T.D. Jakes - Overcoming the Enemy: The Spiritual Warfare of the Believer

Six Pillars From Ephesians: Overcoming the Enemy
The Spiritual Warfare of the Believer
Copyright 2000 by T. D. Jakes
T. D. Jakes Ministries

All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. Contents and/or cover may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any form without the express written consent of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

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Ebook edition created 2012

eISBN 978-1-4412-1346-4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

CONTENTS

OVERCOMING THE ENEMY
THE SPIRITUAL WARFARE
OF THE BELIEVER

INTRODUCTION

The book of Ephesians is the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament book of Joshua, and neither one of these books is for wimps! The book of Joshua is a picture of a people who have ceased wandering, come to know their God, embraced the promises of God, and who are now ready to seize what God has promised them.

The book of Ephesians translates the natural warfare of Joshua into the spiritual warfare of the believer. It is not the sort of thing we should read and take to heart unless we are ready to pay the price and do what is necessary to possess all God has for us. This is the book where the apostle Paul commands, Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might! just as God commanded Joshua, Be strong and of a good courage!

I believe we are the Joshua generation.

We are the generation who will storm the gates of hell, take the Promised Land, and bring in the last days harvest of souls. All unrighteousness will fall to its knees as we proclaim the holy Word of the Lord.

But have we counted the cost?

Joshua led Israel to take the Promised Land, but he also served Moses patiently and faithfully for forty years in the wilderness, all the while knowing they could have taken the Promised Land just a few months after leaving Egypt. Joshua was one of twelve spies who came back with a good report after observing the land of milk and honey. This is the report Israel rejected, and because of their unbelief, they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Only Joshua and Caleb believed God.

The Joshua generation will believe God and obey Him.

The Joshua generation will not murmur and complain.

The Joshua generation will give their lives for the Gospel.

The Joshua generation will lay their lives down for their brothers and sisters.

The Joshua generation will not take the glory for themselves.

If we are not willing to pay the price, we will not survive the time of the Joshua generation! We must be tenacious and unyielding in our love for God and for the brethrenand we must know how to war in the spirit.

Warring in the spirit is much more than standing up from time to time and telling the devil to stop hindering our finances or making us sick. Warring in the spirit is defeating all the little foxes that would spoil the vine, little foxes such as greed, lust, jealousy, anger, and fear.

Warring in the spirit is getting up an hour early or staying up an hour later to have that intimate time with the Lord, to hear His instructions for the day, to know His heart and mind, to be empowered with His might, and to be fully clothed in His armor so that the enemy will be driven farther back as we walk in this world.

Warring in the spirit means continually recognizing that we are not warring against people, but the devil and his demons who work through them. Warring in the spirit takes love, faith, patience, faithfulness, and courageall the characteristics of Joshua.

Joshua was Gods warrior, and because he believed and obeyed God, he took the Promised Land.

The Church is Jesus warrior bride, and when we believe and obey the battle cry of our Lord, we will take the world!

You need to know something about Joshua if you are going to take the Promised Land: Joshua understood obedience. He lived by Gods principle of submission and authority. In fact, every good, effective soldier lives by this principle. No army can wage war successfully without a fighting force that keeps rank and file, respects their officers, and obeys orders. That is why, before Paul dresses us in the armor of God and instructs us in the strategies of spiritual warfare, he explicitly and emphatically tells us in the final verses of Ephesians 5 and the first verses of Ephesians 6 that we must abide in the principle of submission and authority. He explores this vital issue first in the relationship of husband and wife (see Ephesians 5:22-33), which was part of our discussion in Celebrating Marriage. I strongly urge you to go back and read our teaching on submission, which will provide more foundation for what we will discuss here with regard to spiritual warfare.

Now, in the first verses of Ephesians 6, Paul continues to talk about submission and authority in context of the relationship between child and parent and then the relationship between slave and master.

CHILDHOOD TRAINING

The mature warrior is an obedient warrior. Thats what basic training is aboutbringing a civilians will into line with military standards, military codes, military rules and regulations, and a military way of thinking. If the Church is going to wage war successfully, we must learn to obey our Commander.

Our submission to Jesus Christ is the only relationship in which we know that at all times, under all circumstances, His commands are right and true. There is never a question of His absolute goodness and righteousness. Therefore, our hearts should be continuously submitted to His Word and His Spirit, and our actions should always carry out His will. However, in human relationships, there are times when we are placed in positions where the authority we are submitted to is not right, just, or gentle. Nevertheless, God calls us to these positions for the purpose of working a submissive heart to Him in us. As we obey those in authority over us and trust Him, we grow in the faith.

Gods plan is that we learn obedience as children in the home. As parents lovingly demand that their childs will lines up with their will, they are molding and shaping the childs will to line up completely with the will of the Father for the rest of their lives. Obedience is best learned when a person is a child, young in years. Paul wrote to the Ephesians:

C hildren, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)

That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

E PHESIANS 6:1-3

The adult who was taught obedience by his parents is going to find it much easier to obey the Lord than an adult who was never taught obedience as a child in the home. I firmly believe that a parent who does not teach their child to be obedient is doing their child a great disservice. Structure and order are always much better learned as a child than as an adult. It starts out as simple as setting a rule and holding the child accountable. At 8:00 P.M. Johnny goes to bedno arguing, no discussion. If Johnny does not obey, he quickly discovers the consequences. If Johnny has an unsubmissive, rebellious, or sour attitude, he finds out immediately that it is unacceptable.