sharing with those in need

September 25, 2006

ann and i spent time at the mall last friday. as we were about to leave, something unusual happened. ann had just gotten into the car and i was walking around the car to my door. as i reached the door to my car, i was approached by a lady. she was in an electric scooter. she was frantic and panicky. she was desperate. she was in tears. i didn't understand her at first, since i was caught off-guard by the situation. she began to tell me her story.

now, i don't remember exactly what she said, but it seemed to me that her young daughter was taken to the hospital by her mother. this lady needed money to get there. she told me she lived across the street and that if i gave her my contact information, she'd get the money back to me. i wasn't sure i had money in my wallet. at about this time, ann came out of the car to see what was going on. the lady told her the same story she told me. as she talked, i thought about the situation. then, i checked my wallet and pulled out whatever i had. i only had one bill, so i handed it to her. she told me she'd pay me back but i said "don't worry about it." the lady was really grateful. she introduced herself, said "God bless you" and off she went. ann and i went back into the car.

ann told me that she didn't really believe the lady's story. i shrugged. i didn't know what to think. in all honesty, i was a little surprised at my reaction. i used to always be really skeptical about giving money out to people. i'd fall into the common stereotypes of how they'd use the money for other purposes, like drugs or alcohol. as i sat there and thought about it, i looked at ann, and said something like "even if her story was false, the fact that she would need to go about making up a story like this tells me how desperate and sad her situation is."

i dropped ann off and drove home. i couldn't help but think about what just happened. i've been reading through the book of romans over the past few months and as of late, i've been reading about love in chapter 12. a verse struck my mind, "share with God's people who are in need. practice hospitality" (v. 13 [NIV]). i thought about, how, if i were in a situation like that, i'd want people to give me the benefit of the doubt. if i was in that lady's shoes and had no money to see my young daughter who was in the hospital, how i'd do anything i could in my power to get to her and how i'd desperately wish someone would have compassion on me and help me out. maybe that's what helping those in need is really about. it's about giving them the benefit of the doubt. it's about not letting our stereotypes cloud our judgement. granted, i don't think we should be naive either. i don't think we should just do things or give things out without exercising wisdom and discernment. but, at the end of the day, is there really any harm in giving the person the benefit of the doubt? i don't really know. i think i'm still struggling through what it means to share with those who are in need.

i remember louie giglio shared a story about a similar situation in his own life. he was sitting in his car eating some take-out food when a stranger approached and tapped on his window. he rolled down his window and listened to the guy's story. louie gave him some money and the guy left. later on, he saw that the guy had been arrested by the police. did he get ripped off? who knows. louie had been struggling with a similar passage.

romans 13, v. 8-10 continues on about love. it talks about how powerful love is, that it fullfills the law. it talks about how loving your neighbour sums up the other commandments. what a profound truth. i want to live a life marked by a love like that. i want to love people the way God intended love to be, the way love is described in Scripture, and in the way love was exemplified in Jesus' life.

spiritual warfare series: guarding the heart

September 14, 2006

Guarding the Heart [download pdf version]
By Leo Chan

The human heart is a place of profound mystery. The heart is where we have the capacity to experience life, emotion and feelings. The heart is where our wills and desires lay; it?s the core of what drives us to do the things we do. The heart is where the human spirit is. The heart is also our source of life; it is at the core of who we are. The heart is also very vulnerable. It can be swayed and deceived if we aren?t careful. Koptak (2003) describes the heart as ?the seat of intentions, thoughts, and emotions ? [it serves] as the control centre for the rest of human anatomy? (p. 149-150).

Knowing this, the believer?s heart is a key area of attack. Gregory Boyd, author of God At War, writes, ?the heart of the believer is a battlefield as well ? the enemy is constantly present, seeking to gain an entrance into the believer?s life? (p. 279). In the wisdom literature, we are given a direct instruction to guard our heart. Proverbs 4:23 [NIV] says, ?above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life? or translated in another way, ?above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do? (Proverbs 4:23 [NLT]).

This Bible study will examine the issues of the heart. We will take a look at how the enemy attacks our heart and we can guard ourselves from those things.

How the Enemy Attacks
The enemy works in a variety of ways to attack the believer?s heart. We will examine a few of these methods in the following section.

