Prayer
Lord this morning I have come to take my place at the table of the Lord.
Father, I thank You for Your Word that is a lamp unto my feet and I thank You for Your Word that is a light unto my path.
Open my spiritual eyes this morning that I might see and understand all that You want to show me.
Write Your Word on my heart and in my mind.
You are the potter and I am the clay. As the clay, I surrender my life into Your capable hands. Make me and mould me Lord into a vessel of honour for You.
I pray in Jesus name.
We are in a war!
Yes we are. But I thought Jesus did it all? Yes He did. So how can you say we are in a war? Didn’t Jesus defeat the enemy? Didn’t Jesus destroy the works of the devil?
Rom. 3:23 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Rom. 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life (where?) in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Wages are something you have earned for what you have done).
Eph. 2:1 – And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.
Thayers definition: Dead – Gr.Word – Nekros – it is a metaphor – spiritually dead – destitute of a life that recognizes and is devoted to God because it is given up to trespasses and sins.
BUT THEN JESUS!!!
Heb. 2:14 – Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, (why?) that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.
1 John 3:8(b) – For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
So looking at these two scriptures then, did Jesus destroy the devil and did He destroy the works of the devil?
Yes He did.
Did He do a half job?
No! Can I prove that? YES!
Rom. 4:24-25 – It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because our offenses, and was raised (from the dead) because of our justification.
Our Lord could not have been raised unless we were ALL justified. He fully paid for ALL SIN. So then what was the work of the devil that Jesus destroyed?
Was it ALL sin?
Did you sin at all this week? So sin is still not destroyed?
So let me get this straight. Jesus completely destroyed the works of the devil which was all sin and we are still sinning?
No. What Jesus did on the Cross had far greater consequences. He destroyed the power of sin and what was the power of sin? Death. Nekros. Spiritual death. Separation from God who is life.
That was the most devastating result of sin. Its power to cut us off from the Father AND secondly, it put a stop to Gen. 1:26.
So essentially we have all been set free from that ‘spiritual death’ and that ‘spiritual darkness’. Not one of us has to be under the power of darkness anymore. None of us has to be separated from God anymore. None of us has to remain under the power of the devil any longer. We have truly all been set free and offered this wonderful gift of salvation. All it requires is that you believe in Jesus Christ and what He did for you.
Belief. It is about belief in Him.
Those that are not recipients of their gift of salvation either don’t know about it yet or they do not believe and in their unbelief they are rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord God Most High.
John 16:8 – When He (the Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. V9 Of sin, because they do not believe in Me.
Unbelief is really the foundation for all sin and is essentially rejecting His Lordship and Majesty.
Num. 14:11 – Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will these people reject Me? How long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?’
John 3:15 – Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life V8 He who believes is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
How did you get born again? You believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did to purchase salvation for you. You understood what He had done for you and that you could have a brand new start with Him and so being overwhelmed with gratitude, you asked Him to forgive you. You asked Him to be your Lord and you gave your life to Him.
It was at that point that you received the full gift of salvation. Everything in it – became yours. It was your truth. It was your new reality.
Understanding the gift of salvation and what you have received is vital. So what was in the package?
Reconciliation with the Father.
Rom. 5:10 – For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God (how?) by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Forgiveness.
Luke 24:46-47 – Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
2 Cor. 7:10 – For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted.
The Gift of His Righteousness.
Rom. 5:17 – For if by one man’s offense (Adam) death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace AND of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
Your spirit is ‘born again’ of the Spirit of God.
John 3:5-6 – Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
The gift of Repentance.
1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Delivered from the power of darkness and conveyed into the Kingdom of God’s Son.
Col. 1:13 – He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.
Your name is in the Book of Life.
Luke 10:20 – Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
Rev. 3:5 – He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Heb. 12: 22-23 – But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and the church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect.
You are now found ‘In Him”.
Eph. 1:3-6 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him (when?) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted (how?) IN the Beloved.
In Him – we have received New Covenant Benefits.
Rom. 8:16-17 – The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Eph. 2:6 – … even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places IN Christ Jesus.
And where is Jesus sitting?
