THE SPIRITUAL WARFARE PRAYER ASSAULT JOURNAL
The world is engaged in a spiritual war. And, it is a real war, whether you realize it or not; and the enemies of God are on the offensive. The Bible gives us warnings about this war, tells us about the strategies of the enemy, cautions us about the injuries and fatalities we may suffer, instructs us how to engage in spiritual warfare and how the enemy will ultimately be defeated.
Like any endeavor, and especially warfare, to succeed, you must have a strategy and a balanced plan of offense and defense. Scriptures from the Bible teaches us many things, but, the one thing the Bible brings to all who will heed its teachings, is The Perfect Balance.
BALANCE
God speaks often about ‘balance’.
Proverbs 16:11 tells us that, “A just balance and scales belong to the Lord; All the weights of the bag are His concern.”
And, Proverbs 11:1, tells us that, “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord,But a just weight is His delight.”
Job 31:6 gives us a prayer and a practice we should adopt when it says, “Let Him weigh me with accurate scales, and let God know my integrity.”
”Daniel 5:27: ‘TEKĒL’, “you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient.
”Daniel 5:27 tells us that God weighs all people on His scales of justice and righteousness. And, in this verse, God tells Belshazzar that he has been weighed in the balances, and found deficient: A mighty army and brilliant tactics overcame the Babylonian Empire, yet it still fell from within. The armies of the Medes and Persians could only conquer because Belshazzar and his kingdom were found lacking in spiritual and moral values.
(Bible verse Source: Knowing Jesus on the topic of Balance. Comments are my own.)
THE PERFECT BALANCE
Here are some examples of God’s Perfect Balance:
God loves people. (1 John 4:16).
God hates sin. (Proverbs 6:16-19) If you choose sin over God, God still loves you and He still hates sin. What is God’s balance between sin and the sinner?
THE BALANCE: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
Revelation 20:11-15, tells us of the outcome of this Perfect Balance, when it says, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them according to their deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
Revelation 21:27, warns, “and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
GOD IS JUST
The old testament gives us scores of examples of entire nations that had become so sinful, that God allowed them to be completely destroyed.
Genesis 6:5-8, tells us, ”Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. So the Lord was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Then the Lord said, “I will wipe out mankind whom I have created from the face of the land; mankind, and animals as well, and crawling things, and the birds of the sky. For I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”
There are many, today, who claim the Name of Christ, but, refuse to believe that God would destroy them for their sinful lives. I have even heard a so-called pastor say to his congregation, “God loves you and me too much, to love us any less”. (This came from a ‘pastor’ who had many moral failings, while a ‘pastor’.) But, the Bible says, if you ‘practice deeds of the flesh’, (the word practice is from the Greek word, ‘prasso’, found in Galatians 5:16-21), you WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
Jesus, during His earthly ministry, was on mission to save the world. He engaged in this spiritual war, to the death. Jesus demonstrated The Perfect Balance. It may not be what you might think or have expected.
Jesus said, John 18:37, “For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world: to testify to the truth.” Jesus demonstrated the Perfect Balance:
- Did Jesus call some people the children of God?Yes, but, only if it were true.
- Did He call some people hypocrites? Yes, but, only if it were true.
- Did He say we could understand the power of God? Yes, He did.
- Did He say that ‘religious people’ do not understand the power of God? Yes, but, only if it were true.
- Was Jesus gentle, kind and patient? Yes, He was.
- Did He hit people with whips of cords? Yes, He did!
- Did Jesus call people light and salt?Yes, He did.
- Did He call others hypocrites? Only if it were true
- Did Jesus refer to people as Holy? Yes, He, did, if it were true.
- Did He Refer to an entire generation as perverted? Yes, but, only if it were true.
- Did Jesus call God ‘our Father’?Yes, He did.
- Did He say not to call a priest “Father”? Yes, He did!
- Did Jesus refer to leaders as disciples? ßYes, He always did.
- Did He say not to call teachers, “Rabbi”? Yes He did!
- Did Jesus refer to servants in the Church as deacons and leaders as Elders? Yes, He did.
- Did He say not to call those who serve in your church, your “Leaders”? Yes, He did!
Are these inconsistencies or is this God’s method of Perfect Balance? It is our model. We are to love people. We are to hate sin.
(Please note: This is neither rhetoric nor hyperbole. What you are about to read contains teaching and training on the use of the most powerful weapon ever known.
(Do not make the mistake of underestimating the power of the Gospel and the power of God’s spoken Word to change hearts and minds, to pull down strongholds and defeat our enemies and to save those who endure to the end..
(Also, please be aware that there is no ‘shortcut’, no easy 1-2-3, to defeating our enemy. It takes discipline and training and preparation. You need to read, study, prepare and, foremost, PRAY. In order get the complete detail for a complete understanding of the steps to take, please read all of the related page links.)
A WAR TO RESIST AND OVERCOME
The evils enveloping America and the world can be fought in four basic ways:
- Conventional or guerrilla warfare, using conventional weapons of war, economic weapons, psychological warfare, the weapons of the media;
- Political weapons;
- Changing and winning the hearts and minds of the people through Spiritual Warfare;
- Pulling down strongholds, taking every thought captive, destroying lofty arguments.
The first two methods have been in use since creation and have brought only temporary periods of peace or limited prosperity for the few. We have been fighting wars throughout our history, which have murdered billions of people and caused destruction at unimaginable costs in dollars and human suffering, so the first two methods have not brought any measure of lasting peace or prosperity, except to a few.
The last method mentioned, Spiritual Warfare, the spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the pulling down and destroying the strongholds of rulers, authorities, cosmic powers, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places, is the only way to defeat and eradicate evil and usher in worldwide lasting peace and prosperity.
