How to stand and resist evil

September 19, 2010

How to stand and resist evil

Most people believe that God watches over them with a hammer in his hand so he can hurt you when you do something wrong. We have been taught it’s his will when someone we love dies; we have been taught he puts horrible things in front of us to test us. Religion has and will continue to destroy people’s lives.  Until you come unto knowledge of truth, you will be deceived into that kind of thinking.

John 10;10 Says the thief cometh not but to steal, kill and destroy.  The devil has several names, such as the serpent, accuser, satan, etc.  A thief steals things that rightfully belong  to you.  Have you ever had your heart broken, your peace replaced with anguish, confidence replaced with guilt, believing turning into fear?  This spiritual thief is here to steal, to kill and destroy. Look around you and you can see who is running this world.  Right after that, Jesus says, but I am come that ye might have life and that ye might have it more abundantly.  God’s Word is God’s will. He doesn’t want you to just have life, but to have it more abundantly.  What I want to share with you is how to stand with and for God and how to resist evil. Look closely at this scripture.

I Peter 5;7  ⁷Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.  ⁸Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:     ⁹Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
To cast all your care upon him, (God) means just that, aim it like you would if you were casting your fishing pole. Give it to God. There is nothing God cannot and will not do for you. Give it to God, all your fears; let him fight your battles. That’s God’s job. Your adversary, he knows all about your weaknesses, and you’re past. He walks around like a roaring lion, the lion roars to freeze its prey. To scare it, to cause fear so that you do not act. The devil is the one who causes fear. Read the newspapers, watch TV, and talk to your neighbors. It’s all fear motivated. God says to resist! That’s what this teaching is about, How to resist.  Fear is man’s biggest enemy. Fear starts in your heart and mind. Where your thoughts and behavior patterns are stored. Our God is a loving God, he will fight your battles, but you, in your heart and thought patterns need to cast it to him, and don’t reel them back in.
I want to take you to Genesis 39;1 This is about Joseph; we are only going to cover a small part of this chapter. When Joseph was young, he found favor in his father’s eyes. He loved God and his father, Jacob, who was later re-named by God, Israel. Jacob gave him a coat of many colors. It represented him as inheriting power to be a leader. Joseph had several brothers, and they were jealous of him and hated him. In fact they had planned to kill him. You see families all the time fighting within, usually it’s over jealousy. What they finally decided to do so his blood would not be upon them. They had found a huge pit, they killed a goat, took Joseph’s coat and dipped it into the blood, took it back to their father and said, look, here is his coat with blood; he had been killed by a wild beast. During this time, his brothers had taken Joseph by force, when they had seen the enemy coming, they sold him into slavery. He could not get out of that one. Of course, his father was heartbroken, and in totally misery, he loved Joseph more than all of them.  Years have passed; Joseph was re-sold to a Pharaoh, an Egyptian king. This is where we will begin.
Genesis 39;1-23  ¹And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.   ²And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.   ³And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.  ⁴And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.   ⁵And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
I want to draw your attention to this. God is the one who causes us to prosper. Not your paycheck, its God. The master saw that the Lord was with him. Well what do you think he saw? As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. You shall be known by your fruits. Joseph was faithful to details, and God caused the kings fields and his home to prosper. God is so big! Our God is this same God. Where you go to work at, that placed will be blessed, where you are, God is present and he will bless it. You don’t have blessings because you feel good, has nothing to do with how you feel, it has to do with what God gives. Remember Jesus Christ saying he wants us to have a more than abundant life.  Joseph was a slave, yet he remained faithful, worked hard and put his trust in God. It doesn’t matter to God what kind of jobs you have, what matters is that you work hard, and pay attention to details. God is the one who causes you to prosper. People get caught into such a head game. They really think that their position makes them better than someone else. Or people quickly change their ways when the boss walks in, wanting to look perfect. Or they bow down to someone with authority. They put someone who has millions of dollars or a title in a different category, they make them out as if they were some great one. The greater the servant the greater the leader. That’s how it works in God’s eyes. Over seer is someone who is next in line to the owner, he has rule over his entire household and all that he owns. He makes the decisions and makes sure they get carried out. We are to be faithful stewards daily. Take care of what you have. If someone cannot be faithful to the small details, they will not be faithful to big ones. I said in one of my earlier teachings, if you need to have something done, ask a person who is busy, they will make the time and do it. A lazy person will never perform and complete the task. 
⁷And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
 ⁸But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;
 ⁹There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
Look at this! Here is the king’s wife; she had everything and more that a person could ask for. Yet, she wanted Joseph to sleep with her. She had no respect for her husband, cheating on him was no big deal to her. It’s the same thing in our day and in our time. Married people cheating. God never designed marriage for a un-believer. His Word teaches how to love each other and important details to have for a marriage to work. The king’s wife was a disgrace to her husband. She had no respect for him or for Joseph; she just wanted sex and was ready to do anything. Joseph said who am I that I should sin against God? So many people do not care about God at all. They are motivated by a deep greed and will spare no expense on who they hurt to get what they want.
¹⁰And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.
 ¹¹And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.
 ¹²And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
 ¹³And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,
 ¹⁴That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:
 ¹⁵And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.
