Chapter 9 Holy Moments in Spiritual Warfare

Chapter 9

Holy moments in Spiritual Warfare

2 kings 6:15-19;

“When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.”

Becoming a holy moment follower calls for a little more understanding of the spiritual war every believer faces. When I was lost in sin and selfishness, I didn’t have spiritual awareness. I was lost and unspiritual. Until I was redeemed, renewed, and reborn through the presence of God in me, I was a human being, being human, with only human strength and perspective. As a Christ follower, I entered an eternal relationship with God through Jesus that necessitated a change in my spiritual condition. God came into my life through His spirit and raised my dead spirit to life. I was awakened in my spirit and able to know God intimately.  Today I stand forgiven, empowered, and destined for eternity with God. How can that new reality not change the way I live??!!

We have an adversary we didn’t know much about before we were saved. Many Christ followers still lack the biblical knowledge and experience to sense when evil is around and how to handle it with power and grace. Remember our fight is not based on how much strength we have; it is about how much truth we possess. The truth of God’s word spoken against evil lies wins every time. If we commit to becoming holy moment people looking for holy moments to be involved in, Satan will attempt to knock us off course. The last thing he wants is to have us walking in the power of the spirit in prayer, overcoming his darkness with God’s light.

Once the enemy loses you to Jesus, he is committed to making you useless to God and unable to do the good things planned out for you. Hebrews 12:1-2 states it nicely.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Surrounded by a cloud of witnesses- These are not angels or spooky spirits. I don’t want to sound like I know all the mysteries of God, and this is one of them. I have learned that ask God to teach you what is in the passage but trust Him when you can’t understand every word He communicates. Some of these personal cheerleaders for us may be the saints in heaven who can see the world and the struggle we are in. I am not advocating the Catholic teaching that we can pray to those who have passed, and they will intercede for us to Jesus. That is not a biblical teaching. I am just reading the text and wondering who this mass of holy cheerleaders may be.

Some of these people may be people, i.e.  your family of believers here on earth who love you and pray for you daily. They surround you with prayer and support, and God responds.  God lives inside you, and He allows the saints in heaven and on earth to be with you in your holy struggles. You are never alone!

Lay aside every weight- These are things that may not be overtly sinful but may not be healthy for us. I developed several anchors of my soul growing up. These past soul traumas can cause us to not trust God, or struggle with feeling abandoned or not good enough. We feel like we will never be clean or happy or peaceful again. These past pains can lead to sinful behavior in an effort  to numb, divert, compensate, or relieve the pain at all costs. Sometimes we can’t identify the things that are driving us to sin, and we need a professional to help. Other times we need to surrender the pain to Jesus and trust Him with our hurt. To lay aside means to go through the motions of removing the thing from your presence and not allowing it to weigh you down.

And the sin that clings so closely- That’s the problem with sin, it sticks to us, stays with us, clings to us, makes us long for it and feel like we will be less without it. The only thing we can do with sin is die to it every day, every moment of every day if need be. We either kill sin, or it kills us! More later on how to do that. Identify one sin that is clinging to you right now. We will address that later in this chapter.

Run with endurance the race set before us- Guess what that is! The good works race! Yes, God’s desire is to free you up to walk in His power and become a holy moment machine. Satan’s desire is to trip you up in sin and make you stumble through life full of regret, shame, hopelessness, and death. Which do you prefer? Remember Chapter five where you learned about becoming a holy priesthood and dealing with sin along the way? Now it’s time to apply those truths in the spiritual fight you are in. Praise God you do not have to run this race alone or in your own power. Start your day with this statement- I run my race today with endurance because Jesus in me gives me the strength.

We are going to look at some scripture designed to teach you about how to engage the enemy when he comes at you. Oh yes, he’s coming for you, believe that. But, unlike a zombie movie where no matter what you do you are always overwhelmed and devoured, you can choose to  walk in the light as Jesus is in the light. Jesus is THE light of God. This is not a nice, sunshine light, this is a holy, righteous, penetrating powerful proton empowered light whose source is God Himself. This light destroys darkness, and anything lurking in it. Satan and his demons know this power, and they cringe around it and run from it. Satan’s agenda is to have you forget about whose you are, and how the God of the universe abides in you. 

He knows that a frontal assault will be too obvious, as even the youngest believer will cry out to Jesus leading to Satan’s certain defeat. No, the better strategy is to slowly move the Christ follower away from their power source, trip them up in sinful behavior that clings to them and becomes precious to them. In time these repeated sinful behaviors will isolate them and make them think they have lost their place as a holy priesthood. Now all that power and light is hidden away, never experienced, and never to be hoped for again.

