Thursday 15 June 2017

Spiritual Fruit equals Spiritual Warfare

Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Eph 6:10-11

We talk about spiritual warfare and we know that our weapons are spiritual not physical because the fight is not with flesh and blood but against the kingdom of darkness. We need weapons of the Kingdom of Light to dispel and defeat darkness.

A friend confided that she was struggling with panic attacks because of a pending doctor's verdict for her dad because the situation looked bad. We were in church worshipping and after a few minutes I turned to her and said, "Your peace in this circumstance is more powerful then your fear.  In fact, your peace at this moment is your spiritual warfare."  I realised when I said it, that the enemy comes only to kill, steal and destroy. Her peace and joy was what was at stake in this trial.  It is powerful when, during trials, we can keep peace and joy at the forefront for the enemy has no hook with which to get us riled up, frustrated and fearful.

Do we think, in a trial, that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are having an emergency management conference in Heaven, brainstorming and declaring, "Oops this caught us off guard, what can we do here?"  What an absurd picture!  Yet our emotional reaction to trials shows that we really don't trust God has the answer and we frustrate ourselves trying to work it out.  Just think, when you maintain God's perfect peace during trials, you are really sending a message to the devil that you know God is Sovereign and you really trust He has it all in hand.

The fruit of the spirit is part of our spiritual warfare.  Love triumphs over hate.  Joy over mourning. Peace over anxiety and fear.  Patience over impatience. Kindness over meanness. Goodness over evil. Faith over doubt. Gentleness over violence. Self control over passions and emotions.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. If we live by the Spirit, let's also walk by the Spirit.  Gal 5:22-25

The thing is God always has a promise and provision for any trial.  If you are sick, Jesus wants to be your healer.  His promise is, "By His stripes you were healed"  (1Pet 2:24) and His provision is healing manifest in your body.  Maybe you don't know how you are going to pay a bill. His promise is that you will not lack (Matt 6:33-35) and He is the one who provides.


Let us give ourselves over to faith, not doubt and unbelief - faith in a faithful God who alone can split the Red Sea and keep the universe functioning.