PART 8C
THE STAFF AND SWORD MINISTRY
September 9, 2012
MANIFESTING CHRIST A CLOSER WALK WITH JESUS
STAYING THE COURSE by Nancy-TGNI Youngbrandt
In every believers life and walk in Christ, there are peaks and valleys, times of great closeness with God and times when we walk through the dark valley of the shadow of death. There are times when we feel the blessings of God's Hand upon our lives, and then there are ti mes when things seem to go wrong, break down, or just plain go awry. Since last year, the prayer warriors and intercessors of the Net of Prayer (the prayer warfare organization part of this ministry), have been battling the demonic forces of Lucifer and the Beast-man of anti-Christ. Some of these demons are in this world already, while others are working to come through the Gap from deep in the spirit realm into this world, to affect things here directly. At first the warfare was farther removed from many of our prayer warriors, but as ti me goes on. more and more are beginning to feel it in their daily lives. For months now, the enemy of our souls has been throwing what I think of as `flak and turbulence' when and where they can. What do I mean by that? Well, ifyou've ever watched a movie or documentary about World War II, you'll see footage of our Air Force bomber planes being sent into enemy territory to bomb key targets in major populated areas. In those cases, the nearer they got to their targets, the more the enemy would fire up flak' into the air to cause trouble for our guys. The flak' were small explosive rounds, designed to shake and rock the airplanes. and shoot bits of metal and debris through the air, often ripping into the engines, wings, and other parts ofthe airplanes, not to mention the men within them. The enemy was firing this stuff up in the air in hopes of at least crippling, and at the worst, bringing the planes down, before they could reach their targets and drop their bombs. For us today, the enemy of our souls is doing the same thing: seeking to trouble us, to slow us down, to distract us, and cause us to give up, turn and run. They would destroy us if they could, but they can't _ However, that doesn't mean they won't try. To do this, they are hitting whatever weak areas are in us or in our lives when and where they can. They will move through weak vessels such as family members or friends to get at us. If that doesn't
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STAYING THE COURSE September 4, 2012 MANIFESTING CHRIST—STAYING
work, they'll do something to get us to turn on ourselves, to get us to condemn ourselves, giving the enemy more power in our lives. They will use whatever they can to divide us or get us to separate ourselves from the Body of Christ and the Net of Prayer. They won't succeed by attacking the whole Net of Prayer, but if we leave or go off and do our own thing, this will effectively put us out in the open, and again, they'll have a greater opportunity to trouble us. Therefore, I am led to encourage you all to be aware of what the enemy is up to and to hang in there, and stay the course, as they say. Ride out this current time with your heart focused on Christ and pressing onward in prayer warfare. Likewise, be sure to be vigilant to do some spiritual housecleaning of your own, if necessary. Just remember: What the enemy means for harm and bad purposes, God can use for good. Let this time serve to strengthen your walk in faith. As it says in Hebrews 12:1 -
"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sit? which loth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
TWO ASPECTS TO DEALING WITH TROUBLES When we've been hit with troubles, persecutions, or difficulties, there are two basic aspects that I see need to be Iooked at. One is our inner response, our inner disposition to what has happened and how we react to it. The second is what we can do about it in prayer and spiritual warfare. When is something we are going through part of being a Christian and therefore a Cross we must bear, and what is it something that is within our authority in Christ to deal with directly? This is the question I'd like to explore. For example, in 1 Peter 4:12-14 it tells us: "Beloved, think it not strange concerning
the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ 's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the naive of Christ, happy are ye; iJr the spirit ofglor y and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified " But then in the next chapter Peter tells us, "Be sober, he vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom lie may devour. " (I Peter 5:8) Here we see that there is a time to take up our cross and partake in Christ's sufferings, but then there is also a time to take up the Sword of the Spirit against the enemy of our souls, for the Devil is certainly on the prowl. The simplest explanation of when to be a lamb of
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MANIFESTING CHRIST — STAYING THE COURSE September 9, 2012
TWO ASPECTS TO DEALING WITH TROUBLES continued God and when to a lion of God can be seen in these two different passages of Scripture. First let's look at Colossians 3:12 -15: "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies,
kindness, humbleness ofmind meekness, longsuffer ing; For hearing one another, and forgiving one another, i'an v man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also clove. And above all these things put on charity (love), which is the bond of per fectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body : and be ye thankful. " This speaks to me that this is how we are to be with and towards one another - fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. With each other, we are to be gentle, kind, loving and forgiving as a lamb. However, to the enemy of our souls, we are to show our other side: our inner lion of Judah.
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye ma y be able to stand against the wile of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the ruler of (darkness of this t.vorld, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 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. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with p r eparation of the gospel of peace, Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take on the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: " And then in verse 18 comes the message of this article - "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication . for all saints. " Persevering ... standing your ground .... staying the course ... this is the time we are in.
HOW TO PRAY There was a lot more I originally planned to go into but as I am writing this, the leading is to make this article short and to the point. So, if you are having any trouble in your life, here are some suggestions in how to approach them in prayer.
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MANIFESTING CHRIST — STAYING THE COURSE September- 9, 2012
HOW TO PRAY continued 1.) First, start by getting yourself right with God. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 7:1
cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting —". holiness in the . fear of God. " let us
So, pray and repent of any sin in yourself and in your life, putting it all under the Blood of Jesus Christ. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you any areas that you may need to pray and repent about specifically, acid then do so. This will remove any grounds or opportunity the enemy may have against you.
"Subunit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw night to you. Cleanse you hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. " (James 4:7-8) 2.) Pray to put on the whole armor of God. 3.) If you are having trouble in your home or on your property, you can pray to plead the Blood of Christ on your house and property. In you are so led by the Holy Spirit, you can anoint your house, going room by room, to remove all spiritual uncleanness and demonic spirits that may have wandered in. If you are in doubt about taking authority over the Devil personally, then you can pray, "The Lord Jesus rebuke you Satan." or "The Lord Jesus rebuke you Lucifer." Claim and assert in prayer, that your lives and property belong to Jesus Christ and the Devil and his demons do not belong there. In Jesus' Name, they must flee. Lastly, if you don't know what to pray or are unsure about doing spiritual warfare to deal with what is in your home, or just plain troubling you, then pray Psalm 91. I find Psalm 91 particularly helpful when I wake up from a bad dream, one in which I have been attacked and don't want to go back to sleep only to find myself back in the middle of. I wake up, shaken and afraid, but also groggy and not sure how to pray. This is when I reach for my copy of Psalm 91, which I keep by my bed, which I then pray. I always have a good night's sleep after that. If you are having a hard time even getting to sleep, I would suggest praying Psalm 91 since it will deal with whatever may be hanging around in the room, keeping you from getting a good night's sleep.
"For 1 an7 persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, not principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)