a lot of christians
avoid topics or sermons that really talk
about the reality
of spiritual warfare
and if you're one of these people
as i once was
if you're someone who isn't comfortable
learning or
receiving in-depth teaching about
spiritual warfare against evil forces
then
i'd like to tell you a few things that
have actually helped me
you see
people avoid and even fear
the topic of spiritual warfare
and it's simply because they place too
much emphasis on the devil
and on the kingdom of
darkness they overestimate satan's power
and sadly
underestimate the power that we have in
jesus christ
the power that we have with the holy
spirit
in one of her sermons on spiritual
warfare priscilla shire touched on this
topic
and i'd like to share with you some
points worth meditating on
she says
it's amazing how your countenance about
your difficulties and challenges
and mine
will change not because they go away
but because we overhear and really
understand
what the enemy thinks about us
because when he sees you and when he
sees me
he doesn't see us in our weakling power
and fledgling strength
no
he sees the power of almighty god
that is on the inside of us
now take a moment to think about that
last line
the devil doesn't see us
in our weakling power and fledgling
strength
no
he sees the power of almighty god
that is on the inside of us
this statement isn't just something that
should make you feel motivated and
inspired no it should fill you with
faith
because it's a statement
that's backed by scripture
the bible says greater is he who is
within you
than he who is in the world
and the truth is
the devil knows this
but sadly
so many christians don't
they know the verse
but they like the faith and belief
to truly overcome the enemy with this
knowledge
as born-again believers
jesus christ
the son of god
the prince of peace and the bread of
life he dwells on the inside of our
hearts
this is jesus christ
i'm talking about the one who defeated
hell death and the grave
so now tell me
what can satan do to you
when you know this
and when you know that the enemy knows
this
your countenance will change
your faith will be strengthened
priscilla shire further goes on to say
the enemy sees the holy spirit that
lives on the inside of us
and let me tell you something
even if you don't believe everything the
word of god declares to be true about
you
the enemy does
you might doubt it
but he doesn't
he knows
that you have already been forgiven
he knows
that there is therefore now no
condemnation
for those of us who are in christ jesus
he knows
that he is already underneath your feet
he knows that he can form a weapon
against you
but that weapon has no possibility
of prospering in your life
and so dear friends
the devil should not intimidate you
the prospect of spiritual warfare
shouldn't frighten you
the spirit of god lives inside of you
the enemy knows the treasure that god
has stored inside of you
so stop being timid
and start being courageous and bold
not because of your own strength
but because you know
that the lord is with you
and if god is with you
tell me who
can be against you
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they say that the best thief in the
world can steal time
well i'd like to tell you about one such
thief that you should always be aware of
you see
if i knew there was a thief coming
i'd stay up all night waiting for him
i'd lock every door
lock every window
i'd make sure the security alarm was on
i'd make sure my car was secure and i
would especially make sure that i have
something to defend myself with
if i knew there was a thief coming after
me
i would be ready
i would be guarded against this thief
now the bible warns us in john 10 verse
10 saying
the thief does not come except to steal
and to kill and to destroy
i have come that they may have life
and that they may have it more
abundantly
jesus stated three things that the thief
the devil comes to do
he comes to steal
to kill
and to destroy
how many of us can say that we are ready
for this thief
because this isn't any old kind of thief
the devil is a thief that aims to steal
kill and destroy everything that's on
the inside
and when i say everything that's on the
inside i'm talking about your peace of
mind
the enemy wants to destroy that
if it's joy that you have
the enemy wants to rob you of that and
leave you discouraged
if it's faith you have
satan will come after your faith
and what exactly does he target when it
comes to steal kill or destroy
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one translation of john 10 verse 10 says
the thief's purpose is to steal
kill and destroy
my purpose is to give life in all its
fullness
just as god has his own will and purpose
for your life
don't think for a moment that the devil
isn't trying to impose his own purpose
over you
and i say this not so that you should be
afraid
but so that you are equipped with
knowledge
the enemy we face is a very real enemy
and i believe that we need to take this
warning in john 10 10 seriously
because the devil is a thief
and guess what he tries to steal
he tries to steal your salvation
and he tries to steal your time
the time you should be spending reading
the word of god
time you should be spending in prayer
the enemy comes to steal the time you
have to build your relationship with god
