Spiritual Warfare

The devil does not have an advantage over us unless we give it to him. The Scripture is clear that we are more than conquerors through him that loved us; greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world; that if we resist the devil he will flee, etc. There are many ways we can give him an advantage over us. By putting our confidence in man instead of God is probably the most common way. If we wander off into his territory, or allow ourselves to become involved with his people he has a great advantage over us. The danger is not only in the physical influences we allow, but also we must guard against allowing ourselves to be in a state of mind that gives the devil an advantage.

It is spirits of devils that try to influence our thinking to lead us away from God and righteousness. It is the Spirit of God that influences our thinking to lead us in the paths of righteousness and a closer walk with God. To try the spirits is simply to look closely at the direction your thoughts are being led. Are the thoughts being presented to your mind tending to soften or remove the enmity between good and evil? Are they making something that is wrong seem not AS wrong as you have been led to believe? Are they a direct challenge to something that is wrong, and has always been considered wrong by the people of God? You can be sure that these thoughts are the voices of spirits of devils. The Spirit of God will never lead your mind to think more favorably, or sympathetically with what is evil in God's sight. This is a basic truth about good and evil. The kinds of thoughts that soften us up toward evil are riddled with lies wrapped in some truth, and that "truth" usually has something to do with what the word "love."

God himself put enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the Serpent. God's children and the devil's children will never get along. One of the main strategies of Satan is to break down that enmity by softening our attitude and thoughts toward wickedness. It is the devil's work because he never tries to soften the attitude of the wicked toward the righteous. However, he is very successful in silencing the people who are called by God's name concerning evil. They not only stop speaking out against it, but they actually develop affections for those that do wickedness. We are told clearly that if a man is a friend of the world he is the enemy of God. We are the salt of the earth and we should speak up more than we do and stand against this flood of evil that is overwhelming everything in this world.

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God:" How do we know we are not under the influence of a spirit other than the Spirit of God? The Bible gives us the clear answer right here. Failing to heed this warning has been the major failing of the past few generations. It has allowed the churches to be filled with Satan's influence. He is an expert counterfeiter and imitates the Spirit of God to deceive those who do not pay close enough attention. The stakes are high in this spiritual war, so we must take heed to the warning and the instruction here.

It is very obvious from the Scriptures that there is something more than most people ever experience in their religion. Jesus made it clear that without Him we can do nothing. He told the disciples to tarry at Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. The indwelling power of the Holy Spirit is the most neglected part of the Gospel. Most people simply assume the Holy Spirit dwells within them because the Bible teaches He dwells in the believer, while they have no evidence at all that He does. Most of what is done is done in the power of the flesh and not in the power of the Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is present there will be some evidence of his working IN us, and the Bible gives us plenty of information about what that work is.

Spiritual warfare is that great battle that is being waged in the minds of people between good and evil. We must be able to recognize spiritual evil - spirits of devils, as they try to deceive us in our mind. But we can learn to do that and still be defeated by them. The most important thing in spiritual warfare is that we are truly led by the Spirit of God. This is what is missing in most professing Christians, and in most churches altogether. So much to say here, but the Holy Spirit of God must be a reality in our life or we simply do not have any true evidence that we are a child of God.

The greatest danger to our soul, and to the souls of our children, is that we will be deceived. The devil is a liar and he is good at it. He is the father of lies and deceit is his main weapon, and his universal way of defeating and destroying a soul. Others are deceitful, sin is deceitful, Satan is deceitful, but our greatest danger is that we can deceive ourselves. We can actually lie to ourselves and come to believe it. Beware of this greatest danger to your soul.

Charity is not a spiritual gift, but part of the fruit of the Spirit of God, and the "more excellent way" that the Scripture refers to here. Spiritual gifts are to be desired, but only from a motive of love toward God and others. Everyone seems to want to "DO" something, or "BE" something "for God." Sadly, many times it is from a motive of pride and self-interests. Charity will move you to "DO" things for God and others, but it will be without any selfish interests involved. It is the very essence of what it means to be like Christ, "who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister..." and "who gave himself a ransom for all."

All spiritual gifts are for the manifestation of the Spirit of God. Spiritual gifts are what God uses through a person, or a person's life to edify and encourage other Christians. The Spiritual gifts are to the body of Christ what the contribution of each member of our physical body is to the life and wellbeing is to the whole. No member is the same, or has the same function and purpose. Christians are individuals - not cookie-cutter replicas.

Spiritual gifts are just that - SPIRITUAL gifts. Their operation is in the spiritual realm. They are meant to edify the soul, the spirit, and the church. Carnal matters are the opposite of spiritual matters, and yet almost all the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Bible are misrepresented, misused, and misunderstood, and then applied to carnal concerns. It is very obvious that most people are far more concerned about physical healing that spiritual healing. Yes, we are to pray for those who are sick in the body, but the health and wellbeing of the soul and spirit is much more important. It is God who heals ALL our diseases, and He does so out of his mercy, love and compassion, but never to prove himself or to increase our faith because that is not where faith comes from.