It's War (sw)

Its’ War

Man is the subject of a war! No, I am not talking about 911, Iraq, Afghanistan nor any visible war between men on the planet. I am talking about a war with untold casualties over the centuries and many more to come. This is not a war fought with conventional weapons because it is a spiritual war for your very soul. Satan, a liar and deceiver, tried to overthrow the great creator of all things and was defeated. He now wages war against God’s creation trying yet another tactic to gain the throne of the universe. He is stealthy and works best when he is not detected. He uses untold numbers of disembodied beings to influence, harass and bewilder those who are created in God’s image. He has established powers and principalities that are unseen except for the havoc they create. Their battle plan uses lies and half-truths to manipulate mankind’s selfishness into self-destruction. This plan has worked since man was created and seems to be more effective today than ever.

The average person alive today is unaware of Satan’s devices and the pending destruction, which will occur if they do not reject this archenemy of the most high God. The good news is Satan has already been defeated by God’s Son Jesus and through Him God has provided a way for man to escape the wiles of the evil one. Most people are not even aware of this battle or they just plain refuse to believe their plight, but God has provided an escape route. His name is Jesus and He is the true friend of every heart that will seek him. The average person just goes along with the way the world manipulates them making the job of the enemy so much easier.

God has established laws in his creation that work for the good of that creation. His laws have checks and balances and therefore regulate Satan’s activities. The demonic personalities can harass and bewilder mankind but cannot touch them except by permission. The powers of darkness then seek to influence people to engage in activities that will give them permission to manifest in their lives, even their physical bodies. To this end the rebelling one influences the free will of man as a means to move his workers of iniquity in. These demonic, disembodied spirits have an intense desire to be in a body because they go through dry places when they are not embodied. So they cooperate with the evil powers that hold them true to their assignments to lie, kill, steal and destroy. The primary intent is to destroy God’s most wondrous creation, man.

The affects of the work of the dark powers are reported by every newspaper, radio and television station on the planet, yet people, congregations and Pastors ignore this powerful force. Even while their ministries are being destroyed, their congregations deceived and the lives of their members thrown into chaos, they are unexcited and unconcerned. Too many people today are living lives of deceit and sin, hiding themselves from the truth. God is truth and he has published a book to alert his creation of the perils of following this powerful demonic power. His book is the bible and the information in it is divine, straight form the one who spoke the universe into place.

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand the wiles of the devil.” Ephesians 6:11
I am inviting you to take a journey with me to find out more about the war that is going on over your soul. To find more information and be guided in bible study on this critical matter, look for (SW) beside titles on this blog that pertain to spiritual warfare. See in scripture the truth of God for living a spirit filled life in the kingdom of God. Learn how the one who wants to destroy you works to get you to do what he wants you to do and how you can overcome him. Be advised:

“Jesus came to preach deliverance to the captives” Luke 4:18

The Doctrine of Man vs The Love of God

The Doctrine of Man vs The Love of God

God so loved the world that He took a world full of dirty, rotten, vile, God hating sinners and died on the cross to pay for their sins so He could save them from an eternity of suffering, separated from him, so He could bring them into His eternal heaven and fellowship with Him forever. Can you imagine being separated from love? God is love and all else is hate. To see hate manifested we must look into the book of revelation.

The last few verses of Revelation 16 speak of the sound of Voices, and thunderings and lightenings coming forth. A great earthquake occurs greater that the world has ever seen before. A great city is divided into three parts. Immediately we would ask what City? The answer lies in Revelation chapters 17 –18. Is it Rome? Five times in Chapters 17 –18 Rome is called the great city.

“Every island fled away, and the mountains were not found” The earth is shaken so violently the islands disappear beneath the water and mountain ranges are leveled. I am reminded of building mountains in a container with sand. Shake the container and the mountains are leveled. The earthquake is indeed the most violent and widespread the world has ever seen. If the mountains worldwide are leveled in this great earthquake there will be no building left standing save only those protected supernaturally by the hand of God.

