While attending Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary I attended an Evangelism 670 class and one of my assignments was to read The Bondage Breaker by Neil T. Anderson. Anderson’s book reveals the hows and whys of spiritual warfare and exposes Satan’s battle for your mind. This book shares the truth of who you are in Christ and exactly what it means to be a child of God. It also shares the powerful truth that will set you free from private sins and stubborn habits.
God directed Neil Anderson’s life from an aerospace engineer into ministry, teaching and counseling, For over twenty-five years the Lord brought hurting people to him for counseling, but what he found was that his training in seminary did not prepare him for the spiritual battles his patients were experiencing. Anderson shares what he titles “The Steps to Freedom in Christ”, a powerful tool centered on Christ as the Wonderful Counselor and God’s Word to understand what is taking place in the battlefield of his patient’s spirits and minds. The enemy is determined to steal away God’s people by every sneaky, underhanded, deceitful, and wicked method of darkness possible. As we mature in Christ it is possible to learn to live by faith, walk according to the Spirit, renew your mind, manage your emotions and resolve the emotional traumas of your past through faith and forgiveness.
Anderson points out that the renewing of our minds and being conformed to the image of God will take us the rest of our lives. Maturity in Christ does not happen over-night. Just like a baby learning to crawl, then stand, and finally walking, our Christian journey and maturity takes time and is different for each individual. Often in my crawling stage with the Lord and His Word I wondered if I was doing things the right way. My goal was to become more and more like Christ so one day He would say, “Well done my good and faithful servant”. When I experienced set-backs by way of condemnation or insecurity in my thought life, I would blame myself for these thoughts. Thoughts of “I am not trying hard enough”; “I am not good enough”; “Are you sure you want to use me to spread your Word”? “Have you really forgiven all of my past sins that I now know not only hurt me but hurt You as well”, would come to my mind and spirit.
Although I learned through God’s Word and by the teachings of various pastors that Satan and his demons cannot harm believers, I also learned these nasty enemies can do everything in their power to make our lives miserable, especially the closer and more mature we become in the Lord. They can and will whisper in our ears falsehoods such as sins being too great to be forgiven; we are not good enough to be used by God; and the only path we travel is one that takes us downward. Not so!! Our GOD is greater than that and His Word shares His total forgiveness for our sins. That is His Truth and no force of darkness can change God’s truth.
Satan attacks the followers of Christ with his plan to defeat God’s warriors and stop God’s plan for His children who love Him. The enemy carries out these tactics against believers daily, and none of us are alone in this battle. When we experience negative, defeating thoughts, we need to immediately and consciously give it to the Lord. Call out the name of Jesus! Over the years I learned to call on Jesus in times of fear, persecution, insecurity, and doubt. He is faithful and He replaces the fear with peace, confidence, and joy. While a student at Liberty, I heard a story that Martin Luther shared with his students. He awoke one night to who he believed to be Satan standing in his room. Luther raised up from his bed, looked in the direction of the enemy and said, “Oh, it is only you”, and laid back down and went back to sleep. Now that is confidence in God’s protection and peace for a restful sleep. We can also have the same peace and confidence. Call out to Jesus and believe He is with you, because He is. What do we need to fear when He covers us with His feathers of protection. Thank you Jesus.