Category: Thought of the Day

Functioning In Spiritual Warfare
By James Niles

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NASB) reads:
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

We function in spiritual warfare through prayer and prophetic utterances (Deut 30:14-15; Rom 10:8; 1 Peter 4:11; Jer 1:11-12).

We function in spiritual warfare in the faithful and true Witness of JESUS CHRIST (Rev 3:14b; 1 John 5:10a) alive in us, by the HOLY SPIRIT (John 16:14), in Spirit, Water and Blood (1 John 5:8).

We can only function in the Witness of JESUS CHRIST – in Spirit, Water and Blood – by the HOLY SPIRIT (Rom 8:2; John 16:14).

[Functioning in our own spirit will lead to lawlessness because it is written that our righteousness is filthy rags (Isa 64:6; Matt 7:21-23).]

Spirit, Water and Blood is the faithful and true Witness of YESHUA. It is the Witness of the Cross (see John 19:30, 34) and this Witness operates in the reality of the finished work of the Cross.

In the Witness of JESUS CHRIST, satan has actually been defeated and disarmed by YHWH through YESHUA’s triumph on the Cross. This reality of satan being defeated and disarmed exists in the faithful and true Witness of YESHUA that operates in our inward parts.

Colossians 2:13-15 (NKJV) declares: < And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. >

When we pray by the SPIRIT, we are energizing the Witness of JESUS CHRIST by the HOLY SPIRIT. We are energizing, into a Rhema Witness, the Logos Testimony of JESUS (Rev 19:10c; Heb 1:3b).

We are in this energized Witness applying the victory of YESHUA to address specific issues in life and ministry.

In spiritual warfare it is of the utmost importance that we understand that we are functioning in the Witness of YESHUA.

The fundamental framework for spiritual warfare is the victory of YESHUA in which YESHUA declares (in Matt 28:18): < “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” >

When we function in the Witness of YESHUA (in any aspect of life and ministry) we must clearly understand that we are operating by the HOLY SPIRIT, under YESHUA’s Authority. The Witness enables us to operate as functioning members of the Body of MESSIAH (CHRIST).

o In this Witness we will see the Word of Healing and Deliverance flow (Psalm 107:20).

o In this Witness we will see the Finger of GOD unveil to bind the strong man.

o In this Witness the Rod Of Aaron will operate to strike the the gods of ‘Egypt’.

o In this Witness strong angels will be released to do warfare in the heavenlies according to the Voice of GOD’s Word (Psalm 103:20-21) energized in the Witness of YESHUA by the HOLY SPIRIT.

All forms of ministry should operate in YESHUA’s faithful and true Witness. Every function that constitutes our life can be developed in YESHUA’s Witness so that we do all things in thought, word, deed and relationship in YESHUA’s Witness. Amen!

(I) The Law identifies sin and imputes sin, but the Law has no capacity to justify us …

o Romans 3:19-20 (NASB) reads: < Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. >

(II) But now the Righteousness of GOD (that is able to justify and save and heal etrc.) has been manifested through the faith OF JESUS CHRIST …

o Romans 3:21-23 (KJV) reads: < But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets (see Matt 5:17-18); Even the righteousness of God which is by faith OF Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God >

(III) The faith OF JESUS CHRIST that justifies us is communicated into us as we choose to have faith IN Him ….

o Hebrews:12:1c-2a (NKJV) reads: < let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith >

o Galatians 2:16 (KJV) reads: < Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith OF Jesus Christ, even we have believed IN Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith OF Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. >

o Galatians 2:20 (KJV) reads: < I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith OF the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. >

(IV) Because of the faith OF JESUS CHRIST being implanted in us through the Seed of CHRIST, nothing will be impossible to us as the seed faith of YESHUA is watered …

o Matthew 17:20 (KJV) reads: < And Jesus said unto them, … verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. >

o Galatians 3:16, 22-28 (KJV) reads:
16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. …..
22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith OF Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith IN Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

(V) The reality of the faith OF JESUS CHRIST, manifested and developed in us, opens us to astonishing possibilities in YHWH.

o 2 Peter 1:19 (NASB) reads: < So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. >

Out of the faith of YESHUA the Morning Star arises in our heart.

o 2 Cor 1:20 (NASB) reads: < For as many as are the promises of God, in Him (in JESUS CHRIST) they are yes; therefore also through Him (JESUS CHRIST) is our Amen to the glory of God through us. > GBU!

