Spiritual Warfare

Put on the Armor of God and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!!

We’re in a mighty battle! Have you ever thought of yourself as a soldier? Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:3-4 (KJV) Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ⁴ No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 1 Peter 5:8-9 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: ⁹ Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

John 17: 11 (KJV) And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

When we follow Jesus and share the Gospel with others, we become His disciples; God has given us to Him. The very moment we accept Jesus as our Savior, Satan begins an onslaught of attack, so Jesus asked His Father to protect us in this world. The world is being overrun by Satan as he prowls around looking for someone to destr0y. As humans, we are in a constant battle within ourselves as we fight against our sinful nature, but the fight is actually against the enemy: Satan and his demons.

Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) said in a Sermon on June 26, 1870 A soldier is a practical man, a man who has work to do, and hard, stern work. He may sometimes when he is at his ease wear the fineries of war, but when he comes to real warfare he cares little enough for them; the dust and the smoke, and the garments rolled in blood, these are for those who are soldiers; and swords all hacked, and dented armour, and damaged shields, these are the things that indicate the good, the practical soldier. Truly to serve God, really to exhibit Christian graces, fully to achieve a lifework for Christ, actually to win souls, this is to bear fruit worthy of a Christian. A soldier is a man of deeds, and not of words. He has to contend and fight. In wartime his life knows little of luxurious ease. In the dead of night perhaps the trumpet sounds to boot and saddle, just at the time when he is most weary, and he must get up for the attack just when he would best prefer to take his rest in sleep. The Christian is a soldier in an enemy’s country always needing to stand on his watchtower, constantly to be contending, though not with flesh and blood, with far worse foes, namely, with spiritual wickednesses in high places.

As a Christian it’s impossible for us to travel through this world if we aren’t wearing the full “Armor of God” which includes Prayer!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice evermore.¹⁷ Pray without ceasing.¹⁸ In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Our dangerous journey through this world is not because Satan has dominion over this world, but the fact is, it’s just because he is here…he was cast out of Heaven to the Earth when there was the war in Heaven and now he and his cohorts are on this Earth prowling around and trying to cause all the damage they can before Jesus comes again. But the Bible makes it very clear that Satan is the “Father of Lies”. So we must all be extremely careful of what we believe expecially when we hear if from others…check and recheck against Scripture! That includes what you read that I’ve written; I pray for the Holy Spirit to guide me, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t take the time to check it out for yourself.

I’m bothered by the churches and clergy that teach during the time in the wilderness that Jesus was tempted by Satan. I will not believe that Jesus was EVER tempted by Satan! I do believe that Satan was working his wiles trying to figure out if there was a weak spot in the Son of Man…he was hoping that he could attack the human side of Jesus. Once again, I say…when this time is referred to as “the temptation of Jesus”, I’m stunned that anyone who knows Jesus can make such a statement.

Matthew 4:8-10 Again, the Devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ And he said to Him, “I will give You all these things if You will fall down and worship me.”¹⁰ Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only Him.” We must all realize that Jesus wasn’t actually tempted by Satan…He knew exactly what Satan was up to and used and perfected the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word to put Satan in his place! The Bible makes it explicitly clear that the Heavens and the Earth belong to God (JESUS is GOD – They are ONE)…the earth does NOT belong to Satan!

PSALM 24 KJV The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. ² For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. ³ Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? ⁴ He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. ⁵ He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. ⁶ This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah. ⁷ Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. ⁸ Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. ⁹ Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. ¹⁰ Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

All throughout the Bible, Scriptures have made it quite clear as to the ownership of the Heavens and the Earth. Who the King is…the Earth has always belonged to Him right from the beginning when He created it. He then sacrificially bought and paid for us with His blood, so now for those who believe in Him, we are His too John 3:16! His Kingdom will reside here on the New Earth and those who love and follow Him will reside with Him.

