22 Sep Badge (discovering that authority is the channel through which God’s power flows): Part 7
Before we jump in, let’s review our series…
The Bible tells us in James 4:7 that if we submit ourselves to God and resist the devil…he WILL flee from us. Notice it is the devil’s will to steal, kill and destroy. However, if we resist the devil he will change his will from steal, kill and destroy to FLEE!
Remember this: The devil can’t overpower your will but you can change his!
We began our discussion with “Six Submit Standards”:
- There is a difference between submit and surrender (Mark 8:34-35)
- You must get under what is over you, in order to get over what is under you! (James 4:7)
- There are certain things you should submit to and there are certain things you should resist (John 10:10)
“3 Resist Reasonings”:
- Anything that steals, kills or destroys…resist!
- Anything Jesus bore FOR you on the cross…resist!
- God is good….He does good things. The devil is bad…he does bad things. They never swap jobs. They never work together. PERIOD! (see James 1:13-17)!
Remember this: God doesn’t go where He is needed. God goes where He is invited (see Rev. 3:25). God is a good God but in His goodness He gave man a free will.
This week let’s continue with…
4. Just because it happened, does not automatically mean it is the will of God. Just because it is the will of God, doesn’t automatically mean it will happen!
Do you believe it is the will of God for everyone to be saved? Of course! God very explicitly tells us this! I Timothy 2:1-4 says, “I exhort therefore, that first of all supplications, prayers, intercession and giving of thanks be made for all men: For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come into the knowledge of the truth.”
II Peter 3:8-9 says, “But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promises, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
In these powerful verses it is clearly God’s will that all be saved yet people die and go to hell every day! Do you remember the “Lord’s Prayer” in Matthew 6:9-13? This prayer was never meant to be prayed verbatim as some mindless chant (see Matthew 6:3). These verses were always designed by God to give us prayer principles. One of the principles we find in Matthew 6:10 is where the Bible tells us “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In the Greek language it is in the imperative tense and would accurately read “Come thy kingdom and be done thy will on earth as it is in heaven.” Well, if the will of God automatically happened, Jesus was wasting His time telling us to pray that God’s kingdom and will would be done here on the earth.
Remember this: There is a reason that everything happens but sometimes it’s not the will of a good God, but it comes from a bad devil or a cursed world or stupid people!
Join us next week as we continue our series…