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"Warrior" PDF Print E-mail
Written by Don Johnson   
Friday, 12 December 2008 14:04

 “WARRIOR”

      DLTC   

TEACHING BY DON JOHNSON11-22-08         

I have been listening to and reading my notes from SWAT 1 and 2 and listening to Don's teaching too.  SWAT 1 started over two years ago. Curry had what he called SWAT 101 up in Oregon but he said he wanted to refine that and we said you could start with us. So we had SWAT 1, 2 and 3 in about six months time in Fort Collins. Its warfare-- Spiritual Warrior Apostolic Training was the first one. The second one was Spiritual Warfare Apostolic Training.  The last one I don't remember but it was SWAT 1, 2 and 3. So I've been going over that.  I've been listening to Don and putting all these things together. I'm taking a little bit different approach from what he was going into.         

We are in a spiritual battle whether you like it or not. Some people will say ‘well I'm just a Christian’ but when you accepted Jesus Christ you accepted the battle. When you joined the military they come in and say you raise your right hand and you solemnly swear -- you're in. That is it, no if, ands or buts you are in. You are in there. So we are in a spiritual battle between good and evil. God is the creator he is the good. And the devil fell out of heaven and is one who tries to stir us up because he has the idea that he wants to be in control. That's where we are. If we're going to fight we need to learn how to fight effectively in a war so we know how to win. And we are not to be on the losing end as most Christians seem to be. We want to be winners and not losers. Winners never quit and quitters never win. We need to remember that. That little phrase is important -- we are to be winners and not losers. For winners never quit and quitters never win.         

A while back we were in a restaurant and there were paintings or murals up around the walls. I noticed one was an Indian warrior. It was a pretty picture but it was kind of flat looking. It was just a picture but it interested me a little bit. That's what we're talking about a warrior like an Indian warrior. That just kind of went out of my mind and I forgot about that. But in a few days I thought of that again. We were in a restaurant and there was a picture of an Indian warrior. When you looked at it he was ready. It just looked like he was going to jump out of the picture. I mean the artist had realistically brought it to life. He was coming down this trail and he had his war paint on. He was coming with determination. I was sitting there and thought boy he's going to be in your lap in just a moment. It was just that real. To me he was effective because I felt the strength of the warrior coming down the warpath.  We need to feel that strength from him because I was fixated by that painting;  it was just that impressive. I thought this was the way we need to be with the spirit of Jesus Christ. When we walk into a room the Holy Spirit that is in us should radiate from us so that we affect people. That's how we need to be.         

So the warrior in the painting which refreshed my memory about Custer's last stand. I was reading some history about Custer and it said that the Indians were prepared to withstand the Union Army to the last warrior. They did not want to give up their ancestral grounds. The Warriors were ready to give up their lives for what they believed in. They used strategy and tactics. Strategy is the overall plan to win the war. Tactics are the plans you make; to make sure you win the war. The Indian strategy was to win. I say again winners never quit and quitters never win. When I look at the history Custer was coming in because he'd studied the Indians tactics. He came in and knew what he was going against. He knew he had to bring in force. The Indians used different tactics on this one that completely threw him and he lost. They were willing to give their life -- everything because they were going to win. They used different tactics to win that one.          What is a warrior? You just don't become a warrior you must be trained. This is what we're here for-- we have DLTC, Dominion Living Training Center.  We want to get trained, to get trained ourselves and help others get trained so we can do what we have been called to do. That is strategy and then we will teach the tactics. The definition of a warrior is:  A warrior can be described as a person being involved in a war or in a battle. We as Christians are in a spiritual battle whether we like it or not. A warrior is a fighter. A warrior is fighting wars. Or a warrior delivers peace. A warrior is armed. He is loosed from civilian affairs. Warriors are armed men. He is determined. He does not put off he draws out the enemy and he is an armed soldier.         

A warrior is trained to be a winner and if we want to be warriors we have to be trained. Jesus said in Matthew 10:34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” Jesus gave us the word which we refer to as our sword, to do spiritual warfare. Our tools of warfare are the Holy Spirit, prayer, tongues, praise, worship and the Word.  To do spiritual warfare you need to be a warrior and to do that you use the tools that have been given us. What are they? We just mentioned them; the Holy Spirit, prayer, tongues praise, worship and the Word. Jesus said in Matthew 10:38 “And he who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.” Don't keep asking God what to do. God heard you the first time. I've heard this down the years-- I want to know what God wants me to do. God show me this. God do this. He's already showed us once. He is waiting for us to respond or act. I guess I've heard that complainers are on the losing end and encouragers will overcome. We need to be encouragers to be active Warriors. Remember this, complainers are on the losing end and encouragers will overcome. They told me there's always more than one way to skin a cat. This is a metaphor. The strategy is the cat the tactics is the way you skin a cat. That came to me because when I was growing up when I would do things my dad would say ‘there is more than one way to skin a cat!’ That got plugged in and it's always there. There's always more than one way to do things.         

