Grace Martial Arts Fellowship began in 1990, went online with a website in 1995 and began publishing newsletters to the Christian martial arts community in 1998.
Because of the quality of information found in those early newsletter articles and the fact they are no longer available online, we’ve decided to re-publish many of them in the coming weeks and months. Our hope is that a new generation of Christian martial artists will be blessed by the wisdom of those who were on the path before them.
GMAF NEWSLETTER
September – December 2006
Welcome to the GMAF Newsletter! We pray it will encourage you in your Martial Arts and Outreach for Christ.
Thoughts from the Master
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
Jesus Christ
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
The Apostle Paul
Wisdom Notes
“The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.”
Proverbs 10:22
“What We Have In Jesus!”
by
Mark McGee
GMAF Director
We have “everything” in Jesus! That’s an easy statement to make and it’s true, but what does it mean? The Apostle Paul wrote a fascinating letter to the Christians in the ancient city of Asia Minor known as Ephesus. He began his letter by telling them what they already had in their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:3-14
Paul made a bold statement to the Christians of Ephesus and every other city in the world of that generation and century until this day: we are blessed with “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” That’s a declaration that could come only from a direct Apostle of God’s Christ. Who else could make such a claim with absolute knowledge and impunity? Who else could know for sure unless they had heard it straight from the Mouth of God? Leaders of other ancient religions and philosophies made claims that were mostly preposterous, but none could be so bold to claim their deity or philosophy had the ability to grant “all spiritual blessings.” Most religions and belief systems hold back somewhat in their claims in case they’re wrong about some spiritual or physical aspect of life, every religion “except” Christianity. Getting to heaven or “paradise” always depends on the works of the individual in other belief systems, thus letting the “dieties” off the hook if the promises don’t work (which they don’t). Christianity is the only religion where God does it all stating clearly that the human race is unable to do anything for itself. Jesus Christ says He is the only Way to God in Heaven. There is no other way. No one could come close to the Throne of Almighty God unless they go according to the Way, the Truth and the Life: Jesus Christ (John 14:6). The people of Israel immediately recognized the difference between the message of Christ and the messages of other religious leaders because Jesus spoke as one who had authority from heaven (“And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Matthew 7:28-29). Jesus has the Authority to save lost humanity and He gave His Authority to His apostles to carry out the work of preaching the Gospel of the world. Those apostles gave their authority to their disciples who gave it to their disciples… until that authority reached you and me.
Paul was given specific instructions along with heavenly authority to preach the Gospel of Christ to Jews and Gentiles and to promise them about the spiritual blessings they would have as they placed their faith in Christ for salvation. He explained that to King Agrippa of Judea.
“At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me. Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come: That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.”
Jesus told Paul he was to tell believers (those who were sanctified by faith in Christ) about their spiritual “inheritance.” That’s what Paul did for decades as an Apostle of Christ. That’s what Paul wrote believers in his many letters to the churches and individuals. That’s what Paul addressed first in his letter to the Ephesians. During the next few GMAF newsletters, we’ll look more deeply into the riches of “what we have in Jesus.”
• Our blessings are “spiritual” and in “heavenly places” – our blessings are not earth based. They’re not something we can see with our eyes, hear with our ears, smell with our noses and touch with our fingers. They will not pass away, they will not rust, they will not decay. They are by nature “spiritual” and thus spiritually perceived, understood and enjoyed. They are blessings of another realm. They are not lying on the ground, flying through the air or floating on the water. They are not restricted by heighth, width or depth. They are not held within an earthly container that has boundries of size and shape. We don’t have “some” spiritual blessings. God says we have “all” spiritual blessings. We don’t compare what we have spiritually with other believers as if one Christian can have more or less of God’s blessings than another believer. Every believer has every spiritual blessing. Our blessings are safe from being stolen, lost or given away. They are secure in heavenly places. No person, no government, no army, no angel can hide or take our spiritual blessings from us. Everything God has given us is under His Supreme provision, protection and purpose.
