Angels and Demons Part X, “Taking autority over the devil and his demons” Bible Study 12/01/10

Posted on December 3, 2010 by growintheword

Angels and Demons Part X

Taking authority over the devil and his demons

Synopsis of Bible study 12/1/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

 

As children of God, we have been given authority. This came when God gave Peter the keys to heaven and he said whatever he bound on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. This was power between two dimensions. This was power in the earth realm, over principalities, over demon attacks we experience, and power in the heavenly realm.

 

To get authority:

1.      We have to understand that Satan appears as an angel of light. Fallen angels try to appear as ministers of righteousness.

2.     Paul warns how false prophets show up. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 says 13For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. –There are people who operate in the office of Minister or Apostle, but are actually ministers of Satan. They specialize in looking righteous, but they are not. As children of God, we have to know that everything that looks sound is not sound. Everything that proclaims to be called by God may be called, but not called by God.

3.     Satan is trying to get you to buy into doctrines of devils 1 Timothy 4:1-2 says 1Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; -Why is this important? Doctrines of devils suggest that there is a way to exist while living beneath God’s word. Satan wants to tell you that living God’s way is unrealistic. Satan wants you to accept the fact that you can live beneath God’s word, this way another reality is created. What used to be up is now down. As a result, people start attaching stuff to sin, so we can live with it. As a result, it creates another culture that says we are crazy trying to live by this word, because it is impossible and out of date.

4.     Satan is trying to get an advantage over you. You can’t let him get the advantage. We are not ignorant of Satan’s devices. At the end of the day, we are keenly aware that Satan is trying to set snares. The Holy Spirit in us is a great discerner of this.

5.     Satan tries to set snares. 1 Timothy 3:6 says 6Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.-You can’t put people new to the faith into leadership positions. Verse 7 says 7Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. – Everyday we wake up, the devil is setting a snare to try and capture our destiny.

How do we ward off these snares or traps?

1.     Remember the circles we drew. We equated the heart as the essence of a person. Psalm 119:11 11Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. –Logos– This is the Greek word for the word “word.” We get the word logic from this Greek word logos. This means to us that Gods word is his logic.

2.     Remember that diagram that we drew (at the beginning of this series)? The word you get every week on Sunday morning is a word we try to understand. We first receive it in our intellect which is part of our outer realm. This is the same realm where your ear gate and your eye gate are located. Now the intent of the word is for it to get into our spirit. If it stays in your head, it will collide with your logic and our logic will override God’s word. This is why some people think tithing is not logic. In their mind they are trying to process the word logically. Ex- Remember the 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread? Logically it doesn’t make sense. This is why the bible reminds us of what God says when he says, “My ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts.” This means this word has to make it past our mind and into your spirit. Once the word makes it into your spirit, the Holy Spirit breathes on it and pushes it back out to our flesh. Then our flesh comes under submission and we begin to live out what the word says to do. We have belief, but we ask the Lord to help our unbelief. If your flesh never corresponds with what is in your spirit, then you act out in your flesh, contrary to what you know you should do. When you allow God’s word to get into your spirit, you logic becomes God’s logic.

Six things to think about (how to avoid giving place to the devil)

1.     You have to avoid or flee from all forms of witchcraft and cults including books about witchcraft, sorcery, fortune telling, trances, hypnosis, horoscopes, séance, astrology, casting spells, and etc. Leviticus 19:31 says 31Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God. – All of these open the door in allowing the devil to get a foothold into your life. When you exercise in any of these, you authorize somebody who doesn’t even have a right to be in your life (the devil), an opportunity to come in. We are giving given the devil access in this area when we operate in these areas.

2.     Beware of your music. It is a powerful tool either for good or evil. Seducing sprits thrive in the arena, because music lulls you to sleep, sedates a person’s spiritual sensitivity. The rock beat, in particular, is known to call up evil spirits and satanic rituals. Are we saying only to listen to gospel music only? The answer is no. Any music that speaks of love and relational edification is good. What we do want you to understand is you need to pay attention to what you are listening to. Don’t listen to stuff that will turn your spirit away and lull you to sleep in the spirit. Ex- There is a difference between listening to a love songs and a song that says, “I’ll die for her!” What do think person listens to on their way to rob a bank?  – If you fool with any of these, you give the devil access. What do you do listen to when you go out creeping? I am sure it is not “I will trust you in the Lord”. The answer is we normally put on something that sedates our sensitivity and moves us far away from being spiritual. Ex- Pay attention to this. Do you remember Lucifer (the Devil)? In heaven was over music. The reason he got cast out of heaven along with a 3rd of the angels, is because he was sick of the glory going to God. God cast him and his angels out as a result of his rebellion. Now just because Satan got cast out of heaven, doesn’t mean he stopped music. Since God got glory in heaven Satan figures that maybe he should get the glory down here on the earth. As a result, he got into our music. Imagine the manipulative paradox, social and spiritual illusion, and conflicted reality of this moment played out in the drama of music in this realm. Ex- An artist can sing while calling you a B and a Wh, tell you to kiss his A, and say F you, then he will get up and say , “Thank God for his award.” We are not judging, but imagine how disillusioning this could be to someone that is trying to figure this out. Music can mess up your head. Imagine songs like “You will always be mines”. This is a stalker song. What about, “I knocked the window out your car”?  You might think you are mature enough to think it won’t bother you, but in this case Satan is not after you. If he can’t get you through music, he will turn his attack on your children. You are listening to it, but you kids suffer the attack. Ex –Your son hears the negative things in a song and begins to think that this is the way he has to act to be a man. Pay attention to what you are feeding to your spirit.

