TOXINS OUT
Journey with us as we study Psalms 103 for the next few weeks on a "soul detox". This week's message focuses on keeping a clean soul.
Ps 103:1-3 Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases
Forgiveness is given to anyone and everyone who receives Christ. The most toxic spiritual condition for anyone is guilt. The consequences of guilt are all negative.
Our emotional frame was never designed to carry guilt. It distorts who we are in personality, character and attitude.
Amongst the most awesome of God’s characteristics is His desire and willingness to forgive those who have done wrong, but not just to forgive, to set them free from demon forces and sicknesses that have found access into people’s lives.
The word forgiveness means ‘to let go, to set free, to loose’. So many times when Jesus healed people, he would first declare them to be forgiven.
Lk 5:23-24 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”
Condemnation is one of the worst conditions sincere people find themselves struggling with.
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…
Rev 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
The defeat of the devil needs to be a loud proclamation, a loud voice.
There is a devil that is fiercest enemy of all that Christ is. The devil works under camouflage so we need to be discerning as to what we are fighting against, whether it’s our own flesh, or simply the storms of life, or the devil. Sometimes, people are blaming the devil for things they themselves are responsible for. However, there are also times when we think we’re in a battle against people, but, as the Bible says, ‘we are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers of another world, a spiritual world diametrically opposed to any follower of Christ. So, on the one hand we should not be blaming ourselves or others for things that originate with the devil but on the other hand we should not be blaming the devil for everything either. We need to be discerning as to what the source of our troubles are.
He is known as a number of things;
Lucifer, (shining one) - this is the deceiver, appearing as enlightenment, illumination, designed to take people away from Christ.
Satan - Adversary, opponent, enemy
Devil - Accuser, slanderer
Serpent - Sly, scheming, crafty
Dragon - Vicious rage
Beelzebub - Lord of flies, unclean, immoral, demons feasting on the unclean sins of people.
The reason Paul refers to the demons we are up against as principalities and powers is because the devil has organised his demons into a kingdom with varying degrees of authority and power, so there are princes, authorities, demons and evil angels.
When we are outside of Christ we are under the dominion of that kingdom;
Eph 2:2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience
But now, once you have received Christ into your heart you are transferred out from under the dominion of devils to being under the dominion of Christ.
Col 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love
Of all the fights you will find yourself in, possibly the most common and most relentless fight is against the accuser. If the devil can keep you under condemnation, keep you walking in guilt, then he will keep healing, strength, freedom and the power of Christ from you.
It's clear that once the devil (accuser) was displaced from the heavenly position, the blockages against salvation, strength and Kingdom (healing and deliverance) were removed and they could now 'come' into Earth.
As long as accusations, condemnation, criticisms, backbiting, faultfinding, judgment, prejudices are alive in the spiritual culture of a person, or a family, or a church, there will be a distinct absence of salvation, strength, kingdom and power. All these are blockages to the power of God.
Anyone wanting to bring healing cannot have judgment in their spirit. Forgiveness and healing walk hand in hand.
Eph 4:27 ‘…nor give place to the devil.’
The devil, the accuser, was in heaven. He was in the presence of God. Obviously a place had been opened up to him. We give the devil a place when we are unforgiving or when we refuse to receive forgiveness.
Mt 18:34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
He had taken his debtor by the throat. The man could not exhale. He could not get rid of the poisons in his lungs. This is what happens to people who are living in unforgiveness. Neither they nor their victims can breathe clear air.
Depression is one of the results of unforgiveness. Unforgiveness is a tactic of the devil to swallow people up with depression.
2 Cor 2:10-11 For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Any poisonous spiritual life inside us needs to be cleansed. This is when forgiveness needs to be received and given.
THEY OVERCAME HIM
Our weapons are powerful in defeating the devil;
2 Cor 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
FIGHT
Firstly we must realise that we are in a fight and we must resist the devil from trying to undermine our faith. He is not just about tempting us to do sinful things. The devil will attack with fear, with doubts and questions about who you are and what you have in Christ. He attacks in circumstances with storms, sicknesses, financial crises, relationship breakdowns.
Jas 4:7-8 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
THE BLOOD
Jesus overcame the devil personally and vicariously, meaning he overcame the devil in his own battles, but then He also overcame the devil on our behalf. He went into battle as our champion and was victorious so that we get to be the victors because of our champion.
Col 2:14-15 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
In Revelation 12:10 we are told we overcome the devil by the blood of the Lamb.
The blood of Jesus has removed all legal rights the devil has had to our lives. He no longer has any rightful place to our lives. All sins have been completely washed out of our system. We have had a total detox of the spirit and soul.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
This means the devil is completely defeated from accusing us, condemning us, or finding any loophole at all through which he can gain access into our lives. We are legally identified with Christ, in His death, His burial, His resurrection and His victory over the devil is accredited to us. Let us accept that fact.
Isa 54:17
No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.
THE NAME
We must understand that when we received Christ we also received His authority. He died in our name so we could live in His name.
2 Cor 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
The Name of Jesus is the most feared name in the entire spiritual world.
Phil 2:9-11 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Col 2:15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
See you in church!
