Be a Spiritual MMA Fighter
Have you ever heard the popular phrase, “Just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it’s not there”? We can apply that line directly to spiritual warfare! Just because we don’t see the angels of God fighting on our behalf against the legion of demons, it most certainly doesn’t mean that the battle isn’t happening right here and right now.
Vladimir Savchuk’s observation of modern-day Christians is important for the entire body of Christ: “Sadly, many Christians today have embraced a vacation-based worldview in this time of battle. But those engaged in the battle understand the following truism: ‘It’s better to be a warrior in the garden than a gardener in war.’”
In John Ramirez’s latest book, Exposing the Devil’s Playbook, he makes an open call to all Christians to take up their spiritual weapons and fight in the critical battle for our souls: “Where are the Nehemiahs in the body of Christ today? Where are the believers who fight with one hand and build the kingdom with the other? I’m blessed that God picked me to build the kingdom on the earth and help rebuild the walls of the church that the devil has torn down, leaving us exposed, wretched, in despair, and spiritually depleted. We need to fight the good fight, punching the devil in the face with one hand and building the biblical principles of the kingdom, the sound doctrines in the Word of God, with the other.
We need to have a relationship with the Lord, not religion. God is always up to something, and the devil is always trying to stop it. The only reason we face intense battles is because God wants to bring about incredible victories in our lives.
Remember this key from the Book of Ephesians: ‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’ (6:12). Many people just focus on the spiritual armor of God in Ephesians 6, but all six chapters of the book are important. Don’t discard the rest of the book; that is a sign to the devil that you are immature and lack understanding.
All six chapters of the Book of Ephesians say something about spiritual identity, spiritual blessings, spiritual wisdom, spiritual knowledge, and spiritual richness in Christ. I’m not talking about boats, houses, cars, helicopters, and jets; the world has those. Our focus should be on those things that the world doesn’t have, the things we need from a heavenly perspective. We need to keep our eyes on the prize, on the finished work of the cross. We need victory in the lives of our families and loved ones, in our ministries, our purposes, and our destinies. Those are the things that matter.
Many times, on the roller coaster of your spiritual life you may find yourself with no answers and no one to talk to. But I want to let you know you’re still sitting in heavenly places. ‘He raised us up and seated us together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus’ (Eph. 2:6, MEV). That’s where the fight is. That is where we beat the devil. That is where we destroy the works of darkness. That’s where we rattle the devil’s cage.
We are seated in heavenly places, which explains how battles and blessings happen all at one time. One day you find yourself on the mountaintop having a Peppermint Pattie with Jesus; the next moment you find yourself in the valley in a battle for your spiritual life. We want Jesus to bless us, but we don’t want battles. Every blessing comes with a battle.
A principle of battle is to stop asking God your Lord and Savior to remove things from your life, your season, your trial, or your testing. The devil laughs at believers when we do this. God says, ‘Shut the devil’s mouth. Punch him in the teeth. Kick him in the stomach.’ Every blessing sits in heavenly places, and we have to go get them. We need to be MMA fighters spiritually and put the devil under submission once and for all.”
For more information on John Ramirez’s new book, Exposing the Devil’s Playbook, visit MyCharismaShop.com