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Great Gifts 40%-50% Off - For Men, Women, Youth Equipping Men, 12 CD Set -Walking Worthy As a Father - Marriage for God's Glory, 6 CD Set - Teenagers 101 - Click here: www.spiritofelijah.com/shop/giftsale Chariot
October 2009 -
Norm Wakefield
Tearing Down Walls
Are you aware
of walls that have been built or are being built between you and others?
Do you realize that every relationship is a battle, because each person
involved is a sinner with weaknesses? People will be selfish, have
weaknesses of character, and differences in personality that you have to
deal with. Here's the battle you fight: You have to fight building walls
of protection. And when walls are built, you have to fight to tear them
down. The fight must begin internally if it is to be won externally. How
do you fight this battle? I am praying and hoping that you're going to
tear down some walls as you learn how to fight the good fight in
relationships. How can we tell if we've built a wall in our hearts?
I think God
has given insight into this fight to not build walls and to tear down
walls that exist in 2 Corinthians. Paul and the Corinthians had a wall
between them. Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians for the express
purpose of helping them learn how to fight the good fight of tearing down
walls that had developed between them. So I think there are insights in
this second letter to the Corinthians that can help us fight the good
fight of not building walls and of tearing down walls in our
relationships.
In this and
subsequent issues of The Chariot of Fire I hope we can learn from Paul how
to fight the good fight of tearing down fortresses that have built up
against God and against others. We're going to discuss four topics: 1.
Satan's
weapons. 2.
Fighting with
Satan's weapons. 3.
God's
weapons. 4.
Fighting with
God's weapons. Why do we build walls?
In 2
Corinthians 6 we see evidence of a wall that some of the Corinthians have
built. I think most people build walls for protection. Why were walls
built around a city? They were built because of fear–fear of being
overcome or destroyed by an enemy. It is no different in relationships. We
build walls to protect ourselves. We probably have been hurt and fear
being hurt again. We have concluded that the relationship isn't safe, so
we erect a fortress around ourselves. Satan's strategy is to destroy your
relationship with God and others by getting you to use his weapons in
fighting this fight of relationships. He knows if you use his weapons, he
can get you to build walls so formidable that you will bring shame to the
name of Christ as your relationships disintegrate. How do you know if you
have built a wall between you and another person? Two signs of wall-building
Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened
wide. You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own
affections. Now in a like exchange—I speak as to children—open wide to
us also. (2 Corinthians 6:11-13). Two signs of the presence of internal walls in the
heart are clearly revealed in Paul's relationship with the Corinthians.
First, the heart is closed. Paul's and Timothy's hearts were open,
but a destructive influence through a man who was critical of Paul and
wanted his position of authority had caused problems. When a wall is
built, the heart of the person is guarded. A closed heart may reveal
itself by rejection, criticism, judgmental spirit, and avoidance. Second, there
is a restraint in affections. This restraint may be communicated
through a tone of voice, body language, unwillingness to show affection or
receive affection, or impatience. Apparently, Paul considered this kind of
attitude to be childish. It's what often happens when children are rebuked
or corrected, which the great apostle had done in his first letter to the
Corinthians. Declaration of War
In Chapter 10
of 2 Corinthians Paul declares war against these walls that have been
built up in their relationship. The following verses set the table for
lessons to be learned about relationships. Now, I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and
gentleness of Christ—I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold
toward you when absent! I ask that when I am present I need not be bold
with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against some,
who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh. For though we walk
in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of
our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the
destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every
lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking
every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to
punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete. You are
looking at things as they are outwardly. If anyone is confident in himself
that he is Christ's, let him consider this again within himself, that just
as he is Christ's, so also are we (2 Corinthians 10:1-7). Paul intends to teach the Corinthians how he and
Timothy fight the good fight of faith in Christ in their relationship. He
calls it warfare, and we'll see that he considers the fight to be against
Satan and people being duped into using his weapons. Satan's weapons The first thing we notice is that Satan uses thoughts-wrong
thoughts. That's why Paul wrote that they were taking every thought
captive. Every thought can be a weapon for Satan's purposes. We are either
thinking like God thinks or we think we know better. From the beginning,
Satan has used wrong thinking to destroy relationships. Beginning with
Adam's relationship with God and Eve, all the way through history to you
and your spouse and children, Satan has focused his hatred and anger
against Christ and redemption by tempting God's creatures with wrong
thinking. If you think wrong, you will build a destructive fortress
instead of tear down a wall.
Perhaps Satan's
most powerful weapon of destruction and wall-building in relationships is the
"I want" syndrome. Nothing blinds us more to the destruction we cause
than "I want". As long as we think the ultimate goal of our existence is
our own happiness we'll be blinded to the walls we are building and the
destruction we are causing. Why are we blinded? Because our actions and
our taking offense at others' actions/words are based on whether we are
getting what we want.
When a person
is more concerned about his own interests than the interest of God and
others, then his thinking is Satanic. Such thinking is a weapon of Satan.
That was the problem in Corinth. There was a man whose "I want" included
Paul's position of authority in the church. Paul wrote, "But what I am
doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those
who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter
about which they are boasting" (2 Corinthians 11:12). This person's desire
to be somebody of significance was Satan's weapon to destroy the
relationship between he and Paul and the church and Paul.
