"Know Who You Are Fighting!" (Introduction)

[Rev. Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks, PsyD]

We are in a spiritual battle for our souls (Ephesians 6:10-12)!! Jesus died so we could live and be restored to God, our Heavenly Father; to live with Him for all eternity (1 Thessalonians 5:10; 1 Peter 2:24)!! However, the devil does not want us to believe in the finished work of Jesus (Ephesians 1:3-13), so he will do any and everything he can to make us doubt the finished work of Jesus; if we do not choose to believe in Jesus’ finish work, we will be lost forever – all eternity!!

It is like a trial in the nature sense – you have the defense, the prosecutor, and the jury – the defense and prosecutor put on their case, they present their evidence and the jury must decide who is telling the truth using the facts of the evidence – then they decide the fate of the person on trial! In this spiritual battle, we are both the jury and the accused – we are deciding our own fate because of free will – who are we going to believe? Is it God or is it the devil?

The evidence is God's Word which is already laid out for us; the Word became flesh, dwelt among men, did good, healed ALL manner of sickness, disease, etc. Jesus died for ALL mankind while we were yet  sinners; He took our place! Jesus delivered us from all manner of sickness, disease, guilt and shame, as well as sin – Jesus delivered us from EVERY consequence of disobeying the Law (1 Peter 2:24)!! Jesus secured our place in heaven with our Father for All eternity – Jesus said He would go away to prepare a place for us and He would come back for us! This is the Truth of God's Word; He does not lie!! The enemy on the other hand is the author and father of lies (John 8:44) – there is NO truth in the devil!! The enemy is a destroyer of lives, property and whatever else he can destroy! The enemy corrupts a man's heart!

We have a choice to accept Light (God's Truth) or darkness (the devil's lies); there is NO in between – you must choose One or the other!! The evidence has been presented and you must decide who you will choose to live All eternity with; God or the devil – the choice is yours (blessings or cursings/life or death – weigh the evidence careful because if you make the wrong choice, this will cost you your life – in a bad way (death – go to hell for all eternity)! However, if you choose God you choose eternal life! We are fighting to keep our faith; Jesus has already obtained victory over the world for us, so we are NOT fighting the rulers of darkness of this world and everything else listed in Ephesians 6:12– we are fighting to keep our faith in Jesus and to use that faith when the devil comes against us! James 1:2 said that trials come to test our faith, so our faith is going to be tested until Jesus return!

However, Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) and He will not let us faint while our faith is being tested; we must put our trust in Him and believe that He will not let us fall!! The Father has begun a good work in us (Philippians 1:6) and He will perform it until Jesus comes!! Therefore, don't be discouraged because your faith will be tested until Jesus comes, God got you covered; you are covered in the precious Blood of Jesus!

We overcome ALL things with our faith (1 John 5:4) – so the enemy knows if he can get us to lose faith in God (doubt the finished work of Jesus - Ephesians 1:3-13), he can blind our minds! The Word tells us we overcome by the Blood of the Lamb (Jesus) and the words of our testimony (Revelations 12:11); that is faith! If we did not believe in Jesus' finished work (have faith in what Jesus already done for us), we would not accept Him as our personal Lord and Savior; and we would not have testimonies without having faith in Him!

The walk with Jesus is simple but we make it so difficult; all we have to do is believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on – biblegateway.com – AMP 2 Corinthians 4:4) Jesus and confess what we believe! We believe in our hearts what the Word says about Jesus – what He already has done for us – and confess with our mouth what the Words says Jesus has already done for us; this is how we will fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12) until Jesus return!! If we do this, NOTHING will be able to stand against us! Whatever tries to attack us, we will win because Jesus defeated EVERYTHING for us – overcame the world for us! Therefore, all we have to do is fight the good fight of faith by believing the finished work of Jesus and confessing with our mouth what Jesus HAS DONE, when anything tries to come and disturb our peace; our emotional well-being!! When sickness, disease, illness, infirmities, etc. tries to come and attack our or our family's bodies, have faith in what the Word says about these things and speak the Word against them – by Jesus’ stripes you are ALREADY HEALED (Isaiah 53:4-5; 1 Peter 2:24)! When your finances are under attack, have faith in what the Word says – God SHALL supply ALL your need according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19)! Whatever tries to come against you, Jesus has already taken care of it; (Isaiah 54:17) says no weapon formed against you shall prosper!!

Therefore, we keep the victory Jesus has given us over the world by fighting the good fight of faith; don't lose faith in what Jesus has ALREADY done for you – believe in Him and keep your confession of who He is – DON’T SELL HIM OUT FOR MATERIAL THINGS OR ANYTHING OR ANYBODY ELSE – HE HAS REDEEMED YOUR SOUL FROM DESTRUCTION!!

What did Paul say to Timothy in his final letter? He said I have fought the good fight of faith; I have finished my course! We must fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12) – that is the battle we are to fight! Faith is our war – without faith it is impossible to please God – we must believe that God exist and He is who He says He is before we can come to Him (Hebrews 11:6) – before we can come to Jesus since He is the ONLY WAY to the Father (John 14:6)!!

Jesus died so we could live the abundant life in fellowship with our Heavenly Father God!! So if you don't know your Heavenly Father, get to know Him and that begins with accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior!!

 

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May God continually bless you and keep you!

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks

 

 

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