THE WARFARE OF THE BELIEVER

 

 

GENERAL STATEMENTS ABOUT THE WARFARE:

1. We  must never think that our whole problem as believers is confined to that which is WITHIN ME AND IN OTHER PEOPLE.  

a. The mightiest of all powers apart from God Himself is the arrayment of powers from the “principalties and powers “ of the air.  To many believers everything is internal, within them.  They do not have any idea about the battle coming from the powers of the air.

 

2. The Christian life is a WARFARE, it is a STRUGGLE.  The Bible says, “we wrestle.”

a. There is far too much of a depiction of the christian life as that of ease with no battle and no struggle at all.  There is a form of holiness out there which teaches, “it is easy.”

3. This is also a warfare that you and I HAVE TO WAGE.  “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”  [You have to be strong....you have to put on the whole armour of God that you will be able to stand.”]

a. remember, it is not only a warfare but a warfare that you HAVE TO WAGE PERSONALLY.  There is no such thing as a warfare where you “hand it over to the Lord.’ “He will fight for you.”  [that is not the teaching here....it is personal engagement.  There is no “let go and let God” attitude.  

4. There is also nothing QUICK AND EASY about all of this.  You have to wage this warfare every day.  There is no “time off” in this warfare. 

 

5. There are Terms of this Warfare that underline the seriousness.

a. “We wrestle.”  [this is Paul’s only use of this word....this definitely shows the INTIMATE nature of the conflict. It is not something way off, but close at hand, intimate.] It speaks not only of the INTIMATE NATURE of the conflict but also of the INDIVIDUAL ASPECT of the conflict.]  It is like two men grappling with one another. 

b. “withstand.....having done all to STAND. “  “having done all things, to stand” speaks of the RELENTLESS WAR....the fact that there is no DISCHARGE, TIME OFF.  

c. “we wrestle not against flesh and blood.”   [thus our real battle is not against HUMAN NATURE...or MAN....We do fight men, mankind, but our battle is beyond this and enters into the realm of the unseen.}  

 

6.  Let me merely list one of the “wiles of the devil” as it relates to believers.

1. Producing a lack of balance in the Christian life.....as between the mind, experience and practice.   [there is no more frequent or fruitful manifestation of the wiles of the devil that this]  Satans is always trying to get us to become INBALANCED. The Christian life can be compared to a three legged stool.....the legs all have to be the same length if you are keep your balance and to sit comfortably.

a. Some christians have given themselves over exclusively to the Mind, to Knowledge only...We call them intellectual.....they are interested in ideas....FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS THEY TEND TO DESPISE.  They admit that practice is needed but they are too busy studying and reading to be much concerned about practice.  There is evangelical Scholasticism.  

b. The next danger is that some people put the whole emphasis upon Experience.  They are interested only in emotions and feelings.  “look at those people in that church....they seem to have heads full of knowledge but they are useless.  They never seem to feel anything.....they are always talking about their doctrines....Why don’t they feel something.  These people think that a meeting is of no value unless it has given vent to shouting and exclamation a riot of the emotions.   [Remember emotions are a vital part of Christian faith but EMOTIONALISM IS NOT]  This group thinks of Christianity strictly in terms of what they feel, sensation, sensibilities.  Not too interested in exposition, they do not want understanding....but want to be made to FEEL SOMETHING, have a THRIll.  Then they say it is great. 

c. The third line is in the REALM OF PRACTICE.  These are the churches which do not give much time to exposition nor is there anything emotional in the church but they are great DOERS.  They are suspicious of emotional people.  They say that “what is needed is that we do something.”  “You may have your theories but I am oncerned to do something to put things right.”  CONDUCT, PRACTICE, BEHAVIOUR, MORALITY is the full part of their life and ministry.  What is the use of preaching and teaching about high doctrines while so many thousands of people are starving and hungry and going without clothes.”

 

2. What is the Biblical approach?

a. if you have a true view of the truth, YOU MUST FEEL IT.  If you do not FEEL THE TRUTH, THEN YOU DO NOT HAVE THE TRUE VIEW.  When the truth of His death is taught and how His blood was shed for you, you have TO FEEL THIS.  If you do not feel this truth then I say that you have “not believed it.”  As you think about this, you begin to experience the truth of His death, then you want to do something about it....  “love so amazing, so divine demands my soul, my life, my all.” 

 

7. EXPERIENCE IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE:

1. those who put the entire emphasis upon experience:  They are not interested in definitions; they say that nothing matters but that a man should be able to say, “whereas I was once blind, now I see.”  Unless a person can testify to a GREAT CHANGE in his life, they feel nothing.  They are always telling us about “WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM.  They are not concerned to examine what has PRODUCED THE CHANGE.....they are not interested in the fact that there are many AGENCIES that can produce change.  

a. Eliphaz illustrates this type when he came to Job....”now a thing was secretly brought to me...."Job 4:12-16.  This man thought that since he had an experience, Job should listen to him...TO MANY PEOPLE, THE EXPERIENCES ARE THEIR AUTHORITY....”listen to me, this happened to me, I am speaking with authority.”   Eliphas would be one who the devil could get interested in psychic phenomena....There are people who have a tendency toward anything spectacular.  

b. what about experience?  I believe experience is absolutely essential to a christian man....What I am afraid of is the man who LIVES on experiences...who bases everything upon them, is interested in nothing else.  I read of a preacher whose ministry was ruined because of experiences. He was preaching in a revival and had some very unusual experiences....but the revival ended, as all revivals do....and the poor preacher instead of proceeding with expounding the truth WAS STILL EXPECTING THE UNUSUAL EXPERIENCES TO CONTINUE. During the revival, the man never had to prepare messages, words were given to him and here was great freedom and power.  He continued not to prepare, he was still expecting the unusual and IT DID NOT HAPPEN....He became depressed and spent about 40 years of his life in a state of barrenness, unhappiness and uselessness.  YOU CANNOT LIVE ON EXPERIENCES.  

