#by spiritual warfare I mean the demons and angels fighting around us at all times or whatever the fuck

[gxlden-angels]

I love getting my silly little dose of validation whenever I explain something as small to my childhood as "yea they taught us to be prepared to be soldiers in spiritual warfare between angels and demons from a young age" and having my therapist or a friend respond like

[gamesplusculture]

Bayonetta + Culture: Shuraba

"A living katana, pulsing with the heart of Ashura, the demon god of war. Always seeking blood, the blade will even suck the very souls out of its victims."

Shuraba

Although this is not the next weapon Bayonetta would normally obtain from the hellish bartender, it has much more mythos and legends behind the sword’s in-game history than Scarborough Fair ✨Shotgun Edition✨

Arguably one of the best weapons in the game with two charged attacks (one of them is not particularly ideal to use in fast paced combat), quick jabs and very powerful Wicked Swipes. A high-tier weapon to use in any battle, including boss battles.

Let’s see what this sword has in store for us.

   In a rather confusing twist, there is no direct reference to a god named “Ashura” in any mythology. The closest to “Ashura” that we can get are the demigods or all-powerful beings of “asuras” in Buddhist and Hindu cosmology.

   Although the histories of asuras differ between the two religions, they both describe the demigods nearly identically. In general, asuras are described as power-hungry, jealous, furious, violent and unprincipled, at least in modern representations. They are similar to the Christian portrayal of demons as they are also malevolent in the same way asuras are (they even have the typical physical attributes of a normal demon: red skin, multiple limbs, ... creepy looking).

   Along with the myths of asuras, the spiritual aspects of both religions’ idea of an asura in human life are also important to consider while talking about these beings.

   In Hinduism, specifically the Bhāgavata Purana, one of Hinduism’s eighteen great Puranas, it states that an individual can be born from a family of “asuras” but can grow up to become a “deva”, the absolute contradiction of an asura. Teaching Hindus that your family doesn’t define who you are as a person. You get to decide to stay on the path of an asura or diverge away from that road into the path of a deva. Or you could be on the road of an asura but you change your ways for the greater good, becoming an “asura-deva”

   For example, I have been reading this book called the “The Pregancy Project” where the main character has an older brother who is a father yet he is a raging alcoholic. Let’s say the father is on the road of an asura in Hindu terms. Just because he is on that road, doesn’t mean his children has to be as well. They can choose to follow in his footsteps (asura-like) or repel that lifestyle and go off their own path to prosperity (deva-like).

   In Buddhism, the idea is the same mostly, but according to Zhiyi, a patriach of the Tiantai school, he has his own description of “asuras” that sets it apart from its Hindu counterpart.

“Always desiring to be superior to others, having no patience for inferiors and belittling strangers; like a hawk, flying high above and looking down on others, and yet outwardly displaying justice, worship, wisdom, and faith -- this is raising up the lowest order of good and walking the way of the Asuras."

   His definition of an asura reminds us that evil doesn’t come in one flavor. As a matter of fact, it brings light to the fact that a lot of the “asuras” that exist in this world do not and will not consider themselves “asuras” or a demon because of their good faith.  

   They are essentially Helen from church who is so faithful and cheery on Sunday but then forgets the definition of “respect” during Monday thru Saturday. According to Zhiyi, she is walking down the path of an asura even if she is doing some good.

   As for the name “Shuraba” (”the scene of bloodshed”), it is commonly used for Japanese screenwriters to describe fight scenes. They also had Japanese names for other types of scenes as well such as “nureba” (sex scene) and “semeba” (torture scene).

   As it says in the weapon’s description, the Shuraba is based off of the highly popular sword in Japan (at least a few centuries ago and in popular media), the katana!

   The sword is characterized heavily off its curved, singled-sided blade and is considered a normal longsword or a daito in Japan. Not only is it used for militaristic purposes by the samurai, it can also be used for normal martial arts such as kenjutsu, kendo and ninjutsu. It is considered to be the best weapon for slicing in military history, according to Western historians.

   Now the decline of katanas was not only because of the introductions of firearms in general warfare. During the Meiji Restoration in 1871, the feudalism system along with samurais were no more. Not only that, people of Japan (except people in power) couldn’t carry around swords all willy-nilly anymore due to the sword ban (which was established so the class system can be abolished properly but the earlier times a sword ban was acted on was not for that reason) which severely lowered the demand for swords.

   The reason for this removal of a class system was because of a passionate move to Westernization. After the US Navy took a visit to Japan, Japan was essentially wowed by their... awesomeness. So Japan made it their responsibility to incorporate Western customs into their country to the point where Japanese citizens were figuratively saying “good-bye” to Asia. Which led to the banning of swords, destruction of feudalism and the introduction of a new oligarchy.

   “A katana born in the unknown depths of Inferno, brimming with mystery. One legend states that it is the twin sword to Shuraba. It is also said the sword's name comes from the story of a witch who loved the sword, and was excommunicated for carrying out a futile war against the angels. While the sword did not contain the soul of a demon, the Angel Slayer displayed incredible power; however, the sword, and the witch in whose hand it was held, both found themselves in Inferno. Eventually, the blade passed into the hands of Rodin who was able to make up for its previous deficiency; however, it remains unknown what sort of demon the smith was able to seal away in the historic blade."

   A couple of decades later, Japan has found themselves in another war. The Russo-Japanese War was taking effect during the Meiji era and the interest in swords came back up once again. Katanas are back, baby!

Well... half-sike.

   Introducing the Kyū guntō or the “old military sword”! These were basically the substitute for traditional katanas during the Russo-Japanese War and Sino-Japanese War.

   It is the sole inspiration for Jeanne’s version of the Shuraba, Angel Slayer!

   Japanese swordsmiths were thrilled to be working on katanas once again after the sword ban happened. These swords had to be made by faster methods such as oil tempering and power hammers instead of traditional methods since the wars were faster than the swordsmiths. Because of the mass production of these swords and substitution of lesser metals for the blades, they ended up not having the same characteristics of your basic katana., rendering them as “false” Japanese swords to Japan. 

 As for the defining traits of a Kyū guntō, notice anything out the ordinary with the sword? Aside from the lack of a defining curve (which actually resembles American military swords), the hilt of the sword resembles rapiers from European swords. This shift in design reflects off of Japan’s obsession with Westernization.

Well that is it folks! It was cool delving into more Japanese history rather than mythology and I hope I can have the opportunity to learn more about world history in another post! Next time, we are back returning with the myths!

If you have any corrections or advice to improve these posts, don’t be afraid to hit me up! I don’t want to get anything wrong so I am always up for any heads-ups!

Anywho, see yall next time!

[authorcecelia]

Do you believe in angels? . I truly do. But then that means that demons also exist. . I believe that spiritual warfare is being waged around us at all times. The angels are fighting for the safety of our souls while the demons are trying to win us for Satan. . We have free will, the right to choose our fate, but they are out there, next to us, trying to sway us or save us. . Angels and demons are the characters in my young adult angel fantasy series. My books bring the supernatural to life. Humans, angels, and demons fighting to the end. . What do you believe? . #bookcover #booklover #booksbooksbooks #bookreview #bookgram #book #booklovers #bookcommunity #bookobsessed #booklove #bookphotography #booknerdigans #bookme #bookgeek #bookshelf #bookaholic #bookclub #booknerd #bookporn #books #bookblogger #booknow #bookphoto #bookaddict #bookstagram #christianfantasy #catholicauthor #angels #spiritualwarfare #spiritualwarfareisreal https://www.instagram.com/p/B99PG5nAm7q/?igshid=tnk4zkbx5jao

[bldgrelationshipwgod]

Testing the Spirits | John MacArthur (1 John 4:1-8) | Oct 17, 2013

I want you to open your Bible, if you will, to 1 John 4:18, and I want to read to you a portion of Scripture that is directly applicable to the subject at hand.

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this you know the Spirit of God:  every Spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; & every spirit that does not confess Jesus, is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, & now it is already in the world.  You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world.  They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.  We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us.  By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

“Beloved, let us love one another for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  The one who does not love, does not know God, for God is love.”

