Page 3 - Good News April 2009 paper

SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Pastor Bill Marks, Christian Fellowship, Potchefstroom, 018 293 1608 or 079 311 6515
The Devil knows his time is short unity). The soldiers wore their has planned a specific task for being filled. John 7:37 ~ Jesus
and right now God’s people need armour and carried their food and each one of us in His army. said, “If anyone THIRSTS, let him
the Power of the Holy Spirit to face tents through the waters which THE BAPTISM IN COME to Me and drink. He who
the coming battles. prepared them to be ready for THE HOLY SPIRIT believes in Me, as the scripture
Ephesians 6:11 ~ “Put on the action at any time. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is has said, out of His heart will flow
whole armour of God so that you Everyone who has accepted power for service and it is a gift for rivers (streams) of living water.”
may be able to stand against the Christ as their Saviour, has every believer. The chief purpose Sit down in your chair or kneel
wiles of the enemy.” received the SPIRIT of Adoption of the Holy Spirit is to endow men down beside your bed and begin
The armour of God enables you to and the Holy Spirit beareth with POWER. to pray:“Dear Lord Jesus, I come
stand against the wiles of the witness that we are the children of The first gift you can use and to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. I
enemy. Wiles means “to outwit or God (Roman 8:15-16). Jesus said experience right away is speaking ask You to fill me with the power of
deceive”. In Ephesians 6:12 Paul in John 14:16,17 to His disciples, in tongues. Acts 2:4 ~ “And they the Holy Spirit. I receive the
draws our attention to the unseen “You know the Holy Spirit, for He were all filled with the Holy Spirit infilling now. I believe that You
world, for our combat is not dwelleth with you and shall be in and they began to speak with have baptized me in the Holy
against men, but against spiritual you.” other tongues as the Spirit gave Spirit as You promised in Your
forces. Ephesians 6:10 ~ “Finally my them utterance.” Word.” Do not speak in your own
The spread of the Roman Empire brethren, be strong in the Lord Ephesians 5:18,19 ~ “Be filled language, but say the first word
was partly due to the fact that they and in the power of His might.” with the Spirit. Speak to one that comes to your mouth and
conquered many countries, The Greek word here for power is another in psalms, hymns, and start using your new prayer
because their men were well “kratos”, exerted strength, power spiritual songs.” Notice the word, language.
equipped and highly trained for shown effectively in reigning “speak”, for manifestation comes 1 Corinthians 14:2 ~ “For he who
battle. The first thing that a authority. Your equipment is through the mouth. Your part is to speaks in a tongue does not
Roman soldier was taught to do, “Power from on High” (Luke do the speaking and the Holy speak to men, but to God.”
was to walk in line (disciplined in 24:49). Spirit will give you the utterance. Speaking in tongues is for private
unity) for 26 kilometres a day. There is no doubt that we are The Holy Spirit is the Fountain self-edification and SPIRITUAL
(Read Ephesians 4:1-6 and walk in living in the last days and the Lord from which we are continuously STRENGTHENING.

Continued from p. 1 to the point where we can be fully have repented of it. turn from our wicked ways we
home justified! available for the burdens of the Unless we change our direction cannot make a way for the Lord to
If there is anything God despises Holy Spirit. completely and turn our backs on come and heal our land!
it is pride! “God resists the proud, Seeking God’s face is not so our wicked ways, we have not [Extracts from: The Powerhouse
but gives grace to the humble” much taking our concerns to the repented in the true, biblical of God - Johannes Facius,
(1 Peter 5:5). If therefore, we have Lord as it is learning to listen to sense of that word. And until we Sovereign World, 1995]
pride in our hearts, we have what is upon His heart. It is the
turned God into our enemy and He experience of many that we can
will be resisting us all the way. be seeking God for a long time
Without learning to humble our- and wonder why we never find
selves and to live in humility, we Him. The reason is that we seek
shall never be able to lay hold of Him according to our mindset and
the grace of God! tradition instead of seeking Him
The second requirement is according to His way!
PRAYER. There has never been a We must learn to lay down all of
national revival anywhere in the our own self and come before God
world at any time in history that with empty hands ready to hear
was not generated through His voice and do His will. That is
prayer, and I mean real prayer: what it means to seek God’s face,
massive, united and persevering and that kind of consecration and
prayer by a hungry and desperate availability is a requirement if we
Church! We need to ask God to do are going to see God heal our
great things for our nation land!
because He is a great God, worthy The fourth requirement speaks
of great petitions and well able to about REPENTANCE: Turn away
give us exceedingly far above from your wicked ways. God
what we ask or even think! requires true repentance as a
It is time for us to make concrete prerequisite for the healing of the
requests to God for our nation. land. It is my experience that
Like the Scottish reformer, John believers do not fully understand
Knox, who came before God in a what repentance is. We often
time of great need for Scotland confuse it with forgiveness, but
and prayed: ‘Lord, give me asking forgiveness and receiving
Scotland or I die!’ God honoured it, is not the same as repentance.
this faithful man of prayer and Repentance requires more than
gave him Scotland through sen- that. It requires that we change
ding over the land what is known our way radically and stop doing
as the Presbyterian Revival. the same thing anymore. That is
In the third place we have to SEEK the real meaning of the word
God’s face. This is more than just ‘repent’: to change your direction!
praying. It means that we actually To confess a sin, ask for forgive-
come face to face with the Lord. ness and receive it, is something
God wants us to get away from we can do over and over again,
praying our own thing, and come but that does not mean that we