Jesus Christ our Living Hope Beloved, let’s always be found speaking and looking forward to the plans that our Heavenly Father in Christ has for us, as it is written in His word in Jeremiah 29:11– “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Beloved, this is God’s plan for you and I who trust in Christ as our Righteousness and Strength and forsake silly efforts to save ourselves. His word is tested and true forever. Understand that Satan the Accuser is a lawyer. HaSatan is literally “prosecutor at law” in Hebrew. Prosecuting attorneys in Israel today are called HaSatan. Like any prosecutor, Satan can only bring charges against one. He cannot harm a hair on your head or put one in the prison of earthly ills and death on a whim. He has to go about ...seeking whom to devour. This is why Revelation 12:10 describes him thus— “Then I heard a strong (loud) voice in heaven, saying, Now it has come—the salvation and the power and the kingdom (the dominion, the reign) of our God, and the power (the sovereignty, the authority) of His Christ (the Messiah); for the accuser of our brethren, he who keeps bringing before our God charges against them day and night, has been cast out!” Pronouncing a verdict of “Guilty” or “Not guilty” can only be done by God the Righteous Judge. His Righteousness and Justice demand that every sin be punished to the uttermost. All have sinned. He cannot bend the law for anyone. Beloved, this warfare we are in is a legal battle and the battleground is the mind. No one can stand in anything that he does in this trial. David wrote in Psalm 143:2– “Do not take me to court for judgment, because there is no one alive who is righteous in your presence.” Because God so loved us and wants none to perish, He gave up His own Son for us to be made righteous and to have life in Him. And for all of us who know, believe and receive CHRIST ALONE as our Righteousness and Strength, this is God’s verdict over us— “Who then would dare to accuse those whom God has chosen in love to be His? God Himself is the Judge who has issued His final verdict over them—“Not guilty!”” Romans 8:33 And this FINAL verdict of ours from God Himself proceeds ONLY through the blood of Jesus— “And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God.” Romans 5:9. Like any prosecutor or lawyer, Satan’s work is to accuse/charge people with sins/ungodliness in order to get a guilty verdict so that condemnation and judgment can follow- the sentence of death preceded by life on “death- row” in prisons of sickness, lack, depression and all earthly ills with demonic oppressors as prison wardens. This is followed by physical death and the second death in hell. In order to achieve this, Satan promotes the teaching of righteousness by doing righteous deeds-- firing accusations of ungodliness at the flock through his pulpit- manning "pastor" agents, knowing that all have sinned and fall short of receiving a "Not guilty" verdict from God the Righteous Judge. Satan subtly goads the sinner into trying to be godly (be like God) by human effort at doing what the law commands — just as he did with Eve. He knows that the law condemns the best of those who have any kind of relationship with it— “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.” Romans 3:20 The law condemns the best of those who try to keep even an atom of it to become anything before God. Only the condemned go to prison where they are subject to all sorts of oppression before physical death and the second death in hell. By God’s grace, let’s not fall for Satan’s con, beloved. Only by the obedience of Christ and absolutely nothing else are we made righteous— “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19 Beloved, our warfare is a legal battle and the battleground is the mind where men analyze Satan’s fiery darts of charges/accusations aka strongholds, thoughts and imaginations that try to get us to accept guilt for sins that Jesus Christ our Advocate and Bearer of sins died to take away forever— 4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 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,” 2 Corinthians 10. "Strongholds" above is not some iron gate guarded by horned creatures wielding pitchforks and wearing red underwear that do not want to release your blessings. It is translated from the Greek word “ochyroma” meaning— “of the arguments and reasonings by which a disputant endeavours to fortify his opinion and defend it against his opponent” For example, if one reasons that he is not that bad because he is not sinning anyhow and he does plenty good works so God should bless and save him from lack or whatever because he fasted and sowed seed, that is a stronghold/ reasoning that needs to be pulled down because only the obedience of Christ matters in this battle, not man’s obedience. Only through the blood of Jesus Christ are we declared righteous and acquitted. What are we bringing