A DEFEATED FOE

 

     Isn’t it wonderful to know that satan has been defeated by Jesus Christ.  John reminds us that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil.  Sin started with man and the results was he was kicked out of paradise and satan has exploited that.  It got so bad God had destroy the world with the flood. 

     After the flood God called Abraham to be his special man in the world.  Abraham believed God and he was declaring righteous and a man of faith.  Satan was very busy during this time tempting people to follow a pantheon of gods.  Behind every hatred or corruption is satan.  Satan attacks three ways, accusation, temptation and deception.  Satan also comes as an angel of light. 

     Jesus Christ came to set people free from sin, hell and the grave.  His death, burial and resurrection gave mankind freedom and victory.  We must know the motive and operation of satan to be able to defeat him.

     Satan has claim authority over the worldly system.  He has dominion over sinners.  He blinds people to the truth.  He is the father of all lies.  He is the one helping people to disobey God.  He slanders the saints.  He opposes the righteous.  He tries to ruin body and soul through sin.  He preys on the weak and vulnerable. 

     The Christian must employ the word of God, prayer, the armor of God and be fearless.  Remember satan is defeated, he runs from those who resist him in faith and the power of Christ.  Christ is going to fight for us and will give us peace.  We need to know we have divine assistance and help.  In fact, the angels of the Lord camp around those that fear and serve the Lord.  The Lord is our shield and buckler.  We have the victory so lets use it.

FEEDING OF THE 5000

 

    In the story of the feeding of the five thousand we learn that the physical realm can only be fed for a time, but the spiritual will always be fed when you are connected with the Lord.  Did you know that billions are spent every week on lotto tickets.  A person can spend their entire life trying to satisfy their carnal nature.  Mick Jagger sang a song stating he cannot get any satisfaction.  How true. 

     In the feeding of the five thousand people saw Jesus as a miracle worker but not anything more and that is often the case today.  Jesus is misunderstood.  Jesus is the giver of life, and he came for the whole person.  He came to give both eternal and abundant life. Jesus came to give is living water an face that cannot spoil. 

     Jesus gives us an overflowing cup.  He gives us a fullness of blessing.  He gives joy.  He gives a fullness of God.  He gives a fullness of Spirit.  He gives wisdom.  Jesus c called himself the bread of life.  He will always satisfy those that are hungry and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled. 

      What the world gives keeps you wanting more.  What Christ gives fills you to overflowing.  The things of this world last for a moment.  The things of God last for eternity.

JOHN THE BAPTIST

 

     The John the Baptist was an old-time preacher he was fearless in the face of evil.  He spoke against corruption in any form.  He told people to repent and not play games with God.  We need those types of people today.  He spoke against a corrupt religious system that was nice on the outside but corrupt on the inside.

     It is easy to just go with the flow, but that type of view is going to destroy you.  We need more people who stand on the Bible and live for the Lord.  You walk under the unction of the Holy Spirit.

You need reformation and revival.  John urge people to be righteous.  We cannot be living like the world because the Lord hates the world. 

     John was a man who steps from the presence of the Lord the presence of men.  He had a fire from God that burned in his soul.  He was a man of prayer.  True power id found in the prayer closet.  John preached for a verdict he wanted to repent.  John also point not to himself but to Jesus Christ and that is what we must do as well. 

     John was preparing the way of the Lord and we are well.  John was a signpost to God and we are as well our lives must point o God.  So today be fearless, walk in righteousness, stay in the presence of God and point people to Jesus.

HEED

 

Oct 21 – Heed - Isaiah 64:10-11

 

     The prophets sees that the sacred cities have been turned into a wasteland.  Both the area of Zion and Jerusalem itself.  The temple where generations of Israel worshipped the Lord has been burned with fire.  All they treasured now lies in ruins.  Yu can hear the heart of the prophet breaking.  He then requests that the Lord no longer hold Himself back.  He asks the question, “Lord will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?  Isaiah sees the future.  His knows what is coming that is why He wrote it down and hundred years before it happens.  There is still time and he hope that Judah will heed it.

WISE SAYINGS

 

     Don’t ever let someone tell you the way of the devil is easy.  The Bible says the way of the transgressor is hard.  Ask the drunk, the prisoner and the drug addict.  The devil comes to rob, kill and destroy.  That is not easy but hard.  Living in the past keeps a person from truly embracing the future.  Living in the past will never make the present God’s gift for the day.

