Loved one in Christ
Jesus, I believe you are growing in the strength of the Lord. This is lesson
fourteen on my teachings, the divine principles of spiritual warfare. Kindly read the previous lessons for more
profound revelations.
Sometimes our Heavenly
Father will prevent us from accessing certain realms because He wants to train
us. When you are praying for something, and your prayer request remains unanswered,
don’t give a place to the devil to use the delay to destroy your faith because
the Holy Spirit wants you to build the seed of temperance in your heart in this
season.
God has several ways of
answering our prayers. The way you expect God to answer your prayers may be
different from His expectation. Sometimes God delays our prayer request because
He wants us to build a strong relationship with the Holy Spirit.
When you don’t know what
to do in life, relax and ask yourself why I’m not getting my heart desire
(Meditate on Psalm 37:4). It might be that you have not reached the status of
God’s expectation. It may also be that you are ignorant of some spiritual laws
that activate the hands of God in your life (Meditate on Luke 11:1-13).
Some people have served
God and the church for many years, yet they remain the same. Some have given up
in their Christian life because they think God does not care about them. It is
a great mistake to give up on God and the church because God works with laws.
If you lack the
spiritual knowledge that governs the systems of God, you may think God hates
you. You must align yourself with God's principles to enable you to connect
with Him. You can pray for several days, weeks, months and years and still not
receive an answer from God if you are ignorant of God's principles.
You can be the most
religious person in the church, community and workplace and never connect with
the seed of God if you lack the key that opens the gates of Heaven. Christ
Jesus would never have given Heaven's kingdom keys to Apostle Peter if Peter did
not connect with the Heavenly Father’s mind.
I believe Christ Jesus
would have given the kingdom keys to any of the disciples if any of them could
connect with the Heavenly Father's mind when He asked His disciples about His
identity.
Christ Jesus chose twelve
disciples to train in the ministry. Within the twelve disciples, Christ chose
three (Peter, John and James) as the closest disciples. You might think Christ
Jesus was partial, but there was a reason behind His decision.
Everything Christ Jesus
did when He walked on earth had a spiritual meaning. Apostle John was the
rarest and youngest man among the twelve disciples who had several visions,
revelations, and encounters of Christ Jesus.
Apostle John was the
disciple the Holy Scriptures declared Jesus loved the most. Some Bible
Scholar's and theologians record in the books (church history) that Apostle
John is the only disciple of Christ Jesus disciples (first century Christians)
that died naturally of which the Holy Scripture affirms.
The Jews and Romans,
under the leadership of Domitian, tried killing Apostle John in boiling oil,
but they failed. They exiled Apostle John in the land of Patmos after several
attempts to kill him. Apostle John received the revelations (visions and
encounters recorded in the Holy Scriptures as the book of Revelation in the
island of Patmos).
John knew some
revelation about Christ Jesus and did something the other disciples were
ignorant of. Within the Christ Jesus apostles, Peter performed great miracles
than all. Paul, who never walked with Christ Jesus when Jesus walked on earth
as a man, did tremendous works in the church.
If you check these
apostles' spiritual background, each vessel knew something the others did not
know. They practiced specific spiritual laws other disciples did not practice,
and these laws opened a portal for them to access particular realms of God.
In Robert Liardon’s
book, God Generals, each vessel God used did something incredible in the
kingdom. Some ministers could perform extraordinary miracles and revivals.
Others did great evangelism and won tremendous souls into God's kingdom on
earth (the church).
Some people were known
for notable signs and wonders. Some ministers possessed inspired knowledge,
unstoppable faith, and wisdom. Each vessel carried special gifts, anointing,
and divine power.
If you read from their
background, each of them practiced specific spiritual laws that opened the door
for the Holy Spirit to operate in them through that dimension. So, if you are
ignorant of the system that governs the enemy’s kingdom, you become his prey.
You must study the
Words of Christ Jesus and how He taught us to deal with the enemy. The Words of
Christ Jesus are the most powerful words one can ever hear or read in life.
