Militant Evangelism! (38 page)

Suddenly, I find that I am thinking negative thoughts about this man. In fact, I can't stop thinking about it. I seem to be trapped by my thought-life and say, "I will not think
anymore
about the situation; I forgive him for his attitude. I put the whole situation out of my mind!" Then before I know it, I am chewing the whole thing over again. The more I say, "I will not think about it," the more it plagues me. I become depressed and lose my joy, and the last thing I feel like, is doing battle.

If you have had such an experience, take heart and take heed, this remedy works. When the enemy hurls the grenade of depression at you, throw it back at him with one of your own. Turn a negative into a positive.

This is how to prepare the explosive. Take a pen and paper and write down what you hope to achieve in God. Write down everything you think God would like to see happen in your life. Then write down everything you think
satan
would not like to see happen in your Christian walk.

Now shape those things into a positive prayer/confession. This will be mine for Brother Smith's situation:

"Satan, every time you come at me with negative thoughts, I am going to pray this positive prayer. Greater is He that is in me
man
he that is in the world. No weapon that is formed against me shall prosper and every tongue that shall rise against me in judgment, I shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord. I have the righteousness of Christ, and because God is for me, nothing can be against me! I can boldly approach the throne of Almighty God and ask what I will, knowing that it shall be done for me.
Thank you Lord for Your faithfulness.
Right now, I ask in Jesus' name, that
You
make me an effective soldier for the Kingdom of God. Grant me a richer anointing upon my ministry. Let signs and wonders follow the preaching of Your Word. Open doors that I might take ground for the Kingdom. Make me a prayer warrior. Grant me a greater burden for the lost. Fill me with
Your
love, give me wisdom, and let my life glorify You in every way. I ask
You
to forgive me for my bad attitude towards Brother Smith. I pray that
You
will richly bless him and his family please. Give me a special love for him. Show me what I can do to express my love for this brother. Thank you Lord that these things will surely come to pass because
You
have said, 'All things whatsoever you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.' In Jesus Mighty Name I pray, Amen."

Type or write down that prayer of affirmation, and appropriate it to your particular situation. Have it photocopied three or four times, and keep one in your pocket, one by your bed and one in your car or at work. Read it aloud, if possible, every time
your
negative thought comes. This will have the effect of
satan
reminding you to pray that prayer. Every time that negative thought comes, it will be like a bell ringing saying, "How about praying that prayer of positive confession?" Instead of wearing you down, he will be building you up. You will be turning a negative into a positive. This works, but you must be diligent. Even if you find yourself thinking negatives straight after you have prayed the prayer. Just say, "So it's going to be hand-to-hand combat is it!" Grit your teeth and pray it again, and again. Soon you won't have to look at the paper. You will find yourself automatically praying the second that negative thought comes. And by the way, expect an answer to that prayer.

In closing this chapter, let's briefly look at other names and titles of the enemy. He is called the god and prince of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4, John 12:31). He seeks to hinder the work of God (1 Thessalonians 2:18). He is a liar, the father thereof and the inspirer of lies (John 8:44, 1 Peter 5:8). He is a murderer and a devourer (1 Peter 5:8, John 8:44). He is the promoter of pride (Genesis 3:5,
1 Timothy
3:6). He is the ruler of darkness (Acts 26:18, 2 Corinthians 6:14, 1 John 2:9-11). He is the stimulator of lusts (Ephesians 2:2-3). He is the suppressor of the Word of God (Matthew 13:38-39), and he is the tempter (Luke 4:1-13).

Thank God for His Word! Can you imagine trying to fight the enemy without this War Manual to expose
satan's
strategies?

Let any attempts by the enemy to discourage you, encourage you. They are actually a compliment to your potential in God. Early in 1984, God directed me to withdraw from street preaching to encourage evangelical outreach within the Body of Christ. After nearly a year without the expression of open air evangelism, I felt that I was beginning to dry up, so I decided to spend lunchtimes on Thursdays back on my ladder. As I embarked upon my inaugural oratory, a woman in her mid-sixties approached me, reached up, grasped my arm and asked, "What does it say in Hebrews 12 about chastening?" I quoted the requested portion of Holy Writ. She then asked, "What comes after that?" I said that I didn't know. Then she, in an angry tone said, "If ye be without chastisement,
then ye are bastards!"
As she did so, she began to hit me furiously. I grabbed her arm and said, "If you keep hitting me like this, it will draw me a big crowd!" That disgusted
her
and she walked away ... it was so good to be back.

CONCLUSION
: ”
KILL, STEAL AND DESTROY”

"Lest
satan
should get an advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11).

T
he Bible warns us that "in the latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach." We are living in a day when scripture is being fulfilled before our very eyes. The discerning Christian is not ignorant of the enemy's devices, but it would seem that many a soldier of the cross is easily deceived.

