We are in the process, aided by the Holy Spirit, of discovering a Revelation of God so profound, it governs every facet of our lives. In line with these perceptions, we cultivate experiences of God’s nature that empower us to breakthrough obstacles, overcome the enemy, and overwhelmed human opposition with the goodness of God.
When we see the sovereignty of God, we are empowered to love our enemies. When we are captivated by His Majesty, we develop more faith. Our certainties concerning God’s nature are the bedrock of empowerment in ministry.
Paul embraced his crisis situations: if we suffer, we should also reign with him – 2 Timothy 2:2.
Romans 8:16 – the spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, hairs also, heirs of God and fellow hairs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creature waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.
This is not a revelatory experience for future time but a present exposure to the intentionality of God. We are living in eternity now. I have been experiencing eternal life in Christ since the day of salvation. On earth, as it is in heaven. As he is, so are we. Greater miracles than his will we do. Eternity now! We are present-day partakers of the divine nature.
The anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. The sun longs for another command (as Joshua) for it to stand still in the heavens while he had enough light for warfare – that’s Majesty! – Joshua 10:12 – 14.
Wind and waves love to obey the commands of God – Mark 4: 39 – 41. Creation loves to be a part of God doing the impossible – 2 Kings 6:4 – 7.
Peter new that where Majesty is present, glory is not far behind. They are inseparable. On the other side of crisis, glory is ever present.
1Peter 4:12 – beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange things were happening to you: but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the Revelation of his glory you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests on you.
Obviously, all tests teach us something about the Lord and ourselves. Every test gives us a window into the Majesty and supremacy of the Lord. The Majesty of God is more sharply defined in a crunch situation. Indeed, what if all critical circumstances contain the possibility of rapid advancement through Majesty? In the renewing of our mind, we are constantly coming face-to-face with the matchless presence of God.
Majesty must dominate mindsets. In crisis, the spirit of glory rests upon us – a radiant idea of God so magnificent it rules the enemy from our inner man of the spirit. Cascading joy erupts in our hearts at the mere thought of the fathers unrivaled invincibility.
The eyes of our inner man are open to discover the surpassing greatness of God’s power to us who are ready to believe.
Ephesians 1:18 – I pray that dies of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might which he brought about in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that his name, not only in this age but also in the one to come. Any put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
God’s majesty is shocking in its superiority. It invades our hearts and minds it will not let us go until we bow the knee. If we do not surrender to sovereignty, we can have no authority. Our lives internally have to submit to Lordship. A warrior knows though, that it means more than that. It means every fight is eminently winnable because God’s nature as an overcomer declares that probability constantly.
Majesty means we enter problems situations knowing that victory is inevitable. There are times when the Spirit of God is so powerfully present, all we have to do to win is avoid even the possibility of defeat. Sometimes we don’t even need to fight, standing is all that is required – 2 Chronicles 20:17/Ephesians 6:13.
There is a glorious inevitability about the Lord Jesus and the victory he won on Calvary – 2nd Corinthians 2:14/1 Corinthians 15:57. We will not fulfill our destiny outside of displays of God’s sovereignty. Are we in danger of the becoming triumphalistic? Let us hope so. Better to be in danger from a mind set on the spirit, than on one which allows the possibility of defeat. Triumphalism or fatalism – take your choice. A warrior knows that it is better to die thinking we can win, then to live knowing we cannot.
Majesty reveals glory. When glory comes, extreme joy follows with it. Warriors want to know the feel of a spirit of glory and of God resting upon them. Majesty provides the turning point in a potential disaster. If our mind is set on God’s splendor, then we will overcome. Warriors want to take territory. Surpassing greatness is what they long to experience.
The dilemma of what we are going to choose to believe is actually a far greater concern than the matter itself. James knew that crisis would produce endurance and patience – James 1:34. We will learn more about God’s goodness and sovereignty through battle than through peace.
A warrior knows how to access the secret place of God’s presence.
Psalms 27:5 – for the day of trouble he will conceal Minas tabernacle; in the secret place of his tent he will hide me; he will lift me up on a rock. And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
It is vital to know God’s heart for us personally in a time of trouble. We cannot fall from such grace. We practice being with God in our devotions. We learn to access the secret place through intimacy. Our inner certainties reveal our confidence in God or our unbelief. Rejoicing is the key to favor. Thanksgiving is a prelude to faith. Shouts of joy at God’s supremacy are mandatory.