In Matthew chapter ten,
verses sixteen, Christ Jesus gave us some special wisdom keys on living and
dealing with enemies. These wisdom keys enumerate some principles we can use in
spiritual warfare.
Behold, I send you
forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and
harmless as doves.
Matthew
10:16 KJV
How to live like a sheep in the enemy’s territory
Christ Jesus describes
us (Christian believers) as sheep. This means every Christian believer must
learn and imitate the positive side (personality) of the Sheep. As Christian
believers, we must walk in humility because sheep are humble animals.
Most often, enemies
ignore humble people because they assume or believe humble people are weak. It
is divine wisdom to live in humility when you are living in a hostile
environment and with enemies.
Living in pride creates
an invisible path for the enemy to issue his attacks on you and your family. In
James chapter four, verses six, Apostle James writes that God gives grace to
the humble, but he resists the proud, which means you become an enemy to God
when you live in pride.
God cannot protect you
from the enemy’s attack when the spirit of pride lives with you and in you. Pride
is an invisible weapon of the enemy that makes you vulnerable to the enemy’s
attack. When you live in pride, no one will be willing to help you.
You can read my
articles, The Seven levels of Pride
and How Pride works for a more
profound revelation. Christ Jesus expects us to live as sheep because it is
meek. I have never seen a troublesome sheep in my life before. Sheep are
intelligent animals. If you want to protect yourself from the enemy's attack, do
nothing that will authorize the enemy’s attack because a sheep will not harm
its enemy.
The enemy always looks
for a loophole in our life. Like a crime investigator, before he sends the
military (police or soldier) to attack or lock a suspect in prison, he gathers tangible
evidence. The investigator has studied criminology for a long time, so he knows
how and when to issue a legal warrant for the culprit arrest.
That is how the enemy
attacks; the enemy will never attack you until he has a piece of spiritual or
physical evidence. The enemy operates with spiritual laws. The moment he sees
the garment of pride on you, he gets the chance to attack you. Ask yourself,
why didn’t satan attack Job until God permitted him?
Christ Jesus knows the danger of pride, so He is commanding us to live like sheep. Do you know that sheep are intelligent than many animals living on earth? If you want the enemy to distance himself from you, exhibit the positive traits of the sheep.
The
nature of the enemy in a wolverine garment
Christ Jesus compared
our enemies with wolves because they are harmful creatures. Never in your life think
that your innocence will permanently send your enemies away from you. Living in
humility and peace may reduce the enemy’s attack (hatred, jealousy, and anger)
on you.
The enemy will do anything
in his power to attack you irrespective of your innocence. In my book, How to Live and Deal with Enemies, I
have explained the seven types of enemies and how you can deal with them.
I can also classify
wolves as spiritual enemies that work day and night to destroy and kill God’s
children. Our enemies do not carry the heart of human beings. These wolves have
no mercy in their heart. All they know is destruction and doom.
This is one reason we
cannot classify these animals as domestic. Domestic animals most often are
friendly. Animals such as dogs and cats have some emotions. They can relate to
human emotions, but wolves don't understand human beings.
Their nature prevents
them from associating with human beings. It takes intensive training to help
these animals connect with the race of humankind. Child of God, be conscious
that the enemy can sometimes attack you without you offending him.
You must always pray
for God’s protection and live in wisdom because these invisible wolves can
attack you unprepared. Dominate the spiritual realm by declaring and professing
God’s promises recorded in the Holy Scriptures.
When you declare,
decree and profess the promises of God, you create a spiritual atmosphere. This atmosphere will hinder these wolves
(witches, wizards, Satanists, and vicious occult groups) from attacking you in
the spirit.
How to live like a serpent in the enemy’s territory
Christ Jesus commanded
us to be wise as serpents. Aside from serpents being dangerous and poisonous
animals, we can learn something from them because our Saviour and Lord Jesus
commanded us to imitate their positive traits. One wisdom key of serpents is
that they are discreet.
It is believed that
serpents can live with humans for many days, weeks, months and years without
recognition. You must also note that these animals (serpents) are our enemies.
