On Christmas Eve, 1988, I had a very graphic dream. And in this dream I was working with a family member on the top floor of a condominium. We were working on a patio sliding door, which is what I did for a living at that time. All of a sudden, and with no warning, this family member stepped over the guardrail and said, "If I look up, I won't know when I'll hit", then they jumped. I started to run down the stairs weeping and sobbing uncontrollably, feeling guilty, angry, rejected, and humiliated. It was then that I was met by a security guard coming up the stairs. When we met, he tried to console me, but to no avail. When I woke up, I felt every emotion that you would feel if this had actually taken place, even after I realized that it was a dream. I then asked God, "Why was I allowed to have such a horrible dream?" It was at this point that He began to give me the information I am about to share with you.

 

Suicide is something I could never understand. I couldn't understand how anybody could take their own life. In fact, I would become irritated at anyone who contemplated it. The question I would always ask is "Why suicide, when there are so many ways to deal with problems?" The problems that people have don't seem significant enough to me, to get them to take their own lives. But, it is vitally important that you understand that those problems are significant enough to the person who is attempting, or contemplating it! This is so important to realize when ministering to someone. Keep in mind that they are in pain, so being cognizant and understanding of their pain is very important.

So many times, we have heard or read of someone attempting, or succeeding at, taking his or her life. Some of you may have already experienced this personally in your own family, or maybe you know of a friend. Some of you may have felt first hand what it is like to be in that type of situation. You try to understand, but just can't figure it out. This is why I am writing this.

God wants to expose the reasons behind suicide, and in so doing, we might expose the lies. We are told by Jesus that, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." He also wants to reveal solutions to those that are contemplating or would attempt suicide and to those that minister to them. Now what I mean by exposing the lies is that there is a perceived reality and then there is authentic reality. Often those that attempt suicide are seeing a perceived reality, but not actual reality. These lies are becoming increasingly rampant every day in the lives of innocent people. It is overwhelming to think of how many people are fooled into taking their life. The following are questions we have to ask today.

• Why is suicide becoming such a common thing?

• Why is Satan convincing people to take their own life?

• Why are Christians being led into this trap?

 

Why is suicide becoming such a common thing?

A. Suicide is becoming more common everyday for many reasons. One is the sanctity of life is being cheapened through abortion, euthanasia, and the media. How can we expect young people to put a high price on life when they are being taught that it is perfectly correct or right to kill their babies as a form of birth control? How can we expect young people to respect life when we give them the choice to take life in the womb, and encourage them to do so without any remorse?

B. Society is portraying death as an easy way out. People wanting to escape the pain of being alive see suicide as the easy answer to that pain. We are being inundated by different forms of media, which are teaching suicide as a means to escape emotional pain. This may, or may not, be done in a subtle way. Again, the gradual 'cheapening' of human life is a door that can allow all sorts of so-called justifiable reasons to kill humans into our society. As these subtle ideals begin to take hold of the subconscious, the victim starts to get into the right frame of mind that is conducive to and can ultimately escort them to suicide. Faced with the right circumstances, this person can easily see that suicide is an easy way to escape their pain. They suddenly cannot understand why they feel so depressed until that depression becomes so painful that the person looks for an antidote for the pain. This message keeps reinforcing their new ideal of what life is worth.

C. Humanism is another vehicle of suicide, as it subtly takes all value off human life as well. It is touted as a way to increase self-value, yet that is not the result that it produces. With the "if it feels good do it" mentality, humanism is being shoved at us in all directions. It is being taught in our schools. In fact, it is the only religion that is allowed to be taught in our public schools. The Supreme Court ruled that it is indeed a religion years ago and they even have tax-exempt status as a result. It is also being piped through Hollywood. It puts all emphasis on self-gratification and ignores brotherly love. It tells us that if it seems right to us then it is okay, ignoring morality and law completely. Here is a quote from the Humanist Manifesto.

