13 Apr We Must Fight the Invisible War
Blog Series:
Renew Your Mind ~ Transform Your Life
The premise of this blog series is that if we renew our minds, we will transform our lives. So Romans 12:2 tells us. The goal is change – spiritual change – from what we are now to what God wants us to be, and what we, ourselves, want to be.
There are three things we must do to be able to change, spiritually, as much as we would like:
- Abandon ourselves to an eternal perspective (Seeing reality as God sees it)
- Rise to our true spiritual nature (Seeing ourselves as God sees us)
- Become our own brain surgeon (Seeing the true route to transformation)
Regarding the first point, there are three things we need to do to understand and abandon ourselves to an eternal perspective:
- Believe the unbelievable
- Choose the undesirable
- Fight the invisible
From the beginning of this series through last week’s post, we have looked at the first two aspects of abandoning ourselves to an eternal perspective: 1. Believing the unbelievable and 2. Choosing the undesirable. Now, we begin to look at the third aspect: 3. Fighting the invisible.
There is an invisible world that is just as real as the visible world
In this very room right now there are television signals, radio signals, Wi-Fi signals, smart phone signals. As we sit here, we can’t see them, hear them, touch them, taste them, or smell them. We have no capacity within our five senses to know that the electronic signals are in the air.
But if I have the right device, I could turn on a television show, a radio show, connect to the Internet, or ask Siri what the weather is going to be tomorrow. And, it’s not magic. It’s electrical airwaves. The fact that we cannot perceive them with our five senses has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that they are all here, right now, in this room with us. Most of us don’t have any idea how it all works. We just accept it and move on from there.
In the same way, while the Bible does not say as much, it is likely that there are angels and demons in the room with us right now. Demons, to look for opportunities to deceive, distract and defeat us, and angels to protect us. We cannot see them, hear them, touch them, taste them, or smell them. But the fact that we cannot perceive them with our five senses has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that they are likely all here, right now, in this room with us.
In 2 Kings 6, the king of Aram had gotten angry with the prophet Elisha and sent horses and chariots and a great army to the town of Dothan to capture him. They came by night and surrounded the city.
In the morning, the attendant of Elisha got up early, went out and saw the army with horses and chariots circling the city. He went back to Elisha and said “Master! What shall we do?” Elisha replied: “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “Oh Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. The horses and chariots of fire were there all along, but they were invisible.
Members of the spirit world are not normally visible to members of the physical world. But just like television and radio waves and internet signals, that doesn’t mean they’re not there.
Part of cultivating a mature and complete eternal perspective includes being aware of the spirit world and accepting the reality of ongoing spiritual warfare, with demons trying to deceive, or discourage, or defeat us, and with angels here to protect us.
There are three central passages that alert us to the reality of spiritual warfare
The three central passages in Scripture regarding spiritual warfare are:
- Ephesians 6:12,
“…our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
- James 4:6-8.
“’God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
- 1 Peter 5:6-9
“Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith…”
We must embrace and prepare for the reality of spiritual warfare
C.S. Lewis said, “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”
Lewis also said, “Every square inch in the universe and every split second of time is claimed by God and counter claimed by Satan.”
This suggests that spiritual warfare is not occasional, but constant. One of most important mental shifts a Christian must make is the shift from living for the American Dream to fighting the spiritual battle. It is one of the major mental shifts a person must make if he/she is to have an adequate eternal perspective. To fall short on this point is to set yourself up for endless disappointment and discouragement.
Conclusion
Life is not a waltz; it’s a war. It is not a playground; it’s a battlefield! The goal is not success in the American Dream but victory in the spiritual war. And, the Christian with a mature and complete eternal perspective will live with this continuous awareness.
Next week, we will look at the three categories of spiritual warfare. I look forward to unpacking this with you.
Until then, remember, “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“. (1 John 4:4) See you next week.
In case you’re new here
This blog post is part of a series titled “Renew Your Mind, Transform Your Life”, introduced on January 5, 2021. As the series continues, each succeeding post will be added to and available in the blog archives at www.maxanders.com.
If you know anyone who you think might enjoy joining us in this study, please forward this blog to them and encourage them to go to my web site (www.maxanders.com) and sign up for the free video, “Master the Bible So Well That the Bible Masters You”, available there on the home page. This will put them on my regular mailing list and they’ll receive my weekly blogs on this subject.
In addition, I am creating a new online membership site, The Change Zone, that will provide information, strategies and resources to help motivated Christians renew their mind and transform their lives. If you would like to learn more about this and get updates to know when The Change Zone will be available, click here.
I look forward to going through this life-changing journey with you.
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