Because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we WILL experience persecution. It may be as simple as pushback for a simple post of faith we make on Facebook. It may be as harsh as someone threatening us with violence. It may be facing possible censorship or the threat of imprisonment. It may come in the form of mockery or insults or shunning. But follow Christ and it WILL come. We might as well get ready for it.
Spiritual Warfare Basics
The Battle is Real
We have forgotten how vital the concept of spiritual warfare is to the body of Christ. We ARE at war. Not at war with people. People are not our enemy.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12 NASB
The Enemy is the Enemy
The ENEMY is the enemy. The enemy of God - Satan, the Liar - is who we are at war with. And do not think our battle is not real for one second.
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8 NASB
Where is the Battleground?
And do not confuse the battleground. The battleground is our mind. We are at war for the Truth.
For as he thinks within himself, so he is.
Proverbs 23:7a NASB
We Have Been Given Authority
Jesus, Himself, told us we have authority over the enemy. It is up to us to take up that authority and to walk in that authority.
Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.
Luke 10:19 NASB
How Do We Prepare
We must recognize the particular schemes of the enemy in our own lives; in our own families; in our own cities; states; nations…and come against them with specificity, calling them out by name. For example, in my own life, one of the schemes of the enemy is to play thoughts of irrelevance in my mind. I recognize this lie and denounce it by name, commanding it to leave my mind. Next, I replace that thought with the Truth of God’s Word and claim the victory…as often as necessary!
In my city/region, I have determined there are three main spiritual forces of darkness wielding lies over the populace: 1) Spirit of Religion rather than Relationship with Christ 2) Spirit of Poverty 3) Spirit of Division Among the Races. I attack each with specificity, speaking blessings of Truth over each area of concern, trusting God for the victory.
‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’
Jeremiah 29:11 NASB
Put On The Armor
We take this preparation - putting on the armor of God - for granted. Most of the weaponry is meant for battle in our personal walks with Christ and help us guard over our thoughts. Mainly, they remind us of who and of Whose we are. I urge you to mentally put them on each day because the onslaught - the battle - is as close as your next thought. This battle is real. Read the following passage and ask the Holy Spirit to remind you to use the arsenal at our disposal as believers.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;
16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Ephesians 6:11-16 NASB
Run TO the Battle
David did not wait for Goliath to come to him. He ran toward the enemy. Jesus did not wait for the cross to come to Him. He went TO the cross. We are meant to do battle. Use the armor. Use the weaponry. Use worship and prayer as weapons of warfare against the lies of darkness. Do not be angry with people. Be angry at the Liar who deceives people!
Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:12 NASB
No weapon that is formed against you will prosper…
Isaiah 54:17a NASB
For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7 NASB
6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,
And a two-edged sword in their hand,
7 To execute vengeance on the nations
And punishment on the peoples,
8 To bind their kings with chains
And their nobles with fetters of iron,
9 To execute on them the judgment written;
This is an honor for all His godly ones.Praise the LORD!
Psalm 149:6-9 NASB
Prayer Journal
For an 8 year period, Melinda and I were part of a prayer ministry that took place from 6 to 7 AM, Monday through Friday. We used the Lord's Prayer as a guide...and never ran out of things to seek God in prayer for...and - more often than not - did not have enough time in that hour to cover everything we wanted or needed to petition God for!
How does one pray without ceasing? It is called relationship. We talk with Father God and He talks to us. Reality is, whether we like to admit it or not, that we often run out of things to pray within a few minutes of setting aside time to pray! We often wonder why we do not get what we want in life when the utter reality is that most of the time we do not get what we want or need because we do not ask specifically! Add to that the fact that we tend to make time for what is important to us. Is spending time with Father in prayer important to you? Then make time!
Following are some things to help you build and grow your prayer life. When I am clueless as to what to pray for, I default to the Lord's prayer. I begin with worship (worship and praise IS prayer!). I then ask God to bring His kingdom to pass in my life, my family's life, my church family's life, etc. Next, I seek God for provision for myself and others. From there, I move into asking God to reveal any un-forgiveness in my heart and I repent and ask Father to cleanse me. I then ask Him to reveal to me any lies I am believing and to give me wisdom to replace them with the Truth of His Word, while also seeking Him for protection for my life and loved ones. Then I close my prayer with more worship and praise! You can always practice such prayer regardless of where you are and in spite of circumstances. Read through the Lord's Prayer and remind yourself of its patterns...then apply them to your life.
Lord's Prayer
“Pray, then, in this way:
Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Matthew 6:9-13 NASB
What is your Jericho?
We tend to get what we ask for. When we ask in generalities, we receive in generalities. Learn to approach the throne of God boldly by virtue of the access the blood of Jesus has afforded you! Want to know the attitude of God toward prayer? Read on...
As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They *said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.
