Difficulty didn't know how to get out of
it.
He was very responsible.
He had a high position in his community.
He was respected He went to church Sunday
morning Sunday evening went to a small group
of Wednesday night But I agreed to spend
a little time with him And so before
you come down I asked if he would
in the drive about six hours or so
if he would listen to our Set of
tapes when he entered my office on a
Saturday morning.
He handed the tapes back and said they're
all blank Well after about two or three
hours of counseling this man, he listened to
the same tapes on the way home I'd
like to have you hear what he said
to me Dear Neil, I contacted you because
I had been experiencing a host of seemingly
inexplicable psychologically related attacks My emotional troubles were
probably rooted in my childhood experience with horror
movies Ouija boards, etc I clearly remember fearing
a visit from devilish forces after I saw
the movie titled the blood of Dracula My
father had a pretty hot temper and was
given to emotional outbursts My survival response was
to sulk and blame myself for upsetting him
Bottling my emotions inside became a way of
life as I grew into adulthood I continued
to blame myself for any and all personal
shortcomings and misfortunes Then I accepted Christ as
my personal Lord and Savior I Grew spiritually
over the next several years, but I never
enjoyed complete peace There was always a lingering
doubt about my relationship with God whom I
saw as distant and stern.
I Had difficulty praying reading the Bible and
paying attention to the pastor's sermons.
I Seriously questioned the purpose of life.
I Experienced horrible nightmares, which woke me up
screaming It was during my time of prayer
with you that I finally found freedom in
Christ.
I Realized that God is not a harsh
aloof Disciplinarian but a loving father who takes
joy in my accomplishments I also experienced a
great release when I prayed to cancel out
all demonic working that had been passed on
to me from my ancestors Now when I
read God's Word, I understand that like never
before I have developed a more positive attitude
and my entire relationship with my Lord has
completely changed Since our meeting I haven't had
one nightmare Neil I'm afraid there are many
Christians like me out there leading lives of
quiet desperation Due to the attack of demonic
forces If I can fall prey to these
forces and seem alright So can others?
Is he right I Suspect he is right.
For instance in Southern, California.
We have researched 1725 professing Christian young people
as we got data back from them We
realized that 71% said that they're hearing
voices like there's a subconscious self talking to
them Now do I believe that 71%
of our professing Christian young people are paranoid
schizophrenic or psychotic?
I don't believe that what I believe is
first Timothy 4 1 where the Holy Spirit
Explicitly says that in latter days people will
fall away from the faith paying attention to
deceiving spirits and literally Teaching the demons is
that happening that's happening all over the world
It really matters not where we go in
our ministry We find basically the problems are
the same and the answer is always of
the same now that same group We found
out that 74% 3 out of 4
of our young people believe that they are
different from others Christianity works for others But
it doesn't work for them.
Is that true?
Well, of course, that's not true But if
they believe that would it affect the way
that they live their Christian life and I
find that at least 50% of our
adult Population believe basically the same thing if
they play the game like Dungeons and Dragons
a fantasy game I wish about 280 or
so of the sample head of that group
43% have impulsive thoughts to kill people
like grab that knife and stab somebody now,
where's that coming from?
Are these people just mentally ill or is
there a battle going on for their mind?
Let's explore some of the I Think common
misconceptions that the church is labored under let
me share several one Demons were active when
Christ was on earth, but their activity has
subsided today I think it would take an
unusual Blinding to take that kind of position
in light of what's going on in our
world No matter where you go There just
seems to be evil in the immorality that
seems so resistant to to just even common
sense Even our police departments are trying to
tell our mothers and fathers listen mom and
dad your children Just aren't into sex and
drugs anymore.
Some of your young people are into Satanism.
There is a battle going on This is
not an option for us We are clearly
told in Ephesians 6 that we rustle not
with flesh and blood but principalities and powers
So we can't decide why I don't believe
that and it will go away.
