freedom Archives - Colin Dye

Do you want real change in your life?

Colin Dye — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 09:00:41 +0000

Living Free, a life transforming book by Colin Dye

The best advice I can give to you on this new year’s day if you really want to go God?s way, is to stop trying to change yourself -trying to be different, trying to become what you are not. This is fleshly, human self-effort. It is totally useless and absolutely unnecessary! You are not what you were because you are now in Christ. This has nothing to do with your efforts or your actions. It is one hundred per cent the work of God. He has totally re-created you in Christ. Now, you are a new creation and he is transforming you from within by the Holy Spirit.
The secret lies in learning to be conscious of Jesus and his glory in you. Everything Jesus has accomplished belongs to you. In him you have ?wisdom, righteousness, holiness and redemption?.Christ is your life because ?your life in now hidden with Christ in God?.
That means you are acceptable to God at all times, no matter what is going on in your life. You do not fall in and out of favour with God depending on how well you are doing as a Christian each day. Always focus on Christ and his righteousness, never on yourself. You are complete in him. You are righteous in him. You are perfect in him. Stop trying to add to the perfection of Christ?s work on the cross. It is a completed work and does not have to be supplemented by your own efforts.

The more you see who you are in Christ and the more you meditate on all that he has done for you and in you, the more you will be transformed into his image. Understanding who you are in him will lead you into breathtaking levels of conformity to Christ in your daily life.
But none of this is possible without a profound change of mind and understanding. We must deal with our deceitful thoughts, some of which are natural to our fallen human nature, while others are the habits we acquire from early childhood. This means that true and genuine transformation of heart and life can only happen when we deal with these thoughts and motives of our heart. The way God calls us to follow him shows that he has a profound understanding of human nature and psychology.
This is hardly surprising seeing he is the One who created us in the first place! God knows how we tick and deals with us accordingly. As we surrender to the transforming influences of the Holy Spirit, it is particularly important to grasp one significant biblical principle of human nature.
The principle is this:
We are motivated to go in the direction in which we believe our needs will be met. Paul shows he understands this principle when he invites us to prove that God?s will is good, acceptable, pleasing and fulfilling. You are never more fulfilled as a human being than when you are drawing your spiritual life and sustenance from Christ.
This means you must abandon your old beliefs that drove you away from God who is the only real fountain of life and fulfilment. Because your beliefs determine your intentions you will always be motivated in the direction set by these beliefs. In order to be delivered from negative patterns of life and living, you must challenge your false beliefs. You must deal with the deceptive patterns of thought that lead you in the direction of sin.

From “Living Free“, by Colin Dye.

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Finding emotional fulfilment and freedom in Christ

Colin Dye — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 15:16:53 +0000

Your emotions point to inner needs that are either being met or not being met. We all have emotional needs and we look to have them met in many different ways. A variety of factors will dictate how you in particular go about seeking to have your emotional needs met, depending on factors such as your life experiences, where you come from, what your parents were like, what your childhood was like etc.

How to find happiness in Christ

All the experiences of your life will combine to make you look for a particular kind of emotional fulfilment. For instance, if you came from a very unstable home, looking for security and stability will be high on your emotional agenda. If you have experienced a number of loveless relationships, then you will be looking for love and affirmation as a priority.

The most important thing for us to learn is, there is only one way to have all our emotional needs met: to come to Jesus, to receive healing, and to truly know who we are in Him. There is no other way. You can travel the world seeking fulfilment, seeking relationships, pursuing different careers, seeking many things, but you will never find fulfilment until you discover who you are in Christ.

Positive and negative emotions
?
All of us have both positive and negative emotions. Experiencing positive emotions points to the fact that our needs are being met. When our needs are fulfilled we will experience,

Joy
Peace
Fulfilment
Contentment

If you experience these emotions then it means you are a healthy believer and you know who you are in Christ. Negative emotions however, reveal that we have needs that are not being met and we are unsure of our true identity in Christ. Such negative emotions include,

Fear
Anger
Frustration
Depression
Emptiness
Sadness

Many people in their desperation for emotional fulfilment have rushed into relationships or into marriage, believing that their partner will meet all their needs. They have not stopped to consider whether this person is actually the life-partner that God intended for them. But once in the relationship, or worse still the marriage, what do they find? They find that their emotional needs are just as great as ever and they now have the added problem of worrying about the future stability of their relationship.

