20. Break Check 11.01.19

20. When the Lord God gives you a “break check” its time to take heed of it. I’ll start this one off with saying that we all plan for the best. We also all fall short at one time or another. It takes continuous action and a daily commitment to doing your best by putting the Lord God in everything you do to continue making progress in excellence every day. As Christians we are all called to be spokespersons for the Lord God. We are called to excellence in all we do. We are called to show the world the love of Jesus, to share the Word and to bring His people home to Him.

2 Peter 1:20-21 New King James Version (NKJV)
20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

As Christians, we are born again, we belong to Jesus, but we are still stuck here in this flesh for the time being. This flesh that is easily influenced by the darkness of this earth. This flesh that is sinful, lustful, greedy, anxious, arrogant, showy, boastful, prideful. This flesh that wants to hang on to bad habits and old patterns of behavior and kicks and screams anytime you try to let them go or do the right thing. The flesh that has spent days, weeks, months, years becoming accustomed to the demonic influences that have surrounded you. These demons that you’ve been tormented by your whole life provide this scary comfort that you feel naked and vulnerable without. As Christians we need to be careful not to lose our fire for our mission. We are all called to share the word, we are all called away from sin. We are all called to Jesus.

2 Peter 2:20-21 New King James Version (NKJV)
20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.

Woah Ash, How can you possibly say that demonic influences can feel like comfort? That’s nonsense! Well Nay Sayer, I say to you that it’s not a comfort in the sense of feeling safe or being protected. It’s a comfort in sense of predictability. Comfort in knowing how things have always been or have always felt to you. It’s comfort in knowing your patterns of behavior, your life situations and how you react to things. It’s like a child who has had a wool blanket since birth. The blanket is loved by that child as it was given to him in its original and pristine, brand-new condition. That same blanket is taken everywhere, it begins to wear out and have an odor, it begins to be scratchy and tear. As the child grows, the attachment to the blanket grows. The child will drag it through the mud, through the water, through the sand. Then that child will snuggle that same worn out, used up, nasty blanket and fall asleep with it and don’t you dare take it and wash it because it will lose its touch. The comfort of that blanket is only felt by the child who has grown with it and lived with it its entire life. The comfort becomes not in the item itself but in the familiarity of having it with you your whole life.

Matthew 10:28 New King James Version (NKJV)
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.

We need more information out there on knowing what demonic influences really are and what they can do. We need more education on how easily they can take a hold of you in an area of your life where the devil knows you have a weakness. It’s the binge eater at the drive thru, it’s the drug addict returning for one more hit, it’s the person on step 6 of 12 that takes a backslide, it’s the compulsive shopper who takes out one more credit card to cover things for the holidays so they don’t have to say “No” to their children and disappoint them. It’s the compulsive cleaning you do to get ready for everyone to come over for the big holiday party so you are seen as having it all together. It’s the person compulsively checking social media to see when someone was last on messenger to cross reference that timeline to when they last read your text messages or snaps. It’s the person who spends hours scrolling on social media to realize that they have done nothing and learned nothing the entire day. It’s the voice in your head that makes you second guess every decision you have ever made your entire life. It’s the person who settles for living a life they know isn’t for them because they are too scared to step out and start over. It’s saying things like my family has always been this way, I’ve always been this way, this is my lot in life. I can assure you that this discouragement and disappointment and frustration that you are feeling is not your intended lot in life.

Romans 8:28 New King James Version (NKJV)
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

We need a deeper understanding that it’s the devil and his demons knowing where, when, and how to target you to make you feel frustrated, insecure, and disappointed in yourself, which in turn opens you up to more demonic influence. It’s time to spread understanding that demonic influences on our souls, our families, and yes, even on Christians are not always as obvious as possessions, head spinning and projectile vomiting. The devil is a subtle puppet master trying to pull just one small string to control any tiny area of your life, your personality, or your mind that you’ll let him have access to. For me I’m targeted with insecurity, self doubt and self loathing all the time. If the devil can get me in any way in those areas he will. My default reaction was always anger and rage. Praise Jesus I can say WAS!!

Ephesians 6:11-12 - Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

*wile definition
plural noun: wiles
devious or cunning stratagems employed in manipulating or persuading someone to do what one wants.

Genesis 3:1-5 New King James Version (NKJV)
The Temptation and Fall of Man
3 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

*cunning definition
adjective
1.having or showing skill in achieving one's ends by deceit or evasion.

