 We will get back into our study of resisting the devil and then, you know, taking on the devil, going against the devil. So before we go any further, I just wanted to ask you if there's been any instance in your personal life where, you know, you've said no devil, you can't, you know, that kind of an attitude you carried through an experience. So if anyone would like to share, you can. Okay, so if not, then, yeah, I think I can share. So this was when my mum, she was very strangely like, you know, we were taking her for her regular checkups and all that. So everything was going on, but strangely, you know, there were certain symptoms and then they figured out that at that point in time, you know, she was diagnosed with final stage cancer. So it was a very big surprise for all of us. But anyway, you know, that happened. And at the time when these reports came out, one by one, you know, different doctors, they would just come, I mean, I used to work in that hospital. So many of them are my friends. So they were telling me both, you know, in officially as well as personally, they used to tell me that, oh, she's not going to make it. You know, there's all these issues, these challenges. So long story short, there were symptoms and there were some, you know, conditions which were very, very, you know, it was very serious. So literally they said two days, like she will not make it for more than two days in the hospital and you decide what you want to do. But anyway, so the thing is that she lived for at least about two and a half years after that. But when these things started happening, right from the hospital, I remember, you know, there were so many miracles that God did. And this attitude I'm telling you, right, of like, you just get angry with the devil and you say, no devil, you know, you can't have. You can't have it. I will not let go of my inheritance. What is mine in Christ Jesus healing, I'm holding on to that. So God did so many miracles. They said like only two days she would survive because even the life support was not helping. But a miracle took place, you know, they shifted her out and they just said, oh, call all your relatives. In fact, all my relatives came to see her and all, but her oxygen saturation levels. We prayed. Okay. And literally like I prayed over a food item and I gave it to her. And at that moment, I, I within myself, you know, I just said, Lord, nothing is working. Medicines are not working. Life support is not working, but you are a healing God. Nothing changes that. And I command the saturation levels to come up in the name of Jesus. They became normal from that moment, you know, and exactly what I'm teaching you here, like you resist the devil, you command. So I literally have seen these things in many instances, but I'm telling you of a little serious one, but I have seen it. It was so amazing that even the doctor at that time who was responsible for the oxygen saturation level, she was shocked. She looked at the recording of the saturation and she was like, how is it possible we didn't put her on medication, nothing. And, you know, it has come up. So, you know, things like that. And once she was discharged, again, I went for review meetings and all. And then the doctors would say things like one of my good friends, like that doctor was telling me, see, you understand the medical things. You know, she won't make it. So don't try. Don't even try hard. Give up. So he was just trying to put it in a nice way to me, but within myself, you know, I still remember I sitting there on that chair. I was listening all the words were going into my ears. I was holding the reports in my hands and I just said, I reject every word of sickness, of affliction, of oppression in the name of Jesus. I didn't tell him, but I'm telling that within my spirit. Even after I got up from there, I said, no, she will live. They said she will not be able to walk, but she was walking till about the last week of her death. You know, so she made it and, you know, so many things happened contrary to what the doctors had predicted. So it was really a huge miracle. So, you know, it's like when the devil tries to come against you, really to, to tap into the power of God, to claim it and to see that inheritance manifest, we have to put up a fight. We can't say, okay, so sad. Okay, I give up. You know, no, no, we, we can't do that. And truly, when we hold on and we are ready to wrestle, resist the devil and say, no devil, you will not have it. You know, healing is my inheritance and I will have it. So I really saw the manifestation of that. And till today, you know, the doctors, when they talk about my mother, they say she was a sign and a wonder because medically, you know, for somebody to survive at a certain saturation level with like her bones had changed, the shape of her bones had changed. So anyway, I won't go into the details. There were lots of things which were not conducive for a reasonably good quality of life, but she managed with a decent quality of life, you know, till she actually passed away. But I know for a fact that it was the power of God being released, you know, for her to make it. So this was one of the most serious things in my life where I have, I believe that, you know, they only needed to put up a fight against the devil. And I have seen God's power, you know, manifest. And I'm very grateful for miracles that happen, you know, big and small. But to have that sense and you repluque the devil when the enemy is coming against you. So, you know, you, you, you scold him. No, you can't do that. And I command you in the name of Jesus, you know. So, you know, take it on you, either be on the defensive