Spiritual Warfare - how?

If youve walked this faith walk for even a short time you will be aware of spiritual warfare.  People disagree about how to manage this phenomena.  My approach through years of trying other things out is to, 'having done all, stand.'  Ephesians 6 speaks of the full armour of God and when I first became a Christian someone came to church advising us to pretend to put the armour on.  It was a badly taught church anyway but this was all shades of silly. Ephesians 6

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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.13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

I also had a time when I was throwing scriptures around and imagining the devils wincing and retorting.  What Paul is saying is that it is our own minds that needs to know scripture and the truths about truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith and salvation.  In turn these will act as a protection from the evil one.

"You're a dirty sinner.  Look at that you did!" Is something the devil does.  Its true!  We are dirty and rotten but... that's not the whole story.  Sin has been dealt with by our glorious Lord and King Jesus. So being well grounded in scripture around these subjects provides protection from such accusations designed to steal your joy, kill your peace and destroy any possibility that you will walk out God's love today.  

What we learn when we are about those scriptures is that God, in his abounding love, has provided forgiveness of sins and eternal life for all who are believing on Jesus and his completed work.  It doesn't depend on us and we cannot lose a genuine salvation.  God works with us as sons to bring us to wholeness and does it as he delights in us.  Walking in the knowledge that we are loved by God leads to abundant joy even on the hard days (still working on that).  All this is freely given from God and our task is to believe it.  This is where the struggle occurs.

It would be foolish, no, impossible to try to assist you in your faith.  Only you can do that.   It starts with a simple decision to choose God's angle on things over your own or the worlds distorted opinions.  Then its up to you.  Allow yourself time to construct a God-view of you from the scriptures and walk in that every day.  I've made it sound simplistic and easy but it isn't.  Don't beat yourself up because you don't get it immediately.  This is the struggle of our age, to have our minds renewed and walk it out in this fallen world. 

Take courage.  He has overcome this world.

Gary Ward

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Testing False Apostles

Something that is rife today...

Paul's prophecy Acts 20:29-31

 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

This was what Paul predicted would happen to the church at Ephesus.  It is of particular interest because in Revelation the first of seven letters is to Ephesus.  It appears that in Jesus' commendation of the church they had been diligent around Paul's prophecy:

Rev 2:2 I know your deeds,your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.

These false Apostles were identified by the Church and they were commended for it.  However, they lost the war.  It may be possible that Jesus' warning was carried out as their lamp-stand was removed because they continued to do works over relationship.  Selah.    

This is not the scandal... the fact that we fail to 'out'  false Apostles today is one of the scandals in the Church today.  To be clear:  I don't see Apostolicity to be the same as the original Apostles or Paul.  They had something rather unique.  Maybe people are not sure what Apostolicity is.  I spent 10 years thinking it was a church planted simply because a denomination said so.   An Apostle is someone sent by God.  That's it!  However to be qualified to be sent by God there are a few things that definitely have to happen: 

Isolation
 Firstly he will have to have spent time in the wilderness being dealt with by God.  This is not an intern program or a minister having someone 'under his wing.'  In the case of Moses, David and Paul, their entire lives were disrupted for God to get them on their own to prepare them for their sending. All believers have 'tough times' but this is something that is not usual for believers, something tangible and can be pointed to.  The wilderness involves some tricky core adjustments and can happen in a city.  For some, the Lord actually takes them to a desert!  This is a core element of the calling because God will crush the core desire to lead disciples away to join their thing.  If your reaction was "I'd never do that!" That is a sure sign that you have the potential!  

Propagation
Secondly, fruit must be present.  Now read carefully because this has nothing to do with a huge church or prolific book writing ministry.  It is about how their life has produced growth and faithfulness to Jesus in the immediacy of the life.  Is the so-called Apostle steadfastly sticking to obedience to God's word even when it is detrimental to his own life?  A quick test is 'is the believer actively obeying the instructions given by the original apostles, or, the will and purpose of Jesus? Of course, like everything there will be points where it all needs reassessment.  But here is pointing to 'trajectory.'  Is the man heading 'Due-Obedience?'  Everyone has trials, trip-ups and breakdowns but the authentic sent-one will not change trajectory towards the set course.   This is important because those who are distorting the truth cannot produce genuine fruit.  They can produce a supermarket full of modified tomatoes but not the reproduction of the organic crop that can draw upon the source to grow.  

