The Reality Of Spiritual Battle

Here are some Biblical facts about spiritual battle:

Satan exists and is real (Matt.4:10 ) -- he is talked about in the Bible as if he does exist...it’s a ‘given’ that he is real.

            He is created but he is not co-equal with God.

     He is limited (Job 1:6-2:6), “like a mad dog on a chain.”

    He is not all-powerful, he is not all-present, but he does have a whole 

        host/a world system of co-workers to assist him (Eph.6:12).

The Bible doesn’t give us clear teaching on ‘satanology’ as it is written to a people who already are aware of his existence.

We tend to be ignorant in general of the spiritual world.

Satan and his spirits are cosmic, invisible and totally evil.

Spiritual battle’ is a multi-dimensional SIN issue which can be evident on 3 fronts:

            ●a battle from within -- a battle of the flesh and/or the mind (Rom.8:7-8, 

                    Eph.4:17-24, 2 Cor.10:3-5) -- actual or imagined battle,

                   (it is often played out in the following areas: immorality, impurity, sensuality)

            ●a battle from without -- a battle in the world/world system/culture/society

                   /relationships (1 John 2:15-17, Eph.5:7-10, 2 Cor.2:11, Eph.4:26-27)

                   (it is often manifested in strife, jealousy, dissensions, etc.),

            ●a battle with cosmic powers -- evil, supernaturalism (Eph.6:10-19, Rev.12:3-9), 

                   idolatry, sorcery, etc.

The entire human race is ruled by satan through:

            ●attacks the minds of the unbelievers (Matt.13:19, 2 Cor.4:3-4, 2 Thes.2:9-10),

            ●attacks believers (Lk.22:31, 2 Cor.11:3, Eph.6:12).

                   We give him an “opportunity” or a foothold in our lives through:

                          -unforgiveness - 2 Cor.2:11 and

                          -unresolved anger - Eph.4:26-27.

                    Our present reality is that we are within a war between 2 kingdoms -God’s 

                           kingdom and satan’s kingdom (satan cannot attack God, so he attacks 

                           God’s people).

Satan is already defeated/Jesus Christ is victorious:

Luke 10:18        Romans 8:37        1 Cor.15:24,27        2 Thes.2:8-11         

1 John 3:8         Rev.12:11               Rev. 20:10,15

Satan’s tactics:

            ●His names (which reveal his strategy and his character):

                     'dragon' - Rev.12:3-4 (to the Greek mind, a dragon was cruel, a dread and 

                          a hostile power)

                     'devil' (‘the adversary’) - Matt.4:1-11, 1 Peter 5:8                  

                     'evil one' - Matt.13:19                                                                           

                     'murderer'/'liar'/'father of lies' - John 8:44                                                         

                     'accuser' - Rev.12:10                                                                                            

                     'satan' (‘deceiver’) - Rev.12:9

                     'ruler of this world'  - John 14:30            

                     'schemer' - 2 Cor.2:11

                     'strongman' - Matt.12:29

                     'prince of power of the air' - Eph.2:2                                                                

                     'angel of light' - 2 Cor.11:14

            ●His motives:  to kill, steal, destroy - John 10:10. 

            ●His ‘fiery darts’ when attacking believers (Eph.6:16):

                   -doubt (James 1:6)  - he is master at planting seeds of doubt,

                 -  feeling forsaken (Psalm 139:9-12,17-18;  Rom.8:35-39) - he can tempt us to

                         think that even God has withdrawn His love for us,

                   - feeling unacceptable to God (Rom.5:6-10, 8:1; 1 Peter 2:4),

                   - not feeling forgiven (1 John 1:9) - remind yourself: ‘Lord, this sin just 

                          proves that I needed a Savior.  Thank You for dying on the cross for me!’,

                    -criticalness, slander, bitterness (Heb.12:15, Eph.4:31),

                    -“if only...”  (Ps.84:11) - makes me hope in something other than God,

                     -immorality (1 Thes.4:3-5, Col.3:5, 1 Cor.6:11) - ‘lust can never wait to take, 

                          but love can always wait to give’,

                     -worthlessness (Is.43:4,1 Peter 2:5, Eph.2:10, 1 John 4:7-21LB ) - remind 

                          yourself that you’re worth just as much to God as Jesus is worth to Him.

