Sunday, August 23, 2026
Apostle Billey
God is the source of love. He loves everything He has created. But He loves humanity in a special way. So, in return, we must love Him as well.
He does not force us to love Him, because love is a matter of choice.
In heaven, Lucifer took God’s eyes and placed them on himself. So right then and there, he fell. It was this same temptation that he used to bring Eve down.
God created everything; the entire universe is in His hands. He controls everything. If someone travels from the United States to Europe, it seems like a long trip, but for God, it’s as if that person hadn’t even moved. Even if you were to hide underground, God sees everything and He is always in control.
Lucifer thought he was strong when he rebelled. And that evil led him to fall: that means no longer being on God’s side.
But it’s when God is in charge of everything that everything goes well. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He sees everything.
On earth, others often forget God. Then they realize that their lives are going nowhere. Others are bitter and doubt God. Yet it is God who created everything.
Many people don’t realize that it is God who holds everything in His hands.
If God were to leave the earth, everyone would be crushed. But He does not do that to me, because too many will perish and go to hell because of their sins.
God is patient because He is love. He thus enables the message of the Gospel to spread everywhere, desiring that the world return to Him.
No one can free themselves from the evil they have created; only Jesus can set them free.
So He sent His Son Jesus, who came as the Savior.
Luke 4
1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
And before beginning his ministry, Jesus fasted. And that was when the serpent came to tempt the Lord Jesus.
The devil’s presence allows us to decide whether we love God or not, whether we turn toward evil or toward good.
Even the Son of God was tempted. How much more so, then, will we be?
Jesus loves the Father, so all His decisions are based on the Father.
That is why we must do the same.
It’s normal to be tempted.
But our decisions will either demonstrate our love for God or not.
Luke 4
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
The stone is bread. It is the symbol, the revelation of God’s word.
And the devil knows who Jesus is.
The Lord Jesus said this:
Matthew 16.18.And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Bread is the word of God.
But as luck would have it, the foundation on which the church is built is food. So Jesus resisted and rejected it.
Jesus fasted for 40 days and thought about His Father’s will. All He wanted was to remain in His Father’s presence.
It’s as if the snake were telling him, “Think about yourself, about your body.” So that man may be connected to worldly things rather than to spiritual things.
It’s very subtle.
That’s what temptation is all about.
We must use our spiritual weapons.
We are spirits, and we must do everything as spirits: think, walk…
We just use the body. Those who are in heaven—their bodies have returned to dust, and it is their spirits that are in heaven.
The body does not go to heaven because it comes from dust.
But the serpent wants man to focus solely on the body. And neglects the mind.
Why is he doing that?
Because your strength lies in your mind.
When your mind is weak, everything is weak.
When you have a strong mind, you will be strong; you will prevail and conquer your demons. That is why we eat the Word. Because it’s like food to us.
The Lord wants us to be strong.
Our strength is spiritual, not physical.
If I have a physical weapon in front of me. How do I use it?
Using my hands.
And this hand is physical. But it is the mind that uses the body.
Those who go to heaven leave their bodies at the hospital. That means the body can’t do anything without the mind. We are spirits.
Thus, the physical weapon cannot be used without the mind.
The body can do nothing without the mind. It is not the body that uses the mind. It is the mind that uses the body.
That is why, when the devil succeeds in controlling a person’s mind, he is then able to control that person’s life.
A weak mind is a weak soul, a weak body.
Luke 4
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
The food for my spirit comes from God Himself—the Word of God.
The devil wanted to tempt Jesus into feeding His body and neglecting His spirit.
That means that no matter what the devil tries to do, you’re the winner—if you understand that…
When the devil attacks, he isn’t sure he’ll succeed. But he’s going to make sure you fall into his trap. So it comes about through mind control.
You’re a champion if you nourish your mind.
You must take in everything that comes from God’s Word so that you may be strong.
Luke 4
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
How was it possible to show him all of that in an instant?
Spiritually, he showed him all the kingdoms of the earth in an instant—that is, through thoughts and imagination.
