Satan and his Devices – Part 3/3

We are ready to begin our third segment of our study entitled “Satan and his Devices” – part three. And in this particular segment we’re going to be talking about our armor. Indeed our spiritual armor.

Scripture says in Ephesians chapter 6 in verse 10 – 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 stand against the wiles of the devil. – Many times we pray for strength, we ask Yahweh for strength, we need strength, this is good, we need strength.

Scripture however does tell us how we can be strong in Yahweh, and how we can be strong in the power of His might—by putting on the whole armor. You see, we cannot stand by our own might. We need Yahweh’s might. In fact the word “Elohim” means “Mighty One”. Yahweh, if He is truly your Elohim, He is your Strong One, He is your Mighty One. And, He stands at the ready to help. He wants you to overcome.

And He is the most powerful being in the universe. He spoke the universe into existence. He is complete and total power. And He is in complete control. And there is no limit to His power. His understanding is infinite. And He is teaching you right here in this Scripture how you can tap into His power, His strength so that you are able to stand against the wiles of the devil, the accuser. The accuser. Wiles are, I looked it up in the Greek, schemes, methods, cunning and crafty devices of the enemy. We have been speaking of Satan and his devices.

And well, here’s some direct advice from Yahweh speaking to us through the Elohim breathed Scriptures of how to stand against those schemes. And we get to use Yahweh’s power to do it. What about that.

(Ephesians 6:12) – For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, – If you only look to the earth and that’s all you look at, you’re not looking at the heavenly things, the spiritual things, you’re going to miss out on this. You don’t wrestle against flesh and blood. You wrestle against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age. – against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

We need to look at life through spiritual lenses, we talked about that last week, recognizing where Yahweh and His Spirit is at work. And where Satan and his schemes are at work through his unclean spirits that he seeks to send against us.

If you don’t recognize what’s happening in the spiritual realm then the enemy can be just sitting there like a snake in the grass, camouflaged, because you’re not vigilant, you’re not paying attention to what’s going on.

And so he hides. And you don’t even know he’s there. So we have to be paying attention to what’s really going on. If we don’t know what’s really going on and we’re not paying attention to what’s happening in the spiritual realm, we can be caught unawares.

I’m reminded of how animals often prey on other animals, it’s kind of sad really. It really it’s just kind of sad, because animals are, kind of built into their DNA. It’s kind of built into their DNA to constantly be on the lookout for enemies. And so they’ll sit there, even when they’re trying to eat. (I’m trying to get this video going here but it’s not cooperating.) So, they’ll sit there and they’ll be trying to eat, and they can’t eat because they’re they’re too busy looking around. And they’re too afraid to eat. You’ll notice this with birds. They’ll be eating something on the ground and they can’t seem, they’re looking around and finally just fly off, they’re too afraid to sit down and eat that meal. And so they don’t eat. And it’s sad. Or sometimes they will eat but they’re eating very, very carefully, they’re ducking down, they’re looking around, and they’re constantly aware, constantly aware of enemies. Their ability to camouflage themselves, their ability to stand perfectly still and blend in with their environment around them, it’s kind of built into their DNA.

We also need to (1 Peter 5:8-9) – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil – again – walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
⁹ Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

A lion is a prey animal. Human beings are the prey in this case. He’s looking for whom he may devour. He’s looking for the ones he can. He can’t devour everybody. He can’t devour you if you have your armor on. If you have no armor on you’re prone to being devoured by him. But if we have methods of defense he will know he has a fight on his hands.

And the first line of defense is awareness. Awareness of his presence and having a strategy in place for not being devoured. And so we have to be on the lookout all the time, because he not only has himself, he has people and spirits at his disposal to try to use against us.

Now, I want to tell you something very, very important when it comes to the enemy’s ability to camouflage. If you surround yourself with worldliness, if you intentionally watch the world’s movies, are entertained by their television shows, regularly observe worldly junk on Facebook and other forms of social media, and you listen to the worldly secular music that’s out there, and read the books and magazines and websites that marginalize sin, you are surrounding yourself with the kind of environment that allows the enemy to camouflage himself as a lion blends in with the savannah. Or a green mamba hides in the greenery, or a snake under the cover of tall grass; you won’t even know he’s there because you’re desensitized to his presence. You don’t seem to mind him hanging around.

Now, Yahweh’s Word tells us (1 Corinthians 2:12) – Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from Elohim, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by Elohim.

This other kind of spirit, the spirit of the world, is very active in media today. It’s an unclean spirit— instead of love it camouflages itself as love and brings hate; instead of peace it camouflages itself as being of peace but brings confusion; instead of hope it provides false hope and gives hopelessness; instead of righteousness it gives us wickedness; instead of a pure and undefiled love for Yahweh it is at war with Him. It is a subtle spirit. Every bit as subtle and crafty as the serpent in the Garden of Eden.

And you may not even realize you’re listening to his voice and obeying his voice.

Because our lives are like a man on the river. And we as people of Yahweh are on a raft. And in order to avoid going over the waterfall ahead, we actually have to turn the raft around and paddle against the current, fighting upstream. The world is trying to take us downstream. Yahweh is empowering us to fight against this current. And all you have to do in order to be going the wrong direction, is to do nothing. And the current of the world will take you where you don’t want to go. A lot easier. Just rest and let the raft kind of flow you gently down the stream.

That’s not what Yahweh desires of us. We have to fight. We have to fight against the current of the world. We have to reject the spirit of the world. We can’t be like your “everyday nominal Christian believer.” To whom much is given much is required. (Matthew 7:14) – “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

And the spirit that’s in the world is trying to take us down that stream. Wanting us to give up the fight. And take us down a path that does not bring life. And we can choose to fill our minds with things that are of Yahweh’s Spirit or the things that are of the spirit of the world. And if we’re filled with the things that are contrary to Yahweh’s Spirit then we’re listening to the spirit of the world.

So, what spirit are we going to listen to? What spirit are we going to surround ourselves with?

Did you know Scripture says that words are spirit? John 6:63, Yahushua said that “My words they are spirit and they are life.” Well, the enemy’s words they are spirit too and they are death. What spirit do you want to surround yourself with? Yahweh’s Spirit? It leads us on a difficult path but it leads to life. Or a spirit that takes you down the broad and easy path?

