Lie # 2 - I Must Work To Be What God Says I Am By Birth

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 59

         

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       www.abidinglife.com

Notice:  this email is part of a BLOG, called Getting Out of the Wilderness.  Why a blog?  So that many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner.

Every once in a while there comes the realization of a staggering reality from Scripture showing us how pitiful we can be in using all that God has given us to live the life He designed for us.  From Adam and Eve to us, Satan uses his weak, ridiculous, inept weapons to get us to be someone we already are…and we buy into his deceit like we have never heard anything so cunning and attractive.  Poor, pitiful man.

Lie #2 – I MUST WORK TO BE WHAT GOD SAYS I AM BY BIRTH

excerpt from pages 177 of SIW (5^th printing, March 1998)

excerpt from pages 179 of SIW (14^th printing, March 2012)

                   (used with permission from ALMI):

One of the Brazilian brothers pointed out to me that when Adam and Eve were tempted to be like God, they were already in the image of God.  In a like manner, Christ was tempted in the wilderness to prove that He was God, when in fact He was already God.  And so it is with us; the enemy will continue to tempt us to work to become what we already are.  Once we succumb to this temptation, we cast aside faith, along with walking as who God says we are, and give in to unbelief.

…The enemy will rarely give up on his attempts to brainwash the Christian.  He never wants us to realize who we are in Christ, for in so doing we will take an offensive position against him, entering into the battle to take from him those whom he has worked so hard to hold captive.  The truth is that believers never have to live a carnal life or place their will under his power; we can choose to abide in Christ.

In every walk of life the most critical issue for everyone is to determine what family, what team, what group we are a part of.  Once that is settled, we learn the colors, the sounds, the looks, the “plays,” the position we are to play.  When we learn that we are on the winning team, we begin to act like winners.  Michael dispels the enemy’s lie he keeps pounding man with: don’t believe and succumb to his tempting us to become what we already are…LIVE like the victor and overcomer we ARE due to being a part of the family of God.

And Michael gives us the key to living like who we really are: KNOW who we really are in Christ, and TAKE the offensive position against the enemy…instead of casting aside faith and walking as who God says we are, giving in to unbelief. 

It’s a choice, isn’t it?

Note: if you don’t have one of Michael’s Sidetracked In The Wilderness books, please contact ALMI (www.abidinglife.com) and get one today!

To access ALL past weekly blogs, go to Getting Out of the Wilderness by logging onto www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com  

NOTICE:  another blog…on Michael Wells’ book, My Weakness For His Strength, called Living Life With a Capital “C”.  You can access by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

leemccm@gmail.com

1737 CR 2051    Nacogdoches, Tx 75965                                        936-559-5696

Lie # 1 - Satan Has Not Been Stripped of His Power

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 58

         

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       www.abidinglife.com

Notice:  this email is part of a BLOG, called Getting Out of the Wilderness.  Why a blog?  So that many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner

Everywhere the Lord has taken me in ministry I have run into one Christian after another who has lived in defeat due to their thinking they had no hope of overcoming the constant attacks of Satan.  If he hasn’t been out to destroy them, he has been out to make them do things they didn’t want to do.  And yet, everyone of these Christians has said they believed 1 John 4:4.  Really?

Lie #1 - SATAN HAS NOT BEEN STRIPPED OF HIS POWER

excerpt from pages 174-177 of SIW (5^th printing, March 1998)

excerpt from pages 176-179 of SIW (14^th printing, March 2012)

                   (used with permission from ALMI):

…Once Christ as our life is accepted by faith, we will begin to take an offensive position against the enemy, refusing the lie that he has more power than we do in Christ, and exercising the release of the life within us that has already defeated Satan at every turn.

In conjunction with this deception, many are told that when there is something in their lives they cannot overcome, they should seek the Lord to see if there might be some type of demon dwelling within them.  Though there is no scriptural basis for a demon’s inhabiting a believer, this will be taught with fierceness because of what has been seen or heard…

Again, the issue is to find what works in terms of being conducive to a victorious Christian walk…when problems recur, these believers are then told they didn’t struggle hard enough to keep the demons out, which avoids the real issue that the whole process did not work…

If Satan can possess Christians as easily as many report, isn’t it reasonable to assume he could wreak much more havoc than we now see?...Why does Satan not do such things, given his nature?  The answer must be quite simple: he cannot!  But he can lie and deceive and make Christians waste time casting demons out of one another, not standing against him with heavenly power to accomplish the work of the Kingdom.

