9. A Spiritual Sloth Is Unable to Fight the Good Fight
9. A Spiritual Sloth is Unable to Fight the Good Fight.
Shirley Caesar – Satan We’re Gonna Tear Your Kingdom Down
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For this struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:10-20).
I’m A Soldier In The Army Of The Lord (from the motion picture The Apostle) – YouTube
Spiritual Sloth: (Greek, “Acedia”); spiritual laziness; indifference and apathy at the deeper levels; lack of spiritual ambition; joyless in sacred pleasures; spiritual ennui; careless attitude toward spiritual matters; a dispassionate lack of mindfulness and soul-care; a listless ignorance of what is eternally important; empty of the energy to escape self-centeredness; a lack of motivation to follow through on spiritual duties and activities; a spiritual sluggard; a sickness of the soul that results in boredom with God; a vague sense of dissatisfaction with anything spiritual; a cold sin of omission that drifts away from any hope of locating life’s true purpose and meaning; the unwillingness to be a diligent seeker of God and His Kingdom; a strong temptation from the evil one to remain spiritually empty and unfulfilled. A spiritual sloth is content to, spiritually speaking, follow the pace of the real sloth by moving at ten feet per minute, 1/9th of a mile per hour, and sleep twenty hours a day.
Descriptions of Spiritual Sloth:
- “It is like dying in advance.” (Pope Francis);
- “It is a deflation of the soul that hinders spiritual resolve.” (anonymous);
- “It renders a person idle and useless for every spiritual work.” (John Cassian);
- “It is a sort of heavy, oppressive sadness that presses down on a person’s mind in such a way that he wants to do nothing and no activity pleases him.” (Thomas Aquinas);
- “It is a joylessness when faced with God as our supreme joy.” (Peter Kreeft);
- “It is a supernatural torpor that doesn’t want to take the trouble at asking the great spiritual questions.” (Blaise Pascal);
- “It is the sin that is so dead that it doesn’t even seem to rise to the level of sin; a sin so sinful that it isn’t even sin.” (Peter Kreeft).
Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago – War (Live) – YouTube
Wait a minute! You mean you haven’t witnessed a true “weapon song” from the front lines? Please, give this video above a little of your time. This song will help us to dance on the devil’s back! Sometimes praise, worship, song and dance are our greatest weapons in fighting the good fight.
(1.) Standing Firm. The three Greek words that are all translated “stand firm” all mean pretty much the same thing: to be immoveable; to stand against someone or something; to fix oneself firmly; to set one’s face resolutely in a certain direction; to hold one’s ground with determination; to maintain one’s position; to withstand compromise; to refuse to change; to be steadfast in one’s resistance; to hold fast without giving in; to be strong and steady in what is important.
A Spiritual Sluggard Does Not have the Energy or Will to Wear God’s Armor. When a soldier stands firmly, s/he refuses to change his position or retreat. To be cowardly instead of courageous is out of the question. If the Lord wants me here, I will stay here! Parents who have strong-willed children should count themselves fortunate. The Lord God is on the lookout for those determined souls who have a holy stubbornness and a strong will that can be molded for good. Without a righteous resistance to evil, how else can one stay pure or faithful to God? How else can someone stay strong against temptation and respond with a firm ‘’NO!” Only those who are resolute of mind while also submissive to God will be able to stand one’s ground against that which is wrong or harmful or disobedient. If one is passive and weak-willed, it is important to strengthen that will before it’s too late. We are told to resist the devil, to not compromise one’s conscience, to not yield to temptation. Standing firm in the Lord means saying “No” to sexual temptation, to moral compromise, to deceit and dishonesty, to a spirit of unforgiveness. Standing firm means bravely declaring “Yes” to God and “No” to our Adversary the devil in the spiritual realm. It takes a strong will to plant one’s feet in the ground and remain immoveable, and that strength can only come from the Almighty God.
