Old Thoughts for the New Day 34

You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. (Hebrews 1:9—NIV)

The Christian churches, either through ignorance or disobedience, have not pursued the total destruction of the enemy. The churches have elected to escape to Heaven rather than to destroy sin.

The Son of God was revealed for the purpose of destroying the devil. This He is ready to do whenever we decide to obey God.

We cannot eliminate the sins of our personality in one blow. We are to drive them out little by little. The point is, we do not cease warring through the Spirit until we gain complete victory.

Be ruthless as Christ drives the enemy from you. Take His part, not your own part. Christ is not indifferent toward wickedness. He loves righteousness and hates iniquity. This is why God has anointed Him with the oil of gladness.

Learn to love righteousness and hate wickedness. Then God will anoint you with the oil of gladness.

Leave no survivors!

So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded. (Joshua 10:40—NIV)

God will help us no matter how strong the enemy is.

Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. (Deuteronomy 7:20—NIV)

If you really desire total deliverance from the world, the lusts of the flesh, and self-will, tell the Lord about it. He will "send the hornet" after them and cause the enemy to be revealed. Then through the Spirit of God you can put them to death.

Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. (Deuteronomy 7:21—NIV)

Do not be afraid. Satan and his demons cannot possibly harm you when you are walking in the Spirit. Christ has given you all authority over the enemy. The angel of the Lord is encamped around you to deliver and protect you.

The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. (Deuteronomy 7:22—NIV)

Do not expect instant deliverance from all the sin that is troubling you. If God should remove all the darkness from you at once you would collapse. The house of your personality would be cleaned out and decorated but there would be nobody home. The demons would reenter you.

We have found that God's people get delivered but sometimes are not able to hold their deliverance. This is because they are not taking up their cross and following Jesus. They are not doing what Christ has commanded. They are not living a solid, wholesome Christian life. This is why their release is not permanent.

The proper route to deliverance is to obtain one small release and then follow Christ until He fills the area that has been conquered. Then on to another release and another growth in Christ. And so on and on until all the enemy has been put to death and Christ has filled your personality.

Of course, you cannot conduct the program of moral deliverance. It is the task of the Holy Spirit to lead you from grace to grace, from faith to faith, from victory to victory, from glory to glory.

Continued. Old Thoughts for the New Day 35