Perhaps the most astounding thing of all is how man responds to God’s offer of salvation through His son Jesus who suffered, died and was resurrected sealing the salvation of those who would give their lives to Him. Scripture tells us in the middle of all this destruction there is no repentance. Instead they blaspheme God. They speak evil about the Lord, disobey him and rail against him. Out of their rebellion against God’s punishment they speak evil of the Lord. How can this be except they are apostate. It is sad to realize those who were once tolerant of, and themselves spoke of, a belief in God, to completely turn from Him in view of such total destruction by His hand.

This is a great warning to those who so loosely speak of God, but reject his son, Jesus Christ; to those who practice religion without a relationship with Jesus Christ. How fearful it is to contemplate these matters. Men refuse the gospel truth of Jesus Christ and thereby refuse a relationship with God. After the rapture their hearts are hardened because God sends a powerful delusion to believe the words of the liar Satan. Look at 2nd Thessalonians 2:7-12:
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way
Vs 8 and then shall that wicked be revealed, who the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
Vs 9 even him, whose coming is after the work of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
Vs 10 and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
Vs 11 and for this cause God shall send them a powerful delusion, that they should believe a lie.
Vs 12 That they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

We can see iniquity at work in our world today. Politicians believe they can promise the people what they are yearning to hear and then break those promises when elected. This is an accepted practice in America by politicians and voters, but it is a lie. Americans, we have become lazy and selfish, a nation of spiritual cowards allowing the government and the anti Christian people to decide our moral standards. We kill innocent babies before they are born out of selfishness. We lie and cheat to make more money. We are a nation that abuses the freedom God gave us, pushing the government to eliminate laws that check our moral decay and to adopt more laws that allow us to live in greater moral depravity. Liberal, immoral politicians are happy to give us our way. We have slipped from the standard of integrity that our founding fathers established and our leaders are no better. We are dangerously drifting into the “man is his own God” mentality that is the “Babylonian Spirit”. We, therefore, do not have to wonder how men in the tribulation are so evil they blaspheme God when he deals out corrective judgment instead of repenting and turning to him.

During this judgment that is on the other side of the rapture, God will send disobedient men a strong delusion which will harden their hearts and they will not be saved.

What is your decision? Will you accept God’s gift of salvation or stay in the ranks of those who hate him? Say yes to salvation today. Pray and ask God to forgive you of all your sins and let his Son Jesus become the Lord of your life. It is that simple if it comes from your heart in all sincerity. Then be ready to meet Satan head on! But don’t worry, Jesus is alive and “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world”. Jesus said not to fear, He has overcome the world.

Where Can We Turn In These Days

Where Can We Turn in These Days?

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

2nd Corinthians 11:4 And no man marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

1 John 4:4 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.

Ephesians is a very powerful book written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Ephesus. He is writing to the church because a serious problem was afflicting the church. Conflicts had surfaced between Jewish and Gentile Christians that threatened to split the church. Paul knew that he was sent to preach the gospel to the gentiles. He knew God’s plan included was to include all men in his kingdom and that purpose was made manifest in the person of Jesus Christ.
God had drawn Jews and Gentiles together in Christ and Paul rose to God’s call to bring unity to to the church.

Chapters 1 through 3 of Ephesians define Christianity and Chapters 4-6 identifies how Christians are suppose to live.

In Chapters 1-3 Paul emphasizes the position of true believers. He says “you have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and you believed it and because you believe it you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.

Today we see many people who profess to be Christians but do not exhibit the character of Christ. They may have walked an isle, prayed a prayer but do not have the image of Christ. I fear we have assured many that they are saved because they repeated a prayer with some words in it that did not come from their heart. We have become so caught up in a hurry up world that we have drafted the idea from fast food chains that we can have salvation our way, fast, easy, without repentance. We think we can have salvation and be assured of heaven by saying a few words and then attending and working in church and being good while we keep our sin. Modern religion says we have to agree with the world to save it. For this reason we are seeing churches splitting, people running around from church to church looking for something they cannot find and the love of many growing cold. We have gotten smug about church thinking we have everything running fine. We see some trouble signs but God will take care of them we feel.
Salvation is a heart matter. Religion will not get it done. Going to church won’t get it done. The only thing that will produce true salvation is true repentance and you can’t have true repentance until you realize you are a lost, sinful creature not worthy to go to heaven, but worthy to spend eternity suffering in hell because we have failed. Romans 3:23 says “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” .

