Encouraging, Empowering & Equipping Ordinary Christians To Live Powerful Missional Lives!
As Christians were are shine the light of Jesus brightly in our part of this dark world but the question I think we need to ask ourselves is how we can magnify Christ even larger in a world filled with darkness. Or, are there any obstacles that keep us from magnifying Christ in and through our lives.
When we as God’s Children hear that it is our responsibility to make sure that our community hears about the Good News of Jesus Christ we get a bit overwhelmed and begin to doubt whether or not that is even possible. This is especially true if we live in an urban area like Los Angeles or New York City.
Well I want to encourage you today and maybe even empower you using God’s Word. Take a few moments and watch this video about a time when Christ’s Good News totally saturated and urban center of that time. And then never forget. ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD!
The Bible admonishes us in Romans 8:13 to put to death the deeds of the sinful flesh by the Holy Spirit so that we might truly live. In other words, true life in the Spirit can only happen when true death happens to the lifestyle of the sinful flesh. Before one can live the other must die.
Jesus put it this way in Luke 9:23,24:
“And he was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” NASB
Again we see this dying in order to live. Life in Christ and life in the Spirit cannot fully happen until their is a death to self and to the sinful deeds of the flesh. And according to Jesus this dying must be a daily activity. It is not something a Christian does once and he’s all good to go. No! On the contrary. Death to the sinful deeds of the flesh is something that needs to happen on a day by day basis and sometimes on a moment by moment basis.
Today we are going to look at a story of Peter and Jesus that will give us 5 reasons why this daily dying is so very important. This story is found in Matthew 16:13-23. It says,
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. ‘But what about you?” he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!’. Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (NIV)
From this story we can learn 5 important things about why a Christian should daily put to death the deeds of the sinful flesh and begin to walk in the Spirit of God. Because:
Did you notice how this story started off? It started off with Jesus asking a couple of questions about who do people says that Jesus is. Then Jesus got very specific and personal with a second question. He ask: “Who do you say I am?”
In that moment Peter filled with the Holy Spirit answered the question, “You are the Christ the Son of the living God.” And it was the corrected answer! And Jesus explained how it was that Peter was able to come up with the right answer. Jesus said it was because God had revealed the answer to Him and that Peter hadn’t learned it from any man.
You see God the Father through the working of the Holy Spirit made known to Peter who Jesus really was. At that very moment Peter was in the Spirit, filled with the Spirit or understanding the identity of Jesus because of the Spirit.
But then Jesus begins to explain all that was going to happen once they get into Jerusalem. He shared that he was necessary for Him (Jesus) to suffer many things, be killed and then be raise back to life again on the third day.
Why was Jesus telling his disciple these things? Maybe it was to prepare them for what was about to happen; maybe Jesus felt that since Peter had to nicely answered the question about His identity that the disciples were ready to hear more or maybe it was a combination of both of these things and others all combined. But is note worthy is how Peter responded to this disturbing news.
Peter takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke Jesus! Really? Did Peter really feel that he had the right or maybe status to rebuke Jesus? Who knows but that’s what Peter did and Jesus quickly and powerfully corrects Peter for doing it.
Here’s the point I’m trying to make. One moment Peter is walking in the Spirit and then minutes later Peter is now walking in the deeds of the sinful flesh. It happened that quick! In just minutes.
The need for being vigilant in daily crucifying the deeds of the flesh because we can move very quickly from walking in the Spirit to walking in the flesh and not even know we made the transition.
Did you noticed that once Peter moved from walking in the Spirit to walking in the deeds of the flesh the first thing he did was to pull Jesus off to the side and “rebuke” Jesus. That’s right the Bible said Peter rebuked Jesus!
Now before you get to far onto you holy horse and proudly declare that you would never do anything like that let me ask you some self examining questions:
A: Have you ever complained to God about the some disappointing experience in your life?
B: Have you ever argued with God about some ministry assignment that He was giving you?
C: Have you ever avoided reading the Bible because you really didn’t want to hear what God had to say?
If you answered “Yes” to any of those questions then you have been guilty of rebuking God. Why? Because, just like Peter, you are telling God that you know better than Him and that God should listen to you.
Instead of rebuking Christ Peter should have taken this disturbing news to Christ and ask him to explain further and to give him more understanding about what He is hearing. Likewise, we too, should go to God is prayer when we hear or sense God telling us something that we really don’t want to hear. Not to argue or rebuke God but to ask for wisdom and understanding.
When Jesus hears Peter’s rebuke Jesus quickly identify’s what is going on and who is behind all this stuff coming out of Peter’s mouth. Jesus cry’s out, “Get behind me Satan …”
Jesus was making it perfectly clear that he knew exactly who was behind all this and that in a quick moment Peter had, at best, become a tool for Satan. Satan was using Peter to get Jesus off his path of obedience to the Father.
Here we can clearly see why is it of the utmost importance that we daily killed the deeds of the sinful flesh and walk in the Spirit. Because if we fail to do so we can quickly become a tool of Satan to try to obstruct God’s plan and mission.
Now I don’t think that it was Peter’s intention or desire to be a tool of Satan and I don’t think he even knew he was until Jesus identified it. And likewise, I don’t think any of God’s people desire to be used by Satan but that’s exactly what can and will happen if we are not vigilant in putting to death the deeds of the sinful flesh.
If calling Peter a tool of Satan wasn’t enough Jesus then tells Peter that he had now become a hinderance to Him. He was holding Jesus back, Peter had become a roadblock to Jesus from doing what He was sent to do.
What exactly was Peter hindering Jesus from doing? Well, Jesus had just been explaining that it was “Necessary” for him to go to Jerusalem, suffer many things, die and then be resurrected, so it is only reasonable that Jesus was telling Peter that you are trying to keep me from becoming the sacrificial lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Unknowingly, Peter was being an obstacle that if successful would prevent Jesus from taking the punishment of God for our sins. This was the reason for Jesus’ birth - it was to die on the cross and Peter was being a hinderance to Jesus fulfilling that purpose.
Did you know that your failure to put to death the deeds of the sinful flesh can actually be used as a hinderance to God in fulfilling His redemptive purposes? Now can you see why it is so imperative for us to daily kill that sinful flesh.
Read what that last line of verse 23 says,
“because you’re not thinking of God’s concerns but on human concerns.”
I guess that’s what’s been true about all of human history. For the most part mankind, including us, have been fixated upon what is important to us and not really caring about what is important to God.
