The very first sin, involved FOOD!

Helmet of Salvation


Read: Ephesians 6:10-18 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints

The definition of Wiles is; a trick or stratagem intended to ensnare or deceive. We have been ensnared by Satan’s tricks too long, but we have spiritual armor.
Write down verses 12 and 13 ___________________________________________________
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Get a mental picture of this. We are the Kings children, we are warriors in His army and we are fighting against rulers of darkness and their weapons are to trick and ensnare us. Those are their weapons. Why do you think Satan hates you so much, that he devises evil schemes and is always at battle for you? _________________________________________________
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I had never thought about why Satan did what he does. I think I always assumed the whole thing was a battle for souls so he could have hordes of tormented slaves to serve him in his kingdom of hell. Then a Pastor friend of mine pointed out that Satan is not going to be king of hell at all. In Revelation 20:10 it says he is going to be thrown into the lake of fire with the rest, and in Isaiah 14 says the people who are in Hell will be excited that Satan will be nothing like they are, 9“ Hell from beneath is excited about you, To meet you at your coming; It stirs up the dead for you, All the chief ones of the earth; It has raised up from their thrones All the kings of the nations. 10 They all shall speak and say to you:
Have you also become as weak as we? Have you become like us? 11 Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, And the sound of your stringed instruments; The maggot is spread under you, And worms cover you.’

The reason Satan torments you is, he hates God, and God loves you. It’s impossible for Satan to hurt God in any other way.
The whole armor of God, the armor only God and the enemy can see, is the believer’s protection against evil and the evil one. We Start with the helmet of salvation, as a protective covering for the head.

The head is the uppermost chief member of body and, salvation is the single most important decision of your life. In II Corinthians 11:3 it says; But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Satan will try to corrupt our minds with distractions and get your focus off the simple truth. God has made it easy to implement the mighty power of the Holy Spirit. Satan is crafty, and one of his most insidious weapons is to make you think God can’t or won’t give you the power you need to conquer each and every battle.

Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

We are more than conquerors! I’ll be a witness, whenever I have asked God to rescue me from temptation, He has always delivered me. All it takes is humbling yourself and asking God to rescue you.

Read: Psalm 3:3, 4 But You, O LORD, are a shield for me, My glory and the One who lifts up my head. 4 I cried to the LORD with my voice, And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah

And read Psalm 140: 7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You have covered my head in the day of battle.

According to the preceding scriptures who is the protector of your head? _______________

Satan is the father of lies and his most subtle and dangerous deception is to get you in the mode of thinking, there is no war. I wish I could have a whole day in this Bible study just to say, “THIS IS A WAR, THIS IS A WAR, THIS IS A WAR!” Sure we know how the ends, but you still have to stay in and fight till the end. Having done everything to stand, we need to stand in His mighty power and strength., by faith wearing our mighty armor.

Isaiah 26: 3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

You wear your helmet by faith for the protection of right thinking and your thoughts.
Proverbs 16:3 says; Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established. What do you think commit means? ____________________________________
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It means to put in charge or trust.

Read: Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
The sentence “work out your own salvation” This verse is not saying you need to work for salvation. It implies he is talking to the church. Or those who are already saved. In the Bible the word “salvation” has three tenses, (1) your are saved,(2) is being saved from a habit or dominion of sin, and (3) will be saved at the Lords return. This verse is talking about being saved from your habits. You have to work on yourself. Nobody else can do it for you and God won’t, He will never make you do anything against your will, It is your assignment.

Hebrews 2:1-4 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?

According to the preceding scripture, how are we supposed to treat our salvation? ___________________________________________________________________________
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The Bible tells us, we must not be careless with our salvation. Satan is waiting for a more opportune time.

Luke 4:13 says: Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him (Jesus) until an opportune time.

Satan is just waiting for you to let your guard down. You need to stay in the word and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.

Read Ephesians 4:17-24 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Guarding your thoughts is crucial, because thought becomes deed. You start thinking about the sin and soon you find yourself being drug away by evil desires.

James 1:14-15 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Philippians 4:7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

People who are overweight have a tendency to have a negative mind set. We are very critical of ourselves and sometimes others. Your mind is amazing, you can bind yourself with your words and thoughts. If you believe in your heart you are fat, you will take the steps to make sure you are fat. If you believe God created you to be energetic and thin, you will take the steps to fulfill that belief. Your words or what you say become your belief system. Just like the Bible is Gods word, His belief system, your words are your belief system. Stop letting Satan trick you into using bad words. Put on that helmet, and believe God made you who you were meant to be. Keep telling yourself you are thin and energetic, even if you don’t believe it at first, eventually it will become more of a habit to encourage yourself instead of beat yourself down. It may take awhile to break the habit, depending on how long the self abuse has gone on.

