Know the War, Win the Fight

Happy 15th of December, men and women of God! This month’s issue of The Overflow is coming in right before the deadline and is all about spiritual warfare. Over the past month, my Discipleship Group has been digging into the Word to learn more about the war we find ourselves in (wrestling not against flesh and blood, Ephesians 6:12).

As we unpacked various scriptures and biblical principles, there were a few key takeaways that stuck out and will be shared here from my personal overflow – much of it comes directly from Ephesians 6:10-20, which I encourage you to read and meditate on.

In addition to our self-study, I also gleaned insights from a few great teachers on the subject. One point that was made repeatedly by a few of them was how many believers need to first come to terms with and understand that we are in a very real battle – something it appears many people neglect or downplay in today’s western culture. However, for most of our human history and in the majority cultures across Africa, Asia, and Latin America, people have no problem with this concept (the idea of conflict between spiritual good and spiritual evil). In the Western world though, people tend to struggle with the idea more. Many people don’t even like using the word ‘evil’ because they don’t want to offend or assume/impose moral judgements. Additionally, due to the prevalent belief that everything must have a natural and scientific cause, it’s often challenging for people to believe that a spiritual realm exists – even though it’s very clear in the Bible.

So, in an effort to put that to bed, let’s look at where evil came from in one paragraph snapshot. Based on the Word alone (which I assume if you’re reading this, you believe is true), we know that evil came from the free will of created beings – first angels, and then humans. We know that some of the angels fell by rebelling and turning against God – this is Satan and his demons who are supernatural beings. And then after their fall, the human race was tempted by the enemy, and in free will, we also turned against God – so now that propensity for sin and evil lives inside of us. Due to this, external factors can now aggravate, accentuate, or shape the innate selfishness, self-absorption, insecurities, etc. that already exist inside of us. We are by nature sinful, but that isn’t what creates evil – it’s when the stuff that lives in our heart gets aggravated by the devil and then takes action that makes the world what it is.

But here’s some good news that we all need to remember – the devil is not God’s opposite. Often people make the mistake of thinking this, but the reality is that God has no opposite. Satan is a created being, so his opposite might be Michael the archangel, but God – No. God is supreme in all ways. He is the Creator and nothing can compare.

Ok, now back to the battle… We must also know what exactly it is that we fight against – which is the devil’s schemes. This is made clear in Ephesians 6:11 when we are told to put on the full armor of God to take our stand against the wiles of the devil. The Greek word for schemes is “methodeia” which refers to cunning arts, deceit, craft, or trickery. It’s the root of the English word “methods” and in the NT, it’s used to describe the strategies and tactics used by the devil to lead believers astray. It implies a deliberate and systematic approach to deception. Even in the Greco-Roman world, the concept of "methodeia" would have also been understood in the context of strategic planning and cunning tactics, often associated with military or political maneuvers. We see this concept echoed again in 2 Cor 2:11 where we are warned not to be outsmarted or ignorant of the devil’s schemes.

So, knowing there are schemes and that the enemy is very strategic with them, it’s good to be aware of some of the ways he operates. The rest of this is going to be a regurgitation of insights gleaned from Dr. Tim Keller and concepts written by Thomas Brooks in his book, “Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices”. I found these incredibly enlightening, and my hope is you will too.

Pulling from their teachings, there are two key errors and several devices the enemy uses. I’m going to outline them here.

First, the two errors we must fight:

1. Overestimating the enemy – this can often lead to an unhealthy interest or obsession in the powers of darkness, or can result in us living in fear. Both of these are bad options!

2. Underestimating the enemy – this is typically due to unbelief or chosen ignorance. Again, both are bad because we are told to be aware of the enemy who prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour.

These two errors often lead people into one of two camps – “everything is the devil” or “nothing is the devil”. And you know what, both of these errors are equally pleasing to the enemy. The Greek word for devil is "diabolos", which means to lie, accuse, and slander. He is known as the father of lies which means that literally, the main way he works is to lie to us.

The devil cannot make a good person bad (he doesn’t have that kind of power) but he desires to use his schemes to make a flawed person worse. And as discussed earlier, he does this by aggravating what is already inside us – this is why we are told not to give him a foothold (Eph 4:27). Because he works this way, it’s helpful for us to know what kind of lies he tends to use on us – and we are all are wired differently, so you might find that some strategies outlined below stick out to you more than others. For the sake of shedding light on some of his schemes, below are the two ways he lies to us and some of the methods he uses with each. (These are from Thomas Brooks and dozens more can be found in his book.)

