Encouraging, Empowering & Equipping Ordinary Christians To Live Powerful Missional Lives!
As Followers of Christ we have experienced spiritual freedom. That idea of freedom leaves us with the impression that before we knew Christ we were slaves and indeed we were truly slaves.
This post is given to help us understand our spiritual freedom and how we are to use it. Watch it! Be challenged by it! And go out and live that freedom.
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!
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.
Now that we know how chapter seven of Romans ended, which reveals the most powerful dilemma that all Christians have to face, we can now move onto chapter eight which gives us God’s way to deal with that dilemma once and for all.
But before we do that we should remind ourselves exactly what hat dilemma is. It’s the dilemma of wanting to live for Christ but unable to do so because of the power of sin still has control over us. We want to do what God wants but we find ourselves doing sinful things. We hate the sinful things that we do but still we are attracted to it and fall prey to their temptation.
But chapter eight is all about good news, hope and faith that God is not only able to deliver us but has already established the way to that victory over sin.
And in doing so Romans 8 starts off with one major liberating declaration. Let’s read for ourselves what that liberating declaration is.
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1
I love the way the Apostle Paul put it, “… now no condemnation…”. The truth is that we all live in the here and now but before we can get to the “NOW” we first had to go through the “BEFORE”.
The life we now have in Christ does not consist of any condemnation from God. For God’s people we now live a condemnation free life. But the life we had before was filled with God’s condemnation. All of us, right down to last one of us, was a condemned sinner to hell.
But we really need understand how condemned we truly were? By developing a thorough understanding of the depths of our former condemnation we will gain a greater appreciation for the amazing declaration we now have of:
“So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteious act there is justification leading to life for everyone. For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:18,19
We are condemned because the human race (Adam’s seed) has been condemned. Adam and Eve is the beginning point of the entire human race and through Adam’s sin everyone is condemned.
Now I know what some of you are thinking! You’re thinking, “That Doesn’t Sound Fair”. You’re thinking that it isn’t fair that you should suffer because of something your relative did way back before you were ever born. Now that would be a great subject to study but not now because there isn’t enough time. But for now let me say that our condemnation isn’t just because Adam was our relative. We are also condemned:
“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
To an even greater degree condemnation has come to all of us because each of us joined in on the sinning. I can’t blame my parents, my siblings or my friends. I am a sinner because I chose to sin. I chose to hate, I chose to lie, I chose to lust. These are my sins and no one else is to blame for them.
But then there’s a third level of condemnation that only some will experience. But it is a condemnation that is of an even greater intensity than either level one or level two combined. But is that level?
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.” John 3:17-18
Here’s the point to get from this passage. Those people who have had the privilege of hearing the wonderful and amazing gospel message and rejected are also condemned. However, in the book of Hebrews there is some indication that their condemnation might be more severe than others who have never heard the gospel.
Here’s the truth about your life before you knew Jesus as your Lord and savior:
But now that you know Jesus God the Father has a new pronouncement:
God is no longer condemning you and he is not even look for a reason to condemn you. In the eyes of the Heavenly Court with God the Father as the Righteous Judge you have been declared free!
Before you came to Christ you were sinking and drowning in a sea of sin and you were helpless and hopeless to do anything about it. You had been condemned to hell and you were just waiting for the Last Day, the Day of Judgement when that sentence of condemnation would be executed. But then something amazing happened. God the Father stood up in the Heavenly courtroom and declared:
The Why? and How? We will learn as we go through this chapter. But for now just marvel in amazement that God has declared you no longer condemned.
The reason I call Romans chapter 8 the most important chapter in the New Testament is because this particular chapter address the dilemma that is brought up in chapter 7. This dilemma is a common problem that all Christian experience as they strive to live a life that pleases God and worthy of our calling in Christ.
Romans chapter 8 starts off with the word, “Therefore”. Whenever you see this word it is always referencing to what has just be said and in this case what was said in chapter 7. So what exactly is the dilemma expressed in chapter 7? Simply this:
Read what the Apostle Paul Actually Says,
“For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it. For I do not do the good that I want to do, but i practice the evil that I do not want to do … What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Romans 7:18,19, 24
I think it is important to note that even the Apostle Paul struggled with desiring to do what is good but finding that he lacked the ability to do so. If this was a struggle with the Apostle Paul then surely all of us will struggle with it also.
This struggle is a common Christian experience. All of us more often than not finding ourselves doing things that we know we shouldn’t do. We feel helpless and hopeless. We hate ourselves for it! After another failure we look into the mirror and see our reflection with disgust. We are ashamed, embarrassed and wish we could go hide somewhere so no one can see us. But since we can’t go physically hide somewhere we instead we hide by putting on a pretense in front of others. We smile and pretend that all is going just perfectly with our spiritually lives in front of our Christian friends and family. And this is done all because we don’t want others to see the real spiritual condition of our lives.