2. Then there are others who go to the other extreme...to them experiences and the emphasis on experiences is something THEY NEARLY DESPISE.  They look at those who are talking about experiences and they exclaim, “what do you know about truth.”  They begin to expatiate about the truth, nothing matters to them but the truth ONLY.  Notice how the devil comes in with this group....WHEN A PERSON SAYS THAT NOTHING MATTERS BUT THE TRUTH AND THAT TRUTH IS ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING......then they fall prey in another direction to the devil.  THEY TALK MUCH ABOUT THE TRUTH BUT VERY OFTEN THEY HAVE NEVER FELT ITS POWER.  “”having  a form of godliness.”  but “denying the power.”THE TRUTH THEY TALK SO MUCH ABOUT HAS NEVER CHANGED THEIR LIVES....NEVER MADE A VITAL DIFFERENCE IN THEIR LIVES.  

a. both groups are wrong.  The one who says, “nothing matters but experience.”  The other who says, “have you got the insight and understanding and grasp of the truth.  THIS GROUP LOOKS AT CHRISTIANITY OBJECTIVELY, THE OTHER SUBJECTIVELY. 

 

3. Note the place of FEELINGS....Feelings are a part of experience.  Feeling is a particular aspect of experience.   Some people live on their feelings....if they have not wept in a service, nothing has happened....no value to them.  The feeling can be that of excitement, almost hysteria....If these people have been lifted up right out of themselves, almost lose control of themselves, they say this is the Holy Ghost.  THEY DO EVERYTHING TO ENCOURAGE IT....many times in services it is deliberately worked up....there are services where people clap their hands and shout and sing and repeat choruses....DONE DELIBERATELY TO WORK UP EXCITEMENT.  

 

4. Differences between the true and the false.

a. emotionalism is generally worked up....in some form, it is artificially worked up.  

b. another mark is that it always lacks the element of understanding...it is always a direct assault upon the emotions....it by-passes truth.  EMOTIONALISTS CARE LITTLE ABOUT THE THE SOURCE’ OF THE FEELING AS LONG AS THEY GET IT.  {hand clapping tambourines, anything may be used to work up the feelings and make a person lose himself}

c. the third mark of emotionalism is that the element of EXCITEMENT, of ROWDINESS, of EXCESS is usually present.  

d. fourth, EMOTIONALISM ALWAYS LEAVES YOU EXHAUSTED.  It takes the energy out of you....it is like a drink of alcohol which seems to fill a man with energy but actually it is sapping his energy.....leaves him being tired, weary.  

e. fifth, it never affects the life and the living in a good sense....THE REASON IS THAT IT IS NOT BASED ON TRUTH. 

5. notice what Biblical emotionalism does for you.

1. first, man cannot create Biblical emotionalism....it is too deep for that....IT IS ALWAYS THE RESULT OF UNDERSTANDING OF TRUTH.  There will be a real depth to the emotions moved by the truth.  

2. there is also the element of nobility in it, of wonder and of amazement...[in emotionalism, there is frenzy, excitement, frothy, voluble, surface]

3. the whole person will be gripped....the mind,t he heart, the will.  

4. truth emotion is always energizing....like an electric battery which gives you power and it moves you and stimulates you....[not excess]

5. Will always lead to action....[the best proof is that if what ever happens to you in a services the proof is the DAY AFTER THE SERVICE].....Truth emotion will move you into action in your life.  master, guide you, direct you, be productive.  

 

THE ARMOUR OF THE BELIEVER  EPHESIANS  6:10-18

 

1. PAUL used this analogy of soldier.

a. most likely it was result of his being chained to Roman soldier.  Paul looked at the clothing o the soldier and drew some lessons from it about the believer.

2. three areas that are imperative.  [FOR THE BELIEVER TO BE SUCCESSFUL]

1. step #1....THE NECESSITY OF HAVING DIVINE ABILITY.

a.  v. 10 “be strong in the Lord and the power of His might.” 

2. step #2...THE NECESSITY FOR A COMPLETE SET OF EQUIPMENT.

a. v.  6-11...total equipment.

3. step #3....THE NECESSITY OF UNDERSTANDING THE BATTLE GROUND.

                 a. v. 12 "not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, powers, authorities, spiritual forces in heavenly places.".

3. Commentary on the Steps:

A. THE NECESSITY OF HAVING DIVINE ABILITY.  v. 10

a. ‘be strong.’  [should be, ‘be strengthened.’]  it is in present tense.....we need this strength all the time....”keep on being strengthened.”

b. “in the power of his might.”   [there are six power concepts] it is AVAILABLE POWER, FREE POWER, LIMITLESS, LINKED TO THE HOLY SPIRIT, INTERNAL POWER, PRODUCTIVE POWER.

a. 1:17-19, 3:16-20, 6:10

b. note them:

1. IT IS AVAILABLE:  [not something we have to push]  1:16-19...

a. Paul is praying that believers would have this power.

2. 3:14-16.....IT IS AVAILABLE.

3. 3:16....IT IS ALSO FREE  [that he would grant....would give....same word as John 3:16.]

4. IT IS LIMITLESS....3:15-16....”riches of his glory.”  this power is according to the riches of His                                         glory. 

5. 3:16.....”by His Spirit.”  IT IS LINKED TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.  

6. 3:16....”in the inner man.”  IT IS INTERNAL POWER.   

7. 3:17, ....IT IS PRODUCTIVE....note what it does...

 

V. 12....HERE PAUL CHANGES METAPHORS....INTO A WRESTLING MATCH.  

1. wonder why he changed metaphors?  TO TEACH THAT THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS VERY PERSONAL.....THIS BATTLE INVOLVES PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT OF THE BELIEVER. 

a. the outcome of wrestling match could be unusual....sometimes if you lost, your eyes would be gouged out....

2. note that the battle is spiritual from v. 12 

 

B. THE NECESSITY FOR A COMPLETE SET OF EQUIPMENT.

1. the first piece was a BELT.  ‘loins gird about with truth.’

a. everything else is hooked on to the belt....

b. THE FIRST PIECE IS TRUTH.....evertything that this christian soldier does is from te GRASP OF TRUTH....THE BELT OF THE WORD OF GOD.  

a. note I Peter 1:13....here the mind is girded.....and this relates to the comprehension of truth.  

