“And when Joshua heard the noise of the people
as they shouted, he said to Moses, “There is a
noise of war in the camp.” But he (Moses) said:
“It is not the noise of the shout of victory, nor the
cry of defeat, but the sound of singing I hear.”
Exodus 32:17-18

Faith is seeing the unseen armies of Heaven as more numerous and greater than the seen armies of men. (2Kings 6:15-17)

1. The nature of the conflict
The conflict we are up against and engaged in is internal and external. That is, it rages within us and outside of us. We are to engage both spheres rigorously. (Galatians 5:16-17; Ephesians 6:10-12) We must at all times remember that if the powers of darkness cannot overcome us they certainly contain or restrain us. Keep us happy and singing in the four walls of our respective churches. Spiritual conflict can then be described as; anything that would resist the expansion of spiritual growth in us and around us. We should therefore note that much of our “faith war” has to do with overcoming ourselves! A casual examination of Jesus’ message to the Seven Churches of Asia will demonstrate this. (Revelation 2-3)

2. The realm of our conflict
There are four areas of spiritual conflict that we must face:

a. The natural realm. (1John 5:18-19(2Thessalonians 3:3) Christians must learn the principles of “keeping themselves’ so that they can be free to do God’s business in the earth. Too many Christians are bound and rendered powerless by their own persistent carnality!

b. The controlled realm. (James 1:12-15)(Luke 22:31) Here we are exposed to the Devil by the Holy Spirit in order to test us and prove that we are capable of making the right choices. Jesus encountered this realm before He went into ministry. (Luke 4:1-14) The lesson is clear; God calls trained and proved Christians into conflict.

c. The self-induced realm. (1Corinthians 11:27-32)(2Corinthians 2:10-11) Willful sin and rebellion exposes us to the powers of darkness and can have serious consequences for us. We must constantly evaluate our lives and ensure that Jesus is Lord! When bitterness and unforgiveness creeps into a local Church many of God’s people become defiled and are thus neutralized. (Hebrews 12:14-15)

d. The conquering realm. (1Thessalonians 2:18)(Matthew 16:18) We must choose to throw ourselves into the battle for Christ’s kingdom knowing that, if our lives are clean, we can and will tear down the gates of hell! (2Corinthians 10:4)

3. The power of conflict
Prayer brings us into the presence of God, prayer keeps us in the presence of God and prayer establishes God’s presence in the world. God does nothing in the world apart from prayer. (Philippians 4:6-7)(Ephesians 6:18-19) Sadly however, the Bible believing Christian today only spends three minutes, on average, in prayer a day! How then will we ever win this battle? Scripture declares that we should pray without ceasing. (1Thessalonians 5:17)

Malcolm Hedding

©Malcolm Hedding Ministries