Speak – Page 2 – Praying Pint

41.c. “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”

Exodus 4:10 But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”

Moses seems to be both afraid and unwilling to go as God has commissioned him to go. He has questions and thoughts about this commissioning;

“Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”
“If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”
“But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you.’”
“Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.
“Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.”

Do we harden our hearts to the whispers from the Holy Spirit of God? Do we say, “here am I, send me”, and deep down have no commitment to do what we are asked to do? Do we neglect time in His Word so we will not be spurred on, or have to deny and reject the Holy Spirit of God speaking to our hearts and minds? Do we become complacent in things of God so we neither get convicted of sin in our lives or be directed to do or say something for the Kingdom of God?

I fear we are more like Moses than like those who readily GO as commissioned. I don’t speak well. I don’t think fast. My vocabulary is weak. My understanding, at times, is flawed. I am not believable. I am not gifted for the task given. I am afraid of what others will think or say. Maybe if I close my eyes and plug my ears these quiet whispers from the Holy Spirit of God leading, guiding, and directing me to speak and do what I am hesitant to do, will go away.

Let our time in His Word grow our faith and willingness to say and do what the Holy Spirit of God is speaking into our hearts and minds be seared into our souls in an ever-growing and never-ceasing God-honoring and glorifying life.

39.e. “How can we clear ourselves?”

Genesis 44:14 When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there. They fell before him to the ground. Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me can indeed practice divination?” And Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how can we clear ourselves? God has found out the guilt of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found.” But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so! Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my servant. But as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

And Judah said, what shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak?…. Signifying that they were nonplussed, confounded, knew not what to say; they could not acknowledge guilt, for they were not conscious of any, and yet could not deny the fact, the cup being found on one of them; and though they might have a suspicion of fraud, yet were afraid to speak out what they suspected, and therefore were at the utmost loss to express themselves: or how shall we clear ourselves? to assert their innocence signified nothing, here was full proof against them, at least against their brother Benjamin: God hath found the iniquity of thy servants; brought it to their remembrance, fastened the guilt of it on their consciences, and in his providence was bringing them to just punishment for it; meaning not the iniquity of taking away the cup, which they were not conscious of, but some other iniquity of theirs they had heretofore been guilty of, and now God was contending with them for it; particularly the iniquity of selling Joseph; this was brought to their minds before, when in distress, and now again, behold, we are my lord’s servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found; hereby fulfilling his dream more manifestly than ever; for, by bowing down to the earth to him, they might be thought to do no other than what all did, that came to buy corn of him; but here they own themselves to be his servants, and him to be lord over them, and to have dominion over them all, and them to be his slaves and bondmen. (Gill)

These brothers have lived with the guilt of their sin for 22 years. This guilt has not left them and as they matured the sin they committed against Joseph haunts them. They know they deserve to be punished not only for what they did to Joseph but the heart ache and distress they caused their father Jacob. Judah, the instigator of the harsh treatment to Joseph has surely repented but has no means to forgive himself for the intended harm to Joseph. Likewise the brothers were of the same mind.

Guzik says it so perfectly: We might take pride because we are innocent of some sin or another, yet we are guilty of far greater. You can’t hide from your sin. Time does not erase the guilt of your sin; only the blood of Jesus can.

36.s. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”

Genesis 18:22 So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD. Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the LORD said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” And the LORD went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

Abraham appealed to the covenant grace of Jehovah, but to His justice alone; and on the principle that the Judge of all the earth could not possibly destroy the righteous with the wicked, he founded his entreaty that God would forgive the city if there were but fifty righteous in it, or even if there were only ten. He was led to intercede in this way by the love which springs from the consciousness that one’s own preservation and rescue are due to compassionate grace alone; love, too, which cannot conceive of the guilt of others as too great for salvation to be possible. He knew that he was speaking to the Judge of all the earth and that before Him he was “but dust and ashes” – “dust in his origin, and ashes in the end;” and yet he made bold to appeal still further, and even as low as ten righteous, to pray that for their sake He would spare the city. The judgment which fell upon the wicked cities immediately afterward proves that there were not ten “righteous persons” in Sodom; by which we understand, not merely ten sinless or holy men, but ten who through the fear of God and conscientiousness had kept themselves free from the prevailing sin and iniquity of these cities. (Keil and Delitzsch)

