Tag Archives: spiritual warfare

The Eye of the Tiger!

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589218387The movie Braveheart chronicles Sir William Wallace’s fight against England’s oppression for Scotland’s freedom. It illustrates the heart of a warrior. Wallace’s grassroots army lined up for battle against the mocking English and Wallace inspired his army with a cry for freedom. It was a rallying call for justice. I don’t think I am alone in saying that I was stirred in the depths of my being. That scene made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Numbers 25:6-11 tells how Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron the priest, displayed this same fervor and passion for justice. When many were whoring themselves, he along with others was at the temple gate

When deteriorating circumstances are running rampant, they demand drastic and bold actions to combat vicious spreading of evil  (tweet)

crying out to the Lord. He ran to the offense and passionately thrust a javelin through the violating individuals. This bold, and what some might think seemed to be overly drastic, action was pronounced by God as righteous and stopped the destruction among the nation. It’s evident that Phinehas had a warrior’s heart. When he saw evil creeping in and overtaking his family, friends and Nation, he turned back God’s wrath against them. Scripture tells us that his actions were motivated with the zeal of God. He had the heart of God and it manifested through his attitude toward evil. When deteriorating circumstances are running rampant, they demand drastic and bold actions to combat viciously spreading evil.

Do you remember the scene in the classic movie “Rocky” where his coach tells the apathetical and lethargic boxer that he lost the eye of the tiger? The coach was referring to Rocky not having an attitude of a warrior. He had lost his focus and zeal for victory. It is only when we have the “eye of the tiger” that we become victorious in our spiritual battle as William Wallace and Phinehas were.

We must never allow ourselves to think that we are not in a spiritual battle. We must realize that spiritual warfare will be a big part of our Christian life. The passage in Deuteronomy 20 says we should not be afraid when we see the tactics and onslaught of the enemy. When we are overcome with fear we agree with the enemy’s portrayal of himself as

Through focusing on his God and His promises, David was able to stand strong and defeat the mocking giant.     (tweet)

mightier than our God. Verse three continues exhorting the children of Israel as they go into battle saying, “Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”

In 1 Sam17: it says that each day Israel’s army positioned itself for battle and when the Philistine giant mocked their God and threatened them, they trembled with fear. But, Goliath did not deter and embed fear in young David’s heart. Through focusing on his God and His promises, David was able to stand strong and defeat this mocking giant. His attitude reflected his confidence and zeal for God. The result of this young shepherd boy defeating this giant was that the whole nation was motivated with a confidence and attitude to win the victory that day.

Any time that we do not understand who we are in Christ and believe the enemy’s lies we will be defeated within ourselves. God wants His children to have an “eye of the tiger” or attitude of victory as they contend in spiritual warfare.

Having an Attitude of a Warrior

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187139402Do you remember the heroic acts of the passengers on the United Airlines flight 93 on September 11, 2001? It was a normal day until the ordinary gave way to the catastrophic. The enemy had no other plans than to kill, steal and destroy their lives and many others. When these heroes realized what was going on they decided not to allow the enemy to inflict unjust destruction upon them. They rose up against the terrorists— they fought back. They counter-attacked the enemy sacrificing their own lives but literally saving hundreds in Washington, D.C. These heroes were not going to sit by and take whatever their enemy dished out.

As a good soldier of Christ, we must have the attitude or heart of a warrior   (tweet)

As Christians, we need to continue to build upon the foundation laid by Jesus on the cross. We must put on and use the armor God has provided for us. We must not allow the enemy to get our eyes off the souls who are facing sure destruction without our intervention. As a good soldier of Christ, we must have the attitude or heart of a warrior. The apostle Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith,” (II Tim. 4:7). In summing up his life, he affirms that we must fight spiritual battles. It’s a “good fight” because it is the will of God that we combat the forces of His enemy. In Him, we are more than conquers (Rom. 8:37)! Over two hundred years ago Edmond Burke said, “All it takes for evil to triumph in the world is for good men to do nothing.” You can apply that saying to your entire spiritual life as you pursue God’s plan.

We must remember our fight is not with flesh and blood and that our weapons are mighty in God    (tweet)

The Christian is as bold as a lion and must stand for righteousness. God Himself is described as a warrior in Isaiah 42:13. Psalms 144:1 states, “Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.” God is not only a warrior Himself, but He trains us to have that same attitude and heart so that we can execute righteousness in the land. The prophet Joel declared, “Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, Let them come up,” (Joel 3:9). How many times are we confronted by the enemy and we do nothing but quake in our boots? It’s time for us to wake up the warring spirit within us and get ready for the battle at hand. David, though young and inexperienced in battle, stepped up to fight Goliath. Many might ask why he would take a stand against a mocking giant. Well as he himself said, “Is there not a cause,” (I Sam. 17:29)?

David had a warrior’s heart. He refused to allow an overgrown, ungodly Philistine to mock his God or defy His armies. His previous fight with the bear and the lion prepared him for this epic battle. God prepares and equips us to become spiritual warriors for His kingdom as we walk with Him along the journey. Having a heart and attitude of a warrior is a part of our spiritual D.N.A.

