Gifts, Reactions and Jesus’ Example

Gifts, Reactions and Jesus’ Example11-25-18 Kelly Durant

Prov 11:24

24 There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.

2. All across the United States the Salvation Army makes the news for giving away toys! I looked at the stats for last year online and 3.2 million people got toys and food from us through the Angel Tree!

But do the news channels report this amazing feat year after year? Rarely! The world has become more and more unthankful and indifferent towards Christians and their loving generosity. But still we are a light shining in the gross darkness of the world! In the small towns of the U.S.A. you will find the Salvation Army more on the headlines because small town people are usually more connected, appreciative, and Christian. 

As many know, there is actually a big cultural divide between the conservative Christian mentality in rural America and the liberal debauched mentality in the big cities, and the conservatives, I can testify, do show more thankfulness for gifts. But still we serve, give, and love all no matter how folks react!  

3. Let’s explore today the feeding of the 5,000. Open your Bibles to.. Matt 15:34-38

34 And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.

35 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.

36 And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

37 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.

38 And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.

When it comes to God’s work, there are many times in which we see miracles to make the supplies be enough for everyone. Last year that happened here and there was enough for everyone! We got 400 turkeys and we need another 400 again! 

The gifts Jesus gave to people were food, healings for the sick, the liberation from demons, and ultimately He gave himself as the ultimate sacrifice to take away the sins of you and me.

4. Of the multitudes served, I know hundreds of children and parents are made happy! Our shining example to the world causes thankful people to notice and think, If there are people in my neighborhood that can care enough about my happiness to organize the obtaining of thousands of toys and food boxes to share with my family, then there is a possibility that there is a God up in heaven somewhere that can love me and care about me! He has no hands and feed but ours!

But always after these events of giving and receiving there are many reactions by the people. I want to refresh your mind on the story of the donkey, the man, andthe boy.When you or I get anything, paid for or a gift, people will talk, good or bad!

5. Once upon a time there was a small village in Mexico and the father had saved his money from the harvest to buy a donkey to work on his farm. He went into the big city and paid for his donkey, you know he asks, how much, and the seller says $100 and the man says, no, too much, I will offer $50, but the man ends up paying $75. Then the man tries out the strength of the donkey and rides it with his young son, then one person in the street says, hey, look at the cruel old man, he makes his donkey’s back hurt! So the son walks while he rides! They get criticism for that as him being a mean man to make the boy walk. So…

they change places, the man walks and the son rides. Then further down the road, a schoolteacher in the street walking by says, what a bad child, he rides and makes his old father walk! So they both get off and they both walk but further down the road, some men see them and laugh and say, look at those two, they have a donkey, and they both are walking! The father then couldn’t take any more. He got a long wooden branch and tied the donkey’s feet to it and the father and the son carried the donkey out of the town making sure the people had something to talk about then! People always talk trash!

6. Now, in reference to giving, the giving of toys or anything, there are some that will take the gift and be happy and that is what we would like to see, but there are others that will not. 

Let’s revert back to the feeding of the 5,000 as an example. For sure there were people there that complained that it was too much workto carry around all that heavy fish in baskets to give to the people. They just wanted to eat and they didn’t come to have to help pass out the fish and bread!

And then there are those that may have said, I didn’t want fish, I wanted beef or chicken!And then there were those that went away home hungry, leaving early not wanting to wait so long ( a few days). It was a miracle that there was food multiplied, but since they didn’t get served when they wanted, they left for being impatient!Plus there were the skeptics that asked, why is Jesus giving me fish and bread? I know it is because He is going to ask something of me later, or He wants to convince me He really is the Son of God, so I will just take this and run because I do not want to have to be committedto nothing and have to give anything back or do anything in return!

7. Also, some may have said, ‘Hey, why is my neighbor’s fish a little bigger than my fish?And then there are the jealous ones that complained, why is it that Jesus and His followers get to be the ones getting the attention for giving this away?I want some glory in administrating this operation! 

And then there are always the greedy ones. They say, give me a double portion so I can eat now and then take some more home to eat again later!These do not think of the others that haven’t even eaten yet!  

