Your Body Belongs to God - Guard it!

Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20

There are those that say that sexual immorality is simply fornication (having sex before marriage) but it is much more than that. Before getting into that though, let’s look at why the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians to flee sexual immorality. Paul preached the Gospel during the first century after Christ and during those days there were many cultures and many pagan religions mixed in with the Hebrews. Corinth was part of the Greek Empire before the Roman Empire and now is part of Greece. Therefore a large part of the population spoke the Greek language and was of Greek descent. Although during Paul’s time the Roman Empire had taken over Corinth, the Romans adopted the gods of Greece changing only their names to Latin to differentiate between the two cultures. The Greeks/Romans had many gods and did not obey or even consider the commandments of the One True God until Paul preached the Gospel to them and they were saved. Before giving their lives to Jesus these people were sexually immoral and needed to know that they could no longer practice these habits because it is sin before God. Paul wanted to correct them as their spiritual father.

So what is sexual immorality?? It is: fornication (sexual relations before marriage), adultery (sexual relations with someone other than your spouse), homosexuality (sexual relations with someone of your same sex), prostitution (sexual relations in exchange for money), masturbation (sexual self-gratification), bestiality (sexual relations with animals), sexual perversions (acting out fantasies, role reversal, bondage, erotica), incest (sexual relations with a family member), sexual molestation (sexual advances usually to a minor), rape (forcing someone to have sex against his/her will – the victim is not included in this), orgies (sexual relations with more than one person in one session, usually done in party like atmospheres), ritualistic sex (sexual acts done in worship to demons or Satan), promiscuity (sexually enticing and known to be easily given to physical desires), pornography (sexually explicit images in magazines, or other forms of media for self gratification), and even lust. Jesus said that if a man looks at a woman with lust, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Why? Because with his eyes he saw the woman was attractive and with his mind he imagined himself with her. A desire will first enter your mind as a thought and when entertained enters the heart and becomes a desire.

Paul describes this particular sin as sin against the body. Sexual sin ravages the body in various ways. There are sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancies that lead to abortions or worse and fatal sexual diseases. However Paul points out the main reason for Christians to stay away from this practice – your body is no longer your own. Your body was created to be the temple of the Holy Spirit! Whether you are saved or not, your body was created for this purpose, to worship God. There is something that happens when a man and a woman join together sexually. The man becomes the giver and the woman the receptor. Whenever a man and woman are joined in this most intimate of intimacies, the woman is receiving a part of that man and the man is giving a part of himself to the woman. So using this point, if a man gives himself to ten different women in a six month period, wouldn’t you say that that man is not complete? If a woman receives from 10 different men in a six month period wouldn’t it be kind of crowded when she finally decides to settle down with one man? People need to be delivered not only from the bondage of sexual sin, but from the soul ties acquired through sexual sin. God has to come in and heal, restore, and make that person whole again whether it is the man missing pieces of himself or the woman that has too many attachments to know who she really is.

Sex was created for the marriage bed. It was created for the husband and wife to have an intimacy that as a couple or individually they could not have with anyone else. It was created for man and woman to procreate, to be fruitful and multiply as God had commanded Adam and Eve. Today it is something that people hold little regard for and use and abuse their bodies as if they could go to the store the next day and trade it for a new one.

With so much sexual perversion in this world today, Christians especially youth and single people, need to remember that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It doesn’t belong to you!! It belongs to God!! Therefore you cannot just do whatever you want with your body. Just as you need to take care of the outside by eating right, exercising, and being clean, you need to take care of the inside by abstaining from sexual activity before you are married. Wait for that one person and save yourself for that moment when it will be all worth the wait to have done it right than to pay consequences for satisfying your flesh and doing it when you wanted to. This does not exclude the married couples. Remember that you have children who are following your example, if your marriage is united and God is at the center of it then your eyes will not wander and your hands will not touch what does not belong to you. You will not indulge in self gratification when you have a loving husband or wife who is willing to tend to your needs and you will not have to worry about your children straying from the principles of God because of your bad example because you are giving a good example. Sex and marriage go hand in hand. It is the most beautiful thing God has given a husband and a wife. The husband releases stress and the wife receives comfort in the most intimate way possible. It was only designed for the marriage bed not for just any bed with just any one. Be careful, flee sexual immorality! Stay away from people who seek to entice you and make you fall. Hold fast to your integrity and your faith. Remember that you are to glorify God in your body and your spirit because both are His. Praise God!

Weapons of Our Warfare - Love

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-7

Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself. MATTHEW 19:19

Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.
SONGS OF SOLOMON 8:7

LOVE

Love is a choice not so much a feeling. Yes there are many emotions involved with love but love in itself is a conscious decision to care, have compassion, feel concern for the welfare of another as you would your own, to think of the need of another person before you own. (My definition)

This is the last part of the weapons of our warfare series and it is about LOVE, brotherly love to be specific. Jesus told His disciples to love one another and by this they would be known as His disciples.

Where there is love, there is forgiveness and there is no room for contention or division. Peter tells us to love one another fervently because love covers a multitude of sins. It’s kind of like having a little brother or sister who is always getting into something but you can’t hold it against them because of the love you have for them. You would do anything to help them out of every mess they get into.

