🌱Three Hearts, One Battlefield: The Sinner, the Lukewarm, and the Growing Christian
Key Scriptures:
Luke 12:48, 2 Corinthians 2:11, Genesis 3:6, Judges 16:1-21, Matthew 26:14–16, Matthew 5:27-29, Joel 2:32, Matthew 13:20-21, 1Samuel 15:24-31, Timothy 4:10, Job 1-2, Job 23:10, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, Psalm 51.
Overview:
As a Christian grows in faith and prayer life, the battlefield shifts. Your trial and temptations evolve. The devil becomes more subtle. Your stage of spiritual growth determines the kind of warfare you face. You will face trials according to your position in Christ. the bigger your position, the bigger your trial
Listen to Prophet TB Joshua talk about this here
Jesus said in Luke 12:48, “To whom much is given, much is required.”
And the Apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 2:11, “We are not ignorant of Satan’s devices.”
Let’s explore how temptation differs across three spiritual hearts in the same battlefield of life:
✨️1. The Sinner — Tempted by the Senses
Nature of Temptation:
Sinners are mostly tempted by their senses, feelings and emotions which cause them to commit shameful acts. Sinners live without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They fall easily to satan’s temptation of their senses. Their lives are controlled by their five senses:
Sight 👀— Matthew 5: 27-28, Genesis 3:6–“Jesus warned, stop looking at things that cause you to sin”
Sound 👂— Proverbs 16:24, James 3:5-6, Ephesians 5:4, 1Corinthians 15:33–Gossips, bad company ruins good morals etc.)
Touch ✋— Matthew 5:30–“Jesus warned, stop touching things that cause you to sin”
Tongue 👅— Proverbs 10:19, Proverbs 4: 24, Proverbs 18:21 - “Avoid perverse talk”
Smell/Taste 👃—Ephesians 5:2-9, Genesis 3:6, Proverbs 23:20-21, Galatians 5:22 -Avoid living impure and immoral lives so your words can come to God as a sweet smelling aroma.
In 1Corinthians 6:19-20 – Paul reminded us “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the HolySpirit within you, who you have from God, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body”
In 1 John 2:16 – Apostle John warned us about “The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life…”
In Proverbs 7:21–23 – **“The simple are led astray through sensual temptations through* *the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the smell of perfume…”**
Satan uses these weakness of the senses to lure them into lust, addiction, covetousness, anger, and shameful acts.
They lack spiritual discernment and live by what they feel, not by faith.
Biblical Examples:
Eve – Genesis 3:6
- “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes…”
Satan appealed to her senses of: taste, sight, and desire of the flesh (touch). Eve fell for satan by touch and seduction. Genesis 6:2 – This was the genesis of spiritual wives and husbands.
Samson – Judges 16:1–21
- He allowed lust through his eyes to ruin his calling. He laid his head on Delilah’s lap until she shaved his destiny off.
Judas Iscariot – Matthew 26:14–16
- His greed led him to sell his Master for 30 pieces of silver. He was controlled by lust for money, not mission. Satan appealed to his sense of sight and desire of the mind through greed. Did he become a treasurer because of his love to serve or fulfilling his greed and weakness for money?–Matthew 6:24
✨️2. The Lukewarm Christian — Tempted by Emotions and Inconsistency
Nature of Temptation:
These are people who have heard the Gospel, accepted Jesus superficially, but lack depth. Their faith is based on feelings and emotions, not rooted in God’s Word.
These type of Christians are spiritual in one moment, the next moment they back slide again but they feel broken and regret their actions. The reason is because the word of God is not rooted in them and that’s reflected in their inconsistency.
They are merely convinced about salvation but not convicted in their hearts yet. They are Christians based on feelings not faith—Matthew 13:20–21. Prophet TB Joshua says:
“If your feelings control your faith, you can be a Christian yet still controlled by Satan’s devices.”
🔁 They repent today and fall tomorrow. They love Jesus, but not enough to let go of the world. Jesus Christ is not looking for part-time Christians, you must be a full time Christian to worship God in truth and in spirit.
Biblical Examples:
King Saul – 1 Samuel 15:24–31
Saul feared men more than God. He was never patient enough to obey God’s instructions. Saul would rather sacrifice than obey God’s instructions. He was chosen by God, but God also chooses what we go through; we choose how we go through it by our obedience to His instructions. Saul made the wrong choices, and it cost him an opportunity to change his own destiny and that of of his descendants.
Saul Said, “I have sinned, I have disobeyed your instructions and the LORD’s command for I was afraid of people and did what they demanded”. He later pleaded with Prophet Samuel to accompany him so that he may worship the Lord God together with the Israelites – 1Samuel 15:30-31.
Will you rather do the will of men and not God’s? Jesus said to His Father, “not my will, but Yours, be done”
Demas – 2 Timothy 4:10
Paul’s Disciple, Demas, left the faith because he loved the world more than his ministry and service to God and mankind. The question is why did he leave? He was once convinced and then became a disciple of Apostle Paul. The answer is simply because he based his belief on sight and not faith. Paul commanded us in 2 Corinthians 5:7 “for we walk by faith and not by sight”. He is like the seed on rocky ground described by Jesus in Matthew 13:20-21. He joyfully received the Word but fell when trial came.
