This week we continue Spiritual Warfare

This week we are continuing with the subject of Spiritual Warfare and we are going to look at a collection warfare truths. * We must deal with and come to grips with the fact that we going to be attacked, so there are things we can do beforehand. War is the attempt of one side to impose its will on the other side. So these thoughts will help you when thinking about spiritual warfare and what you need to do. They are written to encourage you and help you prepare for the battles that will come into your life. There is no way to completely develop every one of these concepts, but you can study these out for yourself and ask the Lord to give you the insight needed.

· Strategy is the art of war and tactics is how you wage a battle. The strategy of the enemy spiritually is to take the true meaning of the Scriptures away so that you don’t know God. The tactic is to get the Jews to look at what was done to them in the past and not see the hand of God in it, nor to see the Messiah in the Torah. To the Gentiles, it is to confuse who the Messiah is and not study the Old Testament at all. The third goal is to keep both groups apart.

· Just because we may lose a battle doesn’t mean we lost the war.

· To be forewarned is to be forearmed-the enemy will attack with no exceptions.

· Spiritual Warfare is a process of difficulty. The first enemies are simple as is the weaponry. Succeeding battles will get more difficult and the weapons more sophisticated.

· Never interrupt your opponent when they are making a mistake.

· “Battering ram” theory: as weapons against you develop, so should your defenses.

· Roman attacks: require intervention from God. The “Roman” attacker comes at you with the attitude that you will be defeated, no matter what the cost. They like to intimidate and divide you, keep you off balance and infiltrate your life in as many ways as they can.

· Hittite attacks: they are people who like to “undermine” you, they try and “dig tunnels” under your walls. The best way to defeat a Hittite attacker is to cave in his walls by confrontation and exposing them for what they are trying to do.

· Philistine attacks: they try to draw you in close. They like confrontation because they think they have better weapons than you.

· Assyrian attacks: already discussed in the previous article.

· Vanity is one’s greatest weakness, so try to avoid it (2 Sam chapters 16 and 17- the story of Achitophel, Absalom, David and Hushai).

· Spiritual and physical battles often go hand in hand so be prepared, casualties will occur. Jer. 12.5 says “If you have run with the infantry and they have worn you out, how can you contend (keep up with) the cavalry.”

· As always, the best defense is a strong offense.

· No matter how strong your defenses are today, if you stay as you are (static) an adversary will come along who can knock down your fortress.

· Don’t get stuck in the stone age (with stone age weapons) and fight a nuclear age enemy.

· Don’t rely on past victories and tactics to win future battles. The enemy will have learned and developed superior tactics.

· Know your enemy and his weaponry and tactics. You must assess and evaluate all incoming data.

· Never underestimate your enemy (Casemate walls at Masada).

· The success of a battle is determined by the abilities of the enemy.

· The attitude of the commander and the spirit of the troops will change the outcome of a battle.

· Rank does not necessarily indicate talent. Inferior talent as a leader will result in severe losses.

· Managers do things right, but a leader does the right thing. There is a difference.

These are just a few warfare truths to keep in mind. In the next article we will talk about the Commander and how we should relate to Him before, during and after a battle.