As a weapon, love helps to keep out derision, contention, gossip, hatred, jealousy, lack of sympathy, insincerity, indifference and many others that don’t come to mind right now. Love is the key to a successful church! To walk in love you must know love, to know love, you must know God because God is love. Love soothes, is compassionate, patient, and passionate, rejoices in the victories of others, feels the pain another feels, cries when his brother cries and laughs when his brother laughs.

Love does not seek to hurt anyone by showing out or trying to make him/herself better than anyone else. Love does not look down his/her nose at anyone regardless of their station in society or in the church. Love does not care what you were in the past, but strives to help you become who you were meant to be. Love understands when you slip and fall and need help getting up. Love is always there to help you up and help you through.

Love heals wounds. There are people in the world that are hurting but there are also people in the church who are hurting because they have not allowed love to heal there wounds. To be filled with love for others we must allow love to heal our hearts from betrayal, tragedy, and lies. We must allow God access to every closet in our hearts because He is love! When we do that His love comes rushing into us like a flood!

When I was in the world, I was broken, unloved, unwanted, and in desperate need of love. Then Jesus came and showed me that I could be loved, that I was loved, and that all I had to do was let Him into those dark corners of my heart that needed healing and so I did. Now I just love on people and I love it! There was a sister in our church who used to say that I had the ministry of hugs because I hugged everyone. I don’t know that hugging is a ministry, I highly doubt it, but giving and showing love is a commandment from God and hugging is how I show love; maybe because there was such a lack of it in my life before God that I am moved to demonstrate the love of God in this way.

A church, a Christian, full of the love of God will not allow gossip, contention and strife to take root in their lives or their church. Love will correct, love will forgive, and love will endure. There is a saying that says it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. It was said in a romantic sense but we can apply it to the church as far as never loving at all. A church that does not love cannot reach new levels in the spiritual realm. A church that does not love, I dare to say, does not know God because the bible says if you do not love your brother, you do not love God, therefore you do not know God because God is love.

My beloved brethren, let us strive to walk in love. To love our neighbor as ourselves. To treat our parents with honor and respect for that pleases God. King Solomon said that many waters could not quench love or drown it! Love is profound and deep. When we make a conscious decision to love our brothers and sisters, regardless of their faults, regardless of their attitudes, regardless if they love us in return or not, we are saying that we know who our Father is and that we are filled with His love. We are telling the enemy, “you cannot come against us with hatred, envy, contention and strife and prevail because we are filled with the love of God and we WILL love our brothers and sisters, neighbors and strangers, as ourselves because our King is love itself and He alone has dominion over our lives!” We are telling the devil that we love ourselves as well as our neighbors because God loved us first! Praise God!!!!

WALK IN LOVE MY BRETHREN! USE THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE THAT ARE MIGHTY THROUGH GOD TO TEAR DOWN STRONGHOLDS TO DEFEAT THE ENEMY’S PLANS FOR YOUR LIFE, YOUR FAMILY, AND YOUR CHURCH!!

God bless you!

Weapons of Our Warfare - Gifts of the Spirit

Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
ROMANS 12:6-8

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
1 CORINTHIANS 12:7-11


THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

Gifts of the Spirit – distinctive, divinely originated endowments to serve the Triune God for the common benefit of His people, the church. (Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary)

The Bible speaks of nine spiritual gifts in particular, though there are others mentioned in the Bible that can be considered as gifts of grace, whatever you choose to call them, they are used for the service of our God and the edification of the church. These nine gifts are: Word of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Healing, Miracles, Faith, Prophecy, Discernment, Diverse Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues.

If you are wondering why I consider these gifts of the Spirit to be a weapon in our arsenal when they are specifically used to edify the church, well that is precisely the reason why. Let me clarify, the Bible is clear on letting us know that the gifts of the Spirit are to be used to build up our brother and sisters in Christ, therefore it is a weapon against the enemy because when we build up our brothers and sisters they can stand stronger in the battle and so can we. Example: Say for instance you are going through a particular trial and you are giving service to the Lord with your brethren in Christ and God uses someone in the gift of knowledge where that person knows details about what you are going through that only you and God know and is able through the Holy Spirit to give you words of encouragement. You have been strengthened by the Spirit of God to continue to press forward because this person, led by the Holy Spirit, reminded you that God is not unaware of your situation but He is moving in your favor.

On one such occasion I was feeling discouraged about writing these reflections or devotionals, not sure what to call them anymore as they seem to get more intense every day. I know that it is not me or my word, but God and His word and all the glory belongs to Him. Praise God! Anyhow, I was wondering if they were being read, if they were reaching others, if they were ministering to anyone, even though I know that the word of God does not return to Him void. It was a vulnerable moment because as humans we want to see the fruits of our labor and sometimes we don’t see it right away, as we would like. I went to church that night and at the end of the service I approached the sister that preached that night and as she hugged me she prayed for me and began to speak to me about the writing I had been doing and told me not to give up. She did not know that these thoughts had crossed my mind several times but God knew. This gave me strength to continue in my battle against the kingdom of darkness, to reaffirm my battle stance and to again take my place on the frontlines, thank you Jesus!

