Many people hate to hear the word "battle" mentioned for any reason. Whether you like it or not, whether you are conscious of it or not, battles are a part of our existence. We are all involved in warfare, we are born into it.
The believer, however, does not have any cause to worry. Our victory is assured. Battles are real, friend, but much more real is our victory and triumph in the faith.
Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place
2 Corinthians 2:14
"Always" means all ways. That means that our victory in every battle is guaranteed in all ways and in every place. Interestingly, we are not the force behind this victory; God is. He causes the triumph. So, we are only instruments in His hands, that He uses to fight against His arch-enemy.
We are called into warfare, and thank God, we are at the same time, called into triumph. Battles are real to life, salvation notwithstanding. That you have battles does not mean that you have missed God, it only means you are on the path of destiny.
The heaven that we are going to is the home of overcomers, so if there are no battles we cannot be sure that we have a place there. The identity of everyone that will make heaven is, "He that overcometh." Jesus fought every inch of the way. He started fighting from birth, when Herod wanted to kill Him and His parents had to flee with Him to Egypt. Was that a sign that Jesus missed God? No! He never missed Him once, but He fought every inch of the way. Thank God, He also won every inch of the way!
Battles are a necessary rung on the ladder leading to where you are going. The Bible says that, "Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world." If there are no barriers, what is he overcoming?
The word "overcome" shows that there are obstacles he has to cross over. Uncomfortable, yes, but unavoidable, just as in the hurdles race. Each hurdle the runner jumps over takes him closer to the mark, but he must cross all in order to be declared a winner.
Battles are real to life, but triumphs are even more real to the believer. What is on the inside determines the degree of triumph.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
Psalm 24:7-8
It is that might that I want to introduce you to here. Everyone faces battles, but not everyone has to bang on the door to have the gates of the enemy open for them. There is a might needed in battle, and when that might comes in a measure, you don’t have to struggle; the barriers sense your approach and of their own accord, they give way. It is that might (the anointing) for battle that makes them give way.
With that anointing, you will not need to struggle and fight any battle to gain entrance into your possession; the oil in you will compel every closed gate to open. The Lord is strong and mighty in battle and when He comes in His might, the earth trembles. He makes every opposition become too cheap to cause any concern.
There is a switch that turns this might on. We want to find out what that switch is and how to operate it, so that we can always have all-round triumph.
This is the day that will mark a turning point in your spiritual life and put you in charge of your life, because His Word is settled in heaven and He is the One who causes us to triumph in all ways. You must get it deep into your consciousness that all-round triumph is available and obtainable to whosoever believes. With this understanding, you will cease to struggle against those obstacles that lift up their heads against you.
How To Turn Might Loose
Let us examine a few issues that turn God’s strength for battle loose.
The Knowledge Of The Word Of God:
This is the principal source of strength. People have thought that the Holy Spirit on His own fights the battle, but it is not so. The Holy Spirit resting upon the Word of God that is operational inside you is what brings your enemy under your feet.
...But the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
Daniel 11:32
The word "exploits" means that they shall perform feats, they shall accomplish the humanly unaccomplishable and obtain the naturally unobtainable. They will triumph when the mighty and strong collapse. The Holy Spirit came to reveal God.
...For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
1 Corinthians 2:10
The Holy Spirit reveals God, and the revelation of God is what induces strength, which guarantees triumph in battle. There are many Spirit-filled, tongue-speaking believers who never win any battle, because they lack the Word.
The Holy Spirit can only act on the Word you have in you to effect the might and strength for victory, not outside of it. Have you not heard?
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
John 8:32
The Holy Spirit is there, but there is no evidence of His presence, because they are either not winning or they have partial freedom; for whosoever the knowledge of the truth shall make free, shall be free indeed. The Word says:
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
Hebrews 2:3
What this means is: How shall we escape, triumph or overcome, if we neglect what the Lord has spoken? This then establishes the fact that our principal way of escape has its root in what the Lord has spoken. It is the Word of God that reveals to you that there is someone dwelling in you.
...Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1 John 4:4
The One that is inside you is strong and mighty. He is the Lord, mighty in battle, against whom no gate of hell can prevail. This should give you confidence on your inside when you are confronted in your exclusive privacy, when the enemy is saying that there is no way out for you. That knowledge causes confidence to rise and as it rises, you get on the offensive and confront the enemy.