Confirmation
Thirdly, others will see the marks of Biblical preparation.  Many are part of denominations who have defined Apostolicity wrongly.  They look at the actions of the so-called Apostle.  Obviously the genuine Apostle will issue forth the Lord's will and purpose when the time is right.  But assessing the sending from the actions without the metric of Biblical Apostleship is just plain error.  Paul tells us he warned the Ephesians with tears for three years.  He wasn't exactly trying to impress them.  Paul was broken over the believers' possibility of being led astray.  Paul exposed a heart that has been subjected to the Lord's processes and thus saw the Ephesians as fellow brothers and sisters who he loved as the possession of Christ.  False Apostles never expose the brokenness because they are not sufficiently broken for the task.   

Jesus wants access to the heart of the believer but when a false Apostle is active they capture the attention of the believer, not Jesus.  People who were saved to be transformed into the image of the Son are drawn away and sink into the lie that they were born (again) to serve the man.  

This is why false Apostles are so dangerous. 

Gary Ward

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Bible proofs #3

Daniel and Jesus' words are pretty amazing 'proofs' that the Bible is true and reliable.  However there is a far more information bank where detail of history is outlined and that is the Old Testament.  It is startling how much detail is outlined and actually happened through history.  People who say they don't believe in Jesus have to account for this sample of prophecies that were walked out through history.

let's put aside the many Prophecies that were fulfilled in history before the first coming of Jesus.  Then let's also put aside the first coming of Jesus and how that forensically fulfilled prophecy.  What we want to do it apply the prophecies that have been fulfilled and can be researched as documented evidence by anyone sat at a computer. again out of the vast collection I will choose three.  For further research simply google it and search around.  Having done that though... carry it through and build a wonderful picture of how God has laid out key historical elements before us in the Bible.

Israel becomes a nation again

Isaiah 66:7-8 and Ezekiel 37:21-22 both tell us Israel would become a nation and on  May 14th 1948 it happened.  Incredibly verse 8 says it may be that it occurs in a day.  'How ridiculous' many would scoff and turn a skeptical eye to the Bible.  There were many UN preparations for the recognition of Israel but in one day, the date above, Britain pulled out and recognized Israel, They recognized themselves as a nation and other nations also recognized them as an independent nation.  Israel was reborn as prophesied.  This is an historical fact, as is the restoration of the Hebrew language (Zeph 3:9), the currency (Ezekiel 45:12-16).  That's three right there...  but let's be more thorough.

Israel's prosperity

Isaiah 26:6 and 35:1-2 state that Israel would be brought from desolation to prosperity.  Last year Israel was in the top 18 developed countries.  Not impressed?  They have only been a nation since 1948.  To make it harder, Israel was attacked on all its fronts after becoming independent by the Arab nations.  It won that war, thus fulfilling Zechariah 12:1-3.  Critics say it only got off the ground because of West Germany's compensation for the holocaust.  We must understand prophecy tells us about outcomes more than it does about the 'how.'  I think there's a couple of fulfilled prophecies in this making the total 5.  But let's continue.

The last 150 years

There are many more fulfilled prophecies concerning Israel but just to mix it up a little:  In Daniel 12 the angel is describing the end times and as part of that an interesting prophecy comes up:

4 But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”  NIV

4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. KJV

I looked at the Hebrew some time ago and it is not far from what we have here.  We are living in times where the exponential increase in knowledge has been simply staggering.   If we are referring to industrial and technological advancement it fits, but may not be what the text is saying.  If it's scientific knowledge, I mean real biblical science, it has been increasing.  But does it mean that?  If it is biblical knowledge... that has been increasing as believers have faithfully scored the bible and archaeological confirmations are through the roof in the last 150 years.  Is it referring to that?  Well clearly it doesn't matter what it refers to in one sense because EVERYTHING has been increasing with the possible exception of common sense.

Because the context is dealing with a scroll, I would lean towards this meaning the knowledge of the word of God.  This has been increasing even in my walk of 25-something years.  This leads to something very interesting if we are limiting this verse to bible knowledge that is taken by many who go to and fro.  It means that as the years roll on towards the coming of the Lord more and more will be revealed to us. This is consistent to the true meaning of 'Revelation' - apocolypsis.   This is the idea of a gradual unveiling.

