Tag Archives: The Spiritual Warfare Manifesto

Winning against Sinning

Posted on 09/04/2022 | Comments Off on Winning against Sinning

To truly live the abundant life in Christ, we must die to our fallen, carnal nature. For us to be successful at this, we will need intimacy with the Father and constant intake and exposure to His written word.  

Our intimacy with God is the key to dying to sin and self.

When we give ourselves to intimacy with God and reading and studying His Word, we lay on the great potter’s wheel, allowing Him to shape us into everything we were created to be.

If we don’t embrace the finished work of Christ and believe that sin has been dealt with, we give the enemy opportunity to deceive us. He primarily does this through the lies of guilt, condemnation, and shame.

Guilt = A subconscious belief that “I am not forgiven.”

Condemnation = A subconscious belief that “I am worthy of judgment.”

Shame = A subconscious belief that “I am still the old person I used to be before Christ.”

These lies are Satan’s counterfeit to the Holy Spirit’s conviction, godly sorrow, and a heavenly perspective on our identity in Christ.

Romans 14:22 (NKJV) Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.

For those that struggle with sin, it is a dead giveaway that they have yet to understand the gospel message and the completed work of Jesus Christ.

I struggled with it for decades until I began to see my deception. Even then, overcoming the strongholds of wrong believing took some time. The two things that helped me most were intimacy with the Father and the book of Romans.

Reading Romans repeatedly helped me gain the proper perspective on my redemption. It helped me move from trying so hard to be “sold out to God” to understanding that I have been bought out completely. Christ purchased me with His blood, knowing that I was a sinner, that I had a fallen nature, that I would make mistakes, and that I could not fix myself. Still, he bought me! Praise the Lord!

Once I realized I could do nothing about fixing my sin and understood that only He could, I just quit thinking about it. Now I wake up every day to pursue Him and trust that He is perfecting the work that He started. I believe God knows what He is doing, and I am convinced I do not.

As we seek God’s face, our old carnal man dies because no man can look into the face of God and live.

Exodus 33:20 (NKJV) But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” 

We can behold the Father’s face through the written word. It is our carnal man’s face-to-face encounter with God. As we behold Him and His holiness, those unholy and unworthy things die.

We must believe that we are dead to sin, not giving sin another thought, not giving it the time of day. If we keep it out of our thoughts and speech, all the time and energy we previously wasted trying to “do better” or “clean ourselves up” can be spent with Him.

The most important thing to remember about “reckoning ourselves dead to sin” is believing that we are alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 6:11 (NKJV) Likewise, you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Quoted from the book, The Spiritual Warfare Manifesto

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Following the Narrow Path

Posted on 09/02/2022 | Comments Off on Following the Narrow Path

The Narrow Perspective

Matthew 7:13-14 (NKJV) Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

To enter the narrow gate and follow the narrow path requires a narrow perspective on life. The broad views of the world have many entrances and paths; without exception, they all lead to destruction. The narrow path promises to be difficult but is the only path to life.

Faith is a perspective. It is the narrow gate that leads to life. A Christian should have a very narrow way of thinking, believing, speaking, and behaving. This perspective comes from following Jesus’ example with an unwavering trust in God and His immeasurable love for us.

John 5:19-20 (NKJV) Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.

Jesus only did what He saw the Father do. One of the reasons Jesus was able to perform miracles, heal the sick, and raise the dead is because He constantly practiced watching the Father. Could this be why we don’t see the level of supernatural life that we read about in the New Testament?

The discipline of watching creates an awareness of God that dials up our sensitivity to the Spirit and puts life in proper perspective. It produces a healthy fear of the Lord that makes us acutely aware of what He is saying at the moment. The more we keep our attention and focus on Him, the clearer we become on who He is and who we are to Him. Being watchful births humility, and He gives His grace to the humble. (1 Peter 5:5 – James 4:6-7)

Watchfulness produces integrity of the heart, which makes resisting temptation easier. It keeps us prepared to face anything that life would dish out. Watchfulness is one of the essential parts of prayer that has not been taught or practiced. When we practice watching, we know better what to pray for and how to pray. It positions us to be a vessel that the Father can move through. Watchfulness helps to sanctify us.

Mark 13:33 (NKJV) Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.

