A.    SATAN ATTACKS

 

Satan attacks the individual Christian mostly through temptation. And he focuses this assault in two spheres:

 

1.      The Desires Of The World

He will seek to tempt a believer to become absorbed into the world’s system:

·         To make the material blessings that the world offers a central desire;

·         To make the honor and recognition of this world an important goal; and

·         To make the comfort of being one with those of this world our basis for security.

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 Jn 2:15). See also James 4:4; 1 Timothy 6:6-11.

 

2.      The Desires Of The Flesh

Through Christ’s work on the Cross, the true Christian is delivered from the results of sin, and from the power of sin (Rom 6:6-14). But he still lives in a physical body that is subject to natural appetites and desires. Satan will use these to try and get a Christian to place greater importance upon them upon the promptings of the Holy Spirit within him. (Rom 8:5-9). See also James 1:14, Ephesians 2:3.

 

B.     SATAN’S ORIGINAL VICTORY

 

It was in the areas of the world and the flesh that Satan won his original victory in the temptation of the first man and woman, and these are still his tactics today.

“For all that is in the world, the LUST OF THE FLESH [craving for sensual gratification], and the LUST OF THE EYES [greedy longings of the mind] and the PRIDE OF LIFE [assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things] – these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself]”. (1 Jn 2:16 amp)

 

Compare Eve’s Temptation With This Verse:

 

Genesis 3:6                                                       1 John 2:16

Good FOR FOOD                                           “Lust of the flesh”

Pleasing TO THE EYE                                    “Lust of the eyes”

Desirable for GAINING WISDOM                “Pride of life”

Since the fall of Adam and Eve, all mankind has been governed by their flesh (the three things outlined above).

The flesh is also corrupted by a sinful nature (Gal 5:19-21)

C.    VICTORY WON BY CHRIST

 

1.      Through His Life

Jesus was tempted in everything, exactly as we are, “yet was without sin” (Heb 4:15).

 

Compare Jesus’ Temptation With This Verse:

 

Luke 4:1-13                                                      1 john 2:16

Stones to bread                                                “Lust of the flesh”

Kingdoms of the earth                                     “Lust of the eyes”

Pinnacle of the temple                                      “Pride of life”

 

2.      Through His Death And Resurrection

Faith that appropriates (claims, receives) Christ’s work releases the Christian from the power and dominion that sin had over him (Rom 8:9).

He is now free to choose to walk in obedience to God (Rom 6:8-14).

“For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man… in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature [flesh] but according to the Spirit” (Rom 8:3,4).

 

D.    THE CHRISTIAN’S CONTINUAL VICTORY

 

Based on the foundation of this great victory won for us by Christ, the Christian can now defeat any attack from the enemy. Here are seven keys to continual victory:

 

1.      Know The Victory Is Already Won

Because of his defeat at the Cross, the devil’s only strength now is found in a Christian’s ignorance (Hos 4:6). But when a Christian knows the complete work of the Cross and Resurrection in his life, the devil is stripped of any weapon against him.

 

2.      Walk In Step With The Spirit

A new power is place within the Christian – the Holy Spirit Himself. We are to walk in obedience to His inner promptings day by day (Gal 5:22-25)

 

3.      Recognize Temptation For What It Is

Temptation is NOT sin. YIELDING to temptation is! (James 1:15). See Genesis 4:6,7.

 

4.      Understand There Is A Way Of Escape Provided

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Cor 10:13). James 4:7 details the way of escape: Submit to God, resist the devil and he shall flee!

 

5.      Keep The Right Focus In Life

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Col 3:1,2). See also Philippians 4:8; 1 Timothy 6:11,12; 2 Peter 3:11-13.

 

6.      Keep Away From Obvious Areas Of Temptation

“I will set before my eyes no vile thing” (Ps 101:3). See also 1 Timothy 6:9-11.