Matthew 20:29-34 NASB
• We don't get what we want because we don't know what we want
• Define success - be specific
Honi and the Prayer Circle
I visited a local church recently. The pastor shared the following story from Jewish history:
Honi was a Jewish scholar who lived during the 1st century B.C. It is reported that, on one occasion, when God did not send rain well into the winter (in the geographic regions of Israel, it rains mainly in the winter), Honi drew a circle in the dust, stood inside it, and informed God that he would not move until it rained. When it began to drizzle, Honi told God that he was not satisfied and expected more rain; it then began to pour. He explained that he wanted a calm rain, at which point the rain calmed to a normal rain.
• Honi was very specific with Father God • Draw circles rather than blanks...tell Father what you want or need and be specific
• Define a dream desire or promise and match it with God's Word
• Pray for that circle promise every day
Daily Prayer Guide and Journal
Nothing builds up faith like an answer to prayer...so why not document what you are praying for and then document when it is answered? Following are daily suggestions for what to fill your prayer times with:
Sunday - fellowship/communion with Father God
Monday - family
Tuesday - local, state, national, and international leadership
Wednesday - All in All Church and the body of Christ; people you know who need Jesus/ministry/salvation
Thursday - creativity and wisdom
Friday - marriages
Saturday - whatever the Spirit brings to mind
Devote Yourself to Prayer
First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:1-4
God Is For Us
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
Romans 8:31 NASB
You Have Not…
…You do not have because you do not ask.
James 4:2b NASB
The Heart of a Child
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be fnadded to you.” Jesus
Matthew 6:33 NASB
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:1-3 NASB
We are called to seek first the kingdom of God. How do we do that? We seek the King! How should we seek the King? We seek Him as a child seeks after the arms of his/her daddy!
I pastor a small body of believers in my home each week. Some of my children attend with their children - my grandchildren. One recent Wednesday night during worship, which I lead from the piano, one of my grandsons, Ronald, made quite the impression on my heart. A bit about Ronald…
Ronald (16 months old) is the second-born sibling to older brother, Cullen. Cullen (2+ years of age) makes a beeline for my outstretched arms as soon as he comes inside the room. Ronald does the same…which makes my heart leap each and every time.
During worship, we allow the children to participate freely…which means dancing around the room, playing away! We have to put up barricades so as to keep Ronald from trying to get to me at the piano. This past worship session I am speaking of, Ronald found a way to get to me! Before his parents knew it he was at my side! I felt a ‘presence’ to my right side…from which Ronald had emerged, having found a way through the barricade! Not wanting to break the flow, I picked him up with my right hand as I played with my left. By this time, his daddy had come to help. I simply passed Ronald behind my back, lifting him over my shoulder to his dad!
The picture of the kingdom was painted indelibly on all our minds in that moment! Ronald sought to get to me, going around barriers, traversing obstacles, and finding a way to get to his objective! Eyes full of wonder and heart full of joy at having accomplished his pursuit - relationship with me via my outstretched arms - Ronald demonstrated the heart of a seeker…and one who finds the kingdom!
What if we sought the kingdom and the King like a child? What would that look like?
We would be laser-focused, just like little Ronald. Single-minded!
We would have hearts full of joy as we pursue our goal. Joy in the journey!
We would be full of wonder and awe in pursuit of relationship with the King…just as Ronald’s eyes were fixed and full of wonder, never taking his eyes off of me!
We would not let anything stand between us and our King.
We would not be deterred.
We would rejoice at every sighting of our King.
We would seek Him as if our life depended upon it.
We would not be satisfied until we found the King.
We would rejoice in the smile of the One we seek.
We would be mesmerized by the look of love and acceptance on His face.
We would have no doubt of the King’s love for us.
We would run to His arms at every opportunity.
We would trust His arms.
We would just enjoy BEING with Him…
Seek the King like a child and find the joy of the Kingdom.
Dennis Jernigan
The Kingdom of God - Unshakable
See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven.
And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “YET ONCE MORE I WILL SHAKE NOT ONLY THE EARTH, BUT ALSO THE HEAVEN.”
This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe;
for our God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 12:25-29 NASB
Who is the writer of Hebrews?
To whom was he writing?
Why was He writing this letter?
What parallels can we make about those days and our present days?
What things were shaken before?
What things are being shaken now?
What remains after the shaking takes place?
Why does the kingdom of God not destroyed in the shaking?
What does this mean to our life at present?
Why is gratitude a component of this shaking?
What does it mean for the world that God is a consuming fire?
What does it mean to us that our God is a consuming fire?
How does this affect your view of the kingdom of God?
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:1-3 NASB
To whom was Jesus speaking?
What was their previous conversation about that led to this passage of Scripture?
How does the previous conversation apply to the kingdom of God?
What did this passage mean when it said we need to be converted? Converted from what to what?
What do you suppose the kingdom of God is?
What do you think Jesus meant by saying we need to become like children to enter the kingdom?
What does it mean to have a kingdom perspective?
Why do you think that is important?
How does this perspective affect your own life?