2. second item:  v. 14....breastplate of righteousness.

a. this item would rest on the belt.....take the word righteousness and see what it means.

b. several ideas about righteousness.

a. there are two kinds....divine and human.

1. they are different as to degree  [go to I Sam 2:2....His righteousness is TOTAL....”there is none holy like the Lord.”  PSA.  111:3....shows the difference in this righteousness....

2. they are different as to character.

 

STAND 

THEREFORE

Eph. 6:10

 

Introduction:

1. We want to call attention to the little word “stand” in the 11th verse.  

a. we have the word STAND, WITHSTAND used 4 times in the immediate context

The word STAND for the christian is quite important.  

2. Is there any lesson in this phrase, “stand” and “withstand.”?

a. first, we must not  be surprised because there is a conflict, or a battle.  

1. many have gotten the idea that from the moment you become a christian, you will never encounter any problems or difficulties....no fight, no struggle, effort will never be required in our life. 

2. Peter echoes the same when he says, “beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as thought some strange thing happened unto you.” [I Peter 4:12]

3. lesson: Nothing is more important that that we should recognize the inevitability of trials and troubles and conflicts in this world. 

b. second, We also must not be freightened.    “stand” is what the Apostle said.  

1. the man who is frightened will not be “standing.”  

2. “be sober, be vigiliant....because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking shom he may devour.”  I Peter 5:8-9 [we are told to “resist, steadfast in te faith.”  

3. James give a similar exhortation....”resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  [even though he is a roaring lion]

a. this is SO IMPORTANT PSYCHOLOGICALLY....FOR WHEN YOU ARE FREIGHTENED, YOU ARE ALREADY DEFEATED.  

c. third, the word “stand” also suggest that we must not be HALF HEARTED OR UNCERTAIN.  

1. if you are doubtful in the warfare, you will fight very badly.  Any doubt, uncertainty, hesitation will deprive us of our ENERGY AND ABILITY.  

d. fourth, never give a thought to possible retreat.

1. there are no backdoors in the Christian life....

 

THE WHOLE ARMOUR

OF GOD  

6:11

 

Introduction:

1. We see for sure that “we have to do the fighting.”  “we wrestle.”

a. if it were something that is done for us, then we should not need the armour...we would just look on and reap the benefits of the victory.  

b. we have to clothe ourselves, we have to put on each piece, we are told how to use each piece, teaches us that we “have to fight the good fight of faith.”  

2. question:  why did the Holy Spirit tell us first to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” FIRST.   [the answer is that we deal first with the WHOLE before we come to the individual parts]

a. One is OFFENSIVE AND THE ARMOUR IS DEFENSIVE.

1. the strength and the power of His might is an OFFENSIVE CHARACTERISTIC....but the armour is in the main and almost exclusively concerned with our protection and the defensive side of our skirmishing and struggling and wrestling with satan.  

b. None of us could possibly use this armour if we had not first been given the strength .  You have to be strong in order to use the armour.  THIS ARMOUR IS OF SUCH A CHARACTER THAT YOU HAVE TO BE CAPABLE OF USING IT....thus you start with the exhortation to “be strong in the Lord and ifn the power of His might.”  

 

3. question: why is the armour necessary at all?  Why is it not sufficient to tell us to be “strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”  

a. obviously the armour is of great importance for Paul tells us to “take unto you the whole armour of God.”

b. THE STRENGTH ALONE IS NOT SUFFICIENT.....WE NEED THE PROTECTION PROVIDED BY THE ARMOUR.  

 

4. I would also mention the double emphasis on the WHOLE armour.  

a. it means that we do not pick and choose in this matter.  IF YOU ARE TO WIN, YOU HAVE TO PUT ON THE ENTIRE EQUIPMENT GIVEN TO YOU.  

b. God alone knows our enemy and He has prescribed EXACTLY WHAT WE NEED FOR VICTORY.  

 

 

Question: What does Eph. 6 teach us:  [about the warfare]

1. It is a warfare:  It is a struggle.

a. for it says, “we wrestle.”  

b. there is no worse way to misrepresent the Christian message that that which depicts it as offering us a LIFE OF EASE WITH NO BATTLE AND NO STRUGGLE AT ALL.  

1. I have no use for the holiness teaching which “ it is quite easy.” [this is also the essential teaching of the cults...”it is easy” there is “no struggle.”]

2. Second, IT IS A WARFARE THAT I HAVE TO WAGE.  

“be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”  

b. There is a christian teaching which says “hand it over to the Lord and all is well.”  “Let Him fight for you and all will be well.”  

1. that teaching will not fit into the teaching in Eph. 6.  

c. You cannot find a “Let go and let God” attitude here.  

1. the idea being that THERE IS NO PERSONAL EFFORT involved 

3. third, Observe the WAY in which we are called to this battle.

a.  The teaching here is not that there is a “clinic for sick souls” where you go and get help....but it is rather a BARRACKS MENTALITY THAT I SENSE HERE.  

4. fourth, there is nothing QUICK AND EASY ABOUT IT.  

a. “put on the whole armour of God.”  [that is neither quick nor easy]  There are many details outlined by Paul in Eph. 6.  

5. fifth, YOU HAVE TO KEEP ON DOING IT.

a. there is no discharge in this war....no time out, no leave, or R and R.  

 

THE ENEMY THAT WE FACE:

A. First, note the FACT OF THE CONFLICT.  

a. one term is “we wrestle.”  [this bothers many people...for this is only mentioned this one time and then the armour is mentioned.  WHAT DOES THIS ARMOUR HAVE TO DO WITH THE WRESTLING?  

1. the lesson:  The Holy Spirit is showing to us the INTIMATE NATURE OF THE CONFLICT.  He is also showing to us the fact that this warfare is an INDIVIDUAL MATTER.  

b. Why the terms: “withstand in the evil day” and then “having done all, to stand.”

a. he uses these terms to bring out the FIERCENESS AND THE TERRIBLE NATURE OF THE CONFLICT.    [we have an ememy who is attacking and we are to wrestle, withstand and having done all to stand....RATHER FIERCE.  

B. Second, note the NEGATIVE part of the conflict.

a. “we wrestle not against flesh and blood.”