So there are many reactions to people getting gifts and free stuff. Consider some people will:

1.   Show thankfulness and acceptancefor the gift

2.   Complain about the work involvedaround the gift 

3.   Complain that it was not the gift the person had in mind

4.   Complain that their neighbor is getting more than them

5.   Be skeptical over what they have to do in return for the gift

6.  Jealousy over them being the receiver and not the giver

8.These are some reactions of people, but now let’s put this in the context of God’s gift of love to the world, His Son, Jesus Christ! The word says we should react in this manner…. 1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

What God expects is that His gift of Jesus will totally change you and me to make us thankful, loving, giving and pure people!

9. Let’s look at the reactions of people in our line of work considering we expect people to recognize Jesus as God’s gift, The gospel is free, but it takes the work and funds of you and me to get it to the people. That’s our responsibility, how people react is their responsibility.

1.   Many are thankful like you who are faithful to come here to serve, learn, worship, and celebrate in fellowship

2.   Some complain that it is too much work to go to church and serve others andworship God so they are ungrateful 

3.   Some proud intelligent people reject Jesusbecause His salvation message is too simple, that more has to be done

4.   Some Christians have more money than others and often it is God’s blessings for living righteously, but other times some greedy rich people are not even Christians even though they go to church (God determines the truly generous)

5.   Some people instead of loving God backwant to do their own idea of good worksso other people will think they are “holy” and “buy” favor with God, (repay the gift) but we are not saved by our own works but by His Grace!

6.   Some people are proud as Satan, and they want to be the source of the power distributing gifts to get praise, so it is not God and His people recognized!Or in vain some preachers or some Christians want praise for their giving of the gifts, messages, or healings, etc., but that is idolatry, pride, and hypocrisy!

The conclusion is… the things we do, such as the giving of toys and food gifts are only shadows compared to the real gift of God: Jesus!

We should all accept God’s son Jesus and the gifts He bestows, with no pretexts, complaints, or contexts! And in reaction to Him as our life-changing gift, we must give back how He wants so…

We should love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind, for being born in the flesh and dying on the cross to give us eternal life! What gift can we give Him back?  Our lives, our souls, everything in service to Him and others! How have you responded to gifts, and responded to Jesus call. Answer now!

Corps Cadet Maturity: We need young leaders!

Corps Cadet Maturity: We need young leaders!       Kelly Durant. 11-4-18

1 Timothy 4: 12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. 13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 

2. Don’t you hate the phrase, ‘young and dumb’? I think it is true we can all look back and see the mistakes of our teenage years and like it or not we know our lack of experience in things caused us to get into trouble. But still this expression is a bit insulting, because applying it does not allow for a young person to be trusted with things as much as they should be. One can be ‘mature and smart’!

I recall my mistakes and the biggest one is that of thinking some things are alright to do because almost everyone else my age were doing them. Instead of comparing my standards to what I knew Jesus would expect of me, and I was comparing my standards to what my peers were doing. When you are a Christian, this is a terrible mistake because you are then failing God! Consequences follow.

The ideal situation in the Christian life would be that every young person have an elder person as a mentor to guide them. The only problem with that is who will take the time for it, have the desire (from both parts) to do it, and there be a sincere dedication to set goals with an accountability to achieve them. The Cadets in our college have mentors, usually they are Advisory Board or businessmen that share their experience on how to do relations in the community.

3. Young people have sharp minds and usually learn quickly. Young people usually have more flexibility and sports skills that the older ones. And young people due to this agility may often tend to be proud, ego centric, and intolerant of others who are not doing things as fast as they would like. 

There are pluses and minuses to being young, and while you are young you need to be aware of your situation and position in society or you may miss the mark with God’s will for your life or lose out to getting respected and promoted as you would like to be. Young people can go really positive or really negative. 

2 Timothy 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

4. Because you have a church/Corps in the Salvation Army you have a head start in life to learn much more about ‘righteousness, faith, love, and peace’ that others your age lag behind in: I am referring to things that apply to the practical as well as the spiritual. Those that obey and follow get God’s protection and blessings.

The most important life lesson teaching material that the Salvation Army produces is Corps Cadets and it is very important that these lessons get your undivided attention. God’s word, applied on your level, must be a priority.

A sad phrase you often hear is, ‘I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger’. Life goes so much better when at an early age you take a mature attitude to advance and get plugged into being responsible, accountable, and wise. If you play it right, you get to be the head, not the tail!

