The Enemies Tactics 2

 

The enemy and his tactics 2

But first we need to understand the history behind the plan of salvation and how we ended up here…

Here is a brief overview

Mankind was created in the likeness and image of God; “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26) 

From the outset of creation we are taught that God had a plan which included us, in fact it was more than just an inclusion, we were given responsibility to have dominion over the earth; “And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” – by this time one third of the angels had rebelled in heaven and made war against God and his regiment, the obedient angels, who had defied Satan and remained loyal to God. Satan and his regiment was defeated and cast out of heaven; “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” (Revelation 12:7-9) – From this time on Satan and his followers objective was to deceive those whom had been given dominion over the earth, the human race, and it all started way back in the garden with Eve; “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.” (Genesis 3:1-4) – Satan the mastermind of deception – it’s his deceitful aptitude that will eventuality lead millions, if not billions into the Lake of fire. We can deduce from this engagement that Satan had now executed his plan to deceive, he challenges the Word of God and Eve bites into his lies and for the very first time sin enters the world. God then inflicts a similar punishment and casts Adam and Eve out of the Garden; “therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.”  (Genesis 3:23) – After banishment we learn that we are born into sin and are forbidden to eat from the tree of life; “He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”  (Genesis 3:24) 

Eve’s womb produces a murderer, Cain kills Abel, a fruit of sin and the confirmation of the sentence, death.

 

The story of Job then teaches us many valuable lessons and helps us understand Satan’s objective, which is to get us to rebel against the Word of God and then ultimately curse God and die. Read the book of Job or at least the first two chapter to get a clear indication of Satan’s intent.

 

Nevertheless, from the outset God always had a plan to rescue us from our quandary. The Word then becomes flesh and Jesus is born through the womb of the Virgin Mary, lives a life of sinless perfection, then he dies on a cruel roman cross and on the third day is raised from the dead, opening the door for redemption. The gospel now becomes the only hope for mankind’s salvation, which when implemented correctly mends the breach between them and God. They now become sons of God. The one and only hope we have in defeating Satan’s objectives is to cry out to Jesus; “For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”” (Romans 10:13) – We must acknowledge that we are sinners and in dire need to be saved from our sin, when this is realised the solution is simple. We must confess our sins asking God to intervene and save us from the shackles that Satan has over us and then look to Jesus for rescue, believing in our hearts that God has raised him from the dead and that he has made a way for the sinner to be saved. We then need to confess him as Lord of our lives and the rest is then worked out over time. The initial transformation must be a radical one, if not something is amiss. If a baby is born through a mother’s womb encapsulated in water. How radical is that transformation as it enters a completely different environment and breaths on its own for the very first time. When a person is "born again" their eyes are opened and for the very first time they receive an intuition to see heavenly truths. We now understand that we have a far greater responsibility than ever before to come God's way. Our lives change as we learn to walk in the Spirit and depend on the finished work of the cross. It’s at this juncture that the light switch is flipped and we are then “born again”. We now realise what is of utmost importance. This is where the real battle begins, and thank God that the work of salvation is a marathon and not a sprint. We will have heartache along the way, BUT GOD will teach us HIS ways as we learn to shed our old natures and follow in the footsteps of our great Saviour. Did you know that an olive is placed between two stones and then crushed to extract what so many covet, olive oil? We will have to suffer in this life to become like our great Saviour, but it will be worth it all; “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1Peter 4:1-2)

 

The Christian has a hope like no other, heaven with all its glory will be ours, and the faithful will receive glorified bodies just like the Lord Jesus’ and we will be addressed by the only true God as sons. God will be our Father and we will be his sons, fellow heirs with Christ, wow! How I long for that day to arrive, even so come quickly Lord Jesus.

 

“Peace to all of you that are in Christ.”

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone        

 

The enemies tactics 1

 

Understanding the enemy and his tactics is a common thread appreciated amongst any of the Great War heroes. And yet we have so many factors that need calculating when it comes to living the Christian life. All other religions understand the need to conquer the flesh and its passions but lack the wherewithal to achieve the desired result. Only because they rely on their abilities to reach a certain outcome and because they are sinful by nature, when pressed hard enough, will always end up failing. We are all born into sin and fall into the grouping, sinner! However, this classification is not stamped into our passports even through it should be, it would help us understand our state before a holy God from the outset. This is where the enemy has tricked people into believe a lie. Acceptance of our sin is dependent on the individual’s circumstances. Or rather a need to live a life that suits their needs, in spite of their defiance towards the law of God. Tolerance from others has become the order of the day, with very little consideration, if any towards God’s law. Democracy a word absent from God’s way of thinking. His Word is final and not up for debate when it comes to doing things under the banner of righteousness. He is righteous, we are not, even if some think they are. It’s like trying to mix oil and water, it will never happen. Liken human flesh to oil and God to water, you can put both into the same container but unless one of the two changes its structure they remain alone. The water unable to penetrate the oil and vice versa.