Unforgiveness
?One of Satan?s ?designs? is apparently to cause believers to harbor unforgiveness. This again gives the devil a ?room? in the believer?s heart? (Boyd, 1997, p. 279). The reason why unforgiveness gives the devil room is because unforgiveness is rooted in sin. Unforgiveness can result from selfishness, anger, pride, bitterness, and hatred. Often unforgiveness is a result of too much self-focus. It is true, that in certain circumstances, forgiveness can be incredibly difficult because of the pain that was caused. But being unwilling to even step foot on the road to forgiveness is not what we are commanded to do. We are to forgive each other, just as God forgave us (cf. Colossians 3:13). We must remember that forgiveness is a process and that forgiveness is not forgetting about what happened in our past. Forgiveness is releasing the sting of the hurt, so it no longer has mastery over us. If we don?t forgive, the pain, the resentment, the bitterness, and the hurt will always reside with us. You can be sure the devil will seek to amplify our wounds and fester the wound as much as possible. The devil?s only purpose is to ?steal and kill and destroy? (John 10:10, NIV).
Q: Have you ever been in a situation of unforgiveness? What happened? Were there any consequences of those actions?

Temptation
Clinton Arnold, author of 3 Crucial Questions About Spiritual Warfare, writes that ?the classic way Satan operates is by enticing believers to sin ? according to John, this has been one of the devil?s primary modes of operation since the beginning? (p. 97). Now, this is not to say that the enemy is the sole cause of temptation. Our own flesh (sin nature) is also part of the equation. James writes about the process and factors of temptation in James 1:14 [NIV], ?each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed? or translated in another way, ?temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires? [NLT]. Temptation affects every believer, but we do not have TO lose heart. 1 Cor 10:13 [NIV] says, ?God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.? However, if we do not stand up to temptation, we give the devil room. Arnold (2005) writes ?to succumb to the temptation and fail to appropriate the power of the indwelling Spirit of God is to surrender space in one?s heart for the devil to occupy and exercise control? (p. 98).
Q: Since Satan uses temptation as a major way of causing us to sin, it?s important for us to know where we are weakest. This is different for everybody. Can you think of areas in your life where you are particularly vulnerable? How can you protect yourself from these things?

Deceit/Falsehood
The enemy uses tactics of deceit and falsehood to attack our hearts. The way he does this is through our emotions. Because emotions are experienced deep within the heart, they can have a profound influence on our mind and our spirit. If the enemy can get a foothold into the heart through deception and lies, he can twist what is true. It is easy to be consumed by our emotions if we are not careful. We will talk more about how to guard our hearts against this later.

How Do We Guard our Hearts?
Guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life (cf. Proverbs 4:23). Guarding the heart is not passive, nor is it a one-time deal. To be on guard, means that we are actively protecting and actively defending. Great effort must be dedicated to the task because the heart, as the writer suggests, is of great value and importance. The idea of guarding here is like ?protecting a treasure, a keeping of what is important, neither losing it nor abandoning it? (Koptak, 2003, p. 154) for the heart is subject to harm and/or attack from external factors (i.e. the enemy, other people). As we?ve discussed, the heart of the believer is a battlefield because the enemy knows just how crucial our heart is. He will try to do whatever he can to gain entrance into our lives.

Here are a few suggestions that can help us guard our hearts from allowing the enemy a foothold into our lives.

Receive wise teachings.
Koptak (2003) writes, ?in Proverbs, wise people guard their hearts, not only by keeping harmful influences out but, more important, by putting wise teachings in and keeping them there? (p. 154). He suggests that we keep teachings in our hearts by memorizing Scripture. The test of knowing if teachings are kept in the heart is through action. If we can act upon what we have heard and memorized, then those things are truly in the heart.
Q: How often do you receive wise teachings and store them in your heart? Do you regularly memorize Scripture? Do you regularly act on the things you?ve learnt?

Be careful of idolatry.
Idolatry can be defined as anything that takes the place of God in our lives. Idolatry can take the form of anything, from religion, to people, to things (like food, television, drugs). One of the Ten Commandments speaks about idolatry, Exodus 20:3 [NIV] says, ?you shall have no other gods before me.? In our culture today, it is especially easy for things of the world to become idols: our career, money, materialism, our own comfort, to list a few. If we desire and chase these things constantly, if we are consumed by these things, it is most likely they have become our idols. Also, if we turn to something other than God as our primary means of comfort, encouragement, strength, support, we should be wary. The devil knows how easily we can be taken by the things of the world and how easily we rely on the things of the world. He will work at making things of this world seem pleasant to the eye (like he did with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden), benefiting us, amplifying their reliability, deceiving us in thinking that these things lead to life. We need to be especially careful of these things. Matthew 6:21 [NIV] says, ?for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.? God is the only One that should reign in our hearts, unrivalled, unmatched by anyone or anything in life. God hates idolatry. He is a jealous God (cf. Deut 6:15).
Q: What do you desire in life?
Q: Who/what do you first turn to in times of joy, in times of pain and sadness?
Q: How do you spend most of your time?