3.     Realize that the television is a common vehicle for allowing every kind of evil spirit imaginable into your home. It’s governed by the prince of the power of the air (the Devil). This is why reality TV is so popular. – The devil is trying to create a whole new reality, so another generation will think this is normal. 5 or 10 yrs from now, what we know as traditional marriage won’t exist. Our kids will think it is normal to live in a house with more than one wife.

4.     Understand that knowingly practicing sin gives Satan a legal right in your life. 1 John 5:18 says 18We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. – Satan has no right to touch a child of God who is not sinning. Cleanse your home of any possessions that displeases the Lord such as Books, Magazine, statues, etc… All of these open a door to the enemy.

5.     Break ancestral curses by the Holy Spirit. Evil spirits will continue their maladies down the family line until the cycle is broken by the power of God.

6.     Submit yourself to God. When you resist the Devil he will flee from you. James 4:7 says 7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 1 Corinthians 10:21 says 21Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. -You cannot do what God wants you to do and do what the devil wants at the same time. You cannot be in church and shouting and then do that afterwards (going out into the world and doing something that represents the exact opposite.)

Exercise

1.     Your “this and that” consists of at least 3 things. By this we mean what are 3 things that you do that are completely opposite of the things you do that represent God? Write them down.

2.     You got to choose who you will serve this day. Joshua 24:15 says 15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

3.     Daniel saw a lot of visions. In Daniel 10:13 says 13But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. – He saw the kingdom of Persia. What we see Daniel saying is there was an attempt to prevent what God was trying to do, but God sent an angel to protect him.

4. You have angelic help to help you with what is on that list. Daniel 10:3 says3I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. – Why can’t you then stop doing what is on your list (written down on #1). How many of you wrote down something down on your list at #1 yet you really love the Lord and you feel that you are really saved? The issue is what is on the list. You won’t overcome the things that are on your list in the flesh. If you could, you would have done it by now. You have to allow the word to come into your spirit and bring your flesh to be under submission. This is why when some things can only be dealt with by prayer and fasting.

Demons should be afraid of us

1.     Historically, the Devil ran from Jesus. Matthew 8:29 says 29And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? – The devil historically has run from Jesus. In John 14 Jesus proclaimed that greater works than him would we do. If this is true, why aren’t demons running from us? It is because we are afraid of the devil. We are not supposed to run from devil he is supposed to run from us. Ex- Dogs for example sense fear. If a Chihuahua (chiwawa) senses that you are afraid, that dog believes he or she is 10 ft tall. That dog will run you. Why do you think dogs bark at cars? It is because they think the cars are running from them. The truth is dog is really barking at something that could potentially kill it. Like the dog, the devil is barking at you knowing that you could turn around and put this to death, but if you run, you give the devil more power than he really has.

2.     How did we overcome this? We overcame by the blood of the lamb. Revelation 12:11 says 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

How do we take authority over attacks? We plead the blood. We are dealing with laws and principalities in two realms. Now a plea is a statement of conviction. When a person is standing in the court room hearing the charges that are raised against them, they make a plea. They are saying regardless to what they have against me, they plead this because they are convicted about what they believe is right or wrong. When you plead the blood, it is rooted in a conviction about the power of the blood. When you understand in Genesis where Adam and Eve sinned after being beguiled by the serpent, you realize that this is when sin entered the world. The wages of this sin was death. Men throughout the Old Testament had to deal with their sin issues. They had to bring sacrifices (lambs and bullocks) to be killed and their blood sprinkled at the altar. Once the blood was shed, the priest would go behind the veil and make statements of forgiveness on behalf of those who brought sacrifices. There become a time where there was more sin than lambs and bullocks to cover these sins. When the blood lambs and bullocks it wasn’t’ enough, God would send his son to be the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus shed his blood. He even shed it before the cross. He was whipped 39 times. It was part of a prophetic utterance prophesied by Isaiah. Isaiah said “Jesus would be wounded for our transgressions and bruised by our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes we would be healed”. Jesus was bleeding when they put him on the cross. As Jesus blood was shed as he was nailed to the cross, his blood was transforming power. His blood would do what lambs and bullocks couldn’t do. His blood would blot out sins for many generations. Sin was brought in with one man (Adam) and it would be taken out by another man (Jesus). When Jesus said it is finished, the veil was rent into. There was no more need for a priestly confession. Watch this typology (where you see something in earlier scripture that will happen later), in Exodus, when the death angel rolled through Egypt. The Israelites were told to blood on the door post. When the death angel came by and saw this blood, he would pass over their house. The death angel killed the first born of the Egyptians, but passed over the children of Israel. Wherefore the blood is, the death angel must pass over. When Jesus said it is finished, he gained the authority over death, sin, and the grave. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “Oh death, where is thou sting. Oh grave where is thou victory. The sting of death is sin, power of sin is the law, but thanks to God who gave us the victory through Jesus Christ. The bible says be yea steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in work of the Lord, because your work is not in vain. Now Satan is a defeated foe. He knows, but since he is a sore loser. If there is a loser, there has to be a victor, this why we have to choose what side we are going to be on. Will you be on the winners or losers side? If Satan is a loser, he wants you to be a loser. He is trying to make you lose your mind, your family, your money, and your career! He doesn’t know that if you know what you know, you can speak to him from a place of authority. When you plead the blood, you remind him of what happened at Calvary. He does not have authority over your life and has to therefore pass over you. You need to plead the blood over your house, finances, and every situation! The song writer says it is the blood thaaat reaches to the highest   mountain and flows to the lowest valley… It will never loose its power! Plead the blood!

