239 - Prayers Satan Hates Group Study - 14

0:00 Hello and welcome back to Battle Plan, a podcast on spiritual warfare. I'm really enjoying sharing my small group study from my search, Prayer Satan Hates, and that's what we're going to cover today. There's a free downloadable PDF transcript of this podcast available on our website at active-faith.org under the resources tab for small group. Today we're going to talk about hearing voices. Mark 9, 20, I mean Mark 7, verse 29, new century version said, then Jesus said, the demon has left your daughter.

0:47 Have you ever had a voice in your head that seems to be telling you something that just seems wrong or out of character for you? Maybe that's why we need to take captive every thought. Let me share my experience in this area. I'll never forget the day I was in high school. It was a summer in central Texas and it was hot. We were busy with one of our many projects as dad always had a list ready when the summer break began. This one involved hauling old rock. The rocks came from an old broken down fence that one of the early settlers in Mason County had laboriously constructed.

1:32 It had been replaced by modern day Bob Warfence, complete with T-posts down the middle and braced cedar corner post strategically placed where the land rose or fell with the hill country terrain. We had filled that old pickup with all the weight those old shocks could handle and a little more. Dad wasn't one to waste time or space or energy or fuel. We made the most of every minute and every trip. My little brother and I had elected to ride in the back of the truck sitting on top of the rocks on the way back enjoying the breeze as we rocketed down the road from the rancher's property at a blazing speed of about 30 miles an hour.

2:13 One of life's simple pleasures that many today will never enjoy because of seatbelt laws and careful parents. We finally left the dirt road and pulled on the pavement and dad gunned it. Now we're going at least 45 or 50. You could hear and feel the shocks groan with every pebble on the highway. Dad slowly increased his speed until we were going about 55. For some reason I leaned over the tailgate and stared at the pavement. It felt like we were going 100. Though I knew the old truck could never go that fast, especially with a load that heavy. But it was hypnotic, almost like I was falling into a trance, a feeling I really had never experienced before.

2:59 That's when it happened. The voice. I heard it. I know it sounds crazy and I can tell you for a fact it felt crazy. But that voice still haunts me because of what it said. And I wonder how different my life would be if I had obeyed that voice command. I know now it was the voice of Satan or one of his demons. But at the time I didn't really make that connection. It was specific. It was direct. It was apparently assigned to me and I'm really glad I didn't away that voice. But I confess to you, I almost did.

3:40 Almost. What did it say? It was simple, just one word, one single word I almost obeyed, almost but not quite. If I had obeyed it, the whole course of my life would have changed. I'm glad I didn't. It said jump. It helped me to be deaf to the voice of Satan and his forces and tuned in to your words and your communications in Jesus name. In Luke 4 9 NLT it says, then the devil took him to Jerusalem to the highest point of the temple and said, if you are the son of God, jump off.

4:26 What are strong holes? In Corinthians 10 4 NLT says we use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. There are many strongholds in the world around us giving Satan a foothold, a toehold in our lives. We need a beachhead like Normandy, some small piece of territory we can make a stand and begin to fight the surrounding evil. We need to remember first of all that we currently live in enemy territory. We must acknowledge there is an enemy before we begin to fight him, right?

5:07 Satan is in control. He's called the God of this world for now. Second Corinthians 4 verse 4, Satan who is the God of this world has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They're unable to see the glorious light of the good news. They don't understand the message about the glory of Christ who is the exact likeness of God. So how do we fight him? How do we prepare? How did Jesus fight Satan when he was tempted for 40 days? He quoted the Bible every time. And by the way, he didn't just quote some random verse and use the same verse every time. He quoted a Bible verse that applied to the temptation he was being faced with. I think that's very important to note.

5:49 Acts 13 10 said, then he said, you son of the devil full of every sort of deceit and fraud and enemy of all that is good. Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? Do you know the scriptures? It's never too late to begin to study and learn them. Well, I guess that's not really true. You can wait until it's too late, but I hope you don't. I hope you begin now before it's too late. James 1 25, New Century version says, but the truly happy people are those who carefully study God's perfect law that makes people free and they continue to study it. They do not forget what they heard, but they obey what God's teaching says.

6:31 Those who do this will be made happy. Okay. How else do we fight? We study and pray. Start right away. Don't let Satan stay in control of your life. Second Corinthians 10 3 to 5. An IV says, for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets himself up against the knowledge of God. And we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

7:13 Now there's a war term. You take captives in a war. You're in a war, whether you realize it or not. Lord help me to first recognize the footholds that Satan has in my life, especially those that have become his strongholds. Next let help me to renounce them, reject them completely and then defeat them daily in my life from now on in Jesus name. Now how would Satan accomplish putting thoughts in our minds and making us think it's our own thoughts? He wouldn't say, you need porn, you need drugs. He would whisper, I need porn, I need drugs into our minds.

7:57 Then we think it's our own thoughts rather than his suggestion. Think about that. The strategies of the devil are cunning. I'm just saying. So in light of today's thoughts, let me suggest part of your personal battle plan might be consider the following thoughts about taking captive every thought that comes into your mind. I believe there are four ways we can take captive those thoughts. Number one, develop the fruits of the spirit. Galatians 5, 23, 22 and 23 in LT says, but the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

8:46 There's no law against these. So number one, develop the fruits of the spirit. Number two, focus on and look for the good in every situation. Philippians 4, 8, GNT says in conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise, things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely and honorable. So number two, focus on and look for the good in every situation. Number three, and this sounds weird until I explain it. Number three, think about your thoughts. Think about your thoughts. Why are you mad? Why are you sad? Why are you offended? See when we think about our thoughts and ask ourselves why we feel that way, this gives God a chance to speak to us about what we're thinking.

9:31 Job 13, 24 amplified. Why do you hide your face, Joe, as if offended and consider me your enemy? See why am I offended? Psalm 43, verse five, why are you in despair, O my soul? Why are you relentless and disturbed within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for him, for I shall again praise him, the help of my sad countenance and my God. So why am I sad? And then why am I mad? John 7, 23 amplified. If to avoid breaking the law of Moses, a man undergoes circumcision on the Sabbath, why are you angry with me for making a man's whole body well on the Sabbath when they were mad at Jesus for healing on the Sabbath?

10:15 Why are you mad? Why are you sad? Why are you offended? Is it because man has wanted you to be offended or are you offended because it's offensive to God and to his word? It's two very different reasons. So develop the fruits of the spirit, number one, and then two, focus on look for the good. Number three, think about your thoughts. Ask yourself why you feel that way. And number four, make everything part of your pursuit of God. See a mind that's captured by the wonder of God has no room for anything else. Colossians 3, 16, amplified. Let the spoken word of Christ have its home within you, dwelling in your heart and mind, permeating every aspect of your being as you teach spiritual things and admonish and train one another with all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

11:08 And let me remind you to keep praying because prayer works. God loves you and I love you. Have a great day.