the goal is to distract you derail you
keep you occupied with him rather than
with god
i believe that the bible tells us that
this thief comes to kill because the
enemy would love to kill your faith
he will do all he can to kill your hope
and discourage you
he wants to kill the tenacity in you
the gift that god has placed inside you
he's after all of that
but here's what i want you to do
you need to be alert
don't give the devil a seat at your
table
don't give him an inch
lock every door shut every potential
entry point for the devil
this means
don't give room to anything ungodly in
your life because that gives room to the
thief
the devil
i encourage you to make sure your
spiritual alarm is switched on always
be sensitive to the voice of god be
sensitive to the counsel and leadership
of the holy spirit
be alert
be filled with the holy ghost so that
you can discern if there is any attempt
by this thief to enter your life
the amplified translation says for first
thessalonians 5 6
so then let us not sleep in spiritual
indifference as the rest of the world
does
but let us keep wide awake alert and
cautious and let us be sober
self-controlled calm and wise
as children of god we have been warned
that we have an enemy
a thief that comes to steal kill and
destroy
but here's where we should take
confidence
god is on our side
god is in your corner
psalm 46 verse 1 says god is our refuge
and strength
a very present help in trouble
psalm 121 verse 1 and 2 goes further to
state
i lift up my eyes to the heels
from where does my help come
my help comes from the lord who made
heaven and earth
so the bible gives us many reasons not
to be afraid of this thief
there is no reason to fear him
although he comes only for destruction
we can call on the name of jesus
we are secured because as long as we
have god on our side
in our hearts and in our corner
then he will be faithful to keep us
he will not allow your foot to be moved
he will preserve you from all evil
he will preserve your soul and wherever
you go
and regardless of all of these promises
that we have from god
i believe that we always need to be
prepared for the coming of this thief we
are warned about
that's why the bible says repeatedly
be sober
be vigilant
be watchful
so what do you do when you've been
warned that a thief is coming
when you know you have an enemy intent
on coming to your house to steal and
kill and destroy what do you do
well
you get your house in order
and as children of god
we need to be on guard because here is
what the enemy is after
he wants to steal
he wants to rob you of your joy rob you
of your loyalty to the lord
he wants you to focus on all of these
worldly things on things that don't help
your relationship with god and if he can
manage to steal your attention
dare i say to steal your affection too
then he's done his job
if he can manage to make you lose your
focus in your walk with christ
the time will slip away and before you
know it you don't have a personal
relationship with jesus christ and
before you know it
you're standing before the judgment seat
of christ
so while you still can
do some self-reflection
while you still can
prepare for this thief
perform an inventory check
perform a risk assessment in your life
what's taking up your time
who's taking up your time
while you still can
seek the lord while he may be found
call upon him while he is near
because with god on your side
you have been assured of victory already
don't give the enemy an inch
don't give him room or an opportunity
but instead
be hidden in christ
arm yourself with the word of god arm
yourself in prayer
cover yourself in the blood of jesus
christ
abide under the shadow of the almighty
always
put on the full armor of god and stand
ready
to fight
oftentimes
a lot of us don't know why the devil is
fighting us
we'll scratch our head and think is it
just me
was it something i did
but let me tell you something
the reason why the devil fights us a lot
of the time
is because he wants to keep you from
discovering
what's inside you
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the devil is afraid of who you will
become
should you fully commit to the lord
the devil is afraid
of you discovering the gifts that god
gave you
often times we don't know why the devil
is fighting us but may i submit to you
that you have a gift inside you
a gift that will anger the kingdom of
darkness
your gift is what the enemy is trying to
stifle
it's what he's trying to choke out of
you so he will throw naysayers your way
he will throw discouragers your way
the enemy sends people your way he sends
the pharisees the sadducees
those people who are self-righteous and
consider themselves to be highly
educated and better than you
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he sends them to try and talk you out of
your calling
you can't sing worship
you can't teach the bible you can't
preach but you see
the devil can throw these rocks
but none
will injure you
the devil will throw fiery darts at you
but none
will pierce you
that's why the bible says your gift will
make room for you
your gift will make room for you because
no weapon formed against you will
prosper
and i'd like to add to the fact that in
order for us to realize our gifts
for us to fully experience the gifts
that god has placed within us
