Tag: satan

What’s So Scary About the Message of Jesus?

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          Have you wondered about the increased persecution of Christians taking place around the globe? What’s with this urgent need to silence their voice? Even the mention of Jesus’ name can get you locked up or executed in many countries. In the United States, chaplains in our military are now being told not to pray in the name of Jesus. In our schools and other public forums, the name of Jesus is no longer welcome. What’s happening? What is it about Jesus that scares this world so?

          If you listen to Jesus’ message, it becomes abundantly clear who should be frightened by it, and why they’re trembling in their boots right now. Continue reading “What’s So Scary About the Message of Jesus?”

The Great Deception

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There is a common belief in the world that it is somehow sinful for a Christian to be prosperous and walk in the full blessing of God; to be holy, you must be poor or down trodden. This belief can be traced back to the Garden of Eden, when the first man and woman were lied to by the father of lies – Satan the devil. You can read about it in the first chapter of Genesis. But in a nutshell, Satan implied two things: God was lying and couldn’t be trusted; and God was selfish and stingy. The sad thing is, with the exception of a few, man has believed those lies ever since. But the truth of the matter is diametrically opposite to the belief system of this world. God greatly desires that His people walk in the fullness of His blessing – in every area of their lives.

Why the Deception?

The reason for the deception is pure and simple. Satan has set himself against God. Although he was once an anointed cherub (Ezekiel 28:14-17), he decided he would take over the throne of heaven (Isaiah 14:12-14) and led a rebellion against God. Scripture reveals one third of the angels followed Lucifer in his attempted takeover. But Satan and his followers were cast out. In Luke 10:18, Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightening from Heaven.”

Effects of the Deception

With the Church believing all we should expect is to endure this present fallen world until either we get to heaven, or until Christ returns to the earth to set up the Kingdom of God, Satan has had a field day. But immediately after the death and resurrection of Jesus, the church was on fire. Great miracles were the order of the day. The sick were being healed, the dead raised to life, and many were being added to the church daily. As a matter of fact, in Acts 17:6, the Church was causing such an uproar that the Jewish rulers of the city of Thessalonica became envious of the growing number of converts to Jesus and said, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too…” Now that’s some on-fire Christians! But little-by-little, the Church grew silent. What happened?

The truth of the gospel, including the power and authority that Jesus conferred to His followers, has been suppressed on a grand scale. The enemy suppressed the truth by intense persecution and sending in wicked men to infiltrate the Church, who would subvert and water down the gospel of Christ. For the most part, the Church has taken on the role of a poor, powerless, forsaken group of followers of a man called Jesus. Sure, there’ve been pockets of revival, with miraculous manifestations of the Holy Spirit here and there. By the mercy of God, many great things have been established by the church for the good of humanity – like hospitals and schools, etc. But for the most part, the Church has become impotent. Fast forward to the 21st Century. Instead of the Church – the body of Christ – making a difference in the world, it seems they have taken a back seat and fallen completely silent. Most members of the church are as sick and poverty stricken as the world around them, totally defeated in their own lives and unable to help anyone. Poverty and hunger are running more rampant than ever before. The threat of war on a global level is growing by the day. The persecution of Christians is becoming epidemic. Just as Jesus predicted, they will kill His followers and think they are doing God a favor.

The night is far spent, the darkness is growing darker, and it’s time for the followers of Jesus to awake from their slumber. God did not intend for the Church, the body of Jesus, to have no effect on this world. He intends for the body of Christ to allow the Light of the Holy Spirit, which lives within each member, to shine so brightly that it penetrates this present darkness. The time is now. We are not waiting on God – He is waiting on us! It’s time for TRUTH to be restored to the Body of Jesus Christ!

The Truth of the Matter

The followers of Jesus, the Saints of the Most High God, need to study their covenant – the promises made to them. Deuteronomy 28 gives a list of the blessings God will cause to come upon His people. It also has a list of curses that people bring upon themselves if they walk outside His protection – the curses we see running rampant in the world today. It’s through the sacrifice of Jesus, the shedding of his blood, that we may receive forgiveness of all past, present, and future sins – once and for all! But Jesus didn’t just come to pay the price for our eternal life. He also came to give us a better life in the here and now! He said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it in abundance to the full.”

