House of Hope Online

November 12, 2023

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Last time we looked at Romans 15 which encourages us to trust Jesus, the Root of Jesse, in whom we Gentiles are to hope for all things. 

Romans 15:

 12 And again Isaiah says, “THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT OF JESSE, AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES, IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES HOPE.”

We also studied Psalms 37 which taught us, instead of fretting, we should trust the Lord, do good, and cultivate faithfulness.  Also, we learned to delight in the Lord which means to be soft and pliable before Him in worship.  Psalms 37:7-8 instructed us to rest in Jesus and to wait patiently for Him.

Psalms 37:

 7 ¶ Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

 8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret, [it leads] only to evildoing.

Get that last point – if we fret because of he who prospers or does evil, it leads only to evildoing on our part.  It leads only to evildoing.  There is no other destination for us if we fret.  Therefore, trusting the Root of Jesse not only provides us hope, but it also prevents us from turning toward evil ourselves, which is what the devil wants us to do.

And so, the Lord is dealing with me about fretting.  There are many things for me to fret in today’s world if I choose to do so.  There is a war in the Middle East where Israel’s enemies are boldly attacking her.  There is the continued increase of evil in the United States, and the continuing divide among our people about how we should be governed.  Socialism’s principles are being advanced in this country at an alarming rate, and a growingly vocal group of U.S. representatives is expressing anti-Israel sentiments.  Aside from concerns over control of our state and federal governments, we can fret about our individual financial security, health, and life expectancy. 

What’s a Gentile to do?

As Gentiles seeking to be ruled by the Root of Jesse, we find some great advice from Psalms 130.

Psalms 130:5 ¶ I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope.

Our souls are to wait for the Lord and hope in His word.  The soul comprises our mind, our will, and our emotions.  Therefore, we are to subject our thoughts, our preferences, and our emotions to Him, and we are to hope in His word.

Let us look at His word for help right now on how to fight through the trials of our time.

2^nd Corinthians 10:

 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,

 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

5 [We are] destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and [we are] taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, (NASB)

Paul encourages us to stay above the fray and understand that the battle is taking place in the heavenlies.  While some in the Church want to fight evil in the flesh, Paul teaches us that warring in the flesh is ineffective and wrong.  We must war only in the Spirit because the weapons of our spiritual warfare are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

Moreover, our weapons of warfare can destroy speculations and every lofty thing being raised up against the knowledge of God.  In the NASB 2020 translation, the word for “speculations” is “arguments” and the word for “lofty thing” is “arrogance.”  Thus, the arguments and arrogance of man are against the knowledge of God.  That is why the antichrist spirit fought so hard to remove any reference to God in our schools many years ago.  It was the arguments and arrogance of man that did that, and verses 3-4 tell us the way to destroy that arrogance is by warring in the Spirit, as opposed to the flesh.

So How Does a Gentile War in the Spirit?

Romans 8:

 26 ¶ And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for [us] with groanings too deep for words;

 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to [the will of] God.

 28 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.

The effectiveness of our prayers increases mightily when we engage the Holy Spirit in our prayer life.  Praying in the Spirit means praying with a prayer language that yields “groans too deep for words.”  That means releasing our tongue to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to take over the prayer.  This assures that our prayers are in accordance with God’s will because He searches our hearts and, at the same time, He intercedes for us according to the will of God (verse 27). 

When we pray like this, allowing the Spirit to intercede on our behalf, we know that God will cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him, and are called to His purpose (verse 28).

Warring in the Spirit means praying in the Spirit, praying in tongues, and interceding for the will of God to come forth.  But we must pray for the will of God according to the word of God.  Praying for a turn of events that are inconsistent with Biblical prophecy is not the effectual prayer of the righteous.  Sometimes, we in the Church fight in the flesh with righteous indignation against those who perpetrate evil or those who advance policies that oppose the oracles of God.  This is a natural instinct for those of us who rejoice in righteousness, but instead of following our well-intentioned natural instincts, we must war in the Spirit and allow the Holy Spirit to intercede with groans too deep for words.  And we must subordinate our desires to the will of God within the context of Biblical prophecy.  By that I mean that surely it is God’s will to end all unrighteousness in the earth, but the timing of the fullness of that victory depends on the second coming when Jesus comes back on the white horse to defeat the antichrist (the beast) and the kings of the earth.

Revelation 19:

19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His army.

 20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.

21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat upon the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. (NASB)

Remember Psalms 130:5 ¶ I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope.

When we take our righteous indignation to the Lord and pray in tongues, you might find a heart of compassion and longsuffering from God instead of anger, frustration, and hopelessness.  He might instead show you a vision where opponents of the Lord’s will are brought to Christ, saved for all eternity, working now instead for Him.  That is why Romans 8 says we do not know how to pray as we should.  We do not know if we should pray against someone or something, or for something awesome to happen.  That is why we pray in tongues, so we can soberly seek the will of God without the influence of our own mind, will, and emotions.

Paul teaches in Ephesians 6 below to put on the spiritual armor of God because our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual powers of darkness.

Ephesians 6:

 10 ¶ Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.

 11 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of . devil.

 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual [forces] of wickedness in the heavenly [places.]

Ephesians 6:

 18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

The struggle is not in the flesh but in the Spirit against the powers, the world forces of this present-day darkness, against spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Paul instructs us to pray always in the Spirit.

Paul also teaches in his letter to the Thessalonians to use worship warfare by rejoicing always and praying without ceasing.

1^st Thessalonians 5:

 16 ¶ Rejoice always;

 17 pray without ceasing;

 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

 19 Do not quench the Spirit;

 20 do not despise prophetic utterances.

Instead of reacting in the flesh, we are to rejoice always in order to enter the Spirit realm, and to pray without ceasing.  Never quench the Spirit and always welcome the prophetic word of God, especially Biblical prophecy.

Romans 8:

 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. (NASB)

Fighting with Real Weapons

And so, our battle is not against flesh and blood, even though it may appear so.  The Bible teaches us to fight with the real weapons of warfare, which are capable of destroying arguments and arrogance that are raised up against the knowledge of God.  When we do that by praying in the Spirit, we intercede for the will of God according to the word of God.  Our results will be consistent with prophecy, both spoken and written prophetic utterance.  And the result will bring glory to God, and not to us as intercessors.

Let us pray.

Father God, thank you for the real weapons of warfare that destroy arguments and arrogance that are against the knowledge of God.  Help us to pray in love for the will of God according to the word of God.  Help us to pray at all times in the Spirit, to rejoice always, and to welcome the prophetic utterance, both spoken and written.  In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Jesus, who loves us, and in whose name we pray.  Amen.