This week we are going to continue with wise preparations in regards to spiritual warfare

This week we are going to continue with wise preparations in regards to spiritual warfare. There are some things we can do to prepare for the battles we will have to engage in and these are some of the things you can do. Fasting, seeking direction, prayer, worship are some preparations you can do but warfare requires physical action as well. For example, when unexplained sickness hits, seek the most qualified Doctor and follow his directions. When the IRS calls, get the best accountant. If you have a house and a car, get good insurance. To obtain these things is not a lack of faith, they are shields for our protection. Many godly soldiers in the Bible had faith in God but they also had a shield so don’t let people tell you that to have insurance is a lack of faith on your part. We have to learn who or what our enemy is. Pray and plan your method of defense or counter-attack. Purify yourself spiritually before the Lord and build up your supplies, fortify your defenses and guard your gates. Do all you can do to win a battle. After you have done all you can do, then look to the Lord to be your deliverer.

 Now, you build your walls with what you understand and know about the Lord and His Word. That is your armor (protection) as described in Ephesians 6. The shield of faith is confidence in Him, it deflects untruth. The more you know about the Lord the more confident you will be. When you know what you believe you can stand. My walls cannot be your walls, you must build your own emunah (faith), da’at (knowledge), binah (understanding), chachmah (wisdom). Isaiah 33.6 says that “wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability (walls) of your times and the strength of salvation, the fear of the Lord is his treasure.” Others can help you but you must fight your own battles. What kind of “fort/city” do you want? I want a broad wall, with crenels, bastions, a glacis, moat, towers with top-notch weapons and strong gates! But, I can’t build these overnight by attending a few meetings, listening to tapes and reading a book. You must immerse yourself into the Lord and His word and learn, but gaining wisdom at the same time, with much thought in the process. I know many who learn but have no “chachmah” (wisdom) and they fall for any rumor and false teaching that comes down the road because they lack wisdom and discernment. So, we must prepare our walls but call on God also (2 Chr 14.5-11, Prov 16.1). But there is a trap to all this. If you look for only the “tavnit” or pattern you won’t get a good foundation that will allow you to build your walls. Read all the scriptures all the way through over and over again. Then you will know what’s right and wrong when a book or a message comes along. Let the Scriptures mold your mind, not the book or the message. You will find that when you center yourself in the Scriptures many of the programs, books, messages you wanted to read or hear won’t matter anymore.

When should your defenses go up? Following great victories or revelations. And another thing, don’t waste your time on stupid arguments with people who don’t know what they are talking about. They say they are “serving the Lord” when they are only serving themselves. In the next phase of spiritual warfare we are going to talk about psychological warfare. The essence of psychological warfare is to confuse the meaning of words and infiltrate the mind with conflicting concepts. So, before a battle even begins the enemy will be working on you so don’t miss this very important subject of psychological warfare and how it relates to our spiritual battles.

This week we are going to continue.....

This week we are going to continue with the subject of spiritual warfare and be dealing with the subject of wise preparations. Battles are won or lost before any fighting begins. The Lord is not going to entrust His truth to the weak and timid. There are several spiritual preparations we need to make. First, we must pray and study the Word of God. These two need to be balanced. In Gen 49.8-12 we have the blessing given to Judah by his father Jacob. In Judah’s blessing all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet are present except the letter “zayin.” This letter means “weapon” and this tells us that spiritual wars are fought with the Word of God, not carnal weapons (2 Cor. 10.4). Another thing we can do is fast. In Ezra 8.21-32, Ezra fasted until God showed him what to do. Giving to others is a crucial preparation. There is also the area of praise and worship. Jacob made sacrifices before entering Egypt, the priests carried the Ark and praised God before Jericho and other battles. We must also separate from the world. The war is coming and you must learn the Scriptures. You won’t have time for hayrides and socials because you must be getting ready for a battle. That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun, but remember this must be balanced also. Remember, you are either going into a battle, going through a battle or coming out of a battle. Preparations can only be made before it comes. Once it starts and you are coming out of one, it’s too late. There are some defensive things you can do. Don’t fight alone, make sure you have people around you. There’s a joke that says that we should have at least 6 friends because then your family doesn’t have to hire pall bearers at your funeral. Anyway, we should always have back-up protection. And speaking of protection, we must know our protection and it must not “weigh us down.” The crusaders wore so much armor that in one battle The Moslems started the brush on fire, raising the temperature. This caused the Crusaders to get hotter and this cause heat sickness and heat stroke. Eventually they just fell off their horses and were killed. Not having the right armor can limit your mobility, defense and firepower. You must know the potential of you adversary, so there must be time to assess. Until you get good equipment (weapons, intelligence, etc) you can’t fight the battle with confidence. And once you have superior weapons, you must know how to use them. Don’t get caught in a place where you can’t maneuver spiritually. Israel in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 did not make the right preparations and got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. This nearly cost them the war. So, don’t get caught in a “Yom Kippur” war. 

