When we read Jesus’ words in John 8:31-47, we learn why Satan, the devil, tries to block our desire to read and study God’s word, the Bible, for only God’s children, who are members of Christ’s body, the church, and descendants of Abraham by faith; Jesus is telling those who do not read and study God’s word, the Bible, they have the same desire Satan, the devil, has, for they do not desire spiritual truth, because they enjoy their sin; the lustful desire the world has on them.
Jesus says in 1 John 3:1-9, Satan, the devil, sinned from the beginning of his creation; a habitual liar (by desired habit), murderer, and destroyer (John 10:1-11); thus, what he cannot get by deceptive lies or murder, he simply destroys, so Christ cannot get glory and honor from it. And because Satan, the devil, is a habitual sinner and fills people with the desire to sin, Christ Jesus came to destroy sin, the works of Satan, the devil. Therefore, for us to stop sinning, we must ask Lord Jesus to take out of us the desire to sin and replace it with the desire to only serve God.
Jesus, the resurrected Christ, is the good, faithful, and protective Shepherd, whose voice His sheep, members of His body, the church, hear regularly, and who continuously stay in His presence, as we learn from Hebrews 13:5-6.
The tormenting spirit of fear is Satan, the devil’s, best weapon in overcoming humans, even God’s children, Christians, members of Christ’s body, the church, for natural fear is God’s way of protecting us from harmful things, such as hot metal, tornados, downed power lines, falling from high places, the fear of or deep reverence for God (Isaiah 11:1-5), and such like; however, Satan, the devil uses the tormenting spirit of fear to separate us from the Holy Spirit’s power, love, and sound mind, we see in 2 Timothy 1:5-7.
Jude 1:3-4, 20-25, does not call it “genuine faith”, but instead calls it “faith once for all delivered unto the saints”, that praying in the Holy Spirit (tongues) stirs it up so it becomes “most holy faith”, working through “the perfect love of God”, as we learn from Galatians 5:1-6.
The perfect love most holy faith must work through is described in 1 John 4:7-21, for this perfect love of God, becomes “perfected” in Christians, members of Christ’s body, the church, when we reach Christian maturity, so we genuinely love God and people, with His pure forgiving love; without anger, criticism, disrespect, or dishonor of any kind—just the perfect love of God working through us so they come to God, through Christ Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, as 2 Peter 3:1-9 shows.
When, as Christians, as members of Christ’s body, the worldwide church, come to the place of “most holy faith working through perfect love”, we have come from “spiritual death into spiritual life”, for abundance of eternal life now fills us the same way Jesus, the resurrected Christ was filled, for He is love, and that is what the overcoming members of His body, the church, become, which we just read in 1 John 4:17, 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
But it does not do us any good to get angry, criticize, verbally disrespect, and dishonor an elected or appointed representative whose desires, ambitions, and lifestyles are opposite of ours; so loving and forgiving them is the “most holy faith working through perfect love” way to show them Christ.
By reading and understanding James 1:12-18, the truth “jumps out in front of us” that fleshly desire is the basis of all our temptations to sin; therefore, when our desire to sin is strong, then we sin, and the more we sin, the more we desire to sin, until our desire to sin reaches the limit, then we die; but it began with nothing more than a simple temptation that finally ended in death.
So, stop trying to fix yourself, and ask Lord Jesus to do it for you, and He will, His way, at His time, for His glory and honor, and for your good.
You can do this silently or out loud, it does not matter, Lord Jesus hears you either way, and will answer your request, possibly not in the way you expect, but He will change your desires, if you honestly and humbly ask Him, and then began thanking Him for doing it.
Jim Nabors
