Why does satan have so much power?
Jesus called satan the god of this world.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord God, they fell from the position of authority God had given Adam.
When Jesus was crucified, died, buried and resurrected, Jesus purchased back what Adam lost at the Fall. He gave that authority and power to the church.
Matthew 28:16 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had sent them. 17 When they saw him, they bowed down to him; but some doubted. 18 Jesus came to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
We have seen instances where police have been told to stand down. Police have the authority. But if they do not use it, or are told not to use it, the badge of authority alone is not enough.
Simply having authority does not get the job done.
Basically, the church, or some of it anyway, is ignorant of its position. The church is not strictly a building, though it can refer to that. The church is made up of believers.
There are some believers who do not understand their authority in Christ. They are waiting for God to do something. But the key is in their own hands, they just don’t know it.
People are waiting for God, but God is waiting for them.
Generally, there are acts of obedience to the Word of God and Holy Spirit required at some level to get things accomplished.
God works with mankind, “the Lord working with them”. He does not do the job he has given man to do.
Mark 16:20 (KJV) And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
Man’s job is to ask, seek, knock, present the promises of the Bible to God the Father in the name of Jesus, plead the blood of Jesus, pray to the Father in the name of Jesus and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in accomplishing God’s purposes here on the earth.
It also involves the power of the Sacraments, and of a structured, ordered, disciplined life. “Disciple” comes from the same root as “discipline”.
If things aren’t getting done, if satan’s power seems great, it is because overall, collectively, the church overall, at large, is not using the keys left it by Jesus.
The church must use the authority of the name of Jesus. That authority was left by Jesus.
It is like a policeman standing by while a bank robbery goes on. The policeman has the authority to stop the robbery. But if the authority is not presented and if the authority is not used, then it seems like there is no power to stop the robbery.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Hell Fire Bible Verse
Luke 16:19 “Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. 20 A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was taken to his gate, full of sores, 21 and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. 23 In Hades,[a] he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom. 24 He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.’
25 “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But here he is now comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that no one may cross over from there to us.’
27 “He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house; 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, so they won’t also come into this place of torment.’
29 “But Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’
30 “He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
31 “He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’”
Here is a shorter version of an out-of-body experience one man had with hell. There are longer versions on the internet (at least at the time of this writing). This version is 8 minutes.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Repost: BIG IRON MARTY ROBBINS
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Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
King David Listened to the Lord and Followed Instructions
King David of the Old Testament in the Bible was successful because he listened to God and followed God’s directions on how to win the battle.
II Samuel 5:19 And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the Lord said unto David, Go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.
20 And David came to Baalperazim, and David smote them there, and said, The Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters. Therefore he called the name of that place Baalperazim.
21 And there they left their images, and David and his men burned them.
22 And the Philistines came up yet again, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
23 And when David enquired of the Lord, he said, Thou shalt not go up; but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.
24 And let it be, when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.
25 And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Satan Provoked David to Number Israel
Phillip Medhurst, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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A. PearseInternet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
1 Chronicles 21
21:1 Now Satan rose up against Israel, and he incited David so that he would number Israel.
21:2 And David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people: “Go, and number Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan. And bring me the number, so that I may know it.”
21:3 And Joab responded: “May the Lord increase his people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all your servants? Why would my lord seek this thing, which may be imputed as a sin to Israel?”
21:4 But the word of the king prevailed instead. And Joab went away, and he traveled around, through all of Israel. And he returned to Jerusalem.
21:5 And he gave to David the number of those whom he had surveyed. And the entire number of Israel was found to be one million and one hundred thousand men who could draw the sword; but from Judah, there were four hundred and seventy thousand men of war.
21:6 But Levi and Benjamin he did not number. For Joab executed the orders of the king unwillingly.
21:7 Then God was displeased with what had been ordered, and so he struck Israel.
21:8 And David said to God: “I have sinned exceedingly in doing this. I beg you take away the iniquity of your servant. For I have acted unwisely.”
21:9 And the Lord spoke to Gad, the seer of David, saying:
21:10 “Go, and speak to David, and tell him: Thus says the Lord: I give to you the option of three things. Choose the one that you will want, and I will do it to you.”
21:11 And when Gad had gone to David, he said to him: “Thus says the Lord: Choose what you will want:
21:12 Either three years of famine, or three months for you to flee from your enemies, unable to escape from their sword, or three days for the sword of the Lord and a pestilence to turn within the land, with the Angel of the Lord killing in every part of Israel. Now therefore, see what I should respond to him who sent me.”
21:13 And David said to Gad: “There are difficulties pressing upon me from every side. But it is better for me to fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies are many, than into the hands of men.”
21:14 Therefore, the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel. And there fell from Israel seventy thousand men.
21:15 Also, he sent an Angel to Jerusalem, so that he might strike it. And while he was striking, the Lord saw and took pity over the magnitude of the harm. And he commanded the Angel who was striking: “It is enough. Now let your hand cease.” And the Angel of the Lord was standing beside the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
21:16 And David, lifting up his eyes, saw the Angel of the Lord, standing between heaven and earth with a drawn sword in his hand, turned toward Jerusalem. And both he and those greater by birth, being clothed in haircloth, fell prone upon the ground.
