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

Encourage Others To Be Encouraged!

Encourage Others To Be Encouraged! A Study in the Book of Acts  

by Kelly Durant  7-23-12 Re:10-21-2018                                  

1-Acts 4:36, Acts 9:31, Acts 11:23-24 , Acts 15:32 Acts 16: Acts 18:27, Acts 20:2, and Acts 28:15.

2-How many of you have heard a quote, ‘It is better a hand on the shoulder, that a hand-swat on the rear?’ It’s so true! We all need encouragement often! Do you not agree? In life everyone needs correction and instruction, but my favorite is way to give it is through encouragement! Encouragement needs from each of us all the time! It is an act of divine love!

Some of you have a difficult life from abusive people around. Some people are more easily depressed than others. Some people are living in very difficult situations. The reality is we all need someone to lift us up from time to time!

In life the average person will suffer discouragement over and over. People live with family problems, broken relationships, health issues, financial worries, corruption in their communities, and just random chaos upsetting our daily lives!  

3-But we have the promises of God from the Holy Scriptures that we are always going to come out alright!  As in Psalm 34:19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.   And Jesus said,  in John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

These are a few causes of sadness and discouragement.  I personally think what brings about one of the worst discouragements in our lives a feeling of being unloved and unwanted. Sometimes this is due to circumstances out of our control. 

Sometimes our feelings are not real but distorted imaginations. Often our minds often deceive us, and Satan, our enemy, plants horrible thoughts in our heads. 

Mother Teresa stated, “The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved”.  I think everyone would confirm that our most important job in life is to love God and others and to encourage others in word and with effective deeds of kindness!

4-And then some people provoke upon their selves their own discouragement.  Sad but true, some people are not very loved because they themselves do not give love. Everyone reaps what they sew, or do not sew, in this life and eternally.

No matter what your situation is, it is important to refresh our minds at how to obtain encouragement. Repeatedly in the book of Acts we read that the disciples got encouragement. God wants Christians to be full of faith, hope, and love and these all bring encouragement!  

Do you like to encourage others? Do you sew it so you can reap it?

5-Consider this, how would you like to have as your name, Encourager? Acts 4:36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”, in modern English), (Other version: Son of consolation).

Imagine, if someone were to say, the son of encouragement will come to my house to visit, do you want to meet him?  Barnabas was true to his name to console others.  He was one of the first Jewish disciples that was considered to be a saint by the old church.

His name was Joses, but he was led to change his name to Barnabas. Recall as well Saul became Paul, and many Christians changed their names to signify their mission in life! Maybe we should change the names of some of you here! I have known a few ladies with the name Dolores (which means “pains”) that I wish I could have renamed Joy!

If Barnabas had the job of encouraging, and he was one of the most important figures travelling with Paul, then I deduct the message we should learn here is that we must develop more encouragers amongst ourselves!

Where does our encouragement from God come from? Through the Holy Spirit!

6-Acts 9:31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

Here in this Corps, we observe ourselves in this phase as they were, in a time of strength.  We are enjoying a growth phase, but this blessing is only effective if each person here is being sensitive living a pure obedient Christian life which attracts the Holy Spirit! It also attracts others from the world to join us to get relief from their suffering. Jesus stated clearly that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter. 

John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

When you share comfort and encouragement you are being a channel for the Holy Spirit to work in you!

7-Acts 11: 22 Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. 23 Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.24 For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.

So now consider this, Barnabas encouraged others with the Holy Spirit, and many people believed on the Lord due to his way of being, by his loving spirit, and for his concern for others. His influence was like a fire that spread and warmed many hearts to do the same! Let’s keep this fire burning!

This brings each of us to a challenge, ask yourself: How many people have you encouraged in your lifetime to be closer to the Lord? Can you name the person that has encouraged you in your past as well?

The word says in Matthew 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

8-Let’s continue on in Acts 15:32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers.

Here we have an example of 2 more brothers who were very good at encouraging others. And a prophet, or one representing God, is one who encourages through prayer and study of the word, and the results bring strength and power in the spirit!

How encouraging are you? How loving are you? How full of the Holy Spirit are you? When people think of you, do they think you are full of comfort, consolation, and encouragement? Or are others indifferent to you because you are indifferent?

9-Acts 16:40 After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia’s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.

What is the message here? Whenever you have a testimony you must share it to encourage others! Paul and Silas had a big testimony, that God opened the prison doors for them!

These brothers went to a house for a visit, but what about those that are too far away to visit? What can we do?

All of us can encourage friends that are far away by writing to them sharing  uplifting words to continue to do good for the Lord! In today’s world be can call them as well! We find more visitation in the next verse, first a letter, then a visit.

10-Acts 18:27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.

Paul, Barnabas and many like Apollos seemed to get around a lot to encourage others. 

Acts 20:2 He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, 

Even when you are in a hard situation you can still be uplifting. Paul was shipwrecked and in a survival situation but he was always positive. Look in:

11-Acts 27: 34 Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.35 And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat. 36 Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat.