I want to draw you back to verse 1, “Test the spirits.”  A mandate, a command from the apostle John, “Test the spirits.”  “Spirits” meaning “persons,” persons.  “Test,” dokimazō, a term used in metallurgy to assess the purity of metal.  Test the persons, whether they be human or whether they be angelic.  Test the persons.

We are reminded to do this also in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, “not despise prophesying.  But to examine - ” and the same word is used, to test what we’re hearing.  This is critical.  It is critical because Satan exists, and because demons exist, and because they operate a kingdom of lies that dominates the world.

Satan is the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air, the ruler of spiritual darkness in heavenly places, and he has been allowed to run loose in this world, going about as a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour.  He and his agents are disguised as angels of light, according to the apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians.  And we should not be surprised that Satan operates 99 percent of the time in false religion, in lies and deception.

Satan isn’t the one behind the wretched, corrupt, sinful behavior of any given society.  The flesh takes care of that.  Satan is behind the corrupt religion, the false systems of belief.  It’s really important to understand that.  For a moment, turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 10, 2 Corinthians chapter 10.  People talk about spiritual warfare with regard to Satan and demons and I think almost always they get it wrong.  They come up with the idea that we’re supposed to be chasing Satan around.  I remember being at a Pastors’ Conference one time and a prominent wonderful church and the pastor got up to begin the pastor’s conference with several thousand men and he said, “Let’s pray,” and the first words out of his mouth were, “Satan, we bind you.”  And I almost fell over.  What?  “Let us pray,”  and the first word is “Satan” and he’s talking to the devil, telling the devil what he can or cannot do?  Maybe he thinks that spiritual war, and maybe he thinks he has the power to do that.  That’s a delusion.

Spiritual war is described in 2 Corinthians 10:3 with these words, “The weapons of our warfare,” so now we know we’re talking about warfare, talking about weapons.  They’re “not of the flesh,” that is they’re not human.  We are “in the flesh” in the sense verse 3 says that we are human.  When it says “we walk in the flesh,” not talking about sin but, just talking about being human, we can’t war, however, “according to the flesh.”  Our weapons can’t be human.  It can’t be ingenuity, cleverness.  It can’t be anything concocted by man, no matter how noble our  desires.

We cannot fight this war with human weapons.  It takes a lot more than that.  They have to be, according to verse 4, “divinely powerful.”  They have to be divinely powerful.  We’re engaged in a spiritual war which cannot be fought with human weapons, no matter how noble, and well-conceived, and well-crafted we might think they are.

Why?  Because we must be engaged, end of verse 4, in the “destruction of fortresses.”  And the imagery here is that human weapons are no match for a massive fortress.  The word “fortress” means exactly you would think it meant in the ancient world, a “stone edifice,” impregnable.  By the way, the word for “fortress” is the word for “prison.”  We’re assaulting formidable edifices.  We cannot use pea shooters.  We cannot use human weapons.

What are these fortresses?  At the end of verse 4, the “destruction of fortresses,” the beginning of verse 5, “we are destroying speculations,” in the NAS.  The fortresses are defined in the next verse, destruction of fortresses, destruction of speculations.  The Greek word there is logismos, ideas, ideologies, theories, viewpoints, belief systems, psychologies, philosophies, religions.  This is what we’re engaged in in spiritual war.  It’s a battle for how people think.  It’s a battle for the mind.  It’s not about chasing Satan away.  It’s not about running off demons.  That’s not within the purview of our abilities.  Ours is a war for the mind.

Why?  Because the world is imprisoned in belief systems.  They are fortified there in the sense that they are impregnable in their ideologies.  Those fortifications in which they live become their prisons and end up their tombs.

And the architect of all of these fortifications is none other than Satan himself.  He is the father of lies.  He is the arch-deceiver.  He is the ultimate angel of light.  And he purveys his great work through false belief systems.

In fact, they are further defined - look back at verse 5 - as “every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God.”  What does that mean?  Every high idea, every apparently noble idea, intellectual idea, great insight, anything and everything that is raised up as an ideology - listen carefully – against, “against the knowledge of God.”  People are fortified in systems that are anti-God.  They’re anti-God.  To use the language of John, they’re antichrist.  And as I said, people are fortified there.  They are imprisoned there.  And they are entombed ultimately there.

So what is our responsibility?  Our responsibility is to smash these ideologies, to crush these fortifications.  And to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.   This is a battle for how people think.  Again, Satan is the architect, the designer, the engineer, and the builder of these ideologies.  People are fortified in them and ultimately doomed by them to eternal hell.  And it all seems so wonderful because it is operated by the ultimate angel of light.

In the Old Testament, people were warned about false prophets.  In the New Testament, again we are warned about false prophets.  In the sermon on the mount, Jesus warns about false prophets, Matthew 7.  Paul warns about false prophets repeatedly.  Peter essentially writes an entire epistle, 2 Peter, to warn about false prophets.  Jude follows up, essentially the Holy Spirit delivers to Jude with a different verb tense, the same thing he gave to Peter in 2 Peter 2, and another warning comes.

And the New Testament ends before the apocalypse, before the great book of Revelation which looks at the future, the last message of the New Testament, two little postcard epistles, 2 John, 3 John.  Five times in the opening verses of 2 John, five times in the opening verses of 3 John, the last word, one written to a man, one written to a woman, the final word before the apocalypse is a warning to continue to be faithful to the truth.  You find the word “truth” used five times in the beginning of both of those little epistles.  The last word from the last apostle in the last decade of the first century of the church is to live for the truth.  And Jude then, throws in also “earnestly contend for the truth.”  It’s a truth war.  I think I wrote a book about that.  It’s a truth war.  This is spiritual war.

And part of being able to fight that war is to test the spirits.  We can’t go blithely along accepting anything and everything that people aver or affirm or avow.  We need to test the spirits.  This passage gives us the principles to do that, so let’s go back to 1 John chapter 4.

And by the way, when the Great Awakening broke out 1730 to 1740, there were questions about the legitimacy of that.  There were things going on in the Great Awakening that were clearly the work of the Holy Spirit.  There were some things that appeared not to be the work of the Holy Spirit.  And Jonathan Edwards assessed that movement, and he did it on the basis of this same text.  So last night Steve Lawson raised Calvin from the dead, and today we’re going to raise Jonathan Edwards from the dead, and we’re going to let him talk to us a little bit.

Jonathan Edwards wrote a work called The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God, The Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God.  And he based it on 1 John chapter 4, and it was published in 1741.  Edwards asserted that this passage is foundational to assessing anything that is claimed to be the work of the Holy Spirit.  And these are timeless tests given to us not by Jonathan Edwards, he merely looked at them as we’re going to do, but by the Holy Spirit.  Timeless tests by which we are to measure all spiritual movements, all preaching, all preachers are to be evaluated by these tests.

What is truly of the Holy Spirit will conform to these.  It’s wonderful that the Spirit of God has given this to us.  All the lines of examination converge in these eight verses.  It is the responsibility of every pastor, every teacher, every preacher, every Christian to examine all claims and test all persons, and prophecies.  Like the noble Bereans, examine everything to see what is true.

Now what is the issue here?  Clearly the issue is a work of the Holy Spirit.  Back up to 3:24.  “The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him.”  And then this statement.  “We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”  Our salvation, says John, is confirmed and we are assured that we belong to Christ because of the work of the Holy Spirit.  That’s what he’s saying.  Our assurance - let me say it again - our confidence, the affirmation of the reality of our salvation is based upon the working of the Holy Spirit.

I know the Holy Spirit is invisible, the Holy Spirit works in a supernatural, and divine, and imperceptible way within us.  However, while the working of the Holy Spirit is invisible, the results are visible.  While we do not experience or feel the Holy Spirit, the manifestation of His work we do experience.  One of the follies of the charismatic movement is to say that the Holy Spirit is leading me, or the Holy Spirit is directing me.  You have no way to know that.  I have no way to know that.  I don’t have a red light on my head that goes around when it’s the Holy Spirit and goes off when it’s just me.  I don’t have any mechanism to know that I’m getting impulses from the Holy Spirit.  That’s imperceptible, that’s invisible, that’s supernatural, that’s divine.