Jesus reinstituted the Blessing on the earth! The sad state of the world around us is a result of the works of the devil – the curse. 1 John 3:8, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” Everywhere Jesus went, He beat back the works of Satan; he fed the hungry, healed the sick, raised the dead. His followers are to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. 2 Cor. 9:11 “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion…” David said in Psalms 68:19, “Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits…” 1 Tim. 6:17, “…the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.” Eph. 5:12, Therefore be imitators of God….and walk in love as Christ…” 1 John 4:17, “…because as He is, so are we in this world.” Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these…” That’s huge! Can you imagine what it would look like if all the millions of Christ’s followers around the world did what Jesus did? And even greater things than He did?

Satan is a defeated foe; he was soundly defeated by Jesus. Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven; and we are seated with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. We, the body of Christ, only need to stand in the victory! The Church is not to be sick, poor, weak or walking in defeat. The Church is Christ on the Earth! We are the victorious ones, beating back the works of darkness, allowing the light of God to shine through to the hearts of men! Jesus said in Luke 10:19, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” Nothing can stop us. Now we are to do what Jesus did: take the gospel to the world, feed the hungry, heal the sick, and raise the dead!

The Kingdom of God marches on! Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God until His enemies are made His footstool. Guess who gets to do that? His body, the Church, on the earth! We know how all this turns out. In Rev. 12:11, we are told, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”

Yes, Satan knows his time is short. His carefully woven web of deception is unraveling as the Church rediscovers who they are in Christ! All of heaven’s resources are available to the Church, enabling us to to be distributors of the blessing wherever we go.

No wonder the lengths Satan has gone to cover up the truth. After all, the truth will set you free! Hallelujah! What an awesome God we have!

ToHimBeTheGlory!

 

Healing

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Most people think being sick is just part of living, they accept it like it’s a normal every day thing. They not only accept it, they expect it! You’ll hear comments like, “Here comes the flu season, I better get ready, because I get it every year.” And if you look around, it would appear they are correct – sickness and disease is everywhere. It’s talked about on the TV, Internet, and we can all name someone we personally know that is experiencing some sort of illness right this minute. But our Creator didn’t make us, nor intend for us, to live a life filled with sickness and disease. Quite the contrary. When God created mankind, He pronounced blessings over him. So what went wrong, why all the suffering?

Offer Rejected

From the beginning, God offered man His blessing. He’s made offer after offer to bless our land, our produce, livestock, our health and families. But after Adam and Eve followed the devil’s plan by rejecting God and choosing to decide their own path, they connected to the law of sin and death, and Satan became the over lord of the earth. They had to leave the garden of God and the abundant provision of their Creator.  So man then went about setting up his world, patterned after the way he saw fit (influenced by you know who), and history gives us the rest of the story. The world has been plagued with horrible poverty, sickness and disease ever since. But there’ve been individuals here and there that responded to God, and were incredibly blessed in their walk with Him.

Abraham Partners With God

Abram (who’s name was later changed to Abraham) was a man that responded to God’s call on his life. In Genesis 12:2-3, God promised that if Abraham followed his instructions, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing…… and all the people on earth will be blessed through you.” Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. God then blessed Abraham. Gen. 13:2 says “And Abram was very rich….” The remainder of Genesis, and for that matter, the remainder of the Old Testament gives us the story of Abraham’s descendants. God kept His promise and Abraham’s descendants grew into a great nation – the nation of Israel. And Israel was blessed beyond comprehension up through the reign of King David and Solomon. Until they forgot the Source of all their blessings, Israel was the richest, most blessed nation on the earth.