That was true for the Prophet Jonah. He didn’t want the people of Nineveh to experience God’s forgiveness - Jonah wanted them to experience God’s wrath and judgment. That’s why he didn’t go the first time God called him and even after he went Jonah whined and complained that God did forgive them. You see Jonah knew that it was in God’s nature to forgive those who sincerely repents but Jonah didn’t want them to repent. As a result, Jonah found to joy or happiness in seeing an entire city repent from their sins and experience God’s forgiveness.
Why did Jonah have this negative attitude? Because he was walking in the deeds of the sinful flesh.
To walking in the deeds of the sinful flesh is to be hard hearted to what is important to God and it is to be self-centered instead of God-centered. As Christians we find our true and lasting joy by joining God to accomplish what God’s heart desires. To walk in the deeds of the sinful flesh is to lose all that joy that could and should be our.
There is only one solution and that is to mortify, kill, destroy the works of the sinful flesh from our lives on a day by day basis and sometimes that is on a moment by moment basis during a particular day.
Now that you know 5 reasons why it is so important to do, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to allow the deeds of the sinful flesh live on in your life or are you going to kill them? Do you even know how to kill them?
Let me close with his quick little Bible verse to help you understand how to accomplish that killing? In Galatians 5:16 it says,
“I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desires of the flesh.”
This is a promise! If you learn to live by the Holy Spirit and His control over your life you will naturally not carry out the desire of the sinful flesh. You can’t kill the flesh with flesh. You kill the flesh by the Holy Spirit living in and through you.
Photo by Mercedes Bosquet on Unsplash
Watch this video and receive empowerment from God’s Word to go live a life that reflects the glory of Christ back into the lives of those still trapped in darkness.
With the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 and the social distancing that is being ordered many churches have experienced a horrible decline in church attendance. Christians are quickly getting out of the habit of going to church because of fear.
In addition to the pandemic Christians are beginning to face some social opposition because of their mixing their faith with politics. For the first time in our nations history the church is beginning to be viewed by the unbelieving population as a bad social organization.
As a result there is a lot of discussion on what the church should be like and look like. Some really interesting discussions have centered around the church becoming more like the New Testament church they meet in homes.
Here's a simple video to illustrate what is being proposed. Watch this video and then share your thoughts on if you feel you could be part of something like it.
When I was a child growing up one of our families favorite T.V. programs was the game show, LET’S MAKE A DEAL. I always enjoyed watching it because of the thrill of watch people possibly winning something really amazing. You know what I mean. Right? The thrill of the win or the agony of the loss. I would always imagine myself as the big winner.
But wouldn’t it have been nice if you had some special knowledge in advance of what was behind Door #1, or Door #2 or even Door #3? If you did have that knowledge do you think it would have influenced what choice you would have made?
In this post we are starting a series that deals with options, consequences and admonitions about the kind of life goal you should establish that will guide your pursuit in life. Whether we know it or not we all have goals that guide how we live life and the kind of choices we make as we go through life. Our expectations is that these goals will help bring joy, fulfillment, excitement and happiness during our travels here in this world.
However, establishing bad goals can hinder the experience of that joy, excitement, fulfillment and happiness that we so desperately want in our lives. Making wise choices about our goal is going to be absolutely essential.
However, gratefully God, in the Bible, has told us what our options are when it comes to establishing a goal for life and even better news is that there aren’t 10 to 15 different choices! In actuality there are only 2 choices. One choice is good and the other choice is not good at all. So, in reality for those of us who are fully devoted followers of Christ there is only one life goal that is to be our choice.
Our series of posts will be taken from 1 Timothy 6:3-10 and today’s post is entitled:
Remember there are only two choices but this first choice is not the right choice. This first choice is the choice to avoid at all cost. It is the choice that will rob you instead of give you. It’s the one that will harm you instead of benefitting you. So, what’s that option? It’s the option that this world offers to you.
So, what exactly is in door #1? What is it that we should not make our life’s goal? To help us find out let us take a look at 1 Timothy 3: 3-5 and most specifically verse 5. It says:
“If anyone teaches false doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and with with the teaching that promotes godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interest in disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slander, evil suspicions, and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth., who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain.” (CSB)
What is the life goal to avoid?
The pursuit of material gain as a life’s goal is one of the false teachings that was and still is part of the church and especially trying to use godly living as a means to getting rich. In verse 10 the Apostle Paul refers to people who make the amassing of material wealth their life goal as people who “Love Money”. Take a look at what it says,
“For the love of money is a root to all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10 (CSB)
The reason why the pursuit of worldly riches or the love of money is a life goal to avoid is simply because it’s a heart issue. It’s a matter of what you “LOVE” the most.
In Luke 16:13-15 Jesus is teaching the people that it is impossible to serve two masters. You will either love the one and hate the other or visa versa. And then Jesus coined a quote that we still use today. It is:
“You cannot serve both God and money” Jesus Christ
Jesus said you cannot serve both God and money! He didn’t say:
“You can’t serve fully both God and money.”
or “It’s hard to serve both God and money”.
No! Jesus flat out stated emphatically stated that it is:
Why? Because the issue at play is all about the heart or it is all about what you love. God refuses to compete or share with anyone or anything concerning the love that is due Him as God Almighty.
Let me hammer the point in by asking you a question: What is the greatest commandment? That was a question Jesus asked some of the religious leaders of his day. It’s a good question that we should ask ourselves from time to time and the answer is something we should remind ourselves daily. What is it? According to the Bible it is:
The truth of the matter is that God wants our full and complete love! And God is unwilling to share it with anyone or anything. And one of the biggest competitors to robbing God of the love that is due Him is the love for money. Money is enticing and money is deceiving, People try to justify their love for money to make it sound acceptable or at least understandable.
But according to the Bible the love of money or the amassing of material gain is absolutely not the life goal for anyone who calls themselves a Follower of Christ.
“Therefore everyone who hear these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ‘And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. ‘Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ‘The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell and great was its fall.” Matthew 7:24-27 (NAS)
Isn’t it interesting to note that both men had built a house and both men built their house on top of something. One was a rock and the other was sand. As it is true in building a house so it is also true in building your life - it will be built upon something. There is some kind of foundation upon which your life will be built upon. But the choice of what foundation you use to build your life is of the utmost importance. Why?
