Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

Michael L Grooms
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A daily chat with Pastor Mike and other resources to encourage listeners to connect with the Word of God and grow in their faith.

  1. Ephesians 6:17 - A "Word" For Every Season of Life

    17H AGO

    Ephesians 6:17 - A "Word" For Every Season of Life

    When Satan casts a fiery dart atus, the sword can be used defensively to deflect that dart with God’s HolyWord. But it is also offensive—it can strike the enemy. Think about this: whenyou use the Word of God, you can defend yourself against temptation. But youcan also attack Satan’s kingdom by preaching the Gospel, witnessing to thelost, and teaching the truth. My friend, every time a person is saved through theWord of God, the sword of the Spirit has cut through into the kingdom ofdarkness.   I’llnever forget hearing a story years ago about an atheist who was being witnessedto by a believer. The believer kept trying to talk with him about the Lord.Finally, the atheist said, “Get out of here. Leave me alone. I don’t want tohear any more Scripture. I don’t want to hear any more of the Word. Just leaveme alone. Get out.” The Christian replied, “I just want to leave you with onethought: Luke 13:3 says, ‘Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.’” Theatheist said, “I told you I don’t want to hear it. I don’t believe in God orthe Bible! Get out of here!” The Christian said, “Just one more time—Luke 13:3:‘Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.’” As the Christian waswalking away, the atheist shouted again, “Get away from me!” And the believerresponded one last time, “Unless you repent, you will perish.” The nextday, as the story goes, the atheist called that believer and said, “Would youplease come talk to me about getting saved? All night long all I kept hearingwas, ‘Unless you repent, you will perish.’ I don’t want to perish.” Andhe gave his heart to Christ.   People may brush aside your testimony, but the Word of God is “alive andpowerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12).   Weneed to always remember that the Word of God is the best weapon—the greatestweapon—for every need we have! I love what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:3. Hereminds us, “Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to theflesh.” And in verse 4 he continues, “For the weapons of our warfare arenot carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting downarguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God,bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”   TheWord of God helps us in every season of life. Do you feel downhearted? Have you beendiscouraged or even depressed? I’ll never forget a lady calling just before Iwas about to preach on a Sunday night—back in the old days when all we had werelandlines in the church. There were no cell phones. She said, “I’m verydiscouraged. I need to talk to the pastor.” I picked up the phone briefly andsaid hello. She said, “I’m discouraged. I think I’m suicidal. I need help.” Isaid, “Ma’am, I want you to do something. Start reading the book of Psalmsright now. Just read the Psalms. As soon as this service is over, I’ll call youback.” I’ll never forget it. After the service, I called her back. She said,“I’ve been reading the Psalms, and guess what? I already feel so different.Thank you so much for helping me.” I didn’t do anything. It was the Word of Godthat encouraged her.   AWord for the downhearted and discouraged: Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Your Wordswere found, and I ate them, and Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of myheart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.” Psalm 119:105says, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm119:9 asks, “How can a young man cleanse his way?” And it answers, “Bytaking heed according to Your Word.” Do you feel empty? Do you feel weak? Matthew4:4 reminds us, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word thatproceeds from the mouth of God.”   Whenyou have that intake of God’s Word, you will discover it is not merelyinformation. It is nourishment. It is light. It is strength. It is direction. Itwill help you face every problem, every difficulty, every challenge of everyday—no matter how it comes.

