What Is Spiritual Warfare?

If ever there was a sacred cow subject about to become tipsy it’s this one. For any who have ever been involved with any of the Charismatic venues or of its teaching’s, will at least inwardly acknowledge the disconcerting milieu it has become.
In my continued reading of my good friend Bill Landon’s book, Up From The Ashes, he has a chapter dealing with spiritual warfare, and some of his thoughts were so freeing to drink in.

What Jesus came to proclaim was a truth that was radical and important. Christ is the summation of the Father’s plan for His creation-both for the Jews and for the followers of Christ. Due to the importance of Christ’s work it was necessary for Him to be validated. The Father did this through the empowering of Christ to work miracles. We should never misunderstand the healings and exorcisms of Jesus as a special example of spiritual warfare for us to emulate. The Father gives each of us a testimony that comes out through our living. This message of our living may be powerful and dynamic or quiet and subtle. The outward manifestation of this testimony is not important. What is important is that we are true to the testimony both in its content and in the method of its delivery. The people who are truly seeking the Father will understand the living testimony regardless of the particular nature of its manifestation. The people are living in opposition to God will not understand the living testimony in our lives no matter how powerful or miraculous it is. Remember, the religious leaders of Jesus’ time saw His miracles and concluded that He was demon possessed: “But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”(Matthew 12:24)
So if spiritual warfare is not binding and loosing and demon expulsion then what is it? I mentioned earlier that Jesus engaged in spiritual warfare. That being said it is now important to ask: What was it in Jesus’ life that represented the essence of spiritual warfare?

To be continued….

Rich

Sifting Out the Heart's of Men

I have always loved the song, The Battle Hymn of the Republic and for those wanting to know a bit of its history you can read of it here.
As I have often over the years reflected upon the lyrics, recently I have seen these in a whole new light, especially this stanza, “He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat: Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! Be jubilant, my feet! Our God is marching on.”

It is truly amazing how His grace and love powerfully and silently works deep within the mind shafts of ones heart, as in mine. Seeing and experiencing such awe and wonder of this One who is passionately and compassionately working to sift, and purge my inner being from any and everything that desires to try and destroy me.
As I continue to wade out into the untold and fathomless depths of His total unconditional love the unpronounceable is happening. The very spirit and nature of this God and Father is breathing clarity, sobriety and depth of meaning and purpose to words that formerly scared the hell out of me.

This in particular did just that, “For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.”
This all ties in with the fore mention stanza from the song, “He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat; He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat: Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! Be jubilant, my feet! Our God is marching on.”

Fear being the spirit we were born with in the natural is taking a back set in the rebirthing, it is the residual and collateral carnage being slowly displaced, cast out, as we begin to see and experience the reality of His Son-shinning and branding affirmation of Whose we are. We/I, bear the marks of ownership, the spirit of son-ship and adoption are the blazing and burning awareness of increasing and liberating intensity.
Not always, but more often than ever before am I now wanting to embrace His scrutinizing, purging work of continued salvation, exposing, analyzing, and judging the very thoughts and purposes of my heart.
His motivation is never to destroy man, but in fact His longing is to destroy that which has purposed to seek our destruction.

Rich