What’s Blocking My Blessings? (Pt.8) (320) - October 18 2025

In Resist the Devil part 3 we discuss Scripture prerequisites that will help you resist the Devil. Prerequisites are smaller amounts of information that build a foundation to support bigger steps in believing in the Lord. When we see Jesus as a way of life, then our lives repel darkness. When we only visit Jesus, we will not see the full blessing unless we first submit to God.

This program covers the following Scriptures from the Amplified Classic version (AMPC): Hosea 4:6, Ephesians 6:13, James 4:7, James 1:6 to 8, Hebrews 1:1, Hebrews 1:6, Hebrews 1:11, Isaiah 61:3, Hebrews 4:12, Luke 11:28, Isaiah 55:11, Isaiah 40:8, Matthew 4:4, Psalm 119:105.

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(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) And welcome back to yet another episode of Touch of God. This week we will be doing What's Blocking My Blessing Part 8. My name is Catrice and I will bring the message for you this week. For those of you who are following along in the Bible, we use the Amplified Classic Version. Last week on What's Blocking My Blessing Part 7, we were talking about Resist the Devil Part 2 and He Shall Flee From You. This was a continuation of Resist the Devil Part 1. The topics that we reviewed last week were why do we need to resist the devil, how can we resist the devil more, what are some tools Jesus left us to resist the devil, learning different ways to continue to resist the devil so he flees from you, the role that holiness plays in resisting the devil. This week on What's Blocking My Blessing Part 8, we will be talking about Resist the Devil Part 3 and He Shall Flee From You. This is a continuation of Resist the Devil Part 2. In this episode, we will be looking at things that can help you resist more effectively and things you want to know. Hosea 4.6 says, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you, the priestly nation, have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that you shall be no priests to me. Seeing you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. These days, more people are seeking fame, money, and power. A short way to success is often sought. When a person tries to take shortcuts in anything, they end up lacking vital steps and experience that would have benefited them on the way. Ephesians 6.13 says, After you have done everything, stand. Sometimes we don't examine if we have done everything or if we have the full armor on. It's like preparing a meal without deciding ahead of time what you will need to make it. When a meal lacks all the ingredients to make it, it's not the same meal. In the kingdom of God, we can be lacking time, wisdom, mind renewal, understanding, knowledge. We can be lacking relationship with Jesus, Holy Spirit, and so many more topics we could be lacking. It's like a baby coming out of a womb and expecting to immediately win an Olympic marathon. In this example, we can see that the baby needs to learn how to crawl before they can walk and walk before they can run, run before they can sprint. We need to make Jesus and resisting the devil a lifestyle and not a visit. Those who visit Jesus need to always come back because they do not become whole. This is what happens when Jesus and the Bible are not a way of life for you. The topics that we're going to review this week are helpful prerequisites that increase ability to resist the devil, resisting the devil through your mind, resisting the devil in your actions, resisting the devil in your relationships. Let's start with helpful prerequisites that increase ability to resist the devil. In college, before taking a class from your major subject of study, there are classes that are called prerequisite classes. The prerequisite classes are required classes that you must take before you can move to your major subject of study, meaning you will need to have a knowledge of basic concepts in order to grasp the bigger concepts of knowledge that will be taught. For example, taking basic math before learning quadratic equations. Let's look at the definition of prerequisite. Something that must be gained in order to gain something else. In education, a course or topic that must be completed before another course or topic can be started. For the purpose of this teaching, we will be focusing on some of the Bible prerequisite concepts that can be helpful to prepare for resisting the devil in daily life so he will flee from you. The idea is to have a history of being in Christ so you can be familiar with resisting. It's like studying basic math until your answers are automatically processed and memorized. Why? Because you do not want to be learning how to resist while you're under attack. Practice resisting the devil as a daily lifestyle. You cannot do bigger things until you learn the little things that you need to mature in this. Let's look at some helpful prerequisites in order to resist the devil more effectively. The first thing I'm going to start with is submit to God. We talked about this in the previous episode, but I just want to review just this part for those who are coming on and listening to just this episode. Submit to God is the first step in resisting the devil. It says in James 4, so be subject to God, resist the devil, stand firm against him, and he will flee from you. What have we learned? You cannot do anything if you are not subject to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. This is a crucial, crucial