2.3.2 屬靈爭戰之方 – 在魂的層面上得勝
1. Setup the defensing lines of life
Even when Jesus came, he was in constant battle with the devil.
The Bible does not say that after being born again, we can automatically be protected from the attack or influence of the devil (spiritual world)
2 Cor 2:11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
We need to build a wall to guard our lives to resist disturbance and attack from the spirit world. Many people don't understand the relationship between us and the spirit world is like the front and back sides of a coin. The influence of the spirit world will be reflected in the material world.
Daniel 10:12-13
12 He said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me twenty-one days. So Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia.
A spiritual principal:
We need to have a proper understanding and know how to deal with anything that prevents us from coming close to God or tries to destroy God’s will and plan on the earth, especially when you have a position and a role to play in that plan. And we do this so that we may not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes. We can recognize the enemy's schemes. If the believer does not understand or see through the enemy's scheme, the enemy will take the opportunity to overcome us. If you don’t recognize the way the enemy works, then it will be able to deceive us.
Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
The lack of understanding of the influences and areas that the spiritual realm and the evil spirits can impact has caused many believers to fall and fail, and many people opened the door to disasters, destruction and even death for themselves in ignorance. When facing the spiritual realm, we even know nothing as the enemies drive straight in to attack and rob us. If we are ignorant of this field, we will lose our initiation and become passive.
Example: in deliverance
Analogy of army
Mark 16:17-18
17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
When the enemy’s tactics cannot be distinguished, every aspect of the church, the country, and life will be negatively affected. Salvation is freely given. However, believers have to bear the responsibility to grow mature. Through God's Word, prayer, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and by the authority that God has given us, to train ourselves to grow mature in our spiritual lives.
Of course, not every negative situation we face in our lives is caused by the devil. The problem can come from several channels: 1. The uncontrolled flesh, 2. The influence of the devil. These are two of the channels. When we are impulsive and do whatever we like according to our desires, we also will find ourselves in deep trouble.
The moment we became Christian, we already entered into the battle field, whether we like it or not. We chose to follow Jesus Christ as our Commander.
The army exists for combat. The soldiers receive training and equipment in the army and learn the strategies used to understand the enemy. Train yourself to use weapons proficiently, learn methods of attack, and simulate the situation of war. To win a war, obedience to orders becomes very important. This training will establish a reflex system or habit in the mind and body of the soldiers, so that they can fearlessly face the difficulties. In this way, well-trained troops and weapons are closely linked.
The safety of the theater is through your daily preparation and insight!
In the war zone, there are several life-saving things you must pay attention to:
1. Absolutely obey the order;
2. Well-trained, understand the weapons you have;
3. Strategies to identify and recognize the enemy,
4. Identify when the enemy launched an attack;
In spiritual attacks, these principles also apply. Before fighting, believers must know that it is from the devil. Just as soldiers are trained to fight, we must also train ourselves to face spiritual conflicts.
2. How to face spiritual conflicts, and how you should respond to change your dilemma?
*If there are unhealed wounds, it will attract the enemy.
Many people leave his ministry, call, or leave their destiny, spouse, etc., just because their previous wounds did not heal. Untreated wounds and traumas are the main cause of suffering for Christians. Don't think that if you ignore it, he will leave. No, it will reappear before your eyes one day in your life.
Enemies often attack human life on three levels, through the body, spirit and soul. Before the external manifestations are seen, we must first move forward from the inside: internal stability must produce external stability.
5 components of human soul: will, emotion, intelligence, imagination, and memory
Although believers will not be possessed by enemies in the spirit, the soul and body will still experience similar repressive, frustrated and entangled conditions. The main problem of this generation is no longer the fear of war, the spread of AIDS, or the epidemic of influenza. But mental illness: for example: depression, addiction, mental problems, etc. Looking around today's world, you are surrounded by battles that attack people's minds. It is a tug of war for human mind.
When the spirit is reborn, the soul is not automatically regenerated. We must allow God's Word and the anointing of the Holy Spirit to transform the soul, so that we can obey God and accomplish our purpose on earth.
(1) Functions of the will
Will is the main force that governs the soul.
As a believer or an unbeliever, all your decisions are ultimately determined by your will. God created mankind with will, and we use will to choose the object of service. Going to heaven or going to hell, sinning or living in holiness, serving God or the devil, are all determined by our choices and wills. Even after our rebirth in Christ, we can also choose to experience God or be lukewarm, accept or reject the call of God.
