WHAT ARE THE BATTLEFRONTS?

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Before identifying the three battlefronts, I want to give a little background to the great warfare from the beginning. You see, from the very beginning of creation there has been a great controversy between good and evil-God and the Evil One. There are three quick observations about this controversy that I want to mention: (1) All of life is a stage upon which the great controversy unfolds. (2) We are the players on the stage who act it out. (3) There is a watching world, therefore it matters how we play it out.

With these observations in mind you can understand more clearly the three purposes God set forth for mankind-male and female. They are found in Genesis 1:26-31. FIRST-To reflect the image of God to the world. Somehow the relationship between man and woman reflect God's image-wholeness and all that is good. SECOND-To reproduce godly children and fill the earth with them. And THIRD-To reign together over the earth-to guard and protect the garden. They were to guard and protect the garden from the enemy of God who was already there-the devil. Tomorrow we will unpack how the devil approached Adam and Eve and what temptations he launched at them.

Without going into those specific temptations, let's list out the general attacks the devil and his demons instigate against men and women today at each of the battlefronts. Although the list is not all conclusive, it is indicative of the kinds of things the Evil One uses. One of his main aggressions is to discourage you in every way possible. Whatever and whomever becomes a discouragement to you can be a major tool of the Evil One. It's important to understand that discouragement may not be caused by the devil and his demons, but they will always vote for it every time. Another aggression is to distract you away from God and what He wants for you. Distraction is a very subtle, but effective tool. And then one of the devil's best weapons in his arsenal is depression. I have found this to always be associated with the Evil One. Watch for these and know they are all part of the spiritual warfare to thwart God's work in your life and your work for God.

The spiritual warfare is really a battle for your soul. Using the tools I just listed out the devil and his demons throw everything at you in the activity of demonization-harassment, influence and control. This battle for your soul is fought on three strategic battlefronts-the world, the flesh and the devil.

All three battlefronts can be found in one passage. In Ephesians 2:1-3 Paul says: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world (Battlefront #1-the WORLD), according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience (Battlefront #2-the DEVIL). Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest (Battlefront #3-the FLESH).

Let's briefly walk through each one. FIRST-The world is the world-system with all its man-made principles, distractions, traps and temptations. The world-system is a powerful magnet that is constantly getting your attention and pulling you away from Jesus and His Kingdom principles.

The SECOND battlefront I want to present is the flesh. This refers to your own inner human nature that is flawed and contains a powerful inner magnet that is also pulling you away from obeying and following Jesus and His Kingdom principles.

The THIRD battlefront is the DEVIL and his demons. In addition to being pulled every which way by the outer magnet of the world and the inner magnet of the flesh, there is the activity of the devil and his demons who are continually trying to trick you and trip you up, so that you will not follow after Jesus and His Kingdom.

Wow, when you take in all three battlefronts of the world, the flesh and the devil, you could come to the conclusion that you don't have a chance. And, in a very real sense, you don't-ALONE.

It all comes down to a choice-your choice. You can choose to live your life in obedience to Jesus or you can choose to live your life without Him. Choose to relate to Jesus and He is always just a prayer away. This is why we keep urging you toward practicing three habits: 1. Keep on walking with Jesus! 2. Keep on walking with others who are walking with Jesus! 3. Keep on waiting for Jesus to give you His orders and His opportunities!

By the way, choose to live without Jesus and you don't have a prayer!

WHAT CAN THE DEVIL DO TO YOU?

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Over the next few days I want to examine more specifically the real war-the spiritual warfare-that is going on all around us. This warfare is the most dangerous and lethal of all, even more so than the war against terrorism. This is the ultimate war of wars-the war between good and evil-between the Creator-God and the Evil One.

