“Do you wrestle?”
| Many souls will end up eternally lost simply because Christians were too weak and afraid to confront them. (Read “They did not need to die!”) |
| Recently I’ve been asking Christians, “When you think of war, what comes to mind?” Most say the typical – Russia and Ukraine, and maybe China. I say give me more. They add things like force, death, violence, destruction, NATO, civilians, collateral damage, aggression, offense/defense, negotiations, POWs, sacrifice, bravery, cowardice, etc. I press, “Did any type of spiritual warfare cross your mind? Did demons come to mind? Did hell-bound souls come to mind?” Not one, single Christian has alluded to or mentioned the fundamental, immense spiritual battle we are warned about in the Holy Scriptures. How telling is this that our immediate, knee-jerk response to things of war is on the natural realm only?!! For the record, Russia and China, and even Satan, are not our greatest threats. Hands down, God is our greatest threat, however, Satan and his cohorts are our greatest enemy. Yet, out of sight out of mind, seems to be the order of the day. In general, Christians immersed in First World amenities and comforts have been conditioned to live without awareness or even acknowledgment of the existence and deadly activities of demons. Yet Scripture straightly exhorts us to be on guard. ▪Jn 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. ▪1Pe 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ▪Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ▪2Cor 2:11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. ▪2Cor 11:14 Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. ▪1Tim 4:1 But the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and teachings of demons. To our peril, Believers have neglected engaging in deep, transforming spiritual warfare. In addition, I firmly believe that true, fruit-bearing spiritual warfare, is violent. The Bible says “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” (Mt 11:12) Spurgeon wrote, “Frequently complaints are made and surprise expressed by individuals who have never found a blessing rest upon anything they have attempted to do in the service of God. ‘I have been a Sunday-school teacher for years,’ says one, ‘and I have never seen any of my girls or boys converted.’ No, and the reason most likely is you have never been violent about it; you have never been compelled by the Divine Spirit to make up your mind that converted they should be, and no stone should be left unturned until they were. You have never been brought by the Spirit to such a passion, that you have said, ‘I cannot live unless God bless me. I cannot exist unless I see some of these children saved.’ Then, falling on your knees in agony of prayer, and putting forth afterwards your trust with the same intensity towards heaven, you would never have been disappointed, ‘for the violent take it by force.’” I’ve found that oft times, the most effective prayers are violent! They’re supposed to be! Real fighting isn’t easy. It never is. And I promise you, I’ve never been in a physical fight that was kind and polite or quiet. It was loud! It was forceful! It was testing! It was adrenaline-filled! It was audible! It was violent! And I would add that it was exhausting. Ephesians 6:11-12 reads, “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.” I am quite certain that most Christians have never actually “wrestled” in their prayer lives or in public ministry, which highly suggests that they are incapable of violence. The Greek words here for wrestle are palay, pallo, and ballo. They can mean to throw, arise, cast out, strike, throw down, thrust, fling, and hurl. Some derivatives allude to slap and smite. In prayer and ministry, most Christians are not violent at all. I saw this meme recently and it quickened my spirit-man. “You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of great violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful, you’re harmless. Important distinction.” This is the vast majority of Believers today. Compelled by His love, effective evangelism, discipleship-making, and prayer are predominantly confrontational, direct, convicting, exposing, provoking, and penetrating. To those “I’ll-just-let-my-light-shine-and-preach-the-gospel-at-all-times-and-if-necessary-use-words” Christians, I’ve asked them, “How’s that working for you? How many souls have come running to you and asked, ‘What must I do to be saved?’” It’s not working! You know it and I know it! Rarely can they look me in the eye and tell me they lead people to Christ frequently. Most have never led anyone to Christ! Sugar-coated, weak, kumbaya tactics during spiritual warfare is grossly ineffective and unacceptable! To the contrary, this primitive level of spiritual warfare most likely only emboldens the enemy. Bottom line here: if you really love the lost, that same love should compel you to take their arguments and objections by force, and that nothing – no feelings or pride or self-image – would prevent you from fighting for that soul! As we forcefully advance the Kingdom of God, a few things come immediately to mind worthy of remembrance: ▪God loves everyone, Christian and non-Christian alike. (Jn 3:16) ▪The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2Cor 4:4) Many of them live lives akin to hopeless POWs. ▪Jesus said, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, (vs.19) and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.” (Lu 4:18-19) ▪The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1Jn 3:8) ▪The enemy’s tactics are to lie, deceive, ambush, enslave, and kill (Mt 4:1-11) If you felt the sting of conviction here, so did I. Please know that often “I have to wear it before I can share it.” Regardless, since the beginning our Commander, the Lord Jesus Christ, has called Believers into battle! So, engage zealously in the great spiritual battle for the souls of mankind and against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places! (Eph 6:12) Pray! Pray hard! Fight for souls! Bind up the works of the devil! And fight the good fight! ▪My YouTube videos addressing a wide range of topics (Here) ▪Make a Donation ▪Remember to Share this Newsletter |
| Read “Oh, so now you’re butt-hurt?!!”, a candid conversation with a young man who was full of himself, but I called him out. It startled him because he’d never had someone counter his baloney like that, but it did make him rethink some things. |
| Read “Hey Cupcake, get over it!” After hearing the lame man hem and haw with all his excuses for not being healed, Jesus simply told him to rise up and walk. A word for today! |
| Grant did an exceptional job of teaching on the pros and cons of the KJV translation. (Watch “L.A.P.U.P.P.! Why the Bible is different from all other religious writings!” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kul6IiaXiNs&t=4s) |
| I often describe our ministries as “full immersion” which means you will be provoked, challenged, exposed, and involved, but this is very healthy and effective for creating true disciples for the Kingdom of God! (Read “We make disciples!”) |
| Foot-washing for Mikayla’s last service. Abbi is declaring the blessings of God on her. Watch “On a scale of 1-10, what kind of Christian are you?”(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oFn98CJCEY&t=2s) |
| Agree with us in prayer: a. For reinstatement of Brig ministries (Wednesday night Bible Study and Friday morning Sxxual Integrity & Restoration (SIR) classes. Pray for the dissolution of confusion and that ungodly strongholds be broken over the Brig. I’ve been praying to the Lord to either super-naturally reopen these doors or to help me let it go. b. Pray for mature, Qualified Families and Permanent Personnel to co-labor with us in this northern-most, remote area of Okinawa. Henoko/Schwab outreach carries a constant rebuilding nature due its high turnover rate and operational tempo. As we’ve just graduated another class, we literally have to labor and rebuild a new congregation. This rebuilding occurs practically every six months. Pray for our strength, wisdom, and resources as we gather more sheep and convert more goats. c. Pray for our current schedule, i.e. finances, resources, wisdom, strategies, and strength: ▪ Sun: Share/Report Christians In Action ministries ▪ Mon: Radical & Relevant (R&R) @7pm ▪ Wed: Pray for Reinstatement of Brig Christian Fellowship (BCF) @7pm ▪ Thu: Publish Think On These Things newsletters ▪ Thu: Publish YouTube Videos (Channel: YahwehHasASon) ▪ Fri: Pray for Reinstatement of Sexual Integrity & Restoration (SIR) @9am ▪ Sat: Zebulun Christian Discipleship Center (ZCDC) @6pm ▪Make a Donation ▪My YouTube videos |
| Sandy is flesh of my flesh, and bone of my bone. We are one flesh. Just admitting and confessing that fills my heart with joy and warmth because that’s what Sandy does to me. (Sigh) I’ve been smitten with Sandy since 1984, when I met her. Watch “What does ‘Will you marry me’ really mean?” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-jj6zPMCz4&t=1s) |
| In closing: Saints, thank you for interceding on our behalf. Your prayers and communications are highly encouraging. We are praying and believing for Japan travel restrictions to ease up so we can travel to the US soon. It’s been awhile since we’ve visited family Stateside. In the meantime, we press on making disciples. A few weeks ago, we graduated the previous UDP unit (6 months deployment). As such, we’ve been focused on rebuilding and gathering the new UDP unit. Actually, quite a few have already been attending and bringing others. To God be all the glory! We can use your help. It’s not easy being full-time missionaries in Japan, especially with the constant rebuilding every six months. It can be quite taxing. Not many ministries here want to do what we do, but God has equipped me for this work and much Kingdom fruit is being harvested every week. Please consider partnering with us through your monetary gifts and donations. Financial contributions can be made online through Christians In Action. Or, you can mail contributions to the address listed below. I declare that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep growing in knowledge and understanding! (Php 1:9) <*{{{{>< In His grace, Nick & Sandy, Bond-servants of Christ Contributions can be sent to: Dominic Guerra (Acct# 426) c/o Christians In Action, Missions International 1322 E. Shaw Ave., Ste. 150 Fresno, CA 93710-7904 ▪Please ensure Acct #426 is annotated on your contribution so the funds can be allocated correctly. ▪Please share/forward these newsletters at your discretion. ▪Make a Donation |
| — OUR MISSION — Gather Sheep & Convert Goats! Catch, Clean, & Release! |