Have you ever been hurt by a friend? A stranger? An authority figure? A church? Discover the life transformational power of real forgiveness that will set you free from your past!

If you go to the Podcasts page of SupernaturalTruth.com, you'll find a new section titled "Sermons and Teachings." I've added a lesson I taught at the recent Encounter Retreat titled "Forgiveness." Simply right-click on the link there and select "Save Target As" to download it to your computer. Then listen at your leisure!

This message is packed with testimonies and personal examples that bring it to life and make practical applications. Expect the Holy Spirit to minister to your heart as you listen!

Blessings!
--Art--

P.S.--As always, the message is not copywritten, so you are free to copy and distribute it as you see fit. I only ask that appropriate credit is given and that you do not sell the teaching for financial gain. Thanks!

One of the couples from my small group who attended the Encounter Retreat this weekend got to experience the delivering power of God. They're completely free from a long-time addiction to smoking!

The wife stopped smoking on Friday--as I understand it, this was mostly due to some chest and throat pain she was experiencing. That evening they went outside to smoke, but she found it hurt too much. All day Saturday, she stayed away from cigarettes because of the pain, but she was grateful for her condition and felt it was God's way of making her not even like smoking. That night, she got her cigarettes from her car and threw them in the bon fire...but her husband refused.

He had tried quitting many times before and thought he knew what a waste it would be to get rid of his current pack of cigarettes...that's a lot of money to waste if you're not really quitting! But as he laid in bed that night, he prayed, "God, if you really want me to quit, then I don't want any symptoms whatsoever--no headaches, nervousness, or even oral fixations like gum chewing or pen biting. Nothing!"

Guess who took him up on his bargain? You guessed it! The next day brought no withdrawal symptoms at all. Neither did Monday. Or Tuesday! He said this is the first time he's ever been able to quit without horrible side effects.

Part of the solution was the supernatural power of God that appears to have brought healing to his lungs and nervous system; another aspect is that at the Encounter Retreat we deal with matters of the heart and healing inner wounds from past experiences.

Addictions like smoking tend to stem from inner voids that need to be filled. Often they are a way of simulating peace and giving temporary relief from anxieties or stress. But such methods are entirely artificial. When the inner void is filled with the Spirit of God, however, and we actively choose to rely on Him for peace, we begin to find complete freedom!

Now, here's how to stay free: Temptation to return to an addiction will inevitably arise when we find ourselves facing the same stress or anxiety that we used to manage with our addiction. We then have a choice: either we can suppress our desires or confess them to the Lord. Suppression only serves to pressurize these desires so that they erupt later on in a flurry of anger or an addictive binge. Confession, however, allows the desire to be released in a healthy way. We can then confess our anxiety and stress to Christ, ask Him to handle all our concerns, and choose to trust Him.

Addictions are not solved "cold-turkey." They are solved by the love of Father God, trust in Jesus Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Allow God to heal your heart and teach you to trust Him. Ask Him to heal you. And rely on Him to keep you free! He will do it!

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24--May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it (NIV).

What can I say? Our Encounter Retreat was awesome! God showed up in powerful ways and ministered His love and power to everyone present in one form or another. Some had a deep inner revelation of our heavenly Father and experienced His love in a whole new way. Some had a God-given realization of their guilt and came to encounter the work of Jesus Christ deeper than ever before. Many of us had dreams, visions, and supernatural experiences. Many people were released from long-time bitterness that they didn't even know they had. Strongholds were demolished. Chains were broken. The all-consuming Fire of God set people dramatically free this weekend!

On top of all this, on our drive home, we called one of the ladies from our small group and found out she had been horribly sick all weekend. We invited ourselves over to pray for her (which she welcomed). Before we had even arrived at her house, her fever lifted for the first time in days!

From there we went to the little city park in downtown Plymouth to have our Wildfire School of Supernatural Ministry and play worship music by the big fountain in the middle. We had fifteen people from our group show up, and we worshipped God for about an hour together in the park.

Before long, it started getting too cold to stay out there, so we went to a local coffee shop called "The Bean" to continue. Within a matter of minutes after we started playing music, a man walked in and looked at us. My girlfriend Robin flagged him over, and he listened as my friends Sara and Katie sang a song they wrote that said, "I want to wake up and find that I've already died and it's not I but Christ who lives in me."

"Hi, how are you?" I asked.

"Have you got a half-hour?" he asked.

"Absolutely!" came the collective reply of all the people in our group.

