Are You Prepared to Fight?

[MrLuke]

"Are You Prepared to Fight?"

I've been fighting since almost the day I was born!

And for those that believe the devil isn't around or real or whatever, read my testimony (in my sig) and tell me the devil can't affect us.

The battle is won in Christ and if we live by Christ we have the victory, but that doesn't stop the devil from trying to get the last word in, as it were.

The devil knows he has lost and he knows Christ has won. He also knows that his time is now limited on this earth before God wraps it all up.

Think about it, if you were the devil and you were in a losing battle, wouldn't you try to take as many of the enemy down as possible before you are wiped out yourself?

[ruah brit]

Ephesians 6: 12 tells us " For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places"

Powerful stuff.

It is often too easy to get caught up in day to day life and forget just how REAL this is.

Considering what is happening in the world and in our very own homeland, I think it's a good time to remind ourselves that there is indeed another war going on.  One though unseen, is still as real as any on earth; maybe even more real.

We are ALL affected by this war.  We can choose to pretend it does not exist; we can stand on the sidelines and watch; or we can step on to the battlefield.

I believe most of you here have chosen to fight, even though you know the dangers.  Satan may be willing to only dally on those who watch from the relative safety of ignorance or apathy.  But he attacks, full force, those who stand up for his nemesis, Jesus Christ, and His Truth.

What is your understanding of this war that we are in?

What is our role?

How does he attack?

What are the manifestations of this spiritual war on earthyly things?

We often hear it said, "Satan's best weapon is to convince us that he does not exist".  True.

Know your enemy.  He is powerful. But He that is in me, is far more powerful than he that is in the world. Praise God!

I am blest to know you all.

In the Love of Jesus,

Fiosh

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world, then it will not affect you when the world is stricken to fall and rise no more. Those who have Him in them will not hunger or thirst and the sheep who are stricken will come and rely on the Lord.

Joh 6

35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst

Matthew 24

45 "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?

46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.

47 Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.

Luke 12

42 And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?

43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

44 Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.

Denise

[Leonard]

So you believe the devil doesn't exist? Then answer me this.

Why is the world in such chaos?

Why are there homosexuals parading down the flooded streets of New Orleans as you read this?

Why is Israel still at war with it's neighbors?

Why, why, why?

So many questions.

How am I giving satan power simply by talking about him? If we ignore him, will he simply go away? You say I give him glory and honor. Please point this out to me. I don't see it.

You say the kingdom of God is inside us and that our war is a spiritual one. I agree with you. But how do we battle the forces of evil if we don't know their tactics?

Was Christ just blowing off steam when He warned of things to come? Were the writers of the bible just killing time? Should we ignore their warnings?

You called yourself a heretic. Do you not believe the teachings of Christ? Does the bible not teach us to beware of the devil?

Maybe I am what's wrong with the church today. I see the church for what it is, not what it should be.

If you believe the devil is not here on this earth, you deceive yourself. That too is one of satan's tactics.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I did NOT say satan doesn't exist. Merely that he is utterly defeated. I said we Christians can 'give him power.' Does that sound like a denial of his existence?

Did I say he wasn't here on this earth?

Let me use an example. Quite a few years back, I came upon an accident scene in the wee hours where a drunk had been hit by a semi-truck traveling through town. The semi had run directly over the man's head, gooshing it quite flat.

When the New Testament speaks of satan's head being 'crushed' that is extremely intense verbiage! I guarantee you that man could have DONE NOTHING. If I had to wrestle him, it would have been very easy to get the pin! The only way he could have had power, is if by some means someone 'reinflated' his crushed head.

This is exactly what Christians do when they start speaking of "all of satan's power." When our words attribute power to him, we actually 'contribute' power to him as well. Just as when some speak of the 'old man coming up out of the grave," and "struggling with the old man." Paul says THE OLD MAN IS DEAD! Don't fill him with power to fight against you! And don't fill the devil with power to fight against you either!

Everyone is concerned with the identity of the 'false prophet,' I tell you the 'false prophet' speaks all to often OUT OF OUR OWN MOUTHS. As we 'forthtell lies,' which is what 'false prophet' means, and disagree with God's word, and prostitute Christ's power to the devil, WE are that false prophet.

WELL STOP IT!!! (Sorry, I just finished watching Monty Python's 'Holy Grael'!)

[Leonard]

I have Christian friends who do not believe Satan exists.  They'll say that there is an "evil force" in the world; or that man creates evil.

Do I try to convince them he's real or not?

