“Prayer is a weapon, a mighty weapon in a terrific conflict. Our prayers are to be continual conscious, earnest effort of battle, the battle against what ever is not God’s will.” -P.T. Forsyth

I am not qualified to write about demons, since I have never had any direct personal encounters with demonic forces. But I have watched with curiosity the subtle ways in which Satan defeats the young (and the old) believers from the path of progress. He derails them in advancing in the right direction and the person is not even aware of any delicate demonic interventions. The superficial projects and programs involved consoles him to carry on the newly found convictions.

The exhaustive list of demonic “ways” is something that only the demons know, but I would like to emphasize on a few major ones.

DISBELIEF IN GOD

The first attack from demonic forces is to plant a disbelief in God and His word. He raises questions about God’s best plans and intensions in our lives. The first woman, Eve, became a victim of this subtle and entertaining way that led to the fall of man.

Gen 3:5 (MSG)- “God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil."

However, God is good and He has the best plan for our lives.

Jer. 29:11 (MSG)- “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out–plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. “

DISTORT THE TRUTH

The second novel way that demons attach is by distorting the truth. The truth triumphs and sets us free. So, he dilutes and distorts the truth and eventually enables us to believe his blatant lie(s). He gives us false hope and so-called “future security.” He twists the truth and mixes it up with lies and tries to sell it and make us believe his word instead of God’s word.

Matthew 4:6 (MSG)- “ and said to him, "If you are God’s Son, throw yourself down, for the scripture says, ‘God will give orders to his angels about you; they will hold you up with their hands, so that not even your feet will be hurt on the stones.’ "

Matthew 4:7 (MSG)- “Jesus answered, "But the scripture also says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ "

DETERMINE TO PLEASE PEOPLE

We are constantly under pressure to please ourselves or others instead of pleasing God. Demons drag us to please ourselves or others. They make us a smart leader instead of a saint.

1 Samuel 15:24 (MSG)- “Saul gave in and confessed, "I’ve sinned. I’ve trampled roughshod over GOD’s Word and your instructions. I cared more about pleasing the people. I let them tell me what to do.“

DEVELOP BLINDNESS

The Prophet Balaam followed Balak. He was unable to see God’s plan until the donkey refused to move; then he could see God’s intensions. When we are stubborn, we can be blinded by the “illusions” that demons put in front of us. (I added a line to sun it up).

Rev. 2:14 (MSG)- "But why do you indulge that Balaam crowd? Don’t you remember that Balaam was an enemy agent, seducing Balak and sabotaging Israel’s holy pilgrimage by throwing unholy parties?”

DISCORD AMONG BROTHERS

When we start to compare our gifts, talents and strength with others’ weaknesses, we sow seeds of discontentment and jealousy. The very people who pray, protect and provide for us are viewed with suspicion. Demons will have the last laugh, when they succeed in this attempt.

1 Cor. 4:7 (MSG)- “For who do you know that really knows you, knows your heart? And even if they did, is there anything they would discover in you that you could take credit for? Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing?”

DISTRACT FROM THE VISION

Jesus was the most focused person and no one could thwart Him from the cross. Jesus rebuked Peter and called him “Satan” becuase he attempted to share his human wisdom.

Matthw 16:23 (MSG)- “But Jesus didn’t swerve. "Peter, get out of my way. Satan, get lost. You have no idea how God works."

DEVELOP SHORT SIGHTEDNESS

What I achieve will become the center point of my life instead of finding out God’s plan(s) for His kingdom. The question is: “How I can embrace God’s plan instead of working out my own?”

Romans 12:1 (MSG)- “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life–your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life–and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.”

DISTRIBUTE SUCCESS & WEALTH

Many young people start off reaching the unreached. They proclaim the Gospel in difficult and daring situations. Slowly they become heroes in their own eyes and the in circle of young believers around them. They testify about what they have achieved and give little glory to God and His Kingdom. Since everybody appreciates the young person, he becomes the self appointed leader of the group. Then, the primary purpose of God’s will, His kingdom and His glory is turned to my Kingdom, my will and my glory.

