God’s Psychology for Today By Joel Joseph Researched by Pastor Gary Boyd Conclusion by Pastor Boyd Introduction:
The use of antidepressants has more than doubled in the last decade. Not surprisingly, suicide rates are rising at a phenomenal rate worldwide, alarming the researchers. Today the war is intensifying. It’s a war against God, a war against truth and for your soul. All of this creates disproportionately high stress levels in society. As we charge forward into dramatic prophetic fulfilment, the great shaking will intensify and many people will be shaken to their core. People will lose hope in the gloom. Heavy-heartedness, misery, worry, dejection and soul-desolation will rule all but the spiritually strong. It is only the living God and His truth-counsellors who can effectively help. You cannot go outside of God’s word and ways and expect to be set free in these intensifying storms. Psalm 37:30-31 (Amp) “The mouth of the uncompromisingly righteous utters wisdom and he speaks justly. The word of God is in his heart and will be stable.” The problem:
The problem is stress, distress, depression, anxiety, rejection, mental turmoil and instability. Today, Christians are more prone than ever before, to these same psychological problems that we see in the unsaved. The reason is that today, modern Christianity has changed and become “relevant” to the world in many cases. Today far too much of what passes for Christianity is sugar-coated, whitewashed, soft-soaped hogwash. Cross-less Christianity, the flavour of the day, is powerless. In fact, Christians are likely to become even more of a target for the devil in the near future. Revelation 12:12 tells us, “Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” They are Satan’s greatest enemy. Many of the attacks on Christians will be of a spiritual nature and will come in the form of evil spirits, curses and deception. Today we live in a world of emotionally weak and disturbed people with little or no spiritual, “skeletal” backbone. Anything to do with taking up a cross, and the real truth, has to be watered down, changed or modified so that it doesn’t offend their spineless being.
With self “enthroned� and the god of this world sharing this throne of devils, demons, and witches, the results are clear to see. Modern man is a failure! The depravity of man is continuously pushed further and further into the mire with no restraint. People are not getting better and better, but worse and worse with all manner of psychological issues driving them further into despair.
The kingdoms of this world await destruction, and only then, will the new world be pure, holy, and clean. Until then we are to raise and keep the cross of separation between us and the world. The cause of man’s problems...A diagnosis:
1 Corinthians 2:14 “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” James 3:15 “This wisdom (demonic) does not descend from above, but is earthly (worldy), sensual (soulish), demonic.” ●An incorrect diagnosis of the problem compounds it not helps it. The source of man’s problems is the sin nature. It is not called “mental illness” or any such thing. That would imply it can be fixed with pills or psycho-babble. The cause is sin flowing in the blood of all humans born of Adam. This curse was infused into the blood of mankind right from the fall in the Garden. You can’t take pills to make sin go away. You can take pills to make the effects go away for a short time, but then, you will soon see that you have not advanced at all. 2 Corinthians 7:10 “Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
Amazingly, mankind can’t see that sin kills. He can’t see that his own sin is his worst enemy, not best friend! You will never get rid of sin as long as you befriend it and make it welcome. Is stress and depression sin? In the grand scheme of things it is. It leads away from God. If you are honest with yourself, you would have to admit that all depression is a result of not being able to get your way with something or other. Most times people prone to stress and depression have opened the door to “the spirit of heaviness” to come in and control them. (Isaiah 61:3) They become pessimists and have a dark cloud over them that won’t go away. ►Interestingly, the word “heaviness” is Strong’s H3544, “Keheh” meaning darkness! The spirit of heaviness is exactly that, it is a dark spirit – a demon spirit. Deliverance, not pills is the answer. You can’t fix it outside of God’s ways because you can’t even see it – it’s a spirit! Deliverance, is the answer. Bear in mind that there are some people that you will never be able to help, because they have “been handed over,” as revealed in Romans 1 and other places. (Please read that chapter.)
I am not referring in this edition to those with a genuine physical problem leading to their psychological problems. The solution: The answer is the cross of our Messiah, and its resurrection-power, combined with personal repentance. This repentance is multi-facetted and is also seen in taking up your own cross, denying self, the world and the influence of the demonic. The great answer to mans problems is death! If you are dead and someone comes along and rips you apart with the most hurtful words – it makes no difference does it? If someone comes along and praises you, again it makes no difference because you are dead! We are to die to self. Then we are free! From man’s viewpoint or the secular psychologist, the answer to man’s problems is to let your inner self have unrestrained expression. And use pills to keep any negative feelings or effects away. Personally, I don’t know one person who has ever been truly helped and set free by the world’s psychologists. There may be one somewhere, but I’ve never seen one. I do know of some who have had their problems compounded. Talk about having the odds stacked against you!
