Believing God Today

Giving Hope and Comfort in His Grace

Category Archives: Spiritual Warfare


by 11 Comments

The Reality of Spiritual Warfare

by Neil Anderson

Under Spiritual Attack
1 Timothy 4:1 
The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons
A seminary student stopped by my office to tell me he was having difficulty getting to school on time. What should have been a five-minute drive lengthened to 45 minutes because a voice in his mind kept telling him to turn at intersections. Not wanting to disobey what he perceived to be the “still, small voice of God,” he was treated to a tour of the city almost every morning.
A pastor’s wife, desperately needing the comfort of the Holy Spirit and desiring His leading, passively believed that whatever entered her mind was from God. She soon found herself bound by fear and plagued by condemning thoughts.
These examples underscore the wisdom of John Wesley’s words: “Do not hastily ascribe things to God. Do not easily suppose dreams, voices, impressions, visions or revelations to be from God. They may be from Him. They may be from nature. They may be from the devil. Therefore, do not believe every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they be from God” (Martin Wells Knapp, Impressions , Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1984, p. 32).
In a survey of 1700 professing Christian teenagers, 70 percent admitted to hearing voices, like there was a subconscious self talking to them. I don’t believe they are psychotic or paranoid schizophrenic. There is a battle going on for their minds. I have shared with many tormented people that they aren’t going crazy but are under spiritual attack. They usually respond, “Praise the Lord, someone understands.” It’s freeing to know this truth, because if there is a battle going on for our minds, we can win that war.

Prayer: Lord, today I choose to test the spirits and assume my responsibility to think upon that which is true.

1700 Believing teens…hearing voices. If that does not scare you, then there is something wrong with you, or you simply do not believe it.
Do not be to quick to dismiss the idea of teens and all others in fact hearing voices. We are in the end times, not the beginning of the end times, but rather well into them.
Spiritual warfare is going to increase, it is going to get worse. Kids are thought of as the hope of the future right? So why wouldn’t Satan want to target them for warfare? This makes perfect sense! If the up and coming generation is the one that will run the world in the future, then it only stands to reason that they (teens) would be attacked by the demonic forces.
Satan and his cronies cannot be blamed for everything that happens, sometimes things just happen…it’s called life. However that being said, this threat to our young ones needs to be taken very seriously. What does the Bible say about the end times, specifically pertaining to people’s attitudes?
2 Timothy 3:1-5 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God–
Where do you suppose this kind of thinking and attitude is coming from? The prince of the air, the ruler of the world. If you were to look up deceit, finesse, subterfuge, lying, and a host of other negative attributes and abilities…Satan ought to be listed as the master!
Defend and teach the younger generation, educate all others. So many in Church today disbelieve in this stuff, but that does not make it any less real. Why is the reality of spiritual warfare not readily recognized? Because Satan is a master at work, hie deception and subterfuge is masterful…it even works on many believers.
Lastly, many have been taught (if they were taught at all) incorrectly that the forces of evil cannot touch a Believer, or even in some cases that Satan is a fairy tale. This is very far from the truth. A Believer cannot be possessed, a Believer can however be heavily influenced by the demonic realm, and much damage can be done. There is as reason the Apostle John says to test the spirits
(1 John 4:1-3). There is also a reason we are given the Armor of God.
Read the Word, Worship God, Wear the Armor of God.
Teach others to do the same.

MyFreeCopyright.com Registered & Protected


by 4 Comments

CHRISTIANS AND SIN – Pt. 4

Part 1 of this 4 part series can be found here.

Part 2 can be found here.

Part 3 can be found here.

* * * * *

Galatians 5  “16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  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.” 

In the verses following Paul goes on to compare the fruits of the flesh with the fruits of the Spirit, and then says:

“24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.  25  If ye live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

Romans 6  “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.  …. 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  12  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.  13  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.  14  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”

This is the fourth in a series written by Drusilla Mott over at Drusilla Mott. Excellent series written on believers and sin, and why we don’t have to be held captive to sin’s power. We all sin, but that does not mean that sin needs to hold sway in our lives, rather we can through the power of the Holy Spirit and His leading live a life that glorifies Christ.

