Get rid of fear

   BY Argie Simonis

"And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places." Mat. 24:6-7

The drums of war are beating and fear of death has spread worldwide. Wars and rumors of wars have created an environment  of great anxiety, insecurity and uncertainty. But the Lord warned us not to be troubled by all this. With our logic, such a thing certainly seems absurd. How can you not worry about all the bad things that are happening around us?

The answer to this lies in the fact that we know the truth and how the story ends. God has complete control over the affairs of mankind (Exodus 9:16; Psalms 75: 6-7; Proverbs 16: 9, 21: 1; Jeremiah 10:23; Romans 9: 15-24, and 13: 1), and has assured us of His complete and final victory and triumph and how it will happen. 

The earth will not be destroyed by a madman or a nuclear war. The Lord will destroy this earth with fire:

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." 2Πέτ. 3:10

"But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved to fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." 2Pet. 3:7

He will then create a new heaven and earth:

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." Rev. 21:1

and He will correct all mistakes as He judges the world:

"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

And whoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Rev. 20:11-15

This fear of death actually enslaves humanity and leads people to live a continuous nightmare. Only Christians who truly understand that the sting of death has been removed (1Cor. 15:55) are free from the torment of the fear of death. A person who is no longer afraid of death can neither be intimidated nor manipulated.

Those of us who believe in these promises of God can laugh together with the Lord at all those unbelievers who rebel against Him:

"He that sits in the heavens shall laugh: the LORD shall have them in derision." Psalm. 2:4 

Amen!

The believer's authority - Part 2: How we pray for lost.

  BY Argie Simonis

Jesus gives us a very serious warning:

"Enter you in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:" Mat. 7:13

It is a sad reality that many people are lost, but if you dare today to talk about people who will go to hell, you will face the condemnation and disapproval of the world. I have even heard when ministers are asked in interviews by journalists find it difficult to state publicly that if one does not believe in Jesus he will end up in hell:

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12

"Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me." John 14:6

And in order to believe, one must first listen:

"For whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" 

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" Rom. 10:13-15

Τhe Lord will judge us according to the degree of revelation each one has. And we are sure that the Lord is always a just Judge:

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God has showed it to them." Rom. 18-19

People end up in hell for two reasons:

- Because they denied the gospel

- Because they never heard it

As I mentioned in my previous post on the authority of the believer, the responsibility of preaching the gospel has been given to us. So how do we use our power when we pray for someone to come to the Lord and be saved?

- We do not go to the Lord as beggars, but with thanksgiving that He loves these people much more than we love them, and He wants for them to be saved much more than we do :

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2Peter 3:9

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16

"And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world." 1John. 2:2

Sin has already been paid. It is no longer a question of whether God offers salvation, but whether that salvation is accepted or not. It is something like accepting or rejecting a heritage.

- If you are praying for your spouse, for a family member, for a friend or neighbor, etc., present yourself to God as an available vessel, to use you to evangelize this person. Ask the Lord to give you opportunities to speak to that person. If for some reason you can not do this, for example because of distance, or because this person for some reason has rejected you and does not accept a word from you, pray this:

"Pray you therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest." Mat. 9:38

Something else very important: Pray that the Father will bring to their remembrance things that he has already spoken to them:

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you." John 14:26

I have heard testimonies of people, that at the moment when they would do something bad, a word or a thought came to their mind (maybe from the Sunday school or from a sermon they once heard) and prevented them from doing so.

"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine to them." 2Cor. 4:3-4

"Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience:" Eph. 2:2

Non born again people are under the influence of demonic deception, which hardens their hearts. You have to break this hardheartedness, blindness and deception. Use your power and order this dark veil to leave them so they can see the truth.

Note here that when I pray for myself, I command for example  healing on me and then I stand with faith on it even when I do not see immediate results. I fight from a position of victory and not to win.

When I pray for others, even when I know the Lord will touch them, the person I am praying for has more power over his own life than I have over him. This means that if they do not accept my prayer and do not act accordingly, they can cancel my prayer. It's different to pray for someone, and different when you do it for yourself.

The Lord is so good and kind that he will never force anyone to do anything against is will:

"Or despise you the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" Rom. 2:4

By entering into intercession prayer for someone, you can bind the demonic influences over him and thus help him to accept the truth of the gospel. The final decision, however, remains his. If you do not see immediate results, you continue to pray with faith and perseverance.