1. It should read, “blood and flesh” which means HUMAN NATURE...We are not fighting MEN ONLY...Our problem today is NOT JUST ONE OF MANKIND AND MAN...

C. Third, note the POSITIVE side of the conflict.

a. “against principalities, powers.”  [note the constant use of the word AGAINST...

1. lesson: the ULTIMATE CAUSE OF OUR TROUBLES....IS NOT MAN, BUT IT IS THE DEVIL AND HIS UNSEEN FORCES AND POWERS.  

2. lesson: most christians are so concerned merely with some sin or their personal happines....that THEY NEVER CONSIDER OUR REAL PROBLEM.   [they are so subjective and introspective....that they never look at the whole cosmos...the real problem. 

 

THE ENEMY DESCRIBED:

1. Scripture makes it clear that we MUST think of the devil in a PERSONAL SENSE.  

a. it is wrong to think of him as a FORCE or a POWER.

b. this is the same error we commit in reference to the Holy Spirit....Many think of Him as some kind of liquid that can be poured from one vessel to another. 

2. What about the POWER OF THE DEVIL.

a. I Cor 4:4...calls him the “god of this world.”  

b. I Peter 5:8....”your adversary the devil, as a roaring lioon.”  [lion is the king of the jungle.}

c. “against the rulers of the darkness of this world.”

1. should be translated...”against the world rulers of this darkness.”  [this brings out the EXTENT, the SCOPE of the power of the devil.”    POWER TO GOVERN AND TO RULE THE WHOLE WORLD.   

1. The word “darkness” reveals that the world about which he is writing is a place of darkness.   Same as in Eph. 4:17...”that you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding DARKENED’.   Eph. 5:8 says, “you were sometimes DARKNESS, but now are you light in the Lord.”  [note that he does NOT say that they were once ‘in the dark’;  he says that the DARKNESS WAS IN THEM....’you were darkness.’  It is not merely that they were in a fog, the fog was inside them also...DARKNESS WITHOUT AND WITHIN.  

2. Colossians 1:13....”who hath delivered us from the power of DARKNESS and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.’  

a. question: DO YOU NORMALLY THINK OF YOURSELF AS ONE WHO HAS BEEN DELIVERED FROM THE ‘POWERS OF DARKNESS?’

3. Remember what our Lord said to Saul on road to Damascus....”to open their eyes and to turn them from DARKNESS to light...and from the power of Satan unto God....Acts 26:16-18 

4. LESSONS:   It is interesting that most Christians never think in this light.  We are TOO SUBJECTIVE....we start with ourselves and we end with ourselves.  We think of salvation as “forgivness of sins” and “peace in our life.”  

5. What kind of darkness have we been delivered from?

1. DARKNESS OF IGNORANCE.  The world today is BLIND, and IGNORANT.  The real problem with unbeliever is his appalling ignorance...his darkness.  “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him.”  I Cor 2:14.    “If our gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the god of this world hath BLINDED THE MINDS of them that believe not....”

 

HOW DOES THE DEVIL ATTACK US?

1. We need to find out what is mean’t by “wiles of the devil.”

a. Gen 3:1....”serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field.”  

1. wiles, strategems, all appears as the result of his subtlety.  

b. I Cor 11:3....”lest by any means as the serpent beguilded Eve through his subtlety.....”

2. How are these wiles shown?

a. II Cor talks about his being TRANSFORMED into a angel of light...

1. masquerades is another word for transforming....the devil masquerades as an angel of light....HE WEARS A MASK.  ....He is AN ACTOR WHO APPEARS IN DIFFERENT CHARACTERS.  

b. He BEGUILED Eve.

1. He enticed here....He is not wearing the mask of a “roaring lion” but he comes in a most pleasing, plausible manner.  He came as her friend, someone who is there to help her.  “God wants to keep everyone down” and that is the reason for the restriction. 

c. another method is INSINUATION.  

1. In this way, he does not say anything DIRECTLY but suggest it, he insinuates it.  

d. anotehr method is ANGEL OF LIGHT.  

1. in this form, he is an authority on the truth....comes quoting the Bible.

e. Anotehr form is when HE HIDES HIMSELF ALTOGETHER.  

1. he ridicules the notion that there is a devil at all...He does this thorugh CONCEALMENT.  Concealment is the whole art of fishing.  

 

SOME OF THE QUALITIES OF THE COUNTERFEITS.[THE CULTS]   

1. note about counterfeits:

a. if the Christian church were funcitoning as she should be, the CULTERS WOULD NEVER HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY AT ALL.  [Cults really are a condemnation of the church]

b. they come about because people are looking for something AUTHORATATIVE

c. Dead orthodoxy IS USELESS AND VALUELESS.  When the outside world sees church members who are perfectly orothodox and yet always miserable and moaning, always complaining about their lives...

2. One further note:  The argument that anything that “does good must be of God” or “anything that makes us feel better must be good” or “anththing that changes us from a life of failure to a life of success must be right.”

a. There are many movements which can make people feel very happy, give them release and deliverance from worry and anxiety.   [it is the relationship between mind and matter”]

3. Many people are being taken in....for they think that “it is how you feel” rather than your relationship to God that matter.  

a. remember the man who went up to temple to pray....Luke 18:10-14...note how good he felt about himself.  [he was good man, moral man, religious man, doing much good, helping other people, man without worries or troubles.]

b. WARNING: anything that makes be feel satisfied when my RELATIONSHIP TO GOD IS NOT RIGHT, IS OF THE DEVIL.  

4. Note how the cults will give you happiness, peace, release, guidance, healing.  

a. HOW DO THEY TELL YOU THE BLESSING WILL COME TO YOU.  You will invariably find that the blessing offered is NEVER based upon esxposition of the New Testament.  

1. The blessing will come when you ACCEPT A GIVEN FORMULA...or if you will PRACTISE THE METHOD THAT IS SUGGESTED TO YOU....It ia always an IDEA, FORMULA or a METHOD.  

