Overcoming the Don Quixote Spirit: Waging the Right War with the Right Weapons
By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe
Ephesians 6:10-17 (NKJV)
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
“Therefore take up the whole armor of God,that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Paul expresses two important principles in the above
passage:
1. Our enemy is spiritual rather than flesh and
blood.
2. Therefore,
to win the battles, we must fight with spiritual armor and spiritual weapons.
The fiery dart most often used against us is fear. It was
the fear that God was not honest in His relationship with man that compelled
first the woman and then the man to eat of the tree that brought death rather
than life. It is fear that God is not
going to provide for us that drives us to vote for governmental programs that
promise to meet our needs but, in reality, both fail to meet those needs and
simply exacerbate our fear. It is that
same fear that provokes its victims to lie, steal and cheat. It is fear that lifestyles might be
inconvenienced that prompt some to take the lives of preborn children. It is fear of loneliness, rejection and lack
that cause many to engage in relationships and lifestyles that are far from
ideal.
Likewise, the global stage is one fraught with fear
centered in the Middle East and purposed on the destruction of the people of
God. The first empire to be established
in that area was the Hittite Empire. The
Hittites are descendents of Heth, the son of Canaan who was the son of Ham (Genesis 10).
Canaan means “shame.” Heth means
great fear or terror. The Hittite empire
was built on shame and terror. That
terrorist spirit is still in operation in the area.
While we need physical armies engaged in combat to
protect lives and land from the terror of ISIS, we also must engage in
spiritual combat over that fear and other fears as well. Scripture tells us that the just shall live
by faith not by fear (Romans 1:17).
“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 NKJV). Faith in the
promises of God is a shield.
▪ Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV) “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you
have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake
you."
▪
Philippians 4:19 (NKJV) “And my God shall supply all your need
according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
We are to gird our waists with truth. In the armor of the Roman soldier, all the
smaller hand weapons hung from the belt.
We fight a winning battle when our weapons are girded with truth. Our
plumb line for truth must always be the word of God.
Our spiritual vital organs are protected by the
breastplate of righteousness just as the vital organs of the Roman soldier were
protected by his breastplate. Righteousness is thinking the right thoughts,
making the right decisions and doing the right things.
We are to walk in the gospel of the peace of God, the
peace that is not as the world gives. “Peace I leave with
you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not
your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27 NKJV).
Rick Joyner of Morningstar Ministries has written, “One
of the most powerful spiritual weapons that have been given to God’s people is
peace. We may think that peace is not a weapon, but it is such a weapon. Paul
did not write that it was the Lord of hosts, or the Lord of armies, who would
rush the enemy, but that “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your
feet” (Romans 16:20),
God’s peace indeed passes all understanding (Philippians
4:7).
The helmet of salvation is a protection for our
minds. The word translated as salvation
means “deliverance, health and safety.”
Salvation is more than being saved to eternity with the Lord. It is protection in this life a well. Our thoughts must rest on the power of God to
protect us, not necessarily from, but through the trials of this life.
Christians, lay down the rusty armor of the past, stop
riding that worn out nag, and throw that broken spear into the dumpster. Put on His armor and go forth to do battle in
the strength of the Lord’s authority and promises.
Fear Not Little Flock by Paul Rader
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Fear not, little flock, from the
cross to the throne,
From death into life He went for His own; All power in earth, all power above, Is given to Him for the flock of His love.
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