Human will is part of free will. God honors it and will not violate it. So we cannot blame God for the wrong decisions that we have made. Responsibility comes with will, and God is not responsible for our choices.
Examples
Purpose of the creation of will
Will transcends other areas of the soul, no matter how unwilling your imagination, memory, emotions can be, suddenly your will makes a decision, the resistance of other parts will be quiet and have to be aligned to your will. Will is the most powerful part of the soul. The same is true of the spiritual realm, if the other part of your soul wants to deviate, the will has the authority to pull it back and get it back on track.
Example: When a child is angry or crying, the temper does not come from emotion or intelligence, but from uncontrolled willpower, which requires training and control, so parents are responsible for training the child's willpower.
When the human spirit is regenerated, the will is not automatically regenerated immediately. We must let the word of God and the anointing of the Holy Spirit transform the will, so that we can obey God and accomplish our purpose on earth. When the spirit is reborn, the will begins to change, and the heart will not prone to be rebellious against God as before. Now there is a willingness to submit to God and please him. From that day on, God also used his words to discipline and train our will. The will reconciled by God produces life and joy. When the will of man is connected with the Father in heaven, the Father in heaven will support everything we strive for. Every time the will wins, you will overcome the enemy. Every attack will not succeed and the disease will retreat.
The ways of the enemy's attacks on will
John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
The enemy's goal is to steal your will from obeying God. His ultimate goal is to control your will. When you disobey God's will, poverty, weakness, disease, misfortune, and disaster will come, and you will fall. Lack of willpower makes you tired of blaming yourself, taking away your joy, strength. Negative and weak willpower may even lead to physical death.
Under the attack of the enemy, how does the human will work?
When a person's will is attacked, he loses his enthusiasm for God. He might become lazy, doesn't care, become dull and lost discipline and diligence. He no longer concerns about the gospel. His energy level dropped, lacking vitality and having abnormal sleepiness. In real life, he often shows hesitation and can't tell which is right. Relies on human opinion, not God's. The enemy cannot invade your will. He has no ability to override your will. He must have your permission to control you. Even unbelievers have the willpower to refuse the devil. The choice is yours.
How can the enemy make a person's will passive?
By weakening your will through happy face, tragedy, bombardment of fatigue, constant disturbance and torture, and finally he can control your will, or raise the environment to make you fall into the trap. The enemy continues to strike us day by day until we are exhausted. If there is no God at this time to renew us, we can be defeated with just one blow. The will becomes weakened under constant disturbance. Many times, the enemy will wait till grace and people’s approval come to us and strike the fatal blow.
Example: Samson (He was invincible when his will surrendered to God.) Joseph, Zacchaeus (determined to return 4 times of what he owed)
How to recover or restore:
Choose to use the will to make a positive, divine response, and you will be able to fulfill God's call and destiny for you.
Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
As believers, we should strive to protect our will power of obeying God's will. When we root the word of God in our wills, it will make it easier to follow God's plan. When the will is connected with God, it will not be exhausted under pressure, and the strength of God will produce perseverance and endurance.
Isaiah 30:15 In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. When the inner man is strong, the will will follow closely. Internal stability will produce external stability.
We can’t engage into spiritual warfare without the power of God. We cannot confuse God's gifts or anointing with God's power. Don’t think that your will and God’s will are connected because you have an anointing from God. Don’t confuse the two. No matter what our present personal life is, it is our responsibility to build our inner man through the Word of God. In a spiritual battle, the Godly belief system must be embedded in your will.
(2) Function of Emotion
In the soul, it is right to have feelings about people and things, both good and bad. There is nothing wrong with emotions, but it is wrong to let emotions run out of control. Emotions are given to us by God, but we cannot use them to manipulate or control others, nor can let it control us. Nor can it be used to find the will of God. Or use it to prove that God works in us. Emotions are not the basis of true love, nor the evidence of lacking true love.
The purpose of being created: God creates emotions in human beings to make life more abundant. God created emotions to show his personality and character through people on earth. Emotions, like the rest of our soul, must mature and grow with God's words. If we feel that something goes against God's will, then that thing is wrong. If you don’t stop, wrong emotions will be induced by wrong desires, and you will steal the destiny given to you by God.
