Core 8-04: Knowing Who’s Who
2014-02-01
We can tell the difference between God’s good spiritual forces and the Devil’s evil spirits by “test[ing] the spirits, whether they are of God.” [4]
God’s power is creative and loving, while the Devil’s power is destructive and hateful. God’s Spirit ministers love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—all good things. The Devil and his evil spirits minister fear, hatred, bitterness, strife, misery, confusion, and torment—all bad things. [5]
Footnotes
[4] 1 John 4:1
[5] Galatians 5:22-23
Core 8-05: Heavenly Forces
2014-02-01
There is, of course, the good side to the spirit world—the side that fights the Devil and those who follow him. This side not only includes God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, but also other spirits as well. You can find reference to these spirits in the Bible.
These include the seven spirits of God spoken of in Revelation 4:5, the seven stars or angels or spirits of the seven churches of Revelation 1:20, the four spirits of the heavens of Zechariah 6:5, and the multitudes of other celestial messengers, angels, or spirits that are mentioned in the Bible.
The apostle Paul calls this heavenly host a “great cloud of witnesses” that surrounds us. [6] Just like a cloud is composed of millions of tiny particles of moisture, this spiritual cloud is composed of millions of good spirits.
In the book of 2 Kings we learn about how God opened someone’s eyes to see into the spiritual realm and he got a glimpse of some of those many witnesses:
2 Kings 6:15-17 (NIV) When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
They are not only watching us, they are watching over us, protecting us, and trying to influence us for good. All throughout the Bible there are many promises of spiritual protection, such as, “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them,” [7] and, “He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” [8]
These heavenly beings are also there to help us to fight the battle of good and evil mentally and spiritually, and to help us to choose what is right over what is wrong.
Footnotes
[6] Hebrews 12:1
[7] Psalm 34:7
[8] Psalm 91:11
Core 8-06: Strategy Against Satan’s Tactics
2014-02-01
The Bible tells us to “fight the good fight of faith” [9] and warns us not to be ignorant of the Devil’s tactics. The Devil has no direct power over us physically, but he can try to influence our thoughts, attitudes, and decisions. We don’t need to fear him, but we do need to be on guard against him.
The Devil knows that if he’s too obvious with his attacks, then we would readily recognize his lies and know how to defeat him. So he often uses more subtle tactics, like twisting the truth to cause us to choose to do something wrong, or magnifying our lazy nature to keep us from choosing to make a positive decision.
Say you became sick or were involved in an accident. You feel that if you would have done something differently, this wouldn’t have happened. As a Christian, you know that God can use this situation to either teach you something good or bring you closer to Him. Once you have asked Him and have done your part to get His thoughts on the matter, then that’s that—you get better and move on. But the Devil is more than happy to play on your feelings of remorse. He will try to make sure that you don’t let go of that bad feeling, and he does his best to make sure that you will continue to beat yourself up about what you did wrong for as long as possible.
The goodness that Jesus gives us makes us feel forgiven, humbled, and thankful, so if you are instead carrying feelings of remorse, condemnation, and regret, you need to realize that this is Satan at work.
It’s important to recognize the thoughts and lies of Satan, because once you do, you can then access the power and promises of Jesus that He gives you through the words that are written in the Bible. The Devil cannot withstand the power of Jesus. His own power is weakened and he is then easily defeated.
Fight Like a Warrior
A message from Jesus
The true warrior is always looking for a way to gain territory no matter how severe the attacks of the Enemy may be. Unlike earthly warfare, where you often retreat when casualties are high, or you concede defeat because you’re badly beaten, when it comes to spiritual warfare you never need to concede defeat, because you can always rely on Me to come through for you, and make every situation and every battle a victory situation if you never give up.
The way of man is usually to pull back in certain areas in order to reinforce other areas where major attacks have been launched, but that’s a very defensive approach. Often the best way to fight back is to not only stand your ground, but to launch an attack in several directions, so that the Enemy is the one who is then put on the defensive and sent running.
No matter how badly the Enemy attacks you, you have the power and the weapons to keep hammering away at him. You have the heavenly resources to keep blasting his forces to bits. And you have the gift of faith to hold tightly to, so that no matter how dismal the outlook may be, your faith in Me will sustain your spirit with the promise that I will be the victor, so long as you are willing to keep fighting and seeing the battle through.
Don’t give the Enemy the pleasure of seeing you pull back because of his scare tactics. Keep launching your attack. Keep sending volleys into Satan’s camp, no matter how hard he’s besieging you. The courageous man is the one who keeps fighting and moving forward even when he’s hardest hit, even when there are foes all around and the battles are intense. There is always hope of victory if you keep fighting.
Footnotes
[9] 1 Timothy 6:12
Core 8-07: The Armor of God
2014-02-01
In order to resist and fight Satan, Jesus has given us spiritual armor and spiritual weapons to use, which gives us strength to withstand his attacks. We must remember that the war of good and evil is not a carnal one but a spiritual one—one that can only be won through mind and spirit. And also one that is won through faith and belief in God’s Word.
Breakdown of God’s Armor
What do we need for protection?
We are fighting the devil—Satan. We are not fighting people, but the powers of darkness in this world, which is Satan and his helpers. The protection we need is the armor of God.
What is the armor of God, and how can we clothe ourselves in it? Let’s look at each piece.
Belt of truth—Standing firm in truth. Living our lives by the truth of God’s word.
Breastplate of Righteousness—Walking uprightly before God. Aligning our lives to His standards.
Shod feet—Standing with firm-footed stability, being ready.
Shield of Faith—Standing firm in our faith. This will squash all the fiery darts Satan sends.
Helmet of Salvation—Protection for our minds. Satan attacks us here more than anywhere. We need to be sure of our Salvation and not waver or doubt.
All of these pieces are for protecting us—and need to be put on daily.
There is still one other piece we need to be armed with. This piece is not for protecting us, but for fighting with.
The Sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God.
We cannot fight the enemy if we don’t know the word of God. It is vital for how effective we are when we use the sword, and how effective the rest of the armor is that protects us. No soldier goes to war with faulty weapons, or with faulty protection. Neither should we. The key here is to learn God’s word. Hide it in your heart. Then you can put on God’s armor and be able to stand firm.
- S. Lowndes
As it said in the last paragraph, “We cannot fight the enemy if we don’t know the word of God.” This is a key point to remember, because it’s the secret to defeating and overcoming the power of Satan.