To finish reading this excellent series of articles, please head over to http://drusillamott.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/christians-and-sin-pt-4/ While you are there, let Drusilla know you enjoyed her article! Check out the rest of her site as well.

MyFreeCopyright.com Registered & Protected


by Leave a comment

Our Prayer Lives Part Two

Our Prayer Lives

Part two

Prayer should be an integral part of our lives each day. If we are not praying, we are not following Gog’s design for us. The Word of God was meant to coincide with prayer, not stand apart from it. Prayer is our communication with God, our means of speaking and being heard. God wants us to talk to Him…just talk! God is our tour guide in life if you will, and one of the ways He speaks to us is through prayer.

Sometimes I “talk” to God throughout the day, just sharing my thoughts with God. This is prayer. I read once of a woman who “talked to God” throughout the day. One of her children asked; “Mom, why don’t you say amen when you are talking to God”? Mom’s response…I’m not done talking yet! Yes God can hear our thoughts, but why not talk to Him…you talk to everyone else in your life don’t you?

The content of our prayers matters, some people think it is wrong to always ask God for things. That depends on what you are asking! Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

What are you asking for in prayer? Is it oriented on God’s will or your will? God is not a vending machine full of goodies to choose from! Are you asking God for that new house you want, or maybe the job promotion? Or how about for your sports team to win, or the best parking spot at the store? It’s ok to ask God for some things, like the first two items above. However, our primary focus in asking the Lord to bless us should not be in physical things.

We should be asking God daily for a few things.

  1. Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit
  2. Pray for God to arm you for battle each day with the Armor of God
  3. Ask God to help you walk in the spirit, not the flesh
  4. Ask God to point out un-confessed sin.
  5. Ask God to help you love others as He loves you

I could add other things to that list, but those are the ones I deem to be of the most importance. The general idea besides a few specific things we all should be asking for is that what we ask for is within God’s will, not our self-centered wants. Asking God for things is not wrong, just ask within His will.

Another important part of prayer often overlooked is thankfulness. Are you thanking God for what He has given you? All good things come from God; your home, your job, your children and many more.

Take time to pray today, take time to thank your Father in heaven. God longs to hear from you.

Your personal line to God Himself awaits you…prayer.

ght                                                                                                                                                                                                                                1/8/12

MyFreeCopyright.com Registered & Protected


by Leave a comment

Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual Warfare

I was reading a book on Spiritual warfare today and the chapter I was reading dealt with how Satan wants us to be ignorant of God’s word. If we are ignorant of the Word of God, we can and will get ourselves into much trouble.

It never ceases to amaze me how the Word of God backs itself up. Or how Jesus is always a prime example of what the bible teaches. Here is the companion verse that came to mind as I was reading Matthew 4:1-11. James 4:7  Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. The first thing we see in this verse is that we are to submit ourselves to God. Jesus did this very thing at all times in all ways. John 5:19, John 5:30, John 6:38, Matthew 26:39. In all of the preceding verses we see that Jesus states in no uncertain terms that He follows the will of the Father, not His will. Even Jesus the Son of God, being God Himself submits to the Father. Isn’t that incredible? How much more then should we submit to His will? In the second half of James 4:7 it tells us to resist the devil, and then he will flee from us. In Matthew 4:1-11 the story is told of Satan tempting Jesus. Jesus though here as a full and complete man was also at the same time completely God. Jesus never gave up His deity, it is very important to understand this when reading in the Word of God examples of how Jesus dealt with things. This then, the tempting of Jesus is a prime example. Jesus, being hungry and exhausted after forty days of fasting is then tempted by Satan. Satan says, since you are so hungry why not make bread out of these rocks? How does Jesus handle this temptation along with the other two temptations? He uses the Word of God! Just as we are told to do, Jesus being God could have fed Himself on the spot, and then vaporized Satan where he was standing! But Jesus used the Word of God to defeat Satan! Jesus resisted the devil, and the devil did flee.

