Combat
Ready
By Jerri Phillips
I am not a big movie person.
For the most part, I just
don’t have the interest
level to sit and watch movies,
especially at a movie theater
where I can’t crochet or do
something constructive while the
movie rambles. Rob, however, is a
big movie buff. His favorite
thing is to see a movie the day
it comes out. Since I love Rob, I
try to indulge this when I can.
With two children, and one of
them relatively new to the world,
we don’t have much
opportunity to indulge Rob’s
opening-day fascination, but in
the pre-children days, we did it
quite often.
One of the movies we saw on
opening day was Terminator 2.
Okay, I have to confess, I liked
that movie. Yes, I know it was
violent and the language was bad,
but it had some definite truths
that, quite honestly, a few more
Christians need to pick up. What
exactly? Glad you asked.
If you have never seen this movie
or the first movie, let me tell
you a little bit about it. In the
first movie, the earth has gone
nuts. Some man has created
artificial intelligence that got
out of control. To deal with the
situation, he tries to pull the
plug, but the robots realize the
threat and have outgrown the
ability to be controlled by
humans. As a result, they now
realize that humans are their
worst enemy, so they begin
destroying them. The war is
intense. The robots decide the
solution is to travel back in
time to kill the mother of the
leader of the humans so that he
is never born. Thus, they send a
Terminator. The best friend of
the human leader also travels
back in time to protect the
mother and end up thwarting the
plan of the Terminator.
That gets us to the sequel. The
mom is now in a psycho ward
because she rants and raves about
the end of the world and
computers, robots, and
terminators. Everyone thinks she
is crazy and delusional, not to
mention paranoid. The now young
boy human leader is in foster
care with guardians who find him
uncontrollable. Enter, once
again, the Terminator…times
two. Basically, in the future,
the bad terminator from the first
movie gets reprogrammed and is
good, but there are still several
bad ones to choose from, and
someone does. The “new”
bad terminator is then sent back
to kill the boy, but the now good
terminator is sent back to stop
him.
So what does any of this have to
do with Christians? Once again,
glad you asked. I have to
confess, the female main
character, played by Linda
Hamilton, has my admiration. She
is in a psycho ward with no idea
when she will get out or if she
will get out for that matter. No
one believes her passionate
ramblings. Her own son thinks she
is crazy. She doesn’t care,
though. She knows that she knows
the truth, and she is acting
accordingly. When we see her in
the second movie, she is not the
same wimpy woman from the first
movie. Instead, she has trained
herself wisely. She is in
incredible physical shape. Even
in the mental hospital, she is
doing pushups, pull-ups, and
whatever she can to prepare her
body for war. Prior to being put
in the hospital, she trained her
mind. She surrounded herself with
people who could teach her about
war and fighting. She learned
about armament, ammunition, and
strategy. She knew a war was
coming, and she wasn’t
waiting until she saw the whites
of their eyes. She was preparing
herself for the onslaught long
before it started.
Sadly, this is where I, and other
Christians, fall short. Too often
we do not prepare for war. We
attend church on Sunday morning.
We read the Bible daily. We pray,
but we do not prepare for war. We
are comfortably being Christian.
Well, I have some sad news. Being
Christian has never been
comfortable.
What causes our apathy? I think
there are a couple of things.
First, I think people don’t
like to believe there is really a
spiritual war that is raging. We
get so caught up focusing on the
world around us that we are blind
to or choose to ignore the
spiritual realm. We look at
legislature that continues to
chip away at Christian truth, and
we complain about politicians.
Politicians are not the problem.
The problem is the enemy who goes
about like a roaring lion seeking
whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).
We look at the escalating crime
rates and blame television.
Television is not the issue. The
real issue is the thief who comes
to steal, kill, and destroy (John
10:10).
