Essential Guide to Spiritual Warfare

T. Anderson Neil, M. Warner Timothy

Description

The Basics of Spiritual Warfare from the Leading Author in the CategoryWhat is spiritual warfare? Who should engage in it and how? How can I protect myself and the ones I love from Satan's attacks?In The Essential Guide to Spiritual Warfare, Neil Anderson and Timothy Warner describe the battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness, a battle for the minds and hearts of us all. Learn about the importance of having a biblical worldview and how to prepare for the battle you are called to fight. Every step of the way is grounded in the truth of God's Word about who God is and who you are in Christ. This battle plan for victory is perfect for those new to the idea of spiritual warfare as well as those who want a basic primer to refresh themselves on the topic.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 19 juillet 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 4
• EAN13: 9781441230034
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2000 by Neil T. Anderson and Timothy M. Warner.
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Previously published by Regal Books
Ebook edition created 2016
Ebook corrections 09.23.2016
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016931205
ISBN 978-1-4412-3003-4
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations identified NASB are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Scripture quotations identified NKJV are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified P HILLIPS are from The New Testament in Modern English, revised edition—J. B. Phillips, translator. © J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
Scripture quotations identified TLB are from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Cover design by Rob Williams, InsideOutCreativeArts
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 3
Copyright Page 4
Introduction 7
1. A Reluctant Warrior? 13
2. Is This Spiritual Warfare or Plain Old Trouble? 31
3. Toward a Biblical Worldview 51
4. More Than Technique 69
5. Who Am I, Really? 87
6. Which God Do I Serve? 101
7. Keep Looking Down 115
8. Boot Camp for Reluctant Warriors 127
9. Fit for Battle 139
Selected Readings on Spiritual Warfare 145
Notes 149
About the Authors 153
Books and Other Resources by Neil T. Anderson 155
Back Ads 157
Back Cover 159
Introduction
We are seeing the greatest spiritual harvest this world has ever seen. Not since Pentecost have we seen such phenomenal growth of the church worldwide. Africa was less than 5 percent Christian at the beginning of the twentieth century. At the end of the second millennium, it was nearly 50 percent Christian. There were only about 5 million believers in China when the Communist regime took over. Now the estimates vary from 100 to as high as 150 million believers, and missiologists estimate that between 25,000 and 35,000 people are coming to Christ daily in China. Indonesia is the world’s most populated Muslim nation, but the percentage of Christians there has been increasing so rapidly that the government won’t release accurate figures. 1
Meanwhile, more than 2,500 Christian radio and television stations broadcast the gospel daily to an audience of 4.6 billion. I had the privilege of speaking to the staff of HCJB in Quito, Ecuador, at their annual meeting. I was impressed with their commitment and their technological expertise. The same holds for TransWorld Radio and Far Eastern Broadcasting, who are working together with HCJB to blanket this planet with the good news. They can now package a radio station in a suitcase and broadcast the gospel anywhere in the world. We are the first generation that can say without reservation, “We have the technology to actually fulfill the Great Commission in our generation.”
Cooperation in ministry is another significant sign that we are in for a great harvest. We may be driving different cars, but we are all driving them in the same kingdom and getting our gas from the same station. There is a growing majority in the body of Christ who are sick and tired of Christians competing with or defeating one another. It is beyond the time for the church to personally appropriate the truth of Ephesians 4:1–6:
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
God is preparing His people and pulling His church together for the final harvest. In the high priestly prayer, Jesus is praying that we will all be one just as He and the Father are one (see John 17:21). He is not praying for the old ecumenism that was diluted by liberalism. He is praying that the true born-again, Bible-believing community known as the body of Christ will work together to stem the tide of liberalism and immorality, the rising threat of the New Age, and the secular movement of universalism.
Caution must be taken not to water down the movement. Unity in the Spirit is not universalism. Paul says,
Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
2 Corinthians 6:14–15 NASB
We must maintain an unshakeable commitment to the authority of Scripture, and never compromise our character in order to produce results.
Mission America has the goal of praying for and sharing Christ with every person in our nation. That will be impossible unless the Holy Spirit draws the church together as partners in ministry. More than eighty denominations and two hundred parachurch ministries are cooperating to accomplish this task. This united effort to reach our nation for Christ is being called “Celebrate Jesus.” We don’t have to throw away our denominational distinctives or doctrinal beliefs to preserve the unity of the Spirit. But we do have to believe in “a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11 NASB ).
The only legitimate basis for unity within the body of Christ is the realization that every born-again Christian is a child of God. Cooperation will require forgiveness and reconciliation. It will necessitate toleration of other people’s perspectives without compromising personal convictions. We must respect the denominational distinctives of others and relate with integrity in all matters.
Recently, I was conducting a conference for fifteen hundred pastors and missionaries in Bacalod, Philippines. A group of Filipino teenagers committed themselves to praying around the clock for the duration of the conference. They were on their knees pleading that their leaders upstairs would repent and agree to work together. I was never so humbled in my life! This should be the prayer of Christian leaders. Legitimate Christian leaders should desire unity in the body of Christ, which is the prayer of our Lord. Could it be that our Christian leadership may be the major stumbling block to world revival? Can the church rise above its leaders?
If you were the enemy, how would you work to defeat the church in its efforts to reach this world for Christ? Since the Bible teaches that a house divided against itself cannot stand (see Mark 3:25), the enemy will certainly work to divide us. First, he will work on our minds, since a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (see James 1:8). Paul writes, “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). Then the enemy will seek to divide our marriages and our ministries. Is that happening?
Another sign of a great awakening is the growing awareness that “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 NASB ). We may disagree about how to engage the enemy, but at least we are starting to agree that we all have one. Without this realization we are like blindfolded warriors striking out at each other and ourselves. We must never let the devil set the agenda, but we dare not underestimate his influence or allow the attitude that says, “The devil made me do it.” We are responsible for our own attitudes and actions. Satan is a defeated foe, but he is also the god of this world, and “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19 NASB ). How are we going to reach this world for Christ if Satan has blinded the minds of the unbelieving (see 2 Corinthians 4:4)?
With all the moral corruption in the world, it is tempting to ask, “Why doesn’t the Lord just come back and end all this?” I heard a retired African-American pastor give the correct answer to this question as he addressed a group of inner-city pastors after the Los Angeles riots that were prompted by the verdict of the Rodney King trial. As my memory serves me, he said, “Fifty years ago the Lord looked into the kingdom of darkness and He saw me. Had He come at that time, I would have been locked out of the kingdom of God for all eternity. The Lord is not slow about His promises. For Him one day is as a t