there:
Joel 3:14 NKJV: Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
Deuteronomy 30:19 NKJV: I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.
Hebrews 3:15 NKJV: While it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” (So we are free to soften our heart to God’s voice or to harden our heart to His voice. The choice is ours.)
Just in case you didn’t realize, I sent you a first response already, this one here is as a continuation of the first message I already sent you. Please make sure that you see the first message that I sent to you a few minutes ago.
I pray this helps. Take care.
you are such a blessing i hope God blesses you abundantly!
Thank you Noah! God is good! God bless you abundantly too!
thanks you!
You are very welcome :) God is good!
I am a believer in Jesus but I struggle with this. My issue is wondering if something is a sin that is not explicitly stated in scripture but I believe has become an idol.
I am trying to avoid idolatry at all costs after reading the book of Ezekiel. I feel anxious when going to church because I keep thinking about all the sins I have committed that week. I worry I am doing repetitive sins. For instance, I write creative stories. I started in high school and I felt no guilt writing them whatsoever. However, I now feel guilt whenever I write the story because I feel like I may be idolizing my writing by spending a lot of time doing it and getting more enjoyment out of it than I get out of church. I love Jesus, but I worry I am not loving Him enough. I feel really guilty after writing for hours on the platform. How can I tell the difference between God's conviction and anxiety and condemnation?
If my story writing is a sin then why did I not feel guilty back then? If it is not, then why do I feel like God keeps bringing it up to me in church? Could that be anxiety?
Dear @Lindsey Horist, I just want to let you know that I have seen your comment and that I am hoping to respond before the end of the week (i.e. by Friday end of day on Canada Eastern Time). God bless
Hello @Lindsey Horist,
I just want to let you know that I started drafting a response and I am hoping to respond by the end of day tomorrow (Canada Eastern time). However, I have a few of questions. Your answers will help me answer your questions with God’s help.
When you say that you worry you are doing repetitive sins, are you referring to your concern that writing stories for hours a week is a sin? Or are you referring rather to general sins and not only about your concern about the writing of the stories? If you are referring to sins not exclusively related to the writing of your stories, are they as a result of a bondage or a stronghold you have been struggling with, are they deliberate sins, or are they sins and slip-ups as a result of the weakness of your flesh? Or else?
You mentioned and I quote, “I feel really guilty after writing for hours on the platform.” When you say that you write for hours on the platform. Do you mean you are part of the ministry team at the church you are attending and while the church service is going on, you are on the church platform writing? I am not sure what you mean by “on the platform.”
Lastly, you mentioned, “if it is not, then why do I feel like God keeps bringing it up to me in church? Could that be anxiety?” When you say you feel like God keeps bringing it to you at church, is it because you write your stories while the church service is going on (similar to point above) or do you mean your writing keeps coming to your consciousness with guilt attached each time church service is going on (but you are not writing your stories during church service)?
Thanks!
Kathleen
Dear @Lindsey Horist,
I sent you a message yesterday with some questions. However, I hope my response below is helpful:
You mentioned that you are concerned your writing has become an idol. It is true that we want to be vigilant as to not allow anything to become an idol in our lives. And indeed, even things that are not evil in themselves can become an idol in someone’s life over time. Now, we do not want to disregard that God may have given you a desire for writing and a gifting there because He may want to use your gift and passion for writing for His glory. I encourage you to seek Him there to see if this is indeed the case and to see what He wants you to write about. However, we don’t want to love the gift more than the Giver of that gift thus your concern. If writing has indeed become an idol, that may (or may not) explain why, you didn’t feel guilty about your writing while in high school (because back then it wasn’t an idol in your life), but now you feel something isn’t right about it. Something may have started inoffensively―not as an idol, but over time began to take the place that should belong to God only. Therefore, perhaps writing wasn’t a problem before but has become a problem now. Balance and moderation is also important because the devil preys on excess (see 1 Peter 5:8). On the other hand, this struggle could just be the accuser of the brethren, the devil, seeking to steal your peace and trying to bring you under condemnation. Now, if you write while the church service is going on, then yes, that would be wrong (especially if you write on the church platform while the church service is going on) then, indeed, that would need to stop. It is as simple as asking the Lord to forgive you and stopping writing during church service. Then, receive His forgiveness. Receiving God’s forgiveness after we confessed our sin to Him is very important.
You mentioned you are concerned you find your writing more enjoyable than going to church. The more important matter is not so much whether your love your writing more than going to church, but rather whether you love writing more than you love Jesus. And this is where you want to seek God to find out whether writing has become an idol for you or not. The way to deal with this uncertainty and resulting fears is to find out from God. Until you clearly know, double-mindedness will keep you in anxiety and fear and it will be an open door to the accuser of the brethren and he will gladly bring you under guilt and condemnation concerning your writing. You need to eliminate double-mindedness on the matter. This is something that only God can do. He will reveal it to you as you sincerely seek Him on the matter. I encourage you to place yourself in neutral with God’s help on this matter and seek Him for an answer. When we come openly and humbly before God about the things that we go through, He freely reveals to us our true state which then enables us to deal with it accurately with His help. Therefore, I encourage you to seek God with your whole heart on this and ask Him to expose to you if the writing has indeed become an idol or not. He will show you. If He shows you that it has become an idol, repent and be willing to turn. Then ask Him to show you what to do from there. He will. Be confident that God is a good God. He knows how much you enjoy writing. God can even use your writing for His glory. Again, perhaps it is part of His calling over your life; to use your writing to write for Him. Of course, He wants to be first (by far) in your life and not the gift (writing). Trust God and He will sort this all out for you. He will show you if, where or how writing fits in your life. Again, trust Him that He knows what’s best for you and that He is a good God. You can trust Him with His decisions and His guidance.
You said, “I feel anxious when going to church because I keep thinking about all the sins I have committed that week.” And “I worry I am doing repetitive sins.” 1 John 1:9 is the answer. It is important when we sin not to wallow in condemnation and guilt, but to confess our sins, repent (i.e. be willing not to do it again and ask God to help you turn from it and begin to walk in the opposite direction) and receive His forgiveness. If we don’t do that, we open the door to anxiety, guilt and condemnation. So in order to guard your heart from these, you will need to stand on 1 John 1:9 and apply it each time needed, and live in the free forgiveness of God based on the promise found in that verse (confess, repent, and receive His forgiveness and cleansing).
You mentioned, “I love Jesus, but I worry I am not loving Him enough.” We can’t force ourselves to love someone. The good news is we don’t have to try in our own strength to love Jesus. Instead, the Bible says in 1 John 4:19 that we love Him because He first loved us. As you focus on His grace and His love for you, and as you meditate on what He has done for you at the cross, your love for Him will grow. As you concentrate on what He is doing for you today, as you study on His nature and as you draw close to Him and get to know Him more and more, it will all cause your love for Him to grow. Also, as you walk in obedience to Him, you will be feeding love for Him. Jesus made the connection between our love for Him and our obedience to Him, “If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.” (John 14:15 AMPC) So our level of obedience shows how much we love Him and I believe as we choose to continue to obey Him, it helps, strengthens and nurtures our love for Him too.
The way you can tell the difference between conviction and condemnation is that conviction comes with grace-filled enabling to rise up higher. There is no condemnation whatsoever in conviction. It empowers us to walk away from the sin or from the thing God is dealing with us about. You can know whether you are under condemnation or under conviction by the effect it has on you. Condemnation strengthens sin and keeps you in bondage to it so that you cannot get out. Condemnation keeps you in defeat. On the other hand, conviction brings with it the grace needed to overcome. You will never overcome sin by placing yourself under a load of condemnation (nor will you ever help anyone overcome sin by placing them under a load of condemnation). Doing so will only discourage you (or them) all the more and cause more damage. It is crucial that we understand it is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance, not His anger. (See Romans 2:4 NKJV)
I pray the above helps. Be encouraged, God is a good God and He loves you with a passionate and everlasting love.
In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path (see Proverbs 3:6).
You take care,
Kathleen
This is very useful. What I take from it is that when our faith is based on a narrow understanding based on fear of punishment, meticulous compliance and salvation that is self concerned based on following rules and rituals, this strapping of understanding is going to lead to a form of rebellion from the self, a reaction against this narrowness because it is false and fake.. It is a call from the self to requestion our religious understanding and broaden it towards a faith based on understanding and a loving relationship with the divine and with life. If we conceive of a tyrant God we are going to be tormented by tyranical thoughts as a reflection of this tyranny.
Thank you @Fadi, I am glad the video was useful to you! Praise God! I love how you describe legalism as “when our faith is based on a narrow understanding based on fear of punishment, meticulous compliance and salvation that is self-concerned based on following rules and rituals”. I also love what you said here “If we conceive of a tyrant God we are going to be tormented by tyrannical thoughts as a reflection of this tyranny.” It reminds me of what A. W. Tozer said in his book “Fiery Faith” and I quote: “Nothing twists and deforms the soul more than a low or unworthy conception of God.” And “our notion of God must always determine the quality of our religion.”
