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Because evil exists only in the hearts and minds of mankind, and God has given us free will to conduct our lives as we choose.
God is not with us to direct our lives, but to support us through our lives.
If you want to kill the devil, kill the devil in your heart by trusting in God's path for you and following God's commandments in all choices no matter what.
Normally I do not post in these threads anymore, but I was moved by the Holy Spirit to respond. So I begin with...Peace be with you and all yours, as His peace I bring.
Here below is Part Four of a twelve part series of "A Life of Balance"...
"The Devil is Bad Enough"
It is so important that we strive to maintain a balance between attributing things to demonic activity and recognizing natural phenomena. A particular instance comes to mind when I think of this subject. It was a year ago when I was speaking at a gathering. After this gathering of fellowship in His name, a lady came up to me and said, “Brother”, will you please lay your hand on me and pray for me?” Naturally, I asked what she wanted me to pray for.
She answered, “I have a demon of smoking.”
I replied, “Dear lady, you don’t have a demon. You can cast out demons, but you cannot cast out the flesh.”
For every flare of temper, every weakness, every time you sneeze, you may think, “Oh, there is a demon.”Your car just swerved into the next lane or some madman drove through the red light. “Oh, there’s a demon attacking me.” No. The Devil is bad enough. Don’t attribute every little bad thing that happens to him and give him more power than he has.
Please don’t look at the events in your life and think demons are after you all the time. There are demons and there are attacks. But we should be careful not to become paranoid of the things that happen in life. If there are demons, the Lord has given us the authority to pray and tell them to leave—and they must go.
The truth is, the Devil is defeated. Therefore, the child of God has no reason to be afraid of Satan and his minion of most unclean (his hordes of demons). Someone who has truly repented of sin and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ lives a life that has been washed in the blood of the Lamb. When Jesus died on the cross, He placed all of Satan and all of his minion of most unclean (the whole evil bunch)—under His feet. And we are the Body of Christ, so the whole satanic force is under our feet. The Scripture specifically tells us; “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”…...”Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4 NLT & KJV).
One of the main tactics that Satan uses is causing us to forget who we are in Christ. This deception is very powerful. When we forget that Satan was defeated through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, we also forget the greatness of our God. In Ephesians 1:20–23, we read of the tremendous authority that the Lord Jesus Christ has given to His Body, that is, each one of us who belongs to the Lord:
“. . . when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”
For many of us, we constantly see the Enemy and his tactics all around, and we focus on what we see rather than on the power of our God. This is clearly illustrated in the story of the 12 spies who were sent out to evaluate the Promised Land (see Numbers 13). Except for Joshua and Caleb, 10 of them—the majority—came back talking about the giants they saw in the land and how they could never conquer them. It even says in Numbers 13:33, “There we saw the giants . . . and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” They made the confession that it was impossible to possess the land God had promised them. The problem was not the giants—it was that they saw only the giants. What they overlooked was the greatness of God in the situation and how God saw them—able to possess the land by His might!
This is so true in our lives today as well. When dealing with daily life struggles and issues, especially if they are influenced by satanic forces, we can easily forget that God is just that—God! Ephesians 6:16) tells us we should take up the shield of Faith; “…hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.” That means no matter what we face, we are given the authority, and we can overcome and stand firm and victorious.
At the same time, we need to be very careful that we do not look at people with emotional problems or certain mental problems as being demon possessed. Just like there are large numbers of people living with physical illness, there are thousands and tens of thousands of people who are inflicted with some form of emotional or mental problem. What they need is counseling based on God’s Word and treatment by professional people.
Please understand. There are very real physical and mental illnesses. With some of these you can pray against demons all you want, but that is not going to work. These people need treatment, help and counseling. At the same time, some people are demonized, as seen in Mark 5:1–20. Nothing will help them except praying and casting out the demon.
There are natural phenomena’s, calamities, problems and difficulties in life. But there is also demonic activity that needs to be recognized for what it is. Unless we are careful, we can get out of balance and forget there are two sides.
