Silvia R.'s posts with tag: battle
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The Heart of a Warrior
Victoria Boyson
The heart of a warrior is a heart that refuses to give in to fear when facing his enemies, but his love for his heavenly Father and for those under his care compels him to lay down his life to save those God loves. His love makes him fearless in the face of his enemies!
A Love-motivated War!
Saints, we are now entering a time of war in the heavenlies like the earth has never known before. Though we may see the consequences of this war in human form, it will not be fought on earth but in the supernatural realm. We will not fight with flesh and blood, we must not fight each other. No matter how awful the battle gets, we must recognize we cannot fight this battle in the flesh. If we do, we will be consumed by our enemy.
Our power to triumph over our enemies is found in our love for them. It is found in our courage to bless them though they stone us. Though they despise us and accuse us to our face, our love for them must be greater than our love for ourselves.
We must see that it is satan who has them in bondage; he is our enemy and we must love them while fighting the devil for their sake. Our love for them will give us authority to fight the evil that has entangled them.
Perfect Love Casts Out Fear
What kind of person has the heart of a warrior? It is one who shares the heart of the Good Shepherd. One who loves those around him enough to risk his life to save them. Because of his love for his Father, he loves what his Father loves. He will not abandon His sheep because he dearly loves the Father.
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). God's perfect love working through us compels us to protect what we love; it drives away all fear. Our love for others drives out any concern we may have for our own safety, because our love is stronger than the fear we feel.
Jesus gave his life to save us; He valued what His Father valued, even to the point of death. He is the Good Shepherd and gave His life to save His Father's sheep. He gave His all for love - love for us and love for His Father. In doing so, Jesus displayed the heart of a true warrior!
A warrior is not easily intimidated, because the love he has for others drives away thoughts of self preservation. The godly warrior cannot be stopped because they love what they are fighting for too much to even conceive of quitting. The only thought they have is that of victory, failure is not an option, for the sake of those they love they must win.
Their love gives them authority over anything that would attack what they love, and this authority is as far reaching as their love. The measure of their compassion is the magnitude of their courage in the face of the enemy.
No matter how we are treated, love can deflect the attacks of fear from the enemy. If we determine in our hearts to love others unconditionally, it may help us overcome the fear of man. If our goal is to love, regardless of how we are loved, it makes us fearless, enabling us to be a blessing to others.
If our goal is to bless, protect and defend others, we are able to live emotionally outside of ourselves; we live in the spirit, not the flesh. We live outside of the fear that is naturally in us and live in the strength of the Lord. I have found that the more we think of others the less we will worry about ourselves.
Fighting with Passion
A soldier loves his country and is willing to give his life for it. He has the heart of a warrior and is driven to fight because of it. Others cannot fathom his heart, because of their own selfishness. It makes no sense to them why he would risk his life for others, because their love has grown cold. He who loves will fight for what he loves and will regard the safety of what he loves as more important than his own life! This is the heart of a warrior.
A pastor loves his flock! When he sees the enemy attacking it, he is driven to protect it by his love. He loves them because they are what his Father loves. He will fight to protect what belongs to his Father with a passion to destroy anything that dares to come against them. He will fight against anyone or anything that would hurt his flock. He is relentless in his pursuit to protect what he loves.
The heart of a warrior is not limited to pastors, soldiers or shepherds, but beats strongly in any whose life is surrendered to Jesus. Their lives no longer belong to themselves, but to the One they love. And in exchange for their hearts of stone He gives them hearts that beat with deep compassion! He gives them the heart of a warrior!
There are no little saints in the kingdom of God - no secondhand anointings. Each one of us plays an important role in the army of heaven. We must all do our part in fighting the enemy and take the ground where the Lord has placed us.
You are important to the kingdom of God! He needs you!
Our love for our heavenly Father and for each other should move us to radical warfare prayer, prayers that shake heaven.
We need to throw off false humility or any lie that says our prayers need to be sweet and nice. Of course, sweet and nice are good when that is what is appropriate, but when we see sheep being eaten, we cannot compromise with the enemy. We must throw ourselves into the battle with no thoughts of preserving our own lives; we must fight without reservation, with NO thoughts of our own safety, or we will lose what we love to the enemy.