Confusion reigns when it comes to understanding this kind of war. There are usually two extremes in spiritual warfare: (1) Ignore it and it will go away and (2) when in doubt, cast it out. The problem with the first extreme is that the spiritual warfare doesn't depend on whether or not you believe it or know anything about it. There is an enemy of God out there who is also your enemy and he is out to destroy you in whatever ways he can. So, ignoring the reality of the spiritual warfare will prove to be certain destruction for you, even though you choose to be ignorant about it. The second extreme of "when in doubt, cast it out" will most certainly drive you crazy. If you believe everything bad or scary is caused by the devil, you will develop a real good case of paranoia and phobias. The devil doesn't cause everything that is bad or scary in your life. You are perfectly able to screw up your life without the devil's assistance.

Now when you read the life and teachings of Jesus, you will clearly notice the existence of the devil and his demons. But in the many stories in the Gospels that record the activities of the devil and his demons, there is an inaccuracy in the translation and therefore the description of what the devil and his demons can do to people has been greatly distorted. The term that is normally translated "demon-possessed" is taken from the Greek word, "daimonizomai." "Demon-possessed" is an unfortunate translation. It seems better to translate it as to be "demonized"-to be affected by a demon. In other words, the devil or his demons, do not own a person, but may affect a person dramatically.

Since my first book had to do with the spiritual warfare, I have had the same question posed to me over and over. "Can a Christian be demon-possessed?" The answer is "A Christian or genuine follower of Jesus cannot be owned by a demon or the devil." However, a Christian or follower of Jesus can be DEMONIZED, but not possessed.

There are three levels of demonization illustrated in the five Gospels-Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts. FIRST-HARASSMENT. Harassment can be illustrated in several ways. When Jesus was about to teach or perform some miracle, He was constantly harassed by the demonic world. In the warfare passage of Ephesians 6, this harassment is imaged as the "fiery darts of the Evil One." And in II Corinthians 10:3-5: 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. The image here is the attack of thoughts thrown into your mind and these attacks must be handled by taking every thought to the captive obedience of Jesus.

One of the common methods of the Evil One is to shoot thoughts into your mind that may be the most awful and vile thoughts ever and then accuse you for having such thoughts. These are the "flaming arrows" Paul refers to in Ephesians 6: In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

SECOND-INFLUENCE. If you are bothered by the harassment and affected by it, you are vulnerable to be influenced by the Evil One. This is best illustrated in the life of Peter. In one scene Peter is influenced to try to stop Jesus from doing life His way by going to the cross. Peter was influenced to stop Him and Jesus recognizes this as a move of the Devil to use Peter to thwart the purpose of God. This is when Jesus looked to Peter and said: "Get behind me, Satan!" In another scene Jesus approaches Peter and says: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

Here Jesus warns Peter that Satan's purpose is to "sift" Peter-influence him. Jesus quickly says, "I'll pray for you that your faith will not totally eclipse, but that you will be turned back and strengthen your brothers through your experience."

THIRD-CONTROL. If you allow the harassment to bother you and cooperate with the attempts to influence your decisions or actions, then you are set up for the ultimate form of demonization-control. This is an interesting position to be in. We have an illustration of this level, where a follower of Jesus with the Holy Spirit living in him, is actually controlled by the devil. It is in Acts 5 where Peter says: "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?" The word translated "filled" is the word that means "to be controlled." Here you have a believer in Jesus with the indwelling Spirit of God who has come to the point through lying to the church leadership that Satan is controlling his heart.

No matter which level you find yourself, the same answer works for all. Although we will spell out what to do more specifically later, let it suffice to say that when you are demonized at any level, you desperately need to submit and surrender your will and life to Jesus.

So, what can the devil do to you? He can harass you will a barrage of thoughts and negative circumstances, influence your decisions and even get you to the point of being under the controlling hand of the devil and his demons.

To be possessed by the devil is hopeless; to be demonized still holds out hope to be yours through the touch of Jesus. John sums up this hope in I John 4:4: You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. His name is Jesus.

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CANNOT BE STOPPED

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Although big C Churches may come and go, the church of Jesus-the gathering of His followers that He builds-will continue and thrive. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, "I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it."