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Freedom from Offence

Colin Dye — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 11:21:02 +0000

In the middle of the last century God sent a tremendous revival in Central Africa. He powerfully visited the nation of Rwanda.

Freedom from offence

Members of the churches and fellow workers became very sensitive to walking in the light with God and with each other. One leader, on the way to Morning Prayer, crossed the compound and spoke to a fellow worker: “I cannot lead prayer this morning without coming to you and putting right our differences.” The other worker replied, “I was about to come and see you!” They made peace with each other – over a relatively minor issue. One person had made a comment that was not in keeping with the flow of God’s presence in their midst. It could not be ignored. The Holy Spirit wants us to become that sensitive to Him.

If only this attitude could have been preserved in the subsequent history of the nation. Instead of forgiveness and peace between peoples, there arose a bitter inter-tribal war in the nation. Thousands of Hutus and Tutsis were killed in the ensuing mayhem.

Love God and your neighbour

Many people seem to believe that our relationship with God can be separated from our relationship with our fellow believers. That is simply not the case. Your love for God is measured by your love for your brothers and sisters in Christ.

The apostle John says, “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another.” And then he adds, “The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). This is a truly remarkable verse for two main reasons.

First, it strongly suggests that we can only enjoy the cleansing of the blood of Jesus as we walk in the light with God and with each other. Second, it shows how fellowship with God cannot be separated from fellowship with one another.

This is not to suggest that believers who fail in their relationships with each other are lost and on the way to hell. But it does mean, they are being highly inconsistent as lovers of God and they will lose intimate fellowship with Him.

The Early Church was known by the love the believers had for each other. Even the enemies of the church had to say, “See how they love one another!” This love for one another is one of the greatest testimonies of the Church. Jesus Himself said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

And how do we know whether we love our brothers? The apostle John tells us, “He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling (or offence) in him.” (1 John 2:10)

The word used for “stumbling’ here is “offence’ (the Greek word is scandalon). It carries the picture of a trap set with bait. The prey is caught in the trap when it takes the bait.

A cause for stumbling

Offending means to “sin against’. A cause for stumbling is an occasion for sin. When we abide in the light, we remove all occasions for sin. The light enables us to see clearly and to avoid the trap no matter how attractive the bait. And there is no bait so attractive than carrying the sin of offence.

Who has not been offended? We all have at some time or another. And what is our natural reaction? The most natural reaction is to carry that offence.

The devil will use this bait to trap you like a cruelly and helplessly snared animal. This snare of the devil is there to hinder you, to harm you, to defeat you and to paralyse you totally until you are utterly incapacitated in your relationship with God and in your service to Him.

Criticism is not a gift of the Spirit

One of the ways the devil entices us into the sin of offence is by showing us the faults of others. He congratulates us on spotting the faults of others and praises us for our “great discernment’. Before you know where you are you have become a touchy, critical and resentful person – and all in the name of spirituality!

Criticism is not a gift of the Holy Spirit. It simply is a manifestation of our pride. Jesus put it like this. He said, “Before you look at the “speck’ in your brother’s eye, deal with the “plank’ in your own eye!” In other words, prioritise your own faults and deal with them first.

How easily we entertain this sin of offence. We get offended if someone doesn’t greet us correctly, if someone jumps the queue ahead of us at the supermarket, or if someone gets even a scrap of the praise we think is due to us. We are full of self-righteous indignation – and it is offensive to God.

Directed at God

Sometimes we are offended with God. Can you understand how arrogant that is – to be offended at the way God does things? Peter tried to advise Jesus that He shouldn’t go to the cross. “This should never happen to You!” he said. He was offended at the thought of Messiah going through such shame and rejection. Actually, Peter was saying that he would be ashamed of owning such a Messiah. Many today still struggle with the concept of a crucified Messiah. They rightly reason that if Christ suffered like this then His followers were not going to be immune from similar suffering.