Spiritual warriors have a persistence in the spirit. We can tell the quality of someone’s inner life by the amount of opposition it takes to discourage them. This was one way that I determine the current readiness to fight of people that I mentored. The enemy needs to work harder against us this year than he did the last; otherwise we are not growing. Majesty, by definition, always increases. From glory to glory. God is irrepressible and indomitable. He cannot be overcome.
Spiritual warriors have a steadfast, unyielding quality that the world would call stubbornness and ruthless behavior. This can be mistaken for arrogance or not caring, by people of a lesser spiritual caliber who vacillate between truth and compromise on their purpose.
Warriors get rid of every weight and anything that slows them down. This may make them unpopular people to be around at times. A guy in a previous church wanted to come on a missions trip I was organizing. Our purpose was to bring breakthrough to a particular church in Eastern Europe. It was not a trip for the fainthearted, and I knew that he had not passed his own personal tests. I would not let him come. We would be babysitting him while trying to get a breakthrough. He would be a handicap we do not need.
Ruthless? Possibly. Arrogant? Not at all. It would have been arrogant to have taken him. Rookies are chosen by God not men. David, very young man, could be chosen as Goliath’s opponent because God’s hand was upon him. However, he also had to have some mileage in warfare in the shape of a lion and a bear. A warrior has his heart centered on Majesty and fixed to the internal compass of persistent alignment with the Lord.
Warriors know that sovereignty can turn everything around and work things in our favor.
Romans 8:28 – and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose. For those who me for new, he also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son, so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom he predestined, he also called; and these whom he called, he also justified; and these whom he justified, he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
The father uses everything for our good. Our part is firstly to love God in our circumstances. In this way we are not distracted by events, but fully focused on who the Lord is for us. Secondly, we need to remain in line with our calling and purpose, as our situation unfolds. In this way, we may determine the particular significance of our circumstances in relation to our training or the warfare in which we are engaged.
Everything has a purpose, and the intention of God is that we are always in a position to understand his glory. The Father’s intention is to bring many sons into glory – Hebrews 2:10. Glory is about Majesty, understanding and reveling in the supremacy of the Lord. Glory too, is always connected with majestic inevitability. All things work together for good as we cooperate with God’s purposes. This is not Christian fatalism. We are yoked in partnership with Jesus. We are choosing to abide in Jesus no matter the circumstances or the provocation from the enemy. If we allow the enemy to reduce us to carnality in our life issues on a regular basis then we remain untrained and untried for the highest level.
If we remain untested by life, we will be unfit for battle. An athlete who trains poorly, races badly. James understood this, as did all the apostles.
James 1:2 – consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to them. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double minded man, unstable in all his ways.
There is a difference between warfare and adversity. Warfare is full on demonic attack perpetrated by evil spirits or human agents of demonic powers. Adversity involves the trials and tests of every day life and circumstances.
For us to become Christlike, we need events and situations that are a test for our spirituality. Trials enable us to put away our carnality and receive Jesus into areas of our life where he can change our character and personality. The fruit of the Spirit both support and challenge our spirituality.
Galatians 5:22 – but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the spirit, let us also walk by the spirit.
If we are to grow in patience then we will need some trying people and circumstances. Our joy is tested almost every day. We have to work at our peace, labor to enter into rest – Hebrews 4:11, and we must practice love constantly. Self-control is a necessity if we are to overthrow the enemy.
Most trials and tests are teaching us more than one thing. Every circumstance provides an opportunity for Christlike behavior to emerge. The warriors who understand and practice this become good at passing tests and are able to grow quickly and properly.
Warriors do not look for sympathy, they look for Majesty. If you require pity from other people, you are living in the wrong place. God will give you compassion if you need it. He is your comforter – otherwise, stop whining and get on with your training. Pick yourself up and get back in a fight.
The father’s intention in developing you is to produce endurance, increase your faith, make you mature so that you lack nothing, and pass you fit for battle. The question for a warrior is therefore: what am I doing, and is it compatible with God’s purpose? Adversity is training for reigning. It is designed to equip us for a fight and provide, under pressure, what we need in order to prosper in a conflict.
The father has designed our path in advance – Romans 8:29 – 30. We are learning to live an intentional life within that plan. When we know our identity, destiny, and calling; then we discover the faith, character, and lifestyle we must pursue as citizens of heaven on earth. All trials and tests are designed to produce that person. Our response then to trials? If God is for us, who can be against us? the enemy does not want to go up against God; he wants to go up against us! The enemy is defeated by Christ in us. Jesus needs to be present in our lives in a way that produces consternation and fear in the enemy.
