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posted by Doug Love at 6:51 PM
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Monday, January 16, 2006
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Spiritual Warfare 4: Authority in Christ
Matthew 9:35-10:8
I want to talk with you today – about our future.
All across the country today – Pastors are feeling the PRESSURE to come up with some big VISION for 2006. I’ve felt that pressure in the past – and have come up with a lot of well-intended nonsense over the years as a result.
This is not that kind of message.
This message fits in exactly with what God has already been doing to shape us as His people for His purposes. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll not leave here today scratching your head in wonder as to where I came up with this stuff. It fits. It is consistent with the process of development we’ve been in for two years! God has been shaping us for what He wants us to be and to accomplish. Who you are in Christ determines what you’ll do for Christ!
Now – before we read the Matthew 9 passage – let me review where we’ve been in recent weeks:
As we’ve studied Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:10-12
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:10-12
We’ve come to see…
1. We are to be strong – not in our own strength – but in the strength of God.
2. We aren’t in a battle against other people – we are fighting spirit beings who hate God and hate us.
3. We are learning to see that there is more than the material world – but in fact there is a spirit realm filled with spirit beings both good and evil.
Now with that as our backdrop… Read Matthew 9:35 and following….
"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." Matthew 9:35-10:8
In verse 35 we see Christ involved in two activities:
1. He is preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom! Christ is bringing a message that says: “You can be set free! You can have a genuine relationship with the One who made you!
2. He is demonstrating the Kingdom by healing the sick! Talk is cheap – He is showing the reality of the Kingdom by intervening in people’s lives where is counts: Leprosy is cleansed! Deafness is removed! Sight is given! Parents with children who are sick are bringing them to Jesus and they are fully restored!
Look at verse 36 – it says that “Jesus had compassion on them…” Do you know what that means? It means that Jesus put Himself in their shoes. Do you know what their problem was? They had no one to guide them to freedom! And Jesus couldn’t stand it.
This is one of the true hallmarks of any follower of Jesus – COMPASSION. If you are not compassionate, you need to pray to the Holy Spirit to transform you.
Now, look at verse 37: “Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”
Living in cynical Southern California, sometimes it is hard for us to really believe that people are hungry for the Gospel. After all – we put on virtual Gospel Circuses – complete with all the latest and greatest speakers, musicians, high-tech gadgetry and hype – and the response is disinterest and apathy.
Here’s the reality: In a world 6 Billion people strong – there are hundreds of millions of people who are hungering for a genuine connection with God! And while the world may be rejecting what the RELIGIONS OF MAN offer – they are deeply interested in TRUE SPIRITUALITY.
So, what are we to do? Jesus tells us in verse 38…
"Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
If we really believe that Christ is the answer to the problem of sin – then we need to become intercessors and plead with God to raise up men and women – young and old – who are willing to do more than simply attend weekly worship services – and who instead are going to use up their lives for the sake of the Kingdom of God!
This ends chapter 9 of Matthew – but the story continues in chapter 10. Look at verse 1.
"He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness." Matthew 10:1
This is the response of God to prayers of verse 38. Don’t miss this. In verse 38 we are told to pray for God to raise up workers – and in 10:1 – God says YES!
NOW – look at that verse closely…
“He called” – This is that undeniable spiritual reality that Jesus reaches down into our hearts and creates a desire to do something that we previously had no interest in. I shared this story with the Tuesday night group this week. When I was in High School, my youth pastor told me that I was called to be in ministry. I told him to pound sand. There was no way I was going into ministry. Yet – he was right. And here I am – some 30 years later seeking to fulfill the calling of God upon my life.
“His twelve disciples to him…” – I want you to notice something vital. At this stage in Jesus’ ministry He had only collected a dozen people who were willing to be called “disciples”. There weren’t hundreds or thousands – there was 12. They were called “disciples” – do you know what disciple means? “Followers” – these were the first dozen to say: “I will follow YOU, Jesus!” Later, these 12 became apostles – but at this stage they are simply disciples. Why is this important? Because this word is used nearly 300 times in the New Testament to refer to any one who is a genuine follower of Christ! So, what follows in this verse applies to US – not just the Apostles! Get it?
“And gave them authority…” – He granted them something that He possessed. Authority. The Greek word for authority is ‘exousia’ and it means ‘the power of choice and influence…” Jesus says: “Disciples – I’m giving you what I possess: YOU can have power to influence and determine things! Authority is yours!”
Now this authority is specific…
“authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness." – Christ granted His followers the ability to use power to demonstrate the Kingdom of God – just like He did!
You are not weak. You are not powerless. Jesus says: “In the same way that I’ve been demonstrating the reality of the Kingdom of God, you can too!” I want you to see this clearly:
- Authority to drive out evil spirits – The word ‘drive out’ literally means ‘cast out, compel, forcefully require’ So, then You – as a disciple of Christ are enabled to take the authority of Christ to compel evil spirit beings to leave!
- Authority to heal every disease and sickness – We’ve begun to see in 2005 numerous instances of this reality in our own fellowship. Headaches, back pain, cancer, tissue damage – all healed as a result of the Body of Christ praying believing!
Now, it is important to answer the question: “This verse says ‘EVERY’ disease and sickness – so why doesn’t EVERY PERSON who is sick get healed?” I’ll tell you why – I know the answer. God doesn’t say that EVERY SPECIFIC INSTANCE OF DISEASE AND SICKNESS will be healed. He says that EVERY KIND of disease and sickness can be healed. In other words – there is no TYPE of disease that is beyond the scope of God’s power to heal! God is able to heal – through you and I – any kind of disease – from the common cold to advanced Alzheimer’s!
And God is teaching us to pray believing so that as He brings people across our path who need the Gospel – we will be able to do as Jesus did – to demonstrate the reality of God’s Kingdom by healing the sick. We have authority over disease! Christ gave it to us. And we get to participate with God in it! What a joy! What a privilege!
Now – look at verses 2-4
"These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him." Matthew 10:2-4
The word used to describe these men is ‘apostles’ – these men were selected to be more than disciples – they were called to be apostles. The word means ‘messenger sent with specific orders’ and it was indeed the specific calling of the apostles to facilitate the spread of the Gospel and to establish churches across the world! Apostles generally overseer numerous local churches.
In verse 5-6, Jesus gives them specific instructions:
"These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel." Mt 10:5,6.
In there training period – the apostles were not to take the message outside the existing faith community. The Gospel message was first for the Jews.
During the last year or two, we’ve been going through a process of change in our ministry – and God has not yet seen fit to cause us to do much in terms of outreach or evangelism. I gotta tell you – it’s killing me. But, I believe God has been preparing us – He’s getting us ready. He is preparing this church to be a place of authority – where we demonstrate the reality of God’s Kingdom through signs and wonders – just like in the early church! So – we trust Him to bring the increase. We cannot produce fruit – we are called to abide in Christ – and allow Him to build His church, as He sees fit.
