Three of our enemy\u2019s primary tactics against us are temptation, accusation, and distraction. To defeat temptation, we must be fully surrendered to God and keep our bodies under subjection. (1 Corinthians 9:27) Defeating accusation is accomplished by trusting that the glory of the Lord is your rear guard. (Isaiah 52:12 & 58:8) Distractions are defeated by making certain that our words and actions measure up to our calling. (Ephesians 4:1) All of that equals confidence, but not in the flesh.<\/p>\n
I have experienced that all temptations begin with some variation of, \u201cHas God indeed said\u2026\u201d followed by a lie. All temptations should be countered with praise for all that God has provided. Satan and the world system has nothing to offer greater than what God provides.<\/p>\n
I have learned that I cannot waste time defending myself against accusations. Besides, some of them are not false, but they are well in the past and under the blood. All of them are aimed at your heart through your back. My defense is God who will reward the wicked according to their works.<\/p>\n
Finally, I have learned that all distractions are not wrong because they are evil works. Most of them are wrong because I was not called to be involved. Someone else who is not called to preach can coach the little league baseball team. It is an honorable endeavor, but I must obey my calling.<\/p>\n
I consider false accusations the most troubling. Ministers of God\u2019s word have the most important calling on this earth. We were not called to be benign parsons who agree with everyone and stand for nothing, who fear to preach the truth boldly, and avoid controversy. Yes, such a one is the darling of the city or village, and well-spoken of by all. God\u2019s word says, \u201cWoe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.\u201d (Luke 6:26) If you are truly called of God, your reputation is protected in heaven and impugned on earth.<\/p>\n
When people speak ill of the politician, he or she says, \u201cI\u2019m okay as long as they can\u2019t prove it.\u201d The God-called man or woman says, \u201cI\u2019m okay because God has proven me.\u201d The Greek word for \u201cprove\u201d in this tense is dokimazo, which means; \u201cto test, examine, prove, scrutinize, to see if a thing is genuine or not, to deem worthy.\u201d If we are not proven, we will be reproved. But once He has proven you, you can say with the Apostle Paul, \u201cFrom now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.\u201d (Galatians 6:17)<\/p>\n
Some of the worst rumors spread about me were from people I tried to help or trusted as a friend. Don\u2019t be depressed when it happens to you. The day you said, \u201cI will\u201d to God\u2019s will, you became a target. Did you expect the enemy to congratulate you? But here\u2019s the steel in your resolve. You\u2019ve been tested. When I am countering the insults and slander of the enemy, I don\u2019t consider my good works, but the trials I have been through. (When measured against the suffering of Christ, I have nothing to boast of.)<\/p>\n
God has stored every tear, recorded every time you sacrificed, that your heart was broken, that you endured injustice, ingratitude, rejection and abandonment, loneliness, and sense of worthlessness. He has recorded every battle you have fought, with fear and doubt, over financial needs, and observing other people driving new cars, living in nice homes, while you struggle to maintain. None of that was trash\u2014it was gold. Never look at it as the bad in your past, but a golden foundation for your present and future. With all honesty and firmness, as bad as Cheryl and I have suffered in the past, there is not enough wealth on this earth to pay me for the benefits of being proven.<\/p>\n
So, rage on O devil and your storm! My God is faithful who will not allow me to be tempted beyond what I am able to bear! The way of escape that He has prepared is the door of complete trust in Him! I may go down before I go up, but I will go up! (Shout here!) I look back over the battlefield of my past and I do not see my body lying there! I do see the rubble of the weapons of Satan that did not prosper! I look to my future and I see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ! I will see the King of Glory! The greatest word I long to hear, and it will resonate throughout heaven, is \u201cfaithful\u201d. Faithful, faithful, faithful! If you are thus proven, you will be victorious!<\/p>\n
These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.\u201d \u2013 Revelation 17:14<\/p>\n
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Three of our enemy\u2019s primary tactics against us are temptation, accusation, and distraction. To defeat temptation, we must be fully surrendered to God and keep our bodies under subjection. (1 Corinthians 9:27) Defeating accusation is accomplished by trusting that the glory of the Lord is your rear guard. (Isaiah 52:12 & 58:8) Distractions are defeated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","post-preview"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paIm2N-gG","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1034"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1035,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1034\/revisions\/1035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.truthkeepers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}