Jesus is the King of this earth! His Kingdom (the church) is here! His Holy Spirit is here teaching His “born again” followers how to be His representatives on the earth until He comes again. We are His Kingdom! We are His Temple! https://jesusamazinggrace.com/2020/04/27/dont-you-know-youre-the-temple-of-god/

His Holy Spirit resides in us! But in the meantime, because Satan is here on this earth (cast down after the war in Heaven), we are given instruction of how to fight and protect ourselves on this Earth. We are warned and warned over and over against the lies that Satan will tell us. The first lie was to Eve when he told her that she “surely would not die” if she ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The lies that he’s perpetrated since the Garden of Eden have done nothing but create hatred and discontentment among the humans who were made in the image of God. Satan’s goal is to take as many as possible with him to the fires of Gehenna! https://jesusamazinggrace.com/2020/03/23/lets-not-soft-peddle-hell/

Nowhere in the Bible can I find where God or Jesus has said that it’s going to be easy for us til He comes again. In John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; He did promise the Holy Spirit as our comforter , teacher and guide…this is why it’s so important to be “born again”, so that the Holy Spirit will live inside you. We have a glorious future with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven that will come to the New Earth and we will have the crown of eternal life with Him!

The Armor of God

Ephesians 6:10-18 (KJV)

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

***To think that we are heirs to “His power and might! That because Jesus is in us when we’re born again, we receive a portion of His power so that we can fight along side of Him throughout our journey of Faith.

¹¹ Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

***If we don’t have the whole armor of God, we are vulnerable to attacks from the enemy…Satan!

¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

***Jesus is the Light! Light overcomes darkness! When we have Jesus, the darkness cannot overcome us! John 8:12 KJV Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

¹³ Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

***We need to study and understand what it is that is expected of us, otherwise, we are floundering in this world and have no direction in our lives. Romans 15:4 KJV For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

***Jesus says in John 14:6 KJV I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

¹⁵ And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

***We must share the GOOD NEWS! The Gospel of Jesus Christ! John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

¹⁶ Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

***the faith that we have in Jesus the Messiah – Yeshua Hamashiach (Hebrew) will protect us to the end! 2 Thessalonians 3:3 KJV But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.

¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

***STUDY the BIBLE! JESUS is the WORD made FLESH! We cannot know him if we do not read the Word. The helmet fits on the head and it’s our minds as well as our hearts that we give to Jesus! John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

¹⁸ Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Mark 11:24 KJV Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

***I believe that prayer is the most powerful tool! That even when you’re wearing all of the “Armor of God” that without prayer, you are still in danger of the evil that Satan can throw at you! https://jesusamazinggrace.com/2020/03/01/power-of-prayer/

We’re in a mighty conflict here (the earth is full of sin) the army of the Lord (those of us who are “born again” and the Holy Spirit lives in us) we must join forces standing tall (the church) and lean upon his word (the sword of the Spirit) the enemy (Satan) is now in view and bravely circles round (Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places) then comes the cry from the battle field (the earth) another soldier down (the martyrdom of the followers of Christ)…go then with haste, stand by his side and lend your strength (truth and righteousness) once more go bear him up with faith (shield of faith) & prayer until battle’s o’er (When Jesus Comes Again!) the fight before the victory (He rose from the dead), the cross before the crown, (Jesus had to die to save us from our sins…he became sin for us so that His righteousness would cover us) be ever watchful ere the cry another soldier down

We’ve set our minds on victory (Jesus’s victory on the cross) advancing day by day we’ve got our hopes our strategy (the Gospel of Jesus), armed fortress (His Holy City will come down from Heaven) on the way and at the end there is a rest (1000 years)an everlasting crown (the crown of eternal life James 1:12 KJV Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.) all in the field no more will hear (the earth will finally have PEACE!) another soldier down

repeat: the fight before the victory
the cross before the crown
be ever watchful ere the cry
another soldier down
another soldier down
another soldier down

Billy Graham (1918-2018) The Gospel, as you know, always faces opposition. This is spiritual warfare, and we’re not going to back down. We are going to preach this message in all the cities we planned to visit. God hasn’t called us to sit back and be quiet. He has called us to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19, NKJV).

***I use quotes by Billy Graham as often as possible because his life spanned two centuries and he really experienced the onslaught of evil of this world as we spiral quickly to the end of the age. I believe Billy Graham was the greatest evangelist since the Apostle Paul. To learn more about him:

https://billygraham.org/about/biographies/billy-graham/

***I also use a lot of quotes by Charles Spurgeon and although he lived in the 1800’s, I also believe that he’s “one” of the greatest evangelists that God has given us. To learn more about him:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Spurgeon

He’s written many helpful books…such as the Soul Winner