Another testimony I heard involves the gift of diverse tongues. My mom used to visit a Spanish church in the Bronx and they had a missionary visiting them for several weeks. God would used this woman of God in the gift of prophecy as well and she ministered in various churches while she was in the Bronx. Not too long before she arrived, there was a sister from India visiting her family in the Bronx and she was a Christian and the only church near her was this particular Spanish church. This woman did speak or understand the Spanish language yet she went to all the services she could and someone would translate for her in English. On the day that the missionary was to preach at this church, the Indian sister was there and the Lord used the missionary in the gift of Diverse Tongues to speak to this sister from India! Praise God!! The missionary began to speak in a language she had never spoken before but when she had finished the Indian sister was in tears saying that she had spoken her language and had given her a message from the Lord! God is awesome!!!! This is why the Bible says that we should not neglect the congregation of the saints because when we fellowship the Spirit moves as He wills and uses whom He wills to give us strength, encouragement, and fresh anointing.

Sometimes we receive our calling through the gifts of the Spirit, sometimes we receive healing, sometimes we receive miracles, sometimes we receive faith that believes all things in God, yet all are given from the same Spirit as He wills and our spirits are edified. Our minds are renewed and our faith is increased. Praise God for the gifts of the Spirit. Praise God for His Holy Spirit who leads us and guides us!

The Spirit gives these gifts as He wills and when the gifts of the Spirit are used for the sole purpose of edifying the church, the church is strengthened, the church refocuses on the vision, the church receives a fresh anointing that allows them to continue in the warfare against the enemy of our souls! Many Christians do not know to ask for the gifts of the Spirit but Paul encourages us to do so! We will not all have the same gift, we will not all have just one gift, we will have the gifts the Spirit desires to give us and when we seek God in earnest and ask for those gifts, He will give them to us according to how He desires to use us.

If the church is edified, encouraged, strengthened, with a clear vision and operating in the gifts of the Spirit, the enemy cannot prevail against it! Praise God! Let us desire to please God in all that we do, using our spiritual gifts to edify each other and to overcome the enemy. God bless you!

Weapons of Our Warfare - Worship

Give to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come into His courts. PSALM 96:8

And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” REVELATION 19:10

But the LORD, who brought you up from the land of Egypt with great power and an outstretched arm, Him you shall fear, Him you shall worship, and to Him you shall offer sacrifice. 2 KINGS 17:36

But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. ISAIAH 40:31

WORSHIP
If Christianity is the transformation of rebels into worshipers of God, then it is imperative for the Christian to know and understand what constitutes biblical worship. One may always consult Webster's Dictionary for the precise meaning of worship (adore, idolize, esteem worthy, reverence, homage, etc.). Yet truly defining worship proves more difficult because it is both an attitude and an act. (Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology)

Someone very dear to me once said, “Worship is a lifestyle.” Not only is it a lifestyle but it is also a weapon against Satan. You see Satan, Lucifer, the devil, whatever you want to call him, desires that we worship him, but the very first commandment that God gives us in the Ten Commandments is “Thou shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3) Therefore he knows that the only way to steal our worship from God is get our focus off of God. He will present us with other things to take our eyes off the Lord. There are many things that people place in first priority in their lives over God and God is a jealous God who will not stand second to anything or anyone.

Jesus said that God is looking for worshippers who worship in spirit and in truth. What exactly does that mean? To my understanding, it means to worship God with all that you are, with everything that you have, with a pure heart, because you know that He alone is God and He has established a relationship and a covenant with you. It is walking in truth, peace and joy. It is knowing and loving the God you serve and living in a way that displays that love and that desire to please Him. The Psalmist David tells us to give the Lord the glory due to Him! God does not share His glory with anyone or anything and when we worship in spirit and in truth, we acknowledge that He alone is God and all things were created by Him. He says bring an offering and come into His courts meaning come into His house with an offering of praise.
Worship goes beyond praise, of course praise is part of it, but true worship comes from within. It is not a feeling; it’s more of a NEED to be in the presence of the Most High. It’s a need to please the One who gave all He had to save us. Having this need met is the only option for the true worshipper. You LIVE to worship, you live to be in His presence, you live to please Him. When you worship your shield of faith is activated and deflecting everything Satan throws at you because when you truly worship, you cannot hear any other voice but the voice of El Shaddai, Almighty God!! This is where worship becomes your weapon because when you are in the presence of the Almighty the only thing that matters is what He says. While you are worshipping Him, He is setting everything in order for you. While you are worshipping Him, whatever traps the enemy had set up for you become unraveled. While you worship Him, whatever chaos surrounds becomes still. It doesn’t exist anymore because you are in the presence of God! Depression cannot reach you then, sickness cannot touch your body, poverty cannot touch your life, temptation will not rear its ugly head your way because there is no room for any of this when you worship the Father!!!

True worship gives us strength to continue the battle, Isaiah said that those who wait on the Lord, those who are worshipping Him no matter what their situation is, those who are worshipping Him no matter how intense the battle is, shall renew their strength! We will soar over the situations; we will not waver in the face of the enemy in battle. We will continue marching forward and not be discouraged. We will continue in the labor God has entrusted us with and not weaken, tire, or give up! Praise the Lord!!! The weapons of our warfare are mighty through God!!!!

