This Sunday Pastor Carl started a new message series, Talking Back – Pushing Back Darkness, Moving Into Destiny. We talked about how there is a war over our souls and that throughout history our church mothers and fathers understood that this war is faced on three levels: the world, the flesh, and the devil. In this first message in the series, we began talking about the actions of the devil. In charismatic circles, spiritual warfare is often thought of as combating illness, or strange and spooky events. Surely Jesus saw these things. But when Jesus taught his disciples about the devil, he mostly talked about truth and lies.
In John 8, Jesus told his listeners this about the devil: “He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.”
If we are going to fight the devil’s the way Jesus taught us, the real fight is about believing truth over lies. It’s about allowing our worldview or mental maps to be reformed by Jesus to better reflect reality.
Lies only have power when we internalize them, therefore it is important that we meditate on the truth by reading the Bible and living life as part of a faith community and being aware of the lies we are exposed to on a daily basis.
Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
This week with your Life Group or a friend or two, spend some time in listening prayer. Find a comfortable place to sit in with a notebook and pen. Pray and invite Holy Spirit. After a time of communion with God, spend time asking God to reveal lies you believe in the following three areas:
What lies do I believe about who God is?
What lies do I believe about who I am?
What lies do I believe about what the good life is?
Work through the questions listening to Holy Spirit in your mind, and write down a few of the lies you believe in each area. In your group, take some time to share what God revealed to you. It could look like this:
- Person A: “As I was praying, the Holy Spirit brought to mind that deep down I believe God is _____________ (disappointed with me, cruel, a bad father, etc.)”
- Person B: “Thanks for sharing that. Can I tell you what is true? The truth is that God is ___________ (full of love towards you, a good father, says in the Scriptures, etc.)”
It’s important that the truth statements we speak over one another are based in the teachings of Jesus and the scriptures rather than cultural or personal opinions.
The devil’s primary strategy to enslave our soul and society is lies. Specifically, it is deceitful ideas that play to disordered desires that are normalized in a simple society.
Use the worksheet below to expose the devil’s work in our souls and break into freedom through an encounter with truth.
You can find the handout here.