Do You Know Him? Part 3

Although the Holy Spirit was not available to every person in the Old Testament, He was seen working among the chosen nation of Israel. Looking at His work in the Old Testament we see that His work was generally seen in four major areas...

• The work of creation. (Genesis 1:1-31)
• The progressive work of redemption (Genesis 6:3, Hebrews 1:1, 1 Peter 3:18-20)
• The work of inspiration of the scriptures (2 Peter 1:21)
• The work of the Spirit in the affairs of Israel (Genesis 41:38, Exodus 28:3, 31:1-6. 35:31, Numbers 11:16-29, Judges 3:9-10, 6:34, 11:29, 14:6-19, 15:14, not all inclusive) 

The Old Testament Scriptures reveal that judges, kings, priests and prophets in Israel experienced the Holy Spirit upon them. All of these were a type of Jesus Christ, The Anointed One, who would be seen in the New Testament as having the fulness of the Holy Spirit upon Him. All who experienced the power and operation of the Holy Spirit upon them could testify that it was "not by (their) might, nor by (their) power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts." (Zechariah 4:6)

At the close of the Old Covenant period and the ushering in of the New Covenant, there were particular and special operations of the Holy Spirit. Undoubtedly this was due to the new era that was about to begin with the unveiling of the Messiah into the history of mankind. This ultimately would open the door for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh. This would be the fulfillment of that which was spoken by the Prophet Joel, "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days." (Joel 2:28-29)

At the start of the New Testament we see the work of the Holy Spirit in a unique way. Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth had one of those experiences relative to the birth of their son John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah. John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother Elizabeth's womb, "And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:41) John himself would go forth to minister in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17) Also Mary the mother of Jesus was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit in order for the virgin birth of Messiah to take place. (Luke 1:46-55) We also see that both Simeon and Anna, a prophetess, came by the Spirit to the temple at the time of the dedication of the baby Jesus. (Luke 2:25-32)

It should be remembered that these working of the Holy Spirit happened only to chosen people of God who were equipped for a particular divine service. However, as it will be seen in part four of this series, there was a definite difference in the experiences of the Holy Spirit for the Old Testament saints as well as the New Testament saints prior to the Day of Pentecost. It starts with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit...

Do You Know Him? Part 2

In part one we saw that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person. Most believers would not ever think to refer to the Father or Son as "It," yet so many in the church refer to the Holy Spirit as "It." Basically, this is due to a lack of knowing Him. In fact the Scriptures do not only reveal Him in the personal sense, but they also reveal the fact the He is God. He is co-equal with the Father and the Son and yet He is a distinct Person. One example of this, is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are connected together as one in the baptism of a new believer. Jesus said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)

This shows us that the Holy Spirit is not only co-equal with the Father and Son, but He is also co-eternal and one with Them also. Jesus clearly teaches us this, "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me." (John 15:26)
"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.  (John 16:13-15)

Though the Holy Spirit is One with the Father and the Son, again, He is a distinct person from the Father and Son, notice, "When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased." (Luke 3:21-22) In John 15:26 (shown above) we also see that the Holy Spirit is sent to the believer from the Father through the Son.

Next, scripture reveals divine works attributed to the Holy Spirit in the same way various works are attributed to the Father and Son. This also gives witness to His deity. He was active in creation; "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:1-2) He was active in the inspiration of the scriptures, "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,  for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:20-21) He is also active in the regeneration of fallen man, "Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:3-7)

It should be evident that the person of Holy Spirit is revealed in scripture as God. All that the scriptures reveal concerning the attributes of God can be seen actively at work in and through the Holy Spirit. Although Christendom refers to Him as the third person of the eternal Godhead, it does not in any way infer that He is not co-eternal, co-equal and co-existent with the Father and Son. In fact the Bible reveals the Godhead existing in three persons, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, distinguishable yet indivisible.

In part three we will begin to explore what scripture reveals concerning the work of the Holy Spirit as revealed in the Old Testaments.