The church service may be full, but schedule a prayer meeting or a bible study and few come.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:10 “Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.

He is saying this: “If you are a true Christian as defined in Ephesians chapters 1 – 3 and you are living as defined in chapters 4-6, then you can be sure of one thing, that you are going to run head on into Satan. If you walk worthy, in humility, in unity and not in the vanity of your mind. If you put on the new man, walk in love, not lust; walk in light, not darkness; wisdom, not fooleshness, filled with the Holy Spirit, sing songs, hymns and spiritual songs, submit to one another, wives submitting to their husbands as to the Lord and husbands loving their wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it; children obeying their parents, and parents nurturing their children, raising them in the things of God. If we do these things we will counter the world’s system. We will go against the grain. That’s exactly what is happening in our society. It’s also happening right in the church.

We have gotten smug, playing church and we have failed to see the demons creep into each other and begin to subtly set up camp and develop strongholds. Satan builds his strongholds within the church and then moves to destroy it. The unsaved are the first to scatter followed by those caught up by emotions. In the moment of controversy the weak forget their biblical training and rely on their worldly emotions. Prayer stops in favor of gossip, vows are broken because the moment is just too hard. Human wisdom prevails and instead of fighting the devil, we allow him to control us.

True, “sold out”, Christians are left wondering what on earth is going on. Hard times come and the remnant are left to endure them. Paul knew of these things when he wrote to Timothy and instructed him to be a good soldier and endure hardness.

We are living in tough times. There is a shift beginning to occur that’s purging the church. God knows the church has no power and sin is running rampid in our society. Murder of the unborn continues unchecked and increasing. God is being thrown out of our culture, morals are being abandoned. The standards of God are being forsaken, yet in the church we sit smug and even try to think of ways to entertain the world so they will come into the church. Sin is running wild in the church as we leave the morals of God and persue the ways of the world. The instance of sin is as high in the church as it is in the world. You can’t tell the difference.

Paul said in Acts 20:31 “I have not ceased to warn you night and day for the space of three years with tears” He was warning that Satan is right in our midst in the church and He was sending the same warning down through the ages to us that Jesus gave in Matthew 24:10-13 (READ)

We are in the season Jesus spoke of . These are the last days that Jesus and Paul spoke of and there are wolves from the outside and false teachers on the inside bringing disunity to the church and doing their best to destroy it. There are few Christians walking in the power of God, having the seal of his promise and standing against the wiles of the devil.

We have ignored the fact that we are in a War !!!

Where are the Christians who will stand against Satan cast out demons, bind the powers of darkness and loose the Holy Spirit of God upon situations, heal the sick and proclaim the great day of the Lord?

Peter said judgment must begin in the house of the Lord. In Revelation we see Jesus standing in the middle of His lampstands which are the churches. He is dressed in white, symbolizing purity and his eyes are searching, penetrating and evaluating his churches. Then he brought seven powerful, demanding letters with warnings to the churches. Please note he did not warn the churches of Smyrna and Philadelphia. Why? Because Smyrna was being persecuted for standing on the gospel and Philadelphia was an evangelizing, aggressive, soul winning church. These two things are wonderful preservatives for a church.

John McArthur said in one of his sermons “when a church is persecuted it tends to maintain it’s purity because all of the impurity drops out. Who wants to be in a church which is being persecuted? Only those who are called!

That’s what I love about being an evangelist. It purifies me! Evangelistic preaching riles up the devil where he can be revealed and dealt with. I love to do crusades, I can hit them for the Lord and run. It is gorilla warfare by the power of the Holy Spirit.

