Read Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough: A Guide to Nine Biblical Fasts for Free Online Page A

thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:4,5,
KJV
). 1
    Step 1: Renounce Counterfeit Control
    The first step in breaking spiritual bondage involves
discerning reality from that which is counterfeit
. This requires recognizing and renouncing any control over your mind that is not from Christ. “As the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3,
KJV
).
    Counterfeit control may come from one of several sources. The anti-Christian values learned in an ungodly home can impact a family for generations. We have all been exposed to the godless influence of the mass media in the books, movies and music we experience. Have you ever been involved innocently or actively in the occult, New Age, spiritism, black or white magic, cults or other religions? These sources represent an external power that would influence our lives. Satanic rituals and bonding oneself to alien spirits also place people in spiritual bondage.
    Jesus contrasted His ministry with that of the devil when He stated, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it moreabundantly” (John 10:10). To experience the abundant life Jesus promised and be free of spiritual bondage, we must renounce the counterfeit influences in our lives.
    Pray audibly, “I renounce (
insert here those counterfeit influences that are holding you in spiritual bondage
).”
    Praying audibly is the first important step on the road to experiencing your liberty in Christ. Take time to examine your history. Note all external and internal influences, and denounce them audibly when you pray.
    Step 2: Acknowledge Self-Deception
    The second step on the road to Christian liberty involves
discerning truth from that which is deceptive
. For many people, this step is very difficult. It involves acknowledging our own efforts to deceive ourselves, and choosing to embrace the truth of God. God wants to begin the process of liberating us from the spiritual bondage internally. David wrote, “You desire truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom” (Ps. 51:6).
    The problem with self-deception is that we are so successful at it that we don’t know we are successful and don’t realize the damage it does to us. Many people have deceived themselves for so long that they have difficulty believing they are deceived.
    Several biblical principles may be applied to discern areas where we have deceived ourselves. First, we deceive ourselves when we hear and fail to apply the Word of God in our lives (see Jas. 1:22). Second, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Also, “If anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself” (Gal. 6:3).
    Another way we deceive ourselves is in evaluating our wisdom by the standard of age rather than by the wisdom of God (see 1 Cor. 3:18). Finally, we deceive ourselves when we think we can sin and then escape the consequences (see 1 Cor. 6:9). Some ministers who have fallen into sexual sins probably began as men of God, but committed “minor” sins and thought they got away with them. As one thing leads to another, their sins became more severe and they thought they were above the consequences of sin.
    As long as we continue to deceive ourselves, we will remain in spiritual bondage. In contrast, Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). To move out of the realm of self-deceptioninto the liberating truth of the gospel, we must admit we are deceived.
    Pray audibly, “I acknowledge (
insert here those areas where you have deceived yourself
).”
    When you are honest with God and yourself, you allow God’s truth to free you from deception.
    Step 3: Forgive to Overcome Bitterness
    The third step on the path to liberty