Tag Archives: The Spiritual Warfare Manifesto

Spiritual Gifts are Free, Maturity is Expensive

Posted on 08/28/2022 | Comments Off on Spiritual Gifts are Free, Maturity is Expensive

          Our identity is not found in our gifting or calling but in our relationship with the Father. An apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher is not who we are. It is how we were created to serve. We find our identity in our loving relationship with the Father, not our gifting.

          Disciples are made when people willingly follow you and your living example. What kind of example are you setting? What are you reproducing if you make disciples apart from intimacy with the Father? Do we really need two or more like you?

Our priority should be a growing relationship with the Father. We should be cautious of having followers if there are any other priorities above that.

          A leader can easily get distracted from spending intimate time with the Lord. A common trap is to replace being alone with God and pursuing intimacy with the busyness of religious activity. Another pitfall is to allow our “quiet time” or “devotion time” with the Lord to become lifeless, where we go through the motions and never connect with God on an intimate level. We can read a daily chapter or two in our Bible, run through our laundry list of prayer requests, and never take time to be quiet and listen to the one we are talking to. I have been guilty of this myself. It is tragic to become religious in our devotion to God and call it a relationship.

            We can learn about God from reading and studying the Bible, but to honestly know Him, we must spend time with Him, commune with Him, and listen to Him.

          Jesus set a remarkable example. He only did what He saw the Father do. This mindset demands a lifestyle of watching and praying. It’s not always convenient or comfortable, but it is necessary to be a disciple of Christ.

          If you read my biography, you can learn a lot about me, but you can’t honestly say that you know me. You may “feel like you know me,” but to honestly know me, you must spend time with me, ask me questions, listen to my responses, and spend time with me. It is the same with God.

          Reading the Bible takes on new dimensions when intimacy becomes a lifestyle. The word of God bears much more fruit in our lives. We begin to view His written word through the lens of His divine nature; we see it with an unveiled face and a heart of love that makes us more sensitive to His spoken word.

Quoted from the book, The Spiritual Warfare Manifesto

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Are You Inviting Demonic Activity?

Posted on 08/28/2022 | Comments Off on Are You Inviting Demonic Activity?

When our heart is wounded, hardened, jealous, bitter, resentful, or self-seeking, we become not only prey for the enemy but also a weapon he can use to hurt others. James 3 tells us how serious this is.

James 3:13-17 (ESV) But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

When selfishness, bitterness, and jealousy enter our hearts, they will come out in our words and actions. When that happens, we become a magnet for mayhem, a landing strip for demonic activity. We don’t just open the door to demonic influence; we send out invitations and serve up their favorite meals.

Guarding our mouths is a huge part of protecting our hearts. Words have creative or destructive power. Words can minister grace, peace, and life, or they can minister death and invite demonic activity. When we give voice to thoughts that the enemy is whispering in our minds, we take that evil seed and plant it in our hearts while exposing our weakness to the enemy.

The entire Bible is replete with passages warning us and encouraging us about the power of our words.

Proverbs 18:21 (ESV) Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Whatever we give ourselves to talking about, we will eat the fruit of it.

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When God seems Distant

Posted on 08/25/2022 | Comments Off on When God seems Distant

Our experience of God’s closeness doesn’t indicate His actual proximity to us. It may, however, reveal our level of intimacy with Him. The more we love God, the more intimate we will become with Him. It is often due to a lack of intimacy when we feel distant from God.

Intimacy is the highest level of communion in any personal relationship. It requires honesty, humility, vulnerability, and constant communication. Intimacy does not often happen in a Church service, a Bible study, or other public meetings. It usually happens behind closed doors where no one else is around. Looking honestly at how we worship and love the Lord when alone will locate our level of love for the Lord.

Why are love and intimacy with God so important in spiritual warfare? Because we are fighting for Him. His purpose, plans, and battle strategies become apparent when we are intimate with Him. It purifies our motives and clarifies our perspectives. It strengthens us for battle and gives us a vision of His victory. More than any other thing we can do, pursuing intimacy with the Father is most important. It is the fastest way to become everything He paid for.

Quoted from the book, The Spiritual Warfare Manifesto

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Exposing the Critical Spirit

Posted on 08/24/2022 | Comments Off on Exposing the Critical Spirit

Revelation 12:10  Tells us that the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

One way Satan accuses us day and night before God’s throne is to use God’s people to do his accusing for him. By doing this, he deceives us into wearing his yoke.

He persistently bombards us with judgmental thoughts, accusations, thoughts of un-forgiveness, anger, jealousy, and bitterness. He plays past and future scenarios in our minds, trying to trick us into making it all about ourselves. He deceives many of us into turning inward and becoming insecure, self-focused, and self-centered. This is the fruit of pride and causes the Lord to resist us. It is a scary thought.

We identify pride and selfishness by the way we think of ourselves. What I deserve, what I need, why I can’t, what I believe, and what I am entitled to. The more self-centered we become, the smaller our world becomes.

“The smallest world we can possibly live in is the one we are the center of.”

Without humility, we will likely be yoked to Satan and his agenda. Isaiah 58 speaks of this yoke.

Isaiah 58:9 (ESV) Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am. If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

The yoke is described as “pointing the finger and speaking wickedness.” It is an accusing, critical spirit, a spirit of superiority. It is the fruit of a prideful heart and dead give-away that we have yoked ourselves to the enemy’s work.

A yoke is a device that allows animals to be bound together to share the workload. A critical, judgmental spirit tethers us to Satan’s work so that we share his workload and bear fruit for his kingdom. No wonder God resists the proud.

yoke

1 Peter 5:5-6 (ESV)Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

When we have a critical spirit, we quickly criticize others while not being very critical of ourselves. We busy ourselves looking for specks in other folk’s eyes and are blinded by the massive log in our own. Pride blinds us to truth and makes us short-sighted.

Matthew 7:5 (ESV) You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

“Humility will always be the place with the greatest illumination and clearest perspective.”

Being overly mindful of what is not right in others causes us to forsake the Spirit of reconciliation and embrace a perspective apart from love and grace.

Consider this; If we wrongly criticize someone’s child, who will be the first to take offense? The parents. Our Father is the same way. When we judge God’s children, we are judging Him. When we judge our leaders, we are judging His leadership. When we criticize the brethren, we say in our hearts that God’s workmanship is not up to our lofty standards. It is a twisted perspective that is anti-Christ.

Quoted from the book, The Spiritual Warfare Manifesto

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