You've got to have tools and you know there's always more than one way to use your tools to make something. Remember strategy never varies. The idea in strategy is to plan more. The plans are made and they stay the same until the first contact with the enemy. Plans are made and then contingency plans are made so that you have a plan for the enemy's reaction. The reason you were drilled in the military is because how you train is how you will react. Those who been in the military know that you train, train, train. I'm going to give an example here in a little bit. When I look at the church, the church is not trained. All the years we've been going to church we get the same old same old.  The church teaches salvation and to love and accept one another. And that's about it. But we need to go back and look at what Jesus has commanded us to do. Training should be more intense than actual battle so that when you get into battle it’ll be a walk in the park.           Training is constant, for example when I was in the military and going through basic training for physical fitness we were required to do the 12 basic exercises which we nicknamed the dirty dozen. After 16 weeks of basic training I thought I would not have to do it again because I'm in good shape. Well to my surprise when I got to Korea and got into the engineering group that I was stationed with do you know what we did on almost every Saturday inspection readiness training? The dirty dozen! You stayed fit; you stay trained. If you don't then you get relaxed and lazy. So to stay in shape we are to be in readiness; we are to be prepared and know the Word. What did I just say? Know the Word. I'm going to touch on that little further on.          

Training means interaction not just teaching. If a sick person is in front of you then things come together and you clean the house. You don't wait. As Curry said you're in Wal-Mart in the frozen food section and someone falls over you don’t say just a minute I’ve got to go home and get prepared and then I'll come back and pray for them. You've prayed you're ready to go. Don’t keep asking God. God heard you the first time. He is waiting for you to put into action as it says in James 1: 22-23. How many of you know that? “But be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourself.”  Or “If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer he is like a man observing his natural face in the mirror.” It comes from training and drilling. How do you know when you are trained? When you react without thinking. Your mind is being renewed. Don gave you some examples of that and one was when he jumped out of the bus because somebody popped him back there. When you are a paratrooper when somebody pops you back there you jump out of the door. When it becomes instinct we do it.          Now tactics vary with the circumstances and with the new technology we have today. The strategy changes or it would be no good to go back and study history. You can't afford to lose. Failure is not an option! You have to decide that you are in to win. God always causes us to win. In Matthew 10 the first verse, “And when he had called his 12 disciples he gave them power over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of diseases.” What is strategy? Strategy is the over-all picture while tactics are the individual ways that you accomplish strategy. An example is another military experience. The Army likes to keep you busy one way or another. And one of them is guard duty. Strategy is guard duty. Tactics are walking around the block or a warehouse or where ever they place you; carrying a rifle with a bayonet at the end and you are at Fort Ord, California. You will be wearing your dress uniform, looking your best, walking around at two o'clock in the morning usually in a well lighted area. The point was to keep anyone from being around in that area at that time of night. All you could do is look like you have authority and tell them to leave the area. If you had problems you hollered to the sergeant of the guard and hopefully the message would get to him. You had this area here that you covered and there was somebody here to there. So you're on post 21 and if you had problems you would holler post 21 down there to Sgt. of the guard post 21 then the next guy down would holler Sgt. of the guard post 21 to the guy down to the sergeant of the guard wherever his post was. Then he'd come in a jeep up to post 21 and ask, “What's the problem?”That's the way on base guard duty was taken care of. No telephones on base; didn't have cell phones then. That was way before cell phones. It might take two or three minutes because you're dependent on the next post and the next post to get their job done. But that was my experience when I was doing it.          

The next time I had to pull guard duty a guy came out of a warehouse and I said “Halt.”  He said “Oh okay I've got permission.” You know you have a rifle with nothing in it. All you've got is a bayonet. He'd say okay and give you an ID on his card and then a jeep came by and it was the MPs. They said everything all right and they hopped out and said they would take it.  They check the guy out so I didn't have to do anything more. That's your responsibility. It is knowing your authority. If you're doing guard duty it's the type of authority that you have. You must believe in the authority you have and use it to accomplish the strategy of guard duty, to accomplish strategy of guard duty to keep order in the area that you are responsible for. That was one type of guard duty.         

Now back over in Korea I had guard duty. We were stationed south east of Seoul, outside of Seoul in the country, where the engineers’ construction group that I was assigned to was based. Our company was located on a little hill and when we went there later I got to show Billie where it was up on the hill. That was many years later. My post was 100 yards of fence line. It was kind of up and back a little hill and down in the valley down to the left was a little village. There were probably about a dozen little houses down there. All between me and the village were these rice paddies with these little trails about 2 feet wide.  They walk down around the rice paddies when they came from the village. It's 2 AM in the morning. I still had the same set of fatigues on that I had been wearing for the last two days because the others were in the laundry. It was pitch black and a small glow of lights from the village was all you could see except for the stars above. The tactics have changed but the authority is the same. This time I am armed with a flashlight, a carbine rifle with several clips of ammo which has about 30 rounds in each clip. I'm walking 100 yards of Army barbed wire fence. How many know what Army barbed wire fence is? Well they put a couple of posts up with a barbed wire on top and down below with this coiled wire attached to it. It was deathly quiet and you become attentive to the sounds. You hear the crickets and you might hear the oxen down in the village making some noise but basically it's just quiet. You become accustomed to the night sounds.  Out of the stillness of the night your senses are alert to sounds. It’s an unusual sound so you pull the lever and insert a round in your carbine. It goes click, cling and that sound echoes through the night stillness. You can hear it for quite a ways when it's still. Out of the night comes a voice, “Stop, hold on it's only me! I'm a friend I'm Billy Bob don't shoot!” Your senses become alert and the sound of that carbine with a round being put in it so you are prepared for anything that comes along. But as soon as that happened the drunk soldier identifies himself were quick by saying, “I'm trying to get back to the front gate!" It's amazing how quick a person like that will sober up! He's in the dark; I've got a carbine and when you put one round in, there’s 29 more ready to go. You know that sound so you respond quickly. It's amazing how quickly they sober up.         