 

7.      Be Aware Of Satan’s Schemes

It is important for us to know the tactics that the enemy uses against us so that we are not outwitted by him. (2 Cor 2:11).

a.      He is a liar (John 8:44)

b.      He is a slanderer and accuser (Rev 12:10)

c.       He is a deceiver (Rev 12:9)

d.      He is a tempter (Matt 4:1-11)

e.       He is an oppressor (Acts 10:38)

f.       He is a hinderer (1 Ths 2:18)

g.      He is a roaring lion (1 Pet 5:8)

h.      He can transform himself into an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14)

As Christian, we are called to live in VICTORY! Through Christ, this victory is ours:

·         Over the world (1 Jn 5:4)

·         Over the flesh (Gal 5:16)

·         Over the enemy (Eph 6:11,13)

 

MY COMMITMENT

 

I thank God for His promise to deliver me during time of temptation. I commit myself to respond to His help which is always available so that I can live in victory. I will share this truth with others also.

Jesus commanded all those who believed in Him to be baptized in water.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”’ (Matt 28:18-19). See also Acts 2:38-41.

To be “baptized” means to be “totally immersed.” When a person repents from his sin and believes Jesus died for him, before many witnesses, he (or she) is to be taken to water, put right under it and brought up again. What would Jesus command that His believers do such a strange thing?

 

A.    UNDERSTANDING WATER BAPTISM

 

Understanding what water baptism is all about is the key to a victorious and liberated Christian life.

To act of going under the water and rising up from it again is a picture demonstrating what has happened to the Christian believer.

 

B.     FOUR STAGES OF CHRIST’S WORK PICTURED

 

1.      He Died … I Died In Him

“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – because anyone who has died has been freed from sin” (Rom 6:6,7)

 

2.      He Was Buried… I was Buried With Him

“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death…” (Rom 6:3,4)

 

3.      He was Raised – I have a New Life In Him

“… in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection” (Rom 6:4,5)

 

4.      He Ascended … I Ascended in Him

“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…” (Eph 2:6). See also Colossians 3:1.

 

C.    WATER BAPTISM IS…

1.      Your Funeral Service!

A burial service is not to kill a man off. It is only performed when the man is dead already. And so, because you have “died” in Christ, you bury your old life in water baptism.

 

2.      Your Resurrection To New Life!

You rise out of the water demonstrating and declaring you are a new creation in Christ!

“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery on him.

“The death he died, he died to sin once and for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom 6:8-11)

 

D.    THE TWO KINGDOMS

 

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves” (Col 1:13).

Every man and woman born into the world is born into the Kingdom of Darness; born slaves of the dictator Satan. There is no way out of this kingdom except by DEATH, and there is no way into the Kingdom of God except by BIRTH. And so Jesus became both our death and new birth – and this we declare in water baptism!

 

E.     THE TWO RACES

 

As there are two kingdoms, so within each kingdom is a different race of people. The Adamic Race populates the Kingdom of Darkness, and the New Creation populates the Kingdom of God.

 

1.      The First Adam

“For as in Adam all die…” (1 Cor 15:22). See also Romans 5:12.

Adam was the father of us all, the entire human race.  Adam’s sin alienated us all from God. Because of his sin, we all inherited his rebellious and diseased nature and became subject to death. Adam’s offspring are called “the Adamic Race”.

 

2.      The Last Adam

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom 5:6).

There was no way God could change the fallen Adamic Race. He had to put an end to that race and begin a whole new face of humanity. Jesus was the Last Adam. He came as the lastborn of the Adamic Race and the firstborn of a new race.

As He hung upon the Cross, He hung there as the last Adam – the lastborn of the Adamic race. When He died on the Cross, the Adamic Race and the Adamic sinful nature died.

God put to death the fallen creation in Him. The Adamic race died in Christ.

 

3.      The Second Man

“…so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor 15:22). Jesus came as God’s new Man, through which a new race would be created. Jesus was raised from the dead – not as the Last Adam – but as the Second Man, the Head of the New Creation.

“So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living soul’; the last Adam, [Christ] a life-giving spirit… The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.

“As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as it the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven” (1 Cor 15:45-49)

 

4.      The New Creation

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor 5:17). See also Ephesians 2:10.

In water baptism we declare to all our friends and acquaintances that we are no longer part of Adam’s race and the Kingdom of Darkness. We are a New Creation in Christ, belonging to the Kingdom of God.

 

MY COMMITMENT

 

Through this study I now realize that my old life with its sin and judgment has been put to death in Jesus’ death, and now because of Jesus’ resurrection I have a whole new life to live. Because this is what the water baptism pictures, I make this commitment to be baptized in water and to share this truth with others.

