Spiritual Warfare #3 ~ The Mind of Christ

          Those that have been in the military know that following orders, no matter what they are, is non-negotiable. There is harsh punishment for disobeying orders. Authority that is questioned or challenged in the heat of battle endangers everyone. Insubordination is not tolerated at any level. The higher the rank, the harsher the punishment. The more military authority one has, the more casualties are caused by disobedience. In like manner, the more authority and influence we have in the body of Christ, the more people get hurt from our disobedience.

          I have seen churches split, and even destroyed because of the disobedience of a leader. The damage was compounded when that disobedience was exposed publicly.

A soldier must trust in the orders he is given and obey even when He does not agree. Even if it means his death. Understanding can wait, obedience cannot.

          Philippians 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

          Jesus was a good soldier. What we see in His life, we should model in ours. If our doctrine does not line up with what we see in Christ’s life, it is time to change our beliefs. Jesus, and His life is perfect theology.

          Understanding the mind of Christ is foundational in spiritual warfare. The mind of Christ is summed up in one profound idea. One simple thought.

“I can do nothing on my own.”

John 5:30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

John 5:19 So, Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

John 4:34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

          Jesus completely submitted His will to the will of the Father. He not only emptied himself of His divine rights and privileges as God, He also emptied Himself of His rights and privileges as the Son of Man. This is how He walked in divine authority on the earth. He laid down His crown as King of the Universe to be crowned as the Son of Man, then He laid that crown down as well at the feat of the Father. It is mind boggling! It is our example to follow.

          Our ability to say “no” to the Creator tells us that we are sovereign beings as well. We must cast our sovereign crowns at His feet daily, understanding that we are here for His good pleasure, no matter what that looks like.

          The blood of Christ has purchased our lives. We have been redeemed. He is worthy of our life, and He is worthy of our death. Until we die to self we are not completely submitted to His authority.

          We would all like to believe that we are completely submitted to God, but submission is only revealed when there is a conflict of wills. We never know if we are completely submitted until we disagree. Even if we don’t disagree it can still be very difficult to follow orders. Jesus shows us exactly what that looks like.

Luke 22:41-44 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, ⁴² saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” ⁴³ And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. ⁴⁴ And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

          There is so much wisdom and instruction to glean from this passage of scripture. Jesus knew what He was called to do. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy. After He declared “not my will, but yours be done,” an angel appeared to strengthen Him. Even then He was still in great agony and still had to pray more earnestly to settle this in His heart.

How intense was this prayer? What kind of conflict was going on in Jesus soul that caused Him to sweat blood? How hard was it to see and know the terrible torture and death He must endure and still obey the Father? He could not do this on His own. Without humility and intimacy with the Father, even Jesus would not have been able to endure it. We must follow Him.

          Prayer is vitally important in spiritual warfare but praying a lot does not make us “prayer warriors.” Humble submission to the will of the Father and Spirit empowered prayer does.

1 Corinthians 2:16 For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Notice it says, “we” have the mind of Christ, not “you” or “I.” Understand this about the mind of Christ; “I can do nothing of myself” does not just mean that I can do nothing without the Father. It also means that I can do nothing without relationship with others in the body of Christ. I will need others to help me accomplish all that God has planned for me.

God has called us to community. Many times what He asks us to do will require a whole village. This prevents us from becoming an Island unto ourselves with no accountability. It requires us to be relational with one another. Being in relationship with others in the body of Christ is one way we have relationship with the Father. We are parts in His body. One single part cannot live and function on its own apart from the rest of the body.

Even Jesus needed John the Baptist to go before Him to prepare people for His coming. He needed the disciples to help Him with His earthly ministry while He was alive, and continue His ministry after His death and resurrection.

There is nothing more connected or co-dependent on planet earth than the body of Christ. We are more connected than the molecules that makes up the human body. Maybe this is why He used man’s body to explain how the kingdom of God works.

Effective spiritual warfare requires us to have the mind of Christ. Understanding that we can do nothing of ourselves puts us all on a level playing field concerning our faith, from the faithful saint who has served God for decades, to the newborn babe in Christ. We can all engage in community and bring our supply while gleaning from the supply of others.

A babe does not have the same level of authority, but has the mind of the Spirit. As we renew our minds to Gods word we grow in knowledge and understanding. As our faith is tested and we gain experience fighting the good fight, our kingdom authority increases, our contribution to the body and the world increases, and our capacity to receive from the body increases as well.

Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Being a good soldier takes training, discipline, diligence, and above all, sincere humility. The Lord will test us to see how ready we are for battle. We should always embrace testing. It is the tests and trials that refines us, perfecting our faith. Some of our most significant testing will come when we don’t even realize we are being tested. Remember that a test of character will always come in the form of a “pop quiz.” This is just one of many reasons we must fight to maintain the mind of Christ.

The Lords prayer takes on new meaning when we have this perspective. This is how Jesus taught us to pray. He is the greatest spiritual warrior that ever lived.

The Lord’s Prayer (The Soldiers Prayer)

Matthew 6:9-13 Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

(Acknowledge His authority and holiness)

¹⁰ Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

(Pray for the advancement of His kingdom in the heart of every believer and cast our crowns at His feet, relinquishing our ability to say no to Him)

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread,

(Our bread is to do the will of our Father)

¹² and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

(Walk in forgiveness toward others and ask for His mercy to cover our mistakes and sins )

¹³ And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

(Ask for His leadership and protection from the enemy, trusting that the Father knows what he is doing)

For more lessons on Spiritual Warfare CLICK HERE.

