Scripture Doodle: Proverbs 5:22

The Spiritual Warfare Value of God’s Law

When you think of Spiritual Warfare, probably the last thing you think of is the Law of God. Christians are largely aware that Spiritual Warfare is vitally important to finding and keeping true freedom in Christ. The devil is like a “roaring lion”, especially working to “devour” Christians, who are most threatening to him and his kingdom (1 Peter 5:8-9). Thus, choosing to walk with God automatically means that we must resist the devil (in God’s Power, of course). As it says in James 4:7:

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” 

The process of daily submitting to God and resisting the devil is called Spiritual Warfare. Yet while most Christians understand the importance of effective Spiritual Warfare as a necessity to genuine Christian living, most do not realize that, without the Law of God, effective Spiritual Warfare is impossible!

Countless Christians unwittingly place themselves in spiritual harm’s way by acting in ignorance to the principles of God's Law. The Law of God is intended to protect us from the onslaught of the enemy. But when we are spiritually ignorant, the Bible warns us that the devil gets the advantage over us (2 Corinthians 2:11)!

Throughout our years in ministry, we have interceded for Christians who have unknowingly stepped outside of the protective guidelines of God's Law, only to reap the fruits of hell as a result.

One man was unable to find peace in his home. Instead of a sanctuary, a little taste of Heaven on earth, his home had become a place of demonic torment and spiritual oppression. He explained to us that he felt better when he left his house. He asked us to come and do a prayer and anointing over his home. He hoped that God would then cleanse his home, removing this demonic darkness and spiritual pestilence. 

When we arrived at his home and began the requested prayer and anointing, we saw that he had a

large Buddha sitting on a stand in his house. We inquired about it, realizing that the devil could have gained the right to infect his home just from the presence of this idol alone! It turned out that the man, although a Christian, had simply picked up the Buddha as a souvenir during his travels. It meant nothing to him, other than as a memento of the trip. But, had he been aware of God's safeguards, which forbid all idolatry in the lives and homes of God’s people, he would have been spared a great deal of pain and suffering! Demons don’t get the right to infect a Christian’s home without a cause!

“As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come” Proverbs 26:2

On another occasion, we were  asked to drive to a couple’s home, located several hours from us. The wife tearfully explained that they were afraid to live in their own home. Lights and water faucets would supernaturally  turn on and off. Menacing presences would threaten the household. The couple couldn’t even sleep through the night without some form of hair-raising manifestation.

“Why is Satan doing this to us? We’re CHRISTIANS!” the woman cried.

Gently, we shared with the exhausted couple that there was likely a cursed object in their home, giving the demons the right to possess the house. We knew this because of a warning given in the Torah:

“Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.” Deuteronomy 7:26
 
Because the Law is viewed as “done away with at the Cross”, Christians no longer study it or concern themselves with its principles. As a result, this poor couple had no idea that cursed items could bring such terror to their home!

As it turned out, there was one cursed item in the couple’s home. It was a gorgeous tapestry, hanging on the living room wall. The artist had been a mystical, New Age, “white witch”. When the wall-hanging was removed and burned, the home prayed over and anointed, the spiritual manifestations stopped and the demonic shadow was fully lifted. We were all thankful to God for this powerful deliverance, but we were also saddened to realize that the precious couple could have been spared the whole ordeal had they only known and kept the principles of the Law of God!

But of all the unnecessary sorrows brought on unsuspecting Christians by nailing the Law to the Cross, perhaps the most devastating blow to effective Spiritual Warfare is the devil’s resulting “revolving door policy”. This “revolving door” to the human soul is a spiritual condition in which demons are kicked out of the soul, through Warfare Prayer, only to return, for reasons soon to be explained. As will be shown, it is only when we remain within the protection of the Torah principles that we can find lasting freedom in Christ.

When we disregard God's Law, we have committed sin (1 John 3:4). And it is through sin that the devil gets the rights to afflict and enslave us in the first place! All demonic bondage, even full demonic possession, began with sin—either sins which we have committed personally, or it is bondage brought on us by the sins of our ancestors (Exodus 20:5). The connection between disobeying the principles of the Law (which is sin) and demonic bondage is plainly stated in Proverbs. To be “holden” with the “cords” of our own “sins” literally means to be unable to get free from the devil’s bondage.