The Word says:
...Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
Matthew 28:20
It is time to stop having fun and start doing the real thing. The Word is the real thing that causes every enemy to bow and gives you the triumph you desire.
A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.
Proverbs 24:5
We increase strength by knowledge, and this, by the Holy Spirit, who makes the knowledge available. It is your job to allow the Holy Spirit take you through the school of the Bible, where you can know more.
Has your business come to a standstill and everybody told you it is finished? Perhaps you have even dreamt dreams of doom, depicting your misfortune. Yes, maybe professional prophets have prophesied deep into your pocket.
All you need do is to ask the Holy Spirit to teach you the mind of God regarding the works of His hands. Let Him show you what belongs to you as a heritage in the covenant. You must be ready to obey every instruction He gives from the Word and this will ensure your victory. Until the knowledge of God penetrates, freedom is not in view. I have seen this fact revealed over and over again.
There was a bad case of sickle cell anaemia that I was confronted with. After finding out the relevant facts as revealed by the Holy Spirit, I went to see the case in question. The boy was lying down and both the father and mother were worried. As the Word began to come, the boy’s face began to change. It’s been over nine years now, and the boy is still totally delivered. Sickle cell has become normal cell!
All I am trying to reveal to you is that the anointing for battle has its root in the revelation of God in His Word. Get the revelation in the Word first, and then speak in tongues to transmit your message to heaven, so that the enemy will not understand what you are saying.
I have suffered diverse attacks, which compelled me to study how to launch counter attacks. Even when you wake me up in the night, I am an attacker. I have discovered after much studies, that it is not wise to remain a defender, you must also engage in attacking the enemy.
All cases will answer to those who do know their God. That is how David overcame Goliath, the three Hebrew boys defied Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel survived the lions’ den. The basis of their courage lay in their knowledge of their God. Knowledge induces strength and strength guarantees triumph, which makes you do the unusual. It makes you reign when others fail.
By the knowledge of the truth, the anointing raises a standard against the enemy. It was knowledge that made Paul and Silas to sing in the face of trial. Beaten and jailed, knowledge made them crazy enough to rejoice in the Almighty, the Lord mighty in battle; and when He arrived, the earth trembled and shook and the prison gates were flung opened! Their not running away immediately proves how much of their God they knew. They knew that those gates would open for them over and over again, so they did not have to rush out and put the jailer in trouble.
It takes an unusual fanaticism to start singing when faced with obvious death. But they did, in response to the revelation of God they had and the strength of heaven came to them. Hallelujah! The battles of life have a standard, only the stronger can bind the opposition.
When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
Luke 11:21-22
It takes the stronger to overcome. No natural man can be stronger than the devil; and a man without Christ is subject to the devil, the power that rules the children of disobedience. The devil is the ruler and the subject cannot be stronger than the ruler. But, when you are in Christ, you have access to strength that makes you stronger. You cannot deal with a force that is higher than you, you can only deal with a force that you are higher than.
Be determined this day to get back whatever thing that belongs to you that the enemy has kept in his palace. Your strength is in the Word of God. You know, "wisdom is better than strength." God’s Word induces wisdom. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, it makes your enemy a cheap captive in battle. Get through the Word and see which battle will resist your authority. When that Word comes and you believe it, you become a registered overcomer.
For by it the elders obtained a good report.
Hebrews 11:2
They escaped the edge of the sword, they turned the fiery furnace into a cool room. By faith they acquired that knowledge and believed it, and that knowledge dictated their actions. All the men mentioned in Hebrews 11 became heroes of faith in battle by the Word of God.
Confidence
What the enemy attacks in his opposition is the individual’s confidence. If he can get you to bow down and sag, then he has overcome you. That is why there is always an exaggeration of strength in battles, to weaken the enemy. If you have watched a wrestling match before, then you know what I mean. The wrestlers do all manner of things and speak great boastings, all with one objective - to weaken the opposition. If you can weaken the morale of your opponent, then he is finished.
Lack of confidence has made victims of many Christians. He gathers information against himself from all over the place, and the devil uses this to attack him and to cause defeat. When asked about his business, he says a dry, "Praise the Lord." He has sagged! It is better he withdraws, because he will fall. The Bible says:
They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.
Psalm 125:1
Thus, confidence establishes your throne in victory, that cannot be removed forever. Man naturally becomes a victim of what he fears. Anything you fear holds you captive. The fear of man brings into a snare, and confidence is the only remedy.