2. THE FORMULA ALWAYS DOMINATES AND PERVADES ALL.  

5. Cults also depend UPON THE PERSONAL TESTIMONY of the people who have belonged to it before you.

a. they do not EXPOUND THE SCRIPTURES....teach the doctrine concerning God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and salvation by divine grace.  

1. they will talk about themselves and their esxperiences.  

6. The cults always start out with the practical.

a. Their teaching is never the outworking of the doctrine of the New Test.  [they always start on the practical level].  

b. NOTE:  WHEN YOU START ON THE PRACTICAL LEVEL IS ALWAYS DANGEROUS BECAUSE YOU WILL HAVE ‘NO STANDARD OF JUDGEMENT.’  

1. The N. Test NEVER starts with the practical...Look at Eph....and the practical never begins until the fourth chapter.  

2. What you do in practice should always be a deduction from what you believe.  IF YOU REVERSE THAT ORDER, YOU ARE IN GREAT DANGER....And usually, you will result in a cult....

7. The culters never give the impression that what is going to happen to you is the result of the Holy Spirit working in you.  

8. They always make much of the point that this formula, this method of theirs is ‘quite simple.’   [they glory in the simplistic.]

a. they all have the characteristic of a PATENT MEDICINE....it is always simple and never involved, it will save you a lot of trouble.  

9,. the cults always offer you the cure, the blessing AT ONCE.  It is a short cut method always....and this is why it wins adherents.  

a. anything that offers a spiritual short cut....IS NOT OF THE BIBLE...[the Bible teaches watching, praying, mortifying the deeds of the body, keeping under the body. 

10. The cults always start with YOU.  

a. what do YOU NEED, what is the matter WITH YOU, what are YOU LOOKING FOR. Are you looking for peace, for guidance, , for consolation?  

 

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL METHOD?

1. The first thing in the Gospel is the KNOWLEDGE OF GOD.  

a. The Bible does not start with my pain, aches, my guidance, my worry....IT STARTS WITH KNOWING GOD THROUGH CHRIST.  “this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.”  John 17:3.  

2. The Bible goes on to HOLINESS.

a. Not simply that I stop doing this or that particular thing....but that postively, I AM MADE HOLY.  [there are scores of men who never drink, never gamble, never commit adultery, never smoke but THEY ARE NOT OF NECESSITY HOLY....THEY ARE MERELY SELF MADE.

b. HOLINESS IS NOT NEGATIVE....IT IS POSITIVE...IT IS TO BE LIKE GOD  “be ye holy for I am holy says the Lord.”  

3. The tests of all tests is the PERSON AND THE WORK OF JESUS CHRIST.  

a. any movement that does not make the Lord Jesus Christ and His death and His glorious Resurrection an absolute NECESSITY AND ABSOLUTE CENTRAL IS NOT CHRISTIAN.  

b. Any blessing that you may get apart from the Gospel of Christ IS A DENIAL OF CHRISTIANITY.  [for all blessing comes from and through Him]    Col 2:3 must be true.  

 

WATCHFULNESS OF THE BELIEVER:

1. The Several Routes the Devil uses:

a. The mind is the chief route.

1. If he can deceive us here, we shall be wrong everywhere....because the highest thing in man is the mind.

b. The line of Experience.

1. Here we are not so much concerned with intellectual understanding, but with the more experimental aspect.  A goodly portion of our life is lived in the realm of experience, feelings, sensation, desires, moods, states.  

c. A third line is the realm of practice

a. our behaviour, our conduct, the things we do, the things we refraim from doing...

2. Notice how the devil uses these three main lines of attack.

a. first, he will produce a LACK OF BALANCE between these three aspects of our life.

b. second, He will make us give either TOO MUCH or TOO LITTLE attention.  

1. illustrations of this:  note how he produces lack of balance.....between mind, experience and practice.  Balance is the real problem...Neglect your body and your mind will not function as well.  When defending your country....you must know how much to put into your army, how much into your navy, how much into the air force....YOU MUST MAINTAIN AN OVER ALL BALANCE BETWEEN THE VARIOUS SERVICES.  

2. some have compared the christian life to a three legged stool.  the legs have to be of the same length if you are to keep your balance and sit comfortably.  

a. thus, there are some who are persuaded to give exclusive attention to the mind, to knowledge ONLY.  We call them intellectuals....they are interested in truth and ideas.  They have little to do with feelings and emotions.  THE DEVIL HAS DONE A REAL WORK IN SOME CHURCHES BY PRODUCING A KIND OF SCHOLASTICISM.  Dead orthodozy is the result.  all intellect, all mind, and the great doctrines of the Word have been hardened into a kind of sterile scholasticism.  This is illustrated by Lord Melbourne, the first Prime Minister of Queen Victoria who said...”things are coming to a pretty pass if religion is going to start being PERSONAL.”  BEWARE OF BECOMING SPIRITUAL TADPOLES....ALL HEAD AND NO REAL BODY. I  am afraid that I know some people who are more interested in INTELLECTUAL KNOWLEDGE OF CHRISTIAN TRUTH THAN IN OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF...[this is very subtle] 

b. Others dwell primarily on EXPERIENCE...They are interested in emotions and feelings.  They say of the orthrodoxy of some churches...”They seem to have heads full of knowledge, but they are useless.”  “They never seem to feel anything.”  Such people as this think a service is of no value UNLESS IT HAS GIVEN VENT TO SHOUTING AND EXCLAMATION...AND EMOTIONS.  THIS GROUP IS NOT TOO INTERESTED IN EXPOSITION...THEY DO NOT WANT UNDERSTANDING....BUT THEY WANT TO FEEL SOMETHING AND HAVE A THRILL.  

c. THE THIRD GROUP IS IN REALM OF PRACTICE:

1.  These people are NOT interested in theology and doctrine and are very suspect of people who tend to be emotional in services.  They are hard headed people who says “that we need to do something.”  “What are you doing about this world in which we are living in?” Their emphasis is on practice, conduct, behaviour and morality.   “GETTING THINGS DONE” is their motto.  Why preach about high doctrines while there are so many problems pressing us. 

