Battle of Belief

In 1 Kings 19, we find Elijah running scared for his life from an evil queen named Jezebel. 

Here’s the quick backstory… 

God had just miraculously proved to a nation of Baal worshipers that He was the one true God, not Baal. A flaming fireball of glory rained down on Elijah’s altar atop Mt. Carmel. Elijah then orders all the prophets of Baal to be killed. Jezebel was a Baal worshiper, so she’s obviously ticked considering what just happened. She vows to have Elijah killed in return. 

It’s not every day that you get to see something like that, right? Elijah should be filled with courage, right? Nope. He’s terrified. 

A look into 1 Kings 19 gives us insight into how the Enemy of our souls attacks us following seasons of great victory. The spiritual battle you and I were born into is real. And we have a very real Enemy. While I think we shouldn’t give Satan too much credit or even talk about him that often, I do think we need to be aware of his schemes so that we won’t be blindsided.

Here’s how the Enemy of our souls attacks us. 

Fear

“Then Elijah became afraid and immediately ran for his life…” (1 Kings 19:3)

Fear is the gateway to spiritual bondage. For some of us, the fear of man (or in Elijah’s case, the fear of woman!) is the first strategy of the Enemy. If he can get us to believe that people’s opinions carry more weight than God’s, he has us tricked. 

Sometimes you can actually feel the spiritual attack coming on. There is an absence of peace. Your mind becomes chaotic as you give in to the lies being whispered into your mind. Many times, our first reaction is to run. It’s only natural. But that’s exactly what your Enemy wants you to do. He’s afraid of your power and authority as a Kingdom Son or Daughter. He wants you out of the picture so he can do what he wants. We have a bad habit of grossly underestimating our identity. Don’t run! Stand firm. 

“Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist…” (Ephesians 6:14)

Isolation 

“When he came to the Beersheba that belonged to Judah, he left his servant there, but he went on a day’s journey into the wilderness…” (1 Kings 19:3-4)

One of the ironic responses to spiritual attack is to isolate yourself. It’s ironic because we are more vulnerable to further attack once we separate ourselves from other believers who can speak truth into our lives. Once Elijah isolated himself, things began to spiral out of control. 

Hopelessness

“He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die” (1 Kings 19:4). 

When facing spiritual attack, it’s difficult to recognize truth from lies. But one evidence that you are under attack is a sense of hopelessness. When we feel hopeless, it is a result of putting our hope in something other than God. Someone has said, “Any thought that does not inspire hope is under the influence of a lie.” 

Set your mind on Jesus and His unchanging faithfulness. Choose to be hopeful. You do have that ability in Christ. In fact, you have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). 

“Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable--if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise--dwell on these things” (Philippians 4:8). 

Frustration

“He said, ‘I have had enough! Lord, take my life…” (1 Kings 19:4)

Hopelessness breeds discontentment. It works the other way around as well. Discontentment breeds hopelessness. When the dark cloud of hopelessness surrounds, we often look for something or someone to blame. Some people take it out on their families. Some blame the Church. The cry of a hopelessly frustrated heart is “I have had enough!” 

Keep in mind that this downward spiral started when we first believed the lie of the Enemy. Every level of agreement that we enter into opens more doors to his influence. The spirit of suicide doesn’t just come out of nowhere. The door is opened somewhere down the line when we believe what Satan has said to us. 

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your care on Him, because He cares about you” (1 Peter 5:6-7). 

Guilt

“Lord take my life, for I’m no better than my fathers” (1 Kings 19:4). 

Satan’s other identity is “the Accuser of the Brethren.” There is a difference between conviction and condemnation. Conviction from the Holy Spirit is specific and leads us out of our sin into freedom. Condemnation is often very general and we can’t quite put our finger on it. We just feel guilty and beyond restoration. That is the voice of the Accuser, not your Redeemer. 

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). 

False Reality 

“‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Hosts,’ he replied, ‘but the Israelites have abandoned Your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they’re looking for me to take my life” (1 Kings 19:14). 

In the midst of attack, our sense of reality is skewed. Our perception has actually been influenced by lies we have chosen to believe. And in a sense, we can quickly find ourselves living in a dream world. Elijah was convinced that he was the only man alive in Israel who still served God. God was quick to state the real facts.

“Go and return by the way you came to the Wilderness of Damascus… I will leave 7,000 in Israel - every knee that has not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him” (v. 17-18). 

We stand firm in the fight by standing on truth. We must believe what God says about things. We cannot afford to believe any other way.

So, next time you find yourself in the heat of spiritual attack, remember this. Jesus has already won this war. We don’t fight for victory. We fight from victory! Know what He has said. Believe what He has said. Walk in the victory that belongs to Kingdom Kids. 

The Duty Of A Spiritual Leader

Recently, in my time with God, I have been studying the books of the Kings and Chronicles. God spoke to me personally concerning my role as a spiritual leader. Amid volumes of leadership books these days, God's Word gives us refreshing insight in this area. God is very clear about what kind of spiritual leader He has called us to be.

