-Pastor David Oyedepo Jnr at Mid-week Communion Service
*When it comes to the matter of sin, satan is personally behind it.
*To be at the war front and to be fight less is to submit to defeat.
*Sin may not have a hand but it does not lack a hold.
Hallelujah!
Shall we lift our hands to Heaven, let’s give glory to God for this awesome privilege that we have to be in His presence again this evening. Lift your voice and give thanks unto Him from the depth of your heart. Give Him the praise, give Him the glory, give Him the honour and the adoration. Make sure you are celebrating the faithfulness of God.
Thank Him particularly for all the answers; we have not been praying in vain but every time we call, He hears us and as He hears us, He answers our prayers. Give quality thanks to Him, give Him the glory that is due unto His name and celebrate Him from the depth of your heart. Father thank You, blessed be Your Holy name.
Ask Him to speak to you tonight. Lord, I am here for an encounter, let there be an outbreak of light in my direction. Thank You mighty God, in Jesus precious name we have prayed.
Our Father tonight we are before You with gratitude in our hearts for the blessings and the privilege of being in Your presence. Lord we thank You for always hearing us. We thank You for always answering us. Church Gist. We thank You for validating Your presence in our midst with mind-blowing testimonies, we give You the praise and the glory. Lord tonight our eyes are on You again, we ask that You will speak to us one more time. Let Your word transform our lives. We give You the praise and glory for hearing us, in Jesus precious name we have prayed.
Our series of teachings in our Mid-week Services for this month has been captioned:
PUTTING UP A FIGHT AGAINST THE FORCES OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.
In the course of this month so far, we have been able to discover that the battle against sin is the fiercest of all spiritual battles in the life of a believer. Church Gist. There is no battle that compares to the battle against sin; it is the most fierce, it is the most aggressive battle that the believe will be confronted with.
Hebrews 12:1-4
The battle against sin is the most vicious battle that the believer will be confronted with. Please hear this; there are many spiritual battles but none compares to the battle against sin and that is why it must be taken with the utmost sense of seriousness. The reason why this battle is so fierce is that, it is a battle against satanic strongholds (Ephesians 6:12).
When it comes to the matter of sin, satan is personally behind it. The Bible refers to him as the man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3). So behind the sinfulness of man is the personal aggression of the devil, you must come to recognise that (Revelation 12:17). Whether you are aware of it or not, we are in a warfare and the primary objective of the devil is to bring man to captivity of sin but concerning you, he will not succeed!
If we are in a war then it means that we must engage in a fight. Church Gist. To be at the war front and to be fightless is to submit to defeat. You must understand that you and I have a responsibility to engage in this confrontation (1 Timothy 6:11-12). To accomplish righteousness, you must win the battle against sin. There is a fight you must be confronted with (Ephesians 6:16). It is true that the devil attacks the various departments of the lives of people but the primary objective of the devil is to drag man into sin, make no mistake about that. It looks like health is his priority but that’s not his priority, when it comes to health he has what is called the spirit of infirmity but when it comes to sin, he is the man of sin himself. Other attacks can be delegated but not sin. Satan delegates other kinds of attacks, he has agents that are responsible for it but when it comes to sin, he is personally called the man of sin. So it is a confrontation against the pinnacle of hell’s power and that’s why you and I must confront it with equal viciousness (Matthew 11:12). So we must engage with force in order to destroy the opposition of the enemy. My prayer is that for each one of us, by reason of the light coming our way this month, you will win the battle of sin in the name of Jesus.
- You shall not be brought into captivity by sin in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let’s begin tonight by again examining the nature of sin. All through this season we have been examining the nature of sin in order to understand what we are confronted with. One of the descriptions we discovered about sin is; sin is forceful. Church Gist. Many of us are familiar with the fact that sin is subtle but many are not familiar with the fact that it is also forceful. Although it may be subtle, it is also forceful.
Proverbs 7:21-27.
