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Archive for March, 2009
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. (Ephesians 6:10-13)
Hello everyone! I hope this finds you walking in the power of the Lord.
I am writing on this topic this week because it seems like so many believers are going through spiritual battles. The problem is that many are forgetting exactly what they are in the middle of and are letting it defeat them emotionally. I have written this as a way to bring encouragement to all of you who may be going through it right now-to understand that your enemy is battling against you to steal you zeal, joy, and emotional strength. I don’t want to see you allow this spiritual battle you are in to bring discouragement into your life. So I am giving a call to all who need it today.
It’s a call to us to be men and women of God, to fight the good fight, to stand fast in the faith, to be strong in the Lord in the midst of the battle, in this dark and evil world. We must understand at all times that a true believer is Satan’s enemy. We must see that the greater our impact for God’s kingdom, the harder he works to stir up frustration, doubt, and anxiety.
The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Ephesian believers warning them that the devil would scheme against a true Christian’s life. He (the devil) rallies the “spiritual forces of wickedness” to attack believers in mind, body, and spirit as we see in 6:12. His primary goal is to divert our attention from the Lord so that our relationship suffers and our witness is weakened or ruined. The Devil cannot snatch our eternal spirit from God’s hand (John 10:29) but he will settle for leading us to make a mess of this present life.
We Are Called To War-Stand Firm!
Those who ignore this call and the battle that rages around them are doomed to be casualties. Fending off satanic attack is not done in our own strength. No man or woman can match wits with the adversary. He is smarter and stronger than even the most intelligent people. Instead we must be continually empowered by God through the Holy Spirit, who is far greater than Satan. (1 John 4:4) We must answer the bugle call, we must put on our armor and stand our ground-or the battle will roll over us.
So we must learn to recognize how the dark systems of the devil work. But more than that, we must learn the processes of overcoming the systems of the devil-not by flesh and blood, not by joining committees, not by political action, not by taking up clubs or assault weapons and attacking a human enemy. No, Paul says the weapons of our warfare are not flesh and blood weapons, not physical weapons, not political weapons. Rather our weapons are mighty through God, unto the pulling down of strongholds and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
We are Called To War-Stand Firm
No battle was ever won without courage, perseverance, and strength. And that is the challenge before us, clearly sounded in Ephesians 6. Paul calls us to be strong in the Lord. He calls us to understand the nature of our enemy, and he calls us to put on the whole armor and join the battle. Let me say again that the apostle Paul indicates that the only ones who can successfully battle against the devil’s forces are true Christians. As unbelievers, we were under the power and control of Satan, even though we did not know it. But when we came to faith in Christ by His grace, we were delivered from his “kingdom of darkness” and made citizens in the “kingdom of light.” Our salvation caused us no longer to be the enemies of God, but at the same time resulted in us becoming the enemies of Satan. No wonder he so aggressively attacks Christians. We were once his subjects. The spiritual war is about not giving way, but standing fast.
So stand fast today and don’t give up ground. Go into your battle position and use the weapons at your disposal-prayer and God’s Word, and your faith in Him as your Deliverer. You have the power of the Holy Spirit within you to fight this war against your mind today and be victorious! So don’t give up, don’t let your mind be discouraged, don’t let your heart be troubled, for the Lord is with you and if He is with you who can be against you. Go on the offensive this week—you take the battle to his doorstep. And always remember, the Lord your God is with you!
God Bless you this week and praise God that the victory is your through the power and might of your Lord and God!
Pastor Brad Tuttle
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Tuesday, March 10th, 2009
Hello everybody! I hope this finds you walking in the strength of His joy.
Our word for this week is Relax! Are you right in the middle of a trial? Are you going through a financial dilemma? Is your marriage struggling? Are you kids away from God? RELAX!
Somebody is saying how can you tell me to relax at a time like this? I need to act; I need to worry; I need to do something. Granted, there will be things you need to do in action, but there is something else you need to do that is contrary to everything your earthly wisdom and logic is telling you and that is, “Be still, and know that I [am] God…”
”Be still”; not that you should be unconcerned at all the commotion that is going on in your life, or be totally inactive; but you need not to be fearful, or fretful, impatient, or restless; but instead be quiet and easy, and resign yourself not to your will be done but to the will of God, and live in an assured expectation of the appearance of divine Providence in your circumstance.
And “know”; or acknowledge that He is God, a sovereign Being that does whatsoever He pleases. And that He is unchangeable in His Nature, purposes, promises, and covenant to you and with you. And that He is omnipotent (ALL-powerful), able to help you and deliver you. And that He is omniscient (ALL-wise), and knows all about you and your troubles, and how and where to hide them until the storm is over. And that He makes all things work together for good to them who love Him and are called according to His purpose. And that He is faithful to His word and promise, and will not cause you to be burdened with more than you can bear.
