2 Corinthians 10:3-5(NKJV)
3For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ
In our constant battle with the forces of darkness, we must recognize that we are not just fighting for our own lives. We are in this earth to fight for the souls of people. Satan is a defeated foe. He is defeated in your personal life and he is defeated in our fight to win the lost. However he is not inactive.
This week we looked at the American Civil War and how the south was effectively defeated after the battle of Gettysburg. However the war went on for two more years. Why? Because the south in general and Robert E. Lee in particular did not recognize and would not accept that they were defeated. They still had some resources as well as skill and bravery. However the end was inevitable.
The devil is much the same. He is deceived into thinking he can still win the war he started with God. He continues to fight even though he was defeated by Jesus in the salvation process. He has no power over believers except the power of deception. He has no power to keep anyone from coming to Jesus if they want to. He does have some resources to use. He does have one arena in particular where he is very active. The arena of the soul.
Our soul consists of our mind, emotions and will. I don’t believe that the devil can read the thoughts of a human being. I certainly do not believe he has access to the thoughts of a believer. However I do know that he can put thoughts before us. He can influence both our thinking and our emotions. He can put pressure upon our will with temptations and all sorts of emotional stimuli. If he can get us to agree with him, he can defeat us.
The battleground of faith is the mind. If we are going to be successful we need to recognize that fact. In the verse above Paul makes this clear. We don’t war in the flesh. Flesh and blood is not our enemy. People are not our enemy. As we said yesterday, all people are part of God’s family and as such Jesus died for them. Our enemy is the devil.
Paul goes on to say that we have weapons to fight him with. He tells us that these are not carnal weapons. They are spiritual weapons and they are fully capable of pulling down strongholds erected by the devil. However look where Paul tells us we need to use those weapons.
5Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
Paul tells us that the area we need to use these mighty weapons is in our thought life. Whatever thoughts we choose to agree with will be what we see come to pass in our lives. What do we use to combat the thoughts that the devil wants to use against us? We go to the thoughts God has recorded in the word. Look at what God told Joshua as he got ready lead to Israel into another war.
Joshua 1:8(NKJV)
8This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
We must do the same thing if we are going to win our wars. God gave us the Bible to communicate his thoughts to us. When our minds are full of the Word of God, any thoughts that do no match up with it are easy to identify. The better we know God’s thoughts the less susceptible we are to the devil’s.
Another area of the soul we must guard are our emotions. God gave us emotions so that we could relate to Him and to one another. Emotions are a good thing. However they were never meant to rule us. We are supposed to use them. The devil brings pressure on our emotions because he knows that if we allow them to get out of control, he has us. He can lead us in any direction he wants by pressuring those emotions.
What do we do to control them. The word is, once again our primary weapon. If we are controlled by the Word of God we are not controlled by emotions. We are moved, not by what we feel, but by what the word says. That does not mean we don’t feel things. Never tell someone their emotions are not true or that they don’t matter. They are and they do. They just don’t always tell the truth. The bible does.
The other factor in dealing with our emotions is fellowship with the Lord. Prayer, praise and worship are all weapons we have to take control of our emotions. David gives us an example in Psalm 103. He repeatedly makes this statement. “Bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me bless His Holy Name.”
David has some issues with his emotions. He is under attack. He is going through troubles. His emotions are just like ours. They are pressing him in directions he knows he cannot go. What does he do? He makes his emotions bless the Lord. He worships and praises God. We can use the same weapon in our lives.
When you feel the least like praising God, that is the time to shout the loudest. It is the time to praise the strongest. It is the time to make your emotions serve the Lord and not the devil. When we do that walls of resistance can come down in our lives just like they did in Jericho.
What about our will? Well that is a large subject, but let me say this. If we use the weapons available to deal with our thoughts and emotions, we will find that our will is also strengthened. We will choose the right things to do. We will stand by faith until we see the victory God has promised.
The soul is the battleground. It is where the enemy is active. However remember, he is a defeated foe. What he does in our soul is just a delaying tactic. The less we allow it to work the quicker he will stop at least in that particular area. We can and will win. We will win for ourselves and we will win for people of the world.
Galatians 6:9(NKJV)
9And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
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