This Why You Need To READ YOUR BIBLE!!

you see the average Christian is a surface level Bible reader meaning they read the Bible but they don't intentionally study the Bible they read God's word but they don't intentionally seek to gain knowledge from the Bible and that's the problem the first line in Hosea chapter 4 verse 6 says my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge a lack of knowledge have you ever met another believer who is in the middle of a spiritual battle but they don't know that they're in one I mean they are being attacked left right and Center their marriage is under attack and they think it's their friends who are the problem they they're sick in their bodies but the doctor can't seem to find a Cause their money isn't adding up even though they have automated their saving nothing makes sense to them regardless of what's going on because there is a lack of knowledge and I say a lack of knowledge because a surface level Christian would fight everyone and everything in front of them but a mature believer a mature believer with no Ephesians 6 12 which says that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the authorities against the cosmic Powers over this present Darkness against the spiritual forces of evil in the Heavenly places Saints this is the knowledge that we need to know that our fight is not in this Physical Realm but it's in the Supernatural Realm and the thing is the spiritual realm can often manifest itself in the Physical Realm which is what can throw off the surface level believer for example when a demon possessed man encountered Jesus in Matthew chapter 17. the Bible says in verse 18 that Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of the boy and he was healed at that moment [Music] notice the sequence of events here the boy was demon possessed Jesus rebuked the demon it came out of the boy however the result of the demon being Cast Away was healing personally I would have expected the Bible say and the boy was free but no that's not what it says first Jesus rebuked the demon secondly it came out of the boy thirdly he was healed at that moment so you mean to tell me that this demon was responsible for sickness because we tend to associate the effects of demon possession with screaming and shouting or a person being disfigured and making unnatural noises but in this case the result of this boy being demon-possessed was illness if you go back to Matthew chapter 17 verse 15 the father of this boy said to Jesus Lord have mercy on my son he said he has seizures and is suffering greatly he often falls into the fire or into the water so we need to understand that demons are not these movie-like creatures that walk around tormenting and pushing people they manifest in different ways they are in the spiritual realm but they can physically manifest here we can see that their manifestation was sickness the sickness of this boy came about as a result of the demon hence why Jesus rebuked the demon the boy was instantly healed so I would like to submit to you that it's entirely possible for some sickness for some disease to have no medical cure because it's spiritual in nature [Music] the doctors can't find a cause they can't explain how or why this is happening but the solution goes back to a lack of knowledge a lack of knowledge that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against evil forces in the spiritual Realm so we as Believers need to be prayerful but we need to especially be careful that we are not lacking in knowledge in our lives the Bible says in Matthew 10 verse 1 and he called to him his 12 disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal every disease and every affliction Saints we too have been given this authority over unclean spirits the Holy Spirit empowers us to cast them out and have victory in our lives [Music] spiritual warfare is a phrase that we hear a lot in the church and while many people have an idea of what it is many people do not fully understand it and thus are unaware that they have been in many spiritual battles over the course of their lifetimes the devil is committed to preventing people from knowing god and trusting him with their lives the enemy's tactics do differ depending on whether someone is already a Christian or not but his ultimate purpose is always to keep people from experiencing the love of God now let me clarify this for everyone listening spiritual warfare is not something to be feared because The Battle Belongs to the Lord this war is not one that we fight on our own but we allow God to fight for us because it's only when we do this that we will be able to wage Victorious spiritual warfare this war affects every area of your life there is no way you can avoid the conflict a lot of Christians don't even know they're at War but others can see the results of the battle in their lives because they have become casualties of spiritual warfare they're discouraged did depressed downtrodden and defeated others are marital and family casualties divorce conflict and abuse are some of the Battle Scars these Believers bear let me give you some insight on the enemy's strategy when it comes to spiritual warfare there are four things the enemy sets out to achieve when he attacks believers these four things are to discourage to distract to stir discontent and to bring Discord allow me to elaborate the enemy seeks to discourage you from your faith the enemy seeks to distract you from your calling with worldly pleasure in all manner of Temptation the enemy seeks to stir discontent in your physical life and finally the enemy seeks to bring Discord between you and other believers to stop the unity of the Gospel so here's how you gain victory the Bible tells us that Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed foreign it's important to take regular time alone with God preferably as free from distractions as possible Jesus wanted to give God his full attention and spend time with his Heavenly Father if even Jesus needed to withdraw from crowds and his friends to be alone with God and Jesus is God how much more do his followers need to do the same prayer is a powerful weapon for spiritual warfare prayer is you giving your battles to God you're calling on him to engage in the battle for you second Corinthians 10 verses 3 through 6. for though we walk in the flesh we do not war according to the flesh for the weapons of our Warfare are not carnal But Mighty in God for pulling down strongholds casting down arguments and every High thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God bringing every thought into captivity to The Obedience of Christ and being ready to punish all Disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled verse 5 says bringing every thought into captivity to The Obedience of Christ one of the greatest areas of misunderstanding in any person's life can be pinpointed to what they know and what they don't know and it's simple because we understand what we know and tend to 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