So, amen I say in truth that the devil (the prince of this world) and his minion of most unclean only have authority over you through your your own bondage you place yourself in when you choose not to walk and live in the Spirit (in the likeness of Jesus, our Christ). They are beneath our feet and their is nothing to fear when we are truly walking and living in the likeness of Jesus, as then they have NO HOLD upon us. Jesus once said (John 14:30)....
"I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me."
Peace be with you and all yours, as His peace I leave with you.
Well, just an example of how we have accepted Satan as part of our culture: Madonna, the pop singer is doing a black mass as the opening of her latest tour. She has advanced her Satanic agenda the last 30 years and is clearly a servant of darkness. Why doesn't someone stop her? If there really is a God, he should reach in to our world and get her to stop.
Wake up people, we are God! It is OUR fault her career advanced! Americans did not pray and did not protest her work. The common belief is that she is "controversial". A lot of people refuse to admit that there is any such thing as evil or Satan.
Matthew 10:16
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
Luke 16:8
And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
He will eventually. Be patient. It's not your timeline, it's God's.
Yes, I understand that. There still has been very little understanding in American culture about these Fallen Ones. God is going to take most of them off this planet and either to other worlds if their karma isn't too heinous or to the 2nd death. And the result after their work is done is that our world will be worse off. That is readily apparent to me.
Yes, I understand that. There still has been very little understanding in American culture about these Fallen Ones. God is going to take most of them off this planet and either to other worlds if their karma isn't too heinous or to the 2nd death. And the result after their work is done is that our world will be worse off. That is readily apparent to me.
Isaiah 55 in entire, but main emphasis on verses 8-9...
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."
Dear markymarc, just have stand out faith in His promise that He holds so steadfastly too. Have utmost confidence in His ways and His thoughts (His will), and not of this worlds or of our own. Worry more what your actions are than another, and see them not as flesh (of this visible world), but at the invisible, there heart (soul). This is what Father God see's, and the Son of God (Jesus), clearly instructed us to look at the heart of a man, because He knew that we could never love what we see with our eyes (the visible and not of God), but what is of Him.
I will say this...."NOT one man, yes, NOT one man is without sin." Thus why we need to seek the heart (soul) of all men. This is how Father God loves us soooo dearly and will never stop loving us, as He knows that the flesh of this world is full of sin, a disease of defeat.
Love one another as He so loves us even in the midst of sin, our strongest weakness and our worst enemy (ourselves).
Peace be with you and all yours, as His peace I leave you with!
True...Jehovah God could have destroy the Devil, but yet he chose not to, because in the "What Does The Bible Really Teach?" it tells you that Satan was challenging Jehovah, by basically saying that people will be better under his rulership instead of Jehovah's, and that we could decide for ourselves what's right and what's wrong. Jehovah didn't destroy Satan, because he wanted to prove that Satan is a liar. So Jehovah now allow everyone to rule themselves under Satan's. Today Satan is still ruling this world, because in 1 John 5:19, says that the world is basically being controlled by the "wicked one" which is no other than Satan, and it's true, because look around you, you see killing, raping, people getting robbed, etc. basically violence, (example: Jehovah God isn't for violence, so why was there and still is wars on this earth), you also see people committing adultery, fornicating, etc. and it's all because we're under Satan's rulership. We can help Jehovah prove that Satan is a liar by accepting him as your god/your ruler:
Psalm 73:28 - But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.
And you would have everlasting life!
So if God will not destroy the devil then why should people destroy evil people (ie execution, war, etc.)?
So if God will not destroy the devil then why should people destroy evil people (ie execution, war, etc.)?
First.... Greetings and peace be with you and all yours, as His peace I bring.
People destroy people out of their own free will choice, no one is forcing them to do this. Some do this out of fear instead of wickedness. This is the evil that lives within this world, the world of sight. Thuis why Jesus clear;y taught and ministered His whole life that we must "Live by Faith, Not by Sight" and that we need to seek "A Life of Balance" Without these, we live in total defeat.
