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...Good morning all!!! I am so encouraged after having read all of your posts...this can be ~*~SUPER~*~ beneficial for ALL of us...I'm getting a study together now...give me a little bit to complete it......but let's go!!!...let's do this together....I LOVE it!!!...I'M EXCITED!!!...
...Good morning all!!! I am so encouraged after having read all of your posts...this can be ~*~SUPER~*~ beneficial for ALL of us...I'm getting a study together now...give me a little bit to complete it......but let's go!!!...let's do this together....I LOVE it!!!...I'M EXCITED!!!...
...The sooner the Church of Jesus Christ realizes that when we engage in warfare, we are not dealing with men or ideaologies, the sooner we will have the greatest victory this world has ever seen! We are not in a natural conflict...we are in a spiritual conflict, and it cannot be solved by religious or political gimmicks, or by any natural means! It MUST be met...and it can ONLY be met, BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE POWER WITH GOD AND WITH MEN, AND WHO CAN PREVAIL!
Satan is manifesting himself in the world all around us...The Lord asked Satan, "Where did you come from?" Satan answered, "I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that's going on," (Job 1:7); Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking for someone to devour! (1 Peter 5:8)...as his evil spirits move upon people causing them to commit all types of sin. He set up principalities upon this earth using people who allow him full control of their lives. He works through human vessels just as the Holy Spirit manifests Himself through human vessels.WeMUST LEARNto recognize when we are confronted by the enemy "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11).
In the book of Nehemiah, God outlines eight specific ways in which Satan will try to destroy our work for the Lord...I could type the entire thing, but if you will go and read Nehemiah, chapters 4-6, you will recognize them at work against you. (If you do not have a Bible, or you don't understand these passages, tell me, and I will be more than happy to type them out where you can understand...no problem at all!..) They are: ridicule...intimidation...threats of physical attack...confusion...discouragement...spirits of negativism...division among yourselves...the temptation to compromise or reason with the world...exhaustion...fear...and the leading of the false prophet.
Not all attacks of the enemy are obvious. Most likely his operations in our lives and our ministries are subtle. But no matter how hidden he is, our job is still to recognize the way the enemy is operating and STOP HIM BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!!
Be encouraged that whatever hindrances Nehemiah and the Jews overcame then, Christ's people can overcome NOW...IF they go to the root cause in the spirit realm using the POWER of God and His spiritual weapons to defeat the enemy!
If you try to deal with these problems on the surface, you are NEVER going to have a solution. The problem is in the spirit world. It is in the spirit of man and his sinful nature. There is no problem when you have identified and overcome the real problem in the spirit world and have located the enemy source - the root cause. In Christ your victory has been won!!!
GOD HAS GIVEN US WEAPONS WHICH POSITION US BEYOND DEFEAT
Ephesians 6: 14-17 "The Whole Armor of God"
Stand your ground, having put on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God...end.
In this passage of Scripture, God spreads out before us the powerful weapons He fashioned for us to wear, which will not only protect us and make us unvulnerable to Satan's attacks, but will also enable us to be PERFECTED and FULLY EQUIPPED. They will enable us to grow and mature into the FULL STATURE of Jesus Christ as the same strong spiritual warrior! Then He commands us to put them on ~ to be clothed in them.
Each of these pieces of armor describes attributes that are fulfilled in Christ. THE BELT OF TRUTH: Jesus said, "...I am the way, the truth, and the life..." (John 14:6). THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: He is righteous; He has on the breastplate of righteousness (Isaiah 59:17). He has become our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30); and we are righteous in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). THE PREPARATION (the readiness to proclaim) OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE: Jesus ushered in the kingdom by preaching, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). THE SHIELD OF FAITH: Jesus is the "author and finisher of our faith" (hebrews 12:2). THE HELMET OF SALVATION: As the promised Messiah, He has on the helmet of salvation (Isaiah 59:17). There is no other Name under heaven whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT ~ THE WORD OF GOD: Jesus is the Living Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us..." (John 1:1,14).
Paul, who was in prison chained to a Roman soldier when he wrote the letter to the Ephesians, used the various pieces of armor to describe the different attributes of Christ which made Him the strong, mature, immoveable, invincible spiritual warrior that he was.
When Paul was telling the Ephesians to "put on" or "be clothed in" the whole armor of God, he was actually saying, "Be clothed in Jesus Christ." He told the Galatians: "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27).
It is when we enter into that spiritual union with Christ in which we are one with Him ~ in which we know that we know that we know that Christ is in us and we are in Him ~ that we stand before the enemy PERFECTED, FULLY EQUIPPED in the full stature of Jesus Christ!
As we are clothed in Him: we are righteous; we know and speak the truth that sets men free; we have His faith; we are saved, cleansed, and justified; we have the written and Living Word abiding in us; we are prepared and ready at all times to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world.
As we are clothed in Him by entering into this spiritual union, we are able to withstand every fiery dart of the enemy. We are able to endure suffering, persecution, temptations, trials and testings and are 100 percent victorious.
Jesus said. "I and my Father are One" (John 10:30). When Philip asked Him to show him the Father, Jesus said, "Look at Me, Philip. When you've seen Me, you've seen the Father." This is God's purpose for the Church: that we grow and mature until we become ONE ~ one in faith, one in love, one in purpose. We will never agree on every doctrine or on the methods that we use to reach the world; but God purposed and planned for us to ONE in Him!!!
Christ's prayer for us is that as God the Father was IN HIM, He would be IN US ~ We would be IN HIM and we would be made PERFECT in ONE! (John 17:23). Jesus wants us to enter the same type of relationship He has with the Father, in which He dwells in us, in which we are inseperable from Him, in which people will be able to look at us and all they will be able to see is Jesus.
