THE GAME - 3
Praise God for another wonderful day to share a thought with you. Today, we will conclude our discussion on manipulation. We have revealed that manipulation is a game and began discussion on how to overcome manipulation by using knowledge from God’s Word. Let us continue today by showing other ways we can overcome manipulation.
Overcoming Manipulation by Love
Now another thing that must be in place to balance knowledge is love. Knowledge alone cannot totally overcome manipulation, because without love we can still be manipulated to abuse knowledge. When we even look at the scripture, there was a time the devil tried to manipulate Jesus using the scriptures to tempt Him saying, “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone” (Matthew 4:6), but “Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God” (Matthew 4:7).
Jesus at this point didn’t only apply knowledge, but also applied love. You don’t play foolish games with someone you love, and that was what drove Jesus to use the right scriptures to silence the devil’s manipulation. So therefore, we must understand that Christians can misuse and abuse the knowledge of the scriptures when it is not applied in love, because without love present, the devil can by fear, pride, anger or strife still manipulate a person to disobey what they know. So therefore our knowledge must be acted out in love, and our love must as well be filled with knowledge in order to be more effective. The scripture says, “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment” (Philippians 1:9).
Peter in his writing (2 Peter 1:5-10), said that we should add to our faith (which means to be born again or saved) virtue, knowledge, and he went on and on until last of all said add love (charity). We can hardly fall into error if we are walking in love as the scripture says that “if ye do these things, ye shall never fall” or stumble by the manipulation of the devil (2 Peter 1:10).
Knowledge makes us to be aware of the truth, but love is what makes us apply that knowledge of the truth appropriately. For example, I made mention of Paul and Barnabas being manipulated by the devil in a strife, because when we look into it carefully, we will notice that it was Paul’s thought pattern that caused him to err here. He wanted to be strict, and remembering what someone else (Mark) did, acted without love. But later in life, as Paul grew in Christ, he learnt that the devil can gain advantage over a person through such subtle means. So the next time he was disciplining a person for a mistake, he quickly said, “To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave anything, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:10-11).
We really need to understand that love is important when it comes to Christianity. There might have been times you happen to be ruminating about what someone else did wrongly to you, and therefore it led you to begin to think evil about that person, but you must realize that those kind of thoughts are not from you but from the devil. We have to learn to detect such subtle thoughts and cast them down before they get a hold over our mindset. We have learn to think scripturally positive and loving thoughts as Christians no matter what, if we must be able to overcome manipulation, because thoughts are spiritual, and they control our whole lives (Proverbs 4:23).
The spiritual war of manipulation cannot be fought and won by any carnal means. The practical way to cast bad thoughts out of our minds is by speaking the Word of God that is related to such thoughts. That was what Jesus did thrice when He was confronted with manipulative thoughts at His time of temptation, and He did not use any other thing. The scripture says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
Tomorrow, we will continue talking about other ways we can overcome manipulation. However, the first step of overcoming manipulation is to be born again. Being born again gives a person the advantage to identify manipulation by the help of the Holy Spirit, and the legal spiritual authority to say no to the devil. So if you are not born again, you can do so right now by asking Jesus in a simple prayer to come into your life to be your Lord and Saviour (Romans 10:9). So say the prayer below in faith to do so right now.
Prayer for Salvation
Dear Lord, I believe Jesus died and rose again for me. Forgive me my sins and come into my life. I confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. Thank you Father for doing this for me. Help me today to overcome manipulation. In Jesus name, Amen.
I will want to say congratulations, if you said this prayer in faith. I believe you are now born again and ready to confront manipulation. So just get involved in studying and meditating on the Word, and pray to God to keep you from the wiles of the devil.
I hope this message has blessed you. If it has, please forward it to others as well. You can also write us if you just got born again, or if you have any comments at info@revelationtoend.org. We will be glad to hear from you. God bless.