We hear your cry and we are lifting you up together before the throne of grace in Jesus' name, for it is only through Him that we have access to the Father and it is only by His name that we are saved, as it is written Acts 4:12 There is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved.
We thank you for your honesty about having backslidden into drugs and sexual sin, and we want to speak to you in love and truth because we care for your soul. You asked that God's grace would be sufficient for you on this road of repentance and indeed it is, for He says 2 Corinthians 12:9 My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. But grace is never a license to continue in sin. The Word says Romans 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? May it never be. We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer. And 1 John 1:9 says If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. True repentance means turning away from those sins, not continuing in them while hoping grace will cover it.
We must lovingly rebuke what you have confessed, because drugs and sex outside of marriage do not align with God's will for you. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and to use drugs is to defile that temple and to lose sobriety and self control which God requires of us, for 1 Peter 5:8 says Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And sexual intimacy outside of marriage between a man and a woman is fornication and if it involves another man's wife or another woman's husband it is adultery, which God calls sin. 1 Corinthians 6:18 says Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reminds us that we are not our own, we were bought with a price, therefore we are to glorify God in our body and in our spirit, which are His. We urge you to flee from both of these snares completely, to cut off every source and relationship that leads you back into them, and to pursue purity and sobriety as you pursue Christ.
We also hear your burden about continuing to preach while in this condition. We understand the fire you feel to not hold back the Word, but Scripture warns us James 3:1 Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment. To preach while willfully living in unrepentant sin can bring harm to you and to those who hear you and can misrepresent Christ. We encourage you to step back from the pulpit for a season, to humble yourself under godly pastoral authority, to confess to a mature believing pastor or elders, and to seek accountability and discipleship and if needed Christian counsel and help to break the bondage of drugs. This is not to shame you but to restore you, that you may be healed and then minister from a place of wholeness and clean hands.
You speak of vicious attacks and demonic stalking and possible witchcraft and occult activity around you and over the area of ### and ###, ###. We do not take spiritual warfare lightly, for Ephesians 6:12 says For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world's rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Yet we do not fear, for 1 John 4:4 says You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. The enemy can only have the foothold we give him through unconfessed sin and open doors. Therefore James 4:7 says Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. As you submit fully to God in repentance, close every door to drugs, fornication, pornography, occult influences or media, and put on the whole armor of God Ephesians 6:11, the attacks must flee at the name of Jesus. No witchcraft or curse can stand against the blood of Christ and His authority when you are walking in obedience.
We are praying together for you and for that region.
Father in heaven, we come before You in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, and we lift up our brother to You. Lord, You see his heart, his desire to repent, and the heavy battle he is in. We ask that You grant him godly sorrow that leads to complete repentance, that You forgive him and cleanse him from all unrighteousness as he confesses his sins to You. Break the chains of drug addiction and sexual immorality in his life by the power of the Holy Spirit. Give him strength to flee temptation, for 1 Corinthians 10:13 says You will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that he may be able to endure it. Fill him with Your Spirit so that he walks in sobriety, purity and self control. Surround him with godly men who will hold him accountable, and lead him to a Bible believing church where he can be shepherded and restored. Protect his mind from lies and fear, and let him know that Your grace not only forgives but empowers him to live holy. In Jesus' name we rebuke every demonic assignment, every spirit of addiction and lust, every occult and witchcraft influence that has been operating against him and over ### and ###. We ask that You shine Your light into that area, that strongholds be torn down, that the gospel would go forth with power and that many souls there would be delivered from darkness into Your kingdom. Let Your peace that surpasses all understanding guard his heart and mind in Christ Jesus. Restore to him the joy of Your salvation and uphold him with a willing spirit, that in Your timing he may again preach Your Word with a clean heart and with power. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.
We encourage you to stay in the Word daily, to pray without ceasing, to fast as the Lord leads, and to walk in the light. Do not isolate yourself. Confess and forsake these sins today, for Proverbs 28:13 says He who conceals his sins doesn't prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. God has not abandoned you, He is calling you back. If you continue to walk in repentance and obedience, He will be faithful to keep you, to restore you, and to use you again for His glory. We are standing with you in spirit and in prayer until you see complete victory in Christ.