    5 min
  2. Ephesians 6:17 - A Specific Word for a Specific Battle

    1D AGO

    Ephesians 6:17 - A Specific Word for a Specific Battle

    Understandthis clearly: Satan did not quote God’s Word completely. And he did not quoteit correctly or in its proper context. My friend, Satan is not afraid when youquote Scripture—especially if you do not understand it. He is not intimidatedwhen you use verses out of context, perhaps just to make yourself feel betterabout what you are doing.   Overthe years, as a pastor, I have seen many people do exactly that when they wereconfronted with some sin in their life. They would say, “It must be okay,because the Bible says….” I’ll never forget in my early days as a pastor I wasasked to meet with a family late one night and talk to the wife who wascommitting adultery. When we lovingly confronted her, she actually said, “Godsaid in the Bible that you’re supposed to love everybody. I love my husband,and I love this other person too.” Wow! You almost can’t imagine how cansomeone quote Scripture out of context like that and come up with such aconclusion? But it literally happened. That is why we must learn to use theWord of God carefully, rightly, and accurately.   Thatis also why Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to show yourselfapproved unto God, rightly dividing the Word of truth.” That is veryimportant. Again, Paul says in Ephesians 6:17, “the sword of the Spirit, whichis the Word of God.” Make sure you rightly know it and correctly apply it!   Thereis something else very powerful in this verse. When Paul speaks of “the swordof the Spirit, which is the Word of God,” he is referring to a specific wordfor a specific battle. This is an important point to understand. InEphesians 6:17, Paul does not use the Greek word logos, which oftenrefers to the Word of God in general. Instead, he uses the word rhema,which refers to a specific saying, a particular word spoken for a particularsituation. Why is that important? Because when Satan attacks you, you do notjust need general Bible knowledge. You need specific truth for specific lies.   Forexample, when Satan says, “God doesn’t love you,” you can answer with Romans5:8: “But God commended His love toward us, in that, while we were yetsinners, Christ died for us.” Or you might answer with 1 John 4:9–10: “Inthis the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His onlybegotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love,not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be thepropitiation for our sins.” Quote that Scripture back when the devil saysGod does not love you.   WhenSatan says, “You’ve gone too far,” answer with 1 John 1:9: “If we confessour sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us fromall unrighteousness.” When Satan says, “You’re not really saved,” answerwith John 10:28, where Jesus said, “I give unto them eternal life, and theyshall never perish.” Yoursalvation is not based on what you do. It is based on what Jesus has alreadydone for you.   Onepassage that I memorized as a brand-new Christian, when Satan attacked me withthat very lie, was Romans 8:35–39. The Apostle Paul wrote: “Who shallseparate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, orpersecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for theslaughter.’ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him wholoved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels norprincipalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor heightnor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from thelove of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”   Myfriend, make sure you use a specific Word to answer a specific attack ofSatan. When you do, you are taking up the sword of the Spirit exactly as Godintended—and He will protect you in that moment.

    5 min
  3. Ephesians 6:17 - Walking, Running, Standing, Resisting, and Soaring

    2D AGO

    Ephesians 6:17 - Walking, Running, Standing, Resisting, and Soaring

    TheChristian life, as we said, is a battlefield. Satan is warring against us. Hewants to defeat us. He has come to steal, to kill, and destroy. But God, ourGod has given us an armor. The armor of God. Did you hear that? The armor ofGod. Not the armor of some man, some person in the past, or the armor that wehave made up for ourselves. No, it's the armor of God Almighty Himself that'sbeen made available to us. Remember how Saul gave David his armor to put on tofight Goliath. But after David put it on, he realized that he couldn’t wearsome other person’s armor, and he didn’t need it when he by faith knew he hadthe armor of God on already!  So the last thing we are told to dois to take and put on is the helmet of salvation. We've talked about that inthe past number of chats. Right now, we're talking about the sword of theSpirit. We're talking about what that is. It's the word of God. It's the Spiritof the living God through the word of God. Then we find out why we should usethis sword because it's our offensive weapon against the enemy, the devil. Wealso learn how to use this sword. We look at an example of even Jesus ChristHimself. Jesusused the sword of the Spirit against Satan. The clearest example in the Bibleis when Jesus was in the wilderness and Satan came and tempted Him. What didJesus do when Satan tempted Him three times? Each time Jesus answered, "Itis written." He was quoting Scripture from the Old Testament. Myfriend, Jesus did not argue with Satan. He did not negotiate with Satan. He didnot reason with Satan like Eve did when she was tempted and failed. No, Heanswered the temptations with Scripture. Every time Satan came with a lie,Jesus came back with the truth. Now, that tells us something. And that is, ifthe Son of God, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God, chose to resist the devilwith scriptures, then you and I better learn to do the same. Inthe Scriptures, the Christian life is picture or describe as a battle, but theChristian life is also pictured as a walk. We are to walk in purity, walk inthe light, and walk in love. We've talked about that here in the book ofEphesians. The Christian life is also described as a run in Hebrews 12:1. Itsays, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud ofwitnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us,and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”  How do we do it? We do this by “looking untoJesus” (v. 2). TheChristian life is also a fight. But it's not a fight with Satan, my friend.It's a fight to stand strong in the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7, Paul said, "Ihave fought a good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith.”The fight is to keep the faith, to be armored with a faith in the Scripture, inthe Word of God, which is a life of obedience. Then it is also “taking a stand”.We've read that here in Ephesians 6. “And having done all, to stand”.  We stand but Paul also said we “wrestle”. I'llnever forget when I went out for wrestling in high school. I found out it's anexercise of resistance and endurance. You're resisting the strength of the personthat you're wrestling with. That’s what we are told to do with the devil. James4:7 says, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil." Howdo you do it? You do it with the Word of God! Then we are promised that, “hewill flee from you”. Todaywe should be encouraged with the last verses in Isaiah 40:28-31, “Have younot known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator ofthe ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding isunsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might Heincreases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young menshall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength;They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary,They shall walk and not faint.”