When it come to survival or destruction of your life the foundation upon which you build your life is the one and only determining factor. And because it is the one and only factor it becomes an essential factor. A person can’t go cheap on laying that firm foundation. A person cain’t afford to use inferior material in laying a foundation. And absolutely a person can’t even consider not laying a foundation.
As we already discussed in the previous post storms of life are going to happen. It’s not a matter of “if” they happen but just a matter of “when” they’ll happen. We have no control over whether or not trails, tribulations or persecution happen in our life. The truth of scripture is clear - they will happen. In addition, we also have no control over the intensity of the storms when they do arrive. It could be a mild storm or it could be a potentially devastating storm. We have no control over it. So in light of these truths the only sensible and prudent thing to do is to make sure you lay a firm foundation upon which to build your life.
It would be easy if there was only one option available to us for the foundation we use from which to build our life. But that’s not the case! In this story Jesus makes it clear you do have options. You can chose to use the options the world avails you (that’s the sand) or you can use the option that Jesus recommends (that’s the rock). The choice is yours but you need to choose wisely! Why?
Because the foundation is so essential you need to make sure you spare no expense, cut no corners and don’t be lazy in your efforts to the laying of that firm, solid and massive rock like foundation.
So as you begin to lay the foundation for you life be careful, give it your full attention and we wise. The foundation you choose will be the determining factor of whether your life is destroyed or stays strong after you go through the intense storms of life.
If you have not already read the first two blogs in this series you can hit the links below to check them out.
“George Müller (born Johann Georg Ferdinand Müller, 27 September 1805 – 10 March 1898) was a Christian evangelist and the director of the Ashley Down orphanage in Bristol, England. He was one of the founders of the Plymouth Brethren movement. Later during the split his group was labelled as the Open Brethren.
He cared for 10,024 orphans during his lifetime,[1][2] and provided educational opportunities for the orphans to the point that he was even accused by some of raising the poor above their natural station in British life. He established 117 schools which offered Christian education to more than 120,000.” Wikipedia
When a person comes to faith in Christ and receives the forgiveness of sin that comes from God it is because 4 different Persons have been working their roles. Each of these persons are important and so is the roles that each of them play. As you will see both you and I, as a Follower of Christ, play an important role! So, who are these persons and what roles do they play?
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.” John 6:44 (NIV)
Before any person can come to faith in Jesus Christ and received the forgiveness of sin they so desperately need, they first must be drawn by God the Father. It is the work of the Father to create a hunger and thirst in peoples heart to have what Christ has to offer them.
Why do people when they come to faith in Christ seem so ready and prepared to receive Christ? Why is that they are like ripe fruit just waiting to be picked? It is because God the Father has already been at work in their life preparing the soil of their life to be good soil ready to receive the seed of the gospel and bring about a desire, hungering and thirsting for this wonderful Good News. And it is good news to them because it is offering what their hearts are longing for and their hearts are longing for it because the Father has created that desire for it.
"And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;” John 16:8 (NAS)
It is the role of the Holy Spirit to convict people. Specifically the Holy Spirit convicts people of the sin in their lives, the righteousness life they are lacking and need to have, and that because of their sinfulness and lack of righteousness that they will be caught up in the coming judgement of God when Christ returns.
No one fills bad about their sinful life unless the Holy Spirit first convicts them of it and thereby keeps them from sensing the need for experiencing a changed life. No one will want to have a changed life if they are not convinced that their life isn’t good enough to stand before a Holy God. And no one will fear punishment if they are not convinced that this Holy God will hold the accountable, in Judgement, for the sins they have committed. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to give people this conviction of heart that will prepare them to receive the wonderful gift of life through faith in Christ.
“We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.” 2 Cor 5:20 (NIV)
Every person who comes to faith in Christ, the Bible tells us, becomes a new creation in Christ. The old things have passed away and all things have become new. One of those new things that we have is a new identity with a new job.
The Bible tells us that in 2 Cor. 5:20 that all of us who have received Christ and His forgiveness have become His Ambassadors to our part of this spiritually dark world. As His ambassadors we are to declare His message of being reconciled with God. We are to proclaim His Gospel message. We are to share the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who still need to hear.
The Bible tells us in Romans 10:17 that faith comes from hearing the message of Christ, the Gospel. Without the Gospel being shared it can not be heard; and if the Gospel isn’t heard, faith cannot be generated to believe it; and if one does not believe it, they cannot receive it.
So, the gospel has to be shared in order for a person to be saved. IT IS ESSENTIAL! And it is the job of all Christians to share this amazing Gospel message to all who live in their part of this dark world.
“And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” John 6:39 (NIV)
It is the job of Jesus Christ to receive all that the Father draws to Him and to lose none of them but to raise them all up on the last day.
When the Father does His job of drawing a person to His Son (Jesus) and when the Holy Spirit does His job of convicting that person of His sin and when Christians do their job of proclaiming the Gospel to those people who are drawn and convicted something very amazing happens! Jesus receives all of them, loses none of them and raises them all up on the last day at the resurrection.
In other words Jesus gathers them all up and none are lost!
Everybody Has To Do Their Work For People To Be Saved! Each Person of the Trinity needs to do their job so that people can come to salvation. We don’t have to worry about that! God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are perfect and will always do their job and do it very well. The issue of not doing their job isn’t with God but with us who are Christians. Christians have the honor and the responsibility to be the delivery boy of the God’s Good News, but how good of a job are we doing?
Prayers For Specific Peoples To Be Saved Is Powerful! Christians should be steadfast and intentional in their prayers for specific people coming to faith in Christ and for God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to do their job in the lives of those specific people. God loves to hear the prayers of His saints as they cry out for salvation to come to their family and friends and for God to prepare them for that salvation. We should pray for specific people we know that the Father would create a hunger and thirst in their lives for Jesus; that the Holy Spirit would convict them of their sinfulness and created a fearfulness of the coming judgement, so that when the gospel is shared with them they will believe.
Lots Of Gospel Seeds Need To Be Sown! Christians daily should be sharing their story of faith to Christ and Christ’s story of salvation to those they know, love and long to be saved. They should share this same message with those they have just met to see if God has prepared them for salvation. Christians need to become competent and confident in share the Good News of Christ.
When it come to joining Christ on His mission and seeing a church planting/disciple making movement ignite there is often one essential but overlooked principle that needs to be considered. Watch this video to learn what that principle is and then consider how we can most effectively incorporate it. Leave your thoughts as a comment.