That would be New Age type thinking it
is there It's real We have to come
to terms with it and learn how in
a biblical way to interface with the world
that we're living in secondly What the early
church called demonic activity we now understand to
be mental illness whether or not specifically stated
I think in a practical sense most would
hold to that terms like schizophrenia paranoia Psychosis
are merely labels classifying symptoms.
All they're describing is is the results of
what is taking place They are establishing no
sense of causation If we just looked at
mental health, how would you define mental health?
Well, typically in our Western world is defined
as on two bases one You're in touch
with reality and two you're relatively free of
anxiety Now on that basis, I would tell
you that anybody caught in a spiritual conflict
would fail on both counts If somebody comes
in and says that there's a battle going
on for their mind that they're hearing voices
or they're having trouble Concentrating or thinking the
secular world would just naturally assume that there
must be some neurological or psychological problem in
My experience of working with adults for the
last 10-15 years.
I found that to be totally untrue Well,
I've sat with probably seven eight hundred or
so Christian people who have shared that kind
of a symptom and problem with me It
takes an hour an average of about three
hours four hours Maybe at the most in
most cases to get a person free from
that and to find a peace of God
that path is all Understanding the primary battle
for their mind has been spiritual and then
secondly Relatively free of anxiety.
Well forget that one people because fear is
that is the basic issue from that?
We're going to talk about that more later
But let me just suffice to say that
fear of anything other than God is mutually
exclusive of faith to God or in God
And so therefore these people are struggling out
there But that fear is just kind of
passed off as some kind of a psychological
disorder instead of a real spiritual attack Thirdly
some problems are psychological some are spiritual.
I Think the most common question that I
used to get asked was well, tell me
Neil.
When is it psychological?
When is my problem spiritual?
I honestly believe it's a false dichotomy Your
problems are never not psychological There is no
time when mind will emotions develop mental issues
human Responsibilities are not contributing to the problem
much less the resolution, but your problems are
never not spiritual There is no time when
God is not here He holds all things
together according to the counsel of his will
into my knowledge There is never a time
biblically when it's safe to take off the
armor of God the possibility of being deceived
accused and tempted It's just a continuous reality
Now if we'll accept that we'll stop polarizing
into psychotherapeutic ministries that ignore the Spiritual reality
or jump into some kind of deliverance ministry
that ignores developmental issues and human responsibilities I
don't believe either paradigm is adequate to help
our people come out of their problems and
live a whole life free in Christ Fourthly
Christians aren't subject to demonic activity I think
we've kind of naively assumed that when we
suggest to a Christian that their problem may
be spiritual Usually it follows with some kind
of disclaimer can't be I'm a Christian Well
if Christians can't have this kind of problem
Then why are we required by God to
put on the armor of God to stand
firm to be alert?
What's the necessity to take every thought captive
to the beatings of Christ?
I've often told people I said if you
think because you're Christian you're immune I think
the opposite if you're Christian your target and
frankly if you're in ministry, you're probably a
bullseye Fifthly demonic influence is only evident in
extreme or violent behavior and gross sin.
I think that's another complacency that we've fallen
back into that is totally wrong and The
reason is is that we would look at
the gathering Demonic or some extreme case or
hear some horror stories on the mission field
and come back and say yes There's some
seem to be some evidence that that is
going on and we miss the subtleness of
it What we're primarily up against is deception
most of my personal counseling is restricted to
pastors and missionaries They're wives and their children
There is that battle going on and it's
not always evident in extreme cases Most of
the people that we will talk about here
are people in ministry or living relatively normalized
externally but dying internally Struggling with nightmares and
a battle going on for their mind Sixly
freedom from spiritual bondage is the result of
power encounter with demonic forces Well, here's a
subtle thing people That's not necessarily the nature
of the battle it is far less related
to power than it is related to truth
The power for Christian lies in the truth
the power of the enemy is in the
lie He is a defeated fool you expose
the lie.