Those blessings included the promise of God to bless their bodies and give them abundant health.In Exodus 15:26, God says, “….. I am the Lord who heals you.” Exodus 23:25 says, “….. and I will take sickness from your midst.” Deuteronomy 28 is what’s called the Blessing and Cursing chapter of the Bible. God gives a list of all the blessings that will come on His people if only they will hearken and follow Him. He also warned them of the consequences if they turned their backs on Him and rebelled. They would again be on their own, subject to the curse the rest of the world lives under, which is to go it alone, to eke out their own existence, and live without the protective umbrella of God’s blessing.  Chapter 30: 19 says “I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live.” Some of the effects of the curse mentioned in Chapter 28 having to do with health are: wasting disease, fever and inflammation, tumors, madness, blindness and confusion of mind.

What’s That Got To Do With You & Me?

The main thing the Old Testament shows us is that no one is able to walk perfectly before God in their own effort and strength. Although the descendants of Abraham told God they chose life, they always fell away into sin and disobedience again. Then they would sacrifice the blood of an animal to cover the sin, crying out to God for forgiveness and deliverance. But that had to happen over and over again. Then just as it looked like all hope was lost, God’s mercy and grace showed up on the scene.

Jesus Came to Reconcile Us to the Father and Re-Institute the Blessing!

Remember when God told Abraham that through his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed? Well, Jesus was a direct descendant of Abraham!  And it’s through the sacrifice of Jesus, the shedding of his blood, that we may receive forgiveness of all past, present, and future sins –  once and for all!  Jesus didn’t come just to pay the price for our eternal life. He also came to give us a better life in the here and now! He said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it in abundance to the full.” We know the promises, the Blessing, was given to Abraham and his seed. Galatians 3:6-16, “Consider Abraham; He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham….So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham….Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law…. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed….meaning one person, who is Christ” Verse 29 says, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

God’s Promises Are For ALL In Christ

It’s made very clear in scripture. Jesus has reconciled us to the Father. We have all become one in Christ. It no longer matters if you are Jew or Gentile, male or female. If you’re Christ’s then you’re Abraham’s seed and an heir according to the promise! As followers of Jesus, we may all lay claim to the Blessing – the promises of Almighty God! But in order to do that, we need to know what those promises are. So let’s look at some scriptures that deal specifically with how God desires to bless our physical health.

Healing Scriptures

In Exodus 15:26, God says, “….. I am the Lord who heals you.” Exodus 23:25 says, “….. and I will take sickness from your midst.” Isaiah 53 is a prophecy of Jesus’ life and crucifixion, and verse 5 says, “…. and by his wounds we are healed.”

The book of Psalms is chalked full of praises to God for being our faithful healer. Ps 103:2-5, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction….so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.”

Proverbs 4:20, “….listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.”

Jeremiah 30:17, “But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds declares the Lord....”

Let’s look at how Jesus dealt with healing. In Matthew 8:2-3, When a man with leprosy approached Jesus saying that he knew Jesus could heal him if he were willing, Jesus said, “I am willing….” In verse 16-17, “….he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick……He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases.”

Mark 16:17-18, Jesus told his followers, “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name…. they will place their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, His followers did just that. Acts 5:15-16, “…Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick….and all of them were healed.” We are told in James 5:13-15, if anyone is sick, they need to call for prayer in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well!

Then Why Are His Sheep So Sickly?

Although healing is included in the benefit package of God, and Jesus gave His followers authority to overcome all the power of the enemy, telling them to do as He had done; and with the word saying, “As He is so are we in this world,”  it seems many of Jesus’ followers are not following in His footsteps.  Jesus lived a life of victory in every area of life: victory over the spiritual realm – the devil, sin and death; and victory over the natural realm – sickness and disease, wind and storms.  But let’s face it, sickness and disease in the Church runs about as rampant as it does in the world.  God’s word says in Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge….”

I believe a lot of Christians aren’t aware of the benefits of following God. They think the only benefit is that when they die, they get to go to heaven. Although Jesus acknowledged that his followers would be confronted with the same things the rest of the world deals with, He shows how we can be victorious over them. John 16:33 “.…In this world you will have tribulation, but fear not; I have overcome the world.” Jesus’ followers are to share in His victory and authority. We are heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ! Ephesians 2:6, “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” We are not weak, sick, poor and defeated. Christians are citizens of Heaven deployed to the earth. We are Christ’s ambassadors, and represent the Kingdom of God to everyone around us!