Long story short, we spent the next several hours listening to him pour out all his struggles and life experiences. During the first hour, our statements were careful to gently point him toward Christ and set the stage for a presentation of the Gospel. During our second hour, though, we spoke of Jesus Christ and His power to save and set us free from guilt and shame. Everyone listened couteously to his stories, and those who spoke always seemed to say just the right thing as the Holy Spirit led us. People shared prophetic words and supernatural "words of knowledge" in practical, loving ways and pointed this man to a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Eventually it was closing time and we had to return home. We invited him to our Monday night group, so hopefully he'll be there tonight as the seven of us who attended the Encounter Retreat share testimonies about our experiences!

God is so awesome! If you are willing to welcome His presence in the streets, I can guarantee that He'll show up with power!

Depression is a tough issue, and this time of year is especially hard for some due to the lack of sunlight and more time spent indoors. In the past few days, however, I've seen a couple of my friends discovering freedom from depression even though it is normally so common for them at this time.

I know the situation is different for everyone and there's not really a "pat answer" that solves every person's situation, but I believe there is tremendous power in testimony. Just today, as we held our Wildfire School of Supernatural Ministry, one of my friends was talking about how depressed he's been lately and how he can't seem to break free from it.

I think it's important to note here that being depressed does not make you less of a Christian or somehow less loved by God. The fact is, you're just going through a rather rough season in your life, and God is right here with you. It is true that He wants to help you out of your depression--and I believe He will--but that does not mean that you're involved in some sort of grave sin that has made God hide His face from you. On the contrary, He is paying even closer attention because He cares about you so much!

Anyhow, as our meeting went on, we all spent some time practicing "hearing God's voice" and sharing insight with each other. That's when I noticed something rather curious. I would have expected that my friend's depression would have started lifting as people shared words of prophecy and encouragement for him. To some extent, I think that helped; but this did not appear to be nearly as effective as when he started prophesying and encouraging the rest of us!

Admittedly, this took some serious effort on his part--he had to break past the emotional struggle and choose to actively embrace who he is in Christ. This meant putting his faith into action.

And here's a part of the story I find really fun: he is rather new to the whole concept of hearing God's voice, and yet he was having visions and receiving impressions from the Lord that ministered to several of us! You do not need to be some sort of "super-Christian" in order to hear God's voice. You can be a developing Christian struggling with depression and still hear Him! As a matter of fact, ANYONE who is a Christian has already heard His voice!

John 6:44-45--No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.”(NAS)

If you're a Christian, then you've already heard God's voice, and the lines of communication are open between the two of you. So let Him speak to your heart, but also let Him minister to others through you! Get into a small group of believers where you can actively participate in interactive ministry. I can't guarantee that all your struggles in life will vanish, but I can certainly say that the heaviness on your heart will begin to lift! As I mentioned above, there is something liberating about being a vessel of the Lord and allowing Him to use you to minister to others; but we must choose to take action.

And what if you're not a Christian? Well, I believe God is speaking to you and calling you today! It's easy to be depressed when we're overwhelmed and physically worn down--even for a Christian. But when we start realizing who we are created to be and begin acting on it, the cloud begins to lift. The Bible calls the Lord "my glory and the lifter of my head." He raises you up! Turn to Him today and ask Him to begin showing you your true identity!

This last Wednesday, my friend Tony (who leads our men's Bible Study) pointed out that the devil tends to attack those areas of our lives that God wants to use most. Then Sunday came along and I believe the Holy Spirit revealed something to me allong those lines during a time of prayer.

The thought occurred to me (I believe it was from God, but judge for yourself) that the enemy has been around for a while and understands how to read the human genetic code. He looks for things God meant for good, and he perverts them so that we never become who we were created to be.

For instance, suppose God created one person to be a fiery, passionate, bold Christian who is not afraid to speak the truth in the face of opposition. Then the enemy comes along, sees the God-given potential that has been written into that person's DNA, and attacks it. Later in life, the circumstances the enemy has brought against that person have wounded their soul and spirit to such an extent that instead of being a bold proclaimer of the Truth, they become a person with an anger and rage problem.

And here's the hard part--Does God hold that person accountable for their actions? You bet. Why? Because that's not who they were created to be. Yes, they have some DNA that makes it very easy for them to have anger and rage problems, but the fact remains that this was not God's reason for writing that DNA!

Yesterday I met someone (who will remain anonymous) who God is calling out of a homosexual relationship and into His Kingdom. This person's response was to respond to the Holy Spirit and leave the house where they were living. We got to pray together for salvation and new life, and this person stated that they genuinely felt different than before. Sure, there will be a process of spiritual and emotional transformation involved--I've experienced this first hand in my own battle with lust and sensuality. But I think one of the most important things that came up was this matter of DNA and how modern scientists claim to have found "the gay gene" (I apologize if that term is offensive to any of you).

