SEEKING JESUS

The Spiritual Duty of the Warrior Nation

In the section entitled: “the Duty of the Warrior Nation”, which can be found in the posting; Jesus-and-the-Covenant, we get an interesting insight into what God expects of a warrior. In this posting you will find that God communicated the nation of Israel (via Moses), to utterly destroy the evil religion and the people who inhabited the Promised Land.

This message applies to Christians today, in the sense that we are all called into the spiritual battles of Jesus. There is a huge difference however between our spiritual battles and the physical battles of Israel. Israel’s warfare was physical because it required the destruction of a people devoted to an evil religion.

While our spiritual warfare addresses the defeat of the devils evil forces and the restoration of God’s intentions for mankind.

Let’s look at a scripture that helps to reinforce this idea:

Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village. (Luke 9:51 – 56)

Paul also entices us to enter into spiritual warfare in this scripture:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;  praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints;  (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Additional information may require a review of the ten postings on our web site that start with the posting named Jesus-the-Golden-Altar-of-Incense.  One thing that we did not cover there however was the savagery of spiritual warfare. The warfare of Israel taking the Promised Land by force is prophetic of our requirement to take the spiritual Promised Land (heaven) in a like manner. Both call for the total elimination of evil from the land. Again, here are some supporting scriptures:

For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’  Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. (Matthew 11:10 – 14)

Therefore, we are called on to utterly destroy the spiritual places where evil spirits serve their false gods. We are to destroy their Altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire: we are to cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names form those places, all in the spirit. These are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place. You shall not worship the LORD your God with such things. But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go. (Deuteronomy 12:1 – 5)

Please note that victory in the spirit will also bring victory here on earth as well.

We enter into spiritual battle because the Lords prayer instructs us to so as it states:

Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

It is therefore God’s will that we become spiritual warriors and dispossess all evil from our Promised Land.

In our next posting we will take a look at the rewards of being a spirit filled warrior for God. Until then, may God’s blessings be upon you.