SILENCING THE ENEMY by Robert Gay

Published by Creation House

Strang Communications Company

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Lake Mary, FL 32746

Web site: http://www.creationhouse.com

This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in

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in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical,

photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without

prior written permission of the publisher, except

as provided by United States of America

copyright law.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from

the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the

Holy Bible, New International Version.

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, International

Bible Society. Used by permission.

Copyright © 1993 by Prophetic Praise Ministries, Inc.

All rights reserved

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 93-79313

International Standard Book Number: 0-88419-349-7

8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 BBG 13 12 11 10 9 8

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated especially

to my beautiful wife, Stacey,

and my three children,

Joshua, Kayla and Micah.

I love you all very dearly.

Thank you for supporting me

during the writing of this book

while I worked what seemed

at times to be endless hours.

You are a great source

of inspiration to me.

May all the body of Christ

also be grateful to you

for your love and sacrifice

that no one else sees but me.

CONTENTS

Foreword..............................................................................7

Introduction: The Evolution of Praise and Worship..........11

1 God's Prophetic Purpose for Praise.................................15

2 Out of the Mouth of Babes..............................................23

3 Executing Judgments......................................................31

4 Beat Your plowshares Into Swords.................................37

5 Mighty Man of War........................................................47

6 In the Presence of the Lord of Hosts...............................61

7 The Power of the Shout...................................................71

8 Jehoshaphat's Revelation.................................................85

9 Crushing the Head of the Serpent...................................97

10 Every Stroke Will Be to the Music.............................105

11 The Purpose of Warfare Songs...................................123

12 Advance and Occupy..................................................131

Notes 137

FOREWORD

he contents of this book can revolutionize

Tyour life and activate you to become a mighty

warrior in the army of Jesus Christ. God wants His

present-day church to understand and use the great

weapon of war that is being revealed. He wants His

voice to be heard as His church arises to subdue

and silence all His enemies. God's warrior-saints

are the court bailiffs to execute His prison

7

SILENCING THE ENEMY

sentences against the devil and his evil empire.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and

forever, and His written Word does not change.

Yet He continually brings forth fresh illumination

of His Word and revelation of His character.

Silencing the Enemy reveals God's warrior nature.

It brings new understanding about the power of

praise and worship.

Protestant movement songwriters extolled

God's great mercy in providing salvation through

grace and faith. The Holiness movement

songwriters exalted God's holiness and the second

coming of Christ. The Pentecostal movement

singers praised God for His supernatural works,

entering into praise in response to what they saw,

heard or felt. The charismatic movement chorus

writers praised God for His greatness, liberty, joy

and provisions. They praised God to bring forth

His presence. Now the prophet minstrels in the

prophetic movement are praising with further

revelation of God's purpose for praise.

Robert Gay has been called to be a prophetic

minstrel in the body of Christ. When he came

among the company of prophets at Christian

International, the revelation and anointing of God

activated him to write the words and melodies

establishing warfare praise in the church. Warfare

praise is one of eight major truths and ministries

8

FOREWORD

being restored in the prophetic movement.

One of the seven principles found in every

major restorational move of God is that new songs,

choruses and music will be brought forth with new

words and melodies that portray the message and

ministry coming forth in that movement.1

Robert Gay has been commissioned by the

Holy Spirit to make known the new dimension of

worship and warfare praise coming forth in the

church. Christian International Network of

Prophetic Ministries has preached and practiced

warfare praise in our local churches and

conferences for over five years, testifying to its

biblical validity. The results have been outstanding

victories, souls saved, bodies healed, church

growth, prosperity and even whole nations

influenced for God.

Warfare praise has proven to be a great and

effective offensive weapon for the church against

the flood of witchcraft, satanism, the occult and

New Agers. Warfare praise is a standard that God

is raising up against this flood.

As you read this book please pray the prayer of

Ephesians 1:16-23. Allow the Spirit of revelation

to cause your eyes to be enlightened so that you

may know the greatness of His power toward those

who believe—not only in Jesus, but in His

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

dynamic principle of warfare praise. Let us use our

powerful aggressive weapon of warfare praise to

silence the enemy.

