Battle Stations

Have you noticed how it has become fashionable in modern-day churches to remove the “battle / conflict” aspect of the Christian life? In their desire to be seeker sensitive many have watered down the truth by hiding behind a veneer of spiritual compromise. The words “violent” and “violence” appear 66 times in the Bible. And how many times will you find direct reference to “victory” when studying the work of the Cross? Hence, can there be any victory without a battle? And can there be violence without an aggressor? Definitely not!

Yes, you must be Christ conscious and Christ centred! And yes, you should be God-inside minded! However, there is a spiritual battle raging and if you are spiritually minded you will be fully aware of this. Saying to yourself, “All I need is more of God,” will help you deal with your flesh, but unless you understand spiritual warfare you cannot live a victorious life. 2 Corinthians 2:11 tells you not to be ignorant of the devil’s devices (strategies), in case he should take advantage of you.

The devil’s mandate is to steal, to kill and to destroy (John 10:10), and he is fully committed to finding ways of successfully accomplishing his evil objectives. But are you just as committed to finding ways of defeating evil? In Revelation 2:7 the Lord says, “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” Overcomes is military terminology, suggesting combat against the forces of darkness (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Ephesians 6:12 proclaims, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.” The real battle is against demonic forces, against battalions of fallen angels, against evil spirits who wield tremendous power. Though you cannot see them, you are constantly surrounded by evil beings.

Now please let me make this clear, you should not be morbidly preoccupied with the subject of demonism, neither should you live in fear of demons. You are fully equipped by God to hold your ground against any demonic onslaught and outlast any spiritual battle.

Outlasting the battle means one of two things: (a) either you have overcome and gained the victory, or (b) you were fortunate enough to have escaped to fight another day. But, on the other hand, if you did not outlast the battle, you have probably become one of the fatalities, or you've been taken captive by the enemy.

So how does all this translate in spiritual terms? Well, there are spiritual fatalities and also spiritual captives [in spiritual warfare]! Those of you who do not outlast the battle (or overcome) are considered either fatalities or prisoners of war. A fatality is a soldier who has been defeated in battle, and this person is probably a believer who just gave up, and is now crushed, backslidden and blaming God for his loss. On the other hand, a prisoner of war (in any spiritual conflict) is probably a believer who was deceived during the battle to surrender. Consequently he has ended up thinking that it must be all right to give up and hand over power. Such a person will be in captivity, even if he doesn't recognise this fact. There are many believers who are held captive through ignorance or timidity.

Note, when in battle you should be totally reliant on and fully comfortable with, your spiritual armour [your battle dress]! Romans 13:12 says, “Let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.” Ephesians 6:10-11 says, “Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Putting on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand against the tricks of the devil.” Right now, in the spirit, you are wearing what you have chosen to put on!

When in the midst of battle, a good soldier never takes off his battle dress (his protective outer covering). Such a foolish and mindless action would give his enemy an unfair advantage. Your “armour of light” is your outer spiritual protection. It protects you from the compelling influence of the enemy [Ephesians 6:11]. And the preceding verse reveals that the only way to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” is to “put on the whole armour of God!”

If you are to successfully outlast the battle and become an over comer, you must ensure that your armour is intact, and that every item is still in place. The apostle Paul instructs you to “take up the whole armour” in order to maintain a competitive advantage (in battle) against the unseen forces of evil.

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the gospel of peace; above all, taking hold of the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” [Ephesians 6:14-17].

Notice all the action words in this passage of scripture. Words like 'put on', 'take up', etc. This is a pro-active (offensive) attitude toward spiritual conflict, and it keeps you one step ahead of the devil and his evil schemes. If you remain bold and courageous, all of heaven will back you up. Remember what Elisha said to his servant in 2 Kings 6:16? “Do not fear for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. ...Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” In every spiritual conflict you are never alone. You have the host of heaven backing you up! But if you choose not to engage you won’t have need from divine assistance.

We must remain confident and self assured that we will see every conflict through to its successful conclusion. We have been created to be over comers in this life. More than conquerors!

Chris Demetriou, 05/01/2012