Daar is baie Christene, who believe they have nothing to do with the devil anymore because the devil is a defeated enemy. Because of this mindset, many Christians have become passive in prayer and the spiritual warfare against the devil and his kingdom and have become ineffective for the Kingdom of God. Dit is waar, that Jesus Christ has defeated the devil and has the keys of death and hell, but Jesus has given His authority and the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and the power to bind and loose to His Church, because the devil is not yet cast into the eternal lake of fire and is still the god of this world. The devil and his kingdom still exist, therefore the devil still has the ability to attack. The devil still goes around as a roaring lion, seeking whom he can devour. The devil still tries to spiritually disarm the Church, so that the Church becomes ineffective and powerless and the devil has nothing to fear. What is the mission of the devil? The mission of the devil is to silence the believers and destroy the Church; die Liggaam van Christus. This was the mission of the devil from the day of Pentecost and is still the mission of the devil.
What is the mission of the devil?
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, soek wie hy kan verslind: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world (1 Petrus 5:8-9)
The devil is the adversary of those, who are born again in Christ and belong to His Body; die kerk, and has one mission and that’s to silence the believers and destroy the Church of Jesus Christ, so that the devil can continue his destructive works on earth.
He tries to enter the Church and deceive and tempt the Church and cause the Church to go astray and becomes disobedient to God and obedient to him and the believers no longer do the works of God and destroy the works of the devil, but do the works of the devil and destroy the works of God, whereby they enlarge the kingdom of darkness, instead of the Kingdom of God, where Jesus Christ is King.
Therefore the devil is always looking for openings in the lives of believers, who are together the Church.
As soon as the devil found an opening and enters the life of the believer, the devil attacks and comes as an angel of light with his deceptive lies, temptations, en krag, which causes supernatural manifestations.
Through his deceptive lies, which derive from his kingdom; die wereld, and the focus on the flesh, the devil makes the people prideful towards God and passive and lukewarm for Jesus Christ, His mission, and the works of God’s Kingdom.
The devil sows doubt and lies in the minds of people, which causes unbelief and false doctrines. The unbelief and false doctrines, which are leerstellings van duiwels, ensure that the Church doubts God and His Word and stays silent about the truth of God and the gebooie and warnings of Jesus Christ.
Changing the truth of God into a lie
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, om hulle eie liggame tussen mekaar te onteer: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, en die skepsel meer aanbid en gedien as die Skepper, wat geseënd is tot in ewigheid. Amen.
Om hierdie rede het God hulle aan skandelike geneenthede oorgegee: want selfs hulle vroue het die natuurlike gebruik verander in dit wat teen die natuur is: En so ook die manne, die natuurlike gebruik van die vrou verlaat, verbrand in hulle wellus, die een na die ander; manne met manne wat werk wat ontoepaslik is, en in hulleself die vergelding van hulle dwaling ontvang wat gegrond was.
En selfs soos hulle nie daarvan gehou het om God in hulle kennis te behou nie, God het hulle oorgegee aan 'n verwerplike verstand, om daardie dinge te doen wat nie gerieflik is nie; Om met alle ongeregtigheid vervul te word, hoerery, goddeloosheid, hebsug, kwaadwilligheid; vol afguns, moord, debat, bedrog, kwaadaardigheid; fluisteraars, Agterspelers, haters van God, ondanks, trots, grootpraters, uitvinders van bose dinge, ongehoorsaam aan ouers, Sonder begrip, verbondsverbrekers, sonder natuurlike liefde, onverbiddelik, onbarmhartig: Wie die oordeel van God ken, dat hulle wat sulke dinge doen, die dood waardig is, nie net dieselfde doen nie, maar hê behae in die wat dit doen (Romeine 1:21-32)
By his lies, the devil has spiritually disarmed and destroyed and appropriated many churches, where his carnal ministers, who have a carnal and reprobate mind and are puffed up and full op pride, believe and speak his words and use his power and exalt themselves above God and His Word and walk in sin and even promote sin (Lees ook: “Is Jesus 'n Promotor van sonde?’ and ‘What is a reprobate mind?’).
Die kerk; die Liggaam van Christus
Die kerk, the assembly of believers who are born of God, is appointed on earth as a representative of God and His Kingdom and preaches His Word and establishes His Kingdom on earth.
The more the Church spiritually matures, knowing the will of God, en stel die ou man af en trek die nuwe man aan and walk in the authority of Jesus Christ, die woord, and the power of the Holy Spirit in the will of God on earth, the greater threat the Church becomes for the devil and his kingdom.