(2.) Putting On the Belt of Truth. The “belt” of the Roman soldier was simply a long piece of leather tied around their waist tightly so the other pieces of his battle equipment didn’t get in the way of his fighting. The original Greek wording of this piece of armor is not to “put on the belt of truth.” Instead, Paul declared that we should “gird up our loins with truth,” or “have your loins girded with truth.” To gird your loins meant at that time to tuck your long tunic or robe into your girdle, or belt, that is around your waist. So “girding up” was done every day… hitch your tunic up and tuck it in, which is only common sense. If one didn’t gird their loins, one would not have the freedom of movement needed to take long strides, or run, or work, or fight. That was the whole purpose of that belt around your hips… to remove the hindrances of those long, restrictive tunics worn by everyone in those days. This very common practice turned into a sort of metaphor, an idiom used by everyone to say: prepare for action, get ready to move, do what you need to do in readiness for work and movement. These days, one might say roll up your sleeves, hitch up our pants, be on your toes, tighten your belt, keep your eyes peeled, or the classic Boy Scouts motto: Always be prepared.
(3.) Putting On the Breastplate of Righteousness. The Roman Soldier’s Breastplate was a vital piece of battle equipment, because it protected the soldier’s heart and other vital organs. During the time of Jesus, the soldiers generally wore a breastpiece of chain-mail, which was a covering of interlocking piece of metal. And over that was a leather jacket that had long flaps of metal hanging down in layers, much like a contemporary soldier’s flak jacket. Much of the time, an ordinary foot soldier would simply wear a leather vest-like jacket, and those fancier breastplates were reserved for the upper levels of soldiers. Without their breastplates, the soldiers would be vulnerable to swords and arrows during combat. The breastplate would be a fixed and irreplaceable part of their armor and not forgotten, even if hurrying to battle.
“Dikaios” = the Greek word for both justice and righteousness, can be translated as righteous, just, fair, blameless, innocent, uprightness, heart that is right with God. “Stand firm, then… with the breastplate of righteousness in place.” (Ephesians 6:14). “For I tell you that unless your uprightness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of Torah, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20). The truth is that we are “hid in Christ.” When we put on the holy breastplate of Jesus, we are in a sense hiding behind it. We have found our hiding place. His righteousness is covering over us. We are “hid in Christ” (Colossians 3:3) when we put on the breastplate. We are confidently and faithfully hiding behind God’s declaration that we are now holy and righteous in His eyes. When God looks at us now, He sees Jesus. When God sees us with our spiritual armor on, He sees us wearing the holy, protective gear of Christ Himself. We can not generate our own righteousness and try to put that on. We instead participate in Christ’s righteousness. We do not declare ourselves to be holy warrior priests. We live into God’s calling us to those roles in His strength. “He has brought you into His own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault.” (Colossians 1:22). In our spiritual warfare, we stand firm and protect our hearts because we have put on the righteousness of Jesus. And we are expected to mature in that righteousness, walking in the holiness that has been declared by God and fleshed out in the Lord.
THERE IS A PEACE by HARVEST LYRIC VIDEO – YouTube
(4.) Putting on the Shoes of Peace. Roman soldier shoes were flexible, thick leather sandals, with long leather straps to wrap around your ankles and lower legs. The bottoms of these soles were studded with pieces of metal to aid in traction over difficult terrain. Somehow, they designed their battle shoes in such a way that a soldier couldn’t walk backwards, making retreat pretty much impossible. There are a few different ways one could say the traditional passage about having your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace… Put shoes on your feet in preparation to face the enemy with firm-footed stability; Protect your feet from the evil one during the spiritual conflict so that you can be quick to spread the good news of God’s peace; Stand on your own two feet, alert, then you’ll always be ready to share the blessings of peace; keep your shoes on so that you are motivated and prepared to proclaim the true peace that is available in God; wear the shoes that will best enable you to follow through on your eagerness to spread the good news of God’s peace. SHALOM is the ancient Hebrew word translated as peace and means much more than absence of war: completeness or wholeness, as in the joining together of opposites; integrity, as in the effective holding together of separate pieces; to give/restore harmony; fulfillment; health; security; abundant well-being; the state of having the vitality needed to thrive and flourish; tranquility; freedom from disquiet and disorder; reconciliation; resolution of conflict; healing of division; prosperity. The Greek word for peace in the New Testament is “Eirene,” and means the same thing as “Shalom” in the Hebrew Bible.