Oh to have a heart like Abraham, to intercede on the behalf of corrupt and godless people. I must say in all truth my heart does not first go here. When I see or hear of godless acts, lies, abuse of worldly power, child abuse, abortion of the unborn, LGBTQ pride and promotion, etc…. my heart does not cry out in intercession. My heart says to God, close me up in the arc and execute your judgment. This should not be. Our heart should be one of intercession for the lost, praying for the lost, praying for a softening of their conscience and heart to things of God, praying for their eyes and ears to be opened to the grace, mercy, and love through Jesus Christ. It was by the grace of God that I was not left to my own sinful ways and ultimate judgment from God. Our hearts are not changed through the will of man but through the gift of life through the Holy Spirit softening of our hearts by the knowledge and understanding of God’s Holiness and our sin and need of repentance and turning away from it to Jesus Christ.

35.k. “The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this”

Genesis 3:14 The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

Isaiah 29:4 And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak, and from the dust your speech will be bowed down; your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost, and from the dust your speech shall whisper.

God passes sentence; and he begins where the sin began, with the serpent. The devil’s instruments must share in the devil’s punishments. Under the cover of the serpent, the devil is sentenced to be degraded and accursed of God; detested and abhorred of all mankind: also to be destroyed and ruined at last by the great Redeemer, signified by the breaking of his head. War is proclaimed between the Seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. It is the fruit of this enmity, that there is a continual warfare between grace and corruption, in the hearts of God’s people. Satan, by their corruptions, buffets them, sifts them, and seeks to devour them. Heaven and hell can never be reconciled, nor light and darkness; no more can Satan and a sanctified soul. Also, there is a continual struggle between the wicked and the godly in this world. A gracious promise is here made of Christ, as the Deliverer of fallen man from the power of Satan. Here was the drawn of the gospel day: no sooner was the wound given, than the remedy was provided and revealed. This gracious revelation of a Saviour came unasked, and unlooked for. Without a revelation of mercy, giving some hope of forgiveness, the convinced sinner would sink into despair, and be hardened. By faith in this promise, our first parents, and the patriarchs before the flood, were justified and saved. Notice is given concerning Christ. 1. His incarnation, or coming in the flesh. It speaks great encouragement to sinners, that their Saviour is the Seed of the woman, bone of our bone, Heb 2:11,14. 2. His sufferings and death; pointed at in Satan’s bruising his heel, that is, his human nature. And Christ’s sufferings are continued in the sufferings of the saints for his name. The devil tempts them, persecutes and slays them; and so bruises the heel of Christ, who is afflicted in their afflictions. But while the heel is bruised on earth, the Head is in heaven. 3. His victory over Satan thereby. Christ baffled Satan’s temptations, rescued souls out of his hands. By his death he gave a fatal blow to the devil’s kingdom, a wound to the head of this serpent that cannot be healed. As the gospel gains ground, Satan falls.(Henry)

From the very beginning Satan is a tempter, liar, and searcher of souls to confound, win over, and lead away from listening to, obeying, and following God. We do well to understand nothing has changed in satan’s determination to destroy God’s communion with mankind and their devotion to Him.

30.v. “I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,”

Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Psalms 120:6  Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace.

Romans 12:18    If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

James 3:16-18   For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.  And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Romans 14:19    So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

Hebrews 12:14   Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

2 Timothy 2:22-24   So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.  Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.  And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,

Galatians 5:22   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

James 1:19-20    Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Ephesians 4:1    I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

“The verse which precedes it speaks of the blessedness of ‘the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ It is well that we should understand this. We are to be ‘first pure, then peaceable.’ Our peaceableness is never to be a compact with sin, or an alliance with that which is evil. We must set our faces like flints against everything which is contrary to God and his holiness. That being in our souls a settled matter, we can go on to peaceableness towards men.” (Spurgeon)

We commonly think of this peacemaking work as being the job of one person who stands between two fighting parties. This may be one way this is fulfilled; but one can also end a conflict and be a peacemaker when they are party to a conflict; when they are the offended or the offender. (Guzik)

We will always have the opportunity to offer peace. It can be an encouragement to be peaceful to someone who has been offended, hurt, chided, etc….. and is not at peace about it. Our encouragement might be to help them see it from another view. It might be to just let them know we understand and encourage them to be peaceable in their situation for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ. Last year I watched unrestrained riots, looting, and destruction. Those in the leadership of these cities, in the guise of trying to bring peace, tried to defend allowing these actions to go unchecked or stopped. This by all means is not being a peacemaker. It is weakness and cowardly. This same mindset would allow a person to be raped if the offender seemed to have a reason for their offense. Utter foolish thinking and leadership. Being a peacemaker may mean we will have to jump in and restrain during an offense. Protecting the weak or outnumbered or overpowered is also being a peacemaker.