When Jesus gave the final instructions to His disciples, He said something very important:

"Whose soever sins you remit, they are remitted to them; and whose soever sins you retain, they are retained." John 20:23

Jesus' words here have to do with the temporary effect that sin has on the lives of people. That means that through intercessory prayer, they do not reap corruption because they sow in the flesh, as Paul tells us in Gal. 6:8. This of course is only temporary and we must insist on this prayer as long as the person continues to live in sin. Sometimes in cases of church discipline (there is a special message in this) we have the power to retain their sins. In other words, we withdraw our prayer and let them reap what they sow, with the hope they repent and return to the Lord.

Only God can forgive sins. We are only dealing with the effect that sin has on one's life.

Making a brief recap: How I interceed in prayer using the power the Lord has given me:

1. I thank God that He loves the person I pray for more than I do.

2. "In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine to them." 2Cor. 4:4

"Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience:" Eph. 2:2

I pray with authority and bind every demonic attack against this person, so that his eyes and mind may be opened and he may accept the truth of the gospel. I keep praying until the person accepts.

3. In case you can not speak to this person, (maybe due to distance, maybe this person for some reason has rejected you and does not accept a word from you) pray this:

"Pray you therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest." Mat. 9:38

If you ask God to save this person, you have not understood the power and authority that the Lord has given you. Start using it and you will start to have wonderful results!

To be continued...

The believer's authority - Part 1: The responsibility we have as believers

  BY Argie Simonis

The Church has given the devil a way too much power than he really has. This is because it is usually the easy way to justify its ineffectiveness against sickness, problems and all the devil's tactics.

There are certain things that the Lord has told us believers to do.

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7

To "resist the devil" that James writes to us here is not a suggestion, but a command. The Lord commands us to resist the devil with the power and authority He has given us. We must learn what power and authority has been given to us and begin to use it:

"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power," Eph. 1:18-19

There is a very wrong teaching saying that nothing happens in the world without being in the will of God. God does not treat us like puppets. He has given us the privilege of free will. Even if we make the wrong decision, the Lord will honor His Word because He can not take it back:

"My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." Psalm 89:34

As I have pointed out in previous messages, the devil and his demons are spirits who can not use their power in the physical on their own (this includes our body, mind, and emotions). They can only do so through a person who, either knowingly or in ignorance, will cooperate with them.

Let me give you a very simple example: When you consider the opinion of the world more important than what God says and you ignore His Word, you have already cooperated with the devil. When for example you believe the people who tell you that you are left alone and no one cares about you nor loves you, the Lord says to you:

"... for he has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" Rom. 8:35

If you ignore what the Lord is telling you through His Word and believe the world, you have already fallen into satan's trap  and are cooperating with him.

Another equally important thing that we must not forget is that Jesus, with His death on the cross and His Resurrection, took back from the devil the power that had been given to him by Adam and Eve because of their disobedience:

"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All power is given to me in heaven and in earth." Mat. 28:18

He handed over this power to us:

"Behold, I give to you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Luke 10:19

The power needed to exercise this power was given to us by the Holy Spirit:

"But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come on you: and you shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1:8

But the use of authority and power requires responsibility. In the previous verse we see that we are given the power of the Spirit so that we can become witnesses of Jesus "to the uttermost part of the earth."

I emphasize this because a very wrong picture has been given to prayer. People are not born again through prayer, but when they know the truth (John 8:32), and in order to do this, someone must tell them:

"For whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" Rom. 10:13-14

If you pray for someone to be born again without ever preaching the gospel to him, you will have no result. If for some reason you are not allowed to do it (due to distance for example) you can use this:

"Then said he to his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few;

Pray you therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest." Mat. 9:37-38

The responsibility for preaching the gospel has been given to humans and not to angels. Angels are spirits without physical bodies and have no such authority. Read the example of Cornelius in chapter 10 of Acts. The angel of the Lord came and told him to go to Peter to preach the gospel to him.

Peter also writes to us in his letter:

"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and stays for ever." 1Pet. 1:23

Just as a baby cannot be conceived in the womb without a sperm, the same is with the Word of God. It must be sown in one's heart before it can bear fruit.