5. A sad reality is some people stay childish even though they are older. I recall when I worked at DHQ there was a 30 year old computer tech guy that as often as he could, instead of attending to those with computer issues, would sit back in his office and play computer games. Usually people that are in their 20’s and 30’s have stopped being selfish, foolish, and are carrying their own weight, but lately in the modern world this is not the case. 

As a matter of fact there are many articles about how many young people are not as focused and responsible for their selves as in decades past, but they are becoming info junkies, on their iphones wanting to get entertained continuously with an attention span of 15 seconds. Here is a good  article to understand the younger generation. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/20/fashion/move-over-millennials-here-comes-generation-z.html  

But no matter how addictive and dark the world becomes, we still have a few wise youth that chose to rise above the crowd, and be wise in the things of God. What will make a young person want to stay on the path of God? Their continued connection to study God’s word! It is very helpful it is if he or she has been learning about God since their youth. The parents may have brought the kids here when young, but it is on the kids when as teens to decide to be faithful!

6. Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. This is a great verse, but in most households children are not taught to pray, read the Bible, or volunteer their time for God. Sadly, many of our young people only get exposed to the things of God when they come to the Corps, so that is 2 to 4 hours a week times 50 weeks (if they are very faithful) so there you have 150 hours out of the 8,760 hours in a year, or less than 

2% of their life! But God would use you 24/7, or 100% if you will let Him! 

1 Timothy 4: 12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. So why is this in God’s word? Because God wants the youth respected, not despised, but they have to meet the right conditions which are to be loving, faithful, and pure.

The typical carnal conduct of teens (and I remember all too well in High School)  is the opposite: to be a bad example, mouthing off to others, doing unloving things (a jerk, doing jokes), out of the spirit of God, with no faith or purity. The typical is to fall into trouble, even with the law because of sex, drugs, or being belligerent. 

7. In order to train the youth with more skills in life, the practical and the spiritual, we as older adults need to be an example and have them more involved, and that implies the parents helping them to learn  to connect and study God’s word more.

It is only by the study of God’s word that a person can understand how to live so they will be blessed and not be a victim to the evil in the world that wants to entrap them and destroy them spiritually, mentally, and physically. We all need to wake up and seriously be sober and vigilant as Satan wants to take over anyone weak in the faith. No one likes a proud arrogant know it all.

What does Satan want to do to your kids? He wants them addicted to the internet to the point they have such a short focus and entertainment expectation that they will find God’s word unclear and boring. He wants the youth addicted to Satanic, depressing music, which glorifies drug and sex addictions, Satan also wants kids to (by law in CA already) get a surgery and ‘sex change’ and be a trans, which is a defilement of keeping our temple, or body pure. And ultimately, he wants to introduce the ‘mark of the beast’, a chip implanted in the hand or forehead, because techo things are our gods and we need them for our security, entertainment, and convenience. But there is an eternal hell to pay for this. 

8. Rebellion and revolution is again contaminating the youth worldwide. It’s not just here in the narrow minded liberal colleges that kids are being taught to hate and want to kill the old conservatives who are in the way of allowing a false utopian secular socialism to be the answer to our world’s problems, it is everywhere. And look at Venezuela, the political parties, and we see as in Nazi Germany, they got the 14 year olds (brown shirts) and teens to do the street fighting so they could take over. Hungry and poor, and oppressed the world sees that the youth getting their way of revolution is not the best way to bring on the answer to our problems. Obedience to God, love, and cooperation are what work.   

Speaking of 14 year olds, either God or Satan is ready to use you! In the Salvation Army you become a Senior Solder at that age and historically, as in England in the 1800s, you were expected to be an adult, to preach in the streets, to teach Bible, to watch the little kids, and be fully responsible. Only in the past decades have the youth become so dependent and unprepared in life skills to be helpful, but they can learn them here if they will show up to study, to get mentored by adults, and to come to volunteer so they get on the job training.

And I will end with this, young people don’t expect to get things handed to you on a silver platter. Everyone of us had to earn our respect and place in the world and we got it by proving to others that we could be responsible to show up, learn, and do the work. We expect you, the youth, to be teachers and helpful volunteers.

9. Study God’s word, as Paul said to young Timothy. And be the opposite of the world’s conditioning, be a good example in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity!