Now – look at verse 7…
“As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’" Mt 10:7
“As you go…” – Literally ‘As you continue in your faith journey…”
“preach…” – Did you know that you are called to preach? I don’t mean stand in a pulpit – I mean to proclaim. To tell the story of what Christ has done for you! You don’t have to have all the answers – and you cannot force anyone to do anything – but you can become adept at telling your story. And as you tell your story…
“preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ – We can say it a million different ways – but the core of what we have to say is this: “God has reached down and is more than willing to lift us up!”
You have been given the authority to do this! It is yours as you walk in Christ! Stop believing the lie ! Stop believing that only the super-spiritual can do this! You can do this! You can impact those around you with God’s Message!
Now – look at verse 8:
"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8
These are the same things that Jesus was doing in 9:35! You’ve been given the authority. It’s yours. Whether you ever accept this, embrace it – or use it – it is yours. What a gift!
“Heal” – there are scores of people around you who are sick and need healing and who would come to faith in Christ if they saw the power of Christ at work!
“Raise” – this one is toughest for us – yet – we are beginning to believe! After all – the very core of our faith has to do with someone who was raised from the dead! And if can do that in order to accomplish God’s purposes – it is still possible today!
“Cleanse” – You’ve been given authority to help people get clean of the garbage. Emotional – psychological – spiritual – physical – GARBAGE IS GARBAGE – and you’ve been given authority to help people get cleaned up!
“Drive out” – Demons are like rats. They love darkness and they love garbage. As you help people get cleaned up, and come to the light of Christ, inevitably there will be rats that need to be driven out. It’s really no big deal – stop thinking Exorcist – start thinking FAITH AND AUTHORITY! For – as 1 John 4:4 says… “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” You can help people get free of demonic oppression and demonization. You can even help yourself get free as well!
Now – look at last words of verse 8: “Freely you have received, freely give."
The Greek is this: dorean lambano, dorean didomi. FREELY TAKE, FREELY GIVE.
I told you that I wanted to talk with you about our future. Here it is: I believe Christ is calling us to learn to take His authority and to become skilled in impacting the lives of the people around us with the reality of the Gospel – just like Jesus did and just like the early church did.
For the Gospel isn’t History to be learned – the Gospel is NEWS to be experienced! And news is what happens NOW!
All around us – people need to be healed.
All around us – people need to be cleansed of demonization.
And we have been given the authority to do so.
And it is time we take God at His Word and go for it.
This is our calling.
When my youth pastor prophesied to me about my calling – I initially rejected it, but God is tenacious and I eventually ‘got it’ and embraced it.
What will you do with this?
I want to talk with you today – about our future.
All across the country today – Pastors are feeling the PRESSURE to come up with some big VISION for 2006. I’ve felt that pressure in the past – and have come up with a lot of well-intended nonsense over the years as a result.
This is not that kind of message.
This message fits in exactly with what God has already been doing to shape us as His people for His purposes. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll not leave here today scratching your head in wonder as to where I came up with this stuff. It fits. It is consistent with the process of development we’ve been in for two years! God has been shaping us for what He wants us to be and to accomplish. Who you are in Christ determines what you’ll do for Christ!
Now – before we read the Matthew 9 passage – let me review where we’ve been in recent weeks:
As we’ve studied Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:10-12
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:10-12
We’ve come to see…
1. We are to be strong – not in our own strength – but in the strength of God.
2. We aren’t in a battle against other people – we are fighting spirit beings who hate God and hate us.
3. We are learning to see that there is more than the material world – but in fact there is a spirit realm filled with spirit beings both good and evil.
Now with that as our backdrop… Read Matthew 9:35 and following….
"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." Matthew 9:35-10:8
In verse 35 we see Christ involved in two activities:
1. He is preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom! Christ is bringing a message that says: “You can be set free! You can have a genuine relationship with the One who made you!
2. He is demonstrating the Kingdom by healing the sick! Talk is cheap – He is showing the reality of the Kingdom by intervening in people’s lives where is counts: Leprosy is cleansed! Deafness is removed! Sight is given! Parents with children who are sick are bringing them to Jesus and they are fully restored!
Look at verse 36 – it says that “Jesus had compassion on them…” Do you know what that means? It means that Jesus put Himself in their shoes. Do you know what their problem was? They had no one to guide them to freedom! And Jesus couldn’t stand it.
This is one of the true hallmarks of any follower of Jesus – COMPASSION. If you are not compassionate, you need to pray to the Holy Spirit to transform you.
Now, look at verse 37: “Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.”
Living in cynical Southern California, sometimes it is hard for us to really believe that people are hungry for the Gospel. After all – we put on virtual Gospel Circuses – complete with all the latest and greatest speakers, musicians, high-tech gadgetry and hype – and the response is disinterest and apathy.
Here’s the reality: In a world 6 Billion people strong – there are hundreds of millions of people who are hungering for a genuine connection with God! And while the world may be rejecting what the RELIGIONS OF MAN offer – they are deeply interested in TRUE SPIRITUALITY.
So, what are we to do? Jesus tells us in verse 38…
"Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
If we really believe that Christ is the answer to the problem of sin – then we need to become intercessors and plead with God to raise up men and women – young and old – who are willing to do more than simply attend weekly worship services – and who instead are going to use up their lives for the sake of the Kingdom of God!
This ends chapter 9 of Matthew – but the story continues in chapter 10. Look at verse 1.
"He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness." Matthew 10:1
This is the response of God to prayers of verse 38. Don’t miss this. In verse 38 we are told to pray for God to raise up workers – and in 10:1 – God says YES!
NOW – look at that verse closely…
“He called” – This is that undeniable spiritual reality that Jesus reaches down into our hearts and creates a desire to do something that we previously had no interest in. I shared this story with the Tuesday night group this week. When I was in High School, my youth pastor told me that I was called to be in ministry. I told him to pound sand. There was no way I was going into ministry. Yet – he was right. And here I am – some 30 years later seeking to fulfill the calling of God upon my life.
“His twelve disciples to him…” – I want you to notice something vital. At this stage in Jesus’ ministry He had only collected a dozen people who were willing to be called “disciples”. There weren’t hundreds or thousands – there was 12. They were called “disciples” – do you know what disciple means? “Followers” – these were the first dozen to say: “I will follow YOU, Jesus!” Later, these 12 became apostles – but at this stage they are simply disciples. Why is this important? Because this word is used nearly 300 times in the New Testament to refer to any one who is a genuine follower of Christ! So, what follows in this verse applies to US – not just the Apostles! Get it?