You believe you are fat therefore you eat. Stop doing that, be your own best friend. Tell yourself the truth about what you are doing when you overeat. For instance, say to yourself, “I am eating this when I am not hungry because I am tired, and I confuse tiredness for hunger.” Then eat it, ask God to forgive you and try to take a nap as soon as possible.

Stop being critical of your body and your mind for that matter. You are being so rude to God, when you keep criticizing the gift He so sweetly made just for you. Thank Him for your wonderful body, thank Him everyday, many times a day. He made it special just for you, and it was hard work. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. God is making you with bated breath. You are a work in progress, God is still creating you, and you are wonderful.

Your thoughts are the most important and vital area you need to work on. That is where Satan gains control. To win the battle you have to change your way of thinking. I heard a TV Evangelist say, “Not, can God? But God can!” In other words don’t even think God can’t do anything. He can do all you can ask or imagine.

You can say with your mouth I believe but your actions are what show your faith

Read Philippians 4

In light of today’s study, what was the scripture or statement in today’s lesson that most spoke to your heart? __________________________________________________________
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What steps of faith does God want you to take towards Him today? ____________________
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Rephrase the scripture or statement into an expression of faith_________________________
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Weekly Memory Verse:

Proverbs 16:3 _______ your ______ to the LORD, _____ your _______ will be established

Breastplate of Righteousness and Belt of Truth


Breastplate of righteousness is heart protection. The definition of righteousness is, Obedience to Gods law. When we refer to the heart we are referring to the inner person that feels emotion, the heart is where we feel loved by God and love for God, and that love for Him should produce obedience or righteousness, so naturally Satan will try to attack your emotions. When we overeat we even call it emotional eating. When the Bible talks about things of the heart, it is referring to our emotions.
Write down the following scriptures.

I Thessalonians 5:8 _________________________________________________________
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I John 2:5 _________________________________________________________________
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John 14:15 _________________________________________________________________
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The more we get to know Jesus, the more we fall in love with Him and the more we want to obey Him, because we see the value in obedience.

Read: Romans 1:16, 17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Read: Acts 15:8-11 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.

How do we purify our hearts? __________________________________________________
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By faith and you can pray that your heart may be cleansed as David did in Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
And

Psalm 73:26 My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Just as you’re your head can be mislead so can your heart and emotions,

Deuteronomy 11: 16 Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them.

You can fall in love with false gods. That’s exactly what we do when we bow down and worship the pantry.

Belt of truth: Gut protection. I believe the Bible is referring to is protection for our character, our principles.

Read: Psalm 14:2,3 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.3 They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.

Romans 3:10, 23 As it is written:” There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.

13 "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit. The poison of asps is under their lips; 14 "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. 15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17 And the way of peace they have not known. 18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes.19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. God's Righteousness Through Faith 21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

What do these scriptures say about man’s moral fiber? ______________________________
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None of us by nature is righteous. Without God, it’s impossible to be righteous. You know in your heart when you have overeaten. You get a gut feeling about the truth. You can make as many excuses as you want about why you are overweight. A few of mine were I have a slow metabolism or I’m just not getting enough exercise. But lets face it, whether metabolism or lack of exercise it’s all caloric math. If you are over weight it’s because you’re eating more food than your body requires!

Our God is a no nonsense God, He is clear about how He wants us to live our life. He wants us to seek Good and stay away form evil. The definition of "Truth" is, the real state of things the body of real events or facts, and the fact is, we are incapable of living our lives perfectly. We need to let God do it in us, by faith.

Do you believe that God has healed you of this addiction? God loves you no matter what. If you lose weight, God will not love you more or less. By losing weight, you aren’t doing God a favor, it’s good for you. By being obedient, you don't make God a better God. He is already perfect, no matter what we do. But because He loves us, He wants what’s best for us. Satan tries to make you feel guilty, and bad for indulging yourself, while you are eating the bite. You may be telling yourself mean things like, “I am fat and I can’t control myself”. When you do that you bind yourself with your thoughts or words, what you believe about yourself is what you become, it is a viscous cycle.