Sin is in the blood of Adam and his offspring. Now, have a look at this incredible Old Covenant verse, which is actually prophetic of the redemptive work of the cross: Leviticus 17:11 “The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” The Amplified Bible renders it this way: “For it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life it represents.”
Adam’s blood is curse-rich. The blood of Messiah is fully redemptive!
The word “soul” in the Old Covenant is Strong’s H5315: “Nephesh” meaning - Activities of the mind, emotions, the will and the character. It is the equivalent of the Greek word “Psuche” from which we get the word “psyche” relating to the soul of man and not the spirit of man. So, in this incredible verse above we see that soul-life is affected by the blood. Whose blood do you have in you? Adam’s un-atoned for blood, or the miracle-blood of our Lord, by faith? Modern man’s godless psychology...An incorrect diagnosis: Jeremiah 17:5 “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord.” Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seems right to man, but the ends thereof are death.” ►Sigmund Freud, one the hero’s of psychology, once said: “The biggest culprit of mental illness is the church.” The source of man’s problems from man’s point of view is God’s word which defines and condemns sin. Man’s answer is the eradication of sin and then redefining it as acceptable behavior.
Psalm 107:17 “Fools because of their transgression and iniquities were afflicted.” Ephesians 4:17-18. (Amp) “Do not live as the heathen do in their perverseness, folly, vanity and emptiness of their souls and futility of their minds. Their moral understanding is darkened and their reasoning clouded. They are alienated, estranged, self-banished from the life of God, with no share in it.” Man’s psychology is non-confrontational and therefore submits to and flows with the sin nature. Man’s psychology is one with the word of the world and all its demons! ►The main thrust of secular psychology is not to make you well, but to change your value system, so that you can fit in with the psychologist’s boss – the god of this world. The secular psychologist is not your friend. You are not his patient. You are his victim! He is a co-worker with the sin-nature in you. He is a true employee of the god of the world – Satan, to which they are blind. From their point of view, self must have restraints removed and be allowed to express itself.
Express self and don’t suppress self, is their way. They believe that the church has created the “guilt feelings” which are a cause of mental illness. So the blame is subtly shifted to the value system of the Bible. To them, you have achieved wellness when there are no more guilt feelings. Man is self-sufficient and if left alone will find the right way from within himself, the psychologist claims. Man is an island and the centre of his
own universe, they say. Man is one with the world. Man is essentially good, they believe. Actually, you can’t deny guilt. You can try to suppress it, takes pills and injections, see as many shrinks as you like, but because you were created by the living God for His purposes, you can never get rid of the weight of guilt and sin – it’s always right there. Bear in mind that the unsaved psychologist does not recognise man’s spirit. They only deal in the soul realm. If Satan can get to your spirit, he gets to your soul and then body! Don’t think these are all inconsequential matters! They are of major importance. You can’t bargain with God. You can’t own Him and make Him your puppet! Proverbs 1:25-28 (Amp) “You have treated as nothing all My counsel, and would accept none of My reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, and when your panic comes as a storm and desolation, and your calamity comes as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on Me but I will not answer.”
John 3:19-21 “This is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil...But he who does the truth comes to the light...” These two verses above show the disastrous reason why the unsaved can never be truly set free! They reject God’s word. They are spiritually dark and in the dark! But the following verse was delivered by our Lord to the mass murderer, Saul of Tarsus (ISIS country) as he went down the road to Damascus: Acts 26:18 “...I will turn them (Jews and Gentiles) from darkness to light and from the power of Satan, to God, that they may receive forgiveness for sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.” God’s psychology:
Only the born-again, Spirit-filled counsellor can really help you. All others do not have insight into the things of the Spirit and always wrongly identify man’s problems. Only the Spirit of God gives true sight and reveals these deep things of God.
Here’s how it works: God’s Spirit in those who are born-again of the Spirit directs and inspires the human spirit of the believer. Man’s spirit then directs the
body. The spirit is God-conscious, the soul is self-conscious and the body is world conscious. Spirit of God → Man’s spirit → Man’s soul → Man’s body. Only the word of God can divide you up correctly, so that we can apply the correct verses to the right areas of our life. Unredeemed man can never know his inner self or true nature. This can only be known or seen in the mirror of God’s word. Hebrews 4:12 “The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and joints and marrow (body), and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” With the correct application of scripture, godly change filters through to every area of our lives, even our character and personality changes. We change relative to our godly desire to change, godly knowledge, and obedience to the Spirit of God. Godly psychology or philosophy (the search for wisdom) begins with His Spirit, your spirit, your soul and body. All are involved!
Psalm 1:1 (Amp) “Blessed, happy, fortunate, prosperous and enviable is the man who lives and walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, neither following their advice, plans and purposes, nor stands submissively in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down to rest where the scornful and mockers gather.” Note the direction in the verse above: Walk →Stand →Sit! That’s what you call slowing down!
