Be Sober, Fight Spiritually
There are some who deny the existence of evil spirits and the devil. They think its old fashioned and out of date. Now everything is a pathological disorder of brain malfunction. I'm not denying those at all. But I refuse to deny the very real reality of evil spirits.
Peter says something interesting in the last chapter of his first epistle:
1 Peter 5:8 (ESV) Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
He says "be sober-minded" - which can mean, "come to your senses". Peter uses this word three times in this letter alone. First he uses it to call them to action in 1:13. He then uses it of praying in light of the Lord's return in 4:7. Now he uses the term "come to your senses" about something people think is non-sensical - the devil.
I would suggest that any great victory militarily happened because cooler heads captained the winning army. They didn't freak out. And they didn't overreact. They led in the crisis moment and made the decisions that needed to be made when they needed to be made.
They were sober-minded. And they were fighting for their lives.
That should be our approach to the devil. Even-keel watchfulness. The problem for many of us - instead of denying the devil, we overreact about him... giving credit to him for problems he had nothing to do with. Or we fear him and worry and stress about what he's up to in our lives.
No... be sober-minded. Come to your senses. Don't overreact and don't overdo it. Jesus never freaked out over the enemy. He didn't even yell. He just commanded. He has authority over the evil spirits and because of Him, we have it too in Jesus' name!
Peter outlines the battle plan:
1 Peter 5:9 (ESV) Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
And because you belong to Christ, he attacks. But you CAN win. When you keep your cool.
PRAYER:
Father, I thank you for the victory I have in Christ. I thank you for the authority given me in His name to win the spiritual battle around us. I ask that you keep every evil spirit away from me and my children. I thank you that the power to win is found in our faith in Christ Jesus your Son! I praise you for the Victory, in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Peter says something interesting in the last chapter of his first epistle:
1 Peter 5:8 (ESV) Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
He says "be sober-minded" - which can mean, "come to your senses". Peter uses this word three times in this letter alone. First he uses it to call them to action in 1:13. He then uses it of praying in light of the Lord's return in 4:7. Now he uses the term "come to your senses" about something people think is non-sensical - the devil.
I would suggest that any great victory militarily happened because cooler heads captained the winning army. They didn't freak out. And they didn't overreact. They led in the crisis moment and made the decisions that needed to be made when they needed to be made.
They were sober-minded. And they were fighting for their lives.
That should be our approach to the devil. Even-keel watchfulness. The problem for many of us - instead of denying the devil, we overreact about him... giving credit to him for problems he had nothing to do with. Or we fear him and worry and stress about what he's up to in our lives.
No... be sober-minded. Come to your senses. Don't overreact and don't overdo it. Jesus never freaked out over the enemy. He didn't even yell. He just commanded. He has authority over the evil spirits and because of Him, we have it too in Jesus' name!
Peter outlines the battle plan:
1 Peter 5:9 (ESV) Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
Be firm in your faith in Christ. This is nothing odd happening to you. You are just on his hit list because you belong to Christ.
PRAYER:
Father, I thank you for the victory I have in Christ. I thank you for the authority given me in His name to win the spiritual battle around us. I ask that you keep every evil spirit away from me and my children. I thank you that the power to win is found in our faith in Christ Jesus your Son! I praise you for the Victory, in Jesus' Name. Amen.
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