Spiritual Warfare

The traits of Jezebel all speak of pride, rebellion, and selfishness. These things are ugly, abominable, and sinful in anyone, man or woman. A simple study of the name and its meaning tells us that she is an impudent, daring, vitious woman. She is shameless; lacks modesty; is bold, with contempt of others; saucy. She is impure and immoral. She is defective; there is something wrong with her in her heart and mind. Every thing about her is a perfect description of todays modern, liberated, empowered woman. Her problem is not with men, but with God who made her a woman. Her rebellion is not against men, but against God because she is deceived by this wicked world into thinking that God has put her in some lower place and done her wrong. She is the very opposite of what God made a woman to be and should be called out for it instead of being praised and admired. Jesus pronounced judgement upon this kind of woman and those who "suffer" (put up with) her, especially in the churches. A woman is empowered by God with the traits and abilities and the station in life to change the world if she would only realize it and submit her life to God, and live according to his design.

Satan's spiritual attack against you will come in three ways. He will try to convince you to believe that you have done too much, and the mess you have made of your life is too much for God to fix. He will also tell you that you are not worth God's concern; you have nothing to offer, or your problem is too insignificant for God to be bothered with. He will also tell you that it is too late for you; that you have missed the opportunity and are hopelessly lost, because God has had it with you. All of these things are LIES straight from the devil himself. God is infinite in power, infinite in mercy, and infinite in his love. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. It is never too much, too little, or too late for Him. All things are possible to him that believeth.

Purity and pollution both affect the way we view the world around us. To the pure all things are pure. He looks for the good, finds it, and rejoices in it. Them that are unbelieving and defiled in their mind and conscience only look for the bad and find it in everything and everyone. Rotten fruit is sweet to a worm but noxious to normal people. These are the two kinds of people in this world. When we find ourselves thinking that there is nothing but evil and no good in this world we are under the influence of the devil, because that is a lie. No true Christian can live with such an attitude and disposition.

Throughout the Scriptures purity is more often than not connected with our interaction with other people. The matter of purity is not simply for our own sake, or so we can be right with God, it is necessary in order to be right with others. Every relationship between people is affected by purity or the lack thereof. More than that, we can say that it is one of the pillars of any relationship. If you want a good relationship, whether in marriage, with your children, or anyone else, keep it clean. Keep the profane and the corrupt talk and actions, and thoughts out of it.

The primary meaning of religion, by it's definition, refers to the true God and the Savior. The word has been misused and slandered so that now most people have the wrong perception when they hear the word. But it is in the Bible and it is our subject. There is only pure religion and vain religion. Pure religion has two identifying marks: more concern for others than for self, and not defiled by the world. Vain religion is marked by an unbridled tongue, which is connected to a heart that has been deceived by self.

We purify water, air, coffee, oil, fuel, and all kinds of other liquids by running them through a filter. We cannot hope to remain morally pure in a world like this unless we have a filter. We cannot hope for our children to remain pure unless they have a filter. We can be their filter while they are very young, but every day as they get older they will see and hear more from this world, and they will be exposed to all of its filth and corruption. To maintain purity we must have something between us and the world around us that stops the filth before it goes in our eyes and ears.

To be pure is to be clean; it is to be free of pollution and unadulterated. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." There is no such promise to those who are not pure in heart. This world is a very unclean place. We are swimming in filth up to our necks all the time. We are bombarded with pornography, profanity, blasphemy, and violence in everything we look at and listen to. There is no way to maintain a pure heart and mind unless we separate ourselves from the fountain of it all. If people who call themselves Christians do not start drawing some lines and backing away from all this social media and filth, this generation is going to be completely lost. "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord..." Flee from Sodom or you will die with them, and so will your children.

Jesus said that the world would be like it was in Noah's day just before He comes again. The earth was filled with violence then, and it is approaching that same condition now. While we are focusing on all the wars going on in the world, that "same spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience" is filling the children and young people of this generation with the spirit of violence. Video games, entertainment, and the lack of truly godly people in their lives are making them that "generation whose teeth are as swords and their jaw teeth as knives." When this generation takes the reins in the next decade we will see the world as it was in Noah's time. There is a great difference between those who are possessed with the spirit of violence, and those who resist them. It is the difference between good and evil.

A pure heart is a heart that has its affection set on God above everything and everyone else. The "perfect heart" that is mentioned many times in the Scripture is that heart that will not turn away from God. A pure heart cannot be wooed or drawn away, and is described in Solomon's Song this way: "I have found Him whom my soul loveth, I held him, and would not let him go."

This is one of those messages that I wish everyone would hear. The matter is so vitally important! If you are a child of God you are involved in a spiritual conflict , and we are living in the most dangerous times. The enemy that will do you in is most likely the one you will not see. You will not see him because part of his strategy is to keep you distracted while he deploys his spies, his snipers, his double-agents, his land mines, and his disinformation in your mind, and in the minds of your children and others around you. Social media and the Internet are rife with them, and until we can begin to recognize that Satan has his hand in all of it, and shut the doors against it, our ranks are going to get thinner and thinner.