Servias Ministries Blog

George Warnock shared the following:

Apollos, an eloquent teacher of the scriptures, had been to Ephesus before Paul, and had accurately taught the disciples about the Lord Jesus, knowing only the baptism of John. Then Aquila and Priscilla took him aside and explained the Gospel to him, and with this further enlightenment he powerfully preached the Lord Jesus, as the One that John had presented in his gospel of the Kingdom.

Then Paul in his journeys came to Ephesus and found the disciples, and asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit. They said they didn’t know anything about the Holy Spirit. They told Paul they only knew about John’s baptism. Paul explained the Gospel further, and they "were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus", the way the apostles had been baptizing ever since the Lord ascended. "And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied" (Acts 19:6).

But writing to this same church later, we find the apostle Paul praying for them, that they might come still higher in the revelation of Christ:

"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead.." (Eph. 1:17-20).

"Filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" (Col. 1:9). This wisdom and understanding gives us the assurance and peace, that we are walking in His way. It does not necessarily answer all our questions — in fact He may answer very few of our questions. But like our understanding of the universe in which we live. We know very little about God’s intricate workings in creation — but "by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Heb. 11:3). God did not make the worlds out of nothing. He made them out of things we cannot see — invisible things. Our whole way of life, if we are truly walking by faith — is full of strange and perplexing happenings — but He gives us wisdom and spiritual understanding to know that His ways are invisible — not meaningless nor indiscriminate. He works in our little world as He did in those worlds out there in space, with intent and purpose. And by faith we understand, because we know it is all clear in His eyes. And it is this spiritual understanding that causes us to say with His servant Job: "He knoweth the way that I take, and when He hath tried me I shall come forth as gold".

As the Spirit of God comes into our lives .. this is not the capstone. He has come to abide within us, and to lead us further into those realms in God that as yet we know very little about. The children of Israel were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, but most of them failed to know God’s ways, and to enter the land of promise (see 1 Cor. 10:1-5). We are still far from the mighty Baptism of Fire that the scriptures talk about. God does not want us to feel we have attained to some spiritual height of glory, just because of certain experiences we have had along the way. Rather, the Spirit of God has come to be our Helper and daily Companion here on earth, to lead us into all Truth, to explore those unseen realms in God — the lengths and the breadths, the depths and the heights of His glory and presence — until we are filled with all the fullness of God. He wants to invade our lives with His mighty presence, until all the dross of our carnal ways are consumed with His holy fire. He wants to purge us with those seven flames that burn before the throne, and look upon us with those penetrating eyes of the Lamb, that our whole body might be full of light, having no part dark (Lk. 11:36).

His gifts are precious gifts from the Father, sent forth to adorn and prepare the Bride for the Son. But like Rebekah, when she catches but a distant glimpse of Isaac, she is off the camel and on her way to meet him. As the day of His appearing draws closer, we are attracted less by the gifts, in anticipation of seeing the Giver. We would not minimize the importance of gifts, any more than we would minimize the importance of the flower on the vine. But when the petals begin to fall off, we know it is time for the fruit to begin to form. Those flowers that adorn your church are going to fade away. Those prophecies sooner or later are going to fail. Many times they are failing even now. Words of wisdom and knowledge cannot stay fresh and vital for long if we continue to pursue the gifts, rather than the Giver. God begins to dry up the flowers, when the season is about to change. There are seasons in God, and He wants us to be aware that a change is coming. Be glad if in your desire for God you are sensing a certain futility in church activities that once were vibrant with life. True prophecy will encourage God’s people to move forward, and to look for something more. And if you sense that hunger and thirst in your walk with Him, be encouraged! He wants to prepare in us a permanent abiding place for Himself. We need to let Him know we desire Him to come closer. Let us love Him more. Draw still closer to His heart. Do those things which please the Father, as Jesus did.

"If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love Him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him" (Jn. 14:23). Does this sound far out and strange? It is! But still this is what we must pursue, for we know it is the passion in God’s heart to take up His habitation in the humble and contrite hearts of men and women. He asks us to choose His yoke, and walk in abiding union with Him.

