jsca777

That is very true. Satan has done a lot of damage through deception and trickery. This is why 1st Pter5:8 says to be sober and vigilant concerning the adversary the devil who walks about seeking whom he may devour. Devour means to consume, to waste away, to eat up, to annihilate. Satan is doing just that because many are not grounded in the Word. We need to build our house on the Rock in order to stand agains tthe storm. The Rock is Jesus Christ. Jesus is also the Word(as mentioned in John1:1 and 1st John5:7). The storm is the nasty situations that Satan brings against people to devour them. 2nd Corintians2;11 says to not be ignorant of satan's devices lest he'd get an advantage over you. Many are ignorant of satan's devices and are not using the power of God that God has granted them. He granted all believers power over the enemy. But as 1st Timothy3:5 mentions, many have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof.

Spiritman, the body of Christ needs to discern. Never give money to any ministry without the leading of the Holy Spirit. Let the Spirit direct you where to give and what to give. That way you don't get swindled. If someone expects money from you in order to be prayed for and get a prohecy, then they are not true servants of God. Never give money to someone like that. If someone gives moeny to be healed, then they are not truly trusting God, cause if they did trult trust God, they wouldn't let themselves get duped. God is the healer not some person. God works through people to get others healed, but ultimately, you need to depend on God for healing.

That's great that you have the desire to serve God. Ask God to lead you and direct you. Know the Word of God and what your dealing with in society. When you go to church, do they find out what people's callings are? Each of us need to know what our calling is and how to go about operating in our calling.

This man tells them to shoplift because he doesn't know how to depend on God as the provider.

I don't trust what the medical community calls issues that affect the state of one's mind. They aren't about to attritube a single thing to any kind of spiritual cause, as they can only, as scientists, try to find natural causes. Think about it. We know people today can be possessed. Would the medical community give it that same name the Bible speaks of, or would they come up with another name? I believe a lot of the mental disorders the medical community gives names to are spiritual in nature. Actually the medical and pharmaceutical industries would be scared out of their minds if people knew that this was spiritual. If people got the help they need, these industries would lose so much money.

When the bible says not to friends with the world(also found in 1st John2:15), it means not to be accustomed to the ways, patterns, atractions, adornments of this wordly system. 1st John2:16 goes on to say in the world you will find the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The 3 avenues of temeptation are found in worldliness. Although you are to love worldly people and love everyone, you need to be careful who you hang with because many will be nothing but a bad influence to you and will bring you down spiritually.

In Mark9:14-29, Jesus casts out what is refered to as a "dumb spirit" out of a boy. Jesus didn't call this a chemical imbalance like society would today. His Word says straight out that this was a demon spirit that needed to come out. Acts10:38 and 1st John3:8 mentions how Jesus went about destroying the works of the devil. Mark16:17 mentions that in His Name they shall cast out devils. In Matthew10:8, Jesus commands were to heal the sick, to cleanse the lepers, to raise the dead, to cast out devils. Jesus declared that greater works shall His people do(John14:12). Doing the will of the Lord, being Kingdom minded and getting people healed and delivered is destroying Satan's works. As Jesus came to give us life, Satan came to steal, kill and destroy(John10:10). If any church is not destroying the works of the devil that has people bound, then they are not a very effective church. Satan doesn't mind churches that don't do anything to destroy his works and set people free from his grip.

It's only gonna be for your benefit if you allow it to be. Why write a book? There already is "many" books on this subject as it is.

I don't disagree with what you've posted, and this is true that we need to get over this and not depend on people, but the bible does tell us how we need to treat one another. Jesus wasn't kidding when he said to do unto others as you would have done unto you(Matthew7:12). Colossians3:12 says to put on the bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering(meaning patience). Why would the Word emphasise on the love of God quite as bit? Because how we treat others shows what is really in us, and the way we treat others does have an effect on them. A cold church doesn't reach out to people and make any impact on society at all. We must be careful not to be too quick to judge others - they may be reflecting our own emotions. It's difficult to go to a new place and fitting in is not always easy. I've yet to go into a church of any denomination and not been greeted and welcomed at the door and had other people speak to me and ask me to come back. Perhaps I just look friendly - I don't know. There's nothing judgemental about it. I Just told the truth like it is. Obviously your experiences are different than mine, but I have been left out, ostracisd, rejected, gossipped about, and despised. That all speaks for itself.

