By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you - I, Paul, who am "timid" when face to face with you, but "bold" when away! I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
Today, believers are not confronting warfare with the physical world, but rather with the spiritual world. Spiritual warfare is taking place inside us daily. Devil is trying all kinds of ploys to destroy our relationship with God and make our heart drift away from the Lord. What happens around us in our daily life is not the actual spiritual battle; the real spiritual battle takes place after these things happen, when we start to complain to God, develop pride or judge others in our mind. For example, if your car stalls on the highway, this event is not a spiritual battle, because it might just be that you haven't maintained it well. After the car stalled, however, if you start complaining again God, then a spiritual battle is taking place. That's why Paul said here that "we do not wage war as the world does." If you are fighting a war with the world, then we can engage our own strength and weapon. If we are, however, fight a war in the spiritual realm, then we must count on God to overcome the ploys of the enemy.
Many Christians do not understand that spiritual warfare is something real, and they don't know how to depend on God to fight the enemy. It is like a soldier fighting a war in the frontline with bullets raining down, but never realizing that he's in a war. Isn't that a ridiculous situation? Unfortunately, that's how many believers are being suppressed by the enemy, because they don't know that they have already resurrected with Christ. We are now sitting on the throne with the Lord, and we have sufficient authority to overcome the devil. The Bible tells us that we must count on God to engage in spiritual warfare, and we can proclaim victory by working with Him. The goal of spiritual warfare is not to intimidate us, but it's for us to become more cautious in order to avoid the traps of the enemy. Brothers and sisters, do you know that you are encountering spiritual warfare? We must rebuke the devil's ploys by faith, and let the authority of God to manifest again in every part of your life.
Pray with Pastor Tong
Lord, please open our eyes and let us understand that we are now in the midst of a serious spiritual warfare. In the victorious name of the Lord we proclaim that all the doubts and disobedience in our spirit are now over, and we pray that God will once again rule our lives. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!
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