Resonance

Category: Warfare

  • Awake, Arise, Ascend, O Deborah: A Clarion Call

    Last week, we talked about the warfare strategy God revealed through the life of Deborah. We talked about the fact that there are two main mistakes we can make when it comes to doing exploits; zeal without knowledge or knowledge without zeal. You can be over-zealous and run ahead of God to “help” what He said to come to pass. You can also be told exactly what to do by God but fear stepping out. Last week focused on the knowledge aspect. This is about the zeal aspect.

    To be honest on my part, I thought that was all to the Deborah strategy. Now, I realise many precepts, protocols and processes were not captured. If we are going to do exploits, we ought to be explosive. Just like we did with David’s and Gideon’s, pick up your hardcopy Bible, open to Judges 5 and follow me on this one.

    Awake

    God announces our victory first before we fight to establish it. That means if we run ahead of God to fight in a battle He has not announced victory, we will suffer casualties. The Joshua strategy will reveal a lot concerning this principle. To awake is to rise from sleep, slumber and shackles. The awakening begins when we cry out to God. See, the enemy is not strong. We are simply asleep. Once we are awake, the enemy will have no chance. It is while men slept that the enemy came to sow tares among the wheat. Watchmen, awake. Awake, awake, Deborah. Awake, Barak. This is a wake up call.

    In fact, it is the power of death that keeps people asleep. When a man is blind and asleep, even if he’s a strong man, you can enter his house and bind him. Remember Samson. To be awake is to be quickened. It is to stop fooling. Like the prodigal son, it is to come back to your senses. If you sleep all your life, life will pass you by. Your situation will never change, regardless of what God has spoken over your life, until you awake. If you are living in sin, you’re asleep. Wake up! If you’re living a desecrated life, the enemy still has power over you. Awake!

    Arise

    God must arise first before we can arise. In Judges 5:4-5 God arose. In verse 6-7, Deborah arose. Seven times in the book of Psalms, David prayed for God to arise. This is exactly why we discussed the knowledge aspect last week. Don’t go ahead of God. Sometimes, the iniquities of the Amorites are not yet complete. God does miracles, not magic. The path to recovery is a process even if some aspects of recovery are instantaneous. Judgement will be rendered at a set time and preparation needs to take place. But why? Because God uproots to plant. Unless the planting follows the uprooting, the uprooting creates a bigger hole for the enemy to fill. It’s like casting a demon out of a person and not filling them with the Spirit. If you are going to tear down demonic priesthood, you ought to be trained to sustain a divine priesthood.

    Process does not exist because God is slow. It exists because of us. Arising is when God trains us to become who He wants us to be. Sometimes, God leaves certain adversaries and obstacles in our way because although it isn’t His Will, He can use it to achieve His purpose in our lives. It may take a second to awake but arising takes time. It takes seconds for light to shine in darkness when the light is switched on, no matter how long there was darkness. However, it takes time for God to enlighten our darkness. By being in darkness for that long, we have learnt the ways of the darkness and absorbed darkness into us. Light is what we use to win battles against darkness. We cannot conquer darkness with darkness.

    What happens if we don’t arise? Judges 4:8 tells us that new gods will arise because we didn’t take our rightful place (Deuteronomy 32:17). Nowhere is left unfilled. There is no neutral ground. There’s always a rising. If we don’t arise, it means the enemy will arise. Until we arise, Christ will not shine His light on us. We rise to shine. It means the time has come. It means we ought to gird our loins. Like the angel told Peter when he was freeing from prison, gird your loins after you arise. To arise is to be revived and restored like in the days of Hosea. To arise is a call to battle. To arise is to conquer spiritual timidity with Spirit of Love, Power and Sound Mind. The enemy will fight back. However, those who go through this process will be equipped enough not to give up or give in.

    Arising is so important to me because this is where the real warfare is. If you can arise, you will ascend. Once you ascend, it is game over for the enemy. Thus, this is part he will fight the hardest; while you are still unsure about who you are and the manner of Spirit you carry. This is the part many give up and question God’s attitude because of so much warfare. The enemy seems to know something God has hidden from you for now. Only willing people keep winning (verse 2,9). You need to be spiritually violent. The violent takes it by force. Our destinies are interconnected. Verse 13 to 15 makes us understand that when we arise, we cause others to arise also. When we fight, they encourage them to fight too. When we fight, angels fight on our behalf (verse 20). The victory is not meant to be mine alone. It is ours. However, anyone who doesn’t fight will not be part of the victory (verse 16-17).