When God saved me through a Damascus road experience he moved on me in power! Within moments of my repentance and acceptance he told me I would be working for him and walking in his power. He warned me never to take credit or think that I have anything to do with it except to surrender to him. He also told me to walk in faith whether I could feel his presence or not. He said “don’t stand on your emotions, just stand in my power.

Brothers and sisters, the days of resting on our Christian labels are over. It is time to love Jesus instead of relying on religion. We are in a war and this is a call to stand in the Lord and in his love, grace and power. We are to minister the same way, love, grace and power. Everywhere there are problems and people are beginning to get discouraged and are looking for answers which is exactly why God is allowing these things to happen. Churches are splitting, quiting and dying, but God will raise up a remnant. The church denomination I grew up in has experienced a downward spiral for years, others have compromised the word of God and the power has left them. Icobod has been written on their doors, the glory of the Lord has departed.

There is a shift going on in the heavenlies. We can no longer play footsies with the world and in our congregations. We can no longer tolerate the world’s doctrine in the church of having salvation our way, not God’s way, which is exactly what Babylon was and is all about. Be warned, in chapter 17 of Acts – Babylon is going to fall.

We will not win the lost by being like them. We can’t contine to negotiate with the world. It’s going to be God’s way! We can no longer tolerate Jezebel, Ahab, pride, levithian, lust and all those other demons to sit smugly in our midst. As children of God we must be obedient to receive the power of the Holy Spirit to cast them out of our church and out of God’s people. Fervent prayer must begin. We have got to reach the lost.

God is systematically taking away America’s God which is it’s money and power. The church is married to Christ but fornicating herself by playing with the world. We are the body of Christ sent to save the world, not to agree with it.

There is a revival coming which will be led supernaturally by God’s remnant, those who are found to be in robes of white, having not compromised. Those whom God can count on. He will raise them up.

In my tenure at Eloise UMC in a prayer meeting God spoke plain and said we would see the day when people would be trying to break in the church to get answers. Sadly most Christians couldn’t answer their questions.

Let the church be purged and don’t fret about it, because God is doing the purging, preparing his saints for the work to be done. He is still in charge.

Let those who call themselves Christians choose; the world’s way or God’s way. They will choose and their choice will judge them.

Paul nailed it in 2 Corinthians 11:4 when he said, there will be another gospel, preaching another Jesus and another spirit. It is the spirit of the antichirst. Let us not receive it church, because it is being preached today. We must have the gospel of Jesus Christ who died for us on Calvary, and sent the Holy Spirit to be with us.

This is the doctrine of the Holy Spirit which has been ignored and neglected. We don’t need a form of Godliness because there is not power in it. We have to have the real thing. The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead and he rose with power and might. The Holy Spirit is with us and in us; that Spirit of God the Father and God the Son.

The Babylonian empire of today preaches Jesus as a peasant from Galilee and shows a dead Jesus on the cross. But Jesus is not on the cross, he has risen and sits at the right hand of God the Father and has been given all power.

In a vision God, in the middle of a church worship service showed me the cross and it was empty. But God called to my attention the blood, and he told me to put my hand in the blood. I did. God said “with these hands I will heal”…………. God has done that! Many have been healed through the anointing God placed there through the blood of Jesus! I have humbly walked in that season God used for His purposes. Glory

When we were saved, we visited the cross, was convicted of our sin, repented and were set free.

We realized we were utterly unable to save ourselves or to be righteous. Jesus purchased us there and now it’s time to go on to maturity and to receive the power to become the sons and daughters of God and to be continually sanctified.

Having done this we have chosen to witness Jesus work on the cross and the power to overcome sin to a dark and dying world. The Holy Spirit is with us and will empower us for the work to be done. Signs and wonders will follow those who go in Jesus name for the purpose of revealing the supernatural, creative power of our powerful God.

