IT'S TIME TO FIGHT

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

1 Peter 5:8 NIV

No, I do not want all these spiritual battles and warfare, this is what I told myself a few years ago when I gave my life to Christ. But little that I knew I was fighting spiritual battles long before I ever knew there were battles to fight. I thought being a Christian we just had to go to church on Sunday, pay tithes and God would take care of the rest (Deuteronomy 20:4-God will go WITH you to fight your battles). I knew the devil was there but I figured I didn't have anything he would want so why bother me? I am sorry but the devil is not picky, once there is life there is hope. I have always admired the military, they are so disciplined and controlled. In the military, they are groomed mentally, physically and emotionally for battle. What battles are they preparing for? Those that are seen and unseen are similar to spiritual battles that are happening constantly. During 'THE BIG EVENT', this is our monthly gathering Journey in Christ hosts live on FaceBook and Instagram our topic was 'Juicy Lips'. Juicy Lips was referring to the things we say, learning to control our words. There was an example of a lady that was shouting at a child while I was commuting one day. I used the metaphor that her words were like literal bullets being shot into this 6 or 7-year-old child, these are the battles we are fighting every day. This lady said so many derogatory words to this boy I was appalled. This child has to now fight mentally the strong, distressing words that came from someone who is supposed to love him and protect him from those attacks that may come from other people (like the bullies at school or the neighbourhood children). We are fighting battles from our parents and grandparents that we do not even know about. The battle to walk in their footsteps or create our own, to get married at twenty or even at all, to think about relationships as a burden or to remain single, having children out of wedlock or to patiently wait on marriage. The battle to obey God and not our flesh and essentially the devil, the battle to break generational curses by changing patterns, the battle to break mental strongholds that limit growth and prosperity. Battles are constant and can sometimes be hidden or laced with something that seems good. A challenge for me has been knowing when to do certain things, like I know I have to write, record and run a business. If I tip the scale too far to either side I can put a strain on something, let me explain further. Although, both my business and Journey in Christ are things that are sent by God and are good if I focus solely on one and not the other I would become frustrated in other areas (because I did not balance the time). If I decide to just focus on the business and not tune into services for spiritual growth or take time out to rest and meditate I would get burnt out. Something will eventually be lacking. This takes discipline and self-control to maintain equilibrium in all aspects of life. Do you have an area that seems to be tipping the scale? How do you keep a balance? I attend a bible-based teaching church with a pastor that is very interactive, during the bible studies we can ask questions. This was something new to me given that every church I ever attended did more preaching than teaching. A few years ago there was teaching on spiritual warfare and that was my first introduction to spiritual attacks. Lately, there has been another teaching on spiritual attacks but it was a teaching of how to confront them. There are so many scriptures that give us the ammo we need for the journey, but unfortunately, there might be many others who were like me believing that God will fight the battles for us. This is not the case. What God does or has done is given us the power and the authority we would need to fight our own battles. He has even given us a secret agent called the Holy Spirit that leads and guides us through many tough circumstances. We cannot win a fight by crying. There is an action movie called White House Down with Channing Tatum and Jamie Fox. The president made a decision that compromised the White House and the United States, it was a setup. After the compromise and defence were down there was an attack, there were many casualties as a result. There were things the opposition knew that the person who needed to be in defence did not know they knew and it brought calamity. This is a dramatic example but a very good example nonetheless. The enemy does not take vacations or breaks, he hires on-call staff to do some of his dirty work (your mom, aunt, friend or even a cousin) he has full-time and part-time staff. He uses people that can be used whether they are closely related or not, Christian, or stranger. There is work that needs to be done (kill, steal, destroy) none stop. The opposition saw a weak spot, an area that sparked more interest, an area that almost caused a country. One wrong decision can cost you your spot in the Kingdom. There was someone that had more experience and skill that had to help regain control of the situation. When we sin and things in our personal life get out of hand it is best to connect with someone ahead of you in the faith (You will know them by their fruits Matthew 7:15-20). This is even where you ask the Holy Spirit for help-Okay, what should I do in this situation? How should I handle this? And like God did with Moses using a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. He will help you navigate what you think is a difficult situation. On the other hand, there are some battles we became a casualty because of proximity. There are some people we are hanging around that have their battles they are fighting. When shots are fired at them by the enemy for their weakness, their mental strongholds, their drug addictions. If you are there you will be affected and may succumb to their struggles. Some battles are not ours to fight! For a long time, I strongly felt like I had to help my family and if I did not they would somehow die, that was very theatrical but I did not know how they would manage without my help. But when I relocated to another country life went on and they somehow learnt how to survive without me. Sometimes we take on a burden that is not for us to carry. It is so important to check in the secret service, is this a battle for me? Should I be here, go there, what should I be doing? “I have called you. There is a great anointing on your life to destroy the Midianites but I want you to go back to your father’s house. There is an altar there that will prevent you from reaching your destiny until you deal with it” (Judges 6:25). God told Gideon what he would be up against. He gave Gideon a war strategy, which would be a hindrance if it is not dealt with. In chapter 7 Gideon went out to battle, a real physical battle, a war. God gave him another strategy for this particular battle. He said to send some men home Gideon obeyed and sent the men home. Then Gideon was told that it is still too many and more men needed to be sent home, tell them to do this and he would know who needed to go. God said, " you are going to win this battle but if you are afraid then go down to the enemy's camp and listen". How would he have known exactly what to do and how to do it? Just as he got to the enemy's camp the soldiers were discussing a dream and its interpretation. The soldier prophetically spoke about what was going to happen. Gideon would win the war. Gideon was there listening so this was confirmation for him, although God had already told Gideon that he would win, he heard it from his enemies. God gave Gideon a strategy, he obeyed and he saw results. Apart from our battle is remaining in obedience to what God has told us to do, His written word and the authorities that have been put in place to help and correct us. Attacks can come in different forms like in the story of Samson in Judges 16:16 Delilah nagged Samson day after day until he wanted to die. Over and over you are having sexual thoughts, over and over you are watching the same things (profanity), over and over you hanging with the same friends that cheat; soon enough if you do not use a strategy to deal with these temptations you will give in. Many times people give in to craving when it is dangled in front of them constantly. That is how the enemy works. Samson was nagged so much that he felt like he was going to die. The enemy uses emotions to frustrate, tempt and persuade people to make wrong decisions in haste. After the mistake is made the feeling of guilt and condemnation comes. Remember the story of the evil spirit that left and returned to find the place swept clean; he called guilt, condemnation, sexual immorality, trauma, fear, loneliness and poverty. The bible says seven more evil than itself Matthew 12:44-45. The attacks are constant and may seem subtle but it is strategic. The devil will only attack where there is potential. In closing, every generation of people has someone assigned to them. And God raises men in every generation that match the task of positively affecting their generation. God knew that you are equivalent to the task of this generation; that is why he positioned you in this generation-Thou Art My Battle Axe, Dr. Paul Enenche. People perish because they lack vision, knowledge, the know-how, the guts, the strength and the connection to the Holy Spirit that will give them the answers in getting things done. They perish because they do not know about the spiritual strongholds that are plaguing their family, their home, their future or their country. They perish because they are not equipped, they are running away from or into battles that they are uncertain of, battles that may need more time to determine strategy and the person lacking the patience to wait on the Lord for what to do. We will no longer be the person being defeated, we will stand up and fight! We will wage war on the enemy and ask God for the battle tactics to defeat.

#itstimetofight #breakingstrongholds #breakingbondage #breakingchains