In the last post we covered how ownership and possession are not necessarily the same and what is required to possess the limits of the boundary. Today’s message will be on the battle lines and where they are drawn.
Revelation #9: Why have we been given weapons if there is no war?
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (KJV) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Paul instructs the believer to put on the full “armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10-17) and prepare for battle. The list includes both offensive and defensive weapons but there is nothing to protect your back. The spiritual warrior is prepared to stand firm and face the enemy and not run like a coward. Prayer provides the boldness to yield the weapons effectively. The experience comes as the Holy Spirit instructs and trains us in the proper use of the weapons in preparation for conflict.
Many Christians are proud of their shiny armor that’s like new and setting in the corner of their home collecting dust. The dusty family Bible sets nearby on the coffee table with it’s binding hardly cracked. They are like artifacts for all to see and used as points of conversation. The evidence of a true warrior is the dents and scuff marks of well used armor, the smell of sulphur on the shield from the flaming missiles it stopped and a worn Bible with frayed pages.
We are engaged in an information war and the battle field is the mind. The strongholds are fortifications built from the debris left by the storms of life. The contrary imaginations and thoughts are launched from the strongholds and target strategic areas. Their purpose is to produce as much collateral damage as possible. The strongholds need to be breached and destroyed and the spirits hiding within need to be exposed, bound and removed.
Information is a strategy in spiritual warfare. Where and how do you get information? The military calls this intelligence, which at times I wonder if that is the proper term they should be using. The major media outlets, hollywood, TV shows, public and private education systems, questionable websites, social networks are all trying to control your thoughts and patterns of behavior. The access points to your jurisdiction are the eye gate, ear gate and even the nose gate. The extent of the enemy’s possession will be limited to the information you permit inside your walls. Part of the battle is turning it off or shutting it down if it interferes or contradicts the truth. The Bible must be the standard if we are going to have the upper hand.
Another strategy to destroy the strongholds is our investments. Your investments of time and money are revealed in your bank and credit card statements and are a record of your spirituality or lack thereof. Do you support companies that openly promote abortion and immorality? Do you buy the trendy, overpriced clothes for you and your kids so there is acceptance from the world? If not, are you buying the cheap goods from multinational companies that are replacing our jobs oversees with slave labor? Either way we are feeding the beast and sacrificing our prosperity and posterity.
The church could change the economy if we directed our money away from the crony capital system into companies where service and ingenuity were the standard and traditional standards of morality are the norm. We strain at the gnat by saving an inflated nickel to swallow the repressive new world order. We vote with our dollars and who you support will eventually win. It’s time to clear out the debris and the associated strongholds and make room for the free enterprise system once again. A system where anyone is free to pursue the God given right of happiness (private ownership) without hindrance from an overbearing government and the bureaucratic rules and regulations that discourage that right.
The last strategy is using our influence as pressure and cause the strongholds to implode upon themselves. Our spheres of influence include our families and friends, the local church, our neighborhoods and communities, and local political systems and government. Our influence has greater weight at the state and local arenas than at the federal level. We need to support the Biblical definitions of marriage and morality. We need to call for repentance and ask for God’s mercy. God can’t bless the mess we’ve made and we shouldn’t have the audacity to ask. We have turned our backs on God’s laws and ways and the debt and lack is a direct result. He has allowed that which we have been willing to tolerate to possess the land and we should not be surprised. Let us tolerate no more.
A leader exerts influence over those who choose to follow them. In which direction are you influencing your followers? It should be away from this dark cloud that is covering the land and into the light. The strongholds can not withstand the pressure of our influence if the church stands as one voice. Gideon needed only those who were alert to the danger and prepared to do the right thing even when afraid.
“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds” – Samuel Adams
When it comes to spiritual warfare we need to be all in with our information, investments and influence. This is the time to stand for righteousness and truth and may the chips fall where they may. We need to act upon the revelation received from God and engage the enemy with wisdom and understanding.
Next will be the fight.