The Connection Part 2

We have learned that before Adam and Eve sinned, when Satan came to tempt Eve, she fought back quoting God’s word. Adam and Eve were still spiritually connected to God at that point. But what did Satan do? He kept trying to convince Eve God was not telling her the whole truth. He lied to her and twisted God’s word trying to convince her to believe him over God. And Satan succeeded, Eve decided to believe Satan’s words over God’s words. So what caused Eve to sin? Words.

When you understand that you can understand why Job would not curse God. Job did not know it was Satan coming after him until God told Job. But Job would not speak words against God. Even when his own wife wanted him to curse God. Even Job’s friends were attributing his problems to God and explained to Job, you must have sinned and that is why you are having all these problems.

Sounds like modern preachers telling their flock, you must have sin in your life and that is why you are having all these peoblems. They must not understand the relationship of parent and child, or King and ambassador.

These examples show us Satan’s devices. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2:11 KJV  ” Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

Satan used three weapons against Job. First, he came after Job’s wealth, his possessions. Second, he came after Job’s family. And third, he came after Job’s health. These three weapons Satan still uses today against believers and non-believers. But ask yourself, what was Satan’s goal? Job 1:11 tells us. Satan was trying to get Job to speak against God. Satan wanted Job to speak words out loud against God.

God’s word tells us we are going to be judged by our words. Every idle word we speak, we are going to give an account for. So Satan attacks Job’s wealth and possessions first, to get Job to blame God and speak against God. It did not work. So Satan tries again by killing Job’s children and that too failed. Then Satan attacked Job’s health, and that too failed. In the meantime, Job’s friends are telling Job, God must be punishing you for sin in your life. The friends were also blaming God. And finally, Job’s own wife is used to do what? Get Job to curse God. To get Job to speak words out loud against God. They all failed. Job was determined to not speak against God no matter what.

Satan failed and his devices failed. Just like Satan failed with Jesus in Matthew chapter four. Eve failed to believe God and she fell for Satan’s devices. Paul the apostle was very aware of Satan’s devices and he tells us to watch what we say. Let our words be few, our yeas yea and nays nay. Speak words of life, peace, praise,.

Sometimes your family and friends and even your pastor can give you the wrong advice, just like Job’s friends. But pay close attention to what people are trying to get you to say, to confess, to think or believe. Just like salvation comes from believing in your heart and confessing with your mouth. Look up the word speak in your Concordance and you will be amazed at how many verses talk about what we speak or what is spoken.

In the three cases, Eve, Job and Jesus, Satan misused God’s word. What does that tell you? Satan knows God’s word. But he twists God’s word or he lies about God’s word. He perverts God’s word and he steals God’s word out of the hearts and minds if people, just like the parable of the sower says in Luke chapter 8.

Why would someone who rebelled against God, Satan, know and use God’s word? And use God’s word against us? Or use God’s word to tempt us? There has to be a motive on Satan’s part, right? Satan must know God’s word plays a huge part in our lives.

Remember, man is made of three parts, a spirit, a soul and a body. Ask yourself, when Satan tries to convince you of something or get you to believe and speak words about something, what part of man is Satan speaking to? Scripture makes it clear. Satan speaks to man’s soul. Satan is trying to convince your mind of, usually, a lie.

Your soul is your mind, will and emotions. Satan speaks to your soul, your mind and Satan will use emotions to convince your mind so your will bends to Satan’s lie.

But what part of man does God speak to? Your spirit man. Believers who have had their spirit man quickened ( made alive unto God) hear God. Jesus said my sheep hear my voice. If you do not hear God speak to you, maybe you are not listening or you need to check your salvation (be sure you got saved the way God says to be saved).

God speaks to our spirit and that is why we believe the impossible. We do not have to understand the who, what, why, when and how of a matter. We believe God and his word no matter if we understand it or not. Scripture tells us basic principles in Proverbs 3:5-10

” 5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”

So we believe God and his word and we speak out loud God’s word and that is how we defeat the attacks from Satan and how we change our life.

Paul tells in Ephesians 6:12 – ”  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Another words, we fight against things we can not even see. We will pick it up from here next time. Until next time.

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The Connection Part 1 The Root

Ask yourself, what changes my life here on earth? When you make a decision to move, to go to college, to get married, to have children, what is it that causes you to make the decision you make? Yes, we pray and talk to God and others but when you make the decision, whether a good decision or a bad decision, what is it that causes you to decide what to do?

Let me ask the question in another way. When Eve decided to disobey God in the garden of Eden, what caused her to decide to disobey? What is it that causes people to decide to kill people over petty things? What causes people to decide to rob, to kill, to lie, to cheat and make decisions, good or bad?

I know there is sin in the world but I am not talking about that. I was looking at a roller coaster year. One month up one month down. Was it my decisions?

I had an interesting conversation with my son yesterday. He was telling me he believed man’s will, if strong enough, could overcome anything. I looked at him and said, I disagree. He said will was the most important.  I said again, I disagree. I told him if you think will is the most important, you are soul living because man’s will is a part of his soul.

I proceeded to explain God created man from the dust of the earth.