…Church history does not bear out that casting demons out of Christians was ever a solution to defeat.  It does, however, bear out that the enemy has continually introduced one-time solutions into the Church, all calculated to keep our eyes off of Jesus.  If demons are so much the problem, why is it that Paul and the other writers of the New Testament neglected to come right out and tell us so?...

This is not to say that a Christian cannot be oppressed; we know that does occur.  And all too often what the enemy uses to harass the believer are particular manifestations of the flesh; these, as we have already mentioned, are removed by taking up the cross daily, which will cut the ground out from under the enemy and free us from his influence…

If Christ in you cannot keep demons from dwelling in you, what chance do you have of keeping them out?  Victory belongs not to those who try to generate power over the enemy, but to those who receive Christ’s power.

Listen carefully to Michael giving us a detailed explanation of just how powerless Satan is:

·         Scripture details his powerlessness.

·         His total ineptness betrays his weakness.

·         Christ in us is our overcoming and Satan’s losing.

So, what’s the problem?  Why is it so many Christians believe the lie?   Because lies are manufactured to satisfy the emotions.  Too many are too quick to believe their lying emotions rather than God’s Truth.  The Truth is invariable.  Unless one is prepared to stand and not compromise, they should never fool around with the Truth.  That is the Victory Michael gives us in his last sentence: “Victory belongs not to those who try to generate power over the enemy, but to those who receive Christ’s power.”  Amen!  So much for Lie #1.

Note: if you don’t have one of Michael’s Sidetracked In The Wilderness books, please contact ALMI (www.abidinglife.com) and get one today!

To access ALL past weekly blogs, go to Getting Out of the Wilderness by logging onto www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com  

NOTICE:  another blog…on Michael Wells’ book, My Weakness For His Strength, called Living Life With a Capital “C”.  You can access by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

leemccm@gmail.com

1737 CR 2051    Nacogdoches, Tx 75965                                      936-559-5696

The Deeper Work of the Enemy

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 57

         

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       www.abidinglife.com

Notice:  this email is part of a BLOG, called Getting Out of the Wilderness.  Why a blog?  So that many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner

Even though Satan is a defeated foe, God has allowed him the ability to impact a Christian’s life through his vast array of counterfeit and deceitful measures.  We enter the last chapter of Sidetracked In The Wilderness with Michael introducing to us some of the key tactics used to cause havoc in our lives.  The title Michael gives this concluding chapter is a clear warning to alert us to the subtlety that can catch us off-guard.

THE DEEPER WORK OF THE ENEMY

excerpt from pages 173-174 of SIW (5^th printing, March 1998)

excerpt from pages 175-176 of SIW (14^th printing, March 2012)

                   (used with permission from ALMI):

As we begin to live out our life in Christ, experiencing the deeper walk that abiding in Him yields, the works of the enemy correspondingly intensify.  No longer will he use the obvious and overt (lust, gossip, slander, and all worldly desire) to turn us away from Christ, but rather sly new attacks which consist of well-placed lies (99% truth) to thwart the production of so much fruit.

…I have frequently watched him unleash everything at his disposal to drive a brother or sister back to the state of saving self, denying the cross, and unbelief in order to keep that one from abiding in the truth…A person moving in a falsehood that will not bring deliverance will be greatly encouraged by Satan along the way.  Those who are on the path of do’s (seeking God’s acceptance by performance) will likewise be urged along, while those on the path of believing will find many obstacles.

…Satan’s tactic is to either have us disregard him, treating him as though he does not exist…or be consumed with fighting against him…  We must see that Satan is alive and very active, our adversary (1 Peter 5:8) against whom we battle, with his many schemes (Ephesians 6:11) and snares (2 Timothy 2:26), and we must all take heed lest we fall

(1 Corinthians 10:12).

Satan is, of course, a great liar – the father of lies (John 8:44).  We will now turn our attention to some of his most significant lies, which are most subtle and therefore most dangerous.

Michael closes out his book with 9 lies the enemy tries to get us to buy into.

In the next 9 weeks, we will look at each one of these individually.

Why, we might ask, has God allowed Satan the power to be so cunning and deceitful in Christians’ lives…when he is a defeated foe?  One answer has to be this: God is allowing a test of our faith to show whether we will be strong in our trust of Him, or succumb to the deceit of our defeated foe.  Some of that is relative to just how much “faith” do we have…how much truth have we gotten that we completely trust God to do what He says He will do?  The more trust in God, the less possible deceit we can, or will, succumb to.

