Sunday, June 09, 2024-Apostle BILLEY
The mind and the Word of God (continued n.8)
1 Peter 1 .13
Therefore, gird up the loins of your understanding, be sober, and have full hope in the grace that will be brought to you, when Jesus Christ appears.
James 4.7
Submit yourselves therefore to God; resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Every Christian must learn to guard his thoughts, because the enemy can manipulate them. And for those whose thoughts are manipulated, victory will be hard to come by.
When the enemy succeeds in injecting his will into the thoughts, into the mind of the Christian, he will begin to weaken, become discouraged, saddened to the point of depression, thoughts of suicide all manner of mental illness….
So for this Christian, he will see everything around them as negative, because the devil knows only how to do evil: steal, destroy, slit throats.
So for the Christian to have victory, he must take the Word and put it in his heart to listen to the Lord in his heart.
Unfortunately, Christians often don’t seek out the truth in order to learn how to resist.
1 Peter 5.8
Be sober, be vigilant. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he will devour.
The devil prowls around like a roaring lion, and what we have to do is resist all kinds of attacks.
We must learn to submit our thoughts to God’s Word.
God created Man very good, and when he starts to do evil it means he has been infected by the spirit of evil.
And as long as the evil spirit is in him, that man will be evil.
We have several levels of attack:
** Level 1 – Direct attacks.
It is when the Christian has the Word of God in his heart – and at the moment the devil attacks him – it is at the level of his head, his thoughts – that is to say his logic, his human habits…
The enemy cannot attack the heart directly, but will go through what man has built up: logic, habits, culture…
For example, this Christian is accustomed to resting at midday. Then one day, the pastor calls him and tells him to come to church at noon. What happens next?
In 99% of cases, he’ll answer that he’s busy – and that’s his daily routine.
And this type of thing, of routine can oppose the Holy Spirit.
And he who opposes the Holy Spirit opposes Grace.
** Matthew 4:1 – 3
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil.
2 When he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he became hungry.
3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.
The devil has no body, but he spoke directly to her. He wasn’t inside Jesus, but outside him, yet communicating with him.
Which means that even if we don’t see a person around us on a natural level, we need to know that the enemy can prowl around us in spirit; injecting his thoughts, his will…
When temptation comes, it’s up to us to respond. Jesus won’t do it for us.
And we must respond – resist this temptation according to the love we have for God. So when we hear an evil thought, immediately we must condemn it.
** Genesis 3
1 The serpent was the most cunning of all the beasts of the field, which the Lord God had made. He said to the woman: Did God really say: You shall not eat of every tree in the garden?
2 The woman answered the serpent: We eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden.
Eve was attacked directly by the devil. He attacked her in thought and this discussion took place in spirit.
At that time, Adam and Eve were only two in the garden. The snake is a representation, a symbol of the enemy because of its cunning. It wasn’t an animal that came to speak to Eve physically. But the devil is called the serpent in the Bible, so that we know the spirit that embodies the enemy.
Beloved, you must never think you’re alone. God is within you, but so is the enemy.
1 Peter 5.8
8 Be sober, be vigilant. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he will devour.
** Level 2 – Indirect attacks – Case of a Christian and a pagan.
We have two people:
The Christian has the Word of God within him. Then we have another person who doesn’t have the Word, and the demon is inside that person instead of that evil spirit being outside.
And the devil will use this 2nd person to attack or influence the Christian. So the Christian who lacks discernment will also respond with anger, insults…instead of controlling himself, knowing that it’s the enemy.
Beloved, let’s not fall into this trap again. That’s how it is – let’s discern a pagan doesn’t have God in him. Likewise, if someone pretends to be a Christian, but is in fact a pagan, we can discern by the fruits of their life.
** 1 Kings 19: The prophet Elijah’s example of being attacked by the enemy through Jezebel.
** Level 3 – Indirect attacks – Case with 2 Christians.
Here, you’re used to communicating with the other Christian. And the devil spies on you, eavesdropping on your conversations to drive a wedge between you.
The enemy knows that people’s logic and habits are there – and he’ll be on the prowl to bring them down.
He’ll constantly try to get you to go against each other.
That’s why we need to keep watch and pray.
Beloved, this is a world of darkness.
So, for as long as we live in this world, we will experience these 3 levels.
The more you know about his strategies, the more you’ll be able to resist.
1 Peter 1. 13 Therefore, gird up the loins of your understanding, be sober, and have full hope in the grace that will be brought to you, when Jesus Christ appears.
Man is tempted by what is in his heart.
** James 1.14-17
14 But every man is tempted when he is drawn and enticed by his own lust.
15 Then lust, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin; and sin, being consummated, produces death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers:
17 Every excellent grace and every perfect gift comes down from on high, from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change or shadow of variation.