Emotions can express the joy of God, the sorrow of the Holy Spirit, or express the anger of God, or the peace he released. In this way, God's mercy is greatly revealed on the earth through human emotions.
People in the world do not understand the life led by the Holy Spirit and usually live their lives according to their emotions and intellect. People with fluctuating emotions often live in chaos. If you don’t want to go to work, don’t go to work. If you’re happy, go out and play for a few days. People who haven't regenerated yet in the Spirit are easy to make emotions their master. The believer needs to let the spiritual man dominate his life, otherwise he cannot continue to communicate with God. Answered prayers are not based on emotions. According to God's Word, prayers anointed by the Holy Spirit are heard by God.
The ways of the enemy’s attack on emotions
When the enemy cannot find the entrance to attack our will, he will turn to attack our emotions.
The first obvious symptom of being emotionally attacked is: Self-pity.
When we are hit by the darts of the enemy and injured, the first reaction is emotion. People start to look at the problem from the perspective of self-pity. Their ideas start to be distorted and intimidated in order to protect themselves. They start to feel that everyone is against m, and no one likes me. Everyone else is wrong. Self-pity will evolve into arrogance, a kind of pride. It is out of self-defense and protection. People who have been hurt have an arrogant mask to hide the wound. When the defense mechanism is built up and the false coat is put on, it cuts off the blessing of God in our lives. God encourages us to do great things for him, but we can’t hear God’s voice. Even if we sometimes hear it, we can’t follow it, because we can’t break the shell of arrogance.
The second obvious symptom of being emotionally attacked is: Anger.
The reason why anger can control people's emotions is because that person has been hurt before. When people are dominated by anger, they create disputes, because they want to take revenge wholeheartedly. Your spirit cannot live in justice, peace, joy, but in the wilderness, lonely and alienated like an animal in the wilderness, fear drives it to harm other animals that are getting close to it. In the field of emotions, only the person who hurts you gets his bad retribution can make you feel happy. The reaction of anger is bitterness. Similarly, the enemy’s attack and control of our emotions will prevent us from achieving God’s plan for us in the world. We act like fleshly humans.
Romans 1:24
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves
Romans 1:28-32
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind and to things that should not be done. 29 They were filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice. Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, craftiness, they are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters,[a] insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, rebellious toward parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 They know God’s decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die—yet they not only do them but even applaud others who practice them.
A carnal person acts as if he never knew God and never knew his laws. If emotions are not aligned with God's words, the eyes of faith will be closed. It becomes only natural to see the problem with the naked eye. Emotions will drive us to seek negative support, gossiping, slandering. Dare not to trust anyone. How to recover or restore?
1) How to break through the attacks on our emotions?
Psalm 42:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help
Psalm 85:8 Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
Force your emotions to be quiet and rely on the Word of God, no matter what happens around you. Example, 1 Sam 22:1-2 David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and his father’s household heard about it, they went down to him there. 2 All those who were in distress or in debt or discontented gathered around him, and he became their commander. About four hundred men were with him.
2) Learn to obey God’s will, align your emotions with God’s words, and use God’s words to counter the disturbance
Psalm 34:1 I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.
Proverbs 25:28 Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.
(3) Intelligence
God in his image created human intelligence and gave human this function. The natural intelligence resists God because it wants to take the place of God to dominate.
If human intelligence is wrongly guided, it will resist God's work. Although it is wonderful, the world has enshrined intelligence as a god, as if it were the way to survive. As far as the world is concerned, intelligence gives rise to hierarchy and does not advocate equality for all. God’s view is just the opposite: God looks at the heart of man, not man’s intelligence.
God put intelligence in us to help us understand God's work and make the earth full of abundance. If the intelligence is fused with the Holy Spirit, great achievements can be achieved. If we prosper in that environment, it means that intelligence works for us.
Function in God:
For believers, intelligence combined with our spirit can bring about the ability to understand. God desires to reveal Himself to us so that we can understand his way. Intelligence plays an important role in the faith and obedience to the Lord. God’s will is for believers to turn his intelligence into divine wisdom.
Proverbs 19:8 to keep understanding is to prosper. Whoever has wisdom, cherish life.
Exercise our intelligence according to God's words, so that intelligence will be transformed into divine wisdom.
Proverbs 3:13 Happy are those who find wisdom, and those who get understanding.
The world is founded on the wisdom of God, and wisdom is far more valuable than rubies or gold. God’s wisdom produces peace and security. It is the guardian against destruction and poverty.