The spirit of the world is very subtle. It’s a spirit that entwines and entangles, that destroys and slowly kills, little by little, bit by bit, until the Word of Yahweh and the Spirit of Yahweh is choked out by its thorns.

Luke 8:14 it says – “Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.” – See, a thorn bush starts kind of small, innocent, but it grows very quickly. It doesn’t necessarily kill your plant. It just makes you unfruitful because it takes up all the nutrients in the soil, sucks up the water that comes and crowds out the sunlight.

And so it is with the spirit of the world. With the world and its pursuits, it’s such a slow death that very few people know they’re being harmed by it until it’s they realize, look around they’re not bearing any fruit. It’s such a deceptive death that few people know when they enter its doors and a few realize to the extent of which they are falling into it.

In Revelation chapter 2 verse 13 Yahushua said to those in Pergamos – “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.”

Now, it’s interesting. There was a very large altar there at Pergamos, to Zeus. But what Pergamos was most famous for was its library. It contained over 200,000 volumes of material and was the largest library in the world at the ancient time, at that time that Yahushua gave this verdict on Pergamos. In the ancient world it was second only to the library in Alexandria. But the library in Alexandria actually had declined, partly because it was burned in a fire more than a century before. But this library in Pergamos was so famous that the word “parchment” comes from the name of that city Pergamos.

And so Satan, no doubt, had many of his doctrines, the doctrines of demons stored at this library.

And this is where Yahushua said that Satan dwelt. And he got a hold of men teaching them the doctrines of demons through these alternative theologies. Alternative thoughts on how the world is and why it is the way it is. Alternative deities and idols. And it is these works, these volumes of works that led people in the paths of idolatry and unrighteousness.

The real issue, as I said in the very beginning of this segment of this study series, is the Word. The Word is at center stage! And so, if the enemy can use this library of 200,000 volumes worth of gobbledygook to get his word out, that’s going to impact the whole world. Because the words that we believe in, ultimately determine what our actions are going to look like. Yahweh has His word and Satan has his word.

So, I thought of this: where does Satan dwell now? Where would he dwell where he can get his ideals, his ideology, his lies out to the entire planet? Tinseltown, Hollywood California. A town of only eighty some thousand people but tremendous influence. From Hollywood Satan has been able to bring his spirit into living rooms of homes all around the globe.

And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that a magician’s wand happens to be made out of “holly wood”. And through Hollywood people receive that spirit through channels, channeling, where they sit spellbound for hours being indoctrinated and programmed with the world’s programming. I say “programming” because that’s exactly what it is. And all the lust of the eyes, and lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, he inspires men to pack into it.

I say we need to disconnect ourselves from the world’s programming. I did that back in the 1990s and I can say I’ve been the better for it. For all I know I wouldn’t be sitting here in front of a microphone sharing the Word of Yahweh if I hadn’t done that.

But thankfully, with the internet, we do have more choices of what we can watch. And you can surround yourself with an environment of holiness, and purity, uprightness and light.

This is why Scripture says (Philippians 4:8b) – … 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 and if there is anything praiseworthy– meditate on these things. – That’s it. That’s what you want to let your heart meditate on. Beware.

One reason why Scripture has this advice, is so that we will be more sensitive to the enemy’s presence. If our thoughts and our minds are regularly being bombarded with wickedness, it won’t seem as significant if we went ahead and did some little thing in our own mind.

So you want to surround yourself with righteousness, uprightness, holiness, praiseworthy things, noble things, pure things, lovely things, virtuous things, praiseworthy things, and then you will be more easily able to recognize the presence of the enemy when it’s there. Something, you’re looking, something looks just foreign to the Spirit of love and truth.

Many of you may have heard the story of the man who was, he worked for the federal government and his job was to spot counterfeit bills. And somebody asked him, “Sir, how do you do your job? Do you study all the different ways that the counterfeiters are able to counterfeit their bills, and mechanisms, and processes, and things that they do to try to trick you into thinking that this is a true bill?” He says “No. What I do is I study the true bill. I put my thoughts and my mind around what’s the right, the real thing, the real bill. Then, whenever there’s a counterfeit I can easily recognize it because I’m so familiar with the true bill.”

And so we want to surround ourselves with the Word of Yahweh and the truth. And so whenever a lie then will present itself, we will recognize it and be able to know and have that vigilance to know that there is a serpent on the prowl, there’s a lion on the prowl.

Also applies to believers. Sometimes there are wolves among us. Sometimes there are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Yahushua said there would be, right? Some who may appear to be sheep on the surface but underneath they are ravening wolves, right? (Matthew 7:15) – “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.” – And there are a lot of wolves out there brothers and sisters.

We need to not be ignorant to the fact that just because someone calls on Yahweh’s name or keeps the Sabbath day or those things we found to be a blessing and be important, that does not prove that they are Yahushua’s sheep. You cannot let your guard down and cannot assume because they have sheep’s clothing they are truly sheep. Time will usually tell. Time will be often the truth teller.

So be vigilant, be sober. I’m not saying look at every believer with suspicion and with a false accusing spirit, because that’s how you can get out of bounds the other direction. Always treat someone, who presents themselves as a believer, as if they’re a believer. And talk to them and love them and bless them. And even if they aren’t a believer maybe your example can encourage them to be a believer and convict them of their ways. But at the same time let your heart always be aware of potential wolves among the sheep.

Scripture says, as we quoted earlier, “we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood,” right? And the counsel here is that we would take up the entirety of Yahweh’s armor, right? What is that armor? Number one (Ephesians 6:14-16) – Stand therefore, – stand therefore – having girded your waist with truth, – truth. When a warrior was going to fight, his legs could not be encumbered by the garment he was wearing. And so he would gather up his outer garment and tie it up with a belt. We need to be equipped with truth.

Anytime the enemy may try to feed us a lie, if we already have the truth in our hearts, we can more quickly reject the enemy’s lies outright. Having the truth therefore makes us battle ready at all times. You have to be battle ready at all times. And so you need to be equipped with the truth. And that comes through the study of Scripture. That comes through knowing Yahweh’s Word and being able to rattle it off any old time. Have your waist girded with truth, prepared, you’re prepared for the enemy to outflank him, to escape his attempts to consume you.

