Sat 15 Aug 2009
Prophetic People & Spiritual Warfare in the Church
Posted by Helen Calder under Discernment, Prayer, Prophetic Ministry, Spiritual Warfare
[3] Comments
We have a canary called Tweety Bird. The name of our neighbour’s cat is a mystery, but she is black and white and we have dubbed her…wait for it…‘Sylvester.’ Here is a classic shot of Tweety Bird enjoying the sunny outdoors. Check out his onlooker!
So far, Sylvester has had no success in her quest to catch and eat Tweety Bird, and as Tweety Bird’s protectors, the Hunk and I have no intention in allowing her to succeed in carrying out those evil schemes.
The Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8-9, ‘Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.’ Unlike Tweety Bird, however, we enjoy freedom and have the upper hand. We know the outcome before the battle starts. We also know, because the Bible tells us, that we have access to the victory Jesus has won for us on the cross (Col 2:15).
Last week I posted a blog exploring the distinction between spiritual warfare and God testing us (both can be taking place at the same time). I looked briefly at how spiritual warfare can benefit us by strengthening our faith, as well as heightening our experience and understanding of our spiritual authority.
In the church, the gifts and abilities of prophetic people particularly shine during times of battle and opposition. Here are three reasons why:
1. Prophetic people are most likely to pray (Eph 6:18)
There’s nothing like pressure or opposition to remind us that we are dependent on God, and prayer is the ultimate expression of that reliance. People with intercessory and prophetic gifts are the ones who will quickly turn to prayer and encourage others to do so. In times of spiritual battle in the church, this gift comes to the fore.
2. Prophetic people are more likely to discern the source of the warfare (2 Cor 2:11)
Prophetic people tend to be very aware of what is taking place in the spiritual atmosphere. We may be the first to sense what is going on. Frequently our prophetic gift is teamed up with a gift of discernment (1 Cor 12:10). Like the surgeon choosing the right instrument for a specific job, this discernment can help us pray with precision in times of warfare. Leaders in the church greatly appreciate this gift when it is used effectively and wisely
3. Prophetic people can see beyond the battle to the brighter future (Rom 16:20)
The prophetic gift helps us see beyond our current experience, and the trials in our church, to the future good that God has planned for us. When doing prophetic training, I encourage our intercessors to balance their discernment of the enemy’s presence and strategy, with prophetic insight regarding the positive outcome that God has planned for us as a church. By seeing clearly not only the present difficulties, but also God’s future redemptive plan, we can pray more powerfully.
Prophetic people, along with their spiritual gifts, are God’s front line protection when it comes to spiritual warfare in the church. We must remember that we don’t always get our discernment 100% correct (1 Cor 13:9) and to submit our insights with humility (1 Cor 14:29). When we do, God can use us for breakthrough in our families and churches in seasons of spiritual warfare.
My challenge to you today is, to think of some difficult situation that you are currently facing in your life, family or church. Using the above three points, ask the question, “How can I respond to bring positive change?” Leave a comment on this post for discussion and so that your ideas can help others on the same journey.
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© Helen Calder Enliven Publishing
You know, I have thinking on this issue of a poor Church and a prosperous Church. I wonder if we have missed something – our inheritance.
Over the past 100-150 years or more, the Christian Church in Australia has been sowing seeds. Australia was established as a Christian country, by Christians, with a vision for righting the wrongs of generations, seeing the sinner cleansed and teaching the Word of God to all.
Christians in the early years established welfare programs, build an education system right up to the tertiary level, established a federation, with a federal government honouring God and acknowledging the Church. Today, legislation and policy still looks to the Church and biblical principles for its effective operation.
All this was sown by our spiritual forefathers, whose hearts-belief was that if they sowed, a harvest would be ready for a later generation to reap.
I would say the Church has been watering those seeds too. And so, a crop has risen up, ready the harvest.
The crop is people’s hearts ready to be transformed, the new generations of the Church in Australia but there is a material side too.
Since legislation and government policy has at its roots biblical principles, I believe it is our responsibility to harvest from that field also. Many businessmen and women acknowledge that using biblical principles in business transactions leads to successful businesses.
But what about tapping into government funding? Our Christian schools do this. Our Church leaders do this (historically, the Catholic church preserved the most obvious paths for financial aid to the church. But there is more that can be done, right now.
Let’s look again at the harvest, seeing it from the perspective that our spiritual forefathers planted the seeds for just this reason – that their descendants, the next generations in the Faith, would be able to tap into the material resources (riches?) of God’s provision. After all, God OWNS the cattle on a thousand hills, right?
Let’s not forego our birthright, our inheritance, that our forefathers ploughed, seeded, watered and nurtured to this point. Let’s see what God has prepared for us….
GW
Gary I can see you getting involved with this kind of thing, applying for grants, etc. Have you (re)done the STEPPS course lately? http://www.winepress.org.au/stepps.html
It would give you an opportunity to chew over how you could contribute in that area.Perhaps think outside the box, look at ministries that are associated with WP like Cornerstone, Empower Churches, CHIPS etc too.
Hi Gary,
you make some great points. And indeed there is some access to funding and some organisations are getting some advantage from it. Cornerstone is a good example http://www.cornerstonecentre.com.au/ .
But I don’t believe it is as primarily a money issue. It is a heart issue. If we really want something we start trying to find a way to get to it. And many things the previous generations did, they started doing before any money flowed into it. It is quite ironic that we tend to only see the value of the investment once someone else has already established it and got it up and running. For some seeing it in action comes before vision. For others, vision comes before seeing it in action.
At present the economy is considered to be in challenging times. One of the interesting historical trends is that many super successful products or corporations come out of recessions. Some examples:
Walt Disney started his animation venture 2 months into the 1923 recession which went on to not only survive the great depression but become one of the largest entertainment businesses in the world.
Some other household names that started in a downturn:
- General Electric
- Kodak
- Hewlett Packard
- Microsoft
- Burger King
And some products that kicked of during a downturn:
- iPod
- Sellotape
- Monopoly
I took up guitar lessons not long after I was divorced (16 years ago now) and my guitar coach commented that ‘out of adversity comes opportunity’. This was a difficult time yet it forced me to connect to God like I had never tried to before and opened up many opportunities for me. Now I am an excellent guitarist and able to serve my local church as part of one of our worship teams.
I run an electronics and software development consultancy and recently visited a prospect. I could tell they were our kind of client. In the foyer they had 9 frames hanging on the wall. 8 of them held awards they had received. The very central one held a piece of paper with 3 words written in texta “ADVERSITY IS NORMAL”.
I think I’ll spend a bit more time contemplating that today.
Ray Keefe
http://www.successful.com.au