Theme: Freedom from depression

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1. What is depression?
2. How to be delivered from depression?
3. How to stay delivered from depression?
4. Summary
5. Conclusion

1. What is depression?

Depression

• Is a medical illness that negatively affects, the way you think, how you feel and how you act.

• It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems.

Cause

• No single cause of depression.
• It has many varieties of reasons and it has many different triggers.
• E.g. upsetting or stressful life events, like bereavement, divorce, illness, redundancy, unemployment, money, worries, family problems, broken relationships.

Symptoms – Mild to severe

• Feeling sad, emptiness or hopeless.
• Losing interest or pleasure in activities you once enjoyed.
• Change in appetite
• Loss or gain weight
• Sleeping too little/too much
• Decreased energy or increased tiredness
• Feeling worthless or excessively guilty
• Difficult thinking or concentration.
• Forgetfulness, and or difficulty making decision
• Fear
• Thoughts of death, suicidal ideation, or suicide attempts.
• (source: WHO)

What does the Bible say about depression?

Isaiah 61: 1 – 3.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,�Because the Lord has anointed Me�To preach good tidings to the poor;�He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted,�To proclaim liberty to the captives,�And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;�² To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,�And the day of vengeance of our God;�To comfort all who mourn,�³ To console those who mourn in Zion,�To give them beauty for ashes,�The oil of joy for mourning,�The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;�That they may be called trees of righteousness,�The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

“Depression” is “the spirit of heaviness”.

• It refers to a state of sadness, despair, or depression that can weigh down individual spirit.
• It is a spirit. An evil spirit from the kingdom of darkness.
• The cause of depression is the evil spirit.

Example

• 1 Samuel 16:14 says, “Now the Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and the LORD sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.”

2. How to be delivered from depression?

James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

1. Submit to God

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b. Resist the devil

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c. Pray for deliverance

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Joel 2:32 “It shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered”.

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• A prayer in faith based on the finished work of Christ on the cross.
• You do not have to earn your release. You do not have to be worthy.
• Christ has already defeated Satan through his death on calvary.

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How Jesus victory worked out and demonstrated through us?

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2 Cor 2: 14 “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in his triumph in Christ and manifest through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of him in every place”.

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d. Thanksgiving – Prayer, singing, giving, testimony.

Depression flees in Jesus’ name!

• Col 2:15 “And having disarmed the powers and authorities (Satan’s whole evil kingdom), he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross”.

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• Jesus did not win that victory for himself.
• He won it for us.

3. How to stay delivered from depression?

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• It is one thing to be delivered and it is another thing to stay delivered.
• Depression is the devils attack on the mind.
• The mind is the battle ground.

Ephesians 6: 12 – 13 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”

Therefore, put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil come, you may be able to stand your ground...”

The helmet of salvation protects the head.

• The head represents the mind.

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• A soldier who is wounded in the head is unable to effectively use his ability and equipment even though he is a brave and efficient soldier.

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• Eph 6: 17a “Take the helmet of salvation...”
• Helmet of salvation represents the assurance of salvation.

Satan primary weapon against us is accusation.

• To make us feel guilty.
• Guilt is key to our defeat.

1 These 5: 8 “But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as breast plate and the hope of salvation as a helmet”.

• The protection for the heart is faith and love.
• The protection for the mind is hope – helmet of hope of salvation.

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The mind is divided into two levels.

• The conscious mind
• The subconscious mind – Heart – Belief, thought pattern.

Faith and hope

• Faith is in the heart – subconscious mind
• Hope is in the mind (conscious mind).

• Faith is something we have right now, and hope is directed toward the future.
• Faith is belief or conviction of truth, while hope is confident expectation.
• Hope defined as “a confident mental expectation of good”.

How does faith and hope work?

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Rom 4: 18 “Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping – believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, that’s how many descendants you will have!” (NLT).

• Abraham’s unwavering faith even when there was no logical reason to hope.
• He believed God’s promise of numerical descendants, despite his old age and Sarah’s barrenness.
• Abraham believed in God’s promise even when there is no apparent reason to hope.

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• Faith in God and his word is the foundation – Heart (subconscious mind)
• Faith in God and his word produces hope
• Faith is the foundation and Hope is the product
• Abraham believed God and as a result he hoped.
• Believing comes first, and hoping was the product or outcome of his belief.

Heb 1: 11“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (ESV).

• Faith is not just believe, but a strong assurance and conviction about things we hope for in the future, and about realities that are beyond our physical senses.
• Hope for the future is built on faith
• Faith allows us to be certain (hope) of things we cannot physically see (God).
• Faith is the underlying bedrock of assurance on which hope is supported.
• Christians must be optimists and not pessimists.

Why?

Rom 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”.

• Retaining our mind is vital for our spiritual health and well being.
• The protection of the believers’ mind – against depression, fear or negative thoughts is through putting on the helmet of hope of salvation.
• The helmet of hope of salvation is God’s armour to protect the mind.

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• Have faith in God and in his word concerning your situation.
• Align our thoughts with Gods promises regarding our situation.
• When we believe God and his word concerning our situation it will produce hope in our mind.

Summary

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Depression is a mental illness that affects the mind and can lead to variety of emotional and physical problems even causes dead and hiders spiritual growth and productivity.

The Bible calls depression “the spirit of heaviness”.

In fact, the primary cause of depression is evil spirit from Satan’s military ranking order that can impact larger group of people.

However, believers should not be victimized by depression. Even if you are attacked by depression, you can be set free based on the finished work of Christ on the cross.

As a believer, you are able to live a life free of depression and that is by putting on the helmet of hope of salvation. The helmet of hope of salvation is the armour God provides to protect the mind. It is our responsibility to wear it to protect our mind.

Conclusion

If you are under attack by depression, God’s word assures us today that you can be set free from depression to live a meaningful and purposeful life God intends for you.

Simply, surrender your life completely to God, withstand the spirit of heaviness and claim the victory Christ won on the cross for us. May Christs victory demonstrated through your life today.

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Romans 8: 37 says, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us”.

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More than conquerors mean we not only win the battle but actually come out of it with more than we had when we went into it.

May this be your experience if you are attack by the spirit of heaviness. May you come out of it victoriously for God’s glory and for his honour.

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Isaiah 61: 3 says, the messiah came to give us, “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.”

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This speaks of the transformation and restoration that the messiah will bring to his people. The transformation from mourning to joy and from the spirit of heaviness to praise.

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May you live each day a life full of joy and praise instead of depression. Put on the helmet of hope of salvation to protect your mind from depression and experience the abundant life Jesus gives.

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