"We affirm that moral values derive their source from human experience. Ethics is autonomous and situational needing no theological or ideological sanction. Ethics stems from human need and interest. To deny this distorts the whole basis of life. Human life has meaning because we create and develop our futures. Happiness and the creative realization of human needs and desires, individually and in shared enjoyment, are continuous themes of humanism. We strive for the good life, here and now. The goal is to pursue life's enrichment despite debasing forces of vulgarization, commercialization, bureaucratization, and dehumanization."

It is no wonder we have such a high crime rate in America. Crimes from petty theft to violent crimes against humanity are being committed each day. The sad part is many of these crimes are committed without any remorse whatsoever. That is one of Humanism's many contributions to our society.

D. Then there is the frontal attack from Satan. He is constantly telling you how little you matter, or how useless you are, or how much you hurt other people. Then he reinforces these thoughts with the different forms of media, and humanistic values. Regardless of how he attacks, he just wants one thing, to destroy your life.

 

2. Why is Satan convincing people to take their own life?

The reason Satan is using suicide, is because he does not have the authority to take human life. This is evident in:

JOB 2:6 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life."

If Satan has to get permission to kill, then he does not have the power to just take life at his own will and desire. If he really had that kind of power, there would be no human life left on this planet.

JOH 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

This should convince you as to the motives of Satan vs. the motives of Jesus. Jesus wants our lives to be full of peace and contentment. Satan wants to destroy your life. The only one with authority to take human life outside of God is the individual that possesses that life. Therefore, if Satan can convince an individual to take his or her own life, he has circumvented the will of God and satisfied his own nature that desires to destroy.

If Satan robs a life that has never made a decision for Christ, then he has robbed that person from the potentiality of becoming a Christian, and an eternity with God. If Satan robs a life that has already made a decision for Christ, then he has robbed the potential of that person to affect other people's lives for Jesus. Either way, Satan removes the possibilities, of those people ever influencing other peoples lives for Christ. This is Satan's motive in suicide, to stop the work of God and to steal your soul if possible.

 

3. Why are Christians being led into this trap?

The reason Christians are being oppressed by Satan in this way is because, that person, as a child of God, filled with his Spirit, has power to cause destruction to Satan's kingdom. They can:

MAR 16:17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

I do not want you to misunderstand what I am saying in reference to Satan. I am not saying that people who are suicidal, or have suicidal thoughts, are possessed by the devil. What I am saying is Satan will oppress these people in every way he can.

First, Satan will try to distract you from doing God's work. If in that process, he can stop you altogether, by convincing you to take your life, he will definitely do it. Satan is not your friend…he is your enemy. He hates you, he hates me, and he hates God. Why then do we give audience to him who is trying to destroy us? Could it be that a lot of us do not recognize that we are indeed entertaining Satan's lies.

 

There are two demon spirits involved in the process of convincing someone to commit suicide. The first, which we will deal with next, is a spirit of suicide. We have all experienced this oppression as Christians or as non-Christians.

The most important thing you can grasp at this point is that Satan will stop at nothing to get you to admit to yourself that you are 'stupid', or that you are 'no good'. This self-infliction will begin to convince the sub-conscience that you are expendable. Once you have convinced the sub-conscience that you are expendable, this spirit will help in the process of self-extermination.

One of the ways that this spirit uses to persuade you to commit suicide is to produce thoughts that cannot be substantiated with fact. I spoke earlier of this "perceived reality." For example, you will get thoughts of what other people are thinking, saying, or doing behind your back. Without you ever knowing these thoughts to be true or false, you begin to accept and act upon them as facts. This in turn opens up the door for more and more thoughts like these. This actually produces a reality of your own making and has no basis in what is real. Nevertheless, perceived reality is just as real to the perceiver as true reality is to others.

Another trick this spirit uses, is for you to put a great price on your self-image or ego. Now on the surface, it seems like this would have the opposite effect of getting someone to commit suicide, after all, you cannot kill what you value. However, there is a very good reason behind this tactic. This is done so that he can begin to deflate or defame that image, to the end, that he can convince you of great loss. So great a loss, that you will consider death as a viable escape from the agony of this loss. The greater the distance of the fall, the greater the damage the fall can inflict. Those with super inflated egos are those that suffer the most damage when Satan deflates it.