down? Strongholds What are we casting down? Arguments What are we bringing into captivity? Thoughts. And what about “every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God”? We see this in this life of Peter who thought he had superior knowledge to Christ His Maker on the issue of his then upcoming denials. We see this in everyday life: Christ says— “There is none good but God.” God gave Him up to be our Good. But even many pastors disagree with this knowledge of God by following the example of Satan — challenging God’s word by goading the flock into believing that they can be good (be like God) by trying to keep the law which kills and gives the knowledge of good and evil like the tree of the same name. See the forbidden fruit as a typology for the law which many are feeding on in order to be godly in Romans 7:8-12 (MSG.) The bringing down of all of these things - strongholds, thoughts, imaginations, “every high thing…” take place in the mind. This is where man’s "guilty" or "not guilty" verdict before God the Righteous Judge is determined...based on WHO and what we BELIEVE when Satan the Accuser throws charges/accusations of ungodliness at us (many times from behind church pulpits.) No one can stand in anything that he does by himself and tries to present God with in this trial. Not fasts. Not obedience. Not fifty years in the ministry. Not reading the Bible from cover to maps twenty times. Not seed. David wrote in Psalm 143:2– “Do not take me to court for judgment, because there is no one alive who is righteous in your presence.” There is only one Way to obliterate Satan’s charges against us and thus be free from the judgment of the law which includes oppression, lack, depression, rebellious kids and all of the curses in Deuteronomy 28 and which ends in death in hell. We bring all of these weapons of Satan into captivity to the obedience of Christ— our righteousness in Him— “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19 He is the only Way to overcome in our warfare- receiving AND confessing God’s gift of righteousness in Him when Satan comes knocking with his charges or accusations, often from religious platforms that point out your sins without pointing you to Christ as Saviour from those sins, as if man can do anything to save himself. Beloved, this is why Christ gave His life for you and I— “He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." The one who thinks that he can achieve even a tittle of the above good which is Christ’s “job description” when Christ Himself says “There is none good but God,” that one has no place for the Saviour in his life. In reality, he deceives himself. Man of himself is flesh. Can flesh do anything by itself? Christ is the “Skeleton” and Life that keeps us alive and upright, believer. We ALL need Him to stand as much as the vilest offender who has never heard of Him. Take Him out of our life and we are nothing but a helpless mass of sins-ridden flesh of which the one who is standing is only being propped up by God's merciful Hand. This is why we cannot boast in what we did. Christ is our Boast. The one who thinks he is standing by himself is only enjoying God’s mercy in preventing Satan from sifting him like wheat, like Peter who thought that he was good and could never deny Christ. That kind of mindset of trust in self only opens the door for Satan to sift a person like wheat for the good that he claims to be when Christ says “There is none good but God.” Beloved, let he that is standing take heed lest he falls. Never trust yourself. Trust in Christ. In Christ, the Holy Spirit bears Witness to the truth that God the Righteous Judge does not remember our sins and lawless deeds— “But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”” Hebrews 10:15-17 Notice all the judicial terms in the Scriptures above? --- Righteous Judge. Advocate. Witness. Law. Trial. "Not guilty." Verdict. Charges. Guilty. Condemned. Judgment. HaSatan aka “prosecutor at law." Spiritual warfare is nothing if not a legal battle, beloved. There is no room for human effort at say obedience, fasting and sowing seed to become whatever before God mixed with "in Jesus" name in this battle. It is all of Christ and nothing at all-- "And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work." Romans 11:6 Only pure, unadulterated Grace gets one an acquittal. The guilty are condemned for their seemingly good but deathly and futile efforts at fasting and sowing seed plus "in Jesus name" in order to get the Righteous Judge to save them from the prison of say demonic oppression aka trying to keep the law in order to be justified/ declared righteous before the Righteous Judge and to escape wrath-- “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.” Romans 3:20. The righteous by faith in Christ who have Him as our Advocate and Bearer of sins and do not depend on silly efforts to save ourselves get to receive an acquittal, escape