All I know is that I can experience the result of His moving in my life.  And it started when I was saved.  I immediately had a hatred of sin and a love for the things that honor God.  I immediately was indifferent to philosophy and I took a philosophy minor in college and I studied western philosophy.  You have never met a person more uninterested in philosophy than me, but I have a passionate and all-consuming desire to know the Word of God.

I didn’t see the Holy Spirit do that.  I didn’t feel Him do that.  But I know the result of His doing it.  I tolerate people in the world with a compassion for their lostness.  I adore God’s people.  I love people in God’s church.  I don’t even know who you are, and if you’ll allow me, I just want to tell you, I love you in a real sense, not in a sense that I know all about you, but there’s something about those who belong to Christ, they belong to me.  These are things that are evidences - these are things that are evidences of an invisible work by the Holy Spirit within me.

So we know that Christ abides in us because we know the Spirit He has given us is manifest in us.  People say to me, “How do you know when you’re a believer?”  It’s not your perfection, it’s your direction.  It’s what you love, and what you hate, and what you long for.  We’re all in Romans 7, aren’t we?  We don’t do what we ought to do, we don’t do what we want to do.  We do what we don’t want to do and ought not to do, and we hate that about us, and that’s the evidence of the Holy Spirit in us.

You know, it’s in John 3:8 that Jesus says to Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it will and you can’t see it, and you can’t control it, but you can see its effect.”  And that’s an illustration even John 3 of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit’s work is invisible, the effects are highly visible.  By the visible, manifest, experiential effects of the Holy Spirit’s invisible work, we know He lives in us.

What is He doing in us?  I’ll just give you a quick list.  He produces in us a desire for repentance, a hatred of sin.  He produces in us a desire to seek salvation and forgiveness.  He produces in us a belief in the gospel, a love for the Lord Jesus Christ, a desire to become a slave of the Lord Jesus Christ, acknowledging Him as Lord.  He produces in us a delight in the Holy Scripture, a longing for obedience.  He produces in us joy in trials and tribulations, love of other believers, desire for fellowship, understanding of the Bible, illumination of Scripture, inclination to prayer, holy affections, a desire for praise, a heart of thanksgiving, worship as a way of life, and increasing Christlikeness.  That’s pretty encouraging stuff.  And I used to say about that, “This is what the Holy Spirit’s doing in you whether you like it or not.”

But, there are some other spirits.  And it’s really pretty surprising to me.  I think it’s very surprising that in a sudden unexpected shift from the glories of 3:24, the Holy Spirit brings words to John’s mind that move from the glorious reality of Christ and the true work of the Holy Spirit to the deadly dangers of the unholy spirits, the unholy persons who are not from God, the anti-God, the antichrists.

And we’re not really surprised by this because we’ve been warned by the Holy Spirit from the Old Testament on.  Satanic deception is always with us.  It was there in the garden, wasn’t it?  It’s always at work.  It’s always effective.  God has always warned His people, called His people to vigilance, called His people to discernment.  It’s a long war on the truth, and it rages, and it rages all the time, and the true people of God have always had to battle the false prophets and the liars.  And what makes them effective is the deceptiveness of it.

It is a strange irony to me, very strange irony, in the charismatic movement that if you criticize them, if you endeavor to be vigilant and discerning, and if you endeavor to contend for the truth, and hold them to Scripture, and expose their error, they will condemn you as the sinner.  You are the one who are standing in the way of the fulfillment of the prayer of Jesus in John 17 for the unity of His church.  How do I know that?  I have lived that.  I have lived that.

In order for them to succeed, they have to turn discernment into an iniquity.  They have to turn discernment into a transgression against Christ and His high priestly prayer.  It is essential for the charismatic movement to survive that it attack truth warriors and turn them into enemies of the Holy Spirit, because if sound doctrine rules, they do not survive.

Evangelicalism has largely been intimidated into silence.  We were discussing this when we started working on the book.  We couldn’t find a book exposing the charismatic movement for what it is that had been published, a book of any note at all that had been published in the last 15 years.  They have been very successful in silencing evangelicalism.

And so, we come back to 1 John, and we are commanded to test the persons espousing anything in the name of God and in the name of Christ who see whether they are from God.  We’re instructed at the very outset of this verse with these words, “Beloved, do not believe every person, don’t believe it.”  Why?  “Because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”  So “test the spirits.”  It ought to be enough to convince you of the error of that movement just to know they don’t want examination.  If this was a true work of the Holy Spirit consistent with Scripture, they would be inviting all the scrutiny they could get because they would want the affirmation and the authentication.

So what are the tests?  Well, I’m going to give you one, and I have several, but I don’t know how far I’m going to get.  The ones I don’t give you are in the book.  I told Travis I needed three hours today and he said, “No.  You can’t have three hours.”

All right, test one.  The true work of the Holy Spirit exalts the Lord Jesus Christ.  The true work of the Holy Spirit exalts the Lord Jesus Christ.  Verse 2, “By this you know the Spirit of God: - ” here’s how you know, here’s how you know “ - every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.”

The first test is a Christological test.  The first test has to do with the person of Jesus Christ.  Every spirit that confesses Christ is from God, that’s positive.  Any spirit that does not confess Christ is not of God.  It all starts with Christology.  It all starts with a clear, true understanding of the incarnation, that Jesus, God in human flesh, is understood biblically.

Now what is John writing about here in specific?  There were some who denied that Jesus Christ was really human.  This in early years was called Docetism from dokeō which means “to appear.”  And the idea, of course, came out of philosophical dualism, Greek dualism, which said matter is bad and spirit is good.  Anything that is material is evil.  Anything that’s spirit is good.  And so the Son of God couldn’t really be physical.  He would be material and therefore He would be evil in a dualistic idea.  So they said He only appeared to be human but He wasn’t really human.  So they were calling into question the true humanity of Jesus Christ.

Does that matter?  Yes it matters.  Yes it matters.  Because if He’s to be the substitute who dies in your place, He must be man.  If your sins are to be imputed to Him, and He punished in your place, He must be man.

Furthermore, if His life is to be credited to your account, He must live as a man, as a human being.  His humanity matters.  Now this is not a full-ranged Christology here.  That is not John’s intent.  He’s merely picking out one error that existed at the time that assaulted the true nature of Christ as fully God and fully man.  And we can simply draw from that that everything begins with a true Christology.  Jesus is fully God.  He is fully man.

It was in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon that what was called monophysitism was declared heretical.  And that was that the two natures of Jesus were mingled and mixed.  This was a big debate, early on.  I’m simply telling you in the history of the church, they settled the issue of the two natures of Jesus Christ being together in one person and unmixed.

Now not all of the elements of New Testament or Old Testament revelation on Christology are here, but the first test is an accurate view of the incarnate Son of God.  And if all of it is not explicit here, all of it is implicit here.  It’s all implied here.   False religions and heretical Christian cults you know all have an aberrant Christology.  They all have an aberrant, corrupted Christology.  The Mormons think that Jesus is the spirit-brother of Lucifer, who was a created being, created by God, who Himself was a created being.  All the cults have an aberrant view of Christ.

The Holy Spirit does not.  The Holy Spirit has an accurate view of Christ, always truthfully presenting the glory of the Son.  Any Holy Spirit-filled preacher will be Christ-dominated, Christ-dominated, and present Him in an accurate, and exalting, and truthful way.

It is a matter of sound theology, but it’s also a matter of preeminence, and it’s also a matter of the gospel clarity.  So where you see any deficiency in the nature of Christ, or the prominence of Christ, the preeminence of Christ, or the gospel, this is not the work of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus says in John 14:15-16, when the Spirit comes, He’ll show you Me.  His ministry is to point to Me.  He will lead you into all truth concerning Me.

Anyone who is wrong on Christ, or who diminishes Christ, or who pollutes the gospel, or who distracts from the Son to the Spirit, is not operating in the Spirit, not operating in the Spirit.  Jonathan Edwards said the devil has the most bitter and implacable enmity against Christ.  He never would go about to beget in men more honorable thoughts of Christ.  The devil seeks to twist, confuse, suppress, and misrepresent the glories of the Son of God.  The devil seeks to draw attention away from the Son of God to a false image of the Holy Spirit while pretending to honor Jesus.

