SPIRITUAL WARFARE AND THE FAMILY
All of unsaved humanity is under the rule of the wicked one. In John Chapter 8 Jesus communicates this truth by accusing those he was speaking with of having the devil as their father. When we become born again we are taken into a new family. God now becomes our father and Jesus our elder brother. Unfortunately, the evil one does not respect our change of family and continues to try and manipulate us to do his thing. The resistance we give to throw off the advances of the enemy is spiritual warfare. In Christ we have a new place of authority to work from and the Lord has given us weapons to fight with. We are destined to win, but we must fight.
The war takes place in the middle of everyday life, such as, when we are parenting our children. What do you do when your son or daughter defies your word or rejects your family values? What are your responses to a surly attitude or in your face threats and curses? What do you do in response to the wide range of behaviors teens exhibit, especially the ones that could become life threatening? If you are like me there is at least a tendency in the flesh to react to the communication and behaviors and not consider a Biblical response and strategy to solve the problem.
Parenting today can be an absolute nightmare, and without good parenting skills based on Biblical principles and a balanced understanding of spiritual warfare, it is an almost impossible task. This teaching begins a series that will provide a basic understanding of spiritual warfare. Since The Father's Heart Ministry works primarily with families, our illustrations will focus on spousal and parent/child relationships. It is notable today that Christians are having as many family problems as non-Christians. How can this be?
First of all let me share a couple of facts that might shed some light on this observation. When interviewing parents that call for help, I try first of all to determine whether they understand the basic principles of spiritual warfare. Most do not, and are usually attending a church where these principles are not being taught or used. We frequently observe that a husband may not understand the principles of spiritual warfare, while the wife has understanding, but is not applying these principles on a regular basis. The house is divided and the enemy has a field day.
Spiritual warfare in the family must be looked at in three different ways. 1. Our own personal battle. That is, as a spouse and parent we must have a sound mind and know how to be victorious when under the enemy's attack. 2. Warfare must be carried out on behalf of other family members, e.g. responding to situations with a prayerful attitude rather than reacting, or praying for and shielding our family members from the work of the enemy. 3. Teaching our young children about spiritual warfare at a very young age. Children who know, understand, and apply these principles before their adolescent years will have a far better foundation from which they can judge the condition of their thought life and emotions. Our future studies will include illustrations of the principles we have be talking about and practical examples of how and when to apply them.
WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE
THE ARMOR OF GOD
One of the most influential mentors I have had is a man by the name of Dr. Jim Logan. Dr. Logan has ministered to families for many years and is a person who ministers consistently to the home schooling community. The first time I heard Jim Logan tell a group of parents that they could never defeat the devil I was in shock. Once he had our attention he let fly with the next sentence. "You can't defeat him because he is already defeated". He was defeated at the cross. He is defeated, but he is also a liar, deceiver, and schemer. He sets snares, and roams around to see whom he can devour. In the battle against these efforts the believer must maintain the primary presupposition that the devil is already defeated and that we overcome him with the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. This the believer must do if he is going to be successful in his Christian walk.
Paul helps us understand our position in the battle when we read Ephesians chapter 6. In this chapter he speaks about the battle and the armor we are to put on each day to fight the good fight. As you read this, take note of the word stand. So often in our homes we are quick to react with our children or spouse. This only brings about more conflict. Paul says we are to stand when we have our armor on. He warns us at the beginning of his discussion that we war not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Eph 6:12) Those we are in contact with everyday are not our enemies; we wrestle with other foes.
Paul's teaching on spiritual warfare begins in Eph. 6:10, where he says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might". Christ has already defeated the devil on the cross, and it is in Him that we will find our success. His strength and power are provided through the application of the next verse. Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. There is that word stand, and in this verse it is used as a position taken against the wiles (craftiness) of the devil. The way we stand is to put on the whole armor. In verse 13 Paul says, "therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all, to stand. Note the words stand and withstand. Some translations may use stand instead of withstand.
In verse 14 the word stand is used again. "Stand therefore precedes the list of armor that Paul is giving his readers. The armor is obviously the manifestation of the strength and power coming out of our relationship with the Lord commended to us in verse 10. Books have been written about the armor, so in a couple of paragraphs I am not going to be able to communicate the whole picture. The first weapon we see is the belt of truth. For me, this represents the fact that we are walking in the truth. That is, our world view is Biblical and Christ is the center of our life as one who leads us into all truth. He is the truth!
The second thing we see is the breastplate of righteousness. This piece of armor represents our righteous standing before God because of the shed blood of Christ. Remission of sins is found in the blood, and because of our faith in the blood, we are considered righteous by God. It is the righteousness that is not of the law discussed in Romans 3:21 and following. I believe that this is part of what we see in the passage in Revelation 12:11 where we overcome the devil by the blood of the lamb. If a person does not have a strong sense of personal righteousness based upon the shed blood of Christ, that person will not be able to fight the good fight. When we know we are righteous the enemy has a difficult time accusing us and bringing us back under condemnation.
The Gospel of peace speaks of Christ being the Prince of Peace. The focus is making peace between man and God and between Jew and Gentile. Paul writes that if it is at all possible, we are to live in peace with all men. The temptation when we are in a conflict is to get combative and to forget about "the rules of engagement". Life between teens and parents can get combative real quick. Our mindset while in the war should be peaceable and to remember who the enemy really is. Paul puts it another way. He says our feet should be shod with the Gospel of Peace. This suggests that as we walk and wherever our feet take us we should be seeking peace. Being peaceable permits us to stand, seeking God's power and his ways in the situation we are facing.
Our armor includes the shield of faith. Faith is something that comes from the Lord. It is a gift of the Spirit and a fruit of the Spirit. It comes from the relationship we have with the Godhead through Christ. Faith is believing in what God says is true. He can say it through His word, the Bible, or He can speak to us in our spirit. Jesus says that He only did what the father showed Him or what He told Him to do. As we walk in faith there is a shield around us that deflects the fiery darts of the wicked one. These fiery darts are thoughts that penetrate deep into our soul and bring guilt, condemnation, and/or accusations. They also may bring us into an unforgiving attitude because of what someone did to us or said about us. The fiery darts may be generally defined as those thoughts that are unusually difficult to take captive or remove from our thought life. The fiery darts may also lead us into sinful behaviors, or produce negative emotions.
Our salvation is a very strong piece of the armor. This is something else that comes through the blood of Christ. Remember that we overcome the devil by the blood. The helmet of salvation is everything we have related to our salvation in Christ. The purposes, promises, and power of Christ is present in the helmet of salvation.
The last weapon is considered by most to be the only offensive weapon listed. The word of God which is the sword of the Spirit is what we use to destroy the works of the evil one. As when Jesus comes with the two edged sword coming out of His mouth, so we fight with the word of God. The Greek word here for word is Rhema. This is a word given from the Lord for you to act upon. It will be very specific for the situation you are going through at the time. It could be directions for you as you deal with a situation or perhaps a word of knowledge about someone while you are ministering.
