Only TRUE Believers Can See The Signs

as you grow and mature as a christian there will come a time when you have to increase in your knowledge the bible says my people perish because of what a lack of knowledge a lack of knowledge is a dangerous thing and here's why it's so dangerous it's dangerous because it means you are in a fight with no weapons with no vision the christian life to be put plainly is a fight that's just what it is that's why we're told to fight the good fight that's why we are told that we wrestle against principalities that's why the bible says he who endures to the end he who perseveres or stands firm to the end shall be saved reading between the lines this all tells me that when i choose to follow christ i am enlisting in his army i'm signing up to fight so how can you be in a fight with a lack of knowledge about your enemy how can you be in a battle with a lack of knowledge about your tools and the resources you have to defend yourself a lack of knowledge is what unfortunately destroys too many christians and so on that topic i would like to expose a few things about the enemy your enemy i want you to know who you're fighting but more importantly i pray that this message will stir up your spirit and rile you up for battle [Music] and as i begin keep this thought in the back of your mind as a child of god you're fighting from a position of victory you're not fighting for victory but from a position of victory because the battle was already won by our lord and savior jesus christ now there are hierarchies in the kingdom of darkness in the amplified translation from matthew 12 verse 26 the bible reads if satan casts out satan that is his demons he has become divided against himself and disunited how then will his kingdom stand so from this verse we understand that the devil has a kingdom which is the kingdom of darkness this kingdom of his is somewhat unified in its opposition to the kingdom of god and finally in the kingdom of darkness as in any kingdom there is a pillar of power there's a chain of command there are ranks in a kingdom here's how we can piece together the fact that there are hierarchies in the demonic realm ephesians 6 verse 12 says for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this age against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places this is a list of spiritual enemies principalities rulers of darkness spiritual hosts of wickedness however you interpret this verse the indication is certainly that there seems to be a ranked order in the kingdom of darkness there will be a top level of evil spiritual forces below the devil and i believe these to be principalities if you remember the story of daniel he prayed and prayed for 21 days and when the angel finally came to deliver his answer daniel chapter 10 verse 12 and 13 says then he said to me don't be afraid daniel for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before god your words were heard i have come because of your words however the prince of the kingdom of persia resisted me for 21 days but behold michael one of the chief princes came to help me because i had been detained there with the kings of persia the prince of the kingdom of persia this wasn't your regular foot soldier this was a principality that was blocking daniel's prayer it wasn't your regular demon but it was a principality that was strong enough to need the archangel michael to come in and intervene this was a higher ranking evil power now despite these ranks in the kingdom of darkness the kingdom of god naturally has its own order of things our god is a god of order and he has an innumerable number of angels available to do his bidding some angels are created simply to worship others are messengers but thank god that we have warring angels available to us the angel who delivered an answer to daniel said the prince of the kingdom of persia resisted me for 21 days but behold michael one of the chief princes came to help me because i had been detained there with the kings of persia although the prince of persia attempted to stop the angel from delivering daniel's prayer it was still no match for michael the archangel and so the prince of persia is obviously a high-ranking territorial spirit this is very different from the type of demons found elsewhere in the bible demons which cause sickness or illness luke chapter 8 verse 1 and 2 says soon afterward he went on through cities and villages proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of god and the twelve were with him and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities mary called magdalen from whom seven demons had gone out the bible says women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities meaning there exists a kind of demon that brings sickness and disease so how are we to interpret all of this and understand it in our own christian lives well firstly we ought to know that there are ranks in the kingdom of darkness the stronger we get in faith the stronger the opposition but when you have knowledge when you have knowledge you know that jesus christ outranks every demon every principality every ruler of darkness including the devil jesus christ outranks them all without knowledge you will perish according to the bible you will perish because you will become fearful and fear really only enters because you have taken jesus christ out of the equation of course you'll become fearful at the thought of fighting evil principalities on your own of course you'll be fearful at the thought of fighting demons on your own but when you have knowledge you will not fear when you have knowledge you will not perish when you have the knowledge that jesus christ holds absolute power over all things then you will not perish when you have the knowledge that christ outranks the highest ranking member of the kingdom of darkness then you eliminate fear this is why it's so important to know god's word because the bible says in james chapter 2 verse 19 you believe that there is one god you do