or beyond the offensive. So just something that I wanted to share to encourage all of us that whatever the situation, easy, difficult, all this is real. And we will see God's victory manifest in our lives. So we can rebuke. The next thing here is cast out. So in this situation, when we see again, I will use the term for a believer demonized. OK, if a believer is demonized by that, we simply mean influenced by the devil. You know, to where the devil has started taking control of the faculties of a person. So that is demonized in such a situation. We can cast out that demon. We can say now we've understood when we studied about demons, we said that they are disembodied creatures. They are looking for a habitation. So their temporary habitation is any host, any person who, who, you know, has any like an open door, they will come and they will, they will influence. So when you see that somebody is demonized or in the case of an unbeliever, if they are, we use the term possessed, OK, but for a believer, this term possessed is very misleading, this English translation possessed. So we will not use that. What we can do is we can issue a command to pass that demon out. So what would what did Jesus say? There are passages given here in the Bible from the Bible where he cast out, come out. That's all Jesus said, come out. And what happened? The demon had to yield to the authority of Jesus. And it comes out of that habitation, temporary habitation, which is the person. And then, you know, we have to work on strengthening the person. So how do we strengthen if that person is not saved, get them saved, filled with the Holy Spirit, ask them to plug into a good church and live a life of devotion, full of the word, full of the full of, you know, the presence of God. So then what happens? The demons cannot come in or where do the demons go? We've already had this discussion. We know from Matthew 12, they go about, you know, they're wandering around trying to find the next host. So do they go to the fire, Hellfire? No, that is their final, final destination. But till such time, they are wandering about trying to seek a place of rest or next habitation. So we can cast out, we can cast out demons. OK, so that is also something all believers can do. You don't have to wait on any pastor or anyone. If a situation arises where you have to cast out, then, yes, you can do it. We will discuss more about how to do this later on. But I want to encourage all the believers. OK, so I remember I was telling you, we went for a conference and over there, people were manifesting. And at that point, you know, I went as one of the young people. There were other young people with me in church. So you see, really, it is amazing when the disciples, Jesus sent them. I think Matthew 10, isn't it? Yeah, he sent them out and they went and they did the works. They came back, you know, they were so amazed and they told Jesus, you know, even the devils are subject to your name, Jesus, like, wow, what is this? So they were really thrilled. So even us, as young people, because the situation came, we have to cast out demons and Jesus never separated his ministry to say, oh, I'm only going to teach from the word. No, he was teaching, but he was delivering. He was healing. It was all like happening together. So it is very much a part of our ministry, too. We can't say that I won't do. You do you, you know, cast out demons. I can't cast out. It's just a part of what the spirit of God does. So we have to be open to it. So, you know, when it came to that, even those were some of my initial experiences of casting out demons like the disciples. Even I was amazed. I was like, is it that simple demons are just listening to the name of Jesus because there is that kind of authority in the name of Jesus. OK, so, you know, we can issue a command to the demons and we will be amazed that the demons are trembling at the name of Jesus. At the name of Jesus. OK, like the way the disciples came back. We also come back and say, wow, Jesus, this kind of authority you have given us. It's amazing. It's amazing. So when you see demons taking control of individuals, you and I can just, you know, come in there, use the authority, just cast out the demons and set people free. OK, so go on the offensive. We can also destroy the works of the devil. OK, so this word destroy, we see in Hebrews 2 14, where Jesus destroyed Satan on the cross. What did Jesus do? We've discussed it, isn't it? In the victory of the cross, we said that he has. When you destroy something, is it is it possible to use it anymore? You can't, isn't it? If a beautiful gadget, I remember once I had a really nice phone, which I love, then I was walking on the road. I had removed the you put a case right on the phone to protect it. I don't know why maybe I wanted to clean it or what is temporarily I removed the case and that day when I was out, it didn't have a case. Suddenly it slipped and fell from my hand crack, fully cracked. I couldn't use it. It was such a nice, you know, gadget. I really loved it, but it's gone when something is destroyed. You cannot expect it to function anymore. So in that way, there are situations and circumstances. Of course, we know that the devil is completely destroyed. His power is destroyed by the cross that is a understood fact. It's a spiritual reality. Now, we by issuing a command with our words, what are we doing? What destruction has already happened? You know, we we are calling that to to work in our situation. So we we say or we remind the devil. Don't don't you remember? Your work has been destroyed. You have been destroyed on the cross of Calvary. We can say that to the devil when