ABOUT SPIRITUAL WARFARE

 For the weapons of warfare are not carnal but are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4)

So put on the whole armour of God that you might be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11-13)

This kind goeth not forth but by prayer and fasting. (Matthew 17:21; Mark 9:29)

There has been a focus in my spirit on spiritual warfare in the past few weeks. I pray that whatever message God has for myself and for you, as a reader of these words will be received in every part of our being. In Jesus name.

Now let’s get into it in a few words (Sorry it ended up being many words)

Our physical world exists but it is held together by an unseen realm of the spiritual. The reality we live in is shaped by a spiritual world where things happen, the Bible refers to this several times (Daniel while praying, Jacob at Bethel, Jacob at Jabok, events which could not be explained naturally or by physics). The question about the physical influencing the spiritual and vice versa and how that happens is something that we will never fully comprehend. But I learnt from a Man of God long ago that the Spiritual controls the Physical.

We see that even in our makeup as human beings. God created man as a Spirit, with a Soul and gave Him a Body. The Spirit of man is the candle of God the preacher says. When the Spirit of a man is broken, his body and soul deteriorates, when the physical body is broken, the spirit can be affected if the person does not take care of their soul/mind. The workings of the soul, spirit and body is something that can be explored further in detail but never really fully comprehended (for example, do you know that the state of the microbiome in your body possibly affects your mental health).

The Spiritual is important, and The Bible says so when we are reminded by Jesus himself that God is a Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.

There are certain things, truths and situations that cannot be understood fully until the spiritual dimension is added to the conversation. Paul’s famous words in 1 Corinthians 13 are further proof, we know in part and prophesy in part he says but when that which is perfect shall come, then that which is in part shall be done away it. An indicator that nothing is fully known in the physical and nothing is fully accomplished in the Spiritual as well. However, the Spiritual realm is key in this existence because in another place he declares that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood but against principalities, powers and spiritual wickedness in high places.

So, what is this Spiritual realm? I cannot define it, but say that If God is Spirit and Man is Spirit and what we see around us is only a physical manifestation of the Spirit. Then we must try to have an understanding of the Spiritual.

The Bible says that we preach Christ Crucified and to the carnal man, it is foolishness but to those who have believed, it is the power of God. So how come in the spiritual realm Christ is known as God but in the physical He is unknown to those who are carnal. It is no wonder the Bible says that to be Spiritually minded is life and peace but to be carnally minded is death.

Moreso, God also demands and counsels us not to focus on the things which are seen because they are temporary, but we should focus on the unseen, because they are eternal. Hence, it follows that, the physical things of this world are counted as nothing to the believer.

Faith, Hope, Love.

The fruit of the Spirit, Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance.

The Seven Gifts of the Spirit.

All these are not focused on the Physical, they are tuned to Spiritual realm. The very essence of these is not necessarily to protect us physically but to protect us spiritually (remember our physical well-being though important is a product of our mental and spiritual wellbeing).

I cannot tell you why the Spiritual realm is more important, but one reason might be because it is eternal, and it is where we have our existence. There, Christ holds it all together by the counsel of His might and His Power. In Him, we live, we move, and we have our being.

I will illustrate using a recent turn of events in my life.

I recently was asked to fast about an issue by a Man of God and I wondered in my mind why? In the turn of events, someone first told me about a dream they had in which while a man of God was praying, we began to pray with Him and the throne of darkness of the enemy was destroyed, a day later I'm asked to fast. In my mind , I thought to myself, I thought the dream meant that the Battle is won, why the need to pray about it again.

Then the Holy Spirit reminded me of Jesus’s words, this kind goeth not out, but by prayer and fasting.

In that scripture, the disciples could not heal the epileptic boy. When they asked Jesus why they could not despite the fact that He had given them power and authority already, He answered with the above statement.

God reveals Spiritual things to his children through His Spirit (in dreams, in visions, in the whisper of His Spirit to our Spirit, sometimes audibly through others).

But for us to receive those things, we need prayer. Prayer is the Key and sometimes fasting is what gives us right to open that door. In opening the door, we give expression in the physical to what is already God's will in the spiritual, what is already in Heaven. Through Fasting, we open the channels of our Spirit that might have otherwise been closed to receive what is already the Father’s will (Remember, even Jesus had to fast while here on earth), Hence why Jesus, asks us to pray that God's will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

It is His will that we prosper and be in Health, it is His will that we have dominion over all things on earth, it is His will that nothing should be impossible to us, that we should say to any mountain, Be removed from Here to yonder place and it is done.

