Spiritual Battle, Tactics and Weapons

UV 2763/10000 Spiritual Battle, Tactics and Weapons
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil
Ephesians 6 v 11
Scripture exhorts us to be strong in the might of the Lord. We are not to rely on our own strengths but upon the strength and power of the Lord. We are asked to put on or adorn ourselves with Christ. We are asked to put on the new man created in righteousness and holiness and in the image of Christ. Over the new man or our new character, we are to put on the full armour of God. The enemy of our souls constantly targets us. Each of us is a high value target for him. He chooses to attack different parts of our faith life- our thoughts, our desires, our emotions, our vision. We need to wear the helmet of hope in Christ on our heads so that our thinking is not confused or full of doubts, disturbed or distracted. The hope of witnessing or experiencing the great power, mercy and grace of the Lord keeps us battle-ready. We need to guard our inner vision with a visor so that the enemy does not blind us with the lust of the flesh.
No battle and not even a game can be won with only defensive weapons or tactics. We are to wear spiritual armour to engage in battle and not just watch from the side lines or pose as tourists do these day when they take snaps in castles. Warfare is not physical skirmishes but praying in the spirit and with authority over every power of darkness. While battling in the spirit we need to wear the breastplate of faith, love and righteousness as the enemy will target our vital organs- our heart of faith, our love for the Lord and our character. The shield of faith is to be used in every direction to thwart the attack that can come from 360 degrees. Even if a burning arrow of accusation of the enemy or of temptation or trial escapes through the defences and hits our shield or armour, it will just fall away without causing much damage.
The sword of the Word is our spiritual weapon of both defence and attack. It is double edged and affects us at the intellectual-emotional as well as deeper spiritual levels. It can easily penetrate the defences of the enemy and put him to rout. It can wrest victory in any issue or challenge we are facing in life. We need to use the Word not as a showpiece in our living rooms but as an effective tool and weapon of defence and attack. Our grip on the Word should be like the grip of Eliezer, one of Israel’s fighting men whose hand seemed to be fused into his sword. The enemy will try to loosen our grip on the Word but our constant sabre swinging will send him scurrying for cover. Like Gideon’s volunteer force of 300, we need to sound the battle cry of the trumpet of praise and worship. We drink the Word even as they lapped it up from their open palms as dogs drink milk. The torch of grace of God should shine through all the holes or weaknesses in our life’s pitcher.
Our armour should be held in place by the belt of truth. By cutting the belt of untruth of the enemy, exposing his deceptive and subtle ways, we can at the same time loosen his armour. Our feet and knees are covered so that we stay mobile and strong. Our shoes should be such that we can move rapidly and at the same time, take a strong stand. Our spiritual armour will cover the vulnerabilities of our spirits, minds and bodies from top to bottom. At all times, we should know that we are not fighting the battle alone but the Lord is with us in all His might. The victory over all the wiles of the enemy has been won on the cross by Christ. We only are to be battle-ready, take battle positions on the frontline.
Prateep V Philip