This can happen when God blesses us with wealth, health, family and influences in the society. These blessings from the Lord should never “go to our head.” We should not make the mistake of adoring the gifts and bounty that we have received instead of the Giver.

Jer. 9:23 (MSG)- “GOD’s Message: "Don’t let the wise brag of their wisdom. Don’t let heroes brag of their exploits. Don’t let the rich brag of their riches.“

Jer. 9:24 (MSG)- “If you brag, brag of this and this only: That you understand and know me. I’m GOD, and I act in loyal love. I do what’s right and set things right and fair, and delight in those who do the same things. These are my trademarks." GOD’s Decree.”

DRIFT FROM PASSION TO PROJECTS

God’s is more concerned with our passion than what we achieve for His Kingdom.

Rev. 2:4 (MSG)- "But you walked away from your first love–why? What’s going on with you, anyway?”

DENIAL FEELING AROUSED

Satan whispers to us, “so many good things are denied for me.” We feel sorry for ourselves and start comparing ourselves with others.

Psalms 84:11 (MSG)- “The LORD is our protector and glorious king, blessing us with kindness and honor. He does not refuse any good thing to those who do what is right.“

CONCLUSIONS

Demons are much older than us. Satan has experienced thousands of years of derailing millions, if not more. The Bible warns us that we should not be naïve and self confident.

This is not an exclusive list of demonic activities. He comes in different colors and contours. It is good idea to discuss how Satan is “on the move” in groups; keeping in mind that no one is above the target of the Devil. Finally, the battle is on our knees.

1 Cor. 10:12 (MSG)- “Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.”

GAIN

FIRE

Our God is a consuming fire and He has come to light a fire in every heart. The Holy Spirit has brought the fire. We can be “on fire for God!” When we are “on fire for God,” we are showing God’s devouring power and holiness to others as He cleanses and purifies our lives. He puts His protection around us. He reveals His passion for the perishing souls to us. We can be ones that snatch others from the fire through His Word and Spirit that is “sparking” within us!

ENDURANCE

Jesus endured the Cross. Paul said that he could endure anything for the sake of the elect. Enduring hardship as discipline is our calling . Enduring sinful people and struggling against sin is all a part of our spiritual living for which we are also called. May God help us to endure anything for the cause of Christ and His Kingdom!

Godliness with contentment is great gain. What was considered as “gain” to Paul might have been viewed as a “loss” to those who are perishing. Moses left the riches in Egypt. Jesus left the glory of His Father for a moment in order gain souls for the Kingdom of God. True gain is living a godly life in contentment. The loss and gain account is balanced and maintained for each of us in Heaven. Let us look to God for our contentment and trust in eternity for our gain!

May God speak to us personally and individually as we reflect on these thoughts!

• Some Scriptural References to Ponder :

Heb. 12:29, Luke12:49, Acts 2:3, Zech. 3:2-5, 2 Kings 6:17, Luke 24:32, Jer. 23:29, 1 Peter 1:7, Heb. 12:2-4, Heb. 12:7, Heb. 12:11, 2 Tim. 2:10, Rom. 15:4-5, 2 Cor. 1:6, Col. 1:11, 1 Tim. 6:11, Titus 2:2, 1 Tim. 6:6, Phil. 3:8, Heb. 11:24.

Psalms 40:17 (MSG)-“And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing: make something of me. You can do it; you’ve got what it takes– but God, don’t put it off. “

Transformation in a man’s life is God’s work. Only God has the resource(s) to do it. We should desire and pray for it. We should plead for Him to do it right now. The person who is concerned about his life, should realize that he is a mess. He is nothing and he has nothing. This is a very difficult thing for any person to accept. God has to work in a man’s life to make him realize it. This is the starting point of true transformation- to know the real “I am.”

Then we need to know the real God. What He can do in our life and what the resources are; that make us closer to God. God can do the “impossible.” God is God. God loves to do the “impossible” for people! We need to plead with Him to do this for us. We must earnestly seek Him from the bottom of our heart. We must trust in Him to do His work in us. Let us plead with Him to do it right now!

This is what David was doing in Psalms 40:17. No wonder he became a man after God’s own heart!