If you have trouble coming into true worship and using this invaluable weapon, examine yourself. Is there anything in your life hindering you from giving God the glory due to Him? Is there something or someone taking first priority in your life that’s not Him? Are you taking the time to get to know your God through His word and prayer? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you need to reprioritize and allow God the access to those areas in your life that are blocking you from coming into His presence. I guarantee you, once you get there, you won’t want to leave and it will become a need for you as well as a weapon. God bless you.

Weapons of Our Warfare - Unity

Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. ACTS 4:32

Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. ROMANS 12:16

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! PSALM 133:1

UNITY

The definition of unity in the dictionary is: the state or fact of being united or combined into one, as of the parts of a whole; unification. The biblical meaning is: to be of one mind, one spirit, one accord.

There is an old saying that says there is strength in numbers. Solomon said “though one may be overpowered by another but two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12 By this he meant that if two or more are together in the same mind then they cannot be quickly divided, overcome, defeated, or separated. The unity between them would help them overcome whatever obstacle they confronted together.

How many of you have seen the movie “300”? Did you notice that despite the advantage the enemy had over them, they stuck together till the end? If you haven’t seen it, the movie is about an army of 300 men from Sparta who fight to defend their country from being conquered by a Persian emperor. The camaraderie and unity between these men helped them to withstand the various attacks from the Persian army and defeat them. Most of them died but they accomplished what they set out to do together and that was to keep their country from being governed by a foreign nation.

This is the point I want to get to – just as the Spartans fought together, with one mind, with the same objective to keep their country safe from being conquered by a foreign king, so must the church be united in the fight to keep the church (and by church I don’t mean the building but the body of Christ) from being infiltrated, contaminated, or governed by any foreign entity. The 1st century church understood that this weapon was devastating to the enemy and they strived to remain in unity. In military terms it is hard to breach a united front. They understood that there was strength in unity, that if they were all in one accord, division could not breach their front. The 21st century church, sadly, has not grasped this concept, that is why it is vital that we learn the weapons we are given, how to use them, and BEGIN USING THEM.

Have you ever been in a service where everyone was in one spirit and notice how the presence of God is there in such a powerful way? On the flipside have you ever been in a service where only a handful are truly worshipping and everybody else’s mind seems to be in other places? I have experienced both and I can tell you that when the body of Christ is in one spirit and one mind, united in their worship to the King and united in their battle against the enemy, the glory of God descends among them in a mighty way; but when the body of Christ is not focused and everybody’s thoughts are scattered and there is no true desire to worship because of distraction, worry, and so many other things that can take your mind off of God then the enemy sits in church with us and brings division, gossip, contention and other things in his arsenal that hurt and poison the body. You can literally feel the struggle to come into God’s presence. On the same token, a pastor is the one with the vision, his/her fold should be united with him/her in his/her God-given vision for what the body of Christ in that particular area should be doing. The vision of the pastors of the 1st century church was to preach the gospel to the lost and help the poor and the members of the church or the fold were in one accord with that vision. The vision of the 21st century pastors should be the same! To snatch souls from the enemy’s grasp and bring them to the foot of the cross where they will meet Jesus and receive salvation, healing, restoration and eternal life! The fold of the 21st century church should be united in this vision!

Paul told the Romans to be of one mind towards one another. Don’t think yourself better than anybody else because in the end we are all sinners! We were all lost in our sins before we came to Christ so no one should think himself better than his brother but instead be humble and associate with the humble. Don’t hang out with the proud that will contaminate you with pride and take you out of harmony with your brothers. David said “how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. “ He was talking about the body of Christ in worship to God as one.

The battle stance of the body of Christ should be as one mind, one spirit and in one accord. When we are united in our vision, united in our worship, united in prayer, united in our labor for the Lord, then we are mighty in our battle stance and our defenses will be hard to breach! Church let’s unite as one body, one mind, one spirit, one heart for God and be strengthened in our numbers to fight against the enemy and his wicked army because there are more with us than those against us! Unity is a mighty weapon; let us stand together having done all to stand! God bless you!

Weapons of Our Warfare - The Word of God

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. JOSHUA 1:8

Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
PSALM 119:11

And He said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly, and fill your stomach with this scroll that I give you.” So I ate, and it was in my mouth like honey in sweetness. EZEKIEL 3:3

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
HEBREWS 4:12

WORD OF GOD
The word of God builds you up spiritually. It strengthens and nourishes you. For those of us who like to eat (I do!) it is food for our spirit man. Just like the physical man needs to eat, so the spirit man needs to eat. While the physical man would enjoy rice, beans, and pork chops or steak, the spirit man feasts on the word of God. Malnutrition of the spirit man results in death. If you starve your body you will become weak, sick, and depending on how long you’ve been malnourished, you will die. So it is with your spirit, if you don’t feed it by reading and studying the word of God daily, you will become weak spiritually, having no foundation, lacking knowledge and wisdom that comes from the word of God; eventually you will die spiritually. Look at what the Lord tells Ezekiel in chapter 3 verse 3. He tells him to feed his belly and fill his stomach with the scroll that he gave him! The scroll is His word, and He tells Ezekiel to feed his belly and Ezekiel ate and said it was sweet like honey in his mouth. The word of God is sweet like honey and we should feed our bellies with it. Then we will be nourished and strengthened in times of battle.