• That knowledge should fill us with hope and joy every moment of our lives. Life on earth is hard. Sometimes it can become too much for us to bear… in our own power. It is at those times we need to read and re- read Eph. 1:3 and remember this great “fact” about our position in Christ. We have “all” spiritual blessings and no matter how difficult life becomes, we don’t lose what Christ won for us. Jesus won those spiritual blessings for us through His pain, through His humiliation, through His stripes, through His death on the Cross, through His resurrection from the grave, through His ascension into the heavenlies to sit on the Royal Throne of Heaven. The “spiritual blessings” you and I enjoy today were provided for us at great cost to the God of Heaven. He loved the world so much, He gave His one and only Son so that those who believe would not perish, but have everylasting life. We can thank Him every day for what Christ did for us and enjoy those spiritual blessings.
The spiritual blessings we have in Christ are certainly remarkable and constitute true miracles since they cannot be performed by anyone but God. However, our spiritual blessings contrast deeply to those of God’s other chosen people, Israel, and should give us great reason to pause and reflect on the vastness of our blessings. The covenant God has with us is based solely upon His Grace. Israel’s covenant is based upon God’s Grace and the Law He gave them in the wilderness. The Church, which is the Body of Christ, receives every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies as a gift of Grace from Jesus Christ, the Savior and Head of the Body. We do not deserve it and cannot earn it. Israel received its spiritual blessings as it obeyed Jehovah God. Israel did not receive “every” spiritual blessing as Christians do because no flesh can obey God.
“Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.” Deuteronomy 11:26-28
Even as God gave Israel His Law and His promise of great reward in a land flowing with milk and honey, Jehovah the Almighty laid out for Israel the sad future it would face in its inability to obey even the least of God’s commandments. This portion of God’s Word was prophetic of the terrible history of Israel’s punishments for its sins for thousands of years to come.
“I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright. But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits. And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate. And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes. And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God. But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD. These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.” Leviticus 26:13-46
Israel continues under the curse of the Law to this day and has yet to be redeemed from individual and national sin. Fortunately for Christians, we are not under any curse and have been forgiven all our sin because we are not under the control of the Law, but are under the protection of God’s Grace!
“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Romans 6:14
Anyone who stands outside God’s salvation which came through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Jew or Gentile, is under the curse of God’s Law. No man, woman or child can stand before God on the merits of their own works and good deeds. No one is justified by the Law. Those who are just live by faith.
“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Galatians 3:10-14
We are truly blessed to know the salvation of God and not only are we saved from eternal punishment, which every one of us deserves, God gives us every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies! Before any of us might become proud of what “we” were able to accomplish when Israel could not, let us always remember that what we have in Christ is all from God and because of God. None of us received any spiritual blessing because of our goodness. We are no better than the Jews and they are no better than the Gentiles.
“What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Romans 3:9-12
It’s pretty clear, then, that the pride any of us should feel about our having every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies should be in Christ who earned our blessings with His Body nailed to a Cross and His perfect obedience to God’s Law. Without Christ we have no hope. With Christ we have every spiritual blessing. What a gift!
(Next newsletter: The First Blessing)
“Away With PBA!”
by
Dr. Robert Xavier
Set Free Youth & Family Ministries
Confident Kid Martial Arts
PBA stands for “Performance Based Acceptance” (The opinions of others plus my performance equals my personal worth).
I. Do you do what you do FROM acceptance or FOR acceptance.
1. The issue is more than just doing the “right” things. The question is are you doing the right thing for the right reasons?
2. The Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to set us free from all sins guilt and condemnation.
- He had the most trouble with those religious people who were doing religious works for the wrong reasons.
- If we all were hones, we probably realize that we perform many of our “good” deeds to make ourselves more acceptable to others, to God, and perhaps, even to ourselves. But all of these “good” works will burn someday. 3. God wants each of us to experience the exceeding joy of knowing THE truth; THE truth that will set us free from performance based acceptance. (PBA) “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) “If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36) When you are motivated by PBA to do right things, guilt and condemnation often accompany the deeds. To experience freedom in Christ as a teen or adult Christian is to recognize that, “it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” What ever is not of God is sin. It will help you to reflect on the lostness of mankind, the forgiveness of Christ and the rightousness He bought for you by His blood. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1)
• Remember you have only three choices in which to place your faith and trust: others, yourself or God.