step for those who are coming and listening to this program and they're desiring to resist the devil because perhaps they're under attack. Some people have reported that witchcraft is being used on them and different kinds of things. We do have understanding about this and this topic can be very exciting about resisting the devil, but you have to start with the most basic thing, which is be subject to God. Have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Without God, we can do nothing. We want to start with this because this is just so important. Another topic of importance in resisting the devil is relationship with Jesus. Previously, we discussed this in part six. If you do not have a relationship with Jesus, talking daily, it might be a challenge to get familiar with how he talks to you and answers you. If you can't hear God's voice, you can't hear his direction for your life. You're not going to be able to navigate through the things that you need, especially when an emergency comes up in your life. You want to already be familiar with his voice, be familiar with how he talks to you, so you can navigate in times of need when you really need him. It's not going to be something new for you that you have dedicated your life to Jesus Christ and you've been leaning on, trusting in, and relying upon him. You've been uncompromisingly righteous so that you can hear everything that he's saying to you during the time of need. Let's move on to something else that's very important. We need to have an understanding of what it is to be double-minded. In James 1.6-8, when asking God for anything, it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering, no hesitating, no doubting. For the one who wavers, hesitates, doubts, is like the billowing surge out of the sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind. Verse 3, for truly let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything he asks for from God. So let's pause right there. This verse literally says that this person should not expect anything from the Lord if they're double-minded. This is important. We can be trying to resist the devil, but if we're not believing in God, believing all God, waiting on God, having faith in him, we're not going to receive anything because we are double-minded. One moment we're believing in him, the next moment we're not and God wants us to have faith. Let's go on to James 1.8. For because as he is a man of two minds, hesitating, dubious, irresolute, he is unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything he thinks, feels, decides. We don't want to be double-minded in these areas because when we're trying to resist the devil, we have to be able to at that moment be listening to God, be able to come into agreement with everything that God is saying and we need to be focused on things of the Lord and not doubting whether God even works when you're in a serious situation and you just need to hear God's voice. We need to already be committed to the Lord. We don't need to be second-guessing the Lord and this is why having a lifestyle in Christ, you're practicing being in Christ, practicing hearing his voice, practicing waiting on the Lord and all these things will be beneficial when you really need it in time of an emergency. Since we talked about being double-minded and we need to have faith, the next topic is faith. Let's go to Hebrews 1.1. Now faith is the assurance, the confirmation, the title deed of the things we hope for being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality. Faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses. Faith is believing in something that we don't see. We have to have faith in God. We're trusting in God. We're leaning on the Lord, relying upon him and that is something that has to be built up over time or sometimes we just have faith like a child but it still is a necessary step whether you learn to have faith quickly or it takes time for you to learn how to trust because perhaps you've gone through many things in your life and you haven't been able to trust people and so you may look at God like people that you've been around and you need to constantly have proof. You need to get healed from trust issues so that you can trust in, lean on, and rely upon the Lord during the time of emergencies. You're going to be able to go to God. You're going to be able to trust him and he's going to be able to show you more things when you trust in him. Let's go to Hebrews 1.6. But without faith it is impossible to please and to be satisfactory to him. So him is the Lord. For whoever would come near to God must necessarily believe that God exists and that he is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek him out. We're seeing here that you have to believe that God is. We're looking at this verse and so that's one of the steps. If you don't believe that God is then when your emergencies come up in life you're already doubting whether God is or not and this is something that you definitely want to already have settled. So then when you're going through warfare you're not doubting who God is but you're believing that the devil is attacking you. You have to fully commit and surrender and make Jesus your Lord. That's why the first step is submit to God and the devil will flee from you. But if you're not submitting to God you haven't even submit to God then you're going to be wavering and you can't have these thoughts while you're under attack. So it says for whoever would come near