Spirits of Influence
June 28, 2014
Romans 13:12-14
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof].
Spirits of Influence
There are three primary wills that are operating in our lives today: the will of God, the will of man and the will of satan. We have the right and the good on one side, the evil and the darkness on the other and we are in between. We know that we are a spirit being, with a soul made up of mind, will and emotion. Then we have a body that is able to physically and outwardly express that which is resident in our spirit and our soul. We find that our souls are the battleground for that which possesses our spirit and that which manifests itself through our outward man.
As a Christian we have asked Christ to come in and indwell our spirits. This is the beginning of our salvation experience. While we have given our hearts and spirits to Christ, what we find is that there still remains spirits of influence in our outward man that continue to seek to find a place of residence and expression through our mortal man.
Why is it that as Christians we still display so many attributes of the flesh? It is because there is still a mixture in our soul of flesh and Spirit. When the Lord brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the promised Canaan land, it was filled with inhabitants already. The inhabitants were an idolatrous and wicked people. The absence of the presence and working of the Spirit of God in that place had left it like a fertile field overgrown with weeds, thistle and thorns. The possession of the land was through a physical and spiritual dispossessing of the former inhabitants and the spirits that possessed them.
In our souls today we may well be struggling with spirits of influence that may be quite contrary to the Holy Spirit. Each one of us has strongholds and weaknesses that the enemy seeks to infiltrate and exploit to his sinister end and purpose. There may be areas that we are able to overcome relatively easy and have no real power or influence over us, but there are other areas that we struggle with and may feel constantly defeated in.
Satan feeds on flesh. In Genesis 3:14 the Lord curses the serpent, satan and says, “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou [art] cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” If we ask the question, “what dust does he eat?” we find the answer in Genesis 3:19. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt thou return.” Our bodies and our flesh are the dust that the serpent and his demonic host feed upon. When we are in Christ, satan’s only right to us is through our flesh. Satan had nothing in Jesus, because Jesus didn’t operate out of the flesh, but out of the Spirit. This is why Romans 13:14 exhorts us to, “put on you the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lust thereof.” What we feed, grows. When we give place to those areas in our lives that are our weaknesses and areas of temptation then they grow stronger and stronger the more we give them life and place. The stronger they become the more they bind and imprison us. This is how the enemy gains a foothold in our lives and through time is able to destroy our testimony and faith. This is the purpose and the goal of the enemy, to rule us with condemnation, guilt and shame. The more these strongholds gain place the more isolated and unworthy we feel of God, thus the more we are separated through lack of faith, fear, doubt and condemnation.
The reality is God has never stopped loving us and caring for us. The blood of Jesus has never lost its power of forgiveness, but satan has found occasion through our sin to cause a separation between our God and us.
Freedom is in laying hold of the key of faith that will unlock the door to our prison. God has already set us free in Christ. It is our minds and the deception of the enemy that holds us captive. The Word exhorts us to denounce the works of darkness. Romans 13:12 exhorts us, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.” Our liberty is in putting on the armor of God’s Word and truth by faith. ‘There is no more condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. We will no longer walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit in Christ Jesus.” By the Spirit we will put to death the deeds of the flesh and we will take back the land of our soul and mortal bodies through the authority and the power of Christ in us. We have reckoned ourselves dead unto sin and alive unto Christ. We will press on, overcoming in that truth. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)”
Don’t allow the spirits of influence to rob you of your destiny and your purpose in Christ,
“ But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfil] the lusts [thereof].”]
Blessings,
#kent
Inward Garments
November 1, 2013
Isaiah 61:3
…The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness…
Inward Garments
You know our moods; our dispositions, our attitudes, our outlook on life and our demeanor are all clothing and garments of our soul and spirit. The inward man has a wardrobe just like the outward man. So what kind of garments are we wearing on the inside of us today?
When life is going well and things are prosperous and easy, it is not so hard to have a good disposition. What about those days, weeks or even years when we have endured heartache, disappointments, afflictions, hurts and the heaviness of life weighs down upon us, oppressing and depressing us? It is hard to have joy in the midst of sorrow and it is hard to rejoice in pain, but we will identify and outwardly take upon us the fashion of our inner clothing.
God has given us the ability in these times to be able to change our inner garments. It starts with the faith of who He is. It takes our eyes off of the natural circumstances, the very seemingly real feelings of despair that we have, and it looks upon the promises of our faithful God. Faith reaches out and grabs hold of God’s Word and life and then the exercise of that faith begins to change the fabric of our mournful state by declaring what God has said. It looks at those things that are not and speaks to them as though they are. Faith remembers 1Corinthians 1:28 that says, “And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, [yea], and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are.” Faith looks and remembers what God says in Isaiah 46:8-11, “ Remember this, and show yourselves men; Recall to mind, O you transgressors. 9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’ 11Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it”. Faith looks upon an ever-living and ever-faithful God and it begins to open its mouth in praise. It declares as Paul does in 2 Corinthians 4:7-18, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you. 13 And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,”we also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” Faith fixes it’s eyes upon what God has said and promised and not upon the hard place that it is in. Praise begins to declare the majesty and the promises of the Almighty and of His Son, Jesus Christ. It looks up and sees the heavens open and joins chorus with the angelic host that worship before the throne. Praise puts upon us a royal and priestly garment that is the proper apparel for approaching the throne of God.
Praise and worship changes our demeanor and our spiritual garments. It gives us beauty for ashes and the oil of joy for mourning that the name of the Lord might be glorified. The world has to wonder at people that can demonstrate such joy in such a pitiful earthly state. It is because they have looked upon their Redeemer who lives. They see the heavens opened and the garment of praise has brought them before the King of Kings and into the joy of His presence.
Blessings,
kent
tricklesoftruth 