Monday, May 17, 2010

Spiritual Warfare



What is Spiritual Warfare, why do we need it?  Why would Jesus tell us to bind and loose if He took care of it all at the cross?  I'll be sharing the importance of the application... the appropriation for what Jesus did here on this episode of hearingGod.

Spiritual warfare is the next step for a spirit-filled, born again overcomer.  It is one thing to believe the promises of God, but an overcomer steps into the ministry of Jesus... doing what He did, and even 'greater works than these'.

Spiritual warfare is simply the implementation or the applying of the blood of Jesus, and the application, with authority, regarding of the word of God.  It is you saying 'I only do what I see the Father doing'.  It is NOT in running around picking fights with the devil... which is a dangerous contrivance of the flesh.  If God doesn't lead, you will not succeed!

A spiritual warrior realizes what this statement means:  "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do".   That we war not against flesh and blood, but powers and principalities... that evil spirits influence people, cities and nations... and that we, in the power of His blood, have His authority to bind the demonic from operating, and loose the things that align with the Spirit of God here on earth.

When a person can understand that humans are influenced by spirits, fear can be overcome.  "What can man do to me?" (Psa 56:11, Psa 118:6)   This of course does not make us 'above the law' of common sense... If we stray away from seeking His will and in doing only what we see the Father doing... we will reap the consequences of presumption.

I have an experience to share...
I don't have the luxury of getting out much, so when a co-worker of my husband  offered to babysit and paid for our dinner, we were elated.  We went out & had a blast.  The next day my younger son was telling me how the co-worker kept badgering my older son about getting a girlfriend. 

Whoops!   Maybe we were a little too excited to get out of the house in that we forgot to do some spiritual house-cleaning before we left the kids with this co-worker.  And this is part of spiritual warfare... realizing that we cannot allow presumption to reign over our actions.  True, the person isn't like a child molester or anything... but all people are eligible to be influenced by spirits.  Presumption was to let this guy watch our kids and trust that everything would just turn out fine, but as a spiritual warrior we must 'know better'-- we have to first seek God's plan... not our selfish desire to get out of the house and have a nice dinner.

So in seeking God about it, I was led into a teaching moment with our children.  I was able to instruct them about what the bible says, and then set that next to the visible behavior of the co-worker, the inordinate fascination with women or a spirit of 'lust', so they could see that it was a spiritual issue.  I was able to explain the difference between being able to cast a spirit out vs. binding the spirit, because if a spirit is welcome... it's their choice.... we cannot make it for them.  BUT, we do have authority to bind and loose!  So I was able to equip my kids that if in a situation where they recognize a spirit beginning to manifest... how they can deal with it, by binding it from operation.  

Think of the foreign countries that hand the kids a rifle and put them on the line... on the same token, don't you dismiss the power of a praying child for one moment... you need to teach them how to overcome-- how to be that arrow in your quiver.  This is important... Mom & Dad aren't always going to catch everything.

So can you see the spiritual warfare in all of this?  We can't bury our heads in the sand and go into fear living in the world... we have to believe that we are above only and never beneath. (Deu 28:13)

What about things bigger than spiritual influences on people?  Do you cry out over the abominations in the land? (Eze 9:4 ) Do you know you can make a difference? 
Deu 11:24 "Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours..." 
When you see areas of depravity in your city or neighborhood, it is the physical sign of a spiritual problem. 

And, I want to give some credence to the term "territorial spirits"....Even in the Word we see clearly that the demonic can set in some tent pegs in a locale and reek all sorts of havoc.  In Daniel 10:13 we see that principalities rule territorially, because of the tell-tale kingship title:  "But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days.  Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia." 

What gives that prince and power of the air more authority to hold the people in bondage even more?....What people welcome, is welcomed...if they dive into sin, and lose their conscience and openly embrace evil... evil is what will reign.  But God raises a standard. (“When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall raise a standard against him” Isaiah 59:19.)

Again, if you are sighing & crying... it's perhaps because God is raising you up.  So let's talk strategy.  Prayer walking, or prayer driving is a way to bring in the Spirit of God to (Psa 110:1)"...make thine enemies thy footstool."  Again, this is taking the Word of God to heart... believing it and implementing it.     Does this mean to abandon all common sense and go walking in the darkest part of town?  No, again... if you ask, Yeshua you'll find out what to do. 

My husband and I have amazing testimony of psychic shops and hidden prostitution rings shutting down because of the burden we had in our locale.  We've prayer-walked New Age fairs and witchcraft purveyors finding their hocus pocus to naught for the day, including tibetan 'art' ceremonies that openly boast that they invoke a deity or deities----hmmm, a 'gate of hell', perhaps?

Even my young son can praise Jesus because one day he and Dad were led to prayer walk a different area (at my son's leading) and they found out the next day, that in that area they walked, a child on a bike was hit with a car, but no bad came of it.  My son marveled... in that the enemy desired to shed innocent blood, but by the simple prayer of this little one HE heard and dispatched His angels! 

Binding and loosing... you betcha.... you are the living ark of the covenant, the Holy fire-bottle of the presence of God.  You are all about what the 'gap' needs to be filled with to bridge the Spirit of God across. (Eze 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.)

What about things even bigger than what I'd call 'territorial deliverance'?  What about 'the nation' or nations, or people groups that need to be free?  If the Lord puts a burden on your heart... go to your prayer closet and pray and ask God.  I believe there are a great many of intercessors and prophets out there that aren't blossoming their gift because they are waiting on their church or prayer circle of friends to feel that burden or because of that burden are ignored or chastised.  I tell you to go to that place in secret and pray, and be obedient.  Do as the Father leads because those around you may never 'get it'. 

We are not in happy club-mode people... to serve Him is not the popular thing because man likes to get the credit.  God is looking for warriors with hearts completely sold out to Him... ones that sigh and cry, ones that care for all mankind... not just the ones that we like.  We need to be in get-as-close-to-Elohim-as-possible, mode! 

(prayer)
www.hearingGod.tv 

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