How do you resist the enemy? Again don’t do what they want you to do.
If they want you to be enraged, take offense easily, get into self pity, get angry and enter into a rage, etc….these are all very common to people dealing with oppression’s…we are learning how to overcome these and do the opposite.
What is the opposite of self pity? Murmuring and complaining and blaming others? No.
Gratitude.
Be thankful to Jesus Christ that you are saved. Rejoice! Thank Him for your health, Thank Him, Thank Him and Thank Him again and again. Make a list of all the good things in your life, “All good things come from above”, James 1:17. The more you Thank Him the less you will be in self pity or murmuring, and you must kill all self pity, if you want to escape any oppression.
In everything give thanks.
“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thess. 5:18
As Christians we sometimes have a very tough time doing that.
In Numbers Chapters 13-15, God promised them the land flowing with milk and honey. For you, God has provided The Finished Work and has brought you into freedom from all oppression. Why don’t you stop and read those chapters before going on, you will begin to see the similarities between what happened to the Israel and your own life. As you read these chapters, compare the promise of God given to bring the Israelites into the Promised Land to the finished work of Jesus for us.
God told the Israelites He was giving them the land (Ch. 13:2). What happened to the Israelites, happens to us in the New Testament. We look at the natural circumstances and start to complain. Then the enemy tells us that we cannot win this fight. Things in the natural can look very bad and these things can be very real, just like they were to Joshua and Caleb: fortified cities, and very tall men with armor. These circumstances can make us feel like grasshoppers in our own sight.
Anxiety attacks, anger and rage, panic attacks, frightening flash backs, and feelings of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts can be very real. However, when you trust in the Finished Work and rely on the truth of the Word of God, “God has promised me the land”, you will become a mighty warrior and will pull down any other thought but the Word of God. You will be an overcomer and know that you are well able to have victory over any obstacle that the enemy has put in your path.
When the 12 spies Moses sent out came back from spying out the land, ten of them were moaning, groaning and complaining.
Heaven does not want that from us.
We all have been tempted when things get difficult to start complaining, and moaning and blaming God for not taking us out of the situation we are in. We need to repent of blaming God, hold on to the guarantee of the Finished Work, and resist the devil. They will most definitely flee from us.
Paul in Acts 16, was thrown in prison for setting a girl free from a spirit of divination. You can imagine what prisons were like in those days. If he had been like most of us today, he would have been asking, “How could this have happened to us? Get us out of here! We must have messed up somewhere. God must be mad at us!”
What were they doing? Praising and rejoicing.
This is indeed a high bar for all of us, but what an example to us. What would you have been thinking about if you were with Paul in that jail?
Yes, we may be a long way from where Paul was in his thinking, but we can get on this path of thanking God no matter what the situation. It makes demons mad when we thank the Lord when things go wrong.
This is what a committed Christian does: give thanks even when things look bad in the natural realm.
Things looked bad in the natural for Joshua and Caleb, but they kept their eyes on the prize and trusted the Word of God, that they were given the land. Even though in the natural things did not look good: fortified cities, well equipped armies, tall strong men, they had courage and perseverance.
This is what you will need to resist the enemy, and because you are resisting you are in faith (James 2:14-26). Because you are acting, you are in faith. Therefore, what you need to do now is have courage and perseverance to continue to resist until the oppression flees from you. And flee it will!
Paul and Silas, with their backs beaten and bloody, in a filthy prison with rats running around, did not get into self pity and the “poor old me’s!” Demons like it when Christians complain. Their goal is to get Christians to say: “God, it’s your fault.”
This is a horrible thing and it will get us in a lot of trouble. We’ve all dealt with self pity at some point, and we must REPENT when we blame God for our problems..
“In everything give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Get to the place that you are doing that all the time, not just in church, but on Monday morning when things get messy and things are not good at all. Everyone has family problems. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have them. Always say: “Thank you, Jesus” anyway. Your circumstances go up and down, but as a faithful Christian you must always come before your Father thanking Him for your salvation and that the members of your family are saved. Those that aren’t, if you have your prayer language, pray for them in tongues and believe that they will be saved. But you must always come to God in thanksgiving.
Jesus is anointed to preach good tidings, heal the brokenhearted, and set captives free, so put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
Isaiah 61:3 “To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
Self pity is the opposite of praise and thanksgiving. It is a subtle thing. All of us have been through it. It is not a good place to be, and a dangerous place spiritually.
Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice!”
How do you resist the enemy? Again don’t do what they want you to do.