Work on making yourself less rude, less judgmental, less demanding, less contaminated by the world, and be more loving to all, even those outside of your group! Did you know I left going to church at age 14 because I was turned off by how the youth had their clicks and I was not a part of it so why be there looking stupid? Clicks make me angry and may we never be guilty of allowing them! 

The Salvation Army has a much less problem with this than other churches I have seen. You have many good people and lessons at your disposal and it is up to you to pray and get serious with God to mature, grow, and be what God expects. Nothing can replace age, and experience except God’s word to help you to become ‘wise before your time’. Prayer…

Demons: They Are Amongst Us, But Jesus Defeats Them!

Demons: They Are Amongst Us, But Jesus Defeats Them!    by Kelly Durant 2-2-14 Re:10-28-18

Matt 8:28 When Jesus came to the territory of Gadara on the other side of the lake, he was met by two men who came out of the burial caves there. These men had demons in them and were so fierce that no one dared travel on that road. 29 At once they screamed, “What do you want with us, you Son of God? Have you come to punish us before the right time? 30 Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the demons begged Him, saying, “If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine.” 32 And He said to them, “Go.” So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.

2. I recall when I was younger there was a movie of a 12 year old girl that was demon possessed called “The Exorcist”. Considering that people were more pure minded and church going in 1973, it was a very shocking and disturbing movie! It still is, don’t see it! It was the highest grossing film ever in history until “Jaws” came out over a decade later. It really was repulsive and frightening so why was it so popular? Why are people so fascinated with evil and demon possession? Is fear really entertaining?  Without Jesus demonic power is overwhelming!

 Just mentioning demon possession as a sermon topic, I am sure is making some of you uncomfortable because you have had some bad experiences in life already with evil spirits and I have too! It is not a subject I mention very often at all, but every person does have to deal with it sometime or another. Considering the study we are doing on ‘spiritual battle’ and Jesus in one of His commands us in Matt 10:8 says to cast out devils, then we must learn something about it. Grammy awards seem to include a lot of Satanism, so it is time we learn more about how secret societies, politics, and evil is affecting the world around us! People near us have demons!

Sadly, the culture today accommodates many demonic practices and we as Christians must be aware of this and be sure that not one of us permit any occult or demonic influence to destroy our joy, and peace with God. There are some evangelical churches that see demons in everything and they are every Sunday talking more about Satan and his works than Jesus himself. Some churches do exorcisms every Sunday; have you been to a church like that? You see the occult is more exalted than Jesus Christ! On the other extreme, we cannot be silent on this issue either or we will not know how to deal with it. How can each of us conquer demons then? First, start with yourself! Are you purified by the burning of the Holy Spirit of all vices, uncontrolled emotions and words?

 3. For an outside influence to not have a dominating power over you, you and I must recognize our own weaknesses, and before anything else free ourselves from any sin, fear, temptation, bitterness, and in particular, pride where demons come in. Jesus spent 40 days tempted in the wilderness and He conquered Satan’s same old tricks through the ages of trying to get him to succumb to the desires of the flesh, to abuse his power, and to get Him to worship him. 

So first, how do you cast out any demons you may have? Think of it this way, can a drunk help another drunk to stop drinking? Can the blind lead the blind? One has to abandon all bad friends and start over! I left all my bad friends when younger. No person can ever have power over a demon unless they have replaced their emptiness with the power of Jesus Christ living in them! A demon may grant a person a little temporary power, but Jesus is a power above all powers! With Jesus you can grow your spirit powerful in a position of holiness, which is God’s pure power, into a position of having full control over any weaknesses of the flesh or spirit. To conquer spiritual powers another person who is full of the spirit walking in holiness must pray with you with you asking to be free! Jesus is there where 2 or 3 gather.

Would you not agree that many church going Christians have never taken this first step of ridding their own selves of their own demons? My experience as a young man, getting corrupted a few years by pot and drugs, when I gave my life to God, I had to cry out to God desperately, repenting saying, “Forgive me!”  “Never again do I want to offend You by harming my body that You created, the temple of the Holy Ghost!” I knew that any un-submitted area of my life, any area that caters to the desires of the flesh, allowing any abuse of power on my part, and any fascination with evil which is an unconscious worship of Satan, would be the gap where the demons could get in and overpower me. 