The Bible says that anyone who is under the law is under a curse: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.”” (Gal. 3:10 NKJV). All the law can do to us in the end is condemn us given it is the ministry of condemnation (see 2 Cor. 3:6-9). The letter kills but the Spirit gives life (see 2 Cor. 3:6). The good news is that our old self was crucified with Christ: “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (Rom. 6:6 NKJV) Our old self is actually the one that is independent and rebellious. Such old self was dealt with at the cross. All God can do to our self-life is to crucify it and give us an entire new life, the one found in Christ: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17 NKJV) When we are under legalism, we experience all the tyranny that comes from submitting ourselves to a law we can’t meet. There we also keep control over our lives. Such life is a rebellious life; submitting to a law instead of submitting to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Thus the anxiety and the fear. Peace comes when we submit to God’s authority (see Isaiah 9:7a) and to His ways. And the way to salvation is faith in Jesus: “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 NKJV)
Thanks again @Fadi for your comment! God bless!
Please... help me. I have so much to say. Can I email you?
Hello @James Troutwine, yes you can email me at paulkathleenkacz@gmail.com
This is good!
I did pretty much the same, I went to the field to cry out to God. I have a lot of feelings of guilt for the past doing that goes against moral standards. Also I have severe anxiety along with OCD with thoughts of harm. I never knew legalism was witchcraft. I will discuss Scrupilosity to my CPN.
I have been involved with many religions that has strict rules, Jehovah's witness and Mormonism.
Does this apply to Lordship Salvation?
Dear @Vince & Stuff, I just want to let you know that I have seen your message and hope to answer to it by end of day today or tomorrow (Canada Eastern Time). God bless
Hello @Vince & Stuff, Jehovah Witness and Mormonism aren’t Christian religion and yes, I believe both are legalistic religions. Be encouraged that legalism has been exposed to you. This is great news! Now that you know what you are dealing with, you can believe God to purge your life from legalism. If you haven’t given your heart to Christ, this will be the first step. The Bible says that it is Christ in you the hope of glory (see Col. 1:27b). Concerning your question about Lordship salvation. Are you asking whether Jehovah Witness and Mormonism are Lordship salvation, or whether what I am teaching is Lordship salvation?
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 In relation to Lordship salvation, it is not really towards the Mormons or Jehovah's witness but general Christianity such as Anglican Churches, Evangelical churches. I don't really understand Lordship Salvation and do find it quite confusing.
There are some Christians who are legalistic as well, particularly my parents who I disowned this year due to their abuse while being in Anglican Churches after memories of it lead to illnesses that nearly killed me. I currently see a CPN due to these and several OCDs which has lead to Scrupulosity. This illness lead to losing the will to live which would of resulted in Psychogenic death if I went through with it. Something told me to get on to the mental health team. This happened in April this year.
There are a lot of videos who teaches against Lordship Salvation such as Once Saved Always Saved and there are some that teaches repentance similar to the Mormons way of teaching. If you don't make your self better you will go to hell or something.
Many Christians will argue that each other are either false doctrine or heresy. As for your videos, this is 1st video I seen as I was trying to understand scrupulosity more.
Dear @Vince & Stuff, I just want to let you know that I hope to respond to your message by end of day tomorrow (Canada Eastern Time). Take care
Hello @Vince & Stuff,
I wrote a blog which I believe will encourage you. It is entitled “disturbing doctrinal confusion untangled by His voice”. I encourage you to read it. You can find it here: www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/disturbing-doctrinal-confusion-untangled-by-his-voice
I also encourage you to watch the following two UA-cam videos I made to help you understand the sound doctrine.
Becoming like a little child again:
ua-cam.com/video/LND8HFWWc_Q/v-deo.html
Finding freedom from scrupulosity:
ua-cam.com/video/RupxZtTWz7I/v-deo.html
I also encourage you to prayerfully consider buying the following two books to help you understand the sound doctrine as well. You can find them on Amazon:
The Law of Redemption: What Must One Do to Go to heaven? written by me,
By Grace Alone: Finding Freedom and Purging Legalism from Your Life, written by Derek Prince
The Bible says that Jesus saved us from our sins (see Matthew 1:21). Grace is the unmerited favor of God. This means salvation is given to us as a free gift through believing in Christ (see Ephesians 2:8-9). That’s because the law couldn’t save us from our sins and we can’t save ourselves. We need a Savior and Jesus is that Savior provided by God; the perfect Lamb of God who shed His blood for the propitiation of our sins and who rose from the grace for our justification. Jesus said, repent and believe the gospel, “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” When we receive Jesus, we receive a new heart, a new nature (see Ezekiel 36:25-27). We become a new creation in Christ Jesus (see 2 Cor. 5:17). The Spirit of God comes and lives inside of us and we become children of God (see John 1:12). We become dead to sin and alive to God (see John 6:11). This doesn’t mean that we are never tempted or that we never sin, nevertheless there is a change in us in that we receive a new nature and through such new nature and by such new nature we become bent and inclined toward God. God works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure the Bible says in Philippians 2:13. So, yes (though I had never heard the term Lordship salvation before), to be born again is to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. But the thing to understand is that we are made acceptable to God through His free grace; His favor. We live from there. We live under the constant umbrella of His favor and such unmerited favor and care causes us to serve Him acceptably, with pure motives. Hebrews 9:14 (NKJV) puts it this way, “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Essentially, through His Blood, we serve God out of love and not out of religious duty, guilt and condemnation. We are set free to serve Him and others out of love, out of a sincere faith, a clean conscience and a pure heart (see 1 Tim 1:5). Only His grace can do that in us. Only a free gift can purge our motives from self-centeredness. We can’t make ourselves free from sin and we can’t make ourselves acceptable to God, so in His love and compassion He gives us His righteousness as a free gift (see Romans 5:17). Jesus becomes our righteousness, sanctification, redemption and wisdom (see 1 Cor. 1:30). The moment we are born again, we are saved and we enter a relationship with Christ and we are led by the promptings of the Holy Spirit (see Romans 8:14). Jesus becomes our Savior, our Lord, our wonderful counselor… We become children of God and God becomes our heavenly Father (see Romans 8:15). The Holy Spirit becomes our helper, comforter our guide….
We want to serve and live for the Lord as a response to His extravagant grace, favor and love that He first bestowed on us. It is unforced and a natural joyful response to His favor. His grace saves us from the dominion of sin (see Romans 6:14). To live rebellious lives in disobedience to God and independently from God is to live in sin and rebellion to the appropriate authority (God). Grace saves us from sin. As we yield to His grace and to His work inside of us and to His Spirit, we serve Him and live by faith because we love Him, i.e. not out of a religious duty. In fact, the law arouses sin (see 1 Cor. 15:56, Romans 7:8). Only grace can change us inside and empower us to live victorious lives. And God changes us from glory to glory (see 2 Cor. 3:18). Please also see the following verses:
Romans 8:1-4 (NKJV): There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
John 14:23 (NKJV): Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
1 John 4:19 (NKJV): We love Him because He first loved us.
Titus 2:11-12 (NKJV): or the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.
Romans 5:1-2 (NKJV): Therefore, having been justified by faith, [a]we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
2 Cor. 5:17 (NKJV): Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2 Cor. 5:21 (NKJV): For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Romans 4:5 (NKJV): But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.
Romans 4:14-16 (NKJV): For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.
Romans 6:14 (NKJV): For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Acts 16:30-31 (AMPC): And he brought them out [of the dungeon] and said, Men, what is it necessary for me to do that I may be saved? And they answered, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ [give yourself up to Him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping] and you will be saved, [and this applies both to] you and your household as well.
Be encouraged, God is willing and able to sort everything out for you. He loves you and He has a great plan for your life. Never give up, but trust God to deliver and heal you from legalism and from doctrinal confusion and He will. It may not happen overnight, but precept upon precept, He will reveal truths to you that makes free (see John 8:31-32). I pray this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions. God bless.
Thanks Kat, I have subscribed, I'm going through anxiety and fear, I feel so terrible.
Hi @Bone Thug, may I ask first whether you are born again, i.e. have you surrendered your life to Jesus Christ and received Him as your personal Lord and Savior? This is the foundation and basis upon which everything else will be built as you walk on the journey toward fullness of healing and restoration. If you haven't received Christ yet, I encourage you to do so right now by placing your faith in His finished work at the cross for you and be saved from your sins through faith and regeneration of the Spirit of God. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him the Bible says in Isaiah. Please let me know if you have any questions. Be encouraged, God is willing and able to deliver you completely from legalism, fear and anxiety.
I encourage you to watch my other UA-cam videos as well. I believe they will help you also.
God bless
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 Hi I believe Jesus is my Lord and saviour, I just recently changed and quit smoking weed, nicotine, porn. Etc, but ever since turning myself to Christ and praying everyday and reading the Bible, I've been experiencing some form of religious OCD, but the worst part is extreme fear during the day and evening, I need your email so we can chat there, I have many questions and I feel I'm mentally tormented. 🙏🏿
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 please reply I'm a sinner and I beg u. 🙏🏿
Dear @Bone Thug, for some reason, I didn't receive a notification when you replied to my message two days ago so I didn't realize you had responded to my message. I can share my email address, however I may not be able to respond right away. Here it is: paulkathleenkacz@gmail.com
In the meantime, I do encourage you to watch my other UA-cam videos as well as I believe they will help you.