there has to be a desperation about us
we desperately need to be filled with
the holy spirit we desperately need to
get the word of god in our hearts we
desperately need to get on our knees in
prayer
that's how you'll learn your gifts
and know what it is that god has placed
inside of you
if you want to live out your calling if
you want to walk effectively in your
assignment you have to know
you need to know what it is he has
placed in you
and if you're wondering what these
so-called gifts are
first corinthians 12 verse 7 to 11 says
to each is given the manifestation of
the spirit for the common good
for to one is given through the spirit
the utterance of wisdom and to another
the utterance of knowledge according to
the same spirit to another
faith by the same spirit
to another gifts of healing by the one
spirit
to another the working of miracles
to another prophecy
to another the ability to distinguish
between spirits
to another various kinds of tongues
to another the interpretation of tongues
all these are empowered by one and the
same spirit who apportions to each one
individually as he wills
the bible is clear that to each there
are spiritual gifts
but the devil doesn't care that you have
gifts as long as he can keep you from
activating them
if he can keep you in the dark if he can
discourage you
then his job is done
this is why wisdom and knowledge is so
important for the believer
the devil is after you because of the
gift inside of you
and some of you will keep finding
yourself under attack one after the
other one battle followed by another
constant opposition
but hear me
it's like this
you're attacked like this because as you
are making strides in your spiritual
life as you are growing in faith he
knows that sooner or later you're going
to break through and realize or
recognize your gifts that
is why the attacks are launched
but during that time
during a season of attack
as a child of god you should be
persistent
a thief doesn't break into an empty
house
they don't
there's nothing of value in a house
that's empty
there's nothing to steal
but when you find the devil trying to
break into your life
it's because he knows
he knows what's inside you he knows the
heights that you can reach he knows the
value the gift inside of you
and that's what he wants
the enemy hates the christian man or
woman who is walking in their calling
operating in their gift with power with
humility with integrity all for the
glory of god
that's what the enemy hates to see
inasmuch as we all have unique gifts
each unique gift comes with its own set
of unique battles
there are evil forces that come against
you specifically to try and delay the
cultivation of your gift
they come against you to stop the
realization of your gift
or to simply distract you
when you are under spiritual attack
that's almost always a sign
a strong sign that you're doing
something right
it means you're on the right side
darkness is in opposition to light
evil is in opposition to good
fear is in opposition to faith
and likewise when you're a child of god
when you're living and breathing for god
you're in opposition to the devil
so expect
opposition now because you're living for
christ you will inevitably grow in him
the more you mature
the more you develop in your
relationship with him
the more the devil will realize that you
are edging closer and closer to your
calling
and so this is one of the primary
reasons you'll begin to experience
spiritual warfare
the gifts and callings are without
repentance so that means anybody can
have them
but it is the anointing
that makes the difference
it makes all the difference
i hear my pastor talk all the time about
how we have anointed singers at our
church
but he says that there's somebody out
there under a bridge somewhere that can
sing someone out of a coma
so don't get it twisted
don't be fooled by god using you
don't think that just because god is
using you
he approves of what you're doing
we have to make sure that we live a life
worthy of the calling
live a life worthy
i heard a preacher many years ago say
don't let your call take you
where your character can't keep you
that saying blessed my life because
doors will open
and people will want to hear what you
have to say
check your motives
and check your maturity
and make sure that when you go through
the door
it's one that god is opening for you
you need to learn your gifts
one thing about the gifts is that many
times we're ignorant regarding them
many of us don't even know why the devil
is fighting us
you have no idea what you're packing
seriously learn your gifts
get with the holy spirit
get in the word
learn your gifts and know what it is
that god has placed inside you
if you want to live out your calling if
you want to walk effectively in your
assignment you have to know
you have to know what he's placed in you
if you are out there doing all these
great feats and everyone sees this
mighty call on you
but you have no power in your personal
life
oh he's a-okay with that
but what he hates
is people walking in their calling with
power
with the anointing and with integrity
that gives the devil a whole headache
he hates to see you walking in your
calling with the anointing
and integrity
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so
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you