Spiritual Warefare and Missions

Introduction

Show Joshua Project Map - Progress of the gospel by people groups

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Personal testimony of living on the mission field

God is our Warrior

Illustrations:

David

Gideon

2 Chronicles 20:1–29 ESV

1 After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). 3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. 5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. 7 Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ 10 And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— 11 behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 13 Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. 14 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.” 18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. 20 And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” 21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.” 22 And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23 For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. 24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. 25 When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. 26 On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Beracah to this day. 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. 28 They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. 29 And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.

In New Testament, there is change.

Its not that God fights differently, he just begins to give us inside knowledge and tools for the spiritual battle going on behind the scenes.

We see the battle get even more intense as God begins to fight the hardest and darkest batttles (thats a crazy statement) in the NT

Colossians 2:15 ESV

15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

(Jesus’ work on the cross)

Ephesians 6:10–17 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

The tools given to continue the fight, although the war is over, the enemy continues to fight in small scrimmages

Attacks of the enemy against missionaries:

Disinterest of the Senders

How many of us grieve over lost souls as we read about battles in wars?

When natural disaster hits, do we support relief efforts and pray for survivors who may be on the verge of eternity?

Do we pray for the conversion of global leaders who enfluence entire nations?

Do you support missions with dollars but not prayers?

Division on the field

Us and them mantality of moving to another culture to do missions

Joining a new team on the mission field

Local churches

Discouragement of the missionary

Read page 267

Distration

lack of confidence to share-language barrier

Fear of persecution

Destruction

persecution

moral failure

no one believed they were capable of failing

lacked accountability

failing to have spiritual disciplines

isolation

improper use of internet

Stats on the lostness (2019)

-7000 people groups unreached

-3.1 billion people with no access to the gospel (explain)

-90% of cross-cultural missions is to nominal christian groups

-10% to unreached

-81% of all Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus do not personally know a Christ-follower

-1 penny out of every dollar given over all is sent to church planting among unreached people groups

A couple of take aways from those stats

This is not a guilt thing. God is the one who calls out Christians TO GO.

Isaiah 6:8 ESV

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

Acts 13:46–47 ESV

46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

But there is also a lot of verses in the bible that do a general call for his people to go, so YOU SHOULD LISTEN WELL AND CONSIDER OFTEN if you should go.

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

1 Chronicles 16:24 ESV

24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!

Lastly, Exorcism on the mission field

Can a believer be possessed?

Depends on who you ask.

Its important to nail down because for a christian missionary to be running around in some countries where this is a significant attack of the devil,

If a christian can be possessed, thats a big risk.

The books says no, most likely.

Examples people use to say yes:

Luke 13:10-17 - the woman bent over

John 13:27 - Judas

John 17:12 -he wasn't a believer

Mark 8:33 - Simon Peter

Acts 5:1-11 - Ananias and Sapphira

Its possible but most of these stories are either little evidence that it was a possession, or they were not christians.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

There have been different ways of handling it on the mission field, and I cant speak from experience on this one.

Rocky has a few stories.

Responses from the book:

-The human heart is the biggest problem we face, not demons.

Proclaiming the word takes priority over demon-possession.

Quote by Paul Hiebert

“idolatry and self-absorption, not spirit possession, is still at the heart of human rebellion.

Matthew 15:16–20 ESV

16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

-Avoid one specific plan of action for dealing with demon possession and activity

Avoid people that have pre-packaged sales pitches for this stuff

Walk so closely with the Lord in obedience and the full armor of God that we can follow the Spirit’s direction.

Ephesians 6:10–17 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,