Riches are defined as the total of one’s property, wealth, sustenance, and net worth. Riches are necessary to function in this world. With them, we buy goods, services, and other needs.

Is having wealth bad?

Riches in and of themselves aren’t bad. It’s how we view the riches that can make it bad. Riches can create an illusion that everything is accessible simply by riches and thus other things that riches cannot buy aren’t useful.

If riches aren’t bad what makes it deceitful?

People who are deceived by riches place their trust in their money and not in God. Mark 4 lets us know the seed of the Word of God gets planted into a man’s heart and there are different soils of our heart that the Word of God can either grow on producing fruit. Or, the Word of God can be choked or stunted not producing fruit in one’s life.

What can someone who has been deceived by riches do?

The great thing is God is good! He allows various seasons to come into our lives that humble us bringing us back to our need for him. There is a story in the Old Testament about a King named Asa. He was a righteous king who sought the Lord. As Asa grew in riches, favor, and notoriety with his neighboring kings; he began to withdraw his trust from the Lord.

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Guest blogs are welcome on this site as long as the blogs are in line with the content and mission of the site. The tag line is, “To Teach A Generation the Heart of God & The Way of The Lord.” Please, take a look at some of the blogs already written on the site. Intercession For A Generation has the right to refuse publishing a particular blog article if it isn’t in line with the website. You can get free exposure to your blog by providing a guest blog for Intercession For A Generation.

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https://intercession4ageneration.org/courses/ Here is the link you can get details.

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https://intercession4ageneration.org/books/ Here are books to read . More you can contact here russelynwilliams@intercession4ageneration.org

What are the Vices that you are holding on to in your life that replace your intimacy with God?

Part I

Vices are temporary pleasures that people hold on to in order to fill a void. Normally, vices lead to bondage or cause individuals to form unhealthy habits or addictions.

Examples of vices include:

Gluttony
Pornography
Alcoholism
Unhealthy Relationships
Drugs
Masturbation

As Christians we are not exempt from dealing with vices. Often vices are based around legitimate needs that are being fulfilled in an illegitimate manner if we look at our vices through the lens of God’s Word.

For example: It’s OK to eat food because you are hungry and need food to live, but to abuse your body and gorge on food because food has become a vice in your life is not good.

The question is how does a person who realizes that he has become addicted to a vice become free, and stay free?

I will share a few things that I have learned as it relates to dealing with vices.

1.) Deliverance from a vice may happen right away for some people, and it may be a process for others. Whatever the case may be to get free from the vice, you have to be determined to stick it out doing whatever is necessary to be delivered. Until a person gets to the point of being willing to do whatever it takes to be free, they will not be free. It isn’t going to be easy, but it will be worth it.

2.) Depending on how drastic the vice is, it may require drastic measures to be free from it such as fasting and prayer. (Matthew 17:21i) There is a spirit attached to every vice, and sometimes God will lead you to go on a specific fast in order for you to be in a place of preparation for God to come in and break the yoke. (Isaiah 58:6ii)

When you fast you are denying yourself and putting your body back under subjection where it belongs (1 Corinthians 9:27iii). You are also growing your desire for intimacy toward God placing yourself in a position to receive from him. God promises through his word that those that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. You have to prepare yourself to desire God and his way of doing things, it doesn’t come naturally to our flesh because our flesh is against God (Romans 8). God will then come in and give you strength. You may need to complete several fasts before you get free. The flesh is a beast, and it doesn’t do you any good to get instantly free from your vice when you haven’t prepared yourself to want to stay free. You have to want closeness with God more than you want that vice, and often fasting and consistent prayer is how you get that.

3.) Feed your Hunger for God: You have already begun feeding your hunger for God through fasting and prayer. As previously stated, the Bible says that those that hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled. (Matthew 5:6) You want to be filled with good things. Things that please God. It is essential to replace negative habits with good habits. There are specific passages of scripture that address what happens to a person who has been delivered from demonic oppression. The sum of the scriptures basically states that when an unclean spirit leaves a man, it goes through dry places seeking rest and finds none. So, it comes back to the same person finding that person void, or empty. It then brings seven more spirits worse than itself and the last state of that man is worse than the first. (Luke 11:24-26)

There are spirits attached to every vice that make it harder for a person to become free from a particular vice. Once a person seeks to become free from a vice, he has to fill himself up on the things of God. Things that build his faith in God and not toward the vice for example, the Word of God, Prayer, Sound teaching, and worship. If a person walks around empty as if they don’t need to get into the Word of God, fellowship with other believers, or prayer, it will be easy for that person to become overtaken with the vice again in a much worse way.

When I am tempted to give into a vice. I remind myself that the reward for walking in holiness and obedience is intimacy or close fellowship with God.

Psalms 15 talks about who gets the privilege of hanging out with the Lord by saying:

“Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart…”(Psalms 15:1-2).

In sum the scripture goes on to say that those who practice walking in holiness and righteousness are those that get to hang out with God. They are the ones that get to see God at work operating and actually notice it because they have learned to be sensitive to the Spirit of God and not to grieve the Spirit of God. Psalms 24:3-5 continues in the same vein:

“Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” Psalms 24:3-5

Finally, Isaiah talks about how sin separates us from God. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. (Isaiah 59:2)

4.) Realize that God’s desire is to help you to remain free, but you have to exercise your will toward integrity:

There is a story in Genesis 20 that tells how Abraham lied to a king named Ambimelech about Sarah, his wife, saying that she was his sister. The Bible says that he did so because he was afraid that King Ambimelech would kill him and take his wife as his own due to her being so beautiful.

King Ambimelech, then took Sarah into his house as to make her a concubine, but before Ambimelech could touch Sarah, God gave him a dream. In the dream, God warned King Ambimelech that if he touched Sarah he would be a dead man as well as others connected to him because Sarah is a married woman.

Ambimelech’s response to God in the dream was, “would you slay a righteous nation?” He went on to say how he was deceived by Abraham and Sarah and how he bought Sarah into his home based on the “integrity of his heart and the innocency of his hands.”

God responded to Ambimelech saying, “Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. (Genesis 20:6, KJV)

As we can see from the above story, God says specifically that he kept the king from sinning. The king’s heart was already toward the Lord to do right. The king did right all he knew, and God made up for what he did not know.

God is always looking out to help us to obey him. He is a good God who understands that we are just men and women (Psalms 103:14iv). God delivered King Ambimelech out of a temptation that he did not even realize he was in. God promises to make a way for us out of temptation. He is on our side and committed to our success to be free from anything that would attempt to interrupt our relationship with him.

There are 3 more important points to share on the topic of vices coming up in part II of this very same blog. Stay tuned for part II very soon!

i But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. Matthew 17:21 (NIV)

ii Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Isaiah 58:6 (KJV)

iii But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 1 Corinthians 9:27 (KJV)

iv For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. Psalms 103:14 (KJV)