     When you grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord every day.  You are making progress in faith to overcome anything.  The only way to stay strong and vigorous is to go to God daily for his strength and power.  The lesson we learn from manna in the wilderness is to trust God daily for his provision. Like breathing moment by moment so we must trust God moment by moment to keep us.

     The folly of many is that they believe they can store up for a lifetime what was meant for a moment.  A person never becomes anything until they take his first step good or bad.   Here is a lesson of reality.  If you never take a drink, you never become a drunk.  If you never smoke a

Cigarette you never become addicted to nicotine.

1 JOHN 2:26-29

 

26 These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.

 

    John is writing this letter because there are those who are trying to deceive you.  The Gnostics who were peddling their form of Christianity and the Judaizers who were telling them that they needed the law as well as Christ.  One was taking away from the truth and the other was adding.  In both cases it was deception and a lie.  The devil is always trying to altar the truth of the gospel it is only those thoroughly grounded in the word and led by the Holy Spirit that are able to see through it.

 

27 As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

 

     John then once again reminds his hearers, readers, and audience there is an anointing which you received from Christ and it dwells, is part of you.  The anointing refers to the indwelling Holy Spirit who teaches, guides, and empowers all believers in Christ, which conveys being set apart, consecrated, or endowed for a divine purpose.  All Christians receive the Holy Spirit at conversion, which permanently abides in them and equips them for truth and godly living. 

     So, because of this anointing they have no need for anyone to teach you.  This means they will be able to tell truth from a lie.  His anointing means the Holy Spirit teaches you all things.  Jesus said that the Holy Spirit takes what He hears and passes it to us.  He teaches you what is a lie and what is truth.  The Holy Spirit also confirms what we have been taught and these truths remain in us. 

 

28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.

 

     John then calls the listeners and readers his little children.  A reference to his perception of them as an older man and a spiritual father.  He encourages them to continue with what they have been doing and follow his previous instructions and encouragements. 

     The reason is clear that when He appears.  John is referencing the soon coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.  John like all apostles believed that Jesus Christ could back at any time.  Today most of us subscribe to this idea that either through the portal of death or the rapture His coming for us is soon and immanent. 

     When that event happens, we will stand in confidence and not in shame because we believed, practiced and showed the anointing and the abiding we did in Him.  Like the wise virgins we kept our lamps full of oil so when the bridegroom came, we were ready and able to enjoy the wedding.

 

29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.

     John then points out that if you know He is righteous. This points out that true knowledge of God leads to a conviction of His righteousness, which in turn influences one's conduct and actions. Righteousness in this context is about living in a way that reflects God's character, which includes obeying God's commands, loving fellow believers, and walking in truth and purity. The verse connects being born of God with living righteously, indicating that a true relationship with God results in a transformation that manifests in righteous actions.  When you know Christ is righteous you follow His example and live it before others.  This demonstrates that you are born of God and know Him not in the head but in the heart.

1 JOHN 2:24-25

 

24 As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.

 

     John then addresses his audience.  As for you listening to this letter being read.  Let what you have heard remain in you.  The word abide in the bible means, to remain, stay, continue, or dwell in a lasting, faithful, and intimate relationship—especially describing the believer’s ongoing connection with Christ.  It came to you at the beginning when you first were taught it.  Let is stay in your heart and mind.  Let it be your action and activity.

     If you heard from the beginning stays and remains in you.  This will be the foundation of your being the temple and the abode of the Holy Spirit who points to the Father and the Son.  You will walk in unity with the Godhead and will have all the benefits of that relationship and truth.

 

25 This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.

     So, the promise has been given and executed.  Jesus Christ gave this promise in the upper room and now John is once again relating this truth.  John was there and he recorded it in his gospel and now he is once again reminding his audience of that.  The promise made to all who call on the name of the Lord and confess Him as Lord and Savior is eternal life.  Eternal life in the Bible is the gift of a personal, ongoing relationship with God through Jesus Christ, beginning now and continuing forever.  In Scripture, eternal life is not merely unending existence or a long lifespan; it is life from God that is characterized by fellowship with Him, freedom from sin, and spiritual vitality