“And gave them authority…” – He granted them something that He possessed. Authority. The Greek word for authority is ‘exousia’ and it means ‘the power of choice and influence…” Jesus says: “Disciples – I’m giving you what I possess: YOU can have power to influence and determine things! Authority is yours!”
Now this authority is specific…
“authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness." – Christ granted His followers the ability to use power to demonstrate the Kingdom of God – just like He did!
You are not weak. You are not powerless. Jesus says: “In the same way that I’ve been demonstrating the reality of the Kingdom of God, you can too!” I want you to see this clearly:
- Authority to drive out evil spirits – The word ‘drive out’ literally means ‘cast out, compel, forcefully require’ So, then You – as a disciple of Christ are enabled to take the authority of Christ to compel evil spirit beings to leave!
- Authority to heal every disease and sickness – We’ve begun to see in 2005 numerous instances of this reality in our own fellowship. Headaches, back pain, cancer, tissue damage – all healed as a result of the Body of Christ praying believing!
Now, it is important to answer the question: “This verse says ‘EVERY’ disease and sickness – so why doesn’t EVERY PERSON who is sick get healed?” I’ll tell you why – I know the answer. God doesn’t say that EVERY SPECIFIC INSTANCE OF DISEASE AND SICKNESS will be healed. He says that EVERY KIND of disease and sickness can be healed. In other words – there is no TYPE of disease that is beyond the scope of God’s power to heal! God is able to heal – through you and I – any kind of disease – from the common cold to advanced Alzheimer’s!
And God is teaching us to pray believing so that as He brings people across our path who need the Gospel – we will be able to do as Jesus did – to demonstrate the reality of God’s Kingdom by healing the sick. We have authority over disease! Christ gave it to us. And we get to participate with God in it! What a joy! What a privilege!
Now – look at verses 2-4
"These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him." Matthew 10:2-4
The word used to describe these men is ‘apostles’ – these men were selected to be more than disciples – they were called to be apostles. The word means ‘messenger sent with specific orders’ and it was indeed the specific calling of the apostles to facilitate the spread of the Gospel and to establish churches across the world! Apostles generally overseer numerous local churches.
In verse 5-6, Jesus gives them specific instructions:
"These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel." Mt 10:5,6.
In there training period – the apostles were not to take the message outside the existing faith community. The Gospel message was first for the Jews.
During the last year or two, we’ve been going through a process of change in our ministry – and God has not yet seen fit to cause us to do much in terms of outreach or evangelism. I gotta tell you – it’s killing me. But, I believe God has been preparing us – He’s getting us ready. He is preparing this church to be a place of authority – where we demonstrate the reality of God’s Kingdom through signs and wonders – just like in the early church! So – we trust Him to bring the increase. We cannot produce fruit – we are called to abide in Christ – and allow Him to build His church, as He sees fit.
Now – look at verse 7…
“As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’" Mt 10:7
“As you go…” – Literally ‘As you continue in your faith journey…”
“preach…” – Did you know that you are called to preach? I don’t mean stand in a pulpit – I mean to proclaim. To tell the story of what Christ has done for you! You don’t have to have all the answers – and you cannot force anyone to do anything – but you can become adept at telling your story. And as you tell your story…
“preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ – We can say it a million different ways – but the core of what we have to say is this: “God has reached down and is more than willing to lift us up!”
You have been given the authority to do this! It is yours as you walk in Christ! Stop believing the lie ! Stop believing that only the super-spiritual can do this! You can do this! You can impact those around you with God’s Message!
Now – look at verse 8:
"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8
These are the same things that Jesus was doing in 9:35! You’ve been given the authority. It’s yours. Whether you ever accept this, embrace it – or use it – it is yours. What a gift!
“Heal” – there are scores of people around you who are sick and need healing and who would come to faith in Christ if they saw the power of Christ at work!
“Raise” – this one is toughest for us – yet – we are beginning to believe! After all – the very core of our faith has to do with someone who was raised from the dead! And if can do that in order to accomplish God’s purposes – it is still possible today!
“Cleanse” – You’ve been given authority to help people get clean of the garbage. Emotional – psychological – spiritual – physical – GARBAGE IS GARBAGE – and you’ve been given authority to help people get cleaned up!
“Drive out” – Demons are like rats. They love darkness and they love garbage. As you help people get cleaned up, and come to the light of Christ, inevitably there will be rats that need to be driven out. It’s really no big deal – stop thinking Exorcist – start thinking FAITH AND AUTHORITY! For – as 1 John 4:4 says… “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” You can help people get free of demonic oppression and demonization. You can even help yourself get free as well!
Now – look at last words of verse 8: “Freely you have received, freely give."
The Greek is this: dorean lambano, dorean didomi. FREELY TAKE, FREELY GIVE.
I told you that I wanted to talk with you about our future. Here it is: I believe Christ is calling us to learn to take His authority and to become skilled in impacting the lives of the people around us with the reality of the Gospel – just like Jesus did and just like the early church did.
For the Gospel isn’t History to be learned – the Gospel is NEWS to be experienced! And news is what happens NOW!
All around us – people need to be healed.
All around us – people need to be cleansed of demonization.
And we have been given the authority to do so.
And it is time we take God at His Word and go for it.
This is our calling.
When my youth pastor prophesied to me about my calling – I initially rejected it, but God is tenacious and I eventually ‘got it’ and embraced it.
What will you do with this?
posted by Doug Love at 1:45 PM
0 comments
Friday, December 16, 2005
Seeing with New Eyes - Part Three
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:10-12
“Against the power of this dark world
and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Imagine with me…
• An unseen world filled with spirit beings of all sizes and shapes.
• These spirit beings given power – even power to influence events in our world.
• And imagine that a large number of these spirit beings have evil intentions – it is their objective to do harm rather than good.
• These spirit beings live in a non-material realm that is just as real as the physical world we inhabit.
• And – we are told by God’s Word that these are the enemy and we must do battle with them in order to become the men and women we were created to be!
Scripture presents a very different world that we as members of the 20th and 21st century western world have come to expect and experience.
Scripture is filled with wonderful stories of…
• Angels and demons impacting human life!
• Miracles and healings working to improve people’s lives!
• Epic battles between good and evil!
• Prophets, seers – men and women with a special ability granted by God to see beyond the natural world!
In fact, the ultimate story in the Bible is that of a man being executed by the Roman government – and then, miraculously resurrecting from the dead just three days later! Furthermore, this story is the pivotal point in human history and what you do with this story determines your eternal destiny.
The Bible teaches us that we should anticipate, expect and experience an ongoing interplay between the realm of the spiritual world and the material world in which we live.
Yet, because of the predominant world-view of Western Rationalism, we are Christians struggle with believing that this is possible. We demand that everything is tested from a scientific, rationalistic world-view that says…
I must be able to… see it, touch it, taste it, smell it – or hear it – for it to be real!