21:17 And David said to God: “Am I not the one who ordered that the people be numbered? It is I who sinned; it is I who did evil. This flock, what does it deserve? O Lord my God, I beg you to let your hand be turned against me and against the house of my father. But let not your people be struck down.”
21:18 Then the Angel of the Lord instructed Gad to tell David that he should ascend and build an altar to the Lord God on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
21:19 Therefore, David ascended, in accord with the word of Gad, which he had spoken to him in the name of the Lord.
21:20 Now when Ornan had looked up and seen the Angel, he and his four sons hid themselves. For at that time, he was threshing wheat upon the floor.
21:21 Then, as David was approaching Ornan, Ornan saw him, and he went out from the threshing floor to meet him. And he reverenced him prone on the ground.
21:22 And David said to him: “Give this place of your threshing floor to me, so that I may build an altar to the Lord upon it. And you shall accept from me as much money as it is worth, so that the plague may cease from the people.”
21:23 But Ornan said to David: “Take it, and may my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Moreover, I give the oxen also as a holocaust, and the plow for wood, and the wheat for a sacrifice. I will offer all freely.”
21:24 And king David said to him: “By no means shall it be so. Instead, I will give money to you, as much as it is worth. For I must not take it from you, and thereby offer to the Lord holocausts that cost nothing.”
21:25 Therefore, David gave Ornan, for the place, the very just weight of six hundred shekels of gold.
21:26 And he built an altar to the Lord there. And he offered holocausts and peace offerings, and he called upon the Lord. And he heeded him by sending fire from heaven upon the altar of the holocaust.
21:27 And the Lord instructed the Angel, and he turned his sword back into its sheath.
21:28 Then, seeing that the Lord had heeded him at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, David immediately immolated victims there.
21:29 But the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the desert, and the altar of holocausts, were at that time on the high place of Gibeon.
21:30 And David was unable to go to the altar, so that he might pray to God there. For he had been struck with an exceedingly great fear, seeing the sword of the Angel of the Lord.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Who Touched My Garment?
If you walk in a mud puddle, even if you try to stay clean, it is likely some mud will cling to your shoes or clothes.
As you walk through life, you may feel some of what is going on around you.
Jesus felt it. He said, who touched my clothes?
Mark 5:30 Immediately Jesus, perceiving in himself that the power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
In the natural, a person needs to clean up with soap and water from mud.
How does one clean up spiritually?
Ephesians 5:26 that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, 27 that he might present the assembly to himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without defect.
Ephesians 6: 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace, 16 above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word[a] of God; 18 with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints:
Psalm 27:7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
The Power of Thank You
Have you ever worked for a company where a complaint is that the management never says “thank you”?
The lack of thank you to hard working employees can become a point of unhappiness. Sure, they are hired for the task, or perhaps volunteer for the task, but oftentimes good workers will do more than they are paid for, will stand in the gap when someone is sick, or will go the extra mile when needed.
Sometimes they would appreciate a simple thank you.
That is true in families as well.
The lack of thank you can be destructive. The Bible tells us that Lucifer, instead of being thankful to God for the gifts and position he had been given, became jealous and wanted to take God’s place. For that pride and rebellion, he was thrown out of heaven.
Isaiah 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
The power of thank you is huge.
Everyone has tasks to do.
A thank you seems to lift the load.
This is true in a family. This is true in a company.
When a child tells you thank you, don’t you want to do more for the child? Your effort, your work, is appreciated.
What about God?
Jesus once spoke about the lack of thanksgiving.
Luke 17:11 As he was on his way to Jerusalem, he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance. 13 They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”
14 When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. 16 He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.”
Psalm 107:1 O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
3 And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
5 Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
6 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
7 And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
8 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
13 Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
15 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.
17 Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.
19 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses.
20 He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
21 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
22 And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
23 They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
24 These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
26 They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end.
28 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
30 Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
31 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
32 Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the watersprings into dry ground;
34 A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
35 He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
36 And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation;
37 And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase.
38 He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied greatly; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
39 Again, they are minished and brought low through oppression, affliction, and sorrow.
40 He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness, where there is no way.
41 Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock.
42 The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth.
43 Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the Lord.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Repost: 23 Year-Old Ronald Receives Sight @ Kathryn Kuhlman Service – “With Eyes to See The Sunset’s Glow”
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
I Will Pour Out My Spirit Upon All Flesh
Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:
21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
Sufficient Unto the Day Is the Evil Thereof
Matthew 6:34 (KJV) Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
If you take care of today’s labors today.
If you take care of the tasks in front of you today.
If you don’t let them pile up.
They are doable.
God gives strength for the task today.
Don’t put off until tomorrow what you should do today.
If you walk day by day, led by the Lord, the way is made plain.
Proverbs 4:18 18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.