we are praying, when we are rebuking, when we are casting out a demon, we can tell the devil, this is what the Lord Jesus has done to you. Don't you know you have been destroyed on the cross of Calvary and not just that one John three eight. You see that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil over there. You know, the word destroy doesn't mean rendering useless. Like what I just explained to you, but it means losing. It means to, you know, like break up or or dissolve that that kind of an application. So the works of the devil. When I pray, I can say. You know, maybe I'm praying for somebody and I say, oh, the sickness from the root be destroyed in Jesus' name. So it's like a stronghold. But what I'm saying, I'm saying like dissolve. You you completely break up or you lose it no longer a stronghold. But, you know, I I destroy you. So in that manner, we can see that work of the devil being removed. OK, from that person's life. And also another beautiful thing is that we see that the anointing of the Lord Isaiah 10 27, we see that where the anointing of the Holy Spirit, it's the anointing that breaks the yoke, breaks the yoke is also in other words, it destroys, destroys the work of the enemy. So what is that? The Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, what is the work of the Holy Spirit? He will destroy what the devil is doing. What does the devil do? Only thief's work, steal, kill, destroy, make person sick, make them sad, you know, steal, make them poor. That's what he does. But when we go against him, all his strongholds. Be destroyed. We can pray that we can say, I destroy. I destroy what the devil is doing in the name of Jesus. Now, in using these words, one more thing I'll tell you later on. I think it is there later. But when we pray for people, no, be a little sensitive because what happens is I, you know, this, this whole zeal that I'm talking about having anger against the devil and what he's doing and all that is important. But people will not understand it. So when I go and I pray for someone, let's say it's a new believer and I'm praying and I say, I destroy the sickness in the name of Jesus. Now, for this new believer, he's wondering, oh, my gosh, what did I do? Why is pastor using words like destroy and all? So I have to be sensitive. Maybe, maybe, you know, I don't use terms like that in in front of the person. But I know what I mean. I might use a simpler word in front of them. But maybe like once a person has gone, I've done this many times. I say, I destroy in Jesus' name under my breath. OK, and I issued that command. But when I was praying with that person, my prayer was gentler. I just said, Lord, I, you know, I pray that the people, they would come out of this sickness. I pray a release of your anointing. I declare a restoration of their health in the name of Jesus. So we have to be sensitive because also the mistake that sometimes we make when we are ministering to people is we scare them off. You know, when we say all these things over the people, I destroy and all. So be sensitive. Now, if you know that this person knows the kind of teaching that you are you have, then, OK, both of you together agree, let this stronghold be broken, be destroyed, makes sense. But don't scare off people because, unfortunately, with our zeal, you know, zeal is good, but zeal with wisdom is what is very, very crucial. Otherwise, what are we doing? We will create more confusion. Sometimes people, you know, say, like I bind the spirit of death. Correct. What they are praying is correct. But a person is already in a place where they are so scared and, you know, they're already like, you know, death and darkness and all. In my prayer, when I use certain words, no, their fear will double and triple. So I hope you understand what I'm saying. So just be sensitive. Use these words, but be sensitive to the context. Maybe at times you cannot use strong words right in front of the people. But you know what you're up to, right? So you can maybe pray under your breath or something because the devil will will hear it. And, you know, by faith, when you said it, you have destroyed. So your effort has not gone based, but in public, whether you can in that context, you can use words like this. Just be a little careful. OK, fine. Now let's move on. Now remove is another thing. We also see that there are yokes, yokes or bondages. Bondage is a better word that the enemy puts on people. Remember that woman in Luke 13, she was she was curled up. She was all twisted. But Jesus said, woman, thou art loosed. Then what happened? You know, the demon left her and when the demon left her, that bondage was broken off of her life. So the the Holy Spirit can remove that bondage, whatever bondage. It could be a bondage of sickness, could be a bondage of poverty, can be a bondage of fear. Sometimes you see people are so talented. They are so, you know, they are brilliant. They probably are better than, you know, another person who is enjoying, you know, a good, successful career. But why is this person not doing well? Fear, fear is holding them back. They don't want to go for any interview or they don't want to take a take a job. What's the problem? Bondage, bondage of fear. They're not able to break out of it. But capability as good as somebody who's, you know, at really doing well in the career. So things like that. So when we see people are in these bondages and when I pray, I go against the devil, I take my authority and I say, you know, let this bondage be removed. Be broken in the name of Jesus. So what happens? Whatever bondage Satan has put on them breaks, right? And they are set free and, you know, they