Brother Gary Wednesday Evening 9/3/14

Brother Gary Wednesday Evening 9/3/14

2Co 10:4  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

There will be a lot of strong holds that you will encounter as you work with people and pray for people.  One of the strongholds is:

Isa 28:18  And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

It is interesting what a stronghold the covenant with death is that people make.  They don’t look at it as, “I’m making a covenant to being lost in sin, or to go along with this, or to live loose, or to any of that kind of thing.”  They don’t realize it, but they are making a covenant with death.

Audrey said when she was a senior in high school, “It is so hard being saved, I’m just going to backslide and go to the world.  After high school, I’m going to get saved and serve God.”  That covenant has spanned many years.  She still is not saved.

Sin will take you where you don’t want to go.  One thing I have really learned is that it will leave you where you don’t want to stay.

Sometimes we wonder, “Why do people stay in such a horrible condition?”  People are living in filth, never having a clean mind or a clean relationship.  They are without the ability to look upon a child, a man, a woman, a married couple, or an aged grandma and grandpa. 

When people yield to the covenant of death, they are totally at a loss for a clean thought. 

We have a wonderful promise: “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.”

Eph 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.

We wrestle against principalities.  There is the principle of sin, of carnality, of all the things that are listed in the book of Galatians dealing with the thought of the lusts of the flesh. 

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

Gal 5:21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

There is a principle when it comes to adultery.  There is a reason why people fall into adultery, “We are going to live bad, there will be no consequence or covenant.”  That is the biggest lie since Adam and Even fell.  There are consequences.

Some say, “We are going to live loose, I am young.”  Any one that lives that way is under extreme bondage.  I remember one young man that used to come to Sunday school.  He didn’t want to get saved because he loved living loose.  Sin has a principle for every part.

Purity is so wonderful.  To have a clean mind!  As far as the communication that technology offers us this day, if you are sure that it doesn’t cost you spiritually then stay on that side of it.  Make sure that it doesn’t push God out. 

I want to choose my battles and there are some that I don’t want to have.  When people want to get a hold of you then they figure out a way to get a hold of you.  Purity is such a wonderful thing.

I think of the blessing that the children have of having a pure mind. 

Uncleanness will get young people in trouble.  There is something in the nature of carnality that people are born with.  Some go quickly into uncleanness.  It produces a covenant with death, there is such bondage.

Young children, young people choose to take every precaution to have a clean mind.  It is wonderful to have a clean mind. 

As adults we have experienced floods of uncleanness that would like to take over our mind.  If you have a battle with that, then backtrack to where it comes from.  We say how much we love Jesus; we prove it when we backtrack and take a stand. 

We have to draw a line.  If you say, “I would be lonely.”  Then I ask, “How small is your God?”  I don’t buy that at all.  There is something wrong with us when we get the mopes. 

Lasciviousness:  This a huge word, often slighted over, that has an in-depth meaning.  You study it.  It is a terrible word.  People that mess around spiritually and don’t get saved and sanctified, get mixed up with this word. 

Idolatry:  We all have to watch, “What am I worshipping? What am I thinking will bring me joy; where is my treasure?”  There is only one treasure.

Hold a standard always against witchcraft.  People thinking things, feeling things…, take a stand.

Hatred:  It is a terrible thing when people have hatred in their life because of what has happened in their past, or what is going on.  It is a terrible covenant with death.

Variance: It is wonderful to have peace in your heart.  Peace with the saints.  There are always people that have a covenant with variance.  You run into them and they are always fighting, ready to pull out the brass knuckles.

Emulations: whenever anything comes to you to want to one up one of the saints then back off a full step.  Emulations, competing…  We are brothers, we are sisters.  We need each other’s help.  When one has a joy we all share with it. 

We don’t want to be guilty because the covenant with death is a terrible thing,

Wrath:  We live in a world that is angry.  We haven’t even had the first parent teacher conference but I grant you there are angry parents.  Think of the child that goes home to angry parents.  Some parents don’t want kids and are mad when they come home.  They get mad when they are sick, it messed up their schedule. 

Do you believe that there are parents that hate their children?  Yes I do.  They are selfish.  Some husbands hate their wives.  There are some women that hate their husbands.  They mess up their lives.  They want everything to be for them.

Hatred is a terrible thing.

Eph 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.

Whenever an individual mixes the works of the flesh and claims to be a servant of God then they are spiritual wickedness in high places.

Eph 6:13  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

There will be people that want to make you think what they want you to think.  Take the whole armor of God.

Eph 6:14  Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

Isn’t it good to have truth?  We have wonderful Sunday school teachers, wonderful helpers, and the emphasis is always, ‘truth, truth, truth’.

Eph 6:15  And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Eph 6:16  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Eph 6:17  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Eph 6:18  Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Pray. Intercede.  There was a time that God wondered that there was no intercessor.  Check out the meaning of that word in the Hebrew.  It is stirring. 

There will be many that wonder that they didn’t pray and intercede for souls.  Pray, intercede, supplicate.

Eph 6:23  Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Eph 6:24  Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen. To the Ephesians written from Rome, by Tychicus.