If the churches would lay down all carnality and walk after the Spirit and do what Jesus has commanded to do and pray and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, the will of God and sanctification, they would be the light of the world and many souls, who live in bondage in darkness, would be drawn to the light and be delivered from the power of darkness and hell and the kingdom of darkness be plundered.
If the churches would really believe in the Word and in the Name of Jesus Christ (die gesag van Jesus Christus) and do the will of God, then they would grow up into the image of Jesus Christ and preach, bring and establish the Kingdom of God earth.
Then the churches would stop relying on the wisdom of knowledge of the world and would stop referring the believers to the world for help and solutions, but the churches would rely on God and walk in His power and be able to provide the needs of the people, net soos Jesus.
Ongelukkig, most churches don’t walk by faith in Jesus Christ; the Word in the power of God, due to carnality (carnal mind, carnal will, lust and desires of the flesh, and carnal works (Lees ook: ‘Shall I find faith on earth?’)).
Most believers are not willing to lay down the flesh and put off the old man and put on the new man and therefore many keep walking after the flesh. They want to receive the blessings of God and do signs and wonders, which belong to the life of the new man, but they refuse to lay down their flesh.
Dié, who sow in the flesh shall not reap the fruit of the Spirit
Moenie mislei word nie; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting (Galasiërs 6:7-8)
They feed their flesh with the things of the world and expect to bear the fruit of the Spirit. But if you sow in the flesh, you shall never reap the fruit of the Spirit. If you sow in the flesh, you shall reap the fruit of the flesh, wat sonde is, and eventually corruption.
If you want to reap apples, but put kiwi seeds in the ground, you shall not reap apples, but kiwis.
If this simple principle is known by the natural man, why is this principle unknown by the spiritual man? Why do so many people, who say they believe and claim to be spiritual, sow in the flesh expecting to bear the fruit of the Spirit and life everlasting?
Dié, who keep walking after the flesh shall be led by the old sinful nature and shall feed the flesh and bear the fruit of the flesh and walk in rebellion towards God and His Word.
They shall be carnal and think like the world and therefore they shall speak the same words as the world and act the same way as the world.
They will put their trust in the wisdom, kennis, and words of the world and everything that derives from it, instead of putting their trust in Jesus Christ; the Living Word of God.
And so the churches with carnal believers, where the devil is in charge, are built upon the wisdom, kennis, menings, and experiences of people and mix them with the words of God, which are taken out of context, so that a sensual humanistic gospel is created, in which people are the center and the gatherings are sensory appealing and the sermons revolve around the flesh of man and the things of this world instead of the spirit of man and the things of the Kingdom of God and cause the people to persevere in sin.
Instead of feeding the spirit of man with the truth of God, the flesh is fed with the lies of the devil, whereby the old man continues to exist and the new man goes to the wall.
There is hardly any difference between believers, who say they belong to Christ and go to church, and unbelievers, wat aan die wêreld behoort.
Many churches are no longer a power of God, who acts in the Name of Jesus and through the fivefold ministry and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, raise the believers in the will of God unto spiritual mature sons of God and make them spiritual soldiers of Jesus Christ, who are active in the spiritual warfare and resist the temptations of the devil and expose and destroy the works of darkness and save souls from hell. In plaas daarvan, many churches have become social institutions, a place where everything revolves around the flesh of man and the flesh is entertained and pleased with the purpose to motivate the people and experience supernatural manifestations, whereby many churches move in the occult (Lees ook: ‘Die okkultiese kerk‘ en ‘Nuwe era in die kerk?').
The devil has deceived and appropriated many churches
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. Maar, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit (Jude 1:19)
Very slowly, the devil has succeeded in appropriating many churches and making them lukewarm and passive for Jesus Christ, because many remain carnal and sensual and don’t have the Spirit of God, but belong to the world and listen to what the devil has to say and believe his words.
They are spiritually blind and don’t see the works of the devil and don’t discern the devil’s lies from the truth of God and they don’t realize that they live in his power and are bound by his lies.
Instead of being witnesses of Jesus Christ and preaching His truth and keeping His commandments, doing what He says and abiding in His love and doing righteous works and bearing the fruit of the Spirit, they have become witnesses of the devil and preach his truth and do what he says and abide in his false love (the love of the world), which ensures that they keep walking in darkness and bear the fruit of death, wat sonde is.
But luckily there is still time for the churches, who have left the Word and His truth and gone astray and are seated in darkness, aan Bekeer and return to Jesus Christ and by submitting to the Word and by keeping His commandments make Jesus the Head of the church again and walk after the Spirit and preach, bring and establish His Kingdom on earth.
‘Wees die sout van die aarde’
