Spiritual Warfare 101: Reaping What We Sow, Part 4

Mission Possible

 

Chuck Colson says, “Every general knows that the first rule of warfare is, ‘Know your enemy’ And knowing your enemy demands that you name your enemy.”

 What do we know about our enemy and what can we do about it?

 Ephesians 6:11-12 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ^.For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

·        He’s organized like a military army.

·        We need to be equipped to fight against his forces.

·        He is a schemer

·        Our ultimate enemies are not people, but the forces of darkness manipulating the hearts of people that come against us.

·        Our real battle is in the heavenlies.

 Steven Cole writes, “General Dwight Eisenhower once said (source unknown), “War is a terrible thing. But if you’re going to get into it, you’ve got to get into it all the way.” He goes on to say, “I sense that many Christians are defeated in their Christian lives because they are not seriously engaged in the warfare to which we are called. J. C. Ryle saw this in the 19th century. He wrote,  “The saddest symptom about many so-called Christians is the utter absence of anything like conflict and fight in their Christianity.”[1] He went on to say that they go through the motions of attending religious services each week. Then he added (ibid.), “But of the great spiritual warfare,--its watchings and strugglings, its agonies and anxieties, its battles and contests,--of all this they appear to know nothing at all.”[2]

 Watchman Nee says About our Enemy,

“Satan has in fact a plan against the saints of the Most High which is to wear them out. What is meant by this phrase, ‘wear out’? It has in it the idea of reducing a little this minute, then reducing a little further the next minute. Reduce a little today, reduce a little tomorrow. Thus the wearing out is almost imperceptible; nevertheless, it is a reducing. The wearing down is scarcely an activity of which one is conscious, yet the end result is that there is nothing left. He will take away your prayer life little by little, and cause you to trust God less and less and yourself more and more, a little at a time. He will make you feel somewhat cleverer than before. Step by step, you are misled to rely more on your own gift, and step by step your heart is enticed away from the Lord. Now, were Satan to strike the children of God with great force at one time, they would know exactly how to resist the enemy since they would immediately recognize his work. He uses the method of gradualism to wear down the people of God.”

 How does the enemy use us against ourselves? By slowly pulling us off course to our destiny. It’s like slow rift out to sea. He works in subtleties. He speaks in whispers. He tells us little lies. He speaks in first person language!

 

Ten Myths…Ten Truths (Copyright, Alan Keiran)

Myth One:  “I Am Indestructible”

Truth One: “we all die sooner or later.”

 

Myth Two: “Money Brings Meaning”

Truth Two: “Real Life is in Relationships”

Myth Three: “Love is Romance”

Truth Three: “Love is a Decision”

 

Myth Four: “My Needs Come First”

Truth Four: “Giving People are Healthier People”

Myth Five: “It’s Not My Fault”

Truth Five “We are Accountable for Our Actions”

 

Myth Six: “Nobody will Ever Know”

Truth Six: “God Sees Everything”

 

Myth Seven: “I Am Good Enough”

Truth Seven: “We all need a Savior”

Myth Eight: “I Am What I Do”

Truth Eight: “I am “Whose” I am”

 

Myth Nine: “I Am In Control”

Truth Nine: “God Is In Control”

 

Myth Ten: “Many Paths Lead to Heaven”

Truth Ten: “We Have Only One Way to Heaven”

What myths are you most prone to believe and how will you endeavor to embrace the truth?

 

---

[1] Soldiers and Trumpeters,” Home Truths [Triangle Press], 1:90

[2] http://www.fcfonline.org/content/1/sermons/100508M.pdf

 

Spiritual Warfare 101: Reaping What We Sow, Part 3

Our list of our spiritual “weapons” include:

God’s Word. Jesus quoted scripture when the devil spoke to him in the wilderness.

God’s word says in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

What does Paul say about our spiritual weapons?

 

What kind of power is available to us? Why?

 

Remember  that “the power of God, is available to the people of God, to achieve the purposes of God.”

Peter says in 1 Peter 5:8-11, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.” eHe often sp

*Self-control (control or restraint of oneself or one’s actions, feelings, etc.).

