Dear Partners and Friends,
Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
—Ephesians 6:16
Many people try to fight the devil with their carnal ideas. That’s like fighting a rabid wolf and trying to hold it off with a bloody piece of steak. Instead, the Word of God must be used.
The shield of faith allows you to withstand the fiery darts of the enemy, which are your thoughts, persuasions, and offenses. If you’re letting offenses or strife in, you are participating with the accuser of the brethren. You’re allowing the fiery darts of the enemy to get past your shield of faith, which is the Word of God. You wonder why there’s chaos in your life, why you don’t feel right. It’s because you are in spiritual warfare.
Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.
—2 Corinthians 10:5
Take every thought captive with the shield of faith, and it will stop the fiery darts of the enemy with the authority of Jesus Christ. Be ready to punish every disobedient thought that does not line up with God’s Word. You can talk to your brain and emotions and say, “I’m not letting offense get me. Nope. I will not be an agent for the kingdom of darkness. I will not be an accuser of the brethren. I will not allow unresolved issues to penetrate my mind.” It is vital to wash your mind with the Word of God.
Become Re-sensitized to the Holy Spirit
Many are in deep need of becoming re-sensitized to the Holy Spirit because they have been traumatized by religion. Extended times of worship and prayer are necessary for this to occur.
In my younger years, I led and participated in extended times of worship and prayer. We would worship for hours. As a youth pastor many years ago, my entire focus was to introduce young people to the presence of God. A saying we often used, and still do today, goes like this: “Five minutes in the presence of God can do more than five years of therapy.” Presence-based living creates power-based children. It was true then, and it is true today! Being in a culture of worship and the presence of God causes individuals to live differently. An awareness of who God is and the weight of His glory profoundly affects the human experience. It makes alterations that cannot be completed any other way.
Return to the Foundation
We live in a culture where the generals of the faith and many historical biblical heroes are largely forgotten. I’m reminded of Exodus 1:8, which speaks of a new king who came into power “who did not know Joseph.” Even though this great man of God rescued the people and helped them become a strong nation, they had no memory of him. If we don’t understand something’s foundation or how it was established, we are likely to disrespect or disregard it.
The absence of discipline, guidance, heroes, and the presence of God regularly causes an internal fight that brings insecurity and confusion. What are we to do to answer this fight, both within ourselves and in others? We need to cultivate an encounter with God! That’s the prescription.
Humanity was not created to solve these issues. No process in the human experience solves internal or external problems without substances, relationship crutches, the pursuit of money, or all the familiar “go-tos.”
An encounter with God is desperately needed, and it only comes through those who have been with Him. An amazing thing happens when the fight inside is answered. The peace that passes understanding will rise (see Philippians 4:7), confusion will leave, and joy will grow in place of your former experience. It must be said that the human experience is not a God experience! To experience this peace, you must flood your mind and emotions with His Word, increase worship, and enter God’s presence. Suppose an individual is not reading the Bible, praying, or spending time in worship and fellowship with God. In that case, they shouldn’t be surprised when they are depressed, cast down, sick, fearful, broken, confused, and all the other sad issues that so many are subjected to without His protection. Only God can answer the fight inside, but to encounter God, there must be exposure to His presence and His people. Prayer and intercession are a direct result of those who know the presence of God.
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
—James 5:16-18
James 5:16-18 says we should pray with intentional power, working in prayer until we receive a release or see a breakthrough. We should be aggressive in prayer and speak boldly when necessary!
Jesus Intercedes For Us
Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
—Hebrews 7:25
Jesus is our great intercessor. When the devil shows up to accuse the brethren, he runs into our big Brother—the Firstborn among many brethren, the Son of God, the First and Last who was and is to come, the Prince of Peace, the King of Glory, and the Righteousness of God. He is seated at the right hand of God. So when the devil shows up to accuse a believer he may have walked in, but he will be limping back!
If the devil accuses you, he is accusing Jesus. As He is, so are we in this world (see 1 John 4:17). Jesus Christ is Lord. If you’re in Him and His Word abides in you when the devil accuses, it’s like he’s accusing the Son of God to the Father, and neither will hear it.
Remember that Jesus intercedes for you, and on a bad day, you’re anointed to be the best there is! Partners, thank you so much for making our mission of reaching a million for a billion possible!
For Jesus,
Joseph Z
