Spiritual Warfare; The Next Generation

Ezekiel 33:1-9 NIV

1The word of the Lord came to me: 2“Son of man, speak to your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, 3and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, 4then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head. 5Since they heard the sound of the trumpet but did not heed the warning, their blood will be on their own head. If they had heeded the warning, they would have saved themselves. 6But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’

7“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. 8When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. 9But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.

 Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock!

I hear the sound of a clock and it is getting louder and louder every day reminding me that the time is short. I just recently read an article talking about how Lesbian premier orders Ontario’s sex-ed update to teach kids about giving sexual ‘consent’ from ‘the very earliest stages’. My heart just sunk. How can God be pleased with us? Surly our time here on earth as we know it must be running out.

I have read Ezekiel 33:1-9 before and felt an underlying nudge on my heart but it was only a dull probing. Today, as I read this familiar passage, that nudge was pretty intense and I felt if I ignored this probing I would be disobeying Father's leading. Where is He leading me? I am not too sure. I am pretty certain I am not a watchman but I am also certain that as a Christian, I have a duty to share what I know with those who Father brings into my path.

This year I am helping out with our churches after school program and youth/young adults. Many of these kids do not know much about God and I am thrilled that I have a moment in their week to share Jesus with them. What I am noticing is the more I share the more the spiritual warfare increases. Last week while helping serve lunch to these kids the warfare was so intense that after the kids left I felt very drained and just needed to be along with Daddy. What I learned was I was lacking proper prayer cover. I went in, in the flesh and not in the Spirit. There is a war for the next generation and the devil is pushing the limits. The only way to overcome is to humble myself to Holy Spirit and allow Him to lead and direct me. This week I went in to help after having spent a lot of time in prayer for those kids, the workers and drawing a blood line around the church asking Father to hold back the attack of the evil one. What a difference!!! The rebellion was gone and those kids were receptive to the word being shared.

I see God cannot be pleased with us at all. How can He when we have regulations, like the one I shared in the above article, being pressured into our school system. How can He when we have walked away from His rules to follow those which please the flesh? We, as Christians, need to blow the trumpet and spread the Word so we don't have the blood of none believers on our heads. (Here I made a mistake and mixed up two thoughts. See comment from Brenda and my response.) Once we have shared the Word then we have done what we are supposed to do and it is up to those listening to make a choice.

Prayer. 

Intense prayer every step of the way is needed if we want to see these strongholds come down. 

Blessings,
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Battle Lines

The Lion, The Witch, And the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis Chapter 15

At that moment they heard from behind them a loud noise—a great cracking, deafening noise as if a giant had broken a giant's plate.... The Stone Table was broken into two pieces by a great crack that ran down it from end to end; and there was no Aslan.

"Who's done it?" cried Susan. "What does it mean? Is it more magic?"

"Yes!" said a great voice from behind their backs. "It is more magic." They looked round. There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane (for it had apparently grown again) stood Aslan himself.

"Oh, Aslan!" cried both the children, staring up at him, almost as much frightened as they were glad....

"But what does it all mean?" asked Susan when they were somewhat calmer.

"It means," said Aslan, "that though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know. Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward."

I love C. S. Lewis’ book series the Chronicles of Narnia. His ability to write a child’s fantasy story and equate it to spiritual warfare is nothing short of a genius. Reading this fiction story of children traveling to another land allows the mind to break through the natural and see into the supernatural with ease.

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Satan is real. 

The battle is fierce. 

The delusion is on and thicker than ever before. 

Satan's ways are deceiving and he will stop at nothing to acquire a soul. He sows the bad in with the good, the bad thoughts with the good thoughts. He has no pity or sympathy and he is great in doing evil. He is very smart, driven and inspired by a vicious, cruel heart.

Our fight is not against atheist or other religious cults. Our fight is against the angel of light, Satan the great deceiver, and the only way we can fight this mortal enemy of ours is on our knees in prayer and worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, love our neighbour and those who just don’t see, the ones who have fallen under the spell of Satan.

The battle is increasing and Christians should be wearing their armour and hit the ground often in supplication to our Father in heaven, seeking His face, His wisdom and His will.

Our society is lacking prayer. 

We need to pray for the advance of God's cause not for the advance of man's cause. Praying according to the will of God and not to twist the arm of God, is where mountains are moved; spiritual mountains. 

