What Caused Lucifer To Fall From Heaven
Lucifer was perfect till iniquity was found in . Isaiah 14:13-14 tells us what happened in Lucifers heart when he rebelled against God:
You have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.
Lucifers heart was captivated by pride.
He decided it was no longer good enough to be an angel created in the beauty of God. Lucifer wanted to be like the Most High.
He desired Gods place in Heaven Gods position, His power, His perfection, His privilege. And when Lucifer became Satan due to this sin in his heart, he was banished from heaven . His proud heart was the reason for his fall, and the Bible tells us he did indeed fall. Here are Jesus own words:
I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven. Luke 10:18
The essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride It was through Pride that the devil became the devil. Pride leads to every other vice. It is the complete anti-God state of mind.3 ~ C. S. Lewis
What Is Spiritual Warfare A Page From My Own Life
I had always wanted to write, since I was a child.
As an adult, I decided I wanted to begin my writing ministry and I did!
I would pray every single day for my ministry and the people it reaches. I was asking for God to use me in some great way in ministry, to impact others for God.
But God took that time to show me that I had a real battle to fight that I had been ignoring. He showed me that I was allowing my anxiety to control me in every aspect of my life. I was allowing myself to ignore not only the battle, but the war!
I was seeing every incident as isolated. Every anxiety attack was being looked at as a singular struggle.
I wasnt allowing God to direct me, I was allowing my anxiety to keep me oppressed.
Anxiety had the victory over me. It kept me hidden behind a laptop instead of getting out and enjoying life. It was preventing me from living my OWN life victoriously.
We Find Our Security In The Matchless Work Of Christ
This comes through knowing and trusting in Gods holy Word, the Bible. When Jesus Himself was tempted by the devil in the wilderness, He rightly applied biblical texts to his situation. It is written, Jesus said to silence His tempter . We can do the same by wielding what Paul called, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God .
I have committed to memory several texts that speak to Christs victory of Satan as it pertains to me. For example, John says that the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world . Christ in us is greater than Satan. When I am weighed down by fear or discouragement , I often recite, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless his holy name . In so doing, I focus on God and worship Him, which is always a tonic for spiritual depression or dejection.
Pastors are shepherds who need to teach their flocks how to protect themselves against wolves, both human and demonic. By teaching their congregations on the nature of the spiritual world and how to navigate through demonic turbulence, they help equip the saints for works of service . By knowing and living in the truth, Christians can discern the ways of darkness and expose them with the light of the Gospel.
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Mothers And Sons: Being A Godly Influence
Rhonda Stoppe describes her early motherhood challenges of raising a son, which was intimidating to her. She found help through group of older women mentors. She urges moms to see their role as ministry in shaping sons to be good and godly men. Rhonda outlines several practical suggestions to moms about spiritual training, how to communicate with boys, and supporting the father-son relationship as a wife.
Study And Meditate On Ephesians : 10
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devils schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lords people.
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Jesus Combined Prayer With Fasting
Fasting can help raise your awareness of your need to depend on God. The Bible teaches that fasting can enhance your ability to hear from God as you prioritize Him above your physical needs.
Its worth noting that Jesus was fasting during His forty days in the wilderness. This was immediately before Jesus began His public ministry. The devil must have felt threatened by what Jesus was doing given the efforts He went to trying to distract Jesus from His mission. Jesus saw fasting as a weapon of spiritual warfare.
Fasting is something that needs to be undertaken wisely given the physical implications. Learn more about this aspect of spiritual warfare by exploring our Fasting Starter Kit.
Prayer tip:Look up verses in the Bible about Jesus praying and make a list of ideas that you can try yourself. Take time this week to practice one of the lessons you learn from Jesus example.
Fighting Spiritual Battles The Jesus Way
Throughout His life on earth, Jesus faced spiritual warfare in many forms. He was tested by the devil during His 40 days in the wilderness . He was provoked, falsely accused and verbally abused by people who did not like what He was saying. And its important to remember that Jesus was a man fully human so He faced all the temptations any other man would face.