In the last post of this series SUITING UP FOR SPIRITUAL WARFARE I wrote about Knowing Who’s Not Your Enemy. The reason for that post is because to often we think that people are our enemy and the cause for such terrible difficulties that we experience during spiritual warfare. But people are not our enemy. As we found out that those same people we used to believe were our enemy were in fact the ones we came to liberate. All people before they come to faith in Christ, according to the Bible, are lost, slaves to sin and blinded by Satan. And they are the reason why we are still in this world. Every time we share the Gospel with these people they have an opportunity to experience freedom in Christ. THEY’RE NOT OUR ENEMY - THEY ARE THE ONES WE’VE COME TO RESCUE!
However, we do have a very real and dangerous enemy and we should not take the threat lightly. We need to know of him and about him. The one we know about our enemy the better we can anticipate his what to expect from him, specially during spiritual warfare. Take a look at who the Bible describes is our enemy.
“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.” Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)
According to William Barclay, the great New Testament theologian, this verse indicates that the Apostle Paul view our enemy as a very sophisticated and organized system of evil that Satan has constructed to rule this world. There are rulers, there are authorities, there are powers of darkness and there are spiritual forces from the heavenly realms. In verse 11 we read that our enemy is the devil who likes to scheme against us. In verse 16 we read that our enemy is the evil one who is shooting flaming arrows at us.
So who is our enemy? It is none other than Satan and his demonic forces that rule this world on a temporary basis. Satan and his forces are powerful and organized and they certainly do not like those who follow and obey Christ.
The Apostle Peter also identifies Satan as our enemy,
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
In this verse Peter emphasis that we should view Satan as a real and dangerous threat by admonishing us to stay alert and sober minded. And why? Because our enemy is always looking for an opportunity to catch us with our guard down so he may attack.
Peter describes the devil as that of a roaring lion seeking to devour his prey. There are two things I want you to mediate on about the devil.
First, Satan is a powerful foe. The reason why we call lions the king of the jungle! And that’s because they are strong and able to over power most other animals. They are very high up on the food chain and don’t really cower from their opponents. Satan is the same! He is powerful and if not taken seriously can quick overpower us.
Second, Satan is a predator. Lions prey on others animals. They don’t grow crops or produce their own food. They feed off of less powerful animals. Satan too is like a predator just waiting to ponce on an unsuspecting person and destroy them. Satan
Satan is not our friend. He is our enemy and he hates us. He does not have our best interest at heart. He will lie, cheat, and steal all to get you in a position where he can ponce on you.
Does the thought of Satan being your enemy cause you to worry at some level? Do you know of other brothers or sisters in Christ who seem to struggle with worry? Then check out this great new book on how you can join Christ on His mission without worry. Hit the link below to get more information:
Take a quick moment and watch to see if your identity in Christ has been stolen by Satan or not!
Photo by Tony Rojas on Unsplash
“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.” Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)
Part of suiting up or preparing for spiritual warfare is to know your enemy. It’s to know who they are so you can recognize them in battle; understand their tendencies and tactics so you are not caught off guard during an encounter with them; and to make sure you are not bringing the fight to the wrong person or group.
In Tom Cruise’s movie The Last Samurai Nathan Algren, a captain in the US Cavalry, has been tasked to prepare the Japanese army to fight again the Samurai led by their leader Katsumoto. While the Samurai are considered to be the enemy of Japan, Katsumoto and the rest of the Samurai believe there struggle is actually in service to Japan’s Emperor and their country. In two different scenes both Captain Algren and Katsumoto express the same attitude about preparing for battle. Both of them share that to prepare for battle against their new enemy they would have to get to know their enemy. So each of them in their own way studies there opponent and gets to know as much about them as possible. Why? To be prepared for when the battle begins, to know what to expect, and develop a strategy that will lead to victory.
This is exactly what the Apostle Paul is now saying in verse 12. He is sharing with the readers that we must know our enemy if we are to be successful and victorious in our struggle during spiritual warfare. To not know your enemy is the path to loss and failure. Successful boxers train with sparing partners who have many of the same tendencies and characters of the opponent they are to fight. Why? To prepared for when the real fight begins. Knowing your enemy is part of suiting up! It’s getting your mind prepared.
Isn’t interesting that the Apostle starts off telling us who isn’t army before he tells us who is our enemy? I think it’s because Paul knew that too often we have mistaken our enemy for someone who really isn’t our enemy at all. More harm has been done in the name of spiritual warfare because people had a wrong idea of who the enemy was. And as a result they wasted so much time, energy, resources and not to mention credibility with those who desperately need to know Jesus.
So, who’s not our enemy? Who are those we are not to consider our enemy? Read what Paul says:
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, …”
Quite simply our enemy is not other people. You mother or father are not the enemy! Your spouse is not the enemy! Your employer or rude co-worker are not your enemy! Not even that obnoxious next door neighbor is your enemy! No person who has ever lived or is alive today is your enemy. When it comes to spiritual warfare. They might be the most unpleasant of individuals you have ever met but they still are not your enemy in spiritual warfare.
Although they may act like your enemy they are not. Then why do they act the way they do? To explain this lets break all of mankind down into two Biblical categories:
First, there are people who are our brothers and sisters in Christ. That would include anyone who has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and surrendered over to the Christ’s Lordship. Regardless of that persons past, race, language, country of origin, or any other ways we try to separate ourselves from one another, if they have given their lives over to Jesus the Bibles says they are family. Through Christ all our previous differences have been torn down and we all have been brought together in Christ as one family in God. Other Christians, therefore, are not our enemy, they are family.
Then, there are people who aren’t Followers of Christ. They have never surrendered to Christ by faith. They are still in opposition to God. If they are in opposition to God then why aren’t they our enemy. To answer that question lets look at how the Bible describes the unbelievers.
“Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corn 4:1-4 (NIV)
Did you see that? The god of this age, Satan, has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they can’t see the light of the gospel. Who do unbelievers act the way they do? Why are they so opposed to God? Simple because they can’t see the truth and it is Satan who has blinded them.
“Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:34-36 (NIV)
The fact of the matter is that every unbeliever is in bondage, a slave to, chained to sin! Sin is their master and they belong to sin. A slave has to do what their master wants them to do. The master controls them and directs them. So when an unbeliever persecutes one of our brothers and sisters in Christ they are only doing what their master commands them to do.