Strategy, remember is the overall picture. Jesus gave his strategy in Acts 1:8. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria and into the ends of the Earth." We are to be witness to whom? We are to be witness to who Jesus. Where are we supposed to be a witness to Greeley, Ft. Collins, Cheyenne, Colorado, Wyoming, in the grocery store, at the gas station, Wal-Mart to friends, neighbors, brothers, sisters, cousin, father, mother, our children or where ever we put our feet. We are to be witnesses; we are to be witness to whom?  Jesus! Jesus is in us so where we go they should see Jesus. If each person in this room has received Jesus as their personal savior and received the baptism of the Holy Spirit then you are to be a witness to Jesus where ever you go or whatever you may be doing. We are to be the light of the world -- that is the strategy of the Word. That's the overall picture Jesus gave us. Jesus said we are to be witnesses to him.         

Now the tactics; remember tactics are the individual ways you accomplish strategy. Jesus said in Mark 16:15-18 (everybody should know that), "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved but he does not believe will be condemned. These signs will follow those who believe, “In my name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly it will by no means hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover."          

Okay the first one “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” We are to go where ever we go.  That includes Greeley, Fort Collins; Cheyenne, where ever we are we are to be a witness for Jesus. Have you ever experienced a time when you came to a sign that was giving directions to different places and it has a big X on it and it says you are here? The X is where you are and wherever you are you are to preach the gospel and to be a witness for Jesus. If it's only giving a friendly greeting, “Hi, how are you?”  When you're walking in a little town like Estes and you go up there are tourists all over the place. So you're just walking down there and you say “How are you doing, it's a nice day isn't it. Boy we couldn't have nicer weather than this could we? Are you doing okay? Are you enjoying yourself? You buy anything today?” Just simple words like that. “Where did you find that?” “Yeah, you can get it right here.  Thanks.” Just being friendly!         

“He who believes and is baptized will be saved but he who does not believe will be condemned.”  The people you're greeting respond by asking questions.  That was an opening for you when you started talking to them. We are going to witness to some and they will not receive us. We’re going to say hi to some.  And they say it's a lousy day.  When we preach the word and share the word were going to win some, lose some. All we have to do is be a witness for Jesus. Do what Jesus has asked us to do. There will be those who want prayer and others will say no. We have to not feel rejected when a person says no.  There will be people when you go into Wal-Mart who will say no I don't need prayer.  You don’t pray with them but you pray for them.  If you don't pray with them, you walk on beyond.  Don't let that be a rejection that is one of the training skills for new beginners and they feel if they can't pray for them they’re a failure.  It says right here, some will accept us some will reject us.  Just keep on going.         

“These signs will follow those who believe; in my name they will cast out demons.”  We're going to do something.  When we pray we speak the truth into them.  Things are going to happen and signs are going to follow.  Signs will follow us who believe.  The more we walk in it the more signs we will see in casting out demons and ministering to the oppressed.  We will not see the people set free, until we start walking in and using the name of Jesus.         

Number four “they will speak with new tongues.”  We will speak in new tongues.  Can I use you Cinda?  When Cinda was just starting out with us she would say.  “I have tongues, but it's this silly little thing.”  We said, “Keep going, keep going.”  Well, you heard her tonight.  She has a whole vocabulary. God gives it to us.  And when we move in it, it keeps going.  When you use it in the spirit you'll find you will have a tongue for the type of ministry you may be involved in.  The Lord gives it to us according to the ministry we may be involved in.  Stay with it!          

Number five “they will take up serpents and if they drink anything deadly it will by no means harm them.”  Remember when we are ministering and being a witness for Jesus there is nothing that will harm us.   Do not listen to the lies that come from the establishment to misdirect your ministry when you're praying for others.  This person says they have the flu or a contagious disease.  You go in and pray for them because nothing will bother us because we are in ministry.  We are ministering in Jesus’ name.  You don't say, “I don't want to go pray for this person, because I am sure I will get it if I go pray for them.”  Whose name are you using?  Are you going to use the devil's name or you going to use Jesus name?  Jesus has just said nothing will bother us. Do not listen to the lies that come from the establishment.          

Number 6 “They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover.”  We are to lay hands on the sick and they will recover.  Jesus gave us about 38 examples of how to minister to the sick, to people in need, to cast out demons and even raise the dead.  Do we stop if we fail?  No.  I know I have failed but that does not stop me I keep on going because I have seen people healed and the captives set free.  Do not give up. Keep going because we know we win in the end.  The establishment will say, no, but we don't.  These are tactics that we need to understand and to learn how to apply them when we are in ministry to others or to one another.  Remember that Jesus chose 12 unlikely men to be his disciples, and he said to them in Matthew 10:1 “When he had called his 12 disciples to him.  He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal all kinds of sicknesses and all kinds of diseases.”  Can you imagine the 12 thinking, you mean I can heal the sick and cast out demons?  Yes, you can fellows!  In my name, you can do all this.  And yes, you can, yes you can do the same today in Jesus name.  Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 10:39 “he who finds his life will lose it and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.”  And he also said in Matthew 10:40 “he who receives you receives me and he who receives me receives him who sent me.”  Remember who sent Jesus as he is also our father.  We need to know them both. They help us to learn. 