Bill Hamon

Founder and president

Christian International

Network of Prophetic Ministries

10

INTRODUCTION: THE EVOLUTION OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP

THE EVOLUTION OF PRAISE AND

WORSHIP

usic and worship have played an integral

Mrole in the church throughout history. A

study of church music and worship reveals that

God has restored different elements of worship

progressively. He has led the church from glory to

glory through fresh revelation from heaven. As the

church was changed and conformed to what God

was saying in times past, so we must change and

conform to what He is saying today.

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

God uses a person to proclaim the revelation

which the Spirit is illuminating to the church. The

unfolding of this revelation to the body of Christ

becomes known as a move of God. Paralleling this,

He also raises up psalmists to write songs that

embody the truths of that movement. Thus, He

enhances every movement through the use of

music and worship.

An in-depth study of church history also

illustrates that with every move of God came

changes in the way worship was expressed. Along

with new songs, other expressions of worship

became more demonstrative. Musical instruments

considered "taboo" by a previous generation were

brought into the church.

The church in recent years has seen a

tremendous growth in the emphasis of praise and

worship. More tapes, books, seminars and manuals

have been produced on this subject in the last

decade than in the entire history of the church. I

personally have had the experience of writing

songs for Integrity's Hosanna! Music for the past

four years.

All this activity indicates that once again the

wind of the Spirit is blowing throughout the earth

to usher in fresh insight, revelation and

experiences, accompanied by new songs, choruses

and expressions of worship. A distinct emphasis on

12

INTRODUCTION

particular aspects of praise and worship will take

us to a higher realm of glory and a new experience

with God. He has prepared new garments for us to

wear in our generation. The Spirit of God is

bidding us to come up a little higher.

Today a fresh sound is coming forth. God is

raising up men and women who are writing songs

to bring the church to attention. These songs are

teaching and admonishing us with the truths

concerning spiritual warfare. God is raising up

prophetic songwriters to bring forth the war songs

of Zion so the church may become the fighting

army He has called it to be.

Jesus said that His church would be built upon

the rock (Matt. 16:18). He went on to say that as

the church is built upon that rock, the gates of hell

would not prevail against it. The ministry of praise

and worship must be built upon a rock of

revelation-knowledge.

The Bible says that the people of God are

destroyed for a lack of knowledge (Hos. 4:6).

Without a revelation of what God is saying

concerning worship in this hour, we will be like the

children of Israel who wandered in the wilderness

for forty years and died. But as we joyfully receive

and enter into the revelation of the Spirit, we will

be like those who crossed the Jordan and obtained

their promised possession. Let us not be a

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

generation of wilderness walkers but rather Canaan

conquerors!

Our praise is a weapon of war, and God has a

prophetic purpose for establishing praise and

worship in the church. As you read and study this

book, allow the Holy Spirit to birth the truths

contained here in your heart. As you do, I believe

your life will be changed.

14

ONE

GOD'S PROPHETIC PURPOSE

1

FOR PRAISE

mos prophesied by the Spirit about a time

Awhen God would restore the tabernacle of

David.

In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I

will repair its broken places, restore its ruins,

and build it as it used to be, so that they may

possess... (Amos 9:11-12, NIV)

David's fallen tent refers to what has become

known as the tabernacle of David. Let me define

briefly what that constituted.

In 1 Chronicles 16 we read the account of the

origin of David's tabernacle. We can see from

Scripture that this was a place of praise. Inside

David's tabernacle was the ark of the covenant, and

before the ark the priests gave continual praise,

worship and thanks. It was a place of joy where

music resounded in honor of Jehovah God.

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

They brought the ark of God and set it inside

the tent that David had pitched for it, and

they presented burnt offerings and

fellowship offerings before God...He

appointed some of the Levites to minister

before the ark of the Lord, to make petition,

to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, the

God of Israel: Asaph was the chief,

Zechariah second, then Jeiel, Shemira-moth,

Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-

Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres

and harps. Asaph was to sound the cymbals,

and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to

blow the trumpets regularly before the ark of

the covenant of God (vv. 1,4-6, NIV).

