Date:
January 5-7, 2021How to Avoid Spiritual Decline
Spiritual movement is either forward or backwards. There is no middle “maintenance” mode. We might feel like we are maintaining a holding pattern but we are in fact slipping backwards.
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Spiritual Warfare
We battle the Devil. The Devil, also called Satan, was an elite angel who rebelled against God, seeking to steal His glory and usurp His authority. He became the commander-in-chief of a war against God so God cast him out of heaven with a minority of angels now known as demons. Satan and his demons operate by deceiving us, seducing us, blinding us, accusing us, and seeking to influence us in such a way as to defeat us and thereby rob God of His glory (Ephesians 6:12).
To be victorious we need four ingredients.
- Know the truth by knowing the Bible
- Realize the victory is already won (Colossians 1:13; Ephesians 2:6)
- Rely on provided resources: the Son of God, the Word of God, the Spirit of God, and the people of God
- Submit to God and resist the Devil (James 4:7)
It Takes Courage
Remember. Just because “everybody’s doing it” doesn’t mean it’s either safe or right. You keep flying high above the crowd. Up there it doesn’t just seem safe and right, it is safe and right.
Strong Armour for Weak Sheep
When we come to a passage such as Ephesians 6:13-20, our tendency is to think that we need to be strong in ourselves.
The Day of the Flies
Curiosity in the occult can lead to tragedy. What seems like harmless and innocent fun can quickly escalate to the point where you’re involved spiritually and physically. Like Chuck Swindoll says, “Watch out for the enemy. He not only plays dirty; he plays for keeps. And he’s playing for your soul.”
Standing Firm Against Satanic Schemes
Thankfully, God has graciously given us the means to defend ourselves against the attacks of the Evil One, a topic Paul raised near the end of his letter to the Ephesians.
The Devil Made Me Do It?
The Bible never describes the work of demons in the lives of believers directly in terms of immorality. In other words, to say a believer has a “spirit of lust”—as if his real problem is a demon—assumes something the Bible never teaches.
The Devil Made Me Do It!
The Devil was blame-worthy for his deception. But he did not make her take the fruit. Adam and Eve gave in to their own desires and made a deliberate choice for which they and they alone were responsible.
What Is Christ Doing Now...and Why?
The might that created Niagara Falls, that showered the earth with dazzling oceans, and that rolled the stone away from the tomb is at our disposal.
Prophecy
When many of us think of biblical prophecy we think it only applies to things to come. There is that aspect, but future things are only a small part in comparison to the rest of biblical prophecy.
Distinguishing Truth from Error
The Apostle John's first-century command to "test the spirits" is also the biblical antidote to today's proliferation of religious error.