When you accept this perceived reality you will reach the moment in which you will believe that you are hurting your loved ones so much by just existing, that you would be better off dead so that they would not have to deal with the pain of you hurting them all the time. This is a lie! This spirit will continue to throw this lie into your thought pattern to the essence that you receive it as truth. At that point, you are a prime candidate for suicide.

It will also interfere with the way you interpret how other people treat you. When you are in the company of other people, you will think you see signs that substantiate the thoughts that have plagued your mind. Maybe thoughts of personal dislike, by the way other people act and talk. You will interpret body language as an assault on your character, when in the normal frame of your mind you would not even have notice. When someone talks to you, you interpret what they say, and how they sound, as an attack. This also becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy because when you have the mentality that everyone is attacking you. You will then be in a defensive or offensive mode, this action will provoke the response from others, by your action toward them, that will substantiate in your mind the original thought that everyone dislikes you.

On the other hand, maybe circumstances take place that just happens to substantiate what you have been told is happening. Remember, the enemy is trying to destroy you, and he will get as many others as he can to substantiate the lie he has been whispering to you.

You become so involved in this process that you begin to draw conclusions that have not been proven by fact. As a result, you will either make accusations about people, or you will not even want to be around them at all. This causes you to go into deep depression, which in turn, causes much agony and pain. All of this, just because of the lies and misinterpretations of truth! They are lies that have been fabricated, by Satan, to destroy you!

I realize too that there are people though, that will act and talk maliciously. This brings us to the next spirit involved. A spirit that has in the past, and is now working, in many. This spirit is called, a spirit of "character assassination." Its job is to use well-meaning people, and sometimes not so well-meaning people, to say the wrong things, at the wrong time, to the wrong person.

PRO 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Satan is trying always to enter into the character inflation and deflation process, hoping to take another life. The church and the world are full of people always meddling in other people's affairs, and not for their edification. This spirit will enter into your everyday conversation with other people. It will begin assassinating various characters, whether present, or absent, from the sound of your voice. It will trick you into thinking you are actually helping those you are assassinating. You will think you are helping, when all you are doing is delivering criticism to a person whom Satan is already criticizing and trying to kill.

So Satan is both, setting up lies in your mind, and sending people to you to substantiate those lies. His design is to destroy the image that you have of yourself, because you cannot kill something that you love, he has to get you to the point of hating your self or your life.

 

We have just explained some of the hows and whys of suicide. From here, there is only one direction to take. How do we deal with suicide, whether it is tormenting your life, or the life of someone you know? (For those of you that know of someone who is being tempted by these spirits. Please, keep in mind what you have already read. And by all means, be obedient to how the Spirit is wanting you to minister to them. The only real help, that is, the only help that will help, is that which comes from God.)

The first step in terminating this satanic activity in a life is first, for that life to recognize the problem exist, and second, for that life then to be willing to be set free. There has to be a fundamental shift in the way a person is thinking. There has to be the understanding of what reality actually is. It is important that the individual understand what we have already discussed, that is, expose the lies that Satan has been throwing into their minds. Of course, the second step is to stop and arrest the endeavor of Satan to destroy this person's life, by and through the Spirit of God:

MAT 18:18 "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

In other words, set the person free first, by praying, binding the spirits that are working in their life, and second, through education, which gets the person to see themselves the way God sees them. After the person has been freed from oppression, it is important that they realize that Satan will come back with those same lying thoughts that he used before.

Once a person is free, they need to know how to stay free. As I said in the beginning, the process of becoming bound, will begin in the thoughts. Therefore, this is where the enemy will start again. Therefore, it becomes imperative that we know how to neutralize the thoughts that enter our minds, in order to remain free.

