Today I would like to share the grace of God under the title, ¡°So There Was Great Joy in That City.¡± Back in the old days, soldiers were stationed n front of the city gates and told to guard them thoroughly so that enemy troops don¡¯t invade the cities. Today¡¯s Scripture tells us that Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed Jesus there.

Let¡¯s imagine the analogy of people¡¯s hearts being the city of Samaria and then we must deliver Jesus to them. So, whenever we see people, we should say, ¡°That person¡¯s heart is Samaria and this person¡¯s heart is also Samaria,¡± while thinking that we as people have Samaria in our hearts we must then determine that we should preach Christ who gives us the forgiveness of sins to the city in our hearts. Christ who forgives our sins must be delivered to that person who lives in the city.

Colossians 1:13-14 says, ¡°For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.¡±

The Bible says that we must preach Christ who gives holiness instead to our hearts which are at first like Samaria.

Hebrews 13:12 says, ¡°And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood.¡±

We compare human hearts to a city; what we must do is to deliver the blood of Jesus to hearts so that they are saved and become holy by His blood. It also applies to our hearts.

1 Peter 2:24 says, ¡°He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.¡±

And also we must deliver Christ, who liberates us from curses and gives us the blessing of Abraham instead, to the city of Samaria.

Galatians 3:13-14 says, ¡°Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ¡®Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.¡¯ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.¡±

The city of Samaria was not a proper place to live because it was cursed so it was often flooded. However, Jesus asked His disciples to proclaim the Word of truth that He liberated them all, from curses, on the cross. And then after three days Jesus was resurrected which gives us resurrection and eternal life.

John 6:54-55 says, ¡°Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.¡±

3 John 1:2 says, ¡°Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.¡±

We must proclaim this Threefold Blessing to the city. When we preach the Fivefold Gospel and the Threefold Blessing to the city, they will receive the blessings of God. Furthermore, when we preach the gospel to the city after we are renewed by believing in Jesus Christ, we must cast out the demons. Philip preached Christ to the city of Samaria. Wherever Christ was preached, with shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed.

James 4:7 says, ¡°Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.¡±

The devil sticks to people; demons hang out with people: dirty demons, negative demons, and demons of depression. They all rob people, kill and destroy them.

In Mark Chapter 9, a father brought his son to Jesus and his son was demon-possessed.

Mark 9:20-21 says, ¡°So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy's father, ¡®How long has he been like this?¡¯ ¡®From childhood,¡¯ he answered.¡±

This boy had been harassed by the demon since early childhood. If we do not drive out the demons, we would be tormented by them without ceasing. Jesus has already given us the power to cast out demons.

Matthew 10:1 says, ¡°He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.¡±

Therefore, we ought to use God-given authority and power. When we receive Jesus as our Savior, He gives us power to cast out demons so He commands us to drive them out. It is because demons work behind every evil thing and do all kinds of dirty things. The evil spirits make us say dirty words, think filthy thoughts, and act dirty deeds; in this way people end up with dirty thoughts and deeds. And also they let people do all kinds of evil thoughts such as sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. We should get rid of spiders first to remove all the spiders¡¯ webs. Likewise, to settle all dirty and evil lives, we must cast out demons who work behind the scenes. When we drive out lying demons, all kinds of lies will disappear from those who habitually lie.
To illustrate, as one sows, so shall he reap. An onion will not produce a rose. If lying demons work, people lie. If evil spirits work, people have to bear evil fruit. If bad demons work, people come to say bad things only.
Demons come to rob and harass us so Jesus commands us to cast them out.

Furthermore, demons make us always think negatively and create flare ups at home and the workplace and hate each other. However, we must not still be angry.

Ephesians 4:26-27 says, "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.¡±

Psalm 37:8 says, ¡°Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to evil.¡±

Therefore, whenever anger enters our hearts, we should not let it stay but cast it out in the name of Jesus.

Ephesians 4:31-32 says, ¡°Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.¡±

The only way to overcome all evil is that we must take hold of each other and forgive each other, just as in Christ God forgave us.

We should discard negative thoughts because they take away joy from our hearts.

Proverbs 15:13 says, ¡°A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.¡±

Negative thoughts destroy our dreams. If negative thoughts enter our hearts, they will surely ruin us. According to experts, those who are negative unknowingly have their own negative filter in their heads. With this negative filter, they filter out all positive things and leave only negative things. When we don¡¯t focus on our thought life, negative thoughts always overwhelm positive thoughts. Therefore, we must manage our thoughts well.

Philippians 4:6-7 says, ¡°Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.¡±

People usually think of thoughts as nothing important, but our reality is driven by these thoughts. Our thoughts actually manifest themselves in our daily lives. Therefore, we must overcome suffering by looking at dreams.
In our lives, our thoughts and dreams work very actively. What we think and dream disturbs our lives so we must distance ourselves from negative words and negative thoughts. The best way to repel negative thoughts is to say words of thanksgiving.

¡°Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.¡±(Ephesians 5:4)

Colossians 3:17 says, ¡°And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.¡±

Those who give thanks to God can repel the devil¡¯s schemes. We must always have joy being with God. Prophet Habakkuk said that he would rejoice in the Lord only even if he had nothing at all.


Habakkuk 3:17-18 says, ¡°Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.¡±

Even if we are ruined, we should not look at our ruins but have thoughts that are victorious, blessed, and joyful, in this way we can become a great person again. If our good God is in our hearts, we can rejoice no matter what kind circumstances we may be in.

When Philip went to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to people, demons were driven out and people with various diseases were healed. So there was great joy in that city. Likewise, if Christ is in our hearts, all demons will be driven out and we will be full of joy. We should not meddle in other¡¯s business, but think deeper considering our hearts. If our thoughts are positive and look at, believe, and confess with our mouths things that are not as though they were, all these things will work together to change our destiny. Especially, blessings of God will come to us through the fourth dimension. If we think things that are not as though they were in our hearts, our thoughts will overcome anything. Our thoughts will drive out negative things. If we pray and look at things that are not as though they were, it will come true in our hearts. If we think and speak and act things that are not as though they were, it will come to pass, too.