"SPEAK TO YOUR MOUNTAIN" - A CRITICAL SPIRITUAL WARFARE STRATEGY

 THIS BLOG HAS ITS FOUNDATION IN MATTHEW 17:14 AS WE READ ABOUT THE DISCIPLES TRYING TO HEAL AN EPILEPTIC YOUNG LAD BUT WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. THE FATHER FINALLY TOOK HIS SON TO JESUS WHO CHASTISED THE DISCIPLES BY DECLARING "O FAITHLESS AND PERVERSE GENERATION, HOW LONG SHALL I BEAR WITH YOU? BRING THE HIM HERE TO ME (VERSE 17)

THEN THE DISCIPLES ASKED JESUS WHY THEY COULDN'T CAST OUT THE DEMON HARASSING THE BOY.  THIS BRINGS US TO THE VERY CRUX OF THE LESSON JESUS WAS TRYING TO TEACH THEM AND THANKFULLY, US ..... "SO JESUS SAID TO THEM, 'BECAUSE OF YOUR UNBELIEF; FOR ASSUREDLY I SAY TO YOU, IF YOU HAVE THE FAITH AS A MUSTARD SEED, YOU WILL SAY TO THIS MOUNTAIN, 'MOVE FROM HERE TO THERE,' AND IT WILL MOVE' AND NOTHING WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU. (VERSE 20) THE SCRIPTURE DECLARES "AND IT WILL MOVE"... FOR GOD'S WORD DOES NOT RETURN TO HIM VOID...WE CAN STAND ON THIS PROMISE.   

                  "SO SHALL MY WORD BE THAT WHICH GOES FORTH FROM MY MOUTH; IT SHALL NOT                                                  RETURN TO ME VOID, BUT IT SHALL ACCOMPLISH WHAT I PLEASE, AND IT SHALL                                                        PROSPER IN THE THINGS FOR WHICH I SENT IT." (ISAIAH 55:11)

 PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT EACH OF US HAS BEEN GIVEN "FAITH AS A MUSTARD SEED"! AND AS WE MATURE AS CHRISTIANS, THANKFULLY OUR FAITH MATURES AS WELL. 

MANY YEARS AGO, I HEARD PROCLAIMED, WHICH COULD WELL BE WHERE JESUS CAME UP WITH HIS ANALOGY IN MATTHEW 17, CONCERNING "SPEAKING TO THE MOUNTAIN"....IN THE DAYS OF KING HEROD, IT HAS BEEN TOLD THAT HE WAS OFTEN "MOVING MOUNTAINS" WITH JEWISH SLAVE LABOR IN ORDER TO RAISE, LOWER, OR REMOVE A MOUNTAIN FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER! COULD IT BE THAT ONE DAY, JESUS WAS LOOKING OUT OVER THE HORIZON, AND OBSERVED THE JEWISH SLAVES "MOVING" A MOUNTAIN?  CONSIDER THIS...IF MAN COULD MOVE A MOUNTAIN, WHY CAN'T OUR POWERFUL HEAVENLY FATHER MOVE WHATEVER MOUNTAIN(S) THAT EXIST IN OUR LIVES?  THANKFULLY, HE CAN AND WILL FOR US, HIS CHILDREN, AS WE READ IN MATTHEW 17:20!  BUT WE MUST CONSIDER THAT CRITICAL WORD "IF" WE HAVE FAITH AS A MUSTARD SEED AND ACT ON THAT MUSTARD SEED FAITH!

IT MUST BE CONSIDERED AT THIS JUNCTURE THAT "ONE MUST TRULY DESIRE TO SPEAK TO THE MOUNTAIN!!" AND NOT ONLY DESIRE TO SPEAK TO THE MOUNTAIN
BUT AS IS STATED IN MATTHEW 11:12 "....AND THE VIOLENT TAKE IT BY FORCE" MEANING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN! IN OTHER WORDS, WE MUST BE FORCEFUL AND ADAMANT AS WE SPEAK/DECLARE TO THE MOUNTAIN BELIEVING THAT IT WILL MOVE,

CONSIDER THE MOUNTAIN IMAGE ABOVE.... I CAME ACROSS THE EXCEPTIONAL PHOTO SHOWN ABOVE.  IT MUST BE CONSIDERED THAT THERE ARE UNSEEN MOUNTAIN RANGES IN THE BACKGROUND OF THIS PHOTO, THUS THE MESSAGE HERE IS THAT EACH OF US HAS A MOUNTAIN(S) (STRUGGLES/SUFFERINGS) IN OUR LIVES, AND IT IS MOST WISE THAT WE TACKLE ONE MOUNTAIN AT A TIME, IF POSSIBLE! THANKFULLY THE LORD GOD DOESN'T CAUSE, BUT ALLOWS SUCH CHALLENGES (MOUNTAINS) IN OUR LIVES FOR OUR  SPIRITUAL BENEFIT/GROWTH, THANKFULLY! I CAN HEAR MANY DECLARING AT THIS POINT "BUT, BUT, BUT...WHY WOULD A LOVING GOD ALLOW SUCH SUFFERINGS/STRUGGLES (MOUNTAINS) TO COME INTO MY LIFE"?   KEEP IN MIND THAT OUR SAVIOR AND LORD JESUS SUFFERED/STRUGGLED WHILE ON THIS EARTH! THUS AS HE DID, SO SHALL WE WHO ARE HIS CHILDREN! AND THROUGH ALL THE SUFFERINGS/STRUGGLES WE HAVE AND WILL EXPERIENCE, IT CRUCIAL THAT WE KEEP BEFORE US THE TRUTH "HE HAS GIVEN US HIS VERY GREAT AND PRECIOUS PROMISES"! (2 PETER 1:1-4) AND WE CAN REST ASSURED THAT HE NEVER EVER BREAKS HIS PROMISES, PRAISE GOD "FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW", AMEN?

REMEMBER, SATAN CAN DO NOTHING TO US (KEEPING IN MIND JOB'S CHALLENGES IN JOB1: 6-8) WITHOUT GOD ALLOWING IT, "FOR IT IS GOD WHO WORKS IN YOU BOTH TO WILL AND TO DO FOR HIS GOOD PLEASURE" (PHILIPPIANS 2:13), PERFECTING/MATURING US!  REMEMBER THAT THERE ARE NO OOPS IN HIS KINGDOM! AGAIN, IF WE TRIED TO ADDRESS ALL THESE MOUNTAINS AT ONE TIME, WE WOULD BECOME A "BASKET CASE", WOULD WE NOT? JESUS DID NOT TELL US TO SPEAK TO THE "MOUNTAINS BUT TO A PENDING MOUNTAIN", THUS...ONE MOUNTAIN AT A TIME, AGAIN, ONE MOUNTAIN AT A TIME  BELIEVING THAT THE MOUNTAIN WILL MOVE FROM HERE TO THERE! THIS IS A PROMISE FROM THE LORD!

IT IS CRUCIAL THAT WE ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF FAITH, FOR THIS CONCEPT IS SO FOUNDATIONAL/CRUCIAL FOR US CHRISTIANS AND FOR UNDERSTANDING WHAT JESUS IS DECLARING IN MATTHEW 17:20.  I AM SURE YOU HAVE HEARD MANY PULPIT MESSAGES CONCERNING "FAITH"! KEEP IN MIND WHAT HEBREWS 11:6 DECLARES: "BUT WITHOUT FAITH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE HIM, FOR HE WHO COMES TO GOD MUST BELIEVE THAT HE IS, AND THAT HE IS A REWARDER OF THOSE WHO DILIGENTLY SEEK HIM." OUR LORD GOD ALMIGHTY DEALT TO EACH ONE A MEASURE OF FAITH". (ROMANS 12:3) AGAIN, ANOTHER PROMISE!

