The Spiritual Warrior Manual- Review, Applications and Additional Notes III

BEFORE THE BATTLE

* The Hebrew word “tavnit” means “a shadow, picture or pattern” (Exo 25.8-9; Ezek 43.10) and that applies to anything that the Lord has shown us to imitate or copy. Yeshua, the festivals, the Temple and even spiritual warfare are patterns, pictures and shadows for us to follow                                        * How to fight spiritually can be found in the Psalms (the book of spiritual warfare). The “chachmah” or wisdom of God, with the “da’at” or knowledge of God, will be the stability of your times (your walls)-Isa 33.6
* We are to “contend for the faith” (Jude 3)                *If you want peace, prepare for war                              *Wishing and hoping is not a strategy
* The Lord uses warfare as a “tavnit” to teach us about wise preparations in Luke 14.31. Don’t start something you can’t finish
* Warfare doesn’t build character, it reveals it
* Battles are won and lost before any fighting begins. We must be ready to run (battle) every day. Battles are not won because you were in the right place at the right time, they are won because you were ready when the time came. A gazelle must be faster than the lion every day or he will be lunch. And the lion must be faster than the gazelle every day or he will starve, thus the battle.
* You can defeat your enemy by drawing them in with three things: distraction, diversion and division
* The Lord does not entrust his truth to the weak and timid
* To be a Maccabean warrior against assimilation, you must prepare and wait by prayer, study of the Word, fasting, you must separate from Hellenism and go into the “wilderness” (no hayrides or tea parties there) because the war is on. Learn the Scriptures. You don’t have time for ice cream socials, you must get ready for battle
* A good defense includes not fighting alone; use back-up protection; know your protection and don’t let your armor “weigh” you down; assess/know the potential of your enemy; until you have good equipment (weapons and intelligence) you can’t win the battle; know how to use your superior weapons; don’t get caught in a place where you can’t maneuver, remain spiritually mobile
* In other words, don’t get caught in a war where information you should know has been neglected and you have been complacent
* When at peace, keep your fortifications strong (Solomon built chariot towns and massive defenses); prepare your fortifications before they are needed (Hezekiah built his tunnel before the siege) and build them along possible avenues of attack
* Know what you are talking about, the more you build the less you will “contend”
* When building a good stronghold, you need a good “footing and foundation” (that would be the Torah and the Prophets-Isa 8.20).
* To move away from the Stone Age to the Iron Age is going to take maturity, time and training
* Different attacks require different defenses. Be prepared with both offensive and defensive weaponry
* Assess your enemy, take away his advantages, fight when and where you choose
* Protect your life support systems; don’t rely on a well outside your fortress; don’t cut down your “fruit trees” which protect you; don’t burn the fields which feed you and “poison the water” you will need later
* Anticipate avenues of attack and strengthen them
* Know the “gates” into your life and fortify them; keep them to a minimum and don’t give the enemy more opportunities for entrance. Penetration into your city (you, your mind/heart/soul/spirit) is the goal
* To be “cut off” is the Hebrew word “karet.” It means to be put out of the “camp” or congregation. This goes back to the time in the wilderness when being “put out of the camp” meant death in the wilderness, the abode of Satan. Now the enemy, or wild animals, can get to you. That is what Paul had in mind in 1 Cor 5.1-5 when he says to turn a person over to Satan for the destruction of his flesh. This is an idiom for being put out of the congregation
* Watch your “avenues of attack” for the approach of the enemy
* None are so courageous when no resistance is offered, and none are more cowardly when they encounter opposition
* Lay up supplies for attack. If you are a true believer and in the Lord’s army, the truth you know will be attacked
* Obtain the right information you need to fight the war. That means you need to know the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings in order to understand the Gospels and Epistles (which are commentaries on the Torah). These need to be mastered in their Hebraic context
* Take the necessary precautions at all times. Neglect nothing. Pride in past victories or being naïve concerning the enemy can blind you to their presence
* Don’t be overconfident or lulled to sleep
* Don’t put yourself in a position to be ambushed or a victim of a sneak attack
* The spiritual preparation and groundwork is what sustains a person as the physical battles are being fought. Battles are always fought by scared people who would rather be somewhere else
* Vision, goal and plan help create a successful campaign, but don’t be paranoid and become restrictive
* Protect your water source, your source of strength. Don’t rely on outside forces for your strength and teaching alone
* When you dig a well (look for spiritual water, checking out a source for study, etc) and someone fills it in with rocks (tries to stop you), don’t waste your time fighting over a filled well, dig another well. Without water (spiritual water) you will die
* Fasting, seeking direction, petition and study are the spiritual preparations for warfare. But warfare requires a physical reaction. When an unexplained sickness hits, seek the most qualified doctor and follow his direction. When the I.R.S. calls, get a good accountant. So, learn who or what your enemy is.
* Pray and plan your method of defense or counter attack. Purify yourself before the Lord, build up your supplies, fortify your defenses, guard your gates
* Do all you can to win the battle and then look to God to be your deliverer
* You build your walls with what you understand about the Lord and the Word. That is your armor (Eph 6)
* Your shield of faith (confidence) is in him. It deflects untruth, false teaching and false teachers
* The more you know about the Lord through his word, the more confident you will be
* If you know what you believe, you can stand and not “break ranks”
* Our walls cannot be your walls, you must build your own da’at (knowledge), binah (understanding), chachmah (wisdom), and emunah (faith, confidence). Others can help you, but you must fight your own battles
* What kind of fortress do you want? We want a broad-wall (personal defenses based on faith, knowledge, understanding and wisdom) with a strong foundation (the Torah, Scriptures) with crennels (to shoot your weapons from), embrasures (to shield you from false teachings, arrows of the enemy), bastions (to fire from to keep people away from your wall), a glacis (your attitude before anyone even gets close to your wall, a spiritual “stiff-arm”), a moat (observance, a guard to keep the enemy away from your walls), many towers (units of study that you have mastered from the Scriptures, like, the festivals, the Temple, the priesthood, the dietary laws, prophecy and eschatology, Hebrew, the Kehilat, Hebrew thought, the Messiah, the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, the Gospels, the Epistles, etc), strong sword (a sharp mind in the Torah), arrows (words) and strong gates (no weak points in the wall)
* But, you can’t build these overnight or by attending “meetings.” You must learn and gain wisdom, and take a lot of time for thought
* Prepare your walls and call upon God (2 Chr 14.6-11; Prov 16.1)
* The “trap” is when you look for only the “tavnit” or pattern, you won’t get a good foundation that will allow you to build your walls. Read all the Scriptures all the way through, over and over again, with a Hebraic mindset. Then you will know what’s right or wrong if you read a book or hear a message. Let the Scriptures mold your mind, not a book or message. You will find that if you center yourself in the Scriptures, many of the programs, books, messages you wanted to read or hear won’t matter anymore
* When should your defenses go up? Following great victories or revelations. Protection is based on two things, detection and response
* Don’t waste your time on stupid arguments (like KJV only; tongues/no tongues; grace vs. law, pre-trib or post-trib rapture, etc) with people who don’t know what they are talking about. They say they are “serving the Lord” but they are really serving themselves. Don’t waste your time and energy on battles that just drain you. Prepare and be ready for the real battles that will come. Minor skirmishes just distract and drain your resources. Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. And remember, if you come at the king, you better not miss.                                                                                  *No enemy is worse than bad advice

In Spiritual Warfare- Review, Application and Additional Notes IV, we will begin by discussing what to do when under attack.

Posted in Articles, Idioms, Phrases and Concepts, Prophecy/Eschatology, The Tanak, Tying into the New Testament

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