Week 2 – Spiritual Warfare Devotional by Pastor Mark Cowart
We are looking at this fact that there is very real spiritual darkness. Jesus referred to outer darkness at the end of the parable of the talents.
And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 25:30 NKJV
But God is light and God is love. He is absolute life.
This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. I John 1:5 NKJV
In the spiritual realms, there are dimensions of things that affect us radically. Most people don’t realize how affected they are by the unseen realm. That is why we have to understand spiritual warfare. Remember, you are a spirit, you have a soul, and you live in a body. Most people walk after the flesh(body and soul), live in the flesh and never pay attention to their spirit man. You are feeding your body constantly, feeding your mind, but are you feeding your spirit man?
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
II Corinthians 4:3-4 KJV
This is so critical because of the importance of eternity. If our gospel is hid, it is hid to those who are lost. A person that is not born again does not have the life of God in them, does not have the light of God in them. They are a fallen person, not having received the Lord Jesus. Satan has blinded their mind. This person might be extremely intellectual, gifted with intelligence and mental acuity. They are keen in their natural mind, but spiritually they cannot see. They can be very clever and likable but darkened in their understanding.
Remember, you are the light of the world. The Spirit of God lives in you.
For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
II Timothy 1:6 NASB
When you are ministering the Word of God, it will be energized by His Spirit. I’ve seen examples of the lack of this in ministers I’ve known and watched on TV whose presentation of scriptural truths were just shallow. The one distinguishing thing that plays a big part in our effectiveness is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, with the ability to pray in tongues and the supernatural understanding of the Word. How deep do you want to go in the Word of God?
As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross. Ezekiel 47:3-5 NIV
The anointing of the Holy Spirit works on either side of the transmission of truth – the sending end and the receiving end. You can actually put a demand upon the gift that is in someone else by your anointing. I’ve experienced this, for example, when teaching a small group of men in an addiction rehab program whose hunger brought forth the greater revelation through me in teaching them. Again, when ministering in India, our group was taken in a vehicle with tinted windows through a particularly hostile region to a gathering of thousands. This was a very dark place with lots of idol worship and devil worship. I was teaching from Mark chapter 4, the parable of the sower, or more appropriately, the parable of the soils. I like to teach this one, because Jesus said if you don’t understand this one, you won’t understand any of them.
On this occasion in India, both the host and I were struck by the powerful teaching that came forth through me. I believe this was in response to the intense spiritual hunger of the people drawing out of me what the Spirit had for all of us. I had never before had the anointing and insight on that passage of scripture at that level.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Matthew 5:6 NKJV
I recall back in my early days at Church for All Nations as pastor, there was a Wednesday night when I had been so busy I had not prepared a message for the midweek service. I asked God for help, and He gave me a message that night called, “What to Do in the Midnight Hour”, based on the account in Acts chapter 16 of Paul and Silas being thrown in prison after ministering in power. That could have been a discouraging scenario, but, by the Spirit, they rose above it. That scripture came alive that night. After bringing this message, I was taken out for a meal by a businessman in the church who had come upon really hard times. He told me this was the most powerful sermon he had ever heard. I told him I was blessed to be a part of it, because I got to share in it. There were a lot of things working there.
‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 4:6 NKJV
Like it or not, you and I are in a spiritual warfare. You cannot opt out of this. Don’t be discouraged, though, because God loves us so much He sent Jesus to come and win the victory for us.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 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,….
II Corinthians 10:3-5 KJV
So, the bottom line is that you and I are not fighting for the victory. The Lord already won the victory. We are not having to fight the devil anymore. The fight that you and I are in is the good fight of faith.
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called…. I Timothy 6:12 NKJV
This is a simple but powerful distinction that can change your life. Don’t go fighting the devil. He is a defeated foe, and you have to have a spiritual mind to hear this.
You are the light of the world. Matthew 5:14 NKJV
You might get discouraged by what you see on the news happening in America. Some of the corruption is unthinkable. How have perceptions of gender roles, for example, gotten so warped and twisted that young women are ostracized for objecting to being exposed to a biological male in their locker room? It is because an unseen battle has been going on. There have been things taking place in the unseen realm, and Christians, the Body of Christ, were not aware of it. When Jesus said we are the light of the world, He means for us to overcome darkness. Light always overcomes darkness.
When you come into a dark room, you don’t have to curse and fight the darkness. You don’t bind up the darkness to cast it out. You come in and turn on the light, and the darkness is dispelled – the place is illuminated. This is good news for you and me. This is a major key to effective spiritual warfare. Light always overcomes darkness. The laws of nature prove that. I don’t care how dark the darkness is, the smallest amount of light will dispel it.
We looked in the previous segment at the example of being in a deep, dark cave where the darkness is so complete it can almost be felt. If I turn on my little phone, there is no longer total darkness. If a group of us turn on our flashlight app, and we are all letting our lights shine, how much more is the darkness pushed back? This is one of the most important aspects of spiritual warfare. One of my spiritual fathers says it this way, “It is not the happenings out there, it’s the happenings in here that really determine outcomes.” So, all of what is going on out there – if we are not aware, the devil will draw us into those external battles and we neglect the inner battle.
That’s the good fight of faith, that inner battle. We are each choosing what we believe. Consider the news reporting that you are taking in. You can read an article, for example, and you don’t know the person who reported that. If you even notice, you don’t ‘struggle to believe what they say. Especially in this day and age, it could be totally fabricated. It could be a total lie.
How is it that you pick up your Bible, and you know the author personally – it was God speaking through individuals moved upon by the Holy Spirit – and you then sit there and battle doubts? I call it winning the war against unbelief, this good fight of faith. We resist the doubts that assail our minds against the truth of God’s Word. That is the fight you and I are supposed to be engaged in. The reason it is called the good fight of faith is because when you win that battle, you get into the arena of faith, and that’s where the victory is already won.
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
I John 5:4 KJV
For this reason, the day that we are living in right now, with all this insanity going on, should be the most encouraging time for you as a Christian to be alive. We’ve always had our challenges in this nation in politics, education, and all other arenas. I remember one time here regionally when things got turned around radically by God’s hand. Back in the 1990’s, we saw what has come to be called the “Colorado Spring miracle”. They used to call this city the preachers’ graveyard, with all the witchcraft coming against us. Then, as God moved through His praying, shining people, things changed toward less crime and more prosperity. Ministries began to move to this city, and churches began to grow, thrive and work together.
So, what caused this? Well, people were hungry for answers out in the world, as they are today. Right now people are hungry, people are searching. Hearts are troubled and filled with fear, as we see political things come apart, unraveling in our educational system, and on and on. Things we have never witnessed before.
Father, I thank you that you have called me, that you have anointed me and appointed me to victory. Not to shame, but you have called me to your glory to shine as a light in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. Thank you for that, in Jesus’ name.
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