Spiritual Warfare

A friend in need is a friend indeed; one of the few idioms that I learnt as a child. When I was stressed over a major exam, a friend flooded my message inbox with Bible verses and words of encouragement. I admit, I am ashamed of myself for not doing the same for her. I was riddled with personal problems a few weeks ago that I forgot that some of you had an even larger hurdle to cross. I wouldn't say I'm a lousy person, but as a friend, I concede that sometimes, there are much more I can/should do.

I have been taking notes regularly, but I couldn't seem to post them, not for technical reasons. This blog is not about me, it's about blessing others, for reasons only God would know. I wrestled with Him. I asked Him many questions. He answered me through these verses: Galatians 5: 7 and Luke 17: 10.

Attacks were coming from all directions, and I found myself caught in the crossfire. There were many issues I had to deal with. Actually, there was only one, but from that issue, sprung others that were unknown. I was, in one way, confused with all the input of details. I got out of it, and with it, gifts and endowment that brought much joy to my soul. I wanted to cry craven, but He did not give up on me. He used people close to me to reverberate His message. His message was trenchant and piercing, that I did not have much choice but to heed His words.

Admist the entire period, He was impressing me another connection; a dyadic. I realise, if I could decipher this miraculous code, it will stay with me forever. It would be perpetuating. I am not able to generate much thought into that yet, let's see how that goes. All in His time.

I missed the first part of last Sunday's message (Winning The Invisible Part I). I was in my hometown. Little did I know, that the message preached by a guest speaker in my family church carries a similar meaning to the one which was preached two days ago. Both speakers shared about spiritual warfare. Let me share with you the message spoken by Rev Peter Chin. I will follow it up with Ps Timothy's message in the next entry.

Be Filled With The Holy Spirit Ephesians 5-6

Being filled with Holy Spirit is a command, not a choice! This is evident in Ephesians 5: 18. We are rebelling against our Creator if we refuse to be filled. However, it is not by our efforts, but by God's grace we are filled. Therefore, pray persistently to be filled. Truly, He listens to our prayers. The weight of persistence is significant, and He does not take it lightly. This, in turn, is evident in Luke 18:6. The sin of omission is great, so let us not make the mistake of ignoring His Word. The Bible is not merely suited to our means; He demands absolute obedience, not a half-hearted one.

Now, what is the importance of the Holy Spirit? Why must we be filled?

Much is said about the devil. Many movies are made about them. Horror movies usually end with a triumphant note for the evil one. The most important lesson, perhaps, the only lesson, that is learnt from these movies is that we are continuosly being attacked by the devil. He does not let us off easy. The devil is like a roaring lion, ready to devour whenever an opportunity is given (1Peter 5: 8- 9). Warfare is real, and many of us are in bondage. Let us not fear the evil one, but to realise that they hold a certain degree of power of us, only if we allow it to. Let us also realise that God gives us authority over them.

We fight the war against the devil, to win the world for our Lord. This task is not impossible. But vital steps must be taken, His commands must be adhered to. Christians have to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

The next question should be this: What are the requirements to be filled?

Complete commitment to our Lord and Saviour. Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. We can only be filled when we let go of ourselves and surrender the key to our body to Him. He is not a god of force, He knocks, but only enters when we open the door to welcome Him. The time for Him to fill us is only when we surrender truthfully to Him and Him alone. Think of it as a host-guest relationship. By surrendering, we are inviting the Holy Spirit to scrutinize our thoughts and personal memories. No details are spared, no embarrasing and detestable memories spared. The act of surrendering is parallel to our will to be changed.

Now, the filling of the Holy Spirit is not a one time experience. It is a continous process. The next question: How can we be continously filled?

Simple. How do you remember a fact? Continous enforcement. Keep searching, keep submitting. When you're constantly filled, you would want more. If you're passionate for God, why can't you weep, dance, shout and sing for God? Nonetheless, if you're not submitting yourself to God, you are not being filled even when you're singing or worshipping Him. Submission involves all areas of our lives. God is omnipotent and omnipresent, He is not only there when we're praying or in church. He is everywhere, and anytime of the day He is with us. He is with me when I'm watching a movie, He is with me when I'm typing this, He is looking at me when I'm kicking the ball. He hears me when I utter words abhorrent to His ears. There isn't any moment in our lives we can hide from Him. We never win a hide-and-seek game against Him.

The HS endows us with the spirit of adoration and appreciation. I believe when these virtues are present, there is a decresed tendency to complain and to murmur. On the contrary, we become more encouraging and humbly grateful. Prayers made in the spirit of murmuring is not condoned by Him, thence the absence of the manifestation of the HS. Pray with encouragement and the spirit of thanksgiving.