We must remember our fight is not with flesh and blood and that our weapons are mighty in God as Paul says in 2 Cor. 10:3, 4. Therefore, our attitude must consist because of spiritual content such as prayer, scripture understanding and obedience to God’s statues.

Ready or Not We are in a Battle!

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sb10062366k-001Like it or not, as a believer, you are in a battle! Every person born into this world is immersed into spiritual warfare. Having been plunged into the conflict of the ages, we are not exempt nor can we be neutral. Either the forces of evil will trample us or we will be victorious through our spiritual warfare—winning souls, changing society, influencing history and helping establish God’s Kingdom. I’m not talking about being a demon chaser, blaming demonic forces for every uncomfortable situation or flaw in someone’s character. But, I am talking about a battle that has been waged long before you and I were born, a battle that is waged against the purposes of God and His Kingdom. It’s a battle that has been waged by the enemy of your soul.

In Revelation 12:9-12 we see the allegory of the dragon waging war against the woman and her offspring. Verse 17 says, “Then the dragon became angry at the woman, and he declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and confess that they belong to Jesus.” That’s every believer on the earth! We are in a spiritual fight whether we understand it or not! Whether we like it or not it’s a battle!

There’s no time to relax on our blessed assurance allowing the enemy to steal the victory that Christ has already won for us on the cross  (tweet)

There’s no time to relax on our blessed assurance allowing the enemy to steal the victory that Christ has already won for us on the cross (tweet)All through scriptures we are instructed in spiritual warfare and not be afraid. Moses gives principles concerning warfare to the children of Israel in Deut. 20. He starts off in verse 1 by saying “When you go out to battle against your enemies”. It’s important to realize that it doesn’t say “if you go out to battle” but “when you go”.

In 1Tim 6:12 Paul exhorts young Timothy to “Fight the good fight of faith”. Again in 2 Tim 2:3-5 we read, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him…”. We have been called and enlisted by Jesus Himself. Therefore, it’s no time to relax on our blessed assurance and allow the devil to steal the victory that Christ has already won for us on the cross.

Not only is the believer a target for the fiery darts of the demonic, but is faced with obstacles and conflict that manifest in the natural. If we’re not careful through the commotion we can loose sight of who we are actually in a battle with. Evidently, the church members at Ephesus were in that situation themselves. So the apostle Paul takes the time to include in his letter to them the explanation of who we are actually fighting against. He also writes to the Corinthians bringing understanding to believers about this spiritual fight. We read in 2 Cor. 10:3-4, “Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God…”

Once we recognize who we are in a battle against then it becomes clear that earthly and temporal weapons are useless. The believer must be spiritually minded if he is going to be effective in spiritual warfare.

There are four important areas of spiritual warfare that all believers need to understand and walk in. For the sake of memory I will refer to these as the four “A’s” of spiritual warfare—attitude, authority, armor and artillery. We will cover these four different points over the following weeks.

The Devil doesn’t Play Fair

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There’s an old saying, “If you can’t take the heat get out of the kitchen.” If we are going to engage the enemy on his territory and be vessels of deliverance to those that he holds in bondage, we must expect to have conflict from the kingdom of darkness. Even though the prince of darkness has been defeated, he is not going to roll over and play dead.

The curtains of the spirit realm are pulled back when Daniel burdened for the people of God, humbled himself in twenty-one days of prayer and fasting. God answered his enquiry in an angelic visitation—from the first day that he prayed the answer was dispatched. Yet, it was hindered by the Prince of Persia for twenty-one days until the angel Michael came to assist (Dan. 10:12-14).

Even though the prince of darkness has been defeated, he is not going to roll over and play dead.   (tweet) 

When Daniel began to intercede for his people and for their return to their land, the enemy resisted. Not knowing of the fight, Daniel continued to press in and pursue the welfare of his people. It wasn’t until the angel revealed a glimpse of the spiritual warfare that was going on did it bring hope and understanding to Daniel and all who read about it.

Though at times the fight might seem to be just in the temporal realm it is truly in the spiritual realm. The unseen is more real than the seen. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Our battle is spiritual, yet it manifests in the natural in many ways. When we press in to the things of God, we will come face-to-face with the enemy who will always try and hinder us. He has many strategies, such as intimidation, affliction, persecution or other troubles that steal our attention away from God’s heart. The enemy will try to stop prayers that are liberating the captives and setting people free. Prayers that cry out for justice in our land bring an irritating reminder of the blood of the cross to the enemy’s camp. Have you ever seen a dog chase his tail? They never seem to get tired of the adventure of almost catching it. That is like the devil, he seems to never tire of trying to catch you and disrupt God’s plans in your life. He uses the same old tricks, just different names, faces and scenarios.

Prayers that cry out for justice in our land bring an irritating reminder of the blood of the cross to the enemy’s camp.   (tweet)  

But, thanks be to God who gives us the victory through the blood of Jesus. The enemy will fall into the very pit that he has dug for you. We are on the winning side and scripture declares, we are the head and not the tail (Deut. 28:13). The Apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians, “Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God…” (II Cor. 10:3- 4). Paul also communicated to the Ephesians, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places,” (Eph. 6:12). We are in a battle not with humankind but with demonic forces in the spirit realm. Therefore, we must remember our warfare must be in the spirit not in the flesh.