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                       The Healing of Troubled Minds!

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By David Wilkerson
January 18, 1999
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          A troubled mind is one that suffers from continual
          discontentment. It is pressed down, disturbed,
          restless, with no calm or rest. It frets about the
          future and the past as well as present circumstances.
          And I'm convinced there are more troubled minds today
          than in any past generation!

          We who live in New York City see evidence of this
          daily. If you stand outside the theaters on Broadway
          and watch the patrons leaving the shows, you rarely see
          a smile on anyone's face. These people paid eighty
          dollars to find a temporary release from their burdens
          - but they leave with a heavier load than when they
          entered!

          Apparently many lovers of Jesus are just as troubled in
          mind as the masses of unbelievers. I see evidence of
          this in some of the letters our ministry receives.
          Scores of believers lie awake at night, troubled and
          distressed. They go to church hoping they'll experience
          some kind of release from their burdens. But once they
          leave the service, their trouble returns.

          Why are so many people today troubled in mind? Let me
          share with you some of the reasons I believe the Holy
          Spirit has shown me:

                      -------------------------------

                        1. Many People Are Troubled
                      by the Pressures Of the Times.

                      -------------------------------

          For decades now, secular experts have told us
          prosperity is the answer to human-kind's problems. A
          good education, a decent job, a nice house, money in
          the bank - all of these things are supposed to provide
          people with dignity and peace of mind. If everyone
          could just have a slice of the American dream, the
          experts say, our crime and drug problems would be
          solved.

          This theory states that people end up as alcoholics and
          addicts because they never had any self-worth. Their
          poverty deprived them of opportunities that would have
          provided them with a sense of dignity. So now, if we
          just provide them with a decent-paying job, a good
          place to live and a regular income, their lives would
          be fine.

          Let me answer this theory with a personal story. Years
          ago, Nicky Cruz, a vicious Mau Mau gang leader, was
          taken to the country for a day to be analyzed by a
          psychiatrist. Nicky was a fighter who lived like the
          devil. All who knew him thought he was completely
          incorrigible, with no hope of ever changing.

          After spending hours with Nicky, the psychiatrist
          confirmed everyone's evaluation. He told Nicky he was
          utterly crazy, with no hope of rehabilitation. The
          reason? Nicky's poverty-stricken upbringing in Puerto
          Rico had deprived him of the opportunities others
          enjoyed. It was society's fault he was a monster.

          Nicky looked at the psychiatrist and said, "Man, you're
          the crazy one. I just love to jitterbug [fight]. Tell
          me - how did your mother treat you?" He ended up
          psychoanalyzing the psychiatrist!

          Nicky was right - poverty is not the root cause of sin.
          Otherwise, why are more and more affluent teenagers
          getting hooked on hard drugs? These troubled young
          people have everything they could ever want within
          their reach. Why would they turn to drugs if they
          already have the peace of mind that material things
          supposedly provide?

          Why are growing numbers of doctors, lawyers and
          business leaders becoming alcoholics? They have
          satisfying jobs, six-figure incomes, multiple cars,
          frequent vacations. Yet they increasingly turn to
          alcohol to numb their troubled minds.

          I've been on Wall Street at the end of the workday,
          when the stock market closes. As the doors of the
          trading houses swing open, brokers rush out like
          stampeding bulls, heading for the nearest bar. They
          pack themselves by the dozens into Wall Street's tiny
          watering holes, trying to drown their emotions in
          alcohol.

          Why aren't they happy? Why are they so troubled in
          mind? They have everything they've been told they need
          to be fulfilled. They make comfortable incomes, own
          vacation homes, smoke $50 cigars, drink $300 bottles of
          wine, drive expensive cars. Yet they get stoned just to
          make it through the day. Why don't these people enjoy a
          calm, satisfied state of mind?

          It's because they fear losing everything! They're
          afraid the economy will crash, and suddenly everything
          they've worked to accumulate will vanish like a vapor.

                      -------------------------------

                     Jesus Warned That in the Last Days
                     People's Hearts Would Be Troubled
               by All the Crises Taking Place In the World.

                      -------------------------------

          "There shall bedistress of nations, with perplexity;
          the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing
          them for fear, and for looking after those things which
          are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall
          be shaken" (Luke 21:25-26).

          Jesus said the events coming upon the world would be so
          frightening, people would literally drop dead from
          heart failure. Right now, we're witnessing the very
          things he predicted: world chaos, bewilderment,
          confusion. The news of the past month alone - December
          1998 - is enough to distress and perplex even the
          strongest minds:

             * Japan, the world's second-largest economy, fell
               even deeper into depression. Its second-largest
               bank went bankrupt, with $20 billion of bad debts.
               Now the federal government has moved in to take
               over the bank - but other Japanese banks are soon
               to collapse also.