    5 min
  4. Ephesians 6:17 - "Which is the Word of God"

    3D AGO

    Ephesians 6:17 - "Which is the Word of God"

    One of theclearest verses in the Bible that speaks about the Word of God being the swordof God in found in Hebrews 4:12. “For the Word of God is quick and powerfuland sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul andspirit and of the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts andintents of the heart.”   First,this verse says the Bible is “quick”, which literally means it's aliving book. It's alive. It's not a dead book. It tells us the Word of God ispowerful! When this Bible is used as the sword of the Spirit, my friend, it cando wonderful and awesome things for the glory of God. And it is sharper than aphysical material sword so that it is “a discerner of the thoughts andintents of the heart”. You see, a physical sword can pierce the body, butthe Word of God pierces the heart. It doesn't pierce to destroy. It pierces toreveal. It pierces to convict. It pierces to heal.   That'swhy on the day of Pentecost when Peter preached, he preached the Bible from theOld Testament Scriptures. Acts 2:37 tells us what happened at the end of hismessage with the response of those who heard it, "Now when they heardthis, they heard his message based on the word of God, they were pricked intheir hearts." Later, speaking of the religious leaders in Acts 5:33,as Peter again spoke the Word of God, it says, "And when they heardthis, they were cut to the heart." That's the sword of the Spirit atwork. It cuts through pride. It cuts through excuses. It cuts through religiousperformance. It cuts through deception. It gets right down to the truth.   Rememberin 2 Corinthians 4:4 where Paul was writing about the people that are withoutChrist. He said that they are blinded by Satan: “Whom the god of this worldhas blinded the minds of those that believe not”. Now how do you deal withthat? How do you overcome that deception of Satan? You do it with the Word ofGod, with the Word and Testimony of Jesus Christ in the Holy Scriptures! Itopens their eyes to see who Jesus really is and what life is really all about. Weneed to always remember how the Word of God is alive and it's sharper than anytwo-edged sword.   Whatis also interesting about it, when you use the Word, it gets sharper with use,not duller. A physical sword gets duller the more you use it. But the Word ofGod's not like that. The more you use the Word, the sharper it becomes in yourlife. The more you handle the Scriptures, the more Scripture begins to handleyou. The more you yield it in battle, the more confident and skilled that youcan become with it. My friend, you don't become strong in the word by admiringthe Bible on your shelf. You become strong in the Word by opening it daily,reading it, believing it, and memorizing it, and applying it to your life.   Weneed to remember that Satan is no match for the Word of God. In Matthew 16:18,Jesus said, “Upon this rock I'll build my church and the gates of hell willnot prevail or can stand against it”. When youtake up the sword of the spirit and you can advance against the gates of hellitself. They cannot stand against you with the sword of Spirit in your heartand hand. Why? You're using God's mighty weapon, the Word of the sword of the Spirit.You're not dealing with anything that you can see in a sense. You're dealingwith the forces and principalities of the air. No powers, no rulers ofdarkness, no wicked spirits, not even Satan himself has a defense against the Wordof God when it's rightly used.   Myfriend, that's why the devil, Satan works so hard to keep Christians distractedfrom the Bible, bored with the Bible, confused about the Bible, shallow intheir knowledge of scripture, and dependent on feelings instead of truth. Todayif the devil can keep the sword of the Spirit out of your hand, you will not beable to stand and move forward in the Christian experience as you should.

