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The Battle You Don't See · In the Stillness Podcast

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  Hey guys, it's friendly. Welcome back to In The
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  Stillness. Thanks for joining me on today's
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  episode. Yesterday we closed out with
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  Paul's charge in 2nd Thessalonians 2, Believers to
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  stand firm. And frankly, I have not been
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  able to shake that phrase. It's like the Lord just keeps
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  highlighting it everywhere I go in what I'm doing.
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  And I was praying last night as I was opening up my Bible for
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  dinner and I randomly turn to first Peter 5 verses 8 through 9
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  and it's talking about how the enemy prowls around like a
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  roaring lion, but then it says resist him standing firm in the
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  faith. So notice the terms stand firm.
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  And then this morning I went on a prayer walk before this quiet
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  time, and a man was walking by me on the sidewalk.
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  And also there was like nobody outside.
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  So this man's shirt as he's walking by me, all it says on
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  the front is stand firm. So my mind was just blown and I
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  just knew this is not random. God is clearly underlining
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  something. And I believe it's because
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  beneath our normal routines, our schedules, our daily lives, even
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  our conversations, there is a very real spiritual battle
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  occurring. And if we're not aware of it,
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  it's possible to live casually in a war that is actually so
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  intentional. And it is battling for our
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  minds, our thoughts, and ultimately our hearts and souls.
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  So today, as we read Second Thessalonians, chapter 3 will be
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  in verses one through 5. I want us to really focus in not
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  just to hear Paul's words, but to receive the reminder that
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  this is how we stand for. So with that, let's go ahead and
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  read the passage for today. As for other matters, brothers
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  and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may
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  spread rapidly and be honored just as it was with you.
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  And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil
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  people, for not everyone has faith, but the Lord is faithful
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  and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil. 1 We
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  have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue
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  to do the things we command. May the Lord direct your hearts
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  into God's love and Christ's perseverance.
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  OK, so obviously so much here, but one of the biggest things
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  that stood out to me is the power and priority of prayer.
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  Y'all, Paul is literally one of the strongest, most impactful
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  voices of faith in the early church and even to this day.
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  And he is asking others in a different church to pray for
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  him. That alone should really sober
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  us because we are not meant to quote UN quote minor in prayer
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  and to major and other spiritual disciplines, prayer is
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  essential. It's not just a routine.
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  It is our defense. Scripture calls the Word of God
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  our sword, the sword of truth. That is our offense in the
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  spiritual battle. But prayer is our defense and
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  what keeps us covered. It is our direct, immediate
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  access to God in the middle of the battle.
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  And it's not just a tool. Prayer is a privilege.
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  I want us to sit with that. Do we fully grasp it?
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  Because I think if we did, we would treat it differently.
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  Think about if you're given VIP access to something like front
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  row seats or backstage passes, maybe a special parking pass or
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  a meet and greet with someone important, You would not
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  hesitate to use it. And yet we have been given
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  access to the Creator and Ruler of heaven and earth, and
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  sometimes we treat it like it's an obligation instead of an
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  invitation, instead of a privilege.
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  Now Paul is also teaching us intercede for one another, for
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  brothers and sisters in Christ, because the body of believers,
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  it's meant to grow together in unison.
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  When one person is strengthened and uplifted, it strengthens the
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  whole, just like a physical body.
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  When your core is strong, it's helping support your back as
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  you're walking, as you're going about your everyday.
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  When your knees are strong, your legs are stronger, your whole
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  body moves better. And in the same way, when
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  believers are walking in truth, living out their calling, and
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  growing in the faith, it actually encourages and builds
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  up everyone around them. And Paul doesn't just ask for
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  prayer for protection. He asks that the message of the
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  Lord, the gospel of Jesus, would spread rapidly and that it would
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  be honored. Because it's not just about
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  people hearing the truth. It's about them receiving it,
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  obeying it, and truly living it out.
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  And this part really stood out to me in this passage.
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  Not everyone has faith. That is a lot to take in.
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  I was actually recently talking with a friend about how eye
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  opening it is when you start to ask people what they believe
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  about Christianity or about Jesus, especially if they claim
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  to be saved. Because a lot of people may
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  believe part of the gospel or think that they understand all
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  of it, but they haven't actually received the fullness of it.
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  Guys, cultural Christianity, especially today, is so real.
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  And just because someone says that they know Jesus does not
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  mean that they truly know him all the time.
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  Real faith. It produces fruit.
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  Fruit that is good. It's not just words, it's a
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  transformed life. And like I read yesterday in
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  James one verse 22, it says don't merely listen to the word,
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  but do what it says. So I think this is an invite for
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  all of us to grow more curious, to ask questions, to have true,
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  authentic conversations with people, and to be willing and
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  obedient to share the full gospel that it is by God's grace
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  through faith, not in what we do.
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  It is not because we are good people.
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  There is nothing good in US apart from Jesus.
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  And I think God may want to use you and someone's life in a way
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  that you're not expecting. And so then Paul brings us back
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  to the reality of the spiritual battle.
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  The enemy's attacks are not always loud.
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  They're often subtle. They might show up in thoughts
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  and distractions and influences of people all around us.
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  It could be in what we consume through our music, through our
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  TV shows. And they're designed to slowly
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  pull us away. But Scripture reminds us in
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  first John 44, greater is he who is in you than he who is in the
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  world. So the Spirit of God as a
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  Christian that is living in your heart, in your body, he is far
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  more powerful than the one who is in the world regarding Satan.
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  So we don't live in fear, but we are to stay watchful every
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  single day. When your feet hit the ground as
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  you get out of bed, you are stepping onto a battlefield for
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  your heart and your enemy. He does not want you to submit
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  to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. So This is why prayer matters so
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  much. Because when we pray continually
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  without ceasing, we become more aware, more alert, more
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  anchored. We're not caught off guard.
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  We're actually covered. And I love how this passage ends
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  with such a good reminder that the Lord would direct our hearts
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  into God's love and Christ's endurance.
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  The Passion translation says that God's love is pure, so it's
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  not based on what you do or what you achieve for the Kingdom, but
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  on who you are, what your identity is as his child, as his
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  son, as his daughter, and Christ's endurance.
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  The Passion says it's steadfast, meaning it is unwavering, it's
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  consistent, it's constantly sustaining.
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  Like Galatians 69 says, let us not grow weary and doing good.
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  So this is our charge to keep going, to not grow stagnant, to
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  continue increasing in Christlikeness, knowing that
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  there is always more of God to experience, there is more depth
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  to understand, there's more transformation ahead.
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  So just as the Lord keeps speaking to me, stand firm, not
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  in your own strength, but through prayer, through the
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  truth, and through the one who is faithful to guard and sustain
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  you. Let's close out in prayer.
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  Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of prayer.
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  What a privilege. Thank You that we have direct
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  access to You, that we don't have to work to reach You, but
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  we can come to You freely and confidently and boldly as your
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  children. I pray that You would teach us
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  to truly value that access, to not take it for granted, but to
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  lean into it every single day. Would you strengthen us, Lord?
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  Would you guard our hearts and our minds from the enemy's
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  schemes? Would you make us more aware,
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  more watchful, more rooted in your truth?
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  God help us to stand firm. We cannot do this in our own
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  ability, but in your power. Would you direct our hearts
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  deeper into your pure love God, and into Christ's steadfast
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  perseverance? We love you, we trust you, and
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  we give you this day. We surrender our hearts to you,
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  God, and your name. Amen.
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  OK y'all, that's what I have for today's episode.
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  Happy Friday. I'm praying for y'all as you
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  move into the weekend and finish out the week strong.
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  And I will see y'all on the next podcast.