The Test... And The Answer Key.

"Jesus is Jesus, and He did not test the enemy. Why should we?" -Pastor Martha

During Sunday's sermon on the Jabez prayer (First Chronicles 4:10), Pastor Martha took time to reflect on the last section of Jabez's petition: "...and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain."

She said, and I paraphrase here, "When we ask God to deliver us, He will send someone to battle on our behalf." Like Jabez, we can have an assurance that God will grant our request.

Jesus, in teaching His disciples to pray, shares a similar petition: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." (Matthew 6:13) It is our awesome God who has the power to deliver. We pray; He acts.

For those of us who have had challenges with addictions, we recognize that one of the enemy's deceptions is to convince us that we are capable of saving ourselves. If we believe this, we will continue the cycle of embracing temptation rather than running away from it. The infamous byword of the addict, "I can stop any time I want to," is a lie from the devil.

We need God to help us when our enemy attacks. This is especially important in cases like Jabez's. He was a man described as "more honorable than his brothers" (First Chronicles 4:9), but he did not have an experience of honor. Jabez had lived his entire life under the curse of his name, due to his mother associating him with pain.

Are you living in relationships or situations where your true character has been bound up and covered by an accursed statement from the evil one? God has all power and He can set you free.

Some time ago, Pastor Sam mentioned various Scripture passages that demonstrate what our approach should be to the enemy of our souls. It is good for us to be reminded of them:

"But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!" (Jude, verse 9)

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, 'If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.' Jesus answered, 'It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (Matthew 4:1-4)

"Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan, 'The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?'" (Zechariah 3:1-2)

We are delivered by the word of the Lord. There is no value in engaging the enemy with our own words; we cannot save ourselves.

Who is equipped to set men free? It is the Lord God, The I Am, The Always Was and Is and Will Be, whose power is unmatched.

Do you want to be free? Call out to YHWH, the Almighty Lord. He will rebuke the evil one and speak His life into your being.