Born To Battle Devils
I was born to battle devils.
Martin Luther said that.
And it was true. I’ve read numerous Luther biographies and the thing that really defines the Great Reformer was his raw courage and reckless faith in his fight with the devil. The devil was a real enemy to Luther. On one occasion when Luther was hard at work translating the Bible into German the devil appeared to him. Think of that. What would you do? I know most Charismatics would tell how they would rebuke the devil in Jesus’ name…and maybe they would, but then again a lot of that might be empty bluster. Do you know what Martin Luther did? He threw his ink well at him. I love that! Martin Luther’s response to Satan showing up in his chambers was to attack the fiend with the nearest thing at hand.
Luther really hated the devil.
Luther was also known to be a little bit bawdy. He had a habit of each morning sitting in the latrine with hymn book in hand singing praises to God. When one of his students suggested that perhaps this was somehow inappropriate, Luther replied, “Not at all. What goes up is for God, what goes down is for the devil.”
Yeah, Luther hated the devil. And he fought the devil all his life.
I remember being with R.W. Schambach in a hotel in Mexico City. T.L. Osborn had just flown in flown in to help with the Mexico City Crusade and when he walked into the room he greeted Brother Schambach with these words, “Well, Bob, we’re old men now. But when we die, we’ll die happy because we gave the devil a hard time.” I took note of that.
I was born to battle devils.
We’ll die happy because we gave the devil a hard time.
I feel the same way. I was born to battle devils and I’m going to go down swinging. Sometimes I get a little bit tired of having to always fight devils, but what else can you do? Devils can’t get saved so all you can do is fight them, fight them, fight them!
The past two days I’ve sensed the Holy Spirit stirring me up to be more aggressive in spiritual warfare. I get the feeling the Holy Spirit is about to launch a summer offensive against the powers of darkness, so strap on your armor and get ready to possess new territory for the Kingdom of Jesus!
Pray for me.
These battles aren’t fun and games…they’re life and death.
These battles aren’t pretend…they’re all too real.
A gypsy with broken flag and a flashing ring,
Said son this ain’t a dream no more, it’s the real thing.
Jesus is Lord.
BZ
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A fierce spiritual battle is raging for Iran. I got an email from an Iranian friend two days ago telling me that 120 pastors in Iran have agreed to fast and pray for 40 days. They began last week on Ascension Day (May 25). They are asking the Body of Christ around the world to stand with them in prayer. We made Iran the focus of our praying in the Upper Room today. Check out this excellent website for information on the 40 Days of Prayer for Iran, information on the spiritual condition of Iran and daily guides on how to pray for Iran: PrayerForIran.com
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Friday night I will be doing some verse by verse teaching through the 8th Chapter of Acts. My topic will be “Living the Supernatural Life.”
Sunday morning I will preach a message on the conversion of Saul of Tarsus entitled, “Crash.”
Sunday night at 6:00 we will be dedicating the Millennium Youth Center. This will be a very prophetic event and I sure hope you will be there.
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Sea breeze blowing there’s a hell hound loose
Redeemed men who have escaped from the noose
Preaching faith and salvation waiting on the night to arrive
All around the world people caught in a snare
We can’t just leave them to die out there,
They’re going down slow, just barely staying alive.