to God must necessarily believe that God exists. And once we believe that God exists the next part of this verse says he is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek him. Now I think it's interesting that the words earnestly and diligently are in this verse. We have to see God as priority right? This word earnestly means that God is priority and diligently means you're doing it every day every minute of every day. God is your life source. He's more important than the food you eat, the air you breathe. You understand his importance. You have fear of the Lord because fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So you want to have these things and not be looking to someone else and saying well can I trust the Lord? Does God even exist? But at the same time you're saying oh but God why won't you do this and do that? But you have to believe in God before you can even say these things. Let's look at Hebrews 1 11. Because of faith also Sarah herself received physical power to conceive a child even when she was long past the age for it because she considered God who had given her the promise to be reliable and trustworthy and true to his word. So when Sarah believed in God she could see that he was going to keep his promise. That God had kept his promise and that he's reliable trustworthy and true to his word. So we have to step out and believe that God is and that he'll finish the work that he started in you. But you have to step out to believe first because that's the definition of faith and God is going to show you that he is faithful. At the same time if you're asking God for something that's a sin like if you're cheating on your wife and you want him to bless your union with the mistress that you're sleeping with that's not in God's nature and characteristic. When you're believing in the Lord you've been already translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. So you shouldn't be asking for something that's in sin. So let's move on to another tool that you can use to resist the devil and the devil will flee so that you can see more blessings in your life. The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Let's look at Isaiah 61 verse 3. To grant consolation and joy to those who mourn to give them an ornament a garland a diadem of beauty instead of ashes the oil of joy instead of mourning the garment expressive of praise instead of heavy burden and failing spirit that they may be called oaks of righteousness lofty strong and magnificent distinguished for uprightness justice and right standing with God the planting of the Lord that he may be glorified for those who are wanting to resist the devil but you're feeling heaviness this is where the knowledge of different things in the Bible will show you how to resist in that area. This is literally telling you that if you are in mourning and you have heaviness and you feel burdened you feel like your spirit is failing then you want to put on the garment of praise for heaviness. This is yet another tool so when you focus on the things of the Lord you're not going to be focusing on depression and heaviness and feeling burden and faint in spirit you're going to be focusing on the things of God and when you commit to God and you understand that he is true and he is faithful and his word is true then you can commit to his word and when you believe in something that's when you're going to do it. When you commit and you understand that there's a garment of praise for heaviness then you're going to begin to praise the Lord and praising the Lord is not just a song it's entering into a time of thanking the Lord for all that he's done for you you're thanking the Lord for where you are for example some people might complain that they don't have a fancy job or they don't have these things but they have a place to live they have food to eat they have water to drink they have a sound mind we have to look around and be grateful and to thank God for what we do have and when we focus on what we do have more will come but when we focus on what we don't have and we speak about what we don't have then we have less because we're giving our time and investing it in speaking about what we don't have and there's life and death in power of the tongue so the more you speak about what you don't have that comes to past because you're speaking about it as if it's taking over your life and you want to reframe from that and move on to speaking about the things that are positive that that are of the Lord in your life let's look at daily Bible reading Hebrews 4.12 for the word that God speaks is alive and full of power making it active operative energizing and effective so let's just pause right there we just finished talking about heaviness and depression being upon someone and how that they can look to the things of God and speak the things God speaks so we see here in this next topic of daily Bible reading when those people are feeling heavy and they're feeling depressed they put on the garment of praise but they can use the word of God as a tool because it is saying that for the word that God speaks is alive and full of power we have choices to make we don't have to just sit and take the situation that we're in but we can begin to speak what God speaks because it's alive and full of power making it active operative energizing and effective that's good news to me because sometimes we're in a position where we need things to be operative and effective and full of power that's what some