The second piece of armor he talks about here is the breastplate. The breastplate is the armor that protects your heart from attack. The sword cannot enter the heart because you have (Ephesians 6:14) – . . . the breastplate of righteousness, – He cannot damage your heart because you have a breastplate of righteousness covering your heart. Your hearts can be guarded when your heart is hungry and thirsty for righteousness. Yahushua said (Matthew 5:6) – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled” – right? So if you hunger and you thirst for righteousness, and that’s what your heart’s pursuant of, then there are two things that you’re going to seek after to get that breastplate over your heart. And that is, Yahushua said, “You will be filled if you hunger and thirst for righteousness.” First way is by desiring righteousness. When you desire righteousness then you’re going to want to know any areas in your life that you need to change. You’re going to be looking in the Scriptures for things that change you. Things to alter your behavior.

And so you’re going to be a repentant person. You’ve turned away from unrighteousness, your heart yearns for righteousness. And the second thing is you’re going to recognize where your righteousness really comes from. And that’s not from you. That comes from Yahushua who gives us the righteousness we need to be declared righteous in the eyes of Yahweh.

And so therefore, that breastplate of righteousness involves a heart yielded to the Father’s will and a heart that trusts in Messiah Yahushua for the forgiveness of sin. And therefore we have a heart that is protected from the enemy.

Now, if we don’t believe that we are made righteous in Messiah Yahushua, we don’t believe that we’re good enough to be declared righteous in Him, then you’re more prone to believing you’re hopelessly lost, you might as well just give it up altogether. And a lot of people struggle in that area, brothers and sisters.

And if you struggle in that area and you’re just prone, you’re taking your armor, you’re just sitting on the ground. And the enemy can speak things into your heart and get your heart all confused, you have no certainty of life.

Or if you don’t have a true hunger and a true thirst for righteousness, you’re not going to care enough about your own heart to have it protected from the wiles of the devil. And so you’re taking your armor, you’re setting it on the ground. Like you don’t want it.

But if you have desired truth, if you have a love for the truth, that you might be saved, then you’re going to reject the lies that your ancestors have inherited, you’re going to turn away from the evil, you’re going to trust in Yahushua, and therefore be granted the breastplate of righteousness to guard your heart.

And your feet also, it says therefore, will be (Ephesians 6:15) – shod with the true gospel of peace; – The Good News of peace. Shalom, you will be filled with shalom, all your paths will be righteousness and peace. And all of these things brothers and sisters we accept, we accept by faith. With which we (Ephesians 6:16) – . . . will be able to quench the enemy’s fiery darts.

Therefore, we won’t fall victim to his desire to devour us with his fiery darts because we are vigilant, we are ready to fight. Our hearts are guarded by a breastplate, our feet are equipped with the Good News of peace giving us the mobility and ability to fight back as we walk by faith, not by sight but by faith. These things will bring us deliverance from the enemy’s attacks.

And therefore we will have taken up (Ephesians 6:17) – . . . the helmet of salvation, . . . – Deliverance, salvation is deliverance from the enemy. And thereby, having placed that on our heads we have protected both the heart and the mind from all evil.

Now, all the equipment I’ve mentioned up to this point have been defensive in nature, protective in nature. A shield, a breastplate, these things are defensive pieces of equipment.

And now here is an offensive piece of equipment: the sword. (Ephesians 6:17) – . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of Elohim; – It’s designed for counter-attack. And so is prayer. –
¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, – If we are praying in the Spirit then both the words that we have in our possession to use against the enemy and the words that we are praying to Yahweh consist of His Holy Spirit speaking. And so Yahweh’s Words are actually flowing through us to make our petition to Him and we can actually pray the Scriptures. We can pray the Psalms as Neil does here at the beginning of our broadcast each week. And we pray – with perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

Interesting. Pray for others, praying for saints. Praying for others is an act of war against the enemy.

And so, while the enemy has darts of fire because they burn when they hit, and we know that following his ways leads us to a place of burning, called the lake of fire, that’s why they’re called fiery darts, we do have a sword with which we can quickly counter-attack. And he will have to flee from us.

Now I’m going to provide you with a practical way of praying, of addressing and overcoming the wiles of the enemy. When a temptation comes, first of all I want you to recognize that having a temptation is not a sin. You can be tempted by the most ridiculous things and you have not sinned. Even Yahushua was tempted but He overcame the temptations because He had the armor on and He used the sword of Yahweh’s Word to fight back: “It is written, it is written, it is written.”

But here’s some practical steps on overcoming whenever the enemy comes knocking at your door.

Number one. Just say, “I reject that in the name of Yahushua the Messiah”. Sometimes, you know, something usually happens to where he’s going to tempt you with something, and you already know it’s coming. And so you just say, “I already reject that in Yahushua’s name”. And sometimes that’s all you need. It’s rejected. I mean Yahushua, that’s not me.

Number two. If that don’t work, temptation is still hanging in front of you, “I reject that in Yahushua name because I am dead to that. I believe in the Good News of Yahushua, that it is no longer I who live, it is Yahushua who lives in me. And the life which I now live, I live by faith in the Son of Elohim who loved me and gave Himself for me.” So you are putting your faith in the gospel. The gospel says you died. Right?

So, at faith is working here as a shield against the enemy. And now you are counter-attacking with your belief in the Good News of Yahushua that you don’t live anymore. Yahushua is now the one living in you. Galatians 2:20 – . . . and the life which you now live you live by faith in the Son of Elohim who loved me and gave Himself for me. – And when you put your faith in the Good News and you are putting on the breastplate of righteousness in order to receive the Good News, you have to turn away from sin, you have to put your trust in Yahushua. And if you receive this Good News, you believe in this Good News and you have received it as part of who you are, then it’s no longer you that live anymore. You died. And so you overcome, not by power, by might or by strength, but by faith and through His Spirit.

