Day Four: Battling the Prince of Darkness, God's Armor On For Victory

March 8, 2014

Day Four

Chapter 5 God's Armor on For Victory

Ephesians 6:10-20

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feel fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, for which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.  

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains.  Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Page 61

The Prince of Darkness fights a fierce, unethical, and diabolical battle for souls.  Being the father of lies, Satan’s tactics are underhanded and deceitful.

So God doesn’t expect Christians to try to rescue souls out of Satan’s kingdom of darkness without supernatural help.  God knows exactly what kind of protection, wisdom, and power we will need in this exasperating and fiendish battle. 

Consequently, God provided supernatural strength, armor, and weapons for His soldiers. (Read the first paragraph of Ephesians 6:10-11 above.)

Honestly, I have not really thought about sharing the gospel could be a battle, but have I really sat down and looked at the challenges I face as part of my battle? Not really!  I just think of it as life, but the reality could be attacks by evil one. 

It is time to pray that God will open my eyes to the battles that I face.

Dear God,
Please open my eyes to the battles that I face.  Give me the courage to learn more about all of this.  Teach me your truths.  I give my battles to you.  Bind Satan in my life.

Page 63

When we Christians enter the battle to rescue souls, we automatically escalate Satan’s attacks on us.

Page 65-71

FULL ARMOR

Put on the full armor of God…Therefore; take up the full armor of God.  Ephesians 6:11,13

Defensive Armor

1.  Truth:  The first piece of our armor we are to take up and put on is truth.  Putting on truth means living truth every moment of every day.

2.  Breastplate of righteousness:  Having put on the breastplate of righteousness is obeying the sum total of God’s requirements.  Righteousness is the believer’s personal lifestyle.

3.  Feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace:  It is the peace the soldier has with God through justification at salvation, (Romans 5:1) and the peace of God which guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7

4. The shield of faith:  So our shield of faith is designed by God to intercept and extinguish the fiery darts of Satan.  His fiery darts are those temptations designed to cause us to sin, thus making us ineffective or completely useless in our spiritual battle against him.  But our faith is the shield standing between us and him that will extinguish them all. 

5.  Helmet of Salvation:  This helmet of salvation gives us Jesus living in us.  It is taking for oneself all that Christ in His saving work offers.  Jesus in His death on the cross made available salvation to all, but we must reach out and take it personally to ourselves.
 

Page 72-75

Offensive Weapons

1.      Sword of the Spirit:  And the sword with which we counter –attack Satan’s temptations is the Word of God.

2.      Prayer:  Two kinds of prayer in the Armor of God.  The first prayer is prayer for each other personally.  The other is prayer in proclaiming the Gospel to the lost still in Satan’s kingdom.

So there we have it—all the defensive armor that we will ever need to protect us from the schemes of the devil, and the offensive sword and prayer to counterattack him directly. 

It is easy to go through life not even thinking about sharing Christ with others, forgetting to put on the Armor of God and really thinking about the fact that Satan is out to destroy me.  I can experience all kinds of troubles in my life and not even realize that it could be Satan out to destroy me.

When I put on the Armor of God daily, use the Sword of the Spirit, the Bible, every day I can gain the strength that I need to combat the work of Satan’s lies in my life.

What an incredible chapter.  There is so much treasure here I could never possibly share it all.  I would encourage you to read the book.

http://www.evelynchristensonministries.org/bookstore.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day Three: Battling the Prince of Darkness: The Ruler of the Kingdom of Light/ Why Bother to Fight

March 7, 2014

Day Three:  The Ruler of the Kingdom of Light/ Why Bother to Fight

This book is filled with truths that need to be told and I could not say it any better than our dear sweet Evelyn.  I will be sharing many of her quotes.  This is a must read book.
http://evelynchristensonministries.org/bookstore.html

Chapter 3-4:

John 8:12   

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Page 35

In soul-winning, we need to understand not only the ruler from whose kingdom people are being rescued at salvation but, more importantly, the Ruler into whose kingdom they are being transferred—Jesus.

Who is Jesus, the ruler of the kingdom of light? 

Page 36

Victory on the Cross

Here is what really happened when Jesus died on that cross—and the effects it had on those needing to be transferred from Satan’s kingdom into Jesus’ kingdom.

Jesus paid the price for all sin Satan brought to earth—once for all on the cross.  Those who accept Jesus have all the state of sin into which they were born erased from them by the blood of Jesus.

Revelation 1:5

Jesus Christ…who…released; us from our sins by His blood.

