EFFECTIVE SPIRITUAL WARFARE – Ch. 1- Outline
A TUTORIAL ON EFFECTIVE SPIRITUAL WARFARE
Teaching, Training & Commissioning
THE OUTLINE
Jesus teaches in this order:
Jesus speaks Words of instruction
Jesus shows the Works
Jesus sends the Workers
YOUR PREPARATION
You should prepare by praying for understanding and wisdom; read and study and apply what you are learning as you go. And above all, endure the training to its completion. This is the method all his disciples must use. Lead by example.
We will use the following rules for study:
What is the CONTEXT of the teaching?
What does it say?
What does it mean?
What does it mean to me / you?
How can I do it?
We will start our study and training in Matthew chapter three, in order to get the full instruction and the CONTEXT of the teaching. (NOTE: This is not a Bible study. It is “a calling, training and a commissioning”.)
– Chapter 1 –
REPENTANCE & THE KINGDOM
(Please note: The green text is hyper-linked to teaching details and/or scripture references.)
Matthew 3:1 says“Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
This is a practical truth, a spiritual truth and a mystery.
The greatest pronouncement and call to readiness for all Christians: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
The hour has arrived. Final preparations are being made. You must ready yourself for the Heaven’s final assault upon the earth. Satan is to be defeated and you and I are part of God’s invading force.
This is not a metaphor. It is not hyperbole. It is the literal call from God through His Son, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Repent, in the Biblical sense, literally means, “To change one’s mind; to change one’s mind for the better” and it comes from two root words which mean, “Hereafter, have this understanding or perception”.
Repenting is the act of changing your mind which means your mindset, your values, and your worldview is changed. Some would say you then live by new standards. But it is much greater than just living by new standards.
A person of sound mind cannot simultaneously think one thing and do another, repentance results in a complete change of mind and direction of one’s life.
This is a mystery, an oracle of God. Jesus is saying His Kingdom is at hand – as close to you as your hand is at the end of your arm. Jesus is telling you, “The Kingdom of God is within you“. This cannot and must not be minimized. You are standing at the threshold of “doing the Works of Jesus and even greater works because He is with The Father”.
Like Joshua and the Israelites, you are in the process of “crossing over into the land He has promised you, and everywhere the sole of your foot treads is yours, declares the Lord, and no man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life.”
Matthew3:2 says“For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’”
It is our calling to make ready the way of the Lord and to announce it to the world. We are commissioned to tell everyone to make straight the paths, in their lives, for His arrival.
Matthew 3:3-6 “Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.”
Jesus told all His disciples, then and now, “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. “Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support.” These are our instructions to be followed carefully and exactly.
We must not watch, envy or imitate the postmodern church as it defies the Word of God, acquiring their gold, entertaining their guests, telling their stories about the Bible – “always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Once we “repent”, new desires move us to a new way of living, new actions, which are the direct manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
Repentance means it is no longer you or me who lives, but it is Christ, literally, living in us.
Galatians 2:20 says “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me”
If you are living in the sin of doubt or fear, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
If you are living under the oppression of poverty, sickness, lack or want, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Joshua 1:2 tells us, like the sons of Israel before us, to rise up and cross over! Matthew 4:24 tells us to “Proclaim the gospel of the kingdom, healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness, help all who are ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics”.
We are on our way, now. Read, study, pray and BE DOERS OF THE WORD: Go, today, and tell others this exceedingly Good News. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
Please bookmark this page and watch for our next chapter, “The teaching, training & commissioning”: THE JUDGMENT . (Previous episode = Following Jesus – What You Need to Know )
(Please also notice, you can go to the webpage for this podcast and click links for details and references which are necessary for the entire teaching)