Do You Know Him? Part 1

Before Jesus went to the cross to make man's redemption eternal, He gave some instructions concerning the coming Holy Spirit...
"Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." (Luke 24:49)
"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever." (John 14:16)
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you." (John 14:26)
"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you." (John 16:13-15)  
What incredible promises we have been given. However, do you really know the Holy Spirit? The believer should see the Holy Spirit more than a mere influence or impersonal force. Although the Holy Spirit does influence, He is not merely an influence. He is a person and influences the believer is a personal way. Looking back to the scriptures above we can see that the Holy Spirit is revealed as a person,with the personal pronoun, “He” and He has a personal title, Helper (Comforter) He is also referred to in the masculine gender.

Next, we find that the Holy Spirit is spoken of as having personal qualities…
Acts 5:3 "...why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit..."
Romans 8:27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is..."
1 Corinthians 12:11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
Ephesians 4:30 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God..."
Hebrews 10:29 "...and insulted the Spirit of grace..."
Although not all inclusive, we can see, the Holy Spirit can be lied to, grieved and insulted. He also has a mind and will which are certainly personal qualities. 

Now we will look at some of the personal acts that the Holy Spirit performs…
Nehemiah 9:20 "You also gave Your good Spirit to instruct them..."
Isaiah 48:16 "...And now the Lord GOD and His Spirit Have sent Me."
Matthew 4:1 "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit..."
John 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
John 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things..."
John 15:26 "...the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me."
John 16:8 "And when He has come, He will convict..."
John 16:13 "...when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth..."
Acts 13:2 "...the Holy Spirit said,"Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
Romans 8:26 "...but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us..."
1 Corinthians 2:10 "...For the Spirit searches all things..."
1 Corinthians 12:11 "But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills."
1 John 5:6 "...And it is the Spirit who bears witness..."    

Again, although not all inclusive we see some of the personal acts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit instructs, sends, leads, brings about regeneration,  teaches, testifies, convicts, guides,  speaks and calls men into ministry, prays and makes intercession,  searches, distributes spiritual gifts to believers, and bears witness. From Genesis to Revelation, relative to both creation and redemption, the Holy Spirit is seen in operation. Getting personal with the Holy Spirit is very important for every believer. We should have a desire to know, understand, appreciate and experience the person, work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. 

In part two we will look deeper into the workings of the Holy Spirit to get to know Him in a greater way. After all Jesus tells us, "...for He dwells with you and will be in you." (John 4:17) 
 

Strength Training

Strength training is a type of physical exercise specializing in the use of resistance to induce muscular contraction which builds the strength, anaerobic endurance, and size of skeletal muscles.Other benefits of strength training are, develop strong bones, control weight, boost stamina, manage chronic conditions and sharpen your focus. It is estimated that Americans spends around $2.6 BILLION! per year on gym memberships. Another type of strength training so to speak is developing the mind. According to statistics, the USA spend approximately $809.6 BILLION per year on education. There is nothing wrong with strengthening our body and our mind, but when the rubber meets the road, both of these areas are limited. How so? Well, if a portion of the body (an arm or a leg for example) does not function then the entire body suffers loss. In the same way, if one of the five senses does not function, then knowledge also becomes limited.

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the church at Thessalonica writes, "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23) We see that man is not only body and soul (mind, will, emotions and intellect) but he is spirit. Man was made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26) and God is Spirit (John 4:24). If man is indeed spirit with a soul in a body then a dilemma exists. The part of man that is most important and needs to be strengthened, the spirit, becomes the part that is most neglected. It's not that we haven't tried to develop the spirit. We had thought that the only way to do this was through religion or religious education. Interestingly enough, most Bible Colleges, Seminaries and Local Churches only teach knowledge and tend to fail at bringing students and or congregants to a place of understanding spiritual things.