If these dangerous animals can live with us without our notice, we can also live
with our enemies and prevent them from noticing us.
It is unwise to make
the enemy predict you. If the enemy can predict you, then you are a slice of
meat in their hands. It takes wisdom to live with some enemies. If you want to
live with the enemy without him or her attacking you, apply wisdom when dealing
with him.
Study the enemy. Know his
character, what he likes and dislikes in life. You must know almost everything
about your enemy. When you know everything about your enemy, you will know how
to protect yourself. If you know the condition of your heart, the enemy cannot
harm you.
Like the serpent, it
knows the likes and dislikes of humankind. It knows when the man sleep, wakes
up and goes to work, so it will never do anything to distract the man. That is
how Christ Jesus expects us to live when the enemy is within our jurisdiction.
It is said that if you
want to destroy the enemy, become his friend. I recommend you read this book, Know Your Enemies, Watch Your Friends. I
read this book occasionally for more wisdom. Get your copy and read for more
wisdom.
You can also get this
book, What It Means to be Wise as a
Serpent, for more wisdom keys. Our Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus did
something incredible amid His enemies.
…Jesus walked in
Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.
John
7:1 KJV
Christ Jesus did not walk
openly in Judea because some sect of Jews conspired to kill Him. Most of the
Jews hated Christ Jesus because of His doctrine. They desired to murder Christ
Jesus because He declared Himself as equal with God Almighty through His
teachings.
Christ Jesus knew He
would die to save humankind from the bondage of sin and satan. Jesus did not
want to die before His time, so He applied wisdom when He encountered His
enemies. Christ exhibited the wisdom of the serpent.
Jesus did not evangelize
in His enemy’s stronghold. The fact that God has called you to evangelize does
not mean you should preach in a hostile environment. Walking in faith without
the wisdom of the Holy Spirit is deadly.
You can enter the
enemy’s territory if the Holy Spirit leads you because He knows how to protect
you. You must also recognize that it is dangerous to step into a field
surrounded by your enemies who desire your untimely death. Stepping into such
an area is foolishness.
If you die in such an
environment, you died out of ignorance. Don’t live in a group (school, house,
workplace, and community) of people who has a strong desire to kill you. If you
discern in the Spirit that the enemies surrounding you have conspired to kill
you, vacate from such place.
You can pray for wisdom
on how to live with the enemy if you cannot afford to vacate that place for a
reasonable reason. When it comes to enemies who want you dead at all cost,
apply the wisdom of Christ Jesus. Flee for your life! (See John 8:59; 10:39-40,
Luke 4:16-30).
When you find out that
your enemies have discovered you in the community, job, school, and business,
flee like the serpent when it sees that human beings have found it. Remember
the words of Christ Jesus, be ye,
therefore, wise as serpents.
How to live like a dove within the enemy’s territory
Christ Jesus commanded
us to be as harmless as doves when living among enemies. A dove is a symbol of
the Holy Spirit. A dove stands for purity, holiness, wisdom, power, and
righteousness. Child of God, some enemies will never bow to you until they see
the seal of holiness on your garment.
If you are not born
again, you are an automatic candidate of the enemy. The minions of the devil
can attack you from any angle in life if you are living in sin. This is one reason; the god of this
world (Satan) has blinded the unbeliever's mind with worldly pleasure, the lust
of the flesh and mind (See 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, 1 Corinthians 2:12-14). These
people do not know that sin rewards death (See Romans 6:23).
One vital reason people
die young in our generation is because of willful and consistent sin. The more
you open the door for sin to dominate you, the faster the spirit of death
dominates you. If you want the enemy to isolate himself from you, submit to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Creating a strong and
consistent fellowship and relationship with the Holy Spirit will create an
unbreakable magnetic force that will repel the enemy from you. The angels of
God will always encamp around you when you live in the reverential fear of God
(See Psalm 34:7). When these angels encamp around you, the enemy will not draw
closer to you in the spiritual realm.
To be continued…
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