How to Fight Temptation and Win – Part 3/3

And we are now looking forward to sharing the third segment on how to fight temptation and, most importantly, win. Yeah, fight temptation and win. We have talked some about the need to hate sin, but we’re really going to zero in on that today.

And it comes to a place of loving Yahweh. To love Yahweh is to abhor sin. Let’s start with Romans chapter 12 and verse 9 – Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. – Now, the word translated “abhor” here is meaning “to dislike, abhor, have a horror of.” Have a horror of sin! Now that’s a pretty intense form of hatred, to have a horror for sin. And not just certain sins. We’re showing a movie here in our theater this week called “Sound of Freedom.” Horrific sin that is being exposed and fought against. And it is horrific!

But there’s other sins that are horrific. We just don’t maybe think that they’re all that significant to us because they’re not things that we necessarily hate so much because we’ve kind of grown accustomed to seeing it all the time. I can tell you that every time I come in on Shabbat morning and I see the crowds in the center square in their farmer’s market, not that I judge the people, because they don’t know any better, but I can’t stand to see all that commerce taking place on the Holy Sabbath. And that’s probably because I’ve been observing the Sabbath since 1990, 89, somewhere around there. And I’m grown accustomed to it and it just bothers me when I see people out there doing their normal things. And it doesn’t make me better than them. It just, they just don’t know, most of them.

So, but we’re called to have this horror of sin. And the Hebrew version here in Psalm chapter 36 – An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked: There is no fear of Elohim before his eyes.
² For he flatters himself in his own eyes, When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.
³ The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit; He has ceased to be wise and do good.
⁴ He devises wickedness on his bed; He sets himself in a way that is not good; He does not abhor evil. – So, the Hebrew word for “abhor” is 3988: “To reject, despise, refuse.” Pretty strong words here. To despise. To despise.

It’s pretty evil, this world we live in. And it’s pretty easy to despise when evil is done to us. But sometimes we are likely to hate the evil a little bit less if it’s something done to somebody else that we don’t even know or have any relationship with.

And then, sometimes we don’t so much hate the evil that is being done to Yahweh. And the evil done to Yahweh probably should bother us more than anyone else. No one is less deserving of evil being done to Him than Yahweh our Father. No one is more deserving of our love than Yahweh our Father. So, it says in Psalm 97 verse 10 – You who love Yahweh, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. – And so, part of our love for Yahweh with all of our heart, soul, and strength is a hatred for that which is against Him. That harms His cause, that hinders His work.

Sin we must absolutely hate, or it’ll be really difficult for us to overcome. If you love it too much and you don’t hate it, if you don’t have a holy hatred for that sin that too easily ensnares us, then we’re not really at war against it the way we should be.

And Romans chapter 8 verse 7 says – Because the carnal mind is enmity against Elohim; – The carnal mind is at war against Elohim, why? – for it is not subject to the law – the Torah – of Elohim, nor indeed can be. – So, really the strength of our love for Yahweh should be the strength of our hatred for that which is against Yahweh. It’s sin that hurts innocent children. It’s people who are not in relationship with the Most High that are doing evil deeds around us. Things that we see in here too often.

And so, we need to be more than just sad at what’s going on. We have to actually hate what’s going on! And when we hate the sin that would otherwise ensnare us, that is the first real step toward really fighting and overcoming! You have to first have a holy hatred for it! It’s not until we have a holy hatred for our sins, it’s not until we realize these things are trying to destroy us!

These things are trying to ruin our life! And they ruin the lives of others. And they harm the cause of Yahweh! It’s not until we hate the cigarettes, we hate the alcohol, we hate the porn, we hate the anger, it’s not until we hate the contentions and the strife and the arguing, it’s not until we hate the things that seek to bind us, that we can really find that victory!

If we hate strife, we take steps to avoid fighting and arguing. Fighting and arguing is a sin, for which if we practice, according to Galatians chapter 5, those who practice these things will not inherit the Kingdom of Yahweh.

The flesh wants what it wants. We have to detach, realize we are detached from that flesh and believe that. If our minds are too focused on having our rights rather than fulfilling our responsibilities, we’re lacking something.

Most of you listening to the broadcast are probably Americans or Canadians or in free countries. And in a moment of temptation, we see it when we value this freedom of choice, we value that as Americans. And we might be inclined just to take it, especially when the whole world’s selling this idea of “Do what thou wilt.” And we feel free maybe to return to the patterns of sin we’ve done before. We think that we’ll suffer no consequence and that somehow Yahweh is obligated to forgive us anyway.

But in reality, we can’t be thinking that way. We can’t be thinking that way. We are not free individuals, we’re not! We are bound to do the will of Yahweh, we are bound to that. Romans 6:22 says – But now having been set free from sin, and having become – What? – slaves of Elohim, you have your fruit to holiness, and in the end, everlasting life. – As Americans, we like to think we’ve got this freedom. Woohoo, freedom, freedom to do as we choose. We’re not slaves. We’re not servants of anything.

And there was a lot of people in the first century Judaism; Yahushua says “You’re, you’re enslaved. You’re a slave of sin.” – “Oh, we’re not, we’re not in bondage, we’re sons of Abraham.” You are in bondage. We’re all also trained not to like the idea of some authority figure telling us what to do. And so, we’ve got to return to the pattern of reality—You’re a slave, no matter what. If you think you’re free to sin and do what you want, you’re really bound. You’re a slave to sin. You’re either a slave to sin or you’re a slave to Elohim.

Pick your, pick your choice. Yeah, you have the freedom to choose that anytime you want, who you want to be enslaved to, the One who loves you and cares about you and wants to give you eternal life, or the one who wants to destroy you and destroy your life and destroy the people around you. I think I’m going with Yahweh. And so, we have to realize our, our being bound to Elohim is actually freedom from sin. And that’s the worst thing to be bound to. So they out there, they think that we’re in bondage, “Oh, you’re in bondage, you’re in bondage,” because we obey Yahweh. Really? They’re in bondage because they obey their flesh. We’re all in bondage, and I’ll take my bound liberty over their liberated bondage any day of the week.