"My sons, do not neglect your duties any longer! The Lord has chosen you to stand in His presence, to minister to Him, and to lead the people in worship and present offerings to Him." 2 Chronicles 29:11 (NLT)

Stand In His Presence

The first calling of spiritual leader is NOT to stand before people. My calling is to stand before God. The New Living Translation reads, "Stand in His presence." I cannot stand before men if I have not stood before God. I must spend time in His presence. I must be continually filled with His Spirit. I must be able to stand blameless before Him in His righteousness, but also in my own practical and personal holiness. I must stand before God on behalf of the people as well. Someone has said, "You have no right to stand before a people for whom you have not labored in prayer." 

Minister To Him

The calling of the spiritual leader is NOT to minister to people. It is to minister to The Lord Himself. My fear should be of Him, not men. When My focus on ministering to Him is replaced by meeting the needs of people, I will become quickly discouraged when people don't approve of me. This is the root of burnout in ministry. All my service and love should go to Him alone, not the people He has placed in my life to touch. In fact, it is impossible to truly minister to people if it does not flow out of my ministering to God. Jesus said, "If you love Me, feed My sheep." He did not say, "If you love people, feed them." I cannot "feed" anyone if I am not loving Jesus above all.


Lead The People In Worship

The calling of a spiritual leader is to lead people to Jesus - to point people to Him. This takes place primarily off the platform. It is the duty of a spiritual leader to lead by example; to live in such a way that brings glory to Jesus, and thus, pointing people to Him. So, to be able to lead people to worship God, I must first be "standing in His presence" and "ministering to Him."

 

 

Present Offerings To Him

 

The calling of a spiritual leader is to present all His work and fruit in ministry to God as an offering. Think of it as burning all your good works on the altar as an act of worship to Him. I must remember that any work done in my power is not pleasing to Him. Only the work done by Him through me is pleasing to Him. Only ministry done in the power of the Spirit is a sweet-smelling aroma to God. My efforts just stink! I must count all my accomplishments as "dung" (Philippians 3:8). Even the good things that God has used me to do must be considered as garbage to me. If not, I will begin to hang the trophies that rightfully belong to God, on my own walls.  

 

 

These simple truths have transformed my thinking and my walk. My ministry will never be the same. In fact, my ministry will cease. The only fruit this "branch" can bear is that which flows from the Vine (John 15:5). Let's stop "trying" and just start "abiding."

  

 

 

Revival Myth #3

3. Revival is for the lost.

If you grew up in the same church culture I did, you know that a typical “revival” meeting lasted about a week (sometimes two), with a fiery evangelist calling sinners to repent every night. You have probably been encouraged to “pack a pew” or at least bring all your lost family members and friends. Oh, and make sure you put in the newspaper so you'll have a crowd! (If real revival ever broke out the newspaper reporters would be knocking our doors down.) Leonard Ravenhill used to say, "You never have to advertise a fire." When God sets a church on fire, people will come for miles to watch the blaze! 

I’m not condemning these types of meetings. They have proven to be fruitful over the years. Many have come to saving faith through meeting just like this. But my question is why do we call this “revival”?

To be “revived” you have to be alive to begin with. The Bible says before Christ we are “dead in our trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). So, revival is not for the spiritually dead. It is for those of us who have been made alive in Christ through salvation but don’t love Him like we once did.

Revival is the stirring of God in the hearts of His sleeping Church.  

We tend to forget that the Church in Laodicea that Jesus rebuked was in fact a CHURCH (Revelation 3). These were people who had been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, had been set free from sin, and were made alive in Christ. But over time this group of people became self-sufficient and they left their first love – just walked away from Jesus. Churches are filled with people like you and me who act like they don’t need God. Of course we would never say that, but we live that way. So, it is the Church – you and me – that really needs revival.

Here’s the cool part. When God revives the hearts of His people there are always lost souls saved as a result. Why? When God breathes His life back into His people, then the Church rediscovers its purpose – to make disciples.

So, what we've done is put the cart before the horse. We want the lost to be saved without us having to repent of our sin. It's as if we say, "I love to see a sinner gloriously saved, but don't confront me about my sin of prayerlessness, or covetousness!" (The list goes on.) Our nation is headed to hell fire because the Church has lost Holy Ghost fire. A mighty sweeping harvest will never take place in our land until we have the fire of God again. We'll never have the fire of God again if we, the Church, don't get on our faces, repent, and return to the Lord.  

During genuine revival, the lost are convicted of their own sin because of the confession and repentance of Christians. Often the difference in Christians’ lives is so dramatic that the lost are drawn to Christ through the witness of God’s work in His people.

It’s also interesting to note that every work of God in revival has resulted in an influx of people into the mission field.

God wants His praises to be sung in every nation, so He extends His mercy to a lost and dying world through the message of the gospel. But when His messengers would rather sleep than go and tell, sometimes He just has to wake us up! That’s revival.