"And you are complete in Him, who is
the head of all principality and power." Colossians 2:10
I learned early in my Christian walk that Jesus Christ
(the anointed One) paid in full the debt owed for my
salvation but there was so much that I needed to learn
about maintaining my deliverance. After 20 years of
Heroin and Cocaine addiction, my life was a mess. I was
dealing with major strongholds (unholy thoughts) and I
was almost convinced that living a victorious life was
unattainable. I praying about the content of this months
Newsletter and I believe the truths I share will bless
you because these truths continue to deliver me.
Victory begins with the name of Jesus on our lips. It
is completed (made supremely capable) by the nature of
Jesus in our hearts. Most Christians only engage in
spiritual warfare with a hope of relieving present
distresses or attaining a "normal" existence.
However the purpose of all spirituality is to bring us
into the "likeness of Christ". Nothing, not
worship, nor warfare, neither love, nor deliverance,
is truly obtainable if we miss the true objective of
our faith: "Christ likeness". Let us recall
that the LORD delivered Israel out of Egypt, so He
could bring them into the Promised Land. Likewise we
are delivered out of sin, not that we might live for
ourselves ("For you were bought at a price;
therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit,
which are God's". 1 Cor. 6:20), but that we
might become like "Christ".
Our goals must be in agreement with Gods plans for our
lives. If our nature does not change, we will again
find ourselves entangled in the same problems that
caused our difficulties in the first place ("For
if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world
through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome,
the latter end is worse for them than the beginning":
1 Peter 2:20). Many of our spiritual conflicts will not
cease until the character of our LORD Jesus Christ is
formed in our hearts. The Father's goal in deliverance
is much more than simply seeing our problems, or the
devil taken out of the way. The specific purpose
towards which God steers the working of all things
in our lives is our conformity "to the image of His Son".
The Father's purpose in our salvation was that Jesus
would become "the first-born among many brethren"
(Rom. 8:28-29). In other words, the way to realize Gods
ultimate victory is to reach toward His ultimate goal,
which is complete transformation into the likeness of
Christ. When we are divinely connected with the "Spirit
of the Living God" we become saturated with the very
essence of our LORD Jesus Christ. This is where we are so
flooded with His "Glory" (weightiness) that
darkness flees from our lives ("If then your whole
body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body
will be full of light:" Luke 11:36). The LORDS presence
produces an indestructible defense, a fortress no foe (evil)
can penetrate. In Him we obtain the excellence of His ways
in our relationship both with the Father and one another
thereby walking in total victory over countless satanic
attacks. Indeed, as His fullness in us increases, then
that which is written about us becomes fulfilled:"As
He is, so are we in this world": 1 Jn. 4:17.
We must realize it is not the devil who defeats us; it
is our openness to him. To perfectly subdue the devil
we must walk in the "shelter of the Most High"
(Ps. 91:1). Our Heavenly Father is more concerned with
the coming forth of His Son in our lives than He is in
us waging war against the devil. Who is the devil,
that he can defy the "Living God"? It is the
greatest truth that once the devil recognizes his assault
against your life has not pulled you from God, but toward
Him, it will frustrate him to such a degree that he will
run from the one who is "hidden in Christ" (your
life is hidden with Christ in God: Col. 3:3). As we
continually yield ourselves to Christ, surrendering
ourselves by faith to His nature and His words, we
literally build the impenetrable stronghold of His
Presence around us. The way into the fortress of the
Almighty is simple. Victory begins with the name of
Jesus on our lips. It is completed (made supremely
capable) by the nature of Jesus in our hearts.
Rocky Fondren