Now, another problem is, we have our own ideas on what it really means to sin. We got our own thoughts that we have not really fully yielded ourselves to Yahweh’s definition of what sin actually is. And we’ve allowed the culture around us to help us filter, or dictate to us what’s right and what’s wrong. We think murder, rape, and violent men are being evil because that affects men. We can relate to that because we are directly affected. But are we connected enough to the Spirit of the living Elohim that we learn to hate what’s being done to Yahweh the Father as I said earlier—when people break the Sabbath, when they disrespect His name, when they take the name out of the Bible. Does that bother us? It should bother us. We should hate that! We hate the work of those who are doing these things.

Doesn’t mean we hate the people! In fact, we love the people enough that we want to help bring light, to bring truth and the true way of Yahweh to them. Because we ourselves didn’t know at one point in our lives how it was.

And so, again, it’s so important that, and some people think, “Well Yahweh can take care of Himself. Why do I have to worry about what bothers Him?” If you have the Spirit of the living Elohim in you, it will bother you when He and His cause are harmed. To love Yahweh is to hate the things that harm His cause and harm Him. To hate Yahweh is to not care about the things that bother Him. We have to care. It has to matter to us. It’s very important that it matters to us the things that harm Him!

Suppose there’s a little boy that lived along a beach, or he was visiting a beach, and he spent six days building this huge, elaborate sandcastle. It had little rooms in it and everything was really, really awesome. And he was kind of in this corner of the beach, you know, his family didn’t know he was doing it. He couldn’t hardly wait till he’d get back and show his family what he had done. And he worked long hours. And so, as he finished it up, he says, “I’m ready now to show it to my parents.” And, he goes back to, to where they’re staying, he says, “Mom, dad, come and look.” And, he got back and it was completely destroyed. A boy that lived on, you know, lived in that area, come on with a baseball bat and just knocked it all down until there’s nothing but a pile of sand. Would that bother you at all? I mean, would it trouble your heart that someone did that to him? I hope so. I once told my daughters that story and they said, “Oh, why would he do something so terrible?”

And, but if you think about it, this is what is being done to Yahweh every day. Yahweh created a beautiful world for us to live in, a perfect world. And man comes in and wants to destroy everything. And Satan, the devil comes in to destroy whatever Yahweh wants to create.

Now, Yahweh is no little boy; but the only reason He’s holding back His wrath is because He loves you and me. He’s waiting for the day we’ll see the light and we’ll change. That’s the only thing holding Him back because He could flip, He could take His, He could flip the entire earth with His finger. There’s nothing to it. He could think and it’s consumed completely. And so, the very ones who are angering Him every day with their sin, and their rebellion, and their hatred of Him, He’s holding their life in His hands and saying, “Not yet. I’m waiting. I want to do all I can to save you from what comes from My judgment. And in fact, I’ll offer My own Son to die for you so that you’ll see how much you’re loved. And so that you’ll see there is a way to be delivered from hell.”

2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 3 – For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in Elohim for pulling down strongholds,
⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Elohim, – This is the war right here! Not carnal, but mighty, capable of casting down arguments, capable of pulling down strongholds and any high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Elohim. Everything happens right here in the thought life. – every thought must be taken to the – captivity to the obedience of Messiah, – to the point where you are –
⁶ being ready to punish all disobedience – And that’s what we’re going to be doing; thousand year reign – when your obedience is fulfilled. – Our mentality needs to be “Any thought that exalts itself against the knowledge of Elohim is a thought to be taken captive, put in a box and goodbye. I want no part you.“

Any thought, because that’s where the battleground is, the thought life. If you win the battle of your mind, you’ll win whatever your flesh wants to do. It starts in the mind. And so, the mind is our battleground! That’s where it all takes place, is in the mind, a place that no one can see. But Yahweh sees, and the enemy sees when he puts thoughts in your mind your response to it. Okay.

And so now, I know, we live in a land where, yeah, people are just kind of not really hot and not really cold. Like this place, Revelation 3:15, Laodicea – I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
¹⁶ So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. – If we don’t have the hatred for evil, we will not be hot; we will be lukewarm.

But the world wants to constantly desensitize you to the evil. And that’s the enemy’s trick, so that you will become from a hot place to a lukewarm place, and eventually maybe even a cold place. But he’s happy. The enemy too is happier that you’re lukewarm because Yahushua would rather you be cold or hot. Pick what you want. Pick your side. Don’t straddle the fence! Make your decision!

Now, a hatred for evil often inspires people to action. When I was growing up, drunk driving became more and more aware, prevalent, and the evils of it. And thanks to an organization called “MADD” that brought a lot of attention to it, M-A-D-D, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, laws were passed to more severely punish people who were drinking and driving. Those who’ve experienced fatherlessness might join Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization. And those who have been abused might choose to be counselors and therapists. Coming face to face with evil, a lot of times when you’re on the receiving end of the evil, may inspire you to hate the evil enough to take action against it.

And what Scripture is telling us is, “Take action!” Action against it is what reveals your love for Yahweh and your hatred for evil. We’re all called to do something about it.

And if we don’t hate the evil enough, we’ll just kind of be like armchair believers, sit back and, “Oh, it’s terrible what that world’s doing out there,” you know, watch Fox News and, “Oh, that’s terrible, that’s terrible,” and do nothing about it! Just comment how bad everything is and do nothing that brings us to action. We are all in a war and we have to be actively fighting something. And hatred for what’s going on in the world should call us to action.

Now, don’t be motivated by bitterness because the enemy will use that, okay? Be motivated by a love for Yahweh, not a bitterness, okay? A love for our fellow man causes us to hate the evil that’s being done to our fellow man and to Yahweh. This hatred for evil moves us to be passionate for the things of Yahweh and compassionate toward those who are being harmed by the evil.

And so, we will move with intensity instead of being lethargic. We will move with action, not just mere words. A major reason David was called “A man after Yahweh’s own heart,” Psalm 101:1-4. He says – I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O Yahweh, I will sing praises.
² I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. – A man after Yahweh’s own heart. Why? –
³ I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; – He hated that work! Didn’t say he hated them! He hated the work of those who fall away. He did not want that work to cling to him. And so he had to hate it so that it would not cling to him. –
⁴ A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness. – I want nothing to do with it. No familiarity with it. He hated the evil.