The grand, glorious, wonderful answer:
Proverbs 3:5-7 (Amp) “Lean on, trust and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind, and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge Him and He will make straight and plain your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear and worship the Lord, and turn entirely away from evil.” As we do and obey the lessons of the verse above, we move into rightstanding with God in all areas of our lives, and inner peace is the glorious result. Holiness is the way to peace. Biblical holiness, inspired by the leading of the Spirit of God is the precious “pearl of great price” and value. It is food for a stable mind, enduring in the things of God. To be in this fast deteriorating world without the restraining power of the Spirit of the living God in you, is far worse than walking a tightrope in a howling gale, with no safety net, traversing tissue-thin ice with flaming fires below it! My friend, real discernment is a gift of the Spirit. If you do not have the gift, you do not have the discernment; you have only your own selfgenerated insight to go on. You can’t receive from God what you don’t believe in!
In far too many cases, man’s emotional problems are a result of demonic activity somewhere along the line. Most people under the curse of the demonic don’t even know it, because they continue to reject the methods to see and deal with evil spirits. Proverbs 26:2 “The curse without a cause will not alight.” James 4:7 “Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
Set free, stay free: When you have battled a long battle and broken through to victory, be careful not to open doors to the past again. Mark 4:19 (Amp) “Then the cares and anxieties of the world, and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and suffocate the Word and it becomes fruitless.” Proverbs 4:20-23 “My son give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” The verse above can also be translated “Bow your ear to My word.” That has a wonderful picture of servitude – bowing the ear! It is also seen in Proverbs 22:17-18.
Kingdom service: Some (very few) will be used greatly of our Lord in the coming great shaking. Even now the need is great. Some will be like a pillar in the temple of God, holding up the whole structure.
Those who are free themselves and who have the knowledge, understanding and wisdom of these things will set others free and be instruments of God’s peace in the turmoil. As a counsellor of the things of God, you have an enormous responsibility upon you. You will either compound people’s problems, leading them into even greater bondage, or you will help to set them truly free indeed. “Let not many among you be teachers (counsellors too) knowing that we will receive a greater judgment.” (James 3:1) Colossians 1:28 “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Messiah.” Tragically, many churches today are a pig-pen with wolves in pulpits masquerading as sheep, and the people can’t even tell, or care to know the difference any more. They are absolutely ineffective in delivering people from their problems and setting them free. The true church has Spirit-led and revealed Bible truth as its source. The counterfeit church has dead-letter as its source. It produces death, with a few pretty bows and bells on it.
Psycho-health snippets: ●Be a giver. Most of all, give thanks freely and liberally. Thankful people have grace upon them. ●Learn to be content in your heart in whatever outward situation you are. (Philippians 4:11) ●Stay away from health spas and the like, where self-indulgence is professionally administered. ●Beware of the transfer of spirits, especially through masses of Jezebels in the church today.
Finally: The ways of God are not the ways of the world. In most cases they are contrary. The way of truth is a beautiful, majestic, but narrow road! Don’t follow or be influenced by the masses. They are always wrong in every generation. Far too many are schooled by superficial YouTube fools and shallow messages, mixed with error and deception. Our Lord is a Lamb and a Lion, beware the “wrath of the Lamb” (Revelation 6:16) and the wrath of the Lion. (Proverbs 20:2, 19:12) If you muzzle a lion, it will one day soon, bite through that muzzle and bite your head off! Learn to love the Lion! Submit to the Lion and the Lamb and the full counsel of God. Then the Spirit of God will set you free indeed, show you things to come and lead you into great peace. Psalm 119:165 “Great peace have they that love your word and nothing causes them to stumble.” Isaiah 32:17 (Amp) The effect of righteousness will be peace, both internally and externally, and the result, quietness and confidence forever.”
Conclusion
As this world turns away from God, they turn inward believing in the things of the world, leaving God in the dust. As they shut out God from their lives, God will shut them out of his. Leaving mankind to their own devices it leaves way for demons to slip in gaining a foothold in their mind. With Satan soon to be thrown down to the earth losing his areole power, he will become enraged walking around like a hungry lion looking for someone to devour. Those without God in their lives are the ones who will be threatened. Would not it serve you better to come to God, asking him to forgive your sins, taking the burden off you and putting it on Jesus? For he said I am the truth, the light and the way, no one comes to the father except by me. Christ is the only way to heaven, the only way in this life to be saved from the destruction to come. The only way to reach the eternal life. Instead of this temporary existence would you not want to live forever in eternity? Turning to God is the
answer my friend. Save yourself before it is too late. Maranatha……………...