(Number three). Still don’t work? Well, “I reject (the name of that sin, whatever that sin might be) in the name of Yahushua ha-Mashiach, the Messiah, for I am dead to that. I choose to believe in the Good News of Yahushua, it’s no longer I who live, it’s Yahushua who lives in me. The life which I now live, I live by faith in the Son of Elohim who loved me and gave Himself for me. I am called to suffer, Scripture says, and bear the marks of Messiah. So get behind me Satan, Yahweh rebuke you, for it is written . . . .” And have the sword in your hand. Let it come out of your mouth whatever Scripture it is that condemns the temptation he’s trying to kill you with, and fight back like Yahushua did.

(Number four). If he’s still hanging around, most of the time he’s gone by now, call upon the name of Yahweh asking Yahweh to deliver you from your enemies and stay in prayer for deliverance. We know (Proverbs 18:10) – The name of Yahweh is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe. – Scripture says (Psalms 143:9) – Deliver me, O Yahweh, from my enemies; In You I take shelter. – Now you’re in the prayer mode, supplication in the Spirit. You’re praying the Scriptures. You’re praying for deliverance.

(Number five). And you can pray for others to get saved. Or pray for believers who are struggling. And start singing praises to Yahweh and don’t stop until deliverance comes.

Reminded of Yehoshaphat who (2 Chronicles 20:21-22) – 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.”
²² Now when they began to sing and praise, Yahweh set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. – By praises of Yahweh.

And don’t stop singing and don’t stop praying until the enemy flees from you. Because Scripture says (James 4:7) – . . . submit to Elohim. – Submit to Elohim. – Resist the devil and he will flee from you. – The word translated “resist”, the same word translated “resist” is also found in Ephesians 6:13.

And the Good News is yes we are on the winning team! We are on the winning team. So we don’t have to wonder whether we’re going to be victorious, we know who’s victorious. Isn’t that nice? Though he’ll flee from us, actually he’s scared of that sword. He does not like that sword. He hates that sword because Yahweh’s Word not only teaches us right from wrong, Yahweh’s Word actually condemns him. Scripture condemns his behavior, condemns his actions, condemns his efforts to get us to do wickedness, and predicts his doom.

So look, we’re on the winning team. Believe it, receive it, walk in victory, walk on that side of the winning team. Don’t join the losing team and yield to what he wants you to do. We have the breastplate of righteousness on us, given to us because our sins are laid on Yahushua. Yahushua’s righteousness is laid on us. And the sword of Yahweh’s Word does not condemn us, it only instructs us in right living. And if we continually choose the winning team, Yahweh’s side, we know, Satan has already been defeated.

1 John 3:8 says – . . . For this purpose the Son of Elohim was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

And (1 John 4:4) – . . . He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. – 1 John 3:8 and 4:4.

And so, whatever power the enemy has over us, he only has it because we give it to him.

If the enemy has power over you, the only way he can get power over you, is if you hand it over to him. By giving in to his temptations, by following his words. If you follow his words rather than Yahweh’s words, well, he’ll take Yahweh’s place in your life gladly. We literally have to give him everything he has. And apart from what we give him, he has nothing. That’s why Yahushua said, “The enemy has nothing in Me.” He said (John 14:30) – “. . . for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.”

If we obey, if we obey the enemy, yeah he’ll take Yahweh’s place as the one we obey, and we’ll make him our ruler. There are two kingdoms at war with one another. Every decision we make, we are either advancing the kingdom of Yahweh or we are advancing the kingdom of His enemy. Every decision you make. It’s all about decisions. Everything is about decisions.

It all has to do with what we decide to do with this free will that we are given. Will we choose the way of love as in loving Yahweh with all of our hearts, all of our soul, all of our mind? Or will we choose the way of hatred, the way of self-centeredness that the enemy has to offer us?

It’s our decision. And our decisions will, by and large, one day tell the story of our lives. On the day of judgment there will be a story to tell. The story of your life. And your decisions will tell the story of your life. Your decisions will determine whether or not that story has a final chapter. As believers we continue to live and so our story has no final chapter, our story will continue. For the unbeliever his story is over. The final chapter is, he’s in the lake of fire doomed to destruction. Nothing more to see here.

For the believer the only story of our lives, there’s no end, there’s no final chapter, there will always be something we’re doing for Him, something that we’re up to, some activity we’re involved in. It’s never over. Forever and ever and ever and ever. And so we have no final chapter to our story. And only the story of the believer will contain the words, “and they lived happily ever after.”

So write your story brothers and sisters with the freedom of the choices that you have. You may not be able to control what other people do and how they have had impact on your life, but you can control how you choose to respond to what other people do.

And that’s what life really is, most of it’s how you respond. Will we walk in obedience and faithfulness to Yahweh who is really the only Being in this world who’s 100 percent trustworthy, or we walk in obedience to His adversary, and by that fall into the hands of a wicked ruler who take us down dark paths we don’t want to go.

That’s our choice. Our choices will tell the story of our lives. And so, will we walk in faith when opportunities are presenting itself to walk in fear? Will we trust in Yahweh’s Word? If, listen. If we fear Satan and those he may use to try to harm us, he’ll gladly take Yahweh’s place of the one we choose to fear.

We’re told to fear Yahweh, that’s the beginning of wisdom. Yahushua had no fear of Satan at all. He wasn’t even afraid of those who tried to harm Him. Pilate, who was the governor of Judea, had the power to put Yahushua to death, asked Him many questions, and Yahushua would not answer a single one. And so Pilate’s amazed, he’s like (John 19:10-11a) – . . . “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?”
¹¹ Yahushua answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given to you from above . . .” – Yahushua saw a completely different world than what Pilate would see.

So, if you’re in a tough situation which seem to be a scary situation, it’s all the more important we choose to not fear. If we fear, we’re putting down our shield. Our shield of faith, we’re just tossing it on the ground. And then you open yourself up to fiery darts. Don’t put down your shield not even for a second, because the enemy will feed you with all kinds of lies, all kinds of possibilities, all kinds of things that you could fear, there’s no end. There’s more phobias in the psychology manual than you could shake a stick at. It’s crazy how many phobias there are. And it’ll be impossible to have peace in your circumstances.