A true work of the Spirit does the opposite.  A true work of the Spirit exalts the true Christ in all glorious preeminence and the full and accurate understanding of His gospel.

If the charismatic movement was being produced by the Holy Spirit, the glory of Christ would prevail everywhere.  It would be Christ-dominated and everyone in the movement would be bowing the knee to the true Christ in belief of the true gospel.  The people would be humble.  They would be joyful.  They would be sacrificial.  They would be confessional.  They would be declaring Jesus as Lord and themselves His slaves.  They would be denying themselves, taking up their cross, and following Him wherever He led.

Yet very proudly, a book by Jack Hayford and a gentleman named Moore announce that the distinctiveness of the charismatic movement is the preeminence of the Holy Spirit.  I quote, “In the Pentecostal potpourri only one thing is the same for all: The passion they have to experience the Holy Spirit presence and power.”

When the Holy Spirit is the person sought, His work has been rejected.  Christ is obscured, Scripture depreciated, and a preoccupation with counterfeit experiences imagined to be induced by the Holy Spirit, but not having anything to do with Him at all.

Ephesians 3:14, “For this reason I bow my knee before the Father - ” here’s Paul’s prayer “ - From whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you - ” here’s Paul’s prayer.  This is what Paul wants “ - that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.”

Paul is saying, “I’m praying to the Father, and I’m asking Him to allow His Spirit to strengthen you so that - ” here’s the purpose “ - Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.  Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly above all we could ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.”

What is Paul’s prayer?  It is that the Spirit would lead you to a full understanding of the love of Christ.  It always points to Christ.  Here the charismatic movement fails the test of exalting Christ above all by exalting that false image of the Holy Spirit that they have created.  Show me a person obsessed with the Holy Spirit, and I’ll show you a person not filled with the Holy Spirit.  Show me a person obsessed with the Lord Jesus Christ, never tiring of learning and loving Him, entranced by His magnificent glory, and seeking to obey Him and be like Him, and I’ll show you a Spirit-filled person.  That’s what a Spirit-filled person looks like.

Much of the movement is actually antichrist.  Stories about visions of Jesus in charismatic circles are really terrifying to me.  Some have proclaimed Him dressed as a fireman.  Others have seen Him 900 feet tall.  Others meet with Him regularly in the bathroom.  Some have seen Him dancing on the garbage dump.  Others have seen Him sitting in a wheelchair at a convalescent home.  Some have taken long walks with Him on the beach.  And so it goes.

One Charismatic author says, “Shortly after the Holy Spirit revealed Himself, I saw Jesus.  And then I asked the Lord to take me to His secret place.  I was lying in the grass and I said, ‘Jesus, would You lie down next to me?’  We were right there looking into each other’s eyes.  The Father came, too, and reclined next to Jesus.”

Sappy emotionalism, bizarre fantasy, having absolutely nothing to do with Jesus or the Holy Spirit.  Delusions?  Probably.  Lies?  Surely.  But they do not find their source in the Holy Spirit.  But it’s not just those bizarre images like you read in Heaven Is for Real, supposedly a four-year-old went to heaven and came back and described Jesus, and Jesus’ horse, and Jesus being shorter than Michael.  I mean, that’s bad enough, but even worse are the heresies concerning Him.

In the book you’re going to read about them.  Jesus didn’t come to earth as God in human flesh.  He never claimed to be God, they say.  He took on Satan’s sinful nature on the cross, died spiritually, and went to hell for three days.  Prosperity preacher Kenneth Copeland exhibits the blasphemous and unbiblical way in which Jesus Christ is treated in the Word of Faith movement.  I quote, “How did Jesus, then, on the cross say ‘My God?’  Because God was not His Father anymore.  He took upon Himself the nature of Satan.  And I’m telling you, Jesus is in the middle of that pit.  He’s suffering all that there is to suffer.  His emaciated little wormy spirit is down in the bottom of that thing and the devil thinks he’s got Him destroyed, but all of a sudden God started talking.”

Creflo Dollar, another Word of Faith advocate, displaying similar irreverence, questioning the deity of Christ, I quote, “Jesus didn’t show up perfect.  He grew into His perfection.  You know, Jesus in one scripture in the Bible, He went on a journey and He was tired.  You better hope God don’t get tired, but Jesus did.  If He came as God and He got tired, He says He sat down by the well because He was tired.  Boy, we’re in trouble and somebody said, ‘Well, Jesus came as God.’  Well, how many of you know the Bible says, ‘God never sleeps nor slumbers,’ and yet in the book of Mark we see Jesus asleep in the back of the boat.”  What kind of convoluted, irresponsible, ridiculous thinking is that?  Casting aspersions on the deity of Christ.  He didn’t come as God.

And the Word of Faith movement is guilty on the other hand of positioning themselves and all who are in their movement as if they are gods.  Kenneth Copeland pretends to speak for Jesus like Sarah Young does in her silly books.  And he says this.  This is Kenneth Copeland speaking for Jesus.  “Don’t be disturbed when people accuse you of thinking you are God.  They crucified Me for claiming I was God.  I didn’t claim I was God.  I just claimed that I walked with Him and He was with me.  Hallelujah.”

Rank arrogance, stupidity, gross falsehood, blasphemy.  And where are the charismatics who do believe the truth about Jesus Christ in calling these people out and shutting down their influence?  Only the spirit of antichrist would inspire that kind of blatantly unbiblical teaching.

You can go beyond silly things about Christ and heresies about Christ to misrepresentations of the gospel.  And this gets pretty extensive.  We know why the Holy Spirit came, to convict the world of sin and righteousness, and judgment, that they might believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.  He came to bear witness to the historical truth of the gospel, as Acts 5 says.  He came to empower those who preach its saving message, 1 Peter 1:12.  We know the work of the Holy Spirit.  And the Holy Spirit is faithful to the gospel.  The Holy Spirit would never misrepresent the gospel.

So wherever the devaluing of the gospel truth is visible, we know that’s not the work of the Holy Spirit.  And let me be very blunt.  Any movement that can fully embrace Roman Catholicism is not a movement authored by the Holy Spirit because that’s a false gospel.

Why do they do that?  Because it’s based upon a common false experience.  Sound doctrine is subjugated to spiritual experience.  False spiritual experience, false forms of the gospel are happily embraced.  The Catholic Charismatic Renewal began in 1967 when a group of students received, quote, “The Baptism” and spoke gibberish, non-language.

The movement was officially recognized by Pope John Paul II.  Why?  Because the Catholics absorb.  That’s how the system grows.  You’ve heard the Pope recently, “Hey, welcome everybody back to the church.  Homosexuals, that’s fine.  Atheists, you’re going to heaven, too, if you do your best.”  That’s Roman Catholicism.  Absorb the heretics.  Absorb the dissidence.  Absorb the people who are on the outside.  Build the system.  Why?  Because that system has one king, and it’s the king of darkness.

By the year 2000 - this is the year 2000 - there were 120 million Catholic charismatics.  There are well over 500 million charismatics, so 1 out of every 5 is Roman Catholic globally.  Catholic charismatics hold a Catholic theology, Catholic doctrine, and they deny that a believer is justified by faith alone, right?  It’s by what?  Works.  They believe in the ex opere operato efficacy of the seven Roman sacraments.  They are up to their eyeballs in the idolatry of the Catholic mass, that horrendous attempt to resacrifice Christ.  They, in an idolatrous way, venerate Mary and the saints.  They have been fully embraced by protestant pentecostals.

Why would anyone do that?  Make a concession to Catholicism?  It’s just become part of the contemporary fabric of evangelicalism.  Here’s a report.  “Ten thousand charismatics and pentecostals prayed, sang, danced, clapped, cheered under the common bond of the Holy Spirit during a four-day ecumenical convention last summer.  About half the participants at the congress on the Holy Spirit and World Evangelization were Catholics.  ‘The Holy Spirit wants to break down walls between Catholics and Protestants,’ said Vinson Synan, the theological dean of Pat Robertson’s Regent University, who chaired the congress.”

