Everybody doesn’t have to be a preacher, but everybody should be a minister.

A minister gives someone a cup of cold water on a hot day. A minister mows somebody’s yard, carries someone’s groceries. A minister calls when somebody is broken, visits when someone is in need, and prays when someone is fighting the enemy. A minister reaches out to people.

Deut. 1:38 / 3:28 / 3:7-8. We need to tell people to be strong and of good courage. God has given you an appointment and Hell can’t cancel it. Tell people that they are going to accomplish what God has called you to do. We need to tell each other that the Lord will go before us. He will not fail us.

satan has an army.

The devil has different levels of demons in his army. I believe that one of these demons that he sends out a lot is discouragement. I’d say that discouragement is probably satan’s number one attack on humanity.

No one recognized them.

On 9-11-2001, the terrorists dressed in such a way that no one recognized them as an enemy. You may be a little discouraged and a little down, but you aren’t fighting it because you don’t recognize it as an enemy. But we have to fight or it will take over. We have to fight with prayer, quoting the Word of God, and encouraging ourselves. We can’t let it take over our lives. satan will come dressed like a regular civilian and try to pity you, but he’s not there just to hurt you a little bit. he’s there to steal, to kill, and to destroy. he doesn’t fear empty vessels. So, if the enemy is attacking you, just smile. he’s after you because you are carrying the anointing of God in your life. John 10:10.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon you.

Isaiah 61:1. The Spirit of the Lord isn’t upon you for you to just feel chill bumps or just speak in tongues. The Spirit of the Lord is on you to destroy the works of the devil. A spirit of discouragement will break people’s hearts, draw them away from church, and break families apart. We are to encourage one another! Look to lift up someone’s hands. Look for someone to encourage. Isaiah 41:6. 2 Chronicles 35:1-2.

You cannot have the Holy Ghost and be demon-possessed.

Jesus will not live in a duplex. If you are full of Jesus, the discouragement spirit can’t come in you, but it can war against you. But God will not allow you to be tempted above that which you can bear. satan may be the meanest bulldog you know, but he’s on a chain, and our Master is holding that chain.

We have a bunch of people in America that want to resist the devil with a beer in one hand and a bunch of trash in the other.

If you want to resist the devil you have to completely surrender to God. You can’t resist the devil when you belong to the devil. You can’t just survey the line, you have to mark it. Put a fence on that line and tell the devil you won’t be back. Don’t even walk close to it.

Ephesians 1:21. The name of Jesus is above all. When the feeling of heaviness sets on you, when the devil is attacking you and you don’t know what to do, just call out the name of Jesus.

John 14:30. Matthew 12:43-45. The devil has no power over you, except that which you allow him. When the spirit is cast out of a man, it goes and walks through dry places. The only rest that a demonic spirit has is in a person. I don’t care what you have been set free from, the devil has to get permission from God first, but he has the legal right to come back and check that person he was cast out of. It’s not enough to be clean, swept, or garnished because the demon will come back with seven spirits worse than him. When you get clean, you need to seek the Lord and get full of the Spirit of God.

When God shows you someone dealing with discouragement, here’s what you need to do.

You don’t need to approach them first. Don’t reach out to them, yet. The first thing you do is make sure that you are prayed through and under the blood. Discouragement is a spirit and you have to fight it. 1 Samuel 23:15-17. When Jonathan came to David, he saw that David wasn’t able to fight at the moment. So, Jonathan got in between David and that spirit of discouragement and fought it for him. If you get in between someone and the spirit of discouragement and you’re not big enough to handle it, when you leave them, that thing will follow you home. You can’t help someone if you’re discouraged. You can’t help someone when you are about to quit. You’ve got to get your fight back.

You are a soldier for the Lord. Get your fight back. Encourage others.

— Pastor Anthony Wynn