             * Alan Greenspan, chairman of the U.S. Federal
               Reserve, said the American stock market is
               behaving just as it did before the crash of 1929.
               According to Greenspan, all the wild speculating
               we're seeing is the very kind that brought on the
               Great Depression.

             * Five major U.S. industries announced 50,000 job
               cuts in just two weeks' time.

             * The President of the United States was impeached
               by Congress. Yet most Americans' attitude was,
               "Who cares?"

             * A Republican Congressman said, in so many words,
               "Forget impeachment, forget the moral issues. If
               we oust the President, we'll lose our prosperity
               and end up in a depression." His words reflected
               the attitude of most Americans. Morals don't count
               anymore, because the only thing that matters is
               money. The motto that swept our current President
               into office was, "It's the economy, stupid!"

             * A respected New York City schoolteacher was fired
               for placing a Bible on his desk and making it
               available to his students. This man was one of the
               city's finest teachers; his class performed above
               the others. If he had set a box of condoms on his
               desk, nothing would have happened to him. But he
               was fired for bringing a Bible to school!

          All of these things are distressing and perplexing to
          any lover of Jesus. Indeed, our ministry receives
          scores of letters from believers across the country who
          fret over the moral landslide of our nation.

          One such letter came from a preacher in his nineties.
          He remembers the immorality of the 1920s that brought
          judgment on America through the Great Depression. He
          has witnessed two World Wars. He's seen transportation
          change from horse-drawn carriages to space shuttles.
          He's seen communication change from crackling radios to
          the Internet. In short, he's seen it all.

          Now he writes that the wickedness taking place in our
          nation today grieves him more than any he's ever
          witnessed. He can hardly take it all in, he says,
          because it's happening so fast, and the depths of
          depravity are beyond comprehension.

          Yet Jesus gives us a word of reassurance in spite of
          everything we see taking place. He commands, "see that
          ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to
          pass, but the end is not yet" (Matthew 24:6). He's
          telling us, "Let none of these bad things I'm warning
          you about trouble your mind!"

                      -------------------------------

                  2. Many Christians Are Troubled in Mind
                     Because They're Perplexed by Their
                Sinfulness, Weaknesses and Moral Failures.

                      -------------------------------

          There are many voices in the world today analyzing why
          people are so perplexed and troubled. But these amount
          to no more than a Babel of confusing reasons. The fact
          is, no true lover of Jesus Christ is going to be
          troubled by the potential loss of material things.
          Rather, he's going to be plagued by troubles in the
          spiritual realm!

          Paul knew the true cause of our perplexities and
          distresses. He addresses the subject in Romans 7: "For
          that which I do I allow [understand] not: for what I
          would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. For
          the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I
          would not, that I do" (Romans 7:15, 19).

          The apostle is saying, "The very thing I don't want to
          do, I end up doing. But the one thing I would love to
          do, in obedience to God, I can't find in myself to
          accomplish!"

          Paul is speaking here for thousands of sincere
          believers. They're troubled because they simply can't
          find victory over sin. They want to do right - to live
          holy and pure before the Lord. And they hate the sin
          that so easily tempts them and disrupts their communion
          with Christ. Yet they keep turning back to it!

          They end up distressed, troubled and weary, crying,
          "Oh, wretched man that I am! I don't want to do this
          anymore. But I seem helpless to resist it! Why am I so
          weak? And how long do I have to endure this struggle?
          Will I go through my whole life crying a river of
          tears, confessing and repenting and then going back to
          my sin?"

          Such lovers of Jesus aren't worried about an economic
          crash or the world's crises as much as they're fretting
          over their failures of the past week. They thought
          they'd conquered their besetting sin, but suddenly it
          came back upon them with renewed power. Now they're
          grieved over having wounded their Lord again. And they
          worry, "Why do I fail so often, when all I want to do
          is please Jesus?"

                      -------------------------------

                          There Is a True Measure
                             For Spirituality!

                      -------------------------------

          I believe we can know our true spiritual state by how
          troubled we become over our slightest sin against our
          Lord.

          Some Christians grieve only what they consider the "big
          sins" - adultery, drug abuse, drinking, cursing. But
          the truly spiritual person knows that no sin is small
          in God's sight. And so he grieves every time he
          gossips, tells a dirty joke or has a lingering evil
          thought. He knows these things spring from his heart,
          the very center of his being!

          You can disobey God in such "small things," excusing
          yourself and forgetting all about them. But if you do,
          you'll never mature in Christ. Your righteousness is
          measured by your unwillingness to accept anything that
          grieves your blessed savior!