Be careful of our emotions.
While our feelings and emotions can be an excellent indicator at deeper issues in our lives, we must always be mindful of them. Our emotions can easily cloud our judgment if we let them, especially when the intensity of our emotions are high. There are countless examples of how people have done things they?ve regretted because of anger. We?ve heard of scenarios of people flying into a ?blind rage.? We need to remember that the devil is bent on bringing deceit and falsehood into our lives. He will always try to cloud what is true. Also, it?s important to realize that our hearts and our minds are inter-linked. Things that are experienced in our hearts will inadvertently affect our mind, our perceptions, our reality.

All this being said, if we notice that the intensity of our emotions are high, we must be careful. We cannot allow our emotions to take over and run wild because they can lead to sin. We need to acknowledge their presence and give them over to God because emotions, like anything, will grow in ever-increasing measure if we let them. Paul talks about this in Ephesians 4:26-27 [NIV], ?Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.? Paul realizes that anger is an emotion that gives the devil foothold if it is not dealt with immediately. For example, harboring anger in our hearts can lead to resentment, unforgiveness, bitterness, selfishness, and a lack of love. If we deal with it immediately, we stop this process from happening. This is a principle that we need to keep close to our hearts.
Q: Have you ever let your emotions ?run wild?? What happened in the situation? How can you guard against this?

Be careful of our desires.
We discussed earlier about how the enemy uses temptation to entice us and lead us away from God, but how the enemy is not the sole cause of temptation. Our own flesh can also lead us into sin. Our flesh can be described as the evil desires that exist within us. 1 Peter 2:11 [NIV] says, ?Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.? Galatians 5:19-21 provides a list of consequences (though nowhere exhaustive) of following our flesh. We must be careful not to gratify the desires of our sinful nature, for a man reaps what he sows (cf. Galatians 6:7). In and of ourselves, we cannot do this. We need to ask the Spirit to help and fill us. When we live by the Spirit, we will not gratify our desires (cf .Galatians 5:16-17).

Closing Words
While our discussion about guarding the heart has been more of a practical nature, we need to remember that the battle we fight is not our battle and that we cannot do it on our own. Arnold (2005) writes, ?we are in the midst of a struggle that is far greater than us, but is it not bigger than our God? (p. 23). As humans, we are not strong enough to withstand the enemy. The odds are stacked against us (Arnold, 2005). Arnold (2005) continues saying that ?we need Christ not only to free us from the irresistible pull of these forces [our flesh, the world and the enemy], but then to help us on our Christian journey. We simply cannot live the Christian life by exerting more effort? (p. 36). We need to ask for the Spirit?s help. Christ conquered Satan on the Cross and in Him we have the victory. As believers, we have to do our part in the spiritual war, but we also need, and so much more so, the enabling power of Christ.

Bibliography
Arnold, C. E. (2005). 3 crucial questions about spiritual warfare. Grand Rapids: BakerBooks.
Boyd, G. A. (1997). God at war. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
Koptak, P. E. (2003). The NIV application commentary: Proverbs. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

spiritual warfare series: guarding the mind

September 13, 2006

Guarding the Mind [download pdf version]
By Leo Chan

The human mind is a very powerful place. Our attitudes, thoughts and beliefs shape the way we feel, the way we perceive reality, the words we speak and the way we act and respond. One of the key areas of spiritual attack is the mind. Gregory Boyd, author of God At War, writes:

the Satanic kingdom is ? heavily at work in trying to deceive believers and to pollute their minds with falsehood. Indeed, one of the primary areas of spiritual warfare, according to Paul, is the believer?s mind ? The Christian?s mind, for Paul, is a battlefield between the evil one who blinds and the Savior who brings light. (p. 278-279)

Clinton E. Arnold, author of 3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare, says:

Satan and his forces fiercely pursue their objective of promulgating all forms of evil in the world. This includes, above all, deceiving people and hindering them from grasping the truth about God?s revelation of Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ. (p. 22)

Can it be any clearer than this? The enemy is bent on bringing deception and falsehood into the lives of believers. However, Christians need not worry. There is hope! Jesus Christ, conquered the devil on the Cross. We have everything we need in Him and we have the authority to stand against the devil?s attacks (cf. 1 John 4:4, James 4:7). Thus, as Christians, it?s important to be aware of what we fill our minds with. We need to actively guard our thought-life and fill it with things of God. If we don?t, the enemy will wreck havoc in our lives. This Bible study will provide a brief overview on how Christians are to guard their minds.

