I continue to be amazed at fellow Believers who are unaware of the spiritual battles being waged against mankind; and who don't have any idea of what the battlefield looks like, nor anything of the Enemy's tactics, let alone that they are to be engaged in the battle! "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" is not just an Old Testament warning from God through the prophet Hosea for the people of Israel. The consequences of a lack of knowledge of God, His nature, His battles, and His enemy is not confined to a particular time period.
And yes, I know that God is Sovereign, and Jesus is all-powerful -- He won the victory over Death on the Cross; and in the end, we are victorious. But have we forgotten all the Scripture in the New Testament -- specifically in the Book of Revelation, which encourages us to remain steadfast in our faith [as over-comers and conquerors] as we face the onslaught of evil trying to defeat God's plan for restoration of His Heavenly Kingdom on earth? Here's just a few for you to contemplate ...
Revelation 2:7, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’
Revelation 2:26, The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,
Revelation 3:5, The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
Revelation 3:21, The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with Me on My throne, as I also conquered and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Revelation 21:7, The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
These are just a few of the verses that make it clear that our Salvation alone does not make us immune to torment nor battle. But the idea that there are spiritual realms where battles are being waged over mankind seems to have eluded so many of my fellow Christians. In fact, to many, anything spoken of in "spiritual terms" is looked upon with skepticism and doubt. I venture to say that most Christians are content to stay safely tucked away within the sphere of their "Church families", keeping a blind eye towards anything that threatens to upset their naively optimistic view of the world. It's just too scary to look behind the veil...
And really, it is no different than the fear that kept the Israelites from entering the Promised Land on God's timeline. In Numbers 13, God told Moses He planned on giving the land of Canaan to the sons of Israel, but He first wanted them to go spy on the land so they would know what they were facing. Moses told the spies to check out what the land was like; whether the people who lived there were weak or strong; whether they were few or many; was the land good or bad; were the cities unprotected or fortified -- in other words, what would they need to know to be prepared to conquer the land and receive their inheritance from God. When the spies returned, ten of them reported that the people were too strong and they would be devoured if they tried to conquer the land. Only Caleb and Joshua declared that, "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.".
At least the Israelite spies agreed to go into the land to analyze and evaluate it! So many modern Christians refuse to even look at the areas that God wishes us to conquer, let alone try to engage in battle to plant the flag of His Kingdom. They refuse to look upon the evil machinations of men who partner with Satan's demonic agendas of de-population; of the manipulation of the human genome and DNA that mirrors what Satan tried to accomplish through the Nephilim in Genesis 6; of the robbing of souls that energizes demonic structures and strongholds via sex-trafficking and trade. There is so much that could be written, but I'm afraid it would only paralyze the Body of Christ even more than they already are.
I'm not writing this to shock or sensationalize. I sincerely want "the Church" to awaken to the truth of the times we are living in, and what our purpose is, as children of God, ambassadors of the Kingdom, and members of Yeshua's army on earth. As Christians, we can no longer be satisfied to live out our days in a benign state of uninvolvement. Plans are being made to destroy individual lives as well as enslave all mankind by those who align themselves with the kingdom of darkness. Jesus did not die to give us salvation and eternal life, so that we could simply wait for Him to come back to defeat evil on His own. We have been given power and authority in ways we don't even comprehend!
The apostles were given the spiritual knowledge that they needed in the first century to establish the Church; the Body of Christ who would evangelize the world, spreading the Good News that God's Kingdom was being restored to the earth, even as they defeated the devil's tactics of using sickness, demons, and death to conquer men. But the Church today doesn't even employ those spiritual weapons to battle our enemy! And through the centuries, Satan has corrupted so much more -- infiltrating technology, genetics, science, government, entertainment, the land, etc. with demonic interfaces and assignments -- and we think we can pray it all away, if we're even aware of it.
So, I just want you to think about starting to look beyond your sphere of comfort and become engaged with this cosmic war that is going on in the heavenly realms. We can no longer afford to stick our heads in the sand and think we can avoid our scriptural mandate to be conquerors and overcomers. Look beyond the veil of the nightly news and let your spirit contemplate the power it has to partner with Jesus and His Heavenly Host to defeat the works of the devil. We have all been given a purpose and a race to run. It is a race to the finish line, and Satan is counting on us Christians sitting out the race we've been called to. Don't let fear of the unknown stop you. The words God spoke to Joshua [as He commanded him to take the territory of Canaan] are meant for you, too: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Thank you, for this reminder. I remember about two years ago my pastor told me that God would begin to deal with me in dreams and that He did. I vividly remember a dream I had of a warzone. I was high in the sky with the Lord and when I looked down below me I saw dragons all in the sky. So many dragons in various shades of red covered the area of the sky below me. There was too many to count and there was hardly any room in between them. They were headed somewhere on a mission. Then the dream changed scenes and I was in a bunker (the kind they used during war) and I was down on one knee in army fatigues and there were other soldiers beside me armed and ready, with their weapon aimed at the door. Behind me were individuals who were shaking and afraid but I felt it was my responsibility and duty to protect them. As I was at my designated spot I was ready for the coming battle, with my rifle in my hand. I heard a trumpet sound outside the bunker door and heard fighting and chaos outside, I was not scared or moved in the dream. Even as I type this it is a reminder to always be on guard and ready. This message of yours has encouraged me and help me remember to be vigilant. I have been scared to really engage and intercede as God desires me too. A number of things have occurred over the last couple of years and I was shaken/moved. I am praying regarding my fear and asking for boldness again. Thank you, again for this sober reminder to us readers that we can no longer choose to take a back seat or turn a blind eye. It is our job as the body of Christ to be awaken and to be about our Heavenly Father's business.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your journey! If more Christians would try to see beyond this worldly realm that we occupy and see what is going on in the Second and Third Heavens, then the spirit of fear would not have such a huge hold on the Body of Christ. We would see how the Enemy works and why he is coming against us so strongly, and how powerful we really are. Then Christians could step into their designated assignments and fulfill their purpose on this earth; a purpose that will have impact in bringing about our Eternity with Christ. Your dream reveals so much about what is going on in the spiritual realms. I pray that God keeps revealing your higher purpose to you! God bless you with boldness and courage!
Delete