That is what really is. Any thought, word or deed that is displeasable to God.

I don't disagree with what you've posted, and this is true that we need to get over this and not depend on people, but the bible does tell us how we need to treat one another. Jesus wasn't kidding when he said to do unto others as you would have done unto you(Matthew7:12). Colossians3:12 says to put on the bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering(meaning patience). Why would the Word emphasise on the love of God quite as bit? Because how we treat others shows what is really in us, and the way we treat others does have an effect on them. A cold church doesn't reach out to people and make any impact on society at all.

Regardless of what they call it, it is a demonic attack against people's minds. I have been called that throughout my life and struggled with depression. Satan used my past hurts and wounds to try and destroy me this way. To get delivered, we need to take authority over those spirits, command them to flee in the Name of Jesus, then we need to get our minds in right thinking order so that the adversary has no room to get back in us. We need to know the Word as it is the truth and the truth will set people free(John8:32). What does the truth set people free from? It set speople free from lies and deception. Satan is the father of all lies(John8:44). He is the liar behind the root of emotional problems. For example, throughout my life, I had been told that I was stupid, dumb, useless, a piece of garbage, that I would never amount to very much if anything at all, that I would never achieve very much. Satan used cruel, inhumane people to implement those lies. That is what lead to depression, and attempted suicide for me. Because then, I did not know the truth or who I was in the Lord, I believered the lies of the devil. Now I know the truth, I don't believe Satan's filthy lies anymore. That is a key to getting free from depression, biploar, and any other demonic affliction against the mind.

Part 3 of 3-Walking In Victory It is time for the body of Christ to rise up in power and destroy the works of Satan. Jesus gave us the authority to tear down the works of Satan, so why is it not happening the way it should? Jesus come to destroy the works of the devil(Acts10:38, 1st John3:8). Jesus came to set the oppressed free and heal the broken hearted(Luke4:18). The apostles got people delivered from the oppression of the devil(Acts5:12-16). Jesus gave us the gifts of the Spirit(1st Corinthians12:4-11) to do the work of ministry. He never gave us those gifts for us to sit back and do nothing with them. He wants us to use them to build up the body of Christ and tear down the kingdom of hell. The people that Satan is afraid of, is those who know who they are in Christ, who are wlaking upright before God, who know their authority in Christ, and will stand against the powers of darkness. Satan is not afraid of those who run around terrified of him. Satan isn't worried about christians who scream, cuss and lose their cool when he attacks them. He is not afraid of spiritual weaklings. Also Satan is not afraid of those who ignore him and don't take his operations seriously. Many witches and warlocks do their enchantments, incantations, spells, hexes, vexes, jinxes, bewitchments and curses against the body of Christ all the time. The sad thing about that is, many christians don't even know that they do this. If the body of Christ recognized this and took authority over witchcraft and destroyed the powers of witchcraft, in the name of Jesus, witchcraft would never prosper. Witches and warlocks would never have their way. That is why they desire to keep christians in ignorance and keep them spiritually asleep. So that christians would not cast down every spell, jinx, enchantment, incantation, bewitchment, hex, vex, they wouldn't destroy the works of potions, satanic rituals, curses by the power of the Lord. But witches and warlocks fear christians who pray with authority and power and pray spiritual warfare because when we do that, many will get delivered from whatever the witches and warlocks have done against them. Jesus made us more than conquerors(Romans8:38). He gave us power over all the works of the enemy(Matthew10:8). He wants us to be victorious, to be overcomers, to be men and women of valor.

