warfare

Worship and Spiritual Warfare

There is a growing emphasis in these days on doing spiritual warfare through worship. As God pours out more and more of His Spirit upon the Church, and the Church and world are shaken with increasing intensity, this is an area where we are going to have to be wise, because the potential exists for both abuse and ineffectiveness. Much (by no means all) of what is currently being expressed in this area in the Body of Christ falls short of the mark. Mindless militarism and "macho" posturing are not what is needed to come against the enemy effectively. A body builder spends a lot of time flexing his muscles, but it doesnt necessarily mean that he knows how to fight.

Is There a Battle?

Scriptural military terminology and analogies, as well as our own experiences, show that there is indeed a battle going on.

II Cor. 10: 3-4...for we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds...

I Tim. 1: 18...according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare...

Eph. 6: 10-18 ...put on the full armor of God...

Gods plan for mankind has always been the formation of a pure and spotless Bride, a beautiful companion for Himself, made in His image and sharing His glory. To that end, He, in His infinite wisdom, has allowed evil forces in His universe. They are at work, not because He cannot prevent it from being so, but rather because they are one tool which He chooses to use in the shaping of His overcoming Church. To be overcomers we must have something to overcome. Strength is built by working against resistance. God allows this resistance in our lives that we might be formed into the image of Christ. God knew all along, before man or Satan was created, every pain, every injustice that would result. He knew that the Son (the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world [Rev. 13:8]) would have to die on the Cross to release unto us His resurrection life. He knew that the Church would suffer persecution and death. He saw it all and still knew that the prize was worth the price. The price God paid was not just the suffering of Jesus, but His pain as He sees all the suffering of mankind due to sin and evil. But He knew there was no other way to bring forth the pure, victorious Bride. The enemy is allowed to make war on the saints that they might learn to choose good and not evil. His Bride is being brought to strength and maturity by learning to face the warfare and overcome it. At the proper time, all evil will be gathered up and destroyed, Satan will be cast down, and the overcoming Bride will share eternity with her King.

Is Worship an Offensive Weapon?

Not in the way which is being taught today in some parts of the Body of Christ. Scripture declares that worship is for God alone, and the purpose of all worship is to glorify God. Psalm 5: 7 " ...I will worship toward Thy holy temple". The New Testament word most often translated "worship" is PROSKUNEO, which literally means "to turn towards and kiss": an intimate interaction between the Lord and His betrothed. At such a moment, it is at least inappropriate for our attention to be focused on the things of darkness. Yet sometimes in our worship services, the devil gets more attention - more glory - than God does, through the words that are spoken and the songs that are sung.

Our worship is for God alone, and will continue for all eternity in the new heavens and new earth, long after the devil and his demons are no longer on the scene. Warfare then, cannot be a primary intended function of worship. The goal of worship is to commune with God Himself.

II Chronicles 20 is the most commonly quoted example in scripture of "warfare worship". Lets examine this passage in detail: in verses 1-13 the people intercede. v. 15-17 God responds. v. 20-24 the people go forth praising and find the enemy has been destroyed. Based on this scenario, the argument is advanced that it was the worship of the people of God which went ahead of them and won the battle. However, a careful reading of the passage fails to support this conclusion. In v.15 the Lord says "...the battle is not yours". In v.17 He states "you will not need to fight in this battle...", thus clearly implying that whatever they were doing, it was not fighting. "Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord who is with you..." They did not even directly confront the enemy. They went forth rejoicing and praising God in faith for His promise that they would not have to fight! As they did so, the Lord arose and defeated the enemy. The worship of the saints was unto God. It was not directed at the enemy. Worship is not magic. The demons do not automatically flee at the mention of God.

The Effectiveness of Worship in Warfare

On the other hand, most of us have probably experienced some type of breakthrough in worship which had the effect of bringing victory over the enemy. Some of these instances can be quite dramatic. So why does worship seem to be so effective in these situations?

As we worship, God is enthroned in our praises. We punch through into Heavens frame of reference. Acts 16:19-34. As we worship, we come into unity as a people. We come into the manifest presence of God and yield ourselves anew to Him. His desires, His priorities and His presence are exalted. His Word and His power can be released through a yielded people. Worship releases the anointing of God to break yokes (Isaiah 10:27). As Truth is proclaimed, the just rebuke of a holy God is released against the works of darkness. It is when Jesus is exalted that every knee must bow. Many of the songs of warfare that we sing are songs for ourselves. We sing about marching in Messiahs band, about being an army, about having authority over the enemy, about the devil being cast down. I call these "identity" songs. They have value in that they build faith by teaching us the truth about our position and about the victorious power of God, but they can also produce an emotional "high" rather than a spiritual one. Satan is not particularly threatened when we sing about being an army, however much we need to understand that truth. But when we exalt the Risen Lord in our midst, then darkness is exposed by the light. Satan cant stand it when God gets all the glory. When we are yielded to God in worship, then God is able to show Himself strong on our behalf. Psalm 149 says: "Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand...". The praises are not the same thing as the sword. What is the sword? According to Ephesians 6: 17, the sword of the Spirit is the rhema Word of God; truth proclaimed into the spiritual atmosphere.

How Can Worship Help Us in Our Warfare?

We need to have understanding that we might be effective. This is an essential point: not all musical expressions are worship. Songs of deliverance, sung prophecy, sung intercession...all are valid forms of the release of the rhema of God. Often these proceed out from a time of worship, as the Spirit of God is released and exalted in the midst of a people. They may blend together almost seamlessly at times. But worship itself belongs solely to God. Admittedly this is a fine line to draw, but it is important that we make the distinction. We need to know what we are doing to be effective. We never worship at the devil. He wishes we would! But it is written "worship God, and Him only shall you serve".

Worship puts the enemy in perspective. God is in control. We develop sensitivity to the issues on Gods heart. Worship brings us to a place where the sword of the Spirit can be used effectively. II Cor. 10:4 "...the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God to the pulling down of strongholds". What is a stronghold? A house of thoughts and thought patterns in which the enemy finds shelter. Choosing to worship God with your will places your mind in subjection to the kingdom of God.

WE ARE IN A BATTLE!

God wants us to learn how to fight, that we might become strong overcomers in Him, and set many captives free. We need to be more aggressive against the enemy, pulling down strongholds and taking every thought captive. But a more aggressive posture against the enemy may have the net effect of making our worship look less aggressive. We will be singing less about being an army, and more about our wonderful, victorious, risen LORD!