What’s Your Battle?

The  deadly essence of sin:
“Not Believing God”.

Psalms 18 :39 You give me strength for battle;  you make my foes kneel before me.
*God has given us the Power to take a situation and make the best of it no matter the situation.
*His understanding is greater than ours. He sees the big picture. We don’t. When we question or complain, we are playing God. His will is good, acceptable, and perfect (Romans 12:2). We need to trust in Him completely and glorify Him.

Where is the battle raging?
*Where your thoughts are.

What are the strongholds that spiritually imprison people?
* Arguments and opinions.

*And arguments are not merely strongholds, they are weapons of mass destruction.
Adam and Eve (and all of us with them) fell because of an argument. They believed the serpent’s argument and Stopped Believing God.
*That is the deadly essence of sin:
“Not Believing God”.
To not believe God is to ally with Satan, whom Jesus said is “a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth… for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THE BATTLE
God is in control!
Pride would have us take God’s glory and credit ourselves. We are to acknowledge God in all things and give Him the glory.

Most transparent Christians have told me they are continually harassed by former sins.
They say, ” My sin still hangs over my head, and I battle constant guilt over it. I believe the Lord has forgiven me, that his blood is sufficient to cover my iniquity, but I don’t have the peace that comes from that knowledge.”

Many others say, “I believe I’m forgiven, but my mind is continually
bombarded with hellish thoughts.
It can happen anywhere, even in church, and it makes me feel so unclean. I have a hard time believing I am pure in God’s sight.

**These believers and myself sometimes  forget that Satan also tempted Jesus with awful, ugly thoughts
during his wilderness testing.
*Today, the devil tries to make you think you’re hopeless, that God is mad at you.
Dear saint, you are not to listen to those mental invasions. You have to cut
them off, crying, “Holy Spirit, I know you’re beside me. Help me!”

1John 4:6 “The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Truth.”
John 4:24 “God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
*The Spirit of God never conflicts with the Word of God.
*The Spirit of God leads us into the mission of God.
*The Spirit of God always brings glory to Jesus.

ALL of us  who take up the cross and fight the good fight of faith are in a constant battle.
We ALL face evil thoughts—thoughts that come because of our past, or because of a sense of rejection, or simply because we live in wicked, sensual times.
Yet when we apply Christ’s blood to these roots of doubt, it reaches into every cell of our being, including our minds, and thoroughly cleanses us.
(*Like a Vine: Don’t just keep picking the leaves one at a time, thinking you have Beaten them or killed the problem- NO –The Leaves grow back—-YOU need to get to the ROOT and dig the Root up to kill it!!)

We put on the armor of God to be ready. Don’t go into battle undressed:(Eph. 6)
4 ways Satan comes against us, often on the heels of “great spiritual victory:”
a. waves of spiritual depression;
b. condemnation, reminding you of your past, your worthiness;
c. discouragement;
d. bizarre thoughts of temptation out of the blue.
You are not alone in your struggle. He has sent you the Holy Spirit, who knows
how to deal with the enemy and FREE you from ALL bondage. The Holy Spirit is the still, small voice that will guide you and empower you through ALL your battles.

To battle sin is to battle unbelief—or destroy arguments. And in order to battle unbelief effectively, we must press doubts and temptations into specific arguments.
What specifically is being asserted or promised to us?
Only then can we destroy the enemy’s false arguments with true ones.
Remember: The deadly essence of sin:
“Not Believing God”.

*The devil does not want us to think clearly about sin.(We the flesh are “addicted to sin”, no matter what it may be from over eating, gossip, work, drugs, alcohol, sex, business, hobbies, poor relationships, pornography, Worry, lonlieness Etc. Etc. )
* The devil wants to keep things Vague so he can imprison or disarm us.

But Jesus wants us to think clearly. He wants us to know the TRUTH because the TRUTH brings freedom:
***If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32)

*We can’t expect to live in victory if we’re not prepared to fight for it.
* Victory is through the Lord and in Him alone can you trust.(Proverbs 21:31)

I will go before you and will level the mountains;
I will break down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting. men may know there is none besides me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
(Isaiah 45:2-3,Isaiah 45:5-6)

We should love the Lord, our Strength, and our Salvation; we should call on him in every trouble, and praise him for every deliverance; we should aim to walk with him in all righteousness and true holiness, keeping from the addiction of sin. If we belong to him, he conquers and reigns for us, and we shall conquer and reign through him, and partake of the mercy of our anointed King, which is promised to all his seed for evermore.
Pray with me: Holy Spirit, I want to grow in spiritual fruitfulness. I want
to be rid of all hypocrisy, and I want gentleness, patience and love. I know
you still love me, in spite of my lack of these things. So, stand by me and
help me Lord.  In Jesus name. Amen.