LET'S CONSIDER HEBREWS 11 (THE FAITH CHAPTER), WHICH DEALS WITH FAITH TESTIMONIES.  VERSE 1 IS ONE OF MY FOUNDATIONAL SCRIPTURES WHICH IS THE SPIRITUAL "PEG ON WHICH I HANG MY HAT " - "NOW FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR, THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN".  IF WE LOOK AT THINGS SEEN, WE CAN BE SO DEFEATED IMMEDIATELY AND TRAGICALLY, OUR LOOKING AT THINGS SEEN PLAYS RIGHT INTO SATAN'S HANDS!  PRAISE GOD FOR HIS REASSURING INSTRUCTIONAL AND COMFORTING WORDS IN THE SCRIPTURES.

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND, THAT AS WE SPEAK TO OUR MOUNTAIN(S), THEY ARE NOT MOVED IN A DAY!  HOW LONG DO YOU THINK IT TOOK THE JEWISH SLAVES TO MOVE A MOUNTAIN AND BY HAND? SUCH AS IT IS WITH OUR MOUNTAIN(S) THAT WE "SPEAK TO"...WE CANNOT AND MUST NOT EXPECT OUR "MOUNTAIN(S)" TO MOVE IMMEDIATELY, ALTHOUGH, ".....NOTHING IS TOO DIFFICULT FOR YOU"(GOD), AS IT IS DECLARED IN JEREMIAH 32:17 AMEN?

WITH ALL THIS BEING SAID, WHAT IS/ARE THE MOUNTAIN(S) (STRUGGLES/SUFFERINGS) IN YOUR LIFE?  LET ME RECOMMEND THAT YOU MAKE A LIST EXPECTING BY FAITH, AND CROSS OFF EACH MOUNTAIN AS YOU EXPERIENCE VICTORY!   THEN THANK HIM FOR DOING SO... FOR IT IS FOR HIS HONOR, GLORY, AND PRAISE!  AMEN?

BE ENCOURAGED, SAINTS AND BE LIKE THE BEREANS "TO FIND OUT WHETHER THESE WERE SO". (ACTS 17:11)  KEEPING IN MIND JAMES 1:22-25." BUT BE DOERS OF THE WORD, AND NOT HEARERS ONLY, DECEIVING YOURSELVES...."AMEN?

                     AS ALWAYS, YOUR COMMENTS ARE VERY MUCH WELCOMED.

             

SPIRITUAL WARFARE - SATANIC FIREBREAK TO STOP THE GODLY FIRE WITHIN CHRISTIANS

FIREBREAK - "A  STRIP/BARRIER OF PLOWED OR CLEARED LAND MADE TO SLOW DOWN OR STOP THE PROGRESS OF A BRUSH OR FOREST FIRE - OR IN OTHER WORDS, FOR PURPOSES OF CONTAINING THE FIRE."

"WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH SPIRITUAL WARFARE?", YOU MIGHT WELL ASK...

RECENTLY, I WAS LISTENING TO A PASTOR DISCUSS THE STRATEGIES SATAN USES TO CONTAIN/INTERFERE IN THE LIVES OF BELIEVERS WHO ARE PASSIONATE IN THEIR SPIRITUAL GIFTS MINISTERY TO THE LOST AND AS WELL, THE BODY OF CHRIST...ONE SUCH STRATEGY BEING THE "FIREBREAK" AS YOU WILL OBSERVE IN THE ABOVE PHOTO.

THE MORE I CONSIDERED SUCH A STRATEGY OF THE EVIL ONE - SATAN, THE MORE I WAS INTRIGUED CONCERNING ITS "ALL OUT" DESTRUCTION REGARDING THE BODY OF CHRIST.

REGARDING THE DEFINITION GIVEN ABOVE, CONSIDER IT MOVING FROM THE NATURAL WORLD TO THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD AS AN ANALOGY REGARDING SATAN BUILDING A "FIREBREAK" IN THE LIVES OF "ONFIRE" CHRISTIANS.  WHY DO I FOCUS SOLELY ON "ONFIRE" CHRISTIANS, BECAUSE SUCH COMMITTED SPIRIT-FILLED CHRISTIANS ARE PASSIONATE,  AND SERIOUS IN THEIR COMMITMENT FOR SERVING THE TRIUNE GOD (THE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT), OR AS DECLARED IN THE WELL KNOWN POWERFUL DEVOTIONAL AUTHORED BY OSWALD CHAMBERS IN THE EARLY 1900'S, MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST.  THUS SUCH CHRISTIANS ARE SATAN'S ENEMIES WHO ARE IMPEDING HIS DESTRUCTIVE MISSION
FOR DESTROYING THE LORD'S "ON FIRE" DISCIPLES ON THIS EARTH, AND THEREFORE, MUST BE "CONTAINED" BEFORE THEY CAN GET IN THE WAY OF HIS WILES, OR BETTER STILL, LET'S PLACE A "FIREBREAK" ON HIS DESTRUCTIVE WORKS AGAINST CHRISTIANS!

AND JUST HOW WOULD WE CONTAIN SATAN...IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE?  CONSIDER THIS GODLY ASSURANCE "YOU ARE OF GOD, LITTLE CHILDREN, AND HAVE OVERCOME THEM, BECAUSE HE (ALMIGHTY GOD) WHO IS IN YOU IS GREATER THAN HE (SATAN) WHO IS IN THE WORLD." (1 JOHN 4:4) AND PLEASE REFER TO ALL THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT BLOGS POSTED EARLIER!

WITH THIS BEING SAID, THE QUESTION BECOMES "DO YOU HAVE A HOLY SPIRIT PRODUCED 'FIRE' WITHIN YOUR VERY BEING THAT IS A THREAT TO THE FOUL SPIRIT WORLD?  THINK ABOUT....IF NOT, WHY NOT?  MAY I STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU CRY OUT TO THE LORD AND ASK HIM TO BUILD/STOKE SUCH A "FIRE" WITHIN YOU.  IT IS DECLARED IN  JAMES 4:2 "YOU HAVE NOT BECAUSE YOU ASK NOT"!

THUS, MAY I ENCOURAGE YOU, DEAR SAINT, TO SEEK THE WISDOM OF LORD (JAMES 1:5) AS YOU EXAMINE YOUR WALK WITH THE LORD SO AS TO DETERMINE IF, IN FACT, SATAN HAS OR IS PLACING A "FIREBREAK" IN YOUR LIFE FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF SLOWING YOU DOWN OR CONTAINING YOU IN ANYWAY BECAUSE YOU ARE "ONFIRE" FOR YOUR LORD, AND SO DESIRE TO ACCOMPLISH ALL THAT YOUR LORD HAS DESTINED FOR YOU WHILE ON THIS EARTH.

WHAT MIGHT SATAN'S "FIREBREAK" LOOK LIKE IN YOUR LIFE? IN OTHER WORDS, AND AGAIN, WHAT MIGHT HE HAVE IN HIS TORRID TOOLBOX FOR SLOWING YOU DOWN OR CONTAINING YOU IN YOUR SERVICE OF THE LORD?  COULD HE BE:

    - MINIMIZING THE "WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD" IN YOUR LIFE AS DESCRIBED IN                   EPHESIANS 6:10-18?

    - STEALING YOUR PEACE/JOY BY CREATING DISTRACTIONS IN YOUR                                   LIFE OR THE LIVES OF YOUR LOVED ONES?

    - HEAPING MORE TASKS UPON YOU THAT INCREASE YOUR BUSYNESS?

    - PLACING MORE TEMPTATIONS IN YOUR LIFE?

    - BRINGING PEOPLE/SPIRITS INTO YOUR LIFE FOR PURPOSES OF CONSTANTLY                 HARASSING YOU?

    - STEALING YOUR QUIET TIME FOR DEVOTIONS/PRAYER AND SEEKING THE LORD?