Understand key Scriptures that will help you when you are praying and ministering to people.  All you need are a couple of verses.  And people will think you’re fluent in the Word.  What has been difficult to me is to try and memorize Scripture word by word.  Okay say it’s in Matthew, whatever it is.  That was difficult for me.  I started using the word even if I had to take my Bible and read it to begin with.  But now, just having one verse pretty soon it became a couple that I could paraphrase pretty closely to Scripture.  And you just know those people start saying boy you must spend time in the word. All you need is to have two or three and let the spirit flow and they will start flowing together.           

I'm looking for the day when we come together at this time and when we ask for testimonies each of you will have at least one or two testimonies of what has happened during the week since the last time we got together. Each one of us should have one or two; something that's taken place. We need to begin to start ministering, praise God that time is coming when this will be truly a training center.          Remember, the warriors know the strategy and apply the tactics of this training.  Remember the strategy is cut and dried or I should say, that is established. The strategy is in Mark 16. Take the tactics and apply them.  Go! Do! We need to start going and doing.         

I want to read a testimony that I think is perfect for this teaching.  You might want to ask yourselves what you would do in a situation like this.  I took this testimony from a well-known Bible teacher and writer, her name is Beth Moore.  She's married and a mother of two daughters.  She has to travel around quite a bit.  She called this her “Hairbrush Experience.”         

 “April 20, 2005 at the airport in Knoxville I was waiting for the plane.  I had the Bible on my lap and I was very intent on what it was doing.  I had a marvelous morning with the Lord.  I say this because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you. You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise.  Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons not the least of which is your ego.            

I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight.  Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier.  His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt.  His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones.            

The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy, gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back.  His fingernails were long, clean, but strangely out of place on an old man.  I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face.  As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting.  Then, I remembered that he was dead.  So this man in the airport is an impersonator maybe?  Was a camera on us somewhere?  There I sat; trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served up on a wheelchair only a few seats from me.  All the while, my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him.           

Let's admit it.  Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man.  I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall.  I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings; something dramatic is bound to happen.  And it may be embarrassing. I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. 'Oh, no, God, please, no.' I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, 'don’t make me witness to this man. Not right here and now.  Please.  I'll do anything.  Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!'            

 There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, 'Please don't make me witness to this man.  Not now.  I'll do it on the plane.'  Then I heard it....'I don't want you to witness to him.  I want you to brush his hair.' The words were so clear, my heart leap into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No-brainier.  I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, 'God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man. I'm on this Lord.  I'm your girl!  You've never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life.  What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed?  I am going to witness to this man.'            

Again as clearly as I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind. 'That is not what I said, Beth.  I don't want you to witness to him.  I want you to go brush his hair.'    I looked up at God and quipped, 'I don't have a hairbrush.  It's in my suitcase on the plane.  How am I supposed to brush his hair without a hairbrush?'  God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's word: 'I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.' (2 Timothy 3:17)             

 I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell this story, my pulse quickens and I feel those same butterflies.  I knelt down in front of the man and asked as demurely as possible, 'Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?'  He looked back at me and said, 'What did you say?' 'May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?'  To which he responded in volume ten, 'Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder than that.'  At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out, 'SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?'  At which point every eye in the place darted right at me.  I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Long Locks.  Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, 'If you really want to.' Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to.  But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then.  He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, 'Yes, sir, I would be pleased.  But I have one little problem.  I don't have a hairbrush.'  'I have one in my bag,' he responded.             

I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger's old carry-on, hardly believing what I was doing.  I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair.  It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted.  I don't do many things well, but must admit I've had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls.  Like I'd done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull.  A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared.  There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me.  I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair.  I know this sounds so strange, but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life.  I believe with all my heart, I – for that few minutes - felt a portion of the very love of God.  That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while.            

The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's.  His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's.  I slipped the brush back in the bag and went around the chair to face him.  I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knee and said, 'Sir, do you know my Jesus?'  He said, 'Yes, I do'. Well, that figures, I thought.  He explained, 'I've known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior.'  He said, 'You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months.  I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me.  I was sitting here thinking to myself, what a mess I must be for my bride.'            

Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance.  This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known.  It was a God moment, and I'll never forget it. 

Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane.  I was deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft.  I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks.  She said, “That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing.  Why did you do that?  What made you do that?'  I said, 'Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!'   And we got to share.  

I learned something about God that day.  He knows if you're exhausted, you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge.  He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected.  He knows if you're sick or drowning under a wave of temptation.  Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed.  He sees you as an individual.  Tell Him your need!             

I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way ... all because I didn't want people to think I was strange.  God didn't send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me.  John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”                

Life shouldn't be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather, to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly shouting, 'Wow!  What a ride!  Thank You, Lord!”            