Our prayers carry great weight in the kingdom of heaven and they WILL turn the tide of the battle in the lives of those we love. We cannot let anything distract us or hinder us from a prayer life that shakes the realms of darkness.
For the Lost
The Lord gave me a vision of myself on a football field. I was apart of a team, but I had gotten knocked down during the game. I'd gotten knocked down and was upset at being knocked down. I lay there on the field, while my team mates played around me. I felt sorry for myself for having been so brutally tackled and thrown to the ground. I decided I was tried of being hurt; I didn't want to be hurt anymore and was afraid to get back up for fear I would just be hurt again.
Suddenly as I saw myself lay there I heard the Lord's voice speak to me, "I'm about to throw you the ball. Will you be where you need to be in order to catch it for a touchdown?" That was all He had to say; it shook me out of my pity party and suddenly I saw it wasn't about me, it was about the team. It was about winning the game. It was about surrendering one's self for the good of the team. It was about playing without consideration for myself, so I could be what He needed me to be to help the team.
We are fighting a real fight for the hearts and souls of men. Time is running out, we've got to win the lost for HIS SAKE. He deserves to have the people He died for come to Him, into His family. We've got to quit thinking of ourselves and what has happened to us, consumed by fear of being hurt again. We need to just accept the fact that we will be hurt, but we are in a battle and people do get hurt in battles. We need to use our pain as a weapon against our adversary to win back those caught in satan's grasp before it's too late.
The Harvest is White!
Friends, there is a world of lost souls who have been captured by our enemy. It is time we go after them with the heart of a warrior; with the heart of Christ. We must possess the heart of our Redeemer and become His fishers of men. We must begin to care more for them than we do ourselves!
The harvest is white, it has never been so white! In all of history there has never been a time like the time we are about to experience. The world has never seen a revival or harvest like what we are about to see.
And I say, church, in the name of Jesus, open your eyes and see the great gift your heavenly Father has given you. He has placed in your hands the awesome end-time harvest. All creation waits breathlessly to see what you will do with this gift; they wait for you to speak forth the words of life that will transform the world.
The church has never before been what it is about to become! Our minds literally cannot conceive of what we will live through, experience and operate in during the outpouring of His Holy Spirit in the last days.
It is a new day, church! It is a day of triumph and incredible victory! Open your eyes and see the fields white with harvest - a harvest that will be won by grandmas and grandpas, children and teens, moms and dads. It will be won by all those who possess the heart of a warrior, who possess the heart of their Redeemer! Who will fight to the death for what they love, showing no fear in the face of their enemies?
The fearless, triumphant church is a church of passionate, unbridled love for the lost - those who rightfully belong to their Father, those who our precious Jesus died to save. In the triumphant church beats the heart of their Redeemer and they will redeem the world. It will take back all the enemy has stolen from it and will not stop fighting until it does.
I pray in the name of Jesus for the church of the Redeemer to arise! I pray that we would stop fighting each other, turn and devour our enemy. I pray in Jesus' name that we would possess the heart of the warrior - the Great Warrior Himself . . . Jesus Christ, our Savior, Redeemer and Friend!
Church, Jesus is calling you; He is saying, "Will you rise up and fight with me? Will you ride with Me and triumph over your enemies? You are My mighty warriors! My army of love!"
Shout, church! Shout in triumph over your enemies, for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you (see Isaiah 60:1). The time of great victory has come. It is the dawning of a new day and you are shining like the Son!
Please pray this with me:
Father,
Break open the heavens and pour out Your heart on Your church. Heal us, restore us and make us one! I give you my heart, Lord. Please give me Your heart in return - the heart of a warrior. I repent for not using the gift of authority that You purchased for me with Your precious blood. Make me the terror of hell and the joy of heaven. Lord, I thank You that I will walk in Your fearless faith. And may I cause as much harm or more to the kingdom of darkness as it has caused me!