Two remarks so far:

1. Prayer without appropriate actions does not bring results.

2. Of course there will be a time when we will rebuke the devil, but primarily prayer is not intended for spiritual warfare, but more to have fellowship with the Lord and to spend time with Him.

Paul writes to the Ephesians:

"Now to him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us," Eph. 3:20

Many stop in the middle and leave out the last part of the verse "according to the power that works within us." If there is no active power within you, that is, if you do not take responsibility for the power that the Lord has given you and you do not do what he tells you to do, you somehow "tie" His hands and limit what the Lord can do in your life you because you do not cooperate with Him.

"Thus said the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command you me." Isaiah 45:11 

God has given us believers the power and authority to be the extension of His hands here on Earth, and it is very important that we recognize this and take on our responsibilities!

In my next message I will go deeper into this topic of the authority we have as believers.

The believer's war-Relationships

 BY Argie Simonis

No matter what we do in our daily lives, there will always be someone who will irritate us, someone who will oppose us or cause us obstacles and difficulties. It can be in our workplace, in our friendly or even in our family environment. Behind all these "annoying" people, there is someone else, our real enemy, who incites them against us. There is a spiritual warfare that exists daily and we as believers must know it.

Many Christians have adopted the view that all the problems and adversities we face in life are exclusively in the physical realm and do not realize the spiritual nature behind them. In other words, they see things only on a superficial level and consider them as normal or natural.

The truth is that there is a battle raging every day in the spirit world.

This battle is for your heart and for the heart of every other person on earth.

God with His love tries to influence people and draw them to His righteousness and to Himself, so that they can live fully with Him, so that His blessings can be manifested in their lives.

The devil, on the other hand, is fighting to steal people's hearts away from God. He wants to fill their hearts with rubbish and corruption. And although most Christians recognize it to some degree, they do not realize how intense the war really is and how much they contribute to it through their actions.

So when you ignore this spiritual reality, you passively accept what comes against you. The choices you make, the things you say, the actions you take, and what you believe about what is happening around you determine whether God or the devil dominates your life. Satan can do nothing that is not in your will. He can do nothing without your cooperation and consent. But you have to recognize that you are in a battle.

Some people choose not to believe this, but whether they believe it or not, this battle is going on daily. Only when you realize this will you be able to resist and confront the devil and his methods. In the Word of God we read:

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7

Paul also writes:

"Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." 

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For 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." Ephesians 6:10-12

This refers to demonic forces. There is a chain of command, a power structure in the demonic realm, and here these different levels are listed. But beware that it says you are not fighting against flesh and blood. Many things that happen in your life are not just "natural" or "normal".

It is not your partner at work, it is not your neighbor and it is definitely not your husband or wife who is the problem. If you are not careful you can be negatively influenced and the devil can come and use it against you. If you can recognize this, you will be saved from many afflictions, sufferings and broken relationships. Of course, this does not mean that the person used by the devil to come against you disclaims any responsibility. He certainly has a responsibility that allowed satan to use him, but understanding this reality will help you to forgive much more easily. It will help you not to get angry or bitter with the person and to be able to walk with forgiveness. This way the relationship can be restored much more painlessly.

Sometimes we have to engage directly with the enemy. A typical example is of Jesus who rebuked Peter. We read the story:

"He said to them, But whom say you that I am?

And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 

And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Father which is in heaven." Matthew 16:15-17

After this, Jesus began to talk about what was to happen to Him:

"From that time forth began Jesus to show to his disciples, how that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.

Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from you, Lord: this shall not be to you.

But he turned, and said to Peter, Get you behind me, Satan: you are an offense to me: for you mind not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." Matthew 16:21-23

It is the same Peter  who, shortly after the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, recognized Jesus as the Son of the living God, tries to prevent Him from the way of the cross. Certainly Peter was shocked by this rebuke, but Jesus was not addressing Peter, but the devil who influenced him to speak these words, which in fact were against the will of God.

This rebuke may seem harsh, but be sure that there will come a time when this tactic will have to be applied. Whether you recognize it or not, the devil can speak to you directly through other people. On one hand we have the devil who tries to discredit God and prevent you from walking in your calling and on the other hand the Holy Spirit gives testimony to your heart and tries to make you open up and receive His Word. It is a spiritual war and in order to be victorious, you must know who you are and the power you have as a believer.

"Behold, I give to you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Luke 10:19

Amen!