Fight the Good Fight of Faith

How we believe and what influences our belief system has been conditioned by our childhood experiences, education, what we watch, hear and read from the mass media, and various other external influences such as our politics and religion. As we get older, the previously held belief system has been overly simplistic and lacked depth, often changing.

As we acquire new information, we begin to question the established standard seriously. The latest data is examined under the old paradigm. If it disagrees with our belief system, then it is discarded, even though it can be verified as truth. This action is dangerous and places the believer in a precarious situation.

There comes a time in our life that all of us resist letting go of old beliefs. Then there are times when we are excited to explore new ways of thinking. It should be noted that I have no desire to make you believe anything. I am only interested in challenging you to expand your belief system to accept what is truth. To prepare you to engage an enemy that is seeking to destroy your soul is my only intent.

There are times when our belief system conflicts. As a child in Sunday school, we were taught to love "everyone in the world." But as we grow older on a general level, we may believe that all humanity is to be shown, love. Yet, on a personal level, we may feel entirely justified at times in being angry and upset at individuals who are hateful and evil, and you have no love for these people. Some may go so far as to justify killing, not that they would be guilty of the act, but would condone others acting. We have no problem making sense of what may appear "illogical" even when it conflicts with our belief system.

By choosing to be honest, the inconsistencies within us and the world become increasingly apparent, thus allowing us a more excellent choice in dealing with them. We naturally grow more open and better able to understand and integrate conflicting beliefs on various levels. By choosing to identify, understand, and transform the inconsistencies within ourselves, they can become potent teachers inviting us to expand our awareness if we allow them.

The more soundly we believe those beliefs will shape something, the more likely our lives. The more deeply we know something to be accurate, the more likely we will see and experience the world in terms of that truth. That is why it is essential to, Study to show thyself approved—rightly dividing the word of God.

Yet this does not necessarily mean that what is suitable for one person, no matter how deeply it is experienced, will be valid for others. Perception is reality. Through their interpretation of what happens to them throughout life, each person develops their version of the truth, which has varying amounts of overlap with what others believe to be reality. We may feel something to be accurate and honest, but our emotional experiences can be different.  The more honest we are to ourselves and the spiritual world around us, the more consciously we can make choices. And the more honest we are in expanding our knowledge and beliefs, the more powerfully we can face the enemy of our soul.

The believer must recognize that they are in a battle. Not knowing the spiritual conflict that is raging around the believer is why so many defeated Christians. This is the primary fact that allows one to prepare for battle and face an enemy that can only be seen with spiritual eyes. Ignorance is a Christian's greatest weakness. Keep Christians ignorant, and they will be no threat to Satan. One of the other most important things to know is that the two kingdoms conflict. This is the source of all spiritual battles that we face. There is the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of Light. These are the kingdoms of Satan and the LORD, respectively. In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul admonishes the saints to put on the armor of Light. Christians are in a war against the kingdom of darkness, and our weapons are spiritual.

This spiritual warfare has existed since the beginning of time. The fall of Adam and Eve was the first event in the conflict between man and the highly advanced culture of evil. These evil beings did not come with physical weapons but came offering man the ability to become a god. The enemy of man created emotional confusion about the commandment given to Adam and Eve concerning the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The enemy of all humanity used the weapon of doubt and confusion to get Eve to question the truth of God's command. The serpent convinced Eve she would not die but instead become a god. That uncertainty about obeying the commandments of God has continued to the present. 

This battle with evil spiritual influences and power has infiltrated every aspect of our society. The most powerful and secret organizations within our nation have fallen under the control of the seed of Satan. Government leaders have sold the very soul of America for power and money promised by the devil's minions. As Christians, we have allowed the principalities of darkness to divide the cause of Christ. We have allowed Satan to get us side-tracked from the mission of Jesus Christ. We have enabled the ongoing-idiotic philosophical disputes of how we are to find salvation (through grace or faith) and serve the LORD (the priesthood of the believer or only specific individuals are called to minister), how we are to carry out the Gospel message (a paid ministry or all are ministers). All these disputes have distracted us from our mission. Satan has kept Christians continuously occupied with quarreling like two adolescent boys trying to prove the strongest. In writing to the church at Corinth, Paul was concerned about the division that was taking place. He begged the Christians to stop being divided into different groups. Christ cannot be separated into separate groups. To do this is to allow Satan to win.

