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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Defending Your Family against Spiritual Attack

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Charles Stanley

God works powerfully through strong Christian families. But the enemy of our souls does not want to see parents and their children loving, supporting, respecting, and enjoying each other. Satan works to destroy healthy families and trap people in habitual sin. He especially targets children and young people. That’s why Christian parents needs to learn how to wage spiritual warfare on behalf of their children.

Spiritual Warfare in the Home

The enemy is constantly working to bring anxiety, frustration, compulsions, and fear into the home. When home life is miserable, kids grow up wounded and often rebellious. A family that is constantly feuding cannot minister to anyone else or actively serve the body of Christ. So if the devil can succeed in destroying a family, he can usually count on weakening the church as well.

Spiritual problems can manifest in your children as rebellion, depression, addictions, and a host of other sins. Our tendency is to address the outward symptoms of the problem, rather than the root. But these battles will not be won by common sense, worldly solutions, or harsh restrictions. Instead, we need to resist the devil’s plans with spiritual tools. Second Corinthians 10:3-4 says, “Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.”

Waging spiritual warfare includes living godly lives, discerning what is going on within our families, and praying in the power of the blood of Jesus and with the authority of the Word of God.

How you live as a parent is extremely important to the spiritual success of your kids. When parents are living righteously before the Lord, there is a hedge of protection that surrounds that family. In the spiritual realm, you offer shelter as a parent when you seek after God, are just and fair in your dealings, and lead your family in worshipping God and learning about Him. But when mom or dad is living in willful disobedience to the Lord, the children will suffer. No one can live a worldly life and expect to raise godly kids.

Maybe Satan has trapped one of your children either as a result of your sin or because of outside influences. He might have that child bound in a stronghold, which is an area of a person’s life that is spiritually weak.Because Satan can easily get a victory by attacking there, he will hit that person again and again in the vulnerable spot. He might tempt one person to feel unworthy, another to escape with alcohol, and a third to burst out in anger too easily.

The good news is that as a parent, you are in a position to see the Lord move on behalf of your child and free him or her from strongholds. First John 4:4 says, “You are of God … and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than He who is in the world.” This means the Holy Spirit, Who is in us, is greater than Satan and can lead us to spiritual victory.

How do you limit the activity of the enemy in your child’s life?

First, clean up your own life. Spend some time alone with God and confess all known sin. Come to a point of complete surrender again. If you try to fight a spiritual battle while living in outright rebellion against God—even in a private area of your life—you will fail.

Second, identify the root problem. The symptom may be your child’s rebellion against authority, drug abuse, or some other addiction. But the root of the problem might be your child’s bitterness caused by parental neglect or another issue from the past.

Third, find scriptural authority for confronting the problem. When Satan attacked Jesus, our Lord countered the enemy’s lies with Scripture. We need to do the same. For example, in dealing with a bitter child, we could use Hebrews 12:15, which says, “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.”

Fourth, pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  This means you ask the same thing He would in your place and do it by His powerful authority. Praying in the name of Jesus puts the emphasis on His supernatural power and the authority He has delegated to His followers (John 14:13-14).

Fifth, pray to your Heavenly Father rather than talking to Satan. Keep in mind that you have no power on your own to bind Satan, but are simply declaring what has already happened in the spirit realm through the cross.

Sixth, it’s not enough to restrict Satan from using the stronghold—ask God to release your child from it. Putting this all together, your prayer might be:

Heavenly Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by His precious blood, I ask You to bind Satan away from the life of my son/daughter and to remove his/her bitterness. Father, You said we are to see to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness should be allowed to spring up and cause trouble and defile many people. On the authority of Your Word, Lord Jesus Christ, and by Your blood, I want to pronounce Satan defeated—no longer able to hold my son/daughter captive to the sin of bitterness. Father, please release my son/daughter from the stronghold of bitterness. Liberate him/her from the unhealthy patterns that have him/her bound and free him/her to serve and obey You. Thank You, Father for saving and healing him/her. Amen.

Last, if you pray for a while and nothing changes, get some godly friends involved. Confess to them you need help. Admit that you have failed somewhere as a father or mother. Ask them to pray that God would reveal any area of sin in your life that you have previously been blinded to. Confess any sins this process uncovers and take any actions you need to. Then pray again in agreement with those friends that God would cause Satan to release your child from the stronghold and restore him or her to oneness with the family. Even gathering with one or two other friends greatly increases the ultimate success of your prayers (Matt.18:19-20).

You might not see results right away. What I’ve noticed is that the longer people have been bound in sin, the longer it usually takes to free them. But don’t give up. Keep walking in complete surrender to God and continue interceding for your child. The heart of the Father is turned toward your son or daughter, and He desires to bring freedom and restoration.

 

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Your Resources in Christ

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John MacArthur

“Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:10-11).

Satan opposes God and wants to prevent believers from glorifying Him. One way he does that is by convincing them that he is either so formidable they could never defeat him, or so weak they can fight him on their own strength.

