And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15
If spiritual progress is your goal, you must learn how it is attained. Because we have an enemy spiritual progress is made in battle. All spiritual increase is made through spiritual warfare. What exactly is the focal point of this entire battle? One single thing: life. It is entirely centered around life. Understand .. our enemy’s focus, attention, and all of their schemes is the objective to snuff out life. From the very beginning it has been a war against the ‘seed’ of the Creator, and to destroy it and kill it. The enemies whole success depends on death. If they can bring death in any form they succeed in the battle. On the other hand if those on the Lord’s side can connect together with the Lord and with each other and bring life — they succeed in the battle.
Knowing Him in His resurrection power is the beginning of the progress of spiritual maturity. The resurrection means LIFE! Every step of spiritual progress comes out of a crisis, tribulation, suffering, spiritual warfare, or turmoil. And going through those events brings first hand experience which brings knowledge, faith, and endurance. Our salvation is realized through direct revelation of His resurrection.
All progress, all increase, is this battle between death and life, life and death. Now we know that eternal life is a gift in response to faith in Jesus Christ. And this gift is not the immediate ‘end of the story’, but it becomes the ‘battle ground’ for the rest of the disciple’s experiences in life. Our enemy will use any means at their disposal to neutralize, arrest, diminish, and make inoperative, this revelation of the power of Christ’s resurrection within the disciple. One can see this progress of His power through His resurrection through the apostle Paul. All of Paul’s battles, imprisonments, deadly conflicts, beatings, lead Paul into great spiritual understanding of Christ’s power in the resurrection …up and to Paul’s very last days.
Paul was speaking out of personal experience when gave Timothy this advice…
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:12
Life is God’s plan. Death is the enemies plan for the Creator’s created. You are part of the Creator’s created and thus the enemy wants you dead. If you are alive in Christ, then you have spiritual life and have broken free from the default the enemy has secured for all of the created which is to take the souls to annihilation with them. God wants us to fight for life, for ourselves and for others. As the battlefield is intense and dangerous, those who are more experienced and understand the nuances of the tactics of the enemy and how to listen closely to our King need to educate and teach others these things. Experienced warriors are valuable and are especially targeted by the enemy. Experienced elders in the faith are valuable and should be utilized for their wisdom and counsel. The battle is real. Everything against life is of the enemy. God creates life. Jesus secured resurrection power. The Holy Spirit breathes life into those who ask Him. God is ALL about life. The enemy is all about death. God celebrates life, the enemy celebrates death. When you understand these things discernment is more available. Does it (anything you encounter) bring real life or death? The enemy counterfeits what looks like life to attract those who have no discernment, and ensnares them with what will lead them to their death. The gift of the Holy Spirit discerns the Truth.