James 4:3 ESV

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

The battle lines are being drawn, there are only two sides to chose from. Either you are with God or with Satan, there is no other choice. 

Praying and praying,

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Battle Zone

The Lord has been leading me into spiritual warfare for the last 6 years or so and this year, for 2013, He gave me the words Spiritual Warfare and the verse Ephesians 6:12 NIV
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

You can read the post I did on it here.

So, like I have been doing for the past 6 years, I again asked the Lord, "What do You want me to do with this?" "Where are You taking me? You know I am not a writer or a speaker." Finally on Tuesday I told Father that whatever He wants me to do I will do it trusting that He would guide me and give me the right things to say at exactly the right time. With this, I was urged to start another Facebook page and call it Spiritual Warfare, an education site with the hope of educating people about the war that we are in.

I am not sure where this page will go and right now there are only 16 followers but I do know that if God is in it and this is what He wants then He will take it where He wants it to go and it will do the work He has planned for it. Right now what I am doing is making pictures with Bible verses on them and trying to encourage healthy discussions about the war we are in and how we can properly fight in this battle and hopefully lead oppressed or possessed people into freedom in Christ.

Like this blog, this page is dedicated for Him and to Him and I only hope I hear His voice clearly and many Christians will wake up and shake off this slumber that Satan has put on us. That Christians will pick up their battle armour and fight in this spiritual war and claim souls for the Kingdom of God.

If you are interested in checking out this page you can click on Spiritual Warfare and if you are interested please like this page.

Barbie over at My Freshly Brewed Life has stopped Fresh Brewed Sundays and started The Weekend Brew. The rules are simple, 1.  Write a post, or share one from earlier in the week, that encourages and brings life. 2.  Grab the button from my sidebar to use in your post, or simply link here. 3.  Visit the person who linked up before you (and a few others if you have time).

Spiritual Warfare 2013

That is my word for 2013, spiritual warfare, and the verse I have been given is 

Ephesians 6:12 NIV

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Father has been leading me on a path of self denial and He has been walking me into intercession for the sick and slowly leading me into spiritual warfare. These last few months, though, He has been walking me into spiritual warfare in a way I have never thought possible. He is revealing to me things in the spiritual realm that I had no idea existed and He is showing me who I am as a child of God, a daughter of the King. He is revealing to me my identity in Jesus and He is showing me the power He gave to Jesus that is available to all believers in Him. This power has the ability to demolish evil in the high places and to tell Satan and his demons to depart, back off and never to return again. To claim and reclaim that which belongs to our Father and to fight for Him and stand up for righteousness and Truth.

Father has been leading me in this direction for most of my life but it has only been in the last 6 years that He has truly been preparing me through self denial. I am still unsure of where this will take me by I do feel the lead taking me into the streets and possibly the mental hospital to pray over the sick, lost and mentally deranged. I live in an area where satanic worship is high, we have a huge holding for the hell's angels here and I do believe Father is leading me to pray and seek the Father's grace in demolishing this very evil strong hold.

'Mischief' by W.Zau__ (I don't know her name) 

About 4 years ago, Father lead me to this picture but just the sight of it totally freaked me out and as Father pressed this on my heart I just kept saying no Lord, no. Last spring Father once again gave me the opportunity to buy it, so out of obedience to Him I agreed and with total trust from my husband, I bought this picture and proceeded to put it in my closet all covered up. Only recently has Daddy been showing me that He wants me on my face in humility at His feet in spiritual warfare. I think that is what this picture is showing me. The evil of this day is growing rapidly and our world is changing very quickly with every second that is passing. Daddy is leading me here and I am excited to see where, exactly, His leading will take me. The passion I have for praying for the sick of body and soul has increased but an ever increasing passion to give Satan and his demons a powerful blow into oblivion is being raised up inside of me.

Do you feel called into spiritual warfare? Do you feel Father leading you down this path of knowing who you are in Jesus Christ? Spiritual warfare is the work of the child of God and Jesus is our leader and teacher in it. When Jesus prayed at Gethsemane He prayed so hard and the spiritual war was so intense that His sweat was like drops of blood. Have you felt the spiritual war that intense before? Well my friend, the bar has been raised and our LORD is returning soon. Satan is on the rampage and he wants your soul especially if you are active for God. Build your foundation on the Word of the LORD and no matter what Satan does to try and knock you down he will never succeed but will run at the sight of you on your knees. These days we live in are very dark and few will continue to walk the straight and narrow path because men are lovers of themselves instead of remembering their first love, God the Father.