And Jesus’ reaction to Peter was to be genuinely offended. This was righteous offence because Peter was a stumbling block to Jesus. He was denying Jesus’ very purpose and rejecting the plan of God. Look at Jesus’ response,

But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offence to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.'” (Matthew 16:23)

The offence of Jesus was felt most keenly in Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown. That day in Nazareth, Jesus was as much anointed as He had been in Capernaum or anywhere else. And yet, when He began to preach they said, “Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary? And are not his brothers and sisters here with us?” In effect, they were saying, “We know this fellow. We grew up with him. Who does he think he is – some hotshot preacher? He can fool everyone else, but he can’t fool us!” And Mark says, “So they were offended at Him” (Mark 6:4). And then we read one of the most tragic verses in all the Gospels, “Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.” (Mark 6:5)

Blocked blessings

Is it possible that this same Jesus is present in the spiritual Nazareth of our day, carrying as always His supernatural capacity to bring God’s grace and power into our lives? Could it be true that this same sin of offence makes Him as unable to bless us, as He was unable to bless those unbelieving people in Nazareth all those years ago? Make no mistake about it, the sin of offence blocks the blessing of God.

Stop fighting against God

What offences are you holding in your spirit against God? Do you blame Him for not coming through for you at some time of urgent need? Has your desperation been greeted with an apparent stonewall in heaven? What have you cried out for and been denied? People walk away from God and then blame Him for the consequences of their sinful actions.

Deal with your offence before God. Stop blaming Him for your predicament. God is a good God and He gives good gifts to His children. Otherwise, you limit the Almighty as He tries to bless you.

Limiting God

This was the sin of Israel in the wilderness. They limited God by constantly assigning negative motives to Him:

How often they provoked Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert! Yes, again and again they tempted God and limited the Holy One of Israel (Psalm 78:40-41)

Look at the way God sees your offended ness. He calls it provoking and tempting God. And the result is to limit Him – to limit His capacity to bless, to heal and to deliver. Carrying the sin of offence is a costly business – so costly no one can afford to do it!

Vindication from the Lord

We must learn from the example of Christ in His suffering and absolute refusal to vindicate Himself. Though He was in the form of God, carrying the very nature of God and deserving honour and glory equal to God, He humbled Himself, coming in the form of man. He went further – accepting the humility of the lowest place and the humiliation of the cruel and shameful rejection of death on the cross. Jesus knew vindication comes from the Lord and in God’s time that vindication came about and it will yet even be made clear when all acknowledge Him as who He is.

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11)

Daily forgiveness

It is not surprising that Jesus taught us to deal with offence and to forgive others, leaving the matter in God’s hands. It is a pattern to help us pray and not a liturgical formula. Just how important it is to walk in daily forgiveness is seen by what Jesus said at the end of the Lord’s Prayer,

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14-15)

The implications of this are mind-blowing. Look again at what Jesus says. If we do not forgive others their sins against us then neither will our Father forgive us our sins against Him. First, let me say that it doesn’t mean that if we withhold forgiveness from others, we will go to Hell. The issue of our eternal destiny was settled at Calvary. Jesus died for all our sins there and we receive total forgiveness when we believe in Christ. We are saved by faith in the blood of Christ, and not by our behaviour either before or after we were saved.

But if we withhold forgiveness from others, God will withhold His Fatherly forgiveness from us. He will not allow us to enjoy open, unhindered fellowship with Himself if we hold unforgiveness in our heart against others. One way this works is the withholding of answers to our prayers.

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses. (Mark 11:25-26)

The sin of offence blocks the blessing of God and prevents our prayers being answered. Unforgiveness brings its own kind of unavoidable torment and that torment will continue until you learn to abandon the sin of offence.

Don’t ever doubt it. There is no way you can walk with the Lord and hold onto your offence. You have to make a choice. Forgive those who have sinned against you and walk in love and harmony with them or, experience the weight of heaviness and the emptiness of a life of bitterness and offence. They say, “Revenge is sweet!’ But don’t believe it – unforgiveness is one of the most negative and destructive forces known to man. Don’t touch it! Rather let the command of Jesus be your standard,

“I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:44-45)

This article is an extract from my book “Hearts on Fire: Walking in Personal Revival”.

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Freedom from soul ties

Colin Dye — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 09:56:19 +0000

I want to leave with you seven steps you can follow in order to break the power of ungodly soul ties and begin to walk in freedom:

Be free from soul ties today!

