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Post by beechy16 on Feb 12, 2018 12:40:50 GMT -6
Just wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts on this subject? I am recently been reading a book by Chip Ingram on spiritual warfare because I have been battling what I think are spiritual issues since 2007 or probably longer than that. But, my first view on spiritual warfare is that it is not actually us who is fighting against the devil at least in our own resources but us taking Gods spiritual resources to fight the battle.
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Post by Rob W. Case on Feb 14, 2018 19:43:58 GMT -6
Everyone who truly believes in Jesus will have an enemy that will wage war over what you believe, the new nature that Christ instills within you, and the resolve that He promises when you follow Him.That said, there are different variations (which comes down to a series of battles) for which spiritual warfare is fought.
The enemy will always target your mind, what you believe, who you believe, your own identity in Christ, and in that, will try to, as a bearer of truth, weaken, discourage, or eliminate your witness to it. If you allow him to succeed in doing that, then you will feel weak and weary (both in body, mind, and spirit) to go out in this world and be effective in proclaiming the truth that transcends all of the strongholds (wrong patterns of thinking) that this dark world is comprised of, and tries to get you to submit to.
And one of the things I have noticed is how the enemy approaches each and every type of person in this world. I will categorize them into three general types for this example.
Non-Believer – The enemy doesn’t waste his time with a bulk of these people because they are already in his camp. In other words, what this type of person believes in is confined to this physical world and its methods of operation. He is completely oblivious to the power beyond him. And the same goes for “religious people” in the sense that too many of them go through rituals and exercises, having a form of godliness (by believing that they are okay if they engage in those rituals and practices) but deny its power (2 Timothy 3:5).
Believer- When a person becomes a believer, the enemy tries to snuff out all life that led to his believing in hopes to destroy his resolve and “dim his light in the darkness”. Jesus talked about that in his parable of the Seed and the sower (Matthew chapter 13 with stronger emphasis on verses 18-23.
Believer with ambitions to serve the Kingdom- When the enemy has failed to rob people of the hope of God’s promises (and this comes with maturity in the heat of adversity), then the enemy steps up his offenses. And so, the more effective you are, the more attention you will draw from the enemy, and the more offenses you will face. And the more you endure, the more you will be rewarded (James 1:12).
Some food for thought as you either couple it with, or view it separately from the book “The Invisible War” you are reading by Chip Ingram.
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