For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.
Job 3:25
Everyone that fears failure will end up a failure. Everyone that fears death ends up in its bondage.
...Through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Hebrews 2:15
Whatever you fear becomes your master; because, a servant feareth his master, and a servant is not greater than his master. Confidence is the only treatment against fear. Find out your root in confidence. Show me a man (in Christ) who is genuinely positive about life, triumphs and victory, and I will show you a man who will not be a victim in battle. He has overcome failure and defeat.
Confidence triggers the anointing in battle, whereas fear makes a captive of a destined winner. Don’t cast away your confidence.
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.
Hebrews 10:35
Confidence does not make men lose; rather, it makes them win. It does not bring defeat, it brings victory. The enemy speaks great words to wear you out. The moment you listen to him, you are finished. He shows you x-rays to shake your faith. You may have been told that there is no hope for you. No matter what x-rays he shows you, don’t get scared. Don’t allow anybody turn you around. If the enemy can scare you, then he has made away with your victory. Like Paul, you must be able to say:
But none of these things move me...
Acts 20:24
And in nothing terrified by your adversaries...
Philippians 1:28
If you refuse to be terrified, your enemies are bound to be destroyed, their size and intensity notwithstanding. When you refuse to be terrified or moved, your immovability becomes their destruction. When you refuse to be moved, heavens come down to your defence, and there will be an evidence of escape for you and destruction for them. David refused to be moved by Goliath’s outbursts and that was the end of his harassment of God’s army.
When you refuse to be moved, the obstacles will move; you cannot burn when you refuse to turn back. Confidence is lacking today in the Church because we have not been able to trace the root of our confidence in God.
Our confidence has its root in:
(a) Righteousness
The moment you are in doubt of your righteousness, your confidence is out of place. Proverbs 28:1 says:
The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
...That we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
2 Corinthians 5:21
Our confidence in Christ has its root in our righteousness. The moment you allow the enemy to know that you are suffering because God is punishing you, he will sit on your neck and break it. This is the reason why the perfectionist theory ends up in suffering, humiliation and victimization. They are always looking for a sin-cause to every problem. This is why its preachers and their congregation are perpetual failures, because the confidence required for the anointing for battle is not there. Let this Scripture humble your perfectionist attitude.
If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?
Psalm 130:3
Your past is not relevant to God. When it comes to deliverance, God overlooks your error, to first of all set you free. Many of those in the perfectionist circles never attract favour or fortune. They always look miserable, downtrodden and battered. Even their own people don’t like to associate with them, because the enemy has held them captive through a sin-consciousness that breaks the backbone of confidence. Only righteousness-conscious people can operate in the realm of confidence in battle.
There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going: A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;
Proverbs 30:29-30
Every battle appears very cheap for the lion, and the Bible says only the righteous are as bold as the lion. Righteousness-consciousness induces practical righteousness. When you allow the words, "I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus" sink into your spirit-man, and you mean it and believe it, it will begin to deal with every work of darkness around you. This is because you now know that it is not you that will make it, but He that has made you. With that, you now release yourself to the Maker of men to make that man come out of you.
Today, people try to find explanations for virtually everything that happens to a believer, and such explanations are invariably false. Every time they are afflicted, the afflicter of men sits on their necks and gives it to them. Righteousness-consciousness induces the strength of a lion that makes you go well. The lion does not turn away for any. Don’t turn away for any situation, face it and it will bow.
When assassins attacked me in a town I went for a crusade, I had that boldness of a lion, so I was unmoved. With my hands akimbo, I looked at them right in the face and cried out, "In the name of Jesus!" and the anointing from heaven came and sent them falling backward, as though a wind pushed them down. They began to scream, "He has a gun!" as they took to their heels.
Understand also that your confidence is the devil’s target in battle. He will say all manner of things to you. This is what Rabshakeh, the king of Assyria’s representative tried to do to Israel under Hezekiah. He spoke great words to instil fear into them and destroy their faith in their king and God:
Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you.
Isaiah 36:14
Do not let any man turn you around. Whatever Jesus cannot do, no one else can! Don’t allow any fake prophet prophesy you out of your destiny. Don’t let the marauders, in the name of ministry, make you a captive. Don’t allow any negative dream turn you around (for instance, you dream that you have failed and when you wake up, you start preparing for failure). Don’t allow anything turn you around. Use the name of Jesus and compel every knee of the enemy to bow.
