Our Adversary (1 of 3)
Series: Spiritual Warfare
Jerry Watts
1 Peter 5:8-9
With the many blessings and good things that are going on in our fellowship, our family, I will not be surprised if 'problems' don't arise. Not because we have bad people, but because we face an adversary that doesn't bother us unless and until we invade HIS TERRITORY and push back on His turf. So, for the next 3 weeks, we look at ''SPIRITUAL WARFARE.'' Tonight- Adversary.
We are in a battle. It is a battle for the hearts, minds, and souls of all people.
We see the visual in culture - music, tv, movies, literature, and internet.
Our real difficulty is that human nature causes us to demonize people instead of seeing the truth: ''For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood (people), but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, agsinst the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly place.'' We need to identify our enemies.
Before I get to the adversary, we need to admit we are in a SPIRITUAL BATTLE that Paul calls a wrestling match. The war may have been won on Calvary, but Satan hasn't surrendered. What will we do in the battle?
Reject it-- close your eye? Honestly, this seems to be what we Baptists have done. It's like, 'if we pretend it is not going on, we'll be okay'. Or maybe leave this type of talk to the Pentecostals. A word of caution, ''If you are in a fight and ignore it, there is a good chance, you'll be killed. (I.E. Boxing, wrestling, ill-prepared, ill-equipped
Rename it-You can say, ''it's not really a battle, it's just a test, trial, tribulation''. More power to you, but from where I stand, it's a full-scale assault by the enemy. Maybe it hasn't hit us yet, but it will.
Resist it-Well, I'll just stay clear of anything that looks like a battle. So, you try to keep your hands clean, avoiding, and running at first sign of trouble. That is like sweeping the dirt under the rug. It's out of sight and ...
Series: Spiritual Warfare
Jerry Watts
1 Peter 5:8-9
With the many blessings and good things that are going on in our fellowship, our family, I will not be surprised if 'problems' don't arise. Not because we have bad people, but because we face an adversary that doesn't bother us unless and until we invade HIS TERRITORY and push back on His turf. So, for the next 3 weeks, we look at ''SPIRITUAL WARFARE.'' Tonight- Adversary.
We are in a battle. It is a battle for the hearts, minds, and souls of all people.
We see the visual in culture - music, tv, movies, literature, and internet.
Our real difficulty is that human nature causes us to demonize people instead of seeing the truth: ''For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood (people), but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, agsinst the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly place.'' We need to identify our enemies.
Before I get to the adversary, we need to admit we are in a SPIRITUAL BATTLE that Paul calls a wrestling match. The war may have been won on Calvary, but Satan hasn't surrendered. What will we do in the battle?
Reject it-- close your eye? Honestly, this seems to be what we Baptists have done. It's like, 'if we pretend it is not going on, we'll be okay'. Or maybe leave this type of talk to the Pentecostals. A word of caution, ''If you are in a fight and ignore it, there is a good chance, you'll be killed. (I.E. Boxing, wrestling, ill-prepared, ill-equipped
Rename it-You can say, ''it's not really a battle, it's just a test, trial, tribulation''. More power to you, but from where I stand, it's a full-scale assault by the enemy. Maybe it hasn't hit us yet, but it will.
Resist it-Well, I'll just stay clear of anything that looks like a battle. So, you try to keep your hands clean, avoiding, and running at first sign of trouble. That is like sweeping the dirt under the rug. It's out of sight and ...
There are 8580 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