Know that the moment you repented from your sins and gave your heart to Christ, all your sins have been washed away with the blood of Christ never to be remembered again. God forgave you of all your sins. The devil is the accuser of the brethren the Bible says. We overcome the devil and his lies by the Blood of the Lamb and by the Word of our testimony (see Rev. 12:10-11). Your testimony is that Jesus saved you from your sins and made you a new creation in Christ Jesus. Behold old things are passed away, and all things are new! (see 2 Cor. 5:17) This is good news my friend. The Word of God is also your testimony and it is your sword against the lies of the devil. Ask the Lord to lead you to Bible verses that will help you where you feel tormented. Rest in the truth and promises of God's Word in the areas under attack. Continue to submit to God and stand your ground in faith and the devil will flee from you. Faith is your victory.
Be encouraged, God loves you and He will sustain you, He will uphold you with His righteous right hand.
most amazing lady ever...
100% God. I was undeserving, in sin and helpless and He showed me mercy, grace, kindness, compassion and purpose. I am glad God has been using my videos to minister to you. :) God bless!
Praise Jesus! All the glory goes to God!
Amen, to God be all the glory. :)
Praise God
what did that part of your dream mean? having the form of Godliness but denying the power thereof.. what was God saying to you?
Dear @Aric Jiang, just to let you know that I have seen your comment and I am hoping to respond by Tuesday end of day (Eastern time). God bless!
Dear @Aric Jiang, actually I am able to respond tonight after all. :)
This statement is taken from 2 Timothy 3:5 (NKJV) “Having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” Essentially, I was battling against sin in my own strength, in unbelief, as opposed to resting and trusting in the finished work of the cross. Hebrews 10:14 (NKJV) says “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” Romans 6:14 (NKJV) says “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Furthermore, the Bible says that Christ came to set us free from our sins (see Matthew 1:21 and John 8:36). The Bible is clear that we cannot save ourselves from our sins (see Ephesians 2:8-9). However, I was trying to save myself from my sins. I was working hard to live a righteous life in my own strength, without any dependence upon the Holy Spirit (See Galatians 3:3). I had outward religiosity in that I appeared righteous through my laboring hard not to sin, but it was only an outward religious appearance, I didn’t have the corresponding inner righteousness that can only come through faith in Christ. When we believe in Jesus, we receive the gift of righteousness for free by simply trusting in Jesus and in His Work at Calvary and we are thus empowered to live holy through dependence upon the Holy Spirit. So, I was denying the power of the work of Christ in me which had made me a new creation in Christ Jesus. And I was not relying on the Holy Spirit to help me resist temptation nor was I relying on the Holy Spirit or on God’s Word to transform me from the inside out from glory to glory. I was working in my own strength without relying on the power of Christ. Therefore, I was not being changed as a result and I therefore only had the appearance of godliness―I was religious and I was working hard, and yet I was in unbelief, not really trusting in the only work (the work of Christ on the cross) that could truly change me from the inside out―I was denying the power thereof. I hope this makes sense to you. Please let me know if you have any questions. God bless.
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 thank you so much for answering.. Kathleen do you still experience this disorder from time to time?
it doesnt go away for me.. i have this urge to curse at God.. and it's almost uncontrollable.. I've prayed and prayed about it but it's only gotten worse.. It's really affecting my daily life.. its literally tormenting.. And its not just the cursing but. yeah.. its hard to explain.
Hello @Aric Jiang, I just want to let you know that I have seen your comments and I am hoping to respond by end of week. Take care. God bless.
Is there any way to reach you personally via email? I need help.
Hi @Heather Parker, you can email me at paulkathleenkacz@gmail.com
This happened to me 😪
This is both astonishing and freighted to me. Such a big help to me. Personally I have been shackled up by doubt and unbelief, lock up in double mindedness. 10 years ago when I went up to the alter I said the sinners prayer but never felt right with God. I was influenced that salvation meant I "felt," saved and forgiven. I felt so fake because it seemed everyone mood become happy to accept Jesus as Lord, but I felt the same. Years have gone by since then. Ten years and I understand salvation is by faith not feelings, that I have made my emotions Lord and I repented over it. Yet I repent daily even hourly repent for not believing in Jesus Christ, for having doubt, unbelief and double mindedness. I feel my repentance isn't enough. That I'm not genuine. I feel stuck in a merry go round, that I'm not a real believer and won't change. These thoughts break me, because I know God is real, but yet a relationship with Jesus Christ feels so unreal.
Hi @Andrea Y,
You are correct in saying that we are saved by faith and not by feelings. When you prayed the sinner’s prayer ten years ago, did you agree you were a sinner in need of a Savior and did you want to turn from your sins at that moment and surrender your life to Christ? When you prayed the prayer, were you giving Jesus your heart sincerely? If you did then these are the marks of someone who became born again. If instead you went through the motion perhaps because you felt religiously pressured to go, then maybe it was more of a religious prayer without giving your heart to Christ. If the latter is true, it is as simple as coming to Him today and securing your salvation by giving your life to Him this very day and making Him your personal Lord and Savior; consciously choosing to trust Him alone and making Him and His work at the cross your only hope for heaven and nothing else. It is also important to understand that the devil is the accuser of the brethren. He will come and cause us to feel unforgiven, to feel wrong. That’s when it is important for us to know the Word and to know what Christ has really done for us. The Bible says that Jesus is our righteousness, our sanctification and our redemption through faith in Him (see 1 Cor. 1:30). We don’t stand justified because we are good, but we stand justified through faith in the One who is good. Then, His goodness and righteousness in us is what makes us acceptable before God and is what empowers us to produce righteousness and goodness. You see, we cannot produce what we don’t have. And even if we have it, if we don’t believe we have it, we will struggle to produce it just the same. Therefore, it is important to understand that we have an enemy the devil who tries to bring us under guilt and condemnation. We must resist Him in the faith and by knowing the Word of God and using it against the lies and temptations of the devil like Jesus did in the wilderness when the devil came to tempt him. We are in a warfare and we do need to fight the good fight of faith and to wear the whole armor of God as per Ephesians chapter six. All with God’s help and by His grace.
Now, having doubt and unbelief doesn’t mean that we are not in the faith nor does it mean that we have no faith. If you struggle with doubt and unbelief, the way to deal with this is to study the Word of God in the areas where you experience doubt and unbelief. The Bible says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17 NKJV). It is also by coming to God honestly about our doubts and asking Him to convince us where we need convincing. Thus inviting Him in our doubt and unbelief and asking Him to help our unbelief. We then cooperate with Him by trusting Him to help our unbelief and we study the Word of God in the areas where we need our faith to be increased and strengthened. That’s the way to deal with doubt and unbelief without striving in our own strength and in panic to stop unbelief in our lives.
I made a video on a related topic and I wrote a blog also. Please find the links below. I encourage you to watch the video and read the blog. In all of this, make sure to come before God openly, hiding nothing. But confess to Him exactly where you are and what is happening. It is important not to present ourselves to God trying to comply with what believe we should be like, but instead to come before Him in truth exposing our true condition, weakness, shortcoming and heart struggle with the goal to receive His forgiveness and be changed in those areas by Him. Only when we do that can we experience real repentance, forgiveness, deliverance, help, healing and restoration. Trying to come to God with perfect faith under a religious duty or pressure will not work. But coming to God honestly about our doubts and fears will work wonders and help bring deliverance and healing in those areas and help making us strong in those areas where we were once weak. Also, seek God for truth. Ask him to help you come to Him truthfully hiding nothing and leaving nothing out. It is the truth of God’s Word that makes us free, Jesus said in John 8:31-32.
It is important to understand repentance. You said you feel your repentance isn’t enough. Perhaps it is because you are going about it under a religious pressure causing you to go about it superficially under a religious expectation instead of confessing to God what is really going on in your heart. Allow your true heart to come forth before God and confide in Him from the heart. Don’t try to do or say things you should do or say under religious perfectionism, but come and open up to the One who sees and knows everything anyways. Nothing is hidden from Him. It can be hard to admit certain things to God and to ourselves because of what we picture as acceptable Christian standards. But unless we allow ourselves to be bare before Him, admitting our doubt, our unwillingness in certain areas and/or whatever else is going on inside of us, we can’t be made free in those very areas. We can only be made free going through. We cannot seek to a detour so to speak. Therefore, whatever your true condition, confess it to God. Confronting truth about yourself and where you are right now will be the launching place to genuine healing. Then, you will enter a journey of restoration with Him all the while being forgiven. Repentance doesn’t mean perfect performance or instantaneous change, but coming in agreement with God concerning the sin and choosing to turn in the opposite direction with His help, and cooperating with Him on that journey. Below I also included a video on understanding repentance as well as a video about the passive will as I believe they will minister to you as well and help shine more light.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I pray this helps.