There is no provision for us to be without our armor ~ without being "clothed" in Christ. We must NEVER be without Him. The moment we fail to abide in Him and His Word, we become vulnerable to Satan's attacks. This type of spiritual union with Christ, this continual abiding in Him, is a MATURE relationship.
This type of relationship does not develope simply by being in church everytime the door is open. It does not develope merely through a regimented study of the Word. To enter this spiritual union with Christ, He must be your first love. Your greatest desire must be to be with Him ~ to commune with Him ~ to love and worship Him. Your greatest desire must be to live every moment of your life in fellowship with Him, in which you walk inCOMPLETE OBEDIENCE, in which you draw your strength from Him, in which He manifests Himself through you to your family, your friends, fellow employees, and to all those with whom you come in contact.
To enter this spiritual union with Christ, His Word must be continually in you. it must not depart out of your heart or mind. The Word must literally come alive within you, until it is as much a part of your life as the breath you breathe.
GOD HAS PLANNED FOR US TO BE FULLY EQUIPPED TO FACE THE ENEMY
1 Samuel 17:38-47 "David Kills Goliath"
Then Saul gave David his own armor ~ a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.
"I can't go in these," he protested to Saul. "I'm not used to them." So David took them off again. He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd's bag. Then, armed with only his shepherd's staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.
Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. "Am I a dog," he roared at David, "that you come at me with a stick?" And he cursed David by the names of his gods. "Come over here, and I'll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!" Goliath yelled.
David replied to the Philistine, "You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven's Armies ~ the God of the Armies of Israel, whom you have defiled. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues His people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord's battle, and He will give you to us!"...end.
As we move out onto the battlefield, we must first know what our weapons are and how to use them.
When we talk about the weapons of our warfare, we are not talking about some mystical something that cannot be obtained. When we talk about picking up our weapons, we are not just using a figure of speech. Although our weapons are not visible and cannot be felt with our five natural senses, they are real.
Among the weapons God has given us, there are both defensive and offensive weapons. He has given us "spiritual armor" as defensive weapons to protect and shield us from the attacks of the enemy.
And, He placed in our hands offensive weapons to confront and take power and authority over Satan.
In writing to the Ephesians, Paul desribed a spiritual "armor" they were required to wear that would make them completely invulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. The Ephesians were instructed to "put on" God's armor, which God suppllies.
We know that we are fighting and wrestling unseen forces, and that our weapons are not fleshly, carnal weapons. Our enemies are also invisible. How is it possible for us to face our batles in the natural realm ~ the attacks of the enemy: the pain, the sickness, the unpaid bills, car problems, problems in our relationships; things that we can feel with our five natural senses ~ with weapons we cannot see?
This is the problem many Christians face. When we are confronted by the enemy and are attacked in the natural realm, we pick up carnal, fleshly weapons in trying to face the enemy, instead of picking up the powerful invisible weapons that God has created. We use the wrong weapons. We do not have on the "full" armor of God. We try to face Satan and the unseen forces of evil using flimsy, carnal weapons based upon man's wisdom and understanding, man's limited strength, psychology, man-made doctrines, and the power of positive thinking.
These fleshly, carnal weapons are deceptive. On the surface they appear to be effective, and produce temporary results. However, these carnal weapons are not capable of penetrating into the realm of the spirit. They are not capable of locating the unseen forces that are at the real root of the problem. They are not capable of "laying the axe to the root of the tree" and binding those spiritual forces and driving them out. The only weapons capable of doing this are those which God has created and provided for us to use.
A perfect example to illustrate the importance of using spiritual weapons verses carnal weapons is the story of one of the greatest worriors in the army of God ~ King David. As he went out into battle to face the enemy, Saul (who was the king at that time) put his armor on David, gave him his sword and sent him out to face Goliath.
David's faith and confidence were not in carnal, fleshly weapons. He was not depending upon Saul's sword and armor. He was not depending upon his own limited strength. As he faced this giant who had defiled the God of Israel, he picked up his spiritual weapons. David told Goliath, "...Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou has defiled."
David stood there with five little stones and a slingshot. To the eyes of the world there was no possible way for David to survive. On the surface it appeared he would not be able to stand against this formidable enemy.
David was standing there clothed in the strength of Almighty God. His confidence was in God's strength. Before going out to battle he told Saul, "The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine" (1 Samuel 17:37). His weapon was the all-powerful Name of the Lord God Almighty.
Our spiritual weapons of prayer and fasting, the Word, and the Name of Jesus may seem small and insignificant to the world, like the five smooth stones in David's hands; but they are capable of destroying every evil force that can come against us!
[b][quote][quote=Verna Perry;8931815
[COLOR=black]Satan is manifesting himself in the world all around us...The Lord asked Satan, "Where did you come from?" Satan answered, "I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that's going on," (Job 1:7); Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking for someone to devour! (1 Peter 5:8)...as his evil spirits move upon people causing them to commit all types of sin. He set up principalities upon this earth using people who allow him full control of their lives. He works through human vessels just as the Holy Spirit manifests Himself through human vessels.WeMUST LEARNto recognize when we are confronted by the enemy "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11).[/color]
if CDF is an indicator shame and ridicule are the primary weapons used against those carrying the arc of good. the adversary usually takes the form of a hateful rude jeering mob.
QUOTE=Sundance;8930180]Christians get caught up in fighting people and doctrines, when we should be fighting Satan and his minions.
It is not a carnal battle.
Most of what is happening now, is unseen.
[/quote]
Triple Amen
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Go To The Root Of The Cause.....
WITH GOD AND WITH MEN, AND WHO CAN PREVAIL!
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