SPiRiTual WaRfaRE in THE CHRiSTiaN LifE
"LiVE in PRayER / LiVe in PEAcE / LiVE in PuRity: LiVE in CHRiSt"
“The angel of the Lord encamps around those that reverence God, and delivers them.”
-Psalm 34:7
SPiRiTUAl WARfARE: iN OUR THOUGHTS
“Fear not; for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God: I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness.”
-Isaiah 46:10
Living the Christian life is experiencing Spiritual Warfare. Practice Spiritual Warfare with Christ as our example, using the Word of God, Prayer, and how we live our lives.
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It requires resisting temptation, rejecting sin, manifesting the Fruit of the Spirit in our daily lives, following the leading of the Holy Spirit, and actively pursuing what God tells us is good.
We seek to draw near to God through Prayer and through His Word. To: “Be Holy, for He is Holy.” -1Peter 1:16
Our desire is to be a clear channel of God’s love, for “the love of God is shed abroad through our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who is given to us.”
-Romans 5:5
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We can begin in any of these areas, but one of the most basic is our thoughts.
We cannot control the temptation-to-sin thoughts entering our mind, but we can control whether we dwell on them or reject them.
“Though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare are not physical, but are mighty through God to the pulling down of spiritual strongholds;
casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God,
and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ…”
-2 Corinthians 10:3-5
“Abba Arsenius was approached by one of the Brother monks who sought a word of teaching from the older man. Abba Arsenius told him, ‘With all your might, strive to bring your inner thoughts into accordance with God, and you will overcome your exterior passions.’”
-Sayings of the Desert Fathers
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“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise: think on these things.”
-Philippians 4:8
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“Whoever hammers a lump of iron, first decides what he is going to make of it, a scythe, a sword, or an axe. Even so, we ought to make up our minds what kind of virtue we want to forge, or we labor in vain.”
-St. Anthony of Egypt (251-357 A.D.) –Sayings of the Desert Fathers
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SPiRiTUAl WARfARe: LOVe
Many Bible Commentators believe that when the Apostle Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write the following words, Paul was describing Christ.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy, or boast: it is not proud.
Love does not dishonor others; it is not self-seeking, not easily angered, and keeps no record of wrongs; it does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth.
Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres.”
-1 Corinthians 13:4-7
(Excerpted from “The Invasion” in C.S. Lewis’ book: Mere Christianity, P. 45-46; Harper Collins, 1952 / 2001)
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One of the things that surprised me when I first read the New Testament seriously was that it talked so much about a Dark Power in the universe — a mighty evil spirit who was held to be the Power behind death and disease, and sin.
The difference is that Christianity thinks this Dark Power was created by God, and was good when he was created, and went wrong.
Christianity agrees with Dualism that this universe is at war. But it does not think this is a war between independent powers.
It thinks it is a civil war, a rebellion, and that we are living in a part of the universe occupied by the rebel. Enemy-occupied territory — that is what this world is.
Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.
When you go to church you are really listening-in to the secret wireless from our friends: that is why the enemy is so anxious to prevent us from going.
He does it by playing on our conceit and laziness and intellectual snobbery. I know someone will ask me, ‘Do you really mean, at this time of day, to re-introduce our old friend the devil — hoofs and horns and all?’
Well, what the time of day has to do with it I do not know. And I am not particular about the hoofs and horns. But in other respects my answer is ‘Yes, I do. I do not claim to know anything about his personal appearance.
If anybody really wants to know him better I would say to that person. ‘Don’t worry. If you really want to, you will. Whether you’ll like it when you do is another question.’
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SPiRiTUAl WARfARe: The ARMOR Of GOD
“No one that is at war entangles themself with the affairs of this life; that they may please the one who has chosen them to be a soldier.”
-2 Timothy 2:4
“The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
-Romans 13:12
“By purity, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness in the right hand and in the left…”
(These are: the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God; and the shield of faith.)
-2 Corinthians 6:6-7
(Excerpted from the book: Prayer as a Celtic Lay Monk by S.G Preston; P. 163)
It is believed by many that when the Apostle Paul wrote about the full armor of God, he was making his spiritual point while describing the armor and weaponry of a Roman soldier of his era; perhaps the one who was standing guard over Paul!
To we who live in modern times, swords and shields have a romantic quality (think of King Arthur and Robin Hood) that would never have occurred to Christians in Paul’s own time.
I composed the following “today’s rendition” in 2006, to help put Paul’s words more into the historical context in which they were written. We should never forget that we are in a spiritual war.
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A version of Ephesians 6:10-18 for Today’s Soldiers
“The joy of the LORD is your strength.”
-Nehemiah 8:10
10 Finally, my brothers and sisters, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your waist girded about with the cartridge belt of truth, having on the flak-jacket of righteousness;
15 and your feet shod with the combat boots of the gospel of peace.