II. Justification is the great doctrine, which is the bedrock of our self- worth.
1. To be justified means to be placed in right standing before God. But what exactly does this mean? Justification is the judicial act of God by which He declares us free from the guilt of sin.
- All the sin we will ever commit has already been forgiven. To be justified means that the blood of Christ has removed the blight of your sin and mind.
- God sees you this way at this very moment! However, as marvelous as that is, justification means more than being forgiven. God not only forgives your sinfulness; He also provides your righteousness.
- Righteousness is the worthiness to stand in God’s presence without fear of condemntion, because He has imputed (credited) the very righteousness of Christ Jesus the Lord to you.
- The Bible teaches Justification is the foundation of your God-centered self-worth. God-confidence, not self-confidence, frees you from the performance trap and provides you emotional and spiritual freedom. “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” (Colossians 3:17)
“Worry! Don’t Do It!!
By
KARL WILLIAM MARX SR.
Founder of Keichu-Do Martial Arts
Worry is like a Cancer. It will eat away at someone until it kills him or her. Worry is another symptom of ‘Stinking Thinking”. There is a difference between being concerned and worrying about something. The problem arrives when the concern becomes worry. Worrying about something that could happen, might happen, or even will inevitably happen, is not a good thing. Constant worry can and has resulted in Ulcerated stomach or intestinal discomfort. Did you know that worry could cause a male’s worst nightmare? Impotence! Yes, that’s correct. Worry is a mental condition that may cause physical problems such as stress, and it is a known fact that extreme stress, fatigue, use of illegal drugs, and the substance abuse of alcohol can be contributing factures in impotence.
There are so many streets in Worrytown USA that it is difficult to pick any one for this article. However, one that is particularly high in my personal opinion: Parents worrying about their children. I wonder sometimes how many fathers have died of a heart attack because of having a punked-out, rebellious child. For over 45 years I have seen these types come to my Martial Art Academy, with parents so desperate to have some type of discipline in their Child’s life. I must admit that in many cases the delinquent student soon changed attitude and personality. Having a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Louisiana College, behavior shaping is not so foreign to me. I understand that many adolescents are self-conscious and self-centered.
They are in the “me, me, Mine, I” mode. They are adolescent stubborn and determined to assert their independence that conflicts all to often with their parental attempts to control.
( Editor’s note: when you are tempted to worry, remember Philippians 4:6-7)
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
“Think About This”
by
Jeff Hill
“In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world.”
Ephesians 1:3
Have you met Mephibosheth? Meph-ib-o-sheth…takes some doing to crank that one out of the vocal chords. He was the son of Jonathan (as in David and Jonathon fame) and we hear about him in 2 Samuel 4. So what about him? In a nutshell: Back “in the day” it was common for new kings coming to power to kill off family members of the deposed king. In this case, Mephibosheth was Saul’s grandson and since he was a little child at the time of Saul and Jonathan’s death, his nurse got scared, grabbed him and ran for safety, thinking that David was going to wipe out all of Saul’s people. Ahh, but she didn’t know of the promise between David and Jonathon where David gave his word to protect – not destroy – Jonathan’s family.(1 Sam 20:15-16) In the act of running away, the nurse dropped Mephibosheth and he was “crippled in both feet.” Every time we hear about him from then on, it’s Mephibosheth, the cripple. Skip forward 20 years and David finds out about the child (2 Sam 9:1) and asks, “Where is this son?” Okay – get this picture and as you do, consider how it relates to you. We have a crippled, deformed person, living in exile and in fear of the King’s wrath. He’s only identified with his handicap. And now, the King is looking for him and here come the troops to get him and take him to the palace. The guards that came for him tell him,”It’s going to be okay. Relax. The king is kind and merciful.” Meph isn’t buying it – there’s no assurance of that. First words out of David’s mouth when they meet? “Don’t be afraid.” Mephibosheth has been found, taken from exile, but he still needs to be assured. If you were to go before the King, right now, would you not be a tad shaky? “Fear not.” God tells us that every day and in every book of the Bible. It doesn’t matter that we’re crippled somehow. It doesn’t matter that we’ve lived in exile somewhere. It doesn’t matter that what we feared and thought about our King was mistaken. He calls us ‘son’, ‘daughter’….His child. “Don’t be afraid.” Because of a promise made by our Best Friend, Christ, we can fearlessly meet our King every morning and know that we have in us every spiritual blessing. Know that and rise to begin this new week filled with His love and grace.
