The battle a passive spirit

3^rd is our response and readiness to what the Holy Spirit wants to do in our life and our response and readiness to the enemy. The Lord has really been putting this on my heart this last year and especially since beginning of this year. I think this will be hard for me to communicate but will try.

There are difficult times ahead but also spectacular times of revival and harvest. Perhaps the most frequently mentioned end times sign is the spiritual passivity that will lull many to drowsiness and indifference concerning the things of God. Ultimately if we intend to follow Christ we must think of ourselves as over comers. It is not enough to sit regularly in church or even be familiar with the promises of God. We are called to possess them. Passivity does not feel like sin; it does not specifically violate any of the Ten Commandments. Its deception is more like a drug that clouds our discernment. I have seen too many Christians who have lost their first love for God. When love grows cold a door opens in our souls toward darkness. Matthew 25:1-13 and Revelation 3:14-22 Quotes taken from Francis Frangipane

We know that God gives us everything we need for this battle and what he calls us to do. Jesus and the Holy Spirit is in us. The Lord is a warrior and the Holy Spirit is power love and sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7, John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Philippians 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

When God’s chosen people were given the promise land they had to fight 39 battles when they entered the land. God’s plan was that they would have victory through Him but He continuously told them to completely destroy the enemy and drive them out of the land. We are not fighting fleshly battles but we are in a real spiritual battle against a real enemy fighting with God’s mighty weapons and promises. 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.

There are many scriptures and examples but I will use three.  The Levites were chosen to take care of the tabernacle and priest came from this tribe. In Exodus 32 the Levites showed their devotion, obedience and readiness to God. Exodus 32:25-29 Moses saw that Aaron had let the people get completely out of control, much to the amusement of their enemies. So he stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, “All of you who are on the LORD’s side, come here and join me.” And all the Levites gathered around him.  Moses told them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Each of you, take your swords and go back and forth from one end of the camp to the other. Kill everyone—even your brothers, friends, and neighbors.”  The Levites obeyed Moses’ command, and about 3,000 people died that day. Then Moses told the Levites, “Today you have ordained yourselves for the service of the LORD, for you obeyed him even though it meant killing your own sons and brothers. Today you have earned a blessing.”

Another great example is King David, you can read about him in 1 Samuel 16 to 1 Kings 2. David was a shepherd and chosen by God to be a King. In 1 Samuel 17 he became a warrior and showed his readiness and obedience to God when he wasn’t in the Israelites army and killed The Giant Goliath. All the soldiers where dressed for war but they didn’t fight the giant , David went with his shepherds bag and five stones and killed Goliath. David made mistakes but he won all his battles and pursued his enemies till they were consumed. Later in his life David had to battle Goliaths brothers in 2 Samuel 22:18-22 & 1 Chronicles 20:4-8. In 1 Chronicles 11:6 David chose his commander of his armies. “David had said to his troops, "Whoever is first to attack the Jebusites will become the commander of my armies!" And Joab, the son of David's sister Zeruiah, was first to attack, so he became the commander of David's armies.”

Another great example is in 2 Kings 13:14-19 When Elisha was in his last illness, King Jehoash of Israel visited him and wept over him. “My father! My father! I see the chariots and charioteers of Israel!” he cried. Elisha told him, “Get a bow and some arrows.” And the king did as he was told.  Elisha told him, “Put your hand on the bow,” and Elisha laid his own hands on the king’s hands. Then he commanded, “Open that eastern window,” and he opened it. Then he said, “Shoot!” So he shot an arrow. Elisha proclaimed, “This is the LORD’s arrow, an arrow of victory over Aram, for you will completely conquer the Arameans at Aphek.” Then he said, “Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground.” So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times. But the man of God was angry with him. “You should have struck the ground five or six times!” he exclaimed. “Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times.”

This is a great reminder to me that the battle and enemy is real and there will be giants in our walk with the Lord. The victory is in the Lord, James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. I think even though we have been set free and we live in a time God’s love and grace. We have been given everything we need from God to draw our sword the word of God against the enemy to be victorious in our walk with the Lord. We know that the Holy Spirit is in us and He will never tolerate the works of the enemy.

Jesus could live with and forgive human failure but He never allowed evil spirits to control Him. He was aggressive toward His spiritual enemies. There is no neutral ground. There is no room for a passive spirit in God’s army. A Quote from Francis Frangipane. 

The battle part 5

2nd is once we are saved reborn spiritually set free and part of the Lord’s kingdom.  Colossians 1:13 Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. We are saved and have eternal life but we are in a process of transformation, growing, becoming more like Christ. We want to learn God’s word and His ways, abide in Jesus and be obedient to His teaching. In many scriptures it talks about being renewed by the Holy Spirit and not copying the teaching and ways of this world. Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Ephesians 4:20-24 “But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him,  throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”

When we accept Jesus and commit to follow Him, He will want to be first in our life and lead us to become like Him and the plan He has for our life. This is part of the battle as being a son of God. 2 Corinthians 5:15 “He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.”

When we are saved we are set aside for the Lord to be holy or sanctified for His purpose to worship and glorify Him. You have heard the phrase they are in the world but not of this world. John 17:13-19 “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.”

The Lord loves us and is a jealous God about the relationship he has with us. Exodus 34:14 “You must worship no other gods, for the LORD, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.” God demands to be first above all other people or things in our lives. I think we will battle with this through out our entire walk with the Lord here on earth. There is a lot of scripture in the old and new testament that is clear about this. An example of this in the word is there were Judges and kings who were good and bad at obeying God’s laws and ways. They were continuously trying to establish God’s laws and ways to the people and tear down the shrines and altars to false god’s and idols. This was a constant battle through out generations you can read about in the books of Judges and 1^st and 2^nd kings.

In Judges 6 God raises up a man named Gideon and instructs him to tear down the altars and shrines to false gods. In verse 27 Gideon takes 10 servants with him to accomplish this for the Lord. I think my point is when it comes to putting the Lord first and tearing down the idols, sin, worldly things, or anything in our life that needs to be changed or removed. We can not be a passive servant in this area and we may need to have help or accountability from close loving brothers. There is no shame in finding brothers who will help each other in this area. What ever it takes! There is many scriptures in the bible that supports this teaching and theory needing help in your walk from others.

I think the important part for me in this area is to remember this is a real part of the battle. To have a soft teachable pliable heart that will let the Lord continue to cleanse, transform, and renew me. Be humble and know I deeply need the Lord to do this. And everyone struggles with this and that means every human being. I have meet older men and women in their seventies and eighties that are still growing being renewed daily and working on this area in their walk. This is part of the journey and battle. Older mature people in the church need to teach younger people that it is ok to be real in this area and be transparent. If you are in a place where you don’t think you need the Lord or help from others in this area you are already deceived by the enemy.

Jesus could live with and forgive human failure but He never allowed evil spirits to control Him. He was aggressive toward His spiritual enemies. There is no neutral ground. There is no room for a passive spirit in God’s army. A Quote from Francis Frangipane.