Part 2 of 3-The Kingdom Of Heaven Take It By Force In Matthew11:12, Jesus says, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, but the violence take it by force." That is the words of Jesus. Jesus announces to His disciples that all who call upon Him as Lord and saviour, you are in a spiritual battle. All who want to serve Christ, all who want to reach out to others, make a difference in people's lives, who want to evangelise, you have an enemy who will try to hinder you and that you cannot be a passive christian, you cannot be a spectator or a side line christian to walk in victory. You cannot be lukewarm, you cannot be in church on Sunday and be in the world the rest of the week and expect to be victorious. You have to be violent against the powers of darkness. You have to fight the good fight of faith(2st Timothy6:12). The world is a habitation of cruelty(Pslam74:20). We are dealing with a wicked, immoral society who is under the infuence of the devil. Since our battle is against demonic forces, you need a rightoues and holy anger and be violent towards the enemy. Many christians go to their pastors, they go to the elders for prayer when calamity strikes their lives. Many talk about how the devil is attacking them, how their lives are messed up, how he is afflicting their health, how he is causing havoc in their lives, in their jobs, families, but they need to know how to stand for themselves. You can't always depend on others to pray and fight for you. They won't always be around. You need to get violent with Satan yourself and take authority over him. Jesus gave us that authority(Matthew10:1-8, Luke10:19, Mark16:16-18, it is up to us to use it. The authority that Christ has bestowed upon believers is only good is used. What good is the armour of God, if you don't put it on? If your in self pity, if your complaining about your problems, if you thinking defeat and negativity, he will continue to knock you down over and over again. He has no pity on you, he has no sympathy for you, when your crying, he is laughing, when your down he will kick you again and again and again. That is why we need to pick up the Sword of the Spirit and fight the enemy.

Part 1 of 3-Recognizing The Enemy In The Spirit Realm 2nd Corinthians10:3-5 "Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For our weapons of warfare are not carnal, but mighty though God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations that exalt itself above the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." The Word is telling us here, that we cannot fight against a spiritual enemy through natural means. It is useless to fight against the adversary though carnal means. You need to fight against what your going through, by the Spirit of God. Ephesians6:10-18 instructs us to put on the whole armour of God in order to stand against the wiles of the devil. The offensive part of the armour, is the Sword of the Spirit(vs.17) which is the Word. To be victorious in our walk with the Lord, you need to fight with the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. Many christians don't realize how neccessary spiritual warfare is. They recognize all the mess that goes on in the world, they recognize all the evil that is done, but they don't recognize that Satan who is the god of this world, the price and power of the air who works through the sons of disoebedience(Ephesians2:2). He uses people to do his evil works for him. Jesus recognized Satan influencing Peter to persuade him not to go to the cross when He said, "get behind Me, Satan: thou art an offense to me(Matthew16:23)." Paul through discernment, recognized a spirit of divination, operating in a servent girl when he casted that spirit out(Acts16:16-18). Jesus acknowledged a spirit of infirmity causing a woman to be bound for 18 years in Luke13:11-13. In 1st Peter5:8, Peter says, "Be sober, be vigilant; for your adversary the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Devour means to eat up, to consume, to annihilate, to destroy. Peter is telling us, that we need to be sober(be self controlled in our thinking), and that we need to be alert, we need to be aware, we need to be diligently watchful. None of this, "oh, that is giving the devil glory," gobliguk. The enemy seeks to devour us. Another word for seek is, "to strategize." The enemy formulates strategies against us, to try and devour us, to try and consume us and destroy us. He is seeking to destroy marriages, families, he is seeking to discourage you, to get you to give up, to get you to think you can't amount to anything, to get you into depression, because he is afraid that if you stand firm in the Lord and walk upright with God, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it(Philippians1:6). The enemy tries to get you out of God's will and to not trust God. He knows that he cannot take you out himself for greater is He that is in you(1st John4:4), so he has to get you to succumb to him, to get you to give place to him, to be complacent, full of worry, fear, unbelief, discouragement, confusion. He uses every type of deception, evil thoughts, discouragement, to get you to give up rather thanfight the good fight of faith. Peter tells us straight out that you need to take the adversary seriously. Not that we are to be afraid of him, for being afraid of him is exactly what Satan wants. But we can't be ignorant of him either, or he will get an advantage over you(2nd Corinthians2:11). You need to be alert to the fact that you have a spiritual enemy who works constantly against you. Just because you can't see him, doesn't mean he is not there. When people gossip about us and speak slander against us, when people wicked people plot evil against us( as they did against Daniel, the 3 hewbrew boys thrown into the furnace, and Mordacai), when people rise up against us to try and bering us down, they are being used by the devil. They are being used as "tools or weapons." This is what christians need to recognize. Ephesians6:12 tells us who our battle is against. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Ephesians6:12 tells you right there that demonic forces work against mankind to destroy mankind. That scripture even illistrates that demons come in ranks. There is a heirarchy of demonic forces working against you to opress you, to hinder you from doing what God has called you to do, to wreck havoc in your life. Again, you have to fight by the Spirit of God. Even Jesus casted out devils by the Spirit of God(Matthew12:28).

