A Warrior - A Time to Fight
Hi Friends,
I am writing today about a vision that the Lord gave me a couple of weeks ago. It is about spiritual warfare and spiritual authority. We are living in the end times and the Lord will be returning for the Church. Will he find faith on the earth?
The Vision
As I was praying just about a week ago, I saw the head of a woman who had red hair with a center part. The hair was cut bluntly, just an inch or two above the shoulders, and styled in a page-boy. Her face was painted blue.
The Meaning of the Vision
The only red-headed people on the earth who painted their faces blue were those living long ago on the British Isles, primarily in what is now Northern Scotland. I had remembered reading that the Romans had encountered these people when they were expanding their territory or empire to include Britain.
Not knowing much about these people, I decided to do a bit of research online. The Romans called them “Picti” meaning painted. Today we refer to them as the Picts. There is a bit of controversy as to where they originated, but they lived primarily as farmers. When the Romans came to invade their land, they proved to be fierce warriors. Some stories claimed that even their women were highly capable as fighters ready to defend themselves and their homes. The Romans noted that the women were not “soft,” as women of other cultures, but were strong.
The Picts fought in ways in which the Romans had no former experience. They were great with the element of surprise, and they fought from the rocky hills and from behind trees. The description of the warfare reminded me of the manner in which the American Indians fought the British in the French and Indian War. Of all the people groups that the Romans encountered, the Picts were never defeated. The Romans could not conquer them, so they built a wall to discourage them from coming south into the land that the Romans were able to hold.
The Picts painted or tattooed their bodies to look fierce, to intimidate their enemies. Some stories speak of them fighting naked. I can’t imagine them fighting naked in such a far north country where the temperature is cold. I wear warm clothes year round because here in America, we have two seasons: winter and air conditioning.
I have thought about this vision of this blue faced woman, and after doing research, and spending time praying, I believe that the Lord is speaking of spiritual warfare and preparing the church for the days ahead.
I believe that the woman represents the church and that the Lord choose a blue faced Pict woman, because she was strong, and capable of fighting.
Years ago, I shared a Bible verse with the pastor’s wife, during prayer. It was this passage: “For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth: a woman encircles a man.” Jeremiah 31:22
There may be differing opinions as to what this means, but for me, I understand this to mean that a woman will defend, protect, and cover a man. It is a new thing, for it was always the “weaker” of the sexes, being protected by the stronger. A man would fight to defend his wife and children. But now, many years have gone by and we are speaking of church culture. It is women who out number men when it comes to prayer and especially intercessory prayer. A Christian woman defends her family from spiritual attacks through prayer and waging spiritual warfare. Not that men cannot do this, quite the contrary. Many pastors and leaders can be gifted in ministries of deliverance. It is just that the majority of prayer warriors these days are women. They will pray without ceasing, without giving up, and with giving the enemy not an inch of ground. They will defend their families from the on-onslaught of wicked attacks from the devil and his demons.
Women pray for their husbands, their families, their nation and the world, looking to the Lord to do what only he can do. Our job is to “bind and loosen,” in the name of Jesus, and to believe the Lord for his deliverance, his provision, and his healing. We partner with the Holy Spirit, praying as we are led by him to conduct warfare against our spiritual enemy.
The days in which we live are becoming increasingly wicked, just as the Lord had prophesied about the end times.
“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:3-14
We can see an undeniably increase in wickedness. There is no accountability for some leaders in the Federal government. Very many leaders legislate with no regard for the Constitution. They break the law and are not arrested or tried. Crime is ignored and in some cases even facilitated. It is as if there was an unwritten rule regarding the “untouchable class,” those who have political clout. Whatever narrative they want people to accept, they will promote. And those with opposing views they will silence and “cancel.” They do everything to control the flow of information to the public, and they will use government agencies to attack their political opponents.
As Christians, we know that our true enemy is demonic in nature. It is not the people who seem responsible for all the wickedness for they are merely tools in the enemies’ hands. For our enemies are the Lord’s enemies: Satan and his demons. “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.” Ephesians 6:12
And in order to fight against these evil entities, we must walk with the Lord in holiness. If we do not have a true relationship with the Lord, then any effort we make to stop the enemy will be futile. The Bible has a perfect example of a failed attempt to overtake the enemy without possessing the proper authority.
“Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, ‘In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.’ Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?’ Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.” Acts 19:13-16
Luke, the author of the Biblical book of Acts, knew the apostle Paul had authority, because Paul KNEW the Lord Jesus. He was given power to perform miracles and the authority to cast out demons, and raise the dead, because of his intimate relationship with God. If we KNOW the Lord, and we believe his word, trusting in his name, we will also have authority. Jesus makes this truth known to his disciples by telling them: “And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Luke 22:29-30
Jesus sent his disciples out to announce the coming of the kingdom of God. He also gave them spiritual authority to cast our demons, to heal the blind etc. “As you go, proclaim this message: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” Matthew 10:8
Jesus wants his church, his bride, those whom he calls friends, to walk in spiritual authority, to perform miracles, of healing and deliverance, and even raise the dead. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12
He will give authority to those who ask, and to those who have the faith to believe in him. However, I must share an important “disclaimer,” or teaching regarding authority, for not all who use their authority, are saved. This may seem like a shocking statement, but it is the Lord’s words and not mine. This passage is found in the Bible in the book of Matthew. The heading reads: “True and False Disciples.”
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:21-23
Who are these people that the Lord is addressing? These may be people that are influential in our churches. They may be people who have written books, and have a following. But what makes them considered as evildoers in the Lord’s eyes, is the motives of their hearts.
Why do they perform miracles? They have been given a gift of faith, and a gift of healing and a gift to perform miracles, but something is missing. They are lacking the love for God. They are lacking the desire to see his name glorified. Instead they are filled with pride, and self adoration. They want to be noticed. They want the glory of performing an amazing miracle for themselves. Jesus speaks of the Pharisees like this, calling them “hypocrites.” "Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.” Luke 11:42
And to the teachers of the law he says: "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.” Luke 11:46
Pride and wanting to be in the limelight, can be a real temptation for pastors and leaders both. We have another example in the book of Acts, with a man known as Simon the Sorcerer.
“But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” Acts 8:9-24
The Lord gives gifts of spiritual power and authority to us to bring others to faith in him. This honors God and he delights in our devotion to him. But these very gifts will test our hearts and our motives. If we let pride over-take our inner thoughts, we will become full of ourselves and our love for the Lord will wane. Those who the Lord called “evildoers,” in his parable, may have started as believers, but through their spiritual “successes,” became full of pride. And when the believer fails to recognize the sin of pride, he does not see the need to repent. This grieves the Holy Spirit. Then, after being grieved many times over with no repentance, and no change of heart, the Holy Spirit can leave. This is a terrible situation, for without the Holy Spirit, there is no conviction of sin. Without repentance a person becomes bound spiritually. This spiritual condition is addressed in the Lord’s parable of the ten virgins, five of whom did not have oil in their lamps.
“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
“‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
“But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Matthew 25:1-13
The Lord’s uses this parable to show the fate of those who did not have the Holy Spirit (oil in their lamps). Because of their carelessness, they missed the opportunity to go into the wedding supper.
So in both these parables, the Lord is showing us that without knowing him, we will be sent away as evil doers and we will not inherit the kingdom of God. We must have a genuine relationship with him to have salvation and eternal life. ”And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14
We are sealed with the Holy Spirit when we first believe. He dwells in us as a guide, as a comforter, and as one who reveals the truth. We are marked by him, showing his ownership of us. He bought us with his precious blood, when he died upon the cross for our sins. And if we are true believers, we will acknowledge his ownership, and his lordship over our lives. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Returning to Spiritual Authority:
Spiritual authority is important if we want to make a difference in the kingdom of God. If we want our friends, loved ones, families and our nation to be healthy, sound, whole, and well, we absolutely need to know how to fight in the Spirit effectively.
We are told in the Bible that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They are supernatural with supernatural power. “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
Part of our readiness to fight has to do with obedience. If we need spiritual authority to effectively defend ourselves from the wicked one, then we must be fully submitted to the Lord, and willing to obey his word. It is imperative be obedient to the will of God, for the devil knows who is submitted and who is going it alone. Rebellion is what the devil is all about. Obedience is the mark of a true Christian. For it is through obedience that we show our love, and loyalty to the Lord. It is the measure by which we can prove or disprove our faithfulness to him. If we do not respect his authority and lordship over us, then we will not be able to move in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is our primary example of obedience, for he was obedient to God, even unto death. He showed his love both to us, and to the Father, by his death on a cross. In spite of suffering and pain, he chose to be obedient. "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." Luke 22:42
His obedience was truly an act of love: “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
His desire was to please the Father and to accomplish the purpose for which he came to earth. “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2
What the Lord Wants for His Church
The Lord moved in power while on this earth, to teach us about himself and about the kingdom of God. He has given us this vision of a warrior because he wants us to take dominion over all things. He does not want us to succumb to temptations, the enemy or his evil plans. We are to be warriors, soldiers in his army, ready to fight against the wickedness that is in the world.
