Don't get robbed

[sidney]

poof poof poof poof

 

[sidney]

Oh, I blogged about this before, but it's something I call "pre-emptive prayer." Not sure if I made it up or leaning it somewhere but it just means praying to God ahead of time, for his covering, for guidance, for whatever.

 

[PinkPebbles]

sidney thanks for posting!

I went through a season when I kept having dreams about robbery, invasion, etc. The dreams were so detailed and I knew that God was forewarning me about the enemy's subtle attacks.

Yes, we have to be on guard. We can't see all the ways the enemy wants to erect strongholds in our lives. However, prayer and communion with the Lord through-out the day will allow God to reveal things to us that we don't know and overcome subtle attacks.

I believe the enemy's greatest attack is deception...but thank God for the spirit of truth!

 

[sidney]

I just found this randomly by a blogger, wanted to share. I think he is expressing what I am trying to say. I chopped out the first part, it was longer than my threads.

this is what God impressed on my heart this afternoon, and as ironic as it may seem, i am indeed thankful that i failed my test, because had i not, i would have not realized this truth that i had forgotten. you see the reason why i felt compelled the write this to you, is because i believe we all tend to forget about the deviousness of satan and the power that he indeed possesses. satan is a force to be reckoned with. and he’s not going to go away. he’ll always be there trying to get us down, trying to break us, trying to ruin our walk with God. and sometimes these things aren’t as obvious as you may think.

the verse that this reflection started with, was john 10:10: "the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy..." in one of the books i had been reading, it talked about how everything that satan did started with stealing. and one of the examples included the fact that satan had stolen our passion for our first love. do you remember the kind of zeal and devotion you had when Jesus became part of your life? do you remember how hungry you were for the Word? what about now? what is your spiritual life like now? that kind of zeal and devotion doesn’t simply fade away, satan had a part in stealing it away. the thing we all must realize is that we can claim all the things that satan has stolen from us in God’s name. God has conquered satan, and there’s nothing He can’t do! we have to rely and draw from God to help us.

i would like to encourage each and every one of you to go deeper into the Bible then you ever have before. start praying like you never have before. if we are to be prepared against satan’s attacks, we must be rooted in God’s Word. we must be close with our Heavenly Father! there’s no way anyone would go into battle without getting prepared first! do you see what i’m getting at? in ephesians 6, it talks about putting on the armor of God - "therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand" (ephesians 6:13 [NIV]). we have no idea when or where satan will attack; all we know is that he will do it at one point or another. it is imperative that we stay close to God at all times.

i’d also like to remind you once again on just how important prayer is. prayer really is what keeps us connected to God. in 1 thessalonians, it says to "pray continually" (1 thessalonians 5:17 [NIV]). in everything that you do, pray about it first, bring everything to GOD before anything else!! and one of the most intriguing things that i heard this summer from a sermon was that if we can be in prayer 24/7, we would be in God’s will, and as a result, we would not sin, because we would be seeing things from God’s perspective (in a sense anyhow). now the trick is to be in prayer 24/7 (if you can figure that out, you’d have to let me know just remember that God’s will is higher than anything and anyone, so for any decision or anything, bring it to God first! if your church or youth group doesn’t have a weekly prayer meeting, then i suggest you highly consider beginning one. we need to pray for our fellowship & for our churches a whole lot!!

if you ever have any prayer requests, don’t hesitate to let me know. i’d be more than happy to pray for you! just e-mail me @ [email protected] or via ICQ (3003775). may God bless you in everything that you do! take care & keep smiling!

in Christ’s most precious name,

leo chan

 

[sidney]

@sidney thanks for posting!

I went through a season when I kept having dreams about robbery, invasion, etc. The dreams were so detailed and I knew that God was forewarning me about the enemy's subtle attacks.

Yes, we have to be on guard. We can't see all the ways the enemy wants to erect strongholds in our lives. However, prayer and communion with the Lord through-out the day will allow God to reveal things to us that we don't know and overcome subtle attacks.

I believe the enemy's greatest attack is deception...but thank God for the spirit of truth!

Thanks for sharing your experience with me. I haven't had a dream of this sort before. But I thank God daily for exposure of the truth! He doesn't leave us ignorant of the enemies devices (2 corinthians 2:11). You hit the nail on the head about deception. But God is a revealer of truth. And we are not ignorant of our weapons of warfare either.

Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hands. Psalms 149:6,

I'm armed! With praise and his word (double-edged sword)...

 

[smwrigh3]

This was wonderful information!!!

 

[LoveisYou]

Oh God thank you Sidney I will be forever grateful this is exactly what I needed.

 

[loolalooh]

Thank you for sharing this, sidney. Don't ever feel like you "don't want to post" anything here in the CF. Your messages speak to many here.

 

[Laela]

I believe she's speaking in terms of obedience to the Holy Spirit...


Sidney, please correct me if I'm wrong!

Thank you for sharing this, sidney. Don't ever feel like you "don't want to post" anything here in the CF. Your messages speak to many here.

 

[sidney]

poof poof poof poof

 

[Honi]

The hedge was put there by God. Job 1:10. It's right out of satans own mouth.

NIV – "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land".

NLT – "You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is!"

God didn't sick satan on Job like a dog. I'll be back later to explain. God is not going to put up a hedge and snatch it down. Only you can do that....

 

[loolalooh]

The hedge was put there by God. Job 1:10. It's right out of satans own mouth.

NIV – "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land".

NLT – "You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is!"

God didn't sick satan on Job like a dog. I'll be back later to explain. God is not going to put up a hedge and snatch it down. Only you can do that....

