Three Reasons We Don't Have to Fear Spiritual Warfare

"It's spiritual warfare."

Those words used to send chills through me. I'm not sure what I expected the devil to do, but I imagined him in a long, black cape that swirled around his feet as he walked, rugged face that could be charming in an instant, with dry-ice-style smoke billowing at his feet. I imagined him, arm outstretched, finger pointed my way, making a slashing motion and roaring, "Take her down."

There's not much that's Biblical about my Hollywood-inspired devil fantasy. 

What I've come to understand is that there is a spiritual battle being waged constantly. Evil against good. Satan against Jehovah God. 

In the end, our God wins because our God has all the power, all the wisdom, all the authority, all the control. Satan has a little power for a brief season. It's nothing compared to God's. (Revelation tells us this in vivid detail.)

I try to remember that.

Here's what I know from Scripture. Our God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. He controls life and death. Our enemy is not. 

God knows all, hears all, sees all, and is present everywhere, all at once. Our enemy prowls about like a roaring lion, (1 Peter 5:8) but he's not everywhere all the time. He can't hear our thoughts. 

If we want to resist with Scripture (as Jesus did in the desert temptation described in Luke 4), we have to speak it aloud.  

He has plenty of demon help to harass us far too often, and those demonic forces have a powerful hierarchy. (Ephesians 6) They have areas over which they are responsible, but their authority is not God-given. It's devil-given. They can hurt us and the ones we love, but they cannot take a life. God knows the days of our lives (Psalm 139:16), and that cannot be changed by warfare.

Instead, as believers, WE have the authority over demonic forces, and it has been given by the One who rules the universe and keeps the constellations in their place. (Luke 10:19, Matthew 16:19) We may be defeated in a few skirmishes, but we don't have to be. 

We have authority over our enemy.

Satan always opposes the work of God. If we're doing God's work, he will oppose our efforts. If we encounter no opposition, we need to consider how well we're doing the thing to which God has called us. It's that simple.

The enemy works first on our mind, whispering lies into our heads. If we don't take every thought captive, we can be easily defeated by those lies. (2 Corinthians 10:5) I know, because he's defeated me with lies more than once.

If we do take every thought captive, keeping our minds stayed on Christ, opposition will come in many other forms. Our enemy is creative in his efforts, and it's easy to get frustrated. When I remember that those efforts are borne of desperation, it's a little easier to withstand.

I recently encountered a surge of what I considered warfare. Multiple aggravations all designed to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10) It has taken years to get to this point, but I actually found the opposition reassuring, knowing that I must be on the right track for the enemy to work so hard against me. (That's a radical change from a few years ago, and I thank God for it.)

My response to spiritual warfare is no longer to cower, because God hasn't given us a spirit of fear. (2 Timothy 1:7)  Instead, my response is to work harder for the Lord.

Ephesians 6 explains that we have powerful armor for fighting spiritual battles. Girdle (or belt) of truth, breastplate of righteousness, boots of gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:11 tells us that we are to put on ALL our armor so that we can stand firm. If we put on everything except our sword, we are still in a vulnerable position. 

God's Word is our only offensive weapon. If we don't study the Bible and know it well enough to use it when we need it, we'll be powerless in a spiritual battle. We may stand, but we won't be able to fight.

Knowing God's Word is not optional for His warriors.

Either God has all authority or He doesn't. I believe He does. 

Either He has given us authority in Christ over the forces or darkness, or He hasn't. I believe (because of Scripture) that He has. 

Either our armor can protect us or it can't. Scripture says it can, and I believe that. 

Our response to spiritual warfare is based largely on our faith and our knowledge. Do we know what God has said and do we believe it?

There's another important point that's often overlooked. Vulnerability. When I'm tired or hungry, I'm most vulnerable to the enemy's advance. If I am already indulging sin (especially in the form of wrong attitudes), I become a much easier target. 

When God says we need to care for our bodies, which are temples of God, He speaks with our protection in mind. 

A well-maintained fortress is a more impregnable one.

As we work for the Kingdom of God, opposition will come from our enemy, the evil one, but we don't have to be afraid. Our Lord has both power and authority over everything in heaven and on earth, He has given us authority over the attack, and He has given us all the equipment we need to win our battles.

The question for today is will we stand in the face of evil? Will we fight to serve our Lord? Will we hold firm against temptation?
_________________
In case you missed the story of Sam's project, here's the link: Sam's Project: Rubber Boots for Barefoot Rwandan Children
If you'd like to give to help buy boots for the barefoot school children of Rwandan, you can go directly to the project page here: Help Sam's Kids. There's still a LONG way to go. I'll have an update later this morning.

In case you missed yesterday's post, here's the link: What Do You Seek When You Follow Jesus?
#Christian #armorofGod

The Journey, part 3: the Equipping

And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. (Luke 9:1 NASB)

Before Jesus sent His twelve apostles out on their journey of preaching and healing, he equipped them in an unusual way. If we were equipping a medical mission trip (preaching and healing crusade), we would have trunks full of medical supplies, office supplies to keep records of all the people we would see and treat, Bibles to distribute, personal supplies to make the journey easier. We would pack traveling clothes and preaching clothes, as well as "scrubs" to wear while we were seeing the sick. We would be loaded down. 

