We know from Scripture that we are engaged in a war, and that our weapons are not carnal. It is clear from Scripture that the Lord does not want us to approach this subject lightly, and not know what we are doing. What passes for spiritual warfare today is falling right into the hands of the enemy.
God does not want his people to be “so many chickens” as Santa Anna once remarked about his army before an attack on the Alamo. He wants us to be well-trained and equipped. But how does one do that?
The most important weapon you have is the Scriptures. It is what Yeshua used in his battles with his enemies. What most people think are weapons are not real weapons, but magic in the place of real weapons. Look at most teachings on spiritual warfare and you will see magic and rituals. The enemy has convinced some that they are throwing rocks when they are really throwing mud.
Everything in spiritual warfare must come from the Lord. You cannot “name it and claim it” or “confess” yourself to victory. You cannot make the Lord do anything, it must come from him because he is “Adonai Tzava’ot” or “Lord of the armies” (Lam 3.37).
This is not the time to get into a full teaching about spiritual warfare, but what is going on today is not it. We are, however, going to talk about a little known warrior in the Army of the Lord, the Spiritual Sniper. They will be used by the Lord to go against those who are teaching heresy and falsehood, replacement theology and a variety of other things that work against the plan of God. Targets will vary and what is said may vary, but they will move at the direction of the Lord against false teachers. We are going to discuss their mission and tactics in practical terms.
The Spiritual Sniper must:
* collect data and observe what is going on around them. They must listen to different teachers and leaders, assess what they are saying and get to know what they are teaching. Collection of data is an important weapon.
*they must use stealth and move undetected because the Lord does not want to expose them, so being concealed and listening to the Lord while collecting information is what they need to do.
*they must be a good “spiritual marksman” so they can hit whatever the Lord tells him to hit. This is done by communicating what the Lord tells them accurately to whoever the Lord shows them. That means they must be accurate with the Word and be ready to deliver truth in a variety of areas.
*the spiritual sniper must be on position, on time and on target.
*there is a saying among snipers, “One shot, one kill” and this can be applied spiritually. A spiritual sniper does not want to be ambiguous about what he needs to say, they need to go straight to the heart of the matter, no “spiritual shoot-outs.” A spiritual sniper is a long range weapon, but there may be an opportunity to engage a person face to face, and if they do, they must shoot with accuracy and never before they are absolutely certain that they will hit the target.
*once the spiritual sniper moves, it can work psychologically against the target. They have been exposed to the truth and it will bother them. The spiritual sniper must never underestimate his impact on those he contacts.
*the spiritual sniper also protects their people against other spiritual snipers. They will be able to recognize one, know their tactics and help those around them overcome such attacks and neutralize the impact.
*many times the target of their aim will be the leaders of apostate organizations who are moving against the truth and the Word of God. They must be accurate in what they say and be able to hit their mark. This must be done quickly. No drawn out exchanges, otherwise this can be detrimental to the spiritual sniper. They must hear from the Lord on what to say and how to say it.
*the spiritual sniper must be able to have mobility, which means they must be accurate in many different biblical subjects in order to “move around” when needed. They must feel comfortable and accurate when engaged in any subject.
*they must gather intelligence on what is going on in the Bible believing world. There are many people who are doing much damage and he must gather as much information as he can, even minutia.
*they must be able to work with others to gain information as well because they will have valuable information.
*they must work slow and work cautiously. They do not want to expose themselves in what they are doing, patience is required. They remember the saying, “Measure seven times, cut once.”
*they must be spiritually “camouflaged” and “hidden” so that their movements are unnoticed. They are not like the general on a battlefield with a fancy uniform and gold braids. This does not appeal to a spiritual sniper. God has trained them to work unnoticed, without drawing attention to himself. To move in and out of a scenario without much attention. Remember, obscurity is security.
*the spiritual sniper’s war is more a war of nerves and concentration. Endurance in their calling is the key. They cannot be overcome with the desire to be noticed, because then they are useless. God has them doing these things for a reason and they must not get impatient.
*sometimes it may be necessary to use “deflection” to get attention off of them. The key thing to a spiritual sniper is that most people do not know who they are and what their mission is, and that’s the way they want it.
*they must be totally prepared for anything. When not engaged with a mission, they are “cleaning their weapon” and learning what they can to “handle the Word of God accurately.”
*the spiritual sniper must know their “bullet” or the Scriptures. They must know everything they can about it, how far it can go and how the “wind” (the Spirit) can move it to “hit” the target.
