Praying with Paul: Mindsets in Spiritual Warfare
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Intro:
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
Tonight we will continue [Praying with Paul] and the subject of my message is, [Mindsets in Spiritual Warfare].
I have enjoyed reading biographies or watching documentaries of powerful leaders in history. As I watched the various world leaders, I noticed that some exerted hard power and others soft power.
The idea between the two is fairly simple.
Hard power— people coerce, force, and bully people into do what they want.
Soft power—people who can get other people on board by appealing or attracting them to the idea without coercing them.
The difference between the two often go back to the personality of the leader. Some people love a little bit of power. We often think with power comes ability to affect change.
Margaret Thatcher, the first women to serve as Prime Minister in United Kingdom. She was also one of the longer serving Prime Ministers, had an eloquent way of describing power.
She explained, ““Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.”
I thought about this when I read Paul’s words to the Corinthian Church.
As believers we have authority.
19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Having this authority is vital and necessary. If we are going to bring people to Jesus, we have to walk in the supernatural power that God bestows upon us.
But if we are not careful, this spiritual power can go to our heads.
As much as we need to supernatural power and authority, we also need supernatural humility.
If we do not have the proper mindset we can actually do more harm than good.
It reminds me of the story of a pastor who heard a commotion going on the foyer from his office. He went out to find some of the women who had finished their prayer meeting.
They were not shouting or glorifying God. Two of the ladies were about to get into a fistfight over who was more spiritual!
I would say perhaps that is not the right mindset in spiritual warfare.
Let’s look at three mindsets that are necessary in spiritual warfare, [We are Meek], [We are Mighty], and [We are Modest].
1. We are Meek
1. We are Meek
1 Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you.
2 But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.
Notice how Paul began this chapter, he pleaded with them by meekness and gentleness.
To meek is to have a calm temper, not being easily provoked.
Meekness is an internal attitude. When we are internal meek, we will show gentleness to everyone around us. Paul was gentle in his dealing with people because his spirit was meek.
But I should emphasize to meek does not mean to be weak.
The word Paul used, plead, comes from the idea that he had full authority, but he was being polite.
As an apostle He had spiritual authority to set the problems in the Corinthian church in order, but he was humble and meek in his approach.
Why is meekness necessary in spiritual warfare?
When we are meek, we follow Jesus’s example.
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Jesus, who had all authority, chose to humble Himself. He became like us so that we might become like Him.
No wonder He promises:
5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
When we face an attack from the enemy, he will attempt to provoke us into making an unwise or even worse, and ungodly decision.
Instead, we should ask the Lord to help us develop a meek attitude and mindset, especially when we engage in spiritual warfare.
2. We are Mighty
2. We are Mighty
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
Paul identifies who we are, we are people, we are flesh. But our warfare is not fleshly. Instead, God calls us to spiritual warfare.
Notice the progression, when we are meek in spiritual warfare, God will make us mighty.
How does being meek and mighty coexist?
After Paul spoke of Jesus’s humility, even to the point of death on the cross, listen to what God has given Him:
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Peter shows that this can happen for us:
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
As we adopt a meek mindset, God will empower us and make us a mighty. But we will always identify that our might does not come from us, but from the Lord.
For our spiritual weapons are different than carnal weapons. For instance, many people depend on:
their wealth
their fame
their wisdom
their political power
their abilities
But for those who are in relationship with the Lord, it will not be about what THEY can do, but what about GOD does through them.
When we depend on God, He empowers us with supernatural strength.
God will do through us what we could never do with our own power and might.
Praise God He gives us power and strength and might as a result of a meek mindset.
3. We are Modest
3. We are Modest
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
One definition about modesty I liked is, having a limited and not overly high opinion of oneself and one's abilities.
This aligns with Paul’s instructions to cast down every thought or idea that goes against the knowledge of God.
3 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
It is vital that in spiritual warfare, we keep a modest view of our abilities and strength. Once we begin to overestimate our abilities we begin to lose the battle.
Why?
Trusting in self leads to inevitable failure, because in comparison with God:
my thoughts
my opinions
my instincts
my motives
my ideas
come up short.
His ways are always higher than our ways.
So let’s paint the picture of how this flows with spiritual warfare.
When the enemy comes to discourage, tempt, or distract us, first we maintain a meek mindset, not allowing the enemy to provoke us. We remember that God is the one who will help us fight this battle!
As we humble ourselves before God, then He will give us the power and might necessary to overcome and defeat the enemy!
As we prevail in the battle, the enemy will insight thoughts in our minds that will attempt to derail the fight. This is a last ditch effort to get us off track.
If we remain modest, and put those thoughts under the obedience of Christ, then Satan loses and we win.
Even Jesus possessed a modest view while on earth:
18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
God alone is good, and with this mind, He will make His goodness and mercy to follow us all the days of our lives!
Close:
Spiritual warfare is inevitable. We had a real adversary who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy. BUT,
If we have the wrong mindset going into the battle, we have already lost.
We must remain meek, remembering God undergirds us with strength and power.
We must remain might, but never forgetting that our might is because of HIM, not us.
We must remain modest, never overestimating our abilities.
When we live this way, God will give us supernatural success.
How do we adopt these attitudes and mindsets?
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
We clothe ourselves everyday with this spiritual armor, which will protect every aspect of our lives.