The "gates of Hades" means death, specifically the coming death of Jesus will not prevent the church of Jesus from growing and thriving. The church of Jesus is built by Jesus and based on Jesus, the master of the followers who gather in His name. Jesus holds His movement together and will perpetuate it throughout the nations of the world. He is building His church and our responsibility is to be His church-His gathering-His movement.

What's interesting to me here is that the active agent is not the gates of Hades. It's not that the "gates of Hades" is the attacker of the church that Jesus builds. The active agent here is the church of Jesus-the Jesus movement itself-is so active and powerful that not even the gates of Hades-the power of death-can successfully withstand its penetration of light into the darkness.

This kind of power is not political power to legislate morality and righteousness. It's not a mega organization of any kind. Jesus is the only one who can activate this kind of power. He is the one who is able to empower His followers as they gather together in His name-Jesus. Note it's not the power of the membership of followers; it's the power of Jesus living and moving in and through His faithful followers.

The Jesus movement may appear small-just a few gathered together, but it's within the power of the few that the church of Jesus finds its greatest growth. Jesus taught this when He was describing what the Kingdom is to look like. Matthew records this teaching in the 13th chapter, He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." So, it looks small, yet the Kingdom-the Jesus movement-the church of Jesus-will experience incredible growth. It can't be stopped!

Jesus goes on to say in this same setting, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened." Here Jesus uses the illustration of a woman who puts a little yeast into about 60 pounds of dough and it permeates throughout the entire dough. No matter what you do, you cannot reverse this process. You cannot remove the yeast, once it is introduced into the dough. What He is teaching here is that the Kingdom-the Jesus movement-the church of Jesus-will experience irreversible growth. Again, once the Jesus movement is introduced into a community, it can't be stopped from spreading!

Aside from the pastors and Church leaders I referenced earlier in the week, those who are working in other cultures really understand the church of Jesus, how it functions and how it multiplies. The church of Jesus cannot be stopped. So, whether you are attending a big C Church or not, always look for the Jesus movement in your community. You can be sure He is there and active in people's lives. So, pray that you will be aware of Jesus sightings around you, then do everything you can do to encourage the movement and embrace it for yourself. See what Jesus is doing and get there as soon as possible!

THE CHURCH OF JESUS IS LIVING OUT THE KINGDOM

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As I mentioned yesterday Jesus only mentions the term "church" on two occasions. The "church" was not even close to the primary theme of Jesus' teachings. What Jesus emphasized more than anything else was the Kingdom.

The parables Jesus taught were about the Kingdom. Frequently, Jesus referred to what it takes to "enter" the Kingdom and He takes pains to point out those who will not "enter". Jesus believed it was necessary to hang out with His disciples after His resurrection for 40 days to prove Himself as the resurrected one and He taught them during this time thoroughly about one thing-the Kingdom. This is recorded in the first chapter of Acts. Then, in the last chapter of Acts Paul spends two years teaching and conversing about two things with those who came to visit him in Rome-Jesus and the Kingdom.

The Kingdom is the rule of God on planet earth both personally and in community. The church is a simple gathering together of Kingdom kids. Remember, the term "church" is not a special or holy word as many believe and teach. It literally means "called out ones" and was used to describe city council meetings or any kind of assembly where people are called out to meet for a purpose. It simply is a gathering of followers of Jesus.

The simple gathering of followers of Jesus on any day and at any location is a church. These gatherings revolve around four ingredients-fellowship, food, prayer and the apostles' teachings. The only one of these ingredients that might throw you a bit might be the apostles' teachings. We see this as what had been passed on through the early disciples about Jesus and the Kingdom.

So, since the kingdom is the rule and presence of God on planet earth, you could also think of it as wherever the King is, there is the Kingdom. The King and the Kingdom are inseparable. Therefore a good way to view the Kingdom is Christ-likeness universalized. Or, I like to say the Kingdom is Jesus actualized! The Kingdom is living out the principles and teachings of Jesus together.