    -  CREATING CONFUSION IN YOUR LIFE?

    - INTERFERING IN YOUR "MINISTRY" ACTIVITIES/OPPORTUNITIES CAUSING THEM         TO DIMINISH?

    -  DRAINING YOUR "GET UP AND GO" ENERGY AND PASSION?

    -  PELTING YOU WITH WORRIES/ANXIETIES THUS DISCOURAGING YOU IN YOUR              CHRISTIAN ENDEAVORS?

     - PLAGUING YOU WITH INFIRMITIES?

I AM SURE THERE ARE MANY OTHER "FIREBREAKS" THE ENEMY CAN/DOES USE TO SLOW, STOP OR DISCOURAGE YOU FROM ACCOMPLISHING ALL THAT THE LORD HAS FOR YOU IN THE DAYS TO COME! THUS, MAY I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE SO DISCERNING CONCERNING ANY/ALL FIREBREAKS THE ENEMY IS TRYING TO USE FOR PUTTING OUT YOUR "FIRE"?

I WOULD LIKE TO CLOSE WITH A PRAYER FOR YOU TO PRAY OUT LOUD: "LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, MY SHEPHERD, AND LOVER OF MY SOUL, YOU ARE FULLY AWARE OF ALL THE STRATEGIES SATAN HAS IN HIS TREACHEROUS TOOL BOX FOR THE PURPOSE OF PLACING A 'FIREBREAK' IN MY LIFE.  IF I AM NOT FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, I ASK YOU TO BAPTIZE ME IN THE HOLY SPIRIT SO THAT I AM FULLY 'EMPOWERED' FOR BECOMING AN OVERCOMER IN ANY AND ALL SPIRITUAL BATTLES, AS WAS MY SAVIOR AND LORD JESUS SO EMPOWERED. HELP ME BE SO DISCERNING AND BOLD CONCERNING SUCH STRATEGIES THE ENEMY USES AGAINST ME FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONTAINING ME IN MY SERVICE TO YOU, FOR I WANT THIS TO BE FOR YOUR GLORY, HONOR, AND PRAISE.  IT IS IN THAT POWERFUL NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES, JESUS THE CHRIST, THAT I BRING THIS PRAYER BEFORE YOU...AMEN AND AMEN."

                                                     

SPIRITUAL WARFARE - THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT - PART 5

                             
                  WE ARE AT WAR                                        THANKFULLY

                                                           
                     HOWEVER....WE MUST DO OUR PART
                          AS THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS US
                                  


PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT WHICH HAS BEEN SHARED IN BLOG 4, AND   EPHESIANS 6:12 "FOR WE DO NOT WRESTLE AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, BUT AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES, AGAINST POWERS, AGAINST THE RULERS OF THE DARKNESS OF THIS AGE, AGAINST SPIRITUAL HOSTS OF WICKEDNESS IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES."   IN SO DOING, IT WILL CHANGE OUR VERY WAY OF THINKING/ACTING CONCERNING THE BATTLES WE FACE EACH DAY..."WRESTLING IN THE FLESH RESULTS IN DEFEAT WHERE AS WIELDING THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT RESULTS IN VICTORY!"  THE LORD LEAVES THE CHOICE UP TO US....WE ARE TOLD IN JOSHUA 24:15 "CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE.....BUT AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD."

A VERY CRITICAL POINT MUST BE REITERATED HERE BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER, AND IT IS THIS...FOR BELIEVERS TO BE VICTORIOUS IN WIELDING THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT REGARDING SPIRITUAL WARFARE, ONE MUST BE BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT AND IN ADDITION, ALLOWS THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT AND GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT TO FLOW!  I REFER YOU TO GALATIANS 5:18 AND I CORINTHIANS 12-14

WE READ IN MATTHEW 3:16 AND 4:1-11 THAT JESUS AS MAN, HAD TO BE BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ORDER TO BE EMPOWERED IN DEFEATING SATAN INITIALLY ON EARTH WHILE IN THE WILDERNESS !  IF IT WAS MANDATORY FOR JESUS, THEN WHY IS IT NOT MANDATORY FOR THE BODY OF CHRIST TO FOLLOW SUIT? THE ESSENTIAL QUESTION BECOMES "HAVE YOU BEEN FILLED/BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT?  IF NOT, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ASK THE HOLY SPIRIT TO COME UPON YOU, AS YOU HAD TO ASK TO BE BORN AGAIN! THE SCRIPTURE DECLARES "YOU HAVE NOT BECAUSE YOU ASK NOT..."!  I WOULD REFER YOU TO ACTS 1:8 "BUT YOU WILL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME UPON YOU....", AND ACTS 2 WHERE THE EMPOWERMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT CONCERNING THE DISCIPLES AND RESULTING IN THE BIRTH OF THE NEW COVENANT (COVENANT OF GRACE) CHURCH IS SO EVIDENT!  ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA!

TRAGICALLY, ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS THE BODY OF CHRIST IS BASICALLY IMPOTENT, IS BECAUSE CHRISTIANS TRY TO WALK OUT THEIR CHRISTIAN WALK IN THE FLESH!  WHAT BETTER  WAY FOR SATAN TO DEFEAT CHRISTIANDOM THAN TO CONVINCE CHRISTIANS THAT THE NEED FOR THE EMPOWERMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT NECESSARY! CONSIDER JUST HOW MANY CHURCHES HAVE SPLIT BECAUSE OF SATAN'S LIES?

AS STATED IN 1 SAMUAL 17:47 "...THE LORD DOES NOT SAVE WITH THE SWORD
AND SPEAR (BY CARNAL MEANS); FOR THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU (GOLIATH) INTO OUR HANDS."  THIS RELATES TO THE BATTLE UNDERTAKEN BY DAVID, AS YOU REMEMBER, WHO USED JUST ONE STONE TO KILL GOLIATH, WHO BY THE WAY STOOD 9'9" TALL. SURELY THIS SHOULD COMFORT US WHEN WE FACE OUR "GOLIATHS" THAT GOD IS THE GOD OF THE "IMPOSSIBLE", WITH "NOTHING BEING TOO DIFFICULT FOR HIM"?  AMEN?

YOU MIGHT WELL ASK, IF THE "BATTLE BELONGS TO THE LORD", WHY THEN MUST I ENTER IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE?  WHY CAN'T I JUST SIT BACK AND LET THE LORD FIGHT THE BATTLE? ALSO, YOU COULD DECLARE: "WELL, DAVID FOUGHT 'AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD' WITH THE STONE AND THE SWORD (CUT OFF HIS HEAD)!" HOW DOES ALL THIS FIT TOGETHER?  OBVIOUSLY, THIS ENTIRE EPISODE WAS ORCHESTRATED BY GOD ALMIGHTY FOR HIS GLORY THUS USING DAVID AS HIS 'BRANCH' (INSTRUMENT) TO DESTROY GOLIATH. GOD COULD HAVE DESTROYED GOLIATH ON THE SPOT WITHOUT DAVID...BUT HE CHOSE TO USE THE "HOLY SPIRIT EMPOWERED" DAVID, AS HE CHOOSES TO USE THOSE OF US WHO ARE EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, THANKFULLY...CONSIDER THIS AS WRITTEN IN JOHN 15:5 ....

                "I AM THE VINE, AND YOU ARE THE BRANCHES.  HE WHO ABIDES IN ME, AND 
                    I IN HIM, BEARS MUCH FRUIT; FOR WITHOUT ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING."

