Preventive Believing
I can do all
things through Christ which [who] strengtheneth me. –
Philippians 4: 13
I am about to teach you
a principle that you may never have heard of before. It’s exciting and
interesting and most important. IT CAN PREVENT A CATASTROPHE.
This teaching is not
for those who are unable to walk by the spirit of the true God due to a lack of
commitment. It is for the mature Christian who can recognize the devices of the
god of this world – for the Christian who studies and prays every day and stays
his or her mind on God. It is for the Christian who wants to counter every move
of his or her personal adversary. There is a way – preventive believing
makes life exciting and guarantees that you are more than a conqueror in every
single situation.
Nay, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through him that [who] loved
us. – Romans 8: 37
God doesn’t want us to
be conquerors, He wants us to be MORE THAN CONQUERORS. Would you like to be
more that a conqueror? I am going to show you how, but you must first
understand the principle to be able to apply it. You can’t be a conformist, or
argue with God and you can’t be afraid. Let’s start by being more specific.
The American
Heritage Dictionary Of The English Language defines "preventive" as
"designed or used to prevent or hinder; acting as an obstacle;
preventative." If you could counter, prevent, and always hinder the
methods and devices of Satan, you would always come out on top and that’s where
you should be. That is God’s Will for every believer. God’s Word applied and
believed builds winners.
Did you ever wake up in
the morning and you study and pray – you keep God first – and you get this
unusual urge to do something that your five senses says makes no sense? Where
is the urge coming from? Listen to me people. Spiritually, there is a
difference between preparation and paranoia. Remember that.
Let’s begin with and
focus on actual examples. First God wants you to make the blows count – He does
not want you to shadow box. Now you may think that what I am about to say is
not exactly a knockout blow, BUT IT IS. I always let God set the stage for any
teaching so let’s build a firmer foundation and study the next few Scriptures
from I Corinthians.
I therefore
so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air (shadow box): – I Corinthians 9: 26
But I keep
under my body (make
the blows count), and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means,
when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. – I
Corinthians 9: 27
Let’s make the blows
count! Why?
Be sober, be
vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour: -- I Peter 5: 8
You better be sharp
spiritually because you have a personal adversary. If there’s one thing he
cannot stand, it’s when you counter or prevent what he plans to do! Then you
trap him. You see, God wants us to summon the competitors to the game, but
you’re much better off if you can stay out of the ring. Sometimes, no, it is
not possible, but many times it is.
At times, I can just
feel a trap brewing. Here’s an actual simple but effective example of
preventive believing – God kept me one step ahead of the adversary.
Let’s say you’re having
a problem getting a company to deliver a product you ordered. It’s taking
forever and the so called sales rep is an idiot. Sound familiar? Satan set it
up to agitate you – everything comes from one of two sources. This happened to
me about six months ago with a small electrical part that I needed to make a
semiconductor tester for jukebox parts.
Before it got real bad, I sat
down and wrote a letter to the general manager of this electrical company. I
took my time and told the truth about how long this process was taking and how
rude the sales rep was to me for no reason at all. I checked the address and
got the envelope ready and then I let it sit. I gave them the benefit of the
doubt and waited about two more days. It was almost two weeks now. What else
did I do? I located another company that had the same part for less money and
would deliver in TWO DAYS!!! Two days went by and I was loaded for bear – can
you see it? I mailed the letter that was already done
and ordered the part from the new company on a Sunday afternoon! IT WAS
DELIVERED ON TUESDAY MORNING. Of course the manager of the bogus
supplier happened to call me on that day. He was very nice and apologized to me
numerous times. The sales rep’s job was also in jeopardy. He told me my part
finally arrived and I told him I already had it in two days from a different
company. He credited my credit card even for the shipping. Do you see how I
stopped my personal adversary dead in his tracks? He blew his mind. I prevented
him from getting under my skin by COUNTERING his every move. I was ready and I
kept ahead of him. This is PREVENTIVE BELIEVING.
You are supposed to be
able to operate word of knowledge and word of wisdom, along with discerning of
spirits. These are the eyes and the ears of the church. God can let you know
things that you CANNOT know by the five senses. You’ve got to be listening and
remember ‘don’t argue with God’. I just completed a teaching by that title.
