The Battle is the Lords

The series of Victory Declarations for this past week have focused on the basics of spiritual warfare.  We started with Let’s Get Ready to Rumble revealing the secrets of a successful soldier’s obedience and being committed to the commitment.  Soldiers don't know all of the plans.  Their job is to carry out orders in full detail without changing or hesitating.  The requirements for serving include being: physically; mentally; and emotionally fit.   Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19 (NLT). 

Victory Nugget:  if you are currently experiencing health challenges you can make a decision today to declare healing, change your language and do your part to promote a healthy lifestyle. Dede Felder’s decision to mentally reject her doctor’s “possible” diagnosis and her decision to confess healing and trust in God while waiting for test results, which came back NEGATIVE, is current proof that this method of fighting works.  I believe that had she accepted the "possible" diagnosis without test results the outcome would have been devastating. There are no sick soldiers on the frontline.  Does that give you an excuse not to fight, no; it gives you orders to get yourself together.  You can decide to cut out or cut back on fried food, deserts high in sugar, supersized portions, sugary drinks and exercise.  God may send you a warning through a blog, but he ain’t giving you a ride to the gym nor will He stop you from eating garbage food.

We also discussed and identified the following:

·       Our enemy:

o   Satan also known as the devil, the serpent, roaring lion, evil one, etc.; and

o   Self – ourselves, the flesh (e.g. self-sabotage, self-hatred, self-doubt, etc.)

§  I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 1 Corinthians 15:31 (NKJV)

·       Logistics: the battle is in the mind.  It started there in the beginning with Eve.  Genesis 3:6

·       The armor of God: available to every Believer to ensure success when engaged in battle as long as it is used in its entirety and consistently. Ephesians 6:10-18. But we need something under the armor, so God provided the garments of praise.  Isaiah 61:3 

In addition to armor, every soldier needs to understand how to properly use their assigned weapons effectively.  Our lessons on Weapons of Mass Destruction covered:

·       Sword of the Spirit (the Bible) is the key weapon to Believers achieving a successful outcome.  I am amazed at the number of Believers that do not take the time to use this tool and if they do, they don’t use it consistently.  It’s no wonder we have so many weak, simple minded, spaghetti backed Believers that fail miserably all the time.

o   God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind.  Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? Numbers 23:19 (NLT)

·       Shield of Faith:  We need faith to deflect the fiery arrows of the enemy and to believe the Sword of  

the Spirit during battle.

·       Praise:  You cannot be sad and happy at the same time.  Sadness is an emotion which can lead to depression both of which are distractions.  Praise breaks up the atmosphere and drives away sadness

o   Shouts of praise confessing what you expect instead of what you see; thanking God for His amazingness, appreciating Him

o   Clapping our hands in celebration of the anticipated victory

o   Dancing symbolizing our victory in faith instead of dragging our feet in defeat

o   Singing: Ephesians 5:19-20 (NLT): Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, yes, even the battle.

·       Prayer: spending time with God so that He can navigate you through unfamiliar terrain, avoiding landmines and booby traps.

o   Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. James 5:16 (NLT)

·       Fasting is another weapon.  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.  There will be times when you struggle with certain challenges that require you to devote all of your extra (entertainment, socializing) time and focus completely on prayer, studying your word and getting victorious results you desire.

We are never to fear the enemy because He cannot defeat us as long as we keep our faith, trust and confidence in God and USE our tools.  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.  1 John 4:4 (KJV)

Finally, how ironic is it that during the month of March 2014 the Victory Declarations were the Bible, Prayer, Faith and Fasting, which are weapons to successfully engage the enemy.  Coincidence?  The battle we fight is not ours, we are simply God’s active ambassadors, His representatives and we reap the rewards and benefits as Victors.  We become stronger, wiser, more committed, dependable and faithful servants of God who can then show new recruits how to be Victors v. victims, thus building an army of dedicated soldiers on the battlefield for our God.  We win every time!!!