There is a battle raging for the soul of every individual on earth. There is a battle raging for every church, for every city, and every nation. Victories are being won in many places across the earth, but the greatest are yet to come. Multitudes of new spiritual warriors are now being mobilized, trained, and will soon be sent forth. They will be entrusted with divinely powerful weapons and they will use them. They will tear down the enemy’s strongholds over the minds of men. A force is about to be released like the world has never seen. Joel had a glimpse of it:
Blow a trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; surely it is near,
A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, so there is a great and mighty people; there has never been anything like it, nor will there be again after it to the years of many generations.
A fire consumes before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but a desolate wilderness behind them, and nothing at all escapes them.
Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; and like war horses, so they run.
With a noise as of chariots they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, like a mighty people arranged for battle.
Before them the people are in anguish; all faces turn pale.
They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like soldiers; and they each march in line, nor do they deviate from their paths.
They do not crowd each other; they march everyone in his path. When they burst through the defenses, they do not break ranks.
They rush on the city, they run on the wall; they climb into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief.
Before them the earth quakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness.
And the LORD utters His voice before His army; surely His camp is very great, for strong is he who carries out His word. The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome, and who can endure it? (Joel 2:1-11)
There is a fire in the army of God that will destroy the wood, hay, and stubble, but it will purify the gold, silver, and precious stones. It will consume what man has built and reveal what was indeed built by God. What is coming will be either terrible or glorious depending on what we have built our lives upon. The earth will literally quake at the presence of the Lord in the midst of this army that is now being mobilized. The word of God that will be in their mouths will shatter the idols of this world like a hammer shattering rocks. The Spirit that is in them will be an irresistible force.
Choose Your Weapon
It may seem like a paradox, but we cannot be a part of this great army until we are firmly established in the peace of God. One of the most powerful spiritual weapons that has been given to God’s people is peace. We may think that peace is not a weapon. But in fact, it is such a weapon that Paul did not write it was the Lord of hosts, or the Lord of armies, who would crush the enemy, but said “...the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20). When we abide in the peace of God it is both a fortress and a weapon that the enemy has no power against.
If we abide in the peace of God in a situation it unravels the enemy’s power over that situation. That is why most of the attacks of the enemy upon believers are intended to first rob them of their peace. The peace of God is the linchpin fruit of the Spirit that must be in place to hold all of the others in their place. When we lose the peace of God we will quickly lose our patience, love, self-control, etc. This causes us to fall from our position of abiding in Christ. The fruit of the Spirit will always demonstrate our abiding in Him. It is the peacemakers who are called the sons of God (see Matthew 5:9) and because we represent the Prince of Peace, it is the church that the world should be turning to for solutions to its conflicts. Our victory over evil is accomplished by overcoming it with good. We destroy the enemy’s power of destruction by standing in and imparting peace.
However, instead of the world turning to the church for solutions to its conflicts, the church is now viewed more as a source of conflicts. This will change. The church is called to judge the world, and as conflicts and anxieties grow in the world, peace and wisdom are going to grow in the church to such an extent that even the heathen are going to start coming to Christians for help. Through this the church’s spiritual authority will grow stronger and stronger as lawlessness erodes human authority.
The church is the “Jerusalem above,” or the spiritual Jerusalem that Paul mentions in Galatians 4:26. Jerusalem means “city of peace.” Like the earthly Jerusalem, the church is now embroiled in almost continuous strife and war within herself as well as against the forces of the world without. Even so, she is going to soon be victorious over the strife within, and will then be able to turn all of her great weapons on the forces without. The church will arise to fulfill her purpose in all that she is called to do and be. It will be as was foretold in Isaiah 60:1-2, when darkness is increasing, and deep darkness comes upon the people, the Lord’s glory will rise and appear upon His people. When human conflict and strife reaches unprecedented levels, the church will know unprecedented peace. This peace will be a fortress that will be impregnable to the enemy. Then the church will become the true sanctuary on earth.
Presently, just as there is no human solution to the conflict in the Middle East, there is no human solution to the conflict within the church. The solution is in God alone. The peace of God is rooted in knowing that God is God, and that Jesus is the King above all kings, rulers, and authorities. When we see that He is in control we come to understand deep in our hearts that Romans 8:28 is true, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” When we know in our heart that this is true there is no power on earth that can steal our peace.
When we abide in the peace of God regardless of what the circumstances are, it crushes Satan’s attempts to use those circumstances, and it also allows us to see God’s purpose in them. The Lord is not in heaven wringing His hands over a single problem on earth. He knows the end from the beginning, and He already knows what He is going to do to make things right. If we are abiding in Him, seated with Him in heavenly places as we are called to do, we too will dwell in perfect peace. As we are promised in Isaiah 26:3, “The steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in Thee.” That is why Paul uttered the great prayer recorded in Ephesians 1:18-23:
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.
And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all.