How the Enemy Attacks
As already stated, the enemy attacks believers through deception and falsehood (lies). We will examine two passages to do this.

Right at the beginning of the Bible, we learn that the fall of man happened as a result of deception. In Genesis 3, we are introduced to the serpent, followed by a dialog that occurs between the serpent and Eve. The serpent twisted the words of the Lord. He convinced Eve that what the Lord said would not indeed happen, "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen 3:4-5, NIV). Eve listened to the serpent and ate of the fruit. In her dialog with God preceding the incident, she said "The serpent deceived me, and I ate" (Gen 3:13, NIV). A key principle that can be drawn from this example is that our minds affect our actions. What we think about shapes our actions. Prior to meeting the serpent, Adam and Eve had been following the Lord?s commands. Their minds were filled with truth and their actions reflected that. Once the serpent planted deceit into Eve?s mind, her actions followed.

Matthew Henry (1706-1721), a well-known Biblical commentary writer, wrote, ?the work of the Holy Ghost first begins in the understanding, and is carried on to the will, affections, and conversation, till there is a change of the whole man into the likeness of God.? If the work of the Holy Spirit first works in understanding (the mind) in order to affect change of the whole man, it should not be thought otherwise for the enemy. The mind affects our whole being. [Read the Power of Worrying, see appendix A]

The mind is an incredibly powerful place. It can create scenarios that are not based on reality or truth. Our thoughts can lead us to all sorts of trouble: worry, doubt, anxiety, fear, restlessness, to list a few. Our minds also govern how we perceive reality. Reality is not based on what we see, it is based on our perception. Reality is constructed in the mind. It is an interpretation of a situation. Two people can look at the same situation and think two entirely different things about it. If the devil is able to bring deceit and falsehood into our minds, our perception of reality can be severely skewed. He can easily twist and distort what is real and true. Finally, our minds govern our actions. What we think in our minds affects the way we live. Romans 12:2 [NLT] says ?let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.?

If the enemy can plant deceit and falsehood into our minds, he?s gotten a significant foothold in our lives. Ephesians 4:26-27 [NIV] says, "do not give the devil a foothold.? The word in Greek for foothold is literally translated as ?place? (Snodgrass, 1996). We must not give the enemy any place in our lives. We must be on guard at all times to prevent this from happening. More will be discussed on this later.

A word regarding the heart should be mentioned here. The mind and the heart, while separate entities, are connected. They go hand in hand with one another. The mind influences the heart, and the heart influences the mind. It?s important for believers to actively guard both of these, but we will look at guarding the heart in another study.
Q: Have you ever been deceived? Describe the situation, what happened?
Q: After hearing all this, why do you think the mind is such a crucial place for attack?

Resisting the Devil
In Matthew 4, we learn of Jesus? encounter with Satan in the wilderness. Satan tries to tempt Jesus through deception and falsehood. He tries to twist the words of Scripture in his favour, by taking it out of context. Jesus recognizes this and interestingly enough, combats Satan with the words of Scripture. Jesus exercises wisdom and discernment in this case.
Q: Have you ever been fed lies by the enemy, things that brought fear, anxiety, worry, doubt, mistrust in your life? What was that like? How did it happen? Were you able to stand against it?

How do we guard our minds?
As we?ve discussed, the devil will try to fill our minds with deceit and falsehood. If these thoughts come, we must shoo them away immediately. We cannot give them any more time than that or we are allowing the devil a foothold into our lives. This can be done accomplished by addressing the thought with a firm ?no? or by replacing the thought with a different thought. We can learn from Jesus? example to resist the enemy, by proclaiming truth and standing firm in it. James 4:7 [NIV], ?Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.? Thoughts need time to develop. If we can get rid of them immediately, we have stood firm against the enemy?s attacks. If we don?t, the thoughts will have the sufficient time it needs to grow and develop. Soon enough, those thoughts will consume us and begin to affect our hearts, our perceptions, our behaviours and our attitudes. This is precisely what he wants. He wants us to allow deceit and falsehood to linger in our minds, because he knows the kind of destruction they can cause. The way we combat deceit and falsehood is with the truth, like we?ve seen in Jesus? example earlier. It is not enough to simply fight against the thoughts; we need to also fill our minds with truth.
Q: Have you ever allowed your thoughts to run its full course? What happened?