*they must never use a high caliber bullet on a low caliber target, or in other words, they don’t throw their pearls before swine. It is a waste of time.
*a spiritual sniper can be a victim of friendly fire from other believers because those believers don’t understand what the spiritual sniper is doing and where they are going. The spiritual sniper is not usually a part of the main group and can get hurt by others who don’t understand their mission or “where they are at.” But, on the other hand, not knowing where a spiritual sniper is can be an advantage.
*they must never go out or return the same way, no obvious routines that can be exploited by others. There are some “in the camp” who are there to cause problems and the spiritual sniper cannot get caught up in that.
*they must move frequently and slowly, not giving an enemy sniper a chance to “zero in on them.”
*they must make sure that when the Lord gives him a “target” that there is a clear line of fire. What needs to be said needs to be said directly to the object of the mission and not to others.
*the spiritual sniper will often do “over-watch” duties over their congregation or family (like a sheepdog over their flock). They look for anyone “infiltrating” the group who should not be there and “don’t look right.” They have ulterior motives, wolves in sheep clothing. These could cause trouble later on and need to be identified and dealt with by the leaders if it comes to that.
*they must reduce target indicators that would give them away. This is anything that could cause the enemy to target them.
*the spiritual sniper must stop, look and listen often. They evaluate and must never get distracted from what they are doing.
*unlike other warriors, they must avoid known enemy positions and obstacles. They do not rush into an enemy stronghold, but their job is to blend in and wait for the opportunity God gives them.
*they must find “terrain” for the best cover. How to do this will be made known to the “sniper” by the Lord as they move and develop their “hide.”
*the spiritual sniper does not “travel” the same roads and paths everyone else uses. They go the way that the Lord shows them to avoid detection and problems down the road. Their life will not be what everyone else leads. They will avoid “populated” areas or not be a part of what everyone else is doing.
*they must assume that they are being watched, so they must move in order to be undetected. The spiritual sniper cannot get into “ruts” or become predictable. Some never change and in time become predictable and stagnant.
*the spiritual sniper must not initiate contact with the enemies of the Lord and “non-combatants.”
*they must not engage enemy “aircraft.” Eph 2.2 says that Satan is the prince of the power of the “air” so he has an air force, but so does God. Daniel 10 and Rev 12 describe some of these battles. These “air” battles are unseen, but can affect ground “troops.” The spiritual sniper does not engage with these forces, just like a physical sniper would not shoot at a high altitude bomber. However, the spiritual sniper knows how to deal with enemy aircraft if they are forced to do so. Like Michael in Jude 9, they do not bring a railing accusation, but rebukes him in the name of the Lord. Most of the casting out of demons today is not biblical. The spiritual sniper cannot get caught up in that kind of sideshow. They are sent behind enemy lines at times and the Lord will keep the enemy “aircraft” off his back.
*sometimes when the spiritual sniper delivers a clear word from the Lord to someone, it can cause total disruption in and around that person. That is not a problem, disruption has its purposes in the tactics of the Lord.
*the spiritual sniper must always remember, the “wolf does not pick the hunting ground, the hunter does.”
*once their mission is over and it is successful, they must never think that the “battle is over.” They must expect it to get hotter. The enemy will counter if he can. If the spiritual sniper gets caught up in pride, the Lord may allow the enemy to “hit” them. Pride must be directed towards the Lord and he must be the center.
*they must remember the three elements of spiritual warfare. They are:
a) mobility-reading a chapter or two of the Bible a day will not give you the ability to move “fast” when called upon. You must master concepts verse by verse, word by word and letter by letter. The spiritual sniper knows he must learn and absorb. Anything else will not be enough to be a spiritual sniper.
b) firepower-prayer is not useful if it is ineffectual (James 5.16).
c) security-the spiritual sniper knows that they must have the strength and might of the Lord. They need the full armor of God which includes knowing the truth, understanding righteousness (tzedekah), knowing the Basar, or good news (gospel) in what it truly is and not what it has been watered down to today. They must know what faith is and what it is not. They know that it consists of knowledge of the Word of God, and having the right attitude and also obeying what the Commander says. Faith is action and confidence. They must know every aspect concerning salvation, and they must master the Word of God. They know that they cannot make anything happen (by confessing it) if the Commander didn’t “command” it (Lam 3.37).
These are just a few of the tactics of a spiritual sniper. In the conclusion, we will conclude with what is called “sniper countermeasures” and what to do once an enemy “sniper” is found.
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