“This is the day the Lord has made! Rejoice and be glad in it!” Smile – don’t get bogged down fearing what isn’t there. Live with confidence the life abundant in Christ! Now get out there and maximize your day!
“Surrender !?!?!?”
By
Steven H. Miller
Surrender is not something that martial artists like to consider. Why, that means we,ve lost, we,ve given up, we have just plain lain down. But you know, that’s exactly what God calls us to do if we are to follow Him!
Matthew 16:24-25
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.’ “
It has been my personal experience (and I’m sure others are a good deal smarter than I to have never had this problem) but my experience has been that there is a great deal of confusion, heavy heartedness, and even depression, simply because I have been unwilling to live the life that God has planned for me or called me to. Since I was not desirous of following God,s will for my life, a void was opened up that resulted in double mindedness, uncertainty and being constantly blown by the wind in every which direction, which ultimately caused depression, bitterness and anger.
Now, I wish I could take full credit for that unwillingness, but I also allowed unsound advice, off the cuff remarks and other unkind and unthinking comments to infiltrate what I knew to be true, so it sent me on a quest in search of everything, only to find nothing. Afterall, if I’m not meant for what
I believe God called me to, then what should I do with my life?
I don’t want to bore you with the details at this point (I,ll write that later), but one thing the Lord has shown me recently is that we MUST surrender to His will for our lives or else there will be nothing but futility, frustration and wasting of time. If you are not walking the path that the Lord has designed for you, you just as well ask the Great Wall of China to fall down, because that,s all the good you,ll be doing.
John 15:4-8
“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Consider it this way how long does the branch last apart from the vine? Not very long! Now if you,re not walking the path that God has planned for you, you are in fact a cut off branch to a certain extent. The disobedience you are living in cuts you off from fellowship with Jesus, making it so that you do not have the necessary “nutrients that you need to produce “much fruit. Hence, everything you attempt to do, even if it,s supposedly “for God it won’t be producing “much fruit, because you are not “in the vine. Apart from HIM you CAN do NOTHING! Understand, I,m not speaking of your salvation here, I,m speaking of your effectiveness, your fruitfulness, and yes, even your happiness in life! But when you are “in the vine there is much there for you. We all need to be in vine!
Another thing God showed me too, was when Saul was on the road to Damascus.
Acts 26:14
“We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
Now, as I have understood it, a goad is something that was used on carts and such that were pulled by oxen. It was essentially a pointed stick that supposedly kept the oxen from kicking the cart. If they did and did it continually, they,d do damage to themselves, because those pointed sticks would stab them pretty good.
It’s interesting here, because Saul was on his way to Damascus to imprison and persecute some more Christians, as he had done elsewhere, but Jesus stopped him and said, “It,s hard for you to kick against the goads. That,s exactly what Saul was doing by persecuting the body of Christ, kicking against the goads of Jesus, and had he continued, he no doubt would have done damage to himself!
Now, just what do you think you are doing when you refuse to follow God,s path for your life? When you will not admit what He has called you to or willingly walk in the direction He has for you, you are KICKING AGAINST THE GOADS! And if you do not turn around soon and get on the path He has for you, you will ultimately do damage to yourself!
Now, just a closing thought and I,ll quit ranting on this subject, but think about this. Is it possible that all of the bitterness, anger, depression and discontent you feel in yourself, is God trying to get your attention (goads)? Is it possible you,re supposed to be doing something else than what you are currently doing? Which would be better, to produce much fruit, because your branch is connected to the vine, or keep doing damage to yourself, because you,re kicking against the goads? You decide!