Now that we understand authority, that it is given to those who love God and are submitted to his will, and we recognize that we are not our own, that we were bought at a price, and that we are expected to be his humble and obedient servants, then we are ready to move on.
Spiritual Warfare
As the Lord’s servants, we know that the battle belongs to him. We are to be faithful, like his armor bearer. The Lord’s angels engage the enemy at his command. He dispatches them in response to the prayers that we pray, as we are led by the Holy Spirit. It is something very beautiful, something orchestrated by God. We partner with him in prayer, when we pray in the Spirit. The Lord places a desire within us to see his will accomplished. As we pray in the Spirit, our spirit yields to the Holy Spirit and we pray in tongues, and sometimes in our natural language. The Spirit directs us with visions, a scripture, a word or an impression. We simply follow his lead.
Making Declarations
We may be led to declare something that the Lord wants to establish. We use declaration as the Lord did in his creation, speaking things into existence. What the Lord places in our hearts, we declare out loud, expecting that we declare will be made manifest. It is God, “Who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.” Romans 4:17
These may be declarations that we make in the name of Jesus:
“_____, you are healed in the name of Jesus.
Your _____ is restored in the name of Jesus.”
“All _____ must go in the name of Jesus.”
“Our nation is submitted to God. It is indivisible. There is liberty and justice administered fairly, and perfectly for every citizen, in the powerful name of Jesus!”
“As a citizen of the United States of America, and as a child of the Most High God and Savior, Lord and Jesus, I declare that our nation will serve no other gods, but Jesus who is God alone.” We will not bow down to the “gods” of this world, but we will serve our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”
Notice also that we pray in the name of Jesus, for the Lord has told us that whatever we ask in his name he will do. “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14:13
Binding and Loosening
The Lord may prompt us “to bind” and “to loosen.”
“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:19
So we bind up the demonic powers that wage war against the Church and against our people. We bind up all sickness and disease. We bind up wrong thinking and attitudes. We bind up ungodly influences in our culture. We bind up the demonic powers behind greed, lust, sexual perversion and sexual abuse.
We also loose people who are themselves bound by sin. We loose those bound by lusts of the flesh, alcohol, drugs, pornography, perversity, covetousness, and the desire for money and power. We loose people of bad habits, wrong thinking, addictions, and demonic oppression and demonic possession.
To Move or Uproot
Jesus gave the example of faith in moving and uprooting. He replied, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.” Luke 17:6
“Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20
We uproot bitterness and resentment. We uproot cancerous ideologies and teachings that harm our children and our nation. We uproot vanity, pride, and arrogance. We uproot every lie and deceitful narrative, and everything that has been tainted, twisted or perverted with evil intent.
These are God-given keys to the kingdom of heaven: binding and loosening. So now with the vision of the woman warrior, we as the church are instructed to move in power, move in faith, move in the love of God to carry out the Lord’s plan for salvation and deliverance for the people in our world. As we “surround a man,” we are protecting and defending our families, our churches and our nation from the enemy. We loosen those who are held captive by the devil and his demons. And through the Spirit of God, we pray and battle against our enemies, the devil and his demons.
It is time to restrain evil, for we are in the last days. The Lord told his disciples: “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:4
“And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.” 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8
It is the Holy Spirit living within the believer that is the restrainer. As the scripture says, when “he who now restrains” is taken out of the way, there will be no more time. It is soon to happen, the in-gathering of the saints to be with the Lord. Then the Tribulation will come as the night when no one can work. Now, it is day, so let’s be faithful to do the work that the Lord has prepared for us. “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
Let’s be found faithful, for the Lord warns us with these words: “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8
Please share this important post with your friends and those who may appreciate its message.
God bless you! Let’s continue praying and sharing the gospel, for that is the Lord’s will! Amen!
