We Are Warriors!

On October 20, 2015, DeDe shared with our group about what it means to be a warrior. A number of you weren't able to be there, so here is a summary of what she taught.

2 Samuel 10:12  "Be strong, and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God.  The Lord will do what is good in His sight."

God goes before us and sees the scope of every battle. Trusting God for the outcome is what makes us strong warriors. 

Following up on Andra's teaching on War Room Strategy, our prayer closet is where we meet with Him individually, the place to be alone with God, the place of intimacy with the Savior.  There we pour out our heart and listen to the Holy Spirit. In the prayer closet, the Holy Spirit gives us the strategy and equips us to fight the battles.

In contrast, our prayer group is where we meet with Him together, where two or more gather in His name. Here, we also pour out our hearts and listen to the Holy Spirit. As we unite together, each operating in her own gifts,  we receive strategy and are equipped. Here, in our group, we deploy and fight the battle.

We are warriors, God's Warriors, and it is time to deploy.  

A warrior is a brave or experienced soldier or fighter.  

- signs on to fight because of blood of Jesus

- trains to fight by studying the Word

- wears gear to fight, the Armor of God

- knows his enemy

- knows his commander-in-chief

- expects to win

To deploy is to move troops into position for military action

- to have a deliberate purpose

- requires "action"/movement

- to gear up with full armor of God

- to follow orders from the Holy Spirit

- to move out in Faith

- to be focused on the course set before us

We have been given the gifts to fight. We have prepared ourselves. We know the battles that rage. We know the Word of God. We know our commander-in-chief, SO, why are we so hesitant?  Why are we insecure as warriors in God's army?  Do we lack faith or self esteem? Are we too busy or preoccupied with our selves and our lives? 

The battle belongs to the Lord, but He has called us to be His warriors in the battle. It is God's battle.  Although we are suited up, totally prepped and trained, we don’t have to fight the battle ourselves. If we wait upon the Lord and move at His command, we will be totally tuned into Him.  It will not be about us, but about Him. Jesus will then direct our paths: "enemy on the left", "enemy approaching overhead", "turn the corner", "clear".  Our job is to listen and follow. To trust and obey. He wins the victories! 

To hear His explicit directions, we must have clear communication with Him. As Lee has been teaching, this comes from true intimacy with Him. This is where prayer comes in - staying in the Word, worship, and spending time with the Holy Spirit.  For example, a warrior walking through a minefield must be totally focused on each step. God is shining His light on the path, leading us forward. He will show us the way through the minefields of the battle. We are called to look to Him for the victory.

In Linda's blog on Time to Deploy she states:

 I, for one, don't like to fight. Never really wanted to be a warrior.

 I never sought courage or battle skills because I didn't want to admit

 I needed them.

Sometimes we say, "I don't like conflict" and run from it.  What we are really saying is, "I don't want to battle". We are running from the battle, trying to dodge the bullet. At times we don't want to release control. There are times when He calls us to stand firm and other times when He wants us to move forward into battle for His glory. We must learn to have ears to hear and then trust and obey - release control!

This brings up Fear -  "Perfect love cast out fear!"  I John 4:18.  His love is perfect, and we march in His army. Both young soldiers and seasoned fighters face fear when they grab their guns and go into battle, but they move forward anyway. They fight for the love of their country. We fight because He first loved us. It is our response to Jesus dying on the cross for us. We are blessed to have God on our side and to be suited in the full armor of God.  With fear and trembling, we go into action. Let's not  run from the battle if He has called us to fight.

What must we do and How?

Deploy is an action word. It requires us to step out! 

I think of us as a Battalion. A battalion is  a group called together for a specific purpose.

For example, a medical battalion might man the hospital. An engineering battalion might build bridges. An air battalion might fly planes and drop bombs, and a ground battalion might fight arm-to-arm combat

We are a Prayer Battalion!  We must deploy. There is a war that is raging with lots of battles all over this world - in our homes, our church, our country and the Middle East, Thailand. Each of us has different gifts to use in our battalion. We need to identify what our assignment is and then be ready to edify the battalion to help it function in the battle. We do this for the glory of God for we are in His Army.  In the examples given above, the medical battalion is no less important than the air battalion. In our prayer battalion, each one has a different assignment  based on the gifts God has given us. There is no pride in acknowledging our gift, but just thanksgiving that God deems us worthy to be in the battle fighting for His glory.

In the Prayer Battalion, not everyone may be going out to the actual battle ground, but they are still deployed. Some are watching, observing and listening to the Holy Spirit in planning a strategy to defeat the enemy. While Lee was in Columbia on a mission trip, many fellow Christian soldiers stayed at home battling in the heavenlies for his safety and for his ministry. Some top ranking officers never leave the command post, but they send out orders to the warriors on the battlefield.

