How to Defeat the Devil Consistently

By Deryl S. Lampkin

Immediately after Jesus was baptised, He was driven by the Spirit of God into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. God purposely allows the devil to put us to the test to prove the validity of our conversion and to improve our moral character.

Once a person accepts the gift of salvation, the devil will immediately begin to test them to see if their conversion is genuine. He will continuously test their commitment, faithfulness, endurance, strength and knowledge or the Word of God.

There are certain foundational scriptures and principles you must become rooted and grounded in. These fundamentals will enable you to stand strong through the boot camp testing stage of your Kingdom of God experience.

Man Does not Live by Physical Bread Only but It's the Spiritual Bread of Life that Produces a  Fulfilled and Eternal Life

1.   You need to know that your provisions, supplies, and necessities comes from the Word of God and that your spiritual needs are more important than your physical needs. God says that we should seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Mat 6:33   Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? Mat 6:31

2.   You should not try God with foolish tests. The devil will suggest to your mind, stupid things to do to prove that you are a born again child of God or that you have the power of God. Do not fall prey to this tactic, it can result in great harm to you.

3.   The devil will suggest to you ungodly and alternative ways to become successful in life. We are to only serve God and obey his commandments. We are not to be servant of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes nor the pride of life.

The Job of the Devil

The devil’s job is to get you to focus on and be preoccupied with your physical and material needs and desires so that you will neglect developing your spiritual power and authority. If he keeps you engrossed in worldly activity, you will never develop into the person God intended for you to be.

True Worship

Obeying every thing that God commands, is what empowers us to become who God says we are. Whom you obey is the one you are really serving and worshipping. If we live contrary to God’s laws, principles and commandments, then that is proof positive evidence that we are not serving and worshipping God.

What we do on Sunday when we gather together is really a time of fellowship and edifying and building up one another. What we do from the time we leave the fellowship house and return again is when true worship and serving God takes place. We are always serving somebody. The question is, Is it God, the Flesh, the World, or the Devil?

 

Jesus Followed the Script

By: Deryl S. Lampkin

Lesson 2: Follow the Script

Mat 3:15         But Jesus answering said to him, Suffer [it] now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffers him.

Mat 3:13         Then comes Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptised of him;

Mat 3:14         but John urgently forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptised of thee; and comest thou to me?

Mat 3:15         But Jesus answering said to him, Suffer [it] now; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffers him.

Mat 3:16         And Jesus, having been baptised, went up straightway from the water, and lo, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him:

Mat 3:17         and behold, a voice out of the heavens saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight.

In this passage, Jesus although he himself had no need to be baptized for the forgiveness of his sins, submitted to being baptized. If he had no sin, why did he come to be baptized?

Jesus being baptized represented his inaugural ceremony. When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to be baptized, he introduced him as “The Lamb of God” which takes away the sin of the world. After Jesus came up out of the water, the Spirit descended upon him and God proclaimed from heaven, that Jesus is His Son in whom He is well pleased.

Luk 3:22         and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove upon him; and a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight.

Notice that John said after introducing Jesus, that, Jesus came to take away the sin (singular) of the world not sins (plural). This indicates that Jesus’ mission was to reverse the curse. By one man (Adam), sin entered into the world through the disobedience of Adam. Therefore, by the obedience of one man (Jesus) who is also referred to as “the last Adam”, sin was taken out of the world. Sin filled the earth one human at a time; so likewise, the eradication of sin is also accomplished one human at a time.

Rom 5:12         Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Rom 5:19         For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

1Cr 15:45          And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam [was made] a quickening spirit.

So what Jesus was teaching us here was that we should follow God’s script. He also was teaching us that the servant is not greater than the master. If he, being the master submitted himself to baptism, we should follow his lead and do likewise.

Question?

What does it mean to be baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire?

God’s Business Is Priority Over Ours


By: Deryl S. Lampkin

The very first recorded words spoken by Jesus occurred in Luke 2:49 when Jesus was 12 years old.

Luk 2:49         And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?"

Luke 2:41 through 2:48 give us the setting of this profound statement.

Luk 2:41          Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover.

Luk 2:42          And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.

Luk 2:43         And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not [of it].

Luk 2:44         But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among [their] kinsfolk and acquaintance.

Luk 2:45           And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.

Luk 2:46         And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

Luk 2:47         And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.

Luk 2:48         And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.

So we see Jesus at the tender age of twelve, was fully conscious of his mission and calling. He fully understood that he was on earth to do the will of his heavenly Father. Therefore, the very first lesson he taught was that:

Lesson 1: We Must Be About God’s Business

That is our primary and foremost purpose on earth. Jesus demonstrated that life is not about pursuing the cares of this world but it is about being a vessel that God can use to channel his spirit through and cause the will of God to be established on earth just as it is in heaven.

The Business of God, What Is It?

The business of God is the work of redeeming fallen mankind from the curse of sin and self-destruction and restoring them to having power and authority to rule over the earth and produce holy and righteous fruit in it.

The Church is the Body of Christ, which is the physical manifestation of Christ on earth. The spirit of Christ dwells in us and we are to yield our minds and bodies to that spirit.

Christ Establishes the Kingdom of God Through Us

This enables Christ to manifest himself through us. He is able to continue to do the work of restoring righteousness in the earth and putting all things under his feet. Our role in this work is to present our bodies as living sacrifices and yield our body members over to works of righteousness. This is more than a reasonable request of God since Christ willingly died for us. We are to be more than willing to live for him.

Be Filled With the Spirit and Lose the Spiritual Weight

We must continually lay aside every weight and distraction that hinders us from diligently pursuing God’s business and put God’s will above our own. We have overly concerned ourselves with the cares of this crooked and perverse world and have grossly neglected the business of God. It is time for us to sober up from being under the influence of this world system and start truly living under the divine influence of the Holy Spirit of God and Christ.

Amen and Amen