Jihad of the Soul

Jihad of the Soul

Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.” Luke 10: 19-20

Jihad is a word that evokes a great deal of fear and concern in our day. At its root the word means struggle. There are essentially two types of Jihad, an internal struggle as it relates to right living and an external struggle as it relates to the forces around us. For the Christian this two fold understanding of holy war has great application. One battle in this war is internal; it is the struggle with the flesh. The other is external with the demonic realm where we wrestle with principalities and rulers. The internal battle of the flesh is won by walking in the Spirit. “I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other,… Galatians 5: 15-17. This Jihad can not be won unless ‘your name is registered in heaven. You can not walk in the Spirit unless you are born of the Spirit. That is why Jesus says rejoice that your name is written in the book of life, or ‘registered in heaven’

The other external battle against the demonic realm can be won through the exercise of the authority granted us in Jesus name. It is a battle that is described in Ephesians 6:12. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Victory in this battle does not mean victory in the war for your soul!

There are those that are exercising that authority in our day, but they are winning a battle and not a war. They have Spiritual gifts and spiritual power, they have even been given authority to use Jesus name. Matthew 7 21-32 describes this group perfectly. They say ‘Lord, Lord,’ did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
What then is the will of God if it is not victory in spiritual warfare? It is that you repent of your sins that you acknowledge that only God can forgive you, and that you have your name written in the book of life. That is the victory in Jihad of the Soul. You can not win this war for yourself. Jesus saw Satan fall from heaven like lightening. In others words a small storm and a quick flash from a heavenly perspective. Matthew 27 says for three hours darkness covered the earth as Jesus died for my sin and your sin. The earth itself was torn open and the dead were raised to life. The Jihad of my Soul is won not in victory of Satan but in victory of my sin by the acceptance of the work done on the cross for me. Today in your battle with the flesh and your battle with Satan remember that the Jihad of your soul is only won through the death Jesus died for you and the resurrection that made the way for you to be born of the spirit.