Tony Evans - Warfare: Winning the Spiritual Battle

1998, 2018 by ANTHONY T. EVANS

This work is a condensed version of The Battle Is the Lords. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Part of chapter 1 is excerpted from Kingdom Man by Tony Evans, a Focus on the Family book published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 2012 Tony Evans. Used with permission.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked NEB are taken from the New English Bible, copyright Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press, 1961, 1970. All rights reserved.

All websites and phone numbers listed herein are accurate at the time of publication but may change in the future or cease to exist. The listing of website references and resources does not imply publisher endorsement of the sites entire contents. Groups and organizations are listed for informational purposes, and listing does not imply publisher endorsement of their activities.

Edited by Kevin P. Emmert
Interior design: Ragont Design
Cover design: Thinkpen Design
Cover photo of night sky copyright [copyright symbol here] 2018 by Estremo/Shutterstock (121925236). All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Evans, Tony, 1949- author. | Evans, Tony, 1949- Battle is the Lords.

Title: Warfare : winning the spiritual battle / Tony Evans.

Description: Chicago : Moody Publishers, 2018. | This work is a condensed version of The Battle Is the Lords.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018025686 (print) | LCCN 2018032095 (ebook) | ISBN 9780802496638 (ebook) | ISBN 9780802418173

Subjects: LCSH: Spiritual warfare.

Classification: LCC BV4509.5 (ebook) | LCC BV4509.5 .E8337 2018 (print) | DDC 235/.4--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018025686

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D ays after the tragedy of 9/11 struck our nations soul, members of the Special Forces known as the Green Beret were asked to pack their bags, leave their families, and head straight into the heart of warfare. While each of us back home struggled to come to grips with the devastation that came about so suddenly, these men set out to do something about it.

They flew there with one goal in mind: stop the enemy before the enemy could make another attack on innocent lives.

The Special Forces knew that if they could get to the root of the attack in a limited amount of time, they could win the immediate war of protecting citizens on Americas soil. They could protect individuals, families, churches, and communities, but only by letting go of what they once knew concerning conventional warfare and by embracing a strategy that would work.

One man, Mark Nutsch, was chosen to lead the twelve men into battle. Despite having no combat experience, his confidence and ability to think outside of normative approaches during the vetting process won him the assignment. Little did the military leaders know at the time of choosing him that Marks experience growing up on his familys ranch, working as a ranch hand in college, and riding horses in rodeos would be one of his greatest assets.

After all, this wasnt a war fought with militaries lined up and facing each other on opposite sides. Nor was it even fought in the trenches. Rather, to excel in this war, combatants would need to battle the elements, ride horses over rough and dangerous terrain, and outwit their opponents who knew the landscape like the back of their own hands.

To win this battle, Mark and his team of eleven other brave men would have to fight according to the rules of the enemy themselves.

Their campaign was supposed to take six weeks, but due to weather, they sought to complete it in three. It was supposed to take multiple teams of Green Beret, but due to the elements, topography, and lack of entrance points, they were given only one team of twelve men. It was supposed to rack up a high level of casualties on the American side due to the risks involved, but they walked away with none.

Because these men chose to adapt to the environment and allies surrounding them and work within the strategies at hand, they accomplished what few, if any, thought they could. On horseback, they battled tanks and troops armed with missiles.

And won.

Maybe it was Marks lack of previous combat experience that opened him up to adapting his strategy to the battle at hand more so than someone else possibly could have. Well never know for sure. But one thing we do know is that it was his willingness to set aside conventional approaches that allowed him to approach this battle unlike any other that had been fought in the history of our nation.

It also allowed him to lead his team of twelve into the quickest, most decisive victory in the history of our nation.

Two thousand years ago, another team of twelve followed another unconventional leader. He didnt ride a horse; He rode a donkey. His battle didnt last three weeks, but three days. He didnt fight for a nation; He fought for a kingdom.

And won.

In doing so, He secured for each of us the victory that is ours to claim.

Yet only as we are willing to follow Him by laying down our own logic, perspective, approach, and understanding of how to fight this war will we discover the fullness and effects of that victory in every area of our lives. It is in following Christ as our Captain that we can win this war. It is in studying His battle plan that we can discover how to carry out our own. It is in conforming our hearts and transforming our minds to His that we will gain the strategic insights we need to live out the victory He has already secured for us.

See, this battle is unlike any other. This battle has already been decided. The outcome has already been secured. Jesus Christ gained the victory through His death, burial, and resurrection. But in order for us to experience the manifestation of that victory in our own lives, we need to learn how to maneuver through the mines left behind from an enemy still bent on making our lives miserable along the way.

Its true that many Christians dont even know theyre at war. Others, however, can see clearly the results of the battle in their lives, because they have become casualties of spiritual warfare. Some suffer emotional wounds from spiritual warfare. They are discouraged, depressed, downtrodden, and defeated. Others have taken fatal blows to their marriage or family. Divorce, conflict, and abuse are some of the battle scars they bear. Still others have been morally wounded in the battle. They cannot control their passions and make poor moral choices. For some Christians, the wounds have been inflicted on their finances. They are losing the financial battle because they are losing the spiritual one.