The knowledge obtained tends to become the only thing that is important, but again it is limited. This is why the apostle Paul warns us, "Knowledge puffs up..." (1 Corinthians 8:1) Paul was explaining to the church that their knowledge of things had filled them with pride and self-sufficiency, which could lead them to stray from the truth. The knowledge that they had filled their minds with was sense knowledge. Knowledge that comes through ones senses. This is the type of knowledge is the type of knowledge that fills the mind of every person. However, the Bible does exhort the believer to grown in the knowledge of the Father and Jesus the Son. (Ephesians 1:17, 2 Peter 3:18) This type of knowledge only comes through revelation by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables the believer to use the wisdom of God to use knowledge wisely.

Jesus tells us, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." (John 14:16-17) and "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come." (John 16:13) Here Jesus tells us that the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit would come and take Jesus' place after He had fully completed His work of redemption. Unknown to most, the Holy Spirit does not communicate knowledge to the intellect, except in rare cases, but communicates with our spirit. Until we know this fact and act upon it, for most there will be no development of faith nor will we come into the knowledge of our rights and privileges as God's children.

We must also keep in mind that the spirit will never grow and be strengthened in the things of God until it receives eternal life through "confessing with the mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believing in the heart that God raised Him from the dead." (Romans 10:9) By new birth, the Holy Spirit recreates our human spirit and imparts to us the Father's nature. With the Father's nature comes the Father's wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). This is the process by which the believer uses knowledge wisely. In fact, God imparts His entire nature within the believer (2 Peter 1:4). We may not have worked fully with the Holy Spirit in developing His nature in us, nevertheless it does exist within our recreated spirit. This is why it is so important for believers to grasp the fullness of redemption.

It takes faith to come to the place where our spirit become so developed that it dominates the soul and body. Once this happens I believe that the believer will walk in the same limitless life that Jesus walked in His ministry on earth as the Son of Man.   

Bad Things Do Not Come From God - Part 12

Now that we have discovered in the scriptures that Jesus perfectly reveals the Father's will and nature, let's look at the Father's will being played out in the ministry and life of Jesus Christ. Shortly after the baptism of Jesus to fulfill all righteousness as He "came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him."
(Matthew 3:13-16) He "was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."
(Matthew 4:1) This is an interesting point to know that the Holy Spirit filled Jesus and then lead Him.

Luke tells us in Acts 10:38 "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." Remember, Jesus is perfectly revealing the Father's will and nature. He went about doing GOOD and healing ALL who were oppressed by the devil. Does this even sound remotely that God causes bad things to happen?

After Jesus defeated the devil with all of his temptations, He begins His ministry and calls His first disciples (Matthew 4:12-22)  Once again we see the true nature of the Father revealed through Jesus...
"And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them." (Matthew 4:23-24)

The very things that people blame God for were the very things that Jesus was setting people free from. So if the Father is some how behind causing these bad things to happen to people, then we have a serious problem. Look at the words of Jesus when He was accused of casting out devils by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons...
"Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand." (Matthew 12:25) Notice that Jesus say "EVERY KINGDOM" this would also include the kingdom of God. To say that the Father is causing bad things to happen and that Jesus in turn is causing good things to happen is a kingdom divided against itself. Now really, how ridiculous is that. That would be saying that there is no unity in the Godhead or that God's will changes. Remember what scripture reveals in Malachi 3:6 "For I am the LORD, I do not change..." and Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

There are numerous passages that show us the ministry of Jesus that reveal the Father's heart and will toward humanity, but for time sake we will only look at two more...
"When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."
(Matthew 8:16-17) "Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people." (Matthew 9:35)

There are some very interesting things that stand out in these passages that should cause the reader to get excited and cause their faith to grow. First, Jesus "cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick." Jesus cast out demons and healed ALL who were sick. Sounds exactly what Luke recorded...
"...healing all who were oppressed by the devil..." It was the devil (demons) doing the bad things NOT GOD!!! It was Jesus who healed them all, not some, not a few, not some who deserved it while others did not, but He healed them ALL. We also see that in the cities and villages that the Holy Spirit lead Him He preached the gospel of the kingdom and HEALED EVERY SICKNESS AND EVERY DISEASE AMONG THE PEOPLE!!! My emphasis is to draw our attention to the fact that it is the Father's will to do GOOD not bad. Finally, we see that what Jesus was doing was a fulfillment of a prophecy spoken approximately 750 years prior to His advent into human history. It is God (Christ) who TAKES ALL of our infirmities and sicknesses, He does not give them for any reason whatsoever!!! Hallelujah...

