Our spiritual arsenal: (to defend or take ground from the enemy)
- Spiritual armor – needed for protection against attacks of the enemy
- Discernment – take every thought captive to determine its source
- God’s Word – equips us with wisdom to outsmart the attacks of the enemy.
- Worship / praise (of God) – defend against mind / heart attacks.
- Prophetic declarations – proclaim God’s truths over us / others
- Prayer (and fasting) – helps us gain God’s perspectives and strategies.
- Tongues – builds up the spirit, disconnects the mind from trying to solve the problem and prepares us to hear the Lord’s solution.
- The fruits of the Spirit – helps to carry us past the enemy’s attacks
- Encouraging one’s self in the Lord (and others) – stay focused on God’s true nature so we can move deeper into our spiritual callings and remove discouragement.
The opening passage in this chapter (2 Cor 10:4) tells us that our spiritual weapons have diving power and are supposed to be used to destroy strongholds. Not to be stored on a shelf. A lot of what we do to wage war against the enemy is declaring what we know to be true and making utterance of what God has already done and then receive it. I must remember that it's important to say the truth out loud because that's half if not more of the battle! Setting our focus on the truth, that's what it's all about.
Worship is a powerful weapon we should utilize. “Sometimes worshiping God in the midst of our trials actually creates the breakthrough we are looking for.” A great example of the effectiveness of worship is found in 2 Chronicles 20. Putting worship first in our lives helps to confound the enemy’s schemes against us!
Dawna mentions that the gifts of the Spirit should bear the fruits of the Spirit. Just because something seems to be from the spiritual gifts doesn’t automatically make it from God. Examine the fruit!
I often find myself praying in tongues when I want to hear from God or pray for someone because it relaxes me and helps me surrender to God. I really liked how tongues keeps me from solving the problem, and I never should be the one solving a problem regarding spiritual attack.
Declaring and abiding by the Word of God changes not just us, but those around us, and specifically puts the fear of Yahweh (the Lord) in them. The fear of God leads to so many good things (there are so many promises to those who fear God); it is the beginning to wisdom, so those around us will have insight into who God is! Dawna said that shifting atmospheres comes when we ingrain the culture with the virtues of Scripture. The passages in 2 Chronicles 17:7, 9-10 is quoted. It is interesting to me that the reverence / speaking of God’s word in Judah causes the Fear of the Lord to fall on the neighboring kingdoms. This is an obvious atmospheric change that effects the spirit realm. Something we can emulate today! An example from the book is declaring life into your neighborhood to shift the spiritual atmosphere.
Joy, hope, and peace are fruits of the spirit elaborated on in this chapter. The joy of the Lord is our strength, believing God’s promises for us produces hope, and seeing our situation from His perspective gives us peace. I feel like joy and hope go hand in hand. Hope is the confident expectation of good, as Dawna said, and I feel that joy is the delight we have in the now (present moment) knowing our good future. So joy is the way I live out my hope. It was a good reminder to read that anything which does not bring love, joy, peace, patience, etc. is to be discarded from our lives. So if I am doing something I believe will get me somewhere or help me but I am getting more frustrated as a result, then I should stop doing whatever I am doing because, at least from this moment, it is not coming from Holy Spirit.
I feel the section on peace is crucial to understand and implement in our lives. Maintaining God’s perspective (peace) and not giving in to fear gives us the clear head needed to properly engage in any situation we may face. “Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of security in God.” God should be our ultimate source of peace. A vantage point of peace is advantages for discerning attacks and hearing God’s strategies. This peace is a supernatural gift and fruit of the spirit. We are told to seek peace and pursue it. (Psalm 34:14) To do this we mustn’t give in to the spirit of fear. Complaining also shows a lack of peace. We are responsible for how we look at and react to every situation. Seeking peace is seeking to abide in Yeshua (Jesus) because it's through him we receive supernatural peace. When I read about that I immediately prayed, "God, I receive your peace." It's not through my own doing that peace is attained. I can prepare the soil and facilitate ongoing habitation of the gift God gives, but ultimately it's not up to me to get peace, it has to be given and received.
No comments:
Post a Comment