Spiritual Warfare

Preface:

In any given relationship between two people -- you and me, or as Martin Buber the philosopher said “I and Thou”, you are either a care giver or a care receiver. In the relationship of you and me I am giving you the care and comfort of God’s word and I trust you are receiving that care and comfort.

The ultimate relationship is that of marriage. It is of such import that God uses it as a comparison of the relationship of Jesus Christ and the Church. That is why in Ephesians Chapter Five it says “husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church.” So, husbands, you need to listen to what I have to say -- you may learn something to aid you in the care of your wife and/or your children.

In any relationship of two people - me and you - there are four (4) wills :

(1) My will - I am willing to stand here and provide the information I have to you

(2) Your will - you will either listen to what I say and learn or you will NOT listen and suffer the loss

(3) There is ultimately the will off God for every relationship. His general will is manifest in His written word. In any particular relationship the Holy Spirit will be your guide

(4) finally there is the will of the devil and believe me he has one for you. We often abdicate to his will by willful ignorance

Through out our married life I have been Janice’s primary pastoral counselor. Of all the pastors we have had none were capable of the depth necessary to provide the need either by willful ignorance or attitude.

I told one pastor a certain member of the congregation needed a pastoral visit. He said he did not hold hands with anyone. These attitudes led to this message.

Willing Cognitive Behavior

Luke 21 : 34

“and take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be OVERCHARGED with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.”

The extended definition of the word OVERCHARGED is “a heavy burden, DEPRESSED”. Sometimes when you overcharge a battery it will explode. Sometimes when we overload another person- they will explode, and then we wonder “Why?”

In II Corinthians 10:10 Paul’s letters to the Corinthian Church are said to be WEIGHTY.

For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.

This is the same word as OVERCHARGED. If you study the two books to the Corinthian Church you will find much that Paul says about doctrine, and a lot about behavior - thought and action: i.e., Cognitive Behavior.

Jesus, Matthew 26:37, is in the garden, and it says He “began to be HEAVY”.

37: And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

This is defined as “sated in loathing - distress of mind”. Why should Jesus be suffering from distress? And just how severe was His despair?

Luke 22:44 explains for us His physical state as He prayed: “His sweat was as it were great drops of blood”.

Now under what conditions does a human being “sweat” blood? You sweat blood when your physical heart literally breaks. When the physical heart breaks you bleed internally and after a time the blood will seep through the pours of your skin like sweat. Think of the stress Jesus was under.

In the book When Living Hurts the subject of OVERLOAD is discussed in the arena of pressure for conformity by others. This type of pressure is particularly hard on those who suffer from OBSESSIVE / COMPULSIVE personality.

Obsessive / Compulsive people are highly moralistic and judgmental of themselves and of others. They are excessively preoccupied with rules and protocol, and, as a result, are always “guilty”. They make good Pharisees.

Jesus said the Pharisees, Matthew 23:4, were guilty of BURDENING others, but not themselves.

4: For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

We who call ourselves Fundamentalist have a strong tendency to be this pharisaic at times. I was discussing this issue one day with my wife and made the statement: “What difference does it make how you part your hair, if in your heart there is no care?”

Speaking of being a burden, Paul goes to Jerusalem to confront the issue of God’s grace verses the works of the law of Moses relative to the Gentile converts.

Acts 15:28,

28: For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;

The conclusion of the conference, is that NO OTHER BURDEN is to be put on the Gentiles as God’s grace is sufficient. So then, if God’s grace is sufficient for the believer then yours should be also!

Jesus chides the church of Thyatira, Revelation 2:24,

24: But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.

but adds: “NO OTHER BURDEN” than that they should “hold what you have”, not what you don’ t have.

Back home one day my dad and the Pastor were discussing “What is a perfect Christian?” Their conclusion was that a perfect Christian is one that is walking in the light he has.

Now just because you told someone a thing should be such and such a way doesn’t mean they saw the light.

Another word in Luke 21:34 is SURFEITING, a word I have never read or heard any where else. The extended definition includes “seizure, pain, to take by force, to make doubt,”.

Seize is to grab hold and seizure has to do with epilepsy and palsy. When, in your brain, epilepsy takes over you are out of control, the disease has taken control.

For our self-control Jesus said, Matthew 11:29-30, to “TAKE my yoke”.

29: Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30: For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

This word is the same source as the word surfeiting, and when we take by force His yoke we will find His BURDEN is light. Jeremiah uses the word SEIZED, Jeremiah 49:24, relative to fear in that fear can “seize - bind - or restrain” us from necessary action.

24: Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.

Think of a woman in labor pain when she is ready to give birth. Now, try and tell her to stop it! Do you think an attitude adjustment would fix the situation? Mental Depression can seize you with the same power to overcome your will.

In the book Women and Depression depression is defined as a “system dysfunction on the reaction to outside environment of goal - setting and goal - seeking.” Being a disciple of Christ is very goal structured and fundamentalists seem to be the most pushy. This makes it difficult for those with mental - emotional, and physical problems.

Sound Mind

II Timothy 1:7:”For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a SOUND MIND.”