Warriors seek to wear the enemy down, to debilitate him. We do that by staying fresh. The Lord’s ability to strengthen and inspire us with his loving kindness never ceases. His capacity to comfort us never fails on any occassion. Ask for; asked for it! With God every day we start afresh. His purpose and provision is new every morning – Lamentations 3:21 – 25. The faithfulness of God is astounding and it is the very foundation of our confidence and expectation. Always trust God to be majestic.
Though our outward man is having a tough day, our inner man is being renewed each day in the Majesty of God – 2 Corinthians 4:16. Our inner man adapts to the presence of God; our outer man is diverted by circumstances. Change a crisis into a turning point. Warriors recognize the hand of God behind the work of the enemy. No matter what the enemy is doing, the father is working to freely give us all things and to add to our Christ likeness. All things that the enemy will use against us, God will use for us – if not initially, always eventually. Some battles are won quickly; major battles are won over time. Stay fresh – the enemy hates it.
Stalemates occur when further progress is impossible. The enemy does not have to defeat us to win. He just has to stop us. We get bogged down when we allow ourselves to become stale. When we stay fresh we are more focused. Our rejoicing is sharp and crisp. Our faith is bright. We force the enemy to work, and all the time we are becoming more like Jesus. When the enemy starts to lose ground on several fronts, he will quit. If we are stale, it is our lack of Majesty that makes us so. In Majesty, we are expecting to overcome. There is no way we can lose. Our rejoicing maintains our freshness. We are learning progressively to stay fresher, longer.
Warriors are responsive towards God, not reactive to their circumstances. We except everything as being from the hand of God and therefore for our benefit, regardless of the initial source. We know that Jesus reigns. We know that God allows in his wisdom what he can easily prevent by his power. We cannot be intimidated by the enemy because we are too busy being fascinated by Jesus
Warriors see everything is an opportunity to grow, to learn, and to increase faith. We are not avoiding tough situations because we are learning to extract from them everything we can in order to advance. Were not looking for rescue; were more interested in God being glorified. Warriors fight from victory, not towards it. That means that every situation is not ours to win; it’s ours to lose.
If we remain in Christ – alert, ready, and focused – we cannot lose. Everything leads to Majesty. If the enemy succeeds in separating us from the reality of Christ within, he wins. There is a place in the spirit set aside for us where we make the enemy confused. We weary him by our rest. We discourage him by our faith. We demoralize him by our joy. We depress him by our endurance. He is dispirited by our favor, defeated by our grace.
True warriors feed on the faithfulness of God. Full salvation produces total victory. Warriors never make allowances for losing; they make plans to win.
Assignment – how are you embracing crisis… What is the purpose behind the difficulties you are currently facing? What is your response to warfare and adversity? For what conflict is God training you? Where in your life do you need to be refilled with the Holy Spirit and develop some freshness in Christ?
Commission – what is your present experience of Majesty? What attitude must you cultivate in order to increase your anointing to overcome? Work through your current circumstances with the Holy Spirit, asking him for wisdom to align them with the purposes and benefits are God.
Conclusion
God wants the pleasure of our company; that’s why he created us in the first place. He wants us to live in his presence, forever. Like Joshua, who did not depart from the tabernacle where Moses and God talked face-to-face – Exodus 33:11. Spiritual warriors are called to remain in the presence of God. Joshua’s confidence in God’s nature helped him time and again on the battlefield as the Israelites took the promised land.
We need to understand that every situation has been designed for us to discover more of God’s presence and find access to even deeper levels. Confidence is the Gateway to that presence. Our belonging there is part of our inheritance in Christ.
The word warrior conjures up images of violence and conflict, but a spiritual warrior is essentially peaceful, untroubled, and restful. Remaining calm is vital to the internal power and anointing that helps those around us overcome the enemy in their own lives. Warriors are dedicated, focus, committed, disciplined, and operate with a clear vision in mind. They have an internal compass that keeps them pointed toward the will of God. They keep moving in the same direction that God has challenged them to go – no matter what. Every champion in Scripture moved from crisis to crisis, but did so with the confidence that God was with him. Spiritual warriors, in every generation since Adam and Eve were created, live out the call of 2 Corinthians 6:4 – 10
But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, and tribulations, needs, and distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, into molds, and labors, and sleeplessness, and fasting; by purity, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by Eva report and good report; as deceivers, and you true; as unknown, and yet well-known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastised comment and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
That is the mission of the spiritual warrior.