                     HOWEVER, IT  MUST ALSO BE STRESSED..."WITHOUT US BELIEVERS, HE WILL DO                                       NOTHING."  IN OTHER WORDS, WE ARE HIS "BRANCHES" (INSTRUMENTS) AND WITH                                HIS HELP, WE ARE TO DO OUR PART AS DID DAVID AND COUNTLESS OTHERS                                                (INCLUDING US) THROUGHOUT HISTORY! PLEASE KEEP IN MIND, THAT JESUS AS MAN                              WAS HIS "BRANCH", FOR WITHOUT JESUS DOING HIS PART, WHERE WOULD MAN BE?

IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT "COOPERATION WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ESSENTIAL TO VICTORY" (NEW SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE BIBLE NKJV INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA-PAGE 278)  THAT IS ONE DECLARATION THAT ONE CAN "TAKE TO THE BANK FOR DEPOSIT"!

BE ENCOURAGED, SAINTS AND BE LIKE THE BEREANS "TO FIND OUT WHETHER THESE WERE SO" (ACTS 17:11)

             (I APOLOGIZE FOR THE IRREGULAR LINE UP ON THE JOHN 15:5 QUOTES)

                                       
                                           *TO GOD BE THE HONOR AND GLORY*

                        TO BE CONTINUED IN THE "SPIRITUAL WARFARE BLOG 6"

SPIRITUAL WARFARE - THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT PART 4

I CHOSE THIS PHOTO TO MAKE A POINT (NO PUN INTENDED)...WHAT IS SHOWN HERE IS TRUE IN SO FAR AS IT GOES!  LOOK CAREFULLY AT THE PHOTO AND SEE IF YOU CAN DISCOVER THE "POINT" I AM TRYING TO MAKE.  IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST TIME READING THESE BLOGS CONCERNING THE "SWORD OF THE SPIRIT", THEN YOU ARE EXCUSED FROM THIS QUIZ!  FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE READ BLOGS 1-3 CONCERNING THIS TOPIC, HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION CONCERNING THE "POINT" I AM TRYING TO MAKE?  I WOULD SO LIKE TO BE ABLE TO GO AROUND THE ROOM IF THIS WERE A CLASSROOM AND HEAR YOUR RESPONSES.

IT IS SO EXTREMELY CRUCIAL THAT SOME KEY SCRIPTURAL LIFE-SAVING STRATEGIES BE ESTABLISHED HERE AND NOW:

        "FINALLY, MY BRETHREN, BE STRONG IN THE LORD AND IN THE POWER OF HIS MIGHT. PUT ON THE            WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO STAND AGAINST THE WILES OF THE DEVIL."
           (EPHESIANS 6: 10,11). PLEASE NOTE - FOR IT IS MEANT TO BE KEPT ON 24/7...NOT TO BE TAKEN 
           OFF!
        "ABOVE ALL, TAKING THE SHIELD OF FAITH WITH WHICH YOU WILL BE ABLE TO QUENCH ALL THE           FIERY DARTS (CORRECTLY TRANSLATED 'MISSILES') OF THE WICKED ONE." (EPHESIANS 6:16)
       "THEREFORE, SUBMIT TO GOD. 'RESIST THE DEVIL' AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU." ( JAMES 4:7)
       "FOR THOUGH WE WALK IN THE FLESH, WE DO NOT WAR ACCORDING TO THE FLESH FOR THE
        THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE NOT CARNAL BUT MIGHTY IN GOD FOR PULLING 
          DOWN STRONGHOLDS, CASTING DOWN IMAGINATIONS AND EVERY HIGH THING THAT EXALTS
          ITSELF AGAINST THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, BRINGING EVERY THOUGHT INTO CAPTIVITY TO
          OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST." (2 COR. 10:3-5)
         "NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST YOU SHALL PROSPER....." (ISAIAH 54:17)
         "AND FROM THE DAYS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST UNTIL NOW THE KINGDOM OF GOD SUFFERS    
         VIOLENCE AND THE VIOLENT (THOSE WHO ARE SO EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY
         SPIRIT) TAKE HEAVEN". (MATTHEW 11:12)
        "I AM THE VINE, AND YOU ARE THE BRANCHES. HE WHO ABIDES IN ME, AND I IN HIM, BEARS MUCH 
         FRUIT; FOR WITHOUT ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING." (JOHN 15:5) 

 THEN IN EPHESIANS 17 "......INDEED, THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT IS THE WORD OF GOD....". IT IS CRUCIAL TO REITERATE THAT THERE ARE TWO ASPECTS OF THE 'WORD' OF GOD...ONE BEING THE WRITTEN WORD WHICH IS THE LOGOS AND THE OTHER BEING THE SPOKEN (ACTION) WORD WHICH IS THE RHEMA.  THEY HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED IN BLOGS - "SWORD OF THE SPIRIT 1-3" AND CAN'T BE STRESSED ENOUGH BECAUSE OF THE THEIR POWERFUL SIGNIFICANCE - HOPEFULLY YOU AS A CHRISTIAN KNOWS WE ARE AT WAR IN THE HEAVENLIES!


TOO OFEN, EACH OF US AS CHRISTIANS IS UNDER SPIRITUAL ATTACK ON A DAILY BASIS, WITH THE WAR BEGINNING IN OUR MINDS, SUCH AS BESETTING SIN, INAPPROPRIATE THOUGHTS, ANGER, UNFORGIVENESS, BITTERNESS, NEGATIVE THINKING, FEAR, ANXIETY, ETC. THEN THERE IS THE WORLD, SATAN, OR DO I EVEN DECLARE...THE CHURCH!  MORE ON THESE "FOUR FIELDS OF BATTLE" IN A LATER BLOG.  KEEP IN MIND AS JUST STATED, OUR "BATTLE BEGINS IN THE MIND" WHICH SO OFTEN TRAGICALLY, AFFECTS OUR BEHAVIOR IN SUCH A DISASTROUS NEGATIVE WAY RESULTING IN FLESHLY CARNAL BEHAVIOR I.E. WALKING IN THE FLESH, NOT ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT (HOLY SPIRIT) AS IS STATED IN ROMANS 8:1-17.

AND HOW DO WE OVERCOME THE BATTLES WHICH TAKE PLACE IN OUR MINDS?  ISAIAH 26:3 HAS THE PERFECT SOLUTION...."YOU WILL KEEP HIM
IN PERFECT PEACE WHOSE MIND IS STAYED ON YOU BECAUSE HE TRUSTS IN YOU".
AND IN ROMANS 7:25 "SO THEN, WITH THE MIND I MYSELF SERVE THE LAW OF GOD, BUT WITH THE FLESH THE LAW OF SIN."   WE ARE ALSO COMMANDED IN ROMANS 12:2 "AND DO NOT BE CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD, BUT BE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND, THAT YOU MAY PROVE WHAT IS THAT GOOD AND ACCEPTABLE AND PERFECT WILL OF GOD".

YEARS AGO I HEARD DECLARED THIS POWERFUL ACTION STATEMENT THAT HAS BEEN EMBEDDED IN MY VERY BEING EVER SINCE - "RUN TO THE ROAR OF THE LION"! PICTURE THIS SCENE...IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE LION'S DEN, THE ELDEST LION IS PLACED IN FRONT OF THE DEN'S OPENING.  WHY THE ELDEST LION? HE HAS NO TEETH NOW, BUT HE IS STILL USEFUL IN THAT HIS ROAR KEEPS THE ENEMY AWAY!  ARE YOU "ROARING" ("THE VIOLENT TAKE HEAVEN) TO KEEP YOUR ENEMY AWAY?  AND JUST HOW DOES ONE "ROAR"?  TO BEGIN WITH, KEEP IN MIND THE LION DID NOT "WHISPER"....HE ROARED, AS MUST WE!  ARE YOU AFRAID OF SATAN AND HIS WAYS OR DO YOU TAKE YOUR "DOMINION RIGHTS" AS A CHILD OF ALMIGHTY GOD AND CONFRONT HIM WITH THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT?