INTRO It is my desire to see the body of Christ recognize the enemy, and how to fight against the enemy in the spirit realm. Sadly, many believers don't realize that we have an adversary who seeks to destroy humanity. It is necessary to recognize the adversary working against you(Ephesians6:12, 2nd Corinthians10:3-5) to walk in victory. Anyone who desires to stand for Christ is going to encounter demonic attack, for you are coming against Satan's kingdom when you've committed yourself to Christ. Although not everything is a demonic attack, much of what people deal with is a demonic attack. Some troubles are caused by lack of common sense and disobedience to God's Word. For example, if you drive recklessly, you end up in an accident, that was your own fault. If you eat unhealthy, you eat a lot of junk food, and high cholestral foods, you end up sick and your health falls apart over the years, that was not a demonic attack, that was simply your own irresponsibity to take care of your health. Tormenting thoughts, reoccuring bad dreams, strife in marriage, behaviour problems in children, failure, poverty, some sicknessess and disease, depression, bi-polar, are ways that the enemy attacks your life. He attacks you though you relationships with others, especially through your spouse, he attacks you on the job, he attacks people's health, he causes bad things to happen to people. The world calls that "bad luck." Luck supposively means, things that come about by chance. But when your dealing with the spirit realm, these things don't just happen by chance. I've divided this into 3 different parts. 1. Recognizing The Enemy In The Spirit Realm 2. The Kingdom Of Heaven Take It By Force 3. Walking In Victory

Gregor, one can be a christian, doesn't mean they are a disciple. Being a christian means they have accepted Jesus as their Lord, they are His followers now, they strive to be Christlike. Being a disciple takes it a lot further. There's a great cost to being a disciple. It takes real commitment and dedication to Christ. About the woman you conversed with, I can see she isn't truly following Christ. For someone to call themself a christian, doesn't make them a christian. You can call yourself an elephant, but does that mean you are? Ephesians4:24 says to put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness hile Colissians3:10 says to put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him. In other words, when we become christians, our thinking is to change. Althogh we are not flawless, we are to be living in righteounsess.

I want people to take this as an honest question. I myself have found that many christians don't show God's love including leaders who are supposed to be the example. Although I find some do reach out to people, many treat you like a stranger if you don't fit in. Also, I have come across many christians that hate each others and quarrel over foolish reasons. The fact that many are not shining their lights and not operating in the fruit of the Spirit, I find has had drastic effects on church growth. How much of a problem do you see going on when it comes to cliques and people ignoring others? Why do things have to be this way when God wants people to reach out to others? How can people who claim to have God's love in them(even those who preach love on the pulpits) act so malicious, hateful and cold to others?