There is a spot for each of us in this Prayer Battalion. God has called us together to pray. There is a mission here for us.  He wants an effective Prayer Battalion. We need to seek His strategy.  We need a clear vision for "where there is no vision the people perish." (Prov 29:18)  Then we need to be ready to act on our vision and our strategy. Some of us may still be confused about our gifts/assignments, and that is okay. Your fellow warriors in the Prayer Battalion will have your back.  As we step out in faith, God will be faithful to show us and help us.  He provides everything we need to stand in the battle, from the trumpets to the slingshot. We are just to follow orders. We will grow in confidence of our gifts as we use them for His glory.   

WE ARE WARRIORS.  IT IS TIME TO DEPLOY!

"Onward, Christian soldiers!

Marching as to war,

With the cross of Jesus

Going on before."

Time to Deploy?

I was just thinking this morning --40 years ago, I longed for a group like we have. A group of ladies who I can trust and share deeply with.  A "support" group. I had to wait a long time for it. We are blessed. God wants us to enjoy that.

But, I feel conviction too- look around us. Things aren't like they were 40 years ago - not even like they were 5 years ago! My idea of a perfect ladies' Bible study group 40 years ago isn't as relevant in today's world or in today's church!

At our age, we certainly see progression and intensifying  of  the evil coming against our country, Israel, the world, Christianity, young people - even children in our church. Human trafficking, pornography, homosexuality, depression, terrorism. Even our pastors - actually "especially" our pastors. . The things Lee deals with daily in his office and on the mission field…

I would really like to get comfortable in our little group - it seems that soldiers have a real camaraderie - they have each others' backs. Each one is trained and performs his job - mans his post. It is imperative that we trust and value each other, that each person gain the confidence and ability to use their gifts, but what is God's purpose in giving us these gifts, these weapons, this trust, this camaraderie?

The comaraderie is not the warrior's purpose - not the reason the army was assembled.  The training is not the warrior's purpose . There is a war to fight. We began as a prayer group. That has been made clearer by the War Room movie and Andra's excellent teaching on warfare.

I, for one, don't like to fight. Never really wanted to be a warrior. I never sought courage or battle skills because I didn't want to admit I needed them.

Ps. 18:34 "He teaches my hands to war."

Unlike  the leader we talked about yesterday - I don't even know how to "organize" a prayer meeting! Much less really pray.

We have an army, we have a comaraderie, we have knowledge. Maybe it's time to DEPLOY.

Would you join me in praying for direction in how to be stewards of the gifts we have - of the love, unity and trust we have? How to employ these things on the actual battlefield? How to really stand against the evil we see?

Let's just pray for direction and against distraction. Ask God to begin to show us how to be effective in war. We have the weapons. We need a strategy!   I am going to go back to the outline Andra gave us, and meditate on the verses.  God wants to give us direction, but it will come through each one of us as a body- together - each person bringing a piece of the puzzle.

The Desires of My Heart

This morning while lying in my bed, slowly waking up, I found myself falling into what could be called "default praying" - praying anxious prayers of protection and well-being for my kids. Even in my early morning stupor, I began to see the dysfunction in this prayer habit. As I had for so many years, I was striving to build safe little cocoons to shelter, comfort and keep each of my "peeps",  as I like to call my children and grandchildren. And, I sometimes still consider them MY peeps - MY responsibility!  It was if I was trying to surround them like feathers in a nest to coddle and keep them - a warm and cozy nest full of blessings, healings and protection.

Even Jesus acknowledged the strong parental protective urge in Luke 13:34 as He expressed His intense feelings toward Jerusalem.  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not."

We all know that the chrysalis has to work its way out of the cocoon to survive, and the baby bird has to be thrown from the nest to fly. But as the eagle hovers over its young, so there is one who promises to cover them with His feathers and under whose wings they can trust. (Ps. 91)   But the security promised here is for those who trust fully in Him, the One who is the hoverer. For those who commit themselves to Him. For those who daily seek Him and dwell in His presence. Verse 14 goes on to say “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name."

I thought I had long ago laid down the idol of  the "perfect Christian family" with perfectly protected and easy lives for all. But, in the process of continuing to lay down that idol -  perhaps it's time instead to pick up the shield and buckler of His truth. Surely, keep praying for their safety, health and happiness, but, even more than that, that each one learns to seek  Him and to dwell in His presence daily. That they seek His truth and commit themselves to His will and purpose for  their lives.

Lord, are my desires morphing more and more into Your desires? You did promise in Psalm 37 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and He will give you the desires of your heart."  As my own family has grown, the "perception" (and it was always just a perception) that I can control, even through prayer, every situation and possibility they may face is no longer one I can reasonably expect to hold onto! It was never reality anyway!  

Binding and Loosing

"Whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, 'I am there in their midst'."   Matthew 18:18-20

Since last week's Sunday School lesson, I have been going over my notes and thinking on the meaning of these verses. Lee was talking about that when the church gathered for prayer, as it says in Acts 2, they were "of one mind" or "in one accord."

He said that, in this gathering, someone sees  what God is wanting to do  - what He wants to be bound on earth as it is being bound in heaven. In the prayer meeting that person speaks. Here in the seeing and the speaking we see the gifts of the Spirit operating in the body.  Then immediately, we go to God in prayer and bind it on earth.

We may not  realize it or call it "gifts of the Spirit" or "binding and loosing", but I believe we see this in operation at times in our little group. 

