After being bound by the stronghold of addiction for 17 years, I was freed by the Power of the Holy Spirit when I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. In the beginning of my recovery process, after being discharged from inpatient rehabilitation I attended many Narcotics Anonymous meetings for at least 7 months. Most of the meetings I attended were held in the basement of churches where the rooms were filled with people desiring to be free from what the NA book calls, “The Disease of Addiction”. In no way did I feel comfortable standing up confessing my past affliction as my identity in Christ and I couldn’t understand why others did so. After experiencing being shut down by others when sharing my story, I decided not to attend these meeting anymore. People seemed to be brainwashed and led astray by the literature of this program. Now I was the newcomer in these meetings and all I heard was, “Take the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth.” In other words, “Sit down, shut up and listen, because you don’t know nothing.” Now what kind of thing is that to say to a person who is fresh in recovery? Well, I may not have known what they have learned in their 1 to 20 years in the program of NA, but I knew one thing they didn’t know, and His name is “JESUS” I could clearly see that this was going to be a challenge for me because I wanted to share about Christ, but others would say, “This is an anonymous program and people have different religions and beliefs in these rooms.” Anything can be your Higher Power. After experiencing this rejection from some of its members I decided to forsake the fellowship of NA and stick with Church fellowship with people who could lead me closer to Christ and teach me how to maintain my deliverance in Christ. Because surely, in my mind, no one in the rooms could help me…If your blind to the truth about your identity, then how are you suppose to lead me and show me how to stay clean and live life without the use of drugs? This is my story people! I believe I was set apart from the madness, lies and deceit that could have become a part of my mindset as a result of being a part of this fellowship. I now know that all I had to go through was nothing but a divine set up in which God purposely set aside His purpose and calling for my life. Others may say that I'm making too much of this program because it has helped so many people in the past. But to be honest with you, when has the enemy ever directly come into the midst of anything or any situation as himself. He’s not going to show up and tell you his agenda. It’s in disguise! 2 Cor. 11-14 “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.” But my concern is, “Why has the Body of Christ adopted the 12 steps of Narcotics Anonymous and does the church know the dangers of allowing this type of spirit inside it’s walls. So much of its literature contradicts the word of God when you consider the foundation and origin of its beliefs. In one of my most recent articles, I shared what one of the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous spoke of as an experience. His name was Bill Wilson and his words still ring in my ears as a deceptive spirit, “If you are an alcoholic, you have an obsession that condemns you to drink; an allergy that condemns you to die. Your only resource is a spiritual experience. If there is a God, will he show himself! And then came the miracle. The room instantly lit up, in a blinding glare of white, white light. I was seized by an ecstasy such as I have never known. It seemed to me that I then stood on a mountain top, where a great clean wind was blowing. I thought to myself, but this is not air; this is spirit. This is the God of the preachers. I felt myself filled with the consciousness of the presence of spirits, of God.” What!!!!! This sounds to me like an all out deceptive, seducing spirit and of course it also sounds like some sort of bad trip from using a hallucinogen. From a Christian point of view, I can better explain why we should be careful when adapting these worldly traditions as our own; without discernment no one can tell if this is the spirit of God in operation or a demonic spirit in operation. His experiences sound as if they are valid, but let’s look at the fruit of it. Matthew 7:15-16 says, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?” Now let’s look at the fruit of AA’s program, which was partially developed by a man named Jimmy Kinnon who was considered one of the founders of Narcotics Anonymous. Although he was never considered a founder he wrote several parts of the Little Whit Booklet, which formed the basis or foundation of NA’s basic text. Here is just a portion of the fruit of their literature, “Most of us realized that in our addiction we were slowly committing suicide, but addiction is such a cunning enemy of life that we had lost the power to do anything about it. Many of us ended up in jail or sought help through medicine, religion, and psychiatry. None of these methods was sufficient for us. Our disease always resurfaced or continued to progress until in desperation we sought help from each other in Narcotics Anonymous. After coming to NA we realized we were sick people. We suffered from a disease from which there is no known cure.” This statement comes from the “Who, What, How and Why” booklet. Notice they are speaking in past tense, but in this same booklet it defines who an addict is, which states, “Most of us do not have to think twice about this question. We know! Our whole life and thinking was centered in drugs in one form or another—the getting and using and finding ways and means to get more. We lived [past tense] to use and used to live. Very simply, an addict is a man or woman whose life is [present tense] controlled by drugs. We are [present tense] people in the grip of a continuing and progressive illness whose ends are always the same: jails, institutions, and death.” The Word of God, however, refutes this by saying in Galatians 5:1 which says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” Why come out of one bondage, and go straight into another form of bondage, by claiming your past performance as who you are (your identity). In spite of the lack of this program distinguishing the past tense from the present tense, lets look solely at what the word of God says. In Matthew 11:29 it says, “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” In other words, Jesus is saying receive in you, what I have already suffered and learn from me and in doing this we will find rest in our minds, our will and our emotions. There is no need for us to live in fear of using again, living in fear of suffering from an incurable disease, because Christ was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon HIM and with his stripes we are healed.
