Win Your War

Genesis 3:14-19 – The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust and to dust you shall return.”

Matthew 6:9-13 – Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil.

According to the Bible, God holds both spirits and people responsible for their behavior. In Genesis 3 we see the record of the first human sin. There, God holds everyone accountable.

God judges the man first, holding him accountable for his sin and the failure to lovingly lead and defend his family. For spiritual defeats to stop and spiritual victories to begin, it is imperative that God’s men accept their role and responsibility for godliness in their lives and families.

God then judges the woman, holding her accountable for her sin and failure to follow God’s command. God gives her consequences for her sin while not neglecting the role of the serpent. Lastly God judges the devil for his participation in the fall, rendering a verdict of eventual defeat and destruction once he is crushed under the feet of Jesus.

Who is responsible for the first sin? The man? The woman? The devil? The answer is yes. This is the principle of group guilt. Just as multiple people can be convicted and charged for involvement in the same crime, when sin occurs, numerous guilty persons are often involved.

To pre-order the new book from Pastor Mark & Grace Driscoll “Win Your War”, visit: https://amzn.to/2YuhoDn.

For the entire eight-week “Win Your War” sermon series (starting Sept. 29) from Pastor Mark, visit www.markdriscoll.org or the Mark Driscoll Ministries app.

1 John 4:6 – We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

2 Timothy 2:11-15 – The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself.

Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Biblical Christianity requires black-and-white thinking because it is dualistic. From beginning to end the Bible is thoroughly categorical: Satan and God, demons and angels, sin and holiness, lies and truth, wolves and shepherds, non-Christians and Christians, damnation and salvation, hell and heaven. The Bible makes clear distinctions and judgments between opposed categories.

Mainstream culture refuses to allow any categories because that would mean making distinctions, which ultimately ends in making value judgments. Instead of Satan and God, we have a “higher power.” Instead of demons and angels, we have spirits or ghosts. Instead of sin and holiness, we have lifestyle choice. Instead of lies and absolute truth, we have your truth and my truth. Instead of wolves and shepherds, we have spiritual guides. Instead of non-Christians and Christians, we have everyone defined as God’s children. Instead of damnation and salvation, we have whatever works for you. Instead of hell and heaven, we have people who go to a better place when they die.

If we believe Scripture, this is a battle between the God of the Bible, who is intolerant, and the gods of this world, who are at war against Him.

To pre-order the new book from Pastor Mark & Grace Driscoll “Win Your War”, visit: https://amzn.to/2YuhoDn.

For the entire eight-week “Win Your War” sermon series (starting Sept. 29) from Pastor Mark, visit www.markdriscoll.org or the Mark Driscoll Ministries app.

2 Corinthians 4:4 – In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Ephesians 6:10-12 – Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Our oldest daughter, Ashley, attends one of America’s largest universities. She is bombarded continuously in classes, clubs, and conversations with beliefs that are at odds with biblical Christianity.

Ashley said that in her conversations she discovered four basic beliefs she finds lacking in most people’s understanding. Like four legs on a chair, until she is able to establish these truths for someone to understand, the conversation eventually falls over.

Belief #1 – The unseen realm. You cannot believe God’s Word or understand God’s world unless you embrace the supernatural. From beginning to end the Bible is about an unseen realm as real as the visible world. Faith is required to believe in beings as real as we are and who travel between these worlds, impacting and affecting human history and our daily lives.

Furthermore, everyone is both a physical being with a body that is seen and a spiritual being with a soul that is unseen.

As this worldly thinking overtook academia, belief in such things as angels, demons, healing, and prophecy was looked down on as primitive and naïve. Surely humanity had evolved beyond such archaic views. Christian colleges and seminaries seeking approval and accreditation eventually downplayed or dismissed the supernatural parts of the Scriptures. On the flip side, some Christian teaching about Satan and demons was wildly speculative and even heretical. Both forms of extremism and error were part of a demonic deception.