Good Morning Meetpastordan Readers…I am really excited about this second part to the subject I started last week. As I stated then, I wanted to introduce you to “our” enemy and his methods and tactics. But before I jump into the “how to win this battle” part to today’s presentation, I want to let Neil Anderson share some fundamental truths so we can have a platform on which to stand.
In his book “The Bondage Breaker”, Anderson tells us that “the only power satan has over us is the power we yield to him.” He goes on to say: “Before we received Christ, we were slaves to sin. Now because of Christ’s work on the cross, sin’s power over us has been broken. Satan has no right of ownership or authority over us. He is a defeated foe, but he is committed to keeping us from realizing that. The ‘father of lies’ can block your effectiveness as a Christian if he can deceive you into believing that you are nothing but a product of your past – subject to sin, prone to failure, and controlled by your habits and emotions”.
The truth is…Christ came to set the captives free (us), and we have “everything we need for living a Godly life” (2 Peter1:3), “but if satan can keep us in bondage by his deception and schemes – and even cause us to doubt the truth of Scriptures – we will live our life accordingly.” Another truth is…we can stay in bondage to the lies we believe, or we can realize the authority we have in Christ and rebuke satan just like Jesus did…with the truth of the Scriptures! Here’s a great one with which to start. (Jesus was speaking to his disciples then, but this truth also applies to his disciples today – us). “I have given you authority over all the powerful schemes of the enemy. You can walk among snakes and scorpion and crush them. Nothing will injure you.” (Luke 10:19) Now let’s revisit the conception of this plan.
“Long ago, even before he created the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.” (Ephesians 1:4-5) Just take a moment and let those two verses soak in. Even before He created the world and Man, God had a plan for our salvation. I guess it’s not surprising for a majestic God, who’s omnipotent, omniscience, omnipresent, Alpha and Omega, Godhead of the Trinity, and Creator of the Universe, to know that even before he created us, we were going to use our free will for something other than for a relationship with Him. And it happened immediately.
As I wrote in last week’s blog, satan and his minions were cast out of heaven and down to earth after a failed attempt at challenging God’s authority. So who should show up in the Garden but satan himself disguised as a serpent, and he deceived Eve in the same manner in which he deceives us today. His lie always casts doubt on God or the truth of his word. “Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden? You won’t die!’, the serpent hissed. God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it” Then he always wraps the caveat in the most alluring and tempting manner. “You will become just like God, knowing everything both good and evil. The woman was convinced. The fruit looked so fresh and delicious, and it would make her so wise!” With that choice came the end of Paradise and the beginning of self-centered “sin nature”, “or human nature.”
In Ephesians 1:10, we are told that “at just the right time, He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.” Romans 5:6 tells us specifically about “just the right time”. “When we (Man) were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.” Wow! “Utterly helpless” is quite an indictment on Man’s inability to overcome the dilemma of Sin through his own effort. But that was no surprise to God. After all, he knows we’re only dust. But again, because of his unconditional, unending, unfailing love for us, he already had a plan in place for our salvation in the person of Jesus Christ. He did for us what we proved without a shadow of a doubt we were incapable of doing ourselves. Overcoming the issue of SIN!
God knows the struggles we have with our flesh, the fallen world in which we live, and he is well aware that we are no match for satan. Therefore his salvation plan not only seals our eternal destiny (forgiveness of sin and eternal life), but also includes the gift of the Holy Spirit so we can honor Him right here, right now by becoming the person he created us to be. Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us: “And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people.” 2Corinthians 3:17-18 reinforces this: “Wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.” This is wrapped up in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can now do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
Luke Skywalker had the “force” with him. Superman had power and ability far beyond that of mortal men. How many of us have walked out of those movies and wished we had that same ability to be an action hero? I know I certainly did, but then reality set in and I had to admit it was only Hollywood. That’s not reality. But today I’ve changed my tune. The fact is…we have a force within us that allows us to be God’s action hero right here and now. All we have to do is plug into that force, and get out of the way. That’s what is meant by walking in the Spirit, or living in the Spirit. And here’s how we do it.
The Holy Spirit does not take over our life or fix our life for us. He empowers us to do that. That’s how we grow in our walk to become more Christ-like. It’s all about our free will and making conscious choices that bring honor and glory to God. This battle is described perfectly in Galatians 5: 16-18: “So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to your sin nature.”
So whether we are faced with an addiction issue, a relationship issue, a health issue, a financial issue or an anger issue…any issue, we do this. We say, “Holy Spirit, give me wisdom, insight, courage, strength, patience, perseverance…any combination or anything else you need…eyes to see, ears to hear, an open mind… BECAUSE I want to make a choice that brings honor and glory to God, OR I want to become the person God created me to be. James 4:10 promises this: “When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.” Nothing more does God want than for us to get out of the way and be dependent on his gift (the Holy Spirit) to guide us into all truth; to comfort us; to be our guide. Just like Jesus said to Jarius when they got word his daughter had died “Don’t be afraid. Trust me.” (Mark 5:36) That’s what walking in the Spirit is. The more we get out of the way and trust the Spirit, the more we experience the abundant life, joy, peace and serenity that Jesus promised. It’s not about you…it’s all about Him!
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May God Bless you abundantly…
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
Just what the Dr. Ordered. I struggle with sharing this message. I often get over zealous about particulars of our of our fallen world and folks ( mainly Christians) just don’t want to hear it. I then figure they are so used to sugar coating, they almost seem offended. I am trying to adopt a more subtle approach. Thanks PastorDan.