Still the question in my mind is, “Why adapt the 12 steps if it opposes the truth in God’s word?” How can one adapt part of it without the foundation being a hindrance to the Body of Christ? We cannot mix and match the truth of God’s word with the traditions of men. Scripture says in James 1:8, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” We must not appear to the world or to unbelievers that we, as the church, need to borrow from the world’s ways and traditions as if the “Word of God” alone is inadequate. In my opinion, that’s what we are implying when we adopt and subscribe to Narcotic Anonymous literature. Many disagree with me and will probably fight me to the ends of the earth, but I know that all will not embrace the Truth in God’s word because some people have the mindset of “What’s true for you, is not necessarily true for me.” It all comes down to this, if we, as the body of Christ continue to adopt the 12 steps of NA, we have then validated their literature and beliefs in having a God of your own understanding. Anyway you get to God is fine, since we have subscribed to the steps, why not go all the way with it. That’s like picking out certain parts of scripture that suits you and profits your agenda, but cutting out the rest that you don’t want to apply. This bothers me to no end and my voice will be heard through whatever means the Lord sees fit for me to use. Because Narcotics Anonymous is such a large organization and is evidently thriving in our communities, and taking the message of recovery to the still suffering addict, what manner of spirit is behind promoting Anonymity and a God of your own understanding? Ephesians 6:2 says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” So it’s not people we’re fighting against, but 4 specific things in the spirit realm. Principalities is defined as that by which anything begins to be, the origin, and the active cause. Another translation is the territory or jurisdiction of a prince. Powers is defined as the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed) (universally) or (authority over mankind). After much study and prayer concerning what or who is behind the influence of this organization set of principles and guidelines, It was revealed to me that this is a territorial spirit with it’s own agenda which by the way opposes Jesus Christ. It’s a universal program that welcomes all beliefs, not just one. So what does this mean, you might ask. First let me tell you that there is not a single instance in the Bible where someone actively sought out a demon in order to engage it. My intentions are to expose the lies of the enemy with the Truth of God’s word and Prayerfully hoping that the light of God’s word will open the hearts and minds of those who are called by His name (Jesus). As quoted by Pastor Monica Vaaltyn, “Territorial spirits” is a term some Christians use to identify demonic occupation of a specific geographic location. Interestingly enough, and perhaps ironically, it is also a term pagans use to describe an otherworldly presence believed to be residing in a specific geographical location. The Christian concept of territorial spirits comes from passages such as Daniel 10; John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11; Mark 5:10; and Ephesians 6:12. All of these passages imply that fallen angels have been given some type of responsibility over a certain area. Thus, they seem to be territorial. However, we need to remember that this is by inference; the Bible never explicitly defines a hierarchy of demonic authority and control in the world. What the Bible is clear about is that demons are definitely at work in the spiritual realm and that believers are very much involved in a battle against them.” All of what Pastor Vaaltyn shared in her article intrigued me, so I had to look up those scripture references for myself just to make sure. From my own research I have found that seducing spirits afflict the mind, soul, and spirit of man, influencing him to believe false doctrines as indicated in 1Timothy 4:1. These spirits seduce people to believe a lie and be damned to eternal punishment. They are spirits of false doctrine, cults, false Christ’s, and false teachers; However evil or unclean spirits are responsible for immoral acts, unclean thoughts, oppression, possession, depression, and other strategies of Satan. They also afflict the mind and the soulish nature of man. (Matthew 10:1; 12:43; Mark1:23-26) Both unclean spirits and seducing spirits fall under the category of Principalities, Powers and rulers of darkness of this world. In saying all of that, I want to further share with you something Bishop David G. Evans shared in his teaching, “