Videos:
Overcoming the fear of losing one’s faith:
ua-cam.com/video/NDdPl0YmSfQ/v-deo.html
Understanding repentance:
ua-cam.com/video/7StFxR0HWB4/v-deo.html
The passive will:
ua-cam.com/video/GpdRR52eB4Y/v-deo.html
Blog:
Overcoming the fear of losing one’s faith:
www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/finding-freedom-from-the-fear-of-losing-one-s-faith
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 I truly appreciate you writing back to me. Honestly thank you for taking the time, to write back to me. I actually been saying the sinners prayer for ten straight years, because I felt I didn't mean it enough. It just in my heart I don't feel I trust Jesus Christ enough. I've been measuring my faith in feelings. As best as I could I've been honest with Jesus. That I've made my emotions Lord and I really don't trust him, because I'm afraid to get hurt by fully giving him my trust. I told him I believe but help my unbelief. I just feel stuck not able to have faith.
I grew up in abusive. Mainly by my mom, so with years my heart been walled up by distrust. When I heard the gospel I was compel and sobbing because how much of a sinner I am, and how Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I really do believe Jesus Christ is the only way to get to heaven, it just trusting is so hard for me. I find my heart just not accept this free gift from God. That I have to do something, that I have to earn it. Work it up, which I know I can't. Jesus Christ earn it and by believing in him I'm saved. I will gladly look at your videos. It ironic Kathleen I just subscribed to you and my next video was "what true repentance." I'm happy for this video because it honestly put a language to what my feelings been. Being obsessive/compulsive, about if I believe enough or said this prayer right this time. I just really want to have child-like faith to Jesus and have a genuine relationship with him.
Hello @Andrea Y, this is very helpful for me to have a better understanding of what you have been going through. And you are most welcome.
Also, I am glad that the video on repentance popped up shortly after you subscribed to my channel, God truly is at work and He is a God of timing! He is good :). You can be encouraged that He who began a good work in you will also complete it until the day of Christ (see Phil. 1:6).
Please let me know after you watched the videos if you have any questions. I really believe based on what you wrote in your latest message that the video about overcoming the fear of losing one’s faith and the corresponding blog will actually really help you. There is another video I think will bless you also based on what you wrote to me. It is entitled, “Becoming like a little child again”. You can find it here:
ua-cam.com/video/LND8HFWWc_Q/v-deo.html
It will likely take some time Andrea, but little by little, as you ask and look to God to help you trust Him, He will do just that. We can’t even believe in our own strength my dear. And again, having some doubts doesn’t mean that we have no faith or that we are not in the faith. We go from faith to faith the Bible says (see Romans 1:17). You will notice that, as you continue to look to God to help you, that He will bring truths and revelation to you throughout your journey that will cause you to trust Him a little more, and a little more, and a little more, until the day comes when you trust Him fully. Do not get discouraged, the process is normal. From glory to glory. And like you said, given your background too, there is healing needed there. God sees that. What the devil meant for evil, God means it for good and in the end, it will work out for your good and for the good of others to His glory (see Romans 8:28).
I advise you to prayerfully google for Bible verses related to your need. For instance, you can google “Bible verses to help with trusting God”, “Bible verses about God is trustworthy” etc. You will get a list of verses. Then you prayerfully read them and particularly focus on the ones that really minister to your heart. Don’t try to believe and to trust Him, instead let the Word of God do its work in you. Your part is to invite God in your situation and to lean on Him and look to Him to help you trust Him, He will. Also, your part is to simply spend time meditating on the Word that you read and to take those accounts and stories you read in the Word as well as promises and verses from His Word and to stand on those, to meditate on those and to confess those out loud and over your life. The Word of God will work in your heart as you continue to take it as medicine for your soul. Little by little, you will see your faith and trust in God increase. But if you try to believe in fear and if you place yourself under perfectionistic expectations, such perfectionism will actually hinder a genuine work of the heart and it will hinder true progress. If you try to behave right to earn God’s acceptance, it will only minister death to you and this is where you will feel just the way you have been feeling, like it’s never good enough, or constantly having a sense that you don’t believe enough and that you are falling short. Instead, cast this care on God and depend on Him and His Word to do the work in you. You simply cooperate with God by praying, by waiting on Him with expectation that He is working, and by studying the Word, especially in the areas of need. And so, you are right in that you can’t earn your salvation or His love. It can only be received by faith. Furthermore, it is the grace of God that teaches us to say no to ungodliness (see Titus 2:11-12). I encourage you to study on the new covenant of grace and on the finished work of Christ at the cross as well as on the love of God. I wrote quite a few blogs on relevant topics. Maybe you can navigate my blog page and see if some catch your attention and prayerfully read them (and re-read them as needed). You can find my blogs here:
www.paulandkathleenministries.org/blog
I encourage you to read and re-read this message from me. It typically takes more than once to get something into our spirit. I pray this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions or if something isn’t clear in what I just wrote here. God bless
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 Thank you for the resources and how to seek God in my problems. It so helping reading what been the stumbling block for my break through. Even though I want to have faith in Jesus Christ, I've been trying to earn it still by having this check list. I have to not watch UA-cam for this amount of hours, I have to confess over and over I doubt and have unbelief. In my own strength I was trying to be a better believer and follower of Christ. I love what you said, to just allow God word to work on me. To invite God in the area I struggle. I actually been praying and asking God to help me believe in him, to help me have faith in him. I ask Jesus Christ for peace in being a believer in him and not on my feelings. Again God bless you for writing back to me. It just shows you've been down this road too, and God help you be free. Wow, I too want to be set free 😊❤
You are most welcome. Indeed, I have been on that road. I can assure you that as you stop trying to believe in your own strength, and instead as you rest in Him and in His Word to do in you what only He and His Word can do in you, you will be made whole and your faith will grow and grow in grace, freedom, true righteousness and peace. As you walk on this journey with the Lord, do not focus on how far you think you need to go, but instead focus on and celebrate the mini-breakthroughs throughout the journey and celebrate your progress. With God and His Word, it is only a matter of time. God bless
Thank you
You are most welcome; God is good. God bless you too
Sooo helpful 🙌
My ocd is making me feel unredeemable hopeless
I need a personal revelation like you got. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can hardly sleep at all and I am asking for everybody’s prayers and help but then I’m afraid I won’t get it and then that makes me more fearful. It’s horrible. It makes me wish I wasn’t born sometimes. It took like a trap
Hi @Anson Howard,
This revelation was given for the benefit of all, not only for me my friend. Begin to seek God concerning legalism. No one is unredeemable. That's a legalistic lie of the devil. The Bible promises us that if we confess our sins to God, repent and place our faith in Christ, we shall be saved. Also, OCD isn’t what people think it is. Religious OCD (scrupulosity) is a medical term doctors assign on people who essentially struggle with religious and/or related to moral standards obsessive thinking and/or unwanted recurring (intrusive) thoughts and they label it as a mental illness and a brain dysfunction, but in reality, it is not. It is dangerous to believe you are suffering from a mental illness or brain dysfunction because it prevents you from dealing with the real issue underneath and the sufferer is robbed of the gift of repentance, deprived of the power to cooperate with God toward change, and stripped of any hope and vision for a better future. This is a spiritual problem and God will set everyone free who come to Him in faith for it. Heal the spiritual disease, and the brain tracks will change and shape in new forms over time. Deal with the root (legalism) and the fruits (unwanted thoughts and fears) of the root will leave over time. If there is no root to produce the unwanted fruits, then the unwanted fruits will lose their power and leave over time. Replace the root with faith in Christ and His finished work at the cross (grace covenant) and you will become better over time. Like I mentioned in the video, the root cause of my problem was legalism empowered by the illegitimate power of witchcraft. Now, you won’t likely come out overnight, and you most likely will experience setbacks as you learn the truth of the sound doctrine of grace and seek to learn with God as your Teacher how to live under grace instead of under law. But that's normal, don't worry about it. I have experience numerous setbacks on my recovery journey myself. But the first step will be to stop labeling yourself with OCD and instead to repent from legalism, receive God’s immediate forgiveness and enter a journey of recovery from legalism with God in which as you trust Him, He will purge you from legalism, little by little. This is a process and it will likely happen over a period of time, so you will need to be patient with yourself. Perfectionism paralyzes all progress. So allow for the process of change. Understand that God accepts you completely the moment you sincerely confess and repent from your sins, including the sin of legalism, and that repentance allows for a process of change; i.e once you repented and chose to turn in the opposite direction, you are forgiven and God changes you from glory to glory through your faith in Him and in His Word. There are all kinds of lies and deceptions with legalism that need to be exposed and cast out and replaced with the truth of God’s Word mixed with faith. Thus, recovery will happen over a period of time. And over time, you will be transformed from the inside out by the renewal of your mind (see Rom. 12:2) and thus of your belief system. I encourage you to prayerfully watch all, or most, of my UA-cam videos. I also encourage you to read my blogs.