F

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Of course he is real. He has ontos. My point is he IS defeated. But as long as there are SOOOOO many Christians willing to 'pump up' his destroyed kingdom with the power of God in their own words, then he will continue to be a problem......

[irishcowboy]

maybe we ought to ask the question....

who is walking from battle to battle in victory? and who is walking from battle to battle in defeat????

yes, the war has already been decided, but the battles still have to be fought...

there are many professing Christians, walking from battle to battle in defeat, had there backsides busted and now they are moping around, head down so far it is almost dragging the floor, tail between their legs whimpering.... whining.... complaining.....

are we really showing the Victory?? are we shouting the Battle Cry???? are we shouting the cry of victory?????

we should be singing all the day long as we march along towards the next battle....

looking at some, you would think they had just lost the war..... and every battle they ever encountered....

something else.....

WE MUST BE PREPARED.....

prepare for battle... don't get caught with your pants down..... don't get caught by surprise....

there are some that you will see that are coming in with battle stories, that satan has been attacking them left and right and they don't know what to do.......

first off.....

DO NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE IN BATTLE BEFORE YOU TRY TO LEARN HOW TO USE YOUR WEAPONS......

prepare... .like in learn it first, then do it.... not waiting until you are already there and have to read the operators manual before you can fire a shot.....

we have the operators manual with us.... it is the Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth......

this operating manual has the information needed to do battle, but if we have not gone over and studied this manual, then when we are in the middle of the battle we will panic and freeze up, not knowing which way to turn....

prepare now.....

like in a series of dreams the Lord gave me, with the understanding......

( I use to run allot, 10 miles a day minimum, I was at one time training for the olympic marathon, during days of inclement weather, i would train inside, I had my time for a 5 mile route down to just over 21 minutes )

anyways, this dream i am in it, and we ( the group that is there ) are training for something, we have a coach, and we are doing three sets of three laps, around these halls, simular to a school that is laid out on a slight hill, there are some places where there might be 2 or 3 steps, up or down.... and plenty of turns.....

the entire time I am running these halls, i have a book with me, in my hand....

it is black ( don't know if color makes any diff here or not ) and it is with me the entire time.... I am in the lead as we run, and never passed...... up and down and around .... after the third set, every one else leaves, and I stay and continue training, and I still have that book with me....

the understanding given was I am to train, to practice, to prepare... the book is the Bible... and even when everyone else goes on, i am to continue on.....

training for a race, a battle, we are to bury the Word of God in our hearts, we are to prepare ourselves, we are to be ready at any given moment... we have to be ready for battle long before we ever enter into battle......

how do we prepare for battle????

well, for starters, we must be in prayer....

then we must have the Word of God with us ...

then we must have the Spirit of God with us...

then.... there are some battles that can only be fought by fasting and prayer..

you will find that there are some battles that if you have not spent time fasting and praying well ahead of time, you will be beaten back... you may not loose the war, but the battle will be so much rougher....

this is the same thing that starts revival.... fasting and prayer......

can you imagine what would happen in this world if we would spend time in prayer... the time needed until God told us to stop... until God says we have prayed long enough.....

we do not hear of too many occassions where God has told some one they have spent too much time in prayer..... why???? cause we usually only pray long enough for our own needs.... or thoughts.... some only long enough to say they have prayed......

I am not talking about loud prayer out on the street corner, I am not talking about praying the same prayer over and over and over again.... I am talking praying in the Spirit... I am talking about seeking Gods Face... I am talking about communing with God, waiting on God..... spending time in Gods Holy Word....

do you know that the entire Bible can be read in average of about 80 hours...

reading 80 hours out loud, with feeling......

did you know if you read 5 minutes aday, you can read through the new testament in just one year..... 5 minutes aday.... most people ( if they are honest, do not spend 5 minutes a week reading new and old )......

did you know the old testament is just about twice the size as the knew testament... so that means if a person read about 10 minutes aday in the old testament they would read thru the old in just one year.....

can you spare 15 minutes a day?????

here is another thought....

the new testament comes on CD... .and it can be bought for about 15 bucks.... there are 14 CD's in the case.....

what do we listen to when we sleep???? TV??? some do.... radio??? some do.....

the problem with that is, you have no control over what is being places in your mind......

don't believe me???? have you ever had a dream that coincided with the movie, or song that you were listening to???? that information is implanted in your mind....

take a BIBLE CD and put it on a repeat play CD player and listen to it all night long... in 14 days you will get thru the entire new testament not only once, but once about every 45 minutes or so..... even if it is just once an hour, then you will have had that CD play about 6 times a nite.....

wow... neat huh???? sleep teach.. yes, it does work.... have a set in your car, and play them to and from work.... to and from ball games.... while at work..... it don't matter... play them, you will have the information buried in your heart.... maybe not book chapt verse, but the Word of God will be there......

more ways to prepare for battle.....

we are told to pray unceasingly.... never ending..... continuously....

have you ever woke up at night????? start praying... the Spirit of the Lord will give you the words to say, the Spirit will fill you with the needed things to be able to pray thru the night...... and still be fresh in the morning for work.....