Some of you here may know people with demons. You see how they lose control in being wild with fits of rage. These may be addicts, obsessed and destructive, and in the end they suffer mental and spiritual torment which they overflow on you and those around them! Families suffer greatly due to demon possessed relatives! Total repentance and a concentrated spiritual effort with fasting and prayer is a must for every new Christian to be free from spiritual oppression!

4.  Satan always jumps in and tempts you and me through pride for power and success. I will use myself as an example again. At age 18 I dreamed of being a rock star and voices in my head told me that if I wanted to be a star, I needed to first sell my soul to Satan, worship him, and then I would become great as the other bands that had done this?! To make it to the top you have to ‘make a deal with the devil’?! Everywhere people always talk about making a pact with the devil?!

The Doors, Led Zepplin, The Rolling Stones and dozens of others had done this and they overtly practiced the occult and their lyrics and lives reflected this, and of course drug use was a central part of connecting these persuasive deceivers to the evil spirit world.  The spirit world is dangerous: I have even heard voices tell me, ‘Kill yourself! Die in glory! Show your power!’ Think, How absurd is that! Drugs, alcohol, and certain repetitive beats of psyche-cracking music open the channels for demonic possession! Avoid all substances and evil music at any cost!

I use to be a very proud and contaminated by the world as a young man. My hippie clothes always had to be just right and cool, my philosophy of life was in agreement with the trends of the culture following Oriental philosophies, and I believed my creativity and empowerment to ‘do as I please’ made me superior to the stupid ones out there in the world around me. But what happens when you are empowered by demons of pride? You have fears, a fear of ‘I will go to hell if I don’t change’. I got tired of the torment so thank God I chose to change because other Christians loved me with the gospel and exposed my shallowness, ignorance, and fears! Start with casting out the demons in youself first! 

5. I love Jesus and I think Jesus is amazing in His power to overcome everything! He was tempted and He overcame! When I compare myself to Him I think, how stupid and how wrong I was to do just the opposite of Him. I did every wrong mistake! I gave into the desires of the flesh, I gave into being immoral and abusive, I was destined for hell but God’s spirit shocked me and woke me up and Jesus saved me from my horrible destiny!

All I do now is thank God every day that He rescued me from myself! The old demons are long gone, but still Satan will reappear from time to time to tempt, but after having Jesus love, peace, and power, I would never trade that for anything! I think my experience of ‘doing as I pleased’ is typical of the lives of many youth and adults today as it was back the 70s. The old deceptions and temptations of Satan are still the same today.  

Satan’s demons are very effective in controlling the mind and producing bad behavior, and only a supernatural power, like that of Jesus, can free anyone from their sins of the flesh, abusive nature, and horrific pride. So to be qualified to practice Jesus power of ‘casting out demons’ one must have the testimony that Jesus cast out the demons in yourself first! What is your testimony? When did you conquer your demons? What were they? How did you do it? How many do you know into the dark arts that have gotten liberated?

6.  Let’s go back to the verses of today in the part where the demons say to Jesus, “What do you want with us, you Son of God? Have you come to punish us before the right time?” When you or I are a clean vessel, a Christian that is filled with the Holy Spirit, one that walks in righteousness and holiness, the people around you see that and they recognize your authority. The people with demons can see Jesus in you or me as well, and they fear Him and avoid you and me. Don’t forget that Jesus said that all authority is given to Him over all creation!

So when a person wants to practice something deceiving, or tempt a person, or practice occult arts such as voodoo, sanitaria, or the conjuring of demons, they can never do it if you as a practicing Christian are present because your light penetrates their darkness! Going to where the demons are, and praying in Jesus name is all that it takes for the demons to be cast out! But sometimes there is a long fight. Spiritually you and I are like the police, we expose deception, invoke guilt and fear so the demons want to escape and hide. When we show up in Jesus name, the demons flee.

I have learned this as a Christian, when some people avoid you, it is because they may actually have a demon or they are into something they know is wrong and they do not want to be exposed so they would have to stop their sinful habits. People even can get violent about how they do not want you to visit them or talk with them just as these demons did when Jesus came! Demons mentally, physically, and spiritually destroy and torment and yet they accused Jesus of coming to torment them, how ironic!