 

Our arch nemesis, the devil and his armies has a single objective, which is to get each individual “to curse God and die” (see the book of Job) and he will do whatever it takes to trip up the greatest follower of Christ. When it comes to the unbeliever he needn’t worry too much, for they have latched onto his mandate and are living as they please with him as their father. How do I arrive at such a conclusion? Everyone that acts out against the teachings of the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ is doing the devils bidding and therefore whether knowingly or not, have play into his hands; “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”  (John 8:44) – Anything or anybody that contradicts the Word of God in any form or shape is playing into the hands of Satan’s objectives. This is where a decision needs to be made, do you believe this to be true or not? “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” – In other words any religion that does not acknowledge that the only way to God the Father is via the Lord Jesus Christ has played into the hands of the devil and have believed a lie. Even so called Christian organisations have erred for the sake of power and shifted their mediator to Mary, the mother of Jesus who in her own right was a sinner like any other. Sure, I will not underplay her role, for who am I? She was blessed amongst women, chosen by God to give birth to Jesus, the only begotten son of God. It was though her womb that he entered the world and was given a body of flesh and blood. Through his life he achieve the near impossible, he lived a life of sinless perfection, never breaching the laws of God. The very first and last human to ever achieve this, hence the power he now yields as Saviour to all who dare to call out to him, through repentance, acknowledging their sin. Mary a wonderfully privileged individual who also needed to acknowledge her sin and need for a Saviour. She too had to call upon the name of Jesus to find forgiveness for her sin. When an organisation instructs you to pray to Mary as your mediator, they have played into the hands of the enemy and Satan has achieved his objective. You are believing a lie as your solution to achieve your objective, which is ultimately heaven, is it not?

 

We all want to end up in heaven, by hook or by crook is most of the world’s end game. There is no hook or crook when it comes to God’s mandate with regards to the Book of Life, here are the facts; “And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”  (Revelation 20:15) – What does this teach us? There is a book, the Book of Life, a registry in heaven with the names of those entitle to enter it, those whose names are not penned into that book will end up the Lake of Fire. I wonder how many people have been honest about this fact. How many funerals have you been to where the motto not been “rest in peace”? There will be no rest in the Lake of Fire.

 

God has made a way for all of mankind to be ushered into his kingdom, heaven is a real place and the reward for all who come God’s way and fight the good fight of faith with the Lord Jesus as the pivot to it all. Without him, no heaven, the Lake of Fire awaits.

 

Therefore I will leave you with these encouraging words, and I tell you a truth, I am not lying, this is what you need to do to have any chance of making it to heaven; “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13)

 

“To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen”

 

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone   

Considering the Variables

The fantasy world allows us to escape into a realm that gives an individual the upper hand. It levels the playing field and allows our minds to right the wrongs we witness. We lap it up because there is a small part of us that would love to be like them. From an early age in our lives we want to be praised and especially by our fathers. When we become a Christian the shift is server in so many areas of our lives but the need to impress our Father never changes, except now we have a new Father and He is the Father of lights, the creator of the universe. An impossible task if left to our own devises, but blessed be the name of our beloved Saviour Jesus Christ, the ONE who made this task attainable. In him we have the ability to bring glory to God. However, there are some variables we need to consider…

 

·        We have an enemy that will do everything in his power to keep us from our objective. He uses our old habits to nullify the work of the cross in our lives. If you were once a compulsive liar, he will get you to fall back into that behavioural pattern. Or if money was your thing, he lures you with it and may even trick you into exploiting the gospel for the sake of your carnal desires. The list is endless, but be wise in your deliberations. See things for what they are, look into the mirror and ask God to show you who you really are and then something can be done about it. The Lord Jesus gives warnings in the book of revelations when addressing the churches and the pattern throughout has the same emphasis; “he who conquers” will be rewarded and “he who has and ear let him here what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”

·        Here is a fact that will come to pass; “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”  (Matthew 7:21-23) – Do we habitual ask ourselves on a daily basis is my priority the will of my Father and am I sincerely striving to find the grace I need to overcome the hypocrisy of my life?

