Spiritual warfare research: watchman nee

Each one of us must be prepared for conflict

No Christian can hope to enter the warfare of the ages without learning first to rest in Christ and in what he has done, and then, through the strength of he holy spirit within to follow him in a practical holy life here on earth. If he is deficient in either of these he will find that all the talk about spiritual warfare remains only talk; he will never know its reality. Satan can afford to ignore him because he does not count for anything.

- there are many direct attacks of Satan upon Gods children. Of course we must not attribute to the devil those troubles that are the result of our own breach of divine laws. we should by now know how to put those right.

The word 'stand' with its preposition 'against' really means 'hold your ground'.
This is not a command to invade foreign territory.
We are not told to 'march' but to 'stand', the ground we're on is really God's.

Overcomers are those who rest in the victory already given them.

Only those who sit can stand. Our power for standing, as for walking, lies in our having first been made to sit together with Christ.
... If a Christian is not sitting before God he cannot hope to stand before the enemy.

In our warfare the name of Jesus is powerful against satanic powers to bind and bring them into subjection.

The name of Jesus is where we get our authority from.

Divine work can only be done with divine power and that power is to be found in the lord Jesus alone.

The name: mission trip to a Chinese island one new year during the national holiday. They preached the gospel with no effect and asked the people 'why do u not respond?' to which they replied 'we already have a God Ta-Wang. He has never failed us he is an effective god.'
'how do you know you can trust him?'
'every year we have a festival, the date is revealed by divination and for the past 286 years it has been a perfect day without rain or cloud.'
'when is the date this year?'
'11th January at 8am the festival will be.'
'there will be rain on that day!'
People were outraged and soon the word spread among the twenty thousand villagers that the Christian God is going to bring rain on Ta-wangs parade. On the morning of the 11th they missionaries woke to a cloudless sunny day. They sat down for breakfast, said grace and then asked for rain. The God of Elijah showed up and sent a torrent of rain and floods through the village. When the devotees of Ta-Wang tried to carry his statue round in the rain they slipped and he fell off his sedan chair and cracked. They put him on and slipped again, eventually they had to abandon the parade. For the rest of the day it was cloudless and sunny. The priests of Ta-wan said that they got the wrong date and set another (14th at 6pm). Again a cloudless sunny day arrived and again and 6pm not a minute later the heavens opened and the parade abandoned. The name of Jesus is mighty.

We begin our spiritual life by resting in the finished work of the lord Jesus, that rest is the source of our strength for a consistent and unflattering walk in the world. And at the end of a gruelling warfare with the hosts of darkness we are found standing with him at last in triumphant possession of the field. Unto him... Be the glory... Forever.

Spiritual Warfare Research: Driscoll

Extremes: thinking too much and thinking too little.

Screwtape Letters: There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall. to disbelieve, to believe and feel and unhealthy and excessive interest in them.

Stories of experiencing spiritual warfare.

Jesus in all three of the synoptic gospels encounters satan. He has conflict with Satan and demons throughout his ministry.

Satan is an enemy of God and if we belong to Jesus he's going to be against us as well.

Spiritual Warfare Research: Freedom in Christ

1 John 3:8 'The reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the Devil.'

Our temptation in the west is to ignore and disregard the role of the Devil in the Christian life.

Temptation is to think that the spiritual battle doesn';t affect Christians whereas the Christian is 'the bullseye'. The armour of God is for the Christian not the non-Christian.

1 John 5:19 'the whole world lies in his power.'

We tend to divide the world into two worlds 'supernatural' and 'natural'. Bible divides the world into 'creator' and 'creation'. Satan is a created being. There is no comparison between them. It is not equal forces against each other. To compare Satan to God is like comparing an ant with an atomic bomb. Satan is a created being and so can not be in all places at all times.

Colossians 2:15 Jesus disarmed Satan

Satan is under God's control and can only operate under God's control, like a dog on a chain. Satan can bark and he can snarl but he can only operate in the boundaries that God sets.

Satan does not know everything.

