THE LIFE OF FAITH AND THE GLORIOUS CHURCH - 2009
FEBRUARY 8th
IT IS SATAN'S FIRST AND FOREMOST DESIRE TO INFLUENCE US TO ACT APART FROM THE
WILL OF GOD
1 Peter 5:6-7 NASB
One must never
"keep on" casting their care upon the Lord - that is, cast their care
of a certain situation or circumstance upon the Lord and then take it back
again only to cast that same care on the Lord over and over. One must cast the
whole of their care - in any situation that arises - upon the Lord and then, by
faith [regardless of all physical circumstances], continue to "know"
that God will cause them to emerge victorious in Christ. This points out the
extreme importance of "bringing every thought captive" to the
revealed knowledge of God's Word. For the failure to do so will SURELY allow
Satan to retain a degree of control where our thought-life is concerned, and it
is no secret that it is Satan's first and foremost desire to influence us to
act and speak apart from the will of God. That is, to walk in selfishness and
fear - thus violating the "law" of love.
WHEN
WE GAIN A REVELATION OF THE FAITHFULNESS AND LOVE OF THE FATHER IN HIS DEALINGS
WITH US IT ALLOWS US TO ADVANCE IN OUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH
As we go forth in
obedience from faith to faith we are - through our continued obedience -
"allowing" the Holy Spirit to remove ground of fear after ground of
fear from within us. When we gain a revelation of the faithfulness and love of
the Father in His dealings with us it leads us into an absolute trust in Him,
and allows us to advance in our spiritual growth. It also keeps us continually
in the place where we truly desire every ground of fear to be confronted
quickly - wholly determined to replace the "lie" we had been
believing with a revelation of the Word of truth. It is through this
"process" that those who are faithful come to the place wherein the
lies of Satan will no longer have any serious affect upon their life and
ministry. When the child of God walks in a very high degree of consecration -
separated from the world and unto the Word of God [their heart being saturated
with that Word] - they will SURELY come to the place wherein they are free from
fear, and even though the spirit of fear may attempt to rise up against them,
it will not find any ground "within" them.
WITHOUT THE POWER OF GOD'S WORD WITHIN THEIR HEART IN ABUNDANCE,
THEY SHALL BE OVERCOME BY FEAR AND DARKNESS
As we continually keep
our mind on the "things above" and continually saturate our heart
with the Word of God, then each time an opportunity arises for us to be
influenced by the "cares of this world", the Word of God that
"fills" our heart will rise up and cast down any fear-filled thoughts
that Satan attempts to influence us with. If the child of God remains in an
unrenewed state of mind then, when a potentially fearful situation comes upon
them, they will be "bombarded" [inundated] with the lies of Satan -
and without the power of God's Word within their heart in abundance, they will
be "overcome" by fear and darkness every time. We must understand
that our entire life and ministry must be controlled by the power of God -
through the "allowing" of the Holy Spirit to fill us and consume us
with the love of God. For it is ONLY in this way that the Father is able to
cause us to rise above all the "temporal" evil of this world - and,
thus, continually live the overcoming life in Christ that is our heritage.
"inundate" - to cover by
overflowing; flood; to overwhelm with abundance or excess;
Related Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 10:5; Ephesians 4:29; Romans
8:35-37; 1 John 4:18; Joshua 1:8; 2 Timothy 1:7; Colossians 3:1-3; Romans
12:1-2;
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