That is a picture of the deceptive strength of sin, sin may look subtle but it is very forceful. You must understand that while sin may not seem to display a physical hand, it usually demonstrates a spiritual hold. I’ll like us to understand that sin is extremely forceful. Judges 16:16-18, Delilah pressed Samson with her words until his soul was vexed unto death. That tells me that the dart of death was shot before his hair was shaved. You must understand the forceful nature of sin. Sin is deceptive because you will think that you are in control when you are under his control. You will be deceived to think that you are incharge when you are under his charge – this is what makes sin extremely deceptive (Romans 7:19-24).
Sin is forceful, that individual that became an alcoholic thought that he was in control of it until it was in control of him. The one who became a drug addict thought he was in control of it until it was in control of him. You find individuals many times arise to particular levels and yet they are brought down under the weight of sin and people wondered, how can such a destiny just shattered like that? Sin may not have a hand but it does not lack a hold, so you must understand the forceful nature of sin and that is why you don’t toy with sin because what you think you are touching is not just you touching it, it is holding you. But I pray today that every captivity of sin in any department of anyone’s life, that hold is broken off you in the name of Jesus.
2 Peter 2:18-19
Don’t you see the world today; they tell you look, be free. Live how you want, let nobody control you. Life is about liberty; the freedom of man is a fundamental right but hear this, that liberty can turn to captivity. You find many people today who are captive because they thought they were chasing liberty, they are chained because they thought they were chasing freedom. God’s servant has put it this way over and again that liberty without limit is captivity without knowing.
- I pray again today that for anyone that may be under the hold of the captivity of sin, may today be your day of liberty in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Spiritual Forces Behind Sin:
- The spirit of disobedience (Ephesians 5:1-2). Have you not notice that disobedience almost seems more comfortable than obedience? It seems almost attractive than obedience, that is why you find people today falling captive. If God says A, B now become more attractive to them. It is almost like as long as God is saying right, left is the one that looks better – that is the operation of the spirit of disobedience and this is one of the forces that the Word of God makes us to understand that will be operational in this last days (2 Timothy 3:1-2).
The spirit of disobedience does not discriminate, even to children the spirit is trying to make them desire to do what it is that they are commanded not to do. Church Gist. The Bible says that, that is the place of the power of the air, so wherever there is air, he is there. Air does not mean oxygen because somebody may say I want to run all the way to the moon so I can escape it. No, it means atmosphere, wherever there is atmosphere, he is there. So he makes disobedience sweeter than obedience.
There was a boy that was in the Church and then the boy wanted to stand up, the mother said sit down! He sat down, small time he would stand up again. Sit down, he sat down and small time he would stand up again. He sat down again, crossed his hand and was sitting very angrily. After awhile, the boy began to smile. The mother looked at him, why are you smiling. He said I am sitting down but I am standing up inside. As far as the child is concerned, that disobedience must be fulfilled one way or the other. Are you getting it? That is the operation of the prince of the power of the air. It makes man desire the opposite of any commandment.
- I pray today that for anyone under that force, may today be your night of liberty in the name of Jesus Christ!
This spirit of disobedience makes men to exalt themselves and their opinion over God’s word. This is what God said, yes but this is what I think. I tell people all the time that when you see a man that says I know this is what the Bible says but… Run, when you see such an individual that has an opinion that he exalts against the knowledge of God, he is a man to fear. Church Gist. Understand that when it comes to our opinion, it must be subject to the authority of scriptures. I love what Kenneth Copeland said, he said when came to the light of God’s word, he went to God in a covenant and said to Him; Lord I covenant with you, I will not bend your word to fit my life. I will bend my life to fit Your word. The Word of God is the final authority. My opinion is of no consequence, the foolishness of God is wiser than men. It is the height of stupidity to assume to be wiser than God. When it comes to what God’s word has said to us, it must be the final authority. But when you find an individual who exalt his opinion above that which God commands, you have found a person who is operating under the influence of the spirit of disobedience (2 Timothy 3:5).
We must understand that God’s word is not God’s suggestion, it is God’s commandment. God does not tell you what He thinks, He tells you what He commands. It is therefore important for you and I to understand that the Word of God must remain the final authority in our lives and this is why you see many today that are not experiencing what God has ordained for them because they are under the influence of the spirit of disobedience but today I see that spirit losing its grip on you!
#PastorDavidOyedepoJnr
#MidweekCommunionService8Sept21
#ChurchGist