Jesus'
declaration regarding Peter (when Peter rebuked Him for saying He was
going to be crucified and die) shows the connection between Satan and "I
want" thinking. "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me;
for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's" (Matthew
16:23). Jesus knew Satan had put his weapons of wrong thinking and "I want"
in Peter's mind and Peter unknowingly wielded the weapons against Jesus.
Paul could see the same weapon in this man's thinking and actions.
This can
happen very easily can't it? Think about a time when you were aware of a
wall between you and another person. Whose interest was foremost in your
mind, yours or theirs? What was the result? Wasn't there a wall built
between you and them? You fell for Satan's strategy just like Peter
did–you valued getting what you wanted more than the destruction of
walls between you. When the "I want" weapon is in your mind, it sets you
against anyone (God included) who doesn't have the same plan or vision as
you.
Another of
Satan's weapons is to get you to set your mind on weaknesses of character,
differences of personality or vision. When you "walk according to the
flesh" you set your mind on things as you see them. Your antennas are up
for their weaknesses and any offense or hindrance against your selfish
agenda. Those weaknesses, offenses, and differences become weapons in the
hands of someone fighting with Satan's weapons. If you have a list of
these things regarding another person, you are using Satan's weapon–flesh
weaknesses and sins of the other person.
That's what
was happening in Corinth. Paul wrote, "I ask that when I am present I need
not be bold with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous
against some, who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh" (2
Corinthians 10:2). People who "walk according to the flesh" only look at
things outwardly. In verse 7 he wrote, "You are looking at things as they
are outwardly", then he listed the weapons his critic was using to destroy
their relationship: poor speech, unimpressive appearance, weighty letters
when absent, but gentleness when present. If you are offended by another
person's weaknesses and sins, you are fighting with Satan's weapon and
instead of tearing down walls, you are building them.
Usually the
weapon of another person's weaknesses or offenses is used with another of
Satan's best weapons–the strengths of your flesh. When it comes
to ourselves, we tend to view ourselves in the best light. A person's
strengths can actually be used by Satan as a weapon to build walls between
people. What do we call it when someone thinks too highly of themselves?
We call it pride–one of Satan's most effective weapons.
Perhaps you
have heard this truth: an unguarded strength is a double weakness. In
other words, when we take confidence in our strengths and don't realize
that they are a gift from God and given to us for the building up of
others, our strength becomes a weakness, a weapon of Satan's to puff us up
and build walls between others. That's what happened in the life of the
man who was Paul's critic and competitor. Here was Paul's admonition to
this man, "But he who boasts [the man who fancies himself to be the better
leader] is to boast in the Lord. For it is not he who commends himself
that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends" (2 Corinthians 10:17-18).
That's why I conclude that one of Satan's weapons that builds walls
between people is pride in one's strengths.
The last in
the arsenal of Satan's weapons used by the Corinthians was disguise.
Paul mentioned to the Corinthians that Satan has always used disguise in
his war against God. "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers,
disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan
disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if
his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose
end will be according to their deeds" (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). When we
pretend to be something we are not and put on an appearance in order to
protect ourselves or get what we want from others, we may not realize it,
but we are using one of Satan's weapons.
Satan uses
lies and deception. When people are not forthright in their relationships
and try to fake others out by appearing to be one thing when in reality
they are something else, they are building a wall in their relationship.
Satan can also tempt us to pretend that there is no wall when there is
one. This disguises the problem, and makes healing and wholeness
impossible. Application
We've looked
at some of the weapons in Satan's arsenal that were used to destroy the
relationship between Paul and the Corinthians. Do you recognize any of
those weapons? Have you or are you using them now in your relationship
with your wife, husband, children, or parents? I've prepared some
questions to help stimulate some discussion and hopefully lead to tearing
down some walls in your relationships. I want to encourage you to take the
questions below and lead your family in a discussion of Satan's weapons.
Begin with prayer, and ask God to work in your lives to tear down any
walls there might be and to build stronger relationships. 1.
Discuss the
importance of guarding your thoughts in your relationship. 2.
Are there "I
want" walls in your relationships? 3.
How have you
set your minds on the flesh weaknesses of others and what have been the
results? 4.
What happens
in your relationships when you set your minds on outward things? What are
some of the outward things about each other that you have set your minds
on in the past? How can a father and
son, husband and wife, brothers and sisters use disguises in their
relationships? How can this be prevented? Would
you like to be on the Elijah Ministries Prayer Team? The backbone of Elijah Ministries is the prayer team who pray diligently for God to turn the hearts of men to Himself, their wives, and their children. Before I leave to speak, I send out a prayer team invitation to those who will intercede for God to work for His glory in us as a team for the Kingdom. Not only is it a blessing to those whom I speak and myself; but it is also a reminder to the team about the direction of their own hearts. If you would like to enter into the labor together with me, you may go to my website and click on "Prayer Team". Has Norm's Chariot or other resources been an encouragement to you? As a nonprofit organization, Elijah Ministries needs support from people like you in order to function. If God has ministered to you through Elijah Ministries and Norm Wakefield, would you consider supporting the work? You can do so here. (Elijah Ministries is a tax-deductible 501c3 and is financially accountable to an overseeing board of 8 non-paid members from around the country.) The Chariot is also available as a podcast. You can automatically receive the Chariot each month in iTunes by subscribing here. (An RSS capable browser such as Internet Explorer 7 or Safari is required.)
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1.
Send this article to other men or families that you know would
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Norm
Wakefield 10.09 To unsubscribe, click here.
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