7.  I recall my biggest fear when I started with a clean slate with Jesus was that of having a fear of evil people. When one meets demons that are loud and aggressive and screaming at you, you are tempted to fear! Doing mission work I met for the first time very filthy demons in the streets of Rio de Janeiro.  Many times while preaching & praying in the streets demon possessed street people screamed at me in my face, insulting me, wanting to fight me! If you have ever had a screaming demon face in front of your face you know well that it invokes a great need to pray for God’s protection!

So how did I conquer the fear? Through the word of God! One of my favorite verses is 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” So I pray, Lord make me perfect in your love! I recommend you memorize this verse and repeat it often!

Another favorite verse of mine is Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You”. Trust in Jesus is the victory!

8. Never does a compromise with Satan ever turn out good! Jesus exposes that demons will always get a death sentence and then thereafter darkness and chains in hell! People that accept demons may be freed and healed but only if they chose to be! There have been exorcisms that have not been successful you know, because God respects everyone’s free will. People who want demons in their lives will suffer the same punishment of the demon! Doctrinally most Christians agree, hell was made for demons, not people, but people will go there having one!

 Jude: 6 And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; 7 as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

And the people who play with fire and think they will not get burned, what happens to them? In the case of the producers of the movie “The Exorcist”, they paid a high price for making such a frightful Satanic movie that in the end, made demonic possession appear more powerful than God. The set burnt down while in production, the men who played the Fathers had their mother’s die when the movie was released. The movie was considered cursed due to so many other strange mishaps. Why do many musicians and actors die young with drug overdoses? Everyone I have ever known who played around with demons usually ended up physically sick, depressed, and tormented mentally, and random bad things happened to them. They became cursed in the here and now and for later!

9. You are responsible for your own salvation.Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

No one can say one day, oh, it’s some Christian relative, or some Pastor’s fault that I never had an exorcism done on me to be free from my demons. Being free from spiritual oppression is something only you and Jesus can do but usually you cannot do it on your own so that is when a Christian strong in the faith can get involved to help you with prayer and fasting. 

Jesus gave us the warnings: each of us must free ourselves from demons and evil! Mark 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

10. Ask yourself today, am I proud, rude, and shallow with God? Am I violent at times? Am I addicted to something my flesh cannot control? Do I say things that harm others because I am angry? Am I attracted to occult or Satanic practices found in movies or music, or do I condone people who practice these things? If you answer yes to any of these questions you may have a demon inside you deceiving you! Does your life revolve around the things of the flesh or the things of God? Matthew 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

All it takes is Jesus presence to make all the demons run away in fear! Have you invited Him in all the secret dark places of your life? Some of these questions make some of you think, well yes, I have, I know Jesus is there and I feel no condemnation. If so, then you are blessed! 1 John 3:21 “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.” If that is true in your life then you should be one of the strong ones who stands up to battle to help a weaker person who needs prayer and help to cast out any demon(s) they may have. 

Not all demons make people vomit and scary looking as Hollywood presents it. And I am appalled at the volume of the horrific violent demonic movies that are produced each year! Don’t let the enemy trick you into comparing Hollywood’s idea of exorcisms to the way a demon possession actually appears. Jesus made it simple and showed us by example in the desert that if a tormenting spirit or demon does not leave you alone and you feel powerless, then you should do what? Fast and pray and quote the Word of God to the evil voice attacking you! If you keep repeating, “leave in Jesus’ name!” you will make the demons flee.

See the world through the lens that there are not just mentally ill people out there, there are people who have opened up their hearts to evil spirits. James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  I pray that no one here suffers any torment any longer; pray with someone now if you need the Holy Spirit to clean you and make you strong in Jesus. 

Are You an Immigrant Like Daniel?

Are You an Immigrant Like Daniel?                  Kelly Durant  8-12-07 Re: 10-27-18

Scripture: Daniel 1:4-20

Today we will look at the situation of Daniel. He is a young man brought with others as Jewish slaves to serve in Babylon since Israel fell as a nation for disobedience to the Word of God and a great dispersing of Jews occurred. Daniel because of his attributes was not assigned to be an ordinary slave but to serve in Nebuchadnezzar king’s court. Babylon, the most powerful nation on earth at that time, made slaves of many nations and wanted Daniel and the others to eat the king’s food. 