Spiritual Warfare and spreading the Gospel is the method, mission and ministry to which God has called us. It is through Spiritual Warfare, that, in the end, God will judge the entire world, defeat the forces of evil in the bloodiest of all battles. It is through this warfare that Satan and the Anti-Christ will be cast in the lake of fire for all eternity.)
If you cannot, or will not, believe that this is your mission and that He will accomplish these things through you, then you are not yet His disciple. And you cannot know how and are unable TO EFFECTIVELY ENGAGE THE EVIL ENVELOPING OUR NATION AND THE WORLD IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE.
Engaging in the Spiritual War raging across America and the world, requires that you know Jesus as your Lord and knowing what He requires of His disciples (a.k.a., Christians). It is the indwelling presence of God that enables you to understand what God is saying and to gain the wisdom and abilities to fight this war.
Our relationship with God requires more than just knowing about Him. We must know Him, believe Him and we must follow Him, which requires our FAITH in ACTION.
Pastor and author Henry Blackaby points out, in his study “The 7 Realities For Experiencing God”, what we should know about God’s ways, His plans and His purposes. It illustrates how we can follow Him:
- God is always at work around you.
- God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.
- God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.
- God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
- God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.
- You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.
- You come to know God by experience as you obey Him, and He accomplishes His work through you.
- JESUS’ MINISTRY IS OUR MINISTRY
Our relationship with Jesus is more than ‘Just Knowing’; it requires Believing and Doing. Jesus has
(a) The plan for us to follow,
(b) The purpose which becomes our purpose, and
(c) The ministry for us as His disciples.
For example, in Matthew 10:2, we are told that “Jesus sent these twelve out after (a) instructing them (b) He gave them authority
- over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to
- heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness
- “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
- “Heal the sick,
- raise the dead,
- cleanse the lepers,
- cast out demons.
- Freely you received, freely give.
- “Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support.
- “And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. “As you enter the house, give it your greeting. “If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace.
- “Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. “Truly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.
If you cannot, or will not, believe that this is your mission and that He will accomplish these things through you, then you are not yet His disciple. And you cannot know how and are unable TO EFFECTIVELY ENGAGE THE EVIL ENVELOPING OUR NATION AND THE WORLD IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE.
- JESUS’ MISSION IS OUR MISSION
After Jesus’ death and resurrection and just before His ascension, He said:
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
So, Jesus was sent by His Father and was on The Mission of His Father. If you are a disciple of Jesus (His follower) this is your mission, and He will do this work through you.
If you cannot, or will not, believe that this is your mission and that He will accomplish these things through you, then you are not yet His disciple. And you cannot know how and are unable TO EFFECTIVELY ENGAGE THE EVIL ENVELOPING OUR NATION AND THE WORLD IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE.
III. JESUS’ PURPOSE IS OUR PURPOSE
1 John 3:8 “The one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL.”
These are the WORKS of the devil, the thief comes only to STEAL and KILL and DESTROY (John 10:10)
The devil is the accuser, a liar, a thief, a murderer, the author of disease, pain, despair, loss, lack, fear, hopelessness and the like.
IV. JESUS’ METHOD IS OUR METHOD
Revelation 12:11 “And they overcame him (the devil) because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word (logos) of their testimony (Maturia -> Martus), and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”
Here is how Jesus destroyed the works of the devil. And, how He will continue to destroy the works of the devil, through His yielded and obedient disciple:
- Condemns a Fig Tree Matthew 21:17-22
- Feeds More than Four-Thousand People Matthew 15:32-39
- Stills the Storm
- The Catch of Fish
- The Second Catch of Fish
- The Temple Tax Money Obtained from a Fish’s Mouth
- Walks Upon Lake Galilee
- Water Converted Into Wine
- Cleanses the Leper
- Cures a Man With Dropsy
- Cures the Woman With the Issue of Blood
- Healing of the Immobile Man
- Heals a Demoniac
- Heals Peter’s Mother-In-Law
- Heals the Daughter of the Non-Jewish, Syro-Phoenician Woman
- Heals the Demoniac
- Heals the Ear of Malchus
- Heals the Epileptic Boy
- Heals the Nobleman’s Son
- Heals the Paralyzed Man
- Heals the Woman With the Spirit of Infirmity
- Opens the Eyes of a Man Born Blind
- Restores a Blind Man
- Restores Sight to Two Blind Men Near Jericho
- Restores the Centurion’s Servant
- Restores the Deaf-Mute Man
- Restores Two Blind Men to Sight
- Restoring the Withered Hand
- Throws Demons out of Two Men of Gadara (Gerasa)
- DEFEATED DEATH
- Raises Lazarus from the Dead
- Raises the Daughter of Jairus from the Dead
- Raises the Widow’s Son to Life at the Village of Nain
- “Miracles in the Name of Christ”
If you cannot, or will not, believe that this is your mission and that He will accomplish these things through you, then you are not yet His disciple. And you cannot know how and are unable TO EFFECTIVELY ENGAGE THE EVIL ENVELOPING OUR NATION AND THE WORLD IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE.
V. GO ON THE OFFENSIVE – RESPOND TO THE CALL TO PRAY
YOU, begin to pray. Put together a Strategic Prayer Assault. Engage the enemy at the gates and drive him back!
RECRUIT others to join you in a strategic prayer assault on the enemy.
BUILD or JOIN A NETWORK of praying warriors who will pray strategically and drive the enemy back!
The time is late. Please, start now! Pray fervently. Pray effectively. Pray continuously.
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
Whitestone Fellowship 