wrath and enjoy God's gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus- "And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God." Romans 5:9. Only the blood of Jesus matters for the Righteous Judge to grant an acquittal. The one who is battling demons with works of the law such as fasts and seeds and obedience and wrapping up his prayers with “in Jesus name” as a footnote is already condemned and under the death sentence without even knowing it— see John 3:16–18: 16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” See The Message version: 16-18 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave His Son, His one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in Him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust Him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a- kind Son of God when introduced to Him.” To believe in Jesus is to believe God’s word in Romans 3– "26...for He himself is fair and just, and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law." And Romans 4:25– “who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous.” Romans 4:25. And so many more verses like these aka the foundation of our life in Christ: Righteousness by Faith. A gift of Grace which can neither be earned nor deserved. So beloved, by God’s grace stop fighting to defeat the devil or trying to be "clean" before asking of God with useless fasts, seeds and (self-) righteous works done to make the Righteous Judge think that you are trying your best to be clean. Just say thank you to the Lord for Jesus Christ whose finished work is SUFFICIENT and rest in His super-abounding grace that saves from sins. The world praises and promotes striving to produce good (be like God) to get God to bless when Christ says “There is none good but God.” But how can good come out of humanity/the flesh in which God's word says dwells no good thing? Thinking that one can be or produce an atom of good (be like God) by human striving is to challenge His Word and to reject/replace what CHRIST has done for our salvation for what MAN must do aka antichrist, translated from two Greek words— Anti— meaning “replace” or “in place of” and Christos—meaning Christ = Anointed The spirit of the antichrist is not necessarily anti-God. It simply one that tries to replace what Christ has done to make us righteous/godly and ETERNALLY SAVED with what MAN must do. It is often very religious and is always shouting about how bad sin is (e.g the religious but Christ-rejecting Pharisees.) But carriers of the spirit never point you to Christ as Saviour from sins. Rather they tell you to make yourself godly (be like God) by your human striving and via works of the law which gives the knowledge of what is good and what is evil, just as Satan did with Eve. They tell you to go come and break curse with 70 days fast when "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law.." Galatians 3:13. They tell you to sow a mighty seed so that God will give you a job or jet in exchange aka that horrid "trade-by-barter" transaction. In reality, God's WRITTEN word says He gives us ALL things FREELY with Christ-- "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"Romans 8:32 You get the gist. What Christ has done for our salvation from sin and death, antichrists try to replace with works that man must do. And they are always preaching strongly against sins and shouting the need to be godly aka be like God. But with such, you must achieve godliness (be like God) by yourself. No Christ whom God in His love gave up to make us godly/righteous their equation. Isaiah 64:6 describes such obedience, fasts, seeds and whatever works which many wave about as credentials for righteousness and answered prayers that are really the result of God’s mercy thus— "We are all like one who is unclean, all our so- called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight." So beloved of God, receive God’s abundance of Grace and His gift of Righteousness. He gives to all who come to Him FREELY. This is how we get to reign in life and through Christ alone— "And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:16-17. Only the condemned go to prison. In Christ, there is therefore no condemnation for we who believe Him. Let’s take our blessed brains to church too — only people who have sins need the gift of no condemnation in Christ Jesus. If you can be righteous by yourself, you cannot receive it. But when your believing is right, right living will follow. So ask our Heavenly Father to open your eyes to see Grace as the extremely religious and Grace- persecuting Saul did, beloved (Ananias literally is “God’s Grace"- the first person that Paul saw when something like scales fell from his eyes.) As He did the undeserving prodigal son, our heavenly Father is eagerly waiting to run to you to enfold you in His embrace of True Grace— Christ Himself.
Toyin Obire

YADID, who go fit read this?