Category: Christian Doctrine

Strongholds of Sin

THE BIBLE TELLS US NOT TO BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God,

There is an information war out there:
• we’re continually faced with anti christian input
• through employment, education, billboard and store advertising,
• not to mention conversations with relatives, friends, and neighbors.

OUR SPIRITUAL NOURISHMENT WHETHER BABIES OR DEVELOPED BELIEVERS IN CHRIST DEPENDS on READING AND LISTENING TO TRUTH.
2 Timothy 2:15: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth
Read Psalm 119 (the whole thing) read: 11-16 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.12 Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes.13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
Ephesians 4:11-24
BECOMING BORN AGAIN BY GOD’S SPIRIT AND FAIL TO READ GOD’S WORD, OUR CHARACTER WILL NOT CHANGE.
• Spiritual growth is a work in process
• dependent upon proper spiritual nourishment.
• And our hunger and thirst
• For the milk and meat of the Word
1 Peter 2:2: As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
Hebrews 5:12-13: For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Col.1:10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
2 Ti.3:16: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
1Corinthians 3:2: I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
• Spiritual growth is a work in process
• A work that we are willing to participate in
• God does not make us do anything
• He doesn’t want us to have someone else’s mind
• He wants us to have the “MIND OF CHRIST.”

Give your heart to Jesus today by saying this prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin. Please forgive me. Come into my life. I receive You as my Lord and Savior. Please, help me to live for you the rest of this life. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, I pray.
Amen.

Holy Spiritual Warfare

By Pastor Dennis Williams

OUR PRAYERS ARE WORDS THAT COME FROM THE HEART
Psalm 139:23-24: Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
• We should always listen to how we are praying
• The words we are praying reflect our heart
• Let the Holy Spirit search your heart
1 Corinthians 6:19 – What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? And lead you to repentance if needed

Proverbs 18:21: Death and life are in the power of the tongue
• The tongue has the opportunity to speak death or life
• Pray that the Holy Spirit uses our tongues
• Rather than the unholy spirit
• Or our old nature
• The enemy does not want us to fight against Him or His Kingdom
Proverbs 13:3: He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction.
• Be careful in how we speak and what we say
• Our words are used for us or against
• In the physical realm and the spirit realm
o Our words can activate spirits
o On God’s side or the devil’s side
1 Peter 3:10 For he that will love life and see good days let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile.

Ephesians 4:22-24 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
• God’s weapons cannot be used like we would use a physical weapon
• The words we speak can be weapons
• We must learn the ways of the spirit of God
• Spirit to spirit
• Our goal is walking in nature of Jesus Christ through the Bible
• And minister like Jesus ministered in the Word of God

Jesus wants us to be his representatives: He has put a new spirit in us. He is changing us from glory to glory

Ezekiel 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:27: “And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

Warfare of the Mouth

By Pastor Dennis Williams

DEATH AND LIFE ARE IN THE POWER OF THE TONGUE:

Prov 18:21: Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

John 6:63: It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

David prayed in Ps 141:34: Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.
• David knew the heart was the key to words we speak
• What we fill our minds with is going to drop down into the heart
• And soon come out of our mouths
Matthew 15:11: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

JESUS WANTS TO HELP US WITH THE WORDS WE SPEAK
• If we allow Him
Romans 12:2: And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God
• Renewing the mind through the Bible
• Our words will be Sweeter and Holier

Galatians 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
• This is one of our goals
• Reflecting His fruit in our daily lives
• The Lord will meet us day by day as we seek Him
THE TONGUE IS ONE AREA WE ALL CAN COME UP A NOTCH OR TWO

The Bible says to Christians: .. he walketh about seeking whom he MAY devour.. But that scripture goes on to say: we must resist him steadfast in the faith… 1 Peter 5:8

James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. (some of the things we say may come straight out of hell)

Prov 6:16 :These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
Proverbs 20:19 He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.

• People in general love to hear or read about what is going on in someone else’s life
• The root of gossip is negativity, judgment, slander, etc.
• Don’t take gossip into your spirit. It is poison to the spirit.
• The Fire of Gossip has even caused some believers to leave their churches
• Fall away from God
• Just because some believers may refuse to control their tongues
Proverbs 26:20-21: Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth .21 As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.

Be responsible with the things of God. -Amen PTL.

Give your heart to Jesus today by saying this prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you for dying on the cross for my sin. Please forgive me. Come into my life. I receive You as my Lord and Savior. Please, help me to live for you the rest of this life. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, I pray.
Amen.

Lure of Offense

By Pastor Dennis Williams

Luke 17: 1-5: Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible, but that offenses will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! 2 It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea than that he should offend one of these little ones.3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.5, And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.
• Jesus said its impossible to avoid the temptation to be offended
• An Offense is a bait (a deceptive trap)that the devil places before our face.
o For example a verbal offense where words betray or offend
o The person’s reaction to the words is the key
o If the offense is taken to heart and not released in forgiveness
o Then the offense starts to take root and affect a person’s life
o We MUST forgive those that sin against us

BEFORE JESUS WE MAY HAVE BEEN OFFENDED OR WE OFFENDED A PERSON, A GROUP OF PEOPLE, AN ORGANIZATION ETC.
o Sometimes we did not know we offended anyone
o Sometimes we did know but didn’t care
o And if we were offended we sought to get even

BUT THE OFFENSES WE MOST REMEMBER ARE THE ONES THAT AFFECTED US
• The offense or offenses may have been a close relative -and often is
• The ones we open up and give our hearts to
• The people that are close to us hurt us the most- unfortunately
o We would always be thinking about what they did to us
o “How dare they say or do that to us”
 The more we thought about the offense, the more pain we felt.
 Then the more outraged we got.
 Then we felt the need to get them back
 We may have even recruited others for our dirty deeds
 The Devil had a hold of us, and we didn’t know it
What about those offenses that we did to others on purpose?
• Did we go back to apologize?
• Did we apologize to anybody before we were saved?
o Or did we say, “They will come to me,” “I did nothing.”
o They OWE ME and apology.
o It was all their fault, and they deserved it.

WE MAY HAVE CARRIED SOME OF THESE OFFENSES, HURTS AND PAINS OVER INTO CHRISTIANITY
The Lord wants to change the way we handled offenses in our lives before he found us
Question:
• Do we still handle offenses the same way we did before we were Christians

WE MUST SEEK TO HAVE THE HEART OF JESUS AND OBEY HIS WORD:
As we read in Luke 17:3-4: 3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him 4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
• Yes, this is a learning a growing process
• The first thing we want to do is reject the one that comes to us.
• And start telling them off about what they did to us.
• Remember: Forgiveness is for your heart
o To keep you on track with the Lord
o Keep your heart from getting hard
• Repentance: is what has to happen. Ask the Lord to forgive us for a hard heart towards anyone.
• Let the healing process start with you.
o Don’t wait on them to come to you
o Go to whoever, if you are led of the Lord
o Spend time in prayer
o Always make sure it’s the Lord

Forgive as you have been forgiven!