(b) Ever-abiding Presence Of God
The Father’s presence offers covering for the child, that is why he can afford to be rude to another child when his father is around. He knows quite well that the other will not be able to do anything about it. All that the other child can do is wish for an opportune time to catch him alone and take his revenge. We also have the wonderful assurance of our Father’s ever-abiding presence, so we can spite the devil.
...Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.
Matthew 28:20
You can attack Satan anyhow, knowing that in your Father’s presence, he is handicapped and thus, powerless and ineffective.
(c) The Name Of Jesus
The name of Jesus means Saviour. Not just from sin alone, but also from every harassment of life. There is an anointing that is in the name. When it is invoked in faith, authority is established and the enemy is taken ransom.
The name of Jesus is above every name. At the mention of it, every knee bows and every tongue confesses that He is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. This shows that every trouble has a name and there is a name that brings them under - JESUS! The Bible says that His name is as ointment poured forth.
Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth...
Songs Of Solomon 1:3
A hefty man was involved in the worst aviation accident in human history. When the fire started, he invoked that name: "In the name of JESUS!" and was lifted up and thrown out through a tiny hole, to safety. That was how he escaped death. The name of Jesus is above accidents!
If you want to know just how much the name of Jesus is above every other name, recall the rod of Moses and that of the Egyptian magicians. Moses’ rod turned into a serpent and swallowed up all the other serpents of the Egyptians! The name of Jesus is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and are saved (Proverbs. 18:10).
If you want to see the anointing for battle in action, acknowledge the place of the name in battle. When you pray and call on the name of Jesus, you are establishing a strong tower, you are hiding in the hollow of His hand. That way, you have in your hand the rod that swallows all other rods. It is the all-purpose name in battle, performing whatever is needed.
You can turn the anointing for battle on by invoking the name of Jesus in faith and the impossible tasks will be accomplished; the fearful battles will be won.
The name of Jesus has proved itself again and again as strong and mighty in battle. There is something in that name. A man had stroke and when we got there, the Lord told me to just sing the praise of His name. As we began to sing that wonderful name, the glory of God came down and he was delivered!
God is still here today to bring the power in that name into full effect in your personal life. It answers in every battle and in every place. I want you to reason with the Holy Spirit; when He reveals God, that revelation induces exploits which makes you accomplish the naturally unaccomplishable, attain the humanly unattainable and receive the unusual.
(d) The Voice of God
The Lord led the Israelites by the way of the wilderness through the Red Sea, and because He led them, the unction for triumph was all over them. The sea saw them and fled! When God leads, the anointing to accomplish the goal is released, the obstacles notwithstanding. That is why Psalm 29:5 says:
The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
The hardest of trees are broken by the voice of the Lord when heeded by man. Thus, whatever the Lord tells you to do, do it in spite of the opposition; because the anointing for battle is already on you. The Bible says that the sheep know the voice of the shepherd and will not follow the voice of the stranger. The word "voice" is always connected with direction.
Every impossible task gets done at the instance of God’s leading, like it was for the children of Israel when mountains skipped and the sea fled (Psalm. 114). If you desire the anointing for battle, then it is absolutely necessary for you to heed the voice of the Lord.
When Lazarus died, Jesus did not go to see Mary and Martha immediately. He acted only by the leading of the Father. So, when He finally arrived at the tomb, the voice of the Lord broke the cedars and he that was dead and was four days in the grave was raised back to life!
Be determined to heed the voice of the Lord. No matter how great the obstacle or the strength of the enemy, do what He asks you to do. Even if the instruction seems foolish, simply obey and you will see the result. The anointing for battle is in heeding the voice of the Lord. Remember, "What saith the Lord?" was what Israel used to win all her battles. They always enquired of the Lord before undertaking any battle.
In conclusion, let us do a recapitulation of all we have been discussing. You have the knowledge of God (which induces strength) and confidence (that makes strength to work). You have the name (a multi-purpose name that makes the enemy to bow). You also have the voice of the Lord, that breaks the cedars.
These four ways of turning loose the might of God stirs up and sparks off the anointing for battle, which makes for triumphs. May your ears be opened to hear the voice of the Lord, and your heart be willing to obey.
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