After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to his disciples for 40 days. Then, when they were all gathered together with Him on the top of a high hill, he was taken up into Heaven before their eyes (read Acts 1:1-11). However, before He left, Jesus gave His believer a very special and wonderful promise:

“…I will ask my Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth… I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you…” (John 14:16-18, 16:5-7)

Jesus has not left us alone in the world. He has sent us the Holy Spirit.

 

A.    THE HOLY SPIRIT IN GOD

 

The very first thing we much understand about the Holy Spirit is that He is indeed God.

“Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied TO THE HOLY SPIRIT… You have not lied to men BUT TO GOD”’ (Acts 5:3,4). See also 2 Corinthians 3:17.

God has chosen to express Himself to mankind as Father, as Son and as the Holy Spirit. These are the expression of three distinct Persons (Personalities), yet the three are one.

 

B.     THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

The Holy Spirit is God’s gift to every believer. When a person believes in Jesus, and receives the salvation He offers, the Holy Spirit comes to live in the believer, imparting spiritual life.

“Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call’”. (Acts 2:38,39). See also John 7:37-39.

 

C.    THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

1.      In The Believer’s Personal Life

The Holy Spirit comes to dwell within the believer to minister to him personally:

a.      He Testifies Of Our Relationship With God. “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children”. (Rom 8:16). See also 1 John 3:24.

 

b.      He Teaches. “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26)

 

c.       He Guides. “… because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Rom 8:14).

 

d.      He Helps Us Live A Life Pleasing To God. “So I say, live by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Gal 5:16). See also verses 17-25.

 

e.       He Helps Us In Prayer. “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express”. (Rom 8:26).

 

f.       He Gives Life To Our Bodies. “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you” (Rom 8:11)

 

 

2.      In The Believer For Service

As well as giving the Holy Spirit to dwell in the believer, God also wants to fill and baptize the believer with the Holy Spirit to empower him to serve and glorify God in the world.

 

a.      The Holy Spirit Gives Power And Boldness To Witness. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). See also Acts 2:14-40.

 

b.      He Introduces The Supernatural Realm. “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit…

“To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another the ability to speak in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues” (1 Cor 12:4,8-10). See also Acts 2:4, 10:46, 19:6.

 

c.       He Testifies The Jesus Is Alive. “The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead… We are witnesses of these things and so it the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him” (Acts 5:30-32). See also Acts 4:31-33.

d.      He Brings A Fresh Understanding Of The Word Of God. “… as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’ – but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Cor 2:9,10). See also John 16:13.

 

e.       He Fills Our Spirit With True Worship To God. “… be filled with the Spirit, speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord” (Eph 5:18,19). See also John 4:24.

 

f.       He Glorifies Jesus. “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.

“He will not speak on his own; He will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine.’ That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you” (John 16:13-15) See also John 15:26.

 

D.    HOW TO BE BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

God wants His Holy Spirit, Who indwells you because you are a believer in Jesus, to fill you to overflowing with power to serve Him (Eph 5:18).

 

1.      It Is A Gift Promised By God; So Ask For It

“… how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13). See also verses 9-12.

 

2.      Begin To Praise God As You Receive In Faith

“Then they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God” (Luke 24:52,53).

 

3.      You Can Speak With A Supernatural Language

“… the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues…” (Acts 19:6). See also Mark 16:17; Acts 2:4; 10:45,46; 1 Corinthians 14:5,18.

 

MY COMMITMENT

 

I thank God for the Gift of the Holy Spirit in my life. I make a decision today to respond to the Holy Spirit’s prompting and directing. I determine to learn to listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit in my heart. I choose to be filled with the Spirit. I now open my spirit to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

“With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and MUCH GRACE was with them all” (Acts 4:33)

“From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been COMMITTED TO THE GRACE OF GOD for the work they had now completed” (Acts 14:26).

Why was the grace of God so important in the experience of the early Christians? Why did the church in Antioch pray that the GRACE of God would be upon Paul and Barnabas, and later on Paul and Silas, as they set out on their missionary journeys?

 

A.    THE MEANING OF GRACE

 

The most common understanding of the word “grace” is “God’s unmerited favor” – in other words, even though we were sinners, deserving of judgment, God looked upon us in love and forgave us.

This, however, is only half its meaning. It also means “God’s enabling power.”

