Title: Ep 11 | "Your survival guide to defeating the devil in court!"
Plot: The devil acts like a prosecutor
Notes: Every Christian should learn how to respond
Listen to "Ep 11 | "Your survival guide to defeating the devil in court!"" on Spreaker.
Full Transcript
Hey, welcome back!
I recently did a podcast called, "Why aren't my prayers working?" and I view this one as a companion message to it.
One time I went bowling with friends and I prayed I would beat them. And when I saw how badly I was bowling, I changed my prayer. I said, "I can see that I was wrong to pray that. I'm not doing well. So I just pray that you make them do worse."
I laughed when that thought entered my mind, but I left the prayer alone because I wondered if it might work. And a miracle occurred! Somehow they all managed to score less than I did! And I won the game!
Now was that good? No! Did it work? Yes! It did! But it is a great example, of the fact that we can pray sinful prayers. And in fact, being older and wiser I can go back to some of my old written prayers, and see how bad some of them were.
In my prayer podcast I explained how and why the devil orchestrates prayer interceptions and fumbles and the like. And I ventured the guess that unless we use prayer to stop him, the kingdom of darkness likely takes notes when we pray. Because as you can imagine, sometimes and perhaps many times, our prayers themselves are sinful. You're probably holier than I am. But prayer is potential a treasure trove of legitimate accusations.
And the devil is known as the great accuser and the book of Revelation indicates that he stands before God day and night hurling accusations at his (God's) people.
The Bible also warns about Judgement Day. The day that the books will be opened and when men will be tried for their works whether good or bad.
Now we get the impression that Judgement Day happens once at the end of our lives, but I became suspicious and started making some interesting observations and I have since changed my view. While I still hold the view that there is a final Judgement Day, I am suspicious that there is also a trial of our works that occurs during our lifetimes. I wonder if we aren't on trial right now. Hence the importance of covering ourselves in the blood of Jesus and clinging to the promise that our sins were forgiven in advance.
I will submit ample evidence to support these claims: First is the Scripture in the Book of Revelation that the devil is the great accuser who accuses God's people day and night. That's Revelation 12:10. Then there's this Scripture in Hebrews:
12:1-3 ESV Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Again suggesting that we are on trial, right now. I once thought I would be watching a movie of my life when I stood before God. But it's far more effecient to let everyone else in heaven see what I'm doing right now. And then when I get to heaven, the show might already be over. That's a sobering thought. And it would explain this Scripture:
Luke 12:3 ESV says
Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.
But there is good news! A solution is given, again in Revelation — where we are warned about Judgement Day and the great accuser, and it says that God's people overcame the devil by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. Let us not forget that testimony is a courtroom term.
I'm guessing you are far too young and good looking to remember or know about some of the famous trials in our nation's history like the Iran Contra affair, which was mind numbing TV, at a time when there was nothing else to watch — where Congress asked question after question. And I remember wondering, "Why do they keep asking these questions? We already know the answer. It's either going to be, "I do not recall," a statement that Ronald Reagan uttered no less than eighty-eight times, or "I take the fifth ammendment" which Oliver said North of forty-times. And yes that was a play on words. His name was Oliver North. And so what I learned, was that whether we have a good or bad answer, when it comes to courtroom trials, the accusations will continue until they all come out. They will ask every question because they are hoping that you will make a mistake they can exploit. It's awkward, it's uncomfortable. And they will try to goad you into answering these questions. And whether you understand it or not it's probably happening to you right now. In the spirit.
How many times do you make a mistake, a sin, and kick yourself because of it? I submit to you the guess that you are not kicking you, the devil is. But you were not taught by our woefully inadequate churches how to respond. The right answer to those accusations is, "I plead the blood of Jesus. I cover myself in the blood of Jesus. I was cleansed by the blood of Jesus. I have been forgiven of all my sins past, present and future in the name of Jesus." I might also throw in, "God I confess my sin in this area, I recognize that I was wrong, I repent, I change my direction, please forgive me!" But remember just because these answers will defeat each question, that doesn't mean the accusations will stop. Not until they all come out.