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Evolution to Revolution Part III “Stay there”, Sermon 11/28/10

Posted on December 1, 2010 by growintheword

Evolution to Revolution Part III

Stay there

Synopsis of Sermon 11/28/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker

TEXT: 1 Corinthians 15:58 says 58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

It is important to understand that what God does for us in our lives is for his glory. God never moves without glory being attached. God does not engage in relationship without the resources to back it up. When God bring us into relationship with him, there is no deficit of joy, peace, or goodness. There simply is no deficit, because God has to the resources to back it up. He has the resources to give us that will allow us to fulfill the vision that he has for our lives. The enemy specializes in bringing in frustration and fatigue in our lives. The enemy wants to prevent God will from happening in our lives. The ultimate goal for him is to make God’s promise unattainable. He can’t take it, so he tries to make life so difficult that we will just give it up ourselves.

Some of the attacks you go through make you wonder if it is worth dealing with it. You know God has something great in store for your life, but you find that you have to go through this amazing journey to get it. Because of this, you contemplate walking away from it. Have you been there before? When Paul gives this word, it is a revelation of staying where God plants you. It is about being in position, because the blessings of the Lord don’t come in a place of comfort. Instead they come in places of stress and strain. It is about building character. It is in these places where maturity is established. Somebody reading this today may be contemplating moving from the place God planted you, but the word from God today is “Stay there!” God would not send this word if it were not true that he is about to do something awesome in your life. You have to recognize the power of being grounded. If you haven’t lost your mind by now, you need to stay there. With tears in your eyes and your faith being stretched like never before, just stay there! Even not knowing what’s going to be around the corner, just stay there!

In the text today, Paul talks to the Corinthian Church. He speaks in defense of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact the entire 15th chapter is about what Christ did on Calvary. Paul shares how that reality impacts the reality of a believer. The context of this begins in 1 Corinthians 15:51- 57. When Paul talks about those who are dead in Christ. He goes on talking about how those in Christ left would be caught up to meet them in the air together. He declares that death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. What Paul is trying to share is we have to understand that this is to help us understand the victory and lifestyle that we are supposed to have in Jesus Christ. Knowing this we are able to be steadfast and unmovable and always abounding in the work of the Lord. Why is this? It is because we recognize that what we do in the Lord is never in vain, so we must stay there.

I. Planted with purpose

  1. God always plants us in purpose. This is not about just staying there; it is about staying in the will of God. Ex –This doesn’t mean if you are getting beat over head, you have to stay there. This is not the will of God. What we are saying is when you have been planted by God, know that he has a purpose for your life and it can’t be made manifest if you are not where he planted you.
  2. Paul stresses the importance of relationship. The word Brethren mentioned in the text is talking about a unique group of people that had been called out. It is the same verbiage that James used when he says my brethren count it all joy when you fall into diver’s temptation. These were a certain saved group of people that were filled with the power of the Holy Ghost. These are post Pentecostal believers who have the power of the Holy Ghost and sure of their salvation. 1 Corinthians 15:58a says 58Therefore, my beloved brethren … They are post Pentecostal people.
  3. When you are sure of salvation it is evidenced by:
    1. Great Convictions– You have a moral compass now. Before relationship, you did whatever you wanted. Now you have a set of convictions that guides your actions.
    2. Character– This is behavior on display. It answers the question, how do you live in the world?
    3. Commitment– In other words, we don’t start something that we don’t finish. Ex- Your husband opened the door when he met you and he continues to do it after you are married. There ought to be commitment in your relationship. God wants us to be rooted in our relationship with him.
  4. Unmovable– 1 Corinthians 15:58b says … be ye stedfast, unmoveable… The Devil will try to uproot you. Many people have allowed the devil run you from where God planted you. Don’t let your instability be a liability. When your instability is a liability, it is evidence that you allowed vulnerability lead to gullibility.
  5. David says And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. When understanding the growth of a tree you understand that a tree is rooted and it grows upward. Lots of people, like a tree, place value on how high your grow. They base your worth on your education and economy (height), but you know the difference. You know it is your roots that have your worth. Though we have achieved worldly heights, underneath the ground is our roots or our fight. It doesn’t matter what happens, whether we get cut down or we go through a storm, we will keep growing. You can put ornament on tree to make the tree look better, but you need faith in earth. The real essence of a tree is in its roots.
    1. My fight– We are planted with purpose. When a tree grows, it grows down. The roots don’t just go down but they also go wide. They grab onto rocks and other material. When storms come, they stay firm, because they are attached to rock. We might have a bend and we might have lost some bark, but we are still here.
    2. Still standing– Where God plants us, we have to stay there. Be steadfast and unmovable. Don’t’ be easily shaken.

