How prepared are we?

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ~ Ephesians 6:17

Two years ago, one of the better pastors in our area stated before a group of us that his greatest concern was preparing the members of his church for what was coming. Just the other day I came across my notes from that meeting. On that very same day I hear this interview (beginning at the 9:30min mark)…

That’s why we have to prepare ourselves. I believe there has to be a spiritual preparation…a place of holiness, where we fast, we pray, we intercede, and we connect with the Holy Spirit. Soldier-like training where we learn to break generational curses, and deliverance from demonic possession… Michael Knowles Interviews SRA/Witchcraft Expert

…and again, on the same day a member of a nearby church I called out for the pastor’s silence in the face of evil responded with the words, “We’ve got nothing to bring to the table.” And I think to myself, there are no words to describe the absolute unpreparedness for what is coming. I was thinking about a conversation I had with a fellow CLOTH member, a lovely sister from the better pastor’s church who called me to the carpet for having said in a private conversation with her that during my recent visit to another church in our area, “I was waiting to hear someone shout BINGO”! Boy, did she let me have it. “Words matter!”, she admonished me. She is absolutely right, words really do matter. But, we need to examine the heart and intention behind the words, no? The heart and intention behind my words shared privately was that my experience felt more like a visit to a nursing home than a church. I cannot speak to the heart and intention behind, “We’ve got nothing to bring to the table,” other than the self-fulfilling fact that this person will more than likely bring nothing to the table. Any life coach will tell you, we become what we think and what we tell ourselves.

I pray you will take ten minutes to listen to the Michael Knowles interview linked above. I know Michael. I had the pleasure of working with him on a political campaign fourteen years ago. To see him working to shed light on an evil that has been so extremely well concealed for most of our lives does my heart good. He has a massive following! The spiritual potency and virile nature of the principalities, powers, and rulers behind the occult practitioners, and their heart and intention for God’s children is not only VERY real, but when you consider this threat in contrast to the utter impotency behind, “we’ve got nothing to bring to the table,” you can actually see the wolf savoring the meal to come. She did not come up with the thought behind those words on her own my friends. She had help…from the pulpit!

For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God. ~ 2 Corinthians 2:17

No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ~ 2 Corinthians 11:14

I was good with Dutch Sheets’ use of the word “disabled” in describing our church pulpits. I myself came up with dysfunctional. But a brother in Christ from Loudoun County, Virginia insisted in a conversation yesterday that it is much darker than that, and he shared both of the 2 Corinthians passages with me. I have to say, in light of the Herculean efforts of authors like Eric Metaxas, and godly men like Dutch Sheets to wake what I thought to be a sleeping church, I believe my brother is dead on! Which brings us to the soldier-like training mentioned by the witchcraft and spiritual warfare expert in the Knowles interview, and the significance of Ephesians 6:17. I love this scripture because it captures the spiritual warfare essence of both offense and defense in just 18 words. The helmet of salvation is there for us to protect our minds from thinking “we’ve got nothing to bring to the table.” And the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Not some of the Word, not most of the word, but EVERY word. If you are being so nourished in your church then know you are blessed, but if you are not being prepared for holiness, led to pray, fast, intercede, connect with the Holy Spirit, and receive soldier-like training in breaking curses and deliverance, don’t be afraid to ask your pastor why not? Especially in this hour…why not? Most importantly brothers and sisters, know for a fact, as sons and daughters of the King Most High, we bring EVERYTHING to the table! Amen?