If this movement can embrace Catholicism, it’s not a movement of the Holy Spirit.  Roman Catholic theology is corrupt, it has a false gospel.  The spirit behind the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is not the Holy Spirit.

Not just them.  Worldwide, there are 24 million charismatics who belong to a group that can be called oneness pentecostal.  What is oneness pentecostalism?  Sometimes you see it as “Jesus only.”  It denies the Trinity.  Twenty-four million, they deny the Trinity, about one out of every four in America.  What do they believe?  They believe in what is called modalism:  That there’s one God and He appears in three different modes, sometimes He’s the Father, sometimes He’s the Son, and sometimes He’s the Spirit, but He’s never all three at the same time.

He has these three modes in which He can appear.  A little bit of trouble with that at the baptism of Jesus.  Right?  I mean, he’s changing hats really fast.  But way back in the Athanasian creed, it was settled that God is Father, Son, and Spirit, three co-equal, co-existent, divine persons.  Modalism has been condemned throughout all of church history as a heresy at a foundational level that literally attacks the nature of God and cuts you off from the possibility of salvation.  Probably the leading oneness pentecostal that you would know is T.D.  Jakes, who denies the Trinity.  You don’t have the true God, you don’t have the true Christ, you don’t have the true Spirit.

The modalist - search this - there is one God who can be designated by three different names.  He can be called Father, Son, and Holy Spirit at different times.  These three are not distinct persons.  They’re just different modes of the one God.  Thus God can be called Father as the creator of the world and lawgiver.  He can be called Son as God incarnate in Jesus Christ.  He can be called Holy Spirit as God in the church age.  Accordingly, Jesus Christ is God and the Spirit of God, but not as distinct persons.  Councils of Nicaea, 325; Constantinople, 381; modalism was universally condemned as heresy.

The largest church in America is - I guess you could call it a church with a small “c” - Joel Osteen in Houston.   A shallow, saccharine variety of universalism.  Universalism, standing starkly at odds with everything Scripture says.  When he was asked what he thought about people who refused to accept Jesus Christ, he gave an answer that could have come from the lips of Pope Francis.  “Well I don’t know if I believe they’re wrong.  I believe - here’s what the Bible teaches, and from the Christian faith this is what I believe.  But I just think that only God will judge a person’s heart.  I spent a lot of time in India with my father.  I don’t know all about their religion, but I know they love God.  And I don’t know.  I’ve seen their sincerity, so I don’t know.  I know - I know for me, and what the Bible teaches, I want to have a relationship with Jesus.”

On a different occasion, he was asked if Mormons are true Christians.  His answer was, “Well, in my mind they are.  Mitt Romney has said that he believes in Christ as his Savior, and that’s what I believe, so, you know, I’m not the one to judge the little details.  So I believe they are.”

Do you understand the pervasive impact that he has?  It’s massive.  This is universalism.  By the way, Mormonism claimed to experience the same supernatural phenomena the pentecostals and charismatics experience today.  At the dedication of the Kirtland Temple which was built in 1836 by Joseph Smith, Joseph Smith reported the following phenomena occurred at the dedication of the Temple:  Tongues, prophecy, and miraculous visions.  Other eyewitness accounts such as quote, “There was great manifestations of power, such as speaking in tongues, seeing visions, administrations of angels.  There the Spirit of the Lord as on the day of pentecost was profusely poured out.  Hundreds of elders spoke in tongues.”

There you have it.  More than half a century before Charles Parham launches the charismatic movement, the Mormons are doing the same thing.  The Mormons, I remind you, think Jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer.  Is this a work of the Holy Spirit?  It wasn’t in the case of the Mormons, and it isn’t in the case of those who followed them.

And then, of course, another major Charismatic distortion of the gospel is found in the health-wealth promises of the Word of Faith movement.  This is a false gospel.  I’m trying to show you all the ways you can attack a true Christology.  The prosperity gospel – horrendous - but it is the defining feature of all pentecostalism, so that the majority of pentecostals, exceeding 90 percent in most countries, hold to the prosperity gospel.  It is why the thing has grown, because it lies in promising success, and health, and wealth.  And it preys on the poor, it preys on the poor.

The prosperity gospel has no interest in the biblical gospel.  It only offers financial prosperity, physical well-being to desperate, desperate people.  It offers carnal comforts, earthly riches, worldly success to millions of people who literally give up the little that they have to buy it.  It is the worst.  It is the ugliest.  To prey on the sick, and to prey on the poor, and become wealthy by lying to them.  Is there anything more wretched than that?  And then attributing it to the Holy Spirit?  And associating it with the name of Jesus?

The peddlers of this perversion stand guilty of selling a false gospel, trafficking in heretical wares.  Prosperity preachers have made Christianity a laughingstock.  One writer says, “The prosperity gospel is Christianity’s version of professional wrestling.”  That communicates.  But on the other hand, spiritual swindlers will one day be punished for their blasphemous conceit, Jude 13.

If we were to add up the numbers of people connected to the heretical groups:  Roman Catholicism, oneness pentecostalism, and Word of Faith prosperity gospel; the sum would be in the hundreds and hundreds of millions.  It is, in fact, the majority in the movement.  All this goes back, doesn’t it, to our point.  A true work of the Holy Spirit does what?  Exalts whom?  Christ, His person, His work, His gospel.

Now, when you get the book, and you will, you will read a whole lot more of these kinds of things to substantiate the deviations of this movement.

Let me just kind of throw out the other points and you can wait till you read.  The second point, look at verses 4 and 5 of 1 John.  “You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.  They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world and the world listens to them.”

Do you know why that movement grows?  Because it is offering to people in the world what they already want.  It’s worldly.  They’re offering what the unregenerate heart wants:  Health, wealth, prosperity.  They package it every way they can.  They can give them a high-powered emotional experience.  They can take them out of the doldrums of their daily experience.  They can put them in a crowd, get the lights flashing, the music blaring, and they can elevate them to some kind of an experience that may be equal to the experience that people have when they drink to escape.  It’s all worldly:  Music, emotion, liberation, freedom, promises of health, wealth, ecstatic experiences, the hope of prosperity.  “They are from the world - ” verse 5 “ - They speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.”

There you have a description of why the movement works.  It’s worldly men speaking to worldly people about worldly things.  Has nothing to do with the Kingdom of God, nothing, nothing.

On the other hand, I love this, we have overcome the world.  We have overcome the world.  We’re not interested in that.  Do they not hear the warning?  “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, is of the world, and is passing away.”

Joel Osteen writes a book, Your Best Life Now.  That’s it.  That’s the message.  The only way that’s true that your best life is now is if you’re going to hell, because if you’re going to heaven, this is not your best life.

And, of course, all this high-powered emotional music carries the false promises on a mindless, numbing tune of self-fulfillment and self-satisfaction that gets even sensual.  The Holy Spirit doesn’t provide the mindless superficial lust of a fallen heart.  That’s not what the Holy Spirit gives.  He brings humility, brokenness, repentance, and produces in us love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control, without music.  The main attraction is the carnal desire.

And did you notice how the preachers flaunt their worldliness?  Just flaunt it?  They have to.  That’s how you sell the story.  Look at me.  Look what happened to me.  It could happen to you.  Ponzi scheme.  It’s a spiritual version of Bernie Madoff.  Nine out of every ten pentecostals live in poverty.  Nine out of every ten live in poverty.  Over 90 percent of Pentecostals and charismatics in Nigeria, South Africa, India, and the Philippines, however, believe God will grant material prosperity to all believers who have enough faith.  What a lie.

You know, the prosperity gospel is more morally reprehensible than a Las Vegas casino because it masquerades as religion.  They take your money in Las Vegas but you expect it because it’s run by the Mafia.  You don’t expect the people that represent God to do the same thing.  And when Jesus saw the widow put her last mite into the temple offering, He said, “This Temple is going to come down.  Not one stone will be left on another.”  I don’t know what you have been taught about that story of the widow giving her last two cents.  That was not an example of Christian giving.  God doesn’t expect you to give your last two cents and go home and die.  That’s what happens to a widow who is suckered by a religion of works.  She was trying to buy with her last two cents her way into the kingdom because that’s what she had been taught.  And Jesus says, “Any system that sucks people down to the place where they have nothing left in a false hope is coming down.”  And it did.