In Jesus' name, amen! |
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The Battle in Your Mind
Barriers are in our mind. ‘Strongholds’, the scriptures call them. Wrong thinking patterns keeps us imprisoned in defeat. Don’t listen to those lies!! If God is for you, who dares to be against you? Break through the limitations of the past and let your mind dwell on fresh, positive attitudes of faith. Breaking the barriers will change your life and the lives of your children. Break through the barriers in your mind and start stepping out in faith. Go beyond those old barriers.
If you fail to break through the barriers of the past, you run the risk of spinning your wheels, going around in circles. Instead of moving forward with an attitude of faith, expecting good things, you will just be going around and around with a poor, defeated mentality. Let go of the past hurts, pains, of failures. It’s time for increase, time for promotion, time for supernatural favor.
Today is a new day, and God wants to do a new thing in your life. He has great things in store for you. Don’t let your past determine your future. Start EXPECTING good things!! You can’t have a victim mentality and expect to live in victory. God sees All, Are you willing to change? God can change your life. God wants you to live an overcoming life of victory.
El Shaddai, “the God of more than enough”. He’s not “El Cheapo” the god of barely enough!!
God works by Faith. You must believe first, and then you’ll receive. God is waiting on you. Why not stretch your faith and believe God for more so you can help somebody else in need??
Ask God to put some fire in your spirit. Stay in an attitude of faith and victory, and you will no longer live under the bondage of the past. If you believe, all things are possible. Tear down those strongholds in your mind, change YOUR thinking.
Why does God allow spiritual warfare? Spiritual warfare is described in Ephesians 6:12: "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." Romans 7:23 explains that spiritual warfare is in the battlefield of our minds: "But I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members." Satan wages war within in our mind - planting seeds of doubt, fear, insecurities, worries, suspicions, and other anxieties. God's Word tells us repeatedly to be strong (1 Kings 2:2, Isaiah 35:4, Haggai 2:4), to walk forward in faith, and trust God for His help. When we do this, He promises to be with us in the battle and help us overcome, no matter what situation we are facing. God is asking, "Will you believe My Word?" 1 Timothy 6:12 says that faith is essential in spiritual warfare: "Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses." We must prove that God has preeminence in our lives. 2 Chronicles 16:9 reiterates: "For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war." God gives man free will. He wants man to love Him and desire to serve Him because of who He is, not because of what He does. Satan accused God of allowing this in His servants in the book of Job 1:9-11: "'Does Job fear God for nothing?' Satan replied. 'Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.'" Satan desires to prove to God that man will not remain loyal to Him. God, on the other hand, does trust in the faith of His followers. Satan needs God's permission to touch one of God's children. Job 2:6 says, "The LORD said to Satan, 'Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.'" God gives permission because He desires to prove we can remain faithful. Job 2:3 reads: "Then the LORD said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.'" In Christ, we can overcome spiritual warfare! By overcoming Satan in the battlefield of our mind, God provides us with spiritual armor, divine protection, and weapons to fight with. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." Just as the Bible tells us repeatedly to be strong, it promises us that when we do overcome the enemy, there is great reward. 1 John 5:4-5 says, "For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
Spiritual Warfare: What is it?
Spiritual warfare exists in the unseen, supernatural dimension, where God is all-powerful and Satan is in revolt. As any Christian soon discovers, although spiritual warfare is unseen, it’s absolutely real. The Bible speaks of spiritual warfare in many places, but most directly in Ephesians 6:12, where Paul speaks of putting on the full armor of God:
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Spiritual Warfare: How Do We Go Into Battle as Christians?
Spiritual warfare is an image that many of us would rather reject. However, since the Bible uses terms of warfare, it’s best that we accept God’s imagery, so that we’re properly prepared for real battle. As Christians, we’re going through more than a mere “struggle” on earth – and its seems that war imagery captures this reality better than anything else. Since it’s warfare, God instructs Christians to use a very specific set of armor and weapons in Ephesians 6:14-18:
“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 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...”
God’s list of weaponry is rather unique – these are “weapons of peace.”