1. Confess the sinful contact you have had, whether it is emotional or actually involved the sexual act. The first question to ask yourself is, ?Do I want to be free from this?? If the answer is yes, then you must begin to do business with God.
2. Renounce the ungodly relationship, naming the person or the situation. Since sin is specific, repentance must be too. Identifying the person or situation before God ensures that you are on the same wavelength.
3. Forsake the ungodly relationship utterly before God, from your heart. Repentance is a change of heart and must be sincere and honest before God.
4. Forgive everyone who has offended or used and abused you in the past. Identify each person and then release forgiveness to that individual.
5. Break all contact with the person [in the case of former sexual partners], including disposing of any tokens, keepsakes, gifts, photos, or anything belonging to that individual/relationship. Get rid of them, because as long as you are holding on to them, you are holding on to that relationship and the memory of that person.
6. Receive prayer for deliverance from your church elders or ministry team. Soul ties need prayer for deliverance in a similar way to demonic bondages.
7. Turn your heart to God for all your needs. Once your sin has been dealt with and the bondage of the past broken, resolve in your heart never to revisit it, and depend on God for the strength and grace to go forward.
If these seven steps are followed faithfully, then they will result in freedom from soul ties and the ability to move forward in God unhindered by the past.

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6 steps to Freedom from Sexual Sin

Colin Dye — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 09:04:27 +0000

Today I want to give you six keys that will help you to break free from the bondage of sexual sin.

Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. James 1.15

1. Make a decision

How do you get set free from sexual sin? First of all, as with any form of bondage, you need to make a decision that you want to be free. If you are in sexual bondage then you have to look honestly at what you have become and the damage that your sin is causing. How much of your life are you wasting by fighting sexual ?fevers?? Do you long to be free from the sense of guilt and failure that your sexual sin produces in you?

The standard of God?s Word, and what He wants for you, is for there to be ?not even a hint? of sexual immorality in your life. So there is a decision to make and the stronger the decision you make, the easier it will be to get free. Instead of continually fighting off sinful sexual urges which sap your spiritual strength and divert you from your purpose, make a decision to be free and take the steps that follow.

2. Receive prayer and deliverance

Receive prayer and deliverance to be set free fom sexual sin in your life

Next you need to receive prayer and deliverance. I am not referring to deliverance from demonic forces necessarily, although demons often do attach themselves to habitual sexual sin and there can be a supernatural bondage there. But it is important that you receive prayer, and deliverance if necessary, and allow God to break the bondage in your life and bring healing and restoration to you.

3. Discipline yourself ? learn new habits

Habits of the flesh need to be broken and the only way to do that is to discipline yourself to learn new habits. Especially for men, begin with ?bouncing? your eyes away from any sexual image. It really can make a big difference. Normal God-given sexual desire is manageable, because we realise that there is a fire burning on the inside of every man! Whether he?s a believer or an unbeliever, there is a fire there, we are no different! The thing to do is to keep the fire low. Don?t deliberately pour fuel on the fire. If you walk into your office and you see a girl wearing a low-cut blouse, bounce your eyes immediately, because if you don?t, you?ll put fuel on your fire and by lunchtime you?ll by totally distracted! However, you can control normal sexual desires that God has given you if you don?t let them grow out of control. Don?t make life tough for yourself. And ladies: watch your thought patterns. Bring then into line and don?t let your emotions carry you away.

4. Engage in discipleship

Discipleship is a very important part in the process of getting free and staying free from sexual sin. Put another way, get yourself into mutually accountable relationships with other believers. Everyone needs others around them, regardless of their position or status, because no one is immune ? that they can relate to honestly and pray with. Cell groups or prayer partners can be very beneficial in this regard because in them we can help each other, not as policemen but as fellow soldiers, to overcome our difficulties. If we are serious about the business of sexual purity then we also need to help one another.

5. Learn to walk in dignity

Sexual freedom is not about doing your own thing sexually ? just whatever you feel like doing ? it is about bringing your sexuality to order, to be harnessed for God?s purposes. That is true sexual freedom, and when you walk in freedom it brings dignity. When your desires are under control, that makes a true man.

Be intimate with God

Being a man or woman of God is about taking the dignity that God bestows on His children and walking in that freedom. Learn to respect your dignity and that of others. Men, learn to respect women ? respect them physically, emotionally and intellectually. Women, respect men ? understand the differences, but don?t exploit them.

6. Learn to walk in intimacy

Finally, learn to walk in intimacy. One of the biggest effects of sexual sin is that it robs us of dignity and intimacy. I?ve discovered in counselling men in particular who have sexual problems that every one of them speaks of a loss of intimacy. In other words, they have been seeking intimacy in the wrong way. Rather, focus on developing your intimacy with God so that when the time is right and it is time to ?awaken love? (see Song of Solomon 2:7) you will be glad that you disciplined and prepared yourself to be a real blessing and a gift to your partner in marriage.