The purpose of intelligence
Natural intelligence believes that it is wiser than God, and chooses to establish laws and rules to prove this. Natural intelligence has an explanation for everything. It worships logic to the point where it completely ignores the supernatural, but miracles do not exist in natural intelligence. We cannot see God's purpose by relying solely on natural intelligence. The gospel is the same, it cannot be explained logically, it is spiritual.
From another perspective, many people have set up religious rules and models for everyone to follow. Unless you do this or that, you cannot serve God. Many of the Pharisees or Sadducees who formulated these were clever and intelligent. If one day you do things beyond tradition, you will be rejected. As a result, the rules and regulations surpass God.
The way the enemy attacks intelligence:
The enemy’s goal is:
To pull God from his rightful position in your life. Deceive you by all means.
1. The most important sign is that you follow logic, not confirmation from within. At first, people gradually lost their faith and belief in God. After that, you start to analyze everything you see with reasoning. The enemy will make you feel that you are consciously superior and objective, but you are actually being fooled. Gradually, you will backslide, and your heart will feel cold and dry.
2. The areas that the enemy will attack are our common sense. He will try to tell you to stop using common sense. For example, someone keeps declaring abundance, but not looking for a job. God even takes care of sparrows, but the sparrows must at least leave their nests to find the bugs! So don't be deceived in this area. God's law is not magic, but the principle of faith, and faith requires you to take action.
How to restore:
The first step in recovery is repentance. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the truth and his work;
2. Ask God to soften your heart and give you new ears to listen to his words. Renew the covenant with God and follow it through;
3. Order the spirit of unbelief to leave, and defeat those sent to disturb your thoughts and trouble your heart;
4. Let you surround yourself with people who fear God, this is true wisdom and intelligence.
(4) Imagination
It is one of the most valuable assets in the soul. Imagination has the ability to create and can do anything for God. It can also create new things that humans have not seen.
Function in God:
If we do not understand the principles of how to combine imagination with action, we will only dream all of our lives. Imagination without proper action is useless. Some people have dreams for more than ten years, but still stand still, it is a sign of inability to act. When imagination is combined with action, countries, cities, churches, and community groups can be changed. It comes from your thought life.
Genesis 11:6
The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. and Jehovah saith, `Lo, the people [is] one, and one pronunciation [is] to them all, and this it hath dreamed of doing; and now, nothing is restrained from them of that which they have purposed to do. Because everyone is of the same mind, they can do whatever they imagine.
There is no limit to imagination. From this passage, we can see that our ability and our intelligence are not related, because our ability comes from our imagination and willingness to achieve it. Intelligence will hinder imagination. Imagination comes from your inner desire.
Young's Literal Translation (YLT) Which they have imagined to do, meaning: what they have imagined to do”
David's imagination surpassed the intimidation of giants
1 Samuel 17:44-47
44 and the Philistine saith unto David, `Come unto me, and I give thy flesh to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the field.' 45 And David saith unto the Philistine, `Thou art coming unto me with sword, and with spear, and with buckler, and I am coming unto thee in the name of Jehovah of Hosts, God of the ranks of Israel, which thou hast reproached. 46 This day doth Jehovah shut thee up into my hand -- and I have smitten thee, and turned aside thy head from off thee, and given the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines this day to the fowl of the heavens, and to the beast of the earth, and all the earth do know that God is for Israel. 47 and all this assembly do know that not by sword and by spear doth Jehovah save, that the battle [is] Jehovah's, and He hath given you into our hand.’
The purpose of the creation of Imagination:
When a heart obeys God's plan, its imagination will overflow from the spirit of God, and it will align with God's ordained destiny. The plan imagined promotes the kingdom of God. Turn people's hearts to heaven. So imagination that is truly inspired by the Spirit of God will make people humble.
The way the enemy attacks imagination:
A. It makes us exalt ourselves, any imagination that exalts ourselves more than God does not come from heaven. Lifting ourselves up will make us lose our accurate judgments about God's things. For example, in Gen 3, Satan made Eve imagine the taste and qualities of fruit. Genesis 3:4-5 "The snake said to the woman, you don't necessarily die" because God knows that the day you eat, your eyes will be brighter, and you will know good and evil like God. "She imagined that she would be on an equal footing with God after eating the fruit. Through imagination, Adam and Eve fell into the trap set by the enemy.