Thank you for visiting truthpressure.com. I hope this has been a blessing to you.

JC

Spiritual Warfare #1 ~ Humility

Spiritual warfare is not something we automatically know how to do when we are born again. We grow into it, learning and perfecting skills to walk in the victory that Christ has already won.

We should be learning more every day about God’s ways, the enemy’s strategies, and our role as soldiers in the army of God. Humility helps us better navigate these truths.

Spiritual warfare is not easy, yet we must embrace it as a lifestyle. Humility is the foundation on which all spiritual warriors must stand. Faithful obedience is the strategy by which we enforce the victory granted by inheritance. Humility will always lead us to obedience, and faithful obedience will always lead us to victory. Even a baby Christian can fight like the most skilled warrior if humble and obedient. 

When King David was just a boy, his humble obedience and zeal for God led him to slay a fully armored, fully equipped giant who was a skilled warrior from his youth. Humility, acquired through his relationship with God, gave David the proper perspective to see the victory in this situation, and he was able to slay this mighty warrior with a slingshot! (1 Samuel 17) His humility caused him to have a perspective that led him to a great victory for the entire nation of Israel and elevated him to a position of honor.

David loved God, feared God, and understood that God loved him.

“I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” (Acts 13:22)

God is looking for people with humble hearts that dare to believe all things are possible. Faith like that can never be attained apart from humility.

Humility comes from loving and fearing God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and humility is an expression of wisdom and understanding. When we understand who God is, humility is the natural response.

Micah 6:8 (ESV) He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Notice that justice, kindness, and walking humbly before God is required. It is not a suggestion. If we lose sight of this, the enemy already has a grip on our hearts and minds. Living in the chaos that is ever-increasing in this world, it is easy to let these things slip and fall out of step with the truth. Moral decay is increasing rapidly across the globe. Humility is essential to guard our hearts against its influence.

Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV) Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.

If we are not selective about what we expose ourselves to, our hearts and minds are filled with things that weaken us and cause us to stray from the truth. Words, thoughts, and emotions are spiritual. We will enable the enemy to shape us into his image when we allow ungodly things in our eyes and ears. We are all clay, and we are constantly being shaped by something. We must be diligent in keeping our hearts pure to ensure that God is the one doing the shaping. When our heart is compromised, humility is one of the first things we sacrifice.

James 4:7 (NKJV) Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Submitting to God requires humility, and humble submission is simultaneously the act of resisting the enemy. Submitting and resisting is a one-step process. Not a two-step religious effort. Without humility, there is no resisting, just cooperation with the adversary.

James 4:6 (NKJV) But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

Any act of disobedience is an act of pride. It places us in a terrifying position that no Christian in their right mind would want to be in. A place where God is resisting us. Pride brings us into partnership with the enemy. We can’t fight the enemy if we partner with him, nor can we follow Christ.

Satan represents the opposite of humility. He is the father of selfish pride. The last thing he wants us to do is to submit entirely to God. Our surrendered life is the most frightening and destructive thing to the kingdom of darkness. When we are humble and wholly submitted to God, the devil and all his demons know who we are and tremble. We become a champion for the kingdom of God, vessels fit for the Master’s use, destroying the works of darkness.

Revelation 12:10-12 (NKJV) Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. ¹¹ And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. ¹² Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

The enemy knows his time is short. He uses all the deception in his arsenal to keep us from humbling and submitting ourselves entirely to God. We must come to a point in our lives where we “love not our own lives even unto death.” When we do, we begin to walk in proper kingdom authority and true ambassadors for Christ.

Being effective at spiritual warfare begins and ends with humility. Satan will continue to have his way with us if we don’t settle this in our hearts. Without humility, we will be deceived into doing his bidding, hurting others, and bearing fruit for his kingdom instead of the kingdom of God. It is a tragic reality that we all face.

2 Corinthians makes it clear that our war is not against people

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (NKJV) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, ⁶ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

A view of the Church these days looks very much like the world in this respect:

Because of pride and selfishness, we engage in heated political arguments, fuel racial tension, and despise authority. We give ourselves to watching ungodly shows and news networks that spew forth lies, stirring up anger and hate in our hearts. We use social media platforms to voice ungodly opinions and think we have a right to “straighten people out.” Doing this fuels emotional fires that cause us to look and act just like the world. It has destroyed our witness and hindered us from being fruitful. The 2020 presidential election exposed the Church’s weaknesses in these areas.

We don’t know God like we think we do. The truth is, we are far too familiar with a God we barely know. If one person could acquire all the knowledge in the world, that individual would still be an infant in their understanding compared to our eternal God.

Practice humility

          Humility is expressed verbally, spiritually, and naturally. We can do practical things to maintain and guard a humble perspective.

Submitting to authorities, deferring to an elder, how we refer to others in our conversations, and how we prefer others over ourselves are all actions of faith concerning humility. Our conduct will express our humility or the lack of it.

          How we approach God with our words and body language also speaks volumes. Kneeling to pray or laying face down on the floor in worship when no one else is looking is a physical expression of humility and an acknowledgment of His greatness. Not multi-tasking when we are in communion with Him. These are all expressions of humility and a living faith when done honestly.

Humility has a divine strength attached to it. It is time we gain some understanding, expose the enemy’s strategies, and push back the darkness encroaching on the Church. Then we will be able to help the world. It all starts with humility. Without humility, we will never become the “bride without spot or wrinkle.”

For more lessons on Spiritual Warfare CLICK HERE.

Thank you for visiting truthpressure.com. I hope this has been a blessing to you.

JC