What if there is more to being a Christian than attending church regularly? What if God wants you in a War for Him? Yes, the battle for your SOUL is already won, but now Satan will do all he can to immobilize you. To make all your efforts in vain. And the battle is only won for Christians. He doesn’t mess with Christians that are ineffective for Christ.. But to say that Satan doesn’t work with unsaved people is a lie. One I have heard. He strives to keep all people away from Christ, and he strives to keep Christians from being effective for God. What if the war is going to continue, no matter how many casualties occur? Let us look at some facts.
- Satan knows who you are.
- Satan knows how effective you are.
- Satan will try to destroy you.
Satan is an Angel. He has power. He freely gives his power to humans, without telling them the price tag. We call them: Occultists, Witches, Wiccans, Druids, Pagans… And so many other names for them. The price tag? He takes what is dearest to them, and leaves them in the dirt, helpless, and powerless. They know the folly of living without power in their life, so they go right back to him, and beg more power. Generally they no longer care about the consequences. All they respect is power.
Ever wonder what it would be like to have power in your life? Do you pray? By pray, I mean don’t do what the heathen do. Prayer for power – to Satan – is simply telling the demons what you want done, he takes the price later. Prayer, to God, about anything, is a conversation. But do we even listen? Many of us tell God what we want, and there is nothing wrong with that, but it shouldn’t end there. Treat God as you would any other human you converse with. Listen for Him to speak to you. Listen, in the still silence and glory of His presence, and wait.
Lets discuss powerless Christians in the presence of an All Powerful God. When one gets saved, they are saved. Permanently. There is no if and or , or but about it. However, theres a difference between salvation and being a Christian. I can tell you from experience that there are a number of saved folks that don’t follow God. Don’t tell me that they can’t be saved if they don’t, because only God can judge the heart. There are also many Biblically sound Christians. God fearing, God serving, people who follow Christ. And yet they are powerless. God has used, does use, and will use them for His glory, but it doesn’t please Him to send unequipped soldiers into war. WE are fighting in this war for the Souls of Human beings. God promises power, and while it sits there, we sit still. WE know who our enemy is. We even pay lip service to the fact that he is dangerous. Most of us acknowledge the fact that Satan is trying to destroy us, but how many of us are guilty of actually rebuking him? Most of us lift a quick prayer in times of temptation, but that isn’t enough! Jesus lived the life of Power. Power of the Holy Spirit which descended upon him after the baptism by John. This same power allows us, if we receive it, to rebuke them. Let us look at some example of a Rebuking.
Acts 16:16-18 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
They cast the demon out. It can only be done in Jesus name, by the Power of the Holy Ghost.
Lets look at prayer for a moment, and what the Bible says about it.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.
Matthew21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
John 14:13-14 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
John 15:5-8 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
I see a command here, to keep praying. I see promises to give you what you ask for. If you have ever asked him for something, and he hasnt given it to you, that would make these promises lies, but for one thing. Pray without ceasing. You have the right to keep on praying for what you want to pray for, until He says it isn’t in his will. He will change your desire if it isn’t his will. He will give you what you truly want, sometimes even if it is outside of his will. Because if you truly want it, you will keep asking for it, over and over again. Theres a story about a woman who sought Jesus ought. Kept after Him to work a miracle. Lets read it.
Matthew 15:21-28 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Even a gentile, a Canaanite recognized His power. Recognized Him as God. And persisted, EVEN AFTER JESUS DENIED HER REQUEST. Ever consider that God is testing your faith, when denying your request, rather than changing your heart? Maybe He wants to see if you will persist. This woman from Canaan was blessed because of her persistence. Sometimes He wants you to wait, but don’t stop praying for your request. There was a Welsh evangelist. His name was Evan Roberts. There was one matter he prayed about for 13 years before God granted his request. But grant it, God did. Often times, we jump into battle, spiritually unprepared. We are powerless Christians, in the presence of the Almighty. That isn’t how it is supposed to be. I do not deny the power of prayer. Persistent Prevailing Prayer is part of the Christian life.
The Promise of the Holy Ghost is a touchy subject among many denominations today. Many Christians accept that to be a follower of Christ is to be like Him. Many Christians see the promise of power in Luke, and Acts, and other places, and says it is expired.. or they say it isn’t for today, because we have the Bible and that is enough. We accept the Indwelling of the Holy Ghost, but deny Him the right to fill His temple with God’s power. Let us look at the promises on this subject real quick..
Luke 24:47-49 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 2:14-21 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Acts 2:38-39 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
Joel 2:28-31 is the corresponding passage to the one from acts 2:14-21.
The afore mentioned passages are but a few of the places in the Bible where God promises to Pour out His Spirit upon us. In fact, I would put forth that it would be a sin to not be filled with His power. In Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; This is a very clear commandment to Christians. We already have the Holy Spirit, the indwelling happens at salvation. But then why would he tell us to be filled with the Spirit? The Filling, or baptism, or whatever you wish to call it, is an enduement of power from on High. The only way to win souls is with God’s power. He commands us to be filled, and then we ignore it. That is sinful. Many of us to this day dont recognize it as sin, because we are taught that the commands were there because the full Bible wasnt.
I challenge you all to think on this, and, Lord willing, start pleading with God to fill you!
~Paul