Proverbs 23:2and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. (NIV)

Do you believe gluttony is a sin? ________________________________________________

Do you believe God created you to be thin? _______________________________________

Why do you believe that? _____________________________________________________
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If you believe God created you to be fat, you are mistaken. That’s like saying, you have lied, so God created you to be a liar. That goes against the character of God. God created you to be who you are and that is beautiful.

Read Deuteronomy 32: 4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.

And that leads us to the next piece of our armor, The Belt of Truth.

Can you trust God, to be the God of all truth and to show you when you are making excuses? ________

You can trust God to be the God of truth, if He says it, He will do it. He loves you too much to let you get away with excuses, and He says all you need is faith to wear the Belt of truth. Believe what God says.

Read Psalm 15

In light of today’s study, what was the scripture or statement in today’s lesson that most spoke to your heart? __________________________________________________________
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What steps of faith does God want you to take towards Him today? ____________________
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Rephrase the scripture or statement into an expression of faith_________________________
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Weekly Memory Verse:

Proverbs 16:3 _______ your ______ to the ________, _____ your _______ will be ______________

Shoes of the Gospel of Peace


Shoes of the Gospel of Peace, the Bible says put on the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace, Ephesians 6:15and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
What do you think the passage means by Preparation of the Gospel of Peace? ____________
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It puzzled me, so I looked up Preparation and Gospel in the dictionary. Preparation means to get ready beforehand and the definition of Gospel is the teachings of the apostles and Christ.

Be ready for the war to gain peace. Sounds weird doesn’t it. It’s true; every battle is fought with the objective of eventually gaining peace. Prepare to go into battle with your weapons in top condition having your teachings of Christ (The Word) memorized and ready for use. The Gospel of peace will give you peace if you follow the things that make for peace. Being prepared to go where God ask you to go, When you do go where God wants, you will have peace, no matter what the situation.

Romans 14:19,20 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense.

Romans 3:16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17 And the way of peace they have not known.

Preserve peace run away from these things that rob us of peace. When you are being disobedient, you have no peace. Make a stand for the things of God by faith, draw a line in the sand and do not cross it.

Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.

When you have done something wrong, you always feel like you’re going to be caught. You’re always looking over your shoulder.

Romans 3:13-17 13 “ Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “ The poison of asps is under their lips”; 14 “ Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “ Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17 And the way of peace they have not known.”

We can be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. As always, it’s by faith that we wear our shoes of the Gospel of peace.

Read Romans 5:1-4 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

We need to use our shoes and pursue peace, then stand in faith. Do you believe that we are in control of whether or not we have peace? ________
Why do you believe that? _____________________________________________________
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Psalm 34:14 Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. Stand in faith II Corinthians 1:24 Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow workers for your joy; for by faith you stand.

God bestows peace on those who obey Him, and the results of that is tranquility, serenity, etc. A state of mind even a non-believer seeks. We go to great lengths to try to obtain this inner peace, and all it takes is to be obedient to God. Don’t hurt yourself or others, consequently having no regrets.

James 3:17, 18 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

When we sin, it causes confusion and paranoia we are scared someone will find out about us. If you wonder why you don’t have peace, look at your life and pray that God will show you the areas of sin that you need to work on.

The peace you gain by obedience is far better than the anxiety that comes with sin. The pleasure derived from the sin is so short and the after affects so long.

The biggest reason that you fail, is you want to substitute something you really want for something you want right now. Don’t let your shoes take you to places that aren’t peaceful

II Peter 3:14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.

You need to put on your shoes and walk, walk in faith. My favorite Bible Study, Experiencing God, By Henry T., Blackaby and Claude V. King, says, "You can’t stay here and go with God". You can have all the faith in the world, but unless you do something with it, when God tells you to, it is dead. In other words, your faith is not useful.

You will never have peace unless you use your shoes to take you where God calls you to go. He has a purpose for your life and you need to pursue it. If Abraham would have said, “Yes Lord, I would sacrifice my son, but he didn’t use his shoes to take him up the mountain he would have never experienced God’s provision and peace. If David would have said, “Sure I’ll go out against the giant, because my God will protect me”, and then just sat in the tent. His faith would have been dead. He used his shoes to take him to the place God wanted him to be, not only did he gain peace, but also it was gained for all Israel. God is the one who made the stone fly true but, David’s shoes took him there. You can say with your mouth I believe, but your actions are what show your faith.
James 2:17&18 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

What is faith? _______________________________________________________________
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What does the Bible mean by “faith without works is dead”? _________________________
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I read a story that kind of demonstrates what I think this passage says. There was a famous tight ropewalker; he would walk a tight rope across Niagara Falls. He would draw huge crowds of enthralled people. One day he asked his fans, “Do you believe I can walk a tight rope across the Falls?

