No matter how big the obstacle there have always been people who believed God and won!
Introduction to Chapter 13:
INTIMIDATION HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CORE RESOURCE OF THE EVIL ONE. He, like most humans alive today, has consistently underestimated the fact that man was created in the likeness and image of God. Therefore, mankind has an inherent compelling to overcome all obstacles. It is not in our basic DNA to give up. And the nature of God is creative and adaptive. Against all odds and in defiance of all reason, humans will find a way to overcome. Th is God-seed in the fabric of our being has sustained us against all evil since the beginning and it will be this inherent instinct to turn to God in times of trouble that will answer the call to the last great revival that ushers in the return of our Lord.
Spiritual Guide
(The Spiritual Guide section of each chapter should be reviewed after reading the corresponding chapter.)
Jesus was the ultimate giant killer. Now His disciples, those who actually believe what the Bible says about Him, His life, His death, and His resurrection are potential giant killers. But Religionists have established unscriptural doctrines that provide a breeding ground of iniquity. Every denomination and every movement has woven through its doctrinal fabric some degree of Luciferian doctrine, thereby, in some manner, limiting the life of its adherents. This is why I always encourage new converts to at least read the books of John and Acts before selecting a church. Without a biblical model of what the church should preach and how it should influence society most people will choose a church based on where their family attends.
But you, as an individual believer, must never take on the “party spirit,” that is denominationalism or loyalty to a group beyond how it empowers and facilitates your ability to more effectively serve God and our world. It is spiritually and emotionally beneficial to be a participant in a biblically-based church. However, while maintaining healthy relationships with those who lead, you must not allow any person to become an intermediary between you and Jesus as Lord. You must become a student of the Word, not in a way that merely bolsters your ego through intellectual stimulation, but as a disciple seeking to follow Jesus as Lord. Everything God ever said is valuable for life and godliness, as long as it is never twisted into legalism or used as a substitute for a personal relationship with Jesus as Lord.
The concept of Lordship has been all but lost to the subtle undercurrent of iniquity that has become interwoven in fabric of most religious environments. Convenience outweighs convictions. In some circles obedience is viewed as bondage. In others obedience is considered the path to righteousness, which is simply dead works. If love, however, is our primary intention and goal, loving God, loving people and loving (valuing) ourselves, every aspect of the gospel takes on new meaning. God’s commands about how we must treat one another become our standard of love. His commands about how we should live are an expression of loving ourselves; thus, none are burdensome. None are done to earn anything from God. They are observed because we trust and reverence for God, the Father of perfect love.
As believers, who believe the truth about God and the Lord Jesus, we fully commit to trust all of the Word of God. As disciples of the Lord Jesus we commit to apply it to our lives based on what He modeled in His life and teaching. The student of the Bible seeks to know what the Master knows. The disciple of the Lord seeks to live as their Lord lives.
As disciples, when we see beliefs or behavior that would not be present in the life of Jesus we put off the old man, that is any behavior, thought, or idea of ourselves that is in conflict with who the Word of God says we are. We then renew our minds based on the Word of God so we think about ourselves and others as His Word proclaims. We then put on the new man. This is where we choose to believe what His Word says about our true identity. We no longer see ourselves as separate from Him. As He is so are we because we have been made one with Him. We choose to believe we can do what He did, and when the need arises the power (grace) will manifest in us through the Holy Spirit. We know we can live as He lived.
By allowing ourselves to be absorbed in Him and His identity we realize we were in Him when He stripped the devil. He is in us when we face the devil. We too are giant killers. Like Joshua and Caleb, by His might and power we will possess our inheritance!