can praise God. So these are all ways in which we can go directly against the devil. Then overcome or prevail, overcome or prevail. This is also some action word. Overcome is to remember the wrestling match. So these words subdued, overcome. These are all wrestling is good to understand that. Overcome is when you have two people in dense conflict, then you have one person overpowering the other one. That is overcome where, OK, here is the devil. He's trying to do all the stuff. I overcome the devil. I prevail, I prevail on the enemy. So that is about the victory, consistent life of victory of a believer where every day I have to prevail. I have to conquer, subdue demonic works in my life, in the lives of people around me, in different ways. I might revoke, I might command, I might, you know, resist. I might cry, destroy, remove so many things. So I can do it with defense or I can go on the offensive. But I prevail over the devil every day of my life. So walk in victory. Now, again, coming to exercising authority the way Jesus taught us in Matthew 16. We see, he says, I've given you the keys of the kingdom. Keys representative was authority. OK. So when I have authority, I have to use it. Believers have authority. Only thing they don't know that they have a thought. Now, how can they use it in that same passage? Jesus taught us, he said, you whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you lose on earth will be lost in heaven. So when we try to understand the context, we recognize that though in the English, you know, it sounds like whatever I do on earth will be done in heaven. But if you go back to the Greek way of saying things, what it meant was whatever God has allowed in heaven, whatever he has loosed in heaven, what is loosed in heaven? You know, God's peace, his joy, his blessings. Nobody is sick in heaven. There are no tears in heaven. So all these things are loosed or they are abundant. They are liberally available. So that is loosed in heaven. So when I minister to somebody, I can lose the joy of the Lord over their lives. I have the authority to do that. Take what is from heaven and pour it off here on the earth. So I can do that. I have been given the authority. That's what Jesus was saying. So thy kingdom come, what is thy kingdom? The rule and reign of God. And when God, Christ rules and reigns, his rule and reign in heaven is not intercepted in any way, no? So there are no demons there, nothing. So the kingdom come means that kind of rule and reign will be seen in the lives of the people. That's all. So as a believer, I can lose the peace of God. I lose upon you the peace of God in the name of Jesus. Or, you know, I lose over my family. Shalom, shalom, shalom, perfect peace. Does it work? It should work because Jesus said that by faith when you release it, whatever you lose on whatever is allowed there, it will be allowed here. Similarly, the other thing he said, whatever you bind. So the way we understand is things that are bound in heaven. What is bound in heaven? The works of the devil. All is destructive works, all is, you know, destroying works. It's bound in heaven. So when I see anything which is not of God, it's simple, very simple. It's not of God, right? It's not of the kingdom. Ha, OK, I'm going to bind it because it's not there in heaven. So I'm allowed to bind it. That's how we go about it. So binding is like you are tying the hands. You're tying the hands of the devil. So what I could do is again, coming back to the example of, let's say there is confusion in the house, more specifically, you could take maybe a husband and wife. There's miscommunication, misunderstanding, all that going on between husband and wife. So what can they do in that situation? They know that, oh, there is some demonic influence causing this confusion between us. So you can bind the demonic spirits that are causing this confusion. So when you bind the spirits, what happens? It's like you're tying up their hands. No longer can you interfere. Come on, stay off. So they are staying off now, but that doesn't mean whenever we bind, it doesn't mean that the task is over. You know, binding is usually like a part of the process. So once you have bound, you can apply wisdom. So now, you know, you might have some peace without the interference of these demonic influences. During that time, you could probably think of, you know, praying together or reading God's word together or if the situation is very challenging, then you might want to get some counseling, something. So you're applying wisdom to sort out the actual problem in a practical way. But how are you able to work on it? You've got some time out because you bound the influence of the spirits. OK, so when we bind generally, it's like, OK, stay off, guys. And then I have to look into what needs to be done also. So binding does not mean that, but I already bound. How come again, we are, you know, having this issue between us? Satan cannot permanently be bound off like that. OK, even if you bind him in this particular situation, he can enter through some other situation. And as we said already, you know, life long, this this wrestling match will go on. So we can bind, but also we see how we can respond with the wisdom to to resolve the loophole. OK, maybe it's it's about I'm just saying maybe communication is the issue, right? So maybe the husband and wife, they they recognize it and they say, OK, this is how we are going to sort it out and we will communicate better and all. So then what happens? That crack through which Satan could come and cause confusion is closed now. It's patched up. So you don't really need to bind the devil in that area