WWW.THEORACLEMAG.COM AND DJ SEAN BLU PRESENTS "CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS MIXTAPE DROPING ON JULY 4TH.
First things first. "What do we mean by Black OPS? Black operations or black ops are covert operations that take place in secret and have no records. A key factor in making an operation "black" is that it is carried out with great secrecy. What am I talking about?
Our enemy is not flesh and blood. Our enemy is not people! They are not our true enemy. We mistakenly think people are our enemies; our boss, our husband, our wife, our children, people we work with, whoever. What do we do? We think if we can defeat them in some way, if we can get rid of them, we can have peace and victory. That is all upside down. We end up fighting each other. That is what Paul said,"Flesh and blood are not our enemy."They are not our enemy. We use hateful words, critical things. We have to tear somebody else down to build ourselves up as if we are in some kind of competition with one another. We forget we are on the same team. If we fight we lose. The war was won at Calvary. We are not to be each other’s enemy.
Ephesians 6:12 teaches...
"We war not against flesh and blood!"Now wait a minute. Flesh and blood are the ones bringing me all the harm. Flesh and blood are the ones injuring me. I don’t understand. Paul is trying to say, "You need to realize the war zone you are in is not the people. Our enemy is what controls the people. We don’t war against flesh and blood.
I don’t war against flesh and blood. What am I doing fearing people? I ought to fear God and love people. When I am strengthened in the inner man, then I am diligently protecting and preserving the unity of the Spirit which Paul clearly says in 4:3. When we love one another that solves a tremendous problem we have in our life.
Well, we are in a struggle. Paul uses the word "struggle" (Ed note: "hand-to-hand" combat) there in verse 12. The word "struggle" is only used here in the New Testament. I wish it was used someplace else so we could go look and see how it is used, but it is not. "Struggle" comes from the word that has the idea of vibrating or of motion. This is why the term "wrestle" comes out of it. We are struggling. We know we have the flesh to deal with. We know we have the world to deal with, but Paul is saying there is something bigger than all of that which uses the world as its pulpit and appeals to the weaknesses of your flesh. This is your whole unseen enemy and you are in a struggle with him. When you pinned somebody in the wrestling of that day, the way you won was to put your hand around a person’s throat and drive him into the ground. In many circles they would put them to death (Ed note: or gouge out his eyes resulting in blindness). Wrestling in Paul's time was not fun for it was a win or lose, live or die situation. I believe we need to understand the seriousness of the struggle we are in. We need to learn not to fight or fear each other, but to fear God and to understand what motivates people. We are living in a war zone. We are on property and territory that is controlled by an enemy, and we are light in the midst of darkness.
Therefore, if we don’t war against flesh and blood, if it is not my father, if it is not my mother, if it is not my children, if it is not my brother, if it is not my sister, if it is not my friend, then where is my struggle coming from? Paul tells you. He says
"For our struggle is (3SPAI) not against flesh & blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."
What Is Spiritual Warfare?
This is an important question, because "spiritual warfare" means different things to different people. The word is not found in the scriptures, but the idea is all over the Bible. Two scriptures that are used the most were written by the Apostle Paul.
"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:3-5Some christians are satisfied just to believe the right things and attend church services and activities each week. This type of lifestyle is quite different from that which Jesus had called believers. Like the apostles (Lk 9:1-2) and the seventy (Lk 10) who were told by Jesus to go out and preach and teach about the kingdom of God, and he also said they were to heal the sick and set the captives free. In Matt. 28:18-20, Jesus commissioned the disciples.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms." Eph. 6:10-12
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. and remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."The new converts were to be discipled and taught that God wanted them to be doing the things that Christ's disciples had been doing. And Jesus would be with His people to the end of the age, doing His works through them as they were yielded to Him in faith.
Spiritual warfare is a pro-active approach to our faith. We actively resist the devil when his solders harass us. We actively go after spiritual disciplines that will make us stronger and better prepared. We actively engage the enemy when people are spiritually locked down.
We use prayer as a weapon to brake strongholds that cannot be reached in any other way. Spiritual warfare is the putting aside of passive attitudes towards faith which keep us from commitment and cause us to pursue only those things that will benefit us. Instead of seeking our own agenda, we submit our will to God and accept the sacrifices He calls us to make.
There is not one area of Christian ministry that has not become a battleground! Now days it's common to say natural or human things cause most problems, but thats not always true. What we need to do is test the situation to see whether or not there is something more than human influences involved.
A spiritual warrior is alert and focused on the activity of the enemy. But dont get it twisted, he does not go around crediting Satan and his hosts for everything that goes wrong. The Apostle Paul was a good example of a spiritual warrior. He didn't go out of his way to look for demonic activity, but when he encountered it, he quickly recognized it and then he confronted it with spiritual authority victoriously.
A spiritual warrior knows that he has to be disciplined in his thoughts and his actions. If he is not on top of his game in these areas , he can not resist the enemy. He takes sin very seriously, because he knows that sin always gives the enemy an advantage. He must always be on guard against comparing himself with others and he has to watch out for religious pride. The true warrior knows that he can not win on his own strength. His strength, authority, wisdom and discernment are dependent upon his close walk with Yahweh. He should stay focused and guard himself against distraction caused by problems and troubles that appear. These are designed to get his eyes off the Lord and lure him into working in the flesh.
Understanding spiritual warfare provides a new perspective on parenthood. Parents are entrusted with children by the Lord to nurture, cherish and protect. In the parent, the child needs to see a reflection of God's attributes of unconditional love, faithfulness and holiness. The parent should become a manager of God's grace in the home and be on guard against the enemy's attacts on any member of the family. A godly parent can exercise great authority in the name of Christ to resist the enemy and fight on behalf of the children. Like Job, a parent is also the priest of the home, bringing the sins of the children to God so that the enemy cannot establish strongholds in their lives.
Spiritual warfare awareness can also be very effective in witnessing and evangelism. You learn to recognize the barriers and strongholds in advance and prepare the way through prayer, spiritual authority, divine appointments and ministry.
A spiritual warrior knows his inheritance in Christ. He knows God's promises and is not easy prey to the lies and deceptions of the enemy, who tries to call these promises and inheritance into question. He understands the lie is the enemy's language and his most effective weapon. Therefore, the warrior seeks constantly to fortify himself in an understanding of God's truth which he wears like armor for protection.
To summarize what I have been talking about, a commitment to spiritual warfare means:
1. A New Attitude - You begin to think like an overcomer with a victorious attitude. You walk according to your inheritance of grace in Christ. You no longer have an attitude of playing it safe. You know you want to be on the front lines for God, not trying to live the comfortable life with as few problems as possible.
2. A Greater Focus - You carefully guard against the attempts to distract you or to push your buttons. You recognize that the enemy likes to entangle God's people in the cares of this world or provoke us to react in the flesh. You understand the importance of keeping your eyes on the Lord and standing in faith upon God's character, not in your abilities.
3. A Necessary Discipline - You have begun to discipline yourself on all levels. You are setting more time aside for study and prayer. You are spending more time being alert and obedient to the leading of the Spirit.
4. A More Balanced Biblical World View - You take very seriously the Biblical warnings to God's people about an enemy that is real.
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