Battle for the soul of man
There is a battle raging for the soul of every individual on earth. There is
a battle raging for every church, for every city, and every nation. Victories are
being won in many places across the earth, but the greatest are yet to come.
Multitudes of new spiritual warriors are now being mobilized, trained, and will
soon be sent forth. They will be entrusted with divinely powerful weapons and
they will use them. They will tear down the enemy’s strongholds over the
minds of men. A force is about to be released like the world has never seen.
Joel had a glimpse of it:
Blow a trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD
is coming; surely it is near;
A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness.
As the dawn is spread over the mountains, so there is a great and
mighty people; there has never been anything like it, nor will there
be again after it to the years of many generations. A fire consumes
before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the
garden of Eden before them, but a desolate wilderness behind
them, and nothing at all escapes them. Their appearance is like
the appearance of horses; and like war horses, so they run. With
a noise as of chariots they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, like
a mighty people arranged for battle.
Before them the people are in anguish; all faces turn pale.
They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like soldiers; and
they each march in line, nor do they deviate from their paths.
They do not crowd each other; they march everyone in his path.
When they burst through the defenses, they do not break ranks.
They rush on the city, they run on the wall; they climb into the
houses, they enter through the windows like a thief.
Before them the earth quakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and
the moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness. And the
LORD utters His voice before His army; surely His camp is
very great, for strong is he who carries out His word. The day of
the LORD is indeed great and very awesome, and who can
endure it?
(Joel 2:1-11)
There is a fire in the army of God that will destroy the wood, hay, and
stubble, but it will purify the gold, silver, and precious stones. It will
consume what man has built and reveal what was indeed built by God.
What is coming will be either terrible or glorious depending on what we
have built our lives upon. The earth will literally quake at the presence
of the Lord in the midst of this army that is now being mobilized. The
word of God that will be in their mouths will shatter the idols of this
world like a hammer shattering rocks.
The Spirit that is in them will be an irresistible force.
Choose Your Weapon
It may seem like a paradox, but we cannot be a part of this great army
until we are firmly established in the peace of God. One of the most
powerful spiritual weapons that has been given to God’s people is peace.
We may think that peace is not a weapon. But in fact, it is such a
weapon that Paul did not write it was the Lord of hosts, or the Lord of
armies, who would crush the enemy, but said “...the God of peace will
soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20). When we abide in
the peace of God it is both a fortress and a weapon that the enemy has
no power against.
If we abide in the peace of God in a situation it unravels the enemy’s
power over that situation. That is why most of the attacks of the enemy
upon believers are intended to first rob them of their peace. The peace
of God is the linchpin fruit of the Spirit that must be in place to hold all
of the others in their place. When we lose the peace of God we will
quickly lose our patience, love, self-control, etc. This causes us to fall
from our position of abiding in Christ. The fruit of the Spirit will always
demonstrate our abiding in Him.
It is the peacemakers who are called the sons of God (see Matthew 5:9)
and because we represent the Prince of Peace, it is the church that the
world should be turning to for solutions to its conflicts. Our victory over
evil is accomplished by overcoming it with good. We destroy the
enemy’s power of destruction by standing in and imparting peace.
However, instead of the world turning to the church for solutions to its
conflicts, the church is now viewed more as a source of conflicts. This
will change. The church is called to judge the world, and as conflicts and
anxieties grow in the world, peace and wisdom are going to grow in the
church to such an extent that even the heathen are going to start
coming to Christians for help. Through this the church’s spiritual authority
will grow stronger and stronger as lawlessness erodes human authority.
The church is the “Jerusalem above,” or the spiritual Jerusalem that Paul
mentions in Galatians 4:26. Jerusalem means “city of peace.” Like the
earthly Jerusalem, the church is now embroiled in almost continuous strife
and war within herself as well as against the forces of the world without.
Even so, she is going to soon be victorious over the strife within, and
will then be able to turn all of her great weapons on the forces without.
The church will arise to fulfill her purpose in all that she is called to do
and be. It will be as was foretold in Isaiah 60:1-2, when darkness is
increasing,and deep darkness comes upon the people, the Lord’s glory
will rise and appear upon His people. When human conflict and strife
reaches unprecedented levels, the church will know unprecedented
peace. This peace will be a fortress that will be impregnable to the
enemy. Then the church will become the true sanctuary on earth.
