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Making Your Stand
by Charlie Rogers
When we talk about being ruled by the lust of the flesh, those lusts
of the flesh that can even lead us into predicaments with men and
women where we should not be, it can go both ways. Satan will come
and he will try to slide you over into a realm that starts a journey
away from God if you’re not careful. But then you make a decision
not to go there. You’ll make a stand for Jesus that you’re going to
pray more. You’re going to read the Word more. You’re going to get
up every morning at a certain time. You make a decision quality
decision.
Maybe you have been to one of those camp meetings or maybe you have
been to a believer’s convention. You come back riding high. You
received a refreshing from God. You’re on fire. Get out of my way
devil. Here I come. So you make a commitment that the next morning
you are going to start at 6 in the morning. You are going to get up
and you are going to pray for 30 minutes, and you are going to read
at least one chapter of Proverbs and one chapter in the New
Testament, and you make a stand.
I have been around the block a few times. It’s not special
revelation knowledge from the throne room. Just been there, and done
that. You make it pretty good the first three mornings. There is one
thing though the devil used to get you. You didn’t intend for it, it
just happened. First morning that he got you was because you spent
all night watching that movie on HBO and couldn’t quite make that
bell at 6 o’clock. The devil got you. I mean you didn’t know that he
got you. He just used something that was there. You made a soul
soothing decision. You made a decision within your soul that you
were going to do a good thing, and it was a good thing that you were
going to do. It was a good start, not a major start, but it was a
start. For some people it would have been a major start. So you made
a good decision. It is just whenever we try to do things out of our
own soul, out of our own emotions; they just don’t last very long.
Paul said "I have to buffet my body continually." Your body and your
emotions don’t want to do what God wants it to do. Basically that is
what he was saying. So it’s not like he was some super human. I like
to read Paul’s writings. I have heard preachers say "Paul, he is
just knot headed, hard headed, hardnosed. He just wouldn’t cut
anybody any slack." I like to read Paul’s teachings because what I
see is a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ that not many of
the other disciples even came close to, even though they walked with
Him. I see it revealed in his writings.
Paul knew what the devil was after. (2Cor.12:7-9) Paul said Satan
has put this thing on me and I went to God three times to ask Him to
relieve me of it. He said my grace is sufficient. Meaning I have
already given you everything at your disposal. My mercy and my grace
are sufficient for you to walk right out of this. To resist the
devil and he will flee. For Paul to say that, it must of been given
to him because of the abundance of his revelation. The abundance of
his knowledge in God of what God was all about. Satan sent this
thing to harass him. I have heard preachers get up and preach
everything from that "Oh, I can just see Paul. He had this thorn in
his eye and matter was running down his eye. It said that he wrote
in big letters." I have heard them preach everything on that. Paul
said, "But because of the abundance of my revelation this thing was
assigned to me."
Then I’m reminded of a conversation that Jesus had with Peter, Jesus
said "Satan is going to come and sift you as wheat." But then Jesus
turned around and He settled the issue all in one breathe. He said
"I am going to pray." Now when Jesus prays you’ve got it made. He
said I am going to pray, "That your faith not fail." We don’t want
to look at that too much.
In fact some of us in the charismatic movement have said "Well you
know, I am not part of the faith movement, and I am not part of that
faith message." My goodness, you might as well settle the issue
right now. It say’s in Hebrews 11:6 "Without faith it is impossible
to please God" Faith is the only way you are ever going to please
Him. Then it goes on and says what it takes to have that faith that
will please Him. That he who comes to Him must believe that He is
who He says He is, and will do what He says He will do, and that He
is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Well if you want
rewarded by God, the only way you’re going to, is to seek Him. You
can’t walk with one foot in the world and every now and then on a
Sunday morning show up in church and say that you’re seeking God
diligently. It doesn’t work that way. We have got to start seeking
Him.
I have seen them get pumped up and they will come to me after a
service when they have seen the power of God move, and miracles
flow. They will come to me all pumped up I am going to support your
ministry the rest of my life! You are just what I have been looking
for! I have been looking all my life for somebody like you! When
they tell you that folks, look out. I have been around long enough
to know to look out! They will come and we will hear from them for
about a month. They will send their offerings, which really, to be
quite honest, if they quit sending their offerings and just send
praise reports or prayer requests that would be just fine. Because I
tell my people that as long as they stay in contact we need to stay
in contact with them. We will do everything that we can especially
if they have a problem, or if they are trying to walk out of a
situation.
This particular situation I am thinking of is with someone who was
walking out of a divorce and getting to know God. Coming to
understand that He still loved her, and He was beginning to prosper
her business. "Oh my goodness, you’re just what I have been looking
for." She was all pumped up. Even drove several miles to get to some
of my meetings because she wanted to hear the message so bad. See
what happened was when she made that decision even though it was
somewhat a decision out of her emotions and out of the soul, she
triggered something. It is called Satan coming to sift you as wheat.
You make declarations like, "I just love this message of prayer. I
finally got something that I can grab hold of and even though no man
will let me preach, I can take this message and I can walk out of
this, and God will someday begin to use me."
When you make a declaration like that my friend, it sends a signal
to Satan’s throne. He sends out all these little spiritual
wickedness. And whatever he can use as a handle in your life, he
begins to sift you. He will begin to do it because you made a
quality decision even though most of it might have been under the
emotional realm. The fact is you made a quality decision that you’re
going to do something to walk into God.
Know that you can still make a stand against the enemy, make that
decision to stand against those things of the flesh and stand
therefore! Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee!
You cannot resist the enemy unless you first submit to God and you
have to do those things in His Word in order to submit. Things such
as a life prayer, worship, meditating the Word and fasting.
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