And so, just as we did not receive the spirit of the world, we also (Romans 8:15) – For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, – Instead we have – . . . received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” – If you are an adopted son or daughter of the most loving Father in the universe you’re in good hands. No matter what your circumstances may be, it’s for your good. Don’t fear the enemy and don’t fear those ruled by him.

Scripture says (Matthew 10:28-33) – “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in (hell). – Gehenna the lake of fire. –
²⁹ “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
³⁰ ”But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” – He cares about you. He cares about you. He loves you. –
³¹ “Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
³² “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.
³³ ”But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”

Sometimes we are in our circumstances because Yahweh knows it’ll be an evangelistic opportunity. It will be an opportunity to confess Yahweh and His ways before men. Our confession then becomes a mechanism through which other people will benefit and maybe even come to salvation.

So we need to see our sufferings therefore as opportunities. Opportunities to glorify Yahweh. And if we walk in faith trusting in Him through our circumstances, we are showing the world Yahweh is trustworthy to the extent that we have no reason to fear. And by that we preach repentance. By that we preach faith in Messiah Yahushua.

And that we know hardship is part of what we signed up for when we chose to become a believer. All of us (2 Timothy 2:3) – . . . therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Yahushua the Messiah. – That’s part of it. We don’t have to like it, it’s not pleasant. Yahushua wept in the garden know it was coming, it’s tough. But we don’t have to fear.

Both fear and faith project into the future. Fear says, “gloom and doom”. Faith says, “No matter what happens to me, even if I suffer, it is for my benefit and for Yahweh’s glory.” And saying, “He’s already given me far above and beyond anything I could have ever possibly deserved, I’ll be glad to glorify Him, I would be glad to glorify Him.”

(2 Corinthians 12:9b-10) – Therefore most gladly – Paul says – I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Messiah may rest upon me.
¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure – take pleasure – in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Messiah’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. – He also wrote – (Philippians 4:11b-13) – “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
¹² I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
¹³ I can do all things through Messiah who strengthens me.”

He is our treasure in earthen vessels, brothers and sisters. And if Yahweh, the only thing He ever did was pull us up out of the pit of the spear, out of the pit of destruction that we dug for ourselves, and cleansed us from our sins, and cleaned us up, and forgave our iniquities, and grant us eternal life, even to the point where He said (Revelation 3:21) – To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne – Yahushua says – as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

You talk about something you don’t deserve. Wouldn’t this be enough? I mean really, we’re already promised things that are far above and beyond we could ever imagine or deserve. And so, hey, let’s just overcome and choose not to walk in fear, or doubt, and walk by faith.

(2 Corinthians 10:3-6) – 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, bringing every thought – every thought – into captivity to the obedience of Messiah, – So when the enemy tempts you to walk in fear and disobedience, take that thought captive, put it in a box and throw it out. Bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of the Messiah. If that thought is not in obedience to the Messiah, take it captive, “in the name of Yahushua I reject you” and toss it out. Because the day is going to come you’re actually going to be –
⁶ . . . punishing all disobedience . . . – Not only do you have to fight against disobedience in your own life, one day you will be among the ones punishing others for their disobedience. But – your obedience must be fulfilled. –

So we will be the ones charged with judging disobedience on the earth. In fact we will judge the very fallen angels who sought to tempt us to do evil. 1 Corinthians 6:3b says – Do you not know that we shall judge angels? – We shall judge angels, fallen angels, demons. We will be their judges. We will punish all disobedience and we will judge the very demons that sought to cause us to trip up. We’ll judge them. And we’ll punish all disobedience. But first we’ve got to fulfill our own obedience. And fulfill it to the extent that we not only overcome our own sin, but ready to punish those who don’t choose to overcome sin.

Until that future day brothers and sisters, we’ve been given a ministry. We, with our feet we have shod the preparation of the gospel of peace. And we are inviting every man, and woman, and child to receive that Word of Yahweh, and reject the words of the enemy. Turn away from the Hollywood library. And the libraries found in traditional Judaism, and Christianity, and Islam, and Buddhism, and all these other alternative words. And turn to the Words of Yahweh because the word is at center stage. And Yahweh has charged us with getting His Word out.

I mean the enemy’s getting his word out in full force, he doesn’t even need Hollywood anymore. Hollywood’s created a bunch of clone bots to do Satan’s bidding. I mean clone bots, I’d say people who swallowed Satan’s deceptions hook line and sinker, and they propagate that message under a banner of morality, believe it or not, to the whole world, through social media, and websites, and networks, and blogs, and TV, and radio, and whatever else they can do.

And we need to be the ones doing all we can to get Yahweh’s Word out. It needs to be our life passion. Because if we care about people, if we love people we’ll realize Satan’s deceived almost the entire world and we’re one of the few carriers of the truth, the true Good News that embraces the whole counsel of Yahweh’s Word. Not just New Testament, not just Old Testament. We are the lone carriers of the whole counsel of the Word of Yahweh, all of His truth. And we are therefore given much, and therefore much is required of us, and we are charged with getting this Word out to the entire world, that is our ministry.

2 Corinthians 4:1-2 – Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. – Don’t lose heart. –
² But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of Elohim deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of Elohim. – We have renounced the hidden things of shame. Renounce them.

I wonder how many of us have actually just done that, like just completely renounced all the shameful things we allowed ourselves to be involved in.

Now, I’m one, I want to say, I’m one that believes Yahushua completely cleanses of all sin on the day that we make the decision to turn away from sin and commit our hearts toward walking in righteousness, putting our trust in Yahushua for the forgiveness of sin.

At the same time we may not realize, that today we are still carrying in our minds thought patterns, behaviors, world views, things that we allowed ourselves to be involved with in our former life, that are still affecting us today. And sometimes those thought patterns are still there because we are susceptible to the enemy planting those thoughts in our minds due to our backgrounds. And when we act on those thought patterns, the enemy, who is a lawyer by the way, uses that to try to gain legal ground against us to do us more harm.

And one of his devices is to build on his successes. He’s never satisfied. That’s why he’ll try to take you as far as you’re willing to go. You open one little, one little crack in the door, he sticks his foot in there and next thing you know the door is wide open. That’s why you entertain, “O, this one little sin”, and before you know it you’re in over your head. Doing things you never thought you would do as a believer.