The Multidimensional Role of the Spirit

UV 2762/10000 The Multidimensional Role of the Spirit
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 14 v 26
The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity performs three roles or functions in our spiritual lives. The Holy Spirit is the greatest Comforter and the greatest Advocate. He is also the greatest Teacher. He not only teaches us all aspects of the eternal truths that we need to learn but also reminds us in a timely manner about what we need to recall at a particular moment in our lives. He reminds us of the teachings of Jesus in the very matter or situation we are confronting in real time. He is gentle and speaks to us in whispers. Hence, we need to quieten ourselves and be sensitive and responsive or we would miss hearing His voice. The Holy Spirit is highly sensitive and can be grieved or hurt by our words, actions or attitudes. The fear or reverence for the Lord will keep us from grieving the Holy Spirit and instead cause Him to rejoice by reflecting the attitudes and choices of Jesus in our lives. He is the one who overshadows us with the presence and the power of the Almighty God. When He covers us and fills us, we shall not be barren or fruitless. He is the Conceiver for it is of His power that the God child Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb.
The Holy Spirit is the convicting Spirit.. The Holy Spirit is the One who enables a person to recognize that Jesus is the Lord and Saviour. We receive power not just to believe but we also receive the power to be effective witnesses of the Lord. The Holy Spirit is the One who gives us boldness and words to speak to defend our faith. He is the greatest Apologist. The Holy Spirit is the “Shekinah” or the indwelling glory of God in us. He is the One who fills us with hope and faith. He is the deposit of the Immanuel and the seal of His approval. The Holy Spirit is sent to us by Jesus when we pray asking for Him.
The Holy Spirit is the One who sows the seed of the fruit of the Spirit in us- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control. He is the One who imparts spiritual wisdom and the in depth knowledge of all the dimensions of the love fo Jesus and enables us to grow to His very stature. He is the One who sanctifies us, refines us, purifies us. He is the imparter of spiritual gifts that enable us to fulfil the vision and calling we receive from the Lord. The Holy Spirit is also the One who gives us the spirit of intercession for others for He groans in sounds that words cannot express. The Holy Spirit is the One who makes us aware of the kingdom of God or the on-going rule of God in our lives and fills us with His righteousness, peace and joy.

Prateep V Philip

Overwhelming Power

UV 2761/10000 Overwhelming Power
Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut
Isaiah 45 v 1
The Lord God alone knows the end from the beginning. He knows ahead of time the exact course of events and of history. It is His foreknowledge that sets Him apart. He is sovereign and is in control of the events of our lives. Hence, there is no need for anxiety about the future. The Lord spoke to Cyrus personally. The Lord named and anointed Cyrus as a powerful Persian king many hundred years before the latter was born. The word the Lord spoke to Cyrus strengthened him. Cyrus in turn as king representing the Lord on earth spoke to Jerusalem and the foundation of the temple to be built. He held his right hand, implying that Cyrus was guided, led and strengthened by the Lord. Likewise, He has seen us before we were even born. He has chosen us and we have not chosen Him. He has anointed us to strip the armour or the strong defences of kings or authorities of the spiritual realms. He will use us as a battering rod and sharp weapon to remove barriers to faith and knowledge of the truth and love of Jesus. He holds our right hand, emboldens us with a vision and stirs our spirits to do that which He bids. He gives us decisive and strategic victory over powerful forces. Nothing can stop us, neither bronze gates nor iron weapons or chains. It is said that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. But the Lord can chose the weakest of us and make us strong like Cyrus. His speaking to us is enough to anoint us with power and purpose and we, in turn will speak to and of the purposes of the Lord that these be fulfilled on earth.
Unlike Cyrus, our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers, authorities, strongholds and principalities of darkness. He anoints us with the Spirit of truth- the Holy Spirit to take on these powerful forces and render them weak and ineffective. Cyrus was inspired by the Spirit to proclaim that Jerusalem and the temple in Jerusalem be re-built. Our spirits are stirred to build the kingdom of God and to offer our bodies as living temples to the Lord. We need to claim grace from the Lord and proclaim victory for Jesus in this world of darkness. As He holds our right hand and anoints our head with wisdom, He will guide us on which instrument or weapon we need to use. As a mighty ruler and conqueror like Cyrus was used to subdue nations, we will be used to subdue, overthrow and defeat powerful spiritual strongholds. Unlike Cyrus, we do not have to fight our battles. The Lord will fight for us and wrest victory in that which we have believed, claimed and proclaimed in faith.
The gates of Babylon could not prevail against Cyrus and his army. Likewise, the gates of hell cannot prevail against the will of God. Jesus came to set the spiritual captives free from bondage of fear of death and judgement. The word “gospel” has two hidden words in it: “go spell.” We need to go into the world and spell or proclaim that all captives of sin, guilt and fear are set free. This uni-verse encourages us to believe that we have royal authority- the authority to proclaim that which is truthful and beneficial to all mankind.
Prateep V Philip

The Greatest Gift

UV 2760/10000 The Greatest Gift
Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
I Peter 1 v 22

We are justified when we believe that the sacrifice of Jesus bought salvation for us. Having been justified, we cannot rest on our new oars but row towards the shores of heaven through a process of sanctification or purification of our souls. We are sanctified by the Holy Spirit who washes us with the word of truth. Sanctification is a lifelong process. Justification and sanctification are the signs of our obedience of the first command of Jesus to love God with all our hearts and minds. While being sanctified, we are to obey the second commandment which is to love our fellow humans with “unfeigned love” or sincere and fervent love.