Let us stand.  Father we thank you for the experiences we have shared and that others share with us.  Father, tonight was being a warrior, knowing the strategy and knowing the tactics.  Father, Beth used the tactics.  We thank you, Lord that each one of us can identify with this and in some little way we can apply the tactics in our life  so that when we go from here we are a new creature, a new being in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Alleluia.  Amen.  
Last Updated ( Friday, 12 December 2008 14:13 )
 
Attitudes of a Warrior PDF Print E-mail
Written by Billie Johnson   
Thursday, 04 December 2008 18:30

Attitudes of a WarriorTeaching at DLTC  

11.29.08 by Billie Johnson          

We’ve been discussing warriors and what makes a warrior.  I’d like to list some of the weapons of a warrior.  A warrior’s greatest weapon is their absolute reliance upon God for the ability to do what is necessary and their intestinal fortitude to stand when everything in them and everyone around them says quit!  That is called FAITH.    Other weapons that are really important are Prayer, the Word of God, the Name of Jesus and use of the Spiritual Gifts that the Holy Spirit gives us. Let’s look at Prayer.

James 5:13-18 “13Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.

 Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.  14Is anyone among

you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.  16Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray

for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.  17Elijah was a man with

a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.  18And

 he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.19Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from t

the truth, and someone turns him back, 20let him know that he

 who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”            The Word of God is used effectively against the enemy.  It is truth and he knows it. The only weapon Jesus ever used offensively against the enemy was: “It is written.”

          Spiritual Gifts are also some of the weapons. They are given to us to use in our ‘good fight of faith.’ The Holy Spirit in us gives us the spiritual gift we need for the situation at hand. We find some of these in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. 7But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:  8for to one is given the word of

wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,  10to another the

working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.  11But one and the same Spirit works all

these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”          We mentioned faith is a great gift and most of the other gifts are flow through  it.  A word of wisdom or knowledge can effectively cut through what the enemy is telling us. By prophecies we are to “war a good warfare.”  Those pictures that the Lord gives as we minister can be prophecy, wisdom or knowledge.  Healing uses some of the other gifts and working of miracles uses a gift of Faith. Tongues and interpretation are the same as prophecy – where we are given some of the infinite store of God’s knowledge and wisdom. Discerning of spirits is used in many of the workings of the gifts. We need to be able to tell what kind of spirit we are fighting against.  But no matter what kind we can blast it with the Name of Jesus! We are told not to be ignorant of the gifts.  Spiritual Gifts are manifestations of the Holy Spirit.          A warrior has the ability to ‘forget’ himself and concentrate on the job at hand and he believes that he has been adequately trained.All ministry should be motivated by love for God and love for man.

1 Cor 13:13 “13And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but

the greatest of these is love.”  

     Some of the characteristics of a warrior include the fruit of the Spirit:  Gal 5:22-28.  22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  23gentleness, s

self-control. Against such there is no law.  24And those who

are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

  25If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.  26Let us

not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one

another.”  But along with these there are two things that are essential:  discipline and perseverance.          A warrior’s mind is one that has been renewed by the Word of God.  He is able to understand the Old and New Covenants and how they fit into a ‘warfare worldview’ – kingdom against kingdom.  A warrior’s mind is a great tool in the plan of God.  It is a mind that has developed the discipline needed to see clearly through the fog of day to day life and discern the enemy’s tactics and respond to them appropriately with the Word of God.          A warrior’s mind is stable and is set on the objective of the Father’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven.  He accepts orders and carries them out.  He does not question whether the order should be carried out, only how to carry it out.  It’s single minded -- focused on the job at hand, to free the oppressed and to eliminate of the enemy.  Most of all a spiritual warrior’s mind is stayed on God.          A spiritual warrior is connected.  Fellowship is vital.  The banana that gets pulled from the bunch gets eaten! The lone sheep that goes away from the flock is prey for the wolves. “It is better for a pack of kittens to be led by a lion than for a pack of lions to be led by a kitten!”  Remember the lion’s tactic’s – scare the herd until one gets separated, then run a victim until they are exhausted, then move in for the kill when they have no energy to resist.  We are told to resist the enemy! And sometimes we need the help of others in that resistance!            A Warrior longs for fellowship with like-minded warriors and cannot stand to be around the timid.  DLTC provides that like minded fellowship for us.  It is hard to talk to those who don’t have the same mindset, who are timid and don’t know their scripture or don’t put it into practice.  Many have a mind clouded with church traditions.  2 Tim 1:7 says “God has not given us a spirit of fear (timidity); but of power, a love, and a sound mind.” 

Hebrews 2:15-16 “15and release those who through fear of death

were all their lifetime subject to bondage.  16For indeed He does

not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of

Abraham.”    We are that seed of Abraham  -- he had faith, so do we so we have their aid!

Hebrews 13:6 “6So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I

will not fear. What can man do to me?”

1 John 4:18 “18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out

fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”          When you think about it, God himself is a warrior!  He is called The Lord of Hosts or Lord of Armies.  We are to be overcomers like God himself. When we are dead to this world there is nothing the world can do to us and we will fear nothing.  Those who live without fear are the most free and powerful people on earth.  There is nothing that strikes more fear into the camp of the enemy than such warriors being on the earth. But remember there can be no victory without a battle; the bigger the battle, the bigger the victory.            Let’s dig a little deeper and show what kind of attitudes a warrior should possess.   Have you ever looked at the difference in the Apostle Peter before and after he received the Holy Spirit?  With Jesus he was impetuous, loud and not always one to keep his word.  But after Pentecost we see from his writings in 1 and 2 Peter a man, probably a much older man, who was very loving, kind and full of compassion.  He said so many wonderful things in those two books.  He spoke about some of the attitudes we Christians were to have.   Look at 1 Peter 3:8-17.