of these situations need the word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life soul and the immortal spirit and of joints and marrow of the deepest parts of our nature God's word penetrates deep and it covers all of those areas that we need healing in so when we choose to get up in the morning and speak God's word and put on the garment of praise for heaviness it's going to go through and touch all of these parts that need healing in our lives but it's still going to take that person believing in God speaking the word that's our part that's our part that we have to do exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart that's what God's word does it exposes and it sifts and it analyzes and it judges the very thoughts and purposes of the heart God's word is amazing let's look at Luke 11 28 but he said blessed happy and to be envied rather are those who hear the word of God and obey and practice it wow this is key those who hear the word of God and obey and practice it so we're not just hearers of the word only but we're doers if we're looking for God's blessing and direction in our lives we have to be people who are humble enough and wait on the Lord to hear what he has to say but once we hear it then we have to do what he is saying to do so if God is asking you to pray then that's what you have to do you have to get up and you have to pray and it's not okay to say oh well God's not doing anything for me why do I have to do anything I thought God was just magic and he just does it all this is about you being obedient when we come to the Lord we don't have the answers that's why we're coming to the Lord that's why he is God so when you come to the Lord believe that he is we want to believe that God is so when you begin to believe that God is then you're going to obey and practice the word because before you came to him you didn't have the answers so when you don't have answers and somebody's telling you something what to do those who wish to get out of the situation you're going to be like I don't have the answer so I'm just going to do it because I have nothing to lose I have tried it my way now I need to try it God's way and fully be submitted to God which is the first step be subject to God make Jesus your Lord don't put your thoughts above God's thoughts don't put your ways above God's ways we have to have the mind of Christ and understand what he is saying is the way is the truth is the life amen let's look at Isaiah 55 11 knowing the word helps you to understand the authority you walk in understand what Jesus has done for you and how to walk in Christ knowing that God fights your battles is helpful knowing that sin separates you from God is also helpful so Isaiah 55 I didn't put the exact scripture in here but Isaiah 55 11 talks about the power of the word of God how God's word goes forth and accomplishes what he pleases and does not return void when we speak God's word it's God's word that's going forward and it's accomplishing and as we read in the previous verses it's sharper than a two-edged sword separating bone and marrow we want to speak God's word rather than Lord please do this and do that we have to know what God's word says and then we say Lord your word says that the angels will lift me up so no rock will strike my feet Lord your word says goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life Lord your word says I shall live and not die amen we want to speak God's word because God's word is empowered and it's going forth let's learn some more about learning about God's word so that we can continue to stand on God's word so we can resist the devil and he will flee and have breakthrough in our lives amen let's look at Isaiah 40 verse 8 the grass withers the flower fades but the word of God will stand forever we're learning here God's word is not going anywhere all this other stuff can fade can come and go it's like different fashion styles one style of pants is in the next moment it's gone but God's word is still going to be there let's look at Matthew 4 4 this is Jesus speaking but he replied it has been written man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God so if you're looking to be sustained and you're looking to live and be upheld that means you're supposed to be living off of the word of God this is spiritual food we're not talking about physical food but we're talking about being fed spiritually so that we understand who we are in Christ let's look at Psalms 119 105 your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path this means that when we receive the word of God it's shedding light on the darkness that we might be in at the time or the darkness that might be around us God is shedding a light upon it that he's a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path when God sheds the light on darkness you can see where you're going if you're headed towards a field and you're trying to get through the field you can't see if something's trying to attack you if a snake's trying to bite you or there's something in that field but when God sheds his light on that darkness he creates a way he creates a path and that path is a safe path because he's allowing you to see everything when you're living your life in the dark you can't see everything but you still got to navigate amen thank you lord for once again providing daily bread to nourish and strengthen us we praise you for all you do and all you protect us from even ourselves thank you for blessing us in our ignorance