When God set the captives free from Egypt, He didn’t send Moses to the people and tell them they need to be free or more obedient, or accept the Gospel. We was sent to Pharaoh and told him to let the people go. The oppressed don’t need to be attacked, but lifted up.
Sometimes you have to take some hits for Jesus.
Spiritual warfare gets “spiritualized” – that is, it can become amorphous and relegated to simply “spiritual ideas and places”. This can prevent us from engaging the physical side of the spiritual battle.
God’s original intent for man was for them to be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue the earth, and rule over creation. However, they submitted to satan and gave up their authority.
If Jesus came destroy the works of the devil, what are they?
If our authority was lost by submitting to the wrong master, we undo that by submitting to the correct master.
You cannot skip adjusting your identity.
Satan offered them something they thought they didn’t have.
Not only did Nehemiah pray on behalf of the people, he offered himself to be used by God to address the needs (Nehemiah 1:8-2:9
Pastoring the Community – looking where satan has a grip in our community and getting his hands off.
Fighting with Weapons in Both Hands
2 Corinthians 6:7 – weapons of righteousness in the right hand and the left
Nehemiah 4 – those rebuilding the wall did work with one hand and held a weapon in the other (doing physical work with one hand, doing spiritual battle with the other hand)
1 Chronicles 12 – David’s special fighting men that can use weapons in both hands
There is a personal and Kingdom side to the Gospel, and to spiritual warfare, to building capacity for ministry.
We are to wrestling in a spiritual manner which manifests physically, since satan is using many physical means to attack people.
Spiritual weapons: 1)Sword of the Spirit, 2)Prayer, 3)Fasting, 4)Name of Jesus, 5)Blood of Jesus, 6)Agreement with others in prayer, 7)Praise, 8)Spiritual Gifts, 9)Obedience to God
2 Corinthians 10 – taking thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. The obedience is the weapon.
Spiritual warfare without stewarding and ruling is equal to spiritual whack-a-mole. We have to rule over the land. Jesus, Daniel, and Nehemiah gave themselves over to a work of God AS they were praying for the people.
Spiritual Warfare Myths
-
“Spiritual warfare keeps evil from happening.” In truth, it accomplishes God’s will and moves His Kingdom forward. It is not about our well-being.
-
“All authority has been given to us so we can control our circumstances.” In truth, you do not have the authority to control circumstances, but rather resist the devil, obey God, and accomplish God’s will.
-
“Praying in Jesus’ name gets it done.” In truth, this means praying in line with Jesus’ will and character, not simply using his name like a magic word.
Songs
Pillar – Echelon
Jon Foreman – Equally Skilled https://youtu.be/ORG6gMZ7V0k
Josh Garrels – Rise https://joshgarrels.bandcamp.com/track/rise
This episode originally broadcast live on June 12, 2015 on KXEN 1010AM in St. Louis, MO
For more info:
www.sunministries.org
Theme music: “The Resistance” by Josh Garrels (www.joshgarrels.com) licensed by Marmoset Music (www.marmosetmusic.com)