“ANOTHER HELPING OF DEMONS, PLEASE!”
The truth about pornography
by
Rev. Phil Lewis
Call it erotic art, call it “mature”, or “adult” entertainment, or call it pornography; what makes it so addictive, and ultimately, destructive? Though we could focus on the physical and chemical reactions produced by the viewing and committing pornography, I believe there is another very real element that is often overlooked. I will call this element “demonic influence and infestation”. This element must be addressed in order to understand the destructive power of pornography, and how to deal with it.
Before I go any farther, let me pause to say that I write from experience as well as study. If you don’t believe in demonic involvement on the human plane, then it would do you some good to return to the New Testament for the teaching on demons. Many missionaries as well as pastors can attest to the reality of demonic entities active in today’s world as well. I am one of these. If you, or a loved one, are struggling with pornography, or any sexual bondage, right now you may be tempted to think “this isn’t going to help”, “this isn’t true”, or some other negative thought pattern, so you will put this book down. Let me encourage you to continue, as this might just mean that “someone” doesn’t want you to find out what I’ve got to share, and how you, or your loved one, can come clean.
Scriptures tell us that we “wrestle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12) Paul tells us in no uncertain terms that our fight, our “wrestling match”, is not a physical one, but a spiritual one. These principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness, describe demonic forces. The Apostle Peter warns us that Satan is like a roaring lion “seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). 2 Corinthians 10: 3, 4 tells us that our battle and weapons are not physical, “but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds”. Satan and his fallen angels, the demons, are real, and they’ve got an agenda your destruction!
As a missionary in Brazil, South America, I had more than one occasion to witness and deal with demonic manifestations. On one occasion my wife and I dealt with a 10-year-old boy whose demon claimed there were two hundred of them in the boy. They growled and said they wouldn’t leave until they were given children’s blood. However, they were routed in the name of Jesus, and the boy returned to normal.
Nightmares, and waking to oppressive fear, are symptoms of demonic oppression with which I have also dealt. I tell you these things to once again emphasize that demons are real, and that they not only influence the human mind, they also will oppress, and sometimes even completely manipulate mind and body. Does this excuse addictions and sinful behavior? By no means.
Paul tells us to give no place to the devil (Eph. 4:27). This word “place”, means “place of habitation”. Paul is saying “Don’t let him set up camp!” Don’t let him become a “squatter”! Through choices of our own, as well as those of others, sometimes “legal ground” has been given for satanic, or demonic, activity in your life. This “ground”, or area of your life, must be reclaimed for Jesus Christ and His lordship. Some excellent books have been written about this spiritual warfare and breaking free from spiritual bondage. I recommend “Bondage Breaker” and “A Way of Escape”, both my Dr. Neal Anderson, and “Reclaiming Surrendered Ground”, by Jim Logan.
It is not my intent to be as thorough as the above mentioned books.
However, I would like to give a “wake-up” call specifically to the acute danger of pornography, and some principles of how to walk free from it.
Extreme Danger! Do not handle!
Is pornography really that dangerous? Why? First, it is decidedly addictive. The chemicals released into the body through sexual arousal while viewing pornography act as a drug. They heighten senses, shut out other things, and even make pain seem to go away temporarily. The mind is conditioned to this stimuli to the point that even the thought of nakedness, or the sight of a scantily dressed woman, can trigger the senses and start bringing the sensual pleasure which in turn feeds the desire to feed it more. Addictions are hard to break. Satan understands this. This is why I believe he is so active in this area. You not only have the physical elements working in this addiction, you also have the “rulers of darkness” and “spiritual wickedness” demonic forces involved as well.
It is well known that the most powerful “spirits” in satanic worship are summoned through sexual acts and orgies. It is like “honey to bees”. Sexual deviation attracts demons. They will “hover” around anyone considering, or participating, in any form of sexual sin. Sexual union between a man and a woman is first of all, an act of intimacy and procreation. It is to be a picture of God’s creative and intimate love toward us. Satan loves to pervert what God has intended good, and use if for evil. I will continue later as to demonic oppression brought on by involvement with pornography.
