OVERCOMING STORMS BY DISCERNING THE SPIRITS
God never told us life would be easy. He was very straight forward and told us we would indeed face tribulation. But He insured us that this is nothing to fear because He has overcome everything that is in this world. Now that is a great thing for us. He has given us the authority and power in His name to do what He did. It is written, "that greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. " Let me try to put this in a very clear picture for us. The living Spirit of God is within every believer. The same power that created all things and raised Christ from the dead is with you everywhere you go. Any trial, storm or tribulation we will face is nothing compared to the power we have over it.
Let us take a look at this power in action and see what we can learn from it.
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”[a] 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” Mark 4
The storm that rises up out of nowhere is symbolic of the trials and tribulations we all face in life. The boats that the people are in are symbolic of our own lives. Jesus rebuked the disciples for having fear and little faith because they did not recognize that God was in the boat with them. They actually thought they were going to die even though the power that was with them could silence the storm with just a word. When they stopped trying to navigate and fight the storm by themselves and went to Jesus, they got their peace. The answer was that simple. The answer to their problem was always with them and the power to stop the storm was as well.
Where do these storms in our lives come from? Some people think most things are caused by a random series of events and coincidences. Some work in our favor and some don't. But the word of God establishes a completely different perspective and reality. Paul wrote that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against a spiritual enemy that is hell-bent on stealing, killing and destroying us. They want to steal our inheritance, peace, joy and salvation. They want to kill our bodies and the life we have been blessed with and they want to destroy our souls.
The spiritual world is driving the physical one.
Understanding this is key to maintaining peace in our lives.
In 1 John 4 we are told to test every spirit to determine if it is from God our not. How do we do this? The story of Jesus in the boat gives us a great example of how Gods Spirit will feel. Can you imagine being in a very desperate situation and finally being rescued? Jesus is our hero and we would cling to Him and thank Him for saving us. Think about the relief we would feel. How relaxed we would suddenly get. It is peace at its finest. It is an exhale because we are safe and we can finally relax. That is what Gods Spirit feels like. But to the contrary, demonic spirits produce feelings of dread, hopelessness, fear, anxiety and constant worry. Remember the disciples at one point thought they were going to die and they marveled at the fact Jesus was sleeping and didn't care. That was a lying spirit of fear and death coming against them. Consider how you feel when fear is in you. Everything is tense, instead of an exhale you naturally inhale to brace yourself for what is scaring you. Its a very uncomfortable feeling and it is the opposite to peace. These physical feelings are an indicator for a demonic attack. This type of spirit is not of God they are demonic spirits. So what do we do about these attacks? Jesus is always our perfect example. Just like Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves. We need to rebuke the enemy. Jesus said,
"Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you." Luke 10:19
He has given us the same power, how awesome is that? We just have to recognize who we are. We are His children and He is within us. Through His name we can silence the storms. The answer to our trials is Jesus inside of you. But He didn't put us here so He could do everything for us. Life is a learning experience. He wants us to learn how to trust Him. That is how we find our rest, by trusting Him. If you truly Have faith and believe what He said was true, peace will be with you. But if you doubt the enemy will come and try to steal what is rightfully yours. Jesus came to give us life and freedom from these things. He overcame the world for us so that now in His name we can do the same thing. He said, "I have given you the power over all the enemy." Do you believe Him? When the enemy attacks will you curl up into a ball of hopelessness. Will you run to a bottle of alcohol or pills for relief? Or are you willing to claim what has rightfully been given to you and fight back? If God is for us who can be against us?
Absolutely nothing in this world can stand against us. Its not even a fair fight.
Maybe the gates of hell can prevail against those who do not believe but against God's church they don't stand a chance if we stand and fight. We are not given spiritual armor and a weapon for no reason. When the next storm raises up against you speak these words with confidence:
"Satan, demons and all unclean spirits I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. With the power of of the living Spirit of God inside of me I bind you up and command you to leave me and go straight to the abyss until the time of your final judgement has come. I plead the blood of Christ over my house and over every member of my family and through that power be gone." Rebuking the enemy is the fulfillment of these verses:
4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5Casting 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; 6And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. 2 Cor 10
This is a daily thing. Rebuking the enemy with the word of God is our spiritual weapon. It is a sword in the spirit world and it tears down the strong holds being formed against you. Be prepared and be ready to fight back and never forget who you are and who is with you everywhere you go!
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. (Isaiah 57:14)
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