II. Productive under pressure

  1. To abound means to move towards the fulfillment of destiny. 1 Corinthians 15:58c says … always abounding … It means if conditions are not conducive or it is over whelming, we still move towards the fulfillment of destiny. Nothing will stop us from moving towards our destination. Paul says” I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” and “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” One of the greatest testimonies is to be productive during trying times. Pressure brings out the best in us. Pressing lemons is how we get lemonade. Pressing grapes is how we get wine. Ex- You can take a child of God and give them some bologna and bread and they will make it. They know how to be resourceful and creative. How you think we got chitterlings and pig feet.
  2. Always abound means I will show up and still give God glory because we are producing. God is producing always, so we can’t be attached to God and not produce. God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. He didn’t say be fruitful and multiply unless… Regardless to how situations look, we still ought to be able to produce.

III. Represent the word

  1. Produce – When you produce, then if it says we can do all things to Christ, we ought to be advertisement for this word. We ought to be words walking. If the world asks how we accomplished this, we ought to be able to say because the word told us we could.
  2. Reliable witness-Throw in anything you want at a child of God and they will still praise God. It is not if we can count on God, the question is can he count on us? Can God count on you no matter what happens?
  3. Real worship– When you do what God wants you do, this has to be seen as worship. Worship is not only audible adoration for who God is. Worship in its truest sense is not what we do, but who we are. This is why God says how can you say you love him whom you have not seen and hate men who you see every day. Ex- When you go to your job, it is an act of worship. We see everything we do as an opportunity to give God the glory. Everything we do is an act of worship and it is part of who we are while giving God the glory. Does God get the glory when you are complaining or when you are sitting and refusing to do anything? Some people were crucified for being in God’s will and we get mad we didn’t get a parking space or an usher seats us somewhere we didn’t want to sit.

IV. Praise him for his promise

  1. Work– A lot of us are laboring, but it might not be in the Lord. Your labor has to be in his will. 1 Corinthians 15:58d … in the work of the Lord… God honors faithfulness. The bible says in 2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; …There is a dualistic award here.
    1. Here Paul is talking about heaven. We have a reward in heaven. When you are faithful to God and you are doing what he wants you to do, know that you will make it to heaven. You are going to complete your assignment and when it is all over, you will to the place where the wicked shall cease from troubling and the weary shall be at rest. You are going to the place where the streets are paved with gold. It is this same Paul who would one day write, “My time of departure has come. I fought a good fight, I kept the faith, and I am ready to go.” In other words, I completed my assignment and there is laid up a crown of righteousness which the Lord will give to me in that day (not only to me, but those who were loyal to the Lord also).
    2. God also wants to reward us down here. Sometimes we wonder though. We measure our effectiveness by other people. Recognize that you don’t do what you do for people. If you get your reward that way, you already have gotten your reward. Realize that God has a greater reward for you in heaven. Some people labor and wonder if they are appreciated. Know that God appreciates you. This is why the race is not given to the swift; it is given to those that endure to the end. Tell somebody, “God’s going to make it up to!”
  2. There is a reward for the righteousness. 1 Corinthians 15:58e … forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. -Learn to rejoice, because everything you went through is not in vain. When you were suffering, our spirit said stay there. We can’t reign with him, if we don’t suffer with him. God said for those that wait on the Lord, will have renewed strength. God promises if we are faithful over few things, he will make us ruler over much. Stay there when they don’t like you! Stay there when they don’t want you to be there. God will never ask you to do something that he has never done himself. Jesus stayed there on the cross, though he could have gotten off, because he was moving towards the fulfillment of destiny. He came here to die on the cross. He could have come down, but they stayed there! He stayed there until from the 6th to the 9th hr. He stayed there until the sun dripped away! He stayed there until the moon dripped away in blood! He stayed there until history rolled back like a scroll! He stayed there until the veil of the temple was rent into! He stayed there until the centurion solider said we killed the wrong man; surely this was the son of God! He stayed there until the thief on the cross got a second chance! He stayed there so the pimp could become a preacher, so the crack head could become a choir member, so the unkind person could become an usher, and the drug-dealer could become a deacon! I am glad that he stayed there! He didn’t stay there, but he went down into the grave and stayed there long enough to allow those who didn’t know him, came and got saved! He said he would leave us a comforter that would give us staying power. The next time you think about giving up, tell them to remember how Jesus stayed there for us. If Jesus stayed there for us, we should be able to stay there for him. When we were weak his strength was there! When we were rebellious, his mercy was there. When we were in lack his provision was there! When we didn’t deserve it, his provisions were there! You better stay there! Be not weary in well doing. You will reap if you faint not!
Good Morning,
As you know, God never puts plants you in a place unless there is purpose tied to it. It is therefore important for us to stay where God plants us. God’s purpose and will for us cannot be made manifest if we are out of position. This ought to suggest to you that it is important for us to stay there! No matter how hot it gets and no matter how frequent the attacks, stay there!
How do we do this? Why should we do this? Join us as we continue with our series Evolution to Revolution focusing on the topic “Stay There”
God Bless!
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Angels and Demons IX “How we ought to live in Victory” Bible Study 11/17/10

Posted on November 23, 2010 by growintheword

Angels and Demons Part IX

How we ought to live in victory

Synopsis of Bible Study 11/17/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

As a believer, every Christian should be aware that you are subject to demonic attacks. Because we have these attacks, we have angelic interventions that occur to try and keep things from happening to us. It is important for you to know that God’s desire for us to live in victory.