Alison Krauss & Union Station – Shield Of Faith (Official Audio) – YouTube
(5.) Holding Up the Shield of Faith. In the 1st C., the Roman shield was rectangular, constructed of thin sheets of wood glued together and bound around the edges with wrought iron or bronze. The outer surface of the shield was covered in thick leather. The center of the shield was hollowed out so that the soldier could install the hand-grip. The shield was made to curve around the soldier’s body and then link together with other Roman soldiers in such a way as to build a wall when they were standing together. Every soldier was protected when they banded together, and the enemy could not find away to attack. This is a wonderful picture of the Body of Christ needing to link together as they fight spiritual battles. There are no isolated soldiers during enemy warfare. It is important for many to become one in Christ during spiritual battles. Because flaming arrows was a common form of enemy attack, the soldiers would soak their shields in water before battle, till they were dripping wet, in order to snuff out the little flames as the arrows came upon them. These flaming arrows were dipped in oil or pitch or some other flammable material, lit, then shot towards the enemy. The shields would often burst into flame if the shield was not drenched in water. Each shield would be strapped thoroughly to the forearm of the soldier, so he wouldn’t drop it during the battle.
Blind Boys of Alabama – Faith And Grace – YouTube
Fiery Darts of the Enemy. Paul was referring to anything that would present a challenge to one’s faith. It could be one’s thought life without anyone else involved, or perhaps insults and accusations or unfairness directed toward you. Or it could be difficulties at home, at work, in finances, in relationships, or whatever makes life difficult enough to doubt God’s love or care. When receiving these fiery arrows, stand firm in your trust, in saving faith, and ask the Holy Spirit to give you strength to hold up your shield that is drenched in the fountain of God. Strap that shield of faith to your forearm so you won’t let go. Keep holding it up so you remain protected. The Fountain of God with which to drench your shield of faith… The divine waters as highlighted in Scripture is what we use to soak our shield of faith, flooding our shields with the knowledge of God through the holy Scriptures.
(6.) Putting On the Helmet of Salvation: (Greek, “perikephalain”); literally means, “around the head;” a headwrap; a high and rounded headpiece; any type of headgear such as a helmet, that protects the head. Helmets changed through the Roman era, but during the 1st C. the soldier’s helmet was made of bronze, and included a tight skullcap worn inside the helmet that was made of thin metal and lined with leather. In the battlefield of the mind during this spiritual warfare, it is not the time to lose your head. It is most important to put on your helmet of hope so our minds are protected from the demonic spirits that love to mess with our minds. Many, if not most, of the assaults from our Adversary and his minions are at the intellectual level, our thought life. In his Second Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul told them that our spiritual weapons given to us by God are able to take down demonic strongholds that try to work against the knowledge of God. Paul said that we have been given divine power to combat every argument, every pretentious and lofty thought that are exalted against what we know to be the truth. Instead of taking prisoners, Paul instructs us to capture every Christ-centered thought we can while in the midst of our warfare, embrace every thought that brings us closer to obedience and trust in Christ. It is essential that we know the truth, that we have solid and accurate knowledge of God so we have a reference point during those arguments that are clearly intellectual assaults from the evil one. To adequately defeat the assaults on our mind from Satan, we need to know in the biblical, intimately experiential sense. We need to possess the true knowledge of God as personal truth as we continue the process of acquiring the “mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:16).
Neal Roberson – Don’t Let the Devil Ride – YouTube
(7.) Picking Up the Sword of the Spirit. The Roman battle sword (Greek, “machaira”) is actually a short dagger, about 18” long, intended for hand-to-hand, person-to-person combat. Both edges were sharpened like a razor, and the point of the dagger could easily penetrate the armor of the enemy. It was not meant to be swung wildly or at random, or thrown into the air like a javelin. The machaira was intended to thrust and stab, not produce little cuts, but deep wounds that maimed, or at least harmed the enemy so they couldn’t fight effectively. The Roman soldiers were said to practice more with their daggers than any other weapon.