It was not just food the problem, as the Jews had many rules in Leviticus concerning this, but if compromising with that, Daniel would be accepting and conforming to their customs and culture. So what did Daniel do and these others? At the great risk of loosing their heads they refused this and stood bravely for their faith and proved that God could make them healthier and wiser than all the others by obeying God’s laws!

What characteristics are we looking at in Daniel? 

He was a Jew who had faith in the one true God but...

1)    He was in a foreign land and starting out his young life as a slave, captured to serve,  physically dominated but not spiritually dominated

2)    He did not accept the king’s food, which may have included blood and idol worship and therefore resisted becoming a part of their culture

3)    He put God to the test and his faith in God brought him more wisdom and health than all the other wise men of Babylon

We are examining one of the greatest Old Testament prophets, one who told details about the future as no other prophet did with a wisdom never surpassed except by Jesus, and lets take into account what brought him such blessings from God.

Do we see repeated in the New Testament that Christians should adhere to the principles he respected? That of remaining faithful to God going against the culture!

1. We may be in the world but we do not conform to the world, no matter the culture in which we live.

Rom 12:2

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Our nation is not Colombia, Chile, or Mexico; as Christians our nation is heavenly.

Eph 2:19

19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

2. He rejected becoming like them and being a part of the corruption in the culture. Rejecting food was only a small point in all of what he, and the others, was rejecting

 2 Cor 6:17

17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. God commands us to be clean physically and spiritually

3. He put God to the test that God would prosper Him above the others for his faith and conviction, which was a product of his obedience and purity. The word says that with faith we can overcome anything in the world.

1 John 5:4-5

4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

You may be thinking, how do I apply all of this to my life? What do I have in common with Daniel?  

1. Everyone here is an immigrant and everyone is starting out in a strange land with a slave like status as Daniel did in this powerful nation. The idea is that if you are full of faith and conviction and studious as Daniel, if you decide you will be a true Christian, then your good character will be noticed by others and you will rise in status and not remain as an ordinary slave, but one who serves in the courts of kings.
2. If you are strong in your convictions, and I am not talking about the conviction to reject eating hamburgers over arrepas and tortillas; It is a rejection to conform to the culture and its corruptions of idolatry, perversions, and antichrist philosophies and not be a part of these ideals remaining pure and holy. Rejection of these things brings downs God’s favor and that of the men governing the land. 
3. You must stand up for your faith and take the stance that you will even take risks and even risk persecution as Daniel faced when he rejected the kings food. It is like people who work for a bad boss who goes out to drink and do perverse things on the weekends and you quit because you will not allow yourself to be lowered to his level trusting God will provide a better job and He will! I have heard testimonies about this many times!

Knowing what we know from the 1^stchapter, what happened to Daniel for his convictions?

1. He was favored and he ascended from the lowest form of a slave to be one of the king’s right hand counselors and wise men.
2. By not being a part of their culture, he was able to become wiser than any of them from their Babylonian culture since he was dedicated and convicted. The test was not just food; it was a test of obedience in the small things, which brought on the blessings of God in the bigger things. Purity and holiness always bring blessings!
3. Daniel was forced to put his faith to the test and prove that his God would not fail him. He took a bold step and God honored him and prospered him with health and wisdom.

In reality we are all immigrants just passing through like Daniel, but we must have a faith like his and obey God’s word above conforming to the customs of any culture and risk our lives if necessary! 

Today I challenge to put God to the test as Daniel did. Refuse to be a part of the things that corrupt in this society. Refuse to not just eat contaminated things, but refuse to spend your time with degenerated people. Turn off the TV and read the Bible together for an hour as a family. Make sure no one in your home goes to web sites on the internet that are dirty and corrupting. Be sure all conversations that you and your children have are positive and godly. Pray for God to give you conviction and boldness as Daniel had to reject accepting and loving the things of the world. 

1 John 2:15-17

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Do you want to be better than all the others in your work and school? Obey God as Daniel did. Look at … again

Dan 1:20

20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. 

I have seen God make someChristian Latinos better than their peers, but it only comes with the qualities of Daniel, and what are those?

-Faithfulness even though starting out as in a slave status to study and obey God’s word

-Rejection of the corruption in the culture you live in, be it this one or your country’s

-A practicing Faith that puts yourself at risk and God honors your conviction

Do you want wisdom and understanding as Daniel? Let’s pray