We can easily see that the tabernacle of David

was a place where God was continually praised

and worshipped. In the Old Testament it was the

ultimate place of worship—a place of continual

praise.

Hundreds of years later after the removal of

David's tabernacle, Amos writes that a day is

coming when God will restore the tabernacle of

David and build it as it used to be. To understand

what the Spirit of God is saying through the

prophet Amos, let's first address what He is not

saying.

The Holy Spirit is not telling us there will be a

16

GOD'S PROPHETIC PURPOSE FOR PRAISE

literal, physical restoration of the tabernacle of

David. The ark of the covenant will not be placed

in a tent again. Neither will we board a 747 jet and

go to Jerusalem to worship. When the woman at

the well (John 4) asked where to worship, Jesus

told her clearly that true worship was determined

not by geographical location but by heart attitude

and obedience to the Word of God.

The Spirit of God is revealing through Amos

that a day is coming when the priestly and spiritual

ministry of worship that was conducted in David's

tabernacle will be restored. I believe that day is

right now!

The church today is experiencing a revival of

praise and worship. Why? Is it a fad? No, it is

rather that we are living in the day when God is

restoring the tabernacle of David.

GOD HAS A PURPOSE

God has a purpose for everything He does. He

never does anything without a reason. By

understanding His purpose, we can become part of

His plan.

The Bible tells us why God sent Jesus to earth.

"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested,

that he might destroy the works of the devil" (1

John 3:8, emphasis added). Likewise, God has a

purpose for restoring the tabernacle of David.

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

When we tell our children to do something,

they may respond with the question why. We often

answer, "Because I said so!" That alone is a good

enough reason for them to do what we tell them to.

But at times it is a good idea to let them know

why. If we tell them not to put their fingers in

electrical outlets or not to play in the middle of the

street, they should know the reason—that they

could get killed if they do! Your children may

thereby be persuaded that "to obey is better than

sacrifice" (1 Sam. 15:22).

Now God is a loving heavenly Father and

knows that man has a desire to have a purpose. He

has placed that desire within us. Therefore, He

gives us reasons for the restoration of the

tabernacle of David involving praise and worship.

After Amos declares that God is going to restore

and rebuild the tabernacle of David, God's purpose

for the restoration is revealed: "so that they may

possess..." (9:12, NIV). Here we see God's

prophetic purpose for the restoration of the

ministry of praise and worship: possessing.

To understand what is being communicated we

must first define the word possess. This is the

Hebrew word yaresh which means to "occupy by

driving out the previous tenants, to cast out, to

consume, to destroy, to disinherit." God is

restoring the tabernacle of David so that the church

18

GOD'S PROPHETIC PURPOSE FOR PRAISE

will have an instrument of warfare to drive out,

cast out, consume and destroy the works of

darkness, disinherit the devil and occupy the earth.

Hallelujah! Jesus was manifested for the same

reason that praise and worship are being restored—

to destroy the works of the devil.

AN EXAMPLE OF POSSESSING

Not long ago, America was engaged with the

nation of Iraq in a military conflict known as the

Gulf War and Operation Desert Storm. The

primary reason for this war was that Iraq had

illegally invaded and taken over the nation of

Kuwait.

Although the United Nations Security Council

issued resolutions to the nation of Iraq stating that

Iraq had acted illegally and must withdraw its

troops from Kuwait, Saddam Hussein, the leader of

Iraq, chose to ignore the resolutions. That meant

one thing: for the people of Kuwait to repossess

their land, their enemy (the Iraqi army) would have

to be driven out. In other words, war was

inevitable because their enemy would not

voluntarily get out of their country.

The offensive plan of Operation Desert Storm

drove out the Iraqi army physically. To repossess

Kuwait, it took an offensive, physical, aggressive

act of war. We were not there just to defend Israel,

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

Saudi Arabia and the other surrounding countries.

