HOW THE ENEMY OPERATES

I realize fully that the title of this post is very broad indeed and that we are only going to be able to touch on a few high points in this brief article.
Ephesians 6:12 says, " For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
Even though our enemies are not people, satan constantly uses people to carry out his perverted dirty work. These ranks of demon spirits are always trying, through whatever means available, to come against the Child of God.

Satan has four big objectives when it comes to hindering the work of God in our lives.
1- Satan wants to cause us to doubt God's Word.
In the garden, he planted a seed of doubt in the mind of Eve and the results devastated the whole human race. See Gen. 3:1

2- Satan tries to distract us from spiritual matters. He wants us to put our focus earthly matters. He will use television, cell phones, computers, relatives, bad news, etc.. to get our mind off the Word and onto things with no eternal value.

3- The devil works very hard to disable us from the service of our Lord. Satan will do anything to stop us from making an impact for Christ. Satan rejoices if he can discredit us in any way. He wants to destroy our testimony. The enemy wants to keep us preoccupied with anything that prevents us from our callings before God.

4- And, satan wants to destroy us physically. One of his most effective efforts involves attacking our bodies. Sickness, stress, addictions, just to name a few, often consume a persons entire life. Of course, our adversary would much rather have us focus on our bodies than on spiritual things.

Satan wants to render you helpless and useless in the everyday battles that you face. He is looking for ways to destroy you. But you and I do not have to be destroyed by the devil. Jesus Christ defeated him at the Cross. You and I can walk in total victory on a daily basis. See Colossians 2: 10, 14, 15

Child of God, trust in what Jesus has done for us at the Cross. Put your faith in Him. Resist the devil. Depend on God;s Spirit. Plead the Blood of Jesus over yourself, your family, your life and your ministry.
In Jesus, we are victorious.

The roadblock of Pride

Often, there are many roadblocks to a person being blessed. One of the major roadblocks is pride. Pride is a really high opinion of oneself.

Lucifer fell because of pride. See Isaiah 14: 12-14. Pride caused Lucifer to attempt an overthrow of God's kingdom. He was cast down and lost his position. How could an angel think he could overthrow God's kingdom? Obadiah 3 says, " The pride of your heart has deceived you." You see, self-deception takes place when pride enters. Pride will cause a person to think they are smarter than God.

Lets look at some [ only some] of the manifestations of Pride.
1- Not seeking God in prayer and in His Word.
2- Disobeying God's Word and Spirit.
3- Refusal to worship and give to God.
4- Forsaking the assembling in church.
5- No repentance when there is sin.
6- More concern with the opinion of others than with God's opinion.
7- Pursuit of pleasure, comfort, and convenience instead of commitment and surrender to God's will.
8- Rebellion-- unwillingness to submit to spiritual, family, or secular authority.

Those are merely a few of the pride indicators that we could list. What is Gods solution? HUMILITY!
God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Casting our cares on the Lord acknowledges that our heavenly Father is the One who will take care of our cares... As we humble ourselves and resist the devil, God's grace will strengthen, perfect, establish, and settle us.

Faith and Faith alone can save

In the book of Romans Ch. 1 verses 16 & 17, the Bible says, " For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the Power of God unto Salvation to everyone who believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the Righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the Just shall live by Faith."
If a person is too proud to bend their spirit before God, then that person will never get to heaven. They may be a kind, gentle, loving person; they may even give to charity. But if pride keeps them from admitting their need for Christ, then they are not accepting His gift of salvation.

Many people are in hell today because their heart was too hard and they really believed that their mind was too smart for the God who created them. There is only one to make it to heaven. Holy God can not tolerate sin in His presence, and God decreed that the penalty for sin is death. " For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23 declares... And Romans 3:23 is clear that ALL men are sinners. So, God has provided a bridge between Himself and mankind. Merciful God sent His Son Jesus Christ to die in man's place. Jesus sacrifice is all that is necessary for a person to enter into a relationship with God.

A person does not work or reason their way into heaven. The bridge that spans the gap between each person and God is crossed only through an acts of faith. By acknowledging the need for a savior and by accepting Christ;s death on the Cross as the payment for their sins. The truly wise people of this world are the ones who have accepted this truth and have bowed at the feet of the worlds redeemer; Jesus Christ