"Importance of Forgiveness" Recovery Program Session 2 Parts 1B, 1B-1, & 1B-2 Sept 9, 2014

[Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks, PsyD]

1. Open each session with prayer; asking God to open your understanding as to the areas in your life which needs to be healed and give you understanding of each session. The goal of each session is to help you to heal everywhere you need to be healed so you can become whole.

 

2. Discussion (30 min):

“Importance of Forgiveness”- Part I

Program Overview Recap – Part 1A: The “Important of Forgiveness Recovery Program” (IFRP) is a 6 month program designed to help people get rid of toxic emotions from the effects of traumatic events (past or present) such as unforgiveness, anger, bitterness, resentment, rejection, etc. - this will be accomplished with the truth of God’s Word. Once the toxic emotions are gone, then you will be able to recover, move forward with your life, and be who God called you to be.

Satan’s Major Strongholds (Principalities & Powers) – Part 1B:

Describe What They Are – Ephesians 6:12 says: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (www.biblegateway.com NKJV).

Satan’s major strongholds (weapons) are: bitterness (unforgiveness), self-bitterness, jealousy and envy, rejection, fear, unbelief and the occult; and he takes these strongholds and builds principalities, using millions of demons (powers) to do his evil work for him. That’s why it may seem like he is everywhere at the same time but he is not – he is not omnipresence – only God is; Satan is not greater than his Creator, which is God. Each principality is made up of so many demons, as you will see, and all these spirits work together. We must know who we are really fighting against; we are not fighting against the flesh and blood person who hurts us, but against “principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  Knowing who you are fighting against makes forgiveness easier to do; it will cause you to be able to instantly forgive someone when they hurt you. You will know it is not the person who hurt you but the spirit behind the person.

Origin of Negative Thoughts: Accusing Spirits – Part 1B-1 – Accusing spirits are the origin of our negative thoughts. Their goals are to bring us down, bring other people down, and to bring God down. They seek to separate us from God, others and ourselves. Accusing spirits are part of the principalities and powers Eph. 6:12 talks about – they works with other evil spirits to keep us in bondage; they love to plant doubt so your faith can be destroyed. Accusing spirits are the ones who speak to you and have you thinking wrong about a person when they offend you.

As I said before, there are three sources for the thoughts and voices we hear: Ours, God, or from Satan. But the nature of our thoughts will always reveal whom they line up with: God or Satan.

There are three heavens: the first heaven is over the earth where we live, the second is the realm where Satan, demons, and angels dwell, and the third is where God’s throne is.

Satan and his entities obtain access to our thought life from the second heaven. However, evil spirits cannot read our minds because only God is omniscient (all knowing). But evil spirits size us up, watch our every move; they study our pattern and behavior for every action we take. They constantly try to lead us astray by putting thoughts into our minds and make us think they are our thoughts. But our gift of discernment will reveal where that thought is coming from so we will know to accept the thought or cast it down as 2 Corinthians 10:5 says: “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” (www.biblegateway.com NKJV.) 

Thoughts that enter our minds create energy resulting in saying, doing or thinking something about others, God or ourselves. Discernment puts a governor on our brain, slowing us down to stop and examine the thoughts and actions to determine what is appropriate.

Discernment gives us an “on and off” switch. It allows us to be quiet when otherwise we might strike out at someone. It stops us from doing something that later we would regret. Sometimes discernment works to stifle a thought altogether, disregarding our feelings. Discernment will keep us from committing many destructive actions, as well as propel us toward healthy ones. One of Satan’s tactics is to show us something that looks good, when in fact it is evil and counterfeit. To recognize the counterfeit object or thought, we must know what the real thing looks like.

 

Characteristics of Accusing Spirits – Part 1B-2 - These are the characteristics of an accusing spirit:

1. Suspicion

2. Bitterness

3. Mistrust

4. Always believing the worst about someone

5. Being easily offended

6. Easy to offend others

7. Exaggerating offenses and failures

If you have any of these characteristics in your life, there is an accusing spirit working through you and you must deal with it.

Accusing spirits will keep us from walking in the light with the people who hurt us even after repentance and forgiveness; it will continue to remind of what that person did against us. Accusing spirits will seek to keep us from forgiving. Accusing spirits encourage us to keep a record of wrongs. They seek to nullify the work of the cross to keep us from fellowship with each other, and bind us with self-condemnation.

Have you ever heard someone say: “I will forgive you, but I can never forget what you did?” This is a very destructive thought that brings joy to Satan and sorrow to our Savior and is the work of an accusing spirit.

 

3. Handout: Recap From Part 1B

  

4. If you have any questions, email me at [e-mail]

 

5. Close each session in prayer; asking God to continue to reveal the areas in you which needs to healed and the things you need to deal with.

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God bless,

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks

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