Warriors

Have you been instructed to put on the full armor of God (Eph 6) everyday when you get up? I have prayed that prayer countless times, dressing myself with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the boots of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. But honestly it has become more of a routine then anything and I believe God showed me yesterday that the reason for putting on His armor is to fight. I was like, oh yeah, duh, but I’ve been doing it more as a dress rehearsal or something. You know dressing up and checking myself out in my spiritual mirror, “yeah this stuff looks good on me.” No, this stuff is intended for the battlefield where I am called to fight and have victory.

Last night I received a phone call that brought the reality of this battle into the forefront of my mind once again. It was a call from a loved one who let me know that they had fallen back into there addiction; this may seem minor to some but I’ve watched this addiction almost kill this person before. I was very upset after I got off the phone and my heart started to break. I broke down in tears but as my anger started to rise I could not cry any longer even though I wanted too. I’ve found out that it’s ok to be mad and I can be real with God no matter what emotional state I’m in. So I started to pray and read His word and was reminded that I am called to fight for the people I love.

We know this is not a physical battle but one that is spiritual in nature (2Co. 10:4; Eph 6) and if God has set me free I am to set others free. He didn’t break the chains off me so I could run out of the dungeon and leave all the other prisoners behind to be tortured and die. I’ve remained passive for too long in my Christianity not fully aware that I have the potential to destroy the works of the devil as Jesus did. 1 John 3:8 says, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” There are so many works of the devil that I come into contact with on a daily basis and instead of destroying them I tolerate them. Instead of casting out the demons as Jesus commanded, I want to have a discussion or a “talk” and try to help the person out of what I know. I desperately need God to help me change and I’m thankful that He will. And I realize that we’re not called to do this work independent of God but it’s just as true that God won’t do this work independent of us.

It’s actually quite sobering to think that God wants to set people free through us and if we resist some people may not receive there deliverance, there healing, there food, or even there salvation. “Wait a minute, don’t get carried away, remember you’re not that important” some would say. I know part of me wants to agree with you, but I think it’s also the part of me that is passive and would rather play dress rehearsal with the armor of God instead of actually take up my sword and do damage to the kingdom of darkness. We have a big part to play in this whole thing and when we miss the mark it’s not just us who suffer. There are consequences for everything we do and don’t do.

“Blessed be the LORD my Rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle”
Ps. 144:1

The Lord is the one who trains us for this battle and just as Jesus walked and taught the disciples, Holy Spirit walks and teaches us, except it’s better for us because He lives in us! The battle is real it’s not just figurative and its people that will either die or live, depending on how we fare. I’ve realized the lack of understanding of the power of God in my life and can see that without His power I may as well just run around screaming at demons hoping that maybe they get scared by the sound of my voice. Jesus says, Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” (Luke 10:19)

It makes sense why the enemy would want to deceive the church in this area. If we knew the authority that Jesus died for us to have then he would be in trouble. If we knew that we could tell spirits of depression to leave. If we knew that we could tell spirits of addiction to leave a person, his days of torment would be over in so many people. I know I am an amateur in spiritual warfare but the God who lives in me is an expert. I am in training and I know that I must get understating about Gods authority and how His power operates in a Christian’s life.

We must always remember that our motivation to fight must come from a deep love for God and people. Heidi Baker puts it well, “lovers fight better”. Without being grounded in a revelation of the Father’s heart of love we might as well go back to playing church. When our hearts start to break for people and we receive the Father’s heart for them, then we can be molded by His Spirit and allow Him to empower us for ministry. Jesus was moved by compassion and He answers those who cry out to him. Let’s not be deaf to those same cries in our day.

So going back to the loved one I mentioned earlier. I believe this situation caused something to snap inside of me and I believe it will be for God’s glory. I have decided to persevere in prayer for them until they receive there deliverance. I like the mission statement of Bill Johnson and his ministry, “out of intimacy with God we destroy the works of the devil.” And that’s what it’s about, we fall in love with God and we fight for Him. We are not just common soldiers who fight because they are expected too, no we are called to be warriors and a warrior fights from the heart.

“Let God arise, Let His enemies be scattered”
Ps. 68:1