The Church in a spiritual warfare

Ephesians 6:10 -13: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11: Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.12: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.13: Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand, stand therefore.”

The church is a called out Assembly of God’s people. It is the body of Christians that will wed our Lord Jesus Christ during the Last Supper. By the grace of God, the church after rapture and at the end of all things will be with our Lord Jesus Christ in heaven. The body is equally saddled with the responsibility of preparing Christians for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ who will take them to heaven for eternal life. On the contrary, former Angel Lucifer, who was the leader of the host of heavenly worshippers of God is currently on earth and will never enter heaven again. This was the result of his pride. Lucifer had a sonorous voice, which he flaunted and because of it wanted to equate himself with God. The angels of light rose against him and he was subdued and brought down to earth.

Under the command of Angel Michael, Lucifer, nicknamed the Devil or Satan and his demons were defeated and declared persona non grata in heaven. They wanted to throw him into hell fire, but on his plea to seek for convert that will accompany him to hell fire, he was brought down to earth.

Man in his early creation was living under the perfect will of God because earth is a colony of heaven and as such man was created to leave for a while here and resettle in heaven after meeting the conditions of living there. Devil, therefore, introduced the sin of disobedience in man to pitch man against God, so that, man will not enter heaven. Man disobeyed the will of God and was on his way to hell with the Devil, when God had mercy on him and sent His only begotten Son to redeem him. It is as a result of this God’s mercy on man that has made Christians to be in a spiritual battle with the Devil. It is a battle Christians are waging to free themselves from the yoke of the Devil and to enter heaven hereafter.

The Devil’s main trick is to make man to disobey God and fall out of favour with Him. He knows that sin separates man from God and as well exposes man for destruction. According to 1 John 2:16, man can be tempted in three ways against God; they are in this manner: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

The Devil does not want our prosperity in things of God, hence he continues to expose us to the things of the world, so that, we remain with him and finally enter hell fire with him; but divine intervention has brought salvation to mankind.

It is, indeed, for this purpose that our Lord Jesus Christ came to earth to reconcile man with God. At the time, Satan through the serpent led man into sin, God distanced Himself from man. Our Lord Jesus Christ has come to correct the evil done at the Garden of Eden. With our Lord Jesus Christ leading the church, a body of men who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour are now at spiritual battle with the Devil. It is on this premise that the Bible counsels us in the lead scripture to be strong in the Lord by putting on the whole armour of God because we are fighting against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness of this world and the spiritual wickedness in high places. We are in a spiritual warfare with the Devil.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 says: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. 4: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. 5: Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 6: And having in readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

Satan, the Devil is a spirit and man’s enemy. He does not want anything good for man; he opposes both God and man. The strength in the Lord comes through fervent prayers, preaching of the gospel in and out of season, and living a holy and righteous life. He who goes to equity must go with clean hands. This means for anybody to fight this spiritual battle, he or she must be holy and righteous. In this spiritual war, we must wear righteousness as our breastplate, so that, the arrow of the enemy, which is the temptation to fall into sin and run out of favour with God will not be our portion. Matthew 26:41says: “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.”

As Christians who are in preparation for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we should constantly draw closer to God by watching our actions and fortify ourselves through prayer against the Devil and his agents. The flesh should be constantly subdued to allow the spirit of God to have his way in our lives. The Devil has come to steal, kill and destroy. We must not allow him any space in our lives and that of the people that are yet to embrace Jesus Christ. We should, therefore, adhere to the divine charge in Mark 16:15: “And he said unto them, go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.16: He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17: And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.”

Gospel preaching is a war against the Kingdom of Darkness because when successfully done, the result will depopulate the Kingdom of Darkness. People are converted to Christ for everlasting life in heaven. The battle is fought in all fronts to ensure that there is no chance for the wicked one.

As a Christian, you should fortify yourself and continue to fight for the Kingdom of God so that at the end, we will reign with Jesus Christ in His kingdom.

Testimony Of The Lord’s Doing
God Saved Me From Armed Robbers’ Bullets

I am Brother Monday Ele of Agbor 1 branch of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries. God saved me from dying through armed robbers’ attack. I was in my office when I heard gunshots and before I could say anything, the bullets hit my buttocks. As a police officer, I had to set my gun to fire back, but unfortunately they were four people with each bearing AK-47. By the grace of God, I called my wife to tell her my ordeal and how I was hit.

When the robbers kept on firing, a voice told me to declare who I am. I then shouted, I am a Chosen and the bullets could no longer penetrate into my body. As the hoodlums discovered they could not defeat me they ran away.

I was then taken to a hospital where the doctors demanded a cash deposit of N100,000. The deposit was made and they commenced treatment. The next day, another N100,000 deposit was request for to enable them continue treatment. The doctors carried out a surgery on me to remove all the bullets.

In one of the nights in the hospital, I had a dream in which five men in black attire appeared to me, saying they have come to take me with them. I replied that I am not going anywhere, that my time is not yet up, and that I have not finished my work. While we were arguing, the angel of my G.O appeared and said: Amen! The angel directed me to enter a jeep parked nearby and the men in black attire disappeared and immediately, I woke up and started shouting, “I am a Chosen, I am a Chosen…!”

While on admission, I left the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries to fellowship with another church. But when the reality was done on me, especially when I was billed to pay N2.2million before I could be discharged, I asked my wife to go to the nearest Lord’s Chosen branch to sow a seed of N10,000. She did as instructed and the bill was drastically reduced to N200,000.

I wanted to share this testimony at the new ministry, but a voice said to me, it must be shared on the platform of the Lord’s Chosen. The voice also informed that there is an ongoing international programme and that I should attend and share my testimonies. If not for the divine intervention of the God of Chosen, I would have died.

I am very grateful to God for saving my life. May His name be highly glorified forever … Amen!