Shortly after I had posted yesterday’s blog post, this image popped into my mind. (I had seen this image a few weeks ago in the graphics program I use)
Is this not terrific!
I absolutely love it! Jesus – the Lion of Judah – has got our back!
Yesterday’s blog post talked about how there are dark, evil, unseen spirit forces seeking to destroy us!
We are at war – against unseen spirit forces of darkness!
Just the thought of that feels very overwhelming.
After all, it seems as if we are at a considerable disadvantage!
* We can’t see them! Yet they can see us.
* We are human, which means we get sick. Demons don’t get sick.
* We get weary and exhausted. Demons don’t get tired or weary.
* We need to sleep each night. Demons don’t need to sleep.
* Furthermore, we have only lived on this earth for a short amount of time. Demons, on the other hand, have been on this earth deceiving people for millennia. Demons have seen it all. They know every trick in the book.
* Additionally, we probably know very little about the spiritual strengths and weaknesses linked to our family bloodline.
For example, I had the great privilege of knowing both my grandmothers. Both my grandmothers loved nature and the outdoors! That’s in my bloodline – I do too! Both my grandmothers loved gardening and plants and green, growing things! That’s in my bloodline – I do too!
My one grandmother would have been perfectly happy to skip dinner and instead just feast on fresh hot rolls with butter! That’s in my bloodline – I have that proclivity too!
My other grandmother loved to make Butternut Squash “Pumpkin” pie each holiday season! I was roasting a Butternut Squash yesterday afternoon to make my own “Pumpkin” pie this Thanksgiving. I’m just like my grandmother.
But what were my grandmothers’ spiritual weaknesses??
I don’t know.
What “secret sins” did they struggle with … which are also proclivities and tendencies which I am prone toward?? [“sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generation” – Deuteronomy 5:9]
What do I struggle with, spiritually speaking, which is in fact a generational issue??
I don’t know.
But demons do!
So how are we supposed to stand up against unseen forces of evil which never get tired … never need a break … never need to sleep … they know every trick in the book … and even know every generational weakness in our family lineage???
The apostle John tells us: “You, dear children [notice how he refers to us as ‘children’ … because when it comes to standing up against unseen forces of evil we are like children!] …
“You, dear children are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” – 1 John 4:4
Notice how he says: “you have overcome them.” It’s past tense. It’s a done deal!
Greater is He who is in you!
God Himself is within us! Is that not mind-blowing!?!
The Holy Spirit has been given to us by Jesus Christ! (see John 16:5-15)
The Holy Spirit is Truth! The Holy Spirit living in us is our spiritual weapon of truth – with which we can fight the unseen forces of evil.
“Jesus said – ‘I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.’” – John 14:16-17
The Holy Spirit is Power! The Holy Spirit living in us gives us supernatural spiritual power – with which we can fight the unseen forces of evil.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” – 2 Timothy 1:7
Satan might masquerade as a lion on the loose.
But Jesus Christ is the Lion of Judah! Jesus is stronger than the enemy!
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” – 2 Peter 1:3
It doesn’t matter if we don’t know what generational weakness run in our lineage. Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to live in us!
Whatever those “secret sins” of our grandparents and great-grandparents … we don’t need to worry about what those were. We just need to listen to the Holy Spirit!
The Holy Spirit will convict us when there is something in our life which needs to be dealt with. The Holy Spirit will speak to our conscience! The Holy Spirit will alert us to sin in our life. The Holy Spirit will help us!
However!! … the dark forces of evil can gain power over us if we ignore the Holy Spirit.
We put ourselves in grave danger if we resist and quench the Holy Spirit.
A few blog posts ago we looked at Jesus’s parable of the hard, compacted ground … the rocky ground … and ground where thorns grew up and choked out the seed of God’s Word.
Every one of us have areas in our life where there is “hard compacted ground.” Corners in our heart and mind where sin has made us hard with resistance … hard with pride … hard with selfishness, etc.
We’ve got to surrender to the Holy Spirit when it comes to these areas!
If we don’t surrender, we give the demonic a foothold in our soul!
We’ve got to let the “plow” of Jesus come and “break up” that hard compacted ground … so that the seed of God’s Word can grow. Because, after all, the Word of God is one of our primary weapons of spiritual warfare against the enemy!
Hard, compacted ground in our life gives the demonic a foothold!
Every one of us have areas in our life where there is rocky ground. Corners in our heart and mind where we are shallow. Rocky, shallow ground in our life gives the demonic a foothold!
We’ve got to listen to the conviction of the Holy Spirit!
We’ve got to surrender! … and let the “plow” of Jesus come and “break up” that rocky, shallow ground … so that the seed of God’s Word can grow. Because, God’s Word in our life is one of our primary weapons of spiritual warfare against the enemy!
Every one of us have areas in our life where thorns are choking out the seed of God’s Word. But we have the Holy Spirit to help us!
The Holy Spirit will convict us! The Holy Spirit will guide us. The Holy Spirit will help us!
We might not be able to see the dark, evil, unseen spirit forces seeking to destroy us!
We might be weak and weary in our frail humanness.
We might not know all the tricks in the book which the enemy has used over the millennia.
But we’ve got Jesus!! And Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit!
We can be bold! And courageous!
“Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged for the Lord God is with you.” – 1 Chronicles 28:20