Some time ago, I was waiting to minister to a gathering of about 300 youths, most of them Christians. Just before I was about to speak, the local youth group put on a drama. To create the atmosphere, they turned down the lights and played some heavy rock music. It worked. The air was electric. A spotlight flashed onto an obvious prostitute, a drug addict ... suddenly in the darkness a scream came from the congregation.
More screaming.
This wasn't part of the drama.

A young man who had been into the rock scene began to manifest demons. As the lights were switched on, the youth, in a demonic fit flung
himself
across a table of my publications then onto the floor, still screaming and writhing. The congregation began to sing, "There's power in the Blood." The Pastor, somewhat taken back by the incident asked what he should do. I suggested a lively chorus. In the meantime, I changed my message to the "power of rock music."

I was told some months later that many of the "Christians" there that
day,
had their jackets zipped up to hide rock music T-shirts.

Satan has many ways and means by which he is attacking this generation. As we have seen in earlier chapters, rock music is only one of them. The Bible warns us that the enemy is subtle and will often resort to camouflage. The dictionary meaning of camouflage is a "disguise of guns, ships, etc.; affected by obscuring outline with splashes of various
colors
; use of smoke screens, boughs, etc. for same purpose; means of throwing people off the scent."

If you have had any dealings with the occult; if you've been
harboring
bitterness; or you've been into Dungeons & Dragons, Ouija boards,
seances
, heavy metal rock music, L.S.D.,
color
therapy,
fortunetelling
, horoscopes, hypnotism, E.S.P., psychic powers, levitation, good luck charms,
astroprojection
, Transcendental meditation, etc., you need to renounce it or them from the heart. That means you pray a prayer of abandonment. Pray something like this:

"Satan, I totally renounce you and (name the area of the occult you were into). I disclaim it! I don't want it in my life! In Jesus' name, I submit to God and resist you and all your works. I am cleansed by the blood of Jesus. I close the door to
satan
and open myself to be completely possessed by the Holy Spirit. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."

If you find yourself counseling someone who has been into the occult, be wary of prolonged demonic manifestation. When I have someone at the altar begin to manifest demons, I pray against the spirit, in Jesus' name; command it to tell the area of stronghold, then have the person pray a prayer of renunciation. Often one can determine the area of strong-hold through a few questions before prayer,

i.e. "Do you
honor
your parents, have you been into the occult
?,
etc." If there has been a resentment, bitterness or some area of sin to allow a foothold for the enemy, there may be a scream or some sort of manifestation, but don't get caught up for hours praying for or arguing with the spirits. They are seeking to wear you down. More than once, Jesus told demons, "Hold your peace, and come out of him!" Just get straight into the prayer of renunciation.

Some time ago, a clean-cut, well-dressed Malaysian student asked me why his hands contorted when he went to prayer. I asked him if he had been into Buddhism and he said that as a child he had bowed to his grandmother's altars. As I began to pray
he
immediately his hands twisted and contorted, then he began to choke.

I led him in a prayer of renunciation, renouncing Buddhism, and
satan
. The moment he prayed, his hands went back to normal and peace came to his mind, because
he
closed the door. You can pray for someone until you are blue in the face (literally), and it will do no good if that person will not submit to God. That submission is what makes the enemy flee.

Pray that God will give you some of his creativity. If a rock concert is coming to town, don't just pray against it, but run to it and use it as an opportunity to preach. Write a tract using the group's lyrics as a springboard. Take a team to witness and preach. Generate enthusiasm. The word enthusiasm comes from two Greek words, "en" and "
Theos
"—"in" "God." If we are in God, we should be bursting with vibrant enthusiasm. Write bar tracts using a picture of a happy boozer on the front and use it as an entrance into the discourse of Jesus with the woman at the well, not forgetting to warn of the future judgment.

If you are a female, don't let this fact hold you back from being involved in evangelism. Not too many people realize that the first evangelists were women. They took the Good News of the resurrection to the unbelieving, fearful, cringing disciples, who were hiding behind locked doors. It was the wisdom of God to tell two women of the resurrection.

Satan Claws
Or
Santa Claus?

Whatever your attitude is to Christmas, why not use it as a springboard for the Gospel? Get hold of a flat-decked truck, a large Christian, a Santa Claus suit from a hire service, a large bag full of candy, some musical instruments, carol songbooks and a megaphone. On Christmas
eve
, or the proceeding days, park on street corners, sing carols, have Santa throw candy to kids and preach the Gospel through the megaphone using Christmas as a springboard.

The words of some of the carols are asking for comment:

"Mild He
lay
His glory by, born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth ..."

We have parked outside bars and watched delighted smiling beer drinkers come outside to hear carols at Christmas. It was fascinating to see the changes of expression as the subject moved from Christmas to Christ. I will never forget the sight of a red-faced gentleman struggling to lift a large container of alcohol into the trunk of his car, while trying to keep both hands cupped over his ears.

We also put together a tract, with Santa "
Ho
hoing
" on the front, bringing out the meaning of the birth of Jesus.