Notice how Paul encouraged them that nothing bad would happen to them because God was with them in their journey on the ship. Do you do that? Do you tell others things will come out good because God is with you? The people were made very happy by these words! And his encouragement was not a long exhortation but a short one. Encouragement doesn’t have to be a long speech; it can be just a few words as well.

12-Acts 28:15The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged.

What we learn from this verse is when a Christian brother or sister is close by we should get excited and encouraged we should go visit them as it will bring us up in spirits. If they come near, we should also go to see them.

Soon we will get a visit from the General, or our leaders; we often get to travel and this encourages us in the spirit! Encouragement comes from hearing the word through someone who is mature in the spirit. Leaders must travel to inspire others!

13-What has the Book of Acts taught us about encouragement today?

1-Encouragement comes from people who take up the challenge. Ask yourself, am I willing to be a Barnabas to have the ministry of encouragement?

2-Encouragement comes from the Holy Spirit and all we have to do is ask for it. Ask yourself, do I regularly ask for the Holy Spirit to be close to me?

3-The influence of one encourager spreads and causes many others to become encouragers as well.  Ask yourself how many people have I influenced in my life?

4-We must share testimonies and positive words of God’s works to bring encouragement to others. Ask yourself, when have I shared a testimony?

5-Visitation from others brings encouragement. Ask yourself, when was the last time I traveled to get encouragement from someone mature in the faith? Or to give it?

Remember love is encouragement and it is like a cologne, or perfume, and you cannot put some on someone else without getting some on yourself!

Be encouraged and encourage others from this day forward! Prayer…

1- Barnabas: Ministry of encouragement! For you?

2- The Holy Spirit for encouragement! Got it?

3-The influence of encouragement! Have you?

4- Share words of encouragement! Do you?

5-Visitations bring encouragement. Will you?

1- Bernabé: Ministerio de alentar! ¿Para tí? 

2 - El Espíritu Santo para alentar! ¿Lo tienes? 

3- La influencia del aliento! ¿Lo haces? 

4-Compartir palabras de aliento! ¿Los dices? 

5-Visitar para alientar. ¿Lo harías?

God Gives You Opportunities: Are you ashamed or bold for Him?

God Gives You Opportunities: Are you ashamed or bold for Him?          Kelly Durant

Mark 8:36-38 

36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

2. You have heard it said that some pop artists have told the story how that they sold their souls to the devil in exchange for riches, fame, and pleasure? Sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll! Sadly, it does seem true, that some people do get rewarded for their evil behavior. They even get praise revealing their worship of Satan and His perverted agendas!? How sad to only get 1 year, or a few more, of fame and then get eternal hell as a punishment! Satan, and the 33% of the fallen angels along with any human who worships him or opposes God’s commands will have hell to pay for rebelling against our good and loving God who created you and me.

The contrary is this, if you give your life totally to God and let Him remake you into a useful vessel, He will guide you, protect you, and bless you and grant you eternity with Him in heaven. Here on earth there is a lot of unpleasant work to be done with unpleasant people and persecution will come but our rewards are in heaven, not here. You show how much you believe this by how much you live it!

Either way, in this life, as Bob Dylan sang it, ‘you got to serve somebody, it may be the devil, or it may be God’. But the results from which one you serve are vastly different! God’s way is life, love, and happiness! The devil’s way is death, destruction, and the reaping of punishments for crimes against humanity and against the holy commands of our loving merciful God. 

3. I must confess, God has been good to me! I have had to go through many dangers, toils, and snares, especially in So. America, but now as I am older, I can look back and see how I am blessed! How can you or me always be thankful to God for what we have? By just looking at our humble past, and our parents poor humble past!

Why am I starting off a message with this? Because for God to do anything good with you He must first have your thankfulness, your devotion, your absolute love, your heart, your ‘everything’! For God to give all to you, you must give your all to God! You must be bold and unashamed of Jesus for Him to not be ashamed of you! Satan’s crowd always mocks us, but Jesus will return as the victor very soon!

How many of you here are young? Under 30? Under 20? Your life is just getting started but you are choosing a road right now that will set you up for either God’s blessings and eternal rewards, or you are setting yourself up for your own ruin! 

4. I will confess when I was young I did not have the privilege of talking direct to a Captain or pastor, or a wise person to guide me. I wish I had had that! I was weak and the influence of the world got me back then. I have tried to talk to some of our youth, but many youth will not discuss any topic with you or me. Sad, right?

We need each other but technology has damaged our world and it is as if some people today live in a fantasy world occupied with their phones not realizing their phones are not God, they do not supply their physical needs. And for spiritual needs, you can read the Bible or hear a sermon from the web but 90% of what is promoted tends to debauchery, fake news, deception, and corruption. 

Our technology fuels sinful entertainment and wrongful information from anti-Christian evil people! Don’t get suckered in, God will have no other idols before Him! If what you only spend time with is not of God, then God is not happy with you and how can you expect God to answer your prayers if He is not first in your life?  Remember God wants your love from your heart, mind, and soul!