So what you want to do is completely close the door. Lock it, deadbolt it, don’t even be curious about the commotion on the other side, and all the glitz and glamor, don’t even be curious about it, you don’t want to go there. You don’t have to look at it. You don’t have to see it. You don’t, your curiosity kill you. Close the door. Shut. Locked. Don’t want no part of it. You open that door a little bit, that’s how it is with TV, and internet, and all these things you know, crack the door. “O, this one little thing there you know.” Next thing, next program pops up on your screen, how about this? Now, one more I guess, we’ll just ignore that one part.

So I’m in favor of speaking renunciations over any and all sin that we are formerly involved in. Renouncing all the hidden things and unhidden things of shame. And close the door to any demonic attack, any legal ground the enemy has against us.

It also helps if we break any and all curses that may have been placed on us, not through things that we did before we were believers, but things that we’re maybe still allowing in, since we made the decision to turn our hearts to Yahushua.

Now Scripture says (Proverbs 26:2) – Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight. – Someone could curse you one upside down the other, and there ain’t no reason for it, it’s not going to fall on you.

The only way the enemy can affect you as a believer is if you allow him in to work in you. And if you allow him to work in you then you’re basically stating legal agreement with having that spirit in your life and that sin in your life. And then you’re susceptible to the associated curses that come with committing those sins.

And there could be generational sins. I mean things that we’re allowing ourselves to repeat as believers. Sins of our fathers that can be visited upon us conditionally, now pay close attention here, go to Deuteronomy chapter 5 verses 9 through 10 – I, Yahweh your Mighty One, am a jealous Elohim, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
¹⁰ but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. – All one and the same. Keeping His commandments is love, failing to keep the commandments is hate.

And so if we’re showing love to Yahweh by keeping the commandments it doesn’t matter what our forefathers did, we’re granted mercy and there’s no cause for the iniquity of our fathers be visited upon us. Period.

But, if we are allowing sin in our life as a believer and we are not showing proper love to Yahweh, we’re actually showing hatred for Yahweh by disobeying His commandments. And for that reason we need to renounce them and allow the blood of Yahushua the Messiah to cleanse us of those sins, closing the door to the enemy. Especially true if the sins you’re committing as a believer were sins that your parents, grandparents, great grandparents were involved in.

And this is why Yahweh said Leviticus chapter 26 verse 40 it says – If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me, – they also –
⁴¹ and that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; – Satan the devil. You want to walk in the land of His enemy? Go right ahead, He’ll let you go. – if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled – though, – and they accept their guilt-–
⁴² then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land.

For Yahweh to remember the land and His covenant with Abraham, is for Him to remember His promise that in your seed all nations of the earth will bless and your seed will inherit this land. That’s the promise of Messiah Yahushua taking us to the promised land.

And so, if you confess your sins and the sins of your fathers, He will remember. He will remember the new land, the new Jerusalem.

Confessing someone else’s sin may seem kind of strange to your ears. Daniel did it, he was in Babylon he was confessing the sins of Israel. And Yahweh tells us to do it. Here’s what Yahushua actually said to these scribes and Pharisees. He said to them, He said (Matthew 23:32-36) – “Fill up, then the measure of your fathers’ guilt. – fill up –
³³ “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
³⁴ “Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, – Fill up the measure of your fathers’ guilt? –
³⁵ “that on you may come all the righteous bloodshed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered – whom you murdered – between the temple and the altar. – How did they murder him? They weren’t there when Zechariah was being killed. Why would He say that they are Zechariah’s murderer. They weren’t even alive then. You murdered, He says –
³⁶ “. . . all these things will come upon this generation.

Why? Because they walked in that same spirit. The enemy is a murderer. John 8:44a says – “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning . . . .” – They wanted to murder Yahushua. And they did. They murdered the most righteous man that ever lived.

And so while they did not murder Zechariah they certainly showed that they would have. They were walking in that same spirit and therefore they were guilty. Not only of the murder of Zechariah. Not just Zechariah. It says (Matthew 23:35-36) – “that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, . . . .” – Wow! And I might suggest these same men that were leading 1^st century Judaism will ultimately be guilty for more than this, because much of their doctrines are preserved in the Talmud. And the Talmud is what modern-day Judaism ultimately follows.

Now when it comes to us, we need to think about the ramifications of our own sins. And while we may not have personally committed the sins of our parents or our grandparents, if we have walked in that same spirit, hearing that same voice from the enemy and obeying it as they did, or showing by our agreement with that spirit, we would have done what they did.

And that’s how the iniquity gets transferred down to the third and the fourth generation. And that’s why we should confess our sins and the sins of our fathers to cancel all legal ground the enemy may have against us, and thereby tear down these strongholds. Tearing down of strongholds that Satan has been allowed to build in our lives, and in the lives of our ancestors.

And if we choose to do this, listen, it’s very serious. Very serious. And don’t take it lightly. Yahushua said (Matthew 12:43-45) – “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes to dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.
⁴⁴ “Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.
⁴⁵ “Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

The empty house is a house where Yahweh is not dwelling. If you’ve commanded the enemy to go, and you don’t fill your hearts and your minds with the things of Yahweh, you could be in a worse state than you were before.

I think I told the story about the man I ministered to here in the county jail. I gave him a list of renunciations. I said, he had all his noise in his head, all the time. He couldn’t even sleep all this noise was in his head. Voices constantly talking to him. I said, “You do those renunciations, they’ll take the noise out of your head.” I come back the next week he says, “You’re right. I can sleep, they’re gone completely gone.” I said, “Well, don’t go back to your former ways” because he was involved in Wicca before, he was a warlock. So don’t go back to your former ways. They will stay out.

A week, I missed a week or two, I had something had to do on those two particular days. And the third week, I looked in the newspaper, he had tried to commit suicide. He survived, I come back to see him, I said, “What happened?” He said, “Well, I went ahead and did a seance because this thing was going on and that was going on.” I said, “You just renounced those things and you went back to them and that’s what happened.”