If you hate evil, you’re not going to enjoy that TV show or that movie that glorifies it. You’re not going to like that show that glorifies it. If you hate evil, you’re going to be aware of the tendency of evil things to cling to you. Cling to you and cause you to minimize it. That’s the danger of Hollywood and television, books and magazines; and even scrolling on your Facebook feed can desensitize you to where you don’t hate the evil as you should.

And so David says, “I’m not going to put any of that wicked stuff before my eyes because I know it can cling to me and I don’t want it to cling to me.” I don’t want it to cling to me!

TV programmers know, if they shove the things that are shocking, vile and simple in your face long enough, it will disarm you. And that’s what happened to our culture at large. That’s what happened. Twenty some years ago, they’re passing laws that state constitutions were passing laws saying, “Marriage is between one man and one woman.” Twenty years of desensitizing you to where you don’t hate the evil anymore, and the nation passed laws saying, “Yes, men and men can get married. Women and women can get married.” The enemy knows, little by little exposure, exposure, exposure, exposure. David says, “I want no exposure. I don’t want that stuff in front of me. I don’t want to be desensitized to it. I don’t want to not hate it anymore. I want to always hate. I have to hate the work of those who fall away. And so I will not let this stuff sit in front of me all the time. I don’t want it!” Now, you go to Walmart, you’ll see plenty of it, okay? But you don’t have to pipe it into your house, okay?

So, if you want a guideline, if you want to stay pure, then Philippians 4:8 is in order – Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, if there is anything praiseworthy– meditate on these things. – Beautiful, beautiful Scripture! So that you are sensitive, so that you will be pure. And so that the good things will cling to you! If what you’re watching even takes the edge off of your spiritual zeal, you don’t need it. You don’t need it!

Now, Scriptures themselves contain stories that people sin. But with the intention of showing you the consequence of that, to teach you to not love the sin, to teach you to hate the sin. Hollywood, on the other hand, uses their stories to glorify the sinner, marginalize the sinner, or sometimes even demonize those who stand against the sinner.

So, here’s the thing. (James 1:27) – Pure and undefiled religion before Elohim and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. – Now, we don’t have to separate ourselves completely from the world, otherwise you’d have to go out of the world. But the world don’t have to be in you. And you don’t have to be stained, spotted by the world.

So, how do we manage to be in the world, yet not of the world? Two things. Number one, fill yourself with the things of Elohim, daily. The Word of Yahweh and the fellowship of His people. Psalm 119:104 says – Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. – Because he got understanding, he hated the things that were false. Because he meditated on these precepts, and so (Psalms 119:162) – he rejoiced at Yahweh’s Word as one who found great treasure. – Great treasure.

If you find Yahweh’s Word to be a great treasure, then you will hate and abhor things that are not of truth. And you will love His Torah. And so, Yahweh’s Word will expose every false way and place a hatred for the lies, a hatred for the wickedness going around you, so that you will take action against it in others, and most importantly, action against it in your own personal battle against it!

Makes sense? It’s so important! Now, if you’re in fellowship with Yahweh’s people, then we’re in contact with people who will encourage us, who will build us up, who will strengthen us, edify us, bear the load with us, and be an example to us of how to walk as Yahushua walked. And so, the more we meditate on it, the more our eyes will be open to the reality of what’s really going on in the spiritual realm. And so, the more we’ll want to do something against it.

So, (Psalms 1:1-3) – Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
² But his delight is in the law of Yahweh, And in His law he does meditate day and night.
³ He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. – So, in the midst of the evil around us, if our meditation day and night is in the Word of Yahweh, our meditation is on what’s pure and righteous before Yahweh; if we will be immersed in His Spirit, we will have life and we will have peace. And we will find the sinful thoughts to be a foreigner! An intruder coming in seeking to take us captive! And we’re going to say, “Get out of here. I want no part of you!”

And Yahweh says, “We will prosper like a tree planted by the rivers of water.” We will never lack what we need. Even in drought, because we’re planted by the rivers of water, there’s always something to give us drink. And we’ll have what we need. And that’s where we need to be.

And that’s the one of the advantages, actually, of keeping the Sabbath, is you have one day at the end of your work week where you not only rest physically, but spiritually you can regroup, you can get restored, and you can refocus. And if you’re not using the Sabbath for that, boy, you’re missing it! You are missing out! If you’re listening to this message today, kind of half-heartedly, doing your own thing, but you’re not really listening, you’re missing out! It’s your loss, not mine. It’s your loss.

Ever wonder why Christians who’ve had this great conversion experience, you know, and everything, and then a week or two, a month or two later, they’re right back where they were. They don’t keep the Sabbath day. They don’t have that one day to just focus on the things of Elohim, and rest, and get separated, turn off the world, just focus on the things of the Spirit. And if you are a Sabbath keeper and you don’t use the Sabbath for that, you’re missing what Yahweh wants to give you. He’s trying to give you a gift. He’s trying to give you a gift. I can tell you, the last 33-34 years of my life, keeping Shabbat, as I’ve kept Shabbat Shabbat has kept me. I can tell you that for a fact. It has kept me.

During times of weakness, it brings me back to the Scriptures. During times where the work week was crazy, it brings me back to the things of the Spirit. We need that. And I remember, “Yahweh is still Elohim. He’s still on the throne. No matter what life’s circumstances might be, He’s still on the throne.” And I regain His perspective on the world, and on me, on life, and on sin. And so, the more I fill my mind with His perspective, the more I’m going to abhor the sin that too easily would ensnare me. And I’m going to find that sin to be an enemy and not a friend; and not something to take lightly.

And the more I realize the temporary nature of this world. And with that fellowship, if you don’t have anything available, then yes, online is a wonderful option for you. Share phone numbers back and forth. Talk to each other through the week. Build each other up. Get to know each other. I encourage that.