well even the demons believe and tremble even the demons tremble when you get god involved you shouldn't be moved to fear or worry because of the kingdom of darkness the bible says in luke 10 verse 17 then the seventy returned with joy saying lord even the demons are subject to us in your name just the name of jesus christ alone holds enough power to defeat the devil his name alone carries power so i encourage you to fight from a place where you know that you can call on the son of god the one who has the highest rank above all live with freedom and boldness yes you may have to fight a demon at some point you may have to fight a ruler of wickedness at some point but if god is for us who can be against us even the devil himself is a defeated foe [Music] i would like to end with a few fighting words a verse that you should know as you fight this good fight of faith luke 10 verse 19 says listen carefully i have given you authority that you now possess to tread on serpents and scorpions and the ability to exercise authority over all the power of the enemy satan and nothing will in any way harm you we have authority through the name of jesus christ we have authority through the blood of jesus through faith this authority is what we need to exercise and that is the kind of knowledge we ought to have the gates of hell cannot prevail they will not prevail because we have knowledge we have the knowledge of the authority we're given by christ we know that we are empowered by the holy spirit to overcome the devil we know that god has angels encamped all around us there is a divine perimeter protecting you and me as children of god in closing should you find yourself under attack at any point in your life remember ephesians 6 verse 10 to 12 which says finally be strong in the lord and in the strength of his might put on the whole armor of god that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the authorities against the cosmic powers over this present darkness against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places [Music] there is a flood coming a wave [Music] we're told in revelation chapter 12 verse 12 that therefore rejoice o heavens and you who dwell in them but woe to you o earth and sea for the devil has come down to you in great wrath because he knows that his time is short the devil knows and he understands that his time is short his days are numbered and so he is coming with an anger he's coming for the believers trying to get them to backslide he's coming for those who are on fire for god and he's trying to get them to a state of being lukewarm he's coming for the family and for the home all so that he can steal kill and destroy but the bible says when the enemy comes in like a flood the spirit of the lord shall lift up a standard against him meaning that should the devil try to flood your life then in jesus name the gates of hail shall not prevail whatever the flood may be god will raise a standard against him you have a deliverer in jesus you are on higher ground when you stay in the presence of the lord you have a defense in jesus an impenetrable fortress and no flood from the devil can harm you at some point in life most people will hear the term the good old days and in most instances it's a reference to a time period that people remember fondly our grandparents always believed that the days they grew up and lived in were far better than this present day likewise our parents talk about how things were when they were coming up and how they were different and better than the things that exist today matthew 24 37 to 38 the bible reads but as the days of noah were so also will the coming of the son of man be for as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage until the day that noah entered the ark the days of noah from generation to generation would you say that society as a whole has been improving morally and spiritually since the days of noah or would you say that society has been declining morally since the time of noah during the days of noah the bible says in genesis 6 verse 5 the lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually how does this generation compare if sin was prevalent in those days what should we make of this present day if the lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the days of noah then what does he think of today we've had a boom in technology the kind of technology that makes it easier to sin in many different ways we've had society glamorize sin through celebrities and entertainment so if the days of noah were bad what about today could this current generation be the most wicked known to man at least since the flood jesus did not refer to the days of the past the days of noah as the good old days but instead he referred to them as a time that we could look at as a means to understanding his second coming for christians this might inspire us to want to ask the question exactly how bad was the generation that existed in the final days before the flood in speaking of his own return jesus said in matthew 24 37 to 39 but as the days of noah were so also will the coming of the son of man be for as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking marrying and giving in marriage until the day that noah entered the ark and did not know until the flood came and took them all away so also will the coming of the son of man be jesus desired to let his followers know that if we could discern and understand the times leading up to the flood then perhaps we could discern and understand the season in which he jesus would return it's all about having the awareness to know that when these things start happening when people become comfortable and start pushing god out of their lives when sin and wickedness is the norm when you start to feel the birth pains then you know you know that the return of christ is near so what was it like during the days of noah what was it like before the destruction of mankind the book of genesis tells us that the lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth