1. You have been filled with the love of God
2. You now have God’s love pouring into your heart at all times, no matter where you are or what you are doing. "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Rom 5:5 NIV)
3. His love, in turn, motivates you to love Him back in gratitude.
4. Because you are His child, “God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts.” (Gal 4:6 NIV)
5. This love is what causes you to cry out, "Abba, Father." towards Him. Abba means daddy. (Rom 8:15) What an intimate way of calling to our heavenly Father.
6. Because you are filled with His love, there was created within you the inner conviction that you are truly His.
7. If a person does not have the Holy Spirit in them, then they cannot be a Christian.
"You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." (Rom 8:9 NIV)
A. You have been Redeemed.
1. Only the shed blood of Jesus can redeem us.
"and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Rom 3:24 NIV)
2. Jesus provided the ransom payment. He bought you. He paid the price with the infinite, eternal value of His blood.
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace" (Eph. 1:7 NIV)
3. He bought you out of the marketplace of sin, and you now belong to Him by right of purchase.
4. Once Jesus purchases you, you will never be sold back because Jesus has set you free, and now, “you will be free indeed." (John 8:36)
B. You have been Freed from the Curse of the Law.
1. Jesus redeemed you from the curse of the law because He became the curse. "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." (Gal 3:13)
2. We are no longer under the law but under grace. “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace." (Rom 6:14)
3. Sin’s dominion was through the law. Mankind’s inability to keep the law manifested their sin and brought them under the curse of the broken law.
4. Faith in Jesus released you from the obligation to a broken law and from any obligation to keep it.
"So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." (Rom 7:4-6 NIV)
C. You have been Released from a Relationship with satan
1. Satan's grip on a person who is not a Christian is awesome and powerful.
"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves." (Col. 1:13 NIV)
2. No one could ever release themselves or escape from such power.
3. Only Jesus can save them.
4. The lost person is a slave to sin. They are owned and bound by it.
5. If God is your spiritual father, you will prove you are just like Him by living a life of forgiving love.
However, if you don’t love and forgive, you prove that satan is your spiritual father because you are behaving just like him.
6. As your true and only enemy, Satan lies in wait to find your weaknesses and then attack us.
7. When you fight against another, you give Satan the opening he needs to make ineffectual your testimony of the life-changing power of the cross.
8. Satan's main purpose is to blind
“the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Cor. 4:4)
Just as God created light to dispel darkness by saying “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), so God today must create spiritual light to “shine in our hearts” so that man may see “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Cor 4:6)
9. When your physical eyes are blinded, you cannot see the light of the sun. But when you come to Jesus, you walk in the light because He is the Light. When people admit that they are spiritually blind, they will have taken the first step to find the truth.
If you are to conquer the forces of darkness, you need to be "self-controlled and alert" because your "enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)
10. Satan is always testing you.
11. He prowls around like a lion making a lot of noise and putting fear into the hearts of God's people. But satan is not a lion; he just makes a noise like one.
12. Jesus is the "Lion of the tribe of Judah." (Rev. 5:5) and has already triumphed over the works of Satan.
13. Satan was defeated by the cross. The outcome of the war has already been determined, but the daily battles still need to be fought.
C. The Wiles of the Enemy.
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the Wiles of the devil.”
(Eph 6:11-12 NKJV)
The American Heritage® Dictionary defines "Wiles" as “A stratagem or trick intended to deceive or ensnare. A disarming or seductive manner, device, or procedure. Trickery, cunning. Wile suggests deceiving and entrapping a victim by playing on his or her weak points.”
1. A list of some of his Wiles: (See Gal 5:20)
Devourer (Mal 3:11) Liar, thief, hateful, unforgiving (Eph 4:24-32)
Tempter (Matt 4:1 and Luke 4) Unclean Spirits (Luke 4:33)
Dumb Spirit (Matt 9:32-33) Murderer (1 John 3:15)
Accuser of Brethren (Rev. 12:10) Rebellious (1 Sam 15:23)
Betrayer (John 13:2) Devilish (James 3:15)
Perverted (Acts 13:5-10) Sorcerer (Acts 13:5 - Elymas means Sorcerer)
Wiles defines the nature and character of the enemy’s characteristics coming through in us.
2. A list of some of his Characteristics (2 Corinthians 2:11)
Depression Obsessive Guilt and Condemnation
Insulting Dishonest Envious
Rebellious Jealous Wasteful
Impatient Judgmental Gossip
Strife Rude Worrier
Fearful Merciless Disobedient
Angry Hateful Self-centered
Sorcerer Fortuneteller Negative Talking (Bad Reports)
Inconsiderate Blaming Others Bitter
Self-righteous Proud Lazy
Insubordinate Denial Controlling
Offended easily Murderer Defiant
Lustful Vengeful Complainer
Liar Greedy Childish
Disobedient Men pleaser Cold-hearted
Self-pity Confusion Discontented
Distrusting Unbelieving Opinionated
Insecure Evil Communication Revengeful
Suspicious Idolatry Sharp
Wasteful Worrier Insecure
Stubbornness Covetousness Bad Report out of your mouth
Temptation Arguments Criminal Behavior
Sickness Rebellion Arrogance
Immorality Impurity Gluttony
Busybody Willful Ignorance Breaking marriage vows
Illegal Drug Use New Age Astrology
Ouija Boards Astral Projection Meditation
Sexual deviance Séance’s Fortune telling
Which of these things are you personally struggling with? Circle ANY that apply, because these are YOUR sins - then go to God and receive forgiveness for them, forgiving yourself as well. This listing of YOUR sins and confessing them is a continual thing if you want your heart to remain clean, as we are all sinners and have the need for daily renewal.
As you confess your sins, which may be comprised of the "wiles" of the devil, you now recognize them so when they come at you again, you can resist by the Word of God.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.” (2 Cor 10:5 NIV)
"Finally brethren, Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue if there be any praise, think on these things. AND those things which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do, and the God of peace shall be with you." (Phill 4:8 NIV)