We were there to possess by driving out the

previous tenants.

Our enemy Satan is even more lawless than

Saddam Hussein. The devil will not voluntarily

give you back what he has stolen from you. Jesus

said, "The thief comes only to steal" (John 10:10).

For the Israelites to possess Canaan, they had to go

to war. To possess what is promised to you, you

will have to enter into spiritual warfare.

Remember, Canaan is a type of the blessings of

God that have been promised and even given to

you. But just like the Israelites, you will have to go

to war to take full possession and occupy your

land.

The apostle Paul writes, "For the weapons of

our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God

to the pulling down of strong holds" (2 Cor. 10:4).

He also writes, "For we wrestle [war] not against

flesh and blood, but against principalities" (Eph.

6:12). We must understand that the Bible teaches

that we, the church, are to enter into spiritual

warfare and fight with spiritual weapons.

Praise is one of the weapons God has given us.

It is not a carnal weapon but a spiritual weapon of

war. God is restoring the tabernacle of David

today. He is restoring the priestly ministry of

praise, and we are to enter into it "so that [we] may

20

GOD'S PROPHETIC PURPOSE FOR PRAISE

possess." It is so that we, the church, may drive out

our enemy, the devil, and receive our rightful

inheritance.

21

TWO

OUT OF THE MOUTH OF

2

BABES

From the lips of children and infants

you have ordained praise,

because of your enemies,

to silence the foe and the avenger.

Psalm 8:2, NIV

s stated earlier, God has a purpose for

Aeverything He does. Thus far we have

discovered God's purpose for restoring the

tabernacle of David: so we may have a weapon of

warfare to drive out the forces of darkness and take

possession of what God has given to us.

Have you ever wondered why God commands

and desires our praise? Is it because He has an ego

problem? Is He insecure? Does He need our

praise? The answer to all these questions is

emphatically no. God is not insecure, even though

we would consider someone who needed continual

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

praise to be insecure. God does not need our

praise. Scripture records that there are creatures in

heaven that do nothing but worship Him day and

night (Rev. 4:8).

Why then has God ordained our praise? Psalm

8:2 gives us the answer: "because of our enemies."

Some people feel they have done the Lord a great

service if they spend thirty minutes worshipping

Him. The fact is we do not do Him a favor; we do

ourselves a favor and the devil great damage. God

has not ordained praise because He needs it, but

because we need to praise Him.

Ezekiel refers to Lucifer as "the anointed

cherub."

Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;

every precious stone was thy covering, the

sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl,

the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the

emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the

workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes

was prepared in thee in the day that thou

wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub

that covereth; and I have set thee so (Ezek.

28:13-14).

Lucifer was called to lead all of heaven in

worship to the most high God. He was a "one-man

band" with instruments built into his body. He was

24

OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES

a masterpiece fashioned and formed for the pur

poses of God. But Lucifer fell because of pride.

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer,

son of the morning! how art thou cut down

to the ground, which didst weaken the

nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I

will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my

throne above the stars of God: I will sit also

upon the mount of the congregation, in the

sides of the north: I will ascend above the

heights of the clouds; I will be like the most

High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to

hell, to the sides of the pit (Is. 14:12-15)

Because of a prideful heart, Satan fell from

heaven, lost his heavenly anointing and was cast to

the earth. He had not rightly discerned the call,

anointing and gift God had given to him. God had

given him a glorious ministry, a ministry that was

to bring all heaven into a united symphony of

praise unto the Lord. His ministry was one that

would cause him to live in the presence of God

before His throne continually. He would have had

the privilege of being known as God's most

beautiful creation. But iniquity was found in him,

and he lost it all.

By the multitude of thy merchandise they

have filled the midst of thee with violence,

and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast

25

SILENCING THE ENEMY

thee as profane out of the mountain of God:

and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub,

from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine

heart was lifted up because of thy beauty,

thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of

thy brightness. I will cast thee to the ground,

I will lay thee before kings, that they may

behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy

sanctuaries by the multitude of thine

iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic;

therefore will I bring forth a fire from the

midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will

bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the

sight of all them that behold thee (Ezek.