You'll break that bondage We're going to talk
about this more later on too But the
important thing to keep in mind is this
we are not to pursue power why because
you have it We are clearly told in
Ephesians chapter 1 that that our eyes would
be open To know the hope of our
calling and to know the power that's been
extended towards us who believe So we already
have that the problem is we just don't
see it If you start looking for power
when you already have it You're probably going
to look for some experience or go Somebody
to do something to you or something to
happen to you that's already happened to you
in Christ So that has led to I
think a distortion as to what really has
to happen what we're primarily up against is
deception and because of that We have failed
in our Western world to understand the nature
of the world that we're living in we
are always looking for some Natural explanation to
explain everything and yet that is not possible
biblically It's just impossible for us to understand
the world from a naturalist scientific world view
It's going to leave something out Paul Hilbert
scholar at Trinity Seminary has coined the term
the excluded middle we operate in our Western
world as though God is somehow up in
some higher territory in the heavenlies and maybe
the demonic is up there But it doesn't
impinge upon the natural world Well, that's just
not true in fact about 25% of
all the healings that took place in the
Gospels are really deliverances from demonic Influences there
was a woman who was bent over with
the spirit of infirmity for 18 years and
the answer was is that God had to
set her free and He did that and
she stood up and she was normal from
that time on Even Romans 8 talks about
the fact that the spirit gives life to
the body You cannot separate the natural from
the spiritual even as human beings We are
obviously have a physical identity, but we also
have a spiritual identity We are children of
God we're created in the image of God
and God is a spirit When we talk
about the Great Commission, we are talking about
going into all the world making disciples I
believe what we're talking about here is to
come to terms with what I call a
great omission What is evident in all four
Gospels?
John puts it in a rather interesting way.
He said it's time now for the Son
of Man to be glorified What would follow
after that what comes to your mind when
you hear a verse like that the next
verse says verily verily I Say unto you
unless a grain of wheat falls into the
ground and dies it remains alone But if
it dies it bears much fruit in the
other Gospels, you will read a statement like
this It says then Jesus said to his
disciples if anyone wishes to come after me
Let him deny himself take up his cross
and follow me for whoever wishes to save
his life Shall lose it whoever loses his
life for my sake shall find it for
what will a man be?
Profited if he gains the whole world and
forfeits his soul, or what will a man
give in exchange for his soul?
It seems so austere so demanding of God
that we're to somehow Give everything to him
and seemingly get nothing back, but nothing could
be further from the truth You're really dealing
with the whole issue of Lordship Who is
in charge there can only be one authority
in one sphere at one time?
and what he is requiring of you and
I to do is to come under his
Lordship and As we do that we will
be fully restored and recovered in Christ Before
we look at some of the dynamics of
that let's take a look at what the
real gospel is when God created Adam and
Eve they were both physically and spiritually alive
and He cautioned them do not eat of
the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil for in the day you do that
you shall Well the eight of it did
they die physically no, but they died spiritually
they were separated from God and from that
time on Everybody you and I come on
planet earth.
We are physically alive, but spiritually dead separated
from God So during those formative years of
our lives we learned how to live our
lives independent of God We had neither the
presence of God in their life nor the
knowledge of God's ways But when we come
to Christ we're transferred out of the kingdom
of darkness into the kingdom of God's beloved
Son The old things have passed away all
things have become new then you ask the
question Well, how come I don't seem to
feel any different?
And the answer is really kind of subtle
because truth of the matter is when I
become a brand new creation in Christ Nobody
pushed the clear button everything that got programmed
into my mind is still there now Realizing
we are no longer to be conformed to
this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of our mind We have to come to
terms with the fact that we were we
were dead in their trespasses and sins We
had learned to live our lives independent of
God and there is going to be a
battle going on for a mind and that's
going To include both the world the system
that I was raised in the flesh that
part of me That was developed to learn
to live my life independent of God, but
also the devil now what we want to
focus on is what Paul has to say
in Romans chapter 6 about our Tremendous position
that we have in Christ and let me
just read part of this because as we
do this keep in mind something That's just
critical to realize that when you come to
the Greek New Testament That the verbs are
very very precise you can tell when something
is past tense present tense future tense Whether
it's continuous action or a point of time
I bring that all only to point out
that your English translation is sufficient, but sometimes
not quite as obvious Well, let's just look
at this critical passage Romans chapter 6 verse
1 says what shall we say then?