What an amazing love Jesus has for me.  He went through so much so that I could have a relationship with him.  I wonder how he feels when I don’t even have a few minutes to build our relationship.  I wonder how he feels when I read the words of the Bible, but never take them to heart.  I wonder how he feels when I do not love others……and on and on.

HE STILL LOVES ME!  THIS IS AMAZING LOVE.

Page 49

Those we win to Jesus will meet Him, not as their judge—but as their King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Two opposite rulers—but certainly not equal rulers!  In the spiritual battle of the universe Satan always has been the loser, and Jesus always has been the winner.

And those we win to Jesus are not only rescued from the doomed kingdom of the Prince of Darkness—but are citizens of the kingdom of Jesus.  Eternal winners!

Why Bother to Fight

Why bother to spend time and effort getting people transferred from one spiritual kingdom to another?  Because the consequences are so terrifying.  Everyone who isn’t rescued from Satan’s kingdom (into which they were born) will spend eternity, not with Jesus in heaven, but with Satan in hell.

Page 52

What’s So Bad About Hell?

This is a question you might be asking.  Some people actually believe hell is just an extension of the fast lane lifestyle here on earth with…

Oh, No.  According to Jesus hell is a place of fire. Unquenchable, eternal fire.   He repeatedly referred to hell as fire.  In Matthew 13:49-50 Jesus warned:

So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous and will cast them into the furnace of fire.

And this is not just a nice fire at which to warm our toes on a cold night.  No.  It is a place of torment.  Jesus concluded Matthew 13:49-50 with the awesome description of what they will be doing—not winking with provocative lips and leering sensuous grins, but “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Hell also is a place of punishment.  It is not intended by God as a deterrent or a place of reformation, but a place of punishment.

Hell is banishment.  It is being banished from all good influence of God and the society of righteous people.

And those will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.  (2 Thessalonians 1:9)

Page 60

Why bother?  Because it makes a difference.  A life and death difference!

The most powerful tool Satan has in the battle for souls is getting Christians not to bother.  It’s all he needs to win—by default.

So Why bother?  Because it makes a difference.  A life and death difference!

 

 

Day Two: Battling the Prince of Darkness: The Prince of the Kingdom of Darkness

March 6, 2014

Day Two

Chapter 2:  The Prince of the Kingdom of Darkness

Ephesians 611-12

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Page 24

TODAY IN AMERICA

Most Christians don’t have trouble believing the Bible’s coverage of Satan and his demons “way back then in the Bible times.”  And it has been easy through the years for Christians to accept that Satan is active in “heathen counties.”  They readily gasp at missionaries’ slides of witchcraft and Satanic rituals in a “foreign land.”

Up until now most Americans have never seen Satan in his raw form.  Missionaries are more sensitive to Satan because they have fought him so long.  But suddenly Satan has come out of the closet in America, and we aren’t at all sure what to do about it.  Some laugh at it, some ignore it, some try and explain it away theologically, while others believe God couldn’t possibly allow it in this 20^th century.

However, Satan worship and demonic activity in the United States have exploded in our faces in the last twenty years.  And the life into which the ruler of the kingdom of darkness is leading some of his subjects is despicable beyond words, defying all that is good, pure, and honest.

When I first started reading this book, I must admit that I almost wanted to close it because I did not want to be reminded about Satan and what he is doing in the lives of people all over the world.  Rather than educating myself on what Satan was doing, I was ok with just putting my head in the sand.  I just did not want to think about this.   

Then God began speaking to my heart.  It is time to stop and do something.  The most important something that I can do is pray, pray, pray for people all over the world who are being deceived by Satan.  It is time for action.

Page 26

Same Satan for Christians Too.

You may be shocked as a Christian to realize this Satan who instigates these atrocities is the same Satan who gets us to serve him — to whatever extend he can.  Every time we yield to his temptation to lust, hate, lie, or commit any other sin, it is that same Satan who encourages and propagates it.  Satan introduced and is responsible for all sin in believers and non believers alike.

It is the same Satan who, disguising himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), fools us into believing that “it can't be sin if it fulfills our needs,” who fools our children into believing the Satanic rock and roll is just “modern music,”  who deceives our teens into believing “suicide is a good and honorable way out of  problems." 

Satan is alive and active in our world today.  He does not want us to have a relationship with God.  He longs to destroy us.  He wants us to turn our back on God. 

Page 27

1 Timothy 4:1

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. (Italics added).

The truth of what is happening in our world is discouraging, but the words of the Bible are true:  I was so encouraged when I read the following verse.