Read also 😕What is Sexual Sin and Why is it Wrong?

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Sexual freedom or sexual bondage?

Colin Dye — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:11:44 +0000

Does freedom mean I can do what I want? What about sexual sin?

To some, ?freedom from sexual bondage? might seem a strange combination of words. Most people in our post-modern society are crying freedom from rules and regulations. Surely freedom means that you can do what you want, doesn?t it? Such people would no doubt regard God?s rules for living as ?bondage?, and indeed biblical principles are often mocked by society. But I want to promote the truth that in fact, God?s rules are liberating.

By way of illustration, picture this scene: a high speed train is hurtling along its tracks towards its destination. Now imagine the same train leaping off its tracks, crying freedom and running across open fields, completely out of control. Which of these scenarios is a true picture of freedom? The train running smoothly along its tracks as it was designed to, or the train hurtling out of control, throwing passengers out, killing and destroying right across the field? If a train leaps its tracks, it?s not free ? it?s dangerous.

To use another illustration, imagine you go out to a concert one evening to hear a solo pianist perform. You are expecting to hear some relaxing classical music or perhaps some jazz, but the pianist announces that he is a ?free? musician and is going to play some of his own compositions. Being a ?free? musician means that he doesn?t believe in or follow any of the conventional rules of music ? he just plays a random, discordant and unrelated series of notes and chords. How many of us could listen to that for any length of time? Maybe you would you like to go to such a concert ? but that?s just the novelty element!

A train off-track, picture of real freedom?

The fact is, all good music is expressed within the framework of a set of rules which are interpreted in various creative ways. Even a genre such as jazz, which many consider to be very ?free? in its expression, has certain rules that govern it. A jazz pianist will drop the root note of his chords and ?colour? them by sharpening or flattening notes in the middle ? to put it roughly! But he is still moving within predefined boundaries to express subtle nuances of sound.

In both these examples there are principles at work that, when followed, produce something orderly, beautiful and lovely. That is what I commend to you about God?s ways for human sexuality. God?s ways are truly liberating and as we abide by them, we are blessed. In Romans 12:1-2 the apostle Paul instructs us to surrender our bodies to God according to His will so we will ?prove? that God?s way is best:
?I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.?

Bound by sexual sin

This passage raises some important principles. First of all, God says, ?I want you to present your bodies to me.? In the twenty-first century we are more aware of our bodies than ever before. The mass media has actively promoted a ?body awareness? that has often been taken to excess with the likes of plastic surgery and ?extreme makeovers?. But Paul insists that our bodies should be surrendered to God.
When Paul wrote these words, he was not thinking just of the physical body, but of bringing your whole being ? body, soul (emotions, personality) and spirit ? in surrender to God?s purposes. But obeying God does have a lot to do with physical obedience.
Scripture has a lot to say about the body ? it is given by God; made by God; endowed with a range of desires that need to be fed in order for it to function at an optimum level ? including normal, healthy sexual desires. But God says, ?Don?t treat your bodies like the world treats theirs. Bring what I have given you back to me and place it on my altar, because by so doing you will not be conformed to this world and you will be blessed.?
Here lies one of the great difficulties that all Christians face and the reason why so many people, Christian or not, are trapped in sexual sin: instead of surrendering their bodies to God and letting them be governed by Him, they are taking their morality from what is happening around them in society. People are watching movies and television programmes and learning values which they believe are values to live by. Yet, God offers us alternative: to not be pressed into the world?s mould of conformity, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
So what is the renewing of your mind? In essence it is to understand that God?s way is the way that brings liberty, freedom, joy, fullness and happiness. In this regard God goes further than simply saying, ?Trust me, it will work,? He says, ?If you obey me, I?ll prove to you that it works! I?ll prove to you that my way is ?good and acceptable and perfect?.?

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Walking in wholeness and real freedom

Colin Dye — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 09:15:11 +0000

Live free!