Jesus is The Good Shepherd

Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd, and he says we are his sheep.  Can you imagine what you’d think if you saw a shepherd leading his sheep, and the sheep were all sickly looking, malnourished, maimed, and just limping along? You wouldn’t think that shepherd was taking very good care of his flock. No, Jesus is the Good Shepherd. His sheep are well nourished, strong, vibrant, nothing missing, nothing broken!

God Needs You Well!

Our loving Father has called us to live a life of victory in Jesus Christ. We represent Jesus on this earth! And Jesus has set us free from the bondage of pain and sickness, by paying the price for sin and death. So when the enemy tries to put the wages of sin on us again, we stand on the blood of Jesus and the promises of God’s Word! We walk in the power and authority of Jesus Christ on this earth, blessing all we come in contact with. When the world sees us, they see Jesus; strong, healthy, vibrant.

Rise up Church! May we allow the streams of living water to flow through us and out to this thirsty world, touching and healing everything in it’s path.  Come soon Lord Jesus!

ToHimBeTheGlory!

Spiritual Warfare (Our Stance)

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     These are dangerous times we’re living in. Wars and rumors of wars are in the news every day. There’s war and fighting between nations, within nations, in our neighborhoods, and even between family members. Despite advances in science and technology, sickness and disease still wreck havoc in many lives. There’s trouble of one sort or another on every side. Jesus warned of these troubling times in Matthew 24. He said that unless these days be shortened, there would no flesh be saved alive. It’s going to get so bad that unless God intervenes, all human life will be wiped out. The good news is, God will not allow that to happen!

     Mankind chose to believe a lie, and built a world that now teeters on the brink of destruction.  But God has provided a way of escape through His Son. A whole new system of government will soon be instituted upon the earth, bringing with it everything man has always wanted; health, prosperity, peace,  happiness; that utopian state which existed in the beginning. But until that government is set up on the earth,  Jesus said, “See that you are not troubled. In this world you will have tribulation, but fear not, I have overcome the world.” So what exactly was it in this world that He overcame?

The Source of Trouble

     When God first created mankind, He blessed him. He told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply, to have dominion over everything created. So in essence, man was given the reins to rule on this earth. The blessing of God provided them with peace, joy, beauty, abundant health and prosperity. God gave them instructions on how to walk and remain in His blessing. They could stay in direct cummunion with God and live under His provision as long as they didn’t eat of the forbidden fruit – didn’t take to themselves the knowledge of good and evil. If they did, it would mean certain death and eternal separation from Him. But the choice was theirs to make. God didn’t force His way on them. At first, everything was wonderful. All their needs were met. There was no sickness, no poverty, no labor and toil.  Then the original liar showed up on the scene.

    Satan cast doubt on everything God had told Adam and Eve. In essence, he said, “You can’t believe everything God’s said. He’s holding out on you. You should decide for yourself.  And God knows when you do, you’ll be like God, deciding for yourself what’s good and evil – and you won’t die either!”  It all sounded great, so they made the decision to go their own way. Basically, they told God, “Thanks, but no thanks! Don’t think we need you telling us what’s good or bad for us, we’re smart enough to figure all that out. We can handle it from here.” Although the Bible says God cast them out of the garden, it was their decision that took them out. It took them out from under the protective provision and blessings of God. They gave their dominion over to Satan, whom the New Testament calls, “the god of this world.” But Satan’s way is the exact opposite of God. Instead of blessing mankind, Satan cursed mankind. The curse produces labor and toil, sickness, poverty, despair, war and death. And since the day they departed from the presence of God, and gave the reins over to Satan, this way of living has become the norm. But God has given mankind a way out of this mess, and provided the path that leads us back to Him and all His blessings.

