<http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/>
2008/10/13
<http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/en-US/EmailPosting.htm?Article=%7BAAC716E5-842D-46F4-9173-9709B5DEFF7D%7D>
How to Fight Spiritual Warfare
by Rick Warren
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 (NIV)
**** *** *** ****
There are four things we need to do when we are battling spiritual warfare
in our lives:
*1. Acknowledge the adversary. *Satan is real (1 Peter 5:8-9). When you're
being attacked, it's proof that you're a believer. The more you make an
impact for God, the more the Devil is going to fight you. You never outgrow
it; it just gets more intense. **
If there were no Devil, why would God send his Son to fight what does not
exist? The Bible says in 1 John 3:8, "The Son of God came to destroy these
works of the Devil" (NLT).
*2. Accept God-given authority. *Most believers are very ignorant about the
authority they have to use against the Devil. Matthew 28:18-19 says we have
all authority in heaven and earth. Then Jesus says, "Therefore go and make
disciples …" (NIV). He transfers the authority to you and me. He does that
because he's given us a specific mission (2 Corinthians 5:20). **
*3. Put on God's armor. *When Paul wrote about the whole armor of God
(Ephesians 6:11-17), he was in prison chained to a Roman guard. Paul used
the Roman centurion as a model for spiritual armor. Paul says, just as the
Roman soldier is properly dressed to do battle, we also need to be dressed
for battle. **
For instance, I will often pray, "Lord, I put on the helmet of salvation
that will protect me from the thoughts the Devil will try to give me. I
don't want to think the Devil's thoughts. I don't want to think my thoughts.
I want to think your thoughts, so that that I may be a voice for you. I put
on the belt of truth. Lord, I want to share the truth, not falsehood. I want
to lead people into righteousness."
*4. Aim the artillery. *The battlefield for spiritual warfare is primarily
in your thought life, in your mind (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Paul says the
weapons God gives us to use demolish arguments – that's the way people
think; they pull down pretension – that's the way people think. **
We take every thought captive. In this battle for thoughts, we have four
weapons: humility, faith, truth, and praise.
(c) .
--
'Unless you change what you do, you will always have what you've got.'
- Jim Rohn
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