Greater is He (Jesus) who is in you than he (Satan) who is in the world.  1 John 4:4

This reminds me of a song I used to sing that goes something like this.  "What a Mighty God we serve.  Oh, yes, what a mighty God we serve"  Yes, indeed, we serve a mighty God. No matter what happens in our world, God still loves us and God is still in control.   

Day One: Battling the Prince of Darkness, Rescuing Captives from Satan's Kingdom

March 5, 2014
Day One

Chapter 1: The Lost Doctrine

Colossians 1:13
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

Page 9

A new spiritual battle is raging on planet Earth. Forces of good and evil are vying openly as never before for the minds and souls of human beings. Pastors, missionaries, and lay Christians are bombarding me these days with their stories of almost unbelievable attacks from the Prince of Darkness.

What can Christians do about today’s terrible explosion of satanic activity, Satan worship, occult practices, and the New Age Movement?

Must we helplessly watch as these emissaries of Satan’s kingdom brainwash our children through occult-orientated TV programs and comic books? Or agonize while they infiltrate our schools, television, government, and military with their anti-God philosophies, witchcraft, and even satanic worship? Must we ignore the occult themes saturating our teen’s electronic games? Must we turn a deaf ear to the hard rock music that actually explains and encourages satanic rituals, diabolical sex practices and even suicide? Must Christians only recoil in shock as Satan worshipers sacrifice human adults and breed babies to sacrifice to their god?

Must we tolerate……the list goes on and on……
 

Page 10

Is there no Hope for the Human Race? Oh, yes, there’s hope. Jesus was Himself the solution to the problem of original sin when He came to earth to die for all sinners.
 

For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Christians are people who also were born into Satan’s kingdom but were transferred out of that kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s dear Son Jesus when they accepted Him as Savior and Lord. Their citizenship has been transferred.

And we Christians have the key to the problem of original sin—which is causing all this evil on earth today. Ours should be offensive stance. We do not have to leave people trapped and doomed in Satan’s evil kingdom. We must wage an offensive war again Satan for the souls of lost people.

So evangelism is not a project, an assignment, or just a method of church growth. It is all-out war for the souls of the subjects already in the kingdom of darkness. And every week on planet Earth a million more souls are born into that kingdom of darkness.

What keeps me from being in the all-out war for the souls of sinners? A life that is too busy doing everything else. The desire to share Jesus' great love with others is buried in the everyday things of life. The passion to even care about loved ones who are lost slowly disappears with the tyranny of the urgent.

During the last few years I have definitely noticed that people seem to be busier than they have ever been in the past. There never seems to be enough hours in our days. We have more modern conveniences than years ago to make our lives easier, so why does it seem harder? What has happened?

You know, one of my deepest passions throughout my life has been my concern for those who have never believed in Jesus as their Savior. I have had a passion to ask them three questions.

1. Do you believe you do things that do not please Jesus?

(We all do and those things are called sin. Romans 3:23)

2. Do you believe that Jesus will forgive you of those sins?

(All it takes is asking him to forgive them and he will. 1 John 1:8-9)

3. Do you want to begin a love relationship with Jesus?

All it takes is asking him.

Then I encourage them to pray this prayer.

Dear Jesus,

I know I do things that do not please you. Forgive me. I would like to begin a relationship with you. Please come into my heart and save me from my sins.

This has been the burning passion in my life, but is that fire still burning deep inside of me?  I would have to be honest and say, “Not like it used to be.” My life has become so busy, that my passion has been buried by the pressures of living.

So what can I do about this? It is time to ask God’s forgiveness and ask him to fill me with a passion for sharing Jesus with my world. It is my choice to care about the souls of others or care about my own cares. What will I choose?

What Happens When God, Answers by Evelyn Christenson

Have a Thankful Heart

Page 175

What happens when God answers?  The ultimate, final response on our part should be to thank Him.  No matter how God has answered our prayer, the one thing He expects from us is thankfulness.

People tend to insert their thanksgiving at different places in the prayer process.  Some never bother to thank God no matter how great and wonderful the answers He sends.  Most people but not all, are thankful when God answers the way they requested and has given them what they wanted.  Then, some Christians have matured enough spiritually to thank Him in spite of how He has answered, trusting His divine wisdom.

But the Bible has an even greater requirement as to where the thanksgiving belongs in the whole prayer process.  Philippians 4:6, surprisingly, reads, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be hade unto God” (NASE. emphasis mine).

I love this same verse in the Living Bible Translation.  I have it written and framed in my office.  It says, “Don’t worry about anything.  Pray about everything.  Tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. 

I am not supposed to worry about anything.  I should pray about everything.  I need to tell God my needs AND THEN  DON’T FORGET TO THANK HIM FOR HIS ANSWERS.

