Shakings will intensify!  

The scripture warns us that everything that can be shaken will be shaken, and we know it is happening.  When the economy, governments, our comforts, and earthly investments are shaken, these are difficult times.  What is from God is unshakeable and will remain.

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”  Hebrews 12:28-29

We have to follow the way of Jesus. We have to know Him well and remain in His word and put our trust in Him alone.

Paul tells Timothy, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”   2 Timothy 3:1-5 

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”  v.12

Jesus said persecution will come and it is going to increase more and more. Darkness hates light. Lies hate truth. The principalities of this age are working hard to influence people and governments are trying to shut us (the church) down, but we cannot be silent and the good news has to be told.
Jesus said “For nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these things are the beginning of birth pains. “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of my name. Then many will be led into sin, and they will betray one another and hate one another.   And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”  Matthew 24:7-14

In the midst of all this evil that is happening, Jesus is saying, But endure till the end because those who endure till the end will be saved and focus on preaching the gospel throughout the whole world and then the end will come.

Overcoming Evil

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21

We can overcome evil, but if we do not overcome evil, evil will overcome us. There is no state of neutrality. There is only one power in the world to overcome evil, that is good.

We have to meet evil with good. The source of that goodness is God Himself.

To overcome evil we have to be alive with God.  We have to have access to God’s resources  like: love, wisdom, power… God’s resources have been available to us in His Word.

Though darkness, persecution, testing will increase, If we abide in Jesus and follow Him and do what we clearly see in His Word, we will shine brighter than before, we will be part of the greatest harvest in church history.

Stand on the Offensive

We are not on the defensive, but rather on the offensive, attacking and destroying Satan’s forces. We are living in victory, freeing captives all around us. We are the ones to go set people free. We are to be encouraged because people are looking for answers and we are the people with answers.

Jesus not only granted us victory, but He also entrusted us with advancing His Kingdom (His loving rule), pushing back the forces of darkness.

I want to be part of His church that “the gates of hell will not prevail against [overpower it]” Matthew 16:18

Overcoming Sin

We are at war and sin is the biggest threat.

The greatest threat to the church, us followers of Jesus, is sin. 

We either kill sin in our life or sin will kill us.  There is no other option.  God’s Word says,..

“for if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.” Romans 8:13. 

It is by the Spirit that we put to death the deeds of our  flesh. He provides a way of escape every time. He will help you to overcome sin and you will find a way of escape because Jesus is with you to help you. You will not give the devil a foothold or an opportunity.

The enemy has one thing in mind – our destruction / our defeat, but God not only has our victory in mind. He fought the ultimate battle over sin, sickness, demons and even death and He conquered!  He gave that victory to us. He did what we could not do and that is His love for us! 

We have an opportunity to go through the fire of testing that our faith would be stronger and we become more like Him in this short time we have in this world.  

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”  1 Peter 1:6-7

The challenges, difficulties, the testing can either make us stumble, fall away or draw us closer to Jesus and make our faith stronger.

Promised victory through Christ

“What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is the one who will condemn? Christ is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us.  Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:31-39

It is through Christ that we have complete victory..

“In Christ”, are Paul’s favorite words. That is where we gain the source of all goodness of God to overcome evil in this life.

“It is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,  knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”  1 Corinthians 15:55-58 

“And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.”  Revelation 12:11

By the blood of the Lamb 

“The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh [carnal] (they are spiritual) , but they are divinely powerful (they have the power of God in them).”  2 Corinthians 10:4-5

I never want to graduate from the simplicity of the power of the blood of Christ.  It is through His blood that we have this redemption. It is through His blood that the power of sin is broken. It is through His blood that we have been saved and transferred out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light.

“You know that from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors you were ransomed—not by perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”  1 Peter 1:18-19

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”  1 John 1:7 

The blood of Jesus does not cleanse us when we stay in the dark. Walking in the light is living  in obedience to the word of God and walking in truth and love with our fellow believers. 

We live in a polluted world of sin. We need continual cleansing.

By the Word of our testimony

Our personal testimony is an effective weapon against our enemy.  We testify of what the blood of Jesus did for us and we have to declare it boldly.

Word of our Testimony – the Truth about God! 

The gospel – we are declaring the truth of God! 

• We speak the truth about God to God – worship and praise (worship in spirit and truth), we are agreeing with the truth about God. 
• We speak the truth about God to ourselves – meditation, building ourselves up in our most holy faith…
• We speak the truth about God to others – being a witness!  Bringing faith to others.

“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble”.  ‭‭Psalm‬ ‭107‬:‭2‬ ‭

We must be a voice no matter the cost and consequences. We must speak in Jesus’s name.

This is the purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  To speak for Jesus in the midst of threats of persecution, death or imprisonment, fear, government control, intimidation by the enemy…

The Holy Spirit will come upon you!  The tongue of fire will connect with your tongue of flesh and you will begin to speak! 

They loved not their lives even unto death

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life because of me will find it.”   Matthew 10:37-39

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”  John 12:24-26

Jesus is the pearl of great price!  Jesus is the hidden treasure that we sell all to gain Him!

If not loving our own life even unto death is how we remain victorious, then if we save our own life we will experience continual defeat.

The only way to not love our lives, is if we love Someone more! The only way there is power in denying self, is when we are in love.

It requires total commitment to win that victory!

e.g. soldier in an army – when a soldier enlists to join the army, he / she can not serve in the army with the condition that he will not have to lay down his life.   Every soldier in the army knows it may cost him his life. 

That’s how it must be for us as Christians.  

We have no point to draw back from our commitment. 

“Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”  Hebrews 10:35-39

That’s the kind of commitment that is required to win the victory.

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