If we are to be honest, we must admit that as Christians we are facing a dilemma:
• Our culture presents one world-view.
• Our Christ presents yet another.
Look again at verse 12: “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."
God’s Word tells us that…
1. OUR ENEMY IS SPIRITUAL – NOT PHYSICAL! “not against flesh and blood… against the spiritual forces of evil…”
Apparently there are spirit beings who are out to do us harm.
Look at Isaiah 14:12-14…
"How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." Isaiah 14:12-14
And now Ezekiel 28:12, 15…
"‘You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty." "You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you." Ezekiel 28:12, 15
Let lay this out simply: Satan – AKA “Lucifer” was a high ranking Angel in God’s service. But he rose up against God, becoming adversarial to all that is good, right and godly.
Rev. 12:4 tells us that… “His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth…” which many people believe means that when Satan rose up against God, he took a third of all the angels of heaven with him. These evil spirits are what we call “Demons”.
Until God puts an end to this evil age, Satan and his demons are active on earth.
Which brings us back to what Paul says in Eph. 6 – our enemy is spiritual, not physical!
Secondly,
2. OUR ENEMY HAS POWER OVER THE PHYSICAL WORLD! “against the spiritual forces of evil…”
The enemy and his demons are a force to be reckoned with. They have power. And that power is destructive.
Dr. Charles Kraft writes in his book: Defeating Dark Angels:
“Satanic beings are involved in every kind of disruptive human activity. They can hinder earthly endeavors, and even delay answer to prayer. They seem to have authority over place and territories such as buildings, cities, and temples. Additionally, they appear to have authority over social organizations, and groups, and influence sinful behavior such as homosexuality, drug addiction, lust, incest, rape, and murder.
We can assume demons primary concern is to disrupt and if possible cripple anything or anyone that might be a threat to Satan’s dominion over the world. Their guns are aimed at individual, groups and organizations that seek to advance God’s purposes. They produce strongholds in people’s minds and probably other places as well. They attack Christian ministries and are agents of doctrinal aberrations. They affect health, perhaps affect weather and even have power over death, though they have no power except that allowed them by God.”
The great news is that their power is a limited power. In fact, for some reason God allows them – temporarily – to have power. But their power is subject to His greater authority! Satan is not co-equal to God. And as Believers, we are told that we have the power and authority in Jesus Name to limit and control the power of the demons and of Satan.
Jesus said in Luke 9…
"When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick." Luke 9:1, 2
And Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 2:11 that as Christians “we are not unaware of his schemes.”
Be assured – the enemy has power – and it is time we took him seriously!
Thirdly…
3. OUR ENEMY HAS EVIL INTENTIONS! “against the spiritual forces of evil…”
We’ve already seen that Satan and his forces are diabolically opposed to anything good, right or godly – but Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5 that Christians are to…
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” 1 Peter 5:8-9a
Why do we need to be self-controlled and alert? Because the enemy is watching for the Christian who has his defenses down – in order to pounce and to devour!
There is nothing fair, just or reasonable about him. All rules are irrelevant. He is a liar. A cheater. A thief. He deceives, distorts, confuses, sneaks, causes doubt – whatever it takes to fool you into buying his lies.
Why? Because he hates your guts. He hates your family. He hates your marriage. He hates your faith. He hates anything in you that if of God.
When evil happens – don’t blame God. That is one of the worst lies of the enemy. He tries to get you to believe that the car accident, the cancer, the loss of job – was God’s doing. Don’t believe it. Because if you buy his lies you’ll move away from your source of life and nothing could make Satan happier!
Fourthly – Paul write that the spiritual forces of evil are from “the heavenly realms.”
4. OUR ENEMY LIVES IN THE NON-PHYSICAL REALITY! “the heavenly realms.”
The Greek word for ‘heavenly realms’ is ‘epi-ouranious’ – which literally means “high place” and refers to the abode of God and angels – which of course would also be the dwelling place of Satan and demons.
Why is this important? For a couple of reasons:
1. Satan and demons do not have physical bodies.
2. Which makes it harder to do battle with them.
Ultimately, because our enemy lives in a non-physical reality – we have to learn to do battle with an unseen enemy.
You see, non-physical spirits can affect us for good and for evil.
Let me explain: When you pray to God – you are praying to a non-physical spirit and you pray anticipating at some level that although God is not physical, He can impact your life in a positive way. So we pray for healings, for jobs, for courage, for loved ones – anticipating that He will intervene and do something good for you.
But, isn’t it equally true that unseen spirits with evil intentions and powers can also impact you for evil? Given that the Bible makes it clear that Satan and demons have as their objective to destroy good – we need to become increasingly aware of how they work – so that we can fight effectively!
In the book of Exodus – God sends Moses before the King of Egypt to demand the release of the people of Israel. In order to demonstrate authority from God, Moses throws down his wooden staff to the ground – and through the power of God – it becomes a snake. Not to be outdone, the magicians in Pharoah’s courts replicate the exact same miracle. As they also do when God uses Moses to turn the river Nile into blood, and to create millions upon millions of frogs that invade the land.
How did Pharoah’s magicians do this? How did they reproduce these signs and wonders? By aligning themselves with demon spirits who gave them the power to do so!
In Acts 8:9-11 we read of Simon the Sorceror:
"Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic." Acts 8:9-11
How did Simon do these great works of power? He aligned himself with demon spirits.
Today, around the world there are Shamans, Witch Doctors, Psychics, mediums like John Edwards – who all have power – and what is the source of that power? Demon spirits seeking to deceive people from the truth!
In our arrogance – we tend to dismiss those who follow these types of people as ‘ignorant’ – but the reality is this: They are being deceived by demon spirits.
We shouldn’t be surpised by this: 2 Cor 11:4 tells us that Satan
‘…masquerades as an angel of light…’ 2 Cor. 11:4
Now – back to Moses and the Pharoah’s magicians – When Moses – under the power of the Holy Spirit – created an invasion of gnats in the land of Egypt – the magicians recognized that this demonstrated the ‘finger of God’ – and they could not reproduce this miracle. Nor could they reproduce any of the other plagues that hit and destroyed Egypt! This was the turning point in the battle that ultimately lead to the freedom of 2 million Jews!
Why couldn’t the magicians do these miracles? Because Satan’s power is finite – whereas the power of God has no limits!
Don’t think I’m making this stuff up. Even Jesus saw beyond the physical realm into the reality of the spirit world.
In Matthew 16 when Peter attempts to block the mission of Jesus – Jesus says:
"Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Matthew 16:23
Jesus knows that while it was Peter’s mouth that spoke – it wasn’t Peter’s words. Those words came from the unseen enemy.