Let me just mention the others.  I’m skipping all the good stuff.  I’m skipping the story about the drunk prophet up in my office, but you can read about that.

Okay, number three, just really quick, I’ve got to stop.  The true work of the Holy Spirit points people to the Bible.  We heard that from Conrad last night, didn’t we?  The true work of the Holy spirit points people to the Bible, go to verse 6.  “We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God doesn’t listen to us.  By this we know the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error.”

How do we know the Spirit of Truth from the Spirit of error?  Because the Spirit of truth runs to what?  To Scripture, to the Bible, to the Bible.  That’s how we know.  That’s how we know.

Listen to Peter Wagner.  “Some object to the notion that God communicates directly with us, supposing that everything that God wanted to reveal, He revealed in the Bible.  This cannot be true, however, because there’s nothing in the Bible that says it has 66 books.  It actually took God a couple hundred years to reveal to the church which writing should be included in the Bible and which should not.  That’s extra-biblical revelation.  Even so, Catholics and Protestants still agree on the number.  Beyond that, I believe that prayer is two way.  We speak to God and expect Him to speak to us.  We can hear God’s voice.  He also reveals new things to prophets as we have seen.”

Jack Deere, once a professor at Dallas Seminary, with whom we also had a conversation, says this.  He taught at Dallas Theological Seminary and left.  Says this, “The sufficiency of Scripture is a demonic doctrine.  In order to fulfill God’s highest purpose for our lives, we must be able to hear His voice, both in the written word and in the word freshly spoken from heaven.  Satan understands the strategic importance of Christians hearing God’s voice, so he has launched various attacks against us in this area.”  Did you get that?  Satan is the one calling them to scriptural fidelity.

He further says, “One of Satan’s most successful attacks has been to develop a doctrine that teaches God no longer speaks to us except through the written word.  Ultimately, this doctrine is demonic, even though Christian theologians have been used to perfect it.”  Demonic?  The test has failed.

One other test, just mention it.  “Beloved, let us love one another, love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  The one who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love.”  The true work of the Holy Spirit is manifesting the love of God.  Love toward God, love toward God’s people.  The true work of the Holy Spirit elevates love, biblical love.  That love shows up toward God in pure, true, holy worship.  And it shows up toward others in humble sacrificial desire to serve and edify.

It’s an obvious thing to say, and I’ll close.  In the charismatic movement, everything is about me, not about you.  The gifts are for me, to edify me.  Prayers are for me, to get me what I want.  I attach myself to this false system in order that I can get what I desire.  It lacks love.  Jonathan Edwards wrote about this.  There’s a false kind of faith love that exists among people who are in this together, but it is anything but sacrificial.  Where you have mysticism and materialism mingled, you have self-absorbed attitudes.  It’s about me feeling, experiencing, me getting, me acquiring, me having what I want.  It’s infantile self-love, cold-hearted materialism, and selfishness in disguise as a work of the Holy Spirit.

So we don’t need to speculate.  We really don’t.  We have the tests.  Just look at the tests, measure the movement, be discerning like the noble Bereans, and it should be clear to us.

I want to close by reading 2 John 7, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh.  This is the deceiver and the antichrist.  Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.  Anyone who goes too far and doesn’t abide in the teaching concerning Christ, - ” the truth about Christ “ - does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, - ” concerning Christ “ - has both the Father and the Son.  If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, - ” this true doctrine, “ - do not receive him into your house, do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.”  A warning against any ecumenical embrace of those with an aberrant Christology.

Father, we thank You that we’ve been able to look at these things in the light of Scripture this morning.  We don’t want to feel like somehow we’re smarter than other people or better than other people.  We have received grace.  We have been given life from heaven, and we give you all the praise and all the glory, or we would be as much in the dark as those deceived by this movement.  Thank You for Your grace.

Lord, honor Your name.  Bring glory to Your name.  Bring an end to that which dishonors You.  And may the pure truth shine through all the lies and deceptions.  Place Satan under our feet, and may Christ be lifted up and draw all men to Him.  We pray in His name.   Amen.

[jonathandurke]

7 Strategies To Sucker Punch Satan in Spiritual Warfare – Part 2

4. Spouse

Paul advises his crazy Corinthian church that the men should pursue marriage and likewise the women because of the temptation to commit sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 7). Paul goes on to write that the husband and wife are to serve one another and provide for each other’s needs. This is a strategy Paul applied to human relationships to help prevent demonic seduction. Paul knows that relational isolation and physical deprivation are opportunities for the Devil to take authority over you. This principle doesn’t only apply to romantic relationships but friendships too. We need to be in community and healthy relationship with each other so we may support, provide, and guide one another. Satan knows if he can get you alone, lonely and yearning for something then he has you against the ropes. Say no! And do so by making your spouse and friends a priority. Don’t neglect eating together, sleeping together (spouses only!), going out having fun together, talking honestly, praying for one another, along to church together, reading the Bible or anything else that draws you closer and the devil further away.

5. Singing

When Paul and Silas were thrown in jail and had been chained to the stocks what was their response? They prayed and sang songs. They worshipped God (Acts 16:25). Instead of giving in to fear they praised their lord. They rejoiced rather than retreated. Their worship was a battle cry and a call to arms to fight the good fight of faith. Singing raised their spirits. They awoke their souls to sing. When we worship our Lord we are not just raising our voices to God but we’re shouting in defiance against Satan. As we sing aloud God’s truth we’re disarming the Devil’s lies. We may look around on a Sunday morning and think we’re quaint bunch of average singers like a choir singing catchy tunes with good morals. But it’s so much more than that! When we sing together we’re joining with the angels. We’re encouraging each other as we sing the Gospel over one another. So play and sing along to worship music in the car, while you cook in the kitchen, as you work on a project at your office, with your kids before bed time or wherever. Because it’s more than singing, it’s raising an anthem and shouting in Satan’s face.

6. Speaking

I’ve made this strategy a bit mysterious for the sake of alliteration I admit. By speaking a mean prayer, which is speaking to God. Jesus taught us how to pray when He modelled what’s famously called the Lord’s Prayer. Towards the end of this prayer Christ asks the Father to deliver us from the evil one (Matt. 6:25). Prayer is medium through which we can be delivered from the demonic. There is no power inherent in the aft of praying, rather there is power in the One we pray to. As children of God, His adopted sons and daughters, we have access to our heavenly Father’s presence in prayer. In His presence we can ask for help and receive power to overcome sin and Satan. When we surrender to God in prayer we’re defying Satan. When we bend our hearts in prayer we’re standing in defiance of devils. If you form regular habits of prayer, whatever that might look for you, you will form regular habits of resistance to the demonic. When we pray were reminding ourselves and declaring against Satan that God’s is the Kingdom, power and glory.

7. Shield

Lastly, a key strategy against the demonic is faith. Faith is our shield to defend against and march in attack of Satan. Faith is our defence and our offence. Faith blocks the attacks of evil (Ephesians 6:16). As long as we have faith in Christ, who has total victory over sin, Satan and death, then we have a strategy to be victorious too. There is victory at the cross and victory at the empty tomb when we hope in the One who conquered both. We become more than conquerors through Christ who is the risen conquering Son. As we place our faith in God we are placed behind a shield if protection against the demonic. Will that prevent temptation? No. Will it prevent influence? No. But it will prevent greater and worse attacks than could happen without faith. Jesus is sat on the throne clothed with majesty and power, not the Devil. His final destiny is a lake of fire and pit of sulphur. His end will be weeping and gnashing teeth, not ours. All this takes faith and it’s a gift from God so let’s embrace it.

I hope this quick tour of several Biblical strategies will help you sucker punch Satan when he shows his ugly head in your life. Demonic influence should be expected but not accepted. Greater is He that’s in you that he that’s in the World.

[delwray-blog]

“The Battle for Your Mind”

Christians we’re in the Fight of Our Lives and Faith is putting on the Mind of Christ!

