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April 18, 2023
Resist
Beloved do you resist the devil or cave into the temptations he sets before you? (James 4:7 says to submit yourself to God, resist the devil and he will flee (take off running away) from you. We have been sharing the 8 R’s of Freedom by Dr. Henry Wright. You have the ability and the anointing to lay hands on yourself and pray, and God will hear you, answer you, and show you great and mighty things you do not know. (Jeremiah 33:3) Yes and you can lay hands on yourself and be delivered, and you will discover freedom in Christ. Today we are focusing on step six. The first six steps are:
1. Recognize – whatever sin is within you.
2. Responsibility – take responsibility for whatever the issue is you recognized.
3. Repent – Ask God to forgive you for participating in the issue (sin you recognize)
4. Renounce – You must recognize your enemy and renounce the sin.
5. Remove – Get rid of it once and for all.
6. Resist – when the spirit tries to come back (and it will) resist it.
The enemy comes to tempt and torment us and knows the sins of your ancestors and uses it against us. He accuses you before the Lord because he knows his time is short. (Revelations 12:10) How can you resist something you have already removed? The devil comes back to test you to see if you are serious. Once God has set you free, if you go back when you are tempted it is a lot more difficult to get free. Why? A stronghold has formed. A stronghold is a demonically induced pattern of thinking. In Greek, a stronghold is a fortified wall or fortress.
Resisting begins with submitting yourself to God. (James 4:7) The devil doesn’t flee because of Jesus’ name, it’s your obedience to God and His Word out of a pure heart that breaks the power of the enemy in your life. How do you resist? Come close to God and He will come close to you. (James 4:8) The principle of resisting is:
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5)
The Word of God says, ‘Lest Satan should get an advantage of us; we are not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices. (2 Corinthians 2:11) The kingdom of darkness is lazy and arrogant. That’s why we don’t start by casting devils out of people. You can do a lot of damage to someone that way. We recognize the root and what we are dealing with, then healing and restoration will come. Discipleship must occur after someone is healed and delivered and a foundation laid. God’s Word has principles that will create a strong foundation for you to stand on to defeat the enemy. You will recognize the enemy when he comes back to tempt you.
Temptation comes because your mind has not been renewed. (Romans 12:1-2) You renew your mind by hiding the Word of God in your heart, so you don’t sin against God. (Psalms 119:11) Then you set your thoughts on things above, instead of things of the earth. (Colossians 3:2-5) Every day wash your mind with the Word of God. (Ephesians 5:26) The sign you are mature is you can handle strong meat and those who are mature spiritually exercise their senses to discern good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14) When the enemy comes in like a flood, take authority and dominion over him, and cast him down!
Forgive anyone who has wronged you whether you feel like it or not. If you do not forgive you will not be forgiven. (Mark 11:25) Paul said, ‘You always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. (Philippians 2:12) A person who has no rule over your own spirit man is like a city with its walls broken down letting all beasts come in and out. (Proverbs 25:28) Ruling over your own flesh is a choice and I choose to rule my flesh, instead of my flesh ruling me, how about you?
The Bible says when you remove an evil spirit – it will return, to test you. “When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So, it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.” (Matthew 12:43-45) One of two things will happen at this time, you will either recognize and resist it or recognize and agree with it again, believing it is your own thoughts and it will return seven times greater than before. You have the authority to say to this (whatever it is) mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. (Mark 11:23-24) God exalts His Word above His name. (Psalms 138:2) The secret is submitting to God, then resist the devil and he will run away from you. Humble yourself in the sight of God and He will lift you up! (James 4:10) My desire is to change the dimension of your life forever so you can go impact others’ lives, isn’t that what Jesus did?
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