"How Do I Overcome Destructive Habits And Preserve My Life?" By: Dr. Shuffel P. Hepburn

How do I overcome destructive habits and

preserve my life? That's the message. The

text is taken from Isaiah 58. Just after

David was made king of the Israelites, the

Philistines attacked Israel and twice the

Lord gave Israel astounding victories over

them. According to 2 Samuel 22:13, as

the battle lines were drawn in one of

those battles, David

did what seems like a crazy thing.

Something that seemed to make no sense

at all, yet it is astonishingly powerful.

The answer for your deliverance is gift

wrapped in this powerful

story. The king was thirsty and he told

his men that he longed for a drink of

water from the well of Bethlehem.

At this time the Philistines had charge

of Bethlehem and thousands of their

troops surrounded the city and the well

at Bethlehem. But three of David's

mightiest men risked their lives and

broke through the line of the

Philistines to get him a

drink from that well. We have no idea how

many of the enemy they killed to get that

drink of water for the thirsty

king. But we do know that

the enemy could not stop them and could

not prevent them from getting the water.

They drew water from the well and

brought it back to the king. Incredibly

David refused to drink the water even

after they had risked their lives to get

it. He sacrificed the water unto the Lord

instead. He poured out the water as a

drink offering unto the Lord. He said,

"These men have sacrificed their lives

for this water." And even though he was

thirsty he did not think himself worthy

of the sacrifice of their lives. So he

fasted from the water, refusing to use it

to quench his thirst. In one of those battles

the word of God says that

the Lord broke through

the Philistine army like water. And this

is an awesome demonstration of the power

of fasting from something that you want

and even need very seriously. Self-denial

will cause God's anointing and His great

God's anointing and His great power to

break forth in your favor.

Here's how King David

said his help came from the Lord

He said, "The Lord has broken through

my enemies before me just as water

breaks through a dam."

Father we thank you for this word

today and pray your blessing on it,

oh God that you would give

understanding and empower

the listener to overcome those habits

that have troubled them for many years.

Oh God we call forth a victory for the

listeners to this message, in the holy

and the wonderful name of Jesus Christ,

amen. Many churches go on a 21-day fast

during the month of January, almost like

clockwork. Kicking off the new year with

prayer and reflection is a great way to

jumpstart the new season of life. A fast

has tremendous power that will

be useful to the believer Christ

for the entire year. And whether

people join their church fast for the right

reason or not there's no denying the

power of fasting. Perhaps

some do it to lose the weight

that they gained by their out of

control eating during the holidays.

well the Lord has shown me that living a

fasted life instead is an even more

powerful way of life and it brings loads

of benefits to those who do so. To live a

fasted life is a life of daily sacrifice,

giving up your desires for the sake of

others very often and for the sake of

the gospel. The January fast is great but

living a fasted life 12 months of the

year is even greater. Those who

participate in a fast the correct way

are doing something very powerful.

Something that may even save their

souls. For instance during the holiday

season many give away the control that

is essential in their walk with Christ.

By this I mean that as they participate

in the holiday celebrations, it is a time of

eating drinking and partying.

There are many

who put aside their willpower and

go along with the flow.

They end up eating drinking and

frolicking far more than they should

have, and this is offensive to God.

I also believe that these holiday times

can be life-changing times in

destructive ways because it is

a time when some set out on the

road to alcoholism, drug

addiction or even sexual addiction and

never get their lives back. But those who

participate in the fast have an

opportunity to take back the spiritual

ground that they might have lost to the

devil during the holiday time.

However there's something important that

is often left out when fasting. Those who

are fasting

often fail to give away the meals that they

abstain

from to feed those who are hungry.

Scripture advises

us to feed

the hungry, focus on prayer, focus on

reflection and study of the word when we

fast. And this is the way to rule over the

flesh and subjugate it to the will of

God. There is great power in living a

fasted life 52 weeks of the year and

making it a lifestyle change. In other

words live

a

life of sacrifice. This way you never give up

your power and you maintain the control

of your life

at all times. When we give up the control

we

give away the power which God has given

to us. If

we give it up Satan can take a hold of

it and we may never get it back again.

Look around you see many examples of

this. There's a real danger here because

Satan comes to steal kill and destroy

and will take every advantage that we

give to him. According to Isaiah 58 the

people of God were not fasting the right

way so they got no benefit. They

complained that the Lord had not seen

their sacrifice and they said to Him

that they had humbled themselves but the

Lord had not noticed. And then He pointed

out to them that their fault was in the

way that they fasted. He told them that

on the day of their fasting they did as

they pleased, exploiting their workers. He

said they also ended the fast in

quarreling and strife and that they

struck

each

other with their fists. He also accused

them of merely going through the motion

of

bowing the head and lying in sackcloth and

ashes. And then He explained the kind of

fasting that He wanted from them. He

demanded that they do things such as

loosing the chains of injustice, setting the

oppressed

free, sharing their food with the hungry,

providing shelter for the poor and

clothing for

the naked. So here's how you perform this

simple exercise that is guaranteed to

help you get rid of destructive habits.

It is suggested that you begin first not

with the habit that you are trying to

get rid of but with another habit that

is not as destructive or not as

compulsive for you. Start this process by

giving up

something that you really love but yet

can control. Something like a type of food,

drink, internet, TV, hobby etc.

Then make a conscious decision to avoid

one of these for a set number of days, or

at various

times, or do what David did pour it out,

or give it to a needy person, or use your

extra time to help someone. These can all

be

sacrifices unto the Lord. David was really

practicing self-denial when he poured out

the

water. As time goes on you will find it

easier to abstain from the thing that

you've chosen to use in this first

exercise. Each time you do this kind of

fasting you will be gaining strength.

