Tag Archives: spiritual blindness

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Jesus: Our Seeking Savior

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Read | Revelation 3:14-22

The Christians at Laodicea pictured themselves as rich and self-sufficient, when in reality, their spiritual blindness and self-righteousness had prevented them from recognizing their true poverty. Though they had closed a door between themselves and Jesus, He never gave up on them. Can you relate to this idea of a loving Savior reaching out to you?

Revelation 3:20 shows that Jesus . . .

  • Stands at the door—The Lord takes the initiative. He’s ready and willing to seek us, even when we’ve erected a barrier.
  • Knocks at the door—He tries to get our attention through a variety of means, including circumstances, pain, trials, conviction, sleeplessness, and/or His Word. Then He patiently awaits our response.
  • Invites us to open the door—Though Christ is omnipotent, He never pushes His way into a relationship with us. He lets us respond.
  • Enters through the door—If we open up to Him, He will come into our lives. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, we’ll actually partake of Christ’s divine nature and be transformed into His image.
  • Dines with us indoors—Now that nothing stands between us and Jesus, we can begin to enjoy all the benefits of an intimate relationship with Him and be nourished by His Word.

Where are you in this process? Have you built a barrier between yourself and the Lord? The Laodiceans show us how miserable we are when we try to keep Jesus at arm’s length. Only when we let Him have unhindered access to our lives will we experience the joy of intimacy with Him.

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Identifying the Real Enemy

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John MacArthur

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).

Sometimes in the heat of battle we might lose perspective on who the real enemy is. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us that our struggle isn’t against sinful people, but against the evil system and the supernatural forces that influence their attitudes and actions.

In his assault on the kingdom of God, Satan has assembled a highly organized army of fallen angels. Paul categorized them as “rulers . . . powers . . . world forces of this darkness . . . spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).

That isn’t a detailed description of Satan’s hierarchy but simply a general indication of its power and sophistication. Apparently “rulers” and “powers” are high- ranking demons. “World forces of this darkness” are possibly demons who infiltrate various political systems of the world, attempting to direct human leaders to oppose God’s plans. An example is a demon called “the prince of the kingdom of Persia” in Daniel 10:13. He withstood God’s angelic messenger to Daniel until Michael the archangel came to the rescue.

“Spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” perhaps refers to demons involved in the most vile and perverted kinds of sins: gross immorality, occultic practices, Satan worship, and the like.

Those who reject Christ and God are unwitting prisoners of war–captured and mobilized by the enemy to accomplish his purposes. Tragically, when he’s finished with them he’ll abandon them to an eternal hell.

You probably know unbelievers who enjoy ridiculing your faith and making life difficult for you. Although that is hard to take, be patient and don’t become embittered toward them. Ask God to make you an instrument of His love as you reach out to them. Also pray that God will remove their spiritual blindness so they can see beyond Satan’s lies and recognize their need for a Savior.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Praise God for delivering you from the domain of darkness and transferring you into the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col. 1:13).

Ask Him to use you today to break through Satan’s deception in someone’s life.

For Further Study:

Read 2 Corinthians 4:3-7, noting why people reject the gospel.