The Christians victory

James 4:7 says 7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

1. The bible says submit. This means to be under authority, so in other words, we must be under the authority of the Lord.

2.     What does that mean? To understand this, we must see God here as triune (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost). In other words we must see God as 3 in 1. This means we must submit to his Lordship, his revelation, and the power of the Holy Spirit.

a.     Submit to his Lordship– We realize that God is over us.

b.     Submit to his word-Revelation of God’s word is in our context.

c.       Submitting to the power of the Holy Spirit – Ephesians 5:13 says 13But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

3.     The reason some of us can’t resist the devil is because we are not completely submitting. Partial submission is not an option. We must submit totally to God’s Lordship, his word, and the power of the Holy Spirit and then we will have the wherewithal to resist the devil, causing him run from us.

4.     Many of us spend most of our time submitting to the devil. If we have total submission, the devil should be running from us. It should not be the other way around. Ex- Remember the Atari game back in the day called PacMan? The whole concept of the game was PacMan would go through the maze eating pellets while trying to avoid the ghost who were trying to eat him. PacMan runs from the ghosts that are trying to get him. PacMan eventually runs into bigger pellets that allow him to become something bigger than he is. As a result of being empowered by the bigger pellets, PacMan chases what was chasing him (the ghost). In like manner, when we submit to God’s Lordship, his word, and the power of the Holy Spirit, we have eaten a bigger pellet and we are empowered. The devil looks at us and says, that is too much power.

5.     If we are going to get the victory, we have to know how the Devil Works.

Christian conduct towards Satan

1 Peter 5:8 says 8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

1.     Sober in this scripture means don’t be under influence of anything that can make your mind go one way or another. Be alert and be vigilant, so you can be aware of Satan.

2. Take a look at the metaphor. The scripture says Satan is like a roaring lion. Ex – Bishop explains that he watches Animal Diary. On this show, they explain how a lions hunt. You have a herd of gazelle on one hand and on the other hand, you have this den of lions that may have 7 females to every one male. The males don’t hunt. They just eat and make babies. The females do the hunting. The female lions scan the herd and lock in on one gazelle. The lionesses have examined the herd and locked in on the weakest link. The Alpha lioness begins to stalk the herd. As she steps out, her other lionesses step out with her but in other directions. The other lionesses are waiting for her queue (alpha female). When the time right, the alpha lioness charges the herd. Her responsibility is to make the prey (the weakest one) fearful enough to run and separate from the herd. As this gazelle runs trying to avoid the alpha lioness, it runs right into the other hunters/lionesses. The gazelle has run right into an ambush. What does this have to do with us you might ask? Satan hunts us in like manner. The devil knows our weaknesses and searches us out. He has demons around us waiting for us to run into an ambush. We can end up in a messed up situation and be left wondering how we got there. Satan’s purpose is to separate us from God. This is why you shouldn’t give the devil a place.

3.     A Scripture to remember. Ephesians 4:27 says 27Neither give place to the devil. – Don’t give the devil a place. What does that mean? What the devil is looking for is an opportunity or an opening. Remember the acronym we learned called HALT. The H-stands for Hunger, the A -stands for angry, the L – stands for Lonely, and the T – stands for Tired. The devil gets into us when we are at any of these states. This is when you contemplate participating in the” that will do ministry”. When you are hungry, anger, lonely, or tired all your defenses are not up. The devil got a place with Eve, because she didn’t tell Adam the snake was there.

Exercise:

1.     Write down the top 3 things that gave the devil a place in your life

2.     Under each one of them, write down what it cost you?

3.     In what areas did you give a place to Devil (named in the top 3) that is still open (put a check mark by it)? Does the Devil still have access to those places?

4. Demonstration of previous question :

There is an imaginary door. We go through the door and close the door behind us.

a.     Phase one – We are peeping out at the thing that we closed the door on.

b.     Phase two – We jump in and out the door. In other words, we are jumping in and out of the thing we say we have closed the door on.

c.     Phase three – We jump all the way out the door. We have decided to stay in the thing that we say we closed the door on.

5.     When you think about the thing that gave place to the devil and what it cost you, does it upset you?

6.     God gave us this amazing promise. No matter what snare we get caught in, we can get out of it. 2 Timothy 2:26 says 26And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. – Even though I might be in a trap or a snare from the devil, it isn’t over for us. We can still get out of it. No matter what was on your list (mentioned above), you can still get of it.

How do we get out of our snare?

