Avoid the Roaring Lion by Frederick Hoehn, copyright 2013, all rights reserved. Chapter 1 "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, walks around, seeking whom he can devour, whom resist, steady in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brothers that are in the world." (1 Peter 5:8) I don't talk a great deal about the devil. I don't want to exaggerate his importance. And yet, the Apostle Peter saw fit, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost to include the above words in the book of First Peter in the Bible and New Testament. The New Testament is the last twenty seven books of the Bible. It is preceded in the Bible by the Old Testament, the first thirty nine books of the Bible. So, thirty nine plus twenty seven totals sixty six books in the Bible. Peter says to resist the devil, steady in the faith. So, Peter is writing to Christians. If you're not a Christian, you are not well-equipped to fight the devil and his demons. You're at a disadvantage against these enemies. First become a Christian (Romans 10:9,10), and then ask the Lord for the Baptism with the Holy Ghost with the speaking in unknown tongues, for that added power that the Lord wants us to have. (Acts 1:8) When you pray believe you receive what you ask for. (Mark 11:24) What does Satan want? He wants to devour us. Devour us how? Devour us by ruining our health, our marriages, our finances, our careers, our families, our futures, and ultimately, if he can, get us to a fiery hell, where there's "weeping and gnashing of teeth, where their worms don't die, and where the fire is never quenched," says Jesus, in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. A good scripture on this subject is John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal, and to kill, and to destroy, I have come so they can have life, and so they can have it more abundantly." The demons want to steal from you, and to kill you, and to destroy you. Don't cooperate with them. Resist them. Satan doesn't like people. People have the opportunity to get saved (born-again) and go to heaven. Satan doesn't like that. He doesn't have the opportunity to get right with God and go to heaven for himself. He should have stayed right with God while he was in his initial position as Lucifer, Son of the Morning. But he was corrupted because of his brightness. He wanted to be worshiped. He said, "I will be like God." (Isaiah chapter 14) Isaiah chapter 14, verse numbers 12 How have you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How are you cut down to the ground, who weakened the nations! 13 For you've said in your heart, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit also on the mountain of the congregation, in the sides of the north, 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the most high." 15 Yet you'll be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. 16 Those who see you shall narrowly look at you, and consider you, saying, "Is this the man that made the earth tremble, that shook kingdoms, 17 That made the world like a wilderness, and destroyed the cities of it, that didn't open the house of his prisoners? 18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, everyone in his own house. 19 But you are thrown out of your grave like a dirty branch, and like the clothing of those who are killed, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit, like a carcass trampled under foot. 20 You won't be joined with them in burial, because you've destroyed your land, and killed your people, the descendants of evildoers shall never be renowned." It says, "Is this the man that made the earth tremble..." But, of course, Satan is not a man, he's a fallen angel. He will go to hell, and then to the lake of fire at the time that hell is transferred to the lake of fire. At one point, the Bible says that Satan entered into Judas Iscariot. This shows that Satan is a spirit being, not a man. These spirit beings, the devils, are normally not visible to our natural eyes, just as angels are normally not visible. Our natural eyes see things in the natural world, not in the spirit world. But God can open someone's eyes to see into the spirit world, as he did with Kenneth E. Hagin, as I've mentioned before. Hagin saw a demon on a woman with lung cancer. Hagin cast out the demon, and the woman made a full recovery. (She had been at the point of death.) It says Satan doesn't open the house of his prisoners. His prison is hell. Once people die and go to hell, they don't get back out. You stay out of hell by getting born-again, and living for Jesus, and going to heaven instead of hell. And Jesus will be your friend who sticks closer than a brother. "A man that has friends must show himself to be friendly, and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother." (Proverbs 18:24) When Satan rebelled against God, some of the angels followed Satan and became fallen angels, which are demons, or devils. There is a scripture that suggests that it was about one third of the angels that followed Satan. (Rev 12:4) Satan is called "the devil." He is the top devil, or demon. His demons are also called devils. Demons can get into people and affect their behavior. Jesus did a lot of casting out of demons while he was on earth. Now that Jesus has gone back to heaven, it's up to the Christians to continue the casting out of demons, and Jesus said we'd do greater things than he did because he was going back to heaven. A Christian has the authority to cast out demons in Jesus' name. (Luke 10:19 and Mark 16:17,18) "See, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall in any way hurt you." (Luke 10:19) Who is talking there? Jesus. He gives us Christians authority over all the power of the enemy, and we know from Ephesians chapter six that our main enemy is Satan and his demons. From Mark chapter 16, verses 17 And these signs shall follow those who believe, in my name they'll cast out devils, they'll speak with new languages, 18 They shall pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it won't hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick, and they'll recover. These are the signs that are supposed to follow Christians. Notice that the very first sign is the casting out of devils, or demons. But I don't think very much of that is happening these days in the churches of America. We'd better get more serious about doing what Jesus, the head of the church, wants us to do, or the Lord could send judgment against us. There are already a lot of disasters in the news. Tornadoes destroying parts of the Midwest. Wildfires on the west coast. Severe storms on the east coast. Extreme weather conditions. Jesus was talking with K.E. Hagin one time, and told Hagin, "People who