Now when you put both of these two images together when begin to see a very sad reality that should cause all of God’s people to not hate or consider unbelievers as the enemy. What’s that picture these two combined images create of an unbelievers. Simple this:
Unbelievers who persecute God’s people do so because they are SLAVES TO SIN and being commanded to do so and they are BLINDED BY SATAN so they can’t even see that what they are doing is horrible and sadly, because of their blindness, they think they are doing what is right and good in the sight of God.
Close your eyes for just a moment and begin to imagine some particular rude unbeliever you know but imagine them walking around in stocks and chains as a slave to sin and this big thick blindfold covering their eyes with Satan walking behind them whispering in their ears deceiving them into what to believe. Can you see it? Is that picture clear in your mind? Now wouldn’t you agree that image is just pitiful? But that’s how we all were before we to know Christ. And because it is such a pitiful sight it should well up in our hearts pity for them.
I think this is why Stephen, one of the first deacons of the early church, as he was being pummeled with stones to his death for preaching Jesus and the Gospel could make this petition to the Lord on their behalf. Stephen said.
“Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.” Acts 7:60 (NIV)
What? Are you kidding me? Did Stephen just really pray for God not to hold this particular sin of killing him against them? Yes, that is exactly what he did! And, why? Because Stephen knew that they were not his enemy!
What Stephen at the moment of his death said is very much like what Christ said while hanging on the cross. Christ prayed for the His Father to forgive those who were killing him because they know not what they are doing. You see Jesus knew that those people who were killing them were actually people blinded by Satan and couldn’t see the truth of their actions. Jesus knew that in a very real sense the people who had him arrested, convicted, and nailed to the cross they were not his enemy. In fact they, along with us, are the ones whom He was dying for. They and us are the ones that Jesus and God the Father loves! While it may not appears so at first glance, they are the ones we have come to liberate from slavery to sin and the blindness of Satan. They are the ones needing salvation.
The Apostle Paul knew this concept better than most other people, for he, at one time, was one of those murderers and Christian haters. He made it his life’s pursuit to seek out and arrest all who claim Christ as savior, that is until he was liberated from spiritual slavery and saw the truth for what it really was. And once he gave his life over to Christ, he became the very thing he once hated most, a Christ loving disciple maker! PEOPLE ARE OUR ENEMY! And we shouldn’t treat them as such. We should love them in spite of their sinfulness.
Now that we have clearly identified who’s not our enemy the next post will identify who really is our enemy and what he is like.
The Apostle Paul starts off in verse 11 with the admonition for us to ensure that we have been full suited up with our spiritual Armor. He’s not suggesting that we put on some of the armor or even most of the armor. No, the Apostle Paul is very clear. We are to make sure we are to put on every piece of our spiritual armor because without all of the pieces we leave ourselves vulnerable to the attacks of the demonic forces that we fight against.
To leave off even one piece of the armor is to create a chink in the armor thus exposing a vital area of our spiritual life to the devil and his attacks. Each piece of the armor is intended to protect a specific essential area of our spiritual life that is vital to our spiritual growth and vitality.
Next, I want you to take notice who’s armor we are to put on! We are not told to put on our own armor! In this verse the spiritual armor that we are to wear is identified as belonging to God. It is God’s armor we are to wear when entering into spiritual battle.
Why is this so important? Because, any king who is leading his soldier into battle will not only be fully suited up with his armor but will be fully suited up with the very best of armor! The materials used and the craftsmanship in making the armor will be the very best. Inferior materials and inferior craftsmanship will not be tolerated when it comes to the king. Why? Because, protecting the king and ensuring his safety is of the utmost importance.
In times past, there were situations, where two opposing kings each would select a champion to go fight each other. Just man against man. This soldier against soldier battle was done instead of the two armies battling it out. It was done in order to spare the loss of lots and lots of lives. The king of the champion that lost would then surrender to the king who’s champion won and he and the his subjects would become servants to the king of the champion.
There were times after a champion was selected that his king would then offer for him his armor to wear into the battle. Why the offer? Again, it was because the armor of the king is always the best armor made and offered the best protection the enemy. The kings offer to wear his armor was to give his champion the best possibility for victory.
That’s exactly what happened when David went out to fight Goliath. Take a look at 1 Samuel 17:37-39 says,
“… Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you.' ‘Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.” (NIV)
Out of all the soldiers in Israel not one of them was willing to go fight Goliath as Israel’s champion. They all were to afraid. But because of David strong faith in God, even though he was just shepherd boy, he was willing to make his stand against the giant. Even though he had no armor of his own, he was wiling to go. King Saul seeing both the courage and faith of this young man was then wiling to offer his very own armor for David to wear into battle. He wanted to give David the best fight chance possible to win. As it turned out David didn’t wear the armor because it was to big and he had not trained fighting with the armor. David knew he had a far better chance for victory if he used that which he knew best and not using something so unfamiliar.
Now here’s the point I am trying to make with all of this information.
God is clothing us with the VERY BEST of Spiritual Armor, His armor, so that we are very well protected from the enemy. If this is God’s armor that He would wear into battle don’t you think it is made of the very best of material and the very best of skill crafted it?
THIS IS SO AMAZING! God isn’t sending us out to fight the enemy with whatever protection we can find! God has provided us the very best of protection. HIS ARMOR!
Would I be to bold to say that the armor of God is even impregnable. I LOVE THAT WORD! This word “impregnable” is a powerful word and shouldn’t be used lightly.
Here’s what it means:
When I say that wearing the Armor of God makes us impregnable I am saying that we cannot be defeated or destroyed during spiritual warfare and I believe that is exactly why the Apostle Paul told us to make sure that every piece of God’s Armor is put on! It is to ensure that we come out the victors in each and every spiritual warfare encounter.
Notice what Paul says immediately after his strong admonition to put on the full armor of God. He says,
“…so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
Wearing the Armor of God allows us to stand against our enemy - not fall on our knees before our enemy. It gives us the ability to withstand the onslaught of Satan’s attack and be the one left standing when the attack is over.
Wearing the full of Armor of God doesn’t mean the battle is going to be easy or painless, it just means, when it’s all over and done, you’re left standing the victor. You might be beaten and battle worn but you will be the one left standing.
So, now can you see why it is a necessity and not just a suggestion when it comes to wearing the full Armor of God?