Are we to continue in sin that grace
might increase may never be how should we
who died to sin still live in it?
You see that's the tough question isn't it?
How do you die to sin?
The answer is you can't this is past
tense You already have died to sin.
It was like a pastor who came to
see me one time He said he said
Neil I've been struggling for 22 years of
my Christian ministry It's just been one battle
after another he said I heard of your
ministry And I finally begin to realize what
I think my problem is I was doing
my devotions And I read Colossians 3 3
for you have died and your life is
hidden in Christ.
He said that's it isn't it?
I said yes, it is he said well
How do I do that?
Oh?
I said read it again this time just
a little bit slower for you have died
and your life is hidden in Christ For
22 years this man has desperately been trying
to become something He already is and so
have most Christians today We're suffering under the
Galatians heresy you foolish Galatians who has bewitched
you How did you come to Christ in
the first place by the works of the
law or by hearing by faith well as
Protestants?
We've got that one nail justification by grace
alone through faith But then how are you
perfected?
Well by the same way you receive Christ
by faith you walk by faith It's what
you believe that counts because you don't do
anything without first thinking it so the critical
issue is not trying to change somebody Behavior,
but try to change somebody belief and what
we're going to look at in these next
few passages is not what you can do
But what you can believe now notice what
happens It says or do you not know
that all of us who have been baptized
into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his
death How do you do that you can't
and the reason is you already have been
that's past tense for his forces Therefore we
have been buried with him through baptism into
death in order that as Christ was raised
from the dead through the glory of the
Father So we too might walk in newness
of life For if we have become united
with him in the likeness of a death
and we have we certainly have Certainly it
says we shall also be in the likeness
of his resurrection Now let me stop here
and tell you what the gospel is we
have I feel Presented only half a gospel
We have told people that Jesus is the
Messiah who came on planet earth who died
for our sins And if we will receive
him into our life when we die, we'll
get to go to heaven I said what's
wrong with that?
Well, what's wrong with that is this it
would give you the impression that eternal life
is something you get when you die Which
is not true because he who has his
son has the life What he came to
do was to give me life To lie
it to have that spiritual life is to
have my soul in union with God in
the eternal life is not something you Get
when you die on the bread of life
on the resurrection and the life Your name
is written in the last book of life,
and that's what Christ came to do Secondly,
it's only half a gospel people if there
was a dead man there and you wanted
to save him What would you do?
Well give him life.
Well, if you did that he would only
die again You'd have to first of all
cure the disease that caused him to die
and we are clearly told in Scripture that
the wages of Sin is death.
So Jesus went to the cross and he
died for our sins.
Well, thank God he did that But is
that it?
No, then he gave us life.
You'd have to do two things and that's
exactly his argument here It's great that we're
identified with his death and his burial, but
certainly also in the likeness of his life
We are alive in Christ right now, that's
why verse 6 says knowing this not something
you can do We're going to give you
something to do in a moment or so
But knowing this that our old self was
crucified with him We try and try and
put the old man to death and we
can't do it Why not because he's already
dead you cannot do for yourself But only
Christ can do for you and has done
for you and we have to do that
first What happens is we begin to reason
there's something wrong in my experience and it's
not working for me So we falsely think
that I must have some other experience or
some new thing happened to me in order
for this to be true well the only
thing that had to happen in order for
this to be true happened over about 2
,000 years ago on that cross and The
only way I can enter into that relationship
with him is by faith I do not
do the things that I do in hopes
that God may someday love me I am
loved by God.