The Word of God is the Sword of the Spirit. Let’s look at how the Sword of the Spirit works offensively and defensively.

OFFENSE: the definition of offense is the act of attacking or assaulting. In sports it is the means or tactics used in attempting to score.

For the Christian the word of God is what we use to attack the enemy or take the aggressive stance against him. For those of you who teach the word, you are taking an aggressive stance and attacking the enemy when you train others on how to live God’s way and teach them to stand on His promises. Psalm 119:11 talks about keeping God’s word in our hearts so that we would not sin against Him. When we live a life that pleases the Lord it is most difficult for the enemy to penetrate our defenses. For those who are preaching the word you are also taking the aggressive stance and attacking the enemy when you bring the word to those who are being held captive and they are set free. When you choose to live according to the word of God, you are attacking the enemy because you refuse to live any other way than what God commands. To take the aggressive stance you MUST know the WORD. You cannot take the aggressive stance if you don’t know what you are standing for. In Joshua 1:8 the Lord told Joshua that the Book of the Law would not depart from his mouth but that he would meditate in it day and night so that he would observe what is written in it, live it, and keep it in his heart! Why? So that he would be successful and prosperous! Joshua was a warrior and a leader; he needed to successful in leading his people and in defeating his enemies on the battlefield. God was telling him that if he observed His law, he would defeat his foes and lead his people with justice. If we observe the law written in this book and meditate on it day and night, it will be in our hearts and minds and we will be mindful to live according to that Word! David said “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” God’s word guides us, strengthens us, nourishes us, and helps us take the aggressive stance against the enemy to attack.

DEFENSE: That which defends or protects; anything employed to oppose attack, ward off violence or danger, or maintain security; a guard; a protection.

God is our protection. His word is our defensive weapon. When Jesus was tempted by Satan after His 40 day fast, Jesus countered every temptation with the word of God. So must we. To counter the enemy’s temptations in our lives we must apply God’s word to our situations, temptations, frustrations and anything else the devil throws at us. On the offensive we attacked using God’s word to live in a way pleasing to the Lord, teaching and preaching God’s word to others so they are set free and learn how to stand against the enemy’s wiles; however when the enemy attacks us we need to speak the word of God into our battle. Hebrews 4:12 says that the word of God is like a double edged sword – offensive/defensive – it is living and powerful. The word of God is alive, it brings life, it rejuvenates the mind, it has power when applied to our lives and spoken into our affairs. It is like honey to our mouths and refreshment to our weary souls. The word of God pierces to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow and is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart! The word of God brings conviction to our lives and reflects what we really are apart from Christ – dust! Yet it also tells us who we are IN Christ – a Holy nation, a royal priesthood, coheirs with Christ, sons and daughters of the Most High God, friends of God!!!! I love the word of God. It is medicine to our bones, refreshment to our souls, food for our spirits, and a mighty weapon in our arsenal!! God bless you!

Weapons of Our Warfare - Faith

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” MATTHEW 7:24-25

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 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. HEBREWS 11:1 & 6

The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet,And He will make me walk on my high hills. HABBAKUK 3:19

FAITH

Faith - Belief, trust, and loyalty to a person or thing. The Greek translation for the Hebrew word for faith is pisteuein/pistos [πιστεύω/πιστός]. Faith means primarily confident trust based on God's promise as understood through his Word. (Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary)

How is faith a weapon of warfare? Let’s go back to the innocent days of childhood when we believed pretty much everything we were told. If your parents told you they were going to do something for you (buy you something special, spend quality time with you, take you somewhere you want to go, etc.), especially if they promised, we believed them wholeheartedly. Why? Because they are your parents and you trust them. They would not do anything to hurt you or deceive you. You had faith that they would come through with their promise. You believed them, trust them, put your hope in that promise they made, and don’t doubt them for a second.

This kind of faith, child like faith in our Heavenly Father is a lethal weapon in our arsenal because when we believe God wholeheartedly we cannot be moved or swayed by our enemy. We believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is faithful and that He will come through. Faith reminds us that God is not a liar when the enemy tries to tell us otherwise. Faith shuts the devil’s mouth when he tries to sow doubt into our minds. Jesus compared the faith of a child to the faith that we should have in Him. A child believes without doubting and expects to see what it is he/she is hoping for. Christians should already see that which they hope for before receiving it because their hope is in God!

In the first set of verses Jesus compares the person who believes His words and does them to a wise man who built his house on the rock. Why a rock? Well if you ever lived on an island, country, or state where natural disasters are seasonal you would notice that people that have lived there for many years usually would have houses built of cement or have a cement foundation. This is because when these natural disasters such as, hurricanes, tornados, and tropical storms, were in season and the wind and rain began thrashing the house it would remain in tack because it was made of cement. So is the man or woman who has faith! The storms of life will come and trash at you and blow at you but you will not be moved because you have built your house or your faith on the Rock which is Jesus Christ! How wonderful is that?! Praise God!!

