#S2-045: What Is the Greatest Tool in Satan’s Toolbox? [Podcast]

The Believers Authority in Christ

The Lord has given to every man his work. It is his business to do it, and the devil’s business to hinder him—if he can. So, sure as God gives a man a work to do, Satan will try to hinder him. He may present other things more promising; he may allure you by worldly prospect; he may assault you with slander, torment you with false accusations, set you to work defending your character, employ pious persons to lie about you, editors to assail you, and excellent men to slander you. You may have Pilate and Herod, Ananias and Caiaphas all combined against you, and Judas standing by to sell you for 30 pieces of silver. And you may wonder why all these things have come to pass. Can you not see that the whole thing is brought about through the craft of the devil, to draw you off from your work and hinder your obedience to Christ? Keep about your work. Do not flinch because the lion roars. Do not stop to stone the devil’s dogs. Do not fool around your time chasing the devil’s rabbits. Do your work; let liars lie; let sectarians quarrel; let editors publish; let the devil do his worst. But see to it that nothing hinders you from fulfilling the work God has given you. He had not sent you to make money; He has not commanded you to get rich. He has never bidden you to defend your character nor has He bidden you to contradict falsehoods about yourself which Satan and his servants may start to peddle. If you do these things you will do nothing else; you will be at work for yourself and not for the Lord. Keep about your work. Let your aim be as steady as a star. Let the world brawl and bubble. You may be assaulted, wrangled, insulted, slandered, wounded, and rejected. You may be chased by foes, abused by them, forsaken by friend, despised and rejected of men, but see to it that with steadfast determination and with unfaltering zeal you pursue that great purpose of your life and the object of your being until at last you can say; “I have finished the work which you, dear God, have given me to do?” [ 1. Galaxie Software, 10,000 Sermon Illustrations (Biblical Studies Press, 2002)] There are some things we can learn about handling the hindering effects of Satan’s opposition to the gospel by looking at Satan’s most widely known tool, temptation.

This is part four of the Series entitled, ‘The Believer’s Authority in Christ’. You can find Part One ‘How to Terrorize the Terrorist Encore [Podcast] here and Part Two ‘How to Stop Satan from Pushing You Around’ [Podcast] here and Part Three, ‘How You Can Overcome the Tools of Satan’ [Podcast] here.

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Why You Should Consider Jesus as Your Rabbi

The Parables of Jesus: Physician Heal Yourself

Rejection is part of living among free-will opinionated humans. Everyone thinks they are right and if you don’t think so, just ask them 🙂 In 1902, the poetry editor of Atlantic Monthly returned a stack of poems with this note, “Our magazine has no room for your vigorous verse.” The poet was Robert Frost.  In 1905, the University of Bern turned down a doctoral dissertation as “irrelevant and fanciful.” The writer of that paper was Albert Einstein. In 1894 an English teacher noted on a teenager’s report card, “A conspicuous lack of success.” The student was Winston Churchill. 1 You get the point, rejection happens even to the most prolific and influential of men. Yet and still, the Lord instructed us to go into all the world and preach the gospel. But what do you do when people reject it? In part one of a series entitled: “The Parables of Jesus: Physician Heal Yourself”, we begin to look at this very issue. But first, let’s take a peek at Jesus in his hometown of Nazareth and His public ministry as a Rabbi in Israel.

#S2-044: How You Can Overcome the Tools of Satan [Podcast]

The Believers Authority in Christ

Writing in Moody Monthly, Carl Armerding recounted his experience of watching a wildcat in a zoo. “As I stood there,” he said, “an attendant entered the cage through a door on the opposite side. He had nothing in his hands but a broom. Carefully closing the door, he proceeded to sweep the floor of the cage.” He observed that the worker had no weapon to ward off an attack by the beast. In fact, when he got to the corner of the cage where the wildcat was lying, he poked the animal with the broom. The wildcat hissed at him and then lay down in another corner of the enclosure. Armerding remarked to the attendant, “You certainly are a brave man.” “No, I ain’t brave,” he replied as he continued to sweep. “Well, then that cat must be tame.” “No,” came the reply, “he ain’t tame.” “If you aren’t brave and the wildcat isn’t tame, then I can’t understand why he doesn’t attack you.” Armerding said the man chuckled, then replied with an air of confidence, “Mister, he’s old—and he ain’t got no teeth.” 1 That’s an accurate description of Satan the roaring lion who seeks to devour (1 Peter 5:8). He is a defeated lion with no teeth. But, that doesn’t stop him from making a bunch of noise. In order to enforce his defeat, and to shut his mouth, you have to learn to call his bluff. You can do it if you know his devices.

This is part three of the Series entitled, ‘The Believer’s Authority in Christ’. You can find Part One ‘How to Terrorize the Terrorist Encore [Podcast] here and Part Two ‘How to Stop Satan from Pushing You Around‘ here.

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What Does Offense Have to Do with Living a Fruitful Life?

The Parable of the Sower

Jesus gives us the essential reason why we must have our roots in Mark 4:17. The King James uses the word ‘offended’ which means to fall. Jesus is saying, ‘Make sure you allow God’s Word and God’s love to be rooted in you or you will fall away when the enemy sends affliction and persecution your way. People who are rooted in love endure. They endure persecution and affliction. They understand it is for the Word’s sake.