We look at the unnerving
divorce rates, and we blame
producers of pornography, the
media in general, and a society
that holds no one responsible for
their actions. I hate to tell
you, my friends, but those are
not the problems. The problem
lies with the Father of Lies who
tells people how much better the
grass is anywhere else (John
8:44). Am I being paranoid? Am I
reading too much into this? Am I
babbling and ranting about
bogeymen and goblins? No,
I’m telling you what Paul
told the Ephesians in chapter 6,
verse 12. “For our struggle
is not against flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the
powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of
evil in the heavenly
realms.”
Paul does not mince words here,
and he is not just speaking to
particular instances involving
only the people in Ephesus. We,
as a corporate church and
likewise as individuals, are at
war, and it isn’t with the
neighbor whose dog digs in the
flowerbed.
Another reason I think we are
apathetic in preparation for war
is a misguided idea of what it
means to be a Christian. We love
verses about Jesus giving us
peace and rest, and He will. In
fact, He does. However, He also
says, “I have told you these
things, so that in me you may
have peace. In this world you
will have trouble. But take
heart! I have overcome the world
(John 16:33).” Can it get
any clearer? In the world we will
have trouble, and according to
Paul, that trouble results from
demonic powers.
Again, let me say that there is a
war raging all around us, and we
cannot
fight it with the weapons of the
world because this war is not of
this
world. The battle we are engaged
in is of the spiritual nature,
and we can only battle it with
spiritual weapons. And what are
those weapons? Ephesians 6 gives
a quick run down of them. I will
try to touch on them briefly.
Now, understand books have been
written on this, and I do not
profess to exhaust the subject in
the slightest, but there are a
few larger categories we can find
in this passage.
Let’s start with the
breastplate of righteousness and
the belt of truth. Let me put it
simply. Righteousness and truth
are found nowhere else but
Christ. That means the only way
to possess these two pieces of
armor is to have Christ as your
Lord and Master and to maintain a
spirit of humble repentance. You
will have no power in these areas
if you are playing in demonic
realms. By that, I refer to
astrology, tarot cards, or other
forms of divination.
Specifically, horoscopes are
based on astrology, which is
demonic in nature. Your guidance
should be from the Spirit, not
from some star structure. If you
are even participating in these
activities slightly, your armor
is compromised. If you harbor
unforgiveness or have sin that
you are holding on to, again, you
are making it impossible to put
on the full armor of God. The
Lord does not want wishy-washy
warriors. If we are to fight
valiantly, we must believe in our
cause, and we must believe in it
strongly enough to make our
Leader our Lord and Master,
repenting and renouncing our
sinful ways.
Next in the armor, we have the
readiness that comes from the
gospel of peace. I used to think
that pertained to the desire to
share our peace with everyone
else, and I still think that is
part of it, but that is far from
all of it. We can only be ready
when we have peace knowing that
our Leader is not leading us into
the spiritual equivalent of
Little Big Horn. We have to trust
our Leader and know our purposes
in the battle. When we know we
will be victorious and know for
Whom we fight, we can peacefully
be ready to battle whatever comes
at us.
Next, we have the shield of
faith, the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the Word of God. All
three of these have to do with an
intimate relationship with the
Father. That relationship can
only be accomplished through
prayer and Bible study. Sadly,
too many people don’t
understand the difference between
comfortable prayer and leisurely
Bible study and preparation for
war. Too often, we choose
comfortable Christianity over war
preparation, and then we
can’t figure out why we are
getting beaten up on so many
fronts.
So what is the difference between
preparing for war and living out
our faith daily? In truth, there
should be no difference, but from
my observations, there often is.
I’ll give you some examples
from my life. My husband and I
read our Bibles nightly. We pray
with the children when they go to
bed and at each meal. We read
Bible stories to the children
before they go to sleep at
naptime and at night. So far it
sounds good, and all those things
are good. Don’t
misunderstand me. Those are not
bad things.
However, there is a huge
difference between reading the
Bible as though it were a novel
and seeing it as the sword of the
Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). The
Bible is not merely a good guide
for not making mistakes or a nice
message of hope when we are
discouraged. It is a weapon. How
do we make the Bible a weapon
instead of a nice, last thought
of the day activity? Study it.
