I'm a Sinner

Sep. 2020 - I'm a sinner (A Spiritual Warfare) I'm sure you've heard many people say that "I have been a fairly good person, because I do not murder or steel or do ugly things, so therefor I don't think that I'll go to hell and I do not need to go to church. Do you think the Bible tell us how to dis-engage with our enemy? How do we identify sin in our lives? Luk 5:8: When Simon Peter saw what had happened, he fell on his knees before Jesus and said, "Go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful man" As Christians we still have to fully grasp how to stand on the promises of God and to release the Super natural power of God working in and thru us. Instead of being weak, the Body of Christ need to be strong. Prayer is more than asking or receiving or thanksgiving and praise. It includes all of this, but let the Bible guide us into a deeper understanding the truth. Eph 6:12 Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. It is clear that the body of Christ (the church) is in conflict with spiritual forces that is working hard against us to destroy us. When you look around you, what do you see? (Where are these spiritual forces?) Paul describes that we face it on a daily basis, in our homes, our work, our neighborhoods and our families. Most of us have never been to war. But we do know if a country is being attacked and that country doesn't know who or where the enemy is, they are in a disadvantage. If the enemy has a secret area within the country, then that's even in bigger danger. For us as God's people, we are going thru this same "un-noticeable warfare" with Satan's stronghold within us. Satan has an un-noticeable piece of real-estate that he occupies and he strikes at the right time just when we are most vulnerable. Eph 6:18 Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. But why must we pray for "the Lord's people? I thought we are safe under Christs rule. We read that "there is a roaring lion walking around trying to devour us". Which means he is in our midst and he has a piece of property in our minds. We also read that as Ambassadors of Christ we must fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. But how can we spread the Gospel with this lion (or stronghold) in the minds? I'm too scared to talk to people. We might say that we get strength, not because of ourselves, but because of our relationship with Jesus. Yes, that's true, but there is more to it than that. What's a strong-hold. The Bible says Satan is the father of all lies and if Satan can get us to believe a lie about our self or about God or about someone else then he can take great advantage of what we believe in our minds. We heard last week that we must not judge. How did you do this past week? I can think of a few. There are many strongholds in our minds: judgmental, short tempered, jealousy, resentment, greed, lust, or bitterness, or rejection, poor self-image or even a divided mind. Can you think of any other short-coming in your life? There are too many to name. Satan has tested each one of us on some or most of these issues, yet we think we're strong, but somehow he found a crack in the wall and sneaked in one or two of these items and is waiting patiently to tempt us to see how strong we really are. Many of us say: but I'm doing my best not to sin. 1 John 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Satan's temptation will continue and he will soon find out where our weak point is and how to present a "subtle lie" for us to believe that lie. Satan will continue to present a lie until we finally accept it then that stronghold and that divided mind will fall down like high brick-wall. What is Satan's ultimate objective? It's to deceive us? He knows that we want a relationship with Jesus and he is searching for an error in our thinking or in a spiritual area that we do not fully understand so that he can divide our minds even more. Satan loves a mind that is divided and he will use this little real-estate that he occupies in our divided minds (this "stronghold of doubt area") in a subtle way. Eg. Is there a person (in or out the church) that you don't like or a person that irritates you, that's the time when Satan will continue to push on that wall until it collapses? Then you realize your shortcomings and you feel guilty. That's when Satan starts accusing you and condemns you that you're a failure and God is disappointed with you and will not get to where you are planning to go. He says: You are a physical being and you have lost your spiritual way. God is punishing you, because God is disappointed with you and that's why you are suffering. Can you relate to this? Did this happened to you once or twice in your life? Just ask me, but you'll need a full day to hear my story. Satan knows that a divided mind stumbles. Jesus warned us about it: "a house that is divided cannot stand" Another question: Does God know your shortcomings? You can ask "where was God when I stumbled"? The answer is "Before you had that problem, God already had the solution" Yes, God knew we will disappoint Him sometime in our lives, so our loving Father cannot be disappointed. We condemn ourselves because we think about and concentrate on Satan's condemnation. We should rather go to Jesus and say: "I cannot fight this battle alone in this physical realm by myself, I need Your help. WHY??? Jesus said: Matt 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". God never condemns any of His children, He wants us to grow and strive to overcome it, but He also knows that we will occasionally stumble and fall. This physical life is "training-ground" to build Godly character and to be faithful servants of Christ Jesus. Mark 13:22 False Messiahs and false prophets will appear. They will perform miracles and wonders in order to deceive even God's chosen people, if possible. Yes, a wolf hiding behind the sheep. Satan will continue to tell lies to tempt us, accusing us that we have lost our way and we're not good enough for God's Kingdom, he says we might as well give up our spiritual life and so many Christians believed that lie. This lie is about the "war in our thinking, our Spirit" and it will never stop. Many