It doesn’t say put on the armor of the Lord God because Satan is about to bust through the walls like the KoolAid man saying “Ooohh yeah, you’re all going to Hell”. He’s not Wiley in the ironic sense of Wiley Coyote. He’s sneaky, manipulative, deceiving and he will get into any open area of your life that he can. His deception is everywhere.

It’s time to realize what the devil and his legion of demons are doing to everyone on earth on a daily basis.

It’s time to wash your blanket and cut the puppet strings. Are you ready? Can you handle that?

Romans 16:20 New King James Version (NKJV)
20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

I remember sitting in my living room at the end of last winter, I was sitting on the couch crying. I was upset about a thousand things and I was crying out to the Lord God in my usual “I don’t know what to do” fashion and I remember hearing the still small voice say to me “Are you ready, Ash?” I was confused for just a second, it took me off guard. I stopped crying and looked up thinking to myself what was that? “Are you ready, Ash?” I hear again. Then I feel this this drastic whisp of clean crisp spring air that came rushing over me. It was winter and there were no windows open. This air was so fresh and so clean that it felt like I had just taken a shower and been washed from the inside out, but with air.

I immediately felt new and refreshed but also completely naked and vulnerable. It was terrifying. It was pre-baptized me and in typical old Ashley fashion, I think my exact words were “What the f*^k was that?!” In that one instant of that woosh of air, I felt open and honest about my entire life and I felt forgiven for everything. It was a very unsettling (because I had no clue what it was and I felt like I was naked in my living room) but freeing feeling. I know now it was the Holy Spirit. To in an instant feel that everything you’ve ever done and ever will do is all in the open. To feel that every decision you ever made or will make has already been known and planned for. As if my hang ups, my attitude, my personality and everything about myself was planned and known by the Father. It was honestly a scary vulnerable feeling and I wasn’t sure I liked feeling so vulnerable.

Titus 3:5 (Read Titus 3 it’s a good one and it’s short) He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit

It only lasted for a second before my demons convinced me that I was crazy. They convinced me that I wasn’t hearing anything, that nothing would ever change and that I’d feel lost and confused like this forever. I pulled that smelly demonic wool blanket right back over my shoulders and went back to crying, self-loathing, feeling depressed and not knowing how to fix myself for my kids to have a good mom. Being frustrated for not knowing where this anger was coming from but feeling like it was always going to be there. When all you know your whole life is how to react in anger or addiction or rage or any other certain way and suddenly you realize that “Woah this isn’t me. Who have I become?” and it’s almost like the Lord God pulls the wool off of your eyes and you see how the way you’ve acted was the wrong way. You realize how you’ve hurt people and it begins to hurt you. You realize how much your life needs to change and instantly the devil will make you feel lost and insecure like the change is too big to happen. Like you’ll never be able to keep it together for long. That if you do change you’ll go back to your old ways in no time. This is how demons attack. As soon as you take a step toward the light, toward Jesus, the devil and his demons will do everything they can to keep you in the dark. It felt more comforting to always be able to say “Oh, I’m just a B*^ch” to know that I’d be mad about this or upset about that or angry and bitter about something. I used to wake up just mad at being alive. Saying to the Lord, “God why do I even need to be here. What is the point? Every day is a new frustration or challenge, life isn’t anything like I expected it to be, this isn’t fair, I don’t even want to be here anymore. They’re all better off without me!” So, if you feel that way, know that there is hope and that you are not alone in that feeling. It’s just that no one wants to talk about it. No one is really talking about how demons attack.

Matthew 16:23-27 New King James Version (NKJV)
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Emphasis on the “things of men” in that scripture. The devil is able to target us by the things of men, of flesh, of this earth, the things our flesh covets, our desires, wants needs. It’s not the exorcism of Emily Rose at every turn here. It’s attack in every day life. It’s having to have a Starbucks and making yourself run late in the process, spending your commute to work frustrated with traffic trying to get there on time. Rushing into work frustrated because if you’d have only gotten up and not hit the snooze button three times you’d be good. Its snapping at your co workers, being in a bad mood for hours on end and chalking it up to having a bad day. Its yelling at your kids in the morning for running late to get to school or for not eating breakfast. It’s not always demonic possession like the movies. It’s small deliberately manipulative movements made by the devil like he’s playing a game.

Come to Jesus.
Take Up the Cross and Follow Him
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.

We need to get to doing his works here and now. People need to see and experience freedom the way Jesus intended.