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word” (2 Ths 2:16,17)

Not only does His grace make us accepted into the family of God, but it also provides the power we need to live the Christian life. Two scriptures indicate the two aspects of God’s grace in every believer.

 

1.      God’s Unmerited Favor

“For it is by grace [God’s unmerited favor] you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph 2:8,9)

 

2.      God’s Enabling Power

“… In love his predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will – to the praise of his glorious grace [enabling power], which he has freely given us in the one he loves” (Eph 1:4-6). Read also the whole chapter, which describes all that we have received by grace (by His enabling power).

In salvation, not only is God’s unmerited favor expressed (in that we receive forgiveness and restored relationship with Him even though we don’t deserve it), but so also is God’s enabling power – for it is only by HIS power that we can be transformed.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new as come!” (2 Cor 5:17).

This principle of grace continues throughout our walk with God. In every area of our Christian lives, it is God’s grace that causes us to grow and be strong – God’s enabling power given to us without any merit on our part.

“… grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…” (2 Pet 3:18).

 

B.     GRACE GIVEN THE HEROES OF FAITH

 

This operating force of grace is revealed in the lives of men and women throughout the whole Bible. Every hero of faith began his walk with God aware of his own weakness and inability.

It was only through him allowing God’s grace – His enabling power – to work in his life that he was able to become the kind of person that God wanted him to be, and to fulfil the plan and purpose God had for his life.

 

C.    GRACE IN THE LIFE OF MOSES

 

Read Exodus 3:11-13, 4:1-13. The command the Lord gave Moses was no small task. Egypt was the ruling empire of the day. It was and evil nation, and Pharaoh, its satanic leader, held authority that was claimed to be divine. Every nation in the known world lived in fear of Pharaoh.

When God told Moses to go down to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to let his three million people go free from slavery, Moses’ immediate response – out of his own weakness and inability – was as follow:

3:11 “Who am I?”

3:13 “Who are You?”

4:1  “They won’t believe me!”

4:10 “I’m not eloquent!”

4:13 “Lord, send someone else!”

But with God’s grace, Moses did go down to Egypt, and with sings and wonders brought the people of Israel out as God told him to.

 

D.    GRACE IN THE LIFE OF GIDEON

 

Read Judges 6:1-24. The call of God came to Gideon to deliver His people from the conquering armies of Midian. Israel had known only defeat for many years. Gideon’s response to God’s word in verse 13 reveals his initial unbelief:

“But sir,’ Gideon replied, ‘If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt? But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian.”’

Even when the Lord encouraged him and promised to be with him, Gideon answered: “How can I save Israel? I’m the smallest member of the smallest family in our tribe!” (see verse 15)

But despite his fear and inability, with God’s grace (enabling power) Gideon saved Israel. And he did it with just a small band of men. It was GRACE that made the difference!

 

E.     GRACE IN THE LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL

 

Read Acts 15:40. Before Paul and Silas set out on their missionary journey together, the church at Antioch prayed for them and “commended [them]… to the grace of the Lord” for the work that was ahead of them.

Read Paul’s description of his experience in 2 Corinthians 11:22-23. It is understandable that he was first commended to the grace of God!

He needed it to survive! The Lord’s answer to Paul’s confession of weakness is His promise to us too:

“…My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness…” (2 Cor 12:9)

 

F.     GRACE RELEASED IN OUR LIVES

 

In our relationship with God – as we walk with Him each day – we constantly meet situation that would try to overwhelm us. Our response to God is to trust His Word. We express our trust through obedience.

This proves we believe what God’s Word say despite what the circumstances might indicate. God’s response to our faith is His grace – His enabling power, which causes us to triumph in every situation.

 

G.    TWO IMPORTANT PROMISES

 

1.      We Have Bold Access To The Throne Of Grace

“Let us then approach the THRONE OF GRACE with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and FIND GRACE [divine enablement] TO HELP US IN OUR TIME OF NEED” (Heb 4:16)

 

2.      God Is Able

“And God is able to make ALL grace ABOUND to you, so that in ALL things at ALL times, having ALL that you need, you will ABOUND in EVERY good work” (2 Cor 9:8)

 

MY COMMITMENT

 

Today I decide to receive God’s grace – His enabling power – into every area and problem that arises in my life, and teach others to do the same also.