Spiritual warfare is a battle – not against flesh and blood – but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. And step one in winning the battle is to see the true nature of it. It is a spiritual fight.
In C.S. Lewis’ amazing book Screwtape Letters – “Screwtape” posing as an older more experienced demon, writing to a young trainee demon named “Wormwood” says:
“The fact that ‘devils’ are predominantly comic figures in the modern imagination will help you. If any faint suspicion of your existence begins to arise in his mind, suggest to him a picture of something in red tights, and persuade him that since he cannot believe in that, he therefore cannot believe in you.”
I’ll put it this way: You cannot fight – let alone defeat – something you do not believe exists.
So, I’ll pose these questions:
• Aren’t you tired of being beat up and defeated by this unseen enemy?
• Isn’t it time to look at the world through with a truly biblical world-view?
“Against the power of this dark world
and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Imagine with me…
• An unseen world filled with spirit beings of all sizes and shapes.
• These spirit beings given power – even power to influence events in our world.
• And imagine that a large number of these spirit beings have evil intentions – it is their objective to do harm rather than good.
• These spirit beings live in a non-material realm that is just as real as the physical world we inhabit.
• And – we are told by God’s Word that these are the enemy and we must do battle with them in order to become the men and women we were created to be!
Scripture presents a very different world that we as members of the 20th and 21st century western world have come to expect and experience.
Scripture is filled with wonderful stories of…
• Angels and demons impacting human life!
• Miracles and healings working to improve people’s lives!
• Epic battles between good and evil!
• Prophets, seers – men and women with a special ability granted by God to see beyond the natural world!
In fact, the ultimate story in the Bible is that of a man being executed by the Roman government – and then, miraculously resurrecting from the dead just three days later! Furthermore, this story is the pivotal point in human history and what you do with this story determines your eternal destiny.
The Bible teaches us that we should anticipate, expect and experience an ongoing interplay between the realm of the spiritual world and the material world in which we live.
Yet, because of the predominant world-view of Western Rationalism, we are Christians struggle with believing that this is possible. We demand that everything is tested from a scientific, rationalistic world-view that says…
I must be able to… see it, touch it, taste it, smell it – or hear it – for it to be real!
If we are to be honest, we must admit that as Christians we are facing a dilemma:
• Our culture presents one world-view.
• Our Christ presents yet another.
Look again at verse 12: “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."
God’s Word tells us that…
1. OUR ENEMY IS SPIRITUAL – NOT PHYSICAL! “not against flesh and blood… against the spiritual forces of evil…”
Apparently there are spirit beings who are out to do us harm.
Look at Isaiah 14:12-14…
"How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." Isaiah 14:12-14
And now Ezekiel 28:12, 15…
"‘You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty." "You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you." Ezekiel 28:12, 15
Let lay this out simply: Satan – AKA “Lucifer” was a high ranking Angel in God’s service. But he rose up against God, becoming adversarial to all that is good, right and godly.
Rev. 12:4 tells us that… “His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth…” which many people believe means that when Satan rose up against God, he took a third of all the angels of heaven with him. These evil spirits are what we call “Demons”.
Until God puts an end to this evil age, Satan and his demons are active on earth.
Which brings us back to what Paul says in Eph. 6 – our enemy is spiritual, not physical!
Secondly,
2. OUR ENEMY HAS POWER OVER THE PHYSICAL WORLD! “against the spiritual forces of evil…”
The enemy and his demons are a force to be reckoned with. They have power. And that power is destructive.
Dr. Charles Kraft writes in his book: Defeating Dark Angels:
“Satanic beings are involved in every kind of disruptive human activity. They can hinder earthly endeavors, and even delay answer to prayer. They seem to have authority over place and territories such as buildings, cities, and temples. Additionally, they appear to have authority over social organizations, and groups, and influence sinful behavior such as homosexuality, drug addiction, lust, incest, rape, and murder.
We can assume demons primary concern is to disrupt and if possible cripple anything or anyone that might be a threat to Satan’s dominion over the world. Their guns are aimed at individual, groups and organizations that seek to advance God’s purposes. They produce strongholds in people’s minds and probably other places as well. They attack Christian ministries and are agents of doctrinal aberrations. They affect health, perhaps affect weather and even have power over death, though they have no power except that allowed them by God.”
The great news is that their power is a limited power. In fact, for some reason God allows them – temporarily – to have power. But their power is subject to His greater authority! Satan is not co-equal to God. And as Believers, we are told that we have the power and authority in Jesus Name to limit and control the power of the demons and of Satan.
Jesus said in Luke 9…
"When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick." Luke 9:1, 2
And Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 2:11 that as Christians “we are not unaware of his schemes.”
Be assured – the enemy has power – and it is time we took him seriously!
Thirdly…
3. OUR ENEMY HAS EVIL INTENTIONS! “against the spiritual forces of evil…”
We’ve already seen that Satan and his forces are diabolically opposed to anything good, right or godly – but Peter wrote in 1 Peter 5 that Christians are to…
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” 1 Peter 5:8-9a
Why do we need to be self-controlled and alert? Because the enemy is watching for the Christian who has his defenses down – in order to pounce and to devour!
There is nothing fair, just or reasonable about him. All rules are irrelevant. He is a liar. A cheater. A thief. He deceives, distorts, confuses, sneaks, causes doubt – whatever it takes to fool you into buying his lies.
Why? Because he hates your guts. He hates your family. He hates your marriage. He hates your faith. He hates anything in you that if of God.
When evil happens – don’t blame God. That is one of the worst lies of the enemy. He tries to get you to believe that the car accident, the cancer, the loss of job – was God’s doing. Don’t believe it. Because if you buy his lies you’ll move away from your source of life and nothing could make Satan happier!
Fourthly – Paul write that the spiritual forces of evil are from “the heavenly realms.”
4. OUR ENEMY LIVES IN THE NON-PHYSICAL REALITY! “the heavenly realms.”
The Greek word for ‘heavenly realms’ is ‘epi-ouranious’ – which literally means “high place” and refers to the abode of God and angels – which of course would also be the dwelling place of Satan and demons.
Why is this important? For a couple of reasons:
1. Satan and demons do not have physical bodies.
2. Which makes it harder to do battle with them.
Ultimately, because our enemy lives in a non-physical reality – we have to learn to do battle with an unseen enemy.
You see, non-physical spirits can affect us for good and for evil.
Let me explain: When you pray to God – you are praying to a non-physical spirit and you pray anticipating at some level that although God is not physical, He can impact your life in a positive way. So we pray for healings, for jobs, for courage, for loved ones – anticipating that He will intervene and do something good for you.
But, isn’t it equally true that unseen spirits with evil intentions and powers can also impact you for evil? Given that the Bible makes it clear that Satan and demons have as their objective to destroy good – we need to become increasingly aware of how they work – so that we can fight effectively!
