Overcoming Evil

1. Stay connected to Jesus Pray Meditate on Scripture Study Scripture Obey what God has said Let me remind you of some of the things in Scripture that emphasize how important it is for us to make these things the foundation of our lives.

1. Stay connected to Jesus Psalm 119:11 NIV 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

1. Stay connected to Jesus Proverbs 29:18 NIV 18 Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction. We must seek revelation from God. Without it we self-destruct.

1. Stay connected to Jesus Hebrews 5:11-14 NIV 11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. It is mission critical that we know what God has said, but we must move on from understanding it to living it, even the parts that get all over us. Everything that God says is good for us doesn’t make sense to us. We are human. We are flawed. We are tainted by self. Dealing with our own hesitancy to obey what we can’t understand is solid food. It is faith in action. It is holding on to the lion of the tribe of Judah heading into battle with a blindfold over our eyes.

1. Stay connected to Jesus Luke 6:45 NIV 45  A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Jesus tells us that what goes into us is what comes out of us. This is why we must remain connected to Jesus. We need Him in us.

1. Stay connected to Jesus Romans 12:9 NIV 9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. We have to cling to what is good and true. We must hold onto it with all the strength that we possess.

1. Stay connected to Jesus Romans 16:19 NIV 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. Discernment is only possible when we remain connected to Jesus.

1. Stay connected to Jesus 1 Corinthians 13:6 NIV 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

1. Stay connected to Jesus Romans 14:16 NIV 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. Part of being connected to Jesus is upholding the truth that we have received. What the word of God calls good is good. What it calls evil is evil.

1. Stay connected to Jesus Ephesians 6:10-18 NIV 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

1. Stay connected to Jesus 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. This armor is what we gain as we remain connected to Jesus. It is intention to put on your clothes. It is intentional to put on this armor, which is the spirit of Jesus. An extension of staying connected to Jesus personally is staying connected to His Body, the church.

2. Stay connected to the Body Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. We need encouragement because these are tough times, challenging times. It will not happen when we attempt to live as Lone Ranger believers.

2. Stay connected to the Body 1 Peter 4:8 NIV 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Loving one another has a remarkable effect on us. Forgiveness. Healing. Protection. Help. Encouragement. You will not experience these things alone. They only happen in community.

3. Resist the devil’s lies John 8:43-44 NIV 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

3. Resist the devil’s lies 1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

3. Resist the devil’s lies James 4:7 NIV 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

4. Flee from Temptation Romans 6:12-14 NIV 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

4. Flee from Temptation 2 Timothy 2:22-23 NIV 22 Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.

4. Flee from Temptation James 1:21 NIV 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

4. Flee from Temptation 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 NIV 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

4. Flee from Temptation 1 Corinthians 10:14 NIV 14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

5. Repent Luke 5:31-32 NIV 31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

5. Repent 1 John 1:5-10 NIV 5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

5. Repent 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

6. Forgive those who offend you

7. Release your right to retribution

8. Love your enemies

9. Do good