(example,)

this past friday, spending time with my folks, we got to bed late just about midnite.... about an hour later, i was woke up... and i had no reason to be up..... I started praying while laying in bed, then i was on my knees and then i was on my face on the floor.... i have no idea what i was praying for, other then one thing that i am not at liberty to speak of until I speak to the man, and i prayed until about 4 in the morning.... when I was released from the bond, i laid back down and was unable to sleep, so I went out side, and just basked in the Lords presence

and was there when the sun came up..... and then after breakfast replaced a section of drain line which had to be hand dug..... functioning good all the day long....

the Lord will ensure we have what we need to do what we have to do...

all we have to do is be obedient to Him when He calls.... not later, not earlier, when the Lord Calls.......

mike

[NITE OWL]

I don't understand how you can believe that we give power to the devil just by talking about him.

Ignoring him will not make him go away.

People need to know what the devil is all about. You said it yourself, satan likes attacking new christians. He whispers lies.

Going by your theory, you were giving power to the devil. But in my eyes that's not what you were doing. You were teaching. There's nothing wrong with that.

When I stumble and satan grabs that power, he's coming after me. He's not going after anyone else but me. He can't attack you unless you allow him too. That's just the way it works.

Yes satan is defeated, but until the Lord locks him away, we have to deal with him. He's out there just waiting for one of us to drop our guard.

I truly believe people need to know how the devil works. They need to know that when they start doubting, it's satan messing with their heads.

Look at all the questions that pour into these boards. All the people asking for guidance. Do we not answer their questions? Do we not give them assistance?

I don't know what else to say. Those are my beliefs.

[Fiosh]

My purpose for starting this thread was to remind people, myself included, that the battle is real. Most people will say that they believe in God and His angels, some will even admit belief in demons.

But if the conversation goes any further, they have a difficult time accepting the reality of it all.

I'm not explaining this well. I hope you know what I'm trying to say. It's head knowledge for some...not heart & soul knowledge.

I don't believe you give Satan power by talking about him. After all, he is talked about in the Bible. If we recognize his plots and snares, we can more readily avoid them.

And if we feel attacked we can run to our Father's arms for protection.

I agree, the war has been won by our King, Jesus Christ.

But we still must fight the battles. Knowing we have the power of the Risen Lord, the Creator God, the Master of the Universe, behind us, should make us fearless warriors....if we but trust in Him.

I need to remind myself of this often.

Peace,

Fiosh

[NITE OWL]

My purpose for starting this thread was to remind people, myself included, that the battle is real.  Most people will say that they believe in God and His angels, some will even admit belief in demons. 

But if the conversation goes any further, they have a difficult time accepting the reality of it all.

I'm not explaining this well.  I hope you know what I'm trying to say.  It's head knowledge for some...not heart & soul knowledge.

I don't believe you give Satan power by talking about him. After all, he is talked about in the Bible.  If we recognize his plots and snares, we can more readily avoid them.

And if we feel attacked we can run to our Father's arms for protection.

I agree, the war has been won by our King, Jesus Christ.

But we still must fight the battles.  Knowing we have the power of the Risen Lord, the Creator God, the Master of the Universe, behind us, should make us fearless warriors....if we but trust in Him.

I need to remind myself of this often. 

Peace,

Fiosh

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Black letters?

You must be really serious.

[other one]

I'm a bit 'o th' heretic here, I'm afraid.  Jesus said the "Kingdom of Heaven is within you," so I think this battle's main 'front' is in our interior life.

The Scripture tells us satan is utterly defeated.  How then does he seem to have power?  Because BY OUR OWN WORDS we empower him in ourselves, and give him power to work in the world around us.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Rev 13:6-7

7 And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them;

NASB

Leonard, is this scripture talking about us letting the beast overcome us or is it given to the beast from the Lord? I am a bit confused by your statement....

[Fiosh]

My purpose for starting this thread was to remind people, myself included, that the battle is real.