Walking in wholeness and real freedom begins by rejecting all God-diminishing thoughts from our minds. It means reversing the curse of the tragic deception we, by nature, have all bought into – that life without God works.
This deception is at the root of sin?s existence in the world. Eve bought into it wholesale. Tricked by the cunning serpent-like nature of Satan she believed that rejecting God?s way would bring her the ?wisdom? she was lacking. Adam too rejected God?s truth and went his own way and so the entire human race fell into sin.
Sin gripped the entire human race and brought its bitter fruit: shame, rejection, loneliness and isolation. Its violence soon became clear as hatred, murder and bloodshed took their hold on humanity. The same deception is with us today. We are all heirs of that same lie. At the root of our rebellion is the belief that we can find fulfilment and satisfaction apart from God. Satan?s poison still flows in the human bloodline. Rather than the freedom it guaranteed, sin brought bondage, decay and death. What happened to the promised utopia? It didn?t come. In fact, paradise was lost and could never be regained, until Jesus came to deal with the sin problem.
That?s why we need to be washed and purified by the blood of Jesus. He was the only human, who being God as well as man, lived against the lie. When Jesus came, he broke this spiral of despair by conquering sin, death, hell and the grave!

Shaking off the broken chains

The freedom we have in Christ is freedom from the damage that sin does to us. Jesus came to undo what the devil had done to us. This means freedom from the negative emotions of fear, anger and hopelessness. We are set free from the binding habits and dehumanising bondages of sexual addiction, mental torment, anger, hatred and every other self-destructive way of thinking and living.
By faith we are born into the freedom that comes from God?s grace. This freedom is your birthright as a believer in Jesus, but you don?t automatically enjoy it. You first have to understand that it is yours and then actively choose to walk in it.
There is a famous illustration of a man in prison looking out through the bars of his tiny prison window longing for freedom. But what he doesn?t see is that behind him the prison doors are open. He is free! All he has to do is to change his perspective and understand that he only has to get up, turn around and walk right out of the prison. But he is ignorant of his true position and state.
This is like so many Christians today. We long to be free from the things that bind us, but we don?t know how to deal with them. We don?t know that all we have to do is to shake off the chains that appear to be binding us, turn around and walk out of bondage unshackled and free! Just one tug at those chains and we discover they are already broken. Christ has delivered us and we can walk free. We can live free!

Spiritual and emotional wholeness

God?s will for us is spiritual and emotional wholeness. This freedom is ours in Christ. Some think it is only a future freedom ? that we have our sins forgiven on earth but wholeness has to wait for heaven. Jesus has started a process in our lives that will only be fully completed in heaven; nevertheless, this process brings us freedom now.
You can step onto the path of victory and march on the road to freedom. The goal of the Holy Spirit is for you to meet with him in a powerful, life-transforming way and discover this freedom every step you take on your journey with Christ. As you receive the Father?s love, repent from sin in your life and experience his deliverance from every bondage, you will find the joy of living in the real freedom that is rightfully yours as a child of God.
That way you can grow and mature as a disciple of Christ and become equipped and ready to serve him in his Great Commission today and for the rest of your life on earth.

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Freedom from Demonic Power Deliverance Declaration

Colin Dye — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:36:41 +0000

People of God, pray this “Freedom from Demonic Power Deliverance Declaration”, and be free!

Breaking the chains

“I confess and declare that I know and enjoy the absolute freedom of God. Jesus Christ has set me free from the guilt and power of sin! And I am free indeed!
I have been crucified with Christ, and have been raised into his resurrection life of perfect liberty. I know that the Son of God was manifested with?the purpose of destroying all the evil works of the enemy. And I know that he has done this in me.
I walk in the freedom of the Spirit, and have been liberated by the law
of love. I have been delivered from the curse of the Law, and I am no longer bound by sin, or by the flesh, or by the devil.
I announce that I am now free to do right, to obey God?s will, and to serve my
Lord and Saviour with every part of my being. I know that I?m not my own, for I was bought by a great price, the precious blood of Jesus. I now belong to Jesus, and am eager to do his bidding.
I renounce sin, Satan, and all his evil works. I stand firm in my freedom, and live in the victory of Christ forever. Amen!”