Wisdom is related to understanding, so we speak of them as close brothers. God tells us: "Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding" (Prov. 4:7). It is good if we have a heart that is searching for wisdom .. rather than for some kind of gift that might make us popular and famous. Wise men of old sought for it, as a hidden treasure. So let us search for wisdom, as Job did. He writes a whole chapter describing His search for wisdom. He speaks of the hidden treasures in the depths of the earth, with all its precious stones, and sapphires, and gold, and jewels of coral and pearl, and rubies. Yet he is aware that what he is looking for is still beyond his reach. He continues to probe the secret of wisdom. He asks the sea, and the sea says, "It is not in me". He scours the earth for answers, and wonders if it might be found in the lightning and thunder. But it is not there. He does not find it anywhere in all of God’s wonderful creation. But finally he gets his answer from God: "Then did He see it, and declare it; He prepared it, yea, and searched it out. and unto man he said, Behold the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding" (Job 28:27, 28). O what a let-down, when men filled with worldly wisdom, are faced with a conclusion like that!

Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in Ephesians chapter 2:

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of HIS great Love with which HE Loved us,

5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

How great is our Love toward mankind?  As we become mature Sons and Daughters of Our Heavenly Father, our Love should increase to the point where people will describe us as having the same great Love as Our Father and Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus did not need to die for His sins or His sicknesses for He was sinless and had no sickness, He died for ours.  We should contemplate this Truth until it is completely revealed with all its ramifications in our consciousness.  Until then, we will not fully comprehend His great Love toward us.

Jesus spoke in Luke chapter 6:

35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.

36 Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

One of the greatest expressions of Love is to Love our enemies.  Jesus tells us our reward will be great as we Love, do good, and lend without hoping for a return.  Greed will not be found among us and no evil will be found in our hearts.  This is when our reward will become great.

Jesus died for the ungodly and set aside salvation for all who would accept Him once and for all.  There are no exceptions so no matter what people have done in the past, they can and will be restored upon their decision to accept Christ as their Savior.  How great is FATHER’S Love when HE has given such an opportunity which defies time and space.  Even the worst enemy has the right to salvation and restoration.  Let us continue our Spiritual ascent up higher to embrace this wonderful Truth in its fullness.

Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in Ephesians chapter 3:

16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—

19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

As we come up hither, The Spirit encourages us to explore "what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the great Love of Christ, and so He gives us HIS HOLY SPIRIT to show us things that our minds cannot comprehend .. to draw us closer to the heart of FATHER.  This depth of understanding requires commitment on our part so let us continue our ascension into the deeper aspects of Love and we will come to the point of fully expressing HIS Great Love to all of mankind.

I watched the following interview:

https://usawatchdog.com/military-tribunals-beginning-of-cabal-takedown-mark-taylor/

It is up to each of us to discern by THE SPIRIT what we watch and hear in determining its validity in our individual lives.  I do find the timing interesting of what was discussed in the interview.  This site is apolitical but we do promote the revealing of all Truth to come forth in all areas of society.  It is beyond our scope to determine how FATHER does it and who HE uses.  There are many examples in Scripture where HE uses heathen kings to bring forth HIS plan.  Cyrus is just one example.  The Truth is meant to expand the possibilities for all, not just a few.

David wrote by THE SPIRIT in Psalm 25:

14  The secret [of the wise counsel] of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
And He will let them know His covenant and reveal to them [through His Word] its [deep, inner] meaning.

Those of us who place complete trust and reverence in Our Heavenly Father will be led into the fullness of HIS Character, especially in the are of Agape Love.  Others will rely only on sense knowledge and its resulting logic thus they will be ensnared by their darkness in the area of understanding.

There is so much obvious perversion these days in all areas of society, the contrast of FATHER’S Wisdom and the wisdom of man is so clear to those whom FATHER has opened their eyes.  Mankind is continually redefining right and wrong to conform to their ever-changing values resulting in even greater confusion, the earmarks of Mystery Babylon.  FATHER’S Remnant continues to mature in the midst of all this confusion where the ultimate outcome will include exposing the sin and lawlessness of those who are blinded by their carnal nature.