That's why I do the things that I
do I don't labor in the vineyard and
hope that God may someday accept me I'm
accepted in the beloved and so are you
that's why I labor in the vineyard You
see the point of it is we we
falsely reason what?
Experience must I have what must I do
in order for this to be true?
You'll never get there You'll be like that
dear pastor for 22 years struggling in your
Christian faith Scripture says you take this by
faith you believe this verse 6 is Knowing
this and the only response to that is
to believe it and you walk by faith
and it will work out in your experience
Reverse the order and you'll be stuck all
your life the end of verse 6 says
That our body of sin might be done
away with that We should no longer be
slaves to sin We're going to come back
to that in a moment verse 7 says
for he who has died is freed from
sin Question have you died with Christ?
Then are you also freed from sin?
The answer better be yeah, so you have
a problem with Scripture Well, I don't feel
that way well rain on your feelings that
will never get you out of this It's
what you believe that counts and you got
to believe this first now if we have
died with Christ We believe that we shall
also live with him Knowing that Christ now
something you can do only what you can
believe Knowing that Christ haven't been raised from
the dead is never to die again death
No longer is master over him for the
death that he died He died to sin
once for all but the life that he
lives he lives to God even so Consider
yourselves to be dead to sin, but a
life to God in Christ Jesus that little
prepositional phrase in Christ Jesus in him in
the beloved is the most repetitive Prepositional phrase
in the New Testament every child of God
is considered by God a saint who occasionally
sins But we're children of God.
That's who we principally are and we're alive
in Christ because we are in him We
are in Christ.
You say well sin is still out there
and death is too.
Yes it is Let me refer to Romans
chapter 8 verses 1 & 2 There is
therefore now no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus for the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set
you free from the law sin and of
death Now is the law sin and death
still here sure it is.
It's a law.
That's why it's still here How do you
overcome a law by a law that's greater
than it for instance?
You can fly in an airplane, but you
can't do it by your own power You
turn that switch off about 20,000 feet
and you realize that the law of gravity
is still in effect Well, we're in Christ
Jesus we're seated with Christ in the heavenlies
and as long as I operate in Christ
and According to his spirit walk by the
Spirit.
I will be free from the law sin
and of death Because he's overcome that with
a power greater than it and that's the
power of Christ's resurrection and the power of
the cross Now all that sounds great, but
I still struggle in my sin.
What's wrong?
Well, that's what God has done you can
only enter into that by faith What do
we get to do verse 12?
Therefore do not let sin reign in your
mortal body that you should obey us less
careful now.
That's our responsibility How are you going to
do that?
one negative two positives verse 13 and Do
not go on presenting the members of your
body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness In
other words, don't use your body your physical
body as an instrument Don't ever allow your
body or your person to be exposed to
sin to be used for sin But it
says present yourselves to God.
Why couldn't I do that negatively because you
belong to God He'll never leave you nor
forsake you as Those alive from the dead
and your members as instruments of righteousness to
God in other words consciously present yourself to
God Now, let's put some common sense to
this if we can here.
Let's look at the big one sexual sins
First of all, first Corinthians 6 implies that
sexual sins are in the class by themselves
Every other sin is outside the body I
don't fully understand that court can explain that
other than maybe the fact that God is
the only Creator in the universe and you
and I can't create anything But he does
allow us to participate with him in one
act of creation and that's procreation And he
really soberly warns to watch over that process
very very carefully Now think about this for
a moment There is no way that you
can commit a sexual sin and not use
your body as an instrument of unrighteousness And
if you have done that What's going to
happen?
You're going to allow sin to reign in
your mortal body If I could summarize God's
plan from from Genesis to Revelation in terms
of restoring your fallen humanity I would summarize
it the way Paul did in Romans chapter
12 verses 1 and 2 I urge you
therefore brethren by the mercies of God to
present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice
acceptable to God which is your spiritual service
of worship and Do not be conformed to
this world But be transformed by the renewing
of your mind that you may prove what
the will of God is that which is
good and Acceptable and perfect now, let's look
at two issues here One issue is who
am I as a child of God and
why is it so critical to realize that
I am a child of God I'm told
to pray our Father who art in heaven
His spirit will bear witness with my spirit
that I'm a child of God and to
show you how relevant and practical Important that
is I want you to hear a letter
that was sent to me from a dear
missionary Dear, dr.
