We all live in a generation where it is a disappointing reality, that presently Christians that speak out the truth of the whole Word of God, are being persecuted. This is not just in foreign countries, but also in America. For instance, I saw a post the other day on Facebook and repeated on Instagram, about a LGBTQ protest being done where two lesbian women spoke about how Christians were teaching hate and not love. There was another video where I saw two men trying to get women to reconsider abortion outside an abortion clinic. Those men had few successes, but never gave up on planting the seed of truth. I know God is happy with their courage in the face of the enemy, because they are showing God's love. I am sorry, not sorry, but my Bible is all about sharing love and I would not share love to others if I didn't tell them that the for sins is death in hell apart from God for eternity, and that they will burn in the flames of hell for their unrepentant hearts. However, if they could see that there is hope and love in Christ Jesus, and that the price for their sins was already paid in full on the cross, and when Jesus resurrected from the dead on the third day, He claimed victory over our death penalty, giving us the hope of eternal life in heaven with Him. In this study, God has revealed to me over the course of a few days, the reason for my faith, how to combat the demonic in this world, and claim victory in Jesus by living a life pleasing to Him. There will be a whole bunch of verses listed in this study, and will be quoting them all in NKJV translation of the Bible.
To combat the demonic in this world, we have to know three things: Know firmly who you are in Jesus, Know the tricks of the devil and how to combat them, and Know, why people blame Christians and Religion for their issues.
Know Firmly Who You Are In Jesus
When we have put our faith in the hope that is in Christ Jesus, and have repented, turned away from our sins because we have realized our transgressions separated us from life with Him in eternity, we have become new creatures. We are never going to be the same person we were before because we have a helper, the Holy Spirit living within us and we are newborn as a child of God. Our thoughts, desires, and our mindsets change to become that of someone not like the rest of the world. Best of all we have peace in a world full of war.
1 Corinthians 5:17; "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: all things are passed away; behold, all things are new." The moment I surrendered everything I had ever done and experienced others do to me, I repented of my sins because I realized I needed the salvation of Jesus Christ, and had to live for Christ instead of myself. I put my total faith and trust in Jesus and since then, I have never been anything like my former self, nor do I have any other desire to put my focus on but God. I have even had my own children say that I am not the same and it scared them a little, because every time they come to me about their day, or for advice, I will listen to their reasoning, but when I give them wisdom, it is not that I am preaching at them God's word, it is that the only real true wisdom I have to give is what I learned through my teacher, Holy Spirit guiding me in the Bible. My children are like other children. They are growing up in a society where there are many ways people view God, but the bible says God is not a fan of the "in crowd." If we view God as He is, that means He is a just God, and shows mercy and grace to those who put their faith in Him and have repentant hearts. This doesn't mean that He gives grace as a license to say, "I am sorry Lord, I did it again," and think God is okay with you repeating the offence. NO, God forgives the repentant heart. Someone may be thinking, "she is possessed and crazy." I say I am possessed by God through His Spirit, Holy Spirit, and yes I am crazy, I am crazy for my Father, and follow Jesus completely and not with one foot on either side of the fence with one that says I am a Christian and the other that shows I am living like the world. Why would we think that other's would want to follow us into putting our full faith in Jesus when we act just like they do?
1 Peter 2:1-3; "So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that you may grow up to salvation --if indeed you have tasted the Lord is good." If you have these issues in your life, and you confess to being Christians then you need a reality check in what you are putting your faith in and what you believe. Look, it shows in your life if you are really a Christian or not. Here is a litmus test for it...malice: do you have unforgiveness in your heart even if it is directed at those who persecute you, or do you get upset when you don't get that promotion at work?...deceit: do you know that sexual sin is wrong, but you turn a bind eye, because you don't want to offend anyone, or do you take one part of God's word and disregard the other parts that don't agree with your lifestyle?...hypocrisy: living like the world and saying you are a child of God...envy: are you concerned more about appearances and keeping up with the trends of the world, do you look at your neighbor's things or lust after their wife or husband, do you wish you had something that wasn't intended for you to have?...and slander: Do you say, "I am a Christian." to those in the workplace or at church or at home, but you participate when someone tells a dirty joke at work and laugh, curse when you get angry, go out and party with drugs and alcohol, not only are you a hypocrite, you are slandering God, committing idolatry thinking, "Oh it's okay, I am covered by grace." and you are no closer than the world is to being like Christ. When you put your faith in Jesus you are His spiritual babies, and need like all children, to be fed and nourished, and know they are loved. This is how we grow and know that Jesus = salvation and if we study His word, and obey Him, we will live in peace because we know our identity in Christ.
