Ii Timothy 1:7
“For God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of a sound mind.” The ESV uses the word self-control for the words “sound mind” found in the NKJV.
War: “A period of armed fighting between groups, a period of hostile relations between countries, states or factions that leads to fighting between armed forces, especially in land, air or sea battles.” Synonyms: conflict, hostilities, combat, warfare, confrontation. Bing Dictionary
Have you ever been in an armed conflict naturally? Some of you may have. But, we all are in a spiritual battle every day. Enemy forces are lined up and ready to fight against us…and they don’t fight fair. Their goal is utter destruction. The enemy wants us on his side so he can eventually kill us and then drag us to Hell. Why is he so desirous of doing this? Satan is hate personified. His vendetta is against God, but because he cannot touch God, he touches what God loves most…mankind. Eventually Satan will sit in the rebuilt temple in Israel and declare that he is God, but, the story does not end there. God wins.
Warfare has been going on ever since Lucifer, light bringer, was thrown out of Heaven. He declared war on God and it got him thrown out; he is determined to take dominion, to be as God, to “exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north.” (Isaiah 14:13 KJV) Lucifer lost his status in Heaven when he sinned against God, and he won over to his side one third of the angels. Since then he has worked hard to get back at God for his humiliation. He realized early on that he could do that by winning the man Adam over to his side, because Adam was God’s prized creation, created in the image and likeness of God.
The battle for the souls of men began in Eden, the garden of God. Adam and his wife were a means to an end. The power hungry adversary of God won the first battle, he got dominion of the earth realm. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, it was the same temptations that Adam faced. Only, “the second Adam”, Jesus, did not yield to his lies. Later Paul, the Apostle, called Satan “the god of this world”. (system) (II Corinthians 4:4)
God gave dominion of earth to Adam. Adam was male and female until God took a rib out of Adam and made a woman to be his wife. Genesis 3:1-7 is the story of the temptation and fall of man-kind, it is also the story of the method that Lucifer, now become Satan,[adversary] used to deceive: lies and half-truths. Adam and his wife were infected with the sins of Lucifer, the lust of the eye, the lust of flesh and the pride of life, when they committed treason against God. By agreeing with God’s adversary they became like him, dominion over the world system was transferred to Satan.
Most people do not know that life is an armed conflict, that, in fact, it is all about which side you are on when the dust settles that will determine your final destiny. There are battles for territory, there are battles for the right to rule and there are battles for the lives of men. All of that takes place to win man-kind to one side or the other. The thing you need to know is that the end was determined before the beginning. God wins. It is written in The Book. Life is about choosing sides, We make decisions every day, but this is the make or break decision. Choose wisely.
I trust that you begin to see that life is not just a walk in the park, it is conflict 24×7, you have an adversary who will tempt you, try you, torment you and cause you as much trouble as you will allow. That being the case, it would be smart to be armed and ready when your eyes open in the morning and it would also be wise, the last thing before you close your eyes at night, to commit your care to the God who loves you. Many times the enemy attacks in the night.
I am addressing believers in Jesus; if you have not received Him as your Savior and Lord you are on the wrong side, you must turn away from the sin of Adam and be born of the Spirit of God, then you will be transferred into the Kingdom of God. In order to qualify for all of the promises and blessings of the Kingdom, you must be born from above. Jesus is a King and His Kingdom is near. Jesus is the door and He is ready to receive “whosoever” will come.
Conflict is common to man. Relationships are the number one target of the enemy, and the one that he hates the most is the marriage relationship. He hates family! Why because God is a Father, He has children. Jesus taught His disciples to pray: “Our Father who art in Heaven”. Matthew 6:9
I have experienced a sustained battle for several weeks. It has taken varied forms throughout this time, but it was only this morning that the air cleared and Holy Spirit spoke to me about what has been happening. How wonderful to finally see!
When I read II Timothy 1:7 this morning, I saw the word “power”. In my previous post, called “Warfare”, I shared the battle for my electronic tools. Everything connected to media of any sort was attacked, in other words, my “power” grid was attacked. For the last two days I have experienced an attack that I have not had for many years. It was about “love” and “a sound mind”. I did not, could not see what was going on. When an attack of deception is underway you cannot see, your soul is ruling over your spirit. “I feel, I think, I hear, I see etc, all senses are distorted. Much misery, wretchedness and copious tears were shed. I sought the Lord through music, through the Word, through prayer and got no respite. I simply could not see the light, I felt so hopeless. I lost my anchor, or so I thought.
Here is how it started: Accusation of another person. The word devil means accuser, one who “accuses the brethren”. He will accuse someone to you, showing you someone’s fault or flaw and how that affects you. He will use the tactic of truth, half-truth or outright lie, depending on how far he has been able to wear you out or wear you down. It may begin as truth and end up with a lie. We might say for instance, “You have no idea how you have hurt me.” When we feel hurt, it means that we have taken offense at something or someone. We are told not to take offense and the reason is that it opens the door for the enemy to bring accusation and all the rest of his “nasty” spirits.
If you accept the accusation against someone, condemnation of that person follows. It will not be long before you are estranged from them. How many times do we hear/think about, meditate on, something that someone did to us or did not do for us, etc.? One thing we need to keep in mind is, that the adversary will do his best to keep you from communicating with the party who offended you and if he can’t get you to agree, he will help you to see that you are right and the other person is wrong, so you can incessantly hammer them to repent of their wrong-doing or insist that they change. If they don’t comply, the next step is to threaten them with consequences. At this point many couples divorce, many friends part company, and children run away from home. I think it needs to be said that you can be so right that you are wrong.
Of course, there are situations where a relationship is toxic and you cannot continue to be in it for your own mental or physical health. But, that is not what I am talking about here.
Fear is very real. It is a huge weapon in the enemy’s arsenal. With it a person can be manipulated to do anything. This is why God speaks over and over in Scripture, “Do not fear!” It is also written, “Fear has torment.” ( I John 4:18) Our verse in II Timothy specifically says that fear does not come from God. Yet so many of us fear so many things.
Fear is the opposite of trust. Again, God tells us over and over to trust Him. Why should we trust Him? Because He is faithful. He can be depended upon. At my lowest point I cried out to Him that there were times when I needed Him and He was not there. He very gently reminded me of the many times when He was there for me and helped me up and out of the “pit of despair” or the “slough of despond”. He is faithful! II Timothy 1:7 opened my eyes to what happened to me, and how I had gotten in this sorry state. Thank God for the Bible! It has been my lifeline times without number. And, thank God for His Spirit who lives in me and reveals truth to me.
Be encouraged today dear friend. God has given you power to be an overcomer. God has given you His very own love and compassion to fill you. God has given you a sound mind, a mind that can be brought under control, not allowing it to be a garbage dump for the enemy. Let us run off the spirit of fear and the spirit of offense in Jesus name and let us receive the Holy Spirit of God. Amen!
The Blessing of the Lord be upon you, I bless you in the name of the Lord.,
Joy
Watchman 