Our response as believers in the battle:

            ●resist firm in faith, resist and flee (1 Peter 5:9, James 4:7),

            ●realize your position in Christ (Eph.2:6) - you are assured victory over the 

                  enemy,

            ●realize you are fighting in God’s strength (Eph.6:10),

            ●realize that His angels are assigned to you (Heb.1:14),

            ●clothe yourself in the armour of God daily (Eph.6:10-19).

Where the battle is played out:

            ●The battle against the flesh/mind - confess all known sin immediately, give the 

                 enemy no opportunity (do not allow bitterness, anger or unforgiveness to 

                 continue); “take every thought captive” (2 Cor.10:3-5).

            ●The battle against the world - renew your mind constantly, keep short accounts 

                 with God and others, (Rom.12:1-2, 1 Thes.4:1-8, Eph.4.1 - 5:14).

            ●The cosmic battle –

                    -rely on the supremacy of Jesus’ name (Lev. 10:17, Phil.2:9-11),

                    -rely on the power of the atoning blood of Jesus (Col.1:13-20, Rev.12:11),

                    -rely on the immanent presence of the Holy Spirit (John 14:6-7, Eph.5:18),

                    -invite the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself as:

            →light to penetrate darkness (I John 1:5)

            →truth to expose deception (John 16:13)

            →fire to destroy impurity (Mal.3:3),

        -rely on the power of faith (Eph.6:16, Rom.4:20-21),

        -resist the enemy (James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:8-9),

        -rest in the assurance that the battle is the Lord’s (1 Sam.17:47, 

             2 Chron.20:15).

 He will break and lift the oppression in His way, in His time (2 Thes.3:3, 

 John 17:15) our power to ‘bind the strongman’ (Matt.12:29, 16:19) - our power 

and authority over the enemy comes as we take our stand in the name of Jesus.

         Relevant Scripture:    

 2 Chron.20                    Ps.35:1-10                    John 17:15                    2 Thes.3:3

              1 Pet.5:8-9                     1 Kings 19                    Ps.91, 97                        Rom.16:20

 2 Cor.12:7-10                 1 John 4:4                    Dan.10                           Ps.118             

 2 Cor.2L11                      James 4:6-11               Col.1:15-20                   Ps. 18

 Luke 9:1, 10:18              Eph.6:10-19                 Rev.12:7-11                  Eph.1:18-22

Eternal destinies

Once again I want to focus these coaching tips this summer on your personal relationship with God.  I would encourage you to go back to the “Suggested Summer Reading List” that I sent out last summer and choose a couple of books to read through while you are on holiday.  

I have been reading through a devotional book this spring called, “Come Away My Beloved” by Frances J. Roberts.  The following excerpt from that book and from the thoughts I wrote out in my journal is a good introduction:

“My heart for you is in nowise contingent upon any attainment.  My glory is involved in the way you live.  Eternal destinies are involved in the matters of your holiness and your faithfulness and your obedience to My direction and will; but My love for you is independent of these factors.”

“Your love for me as I am is secure – it’s ‘done.’  It has happened and it can never be undone – no matter what I do or don’t do.  You love me with a depth of love which cannot be explained and cannot be stopped.  You love me, no question.  Because You love me, You are faithful to Your promise to me.  It’s not what I do for You that makes You love me.  There’s nothing I can do to make You love me more.