Now, if most of our friends are pretty much those who have no fear of Elohim, and have no really sincere relationship with Him, it’s just kind of half-hearted, then you might say, “Well, you know, my friend over here, he doesn’t really love Yahweh that much. He’s doing His own thing. But really, he’s a nice guy. He’s a nice guy overall. He’s just a nice guy.” Now, please don’t think I’m being judgmental. But how can someone who willfully, intentionally disregards the things of Elohim, and ignore the One who put him on the earth, be a nice guy? Well, he might be nice to you. Might give you the shirt off his back. But you’ve got to reframe your mind. This man’s at war against the Most High. Don’t just, I’m not saying hate him, hate the sin that’s in him, as much as you hate the sin that’s in you. And he’s not being nice to Yahweh.

I know that’s a tough one. I don’t mean to sound judgmental, or harsh, or like you’re better than somebody else. That’s not what I’m trying to say. I’m trying to get you to define properly what it means to be a nice guy. Maybe he’s friendly to you. That’s great. Glad he’s friendly. But remember, that lukewarmness is always knocking on your door all the time. And (1 Corinthians 15:33) – “Evil company – can – corrupt good habits.” You think, “Well, he’s a nice guy.” You know, okay, nice to you in some ways.

But we have to realize: love for Yahweh is more important than love for a fellow man. It’s the first and greatest commandment, to love Him. We can’t look at people through the eyes of the culture and the eyes of the world. We’ve got to look at people through the eyes of Yahweh. Because you might think, “Well, he’s a nice guy,” and you never shared the gospel with him, because he’s already a nice guy. What’s he need the gospel for? He’s already a pretty decent guy.

Yahweh help us all. You can be corrupted by him, because – (Proverbs 13:20) – He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed. – And that’s why you keep your kids out of public school, brothers and sisters. You’re asking them to be a companion of fools, who have not had the rod of correction driven from them. And so, they’re vulnerable, especially when they’re by themselves. Yahushua always sent His disciples out two by two.

And this is not even mentioned: the indoctrination they’re going to get from teachers, and how it desensitizes them to evil. And so, what we’re looking at here, might be a paradox—you hate the sin, but the unsaved sinner, even though he’s Yahweh’s enemy, you choose not to hate the person. And sometimes it’s difficult when you seeing somebody doing what you actually do hate, to be nice to him and be friendly with him, act like you’re caring about them and loving them, and all that. But you have to, because that’s what Yahushua did for you. While you were yet sinners, Yahushua died for you, manifesting love to you.

And so, your opportunity, when you see someone not manifesting love to Yahweh, manifest love to them. Show love to them, so they will see the benefit of walking in the love of Yahweh. 1 Corinthians 5:9 says – I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.
¹⁰ Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would have to go out of the world. – Yahushua visited the sinners, was not afraid to rub the shoulders with them time and time, and He cared about them. The sick needed a physician, but the normal daily fellowship was with His disciples, right?

And He would often go out by Himself to reconnect with Yahweh, go up the mountain to pray, to maintain that connection to the Father, because the people around Him, even His own disciples were a mess sometimes. And so, He had to destroy the works of the devil without being stained by the works of the devil. That’s our mission. That’s our mission. Yes, hate the sinner is not the answer. Hate the sin, yes, is the answer. Love the sinner to the extent that you’re manifesting the love of Yahweh.

And so, yes, the homosexual, the reviler, the fornicator, the alcoholic, the abuser of drugs; yes, it’s okay that, you know they’re not believers, you know they just need a salvation, they just need a Savior in their life. And so, yeah, even though he gives you the shirt off his back, he seems to care about people, get you out of a jam, pull you out of a ditch, change your tire, whatever. You might want to marginalize the other things he’s doing, but you can’t. You can’t, because you care about them, and you don’t want to see them being judged in that final day and worthy of the lake of fire.

And so, now, among us, he says –
¹¹ But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner–
¹² For what have I to do with those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?
¹³ But those who are outside Elohim judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.” – In this case, it was a man who claimed to be a believer, yet he was committing incest, having his father’s wife. He says, “Don’t have anything to do with him. He needs to be separated from you, separated from you.” Otherwise, the world may think, “Oh, it’s okay to live this way and still be a believer.” They’re not going to see any difference between you and the world.

That’s why you have to, in the congregation, there’s a time for this fellowship excommunication. Because how can we turn the world upside down, when we’re already been turned upside down by the world? We’re called to have a holy standard. We can’t be lights to the world if we’re content to sit in darkness, and live in darkness. You must hate the darkness! You must hate the evil! You must hate the sin! Hate the way that’s going on today. – You love righteousness – he says, Psalm 45 verse 7 – and hate wickedness; Therefore Elohim, Your Elohim, has anointed You – Talking about Yahushua here – with the oil of gladness more than Your companions. – Seek good and not evil. Backing up here. I guess I missed the Scripture. So Scripture is Amos 5 verse 14. He says – Seek good and not evil, that you may live. So Yahweh Elohim of hosts will be with you, as you have spoken.
¹⁴ Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate. It may be that Yahweh Elohim will be gracious to the remnant of Yoseph. – And so, show love and compassion and kindness to unbelievers around you. That’s how they’re going to recognize the love of Messiah. But at the same time, don’t allow that to affect you.

Can we learn to hate the sin enough to turn away from it and be completely free from it? Can we learn to hate the sin enough to want to free others from the bondage of it? Can we learn to hate the sin enough to get off our easy chairs and get out there in the battlefield to help eliminate the sin in this world? Can we learn to hate the sin enough that we’re hurt when another member of the body of Messiah is being caught up in it and hurt by it? Can we learn to hate the sin enough that we see it the way Yahweh sees it? Or are we too connected to our flesh? Or where it really bother us? And what we need to be, is so connected to Yahweh’s Spirit that it hurts us to see a person doing things against Yahweh and things that are offensive to Him.

Our relationship with Messiah should be deep enough that it does bother us when we see things being done that bother Him. That’s what I’m talking about. Relationship! A relationship being so deep and connected that we cry out for the abominations that are happening on the earth! Yahweh is love! He’s all about love. And sin is not love and cannot be about love. There is not a sin that is committed that fails to be an act of hatred toward Yahweh or toward man. Every one of them manifests hatred toward Yahweh and toward man.