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Ephesians 6:10 (NIV)
After the word, “Finally” the following sentence indicate the one essential ingredient necessary for experiencing victory in spiritual warfare over Satanic attacks. This is not just a good suggestion that might be consider but essential element that necessary for overcoming the enemy during spiritual battle. Failure to utilize this ingredient is doomed to failure whereby you are defeated by the enemy. In other words, you can’t win over Satan unless you include this essential ingredient. THAT’S WHY IT IS CALLED: ESSENTIAL!
What is this essential ingredient that is so necessary in gaining the victory ins spiritual warfare? It is strength! Our enemy, Satan, is a strong adversary and it is essential that we are stronger than him. Satan is a formidable adversary that requires us to be even more formidable. When a soldiers engages in hand to hand combat it is usually the one who is the strongest that prevails. So, it is imperative that we know that we have much greater strength than our enemy, Satan, if we are going to be victorious in overcoming him during our times of spiritual battles.
In this verse we are told that we need to gain our strength in two areas. I say two but to be honest they are both from the same thing. However, you can’t avail yourself to the second area unless you first receive the first area. What are these two areas of strength:
What does the verse say,
“Finally, be strong in the Lord …”
The spiritual strength that allows us to experience victory in spiritual warfare comes from us being Strong “In The Lord”. There are two important things to notice from this sentence.
First, Our strength for overcoming spiritual warfare emanates from Christ himself. Christ is the source of the necessary powerful for gaining the victory in spiritual warfare. Listen to what the Apostle John says in 1 John 4:1-4,
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (NIV)
In this verse the Apostle John is talking about not believing every spirit but to test them to see if they are of God or not. Spiritual warfare has a lot to do with deception. Satan will use false prophets that sound real good but are not of God. John calls this the spirit of the anti-christ.
But then in verse four John makes three powerful points . These three points should provide hope to all of God children, especially those of His children who are intentionally engaging in the mission of our Lord. What does he say? He says,
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (vs. 4).
First John says: That we who follow Christ are from God. Because of Christ;’s death, burial and resurrection and our faith in Him as Lord we now belong to God. God is our master and our Lord. Satan no longer has any claims over us. We have been bought back by God. We now belong to him.
There’s an old gospel hymn I grew up singing. It’s called NOW I BELONG TO JESUS written by Billy Speer. Listen to the lyrics and let their message sink deep into your heart and soul.
(v. 1) “Jesus, my Lord will love me forever,
From Him no pow'r of evil can sever,
He gave His life to ransom my soul;
Now I belong to Him;
(Chorus) Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me,
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.
(v. 2) Once I was lost in sin's degradation,
Jesus came down to bring me salvation,
Lifted me up from sorrow and shame,
Now I belong to Him;
(v. 3) Joy floods my soul for Jesus has saved me,
Freed me from sin that long had enslaved me
His precious blood, He came to redeem,
Now I belong to Him;
We truly are from God! Why? Because God bought us, owns us through the precious blood of Jesus when He died on the cross. Here’s a clear Biblical principle that we need to get very clear in our mind: Because Jesus bought and paid for us through his death on the cross, his burial and his resurrection from the grave, we now belong to him and as such everything we need, including the power to be victorious in spiritual warfare, is provided to us from him.
Second John says: We have overcome them: Who’s the “them” he is talking about? It’s the evil spirits that it referred to just a few sentences earlier. Here’s a most important fact that we must understand in both our mind and our hearts. Because of Christ’s death and resurrection and through our faith in Christ as Lord, we have already become the victors. The war has already been won. While there still may be some individual skirmishers still going on the - the war has already been won. Because of Christ we no longer need to fear death, the grave or even sin. THE VICTORY HAS ALREADY BEEN WON BY CHRIST!
Finally John says: The one who is in us is greater than the one who resides in the world. Through our faith in Christ, Christ baptized us into the Holy Spirit and now through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives Christ himself is living His life, not only in us but also through us. The strength we need to prevail in spiritual warfare is the same strength that Christ used to overcome Satan and now through the Holy Spirit Christ himself lives in us and Christ who has already defeated Satan can do it again but this time through us.
There’s an amazing story of what happens when you try to engage in spiritual warfare without having Christ in your life. It’s found in Acts 19:11-20.
There were seven sons of Sceva living in Ephesus during the time of the Apostle Paul and his missionary journey into Ephesus. These seven sons of Sceva had seen and heard about how the Apostle Paul healed the sick and casted out demons and, for whatever reason, wanted to do the same but didn’t have a personal relationship with Christ. Then one day these seven brothers found a demon possessed man and tried to command the demon to come out of him. Then the demon responded back to them,
“Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?’ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.” (v. 15, 16 NIV)
Here’s a lesson we can learn from this story. If you don’t have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, you don’t have the power to overcome in spiritual warfare.
Did you read what the demon man said to those seven brothers right before he gave them pound down? He said, “… Jesus I know and Paul I know about …”
Don’t let his statement escape you too quickly! He said that he knew Jesus. Of course he did. Demons are nothing more than fallen angels who followed Satan in the great rebellion. That demon had seen Jesus, the Son of God, before He was born of a virgin, in Heaven sharing the Glory of God the Father. This knew exactly who Jesus was and feared him.
But then the possessed man said a second thing: I know about Paul. The Apostle Paul was on this demons radar. He knew about him, he had heard the spiritual rumors about Paul, probably from other demons and he also knew that he didn’t wanted to mess around with Paul because Paul was a born again, Spirit filled with the life of Christ being lived out through him. Though he had never personally encountered Paul, he knew he didn’t want to because of Jesus who lived in and through him. You see this demon knew that Paul had the power to defeat him because he had Christ living in him.
But for these seven sons of Sceva this demon also knew that they were not Spirit filled and Christ didn’t live in them and as a result they had no fear of them. 7 to 1 meant nothing to that demon possessed man. Why? Because that demon knew that no mortal man could defeat him, only the person who is strong in the Lord by having the Lord himself living in and through him.
So if we are want to be victorious in spiritual warfare we first need to be strong in the Lord. Our walk with Christ needs to be strong; our prayer life needs to be strong in Christ; our desires and will need to be submitted to Christ.
SECOND AREA OF STRENGTH: IN CHRIST’S POWER!
Now we need to refine our focus to one specific area of being in Christ and that is to be also “In His (Christ’s) might power. In other words, we need to make sure that when it comes to spiritual warfare we are utilizing the power of Christ and not our own power.
Well then one has to ask themselves this very important question: If one is in Christ is it possible to attempt to do things (like spiritual warfare) in some other strength like our own?
