Points for Reflection:
Have you ever experienced significant conflicts with your family regarding your faith? How do you understand the saying that your enemy is your own family?
Do you know what mission God has called you to undertake in His Kingdom?
Have you recognized the heretical ideas and schemes that the devil is releasing in the church today?
Do you know what the most important battle in life is? What equipment do Christians need to be victorious?
The devil delights in ruining interpersonal relationships. Why did Paul place so much emphasis on family relationships, such as father-son and mother-daughter relationships? He also emphasized marital relationships and the relationships between masters and servants. These three relationships are where the devil most enjoys causing corruption. If you randomly pick someone on the street, you are unlikely to have any issues with them. However, if your mother treats you poorly, it causes great pain. If your father mistreats you, or if your marital relationship is poor, you will also suffer greatly. Do you know where such work comes from? It comes from the devil!
The devil loves to influence you through your own relatives. Jesus once said that your enemies are your own family. Why did He say that? The devil loves to control you through your own family members. If your father forbids you from being baptized and you comply, that is a very powerful work of the devil, is it not? When Paul speaks of obeying parents and maintaining good marital relationships, it is all within the context of Jesus Christ.
If it is not in the Lord Jesus Christ, then they are enemies, because they have not yet entered the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. The devil loves to control you through their words. Observe your unbelieving relatives; what they transmit directly undermines your faith. Therefore, our church is very concerned about marriage and dating. It is indeed painful if a couple cannot both believe in the Lord. Why? Because their value systems are completely opposed.
Spiritual Warfare
In Ephesians chapter 6, Paul's central theme is spiritual warfare. Earlier, Paul talked about how to build the church, how to build your personal life, and how your life can be perfected in the church. In chapter 6, he directly addresses spiritual warfare, which is the purpose of the church's existence. The object of our warfare is the demonic forces in the air. In other words, all the corruption and disasters we see in this world are caused by dark spiritual forces. How do these dark spiritual forces operate? They operate through human sin. The wages of sin is death. If a person continues to sin, you will see one corruption after another in their life.
The Lord Jesus Christ has already died on the cross for us, paying the price for our sins so that we can live holy lives. But that is not the goal. The goal is for you to rise up and become a valiant soldier of God, fighting for God's Kingdom. Jesus once said some things that we often take as very personal matters. For example, wherever you cast out demons, the Kingdom of God comes. Where the Spirit of God is, there is freedom. Before ascending to heaven, Jesus Christ said that those who believe in Him will have signs and wonders following them, namely, casting out demons in His name.
In the faith of Jesus Christ, it is a faith of casting out demons. But today, there are not many churches that cast out demons. Do you not find it strange? Later, I summarised the devil's schemes. The devil dismembers the Gospel, retaining some of its content, adding elements not found in the Gospel, and then establishing a church. We do not call such churches heretical, but they are churches where the devil is at work.
The Devil's Schemes
What are some of the ways the devil works? First, the devil turns the faith of Jesus Christ into a form of emotional support, or a set of ethics and morals, a faith without power. Do you think this is a problem? It is a serious problem. Today, we must know that faith in Jesus is both a theory and a power, genuinely solving our problems. It is a living faith within us, a faith for the living. God is the living God, and we are living people. We must experience God in our real lives!
Second, the devil makes Christian faith only about eternal life, not about this life. This is also crucial. Some churches talk about eternal life endlessly but completely erase the part about this life. If a faith is only about eternal life, going to heaven after death but living like hell while alive, is that faith? That is not faith, and certainly not the faith of Jesus Christ. Being oppressed and bullied by the devil while alive, yet thinking that you will go to heaven after death? It is not possible! Because the faith of Jesus Christ is not only about going to heaven after death but is also a faith for the living.
Third, the devil turns the faith of Jesus Christ into an individual faith. Many churches only talk about the individual's relationship with Jesus Christ, without discussing how they are united in the church. How can a church fight without unity? It is impossible to fight without unity, let alone win the battle, and there will be no blessings. Such individuals playing with the faith of Jesus Christ, using the word playing here, gain nothing and do not see the grace of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Paul says at the end, Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with sincerity. Do you know what grace is? It is finding a job as soon as you look, passing an interview on the first try. Many things in life have God's wonderful guidance; that is grace.
Some brothers and sisters say that their company has a rule of raising salaries only once a year, but many of us have our salaries raised two or three times a year. That is grace. Although this kind of grace is not the foundation of our faith, it is a manifestation of our faith built on the foundation. This is the faith of the individual and the church. The faith of Jesus Christ is both individual and communal. It is both eternal and for this life. The faith of Jesus Christ is both a faith in our lives and a faith with power.
Another important point is that the faith of Jesus Christ is both a faith of love and a faith of warfare. Some churches only talk about love—you love me, and I love you—even loving the devil. But there is no warfare. How can it be called a church without warfare? In God's eyes, only Christians capable of warfare count. In the Book of Numbers, only those who could fight were counted; those who could not fight were not counted. What are Christians who cannot fight? The church is indeed a family, but it is also God's army, a place to defeat the devil and the enemy. The greatest love is to release people from the control of the devil and the enemy. If you see someone suffering from depression and you just say, Lord, love him, or Lord, heal him, but they are not healed, and you say, May Jesus love you through me, what kind of love is that? It is helpless love. Helpless love is not love.