3. What is the True View about the three?

a. if you have the true view of the truth, then you MUST FEEL IT.  If you do not feel the truth, then you do not have the true view.  If you really believe that Jesus Christ gave His body to be broken and His blood to be shed....and that God loves you that much...AND YOU DO NOT FEEL SOMETHING...THEN I SAY, YOU HAVE NOT BELIEVED IT, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN IT....”for love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”  

b. Once you know it and feel it, then YOU WILL RESOLVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.  You will not be able to continue sinning in the same capacity

c. LISTEN, GOD’S WAY IS TO DEAL WITH THE WHOLE MAN....AND THIS IS WHERE CHRISTIANITY DIFFERS FROM THE CULTS.  

1. The Christian knows in WHOM he has believed....

2. He also knows but he rejoices in the truth....he rejoices in the Lord with joy unspeakable and full of                                     Glory.

3. At the same time, he will do his utmost to be HOLY BECAUSE GOD IS HOLY.   

4. SOME WARNINGS ABOUT AN INTELLECTUAL APPROACH ONLY TO THE WORD:

1.  You can become purely theoretical in your attitude toward this Word of God.  

a. this is of particular importance to those who desire to understand and grow in the knowledge of the Word.  [satan will suit the particular form of temptation to our exact mentality]

b. You must beware that if your whole relationship to truth is nothing more than theoretical and academic, it is very possible to become more concerned about and interested in, our INTELLECTUAL KNOWLEDGE OF CHRISTIAN TRUTH than in our KNOWLEDGE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF.  [this is a very subtle approach of the devil]

c. Remember:  It is the failure not to realize that the ultimate end of ALL KNOWLEDGE is to bring ME TO A KNOWLEDGE OF THE PERSON OF CHRIST HIMSELF.  

d. We must guard against the danger of believing the doctrines concerning God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit without having a SIMPLE FAITH IN THE THREE BLESSED PERSONS.   [THE DEVIL CAN GET YOU INTERESTED IN THE DOCTRINE AND LOSE THE PERSONS]

e. Let me Say:  When you begin to find yourself regarding Christian truth as MERELY A SUBJECT FOR STUDY....you have already succumbed to the devil.  

1. When that study is not a source of “bread for life” and “food for the soul” that which is essential “to my well being” then I am in trouble.  

f. THIS DANGER THAT I HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING IS PARTICULARLY TRUE OF MEN WHO ARE PREACHERS.  

G. THIS DANGER APPLIES ALSO TO PEOPLE WHO LISTEN TO PREACHING...YOU CAN LISTEN IN A THEORETICAL MANNER...OR LISTEN AS AN ‘EXPERT.’  OR AS A SERMON TASTER.  [when this happens you have already succumbed to the wiles of the devil.’

1. What I am saying is that there is the danger of CEASING TO COME UNDER THE ‘’POWER OF THE TRUTH.’’  

2. When I study the Bible without being SEARCHED, EXAMINED, HUMBLED, LIFTED UP, MAKE TO PRAISE GOD....then I am in a bad state.  

H. Going to church can become a matter of INTELLECTUAL ENTERTAINMENT....giving and receiving knowledge, seeing error exposed, hearing a verse analysed and explained....AND IF IT ALL STOPS THERE.....and does not in some way make me feel uncomfortable, realize my defiiciences, my own unworththiness, my failures,  if it does not expose the hidden, secret things in my heart...., make me feel like shouting sometimes...THEN I AM IN A DANGEROUS STATE.  

2.  THE RESULTS OF THE THEORETICAL APPROACH:

1. leads to INTELLECTUAL PRIDE.  

a. this is what we call being “puffed up.”  I Cor 8:1....says, “knowledge puffeth up.”   [I would remind you that Bible knowledge just for the sake of Bible knowledge PUFFETH UP ALSO].  I would nearly say that Bible knowledge without a personal application to life PUFFS UP QUICKER AND IS MORE DANGEROUS than just knowledge.  

 

 

FAITH AND EXPERIENCE 

1. Question: Where does the mind end and where does experience begin?

a. this is difficult, for they are closely related....

b. I might mention that Christians often get into difficulties in the realm of experience because they have a FAULTY UNDERSTANDING OF THE TRUTH.   “As a man thinketh, so is he.”  When the understanding of the truth is defective, it will reflect in the realm of the experience of the individual.  

2. Let’s look at the question of the place of experience in the Christian life                                            a. First, some put the entire emphasis upon experience....nothing matters to them but the experimental, the experiential aspect.  

1. this group is not interested in DEFINITIONS...or TRUTH.  

2. what they say is “I was once blind, now I see.”  Unless a man can testify to a great change in his life, THEY FEEL THAT HE HAS NOTHING.  This is the only test they apply.  They are always telling us what HAPPENED TO THEM.  They never stop to examine what has produced the change.  

3. There are those who are always talking about strange, remarkable experiences, visions, ecstaties, various things that have happened to them.  THE EXPERIENCES ARE THEIR AUTHORITY.  They are always saying, “listen to me, this is what happened to me.”  

a. usually they seek further experiences and this is where the devil really wrecks havoc with them.  

3. Now, let’s look to the other extreme...where they realize the fallacy of the above and the devil THEN DRIVES THEM TO THE OPPOSITE EXTREME.  

a.  These people look at the Christians who are always talking about their experiences and they ask, “what do THEY know about the truth?”  

1. to this group, nothing matters but the truth.  

2. Warning: When a person says that “truth alone is essential” then that person is as wrong as those who say that “nothing but experience is essential.”

b. Warning at this juncture:  The trouble with this group is that this group talks much about the truth but very often they HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED ITS POWER.   Paul expressed it by saying, “having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof.”  These people have never felt the power of the truth, never been mastered by it.  They have an a purely intellectual interest in the truth...THE TRUTH THAT THEY TALK ABOUT HAS NEVER CHANGED THEIR LIVES....NEVER MADE A VITAL DIFFERENCE IN THEIR LIVES.  

c. Both groups are wrong:

1. The “nothing matters but experience” is wrong.  [this group looks at Christianity SUBJECTIVELY]

2. The group that says “the one thing that matters is Have you got this insight and understanding, this grasp of the truth?” [This group looks at Christianity OBJECTIVELY]  This group needs to experience John 17:3...”This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.”   Remember, the devils KNOW ABOUT Him and tremble.”

d. Warning and Conclusion

1. If truth does not bring me to knowledge of the Father and of His Son, IT IS OF NO VALUE TO ME.  

2. It is also equally important that MY EXPERIENCE be an experience of the FATHER AND OF HIS SON. 

a. let me remind you that the cults can deliver you from things that defeat you....cults can give you happiness....Psychotherapy also can give you happiness.  