But all this pretending only serves to perpetuate our failure and our struggle. We can’t fake our way out of this dilemma and as we have discovered over and over again we can’t force or will our way out of it. If we could we would have already done it.
So what then is the alternative? If faking it doesn’t help and if our own personal strength fails us to live right, then what is the solution? That’s what chapter eight of Romans deals with. Chapter eight reveals God’s strategy for overcoming the power of sin in our lives and the way to live a life that is pleasing to God.
In the upcoming posts in this series of blogs we will unpack exactly what the Bible says about overcoming the power and influence of our sinful flesh and how to live a life that please God and worthy of our calling.
There is a teaching that has found its way into the church ever since the times of the Apostles of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul in writing to Timothy warned him against these preachers and a particular kind of teaching that was false but still was found very appealing to so many. Sadly, these same kind of teachers exists in our churches today and their false teaching is still attractive to many who are in our churches.
Listen to what the Bible says,
“If anyone teaches false doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching that promotes godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interests in disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slander, evil suspicions, and constant disagreement among people who’s minds are depraved and deprived fo the truth, who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain.” 1 Timothy 6:3-5 (CSB)
In this passage there are many descriptions of the kind of teaching that makes these preachers classified as a false teacher. Some of those descriptions are not being in agreement with the teaching of Jesus, doesn’t and doesn’t promote godliness. But there’s one particular teaching that is specifically identified and needs to be carefully considered. Why? Because it is destructive and still very much at play in the church of North America.
What is it? Simply this:
if you act in a godly way God will reward you with wealth.
That it is God’s will for all His people to be wealthy.
If you don’t have wealth it is because you don’t have enough faith.
Conceited: They think more highly of themselves than they ought to.
Understands nothing: They not only lack truth but they lack the ability to discern truth.
Having unhealthy interests in disputes: They love conspiracy theories.
Argue over words. They like to take words and ascribe different definitions to them!
Envy: These kind of teachers and the message they give lends itself to becoming envious of others and what they have.
Quarrels: Literally fights. Fights breakout because of them and their message.
Slander: They build themselves up by tearing other people down.
Evil Suspicions: Always suspicious of people feeling that everyone is trying to take what they got.
Disagreements with people: This evil suspicion doesn’t lend itself to living in harmony or agreement with others but instead causes arguments.
The Are Depraved: Literally means the corruption of ones morals. The moral fiber of these teachers is corrupted and falling a part. They are morally bankrupt. They have no Godly values that guide them.
They Are Deprived Of The Truth: To be deprived is to be severely denied something of importance. It is very much like that of neglecting a child of love, or clothing or food. It is a serious neglect. But in this case these teachers are deprived of what really is truth. There teaching holds no truth.
The Apostle Paul warns us to stay clear of these kinds of teachers. We are not to entertain their teaching. Ther motives are for their own person material gain. You’ll often hear them teach you that if you give to their ministry then God will reward your sacrifice with giving you a hundred fold return. In other words they are trying to tell you that if you give to them financially then God will make you rich.
The only we read of Jesus telling people to sell all that they have and give it away was to a rich young ruler found in Mark 10:17-27. But there’s a big difference from what Jesus did and what these health and wealth teachers teach! They teach for you to give them money. But Jesus taught that we should give what we have to the poor. You see Jesus doesn’t want our money and He doesn’t need our money. What does Jesus want:
Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash
As fully devoted followers of Christ we need to give careful attention to what things we pursue in life! Why? Because they can either help us grow in our devotion to Christ or hinder us. A Godly goal is a good thing but a worldly pursuit is not.
In this post I want to share with you 4 reasons why God’s people should at all cost avoid pursuing worldly goals and in particular keep themselves from getting entangled in the love of money. The Love of Money, by the way, according to the Bible is one particular way Christian quite often get caught up in the things of the world.
To accomplish I will be sharing 3 Pitfalls that come with choosing worldly goals and what happens to those who stumble into those pitfalls. These pitfall’s are found in 1 Timothy 6:9-10:
“But those who want to get rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires. , which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” ((CSB)
These pitfalls are:
It Makes You susceptible To Temptation: When our heart longs for the things of this world we become more vulnerable to the wiles and schemes of the devil. Temptations in and of themselves are not sins but they are the doorway that leads a person to sin. The primary reason a person commits a sin is because they have some kind of worldly desire they are trying to satisfy. And that unmet satisfaction cause people to look for its fulfillment in ways that God says is sinful. Therefore, the cure is not to continually fight off the temptation but to root out the evil and sinful desires and replace them with God honoring desires. So, if your sincere desire is to live a life that pleases God then you need to make sure that your hearts desires are on the things of Heaven and off the things of this world.