In dealing with thoughts, it is important that you have a proper self-image of yourself, and to dispense immediately with any thoughts that are hostile to that image. In addition, it is important to realize that Satan is a liar, and since this is true, you must understand that you cannot believe the thoughts he is whispering in your mind. If it cannot be substantiated with fact then it cannot be used in your thought process. We must come to the point that we refuse to believe anything that Satan is saying to us. Also, we must come to realize that it is Satan producing those thoughts in the first place. Any thought that devalues you is your enemy, and is from the enemy.

2 Corinthians 10:4 We fight with weapons that are different from those the world uses. Our weapons have power from God that can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments 5 and every proud thing that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.

In these two verses you can see the sum of what I am telling you. Your fight is in the mind and any thought that is contrary to what God says, is false and needs to be declared such by your mind to eliminate its effect on your subconscious. Since we know that God is love, we know that God loves you and sees value in your life as a result of that love. Anything therefore, that is contrary to that is a lie and needs to be recognized as a lie. You need to have the right perspective on your life. This cannot be achieved without a working knowledge of grace.

Psychologists and psychiatrists think we, as a society, ought to think of ourselves as good. They tell us we need a good self-image in order to be sane, healthy individuals. They are right, but the problem is, what are they asking us to look at as good? If it is based on our own personal achievements, good looks, athletic ability, education, or anything that can be destroyed or diminished, we have a big problem.

A proper good self-image must be explained the way God intended it to be in order to have a self-image that cannot be damaged or destroyed. If we consider ourselves to be of great value based on our own ability, then the enemy has something to deflate and destroy. But what if we consider ourselves to be of great value because God first created our spirits, and then, when man fell from His favor, He offered His Son as a sacrifice for our sins? What then can Satan destroy when we see that God has placed so much value in us that He sent His only Son to die and suffer in our place?

I am not talking about confidence. Confidence in one's abilities is necessary for all of us to excel in our fields of expertise. I am talking about how you evaluate yourself. If you evaluate yourself based on your abilities, then Satan can cheapen your view of your self through failure. However, if you evaluate yourself based on the fact that God values you, what can Satan rob? This is where grace will set you free to be what God created you to be and do.

The self-image that is free is one that is not tied in any way to the flesh. You see if I have a self-image based on my abilities, then I am relying totally on self or flesh, rather than God. Jesus wants to remove all reliance on self, because self is incapable of producing any lasting form of true value in our lives. You cannot keep a physical minded self-image and have peace of mind. Because if the physical minded self is on the throne of your being, then you will not accept what God wants to do in your life. The reason for this is lack of trust. Please, try to understand, God only wants to give you more life, and to give it more bounteous.

So, how do we get rid of this physical minded self-image? By understanding what grace does for your life. God has made it very simple to understand. Now, let us take a brief and simple look at what grace is.

The word grace means unmerited favor. Here is how it works. Man was not able to keep the whole law.

ROM 3:10 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." ...20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin so, God sent Jesus, His Son, to pay the punishment of all our evil; 21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

We did not deserve this act of mercy, but He did it anyway, and that is grace. Now, the only way we can enter into this grace, is to accept the God’s gift of salvation. We do this by acknowledging the fact that we are indeed sinners, and in need of redemption. That Jesus is the Son of God who died for us, so that we may stand before God blameless.

ROM 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

You will have to have knowledge of grace in order to keep you from falling under condemnation. Remember, you are not capable of obeying the law. That is the very reason God sent his only Son. Now Jesus fulfilled the Law:

MAT 5:17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

For the longest time I did not understand this verse. When it hit me, it was so simple, that I was almost embarrassed. I used to think that it only meant, "that every thing that was said about Jesus in the Old Testament He accomplished."

Well I was part right as that is what is meant by fulfilling the prophets.

However, Jesus also fulfilled the Law by keeping it in every way, and in doing so, He fulfilled or finished the Law. He was the only one of human flesh that did this. He did not waver from the Law of God one bit. He never sinned. This is why His sacrifice was necessary. It was the only way humanity could be reconciled to God. When I accept this sacrifice for my sins, and move under grace, I am actually accepting and applying His perfect law abiding life to mine. When you accept Jesus, you take upon yourselves the life that Jesus lived, and God sees, in you, a perfect Law abiding person!

