BooksSpiritualWarfare

Book Description

This is the revised edition of the original Three Battlegrounds book. Along with some slight text changes, it has an additional chapter.

This book explores the three arenas of spiritual warfare that the maturing Christian will face: the mind, the church and the heavenly places. It provides a foundation of insight, wisdom and discernment on the nature of the battle and the keys to victory.

From the Author

This is a book about spiritual warfare. Before we proceed, however, I have two concerns. The first is our need for wisdom. There is an old European proverb worth heeding. It reads: "Age and treachery will always defeat youth and zeal." Before we engage in spiritual warfare, we should know this about Satan: He is an ancient and extremely treacherous foe. On the other hand, the strength of most Christians lies primarily in idealism and untested fervor. It is not long, usually five to ten years in the ministry, and most zeal has waned. Without warning, the minister's call has deteriorated from a walk of vision to a mere job. What occurred was that zeal, by itself, challenged the treachery of hell and lost. The brightness of youthful dreams dimmed under the dark cloud of relentless satanic assault. Under the weight of growing frustrations and discouragement, compromise increased, and with it came iniquity and spiritual bondage. Yet, the real villain was not sin but ignorance. We put the devil in a doctrinal box and expected him to stay there. He did not. He undermined relationships, and our love grew cautious. He resisted us in prayer, and our faith turned weak. Disillusionment set in. After spending much time with struggling pastors, I have seen a common trend in most: They failed to discern the assault of the devil. They stood unprotected against an ancient, treacherous foe. Jesus prepared His disciples for everything, including war. They saw Him casting out demons. In fact, He sent them forth doing the same. But before He sent them out, He charged them to become wise "as serpents" yet innocent and harmless "as doves" (Matt. 10:16). This fusion of divine wisdom and Christlike innocence is the taproot of all spiritual victory. Indeed, we can defeat the enemy, but wisdom must precede warfare and virtue must come before the victory. Consequently, the goal of this book is to train the church in wisdom and call the church to innocence. We will not disregard what we have previously learned; we will still live by faith. But we must learn the ways of God, which means we must think with wisdom. And we must be pure of heart, that we may see God and gain discernment. Indeed, it is this very ignorance that has left us vulnerable to satanic attack. Of my second concern, let me say that there are no shortcuts to successful warfare, only ways to make it longer and more perilous. One way of peril is to enter battle blinded by presumption. When it comes to waging war effectively, consider carefulness to be the essence of victory. Whatever lofty spiritual plane you imagine that you are on, remember: Adam was in Paradise when he fell. Before your increased knowledge and religious experiences make you overly self-confident, recall that Solomon wrote three books of Scripture; he actually gazed upon the glory of God, yet he fell. Yes, even in your deepest worship of the Almighty, do not forget, in long ages past Lucifer himself was once in heaven pouring out praise to God. We all have seen many who have fallen. Jesus warned that the love of many would grow cold. Do not presume it cannot happen to you. Our enemy has been deceiving mankind for thousands of years. Our experience, on the other hand, spans but a brief moment. It is wisdom to recognize that we do not know all there is to know concerning warfare. Therefore, be bold but never brash or arrogant in your prayer life. Use your spiritual authority administratively, compassionately, but never presumptuously. Multitudes of well-meaning but ignorant Christians have approached the field of spiritual battle with flippant attitudes and have suffered greatly for it. Study several books and seek confirmation from the Lord for your strategies. As it is written, "Prepare plans by consultation, and make war by wise guidance" (Prov. 20:18). Thus, our purpose here is to help equip you for battle in each of the three primary battlegrounds: the mind, the church and the heavenly places. There are other fields or subcategories of spiritual warfare; however, these are where most of us will face conflict. One last note. A few of you will be instrumental in actually saving your cities. Our prayer is that these chapters will help and equip you for that goal. The promise of the Spirit speaks thus: "There was a small city with few men in it and a great king came to it, surrounded it, and constructed large siegeworks against it. But there was found in it a poor wise man and he delivered the city by his wisdom" (Eccl. 9:14-15). While many are predicting the destruction of our nation and the collapse of our cities, they have not considered the power of Christ in you. But remember, "Wisdom is better than strength...wisdom is better than weapons of war" (Eccl. 9:16, 18).

Book Review:

This book changed my life dramatically, for the better. I've bought about 8 copies of this book over the last couple of years and shared them with friends who were going through difficult times, and each one later told me how thankful they were to have read it. It's a topic that makes people uncomfortable, and I was skeptical at first, but this book deals with it in a very simple, thorough and positive manner. I used to think that since I was a "good" person, Satan wasn't a problem for me. But, this book taught me that Satan will come after Christians just as strongly as he comes after anyone else. If you are feeling tormented, obsessed, depressed, or pulled towards things that you know are harmful, this book may help you find some unexpected answers. It is truly eye opening and helps you to recognize how Satan works in our lives to bring us down, often slowly and imperceptibly. Once you read this book, you will be able to recognize when he is in the picture, how is working against your long term well being, but most importantly you will learn how to overcome his bad influences in your life. It is not a hokey book; it is based on common sense and scripture. I cannot recommend this book more strongly

By LMS "Book worm"

The subject of Spiritual warfare is one that many Christians shy away from today. I think that is mainly because there is a lot of extreamism. There are alot of preachers and authors today who see a demon around every corner and go way beyond the scope of Scripture. I know, because I have read some of these types of books. However, spiritual warfare is a vitally important subject, one that no Christian can afford to ignore.

I have been looking for a long time for a book that is both practical and solidly biblical. This book by Chip Ingrim is both. This book has really opened my eyes. I have always believed in Satan and demons. However, I am beginning to realize now just how ignorant I was to the enemy's tactics and work in my life. I have recently reached a point where I am sick and tired of living a defeated Christian life. I want to learn how to defeat the enemy and live in victory. This book will teach you how to do just that.

This book is based on Ephesians 6. This is a chapter that is regularly preached and taught on. But no one has enriched my understanding of this chapter more than Chip Ingram. He goes through each piece of armor and then talks about how to apply it in your own life. He talks about how each piece protects us from a specific type of attack. But Ingram makes it clear that the responsiblity of putting on the spiritual armour isn't God's. It's ours. If we fail to put on our spiritual armour, we will be extremely vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy.

This book is incredibly practical and Biblical. It is an invaluable resource for any Christian. But I think this book would be especially valuable to a new believer. I am grateful to Chip Ingram for having the courage to write this book. My one regret is that I didn't read this book sooner. This book will convict, challenge and encourage you. Every Christian should read this book. I highly recommend this book.