It’s a trap that will ensnare you. Traps have been used throughout the ages by hunters who are want to catch unsuspecting animals. They are usually camouflage so the animal will not see it and step into it. And this is the way it is with the goals of this world and especially the love of money. The true intent of these longings are hidden and dressed up to look like things that are good. After all, what could be wrong with being rich if it allows me to give more money to help the poor? What’s wrong with having a nicer and bigger home for my family to live in? Shouldn’t they be able to live in a nice place? You see the issue isn’t what you can do with the money but what you are willing to do to get the money or your true motivation for getting the money.
It Ignites Feelings That You Shouldn’t Have: The problem with the love of money or the desire to have the things of the world is that it doesn’t stay satisfied with the fulfillment of those desires. As a result of pursing them newer and more harmful desires start to grow. There are some feelings that we were never intended to have or experience. The “Love of Money” is described as a “root”. If temptation is the seed then the love of money (materialism) is the root that is form from that seed and it in turns grows into a blooming plant of all kinds of other evil and more harmful desires. If you think that you can control your love for money and keep it contained then you are only fooling yourself. The only way to keep yourself from growth of all kinds of evil in your life is to uproot the love of the world and replace it with a root that exclusively loves God.
Now let me share a little bit about what the end result will be if you fall into one or all of these pitfalls and fail to uproot and guard agains the love of this world and the pursuit of worldly goals. Quite simple it is exactly what the Bible says,
“For the love of money is a root of 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)
In Luke chapter 8 Jesus tells a parable about a person who went sowing seed on different types of ground and then He explains the spiritual significance for each group. Here’s how Jesus describes the seed that feel on the ground filled with thorns and thistles.
“As for the seed that fell among the thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life and produce no mature fruit.” Luke 8:14 (CSB)
This is quite a visible picture, from Jesus, on what happens to people who have their hearts set on the things of this world and not on Christ. The riches and pleasures of life of life choke out or we could also, are more valuable to people than Christ is, and as a result they walk away. Another way of saying it is that people who hear the Gospel of Christ and are excited with the forgiveness of sins that come from following Christ but once they hear that they need to leave everything (including their riches) in order to follow Christ, they walk away sad because they love their money more than they do Jesus.
Also, notice that this is a self-inflicted wound. This is something you caused yourself and not something someone did to you. You’re the one who sets you life goal, you are the one who decides who your heart will be devoted to. To choose the world over Christ is your chose and the result is a harm that you brought on yourself. It is avoidable if you choose wisely but it is also unavoidable if you don’t choose wisely.
So many people suffer horribly simply because they have chosen to go after the things of this world, to give their heart over to what this world says is important. The pain is real but the pain was and is avoidable.
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.
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.
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.
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
Randy McWhorter is the former Director of the Healthy Church Group of the California Southern Baptist Convention and now the Lead Pastor of a powerful church in Northern California.
My very good friend, Randy McWhorter, in his endorsement for my book LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY shared that there is a cure for an anxious heart that will bring you peace, power and make you prosperous in all things regarding God’s will. Read the whole endorsement for yourself,
**“Living On Mission In Spite Of My Worry: Biblical Advice On Relieving An Anxious Heart is akin to a Christian prescription for hypertension of the believer’s heart. My friend, Jay Moore, has shared six Biblical principles that have the potential to revolutionize your concept of what it means to live worry free. You will find each principle to be a practical expression of God’s will for everyone who desires to glorify Him in all he or she does. Together, these six principles guide our understanding of what it truly means to follow Jesus in spite of our human frailties. There is a cure for the anxious heart that will bring peace, power and that will make you prosperous in all things regarding God’s will. There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole! The only question is... will you take the medicine? Will you follow the prescription? Or, will you remain weakened by worry and spiritually anemic? Take the prescription! Why spend another day allowing unnecessary worry to keep you from living a life on mission for the Lord? Take the prescription!” Randy McWhorter**
Now that’s a powerful statement that Randy made but a very true and accurate one. There is good news for all of God’s people who suffer from an anxious heart, a life filled with worry or struggling with the stress that the world loves to throw at each of us. That good news is that you can live a worry free life on a day by day and moment by moment basis.
It is not God’s desire and certainly not His will for His people to live a life plagued with worry. As a matter of fact Jesus himself told us to stop worrying. When we worry we are communicating that God isn’t enough for us and that we really don’t believe that He can meet all our needs or that He knows what is best. When we worry we demonstrate a lack of faith in the Lord Jesus.
But the good news is that you can live that worry free life, it is available to all who are willing to learn and trust God. That’s what this book is all about!
LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY will teach you the Biblical principles and Biblical practices that will guide into a lifestyle that doesn’t worry but just trusts God. This book contains the prescriptions for the cure of worry that Randy was talking about. It shows you what the Balam of Gilead looks like and how to get it.
Click the links below to find out more about this powerful book yourself.
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.
Become a Ministry partner of The Ordinary christian & help us give away powerful training to God's people to live a powerful missional life. HIT THE DONATE NOW!
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