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“DELIVER US”
“I will not be afraid of what man shall do to me.”
Would you have faith if you were not tested and found deliverance? The ultimate test of faith is death. All other deliverance from evil that tries your faith proves that expectancies are not in vain. You can count on faith being tested or it would mot be faith.
PRINCIPLES OF DELIVERANCE
1. “SUBMIT yourselves to God, RESIST the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
2. “WALK in the SPIRIT and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh; for flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary the one to the other, so that you cannot do the thing that you would.” (Gal.5:16,17)
3. “WALK in the LIGHT as He is in the light, and we have fellowship one with the other, and the blod of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, (continuously) cleanses us from all sin.” (I Jn.1:7)
4. WALK in LOVE” “This is how we KNOW WHAT LOVE IS: JESUS CHRIST LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US, AND WE OUGHT TO LAY DOWN OUR LIVES FOR OUR BROTHERS.” (I Jn.3:16)
“Love seeks not her own.” (I Cor.13:5)
Jesus commands: LOVE
J – Jesus First
O – Others Next
Y – Yourself Last
A. Love God
B. Love neighbors . . . as yourself
a. Do you love yourself?
b. Do you see yourself loved by God?
c. Loving God?
d. Do you see yourself forgiven?
LOVE IN ACTION
How do you express it to others? “As we forgive”?
How do you express it to God? “Hallowed Be”?
Lacking Love . . . . lose – Spirit
Of others . . . . lose – Power
Of Things . . . . lose – Love
FEAR – “The wicked man flees, though no one pursues.”
LOVE – “But the righteous are bold as a lion.” (Pr.28:24)
“The fool has said “No God” they work iniquity, They were in great fear where no fear was.” (Ps.53:1,4,5)
FEAR - What the wicked dreads will overtake him.;
LOVE - What the righteous desire will be granted.” (Pr.10:24)
FEAR opposes FAITH
FLEE opposes LOVE
HIDE opposes OPEN
(Vulnerability)
Spirit of Fear reveals itself in nervous, uncontrolled shaking, speech, tension!
Fear of judgment (flees, hides)
Fear of people (eye contact, touch, communication)
Fear of speech (talk, speak up, confidence)
Fear of places (claustrophobia, heights, aloneness, etc.)
Fear of things (unclean, unlawful, taste, hearing, sight)
Fear of senses (touch, smell, taste, hearing, sight)
“There is a way that seems right to a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death.” )Prov.14:12)
“All the ways of a man is right in his own eyes; but the Lord ponders the hearts.” (Pr.21:2)
“Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.”
Reality check – Greater is He who is IN you. He dwells IN you – Question anyone else.
He is “___________________” , reject anyone else.
December 9, 2006 at 11:23 am |
When it comes to conquering lust, there is no weapon more powerful than meditation on God’s Word. It must be used at all times, even when we don’t think it is effective.
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9).
The following testimony is from a pastor. It affirms a vital principle.
“I grew up in an alcoholic and abusive background and lacked self-esteem and love. I began discovering all that the devil had in the world, beginning with pornography. I was preaching at the time and my conscience rebuked me with great pain after each incident.
“In tears of sincerity I confessed my sins and asked for God’s forgiveness, but the temptation always returned even stronger. A powerful wicked force was driving me into the mud of moral impurity. I hated what was happening and tried many things to change, but nothing worked.
“Finally, I was able to attend my first Basic Seminar1 and heard the principle of meditation and engrafting Romans 6 into my heart. I began by making a list of every past sin I could think of and tracing these sins to their root causes, confessing each one.
“I wrote out each verse of Romans 6 on a card and recited it many times until I had a pretty good grasp of it. Then before bed I recited it again, pondering the meaning and personalizing the application. When I got up the next day, I meditated on my new verse. Throughout the day, whenever possible, I continued to meditate and tied the new verse to the preceding verses. I began to see things I never saw before.
“Sometimes I fell into sin and became discouraged again, but I decided that this time I would continue to meditate—even if I failed. Instead of giving up because of my sins I pressed harder to come under the authority of God’s Word.
“By the second week of meditating day and night, my peace and joy began to grow. By the third week I sensed a newness of spirit, a freshness about life, and a positive perspective. I couldn’t believe how good I felt inside.
“Then it happened on the fourth week! I remember driving one afternoon on a freeway, meditating on the verses I had memorized up to that point. As I came to the verse, ‘For when ye were the servants of sin …’ (Romans 6:20), I felt a bolt of fiery power come into my chest and explode. I knew then that the old man had experienced death by the cross. With tears streaming down my cheeks, I cried out, ‘Praise the Lord, I’m free!’ ”
Let’s purpose to have the same determination that drove this pastor to freedom. For those in strong bondage to lust, memorizing and meditating on Romans 6–8 is a powerful way to renew the mind and achieve moral purity. (See Romans 12:1–2.)
Through Christ our Lord,
Bill Gothard
March 11, 2007 at 5:42 am |
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March 31, 2007 at 8:39 am |
As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can confidently refute the fear of evil by recognizing that Satan has already been defeated and that the victor, Christ, lives in us and is greater than he who is in the world (see Hebrews 2:9–15 and I John 4:4). While the victory has already been won, Satan has been allowed limited time and power in which he can tempt and torment those on the earth before his final judgment by God (see Revelation 12:12).
How then are we to live on earth in victory over Satan? God instructs us to “put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11), “resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7), and “[do not] give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27). Unfortunately, many Christians are naive to the tactics of Satan and actually “welcome” him into their lives by bringing evil objects into their homes and by participating in “harmless” occult activities.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8).
I have heard many testimonies similar to the one of an architect and his wife who traveled to Haiti for a vacation. While there, a persistent street vendor convinced them to buy one of his voodoo masks. They brought it home and hung it on the wall at the architect’s office.
Strange things began to happen. The phone stopped ringing and customers stopped coming by. At first they were pleased, because it meant they could catch up on a backlog of jobs, but they began to grow alarmed when no new business was coming in. Then, the architect developed an unusual eye infection that his doctors could not diagnose or cure. For some reason, they decided to bring the voodoo mask home, and they hung it up there. Almost immediately the peace that they had enjoyed became tension. Arguments erupted, and family members reacted to each other. Things kept getting progressively worse.
Then, they attended a Basic Seminar and learned about the power of evil objects and the need to cleanse their home of them. When they returned home, they burned the mask and were amazed at the results! The architect’s eye infection cleared up, new business began to come in, and peace was restored to their family.
“… I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils” (I Corinthians 10:20).
The powers of evil are real. We must never “play with them.” Occult games and Satanic activities may appear to be innocent, but they bring the bondage of fear and control. Therefore, Scripture warns, “The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them … Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it” (Deuteronomy 7:25–26).
It is vital that we maintain careful watch over our souls and that we reject from our lives anything that is not of God. If we have dabbled with horoscopes, Ouija boards, fortune tellers, or any other form of evil, let’s confess it as sin and call upon the Lord for His deliverance from any continuing bondage. Let’s do everything we can to overcome the fear of evil and enjoy the victory that Christ has already won for us!
Through Christ our Lord,
Bill Gothard