Now, Yahushua, it is written as we read here in Psalm 45 verse 7, loved righteousness, hated wickedness. Being connected to that kind of mentality that Yahushua had leads us to where we love the Word. Because we love the Word, we hate anything that goes against it. And we’re aware and sensitive to how the enemy tries to get us to disobey the Word.

For instance, holding grudges. That’s a big one! Holding grudges is a big one! And we’ll hate holding grudges. We don’t want to hold grudges. And we’ll cease from holding grudges. In 2 Corinthians 2 verse 10, it says – Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Messiah,
¹¹ lest Satan should take advantage of us; we are not ignorant of his devices. – Satan has certain things he does over and over again. You can’t be ignorant. You have to be aware of it, what he does, how he does it. If you’re not aware of his tactics, you’re more likely to be caught off guard. You’re more likely to stumble when he places that stumbling block ahead of you.

And so, you have to know what he’s up to. Know what he’s up to! And they knew exactly what he was up to. And so they were not going to allow grudges and bitterness to take hold and be defiled by that. And so Paul says, “You forgive them, I forgive them. Whatever you got there, I’ll forgive.”

The word “satan” in Hebrew, translated “satan, adversary.” An adversary. Here is an example. 1 Peter 5:8 through 9 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary – satan – the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. – So –
⁹ Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. – Hebrew “satan” means “adversary, enemy, one who cherishes animosity.” Another lexicon says, “he is our foe, our adversary, the one who accuses us, hounds us, and tries to cause us to stumble.” And we want no part of what he’s after. The antidote to being aware and fighting him is: sobriety! Sobriety. Pay attention to what’s going on, buddy. Look what’s happening.

(1 Thessalonians 5:6-8) – Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.
⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.
⁸ But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. – So be vigilant, he said. What does vigilant mean? “Give strict attention to. Give strict attention to. Be cautious. Be active. Take heed, lest through some remission and indolence, some destructive calamity, someone suddenly overtake one.”

So we have to be on guard constantly because we know, someone out there, an adversary in the spiritual realm, wants to seek, kill, destroy, take everything from us.

And so, not every thought entering your mind recognized, is necessarily yours. One of Satan’s favorite tricks, I’ve found is: first, he’ll plant an evil thought in your mind, and just because he planted that in your mind, he’ll accuse you of being a bad person because you had that thought in your mind when he’s the one that did it. And people who are prone to feeling guilty a lot, are like, “Oh man, I must be a really bad person to have that terrible thought.” No, Yahushua, He was tempted with all kinds of things, but He fought against it, and so He was without sin. He was tempted to worship Satan himself. He was tempted to do all kinds of things, jump off a building, test Yahweh. He was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

So the fact that you have a temptation does not mean you’ve sinned. It’s what you do with that, if you entertain it, if you’re like, “Yeah,” and you roll with it, what he’s asking you to do, to love the sin in some way; that’s where you cross the line. And so, be aware of how he operates.

And so, one of the things we want to do here is pay close attention to how he operated in Genesis chapter 3 verse 1 – Now (the serpent) Satan was more cunning than any beast of the field – More cunning, meaning what? What’s the word “cunning” mean? “Subtle,” in the King James, has to do with “a prudence in negative sense, shrewdness; and be contrasted with the positive synonym meaning ‘to be skillful and wise’, which is always positive; its cognates in Arabic, Aramaic, and Syriac are negative in tone, ‘ill-natured’, ‘shrewd’. In Greek terms, ‘panourgos’ and ‘panourgia’ used in the LXX and in the New Testament, ‘ready to do anything.’ Ready to do anything, usually in a bad sense of tricky and cunning behavior.”

That’s what he’s all about. This is according to the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament. And so, we’re told, even, to be wise and crafty in a smart sense, in a good sense, by Yahushua Himself saying (Matthew 10:6) – Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. – And so, Satan is a crafty, skilled, shrewd, subtle deceiver. And we need to know that, and be wiser than he because we have the wisdom of Yahweh, which is always wiser than his wisdom! We cannot be complacent. We can’t just bounce along through life unaware of the enemy where he’s functioning. We’ve got to pay attention because everything going on around you is spiritual. Yeah, everything is spiritual. So pay attention to what’s going on in the spiritual. And then you’ll know what’s going on, what the enemy is up to, what he’s up to, what he’s trying to do in your life. And therefore you’ll know and you’ll be able to adequately fight against him.

And so, Satan’s wise, but we can be wiser because we have the wisdom of Yahweh’s Word. And he comes as a serpent, like a snake in the grass, like a snake in the grass, always looking to be underfoot, unnoticed.

Years ago, a child was bitten by a copperhead on my property. And I went out to go look for it. I’m looking, looking, it was getting close to dark, flashlight, flashlight, looking around, looking around. And the very spot where they said the snake was, I couldn’t find it. And I literally walked over top of it. And it lunged and tried to bite me as well. That’s how subtle it was. Even though I’m looking on the ground, I could not find it. And I walked right over it. And well, it turned out we prayed for her, and she actually didn’t have any symptoms whatsoever. No redness around where she was bitten and no symptoms. So praise Yahweh for that.

So he’s underfoot! Always looking for a place where he can get you. But if you’re aware of his presence, then you’ll know to avoid him.

Now, once he’s exposed, he also hates indifference. He wants you to be like, “Oh, I see you, I know what you’re doing.” He likes that attention in one sense as well. And so, in a bad way. And so, he wants to be hidden, but once he’s discovered, he hates it when you’re indifferent to him. And so he’ll do different things to try to get you to notice him. And if you just like, “Get away from me, get out of here,” then he is defeated and that’s what he hates.

Now (Proverbs 28:15) – Like a roaring lion and a charging bear Is a wicked ruler over poor people. – Satan is that roaring lion, seeking to devour us, wanting to accuse us before the Father day and night, wanting to be our ruler. And we have to choose so that Yahweh be our ruler.

Now, Satan’s a ruler of this world, but not because Yahweh said, “Satan, you will be the ruler of this planet.” No, it’s because man chose him as their ruler. That’s the only reason. We’re not under his rule. When Adam was given authority over all creation, he chose not to take authority over the serpent. Instead, he allowed the serpent to be his authority, and obey the serpent rather than Yahweh. But we can’t do that. We submit ourselves to the rulership of Yahushua Ha-Mashiach. Satan’s not the ruler of our world, not the world we’re living in.