But those are the right answers, every time! And after you deliver those answers remember to forgive yourself! While, at one time, I did not understand the spiritual gravity of my situation, I still unwittingly gravitated to this behavior through the grace of the Holy Spirit.
I was once haunted by flashbacks and I tried confessing those flashbacks as sins and asking forgiveness and one by one, they went away, all of them!
Your spiritual senses discern when you are under attack — in the spirit. You know accusations were made against you (in the heavenly realm) and you suffer all of the kicking because at some level you think it's you. And you believe you deserve it.
But the spirit doesn't work like the physical. You won't get a phone call, or a letter, it will just enter your mind and again, you'll probably think you put it there. You'll get an uncomfortable feeling. A sense of despair, or you will feel threatened. You are sensing a legitimate threat and if it makes you afraid, do what Peter did and cry out, "Lord save me!" And later ask God to explain the danger you were in and how to avoid it next time. The Bible tells us that when Peter cried for help, Jesus immediately reached out and saved him immediately!
I will eventually do another podcast that explains that our emotions resonate with the spirit realm. Too many people medicate their emotions away with drugs and alcohol rather than trying to figure them out. They don't make the connection between the emotion and what is occuring in the spirit realm, which is in fact the source of the problem.
Instinctively they feel intimidated by a demonic goliath and rather than call out to God for deliverance or insight, they rush to a coping mechanism. And the devil gives them a respite, because the coping mechanism is usually a sin, and it is in the devil's best interests to let them dig a deeper hole.
Napolean Bonaparte once said:
Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.
These feelings won't go away unless and until you confront them. The mistake that I once made was that I thought I was kicking myself and so I allowed it to continue. But we weren't designed to do that to ourselves. That would be a terrible design! And God is good at what he does. Rather, we were designed to sense when others are kicking us in the spirit. And that will continue until we deal with it. So deal with it. The Bible says If we confess our sins, he (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That's 1 John 1:9.
Under those conditions, the flashbacks will end immediately; one by one. And you can expect the next accusation to come. But eventually you will work your way through every accusation and your slate will be wiped clean and you will feel better! Some of the hardest sins to spot are the ones that make us laugh, so be sure to be sensitive to those!
I know this seems unfair and it's a lot to take in, but would you rather go through life digging your hole deeper? or would you prefer freedom?
Besides, this is a healthy process. It will lead to emotional healing, wiping away ancient scars and sins. Giving you a clean slate, wiping away your guilt, laying down your burden, and embracing the feet of your savior at the foot of the cross. Let his blood cover you and give him thanks, because if he hadn't hung on that cross, that would've been you. It would've been me.
But perhaps some of you haven't received Jesus, and you haven't therefore then experienced this kind of love. And so I give you that opportunity now, pray with me now:
Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner, but I believe that you died on the cross for me and rose again from the dead. Now I turn from my sin and ask you to cleanse me from my sin, give me my new heart with you in it. I ask to be born-again. Be my Savior, my Lord, my God, my guide, and my friend. Please Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit. I choose to follow you from this moment forward. In Jesus name I pray. Shalom!
Now I am not Jewish, but I avoid saying Amen because of the false god, Amen Rah. And I don't like to take the chance that using that word could harm my prayer results so I just don't use it. It doesn't mean anything anyway. Shallom means hello and goodbye, peace...
If you said, that prayer: congratulations! You are a born again believer! Please avoid churches until after you learn to tell a good one from a bad one! It would be much more important for you to grow and nourish yourselve by reading the word of God, The Bible, and potentially listening to online pastors, but be careful! Because the Bible says that the devil's angels masquerade as angels of light. And that means that some of them, unfortunately far too many of them, run churches! I wish I didn't have to say this, but I've had some bad experiences, so be careful! It is a jungle out there! Just read your scriptures, grow, and continue to do things online, until you have a good grasp, and good growth, and some strength that you can draw on, before you walk into a group of people, who all share the same opinion. Whatever you do ease in!
This is your guide to defeating the devil in court! And the way that it's done, according to Revelation 12, the people of the Lord overcome the devil by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. So be honest! Confess! Repent! and plead the blood of the lamb every time you are accused of anything and forgive yourself.
God bless you!
As always, thank you for listening! And y'all come back now! Ya hear?
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