Scripture: Ephesians 6 v 11 - 18: "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"
Paul instructed Timothy to be a strong soldier when he fights the good fight, the battle between good and evil. We are all in this battle whether we choose it or not. How we win is determined by how engage ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and His enemies.
Most people have a head in the sand approach to the raging battles, much of the time because the Lord says, My people perish for lack of knowledge! Because they don't know, and even don't want to know, what to do about it.
If you have followed Prophetic Fire blog for a while, you can no longer claim ignorance or indifference to the forces of darkness that are growing stronger and bolder because they meet zero resistance. While people remain passive and pass the buck to the pastors and counsellors, the enemy gains ground.
Satan loves to be overlooked as a factor in the troubles of this world. He has stealthily over centuries invaded the church. From the early church has come over 33000 different denominations, sects, groups, and religious organisations. An atheist once asked me about this. God gave me a fast and smart answer, every division in the Church has come from that which man has added to His Word, or subtracted from His Word! It shut him up and amazed me because it was absolute truth.
One of the areas the Lord gave me as an objective about forty years ago was to bring unity to the church. Only He knows if all He has blessed me with is making a difference. These blogs are to firstly eliminate ignorance and secondly to motivate Christians to actively control their spiritual environment.
We are equipped by the Holy Spirit for battle when we put on the whole armour of God. Just having a shield or a sword is not good enough. We need the helmet to protect our minds, which are so easily influenced by the enemy. He had our minds in his grubby paws before we met Jesus, and we need to renew our minds to Jesus through reading and doing what the Bible says about everything.
Whatever your denomination has added or subtracted from the Word of God, find it and fix it in your life. And spread the truth of it to whoever will listen. Not to make more division but to start a move towards the unity Jesus needs in His Body. Does your church baptise or Christen babies? Search the Bible and count how many babies got immersed in water and get in line with the truth.
The origin of sprinkling water on the baby's head is a pagan ritual from Baal worship! Babies were sacrificed to him by fire but before they were thrown into that monster mouth they were named and sprinkled with water on their heads. The sneaky devil has kept this evil alive till now. He hates true baptism with a passion as it separates Christians from his world. So let's fight against the traditions of the church that are not truth, not Biblical, not right at all.
Mark 7 v 6 - 9: "He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition."
These words of Jesus are saying if you keep following the doctrines of man you are worshipping Him in vain. He counts you as a hypocrite because you reject the commandment of God. This is very serious because you do not want to hear Jesus say on the day of judgment, "I never knew you".
As an Intercessor my duty is to warn people of danger. We are those who stand on the outer walls of the city watching for enemy activity, to prepare the citizens to actively fight against whatever is coming in. Over the past fifty years its been like a tsunami and trying to hold it back with cotton wool.
The church has compromised its position as the bastion of righteousness in every way possible. The doctrines of man have swamped over the pure Word of God, laws of man have superseded that which God forbids, the passive acceptance by many churches of politically correct perspectives, is now in control in most of the world. The lone voices of those trying to rectify matters is countered with, Judgmental Attitude, ignore!
The Breastplate of Righteousness only works when the person trusting in it is doing, believing, upholding and proclaiming righteousness! Audit your spiritual life and measure it against the right standing of the first disciples of Jesus. In Acts 5, two apostles, Ananias and Sapphira, man and wife, died by the word of Peter, for lying to the Holy Ghost about what they were giving to the ministry. Truth is a life or death matter to God.
However, the church takes no notice of its own hypocrisy and many rely on supergrace to cover their many sins. Those who preach it and those who believe it will stand before God shattered when He says, your name is not written in the Lambs Book of Life, and you are eternally separated from God. Depart from Heaven for the unquenchable fire.
Our God has equipped us to fight against evil, but when good people keep silent, the battle is lost. We pray for revival thinking that will solve everything but we remain passive and pew-sitting while the church burns. Our God is looking for life in us, all of us, to get a spark for the needed revival. He is searching to see how many really want Him, and although there are big churches with large congregations, most are compromised by false doctrines.
He has given us spiritual weapons to help us be victorious. 2 Corinthians 10 v 3 - 6: " For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled."
Our weapons are mighty and can pull down strongholds! How do we do this?
Cast down imaginations..... this is where the enemy sows his evil seeds, including that high and lofty mind that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. We must not just be passive about whoever is bringing false information, we must respond in binding that demon, rebuking its influence and lies, and casting it back to Hell. Then speaking out about the truth about Jesus. Cover those lies and false teachings with the Blood of Jesus, and teach the true word.
We are like ducks in thousands of ponds doing our own thing. When the rain of revival falls it will create one huge lake. Will we be fighting for status, wealth, position, fame, pride and our particular version of the gospel? The Holy Spirit will be quenched by divisions and disagreements over commas in the original manuscript. Only those who are walking in the power of the Holy Spirit will come through it. We need to start now, we are a thousand years behind where we should all be.
One of our spiritual weapons is a readiness to revenge all disobedience, after we get our own selves in order. Paul says we must take revenge on all disobedience. It's tough because people are so sensitive and react negatively to criticism, judgment and opposition to their cherished beliefs. No matter that what you are saying is true, they are offended.
One man who came for ministry for some serious sexual problems got offended with me before we got to page one because I had on my bookshelf a novel that may or may not have had something sexual in it. He refused ministry on the grounds that I may have been falsely influenced. He ran out the door and never came back. He did not want to be set free and I could not force him. Another man who was a karate expert, and out of him many demons were manifesting as he lashed out with feet and hands, refused further ministry as he wanted to be a ninja. Never saw him again either.
We have seen many victories, and quite a few like those above. We are not judges but we must assess each battle and be prepared for anything. I want to encourage you to get serious with what God is doing to bring the church into unity of the Holy Spirit. Pray for guidance and trust Him to know what He needs you to do.
Time is getting shorter, the signs of Jesus' return increase daily. In Vancouver this week dozens are dying in a terrible unprecedented heatwave. Here in Johannesburg, South Africa, mid winter temperature today is 23C. That's hot for this time of year 6000ft above sea level. Let's realise that if we are not fighting the good fight, just waiting for the enemy to strike us, we are in imminent danger.
We can and must do what Jesus expects of us. We must be overcomers, we must walk in His footsteps, we must speak His Word to the lost, we must pray without ceasing, love one another, stop living the high life throwing caution to the wind.
The pandemic is a huge wake up call. People are dying untimely deaths. Young, fit people are falling ill and not recovering. Reach out wherever possible to bring Jesus into their lives while you can.
Jesus loves you, you are part of His Body, do not become a paralysed limb that gets amputated. Make a difference in your life today, make a plan with Jesus to do whatever you can to bring Light, blessing, love and truth to family, friends, neighbours, strangers, knowing that this will please Him.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, the burden on my heart for people I love who are in danger, plus those I don't yet know, is very heavy. The way to wisdom is the fear of the Lord, the fear of what can happen if we are not serious about You. I pray for everyone everywhere to be convicted of sin, righteousness and judgment until they find the narrow way that leads to life. In Jesus' name. Amen.