Tuesday, April 21, 2015

A Message For the Warrior

As Christians, we have been commissioned to represent the Kingdom of God. The Great Commission was given to go into the entire world. "But ye shall receive power, after that, the Holy Ghost has come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1:8.  The stipulation was that the disciples would first receive the Holy Ghost before they would become a witness. Jesus gave the disciples the power and authority to carry out this task based on receiving the Holy Ghost. 


Before a warrior goes into battle, he must have a purpose. The only people who are in the spiritual fight for Truth are followers of Jesus. Our mission is to spread the Good News of the Gospel. If you aren't a believer, you're not just fighting an uphill battle; you are the opposition and enemy of God. 


By nature, the Bible tells us that we are children of wrath. We have rebelled against God by our sinful nature. We become warriors and co-heirs in the Cross's victory when the Holy Spirit calls us to repentance and a life of obedience to the Gospel. This marks the start of a battle between a believer and the enemy of their soul. As believers, we are not bound to sin, but we will still stumble in our imperfect human form. By grace, it is so undeserved but more significant than all our weakness, shame, and the sin that God has forgiven us and made us joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. We don't earn power or authority on our own merits. Still, by the goodness and actions of Jesus on the Cross, the Holy Spirit empowers us, and we have authorization by the blood of Jesus to make war against the enemy and sin. A warrior must die to himself before he becomes alive to fight!


To be a Warrior of the Cross, we must bear the Cross. We must spiritually pick up our Cross and march up the hill—we must accept the walk as Jesus did. This is not a spectator sport but requires the Warrior to be an active participant. The era of television has turned many Christians into watchers. Often Christians get so carried away with the final victory (I am waiting for the LORD to return) that they have remained blinded to the ongoing battle, and the oil in their lamps is slowly going out. As Christians, we need to understand that the Cross leading to eternal life, and the way of the Cross means there is a battle to be fought. There are all those who have fallen away under the pressure of warfare that they have refused to fight in the Army of God as a Warrior of the Cross. These are the armchair churchgoers who have hindered the Warrior from successfully defending the Cross. 


Almost every Christian has experienced a real struggle to live the Christian life. On the one hand, there is an idea of the kind of life that should be lived. There is a desire to do right, but living a righteous life seems so difficult. It can be discouraging trying to live the Christian life. There is the struggle of doing the same sins all too often. Christian people may respond to this struggle in different ways. Some seem to give up and quit. They can't seem to live the Christian life, so they no longer profess it. The term for this action is backsliding. Some keep on with the struggle, yet they go around with a defeated look lacking the joy of their salvation or the victory over sin. Their life is not a good witness for the Lord. They are without the hope that it is in redemption. As Paul states, they are most miserable.


Paul shares his own experience with the battle to overcome sin and please God. In chapter seven of the Book of Romans, Paul describes the spiritual warfare we must face to defeat sin in our lives.


The enemy of our soul is the sin nature. Sin enslaves us to do the will of our Adversary—Satan. In verse 14, he says, but I am carnal, sold under sin. That is an apparent reference to slavery, which was so prevalent in Paul's day. The sin nature is so strong and powerful; it feels as though the individual has been sold as a slave under the controlling power of sin. It is ongoing enslavement with lasting effects, for the verb "sold" is in the perfect tense. Paul uses similar language in the last of v.23, where he says he felt that he was brought "into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." In this context, he is speaking of warfare in one's soul, and in those days, those who lost the war were often sold as slaves. When sin wins the victory in the spiritual struggle, the believer becomes a slave to the sin. In the last of v.18, Paul goes on to say, "to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find." He wanted to live right, but he found himself doing wrong. Sin controlled him even when he tried to do right! He had the will to obey God, but he lacked the power to obey God. Sin is a tyrant that dictates hate, and Paul loathes it and tries as he might; he could not defeat it. This does not mean that sin always triumphs in the act, but only that it is a power from which the soul cannot free itself. For all his desire to obey God's Law, he is compelled by the destructive force within to disobey it. The power seemed to be on the side of indwelling sin.


At the end of the chapter, Paul's cry was a plea for deliverance from the body of sin and death. It seemed that there was no hope in defeating the power of sin in this life. There is a transition that takes place between chapter seven and chapter eight. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the Law of sin and death. 3 For what the Law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Roman 8:1-4

In his letter to the Church at Rome, Paul has established that man's carnal nature is the enemy of God. It will not submit or yield to the will of God. The carnal nature or self can hide under all forms of goodness and gain a more unmovable abode in the ways of goodness than it can as a sinner. This thought ought to alarm us all. Self can watch and fast, pray much and preach long, become religious, take pleasure in its duties, and be exceedingly diligent in its services.