Still the question in my mind is, “Why adapt the 12 steps if it opposes the truth in God’s word?” How can one adapt part of it without the foundation being a hindrance to the Body of Christ? We cannot mix and match the truth of God’s word with the traditions of men. Scripture says in James 1:8, “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” We must not appear to the world or to unbelievers that we, as the church, need to borrow from the world’s ways and traditions as if the “Word of God” alone is inadequate. In my opinion, that’s what we are implying when we adopt and subscribe to Narcotic Anonymous literature. Many disagree with me and will probably fight me to the ends of the earth, but I know that all will not embrace the Truth in God’s word because some people have the mindset of “What’s true for you, is not necessarily true for me.” It all comes down to this, if we, as the body of Christ continue to adopt the 12 steps of NA, we have then validated their literature and beliefs in having a God of your own understanding. Anyway you get to God is fine, since we have subscribed to the steps, why not go all the way with it. That’s like picking out certain parts of scripture that suits you and profits your agenda, but cutting out the rest that you don’t want to apply. This bothers me to no end and my voice will be heard through whatever means the Lord sees fit for me to use. Because Narcotics Anonymous is such a large organization and is evidently thriving in our communities, and taking the message of recovery to the still suffering addict, what manner of spirit is behind promoting Anonymity and a God of your own understanding? Ephesians 6:2 says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” So it’s not people we’re fighting against, but 4 specific things in the spirit realm. Principalities is defined as that by which anything begins to be, the origin, and the active cause. Another translation is the territory or jurisdiction of a prince. Powers is defined as the power of rule or government (the power of him whose will and commands must be submitted to by others and obeyed) (universally) or (authority over mankind). After much study and prayer concerning what or who is behind the influence of this organization set of principles and guidelines, It was revealed to me that this is a territorial spirit with it’s own agenda which by the way opposes Jesus Christ. It’s a universal program that welcomes all beliefs, not just one. So what does this mean, you might ask. First let me tell you that there is not a single instance in the Bible where someone actively sought out a demon in order to engage it. My intentions are to expose the lies of the enemy with the Truth of God’s word and Prayerfully hoping that the light of God’s word will open the hearts and minds of those who are called by His name (Jesus). As quoted by Pastor Monica Vaaltyn, “Territorial spirits” is a term some Christians use to identify demonic occupation of a specific geographic location. Interestingly enough, and perhaps ironically, it is also a term pagans use to describe an otherworldly presence believed to be residing in a specific geographical location. The Christian concept of territorial spirits comes from passages such as Daniel 10; John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11; Mark 5:10; and Ephesians 6:12. All of these passages imply that fallen angels have been given some type of responsibility over a certain area. Thus, they seem to be territorial. However, we need to remember that this is by inference; the Bible never explicitly defines a hierarchy of demonic authority and control in the world. What the Bible is clear about is that demons are definitely at work in the spiritual realm and that believers are very much involved in a battle against them.” All of what Pastor Vaaltyn shared in her article intrigued me, so I had to look up those scripture references for myself just to make sure. From my own research I have found that seducing spirits afflict the mind, soul, and spirit of man, influencing him to believe false doctrines as indicated in 1Timothy 4:1. These spirits seduce people to believe a lie and be damned to eternal punishment. They are spirits of false doctrine, cults, false Christ’s, and false teachers; However evil or unclean spirits are responsible for immoral acts, unclean thoughts, oppression, possession, depression, and other strategies of Satan. They also afflict the mind and the soulish nature of man. (Matthew 10:1; 12:43; Mark1:23-26) Both unclean spirits and seducing spirits fall under the category of Principalities, Powers and rulers of darkness of this world. In saying all of that, I want to further share with you something Bishop David G. Evans shared in his teaching, “
Why am I so concerned about who a person believes in and how they recover. Well, I’ll be more than happy to tell you. I just want others to experience the freedom in Christ that I have experienced and it’s available to them as well. God is no respecter of person; he doesn’t have picks or favorites. God shows us favor because we are His children, but as it says in Romans 10:14, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? All persons who have been reconciled to God through Christ are ministers as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” My focus and concerns are based on what the Father has given me to do, which to expose the lies of the enemy and reveal the Truth of God’s Kingdom. I however will not allow the enemy to creep in our sanctuaries in disguise, trying to push his views, his agenda or his thoughts on the people of God.
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