As the faithful followers of Christ take part in this division, Satan is sitting back laughing at us. The enemy knows that as long as we are divided, we are weak. The strategy used by Satan is to keep Christians in constant arguments over issues that have nothing to do with our salvation. We allow Satan to plant the seed of discontent and division when we are not focused on the Gospel's message. That message exposes the darkness of evil so men and women can be brought into the Light of Jesus Christ.

How long will we allow the demons of this world to manipulate the actions of the followers of Jesus Christ? As Christians, we have remained silent because we are afraid that we will find the world retaliating against us if we speak the truth, and all we want is to be loved. Our silence will allow evil to spread, creating a society that has forgotten God.

Some once followed Christ but fell to the temptations of wealth. These often are the very leaders of the church that are the spiritual watchmen over our souls. They hide from the truth and cling even more greedily to the wealth they already have, robbing from the sick, weak, poor, and deluded followers. They drank the Kool-Aid of the Devil and bought the lie of health, wealth, and prosperity. Some have even gone so far as to say you can become a god. Again, Satan has used man's disobedience to separate him from God.

Here is the problem. Humanity is not about to be invaded. Humanity is not in the middle of an invasion. Humanity has been invaded! The attack has taken place and is almost in its final stages. Outstanding charges do not happen with thundering smoke, loud outbursts, or horrible and scary people. Overthrowing your enemy successfully occurs in secrecy. Individuals are deceived by offering them what they want. In the case of Eve, it was to become a god. For some, it is wealth, fame, power, beauty, and sex, or even world domination.

As American Christians are distracted by sports, entertainment, career choices, material possessions, and family issues, Satan and his minions are gradually changing our country over to an evil-dominated society. The new World Order that we hear so much about is not new. It is the same Old World Order that brought about the first flood of judgment on the earth in Genesis chapter one, and the second flood that brought judgment during the time of Noah, and it will be the same World Order that will soon bring the wrath of God again upon this evil world.

One message from the pits of Hell is that no devil or demon is fighting against humanity. We hear all sorts of lies coming from those evil beings who would influence our spiritual lives. They have spread myths of the creation of man from evolving from a single cell to being genetically designed by some alien race. They have tried to discredit the Bible, the deity of Jesus Christ, the Plan of Salvation, the Christian faith, and the judgment of God upon a wicked generation. We are children of the day and not of the night. We can see the signs of the coming judgment of God and must not be silent.

If we are to defeat the evil that is all around us, we must remember we are in a spiritual war against the forces of Satan and his demons. Our only hope is in Jesus Christ. So it is time to pull out our swords and put on the Armor of God, and face the battle that is before us with the spiritual weapons that God has given us. Every Christian should be warning those who are asleep and unaware of the coming events that will change the course of human history.

The moment a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and receives God's Holy Spirit, that person is instantly and translated from the kingdom of darkness of this world into the kingdom of God's Light by God's Holy Spirit of truth. The Apostle Paul describes this process as the "mystery" revealed, "Christ in you," the hope of glory.

Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

Col 1:27 to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

The believer is saved from the power and bondage of sin, the carnal nature, the devil, and supernaturally empowered with the Holy Spirit. The power of darkness is anything that blinds a person to the reality of sin. The power of darkness blinds a person to their need for salvation and from receiving God's gift of the Holy Spirit. The power of Satan blinds those who have not received the gift of salvation. By the conviction of the Holy, Spirit God draws the sinner towards Him by the Light that lightest everyone who comes into the world that leads to salvation in Christ by the cross. The people of the world reject the truth of Christ and are under the control or deception of the God of this world, which is the devil. Scripture states,

1 John 5:19 "We know that we are of God and the whole world lieth in the evil one."

2Co 4:4 in whom the God [devil] of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the Light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them.

It's long been an axiom of military science and martial arts that wisdom begins with an honest evaluation of strength and weakness. There is nothing to gain by self-deception and self-delusion when it comes to gauging our capabilities and vulnerabilities.

Our success is based on five conditions:

Personal salvation - "Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 517)

Yielding to the Will of God, "Do not yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but yield yourselves to God, as one alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God." (Romans 6:13)

Filled with the Spirit, - "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." (Romans 8:9)

Studying to be approved, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

Applying the Word of God, "Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee." (1 Timothy 4:16)

 The believer that applies and acts upon this knowledge will be victorious in defeating the enemy of the soul. The believer that ignores this will suffer defeat. In writing to Timothy, Paul advised him to take heed to his own life and the doctrine or teachings of the scriptures; he was to learn how to apply the principles of spiritual warfare. By working to prepare ourselves to fight the good fight of faith, we obtain the ability to execute the principles of spiritual warfare.