Before talking about how we should fill our minds, it is important to mention just how easy for us to allow our minds to be filled with ungodly things. We are constantly being bombarded by the values and morals of the world on a regular basis. Without knowing it, this constant exposure gets into our subconscious and becomes engrained into our own value system. We need to be cautious about what we watch, what we read and what we listen to. Practically speaking, this means we should be careful about the tv shows, the movies, the music, the media that we listen to. As well, we should be careful about what we read.
Q: What are the values/morals that the world teach us? How do they compare to what God says in His Word?

In light of this, the way we should fill our minds is with truth. Paul instructs us to fill our minds with Godly things and dwell on them in Philippians 4:8 [NASB], "finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." A key word from this passage is dwell, or logizomai in Greek. Paul uses this verb in the imperative form. The imperative form is a command. Paul is not simply suggesting that we dwell on these things, he is commanding us to do it. Dictionary.com, defines the verb dwell as ?to live or continue in a given condition or state.? This means that dwelling is not a one-time action. It is something that is done continually. This is an important principle. We must continually dwell on the things of God, at all times, in the truth of His Word and in the truth of His character. This is how we renew our minds. We can do this by memorizing Scriptures, especially ones that have to do with our identity in Christ and the promises of God. We mustn?t ever let up on doing this, not even for a moment. Remember, we are in a spiritual war. The enemy isn?t about to give up. The enemy is bent on bringing destruction and death. He is ruthless and relentless and will continue to attack until Christ comes again.

In Ephesians 6, the first piece of armour that Paul tells us to put on is the belt of truth (cf. 6:14). If we don?t fill our minds with the truth, we cannot combat lies and deception because we don?t know any better. We cannot fight against what we don?t know. If we never see the light, we will never know we are in darkness. Psalm 119:105 [NIV], ?Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.?

It should be said that it is not easy to recognize lies and deception from what the truth is. It requires both wisdom and discernment. Thankfully, as believers, we have the Holy Spirit. If we are unable to determine the source of the thoughts, we should ask the Holy Spirit to shed light into our situation. We can ask God for wisdom and discernment. By doing so, we can take ?captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ? as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:5 [NIV]. If the thought is evil, draining, discouraging, confusing, negative, it is not from God. God is the giver of life. He brings encouragement, restoration, healing, love, joy, and peace into our lives.

Closing Words
The mind is an incredibly powerful place. It is the starting point of our thoughts, perceptions, behaviours and attitudes. As such, the mind is a battlefield in which the enemy seeks to gain a foothold. Knowing this, we must constantly be on guard, protecting our mind from the deception and falsehood of the enemy. We do this by saturating ourselves in truth and by asking the Spirit of God to remind us of what is true, what is noble, and what is praiseworthy. As we do this, we can be assured that the ?peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard [our] hearts and [our] minds in Christ Jesus? (Philippians 4:7 [NIV]).

Bibliography
Arnold, C. E. (2005). 3 crucial questions about spiritual warfare. Grand Rapids: BakerBooks.
Boyd, G. A. (1997). God at war. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
Henry, M. (1706-1721). Commentary on the whole biblical volume V (matthew to john). Public Domain.
Snodgrass, K. (1996). The NIV application commentary: Ephesians. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Appendix A: ?The Power of Worrying? By Author Unknown
Source: http://www.sermonillustrator.org/illustrator/sermon2c/power_of_worrying.htm

Death was walking toward a city one morning and a man asked, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to take 100 people," Death replied.

"That's horrible!" the man said.

"That's the way it is," Death said. "That's what I do."

The man hurried to warn everyone he could about Death's plan. As evening fell, he met Death again. "You told me you were going to take 100 people," the man said. "Why did 1,000 die?"

"I kept my word," Death responded. "I only took 100 people. Worry took the others."

This interesting tale portrays so well what the National Mental Health Committee reported a few years ago - half of all the people in America's hospital beds are constant worriers. Mental distress can lead to migraine headaches, arthritis, heart trouble, cystitis, colitis, backaches, ulcers, depression, digestive disorders and yes, even death.??Add to that list, the mental fatigue of nights without sleep and days without peace. Then we get a glimpse of the havoc worry plays in destroying the quality and quantity of life.