We can do the same thing Jesus did. When we are tempted by un-Godly things, we can quote scripture to ourselves as to why we should not do that. We can protect ourselves with the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) to ward of Satan’s attacks on us. Contained with-in the armor is also an offensive weapon; this is of course the sword of the Spirit. We mount our offense against the enemy using the Word of God that the Spirit who in-dwells us guides and leads us in the use of.

In order to be effective in the battle against Satan and our own weak flesh, we need to be spending time in the Word of God. Every believer should know their bible, so that when any situation arises, we can look to the Word for help, for reassurance, defense, and offensive actions we can take to keep ourselves safe in this fallen world. The best offense for the believer is to know and practice (this is the most important part) what the Word of God says to us.

gth                                                                                                                                                                                                                             12/19/11

 
MyFreeCopyright.com Registered & Protected


by Leave a comment

Fear Anxiety and God

Oh my Lord my God, calm my beating heart. It beats so as to jump out of my chest. I fear and I worry, I have no rest day and night. My dreams pursue me my days are downcast.

Oh my Lord my God, won’t you vanquish these demons that chase me? Lord break these chains that bind me. My God my God, release me from the prison I have built for myself. I despair of ever attaining true freedom.

I tell you truly, I Am. My grace is sufficient for you. Take heart, for I have overcome the world.
I tell you truly, I Am. I am love in that I came to the world to save you from your sins. I am the Lord God of heaven and earth. Nothing on earth, nor in the heavens will ever separate you from My love.
I tell you truly, I Am. Come to Me you who are weary, and I will give you rest. Believe in Me and walk with Me in the spirit, and the peace that surpasses all understanding will be with you.
I tell you truly, I Am. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. All those who have the Son have life. Trust in Me, I am the Way and have walked the path before you. Trust in Me, listen to My voice, My flock knows My voice.
I tell you truly, I Am. Set your worries before Me, and I will ease them. Cast your anxiety upon Me, I will take it from you. Confess your sins, I will forgive them.

I am, the Great I Am, forever faithful, always true.

Stop for a moment…what are your first thoughts after reading the above first two paragraphs? “Yeah that’s me”, or maybe “He’s got that all wrong”. Something else all together maybe? I wrote that after a really bad day. Let’s look at the first part as the second part speaks for itself.

First “my beating heart”, says louder then words anxiety. Well what should we do when that happens? God’s word says we should pray. “I fear and I worry”, and “my days downcast”, meaning of course depression, also means I should be praying when this happens.
Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
We all have our days, but if we are faithful to spend time with the Lord each day, preferably first thing when we get up in the morning…it will help. Time spent in God’s word and prayer, along with worship are tools to help us in our spiritual walk with Christ. If anyone has a lot of days that are like the above, well you might want to examine your walk with Christ.

Vanquish demons of the mind, break the chains that bind, finding true freedom. We don’t need God to do this for us. What? We don’t need God to do these things for us, because He already has!
When the Word became flesh (John 1:14) He lived among us. When Jesus went to the cross and died to pay our debt of sin…He also defeated the god of this world (Satan). Jesus said to us in John 16:33, “But take heart I have overcome the world”. In all things in all ways, Jesus has already won the battle. Satan’s time here is short, he rules this world because the Lord allows him to! Therefore, we don’t need the Lord to break the chains that bind us, destroy the prisons that our minds languish in…He already has! All we need to do is educate ourselves and use the tools that Jesus gave us.

God has given us the victory through His work. We can’t possibly outwit Satan, or hope to strive with him in any way, he is way to powerful for us. But in Christ we can win! We remind Satan that the Lord has already won and that we are His! (James 4:7) This is why bible study is so important because all the tools we need for a successful life are there. This does not mean that life will become easy, or that we can expect to change ourselves (we don’t change ourselves, God does through the Holy Spirit) overnight. It takes time and diligent study.

God made the rules, and God also paid for them. Since our Lord has given us such a great and precious gift to accompany the most precious gift of all (Eternal life) should we not use this gift, which was and is His intent for us? If time with the Lord is not part of your day each day, would you consider making God a part of your day every day? We have to do our part, we need to work at it. Faith should produce works, (James 2:17) and we need to work out our faith (Philippians 2:12).

gth
12/12/11

MyFreeCopyright.com Registered & Protected