We need to desire God’s transforming work to continue in our lives. When we are humble and realistic, we can get acquainted with and the resourceful and powerful God of the universe. Indeed God is seeking this transformation. He listens to our pleas. Let’s trust Him to make “something” out of us!

2 Cor. 3:17-18 (MSG)- “They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

May God “work” a real and deep transformation in us!

Someone once said that success comes in “cans” and failure in “cannots.” The following “Twenty Cans of Success” is taken from God’s Word. It will expand your knowledge of the Almighty God.

1. Why should I say I can’t, when the Bible says I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Phil. 4:13)?

2. Why should I worry about my needs, when I know that God will take care of all my needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19)?

3. Why should I fear, when the Bible says God has not given me a spirit of fear; but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7)?

4. Why should I lack faith to live for Christ, when God has given me a measure of faith (Rom. 12:3)?

5. Why should I be weak, when the Bible says that the Lord is the strength of my life and that I will display strength and take action because I know God

(Psalm 27:1, Daniel 11: 32)?

6. Why should I allow Satan control over my life, when He that is in me is greater than He that is in the world (1 John 4:4)?

7. Why should I accept defeat, when the Bible says that God always leads me in victory (2 Cor. 2:14)?

8. Why should I lack wisdom, when I know that Christ became wisdom for me from God and God gives wisdom to me generously when I ask Him.(1 Cor. 1:30, James 1:5)?

9. Why should I be depressed, when I have hope and can recall to mind God’s loving kindness, compassion and faithfulness ( Lam. 3:21,22)?

10. Why should I worry and be upset, when I can cast all my anxieties on Christ who cares for me (1 Peter 5:7)?

11. Why should I ever be in bondage, when I know that that there is freedom where the Spirit of the Lord is (2 Cor. 3:17)?

12. Why should I feel condemned, when the Bible says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8: 1)?

13. Why should I feel alone, when Jesus said He is with me always and He will never leave me nor forsake me (Matt. 28:20, Hebrews 13:8)?

14. Why should I feel as if I am cursed or have bad luck, when the Bible says that Christ rescued me from the curse of the law that I might receive His Spirit by faith (Gal. 3:13, 14)?

15. Why should I be unhappy when I, like Paul, can learn to be content whatever the circumstances (Phil. 4:11)?

16. Why should I feel worthless, when Christ became sin for me so that I might I might become the righteousness of God (2Cor. 5:21)?

17. Why should I feel helpless in the presence of others, when I know that if God is for me, who can be against me (Rom. 8:31)?

18. Why should I be confused, when God is the author of peace and He gives me knowledge through His Spirit who lives in me (1 Cor. 2:12, 14: 33)?

19. Why should I feel like a failure, when I am more than a conqueror through Christ who loved me (Rom. 8:37)?

20. Why should I let pressure of life bother me, when I can take courage knowing that Jesus has overcome the world and its problems (John 16: 33)?

From “Victory Over the Darkness” by Neil T. Anderson

John 4:20-24- “Well, tell me this: Our ancestors worshiped God at this mountain, but you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place for worship, right?" "Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming–it has, in fact, come–when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. "It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself–Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration."

1. According to the verses above, what is worship?

2. Where does Jesus want us to “worship” (answer this is light of reading Jesus’ clarification to Samaritan woman)?

3. How can you apply the verse below to your life?

Romans 12:1 (MSG)- “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life–your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life–and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.”

Ps. 68:19-“Praise be to the Lord, to God our savior who daily bears our burdens.”

1. Who He is & what He does for us!

Isaiah 40: 28-“God will not grow tired or weary…”

Isaiah 40: 29-“…He gives strength to the weary and increase the power of the weak.”

2. Promises for us as we put our hope in Him (Isaiah 40: 31):

1. He will renew our strength!

2. He will make us soar on wings like eagles!

3. He will help us to run and not grow weary

4. He will enable us to walk and not faint!

3. What do we “do” as we put our hope in the Lord?

Romans 4:18- “Against all hope Abraham believed!”

1. We must have hope!

Romans 4:21- “being fully persuaded that God had the power to do what He had promised.”

