Victory ?
Victory !!
So,
where’s my victory?
Well,
where’s your belief?
Do you believe that you have an enemy, satan, the devil?
“If you are not aware that this war is on, it means just one thing: you are losing it.”
The Life You’re Fighting For: Strength and Stamina to Win Your Spiritual Battles, James Robison, LIFE Outreach International: Fort Worth, TX, 1984, p 6
Do you acknowledge that, as a Christian, you are in the crosshairs of the enemy?
“Taking the position that believers cannot be attacked by the devil leaves Christians ignorant of their enemy’s tactics and give them a false sense of security.”
A Divine Revelation of Spiritual Warfare, by Mary K. Baxter and Dr. T. L. Lowery, Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA: 2006, p19
Are you blinded by evil, by the god of this world?
4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4 NAS
If so, receive the words of Yeshua given to Paul on the way to Damascus. Paul faced the risen Messiah and received the commission to the Gentiles:
18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’ Acts 26:18 NAS
Yes, our Good God has conquered evil!
However, the devil doesn’t know it yet. He hasn’t surrendered.
The war is over, but the battles continue
What happens when the war is over, the ceasefire time set, the documents of surrender signed, sealed, and delivered; but the troops just don’t give up?
This has happened.
After WWII.
The commander of the German army signed the document of surrender on 7 May 1945 (VE Day). Total ceasefire was to be on or before 11:01 pm on 8 May. However, some troops didn’t, or wouldn’t, cease fighting.
The very last German troops of the Second World War to call it quits turned themselves in to a band of Norwegian seal hunters on the remote Bear Island in the Barents Sea on Sept. 4, 1945 – nearly four months after VE Day! [source]
Even more extreme is the case of a Japanese soldier who continued fighting WWII for 29 years after the Japanese surrendered, because he didn’t know (and wouldn’t believe those who tried to tell him. He couldn’t conceive of a Japanese surrender). [source]
That’s where satan is today: beaten, but not yet surrendered
In the same way the Japanese soldier left on Lubang Island in the Philippines couldn’t conceive the idea that his country lost the war, so, too, the devil won’t accept that he has lost the war with El Shaddai, God Almighty
As followers of Jesus, we have a place in that battle, the battle between YeHoVaH and the devil.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 NAS
Yes, we are to struggle. We are not to stand by, ignore, or otherwise, through inaction, in truth, to aid the enemy. James tells us to resist, i.e., take action.
7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7 NAS
Nevertheless, as the battle is not of this physical world, our weapons are not of the physical world.
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 NAS
What are these spiritual weapons?
Paul used the illustration of the armor and weapons of the Roman army to describe the protections believers receive from the Christ, the Messiah. After all, the soldiers were a common sight to everyone in Judea, Samaria, and the Galilee.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore *, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, Ephesians 6:10-18 NAS
More about the weapons
(and the Armor of God)
… next time
Blessings,
TLThomas
It’s ok to doubt, if you check it out!
Be a Berean!
10The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Acts 17:10, 11 ESV
See also
The Battle for Your Life: The Armor of God – Part 1
The Battle for Your Life: The Armor of God – Part 2
The Battle for Your Life: The Armor of God – Part 3
Please join me in this journey of discovery.
- Leave a comment, or ask me a question.
- Share this blog with others, whether they are doubting, or not.
- Take what I say and CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!
© 2017 by the author