Ruling In The Midst Of Your Enemies In The Spiritual Force Of Peace
God assured, not self-assured. 2 Cor. 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." Ps. 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 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 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", 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).
In Mark chapter 4, Jesus was in the back of the boat on a pillow, 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 women 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 23says, "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 table spread before us in the presence of our enemies, Wow! The Covenant made David righteous, the giant was uncircumcised.
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 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 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, "when you go if they do not accept your peace, leave."
Philippians 1:28 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 (Rev. 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, 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 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 for evermore." Right after that in chapter 38 the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel to prophesy against Gog and Magog (A symbolic name standing for 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, and 3. They stayed in Peace and did not take part in the battle. So many Old Testament battles involves 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" (Eph. 2:9). The God of peace won the battle.
Examine the motives of the battle. From Satan's point, 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 broad way to the city; also on either side of the river, 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" (Rev. 22:1,2).
ISOB Discipleship Training Manual. Larry Chkoreff (STAND) (Peace Be Still)
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