1 Thessalonians 5:6 (NKJV) Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.

Matthew 25:13 (NKJV) “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

Quoted from the book, The Spiritual Warfare Manifesto

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How Faith is Refined

Posted on 08/30/2022 | Comments Off on How Faith is Refined

The Bible uses the analogy of a refiner’s fire to depict the need for purifying our faith. The fact that our faith needs to be refined tells us that there is something in it that needs to be purged and purified. Tests, trials, and persecutions are the fire God uses to bring about this purification. 

We can quickly identify where our faith is less than pure by the way we react to any given difficulty. When our faith is not pure, we will feel emotions that match the lies of unbelief.

If our faith is not refined, we will become overly emotional, worried, anxious, doubtful, overwhelmed, and powerless. When we are shocked by a bad report or a sudden tragic event, we can initially be shaken with negative thoughts and feelings. However, suppose those negative thoughts and emotions remain and cause torment. In that case, it indicates a deeper problem: a lack of trust in God that comes from a lack of commitment to the written word.

Negative thoughts and emotions are something we wage spiritual warfare against, taking them captive to the obedience of Christ. This is a necessary part of the refinement process of faith. To be strong in this arena requires daily intake of, exposure to, and relationship with the written word of God. The sword of the Spirit is equally as essential for defense as the offense.

The shield of faith is only as strong as the sword of the Spirit is established in our hearts.

God has designed us to feel joy, peace, and confidence when our faith is pure. Refined faith will find a way to glory in tribulations.

Romans 5:3 (NKJV) And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;

          Refined faith will count it all joy when facing various trials.

James 1:2 (NKJV) My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

          Mature faith won’t find it strange when the fiery trials of life come upon us. We will rejoice that we are worthy of partaking in Christ’s sufferings. We will understand that the blessing and glory of God rest on us and there is greater potential for rewards.

Quoted from the book, The Spiritual Warfare Manifesto

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How are your Sword Skills?

Posted on 08/29/2022 | 1 comment

God’s word is a sword.

Being skilled with the sword takes diligence and work. If we cannot rightly divide the word of God, why would we desire to teach it?

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

All scripture is profitable for reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, but not necessarily our interpretation or delivery of it. Handling the word of life without humility and the fear of the Lord can result in people being cut, hurt, and offended. It brings reproach on Christ, discrediting His name, harming the Church, and devaluing His word.

The Bible says in James 3:1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. And yet the world is full of Bible teachers that do not rightly divide the word of truth. We should all realize that teachers of the word of God are held to a high level of accountability. A stricter judgment. Teachers should teach from the overflow of their intimate relationship with the Lord, for these are the only things they truly know. Accumulation of knowledge about the word of God is not the same as knowing the Word.

In the age of abundant information that we live in, it is easy to accumulate knowledge about God and reduce ourselves to just relaying information. Unless we put that knowledge into practice, we don’t know the truth we are trying to share. The common practice of merely sharing information results in teaching and preaching that lack spiritual authority with demonstration and power. Many try to compensate for this lack of authority and power by being funny and entertaining or by being dramatic and forceful in their delivery. These are poor substitutes.

We should keep in mind that the Word is a person. When we share the word with others, we are to share our understanding of that person. We should speak from what we have gained in the relationship, not the knowledge we have accumulated through academic efforts. If we are not practicing what we know, we cannot teach it with the authority and power it deserves.

James 1:22 (NKJV) But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

When we teach what we don’t practice, we not only deceive ourselves but do an injustice to those we are attempting to teach.

Until we are doers of the word, we do not know the word. Even if we memorize every scripture in the Bible, we only know those things we have put into practice.

Suppose we were to read and memorize every piece of information on the planet about flying a jet. Can we call ourselves a pilot? No. We can’t say we know it until we have practiced it.

If we were to memorize every bit of literature about brain surgery, can we be considered brain surgeons? No. Doctors and pilots must work with other skilled professionals to gain experience in a safe and controlled environment where mistakes get no one hurt or put in danger.

The self-deception that James is talking about is the accumulation of knowledge without practicing it. It causes us to think we know what we are talking about without ever living it. Just because we can quote scripture and have an entire library of memorized verses does not mean we know the truth.

It is only by being doers of the word, obeying what we know, that expresses and reveals our faith and causes us to know the truth intimately. Obedience to the word we know births intimacy with the Father, causing us to grow in grace and the authority and power of the gospel.

Quoted from the book, The Spiritual Warfare Manifesto

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