Throughout the Bible, you will find examples of God’s weaponry in action. For instance, King Jehoshaphat sent out praise singers in front of his soldiers to cause disarray among the enemy; Joshua used singing and trumpets to bring down the great city of Jericho; and what better example of using faith in battle than David fighting Goliath with a slingshot. Of course, the lesson in all these examples (as in all spiritual warfare today) is that it’s only God who allows us to claim victory over evil!
Spiritual Warfare: Be Strong in the Lord
Spiritual warfare is a reality of the Christian life. But remember, we know the ending – our side wins. Since the Devil has already lost, he has nothing to lose in trying to take as many people with him in defeat. Therefore:
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11).
What is the Armor of God?
God has provided us a wardrobe to wear as we enter in battle each day. As you dress in the morning, you need to suit up in God's armor as well. Ephesians 6:10-18 in the New Testament of the Bible lists all the components of the armor of God: "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. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
Belt of Truth: Buckle it securely around your waist. Know that God is with you every step of the way. He alone is the truth in life. Spend time in His Word and learn His truth!
Breastplate of Righteousness: As you put on your breastplate, thank God for His never ending mercy towards us. He has given us righteousness when we follow Him. He will teach us every day if we open our eyes and ears to see and hear Him. The cross is an excellent example of God's mercy to us. He gave His Son for us so that we may spend eternity with Him.
Sandals of Peace: Without God in our lives, we could not have peace. The "peace that transcends all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) is available to us only as we give our lives entirely over to His control. As you strap on your sandals each day, give your cares and concerns to Him and ask Him to carry them. God's Peace will be left in their place.
Shield of Faith: This is another defensive weapon in our arsenal. We use this piece of armor to guard against the constant assaults by the enemy. Each morning as you pick up your shield, thank God for your faith. Faith that comes in knowing He will never leave or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:8).
Helmet of Salvation: When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are given this defensive piece of armor to protect us. We know that we have been saved to battle with Him here on the planet Earth. We can do so willingly, knowing that we will spend eternity with Him.
The Sword of the Spirit: This is our only offensive weapon in the armor of God mentioned in this passage. Our sword is His Word, the Bible. With it we can slay the evil in the world as it presents itself to us. Read your Bible, learn His Word and memorize verses. Keep it on the tip of your tongue.
Dressed in this armor daily, we are prepared to enter the world. Without it we will be prey to attack. Think about each piece as you put it on. Thank God for supplying us with His armor to protect us.
Dressing for spiritual warfare - What do I wear?
Dressing for spiritual warfare may sound silly, but in reality it is what Christians need to do if they are going to survive the temptations and bumps in the road. It is important because all of us are engaged in a spiritual battle. On the one hand, there is Satan launching wave after wave of attack in various forms - from the obvious ones like specific temptations to attacks that we may not recognize. On the other hand, is God who has clothed us for this battle.
Is there a scriptural basis for spiritual warfare and defeating it? 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 states, "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
When dressing for spiritual warfare, there are six basic items listed in Ephesians 6. These include:
- Strong Belt of Truth - The truth that God provides will defeat Satan's lies every time. What Satan may be telling or selling might sound good, but God's truth will open our eyes.
- Breastplate of God's Approval - One of Satan's favorite attacks is on our hearts, which in turn, attacks everything else. God's approval of us and the fact that He sent His Son to die for us shows us love.
- Shoes of God - We must be ready to spread the good news and do our part in helping fulfill the Great Commission of telling all the world. Satan really doesn't want this to happen, so he wants us to think the task is too great or that we can't make a difference.
- Shield of Faith - Our growing faith in God shields us against attacks in the form of setbacks, insults, and temptation. We must realize that the ultimate victory is ours with God.
- Helmet of Salvation - This protects our minds from doubting God's saving work for us.
- Sword of the Spirit - This is a weapon of offense against Satan. When tempted, we must rely on the fact that God is with us, and He wants us to go on the offense fighting back.
You can be dressed for success if you clothe yourself in these six items that God provides. With these, you can develop a victorious attitude and face whatever challenges or temptations the devil may throw at you. You don't have to play it safe or seek not to rock the boat, you are now on the front lines fighting the devil himself and winning with God's help.
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