Of course all his fans cried “Yes! We believe you can cross the falls”, they had already seen him do it, many times.

Then he pushed a wheelbarrow on the rope across Niagara Falls. When he made it back across, He asked his fans, “Do you believe I can walk the tight rope while pushing a wheel barrow?” The crowd collectively cried, “Yes we believe you can push a wheel barrow on a tight rope”, of course they said yes, they had just seen him do it.

Finally, he had his brother climb into the wheelbarrow and the tight ropewalker pushed him across the falls. When they finished, the tight ropewalker asked the crowd again, “Do you believe I can walk a tight rope across the Falls pushing a wheelbarrow with a person in it? The crowd went wild they were so excited at what they had seen. They showed their confidence by responding with a resounding “Yes we believe”

The tight ropewalker looked intently at the crowd, and said, “Okay may I have my next volunteer… Silence.

Even though everyone there knew intellectually, the tight ropewalker had the ability to push a man across Niagara Falls. They didn’t have the faith to trust their life to him.

It’s easy to believe God can do anything. But do you believe He can do anything in your life? ________________

If you answered yes, then use your shoes and step out in faith.


Read: James 2:14-26; and James 3:13-18

In light of today’s study, what was the scripture or statement in today’s lesson that most spoke to your heart? __________________________________________________________
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What steps of faith does God want you to take towards Him today? ____________________
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Rephrase the scripture or statement into an expression of faith_________________________
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Weekly Memory Verse:

Proverbs 16:3 _______ your ______ to ____ ________, _____ your _______ will ___ ______________

“The Mighty Shield of Faith; will quench all the fiery darts of the evil one”. Our shield is a defensive tool designed to protect against attack and keep the opponent from landing a blow, it absorbs the force of the blow instead of it landing in a vulnerable area.

Have you ever wondered why God allows us to go through the trials? Why doesn’t he just heal us of our food addiction and be done with it? Why does He allow Satan to throw the fiery darts?

Read: Luke 22:31, 32 And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."

We know Jesus is more powerful than Satan is, He could have delivered Peter from any trail. Why do you think God allowed Satan to harass Peter? __________________________
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Satan asked if he could sift Peter like wheat. God also gave Satan permission to harass Job.

Job 1:8-12 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"

9 So Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!"

12 And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person."
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Satan has to ask God’s permission to hassle us, why would our loving God give Satan this power? ____________________________________________________________________
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Satan meant it as trouble for Peter and Job; however, if you look at the sifting procedure it’s a purification process. It separates finer particles from coarser.

If you consider temptation and trials, they are in essence a spiritual workout. God allows the test, to strengthen our faith muscles and just as your physical muscles get stronger the more you use them. These faith muscles will also get stronger with use.

Why does a teacher test their student? ___________________________________________
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Even though we hate them, they are good for us. They identify the areas of weakness, and show our strengths and what we have learned.

Use your own Bible and read I Peter 5:10 then fill in the blanks; but may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus after you have suffered a little while _________, ________, __________ and ___________ you.

Through trials and suffering, we build spiritual muscles, and by faith, we will be stronger and finer for it.

James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

II Timothy 2:1-5 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. 3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

Romans 2:26-31 These trials are for our good! Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Read James 4:6-8 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

What does the Bible say will happen if we resist Satan? ________________________
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He will flee! This Scripture gives me so much hope because the thought of having to fight this battle forever is unbearable to me. The emotional battles that take place are incredibly trying. Its hard work to discipline our bodies and bring them into subjection

I Corinthians 9:24- 27 Paul says; Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

If I thought this battle wasn’t going to get easier, there is no way I could do it for the rest of my life. The good news is we don’t have to. God has made a promise that if we resist by faith the devil is forced to flee. Cling to that promise. We don’t have to go through this forever God will strengthen us, although it can drag on for years if your wavering and don’t stand strong.

Read James 4:1-.8 again, Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"?

6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

The more you resist with faith the stronger your faith becomes. God didn’t immediately free the Hebrews slaves from Egypt on the first plague because at this point Moses did not have enough faith to lead them. It was the trials that prepared him to be the great leader he was. To have faith enough to lead Gods people through the Red Sea and on to the Promised Land.