“His own iniquities (sins—Law breaking) shall take (ensnare, imprison) the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.”  Proverbs 5:22

Scripture Doodle: Proverbs 27:21

Proverbs 27:21

The next Scripture Doodle I will share from my Bible is Proverbs 27:21. It says, "As the fining pot for silver and the furnace for gold, so is a man to his praise."

It's an interesting concept - praise - and what it does in the human heart. A fining pot is where silver is melted down, as is the furnace for gold.

My father spent some time working as an inorganic chemist. During this time, he was often asked to test specimens of gold to
determine the level of purity. To do this, he placed the small samples of gold in a bone ash crucible (as shown in the picture on the right. Then he placed the crucible in a special furnace to melt it completely.

When the chemist removes the crucible from the oven, the gold will be in a completely liquid state. Now, the truth about the gold will be made known. If the gold is 100% pure, it will do something amazing. The gold blicks. A blick is when the gold "turns on" literally lighting up like a light-bulb being switched on. It is an incredible sight. But, if the gold is not completely pure, it will not blick. It takes the intense fires of the furnace to reveal the truth about the gold. This is why Scripture uses this as an analogy for praise. Praise is the furnace which reveals what we're really made of.

One older evangelist, whom I'll call Elder Roy, was an excellent example of this concept. Over the years he had traveled to more than 30 countries. He had prayed with countless people. He had preached innumerable sermons. And he had helped many who were in demonic bondage find freedom through spiritual warfare prayers. His had been a busy life of ministry. And truly many, many people had been blessed by God's Work through Elder Roy's life, prayers and messages.

But the sad part was that in the later part of his life, Elder Roy had begun to lose sight of Who should get the credit for "his" many accomplishments. It was evident that he was losing sight of Who was really doing all the work through him, because when people praised him - which they did very frequently - he began to take the praise as a personal compliment, rather than deflecting the praise Heavenwards, as he formerly had done.

In his earlier years, Elder Roy would always deflect the praise by saying, "I praise God that you were blessed by that sermon!" or "It is God Who has made you whole."  But, in his later years, this habit of deflection had changed. When people said things like, "Elder Roy, you have transformed my life! I am so grateful to you for all that you have done for me," Elder Roy would say, "Of course!" or "You may make the check out to..." In other words, Elder Roy no longer received praise with humble deflection. He had become a very prideful man, who was wrongly taking credit for the wonderful works God had done. As a result, Elder Roy gradually lost his ministry. It was a sad ending for a man who had been such a mighty warrior in God's army.

If only Elder Roy had been aware of his changing response to people's praise. Had he noticed the shift, which was visible to others, he might have fallen to his knees and gotten back on track with God - rather than losing his ability to minister entirely. If only Elder Roy had recognized that praise reveals so much, he might have had time to do something about it before it was too late.

Praise is the melting pot which reveals the true essence of the heart. For Herod, when his subjects praised his speech by shouting, "It is the voice of a god and not a man!" the praise revealed his pride.The Scripture tells the story in Acts 12:21-23:

On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people. 22And they began to shout, “This is the voice of a god, not a man! 23Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.…

So the next time you receive praise, think about it before you respond. What does your response to praise reveal about your own heart?  As a good spiritual warrior, you will find that praise is a very useful test. It is the furnace which will reveal whether self is on the throne of your heart, or whether you are fully submitted to God's Sovereignty. It's all revealed in the praise test! 

Proverbs 24:10

Scripture Doodle: Proverbs 24:10

One of the things I enjoy doing in my spare time is illustrating Scriptures on the side panel of my Bible. Doing this helps me memorize Scripture and is a fun way to find Spiritual encouragement. This week, just for fun, I will share some of my Scripture doodles from my Bible. I hope you enjoy them.

The first one I will share is Proverbs 24:10. This Scripture is a powerful Spiritual Warfare principle. It means that you have to develop spiritual strength day-by-day. Only then, will you have the strength you need to face a major test. 

If you prepare ahead of time, developing your relationship with God and deepening your understanding of His Word - DAILY, you will be strong (in Him) and better equipped to face the bigger trials and tests along life's way.

This Scripture encourages us to develop spiritual strength in much the same way a warrior develops physical fighting skills. Because the warrior has practiced and prepared - training for battle ahead of time - the warrior will be ready when a real battle comes. 

However, if someone decided to run into battle without any training or preparation, he might be in danger of "fainting" in the day of adversity.

Spiritual warfare principle from this first Scripture Doodle: A good Spiritual Warrior will develop Spiritual Strength through taking time with God daily.