SDCCM Blog

Mark 1:23-24 – There was a man in the synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who You are – the Holy One of God!”
What a powerful beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The enemy’s dominions could not hold their peace in the presence of their judge. When the Scripture says, “he cried out” it is speaking of the unclean spirit in the man using the man’s voice to communicate. The man was not some mentally deranged individual. That kind of person would not have been allowed in the synagogue. He appeared normal, as many do, but he had an unclean spirit that controlled areas of his life.

The spirit in the man recognized Jesus as his destroyer. He asked Jesus, “Have You come to destroy us?” He spoke as a representative of other spirits in the man or spoke of the demonic realm in general. The spirits knew a day was coming when God would put an end to their existence. He knew that they would be destroyed by “the Holy One of God”. As you continue in this passage you find Jesus did not accept the spirit’s confession of His deity or His humanity, but rather “rebuked him, saying, ‘be quiet, and come out of him’! Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him” (Mark 1:25-26). The scene was messy, noisy, and a bit violent. This is not what most people want to happen in a church meeting. This kind of scene happened quite regularly in Jesus’ ministry. When the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God collide, it is a violent encounter. READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE

Psalm 74:18-23 – Remember this, O Lord, that the enemy has reviled, and a foolish people has spurned Your name. Do not deliver the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast; Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever. Consider the covenant; For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence. Let not the oppressed return dishonored; Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name. Arise, O God, and plead Your own cause; Remember how the foolish man reproaches You all day long. Do not forget the voice of Your adversaries, the uproar of those who rise against You which ascends continually.
As we remember September 11, 2001 and the heinous crime committed against humanity, know that God too remembers. Before evil manifested on earth, it manifested in heaven when Satan and his hosts set themselves against God and His kingdom purpose. The next few days we will devote ourselves to three men who understood the true warfare. This will serve to help in understanding the battle in which we are engaged.

Daniel 9 and 10 gives us insight into the warfare happening in the heavens. Daniel discovered God’s timing for the completeness of judgment upon Israel in the book of Jeremiah. Daniel gave his attention to the Lord to seek Him by prayer and supplications with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. I suggest reading the prayer of Daniel 9:3-19. In verse 20, Gabriel brings an answer to Daniel’s prayer. In chapter ten, more insight is given to Daniel after he had been mourning and fasting for three entire weeks. This time, Gabriel told Daniel that “from the first day that you set your heart on understanding . . . your words were heard” (Daniel 10:12). In verse 13, Gabriel told Daniel, “the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. In Verse 20, Gabriel informs Daniel, “he now will return to fight against the Prince of Persia and that the prince of Greece is about to come.” In Verse 21, Gabriel revealed to Daniel that there is “no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.” READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE

Daniel 2:28 – However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to king Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days.
September 11, 2001 is a day that will live in the hearts and minds of multitudes. Thousands were killed that day by terrorists driven by evil compulsion to change the world by eliminating those opposed to their theological persuasions. That day the world changed. No longer are we simply engaged with traditional struggles of corrupt philosophies and greed in the hearts of men, but a more sinister evil has manifested its ugly head. In 2001, as we watched planes crash into the Twin Towers and more than 3,000 people lost their lives, we saw the beginning of a battle that will last to the Coming of Our Lord.

Consider seven major changes that are taking place in the world.

Geo-political – the overturning of dictatorships through-out the nations and ongoing conflict over geography.
The Middle East – prominence of tribalism in relationship to the world community.
Communist Nations that have embraced capitalism as a means of economic prosperity.
Education – built on values now being controlled by relativism, humanism and false science.
Economics – having left a gold standard in 1973 for a dependence upon a federal reserve system that borrows and prints money when desired.
Sexual Orientation – once clear to be “male and female” now filled with all kinds of mixture.
Climate Changes – being touted as man induced, not understanding God’s control of the elements for his own purposes.
The Lord desires to give to His people a heavenly perspective. READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE

Ephesians 4:13 – Growing to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:13 describes precisely God’s intention for each believer. In every conceivable way, the Lord wants Christ to be revealed in us. The measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ is a statement that fills eternity.

Throughout the Scriptures, we find different ages revealed. Noah’s flood was the end of one age and the beginning of another. God’s call in Abraham’s life was the beginning of an age and a new thing God was about to do in the earth. Abraham was the beginning of a nation and became known as “the father of us all” (Romans 4:11-12). The age of faith began with faithful Abraham. From Abraham, God created an entire nation. The nation Israel was named after Abraham’s grandson Jacob, whom God renamed Israel, meaning “prince with God.” Israel came to full age with the emergence of the Christ, God’s promised Messiah. Unfortunately, that generation did not walk in the faith of Abraham. “Jesus answered, ‘If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE

Ephesians 4: 13 – Until we all attain to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
As we continue to look deeper into these passages in Ephesians, we see that Paul is calling each believer to maturity in Christ. Christ Jesus is our model as a mature Son. The Lord did not save us simply to get us to heaven. Salvation is about a new man. It is about a man who is created in the image of God’s Son. God’s intention was not that we would remain children, but to become mature people who are able to handle the Lord’s business well.

The five-fold ministry has been given assignments by the Lord to help in the development of God’s people. For example, the goal of an overseer is to develop those for whom he is responsible as mature individuals who are the image of Jesus in the earth. Jesus supplies the grace for these ministry offices to be able to accomplish their work. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, also supplies grace for each believer so that they can grow up in the Lord.

When Paul says, “By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8), he laid the foundation for our entire Christian walk. Everything we do in Christ must come from grace through faith. We cannot do what God is requiring without a supply of grace. Many struggle in the Christian walk as they start out by grace and then try to go farther on their own. As we have seen in previous devotions, our “will” is involved, but the Holy Spirit supplies the grace. As He supplies grace, faith follows. Faith, beloved, is an operation of grace. Faith is not our effort, but His supply of grace. READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE

Ephesians 4:13 – Until we attain the knowledge of the Son of God.
Knowing Jesus is not simply about an initial salvation experience. It is a matter of growing in relationship with Him until we are at one with His eternal purposes. The apostle Paul came as close as any in the knowledge of Christ. Paul said, “Whatever things were gain to me, I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ” (Philippians 3:8). Paul valued his relationship with Christ far above anything he knew in this life. Paul is the true example of dying and being buried with Christ. He is our example of what it means to live in Christ Jesus’ resurrection power day by day.

The desire of Paul’s heart was, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection of the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11). To know the sufferings of Christ, one must first partake in the power of His resurrection life. By faith, we receive Christ Jesus the Lord. This is the gate through which we enter into His life. Through “faith” in Him we are accepted by the Father. This is not the end, but the beginning of knowing Him. The Holy Spirit begins to lead us into the “fellowship of His sufferings.” It is in the sufferings of Christ that we begin to truly experience the heart of God.

In verse 11, Paul speaks of purpose, “in order that I may attain to the resurrection of the dead.” At first glance, it may seem like Paul is working to attain eternal life. We know by the study of Scriptures this is not the case. READ MORE – CLICK TITLE ABOVE