Our Lord Jesus calls Himself "the faithful and true Witness" (Rev. 3:14). In His life on earth, and now in the heavens, He is the faithful and true Witness. Even in the earth He only spoke those things which He had "seen and heard" from the Father" (Jn. 3:32). He was God’s Testimony in the earth. "I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father hath taught Me, I speak these things" (Jn. 8:28). Jesus said of His disciples when He was about to go away: "And ye shall be witnesses unto me" (Acts 1:8).

We are being prepared to be faithful and true witnesses as was Our Elder Brother when he ministered on earth during that 3 1/2 year time period.  We too will only speak those things which we will have seen and heard in like fashion.  The Kingdom will come forth and overtake Babylon with the Truth and its related fruit.  Let us not be surprised when the Truth begins to flood the earth and expose the wickedness which has been hidden from the masses.  Mystery Babylon will fall quickly and many will be searching for the Truth from Above.  They will be seeking out wise counsel from those whom FATHER has chosen to be HIS mouthpiece in these turbulent times.  Let us not grow weary and let our patience prevail as Babylon’s fall comes forth.  In the meantime, we should continue communing with FATHER WHO will reveal HIS Word and Its deeper meaning.

Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in Ephesians chapter 4:

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—

16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

The five-fold ministry does not have a perpetual job but should at some point no longer be needed.  Ministry is not the ultimate end — it is rather intended to prepare us, nurture us, teach us, strengthen us, edify us "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ". And the apostle Paul continues to expound on this, showing us that the ultimate end of ministry is to lead the people of Our Heavenly Father into perfect Love.

Paul also wrote in chapter 2:

18  For it is through Him that we both have a [direct] way of approach in one Spirit to the Father.

19  So then you are no longer strangers and aliens [outsiders without rights of citizenship], but you are fellow citizens with the saints (God’s people), and are [members] of God’s household,

20  having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the [chief] Cornerstone,

21  in whom the whole structure is joined together, and it continues [to increase] growing into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, set apart, and sacred to the presence of the Lord].

22  In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Can a carnal-minded person exist in the presence of Our Heavenly Father?  Not at all, so we will be fitly joined together as we are perfected in Love.  When this perfection occurs, we will be in a glorified state and take on FATHER’S Nature.  Paul spoke of this in Romans chapter 8:

16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

And:

30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Each of us should expect to be perfected in HIS Love.  As this occurs, we will become a fully acceptable habitation for Our Heavenly FATHER to dwell in.  Love is the pathway to glorification as Our Elder Brother is glorified.  We do not need to complicate this Truth by conducting various rituals expecting FATHER to respond to our actions as though by our works we will attain glorification.  We need not wait until some future date or feast day to begin walking in Love so that we will be qualified to be glorified.  Yes, Love will produce good fruits as a result of our relationship with FATHER but we should not count on works alone without the emphasis of Love perfected in our lives.  Love is the key to full maturity of the Sons and Daughters.  If Love isn’t the motivator, no matter how many works one does, they will be to no avail.

Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in Galatians chapter 5:

16  But I say, walk habitually in the [Holy] Spirit [seek Him and be responsive to His guidance], and then you will certainly not carry out the desire of the sinful nature [which responds impulsively without regard for God and His precepts].

17  For the sinful nature has its desire which is opposed to the Spirit, and the [desire of the] Spirit opposes the sinful nature; for these [two, the sinful nature and the Spirit] are in direct opposition to each other [continually in conflict], so that you [as believers] do not [always] do whatever [good things] you want to do.

18  But if you are guided and led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the Law.  AMPL

We are able to constantly walk and be led by THE SPIRIT else the above Word would not have been given to us by THE SPIRIT.  Therefore let us expect to do so and let us rest in this reality.  As we do, we will truly enter into HIS rest on a daily basis and we will not be subject to the law.  We all know that the old man opposes this walk and would try to convince us that we are unable to be constantly led by THE SPIRIT, but Paul urges us to embrace the Truth that we can and should walk and be led by THE SPIRIT.

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,

20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,

21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  NKJV

We are provided an extensive list of the fruit of walking according to the flesh so that there is no question of which path we are currently on.  The old man wants to pull us away from FATHER and walk in opposition to HIM in some facet of our life.  Let us scrutinize each fruit listed to see if we are still caught up in producing such fruit.  If so, repent and focus on the Word in that area in order to be cleansed and purified.

