The Accuser of the Brethren

Let's get something straight--God loves you. My Pastor, Pastor Skip Gunn, taught us that we are valuable and we have proof in that God made us, Jesus died for us and the Holy Spirit lives in us.
God made you. The Bible says a mother may forget the child nursing at her breast, but God will not forget you. Isaiah 49:14-16 (New International Version)
14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me."
15 "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
A mother carries you, but nobody understands the mysteries of the womb like the one that created you and knew you when you were being formed in that womb. Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you . . " The enemy would have you believe you are forgotten. He tells you God does not see you when you are in need, but makes it seem as if God is looking at you under a magnifying glass when you make a mistake. Our God is not blind--he sees the good and the bad in us and he loves us anyway. He sees our need and he knows just how and when to fulfill it. He sees our sin and he knows just how to cover it--with the blood of Jesus. Which leads me to the next point . . .

Jesus died for you. When Jesus died on the cross, he knew just how evil man could be. He endured torture at the hands of men, yet he believed in his Father's creation. He believed that if he died, at least some of us would realize what he had done for us. That some of us would learn how gracious and compassionate Our Father God really is. Matthew 18:12-14 says 12"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost." God desires that none are lost--none. The enemy would have us believe that God gives up on us. He would have us believe that we can get to a point where God says, "I've had enough of this one! I wash my hands of him. He'll never live up to my expectations!" That is because we only know earthly parents and worldly people who have a very small capacity to love compared to our God. He never gives up on us. Satan would also like us to believe that Jesus' blood covers everyone else's sin, but ours is too great. He belittles the power of Jesus' sacrifice when he does this. Jesus died once--and for ALL.

The Holy Spirit lives in you. In John 14:25-27 (New International Version) Jesus said,
25"All this I have spoken while still with you. 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." The Holy Spirit of God makes his home in you and is a counselor to you. He teaches you and reminds you of all of the things Jesus has said. Why would God give you such a Counselor if he did not love you and did not believe in you and want you to succeed? The enemy is the author of confusion and likes to take the very simple truths of the Bible and twist them and ask you questions like he asked of Eve, "Did God really say that?" or "Do you think that is really what he meant?" He wants you to ignore the still, small voice within you and hear only the clamor of his ramblings about how bad you are and how God can't do a thing with you because you just keep messing up. He truly is the Accuser of the Brethren. Revelation 12:10-11 says, 10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony . . ." This scripture tells us the Satan is always looking to accuse us of something to the Father, like the bratty little brother who wants his big brother to get in trouble, or vice versa. But the good news is right there in the same verse! We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony.

When we feel accused, which is different than convicted, we should immediately recognize that the enemy is at work. We should plead the blood of Jesus over our situation and ask God for the testimony on the other side of the issue, problem, fall, etc. Sometimes we do something wrong and we know it is wrong and feel conviction for having done it. Then all we need to do is repent--turn from our "wicked ways." But when we have repented and the enemy tries to tell us it isn't over, that's when we know we are being wrongfully accused.

How many times today did the enemy tell you that you just aren't worth God's time? How many times did he convince you that God really can't use a loser like you? How powerful is the blood of Jesus? It is powerful enough to shut the mouth of the enemy and turn ANY situation around so that you have an overcoming testimony!