Helpmeplease, there is help for you, but you have to realize some things. God's people are destroyed for lack of knowledge and so there are some things to understand.
First, you need to realize that you are in a war and will be in a war while you are living in this body of flesh on earth. Someday, if you are born-again (I hope you are) by the Spirit of God you will be given a new body that will have put on incorruption because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. (Read 1 Cor 15). Until that time you will be fighting the good fight of faith as we all are.
The Lord can quiet all the voices in your head that oppress you and rise up against Him, but He always requires our cooperation. OK? We work with Him and He works with us. That's the way it is. It is called relationship. He just does not deliver us without us exercising faith in Him as our Deliverer. And the scriptures also show us how to maintain our deliverance and not fall back into captivity (give ground to Satan's traps) over and over again. Acquiring victory in Christ and standing in this victory is all about relationship with Jesus Christ. It is called "abiding in Him". John 15.
Now, because we live in this body of flesh, we cannot blame the devil for everything. We must take responsibility. What I mean is, flesh must be crucified. I don't mean your body, I mean your sinful desires. The desires you have that wage war against the Holy Spirit. It is called sin. And you cannot cast out the flesh. So, right off the bat we need to come to an understanding (you do) of what is causing your problems. Most of the time it is us not abiding in Him.
Some people get confused and try to crucify the devil and cast out the flesh. What I mean by that, is we need to recognize what is flesh (us) and what is of the devil. If it is your sinful desires then you must pick up your cross and deny the flesh. If the devil is speaking to your mind (not all your thoughts are yours by the way) you must stand against him and "pull" down these thoughts, by rejecting them and standing on God's Word about what He says. We are not to believe lies. We are to fill ourselves with the truth of God's Word so that we can recognize and reject lies. That is pulling down every thought that rises up against the knowledge (Word) of God. Just because you are born-again now does not mean that the devil is going to leave you alone. On the contrary. You are in a war of the likes that you have never imagined.
The Holy Spirit gives us the power to fight this war, but the paradox is that we fight this war in the Lord's strength now our own. That is why you are not gaining any victory, because you are trying to fight a spiritual war with carnal (fleshly) weapons.
2Co 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
Yes, you cannot fight this war with your own abilities (flesh). You need the Lord to fight this war for you. You trust Him, follow Him, delight yourself in Him, Love Him with all your being and you love Him by obeying His Word. You don't directly fight your flesh and all your sinful desires in your own strength. You will find that is a losing battle.
2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) >
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations (thoughts from Satan and our flesh desires), and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
If our flesh is left unsubjugated to the Spirit, then it gravitates to sin very easily. If our problem is with our own rebellious flesh, then we cannot blame the devil. And, regardless whether it is our flesh that is causing us problems or we have an opppression problem, we need to find out how we are giving ground to the Devil. Once the ground is taken back (acknowledging your sin and repentance) then you have relief.
As I said, flesh (not our Body) left unchecked and not under the control of the Holy Spirit will sin and cause us many problems.
As children of God, we have not received a spirit of fear. How have you given ground to the enemy regarding this fear you have? Ask the Lord these questions and He will answer you.
1Pe 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
From this scripture we can see that we are in a war. And the war that we are in is the war between flesh and spirit. The flesh wars against the soul when it is not being subjected to the Spirit. Actually, it will still war but it will be in subjection.
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Yes, flesh and Spirit do not get along at all. What the Lord wants us to do is submit to His Spirit and not submit to our flesh (fleshly desires). This is the war that you are experiencing. You are experiencing the contrary attitude if your will between the flesh and the Spirit.
Rom 8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
So, ask yourself, what things are you minding? Where is your mind? What do you dwell on? You say when you go to church things get quiet. Could that be because you are dwelling on the Spirit (spiritual things, good things) of what is being spoken?
When you leave a company of Believers you begin having bad thoughts again? Is that right? That is why I ask, what are you dwelling on? Are you in close relationship with the Lord? If not, why? What is keeping you from that? Have you given ground to sin in your life and not dealt with it? That is what you need to ascertain.
If you want victory you have to be honest with God. You don't have to tell me anything, but just don't think because you prayed a prayer of salvation one day in the past that everything is going to be automatic now. No, on the contrary, before you were saved, you never even felt this war because there was no war against the flesh and Spirit. You were given over completely to the flesh nature. But now, if you are in Christ Jesus, you have been thrust into something that feels very strange to you. It is called WAR! It is imperative that we understand the nature of this war that we are in or we will never have victory. If you are trying to enjoy the flesh and the things of God at the same time, then you are perpetuating this war within yourself and I have already shown you scripture about the war against the flesh and spirit. That is why there is no compromise at all with our fleshly desires and God tells us unequivocally, to come to Him with all of our heart and not to be joined to anything or anyone else in our heart but Him. This is true peace and life in the Spirit.
Let me ask you, do you have peace with God? Have you come to the Lord with your whole heart, repenting of your sins and just abandoning yourself to Him. Do you know His mercy and love. Have you tasted of His kindness and forgiveness? If this has been your experience and just because of a lack of knowledge you find yourself in this situation, you need to know that things are far from hopeless. That same God that you came to when you were desperate for Him, is still there and ready to vanquish your enemies and give you rest. He wants us to grow up into mature sons. He is wanting to teach you how to use your spiritual muscles and walk in victory. Call on Him, cry out to Him, run into Him as your strong Tower.
Dear Heavenly Father, I lift up Helpmeplease to your throne of grace and ask you Lord to draw him to you and fill him with the knowledge of who You are to him, personally. I pray Father through the knowledge of You and your Word that he will be set free from condemnation and defeat and that he will experience that he is more than a conqueror through You, because you love him.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
It is through Him, not apart from Him.
Get with Lord right now and as the Holy Spirit leads you renounce all the hidden things of darkness that you have engaged in and are engaging in and repent of each one because you gave ground to the enemy in these things and the Holy Spirit will bring a time of great refreshing and peace to you.
2Sa 7:1 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies;
As you are led by the Holy Spirit, clean (by repentance) your house (heart, temple of God) and once your house is clean you will have rest. Then you must put on the whole armour of God and stand. I will save that for later. Remind me.
2Co 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Oh, and no, you are not the ONLY one in church with this problem. :-)