16 Above all, taking the air-cover of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery incoming missiles of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the automatic rifle of the Spirit, which is the Word of God:
18 Maintaining constant contact with Command Central by praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching with all perseverance and supplication for all your fellow soldiers…”
Spiritual Warfare: Be Happy ("Rejoice in the LORD Always")
“The greater the difficulty to be overcome, the more it will be seen to the glory of God how much can be done by prayer and faith.”
-George Muller
“The first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day is to have my soul happy in the Lord.”
-George Muller
(Best Book On: “George Muller: Delighted in God” by Roger Steer)
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The devil would have us live in the Past, pouring condemnation upon us for our past mistakes, which have already been forgiven by God. We, on the other hand, often live in the Future with fantasies of a different life.
The Reality is that we only and always live in the current moment, in Today. For all of our entire lives, we can only experience now. With God it is always now, it is always Today.
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“It is because of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed; because His compassion does not end; it is new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness!” -Lamentations 2:22-23
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.” -Romans 8:
“Exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” -Hebrews 3:13
“Seeing we also are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us…” -Hebrews 12:1-2
“Today is the day that the LORD has made…we will rejoice and be glad in it.” -Psalm 118:24
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Every day we awake and begin another day of Spiritual Warfare as soldiers of Christ. Praying, resisting temptation, rejecting sin, being ambassadors of God and His message of love in Christ to the world.
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“The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus means that one day everything sad will come untrue.”
-J.R.R. Tolkien
“If I didn’t have spiritual faith, I would be a pessimist. But I’m an optimist. I’ve read the last page in the Bible. It’s all going to turn out all right.” -Billy Graham
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JESUS ON WORRYING
“Which of you by worrying about it can add one inch to their height?”
-Matthew 6:27
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have enough worries of its own. Every day has its own troubles.”
-Matthew 6:34
(Note: Our Lord is not saying here to not plan for the future, as some have mistakenly thought — He is saying to not worry about it — planning for the future is in fact one of the best ways to avoid worrying about tomorrow.)
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GOD’S WORD: BE HAPPY, PRAY, GIVE THANKS
“Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In every circumstance give thanks. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
-1 Thessalonians 5:16-17
“Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say: rejoice!”
–Philippians 4:4
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Spiritual Warfare: Resist Anger
“Human anger does not produce the righteousness of God.”
-James 1:20
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“Abba Isidore once told a Brother that ever since he had become a Monk, he had tried never to let his anger rise as far as his mouth.”
-Sayings of the Desert Fathers
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“Cease from anger and abandon wrath. Do not become upset; it only leads to evil.”
-Psalm 37:8
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“Abba Nilus once said, “Prayer is the seed of gentleness and the absence of anger.”
-Sayings of the Desert Fathers
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“Only by pride comes contention.”
-Proverbs 13:10
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ON The 27th - Morning Prayer: Psalm 131
(On the 27th – Morning Prayer:)
Psalm 131
Theme: Calm Yourself and Be Content (Verse 2)
A Song of Ascents of David
1. LORD, my heart is not proud, or my eyes arrogant. I do not concern myself with matters too great for me; with things beyond my understanding.
2. Surely I have calmed and quieted myself, like a child that is weaned from its mother. My soul is like a child that is calm and content.
3. O Israel, trust in the LORD, now and forever. _________________________________________
Commentary on Verse 1:
“LORD my heart is not proud (conceited), or my eyes arrogant.”
Pride is rooted in the heart, and revealed in the eyes. _________________________________________
C.S. LeWIS ON PRIDe
“The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility.
You may remember, when I was talking about sexual morality, I warned you that the center of Christian morals did not lie there. Well, now, we have come to the centre.
According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison:
it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”
-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Chapter 8) _________________________________________
SAYINGS Of The DeSeRT FATHeRS
“An elder replied, ‘I tell you, many have ruined their bodies with no discernment and gone away without finding anything.
We may have evil-smelling breath because of our fasting, we may know the Scriptures by heart, we may recite all the Psalms…and still lack what God is looking for —
–– love and humility.’”
SAMuEL cHAdwicK ON pRayER :
“Who can measure the influence of an hour a day spent alone with God?”
“A season of silence is the best preparation for speech with God.”
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“If prayer is the greatest achievement on earth, we may be sure it will call for a discipline that corresponds to its power.”
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“Is there any proof that a man is a man of God like the fact that he is a man of prayer? Of Elijah it is said that:
‘Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.
Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.'”
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“We do not pray to inform God. Neither do we pray to persuade Him, for His love needs neither to be induced nor coaxed.”
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“It ought to be possible to give God one hour of twenty-four all to Himself.”
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-Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932) English Wesleyan Methodist Pastor (Author: The Path of Prayer )
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