You can find them here:
www.paulandkathleenministries.org/blog
I strongly encourage you to start with the first one published. For that, you will need to scroll all the way down. Then you should reach the one entitled: Religious OCD/Scrupulosity/”the doubting disease”. Start with that one and then, one by one, prayerfully work your way up. Invite the Holy Spirit asking Him to open your understanding to the videos you are watching and the blogs you are reading. I strongly encourage you to watch and read them numerous times each or at least the ones that really minister to you; we need to do that so that the truth we are learning can take real roots in our heart. Then, we become not easily shaken by every wave of doctrine. Be thus encouraged. This too shall pass; only trust God. He who began a good work in your will also complete it until the day of Christ (see Phil. 1:6). Take care.
I pray this helps,
Kathleen
I'm not sure whether I suffer from scrupulosity. For the past few days I've been restless. My conscience is telling me to delete all my music, throw away all my clothing, and throw away my video games. Today it went as far as giving away my pet and leaving all my friends. I thought back to Jesus telling a man to sell all of his possessions and you will have treasure in heaven. Is it necessary to sell or get rid of every single thing that may be idolatrous?
Dear Wilson, what you are describing certainly strongly “smells” like legalism (which is the root cause of scrupulosity). No, it is not necessary for you to sell or get rid of every single thing that may be idolatrous. If you go down that path, what will be the end? Will you need to ultimately get rid of everything just to be safe? How will you be able to measure when it is enough? Who determines what is idolatrous or if it is truly idolatrous to you? I am not saying the Lord will never ask us to walk away from some friends if they truly have a negative impact on our lives and relationship with Christ, nor am I saying that the Lord may not lead us to get rid of some types of music, games or videos if they prove not to be appropriate. But be careful that it is not a condemning spirit trying to torment you and bring you under law. The Bible says that the sons of God are led by the Spirit of God (see Romans 8:14). The Lord Himself will make it known to you if something is getting to be a problem for you. The devil is legalistic and he is trying to cause us to live under law, where everything depends on us; where we feel like we doubt every decision we make and every move we make. Where we find ourselves struggling with a guilt-ridden conscience. Such system isn’t of God. I strongly encourage you not to make any drastic decisions until things get sorted out on this matter for you. I do not have a lot of time today, but the Lord willing, I am hoping to touch base again with you tomorrow evening (Eastern Time). I encourage you to seek God and ask Him to lead you to Bible verses that will bring light for you in this situation. Until then, I encourage you to restrain from taking any other steps alike. Take care, God bless. Kathleen
Dear Wilson, I re-read your comment and my answer to your comment from yesterday. I think what I sent yesterday actually covers the highlights of what I would like to share with you in response to your question. I would however like to add this little something.
The bible says that we have been made the righteousness of God through Christ (See 2 Cor. 5:21). We do not have to do anything to earn righteousness, Jesus is our righteousness (see 1 Cor. 1:30). You are righteous through faith in Christ (see Romans 5:1 and Romans 4:5). We serve God because we are saved, not in order to get saved. From there, the Holy Spirit leads us (see Romans 8:14). What did Jesus say when people asked Him what they must do that they may work the works of God? He said, this is the work of God that you believe in the One whom He has sent.
God is your keeper (see Psalm 121:5). If there is something that needs to change in your life of which you are not aware of, the Lord will make it known to you. The devil comes with that vague feeling that something is wrong with us and we are left in the dark with that sense of guilt, trying to figure out what is wrong with us and anxiously trying to fix whatever it is. However, God is light and He deals with us honestly and straightforwardly. If there is something wrong, He puts His finger on it in such a way that it is clear to us that something is wrong and in need of change. The Bible says He who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps (see Psalm 121:4). We are God’s adopted children and so He who watches over us neither slumbers nor sleeps just the same. Furthermore, God convicts us, He doesn’t condemn us. And there is a difference. Daddy convicts and even disciplines the child He loves just like any loving parent does. But conviction and discipline do not mean rejection. Condemnation comes from the devil. The devil condemns us day and night before the throne of grace (See Revelation 12:11). On the other end, the Bible says that there is no condemnation to those in Christ, who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit (see Romans 8:1). The latter essentially means that we are led by the Spirit and that we live in obedience and dependence upon the Spirit. Let the Spirit guide you dear. He is well able to keep you and to complete in you what He started (see Phil. 1:6). Romans 8:15 (NKJV) says “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”
Your heavenly Father loves you and He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully (see 1 Peter 5:7 AMPC). God bless.
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 Thank you good sister for taking the time to reply to me. You have lifted my spirits and I continue to pray for God's help. I pray that you have a good week.
@@wilsonfisk6626 Praise God! I am so glad. :) God is good :) And thank you! Same to you; may you have a good week! God bless.
Ok. My scrupulosity is now worse.
Wow thats so trueeee. I deal with this compulsions letters sounds ugh its horrible trying to change the negative thoughts to positive. Wish i never fought it. I listen to derek prince. I need prayer :(((
Dear one, how I understand. Be encouraged that you now know the root cause: legalism. That is such a major step forward! I made a couple more videos on recovering from religious OCD that I believe can help you too. If you are interested, I also listed a whole bunch of relevant and very helpful scriptures at the bottom of the third video. I encourage you to meditate on those and to confess them out loud to help them get deep into your heart. God will see you through as you depend on Him all the way. He is willing and able. Take heart, there is a way out :). I will pray for you too.
sister your on heyyyy i watched this on 4 am wow it made me think yessss its legalism i just want to be perfect not sin and than i sin :((((((
did you deal with the enemy trying to change what the Word of Gods saying its horrid :(((( like I am trying to say Gods word but the enemy tries to switch what it says he brings feelings it horrible. :((((((
Yes, I dealt with that too and I had to really set my face like a flint through the power of His might. What a battle it was for me. During that period of time, I began to learn more than ever what it meant to walk by faith and not by sight (and therefore not by feelings). It was such a warfare. But as I learned to fight from a standpoint of victory ("it is finished"), over time, my belief system and my mind began to be renewed more and more with the Word as I persisted with "it is written" back to the devil and throughout the day. I would meditate on the Word night and day it seemed. Fear and anxiety would be all over me with all of these contrary and insistent thoughts, and, by the grace of God, I would ignore the fear and the anxiety as to not feed them all the more, and I moved forward little by little by His strength and by His Word. I also had many setbacks during my recovery process, but I would keep my faith standing anyways. I essentially chose not to focus on the anxiety that I felt and I sought to remain focused on Him and on the Scriptures that I kept meditating on. I read very good anointed books relevant to the topic too. That kept my mind busy with the truth and I was encouraged by the teachings. Daily, I placed my hope in Him that He would provide another revelation that would bring another mini-breakthrough until the entire puzzle was all put together. Oh dear, I had to constantly speak "it is written". For a while, it felt it was 100 times a day or more. But He saw me through and He will see you through, too. If you want, perhaps we can continue our conversation via email if you feel a need. Here is my email address: paulkathleenkacz@gmail.com. Feel free to email me and we can pick it up from there, as you wish.
Hi! I know this is a late comment but I was wondering if it’s possible to get deliverance? I’ve been getting deliverance for a while but I’m getting these thoughts that are just so ungodly especially after I made the commitment to re-dedicate my life to God and Christ. There’s these thoughts that are the same that keep bombarding me, no matter what the deliverance. I have trouble sleeping and I keep having obsessive thoughts and it’s tiring me out. I just want to be free and I know these thoughts aren’t mine. I don’t know if it’s a demon inside of me or something inside my house. My heart wants to worship God and live for Christ, but my mind keeps saying “worship Satan,” and I keep thinking about my past and I feel like my sins were never forgiven and are unpardonable. Please, I just want peace and I know God has not condemned and it’s Satan. God bless you! 💕
I also want to add that I re-dedicated my life to God and Christ at the end of October and I started attending an SDA church and I am not sure if it’s the doctrine or legalism that I have an issue right now, but I just want to be free.
Hello @ashtastic, I just want to let you know that I saw your messages. No worries, I still review comments from my older videos so it's not a late comment. :) I just want to let you know that I hope to answer your questions by end of day Sunday or by end of day Monday, Canada Eastern Time, the Lord willing.
