The Invisible War - Session 7

Prayer.  It is our "Secret Weapon" to help us in this invisible battle.  Chip tells a story about a missionary doing work in a little village.  The missionary would sleep in the woods out side the village every night and then travel to the village and work in the village helping them and preaching the good news.  One day on his way to the village he sees a man hurt and bleeding.  He helps the man, tends to his wounds and makes sure he brings him to safety.  The man follows the missionary into the woods and sees where he is staying.  He gathers a group of men and is planning to rob and kill him at night.  But as the missionary was sleeping, the men approached and saw 21 guards around him, they were scared and they ran off.  The next morning the man approached the missionary and told him what he saw, but the missionary laughed and said I assure I was alone last night.  Not sure what this all meant, the missionary returns to his home church.  And tells of this story and explains that the man trying to rob him must have been mistaken.  But before he can finish the story, a man raising his hand stood up and said no that was us - we were praying for you at that exact moment.  He asks the church if every man who prayed would stand up and quickly 21 men were standing.  Back home one of the men got a strong feeling that he needed to pray for his friend the missionary.  So he called others and got 21 men to pray corporately.  There prayers were the difference.

"The means by which believers are to withstand and overcome the attacks of the Enemy in spiritual warfare is by consistent, intense, strategic prayer for one another in conjunction with the personal application of the armor of God" -Chip Ingram

Listed below are his book notes:

1. Intercessory prayer is our most powerful and strategic corporate weapon in spiritual warfare.

• Prayer has a direct impact on spiritual warfare. Mark 9:29
• Prayer provides/assists in the deliverance of others who are undergoing spiritual attack. Luke 22:31-32
• Power falls where prayer prevails. Acts Chapter 1 - 10.

2. What kind of prayer brings God's deliverance and power in the midst of spiritual attack?

• Consistent Prayer
• Intense Prayer
• Strategic Prayer

I leave you with this quote by S.D. Gordon.

"The great people of the earth today are the people who pray. I do not mean those who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor yet those who can explain about prayer; but I mean those people who take time and pray. They have not time.  It must be taken from something else. This something else is important. Very important, and pressing, but still less important and less pressing than prayer."

The Invisible War - Session 6

July 6 2011, Chip Ingram talked about "How to do Battle with the Enemy and Win"  He uses the same verses that we have been looking at the past two weeks.  Ephesians 6:16-17, but we already discussed taking up the "shield of faith".  This session was about the "helmet of salvation" and the "sword of the spirit."

Both of these are offensive weapons or armor.  The "helmet of salvation" is talking about the present deliverance from sin, not just the security we have in Christ of our lives being saved.  Chip goes onto to say that it is important to think of the helmet and what it is protecting.  We want to renew our minds in the Word.  Romans 12:2 talks about God's renewing of the believer's mind.  2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us that the battle is for the mind.

How true this is.  I feel sometimes that the battle is already lost, just because of my mind set and the fact that I am buying into the lies or the thoughts that I am not worthy.  On the flip side, sometimes the battle is already won when I renew my mind with God's word and I am confident in His salvation and promises.

This concept flows nicely into the "sword of the spirit" which is the word of God.  This Word is your life.  Pslam 119:105 - God's word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. The sword is both a defensive and an offensive weapon.  And Chip tells us how to engage the enemy:

1. Maintain a healthy spiritual life
2. Understand your posistion in Christ
3. Discern when demonic influence may be the cause
4. Claim God's promises out loud.
5. Take our authority and position in Christ to command demonic forces to cease their activity and depart.

Chip tells us a story about a night scene in Santa Cruz, CA.  It was late and two men started to get in a fight, they were both drunk and creating quite a disturbance.  The men were big men and looked very powerful.  Soon a police officer comes to the scene.  But the police officer was much smaller then expected and was also a woman.  It did not seem that this officer was going to be able to control the situation, but with a loud voice and a hand on her gun she was able to direct the men to her vehicle and take control of the situation.  Her badge, her position in the law was stronger and more powerful then the two men.  Our position in Christ is the same when we come in contact with the enemy.