Sexually transmitted diseases are often the result of a continuing addiction to pornography as this addiction, if continued unchecked, will lead to the acting out of fantasies with multiple partners, and, or prostitutes.
Finally, pornography will ultimately destroy the family. Marriages are wrecked because a wife can no longer trust her husband; she can’t “satisfy” him any longer, or one or the other becomes afflicted with a sexually transmitted disease. Children suffer from separated parents, from discord in the home, from perhaps abuse themselves, and, ultimately, from the lack of a spiritual covering, or protection. This means they are wide open for attack.
Yes, if you dabble in pornography, you are opening the door for demonic attack on all of your immediate family. Maybe you thought you were just hurting yourself. Think again! If you are a husband and father, I can’t emphasize enough that you are the “shepherd” of your flock. You are the pastor of your family. If the shepherd, rather than tending his flock, is off doing something that turns his eyes away, the flock is under danger from the wolves. Your eyes are the window of your soul. And if you take your eyes and fill them with that which will blind your spiritual eyes, the powers of hell will send in an incursion against your family!
I can testify according to various stories that this is true. If you choose to view pornography, you not only open the door to satanic influence and oppression in your life, but you also open the door to attacks on the members of your family as well. In case number one a man is off on a business trip and entertains a prostitute. Prostitution or pornography, it is all adultery. On the same evening, his five year old daughter has a terrible nightmare of her father leaving the family. In another case a wife is having nightmares while her husband is viewing pornography. Other cases involve terrible days at work, sudden depressions, and sudden sickness, in children and in wives of those involved in pornography. And this may even go beyond the immediate family. A man in a hospital was terribly oppressed by visions of pornographic situations at the same time his brother-in-law was involved in viewing pornography. I call this symptom “second-hand pornography”. Just as second-hand smoke can do terrible damage to those living with a chain smoker, so also can “second-hand pornography” do untold damage to those connected with the person viewing pornography.
If you, or someone close to you, are involved in pornography, ask yourself this question: “What is going on in my family’s life?” Do you see depression, anger, fear? Do you see isolation, sudden, or constant sickness? If you simply suspect that there may be some involvement in pornography, ask yourself these same questions. If there is a sense of “hidden things”, or you don’t know what your husband/spouse is up to, pray that it be exposed. Watch for these things, including unprovoked anger and depression in your self. Then you may want to prayerfully confront your spouse and ask him he is struggling in this area, and that you want to help him. Then you will want to surround yourself with godly people who can pray with you and help you through this.
Each time you choose to view pornography you are in effect saying “Another helping of demons, please!” Demonic power lies in deception. That is their first level of attack. “It won’t hurt to look just this once!” “Nobody needs to know!” “It’s just natural!” “You deserve some relief/ pleasure!” Then it moves on to manipulation. “If only it were like this” Then, not only thoughts, but situations will more easily appear to present themselves. Your eyes will more quickly notice the places where your desires can be “satisfied”. You will even have “creative” thoughts as to how, when, or where, you can find, and view sexually arousing material. Finally, these thoughts and fantasies will be introduced more and more into your mind, seemingly of their own “volition”. You are now being oppressed and manipulated because you originally chose to give ground to Satan through his sin. Satan has set up camp a “Stronghold”. But there is a way out!
A Way Out
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32
I believe there are two main elements to finding your freedom from pornography. James 4:7 states “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” The first element is submission to God. This involves knowledge of God and His Word. Only if you know His truth, can it set you free. This speaks of an experiential knowledge of His Word as you believe in it and put it to practice. If you submit to God’s Word, you are submitting to Him.
First, God’s Word tells you that God loves you enough to send His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross for you (John 3:16). And because of this, if you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you are a new creation, a son of God, accepted, and more than a conqueror in Him (2 Cor. 5:17; John 1:12; Philippians 1:6; Romans 8:37). You have a new identity. Your true identity is not that sinner Satan wants you to believe you are. And, you are not that helpless victim either. Nor do you have to allow the failures of the past to dictate the reality of the present, nor the truth of your future. You are secure in Christ, if you have repented of your sin, and accepted Him as your Savior.