And that’s what Yahushua was saying, “So shall it be with this wicked generation.” That’s what He told them. They’re going to be worse off. So shall it be with this wicked generation. Think about this: Yahushua went around and healed all these people in mass. Crowds, massive crowds were following Him. And at the end the crowds were shouting, “Crucify Him, crucify Him”.

We can have diseases on us because of sins we’re involved in. We can have demons assigned to us because of sins that we allowed in our lives. And if we get the healing or we get the demon cast out or whatever happened, and those spirits are gone, but we don’t we haven’t really repented, we haven’t truly, truly, truly committed ourselves, the last state can be worse.

And that’s what happened to them. They’re in a worse state now. So the bottom line is this: you gotta have a real commitment brothers and sisters because when you decided to follow Yahushua, I mean it wasn’t like sign up for a rewards card at your local gas station okay?

This is a life-changing commitment to Yahweh and His word. Choosing to love Him with all of our heart, all of our soul and strength. He wants us to love Him like that because He loves us like that. And He’s worthy of our commitment. He loves us like no one else does, no one else has and no one else ever will. It’s worth it. He’s worth it. He’s worth it. He is our shield. And He is our exceedingly great reward.

And so it’s high time we put away the foolish things, put away the things of this age that bind you. And pick up the armor of Yahweh.

(Romans 13:11-14) – And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
¹² The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
¹³ Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. – Well he sure knew what to say didn’t he. –
¹⁴ But put on the Master Yahushua the Messiah, and make no provision – none – for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. – No provision, none. No revelry, drunkenness, no lewdness, lust, no strife, no envy, no provision. Walk properly. Walk properly. Night’s far spent, day’s at hand. Cast off the works of darkness. Put on the armor of light. And realize, yeah it’ll be hard.

(2 Timothy 2:3-4) – You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Yahushua Messiah.
⁴ No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. – And as soldiers we must be willing to fight, don’t sit back when the enemy goes after you or goes after your family. Rise up and take a stand! Rise up and fight! I didn’t say fight human beings, I said fight him. Remember we’re we’re going to punish their disobedience one day when our obedience is first fulfilled.

And so as Psalm 149 so beautifully says (Psalms 149:5-9) – Let the saints be joyful in glory; 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,
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 . . . – This honor have all His saints.

These are awesome and great promises for tomorrow and for today. Today we can sing aloud to Yahweh in our beds while we have the two-edged sword in our hand, the Word of Yahweh in our hands, and we can with our mouths bind up the enemy, the rulers of this age with fetters and chains.

Because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. And He who is in you wants to defeat the enemy in you. And therefore Yahushua, who loves you, wants to see you delivered from the enemy’s grasp.

And the only thing limiting Him is the choices that you make and whether you’re willing to make a stand or not. And if we make the right choices there is no end to the victory we can obtain. There’s no end to what Yahweh can accomplish in us. Because in Him we have righteousness.

And in Him we have authority over these unclean spirits. And if you think you don’t, then what do you think? The demons have authority over you? Or you’re co-equals? No, we’re the body of the Messiah. It’s not we who live, it’s Yahushua who lives in us and therefore, with wisdom and understanding of knowing when it’s appropriate to cast him out and tell him where to go and when it’s not, we can do so.

But we first have to take away his legal ground against us. Or somebody else has to take legal ground away from him if you’re dealing with somebody, through confession, through renunciation. And then, if any are fully committed to following His ways we can bind him up, cast him out.

Now, I have a document on my website that can be used as a guide to renounce any and all evil that we have allowed in our lives. It’s a guide, you can say it verbatim or you can just say what you feel there to say. But this document can be downloaded as a PDF file and print it out. It’s on eliyah.com/renounce.pdf.

And this is adapted from something I received from another brother who was heavily involved in spiritual warfare, and I made some edits to it in certain areas, I think to make it fit what I thought that was more scripturally sound.

And I went through the things. I went through the document. I renounced all things I could think of. All the sins my ancestors were involved in. For instance, my last name is Martincic. Well, Martincic a Slovenian last name pronounced “Martinchich” means “son of a follower of Mars.” Yuck. I mean, Mars as in the pagan idol worshiped by the Romans, that deity of war. Well, I mean, I inherited my name there’s nothing I could do about it, I mean so what do you do? It just tells me that someone in my past, and probably was involved in some kind of idolatry, in my ancestry. Now it doesn’t say I’m a follower of Mars. Martin does mean that, but the “cic” on the end means I’m the son of one who did follow Mars. And so, anyway, this is one of the sins I confessed. I mean, I never followed Mars. But maybe there was something there in that following of Mars that I, that my ancestors did, that I found myself doing. So I went ahead and confessed anyway.

As I learned about what my ancestors were into, I just confessed. And I encourage you, if Yahweh so leads, do the same. And there can be a time and a place. And you’ll see it in this document for actually addressing Satan directly and telling him he has no grounds or power over us any longer.

And Messiah Yahushua has cleansed us from our sins, and we want no part of what they’re a part of, and he has to go. And he has to go from our presence like Yahushua when he addressed Satan directly “Get behind Me Satan”.

And we do have authority over him to do that as long as we are not submitting to him and believing his doctrines. I mean it’s silly to try to cast him away from us, and at the same time allow him to dine with us when we feast on his doctrines and his lies.

So, first you get rid of the legal ground by which he was able to harm you to begin with, and then you can tell him get behind you. Because then you’re choosing to believe truth over lies and submitting yourselves to Yahweh rather than to the enemy.

So, (1 John 1:9) – If we confess our sins – Scripture says – He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – And thereby you’ve got that breastplate over your heart.

What a blessing and what a beautiful promise here. And we can stand on that promise, we can stand on that promise and not feel guilty. No matter what you’ve done, because He is faithful and He is just to cleanse you, cleanse you of all unrighteousness. If you’re cleansed of all unrighteousness, you are every bit as righteous as Yahushua the Messiah Himself.

