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Empowering the Youth


youth-chalkboardI'm asking the youth of today to be rebellious, boldly opposed to the works of the devil, who is the real enemy, and not rebellious toward parents and those in authority.

This is an empowerment message -- fighting back against evil things. We fight by harnessing our natural rebellious attitudes and rebel against those things that are trying to steal, kill and destroy our lives. Rebelling against evil is the wise thing to do, so that we can have a life free from bondage! Jesus said, "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life" (John 10:10, NLT). 

We are told, "The fear [reverence] of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the forward mouth, do I hate" (Proverbs 8:13). This saying comes from God's word, the Bible! Faith to stand against the evil way increases in us as we reflect upon what God says in His word. "So faith comes by hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ" (Romans 10:17, NLT).

What is Faith?

Faith is acting on what we believe. If you believe drugs will get you high and carefree, you act by taking drugs. You believe a chair will hold you up before you act by sitting in it. On the other hand, if someone wants to drop off a bag of rattlesnakes inside your front door, you act by slamming the door in their face. The same goes for the devil when he comes to rip you off; slam the door in his face!

"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are" (1 Peter 5:8,9, NLT).

What about faith in God? If you have faith that God loves you and sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for your sins, you will act by receiving Him as Savior and Lord. If you take that one step of faith and act again by taking another step towards God, He will increase your faith even more.

Maybe you lack faith in God? "...the apostles said unto the Lord, 'Increase our faith.' And the Lord said, 'If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you might say unto this sycamine tree, Be plucked up by the root, and be planted in the sea; and it should obey you'" (Luke 17:5, 6).

This is called mustard seed faith. It sounds like the Lord is saying that mustard seed faith speaks to trees and they obey you -- plucked up by the roots. In another Scripture the Lord says, that not only trees, but mountains are cast into the sea by us speaking to them.

“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Mark 11:22-24, NLT).

Mountain Moving Faith...

WOW! What kind of faith is this, that our Lord is talking about? Trees and mountains obeying me? I've found that these trees and mountains are mostly problematic thinking, where demonic thoughts try to persuade me to believe a lie either about God, myself, my family or my friends. This is when I must take a stand and refuse to believe that lie and say to that devilish thought, "Be gone evil thought in the Name of Jesus," and I find it obeys me in His name.

Mustard seed faith speaks boldly to the problem. This applies to any thought that is contrary to God's word; for instance, I'm to love my neighbor as myself, and not think hateful thoughts towards my loved ones. We can be rebels with a cause. I am on a campaign to demonstrate that it is more cool for us to confront demonic thoughts, even tobacco, alcohol or drugs and premarital sex, than to continue to be duped by decades of lies and misperceptions of this world.

Of course, I could sit here and believe in my head some weird accusations against my loved ones, and even medicate myself with drugs, but I choose to stand up in constructive rebellion toward this thought that is causing problems by speaking to it. I find as I take a stand against what I know is demonic thought, that thought has to obey me. God desires for us to be authoritative against the thoughts of the evil one.

"So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world" (James 4:7,8 NLT).

Choose to Fight Back...

For years, I felt it was cool to do what everyone else was doing. If that meant taking drugs to be cool, I took drugs; whatever it took to be cool. But no more; I've learned to be my own man, to fight back, and stand for the truth, even if those around me don't. I've found that truth is in God's Word, and that it's cool not to be ripped off any longer.

I've decided to put on the armor of God, as a soldier against the media powers of this world that define coolness. This demonic thinking propagated by the media, constantly targets us to replace the thousands who are dying of AIDS, smoking and suicide. It's time for us to have an in-your-face attitude against these trees and mountains of media before us by talking back. We must take back our minds, fight back and be enforcers of the things of God. Enough is enough!

"A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:10-12, NLT).

Put on God's Armor...

This empowerment to stand up for what is right and to speak to those demonic things that bombard us daily, comes only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We have no authority to speak in faith as long as we remain in our sinful state. We must be born-again of the Holy Spirit. "But—when God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:4,5, NLT).

Our Lord gave us this empowerment when He defeated the devil by His blood on the Cross. The devil thought he had Him down in the grave, but Christ arose to triumph over him, making the way for His victory to become ours. As we trust in and rely on his death and resurrection for us, the Holy Spirit raises us into victory. We are now empowered to speak to those trees and mountains saying, "Devilish thoughts, in the Name of Jesus Christ, obey me and be plucked up by the roots." And they shall be plucked up!

This bold authority to speak out in rebellion against destructive thinking in the Name of Jesus comes as the Holy Spirit fills our lives. Mustard seed faith comes forth with a bold voice because we are now born of God, walking in His authority -- the Word of God. What God says becomes our voice of authority, causing a victorious future to spring forth! 

"Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:13-17, NLT).

A Prayer for You...

"Heavenly Father, I thank you for empowering me to overcome the lies of the devil by faith in God's Word. I desire to be a responsible person operating in mountain moving faith, no longer irresponsible in my behavior. I submit myself to You right now, resisting the works of the evil one. 'Get behind me devil, I'm no longer your slave!' I put on the full armor of God: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation and the sword of the Spirit. I commit my life to You, because You loved me at the cross, giving Your Son, Jesus, for my sin, so I could be freely forgiven and made victorious over the devil. Thank you Father for my victory in Christ, my Savior, Lord and Righteousness. Amen!"

Children's Praise
I would like to start out with words of thanks to you. Not only for writing me back, but for letting me know about your website and your books. Since you wrote me, I have been to church every Sunday. I have even started a youth group at my church and have received a great response. Many more kids now come to church on Sundays and to our youth group on Wednesdays. I thank you for inspiring me so deeply!

Kayla, California

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