Don’t forget that we are a people at war. Fight the good fight ……

In John 16:33b (NKJV), YESHUA declares:
“… In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

1 Peter 5:8-11 (NASB) reads:
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:12a (NASB) reads: Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called …

Ephesians 6:10-18 (NASB) reads:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints

Remember the victory has been won. The GOD of Peace will soon crush satan under your feet (Rom 16:20).

Operating in the flesh is death. So, put on the new self – always!

The flesh is everything that operates in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; the self-denominated legacy of fallen man.

Romans 8:5-14 (NASB) reads:
5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh–
13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Be therefore renewed in the spirit of your mind; putting on the new self that has been created in YHWH.

Ephesians 4:22-24 (NASB) reads
22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Be blessed to be a blessing.

Walk by the SPIRIT; put on the LORD JESUS CHRIST and overcome the flesh …

Romans 13:12-14 (NASB) reads:
12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Galatians 5:16-25 (NASB) reads:
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Choose to live and function by the SPIRIT, in CHRIST JESUS (see 1 John 5:10a, 7-10) which is the prophetic reality in which GOD has predestined freedom from the Law of Sin and Death (Romans 8:2). Amen!

Pray by the SPIRIT to be clothed by the Spirit of CHRIST for all things – in thought, word, deed and relationship.

As YESHUA declared in John 16:14b (NASB), < He (the HOLY SPIRIT) will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. >

The Spirit of CHRIST communicates the anointing that brings the capacities of CHRIST into the fabric of our being – for all things.

A born-again Christian should clearly understand that he/she should pray by the SPIRIT to actualize the potential of doing all things through the capacities of the Spirit of CHRIST, the life-giving Spirit of JESUS CHRIST (1 Cor 15:45 + Phil 1:19c).

1 John 2:20 (NASB) reads: < But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. >

1 John 2:27 (NASB) reads: < As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. >

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) reads: < I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. >

Philippians 4:4-8
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Romans 16:20 reads:
20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

We need to take care of our heart because receiving YHWH’s provision involves our heart.

Genesis 22:14 (NKJV) reads:
14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide (YHWH-Jireh); as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

Psalm 24:3-4 (NKJV) reads:
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the LORD, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Psalm 15:1-2 (NKJV) reads:
1 LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
2 He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness, And speaks the truth in his heart …

Hebrews 12:22-24 (NKJV) reads:
22 But you have come to Mount Zion [the Mount of YHWH] and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,
23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.

We have an appointed place in the MOST HIGH GOD, positioned under the shadow of the ALMIGHTY.

Psalm 91:1 (NKJV) reads:
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

We access this position by faith in GOD through His SON, the WORD of GOD. The Witness of YESHUA alive in us, by the HOLY SPIRIT, qualifies us to operate in this position (see Romans 8:2).

1 John 5:10, 7-8 (NKJV) reads:
10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. …
7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.
8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

This reality is part and parcel of the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.

Genesis 28:10-13, 16-17 reads:
10 Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.
11 So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.
12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. [See also John 1:51, 47-51.]
13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. ……
16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”
17 And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

We are the house of GOD and the gate to heaven is the Witness of JESUS CHRIST in us. This Witness arises from a circumcised heart of flesh. Amen!

Watch over your heart.

Proverbs 4:20-23 (NASB) reads:
20 My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them And health to all their body.
23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.

Matthew 5:8 (NASB) reads:
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

How do we develop a pure heart?

1 John 3:3 reads:
3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him (JESUS CHRIST) purifies himself, just as He (JESUS CHRIST) is pure.

2 Corinthians 3:3 (NKJV) reads:
3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

2 Corinthians 3:4-6 (NASB) reads:
4 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.
5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,
6 who also made us adequate as servants (ministers) of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Grace operates through faith.

Ephesians 2:8-10 reads: < For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. >

Grace operates to facilitate GOD’s Righteousness functioning in our being and in our lives.

Romans 10:10-11 reads: < for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” >

2 Corinthians 5:21 reads: < He (YHWH) made Him (the MESSIAH) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. >

To ensure that the highest levels of YHWH’s Righteousness be made accessible to us, by grace through faith, YESHUA has become the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Hebrews 12:1c-2 reads: < let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. >

By grace, through faith in CHRIST JESUS, we cannot fail. Amen!