    Winning the Test of Contradiction

    Anytime God speaks and the opposite of what He said is the situation, it means there is a contention. The enemy barely gives up anything without a fight. Verse 19 makes us know that. As we discussed in the jurisdiction of the devil, temptation is allowed but occupation is not. Let’s not confuse the two. Sometimes, we become too amazed when battles arise. If there is no battle, how do you get the victory? If you are not tempted, what is the proof of your obedience? If you are not tested, what justifies your ascension?

    In the test of contradiction, it will look as though the enemy has the upper hand, the advantage. It will look like they are winning but they will suddenly fall. Of course, the enemy sealed legality in the area you are fighting him. He won’t give up until he loses. His pride makes him think he can still win. You wear him out by encouraging yourself in the LORD (verse 21). More people lose to the enemy by giving up than by fighting. In fact, more of his devices are meant for that. Giving up is the easiest thing to do. However, remember that God is on your side. Remember that what you are really doing is fighting for the establishment of the Kingdom in that area. Fight from victory because God announced your victory before the fight began.

    Ascend

    Ascension only belongs to those who won their battles. When the set time for your coronation comes, you will now understand why God made you spend so much time at the arising stage. To ascend is to be set upon your high places. To ascend is to take your rightful place. The high places were formally occupied by the enemy as they left you bound in sleep and blindness. Once you awake via an encounter like Gideon and via a revelation/enlightenment/understanding, God trains you to break in and break through. You will arise to tread the enemy on their high places, and then be manifestedly coronated to take dominion. You were born for this all along. Jesus conquered so we can also conquer. His finished work is so we can also finish.

    Awake and sing your testimonies to enable others to arise, arise and go to the city gates where you contend for your rightful authority, take captivity captive and ascend. Record your testimonies so others can recite them to awake. Your testimony of how you arose will cause many to awake so they can arise because all eyes will see that you have ascended.

    In all, God is working on us, in us and with us to establish His Kingdom where righteousness, joy and peace will reign for as long as we live.

    God fights for us through us with us. We rise in strength to seal our victories so that peace reigns when the Kingdom is established.

  • Deborah Strategy: Warfare Strategies of the Kingdom of God

    I was on my knees in prayer when I heard “it is time to deploy the Deborah Strategy”. I didn’t know what the Deborah Strategy was, although I had it written down at the beginning of the year. Now that I know, I know exactly why I had to be told that (that’s exactly what the Deborah Strategy is about). Let’s delve in so you understand what I mean.

    The Deborah Strategy is about doing exploits. When it comes to doing exploits, there are two main mistakes we can make; zeal without knowledge or knowledge without zeal. You can be over-zealous and run ahead of God to “help” what He said to come to pass. You can also be told exactly what to do by God but fear stepping out. This is why what we are about to discuss is very strategic in warfare.

    If you have been given a Deborah anointing or a Deborah ministry, never get ahead of God. You will suffer serious legalities. Judges 4:2 will tell you clearly that it was God who handed the people of Israel over to the enemy. In fact, the word used was “sold”; the same word used when Esau sold his birthright; the same word used when Joseph was sold by his brothers. It was a legal transaction. The enemy was rightfully ruling. In the jurisdiction of the devil, we understood that the devil doesn’t make any illegal transactions. He immediately secures legality when there’s a handing over. In fact, this was the third time the Book of Judges said God sold them because of their sins.

    The first thing to do when the enemy has the upper hand is to cry out to God for mercy. God will answer that cry and will start the process of redemption and restoration. This strategy can be used when there is an evil leader over a territory. Don’t wage warfare without knowing first the legalities involved. Whether you get to know all or not, obtain God’s Mercy. The Mercy of God is the executive order that trumps all transactions, legal or illegal. If you realise that your family some time back made a covenant with a goddess, don’t attack first. It was a legal transaction. You will suffer backlash. Secure the Mercy of God.

    Once the Mercy of God has been secured, tarry until God downloads the strategy to you. During that time, God will be incubating you to be the main priest of your family or territory or nation. If you think it’s just a matter of uprooting the enemy and that’s all, you’ll realise it’s not like that. God uproots to plant. Therefore, He prepares the tree in the seed He will plant before He even uproots. This is why going ahead of God must fail. You will create more ground for the enemy to leverage upon. That’s basically the Ishmael strategy of the kingdom of darkness.

