- Mar 5, 2024
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Staying Alert In The Spiritual War, And Ever Ready To Withstand Attacks
One of Satan's goals is to try and lure us into hatred and resentment. To this end he uses demonic spirits to incite the unsaved and even Christians to attack us, hoping to seduce us into a spirit bitterness; one which if harbored will quench the Spirit of Love, Joy and Peace within us. This is one of the reasons we are commanded by God to walk in forgiveness and long-suffering, especially towards our brethren in Christ. By training ourselves to reject such spirits we become stronger in the spiritual war, and capable at defeating the enemy's plans at every turn.
8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For “He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. 11 Let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous. And His ears are open to their prayers. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. (1 Peter 3:8-17)
"If he would love life and see good days" meant, "If you do not wish to potentially see great sufferings or even die at the hands of persecutors, train yourselves to refrain your tongue from speaking evil when evils are committed against you." Many were suffering and dying at the hands of Christ's enemies during New Testament times. Should they be seduced by demonic spirits into slandering or even cursing their persecutors put of spite, they in effect provided justification for the wicked treatment they received.
Peter was here writing primarily to Jewish Christians, but the apostle Paul wrote similar things to the Gentiles, attesting that stiff-necked Jews sometimes had "the poison of snakes" under their tongues, a reference to giving into the influence of demonic spirits:
As it has been written, there is no one who is righteous, not even one... there is no one practicing kindness. Their throat is an opened grave, and with their tongues they practice deceit. The poison of snakes is under their lips, by which their mouth is filled of bitterness and cursing. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Ruin and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace they did not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:10-18)
James said the same thing. Bitter and sweet water could both come from the mouths of Jewish believers if they they did not subjugate their tongues, and keep the "death-dealing poison" from pouring into others:
Every species of beasts, both of birds and of reptiles and of creatures of the sea, is being subdued and has been subdued by the human species. But no one among men is able to subdue the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of death-dealing poison. By this we bless our Lord and Father, and by this we curse men who have been made after the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth goes forth blessing and cursing. (James 3:7-10) *** add a few verses more, where the word "demonic" is used.
When believers allowed demons to use them and speak through them, it would cause bitterness to spread through congregations. Giving into such evil spirits was the opposite of holiness, for it constituted what the writer of Hebrews called becoming spiritually "defiled."
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: watching carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled (Hebrews 12:14-16)
So the command here was to remain ready to give a courteous answer to anyone asking why we believed, and ready also to return blessings for curses to those who reviled us, that the mouths of our accusers might be stopped when they finally realized the truth.
Physical & Emotional Affliction
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:10-12)
Persecution and affliction can take many forms, both physical and emotional. In the above passage Jesus was referencing both. The pains of physical affliction were implied in the persecution they would suffer, but emotional affliction was also implied in their potentially "saying all manner of evil against you falsely." In other words, they would outright lie, and make up the wicked things to say about believers to try and put them to shame publicly and disgrace them, as a means of justifying beating them or torturing them.
The same thing happens on many Christian forums today. Believers get into heated debate over doctrine, and speak all manner of evil against one another, afflicting each other emotionally. I am no stranger to this, so I can personally testify to how unpleasant it can be. I recently logged onto a Christian forum I had not frequented in several years to maybe get reacquainted with some old friends. There was one brother who I had often been at odds with because he didn't believe in the gifts were still for today, and always downplayed things when I spoke of it. Purportedly there was never enough "real proof." Yet he seemed cordial enough, so I was sincerely hoping maybe he and I might make a new start, and greeted him warmly.
A few days later I posted a dream on behalf of a friend which suggested potential bombing incidents associated with the election might take place. Yet before the ink had barely dried on it, this same brother appeared and began commenting - not to me directly but to others - that such "prophecies" were simply crude sensationalism and nothing more; that it was merely an attempt on people's part to draw attention to themselves. I told him he ought to be ashamed of making accusations like that, to which he replied that it was not mine to judge.
Well, the following day revealed that it was not just sensationalism but that the dream had been from God, and that numerous bombing threats had been made at dozens of polling stations in the battleground States. There was now a temptation to ask my "friend" if it was just sensationalism now, but I refrained. It was not without a struggle, however, because it was admittedly two days of wanting to address what I regarded as hypocrisy and cowardice on his part for posting that stuff yet not being willing to say it directly to my face. This song rang in my ears for a few days in the aftermath, because his insults had stirred up a hornet's nest I was having a tough time dealing with.
Intro:
Walking around I hear the Earth seeking relief
I'm trying to find a reason to live
But the mindless clutter my path
Oh these thorns in my side
Oh these thorns in my side
I know I have something free
I have something so alive
I think they shoot 'cause they want it
I think they shoot 'cause they want it
I think they shoot 'cause they want it
Song:
I feel forces all around me
Come on raise your head
Those who hide behind the shadows
Live with all that's dead
Look at me, look at me,
Look at me, At least look at me when you shoot a bullet
Through my head, through my head, through my head
In my lifetime when I'm disgraced
Jealousy and lies
I laugh aloud 'cause my life
Has gotten inside someone else's mind
Look at me, look at me,
Look at me, At least look at me when you shoot a bullet
Through my head, through my head, through my head
Hey all I want is what's real
Something I touch and can feel
I'll hold it close and never let it go
Said why, why do we live life
With all this hate inside
I'll give it away 'cause I don't want it no more
Please help me find a place
Somewhere far away
Yes, I'll go and you'll never see me again
Look at me, Look at me
At least look at me when you shoot a bullet
Through my head, through my head, through my head
Look at me, Look at me
At least look at me when you shoot a bullet
Through my head, through my head, through my head
Look at me
Look at me
One of Satan's goals is to try and lure us into hatred and resentment. To this end he uses demonic spirits to incite the unsaved and even Christians to attack us, hoping to seduce us into a spirit bitterness; one which if harbored will quench the Spirit of Love, Joy and Peace within us. This is one of the reasons we are commanded by God to walk in forgiveness and long-suffering, especially towards our brethren in Christ. By training ourselves to reject such spirits we become stronger in the spiritual war, and capable at defeating the enemy's plans at every turn.