Brothers and sisters, open your eyes and discern. Not every place with a Christian sign is called a church. The church is a team for spiritual warfare, a place where the oppressed are released and the captives are set free. When Jesus Christ spoke of the church, He said to take up the keys and authority of the Kingdom of Heaven and trample on the power of hell. But if a church lacks warfare, it is not a church. If a church does not cast out demons, it is not a church. A church that does not cast out demons, even if it calls itself a church, is a church controlled by the devil. Who is the Christian's opponent? It is the devil. God has ordained one thing in eternity: man is weaker than the devil, but man can overcome the devil through Jesus Christ. This is God's purpose in our lives.
The most important battle in life is the battle of interpersonal relationships. If your interpersonal relationships are problematic, you must know that it is the work of the devil. If there are problems between parents and children, or between husband and wife, or between servants and masters (bosses and employees), you must know that it is the devil. When you win the battle, your boss will inexplicably treat you better. This is because the devil can no longer use your boss to oppress and bully you.
This is true for the relationship between master and servant. The same is true for the relationship between parents and children, and husband and wife. If your family members are unbelievers, you will experience the reality of spiritual warfare. Even if family members are believers, the devil will still create trouble among you, creating problems in interpersonal relationships. Do not think that warfare is a one-time thing; warfare is a lifelong lesson for us Christians.
Today we cast out demons, tomorrow we cast out demons; today someone is healed, tomorrow someone is healed; today someone is set free, tomorrow someone is set free. This is the mission of Christians. What are you preaching when you preach the Gospel? Is it a form of emotional support? No, it is preaching the power of God. Therefore, the foundation of Paul's gospel is that my God is the God who rose from the dead. And the power of the Gospel lives in you and me. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If you do not see the power of the Gospel, what kind of Christian are you? It is crucial if a church is not a victorious church. You must see the grace of God.
The Armour of Warfare
In Ephesians chapter 6, he clearly writes out the armour of warfare. Do not lack a single piece of armour. Rick Joyner wrote in his book that today some churches have only a helmet, some have no armour at all, and some have only one or two pieces of armour, but they are all incomplete. But Paul taught us to put on the full armour of God so that we can fight and stand firm in times of trouble. When he said this, he meant that some have not stood firm. I desire that the brothers and sisters of our church always keep the matter of spiritual warfare in mind and become valiant soldiers. In the end, although having gone through trials, we will still stand firm and become strong Christians.
So, Paul was talking about the first thing being truth. The Christian faith is not a superstition, but a faith based on truth. Secondly, it must be righteousness. Righteousness is an action. We Christians must have righteousness. If a person is corrupt, can we say he has righteousness? If a person is greedy, can we say he has righteousness? We cannot. Righteousness is built on the foundation of truth. There must be the gospel of peace. Peace comes before the gospel, meaning this gospel is a gospel of peace, not a gospel of disaster. If someone finds it very difficult to preach the gospel, they must be preaching it wrong. The gospel is a gospel of peace.
Today, a sister's father had a high fever for seven days. After our prayers, he is now eating apples in bed. Isn't that healed? So this is the gospel of peace, the gospel of healing, the gospel of blessing, the gospel of God's grace! It's a very good thing, how can it be so difficult to preach? It's not difficult at all! Paul also said to take up the shield of faith. What is faith? Faith is continuous belief, called faith. Virtue in a person means consistency in that area. It's not that today I am a moral person, but tomorrow I am not. That's not called a virtuous person. A virtuous person must be consistent. Later, I discovered that the shield of faith is very important in spiritual warfare. What is the shield of faith?
For example, when you pray for someone with a cold, you set your mind that you will stay here until the spirit of the cold leaves. When the demon of the cold sees this person of faith, it cannot defeat you. It cannot penetrate your shield of faith. Your faith can withstand all the fiery darts of the devil. In the entire battle, the shield is very important. Without the shield, you cannot withstand the fiery darts and will be injured. Everyone must start taking up the shield of faith. Sometimes God gives me a special gift, which is the gift of faith. When I encounter anything, I believe and like to believe that the problem will be solved. Including finding a job, healing, exorcising demons, and problems in life, until the matter is accomplished by God.
The devil often says, Look, he still has a headache. For me, his headache is already healed because I believe that at some point in the future, he will be healed. Some brothers and sisters say, He is clearly still in pain. Yes, he is still in pain now. Do you want him to be healed? Then first believe that he will be better in an hour. Now declare what will happen in an hour, and it will be accomplished in an hour. Don't say things like it still hurts. That's the truth, but it's useless. Learn to declare with faith, I am already healed, and at some point in the future, I will be healed. Practice faith like this, practice the anointing of healing.