“8Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one

another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;  9not

returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary

blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.  10For“He who would love life And see good

 

days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from

 

speaking deceit. 11Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are o

n the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 13And who is he who will

harm you if you become followers of what is good?  14But even if

you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” 15But sanctify the

Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense

 to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16having a good conscience, that when they

 defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.  17For it is better, if it is the will of God, to

 

 suffer for doing good than for doing evil.”      I’d like to take a second look at these verses.  In verse 8 some of the attitudes of a Christian are listed:  to be of one mind – that mind is a mind set on Christ.  A New Covenant mindset – one that knows we have the authority and power that the Holy Spirit gives us.  That verse goes on to say that we are to be compassionate and love each other as brothers.  Warriors need to depend upon their brother warriors in battle when one falls the other can lift him up.  We are to be tenderhearted and courteous.  I know on the battlefield this is not always shown but we are told to do this so we need to bring our souls in line with our spirits.   The verse continues with not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.  Boy this gets tougher doesn’t it?  In the midst of evil we are not to return that evil.  When someone calls us names we are to not call them one back but to give them a blessing.  Jesus told us to bless our enemies and those that persecute us.  We are to bless and not to curse.  I remember one incident where a pastor was teaching his congregation and he actually told the people to pray that the curse that they had been cursed with was to go back to the one that sent it!  That is directly contrary to what Jesus said!  We are to bless not curse.  

Peter goes on in verse 10 to elaborate on the blessing and cursing.  The reason given is because the Lord’s eyes are upon us and his ears are open to our prayers. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are

 on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the

face of the Lord is against those who do evil.  There is a rhetorical question -- who will harm us if we do good? All verses 10 through 12 are quotations from the Old Testament that Peter inserted.  He knew his scriptures.   We know that in this world there are many that are harmed because they do good.  Even Jesus was an example of that when he healed and blessed people but there were ones who wanted to put him to death.  

     Then Peter explains a bit more of our Christ-like attitudes: 14But

 even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” We are to feel blessed when we suffer for righteousness’ sake?  Man, that will take a lot of training our spirit to line up with what the Word teaches, won’t it?  It is easy to nurse the wrongs in our lives instead of giving them to God. We are told so many times in the scriptures not to be afraid.  Here again he says we are not to be afraid of their threats or be troubled about them.  He tells us how to do that in the next verse: “15But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be

ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.”  When we put God in our hearts as holy (we keep him always in mind) then we can be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks us.  What is the reason for the hope that is in you?  We are able to say it is Jesus and say it with lowliness and reverence.   This gives us a good conscience.  When our conscience doesn’t condemn us then we are free before God.  Then those who make fun of us will realize that they are the ones who are considered foolish when they see our Christ-like attitude. 

17For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good

 

than for doing evil.”  We need to drill this into our minds that we can suffer for doing good rather than for doing evil.  God’s will is sometimes better served by that attitude and actions of the warrior of Christ.  We understand that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but much more powerful.  They are divinely powerful and uncompromising – they are both love and truth!  Like a good soldier we should be continually cleaning and caring for the precious truth we have been entrusted with.  We must stand resolute without compromise so that all evil will retreat before us.  Our army is not like the world’s armies, which kill and destroy, pillage, and plunder their way through territory, but it will instead heal, restore, and set free those who are conquered by it.  We do not come to take, but to give.  Our army is spiritual but the world’s is physical.   The Spiritual Warrior’s guiding commands are I will love the Lord my God with all my heart, strength, and will, and soul.  AND I will love my fellowman as myself, by treating them as I want to be treated.  Our foremost goal is to bring glory to God and freedom to mankind. A Christian warrior is a Christian first then a warrior for Christ.  Every spiritual Warrior is a Christian, but not all Christians are Spiritual Warriors, even though they should be.  A spiritual Warrior is a Christian that has decided to live up to the high ideals of Jesus Christ in every situation each day.   Jesus told us some of the attitudes that we as Christians should have.  They are found in the Sermon on the Mount.  Sometimes we see these as ideals that we can never attain but I believe he was showing us an example of how we as his followers should mature and follow in is footsteps.  We find these verses in Matthew 5: 3-11

3    “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of

 

heaven. This is talking about a spirit that knows it needs God’s help – our spirit wants to commune with God.

4    Blessed are those who mourn For they shall be comforted.

 

 Those who can mourn with others and be compassionate are some other attitudes we need.  Be aware of others not just our own problems.         

5    Blessed are the meek For they shall inherit the earth.  This

 

doesn’t mean that we never assert ourselves.  We don’t try to be the top dog.  We stay out of the trap that the world is in.  No, we inherit the earth because we know that we are conquerors through Christ.

6    Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For

 

 they shall be filled.T hat righteous hunger & thirst is for more of God’s word in our mind.  We always want more of God in our hearts.

7    Blessed are the merciful For they shall obtain mercy. We can be

 

 merciful because God is merciful to us; then we no longer live only to ourselves.

8    Blessed are the pure in heart For they shall see God. Purity of

 

heart is one of staying away from anything that even has the look of sin.  David prayed in Psalm 51 for a clean heart coupled with a right spirit. 9    Blessed are the peacemakers For they shall be called

sons of God. Even though we are warriors we can make peace within the area that we influence but peace cannot be purchased by sacrificing truth or by compromising with the world.  We get rid of that competitive spirit.  Once as I was walking I was telling the Lord that I wished I had some of the things that another friend had.  As I mused about that the Lord whispered to me – do you also want the other parts of her life – a husband that doesn’t understand and the hurt from some of her children?  I quickly said, no Lord, deliver me from the competitive spirit of wanting what someone else has!