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I HEARD A POWERFUL STORY WHICH SUPPORTS THAT WHICH
I AM TRYING TO DECLARE:

       "A LADY WOULD LEAVE HOME EACH MORNING TO CATCH THE BUS FOR WORK.  RIGHT BEHIND 
      WAS HER LITTLE POODLE BARKING AND NIPPING AT HER HEALS.  ALONG THE WAY, SHE WOULD                   TURN AND GENTLY SAY TO HER DOG ' PLEASE, OH PLEASE, PRECIOUS DOG, GO HOME' - SADLY TO NO
      AVAIL!  THIS WENT ON AND ON AND ON, UNTIL ONE MORNING, HAVING HAD ENOUGH, SHE TURNED
      TO THE POODLE, STOMPED HER FOOT, GOT DOWN AT THE EYE LEVEL OF THE DOG AND SHOUTED 
       'DOG, YOU GET HOME AND YOU GET HOME NOW!  IMMEDIATELY, THE DOG TURNED AND RAN
       AS FAST AS HIS LITTLE LEGS WOULD TAKE HIM." SHE HAD TO BECOME VERBALLY VIOLENT BEFORE
       HER DOG WOULD HEED HER WORDS!  

AGAIN, THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT IS THE RHEMA WORD! THUS THE RHEMA (FIGHTING ACTION) WORD IS THE SWORD - THE WEAPON WE WIELD AGAINST OUR ENEMIES AS LISTED ABOVE! KEEP IN MIND THAT WE MUST
FIGHT THE ENEMY BY CONFIDENTLY VERBALIZING WITH AUTHORITY, THE RHEMA (SPOKEN WORD) AS IS DECLARED IN MATTHEW 11:12 " AND FROM THE DAYS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST UNTIL NOW THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN SUFFERS VIOLENCE, AND THE VIOLENT TAKE IT BY FORCE"!  WHO ARE THE "VIOLENT"?  WE AS GOD'S CHILDREN....HIS SOLDIERS WIELDING THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT!

                                                TO BE CONTINUED IN BLOG 5

IT IS SUCH A BLESSING TO RECOGNIZE COUNTRIES (IN ADDITION TO THE UNITED STATES) WHICH HAVE THOSE WHO FOLLOW THESE BLOGS:  FRANCE, LATVIA, UKRAINE, THAILAND, GERMANY, RUSSIA, NICARAGUA, ALBANIA, POLAND, AND PORTUGAL.  I AM "RESTFULLY AND PATIENTLY" TRUSTING THE LORD TO ADD OTHER COUNTRIES.

I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR INFORMING ME IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE YOUR NAME DELETED FROM THE EMAIL LIST.

ALSO, DEAR READER, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE LIKE THE BEREANS: "TO FIND OUT WHETHER THESE THINGS WERE SO" (ACTS 17:11)  AS ALWAYS, YOUR FEEDBACK IS
SO VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.

                                                     

SPIRITUAL WAREFARE - SWORD OF THE SPIRIT PART 3

             
               

HOPEFULLY, YOU HAVE READ PART 1 AND 2 BEFORE READING THIS...AND YOU MIGHT WELL ASK "WHY SPEND SO MUCH TIME CONSIDERING THIS TOPIC?" SURELY YOU MUST KNOW WE ARE AT WAR IN THE HEAVENLIES, FOR THE SCRIPTURE DECLARES, "WE DON'T FIGHT AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, BUT AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES (SATANIC FORCES) IN THE HEAVENLIES! (EPHESIANS 6:12) IF WE DON'T KNOW WHO OUR ENEMIES ARE, HOW WILL WE BE ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY ENTER INTO WARFARE, AND BE VICTORIOUS IN SUCH BATTLES? TRAGICALLY, THIS IS WHAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING IN OUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT THIS VERY DAY!  THEY REFUSE TO IDENTIFY THE ENEMY BY NAME AND THUS WE ARE EXPERIENCING WORLD-WIDE THE DIRE CONSEQUENCES THAT EXIST!

WE ARE TOLD IN 1 SAMUAL 17:47 "...THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S...". KEEP IN MIND WE CAN DO NOTHING WITHOUT HIM AND HE WILL DO NOTHING WITHOUT US! (JOHN 15:5) OUR VERY LIVES AND THE LIVES OF OTHERS COULD WELL DEPEND ON OUR PUTTING INTO ACTION THESE TRUTHS AS FOUND IN SCRIPTURE, FOR WE ARE TOLD IN JOHN 14:12 THAT WE WILL "DO GREATER WORKS...", NOT IN QUALITY, BUT IN QUANTITY, AS JESUS WAS EMPOWERED TO DO BY THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ORDER TO FULFILL HIS MINISTRY WHILE HE WAS ON EARTH. THUS, SO ARE WE CALLED TO GO DO BEING EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT!  

IT IS IMPERATIVE, THAT IN ORDER TO TRULY FULFILL GOD'S PLAN WHICH ALL TOO OFTEN INVOLVES SPIRITUAL WARFARE CONCERNING EACH OF US, WE MUST BE EQUIPPED/EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT SO AS TO ENTER INTO BATTLE AND BE VICTORIOUS AS WE FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT!  KEEP IN MIND, WE ARE HIS SOLDIERS AS THE CLASSIC HYMN DECLARES "ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS, MARCHING AS TO WAR...WITH THE CROSS OF JESUS GOING ON BEFORE..."!  THE CRITICAL QUESTION IS "ARE YOU EQUIPPED TO GO INTO BATTLE IN THE HEAVENLIES" AND WIN?

WE ARE TOLD TO "THEREFORE SUBMIT TO GOD. RESIST THE DEVIL AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU." (JAMES 4:7)  EPHESIANS 6:10-18 CLEARLY ADDRESSES TAKING A BATTLE-STANCE AGAINST SATAN AND HIS MINIONS THAT WE "MAY BE ABLE TO WITHSTAND IN THE EVIL DAY". (VERSE 13)  KEY QUESTION..."ARE YOU RESISTING THE DEVIL AND WHAT STRATEGIES ARE YOU USING TO DO SO?"

IT IS DECLARED IN MATTHEW 11:12 "AND FROM THE DAYS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST UNTIL NOW, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN SUFFERS VIOLENCE, AND THE VIOLENT (SPIRIT- FILLED CHRISTIANS) TAKE IT BY FORCE IN USING THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT...AGAIN THE RHEMA SPOKEN WORD OF THE WRITTEN WORD (LOGOS).

AS WE READ IN CHAPTER 4 OF MATTHEW, IN ORDER FOR JESUS TO BE EMPOWERED TO BE THE VICTOR IN THE BATTLE AGAINST SATAN ON EARTH, AS I DECLARED EARLIER, IT WAS IMPERATIVE FOR HIM TO BE BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT WHICH TOOK PLACE IN THE RIVER JORDAN BEING BAPTIZED BY JOHN THE BAPTIST.  IT IS WRITTEN THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT LED JESUS INTO THE WILDERNESS TO HAVE A SHOWDOWN WITH SATAN WHO WENT THERE TO TEMPT JESUS AS HE BEGAN HIS MINISTRY,  FOR THIS WAS THE INITIAL BATTLE THAT HAD TO BE FOUGHT BETWEEN GOD AND SATAN SO AS TO ESTABLISH WHO JESUS ACTUALLY WAS AND IS! JESUS DIDN'T FIGHT THIS BATTLE ALL BY HIMSELF, FOR HE WAS EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, JUST AS WE ARE FIGHTING, NOT BY OURSELVES, BUT EMPOWERED AS WELL BY THE HOLY SPIRIT.

I AM FULLY AWARE THAT I AM BEING REDUNDANT IN SOME OF MY COMMENTS....BUT AGAIN, THESE TRUTHS MUST BE SHARED OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN ORDER FOR US TO IMMERSED IN SUCH ACTION TRUTHS!

THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHERE THE “SWORD OF THE SPIRIT” I.E. THE RHEMA, WHICH IS THE SPOKEN WORD (SCRIPTURE) OF GOD, NOT THE LOGOS WHICH IS THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD, WAS SEEN IN ACTION WITH JESUS TAKING HIS AUTHORITY AGAINST SATAN IN VERSES 4,7,10 OF MATTHEW, FOR HERE WE SEE JESUS WIELDING THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT AT SATAN…I.E., HE SPOKE , OR "DECLARED A THING..." AS DID GOD WHEN HE DECLARED (COMMANDED) "LET THERE BE LIGHT, AND THERE WAS LIGHT AS WELL AS OTHER COMMANDS IN GENESIS 1:3-31.

JESUS, NOW WITH HIS AUTHORITY AND EMPOWERMENT, SPOKE BOLDLY TO WHATEVER THE ATTACK HAPPENED TO BE AND AS YOU WELL KNOW, HE HAD MANY DURING HIS 3 YEARS OF MINISTRY AND THOSE OF US WHO HAVE BEEN EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, HAVE THAT SAME AUTHORITY/EMPOWERMENT OVER THE ENEMY'S ATTACKS UPON US AS JESUS DID.  PRAISE GOD...HAVE YOU EVER CONTEMPLATED WHAT LIFE WOULD BE LIKE FOR US IF THE HOLY SPIRIT HAD NOT BEEN LEFT WITH US WHEN JESUS ASCENDED TO THE FATHER?  WHAT A BLESSING AND AN ALL PROVIDING ALMIGHTY GOD IS FOR HIS CHILDREN!  THANK YOU, OUR MOST CARING AND LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER.

FOR IT IS WRITTEN IN ACTS 1:8 (WHICH IS THE KEY VERSE IN ACTS) "BUT YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME UPON YOU AND YOU SHALL BE WITNESSES TO ME IN JERUSALEM, AND ALL JUDEA AND SAMARIA, AND TO THE END OF THE EARTH." THIS IS A POWERFUL SPIRITUAL WARFARE STRATEGY WITH WHICH WE AS CHRISTIANS HAVE BEEN TRULY BLESSED...KEEP IN MIND - POWER IS OURS TO USE!

THUS, THE QUESTIONS NEED TO BE ASKED..."DO WE TRULY UNDERSTAND WHAT IS WRITTEN IN THE SCRIPTURES AND N THESE BLOGS,  AND ARE WE PUTTING THESE TRUTHS INTO ACTION"?  AGAIN, PLEASE REMEMBER JESUS' DECLARATION IN JOHN 14:12 "MOST ASSUREDLY, I SAY TO YOU, HE WHO BELIEVES IN ME, THE WORKS THAT I DO HE (WE) WILL DO ALSO; AND GREATER WORKS THAN THESE HE (WE) WILL DO BECAUSE I GO TO MY FATHER."

 AGAIN, BACK TO THE WARFARE IN MATTHEW 4:4, JESUS BRANDISHED THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT (THE RHEMA WORD) AGAINST SATAN: “IT IS WRITTEN, MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.” 
AND VERSE 7 "JESUS SAID TO HIM, 'IT IS WRITTEN AGAIN, YOU SHALL NOT TEMPT THE LORD YOUR GOD.'"
THEN JESUS AGAIN USING THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, SAID TO SATAN BOLDLY IN VERSE 10, 
"AWAY WITH YOU SATAN! FOR IT IS WRITTEN, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND HIM ONLY YOU SHALL SERVE,'  SATAN HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO FLEE BECAUSE HE COULD NOT ARGUE WITH JESUS WIELDING THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, DECLARING THE RHEMA WORD, WHICH AGAIN, IS THE SPOKEN WORD (SCRIPTURES) OF GOD ALMIGHTY! "THEN THE DEVIL LEFT HIM" (VERSES 10,11) FOR A SEASON, FOR HE WOULD BE BACK...AND WE KNOW ALL TOO WELL MANY TIMES HE RETURNED, TRYING HIS BEST TO DESTROY JESUS, AS HE DOES WITH US! AND WE KNOW THE CROSS WAS THE FINAL ATTEMPT BY SATAN, TO DESTROY JESUS.  PRAISE GOD, HE FAILED, THANKFULLY! NOW SATAN MOVES ON TO DESTROY US...THOSE OF US WHO HAVE DECLARED, "YES, LORD, I BELIEVE THAT JESUS CAME TO EARTH TO SET ME FREE."THEREFORE IF THE SON MAKES YOU FREE, YOU SHALL BE FREE INDEED." (JOHN 8:36) PRAISE GOD!

NOTE...IT IS MOST IMPORTANT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND THAT SATAN HAS NO AUTHORITY OVER US - NONE WHATSOEVER, EXCEPT THAT WHICH WE LET HIM HAVE IN OUR REBELLION/SIN! THUS, WHENEVER WE ARE UNDER ATTACK FROM SATAN, WE MUST FIRST CONSIDER, IS THIS ATTACK UPON ME AS A RESULT OF SIN IN MY LIFE? IF IT IS, IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR US TO RUN TO 1 JOHN 1:9 "IF WE CONFESS OUR SIN, HE IS FAITHFUL AND JUST TO FORGIVE OUR SIN AND CLEANSE US FROM ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS".  I REFER YOU TO MICAH 4:18,19 FOR ADDITIONAL SUPPORT CONCERNING THIS TOPIC. 

IF YOU HAVE WIPED THE SLATE CLEAN FROM ALL SIN, AND YOU ARE STILL UNDER ATTACK, THEN IT IS TIME TO COME BOLDLY AGAINST SATAN, WIELDING THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, FOR IT IS WRITTEN AND AS WELL A PROMISE..."YOU ARE OF GOD, LITTLE CHILDREN, AND HAVE OVERCOME THEM, BECAUSE HE (JESUS) WHO IS IN YOU IS GREATER THAN HE WHO IS IN THE WORLD" (1 JOHN 4:4) AMEN? 

                            TO BE CONTINUED IN BLOG 4

AS I CONTINUE TO DECLARE, DEAR READERS OF THE UNITED STATES, UKRAINE, LATIVA, RUSSIA, THAILAND, TO NAME A FEW, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE LIKE THE BEREANS: "TO FIND OUT WHETHER THESE THINGS WERE SO." (ACTS 17:11)

SPIRITUAL WARFARE - THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT PART 2

WELCOME TO PART TWO......HOPEFULLY, YOU HAVE READ PART ONE BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO READ THIS.....

 LET’S TRAVEL BACK HISTORICALLY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, TO THE RIVER JORDAN TO WITNESS JESUS’ BAPTISM BY JOHN THE BAPTIST, AS DESCRIBED IN MATTHEW 3:13-17.

 IF YOU DID A WORD STUDY OF "GOD" IN GENESIS 1:1, YOU WILL LEARN THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS INITIALLY INTRODUCED AS PART OF THE TRIUNE GOD , ELOHIM  (PLURAL),  MEANING..."THE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY GHOST [SPIRIT]."  FOR “THE SPIRIT OF GOD HOVERED OVER THE FACE OF THE WATERS.” (V. 2) YOU WILL SEE EVIDENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT THROUGHOUT THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT. BUT HE TRULY COMES TO THE “FRONT”, IF YOU WILL, IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, IN MATTHEW 1:18 WHERE WE READ "NOW THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST WAS AS FOLLOWS: AFTER HIS MOTHER MARY WAS BETROTHED TO JOSEPH, BEFORE THEY CAME TOGETHER, SHE WAS FOUND WITH CHILD OF THE HOLY SPIRIT."