anymore because he's out. You fixed it. So that's how, you know, we go about binding and applying this principle of binding the devil, you bind them. But at the same time, you go ahead and do what is required and lose. You know, lose again. I already said we can lose things. And especially when it comes to like delivering people from demonic powers, you can say, I lose you in the name of Jesus. So then what happens? You know, the the hold of the demonic power on the person is broken. So like that woman in Luke 13, who was bound and she was all crippled. And Jesus said, woman, thou art lose. She straightened up 18 long years. She was bent over. Think about it. Think about it. It was and again, notice in this case, the sickness is a result of oppression. Now, not every sickness is a result of demonic oppression, but in this case, it was. So when Jesus dealt with the spirit, the healing came. So sometimes when we are praying for people, we can say, be healed. We can say, you know, I command restoration. But maybe, you know, we see some results, but not the full result. But if that health condition is associated with a demonic influence, what should I do? I have to deal with the demon. OK, and I've heard some, you know, Derek Prince is another good person. When it comes to deliverance, he talks a lot about deliverance. He has a good exposure, many, many years of exposure in the demonic delivering people. So he talks about how, unfortunately, in the modern church, sometimes people don't like deliverance, you know, they feel like, oh, it's so messy. Why should I get into casting out demons and letting people lose from the devil's oppression? So what happens? They don't associate. If a situation is, has its origin in the demonic, unless you deal with the demonic, it doesn't help. So, you know, he, funnily, he says, you can pray with the devil. You can counsel the devil. You can do a lot of things with the devil inside the person. But there will be no release. There will be no, you know, lasting change that you see, because stronghold is not dealt with. Demons are not evicted. So when we discern again, not every condition is demonic. OK, please remember that. Don't go around. I mean, we must not go around, you know, casting out demons when there are no demons. So we when we deal with the demon, some health conditions will improve like that because it was the demon was the thing. So it doesn't help to, you know, counsel and do all those things with the demon inside the person. So that's a very real fact. So sometimes when we are ministering and we realize, yeah, this this has a demonic origin to it. Then we have to proclaim liberty. Remember, Jesus, when he came and he talked about himself in Luke chapter four, he said that he has come to preach the good news to the poor. He's also come to proclaim liberty, you know, to the captives or who are the captives? The ones who are oppressed by the devil, maybe through sickness, maybe through, you know, some mental conditions, maybe through poverty, maybe through something else. OK, so we we have to take authority and lose people. If we don't lose people, it doesn't help. It really doesn't help. They will remain in bondage. So lose people, then allow and disallow. Allow and disallow is also using our authority to command demonic powers. Remember, Jesus, sometimes when the demons, they said, oh, Jesus, you are this. Why have you come here? You are the Son of God. He said, don't don't speak. You all you read in those passages. He did not allow the demons to speak because, you know, they knew him. So he allowed and disallow. So we can issue a command to you know, to kind of bring order in that situation. Sometimes, you know, we will see that there will be manifestations, some sort of unruly manifestation. So at that time, we can say, I don't allow you to speak. Be quiet in Jesus' name or we might see some manifestations where it is harmful for the individual. I remember once I've seen this one lady, she was so, you know, kind of controlled by the demon. It was very sad to see her. She was all over the place. You couldn't really control her movements and all that. And she was literally hit, banging her hands to the wall and all and her hand. Also, I still remember this nail was beginning to chip off because that kind she was just hitting herself. So, you know, there are times when you just have to issue a command and you say, you know, I don't allow you to do this or, you know, don't, you know, make the person fall or something like that. So we have to take authority and exercise our command to allow or disallow certain specific, you know, activities of the demons. And we can even bind. OK, so basically be led by the spirit of God, but use your authority. You can use our authority and the demons have to listen. I don't know whether I told you this. I heard of a testimony where, you know, the authority of of gods, the name of Jesus and the dominion which we carry, right? It's so real and so powerful that in this testimony, I heard a pastor. He was casting out demons and he didn't know there were many demons. So he was not clear whether the demons are fully out or not. So he shares about casting out several demons. And then he came to a point he was still unsure. So he just prayed for wisdom from the Holy Spirit. Lord, I'm not able to find out whether everyone has come out or not. What should I do? And God gave him the wisdom and he just felt led to say, are you still inside? OK, so he just said that and then he got a response in the name of Jesus. I am asking you, are you still inside? And then, you know, it's like you're they are obligated to respond under authority, the demons. So the