Add to that list, the mental fatigue of nights without sleep and days without peace. Then we get a glimpse of the havoc worry plays in destroying the quality and quantity of life.

spiritual warfare series: three evil influences

September 12, 2006

Three Evil Influences [download pdf version]
By Leo Chan

Both Christians and non-Christians alike often attribute the devil for the evil in their lives and in the world around them. The phrase, ?the devil made me do it? is very common. While this mentality is partially true, it is missing other factors. Solely putting the blame on the devil lessens individual responsibility. It makes the individual into a helpless victim that is attacked by the devil. Clinton Arnold, (2005) author of 3 Crucial Questions About Spiritual Warfare, writes ?the Bible teaches that there are three forms of evil influence that exert their power over the lives of people to lead them into transgression and away from God. These three enemies are ? the world, the flesh, and the devil? (p. 32). These three influences are mentioned in Ephesians 2:1-3 [NIV]:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.

This Bible study will focus on those three enemies, looking at each one in more detail and providing suggestions in how we can safeguard ourselves against each one. Some of this study will be based on Clinton Arnold?s book, as referenced above.

The Reality
The reality is that on our own, we are in a hopeless battle. The odds are stacked up high against us and we will most definitely lose. It is not a matter of if we will lose, it?s a matter of when. These influences work together to bring us down, though sometimes it may be more apparent to us which influence is most prominent (Arnold, 2005). We can think of these influences like a rope with ?three distinct strands ? braided together to make a strong rope? (Arnold, 2005, p. 35). It is these influences that hold us in bondage if we do not know Christ. Furthermore, let us not forget that one of these evil influences is the devil, an intelligent being with a free will of his own and is bent on destruction and death into our lives. Before proceeding into discussing each of these evil influences, it is important to point out that ?these three influences are not equal in what they are and in how they operate? (Arnold, 2005, p. 34).

The flesh
Arnold (2005) describes the flesh as ?the inner propensity or inclination to do evil. It is the part of our creatureliness tainted by the fall that remains with us until the day we die. It is our continuing connection to this present evil age, which is destined to perish but against which we must struggle now? (p. 34). The flesh impacts both our desires and our thoughts on a regular basis. If we are not living in the Spirit, we will succumb to our flesh. However, if we are living by the Spirit, we will not gratify our sinful nature. (cf. Galatians 5:16).

The world
Arnold (2005) describes the world as:

the unhealthy social environment in which we live. This includes the ungodly aspects of culture, peer pressure, values, traditions, ? customs, philosophies, and attitudes. The world represents the prevailing worldview assumptions of the day that stand contrary to the biblical understanding of reality and biblical values. Our culture has an incredibly profound influence on the way we think and act. It provides us with a complete script for how we conduct our lives. (p. 34)

We are regularly impacted by the world through the media (this is a major way by which we are exposed to the values of the world, seen in advertisements, television, movies, music, to list a few), through people (co-workers, friends, family, classmates) and through our culture (politics, laws, other religions). The impact of the world on our values, perceptions, traditions, philosophies and attitudes is subtle and occurs slowly over time. Little by little, what we see and hear gets engrained into our minds and hearts without us even knowing it.

The devil
Arnold (2005) describes the devil as ?an intelligent, powerful spirit-being that is thoroughly evil and is directly involved in perpetrating evil in the lives of individuals as well as on a much larger scale? (p. 35). According to Arnold, the apostle Paul views the devil as ?somehow powerfully at work in their lives [non-Christians], presumably not only inciting sin, but keeping them from responding to the mercy and grace in Christ? (p. 35). In addition, the devil is also the ruler of the kingdom of the air (cf. Ephesians 2:2). Arnold suggests that this implies the devil?s role ?as leader of a host of other powerful spirits who assist him in carrying out his designs? (p. 35). Furthermore, the devil frequently attacks both the heart and the mind of believers. These are two key areas of attack, for the heart and the mind affect what we think, feel, see, understanding, perceive and do. If the devil can get a foothold into our hearts and/or our minds, he can do significant damage. Often, the enemy gets a foothold through deception and falsehood.