Jesus Christ is not looking for part-time Christians, you must be a full time Christian to worship God in truth and in spirit – Revelation 3:15–16 – “You are neither hot nor cold… I will spit you out of my mouth.”
James 1:6–8 – “He who doubts is like a wave of the sea… unstable in all his ways.”
✨️3. The Mature or Growing Christian — Tempted in the Mind
Nature of Temptation:
These Christians are grounded in the Word and consistent in prayer. Mature or growing Christians are mostly tempted in their minds (Proverbs 4:23). Satan attacks their minds with fear, worry, doubt, anxiety, lust, pride, etc.
They do not fall easily into action-based sins like fornication, going clubbing, stealing, lying, etc.
Their obedience to God and devotion to His Word keep them from committing sinful acts. However, they also have to keep passing trials and tests to maintain their position and move into deeper realms of relationship with God.
To enter a deeper relationships, prayer becomes a lifestyle. Their consistency in prayer is the shield over their weaknesses. They run to God immediately after they do wrong, and God forgives them instantly.
Satan no longer attacks them with outward, obvious sins but subtly targets their minds.
They battle:
Fear 😨—2 Timothy 1:7 — “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
Doubt 🤔— James 1:12—“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
Worry 🤔— Matthew 6:25-33—“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.”
Offence 😓— Colossians 3:13, Ephesians 4:32—“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Anxiety 😰—Romans 5:3–4—“We also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
Guilt 😓—1 John 1:9 — “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Discouragement 😞—Galatians 6:9 — “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Because they are spiritually aware, Satan aims to corrupt their thought life. There is a constant battle in our hearts between light and darkness.
🛡️ Their defense against satan is: Consistent meditation, prayer, and total dependence on God
Biblical Examples:
Job – Job 1–2; 23:1-10
Job was attacked not by physical temptation but through the mind—grief, loss, and despair. God chose or permitted what Job had to go through but Job chose how to go through it remembering God’s goodness and never taking off his mind from God and His ability to rescue him. Job was willing to give his all even if God never came to his rescue. He boasted in God’s ability against every accusation of the enemy.
Job Declared, “My complaint today is still a bitter one, and I try hard not to groan aloud, If only I knew where to find God, I would go to His court. I would lay out my case and present my arguments….but He knows where I am going, And when He tests me, I will come out as pure as Gold”
Jesus – Matthew 4:1–11
Satan knew he could never tempt Jesus to commit sinful acts. So he went straight to tempt His mind. “3If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread” –Take note, it wasn’t really about converting the stones to become bread because He knew Jesus could do that already–Matthew 14:13-21 and he himself, Lucifer, also had the power to do same. The weapon of temptation he used here was doubt….“If You are the Son of God…” that is, if you are truly whom you are, prove yourself. Jesus is whom God says he is…“God himself spoke to the hearing of all men in Matthew 3:16 “This is my dearly beloved son, in whom I am well pleased”. Satan knew many people will be saved through this mighty testimony of God about the savior of the world and he wanted to get Jesus to doubt himself.
“6If you are the Son of God, Jump off”—It wasn’t about the act of Jumping off because Jesus had the power to walk on the air because he did that already when he walked on water in Matthew 14:25-33*. “Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ’Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” He was only using his ineffective weapon of doubt again.
“7If you will kneel down and worship me”—Now given that his strategy didn’t work, his pride set in and he so desperately let out what his real desire was—power— to take glory that solely belongs to God almighty. The very thing he did that got him thrown out of heaven.*
Jesus’ response to the devil was more for the future, to set a guideline and a model for all Christians and how to deal with temptations of the mind using the words of our testimony— “They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony”
Paul – 2 Corinthians 12:7–10
Apostle Paul faced a thorn in his flesh; God’s grace was his only strength. He must have battled this a lot in his mind but each time he asked God, the Lord told him—“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.
Daniel Could have doubted God when thrown into the lions’ den, but his discipline and prayer life preserved him.
Final Advice:
Proverbs 4:23 – “Guard your heart (mind), for out of it flows the issues of life.”
2 Corinthians 10:5 – “We take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ.”
Philippians 4:6–8 – “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
✅ How to Overcome in Every Stage:
For the Sinner:
Call on Jesus – Joel 2:32
Repent and accept salvation – Romans 10:9–10
For the Lukewarm:
Seek deep conviction, not just convenience – Psalm 51:10
Build consistency through the Word – John 15:4
For the Mature:
Meditate deeply on Scripture – Psalm 1:2
Take every thought captive – 2 Corinthians 10:5
Maintain your relationship with God - John 8:31
Pray without ceasing – 1 Thessalonians 5:17
🌟 Declaration:
“Lord, hear I am, manifest your strength in my weakness in Jesus Name. Amen” 🙏🔥
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References
Three Hearts, One Battlefield: The Sinner, the Lukewarm, and the Growing Christian
Three Hearts, One Battlefield: The Sinner, the Lukewarm, and the Growing Christian
Published by SpiritWorshipGen – A Generation of Spiritual Worshippers