How do we exercise our spiritual power in Jesus to mitigate the offesive of satan

WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY EXHORTATION WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY EXHORTATION WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY EXHORTATION WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY EXHORTATION WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY EXHORTATION WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY EXHORTATION WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY EXHORTATION WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY EXHORTATION WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY EXHORTATION WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY EXHORTATION WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY EXHORTATION WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY EXHORTATION WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY EXHORTATION WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY EXHORTATION WELCOME TO OUR WEEKLY EXHORTATION I AM GOD I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST I AM LORD JESUS CHRIST Did you know that your profession of faith in Jesus Christ was enough to provoke Satan to anger? Simply because he lost one of his worshippers who has repented. Because of this, Satan will fight you relentlessly. The good news is that Jesus has anointed you and has given you power to arm you against any offensive from the enemy. Unfortunately, us Christians make the mistake of thinking that responding to God's call will put an end to our problems. The Bible is clear on this. Time will come when your faith will be severely tested. I almost feel like saying that it is God who sometimes allows his children to go through troubles so that they may learn obedience through suffering just like Jesus for the glory of his name. The Scriptures say that it was the Spirit of God that led Jesus to the desert to be tempted and not Satan. Wait for it. This will happen sooner or later to every Christian soldier as well. So, what exactly is Satan's object of temptation? In fact, any temptation of Satan always targets our flesh. Its purpose is to bring down the believer spiritually. When the flesh is not well controlled, we become easy prey for the enemy. Hence, the need for every Christian to have provision that can allow him to control the impurses of the flesh. To understand how this works, let's examine how Jesus was able to overcome his temptation. The Word of God tells us that after fasting 40 days and 40 nights, Satan approached Jesus. From here, we can notice two major facts. Fasting and temptation. You see, fasting and prayer is an opportunity that God has given us to better face and mitigate the offensive of Satan. Believers should not think that being a Christian and having the Spirit of God dwelling in them automatically gives them complete mastery of the influence of the flesh. You may wonder if God will not deliver you from the pull of the flesh if you don't fast. I do not think God will unless you give Him the okay to do so. Because it is the responsibility of the believer to collaborate with the Holy Spirit to control the lust of the flesh. You and I know very well that the Spirit of God has the power to do anything. The exercise of this power in us is not done without our permission and our collaboration. Praise the Lord. God knows the power of fasting and encourages His worshippers to practice it. For He always responds to those who obey Him and who are in need. Please, read Jeremiah chapter 14 verse 12. Through prayer and fasting, we force God's hand to intervene in our fight against evil if we continually submit ourselves to His sovereignty. In addition, Jesus Christ has also shown us the power of prayer and fasting and teaching us to do so in order to win spiritual victories. By way of illustration, a certain man brought to Jesus his lunatic son that his disciples failed to cure. Later on, the disciples were asking Jesus why they could not cast the demon out of the lunatic boy. Jesus replied to them saying that this kind of demon goes not out but by prayer and fasting. Matthew chapter 17 verse 21. See, the disciples had the power of healing and the power to cast out demons. Notice, Jesus who gave them that power was still with them but yet, they were unable to succeed. Why so? Well, because their flesh was a hindrance. Jesus was telling them, you know, you cannot cast the demon out because your flesh is still controlling you though you are with me. Your flesh blocks the fulfillment of God's will. Hallelujah! Is that your case? This is why Jesus told them again that, to better face this kind of demon and cast him out, they had to be in a spiritual disposition favorable to them, prayer and fasting. By saying this, Jesus did not mean that they had to fast there before healing the Galactic Boy but rather, as a believer, prayer and fasting should be part of their way of life. You see, prayer and fasting allows us, allows the believer to become more aware of the existence of the flesh and its influence on us. Conclusion My friends, I know you are aware of what Satan can do and that you are very alert about it. But, the thing is that, Satan has different ways of doing. He doesn't confront you in a brutal way. He can be very gentle and even friendly to you while trying to harm you. Sometimes, he can show up where you least expect him. So, I want to remind you that if you have professed to follow Jesus all your life, you should know that you have got into an endless spiritual battle. But, you can be assured that God is with us. He gave us weapons of spiritual welfare as described in Ephesians chapter 6 verse 14. In order to use these weapons properly, we must make sure that we take refuge under the power of the Holy Spirit to resist the lust of the flesh. This position is that of prayer and fasting. It is true that God has given us spiritual power. But, if we don't activate it, it won't be useful to us. Spiritually, through prayer and fasting, the believer is aware of the existence of the flesh and its influence on us. That is exactly what Jesus did during those 40 days of fasting, not allowing the flesh to be tempted by the deception of Satan. Hallelujah! Prayer and fasting must be for you and me a way of life by which we can mitigate the offensive of Satan against us. As followers of Christ, I encourage you to ask God periodically in prayer and fasting to protect you and strengthen you in faith for the glory of His name and you will not be disappointed for He said, ask and it shall be given you. Praise the Lord! Well, we've come to the end of this message. Again, I am so thankful and thank you for your time. If God delays His coming, I will see you next Sunday. God bless! . . .