Why are you so concerned why Father God has not destroyed His creation. Pay attention. Lucifer bacame the devil. He was not created a devil. In fact, he began as the most amazing, beautiful angel, the highest of all angels created by God for God. However, he became the devil, the prince of the world as a result of rebellion and insubordination. His pride led him to step out from under God's authority and set himself up as a ruler, thus where the title..."Prince of the World" comes from. Jesus once said..."I saw Satan fall from the heavens like a bolt of lightening." This is where he wanted to be, a "Prince of the World", because this is the only place that he has any authority. When we are in the likeness of Jesus, and our walk and live is the likeness of Jesus (children of Father God), then he has absolutely NO AUTHORITY over us, as he is beneath our feet and has NO hold on us. I do not understand why so many fear the "Prince of the World", as we are the only ones whom give him and his minion of most unclean authority over us (a hold on us). We place ourselves into bondage, not them. Surely not Father God in Jesus' name. Jesus, my Christ, my friend, my brother is above all names, above all creation, above all heavens and all authorities.
For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9)
These difficult people in our lives or other words known as EGR's (Extra Grace Required) are no different than you or I. We all fall short of perfection in our flesh (of this world), as not one man is without sin. Yes, NOT ONE MAN!!! We must seek the hearts of others, not the flesh, because if you seek what is of this world, you only find defeat. When you seek the heart of others, then you find victory in Jesus.
If you dwell on the negative things in this dark world, then you will only find struggle and many shortcomings. Jesus did teach that we need to look at the good of all things, but especially in man (this world and flesh). God is perfect and His ways and thoughts are perfect, we are not.
Remember the testimony of Jesus in Luke 12:49-53...
“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Peace be with you and all yours, as His peace I leave you with.
Last edited by Brother Michael; 10-26-2012 at 03:02 PM..
The Main Issue is that of Sovereignty.....God's right to rule was challenged in the garden. The question may easily then become, why did God not destroy Adam and Eve and start over with another human pair? Because God’s universal sovereignty, that is, his right to rule, had been challenged. The question was, Who has the right to rule, and whose rule is right? By extension, Could humans do better if not ruled by God? In allowing them enough time to experiment with total freedom, God would establish once and for all whether they are better off under his rule or their own. The time allowed had to be long enough for humans to try all types of political, social, economic, and religious systems apart from God’s guidance.
So then, what has been the result? Thousands of years of human history tell us that there has been more and more suffering. In the past century, the human family has experienced the worst suffering ever. Millions were murdered during the Holocaust. Over 100*million have been slaughtered in wars. Crime and violence are rampant. Drug abuse is epidemic. Sexually transmitted diseases continue to spread. Tens of millions die each year of hunger and disease. Family life and moral values have broken down everywhere. No human government has the answers to these problems. Not one of them has overcome aging, sickness, and death.
The human condition is just as the Bible foretold for our times. God’s Word identifies our era as “the last days” of this system of things when “critical times hard to deal with will be here.” And just as the Bible said, ‘wicked men and impostors have advanced from bad to worse.’—2*Timothy 3:1-5,*13.
(2 Peter 3:8, 9) 8*However, let this one fact not be escaping YOUR notice, beloved ones, that one day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. 9*Jehovah is not slow respecting his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with YOU because he does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.
(Psalm 37:10, 11) And just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more; And you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be. 11*But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, And they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.
(Psalm 37:29) The righteous themselves will possess the earth, And they will reside forever upon it.
Don't give up and don't give out...He is allowing time for as many as will to be saved...
Humanity does nor realize that even the "Devil" is not beyond redemption..and reconciliation with God..after all Satan the angel was one of God's most glorious creations...God has total power over good and evil..over the physics of positive and negative forces...I would safely say that the entity that we call the devil has long since returned to the side of God and does not prowl the earth as he once did...It is humanity that keeps this force in motion...it is humanity that insists on keeping evil and suffering in existence. The devil has left the building...Human beings have officially taken over his job....Evil lurks and lives in us.
The Devil has retired and human beings seeking power through force and deception vie for this vacant position...Don't blame God and don't point and deflect your sins on Satan- It is YOU that are the beast- It is collective humanity that is heartless and cruel that seek to destroy and control this 7th heaven..."There are violent men who try to take heaven by force" - It does not say the devil is violent - it states that MEN- humanity uses force and violence to attempt to rule something that they are incapable of ruling or controlling.
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