Tap Out to God - Psalm 66:3

Mixed Martial Arts

In MMA, or Mixed Martial Arts, a fighter will tap-out, or submit to their opponent when they find themselves in a position that is impossible to recover, or escape from. Most fighters will wait until the last moment possible to tap out. No one wants to admit that they have been overpowered by the greater strength of an opponent.

God is Formidable

In Psalm 66, the writer says to tell God you KNOW how formidable and impressive his works are and through the greatness of his power, his enemies will submit themselves to him. God is the greater opponent and his enemies will surrender, or tap out to him. 

God is with us and for us. 

His enemies will always tap out before him. Isn't that a great reason to make a joyful noise to the Lord today?

Satan the Movie Star - James 4:7

         
In the final battle of Transformers: The Movie
Optimus Prime and Megatron stand face to face with each other. After a moment, Optimus Prime tells his enemy,"One  shall stand, one shall fall." The battle begins and the rock n roll lyrics tell us, "you got the power" as the giant machines crash, smash, and bash each other. Optimus Prime and Megatron hurl each other around until finally, Megatron is lying on the ground and a wounded Optimus Prime is the weary winner.
Satan the Movie Star
Christians have succumbed to a movie version of Satan that portrays him as being a big, powerful enemy who can easily toss God's people around in a battle. We have to sweat and struggle to win against our towering, formidable enemy just like Optimus Prime struggled against Megatron. However, this is not true! We Christians have been deceived, and who is the biggest deceiver there is? That is right, Satan.
A Good Soldier Will Submit, or Follow Orders
The word, submit, has a military meaning. A good soldier follows the orders of his commanding officer without questioning him. A good soldier resists, or stands fast in a battle because he is following his orders. Our weapons are not fists, feet, knives, guns, or other weapons. Our weapons are knowledge of the Bible, prayer, and reliance on God.
Submit to God
When Christians submit to God and resist the devil, the devil will flee. Yes, that's right, Satan will take flight, fly away, scamper off, or run away.  This is not just an assurance from a Biblical writer; it is a promise of God. So let us get this television movie version of Satan OUT of our thinking. It is a lie. Again, I ask you, who is the biggest deceiver and liar in the Bible? That is right, it is our foe who rules this world. BUT he cannot defeat us when we have submitted to our heavenly Father and resisted him. When a spirit-led, coheir of the heavenly kingdom is wearing the armor of God and stands up against the enemy; he will flee, run away, take flight, or scamper off. Satan cannot make Christians do anything.
And the Victor Is A Child of God
I feel like standing up and cheering aloud. Oh yeah! I am the winner in this fight every time! I can just picture myself standing toe to toe with the Deceiver and claiming God's promise by saying, " I am holding fast against you. You cannot defeat me because I am a child of God!" Then the enemy will turn around and scamper away in full flight from the power of God's promise that I just proclaimed aloud. Amen? 

I Will Not Fear - Psalm 118:6

The Lord is On the Side of David, Jesus, and Me

The Lord was on the side of David, hence all his prosperity and victories, the wonderful things done by him, his exaltation to the throne, and the establishment of it.
The Lord was on the side of Christ, he was near by him, at his right hand, to guide, direct, and assist him as man
The Lord is on the side of his people and he will:

• fight their battles for them
• support them under all their afflictions
• supply all their wants
• deliver them from all evil
• carry on the work of grace in their souls
• bring them to glory

David Did Not Fear
He was not afraid of ten thousands of men, no, not of a whole army that encamped against him, God being for him, the strength of his life, and his salvation.
Jesus Did Not Fear
He was not afraid of Herod when he was told he would kill him; nor of the high priests, Scribes and Pharisees, though he knew he should fall into their hands, and they would deliver him to the Gentiles, to be scourged and crucified; nor of Judas and his band of men, who came to take him; nor of Pilate his judge, who had no power against him but what was given him.
Believers Should Not Fear
 The utmost any man can do is to kill the body; he cannot destroy the soul, or hinder the happiness of it.
Adapted from Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible 

Believing is Essential - Mark 9:23

Jesus Has Power Over Satan
Jesus demonstrated his power over Satan and the spirits that answered to Satan repeatedly. He gave the disciples the power to also cast out spirits and heal people. The disciples tried to help a suffering boy, but they couldn't cast out the demon. Why?
Jesus felt it was because of unbelief on the part of the father AND the disciples. Perhaps the disciples had quit relying on God as much as they should have and had begun to rely on themselves. 