    You should know that Deborah was a judge for a while until the time came when God gave her the strategy to conquer the enemy. You may be Barak complaining about why a certain problem is still persisting until you realise God has specifically chosen you as the solution. See, God is intentional. The strategy is location-specific (Mount Tabor), people-specific (10,000 men of the sons of Naphtali and Zebulun) and has certain specifications to be noted. This is not a strategy if it is vague. If the instructions are still vague to you, don’t take action until you have gained clarity. God is not the author of confusion. His instructions are so clear and specific that you will know when you begin to devise your own style to obey. The instructions may not look time-bound but it mostly is. There is a set time allocated to the fulfilment of it.

    Do you understand what that means? “It is time to deploy the Deborah Strategy”. God can give you clear instructions but until He says start, don’t start. Yes, He told you that you will go to secondary schools and impact the lives of young females. The timing is so important that going ahead or later can cause serious repercussions. Barak was told and it was an instruction to act upon immediately. Deborah told him uprightly, “this is the day”. The time had come. Remember that it is a partnership between you and God. With Him, all things are possible. Doing anything without His consultation while hoping that He supports it is very similar to believing in luck. He has already preplanned everything so kindly work with His timing.

    I know you want to heal all the sick people in the hospital in one day and go to the cemetery and cause all of them to come back to life. Such zeal! Clap for yourself. Before you go and act like a superhero and hope God backs you up, why don’t you wait for God to send you? Even Jesus never stepped into a scene without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He went to the pool of Bethesda, healed only one man out of so many, and left. You can’t step into a village and burn their altars and tear down all their shrines when you didn’t hear God. It doesn’t work like that. Surely, you don’t have more zeal than God to do the exploits He prepared beforehand for you to do. Work with Him.

    And now you understand.

    The Deborah Strategy is not a random outburst of power. It is a legal, prophetic, and Spirit-led deployment of God’s will in territories where the enemy has gained ground. The urgency of exploits must always be rooted in the order of heaven. In no particular order, let me summarize it for your clarity:
    – Secure Mercy first
    – Wait for the God-given strategy for the mission
    – Work in partnership with God
    – Know and act at the revealed set time
    – Act in obedience, not mere zeal
    – Understand your priestly role.

    You know your God. You have waxed strong. It is time for exploits. Heaven has received the cries of the saints, Heaven has seized the legal ground of the enemy. Heaven has chosen the vessel, and Heaven has released the strategy. Now, wait for the “This is the day” signal. Then move. Boldly. In sync with God.

  • The Wisdom of the Devil



    There are three different types of wisdom. Human wisdom, the wisdom of this world (The Wisdom of the Devil) and the wisdom from above.

    Human wisdom is the facts of life and the takeaways from life’s experiences. That kind of wisdom cannot even be generalized for everyone. It’s limited, and the foolishness of God is even wiser than it is. That wisdom is no match for the devil. Haven’t you read Genesis 3:1? You will fail with that kind and level of wisdom. Why? Wisdom based on experience will rank the devil higher than all natural men. This is the same devil that foresaw the mistake of Adam, Esau, Saul, Balaam, Samson, Adolf, Judas, Emperor Nero, Napoleon Bonaparte, King Nebuchadnezzar, President Nixon…my dear, he’s not a fool. You are far too young to beat him with your intellect.

    The devil is many things; a liar, a thief, an embodiment of evil…but he’s not a fool. The devil used to be very wise when he was Lucifer. Ezekiel 28:12 says he was full of wisdom. However, his wisdom corrupted when iniquity was found in him. This wisdom is higher than all human wisdom. It is the wisdom at work in the system of the world that Romans 12:2 warns us not to conform to. You have three enemies to conquer; the flesh, the world and the devil. You can gain some ground by using human wisdom to conquer the flesh but that won’t suffice against the systems of the world and the wisdom of the devil.

    Corrupted wisdom is deceit. That’s why the biggest revelation of Satan is as a deceiver. Clever, cunning, shrewd, charming, deceptive. Not only does the devil learn from his mistakes, he also improves his technology with time. Babel is not as complicated as Bashan. Babylon is no match for Babylon the Great. Egypt is more advanced than Edom. Nimrod’s city was more sophisticated than Cain’s. Mark it: there is no one who has played the devil’s game and won. Even angels lost. Eve lost. Jesus didn’t play at all.