Discernment is critical. When you hear what is proclaimed through social media and other media news outlets on their take on what brings peace, rest assured they are basing it on false worldly ideas that run contrary to Scripture. Peace is never obtained by divisiveness. What they are proclaiming may make worldly sense and may even sound like it could be right. This is why it is critical to have God’s Word in your life, written on your heart, mind, and soul. How else will you be able to discern worldly from godly? When there is no acknowledgment of God, Jesus Christ, and Scripture, people will do what seems right in their own eyes. Be a workman of God who is able to rightly divide the Word of Truth from worldly passions and ideas from what is right and wrong. Peacemakers must be rooted firmly in Jesus Christ, and continually learn more and more understanding and knowledge from God’s Word, with a desire to learn and apply it. Discernment will not come to those who are not seeking it.

29.l. “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things”

Colossians 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Psalms 16:11   You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalms 73:25-26     Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Hebrews 11:13-16     These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.  For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

Psalms 119:36-37   Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!  Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.

1 Chronicles 22:19     Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God.

Romans 8:5    For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

1 John 2:15   Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Luke 12:15    And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

“The believer is to ‘seek the things… above.’ The word ‘seek’ marks aspiration, desire, and passion… In order to seek these things the mind must be set on them.” (Morgan) What is it that captures or tries to capture our minds and ultimately our hearts? A seemingly harmless endeavor turns into a heart and mind-consuming desire and soon it replaces or interferes with devotion, submission, worship, obedience, reliance, and glory to Jesus Christ. Scripture tells us to be steadfast, anchored, and heaven-focused all of the time. It does not specify this for specific days or seasons, it is expected that in a man of God it is all the time, and yet, we find ourselves being consumed by things that are not heavenly or Jesus Christ-honoring. How does this happen? The shallowness of personal commitment to spiritual, heavenly, and things of God will always leave a void in a person’s heart, mind, and soul. This void is filled with something, it is not left void. Worldly and fleshly wants, desires, and temptations abound, and in the absence of desire and seeking of spiritual, heavenly, and Godly things in a person’s life will be consumed by the worldly and fleshly. Far too many think believing in Jesus Christ is nothing more than an insurance policy to keep from going to Hell and their lives are neither committed or their hearts desire focused on things above. Examine yourself and see. Is your hearts desire for spiritual, heavenly, and Godly things?

27.y. “On the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak”

Ephesians 5:4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Proverbs 12:23   A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.

Proverbs 15:2    The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

Jude 1:10   But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively

Colossians 3:8   But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Matthew 12:34-37   You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.  I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,  for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Romans 1:28    And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Paul’s appeal to the Ephesians was to be ever mindful of who they were in Christ and as such there ought to be a difference in how they speak and act even if the rest of the culture approves. They ought to know what is right, pure, and God honoring in their speech and actions. They ought to weigh every word in the light of God-honoring speech. As men, don’t have to spend much time outside our homes before we are bombarded with course language, filthy jokes, or other meaningless talk that adds nothing of value to our soul and certainly not toward God. We need to recognize and be able to discern what is right, honorable, and pleasing to God. The problem is we don’t recognize it as wrong or we shrug it off as fitting in. This problem has many roots that are anchored to our heart, mind, and soul. Neglect, complacency, remaining an infant in things of God, busyness, a lack of desire to honor and glorify God, wanting to fit in, shallow and stagnate knowledge of God’s Word, no hunger or thirst for His leading, and unwilling to fully commit to the will of God.