IT IS CRUCIAL FOR YOU TO SPEND TIME IN THE BOOK OF ACTS, WHICH IS THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY LUKE ABOUT AD 62.  THE KEY VERSE SPOKEN BY JESUS IN THE BOOK OF ACTS IS 1:8.  “BUT YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME UPON YOU; AND YOU SHALL BE WITNESSES TO ME IN JERUSALEM, AND IN ALL JUDEA, AND SAMARIA, AND TO THE END OF THE EARTH.” IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT “THE BOOK OF ACTS IS THE STORY OF THE DISCIPLES RECEIVING WHAT JESUS RECEIVED IN ORDER TO DO WHAT JESUS DID.”

(NEW SPIRIT FILLED LIFE BIBLE, PAGE 1487) ALSO IS HAS BEEN SAID THAT THE BOOK OF ACTS IS THE BRIDGE LEADING FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT TO NEW TESTAMENT, FROM THE OLD COVENANT OF LEGALISM TO THE NEW TESTAMENT WHICH IS THE COVENANT OF GRACE.

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT AS THE EARLY DISCIPLES RECEIVED THE HOLY SPIRIT SO AS TO "DO" WHAT JESUS DID, THE “EMPOWERMENT” OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS AVAILABLE FOR THOSE BELIEVERS WHO DESIRE TO WALK IN THE FULLNESS OF WHAT IT IS TO ACCOMPLISH ALL THAT THE LORD GOD SO DESIRES FOR US AND THAT IS TO BE BAPTIZED(FILLED) WITH/IN THE HOLY SPIRIT. ALL THAT ONE WHO IS A BELIEVER HAS TO DO TO BE BAPTIZED/FILLED IS TO ASK, JUST AS YOU ASKED TO BE BORN AGAIN!  REMEMBER THE SCRIPTURE WHICH DECLARES “ASK, AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU; SEEK, AND YOU WILL FIND”. (MATTHEW 7:7-11)  IN ADDITION, READ IN 1 CORINTHIANS, CHAPTERS 12-14 FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE HOLY SPIRIT.  YOU WILL BE ABUNDANTLY BLESSED!

WE READ, BEGINNING IN ACTS 1:4-14, THAT JESUS PROMISED HIS DISCIPLES THE HOLY SPIRIT, "BUT TO WAIT FOR THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER 'WHICH HE SAID YOU HAVE HEARD FROM ME…..FOR JOHN TRULY BAPTIZED WITH WATER, BUT YOU SHALL BE BAPTIZED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT NOT MANY DAYS FROM NOW'”. AND AGAIN IN VERSE 8, “BUT YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME UPON YOU….” CONSIDER ACTS 10:38, “....HOW GOD ANOINTED JESUS OF NAZARETH WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND WITH POWER, WHO WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD AND HEALING ALL WHO WERE OPPRESSED BY THE DEVIL, FOR GOD WAS WITH HIM.”  AS HE IS WITH EACH OF US WHO DESIRE TO BE EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, THANKFULLY!

AS WE READ IN CHAPTER 4 OF MATTHEW, IN ORDER FOR JESUS TO BE EMPOWERED TO BE THE VICTOR IN THE BATTLE AGAINST SATAN ON EARTH, AGAIN AS I DECLARED EARLIER, IT WAS IMPERATIVE FOR HIM TO BE BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT.  AND AGAIN IN CHAPTER 4, IT IS WRITTEN THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT LED JESUS INTO THE WILDERNESS TO HAVE A SHOWDOWN WITH SATAN WHO WENT THERE TO TEMPT JESUS AS HE BEGAN HIS MINISTRY,  FOR THIS WAS THE INITIAL BATTLE THAT HAD TO BE FOUGHT BETWEEN GOD AND SATAN SO AS TO ESTABLISH WHO JESUS ACTUALLY WAS AND IS THE SON OF GOD!

AGAIN, THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHERE THE “SWORD OF THE SPIRIT” I.E. THE RHEMA (SPOKEN) WORD OF GOD, NOT THE LOGOS WHICH IS THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD, WAS SEEN IN ACTION WITH JESUS TAKING HIS AUTHORITY AGAINST SATAN IN VERSES 4,7,10 FOR  WE SEE JESUS WIELDING THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT…I.E., HE SPOKE , OR "DECLARED A THING..." AS DID GOD WHEN HE DECLARED (COMMANDED) "LET THERE BE LIGHT, AND THERE WAS LIGHT AS WELL AS OTHER COMMANDS IN GENESIS 1:3-31.

JESUS, WITH HIS AUTHORITY AND EMPOWERMENT, SPOKE TO WHATEVER THE SITUATION WAS...AND THOSE OF US WHO HAVE BEEN JESUS, WITH HIS AUTHORITY AND EMPOWERMENT, SPOKE TO WHATEVER THE SITUATION WAS...AND THOSE OF US WHO HAVE BEEN EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, HAVE THAT SAME AUTHORITY/EMPOWERMENT OVER THE ENEMY'S ATTACKS UPON US! FOR IT IS WRITTEN IN ACTS 1:8 (WHICH IS THE KEY VERSE IN ACTS) "BUT YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS COME UPON YOU AND YOU SHALL BE WITNESSES TO ME IN JERUSALEM, AND ALL JUDEA AND SAMARIA, AND TO THE END OF THE EARTH." THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE SPIRITUAL WARFARE STRATEGY WITH WHICH WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED. THE QUESTION TO BE ASKED..."DO WE UNDERSTAND THIS AND ARE WE PUTTING THESE TRUTHS INTO ACTION"?  PLEASE REMEMBER JESUS' DECLARATION IN JOHN 14:12 "MOST ASSUREDLY, I SAY TO YOU, HE WHO BELIEVES IN ME, THE WORKS THAT I DO HE WILL DO ALSO; AND GREATER (IN QUANITY, NOT QUALITY)WORKS THAN THESE HE WILL DO, BECAUSE I GO TO MY FATHER."

PART THREE TO BE CONTINUED....

AND AGAIN, DEAR READER, I ALWAYS ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE LIKE THE BEREANS: "TO FIND OUT WHETHER THESE THINGS WERE SO." (ACTS 17:11)

YOUR FEEDBACK IS ALWAYS APPRECIATED!

 

SPIRITUAL WARFARE AND THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT

SPIRITUAL WARFARE - THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD AND THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT                                   
                                                       PART ONE
                                                                    

SERIOUSLY CONSIDER THIS, DEAR READER....ARE YOU PREPARED AND EQUIPPED TO ENTER INTO SPIRITUAL WARFARE BY BRANDISHING THE "SWORD OF THE SPIRIT" WHICH IS THE SPOKEN "RHEMA" WORD OF GOD FROM THE "LOGOS" WHICH IS THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD?  "WHY SHOULD I BE?" YOU RIGHTLY ASK... SO AS TO ENTER INTO SPIRITUAL WARFARE AGAINST "THE THIEF (WHO) DOES NOT COME EXCEPT TO STEAL, AND TO KILL, AND TO DESTROY..." (JOHN 10:10)

WE ARE COMMANDED IN EPHESIANS 6:10, 11, "FINALLY, MY BRETHREN, BE STRONG IN THE LORD AND IN THE POWER OF HIS MIGHT." AND "PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO STAND AGAINST THE WILES OF THE DEVIL." MOST IMPORTANTLY, KEEP IT ON, FOR WHAT SAINT WOULD NOT WANT TO BE PROTECTED BY THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD 24/7?  I CALL YOUR ATTENTION TO THE EVER SO CRUCIAL VERSE 12: "FOR WE DO NOT WRESTLE AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, BUT AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES, AGAINST POWERS, AGAINST THE RULERS OF DARKNESS OF THIS AGE, AGAINST SPIRITUAL HOSTS OF WICKEDNESS IN HEAVENLY PLACES."