And the answer to that question is an resounding
“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.” Galatians 5:13-17 (NASB)
In these few verses in Galatians we see that it is not only possible for Christians to live a life of sinful desires but that it is something so probable that we are admonished to guard against it. Please understand, being tempted to live a life in the sinful flesh is part of spiritual warfare.
But there is a remedy to becoming over whelmed with spiritual warfare and that is to intentionally choose to live a life by the Holy Spirit, to be filled by the Holy Spirit, or to be empowered by the Holy Spirit. These verses are very clear, if we are walking in the Spirit we will not carry out the desires of the sinful flesh or another way of saying it is that we will not over overcome during spiritual warfare. We will be the victor!
Listen to what God says to Zerubbable through the prophet Zechaiah about the kind of power necessary to accomplish the Lord’s work and experience victory,
“So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LordAlmighty.” Zechariah 4:6 (NIV)
At the end of the book of Ephesians the Apostle Paul begins to teach and instruct on spiritual warfare and the need for putting on the armor in order to have victory. Here’s what he says,
“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 …” Ephesians 6:10-11 (NIV)
The book of Ephesians was a letter sent to the church at Ephesus reminding them of all the things that Paul had taught them personally when he was with them. The teachings and instructions contained in this letter were the same teachings that Paul gave to all the new believers, in all the churches that he started. You see almost all these same teachings and in almost the same order Paul taught in the book of Colossians. We also see these same topics of instruction given not only by Paul but also by the Apostle Peter.
Obviously, these particular teachings were consider by Paul, Peter and actually all the rest of the Apostles as vital for the spiritual health and protection for the saints. In the Book of Acts, chapter two, where it says that the new believers devoted themselves to the Apostles Teaching, it could very well be referring to these teaching and trainings we find in Ephesians, Colossians and 1 Peter.
But the very last teaching and instruction we find in Ephesians deals with spiritual warfare and suiting up with the armor necessary for gaining the victory. Verse 10 starts off with the word, “Finally”. In other words, Paul is wrapping up his letter and letting the readers know that this is the last topic he is going to teach on. After teaching about who Christ is, our salvation in Christ, living a life worthy of our call, how to treat our parent and kids; our husbands and wives; and our masters and our slaves Paul ends with this topic of spiritual warfare and the armor necessary for victory.
Why at the end? Why not at the beginning or the middle?
I believe it is because of the urgent importance of the subject dealing with spiritual attacks and how to handle them. Now don’t get me wrong I believe that all of the topics and lessons contained in the Ephesians are very important! If they weren’t I don’t believe that they would have been in the Bible to start with. The Bible tells us that all of the Bible is vitally important to the life and vitality of God’s people.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)
Since all these topics are contained in the Bible - they are important and they are useful. They are useful in teaching us the truth, rebuking us when we do wrong, correcting us on how we are suppose to act, and how to live a life that is pleasing to God. So, please understand that all of scripture is important, useful and comes from God.
However, I do believe that some topics and instructions are more urgent than others. The word “Urgent” is an adjective that means:
a state or situation requiring immediate action or attention.
an action or an event done or arranged in response to a pressing or critical situation.
a person or their manner earnest and persistent in response to a pressing situation.
Spiritual warfare by its very nature requires immediate action because of the critical situation that it creates and as a result should be the earnest and persistent response of every follower of Christ. The nature of spiritual warfare is a critical and pressing situation that should cause all of God’s people to take it seriously.
While other topics found in Ephesians are important and useful not all of them are urgent like those of spiritual warfare. And that’s why I believe that the Apostle Paul taught on it last. With spiritual warfare being the last thing the recipients would read insures that it is also the foremost thing they will remember.
Think about it for just a moment. Do we really think that Satan is going to be alright with the fact that another one of his slaves has just been liberated by the Gospel and defected from his kingdom into the Kingdom of Heaven?
Satan hates it. He can’t stand it. Every time another persons surrenders their life over to the Lordship of Christ Satan has a little less rulership over this world. He is just a little bit closer to the total defeat he will eventually experience. And that’s just not acceptable to him! And, he’s going to fight back.
One of the first groups of people that spiritual warfare will come too are those new believers in Christ. Satan wants to make sure that even though they are free and their sins have been forgiven, they are going to suffer for their treason. He is going to hit them hard and fast. He may not own them anymore, they may now belong to Christ but Satan wants to neutralize their effectiveness in their service to Christ. And so he attacks them.
As a result of this reality the Apostle Paul knows that these new believers need to be quickly prepared for the spiritual attack that will be coming. And what better way to accomplish that than by making this topic the last thing they hear to ensure it’s the first thing they remember.
Another group of people that spiritual warfare will hit are those who are intentionally joining Christ on His mission of making more and more disciples. All Christians are called to follow Christ and where is Christ leading us?
To a life on mission.
To a life of making him more disciples!
To a life of sharing the Gospel to those still held as slaves to sin and blinded by Satan.
In a very real sense every Christian is called by Jesus to be spiritual freedom fighters, liberating those held captive by Satan through the sharing of the Gospel of Christ. It’s not just what we do but in a very real sense it is who we are. It’s our purpose, reason and mission for living in this spiritually dark world.
And when Christians begin to take hold of this new identity and intentionally try to live it out, the demonic forces of this world will respond and fight back.
Because every time we share the Gospel with a lost person in this world we are picking a fight with Satan. That’s right, I did say, “WE ARE PICKING A FIGHT WITH SATAN!”
Let’s get real for just moment. Does anyone really think that Satan is going to be alright with us coming into his kingdom and liberating his slaves? Do we really think he is going to stand at the entrance of his spiritual concentration camps and yell out to us, “Come on in. It’s o.k. I’ll let you free my slaves.”
The truth of the matter is that Satan is going to fight back. He is going to do what he did with Job and later Peter. He will go before God, present himself alongside the angels and ask permission to sift us like wheat with the intent to cause us to curse God to His face. Take a look at what the Bible says,
“… One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered the Lord, ‘From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.’ Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.’ ‘Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.” Job 1:6-12 (NIV)
While there are a whole lot of great spiritual truths to learn from these few verse here are just two important lessons we need to learn today.
Satan will ask permission to attack us spiritually
God will give him permission to do it.
In other words Satan not only wants to spiritually attack us he is also willing to go before God to get permission to do it and God, at times, will grant him that permission.