  When you are at peace, keep your fortifications strong. King Solomon built a huge chariot force with towns during a time of peace. It was that strength that contributed to the peace. Today, politicians want to cut the defense budget and not develop weapons and this is a serious mistake that this country will pay for. Nearsighted, ignorant people contribute greatly to war by putting their country in harm’s way by weakening the country’s defense. The same applies spiritually. We must prepare our fortifications before they are needed like King Hezekiah did. We must also know what we are talking about. The more you “build” the less you will “contend” because you won’t have time nor be interested in having battles. When building a good stronghold you will need good footing (your walk) and foundation (the Word). To move from the “stone age” to the “iron age” it’s going to take maturity and training. You must have “basic” training and this is found in Heb 6.1-2. Next week we will continue discussing what kind of preparations we can make before a battle even begins.

This week we will continue with spiritual warfare

This week we will continue with spiritual warfare and look into the most important aspect of the whole thing, and that is The Commander. We must have a balanced, biblical view of the Lord in our warfare in order to be victorious. We should never get into a battle or a confrontation unless the Lord leads. Until then, we wait and seek Him and most of all prepare (learn). This area of preparation (learning) is very neglected. Most of the people I know, especially spiritually, do not do this. I’ve known some people over 10 years and they haven’t learned anything, they still see things the same way and don’t really prepare. As a result, they get into the same battles over and over again with no resolution or victory. If God called you into a battle, then put the burden on Him, but God must direct you. He will show you how to attack, whether it’s the direct method (they can see you coming) or not. The avenue of attack is very important along with the timing and method of warfare. When you have done all that you can, then “stand firm” and don’t break ranks. We must never attack unless we have a clear word from the Lord. David waited until the mulberry tree moved. Why? The sound of the wind in the trees covered the sound of his troops moving. When there are problems, take them to the Lord, but don’t tell God what to do because He is your Commander, not the other way around. Also, we should not talk to Satan while praying, that is talking to the enemy. Talk strategy and tactics with the Lord. Hezekiah did not talk to the enemy in Isa 36.21 but went to the Lord. The only way for a lasting victory is intervention by God, your strength alone won’t do it. If God is in control, then we must ask “why am I being attacked?” It could be to challenge us, to teach us warfare (Judges 3.1-3). Also, ask “why are the attacks so hard?”. This will always be to strengthen us for the future. People who undergo tremendous battles are usually being prepared for something bigger. Another question to ask is “why do we feel defeated?” But remember, no matter the losses along the way, the Lord is always the winner.

When given a directive from God, complete the job. Don’t get to a stopping place and just quit, as so many tend to do. Your enemy will be diligent in his objectives, so should we. An Amalekite killed King Saul after he failed to wipe them out as instructed. And later, as chronicled in the Book of Esther, a descendant of the Amalekite King Agag nearly carried out a plan to exterminate the Jewish people. So, we must finish the job. There are stories in history where the victorious army stopped to loot the victims, allowing the enemy to get away. As a result, they had to continue fighting longer because the enemy had time to recover. Another thing to keep in mind, rank does not necessarily mean talent. The Lord and the disciples were not a part of the high class society of Israel, and yet look at the talent and gifting of God they had. On the other hand, just because someone has a high “rank” doesn’t mean he has talent. There’s nothing worse than inferior talent in places of leadership. And remember, God will not hit you at a level you are not prepared for unless you have not proceeded to the level you should be. If you are a “child” who is at a first grade level but you should be at a fourth grade level He will allow you to be “hit” with fourth grade “material” because you failed to learn the things you should have. Next week we will continue with the next part of spiritual warfare which will be how to make wise preparations. This will be a very important aspect of warfare because preparing wisely can be a deterrent to someone who wants to start something with you. He must stop and count the cost, and if it’s too high, then he won’t fight and there will be peace. False teachers will not be a snare to you. So, don’t miss next week and how to make wise preparations.