In my last blog post, I talked about how spiritual warfare should not be fought individually but in unity with other warriors in the Kingdom of Heaven. And amazingly enough, my pastor's sermon last week tied in perfectly to the next stage in this series I am working on. While we do need to fight together in unity, we need to know who our allies are, and just as importantly who are not allies.
To be able to function in the spiritual realm, on thing that must be understood is authority. The subject of authority is worthy of it's own post but for the purpose of this post, I'll simply say to be able to exercise authority, you must be under the authority you wish to exercise. This works in every arena from the spiritual side to business or even to family. And one group of people that are critical allies to spiritual warfare are spiritual mentors, the spiritual authorities in our life. It is important to have someone over you, someone you trust, someone you can rely upon to hold you accountable. Many people think they can get along fine without such a person. They have their pastor and they have friends but do they have that one person who is older, wiser, and will get to know them personally? The spiritual authorities in your life are among your strongest allies because they know you the best. They know your weaknesses and your strengths and they know how to build you up and how to cover your breaches.
Another group of allies are your Christian peers. Your fellow soldiers in the battle. The ones that are even with you on an authority basis. This is the group most people turn to when in a battle. They will help you fight, but are they close enough to stick with you through it? You may have allies that will help you for a time, but not all will stick around to see the battle through. How do you know? Know who your peers are. Know who you can rely on to cover your back. One area where you can find your best peers from this group is in a small group. Get involved in a small group. Many times, the closest friendships are found in these groups.
Another group of allies you have is your church leadership. Your pastor, your elders, your deacons. The key to understand here is that though these people will gladly fight at your side, they are often fighting at the side of many others in the congregation. They are human and have limited time, resources, and energy. I am not saying do not go to them and defer the resources they have to others, nor am I saying that they will not have time for you. I am simply pointing out to keep that fact in mind. But one of the jobs of the pastor, elders, and deacons is to aid you in your battles. Do not neglect them.
A very surprising ally that you can have are those you are mentoring. Those under you. It is not enough to get mentored, to get someone over you. You need someone under you. A key purpose of a Christian is not get fed, but to get spent for the Kingdom. What we are learning is not meant to feed us for for us to pay it forward and feed the next generation. And while the mentors you have know you very well, those you are mentoring also know you very well. And in mentoring them, you know their strengths and weaknesses. And what greater chance to gain experience for one you are mentoring than to enlist him/her to aid you in the battles you are facing?
Now, I don't want to forget the ultimate ally we have: Jesus Christ himself. Let's not forget that Christ is our Commander-in-Chief. He goes before us and he follows behind. He leads us in the battle, directs us in the battle, and he is the ultimate one fighting through us. One should never enter battle without first getting your orders.
Now, all that being said, there are people you need to be wary of. People that you think will aid you in battle but will actually harm you in battle. I don't need to cover those that are obviously opposed to you and to anything that resembles or represents God Almighty. We know they are not our allies. But we must remember that our battles are not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces behind them. So we must not just know who our allies are, we must also know who our enemy is.
I said above that some of our peers are a valuable resource and ally that we have. But some of these peers are not actual allies. Some of our peers that we ask to aid us in battle actually don't. In this spiritual battle, there are two challenges the Christian faces in these battles. One challenge is dealing with allies that don't fight. The other challenge is those who claim to be our allies but actually fight against us. If you have a peer that won't fight along side you, don't depend upon that person to aid you. Don't stand next to a soldier that won't raise his shield along yours or another's. Stand next to one who will.
One must be very careful about the proverbial "wolf in sheep's clothing". The tares planted amongst the wheat. God won't remove them until it is time for the harvest. We must be careful with who we trust to rely on in battle because some of them will reveal key intel to the enemy about you. Ever wonder how some people you know are your enemies know things about you that you never told them? It's because you told a wolf, a spy. Sometimes these wolves will fight along side you to gain your trust but in a critical battle, they will back off, exposing you to the enemy, or outright turn against you. These people are not to be trusted because they are puppets and plants of the enemy. And here is the most disturbing part of it. Some of these wolves do not hide in sheep's clothing but in shepherd's clothing. Some of these false allies are the pastors, the elders, the deacons, in our church. How can we tell them apart? Don't rely on their charisma. Don't rely on their personality. They may be very good and "moral" people. Do they know Christ? Do they preach Christ? Is he Lord of their lives? 1 Corinthians 12:3 tells us that no one who has the Holy Spirit (who is born-again) can curse the name of Jesus, but no one, except by the Holy Spirit, can call Jesus their personal Lord and Savior. Is Jesus their Lord? That is a big clue if they are to be someone you can trust in battle or someone you need to mark as untrustworthy.
I could go on but that is a simple description of what we can expect from potential allies or enemies. Always keep your guard up. The enemy is like a roaring lion seeking whomever he can devour. Who can he devour? Those who let up their guard. Those who won't fight. And those who isolate themselves and fight alone. But do not fear, do not tremble. Jesus Christ is our Commander and he has overcome Satan and his schemes. He has overcome the world and its system. He has conquered sin and death. We are more than conquerors because of Christ who lives and fights in us. And you do not fight alone. If you are in a battle, get help. Seek allies who are taking their battle orders from Christ. Seek allies who need your skills in battle. It is not just about them helping you. It is also about you helping them. And there are people who will not get victory if you do not join them in battle. And there are battles you will not win if you do not get help. Rise up and fight. You have the victory in Christ. Go out and claim it.
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