What is the cure here? It is so simple most believers who are struggling won’t believe it. Go back to chapter five and go through the steps of confession, repentance, and restoration. Make time to read, study and apply the word to your life. Obey what God tells you in His word, and the thoughts He brings you through His spirit (which will always line up with His word). Look to the people in your life you respect spiritually. Pray as much as you can, talking to God, practicing His presence, choosing His music over yours, His conversation over yours, and his plans over yours. Start small and grow. Choose one thing you’ll surrender to Jesus this week. Replace it with something God would approve, and watch the holy moments start. Trade one hour of media for one hour of bible study, or one hour of service, or one hour of Godly conversation. Be aware of the darkness creeping in, but never be afraid. The light in you is so much more powerful than the darkness around you. That is why seeing and being a holy moment shines the powerful eternal light of life to those around you. Now you are ready to apply these verses and all their power to your life. Remember it is not your power, it is Jesus in you that is the hope of the world.

I heard a preacher say that Satan cowers when you walk in the room because he knows who is with you. Do you believe this? Does it affect how you engage in spiritual warfare?

Peter wrote to a fledgling church family who needed to know how to fight in the spiritual realm. We read in 1 peter 5:8-9.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”

Sober minded- Sober minded people aren’t somber minded people. They laugh, play, love, and joke, but it is all for an eternal purpose, not a selfish one. Sober minded believers don’t get drunk or high, they remain sober. They understand there is something wrong with this sinful world, and many of their friends are suffering in ways they themselves don’t even understand. Having this understanding allows a Christ follower to offer grace and mercy in holy moments to those who need it desperately.

Watchful- This means to be looking out, actively guarding, ready to pounce into action. No fear here, just a watchful eye. Remember who is in control. To be watchful means you don’t get lulled into the world’s idea of right or wrong, cultural or cool. You protect your kids and family, you choose where to go, what to watch, and who to hang out with. Just be watchful. Be aware. Be protective of your heart and those around you. You can be a spiritual covering to others who need it. Encounter life through the filter of the holy spirit in you and ask Him to show you what is right and what is wrong. It also means living out 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

Satan can’t read your thoughts, but he knows you by what you say, what you do, what you watch and where you go. Given all this information he sends a thought designed to ensnare or weaken you. He can’t read your mind, so he waits and observes your response. When a thought comes out of nowhere, take it captive and reject in out loud. Say something like “This thought is not from God, and I reject it in Jesus Name.” The enemy will hear that and flee. Then talk to Jesus and thank him for the truth that replaces the lies Satan sends your way. If you do this each time an ungodly thought tries to land, You will experience less of them as the enemy flees the spirit of God it sees in you.

Your adversary the devil prowls around like a lion- This is your adversary. Not your lousy boss, your nosey neighbor, your hurtful family member, or your current financial or health status. A prowling lion is not roaring or running, it is stalking and cunning. It is looking for weaknesses, moments of moral compromise. It will not pursue you when you are walking in strength, it will wait for you to become weakened spiritually, and then it will pounce.

Knowing that you have an adversary motivates you to stay close to camp. Hunters know to stay close to camp at night. Camp is where the fire is, where your friends are,  it’s where your father is protecting you. Camp is your home, (maybe not, I understand some of you may not have a safe home), your church, your small group, your spiritual family. Choose the people you know will strengthen and protect you and choose to stay close to camp where the lights are.

Resist him, firm in your faith- Yes, you can resist the devil, in fact another verse tells you what will happen when you do.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4:7-8

Submit to God- This is the power move. Satan never sees this coming. He is all about power, independence, and confrontation. I will choose to surrender the fight to Jesus and let Him do the fighting for me. I imagine a big, ugly demon like creature coming at me. Then I look up at a 90-foot Jesus standing next to me. I point to the demon and Jesus bends down, deftly flicking it into eternity with ease. This is the image the devil doesn’t want me to see because he knows it is true! Satan cowers when you walk into the room because he knows who is with you!

Resist the devil and he will flee- Once we are submitting to Jesus in our life, we are able to resist the devil. Remember who is in this fight. To resist means to stop, pull against, say no, step away from, walk away, stop texting, hang up, get out of the car, you get it. When I call on Jesus the devil flees.

Never forget this saying-

Your feet will always take you where your mind has already been.

Every action begins with a thought. It can be a reactionary thought or a responsive thought but a thought always comes before an action. Resisting the devil will happen when you invite Jesus into the battle and bring His thoughts into your mind. When He is front and center and His word is actively working in you, then the devil flees. HE FLEES! He runs, scrambles away, stumbles unsteady because he is exposed to the light of Christ flowing out of you. This is not about you becoming your own strength or speaking something into reality with your ‘power words’. This is you, humbly crying out to Jesus to strike down the enemy you see prowling around in your life. After a while, the enemy will just go elsewhere. He can’t stand it around you! There are too many holy moments around you, and it is painful for the enemy to see.