are praying for me to do something about the devil are wasting their time. I gave you (the Christians) authority over the devil, and if you don't use it, the job won't get done." If we Christians don't cast out the demons, Jesus is not going to come back down and do it. No, that's our job. Let's do the job the Lord wants us to do. Another sign following is the speaking in new languages. This refers to the Baptism with the Holy Ghost with the speaking in unknown tongues (languages). The Lord wants every Christian to have that and to pray in tongues on a regular basis--every day, I would say, for normal Christian life. It's an unknown tongue because the person speaking doesn't understand the language that he's speaking. But the Holy Ghost gives him the words to speak in an unknown tongue, and that Christian speaks out those words. Another sign following is the laying on of hands for healing. Do you have hands? If you're a Christian with hands, the Lord wants you to lay your hands on sick people for healing. When you do, say a simple prayer, asking the Lord to heal the person. When you pray, believe that you receive. (Mark 11:24) If you don't have hands, then ask the Lord to heal your body so that you have good hands, and arms, and legs, and feet, and ears, and everything. American soldiers have been coming back from the war zone missing body parts blown off in the war. I have good news. You can have your missing body parts back by getting your healing from the Lord. Kenneth E. Hagin was healed of a terminal heart disease when he was a teenager. Doctors said he'd never reach age twenty one. He lived until about eighty six. After the Lord healed him, He told him, "Now go teach my people faith." So Hagin taught faith for about seventy years, and wrote about a hundred books, available at www.Rhema.org There is no such thing as a health problem that the Lord can't fix. Jesus fixed the man with the withered hand, and restored him to normal. Jesus healed a man at least forty years old who had been born blind, and gave him his eyesight. I did, however, meet a man in El Paso, TX, and told him the Lord could put back the part of his leg below his knee that he had lost. He told me that was impossible. I told him, no, the Lord can do it. He said it couldn't happen. Finally, I agreed with him and said, "Well, that's right, you can't be healed, and the reason you can't be healed is that you say you can't be healed." You can tie the Lord's hands from helping you if you make the wrong confession with your mouth. When you get a healing from the Lord, you get it by faith, and faith doesn't say, "It can't happen." That's not faith talking. Faith says, "It will happen, and I have it now." Faith calls the things that are not as though they were. (Rom 4:17) "When you pray, believe that you receive the things you ask for, and you shall have them," says Jesus in Mark 11:24 First you believe, then you receive. But if you leave out the believing, forget about the receiving. Chapter 2 Today happens to be Thursday. Two days ago, on Tuesday evening, I found some software on the Internet that I wanted for my computer. I paid for it and downloaded it, but it didn't seem to want to work for me, and I'm no slouch when it comes to computers. But it was getting late, so I went to bed. Wednesday morning, I got up, and remembered the software problem. I opened my mouth and spoke some words. I said, "Today is the day that this problem gets solved." I put my faith with my words. And what do you think happened? Not long after I spoke those words, I got what I said. I had sent an email or two. I made a phone call. This fellow told me, "With that particular model, you use this other technique." As I was installing, the instructions said, "If you want this, click on that button." I didn't want that, so I clicked on the only other button. The problem with that, is if you click the other button, installation stops. So I went back and clicked on what seemed to be the wrong button, and things turned out OK. The new software worked for me. Thank you, Jesus. But if I had gotten up Wednesday and said, "Well those people are just crooks. They've stolen my money. I'll be lucky just to get a refund," does that sound to you like faith talking? Of course not. I put my words and faith to work, and shortly thereafter, the problem was solved. Another scripture along these lines is Mark 11:23, "For truly I say to you, that whoever shall say to this mountain, be removed, and be thrown into the sea, and doesn't doubt in his heart, but believes that the things that he says shall happen, he shall have whatever he says." Who spoke those words? Jesus, and Jesus never lies. Scriptures like these tell us that we can have what we say. If someone has cancer, that's their mountain. They should tell it to go. If they have tuberculosis, they should tell it to go. If they have kidney stones, they should command them to go, in Jesus' name. But what if they don't tell the cancer to go? Then it doesn't go. But I am sure that we're better off without cancer. I regularly confess with my mouth, "I'll never die of cancer, or any disease, but like Smith Wigglesworth, or be raptured." Wigglesworth was a man of God who died in excellent health at about eighty five. Someone might say, but what did he die of? He died of having God take his spirit out of his body and to heaven. The body dies when the spirit departs from it, as when Jesus "gave up the ghost" on the cross. Ghost and spirit mean the same thing in this context. The "Rapture" refers to the catching away of the church, as in 1 Thess. 4:16,17. Ephesians six lists the four categories of demons: princedoms, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, wicked spirits in high places. Kenneth E. Hagin has taught on this. The King James Version says "spiritual wickedness in high places." Hagin says a better translation is "wicked spirits in high places." And God chose Hagin to be a teacher, and to walk in the office of a Prophet. God has chosen me to be a teacher, too. But don't try casting out demons in Jesus' name if you're not a Christian. The seven sons of Sceva got beaten up for trying to do so in Acts chapter 19. They were Jews, but not Christians. (It is possible to be a Jewish Christian.) I'm Jewish, too. I was born into a Gentile family, but we Christians are grafted into Israel, says the Apostle Paul, an Israelite of the tribe of Benjamin. He was Saul of Tarsus before becoming born-again. (see Romans chapter 11) My religion is not Judaism. I'm a Messianic Jew, a follower of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. Judaism used to be the world's best religion. You had your Moses, your Joshua, your prophets, etc. But then, about two thousand years ago, Judaism