Woops exceeded the limit continued on the next post

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Week 4 Day 5 Continued


Read how little faith. Moses had in the beginning, but as he was tested and tried by God, with each passed test, he became stronger and stronger and each time God triumphed and was glorified.

Read Exodus 4:1-17 and compare it with Exodus 14:1-31

Exodus 4:1-17 Then Moses answered and said, "But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, "The LORD has not appeared to you."'


2 So the LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?"
He said, "A rod."


3 And He said, "Cast it on the ground." So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail" (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), 5 "that they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."

6 Furthermore the LORD said to him, "Now put your hand in your bosom." And he put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, like snow. 7 And He said, "Put your hand in your bosom again." So he put his hand in his bosom again, and drew it out of his bosom, and behold, it was restored like his other flesh. 8 "Then it will be, if they do not believe you, nor heed the message of the first sign, that they may believe the message of the latter sign. 9 And it shall be, if they do not believe even these two signs, or listen to your voice, that you shall take water from the river and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take from the river will become blood on the dry land."

10 Then Moses said to the LORD, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."

11 So the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? 12 Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say."

13 But he said, "O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else You may send."

14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and He said: "Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. 16 So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. 17 And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs."

So Moses finally went and confronted the Pharaoh. God could have rescued the children of Israel at any time. He is God and until I wrote this study, I often wondered why God didn’t free them immediately. To me it seems as if God was letting Moses down a little. I mean the snake eating the other snake thing. You know God could have wiped Pharaoh and all his building projects into the next century if He wanted to. Why didn’t He?

Moses wasn’t prepared to lead such a vast army of people, but his faith muscles were built with each plague. And now read how Moses responded to a trial after the plagues in Egypt.

Exodus 14:1-31 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 "Speak to the children of Israel, that they turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal Zephon; you shall camp before it by the sea. 3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, "They are bewildered by the land; the wilderness has closed them in.' 4 Then I will harden Pharaoh's heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD." And they did so.

5 Now it was told the king of Egypt that the people had fled, and the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people; and they said, "Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?" 6 So he made ready his chariot and took his people with him. 7 Also, he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt with captains over every one of them. 8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the children of Israel; and the children of Israel went out with boldness. 9 So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen and his army, and overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon.

10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. 11 Then they said to Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, "Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians'? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness."

13 And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."

15 And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. 16 But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 17 And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. 18 Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."

19 And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them. 20 So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 23 And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

24 Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. 25 And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians."

26 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen." 27 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. 28 Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. 29 But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

30 So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.

There are many instances in the Bible of people becoming stronger after trials. Your shield of faith will guard your heart while you are going through the tests.

When Moses was standing at the sea and God told him to stretch out his hand over the sea.

Why do you think he didn’t argue with God this time? ________________________
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He had been working out his faith muscles, and they were stronger.

Read II Corinthians 6

In light of today’s study, what was the scripture or statement in today’s lesson that most spoke to your heart? __________________________________________________________
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What steps of faith does God want you to take towards Him today? ____________________
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Rephrase the scripture or statement into an expression of faith_________________________
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Weekly Memory Verse:

Proverbs 16:3 ______________________________________________________________
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Sword, which is the Word of God




Read Luke 4: 1-13 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

3 And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."

4 But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”

5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."

8 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve." 9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: “He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you, 11 and,” In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.12 And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, "You shall not tempt the LORD your God.”13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

What weapons did Jesus use to fight Satan when he was tempted for forty days? ___
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He used his Sword. Your sword is the word of God, the Bible! All the other rudiments of the armor are defensive weapons used for protection from enemy attack. The Sword is your only means of offence. That means your Sword (the Bible) can actually injure the enemy! You hurt Satan when you use it, I mean actually use it! You can have it all memorized, but just as if you carried a sword into battle but it hung limply in you hand, wouldn’t be effective. You use it with power, practice with it, use the word with power and conviction, having the faith to know it is hurting Satan. You say I believe in the mighty power of my Holy weapon. I believe that Jesus who is in me and given me the power and authority over Satan and through him I can resist. And just as the expert swordsman must practice everyday to keep him one with his weapon, so must the Christian swordsman practice and use their weapon.

Reading, memorizing, and using the Bible will keep your weapon fine-tuned.

I Corinthians 6:20 says; Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

Honor God with your body.
The account of Jesus being tempted by Satan is in three of the Gospels, Mathew, Mark and Luke; let’s look closer at one of the accounts.

Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."


4 But He answered and said, "It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: “He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, “In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.” 7 Jesus said to him, "It is written again, "You shall not tempt the LORD your God.”