Someone might come and knock on your door—that’s not a sin—but when they come in, that’s when the trouble starts.
These were thoughts that came to Jesus. Given the way it happened, Jesus knew it didn’t come from God.
And as soon as that thought crossed his mind, he didn’t pursue it any further. Right away, he blocked it; he resisted it.
When a bad thought comes to mind, you must reject it. In the end, it’s not a sin yet, but you have to resist.
So don’t let the devil in when he knocks on your door.
These examples of temptation serve as models for us to learn how to overcome the devil every day.
Out of love for us, Jesus came to show us the way.
Consider this,
A coworker, Y, comes up to you to talk about someone else, saying, “X is mean—he’s really mean… He’s throwing a wrench in our plans…”
From that moment on, when you run into this coworker X and greet him coldly, it means you have accepted the negative words or thoughts.
You’ve accepted what drives you to hate… So, you let yourself get infected by Y.
We don’t do that. You are a child of God. You must preserve yourself for God.
Beloved, stand firm; Jesus came to show us the way. Accept only God’s thoughts.
So what should we do?
To do this, knowing that you must have the truth as your belt and the helmet of salvation, you have the shield of faith. Then you use your sword of the Spirit to destroy any attempt to take your life.
So you forgive X and decide to continue loving him.
So, by having resisted or rejected those feelings and continuing to love your colleague deep down inside, you’ll be able to greet him and look him in the eye without any problem.
Through Jesus, we can overcome all these temptations.
Beloved, if a thought or a word you hear causes you to become proud, bitter, or hateful… We must not accept it.
On the other hand, if what you hear exalts God and glorifies Him, you will know that it comes from God. That is how you will always remain on God’s path.
And by acting this way, you will always be held in high regard—even at work—and you will get a promotion, because you are calm and a source of peace and harmony.
At work, you should greet everyone with joy in the Spirit of Christ. And your light will shine.
Luke 4
6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
The devil has a pretentious, presumptuous nature. He knows he’s already dead, lost—there’s no hope left for him. So he gives it his all every time without holding back.
But you must stand firm and disarm him every time with your powerful weapons: faith, prayer…
He wanted Christ to admire him and bow down before him. For he had taken the glory of the kingdoms from Eve and Adam.
To bow down, you must covet and desire what he has.
And as soon as that desire is within a person, that is when they will want to obtain what they desire.
You must discern your desires and determine whether they come from God or not. Because the devil often uses this to tempt people. In addition, he himself can make a wish.
We must control our desires.
Jesus does not envy anyone. Be mindful of what many people want.
Someone who craves money. The manager calls him and asks him to come in as a substitute in the middle of Sunday. You’ll be paid double.
And the brother turns around to go to work, shouting “Victory!”
And so, the devil will rejoice because he knows what it means to be connected to God. He knows that the person is neither very strong in the faith nor committed to Christ.
If someone turns down his manager’s offer—despite the salary offer—he will feel joy in his heart. That’s Dad’s signature.
God did not leave Satan here to torment us. If that’s the case, it means that person opened the door to Satan to wear him down.
For God has placed us above Satan, and we are powerfully armed. God’s hand is upon us.
There is a line separating the devil from us.
If you stay on God’s side, you will always be victorious. But if you set foot in Satan’s kingdom, he’ll take your foot.
What to do?
Beloved, stay within your territory. There are all kinds of blessings from God. And we evangelize this community to bring others to Christ.
Don’t listen to the enemy; don’t let it in through your thoughts: anxiety, depression, loneliness…
You are a child of God; you belong to God. You are filled with the glory of God. Keep this.
Don’t let the world let you down. God is with you. Even if you can’t see Him, know that you are safe in His hands.
Never be afraid; when faced with temptation, strike the enemy and move forward. God loves you. Every decision you make should move you forward.
IN THE NAME OF JESUS, let us pray… →
Lord Jesus, I bless Your name
I bless You for Your grace and Your power in my life.
Lord, I surrender myself to You.
In the name of Jesus, I keep my thoughts focused on God.
I declare that I am more than a conqueror.
Because I belong to Jesus.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.