The Kingdom is universal and everywhere. The church is a local gathering of followers of Jesus who are seeking, sharing in and spreading the gospel of Jesus and the Kingdom. The church is not everywhere, but localized and limited to those who choose to gather together. The Kingdom is everywhere and unlimited in its impact on society. The Kingdom is not waiting for a local gathering to be established in order to have its effect. The Kingdom is already there in every country and in every culture.

Now, take these same three characteristics of the preeminent Jesus and apply them to the Kingdom today-where the King is: FIRST-The example of character. The Kingdom is the only moral authority with any kind of power to change society. The big C Church is not capable of it. The organized Church changes from time to time. Sometimes it is effective and sometimes it's not. Leaders are morally good and leaders become morally flawed. So, at any given time, the Church will not be able to deliver a moral authority to the community. The Kingdom is constant. It's power and effectiveness depend upon its leader-Jesus. Therefore living in the Kingdom and inviting others to share in it is the only solution to transforming a broken culture.

SECOND-Jesus' teachings lead to fulfillment and meaning. Jesus is the ultimate standard and the Kingdom is the lifestyle of living this out in society. The lifestyle of Kingdom living is where ultimate fulfillment and meaning reside. They are the laws of the universe. You cannot break the laws of the Kingdom, but they can break you. For instance, one of the laws of the Kingdom is to forgive those who have hurt you. If you refuse to live out this Kingdom principle, you will pay dearly for it. You will be bound by your lack of forgiveness. You will be eaten up with this unforgiving heart. By breaking the principle, you are broken. When living within the Kingdom, you are safe and free and most fulfilled.

THIRD-The presence of God. Where better to discover a personal relationship with the God of gods than where He lives in His Kingdom. Most people only go to Church at baptisms, marriages, and funerals-only to be hatched, matched and dispatched. As followers of Jesus practice the presence of the Kingdom, the church (a gathering of followers) goes to the people in our world rather than always invited them to come to Church. With this kind of practice our culture will be changed.

Here's how it works. FOLLOW THE KING AND YOU'LL DISCOVER THE KINGDOM; EMBRACE THE KINGDOM LIFESTYLE AND YOU'LL DISCOVER THE KING AS YOU GATHER TOGETHER IN THE NAME OF JESUS. The church of Jesus-the Jesus movement-is living out the Kingdom principles in society.

THE CHURCH OF JESUS IS BASED ON JESUS PLUS NOTHING

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What's most encouraging to me is when I meet with a Christian leader, a pastor, even a mega-Church pastor and observe their response to my personal story of the spiritual journey I've been on. The response is the same with all of them. The simplicity of Jesus is so irresistible and refreshing.

Growing up in a very strict organized Church with all of its legalistic lists to follow in order to keep God happy, to make certain of heaven and to avoid going to hell, I always felt the heaviness of the religious system. It didn't make sense in so many ways that God would be harsh and demanding to those of us who were brought up on "Jesus loves me". I always felt there must be something more to a relationship with God. Then, at seminary I came to understand the freedom we all have been given in Jesus. This freedom blew my mind. I was free!

It was through this understanding that I entered into one of the great struggles of my life. Still trying to shed the feelings of guilt from my legalistic past and trying to understand who I was in this new-found relationship with God, I discovered that God made me and wanted me to be exactly who I am with all my weirdness. I felt so "out of place" in the ministry as I compared myself with others-so out of step with the norm. And on a very late-night walk in the snow in Washington DC I had an emotional conversation with God and found the freedom I needed just to be uniquely who God made me. From that day forward I have been on a journey to relate to God "personally" and uniquely.

When I had the privilege of serving as pastor of one of the early mega-churches, I came to the conclusion that in order to reach the non-churched, "secular" world I would have to separate myself from mainstream churches and Christianity. So, I did that to a certain degree, but I still had to take up offerings to keep the Church and its staff alive. This proved to be the beginning of experiencing a more personal relationship with Jesus.

