"Live in harmony with one another. Do
not be proud, but be willing to associate with
people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful
to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you,
live at peace with everyone." Romans 12:16-18
Spiritual
warfare is part of the Christian life. Psalm 144:1
says, "Praise be to the Lord, my Rock. Who
trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle."
Exodus 15:3 says, "The Lord is a mighty warrior;
the Lord is his name." We are living on earth
and in enemy territory, and, therefore, we experience
spiritual warfare. No doubt, many of you are realizing
a degree of battle as you prepare for overseas
work. It is part of the cost. We must always be
on the alert. The enemy comes in like a flood,
trying to fill us with doubt and discouragements.
But our God always has victory when we trust in
Him. You and I want to be healers and helpers
in battle. We must be clad in His armor, by the
grace of God. We must have a strategy to rescue
those taken hostage or left wounded on the battlefield.
We must understand the seriousness of war. How
can we walk in victory and maintain our peace
right in the midst of personal, and sometimes
unrelenting, spiritual warfare? How can we be
joyful in war? It is possible to walk in a level
of joy and peace even when things on earth seem
to be getting worse. We can bring peace wherever
we go. Below are two important ways to maintain
peace in the midst of warfare.
Ways
to Maintain Peace in Spiritual Warfare
"But
the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of
all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive,
full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and
sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise
a harvest of righteousness." (James 3:17-18)
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We must be a lover of God first and then
a warrior - Jesus must be our all in all.
We must concentrate on our relationship with
Him, and abide in that intimacy always. The
busier we are, the more we must cultivate our
relationship with Him. Again and again we have
seen missionaries unintentionally lose their
intimate relationship with God. It happens little
by little, if we are not alert to the enemy's
devices. The enemy is crafty, and he knows where
your power lies. We must develop a life of praise
and worship. Worship is powerful warfare. When
I go to the nations, I bring my worship music.
I play it and pray it over countries. I find
that this to be of my greatest strategies in
seeing breakthrough in the nations. Prayer and
worship open the way for everything else. God
opens the door for His grace to come pouring
into the nations.
"Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your strength."
(Deuteronomy 6:5)
"I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord
is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge…
The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted
be God my Savior." (Psalm 18:1, 46)
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We are here to fight, and we must take a
stand - The enemy is intent to stop us as
we move forward. We need perseverance. Nothing
good happens without perseverance. We are all
living in enemy territory. We are called to
destroy the works of the devil. To take our
stand against the enemy means that we refuse
to give him ground and that we will not retreat.
We settle that in our hearts. James 4:7-8 says,
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist
the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near
to God and He will come near to you." We
are not going to retreat or depart because of
enemy pressure, but we are going to go on from
glory to glory to victory! God's grace is sufficient.
We resist the enemy, stand firm in the Lord,
and do not give way. We worship and praise God
right in the middle of the difficulty.
Satan
will not give us territory without a fight.
We are taking ground in heavenly places, even
if we do not see it. We must not relax our
vigilance. It doesn't mean that we are frantic,
nervous and anxious. We walk in that supernatural
perfect peace that is totally possible only
as we abide in Him. This is the amazing truth
of the Christian life and especially for all
of us entering into the harvest in the nations.
We are living a life that is not of our own
strength. We might as well get comfortable
with a life of dependence on God; loving Him
totally, standing firmly on His Word and walking
in His peace.
"The
son of God appeared for this purpose, that
He might destroy the works of the devil."
(I John 3:8)
"Finally,
be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
Put on the full armor of God so that you can
take your stand against the devil's schemes.
For our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark
world and against the spiritual forces of
evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put
on the full armor of God, so that when the
day of evil comes, you may be able to stand
your ground, and after you have done everything,
to stand." (Ephesians 6:10-13)
Times
of Testing in Warfare
When
we were going through months of endurance and
spiritual warfare on our missionary ship where
the trials seemed endless and without any let-up,
I (Debbie) would go out on deck during a voyage
(feeling seasick and tired), put on my headphones
and worship God for a period of time. Before long,
the clouds in my own mind and heart would clear,
I would see light on the horizon, and my perspective
would change. The devil will always try to steal
our hope. But God gives us hope when we spend
time with Him. He would give me hope again and
again; hope that He would finally break through,
hope that the seas would one day be calm again
and hope that God would turn my very trial
into something supernatural and good.
When
we are in the midst of a difficulty, this is how
we are to handle it. The enemy brings in discouraging
thoughts, false reasoning, doubts and disappointments.
He will try to steal our peace. We choose to worship
and acknowledge God, grow intimate with Jesus,
and the clouds have to lift. The perseverance
is all part of the testing time. We are being
stretched. It's part of the package of how God
plans to train and work through us, bringing maturity
and victory. Now I thank God with all my heart
for every day that He had to stretch me. I have
spiritual muscles I would never have had before,
and it is so worth it. I see now that it was all
part of love, and I never knew it quite so fully
at the time. And God loves you. This is why you
are going through whatever trial you are facing.
It is for your good. He is making you a worker
of great stature and purpose, and you shall not
be disappointed.
"Let
the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since
as members of one body you were called to peace.
And be thankful." Colossians 3:15
For
additional training on mentoring in spiritual
warfare; maintaining relationships in the midst
of warfare and worship: essential for the warring
missionary, read the book called Go Forth in
Power by Norman and Debbie Przybylski.
Training
in World Missions
To
learn more about the Elijah Company please read:
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