In the book of Exodus – God sends Moses before the King of Egypt to demand the release of the people of Israel. In order to demonstrate authority from God, Moses throws down his wooden staff to the ground – and through the power of God – it becomes a snake. Not to be outdone, the magicians in Pharoah’s courts replicate the exact same miracle. As they also do when God uses Moses to turn the river Nile into blood, and to create millions upon millions of frogs that invade the land.
How did Pharoah’s magicians do this? How did they reproduce these signs and wonders? By aligning themselves with demon spirits who gave them the power to do so!
In Acts 8:9-11 we read of Simon the Sorceror:
"Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic." Acts 8:9-11
How did Simon do these great works of power? He aligned himself with demon spirits.
Today, around the world there are Shamans, Witch Doctors, Psychics, mediums like John Edwards – who all have power – and what is the source of that power? Demon spirits seeking to deceive people from the truth!
In our arrogance – we tend to dismiss those who follow these types of people as ‘ignorant’ – but the reality is this: They are being deceived by demon spirits.
We shouldn’t be surpised by this: 2 Cor 11:4 tells us that Satan
‘…masquerades as an angel of light…’ 2 Cor. 11:4
Now – back to Moses and the Pharoah’s magicians – When Moses – under the power of the Holy Spirit – created an invasion of gnats in the land of Egypt – the magicians recognized that this demonstrated the ‘finger of God’ – and they could not reproduce this miracle. Nor could they reproduce any of the other plagues that hit and destroyed Egypt! This was the turning point in the battle that ultimately lead to the freedom of 2 million Jews!
Why couldn’t the magicians do these miracles? Because Satan’s power is finite – whereas the power of God has no limits!
Don’t think I’m making this stuff up. Even Jesus saw beyond the physical realm into the reality of the spirit world.
In Matthew 16 when Peter attempts to block the mission of Jesus – Jesus says:
"Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." Matthew 16:23
Jesus knows that while it was Peter’s mouth that spoke – it wasn’t Peter’s words. Those words came from the unseen enemy.
Spiritual warfare is a battle – not against flesh and blood – but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. And step one in winning the battle is to see the true nature of it. It is a spiritual fight.
In C.S. Lewis’ amazing book Screwtape Letters – “Screwtape” posing as an older more experienced demon, writing to a young trainee demon named “Wormwood” says:
“The fact that ‘devils’ are predominantly comic figures in the modern imagination will help you. If any faint suspicion of your existence begins to arise in his mind, suggest to him a picture of something in red tights, and persuade him that since he cannot believe in that, he therefore cannot believe in you.”
I’ll put it this way: You cannot fight – let alone defeat – something you do not believe exists.
So, I’ll pose these questions:
• Aren’t you tired of being beat up and defeated by this unseen enemy?
• Isn’t it time to look at the world through with a truly biblical world-view?
posted by Doug Love at 6:47 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
A New Way of Seeing - Part 1
Last week – we AFFIRMED what God is doing to mature us. We affirmed:
1. Christ has given me a new identity! I am a saint of God, chosen by Him, a royal priest, a full-fledged member of His holy people and I belong to God – and I’m going to live like it!
2. Christ has filled me with His Holy Spirit! Daily, I will welcome the power of the Holy Spirit to fill me and to overflow into every area of life, enabling me to do the impossible in Jesus Name!
3. Christ has given me a new responsibility! Everything I possess is a gift from Him, so I’ll use it all for His purposes and glory!
4. Christ has set me free! I’m no longer in bondage to my past, to Satan or to the religious regulations of man. Instead, I’ll live in outrageous freedom fulfilling every one of God’s plans for my life!
5. Christ has shown me the truth of the Gospel! I’m fully alive in Christ and I will live this life to worship Him!
6. Christ had given me a new family! Christ’s church provides me the support I need to carry out my journey, as I give others that same support in return!
7. Christ has called me to be mature! Putting aside lesser things, I’m getting into the fight and moving forward in the things of God’s kingdom with the goal of becoming like Jesus!
Now – because this is true – because God has us very clearly moving forward together as a church family – we can count on one thing:
Satan isn’t happy and He is going to do whatever he can to stop you and us from putting these affirmations into practice!
So, it seems appropriate that we learn God’s ways to do battle – so that not only can you stop him from harming you, but you can defeat him.
I want to teach you about spiritual warfare.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:10-12
The rest of the chapter is devoted to a detailed description of the armor of God – and we will get to that – just not today.
When you are faced with attacks against your true spiritual self – remember you belong to Christ – remember He has made your heart good – remember He has given you His Indwelling Holy Spirit – remember you aren’t who you used to be – and Paul tells us that the very first thing to do is…
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”
A huge key to spritual warfare is found here: When you are facing trials, troubles, temptation, struggles, discouragement, deception, distraction – the very first thing to do is to…
1. Take Your Eyes Off The Problem And LOOK to God for Solutions!
“Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power” – the Greek text literally means: RECEIVE STRENGTH FROM THE LORD WHO POSSESSES SUPERIOR MIGHT AND POWER!
What do we usually do when facing these kinds of problems: We focus on them. BIG MISTAKE – because by focusing on the trails, the temptations and the testing – we give them MORE POWER than they really have and we DENY GOD the opportunity to bring HIS POWER into the situation.
But when we look to Christ for strength – He provides it. Every time. In fact, you don’t have to wonder if Christ will provide you with the strength in times of problems – you can CLAIM His strength because He has promised to provide it!
Psalms 50:15 says…
"…call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."" Psalms 50:15
We will honor Him because He will come through and prove Himself to be praiseworthy.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." 1 John 5:14
Now, it is clearly God’s will that you have victory over Satan – so approach God with confidence that He will give you exactly what you need to do so!
God’s power is sufficient for your problems. Marital problems. Financial problems. Physical problems. Job problems – they aren’t what matter – what matters is the source of your strength. Any of those problems can take you out – when you fight them in your own strength. But they become absolutely impotent against the superior strength of a person of faith!
That’s why Paul declared:
"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13, NIV.
Most people have a terrible misunderstanding about Satan’s power. They think he is co-equal in power to God. WRONG. Satan is a created being – created by God. The Creator is always greater than the created.
So, given that God is greater than Satan and that He lives in you by faith – the very first thing to do when facing spiritual warfare is to LOOK TO GOD for the strength that only He can provide.
If I focus on my problems – all I’m going to see is my problems. But, when I willfully choose to focus on God in times of trouble – I will experience His power at work in my life – and I will have victory over the problems that come my way!