times this lie has been programmed in our minds by individuals at a very early age. Let's look at involuntary programming. . Satan loves this. It can be from school teachers, friends (bullying) or even parents can plant negative believes in our minds by saying "you will never become or achieve anything good in life". Those accusations will linger in your mind and Satan will use it against us over and over and those negative lies become a reality. Depression sets in, suicide tendencies crosses the mind. I searched the web: it shows that 1500 people jumped of the Golden Gate Bridge-CA (over 5000 in Canada p/a) Can you think of a time when a bad thing was said to you and it's still lingering in your mind? Satan walks around to devour us when we believe his lies. That little involuntary condemnation that you were told (when you were small) can be used by Satan as a stronghold to push us into a "divided state of mind" with bad consequences and yet we are totally unaware of it. Let's see if there are voluntary strongholds, or program-ming in the mind. Have you heard: "I fear the worst is going to happen" or "I doubt it" or how about "Unbelief" or "short-temper" or "addiction"- CellPhone, TV, money, drinking, the flesh" Satan tests every one of these voluntary beliefs (he occupies a small real-estate in our minds) Satan will use lies to make us belief it, because he is a father of all lies. Every stronghold (or this lie) starts with a "thought" then it moves into a "consideration" this consideration becomes an "attitude", then it becomes an "action" (habit) and this HABIT (or stronghold) is what Satan uses to deceive us. A stronghold is an area of our lives that did not come all of a sudden, it's been there for a while. It's a continual Spiritual warfare. It could be a thought or a habit or something we say with a sharp tongue. That's an area of weakness in our mind. Satan is aware of this weakness that we have not completely overcome and he will use it over and over. (Paul = "that GOOD I want to do, I do not do") If you are unaware of this stronghold of Satan, just ask a close friend, or family or your "spouse". Sometimes you might even defend this weakness, (this stronghold) or you might even find excuses for hanging on to a weakness - "Well it's just the way I was born". Do a test: look at the person next to you (if there is one) and ask: "are there some words I say or a bad habit in my life that you think its wrong" (yes or no - - pause . . . we'll discuss it later ) I do not want to start a physical war between you, what I'm trying to point out is that we are all guilty of harbouring a stronghold in our mind that Satan uses to confuse, to deceive and persuade us that we are not good enough to be called a child of God and to enter into His Kingdom. Good news: God has forgiven us thru the blood of Jesus on the cross (the past, the present and future sins) and when we come to God (just like the prodigal son) and ask for forgiveness, He already knew that we will sin, He knows our heart, and He is faithful and will forgive us (as Jesus said to Peter: forgive not jus seven times but seventy times seven) God will do the same, He is slow to anger, quick to forgive. God is not condemning us, He condemns Satan who is influencing us to break that loving relationship with Jesus. God knows our potential and what we can achieve by the power of the Holy Spirit that was poured out into our hearts and this is what Satan tries to prevent us of thinking about. How do we eliminate this stronghold (habit) in our minds? Mark 8:33 Jesus rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan" "You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns. "The concerns of God"- It's a Spiritual warfare and a reality every believer must face. But the good news is that the Bible directly addresses how to engage our enemy, (Satan), so that we will emerge victorious. 2Cor 10:3-4 We live in this world, but we don't fight our battles in the same way the world does. The weapons we use are not human ones. Our weapons have power from God and can destroy the enemy's strong places. Paul is not referring to a physical "enemy far awy", no, we must use the Spirit of God in our hearts and minds to defeat this stronghold of Satan who is occupying a small real-estate in our minds. Phil 4:8 Finally, children of God, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things. "As a person thinks in his heart so shall you be". A person will speak about what they are thinking of and Satan will encourage people to speak those wrong things. 1 Chron 28:9 Be happy to serve God, because the LORD knows what is in everyone's heart. He knows what you are thinking. If you go to Him for help, you will get an answer. We have to recognize this stronghold of Satan (the source behind our thinking- our flesh vs the Spirit) and with our faces down on the ground at Jesus' feet, we must ask God thru His Word and by the blood of Jesus on the cross to remove every stronghold ( Satan's piece of real-estate) from every corner of our minds. Rom 12:2 Let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to Him and what is perfect. See what David wrote: Pslm 51:6-8 Search my heart O' God and see if there are any iniquities in me, cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean, wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness. Let me name a very powerful satanic stronghold: tongue: Matt 12:36-37 "You can be sure that on Judgement Day everyone will have to give account of every useless word they have ever spoken. Jesus said: We shall worship God in Truth and in Spirit, with a pure heart and heartfelt prayers. Eph 6:10-11 Build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of His mighty power. Put on all the armour that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil's evil tricks. Please go over the 'full armor of God" in Eph 6 and say: Jesus gave us a perfect example: Luke 18:13 The tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, God, have mercy on me, I'm a sinner. The Bible tells us how to dis-engage with our enemy and also how to identify sin in our life? Read God's instruction Book, It's very clear. * * Amen * * * Let's pray . . . . 10