10    Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake

 

, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Jesus was persecuted because he was right with God and we also can expect it. The world loves its own and is not inclined to go out of its way to bless those who seek to live the principles that Christ taught us.

  11“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12Rejoice and be

exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  When we do what a worthy warrior should do, then we may be persecuted and have evil things said against us.  Jesus tells us to rejoice – be joyful because that is what happened to the godly men who went before us.  Sometime when someone says something that is not to your liking – do you nurse that hurt or are you able to release it quickly to God?  I know in my life when I am able to release it I feel better and those around me feel better.  When Don and I have a disagreement I used to think it was up to him to apologize but I have come to realize it is my duty as a Christian to be the first to say I’m sorry.            We see Jesus in the New Testament – when he was merciful to the sinner the Pharisees resented it.  When he told the people to hunger for that which endures they didn’t understand and left him (John 6:27, 66) When he spoke about the blessings of the poor in spirit he received little applause because they thought the Kingdom of God was coming in earthly splendor.  We know that holiness is not welcomed by the world – we are told that moral standards have changed so we are called puritanical, old fogies, completely out of step with the times!  Christ showed us how to be out of step with the times and in step with Him in helping others to be more like Jesus!           All of the above can be summed up in the example and words of Jesus “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  If you see someone who needs healing, if you were in their place you’d like to be healed so go pray for their healing.  If you see someone who needs a smile, give it to them!            I was sitting waiting for my daughter, Hope in Wal-mart recently. I had finished my shopping but she was still doing hers.  She has a 15 year old and her  cart was piled high while mine wasn't much! I was just watching the people and then I realized that when they passed me they looked at me and smiled.  Now it may be that they thought that I looked like a sweet ole lady but as I thought about it I realized that I had a smile on my face.  They were giving me one in return.  What a small thing but it is giving to others what you wish they’d give to you!           Some Core values of spiritual warriors are:   They can be counted on (Commitment); They have a single-minded attention (Focus); They will do what is necessary without complaining (Sacrifice); They are constantly training someone else (Reproduction); They are moved by love to action (Compassion); They treat and speak to others like they want to be treated (Kindness).                     Let’s take a look at 2 Chronicles 7:14.  NKJ  “If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”If my people who are called by my name – what name are we called?  Christians – Christ ones, little Christs.  It was a name used derisively at first by those who were not Christians.  But we proudly wear it today because we want to be identified as those belonging to Christ or as we have learned we want to be his ambassadors on the earth.  

We need to die to self as Jesus said in Matthew 16:24-27 “24Then

 

 Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  25For

 

whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  26For what profit is it to a man if he

 

 gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  27For the Son of Man will come

 

in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will

reward each according to his works.” We can humble ourselves and be meek but that doesn’t mean we are doormats.  When we do what is right in the eyes of God then he is pleased with his warrior children.  Breaking the fear of man is a big fear that most of us have but we need to break it in the name of Jesus.  Our constant vigilance on this one is needed because it is sneaky and will come when we least expect it.  We need to train our mouths to speak only good.  My mother taught me that if I didn’t have anything good to say about somebody I should not say anything!  I’ve tried to do that but sometimes that old monster -- the gossip gets in without my realizing it is there!   We use our voices to command evil to leave us and to leave others as well.  We also use our voices to praise God in song, in dance and adoration of our mighty God.  We are an example to those of the world.  We can live lives of service to our fellowmen as sons of God and masters of the devil! We need to not look at men but at what the Holy Spirit tells us to look at.  He gives us the authority and power to live above those things that most men strive for.  Yes we need life and breath but we also know that the wisdom from above is first pure and peaceable.  We are to seek first His kingdom and his righteousness and all the rest of our needs will be met.   We’ve taught some about the Kingdom of God.  We are part of that and we know our place in it.  We are one of the kings that Jesus is King of Kings over.  We know our power within it is to be that servant of men and help them be free from all oppression.  When we live in accord with his word then we know we are accepted and loved.  We are His hands, His voice, His healing and deliverance.  We need to allow the Holy Spirit to flow through us so that we can allow the reconciliation that we have been blessed with to flow to others.   To sum up I’d like to read what the Lord gave me as I meditated on 2 Chronicles 7:14. Many people used this verse to call others to pray for our nation recently before the recent election.  This is a New Covenant version to that Old Covenant (Testament) scripture that I received.  2 Chronicles 7:14   A New Covenant rendition           “If my people who are called by my name – Christ ones – anointed ones, set-apart ones – stand up and do what they know to do – if they stop being afraid of men and die to themselves then this nation will see and know the difference.   It is not only the humbling of self and the prayer to me that changes things.  It is the doing of what is right and needful that changes you and changes things. If you decide to do that which you don’t want to do and then do it – you will break the fear of men.  You will be free of that and able to free others from the bondage they are in.  This is what will make your country great and a joy to the Almighty.  When the sons of God take their place on the wall and walk as they are meant to walk – in freedom, in authority, in power.  Then the nation will know and see and give glory to the God of heaven.  Then you will dwell in peace and in harmony.          When your mouth speaks only good and when your tongue praises Him who made you.  When your voice commands the evil to leave your house and leave your brother, then when your voice is raised in praise, in song, in adoration and when your feet move in glad adoration, then will the ones who know not, begin to learn of the goodness, the goodness of their God whom they do not know.  They will be drawn to praise.  They will be carried in love. When the sons of God live the lives of joyful service of healing, of deliverance, of setting the captives free from their chains, then will the heights be haloed with light; then will the plains be joyful and vibrate with joy.          Do not look to men – those in earthly power can do only earthly things.  Those who live in praise of God can move in heavenly power, in power to live above those things that most men strive for.  The things that are sought for, life and breath are needed, but you know the things that come from above are full of wisdom and real peace.  Seek those things – seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all the rest will follow.            His kingdom – be aware of your King, aware of your place and power within it.  Saying only those great and good things He would say: peace, be still, be healed, be free, go your way, you are forgiven, pick up your bed and walk.   His righteousness –living in accord with his word, knowing you are accepted, knowing you are loved, knowing you are His hands, His voice, His touch, His healing, and His deliverance.  Knowing all this and walking, moving in it with grace and joy of the beloved!  See in your spirit, in your mind, the health and peace that he gives – allowing it to go from your spirit to your soul (mind) to your body which responds to the words you tell it.  Seeing his grace, his glory, his power, his love flowing like a river through you to others to touch them with that same consolation and reconciliation that you have received – that is joy!  That is life abundant – that is what all men search for, reach for, pray for.  You have it! You have it because you have Him – His Spirit living; alive in you.  Then will my people be healed and when they are healed their land will be healed!”                         Alleluia – glory to God!  
Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 December 2008 18:45 )
 