          Not long ago, I said something very unChristlike to my
          wife. My words to her were totally uncalled for, and I
          immediately fell under conviction. I knew I'd wronged
          her, so of course I asked her forgiveness. Then I
          hugged her and told her I loved her.

          But my mind was still troubled. I thought, "How could I
          be capable of something so unlike Jesus? After all,
          I've never been closer to the Lord. I've never prayed
          more than I have in the past year. I must be utterly
          wicked to have such a crude thing spring out of my
          heart."

          The very thing I hated, I had done. And I wasn't just
          disappointed with myself - I was disturbed, perplexed,
          troubled in spirit. I went to my study and fell before
          the Lord, calling on the blood of Christ to wash me
          clean.

          In that moment, the enemy whispered to me, "That little
          slip-up was no big deal. It was such a small thing."
          But the Holy Spirit immediately rose up in my heart to
          refute the devil's voice. He reassured me, "David, the
          very fact you're grieving over this sin is proof I'm at
          work in you. The more you grieve over even the smallest
          transgression against my love, the closer you get to
          victory!"

          Because we continue to struggle with sin, however,
          Paul's words to us in Romans can appear to make no
          sense. He writes:

          "ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from
          the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered
          you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the
          servants of righteousnessand become servants to God,
          ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end
          everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death"
          (Romans 6:17-18, 22-23).

          Free from sin? A servant of righteousness, producing
          holy fruit? You've got to be kidding! As we read this,
          we have to honestly admit, "I'm not dead to sin. I
          haven't truly been set free. I'm still under the
          deceiving power of a secret sin - and that troubles me.
          If the wages of sin is death, then what hope is there
          for me?"

          Here are two abridged letters from sincere Christians
          who have struggled terribly with great bondages. The
          first one comes from a young man:

          "I'm constantly tempted by sexual sin, and I always
          give in. I love Jesus with all my heart, but I feel
          God's presence slipping out of my life. Even though I
          love him, I keep going back to my lust. Yet I hate it.
          I cry like a baby while I'm participating in it, asking
          God to help me not to do it. But I keep doing it.

          "I trust God to deliver me, as Paul says in Romans 7.
          And I love God with all my heart. Yet I know I'm wrong,
          and I feel helpless to change. Sometimes I feel okay,
          but at other times I feel I'm being sifted like wheat.
          I feel like a Judas who has betrayed my Lord. Sometimes
          I think suicide is the only way out."

          The second letter comes from a married woman involved
          in adultery with a married man:

          "I pray for deliverance, for repentance, for strength.
          I vow to be strong against temptation the next time it
          comes. But when I see him [my lover], I fall right back
          into the same old thing. I lived a clean, moral life
          for years; I never thought I'd be capable of something
          like this. But now I've fallen into hell, and I don't
          know how to stop it.

          "When I read your newsletters, I get convicted. I've
          prayed and tried to cast out any demons that may have
          come in because of my sin. But I feel so doomed. My
          mind races with all the scriptures that speak against
          what I'm doing. I feel like a reprobate. I'm full of
          guilt, fear, panic, disgust. I feel so alone, detached
          and cut off from God."

          We receive many letters like these - cries for help
          from minds troubled by a besetting sin. Yet I must say
          to all lovers of Jesus who suffer such turmoil: That
          troubling, inner cry - that battle in your mind - is
          the work of the Holy Spirit!

          God sent his Spirit to us to wage war against our flesh
          and its desires and lusts. So, if you aren't troubled
          when you fail - if you're able to shake off your sin
          with no sense of guilt, sorrow or regret - then the
          Holy Spirit is not in you doing warfare.

          However, if you're being convicted by even the
          slightest transgression, you're close to true victory.
          He's winning the battle in your heart by producing a
          godly sorrow that leads to true repentance!

                      -------------------------------

                      3. God Has Provided an Antidote
                    for the Healing of Troubled Minds!

                      -------------------------------

          There is victory available to us, over all these things
          that trouble our minds. It's wrapped up in a covenant
          God made years ago with Abraham and his descendants:

          "That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the
          hand of all that hate us; to perform the mercy promised
          to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; the
          oath which he sware to our father Abraham, that he
          would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the
          hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in
          holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of
          our life" (Luke 1:71-75).

          God's oath to Abraham and his children is crystal
          clear: He will deliver us from all our enemies, so we
          can live without fear - untroubled and at rest - every
          day of our lives!

          Beloved, this covenant applies to every one of us
          living today. According to Paul, all who have received
          Christ as Lord by faith are "Abraham's seed." "They
          which are the children of the flesh, these are not the
          children of God: but the children of the promise are
          counted for the seed" (Romans 9:8). "Know ye therefore
          that they which are of faith, the same are the children
          of Abraham" (Galatians 3:7).