The Dagger of the Word. This offensive weapon, the Spirit-Sword, is our reference point of truth, so sharp that it can help us cut between truth and deception. It can help us separate the substantive meat of God’s message from the fatty distractions. The Sword can cut away the foolishness that the devil tries to feed us, from the true wisdom of the Lord. The Word-Sword can help us divide the eternal knowledge of God from the lies of that ignorant devil. The Spirit-Sword can go far in helping us distinguish the righteous mind of God from the warped mind of Satan. The Word can reveal to us what is life-giving and what is death-dealing. The Sword of the Spirit, the Word of the Lord, is truly a “weapon of righteousness.” (2 Cor. 6:7). Our holy weapon of God’s Word can penetrate any type of resistance in the demonic realm. The Word of the Lord stands forever.
LOGOS and RHEMA: Contrasting the two Greek words might be helpful at this point. We live by logos (Scripture), we speak by Rhema. Logos is the foundation of Rhema, so without logos, we would have no rhema. The Holy Spirit inspired Logos Scripture for our general benefit, and the Holy Spirit continues to inspire Rhema for application. The Spirit-Sword is double-edged: the first sharp edge is Logos, and that is followed up by the second sharp edge, Rhema. When the two edges are wielded together, the devil is helpless. The Holy Spirit is the One who turns the logos word into a rhema word. The logos has potential application, the rhema has specific application. One anonymous writer put it this way: “Logos is speaking the Word of God, and rhema is speaking a Word from God.” It’s interesting that John uses both words, logos and rhema, in his passage here in Ephesians 6… ”the rhema word of God” (verse 17) and “that logos utterance may be given to me.” (verse 19).
Soldier in the Army of the Lord – Blind Boys of Alabama – YouTube
(8.) Praying in the Spirit. “Proseuche” is the Greek word for “pray” in Ephesians 6:18; the first part of the word, “pros,” means moving toward, a sense of closeness; it is the word used to describe the intimate relationship that exists between members of the Godhead; the sense is to be face-to-face, extremely close; the second part of the word for pray is ”euche,” which is the Greek term for prayer, a vow, a promise. So the two terms together translate to the prayer that brings us face-to-face with God, into very close contact with the Godhead. The word implies that when we pray we are immediately in communion with God. Evidently, the Greek term assumes surrender, sacrifice, and thanksgiving on the part of the person praying.
Prayer is a Weapon in the War. There is little doubt that Paul intended for prayer to be understood as the other offensive weapon in the spiritual warfare he describes in Ephesians 6. When we openly acknowledge our allegiance to God, the unseen enemy is alerted to a new spiritual foe, another soldier to fight in the spiritual realm. Whenever I sense I am being harassed or hounded by forces of spiritual darkness, or am fearful, or I simply want to confirm which side I’m on, I recite the opening words of Isaiah 12: “Surely it is God who saves me; I will trust in Him and not be afraid. For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, and He will be my Savior.” With these triumphant words of faith, I am declaring to the spiritual powers that I trust in the Lord to save me, to remain my refuge and dwelling place. These words remind the spiritual forces that God is my Savior, and that I am sheltering my spirit in Him. When used this way, as a spiritual declaration, it is important to sing or speak the words aloud. When you are merely thinking these words in your head, they will not reach the ears of our foes. Satan and his forces are not omniscient, they can not read minds. Speak or sing these words aloud, and you are declaring to the spiritual world that God is your strength, and there is no point to trying to assault someone hidden in the stronghold of the Lord. With these words, you are telling the evil one that you are not fearful, that God has become your salvation. You are telling the Accuser that he may as well surrender in his battle, since God has already won the victory.
Passion – Run Devil Run (Live) ft. Crowder
To Pray In the Spirit: There are many different ways of describing what it means to pray in the Spirit. We can safely assume that the power of our prayer life is rooted in the Holy Spirit, and that the privilege of praying in the Spirit is a gift given to us when we accept and trust in Christ. Here are some of the descriptions of what prayer in the Spirit means: to pray according to the Spirit’s leading; to pray in the power of the Spirit as a weapon in our spiritual warfare; to pray by means of the Spirit; to pray in submission to the Spirit; to pray in harmony with the Spirit; to pray in cooperation with the will of God and Scripture; to pray under the spiritual influence of the Spirit; to pray under the guidance of the Spirit; to pray as directly inspired by the Holy Spirit; to pray with the assistance of the Spirit.
You’ve Already Won | The Worship Initiative (feat. Davy Flowers) – YouTube