Anderson.
I am writing in response to reading victory
over the darkness I'm sure you've received many
letters at least I hope you have because
that means people like me have had their
eyes opened to God's truth We are missionaries
and have been blessed to be able to
work in the Ukraine area Even though I
have been a Christian for 21 years since
I was 12 I never understood God's forgiveness
and my spiritual inheritance.
I have been a bulimic since 1977 I
was in Bible College at the time.
I began this horrible practice and Never thought
this living hell would end I have wanted
to die and I would have killed myself
had I not thought that that was a
sin I felt God had turned his back
on me and I was doomed to hell
because I couldn't overcome this sin I hated
myself.
I felt like a failure But the Lord
led me to purchase your book and bring
it with me.
I began reading it last week I feel
like a new Christian like I've just been
born again My eyes are now open to
God's love.
I Realize I am a saint who sins
not a sinner I can finally say I
am free free of Satan's bondage and aware
now of the lies.
He has been filling me with Before I
would confess to God beg his forgiveness when
I binged and purged Yet the next time
I fell deeper into Satan's grasp because I
couldn't forgive myself and I couldn't accept God's
forgiveness.
I Always thought the answer lied in drawing
closer to God yet.
I went to him in fear confusion Acting
as a sinner who couldn't be loved No
more Through the scriptures and the way you
presented them.
I am no longer a defeated Christian.
I don't consider myself a bulimic I consider
myself a saint salt of the earth Christ's
friend a slave of righteousness Food has no
power over me.
Satan has lost his grip on me That's
exciting That's the potential for the power that
we have as children of God to overcome
that kind of sin in their life Now
the question is what happens if I have
used my body as an instrument of unrighteousness
and I think the answer lies in Romans
chapter 7 verses 15 through 25 and That
struggle that we have when we know what
we want to do We know what's right,
but for some reason can't do it and
then you have to ask the question.
Well, why not?
I'm a Christian.
I'm a child of God Listen in to
a conversation that I have with a fellow
named Dan Dan let's look at a passage
of scripture that seems to describe what you
are presently experiencing Romans chapter 7 for verse
15 reads for that which I am doing
I do not understand for I am NOT
practicing what I would like to do, but
I am doing the very thing I hate
would you say that this verse describes you?
Exactly.
I desire to do what God says is
right, but sometimes I find myself doing just
the opposite Well, you probably identify with verse
16 as well quote it says but if
I do the very thing I do not
wish to do I agree with the law
confessing that it is good Now Dan how
many personalities or players are mentioned in this
verse?
There's only one person and it's clearly I
well It's very defeating when we know what
we want to do, but for some reason
can't do it How have you tried to
resolve this in your own mind?
Well, sometimes I wonder if I'm even a
Christian It seems to work for others, but
not for me Often I wonder if the
Christian life is even possible or if God
is really here Well, if you and God
were the only players in this scenario It
would stand to reason that you would either
blame God or yourself for your predicament But
now look at verse 17 it says so
now no longer am I the one doing
it But sin which indwells me how many
players are there now Dan?
Apparently two, but I don't understand.
Well, let's read verse 18 and see if
we can make some sense out of it
It says for I know that nothing good
dwells in me That is in my flesh
for the wishing is present in me.
But the doing of the good is not
I Learned that verse a long time ago.
It has been easy to accept the fact
that I'm no good That's not what it
says Dan.
In fact, it says the opposite Whatever it
is that is dwelling in you is not
you if I had a wood splinter in
my finger It would be nothing good dwelling
in me, but the nothing good isn't me.