According to Matthew Henry's Concise Bible Commentary for Mark 9:14-29:

• The father of the suffering youth reflected on the want of power in the disciples; but Christ will have him reckon the disappointment to the want of faith. 
• Very much is promised to our believing. If you can believe, it is possible that your hard heart may be softened, your spiritual diseases maybe cured; and, weak as you are, You may be able to hold out to the end. 
• Those that complain of unbelief, must look up to Christ for grace to help them against it, and his grace will be sufficient for them. 
• Whom Christ cures, he cures effectually. 
• Satan is unwilling to be driven from those that have been long his slaves, and, when he cannot deceive or destroy the sinner, he will cause him all the terror that he can.
• The disciples must not think to do their work always with the same ease; some services call for more than ordinary pains.

How to Live Life - Psalm 119:9-10

Psalm 119 is an amazing psalm to study. 
Study will reveal that this psalm contains instructions on how to live life every day. This life outline includes the following four instructions:

• Study God's commands
• Live according to the word of God, the Bible
• Seek God with all your heart
• Ask God to help you stay focused on his commands

Think About the Word of God Like This

Each verse is like a seed of wisdom that contains his instructions on how to live according to his will. When you bury these seeds in your heart, each word will sprout and give you understanding and insight into God's commands. This is the insight that will keep you from leaving his path for you. The more seeds you bury in your heart, the more insight and understanding you will have about the Lord's commands.  Seek him with all your heart. The rewards will be great. This isn't my promise, it is God's promise. 

No Spiritual Roots - Luke 8:13

For a long time, I was like the seed on the rock.
I love Jesus. I feel great joy in talking about him and studying the bible. However, my faith was an emotional response to belonging to Jesus and interacting at church. I wasn't a disciple. I was a church member.

I have always known that I belong to Jesus.
However, somewhere in my bible reading I missed that I am not a belonging, but a new creation whose life is changed by knowing Jesus as lord and savior. My life didn't change. My life didn't change because I wasn't allowing Jesus into all areas of my life. I was only allowing Jesus into one area of my life that was labelled, church.

I am a social person and I enjoy being a member of a church. 
Volunteering regularly, participating in Sunday school, and reading my bible was part of my church life. I wasn't doing any of this because I wanted to serve Jesus. I was doing this because that is what church people do. See what I am getting at? I was receiving the word with joy, but I wasn't growing any spiritual roots.

Here was my temptation, I was a housewife who KNEW she had a problem with alcohol and wanted to quit drinking.

In fact, I was leaving church buoyed up by joyfulness and telling myself I wasn't going to drink anymore alcohol. Happiness filled me from worshipping Jesus from 10:00 to noon. However within a couple of hours after I arrived at home, I found myself reaching for a drink.

I couldn't understand why the feeling I felt at church, Sunday school and bible study wasn't lasting after I reached home. 

I had no idea that the problem was that I didn't have spiritual roots. My faith wasn't rooted in Jesus. My faith was an emotional faith that was rooted in being a church member, rather than a disciple of Jesus Christ.

Today, I no longer have an emotional faith that has no spiritual roots.
During my recovery from alcohol,  I learned how to let go of living my life my way and let God take control of my life. Jesus is with me all day long, everywhere I go. He is driving the car  and I am riding in the backseat.

Church isn't a building and activities.
Church is being a member of the body of Christ. Now joy fills my heart and floods me from the inside out because I am a disciple of Jesus who is willing to share what Jesus has done for me where ever he leads me.

Satan the Deceiver

The Dragon, or Satan  
Satan is a leader who prefers to use his own wisdom in achieving his goals and believes he needs no one. His rebellion against his creator shows the full extent of his self-will.

Satan is willing to say or do anything in order to have his way. 

He befriends people and uses power, money, and material things to achieve his goals. He appears to be a wise counselor who wants only the best for his friends, but in reality he is only interested in creating death, destruction, and famine. 

We are living in a spiritual battleground. 

For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world. Let us not be deceived. Satan is powerful as the “god of this age” BUT disciples of Jesus Christ need not cower before him in fear, BECAUSE “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)

from the short bible lesson, "Superhero Discipleship" by Sallee Bonham