Satan works through an organised network of demonic powers. Deceiving spirits.
1 Timothy 4:1 the spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

How does Satan work? He puts thoughts in our minds.

1 Chronicles 29:1 - Satan incited David to take up a census. Temptation to take away confidence in God and place it in our own resources.

John 13:2 - The Devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot...

Acts 5:3 'Ananias how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit?'

The strategies of Satan:
- Temptation
- Accusation
- Deception

Satan cannot stop you from completing the race but he does shout from the sidelines.
How to deal with the thoughts? Sit down and give up? Argue with them? Or... ignore them, take thoughts captive.

Deception is Satan's primary strategy against us.

Eph. 4:27 'If we don't deal with our anger we give the Devil a foothold.'

Satan's greatest access to our lives is through unforgiveness.

With our western worldview we tend to look for the activity opf the demonic in dramatics sessions: someone rolling on the floor etc.
Actually it can be found in the less dramatic, through unforgiveness, bitterness, gossip.

The fight isn't about ownership or possession but about influence. Satan wants to neutralise us or further his agenda.

Jess's testimony: for most of us the enemies attacks aren't as dramatic but they are still real.

Our defence:
- understand your position: with him who is seated far above all things Eph. 1:19-22
We have been given authority to go and make disciples of all nations.
- Submit to God and the Devil will flee from you. Satan has no power whatsoever to stop us from running to Jesus.

You/I have no cause to be afraid of demons. We don't need to be intimidated by things that go bump in the night. Demons are petrified by Christians who know their position in Christ. Demons have no power over Christians except what we give them.

Demons in the room?
Germs in the room. Appropriate response? Eat well, live well.
Appropriate response to demons in the room?
When doctors didn't know there were germs they didn't sterilise their instruments etc.
1 John 5:18 '...the evil one cannot harm him.'
Your authority over satan doesn't increase with volume - you needn't shout at satan.

Guard your minds: God never bypasses our minds. Don't put your mind into neutral. There is no mindless Christianity. We don't need a power encounter with the Devil, that happened on the cross. What we need is a truth encounter.

The real issue isn't so much where the thought came from but is it true. We are told to take every thought captive to Christ regardless of it's origin. Is this thought true?

Jesus prayed 'don't take them out of the world but protect them from the evil one.' How? 'Sanctify them by the word of truth.' Don't get obsessed with demons, that's letting satan set the agenda. Truth, fight lies, fight the enemy with truth.

Spiritual Warfare Research: Ernest Best

Comments on Ephesians:
The metaphor of battle was present in 4:8 but there it was Christ and not Christians who were involved in conflict.

It is not a question of a conflict within a divided self or a battle for the moral life, but a battle for the spiritual.

The devil does not set out to lure Christians into telling another lie or committing an act of fornication but to shatter their Christian existence.

Standing firm and praying should go on without ceasing.

If believers are to stand firm against the powers they need to both pray and be alert.

Believers need to pray continually because their struggle with the powers is never ending. The injunction however should not be taken so literally as to imply believers should spend all their time in prayer; what is required is a constant attitude of dependence on God.

Though the Spirit and prayer are related, we are not to think of praying in tongues but of prayer which is Spirit-led or directed.

Prayer is not to be given up lightly but persisted in.

While believers are urged to intercede for Paul it is not suggested that they pray for his release from prison.

Paul was also involved in the struggle. It isn't something that anyone of us is immune to.

Paul prayer request is not one for the loosing of his chains or for the opening of a door before him to continue his mission work. It is instead a prayer request that though imprisoned he may still continue the struggle. Paul does not bemoan his fater in being a prisoner but seeks to continue his preaching.

Believers have been supplied with supernatural armour which is to be worn with prayer and alertness.

Spiritual Warfare Research: Piper

John Piper:

Quotes from the article:

Satan's work - he works in the hearts of the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:2); he blinds unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4) and plants them throughout the world (Matthew 13:39); he deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9); he does signs and wonders to lead astray if possible even the elect (2 Thessalonians 2:9; Matthew 24:24); he holds people captive to do his will (2 Timothy 2:25ff, Luke 11:21ff); he takes the word away when it is sown (Matthew 13:4, 19); he gives out authority to the world rulers (Luke 4:6; Revelation 13:2); he uses people to hinder others (Acts 13:10); he thwarts mission plans (1 Thessalonians 2:18) and he throws ministers in prison (Revelation 2:10).