and he was grieved in his heart the bible also teaches that all mankind was corrupt and that the earth was a wretched place genesis 6 verse 11 and 12 says the earth also was corrupt before god and the earth was filled with violence so god looked upon the earth and indeed it was corrupt for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth so the earth was filled with violence all flesh had corrupted their way way up to those descriptions against the world today however in and amongst all that was going on noah found grace in the eyes of god noah was described as perfect and just in his generation he was described as a man who walked with god and because of this he was saved in this day and age ask yourself as a man or woman of god am i a noah in this sinfield world am i walking with jesus am i practicing righteousness or am i to be found sitting and dining on the same table as those who willingly sin against god though god's intent was to destroy the evil that controlled the hearts and minds of his creation he did not intend to annihilate his greatest creation as a whole which is why he saved noah god's heart has always been to reconcile sinners back to a state of righteousness he wants us to spend all of eternity with him but all too often we're not paying attention to his word which tells us how to live and what to watch out for in times like these [Music] our present culture resembles the days of noah though no one knows the time that jesus will return we are told that we would be able to recognize the season of his coming just like those days of old people everywhere have become corrupt and all around the world violence has overtaken our streets and communities people tend to love the pleasures of life much more than the necessity of god sometimes it's even hard to tell the difference between the world in which we live and the so-called church in which we worship it gets even more and more difficult every day to know who to trust or where to turn to get the right answers it seems that people we once called friends can now be perceived more like distant acquaintances and with the state of the world being what it is many people have to wonder if there is any hope at all but god's plan from the beginning gives us the answers we need to know for humankind to avoid these disasters of being swept away by the coming flood which will ultimately separate us from god for the rest of eternity god loved his creation so much that he gave to us his only son as a sinless sacrifice powerful enough to reconcile a sinful people back to a state of righteousness back to the state that god desires us to be in so that we can always be in his presence for eternity we may struggle to find anyone in this world that we can trust to lead us to what is right but there is one who will always lead us to the truth you see we will never be able to do enough we will never be good enough in our own righteousness to assure ourselves of an eternity with god but there is one whose righteousness can overcome every sin and weakness known to man and that one is jesus we can never look hard enough far enough or long enough to find a means to bridge the gap between the one true holy god and the unholy nature that resides in our flesh but there is one who literally allowed himself to be ridiculed spat on beaten and hung on a cross to death in order to provide a necessary link between death and life and that is jesus christ you might say that jesus christ is our present day art and the only available means for humankind to avoid being swept away by the coming flood into an eternity without god the apostle paul teaches in romans chapter 10 verse 9 that if you confess with your mouth the lord jesus and believe in your heart that god has raised him from the dead you will be saved for with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation our trust our faith and our confession in jesus christ as our lord and savior is the only way to eternal security because his righteousness is the only qualified veil to cover the sins of man and to reconcile us back to a holy god [Music] when god gets angry now we're all comforted by the thought of god being eternally loving which he is we get that lovely warm feeling inside when we read of god being our mighty protector our shield and our defense and he certainly is all of the above oh we love the fact that god is forever merciful he is kind and gracious however allow me to say this sternly god is not to be mocked oftentimes we can deliberately sin we can deliberately disobey all because we think that the nature of god his kind nature him being so loving and so good we think that his nature will overlook our wrongs however this is not the case god hates sin the bible in psalm 5 verse 4 says for you are not a god who delights in wickedness evil may not dwell with you he is a god who doesn't delight in sin he takes no pleasure from it that's why the wages of sin is death the lord is too righteous and too holy for sin to even be in his presence he's too pure for that and so what happens when god gets angry what happens when people sin day after day and mock him what happens when people forget that the bible says in exodus 34 14 for you shall worship no other god for the lord whose name is jealous is a jealous god what strikes me about the children of israel is that they were set free they were led cared for and blessed by the lord but yet still found a reason to complain their hearts were ungrateful and they sinned with their unthankful attitudes as they murmured and complained now the bible reads in numbers chapter 11 verses 1 and 2 and the people complained in the hearing of the lord about their misfortunes and when the lord heard it his anger was kindled and the fire of the lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp then the people cried out to moses and moses prayed to the lord and the fire died down the decision to overlook the goodness of god led to an outpouring of israel so you see god is loving but