          So, how can we lay claim to this covenant promise?
          Abraham asked a similar question of the Lord, when he
          saw no release from his dilemma. He asked, "What will
          you give me, Lord, seeing that I have no child?" Here
          was God's answer: "I am thy shield, and thy exceeding
          great reward" (Genesis 15:1).

          The Lord told him, "Abraham, I'm going to give you
          myself - and that's all. I will be your defender and
          your great reward - because I am who I am. You need
          never fear another enemy as long as you live, because I
          will be God to you!"

          The Lord gives us a glorious promise just like this
          one, in his new covenant. He says, "I will be to them
          a God, and they shall be to me a people" (Hebrews
          8:10). Indeed, from the very beginning of creation,
          through all of scripture, we hear God making this plea
          to humankind: "I want to be God to you!"

          The Lord's plan for us has always been simple. He has
          said, "You don't have to fear any power that comes
          against you. I'll act as your defender at all times. If
          you'll simply trust my sworn promises, casting yourself
          into my care by faith, I'll be almighty God to you.
          I'll conquer all your enemies and cast them down before
          you. You'll be victorious, more than a conqueror -
          living out your days in peace, with no fear!"

          I ask you: Are you living out your days without fear -
          with a calm spirit and peaceful mind? Most of us don't
          live even a fraction of our time that way. We go in and
          out of our moments of peace, but we don't fully enter
          into God's rest.

          If you're troubled, perplexed, distressed over a
          besetting sin, you have to understand: God is not mad
          at you! He isn't wanting to discipline you or judge
          you. On the contrary - he yearns to infuse you with his
          omnipotent power!

          God says essentially the same thing in all of his
          covenants: "I'm looking for a people who will believe
          I'll deliver them from all their enemies!" "The
          covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget;
          neither shall ye fear other gods. But the Lord your God
          ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand
          of all your enemies" (2 Kings 17:38-39).

          In the Old Testament, those enemies were heathen
          nations - Philistines, Moabites, Hittites, Jebusites,
          Canaanites. All of these evil powers sought to destroy
          God's people and place them back in bondage.

          Today our enemies exist in the spiritual realm -
          demonic powers, fleshly lusts, evil desires. And in the
          New Testament, God repeats his pledge to his people:

          "I'm going to be God to you - and you're going to be my
          son, my daughter. In fact, you'll be my child from now
          through all eternity. Therefore, remember the covenant
          I've made with you. You shall not fear any man or
          power, but only me. I will deliver you out of the hands
          of all your enemies - including demonic harassment,
          clinging lusts, dominating habits, all besetting sins!"

                      -------------------------------

                           You May Ask, "Why Then
                        Do I Not Have This Covenant
                             Fulfilled in Me?"

                      -------------------------------

          If you wonder why you keep falling - why you continue
          to feel weak and powerless, doing the very thing you
          hate - it is probably because you have not fully
          trusted in God's glorious promises.

          God made all of these promises to Abraham - promises to
          be his shield, to be his reward, to defeat all his
          enemies, even to perform miracles for him, such as
          giving him a child in his old age. Abraham believed
          these promises - and God said his faith was credited as
          righteousness.

          Likewise, the moment we give up fighting our spiritual
          enemies in our own strength - settling in our hearts
          that whatever God promises, he is able to perform, and
          trusting everything into his hands - that is the
          beginning of our righteousness.

          God helps us in this by sending his very own Spirit to
          take up residence in our hearts. The Holy Ghost is the
          power of God, and that power declares war on all
          demonic powers: "the Spirit [lusts, or "fights"]
          against the flesh" (Galatians 5:17).

          The Spirit declares, "This is now my dwelling place,
          devil. I've set up headquarters here, and I'm raising
          up the banner of almighty God. You no longer rule here.
          And your battle is no longer against my child. You're
          up against me now. And I'm going to hunt you down, foil
          your schemes and fight you on every front. This child
          is now the temple of the Holy Ghost!"

          Walking in the Spirit is not complicated. It is simply
          believing what God has said: "Walk in the Spirit, and
          ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (verse 16).
          Simply put, this means, "Trust in the Holy Ghost!
          Believe in his pledge to take up your cause. Walk in
          the power of his promise to fight for you!"

          God's word gives us an ironclad promise that's a sure
          cure for all mental anguish:

          "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye
          shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all
          your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I
          give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I
          will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I
          will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my
          spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my
          statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them"
          (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

          Do you see what God is saying? His Spirit does all the
          work in you! He will cleanse you and give you a new
          heart. He will bring you into obedience and cause you
          to do right. Your part is to believe he will keep his
          word, with unwavering faith!

          So, will you trust your problems, your future, your
          life - and your sins - into the hands of almighty God?

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771, USA.

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