28:16-18).

The good news is that the devil's loss was our

gain! I think God turned to the devil and said

something like this, "I gave you a glorious

ministry, yet you became consumed with yourself

rather than Me. You disdained the ministry that I

gave you, and because of this I revoke your

heavenly anointing and heavenly position, and you

will be cast down to the ground.

"As further punishment to you, I will take the

ministry of praise and worship that you forsook

and give it to a group of people on the earth that

shall be known as the church. Every time they

enter into this ministry of worship, the ministry

26

OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES

that you forsook, they will silence and paralyze

you. They will take up the ministry of praise and

worship and with it bind you, break you, bruise

you and ultimately destroy your kingdom!"

The wonderful thing God did was to take what

Satan was originally anointed to do and allow us,

the body of Christ, to use it as a weapon of warfare

to destroy his plans.

Psalm 8:2 says that God has ordained praise

because of our enemy, to silence the avenger. The

word silence is the Hebrew word shabath which

means "to cause to fail, to repose, suffer to be

lacking, to put down, take away."

As we praise the Lord, we cause the enemy to

fail. As we lift our voices to God, we defeat the

power of Satan that would bring us into bondage.

As we enter into worship, we begin to take back

what the enemy has stolen from us.

When you understand this, spiritual warfare is

no longer drudgery. That's why Paul could say,

"Fight the good fight of faith" (1 Tim. 6:12). It's a

good fight when you know your enemy is fleeing

in terror.

God wants to give us a new mentality regarding

the devil and his works. He has been thought of as

being the big, bad wolf, and we, the body of Christ,

are the three little pigs. Our perception of spiritual

27

SILENCING THE ENEMY

warfare is as follows:

Knocking at the door, Big Bad Wolf says,

"Little pig, little pig, let me in!"

"Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin. I

resist you in Jesus' name!" replies the little

Christian pig.

"Then I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your

house down," says Big Bad Wolf.

And the little pig's house is blown down

because it was built out of the wood, hay

and stubble of improper understanding.

Being a good born-again, Spirit-filled, little

pig, he runs crying to Pastor Pig, wanting

him to pray for him.

This has been the church's mentality in the past

concerning the devil, but now it's time to rewrite

the story. I believe the present version would go

something like this:

Big Bad Wolf comes knocking at the door

demanding to be let in. Now this little pig,

realizing Big Bad Wolf has no right to be at

his house, prepares his double-barrelled

weapon of warfare with a load of the high

praises of God.

He returns to the front door to greet Big Bad

Wolf with his weapon in hand. As he

unloads both barrels on Big Bad Wolf, he

proclaims to the neighbors, "Wolf hunting

28

OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES

season is now open!" The force of

revelation-knowledge from the firing of the

gun defeats the threat and secures his house.

I only use this story as an analogy to illuminate

the change that must come to the church's

mentality. Instead of seeing the devil as a threat, I

believe we need to see ourselves as a threat to his

kingdom or the object of his fear.

We are not running from our enemy; instead we

have him on the run. We are not in a defensive

position waiting for him to attack. Rather we take

the offensive and go after his kingdom

aggressively. We are God's commandos who go in

behind the lines rescuing those that are held

captive. We use spiritual weapons of war to blow

up his communications facilities and destroy his

MO (method of operation).

Praise and worship play an important role in all

of this because God has ordained our praise to

silence him. Again, in Psalm 8:2, the psalmist

declares that it is out of the mouth of babes that

God has ordained praise.

Does that mean praise is reserved for children

only? Not at all. Jesus said, "Unless you...become

like little children you will never enter the

kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18:3, NIV). He said to

"suffer little children...to come unto me: for of

29

SILENCING THE ENEMY

such is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 19:14).