When Jesus equipped the twelve, He gave them two things. Only two things. Power and authority. It sounds like a pretty light load, doesn't it? The word translated as "power" is dynamis, and indicates a kind of "power in action" (VED). It is not a brute force, but an ability for miraculous action. Sometimes, this word is used to indicate the miracle itself. For example, "performed many miracles" is sometimes written as "performed many dynamis".  What a wonderful way of describing the action of Jesus in performing a work of power in the lives of those in need! Oh, that we would have a work of power in our lives, fashioned by the hands of God Himself! One of the hymns I learned as a child says, "There is power, power, wonder-working power in the precious blood of the Lamb." It was this "wonder-working power" that Jesus gave the disciples for their journey. 

The second part of their equipment was exousia, translated here as "authority".  When we read that He gave them authority, we tend to think that Jesus put the twelve "in charge" somehow. Perhaps a better understanding of this word would be "permission".  It was Jesus, as the Son of God, who had the authority over demons and illness. He simply gave them permission to act in His name and in His authority. Much as a teacher might give a student permission to go to the office on an errand, Jesus gave the twelve permission to go on a kind of "errand" for Him. 

Power and permission were the only equipment needed to do that which Jesus assigned the twelve.  Without those two tools, they would have been completely ineffective. With them, anything was possible. When God calls us to a task, we can be certain He will also equip us. We may have a meager skill-set and what seems to be an inadequate supply, but if we have the power and permission of God Himself, we have all we need to start the journey of a lifetime. 

Pray today that we and our loved ones would experience that wonder-working power in our own lives and would be equipped by God for those tasks to which He has called us. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-top-seven-countdown-6-nevertheless.html

  

Authority

and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority. (Luke 4:32 NASB)

Exousia is the Greek word that is translated as "authority" in this verse. It is a word that indicates both the power to do something (might or strength) and the right to do something (jurisdiction). 

www.blueletterbible.org defines it as "the power of authority (influence) and of right (privilege)". The implication here is that he is not only an expert in his area, but also someone who must be obeyed. 

I tend to think of authority as one of three things, either police authority or governmental/legislative authority or expert-in-the-field authority. In this instance, "authority" means all three. When Jesus spoke, there was no doubt that He was an expert on Scripture. He also spoke as one who has some say in how you responded to what He said, as well as the authority to enforce it. There were no threats or new laws, but when Jesus spoke, they could tell He meant business.  

Jesus wasn't just speaking AS one who has authority. He WAS one who has authority. That kind of authority demands a response. It requires that we evaluate our lives, see where we fail to measure up, and make any changes necessary to bring our lives into compliance. 

That puts our life choices in a whole new light, doesn't it? In this world of HIPPA compliance, OSHA compliance, and AHCA (Affordable Health Care Act) compliance, there's a more important kind of compliance with which we need to concern ourselves.  Jesus compliance. Spend some time today looking at your lifestyle. How compliant are you? 

Pray today that we and our loved ones will recognize our failings in comparison to Christ, acknowledge His authority, and make whatever changes are needed to please Him. 

The Flabbergasted Heart, part 2

And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; and they were amazed at His teaching, for His message was with authority. (Luke 4:31, 32 NASB)

As I was reading Luke 4 again this morning, I noticed something I had missed. The people in Capernaum had gone to the synagogue on the Sabbath, just like always. The readers had read and the pray-ers had prayed, just like always. The one designated to teach taught just like always. What wasn't  "just like always" was that the teacher that day was Jesus. He spoke as if He had a clear word from God. Of course, that was because He IS God. When He taught, He spoke with such authority and clarity that it is no wonder the people in Capernaum were flabbergasted. What is surprising is that the people in Nazareth were not. 

There were two responses to the Messiah and His authority but only one led to eternal life. Today, pray that God will send someone with a clear understanding of Scripture to our loved ones and that they will share truth with the clarity that comes from living truth. Pray that our loved ones will respond with the understand and acceptance that leads to eternal life. 

The Moses Seat

And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. (Luke 4:20 NASB)

The first half of this verse gives us an interesting word picture. Jesus, finished reading, rolled the scroll back up, handed it to the synagogue attendant, and sat down. In this instance, He took a very specific seat. The "Moses seat" was a stone seat (or chair) mentioned in 

Exodus 18:13. When Moses judged the people and mediated their arguments, he sat. While he sat, he explained the law to them. This became the traditional position to assume when teaching or explaining scripture. Sitting in the Moses seat was a position of authority and understanding. 

When Jesus sat in the Moses seat, he was taking the position of authority and understanding that were rightfully His. Later in Luke, we find that Jesus will be seated at the right hand of the Father in eternity. That stone chair must have been a bittersweet place for Him, as it served as a symbol of the seat of authority He had vacated to redeem us. When the people listened to Him, they were implicitly acknowledging His authority. 

Authority is a word that indicates rightful power or control over a situation, as well as the right to demand obedience to a set of rules or laws. Once authority is acknowledged, acquiescence to that authority should also follow. For the believer, there is no doubt that Jesus has the authority of God in our lives. The question becomes, then, how thoroughly do we submit to His authority? How completely do we obey the commands of Christ? How closely do we follow Him?

Today, spend a few minutes examining your own life and the extent to which you are submitting to Jesus. How closely does your life model His?

As we pray for our children and loved ones, ask God to open their eyes to the authority of Christ and to bring them to a point of willing obedience to His control in their lives. 

    The Moses Seat