And they really know what these holidays stand for.

You all have some great answers. I want to thank you for posting them. Melasthanatas, you mentioned "I've been too to many churches that are more worried about the "healing and deliverance" than getting people saved or helping Christians in their walk with God." There needs to be a balance. Preaching salvation, the need for Jesus is important, as well as seeing people get the help they need. Jesus did mention in Luke4:18 that He came to set the captives free, to heal the broken hearted, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to recover sight to the blind. Isaiah 53:5 does mention that by His stripes we are healed. Healing and deliverance does help people in their walk with God. It liberates people not only from physical infirmities, sickness and disease, but also mental oppression, depression, etc. It sets people free emotionally as well as physically. The apostle John mentions in third John vs 2 "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou may prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospers." The soul is your mind will and emotions. In order to help people n their walk with God, they need to be set free from all the garbage that got into the mind while in the world.

I'm glad you realize that there wa snothign judgemental in this thread. Indeed many need to wake up and get right with God. Some will call that being judgemental when you bodly stand up against sin. Jesus stood up for righteousness and so did the apostles. They did not compromise with sin. btw, I am a he, not a her.

In Matthew10:1-8, you read about Jesus sending out His disciples to heal the sick, cleanse the leper, raise the dead and cast out devils. It mentions in the first verse that He gave them power over all manner of sickness and disease. In Luke10:1-19, Jesus did the same with the 70 followers. He sent them out 2 by 2 to heal the sick, cast out devils, do mighty works for God. In vs 17, the came back saying, "Lord, even the devils are subject to us in Your Name." In other words, the beleivers have power and authority over the adversary the devil. It didn't stop there. In Mark16:17,18, Jesus said that these signs shall follow them that believe. In His Name they shall cast out devils, speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents and scorpions and any deadly thing they drink will not harm them and that they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. What is refered to as serpents and scorpions? Jesus wasn't actually telling us to go to some cobra, python or a scorpion and manhandle the animal right? I mean, anything that Jesus would have us do, is to being glory to His Kingdom, so what was Jesus refering to? These are demons. We have power to subdue demonic spirits. In Acts16:16-18, the apostle Paul cast out a spirit of divination. He recognized the spirit operating in the girl, and took authority in Jesus Name. In Acts5:12-16, many were brought to the apostles and they were healed. In acts chapter 3, Peter and John get a lame man healed in Name of Jesus. Why are we not seeing a lot of supernatural healings and mircales in the body of Christ? Why is it that people come to church and they end up the same way before they came in? Why is it that people don't get delivered and get the help they need in many churches?

Ephesians4:24 mentions to put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Although none of us are flawless, and we all do fall short of His glory, if we are truly serving Him, there will be a change in us. You hit it to a tee when saying "If you are not a new creation in Christ, you are not a Christian." That is so true. Many christians still want to be friends with the world. They want to live by the ways, patterns, adronments of the worldly system. They take God's grace for granted.

What's the point of this thread? For people to see where they are really standing with God. Many who call themsevles christians are under an illusion. Jesus even said it Himself that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven(Matthew7:21). People need to make sure they are in right standing with God Calling yourself a christian doesn't make you a christian anymore than being in a lake makes you a fish. But many got the idea that because they profess to believe in Christ and because they go to church, they are going to Heaven. God wants everyone to be saved and make it into Heaven, but reality is, many are not going there. They are on the wide road. Even many right in the church or in this case, on christian mesage board forums. Of course, everyday, I examine myself as well. I don't think that I am so holy. I don't post this out of self righteousness, but out of desire to see people live by the truth. The apostle John said that it is a great joy to see the people of God walking in truth(3rd John vs 4). The fact is though, many today don't know the difference between truth and error.

The bible mentions of the anti-Christ. Who do you think is going to pave the way for him? Also, there are those who got out of the Illuminati or other satanic groups that have exposed all this stuff.