Presently, just as there is no human solution to the conflict in the
Middle East, there is no human solution to the conflict within the church.
The solution is in God alone. The peace of God is rooted in knowing that
God is God, and that Jesus is the King above all kings, rulers, and
authorities. When we see that He is in control we come to understand
deep in our hearts that Romans 8:28 is true, “And we know that God
causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to
those who are called according to His purpose.” When we know in our
heart that this is true there is no power on earth that can steal our peace.
When we abide in the peace of God regardless of what the circumstances
are, it crushes Satan’s attempts to use those circumstances, and it
also allows us to see God’s purpose in them. The Lord is not in heaven
wringing His hands over a single problem on earth. He knows the end
from the beginning, and He already knows what He is going to do to
make things right. If we are abiding in Him, seated with Him in heavenly
places as we are called to do, we too will dwell in perfect peace.
As we are promised in Isaiah 26:3, “The steadfast of mind Thou wilt
keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in Thee.”
That is why Paul uttered the great prayer recorded in Ephesians 1:18-23:
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you
may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of
the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the
surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.
These are in accordance with the working of the strength of
His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised
Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the
heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power
and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this
age, but also in the one to come. And He put all things in
subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things
to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills
all in all.
The “eyes of our hearts” are our spiritual eyes. When they are open,
we will see Jesus where He sits, “far above” all authority and power
and dominion on the earth. As we begin to see Him there, and walk
in this truth, living our lives in the unfathomable peace that this brings,
it crushes the influence of Satan in our life. This is what King David
understood when he wrote Psalm 46:10-11, “Cease striving and
know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.”
When we really know that He is God, we will cease striving. When His
people come to this knowledge and walk in it He will be “exalted among
the nations,” because the peace of God will be in profound contrast to
the fears that are coming upon the world. These fears will cause
people’s hearts to fail, but His peace will be one of the greatest
witnesses of the Lord in the midst of His people.
Pride Comes Before the Fall
Pride caused the fall of Satan, and has been the cause of almost every
fall since. We know that, “…God is opposed to the proud, but gives
grace to the humble”(James 4:6), and we are told in I Peter 5:6-7,
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety
upon Him, because He cares for you.”
This implies that one of the ways we can humble ourselves is to
cast our anxiety upon the Lord. This is because anxiety is a form of
pride that actually asserts that we think the matter is too big for God
so we will have to handle it ourselves. If we really believe that He is
God we will cease striving, and we will also cast off our anxiety and
live in the peace that comes from knowing that He is in control.
It is no accident that “panic attacks” have now reached epidemic
proportions. Anxiety is rising dramatically in the world, but peace will
rise correspondingly in those who are true followers of Christ. The
anxiety that is coming upon the world is the direct result of man trying
to live without God and do everything on his own. That is why the
original temptation of man was to get him to try to become what God
had in fact called him to be, but to do it without God. The more
mankind turns from God, the more striving and confusion will be found,
which will result in even more fear, as we are told in Psalm 2.
This increases impatience, self-centeredness, and other “works
of the flesh” which cause conflict.
As Christians we must not live as the world lives. We must grow in
the knowledge of the Lord’s authority, and control.
We must grow in the peace of God.
Walking in Truth
If we are going to crush Satan under our feet we also need to understand
that this metaphor “crush Satan under our feet” is used for a purpose. This
speaks of Satan’s power being broken through our “walk,” our going forth.
Christianity is not static, but is always moving forward, growing. That is why
the “River of Life” is a river, and not a pond or a lake. A river is always
flowing, proceeding toward its destination.
When we walk in the peace of God in our homes it will ultimately crush
the enemy’s influence there. If we walk in the peace of God at work, it will
soon crush the enemy’s influence there. If the Christians of a city would walk
in the peace of God, the church would soon come into unity, and the
enemy’s influence over that city would be crushed. When Christians in any
nation begin to truly walk in the peace of God they will crush the enemy’s
influence over that nation.