God’s Answer to Our Trouble

     Jesus, a member of the Godhead, devested himself of his divinity, came to this earth as a human, and lived a perfect life before the Father. He gave his life, poured out His blood, as a sacrifice to pay the death penalty in our stead, to take back the rein of power from Satan, and reconcile us to the Father. Isaiah 53 is a prophecy describing the life and death of Jesus, and states, “For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Colossians 1:13 says “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.” II Corinthians 5:18  “…God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ…”  Jesus came to pay the penalty, to redeem us, and became the bridge back to our Father.  John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I  am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  So Jesus came to pay the penalty and reconcile us to God. He had to suceed where the first man had failed. But to do so, he had to face and defeat the devil.

     Jesus not only faced the devil, but He soundly defeated him. The first head-to-head meeting is described in Matthew 4. Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. First, the devil tried to provoke him to perform a miracle, to prove himself and satisfy his physical hunger.  But Jesus quoted scripture and said, “It is written; Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  Then he tried to get Jesus to jump off a mountain, just to prove God would rescue him. But again, Jesus quoted scripture saying, “It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Then the devil pulled out his biggest gun. He offered Jesus rulership over all the kingdoms of the world if he would only bow down and serve him. Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For is is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and Him only will you serve.”  Jesus defeated Satan that day by standing on the written Word of God.  And Jesus not only defeated Satan, but displaced him as ruler over the Earth. Jesus took back the dominion Adam had given to Satan.

     Not only has Jesus taken back the authority to rule over the Earth, but Colossians 2:15 says he disarmed Satan and his hordes and made a public spectacle of them. Jesus has been given the keys to the Kingdom of God. And the most amazing thing about this is the fact that it was all done for us.  He redeemed us from the curse! Eph. 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Jesus now sits in heaven at the right hand of the Father. Eph. 2: 6 states that God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms.  Eph 1:22 “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body…”  Jesus is the head of the Church, and we are His body!  Hebrews 1:13 says “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool.” And chapter 10:13 says “Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.”

Our Stance

     Jesus, the head of the church, is now seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, waiting for his enemies to be made his footstool. The church, Jesus’ body, though physically on the earth, is spiritually seated with Him in the heavenly realm.  All authority in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus, and he in turn has given that same authority to his followers. Jesus said in Luke 10:19 “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.”  The victory has been won! The Church’s commission is to stand in that victory until all things in heaven and earth are reconciled and made one through Christ Jesus. We’ve been given our marching orders, the commission to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.

     Although Satan was defeated, he hasn’t been removed from the scene yet. That will take place upon the return of Christ and the literal setting up of the Kingdom of God on the earth. Until that time, our enemy tries to stand against every advancement of the Kingdom. But thanks be to God who always causes us to triumph through Christ Jesus, we have the example of Jesus himself, and thorough instructions on how to trample the enemy under foot. And best of all, we’ve been given the armor of Almighty God, not only as a defense, but as an offensive weapon to destroy the works of the devil!

     As Christians, we need to keep in mind that the battles are actually being fought in the heavenly realm. And 2 Corinthians 10:4 says “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.” These strongholds have been set up by the devil, and he will come against any attempt to remove them.  Eph 6:10-18 gives battle instructions to the saints of God, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes…… so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand…..with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place……the shield of faith…..and with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God….”  Notice, we are to stand.  Once we do all God shows us to do, we are to STAND!  The war has already been won by Jesus, and we his soldiers are to occupy the territory until He comes. We stand against the devil’s attacks by standing on the word of God – just as Jesus did. Everything the devil brought against him was shot down by the word of God that came out of Jesus’ mouth!  It doesn’t matter what the evil one brings against us: war, sickness, financial peril – disasters of any kind;  We stand in full assurance of the truth and faithfulness of our God – and we speak that truth out of our mouth! The truth – the Word of God will destroy all the works of the devil!

     We win! You can read about it yourself at the end of the Book.  Revelation 12:11 says, “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”  And chapter 21 describes the wonderful world that is coming. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.  The Spirit says, “Come! And let him who hears say, Come! Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.”  God is offering this wonderful life to all who will come and receive.What an awesome God we have!

2HimBeTheGlory