THINGS THAT EXALT

Dear One,
    We talked about casting down imaginations, the ones that invade your mind with images of impending doom, of failure, or injury, of lack, of poverty, of sickness, of robbery or of death.   In other words, the devil originates the images that invade your thoughts that are not images of reality but are images of fear of something bad happening in the future.  We talked about how the devil tries to get you to agree that those things will happen so that he can actually bring them into being.  There is no power in the imaginations to bring them into reality unless the devil can get you to agree with them, adding your fear that they will happen.  That agreement of fear from you can make them happen, even though they are not reality at the time of his temptations.  Fear is having faith in impending doom. (II Corinthians 10:5)
    Another thing that I told you is to cast down every high thing that exalts itself against knowledge that comes from Me.   For instance, this is one of the high things that the devil used against Jesus, tempting Him to turn a stone into bread to prove that He was My Son. Jesus knew that My power is not used to prove My existence to the devil but My power is used to help My children.  Jesus put the devil in his place when he told the devil that men don't live only by bread but they live by My words that proceed from My mouth. In doing that, He proclaimed that My words of instruction are more important that food for the body.(Matthew 4:3-4)
    Jesus recognized another trick also when the devil tempted Him by taking Him in his mind to the highest place on the temple and tempting Him to jump down to prove that I would send My angels to catch Him.  Jesus knew My will in the matter and He chided the devil by telling him that He knew that tempting Me to have My angels rescue Him was not in His already vast knowledge of My will.  He quoted My will in the matter, that being that one should not tempt Me.  (Matthew 4:5-7)
     In His last temptation of Jesus, the devil showed Him the whole world and told Jesus that if He would worship the devil that he would give the whole world  to Jesus.  He tempted Jesus with a prideful temptation, to be the ruler of the world.  Jesus knew My will in that matter also and He told the devil that My command was to worship Me and that His desire was to only serve Me.  (Matthew 4:8-10)
     Jesus did a bang-up, victorious job of casting down those high things that the devil used to tempt Him: one to leave Me and serve him, another to tempt Me to rescue Him if He jumped from the high place and another to turn a stone into bread to prove His Sonship.  Those temptations of the devil for Jesus to exalt Himself against My will were not based upon any scriptural basis, but the replies of Jesus were all based upon the already established Words of My will.
     Jesus replied to the devil the established words of the Constitution and Bylaws of My kingdom.  The reality of the power of My words robbed the devil of any power that he had, so he left Jesus.  As a result, My angels came and ministered to Jesus.  In other words, My kingdom came upon Jesus to comfort him. (Matthew 4:11; Luke 11:20)  
     You have the Constitution and Bylaws of My kingdom in the instructions that Jesus gave to His disciples.  When the devil tempts you to return evil for evil that someone does to you, you can quote to the devil what Jesus said, that an eye for an eye is not the way of My family, but refusing to return evil for evil done to you is My will.  When tempted to hate someone, you can quote His instructions to love your enemies and to do good to them because in doing that you are fulfilling the words of Jesus.  When you reveal to the devil your knowledge of My words, he has to leave you because he knows that he cannot hoodwink you into doing his will instead of My will.  When you are victorious over temptations the way Jesus was, My angels come to minister to you and My kingdom comes into your life.
     Remember that the battle is always in your mind.  If you will refuse the temptations of the devil to do evil to people at his command and if you refuse to return evil for evil done to you, you are victorious in the battle and My kingdom becomes evident in your life.
     First you must know My will in all matters so that you can proclaim them in order to cast down the high things that tempt you to become powerful by the devil's help.  My will in all matters are found in the teachings of Jesus and they will become emblazoned upon your mind by My Spirit if you will study them.
     By My divine power I provided everything necessary for you to have an abundant life and My godliness.  Take advantage of your Constitution and Bylaws in My Instruction Book and take advantage of the power of My Holy Spirit.  There are great rewards when you do. (II Peter 1:3)
     When temptations come to your mind by the devil or by the devil through other people, resist those temptations.  Declare what is in the Constitution and Bylaws of My kingdom and the devil has to flee.
     The devil knows your weak areas.  He's no dummy.  Reject any thought that comes to your mind that will exalt you over other people or over Me.  Cast those high thoughts of self exaltation into hell where they belong. 
     Your Father of Workable Knowledge