Stand
Ruling in the midst of your enemies in the spiritual
force of peace
God
assured, not self-assured.
2
Corinthians 13:11 says, “Finally, brothers, rejoice. Perfect yourselves;
encourage yourselves; mind the same thing; be at peace. And the God of love and
peace will be with you.”
Psalm 34:14 says, “Depart from evil and do good; seek peace
and pursue it.”
Spiritual
authority is given by God.
Ruling
and reigning is dispensed from on High, by a gift of grace (Romans 5). Aaron’s rod budded because God wanted
it. The other rods did not bud,
simply because they were not God’s choice. We must bow down and worship this absolute omnipotence.
Spiritual authority over the unseen forces of this
world is God’s ideas and presence being
established in the place of conflict and oppression.
When we feel conflict and dark clouds of oppression we need to seek the peace of God through prayer, praise
and the Word. Quite often it is
because we need to get right with God on a matter and repent for an
attitude. Peace comes with
righteousness. Isaiah 32:17-18 (Amplified
Bible) says, “And the effect of righteousness shall be peace [internal and
external], and the result of righteousness, quietness and confident trust for
ever. My people shall dwell in a
peaceable habitation, in safe dwellings, and in quite resting places.”
The Kingdom of God is not meat nor drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. When the glory cloud fills your heart,
you have it! Rule and reign in the
mighty name of Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, the One who led captivity captive
and led the train of vanquished foes around the universe in order to display
His victory. Our job is like that
of the Roman citizens; as citizens of Heaven we are to praise our conqueror as
He parades His spoil. All things
have been given unto Him. He has
overcome the law of possession by the law of inheritance. We must press for our
inheritance; it is ours, we can either let it sit there in the possession of
demons, or we can take it by force.
After Jacob saw the ladder of God with the Angels coming and going, and he said, “surely God
is in this place.” Even though his circumstances had not changed in the natural,
– his brother still wanted to kill him, he was still in the uncomfortable
wilderness, – but he had broken through to heaven, and nothing else mattered;
he began to rule in the force of peace.
His name was changed from Jacob to Israel (Israel means “to contend with
God”). Jesus told Nathaniel that
“he would see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending upon
the Son of man.” What Jacob saw
was the Son of man, Jesus is the ladder of God, the bridge between Almighty God
and little man. He is the
way!
“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might
have peace. In the world ye shall
have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33,
KJV).
In Mark chapter 4, Jesus was in the back of the boat
on a pillow, when the storm had FILLED
the boat, not just threatened it. The men came to Him and asked Him if He did
not even care. He was in peace,
but they were not. He said, “Peace
be still.” He did not speak to the
storm nor to the sea, although the storm did cease and the sea became
calm. He spoke to PEACE, the
spiritual force of PEACE. He saw
peace running away, and He said to it, come back here, be still, get back into
my friends who have fear. Stop
running away from them. Perhaps it
was actually their peace that stilled the storm. They were out of righteousness due to their lack of faith.
Romans 16 says that the God of peace will soon crush
Satan’s head, like in Genesis chapter 3. When God promised to send the seed of the woman and that he
would crush Satan’s head, He was talking about Jesus. But Jesus has many aspects, the God of love, the God of
healing, etc. He said the God of
peace would crush Satan’s head, adding further proof that our greatest weapon
in warfare is peace.
Psalm 23:4 (KJV) says, “Yea though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” Why? “For Thou art with
me.” (In the new covenant, “Thou art in me.”) David had peace in the midst of
his enemies because he knew the covenant of God. The bear, the lion and Goliath himself were no match; they
had no covenant (you uncircumcised Philistine!) The giant was
uncircumcised. The table spread
before us in the presence of our enemies. Wow! The Covenant made David righteous.
Like Joshua said to the 10 chicken-hearted spies, “Those giants in the land will be meat for us!” The raging battles are food for
us! What Satan throws at us feeds
us. The cross of Jesus Christ has
turned everything bad into healthy food.
Like thanking God before we eat our natural food so that it is
sanctified, we should thank God when the battle comes, the enemy becomes good
food for us, we eat it, we grow closer to God, and Satan suffers another
defeat. We need to know that
everything thrown at us is our food.
The table before us is our enemy.
We need to be like Joshua and David, ‘they will be meat for us.’
Isaiah 54:10 (KJV) says, “For the mountains shall depart,
and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither
shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on
thee.”
Proverbs 17:28 (KJV) says, “Even a fool, when he holdeth
his peace, is counted wise; and he that shuteth his lips is esteemed a man of
understanding.”
Luke 10 says, that when you go to a place and they do not
accept your peace, leave.
Philippians 1:28 (Amplified Bible) says, “And do not [for a
moment] be frightened or intimidated in anything by your opponents and
adversaries, for such [constancy and fearlessness] will be a clear sign (proof
and seal) to them of [their impending] destruction, but [a sure token and evidence]
of your deliverance and salvation, and that from God.” Your undaunted peace is
proof to the enemy of his destruction and to you of your victory! In fighting any battle, the first step
is to seek peace. EVIDENCE!
One of the greatest examples of Peace winning the battle is
in Ezekiel 37, 38, 39, Revelation 20:3, 7-8, 15.
Has anyone wondered like I have why, if we are ruling in the midst of our enemies, why would
God loose Satan to deceive one more time (Revelation 20)? The 1,000-year reign comes from our
hearing the Word, and ruling with the revealed word. (1,000 stands for
authority) (Romans 5, ruling on this earth now.) We notice some manifestations of victory, and some
manifestations of conflict.
I
feel that we will all experience ONE LAST CONFLICT in each and every fight of faith, based upon Ezekiel 38
and Revelation 20 against Gog and Magog.
But notice that God put a hook in their nose. This stirring up was God’s idea, not the enemy’s. Also this was spoken many years
before it happened (God always shows us the end from the beginning).
Ezekiel 37:26 (Amplified Bible) says, “I will make a
covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and
I will give blessings to them and multiply them and will set My sanctuary in
the midst of them forevermore.”
Right after that in chapter 38 the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel to
prophesy against Gog and Magog (Gog is a symbolic name, representing the leader
of the world powers antagonistic for God; Amplified Bible).
The good news about this conflict is:
1. God started it.
2. Just prior to it, God had the people in Peace.
3. They stayed in Peace and did not take part in the
battle.
So many Old Testament battles involve the Lord’s people;
this one did not! God Himself
rained down hail, fire and brimstone on the enemy, which was encamped against
them on the mountains around Israel.
God brought the enemy all into one place where He could show Himself and
vindicate His holiness.
There is no question that this battle was the Lord’s
for His Glory, however, the ingredient
which He needed us to provide was Peace, “and that not of ourselves, it was a
gift of God, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:9). The God of peace won the battle.
Examine the motives of the battle. From Satan’s point of view, it was his
last ditch effort to move us off of the Word upon which we have been
standing. From God’s point of
view, it was the method to final victory.
There was never a question in God’s mind who would win. Notice also that the enemy, the battle
and the spoil were all “meat for us.” We need to know that everything thrown at
us is our food. The table before
us is our enemy. We need to be
like Joshua and David, they will be meat for us.
If one examines the next few chapters, Revelation 20, 21, 22, he will see that the purpose of the
victory is for God’s ministry here on earth. “Then HE showed me the river whose waters give life,
sparkling like crystal, flowing out from the throne of God and of the
Lamb. Through the middle of the
broadway to the city; also on either side of the river was the tree of life
with its twelve varieties of fruit, yielding each month its fresh crop; and the
leaves of the tree were for the healing and restoration of the nations” (Revelation
22:1-2, Amplified Bible).