So the prophecy that people would be able to go to and fro sharing knowledge is quite profound in and of itself.  Also that there is more to press into the Lord about and know is exciting.

Conclusion to the Bible proofs series:

It is the grace of God that gives eyes to see.  If you have been a bit bored with my reiterating stuff you know then rejoice greatly!  To be able to perceive such things as reality means God has adopted you as a son and abundantly blessed you with His truth.  Also, make these things firm faith elements in your life.  It is all true... it has all been spoken and will come to pass... come Lord Jesus.

Gary Ward

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Bible Proofs #2

If Jesus was God-in-flesh you'd expect Him to say things that predict the future.  Even though it is faith in Jesus that brings about His rescue plan for us, we can prove He foretold events.  In this writing I will deal with three predictions that all came true.

The Temple

Jesus told people that the Temple was going to be destroyed.  He was specific in saying not one stone would be laid upon another.  As predicted in 70 AD the Temple was completely destroyed and after the fire had melted all the gold, it ran between the stones.  The prospectors came and smashed all the stones to get the gold and thus not one stone laid upon another.  I am with Bob Cornuke in seeing the Temple mount as the Antonio fortress, not where the Temple was... all 'these' buildings were destroyed.

Josephus records the events and something strange occurred to confirm Jesus words, 'when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies...' (Luke 21:20).  It is recorded that armies did surround Jerusalem but mysteriously went away.  In our group I always joke it was an iced-cream van but this did seriously happen.  The believers who heard Jesus say this were able to flee the city.

The reason it was destroyed in God's economy was as a Judgement on the Old Testament practices which were now null and void because of the New Covenant.  God had given a gracious 30 plus years for adjustment then their central place of Old Testament practice was removed.  How can you slaughter a sacrifice with no Temple?

 The Church age

If you don't believe Revelation chapters 2 and 3 are a chronological prediction of the church age then you have to explain why it isn't!  From the church at Ephesus to Laodicea we find seven distinct descriptions of a church.  If you study the name, characteristics and the specifics Jesus says to each of them it is an uncanny prediction of how church history has progressed.  It is so forensic I find it difficult to see how to frame it in a different way.  Many don't even study it and refuse to see the fore-telling nature of them.

We find each church has an assessment from Jesus ...  some get encouragement and rebuke.  Some get no rebuke and one gets no green tick at all.  It appears to be an overview of how mankind handles the rescue plan of God... the resurrection and glorification of Jesus Christ.  As we stand with history behind us we find it is all in place, lived out for almost 2000 years.  Of course the doubter can say 'it's not a prediction of the church age' but they then have to account for how it tracks real, documented church history.

The history of the Jews

Luke 21:24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Jesus was clear that the Jews would be scattered throughout the world and Jerusalem would be in the control of the Gentiles.  After The Temple was destroyed the Jews were scattered throughout the world and, indeed the Gentiles had control of Jerusalem.  In 1948 Israel was recognised as a nation and in 1967 was back in Jewish hands.  Israel was handed back to the Jews after years of persecution around the world (Luke 23:28-30).  The Jews are still chased down today and many are returning back to Israel.

All this has happened in documented history.  Can you prove the Bible?  Yes, in a way you can.  If you use these points make sure that you are not 'being right' for the sake of it.  Tell them Jesus knew these things because He is the Lord God who came to make sure people could live forever.  Then tell them how.

Gary Ward

Bible proofs? #1

Have you ever met someone who responds to your witness with, "well you can't prove the Bible can you?"  It's a bit of a cop out to say that because what exactly needs to be proved?  The whole point is that we believer God would have his will and purpose written down so to point us to the central person... the risen, glorified Jesus Christ.  It's a matter of faith.  What I want to do with this writing is to help continue a conversation with someone who says this.  "Well you can't prove the Bible can you?"

Well in a way... yes you can.

The first example of 'proving the Bible' is Daniel chapter 2.  The King of the Babylonian empire asks the wise men to describe and interpret a disturbing dream he has had.  As most crazy dictators do, Nebuchadnezzar  has required something impossible from them.  So they are all sentenced to death!  Daniel is among those sentenced and asks the chief executioner if he can try to describe and interpret the dream.  He is given permission to do this and seeks God for the answer.  Daniel gets the description and interpretation from God.  He relays it to the King and the king honours Daniel and is brought to a realisation that Daniels God is the Almighty.