Know the tricks of the devil and How to Combat Them
First trick of the devil is to get Christians to think like the world, act like the world, and believe like the world. Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. This understanding and renewal of your mind comes from the word of God alone. When you go to relax and rest after work, do you play video games, watch TV, read a book, go on social media, or something else. I am not saying these things are wrong or condemning you if you do so, I enjoy some of those things too. But think of it in this way, when we relax or rest in things of this world, do we also spend as much time in God's word renewing our minds in it rather than filling it with the things of this world in our "free time"? With that said, be careful of what things we do enjoy or choose to learn from, because not everything is good for us to receive in our minds. Colossians 2:8: "See that no one take you captive by Philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
Christians are never to appear to others outside the faith to be just like them. We are set apart from everyone else, and will not ever be the "in crowd". 1 Peter 2:4-5 says, "As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." The "in crowd" is going to reject you just as they reject Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The devil will deceive us and get us to think that we need to be a part of the "in crowd" in order to be accepted, but we are already accepted into a royal household, a spiritual one as children of God. His judgement over everyone Christian and worldly alike is what counts in the end and makes the final decree if we spend eternity in heaven or in hell. 1 John 2:16 says, "For all that is in the world--the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world." Why do we insist on having what we see others have and concern ourselves with keeping up with the current trends of the world, when they come from the desire of the flesh which as Christians, we are supposed to be crucified in our fleshly desires? (Galatians 5:24)It is because we concern ourselves with being a part of the "in crowd" and being a "people please" kind of generation and do not concern ourselves with pleasing God with our lives being a living sacrifice to Him. (Romans 12:1)
The world would have us believe that by following the "in crowd" it is okay and that we will be okay like everyone else. Satan is a great deceiver, and we need to know that one of the many tricks is to get us to feel intimidated by those who put down our views because we stand for what God's word says us to do. Matthew 7:13; "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many." There are many who are deceived, the devil has even deceived Christians, especially into hiding their faith and not sharing it. The mindset of the Christian should be that of the one who stands up for God's law, and sharing the Gospel and our faith with everyone. I have said it before on here and on social media, Christians think about the next opportunity you pass up to share the love of Christ Jesus with someone, is like passing a death sentence on that person. Be a good gate greeter, and share the Good news with someone. Each time that is done, the devil gets further behind us, and sooner than you realize it, you don't even hear the devil anymore. Matthew 11:28-30; "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart (meek), and you will find rest for your souls. 'For My yoke is easy and My burden is lite'."
We will pick up on part 2 of this study tomorrow. A bunch of Christian encouragement for my church family.
A Bible that's falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't. - Charles Spurgeon
The carnal person fears man, not God. The strong Christian fears God, not man. The weak Christian fears man too much, and God too little. - John Flavel
Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will. - Jonathan Edwards
Right now counts forever. - R.C. Sproul
If you are not as close to God as you used to be, who moved? - Author Unknown
Let God have your life; He can do more with it than you can. D.L. Moody
When the will of God crosses the will of man, somebody has to die. - Addison Leitch
We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first. - Oswald J. Smith
Any place you can take Jesus Christ with you is ok to go. - J. Vernon Mcgee
No one is going to be powerful in their ministry if they are hiding something that they are afraid people will find out at any moment. - David Jeremiah (paraphrase)
In the beginning God made man in His own image, and since the fall, man has been seeking to return the compliment. - Author Unknown
If lips and life do not agree, the testimony will not amount to much. - Harry Ironside
I have concentrated all my prayers into one, and that prayer is this, that I may die to self, and live wholly to Him. - Charles Spurgeon
God examineth with trials, the devil examineth with temptations, the world examineth with persecutions. - Henry Smith
I have so much to do, that I must spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it. - John Wesley
Indeed, your scars may be your greatest ministry. Just as the scars of Jesus convinced Thomas, perhaps your scars will convince someone today. - Adrian Rogers
Make sure the thing you're living for is worth dying for. - Charles Mayes
If a sinner comes into your assembly or you otherwise come into contact with him, remember that he is a human being for whom Christ died. He stands at the foot of the cross, just as you stand at the foot of the cross. - J. Vernon Mcgee
To combat the demonic in this world, we have to know three things: Know firmly who you are in Jesus, Know the tricks of the devil and how to combat them, and Know, why people blame Christians and Religion for their issues.