7.     When Gabriel blows his trumpet, the dead in Christ shall rise. 1 Corinthians 15:5151Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, – Remember the 2 realms we talked about? The law in spirit overrides the laws in the physical realm. Sleep in this scripture means just that. Everyone is not going to die. Some of us will be caught up in the rapture. When Gabriel blows the trumpet, the dead in Christ will rise. Those who died in Lord and went to the spiritual realm are no longer corrupted. When they comeback, they will come back in corrupted. They are where there is no sickness or disease. Those caught up will be changed and will not look the same.

8.      Mortality must put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:53 53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

9.     Death will be swallowed up in victory. – 1 Corinthians 15:57 54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. – Examples: You have life on the right and death on left. The devil is trying to rob you. Life is eternal life. The wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life. Watch what Satan is trying to do. In the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, when God made Adam and Eve, they were designed to have eternal life. They were designed to live forever. Satan comes in (they weren’t supposed to eat of a certain tree in the midst of the garden) and they ate of the forbidden tree. God had told them if they ate of this tree, they would surely die. When they ate of the tree, they didn’t die right away, but they turned towards death. They were headed into that direction. In other words, we are born dying. Physic logically, you are getting closer to death every day you live. Because of sin, we are born into sin, so we are always moving towards death. We have a natural evolution towards death because of sin. How does God bypass this natural evolution towards death? God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosever believes him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. The moment we accepted Christ, we turned from death and headed towards eternal life. We are now back on track at this point.

10.  Death where is thou victory?  The sting of death is sin. The only way death can get us is sin. The Devil then has to use his demons to bring sin to us.

a. Sin means to miss the mark. What mark? It is forgetting those things which are behind us and pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The devil knows he can’t get you to death if he tells you what he is up to, so he packages himself to look like life. This way he can catch you slipping. He wants you to think your life is boring so you will kick it and have a good time not knowing that it leads to death. John 10:10 says 10The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. – Just because you are saved it doesn’t mean you can’t have life down here on earth. You must realize that you can have life without death. There is a way that seems like life but at the ends is death. This is a trap of the Devil (a snare). Ex- Bishop Walker explains that he saw something he had never seen before in his 20+ yrs of preaching. Jesus is on the cross, one thief says, “If you be Christ save us and yourself!” The other thief says “Remember me when you get into your kingdom. “ It was dramatized on the cross for us to make us understand we have a choice between life and death.

11.  Doing good might seem hard. This is why sin is fun. Everything bad for you feels so good. Until you change your lifestyle, doing good seems hard.  Ex2- Bishop explains how he never thought he could start living life without eating what he was eating. He never thought there would come a day where egg whites and oatmeal would be alright with him. Now the diet has become a lifestyle and since it is a lifestyle, it is not a strain any longer. These things are only a strain before your lifestyle changes. Your appetite changes when your lifestyle changes.

12.  It is important that you do not blame Satan for what your flesh does. We know what we are doing wrong, but we need somebody to tell us how not to do wrong. Romans 7:15 15For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

13.  We opened up saying the devil is looking for place or access into us. Remember the Lion is looking for something vulnerable. Romans 7:20 – 25 20Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. – Ex- Satan knows you don’t have a drug problem, so he won’t offer you any. He knows that might not be your issue. What Satan will do is send something to you that is your issue.

14.  The point is the Devil is a coward so he specializes in setting traps, like we set cheese out for rats. Satan knows your issue. He knows all he has to do and lay it in front of you and go away and that which is within you will make you go and get it. Satan lays what your issue is right in front of you. Ex – The devil was not the one puff-puff passing. It was your flesh. The devil sets back and listens for his traps to go off “Pow, pow, pow.” Real deliverance is not the alcoholic that doesn’t drink when he is not around liquor. Real deliverance is not wanting alcohol when you are around liquor.

15.  Every day you wake up you are confronted with choices. Choices lead to decisions and decisions lead to consequences. The more you grow the more choices you get.

16.  Choices lead to decisions. Decisions lead to consequences. God says he lays before you life or death (our choices). Ex – Bishop explains that he had a mentor 4 yrs ago that was asked how do you deal with choices when you are hit with things on every hand? The mentor explained, “Treat everything like a demonic setup and you will make it.” Ex2- Paul would always make a distinction when he spoke. Some things he would say, God told him to say and some things he would say God gave him permission to say them. In like manner, Bishop says by permission that he used to let people come into his life and start at a 100%. Through the friendship cycle, they would maintain the 100% or chip away with it. Now Bishop says he gives everyone a 0% starting out and they have to work their way up. This way, he is never disappointed. The devil is cunning and conniving, but we have decided to choose life.

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Evolution to Revolution Part II

Posted on November 15, 2010 by growintheword

Evolution to Revolution Part II

Potential in Process

Synopsis of Sermon 11/14/10

Delivered by Bishop Walker III

Text – 2 Timothy 1:5-9

Each of us are a process and the reality is many people have judged us based on where we are now, but they don’t have any idea of where God is pushing us to. Where we are is only a small portion of where we are going. The potential inside of us is often tainted by perspectives placed upon us. Many of us are unaware that God is actively moving in our lives to bring us to our destiny for his glory. Eyes have not seen nor ears heard nor has it entered into the hearts of men the things that God has in store for our lives. Once you begin to catch the essence of your not yet, you will realign yourself with God’s will and his purpose for your life. As a result, you have a small tolerance of foolishness. You don’t want to be around people who are stagnant and not moving. Prior to this, you accommodated people like this, because you had no idea of where God was taking you. You had no sense of what God was about to move you into. The truth is, all of us must recognize that in us is a great deposit of greatness and God will bring it into fruition for his glory.