He reveals His will and when He does, Praying with Faith is how we activate it and sometimes, Fasting is required, even though all power and authority is already given to us.

I will spend a bit more time on fasting. Fasting is both a spiritual and physical exercise. Physical because it affects the body (even weight loss experts sometimes recommend fasting as a way to loose weight). However, the spiritual side of what a fast is or should be is something that is not often talked about, apart from the physical denial of the flesh to focus on spiritual things, Fasting tunes our soul to the Spiritual, to God’s will. In Isaiah 58, God speaking with Israel through is Prophet, let them know that the purpose of the fast is not to accomplish your own purpose but to accomplish His. When we Fast, our attitude should be God let your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, our prayer should be along those lines, to see the will of God done in every situation, in every circumstance, in every way. In that same scripture, God let the Israelites know that the fast He has chosen was not about the afflicting of the soul or the sackcloth and the ashes but about loosing the bands of wickedness, undoing heavy burdens, freeing the oppressed, breaking yokes, feeding the hungry, being hospitable to the poor, clothing the naked, being available to others. And the blessings follow in verses 8-14.

So what is it that You are looking up to Him for.  You definitely need to pray but even more, you just might need to fast. Through fasting, we open the channels of our spirit and our world that might have otherwise been closed for God’s will to be accomplished.

When we pray and fast according to His word and His will, nothing is impossible to us.

However, in praying and in fasting, we must have the right armour on. Praying and Fasting is us joining God to bring His will here on earth.

Hence why Paul encourages the believer to put on the full Armor of God

1.    The Helmet of Salvation – Without this, you are dead even before you start. It is what prevents the enemy from taking you out once you step in. In the Spiritual, there is a seal on our heads that marks us to be Soldiers of Christ and it is an helmet of salvation.
2. The Belt of Truth – No Liar can fight spiritually, in the spirit realm, everything that we are is laid bare, case in point is Jacob at Jabok. We know the Truth, wear it as a belt and the Truth sets us free. The Truth knows us and our flaws and does not hide it, it helps us stand firm without faltering or being without strength.
3. The Breastplate of Righteousness – Righteousness is a defence against all the arrows the enemy throws at you and me. When we are righteous, the enemy cannot speak against us or accuse us of anything and penetrate our Armor. Righteousness is Armor and Christ clothes His own with righteousness when we forgive those who have trespassed against us or owe us a debt.
4. The Shoe of the Gospel of peace, when we war spiritually in every place we step into, there is only peace where God reigns, hence the Gospel must be our basis for peace. To war spiritually, you must proclaim in every place that Christ is Lord of all. In this truth, is the basis for all peace and rest. We cannot be flat footed but always ready to answer anyone about the basis for our hope or our power and authority.
5. The Shield of Faith – Only those who believe in the Gospel and in God can quench the fiery darts of the enemy, He will come against us with sickness, with thoughts that are contrary to the truth, despair, sorrow, peril, in all this,  Faith is a shield, Faith is believing in God and His word. Believing every word that has come out of the mouth of God.
6. The Sword of the Spirit (God's word) – In the Spiritual, only God's counsel stands, Know His word, what does it say about that situation that you are in. The Sword is a weapons against everything contrary to the purpose and will of God, through His word, we put to death and destroy all the works of the enemy.
7. The Armor of Light (Romans 13:12) – We must cast off all darkness, Christ gives light, Ephesians 5:14. The Powers that we war against cannot stand the light of God. He empowers through His Spirit with this light, so that in every place we find ourselves, our Power which His light shines through.

He who fights or goes to war must make sure that they carry these weapons and they must be battle ready.

Our Victory is assured when we fight, because the one who we fight for, fights on our behalf. If God be for us, who can be against us.

I will finish with the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 2:4-6

⁴ No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

⁵ And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.

⁶ The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.

KJV

⁴ No soldier in active service gets entangled in the [ordinary business] affairs of civilian life; [he avoids them] so that he may please the one who enlisted him to serve. ⁵ And if anyone competes as an athlete [in competitive games], he is not crowned [with the wreath of victory] unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶ The hard-working farmer [who labors to produce crops] ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.

AMP

A soldier on duty doesn’t get caught up in making deals at the marketplace. He concentrates on carrying out orders. An athlete who refuses to play by the rules will never get anywhere. It’s the diligent farmer who gets the produce. Think it over. God will make it all plain.

The Message

Thanks for Reading and God Bless You.

Let’s all bring down God’s Will wherever we are.