demons spoke up and they said, yes, we are still here. OK. So I was like, whoa, I was a little bit spoke by that, but I was like, wow, the authority that the believer carries, the demons have to respond to it. And that's the good part that I took away from it, that this kind of authority, you know, Jesus has given us. So we use it, we use it, we allow, we disallow. Then we can also pull down. We've already seen that when it comes to our mind, where we are told that we must take every thought cap to be pulled down, every thought that tries to exalt itself against the knowledge of God. So that is also an action word, isn't it? And this is more applicable in our personal walk with the Lord, where in our minds, we will not allow anything that dishonours God. You know, I can't afford to have that thought. I have to pull it down in Jesus' name. And so I'm using my authority over the works of the devil. Now, you could you can use this pulling down of strongholds in other places as well. You are pulling down strongholds in your city, as in a region when you all are praying together. So but basically action, you move into action, use your authority and you tear down the strongholds of the devil. So these are things believers can do. And we should be doing these things so that we see God's glory manifest. Now, there are other things that one can also engage in in order to see the victory of God. That would be prayer and intercession, as Zellie shared earlier, that when people prayed, many people prayed, you saw the victory of God. You saw the power of God against the devil. So intercession is very helpful. And remember, Paul, after he describes the entire spiritual armor towards the end, Ephesians 6, 18, and he says, you know, pray for all the saints with all kinds of prayers in Ephesians 6, 18, he talks about it. So he's kind of included it in the passage of the weapons. So one weapon which I have is prayer. And we know that prayer, prophetic prayer, can bring about a Shamar. You remember that Shamar is like protection, protection hedge, hedge around us, our families and our congregation and city and all that. So when I pray, when people pray, devil is trying to penetrate. I'm not able to. What is happening? You know, like those Saifa movies, you have a shield, right? And whatever in those things, it's some some field and all they create. So anyway, we are talking about the protection that happens through prayer. So God can, you know, keep his people from the from the works of the devil. So prayer is important so we can invest our time in prayer. And that is an offense against the devil. Devil will be so angry. Why are these people praying? Because they are praying, I'm not able to enter. I'm not able to do. My plans are getting destroyed, right? So that's the point. That's what we want. So pray, we can pray individually. We can pray as families. We can pray as couples. We can pray in the church, in our fellowship, right? So what's happening? The devil will be clamoring. What is this? I can't do my thing, but raise up the shield of through prayer. Then in prophetic intercession, we have seen how Jesus told Peter, the devil. He has tried to sift you like wheat or in other words, the devil is looking for opportunities to bring down people. OK, and particularly, particularly, you know, we see this in scripture also that strike a shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. So his main target can be leaders because he knows. Oh, this is strategy. If I getting one one believer is more challenging. How about if the pastor falls? How many people are there under the pastor? Hundred people, hundred people will be in confusion. Hundred people will be affected. So he is ready and waiting, OK, to to bring down people, especially those in leadership. Now, prayer is very helpful. You know, when we pray, I pray for myself as a leader. And, you know, if the congregation understands the way Jesus prayed, he prayed for Peter, Peter that, you know, your your faith should not fail. Satan desires to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith should not fail. So we pray for one another. You know, we pray for our pastor friends. We pray for our church pastor, our leaders. And we say, Lord, you protect them. You, you know, give them the wisdom against the schemes of the devil. Lord, we cancel. You can use all these words. Remember, just now we said destroy, remove, pull down. All of us have the authority. So when I'm praying for my leaders, my pastors, I can say these words and say, Lord, we we bind what the devil is doing against our pastors, our leaders, our congregation, our young people, our children. Lord, we pray for their minds. We pray that, you know, godly, godly wisdom will be theirs. So when we pray, that's an active way of fighting the devil. And it's an active way of stopping the devil from doing his destructive work. So, you know, we cannot overemphasize the power and the impact of prayer. So pray, pray, pray, pray, you know, just pray. So that's very, very important. Now, next thing, how can I fight the devil? You can, you and I can frustrate the devil with our righteous actions. So you do, you and I do the right thing. If you think about Daniel, OK, and his friends. So what was the what was the decree at that time? You must bow down to this mighty structure of, you know, the the king. And if you don't, then we will put you in the fire. So what was their spiritual warfare, a spiritual warfare was? What is the right thing to do? God said you must only worship him and not, you know, a human being or a structure or things like that. So they decided, OK, whatever happens, we will do the right thing. They