Paul shares this word with his spiritual son Timothy. This literally suggests that he has this mentee named Timothy. Timothy is made aware that within him there is something for the glory of God. For Timothy to manifest this, he must pay attention to Paul. If you knew what God was up to in your life, you would not be discouraged another day. If we knew what God was about to open up to us, we would not wallow in these low places we wallow in. If you knew, you wouldn’t put up with the stuff you put up with. The closer you get to what God wants to do in your life, the more you will understand why folk are falling off. Some people can’t handle where you are going. This is why they fell off and this is why they treated you the way that they did. God said don’t whine about not being accepted. It might not be for you right now, but know that it is in your not yet. We are potential in process.

I. Potential in process

1. We might not have what you have, live where you live, or wear what you wear, but we are in process. God is about to do something awesome in your life. There is potential in your life

2.     When we talk about potential, we are talking about that within you and I that has a great capacity for becoming or being. We are on our way to something amazing. Every step take towards God takes you another step closer to what God is about to do in your life.

A.    Paul wants us to see that remembrance brings responsibility. Paul wants us to know that remembrance brings responsibility. 2 Timothy 1:5 says 5When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. – Paul shares with Timothy, the significance of his history. If you don’t know where you come from, then you won’t value where you are.

B.    Paul says there was great faith in Timothy’s mother and his grandmothers. Acts 16:1 says 1Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: – We are told that Timotheus was the son of a Jewish woman, but yet she believed. As a result it was her faith that gave here revelation. Paul makes note of this, because there is powerful lessons in Timothy’s ancestry.

3.     It is important that every generation gets better than the previous generation. Timothy comes from a faithful bloodline, but he doesn’t know it. Timothy doesn’t’ realize that there is greatness in his genes. Not his JEANS, but his GENES. Ex – If we could get this generation to understand who you are and that your greatness is not in your JEANS, then maybe you will quit trying to apple bottom your Jeans and realize that it is in your GENES.

4.     All of us have crazy stuff in our family, but there are also some amazing people in our bloodline too. There are survivors, thinkers, and inventors in our genealogy. Some of our ancestors lived through the unthinkable and lived to tell about it. Our ancestry is important. We didn’t get here on our own. We got here on the prayers of our ancestors.

5.     Ancestry gives us greater appreciation of:

a. Exposure– How you see your life is tied to vision. You have to expose your children to much. They will need to know that there is something greater beyond their own backyard. What we see in life depends on where we stand to look. Ex- One day you got out of your zip code and realized there was a world bigger than you thought. Exposure gives rise to experiences and experiences gives rise to expectations.

b.     Expectations – If you haven’t seen anything, you act like you haven’t seen anything and if you don’t expect anything; you act like you don’t expect anything. Ex – If the bar is set high, your expectations will be high. If the bar set low, your expectations are low. Ex2 – If your mom dated high, you expect high out of the people you date. If your mom dated low life people, most likely you will date low life people. If we got to be the first one in our family to actually get a job and take care of our family, then we will have to be the one. If we are the first one in our family to finish college, then we must be that one.

6.     When you remember where you came from, you have no excuse not to achieve. When you look at your ancestry, you have no excuse to be trifling.

2 Timothy 1:6 says 6Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. – Stir up this gift. You can’t allow this gift to lie dormant. God put inside you a great investment. You have to realize there is too much greatness to allow life to pass you by. There are gifts inside you.

7.     Paul says these gifts were given to Timothy by the laying of his hands on timothy. Paul is referencing 1 Timothy 4:14 where it says 14Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.  – Paul says when we laid our hands on Timothy; he knows that Timothy didn’t realize what was in him. What was in him came to the surface. Stirring up the gift means to rekindle the fire. It is time to build that fire for what God has for your life.

8.     To stir up the gift, you have to realize:

A.    God has given you an Assignment– We must realize this before we stir up our gift. This is how purpose is. Before this world began, God had purpose for you. Purpose is the path towards destiny. Don’t worry about mistakes you have made, none of us are perfect. God doesn’t use perfect people, because he has no perfect people to choose from. Ex – You don’t want to know where we were delivered from. If you knew, you might not feel comfortable sitting near us. God looked beyond our faults and supplied all of our needs.

B.    Our assignment is tied to an Appointment – God doesn’t make an assignment without a place for that assignment to manifest. God told Abraham to go to a land he would show him and he told Jonah to go to Nineveh. You will know when God has you where he wants you, because the devil will try to move you.

9.     God will give us Anointing– When hands were laid on us, there was a transfer of the anointing. When Paul laid his hands on Timothy, Paul’s anointing transferred to Timothy. When God’s anointing is on your life, people don’t have to like you or speak to you, but they can’t deny that you are one of God’s anointed. You might live like they do or talk like they do but know that you are one of we are God’s anointed. Ex- Some stuff went right past some people that were around you, because of your anointing. When you remember your history, you are responsible for you present.