Concerning attending a SDA church, I strongly encourage you to reconsider. The SDA's doctrine is indeed a legalistic one and I believe you have been picking up on that thus why you said and I quote, "I am not sure if it's the doctrine or legalism that I have an issue right now". I encourage you to prayerfully seek God for a church that teaches the sound doctrine of the new covenant of grace. Please let me know if you would like me to help you with that. Good night
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 Hi Mrs. Kaczmarek, thank you so much for the quick reply! The reason why I am attending the church is because they go to church on Saturday which in the 10 commandments is the Sabbath. I have much to learn by actually reading my Bible, but I will take your advice into consideration. I am not officially a member yet and I have felt an urge to just give up on man-made religions. I really feel like God just wants me to worship him in truth and spirit. I really want to be obedient and follow Christ and it’s harder even now since I haven’t figured out anything myself or read the entire Bible myself haha. Anyways, thank you again, I’ll let you know when God gives me an answer back about the church and stuff, as far as I know, they go by what the Bible says? At least, that’s what I have heard them preach and stuff. 🤷🏻♀️
Hello @ashtastic,
The devil only needs to throw at us the first unwholesome thought and from there it depends a lot on how we respond. If we believe the thought is ours, we will begin to own it, to fear it and of course we will feel guilt and condemned because of it. Also, if we begin to respond to those thoughts with condemnation instead of through faith in the finished work of Christ at the cross, it actually will begin to empower and strengthen the thoughts we are desperate to see leave. So, even if you keep receiving deliverance, if you are responding to the unwanted thoughts under law or if you fear what the thoughts say instead of responding through faith, the thoughts will keep coming back. What we magnify through feeding it through fear gets bigger and what we starve lose its power and eventually dies. Hear what the apostle Paul said in Romans 7:15 (NKJV), “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” This is a statement he made when he was trying to obey the law in his own strength. I came to see in my own experience that recurring intrusive thoughts and tendencies opposite to life and truth aren’t always a continual and direct intervention of the devil. Yes, he surely threw at me the first unbiblical thought. He may even come back here and there to try to keep me in fear, but really, after he suggested the first devilish thought, it depended a lot on how I responded…through faith in the finished work of Christ at the cross, or through fear of the law’s demands. It all depended on whether I responded under the influence of grace, or of law. Each time I bit and allowed myself to give into fear and condemnation through legalistic pressure and commands, most of the devil’s job was done. Because the sin that dwells in my members was aroused (see Romans 7:8-12) by the law that said, “You must not have this evil thought or you go to hell!” It rendered me powerless to stop the obsessive thoughts. The outward dictate of law over my life strengthened the sin from which I was desperate to be free (see 1 Corinthians 15:56). From there, the daily battle with the unwanted sinful thoughts and with legalistic temptations was not so much with the devil as it was with the law of sin and death dwelling in my members that was strengthened by the religious law I placed myself under (see Romans 7:23). Therefore, dear one, the only way out is through, by and under the grace of God. The Bible says that sin shall not have dominion over us because we are not under law but under grace (see Romans 6:14). Grace I believe, will ultimately be your antidote.
I encourage you to watch the following three videos, I believe they will help you. Here they are:
How to strip the thought of its power:
ua-cam.com/video/aCmqzhsaShU/v-deo.html
How to stop the thoughts (Part 2):
ua-cam.com/video/wFDZcVIy-fA/v-deo.html
Practical ways to deal with intrusive thoughts:
ua-cam.com/video/3pCSPRINDCQ/v-deo.html
I also encourage you to browse through my blog and reads some as the Lord leads. You can find them here:
www.paulandkathleenministries.org/blog
Concerning the SDA and I quote what you said, “The reason why I am attending the church is because they go to church on Saturday which in the 10 commandments is the Sabbath.”
Here is what the Bible says in Colossians 2:11-23 (NKJV):
Those of us in Christ are no longer under the old covenant of the Law (see Galatians 5:18). If we are led by the Spirit of God, we are not under Law (see Galatians 5:18). The Law is made for the sinners, not for the righteous (see 1 Timothy 1:9). So when we are governed by the Spirit of God, we will inherently do the righteous requirements of the Law without having to be told “thou must do this or that”: “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (See Romans 8:3-4 (NKJV) So Romans 8:3-4 shows us that the Law is powerless to change our human nature, that’s why God sent Christ. If we begin to submit to the law as a means of righteousness, it will render us powerless to obey it (see 1 Cor. 15:56). On the other hand, now that we have the Holy Spirit in us, we are led by the Spirit of God (see Romans 8:14) and empowered by Him to live holy. Grace is both the unmerited favor of God and the power of God to live holy. I encourage you also to read 1 Timothy chapter 1.
I also encourage you to prayerfully consider buying the book, “By Grace Alone: Finding Freedom and Purging Legalism from Your Life” written by Derek Prince. You can find it on Amazon.
I pray this helps.
Kathleen
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 Thank you so much Kathleen! Your answers have helped me greatly. I will definitely check out the links and book that you advised for me, but is it okay to attend the church still? I am not officially a member but I just enjoy the people and stuff and I really do believe God brought me there. Regardless, I will do my best to follow the advice of living under grace and not law. Thank you again! :) 💕
What do I do if whenever I read the Bible I feel super guilty whenever I’m doing something else besides reading, spreading the gospel, or praying, (and even sometimes I would feel guilty while doing those things) I just don’t know what to do, I feel convicted about everything, like I’m so confused. God bless
Hello @bella brown, I just want to let you know that I saw your message and that I hope to respond before the end of the week. Take care
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 thank you so much!
@@bellabrown5274 You are very welcome, God is good. 🙏
Hi @bella brown,
What you are experiencing isn’t conviction, it is condemnation. It is not from God but from the devil. What you are experiencing is a huge warning sign that the enemy is trying to lure you away into legalism. It brings me back around the first year I was born again; the devil was already working hard at trying to lure me away into legalism. It was a Saturday afternoon, I felt tired and badly wanted to take a nap. But at the same time, the thought of taking a nap instead of reading my Bible made me feel guilty. I was somewhat tormented with this inner battle, and I was so double-minded. Should I have a nap, or should I read the Bible? If I read the Bible, I am so tired that I will hardly get anything out of it. But if I go to bed and don’t read the Bible, am I not keeping from doing what I should be doing on a Saturday afternoon as a Christian? After all, if you have free time, you should be reading the Word, shouldn’t you? O the torment that comes with legalism! Finally, I gave into “the temptation,” and I had a nap. But God is so good, I tell you! He is with us at all times, and He sees our struggles. He noticed the struggle and the lie that the enemy was trying to plant in my soul. And during my nap, God gave me a prophetic dream. The dream was very vivid. I saw many planes hovering in the sky, ready and waiting for the go-ahead to drop a bomb. They were standing by, waiting for a “yes” to attack or a “no” to retreat. Suddenly, they were given the go-ahead. The answer was “yes” to attack, a bomb was dropped from one of the planes, and I awoke. Although I am not one to follow politics, I knew President George W. Bush was about to make a decision concerning whether he should go ahead and invade Iraq or not. Very soon after I received this dream, he made the decision to invade Iraq and gave the go-ahead; the answer was “yes.” God, in His goodness, gave me a prophetic dream during my nap. He showed me that having a nap was okay with Him, and I didn’t need to feel guilty. He wasn’t displeased with my choice and all was well.
Here is what Jesus said to those who asked what they must do that they may work the works of God: “Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”” (John 6:28-29 (NKJV))
The Bible says that the sons of God are led by the Spirit of God (see Romans 8:14). Our work for God stems from faith and love, not from guilt.
@bella brown, I strongly encourage you to dive deep into the study of law versus grace. Study on the new covenant of grace. Study on salvation by grace through faith. Study on the finished work of Christ at the cross. Here is a book I strongly encourage you to buy and read. It is written by Derek Prince and is entitled, “By Grace Alone: Finding Freedom and Purging Legalism from your life." You can find it on Amazon.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I pray this helps.
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 thank you so much! This really helped me understand what’s happening! Now I actually do have another question though, why do I doubt my salvation? Sometimes I feel like I’m absolutely saved and God loves me so much! And then sometimes I feel like I’ve already been condemned to hell for all of eternity. It’s extremely exhausting and scary. Do you have think I’m actually not saved? I don’t want to worry about this and I also don’t want to feel like I shouldn’t feel saved because I heard in an article that the devil likes to make saved people feel unsaved and unsaved people feel saved. You see why this is so frustrating? Yeah that’s all thanks so much!
Is legalism a sin?
Dear @Trill Favor. Yes, legalism is sin. The wonderful news is the moment we go to God and confess our sins with a sincere heart, He forgives us immediately. Today I am so glad that God showed me what the real problem in my life was. Knowing the truth about my true condition is ultimately what really helped me. From then, I was no longer fighting in the dark. Understanding legalism was the real problem in my life and that legalism was sin actually really helped me. It caused me to become more anxious at first, true, but it quickly became the truth that set me free. You see, when we understand that trying to earn God's love and acceptance through our own perfection or through trying to comply with laws as a means of righteousness is sin and displeasing to God, we are strongly motivated to renounce trying in our own strength to earn our salvation or to change ourselves. As we renounce legalism and ask God to teach us the sound doctrine of being saved by grace through faith and as we understand that the grace of God is both the unmerited favor of God and the power of God to live holy, things really begin to change; one of the fears of the legalist is, won't the grace of God cause me to excuse my sins? Won't it cause me to sin more? However, when we understand that the grace of God is both the unmerited favor of God and the power of God to live holy, such fears leave us. So, be of good cheer, I fell deep into legalism. Yet, the moment I confessed to God and chose to turn in the opposite direction with His help (because I couldn't get out without Him helping me―you see, we can't come out the way we came in (i.e. in our own strength)), He forgave me right away. From there, I entered a journey of recovery where God began to purge my life from legalism, little by little. All the while, I was forgiven. The same is true for you and for everyone who will come before God in truth and repent of legalism and ask Him to forgive them and purge their lives from legalism. Be encouraged @Trill Favor, only the truth can make us genuinely free. The moment we learn (and face) the truth about our true problem, half the battle is over for we stop fighting in the dark. From henceforth, we accurately target the real problem. God bless
John 14:15
Amen
I struggled with religious OCD alot. My mind is stuck in a belief for salvation. I don't know how to handle it because it's the mind. I simply wanted to be saved when I found out the truth about God but I haven't been able to be saved because I watched many different sermons on salvation and got confused and fearful. Now I get the idea of the gospel that it's not by our works but by Jesus'. I'm still stressed and anxious and need help for this.
