You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy above Your fellows. Psalm 45:7.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
There is good and there is evil, which could also be said that there is righteousness and there is unrighteousness. I did not create evil, all I made was good and perfect, but unrighteousness entered the devil by his own will and he was filled with violence and he sinned. It came from a desire to not only be like Me but to be Me, in other words, to be the master, for which he is not equipped. You cannot rule and reign with Me if you are not righteous, for that is one of My primary characteristics.
The righteous man will flourish (sprout) like the palm tree, he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and very green, to declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Psalm 92:12-15.
To walk in the spirit, that is, in authority and power over your own flesh and over the works of My hands you must be righteous because without righteousness you cannot be like Me and rule with Me, in unrighteousness you will rule against Me, so in Jesus I gave you My own righteousness so that you could reign in life and be set free from evil through Him. Evil imprisons you in the lusts of the flesh, righteousness frees you and puts you far from oppression. Isaiah 54:14.
For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17.
And that is why I tell you to seek first My Kingdom and MY RIGHTEOUSNESS so that I can add everything to you that you need for life and godliness so that you are freed from the corruption and evil of the lust that is in the world through Adam accepting the devil as master by submitting to his word, for the devil’s lies plant unrighteousness in your heart if you receive them.
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. James 1:13-18.
It all comes down to what seed you are planting in your heart and conceiving in your heart. And here I am referring to My Word as seed, good seed that produces good fruit. You can tell a tree by its fruit.
But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the Word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. James 1:19-22.
To be like Me you must think, speak, and walk like Me, in truth, righteousness and love, and those three go together as one in the same. And to be able to do this your spirit must join with My Spirit. You cannot admit the evil spirit and still be housing My Spirit. They have nothing in common. Righteousness and unrighteousness are not compatible.
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with the devil, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the LORD, “And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” says the LORD Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.
You cannot play with profane fire and not get burnt. And it will sear your conscience, which will grieve My Spirit and thus block your ability to hear My voice.
But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron. 2 Timothy 4:1-2.
You cannot serve two masters, you will either love one and hate the other or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve Me and worldly lust, you cannot serve righteousness and unrighteousness, you cannot mix light and darkness in you, you cannot mix the pure with the impure and not be tainted, you cannot mix the sacred with the profane and remain untouched by evil, and you cannot pursue peace and division and see good days.
From the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh. James 3: 10-11.
I want you innocent and free of all evil so you can walk with the saints in light. I commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil. I teach you by My Word to discern good from evil so as to free your feet from the devil’s snare, for I sent My Word to heal you and deliver you from all your pits of destruction. My Word keeps your foot from being snared, for Jesus has broken that snare and crushed Satan under your feet so you are safe, but you must guard your heart and keep yourself pure as He is pure.
Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites (bellies); and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Romans 16:17-20.
This passage of My Word explains what I told Adam, Eve, and the devil in the Garden of Eden as well as My solution to their sin and self-condemnation as they chose a new master by knowing evil and taking the spirit of unrighteousness, violence, and sin as their master. They mixed evil with good and good with evil and it corrupted them and their seed. And the solution was the imperishable and incorruptible seed of My Word would take flesh in the womb of a pure virgin and the Prince of Peace would crush Satan under your feet as one like you in all things but sin. And by His grace you too would walk in newness of life and reign again in life with Him.
So how to you overcome the evil that is trying to take authority within you. Not by your power and by your might but by My Spirit who I freely give you in Christ Jesus when you take Him as Lord. For by His blood you wash your robes and make them white, which is symbolic of your righteousness coming from My righteousness by the blood of Jesus shed to ransom you from death to eternal life, and by My Word you are born again, but you must step beyond that as you walk in your new righteousness, for your mind and flesh, that is your soul and body are cleansed from all unrighteousness in your thoughts, speech and actions by the renewal of your mind in My Words, which are life to those who find them and healing to all their flesh.
My Spirit renews you and leads you by the truth, which is My Word, that sets you free from sin and evil. And we will talk more about that in the next Life Lesson.
I love you. I will never leave you or forsake you. I will complete the good work I have begun in you.