In the name of Jesus

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lisa burton

Founder

being to set free...doing what Jesus did...casting out demons and healing the sick

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lisa burton

December 29, 2020 10:32 pm

Lesson 6 cont. WHERE IS THE BATTLEFIELD? OUR MIND! Our Battle is Spiritual. We fight against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly (evil... View MoreLesson 6 cont. WHERE IS THE BATTLEFIELD? OUR MIND! Our Battle is Spiritual. We fight against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly (evil spirits). We can’t measure spiritual with physical, as we can’t make a cake with a tape measure – we need measuring cups and spoons. Our Spiritual Tape Measure is God’s Word -- God’s Word ONLY. Be careful you do not make up your mind on ANY Spiritual matter by how you feel or just because it “sounds good” to you. Satan and his minions are very cunning and they’ve been at this for thousands of years. We must put on the mind of Christ and use the power of the Holy Spirit which is BY FAR greater than the Enemy. Our Shield of Faith (Ephesians 6:16) protects our heart. Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy HEART with ALL diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Sometimes our hearts can mess with our minds, right? Our Shield of Faith is very important! When our Faith is strong, our minds cannot be moved from Truth. The ONLY way to build our faith is Romans 10:17. PRACTICE TRUTH I John 1:4-6 keeps it real. If we are in fellowship with God but choose to walk in darkness, we are a LIAR and are “not practicing” (John 8:44) the Truth. OUCH! If you’ve ever played a musical instrument or participated in sports, you know practice makes perfect. If you don’t practice, your skills will not improve and you won’t be of any value to the rest of the team. Practice is an EVERY DAY thing . . . not once or twice a year, month or week. I studied piano for 10 years. Practice was 6 out of 7 days every week. Practice makes you a strong and effective Warrior who is able to withstand the Enemy’s attacks. Put into practice all the things you learn about Spiritual Warfare to become an Uber Warrior for Christ! When in the heat of Battle, it’s easy to be deceived into reverting back to “former ways” if we are not strong, suited up, vigilant and obedient. A CALL TO BATTLE (this is just one of many): We must ACTIVELY fight to live a VICTORIOUS life filled with God’s Blessings! God gives us all FREE WILL, so we CAN choose to be PASSIVE instead, but being passive (lukewarm) is a sin. Willful and habitual sin is what gives the Enemy LEGAL RIGHT, which includes but is not limited to: ALL kinds of addiction (alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, food, gambling, sex, smoking, shopping, prescription drugs, work, etc.), ALL ACTS BORN OUT OF COMPULSION, anxiety, depression, control and abuse (physical, sexual, verbal/emotional, mental/psychological, cultural/identity), despair, suicidal thoughts, inability to concentrate, sickness/disease, mental disorders, sleep disorders, financial trouble, relationship issues (spouse, family, friends), infidelity, fornication, perfectionism, spiritual defeat, God's blessings being blocked, etc. For me it’s a “no brainer.” Our pastors are not teaching this, so I hope you are TAKING NOTES and will share your newly learned TRUTH with family/friends. HOW TO RESPOND TO DEFEAT Every Battle has a victor and a loser. Even though we don’t like the thought of it, it is certain we will lose some Battles. I know I’ve lost plenty. In moments of defeat, I struggled with guilt, shame, feeling I wasn’t good enough for God, wondering how He could still love me, etc. There have even been times I thought about giving up. Wish I had known the TRUTH of the Scripture below. How Jesus taught us to respond to defeat is in direct opposition to what mainstream Christianity teaches. Jesus does not want us to give up, to stop serving, to spend weeks, months or years contemplating our error. What did Jesus say about defeat? Luke 22:31-32 “And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and WHEN YOU HAVE RETURNED TO ME, STRENGTHEN YOUR BRETHREN.” POINT 1. Satan wants to sift each of us like wheat. So many Christians think that after you’re saved it is a “cake walk.” How many of you have heard that phrase? I’ve learned over the years that is a lie of the Enemy. The Enemy wants you to believe that once you’ve prayed the Sinner’s Prayer and have received Jesus; there’s nothing else to worry about. The Enemy ONLY wants to “steal, kill and destroy” anything and everything associated with you and God. The Enemy’s “game plan” is to push you down, stress you out, distract you from reading, studying, and hiding God’s Word in your heart, keep you from putting God first in your life, discourage you, grind you like wheat! He wants to render you ineffective in God’s Army and, ultimately, he wants you to give up. He incessantly engages you in Battles, when the majority of us don’t even recognize we’re on the Battlefield! If you aren’t aware you’re under attack, you will be defeated! Recognize it. Assess it. Take Authority. FIGHT! Revelation 12:10 “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” You think that Satan doesn’t give us the time of day now that we’re saved. . . really? In fact, he stands before God DAY AND NIGHT accusing US. The more we learn about the Battle we are in, the more we understand how relentless the attacks of the Enemy really are. POINT 2. The Holy Spirit is praying for you (a given) that your faith should not fail. We are not left standing alone while we are being attacked. God knows what we did 40 years ago and what we will do 10 years from now. He knows it ALL -- omniscient. Jesus knew Peter would fail Him but that HE WOULD RETURN, yet Jesus GAVE PETER ASSURANCE that He had already prayed that Peter’s faith would not fail him. In other words: FAILURE IN BATTLE ≠ LOSING FAITH. POINT 3. There will be times you WILL fail (another given). Peter was stunned that Jesus would think he would ever fail Him. After all, Peter was totally sold out. He assured Jesus that he was in it for the long haul. If Jesus ended up in prison or was put to death, he vowed to follow Him wherever and however. We feel that way too. Jesus knew Peter was going to fail just as we will fail. Jesus knows when we will fail and the circumstances surrounding our failure. Jesus never gives up on us! He loves and prays for us regardless. POINT 4. Jesus’ doesn’t want us to quit if we FAIL. 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Philippians 3:14 “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Jesus knew what Peter was about to go through. He knew Peter loved him and had a heart to follow Him. Jesus also knew that Peter, in his humanness, would deny him 3 times. Knowing full well that Peter would fail, Jesus gave Peter something valuable—a “HOW TO DEAL WITH DEFEAT” speech. That speech is for ALL of us. If you’re like me, you’ve read this passage and heard it preached several times over the years. This TRUTH just recently jumped out at me. If you get nothing else – get this:

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lisa burton

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Afenian ReHaveNice

Apostle Nick Rich