Story:

For example, one report from Lausanne II said that in the fall of 1984 a group of pastors and leaders from the San Nicolas/Rosario area of Argentina gathered to discuss and pray about spiritual warfare. The gathering was prompted by the realization that 109 towns within 100 miles of their training center had no Christian witness. They did some preliminary studies and discovered that the town of Arroyo Seco appeared to be the seat of satanic activity in the region.

Years before, a well-known warlock (sorcerer) by the name of Mr. Meregildo operated out of that town. He was so famous and his cures so dramatic that people would trek to Arroyo Seco from overseas for his services. Before he died, he evidently passed his powers on to 12 disciples. Three times a church was established in Arroyo Seco and three times it closed down in the face of severe spiritual opposition.

After several days of Bible study and prayer, the pastors and leaders came together in one accord and placed the entire area under spiritual authority. A few of them traveled to Arroyo Seco. Positioning themselves across the street from the headquarters of Mr. Meregildo's followers, they served an eviction notice on the forces of evil. They announced to them that they were defeated and that Jesus Christ would attract many to himself now that the church was united and had pledged to proclaim him. Less than three years later, 82 of those towns had evangelical churches in them. An unverified report indicates that as of today, all of them have a church or a Christian witness.

Territorial spirits? Daniel 10:

the passage of Scripture that points most clearly to the possibility that some demonic powers oversee territories is Daniel 10. Daniel set himself to pray and fast for three weeks. At the end of the time an angel appeared to him and said that God had heard his prayer from the first day he began to humble himself and pray (v. 12). The reason he had taken three weeks to come, said the angel, was this: "The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, so I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia and came to make you understand what is to befall your people" (vv. 13-14).

Consequences for our ministry:

. 1) Take the Supernatural Seriously:

Take the supernatural seriously and realize that we are in a warfare that cannot and should not be domesticated by reinterpreting everything in the biblical worldview so that it fits nicely with secular, naturalistic ways of thinking about the world. Be ready for the extraordinary as well as the ordinary ways that evil spirits work. Don't be presumptuous, as though demons were weak; and don't be anxious, as though they were stronger than Jesus.

2) Daniel's prayer wasn't about angels:

But the point is this: Daniel's praying was not about angels. And probably ours shouldn't be either. We should wrestle in prayer and fasting for the things that we know are God's will in our lives and our families and our church and our city and our world. But by and large we should probably leave it to God how he will use angels to get his work done. If God shows us more, we will use it. But the essence of the matter is not knowing the spirits but knowing God and praying in the power of Holy Spirit.

SERMON: Piper and prayer:

God who could with none blink of an eye dispatch Satan and all of hordes, instead of doing that employs human agents to fight and win victories in spiritual warfare. Why? Don't know other than we will give more glory to him and we will experience more enjoyment.

10 - be strong: not our strength, it isn't about recruiting big he-men and she-women. His strength is made perfect in our weakness. Ironically, you get the strength by putting on armour. When it comes near and your get in on you, you get strength.

11 - stand is repeated three of four times. All the while your standing you've got a chance to win. Standing in a fight is important. Boxing, you go down, you lose. Stand and withstand. The Devil has schemes: 'methodias', he has methods for everyone. He has a white middle-class book, a white british, a rich, a poor. He has a book of strategies for everyone.

12- Our struggle isn't against flesh and blood: John 18 'my kingdom is not of this world.' The kingdom of Jesus doesn't advance with the sword. It's a spiritual issue. A demonic, angelic evil power that is to be fought here with this armour. How do you fight the devil? Not something weird. How can I protect my children from the devil etc. it is very truth oriented.

