Victory Over The Darkness by Neil Anderson
Victory Over Darkness
By Neil Anderson
* Overlap of Christian counseling and Christian discipleship: Counseling looks to the past to correct problems and areas of weakness; Discipleship looks to the future to provoke spiritual growth and maturity.
Both must start with A KNOWLEDGE OF GOD & YOUR IDENTITY IN CHRIST
“A good theology is a indispensable prerequisite to a good psychology.”
“But ultimately every Christian is responsible for his or her own maturity and freedom in Christ.
“Before you can be truly free from your past, you need to know who you are in Christ.”
Book to: Christians who aren’t going anywhere. Immature, defeated, and deceived
Chapter 1:
The only identity equation that works in God’s kingdom is you plus Christ equals wholeness and meaning. Not success equals happiness or failure equals hopelessness.
* A large number of Xns are trapped in the same pit. See ourselves as failure.
Needs: Signifance, safety and security, belonging,
Our Negative inheritance: Spiritual death (separated from God), lost knowledge of God, dominant negative emotions (fear and anxiety, shame & guilt, depressed & angry)
Needs: To belong, for self-worth to be restored, and strength & self-controtl
Chapter 2: Forever Different
Jesus: Complete dependence on God (John 5:30, John 6:57, John 8:42)
Uninterrupted Spiritual Life (John 6:48, John 11:25)
We are spiritually alive in Christ right now.
“Salvation is not a future addition; it’s a present transformation.”
We must see ourselves as a child of God who is spiritually alive in Christ.
* Satan’s biggest weapon is deception concerning your identity.
* Must develop a “Who Am I” in Christ exercise daily
Chapter 3: See Yourself for Who You Really Are
Need theology before practicality. We need to know who we are in Christ.
“We are accepted, so we serve God.”
“Harmony with God is based on the same issue as harmony with my earthly father: obedience
“The greatest determinant for how we treat people is how we perceive them.”
“Your behavior as a Christian will conform to what you believe as you walk by faith.”
Chapter 4: Something Old, Something New
Black & White Dogs – The dog you feed the most will eventually grow stronger and overpower the other.
Justification: The moment of salvation
Sancitification: The outer change in the believer’s daily walk
* Didn’t just add a new nature – we EXCHANGED natures. Darkness to Light.
* The issue is learning to walk in harmony with your new nature.
“Sin & Satan are still around, and they are strong and appealing. But by virtue of the crucifixion of the old self, sin’s power over you in broken.”
“The death of your old self formally ended your relationship with sin, but it did not end sin’s existence.”
We should expect to just know our new identity.
* We have a new skipper. While we served the old one, we became trained and conditioned to respond accordingly. “It is this learned independence that makes the flesh hostile toward God.
It’s our responsibility to learn the new skipper:
1. Learn to condition our behavior
2. Transformed by renewing of our minds.
* The war is waged in the mind.
Sanctification is the process of becoming in your behavior what you already are in your identity.
Chapter 5: Becoming the Spiritual Person You Want to Be
1. Grasp your identity in Christ
2. Begin to crucify daily the old sin-trained flesh
How do we walk in the Spirit? There is a sense of mystery that remains.
* “Why are so many believers living so far below their potential in Christ? Why are so few of us enjoying the abundant, productive life we have already inherited?”
* We have a living, personal enemy-who actively attempts to block our attempts to grow into maturity as God’s children.
* Our goal is to become real powerhouse Christians.
More of a relationship than a regimen.
Characterized by liberty, not license or legalism
1. It is NOT passive. This leads to sitting back and waiting for God.
2. Walking, not running, in the Spirit. Not achieved through endless, exhausting work.
Key is a restful yoke-relationships with Jesus.
“The proof is in the fruit.” Look at your behavior.
When you are off, confess and seek forgiveness.
Chapter 6: The Power of Positive Believing
1. Faith Depends on its Object
* It’s what you believe or who you believe in that will determine whether or not your faith will be rewarded.
2. The depth of faith is determined by depth of knowledge of your object
* If you have little knowledge, you’ll have little faith.
3. Faith is an action word. Faith takes a stand. It moves. It speaks up.
“Faith transcends the limitations of the mind and incorporates the real but unseen world.”
God loves us just the way you are
God loves us no matter what we do
Chapter 7: You can’t Live Beyond What You Believe
“Your Christian walk is the direct result of what you believe about God and yourself.”
God’s feedback system: Emotions.
Goals v. Desires:
“Goals are specific results reflecting God’s purposes for your life that does not depend on people or circumstances beyond your ability or right to control.”
Desires: “Specific result that depends on the cooperation of other people or the success of events or favorable circumstances you can’t control.”
Chapter 8:
“When you base your self-worth on the success of your own personal plans, your life will be one long, emotional roller coaster ride.”
“The next best thing to keeping you chained in spiritual darkness or have you live as an emotional wreck is confusing your belief system.”
“If he can muddy your mind and weaken your faith with partial truths, he can neutralize your effectiveness for God and stunt your growth as a Christian.”
Focus on significant activities, prioritize time, bloom where you’re planted, focus on quality not quantity (deepen your current circumstances), wanting what you already have (content), unihibited spontaneity (fun), relating to the eternal (security), resolving internal conflict (peace).
Chapter 9: Winning the Battle for Your Mind
“The more time and energy you invest in contemplating your own plans on how to live your life, the less time and energy you have to seek God’s plan.”
* Satan and his demons are actively involved in trying to distract you from your walk of faith by peppering your mind with his thoughts and ideas.”
“Prevailing stimulation consists of long-term exposure to your environment.”
“The essence of temptation is the invitation to live independent of God and fulfill legitimate needs in the world, the flesh of the devil instead of in Christ.”
We are responsible for your actions at this stage because you failed to take a tempting thought captive.
“Expose the lie.” “Since Satan’s primary weapon is the lie, your defense against him is the truth.”
1. Fill mind with God’s truth
2. Direct minds for action
3. Take every thought captive for Christ
4. Turn to God
Chapter 10:
The order of Scripture is to know the truth, believe it, walk according to it, and let your emotions be a product of your obedience.
“Emotions are God’s indicators to let you know what is going on inside.”
Don’t suppress or repress emotions
Chapter 11: Healing Wounds
1. See the past experience from your view now
2. Forgive those who have offended you
Pages 203-206 (12 steps of Forgiveness)
Chapter 12: Dealing with Rejection
Options:
1. Beat the system:
2. Give in to the system
3. Rebel against the system
* Focus on responsibilities, not rights.
“Disciplining behavior is our job; judging character is God’s job.”
“We must hold people accountable for their behavior, but we are never allowed to denigrate their character.”
Chapter 13: We Grow Better Together
“If your curriculum isn’t essentially the Bible and your program isn’t essentially relational, then what you’re doing isn’t discipleship.”
A Christian can’t have an effective walk (level 3) if he is not moving into maturity (level 2) and he can’t approach maturity if he does not understand his identity in Christ (Level 1).
“Discipleship requires mental discipline. People who will not assume responsibility for their thoughts cannot be discipled.”
“The goal of Christian counseling…is to help people experience freedom in Christ so they can move on to maturity and fruitfulness in their walk with Him.
First goal of Counseling: Help the person identify the root cause for his unfruitful walk.
* Determine what needs are not being met and how he’s trying to meet them.
Second: Unless you can prompt them to emotional honesty, chances of resolving the inner conflicts are slim. “Satan and his demons are like cockroaches. When the light invades their territory, they run for the shadows.”
Third: Share the Truth. Who am I in Christ?
Fourth: Call for a Response: Person needs to make up their mind
Fifth: Help them plan for the future. Support system.