This manifestation of power flows from the Father, through the Son, and rides on the Holy Spirit into his temples. There will be those who stage spirituality, prophesy falsely and serve the anti-Christ. You will know them because they will build themselves instead of the Kingdom of God; they will have a form of Godliness but will not have any power, because all power comes from the Father, Through the Son and is delivered by the Holy Spirit.

We can believe because we can see the work of the Holy Spirit throughout history, first for us, then with us and now in us.

For us, because we can see God’s promises through the ages in the Old Testament.
Then the dispensation of God with us, - Jesus walking among us, promising the Holy Spirit.

Before Pentecost no one could become a partner of the life and fullness of the risen Lord. Then we see in Acts and the epistles the Holy Spirit working in us and through us. We see the unfolding of His person and power.

The Holy Spirit is first mentioned in the Old Testament in Genesis 1:2 and the last time in Malachi 2:15. We see through all the Old Testament passages that the Holy Spirit is the co-creator of the world
Co-Creator of man
Co Creator of all that exists on the earth.
He is the “neshema”, the breath of the Almighty – life giving breath.
Genesis 2:7 “ He breathed into man the breath of life”

He is the one who carries out the work of God. We see in scripture the unfolding of his Person and Power

II Thess 2:4 Talks about the Anti-Christ who wants to steal God’s glory. He is so filled with his selfish desire he cannot understand God has all the Glory and is all powerful and he can never steal it. God sits in His temple shewing himself, that He is God
Be encouraged, the Spirit of the living God is present with us.

Is 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts: the whole earth is full of His Glory.

He who is with us is the:
Spirit of god
The Spirit of Christ
The One Spirit, the Great “I am”
The Eternal Spirit
He inhabits the praises of his people.
He is the Lord’s truth, holiness, our faith, our wisdom and revelation.
He is our power and discipline
Our Grace
The one who is made to dwell in us
The anointing and Glory of God

He has style:
Grace
Supplication
Revelation
Adoption, Truth, The seven Spirits of God
Satan’s style is to stir up your emotions and to block your wisdom.
God gives wisdom abundantly to those who ask for it.

The early church had no doubt regarding the Deity of the Holy Spirit.

In Acts 5:3-4 We are told Ananias and Sapphira lied to God and to the Holy Spirit.
We see God and the Holy Spirit individualized here, but, they are one.
The Holy Spirit is acclaimed to God
He shares the attributes of the Father and the Son
Hebrews 9:14 He is the eternal spirit of God, uncreated and has no beginning and no end.
He is co-eternal with God
He has the power to be present everywhere at the same time. He is in all believers simultaneously.

I Corithians 2: 10 – 11 He knows the deep things of God, there is nothing about God he cannot know.

The spirit is the power of God by which Demons are cast out – Matthew 12:28
Luke 11:20 He is the finger of god.
He is the arm, hand, finger of God and Has unlimited power.
He alone can make us recipients of divine holiness.

Only Deity knows the end form the beginning.
Acts 1:16 The Holy Spirit, by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas.

Also Ps 41:9
Over 1,000 before Judas the Holy Spirit spoke of

Judas

The Holy Spirit performs tasks only possible by Deity.
He is the executor of the Godhead.
He alone can create.

In Genesis 1:2 God contemplated (brooded) over the chaotic condition of the world and through his spirit re-created the world and through His Spirit created the beautiful world we live in. Ps 33:6

Is 40:7 7 Ps 104:30 He brings life and death into the world.

What have we to be concerned about. The battle is mine saith the Lord.
I Cor 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

He sanctifies that which he indwells.
Ro 15:16, Titus 3;5 and I Peter 1:2

What have we to fear. He is in charge. He raised Jesus from the dead, He blew down the walls of Jerico, took Elijah up in a whirl wind and destroyed Sodom and Gomorah.
He can raise a glorious church out of Ashes, stone and rubble.

No demon in hell dare mess with Him.

We can forget all the threats of Satan, ignore all we see and trust in the Lord Because His Spirit is with us and in us. Submit to him and be filled with the Holy Spirit. 1 John 4:4 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.