triumphministries

When Jesus asked the Father to glorify Him, it was so the Father would be glorified. As He is so are we in this world in the area of glory, not just in healing, miracles and signs. It seems so many are fighting the devil with such tenacity, they cannot draw close to God. Who has the time, if all your time is spent fighting a defeated foe? And then bragging about beating him? As Jesus asked the disciples why are you rejoicing about demons fleeing, when you should rejoice that your names are written in the Book of Life (Luke 10:20). The focus is skewed. Of course they (demons) fled because His name, Jesus Christ and faith in that name heals and causes demons to flee. (Acts 3:16) Bragging about something that is a gift is pride in a gift wrapped box, for the enemy.

Focusing on kicking the devil's butt is not glorifying God, but us and/or the devil. Saying we kicked the devil and got healed or healed someone else by our actions is making this about us. Saying He healed me or them by His stripes and grace and Blood makes the focus on Him. Even Peter and John informed the astonished people near the Gate Beautiful when the lame man walked and leaped for joy, it was God’s power not theirs nor their godliness that made him whole (Acts 3:12-13). This is not the weak-willed perspective of "if it is His will". This is knowing IT IS HIS WILL because of JESUS and His finished work, not because we are so good at butt-kicking; but because He is so Good at being faithful.

Spending the majority of our time focusing on what the devil is doing and how to counter him, puts us not only at great disadvantage, but invalidates “It is Finished”, He came in the flesh, the Cross was enough. We tread on scorpions and serpents (we don't have sparing matches with them). We don’t make them the focus of our day or walk with Him. And we tread on them because of who Jesus Christ is and His finished work, not because of self-effort. Let’s humble ourselves as earthen vessels filled with the excellence of His power. (2Cor 4:7). We are never encouraged to look to the devil, look to the devil, we are told to look to Jesus and our faces will never be covered with shame. Without Him we can do nothing, with Jesus we can do all things. The enemy wants us to fight for what is already ours…how can we ever gain it when we already possess it as heirs of God, co-heirs with Christ? It will be a perpetual fight, that never ends.

When we attempt to bring healing by self-effort/performance/works/method we are a downward slope towards the enemy’s camp. We are bordering on metaphysics when we try to control healing, deliverance or salvation. As if it were possible. It is true Christian healing is not the only available method to produce healing, but for believers it is. We honor our Father by honoring the Son and His finished work and we honour the Son by yielding to the One who has replaced Him, the Teacher within, Holy Spirit. Being led by the Spirit, who will guide and reveal and instruct us what is needed for each person. It is the “number of hairs on the head”, unique, individual kind of healing, not a cookie-cutter technique.

Independence from God is what conceives this pride and pride bears its offspring self-effort.  The attitude of, “well I have everything He has (I am an heir) so who needs Him...I’ll just turn the world upside down on my own”. That always leads to us standing on our heads, off balance. We are the branches, not the vine. Humility is a small price to pay for His riches in glory, for His power abiding in us and flowing freely. It starts with salvation "I believe Jesus Christ"...that is the first step of humility...I need a Saviour...we are not to then take over from there; with the mindset “I can do this on my own as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.” Without Christ Jesus we are not righteous and when we try to be independent, it no longer is all the promises are Yes and Amen…because they are only Yes and Amen in HIM (Christ).

We have to be humble with Him, first before we can be with others...humble ourselves to His mighty hand....the rest is easy. Humbling ourselves to our spouse, brother/sister, parent is not difficult when we have first submitted to God. But how can we submit to God (which is the grounds for humility), if we don’t trust Him in the first place? And how can we come to trust Him, if we are busy taking over? How can we submit when we don’t even know Holy Spirit, the Person of God who indwells us and  who leads us into all truth and teaches us concerning all things? Why would you submit to someone you didn't trust? That's why false teachers are so dangerous...they require full submission and gain trust, initially by seduction and later by oppression. But we cannot serve two masters. We must decide who we shall submit to? The One who made us, or the one who wants to destroy us? God never oppresses...He is the Spirit of Liberty. He gives choice…humble yourself under My mighty hand and I will exalt you in due time is His offer. When we humble ourselves, He does not kick us in the teeth and remind us of our flaws or limitations, He exalts us. The maker of all things exalts us!!!! Now that is humility. We do not have to submit, but without it we are adrift in our own egos, man-made doctrine and false humility. He offers choices, but the choice is ours just as in salvation. No arm-twisting. No conditional love. No you had better or else. Just the offer,  plain and direct…humble yourself and I will exalt you. We get the best part of the deal…being exalted by God…now that’s a hefty gift.

Humility is the key to His power, not kicking the enemy's butt! Our weakness makes His power perfect.....That's how we even got saved by grace not by might, not by power, but by His Spirit that woos us, by the Father that draws us to the Son and the Son that draw us to the Father. It is weakness first, then power; humility then exaltation. Who gave us the faith to believe such an unbelievable Gospel? We didn’t conjure it up, most us didn’t even understand when we were on the brink of accepting the greatest offer ever made, what was being offered.

The enemy will flee when we submit to God (believe what he says) and resist him through submission to the Lord, not when we going running headlong screaming in his face until we are hoarse. Jesus never screamed his head off to make the enemy move. HE simple told him to go. It isn’t the volume that causes the enemy to flee, it is His name (Jesus Christ) and faith in His name. If we are weak in faith who is there to help us? Holy Spirit,   the Helper abiding, indwelling, God Himself ready 24/7, a request away.

Humility is the key to His power as paradoxical as that may seem. “He resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” does not me we pretend we are worms on our bellies, but does indicate we know that He is God and the Source of all things and we are one with that Source but we are not the Source of Him. Try and be God for a day and see where that lands you; either in the insane asylum or the bed of exhaustion. Either way it was never the intended place God has prepared for you.

We cannot afford to have Holy Spirit as our minion, side-kick, assistant or apprentice; telling Him what to do. That is the devil’s device so we will have limited power. That is what satan tried to do in heaven (be as God) and we can never forget where that landed him. We can only do so much as humans, but nothing is impossible with God. It is the belief in what or whom that matters not just believing (all things are possible to him that believes in what or whom?) in Him.

It is as basic as who made whom. I am His creation, He created me. I did not create God (Him). And yet in His humility He gave me the choice to be in union with Him for eternity. I think God is the most humble of ALL!

Let us glorify You Lord with everything, every breath every choice for we are YOURS forevermore. Amen ~