Genesis 2:7 KJV  “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

So every person born into this world is a spirit being living in an earthly body and they have a soul ( mind, will and emotions). Before Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, their spirit man was connected to and with God. After they sinned, that connection was broken because God can not allow sin.

That is why we are told now, you must be born again in John chapter 3. The new birth reconnects us to God in our spirit man. We have the same soul and the same body as we had before the new birth except now, our spirit man has been quickened, made alive unto God. Before then, we were dead to God in our trespasses and sin.

When we look at, what caused Adam and Eve to sin and how were they deceived to act against God we notice and learn how our life gets turned upside down. This pattern is used by Satan and his angels today to mess us up. The pattern gets us to act against God and his word. The same pattern Satan used back then causes us today, to have roller coaster lives.

When Satan came to Eve in the garden to tempt her, he used for his temptation, something Eve could not see. ( You shall (future tense) be as gods). Eve fights back “quoting God’s word” (all be it misquoted) How did Eve know, before she sinned and was still connected to God, how did she know to fight back quoting God’s word?

So before the fall, God’s people, Adam and Eve, knew to fight back quoting God’s word. Then Satan called God a liar by saying what God told you is not true when he said God knows you will be as gods. Then Satan appeals to Eve’s flesh when he said you will be as gods.

Up until this point Adam and Eve are still connected with God spiritually. It was the words of Satan that appealed to Eve’s soul and body/flesh. Eve did not understand if she chose to believe the words of Satan and act on Satan’s words, it would disconnect her from God. So Eve was deceived by Satan’s words. Satan used the same tactics on Jesus in Matthew chapter four.

It is not so much that Eve misquoted God’s word (although that is important) because when Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus fought back by quoting God’s word too. And Jesus did not quote God’s word exactly either, check it out.

We will pick this up from here next time. Share this series with others to help them understand and work through their problems God’s way. Until next time.

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The Connection

I have been on a mission to find and understand why most  believers are living a defeated life and don’t understand they have the power to change their life. God the Holy Spirit is helping me wrap my brain around this teaching and I have spent months searching this out.

I lived a defeated Christian life for many, many years. My life was like a roller coaster. One month great and then it was like everything goes wrong the next month. I kept asking God, what am I doing wrong? My mind immediately went to, it must be my fault. I must be doing something wrong. Neither was true but it caused me to search out not just what was happening in my life but the deeper meaning of it all.

God showed me and he is still working me through the answers.

2 Timothy 3:16 KJV

“16¶All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”

All scripture gives us instructions. All scripture profits us. All scripture corrects us and yes, all scripture profits us for doctrine. When I want to understand doctrine, I look at how God dealt with different people over hundreds and thousands of years and then search where we are today and compare scripture for doctrine.

But if I am looking for instructions or corrections in how I am living or my life here on earth, I use all scripture to teach me God’s principles and God’s way to do things. Why? Because God can not lie and if God laid out principles to follow to get results, I know those principles must work.

My dilemma?  Stop the up and down, the roller coaster living and move forward. I was being bombarded with a variety of thoughts, teachings and examples. How to know what was the right answer I did not know. But I did know God had the right answers. Let me explain.

I monitor my spiritual growth every year. When I get to the end of the year I write down major spiritual truths God showed me over the year. These truths had a real impact on me spiritually. When I am done, usually I have a list of four to seven things God opened my spiritual eyes to and it changed me. An example is in 2014 God gave me ten things that shocked me about living as a believer. Things I was never taught in the fundamental AV1611 King James Bible believing church I had attended for thirty years plus.

The information had nothing to do with “doctrine” but everything to do with living a successful Christian life in Christ. I am not going to list all ten things but I will tell you of one thing. God had given me a clear and full understanding of the spirit, soul and body.

That teaching helped me understand a doctrinal teaching of God, God is three in one, not three gods. I believed in the Godhead but I did not understand it. Jesus said God is Spirit and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth. When God showed me, God is one and God the Father is like the brains, the soul. Jesus is God in the flesh and the Holy Spirit is God the Spirit.

I could then understand how man is. Man has a brain (mind, will, emotions – aka a soul). Man has the breath of life, a spirit and man has a fleshly body. Man, is made in God’s image, a triune person. Man has three parts just like God has three parts.

When we read scripture we see how our triune God works with and through mankind throughout the ages. But I am here and now so how does my triune man deal with God in the here and now? Most people look at the Old Testament as stories but not me. The Old Testament is more than stories, it unlocks keys to God’s principles and the New Testament teaches us how to apply those principles to our current days.

So now that I am ready to share with you what answers God has given me, I trust, if you apply the teaching in the series I am going to do titled, The Connection, your life will change and you can get off the roller coaster Christian life and move forward. Get a spiral notebook and take some notes.

No, I am not going to charge for this, not $40, not $80 and not $120. It is free. God gave it to me free and I give it to you free. Why? Buy the word of God and sell it not scripture says. I bought the word of God and studied and what God has taught me, I am not going to sell. God will provide for me (and you) if you let him.

So starting with the next post, we will start the series, The Connection. Until next time.

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