She nagged him daily for sex. Every time he turned the corner there she was exposing herself, charming and, seducing him. When she grabbed onto his clothes, she wanted to force him on her, he fled, and he got the hell out. You know what she did? She screamed rape! She hated him so much for refusing her she screamed rape! This angers me. When people cannot get what they want then they do whatever they can to make you look like the bad guy. Jealousy motivated people do that.  You would think that people would like you in the workforce, when all you do is a good job, and you’re being nice to them. But they don’t. The more committed you are to doing your job and having heart for people, you will be despised. The thief cometh to steal, kill and destroy. To steal your dignity to make God look bad. What do you think her husband is going to think of God after he finds out? People are falsely set up and sent to jail all the time. They are lied about and then are found with false evidence.  People will talk about you behind your back, the more good you do the more you will be hated. The first thing she did was start the gossip rolling, telling others first. That’s to get people fired up and supporting you. She got them all set up to hating Joseph. Then she goes on to tell her husband, the king.
¹⁹And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.
 ²⁰And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.
 ²¹But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
 ²²And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.
 ²³The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.
Well of course her husband is going to be outraged. Someone whom he trusted and set him up to watch over his whole kingdom and home and then he hears Joseph tried to rape his wife. How would you feel? How many people have lost their jobs because of liars? This world is full of thieves, liars, and back biters. What are we suppose to do? You stand your ground in your mind, and trust God. God didn’t take it away; he caused Joseph to prosper, even in prison! I told you, no matter where you are or where you go, our God will cause you to prosper. Prosper, having peace, confidence and believing regardless of the situation. The prisons we are thrown in today are prisons of the mind. People feeling so guilty for the things they have done and they don’t want to turn to God. Feeling shamed inside. Trapped and caught in a snare of pain and no way out. Our God is a God of love and forgiveness; he is a God who delivers us out of all our fears. People who have been abused sexually, molested with greed and jealousy, being told your stupid all your life, our God delivers! The thief takes away, God gives. There are parents, spouses, and so called friends who inflict their miserable attitudes onto you. Ever catch yourself trying above and beyond to act perfect hoping that person would like you better, accept and love you more? You can act happy go lucky around your friends but when that person walks in the room, your nervous and you change your actions? Feeling controlled by the person instead of you being in control! That is a mental prison! Guilt, condemnation, hopelessness, un-controlled fear, jealousy, rage, greed, It’s those things and more that put people into a mental prison. It takes God to deliver us and he will and he does. But it is up to you to believe. Even though Joseph was in prison, God blessed him. I am not going to finish this chapter. Joseph did get out of prison and had the kingdom restored unto him. The king had dreams, and only God was able to interpret them through Joseph. Because of Joseph listening and carrying out Gods Word, he brought Egypt to being one of the richest nations in the world. Listening and carrying out Gods Word will always bring prosperity. I know Joseph was in prison for over two years, and I also know he had a lot of mental pressures, the reason I know this is because the Word says God delivered him from all his afflictions acts 7;9
So many men of God were thrown into prison for loving and speaking God’s Word. Hated and despised by the high priests, priests who you would think would love God and his people. Apostle Paul was be-headed in prison, Sampson, had his eyes plucked out and thrown into prison, David, Elijah, so many men were pursued by the enemy to be killed. The apostles were thrown into prison a few times; Stephen was killed by being stoned to death. It really doesn’t matter how long you live, what matters is the quality of life you live. Jesus, he didn’t live long, his ministry, the time he spent on earth teaching and loving people was around six months. What did they do to him? He was falsely accused, beaten so bad his face looked like hamburger, homosexually abused, whipped, these whippings consisted of long cords and at the ends of them had sharp pieces of metal or bone, and when it came whipping across your back it would take chunks of flesh with it. The pictures you see of Jesus in churches are such a lie. His face was a bloody pulp, thick long thorns shoved into his scalp, he was so beaten he couldn’t walk; they had to drag him up to the place to be nailed. Simon had to carry the wooden cross, Jesus Christ bore the cross of our sins, sickness, sufferings, guilt, that’s what he bore. He didn’t bear a stupid wooden cross for us, he bore our sufferings. He was literally mutilated so you and I could live and have health. Do you get the picture that he died so we could live?  All the wonderful promises God has given to us, it didn’t cost us anything, but it cost God, it cost God’s only begotten son. You didn’t do anything to merit his grace, love, kindness and forgiveness. Christ paid that price. Look how he was treated for being loving. We need to stand for God, rise up and claim that we have been set free. We have been forgiven; if God forgets then you need to forget your stupid sins.  Did God lie or is he telling the truth. Religion has turned more people away from the true God more than anything else in this world. It was these religious rulers that killed Jesus, killed apostle Paul, and Stephen, it was religious leaders who accuse, degrade and shove your face in the dirt. Religion is not God Almighty. Our God is a God of tender mercies, loving and looks at us with great grace. He knows we’re made out of dirt and we are weak. He wanted a family; he wanted kids to love him. And the devil has turned him into being a liar, a murderer and a thief because of religion. They say God kills; he needs one more rose petal in heaven, that’s why he killed your baby. That is a lie straight from the pit of hell; our God does not kill, steal and destroy. Get it straight, the Word of God is the will of God. God is here to deliver us out of every mental prison the world has shoved your face in. God sets us free when we have been encased with fear. We are never alone, even though in this life it can feel sometimes lonely, God will never leave you, ever. Our thoughts may have turned away but God doesn’t.  His arms are always stretched out waiting for you to return so he can hug you.  If God be for me who can be against me
So, how do we resist evil? How do we stand in this perverted evil world?. God calls it dark and perverted, and so it is. I told you the high priests killed Stephen, I want to show you briefly what they said and did to him and then you will read his re-action just before he died.