Now, this world on earth, man has chosen him to be their ruler, but we have authority over Satan. He’s a serpent. We have authority over Satan. We have authority over Satan! You say “No”? Oh, you’re going to say they got authority over you? Not your ruler; he don’t have authority over you.

Oh, you’re going to say that you’re equal to him in authority? Come on. Really? I say we have authority over him, not the other way around.

Now, demons don’t have authority over us. The reason why is because we’re part of the body of the Messiah. Are you going to say really that demons have rulership over the body of the Messiah? The only way that could ever happen is if you allow him to be your ruler. Don’t allow him to be your ruler!

You can tell him that he has no business in your presence. Just as Yahushua did—“Get away from Me, Satan. Get behind Me, Satan. You’re not mindful of the things of Elohim. Get behind Me, Satan.” And so, we’re the body of the Messiah. And since we are the body of the Messiah, we have authority over him, and we are called to walk as Yahushua walked, even do greater things, right? And so, is Yahweh going to allow us to be tormented by Satan and have no way to stop anything? I mean, we have authority! He gave it to us!

And so, yes, sometimes He does allow the enemy to afflict us, as He did Job. That’s not because Satan has authority over us, it’s because Yahweh allowed it, okay? And so, we’re created in Yahweh’s image to have dominion over the earth. Ultimately, we win. He allowed Satan to have some effect on Yahushua. But in the end, who won? He used whatever the enemy sought to do against Yahushua as a weapon against him. And so it can be in our life.

And so, we ourselves can – be joyful in glory; – Psalm 149 verse 5, so – Let them sing aloud on their beds.
⁶ Let the high praises of Elohim be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, – I love that Scripture because of that high praises of Elohim is in our mouth, that two-edged sword is in our hand, ready to defeat anything the enemy would throw at us, even when we’re in our bed at night. –
⁷ To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishments on the peoples;
⁸ To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron;
⁹ To execute on them the written judgment– This honor have all His saints. Praise Yahweh! – It’s an honor you have to bind the enemy in the name of Yahushua Ha-Mashiach. This honor have all His saints. And with that two-edged sword, fight back. Fight back.

(Psalms 125:3) – For the scepter of wickedness is not going to rest On – this land right here. Your body is the land of Yahweh. The scepter of wickedness, his rulership, does not rest on the land allotted to the righteous. Your property, the place where Yahweh has given you to live, the scepter of wickedness has no business intruding. And so, you say that “The scepter of wickedness will not rest on this land that’s allotted to me, the righteous. Yahweh has made me righteous by His strength, by His power, and by His grace.” Believe it. Walk in it with a two-edged sword in your hand. Fight, fight, fight. And don’t stop fighting until victory is won. Submit yourself to Yahweh!

So, you bind their king with chains or nobles with fetters of iron? Say, “No, I bind that in the name of Yahushua. You have no business in here. You’re an intruder. This land is allotted to the righteous. Skedaddle. Goodbye! Depart in the name of Yahushua Ha-Mashiach. Yahweh rebuke you! Yahweh rebuke you!”

And so, we submit to Elohim and we resist the devil. You’ve got to fight him. If you don’t fight, you will never win! You have to fight! I mean, you’ve got two people in a sword fight, okay? And one just kind of lays there. Who’s going to win? The one that keeps fighting is going to be the one that wins. The one who continues fighting to the very end is the one that wins. The one who gives up will not win. He won’t. He’ll lose every time. You have to always, always fight. Always!

Submit to Elohim. Resist the devil. And what happens? He’s scared of you. He is! He’ll flee, he’ll run away from you! You’ll send him packing! Why does he run away from you? Because you have authority over him. And you are able, because you are a part of the body of the Messiah, to defeat him. You are able to defeat him.

Now, he tried the authority thing with Yahushua, “Oh, I’ll give you everything. I’ll give you everything. Just bow and worship before me.” He wasn’t going to give Yahushua a thing. He’s a liar. He wasn’t going to give Yahushua anything. And so, Yahushua, when He was on the earth, He commanded unclean spirits. They had no choice but to obey Him. Yahushua’s disciples walked in the same manner.

Now, you don’t rebuke him in a reviling, arrogant way. Book of Jude, chapter 1 verse 9 – Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “Yahweh rebuke you!”
¹⁰ But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves. – And so, don’t be arrogant, like out of your own righteousness and out of your own greatness, you can just tell the enemy where to go and blah, blah, blah. No, don’t do that. You recognize, you don’t fear the enemy, you fear Yahweh!

And if you fear Yahweh, then He will be your Elohim. If you fear the devil, you’re making him your Elohim, in a sense; because you’re afraid of him, not Yahweh. And so, don’t give power to him by fearing him. At the same time, don’t act all high and mighty and arrogant, and sin by your arrogance and pride, thinking you can stand over him because of some righteousness you have in yourself. Yahweh is the one who deserves your fear.

And now, when we are in our battle, there are specific steps we can take, specific strategies we can take to battle against him and become victorious.

Number one. Prayer! Like David (Psalms 143:9-12) – Deliver me, O YAHWEH, from my enemies; – You don’t always have to speak to the devil every time something happens. You can say, “Yahweh, deliver me from my enemy here, Satan the devil, deliver me, O Yahweh, from my enemies. Satan and his cronies, the demons, are trying to afflict me.” And so – In You I am going to take shelter.
¹⁰ Teach me, then, to do Your will, for You are my Elohim; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness. And
¹¹ Revive me, O YAHWEH, for Your name’s sake! For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of this trouble I’m in.
¹² In Your mercy cut off my enemies, And destroy all those who afflict my soul; For I am Your servant.

– Do you hear the power in that prayer? Do you hear it? When you’re being tempted, you open up this Psalm 143 verse 9, start praying that. There’s power in these Scriptures because (Proverbs 18:10) – The name of Yahweh is a strong tower; The righteous run into it and are safe. – Prayer is a weapon against the enemy.

