Warfare Portals 6

Dear beloved: In our study of spiritual warfare we will next consider cleansing of sin that is not related to generational sin and curses. In order to understand the nature of sin and our part in choosing it, we have to go back and look at the oringinal sin and the fall of mankind. God had created man (Adam) and had put him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. Genesis 2:15. Then the Lord gave Adam his instructions concerning the trees of the garden. Gen.2:16 And the Lord commanded the man saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; v17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die." Of all the instructions given to mankind, only this last aroused curiosity in him; there was something about the friut of that tree that crossed his will and made him curious. Satan (the serpent) knew that also, and so in Genesis chapter 3:4 comes the first recorded lie in the Bible, when Satan directly lies to Eve and counters God's word. v4 And the serpent said to the woman,"you surely shall not die! v5 For God knows that in the day that you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." v6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desireable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her and he ate. Satan always comes to us and tries to get us to believe that God is a liar, and that we don't need God because we can be just like him. What an effective stategy. In Isaiah 14, we see the character of Satan come forth as he declared his will for himself to take over the throne of God. Isa. 14:13 'But you said in your heart (shining one, Lucifer), I will ascend to heaven, I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. v14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' And so as Satan attempted to ascend to the throne of God, the great rebellion began that led to his being thrown down out of heaven. Luke 10:17 And the seventy disciples returned with joy saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." v18, and He said to them, "I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. v19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you."...And so the battle lines were drawn, God's desire for fellowship and rule in our life, verses the desire of Satan to tear us away from the kingdom through lies and deceit. Our sin involves our will and choice. John tells us in 1 John 2:15, Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. v16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. v17 And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever. And so Satan attacks us in those three ways: lust of eyes, lust of flesh, and the pride of life. Start your cleansing process by listing all your sin, past and present, focusing on the sins that are not necessarily associated with family iniquity, the ones where you just succumbed to the lies and deceit of the deceiver. Go ahead and list them, and also include the sins of omission, the sins where you have backed away from the callings and commands of the Lord. Also include sins like quenching of the Holy Spirit, and religious spirits that are built around a form of religion with no power. List all of them and get it all out before the Lord. The next teaching we will then go on to the second step in the cleansing after we have acknowledged all our sin. God bless you this day as you are sanctified before the Lord, in Christ, Jim.