Now – look at Ephesians 6:11
“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." Ephesians 6:11
Paul says –
2. If You Are Going To Go Into Battle – Get Dressed For Battle! Ephesians 6:11
“Put on…” – this is action. So many people say: “what am I to do?” when they are facing tough times. Here’s what you do – ‘put on’ what God gives. Look to Him in faith, and take what He gives you. It will be exactly what you need to do battle. Listen to His voice – and receive His word.
Paul says: “put on the armor of God” – the KJV says: “put on the whole armor…” – better translation. You will need everything God has to give you.
During the Los Angeles Riots that followed the Rodney King trial, they send the National Guard into the streets to try to restore order – without providing them with bullets for their guns. How stupid is that!?
Yet, if you are going to win in your battle against satan – you’d better have everything that God gives you in order to fight!
Read verses 13-18 and you’ll see the list of the armor pieces…
• Belt of truth
• Breastplate of righteousness
• Feet fitted with readiness
• Shield of faith
• Helmet of salvation
• Sword of the Spirit
• Prayer in the Spirit
Each one of these pieces point to a vital truth and reality about Christ being present in your life! This is vital because it is Christ who fights for us! Try to fight the devil in your own strength and you’ll be toast – but fight in the power of Christ and you’ll win – every time!
Now notice what Paul says about fighting:
‘…so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes…”
“YOU CAN” in the Greek speaks to CAPABILITY. You and I need the armor of God so that we become capable to fight. The negative side of that is that without the armor we stand naked and vulnerable. But the positive side is this: As I put on the whole armor of God – God enables me to do exactly what is needed in order to have victory!
In fact – Paul says… “you can TAKE YOUR STAND…” – He is saying: In Christ you will be ESTABLISHED and MADE ROCK SOLID against the attacks of the enemy!
Aren’t you tired of being a spiritual pushover – falling prey to anything and everything that the devil dishes out? Wouldn’t you prefer to be ESTABLISHED AND ROCK SOLID in the battle?
Put on the whole armor of God.
3. Get To Know The Enemy’s Tactics. Ephesians 6:11
Now Paul says what we are standing against is the DEVIL’S SCHEMES. The Greek says: ‘diabolos methodeia’ – The methods of the devil. Satan is methodical and repetitive in his attacks. He’s not very original and he’s not very bright.
Haven’t you seen him use the same old tricks over and over and over and over again to set you up for a fall? And the tragic thing is that we get tripped up over and over and over again.
• Why does an advertisement for a sale at the mall trip up some of you and not others?
• Why does a scantily clad woman on TV create lust in some of you and not in others?
• Why do some of you lie in times of stress when others tell the truth?
• Why does BUFFET mean overeating to some and selective eating to others?
Because Satan has tactics that are custom designed to mess you up.
They are called STRONGHOLDS. Places in our lives where the enemy has set up camp. Strongholds are the result of some weakness in our life – whether current or past – that has yet to be brought under the authority of the Lord.
Fortunately there is hope. God’s Word says:
"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." 2 Corinthians 10:4
As we grow in our ability to fight with the weapons of God, the strongholds in our lives will be revealed and uprooted!
You don’t have to stay stuck. I don’t either. We must not attempt to fight with the weapons of the world – we need the power of the Holy Spirit to invade this territory and reclaim it for Christ!
Doctors, Psychologists, counselors, 12-step groups have a place. But unless we take a truly spiritual approach to this – we will only be trimming the weeds. We need the Holy Spirit to uproot the roots of strongholds and replace them with the fullness of Christ’s power.
How do we do this? We begin to explore the deeper things of life with the Holy Spirit as our guide. The Bible says that…
"…the Spirit of truth… will guide you into all truth..." John 16:13, KJV.
It’s seems like wisdom would suggest that we ask the Holy Spirit to recognize the methods of the devil so that we can take our stand against them.
CONCLUSION:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:10-12
Christ is teaching you a new way of living. In order to become genuinely Spirit-filled people – we must embrace what He is teaching. And as we embrace Him, we must have our eyes opened to things as they really are.
There’s a fascinating story in 2 Kings 6 about Elisha and his servant:
"When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked. "Don’t be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so that he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all round Elisha. As the enemy came down towards him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked." 2 Kings 6:15-18
The enemy looks strong to the eyes of man. This creates fear and terror. But – there is more to the story than what we can see. We need spiritual revelation. We need our eyes opened to what is really going on.
Elisha prays: “Open his eyes that he may see…”
And God gives revelation.
The servant sees things as they really are: “he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha…” God spiritual forces abound!
Today – if you are going to learn to fight the enemy of your soul – look to Christ and ask Him to open your eyes to things as they really are.
1. Christ has given me a new identity! I am a saint of God, chosen by Him, a royal priest, a full-fledged member of His holy people and I belong to God – and I’m going to live like it!
2. Christ has filled me with His Holy Spirit! Daily, I will welcome the power of the Holy Spirit to fill me and to overflow into every area of life, enabling me to do the impossible in Jesus Name!
3. Christ has given me a new responsibility! Everything I possess is a gift from Him, so I’ll use it all for His purposes and glory!
4. Christ has set me free! I’m no longer in bondage to my past, to Satan or to the religious regulations of man. Instead, I’ll live in outrageous freedom fulfilling every one of God’s plans for my life!
5. Christ has shown me the truth of the Gospel! I’m fully alive in Christ and I will live this life to worship Him!
6. Christ had given me a new family! Christ’s church provides me the support I need to carry out my journey, as I give others that same support in return!
7. Christ has called me to be mature! Putting aside lesser things, I’m getting into the fight and moving forward in the things of God’s kingdom with the goal of becoming like Jesus!
Now – because this is true – because God has us very clearly moving forward together as a church family – we can count on one thing:
Satan isn’t happy and He is going to do whatever he can to stop you and us from putting these affirmations into practice!
So, it seems appropriate that we learn God’s ways to do battle – so that not only can you stop him from harming you, but you can defeat him.
I want to teach you about spiritual warfare.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:10-12
The rest of the chapter is devoted to a detailed description of the armor of God – and we will get to that – just not today.
When you are faced with attacks against your true spiritual self – remember you belong to Christ – remember He has made your heart good – remember He has given you His Indwelling Holy Spirit – remember you aren’t who you used to be – and Paul tells us that the very first thing to do is…
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.”
A huge key to spritual warfare is found here: When you are facing trials, troubles, temptation, struggles, discouragement, deception, distraction – the very first thing to do is to…
1. Take Your Eyes Off The Problem And LOOK to God for Solutions!
“Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power” – the Greek text literally means: RECEIVE STRENGTH FROM THE LORD WHO POSSESSES SUPERIOR MIGHT AND POWER!
What do we usually do when facing these kinds of problems: We focus on them. BIG MISTAKE – because by focusing on the trails, the temptations and the testing – we give them MORE POWER than they really have and we DENY GOD the opportunity to bring HIS POWER into the situation.