You see, God created this person to have a tender, caring heart through which the Holy Spirit can reveal His power and love in awesome ways. The enemy came along and attacked that DNA early in their life through circumstances and lies spoken into their thoughts. And now, years later, this person has finally accepted that Jesus Christ has something better in store!

The supernatural love of God knows no limits! The Bible says, "God is love," and, "Love covers a multitude of sins!" God is not shocked when the devil attacks us in the areas God meant for good--He is grieved. Why? Because it hurts to watch someone you love getting dragged away from you. Not only that, but the things we often get "dragged away by" are the things God meant to be used for good--like the firey boldness of the one who was dragged into rage or the sensitivity, creativity, and personality of the one who was dragged into homosexuality.

We need to stop explaining away our sin by saying, "Well, that's just the way I was made; so God must want me to be like this." The truth is, he made you just the way He wanted to so He could reveal something about Himself through you that no one else could. He created you with a purpose and a destiny. He has a reason for every gene in your genetic code. But He did not create you to live a life of sin.

Christianity is not about "denying who we are"--it's about becoming who we are! God created us each with His plan and purpose in mind, and the Christian life is one of glorifying our Father in Heaven. That means we do His will. That means we become who He created us to be! And this can only be done by the power of the Holy Spirit!

In our own strength and will-power, we are helpless when it comes to getting out of the mess the enemy has dragged us into. We've been attacked right down to our DNA, and so it seems that this is just "who we are." Do not be fooled. When we allow the transformational power of the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with God's love and show us who we are meant to be, He begins to change us from the inside-out. Our DNA doesn't change, but the way we apply it does! We become who we were created to be! And God, our Father, gets all the glory for our freedom from sin!

My prayer for each and every reader today is that you would not be swayed by the enemy to believe that your sinful nature is "just the way you were made." I pray in the name of Jesus that you would instead realize the purity and purpose that were intended by God before you were even conceived in your mother's womb. I pray that you may come to grasp how long and high and deep and wide is the love of God and how great is His kindness toward us expressed in Christ Jesus. Today is the day for you to leave your old ways of life at the cross (considering the "old you" as being dead) so that the blood of Jesus Christ can purify you and the Holy Spirit can give you a brand new life of intimacy with our Father in Heaven.

I invite and welcome you to join our family!

New Year's Resolutions vs. a New Life Revolution

As January 1 approaches, a lot of us start making all sorts of promises for the next year. And yet, the running gag year after year seems to be that no one ever succeeds at a "new year's resolution." The will-power seems to last for a week or two (if that) and then we're right back in the same old rut we were in.

And this doesn't just happen at the onset of a calendar year. We've all tried--on any given day--to change something about ourselves and failed. We try to break habits, addictions, sinful thoughts, and more...but guess what? In no time at all, everything comes crashing back down.

So what's the deal? If the cards are stacked so violently against our success, why do we bother to continue making New Year's Resolutions year after year? If we're doomed to failure, why do we keep believing it's so possible?

Because it is...just not the way we would expect.

You see, God is very clear on the fact that we are meant to change and be more like Christ. But He is also very clear on the fact that "will power" is not the answer. Actually, it's the opposite: We must abandon our own will and start serving the will of God. We must come to terms with the cross of Christ and put our sinful nature to death so that the Holy Spirit can birth new life within us.

Want to be free from addictions? Start by asking the Holy Spirit what issues in your past might be the root issue. He'll likely show you one or more instances in which your subconscious came to believe something that was not true. He'll show you inner wounds. He'll show you bitterness.

And when He reveals these things, it's your job to respond. A good friend of mine recently came to Christ and a few weeks later was set free from her addiction to smoking. Completely, 100% FREE! How? The Holy Spirit showed her some areas in her life in which she was holding bitterness and resentment against her dad. And as soon as she forgave him, the addiction lifted. She was occasionally tempted in her mind for a while, but she was no longer ruled by it. She even had a friend smoking near her who offered her a cigarrette, and she was able to refuse without any struggle.

Jesus is the answer! It's not about how much you "make up your mind" to change--that will never amount to anything! But the power and presence of God are transformational and revolutionary! It's time to stop making meaningless New Year's Resolutions, and start jumping into the New Life Revolution!

Ask God for the ability to repent and put your old life to death with Christ. Then ask Him to give you new life by raising you up with Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Then start walking in victory by fostering your relationship with Father God, which Jesus made possible through His ascension into heaven.

This year, don't waste your time with another powerless New Year's Resolution. Rather, ask the Holy Spirit for a New Life Revolution! HE WILL ANSWER!