Satan lies to us by stimulating talk in our heart that:

1. Works through temptation – this is where the devil attempts to get us to hold too high a view of ourselves which causes us to go and do things we shouldn’t. In the methods under temptation, Satan tends to hide God’s holiness from us and plays up His love/mercy.

2. Works through accusation – this is where the devil attempts to get us to hold too low a view of ourselves which causes us to go and do things we shouldn’t. In these methods, Satan tends to hide God’s love/mercy from us and plays up His holiness.

To help us understand these more, here are some devices for each:

Devices he uses through temptation:

• Showing us the bait and hiding the hook – this is where he gets us to look at the short-term pleasures of sin and hides the longer-term consequences and the misery that can come with it. (This might sound in our heads like “it will be so fun, just do it!”)

• Rationalizing sin as a virtue – this is where he gets us to justify our sinful behaviors or tendencies. (This might sound in our heads like “I’m not greedy, I’m just thrifty.”; “I’m not nosy, I’m just concerned”, or “I’m not an alcoholic, I’m just sociable and being fun for everyone”)

• Showing you the sins of other Christians – this is where he gets us to use others as our measuring stick instead of the standards found in the Word. (This might sound in our heads like “He/she did it too, so no one is that pure.”)

• Overstressing the mercy of God – this is where he gets us to come to terms with our sin before we even commit it. (This might sound in our heads like “It’s ok, God will forgive me.”)

• Making you bitter over suffering – this is where he gets us to justify sin because of how much we’ve already endured (This might sound in our heads like “I’ve suffered so much, I deserve this.”; “No one knows all of the sacrifices I’ve made, so I earned this one”)

• Showing Christians how many ‘bad people’ have great lives – this is where he gets us to look at the lives of non-believers and decide we want to live in the same way (This might sound in our heads like “I might as well – playing by the rules doesn’t pay off!”)

• Comparing one part of your life to another – this is where he allows us to dismiss certain sin patterns or behaviors because we feel like we are doing really well in other areas (This might sound in our heads like “I’m really good here, here, and here, so it’s ok that I do this one thing.”)

  
  

Devices he uses through accusation:

• Causing us to look more at our sin than our Savior – this is where he gets us to look at our shortcomings and tries to hide how God’s mercy covers them. (This might sound in our heads like “I am too big of a mess, I deserve a bad life”)

• Making us think what we’re going through must be punishment – this is where he gets us to focus on the hardship in our life and decide that God must be against us (This might sound in our heads like “God is mad at me”)

• Causing us to obsess over past sins that have done damage that cannot be undone – this is where he gets us to focus on our failures and what we cannot change (This might sound in our heads like “I could never be forgiven for that”; “there is no hope for me because of what I did”)

• Making people think their inner struggles, thoughts and feelings are so bad that there is no way they are really God’s children – this is where he gets us to count ourselves out because of thoughts that come in (This might sound in our heads like “I wouldn’t have these thoughts if I were a real Christian”)

After reading all of these, are there some that you recognize? Are there any you struggle with more than others? Knowing how the devil personally attacks you through temptation and accusation can be really helpful when fighting the spiritual battles that take place in the mind.

My prayer for you is that you become more aware of how the devil tries to take you out, and that you take heart in knowing our enemy is in all ways inferior to God. I pray that as you read the rest of Ephesians 6, you can exhale with confidence and peace that victory is ours in Jesus. I am so thankful that God tells us exactly how to fight these battles – and while we don’t have time to get into the full armor of God today, read through the list and allow God to show you the gifts He has given you for the fight. You will read and see that with Him, you will be able to resist the enemy and stand firm.

And as I wrap, here’s some additional content that has recently benefited me:

·       To Sharpen: Bait of Satan: Living Free from the Deadly Trap of Offense

·       To Worship: Well Well Well | Maverick City, Song House, Nick Day

·       To Soak: PEACE - Soaking worship instrumental | Central Record

·       To Ponder: 1 Peter 5:8-9

And as always, I ask you to remember this truth: your life and what you do with it matters. The world needs you, and as you follow and remain in Jesus, you WILL bear fruit!

Much Love,

Kellie