8.08.2007

Do You Fear God?

I just finished (in June) reading "Victory Over the Darkness" by Neil Anderson. I started reading it because of my dream.
I haven't had a dream, like that, again. Praise the Lord!!
So, I ask myself... and many of you have asked me: "What does it mean?" or "Do you think it means something?" I don't know, it has certainly made me think more about spiritual warfare and helped me understand how much more real it is than I ever imagined. To paraphase a beloved pastor I recently heard speak on the subject of Job (in the Bible): Don't be too quick to judge those who are suffering, you do not know the battle taking place above you.
What I do know is that my dream has caused me to fear God in a way that I never have before and it has opened my eyes to the fact the "spiritual warfare" (as some have called) is real, it happens.
So, I read "Victory Over the Darkness" by Neil Anderson. Some of the main points he had are:
If you believe in Jesus Christ, God's Son, fully God, fully man, as the forgiver of your sins, then you are a child of the Most High God who created heaven, but the devil doesn't like it.
If you are a child of God, then no matter what you do He WILL NOT LEAVE YOU, He will not forsake you.
If you are God's child then you have all authority in the name of Jesus Christ to resist the devil and then he must leave you.
If He will not leave you, then you can be of good cheer (be happy), you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you and you should take heart and have courage, be strong and very courageous.
If you are struggling with knowing who you are or where God is, read this book. I have a copy if you need to borrow, just e-mail me. If you are haunted by disconcerting thoughts of any kind of destruction, read this book. Read your Bible and understand that you have been given the authority in Jesus name to conquer and to win the battle.
Otherwise, know that the battle is real!! Pray for those you know that are struggling and read Victory Over the Darkness. I had to pray through it because whenever I picked it up something else would come or sound more interesting.
Also, an interesting point in the book was that we are created to have fellowship with God and to have fellowship with people. Holing up isn't God's plan. We are an army... a body... meant to function, many parts, as one.
One last thing that stuck out to me was this: Satan attacks believers. Why? Because they're not on his side. Can a believer be demon possessed? I don't know, but I do know that a believer can be tormented by demons, otherwise why would God tell us to put on our armor (Ephesians 6)?
1 Peter2 :17 "Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king."
Don't fear the devil, resist him. Fear God.
If this sounds strange or unbiblical please e-mail me. I don't want to put forth or believe falsely.

1 comment:

Katie said...

Good stuff!! I've read bits and pieces of this material, but never made it all the way through. I appreciated this encapsulation and I'm glad you read it!