Fix your eyes upon Jesus.

Hebrews 12:2 gives us a strategy for resisting temptation when it the prowling lion tries to lunge at us.

“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.”

I find that when my eyes are attracted to people and things that make me lust and desire, I respond by quoting this verse, focused on to phrase “looking to Jesus” instead of looking to a person or object to meet my deepest needs. That short, holy moment moves me away from selfish lust and need and into surrender and resistance. The result is that the power of the moment shifts from darkness to light. Light always wins over darkness. 

Now, don’t get all cocky and Jesus-power trippy on me. In your own limited human power, you are totally exposed to the enemy’s attacks. That is why you see so much pain and suffering in the world. People without Jesus have no protection, no hope for victory, no chance to beat their demons. You are a victor because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. Walk in power but walk in humility and dependance.

Here is another lesson from Paul the spiritual drill sergeant to the church taught in Eph 6:10-12.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

Sometimes God will allow, in a very limited and protected manner, the enemy to engage one of His children for the express purpose of training them and growing them in their faith. This doesn’t happen until the Lord determines that the person is willing and able to go through this spiritual training. Many missionaries and pastors know what I’m talking about. When I served full time with FCA, and served as an elder in several churches, I experienced demonic attacks on the people of God and those who were looking to know Jesus. I learned about how to respond and taught others as well. Most believers will not experience these direct attacks from Satan, as they are constantly being protected by the Holy Spirit in them and the angels assigned to them. God does not intend to have us be in spiritual combat every day, that would cause us spiritual PTSD, which is a real thing. He will pull the curtain back from time to time and invite us to apply the word of God and the spirit of God so we can see firsthand that He is enough for our moments. God is in total control of spiritual warfare when we are walking in obedience and submission to His will for us. 

 The best book I ever studied on spiritual warfare is still to this day the moist biblical comprehensive study on how to walk free from bondage. It is called “Bondage Breaker’ by

Neil Anderson. Please buy a copy and go through the steps to freedom in the back of the book. You will be trained to respond with the truth of God in every spiritual battle and you will see the truth of God beat Satan every time.

Here is how to respond to a direct attack from the enemy.

1.     Never talk to the enemy; that was Adam and Eves’ mistake. When the enemy sends a frontal assault like a missile at you, hold up your shield of faith and speak the word of God out loud as a rebuke to the enemy. Once you speak the word of God, rebuke the enemy. Speak the truth of the word out loud. Read the scriptures that address the issue. Call a trusted friend to pray with you and read scriptures as well.

2.     Name the issue you feel overwhelmed by. Fear, anger, lust, bitterness, slander, guild, condemnation, name it right now. Take away the enemy’s perceived power by saying out loud, “You have no claim over this issue in my life. Your lies are no longer believed.”

3.      Maybe you can make a statement like this out loud. I have done this many times when Satan has been bold enough to accuse me and attack me in the moment. I will say something like this.

“You are a liar, and I reject your lies in Jesus’ name. Go back to hell where you belong. You have no power here with Jesus Christ. He defeated you at the cross and you have no authority over me.”

4.     Once you have rebuked the enemy, talk to Jesus. Thank Him for being with you, praise Him for your victory, recognize His light has penetrated the darkness and destroyed the attacker. Spend time in worship, singing, praying, whatever you like. The battle is over, the enemy is defeated. Your 90-foot Jesus just took the enemy out!

Like I said, this type of frontal attack is rare for believers, and usually limited to what God allows since Satan is under His control. That is, unless the believer is moving away from truth and towards sin. If we leave behind our knowledge of Jesus and His word, and resist His spirit in us, then we invite the enemy to prowl and stalk us. I am not referring to the daily slips we all experience, like a short word, a lustful thought, a prideful statement, an accusing moment, or a slander we want to take back as soon as we say it. These are the struggles we all experience this side of heaven.

John says it like this in 1 John 1:8-10.

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

A Christ follower gets in trouble spiritually when they knowingly plan to sin, enjoy the sin, work to cover it up, and plan to do it again. Consequences always follow actions. When a Christian begins to embrace sin, that can lead them into spiritual bondage and open them to spiritual attack. Victory is just a moment away as verse 9 says.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Boom! Satan loses, Jesus wins, and you are free. The enemy will try to tell you lies like you aren’t forgiven, you are still a slave, and God has forsaken you. That is when you turn back to the truth of the word, read it out loud, rebuke the enemy and claim your victory.

