Humility the mindset of Spiritual Warfare

Spiritual warfare is not easy, yet we must embrace it as a lifestyle. Humility is the foundation on which all spiritual warriors must stand. Faithful obedience is the strategy by which we enforce the victory granted by inheritance. Humility will always lead us to obedience, and faithful obedience always holds the winning hand. Even a baby Christian can fight like the most skilled warrior if humble and obedient. 

When King David was just a boy, his humble obedience and zeal for God led him to slay a fully armored, fully equipped giant who was a skilled warrior from his youth. Humility, acquired through his relationship with God, gave David the proper perspective to see the victory in this situation, and he was able to slay this mighty warrior with a slingshot! (1 Samuel 17) His humility caused him to have a perspective that led him to a great victory for the entire nation of Israel and elevated him to a position of honor.

David loved God, feared God, and understood that God loved him.

“I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, which shall fulfill all my will.” (Acts 13:22)

God is looking for people with humble hearts that dare to believe all things are possible. Faith like that can never be attained apart from humility.

Humility is the place with the highest, broadest, and clearest perspective.

Humility comes from loving and fearing God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and humility is an expression of wisdom and understanding. When we understand who God is, humility is the natural response.

Micah 6:8 (ESV) He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

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Prepared to walk by Faith.

Ephesians 6:15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

I asked the Lord years ago, “why is peace on our feet?” He then asked me a question. “Why do you put shoes on?” I said, “to protect my feet.” The Lord said, “peace is to protect your walk.”

One of the main things the army teaches you in boot camp is that you must be diligent in protecting your feet. Suppose your feet are not in good shape. In that case, your ability to fight is limited, your mobility is compromised, your effectiveness is limited, and often you require help from other soldiers to transport you and protect you, taking them away from their assignment.

It is much worse in spiritual warfare. 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 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 talk about, we will eat the fruit of.

A disciplined approach to reading and studying the Bible is how we fill our hearts and minds with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Without daily exposure and intake of God’s word, we have little protection from Satan’s subtle deceptions.

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God doesn’t Share

If we buy a house and pay for it in full, but the previous owner refuses to move out, we have a breach of contract, a violation of the covenant. We are God’s house. We are His temple. He will not fully move into His temple until the carnal man dies and is removed from the premises. He will not share space with anything unholy. God is very particular about where He abides. We can see this clearly from the Old Testament Temples and the tent of meeting.

However, God is gracious. He is patient and kind. He gives us time to move out, time to die to ourselves, and time to grow spiritually. He has given us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and His word to help us remove everything in His temple that is not pleasing to Him. Praise the Lord!

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JC

The Mind of the Lord

1 Corinthians 2:16 For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Notice it says, “we” have the mind of Christ, not “you” or “I.” Understand this about the mind of Christ; “I can do nothing of myself” does not just mean that I can do nothing without the Father. It also means that I can do nothing without relationships with my brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. I will need others to help me accomplish all God has planned and wage a good warfare.

God has designed us to live in a community. Partnering with His work will require a whole village. Assembling forces us to be relational, and relationship with other believers is one way we connect with the Father. A single body part cannot live and function independently apart from the rest of the body.

Even Jesus needed John the Baptist to go before Him to prepare people for His coming. He needed the disciples to help Him with His earthly ministry while He was alive and continue His ministry after His death and resurrection.

There is nothing more connected or co-dependent on planet Earth than the body of Christ. We are more connected than the molecules that make up the human body. Maybe this is why He used man’s body to explain how the body of Christ works.

Effective spiritual warfare requires us to have the mind of Christ. Understanding that we can do nothing of ourselves puts us all on a level playing field concerning our faith, from the faithful saint who has served God for decades to the newborn babe in Christ. We can all engage in community and bring our contribution while gleaning from the collective supply of others.

Thank you for visiting truthpressure.com. I hope this has been a blessing to you.

JC

Eat My Flesh

The written word of God is here to test us, just like the manna from Heaven tested Israel to see if they would walk in obedience. God sees how much we love and respect His written word and how important His thoughts and desires are to us. Our relationship and perspective on the written word reveal how much we love and believe in Him. They are the same. Our love for God will never rise above our love for the Bible and all its precious content. It is the only book that is alive!

Thank you for visiting truthpressure.com. I hope this has been a blessing to you.

JC