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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! |