“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 place” Eph. 6:12. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Rom. 12:2 “The Interpretation of God’s Word without its Application is Abortion.” By Pastor Del Wray The battlefield or realm in which our spiritual warfare takes place is in the mind of every believer in Christ. We wrestle, or strive and struggle in our minds against world systems, the flesh or the carnal nature, and the devil. The mind encompasses our thoughts; imagination, reasoning, and intellect, as well as our emotions and will. In all of these aspects lies the very heart of an individual. By our thoughts and feelings, we determine our will and purpose for our lives. As Christians, we seek to live by the truth and power of God because they are our assurance of God's promised victory in each and every situation in life, and we are not ignorant of the reality of evil, and the destruction that surrounds our world on a daily basis. It is in this process that we will encounter a very real spiritual struggle in our thoughts, emotions and will because the adversary knows that these areas are directly related to the power of our faith, and means to receive the promises of God. “The adversary's goal is to weaken the faith of every Christian.” Thus, when you find one weakening the faith of other believers you can be sure it is the work of the devil. And the devil uses other Christians. It is my purpose in this document to both warn and uplift God’s people. Spiritual warfare consists of struggling against evil forces in our minds. The Bible is clear that this is not a battle which is fought on a physical plane at all, but rather a spiritual one: Who are those principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and such? They all stem from Satan's kingdom, but since Satan is not omnipresent, can be everywhere at once, he works through a network or an army of demon spirits. When a person says, “The devil is on my trail!” it is highly unlikely that Satan himself is assigned to the job, but rather one of the troops in his army, which would be a demonic spirit.

It’s been said that the “mind is the devil’s workshop.” In 1965, “The Invisible War” was written, a book detailing the war that goes on in the mind of every human being, especially the believer. A violent battle is raging around us 24 hours a day. It is the battle for your mind, and that battle is vicious. It is intense. It is unrelenting, and it is unfair because the Devil never plays fair. If the believer only could accept how severe that war is there would be a lot more “fear of God” in our churches. And the reason why the battle is so intense is that your greatest asset is your mind. It is our duty to never cease in warning Christians of this war and to compel them to safeguard their minds. “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what the nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” Romans 8:5-6. This war is great and its magnitude unthinkable, the balance between life and death. “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit” Rom 8:5-6. “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” Rom. 8:6. Even following the new birth, even after a man is saved the believer’s mind is still not free from the wiles of the Devil. As the enemy worked through the mind in former days, so today will he work in the same manner? Paul, in writing to the Corinthian believers, confided that he was afraid. “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” 2 Cor. 11: 3. The Apostle well recognizes that as the god of this world blinds the mind of unbelievers so will he deceive the mind of the believers. Even though they are saved their life of thought is as yet unrenewed; consequently, it remains the most strategic battleground. The mind suffers the onslaughts of the powers of darkness more than any other area of the whole man. We should realize that satanic spirits are directing special attention to our minds and are attacking them unrelentingly, “as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning.” The Devil did not assail Eve’s heart first but rather her head. Similarly today, the evil spirits first attack our head, not our heart, in order to have us corrupted from the simplicity and purity which is towards Christ. They fully understand how it is the weakest point in our entire being, for it had served as their fortress before we believed and even now is not yet entirely overthrown. Attacking the mind is the easiest avenue for them to accomplish their purpose. Eve’s heart was sinless and yet she received the Devil’s suggested thoughts. She was thus beguiled through his deception into forfeiting her reasoning and tumbling into the snare of the enemy. Let a believer accordingly be careful in his boast of possessing an honest and sincere heart, for unless he learns how to repulse the evil spirits in his mind he will continue to be tempted and deceived into losing the sovereignty of his will. The mind must be totally captivated by God’s Word saturated noon the less. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD” Isa. 55:8. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed EVIL THOUGHTS, adulteries, fornications, murders…” Mark 7:21. Paul continues by telling us from whence this danger comes: “For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him” 2 Cor. 11:4.

The peril for the Christian is to have false teaching injected into his thought life so as to lead him astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. These are the works the “serpent” is perpetrating today. Satan has disguised himself as an angel of light to lead saints to worship with their intellect a Jesus other than the Lord, to receive a spirit other than the Holy Spirit, and by these to propagate a gospel other than the gospel of the grace of God. Paul pronounces these to be nothing else than the deeds of Satan in the Christian’s mind. The adversary translates these “doctrines” into thoughts and then imposes them upon the mind of the Christian. How tragic that few appreciate the reality of these activities! Few, indeed, who would ever think that the devil could give such evil thoughts to God’s vessels, we cannot trust our minds, we cannot trust our thoughts, the fall has affected the entire man even the thought life, it has even tainted our sight, our hearing, our feelings the complete man. That’s why you hear the phrase “Total Depravity” all of man lies in ruin from the fall. Man cannot be trusted! It is possible for a child of God to have a new life and a new heart but be without a new head. With too many saints, the mind, though their heart is new, is still quite old. Their heart is full of love whereas their head is totally lacking in perception. How often the intents of the heart are utterly pure and yet the thoughts in the head are confused. Having become saturated with a mishmash of everything, the mind lacks the most single element of all, which is spiritual insight. Countless saints genuinely love all children of God, but unfortunately, their brain is stuffed with a hodgepodge of theories, opinions, and objectives. Quite a number of God’s best and most faithful children are the most narrow-minded and prejudice-filled. Already have they decided what the truth is and what truth they shall accept? They reject every other truth because these do not blend in with their preconceived notions. Their head is not as expansive as their heart. Moreover, there are other children of God whose mind can conceive no thought whatever. No matter how many truths have been heard they can neither remember nor practice nor communicate them to others. These have certainly heard a lot, yet they possess no ability to express any of it. For many years they have received truths, but not even a little can they supply for the needs of others. Perhaps they may even brag how full they are of the Holy Spirit! What creates such symptoms is an unrenewed mind. Man’s head damages people more than man’s heart! Were believers to learn how to distinguish the renewal of heart from the renewal of head, they would not commit the mistake of believing in man. Christians ought to realize that even one who maintains a most intimate fellowship with God may nevertheless unknowingly have accepted Satan’s suggestions in his mind, which consequently precipitate errors in his conduct, words, and viewpoints! Aside from the plain teaching of the Bible, no man’s words are entirely trustworthy. We must not live by a man’s words just because we admire or respect that man. His utterance and conduct may be most holy but his thought may not be spiritual. What we therefore observe is not his speech and behavior but his mind. Were we to believe, because of one’s life conduct, that what a worker says is God’s truth, we would then be making man’s word and demeanor our standard of truth instead of the Bible. History is strewn with innumerable cases of sanctified saints who propagated heresies! The simple explanation is that their hearts were renewed but their minds remained old. We will undeniably acknowledge that life is more important than knowledge. Indeed, the former is a thousand times more consequential than the latter. Nonetheless, after some growth in life, it is essential to seek the knowledge which proceeds from a renewed mind. We should see how urgent it is for both heart and head to be renewed.

