LESSON
39
Know Your Battlefield
John
Truth not taken far
enough leads to bondage. A truth taken too far leads to heresy and bondage. We must blend and balance each truth with all
other truths.
Eph. 6:10-13
Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour
of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles
of the devil. For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
[places]. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of
God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand.
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The armor of God is that
which God has given to us to stand against all the attacks of the devil. We live in a day when we are experiencing a
greater onslaught of the devil's power against our lives than ever before.
The devil has launched
an all out war against the church.
We are not in peace
time. We are in a time of warfare. If we don't treat our Christianity as a war,
we are going to be caught off guard.
We will see a greater
outpouring of satanic assault in these last days than in any other time in
history.
Rom.
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We will also see a
greater release of the supernatural miracle working power of God in our lives,
more than in any other time in the history of this world.
Circumstances and trials
will come. Let them come, because we
don't trust in ourselves but in God.
We are in a war. We had no choice about this war. We were born into it. This war is between God and the Devil. As Christians we are on the winning side.
Many Christians want to
call a truce with the Devil. Basically
their approach is, “Devil
you leave me alone and I’ll leave you alone.”
This approach is not only totally incorrect, it can be deadly. Satan has no power over you except that which
you give him by default. When you fail
to rise up against the enemy he will always defeat you. God’s command is to...
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The word ‘resist’ means to
oppose or come against. It is an
offensive attack against Satan, not a defensive position.
God doesn’t want us to
‘Hold the fort.’ He wants us to ‘take
the kingdom by force.’
LOCATE YOUR ENEMY
You can not fight an
enemy you have not located. In the war
against terrorism in the world today, the hardest part is to locate who the
terrorist are. If we could locate them we
could stop them. But until we locate
them we only can operate from a defensive position. This leaves us weak and vulnerable.
The same is true in the
spiritual world. Until we locate our
enemy, discover where he is wagging the war from, and take on an all out
offensive against him, we will never experience total victory.
In order to win this war
we must know who it is we are fighting and where the war is taking place.
The Bible is clear about
who our enemy is....
Eph.
...and where the battle
is fought.
2 Cor.
10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the
flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God
to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting
down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ.
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God has given to us
Armor to not only defend ourselves but also to lay siege on the enemy. The battlefield where the war between the
devil and God takes place is in your mind.
THE
Whoever controls the
mind of a man, controls that man. Every action is a manifestation of a thought.
A thought becomes an
action.
An action done over
and over again becomes a habit.
A habit eventually
forms a lifestyle.
A lifestyle
determines your destiny.
Everything begins in
your mind with a thought. Where you end
up is a total summation of your thoughts.
If you want to know where you're going to end up ask yourself,
"What am I thinking about?"
The whole battle is not
fought in the natural, but in your mind.
If the devil can't move you in your mind, then he can't move you. The devil has no power over you, as a child of
God, except that which you yield to him.
The heart of man is
man's soul; his will, mind, intellect, emotions, imaginations.
If you can gain control
of your mind then you can live in total victory.
Most of us have little
control over our minds. Circumstances
come, then fear and doubt begin to dominate our
thoughts. The thoughts of our flesh
dominate rather than the Word of God.
We have got to learn how
to control our minds.
Phil. 2:5 Let this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
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Each of us are triune beings, having
a spirit, soul and body.
1 Thes.
Our spirit will live
forever. Our body will die and return to
the dust.
When you're born-again
your spirit is made brand new. Your
spirit is born in the image and likeness of Jesus. You have now been set free from the sin
nature, because your sin nature was in your spirit. However, your soul (mind) is still flooded
with the junk of sin.
Rom. 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.
Your body has no power;
it is just a tent. Therefore, your body
can't be the flesh nature or where the works of the flesh come from. The works of the flesh are that which the unregenerated spirit of man operated under.
The mind has been
trained by the sin nature in the works of the flesh. The mind still thinks according to the old
man. Because the soul has the will of
man, he will still operate according to the old man, until he puts off the old
man and puts on the new. He must renew
his mind.
In Review:
1. What
is the Armor of God used for?
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2. Where
does the war between the devil and God take place?
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3. List
the process in which a man’s actions take place. How does it begin and if it is not dealt with
what can it become? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. As a
child of God, when can the devil exercise power over you?
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5. What
are the three parts of a man?
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6. What
is a man’s soul made up of?
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