GAL 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

COL 3:3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

The previous verses give us the idea that we are dead. Do you see the advantage of this? If I am dead, that is my ego, flesh, carnal nature, or whatever you want to call it, what power would those two spirits have if there is no flesh-based self-image to defame or deflate, or if there is no flesh-based character to assassinate? How do we enter this state of self-demise? Again, the book of Romans has the answer:

ROM 7:2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.

In this example, the wife is a representation of you, your spirit. The husband represents you, your flesh, or old-nature. As long as the old-nature is alive, we are bound to it. The flesh will always try to live by its own works, in other words, trying to obey the Law.

ROM 7:3 So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.: 4 So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God.

Here, you can see how you receive a self-image that is based in Christ. It is through the body of Christ. When you receive Jesus as your savior, you take upon yourself, the flesh, or new-nature (that life without sin) of Jesus, and your flesh dies. Then something often happens. Man, in his endeavor to serve God, begins to fashion ways and laws for his flesh to obey God. The reason this happens, is that the flesh cannot be recognized under grace. If it is dead, it cannot get credit for any works. Therefore, it tries to resurrect itself. It does so by putting laws, as opposed to new-nature, into action in your life.

ROM 7:5 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

So, in order to be free, your old-nature based self must die. I would like to share a little bit of my life with you. I was always a very shy and scared person. I grew up without much confidence in myself. To talk in a social gathering was death to me, let alone a crowd. Then God showed me that my life's worth could not be summed up into my abilities or appearance. He showed me that the part that is priceless to Him was the spirit that He implanted in me when I was conceived. That is the part that will live forever.

I have no control over the type of spirit (character) that God put in me. Therefore, I cannot fail or succeed in the person of my spirit. This is very important to understand. This freed me from fear and timidness. He also showed me that I do not have to impress anyone, and no one has to impress me. My life has been changed completely by this simple truth. I have shared this, because if God can do this for me I know He can do it for you.

Now if you take the antithesis of that shy and scared person, you see a person that is very fearless and brave. The only problem is, if that person takes pride in themselves, then Satan can steal it. I believe that the only way for a life to experience true bravery, true courage, and true peace, is to accept God's gift of redemption and to put all of your self value in the part of you that God created, your spirit, which translates itself into your personality.

 

The one, and only thing that you can do, to align your life in the direction that God can use, is to surrender your life to God. This isn’t bondage, but freedom. Surrender is not a one-time thing; it is daily ("take up your cross daily"). That cross signifies the death of self, and the taking up of Jesus (God's-image). How do you surrender? By giving God the permission to make you into the person that He wants you to be, without considering the consequences to self.

God loves you. He is not looking for a perfect person. He just wants you. The price he paid on the cross, he paid out of love for you. If you would just give him permission, he can give you a full life. He wants to make you into a holy habitation, and only He can. He wants you to accept yourself on the basis that He accepts you.

To disagree with God is to say that you are greater then God. If God values you, what right do you have to devalue yourself? That is what is meant by "We destroy people’s arguments and every proud thing that raises itself against the knowledge of God." The knowledge of God states that you are valuable to Him; any argument that comes against that truth must be destroyed or it will destroy you. You see, it is not important what man sees in you. God has already seen enough to die for. Moreover, if we just do only what He wants us to do, then we have run the race successfully. No matter how significant or insignificant to man, our calling is. All that is important is to press on to our individual high calling.

All that you ever have to be is what He made you to be. Everything that God created will function at its greatest efficiency when it is doing what it was created to do. That means the path of least resistance for your life is by following the path that God purposed for you to walk. You must remember that God's love for you defines your value and that is how you have to value your self, in spite of what any person may say, in spite of any thought that comes to your mind, in spite of what you think, in spite of what you see. You are valuable to God, and that is reality in its purest form.

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