With the proper operation of these manifestations, you cannot miss. God will be
able to do the following for you in every situation.
And the God
of peace shall bruise [crush] Satan under your feet shortly [quickly]. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. – Romans 16:
20
Let’s use a more
serious example because I want you to realize the importance of mastering this
principle. It’s almost like an art and an art must be developed.
Remember, this is not
just being prepared – it’s being prepared spiritually by listening and doing
what God Almighty is telling you to do. God can save your life and may have
already saved it many times. How do you know for sure? I do recommend that you
read the teaching "Don’t Argue With God".
It does work very well with this teaching. I am looking out for your own good
and well-being. That’s what God wants me to do and I don’t argue with God.
Let’s talk about
attorneys. We all make fun of them UNTIL WE NEED ONE! Although this is a
personal matter, the point can clearly be made. I once had a situation where
someone made some serious accusations concerning myself which were completely
unjustified. If the accusations were taken a step farther, it could possibly
have resulted in serious consequences for myself. I had to put a stop to this
and quickly. This had never happened to me before. Don’t read into this.
It’s not what the enemy may be trying to put into your head. Remember, the
specifics are not important – it’s the principle I am trying to get across.
I spent
much time on the telephone trying to locate an attorney that specialized in a
certain field. Satan fought me tooth and nail. Finally, God was able to open a
door. I not only have access to one attorney, but two that work together in
this field. I keep this information in a briefcase JUST
IN CASE I NEEDED IT. This is preventive believing. Do you know why?
Because my personal adversary knows what I did and I’m ready to nail him if he
even thinks about manipulating someone’s thoughts concerning this subject. This happened
many years ago and since then God gave me a green light to get rid of this
material since it was outdated and not useful any longer. Just the fact that I did this still keeps
the adversary at bay.
This threat never
occurred again because I protected myself BEFORE IT
EVEN HAPPENED. Nothing, I mean nothing hinders and frustrates the
efforts of the enemy more than preventive believing. Never sit back and ‘wait a
while’. That’s a trick. Just to set your mind at ease, I am not referring to a
criminal matter. The person who made this accusation eventually made an attempt
to retract it and said they would never ever do that again. Self defense is a
Biblical concept and don’t ever forget it. Now I’m going to say something that
I’ve said many times before:
If you ever feel sorry
for your personal adversary, he will melt your face.
And in
nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of
perdition [destruction], but to you of salvation [wholeness], and that of God. – Philippians 1: 28
How many times in your
life did you say to yourself "If only I did that……… this would not have
happened." Remember the enemy, like a roaring lion, he seeks whom he may
devour. You’ve GOT to be sharp if you want to live the more than abundant life.
The world is getting worse and worse and the enemy is using all the power he
has at his disposal. The enemy is running rampant in these last days. He knows
his time is short. What does God’s Word say about this situation?
Ye are of
God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in
you, than he that is in the world. -- I John 4: 4
The Christ in you is
stronger than every devil spirit on earth. What good is this life if you don’t
live it for God? Compared to eternity, it is a grain of sand in all the deserts
on earth – a drop of water in all the oceans.
Submit [addict] yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. –
James 4: 7
If you have ever
wondered how we are supposed to be living, it is written clearly in God’s Word.
Let us hear
the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear [respect] God, and keep
his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. – Ecclesiastes 12: 13
God set up a blueprint
for living – His Word. We are made to live by His principles.
Now I want to keep this
teaching simple so I am going to ask you what I am doing right now. I am a
teacher of God’s Word for 37 years. Who do you think just might be on the
enemy’s hit list? But he can’t touch me and do you know why? Every time I
complete a teaching, I practice PREVENTATIVE
BELIEVING. God is not a man that He can lie and He protects me as I
listen to Him and carry out His Will. It’s fun and it’s exciting – life in the
fast lane for sure. Let God teach you preventive believing. You will surely need to understand
this concept and your preventative believing will be unique to your walk with
God. God bless you – you’re the best.
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