Acts 5  ⁸And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. (all he did was love and literally set people free who were oppressed)

 ⁹Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen.

 ¹⁰And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.

 ¹¹Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.

 ¹²And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council,

 ¹³And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:

There you go again, time after time, people stirring up people’s minds with lies and deceit, false witnesses. Accusing him of lies. Philippians says we are living in the midst of a dark and perverted nation, among whom we shine as lights. We cannot stop evil but we can resist it, we can stop it from taking over our minds.  In a previous chapter when the apostles were thrown into prison for speaking the Word of God, it says an angel let them out the prison doors and God told them to GO, STAND AND SPEAK these words of life. Go do the things you were thrown into prison for. Someone has to stand and speak for God, the only reason you would stop speaking it is because of fear, too embarrassed to stand for God. What would people think of you if you talked about God? God isn’t ashamed of you. Go, and take a Stand! If you don’t’ stand for God then you will fall for anything. Back to Stephen.  Look at verse 10; they couldn’t resist the wisdom the Stephen. God says he gives us wisdom. Wisdom comes from getting knowledge and then applying that knowledge. God wants us to be smart, he doesn’t want us to be stupid and ignorant, and he wants us to know that we know, so we aren’t tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine.

Stephen had just finished telling the religious leaders specific important details outlining things that had taken place with Moses and others. Then he goes on to say this to them.

Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

 ⁵²Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

 ⁵³Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

 ⁵⁴When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

 ⁵⁵But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

 ⁵⁶And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

 ⁵⁷Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,

 ⁵⁸And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. (Saul is the Apostle Paul, God changed his name, he used to throw believers into prison, have them killed, until God changed his life)

 ⁵⁹And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

 ⁶⁰And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (fell asleep, means he died)

Oh my God, what a man of courage and heart. They gnashed on him with their teeth, pure hate and rage came upon him. For what? Because he loved God and people. Then just before he died, he talked to his heavenly father, and said, Lord lay not this sin to their charge. How do you think God must of felt? How do you think God must have felt when they were driving nails inside of Jesus’ hands and feet? How would you feel if you saw your son or daughter being beaten to death? I know how I would feel. Look at his heart. Look at the next scriptures I am going to give you, it is the HOW to resist evil.