“You express Your love in many ways – 2 of them are Your faithfulness and mercy.  I love You and one way I express my love for You is through obedience to Your will.  The author also adds that I can express my love to You through holiness and faithfulness.  Even though my ‘works’ (the things I do) won’t make You love me more, these ‘works’ are still important (maybe we should call them ‘responses’ instead of ‘works’).  Being obedient and faithful to do Your will in holiness is vital to the ‘eternal destinies’ of those who have yet to experience God’s love for them.  You love the lost and You ache that they experience Your love for each of them.  Your heart breaks because the lost die without knowing Your love for them (Ezek. 18:32, 33:11; 2 Pet.3:9).  I want to be about doing the things that will keep Your heart from breaking.  My love for You moves me to do that.

“In the midst of serving You, I must not forget that You already love me with a love that almost bursts Your heart.”

“I love you because you are My child.  I love you because I am your Father.  I love you with Calvary love.  At great price I have redeemed you – this I did because I loved you.  When I planned this I foresaw you lost in sin, and I loved you and chose you and set My heart upon you.

~from Francis J. Roberts

2 tim22.ru website overview of evangelism section

Sorry, there is no English equivalent for 2tim22.ru.

Very practical tips for resolving team conflict

It is perfectly natural that we encounter times when we don’t immediately agree with each others ideas during planning times on a team.  The following are some simple tips that can help bring about resolution to the differences of opinion.

1.       Differences of opinion as you talk about strategies and events are healthy as you work together with an agreed-upon mission.  It helps you to consider the good sides and weak sides of possible events or strategies.  It helps you to think though which is the better strategy to use.

NOTE:  Differences of opinion in vision and mission -what you feel God has called you to do as a group- is a very different issue.  If there are members on your team who have a completely different mission or overall objective for your team, then it may mean that it is better for you not to work together.   Agreement on mission is crucial.  God has not called us all to the exact same mission.  He calls some of us to different way of fulfilling His mission for us.  The mission of New Life, the mission that I am coaching and resourcing you in, is more than the mission of simply taking the gospel to lost students in Russia.  The mission is to build movements of evangelism and discipleship and prayer on your campus – to be a lighthouse on your campus to the non-believers who don’t know where else to go to find the Light.

2.       Conflict becomes a problem is when it stops you from moving forward in your team’s objective. 

·         One simple way to deal with conflict when it comes to choosing what ideas or plans to use in the overall vision and mission of building a movement on your campus is to stop the discussion and take time to pray silently for 10 minutes.  As each of you goes before the Lord in prayer, mentally go over the reflection questions from the last coaching tip, confess any sin He brings to your mind and make sure you are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit.

 Ask God to direct your thoughts toward His plan for what you should do.  Then after someone closes your time in prayer, share with each other what God impressed on you.  When I have done this on teams, it generally ends up that He has brought us all into agreement during the prayer time, or has totally changed my mind on the thing I was fighting for and prompted me to be willing to do what another person on the team was suggesting.

·         Another thing you can do as you feel yourself beginning to want to fight for your idea, is simply to defer to the other.  Usually there is no perfectly right or no absolutely wrong idea when you are talking about which event to choose – there might be some which appear better, and you may think that your idea is better, but practice the concept of letting go of your idea, and promoting the idea of someone else.  Perhaps you can add something that will improve their idea so that you can own it together.  It may mean just letting something go just because you feel pride starting to come in and putting someone else's ideas before your own is a humble response.

“If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if His love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves…”  Phil.2:1-4 - The Message

Conflict and Phil.2:1-4

Conflict generally happens anytime you put two people together.  That’s just the way it is.  Conflict is a natural part of life…it is what makes life interesting!  Working together as a team to accomplish what God has called you to do pretty much guarantees conflict.  Conflict is not good or bad – it is neutral.  It is how we handle it that makes it feel good or bad. 

One way that conflict can grow on a team is when each person is more concerned about their own interests than in another person’s interests and so there is a completion of interests.  When I am determined that my way is done, or my suggestion taken or my idea considered, and when other people on the team are equally determined to have their ideas implemented is when conflict becomes ugly. 