From God's perspective it is not normal for any of His children to suffer with any sickness, disease, pains or anything that would be considered a bad thing. These are all works of the devil. Look at what John says...
He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8) I pray that your barometer of faith is rising and that you are seeing the true will and nature of God in the scripture. In doing so you will come to know without doubt that "Bad things do not come from God."

Bad Things Do Not Come From God - Part 8

Although there are many other incidence in the Old Testament that we could address that have been used as so called evidence that God causes bad things to happen or that it is His will for bad things to happen, we will close our discussion of the Old Testament with this final word.

In the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, there is a very important statement the the LORD reveal concerning His nature that we must apprehend if we are going to see Him in the true light of His true nature.
Malachi 3:6 "For I am the LORD, I do not change..." The LORD God is unchangeable! He is not merciful one moment and then become merciless the next. He is not gracious one moment and then become discourteous the next. He does not abound in goodness and truth and then become bad and lie.
"God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19-20) He does not change! Change implies imperfection and we all know that God is perfect in all He is, all He does and all He says; in everything!

Remember God made Adam a perfect man. He was not mortal nor immortal. He was made in the very image and likeness of God. He was made a little lower than God Himself which means he was above all other things that God had created; he was also given dominion over all of Gods works (Psalm 8:5-6)
It was God who looked at what He had created and said, "Indeed it is very good." God's original plan for man was for him to be in perfect union with Him and to live forever experiencing His very divine nature. Eve may have been deceived, but God gave command to Adam and therefore it was Adams choice that brought the horrible destructive nature of sin upon humanity. It was Adams choice to turn all his authority over to Satan resulting in mankind's slavery to Satan and sin and all their destruction.

We have looked at God's revelation of Himself to Moses...
"Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation." (Exodus 34:6-7) Although throughout Israel's history we see them struck with plagues and in bondage to other nations, but it was not God's doing nor His will for them. His will and plan for Israel was...
"Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."(Exodus 19:5-6)
It was Israel's continous rejection and rebellion against God that removed them from God's protection, provision and blessings and placed themselves under a curse; slaves to Satan and sin. 

We saw that it was Satan not God who brought all the horrific things on Job. We saw that it was not God's will for these things to happen but Job had given Satan place through fear...
"For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me."
(Job 3:25) We also saw that God does not use Satan as His tool to do evil against humanity, but saw that God is just in every situation and circumstance and acts accordingly...
"As for the Almighty, we cannot find Him; He is excellent in power, in judgment and abundant justice; He does not oppress." (Job 37:23)

We also looked at many Old Testament passages that reveal God's true nature which He had previously revealed to Moses. And now we see that Malachi tells us that God is unchangeable. It is unfortunate that many Christian leaders for centuries have convinced far to many Christians that bad things come from God when in fact it is completely contrary to scripture. It is sad that most Christians today do not have a Biblical understanding of faith and therefore rely on their sense knowledge to live out their Christianity. Sense knowledge says, "when bad things come into one's life it must be God's will for them." It is true that the faith message was twisted like many other revelations that the Holy Spirit has revealed to the church to reform and restore her, but that is certainly no reason to have true Biblical teaching of faith removed from pulpits. The entire Christian life comes down to "faith working through love."

As we explore the New Testament on this very critical topic, my prayer is that the reader rely on the Holy Spirit to have their understanding enlightened in the knowledge of Jesus Christ so that they will truly come to know the truth of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. My prayer is that the doubts that have been placed in the hearts and minds of most Christians from faithless people who preach faithless sermons be assaulted and destroyed so that they can live a free, successful and abundant life in Christ and that we all come to a greater revelation of what He has accomplished for humanity through His death, burial, resurrection, ascension and glorification.