1. We must be persuaded that God’s power and promises are true!

4. Conclusion:

1. Let’s experience God. Let’s live our life “in and through Him” as we wait on Him to unfold His will and ways in our lives!

Ps 54: 4-“Surely God is my help…”

2. Let us be like David and rely on God’s help in our “time of need!”

3. In the mist of our “burdens” (and waiting on the Lord), let’s pray over these verses and make them our own!

“Every thing starts with a thought. Thoughtless speech or action can be explosive. Men have wrecked their lives because of this.

Few people think more than two or three times a year. I have made an international reputation by thinking once or twice a week.”

-George Bernard Shaw

Proverbs: 4:23 (Tev)-“Be careful how you think your life is shaped by your thoughts…”

What the person thinks is what they become. Therefore, it is very vital that what we watch what we are brooding over.

2 Cor. 10:5-“…take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.”

We need to surrender our thoughts to Him and willingly obey His thoughts that are revealed to us in the Scriptures. Since His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8), He can think on a much higher plane/dimension than we can ever perceive! We have the ability to be disciplined and controlled in our thought life when we are under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can refuse to nurture any thoughts that are not beneficial to us. The power of positive thinking is well known even to those who are perishing. How much more powerful is it when it is guided and assured by the Holy Spirit!

Creative thinking is also so very beneficial and rewarding .Godly thoughts usher us into His presence. Paul says we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:15-16)!

Ps. 139:17-18-“How precious to me are your thoughts ..and how vast is the sum of them…”

God’s thoughts have both quality and quantity. They are the best thoughts. His thoughts are noble thoughts!

Phil. 4:8-“Finally brothers…Whatever is true , Whatever is noble , Whatever is right, Whatever is pure, Whatever is lovely, Whatever is admirable – if any thing is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.”

We can have godly thoughts when we are disciplined and exercise creative and positive thinking through submission to the Holy Spirit.

David prayed honestly to God.

Ps. 139 :23-24-“Search me Oh God and know my anxious thoughts today…Lead me in the way everlasting.”

No man can ever be greater than His thought life. No man can be used of God more than what he dreams!

Gal. 6:7-“A man reaps, what he sows. God cannot be mocked. Sowing seeds of bitterness and jealousy can ruin our lives.”

Our anxious thoughts, our sinful thinking, our shrewd/cunning thinking, and our loose thinking can ultimately become destructive and “suicidal” to our walk with God!

May God help us to think right as we think through these thoughts!

Phil. 2:14–16 (MSG)-“Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing.”

1. What do we live for?

The purpose to our life is to provide others’ with a glimpse of what it means to have a “good living” with the Living God!

2. How do we do this? We do it in three ways:

· We do everything readily and cheerfully!

· We Breath fresh air into this dirty and polluted world!

· We carry His message of light into the dark world!

3. What is the result?

We are the “living proof” to a dying world. We will not be ashamed, when He returns. He will be proud of us!

4. What is our response?

· Personally-We cannot walk away from His calling!

· Towards Others – In Paul’s words, we want everyone to be like us (except for these “chains” (bondages that are “man-made” or God allowed”)) (Acts 26:29) as we experience this magnificent relationship with Christ!

Matthew 18:3-“…unless you change….you will never enter the Kingdom of God.”

1. Change What We See

We need to change what our senses catch!

Proverbs 4:25- “Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.”

2. Change What We Think
We need to change our belief system.

Romans 12:2-“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Proverbs 4:23-“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

3. Change What We Say
Change begins with confession.

1 John 1:9-“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Proverbs 17:27-“A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered.”

4. Change What We Do
We can’t change unless we obey God.

1 Sam. 15:22- “But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

James 1:22- “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

5. Change Where We Go
Connection with a community is essential to change.

Proverbs 4:26-“Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.”

Isaiah 6:8- “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

Defining a Fool

1. A fool believes that there is not a God- Ps 14:1.
2. A fool speaks evil of others- Proverbs 10:18.
3. A fool does not care if he sins- Proverbs 14:9.
4. A fool trust in himself and in his own opinions- Proverbs 28:26.
5. A fool piles up riches for himself- Luke 12:20.