As human beings, we are blessed to have great minds and bodies given to us by God. And he wants to bless us and enable us to use them for His greatest glory and our utmost potential. This can be achieved as we keep our focus on him. Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”

So as we align our hearts and THE THREE KINDS OF MINDS: There are three types of minds mentioned in Scripture. You have one of them. There is the natural mind, the carnal mind, and the spiritual mind. Natural Mind — Unsaved 1 Corinthians 2:14, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” This is a non-Christian. He has no spiritual appetite for the things of God. He cannot comprehend spiritual truth. He is dead in trespasses and sin Ephesians 2:1. He may be outwardly religious and morally clean but cannot comprehend the Christian life. His thoughts will be what is right in his own eyes, situation ethics, humanism. The natural mind thinks whatever comes natural to a lost person. Carnal Mind — Worldly Christian Romans 8:7, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Carnal means “of the flesh.” The carnal mind is a saved person who lives for the flesh. The church at Corinth was full of carnal Christians. Paul called them babies. He said they could only swallow the milk of the Word. They had to be taught when they should have been teaching. They were cliquish, immature, divisive, and easily offended. The Christian with a carnal mind is not satisfied in Christ alone. He chases after things, amusements, and delights rather than in the things of God. He is quarrelsome, touchy, and often is the source of church problems. He has feeble digestion and cannot get his own food spiritually. Deep Scriptures do not interest him. There is very little difference, if any, between the natural man and the carnal minded man. The lost see no difference and have no conviction when around a carnally minded Christian. The carnal mind needs to get right with God, be serious, and fill itself with scriptures! 1 Corinthians 3:1- 4; Romans 7:14-15; James 4:4. Spiritual Mind-Spiritual Christian 1 Corinthians 2:15, “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.” This is the Christian who is filled with the Holy Spirit and has a mind full of Scriptures. He is mature, has an understanding of spiritual things, has the ability to teach other Bible truths, and is fruitful. He has the mind of Christ. Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”

If you think the thoughts Jesus did, you will live the way Jesus did. To do that we must think Scriptures, meditate upon them. Because of that, our minds will be going forward, will not be in neutral and will not have a chance to go backward, backslide. The spiritually minded man needs to make sure he does not get satisfied. Hebrews 5:12, 14; 1 Corinthians 3:3; Galatians 5:22-23.

The Bible believer’s greatest danger is being satisfied with his Christian life. LET US NOT BECOME SATISFIED! Partial List of Demons to Cast Out, In The Name Of Jesus: Rebellion, Passive Mind, Fleshly Mind, Immorality, Impurity, Indecency, Sorcery, Mind Control Drugs, Enmity, Strife, Jealousy, Anger, Ill Temper, Party Spirit, Peculiar Opinions, Moral Stagnation, Stoicism, Filthy Minded, Glutton, Weak Willed, Unlawful, Lack of Concentration, Retrogression, Listlessness, Lethargy, Skepticism, Indecision, Drugs, Mental Stagnation, Incoherence, Hesitation, Tortured Mind, Backsliding, Unsettled Mind/Emotions, Idiosyncrasies, Futile Mind, Evil Plotting/Planning, Intimidation, Doubt, Unbelief, Indecision, Worry, Forgetfulness, Heresies, Envy, Drunkenness, Carousing, Depressing, Despondency, Defeatism, Doubt, Dejection, Despair, Discouragement, Gloom, Burden, Disgust, Withdrawal, Daydreaming, Pouting, Fantasy, Pretension, Unenthusiastic, Unreality, Escape, Deceit, Importance, Believing Lies, Demonic Manipulation, Restless, Darkened Mind, Spiritism Spirits, Excessive Talking, Pushing to Extremes, Uncontrolled Will, Attitude of Infallibility, Inability to Reason, Lazy, Unteachableness, Spirit of Division, Antagonism to Truth About Evil Spirits, Lack of Moral Vision or Judicial Balance, Oppression of Self and others, Believing Teachings of Demons, Exaggerated View of Self, Good or Bad, Unqualified Obedience to Demons, Counterfeiting God, Presence of God, Divine, Human, Angelic and Satanic Things, Supernatural Visions and Voices, Dread, Compromise, Hopelessness, Self-seduction, heaviness, fear of failure, nervousness, unbelief, tension, mental illness, madness, senility, schizophrenia, paranoia, carelessness, suspicion, false love, fear of women, fear of men, distrust, automatic failure, confusion, frustration, self-righteousness, arrogance, lying, recriminating, unrepentant, blinded mind, mind control, excuses, dissension, not making decisions, pride, inability to listen, nerve irritation, evil positiveness, prejudice, procrastination, insomnia, roving, morbidity, maniac, apprehension, self-deception, unfounded fears, self-delusion, pride, occult spirits, Spiritism spirits, mind idolatry, intellectualism, rationalization, unholy laughter, ego, vanity, hate of men/women, hysteria, mockery, haughtiness, unresisting to evil, unresponsive to God, unproductive behavior, reprobate mind, cult spirits, excessive weeping, shame, embarrassment, emotionalism, rage, unrelaxed mind, vain imaginations.

“The Battle for Your Mind Is On”

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"Birdbox" and Spiritual Warfare

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"Birdbox" and Spiritual Warfare

The film Birdbox, based on a British novel of the same name, started streaming on Netflix around Christmas time. Starring Sandra Bullock and John Malkovich, it is a taut thriller that manages, perhaps despite itself, to shed considerable light on the parlous spiritual condition of contemporary culture.

Bullock’s character, Mallorie, is a gifted painter whose work reflects her dismal view of life and her incapacity to maintain real connections to other people. As the film commences, Mallory is pregnant, though she is not living with the child’s father, and it appears she intends to put the baby up for adoption. As she is leaving the hospital after a routine check-up, all hell breaks loose. Strange spiritual forces have invaded the town, and those who gaze upon them are compelled, ferociously and immediately, to commit suicide. As Mallorie looks around in horror, her neighbors are stepping in front of speeding buses, walking into fires, shooting and stabbing themselves to death. She is rescued by a small group who huddle inside a home (it appears that the specters can only operate in the outdoors), and the rest of the movie unfolds as a tale of their desperate struggle to survive.

In the course of the weeks and months that follow, every denizen of the house is eventually exposed to the wraiths and commits suicide, except for Mallorie, her son, and the daughter of one of the victims. Having heard over a crackling radio word of a haven downriver from the home, our heroine and the children set out, blindfolded, by boat. After a terrible journey, during which they are threatened by enemies both physical and spiritual, they find the refuge, which turns out to be, understandably enough, a school for the blind. In that place, marked by both human warmth and the beauty of nature, Mallorie seems to find the sense of connection—especially to the children—that she was lacking as the film commenced. I completely understand the filmmaker’s comment that Birdbox is finally about the main character discovering what it means to be a mother.

But what I found particularly interesting about this film is what is missing from it—namely, any reference to God. I’ve remarked often how in standard disaster movies depicting alien invasions or natural calamities, people hardly ever invoke God. They band together, show courage, find inner reserves of strength, etc., but hardly ever do they ask for help from a supernatural source. However, this absence of the divine reference was especially jarring in a movie whose villains are precisely malign spiritual forces—demons, if you will. There is a tragic/comic moment toward the beginning of Birdbox, just after the little community has gathered for protection. Trying to understand what is happening, casting about for explanations, they propose this theory and that. Finally, a young man gives voice to a disjointed farrago of “spiritual” insights from a variety of religions and mythologies. When everyone else looks at him with utter confusion, he says, sheepishly, “I got that from the internet.” I found that scene sadly emblematic of our cultural situation.

At least in the West, so much of classical religion has broken down or has quietly surrendered to the spirit of the age, devolving into one more form of political correctness. And therefore, in the face of real spiritual danger, vanishingly few have the metaphysical framework to understand what’s happening, or the moral will to fight the enemy appropriately. As the film comes to its at least relatively happy ending, the survivors have one another and they have the beauty of nature, but the spiritual threat remains very much alive—precisely because no one knows what to do about it.

Birdbox, as I mentioned, commenced streaming right just before Christmas—in other words, at the very time when the most popular Christmas movie of all time was playing incessantly. As I watched It’s a Wonderful Life for probably the forty-eighth time (I know: nerd alert), I was especially struck by the scene of George Bailey on the snowy bridge. Having come face to face with his worst fears—loss of his livelihood, reputation, fortune, and family—George prayed, and though it took him some time to understand fully what was happening, God sent an angel to help him. His properly spiritual crisis, which led him indeed to the brink of suicide, was resolved through the use of spiritual means.

If God has effectively disappeared, then our fears will indeed overwhelm us -@BishopBarron Click To Tweet

The characters in Birdbox speculate that the evil spirits manifest themselves as the sum total of a person’s greatest fears—which explains the devastating effect that they have on those who see them. If God has effectively disappeared, then our fears will indeed overwhelm us; or at best we’ll be able to keep them at bay. To appreciate the difference between George Bailey’s and Mallorie’s response to the power of darkness is to appreciate a certain downward trajectory in our culture.

Copyright 2019 Bishop Robert Barron. This article is reprinted with the kind permission of WordonFire.org, where it was originally published.

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