ALSO, IT IS MOST IMPORTANT THAT WE KEEP BEFORE US WHAT IS DECLARED IN MATTHEW 11:12, "AND FROM THE DAYS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST UNTIL NOW THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN SUFFERS VIOLENCE, AND THE VIOLENT TAKE IT BY FORCE."

NO LONGER ARE WE TO BE PASSIVE IN OUR DAILY WALK WITH THE LORD, BUT ACTIVE...FOR JESUS TOLD US TO "GO DO" THE WORKS THAT HE DID WHILE ON EARTH, BUT EVEN FAR GREATER THINGS". (JOHN 14:12) AND IN ADDITION, WE ARE ADMONISHED IN JAMES 1:22-25..."BUT BE DOERS OF THE WORD, NOT HEARERS ONLY, DECEIVING YOURSELVES.....".

THE EMPHASIS OF THIS BLOG WILL FOCUS ON A MOST CRUCIAL TOPIC IN THE ARENA OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE WHICH TRAGICALLY IS GIVEN SO VERY LITTLE ATTENTION IN THE BODY OF CHRIST! AND WHY IS THIS? MUCH CONSIDERATION CONCERNING ONE OF THE LORD’S ADMONITIONS IS SO APPROPRIATE HERE: “MY PEOPLE ARE DESTROYED FOR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE" (HOSEA 4:6).

THE FULL ARMOR OF GOD AND SPECIFICALLY TO REITERATE BECAUSE OF ITS IMPORTANCE, THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT ( THE RHEMA WORD WHICH IS THE SPOKEN WORD OF GOD RATHER THAN THE LOGO WHICH IS THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD) ARE FOUND IN EPHESIANS 6:10-18. IT IS CRITICAL TO POINT OUT HERE, THAT WITHOUT THE LOGO (THE BIBLE WHICH IS THE WRITTEN WORD), THERE WOULD BE NO RHEMA (SPOKEN) WORD.  I CAN HEAR SOME OF YOU ASKING..."WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?"  STAY WITH ME!
 

THUS, WE MUST FOCUS ON THE SWORD OF THE (HOLY) SPIRIT WHICH IS A MOST SIGNIFICANT, NECESSARY, AND POWERFUL WEAPON FOR CHRISTIANS IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE! OBVIOUSLY, WITHOUT THE EXPLICIT KNOWLEDGE AS TO THE SIGNICANCE IN THE LIFE OF THE BELIEVER CONCERNING THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT IS AKIN TO GOING INTO BATTLE WITHOUT A WEAPON!  IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT BEING BORN AGAIN "LIKE BEING GIVEN A RIFLE, WHILE BEING BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ITS AMMUNITION!" THUS HAVING A RIFLE IS THE BEGINNING  IMPERATIVE PREPARATION FOR WARFARE, FOR WITHOUT THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, ONE IS POWERLESS IN WARFARE, AND THUS DEFEATED, TRAGICALLY! 

KEEP IN MIND, EVEN OUR LORD JESUS HAD TO BE BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT IN ORDER TO BE EMPOWERED FOR ACCOMPLISHING ALL THE FATHER HAD FOR HIM TO ACCOMPLISH WHILE ON EARTH AS HE BEGAN HIS MINISTRY. SO MUST WE BE BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT- IT IS IMPERATIVE, AS YOU WILL LEARN AS WE CONTINUE.  I GUARANTEE, IT WILL BE A POSITIVE LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE FOR YOU, TRULY!

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE BORN AGAIN, BUT UNFAMILIAR WITH THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHICH IS DISCUSSED MAINLY IN THE BOOK OF ACTS, BUT ALSO IN MATTHEW, MARK, AND LUKE.  IT WOULD BE SO VERY NEGLECTFUL OF ME TO NOT REVEAL WHAT THIS GODLY EXPERIENCE IS ALL ABOUT AND ITS NECESSITY IN ONE’S CHRISTIAN WALK AT THIS POINT IN THE DISCUSSION.  CONSIDER THIS…IF OUR SAVOR AND LORD JESUS WAS SO AWARE OF THE NECESSITY OF THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHAT DOES THAT SAY TO US CHRISTIANS?  AGAIN, WE MUST BE AS WELL!

TO REITERATE, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT ONE WHO IS BORN AGAIN, BUT HAS NOT EXPERIENCED THE “BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT”, IS TRULY DEVOID OF THE EMPOWERMENT/AUTHORITY/GIFTS/FRUIT FOR ENTERING INTO SPIRITUAL WARFARE!  AGAIN, AN INCREDIBLE DECEPTION (SATAN’S WEAPON, IF YOU WILL) BY THE DECEIVER…WHAT BETTER WAY TO KEEP THE BODY OF CHRIST IMPOTENT SPIRITUALLY AND AS WELL, WEAPON-LESS!  AS WE KNOW, TRAGICALLY, THE LACK OF KNOWLEDGE CONCERNING WHO THE HOLY SPIRIT IS AND THE WORKS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT HAVE PLAGUED AND DIVIDED THE BODY OF CHRIST FOR CENTURIES!

PERHAPS THERE ARE SOME READERS PRESENTLY READING THIS WHO HAVE BEEN VICTIMS OF SUCH DECEPTION! ALSO, THERE ARE THE “CESSATIONISTS” WHO DECLARE THAT ALL THIS WAS NECESSARY SO AS TO “JUMP START” THE EARLY CHURCH, BUT NOT APPROPRIATE FOR THE CHURCH TODAY!  OBVIOUSLY, THEY HAVE BOUGHT THE “LIE”!  WHERE IS SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT FOUND IN THE BIBLE...YOU WILL FIND NONE! AGAIN, THANKS TO SATAN AND HIS LIES, AND THE LACK OF SCRIPTUAL KNOWLEDGE ON THE BELIEVER’S PART, THE CHURCH TRAGICALLY HAS AS BEEN EXTREMELY FRACTURED!

 EARLY ON IN HISTORY BECAUSE OF MAN'S DISOBEDIENCE, ALMIGHTY GOD COULD WELL HAVE DECLARED “ENOUGH, I AM DONE WITH THE MAN I CREATED!" THANKFULLY, IN HIS MERCY AND GRACE, HE SENT JESUS TO BE BORN ON EARTH AS THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB IN ORDER TO RESCUE, EMPOWER AND REVITALIZE HIS CHURCH WITH THE REVELATION OF GOD’S TRUTHS WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT...TO "RESTORE WHAT THE CANKER WORM HAS EATEN". (JOEL 2:25) FOR AS JESUS DECLARED, AS HE WAS ABOUT TO ASCEND INTO HEAVEN AND SIT AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER: “AND I WILL PRAY THE FATHER, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER HELPER, (ALL INCLUSIVE) THAT HE MAY ABIDE WITH YOU FOREVER”. (JOHN 14:15) SUCH GREAT EVIDENCE OF THE LOVE ALMIGHTY GOD HAS FOR HIS PEOPLE! PRAISE BE TO THE ONLY ONE TRUE GOD, “THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB.”

PART TWO OF THIS BLOG WILL CONTINUE TO REVEAL SUPPORTIVE SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCES FOR ASSISTING US IN WALKING VICTORIOUSLY AS GOD'S WARRIORS....AS THE FAMOUS CHRISTIAN HYMN DECLARES.."ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS, MARCHING AS TO WAR, WITH THE CROSS OF JESUS GOING ON BEFORE...!"

AGAIN, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE LIKE THE BEREANS IN DETERMINING "TO FIND OUT WHETHER THESE THINGS WERE SO" (ACTS 17:11)

AND "THAT THE GOD OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE FATHER OF GLORY, MAY GIVE TO YOU THE SPIRIT OF WISDOM AND REVELATION IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM." (EPHESIANS 1:17)