 ¹I beseech (means I lovingly beg you) you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

 ²And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

You must change your thinking, put off the old negative ways of thinking and put on the new thoughts of God’s Word.

These next scriptures, you need to memorize them, repeat them over and over again in your mind until you know them by heart. Make these words the words that come out of your mouth and your life. God says to do it, then do it. God’s word is always the opposite from the world teaches.

⁹Let love be without dissimulation (that’s acting out a part). Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.    

 ¹⁰Be kindly affectionate one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

¹¹Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; (be faithful to details)

 ¹²Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

 ¹³Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. (Give; don’t turn your back when you see a need)

 ¹⁴Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.

 ¹⁵Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

 ¹⁶Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. (Don’t be wise in your own stupidity)

 ¹⁷Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

 ¹⁸If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

 ¹⁹Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

 ²⁰Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.

 ²¹Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Love is the strongest force in the world, to get rid of love you would have to get rid of that person who loves. Love is so powerful it paralyzes evil. Be not overcome with evil, Vengeance is mine, vengeance belongs to God, stop trying to take his job. People spend millions of dollars suing people. They spend days of their lives waiting to get even. Gangs are mounting up all over the world because of vengeance. Wives angry at their husbands and doing horrible things to each other because they want vengeance. You did me wrong now I am gonna get even with you.  Don’t mess with me!  or your loved ones, they get mad at you so they are going to pay you back by not letting you see the kids, or stay silent, punish that person by not speaking to them, punish that person by spreading nasty things about them, setting up false evidence against them. You hate me, I will hate you. And it goes on and on and on.

Our God is a loving and tender father. If your enemy hungers, feed him, if he thirst give him a drink. Which means, when someone is mean to you or does something rotten to you, do something for him, bless him, by your doing so, you will warm him up on the inside. God wants to reach out and save those who live in mental prisons of hate and anger. God cannot love them without us loving them. Do not allow evil to overcome you, the only way to overcome it, to resist evil, is to love. It doesn’t matter if you feel bad or don’t want to. Our walk with God is not based on whether or not you feel good or if you like it. God says do it. The thief is here on earth to steal, kill and destroy, we are here to GO, STAND and SPEAK these words of life. Be not afraid of any man, do not be afraid of your enemy, we stand! I will end this with Ephesians 6

¹⁰Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Get strong in God, in his might and power, not yours)

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

 ¹²For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (It’s always principalities we fight against, not the individual)

 ¹³Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

 ¹⁴Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; (God’s armour is his Word, your loins, where you stand, figure of speech, means to have truth in your minds, you love, you believe, we are in a spiritual battle day after day. Put on means to put on in your minds God’s word. Joseph had to do that)

 ¹⁵And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (That’s your walk with God, his Word is peace, its life giving)

 ¹⁶Above all, taking the shield of faith (believing), wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts (arrows) of the wicked.

In the eastern culture when they went to war, their arrows were made out of hallowed out reeds filled with a substance that would combust on contact. They would light the ends of the arrows with fire. Then they took aim, pointed it exactly where they want to hurt you, and then fire. Those arrows in our day and time mean, people will say and do such cruel things to. Your mom, or dad, sisters, brothers, your good friend, when you least expect it, they will shoot cruel words at you. It hurts and hurts bad. We can’t stop people from being mean to us, but we can stop their cruelty from lodging in our brains, how? By taking the shield of believing. With those arrows on fire, the army was handed huge shields to protect their body. We, our minds are protected when we believe and trust God. We are to take the shield of believing. God tells us twice here in Ephesians to stand! Above all STAND! Stand for the one and only true God, we stand and walk in love, that is power, we get strengthened in Gods power. We are here to love for God and to be loved by him. What a great life we have, a life filled with challenges, a life of victories a life to give and love, to set others free. Having done all, stand, don’t budge, have your feet planted in the cement of God’s Word. Where ever you go in life, God will cause you to prosper, for we have been set free. Go love so others can be set free. Jesus paid the ransom, he paid dog, the bounty hunter, he paid all your fines and fees that were held against you. God bless, you are the best, in this evil perverted world, stand, and shine! I love you.