Within us and all around us there is a war going on. If you are a follower of Yashua, then your life is a battlefield. A constant struggle begins the instant a believer chooses to accept Yashua as his Lord. He is engaged in a war that will never end during his Christian walk. The battle is spiritual, the battlefield is spiritual and the weapons are spiritual so it should be understood that the battle could only be one on a spiritual level. I like how Tony Evens defines spiritual writing “Spiritual Warfare is that conflict being waged in the invisible, spiritual realm that is being manifest in the visible physical realm (pg 7 Tony Evens Speaks Out on Spiritual Warfare).” It is an invisible fight between the armies of Heaven and Satan's fallen angels that affect you and me. One of the Bibles best teaching on this subject comes from Ephesians 6:10-20. Here Paul is teaching us that victory in spiritual warfare is dependent on the inward growth and edification of the church ( also see 4:12;16). It is important that the Body of Christ be united and built up so that we are prepared to combat the enemy. The sad truth is that it is taken for granted that the victory is already assured though the death and resurrection of Yashua. As followers of Christ, we have three enemies; the world, the flesh, and the devil ( Eph. 2:1-3). When we refer to “the world”, we mean the system around us that is apposed to GOD and caters to to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. (1 John 2:15-17. “The Flesh” is the old nature we got from Adam. “The Flesh” is opposed to GOD and can do nothing spiritually to please him. For most military units during war time, Intelligence agencies such as the CIA are very important because it allows officers to know and understand the enemy. To defeat the enemy you must know the enemy; who is he; what is he and what can he do. Throughout the Bible we find many names for the enemy. The name “Devil” means “accuser” because he accuses GOD's children before GOD's throne daily (Rev 12:7-11). The name “Satan” means “adversary,” because he is GOD's enemy. He is also known as the tempter (Matt. 4:3), the murderer and the liar (Jn 8:44). He is also compared to a serpent ( Gen 3:1; Rev 12:9), an angle of light (2 Cor. 11:13-15), as well as “the god of this age” (2 Cor. 4:4). So, where does this evil being come from? Two passages in the Old Testament (Is. 14:12-15, Ez. 28:11-19) have been used to show Satan's fall from grace. When written, these were directed at the kings of Tyre and Babylon, but many scholars believe they also refer to Satan. Rev. 12. teaches further on how he fell and turned one third of all the angels in Heaven against GOD (Rev. 12:3-4). Satan, unlike GOD, is a created being. He is limited in knowledge Unlike GOD, he is not all knowing; he is not all powerful; he is not everywhere at once and he is not an eternal being. So if there is such a limit to his power how can he do so much all over the world? Because he has an organized army. As I stated before, Satan took one third of all the angels in down with him. This is where we get what we call demons. The Book of Daniel Teaches us that Satan's dark angels struggle with GOD's angels for control or the affairs of nations (Dan 10:13-20). There is a spiritual war going on that we can not see, yet we are apart of. To fight in this war we must be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power (Eph. 6:10). Remember This is not a physical war, so we can not use physical strength. Our strength is found in the Lord though fellowship with him (Jn 15:1-8) Once we are strong within, we must put on the full armor of GOD. We have to remember, the armor itself is a waste if the soldier does not have a heart to fight. Once you have the power of GOD in your heart, you can arm yourself and prepare for battle. The most important part is probably the fact we were told to put on the full armor, not leaving out one piece. The soldier that leaves off any part of his armor exposes himself to the enemy and stands a good chance of getting hurt or even killed. It's a scary fact that our enemy, Satan knows us. He knows what is most appealing to us. The word “schemes” (methodic) in Ephesians 6:11, means the deceits, craftiness, trickery, methods and the strategies in which the the devil uses to wage war against the believer. He has strategies that appeal to the lust of the eyes (1 Jn 2:16, Gen 3:6, Mt. 4:5-6). Satan will make sure you see things that maybe very attractive to you, though GOD may not want you to have it. These things appeal to our flesh and pride. Things like... Delicious, yet unhealthy food. An attractive person. Material things like clothing, land and cars. A Position Authority and power. Another gimmick of Satan is to send a false teacher, a very impressive person, well dressed and with good speech. Satan is not a myth. He is real, but this character dressed in red with horns and a pitch fork is a lie! He will come to you as an angel of light and his ministers will come as teachers of truth and righteousness. On the surface there teachings seem to be biblical but when you look closer you will see their word is not intone with the teaching of Yashua. Their message is of self-rightiousness and... Human goodness and works. Ego and self-image. Personal development and correction. Mind and will. One that is clothed in the full armor of GOD will recognize Satan's minister and refute them in the name of Yashua! What is this armor and how does it aid us in our battle with the evil one? Your equipment is found in Ephesians 6:13-17. First the girdle of truth. The girdle is the part that holds the whole armor together and gives it strength. Without Truth, the whole thing falls apart. Yashua and his Word is the Truth. Next the breastplate protects your heart. Everything you do exposes your heart and shows everyone who your heart is with. Third are the sandals of the gospel. The Roman soldiers sandals were made strong for support doing battle. This refers to the strong support you should have in knowing the doctrinal truths of the Gospel. Forth is the shield of faith. Unless you have genuine faith that in the name of Yashua you have power and authority over him you can not defeat him. Satan's primary weapon is doubt. Number five is the helmet of salvation. The helmet protects the head and will only allow sound doctrine to enter. Sixth is the Sword of the Spirit. Note what this weapon is named. Everything else on this list is to protect you. GOD's word is all you need to fight with. True prayer from the heart is a blow to Satan's head. It is the only way to get power from GOD. We must always pray. The soldier that is not constantly praying, is not constantly under GODs protection. We must pay in the spirit and not be led by our own thoughts. We must be alert in our prayer. We must not be selfish in our prayer. Spiritual war is one GOD declares, not us. GOD leads not us. GOD wins not us. In the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant, which symbolized GOD here on earth, went before the Hebrews into every battle. Soldiers sanctified themselves by abstaining from certain activities. Satan stays on his grind so we have to keep on the full armor because he will go for the weakest part.
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Prince Malachi is the founder of The Oracle Network and the Streetwear brand Y.A.H. Apparel

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