became the world's second best religion, replaced by Christianity as the world's best religion. Of course, the Jews could have gotten in on it, and some of them did. But generally, the Jews have rejected their Messiah, Jesus. Probably one of the main problems for the Jews is that they were expecting the Messiah to set up an earthly kingdom. But Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world." So what will happen is, a counterfeit Messiah will come along and deceive the Jews. He is called "The Beast," and the "Antichrist" in the Bible. He will rule the world for the seven years of the Great Tribulation. I've heard some speculation as to whether Barak Obama might be the Antichrist, but no, I don't think he would be able to persuade the Jews that he's the Messiah. For one thing, there were prophecies about the Messiah. He would be born in Bethlehem, but Obama was not. He would be called a Nazarene. Jesus was called a Nazarene because he was a resident of the city of Nazareth. I don't think Obama has lived in Nazareth. The Messiah would be born of a virgin. Jesus was, but Obama was not. No, the Antichrist is going to have to be someone else. But one will surely come along. No prophecy of the Bible will go unfulfilled. It was on the news lately about the guilty plea of Staff Sergeant Bales, who murdered innocent women and children in the war zone about a year ago. He was asked why he did it. He said, "I don't know." I know why he did it. The demons and Satan wanted him to murder people, and he failed to effectively resist that temptation. God says, "You shall not kill." It's one of the Ten Commandments in Exodus chapter 20. It doesn't mean you can't soldier in the Army, and fight against the enemy. It means don't commit murder. But Bales was probably not a student of the Bible, so he didn't know he was supposed to "Resist the devil, and he'll run away from you." (James 4:7) It could also be that Bales was under the influence, at the time, of alcohol, or illegal drugs. Someone might point out that in those Muslim nations, alcohol is forbidden. Yes, and bank robbery is forbidden in the U.S.A., but it happens anyway. Many of the afflictions that people go to Psychologists and Psychiatrists about are demonic in nature. Things like Epilepsy, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, excessive anger, Kleptomania, various kinds of fears, and so many other mental disorders. As Win Worley has taught, basically, any kind of obsessive or compulsive behavior is likely to be demonic in origin. The Bible says, "God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Tim 1:7) But Satan and his demons want us to have fears. If a spirit of fear comes to you, command it to go, in Jesus' name. (assuming you're a Christian, otherwise, step 1: Become a Christian.) If a fear comes to me, I often say, "The Lord's not gonna let that happen." Then I ask the spirit its name, or how many of them there are, or both, and command them to go and not return, in Jesus' name. Another thing you can do is laugh at the devil. The Lord told Norvel Hayes, "Your problem is, you're not laughing at the devil." And Hayes didn't feel very much like laughing, but he forced himself to laugh at the devil, and things got better for Hayes. Scriptures quoted are from the Holy Bible, Hoehn Version and the New Testament, Hoehn Version, copyright 2011, both available as ebooks for the Kindle readers from Amazon.com The Lord bless you. Frederick Hoehn www.FredHoehnMinistries.com ___1 John chapter 1 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life, 2 (For the life was made clear, and we've seen it, and testify, and show you that eternal life, that was with the Father, and was made clear to us.) 3 That which we've seen and heard we tell you, so that you also will have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you, so your joy will be full. 5 This then is the message that we've heard from him, and tell you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and don't do the truth, 7 But if we walk in the light, like he is in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we haven't sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. ___1 John chapter 2 1 My little children, these things I write to you, so you won't sin. And if any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And he is the payment for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that says, "I know him," and doesn't keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in him. 6 He that says he lives in him ought to walk like He walked. 7 Brothers, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment that you've had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you've heard from the beginning. 8 Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in him and in you, because the darkness has past, and the true light now shines. 9 He that says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now. 10 He that loves his brother lives in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him. 11 But he that hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and doesn't know where he's going, because that darkness has blinded him. 12 I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake. 13 I write to you, fathers, because you've known him that is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you've overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you've known the Father. 14 I've written to you, fathers, because you've known him that is from the beginning. I've written to you, young men, because you're strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you've overcome the wicked one. 15 Don't love the world, nor the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passes away and its lust, but he that does the will of God lives forever. 18 Little children, it is the last time, and as you've heard that antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists, by which we know that it is the last time. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us, but they went out, so that they'd be made clear that they were not all of us. 20 But you have an unction from the Holy One, and you know all things. 21 I haven't written to you because you don't know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist that denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son doesn't have the Father, but he that acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24 Let that therefore live in you that you've heard from the beginning. If that which you've heard from the beginning remains in you, you'll also continue in the Son, and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he has promised us, eternal life. 26 These things I've written to you concerning those who try to seduce you. 27 But the anointing that you've received from him lives in you, and you don't need any man to teach you, but as the same anointing teaches you about all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and just as it has taught you, you'll live in him. 28 And now, little children, live in him, so that, when he appears, we'll have confidence, and not be ashamed in his presence when he comes. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone that does righteousness is born of him. ___1 John chapter 3 1 Look at what kind of love the Father has loved us with, that we should be called the sons of God, therefore the world doesn't know us, because it didn't know him. 2 Beloved, now we are the sons of God, and it doesn't yet appear what we'll be, but we know that when he appears, we'll be like him, for we'll see him as he is. 3 And every man that has this hope in himself purifies himself, just as he is pure. 4 Whoever commits sin also violates the law, for sin is the violation of the law. 5 And you know that he was revealed to take away our sins, and in him there's no sin. 6 Whoever lives in him doesn't sin, whoever sins hasn't seen him, nor known him. 7 Little children, let no man deceive you, he that does righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 He that commits sin is of the devil, for the devil sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was revealed, so that he'd destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever is born of God doesn't commit sin, for his seed remains in him, and he can't sin, because he is born of God. 10 In this, the children of God are made clear, and the children of the devil, whoever doesn't do righteousness is not of God, nor he that doesn't love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love each other. 12 Not like Cain, who was of that wicked one, and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. 13 Don't be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we've passed from death to life, because we love the brothers. He that doesn't love his brother remains in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life living in him. 16 By this we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and won't show compassion on him, how does the love of God live in him? 18 My little children, let's not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 20 For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 21 Beloved, if our heart doesn't condemn us, then we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments, and do the things that are pleasing in his sight. 23 And this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love each other, as he gave us commandment. 24 And he that keeps his commandments lives in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that he lives in us, by the Spirit that he has given us. ___1 John chapter 4 1 Beloved, don't believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 And every spirit that doesn't confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God, and this is that spirit of antichrist, about which you've heard that it would come, and even now already it's in the world. 4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. 5 They are of the world, therefore they speak about the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are of God. He that knows God listens to us, he that is not of God doesn't listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 7 Beloved, let us love each other, for love is of God, and everyone that loves is born of God, and knows God. 8 He that doesn't love, doesn't know God, for God is love. 9 In this, the love of God was made clear toward us, because God sent his only begotten Son into the world, so that we would live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the payment for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love each other. 12 No man has seen God at any time. If we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we live in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he that lives in love, lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this our love is made perfect, so that we'll have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love throws out fear, because fear has torment. He that's in fear hasn't been made perfect in love. 19 We love him, because he first loved us. 20 If a man says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar, for he that doesn't love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he hasn't seen? 21 And we have this commandment from him, that he that loves God should love his brother also. ___1 John chapter 5 1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone that loves him that fathered loves him also who was fathered by him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments don't cause grief. 4 For whoever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that overcomes the world: our faith. 5 Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 6 He's the one that came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that testifies, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that testify in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. 8 And there are three that testify on earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and these three agree in one. 9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater, for this is the witness of God that he has testified about his Son. 10 He that believes on the Son of God has the witness in himself, he that doesn't believe God has made him a liar, because he doesn't believe the record that God gave about his Son. 11 And this is the record, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that has the Son has life, and he that doesn't have the Son of God doesn't have life. 13 I've written these things to you who believe on the name of the Son of God so that you'll know that you have eternal life, and so that you'll believe on the name of the Son of God. 14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us, 15 And if we know that he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have what we requested from him. 16 If any man sees his brother sin a sin that's not to death, he shall ask, and he'll give him life for those who don't sin to death. There is a sin to death, I don't say that he should pray for it. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not to death. 18 We know that whoever is born of God doesn't sin, but he that's begotten by God keeps himself, and that wicked one doesn't touch him. 19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, so that we'll know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.