he is not to be mocked he is patient but he is not weak so we should not provoke him to anger you can't deceive him or think that you can pull a fast one on him he is omnipresent he is omniscient and he's omnipotent now i would like to draw your attention to colossians chapter 3 verses 5 and 6 where the word of god reads put to death therefore what is earthly in you sexual immorality impurity passion evil desire and covetousness which is idolatry on account of these the wrath of god is coming did you get that verse 6 said on account of these the wrath of god is coming to put it plainly stop sinning don't be given to habitual sin you have to leave your body's sensual and self-centered desires you must depart from sin don't be greedy because greed is a form of idolatry as it replaces your devotion to the lord the bottom line here is that when you live in these vices you ignite the anger of god these are the acts of disobedience and here's a piece of advice disobedience comes with a heavy price jonah disobeyed god and he was swallowed by a large fish lot's wife disobeyed god and she was turned into a pillar of salt the children of israel disobeyed god and ended up wandering in the desert for 40 years [Music] when you choose to act in disobedience you ignite the anger of god so think twice before you act think twice before you reject the instruction of the lord once again the bible in colossians chapter 3 verses 5 and 6 say put to death therefore what is earthly in you and then it lists the following number one sexual immorality number two impurity then passion then evil desire and then covetousness which is greed can any of these things be found in your life are you living in a cycle of any of these sins if please repent now to be clear sexual immorality is anything from premarital sex adultery pornography anything that is outside the parameters designed by god anything outside of a marriage covenant between a husband and wife is sexual immorality can this be found in your life because if it can then you are in direct disobedience to the lord secondly when the bible mentions impurities i believe that this can be anything and everything unholy from unholy thoughts or unholy actions like dabbling in dark spiritual things like witchcraft or fortune telling can any of this be found in your life because if it can then you are in direct disobedience to the lord colossians 3 verse 5 goes on to further state that evil passions and desires and greed are among those things which we should put to death in our lives as children of god we are faced with choices on a daily basis do you choose to put to death these desires of the flesh and uphold a godly standard or not we have to make the choice whether to maintain holiness or not and the thing is in today's world the devil has infiltrated and embedded himself into so many things in our society that you must be careful he's blended right in to such an extent that people no longer see the sin and what many may consider to be normal people no longer see the paradigm of sexual immorality in movies and music today no people no longer see the sin and how the world encourages and fosters the spirit of pride in the pursuit of things the pursuit of money and of power sin has become accepted as the norm it doesn't even shock us anymore to see sexual immorality on screen or to hear music that blasphemes the devil has managed to embed himself and to blend into society he's normalized the things that lead us to sin and the thing is the devil cunningly presents these things before our eyes so frequently that it almost desensitizes us it's because it's become normal to see sexual immorality on the screen and on social media it's become normal to pursue money in material things however what is normal to the world tends to go hand in hand with what is sin the amplified translation of romans 12 verse 2 gives a detailed account of what we need as the children of god the bible says and do not be conformed to this world any longer with its superficial values and customs but be transformed and progressively changed as you mature spiritually by the renewing of your mind focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes so that you may prove for yourselves what the will of god is that which is good and acceptable and perfect in his plan and purpose for you [Music] in other words stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you don't allow the world to mold you in its own image the key for us as believers is that we are to be inwardly transformed by the holy spirit and it's when you allow the holy spirit to transform you to transform your mind and how you think it's only then that you will discern god's will the key is the holy spirit the holy spirit will help you to eliminate disobedience it's the holy spirit who will bring a total reformation of how you think and once this happens once you allow the holy ghost to move within you righteousness will be what you pursue jesus christ is who you will desire and the kingdom of god is what you'll become passionate about [Music] mirrors we all look in the mirror on a regular basis it doesn't matter whether you're a man or a woman you could be in the best shape of your life or you could be having a bad hair day chances are in the past 24 hours you've looked at your reflection in the mirror [Music] you've examined your physical appearance you've looked at the clothes you're wearing you've looked at your new haircut bottom line is we all use mirrors often now in the same way that the body needs food your spirit needs spiritual food because the bible said you shall not live by bread alone equally in the same way you check your reflection in the mirror you need to check your spiritual reflection against god's mirror his word self-examination is needed for every believer self-examination is important if you desire to grow spiritually so let's conduct a short exercise if a spiritual mirror was put up in front of you right now what would we see would we see a godly attitude or a