The “eyes of our hearts” are our spiritual eyes. When they are open, we will see Jesus where He sits, “far above” all authority and power and dominion on the earth. As we begin to see Him there, and walk in this truth, living our lives in the unfathomable peace that this brings, it crushes the influence of Satan in our life. This is what King David understood when he wrote Psalm 46:10-11, “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.”
When we really know that He is God, we will cease striving. When His people come to this knowledge and walk in it He will be “exalted among the nations,” because the peace of God will be in profound contrast to the fears that are coming upon the world. These fears will cause people’s hearts to fail, but His peace will be one of the greatest witnesses of the Lord in the midst of His people.
Pride Comes Before the Fall
Pride caused the fall of Satan, and has been the cause of almost every fall since. We know that, “…God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble”(James 4:6), and we are told in I Peter 5:6-7, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.” This implies that one of the ways we can humble ourselves is to cast our anxiety upon the Lord. This is because anxiety is a form of pride that actually asserts that we think the matter is too big for God so we will have to handle it ourselves. If we really believe that He is God we will cease striving, and we will also cast off our anxiety and live in the peace that comes from knowing that He is in control.
It is no accident that “panic attacks” have now reached epidemic proportions. Anxiety is rising dramatically in the world, but peace will rise correspondingly in those who are true followers of Christ. The anxiety that is coming upon the world is the direct result of man trying to live without God and do everything on his own. That is why the original temptation of man was to get him to try to become what God had in fact called him to be, but to do it without God. The more mankind turns from God, the more striving and confusion will be found, which will result in even more fear, as we are told in Psalm 2. This increases impatience, self-centeredness, and other “works of the flesh” which cause conflict. As Christians we must not live as the world lives. We must grow in the knowledge of the Lord’s authority, and control. We must grow in the peace of God.
Walking in Truth
If we are going to crush Satan under our feet we also need to understand that this metaphor “crush Satan under our feet” is used for a purpose. This speaks of Satan’s power being broken through our “walk,” our going forth. Christianity is not static, but is always moving forward, growing. That is why the “River of Life” is a river, and not a pond or a lake. A river is always flowing, proceeding toward its destination.
When we walk in the peace of God in our homes it will ultimately crush the enemy’s influence there. If we walk in the peace of God at work, it will soon crush the enemy’s influence there. If the Christians of a city would walk in the peace of God, the church would soon come into unity, and the enemy’s influence over that city would be crushed. When Christians in any nation begin to truly walk in the peace of God they will crush the enemy’s influence over that nation.
God’s Barometer
God’s prophetic barometer of the condition of humanity is the nation of Israel. Almost everyone who visits Israel reports that it is one of the most intense places on earth, because the citizens of Israel live under unceasing pressure and anxiety. It now seems that the nation of Israel will do almost anything for peace, even giving up precious land that they paid such a price for in blood and hardship. However, there is no amount of change to the external conditions that will bring Israel the peace that she seeks, but God has a remedy.
After years of inquiring of the Lord about what we could do as a ministry for Israel, I was told to send “missionaries of peace” to live there. Their main calling is to walk in the peace and rest of God so that their joy and peace in the midst of the stress would stand out as an oasis in contrast to the spirit that is now prevailing over that nation. When the believers who live there are delivered of anxiety and begin to walk in the peace of God it will be the most striking witness to the Prince of Peace that Israel has had since the first century. When this is demonstrated it will make this peace of heart even more desirable than peace with the nations around them. There is no peace like the peace of God, and this alone can lead to a true peace with those neighbors.
The enemy has sent onslaught after onslaught to disturb the believers in Israel, but peace will soon be victorious in them. When this happens we are close to the marching orders being given to the greatest army of God that has ever been released upon the earth.
If we are going to understand the times we must heed the Lord’s own exhortation in Mark 13:28-29, “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. “Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door.” Because the fig tree is a symbol of Israel, this is an exhortation to understand this nation as a sign of the times. It is wise to be concerned about the events in Israel and seek to understand what they mean.
It is also interesting that when Agabus prophesied in the first century that a famine was coming upon the whole earth. Christians prepared for it by taking up an offering for the believers in Israel. They understood God’s promise to bless those who bless Abraham’s seed. They also understood that God had established an eternal law in the beginning that a seed could only reproduce after its own kind. If we want to be blessed in the natural, we must bless the natural seed of Abraham. If we are seeking spiritual blessing, bless the spiritual seed of Abraham, which is the church. By blessing the natural seed who are believers we are blessing both together.
Build Your Own Fortress
Who are you now warring with? What is the source of the greatest conflict in your life? Have you cast this anxiety upon the Lord? When you do this exercise of faith, it will release Him to move in this situation. That is why we are told in Hebrews 12:14-15, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled.”