The second set of verses speaks directly of what faith is and how you need faith to please God. Faith is the substance, the belief, the hope, the trust of things hope for – you cannot see your blessing, your breakthrough, your healing, or your miracle but you believe wholeheartedly that it is there and you see it in the spirit. The evidence of things not seen – when you believe in the God of whom you put your trust in, you don’t have to see with your natural eyes to know that it is there!! But without faith it is impossible to please God – why? – Because we must believe that He IS! And that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We must believe that He is able to keep His promises, that He is able to sustain us, that He is able to strengthen us and mold us according to His will and purpose when we seek Him. WE MUST BELIEVE THAT HE IS GOD!!! Romans 10:17 says that faith comes from hearing the word of God. Jesus said if you hear my words and do them. Hearing the word of God produces faith, being obedient to God’s word strengthens your faith, FAITH MOVES MOUNTAINS!!

They devil cannot come against a person of faith and win. Oh he will try! But guess what? You who have faith are taking up your shield that quenches all his fiery darts of doubt and confusion. You who have faith are like the palm tree that bends with the wind but cannot be uprooted. You who have faith are like the wise man that built his house on the rock – you CANNOT be MOVED!!! When the enemy sees that you are standing in your faith despite what he is trying to bombard you with, despite your negative surroundings, despite the gloom and doom that is everywhere around you in these dark times you are standing in the Light of your salvation, he has to slink away back to whatever hole he crawled out of because he cannot overcome you! When you stand in the promises of God and the word of God, when you do what God’s word says to do, when your life is direct response to God’s call and a reflection of His goodness, the enemy cannot knock you down.

Faith my brothers and sisters is a powerful, deadly weapon against the enemy. With faith we believe all things are possible because there is nothing impossible for the God that we serve. He is JEHOVAH JIREH who provides for us when we are in abundance and more so when we are in scarcity. He is JEHOVAH SHALOM who gives us peace when the storm is swirling and raging all around us. He is JEHOVAH RAPHA who heals us when the enemy tells us we are going to die from whatever is ailing our bodies. He is the TRUTH. He is EL SHADDAI God Almighty!!!! Praise His holy name!! Hallelujah!! Believe in the One who called you out of darkness as a child believes and trusts in his/her father to guide and protect them so let us believe and trust in our Heavenly Father who will never leave us nor forsake us and in doing so put out the flaming arrows of the evil one.

The last verse is one of my personal favorites because it describes what it is to have total trust in God. The Lord God is my strength – is a declaration that my trust, my confidence, my life is in the Lord and He gives me strength. He will make my feet like deer’s feet and He will make me walk on my high hills – He will help me dodge the enemy’s bullets, torpedoes, and arrows and He will help me overcome and defeat the giants I face. What an awesome word!!! Oh if that don’t make you want to shout I don’t what will!!!! I am ready to jump out of my seat and shout unto God and give Him praise!!! HALLELUJAH!! Be encouraged and begin to use your weapon of faith if you are not already doing so. Strengthen it by reading the word of God and listening to the word of God. Apply God’s word to your daily situations and watch the Lord give you the victory!

God bless you!

Weapons of Our Warfare - Prayer

Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. DANIEL 6:10

But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. ACTS 6:4


PRAYER

In searching for the definition of prayer, I found many but not one specific one that actually defines what prayer is in its entirety. So I am going to attempt to define the word using parts of a few definitions that stood out. Here goes – prayer: A dialogue between God and man; a spiritual communion with God as in supplication, thanksgiving, adoration, or confession; prayer in the Judeo-Christian tradition is often a struggle between two wills—between two covenant partners. And though the two partners are not equal, the human agent is not precluded from the complaining, questioning, and passionate vehemence that characterize true dialogues; to petition God.

We are talking about the weapons of our warfare, so how is prayer a weapon in our arsenal? In prayer we put on our armor, through prayer we intercede for our fellow saints, by prayer we confess unto God our sins and receive forgiveness. Through prayer we maintain a constant communication with our Father. A direct link so to speak. Many old school Christians like to say that the battle is fought on our knees, because our battle is not with flesh and blood and therefore we must pray for God’s covering, we must pray for God’s direction and we must pray for God’s protection and intervention.

In Matthew chapter 6, verses 9-13, Jesus gives us a model for prayer, establishing that prayer is part of a believer’s walk with God. It is what develops the relationship between you and God. Jesus tells us in this prayer that we should pray for God’s will in our lives, we should pray for our provision and we should pray for the forgiveness of our sins and shortcomings. Notice though that in verse 13 he says “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.” If Jesus is telling us to pray for deliverance from temptation and the evil one then He is telling us to pray for God’s protection and intervention. Notice also in Daniel 6:10, prior to this verse the jealous government officials who worked with him and under him were trying to find a way to set Daniel up and have him removed from his position. I dare to say that most of them if not all of them wanted him dead. They soon realized that the only way to get to him was through his beliefs. They knew that he did not worship the gods of Babylon and that he worshiped his God alone. So they set out to trap him in this way by going to the king and having him write a decree that prohibited the worship of any gods that were not the Babylonian gods. They knew that Daniel would not bow down to their idols and that he would not stop worshipping the One, True God of Israel. The king consented unaware of their plot and Daniel knowing the decree that was written, went to his room and knelt three times facing Jerusalem with his windows open and prayed to God, giving Him thanks and glory.