The Philippian church was encountering conflict.  It must have not been anything major as the tone of Paul’s writing in the Letter to the Philippians indicates mild concern rather than serious correction.  He wanted to remind the Philippians of how to respond to the conflict between them in a manner glorifying to the Lord.  In fact he reminds them that Jesus is the supreme model for not allowing conflict to come in the way of our effectiveness in working together as a team.

In Phil.2:1-4 we see that the core of their conflict was probably the desire of the Philippians to protect the things that concerned them.  Paul appeals to the model of Jesus in Phil.2:1.  He wanted them to be devoted to seeking the good of others first.  He reminds them that they have no personal rights (the right to be considered first, the right to make all the decisions, the right to determine what the group will do, the right to be right…). 

Ultimately we are united by God’s mission – having the same commitment to unity and harmony as we work together in pursuing the mission of taking the gospel to the world (Phil.1:27).  Staying united in purpose is a choice, a daily choice.  We must choose to have the right attitude toward one another. 

Attitude is key!  Our attitude toward one another and toward ourselves is a main ingredient in how serious the conflict could become.

1-How unity is broken:

Unity is lost when we allow factions or divisions to arise (Phil.2:3).  The image behind the Greek word for factions is that of a political election:  when a politician runs for office, he tries to build a following for himself by building himself up and putting down his opponents.  We can easily do this as believers when we try to rally others to take our side when there is a disagreement. 

Another destroyer of unity is pride in self.  It is the inclination to make yourself look good and in turn make others look bad.  It is similar to the description above, but the difference is that the first killer of unity is when you try to influence others to support you and your idea or agenda.  Pride is when you assume that what you think is the best idea or that you alone know the best course to follow.

2-How to stay unified:

The way to maintain unity is through two of the hardest character traits to have:  humility and unselfishness.  This is why Paul reminds us of these traits of Jesus at the beginning and the end of this section.  Pride and putting others down comes naturally to us; humility and unselfishness are not natural to man nature.  Yet Paul calls us to humility and to be unselfish.  “Stop looking out for yourself; it doesn’t matter what you want, think, prefer.  What matters is our unity for the sake of the gospel.” 

Humility calls us to count others as better than ourselves – to be so interested in the welfare of others that you forget about thinking about yourself.  It’s the idea of loosing yourself in the service of others.  Consider how Jesus laid aside His right and made Himself lower than God for our sakes.

Unselfishness is when we don’t care who gets the credit or whose idea is chosen or who is asked to be in charge.  The fact that Jesus became a man who was unjustly condemned and crucified for our sakes is a reminder of how we should conduct ourselves toward others.  The problem is not that we think too lowly of others, it generally is that we think too highly of ourselves.   

Allow your ideas to take last place; look out for the interests of others and take no thought for your own interests.  Jesus was ultimately lifted up and glorified by the Father.  The beautiful thing is that if I am looking after the interests of my teammates, and if they are looking after the interests of others on the team, then I have a whole team of people looking after my interests – so I don’t need to be looking after my own interests at all – they are covered!

Response

1.       Self Reflection:  Each time you find yourself in a situation where there is conflict as you work together as a team, ask yourself:

·         Am I oriented toward myself or toward love of others?

·         Am I being selfish and conceited or am I responding with humility?

·         Am I putting the interests of others above my own?

2.       Confess your sin.

3.       Walk in the power of the Holy Spirit who will enable you to respond as Christ would respond.

4.       Defer to one another.  Don’t be about making sure you put yourself first.

In any group or team there will be disagreements (and there will be people who will refuse to pursue unity).  However, where there is the same love, there will be broad tolerance and mutual consideration.  Keep in mind the supreme example of God’s great love and unselfish consideration of others.  Seek to be like Jesus in your interactions with your teammates.

Next week:  Practical Tips on what to do when you experience conflict on your team.