Don’t be afraid here, Jesus loves you, lives in you, and will never leave you. Even if you feel you are under spiritual attack, Jesus is your constant protector. You are safe in His arms. Sleep well.

You are stronger when you fight together.

Satan’s game plan is simple. Isolate, persecute, desolate, kill. This is his plan for you and your believer family. Remember John 1:18 and John 16:33

“All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:18.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”” John 16:33.

God designed us to live in community. It is in community where we find strength and can be strength for each other as we live together in harmony and love. Ecclesiastes speaks to this strength in 4:9-10.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

The third person here is Jesus. We often use this verse in marriage situations, but it is just as powerful in godly friendships. Satan wants to isolate us so he can spread his lies to us when we are most vulnerable. There have been many times when I was suffering alone when somebody became a holy moment to me by sending me a bible verse or calling to say that they felt the need to connect with me. Don’t blow off those holy moments Jesus is sending you. You need them more that you currently understand. This whole book is dependent on our commitment to see and be holy moments to those around us. When we reach out to others, God is glorified, and Satan is defeated. Find a good man if you’re a man and a good woman if you’re a woman. Commit to walk life together in Jesus’ name. Find ways to grow together, serve together, play together, laugh together, cry together hurt together, heal together. God is into together; He knows what it is like to experience eternity together as the Trinity. Jesus is your common ground, and that is all you need in order to become an overcomer in your world.

Now you are ready to do spiritual battle on God’s terms. Satan is a liar and he wants us all to think that we are paupers when he knows himself we are children of the king. Study up on spiritual warfare using Neil Anderson’s book “Bondage Breaker”, but don’t become consumed over spiritual warfare. We aren’t designed to be in battle all the time. Battles are happening on our behalf in the spiritual realm, but God doesn’t expose us to a constant barrage of attacks and offensive warfare in the physical realm. We are protected by the Holy Spirit and the attending angels given to us. This allows us to live life daily in relative peace and safety.  Unfortunately, your friends who don’t have Jesus are in danger from spiritual warfare. Pray for their protection and pray for their desire to know Jesus and be freed from the enemy’s attacks.

Jesus wins every time!

Oh, and one more thing…..

“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.”

 Romans 1:16-21

Holy moments happen when God’s presence achieves God’s purposes for God’s glory and man’s benefit. Occasionally a spiritual battle will manifest itself in the physical realm. There are spiritual laws and spiritual weapons that aid us in this battle. We are protected daily by the spirit of God and the Angels of God. Most people around you are not. How can you overcome evil daily? By doing good! Remember Ephesians 2:10. Start looking for ways to do good.

I complimented my pharmacist for the first time since I’ve known her. The spirit nudged me, and I stepped up to the holy moment. She was working on multiple orders and so engrossed she didn’t notice me. My flesh wanted to rudely clear my throat, but my spirit won this time. When she turned to me, I said “I am amazed by how you take care of all the details for distributing these prescriptions. I would never be able to handle all those different orders.” She lit up like a candle, and even blushed a little. I could tell Jesus had given her a much-needed drink of spiritual water from His reservoir in me. His presence, His purpose, His glory, her benefit. Whatever evil the enemy had planned for her flew out the window when Jesus showed up!!

This is the frontal love assault the enemy doesn’t want us to practice. If we all committed to overcoming evil with good, we would think of ways to encourage those around us, rescue those who are in need, give the 20-dollar bill to the person who needs it, show up and serve the hungry, or travel oversees to encourage the international church. Whatever and wherever you go, go as you are called, go as you are able, and go in total faith that Jesus is sending you. Each of us can overcome evil with good every day of our life if we seek it in Jesus’ name.

Remember that the holy moment comes from Jesus and is empowered by His spirit in you.

Remember that the enemy is always prowling around, looking for a place to attack.

Remember that your spiritual struggle is permitted by God in order to make you stronger.

Remember the process of responding to a spiritual attack.

Remember the 90-foot Jesus you have access to all the time.

Remember the truth of the word empowered by the spirit of God always wins.

Remember to always walk with another believer so you are never isolated.

Did I say remember enough? That’s because a subtle strategy of the enemy is to wait for the world to wear us down until we stop doing our devotionals, our daily prayers, stop asking to be and see a holy moment, and stop experiencing the presence of God in us. We forget all that we possess and start acting like practical humanists. All the power of the creator of the universe lives in you. He is available to you in a moment, a holy moment. Walk into the next moment aware of all this, and never forget whose you are. Look, I see a holy moment coming!