    5 min
  5. Ephesians 6:17 - "The Sword of the Spirit"

    4D AGO

    Ephesians 6:17 - "The Sword of the Spirit"

    Yesterdaywe looked at “the sword”. Today, we want to think about “the sword ofthe Spirit”. Paul calls this sword, “the sword of the Spirit”.Someone has said that the best understanding of this is that the sword is fromthe Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture. We must alwaysremember that the Word of God that we have, the 66 books of the Bible fromGenesis to Revelation, are inspired by God's Holy Spirit, were breathed throughGod's Holy Spirit.   2Peter 1:20-21 tells us, "Knowing this that no prophecy of the Scriptureis of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in the old time bythe will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the HolySpirit." We're reminded in 2 Timothy 3:16, “all Scripture”,from Genesis 1:1 to the last verse in Revelation, “is given by inspirationof God”. The word inspiration means that it is God breathed. So, we mustremember that the Word of God, which is “the sword of the Spirit”,is not merely a human writing. It is divine truth. That means that every wordthat those 40 plus men put into the 66 books of the Bible, they were inspiredby God’s Holy Spirit to put those words down.   TheBible is a living book. It's the divine truth. And because the Spirit wrote it,the Holy Spirit can use it. We find these great truths in John 14, where Jesus beganby saying, "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it beafraid." He then gives several reasons why Christians and believers,as we face the challenges of the world, we should not have troubled hearts. Weshould not fear. We should not be afraid.   InJohn 14:16-18, Jesus told the disciples, "I'll pray the Father, and Hewill give you another helper that He may abide with you forever, the Spirit oftruth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knowsHim, but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be with you. I will notleave you orphans. I will come to you." Jesus Christ comes to us inthe person of the Holy Spirit. He goes on to say in verse 26, "But thehelper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teachyou all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I've said toyou."   RememberJohn the Baptist had prophesied, when He was preaching as the forerunner ofChrist, in John 1:33, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit”. In Luke3:16, Luke recorded that John actually said it this way, “He will baptizeyou with the Holy Spirit and with fire”. Then we read that Jesus told Hisdisciples in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit hascome upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judeaand Samaria, and to the end of the earth." For the next 10 days thedisciples prayed in the upper room. And on the Day of Pentecost, in Acts 2:1-4,the Holy Spirit came down upon them like tongues of fire.   TheHoly Spirit, who inspired the Word of God, is the sword, is the sword of Godthat pierces the hearts of sinners and brings conviction. That's what Jesuspromised in John 16:8-11, “When He has come, He will convict the world ofsin, of righteousness and of judgment. Of sin because they do not believe onMe. Of righteousness because I go to My Father and you see Me no more. Ofjudgment because the ruler of this world is judged.”  Jesus went on to say in John 16:13-14, “However,when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; forHe will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak;and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take ofwhat is Mine and declare it to you”.   Myfriend, when we take the sword of the Spirit, after we have put on the helmetof salvation, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, we have apowerful weapon in our hands. We'll talk more about this powerful weapon thenext couple days.   MayGod help us to realize today that we have access to this sword of theSpirit to do mighty works for God.

