Victoria Boyson:
"AS THE BATTLE INCREASES, WE ARE AWAKENED AND UNITED TO WAR"
God is forcing us to stand up to the enemy and say, "No more!"
Dear friends, the enemy is getting ready to launch even greater attacks against the Church, but it's God's plan to use these attacks to open even greater doors for the spread of the Gospel.
The Acts Church
In Acts 12, the Church was taken by surprise by the increased persecution King Herod launched against it at that time. The apostle James was killed by the sword and Peter was taken captive and imprisoned, placed under heavy guard. Herod intended to place Peter on trial after the passover, but having first been taken by surprise, the Church soon moved into action--they began to pray.
The shock of having lost James, and at the risk of losing Peter, they were resolved to pray until they got results. And they did indeed move Heaven. Peter was miraculously released from prison and led to freedom by an angel. The Church was so overwhelmed by God's response to their prayers, they hardly believed Peter was really released. As he tried to enter the home where they were gathered together in prayer for him, they were so amazed and they thought he was an angel.
Having started their prayer war to save their brother in Christ, its outcome had farther reaching results with the death of their enemy, King Herod, shortly thereafter.
I believe the Lord is doing the same thing today with the Church using similar incidents. At first, the enemy may catch us off guard and we are shocked to discover the sudden increase in the attack against us. Although, we are horrified, we are then awakened, propelled into action and motivated to stop further advances of the enemy.
Our faith is somehow empowered by the enemy's attack. Any disagreements between us vanish, becoming insignificant in the light of the onslaught against us, and we become united together to fight. We are compelled to pray and defend ourselves. But what starts as a fight to defend ourselves, soon increases as a war to advance for the Kingdom of God.
The Church in Acts 12 urgently prayed, hoping to save Peter. Yet, the outcome of their prayer was the death of their enemy. King Herod was killed by an angel of the Lord for accepting the praise of man as they heralded him a god (see Acts 12:22-23). And the Word of God spread with increased fervor and many new converts were added to the Church (see verse 24).
My friends, our battle is increasing, but the Lord is using our enemy to awaken us to fight because He wants to give us a great victory.
Our God-given Authority
Do you remember the horrific events of September 11, 2001? Of course you do. It's not often one incident can move a country, even the world, like 9/11 did; it united and activated our entire nation. Not since the attack on Pearl Harbor had our nation been empowered with such fury as we were in the 1940's by the assault on our nation. In both instances, we were immediately awakened and empowered by our outrage at the strike launched against us. We were linked by an intense feeling that something must be done to stop our enemy and make them pay for the attack against us.
These moments of deplorable destruction shocked us, shook us and enraged us. Literally, our enemy awoke our nation from a pacified slumber; they awoke a sleeping giant. They thought they would torment us to our grave. However, there came a point when we refused to tolerate the atrocities inflicted upon us.
These incidents are what God makes use of to awaken us from our slumber, making us resolute and fearless--our enemy's worst nightmare. Indeed, quite often we are at our best during harrowing situations. It's like siblings who will tease each other when no one's around, but if anyone tries to lay a hand on one of them, they band together and declare war...and Heaven help those who appose them.
The Lord, in His supreme wisdom, is allowing fearful situations to arise--to arise and shake us awake from our passivity and apathy. He's turning us into mother-bears protecting our cubs. He is using the enemy to awaken us from our slumber and fill us with rage, producing a resilient, self-sacrificing love that will pursue victory at all cost. God is forcing us to stand up to the enemy and say, "No more!" He is awakening His sleeping Church urging us to stand and boldly proclaim, "Enough!"
God is saying, "How long will you tolerate the enemy's blatant attack? He's pushed you into a corner until you can barely move. It's time for you to stand up to him for your own sake as well as for the lives of those used by him to harm you. Let them hear you speak the truth and do not fear their reprisal."
Just as a child will continue to push his way until his parents say no in a way that means "no," Satan will continue to harass us until he believes we mean NO. We've tried to appease him, but really, what is necessary is an ironclad stance of our God-given authority. If we don't stand and fight, we will lose all to the enemy, because he will not stop until we make him.
That's it Devil, NO MORE!
Years ago my mother-in-law and I were painting and we kept having continual struggles and accidents while working. Finally, she got upset and, realizing it was the work of the enemy, she boldly declared, "That's it devil, no more!" Peace was restored and we were able to continue our work.
There are times when we see our loved ones struggling and treated badly by others. Although we may feel badly, we remain detached. This is the enemy's scheme to keep us in our apathy, not willing to put ourselves forward for others. We may even find it easier to give advice or tell them what they should have done. But what God really wants us to do is to stand in the gap for them--to stand with them to fight the enemy and say with authority, "NO MORE!" We must band together and fight like the warriors we are! Together we are strong.
As Christians, we were not meant to live for ourselves. It is time we put others ahead of ourselves--to intercede for them using our faith to strengthen theirs. It's this faith-war that keeps our passion alive, or should I say, "Awake." If we let our faith fall into a dormant, lukewarm state, our enemy will surprise us.
Our prayers are powerful and necessary; they do protect us. The devil has been trying to distract us from our prayers and convince us we're ineffective. This is often his first plan in his attack. If he's victorious in getting us to lay down our weapons, he will be able to catch us off guard. Having lulled us into a life of triviality, we will become vulnerable.
We must not grow weary in battle. God knows how important it is for us to be armed and ready and He will do whatever it takes to make us ready and empowered. The enemy is increasing his attacks against the Church, but it's God's plan to use these attacks to bring even greater victory to the Church.
As the attacks ensue, we must not grow fearful, but allow God to make us powerful. We are more powerful than our enemy and it's God's plan that we advance against him. For "...greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). Our enemy may assail against us, but he will not win the war!
Please declare this with me: God loves me. He leads me to green pastures and restores my soul. He provides for all my needs and keeps me from harm. He enables me to discern the plans of the enemy, and I listen and obey His will. God makes me victorious over the enemy. I hear His voice and follow His leading. I will live and declare the Word of the Lord. In Christ, I am strong and in Him, I am victorious!
Saints, let's stand together and with one mighty voice shout, "That's it devil, NO MORE!"
God bless you! In Him,
Victoria Boyson
Speaking Life Ministries
Email: victoria@boyson.org
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