Seeing in the Spirit PDF Print E-mail
Written by Billie   
Tuesday, 11 November 2008 13:53

Seeing in the Spirit

Teaching by Billie Johnson, 10-25-08

At Dominion Living Training Center            

Let’s recall from some of the teaching we’ve had from Tim Jorgensen’s book, Spirit Life Training on imagination.  It is a teleportation devise that we use as a tool of the Holy Spirit.  We remember that the imagination gives us the power to go places we’ve never gone, to do things we’ve never done; to experience things before we’ve even experienced them.  We want to see things that are not seen but are in the spirit realm.  Of course our imagination should be lined up with the Word of God.  Just because the New Age people use the imagination in a wrong way doesn’t mean that we cannot use it at all.  God gives us our imagination and we can use our sanctified imagination for his glory!            

 What do you think of when I say the word “see”?  Let’s look at some definitions.  There are many meanings but I’ll list some of the meanings of see: See -- to give light, bring to light, enlighten, illuminate, make to see, foresee, take heed, perceive, appear, look up, observe.   It is exciting to see that some of these include light as part of the seeing.  Remember Jesus is the light of the world!Let’s look at some scriptures. Job 42:1-6 “Then Job answered the Lord and said:2 “I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.4 Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You.6 Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”             I have used the longer scripture so you can understand that Job is talking to the Father here.  But in verse 5 he says “Now my eye sees you.”    He is enlightened.  He has been made to see by what God is saying to him.  He perceives is another New Testament word. He is seeing God in his imagination.  This is his inner eye that he is talking about.  Too often we don’t ‘see’ what is being said sometimes it has to be seen by our inner eye.             We know that we live in a physical world but we Christians also live in the spiritual realm. Hebrews 11:1-3 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.  By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”   If something is not visible we say it is not seen.  But we can see it by faith, in the spiritual realm or as we say by the spirit.  2 Corinthians 4:18 also says “while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”           

To see in the spirit God uses our imagination and we cooperate with him.  For those of us who the Lord uses in visions -- the imagination is part of that. The picture just is there in our mind’s eye as we ‘see’ a vision. We can say that the spiritual (invisible) world is open to us at that moment. We ‘see’ the words in our mind when we have the beginning of a word from the Lord in prophecy.  .  . "And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams."  Act 2:17 Peter is quoting from Joel 2:28.            An example of receiving a prophecy is the ‘word’ that the Lord gave through me last week.  It was first seen in my mind, in my imagination.  We are able to be in that spiritual place where our imagination is tapped by the Holy Spirit.  For me that sometimes comes during worship or prayer.  I start ‘seeing’ the words in my mind, only a few at first.  If I start to write them down more come to mind as I write.  That is stepping out in faith.  I’ve done it enough so that I know if I am obedient to start putting those words on paper, that the rest will come.  That also happens with prophecy that is not written down, once you start speaking the few words you have -- the Spirit supplies more.  We encourage you to take the time to learn to do this as Paul said he wished we all would prophesy. "PURSUE love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy" 1Cor 14:1. "For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged" 1Cor 14:31. Do you know that we are all encouraged by someone’s prophesy?  We learn from others and from the Holy Spirit!            In Matt 13:11-17 Jesus is asked by his disciples why he speaks in parables.  “He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.”  What are the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven?  The good news that Jesus came to earth and made it possible for men to have the Holy Spirit!  “But to them it has not been given. 12"For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13"Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” Here seeing is connected to understanding.  He later explained to his disciples so that they could understand. Let’s continue on in verse 14:  "14And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; 15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.” Isaiah was talking about non spirit f