Spiritual Forces: How to Win the Real Holy War God's Way
by Teresa(1,457)
Freelance writer/Speaker
“For You will light my lamp; The LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. As for my God, His way is perfect; The Word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the LORD? It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me on high places. He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great. You enlarge my path under me; so that my feet did not slip.” Psalm 18:28-36
Taken out of context, this passage of Scripture can be abused and or mocked; in fact, it has been many a time – Christians using the Bible to wage verbal and physical war against those who do not believe as they – we saw it in the past with the Catholic church – literally murdering thousands for “falling away from the truth”. We see it today with some of the members of the
Then there are other world religions who have their versions of Holy War as well – whose sacred books actually call for the extinction of “Satan” which is
THE WHO
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ..” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
“Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places” Ephesians 6:10-12
“This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts” Zechariah 4:6
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5: 6-8
The War is not between Christian and non Christian. Nor should it ever be Christian against Christian. According to God, the war is between the Christian and His enemy – Satan and his legion of demonic forces. We must realize that everything behind sin stems from the devil and our own weaknesses.
The world is ripe with evil – premarital sex, adultery, drugs, indulgence of alcohol, selfishness to an alarming degree, etc. – it calls to us and we give in to its lure, not giving much thought to the consequences that are sure to follow. Our enemy wants to destroy us and without the Spirit of God in our lives, he does, and many times we don’t even realize we are a slave to our sin. Sadly, this isn’t only true of the one who is not a Christian, but of some Christians (or professing Christians) as well. We compromise our faith and God’s standard’s to fit in the world around us and we justify our behavior deceiving ourselves into thinking God is pleased with us. Or worse, we have never read the Bible to know the standards of the God we claim to know and love.
THE WHY
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world loves its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember that a servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you...” John 15: 18-20
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he is not His. Romans 8: 5-9
When we receive Christ as our Savior and become a Christian (a child of God), then we automatically become the enemy of the devil. When the spirit of God comes to dwell in our hearts, we now have the power to resist the temptations of our own flesh and all that the world throws our way. For the Christian, the Holy War begins the moment we invite Christ into our lives. For the non-Christian, the one who has never fully surrendered their life to Christ, there is no Holy War within because he or she already belongs to the devil. (There is however, the war that Christ waged in His death and resurrection for the soul of the non-Christian, they need only call out to Christ to receive deliverance from sin and eternal death.)
“…you did the deeds of your father. Then they said to Him, ‘We are not born of fornication; we have one Father-God.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love
Whom we chose to allow to rule in our thoughts and actions will be the proof of which we belong to. Our profession will mean little to those who observe our lives.
THE HOW
It’s clear the real Holy War lies in the Spiritual. Most of us are genuine Christians and truly desire to win this battle within our hearts and minds – the battle against ourselves, and how we treat others who do not believe the same. So what will bring us the victory?
Getting back to Psalm 18 - David was in his personal Holy War and though it had physical attributes to it, like King Saul and his army trying to kill him, the bigger picture is that God was preparing David to be King of Israel, and this required David learning the fundamental rules of godly leadership – Self control and humility.
“It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect” Psalm 18:32
“He teaches my hands to make war...” Psalm 18:34a
During the time that David was on the run from King Saul, there were many times that God granted him favor and he found himself with several opportunities to kill King Saul – yet he didn’t. Each time he trusted God’s word that he would be King, and he trusted that God would bring it to pass. This is not to say that David never killed his pursuing enemies to protect himself or his people; the point is – he never provoked harm or death on his enemies.
The strength and training that God gave to David was the wisdom to know how and when to protect himself and the discipline to keep his hands from causing him to sin. He does the same for us today – he gives us all we need to win our personal Holy War, we need only follow every direction and trust Him for the outcome.
“Be Sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” 1 Peter 5: 8 -9
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you doubleminded.” James 4: 7-8
“Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all 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; praying always with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” Ephesians 6: 13-18
We win the war by staying in God’s word, keeping our faith in tact, by resisting temptation, and by praying continuously. Notice that our weapons of war are defensive in nature – they are designed for the internal; our heart, mind, and actions. There is only one offensive weapon and that is the word of God – it should be used to quench the fire of the devil in the spiritual realm.
When someone is acting in an ungodly manner, our job is not to brutalize verbally or physically, we are to remember that he or she is under the power of sin in their lives, just as we once were or still might be. By staying in tune with God and His word, we will gain the wisdom on how to handle every unhealthy situation or person that comes our way.
Are you concerned about your loved ones and the evil in the world? Pray – fight the battle in the Spiritual realm – don’t merely preach. Answer questions and share the truth in love when God gives the opportunity. Remember we are the only Bible some will ever read – and because the Bible is the word of God, the sword of the Spirit, we need to be careful how we use our weapon. After all, this is a Holy War that is meant to be won God’s way.
“Blessed be the LORD my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle – my lovingkindness and my fortress, my high tower and my deliverer, my shield and the One in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me.” Psalm 144:1-2
© Teresa Ortiz 2009
Article submitted Tuesday, December 01, 2009 & read 502 times.
Leave Your Comments:
» left by mike crowson from eugene,or (241 days 12 hours ago.)
nicely done, teresaRespond to this comment
» left by Teresa (241 days 11 hours ago.)
Hi Mike, thanks for reading, I am glad you like it. I certainly needed the reminder. Blessings to you! Teresa
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» left by Marijo Phelps(250)(241 days 8 hours ago.)
Really good scriptures, thoughts. depth and coverage - thanks, Teresa! Am so tired tonight and it is only 6:30 just want to go to bed... must have been all those KITTIES and DOGGIES I window shopped today - oh, I wanted to bring them all home.... MarijoRespond to this comment
» left by Teresa(1,457)
Thanks Marijo! Sorry you are so tired. It must be tough to leave those little critters :-(. Sleep well. Blessings to you! T
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