Spiritual warfare is unavoidable from both God’s and Satan’s design and perspective. At this point let me reassure you that God and Satan have totally different intentions for wanting and allowing spiritual warfare in our lives. Real quickly we know that Satan wants it to use it to cause us to curse God to His face (destroy our faith) but God want to use it to make us stronger in our faith.
So yes, if you are going to be obedient to Christ by joining Him on His mission of making disciples then you are a target for spiritual attacks by Satan and the demonic kingdom.
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT PART 2
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT PART 3
CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT PART 4
In Ephesians 6 where it talks about putting on the full Armor of God and specifically to shod your feet with the readiness of the Gospel, notice it doesn’t say to put on the Gospel but to put on the readiness or preparedness of the Gospel. Or in my words, “Make sure you’re prepared to share the Gospel with those who need to hear it!
The Gospel isn’t something we put on but is something that God has put on us. We experience the effects of the Gospel as it transforms our lives and frees us from the guilt of our sin. But in this verse of Ephesians we are specifically told that we are to do something - not to allow something to be done to us. What is it? It is making sure that we as individual Christians are well prepared and ready to share the Gospel to anyone, in any place at any time.
Being prepared to share the Gospel is part of Spiritual Warfare. Have you ever thought about it in that way before? But it is and we should really start looking at being prepared to share the Good News as part of our spiritual warfare encounters. That why we get trained and train other disciples to do the same. Being trained to share the Gospel helps us to be more effective in spiritual warefare!
Sharing the Gospel is an act of Spiritual Warfare. It is us liberating those still enslaved to sin and blinded by Satan by the sharing of the Gospel to others. We are freedom fighters and the Gospel is the key that unlocks their chains and gives them freedom!
Do you really think that Satan is going to stand idly by and watch you free his slaves. Of course not! Satan will respond; he will fight back hard and with a vengeance. Satan can hardly stand it every time a sinner repents after hearing the Gospel.
Here’s another way to look at it; every time we share Gospel we are picking a fight with Satan.
Here’s a couple of books that will help you in getting ready and being prepared to share the Gospel.
The first one is called: THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE: A Journey Into Missional Living. It was written to encourage you, empower you and better equip you to share Jesus with others. Click the link below to get more information about that book!
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ON THIS GREAT BOOK!
The second book is called: LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY. Everyone has had worry about being a witness for Christ. This book will give you both Biblical principles and Biblical practices to rid your life from worry so you can share Jesus with peace of heart and mind. Click the link below to read up more on this powerful book!
I know you have a strong desire to join Christ on His mission by living a powerful missional life.
We often take a whole lot of time talking about what we need to do in order to live that powerful life.
But knowing what not to do or what to avoid is just as important. Wouldn't be helpful to know the things that God has said should never be part of our life? Of course it would!
That's why I put together this short video. In it you will learn about 7 things that the Bible says should never be part of our lives and to avoid them at all cost.
Check out this video to find out what those 7 things are!
Photo by Frans Hulet on Unsplash
When it comes to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those we know who are far from God having a credible life is everything! Would you agree with that statement?
It isn't which Gospel presentation you are using! I And, it isn't even how good of speaker you are!
When it come to effectively sharing Jesus with others it's all about whether or not you're believable or not. It's all about your credibility!
If you're not credible, if people don't believe you, it doesn't matter how true your message is, people won't trust what you are sharing with them about Jesus. CREDIBILITY IS EVERYTHING!
So, in today's message/video I want to share with you how to become a credible witness for Christ! How to build that credibility so others will trust in what you are sharing.
If it is your sincerest desire to live a powerful missional life that brightly shines the Light of Christ in your part of this dark world, then being credible is absolutely crucial!
Take a few moments and check out the following video on developing the credibility necessary for sharing Christ effectively with others!
If you haven’t already signed up to receive our powerful encouragement, equipping and empowerment for living a powerful missional life then just give us your email address in the box below. As part of signing up for the regular updates I will also send you our three part video training on sharing the Gospel with others.
Anything building you construct is only as strong as the foundation that you lay. This also true in constructing a strong life for missional living. The foundation isn’t just a good idea but an essential element. You can’t have a strong life without a strong foundation.
Jesus at the end of His Sermon On The Mount talks about the kind of foundation that can weather the powerful and destructive storms that life will throw at God’s people as they are joining Christ on His mission. He uses a story to illustrate the kind of foundation that Christians need.
“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mind and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. The rains fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash." Matthew 7:24-27
Everyone Goes Through Storms In Life. Going through storms in life is a matter of “If” but just a matter of “When”. Everyone goes through difficult times that can rock a person to the very core of who they are. The storms might be financial, physical, and if you are intentionally trying to live a life on mission with Christ some of those storms can be in the form of persecutions for you faith and obedience to Christ. YOU WILL HAVE STORMS!
The key to weathering the storms and not collapsing is the foundation your life is built upon. Every person needs to really think through what kind of foundation they are building their life upon. Is it built on a solid rock that would give way or is it build upon the sand that has absolutely no stability at all. The determining factor on whether you life will stand or come crashing down during the storms of life is dependent upon the foundation you have built your life upon.
According to Jesus ALL PEOPLE fall into one of two categories. When you break life down to its lowest common denominator all people are either wise who make really good decisions or fools who haven’t given proper consideration to the choices they make. There’s no grey area. It’s either one or the other.
Both the wise person and the foolish person have one thing in common. They both have just heard Jesus speak the words of the Sermon On The Mount. They both heard what Jesus had to say about how to live life in a Godly way. They both understood what He meant.
There’s one distinguishing difference between the two (wise and fool). While both of the them heard what Jesus had taught, it was only the wise person who also obeys. The fool hears but disobeys. Obedience to Christ and His teachings is the solid rock foundation that allows a person to weather the storms of life. Disobedience is the sandy foundation that cannot hold a life together during those same storms.
Daily hear the teaching and commands of Christ.
“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth ….” Joshua 1:8a
Meditate on those teaching and apply them to your life.
“… but you shall meditate on them day and night ….” Joshua 1:8b
Be doers of the word.
“ … so that you will be careful to do all that is written with in it. For then will you make your ways prosperous and then will you have good success.” Joshua 1:8c
We believe that ordinary christians are God primary choice for doing His extraordinary work. Throughout scripture we see God choosing to use everyday people to join Him on His mission of raising up, training up and unleashing them to become rapidly reproducing disciple makers. The Ordinary Christians intends to join God in that pursuit.
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