    When the enemy wants to play with someone who ranks higher than him, he comes as a deceiver. Shrewd as a serpent, he sold a half-truth to Eve. The thing about deceit is that there’s an iota of “true” in it but no truth. Every deceit is based on truth. Lies only exist because there is truth. Darkness only exists because there is light. There is no S.I unit for darkness. It is not right to overestimate the devil but it is foolish to underestimate him. He was originally one of the wisest creatures God ever created. He doesn’t change strategies but he varies them.

    The same pattern is seen in how he tempted the angels, Eve and Jesus. The first trick is for you to doubt God’s Word. “Did God say…?”. “If you are the Son of God…”. God literally had just said that Jesus is His Son in whom He is well-pleased. Well, that’s exactly what He comes to steal. Remember the parable of the Sower. He comes to steal the Word of God from you. Remember the parable of the wheat and tares. He comes to sow doubt. Anyone ruled by the flesh will fail this first test. The lust of the flesh. Food caused the fall of the first man, and food (and all forms of it; sex, sustenance, livelihood etc) will test every flesh to see if they will choose the Food from the mouth of God or bread for their flesh.

    The second trick is to misinterpret God’s Word. “You shall not surely die…”. With Jesus, he even quoted a verse from Psalm 91 out of context. That’s the lust of the eyes, isn’t it? Because he is wishing to change your reality. Truth is reality. If he can change your reality, you yourself will exchange the truth of God for a lie as Romans 1:25 says. Once you doubt God’s Word, you lose authority. Our authority is based on God and His Word. If you doubt the original, he can twist a fake one into view. He can now cause you to conform to the systems of the world. Anyone who doesn’t fear God will fail here, because the world will rule over you.

    The third and final trick is to replace God’s Word. It’s all about God’s Word, huh? Yes, deceit can only be derived from truth. Faith in the Word is what causes us to overcome the world. However, after overcoming the flesh and the world, you need to overcome the last enemy. This is the very sin Lucifer sinned. It is the cardinal sin. The sin of self; wanting to become like God in your own way. With Eve, she desired a kind of wisdom God did not put on the offer table. She wanted to become like God, knowing both good and evil. In fact, after eating the fruit, their eyes opened and they knew that they were naked.

    That knowledge was an intimate knowledge they discovered. They used to be naked and unashamed. Now, they were naked and afraid of God’s presence. God asked, “who told you you are naked?”. How did they know? By what spirit? They had accessed the forbidden by their own terms. Beloved, it’s not everything that you ought to know. The devil knows more than we will ever know in this world, and it is wrong to seek His wisdom. Jesus calls it “the deep secrets of Satan” in Revelations 2:24. With the temptation of Jesus, the devil wanted Jesus to skip the Cross by simply bowing down to him so he easily gives back what man handed over to him. As I said, no one plays the devil’s game and wins. If you think you can enjoy sin for a while and go back to God later, think twice!

    If you play by the devil’s rules, he will always beat you to it. He doesn’t play by the rules. It’s a negotiation. You are bringing something on offer for what he is giving you. Once you take his offer, you have consented for him to take something from you. He will always emphasize what you will gain and never what you will lose in exchange. Satan will only bring to mind the pleasure of sin, but never the misery that accompanies it. You will gain the whole world and lose your own soul. He did it to the fallen angels. He did it to Adam and Eve. Don’t let him do it to you. People think immediately you sell your soul to the devil, you become an instant hit! Nope. You still need to be talented. You still need to put in the work. So in the end, what’s the essence of selling your soul? He will use the gifts God gave you, grant you few minutes of pleasure and unending moments of torture.

    The wisdom from above is the kind of wisdom Proverbs talks about. It is the highest form of wisdom. Even the devil does not have access to it. Why? He fears God but he is not God-fearing. The fear of the LORD is the key to unlock this wisdom into a person’s life. If you lack the fear of the LORD, this wisdom is hidden from you like 1 Corinthians 2:7-9 says. The Fear of the LORD is literally the beginning of wisdom.



    Human wisdom is in the brain. The wisdom of this world cannot go past the mind. However, the wisdom from above is received in the spirit. The devil is wiser than the average man and will beat such a person to every game and temptation there is. However, the man who fears God operates with the Wisdom from above. He that is from above is above all!