    5 min
  6. Ephesians 6:17 - Take the Sword of the Spirit

    5D AGO

    Ephesians 6:17 - Take the Sword of the Spirit

    Ephesians 6:17 “And take the helmet ofsalvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”   Todaywe're continuing in one of the most important passages in the New Testament forvictorious daily Christian living. That's Ephesians chapter 6:10-17. Thepassage that's on the whole armor of God. Today we come to a piece of theequipment that is absolutely essential if we're going to stand in victoryagainst the devil.   Ephesians6:17 says, "And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of thespirit, which is the word of God." Now, up to this point, my friend,Paul has been describing the armor that's mainly defensive, the belt of truth,the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shieldof faith, and the helmet of salvation. All of those protect us. But now inverse 17, Paul gives us one piece of the equipment that's not just defensive.This one is offensive. It is the sword of the spirit. Paul tells us plainlywhat it is. It is the Word of God.   Iwant you to notice something. Paul does not say that the sword is youremotions. He does not say the sword is your personality. He does not say thatthe sword is your experiences from the past. He does not say that the sword isyour opinion. He says the sword is the Word of God. If you and I are going tostand up against Satan and all his strategies, then we must learn to take upthe sword and know how to use it.   I'vegot to remind you that the Christian life is a real battle. In Ephesians 6:10,remember Paul had said, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lordand in the power of His might." Then in verse 11, he says, "Puton the whole armor of God that you might be able to stand against the wiles ofthe devil." The Christian life is not a playground. It is abattlefield. We're not fighting people. Remember in verse 12, Paul said, "Forwe do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, againstpowers, against the rulers of the darkness in this world, against spiritualwickedness in high places." We're dealing with a real enemy, aspiritual enemy, an intelligent enemy, a deceptive enemy. Then again in verse13, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that you might be ableto withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Paul says thegoal is not merely to survive, but the goal is to stand.   Thenwhen we come to verse 17 where we're looking at today, Paul says, "Andtake the sword of the spirit." Now the sword was a very powerfulwonderful piece of equipment for the Roman soldier's close combat weapon. Severalcommentators, with an understanding the original Greek language, point out thatthe sword that Paul is describing is the Roman “machaira”. It's a short sword,sometimes about six to eighteen inches long. It wasn't one of those long swords,that most of us have imagined as we have read this passage of scripture, forswinging wildly. No, it was a sword used in hand-to-hand combat, up close,personal, precise.   Thisis very important to know and understand because Satan does not usually attackus from afar. He attacks us up close in your thoughts, in your fears, in yourtemptations, in your doubts, in your discouragements, in your private moments.That's why we don't need a vague knowledge of the scripture and the Bible. Weneed specific scriptures ready, sharp, and available. And we also need tonotice that it is “the sword of the Spirit”.    If are going to us this weapon effectively andefficiently, we must understand the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit thathas given us this piece of equipment. We will be looking at that tomorrow.   Today,make sure you are putting on the “whole armor of God” and be ready to face allthe challenges of life that come at you!   Godbless you, and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day.

    5 min
  7. Ephesians 6:17 - How Do You Put on the Helmet of Salvation?

    6D AGO

    Ephesians 6:17 - How Do You Put on the Helmet of Salvation?

    Put on thehelmet of salvation. It's very important that we understand that withoutsalvation, man cannot reach correct conclusions about spiritual truth.   Matterof fact, we can put it very plainly this way. The Christian who does not feedhis mind on scripture is a Christian who will be vulnerable to deception. But aChristian who is grounded in the Word of God will not easily be led astray.Also remember putting on the helmet of salvation is not something that'spassive. It's active. Be aware of that “let go and let God” thinkingmindset. In other words, the idea that spiritual victory comes throughpassivity. It does not. Paul never said, "Sit back and watch Godfight." No, Paul says in these scriptures, "Be strong, put on,stand, take up, resist, take the helmet." These are action words.Action words. The Christian life is not a couch. It's a battlefield.   Wearingthe helmet means I actively remind myself of what God has promised. I activelyreject the lies of the devil. I actively preach truth to my own soul. Iactively renew my mind day by day through the Word of God. I couldn't wait toget to this point today as I've been thinking about it all day yesterday afterthat devotional. That is, “how do you put on the helmet of salvation”?How do you actually put it on day by day to be able to make sure your mind isfilled with the thoughts of God? In other words, you first remind yourself whatsalvation has done for you. You're justified. You're being sanctified. You willbe glorified.   Secondly,you put it on by resisting discouragement. When Satan says, "Look at yourfailures," you answer, "Yes, but Christ paid for my sin." Third,you put it on by rejecting doubt. When Satan says, "God won't keepyou," you answer. Jesus said, "No one can snatch you out of Myhand." Then fourth, you put it on by renewing your mind day by day. Youdon't renew your mind by scrolling endlessly on social media. You renew yourmind by scripture, by prayer, and by worship.   Hereis one of the practical ways that I have found to put on the helmet ofsalvation every day. I did it this morning. I always, before I get out of bed,either while I'm lying there or my feet are about to touch the floor, I gothrough this little chorus I learned as a child. “Thank you, Lord, forsaving my soul. Thank you, Lord, for making me whole. Thank you, Lord, forgiving me thy salvation so rich and free”. Oh, that's one way I do it. ThenI also always quote the Lord's prayer. I won't go through it all, but everymorning without fail, as I’m waking and getting up, I pray: “Oh Lord, howawesome is Your name. This day, give me my daily bread that I need to live foryou. Keep me from temptation….” I go through the entire Lord's prayer. Iencourage you to do the same.   Thenlastly, we realize putting on the helmet of salvation keeps us always lookingforward. It gives us that future hope, “the hope of our salvation”.Because if you lose hope of what's ahead, you lose strength for what's in thepresent. So I would encourage you to look in Romans 8:1-10, where we find thatthe carnal mind is enmity against God. But the spiritual mind can stand withGod's truth against those fiery darts. We put on that helmet by putting on amind that stayed on God. Isaiah 26:3 says: “You will keep him in perfectpeace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”   Today,what has the devil been using to discourage you? Has it been discouragement?Has it been through doubt? Has it been through a constant voice ofcondemnation? Then please remember: “That there is therefore now nocondemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,but after the spirit. For the law of the spirit of life, has made me free fromthe law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2). That's the helmet of salvation.Put it on every day.