Second Corinthians 10:4 says, “The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.” Human resources alone can never defeat a spiritual enemy, but divine resources can. That’s why it’s crucial to understand the resources you have in Christ that insure spiritual victory.

In Ephesians 1:3 Paul says you have received all the blessings of heaven through Christ. That includes being forgiven and redeemed (vv. 6-7), and receiving knowledge, understanding, and wisdom (vv. 17-18). Within you resides the Holy Spirit (v. 13), who strengthens you and accomplishes more than you can ask or think (3:16, 20).

Believers represent the awesome power of God in this world–the same power that raised Christ from the dead, seated Him at the right hand of the Father, and subjected all things under His feet (Eph. 1:19-22). He is the Sovereign Lord against whom no one can successfully stand. That’s why Paul exhorted us to “be strong in Him, and in the strength of His might” (Eph. 6:10, emphasis added). We find this strength by putting on the armor He has supplied: truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, the Word, and prayer. Then, no matter what direction the enemy approaches from, or how subtle his attacks may be, we’ll be able to stand firm.

Satan’s attacks are complex and subtle. His ways of working in this world are cunning and deceitful. Since it’s impossible to analyze and anticipate his every offense, focus on strengthening your defenses by understanding your spiritual resources and using them each day.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Ask God to increase your understanding of spiritual warfare.

Seek wisdom in applying your resources in the most effective ways.

When you face spiritual battles, confide in a Christian friend who will pray with you and encourage you.

For Further Study:

According to Matthew 4:1-11, how did Jesus deal with Satan’s attacks?

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Forgiving Others

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John MacArthur

“[Love] does not take into account a wrong suffered” (1 Cor. 13:5).

It is reported that when the Moravian missionaries first went to the Eskimos, they couldn’t find a word in their language for forgiveness. They had to combine a series of shorter words into one compound word: Issumagijoujungnainermik. Although the word appears formidable, its meaning is beautiful, being translated: “Not-being-able-to-think-about-it-anymore.”

You’ve probably noticed that unforgiving people usually have good memories. Some can hold a grudge for a lifetime. But love never keeps a record of wrongs committed against it. It forgives and is unable to think about them anymore.

That’s what Paul had in mind when he said that love “does not take into account a wrong suffered” (1 Cor. 13:5). The Greek word translated “take into account” was used of the entries in a bookkeeper’s ledger. Those entries helped the bookkeeper remember the nature of each financial transaction. In contrast, love never keeps a record or holds others accountable for the wrongs they’ve committed against it.

The greatest example of that kind of love is God Himself. Romans 4:8 says, “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.” Second Corinthians 5:19 adds, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them.”

Every sin we commit as believers is an offense against God, but He never charges them to our account. We are in Christ, who bore our penalty on the cross. When we sin, we are immediately forgiven.

If you love others, you’ll forgive them as God has forgiven you. Instead of holding them accountable for their offenses, you’ll look beyond their sin to their potential in Christ. You’ll heed Paul’s admonition to “be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32). That’s the character of true love.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Is there someone from whom you’ve been withholding forgiveness? If so, recognize it as sin and confess it to the Lord. Then be reconciled to that person right away.

Thank God that He doesn’t keep an account of your sins (cf. Ps. 130:3).

For Further Study:

What does Matthew 18:21-35 say about forgiving others?

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John MacArthur – Being Poor in Spirit

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“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:3).

The Puritan writer Thomas Watson listed seven ways to determine if you are poor in spirit (The Beatitudes [Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1971], pp. 45-48):

1.You will be weaned from self–Psalm 131:2 says, “Like a weaned child rests against his mother, my soul is like a weaned child within me.” When you are poor in spirit you will focus not on yourself but on glorifying God and ministering to others.

2.You will focus on Christ–Second Corinthians 3:18 says that believers are “beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, [and] are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” When you are poor in spirit, the wonder of Christ captivates you. To be like Him is your highest goal.

3.You will never complain–If you are poor in spirit you accept God’s sovereign control over your circumstances, knowing you deserve nothing anyway. Yet the greater your needs, the more abundantly He provides.

4.You will see good in others–A person who is poor in spirit recognizes his own weaknesses and appreciates the strengths of others.

5.You will spend time in prayer–It is characteristic of beggars to beg. Therefore you will constantly be in God’s presence seeking His strength and blessing.

6.You will take Christ on His terms–Those who are poor in spirit will give up anything to please Christ, whereas the proud sinner wants simply to add Christ to his sinful lifestyle.

7.You will praise and thank God–When you are poor in spirit, you will be filled with praise and thanks for the wonder of God’s grace, which He lavishes on you through Christ (Eph. 1:6).

Do those principles characterize your life? If so, you are poor in spirit and the kingdom of heaven is yours (Matt. 5:3). If not, you must seek God’s forgiveness and begin to live as His humble child.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart, revealing any attitudes or motives that displease Him. Seek His grace in changing them.

For Further Study:

Read 3 John. Would you characterize Gaius as poor in spirit? Diotrephes? Explain.