Many of the intercessors are involved in spiritual warfare if this is your first visit you will find some useful articles in the April archive that may encourage, refresh & remind you -
The battle is the Lords - He is the Captain - With Him on our side we will win if we keep the focus on Him.
May the message & scriptures below encourage you to press the battle to the gate. Please go direct to the site (link at end of message) for the full message & useful resources.
Spiritual Warfare (Part Message)
In Christian teaching, spiritual warfare should not be separated from the Christ-given mission to make disciples of all nations. We are in a spiritual battle for the eternal souls of all humanity. Not simply securing a place in heaven after death, but redeeming this lifetime by yielding our lives to the work of our Lord Jesus Christ continued in us and through us. Our enemy, the devil, fights against us every moment.
Summary: Christians have victory in spiritual warfare by counting ourselves as dead ...crucified with Christ... and that the life we live is not our own, but Christ living through us. Our lives should manifest Jesus Christ as He continues His work in this world through us ... destroying the works of the devil.
Do not focus on the problem; focus on the solution. Be aware of the problem, but more aware of the purposes, promises, and presence of God.
If you are a professing Christian, but you are nevertheless overwhelmed by spiritual battles there are several possible reasons:
1. You've never truly been "born again". Examine your faith. (2 Cor 13:5; 1 John 5:5)
2. You have unconfessed sin in your life. Confess it. (Psalm 51; I John 1:9;James 5:16)
3. You're trying to live the Christian walk on your own strength. Lean on God. (1 Cor 1:25; 2 Cor 12:9-10)
4. You're doing God's will, ready to bear much fruit, and the devil's trying to make you quit. Don't quit. (Gal 6:9; 2 Tim 2:3)
5. Often, since none of us are perfect, eg: a saint who lives by grace some combination of items 2 - 4
* When Bomber pilots start getting surface-to-air flak, they know assuredly that they have arrived at the target. Likewise, the harder our enemy resists, the more likely that you've found a "high-value" target.
*Why then do Christians (myself included), once they get into an escalating spiritual battle, run for the hills? Is it a sense of entitlement to live in the land of the big PX (Post Exchange shopping mall)?
Some points to remember in the midst of battle:
* You can always ask for help.
* Fight as a member of a team.
* Resting one soldier, or team, while another one fights.
* Be aware of the situation. - The battle's not about you, but to keep you from doing your small part in accomplishing God's will.
* If you quit... the enemy wins. Faith overcomes the world.
* If you have already quit... stand up, put on the armor of God, re-establish communications with God and your fellow soldiers, sharpen your skills with the Sword of the Lord, ask for forgiveness and new instructions, and finally... get back into the fight!
* We are called to suffer hardships as good soldiers of Christ:
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. (2 Tim 2:1-4 NKJV)
* ...what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish... (Phil 3:7-8 NKJV)
* Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. (1 Peter 4:12-13 NKJV)
* ...so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer... (2 Thess 1:4-6 NKJV)
* Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9 NKJV)
*...time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. (Heb 11:32-34 NKJV)
* Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:13-14 NKJV)
Scripture References:
* ...the battle is the LORD's... (1 Sam 17:47 KJV)
* ".the enemy. is the devil." (Matt 13:37-39 KJV)
* "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad." (Matt 12:30 NKJV)
* We are human, but we don't wage war with human plans and methods. We use God's mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil's strongholds... break down every proud argument that keeps people from knowing God... conquer their rebellious ideas, and we teach them to obey Christ. (2 Cor 10:3-5 NLT)
* Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. (Eph 6:11-12 NKJV)
* ...they cried out to God in the battle. He heeded their prayer, because they put their trust in Him. (1 Chr 5:20 NKJV)
* ...they cried, "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!" And every man stood in his place all around... (Judg 7:20-21 NKJV)
* ...who through faith subdued kingdoms... became valiant in battle... (Heb 11:33-34 NKJV)
* For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight... I have kept the faith. (2 Tim 4:6-7 NKJV)
* ...in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 8:37-39 NKJV)
* ...what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be Mydisciple. (Luke 14:31-33 NKJV)
* For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. (I John 3:8-9 KJV)
* ...now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, * and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. (Rom 13:11-14 NKJV)
* Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. (Rev 12:10-11 NKJV)
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt 28:19-20 NKJV)
Source: Battle Focused Ministries: Their goal - equipping the saints for spiritual warfare: Link: http://www.battlefocused.org/
