Psalms 31:1-3, 16:2, and 8:1

My Shepherd called me into His green pastures and laid me down in John 14. An insight He gave me yesterday continues to ply for my attention: the Spirit persistently pressed me repeatedly to continue pondering Jesus’ answer to my question posed yesterday: “How do these wicked spirits have access to me in this holy place?” I returned to John 14, and meditated on verses 28-31:

John 14:28 ¶ Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.

John 14:29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

John 14:31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

Yesterday, as I began to write my devotional post from insights derived from the story of the neighbor who refused a message from the prophet given “in the word of the Lord” (1 Kings 20:35-36), a sudden satanic assault occurred. I mentioned my battle with these devils in my devotional yesterday, but I continue to be drawn back to the conversation I had with the Holy Ghost about my question: “How do these wicked spirits have access to me in this holy place?” The “holy place” being when I am communing with the Holy Ghost in worshipful contemplation of His word.

This is not particularly unusual. I have often complained of an unaccountable and sudden swarm of devils assaulting my mind and drawing my heart into things that are offensive to GOD and to me, unrelated to what I’m doing and distracting me from my LORD. Many saints who engage in spiritual warfare attest to this experience.

I resent the imposition, become frustrated and flustered, but finally overcome these attacks by singing psalms, hymns, and/or spiritual songs, singing and making melody in my heart to the LORD, giving thanks for all things unto the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes, I must go to the fourth step and make myself accountable to my wife or son, or an understanding saint, asking them to intercede on my behalf. These four steps are outlined in Ephesians 5:8-21.

I’ll review my comments on this from my devotion published yesterday (01/27/26):

The Spirit warns us that seducing spirits will attack believers and draw them away from the faith (1 Timothy 4:1-5). This serves as a biblical basis for another application: devils are spirits that, in service to Satan, attack the saints. We know that the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16). These demon spirits suggest evil thoughts to our minds, often masquerading as truth, when in fact they are “lying spirits” (1 Kings 22:22). Often, the lie is the suggestion that the thoughts originated with us. For this reason, we are charged by the Spirit to “believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1).

I have understood this for many years, but what I have struggled with is, How do these wicked spirits have access to me in this holy place? Yesterday, when I asked that question in desperation, my Shepherd quickly intervened and challenged me to consider whether and where they might find a place in me (Ephesians 4:27). In other words, I’m asking the wrong question. The question is not how they gain access to attack. The question is whether, when they attack, they find something in me they can use.

Toward the close of Jesus’ public ministry in His incarnate body (on the night of His betrayal, during His Farewell Discourses, (the 18th of 20), meaning He would offer only two more Discourses before His crucifixion), Jesus testified to His disciples that “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me” (John 14:30).

Satan’s access to Jesus was regulated by the Father.  He had assaulted Jesus during the temptations in the wilderness at the beginning of His public ministry. Jesus was led of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil (Luke 4:1; Matthew 4:1). At the end of this ordeal, 1. Angels came to minister to Him (Matthew 4:11), and 2. Satan departed from Him for a season (Matthew 4:11; Luke 4:13). Jesus had “bound the strong man” (Matthew 12:29), and He did this, at least in part, by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:21).

On the last night of the incarnate Son of God’s public ministry, Jesus saw that Satan would return (John 14:30).  But Jesus declared the prince of this world would find nothing in Him. That is, Jesus declared that there was nothing in Him that Satan could use to turn Him from the Father. This last temptation of Christ almost killed Him (Matthew 26:38; Mark 14:34). During this massive attack, God dispatched an angel to strengthen Him (Luke 22:43-44).

Jesus could say the spiritual attack that would come on Him would be vain, for the devil had nothing in Him (John 14:30). The Spirit directed my attention to Ephesians 4:27, where we are warned, “Neither give place to the devil.” Satan will assault us, but pray when he sends a flurry of seducing spirits to attack, they do not find any place in us that he can use to separate us from our Shepherd.

As I pointed out yesterday, I earnestly searched to find any place I might have provided for devils to find in me a landing place, as it were, a handle where he could take hold and draw me off the battlefield. I prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24). I confessed that I identified and removed places where devils could land and torment, harass, and tempt me. Thank you, LORD Jesus, for the blood you shed to break the power of sin.

Along the still waters, I continued meditating on this truth: Satan will attack; the question is whether, when he does, he finds anything in us he can use to separate us from the fold, to distance us from our Shepherd. Many insights emerged. Some churches are attacked and removed from ministry without realizing it. Laodicea comes to mind.

One would think that separating the sheep from the fold would effectively separate the sheep from the Shepherd. This is because the Shepherd stands in the “midst” of His flocks (Revelation 1:11-20). His flock is directed to one of His churches, and He stands in the midst of His churches. He manifests where two or three are gathered in His name.

However, in the days of John the Apostle, one church revulsed Him, and so Jesus stood outside the door (Revelation 3:20-21). It was a church that measured its success and spirituality by its prosperity (Revelation 3:17-18). The church’s policies were shaped by a desire to protect what it believed marked it as “spiritual.” They were content with themselves and clueless to their real condition: naked, miserable, and blind (Revelation 3:17). They had forsaken the example of Jesus, who defined a Spirit anointed ministry as follows: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18). And later, when asked to authenticate His ministry, He responded: “Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me” (Matthew 11:4-6).

He “touched” the unclean leper. He did not recoil when a former prostitute touched Him. He received the broken and took care to be gentle with the bruised reed. He delivered the captives, He loved those marred by sin, and sought to heal them: He mercifully withheld deserved judgment, and commissioned her that was taken in adultery to “go and sin no more.” Truly, He did not leave them in their wretched condition, but neither did He leave them in their wretched condition. Selah! The Laodiceans were unwilling to dirty their hands with ministry to the outcast, who were unwelcome in their assembly. So Jesus left the church to stand with them.

He never gave up on the church and continues to knock on the door for anyone in it to open the door and invite Him in. But He does not manifest in such assemblies until someone answers the door. And then, only to those who invite Him in.

Some think “Church” is a museum of perfected saints, others that it is a refuge where they hide from the world. No saint is yet perfected, and Jesus sent us not to hide from the world but to enter into it under the empowering anointing of His Spirit. True, we don’t want the world in our churches, but the church is to be in the world. Our ministry is to the broken, the leprous, the sick—the needy.

In the valley, my Shepherd spoke to me the same words He speaks to me every morning, only this time I think I noted some troubling of the waters in the voice of many waters: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

At the table, He anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. We walked together into the harvest, goodness and mercy following close.

Praying for revival! 🙏

Going live asap:

https://rumble.com/v742l72-shepherds-pasture.html