But He never lost any of His spiritual battles. Even His wrongful conviction and execution on the cross, which looked like bitter defeat, were ultimately His greatest victory. So what examples does Jesus give us about using prayer in spiritual warfare?
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Loving Your Spouse Through The Seasons Of Marriage
Debra Fileta has identified the four seasons of marriage that correspond with our natural seasons spring , summer , fall , and winter . In this interview, she will help couples better understand the four seasons of healthy relationships, what to expect during each one, and how to carefully navigate them for a stronger marriage.
How To Pray: Be Raw Frank And Real With God
Your prayer needs to be authentic and heartfelt. There is no need for ten-dollar words and poetic prose. Just be raw, frank, and real with God, she said. I believe prayer works. Prayer has been more effective in my life than human solutions. Time, and time and time again, Ive seen that lasting change comes only through prayer. When I pray release it into His hands God accomplishes what I cant do in my own strength.
Priscilla believes prayer is absolutely crucial to knowing God, relating to Him and experiencing His power and grace in your everyday life.
Prayer is how we see heaven invade earth. Its what opens up the floodgates for God to come down and be involved in our everyday circumstances.
Article courtesy of HomeLife magazine.
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Appendix: Discussion Questions For Spiritual Warfare
MEN 7/52 is a menâs ministry of bible.org. Our desire is to see all men become true followers of Jesus Christ 7 days a week/52 weeks a year.
It should come as no surprise to the Christian to read here that we are engaged in a great spiritual battle. From the early chapters of the Old Testament it is apparent that Satan is the enemy of God, and that he actively seeks to oppose God, His purposes, and His people.
Ephesians 6:10-20 is perhaps the clearest definition of the spiritual war which we find from the pen of the Apostle Paul. It not only assures us that there is a spiritual war, but it warns us that apart from utilizing the weapons which God has provided for us, we are hopelessly underpowered. This passage informs us as to what our divinely weapons are. Beyond this, these weapons imply the nature of the struggle which we are in. The weapons which God has provided for us are those weapons which best repel the attacks of Satan, and thus we can learn a great deal about the nature of Satans opposition from simply considering each of the weapons at our disposal.
We are in great danger, not when the enemy is great and powerful, but when we think that we can stand in our own strength, rather than in the strength which God provides. Peter learned this lesson the hard way . Paul warns every Christian about the danger of self-confidence.
Session 1
1.Where do you see and experience spiritual warfare in your church?
2.How is it affecting your spiritual growth?
Session 2
How Do Christians Fight The Spiritual Battle
For believers, the spiritual battle starts in the mind. We take captive our thoughts to make them obedient to Christ, and we rely on the Holy Spirit to empower us and lead us to the good deeds that God has planned for us to do. Its that simple! Simple doesnt mean safe or easy. Missionaries are compelled by the Spirit to start underground churches in nations hostile to Christ. Children are led to attend church and study the Bible against their parents wishes. It is Gods will for every human being to hear the gospel, which means that you and I must overcome many challenging circumstances to make that happen.
For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
-2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIV Full Chapter
More Bible verses about spiritual warfare: Ephesians 6:10-20, James 4:7-10, Psalm 91, 1 Peter 5:6-11, Luke 10:1-20, Colossians 2:8-15, 1 Timothy 6:11-12, 1 Corinthians 16:13-14, 2 Timothy 2:1-7, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Romans 12:9-21, Psalm 44:5
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Craving And Praying For Spiritual Vision
We also have a need for spiritual vision for an understanding of who we are in Christ, and all that entails. Priscilla reminds us that God has provided us with everything we need to win the spiritual battles we face, emphasizing that we need to know that, believe it, and act upon it. And it’s through prayer that we recognize and wield the weapons of our spiritual warfare described in Ephesians 6.