God’s Barometer
God’s prophetic barometer of the condition of humanity is the nation of
Israel. Almost everyone who visits Israel reports that it is one of the most
intense places on earth, because the citizens of Israel live under unceasing
pressure and anxiety. It now seems that the nation of Israel will do almost
anything for peace, even giving up precious land that they paid such a price
for in blood and hardship. However, there is no amount of change to the
external conditions that will bring Israel the peace that she seeks, but God
has a remedy.
After years of inquiring of the Lord about what we could do as a ministry
for Israel, I was told to send “missionaries of peace” to live there. Their
main calling is to walk in the peace and rest of God so that their joy and
peace in the midst of the stress would stand out as an oasis in contrast
to the spirit that is now prevailing over that nation. When the believers
who live there are delivered of anxiety and begin to walk in the peace of
God it will be the most striking witness to the Prince of Peace that Israel
has had since the first century. When this is demonstrated it will make
this peace of heart even more desirable than peace with the nations
around them. There is no peace like the peace of God, and this alone
can lead to a true peace with those neighbors.
The enemy has sent onslaught after onslaught to disturb the believers
in Israel, but peace will soon be victorious in them. When this happens
we are close to the marching orders being given to the greatest army
of God that has ever been released upon the earth.
If we are going to understand the times we must heed the Lord’s own
exhortation in Mark 13:28-29, “Now learn the parable from the fig tree:
when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves,
you know that summer is near. “Even so, you too, when you see these
things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.” Because
the fig tree is a symbol of Israel, this is an exhortation to
understand this nation as a sign of the times. It is wise to be
concerned about the events in Israel and seek to understand what
they mean.
It is also interesting that when Agabus prophesied in the first century
that a famine was coming upon the whole earth. Christians prepared
for it by taking up an offering for the believers in Israel.
They understood God’s promise to bless those who bless Abraham’s
seed. They also understood that God had established an eternal law
in the beginning that a seed could only reproduce after its own kind.
If we want to be blessed in the natural, we must bless the natural
seed of Abraham. If we are seeking spiritual blessing, bless the
spiritual seed of Abraham, which is the church. By blessing the natural
seed who are believers we are blessing both together.
Build Your Own Fortress
Who are you now warring with? What is the source of the greatest
conflict in your life? Have you cast this anxiety upon the Lord?
When you do this exercise of faith, it will release Him to move in
this situation. That is why we are told in Hebrews 12:14-15,
“Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no
one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace
of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and
by it many be defiled.”
There is no reason for a Christian to ever be bitter at anyone or
anything. If we are bitter we are being defiled, and we will also defile
others with it. As Dudley Hall once said, “Bitterness is like drinking
poison and hoping someone else gets sick.” We are called to something
much higher than this. We are called to the ultimate nobility of soul that
is reflected in forgiveness, and the ultimate dignity that comes from
walking in the peace of God.
Define the sources of conflict and agitation in your life and repent of
your lack of faith and trust in the Lord in relation to them. Cast
this anxiety upon the Lord, and determine that regardless of
appearances or situations, you are going to trust the Lord to deal
with the matters. He will do it, but usually after He has dealt with
something even more important, your own heart.
The lack of peace in our lives is directly related to the lack of faith
that we have in the Lord. A fundamental calling on our life is simply to
trust God. That is why the Lord said, “…This is the work of God, that
you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29). Simply trusting Him
in our everyday lives will accomplish much more than many of the
works and projects that we try to do for Him. The church and the
kingdom that Jesus is building in our hearts will be manifested in our
daily lives. The Lord does not judge the quality of a church by how
good the meeting is on Sunday morning, but by how good the
people are on Monday morning.
The peace of God is the power that will lead us to victory over
ourselves and the strongholds of the enemy. We are all called to
be missionaries of the peace of God. This peace is not the result
of peaceful conditions, but is profound confidence in God even in
the midst of the most trying conditions.
The more stressful or violent the conditions, the more the peace
of God is a demonstration of the true faith of God. This faith is
what moves the Lord to take action on our behalf in those
conditions. Peace is therefore an accurate barometer of the true
level of our faith.
The Way to the Kingdom
How do we build our lives upon this kingdom that cannot be shaken?