    5 min
  8. Ephesians 6:17 - Satan Attacks a Discouraged Mind

    FEB 14

    Ephesians 6:17 - Satan Attacks a Discouraged Mind

    The helmet also reminds us that we are in a spiritual warwith Satan, and that one of his main strategies is to attack our minds. We mustbe ready to deal with the wiles and fiery darts of the evil one.   Now,my friend, yesterday we talked about the assurance of salvation. The devil willdo everything he can to take away that assurance. When he does, it robs you ofyour security—your sense of Christ being with you. Jesustold His disciples, “Go into the world, preach the gospel to every creature,and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” Thedevil wants you to doubt that. He wants you to doubt your salvation.   I’mconvinced that one reason we sometimes lack assurance is this: First, we mayhave never truly been saved. We need to examine ourselves and make sure we havebeen born again—there has been a new life, a change, and we know the HolySpirit of God lives within us. Second, we may be dealing with unconfessed sin.When we get away from fellowship with the Lord, we lose the assurance ofsalvation and the joy of that salvation. In other words, if we are truly saved,we can keep sinning and enjoy it. We are miserable! Then we are not able to bewhat God wants us to be, and we are not standing against the wiles of the evilone like we should.   Nowtoday, we’re talking about how Satan attacks a discouraged mind. One of thegreat stories in the Old Testament is found in 1 Kings chapters 18 and 19.Elijah experienced a great victory against the prophets of Baal. You rememberhow he stood against 450 prophets of Baal. Fire came down from heaven, and allof Israel proclaimed, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” Elijah stoodboldly against demonic forces and false religion. But then, in 1 Kings chapter19, one woman said, “I’m going to get him,” and Elijah fled. He went up intothe mountains, crawled into a cave, and said, “I want to die. I don’t have anyreason to be serving God anymore.” He was greatly discouraged.   Andmy friend, Satan often attacks us when we become discouraged. Discouragementcan even come after a great victory—after one of those moments when God uses usin a powerful way. Now, I want to remind you of something I heard years ago. Wehave three “tanks” that give us energy to keep us going. First, we have a spiritualtank—keeping it filled with Jesus, filled with the Word of God, and walking inthe fullness of the Spirit. Second, we have a physical tank—our physicalenergy. And third, we have an emotional tank that can be filled with energy orbecome empty.  My friend, thosespiritual, physical, and emotional tanks are very important. You need to lookat the gauges and see how full they are. Because if any one of those tanks getslow, it affects the other two. And when that happens, discouragement can set in.   Satanuses discouragement to keep us from serving the Lord like we should. And it’simportant to remember that after a great victory, we must be careful—becausesometimes pride can creep in. Remember, “pride comes before a fall”. We beginto think, “Wow, I won that one,” and the next thing you know, we fall into atemptation of the devil.   TheBible says in James 4:7, “Submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will fleefrom you.” But I remind you, he doesn’t go very far, as he waits foranother opportunity to come back. Remember even when Jesus was tempted in theGospel of Luke—Luke 4:13—that after Jesus faced the temptation and won thevictory, it says Satan “left Him for a season”. Why? Because he looks for amore opportune time to come back. Jesus faced the same temptations we face, yetwithout sin. Hebrews 4 tells us that.   So,my friend, be careful—because discouragement can come after a great victory.That’s often when the devil will attack with a temptation designed to take youdown. That is why we must keep on that helmet of salvation and trust in theLord at all times.   Godbless you, and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day.

    5 min
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A daily chat with Pastor Mike and other resources to encourage listeners to connect with the Word of God and grow in their faith.

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