Fighting back
While our situation may seem bleak, we do have hope. If we have accepted Christ as our Lord and Saviour, He has given us the provisions to stand firm in this battle. Arnold (2005) writes, ?only through union with Jesus and experiencing his empowering presence do people have hope for escaping the compelling power of these influences? (p. 35). It is only through Christ that we have a chance to stand against these influences and live the Christian life, ?we need Christ not only to free us from the irresistible pull of these forces, but then to help us on our Christian journey. We simply cannot live the Christian life by exerting more effort? (p. 36). Now that we?ve discussed the roles of each evil influence, we will look at how we can combat them.

Fighting the flesh
1. Know your areas of weakness(es)
In dealing with our flesh, awareness is crucial. This is the first and most important step in warring against our old self. Before we can deal with the flesh, we need to know what we?re up against. We need to identify these area(s) of weakness. While most of us are probably aware of what we struggle with, it is a good idea to ask the Holy Spirit to shed light on our situation and make us aware. Sometimes our areas of weakness are indicators of a deeper problem at hand. Areas of weakness could include: pride, jealously, selfishness, lust, greed, envy, to list a few. It?s important to be as specific as possible about what the area of weakness is.
Q: What are your area(s) of weakness? Where do you struggle?

2. Find accountability partners
It is important that we do not try to wage against our old self simply on our own efforts. We should enlist the help of others to keep us accountable and to pray for us regularly about what we struggle with. Through prayer, we are arming each other for spiritual warfare (Arnold, 2005). Arnold calls this form of prayer ?as ?praying for the healthy? ? this [is] praying specifically for individuals within the group to resist temptation in their personal areas of vulnerability; praying that ?they might be able to stand on the evil day?? (p. 45). Many Christians struggle with their weaknesses in silence. They are too ashamed of their actions and feel that they will be condemned and not accepted by others. Thus, they live in secrecy and in turn, bondage. It is a crucial first step for Christians in these types of situations to find a person or group of people in which they can share their struggles with. This sets them on the path to restoration and life.
Q: Do you have anyone in your life in whom you can be completely vulnerable with and share your struggles? If you don?t, it?s important to find people that can do that for you. If you can?t think of anyone, pray about it and ask God to bring you someone.

3. Flee from sin and temptation
After we?ve identified our area(s) of weakness, we must be intentional in dealing with it. This is where we exercise creativity and think of ways we can safeguard our lives. If we have trouble thinking of these things, we can enlist the help of our accountability partners for suggestions. For example, if materialism was a struggle, a safeguard could be to avoid reading flyers in newspapers and magazines and to avoid walking around malls. A more drastic measure could be to not have credit cards and/or debit cards. Matthew 5:29 [NIV] says, ?if your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.? While this statement should not be taken literally, it does imply that we should to take drastic measures to safeguard our lives from sin and temptation.
Q: What kind of safeguards can you employ to protect against your weakness(es)?

4. Claim the promises of God
While the flesh is still part of who we are, remember that the old self is no longer who we are. When we accepted Christ, He rescued us out of the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of light (cf. Col 1:13). In that act, the very core of our identity changed. We once were mastered by our sinful nature, but now the sinful nature no longer has mastery over us. We belong to Christ. Romans 6:6-7 [NIV], says ?For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin?because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.?

5. Rely on the Spirit
In and of ourselves, we cannot stand against our flesh. We must ask the Spirit to fill us and help us in our struggle. We must depend and rely on the Spirit of God. As we?ve discussed earlier, if we are living by the Spirit, we will not gratify our sinful nature. (cf. Galatians 5:16).

Fighting the world
1. Saturate yourself in the truth
We are constantly bombarded by the world and its message. Everyday, we are exposed to multitudes of messages from advertisements. Advertisements teach us at least two things: materialism and consumerism. We see and hear advertisements everywhere we go, on public transit, on billboards, on television, in newspapers, in magazines, on the radio. It is impossible to go a day without being exposed to these things. Even if we do not consciously buy into these messages, we are still being exposed to them regularly. In addition to advertisements, the values and morals of the world are seen through the arts: music, television, film, theatre, to name a few. Lastly, we are exposed to the values and morals of the world as we interact with different people.