Taking back your willpower and causing

your inner man to know that you are in

control of your appetites, and your

desires. In other words you will be

slowly taking back the power that you'd

given away to

the devil. Soon you will begin to believe

in your

heart that you really can do all things

through Christ who strengthens. You

will soon begin developing confidence

that you can even do without that

destructive habit that has been wreaking

havoc in

your life for so long. And this tells you that

it is now

a good time to turn your efforts toward

this destructive habit that you really

want to get rid of.

When we deny ourselves pleasures

we're actually strengthening our walk in

Christ. We're taking control of our life.

I have discovered that when we pull back

from something that we find great

pleasure in, it causes us to walk in a

greater anointing. Now this message is not

for

those who are greedy for power. It is not

for those

in the world who want to be number

one. And it is not for any who are

seeking fame. But rather this message is

for the simple humble man or woman of

God who have a passionate desire to

please Him. This word is foolishness to

those who are trapped by the things of

the world and have no genuine interest

in pleasing the Lord. When David poured

out the

water he was also invoking the presence

and the power of God to help them in the

battle.

And he understood the power of God in a

way

that very few have discovered even

today. He made a conscious decision to

deny his flesh something essential in

order to please God. Something that he

was really hot for and really needed.

All of a sudden I am sure he felt a

surge of God's power in his entire being

and he began to really feel as if he

could do all things through Christ who

strengthens him. His confidence was

contagious and it spread to his entire

army. This my friend is spiritual power

and is far greater than physical power.

The things that the people of the world

are splurging on every day, celebrating

every day, talking about it in their

conversations and taking great pleasure

in. They are actually the weaker and

useless things that life has to offer us.

Too often we are so caught up in them

that we cannot see how they block the

flow of God's awesome power into your

life. All day long those on the

TV, radio, the YouTubes and the Facebooks

are boasting about these useless

things. And because we have this

insatiable hunger for the things of the

flesh, we find that advertisers are

manipulating us. They're causing us to

spend time and money on that which

cannot satisfy. So self-denial my friend is

the act of

giving up something that you enjoy

participating in. It is the act of

denying yourself the pleasure that you

could get from something that is

pleasurable. And Jesus Christ told us, "If

anyone desires to come after me let him

deny himself and take up his cross and

follow Me. For whoever desires to save

his life will lose it. But whoever loses

his life for My sake will find it.

Therefore we must be willing to put

aside self-interests and take up our

cross and follow after Christ daily.

We will need to express a willingness to

endure whatever may come with the

turf. And walking with Christ, believing

His every word, and bending your will to

follow the examples that He set for us,

even if this involves suffering or death.

1 Peter 4:1 tells us that since Jesus

Christ suffered for us in the flesh and

we are followers of Him. We should arm

ourselves with the same mind that He had.

And if we suffer in the flesh for the

sake of Jesus Christ, then we cease from

sin, is what the word of God tells us.

Then Colossians 3 goes on to say that

when we came to Christ we died and

actually no longer live because our life

is now swallowed up in Christ Jesus our

Lord. When Christ appears again we will

have a new life. And this is the power of

the gospel of Jesus Christ to give us a

new life and a new hope. Here are the

Isaiah 58:6

rewards that the Lord promises us will

break

out upon us if we fast the way He wants

us

to fast. He promises that number one, our

light

would break forth as the

morning. In other words we would be like

a shining star for the Lord. Secondly, our

healing

shall spring forth swiftly. In addition our

righteousness

shall go before us. In addition to that it

says that the

glory of the Lord will be our rare God.

In other words it will follow us. Then we

shall call upon

the Lord and He will answer us. However

He says that

these things will only happen if we take

away the yoke of

oppression, which means if we stop

treating people poorly and unkindly. If we

stop speaking

wickedness and pointing fingers at each

other. And if we feed the hungry and

satisfy the afflicted soul, which means

provide

physical, emotional, and spiritual comfort

to

others. Then and only then the word of

God tells us will our light be as bright

as it is at noon time. And this means that

our

witness and the word of God that we

share will

become believable. Heaven will look down

and smile at you.

Your great faith will be pleasing unto

the Lord. And on that great day He will

say, "Well done my good and faithful

servant." And surely my friend the Lord

will bring a great reward for you. God

bless and keep you in Jesus mighty name,

amen. You've been listening to this

message

and perhaps you do not know Jesus Christ

as Lord and Savior and would like to

make that commitment today. As usual we

want to give you that opportunity. Please

engage your

heart and say this prayer after me. The

prayer of faith

will save you. Father I am a sinner. I am

sorry for

all my sins. Dear Lord I crave your

forgiveness. Thank you Lord for your

patience and for your forgiveness. Today I

invite

Jesus Christ into my heart. Dear Lord

Jesus make

my heart your home. And please give me

the Holy

Spirit to lead me into all truth. I mark this

day because

this is the day that I give you the key to my

heart

and I now belong to you forever. Thank

you Lord

for saving my soul, amen. Welcome friend

to the body of

believers in Christ. We are all here

awaiting the return of the good master.

In the meantime we encourage you to

become water baptized as quickly as

possible. Let your pastor know that

you've committed your life and you want

to be baptized. Begin reading the word of

God

every day. Begin in the book of John then

go to Matthew, Mark and Luke, it is your

daily food, reading audibly as often as

possible, because faith comes by hearing

the word of God. Pray daily, attend at

your local church and one glad morning

the Savior will come and receive us all unto

Himself. And we shall indeed forever be

with the Lord. God bless and keep you in

Jesus mighty name, amen.