3. IF OUR EXPERIENCE IS NOT AN EXPERIENCE OF THE LIVING GOD THROUGH HIS SON WHO HAS COME TO LIVE AND TO DIE AND RISE AGAIN ...AND IF IT IS NOT THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT, IT IS NOT A TRUE CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE.  

4. It is fine if you have had an experience, your life is changed, something marvellous happened to you, but what I want you to tell me is WHY ARE YOU A BETTER MAN?  We must TEST THE EXPERIENCE ON BOTH SIDES.  

5. If your knowledge of the word is not and has not brought you to an EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE LIVING GOD, then I question it.  HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED THE POWER OF THE TRUTH IN YOUR LIFE?  

 

3. NOW, LET US LOOK AT THE PLACE OF FEELINGS:

a. first, feelings are a part of experience, but they are NOT IDENTICAL with it.

1. Experience is greater than feelings.  Feeling is a particular aspect of experience. 

2. Some people live on their feelings....and to some nothing interests them but feelings.  [Usually, this group will totally judge a church service by this barometer]

If they do not weep in a service, then nothing has happened.  

3. It may be weeping with them, it might be excitement, even hysteria.  If these people have not “been lifted right out of themselves” and nearly “lose control of themselves” then they feel nothing has happened.  THIS IS THEIR TEST OF THE OPERATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

4. Some people live on emotionalism or sentimentalism.  

a. thus, they do whatever to encourage emotionalism...in a church service....clapping, shouting, repeating the singing of choruses....TO WORK UP EXCITEMENT.  

 

4. SUMMARY.

a If you have asserted to a proposition Biblically, but you have never felt anything then you are subject to the wiles of the devil.

b. Have you ever known sorrow for sin, have you ever grieved over your own inward corruptions, have you ever been melted by the sight of the glory of the Lord?  

c. I tell you that THE WHOLE MAN is involved in the Christian faith....mind, heart and will are TO ALL BE ENGAGED.  IF THEY ARE NOT ALL ENGAGED, THEN SOMETHING IS WRONG.  

1. Truth is to be looked at, appreciated intellectually.

2. Truth when looked at and appreciated intellectually will MAKE YOU FEEL SOMETHING.  THIS IS THE HEART.  “The love of God is shed abroad in our HEARTS by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”  Rom 5:5.  

3. Similarly, belief must lead to PRACTICE AND ACTION.  

d. A Word to you who are afraid of EMOTIONALISM.  

1. you have seen and experienced the excesses....you also have seen the coldness and lifelessness...which also is wrong.  

e. How can one differentiate between emotionalism and true emotion on the other.

1. first, remember EMOTIONALISM IS USUALLY WORKED UP...it is artificially produced.  

2. second, it always lacks THE ELEMENT OF UNDERSTANDING...it usually by passes truth.  

a. emotionalist care little about the SOURCE of their feeling as long as they get it.  [hand clapping tambourines...whatever works up the feeling]

3. third, the element of excitement, rowdiness, of excess is many times present.  [often, there is the excess of riot ]

4. fourth, usually leave you EXHAUSTED...[it tires you, takes energy out of you.]

5. fifth, it seldom affects the life and the living in a good sense....AND OF COURSE, IT CANNOT, FOR IT IS NOT BASED ON TRUTH.  

f. Beware also of the SENTIMENTALIST.

1. They usually denounce emotionalists...but really sentimentalism is nothing more than POLITE emotionalism.  [one is emotionalism in RAGS and the other is emotionalism IN EVENING DRESS]

2. Sentimentalists is very POLITE.   It only TRICKLES emotions...it does not really move but merely TICKLES the emotions.  

3. Sentimentalism comes from presentation of the truth rather than upon the TRUTH ITSELF.  [when the preacher tells an affective story, you begin to feel something....but it is not the truth that made you feel...IT WAS THE STORY.  

4. Sentimentalism is very interested in the FORM in which the truth is conveyed....in the mechanism, the presentation.  

5. A sentamentlist is ALWAYS IN CONTROL OF HIMSELF....and allows something to happen just on the SURFACE of his life...and no more.  

6. Lastly, it never affects the life or living...it might make him feel happier...  

g. Closing Notes about TRUE EMOTIONS.

1. It is never artificially produced.  MAN CANNOT CREATE EMOTION...FOR IT IS TOO DEEP FOR THAT.  

2. It is always the result of understanding of truth itself....thus, it is characterized by a DEPTH.  

3. The whole person is gripped and moved through true emotions.  

4. Always energizing...it gives you power and moves you.  

5. It always leads to action...always makes a difference.

a. ill: If you think you have felt something in a service now and again, and you desire to know if it is true emotion or not, THE TIME FOR TESTING IT IS NOT IN THE CHURCH BUILDING BUT THE DAY AFTER.  IT CONTINUES.  It will master you, guide, direct you.

 

 

THE ACTUAL

PIECES INVOLVED

IN THIS

WARFARE

 

The Call to Battle:   Eph. 6:10-11

 

1. These verses that we are to study are ONLY FOR BELIEVERS.  No one else can understand them.  The world does not believe in a Satan with forces battling the believer in his personal life.  They think we are “off the wall” with such nonsense.  

2. We have two statements here:

a. first, “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”

b. second, “take unto you the whole armour of God.”  

1. Preliminary statement:  Both these above are NECESSARY.  You cannot take one without the other.  The Holy Spirit says both and we have to do both.  

2. The order is important:  You do not put on the armour first and then be strong in the Lord.  IT IS THE OTHER WAY AROUND.  

3. What some believers do:  They say that all you have to do is to hand your life over the Lord and rely on His strength.  THEY NEVER MENTION THE WHOLE ARMOUR.  

