TEXT: ‘You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror’ (James 2:19 NLT). In Part 1, we studied three key truths about the devil. Satan knows who Jesus really is Satan knows he cannot go beyond what God has allowed him to do Satan will know when his time of freedom is about to end In Part 2, we will consider four more things Satan knows, and more importantly, Christians need to know that he knows them, for it will help them to stand strong in the times of testing and temptation. 4. Satan knows that when Christians resists him, he has to flee – ‘Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you’ (James 4:7) So often illustrations depict Satan towering over the cowering Christian, but the truth is the complete opposite. By submitting to God, we can resist Satan and he has to flee from us. Christians talk up the devil and talk down their God and themselves as believers, when they should do the reverse. Having had an unpleasant and frightening experience of an evil spirit when showing an interest in spiritualism (just a few...
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TEXT: ‘Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver’ (Matthew 26:14-15). Judas betrayed Jesus for just 30 pieces of silver! I wonder what his starting price was before it was whittled down by the chief priests, who would never pay more than they had to? Consider the parents of the man born blind that Jesus healed (See John chapter 9). They had cared for him for years. What would they have paid for their son to see for the first time? General Naaman the leper came to Israel with, ‘Gifts of $20,000 in silver, $60,000 in gold, and ten suits of clothing’ (2 Kings 5:5 TLB). That’s how much he valued the prophet who could heal him. Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with very costly fragrant oil in appreciation of what Jesus had done by raising her brother Lazarus from the dead (See John 12:1-8). The critical disciples valued her gift at a year’s wages. Think for one minute about an impossible situation you or someone you love is facing. If it was possible, what would you be willing to pay...
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TEXT: ‘You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror’ (James 2:19 NLT). Satan, also called the devil, is viewed sometimes as a fun character, a figment of the imagination or a powerful supernatural being, depending on what a person believes. Jesus referred to him as the prince or ruler of this world (See John 14:30), but he is nothing in comparison with the God who created him, this world and everything in it! Many Christians live in fear of the devil when they do not need to. Today’s Teaching will help them not to, as we look at several things Satan does not want Christians to know that he knows. 1. Satan knows who Jesus really is – ‘If you are the Son of God’ (Luke 4:9). Satan was tempting Jesus to do something spectacular in order to gain the world’s attention. He certainly knows who Jesus is, because Jesus created him. Wherever Jesus went demons would cry out, ‘I know who You are’ (Luke 4:34, 41). They knew He was the Christ, God’s only Son. The world doesn’t know who Jesus really is and Satan wants to keep it that...
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TEXT: ‘Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord all the day long’ (Proverbs 23:17 AMPC). The Bible says, ‘The fear of man brings a snare’ (Proverbs 29:25). How many of us have experienced that in some form or another? The Book of Proverbs also mentions another fear, “The Fear of the Lord” several times. These references show what godly fear can achieve, working in us and for us. ‘Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God’ (Proverbs 2:5 NLT). Hopefully, Today’s Teaching will help us to do just that. The “Fear” mentioned means reverential awe, recognising God for who He is and what He stands for. Jesus taught us to pray on this basis, ‘Our Father in heaven, we honour your holy name’ (Matthew 6:9 TLB). 1. The Fear of the Lord is Informative A. It’s the beginning of knowledge – ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge’ (Proverbs 1:7) Man wants to know about anything and everything, but often fails to include God in that quest. ‘Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God’ (Proverbs 2:5). Godly fear helps us to discover what God is...
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TEXT: ‘Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious’ (1 Peter 2:7). The Apostle Peter had started working life as a rugged fisherman, so it’s perhaps surprising he used words like “precious” in his epistles. Today’s Teaching studies them to see what we can learn. In J R Tolkien’s book, “The Lord of the Rings”, Smigel called the ring, “My precious”. He couldn’t bear to live without it and did everything possible to get it back. In the end he perished, falling down into the raging fire trying to retrieve his precious ring. Surely this incident confirms the words of Jesus, ‘Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’ (Matthew 6:21). Who or what is precious to you? Are you doing what Jesus encourages everyone to do and store up treasure in heaven? 1. Precious Faith – ‘Simon Peter a servant and an Apostle of Jesus Christ, to you which have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ’ (2 Peter 1:1 GNV). ‘That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ’ (1 Peter 1:7). How foolish to just...
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