Look at Ephesians chapter 6 again. – Finally, my brethren, be strong in Yahweh, and in the power of His might.
¹¹ Put on the whole armor of Elohim, that you may be able to withstand against the wiles of the devil.
¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of Elohim, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all, to stand.
¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, – Remember the importance of the Word, brothers and sisters. The Word of Yahweh gives you truth. The Messiah, which the Word of Yahweh teaches you about, gives you that breastplate of righteousness. And you keep your gospel shoes on –
¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace; – a readiness to say, “The devil says I’m not all that. Yahweh says, ‘If I confess my sins, He’s faithful and just, to forgive me of my sins, cleanse me of all unrighteousness,’ I’m keeping my shoes on, I’m not going to fall.” –
¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith – You’ve got to believe in the Word. Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of Elohim – with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, – He places on your head – and the sword of the Spirit, – that two-edged sword, a high praise of Elohim in your mouth, a two-edged sword in your hand – which is the word of Elohim;
¹⁸ praying always – praying always, praying always, praying always – with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. – Praying in the Spirit. You start praying those Scriptures, you are praying in the Spirit! – Being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. –

And so pray for others! Pray for others.

Now, we know Satan, being a spirit being, would communicate with our spirit, put things in our mind that are not from the Father. In the same way, we have Yahweh, His Spirit, putting things in our minds that are from the throne of Elohim, communicating the doctrines of Yahweh.

Satan wants to communicate the doctrines of demons. But we know, we, with the doctrine of Yahweh will defeat the doctrine of demons.

And so, when these things happen—Okay, here’s an intruder. This is not from the throne of Elohim. This thought right here I’m having right now is not from the throne of Yahweh. Where is it, where’s it coming from? What’s going on here? Wake up! Wake up! What’s going on? What’s this thought right here? Is it from Yahweh or is it from the enemy? Pay attention. And then, ah okay, this is a battle right here. Yeah, that’s what’s going on! There’s a battle going on right here! This is what Tom talked about. This battle he talked about. This is it right here!

What do I do? How can I defeat him? What steps can I take to win this war? I’ve heard all these Scriptures, but what practical steps can I take? Prayer for one another is one of them. Praying in the Spirit, praying the Scriptures, is another. Having your gospel shoes on, having a two-edged sword in your hand, ready to say, “It is written.” These are your weapons. The breastplate of righteousness, realize my own righteousness doesn’t come from myself. It’s a breastplate Yahweh gave me that I put on every day. And I believe in the Word. And so I have the shield of faith. And I am able to quench these lies, these lies, fiery darts, trying to pull me down.

We’re all in war, together. What happens when we bind together in this effort against the enemy? We become a united front. There’s no way he can defeat us. Division, he wants to divide everybody up. Get everybody hating each other. Recognize that’s the enemy, and learn to fight against the enemy; not your brother, not your sister; fight against the enemy.

We’re all in a war; we’ve all been enlisted in military service, that means we all have to fight. We’re not on a hill somewhere watching the battle. There’s no cheerleaders in this war. I say all the time “No cheerleaders, you’re in it! You’re on one side or you’re on the other. We’re all in the trenches. You can’t sit back and watch. That’s not where we’re at. You’re doing it wrong.”

If you live on Easy Street, you’re probably not engaged in the culture. If you’re on Easy Street, you’re probably, the enemy don’t see you as a threat. So he’s not bothering you none, he’s already won. And so, you think, “It’s going really good for me right now,” because you’re a believer, you know. “Things are going really good for me.” It’s going really good for you because the enemy ain’t scared of you at all! The enemy’s not scared of you! You’re not doing anything to fight him!

You’re just living your own little happy little utopian life, doing your little thing, not taking battle, not putting on the armor of Yahweh, not reaching out to your neighbors and your friends and the people around you with the Good News. And so, yeah, what’s he got to worry about you for? If you’re looking for comfort in this age, you’re not fighting Yahweh’s battles. As soldiers in the armies of Yahweh, we’re called as foot soldiers to go and do exploits for the King of kings.

As people in exile, we’re in Babylon; we’re looking to gather together an army of foot soldiers who are willing to fight. We’re not in a time of peace. We’re not in a time of rest. There’s a war going on and it’s the most important war in the world! And we’ve got to rise up, put down our stupid toys and pick up the armor of Yahweh and fight! Fight.

This is the most important war in the world because it’s a battle for the hearts and minds of men and women! We’re all in a battle. It’s not some sport you watch every once in a while, it goes on every day. It’s happening at this moment as I speak, and we all need to be doing something to damage the kingdom, the kingdom of the enemy. We all got to be doing something to damage the enemy’s kingdom! All of us, everybody!

Another powerful weapon against the enemy is: Praise!

2 Chronicles 20, Yehoshaphat, – And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to Yahweh, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise Yahweh, For His mercy endures forever.” – There they were, ready to fight the enemy, put the singers up in front because they knew the battle was spiritual! Oh, those men had swords and they had weapons and they had chariots, they had horses. Yehoshaphat knew, “Put the singers first because the battle is Yahweh’s.” And what happened? –
²² Now when they began to sing and to praise, Yahweh set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. – They were defeated because of the power of praise.

So. Battle strategies against temptation is where we get really practical, and certain things that you can do personally in your own personal war. Whatever the enemy tempts you with, no matter what it is, this is how you can, in a practical way, fight him and defeat him!

Number one: you say, “I reject that in Yahushua’s name.” Whatever it is! Temptation to do this, temptation to look at that female over there, temptation to do cigarettes, smoke a cigarette, temptation to whatever, whatever it is; to be bitter at somebody, angry at somebody, whatever it is, “I reject that in Yahushua’s name.” And you’re going to a place you know the temptation is going to happen? You’re already ready, you already got your full armor on, you’re saying, “I reject that already, in Yahushua’s name, I already reject it.”

What if it keeps coming? Whatever it is. All right, “I reject that in Yahushua’s name because I am dead to that. Scripture says,” – if you watch part two – “I am dead to that. That’s not something I’m alive to anymore. That’s not me. That is not me! That’s not me at all! Whatever that temptation, that is not me. I believe the Good News of Yahushua. I’ve got my gospel shoes on. It’s no longer I who live, it’s Yahushua who lives in me. He wouldn’t be doing that! Get out of here! He would have no part of that. That life which I now live, now I’m living by faith in the One who loved me, the One who gave Himself for me! I’ve taken on His identity and therefore I cannot do that! I cannot because of who I am now.”