You must understand and know today that with Him in your boat, in your life that He is telling you today to be still, be calm, and tremble no more, but know, to your comfort, that the Lord is God, He is God alone, and will be exalted above everyone and everything; and He will maintain His honor to fulfill His promises to you. Though your situation may try to make you discouraged, yet let yourself not be dejected, for you must be sure and know that God will be exalted, and will work for His great name.
Relax today son or daughter of God. He really is in control. Yes, there are things you may need to repent of, things that you may have done that got you into this mess, or it may just have been a set of circumstances that were out of your control, but whichever it may be, as His child today He knows and you need to know too-you need to know that today you just need to RELAX, take a deep breath, be still and know that He is your God, and in that truth find the comfort you need to go on in His strength. He will always be with you!
God Bless and relax today in Him and His promises to you.
Pastor Brad Tuttle
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Monday, March 2nd, 2009
Hello everybody! I hope this finds you walking in the strength and power of the Lord.
I believe I have been inspired to write on this topic this week because of the marvelous first-time salvation we witnessed in church on Sunday morning! It is always amazing to see the Holy Spirit work on a heart as it responds to His call. I was so glad I was faithful to His leading me to share the Gospel message at the end of my ‘Marriage on the Rock’ sermon.
So want I want to quickly deal with this topic of overcoming the fear to witness to others about Christ and His ability to save.
Fear to evangelize or to witness can be absolutely paralyzing at times, and it thusly does more to hinder our witness that any other single item. Can this fear problem be overcome? Does a person ever get to the point when fear in evangelism is a thing of the past? All of these questions are answered for us in the Bible. Keep in mind though that: Fear in evangelism is normal. It assures you that you are a normal human being.
Paul the apostle requested prayer that “utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Eph. 6:19). You mean Paul the apostle is actually requesting prayer for boldness in evangelism after his extensive experience? Most certainly.
Those who share Christ constantly don’t do it because they are never afraid. They do it because each time they do boldness overtakes fear, instead of fear overtaking boldness. With that in mind, how do we as normal human beings and believers in Christ experience the boldness that overcomes fear?
At least 4 things will help us experience the victory any believer committed to evangelism desires in this area:
Talk to God About Your Fear
As we do so, we are specifically asking God for courage or boldness. The courage that makes us go ahead despite our fears.
Focus on What God Thinks of People, Not on What People Think of You
Fear in evangelism often results in being too self-focused. It results from worrying too much about what others might think of you if you share the Gospel with them. Questions such as, “Will they still be my friend?” “Will they think less of me?” “Will I lose respect?” hinder evangelism. “I” is at the center of all of these worries. Focusing on you becomes distracting at its least, defeating at its worst. If Jesus Christ was willing to sacrifice His life for us, we ought to be willing to sacrifice friendship, pride, or respect.
Concentrate on the Beauty of the Message and the Privilege of Being Its Messenger
After what happened in Philippi, Paul easily could have entered Thessalonica with the attitude, “I’m sick of this evangelism stuff. It’s the best way I’ve ever heard of to win enemies and drive away friends. And besides, I’ve never hurt so bad. Why should I invite physical abuse?”
Yet Paul was able to testify, “But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict” (1 Thess. 2:2). Unlike other speakers whose messages were full of deceit, uncleanness, and guile, Paul recognized he had only truth and good news, not error and bad news to give them.When a person is so gripped by a message another needs to hear, everything else becomes insignificant in comparison.
Nobody Overcomes Fear Without Evangelizing
Fear in evangelism is never conquered in a classroom. It is only studied in a classroom. To overcome fear, two items are absolutely essential: obedience and experience. Without obedience there never is experience. The first thing Jesus taught His disciples was evangelism. “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4: I 9).
Experience teaches us how to prepare for reality. Experience brings skills in evangelism such as how to turn a conversation to spiritual things, how to answer questions and objections, and how to clearly and concisely present the Gospel-all of which are often elements of our fear. More than once a person has said to me, “I don’t mind being rejected. I can handle that. I just don’t know how to answer when someone says. . .” To counter these fears, we need good solid training in evangelism-something few believers have had. There are lessons in evangelism that can only be learned through face-to-face, eyeball-to-eyeball contact with the lost. So it’s important to get out there and do it!
There is so much more to this topic but your time is limited. The very important thing is that we at least have a desire to reach those without Christ as Savior. All true believers should feel this way. There is a world that is ‘lost’ without Christ and they need to hear the greatest message of hope they could ever hear–that Jesus Christ came to save them from their sin. If you need more information on How to Overcome Fear in Witnessing please feel free to contact me at btuttle@theharvestchurchinternational.com. We must carry out the great Commission!
God Bless,
Pastor Brad Tuttle
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