In the second season of my life Jesus apprehended my heart in a fresh way and poised me toward taking this same "Jesus plus nothing" message beyond the "secular", non-churched world into the 7 major cultures of the world. The more I pondered how to relate Jesus to the non-Christian cultures of the world, the clearer picture I was given of Jesus. Jesus is preeminent. He is the way, the truth and the life-so much more so than I ever thought!

I have embraced Jesus in a new and fresh way and seek to follow His teachings and His emphases on everything. I want to get to the heart of Jesus and share what I believe His heart and intent to be for us all. So, now my focus and perpendicular learning curve have taken me to a simple understanding of Jesus and the Kingdom. I've spent so much time and energy unlearning a lot of my theological premises I received at graduate seminary while a student and professor. It's been a fresh look at Jesus and His message of the good news of the Kingdom. His message was not the church, but all about the Kingdom. He only mentions "church" on two occasions.

When Church leaders hear this story they easily resonate with my journey. It's like a light bulb switches on for them. It's really no different than it was with the early followers of Jesus. In the city of Corinth there were two synagogue leaders who were so attracted into following Jesus-Crispus and later, Sosthenes. Sosthenes then became a co-author with Paul in writing back to the Corinthians. It's also said that a great many priests came to follow Jesus. Nicodemus, who came to seek out Jesus at night, was no doubt the leader of rabbis in his day. After his secret encounter with Jesus, we find him showing up at Christ's death.

The attraction of Jesus is His simplicity-Jesus plus nothing. Jesus, simply Jesus, is the foundation of the church He intended to launch. We tend to complicate Jesus too much. We throw up all sorts of obstacles for people. "You must accept Him as the Son of God!" or "You must trust Him as your Lord and Savior!" or "You must simply follow Jesus!" But here's the problem. How is it possible for a person to accept Jesus as the Son of God or trust Him as your Lord and Savior or even follow Him with your life, if you don't even know Him? We ask too much of people!

The better approach is to advance the conversation of Jesus so that people can get to know who this Jesus really is. He's not the scary, weird, other-worldly man you often see in movies. Jesus is for real. People have to get to know Him.

There are three things about Jesus that make Him compelling to anyone who is leaning in with interest: FIRST-Jesus' character is impeccable by all standards. Many people will be attracted to Jesus in this way. Years ago I argued the famous C. S. Lewis chart and reasoning that Jesus was a liar, a lunatic or the Lord. I gave no one room to begin to follow Jesus as a good example. But today I realize this is wrong thinking. His character is a wonderful attraction to people in this world and many times it is the first step in showing a person's interest in following Jesus.

SECOND-Follow the principles of Jesus and you will find meaning and fulfillment. The fundamental principles of life rest with Jesus in the presence of the Kingdom. Most every self-help book or seminar is chocked full of these principles without giving Jesus the credit. Even the highly praised book, The Secret, is straight out of Jesus' game plan for living your life on purpose. In this particular case, the principle is stated and then you're told to focus on and pray to the "universe". This is just another well-intentioned high-jacking of Jesus' Kingdom principles. Instead of praying to an impersonal "universe", why not keep the principle in its proper context and pray to the person of Jesus?

THIRD-Continue to follow Jesus and you will find God. The primary example of this is found with the early disciples. It took them several years of following Jesus before they believed He was the Son of God. By the way, this means that there are lots of people out there who are leaning in on following Jesus and His Kingdom principles, but haven't yet come to the conclusion that He is the Son of God. Give them room to follow. In fact, affirm them in their spiritual journey and don't be in a hurry to close the deal with them.

To add anything to Jesus is to complicate Him to the point where He can't be known. Jesus plus anything is actually the spirit of anti-Christ. Anti is literally "instead of", so when you add something to Jesus, it becomes the "instead of" Jesus and diminishes who Jesus really is. The church of Jesus is the movement that revolves around Jesus plus nothing. That's zero, zip, absolutely nothing that can possibly dilute the irresistible Jesus.