There are others who put their whole emphasis on the armour and forget their absolute dependence upon the power of the Lord and His might and strength. 

3. What does it mean?  [be strong in the Lord and the power of His might....]

a. first, let me remind you that Christianity is not a form of psychology...you do not walk down the road of life saying “be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.”  You do not use this phrase as some kind of incantation or auto-suggestion....repeating the phrase to yourself.  

4. Meaning and Application:

a. We need to be strong because of the power of the enemy.  

1. We are told in Jude 9 that the archangel Michael dared not speak lightly or loosley to him.....he did not bring any railing accusation against him....All the archangel said was “The Lord rebuke thee.”  WHY?  BECAUSE THE ENEMY IS POWERFUL AND FULL OF WILES AND OF GUILE AND SUBTLETY....he can transform himself into angel of light.  II Cor 11:14

b. If we are to stand, we need this strength.  

c. Also, because of WHO YOU ARE 

1. Heb 2:11 says “He is not ashamed to call us brethren.”  

2. God is not ashamed to be called your God.”  Heb 11:16.  

3. The name of God is upon us....the Name of Christ is upon us...I should be strong FOR HIS SAKE alone.  The reputation of God the Father is in a sense in our hands....and  any failure brings the great and Holy Name into disrepute.  WE ARE NOT ISOLATED INDIVIDUALS WE ARE ONE IN THIS GREAT AND MIGHTY ARMY.  

4. thus, there is no better way to give proof of the truth of the Gospel than that we should be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”

5. We are thus directed to the “power of His might.”

  a. Difference:  MIGHT means power and strength as an enduement....might means INHERENT power, something a man is given.  Thus, the might is that man’s inherent muscular strength and power.  

a. POWER: means the manifestation of that MIGHT.  The might is here inherently....now manifesting itself....

b. WE NEED TO START BY REMINDING OURSELVES OF HIS POWER...

c. WE CONTINUE BY MEDITATING About Him and His strength.  

a. it is not an incantation, a formula but you sit down and think and remind yourself of these things and look at Him.  

d. We can ONLY DO THE ABOVE BY READING THE WORD about Him.

 

WHO DOES THE FIGHTING?  Eph. 6:10

1. What many of us have been taught:

a. “Let go and let God” do it for us.  

b. “Hand it over to the Lord” for it is not your battle...it is His.

c. “Let Him do it for you; that is what He is offering to do.”  

2. The Problem with this approach.

a. If the Lord does it all for us and we have nothing to do but to abide in Him and look to Him, THEN IT IS NEEDLESS TO TELL ME TO PUT ON THE ARMOUR

b. It would also appear that many of the exhortations in the epistles are unnecessary....and really quite wrong.  

3. What are the exhortations?

a. James 4:7...”resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  

1. your job is the resist Him.  

b. I Peter 5:8-9....”Be sob er be vigilant....resist steadfast in te faith.”

c. Rom 8:13....”if you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”  [again, I have to do something...there is not “leave it to the Lord.”]

d. Phil 2:12....”work out your own salvation with fear and trembling...”  [there is not “hand it over ot the Lord” here]  

e. I Tim 6:12...”fight the bood fight of faith.”  [Timothy has to fight]  

f. II Tim 2:3-4...”no man that warreth entangleth himself with the affiars of this life.”  

g. I Cor 9:26,27 ....”I therefore so fun.”   “so fight I.”   [note here that he beats himself black and blue....I keep under my body...Paul is doing this himself...IT IS NOT AN EASY THING TO DO....THERE IS STRUGGLE INVOLVED HERE.  

h. Phil 3....”I  follow after...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before...I press toward the mark.”  3:10-14

 

WHERE IS THE BALANCE:  [WHO DOES WHAT]

1. The Several Positions.

a. that I do nothing and that He does everything.

b. that I do everything..and only ask for a little encouragement and help.

c. It is a perflect blending of HIS POWER and MY ACTIVITY...It is my activity in and through the power that He gives me.

d. Remember: If you say you have to do it all yourself, you are wrong; if you say that you do nothing and He does everything, you are equally wrong.

2. Scriptures which prove this blending.

a. Hebrews 2:18....”for in that He himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to SUCCOUR them that are tempted.”

1. note: He does not take the battle from them...He does not tell them to hand it over to Him....that since He has been throu gh it He will fight their battles for them.  Rather, it is that “He is able to succour them’.   [He helps them...but He does not take it completely out of their hands.  

2. thus, we are involved in this fight with the devil and the Lord comes and succours us because of what He Himself has experienced.    WE DO NOT HAND IT OVER...WE FIGHT AND HE SUCCOURS US....HE COMES TO OUR AID.

b. ROMANS 8:26,27...”Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities’. 

1. He does not TAKE the problem from us...but He ‘helpeth our infirmities’. WE DO NOT HAND IT ALL OVER....WE DO NOT SIT SWILENT WHILE THE SPIRIT PRAYS....FOR IT SAYS, ‘He helpeth’.

c. II Cor. 12:  ‘My grace is sufficient for you’.  [In other words, I will give you grace that will be sufficient for you to go through and do this work you have to do].  WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT HIS STRENGTH AND MY WEAKNESS COME TOGETHER.  Paul still had to go on in his weakness....but His grace and strength are sufficient.  

d. Phil. 2:12,13...”work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”.

This is total contradiction of the “let go and let God” or the “hand it over to the Lord and He will do it for you”.   I am to work it out even with ‘fear and trembling’.   “for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do’.  [HERE THE TWO THINGS COME TOGETHER] 

e. Gal. 2:20....”I have been crucified with Christl’.  “but Christ liveth in me.’  “and the life which I now live in the flesh’.  [Paul is still in the picture....still living in the body....PAUL WAS LIVING THIS LIFE IN TERMS OF HIS FAITH IN HIM. 

f. Phi 4:11....”I can do all things through Christ who strengthened me”.   [Paul is doing something and God is doing something]  BLENDING TOGETHER.   Paul can do all things ONLY THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENED HIM.  The work, the tasks are not taken out of the hands of Paul...but he is enabled to do them because he is being strengthened.