It's a splinter It is also important to
note that this nothing good is not even
my flesh But it is dwelling in my
flesh if we see only ourselves in this
struggle It would be hopeless to live righteously
These passages are going to great length to
tell us that there is a second party
involved in their struggle whose nature is different
from ours you see Dan when you and
I were born we were born under the
penalty of sin and we know The Satan
and his emissaries are always working to keep
us under that penalty when God saved us
Satan lost that battle But he didn't curl
up his tail or pull in his fangs.
He's not committed to keep us under the
power of sin We also know that he
is going to work through the flesh which
remained after salvation Let's read now on to
see if we can learn more about how
that battle is being waged It says for
the good that I wish I do not
do but I practice the very evil that
I do not wish But if I am
doing the very thing I do not wish
I'm no longer the one doing it But
sin which dwells in me I find then
the principle that evil is present in me
The one who wishes to do good Now
Dan, can you identify from these passages the
nature of that nothing good which dwells in
you sure?
It's clearly evil and sin But isn't it
just my own sin when I sin I
feel so guilty Well, there's no question that
you and I sin but we are not
sin as such evil is present in us
But we are not evil per se this
does not excuse us from sinning because Paul
wrote earlier that it is our Responsibility to
not let sin reign in our mortal bodies
Do you ever feel so defeated that you
just want to strike out at someone or
yourself almost every day?
Well when you cool down, do you again?
Entertain thoughts that are in line with your
identity as a Christian always and then I
feel terrible about lashing out Well verse 22
explains this cycle It says for I joyfully
concur with the law of God in the
inner man when we act out of character
with who we really are the Holy Spirit
immediately brings conviction because of our union with
God and We often take it out on
ourselves But soon a true nature expresses itself
again, and we're drawn back to God It's
like the frustrated wife who announces that she
has had it with her husband She went
out couldn't care less about the bum But
after she acknowledges her pain and expresses her
emotions, she softens and says well I really
love him and I I really don't want
to get a divorce, but I just don't
see any other way out You see damn
that's the inner person the true self being
expressed verse 23 describes the nature of this
battle with sin he said but I see
a different law in the members of my
body waging war against the law of my
mind and Making me a prisoner of the
law of sin, which is in my members
according to this passage Dan Where is the
battle being fought the battle appears to be
in the mind?
That's precisely where the battle rages now saying
can get you to think you are only
one You are the only one in the
battle you will get down on either yourself
or God when you sin Let me put
it this way if a dog came along
and bit you on the leg Would you
beat on yourself or beat on the dog
on the dog?
But in my struggle with sin nobody has
ever told me that it's the dog sin,
which is inflicting the pain Exactly, so you
beat on yourself, but I find that people
eventually get tired of beating on themselves So
they walk away from God under a cloud
of defeat and condemnation Paul expresses feeling in
verse 24 Wretched man that I am who
will set me free from the body of
this death He's not saying wicked man that
I am he's saying miserable man that I
am he is defeated because he's not free
His attempts to do to do the right
thing are met with defeat.
He wonders Is there any victory at all?
Well verse 25 gives the answers.
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our
Lord So then on the one hand I
myself with my mind and serving the law
of God But on the other with my
flesh the law of sin, I think I'm
getting the picture I've been blaming myself for
my inability to live the Christian life.
I See Paul frustrated about his failure, but
he doesn't get down on himself.
He accepts his responsibility But he doesn't blame
himself More important he expresses confidence by turning
to God because the Lord Jesus will enable
him to live above sin Well, you're on
the right track Condemning yourself won't help because
there is no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus You need to understand the
nature of the battle for your mind Then
you need to discover where you are losing
that battle in your own life by allowing
sin to reign in your body When you
discover it and deal with it, you can
find your freedom in Christ And I'd like
to say for all the listeners right now
that potential exists for every one of us.
