The Struggle (Hwy 33)

Part of being a Christ-follower means realizing that we’re in a spiritual battle. Too often, though, we forget that we have an enemy who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy anything good and godly in our lives. Here’s how to recognize his tactics, resist him, and stand firm in your faith. 1) Our culture often portrays the devil as a man dressed in red clothes, with a tail and horns, who just wants to break some rules and have fun. Because of this portrayal, amongst other reasons, the reality of the spiritual battle that we’re in is often overlooked or forgotten. What is your experience with learning or hearing about the spiritual battle within the church? Is it something that you are aware of, or is it a relatively new idea? 2) The enemy, from the beginning, has targeted God’s people. He seeks to steal, kill, and destroy them and all that is good and godly in their lives. And Satan has many goals in targeting us. Phil shared a list of his goals and it included blinding unbelievers to the gospel, to cause believers to fall away from faith, to stop the spread of the gospel, and to break our fellowship with God, among others. Have you experienced the enemy targeting you with any of these goals? Have you ever thought that you have a “target on your back” because of your faith in Jesus? How does it make you feel? 3) His tactics include lies, temptation, persecution, accusation, guilt, doubt, fear, jealousy, pride, sin, discouragement, amongst others. What are some of the tactics that you experience in your life? Are these been used regularly against you, or was it during a specific season of life? 4) We have so many reasons to hope and to fight this battle, and we fight it with God. The enemy is a defeated enemy, and our God has won the war. We already have victory in Jesus, and we fight to experience that victory every day. Our weapons include prayer, God’s rhema words to us, his Word, his truth, his presence, community, worship, and more. What weapons have you used in the fight? What do you find most helpful? How important is community in the fight?