Just like a police officer, he takes on, he puts on the badge, he can’t go out there and be a lawbreaker because he’s taken on an identity as a police officer, right? You’ve taken on the identity of Yahushua Ha-Mashiach, therefore you cannot do that!

What if it still comes? The battle rages on. All right, “I reject that” – whatever it is – “lust, drunkenness” – whatever, whatever it is, “I reject that, that bitterness, that bitter thought in the name of Yahushua Ha-Mashiach, because I am dead to that. And I’m called to suffer, and bear the marks of Messiah, and stand and have to suffer sometimes for my sin. And so this flesh has to suffer. The flesh wants me to do this, wants me to do that. That flesh is going to have to suffer. Sorry, because Yahushua lives in me. Get behind me Satan, because it is written, flee youthful lust. It is written, be sober, be vigilant. It is written not to be bitter, not to take vengeance, not to hold a grudge.”

It is written. Whatever Scripture it is, memorize it! In fact, whatever sin you’re dealing with, find every Scripture you possibly can, that speaks to why that’s wrong and not to do that wrong. Find every Scripture you can, and the ones that speak to you the most, that seem to have the most power, that seem to have the most impact, that’s what you want right here! And memorize that Scripture.

And when time comes, “In the name of Yahushua, I’m dead to that, I’m called to suffer and bear the marks of Messiah. Yes, this flesh is going to have to just get starved out; and so, get behind me Satan because it’s written.”

Whatever that Scripture is, or two or three, because now you got the sword out. You’re fighting back. You’re not just going to keep using the shield. Now you’re getting your sword out, you’re going to fight back and say, “In the name of Yahushua, I’m dead to that. That’s what Scripture says. I’m dead to that.”

Oh, the battle rages on, it’s still going! Now what? Call upon the name of Yahweh. Remember that Psalm I shared with you. Ask Yahweh, deliver me from my enemies and stay in prayer for deliverance. (Psalm 143:9) – Deliver me from my enemies, O Yahweh; – Because (Proverbs 18:10) – The name of Yahweh is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe. – The sword’s going back and forth. You’re going to go into the tower of Yahweh. He can’t get you there. He can’t get you there. You’re in the tower of Yahweh. You’re calling upon the name of Yahweh. And so, (Psalm 143:9) – Deliver me, O Yahweh, from my enemies; In You I take shelter.

You see, you by yourself, just by yourself, you’re not going to be able to defeat the enemy. You need Yahweh’s power in you to defeat the enemy, because greater is He who’s in you than he who’s in the world.

Oh, the battle rages on! Now what? I want to start praying for my sister so-and-so, or my brother so-and-so, or my mom or my dad, or this person I met on the street yesterday, or somebody out there; that they’re going to come to salvation and Yahweh’s going to teach them His ways. And start praying for them: “Oh Father, please open their eyes to see the blessing of Your ways and save them, Father.” And then start singing praises to Yahweh. Don’t stop! Keep on praising Him! Just like here, Yehoshaphat. Think of a Psalm that speaks to your heart. Start singing a Psalm. Start praying for this other person.

In all the years I’ve been practicing these things, not very often I have to go to step five anymore. But I’ve never had to go past step five because it always worked.

Now, it goes away for a time, a little bit later, could be five minutes, could be five hours, could be five days, be five weeks, five months. Sometimes Satan will kind of, he will sit back, he will leave you alone for a long time; and then come along with, “Hey, remember this? Remember that? Remember how that satisfied your flesh? Remember that?”

Be sober. Be vigilant. Don’t let your guard down. Always be vigilant, even when things “Yeah, I’m going pretty well.” You know, many times it will be like, “Oh, I’ve, I’ve been doing pretty well, you know, overcoming that thing.” And then later that day, Satan’s like, “Really? Try this. Try this. Try that.” Okay?

So, these are practical battle strategies to defeat the enemy. Think spiritually. Think spiritually, this is a spiritual battle, that’s exactly what it is.

And yes, I have a handout that you can print! If you can’t print, I’ll print it and send it to you. “Battle Strategies Against Temptation, How You Can Wage Your War and Win.” Those five steps. Put it on your refrigerator; put it on your wall; put it in your bedroom; put it on your mirror, wherever. I’ll send you as many copies as you want. Just email me. Actually, just let me know. I’ll send it to you.

Praise Yahweh.

So we’re in the midst of a spiritual battle. And we have to keep our mind on the spiritual realm and what’s happening in the spiritual realm. Because to be spiritually minded, as Romans 8 tells us, truly is life and peace.

Let’s pray. Almighty Yahweh, we love the life You’ve given us. We love the peace You’ve given us that passes all understanding. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You that we have strategies against the enemy. We thank You that we truly can have the high praises of You in our mouth and a two-edged sword in our hand to do damage to the enemy’s kingdom. In such a way that we destroy every work of the devil with Your Word, with Your Spirit, with Your presence that goes before us, and the enemy has to flee.

Help us to be vigilant, sober, to think spiritually. And when something pulls us away from a spiritual mind, they say, “You know what? I don’t need that. I don’t need that in my life.”Whatever it is that pulls us away from having a spiritual mind, get rid of it. We get rid of all these things that are not of You, because we want to be with You forever. We love You. We love You enough to hate the evil going on around us, and we love You enough to hate the evil that tries to rise up within our own hearts. Cleanse us, purify us. Cause us to be upright, pure, lovely, praiseworthy, meditating on all that is good.

Forgive us, Father, any area we’ve not hated the sin enough, and we’ve allowed it to take root in our lives; from a small seed at first, growing into a mighty tree that You need to cut down for us. Cut it down. We yield our bodies to You. Every member, every part of us, we offer up to You as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable for Your service. That we might do damage to the enemy’s kingdom, and cause Your Kingdom to spread and be multiplied and for You to be glorified.

For truly, Yours is the Kingdom and power and glory. We want Your Kingdom, we need Your power. And we praise Your glory, forever and ever, in Yahushua’s name we pray.

Amein.