Whatever Christian: Spiritual Warfare

Whatever Christian

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Spiritual Warfare

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” Ephesians 6:12
As believers, we are enemies of Satan. He does not want to see us succeed. We inhabit Christ and He dwells in us. Paul warns us about this spiritual battle in Ephesians chapter 6 when he instructs us to put on the armor of God. I think many Christians water down this truth. Satan is deceiving and whispers lies into your heart in order to put a wedge between you and your Creator. What lies has he been telling you? I want you to stop right now and ask the Lord to reveal those lies to you. Perhaps Satan is whispering to you that you don’t need God. Or maybe he’s telling you that you don’t deserve the love of God. Maybe he’s telling you that you don’t deserve good things. Whatever it is, you need to identify it (and there may be more than one) and deny it. Tear down the walls Satan has put up between you and God. Break free from the chains of deception.

Conviction of Sin and the Holy Spirit
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” 1 Peter 5:8. Satan controls us with sin. He first whispers lies into your heart. Once you start believing those lies and give in to the thoughts, you have already sinned. Next, the thought presents itself in a real way. You may resist in the beginning, but as long as Satan has a foothold on your heart and you listen to the lies, you will actively sin. “But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” James 1:14-15. That is exactly what Satan wants, for your sin to give birth to death.
We have the “spiritual forces of evil” attacking us, but the Lord also gave us the Holy Spirit: “God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.” Act 15:8. While Satan deceives, the Holy Spirit speaks truth in our lives. The Holy Spirit also convicts us of our sin. We are convicted of our sin so that we may do something about it. Through the Holy Spirit we are able to examine our own thoughts and actions and are able to discern Biblical right from wrong. It seemed to me that the closer and closer I got to God, the more I sinned. I just didn’t understand how that was possible. I then realized that I was more in touch with the Holy Spirit and had a greater understanding of God’s heart and therefore was able to see my sins more clearly. How thankful we should be for the Holy Spirit! God is just and punishes sin. Jesus Christ came so that we could be forgiven for our sins because in order for God to remain just, someone had to pay. The Holy Spirit is in our hearts so that we can recognize sin and repent, which brings us into a more intimate relationship with God. The trinity is perfect.

Conviction vs. Condemnation
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” Colossians 2:8. Not only does Satan tell lies, but he twists the truth (as any great deceiver does). I had been bound by a particular sin. The Holy Spirit convicted me of it and I took the necessary steps to make it right. I acknowledged my sin before the Lord, I asked for forgiveness, repented by removing anything in my life that would cause me to stumble in this particular area, apologized to the people I had hurt, and took responsibility of my sin by accepting the worldly consequences and asking for my accountability partners to pray for me. I knew in my heart that I had rightfully taken care of it and that my God had forgiven me. I also know that I do not deserve this kind of grace and that is only by the goodness and love of Christ that I’m able to stand blameless before the Lord. But even in all that Satan still had a grip on my heart. He spoke to my self-worth and twisted the lie that I didn’t deserve the forgiveness of sin and therefore caused me to give into guilt. I felt that I deserved nothing good because of my sinful nature to a point that it was hindering my relationship with God. Once I realized that this was not Biblical, I had to break from the chains of condemnation. I had to renounce the lies of Satan. I had to boldly stand before the enemy and refuse to surrender to his deception. Conviction is a necessary part of our walk with Christ, but condemnation holds us back. Please do not let Satan continue to have a hold of your heart even after you have repented of your sins. Please do not let the grace of God be masked by guilt. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

Titus 3:4-6 “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

posted by Carsen @ 11:49 AM

2 Comments:

At November 20, 2008 at 12:08 PM, Michelle said…

This is an awesome post, Carsen! Thank you for sharing what's on your heart and the things the Lord has been teaching you. I believe it will be a help to many!! Love you!
At November 22, 2008 at 10:56 AM, Anonymous said…

What an awesome person you are... Keep learning, keep searching...keep praying... You are growing into such a beautiful woman with a GREAT powerful future... Love You!! Call me when you have a chance to chat.. OK