5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and Peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the Law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8-5-8


We must die to self, but this cannot happen until we know what self is. If we cannot see how the carnal nature of self hides in a cloak of religion, all teaching and effort will be vain. We may be ready to die to this nature and not know that the stronghold is in the temple—our bodies are the temple of the LORD. This carnal nature-self will make a pretense of yielding to God or dying but will retain its control over the soul. It is only when we begin to fear the elusiveness of this nature and realize that in ourselves, we cannot bring this nature to its death-- that it is an act of the Holy Spirit. Only when we yield our entire being to God is that we have any hope of conquering this nature, casting as the whole of ourselves, in utter despair, on God alone to do the work.


Only when the soul is brought to believe in its entire and utter weakness to deal directly with this nature will it begin to get an insight into the absoluteness of the surrender to God and the trust in Him. This is needed if He alone is to do the work for us and in us. Christ conquered sin by His death. Nothing that we do ourselves can have any good in it because it is self-working in us. The good in us is the work of God's Spirit, and it is all preparatory to that full death to self to which He seeks to bring us and in which we are entirely yielded up to God to work all in us. 


All Christian life failures are due to this one thing that we seek to do in our strength what God Himself by His Spirit alone can work in us. To die to self, to come from under its power, cannot be done by any active resistance we can make to it by nature's power. To exchange the life of self for God's presence, to come out of the darkness of self into the light of God, is a work we cannot do. It is the man who ceases from self, sees and accepts in the death of Christ, his death to self, and enters into the life that God has promised us. 


What is the correct way of dying to self? How can a man be led to understand and desire and find what the death to sin and self in Christ gives him? It is the way of patience, meekness, humility, resignation to God. Dying to self, turning away, and ceasing from it, refusing to be led by it, can be effected in no other way but just bowing low before God in the confession of sin and feebleness and the patient waiting for His work in us. 


There are transitions in the life of the Christians that take place when filled with the Holy Spirit, going from the servant to son, the soldier to Warrior, and carnal to spiritual. The difference between soldiers and Warrior is a little confusing. The two words, soldiers and Warrior, are often confused when it comes to their meanings. They appear to be words that give the same purpose, but, strictly speaking, there is some difference between the two terms. A soldier is one who is a militant follower of an organization.


On the other hand, a warrior exhibits bravery and courage under the given circumstance. He demonstrates courage towards an organization. This is an essential difference between the two words. A soldier is a fighter by profession, whereas a warrior exhibits remarkable courage when the time comes, though he is not a fighter by profession. 


A soldier is a paid individual who fights the opponent to protect his King or the country. The family of a soldier is taken care of in case of any casualty to the soldier's life in the battle. The soldier works in an army as he is a paid fighter. Also, not every soldier goes on to fight. There are many parts to an army. Some of the soldiers work in offices and do not go to the battlefield at all. The bottom line is the soldier is a servant of the King or country he serves. He may not know his leaders' plan or goals, but act on their orders-he is their servant.  


In the Old Testament, the scriptures speak of the servants of God. The Holy Spirit did not lead them, but rather the Holy Spirit came upon them. The Spirit did not dwell within them. The great prophets of the Old Testament "spake as the Holy Ghost moved them: 2Peter 1:21 


A soldier (servant) can become a soldier (servant) of righteousness and still be driven by the Spirit rather than led by the Spirit. The solider can be in bondage to the Law, which makes the solider a servant. 


Since the soldier is not made aware of the King's goals and plan, there can be confusion among servants of righteousness concerning God's righteousness. Some will impose the Law without Grace. There will be those who will impose the Law with some Grace. What the solider servant fails to see is that it is all Grace and no Law. It is Mercy without sacrifice. It is Peace without division or confusion. There cannot be sin and righteousness, good and evil, blessed and cursed, death, and life. 


In contrast to the soldier, a warrior is a fighter who exhibits great courage when the time comes, though he is not a fighter by profession. In other words, a warrior does fight when the occasion arises, but he does not work for money. A warrior always has something to give for the kingdom or an organization based on the relationship with the King. 


A warrior can be working with the army or away from the military. The Warrior can work from outside of the army as he is not a paid fighter. Often, a warrior works for the betterment of society as a whole. Unlike a soldier, a warrior goes to the battlefield. 