Know Firmly Who You Are In Jesus
When we have put our faith in the hope that is in Christ Jesus, and have repented, turned away from our sins because we have realized our transgressions separated us from life with Him in eternity, we have become new creatures. We are never going to be the same person we were before because we have a helper, the Holy Spirit living within us and we are newborn as a child of God. Our thoughts, desires, and our mindsets change to become that of someone not like the rest of the world. Best of all we have peace in a world full of war.
1 Corinthians 5:17; "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: all things are passed away; behold, all things are new." The moment I surrendered everything I had ever done and experienced others do to me, I repented of my sins because I realized I needed the salvation of Jesus Christ, and had to live for Christ instead of myself. I put my total faith and trust in Jesus and since then, I have never been anything like my former self, nor do I have any other desire to put my focus on but God. I have even had my own children say that I am not the same and it scared them a little, because every time they come to me about their day, or for advice, I will listen to their reasoning, but when I give them wisdom, it is not that I am preaching at them God's word, it is that the only real true wisdom I have to give is what I learned through my teacher, Holy Spirit guiding me in the Bible. My children are like other children. They are growing up in a society where there are many ways people view God, but the bible says God is not a fan of the "in crowd." If we view God as He is, that means He is a just God, and shows mercy and grace to those who put their faith in Him and have repentant hearts. This doesn't mean that He gives grace as a license to say, "I am sorry Lord, I did it again," and think God is okay with you repeating the offence. NO, God forgives the repentant heart. Someone may be thinking, "she is possessed and crazy." I say I am possessed by God through His Spirit, Holy Spirit, and yes I am crazy, I am crazy for my Father, and follow Jesus completely and not with one foot on either side of the fence with one that says I am a Christian and the other that shows I am living like the world. Why would we think that other's would want to follow us into putting our full faith in Jesus when we act just like they do?
1 Peter 2:1-3; "So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that you may grow up to salvation --if indeed you have tasted the Lord is good." If you have these issues in your life, and you confess to being Christians then you need a reality check in what you are putting your faith in and what you believe. Look, it shows in your life if you are really a Christian or not. Here is a litmus test for it...malice: do you have unforgiveness in your heart even if it is directed at those who persecute you, or do you get upset when you don't get that promotion at work?...deceit: do you know that sexual sin is wrong, but you turn a bind eye, because you don't want to offend anyone, or do you take one part of God's word and disregard the other parts that don't agree with your lifestyle?...hypocrisy: living like the world and saying you are a child of God...envy: are you concerned more about appearances and keeping up with the trends of the world, do you look at your neighbor's things or lust after their wife or husband, do you wish you had something that wasn't intended for you to have?...and slander: Do you say, "I am a Christian." to those in the workplace or at church or at home, but you participate when someone tells a dirty joke at work and laugh, curse when you get angry, go out and party with drugs and alcohol, not only are you a hypocrite, you are slandering God, committing idolatry thinking, "Oh it's okay, I am covered by grace." and you are no closer than the world is to being like Christ. When you put your faith in Jesus you are His spiritual babies, and need like all children, to be fed and nourished, and know they are loved. This is how we grow and know that Jesus = salvation and if we study His word, and obey Him, we will live in peace because we know our identity in Christ.