Romans 14:17 states, “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking,
but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Those who do
not know God are always in an endless pursuit of joy and happiness,
but it can never be attained outside of Christ. We will never know
true peace without building our lives on a foundation of righteousness,
which is simply having a right relationship with God. When we are
living lives that are obedient to the Lord and His ways, peace will be
the result. Along with this peace which comes from knowing we are
right with God, comes the true joy that is beyond anything that we
can experience in the world. This is because man was created to
have fellowship with God and nothing but intimacy with Him will
ever satisfy the deepest longing of our soul.
Because the Lord made us and knows what we need, the righteousness
of God is simply living the way we were created to live, doing that
which is in fact the best for us. What is best for us is walking with
God, dwelling in His presence, following the King and being obedient
to Him in all things. That is righteousness, and it brings peace that
cannot be shaken, and a joy that is eternal. It is now time to arm
ourselves with the peace of God. Those who do will go forth conquering
in His name. The peace of God is an impregnable fortress. Never, ever,
lose your peace, and you will always know victory.
In I Thessalonians 5:23 Paul prayed, “Now may the God of peace
Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body
be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
” It is “the God of peace” who will sanctify us. As we abide in the
peace of God, we will abide in the Lord. Sanctification is not just a
state of not sinning, but it is abiding in the Lord. When we abide in
Him we will not just renounce sin, but we will love, and we will have
faith for the true works of God.
Peace and Prophecy
We are told in Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which surpasses
all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
It is interesting that the Greek word translated “guard” in this text is
phroureo (froo-reh -o), which comes from a compound word that means
“to be a watcher in advance, i.e. to mount guard as a sentinel (post
spies at gates); figuratively, to hem in, protect: or to keep as with
a garrison.”
The peace of God not only keeps our hearts and minds in Christ,
it helps us to see in advance, and to know what to do to protect
against the attacks of the enemy.
This is one of the primary lessons that the church should have learned
from those who got caught up in the Y2K scare. Every prophecy that I
personally witnessed about the imminent doom that Y2K would bring had
an air of anxiety and fear attached.
As we read in James 3:17-18:
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle,
reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without
hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by
those who make peace.
If the peace of God is going to guard our hearts and minds in Christ
Jesus we must learn not to receive that which comes without the
peace of God attached. I realize that many people are so fearful that
they can even hear a pure word from the Lord, which is sown in peace,
and still be afraid.
Before we can discern the difference, our own hearts must be at
peace. Having the peace of God rule in our hearts, families, and churches
must be a high priority if we are going to be free from deception.
Summary
The Scriptures are clear that difficult times are coming upon the world,
but at the same time the glory of the Lord will be coming upon His
people. Hearing the prophecies about difficulties should not disturb us,
but they should awaken us and help to prepare us. This will only be
true as we abide in the peace of God. The Lord is not sitting in the
heavens worrying about anything, and neither will those who are
abiding in Him. If we are abiding in Him the whole world can collapse
around us and we will be at perfect peace because we have built our
lives on a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
When Jesus was tempted by the devil He answered every temptation
with Scripture. The Word of God is stronger than any power that we
will ever be faced with. Now is the time to search the Scriptures,
taking our stand on that which will stand forever—the Word of God.
Consider the following promises of His peace. They are sure so we
should never be troubled. If we will abide in His peace we will prevail
against any fortress the evil one can build.
The LORD will give strength to His people; the LORD will bless His
people with peace (Psalm 29:11).
I will hear what God the LORD will say; for He will speak peace to
His people, to His godly ones; but let them not turn back to folly.
Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may
dwell in our land (Psalm 85:8-9).
For, let him who means to love life and see good days refrain his
tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile.
And let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace
and pursue it (I Peter 3:10-11).
Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it (Psalm
34:14).
Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to
be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless (II Peter 3:14).
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the
government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to
uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and
forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this
(Isaiah 9:6-7).
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you
will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; to give to His people
the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, because
of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high
shall visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow
of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:76-79).
“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, nor let it be
fearful (John 14:27).
How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good
news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who
announces salvation, and says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
(Isaiah 52:7)
“So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not
return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and
without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. For you will go
out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills
will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all the trees of the
field will clap their hands (Isaiah 55:11-12).
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.
May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces.
For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, “May
peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the LORD our God
I will seek your good (Psalm 122:6-9).
Written by Rick Joyner
Prophetic Bulletin September 2001
www.morningstarministries.org