To be sound in mind is to be “disciplined, and in self control”. Paul’s admonition to aged men, Titus 2:2, is to be “SOUND in faith”:

2: That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

i.e., health or wholeness, and for those of us with normal faculties this is possible, but for others - may be not.

When Jesus met the man with the “legion” of demons he was a lunatic, but when Jesus took charge, Mark 5:15,

the man was “sitting ..clothed ... and in his RIGHT MIND”: in control of his COGNITIVE FACULTIES. This happened because Jesus made direct intervention and removed the problem because the person was unable. Sometimes the people we deal with may not be able to do that which we ask without direct intervention.

In the book Cognitive Behavioral Therapies depression is identified with “sadness, loss of motivation, suicidal wishes that stem from a view of themselves, the future, and the world.”

Sometimes in therapy this can be altered with a change of belief. Cognitive therapy then is skills based using applied thinking skills because the person has a problem with rational thinking and appropriate behavior.

Again, Mark 5:15, COGNITIVE FACULTIES - to exercise the mind - mental inclination.

We are told by Paul, Galatians 5:10, not to be “otherwise MINDED” then to be at “liberty” in Christ,, free from the yoke of BONDAGE, verses 1 & 13.

10: I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. 1: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 13: For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

Those who would trouble us otherwise will suffer judgment for their miss - deed, Galatians 5:10. The word MINDED is the same as in II Timothy 1:7.

Comfort the Feeble Minded

I Thessalonians 5:14 “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.”

To be FEEBLEMINDED is to be of “little spirit” or “faint hearted”, having a “puny soul”. Peter draws our attention to fleshly folks who rather than comfort, “beguile UNSTABLE souls”. To be unstable is to be “sorrowful - intensely sad - or encircled in grief”.

It is our responsibility to provide comfort to these people out of the comfort given to us by Jesus,

II Corinthians 1:3-4.

3: Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; 4: Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

Instead of comforting these we often judge, condemn, execute, and shun. The command of our Lord is to LOVE!

Fear Ex-communicated By Love

I John 4:18 “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

The Greek for fear is phobeo and brings us again to II Timothy 1:7 where fear is “timidity or faithless: i.e., without or incapable of faith. Fear is quite dramatic and can lead to heart failure. In Jesus’ prophesy of the Tribulation,

Luke 21:26,

26: Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

He said that men’s hearts would fail them because of FEAR: phobos. One phobia many people have is the fear of death. In some it is so extreme that God says they are in “bondage”, Hebrews 2:14-15.

14: Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15: And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Think about it! What do you fear that keeps you from doing?

Proverbs 29:25 speaks of the “fear of man” which we would call ANXIETY disorder.

25: The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

In the book Anxiety Disorder and Phobias the word is said to come from two Latin words: ANXIUS for “agitation and distress; and ANGEREE for “to choke or strangle”. The Greek of course remains Phobia, that being an “exaggerated, disabling fear”. The word comes from the Greek god PHOBOS for fight. His power was invoked in battle to provoke panic in the enemy.

Anxiety, fear, and panic, but we have nothing to fear but fear itself!

Anxiety is an emotional state; fear comes from our cognitive mental processes; but panic is when everything goes into overdrive. One stage in life when this comes is in old age and Solomon says it is “fear in the way”,

Ecclesiastes 12:5.

5: Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:

This is a breakdown by confusion.

Enter any nursing home and you can see the clientele in varying stages of confusion. They are often near the “valley of the shadow of death.” Psalm 23:4.

They could say with Job that what he feared came upon him, Job 3:25.

5: For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.

Job’s friend Elilphaz speaks of “fear - trembling - making the bones to shake.”, Job 4:14. This often brings alarm or dread.

14: Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.

My father suffered from seizures in early 1995 and feared his fate, the thought of death, and facing his Lord. After getting on the right medication he returned to his old self and has proceeded with his life. At this writing he is 90 years old. (Dad passed away Nov 99 at the age of 93).

In the book From Panic to Power depression is described as an extremely unpleasant emotion characterized by a loss of interest in people and activities that were rewarding in the past. Daily functions are dreaded and often avoided. Depressives are quite self - critical with great feelings of futility and helplessness. They are disturbed by irrational beliefs they tell themselves.

This disposition fits right into Psalm 53:5: “fear where no fear was” - people with PANIC disorders. These are the folks talked about in Proverbs 3:25 who are “afraid of sudden fear”, and of “fear in the night”, Song of Solomon 3:8.

We who have reasonably normal mental and physical function - COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR - and have been “redeemed by the blood of the Lamb”, should use the “Spirit of adoption” that we have received, Romans 8:15, and cry unto God on behalf of those who are DEPRESSED, OBSESSIVE, ANXIOUS, and suffer the fear of PANIC.

SEARCHING !

Mentally dysfunctional people are looking for men of truth, Jeremiah 5:1,

1: Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.

just as God looked for a man in the days of Ezekiel,

Ezekiel 22:30.

30: And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

Searching for a man; not a bastard, Hebrews 12:8, who professes faith then lives like the devil;

8: But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

not a Pharisee, for they are professional hypocrites, Matthew 23:13;

13: But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

not the devil, for he is the father of lies, John 8:44.

44: Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

“Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.

Psalm 69:20.