Psalms says: Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise? He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge— the LORD—knows the thoughts of man

26.e. “Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

Galatians 1:10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Acts 4:19-20    But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge,  for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

1 Thessalonians 2:4    but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

2 Corinthians 5:9-10     So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

Ephesians 6:6   not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,

James 4:4    You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

“There have always been preachers who have sought popular acclaim above all else, and there are some still. It is part of fallen human nature that even those charged with the responsibility of proclaiming the gospel can fall into the trap of trying to be popular rather than faithful.” (Morris)

Being faithful with the gospel of Jesus Christ means we do not add to it or take away from it. The same is true of God’s Word. People pleasers give lip service and head nods toward things of God but their heart is in being joined with the world in a way that does not honor and glorify God. The gospel of Jesus Christ can not be separated from heaven and hell, righteousness and sin, forgiveness and guilty, and Judgment. How can a person know of the need for Jesus Christ without an understanding of these? To water down the need is to obscure the greatness of grace, love, and mercy Jesus Christ gave when He sacrificed Himself for sinners. God’s Word is clear in regards to man’s separation from Him due to sin. “All have sinned and fall short” – Sin is and will be judged by God – Eternity awaits us all – Heaven and Hell – Eternity in heaven is a promise of God just as eternity in hell. I can think of no other scripture that is as clear as what is written in the Gospel of John. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” There is no other way by which a man can be saved. There is no way to be good enough or do good enough things to be right before the holiness of God. It is only when there is a humble surrender of all self-reliance and complete reliance, trust, faith, and belief in and through Jesus Christ will any person be saved from eternal hell. God has given mankind free choice to choose between self and Christ, heaven and hell, forgiveness and guilt. The message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the absolute need should never be diluted or obscured. Wide is the road that leads to Hell and narrow is the path to Heaven. Never let it be accounted to you that the gospel of Jesus Christ was diluted or obscured in any way.

25.k. “But as servants of God”

2 Corinthians 6:4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left

Romans 14:18    Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

1 Thessalonians 2:3-11   For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive,  but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

Romans 5:3-4    Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,  and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,

Colossians 1:11    being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy

Hebrews 12:1   Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

James 5:7-10    Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.  You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Revelation 3:10    Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.

We often think of patience as a passive thing – the ability to sit around and wait for something to happen. That is not the idea of the word Paul used here. It is an active endurance instead of a passive waiting. The ancient Greek word hupomone “does not describe the frame of mind which can sit down with folded hands and bowed head and let a torrent of troubles sweep over it in passive resignation. It describes the ability to bear things in such a triumphant way that it transfigures them.” (Barclay)

“Nowadays it is not the violence but the mockery or the amused contempt of the crowd against which the Christian must stand fast.” (Barclay)

Paul knew he needed endurance, and he knew many things in his life drew him to seek that endurance. Some of them were the general trials of life, some were sufferings directly brought by others, and some were self-inflicted. Not every trial was the same, but they all made him need endurance.

The idea of on the right hand and on the left is of holding both offensive and defensive weapons. It probably has in mind “both advancing and being attacked.” “Particularly, the shield and the sword; the former on the left arm, the latter on the right hand. We have the doctrine of truth, and the power of God, as an armour to protect us on all sides, every where, and on all occasions.” (Clarke)

25.a. “Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.”

1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.

John 12:31    Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.

Ephesians 2:2  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

1 John 5:19    We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

The child of God need not fear the spirit of Satan, even though they should be warned of it, because they have the indwelling Spirit of God. That indwelling Spirit is greater than he who is in the world – Satan and all of his allies. We have a resource for victory, the vital presence of the indwelling Jesus, which makes victory always possible – if we will rely on He who is in you instead of relying on ourselves. This understanding gives us courage for the battle each day and great confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit. For those walking in this truth, victory is assured – they have overcome them. It is a positive statement, not a wishful hope. We have many spiritual enemies, but not one of them is greater than Jesus who lives in us. Those who are of the world are evident because they speak as of the world; the influence of the world is evident in their speech. As Jesus said, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

We are given discernment, through His Word to know truth and lies, good and bad, holy and evil, children of God and those of this world being led and influenced by Satan the workers of evil intent and selfish gain. Do not be discouraged by the discernment and abundance of ungodliness in the world. Be thankful for the ability to understand it and the grace that has opened your heart, soul, and mind to it. God’s work in us is not done and the lost still need to be told of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.