Scripture holds out two standards of love: We are to love others as we love ourselves as well as we are to love others even as Jesus loves us. When we love others as we love ourselves, we would not want to harm them or hurt them in any way. Hidden in this command is the truth that we love ourselves. Enlightened self love is not wrong. It is seeking the best for one self. Only when we love ourselves truly can we love others. When we love others as Jesus loves us, we will love unconditionally, we will love without minding the cost or sacrifice or suffering we have to undergo. We will desire the greatest good to happen to others. We will not envy them. We will forgive as Jesus forgives. We will not hold grudges but forgive freely. As we forgive freely, we will not be bitter and resentful. We will not be proud or self righteous, knowing that we are able to love only as Jesus loved us. All the commandments given through Moses are subsumed or fulfilled in obeying the two commands of Jesus. For if we love our fellow humans and fellow believers, we will not lie to them, or steal from them or covet what belongs to them or kill anyone. Fervent love also means not only not doing things that will harm our neighbours but also to do things that will help our fellow beings, alleviate their suffering, bless their lives, bring hope, meaning and the grace of God into their lives.

St Paul elevates love as the greatest of spiritual gifts. We need to reach out to others with a pure and loving heart. A pure heart means that our motives are not selfish or mixed with untruth or insincerity. We love and honour people as they are the very image of God even as we are. Our love is reflected in our words or conversation. It should uplift others and not cast them down.
Prateep V Philip

Guarding the Deposit

UV 2759/10000 Guarding the Deposit
That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us
2 Timothy 1 v 14
We are to guard the good deposit of faith that was entrusted to us, with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Our faith in Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life is like a deposit of pure gold in our hearts. Gold attracts the thief and robber- satan. The latter focussed his attention on all the means by which he can steal or rob or kill our faith and take away our peace and blessings. Like a cunning fox finds or makes a hole in the fencing to make away with a farmer’s chicken, he will try to find holes in our spiritual fencing either a weak belief, a gnawing doubt, a paralysing fear or a false teaching or temptation or trouble that discourages us. We are to discern these attacks with the guidance and spiritual discernment that the Holy Spirit gives us. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit will guard us from every type of attack and strengthen us in our area or time of spiritual vulnerability.
Faith is also compared by Jesus to the good seed and the attempts of the common enemy of our souls as weeds. The weeds may even be something not inherently evil or reprehensible. For the good is often enemy to the best. The enemy plants these to distract us from our purpose and we need to be wary not to give room for it. The good seed has to be planted in the good soil of our hearts. It needs to be fenced and watered with the word day and night for it to grow and bear fruit. The enemy is satisfied if he is not able to crush the seed in our hearts or to destroy our faith if he can thwart the growth to maturity and fruitfulness of our faith.
Scripture adds to the deposit of our faith and we need to keep adding to our stock of knowledge of scripture. The more we know of the Lord and of His love and all His ways, the more our faith expands. The more our faith grows, the richer we are in spiritual terms. These are the riches that neither age nor moth nor rust can destroy. Like good wine, the older it gets, the better it tastes. The more specific verses we store up in our memory and transfer it to our hearts by praying and claiming the promises, turning the instructions and principles into our way of life and meditating on its inner and total meaning, the more the deposit grows. We are to use the gold deposit of faith to buy from the Lord that which we need- spiritual wisdom and grace to overcome evil. We are also to lend from our deposit of faith to others who are poor or weak in faith. We are not to bury our faith but to use it to multiply the blessings in our lives and the lives of all whom the Lord brings in touch with us.
Prateep V Philip