Dear @Flavio Garza,
Indeed, we are not saved by our works of self-righteousness, but only through faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done for us at the cross. All of our own righteousness is as filthy rag, the Bible says in Isaiah 64. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, "“Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me. For all that I require of you will be pleasant and easy to bear.”" (TPT).
The Bible says in Romans 10:9-10, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (NKJV).
To be saved from your sins, all you need to do is to receive the free gift of salvation. You don’t have to do anything to receive it. It is a gift given to us from God. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV) puts it this way: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Therefore, if you want to turn from your sins, to be saved from the power of sin and to give your life to Jesus Christ, then, with childlike faith, receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. The Bible says in Matthew 1:21 that Jesus came to save His people from their sins. The following prayer is a suggested prayer. You can pray something in those lines or simply repeat this prayer after me from your heart and be saved:
“Lord, I confess to You that I am a sinner deserving of Hell, and I ask You to forgive me of my sins. I confess that I cannot save myself and that only You can save me. I believe, Jesus, that You are the Son of God and the Savior of the world who died on the cross to pay the price for my sins and rose from the dead three days later for my justification. I ask you to save my soul and to make me a new creature like Your Word promises. I repent of my sins, and I trust You alone as my way to heaven. Come and live in my heart. Have Your way in me, for I belong to You. Thank You for giving me the gift of eternal life. In Jesus’s name, amen.”
Welcome into the family of God! The Word says in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (KJV). The Bible also says that through Jesus Christ, we enjoy peace with God the Father: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1 KJV). We have this promise from God: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 KJV). Finally, when we are born again, we become a new creature in Christ, old things are gone and everything has become new (see 2 Cor. 5:17). We receive a new nature from God and we become alive spiritually.
The same way we were saved is the way we live: by grace through faith. This simply means that now that you are born again, i.e. now that the Holy Spirit lives in your heart by faith and that you have become a child of God, God will lead you daily by His Spirit living in you. This is wonderful news. Also, this means you no longer need to try to perform. You can now rest in Jesus and depend on His Spirit within you to guide you and to help you in your daily living. God molds and shapes us into Christ’s image from glory to glory. And again, God will guide you by His Spirit and by His Word, the Bible. You are not alone! Enjoy your new found relationship with our heavenly Father. I encourage you to prayerfully find yourself a church and begin to attend. If they are not open due to covid-19, you can find many churches holding services online. Then attend those for now. You will also need to feed your spirit with spiritual sustenance, i.e. with the Word of God. I therefore encourage you to read the Bible daily.
Please let me know if you have any questions or if you would like some help with the choosing which church to attend. God bless!
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 I don't understand for some reason.
I encourage you to read it a few times carefully. If you still can't understand after you re-read it a few times, then write to me what you don't understand and where you need clarification and I will try to help you in those areas specifically. I pray this helps
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 I don't know. My mind can't grasp the idea of belief or faith in something like that. I'm so confused and stressed. I know deep down God is real but the whole thing is illogical to my brain I guess.
Don't worry. Be patient with yourself. Now, I encourage you to do the following:
I encourage you to receive Christ just as you are with your struggles and confusion because He will come along side you and help you sort everything out for you little by little. I encourage you to pray the prayer to God I wrote for you and from there, start to talk with Him daily and to read the Bible daily. Ask Him to help your faith. Ask Him to lead you to Bible verses that will help your faith too. Also prayerfully find yourself a church to go to. Please let me know if you need my help there.
Begin to read the Bible daily. The Bible says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (see Romans 10:17). As you read it, ask the Holy Spirit to open your understanding to the Word you are reading. Perhaps start with the book of John and the book of Ephesians. As you read the Word of God, it will help your faith grow.
If you can rent movies, perhaps rent the following movie: The Case for Christ. This is a true story of an atheist who became a Christian.
Faith is something that happens in your heart. The Bible says that we need to become like little children; we receive Jesus like a little child. The Bible says that by faith we understand (please read Hebrews chapter 11). We don't reason our way to God, we simply choose by God's grace to believe and receive what the Bible says.
The Bible says that without Christ, we are all dead in sin. Because of our sins, we deserve hell. So our sins need to be punished and paid for. God in His great mercy and love for us, as well as to fulfill His justice, sent Jesus to die in our place and to take God's wrath upon Himself so that we won't have to be condemned, punished and go to hell. In the old testament, the Jewish people had to sacrifice animals (blood had to be shed) to cover their sins. Jesus became that eternal lamb of God and shed His Blood so that if we believe it and surrender our lives to Him, our sins are washed away freely with His shed Blood and we are forgiven and made righteous with Jesus's righteousness.
I pray this helps. I encourage you to re-read this message also a few times and to do the things I advice you to do. Please let me know if you have any additional questions. Good night!
Why do I have horrible blasphemous thoughts against the spirit and I associate legalism with repentance? How about hearing someone talking about Jesus and telling jesus out loud that I'm having a thought about associating this person with bad witch stuff and I was not directing it to that person because I cant do that and I was terrified of blaspheming the spirit...i feel so lost..help me..what about repentance I already told jesus that I accept him...and im legalistically trying to repent but I get blasphemous against the spirit and jesus thoughts all because I'm afraid of blaspheming the spirit
Dear @alex perry, concerning the blasphemous thoughts against the Holy Spirit and Jesus, I just responded to another related comment I received from you. In it, I also referred to a blog I wrote on the topic. I believe it will help you there. But also understand that we are in a spiritual war and that we have an enemy, the devil. And so, for a born again Christian to have thoughts like that, understand that the devil attacked you with these thoughts in the first place. To see these thoughts leave will depend on how you respond to them: in fear or in faith. The more you fear the thoughts, the more enslaved to them you will be. The more you fear them and the more guilt and condemnation are the driving motivation to stop the thoughts, the more it will empower the thoughts to stay. However, as you deal with the thoughts under grace and as you stand on the promises of God’s Word that tell you who you are in Christ and what Jesus has already done for you at the Cross, you will eventually come to the place where you even forget the thoughts and they will eventually leave. I also encourage you to watch the following three videos. I believe they will help shine more light on this and help you get better. Be encouraged that God is a very present help in times of trouble the Bible says. Run to Him and trust Him to deliver you and He will. So long as we are trusting Him, we can rest assured that He is working in our situation, whether we see it or not. He will see you through. Be thus encouraged.
Additional Videos to watch:
How to strip the thought of its power:
ua-cam.com/video/aCmqzhsaShU/v-deo.html
How to stop the thoughts (part 2):
ua-cam.com/video/wFDZcVIy-fA/v-deo.html
Practical ways to deal with intrusive thoughts:
ua-cam.com/video/3pCSPRINDCQ/v-deo.html
With regards to your concern and I quote “How about hearing someone talking about Jesus and telling Jesus out loud that I'm having a thought about associating this person with bad and I was not directing it to that person because I cant do that and I was terrified of blaspheming the spirit.” Understand that the devil is the accuser of the brethren and he is legalistic, too. He wants to bring us under guilt and condemnation, he wants to bring us under legalistic bondage. God is a God of the heart. What the Lord is after is our heart, first and foremost. Everything else will naturally stem from there. God knows your intentions and your heart. You therefore do not need to be concerning yourself there as well. Right now, the devil is using fear to bring torment into your life in these areas. It will be important for you to stand firm on the promises of God’s Word. I encourage you to meditate on Bible verses on the finished work of Christ at the cross, on the love of God, on who you are in Christ, on being saved by grace through faith. It will help you anchor yourself on the truth of God’s Word. You can google for lists of Bible verses on these topics and prayerfully find yourself a few encouraging verses to stand on at this time.
The Lord willing, I will try to get back to you about your question on repentance hopefully today, if not in the next few days. This goes also about your third question/comment you asked me which I saw on the channel as well. I pray this helps.
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 what if you confessed a bad thought about somebody talking about god to jesus and telling jesus that you had a very bad thought about associating them with bad witch stuff and telling jesus its a false thought and you WILL NOT speak against them like that or use your words to direct that at him because its not my place to speak against anybody like that, but still told jesus your bad thought that you dont agree with....is that blaspheming the spirit? We will be held accountable for our words
Hi @alex perry, with regards to your question on repentance.