14 - stand firm therefore with truth. True, correct like an arrow that flies straight.
Breastplate of righteousness. 'give yourselves as insturments to the Lord' is probably the sense of what this verse is saying. Do right things. The devil is in the business of causing you to do wrong things. Frustrate him by doing right things.

15 - shoes are important. Readiness. Maintaining a spirit of readiness in your life, pushes back satan and his schemes.

16 - in addition to all.... shield. Faith. Particular promises tailor made for the crisis of our lives.

17 - sword of spirit - Jesus in the wilderness. Quote the Bible back to the Devil.

Praying with all prayer and petition. All kinds of praying, at all times and all kinds of prayers. Paul knew he was dependant on prayer for boldness. Even the apostle Paul struggled with a need for boldness.

There's not a person who's ever lived whose not struggled with timidity.

There is a God: Flew

Time Magazine in April of 1980 wrote

"In a quiet revolution in thought and argument that hardly anyone would have foreseen only two decades ago, God is making a comeback. Most intriguingly this is happening... in the crisp intellectual circles of academic philosophers."

Katharine Tait (Bertrand Russell's daughter) writes in 'My Father, Bertrand Russell':

"I would have liked to convince my father that I had found what he had been looking for, the ineffable something he had longed for all his life. I would have liked to persuade him that the search for God does not have to be vain. But it was hopeless. He had known too many blind Christians, bleak moralists who sucked the joy from life and persecuted their opponents; he would never have been able to see the truth they were hiding."

She goes on to say:

"My father's whole life was a search for God... Somewhere at the back of my father's mind, at the bottom of his heart, in the depths of his soul, there was an empty space that had once been filled by God, and he never found anything else to put in it. He had the ghost like feeling of not belonging, of having no home in this world."

In a poignant passage, Russell once said:

"Nothing can penetrate the loneliness of the human heart except the highest intensity of the sort of love the religious teachers have preached."

The excesses and atrocities of organized religion have no bearing whatsoever on the existence of God, just as the threat of nuclear proliferation has no bearing on the question of whether E=mc2

Socrates in the Republic is quoted by Plato as saying

'We must follow the argument wherever it may lead.'

Why God Won't Go Away: quotes from New Atheists

The Economist which had been 'so confident of the Almighty's demise that we published his obituary in our milliennium issue', rather inconveniently found itself bliged to issue a correction in 2007. Religion is back in public life and public debate.

the term New Atheism was invented in 2006

Michael Shermer, executive director of Skeptics Society affirms that religion has been implicated in some dreadful human tragedies 'however for every one of these grand tragedies there are ten thousand acts of personal kindness and social good that go unreported... Religion, like all social institutions of such historical depth and cultural impact, cannot be reduced to an unambiguous good or evil.'

If evolution is indeed a random process how can we speak of 'accidental' or 'inintended' outcomes?


Sam Harris:

The first chapter of Sam Harris' book makes clear that he dislikes certain forms of religion intensely, sadly what follows it reveal that he doesnt really know very much about them. And by the end of the book you have to wonder if the plausibility of his argument depends largely on his readers sharing his abhorrence and lack of understanding.

He says 'some propositions are so dangerous that it may even be ethical to kill people for believing them.'
-McGrath 'The Inquisition, the Gestapo, the Taliban and the KGB could not have put it better.'

Richard Dawkins:
Four days after the 9/11 attackes dawkins wrote: 'To fill a world with religion, or religions of the Abrahamic kind, is like littering the streets with loaded guns. Don't be surprised if they're used.'

'Faith is blind trust, in the abscence of evidence, even in the teeth of evidence.'

Religion is a 'brilliantly successful virus' that contiminates even the best minds. (called 'memes' by Dawkins)

-McGrath 'since there's no evidence for memes, does that mean there's a meme that causes us to believe in them?'

'A claim to knowledge needs to be substantiated; ignorance need only be confessed.'

Christopher Hitchens

The meta-narrative of Hitchens is essentially 'those who entertain religious belief are deluded and hence potentially dangerous to society at large.'

Jonathan Edwards died of Small Pox, such was his commitment to trying to use scientific methods to cure disease.