Paul then provides a list of good fruit in contrast:

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Notice that Love is listed as the first good fruit and it is not by accident.  If we walk in Love, the other fruit will come forth as a result of Love.  This is why I continue to emphasize the need to pursue the revelation of Love.  If we walk in Love, we have fulfilled the Law thus we are not subject to it.  As we pursue walking in and being led by THE SPIRIT, we will receive a deeper understanding of Agape Love which in turn will strengthen our walk.  The old man will ultimately die and we will no longer be plagued by the desires and tendencies of the flesh.  We will be able to perceive a greater purity of our heart as never before.  With that reality, we will develop a righteous boldness to speak the Truth in Love when given the opportunity.  We will lose any timidity we once had when confronted by worldly opposition for we will have the confidence of being led by THE SPIRIT.  Let us embrace this reality of our ability to be fully led by THE SPIRIT.

Luke wrote by THE SPIRIT in chapter 10:

38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.

39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.

40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.

42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Our relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ should never lose its vitality and importance in our daily lives.  He should be our “first Love” and remain the center of attention as we go about doing.  Martha was focused on doing which caused her to worry and to be troubled about many things.  Mary, on the other hand, desired to simply be in Jesus’ presence and hear His Voice.  We can allow the distractions of doing to overtake the priority of simply being.  In the Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Beloved Disciple wrote what he saw and heard in THE SPIRIT in chapter 2:

4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’

You can be a doer of The Word and be out of communion with FATHER.  It is all about Love.  Many churches thrive on putting programs together in order to spread the Gospel but spend no time directing the people toward a deeper Love relationship with Our Lord.  They are producing a multitude of Martha’s and no Mary’s.  Jesus alerted us to hear what the Spirit is saying.  We must overcome any and all distractions that redirect our priorities away from the emphasis of Love toward Our Lord.  Look at the result of keeping our first Love as the highest priority- “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”

I personally find that beginning the day in a quiet time before FATHER keeps my priorities aligned with HIS.  If I will focus on Agape Love and my adoration for Jesus who willingly giving His life for me, this first Love will remain alive and well.  Spending time in HIS presence should be our first priority.  The more time we spend in HIS presence, the greater the change in our lives.  We become like HIM as truly mature Sons and Daughters.

Jesus spoke in John chapter 14:

23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

Love is the foundation of maturity and we must not allow distractions to chip away at this foundation.  It can happen or Jesus would not have warned the church in Ephesus.  Let us reset our priorities and make sure we keep our first Love at the top of the list.  We must cease the distractions.

The Beloved Disciple wrote by THE SPIRIT in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, chapter 2:

1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:

2 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false;

3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary.

4 But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

5 Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.

6 Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’

— George Warnock — April 17, 2001 – wrote:

As I read and reread the seven letters to the seven churches, I cannot help but know that here in the free world at least, our Lord is calling His Church to repentance — and for the same reasons He called five of the seven churches of Asia to repentance. He even threatened He would remove the Lampstand from one church that had so much going for them .. for a reason we would hardly consider to be valid. After all they were doing good works, laboring in the work of the Lord, were patient in trial, could not tolerate those who were evil, had keen understanding to try those who claimed to have apostolic ministry, and proved them to be false, carried faithfully the burdens that God put upon them, without fainting and dropping out of the race .. Surely a church of this caliber would receive top marks from the Lord. But this is the church, to whom the Lord said He would remove their Lampstand, if they did not repent. What was their problem? They had forsaken FIRST LOVE. What will it take to cause us to know how greatly we have fallen, and to come back to the simplicity and purity of our Love for God, and for His people? I do not have the answer, but I know the Lord of the Church is the Answer, and that He walks among the Lampstands fully qualified and prepared to deal with every problem in the Church.

A few days ago I was thinking of Peter. He loved his Master, but when everything went to pieces he was suddenly frustrated, disillusioned, angry, offended — and ready to throw it all up. He even went so far as to openly deny his Master three times in a row. Then something happened that Jesus had predicted. Suddenly the cock crowed, and Jesus turned and looked at Peter, and caught his eye. That one timely look at Peter, brought him to sudden, devastating repentance .. and he went outside and wept bitterly. It was the beginning of the restoration of his faith and hope in the One who said: "Peter, I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not".