If they want you to be enraged, take offense easily, get into self pity, get angry and enter into a rage, etc….these are all very common to people dealing with oppression’s…we are learning how to overcome these and do the opposite.
What is the opposite of self pity? Murmuring and complaining and blaming others? No.
Gratitude.
Be thankful to Jesus Christ that you are saved. Rejoice! Thank Him for your health, Thank Him, Thank Him and Thank Him again and again. Make a list of all the good things in your life, “All good things come from above”, James 1:17. The more you Thank Him the less you will be in self pity or murmuring, and you must kill all self pity, if you want to escape any oppression.
In everything give thanks.
“In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thess. 5:18
As Christians we sometimes have a very tough time doing that.
In Numbers Chapters 13-15, God promised them the land flowing with milk and honey. For you, God has provided The Finished Work and has brought you into freedom from all oppression. Why don’t you stop and read those chapters before going on, you will begin to see the similarities between what happened to the Israel and your own life. As you read these chapters, compare the promise of God given to bring the Israelites into the Promised Land to the finished work of Jesus for us.
God told the Israelites He was giving them the land (Ch. 13:2). What happened to the Israelites, happens to us in the New Testament. We look at the natural circumstances and start to complain. Then the enemy tells us that we cannot win this fight. Things in the natural can look very bad and these things can be very real, just like they were to Joshua and Caleb: fortified cities, and very tall men with armor. These circumstances can make us feel like grasshoppers in our own sight.
Anxiety attacks, anger and rage, panic attacks, frightening flash backs, and feelings of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts can be very real. However, when you trust in the Finished Work and rely on the truth of the Word of God, “God has promised me the land”, you will become a mighty warrior and will pull down any other thought but the Word of God. You will be an overcomer and know that you are well able to have victory over any obstacle that the enemy has put in your path.
When the 12 spies Moses sent out came back from spying out the land, ten of them were moaning, groaning and complaining.
Heaven does not want that from us.
We all have been tempted when things get difficult to start complaining, and moaning and blaming God for not taking us out of the situation we are in. We need to repent of blaming God, hold on to the guarantee of the Finished Work, and resist the devil. They will most definitely flee from us.
Paul in Acts 16, was thrown in prison for setting a girl free from a spirit of divination. You can imagine what prisons were like in those days. If he had been like most of us today, he would have been asking, “How could this have happened to us? Get us out of here! We must have messed up somewhere. God must be mad at us!”
What were they doing? Praising and rejoicing.
This is indeed a high bar for all of us, but what an example to us. What would you have been thinking about if you were with Paul in that jail?
Yes, we may be a long way from where Paul was in his thinking, but we can get on this path of thanking God no matter what the situation. It makes demons mad when we thank the Lord when things go wrong.
This is what a committed Christian does: give thanks even when things look bad in the natural realm.
Things looked bad in the natural for Joshua and Caleb, but they kept their eyes on the prize and trusted the Word of God, that they were given the land. Even though in the natural things did not look good: fortified cities, well equipped armies, tall strong men, they had courage and perseverance.
This is what you will need to resist the enemy, and because you are resisting you are in faith (James 2:14-26). Because you are acting, you are in faith. Therefore, what you need to do now is have courage and perseverance to continue to resist until the oppression flees from you. And flee it will!
Paul and Silas, with their backs beaten and bloody, in a filthy prison with rats running around, did not get into self pity and the “poor old me’s!” Demons like it when Christians complain. Their goal is to get Christians to say: “God, it’s your fault.”
This is a horrible thing and it will get us in a lot of trouble. We’ve all dealt with self pity at some point, and we must REPENT when we blame God for our problems..
“In everything give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Get to the place that you are doing that all the time, not just in church, but on Monday morning when things get messy and things are not good at all. Everyone has family problems. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have them. Always say: “Thank you, Jesus” anyway. Your circumstances go up and down, but as a faithful Christian you must always come before your Father thanking Him for your salvation and that the members of your family are saved. Those that aren’t, if you have your prayer language, pray for them in tongues and believe that they will be saved. But you must always come to God in thanksgiving.
Jesus is anointed to preach good tidings, heal the brokenhearted, and set captives free, so put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.
Isaiah 61:3 “To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”
Self pity is the opposite of praise and thanksgiving. It is a subtle thing. All of us have been through it. It is not a good place to be, and a dangerous place spiritually.
Philippians 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice!”
Author: Pastor pat Buckley Published on: Aug 20, 2016 @ 04:23