“The spiritual armor in Ephesians 6:10-20 is merely a repeat, a different way of describing what Paul had already been explaining in the rest of his letter. Because how could the readers put on’ or take up’ armor that they didn’t understand or even know they had? The first step for them the first step for us in utilizing the spiritual resources we’ve been given is to have our spiritual eyes opened so that we can see them,” she said.
To that end, Priscilla urges us to pray for more spiritual vision. She says we should ask the Lord to open our eyes to see the enemy’s activity and to be more aware of the spiritual resources He has given us to disarm and defeat him. Victory is available to us, but it will only come as we pray for God’s help in the battle.
We’re in a spiritual war that can only be won with spiritual resources, but we’ve got to know we have these spiritual resources at our disposal, and we’ve got to use them. Prayer is crucial for both.
Identifying Triggers In Your Marriage Part 1
They were both convinced they had married the wrong person. From almost the very beginning of their marriage, Amber and Guy Lia experienced various tensions and personality clashes related to house cleaning, backseat driving, workaholism, and intimacy. In this two-day Focus on the Family broadcast, Amber and Guy discuss how they bravely faced the triggers head-on, and committed to working on their own relationships with Jesus. As you listen to the Lias story, youll feel hope that you, too, can see real marriage transformation!
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Other Places The Bible Talks About Armor
Two other places in Scripture are especially useful in preparing for spiritual warfare. The first is Romans 13:11-14:
And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Paul writes of the “armor of light,” a metaphor about living an honest and honorable life. Paul suggests that hiding or keeping secret your sinful thoughts or behavior is like choosing to live in the dark.
Putting on the “armor of light” means being honest about the temptations you face and transparent with trusted friends about where you need God’s help. Living this way is worth it because the result is intimacy with Christ and readiness for spiritual warfare.
The second place in Scripture we have already mentioned above in relation to the Helmet of salvation, but we want to look at it again from a different perspective. It is 1 Thessalonians 5:8:
But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
Why Do We Need To Renew Our Minds
We must renew our minds because our current mind is problem-focused as opposed to your renewed mind which is always solution focused.
All you need are the missing pieces of the puzzle and you will have the tools to complete the breakthrough transformation you so passionately have asked God for.Spiritual Warfare Mindset is a biblical principle. Romans 12:2 says, “Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
The transformation that you desire in your life can only take place when you change how you think about it and from that place of renewed thinking-take faith driven action.This mindset book will transform you from the inside out. You can makeover your life by renewing your Spiritual growth mindset.
In fact, renewing your mind is the key to your success now and forever. A faithful fixed mindset is the Substance of Your transformation and ultimately your victory.
Establish a fixed mindset built on the foundation of the Gospel of Christ. Renewing your mind will give you access to spiritual steps to take in order to overcome your toughest obstacles and life struggles.
Remember, the book above is about Christian spiritual warfare . Of course, given it’s genre, it is heavily reliant on bible scripture and the warfare principles are biblical. I say that to say, some people may see that as too religious, so in that case, it may not be a good book to try.
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Weapons Of Our Warfare
How to Break Free, Spiritual Warfare
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.
The apostle Paul here states that we are engaged in a warfare, and that we have weapons with which we must fight. As Paul states in Ephesians 6:12, our fight is not with flesh and blood, with people, but with the host of demons that work to defile, destroy, harass, tempt and enslave mankind. Part of the good news in Christ is that now, not only can we resist the devils influence in our own lives, but we can destroy his influence in the lives of others. God has given us mighty weapons to counter satanic influence and activity. But in order to be effective in our warfare, we must know what these weapons are, and how to use them effectively.
Paul in this passage doesnt state what the weapons of our warfare are, but he does state what they do. They pull down strongholds. They cast down arguments which come from Satan. They cast down every proud and high thing that seeks to stop us and others from knowing God. They bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. They also give us power to punish disobedience when we are obeying God . Each of these results in worth considering in detail.
What are the Weapons of Our Warfare?
First Weapon PRAISE
Praise Silences the Enemy