did the right thing, righteousness. You remember breastplate of righteousness. So it's it's breastplate will protect your vital organs, your heart, your your lungs, which you need to for your basic functions. OK, your basic breathing, your basic, you know, circulation of blood. What if they are destroyed? Person is destroyed. So righteousness, when I walk in righteousness, how is it helpful for me? I am protected. OK. Yes, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, they they had a huge danger to face because they did the right thing. They said, no, we can't, we can't bow down. So then what happened? They were thrown into the fiery furnace and there is nice one, nice explanation about that fiery furnace. It was heated so many times and, you know, people who went close to it, things, you know, they got burned, even the soldiers who went close, you know, to put people into the furnace were burnt up. It was so hot, so hot, but what was the outcome? For their righteousness, they had an encounter with God in the fiery furnace. Now, you had the fourth man walking with them in the furnace and they came out and scripture says, no, no smell of fire. Now, if we end up just burning ourselves a little bit in the kitchen, you might have something, some smell, right? But you have a fiery furnace and men who went into it and who came out of it. No smell of fire. So what is what is happening? It's spiritual warfare where God is saying, look, my protection on you will be many fold when you do the right thing. Don't get scared. Nothing will happen to you. OK, I am with you. So that encouragement was there with Shadrak Mishak when they even said, God, even if anything happens, this is the right thing. So we will do what is right. So we are here to do what is right. Again, in Romans 13, we would read about the right actions that one needs to take. And that puts us in a better place. Now, let me just quickly read off, read Romans 13 for us. And I think that I can only complete till there. But that's that's fine. We have sufficient and more time to go through our course. Yeah, and also next week, I think I need to give you another assignment. So I will do that. OK, so Romans 13 verses 11 through 14, it says, and do this, knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. For now, our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is fast spent days at hand. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust. So basically, we are told to live a righteous life. Like, don't make any provision for the works of the flesh. Instead, we walk in the spirit. It says, put on Christ, live as, you know, in the day, awake and live as you are in the day, put on the armor of light. So if you want to summarize it and just put it in the simplest way, what we are being told is a believer should walk like a believer. What is a believer to be a righteous person? That's who we are in Christ Jesus. So our life has to match who we have become. Believer, be like a believer, be a righteous person, be a person of the light, you know, do righteous deeds. It shouldn't be the other way, you know, isn't it so sad? Like, we are believers, but our actions and our words and our lifestyle is no match to who we are claiming to be. So simply put, believer, be like a believer. OK, walk in righteousness and that becomes an offense against the devil. And the devil is so mad. He'll be like, no, don't don't walk in righteousness. Only then I can get some cracks through which I can enter your life. I can get some foothold, you know, I can get some place, give the devil no place. So righteousness, you know, I want us to understand class that righteousness puts us in a position of immunity and the devil can't get us. OK, I'll discuss little more about this later. In the next class, we can stop here. And I think this gives me an opportunity to promote or, you know, commercial commercial breaks or everything. James, the book of James, which we are studying at APC Sunday Services. You know, I just want to encourage you whenever you can. You can the recordings are available. And if you have the time to attend the life service, then, yeah, you know, that is if you are not attending your own, otherwise, please attend your own church, you know, be faithful there. But the book of James, the study of the book of James is also this very practical believer, be like a believer, live like a believer. What should be the behavior, the lifestyle of a believer? So currently, we're doing that study, so it will be good for us to engage and learn from. OK, so let me stop here. Any thoughts, comments, anything before we pray and close for today? All right. So I'm really hoping that you're getting something out of this. And, you know, may God bless you and may you be able to live a victorious life every day in Christ by using, you know, all all the things that we are learning in this class. So, you know, God bless you. I request anybody. Can you please pray and wrap up this today's class? Father, we thank you for this time, God, we praise you for the opportunity you gave us to learn from your word. Lord, we pray that as we continue to live our life in this world, help us to exercise the authority and to see your kingdom come and to see it manifest in its fullness, Lord. We thank you for all of us in the class. We pray that we will continue to grow in your word and walk according to your plans, Lord. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you, John. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. God bless you. Have a wonderful weekend. You know, worship the Lord together with your church families. We'll meet again next next week. So take care. Bye for now.