The description of the dream is a huge statue:

31 ‘Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue – an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing-floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

The interpretation is as follows:

39 ‘After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron – for iron breaks and smashes everything – and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

44 ‘In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure for ever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands – a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

With that in view, we must assess the subsequent flow of History and its relationship with Empires.  This has occurred in real history with no bias:

Gold - Babylonian Empire

Silver - Mede / Persian Empire

Bronze - The Greek Empire

Iron - Roman Empire

Iron and baked clay - a mix of nations what we see today.

In a display of forensic nature we are in a place in history where we can clearly observe all the parts of the statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream.  Because these Empires are documented as real historical events, the person who says you cannot prove the bible is left with no facts for the statement.  This is not about being right for the sake of it because we must be sure to add on the last part of the interpretation.   There are six aspects to the dream corresponding to 6 real events.  Five of the events are solid human history but the sixth has yet to happen.

Jesus is going to return to Earth and completely smash the empires, kingdoms and rule of men.  The rock 'not shaped by human hands' is the Lord Jesus Christ.  He comes and establishes his rule and reign on Earth just as Daniel told the King.  If someone predicted the next 6 meals ordered at Macdonalds and they got 5 right, you would probably throw your hat into the sixth being right.  It's the same with this... history has proved 5 of the elements of the statue to be true... would you gamble of the 6th not happening?    

Jesus is coming! 

This is exciting!   The description of the toes of the statue stand for our times.  Although the USA is a huge Empire, as was the British Empire, it has not got global rule and influence.  China and Russia always oppose western nations at the UN.  The EU tried to form itself into an overarching sovereign over the members and Britain voted to leave.  These days are days where unity is not what is happening.  The other Empires were able to subdue any opposing force on the Earth and were thus the only empire.  Now we have countries pointing thermonuclear weapons at each other.  They have different ideologies and therefore mixing or unity is never going to happen.  So we are at this time and it has been fragmenting ever since the Roman Empire.  The next thing to happen is the rock comes and smashes them all... the return of Jesus Christ has to be soon!  That means the rapture has to be soon... imminent!

What a time to be alive!  We could be snatched away without seeing death.   

Gary Ward

.. and I will move you...

Ezekiel 36:26-30

26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.

This is a wonderful promise from the Lord to His chosen people.  It is one of many references to the coming of Messiah and what the completed work would mean for believers.  The fulfillment of this word includes justification (26) and sanctification (29).  It also tells us The Lord will be our provider (29-30).  What I am really captivated by is the assertion that the Lord will move us.  The word can be 'empower' or 'cause you to.'  Whatever we do with the Hebrew, it is saying that God, from the core of our beings, will instigate our movement towards His instruction.  I love this!

Around the turn of the millennium I was discovering that it is possible that other things are moving believers.  As you do, I began gently challenging the elements that are in place to move believers.  Jesus has a similar challenge as he was questioned by the Pharisees.  John 8 is an example of such an exchange.  Jesus doesn't pull any punches or try to get onlookers on his side.  What is motivating Jesus to be so direct and seem savage?  I mean ' ...you belong to your father, the devil... '  Let's not beat around the bush huh?   

This is an example of Jesus loving the Pharisees.  He is loving them by telling them the truth.  It is brutal even when Jesus is taunted 'Where is your father?'  He just returns the jibe with truth.  Is it only Jesus who has the right to speak with such precise, almost blunt, force?   I believe the Lord can move us to speak like that when it is appropriate.  The Pharisees were hindering God in his work with His people and Jesus opposed that.  Today we are recipients of the fulfillment of the promise in Ezekiel. Is it possible we have elements that hinder this moving in our core beings?  It is possible, and has definitely been the case, that I have been moved by my own frustration.  I want it to be God who moves me... every time.  

What moves us?  What is our empowerment?   What is causing us to...?  It's the dream of all Christ-followers to be moved inwardly to follow the Lord's instructions of decrees.  I want to be like a cog that is connected to Jesus and when He moves, I move.  Today I am going to pray and think about the things, sometimes 'Christian' things, that may be a spanner in the works of God moving me from within.  

Gary Ward

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