#S2-043: How to Stop Satan from Pushing You Around [Podcast]

The Believers Authority in Christ

Multitudes of people in this world today are held hostage in their minds by the devil. They are incarcerated, locked up, and caged in their minds and emotions, held like slaves, prisoners, or detainees who are under arrest and live at the mercy of their conqueror. 1 But, this doesn’t have to be your legacy. You can live and walk free everyday of your life all the while side-stepping Satan’s minefield. There’s simply a bunch of stuff you can avoid in life. Tests and trials you can by-pass. Discomforting situations you can live free from if you learn how to stop Satan from pushing you around.

This is part two of the Series entitled, ‘The Believer’s Authority in Christ’. You can find Part One ‘How to Terrorize the Terrorist Encore [Podcast] here.

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In the Parable of the Sower, What Is Stony Ground?

The Parable of the Sower

John Bunyan, that great Puritan soul said these words. “If you would be rid of a hard heart, that great enemy to the growth of the grace of fear, be much with Christ upon the cross in your meditations, for that is an excellent remedy against hardness of heart. A right sight of him, as he hanged there for your sins, will dissolve your heart into tears, and make it soft and tender” 1. Stony ground is the term Jesus used in the Parable of the Sower to describe a hard heart which won’t produce a harvest. What does Jesus say about how we can avoid it?

#S2-042: Terrorizing the Terrorist Encore [Podcast]

The Believers Authority in Christ

We live in a time the Bible classifies as perilous times (2 Timothy 3:1). Terrorism is one factor that makes these days dangerous to live in. This hate religion is a fear based business. Believers in Jesus don’t have to be subject to a spirit of fear. You can overcome it. You can live in peace all your days. While your at it, you can turn the tables. You can terrorize the terrorist.

This is part one of the Series entitled, ‘The Believer’s Authority in Christ’. You can find Part Two ‘How to Stop Satan from Pushing You Around [Podcast]’ here.

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How Meditating the Word Makes You Sharp in the Things of God

“The end of study is information, and the end of meditation is practice, or a work upon the affections. Study is like a winter sun that shines but does not warm, but meditation is like blowing up the fire, where we do not mind the blaze but the heat” 1. So says English Puritan Thomas Manton. Studying a Bible verse is different than meditating on it. Jesus proved this out in His own life. And you can prove it out in yours.

#S2-041: How to Get Your Faith in the Right Tense [Podcast]

Real Bible Faith: How It Works

Wigglesworth was quoted as saying, “If you wait to get faith when you need faith, you’re too late.” Another man said, “Late faith is unavailing. There’s little use accepting arks once the rain begins to fall. Death is such an instant storm that by the time you reach for an umbrella, you already need your water wings. 1 These words are are certainly true. It’s best to build your faith in God when days are peaceful. It’s then, you can learn some of the nuances involved for a vibrant believing of God’ Word. One of which is this issue of getting your faith into the right tense.

This is part four of the Series entitled, ‘Real Bible Faith: How It Works’. You can find Part One ‘Why is Faith Important and Who Has It? [Podcast], Part Two ‘How to Release Your Faith with Words’ [Podcast] here, and Part Three ‘More How to Release Your Faith with Words [Podcast] here.

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How Can You Become a Man of Understanding?

The Parable of the Sower

D.L. Moody said these words on the subject of understanding. “It makes all the difference in the world how we look upon God. Some people fear God, but when they understand that He is their Father, that fear is gone.” 1. How we are to look upon God and God’s Word is laid out for us in the pages of the Bible. You can become a man of understanding.

#S2-040: More How to Release Your Faith with Words [Podcast]

Real Bible Faith: How It Works

Ran across this poem this week on the subject on faith.

 

Doubt sees the obstacles
Faith sees the way.
Doubt sees the darkest night
Faith sees the day.
Doubt dreads to take a step
Faith soars on high.
Doubt questions, “Who believes?”
Faith answer, “I.” 1

We are teaching on the subject of Real Bible Faith and how it works and we are honing in on the aspect of words. How important are words in the life of faith? The world was never conquered by intrigue; it was conquered by faith.  2 You are more than a conqueror. That’s what the Bible states. So as the world over comer that you are, it’s vital to continually hone your use of words. More How to Release Your Faith with Words. That’s what we are looking at in this week’s Light on Life.

This is part three of the Series entitled, ‘Real Bible Faith: How It Works’. You can find Part One ‘Why is Faith Important and Who Has It? [Podcast], Part Two ‘How to Release Your Faith with Words’ [Podcast] here.

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In the Parable of the Sower, What Is Wayside Ground?

The Parable of the Sower

In last week’s blog, we took a look at what a parable was and what the disciples understanding of Jesus message was. In this week’s podcast, we are going to begin to look at the different types of unfruitful ground so that we might learn and align ourselves with God’s plan for our life. Jesus mentioned three types of unfruitful ground; Wayside Ground, Stony Ground, and Thorny Ground. Let’s take a look today at the first type of ground, wayside ground.

This is part 4 of the Series “The Parable of the Sower?” You can find Part 1 ‘What Is the Parable of the Sower?’ here, Part 2 ‘How Important is Understanding Jesus Parables?‘ here, Part 3 ‘What Are Fruitful and Unfruitful Places with God?’