Know what it says. Far too often,
we allow others to think for us.
I am concerned about the number
of people I have heard tell me
that they are not smart enough or
are not called to the right
church position to be able to
learn the Word. If you have a
seeking heart, you can and will
learn the word. Father God says
that we will find Him when we
seek Him with our whole heart
(Deuteronomy 4:29). If you are
seeking, you already have the
Father’s attention, and He
is excited. He is going to reveal
Himself to you, so just keep up
the good work.
I have friends who honestly
believe that they cannot learn
the Bible on their own, that only
particularly called spiritual
leaders have the ability to read
and discern biblical truths.
Well, the Bible says that the
Holy Spirit is a gift, free to
all who ask for it (Luke 11:13).
It also says that the Spirit
leads us into all truth (John
16:13). Now, if you are
Spirit-filled, which is a topic I
could spend a great deal of time
on but will refrain at this
moment, you have all you need to
help you learn the Bible.
However, if you aren’t sure
what I mean by the term
“Spirit-filled”,
don’t panic. If you have
asked Jesus into your life and
have surrendered your life to
Him, you can learn as well. Jesus
said, “I am the way, the
truth, and the life (John
14:6).” Jesus is the truth.
If you submerge yourself in Him
and His word, you are going to
learn the truth.
Let me remind you of the Bereans.
They are only mentioned once in
the Bible, but wow!, what a
statement about them. Luke, a
disciple of Christ, wrote,
“Now the Bereans were of
more noble character than the
Thessalonians, for they received
the message with great eagerness
and examined the Scriptures every
day to see if what Paul said was
true (Acts 17:11).” I think
we would all agree that Paul was
the certifiable thing. He knew
the Law. He knew Christianity.
Yet, these people questioned
everything he said, and instead
of being berated for it, Luke
exhorts them! Even people with
great intentions sometimes
misquote the Bible, and those
misquotes can leave us insecure,
discouraged, or even hopeless. We
need to know the truth in order
to battle such debilitating
feelings.
Thankfully, we know how to battle
those feelings because we know
who is imposing them on us. Is it
the boss at work who is having a
lousy day…every day? No. Are
we battling the abusive words of
an ex-spouse? No. Our battle is
not against flesh and blood. Our
battle is against the demons of
hell that are working through
those people to attack us. Paul
said so.
I realize this is a hard concept
for some, so let me see if I can
explain it clearly. Have you ever
said anything to someone that was
taken wrong and thus a fight
ensued? I have. One of my dearest
friends and I had a huge
disagreement over spiritual
beliefs. Both of us thought it
might result in the end of our
friendship, not because we wanted
it to, but because we saw no
common ground. No matter what we
said or what tone we used, the
other person took our statements
as an attack. I can vouch for
both of us and say that we did
not intend that, but still it
happened. So, if we were trying
to find common ground, how can we
be mutual enemies? Most would
agree that we couldn’t be,
and yet, the chasm of division
was growing. What was causing it?
To us the answer is obvious. It
was the enemies Paul spoke of in
Ephesians 6 that were trying to
divide our friendship and
ultimately the relationship we
have as members of the body of
Christ.
How do we battle such attacks?
Jesus did it with scripture. When
Satan came out Him with his
greatest temptations, Jesus hit
him with the Word of God, the
everlasting truth that cannot
fail or come back void, and Jesus
was victorious. If we want to be
victorious, we have to know the
truths of the Bible. We have to
know what God says about us.
Satan will tell us we are losers,
failures, and castaways. He will
fill our mind with fears and
delusions. He will do whatever he
can to discourage us and make us
impotent spiritually with the
ultimate goal of having our
souls. Our defense is knowing the
truth, so we can combat the lies.
Simply reading the Bible as
though it were the latest best
seller isn’t enough. It is
imperative that we memorize
scripture for times when we
don’t have our Bibles in
hand. We have to saturate
ourselves with truth in order to
create a barrier for untruth.