The Bible says that by Jesus' stripes we are healed, without any additional conditions. We must know that in Romans it says that if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, you will be saved. Many people think this only means going to heaven after death. Actually, it doesn't just mean going to heaven, but that you are saved in this world. If you have a disease, and you believe in your heart that you are healed, and you declare with your mouth that you are healed, then you are healed! Practice faith in this world. Also, take up the helmet of salvation. Jesus Christ has already accomplished salvation, just believe it. And also, we must take up the sword of the Spirit. Few people take up the sword of the Spirit now. Some people only have a shield, but no sword, so they can only be beaten and cannot attack.
Actually, the best defense is offense. Don't think that I defend, I believe, and that such faith is strange. Many people also believe that the Lord will heal, but they only say, Lord, come and heal me. They don't know to take up the sword of the Spirit and drive away the devil. Paul said to pray at all times in the Spirit, with all kinds of prayers. This refers to praying in tongues. Other books in the Bible, including many books, Jude, emphasize praying in tongues. Being filled with the Holy Spirit brings the gift of praying in tongues, so praying in tongues is very important. I dare say that if I don't lead brothers and sisters into the gift of praying in tongues, many diseases will not be healed so quickly.
There was a brother who had just started seeking the Lord and couldn't speak in tongues. We led him to pray in tongues, and let him learn two sentences of praying in tongues himself. Wonderful things happened. In the filling of the Holy Spirit, he experienced the Lord's healing. Know that God's Spirit is really working. But don't think that praying in tongues doesn't require faith. Praying in tongues also requires faith.
For many years, I was confused about whether my speaking in tongues was from the Holy Spirit. When I cast out demons and found that my praying in tongues was effective, I knew it was from the Holy Spirit. If you have the ability to speak in tongues but do not cast out demons, you will never know whether your speaking in tongues is from God or not. But brothers and sisters, don't worry, pray in tongues with faith, and your prayer will be full of power. Practice prayer often, pray at all times with all kinds of prayers, this is very important.
If all the brothers and sisters in a church are fully equipped, there will surely be the grace of Jesus Christ. Do you believe? There must be great grace. I think these words are also for our brothers and sisters who are troubled by distance. Some brothers and sisters may think, Isn't there a church near my home? Why do I still participate in the remote services of your church?
Yes, there are churches in your hometown, but many do not have the full armor of God. Our church is truly God's wonderful grace, and brothers and sisters can dedicate their time to equip themselves in the truth together. We have very complete truth teaching courses, systematic Bible studies, the New Testament on Wednesdays and the Old Testament on Fridays, and constant prayer. In terms of the intensity of prayer, I believe that even in Singapore, among the churches I know, there are not many churches with such intense prayer.
When God's Spirit is moving here, everyone sees it with one heart and mind. This is a united church. A united church has a united operation in the Spirit, which is also the result of God working in our hearts. Can there be no power? God works in our midst, gives us the will, and builds God's mighty army. Don't look at our small numbers, large numbers are useless. We have few people, but we are fully equipped.
If we look at wars in the world today, what is being fought is equipment. If you don't have an atomic bomb, what are you fighting with? You can't even make a claim. So today the news says that when the President of the United States travels, there is someone next to him carrying a bag, a big black bag, called the atomic bomb launch device. Chinese leaders also have someone carrying a bag next to them, which contains the atomic bomb launch device. Similarly, nuclear powers like Russia all have atomic bomb launch devices. But non-nuclear powers do not. Why? This is standard operating procedure.
That is to say, if you open the atomic bomb launch device, you can send instructions. Whatever happens, you can operate it anytime, anywhere. Of course, this is something that news people like to hype, but I still find it very interesting. I think our church must carry all of our equipment, and our equipment must be complete. Whether it is strategic or tactical weapons, we are all fully equipped. The devil will be afraid when he sees us. We become people who cast out demons, not people who are driven out by demons. People who are driven out by demons are very hard, and people who cast out demons are the elite soldiers of Jesus Christ. The grace of Jesus Christ will surely come upon us more and more.
Finally, to summarize, you must fight the good fight for Jesus in interpersonal relationships, so that the gospel can be better spread. Why? Your parents definitely know your true worth. They have been watching you since you wore open-crotch pants. No one can deceive who you are, but you cannot deceive the people around you.
That is to say, preach the gospel with your true face. Preaching the gospel to the people around you is different from preaching the gospel in an unfamiliar environment where no one knows you and no one knows your background. You must know that it is easier to preach the gospel to strangers than to preach the gospel to the people around you. It is very difficult to preach the gospel to the people around you.
That is a victory in spiritual warfare. If you do not win in spiritual warfare, it is difficult for you to preach the gospel to them. Why? Because they all know your true worth, they also know the shameful things you have done in the past, and they also know your changes. Brothers and sisters, you must put on the full armor of God and win this spiritual battle of interpersonal relationships.
A person who believes in the Lord is a completely different person, that is, a person who is reborn and resurrected in Jesus Christ, and is now seated in heaven. So Paul's gospel is not about going to heaven after death. No, especially brothers and sisters who are in remote areas, you must know that it is not about going to heaven after death, but about living in heaven on earth. Then I can come to such a conclusion, and everyone can examine it: if you overcome on earth and live a glorious life, then you will surely be able to go to heaven. If you live like a loser Christian on earth, you basically cannot go to heaven, because you do not have a ticket to the kingdom of heaven!