Treatment, Part 2: Depression: A New 24

Great sermon by Pastor Steven Furtick! Check out the entire series: Treatment @ www.elevationchurch.org

Treatment, Part 2: Depression: A New 24

TIM THURMAN'S BLOG: I Have Not Be Totally Honest With You

A good blog from someone else sharing their story for God. Enjoy!


TIM THURMAN'S BLOG: I Have Not Be Totally Honest With You

Spiritual Warfare: The truth about the size of the opponents

There is an epic battle that has existed before the world began…

It still exists. We are born into this battle…

We can see the effects of this battle in the every day lives of people.

Be concerned; be aware; but do not be afraid – for there is One more powerful.

**The Truth About the Size of the Opponents**

I think many Christians today think of God, and of Satan, way too lowly. We act like the devil is a little guy sitting on our shoulder whispering bad thoughts in our ear to temp us.  And we treat God like He is “on call.” As though when we need God we ask Him for help and He sends “the force” down to help us in our need. Well, that is not how God is, nor is it how Satan works. We often underestimate the power of both.

Some of us Christians need to get a little Pentecostal in us!

Do you acknowledge the presence of evil that is in your daily life? Why not? It’s there. Trust me, its there whether you think about it or not. Demons do not die – they live & work in generation to generation. And Satan loves when Christians don’t think about him! He loves when we go on living as though there is not a spiritual battle going on. Why? Because one of the best ways to fight against an enemy is to know your enemy. After all, an army does not go into battle not knowing the strategies, weaknesses and strengths of their opponent. The best way to fight against the devil is to know his strategies; know what he will use to try and defeat you and know how to protect yourself against his schemes. But as we walk this earth daily, going about our business, not paying attention to the fact that evil and temptation surrounds us… we quietly ignore his presence. And in doing this we let our guard down. Satan is a master deceiver. He will creep into the smallest hole, make himself unnoticeable and attack without you even knowing it. Satan is patient. He will take his time and destroy you slowly. (Ever listen to that song It’s A Slow Fade by Casting Crowns? If not, go look it up… it’s a good explanation of how Satan works and is a warning to us all.)

While Satan is powerful, there is One more powerful than him… and that is God. So often we seem to see God as smaller than He is also. We thank God for the things we think He has done and we ask Him for help… but we often do not realize that God is in control. He is in control of EVERYTHING. He knows all the past, present and future. He knows everything you have ever done and thought. He also knows everything you will do in the future… every mistake you will ever make… in your whole life! He knows everything that is going on in the world at every given moment and hears everyone’s prayers. Not only that, but we as Christians have the power of the name of Jesus and have the Holy Spirit living inside us! Dwell on that for a minute…Do you know what that means? We have the power of Jesus’ name to revoke Satan and his demons. And we have the spirit of the Lord living inside us to guide and direct us. And yet, how often do you use what God has given you? How often do you use the name of Jesus? How often do you call upon the Holy Spirit? For me, I know I honestly do not as much as I should. God has given me these great gifts and I often do not even exercise them. I too often rely on myself… and when things get bad I finally decide to call on God. Too often He is my secondary and not my primary. We need to acknowledge the power of God, our need for Him and exercise the gifts, talents and powers that God provides for us through Him. We need to pray offensively. And we need to do this every day… every hour and every minute. Don’t turn God into your little pocket handy-man. Because the truth is, the devil is stronger than you. But God has given us His authority in order that we may overcome the attacks of Satan and his demons.

ACTION: Take a minute today to reflect.

How aware are you of the presence of evil in your life? Satan is always working. So where is he working in your life? Look at the evidence of evil in your life. Where does he attack you? Look at how you may have aided your enemy. How are you participating?

Pray offensively. Repent of sin, acknowledge Jesus as your savior and ask the Holy Spirit to be your protector. Pray against your weaknesses and ask the Holy Spirit to dwell inside you; closing and locking every window and door that you may have left open for attack. Proclaim the Name of Jesus and your power over the enemy as one who has the living God inside of them.