Proof

UV 2758/10000 Sin-Proof, Curse-Proof, Disease-Proof, Death Proof and Fool Proof
Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.
Genesis 6 v 14
Jehovah asked Moses to cover the ark of wood with pitch within and without in order to make it water proof. Likewise, in this day and time, we are to cover ourselves not with pitch or tar but with the Balm of Gilead both inside and outside our homes, our bodies, our loved ones, our vehicles that transport us, our leaders, our fellow believers. The God-provided Balm of Gilead that cost Him a lot is the blood of the Lamb of God- the highest sacrifice- Jesus. When we cover ourselves both inside and outside with His shed blood, then we are sin- proof, disease-proof, curse-proof, defeat-proof, disaster-proof, death-proof, destruction-proof, deception-proof and fool proof. What greater hope or promise can we obtain this side of heaven?
If our medicine or panacea is the blood of Jesus and our faith in its curative properties, the divine Physician of Israel and of the world is Jesus. He is the Specialist of Specialists, Super Specialist of Super Specialists. His Balm works from within us to keep us from our natural lusts and pride and works from without to protect us from the viles and snares of the enemy and his agents. What then do we have to fear on earth?
The ark was made of gopher wood. Noah was given a specific plan to save the eight members of his family who became the progenitors again of humankind and of all races. We do not know what wood the cross on which Jesus died was made of. But He came as part of a specific plan of the Triune God to save not one family but potentially the whole of mankind and specifically, those who believed that this is the plan of God for the salvation of man. The blood-soaked wood of the cross, the body of Jesus emptied of all blood became the emblems of the promise of a sin-proof, curse-proof, disease-proof, death-proof, disaster-proof and defeat-proof life for all believers. What greater proof can we ask for of the love of the Lord?
Prateep V Philip

The Smile that Counts

UV 2757/10000 When He Smiles On Us
If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down.
Job 29 v 24
The face of the Lord is our light. Jesus, the Lamb of God is the lamp that lights up our lives. When His glorious face shines upon us, it is a sign of irreversible favour. When His face shines on us, the Shekinah or indwelling glory of the Lord arises on us like the morning sun. The phrase, the glory of God is an abbreviation or short hand for all the ways the Lord manifests His love to those who are in a love relationship with Him. The sun shines upon us while Jesus shines from within us. He is the Sun of righteousness in whose rays shining through us rather than falling on us -we find strength, healing and deliverance. He revels in doing an internal work in us. He causes us to go from strength to strength and joy to joy. After each experience of His love and grace, we can rejoice. He ignites our minds and hearts with His love and grace. Though ignited, we will not be consumed like the burning bush that Moses saw on Mount Sinai. To the unrepentant and unbelieving, He is a consuming fire while to the repentant and believing, He is an illuminating, liberating, empowering light. To the persecutor Saul, He appeared as a blinding light. But once the apostle Paul had the light of the truth of Jesus turned on in his heart and mind through his Holy Spirit guided personal study of the Word, the light of Jesus set him free from the shackles of blind tradition and literally from shackles that tied him down in the prison cell.
When we please the Lord by making our bodies a living sacrifice to Him, a living tabernacle, a mobile temple of residence of His indwelling Spirit and conform to the patterns of the Word and not of the world, He smiles on us. The extent of our faith and love causes the Lord to smile. When we mess up, He smiles at us like an indulgent parent. When we do things right, He smiles on us. When He smiles on us, His manifold blessings come upon us, His protective cover surrounds us and His power dissipates those forces that attempt to oppose or oppress us. When He smiles on us, unfavourable circumstances will turn favourable. We need to regard His presence and His smile precious to us. We must not treat lightly the favour of the Lord or take it for granted or reject it.
The light of His face will dispel darkness. When the Lord smiles on us, our enemies are disarmed. They will be alarmed at the radiance on our face. It is the light of victory for the light will always overcome the darkness and the darkness however gross cannot overcome the light. Darkness has no part with light and light has no part with darkness. He fills our lives to the point of overflowing with love, faith and hope. People will be blessed with the overflow from our lives like Joseph’s brothers were blessed by the fruitfulness that stemmed from the grace of God manifested in his life.
Prateep V Philip