Eph. 1:19-21 – and what is the exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He worked in Jesus 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.
In Him – we received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
John 16:7, 13-14 – Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you V13-14 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
You didn’t get it because you were so spiritual. You didn’t get it because you deserved it. You got it because you believed in Jesus Christ. You are the beloved of the Lord.
This is now who you are. You are a joint heir with Christ. Not maybe…if you’re good. No, you ARE a joint heir with Christ.
He has done all of this to redeem you to your original purpose – to be His image. To reveal Him. To make His name known…however He wants to do that.
Therefore, Jesus has destroyed the only hold the devil had over you and I which was our sin – and by doing that Jesus totally crippled the plan of the devil to stop us from becoming the image bearers of Christ.
That war is won!!! The enemy is defeated. Jesus Christ redeemed us, He restored us and reconciled us to the Father. The devil can NEVER separate us from God the Father again! Yes! The war has been won!
Then what? Why are we still in a war? Why are you and I daily STILL in a battle?
The battle that you and I face is for our faith.
Our war is to overcome the disbelief that says, ‘What if this fails?’ I’m not spiritual enough? I can’t do this? I tried this before and it never worked.
The devil can take nothing away from you. What the Father has given you is irrevocable.
But the devil is the deceiver and will NOT stop trying to hinder you by bombarding you with temptation through your thought life, by poking at your emotions, your imagination and your five senses.
By concocting different schemes he desires to strip you of your belief, your faith in what Christ has done for you.
He wants to stop you from fulfilling your purpose. He wants to keep you powerless. He wants to stop you from living a spirit led life. He wants to keep you fearful and he wants to make you of no consequence.
BUT let me remind you! Greater is He who is in you then he who is in the world.
Refuse to let the devil talk you down from who you are. Meditate on who you are in Christ. Get that down deep in your soul. Let it be written on your heart by the Father. You are who He says you are.
Arise Warrior of God! Arise! Greater is He who is in you then he who is in the world.
This is who you are and why you must put on the helmet of salvation daily.
The helmet is the part that protects our head – the gateway to our heart.
In order to protect our heart, the place where the issues of our life spring forth, it is essential for us to understand how important it is to protect our thought life.
2 Cor. 10:3-6 – For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
2 Timothy 1:7 – For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (a disciplined mind).
Just as we discipline our children so we must discipline our mind because that is the gateway to your heart and my heart and inevitably will affect your life and my life.
Why do I need to discipline it?
Because not every thought that crosses your mind is from you.
The devil cannot read your mind, he only knows what you are thinking by what comes out of your mouth BUT he takes great delight in planting seeds of doubt, seeds of fear, seeds of division, seeds of rejection, seeds of anger or impatience, lust in any form, seeds of feeling inadequate – in fact every negative thing you could possibly think of all fall under the category of stealing, killing and destruction. – All of which is Satan’s work. NONE of this comes from the Holy Spirit or from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Consider who you now are as a new creation, you carry the DNA of God.
2 Cor. 5:17 – Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
You have a new nature. ALL things have become new.
1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.
This is the gift of repentance and it is how we keep our robe of righteousness clean. Every time you repent it is as if you have never sinned.
God is faithful and just – How is He just? Jesus already paid the price. You can’t be tried twice for the same sin. Jesus was tried and punished SO God is faithful to His Word.
So carefully consider the thoughts that come into your mind and the things that you read or listen to through the media or ANY other voice.
Ask yourself, would God the Holy Spirit be sharing this information with me? And remember God does not gossip so that you’ll pray for that person.
Fear – the Holy Spirit will never guide you with fear. You have not been given a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Anything that does not line up with the word of God is NOT from God. Don’t accept it, don’t tolerate it.
The purpose of the Five-fold ministry is to equip you. You come here on a Sunday to sharpen your sword, to polish your helmet of salvation, to make sure your breastplate of righteousness is firmly in place, to pick up your Shield of Faith. You need to strengthen your arm that holds up your Shield of Faith by exercising your faith. Regularly.
DO NOT FORGET WHO YOU ARE AND WHO IS WITH YOU!