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.”

2 Peter 1:5-7 “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.”

*Being alert (an attitude of vigilance, readiness, or caution, as before an expected attack).

1 Thessalonians 5:6 “So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.”

*Resisting the Devil (to withstand, strive against, or oppose).

James 4:7-8 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

*Staying Firm in our Faith (strong or unshakeable belief in something, esp. without proof or evidence)

Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

*The brotherhood of suffering.

1 Peter 3:13-15a “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.”

*God’s amazing grace.

Ephesians 2:8-10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

*We share God’s eternal glory in times of suffering.

Colossians 3:1-4 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your^[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

*Restoration makes us strong, firm and steadfast.

Galatians 6:1-3 “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

How would you restore a brother?

How do you bear the burdens of others?

Spiritual Warfare 101: Reaping What We Sow, Part 2

Unveiling Strongholds

 Unveiling the enemy’s strongholds in our lives can be difficult at times because we often attribute our negative pathology (leading to giving into temptation) to generational thought patterns, dysfunctional family life, our parents sins, and not to our spiritual enemy who seeks to sidetrack the sons and daughters of God.

Jesus says in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

Why is the enemy after us? We are a BIG threat to his dark kingdom when we take charge of our destiny and do God’s will for God’s glory. God has called his sons and daughters to rise up and pray without ceasing, worship, heal the sick, release prisoners from darkness and take authority of our spheres of influence so his Kingdom will advance on earth.

The enemy knows his time is coming to an end.

Satan knows that a burning pit is his future. As John says in Revelation 20:10, “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Satan also knows that we have been chosen and anointed to bring the Kingdom of God to earth as we do God’s will. That’s why our enemy endeavors to distract us from our destiny by baiting us, seducing us, confusing us, and sending dark spirits of worry, lust, greed, and other temptations to distract us from doing God’s will and honoring God consistently.

Ed Silvoso of Harvest Evangelism Ministries, says “The Church in the West today presents too easy a target for Satan. We do not believe we are at war. We do not know where the battleground is located, and, in spite of our weapons, they are neither loaded nor aimed at the right target. We are unaware of how vulnerable we are. We are better fitted for a parade that for an amphibious landing.”

We are are always at war! Repeat, always!!! Until we go to heaven we will always be targets, we will always be tempted and tried; but we have mighty God-given spiritual weapons at our control. We are called to resist the enemy’s often subtle suggestions to sin. He often speaks in a very sincere voice to slowly pull us away from the Lord. He will use other people (even well meaning Christians under the control of a religious or other spirits) to try and pull us off course. But we can mount an offensive of our own rather than waiting for another assault. We have the sword of the Spirit and the spiritual disciplines.

 The enemy is like an old toothless lion that only has a loud roar but no real strength to overcome an over-comer! 

 

How can you stay on guard and recognize temptation before you fall into it?

Spiritual Warfare 101: Reaping What We Sow, Part 1

Spiritual Warfare 101: Reaping What We Sow

Galatians 6:7-8

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

Introduction:

Spiritual warfare is a fact of Christian life. Unfortunately, many Christians are unaware of the insidious nature of their enemy’s attacks. Only 50% or ordained Christian clergy believe that the devil is a real spiritual being. Evangelicals are unanimous about believing that the devil is a real spiritual being, but only 26% of non-evangelical born-again Christians and 15% of notional Christians believe the devil is a real spiritual being. More people believe in angels than demons.

Most people attribute much of the evil the devil is covertly orchestrating through human agents (pawns), to bad luck, to karma, to bad breaks. And when bad things happen they often call them “Acts of God” (hurricanes, tornados, floods, and earthquakes) supposing that God made them happen for some reason. When things go wrong in many peoples’ lives they blame others, rather than recognizing that what got them in trouble was actually their spiritual blindness, sinful attitudes, anger, addictions, reactions or similar human failings.

Theologians call this the “Human Condition.”Bluntly, it’s our sin nature.

As Paul tells us candidly in Romans 7:14-20, “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”

What does this passage say to you?

What trips you up most often?

 

 

 

How are you dealing with it?