I've talked with many Christians lately who are confused and tormented in their minds. They don't understand what's going on, and they are having a hard time distinguishing God's voice from the other voices that they are hearing. Been there done that?
John 10:27-28 - "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand."
Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice." If you have given your life to Jesus and are living for Him, no one will be able to change that fact. No one will be able to snatch you out of His hands. If you belong to Jesus, you will hear His voice.
He also said, "I know them, and they follow Me." Sheep won't follow a stranger. They follow the shepherd that has been assigned to them. When other shepherds call them, they will not respond. Like those sheep, Jesus is our Shepherd. His sheep hear His voice and they will follow Him and only Him. When God speaks, we will know His voice. When the enemy speaks, we will know his voice. We will be able to discern between the two.
So, why all the confusion? Why am I hearing all these other voices?
The devil works over-time trying to bring confusion to the people of God. He wants to confuse us because he doesn't want us doing the will of God. When we do the will of God, we bring torment to the enemy. He doesn't want to be tormented, so he tries to torment us.
2 Cor. 10:4-6 - For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
The mind is the real battleground. It seems like we are constantly at war with the thoughts in our mind. Thank God, He has not left us defenseless. He has given us mighty weapons to fight against the enemy and his cunning attacks.
Every one of us must learn how to cast down wicked imaginations and thoughts that come into our minds. We cannot afford to allow those thoughts to take root and gain a stronghold in us. We must cast the thoughts and imaginations down before they have a chance to take root. God has given us all the authority we need in order to live a godly and productive life. We do not have to allow the enemy to rule us in this area. We have the power to defeat him and cast down wicked imaginations and thoughts in the name of Jesus.
The mind is the center of our thoughts and imaginations. We are constantly thinking and imagining all kinds of things. This can be very distracting, if we don't take authority over these thoughts immediately. Our minds are filled with both good and bad thoughts. We must be able to sort out the good from the bad, and deal with the bad, according to the word. We must stay focused on that which is good, holy, and pure. We must not allow the devil to get a foothold in any area of our mind, will, or emotions.
We must be able to quickly discern confusion, when it comes, and rise up against it. We must learn not to toy with it, but take authority over it, and command it to go from us, in His name.
Something to remember:
1 Cor. 14:33 - For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.
If God is not the author of confusion, then where does it come from? Confusion comes from our adversary the devil. He doesn't want us understanding what the will of God is for our lives. He doesn't want us winning the victory. He doesn't want us hearing the voice of God. He knows that he will suffer greatly when the people of God hear His voice and obey it. There is power in obedience. If you want to walk in His power, you must first learn to be obedient. Obedience will cause us to function in His authority and anointing.
The devil doesn't want us walking in God's anointing and power. Why? Because that will destroy him. It will destroy his plans and his purposes for our lives. So, in order for the devil to gain the victory, he brings confusion and speaks things that are directly opposite of what God is speaking to us. When we hear one voice saying, "Do this", and another voice saying, "Don't do this", we get confused. But, when we realize that confusion is NOT from the Lord, we know that evil spirits are operating against us, and we can take authority over the confusion, in the name of Jesus. Once we've prayed, the devil must flee. He can't stay. God brings light (revelation) in the midst of the situation and darkness flees. Light drives out the darkness. When the darkness is gone, the confusion will be gone.
One of the things that I usually catch myself saying when I am confused about something is, "I don't understand?" The devil doesn't want us to understand. The Lord, on the other hand, wants us to understand all things.
2 Tim. 2:7 - Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.
Eph. 5:17 - Therefore, do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
We need to know when the enemy is coming against us, and we must be able to do something about it. We don't have to bow to the commands of the enemy. He must bow to our commands. He has been stripped of his power. We can rejoice in this fact knowing that we can overcome anything the enemy tries to destroy us with. God will give us wisdom in every circumstance that we find ourseves involved in.
We must learn how to use the spiritual weapons that God has given to us. When you are in a war, you don't leave your weapons at home on a shelf. You take them with you and prepare for action. You make sure that your guns have bullets in them. You make sure that your knives are sharpened and ready to go.
We must ask the Lord to teach us how to pray. The disciples didn't ask Jesus to teach them how to preach. They asked Him to teach them how to pray. They thought prayer was more important than anything else. This is something for us to think about. We all want to be good preachers and teachers, but if we don't understand how to touch the hem of His garment, we will not be very effective in our times of ministering to those who have need. His word must become a part of us. His word must be hidden in our hearts. We must not be ignorant of the enemies devices, but we must have an understanding of how wicked and deceptive the devil truly is. We must also be able to warn others of the devil's tactics and schemes. The mature in Christ must be able to train up the babes. Many are still drinking milk instead of eating the meat. Many should be teachers, but they are still immature babes in the things of God. Something is wrong church. We must mature quickly and not waste the precious time of training that God has been putting us through. Time is too short to miss out on the blessings and the victories.
We do not have to live in torment, fear, and confusion. These three seem to go together. When you find fear, you will also find confusion. When you find confusion, you will also find fear.
When we finally have an understanding that confusion is not from the Lord, we will not be so quick to put up with it. I believe that God will give us a righteous anger against it. We will know the source of the confusion, and we will command it to go, in His name.
What a time to shout! Rise up Christian warrior! Pray like you mean it. Bind confusion in the name of Jesus and command it to go from you. Use the weapons that God has given to you. You are well able to overcome the enemy. You are well able to go in and possess all the land that God has already given to you. He has already equipped you for battle. Go out there and fight like a real soldier. Don't allow the enemy to make you afraid any longer. Chase him off God's property. Put the devil in his rightful place - under your feet! Stand steadfast in your position as a soldier in God's army. No weapon formed against you will prosper, and every tongue that rises against you in judgment, you shall condemn.
God is teaching and training us to be victorious in battle. Can you hear the shout of victory in the camp of the righteous? Can you hear their songs of praise and adoration to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords? Don't you want to be a part of the rejoicing army of the Lord?
We must come against the confusion that is coming against us.