The relationship of the Warrior is that of a friend, son, or brother of the King. John 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants ... but friends.  Galatians 4:7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son. Philemon 1:16  Not now as a servant, but above a servant a brother. Jesus said, Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you


Paul, writing to the Galatian Christians, told them they were no more servants, but a son; and if a son was then an heir of God through Jesus Christ. The higher calling of the Warrior is that the Spirit of Christ dwells "within you." The Warrior is led by the Spirit rather than driven by the Spirit.  


Let him who thinks he stands to take heed lest he falls (1 Corinthians 10:12).

Someone once asked the great evangelist Charles Finney, "Do you believe in a literal devil?" Finney responded, "You try opposing him for a while, and you see if he's literal or not."


If you want to find out if there is a literal devil, then start walking with Jesus Christ and seeking to be in the will of God. You will find just how real he is. After they have decided to follow Christ, many people are surprised to find that the Christian life can be so difficult, so intense sometimes. It isn't a life of ease, but one of conflict, warfare, and opposition. Our choice is simple: Will we be victorious? Or will we be victims on the spiritual battlefield? 


It has been said that you can tell a lot about a man by who his enemies are. The same is true for us. We are no longer opposing God, but we now have a new, very powerful foe, and he is described in the Bible as the Devil. Of course, the Devil is not happy because he has lost one of his own. He is angry that you have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ. Now you have become a potential threat to his kingdom as well. 


The battlefield in which our spiritual warfare takes place the most often is in mind. We wrestle, or strive and struggle in our minds against world systems, the flesh or the carnal nature, and the Devil. The mind encompasses our thoughts (imagination, reasoning, and intellect) and our emotions and will. In all of these aspects lies the very heart of an individual. By our thoughts and feelings, we determine our will and purpose for our lives. As Christians, we seek to live by the Truth and power of God because they are our assurance of God's promised victory in every situation in life. We are not ignorant of the reality of evil and the destruction that surrounds our world daily. In this process, we will encounter a genuine spiritual struggle in our thoughts, emotions, and well, because the adversary knows that these areas are directly related to the power of our faith and means to receive the promises of God. The adversary's goal is to weaken the hope of every Christian.  


If you choose to live a half spiritual and half carnal life, you jeopardize much of your victory in Christ. Although you received Christ and are assured of your salvation at the moment of conversion, your heart still needs to be right with God in your commitment to follow Him. When you follow Him you build a sure foundation, in which Christ said, Luk 6:47 - 49 "Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great." 


There will be times when necessary and an act of wisdom to retreat or step back a little from forging ahead spiritually and take the time to reflect, renew our strength, and gain perspective for our lives. Even Jesus knew the importance of retreating into the mountains to renew his Spirit. However, he did not remain in the mountains. He came down to face the enemy once his Spirit was revived. 


After struggling through a spiritual battle that has drained us both physically and spiritually, we may even begin to feel a sense of relief and become complacent. If we are tempted to remain complacent, we should remind ourselves of the lives we will never touch, the spiritual heights we will never reach, and the force of faith that will no longer impact the invisible world to keep the enemy at bay. The Christian Warrior can never remain away long from the battlefield. Keep in mind there are legitimate struggles in life, and we can become discouraged, but even if we feel discouraged, we keep placing our trust in the Lord, for He will not fail us. Some battles may be lost because lesser obstacles were overlooked at the start, and there are times, out of enthusiasm, we move ahead of our present capacity. It is not wise to tackle unfamiliar territory unless the Holy Spirit leads us. To do otherwise is to witness the casualties of spiritual warfare. 


The clang of the swords had died away, the shouting of the slaughter was hushed; silence lay on the red-stained ground. Swords and Shields covered the field, and broken blades lay where the dead were placed in heaps. The nerveless hand yet gripped the broken hilt: helmeted heads, back-drawn in the death throes, tilted red beards and golden beards grimly upward, as if in a benediction of life. Every Warrior faces the battlefield of fear, doubt, depression, physical problems, condemnation, obsessions, worry, despair, or hopelessness.  


All through the history of mankind, there has been a group of individuals, in a scared and unbroken succession, who have confessed that they were pilgrims and strangers upon this earth. They can be found wandering the deserts and in the mountains, dwelling in the dens and caves of the earth, to which they have been driven by those who would wage war against them. They can be found in the marketplace and homes of men, distinguished only by their simpler dress, their girded loins, their restrained appetites of worldly pleasures; their loose hold on gold; their independence of the opinions and applause of the world around them. In their eyes, the far-away look now and then glows from a particular affection centered not on the transitory things of time and earth, but on those eternal realities that, lying beneath the visible veil, are only revealed in faith. These are the Warriors of the Cross.