All this is to say that we are heavily saturated in the ways of the world on a regular basis. One can?t help but be influenced by the world. It is likely that many of these values and morals are deeply ingrained in us. Yet, despite all this, we do have a way to counteract the ways of the world. Since we?ve established that we are heavily saturated in the ways of the world, the only way to combat this is to saturate ourselves regularly in the Word of God. This is the only way we can have a proper Biblical perspective on life. The Scriptures tell us to live in the world, but be not of it. We do this by renewing our mind regularly on the ways and teachings of the Lord. Paul writes in Romans 12:2 [NIV], ?do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.? This is a ongoing process, ?Christians then embark on a lifelong task of discerning where these unhealthy influences are still operative in their lives, rooting them out, and adopting godly attitudes and values? (Arnold, 2005, p. 35).
Q: How often do you engage in the media (i.e. watching television, listening to music)?
Q: How can you saturate yourself in God?s Word?

2. Be careful of what you watch, what you listen to and what you do
1 Corinthians 10:23 [NIV] says ?"Everything is permissible"?but not everything is beneficial.? Since we are constantly exposed to the arts and media, it?s important we be mindful of them. As Christians, we don?t have to isolate ourselves from every single potential worldly influence. We don?t have to segregate ourselves from listening to secular music or watching secular television programming or reading secular books. But, we shouldn?t be na?ve either. It?s important to ask ourselves the following question: ?Is what I?m watching, listening to, doing, beneficial? Does it please the Spirit of God?? Why fill our heart and minds with garbage if instead, we can fill it with life, the Word of God?

Also, it?s important that we are mindful of the types of people we hang around with. Not every person we interact with is a positive influence on us. Our friends have a bigger impact on us than most of us know or care to admit. Again, this is not to say that we are to isolate ourselves from others, but rather, we should be intentional in the types of people we choose to associate with regularly (our closest friends).
Q: Do you regularly watch/listen to things that contain unbiblical values and morals? Is it really worth it to watch/listen to it regularly?
Q: What types of friends do you have? Are they the types of friends that encourage, support, love you? Or do they constantly pressure you into doing things against your will? Do they constantly discourage and hurt you?

Fighting the devil
1. Saturate yourself in the truth
The devil is an intelligent being. He knows how to entice us into sin. He knows our weaknesses. He knows that the hearts and minds of believers are two crucial areas of attack and he is bent on bringing destruction. As discussed, the devil does this through deception and falsehood. If we succumb to his lies, he has gotten a foothold into our hearts and/or our minds. Deception and falsehood, by nature, are not easily detected. We need wisdom and discernment to recognize it for what it truly is: lies. In Matthew 4, when Jesus was being tempted in the desert, Satan tried to use deception and falsehood to trick Jesus. Yet, we see that Jesus knew Satan was twisting the words of Scripture and taking them out of context. Jesus exposed Satan?s tactics with the truth, the Word of God. We also expose deception and falsehood through the truth. We must know what the Word says. In Ephesians 6, the first piece of spiritual armour that Paul tells us to put on is the belt of truth. The belt of truth is foundational. It must be worn before every other piece of armour. If we do not have the truth, we have no basis on which to stand and we will be tossed too and fro like the waves of the ocean. Even if we do know the truth, our emotions and feelings can easily overcome us and cloud our judgment. Thus, we must actively guard both our hearts and our minds. We cannot allow our hearts and our minds dictate our response. We must hold every thought, and may I suggest every feeling captive to Christ (cf. 2 Corinthians 10:5).

2. Fight against the flesh and the world
We?ve discussed the fact that the flesh, the world and the devil work together to bring us down. Because the devil is an intelligent being, he knows how to entice us into sin through our flesh and the world. Thus, if we become serious against fighting the flesh and the world by actively and intentionally safeguarding our lives and saturating ourselves constantly in the Word of God (as previously suggested), we are also fighting against the devil.

Closing Words
The battle ahead is long and gruesome. We?ve seen that there are three evil influences that are bent on our destruction. We have seen that on our own, we are helpless. We simply cannot stand against these influences on our own accord. But there is hope! If we have believed in Christ Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, He has given us the resources we need to stand firm. We have the victory in Him, but ?our victory through Him is not automatic. He wants to give us help and lead us into the joy of overcoming our flesh [and the world and the enemy], but it all rests on a close, continuous fellowship with Him ? we all have this inner battle ready to flare up ? at any time, and this potential conflict will be with us until the Lord takes us to heaven? (Webster, 1993, p. 78-79). With the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, intentional living and the truth of the Word, we will have the ability to stand victorious against these influences. Amen!

Bibliography
Arnold, C. E. (2005). 3 crucial questions about spiritual warfare. Grand Rapids: BakerBooks.
Boyd, G. A. (1997). God at war. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press
Webster, R. A. (1993). Tearing down strongholds. Pasadena: William Carey Library.