Sure We're going to sin, but Jesus said
Even though you do sin I've written that
you don't you have an advocate Jesus Christ
the righteous Unfortunately, you have an adversary and
he is just going to try to win
that battle for your mind Get you to
believe a lie and live as though you
have no way out of this I want
you to hear a tremendous testimony that was
sent to me recently and how she really
finally won that battle for her mind Dear
Neil, I just wanted to write and thank
you for the time you spent with me
last month I guess I felt like nothing
happened at the time we prayed and that
perhaps nothing demonic was at the root of
my problems.
I Was wrong.
I have not had one self-destructive thought
or compulsion since that day I believe the
deliverance process actually began in me through the
prayers of other Christians in the months following
my suicide attempt But since I met with
you something is really different in my life,
and I feel free today I haven't cut
myself in a month and that is a
true miracle Well, thank God for that because
God is still doing that and people all
around the world today and helping them find
their freedom in Christ this poor girl was
told by Counselors that she was mentally ill
and would be all her life Not so
she got married a few months ago and
she's now working on her doctorate a delightful
child of God And we just thank God
for what she's done in her life We
were talking about the value what it really
means to be in Christ here We are
down on planet earth where the God of
this world the prince of power of the
air is roaring around like a hungry lion
Seeking for someone to devour, but are we
powerless against that?
Hardly, let me just share again.
How important it is to realize this position
that we have in Christ This is not
just positional truth that oh, it's good that
that's true And it has no practical practical
value for us Nothing could be further from
the truth nor the intention of God in
the book of Ephesians in six chapters There
are 40 references to you being in Christ
or Christ being in you Let me just
point that out because this is so rich
to realize how Christ does meet the most
critical needs of our life Listen to some
of this Ephesians chapter 1 Verse 3 says
blessed be the God and father of our
Lord Jesus Christ Who has blessed us with
every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in?
Christ Just as he chose us in him
before the foundations of the world Verse 6
goes on to say to the praise of
the glory of his grace Which he freely
bestowed on us in the beloved verse 7
says in him in Christ We have redemption
through his blood verse 9 says he may
know it to us the mystery of his
will According to his kind intention which he
purposed in him With a view to an
administration suitable to the fullness of the times
that is the summing up of all things
How will all things be summed up in
Christ things in heaven things upon the earth?
Verse 11 starts in him also We have
obtained an inheritance Verse 12 to the end
that we who were the first to hope
in Christ should be to the praise of
his glory First 13 starts out in him
in Christ you also After listening to the
message of the truth the gospel of your
salvation Haven't also believe you were sealed in
him with the Holy Spirit of promise who
is given as a pledge of our inheritance
10 verses 10 times God is trying to
tell you and I that we are in
Christ We are spiritually alive.
Our souls are in union with God right
now Now it's not that that's not true.
That is clearly told us in Scripture Our
problem is we just don't see it So
Paul prays twice in the book of Ephesians
in chapter 3 prays that our eyes will
be open That we would know the love
of God that goes beyond knowledge.
We will just never fully comprehend God's love
for us In this first chapter his prayer
sounds like this in verse 18.
I Pray that the eyes of your heart
may be enlightened so that you may know
what is the hope of his calling?
What are the riches of the glory of
his inheritance in the Saints?
It doesn't say sinners You will never see
a an epistle written to the sinners and
classy or the Ephesus or wherever is to
the Saints Every child of God is a
saint because we're in Christ Now it's not
that we don't have that rich inheritance We
just don't see it So he is praying
that our eyes would be open then verse
19 says and what is the surpassing greatness
of his power towards us?
Who believe these are in accordance with the
working of the strength of his might this
power has been conferred to you?
And I it's like Paul Exhausted the Greek
vocabulary He chose every possible word for distinct
Greek terms there to try to tell us
about the scope of this authority that we
have in Christ now, let me back off
here for a moment because you and I
have that position in Christ We're seated with
Christ in the heavenlies according to chapter 2
verses 4 and 5 We've been transferred out
of the kingdom of darkness in the kingdom
of God's beloved son to