But when we look to Christ for strength – He provides it. Every time. In fact, you don’t have to wonder if Christ will provide you with the strength in times of problems – you can CLAIM His strength because He has promised to provide it!
Psalms 50:15 says…
"…call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."" Psalms 50:15
We will honor Him because He will come through and prove Himself to be praiseworthy.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." 1 John 5:14
Now, it is clearly God’s will that you have victory over Satan – so approach God with confidence that He will give you exactly what you need to do so!
God’s power is sufficient for your problems. Marital problems. Financial problems. Physical problems. Job problems – they aren’t what matter – what matters is the source of your strength. Any of those problems can take you out – when you fight them in your own strength. But they become absolutely impotent against the superior strength of a person of faith!
That’s why Paul declared:
"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13, NIV.
Most people have a terrible misunderstanding about Satan’s power. They think he is co-equal in power to God. WRONG. Satan is a created being – created by God. The Creator is always greater than the created.
So, given that God is greater than Satan and that He lives in you by faith – the very first thing to do when facing spiritual warfare is to LOOK TO GOD for the strength that only He can provide.
If I focus on my problems – all I’m going to see is my problems. But, when I willfully choose to focus on God in times of trouble – I will experience His power at work in my life – and I will have victory over the problems that come my way!
Now – look at Ephesians 6:11
“Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." Ephesians 6:11
Paul says –
2. If You Are Going To Go Into Battle – Get Dressed For Battle! Ephesians 6:11
“Put on…” – this is action. So many people say: “what am I to do?” when they are facing tough times. Here’s what you do – ‘put on’ what God gives. Look to Him in faith, and take what He gives you. It will be exactly what you need to do battle. Listen to His voice – and receive His word.
Paul says: “put on the armor of God” – the KJV says: “put on the whole armor…” – better translation. You will need everything God has to give you.
During the Los Angeles Riots that followed the Rodney King trial, they send the National Guard into the streets to try to restore order – without providing them with bullets for their guns. How stupid is that!?
Yet, if you are going to win in your battle against satan – you’d better have everything that God gives you in order to fight!
Read verses 13-18 and you’ll see the list of the armor pieces…
• Belt of truth
• Breastplate of righteousness
• Feet fitted with readiness
• Shield of faith
• Helmet of salvation
• Sword of the Spirit
• Prayer in the Spirit
Each one of these pieces point to a vital truth and reality about Christ being present in your life! This is vital because it is Christ who fights for us! Try to fight the devil in your own strength and you’ll be toast – but fight in the power of Christ and you’ll win – every time!
Now notice what Paul says about fighting:
‘…so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes…”
“YOU CAN” in the Greek speaks to CAPABILITY. You and I need the armor of God so that we become capable to fight. The negative side of that is that without the armor we stand naked and vulnerable. But the positive side is this: As I put on the whole armor of God – God enables me to do exactly what is needed in order to have victory!
In fact – Paul says… “you can TAKE YOUR STAND…” – He is saying: In Christ you will be ESTABLISHED and MADE ROCK SOLID against the attacks of the enemy!
Aren’t you tired of being a spiritual pushover – falling prey to anything and everything that the devil dishes out? Wouldn’t you prefer to be ESTABLISHED AND ROCK SOLID in the battle?
Put on the whole armor of God.
3. Get To Know The Enemy’s Tactics. Ephesians 6:11
Now Paul says what we are standing against is the DEVIL’S SCHEMES. The Greek says: ‘diabolos methodeia’ – The methods of the devil. Satan is methodical and repetitive in his attacks. He’s not very original and he’s not very bright.
Haven’t you seen him use the same old tricks over and over and over and over again to set you up for a fall? And the tragic thing is that we get tripped up over and over and over again.
• Why does an advertisement for a sale at the mall trip up some of you and not others?
• Why does a scantily clad woman on TV create lust in some of you and not in others?
• Why do some of you lie in times of stress when others tell the truth?
• Why does BUFFET mean overeating to some and selective eating to others?
Because Satan has tactics that are custom designed to mess you up.
They are called STRONGHOLDS. Places in our lives where the enemy has set up camp. Strongholds are the result of some weakness in our life – whether current or past – that has yet to be brought under the authority of the Lord.
Fortunately there is hope. God’s Word says:
"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." 2 Corinthians 10:4
As we grow in our ability to fight with the weapons of God, the strongholds in our lives will be revealed and uprooted!
You don’t have to stay stuck. I don’t either. We must not attempt to fight with the weapons of the world – we need the power of the Holy Spirit to invade this territory and reclaim it for Christ!
Doctors, Psychologists, counselors, 12-step groups have a place. But unless we take a truly spiritual approach to this – we will only be trimming the weeds. We need the Holy Spirit to uproot the roots of strongholds and replace them with the fullness of Christ’s power.
How do we do this? We begin to explore the deeper things of life with the Holy Spirit as our guide. The Bible says that…
"…the Spirit of truth… will guide you into all truth..." John 16:13, KJV.
It’s seems like wisdom would suggest that we ask the Holy Spirit to recognize the methods of the devil so that we can take our stand against them.
CONCLUSION:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:10-12
Christ is teaching you a new way of living. In order to become genuinely Spirit-filled people – we must embrace what He is teaching. And as we embrace Him, we must have our eyes opened to things as they really are.
There’s a fascinating story in 2 Kings 6 about Elisha and his servant:
"When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked. "Don’t be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so that he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all round Elisha. As the enemy came down towards him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked." 2 Kings 6:15-18
The enemy looks strong to the eyes of man. This creates fear and terror. But – there is more to the story than what we can see. We need spiritual revelation. We need our eyes opened to what is really going on.
Elisha prays: “Open his eyes that he may see…”
And God gives revelation.
The servant sees things as they really are: “he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha…” God spiritual forces abound!
Today – if you are going to learn to fight the enemy of your soul – look to Christ and ask Him to open your eyes to things as they really are.
posted by Doug Love at 11:34 AM
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Monday, November 28, 2005
Ephesians 6:10-18
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Ephesians 6:10-18, NIV.
posted by Doug Love at 4:29 PM
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About Me
- Name: Doug Love
- Location: Pomona, California, United States
Beth and I have been married (to each other) since 1982. We've got two kids, Andrew and Amy. Educationally I've got a couple of degrees - M.A. Theology (Fuller Seminary), B.A. Communications (Hope International University). For work I've served local churches as a pastor from 1980-2007. Since then, I've worked in sales in the insurance and travel industry. Mostly, I enjoy the beach, my bride and an excellent cup of coffee. Oh yeah, my first book was published in 2014 - you can find it on Amazon.com - it's a cool story called "On the Increase - A Journey Into Freedom".
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