The channels through which the enemy invade: 1. Pride; 2. Unconstrained body; 3. Past hurt and pain
Creative imagination becomes illusion when it is separated from action. In today's world, the public is looking for a way to escape from pressure. Fantasy movies, exciting novels, and the entertainment industry are flooding the market. However, the Bible warns us to be careful of illusory things. If we continue to use them to feed our minds and thoughts, they will be reflected in our imagination and will also be called mental images.
2 Timothy 4:4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.
1 Timothy 1:4 and not to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies that promote speculations rather than the divine training that is known by faith.
B. to lure us into unhealthy fantasies and make us lose our ambition. It is dangerous to abandon the truth and turn to the illusions, to follow and pay attention to them. It opens the gate for the enemy and makes people feel confused. Fantasy will also make your imagination passive and empty, so there must be something else to fill in.
How to recover:
Humility — use God's words to guide your imagination into the proper channels, protect the imagination given to you by God, and be aware of the enemy's tricks.
(5) Memory
Memory is the power that commands our way of life. Memory must be managed by your spirit, otherwise you will not be able to successfully complete God's plan for you.
Godly Function:
1 Samuel 17:33-37
33 Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. 36 Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.” So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!”
David used the power of his memory of how God helped him escape lions and bears to motivate himself to trust God. Because of that great victory, he knew that God would still help this time to prevail. From the scriptures, we can see that if we promote our memory of God, we will advance in faith instead of being timidated. We will act in power and God's love. Divine memory can keep us in healthy thinking. (Counting God’s blessings)
The purpose of memory created: memory will ignite confidence. Make us unswervingly trust God's plan. This is the reason why God creates memory.
The way the enemy attacks memory:
1. To disturb and torment you through bad memories, so that you would build your life on the foundation of past hurts and traumas. We cannot use past disappointments or past victories to build the future. If we do not break this poisonous hook and regain our freedom, the enemy will control our footsteps; the enemy will use past memories to surround us with similar painful situations.
2. Let fear come, fear makes people draw back, and have a troubled mind. If the enemy can freely come in and out of our memory, we will compare everyone we meet according to the harm we have suffered, then we will not dare to trust any people. In this way, we become a single “island". Moreover, we will also have delusions of being persecuted, and we will never forget the past hurt and pain.
A. Fear robs us of faith in God. If faith brings life, health and peace, then fear brings death, disease and torture.
B. Fear also plunders conscience.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
You have been completely forgiven, but the enemy is still trying to plunder you through your memory. When you become zealous for God, he will remind you that you are not worthy. If you have done substantial reconciliation, but the disturbance of condemnation has not been far away from you, you must rebuke the one who condemn you. Otherwise, that memory will disturb your conscience, you will lose motivation, and you will feel worthless and have low self-esteem, and be insecured about everything you do.
Divine memory can produce love. When memory is attacked, tormented thoughts will produce rigidity and resentment, making people easily become impulsive and try to escape the torment of bad memories. A tortured memory is driven by fear and disbelief, making you suspicious, so you hide yourself in false pride and seek to improve your self-worth instead of waiting for God’s justice.
God has repeatedly told us to remember His words, and the enemy's plan is to make you forget God's words.
How to restore memory:
1. Order the tormenting spirit to leave your memory, determined to forgive those who hurt you. Begin to go beyond the hurt, and focus on the faithfulness of God. Before the harms come, if the memory of sin has been disturbing you, then immediately find out the scriptures to fight back.
Job 31:1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I look upon a virgin?
When the memory came into the view, Job chose to make a covenant with his eyes. Check for what your eyes see.
2. Don't allow the enemy to steal your destiny through fear, and fight back against him. When David was afraid of the future because of his past experiences, he said
Psalm 143:9-10 Save me, O Lord, from my enemies; I have fled to you for refuge. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good spirit lead me on a level path.
Isaiah 43:13-14 I am God, and also henceforth I am He; there is no one who can deliver from my hand; I work and who can hinder it? Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I will send to Babylon and break down all the bars, and the shouting of the Chaldeans will be turned to lamentation.
As believers and leaders, we must harden our face as a rock and resolutely refuse to yield to the past. No matter what situation you are facing, the future is a "virgin land" and no one has been there before. Your future is bright in the hands of God, it should not be contaminated by what we experienced.
You have authority over your memory, and you can choose what you want to meditate on.