I know this is our total answer. And my hope is that this writing may be a timely cock-crowing to many who are troubled and perplexed, perhaps even disillusioned and offended with God’s people, or with their Lord. Or, just plain Laodicean — neither cold, nor hot — and not realizing our Lord requires one or the other, and cannot tolerate the mixture. Whatever our problem may be, I trust we too may be caught by the eye of Jesus as He turns, and looks at us. For I know those eyes of the bleeding Lamb will bring us to irreversible repentance, where there is no turning back, no looking back.

"For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro
Throughout the whole earth,
To show Himself strong in the behalf of them
Whose heart is perfect toward Him" (2 Chron. 16:9)

Mark wrote by THE SPIRIT in chapter 9:

14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.

15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.

16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”

17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.

18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”

People will debate the Scriptures with us until observable fruit is produced which testifies of the power in The Word.  This was the case when the disciples could not cast out the demonic spirit afflicting the boy.  It was clear that the disciples attempted to heal the boy by casting out the spirit but failed.  This failure promoted the dispute with the multitude.  The disciples were not yet prepared to take on this spirit.

19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.”

20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.

21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.

22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”

23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

Belief, or unbelief, was the issue with the disciples.  There must have been doubt by what their sense knowledge was telling them.  Sense knowledge will challenge our belief in the preeminence of the Spiritual.  Consider what happened when the boy was brought before Jesus.  He immediately convulsed, fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth in order to get Jesus to consider his sense knowledge.  However, Jesus was not moved by what He saw and heard.  He knew that FATHER’S Word and Its inherent power and authority were sufficient to cast out the demon and heal the boy.

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!”

26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.”

27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.

28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”

29 So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.”

Unbelief was the issue with the disciples and Jesus gave them the solution to their problem- prayer (knowing our relationship with FATHER and the power and authority which comes with that relationship) and fasting (denying sense knowledge to have its way).  These writings are meant to move us all closer to FATHER and remove unbelief from our midst.  Belief in FATHER’S Word is meant to become first nature in us.  It should immediately rise up when confronted with adversity of any kind.  If it doesn’t , then we still have work to do in order to overcome our unbelief.  We still need to change by the cleansing and purifying of The Word.  We must focus on our communion with FATHER and HIS unfathomable Love.  When we are fully mature Sons and Daughters, we will not be moved by any spirit and we will set the captives free and heal all who are oppressed by the devil.  The disputing will cease.

Peter wrote by THE SPIRIT in 1 Peter chapter 5:

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,

7 casting all your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] upon Him, for He cares for you.

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil 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.

10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

Peter clearly states the devil is still active even though he was defeated by Jesus in the wilderness and at the cross.  Though defeated, he and his demons seek to devour those who are ignorant of their rights to overcome any and all attempts to afflict them in any manner.  If evil did not exist, FATHER’S Love and goodness could not be appreciated in comparison.

James wrote by THE SPIRIT in chapter 4:

7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Both disciples were led by THE SPIRIT to write these commands well after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ Our Lord.  We are urged to draw near and submit to FATHER so that we are equipped to actively resist the devil.  He knows that as we position ourselves close to FATHER, he has no opportunity to overcome us with any of his devices.  In both passages we are urged to draw near and humble ourselves before FATHER thus we must not let pride enter in which causes separation from FATHER.

Even when Jesus resisted the devil in the wilderness, it was not a one time permanent departure for Luke 4:13 says “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.”  This is why we must remain vigilant and sober, keeping FATHER’S Word before us on a daily basis.

The word “resist” is an active verb so we are to actively keep ourselves cleansed and purified as we draw nearer and nearer to Our Heavenly Father.  The closer we are to FATHER, the less issues and greater is the peace in our lives.  Why settle for less?

There is nothing you and I are dealing with that others haven’t dealt with in the past.  As Peter reminds us “knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world.”  Neither you nor I suffer alone.  As we draw near to FATHER with cleansed and purified hearts, we will be perfected, established, strengthened, and settled thus we will be a waste of time for the adversary to afflict us.  There will no longer be an “opportune” time for him.  Now is the time to resist the devil.