No matter how unloved, or unlovable, you feel, the truth is that God loves you; always has, and always will.
Second, God’s Word demands repentance. If you’ve never repented acknowledged and chosen to turn from of your sin, that is your first step. This is what should have been done if you truly trusted Christ as your Savior. If you were saved, and then you became bound by sexual addiction, you must acknowledge your sin. James states “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” (James 5:16). And Proverbs 28:13 declares “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” When you bring the hidden things to light, darkness and demons lose their hold. That is why we are told to involve others in our quest for freedom, or healing. Speaking aloud our renouncement of sin and demonic influence is testified by others who can hold you accountable as well as pray for you. Matthew 18:19 & 20 speaks of the efficacy of group prayer. And praying aloud is also a declaration of faith by which you can “resist the devil”.
If you have submitted to Who God is, who you are, and what God says about sin and the Devil, then you are ready to resist, or make war, on the demonic forces that have infiltrated, or “infested” your life.
Spiritual Warfare
“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” 2 Corinthians 10:4, 5
Remember, Satan has set up “camp”, in your life. His demons have set up a fortress, or stronghold in your mind and body. Negative and sinful patterns of thinking do not come from God; neither do they come from your new nature. Though the old, sinful, nature, is dead, crucified with Christ as to its actual power, demons can stir up the old, and even project the same way of thinking that emulates that fallen nature. Recognize this and get ready to give them the boot, rather than kicking yourself for such a thought or feeling.
First, remember, “greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). And, you are “risen with Christ” and your life is hid with Him (Colossians 3:1-3). That gives you a place of authority. Don’t let the enemy lie to you or intimidate you in any way. He will make you think or feel that this is foolish, or this won’t work, or that you aren’t able, or powerful enough. Find a place to be vocal. Say out loud “I rebuke you, in the Name of Jesus!” “Be silent in the Name of Jesus!” You might want to state out loud: “In the Name of Jesus I silence any spirits who are lying to me, or hindering my thoughts of truth”. The following is a suggested warfare prayer for breaking free from bondage to pornography.
“Dear Heavenly Father, I surrender completely to you. I choose to submit to the truth of who I am in Your Son Jesus. I thank You that I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and that you have made me your child, totally accepted, and free from condemnation.
I declare that You have all rights to my body. I belong to You. I submit my sexual desires to You. I submit my eyes to You. I hereby renounce all ground given to the enemy, Satan, and his demons, through my involvement in pornography. Every place I went, every thing I viewed, and every method I used, I renounce in the Name of Jesus. I repent of all my immoral thoughts and actions, and I renounce the use of my body for these sins.
I reject the enemy’s lies and patterns of thinking in the areas of sexuality. I declare that what God has called clean and holy, I will not think of in unholy terms. I reject any impartations of sexual deviation and bondage in the Name of Jesus. I renounce any ground given the enemy by acts committed against me, and I reject and renounce the sins of my ancestors. I say to any and all unclean spirits who have hindered my walk with God ‘Get out in Jesus’ Name!’ ‘Leave in Jesus’ Name!’ ‘You have no more right to my mind, or body, and you must leave now! I declare this in the authority of the Name of Jesus Christ.’
I choose Jesus as my Lord, and His truth for my life. I will declare His praise, and worship Him alone. Thank You, Father, for tearing down the strongholds of the enemy. Please release Your Spirit in my life. Pour out Your Spirit in me to fill all the empty spaces where the enemy had taken hold. I ask this, and thank You, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you pray. He will do this. “Pray without ceasing”. The weapons of your warfare will include praise and worship and the Word of God through prayer. Satan cannot hear your thoughts. So pray aloud. Worship and praise to Jesus will clear the room of demons as quick as anything.
Finally, don’t forget the other resources listed at the beginning of this essay. And get together with other mature believers who can pray with you and keep you accountable. God bless!
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