I am praying for you, that no matter what comes your way you will continue to seek His face and walk the path of eternal life. Please pray for me too as I don't want to fall into the way of the world but to live with my eyes on Jesus and the eternal prize that is waiting for me in heaven; eternal life with Daddy.

Intercession is pretty exciting work!

I'm looking forward to 2013 and all the wonderful new things that are just waiting to happen.

Be blessed my friends, be blessed!

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How To Battle

Source

First part of this series is Warrior God.

Forces in the spiritual realm are set against us so we must battle or the enemy will invade and prevail over us. We must don our spiritual armour and wear it 24/7 and stand up to our enemy and fight because forces are set against us and if we are idle the enemy will run us over. If we do not fight the enemy will be relentless in attacking us and will take our blessings away. Whether we like it or not, spiritual warfare is going on 24/7, Satan and his army are not going to back off just because we are ignorant of his devices or tired of fighting. Oh no, he will fight even harder until we are so bound up in demonic chains that we are totally harmless to his kingdom.

Unbelief in spiritual warfare does not stop the oppression of the enemy, that only gives the enemy an advantage over us. Remember:

Exodus 15:3 NIV

The Lord is a warrior;

    the Lord is his name.

³ 
A child of God should not behave like a civilian or a citizen of the world but needs to take on their responsibility and be a soldier in the Lord's army.

Ephesians 6:12 NIV 

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

The word struggle or in some versions, wrestle, implies fighting or hand to hand combat. Struggle defined by dictionary.com says: to contend with an adversary or opposing force. to contend resolutely with a task, problem, etc.; strive: to struggle for existence. to advance with violent effort: to struggle through the snow. (of athletes and competitors) to be coping with inability to perform well or to win; contend with difficulty: After struggling for the whole month of June, he suddenly caught fire and raised his batting average 30 points. This word gives us the picture of extreme fighting, a battle that one does not give up on until they win the fight.

1 Timothy 6:12 NIV

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Psalm 144:1 NIV

Praise be to the Lord my Rock,

    who trains my hands for war,

    my fingers for battle.

Jesus is our teacher, ask Him to show you how to do battle and He will. Remember He is faithful and Father hears our prayers if we are not living in sin and stay under the covering of the Blood of the Lamb. There are some rules to warfare and if you follow them you will be successful in the battle.

Deuteronomy 20:1-8 NIV

When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

The officers shall say to the army: “Has anyone built a new house and not yet begun to live in it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may begin to live in it. Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy it. Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else marry her.” Then the officers shall add, “Is anyone afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his fellow soldiers will not become disheartened too.”

From reading this above passage we see that we are to go into prayer knowing God is with us and we have no reason to fear because it is God who will be fighting for us. We also see that if we are distracted when we go into prayer then our prayers are not effective and we are open for a sucker punch to the vitals by the enemy. We must deal with the distraction first in order to win the war.

Psalm 8:1 NIV

Lord, our Lord,

    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory

    in the heavens.

Always start your prayers off with praise and worship. God is worthy of our praise so when we go to war we need to acknowledge Him for Who He is, praise Him and know that He is going before you into the battle field.

1 John 1:9 NIV

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Confess your sins. You cannot enter into the presence of the Lord while you are living in sin or have unrepentant sin in your heart. You need to be right with Him because when you are He will hear your prayer and He does answer right away. It is either yes, no or wait.

Ephesians 6:18 NIV

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. 

Now you are ready to pray all kinds of prayers in the Spirit. What does praying in the Spirit mean? Check out GotQuestions.org for a good explanation. Here is a little snippet of their answer...The Greek word translated “pray in” can have several different meanings. It can mean “by means of,” “with the help of,” “in the sphere of,” and “in connection to.” Praying in the Spirit does not refer to the words we are saying. Rather, it refers to how we are praying. Praying in the Spirit is praying according to the Spirit’s leading. It is praying for things the Spirit leads us to pray for.

Next post will be on why we must fight.

Blessings,
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