Demanding Something Due

John's gospel by far reveals some things that many congregation have permitted to slip away due to a lack of faith from church leaders or through liberal theologians who hold their wisdom above that of the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells us...
However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (John 16:13)

Notice that Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. Well then if the Holy Spirit is not being permitted to guide, then the possibility exists that there many of the so called truths today that are accepted by many believers are nothing more than the product of the wisdom of men and not truth revealed by the Holy Spirit. Could this be why more believers are trained to doubt than to believe. Let's look at something that Jesus said that most church leaders have trouble accepting as a part of the ministry of the church today...

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. (John 14:12)

There are some things that must be settled in our hearts concerning what Jesus is saying. First, is this statement figurative or literal? Is it only for the apostles are for all believers? Well if you believe that it is a figure of speech and or because is was spoken to the apostles it was only for them, then you operate in doubt and not in faith. However, if you are convinced that this statement is literal and is for anyone and everyone who truly believes in Jesus, then it's time to release your faith and act upon it. Next we see something equally incredible...

And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. (John 14:13-14)

The reference here is not concerning prayer, but it refers to the believer acting upon Gods will by exercising spiritual authority in the Name of Jesus which every believer has the right to. The word "ask" means; to inquire; to request; but in the context of these verses it means to demand; to demand something due. It also carries with it the assurance that whatever we have asked or demanded in the Name of Jesus, it will be granted. It is not to place a demand on God, but in the sense of demanding that which is contrary to God’s will to come into alignment with it.

Jesus is teaching His disciples and us about using His Name as a basis for authority. He is saying that believers are to demand that which is contrary to God’s will to come into alignment with it. That is the power and authority that is in the Name of Jesus and when believers demand something due in His name, He says that He will do it. Now I want to remind the reader again that we are not demand anything of God but demanding that which is contrary to God's will to come into alignment in the Name of Jesus. What a promise. The only thing that we must keep in mind is that we have to release faith for these things to happen.

Being Victorious Through Humility

I Peter 5:5-9 gives believers a principle for living victorious lives. Believers are called to be clothed with humility in both their outward appearance and conduct as proof of a humble heart. Humility then releases the unmerited unearned ability and desire to do Gods will (Grace). That means that no matter how difficult a circumstance or situation a believer finds himself in Gods promise it to elevate a humble believer above them.

However, there is a very important key to not letting life's difficulties pressure believers into discouragement, fear, anxiety and disappointment, "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7) The Amplified Bible says it this way, "Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully." Wow, what a wonderful Father that we have in heaven. Our heavenly Father does not want His children to worry or be anxious about anything. He wants believers to cast all anxieties, all worries and all concerns, once and for all upon Him. This means to cast our cares on Him and not take them back. This can be a difficult task for believers because Peter reveals where anxiety, worry and concerns come from, "...your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (I Peter 5:8)

The devil uses lies, deception, accusation and persecution to create circumstances and or situations to cause believers to fret, worry and or be filled with anxiety and concerns because it neutralizes faith. This is why Peter tells believers to be "sober, be vigilant", that is, not showing agitated emotions due to the concerns of the world but being watchful (on guard) because the devil who is an evil spirit has access to us everywhere we go. The devils primary objective is to contend with and oppose believers all the time to get there focus off of the LORD and on anxieties, worries and concerns. What are believers to do?

"Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." (I Peter 5:9) Stand against the devil! Do not be weak in faith! Do not waver at the promise of God that He will exalt you and that He will take all anxieties, all worries and all concerns if we give them to Him. The crises of this life come to all of us. The difference is believers have the Word of God, the Spirit of God and the name of Jesus to use to resist the devil and stand in faith. We must get out of the habit of worry and anxiety and get into the habit of exercising faith knowing this; the weakest believer has the authority to overpower the devil if his faith is in the Son of God. Hallelujah