II. Revelation of what you have received

2 Timothy 1:7 says 7For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

1.     You can tell people how great they are, but until they own it, it doesn’t make a difference. You must move from talking about it to being about.

2.     We have to go through life without:

a.     Fear – Fear is false evidence appearing real. Fear is of the devil. It is making you think something exists that really doesn’t. The Devil wants you to think that what is after you is bigger than God. Ex- You fill out the application, you get the grant, and then you get to school and get scared. You fill out the application, you go on the interview, and yet when you get the job, you are scared. The only thing we should fear is remorse. Remorse is what we didn’t do that God wanted us to do.

3.     God gave us power, love, and a sound mind.

a.     Power – In Acts 2, they were all in one place on one accord, and the Holy Spirit came in. This is the power promised by Jesus in John 14. In this chapter, Jesus said that he would not leave us comfortless. Jesus told the disciples that that the Comforter would come and he came in the personality of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was raised, he said all power in heaven and earth had been given to him. Now Jesus gives it to us. We have that same power. Now that we have this power, we have this authority and we shouldn’t walk around like pushovers. We are walking around trying to get people to do what God gave us the power to do. Ex – You have power to put the devil out of your own house. Jesus said these signs shall follow them. We have the power to walk right, talk right, and live right. We give the Devil too much power.

b.     Love-Love creates a sense of disillusionment because many people have not seen the manifestation of love in the human experience. Love is not a noun. Love is a verb. Love is demonstrative, but the reality is, if your human experiences have been the result of a person saying “I love you”, but you never see the manifestation of it, then you have a difficult time understanding that love means commitment.

i.    Love is verse 7 means commitment. If love is commitment, then you wouldn’t think that the person that says they love you would curse you like they do and hurt you like they do. The truth is, this kind of love is really isn’t commitment. Ex- God’s love was demonstrative. He demonstrated his love on Calvary.

c.     A sound mind – A sound mind says, “Devil I recognize what you are trying to do”. The Devil tries to cause a traffic jam on the avenue of our mind. The Devil tries to make our rational thoughts detour causing us to take a while getting to my destination. We are not going to be disillusioned by the failures of others and we will not be destroyed from the lack of knowledge. We are getting a checkup from the neck up. We will remember things like “Let this mind be in you who is also in Christ Jesus” or “He will keep thee in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.” Get a check up from the neck up.

i.    There are a couple of people who will tell you that a sound mind for them simply means sanity. When we look at what we been through, we should be scratching our head, but God gave us sanity.

IIII. Rejoice in the word

2 Timothy 1:8-9 says 8Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

1.     No matter what challenges we face, we must know that God is in our life, despite all of the opposition in our lives.

2.     Paul said when I try to do good, evil is on every hand. Paul reminded Timothy that he need not be ashamed. Affliction is part of this calling. You can’t get what God is about to give you without going through affliction. Affliction builds character. If you get something too easy, you will not appreciate it. Ex- Many of you got up around 6:30, to get to your church’s early service. Affliction did that. Many people in their former church were dignified in their service, but now if you just say the word “Jesus”, you get off the hook. Affliction did that!

3.     Paul’s said don’t be ashamed of your testimony. Paul said he was a prisoner for the Lord. Paul said he was tied to affiliations, but he reminded Timothy not to be ashamed of his testimony.

4.     God’s record does this:

a.     Reinforces our faith – Remember his word, while you are going through and remember what he has done and this will reinforce your faith. If he did it then, you can do. Nothing you are going through is new. You just need an encore. You have to go to your faith file. Ex- Every time God does something, just file it away. If he gives you bread, file it under “B”, if he gives you a car, put it behind “C”, if he delivers you, put it behind “D”. This way when you go through again, go through that faith file and remember that you have been there before.

b.     Restores my sight– When the wind is knocked out of us, we remember God’s word, and get back up ready to fight again. You got get your fight back! Stop walking around with your lip stuck out.

c. Rejoice in our future-Paul says in verse 8, don’t be ashamed, but in verse 9, he calls us to a holy calling. There is a deposit of greatness inside of us and the faith of our blood line should sustain us. You should overcome your fear, based on what God has done for us. Paul says Timothy has all this potential. He laid his hands on him and says it is time to stir all this up (his gifts). Paul is the teacher and Timothy is the student.

5.     In every experience, the student excels past the teacher. Jesus says the works you saw me do, greater works will you do. Joshua excelled Moses. Look at what God did through Paul. Paul wrote a 3rd of the New Testament. He says the day will come where I will say, I fought a good fight. Timothy is supposed to take it to the next level. Paul says if you could see what I see, thou would rejoice in your future. If you could see what God sees, you would give him glory before you got there. Ex- There is a new penalty in the NFL. It is called premature celebration. They have rule called excessive celebration. If a person has a clear line to the goal line and starts celebrating before they get there, then a flag is thrown. It is called premature celebration.  The one who is celebrating is penalized. They are celebrating because they avoided stuff that was trying to take them out and made it to the end zone. When they got in the area of end zone, they started celebrating a head of time. I wonder based on what you see in your future, who will be penalized today? If you saw what we saw, you wouldn’t wait until you get to the end zone. You would celebrate right now! Don’t wait until the battle is over, shout right now!

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