Moses said, “Fix these words
of mine in your hearts and minds;
tie them as symbols on your hands
and bind them on your foreheads.
Teach them to your children,
talking about them when you sit
at home and when you walk along
the road, when you lie down and
when you get up. Write them on
the doorframes of your houses and
on your gates (Deuteronomy
11:18-20)”.
Why is this so important? If
you were in a foxhole with
artillery going off all around
you, would you take that
opportunity to read the
directions on how to assemble and
fire your gun? Not if you have
any sense. If you knew you were
going to face enemy fire,
you’d know how to defend
yourself. Well, child of God, you
are going to face enemy fire, so
you need to learn how to defend
yourself, and the manual you need
is called the Bible.
If we find our way back to
Ephesians 6:18, we find out last
piece of armor. “And pray in
the Spirit on all occasions with
all kinds of prayers and
requests.” Prayer
establishes and maintains the
relationship we have with God the
Father. It is through our prayer
of repentance that we confess our
sins and accept the salvation
afforded through Christ. It is
through prayer that we lay our
petitions before the Father and
listen for Him to share His heart
with us.
If you are like me, you listen to
the experienced prayer warriors
at church and think, “I have
no idea how to pray that
way.” I have awesome news
for you. God doesn’t expect
you to pray like them. He wants
you to pray like you, with a
heart seeking the heart and face
of the Father. Prayer does not
have to be fancy. There are no
perfect words or phrases. The
Father is not looking for perfect
prayers. He is looking at the
heart of the pray-er. If you are
seeking Him, He will respond.
So, if there are no special words
or incantations, what is the
difference between the blessing
of the meal and warfare prayer?
That is a really good question,
and I will do my best to answer
it in the short space afforded
me. In short, I think warfare
prayer is seeing things from a
spiritual perspective and praying
against the purposes of the enemy
while praying for the will and
glory of God.
How exactly do you do that? Seek
God’s face. Pray in a manner
that establishes intimacy with
the Father. As your relationship
with Him deepens, you will begin
to know His heart more and more.
You will begin to think about
different things that need to be
addressed by prayer. For
instance, one friend of ours is
an incredible prayer warrior, and
she has prayed about all types of
issues. After her daughter was
born, however, she felt an
intense burden to pray over
babies in particular. Any time
she sat down to nurse, she began
to pray for babies and parents.
If she was up at night rocking
the baby, she was praying for
babies and parents. It
wasn’t something she was
told to do by her pastor. It was
something the Lord put heavily on
her heart. I cannot tell you the
number of times I have been in
prayer when I felt strongly to
pray for a particular person.
Sometimes I would have an idea of
what to pray for. Other times, I
just prayed for blessings and
protection for that person. More
often than not, I would later
find that the person was facing
something intense when it was
laid on my heart to pray.
I guarantee you that as you
cultivate a relationship with the
Father, He will reveal what and
how He wants you to pray. And
don’t get caught up in
understanding what is happening.
I remember one time I was praying
for a woman in our care group,
and I said, “Lord, let her
smell the flowers.” She was
a very busy woman, so I figured
this was some metaphoric way of
asking that the Lord slow her
down and aid in her busy
schedule. When I spoke with her a
few days later, I found out that
she had been suffering from
sinusitis and her nasal passages
had been completely clogged.
Obviously, she could not smell
the flowers that way.
Is it possible that people will
think you are odd if you
radically begin to arm yourself
for battle? If you are like every
other Christian in history, they
will. Will people think you are a
fanatic if you can quote
scripture? Some will. Even some
people in church will think you
are taking this a little too
seriously. They’ll wonder
what has suddenly got you going,
and if you try to explain,
they’ll laugh at you or look
at you as though you are crazy.
If you mention the word
“war”, they’ll
scoff or become sarcastic. I
’m not kidding. Those things
will happen. But remember where
the discouragement and degrading
comments originate. If that
isn’t proof there is a war
raging, I’m not sure what
is. The question is: Are you
ready for the battle?
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