Active Christians

"If we put a stop to the devil's work, it will be because God is working on their heart."

YOU CAN'T PRAY AWAY the work of the enemy in people when they refuse to turn loose of what they have accepted of his deception. You can't close down what the devil has begun in them and for them without their having a reaction. The church can open alternatives with a sincere heart, to provide deliverance, but people must desire it, must be looking for it. And here's where our prayer is effective. If we put a stop to the devil's work, it will because God is working on their heart. Shutting down physical things is temporary. Salvation is eternal.

Watch any of Minister Todd White's street ministry videos and you will be intimidated. But such boldness is ours to have if we seek it. Boldness, not loudness. The Spirit of God is usually just a whisper, although one day He will blow the trumpet and part the skies for the King. We cannot operate on emotion. Emotion causes rash, incorrect actions outside of the Holy Spirit's desires. Our emotions released mingle with the emotions of those in the devil's hand, and suddenly, you've got an explosion.

There are a lot of "Let's tell the devil off" videos being played in the pulpit, but the picture we paint should be Christ's, who in the face of the devil, the enemy in religious costume, preached the gospel, healed the sick, and cast out devils and would not let them speak a word. You must be full of God to do that, not just in mental assent but in knowledge and understanding, in revelation and power. "This kind comes out only by prayer and fasting," Jesus said (Mt 17:21; Mk 9:29). Yet in that moment, He did not stop to fast and pray. It was His lifestyle.

He enjoyed life. He laughed much and loved constantly. He was filled with compassion and not with worry. Because He knew who He was and the power of God that was upon Him. For this reason, because He was so tied to the Spirit, He did not fear to lay down His life but knew there would be victory over death, hell, and the grave, and He'd rise again. We see this picture in a comparison of His Resurrection and that of His friend, Lazarus. Lazarus had to be unwound from the grave clothes. Jesus left them behind.

Jesus felt emotion but did nothing because of emotion. After John the Baptizer's death, though He’d gone into the wilderness to grieve, when He saw the sick who had followed Him, He ministered to them. Where He was. Where they were. Though His mind reeled emotionally, His actions were done in the Spirit. We must embrace the Holy Ghost (Spirit) if we truly desire to make a change in our cities, in our neighborhoods, that will not only stand against darkness but pull back their ever-encroaching work. Lazy Christians end up sitting in the devil's stadium. Active ones, filled with God, place Him first place in their everyday and so make a difference, one which people may not see. We must determine to work anyway, to do what God has given each of us to do even if not one person notices. Because God does and the reward of our faithfulness is everlasting peace and joy and thankfulness.

“But I ask: Did Israel—the genetic descendants of Abraham—not hear the truth? Did they not have the evidence presented, or the facts revealed to them? Of course they did, as it is said: ‘The voice of truth has been proclaimed into all the earth; the evidence—to the ends of the world.’ Again I ask: Did Israel—the genetic descendants of Abraham—fail to understand the truth? Did they fail to comprehend the evidence? No! They understood, because Moses says: ‘You will become envious of those who are not a nation, you will be angered by a nation who didn’t understand what you have understood.’” (Romans 10:18-19, Remedy)


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com