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Freedom from religion

Colin Dye — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:13:39 +0000

Freedom from religion

Jesus came to set us free from the bondage of religious teaching that continues to hold us captive to sin ? always more to do, always more sins to be forgiven, always more repentance needed. We have been saved from ?the uttermost to the uttermost? ? from the state of uttermost sin and condemnation to the state of uttermost salvation. This uttermost salvation of total forgiveness is guaranteed by Jesus Christ our heavenly High Priest.
Therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:25
Once we are saved, our relationship with God is on a totally different footing. We now live under the blood of Jesus. Through the blood, God becomes our Father, and no longer deals with us according to the principle of the law. Through the blood, the condemnation of the law is removed forever from our lives. As a loving, heavenly Father, he draws us closer and closer to his heart, and leads us out of the works of darkness so that we can enjoy fellowship with him in the light.
In other words, we were cleansed once for all at the cross and the blood of Jesus keeps on cleansing us as we walk in the light with him. When we sin, we bring it to the light, with full assurance that the blood is cleansing us and removing any hindrance to our fellowship with God. We own our sin in his holy presence only to disown it in the light of his grace and forgiveness. We never allow guilt or sin-consciousness to have a resting place in our hearts. We maintain a clear conscience before God by walking in the light of his love. This is true repentance ? we reject our sin and embrace who we are in Christ.

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The Encounter Experience

Colin Dye — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 00:11:42 +0000

My encounter with Jesus booklet

Virtually every Friday in the year, different groups of people from Kensington Temple, London City Church leave the busyness of London behind. They set out enthusiastically by car, minibus or train to converge on Annan Court. Purchased by Kensington Temple in 2001, our Encounter Centre is set in 14 acres of Sussex countryside with undulating grounds of woods, streams and gardens.
Around 4pm, the first delegates arrive to find the team leaders already present making the final preparations for the weekend. Anticipation fills the air as rooms in the converted Victorian stables become occupied by eager seekers after God and relieved city-dwellers craving peace, tranquillity and time alone with God. Once installed, the delegates take a moment to relax or stroll through the grounds enjoying the fresh country air.
The men usually go quickly to the walled garden that once grew vegetables for the old Manor House nearby. Now grassed over, the garden supports a perfect five-aside football pitch. Just over the wall are tennis and basket ball courts. A little to one side is the nine foot deep pool, capable of sustaining both bathers and student Scuba divers learning their confined-water exercises. However, these people are not in Annan Court simply to enjoy the sporting or pleasure facilities. They are there to meet with God.
Soon Gary, the resident chef and centre director calls the people together for the first meal of the weekend. The food is good and the diners are buzzing with excitement and expectation, relieved to leave behind the pressures of life in the city for the tranquillity of rural England. London is soon forgotten as all distractions are left to one side – mobile phones, television, schedules and busy programmes. You can sense people relaxing as they begin to focus on meeting with Jesus.
Meal over, registrations completed, rooms allocated – the first meeting begins. From the very beginning, there is a palpable sense of the presence of God as the team leaders and encounter speakers have spent weeks preparing, fasting and praying down the presence of the Holy Spirit. From the very first session on Friday evening through to the concluding session on Sunday morning, there is only one way to describe what is happening – people are encountering God. Relevant and practical teaching, anointed messages, ministry in the Spirit, words of knowledge and wisdom, personal prayer and ministry, compelling worship – all serve to make the experience unforgettable, life changing.
The encounter finishes with a communion service and Sunday lunch and afterwards people make their way back to London filled, blessed and transformed. They have met with God. The following week, they share their testimony with their family and friends and fellow cell members. The victories won on the encounter are consolidated in Living Free! – the 10-week Post-encounter programme and soon the delegates are on the way to becoming cell leaders themselves, sharing with others the life-giving power of God.
The testimonies that flood in each week speak of every conceivable blessing and experience with God. In the presence of God, expectations are met and needs are filled. People are healed, set free and baptised in the Spirit, receiving the gift of tongues. Multiple spiritual gifts are released.
People speak of a new hunger for God, a new passion for Christ and a new intimacy in their relationship with Jesus. They testify to a new love for souls, a clear sense of God’s call on their life and a determination to serve him as never before. Quite simply, they are brought closer to God than they have ever been, learning to trust him as they discover a new revelation of the Father’s unconditional love and acceptance. They leave with a new boldness, assurance and confidence in their faith.