I am guilty of forgetting to thank God for his answers.  I wonder how he feels when he answers my prayers and I do not even thank him. 

I can relate this to my own children.  If they ask me for something and then I get it for them, how would I feel if they did not even thank me?  I would feel sad.  I would feel like they were using me.  I would feel like they don’t even care about me.

God, of course, is more loving than I am, but I wonder how he feels when I forget to thank him for his answers.  This is a wake-up call for me.  How could I ever forget to thank God for answers to my prayers? 

This has been an incredible life changing book.  It took me awhile to go through it because God was speaking change to me through Evelyn’s words. 

Thank you, Dear God for the life of Evelyn Christenson.  The learning that she has shared through all of her books has allowed me to learn the easier way, through her words and not as much living it.  There are so many treasures in this book that will change my life foever.  Thank you Evelyn!

Well, this truly has been an incredible Journey for me.  I have read all of Evelyn’s books, except two of them.  It has taken me through all of 2013 and so far in 2014.  I am going to miss my Journeys with Evelyn, but she truly has been my inspiration and motivation to follow what the words of the Bible tell me.  She was my mentor while she lived on this earth and still is my mentor from Heaven.  Praise God.

The next book I will be reading will be Battling the Prince of Darkness, Rescuing Captives from Satan’s Kingdom.  I plan to read this book in one week because I will not be available to read for a few weeks.  So, I will be posting my thoughts about this book daily for one week, beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, March 5th.     

I want to finish my incredible Journey with Evelyn during April, the most important time of year when we remember how much God loved us.  Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter reminds us of God's great love.  Praying God’s Way during this time is not how I planned to end my Incredible Journey with Evelyn, but how appropriate.  God is so good.

Then, for the month of April, 1, 8, 15, 22, & 29.  I will be posting every Tuesday as I read through the whole book, Praying God’s Way.  It will be sad for my Incredible Journey to end, but in many ways all I have learned will be just beginning in my life. 

 

 

 

 

 

What Happens When God, Answers by Evelyn Christenson 

Chapter 11:  When God Answers…Now Obey Me

Page 155

What happens when God answers?  What God always expects to happen—our obedience.

After God has answered our prayer, whether exciting, mind-boggling, or difficult, the next step is obedience.  When God answers our payer with a command, instruction, or an open door, He fully expects us to obey.  We must put into practice what God has told us in His answer.  And our obedience to what God has told us in His answer.  And our obedience to His answer to our prayer opens the curtain on the next act of our lives.  “So shall my word be which goes forth from my mouth, it shall not return to me empty without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11, NASB.

This is the God of the universe speaking, the One whom all the stars, planets, weather, and seasons obey.  The One who spoke, and the universe came into being.  The One who spoke, and the sea was calm.  Who spoke, and the dead came alive.  The One who expects obedience to His words. 

However, God does not coerce us into obeying His answers to our prayers.  He has given each of us a free will, with the privilege of responding as we choose.  And astoundingly, we humans frequently ignore, rebel, make excuses, refuse to obey, or even laugh at a certain answer from Him.  This is amazing in light of the fact that it is the omniscient God of the universe who has answered us. 

Our son, Kurt, said it to me this way:  “Remember, when dealing with the Great Potter, the quality of the pot is solely determined by the malleability of the clay.”  It is our ability and willingness as clay to obey and be shaped by ‘God, the Potter, that ultimately fashions what we are—and what God can do through us.

Have you ever wondered what you have missed in life because of a wrong response to God’s direction?

I must admit that I have wondered what I have missed in my life because of a wrong response to God’s direction.  How do I know I may have gone in my direction instead of Gods?  PEACE, the lack of peace in my life indicates to me that I might have made decisions because of my dreams and my plans. 

I had always believed that God had a special plan for my life.  I also believed that he would get me to that plan in his own timing, but someone I respected told me that God does not have an ultimate plan for me, that there are many paths that I could choose.  It does not matter to God.

So, I went about my life trying all different avenues of serving God and they worked for awhile, but eventually fizzled out.  I got to the point that I was worn out and tired, trying to find the dreams in my heart.

Looking back on my life can often be 20/20 vision.  After spending so much time running around in circles, I started to see what had happened. 

I was working very hard trying to start a ministry and getting no where.  I remembered back to the beginning of all of this that I felt like God was speaking to me that I should be a writer.  Now, I loved writing, but did not feel qualified in anyway to write.  I was doing it all the time, but did not consider myself a writer. 

Looking back, God would show me over and over that he wanted me to write, but I could not believe that he would ever call me to be a writer.  I had published a book called, He’s SPEAKING!  Are we LISTENING? But I would not admit that I was a writer.