·        “many are called but few are chosen”  (Matthew 22:14) – What does this mean? Think of it like this, a group of individuals respond to the idea of becoming a paratrooper, they like those wings that decorate a shirt and the prestige it brings. Many enlist for the course but before long the intense training takes its toll and many wash out. Only a handful receive the accolade. “Many are called but few are chosen”.  

·        Therefore, it’s about learning to put off our old natures as we learn to put on the mind of Christ, It’s imperative, if not, we  may find ourselves standing amongst the many. I don’t know about you but that thought has often jolted me into action, but by the grace of God here I stand. How often I’ve had to dust my knees off to seek out God’s forgiveness. “While we have breathe we have hope.” There can be nothing that carries such weight in our lives. Family, children and their needs must remain a distant second.

 

With that now as a backdrop let us hear Peter’s instruction; “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” “

(1Peter 1:13-16)

 

There is a cost, we must die daily, and yes, some will have to die and are dying for their commitment to Christ but that is nothing new, many have been martyred for the sake of the Gospel and there will be more just over the horizon. Beloved it will be worth it all, we have a hope that stretches beyond our wildest dreams, you perceive that the imagination of the comic book cartoonist have learnt to wet our appetites, “you ain’t seen nothing yet.” The faithful will receive glorified bodies just like our Saviours glorified body; WHAT A DAY THAT WILL BE! Whatever the cost, let us encourage one another to good works that glorify our heavenly Father. I have another confession to make, I eagerly long for the day when I hear the voice of my heavenly Father ushering me into his kingdom, how I long for that approval and yet in the same breath my gaze will shift to Christ accomplishments understanding the responsibility which grace has taught me to play my part in the equation. It’s obvious that we have been saved by grace, which is a gift of God, but we have our parts to play. We must learn to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

 

“To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Are we learning?

 

Are we learning, have we learnt how to position the cross of our beloved Saviour on our shoulders correctly or is the pain unbearable? Or have we out-rightly refused to go anywhere near it? Christianity is a life filled with valuable lessons that we must eagerly embrace and then pass the test. If we haven’t understood this aspect to our Christianity then we are either unsaved or infants in nappies still groping for a dummy. The entire point of being conformed into the image of Christ is to understand a portion of His sufferings and the only way we will ever apprehend that reality is if we also suffer for the sake of righteousness. Until then, we are bystanders or simply an audience that has gathered to listen to stories and novel ideas from the preacher. “Unless a seed dies it abides alone.” 

From the day of Salvation, war-room training kicked into gear. It’s the navigation of this conflict, flesh against the spirit that had me pinned for many years of my life, however God is greater than any obstacle that looks to interfere with His will and the sooner we yield to His will, the easier it becomes. Not that the suffering subsides, but because our minds have accepted the fact that we need to mimic our Saviours behaviour in areas of our lives that were once impossible. Because we have now been enlighten by the Spirit of God we are no longer caught off guard when a trial presents itself, we now know what needs to be done; accept, count it all joy, and then through steadfast prayer find grace to nourish us through the examination, until it is over. It will come to an end…

 

This may help some of you, we often find ourselves, or at least I find myself looking for wiggle room when it comes to the trials in my life. Allowances of justification which excuses my behaviour in certain areas of my life, which is no more than sin looking for domination. I’ve landed on a mind-set on these areas of my life; “no wiggle room!” That’s it! as simple as that, when in doubt all I say to myself, “no wiggle room” and then I look to find grace to embrace the scrutiny. That’s all it really is.

 

When the Lord Jesus called out to Simon Peter whilst he was fishing what did he ask him? “He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.”  (John 21:17-18) – God will determine our trial in life, it’s not up to us to shirk the investigation, and we have been saved to bring glory to God, period! How does someone like me arrive at such a conclusion? Someone who has left a trail of destruction in his wake? For those who have read my autobiography you will understand. Although my example has not been like our beloved brother Paul, who was never disqualified by the way he lived his life. My example is the exact opposite and I has failed dismally in every area of my life, BUT GOD! Who is rich in mercy has removed the veil from my eyes and in a sense renewed a new spirit in me. He has afforded me the opportunity to own my sin, find repentance for it and now renewed my zeal that once burnt bright and true. Christian if you love the Jesus with all your heart and you have matured in HIS finished work, I never want to hear you asking the question, “why me?” “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.”  (1Peter 4:1-2) 