8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." 10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve."

11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

When a person fasts, they are very hungry for about three days then you feel ok for about thirty or forty days, then they get intensely weak and incredibly hungry. They have an overwhelming need for food at this point. When the tempter came to Him, Jesus wasn’t just hungry, He was starving to death. His body was literally eating itself, and He was dying of malnutrition. Jesus was at His weakest physically.

This is where Satan, the opportunist comes in, taking advantage of the circumstances, and begins his insidious attack. He said, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He (Jesus) answered, and said, “It is written Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that precedes form the mouth of God.” He used His Weapon. Satan was hurt and bleeding from Jesus’ counter strike with His Sword, however he wasn’t about to just give up. He has learned that with perseverance, even if he is in real pain there will be a payoff. So he tried a second time. Satan says throw yourself off the temple.

Then Jesus deflects the attack, once again using His Sword “it is written again you shall not be tempt the Lord your God” (He was weak, Satan offered to stop his suffering).

I know that was a real blow to Satan, but he is tenacious, he came at Jesus a third time, This time he shifted gears and tries another “half truth lie”, another strategy, he offered him even more! He offered Him the world, but the third time Jesus parried with “away with you Satan, for it is written you shall worship the lord your God and Him only shall you serve”

Satan was seriously injured by the power of God’s Word and left. It is Satan’s job to tear down your faith. He will give you setback after setback.

Absolutely at His weakest point Jesus was in the depths His only resource was the word Of God and His absolute confidence in it. For forty days, he tried to tempt Jesus. He didn’t just give up after the first resistance. But Jesus refused to act independently of God, and He finally won the battle. If we needed to use any thing else like will power, to fight with, God would have told us.

Luke 4:13, says, now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until a more opportune time.

Satan did came back, the Bible tells of one time in Mathew 16:21-23 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.
22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!”
23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.”

Jesus was tempted because He said get thee behind me Satan. He wasn’t calling Peter Satan but He knew who was behind the temptation. He went directly to the source of Peters rebuke. I think His reprimand of Peter was so harsh because Jesus was truly tempted to turn back and avoid the cross. The temptation isn’t a sin it’s when you begin to mull the temptation over in your mind and start to justify why you should have what is being offered that it becomes a sin.

What is our responsibility in the battle? __________________________________________
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Our responsibility in the battle is to have our weapons ready and use them with the power of your faith.

Read II Corinthians 10:3-6 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 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, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Write verses four and five from the above scriptures, in the space provided below. ___________________________________________________________________________
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In your own words, write what the Bible says about your weapons. _______________
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To defeat Satan in spiritual warfare you must follow Jesus’ example by consistent meaningful use of the scriptures. Consistency is the key here. Don’t give up, that’s what Satan is counting on. That you won’t realize the power of God’s Word and give up after the first or second time. Willpower isn't what holds your thoughts captive, it’s faith in your mighty weapons, but Satan will test that faith.

II Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Ephesians 6:10-18 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

You have to read the Word of God. Our minds, bodies and lives are so complex and God is the manufacturer. The Bible is the owners manual for our mind, body and spirit.

What if you were fighting a battle against an evil and powerful enemy? The enemy wanted to tie you up in chains and torture you and your family for the rest of your lives. Let’s say you received a technical high-powered rifle from your superior that had a lot of mechanism that could protect against the enemies weapons. You would be so proud of how high tech it was. You could show it off to your neighbors, you could carry it with you and keep it dusted. You could revere it and keep it safe on a shelf. But if you never read the manual, you wouldn’t know how to use it. In fact, it would become a burden, a heavy useless weight.

That’s how hard it is to live our lives without reading Gods Word (the owner’s manual) He is the manufacturer. The Word of God is our weapon and we need to have our weapon ready at all times.

In the section after this one, I have provided you with some scriptures that have been helpful to me in my fight with Satan, and I find new ones every day, as I am sure you do. I have provided space to fill in the Weapons/Scriptures, you find in your Bible.

Read: I Timothy 6:11

In light of today’s study, what was the scripture or statement in today’s lesson that most spoke to your heart? __________________________________________________________
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What steps of faith does God want you to take towards Him today? ____________________
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Rephrase the scripture or statement into an expression of faith_________________________
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Memorize the following scripture this week.

Joshua 24:15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

I moved this study in the daily devotional section of this forum. I started over, so let me know if you have been doing the Study on this thread, and I will continue to post the remaining studies.

Thanks, Kelli