5. If you are young, or old, you had better wake up fast and realize you should be seeking God and looking for guidance from those that live Godly, holy, and intelligently. You could make loads of money and gain position in the world but what compares to losing your soul?! Does Jesus really rule your soul and life?

Promise God today you will read the Proverbs! Listen to the conclusion of Proverbs 1: 32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 But whoever listens to me (God’s spirit of wisdom) will dwell safely, And will be secure, without fear of evil.”

I recall I was just an ordinary teen absorbed in the culture of the world’s music back in the 60s and 70s, and the culture back then with the ‘hippie’ free love and drugs environment caused me to lose my way for a few years until I was 21. God used my mistakes for His glory, because I returned to Him, but I regret the fact that I allowed the world, which is under Satan’s control, to shape my thoughts and actions to the point I almost remained deceived and almost died as well! 

6. I sinned against God, but I did confess it and He heard me and led me to meet people doing mission work. By a miracle Jesus saved me when I was on the path to self-destruction, offending Him and those around me. God stepped in after I started seeking Him with purity, rejecting the politics, peer pressure, and false religious teachings of the world.  Without God first, these things destroy you!

Here is the reality factor, life goes on but how well you will live depends on how much of God’s word you obey. I memorized God’s word when I was young as I wanted it deep in my heart so it would transform me! What can you quote?

Over the years we have seen some young people chose God’s path, they spent time with us and others, in the Corps, learning to obey through Bible classes, and these did not mess up their lives with wrong sexual relationships that took them away from God. Several ended up marrying wonderful people! As a matter of fact, the Arroqui family and a few dozen others we cared for went on to serve the Lord in the Salvation Army here in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, or elsewhere!

7. Then there are the unsuccesful ones, the ones that never wanted to talk with us about their lives and choices, so counseling, God, and prayer did not guide them.  These are ones that seemed to just want to hang with friends but did not care about God’s Word, mission, or the work needed to be done for Jesus. 

My wife and I have seen several young rebellious people end up in jail, pregnant with no father, or just condemned to slave away from one bad job to another with no happiness, family, or purpose. And they had their chance to get close to God but refused due to being ashamed of being a Christian, so that they ended up as your common person of the world who is carnally driven, frustrated, and angry.

It makes me mad, sad, and disturbed to see that many young people in our Salvation Army Corps (along with those in other churches) are offered many great opportunities to learn, progress, and improve their selves yet they treat God’s  opportunities as of little value. The road your soul takes in life really matters!

8. Unthankfulness, and the allowing of the values of the world to override the values of God’s love and goodness in one’s life has consequences! Usually these consequences are bitterness, anger, and the illusion that your failures and frustrations are the fault of others in your family or government when they are not. They are simply the bad results of you not being obedient to God when you knew to be! They are the consequences of being ashamed of Jesus & your faith!

Look at the masses of people today that protest in crowds, demanding change but what change? Is it for a change to repent and get back to God and Jesus so we can live under the peace, unity, and love God freely gives? No! Is it to demand we repent as the mega-city of Nineveh did to avoid God’s judgments and destructions? NO! It almost always is a protest directed at a person or system they accuse of being evil because they want attention distracted away from their own evil greedy desire for power. What a worthless shallow cause compared to serving our loving, healing, eternal Jesus! 

I am not ashamed to stand up for Jesus because the alternative is to follow these evil, violent, political crowds with vulgar mouths?! People who shout ‘shame on you’ need to wake up and see they have ‘shame’ on their own selves! Romans 3:23 declares no one is righteous! If you want others to listen to you, you must speak with God’s righteous authority and values, not with boring slogans and chants while living in debauchery with your life a mess. People see through it all and easily see who are hypocrites, troublemakers, and ungodly fools!

9. So here is a problem in the church today, (and even in our Corps?), the youth and some adults are ashamed to be seen by their peers as a Christian proclaiming Christian standards in their schools and workplace! They say little or nothing to convince their friends about Jesus or of God’s ways to save a soul for Jesus. They are weak in the Word, weak in being close to Godly leaders/pastors/Corps Officers, and over time they may be letting the world’s values kill their faith.

But what did Jesus say? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

I cannot imagine the horror of panic that one would feel knowing that Jesus was displeased and ashamed of you for not standing up for Him! Jesus determines who goes into rewards and rest for a life well spent for Him, and who gets disqualified.  Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

If you have been embarrassed to stand firm for Jesus over stupid critical words from friends or family, you had better pray right now to get conviction! You really need the Holy Spirit in you burning out all those destructive values of the world. Jesus’ warning is tough, you will be cast aside to eternally dwell with the hypocrites, liars, and evil condemned souls if not standing up for Him.

You cannot say, I never knew I had to stand up for Jesus because you just heard it today from Mark 8:36-38. I lost nearly all my college friends over telling them I was going to do mission work for Jesus! To lose ungodly friends is no loss! God has millions of followers who love Him and you can share heaven with them forever but you must reject what Satan and the world offers you! Be bold for Jesus! Come and pray for more power, conviction, and Holy Spirit from God!