(Because of the targeting nature of the next few blogs, the first two paragraphs will be a copy of those in Pt. 1. The new material will begin in the third paragraph for the next few weeks.)
Good Morning, Unbelievers (and faithful Readers): Welcome! Let me introduce myself: My name is Dan. You might not know me, but I know you. “How do you know me”, you might be wondering? Because I was an unbeliever myself for most of my life. I was a very proud Atheist; I was an intellectual. In fact, I even had the title, Professor, to prove it. Therefore, I could not possibly accept that trivial drivel the church is selling. I mean, “Come on…smart people like me and you can’t fall for gibberish that makes no rational sense.” That was my excuse. What is your excuse? You don’t believe in God, or you believe in God, but not Jesus? You don’t believe in organized religion, or you’ve been scared by organized religion? You don’t believe there is only one way to an after-life; you don’t believe in heaven or hell; you don’t believe the Bible can be true; you’ve seen church leaders that you once followed fall from their pedestals; you know hypocrites who claim to be Christians, but who continue to live as heathens; you see no way you could have fun if you’re expected to follow all of those confining “dos” and “don’ts”, or… you believe you are a “good person”, in fact, better than most, and you know that God, because He is a good God, will welcome you into heaven. Those are many of the classic reasons for remaining an unbeliever. I get that! The truth is, all of those thoughts were stumbling blocks for me as I continued to live in bondage to my arrogance.
So, you may be asking yourself, “What is Dan’s deal? Why does he care about what I believe, or what happens to me? My honest answer to that question is this: There was certainly a time when I could not have cared less about you, your belief or your destiny. But during that period of my life, I was totally consumed with “me”, my agenda and my career. As smart as I thought I was, in reality…I was totally ignorant of The Truth. I had a lot of knowledge and common sense, but I was ignorant of what I now know to be THE TRUTH. (I want to be perfectly clear here; I am not referring to worldly truth, worldly philosophy, or situational truth. I am referring to God’s Word (or God’s Truth, which is collected and codified in the Holy Bible). Today, it breaks my heart to know that people will perish just because they do not know THE TRUTH. I want to do everything possible to give unbelievers the same opportunity I had for redemption. I hope you will take five minutes to read each of these blogs. If you have questions, or criticisms, please respond to me at drpresgr@gmail.com , or you can call me at 314-799-7075. What have you got to lose?
(The new material for this lesson starts here). Last week, we learned about the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. This gift was given to us by the Lord God Almighty so we can rise above our circumstances, and our feelings, to become the person He created us to be. This is explained clearly in Ephesians 2:10: “We are God’s masterpiece (now that we are in Christ). He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can (NOW) do the good things He planned for us long ago” Prior to our rebirth, we lived to exalt, please, and promote ourselves. But now we have options: we can make choices that bring honor and glory to God; we can (now) become the person He created us to be. So, you may be asking yourself, “why is that so important?” I would respond, “It’s important because your life depends on it!”
As a Christian, we are constantly bombarded by the teachings of this world, enticed by the lustful desires of the flesh, or tormented by satan and his minions. (As an unbeliever, you are not even aware this is happening.) But when you make a decision to leave the dark domain and take up residence in the domain of light, you NOW have a target on your back. Whether you want to be involved or not, you are in the midst of spiritual warfare. How that works out for YOU depends on the choices you make. Let me explain.
When you are born into this world, you are born into an eternal morality play called, “Good vs. Evil.” Unbeknownst to you, you are an actor in this play, and the part you play depends on the choices you make. Here is a brief Biblical History that will help clarify that statement.
Long before the creation of the world, God (Jesus and the Holy Spirit) existed in the heavenly realms with created beings known as the heavenly host. They existed in numbers too great to count, but the highest-ranking archangel was Lucifer. He eventually became envious of God, so he used his position to amass about 1/3 of the heavenly host to challenge God’s authority. When the battle was over, Lucifer and his evil minions were “cast down to earth.” (Revelation 12:9) Notice that it doesn’t say they “were cast out of heaven”; it very specifically says they were “cast down to earth.” That is very important, because it tells us that before Adam and Eve, “evil” existed in the world. When you choose to move into the domain of light, you immediately have an enemy, and that enemy is the same evil that enticed Eve and Adam to sin. His name was Lucifer, but it is now satan, (meaning adversary, but it can also mean “the devil”).
The reason we were given the gift of the Holy Spirit is so we can be victorious over our battles with satan. Regardless of the source of torment, tribulation or temptation, satan is the one pulling the strings. He is the source of ALL evil. His sole purpose is to shipwreck our best effort at experiencing the joy and freedom that comes from being in Christ. Satan is already condemned! In fact, He knows that is his fate, and he also knows that his time is drawing nigh. His only way to get back at God is through His children, and he is relentless in his pursuit of our demise.
When speaking to unbelievers, Jesus had this to say about satan: “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold The Truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” Later, Jesus contrasted satan’s role with His role: “The thief (meaning satan) comes only to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come to give YOU life, and life to the fullest.” (John 8:44)
Tactics and Schemes of satan (or, how he does his dirty work)
You must remember, before you were in the domain of light, you belonged to satan. He has had his eye on you since birth. Therefore, he knows you intimately; he knows your every wish and desire, your weaknesses, and your vulnerabilities. The truth is, he can play you like a fiddle. So, you might want to ask, “What does he do?” Here are some of his weapons.
- He is a liar, and the best there is. He can plant thoughts in your mind that you think are your own. In fact, he sounds just like your voice: “You’ll never be…”, “you’re less than…”, “you’re unlovable.” Or, “You might as well give up.” “You’ll never be…”, OR, “you can’t…be.” Yielding to these accusations results in fear, doubt, shame, depression, jealousy, hatred, anger, etc. He knows your weaknesses, so you can count on him fanning the flames of destruction..
- Once you’ve bought into these lies, he returns as your accuser: “Did you really think you could do that? You are such a looser.”; “You’ll never be able to live this Christian life! You? Give it up and go back to pleasuring yourself.” Or, “You’re so pathetic! Look at the mess you’ve made; no one will want to have anything to do with you! You should be ashamed of yourself.” And finally, “Go for it! No one will know. After all, you deserve it…”
- When people and relationships are involved, you can count on him fanning the flames of discord. “You can’t trust him/her”; “Look at how she’s looking at him. I think she’s attracted to him. You had better set her straight!” Or, “If I don’t get this promotion, I’m going to make their lives miserable!” Or, “Why should I apologize. If she didn’t act like that, I wouldn’t have to respond like this!”
How do we know these are satan’s lies and tactics? Because they are contrary to the nature of God. God IS love. Therefore, none of these thoughts or accusations are rooted in love. Instead, these lies and accusations are rooted in one of the five triggers used by satan to plant seeds of destruction: fear, pride, unforgiveness, rejection and trauma. But when our lives are led by the Holy Spirit, the fruit is: mercy, grace,faithfulness, self-control, patience, goodness, gentleness, joy, kindness, peace, and LOVE. Be honest with yourself; isn’t that what everyone is looking for? Isn’t there already enough darkness in the world? Next week we will talk about putting this knowledge into action.
OK, Believers… it is time for us to partner in this effort of sharing The Truth with unbelievers. All I ask of you is to either copy, or send via email, these messages week by week to any unbelievers you know. It will be most impactful if you send them in sequence, 1,2,3 etc. With our partnership, we can save souls that will otherwise be condemned. Thank you for supporting this endeavor.
May God Bless you abundantly,
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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