Well, my story is long, but the bottom line is that I could hear God speaking to my heart very quietly telling me to write, but my lack of confidence kept me submitting to this call in my life.

Page 158

What are you missing that Jesus had planned for you?  Joy, hope, peace?  An intimate walk with Jesus?  Renewed fellowship with Him? Are you living like the disciples—in despair, defeat, fear, tears, unbelief, and disobedience?  Then it is because your response to His words also has been wrong.  Perhaps you are feeling that there are good reasons why you should not believe and obey.  But the hard fact is that you are missing the triumphant, joyous relationship with Him that He is longing to have with you—if you were obedient.

Page 168

One of the most difficult aspects of obedience is being willing not to do something.  Obedience isn't only going and doing, it also is not going and not doing.  This is especially hard when we feel that the job or activity is so right and so necessary.

Little by little God began taking each of the things I was doing out of my life.  It was so hard.  All I really wanted to do was serve God, but it seemed like he would take each thing I would pursue out of my life.

So here are my thoughts today:

I believe there is a perfect plan for my life. I have tried going after my plans over and over again, but they never lasted. I want to find God's ultimate plan for my life, so this needs to begin with what I do know he wants for me.  

I know without a doubt that God has called me to be a writer.  I also know that I am not the best writer in the world, but I lay my writing before him and will let him do what he wants to do with it.  I give it all back to him.

I am quite sure he wants me to quit running after my plans and allow him to bless me with his plans for my life.  Please pray for me.
 

I would also highly encourage you to read this book, What Happens When God Answers.  It is truly incredible.  There is so much to be learned from the words of my/your dear mentor and friend, Evelyn Christenson. 

Closing Prayer

Dear Father,

I know the plans You have for me are best.  Forgive me for all the times I have stubbornly gone my own way.  Teach me to listen to Your answers to my prayers, and then to obey exactly what You have told me to do—or not to do.  Thank you, Father for all the wonderful rewards You have ready for me when I do obey You.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

What Happens When God Answers by Evelyn Christenson 

Chapter 10:  Restore the Sinner

This chapter is filled with so much treasure it will be pretty hard for me to cover everything.  If this subject speaks to your heart, please find a copy of Evelyn’s book, “What Happens When God Answers and read Chapter 10, or order the book from the following link.

 

http://www.evelynchristensonministries.org/index.html

Page 131

When catching a sister or brother sinning, how often we pray, “Oh, God, what do I do now?”  And the surprising answer from God is already recorded in the Bible. 
Restore that sinner.

Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of gentleness. (Galatians 6:1)

What does it mean to restore?  Paul had in mind here the mending of something that had been damaged.  Restoration is the responsibility of those Christians surrounding the sinner.  Repentance, reconciliation, and restitution are all the responsibility of the sinner; but, shockingly, restoration very likely must be done by the one sinned against, and it may even be the victim’s job.

However, restoration does not begin while the person is sinning.  It is when he or she is “caught” trespassing that the process begins.  There can be no real restoration without the sinner fulfilling the other three “R’s” preceding it—repentance, reconciliation, and restitution. 

Page 134

How do Humans Restore Sinners?

Now that we know restoring the sinning brother or sister is not optional, we ask God, “But how do we go about restoring such a one?” The Bible is full of God’s instructions on this oft-neglected subject.

 

Rebuking the sinner is his first instruction.

Restore by forgiving

Restore by praying for the sinner

Restore by praying with that sinner

Restore by loving, not legalism

When the repentant sinner being restored is truly loved, he or she usually responds to that love and begins the process of loving us and, even more important, himself again.

Page 142

God cannot restore the sinner until that sinner accepts his forgiveness.

This chapter was very interesting because this past year I had the opportunity to encourage someone who was a repentant sinner trying to change.  Interesting enough the steps to restoration were the steps that Evelyn talked about.

The first step is the hardest, realizing that they have done something wrong and they need to make it right.  It is never easy to say I am sorry, or please forgive me, but once it is done, the next step is easier.

There is nothing more beautiful than to see someone’s life restored because they followed the steps to restoration.  They accepted God’s forgiveness and were led to a wonderful place of forgiveness.  I will be praying this prayer in my life.

Page 154

Closing Prayer

Father, teach me your steps in the restoration process.  Help me to examine where I am in all my relationships with others.  Make me aware of how I am hurting them, and help me correct it.  Make me a restorer to those who need me.  Take my hurts from other people and in Your time, and in Your way, restore me to perfect oneness with them and to perfect rest in You.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.