Many people, including many Christians, do not like the use of the word 'warfare' here. I'll be honest: I myself do not like the imagery. War's a horrible thing, and we follow the Prince of Peace. But Scriptural imagery uses warfare language, and thus it would be very wrong to reject it. Just as important, those who are going through the worst of the struggle sooner or later find themselves leaning on war-like terms. They're going through more than a mere 'struggle' -- they're going through a kind of hell. War imagery captures this with a precision and emotional connection no other imagery has yet come close to. Everyone knows what the imagery means, so when it's used, the point is quickly understood by believer and non-believer alike. And war language, while it may make too much of any one 'battle', is the only language which successfully catches the epic proportion of what is going on in the supernatural realm. I would hope for a substitute, but 'war talk', judiciously and wisely used, will simply have to do for now.
...Ephesians 6:12 says "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places". Every Christian is a walking battlefield. Every believer carries deep within himself a conflict. If your not a believer then your playing into the hands of the enemy at every turn in your life. The principles of war are taught in military academies all over the world. In most ways, spiritual warfare is no different than physcial warfare. Every soldier who expects to not only survive but win must understand and employ these principles in his own daily battles.
The angel Lucifer challenged God�s authority while the earth was still without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep.
Pride sparked off the �I�ll do it my way� war, and God accepted Satan's challenge and decided to let it run its course. All the earth is a stage for battle for the ultimate fight.
Before any war can begin it has to be declared and defined with purposeful objectives. There are many declarations throughout the Bible but the one most concise and shortest statements points out the strategic objective.
�The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil� (1 John 3:8 )
..:::: What Is A Spiritual Warrior ::::..
You choose to please God
You are mature in Christ
You avoid sin
You shun certain thought patterns
You put the Lord first in your life
You consider the needs of others before yourself
You take up His Cross
You wear the whole Armor of God
In 1 Chronicles 5:8, Warrior�s had all the shields, swords, and bow�s they needed. Think ahead of you so you�ll have all the tools you need to be victorious in battle.
Constant training is important, Keep reading, deepen your knowledge of the Scriptures and involve yourself in church programs. Lay a broad foundation and get your hands on every available resource you can.
Spiritual preparedness is important especially when facing violent hostile forces.
Know your limitations, Modesty is an essential quality in God�s Warriors.
In 1 Chronicles 5: beginning in verse 18, The Israelites made war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab. And they were helped against them; for they cried out to God in the battle. Cry out to God before battle during battle and after battle. I cannot impress the importance to always be in direct connection with the source of the power that makes us victorious.
..:::: Knowing The Enemy ::::..
Jesus insisted that the devil is real and personal, and He constantly warred against him. You don�t have to dig too deeply in the Bible to understand that this world is not the real world. It is only temporary. Planet earth is not our eternal home. Someday this world will go up in smoke and the real one will take shape. We know satan has been defeated, but he has not yet been executed. He is no weakling. He is nothing to be toyed with. Yet at the same time it is important to keep in mind that he is a created being, subject to the limitations of his creation. He is neither all powerful or all knowing. Only God is.
..:::: The Good News ::::..
Satan does not have a stacked deck against you. I mean that he can't see or know the future except as God has revealed it to mankind. He schemes against us and sets us up for attack, but knowing the future, he can never be certian his plans won't backfire. Instead of taking his bait we can run to God and gain strength...cool huh?
Nothing the devil can throw at you can overpower you if you walk with Christ. �Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world [1 John 4:4]
Simply put, the devil is a defeated foe and his distruction is guaranteed. But it is of utmost important to know that there are people out in the world that are dying everyday without Jesus. They have to be given every oppurtunity to be saved as you or I have. I once heard a pastor say " 2/3 of Gods name is GO ".
Our main mission is to take the Gospel to every last living human being that walks on the face of the earth. Jesus is our commander and chief and those are our orders, not just the preacher, they have to help prepair us to GO and do it. What a wonderful mission we have been entrusted with, if God did'nt think we could do it He would'nt have given it to us. Not only that but he stands with us every step of the way helping and cheering us " Onward Onward Christian Soldiers!!!
..:::: Living In The Crosshairs ::::..
The Bible teaches us that the quality of our life after death is determined by the quality of our life before death.
How you live now determines your reward in Heaven. Our Lord intends to reward us for � fighting the good fight � in this life. When in battle, soldiers run from cover to cover, bush to bush, ducking, bobbing and weaving in out of sight of the enemy.
We live in the crosshairs of creatures that don�t want you to live for the Glory of God and Satan will stop at nothing to stop you short. And there will be times that casualties will happen and some will surrender, but for us Spiritual Warrior's, we get back up get some rest if wounded and get back into the battle.
Listen to how the last book in Revelations describes a victorious Christian:
�And they overcame him [Satan] because of the blood of the lamb and because the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.�
Never underestimate your enemy. If you don�t have a basic understanding of what your up against, you are very likely going to walk into an ambush along life�s journey. Here�s what Psalm 143:3 say�s �The enemy pursues me, he crushed me to the ground, he makes me dwell in darkness�. There�s his game plan.
There are some errors which we can be tricked by. One is to not believe he exists, and the other is to believe and have an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. Materialists [nay-sayers] and magicians [enthusiasts] delight in them both. Frank Perretti in his book (this present darkness) has been very helpful in describing demons so as not to take them lightly. Always remember that people are people and you should love them unconditionally as Jesus loves us.
..:::: How Much Power Does Satan Really Have ::::..
First we know that Satan has been given certain power over the earth. But how much power?
We can look at the book of Job to get some clues. "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." The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." It appears that Satan could not touch Job or his family or his possessions until God allowed him to. But we must also notice that God did allow him to do so.
I believe that Satan is very powerful. We know that Michael (the Archangel) is very powerful, yet Jude states in Jude 1:9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"
I am sure we have all heard the statement "fools rush in where angels fear to tread." I think that statement makes some valid points. If the Archangel Michael (heaven's warrior) does not take Satan on with his own power but only with the power of God, then we should never try to stand up to Satan on our own either.
Does that mean that we cannot defeat Satan? No, it just means that we can only defeat him with God's power and authority. Don't ever let yourself get tricked into feeling safe or strong on your own. We, by ourselves, are no more then gnats, but with the power of Jesus Christ (who over came even death) we can overcome the world and even Satan himself, since he has already been defeated.
Don't let Satan taunt you into going head to head with him, he will crush you. Satan is not to be respected or feared, but his power should command respect and fear from us, because we are at its mercy except when we cloak ourselves in the power of Jesus Christ our Savior.
God's word is called a sharp sword, faith our shield, truth our belt, salvation our helmet, and righteousness our breastplate. No good soldier would go to battle without his weapon or his protective equipment, and as Christians neither should we. We must be bold and stand in the gap, fearless to speak the word of God and willing to risk our pride of what others would think of us. It is more improtant to be concerned of what God thinks of us. Satan's limited power's has no effect on what God ordains.
Jude 22-25 Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear--hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy-- to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
This website is intended to stir the souls and make the comfortable uncomfortable. The time is NOW to stand for something or fall for anything. If you say your a christian then act like one and step up and Proclaim the day of the Lord. Braid your whip as Jesus did and call sin what it is...sin. Kick over the tables of the money changer and Be all you can be.
The information so far is very limited, it is growing. Overall this is a good place to start prepairing yourself for what is to come. Having this knowledge makes you a much larger target for satan.
Here is a link that will answer many more questions. It has some of the most important points to be successful...:::click here:::..