8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For “He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. 11 Let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous. And His ears are open to their prayers. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. (1 Peter 3:8-17)
"If he would love life and see good days" meant, "If you do not wish to potentially see great sufferings or even die at the hands of persecutors, train yourselves to refrain your tongue from speaking evil when evils are committed against you." Many were suffering and dying at the hands of Christ's enemies during New Testament times. Should they be seduced by demonic spirits into slandering or even cursing their persecutors put of spite, they in effect provided justification for the wicked treatment they received.
Peter was here writing primarily to Jewish Christians, but the apostle Paul wrote similar things to the Gentiles, attesting that stiff-necked Jews sometimes had "the poison of snakes" under their tongues, a reference to giving into the influence of demonic spirits:
As it has been written, there is no one who is righteous, not even one... there is no one practicing kindness. Their throat is an opened grave, and with their tongues they practice deceit. The poison of snakes is under their lips, by which their mouth is filled of bitterness and cursing. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Ruin and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace they did not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Romans 3:10-18)
James said the same thing. Bitter and sweet water could both come from the mouths of Jewish believers if they they did not subjugate their tongues, and keep the "death-dealing poison" from pouring into others:
Every species of beasts, both of birds and of reptiles and of creatures of the sea, is being subdued and has been subdued by the human species. But no one among men is able to subdue the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of death-dealing poison. By this we bless our Lord and Father, and by this we curse men who have been made after the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth goes forth blessing and cursing. (James 3:7-10) *** add a few verses more, where the word "demonic" is used.
When believers allowed demons to use them and speak through them, it would cause bitterness to spread through congregations. Giving into such evil spirits was the opposite of holiness, for it constituted what the writer of Hebrews called becoming spiritually "defiled."
Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: watching carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled (Hebrews 12:14-16)
So the command here was to remain ready to give a courteous answer to anyone asking why we believed, and ready also to return blessings for curses to those who reviled us, that the mouths of our accusers might be stopped when they finally realized the truth.
Physical & Emotional Affliction
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:10-12)
Persecution and affliction can take many forms, both physical and emotional. In the above passage Jesus was referencing both. The pains of physical affliction were implied in the persecution they would suffer, but emotional affliction was also implied in their potentially "saying all manner of evil against you falsely." In other words, they would outright lie, and make up the wicked things to say about believers to try and put them to shame publicly and disgrace them, as a means of justifying beating them or torturing them.
The same thing happens on many Christian forums today. Believers get into heated debate over doctrine, and speak all manner of evil against one another, afflicting each other emotionally. I am no stranger to this, so I can personally testify to how unpleasant it can be. I recently logged onto a Christian forum I had not frequented in several years to maybe get reacquainted with some old friends. There was one brother who I had often been at odds with because he didn't believe in the gifts were still for today, and always downplayed things when I spoke of it. Purportedly there was never enough "real proof." Yet he seemed cordial enough, so I was sincerely hoping maybe he and I might make a new start, and greeted him warmly.
A few days later I posted a dream on behalf of a friend which suggested potential bombing incidents associated with the election might take place. Yet before the ink had barely dried on it, this same brother appeared and began commenting - not to me directly but to others - that such "prophecies" were simply crude sensationalism and nothing more; that it was merely an attempt on people's part to draw attention to themselves. I told him he ought to be ashamed of making accusations like that, to which he replied that it was not mine to judge.
Well, the following day revealed that it was not just sensationalism but that the dream had been from God, and that numerous bombing threats had been made at dozens of polling stations in the battleground States. There was now a temptation to ask my "friend" if it was just sensationalism now, but I refrained. It was not without a struggle, however, because it was admittedly two days of wanting to address what I regarded as hypocrisy and cowardice on his part for posting that stuff yet not being willing to say it directly to my face. This song rang in my ears for a few days in the aftermath, because his insults had stirred up a hornet's nest I was having a tough time dealing with.
Intro:
Walking around I hear the Earth seeking relief
I'm trying to find a reason to live
But the mindless clutter my path
Oh these thorns in my side
Oh these thorns in my side
I know I have something free
I have something so alive
I think they shoot 'cause they want it
I think they shoot 'cause they want it
I think they shoot 'cause they want it
Song:
I feel forces all around me
Come on raise your head
Those who hide behind the shadows
Live with all that's dead
Look at me, look at me,
Look at me, At least look at me when you shoot a bullet
Through my head, through my head, through my head
In my lifetime when I'm disgraced
Jealousy and lies
I laugh aloud 'cause my life
Has gotten inside someone else's mind
Look at me, look at me,
Look at me, At least look at me when you shoot a bullet
Through my head, through my head, through my head
Hey all I want is what's real
Something I touch and can feel
I'll hold it close and never let it go
Said why, why do we live life
With all this hate inside
I'll give it away 'cause I don't want it no more
Please help me find a place
Somewhere far away
Yes, I'll go and you'll never see me again
Look at me, Look at me
At least look at me when you shoot a bullet
Through my head, through my head, through my head
Look at me, Look at me
At least look at me when you shoot a bullet
Through my head, through my head, through my head
Look at me
Look at me