One foundational truth we should always operate from is what Michael mentions at the close: “Satan is, of course, a great liar – the father of lies (John 8:44).”  There, God has given us a heads-up…beware…the Liar will always be coming at us with Lies, Deceit, and Counterfeits.  We have most of the battle won when we are prepared with Truth BEFORE the Liar shows up!  Think about it…what lie could the Liar bring our way to deceive us as Born Again Believers that there is “more than one way to get to Heaven”?

Think long on those three statements in the 2^nd paragraph above from SIW…  In each case, the believer has GIVEN the enemy ground to operate on and to bring more lies, more deceit, more counterfeit to further keep that one from abiding in the Truth.  He can’t make us do anything, but he can deceive us far away from the freedom and victory that Truth gives us (John 8:32, 36).

And goodness gracious, I already know the nine (9) lies that Michael has prepared for us to study these next nine weeks…

Note: if you don’t have one of Michael’s Sidetracked In The Wilderness books, please contact ALMI (www.abidinglife.com) and get one today!

To access ALL past weekly blogs, go to Getting Out of the Wilderness by logging onto www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com  

NOTICE:  another blog…on Michael Wells’ book, My Weakness For His Strength, called Living Life With a Capital “C”.  You can access by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

leemccm@gmail.com

1737 CR 2051    Nacogdoches, Tx 75965                                         936-559-5696

Freedom To Fail

Thoughts on Michael Wells’ teachings in Sidetracked In The Wilderness - # 56

         

Michael’s book is available through:

Abiding Life Ministries International

Littleton, Colorado

(303) 972-0859       www.abidinglife.com

Notice:  this email is part of a BLOG, called Getting Out of the Wilderness.  Why a blog?  So that many can receive the weekly thoughts I express on Michael’s writings in an easy manner. 

In three pages, Michael gives us a great picture, explanation, and application of the compassion of God.  And simply put, where would we be without His compassion?!?

FREEDOM TO FAIL

excerpt from pages 170-172 of SIW (5^th printing, March 1998)

excerpt from pages 171-174 of SIW (14^th printing, March 2012)

                   (used with permission from ALMI):

The only way out of failure is faith.  We do not wallow in self-pity and guilt, but we allow failure to bring us to a place of true dependence, which will bring maximum productivity as Christ lives His life through us.  Regrets are for unbelievers, not for those who walk in Christ’s righteousness.

…we must understand the character of God…His very nature is compassion.  The repentant man, no matter how far he has fallen, can count on God’s hearing him and being overcome by His own compassion!

Israel was warned that if she forgot the Lord and worshiped idols she would be destroyed, but if when in distress from that behavior she would seek the Lord, then God would hear her…We are free to fail because God is a God of compassion; over sixty times in the Old Testament is He described thus.

…One thing we see over and over again is what I call God’s Compassion Cycle.  That is, whenever we are punished by God, our resulting suffering stirs His compassion, so He brings us back again to Himself…

What is your excuse for wallowing?  To what end or benefit do you continue to punish yourself because of unbelief after you have sinned?  God is compassionate, whether you believe it or not.  His character is not dependent upon what you believe or feel, but on what He says…Have you learned to lean on the compassion of God, or do your lying emotions tell you God does not hear and show compassion?

God continued to forgive and restore Israel even though He knew that they would continue to fail and not keep their promises to Him.  It is the compassion of God that has brought all of us thus far…

…When we walk in compassion, we are free to fail, our love covers a multitude of our sins, and our mercy delivers us from judgment…

Wow!  How beautiful is all this?  Absolutely gorgeous!

Michael has much more in the way of illustrations, particularly of God’s work in the life of Israel in the OT, on these three pages.  I hope you have one of the books from ALMI and are working through the life-changing truths from He Who IS the Truth.

Let me see…I think I can summarize this with all simplicity:

We all will fail God.

We need to repent and return to God.

God is full of compassion and will forgive us and restore us.

When we walk in compassion, we are free to fail.

We who know the compassion of the Lord must show the same to others.

Compassion readily forgives.

That seems to bring me to the following questions:

Do I wallow in my failures?  Do I punish myself for unbelief?

OR…am I repentant and turn to God?

Am I learning to live a life of true dependence on God?

Note: if you don’t have one of Michael’s Sidetracked In The Wilderness books, please contact ALMI (www.abidinglife.com) and get one today!

To access ALL past weekly blogs, go to Getting Out of the Wilderness by logging onto www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com  

NOTICE:  another blog…on Michael Wells’ book, My Weakness For His Strength, called Living Life With a Capital “C”.  You can access by logging onto www.leemccm.blogspot.com

Lee McDowell Christian Ministries

leemccm@gmail.com

1737 CR 2051    Nacogdoches, Tx 75965                                             936-559-5696