Freedom in Christ: The Tools (Part 2)

COMMENTS

As is my practice, I’m going to be honest with you—I’ve had some apprehension about these last two postings.  When I asked myself why, I realized that it’s because this is not something that’s usually taught in the mainstream churches I've attended.  It's a teaching the Lord brought into my life in a special way.  I sought the Lord and was convinced that He was the one leading me to do this.  As a confirmation, He sent me a message ;-).  I subscribe to a website that emails me a Bible verse every day.  Here’s today’s:

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

My fear of rejection and my desire to please men as opposed to God had kicked in and were putting me in bondage.  I had to put this spiritual warfare we've been discussing into action and practice what I’ve been preaching ;-).  With God’s strength, I now proceed to cover Part 2 of Freedom in Christ:  The Tools.

NOTES

Before I go over the second battle plan, I need to make a couple of clarifications.  Satan, of course, is real; and his fallen angels (the Bible calls them evil spirits or demons) are also real.  Satan sends his evil spirits to attack us and tell us lies.  We are most effective in the fight when we address that spirit by name:  spirit of insecurity, spirit of unworthiness, spirit of fear, etc.  If you don’t know what name to use, use what you’re dealing with:  spirit that’s making me feel _____ (insecure, afraid, worthless, etc.).  These attacks can also be in areas we easily recognize as sin:  spirit of profanity, spirit of lust, spirit of anger, etc.  The blanks below are obviously there for you to insert your specific struggle.

BATTLE PLAN FOR TIMES WHEN YOU’VE GIVEN GROUND TO THE ENEMY

1. Prayer of Confession.  Pray the following prayer of confession:  “Father, I come to you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I have given place to spirits of ______.  They are not from you, and I do not want them in my life.  I confess the sin I have committed in this area of my life.  Forgive me for allowing these spirits to have control in my life.  Thank you for forgiving me in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Italicized words are critical!)
2. Declaration.  This is not a prayer.  Speak to the enemy in resistance and rebuke: “Spirits of ______ and all associated with you, I take authority over you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I have submitted myself to God and you cannot stay.  I command you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to leave me now.  You will not have my mind or my body.  I loose myself from all your bondage.  I rebuke you and command you to go to the pit of hell right now in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Italicized words are critical!)
3. Prayer of Consecration.  Invite the Holy Spirit to occupy all areas of your life, especially those just vacated by Satan:  “Heavenly Father, I ask you to fill and control all of these cleansed areas of my life with your Holy Spirit in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Italicized words are critical!)

This is not a magic formula.  These are only guidelines; and I’d encourage you not to be legalistic about it.  This will still work if you use your own words, as long as (1) you are faithful to the spirit of the process and (2) you’re sure to use that critical phrase, “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ”.

Even though we live 2000 years later, Satan is still at work on this earth; and we still need to fight him!  Jesus Christ is the one who continues to give us the victory. 

Freedom in Christ: The Tools (Part 1)

COMMENTS

Okay.  We’ve learned about the lies.  We’ve learned about our authority.  How do we use the latter to combat the former?

NOTES

James 4:7 says, “Submit therefore to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  That’s a command!  “Resist the devil.”  Many of us, including me, grew up knowing that we should resist him but were never given the training or the tools to know how to do it.  I thought that I just had to somehow drum up the will power to not do what Satan was tempting me to do.  When I try to do things on my own (in my own name), Satan is stronger than I am; and often, my will power isn’t strong enough to win the battle.

There are two different “battle plans” that, if followed, will enable you to submit to God and resist Satan.  I repeat:  the purpose here is to SUBMIT TO GOD and to RESIST SATAN.  We will cover the first one today and the second one in the next posting.  The first should be done every morning for your protection and for those over whom you have authority (like your kids or a parent under your care).  The second procedure is specifically for those times when you’re under attack.  This may seem new and, even, unorthodox to some of you; but you will find it to be very biblical.

DAILY BATTLE PLAN

1. Daily submit to God.  Pray the following prayer of submission:  “Heavenly Father, I give you control of my intellect, emotions, will, and body.  I invite you to be Lord of my life in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Italicized words are critical!)
2. Put on the armor of God.  Pray:  “Lord, I put on your provision of armor:  the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.” (Eph. 6:13-17)
3. Bind Satan.  This is not a prayer.  It is a statement to Satan.  Eyes should be open, and words should be spoken with authority:  “Satan, I bind you.  You will not have control of my intellect, emotions, will, or body.  I loose myself from every stronghold and all bondage in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  (Italicized words are critical!)

This is a good start.  Take some time to familiarize yourself with this and, hopefully, get comfortable with it if it’s is new to you.  If you’re uncomfortable, think about this:

1. In step one above, we submit to God.  Jesus submitted to the Father and told us to do the same.
2. In step two, we put on the whole armor of God.  God, through the apostle Paul, commanded us to do so.
3. In step three, we implement our God-given authority to resist the devil.  Jesus did that; He trained his early followers to do that; and in James 4:7 (quoted above) He instructed us to do that.

God has given us the tools to live in freedom and victory.  These are some of them—more next time.

James 4:1-8a

COMMENTS

As I go through the Book of James, I continue to be amazed at how chapters and subjects are connected.  Why have I never seen that before?  What I always thought were random “life instructions” thrown together are, actually, expansions on previous lessons.

NOTES

Yesterday, one thing we talked about was how earthly wisdom brings about envy and selfish ambition.  In today’s passage, James expands on that, showing some of its repercussions.  His introductory sentence in Chapter 4 asks, “What causes fights and quarrels among you?”  His answer follows:

“Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?  You want something but don’t get it.  You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight….”  (James 4:1b-2a)

The answer:  we fight because we follow earthly wisdom instead of heavenly wisdom.  When what’s most important to me is myself and my desires, I fight and quarrel with others, who are often seeking their own desires. 

I am, then, reminded that, in those circumstances, I can ask God for anything; but often, I do not even bother to ask.  And when I do ask, my motives are all wrong.  I don’t ask in order to find out His will, but I ask for my own benefit—to get what I wanted all along (James 4:2b-3).  How often have I prayed that God will change the circumstances or the person so that my life is more like I want it to be?

What happens to those fights when everyone involved is simply seeking God’s will?  Most of the time, they don’t happen.  At times, we may still disagree; but the disagreements are handled with maturity as the Holy Spirit “moderates” the discussion.  We can disagree without fighting.

Next, James reminds us of the oppositional relationship between God and Satan (discussed in the last blog):

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?  Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”  (James 4:4)

What, then, is the solution?  Heavenly wisdom:

“Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and He will come near to you.” 

(James 4:7-8a)

My God is a loving, forgiving God who longs for relationship with me.  He wants the best for me and knows that I can only have that when I stop following my own wisdom and follow His, instead.  When I look back, my life gives evidence to the fact that I am most content (even in the midst of storms) when I do things His way.