I don't think (or maybe I'm wrong) sidney was implying that she didn't know who put the hedge around Job but that she wasn't certain if prayer was a factor.

Other than that, I'm genuinely interested in the bolded. My understanding was that God removed the hedge (temporarily):

JOB 1:
"8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

12 The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”"

 

[Honi]

I don't think (or maybe I'm wrong) sidney was implying that she didn't know who put the hedge around Job but that she wasn't certain if prayer was a factor.

Other than that, I'm genuinely interested in the bolded. My understanding was that God removed the hedge (temporarily):

JOB 1:
"8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

9 “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

12 The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”"

loolalooh oh ok. I probably misread it. My apologies if I offended anyone.

You have to ask yourself this though. How did satan have access to God anyway?

Lemme go back to work before I get caught!

 

[Lanea87]

How did satan have access to God anyway?

Can someone answer this? All I know about the situation with Job is that Satan said he was 'roaming the earth and watching everything thats going on' when God asked him what was he doing here? I also know that Satan was orginally an angel of God that became corrupt from his own pride, so is that how he got his access?

 

[sidney]

poof poof poof poof

 

[sidney]

poof poof poof poof

 

[Honi]

It is interesting that Jobs name in Hebrew means afflicted/persecuted.

Job was not perfect but blameless and upright but the bible tells us that no one is perfect except Jesus.

Job was so sin conscious, feared and worried so much about his children that every morning he went out sacrificing burnt offerings for each of his kids thinking THEY may have sinned. What about himself???? Notice the self righteousness? What about his sin? It was always somebody else.

1:5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom.

Satan is like a prosecutor. He understands legality and uses the law to prosecute you to bring you to your knees. To rob you of peace, health, etc. He was annoyed that God was prospering Job and was protected. So it was obvious that satan considered Job but couldn't get at him but what did satan see that gave him a right to accuse Job of something?

God did not deliver Job into satans hands. God said "he is in your hands". God gave permission but there is no mention of God bringing down the hedge of protection. God is merciful and good. So who brought down the hedge? Job's fear did. Fear destroyed God's defenses. Job said "For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me" Job 3:25. God's protection could no longer operate because faith cannot exist when there is fear present.

Also, when you read though the chapters you will see that Job was self-righteous and that can be found in Chapter 31 where for the next few chapters he talks about all the things that HE had done that was virtuous, good, unselfish and it wasn't fair...I did this…I did that, me….my. Elihu confronts him and told him he wasn't right in thinking that way. Those things does NOT make him righteous. Did Job even know satan was responsible?


Situation gets worse when his 3 knuckleheads friends tell Job that the reason for his calamity was because there was sin in his life. This is faulty reasoning and goes on for a few chapters. You know God did not like that because in Chapter 42 he made them offer 7 rams and 7 bulls to atone for their bull Elihu was not mentioned.

And of course everything was restored in the end and he got back double what was lost in addition to 140 years added to his life.

Regarding satans access to heaven. The only reason I think would be because of Adams fall. Genesis tells us that Adam had dominion over the earth and was called a "son" of God. Not like Jesus the only begotten Son, but a "son". This also gave Adam access to the heaven being a "son". When Adam was deceived by satan, then satan took control…..just my 2 cents but I know I'm way off. Satan doesn't have access anymore. It's in Hebrews 9.

Now this can't happen to us because of Christ and His redeeming blood. Christ legally took it back on satans own turf. The accuser can't go to God regarding your sin because Jesus will object with a been there, done that. PAID IN FULL. But it doesn't mean that satan can't try to get at you in other ways. Through your friends, family, crappy thoughts in your head…..the pulpit. What sidney said about prayer is soooo important in ordering your day. In Chapter 38 God asks Job if he had commanded his morning… " Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place. Pre-emptive prayer is a strategy so yes….do not get robbed.

 

[sidney]

Honi, thanks for sharing your response. I think it was implied that God let the hedge down because he tells him to do anything to Job except dont touch the man. I am sure that if Job was called righteous, that he obeyed God and also sacrificed for himself. He feared that his children didnt so he offered sacrificees for them Job did become self righteous but this happens when he starts questioning God about why this happened to him, and as he defensivly combats his righteousness to his friends. I think we differ in our theology and thats ok. The important thing is that we agree about prayer.

 

[Laela]

Job was the only person on earth who walked uprightly, is what God told the devil.

Job: 1 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

So Job was already was justified in God's eyes because of his righteousness (fear of the Lord) -- before the devil got permission to attack. His efforts to sacrifice on his children's behalf indicated, if anything, that we are not capable of saving anyone...only God can do that. It's everyone else around Job who was sin-concious and self-righteous, his wife suggesting he cursed God and die (or give up hope), his friends trying to justify (or satisfy) their own beliefs that he was sinful.

 

[sidney]

Thanks for clarifying Laela about Job. , I agree we cannot save anyone, but I want us to recognize we have help.. He says if his people will seek my face, he will heal the land. And please no one feel discouraged by things outside of your control. My intention to empower concerning prayer, to keep the enemy at bay in your devotion to Christ. And stand in the gap for yours and mines, and the nations.

 

[Laela]

Just coming back to this, because this is a powerful Word you have shared in the OP....


God bless and Amein @ the bolded ~

Thanks for clarifying Laela about Job. , I agree we cannot save anyone, but I want us to recognize we have help.. He says if his people will seek my face, he will heal the land. And please no one feel discouraged by things outside of your control. My intention to empower concerning prayer, to keep the enemy at bay in your devotion to Christ. And stand in the gap for yours and mines, and the nations.