1 John 2:16–17

For everything in the world — the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does — comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

John talked about the three stages of spiritual growth — There are children, fathers and also youths. A youth has three characteristics: first, he knows what spiritual warfare is; second, the word of God lives in him; and third, he has overcome the evil one. Many believers don’t understand how real spiritual battles are, which like a soldier in a battlefield but not knowing it. No matter we are often defeated in our spiritual life, and we wonder why. It’s all because we don’t understand what spiritual warfare is.

Spiritual warfare is a reality that happens in our daily life. The enemy often uses things of the world to tempt us, including “the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does.” These things bind us from following God. Actually, all these things will come and go and won’t last, and they will not truly satisfy our soul. On the other hand, the attack by the enemy often brings forth fear, which causes us to disobey God and even become distant from God, reject God and doubt God. When Jesus was betrayed, Peter following Jesus from far away, and often we are just like Peter in how we feel it’s safer to stay distant from God. The truth is, the farther you are away from God, the more danger you are in; if someone wants to sabotage an army unit, they’ll start with the end of the unit. No wonder Peter later denied Lord Jesus three times.

May God help us to understand the reality of spiritual warfare, and know how to become victorious by him. First and foremost, we need to keep the word of God inside us and to proclaim victory by it. When Jesus was faced with physical temptation of becoming famous by jumping off the cliff, by devil Satan, He defended himself with God’s word. When tempted with idolatry and money, He also used God’s word — Worship true God and only worship Him — to reject the devil. Do you have God’s word inside? You need the word of God to become the source of your strength.

Next, you need to overcome the enemy with prayer. You may only have strength in God with prayer. We are not praying because we don’t understand the severity of spiritual warfare. When you realize that you are living under attacks by the enemy daily, and you are attacked by the enemy in all aspects of life including thoughts, relationships, circumstance and church life, you must get up and pray, because only through prayer can we overcome the enemy. May God help to be strong in the Lord.

Pray with Pastor Tong Liu

Lord, I thank you because you are the commander who’ll lead us to victory. Although we will encounter all kinds of spiritual warfare, in Jesus Christ we will be more than victorious. Please give us a victorious life inside us, so that each and every day we can overcome the temptation and attack by the enemy. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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