It is true that generally, the more we experience our relationship under grace, the more the motivation for repenting will be love for God, love for righteousness and hate for sin, and the less it will be fear of judgment. Now, when it comes to what you have been going through, i.e. having blasphemous thoughts bombarding your mind and wondering whether repenting from these thoughts is legalistic. You may also feel this way because these thoughts are actually not your heart. So you wonder, do I really have to repent if they are not my heart in the first place. That is a relevant question as God looks at the heart and at the intent of the heart. You see, we have a personal relationship with God. So, if your faith is strong enough not to need to repent because you have the understanding the thoughts are not from you, then you don’t need to repent and you simply look to God and cooperate with Him to see the thoughts leave. Those sorts of thoughts will leave as your focus begin to shift from them to something else. The Bible instructs us to mind the things of the Spirit (see Romans 8:5). Therefore, as you persevere in faith in keeping your heart and mind filled with purpose from above and as you persist in ignoring the thoughts by faith and with God’s help, and don’t attach worry and condemnation to the thoughts, it won’t be long that the thoughts will leave. On the other hand, if your faith is more where you still feel the need to repent, you can do that too, and there is nothing wrong with that either. I have done both, honestly. And actually, the first time this happened to me of which I made mentioned in my video, I worried for quite some time, until God spoke to me in the dream. I didn’t know yet how to respond to thoughts like that. I have also come to God, repent and then tell God, from here, I will no longer repent and confess the thoughts each time they come because I want to be able to move on, I want to be able to forget the thoughts so they can leave. I have observed that when we forget the thoughts, they leave us. So I would let God know before I adopt that approach. That way, I felt secure in that I let God know ahead of time before more thoughts come of what I was going to do and that way, I knew God knew when other thoughts would come and the entire process toward freedom was covered and God was invited in my situation from beginning to end until the thoughts leave. And/or I would do that, and in mid-way in the process do it again. It’s all about our faith, you see.
You can just come to God and tell Him “God I have these thoughts, but I don’t want them. Please forgive me of them and deliver me from them. I ask you also to help me not to fear them but to place my trust in your finished work knowing that I have the mind of Christ through such work and that I can stand my ground in faith that I am a new creature and that such thoughts don’t arise from my new nature. Please help me.” Then you trust God to help you and to deliver you. You can even tell God, “Lord I recognize that the more I give the thoughts attention and the more I engage concerning the thoughts that it seems to strengthen the thoughts and cause them to reoccur. Lord I am therefore asking you to forgive me of them and I just want to let you know I don’t want them and I ask you to guide me out and to deliver me and I will not keep confessing them from now on because I am letting you know now that I am sorry and I don’t want them and I want them gone and that from now on, with your help, I will seek to ignore the thoughts, standing in faith on your finished work at the cross, and I will shift my attention on the things above so that I can forget these unwanted thoughts and by virtue of forgetting them, they will leave.”
Now, generally speaking (just in general and not specifically talking about this instance), repentance after salvation isn’t legalism. And I am so glad there is such a thing as repentance! Without it, we would not have the possibility to make choices for the better and to change! Repentance simply means the agreeing with God concerning the sin and the choosing to turn away from it and to begin to walk in the opposite direction with God’s help. It is a change of heart and mind concerning sin; it is a change of direction from the direction we were on. When we become born again, indeed we repent from our sins and place our faith in Christ. The moment we do that, the Holy Spirit comes to live on the inside of us. We become new creature in Christ Jesus, the Bible says. From there, we enter into relationship with God and we also enter into a journey of change with Him. Now that we are born again, we have new desires, and a new heart. Part of this whole journey is the renewal of our mind (see Romans 12:2). On this journey, we grow, we are being transformed as the Lord molds us and shapes us into His image by His Spirit living inside us from glory to glory. We learn to walk by faith, and to depend and be led by the Spirit. We also have a robe of flesh. Jesus did say, pray that you enter not into temptation for the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (see Matthew 26:41). (I would like to add that temptation isn’t sin.) So if we sin or mess up, what do we do? We can come into the light; we come to God and confess to Him what we did or where we struggle and we ask Him to forgive us and to help us not to do it again and we can receive His immediate forgiveness and cleansing (see 1 John 1:9, 1 John 1:7 and 1 John 2:1). Repentance also allows for a process of change. Sometimes, we struggle in an area and even though we choose to turn away from the sin, we find ourselves struggling to do so. However, when we sincerely choose to turn from it and to depend on God in faith and to cooperate with God toward lasting change, this is acceptable repentance to God. And God will help us overcome and He will teach us the truth that will make us free (see John 8:31-32). Sometimes, it can be a lengthy process of time, but once we repented we can observe the progress forward as we continue to actively trust God to deliver us completely and as we cooperate with Him in faith on the journey of recovery. Now we don’t need to fear losing our salvation each time we miss the mark. We are in a relationship with God and He has become our Father. The Blood of Jesus is our hope, not our self-righteousness. God is merciful and under grace, it is understood that there will be a process of change and growth. Grace is all about a work of the heart. Thus, we are made right with God by faith in Jesus’ Blood. Only the Blood of Jesus is acceptable payment for our sins. Nothing else will be accepted. We are made righteous through faith in His Blood. Period. God is a God of the heart. What He is after is our heart. When our heart is right: i.e. we are repentant and our faith is in Him, and as a fruit of such faith and repentance we seek to live in obedience to Him out of love for Him because of what He has done for us, then all is well. Salvation is a free gift and the grace of God is undeserved. The grace of God is also the power of God to live holy (see Romans 6:14).
Mark DeJesus made some excellent videos on repentance. I strongly encourage you to watch the four of them (part 1 to 4). You can find them below. They will be a great source of enlightenment and encouragement to you on this important topic of repentance. I pray this helps.
What is repentance? Part 1:
ua-cam.com/video/WInjpw4ccLA/v-deo.html
What is repentance? Part 2:
ua-cam.com/video/1FGtUvuOk9g/v-deo.html
What is repentance? Part 3:
ua-cam.com/video/b-PH_htZ1h0/v-deo.html
What is repentance? Part 4:
ua-cam.com/video/Cx_0KZcPS20/v-deo.html
@@kathleenkaczmarek9190 so intrusive unwanted blasphemous thoughts about calling god jesus and the holy spirit of bad/evil/devil demon monster stuff isnt actually the unpardonable sin? It's just nasty thoughts from lack of strong faith? So its a devil attack? Because I hate these thoughts
Dear @alex perry, concerning your question about your confessing and telling Jesus that you had a bad thought about someone and that you will not speak against them like that anymore, etc. It is important to understand that it is the devil who is legalistic, not God. God is a God of the heart. We are also called to test the spirits to see if they are of God (see 1 John 4:1). Not all spirits are from God. Of course, even if we were to genuinely find out they are not of God, we shouldn't start to go around disrespectfully and say all kinds of manner of bad words against the person, but we can pray for them and trust God to deal with the situation and the deception. It doesn’t mean that we can never say a word of caution to someone, but we can do that gracefully and we can ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom. He will show us what we need to do and how and when. If you haven’t watched my video on overcoming the fear of the unpardonable sin yet, I also encourage you to watch it, it has further answers in it. Even the archangel Michael didn't dare to condemn satan for slander but said "the Lord rebuke you!" (See Jude 1:9) Sometimes, a preacher can be totally from God, but it doesn't mean that everything they say is always 100% right on. So if at times something they say don't agree with our spirit and we can clearly see by the Spirit of God and by the Word of God it doesn't align in that instance, we are simply to reject what they said there and receive the rest they say which is good.
And so in terms of your fear of having confessed to Jesus words you spoke for which you are repentant of and of which you agree of them being wrong, your purpose was confession. You were seeking forgiveness and cleansing. Your intent wasn’t to slander the person. What God is interested in is the heart and the true intent of what we speak. He is not after our eloquence of speech or in the words in and of themselves which are, in a way, the mere shell of what we intended to say with our heart. Of course, sometimes we say things we didn’t mean to say or sometimes we may literally say wrong things and we need to repent. And so we do. But you do not need to fret these things which you mentioned as God is a God of the heart. He sees the intent with which you prayed to Him and confessed to Him. The devil seeks to accuse us with every little thing. He also loves to twist things and he can even use the Word of God to try to condemn us or to cause us to give in to his lies. See for example how he tempted Jesus in the wilderness: using God’s Word! (see Luke chapter 4). The devil can also come and twist something we said and try to make it sound like something we never meant or intended it to say in the first place. He comes with fear and with accusations. With God’s help, stand your ground in faith and stand on the soundness of God’s word. This too shall pass as you rely on God, on His counsel and as you learn the truth of God’s Word and as you stand on the truth of His Word and apply it to your situation. I encourage you to experience your relationship with God from your heart. I also encourage you to read the following blog I wrote.
www.paulandkathleenministries.org/post/god-wants-your-heart
I believe my response here might generally apply to the remaining questions you have asked me until now. However, please let me know if you don’t think so. I pray it will help you. You take care