The Christian already has his own way, his own logic, so the enemy will tempt him.
When we see someone sinning, it has started from their thoughts.
This is how the devil manipulates mankind.
That’s why we must resist.
If we do, grace will overflow into our lives.
** 2 Corinthians 2.11
11 so as not to give Satan the upper hand over us, for we are not ignorant of his designs.
Who shouldn’t give the enemy the upper hand? It’s the Christian in resistance.
Imagine a discouraged Christian.
What can create discouragement in the heart of this Christian?
It’s when he remembers difficulties that seem real to him, saying to himself, I’m praying this isn’t working, I’m still not cured, my situation isn’t changing…
Beloved, you must consult and walk by the Word, settle the problem of negative thoughts by acting always based on the rock of Truth.
Beloved, let’s study and analyze together several cases of temptation in the Word.
**Matthew 12:22-25
22 Then they brought him a blind and mute demoniac, and he healed him, so that the mute man could speak and see.
23 All the astonished crowd said, “Is this not the Son of David?
24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.
25 Since Jesus knew their thoughts, he said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and every city or house divided against itself cannot stand.
Here, temptation by the enemy is indirect. They falsely accused him.
** Matthew 9. 1 -4
Jesus got into a boat, crossed the sea and went to his town.
2 And behold, a paralytic was brought to him, lying on a bed. Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic: “Take courage, my child, your sins are forgiven you.
3 Then some of the scribes said among themselves, “This man blasphemes.
4 And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you have evil thoughts in your hearts?
Here, the logic of these men is that only God the Father can forgive. And instead of asking the Lord Jesus, the devil told them in their minds that this is not normal and that he had no right. And these people have accepted these bad thoughts in them.
In the same way, a person asks God for healing, but begins to wonder in his thoughts whether he will really be healed. If the person accepts this thought, then grace will depart from them, because God reads thoughts.
** Joshua 7:18-21
18 He brought the house of Zabdi near by men, and Achan, son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was appointed.
19 Joshua said to Achan: My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and pay him homage. So tell me what you’ve done, don’t hide it from me.
20 Achan answered Joshua and said, “It is true that I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and this is what I have done.
21 I saw in the spoil a fine coat of Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold of the weight of fifty shekels; I coveted them, and took them; they are hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver is underneath.
Who told Achan to steal these things? And God had said not to steal.
Here, Achan was totally inspired by the devil. God created man very good, and when someone does evil it’s the spirit of evil that has entered him.
As Christians, we must rid ourselves radically and quickly of all evil.
God created you holy to walk with Him – so whenever evil appears in your thoughts, you must resist.
If you get a thought, telling you your brother is bad…- you have to take that thought and throw that away. And from the very first second.
Evil is not part of you, but others have accepted the logic of this world to such an extent that they become one with the devil. And they no longer know how to discern the enemy’s thoughts and violently reject them.
The devil knows the law, he who sins is of the devil.
1 John 3.8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil sins from the beginning.
So what does the enemy do?
He will push the Christian to sin directly or indirectly, going through friends, family, loved ones to influence and push to sin, so that the person comes to him.
Beloved, it’s time to resist.
** Philippians 4:8-9
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; I repeat, rejoice.
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is near.
6 Be anxious for nothing; but in everything let your needs be made known to God by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Moreover, brothers, let everything that is true, everything that is honorable, everything that is just, everything that is pure, everything that is lovable, everything that deserves approval, everything that is virtuous and worthy of praise, be the object of your thoughts.
So for the Christian to worry, the enemy will touch everything that is precious to you, the desires of your heart.
For those who love money, material… he’ll go through that to get to you.
If you depend on your bike for your living, for example, it will break that. That’s how you’ll start to worry when God is always there with you. This is how the enemy keeps the Christian from evolving.
The devil can tell you: if you don’t go to work, you can’t eat… You have to reject that! You belong to a powerful God who can solve any situation.
This is a world of tests. You can’t stop the rain from falling, but you can stop it from falling on your head by using an umbrella.
Brother, Sister, don’t forget God’s presence while you’re tempted, and don’t listen to the devil.
Walk with God wholeheartedly, see his greatness, walk no more in the flesh. Life is about God, not about us. At the end of all this, the Lord must say to you: “valiant hero, enter my Presence”.
LET US PRAY →
Holy Spirit, give me the strength to resist the works of the enemy.
Lord, give me the strength to reject every evil thought.
Help me to die for the world and live only for you.
Help me to walk with You with all my heart.
My God, you have redeemed me, I belong to you.
Lord, may my life be an example.
Be my only treasure.
And let me glorify you every day.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.