Discourage the Devil by Gloria Copeland “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.” Luke 6:22-23 Do you want to know how to depress the devil? Just follow the instructions in that last verse. When persecution comes, when friends or family criticize you because you lay hands on the sick and believe in healing, and when co-workers call you a fanatic because you love Jesus and aren’t afraid to say so, rejoice! Shout hallelujah and leap for joy! I tell you that will discourage the devil to no end. He’s expecting that persecution to hurt you. He’s expecting it to damage your faith, to wipe you out and to leave you in dismay. I’m not saying you should enjoy the persecution itself. But you can learn to overlook the discomfort of those things by focusing your attention on the reward that’s coming and the fact that Jesus said you are blessed. The Apostle Paul certainly knew how to do that. He was an expert on rejoicing in the midst of persecution. Satan was constantly stirring up trouble for him. But do you know what he said about all that persecution? He said it was not even worth considering compared to the glory that was about to be revealed. If Paul could rejoice in the midst of beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, imprisonment and almost every other kind of persecution, you can too! Just do what he did. When he was told by the Holy Ghost that bonds and afflictions awaited him, he said, “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). Don’t get all caught up in what people think and what people say down here on earth. Get caught up in pleasing the Lord. Get caught up in finishing your course with joy. Get caught up in the glorious hope that’s ahead. For that hope is enough to make anyone―in any circumstance―leap for joy! One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a demon-possessed slave girl. She was a fortune-teller who earned a lot of money for her masters. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her. Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the authorities at the marketplace. “The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews!” they shouted to the city officials. “They are teaching customs that are illegal for us Romans to practice.” A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas, and the city officials ordered them stripped and beaten with wooden rods. They were severely beaten, and then they were thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure they didn’t escape. So the jailer put them into the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the stocks. Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God. The next morning the city officials sent the police to tell the jailer, “Let those men go!” (Acts 16:16-35 NLT)
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 13:10:58 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015