The Devil The Enemy -- Joyce Meyer 2.18.17

Saturday morning: Review of Friday night

What we do right over and over is what changes us. Don’t live life in a hurry. We learn more in difficulty than in good times. Be stable in emotions and have peace. God, I believe you are working in my life. Rom 8:28, I Cor 10:13. My joy is in Him, not my circumstances.

Session 2 The Enemy the Devil

Every day we need to be diligent over our thoughts and speech.

Satan is a liar and the father of them.

You are valuable, He loves you, He is with you to the end of the age.

The words of God are stronger than the enemy’s words.

2 Cor. 10:4-5,

4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

We are in a War, and the Word says we have already won.

We have weapons. Learn the word of God to learn your rights in the Kingdom.

Ephesians 6:12. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

We wrestle against the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places.

Learn to believe in the power of angels and the Holy Spirit.

Luke 10:19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

I have the authority and the power of God working in me. I can have God’s blessings. We need to fight for ourselves and believe Him for ourselves.

The only authority that Satan has is what we give him through complacency, disobedience, laziness, etc. Jesus died to give us life.

James:4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Luke 9:1. When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases,

Where there is peace, there is power. Exodus with Israelites at Sea of Galilee. Hold your peace, and I will fight for you.

Col: 3:15  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Don’t do anything without His peace over it.

The name of Jesus is great! Pray for protection from the Angels.

Elisha prayed for the Lord to open his servant’s eyes to see the Angels roundabout.

15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Dan.10:5-6, 11-13

5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.

11 He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.

12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.

Ask for the Lord to help me. He hears. Persevere.

Ps.91:1-11

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [1]

2 I will say [2] of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling-- even the LORD, who is my refuge--

10 then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;

He is our refuge.

God is always fighting. Believe, and release God’s work over my life.

Jesus never tried to prove Himself right. He knows who He is. Know who I am in Christ without pride or judgmentalism. The enemy seeks to have us focus on the people who annoy us.

Romans 15:1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.

Matt 7:1-7

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Don’t judge and criticize others. Mind your own business.

Prayer-- Satan wants us to forget to pray, or to hinder our prayers. It must be sincere to be powerful. Effectual and fervent prayers are a danger to the devil.

Matt. 7:7

Be simple and natural when you pray. We have not because we ask not.

Satan pushes us to do things in extremes.

1 Peter 5:8 tells us to be vigilant. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Take care of your health. We need rest to be strong in the Lord. Beware of becoming too legalistic, too talkative or quiet, too planned or too creative.If you have to do something every day, it may be a problem.

I Peter 5:9  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Don’t be focused on ourselves. Forget our own interests. God will take care of us. Get about God’s business. Delight yourself in the Lord, and  He will give you the desires of your heart.

Beware of the works of the flesh, our energy trying to do what only God can do, or trying to do what we need to do without the Spirit’s leading and power. Who do I have working on the potter’s wheel of my life? True change comes from the inside out. Accept people where they are at, or you will be lonely.

Embracing Each Season of Life--Joyce Meyer

Have a conversation with God. Ask, seek, knock. Don’t quit.

Philippians 4: 12 "I’ve learned the secret of being content. . ." Embrace all of it.

Get the words, “I hate,” out of our language. Instead say, “I love my life, my God, my work, my life.”

Gen 8:22 "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease."

Doing the Word changes lives. Get about doing. Make a decision to let God into your life to really love the life He has given you. Stop wishing. Wishing is lazy. Determined people DO!

We have seasons of harvest, trials, and waiting. Each real breakthrough comes after difficulties.

Song of Solomon 2:12 "The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;"--Keep your hope.

Phil.4:13 "I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

I Cor 10:13“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

You can choose to believe whatever you want to believe.

Phil 4:11-12 "11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."

Daniel 2:21 "And He changes the times and the seasons;

He removes kings and raises up kings;

He gives wisdom to the wise

And knowledge to those who have understanding."

Galatians 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Eccl.3:1-4, 11 "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

11 He hath made everything beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end."

When we try hanging on to things, people, etc, when God is done with it, that will keep you from the next great thing He has for you. Stop hanging on to that which isn’t working anymore.The more we resist, the more it will hurt and the longer it will take.

Take slow deep breaths, relax. Just as in labor. God has a purpose for everything He allows into our lives. Our problems are tools to drive us to Him. If we trust in God, we can become strong in Him.

Stop resenting the ones who hurt us. Rejoice in the Lord. Remember the story of Joseph.

Enjoy your life even when going through the trials. Joseph went to prison 13 years for something he didn't do. He was falsely accused by his master’s wife. Then he was forgotten by those he helped. Gen 50:20. "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Hardships often prepare ordinary people for extraordinary things.

Spring is just around the corner.

Stop trying to figure things out. Avoid excessive reasoning.

We all want an explanation, but He gave us the Incarnation. His word is in us.

Relax and let us do His will.

Four Purposes for Trials.

1. To humble us. Everyone who becomes great must go through difficulties. It isn't about abounding all the time. 2 Cor. Paul’s thorn in the flesh verse.
2. To make us more dependent upon God. Every time you make a sacrifice, you won’t reap a harvest the next day. Go to Him because we can’t live without Him. Spring is just around the corner. Sometimes we need to have a meeting with ourselves. 2 Cor. 1:9 "Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead."
3. To test our faith. 1 Pet. 1:7 "These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." Go ahead and pass that test so you don’t have to take it again.
4. To equip us to help others.2 Cor. 1:3-4 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God". God will give you a double reward if you endure under injustice and persevere. If you forgive, you only have to forgive once. If you hate, you have to do it every day, and it will kill you.Contrast: we love spring because it follows winter. No roses without thorns, or be thankful that roses have thorns. Our perspective determines much. Love peace and freedom from guilt. Good things are on the horizon of your life.