Prayer is a weapon! The enemy does not want you to pray when under attack or before being attacked. If he can distract you from prayer, then you will be unaware of his pending attack on you. When we pray God speaks to us! God is not deaf and He is not mute! He is the same yesterday, today, and always, and if He spoke to the prophets of old yesterday what makes you think He will not speak to us today?!! God warns us, and when we seek Him in prayer, He gives us the strategies to defeat the enemy. Most times it is on our knees that we fight the battle because God is doing the rest and giving us the victory.

The 1st century church delegated leaders to tend to the needs of the church while the apostles dedicated themselves to prayer and the ministering of the Word. They understood that they had to stay in prayer when ministering the Word because they were going to come up against opposition and they needed God’s covering. Prayer keeps you “plugged in” as I like to say, with God so that you are sensitive to His voice and the leading of the Holy Spirit. It keeps you connected to your ONLY resource. There is much more to be said about prayer but I just wanted to bring a portion on how it relates to spiritual warfare; God has given us access to come boldly before the throne of grace through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Let us pray without ceasing in all manner of supplication with thanksgiving unto God. The next inspiration will be on the weapon called FAITH. God bless you.

Weapons of Our Warfare - Praise

But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the LORD has given you the city! Joshua 6:15-16

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. Acts 16:25-26


Earlier in the week we talked about the weapons of our warfare and the armor that God has given us. Let’s elaborate a bit on the weapons of our warfare. Today we’ll talk about praise. What does the word praise mean? Praise is the legitimate response to God's self-revelation. To praise God is to call attention to his glory. Words that are often used as synonyms or in parallel with "praise, and so help point to its meaning, are "bless, " "exalt, " "extol, " "glorify, " "magnify, " "thank, " and "confess." (Baker’s Bible Dictionary) Why is praise a weapon? Praise is a weapon because our adversary, the devil, does not want us to praise God because he knows that God inhabits the praises of His people. The devil has always wanted to sit on God’s throne. He wants to be praised, worshipped, and wants to receive everything that is due to God Almighty. The devil cannot stand to hear a believer or group of believers praise God. Why? Because when we praise God, we are telling the devil that no matter what surrounds us, what our circumstances are, that in the abundance and the scarcity, in sickness and in health, in good times and through storms, God is still on His throne and worthy to be praised! Hallelujah!! Since God inhabits the praises of His people, the enemy knows that when we praise God, we will receive strength, joy, peace, victory and he has to flee. He has to flee because when God gives us strength, we can resist the devil. When we have joy and peace, we can resist the devil so he can’t steal it. Whatever situation we are going through, when we open our mouths to praise God and lift up our hands to Him, He gives us the victory over the situation, problem or circumstance!

This is why the enemy tries to shut down our praise. He tries to keep us from opening our mouth to bless the name of the Lord. He tries to keep our hands down in defeat. But we are not defeated! We have victory in Jesus! When this happens we have to tell our souls as David did, “Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless His Holy name!” Sometimes we have to tall our souls to bless God! We have to tell our flesh to praise God! Our flesh never wants to do what the spirit wants to do so we have to make it conform to the spiritual desires. Tell your flesh “flesh, I will not give in to your desires but I will praise God and overcome you.” God honors the conscious effort to praise Him despite how we feel. We cannot be led by how we feel; if we do we will live in defeat. Our feelings are fickle, and if we allow ourselves to let our feelings dictate how and when we should praise then we will never see the glory of God! The devil uses that to keep us from praising. He will mess with your mind and tell you that you are tired, sick, sad or discouraged and that you cannot lift up your hands but he is a liar and the father of lies and if you listen to his whispering he will have won that battle over you. Stop listening to his whispering! Resist him! Tell the devil no! No more!!
God gave Joshua the victory and gave him the city of Jericho when the people shouted in praise the seventh time they marched around the city walls. Your praise is a war cry. You are telling the enemy that the Most High God is at the frontline of the battle and He cannot be defeated! Your shout means you have the victory, are in victory, and will walk in victory! Paul and Silas “were praying and singing hymns to God and the prisoners were listening to them” while they were in jail and what happened?? The prison shook, the doors were opened, and the chains were loosed!! The jail keeper got saved and who knows how many others that night! Praise ushers in deliverance! Paul and Silas were saying though they were chained and imprisoned, the God that they served was worthy to be praised and He is mighty to deliver and to save! When Shedrach, Meshach, and Abednego were about to be thrown in fiery furnace they told the king that their God was able to save them and that even if He didn’t save them they would not bow down to the image of the king. After they were thrown in the furnace the king looked through the glass and saw that they were four instead of three and they were praising God! Praise the Lord!!!! I am getting a bit excited but how can I not? We are talking about God’s awesomeness and His worthiness of praise! The fact that we have life, are able to breathe, walk, talk, and send out these messages is reason enough to praise Him!!! Glory to God!! People, do not let the devil steal your cookies! Do not let him steal your joy, your peace, your PRAISE! God has called us to proclaim His praise because He is the Most High God who alone deserves our praise, yet at the same time when we praise Him, we defeat the enemy by letting him know that no matter what our praise belongs to God and God alone. Pick up your weapon of praise beloved, and let the devil know that Christ reigns in your life and through Him, you are victorious.

