There is a lot of pressure in the world today to be anything but a Christian, anything else is “more acceptable, more tolerable” than accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
But there is nothing in this world that can touch the power of God or His Grace.
In John 10:10 Jesus says “The thief does not come, except to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
In this one verse we see that the devil, referred to here as the “thief,” comes mainly to steal from us. If he can’t steal from us then he will kill or destroy. You might ask, why does the devil do this? He can’t afford to let you get the Word of God down in your heart because it is powerful and he has no victory over it.
In Hebrews 4:12 it says “For the Word of God is alive, and active, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
So here we see that the Word is alive and active and can be used as a weapon. Now to save a little confusion, the soul is made up of the mind, will, and emotions. Sometimes we confuse things by interchanging the word soul for the word spirit, but they are completely different.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 says “May the very God of peace sanctify you completely. And I pray to God that your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In this verse we see that man is 3 in 1, he is a spirit, he has a soul (mind, will, emotions), and dwells in a body. Similarly, God is 3 in 1, He is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Keep these things in mind when reading in scripture because it will help you to understand which part of man and which part of God is being talked about. Kenneth E. Hagin has an excellent book on this called “The Threefold Nature of Man.”
Now, we know that the Word is a weapon for warfare, but is that its only use? Is that the only reason the devil comes for it? No, there is much more to the Word and its threat to the devil. Let’s look at Faith.
Hebrews 11:1 says “Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Romans 10:17 says “So then Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
Romans 12:3 says “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sound judgment, according to the measure of Faith God has distributed to every man.”
God is a good God and when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He gives us the measure of Faith. We also know that Faith can be strengthened, much like a muscle, through the speaking and hearing of the Word and in the following verse we see that Faith can protect us.
Ephesians 6:16 “and above all, taking the shield of Faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the fiery arrows of the evil one.”
Now lets bring it all together as the Armor of God,
Ephesians 6:10-17 “Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole Armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole Armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your waist girded with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace, 16 and above all, taking the shield of Faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the fiery arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”
This is the reason the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy, to keep the Word of God from getting down into our spirits and taking root. Once the Word is rooted in us and grows and becomes fruitful, it’s difficult to steal it away from us. To be clear, none of this benefits you until you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
You see, God gave us the perfect gift, His Son, Jesus. Jesus is the perfect Lamb of God whose blood has sealed the new covenant between God and man and it’s ours to receive. God loves you, and He loves all people and His desire is that none would perish but that all would come to Him through Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life. There is so much more to the gift of Jesus and it is for you. There is nothing that you can do to be made worthy to receive such a gift, that’s why God has given it to us through His grace, so that we can once again be in fellowship with Him like Adam was before the fall.
Let me walk you through receiving Jesus, speak the following out loud:
Lord, I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe that He was raised from the dead for my justification and I confess Him now as my Lord and Savior. Father, thank you that by your grace and generosity, I am now become a new creation and the righteousness of God in Christ. I am the Victor and not the victim; I am the Head and not the tail, I am Above and not beneath, and I am more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus.
You are indeed a new creation, your sins have been washed clean and I call you Brother/Sister. I urge you to find a local church to get planted in, which will help you to grow into full sons and daughters. Rhema and Kenneth Copeland Ministries are good sources for churches in your area. The Podcasts page on this website has my latest podcasts to listen to. Also check out Neighborhoods tab on this website for links to Bible apps, Christian bookstores, Believers Academy, and Faith School. Feel free to reach out to us through reachout@truepatriotministries.org.
Congratulations and God Bless.