“I Will Never Be Enough ” – Lies of the Enemy #7– Purity 1019

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning! Today's photo of a flowering tree under a cumulus cloud-filled blue sky in the light of a mid-afternoon sun comes to us from yours truly, as I decided to capture this springtime scene upon my arrival to my countryside home after a day well spent worshiping worshipping the Lord at church and in the presence of my beloved wife. Well, it's Monday again, and even though my shifted tour reduced my weekend to a single day, my wife and I made the most of the time we did have together by doing what we normally do— going to Bible study and church— and then tried something new by stepping out to enjoy the splendor of a wonderful springtime day in God's creation at Garnsey Park in Rexford. We then enjoyed some good food and one another's company by having lunch together at the Olive Garden in Clifton Park before I had to get back to my place down by the river to be ready for another work week of work. And I'm glad we did get to enjoy the weather yesterday because the forecast calls for showers, proving once again that we have to be intentional about enjoying our lives here and now. That we have to be aware of what's going on around us so that we don't miss our opportunities to do so or allow our inattention to our circumstances, uh, to cause us to suffer. And as much as we would— we should have an eye on the skies to be prepared for changes in the weather, we should— we also— we should also, uh, we should also pay attention to our thoughts and the conditions of our spiritual atmosphere. Big pause for the correction. Anyway, our thoughts have a direct relationship to our emotions, and if we are thinking, "Oh no, it's Monday," or, "Oh no, it's going to rain today," we shouldn't be surprised if our emotions are anxious or depressed. Thus, we recommend a daily practice of gratitude. Intentionally giving thanks to God for the good things we do have rather than dwelling on negative circumstances or the things we lack. Of course, this is good practical advice— don't dwell on the negative— but unfortunately, when we are afflicted with negative or condemning thoughts, it may not be all of our own doing. Scripture indicates that Satan and the demonic forces of darkness can tempt, accuse, and deceive us. Just like we should be prepared for what the day may hold by for us by looking at the sky or checking the local weather forecast, we are well served in knowing how the enemy operates so we can resist his efforts to steal, kill, and destroy us or our peace. So let's continue to resist the devil by continuing our current series, which is an examination of some of the common lies the enemy tells us to cause, uh, to cause us to doubt our faith, steal our peace, or to choose not to follow the Lord with the way we live our lives. So So today, today's big lie is, "I will never be enough." This lie comes straight from the enemy's mouth, and I mean that quite literally. I am currently enrolled in Deeper Walk International School of Prayer Ministry, and our current course of study is on spiritual warfare prayer. On Thursday evening, our cohort was introduced to the confrontational spiritual warfare prayer method that is based on the teachings of Dr. Carl Payne's book Spiritual Warfare: Christians, Demonization, and Deliverance. And when I say introduced, I don't mean that we just had a lecture. Thursday night we watched a video of a prayer minister leading a participant through the process to confront and cast out demons that were afflicting him. The participant had demonic entities afflicting him in the areas of the occult, generational sins, unforgiveness, and soul ties. Thankfully, Payne's process of spiritual warfare prayer utilizes the power and authority we have in Christ and establishes the rules of engagement in such a way that the demons are bound and cast out with— without much fanfare. If you are imagining The Exorcist or other demonic possession movies, you would be relieved to know that when we use the authority that Christ has given us wisely, the enemy is rendered powerless and has no choice but to obey the commands to leave. And the process looks, looks more like an interrogation than an exorcism. And the session we viewed, demonic entities were cast out in each of the four areas where the the participant was afflicted. After the demons were commanded to reveal themselves, asked about what their purpose was, and when the participant's foothold causing sins or underlying circumstances that gave the enemy permission to afflict them were confessed and canceled, they obeyed the command to leave. In the area of the occult, uh, the de— uh, in the area of the occult, when the demon was asked, what lies do you tell X, The demon answered, "It will never be enough. I will never be enough." The implication is that no matter what the participant did in his life, he would never be satisfied. He could never be happy. He would never be accepted. No matter what he tried to do or managed to accomplish in his life, he would never be enough. Unfortunately, our materialistic society fully supports this lie of the enemy. The field of marketing is built on it. Advertisers cleverly craft their advertisements and marketing campaigns to cause us to feel the need for something we don't have. Although their ads promise we can get what we need by purchasing their products or services, our experience has taught us that we can't get no satisfaction from from the things we buy. And if we have been around the block a few times, we understand that earthly relationships, career accomplishments, travel, or euphoric experiences also fail to be enough to give us fulfillment. Because of the impermanent nature of the world and because of our spiritual makeup, these circumstantial variables will always fail to be enough. And as we stated in a previous post in this series, the best lies are often based on the truth. Untruth, but never are truthful enough to point to the truth, Jesus Christ, and the fact that the only meaningful peace that we will be able to find is the peace that he gives us through faith in Christ. That he gives us through faith in Christ, we have peace with God, and it lasts for eternity. The peace, meaning, and purpose that will be enough is found in God's kingdom, and we can only enter it into it through Jesus. Today's big lie that I will never be enough is only true when we try to be enough through obtaining circumstantial happiness on earth through our own efforts and ignore the big picture and the call of God on our lives to find peace with him. To understand that we can't accomplish enough, uh, to be, to be enough, read Ephesians 2, which points out that we are saved by faith not because of our works. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. When we are in Christ, we are accepted because of our faith. Our faith in Christ makes us enough. There is nothing to accomplish. We are complete in Christ. But if we fail to live according to who we are in Christ, we can forget this. We We can be deceived by the world, the flesh, and the devil. So we have to follow the Lord and know we are complete already in Christ. The Apostle Paul tells us as much in Colossians 2:6-10, where the word says, 'And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.' Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Don't let anyone capture your— you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking or from the spiritual powers of this world rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. And our union with Christ, we are complete, we are enough. So resist the lies of the enemy and keep walking and talking with God. Let your roots grow, grow down in him, and your faith will grow strong in the truth of what you were taught, that you are complete in Christ. In him we are enough. Uh, and that, that's today's post. Uh, today's Bible verse comes to us from the New Living Translation Bible Promise Book for Men. This morning's meditation verse is 2 Peter 3:9, which tells us the Lord isn't really being slow about his promise as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent. Today's verse was presented by our resource, uh, for quote-unquote 'When You Wonder Why Christ Hasn't Come Back Yet.' We actually touched on this verse last week when we examined 2 Peter 3:8 that told us that a thousand years was as a day for the Lord, and we needed verse 9 to tell us that God's timing is not fast or slow but always on time. And that the reason Christ hasn't come back yet is because of God's merciful and graceful desire for more to be saved. So while we wait for Christ's return, we should enjoy our salvation and allow the Lord to use us to share his truth and love with others, to bring them into his kingdom. Uh, we should be a light in the darkness. Think of all who don't have the light of Christ, and you will see, uh, your life in the light of God's grace, that will, you know, you will see life in the light of God's grace will cause you to be thankful and to endeavor to share the good news in hopes of saving some. And that's my short commentary on today's verse. As always, we invite you to go to mtforchrist.org, where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink's The Sovereignty of God. We're in the concluding chapter, um, where apparently it now remains for us to offer a few closing reflections and our happy task is finished. So we'll be sharing a few closing reflections of A.W. Pink, and today's reflection is God's sovereign election of certain ones to salvation is a merciful provision. So if you want to read about what that— what he has to say about that, go to mtforchrist.org and you'll see that resource at the end of today's blog post. As always, we encourage a life of Christian discipleship. I'm not asking you to follow me. I'm asking— well, I would like it if you follow me on Facebook and, uh, um, YouTube and the podcast, but we're asking you to follow Jesus Christ and, uh, listen to the Holy Spirit to guide you through life. And, you know, read God's word. Um, I'm not trying to boss anyone around because I know we're all members of the body of Christ, and we all have our own individual purposes, capacities, and, and, uh, you know, assignments, um, from the Lord. So try to find yours by, you know, living and following your faith. And when you do that, you'll, you'll be walking in the Spirit, and that results in, you know, the fruit of the Spirit growing in your life. And, um, you know, amazing things happen. When you decide to follow the Lord. However, that doesn't mean, you know, it's necessarily a— you know, God's got a wonderful plan for your life, you know, peace with God and his kingdom. But here on earth, we could run into some troubles, and we can certainly use the Lord's strength and guidance to lead us through those as we go and as we wait for Christ to return, or as we wait to go into his kingdom. So we encourage Christian discipleship, and we We do that by sharing our teachings that we taught back in 2021 on the podcast and our YouTube channel, uh, for Victory Over the Darkness, The Bondage Breaker, and Freedom in Christ. It's all about who we are in Christ, spiritual forces of darkness, and experiencing our freedom, um, by resolving those personal and spiritual conflicts that might be demonically inspired. Uh, the method we use is a little less confrontational, um, It's The Steps to Freedom in Christ. We highly recommend that. However, you know, there's other methods apparently for casting out demons, but the end result of peace, you know, I think is got to be maintained. Peace and freedom has got to be maintained by a life of discipleship. The Word warns us that we clean the house and leave it empty, the enemy will come back and bring 7 demons worse than worse than, you know, worse than him. So if we get a sense of our freedom, we have to continue to maintain it by living a Christian life and, you know, knowing who we are in Christ. So we recommend a lifestyle of Christian discipleship where you pray and, you know, do Bible study and seek the Lord's purpose for your life. You know, it's not just about experiencing your freedom and peace, it's about walking in it all the days of your life, you know, to enjoy the abundant life that Christ has for us. So we recommend Bible study, and we do that on the podcast by sharing the Bible study that we, we do with Arthur and Susanna Sincotti once a week. Yesterday the title of it was Because of This Present Distress, and it was all about sexual morality and dealing with some of the situations that are alive in today's culture, and we hope that that'll speak to the truth of God's word and point to the peace that God has for us through his plan for life and sexuality. And again, it sort of culminated in the importance of who we are in Christ. So if you want to check out that study, it's now uploaded on the podcast and YouTube, and we hope you enjoy it. As always, we have to— well, not always— we have to work today, and so we should pray, and we always do that. So let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, thank you for Monday and the fact that I have a job and whether it rains or pours, that, uh, you know, that you're above it all and you're in control and that you sent your Son, your— our Savior Jesus, to show us the truth of, of you and your kingdom and to, and, you know, to welcome us in. Lord, when we have— when we have peace with you through Jesus, we have everything. And so let us never forget that and Let us remember that as we walk into, uh, the first day of the work week. Lord, we pray for anyone who's listening or reading today's message. We pray for them to be blessed. We pray for you to come alongside them and their prayer requests, Lord, because we need your help. Um, we need your strength, we need your guidance, and we're asking. And we know that you're a good Father and that you give good things to your children when they ask. So we ask every day. And today we ask for you to go before us, Lord, to set up our days and to open our eyes to the things you want us to see and to lead our paths in the way you want us to go. Because, Lord, all we want to do is represent you in your kingdom and, um, you know, to be a light in the darkness so other people can find you and find the peace that they can have in Christ alone. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, and we love you. We pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.