There is no reason for a Christian to ever be bitter at anyone or anything. If we are bitter we are being defiled, and we will also defile others with it. As Dudley Hall once said, “Bitterness is like drinking poison and hoping someone else gets sick.” We are called to something much higher than this. We are called to the ultimate nobility of soul that is reflected in forgiveness, and the ultimate dignity that comes from walking in the peace of God. Define the sources of conflict and agitation in your life and repent of your lack of faith and trust in the Lord in relation to them. Cast this anxiety upon the Lord, and determine that regardless of appearances or situations, you are going to trust the Lord to deal with the matters. He will do it, but usually after He has dealt with something even more important, your own heart. The lack of peace in our lives is directly related to the lack of faith that we have in the Lord. A fundamental calling on our life is simply to trust God. That is why the Lord said, “…This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29). Simply trusting Him in our everyday lives will accomplish much more than many of the works and projects that we try to do for Him. The church and the kingdom that Jesus is building in our hearts will be manifested in our daily lives. The Lord does not judge the quality of a church by how good the meeting is on Sunday morning, but by how good the people are on Monday morning.
The peace of God is the power that will lead us to victory over ourselves and the strongholds of the enemy. We are all called to be missionaries of the peace of God. This peace is not the result of peaceful conditions, but is a profound confidence in God even in the midst of the most trying conditions. The more stressful or violent the conditions, the more the peace of God is a demonstration of the true faith of God. This faith is what moves the Lord to take action on our behalf in those conditions. Peace is therefore an accurate barometer of the true level of our faith.
The Way to the Kingdom
How do we build our lives upon this kingdom that cannot be shaken? Romans 14:17 states, “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Those who do not know God are always in an endless pursuit of joy and happiness, but it can never be attained outside of Christ. We will never know true peace without building our lives on a foundation of righteousness, which is simply having a right relationship with God. When we are living lives that are obedient to the Lord and His ways, peace will be the result. Along with this peace which comes from knowing we are right with God, comes the true joy that is beyond anything that we can experience in the world. This is because man was created to have fellowship with God and nothing but intimacy with Him will ever satisfy the deepest longing of our soul.
Because the Lord made us and knows what we need, the righteousness of God is simply living the way we were created to live, doing that which is in fact the best for us. What is best for us is walking with God, dwelling in His presence, following the King and being obedient to Him in all things. That is righteousness, and it brings peace that cannot be shaken, and a joy that is eternal. It is now time to arm ourselves with the peace of God. Those who do will go forth conquering in His name. The peace of God is an impregnable fortress. Never, ever, lose your peace, and you will always know victory. In I Thessalonians 5:23 Paul prayed, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is “the God of peace” who will sanctify us. As we abide in the peace of God, we will abide in the Lord. Sanctification is not just a state of not sinning, but it is abiding in the Lord. When we abide in Him we will not just renounce sin, but we will love, and we will have faith for the true works of God.
Peace and Prophecy
We are told in Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” It is interesting that the Greek word translated “guard” in this text is phroureo (froo-reh -o), which comes from a compound word that means “to be a watcher in advance, i.e. to mount guard as a sentinel (post spies at gates); figuratively, to hem in, protect: or to keep as with a garrison.” The peace of God not only keeps our hearts and minds in Christ, it helps us to see in advance, and to know what to do to protect against the attacks of the enemy.
This is one of the primary lessons that the church should have learned from those who got caught up in the Y2K scare. Every prophecy that I personally witnessed about the imminent doom that Y2K would bring had an air of anxiety and fear attached. As we read in James 3:17-18:
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.
And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
If the peace of God is going to guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus we must learn not to receive that which comes without the peace of God attached. I realize that many people are so fearful that they can even hear a pure word from the Lord, which is sown in peace, and still be afraid. Before we can discern the difference, our own hearts must be at peace. Having the peace of God rule in our hearts, families, and churches must be a high priority if we are going to be free from deception.
Summary
The Scriptures are clear that difficult times are coming upon the world, but at the same time the glory of the Lord will be coming upon His people. Hearing the prophecies about difficulties should not disturb us, but they should awaken us and help to prepare us. This will only be true as we abide in the peace of God. The Lord is not sitting in the heavens worrying about anything, and neither will those who are abiding in Him. If we are abiding in Him the whole world can collapse around us and we will be at perfect peace because we have built our lives on a kingdom that cannot be shaken. When Jesus was tempted by the devil He answered every temptation with Scripture. The Word of God is stronger than any power that we will ever be faced with. Now is the time to search the Scriptures, taking our stand on that which will stand forever—the Word of God. Consider the following promises of His peace. They are sure so we should never be troubled. If we will abide in His peace we will prevail against any fortress the evil one can build. The LORD will give strength to His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace (Psalm 29:11).
I will hear what God the LORD will say; for He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones; but let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land (Psalm 85:8-9).
For, let him who means to love life and see good days refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile.
And let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it (I Peter 3:10-11).
Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it (Psalm 34:14).
Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless (II Peter 3:14).
For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this (Isaiah 9:6-7).
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; to give to His people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God, with which the Sunrise from on high shall visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace (Luke 1:76-79).
“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful (John 14:27).
How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” (Isaiah 52:7)
“So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
For you will go out with joy, and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands (Isaiah 55:11-12).
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.
May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces.
For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, “May peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good (Psalm 122:6-9).