Invariably, encounter testimonies describe healing of marriages and family reconciliation as people are released from pain, inner hurt, bitterness and resentment. Anger and domestic violence are dealt with. Burdens are lifted and sorrow and despair evaporate in the powerful presence of God. The Holy Spirit ministers deep into people’s hearts bringing supernatural peace and joy. People also testify to the miraculous provision of jobs and finance, as well as remarkable answers to prayer for accommodation and other practical needs. The intimacy with God and the prayerful atmosphere releases faith. Deliverance from demonic bondages is frequent as is deliverance from life-controlling problems of drugs, alcohol and sexual addictions.
The Three-fold Encounter Process
The encounter experience is actually in three phases. You begin with the Pre-encounter teaching. Then you go on the Encounter weekend. Finally, there is the Post-encounter Living Free! Course. The Pre-encounter usually takes place in the cell group and is designed to prepare you for the Encounter weekend. As soon as possible cell members register for the next available Encounter held in our Encounter Centre, Annan Court.
These Encounter weekends are dynamic and life-changing, and you will find real freedom as you attend in person along with others from your cell group. They are times of refreshing, assurance and restoration. Many thousands who have attended these weekends run by Kensington Temple testify to life-changing experiences of freedom and deliverance as well as healing and spiritual release.
The teaching and personal ministry directed by the Holy Spirit on these Encounters will give you a solid foundation if you are a new believer and a powerful boost even if you are well into your spiritual journey. The goal is to receive revelation through encountering Jesus face to face, to feel his loving acceptance, to experience his freedom and to hear his call to become a real disciple and an effective disciplemaker of others.
The Post-encounter, entitled Living Free! is a 10-week course of teaching and life-application of Bible truth conducted on Tuesday evenings in the main church. This programme builds on the teaching you receive at the Encounter Weekend, taking you deeper into the experience of the life of Christ. The course leads you personally into the fullness of the transformed life of the Holy Spirit.
Your Encounter with Jesus
We all need to meet with God! We see many examples of people in the Bible encountering him – Jacob wrestling with the Angel, Isaiah’s vision of the Lord in the Temple and Moses at the burning bush. These were all life-transforming experiences. All these people needed an experience of the presence and holiness of God. God took hold of their lives for a reason – they were called to reach their generation with the message of God and to do something significant for him. These people met with the Angel of the Lord, who was Christ appearing in the Old Testament. In the New Testament he comes as a man – we call that the incarnation. But in the Old Testament, he is also active as the Angel of the Covenant. We encounter God through Jesus!
Changed by the power of God
When you meet with God, you are changed exactly in the way they need to be changed. Look again at the biblical examples.
Isaiah (Isaiah 6) needed cleansing, assurance and deliverance from sin. He said to God, “I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” And God replied, “See your sin is purged and your iniquity is removed.”
Moses (Exodus 3) had to be delivered from fear, failure and a poor self-image. He needed deliverance from the past in order to pick up God’s plan and destiny for his life. He had to learn to trust again, to hope again and learn to expect great things from God. Moses’ encounter with the Lord shows us that it is never too late – he is the God of the second chance.
Jacob (Genesis 32) needed to face himself and be delivered from his inner conflicts in order for God to use him. He had to be broken, mended and remade.
Set free to serve God
All these people were also set free to serve God. Isaiah was called to prophesy to an apostate Judah and bring a message of repentance and warning to the nation. Moses was called to bring freedom and deliverance to the children of Israel captive in the land of Egypt. Jacob was called to inherit the blessing and become part of the Messianic line that brought salvation to the nations.
You also have been called. Just as God said to Abraham, he says to you, “I will make of you a great nation.” This means you must get ready for that call upon your life, to be a disciple and a disciple maker for him.
Encounter themes
At the Encounter weekend, you will have a genuine experience of Christ. God will give you a divine intervention in your life to encourage you to give up your past life so that you can really get to know Jesus as your personal Saviour. We focus on deliverance and inner healing so that you may become a useful instrument in the hands of God. You also get to seek the Lord personally so that you can hear his call to be a disciple maker – to win, nurture, train and release disciples of Jesus Christ.
The Encounter Weekend focuses on a number of key themes:

THE FATHER’S HEART – learning to receive the Father’s unconditional love and acceptance.
ASSURANCE OF YOUR SALVATION – knowing for sure that you are saved and that you have eternal life.
REPENTANCE – breaking the habits of the past.
THE CROSS – seeing what Jesus did for you on the cross.
INNER HEALING – finding release from rejection and inner pain caused by life experiences.
DELIVERANCE – being set free from evil powers at work in your life.
BREAKING STRONGHOLDS – a thorough deliverance from everything that binds you to the past.
THE FAVOUR OF GOD – learning how to walk in the favour of God.
THE HOLY SPIRIT – experiencing the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit.
YOUR MINISTRY – understanding and responding to Jesus’ call upon your life.
LIFE TRANSFORMATION – setting the direction of your life, now and for the future by enrolling in the Living Free! Life Transformation Course.

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