Know the tricks of the devil and How to Combat Them
First trick of the devil is to get Christians to think like the world, act like the world, and believe like the world. Romans 12:2 says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. This understanding and renewal of your mind comes from the word of God alone. When you go to relax and rest after work, do you play video games, watch TV, read a book, go on social media, or something else. I am not saying these things are wrong or condemning you if you do so, I enjoy some of those things too. But think of it in this way, when we relax or rest in things of this world, do we also spend as much time in God's word renewing our minds in it rather than filling it with the things of this world in our "free time"? With that said, be careful of what things we do enjoy or choose to learn from, because not everything is good for us to receive in our minds. Colossians 2:8: "See that no one take you captive by Philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
Christians are never to appear to others outside the faith to be just like them. We are set apart from everyone else, and will not ever be the "in crowd". 1 Peter 2:4-5 says, "As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." The "in crowd" is going to reject you just as they reject Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The devil will deceive us and get us to think that we need to be a part of the "in crowd" in order to be accepted, but we are already accepted into a royal household, a spiritual one as children of God. His judgement over everyone Christian and worldly alike is what counts in the end and makes the final decree if we spend eternity in heaven or in hell. 1 John 2:16 says, "For all that is in the world--the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world." Why do we insist on having what we see others have and concern ourselves with keeping up with the current trends of the world, when they come from the desire of the flesh which as Christians, we are supposed to be crucified in our fleshly desires? (Galatians 5:24)It is because we concern ourselves with being a part of the "in crowd" and being a "people please" kind of generation and do not concern ourselves with pleasing God with our lives being a living sacrifice to Him. (Romans 12:1)
The world would have us believe that by following the "in crowd" it is okay and that we will be okay like everyone else. Satan is a great deceiver, and we need to know that one of the many tricks is to get us to feel intimidated by those who put down our views because we stand for what God's word says us to do. Matthew 7:13; "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many." There are many who are deceived, the devil has even deceived Christians, especially into hiding their faith and not sharing it. The mindset of the Christian should be that of the one who stands up for God's law, and sharing the Gospel and our faith with everyone. I have said it before on here and on social media, Christians think about the next opportunity you pass up to share the love of Christ Jesus with someone, is like passing a death sentence on that person. Be a good gate greeter, and share the Good news with someone. Each time that is done, the devil gets further behind us, and sooner than you realize it, you don't even hear the devil anymore. Matthew 11:28-30; "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart (meek), and you will find rest for your souls. 'For My yoke is easy and My burden is lite'."
We will pick up on part 2 of this study tomorrow. A bunch of Christian encouragement for my church family.
A Bible that's falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't. - Charles Spurgeon
The carnal person fears man, not God. The strong Christian fears God, not man. The weak Christian fears man too much, and God too little. - John Flavel
Resolution One: I will live for God. Resolution Two: If no one else does, I still will. - Jonathan Edwards
Right now counts forever. - R.C. Sproul
If you are not as close to God as you used to be, who moved? - Author Unknown
Let God have your life; He can do more with it than you can. D.L. Moody
When the will of God crosses the will of man, somebody has to die. - Addison Leitch
We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first. - Oswald J. Smith
Any place you can take Jesus Christ with you is ok to go. - J. Vernon Mcgee
No one is going to be powerful in their ministry if they are hiding something that they are afraid people will find out at any moment. - David Jeremiah (paraphrase)
In the beginning God made man in His own image, and since the fall, man has been seeking to return the compliment. - Author Unknown
If lips and life do not agree, the testimony will not amount to much. - Harry Ironside
I have concentrated all my prayers into one, and that prayer is this, that I may die to self, and live wholly to Him. - Charles Spurgeon
God examineth with trials, the devil examineth with temptations, the world examineth with persecutions. - Henry Smith
I have so much to do, that I must spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it. - John Wesley
Indeed, your scars may be your greatest ministry. Just as the scars of Jesus convinced Thomas, perhaps your scars will convince someone today. - Adrian Rogers
Make sure the thing you're living for is worth dying for. - Charles Mayes
If a sinner comes into your assembly or you otherwise come into contact with him, remember that he is a human being for whom Christ died. He stands at the foot of the cross, just as you stand at the foot of the cross. - J. Vernon Mcgee
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