 

It couldn’t be clearer, it’s the suffering we face that enables us to resist our selfish wants and focus on the will of God, which brings him glory. Get out of the way, just say to yourself when looking for the escape hatch, “no wiggle room”. I am not saying we will always walk in victory, even though we should, but our mind-set will be one that is always geared towards victory. And then there is the great equalizer, once we become too big for our boots, we are brought down to our knees very quickly, and are quickly reminded that boasting of any sort is excluded. Our goal is this; “Our Father in heaven thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Everything is the world opposes the will of God, however we are no of this world, we have the Spirit of Christ. Let us at least live to the glory of HIS finished work. We must stand out as we are now entering into a time of the anti-christs reign, whom the world will lap up with open arms. The New World order is about to launch like never before.

 

“Peace to all of you who are in Christ.” 

 

Signing off

 

Tyrone

Behold the King is Coming

Behold the King is coming to rule and reign as King of kings and Lord of Lords. This will be the second time he visits our planet in bodily form. Two thousand years ago he willingly came to his own, the Jews and they rejected him as their messiah. Thankfully this opened the door for the gentiles, you and me. He presented himself in meekness with a purpose which he achieved in spades. He came to do the will of His Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; a lamb who we sent to the slaughter, where he was spat upon, and then crucified, a time of humiliation, but this is imperative to note, he willingly laid down his life and paid a price we could never pay. He died for the sins of the world, a sacrificial lamb without spot or blemish, in other words he was without sin, and he took the brunt of our sins. WHY? To open a door, which in turn enables the seeker to find forgiveness for their sins. Prior to his sacrifice this door remained shut. So unless we are forgiven in the Lords sacrifice our prayers will fall to the ground unanswered. Mankind trying to reach the great “I AM” on their terms, an impossible feat. It’s like me picking up the phone wanting to speak to the president and expecting his undivided attention, but to the power of trillions. But now I can, because Jesus has bridged that divide through his death. My sins are covered, he paid the price for them, and it is a done deal. I am forgiven, I cannot be tried for something I have already been tried for, and the law refers to that as double jeopardy. Although the sin is mine and I own it as such, once I call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, He has it in his power to forgive or not. Why? Because he has already been judged for it. My sin has been judged, Jesus took my punishment. Now if that doesn’t melt my heart nothing will, thank you Father for sending your only begotten son to die in my place and for my sin, thank you Lord Jesus for sending the Holy Spirit and opening my eyes to this truth. I have settled on the fact that some see this truth whilst others frown upon it, that’s just the way it will be, but I will shout it from the roof tops, MY JESUS SAVES! And on that note, I have a confession to make, forgive me Father for always squirming as I look for wiggle room when it comes to the sin in my life, no more! Help me, aid all of us lay down our lives to the full intent of your call. “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” is an offer that is reaching its expiry date. WAKE UP all of you on the fences.     

 

Did you know that there is a book in heaven and it’s called the Book of Life? For the angel to inscribe your name into it, it can only be once you have called upon the name of the Lord that you will ever peak his attention. I was ask a question from a dear friend, “Why can’t God just forgive you?” The answer is he will and he does but only if you come through the finished work of the cross. No one else has that accolade to their name, NO ONE! God hates sin and he will always judge it, a penalty for that breach must be paid, there is no impartiality with God, HE is righteous. Hence the sentence Jesus paid on behalf of sinners, therefore if I ask God to forgive my sin in person without the Lord Jesus’ cloak covering me, my sin remains, and hence that day will soon arrive where it will then be judged, the Bible refers to this event as the Great White Throne Judgement, where every sin that hasn’t been accounted for, those sins that Jesus has already nullified and already been judged for will be brought into the light and judged by God. Once a guilty verdict is passed, the Lake of Fire is where that sentence will be served.

 

It’s simple to understand, the only question you need to ask is do you believe it to be true or not?

 

Behold the Lord is coming and this time he won’t be on a donkey with a meek demeanour willing looking to laid down his life as he once did, THIS TIME! He will be riding a white horse and arriving with grandeur as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, where He will rule with a rod of iron. Best you be found wearing His coat of Arms. Or else!

 

"Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.  His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords." (Revelation 19:11-16) 

 

Signing out

 

Tyrone