Deliverance from Alcohol

When I met Ian and Helen (I&H), I was saved and married to a good Christian wife. Our marriage was in trouble from my rebellious heart, and from under the attack of the enemy, as we learned later from the counsel and guidance of I&H. At the first contact I knew I was in the presence of the Lord’s servants and He wanted me, and my wife there to be taught the lesson of 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 as well as many, many other truths from His Word, the Savior and Lord, Jesus the Messiah. Almost immediately the Holy Spirit went to work. The truth of the Lord shone into the darkness of my own shortcomings: I had been blinded to one of the horrible strongholds of the enemy, alcohol, anger and pride, a deadly band of demonic powers and human sinfulness.

As it says in Proverbs 20:1, and as I was about to learn in a most intense and long warfare, “Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.” (NIV). Shortly, and with much self-imposed torment, I soon learned of the meaning the Lord had for all of us in Isaiah 5:11 and 5:22 (NIV), “Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night til they are inflamed with wine” and, “Woe to them who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks.”

Believing many of the lies of the enemy, lies are the cornerstone of the devil’s work, I was convinced I could serve the Lord, my true hearts desire, and drink as I pleased. Alcohol and stubborn pride remained enthroned in my heart until the Light of the Truth of Jesus pierced the darkness (Eph: 5:11) in counsel and deliverance warfare, with I&H in the presence of The Counselor, the Holy Spirit. I had not realized how much a stubborn heart grieved the Lord (Mark 3:5, NIV), until the bondage and territory I had surrendered to the enemy, nearly brought an end to my marriage and life.

AA failed, superficial efforts failed, lying to myself, my wife, I&H failed. I learned and cautioned others that AA or the children of the same, NA OA, etc are not of the Lord in their present format. The Lord clearly says to all of us that joining in prayer or worship of false gods or demons are forbidden. Isaiah 2:6, “You have abandoned your people,… They are full of superstitions from the East…..and clasp hands with the pagans (bold mine), NIV. 1 Cor 15:33, “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character. Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God-I say this to your shame,”(NIV). When people pray at the end of the AA or other meetings, the prayer is to another higher power and not specifically to Jesus the Lord and Savior, King of kings and Lord of lords. No, blasphemously, Jesus is just one of the many alternative higher powers, equal to and not superior. Sadly, many unknowing participants exchange one bondage, addiction, for another worse bondage, serving a false god, the “higher power.”

It was not until one night in prayer-warfare that I surrendered the fight and my inadequacy to the Lord and learned that, “The Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” (Deut 20:4, NIV). The Lord gave me a vision of His Holy Spirit in the form of a blinding bright light breaking through a dark black and sinister crust that had covered the working of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:17-18 warns, “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit,” (NIV). (I can still hear Ian say, “When the Bible says do not be foolish, I think it is a good thing to pay attention to.”). Well the final night of deliverance after prayer, tears and genuine repentance and renouncing the sins of rebellion in my pride and the absurd importance I placed on being able to drink as I please, I pleaded with the Lord that my body was His temple, and He would have to destroy the enemy in my midst and the midst of my family. I was unable without His Mighty Right Arm. The Lord then gave me this finale to the vision described above which ended with the image of a pure white dove, and emanating blinding pure light, shaking off violently, the last of the black encrusted darkness over Himself, and I knew that the Holy Spirit had accepted my surrender and took sovereignty in my heart and my life. God is merciful and patient. He waited for my will to surrender to His and then delivered as He promised.

There is so much more that could be shared, I was saved and desiring to serve the Lord but had so much to release and heal from my worldly past of Eastern Mysticism, martial arts, secular world views, Corinthian living and the likes. These territories in my life have been reclaimed by the Lord and Savior, Counselor and Friend, Jesus through the power of His Holy Spirit and the Mighty Power of God the Father.

Praise be to the Lord, my life, my marriage, my walk with the Lord is forward and homeward.