Scripture: Ephesians 2 v 4 - 6: "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:"
By now we know we are tripartite beings, meaning we consist of a spirit, a soul and a body. We definitely know about our body as we can see, feel, touch, hear it. We know we have a heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, brain etc. We don't always know how they work or function but as long as they do, we are content.
Our soul is more hidden but it consists of our mind or intellect, our emotions and our will. It is moved by music, tragedy, blessed occasions like births and marriage, and affected by trauma. It has mental issues, emotional pain, good and bad memories, dreams, nightmares and creepy experiences. Our mind is Satan's playground!
It contains "triggers" that cause us to enter an "altered state". Like puppets on a string. Controlled by an unseen being that is the absolute opposite of Jesus Christ. He is filled with hate, cruelty, manipulation against us to cause us to behave badly and wonder why we ever did such things. Things that separate us from the love of God.
Take the effect of alcohol and party drugs on human behaviour. They affect people differently. You get your happy drunk or your sobbing drunk. The drugs can rev you into a frenzy or a blob in the corner. Why is this? It's the triggers that are set off inside your soul that determine your behaviour.
Matthew 15 v 11: "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man."
Matthew 15 v 15 - 20: "Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20 These are the things which defile a man:"
This is how a rowdy, obnoxious drunk behaves because he has a couple or group of demons that want to destroy him. He gets a bad reputation, can't hold his liquor, gets aggressive, uses foul language, no self control. He stops getting invites so becomes a secret drinker. He is seriously defiled and only the Grace and mercy of God can rescue him.
Jesus wants us to know ourselves so we can control ourselves through prayer and obedience to His Word. It's not only substance abuse but being abused or manipulated by others who home in on your kindness and generosity. The Lord says give to those who ask, but some overdo it and trap you by feelings of guilt. Be wary of these traps which can cause problems.
Scammers prey on the elderly because they don't always understand new technology on smart phones. The fact that they have online banking is a huge blessing except when manipulated by scammers posing as bank officials. They get people to disclose private information that gets them robbed blind.
We all need to know ourselves and safeguard ourselves against deception. Demons never ever speak the truth. We need the Holy Spirit and His gift of discerning spirits of good and evil to barricade our vulnerabilities from the wicked.
Our spirit is sometimes an unknown quantity. When we are born it is dead in sin. Therefore we did something before we came to Earth that caused us to be cut off from God. Our most important part, our spirit, is not functioning at all.
To begin with, we are essentially spirit beings. God, our Father, is a Spirit, His Son, the Word, is a Spirit who manifested here in an Earthly body, where He was known as Jesus Christ. His command to us, to our spirits, is you must be born again. The only way to make our spirits come alive is to be born again.
We cannot enter into the womb again, we cannot be reincarnated, i.e. die and come back in different bodies or forms, we must be born of water and spirit.
The way is to repent, receive forgiveness of sin to eliminate whatever killed us, be baptized in water, i.e. identify with the death of Jesus, and come alive as we resurrect out of the water. And how Satan fights against this baptism!
Once baptized in water, we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, and receive the gifts, spiritual blessings that are used to help ourselves and others. Our spirits come alive for the first time since our birth. We have been through the watery death and burial, then we immediately come alive in Jesus. In Him we live, and move and have our being.
Yes our life is in You Lord....we sing it. Our spirits are only alive in Christ Jesus, and we are seated in Him in heavenly places. And Jesus is in our hearts, not the fleshly heart but He has exchanged Himself with us. Our spirits are in Heaven and His Spirit is in us. God does not allow our spirit to remain on Earth even for one minute. Eternal life has begun the moment we surface from baptism. We are citizens of Heaven. The whole of Heaven rejoiced when we got saved.
However, our spirits need us to feed them with truth from the Bible, and as we grow Jesus feeds our spirits with revelations, visions, ideas, answers to prayer, miracles, tongues, awareness, discernment, healing, blessings, gifts and knowledge. The closer we come to knowing Jesus the greater our experiences with Him will be. And the safer we will be from predators in the world. Both human and demonic.
Our spirits are filled with joy unspeakable and full of glory. We praise and worship our blessed King, we exalt Him and honour Him. We testify of the wonders He does, we rejoice in fellowship, truth, and our spiritual freedom.
We need to learn the power of prayer and praise. God dislikes repetitive prayers. He is not deaf or forgetful. If He hears us an answer will come, sometimes immediately, sometimes later, sometimes no. The Lord told me to bless a man who had mocked Him to my face. I was shocked. Why bless such a man? The Lord replied, because I will bless him, but before I do his life is going to go through some painful changes until he is in the right place to receive My blessing.
Our spirits are right where God wants them, inside Jesus because we are His Body. Safe and secure unless we fall into errors on Earth. This is sin and blasphemy, a departure from the Bible into rebellion, allowing the world, or worldly friends to influence us. We stop praying, resist fellowship with other Christians, stop our praise and worship, into a condition known as backsliding. Sliding back into sinful pleasures. Letting Satan have control again.
There are so many false prophets and teachers who have great followings that are leading millions of souls away from their only hope. They sound so good, so compelling, but the lies covered with fig leaves of truth, political correctness, and love of your money, are full of deception. They are proud and unteachable, and backsliders themselves.
Jude v 16 - 21: "These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."
Let us know ourselves better each day by realising that our Bible is used by God as a mirror for our souls. The Holy Spirit witnesses with our spirit.... goosebumps ...when we discern ourselves in the Word! This is how we grow closer to our Saviour Jesus for there is no other name under Heaven or on Earth by which we can be saved.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, our love, worship and gratitude is poured out before Your Throne by our spirits which are already safe in Heaven. Let us know ourselves so we never lose sight of Your promises and blessing of salvation. Let us pick up the fallen and the strangers to truth to honour You because its what we should be doing. In Jesus' name. Amen.