Truth is, brothers and sisters, one day this battle will be over. And this enemy of ours, with all his devices, will be cast into the bottomless pit, the abyss, the lake of fire. The Scriptures says (Psalm 125:3-5) – For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest – This scepter means the rulership. The rulership. Satan is the ruler of this world but it’s not going to rest – On the land allotted to the righteous, Lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity.
⁴ Do good, O YAHWEH, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts.
⁵ As for such as turn aside to their crooked ways, Yahweh shall lead them away With the workers of iniquity. – That’s why Yahushua said, “Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity” but – shalom be upon Israel! – Of whom we are. We are Israel. And finally that scepter of wickedness will be told where to go. Into the lake of fire, and shalom will finally be upon Israel. No more fights. No more wars. No more battle.

Now listen. If you’re struggling with a spiritual battle, the issue is not always rebuke Satan directly. I mean a lot of times I prefer simply to cry out to Yahweh for deliverance.

Like psalm 143:9-12 – Deliver me, O YAHWEH, from my enemies; – That’s your enemies that are not flesh and blood, principalities and powers. – In You I take shelter.
¹⁰ Teach me to do Your will, For You are my Mighty One; Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.
¹¹ Revive me, O YAHWEH, for Your name’s sake! For Your righteousness’ sake bring my soul out of trouble.
¹² In Your mercy cut off my enemies, And destroy all those who afflict my soul; For I am Your servant.

(Proverbs 18:10) – The name of Yahweh is a strong tower; (The righteous run to it and are safe.) – You don’t know what to do? You don’t know how to handle a situation you’re in? You don’t even know how to fight? Run to the tower.

That’s the pattern we see happening most often in Scripture: crying out for Yahweh to do His work and defeat the enemy from before our face. And Yahweh will be with us because (Deuteronomy 33:26-29) – There is no one like the Mighty One of Jeshurun, – Jeshurun means “upright one”. There is no one like the Mighty One of Jeshurun – Who rides the heavens to help you, And in His excellency on the clouds.
²⁷ The eternal Elohim is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, And will say, ‘Destroy!’
²⁸ Then Israel shall dwell in safety, The fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of grain and new wine; His heavens shall also drop dew.
²⁹ Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh, The shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, And you shall tread down their high places.” – These were the final words of Moshe to Israel before they entered that promised land. Such beautiful words of hope and promise.

It’s time for us to do what Yahweh told Adam to do in the garden. And what he told Cain to do in the garden. Rule over it. Rule over the sin, subdue the earth. We are called to go out on a search and rescue mission. Recognize where the enemy is working, and seek to bring Yahweh into the hearts and souls of men, that they might be delivered from the snare of the devil.

And since we are made from the dust of the earth, when we bring someone from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light, we’re actually subduing the earth. We’re restoring Yahweh’s dominion over that piece of ground. That human being that was once given to the enemy. And that earth, that human body, is now an instrument of righteousness.

And so by doing that you are subduing the earth and fulfilling our original created purpose. And you’re taking back ground that was given to the enemy.

And you could subdue the earth right here in your own heart too. If there are any parts of your heart that are not yielded to complete submission to Yahweh, and it needs to be healed, you subdue that earth within you too. And that’s what those renunciations are for, to help you do just that.

So let’s all stand together united as brothers, united as sisters in Yahweh, locked together to defeat the enemy as a great and awesome army of Yahweh. Fighting against the enemy who wants to make us stumble and bearing one another up if one of us were to falter.

So let’s be sure brothers and sisters we stay on Yahweh’s side and do all we can to build up and edify the body of the Messiah, taking dominion over the earth, so that we all may stand in that final day in victory, and one day hear those precious words (Matthew 25:23) – ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Master.’

May it be so for all of us. May Yahweh be with us and may Yahweh give us the victory. And may Yahweh truly have mercy upon us all. Let’s pray.

O Father, almighty Yahweh our Creator of heaven and the earth. We submit to You.

We know there was no one to help us like You. We know that Your arms are everlasting arms. We know that You have the power to destroy the enemy. We know that You have the power, You only speak the Word, and all the enemy’s plans evaporate in a second.

Teach us to do Your will. Let not the scepter of wickedness rest upon us, the land within our hearts. That’s a lot of for You Father. We confess our sins. We know You’re faithful. We know You’re just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

And now greater is He who’s in us than he who’s in the world. And therefore we go forth with a two-edged sword in our hand, and the high praises in our mouth. And we bind the enemy in the name of Yahushua ha-Mashiach, not fearing hardship, knowing we must endure hardship as a soldier of Yahushua.

We turn away from things that would entangle us in the affairs of this life, the revelry, drunkenness, lewdness, lust, anything that’s of the flesh. We put on Yahushua ha-Mashiach and His armor of light.

We confess any sins of our ancestors. Bring to our mind anything that we must confess in Your eyes. We know if we measure up to our guilt we have a Savior standing ready to cleanse us of all iniquity. And so we confess our iniquity and iniquity of our fathers. We want to be among the third and fourth generations of those that love You, and keep Your commandments. That causes may not exist for curses to come.

We renounce the hidden things of shame. We want to manifest Your truth and Your Word honestly to the conscience of every man, woman and child on the planet. For we know, though we walk in the flesh, we don’t war according to the flesh. And we cast down every argument high thing exalts itself against the knowledge of You, Father. Every thought we bring into captivity of Messiah.

And we know You have promises for those who do just that. To sit with Messiah Yahushua on His throne. And we can get there, I know we can, we can do all things through Yahushua who strengthens us. When we are weak You are strong.

We walk away from fear, we walk into Your everlasting arms and we trust our lives in Your care. There is no greater place to be than in Your care.

Abba, Father, we know the world has nothing in us, unless they’ve been given to them by us or from You. So we put on the whole army that we might be on that winning team. We resist the enemy. We call upon Your name and we praise You.

For truly Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory. Teach us to recognize where the enemy may be working, unbeknownst to us. Where the wolves may be among the sheep. Where the enemy may be lurking camouflaged. Give us that awareness and expose him.

For we desire Your kingdom. We do not want the spirit of the world. We want Your Spirit, so freely given to us.

We praise You, in all things we praise You. May Your name be glorified above all names.

Every tongue within the sound of my voice, speak with me, “I confess Yahushua ha-Mashiach is the Messiah, the Son of the living Elohim, I commit my life completely to You, O Yahweh, my strength and my redeemer”.

In Yahushua’s great name we pray these things. Amein.