Mitch Moyer

Volunteer Christian Chaplain: Volusia Flagler YMCA; The DeLand Family YMCA Team Of Chaplains Leadership Initiative- Putting Your Faith In Action!

[Mitch Moyer @MitchellKMoyer]

Today, as part of the Annual Healthy Kids Celebration at The DeLand Family YMCA, we were honored to share our belief and trust in Jesus with community members of all ages. We did this through song, conversation, scripture book marks and simple kindness. That’s Faith In Action!

[PaulsCorner-VerseQuest @TNTJohn1717]

What to Say When the Devil Comes Knocking - Seven Passages for Temptation, Testing, and Spiritual Attack

Introduction

One of the first things a Christian ought to learn after he gets saved is this plain truth: the devil does not quit because you got justified. He does not retire because you trusted the blood. He does not throw up a white flag because you believed the gospel of the grace of God. If anything, once a man gets in Christ, the fight changes. Before salvation, the devil is content to keep a man blind, religious, lost, distracted, and comfortable on his way to hell. After salvation, the devil cannot damn the soul, so he goes after the walk, the testimony, the joy, the confidence, the boldness, and the usefulness of that believer. He comes with temptations. He comes with accusations. He comes with fear. He comes with pressure. He comes with weariness. He comes with lies. He comes when you are tired, disappointed, lonely, overconfident, wounded, or caught off guard. That means you had better know what to say when he comes knocking.

Now the average modern Christian has been trained to handle spiritual attack like a man trying to fight a tank with a flyswatter. He has a vague church slogan, a shallow inspirational phrase, a little religious sentiment, and maybe a favorite chorus bouncing around in his head, but when the pressure comes he has no sword in his hand. That is why Paul said, “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). Notice that Book is not a decorative piece. It is not there to sit on a coffee table and collect dust while you admire your leather binding. It is a weapon. Jesus Christ Himself answered the devil in the wilderness with, “It is written” (Matthew 4:4, 4:7, 4:10). If the sinless Son of God answered Satan with Scripture, what in the world makes you think you are going to whip him with your opinions?

This study is built around seven passages every believer ought to know when the devil comes pressing in with temptation, testing, accusation, fear, discouragement, or spiritual pressure. These are not magic words, and they are not lucky charms. This is not superstition. This is faith in what God said. The issue is not your volume, your mood, your tone, or your theatrics. The issue is whether you know what God has spoken and whether you stand on it. A Christian who knows the Book has something to say when hell starts whispering. A Christian who does not know the Book will usually start repeating whatever the devil told him five minutes ago. So let us walk through seven passages that put steel in the backbone and Scripture in the mouth when the enemy starts prowling around your door.

1. It Is Written - Matthew 4:4

The first passage to remind the devil of is the passage our Lord used in the wilderness. “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). Now that verse is a direct hit against the devil’s old strategy of getting a man to put physical craving above spiritual obedience. Satan came to Christ after forty days of fasting and tempted Him at a point of real hunger. That is how the devil operates. He does not usually show up when everything is calm and easy and your flesh feels no pressure. He waits until there is strain, weakness, desire, appetite, or urgency. Then he says, in effect, “Take care of yourself first. Meet the craving first. Fix the pressure first. Obey your appetite first.” Christ answered with Scripture and established a principle every Christian needs tattooed on his brain: your life is governed by God’s words, not your appetites.

That is a needed truth in a generation trained to obey every impulse like it came down from Sinai. If a man feels lonely, he thinks he must act on it. If he feels angry, he thinks he must vent it. If he feels lust, he thinks he must indulge it. If he feels

[Mitch Moyer @MitchellKMoyer]

P2
• Visiting The Lonely - Nursing Homes
• Praying With and For Others - at work, at school and in our community
• Leading Others To A Relationship With Jesus Christ - at work, at school and in our community
• Visiting Prisons, Jails and Detention Centers (age requirement)

[Mitch Moyer @MitchellKMoyer]

Visible Leadership and Behaviors of Faith In Action Includes:
• Participating In Community Service:  contribute to a community work project, volunteer time at an event or beautification opportunities
• Feeding The Poor- Neighborhood Center and other related community events

[Mitch Moyer @MitchellKMoyer]

Mission and Purpose:
• Service: Matthew 20:26-28 - “whoever would be great among you must be your servant”
• Helping Those In Need: Matthew 25:35-36 - faith is defined by serving the vulnerable- the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the sick, the lonely, the imprisoned

[Mitch Moyer @MitchellKMoyer]

The DeLand YMCA Team Of Chaplains Leadership Initiative-
 Faith In Action Includes:
• Middle School: Ages 12-14
• High School: Ages 15-18
• Next Generation: Ages 19-30
• Adult Chaplains: Ages 31+
R Adult Chaps teach & mentor. Feb 21=Next training; [email protected]: Q&A’s

[Mitch Moyer @MitchellKMoyer]

Been retired for 4 years. 2 years in God made the way 4 me 2 serve Him as a Volunteer Chaplain at the DeLand YMCA. Oct 2024 He gave my heart the desire 2 begin a Teen Chaplain Program 4 middle/high school students & older 2 put their faith in action by serving in R community.

[The Bible @The__Bible7]

Proverbs 30:5

[Strength For Today! #ShepherdsDiary @elanfaith]

You can’t stop rude people from being rude. You can’t stop the offense, the disrespect, the false assumptions, or the unfair treatment. But you can stop it from stopping you.

Not every battle is meant to be fought. Some are meant to be outgrown.

God never designed you to live on the level of your critics. He designed you to rise above them.

Isaiah 40:31 says, “Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles.”
Eagles don’t fight every bird that disturbs them, they simply fly higher. When God lifts you, petty opposition can no longer reach you.

You were not created to be small, bitter, angry, or distracted. You were created to soar, to do big things, to break limitations, to leave footprints of purpose behind you.

Jeremiah 1:5 says God set you apart before you were born. Ephesians 2:10 says you are His workmanship, created for good works already prepared for you. That means your destiny is bigger than the people trying to discourage you.

Let them talk.
Let them misunderstand.
Let them doubt.

Your rising will answer every question.

Proverbs 4:18 says, “The path of the righteous shines brighter and brighter.” You are not fading, you are increasing. You are not shrinking, you are expanding. You are not behind, you are being positioned.

God is grooming you to be a history maker, a world changer, a carrier of His glory in your generation.

So don’t lower your character to match their behavior. Don’t trade your destiny for a reaction. Don’t let temporary voices distract you from eternal purpose.

Rise higher.
Walk calmer.
Dream bigger.

Because heaven knows your name, and your future is louder than their noise.

[Liz 🩷 @Esther414withMe]

Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done.

C.S. Lewis

[Liz 🩷 @Esther414withMe]

If you're struggling with addiction of any kind - or any sin. Don't focus on it...

Focus on getting closer to God, spending more time with Him, and He will change the desires of your heart.

That's sanctification and it's spiritual freedom.