I have a long way to go in understanding all this , but, Ralph and I had an opportunity to grow in understanding this week. We were leaving our son's house where we babysat his four children. One of them had told us about the fear he experiences when he goes to bed at night. I  shared with him 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind." I wrote it down for him on a card for him to keep. He began to quote back to me his school memory verse that he said was "for his heart".  Joshua 1:9 "Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."  We talked and prayed for him.

In the car on the way home, I remembered the Sunday School lesson.  I saw what the need was - what God was wanting to bind on earth, as it is bound in heaven. I spoke it to Ralph and talked about how I was beginning to understand some of the things Lee taught.  So we joined hands in the car and bound the spirit of fear in our grandson's life.

I do believe the "seeing" -the "discerning" - is a vital step. It is the same as what Lee has recently talked about  - having a "thought of God." Actually, before this, the "of one mind" --the unity-- is crucial. Then we speak out. Too often, we only consider certain "manifestations" to be gifts of the Spirit -- prophecies spoken out in church or words prefaced with "I have a word", but this is the operation of the gifts as well!  Then, we respond in prayer. Let's continue to allow the Lord to teach us , use us and to grow us into operating as the body of Christ was meant to operate!

The Lord - our stronghold - our strong tower!

These images are from the internet - wish I had some DeDe or Toni photos to share!

"The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and is safe." Prov. 18:10

"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock in whom I take refuge. My shield and he horn or my salvation, my stronghold."  Ps. 18:2

"He only is my rock and my salvation. My stronghold. I shall not be shaken." Ps. 62:2

"The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the upright." Pr. 21:22

"I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God in him will I trust." Ps. 91:9

"The God of my rock, in Him will I trust; he is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior."   2 Sam. 22:3

Our Weapons of Warfare

In Linda's post about deception, doubt and distraction that the enemy uses against us as Christians, she mentions that we are soldiers and must use our weapons to fight the enemy.  As we gather in our War Room to plot our strategy, we must know what weapons God has given us and how to use them so that we are prepared for the battle.  Here is a teaching by Adrian Rogers on our weapons.

The Weapons Of Christian Warfare 

People are continually discussing what is happening in this country, the Middle East, and in every corner of the globe. What many may not realize is that we are already at war, an invisible and unseen war between light and darkness, good and evil. And Satan is our adversary.
In Ephesians 6:10-17a, we learn about the defensive weapons of our warfare – the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace and the helmet of salvation. These pieces of armor are to defend us from Satan’s fiery arsenal. But, we also need offensive weapons to defeat the enemy – the sword of the Spirit – the Word of God and the prayer of the Spirit.

The Sharpness of your Sword
"The Word Of God"

Hebrews 4:12 teaches: “For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
The trouble with many of us is that we are not using the one weapon that God has given us to grant us a sure victory. Many of us study the Bible, but it’s not enough just to study the Bible, we must learn how to employ it.
Years ago, when young men went into the service, the military issued them an M1 rifle. They were taught how to take it apart and reassemble it. But they had to do more than just learn about their weapon; they had to learn to use it. The Word of God is a sword and it is meant to be used.
How do we use this sword? Let’s look at how our Lord Jesus Christ used the Word when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness after forty days and nights of fasting (see Luke 4:1-13).
First, Satan tempted Jesus with the lust of the flesh (“command that these stones be made bread”), then the lust of the eyes (“if Thou therefore will worship me, all shall be Thine”), and finally the pride of life (“if Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down from [the pinnacle of the temple]”).
How did Jesus deal with the devil? He took the sword of the Word of God – that sharp two-edged sword and ran Satan through. Jesus said, “It is written, it is written, it is written…” Jesus overcame every temptation by one weapon – the Word of God.
The Word of God is all-powerful. Satan fears the Word of God. He knows its overcoming power.

The Source of Your Supply
"Prayer"

Some Christians fail to understand that prayer is the second offensive weapon in our warfare. They get all dressed up in their armor, pick up their sword, and think they are ready to fight. But Ephesians 6:18 tells us that there’s one more weapon – prayer: “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”
A soldier needs to stay in contact with headquarters and have at his disposal a constant source of supply. Without a constant source of supply and a system of communications, a soldier is destined for defeat. Thank God we have the Holy Spirit who gives us constant communication with our Commander-in-Chief.
Before we go to the battlefield, we must get on our knees. The battle is not won in the pulpit or in the Sunday school class. The battle is won in the prayer closet. Prayer is warfare.
You probably have never thought of yourself as a soldier. But, when you are sitting in your bedroom or in your den, you can wage a mighty battle of intercessory prayer. Isn’t it wonderful that those who are sick or shut-in, on a hospital bed or in a wheelchair can fight because they can pray? What an awesome weapon is prayer!
I challenge you today to take the mighty weapons God has given you and get into the battle! Begin today to offer lingering, loving, laboring prayer on behalf of others. for when you use the weapons of the Word of God and prayer.
John 15:7 says, “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” You can have the victory you long for, when you use the weapons of the Word of God and prayer.