Weapons & Armor of Our Warfare

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

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. 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. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Ephesians 6:10-18

In the dark age we live in today, we all must stand and fight. Every Christian will have to warfare at some point in his/her walk no matter if you are a leader in your home or church or not, you are still called to battle. We are soldiers in God’s army. Some of us specialize on the frontlines, some of us specialize in the communications area in the barracks, and some of us specialize in treating the wounded and dying. Whatever your talent is, it is used in warfare against our enemy, Satan. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. The weapons we use in battle do not come from our own strength, our own reserves, or our own resources; they come from God! God is the one who gives us the gifts and talents we have. Whether you are on the frontlines interceding, preaching or ministering, behind the barracks teaching, writing books, or otherwise exhorting others the talents and gifts used to do these things are from God and they are weapons to fight the enemy. Apart from the gifts that Father gives us, He has also provided us with an armor that operates and functions through faith. This is why Paul says “take up the whole armor of God” (emphasis mine). You cannot put on the helmet and not take up the shield, or put on the breastplate and not take up the sword; each piece of the armor works together and not without the other.

Let’s talk about these different pieces of the armor. The helmet of salvation is used to protect the mind. The mind is the battlefield in which the enemy wages war against us by trying to perturb us, impart doubt, confuse us, and make us anxious. The bible says in Isaiah 26:3 that “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You”. We have peace with God through Jesus Christ and when our minds are connected with Him and focused on Him, He will keep our minds in peace. The helmet helps us to “pull down strongholds”, “cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself above the knowledge of God”, and “bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”. Strongholds begin in our minds and then get into our hearts. It starts with a thought and once it gets into your heart it becomes a fortress. God has given us the weapons to tear these down! The helmet works in conjunction with the shield of faith. “Taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one”. If you do not take up your shield to block the darts, your head as well as your body is exposed to the darts. The darts are poisonous, sharp, and very destructive. They are envy, lust, contention, jealousy, gossip, hatred, wrath, lies, doubt, confusion and many others that I cannot rattle off the top of my head right now. My point is that if you don’t have your shield to quench the fiery darts, they can hit you anywhere else and penetrate. You still need your helmet because while your shield is quenching the darts, your mind is at peace, and covered by God because your thoughts are on Him and any other thought cannot enter. Just as the helmet and shield work together, the breastplate of righteousness works with these two as well. We are made righteous before God through the blood of Jesus. The breastplate protects our heart and the upper part of our bodies. The belt of truth goes around your waist and it is the knowledge that every word that comes out of the mouth of God is true; staying founded in the word and applying it to your life daily as truth. The belt also keeps the breastplate in place as well as the sword. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God that cuts sharper than a two edged sword, dividing between the bone and the marrow and the soul and spirit and is the discerner of the thoughts of man. Speaking the word of God in any situation and applying it to the situation is how we use the sword of the Spirit. To use the sword we must know the word of God. Now if you have all this on and do not have on the shoes of the preparation of the Gospel of peace then you are not fully dressed. The shoes protect your feet. If you are in battle barefoot, then you cannot run,(when I say run, I don’t mean run away, I mean run OUT OF THE WAY) much less walk when the enemy attacks. Your shoes keep you ready to dodge the enemy’s attacks. Finally we must PRAY. We must pray in the spirit with all manner of supplication for the ALL the saints. Not just our families, but our church, our Pastors, the church in general all over the globe, Pastors all over the world, saints all over the world. When we do this we are standing in the gap as God spoke to Ezekiel about, fully dressed in our armor, warfaring for other soldiers in the battle that may be wounded or fallen at any given moment. This is the armor of our warfare!! THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE: PRAISE, PRAYER, FAITH, THE WORD OF GOD, UNITY, WORSHIP AND THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT. These are not CARNAL but MIGHTY IN GOD, to bring down STRONGHOLDS!!! You cannot praise if God has not revealed Himself to you. You cannot praise someone or something you don’t know. You cannot pray if you don’t believe that He is able to answer and do what He says He can do. Likewise you can’t have faith if you don’t believe that He is God! You cannot use the word of God effectively if you don’t believe that everything it says about God and you is true. You cannot stand united if you are not all on one accord about what you believe. You cannot worship God if you do not know God, believe God, or love God. You cannot have or operate in the gifts of the Spirit if you do not believe in the Spirit who gives them. Therefore these weapons are mighty in God because only God can give them! God gives every man a measure of faith with which to believe. He reveals Himself to us so that we can believe Him, praise Him, get to know Him, love Him, and worship Him. He gives us His word so that we can live the way He wants us to live, know everything about Him, and know His promises for us and what He thinks and says about us. HE GIVES US GIFTS so that we can edify His church and fight against the enemy!!! HIS WEAPONS ARE MIGHTY AND HE HAS GIVEN THEM TO US FREELY!! PRAISE GOD ALMIGHTY!!! So let’s kick some devil butt because though we live in this body of flesh, “we do not war according to the flesh”, “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 the heavenly places” that want to kill and destroy you!! Let’s stand against the wiles of the devil and fight with the weapons of our warfare; let’s take up the WHOLE armor of God so that we can withstand in the evil day! God has given us the weapons and He has given us an armor, let us be good soldiers fighting the good fight until that day when we will see Jesus face to face. God bless you.