worldly attitude would we see stains of unforgiveness and bitterness or would we see you dressed in a garment of forgiveness because you yourself have been forgiven if a spiritual mirror was put up in front of you right now what would you be wearing the full armor of god or the lust and pleasures of this world we need to pray that our lives reflect a godly character we need to pray that our lives really reflect jesus christ don't be a christian who loves the name and the title but behaves in a completely different manner we need to be desiring that the holy spirit would teach us how to honestly evaluate ourselves and the holy ghost can do this he can help you to recognize your shortcomings he can convict you but equally strengthen you to correct your behavior and the truth is we can never fully examine ourselves without the help of the lord the reason for this is because as humans we have a tendency to make excuses we tend to take liberties and try to explain our problems as mistakes weaknesses or mishaps but by god's standards by the standards in the word of god sin is called sin sexual immorality is called sexual immorality pride is called pride there are no mistakes or lesser sense the bible calls it as it is and that's the standard we should judge ourselves by i love the fact that david had such a willingness and a desire to say search me o god and know my heart try me and know my anxieties this is the mark of a believer who is determined to live righteously before the lord lamentations 3 verse 40 says let us test and examine our ways and return to the lord [Music] the bible calls for us to examine ourselves that we may become more and more like christ and less and less like the world we are to scrutinize ourselves to investigate our actions and to assess our intentions are you doing what you do for the glory of god or are you performing for self-exaltation first corinthians 11 verse 28 says let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup so i encourage you to be obedient to this and examine what you tolerate in your life be critical about what you give room to [Music] the bible calls for us to examine ourselves to investigate to assess and to scrutinize ourselves lamentations chapter 3 verse 40 says let us test and examine our ways and return to the lord first corinthians chapter 11 verse 28 says let a person examine himself then and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup examine what you tolerate in your life what do you give room to examine who you associate with the company you keep what are they feeding you what kind of seeds are they planting in your life it's important to examine yourself against the standard of god's word and it's only when you take the word of god and use it as a mirror in your own life that you can truly examine yourself and ask questions like what ungodly things do i tolerate what ungodly conversations am i involved in what ungodly thoughts am i entertaining you see to the outside world you can look as though you are full of enthusiasm for jesus christ you can appear to be the model christian you can be an encourager to others and yet still be struggling yourself you can witness the gospel of jesus christ but still be struggling with your own salvation the point i am trying to make is that we as people can hide our real selves we are rarely transparent with our battles [Music] how many people come out and admit that they struggle with pride how many people have you come across who will openly say that my area of weakness is anger it's unforgiveness it's lust however the bible says in proverbs chapter 15 verse 3 the eyes of the lord are in every place keeping watch on the evil and the good meaning that god sees deep and beyond the physical the sight of the lord reaches all the way down into the chambers of your heart we can deceive people and fool them into thinking that we are doing well and that we are strong christians but we cannot deceive the lord a life of righteousness in a hostile world is a call to be set apart you begin to think god is holy therefore i must be holy i'm in this world but i'm not to be of this world living a life of righteousness in a hostile world means having a heavenly perspective there is total commitment total dedication to run the race to fight the good fight of faith and without compromising living a life of righteousness in a hostile world means you have absolutely surrendered your will in order for god to have his way so let me ask you what kingdom are you living for there is the kingdom of god and the kingdom of darkness what kingdom are you longing for which kingdom are you a servant of none of us can serve both good and evil none of us can have one foot in each kingdom the bible says in matthew 6 24 no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other you cannot serve god and money it is impossible to have a love for god and a love for the world flesh or sin this is because when you give your life to christ a regeneration begins that's why it's called being born again you die to the flesh and to sin and you continue doing so until you see jesus saints let me encourage you you cannot live in both worlds you cannot serve god and the devil it doesn't work you can't have a little bit of the world and a little bit of the lord there is no compromise it's god or nothing it's god over everything it's god above all i encourage you to serve the lord serve the kingdom of god serve jesus christ the kingdom of darkness offers nothing of significance nothing everlasting but all the kingdom of god that's a whole different story the kingdom offers eternal life everlasting joy and peace it offers you the privilege of one day being in the presence of the almighty so choose the kingdom of god saints choose life over death choose jesus [Music] [Music] you

Channel: Grace For Purpose

Views: 1,188,118

Rating: 4.9016924 out of 5

Keywords: Christian, Motivation

Id: mKkhf6zTy60

Length: 44min 51sec (2691 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 15 2021