Jesus exhorted us to be like children. Likewise, the

psalmist is saying in Psalm 8 that if we praise and

worship the Lord like children, He has ordained

that type of praise to silence and still the enemy.

When children praise the Lord, they are

uninhibited. Their expressions of praise are as

natural as breathing. I have three children, Joshua,

Kayla and Micah. When they were toddlers and

heard music, they would move, sway and dance to

it. It was a natural response.

It should be just as natural to us as children of

God to dance and celebrate before the Lord when

we hear music and songs of praise. But sadly we

have become religiously "brain-dirtied" over a

process of time. The only solution is to wash our

minds with the Word of God (see Eph. 5:26). We

will then begin to worship in spirit and in truth as

we behold what the Bible has to say about praise

and worship.

It is time for the church to arise in this hour and

praise the Lord with all its might. We must become

uninhibited in our praise, even as children are.

Then our weapon of warfare—praise—will be

unleashed on the powers of darkness and result in

their demise and destruction.

30

THREE

EXECUTING JUDGMENTS

3

Let the high praises of God

be in their mouth,

and a two-edged sword in their hand;

to execute vengeance upon the heathen,

and punishments upon the people;

to bind their kings with chains,

and their nobles with fetters of iron;

to execute upon them the judgment written:

this honor have all his saints.

Praise ye the Lord.

Psalm 149:6-9

his particular passage of Scripture has always

Tbeen one of my favorites. The part that praise

plays in spiritual warfare is evident as you read it.

With high praises and the Word of God (a

twoedged sword) we have the ability to execute

God's vengeance, inflict punishment, bind kings,

bind nobles and execute judgments.

In spiritual warfare, our enemy is not people.

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

As noted earlier, Paul said that "we wrestle not

against flesh and blood, but against principalities,

against powers, against the rulers of the darkness

of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high

places" (Eph. 6:12, emphasis added). We must

always keep in mind who our enemy is: the devil.

Our problem is not people, but the spiritual forces

that are motivating them. That realization will keep

us focused on the mission God has given us to

destroy the works of the devil.

Further, Paul said that "the weapons of our

warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to

the pulling down of strong holds" (2 Cor. 10:9).

You cannot fight a spiritual enemy with natural

weapons. We must use spiritual weapons of war to

combat our spiritual enemy. Praise is one of those

weapons. It is a spiritual weapon of war that binds

and breaks the powers of darkness.

As stated before, our praises can execute God's

vengeance. God does take vengeance, for He said,

"Vengeance is mine" (Rom. 12:19). God wants to

settle the score in all matters and give just

recompense to whom it is due. The primary target

of that vengeance is the devil.

Next, in Psalm 149:8, we see that our praise

will "bind kings with chains and nobles with fetters

of iron." Let's first understand who the kings and

nobles are that the psalmist is talking about. I

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EXECUTING JUDGMENTS

believe them to be the principalities and rulers of

darkness. They are the wicked demonic kings that

have set up rulership and dominion in geographical

locations and in people's lives. The Bible says that

our praise binds them with chains and fetters of

iron. As we praise the Lord, we immobilize them.

We cause them to desist and stop whatever

maneuvers, plans or strategies they are attempting

to carry out.

The last thing that this passage reveals about

our praise is that it "execute(s) the judgment

written." The New International Version states it

this way: "to carry out the sentence written against

them."

To understand what is being said, visualize a

court scene. There are many participants in court:

judge, jury, defendant, plaintiff, bailiff and

witnesses, along with the lawyers who represent

the accused and the accuser. All of them play an

important role in the outcome of a trial. After the

lawyers have presented their cases before the judge

and jury, the jury will go out for deliberation. After

deciding whether the accused is innocent or guilty,

they will return with a verdict. The verdict will

then be read out loud. If found guilty, the

convicted criminal will have to stand before the

judge for sentencing.

Now let's suppose that someone has just been

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

tried for armed robbery. After hearing testimony

and seeing evidence, the jury decides the defendant

is guilty. He stands before the judge to be

sentenced. The judge pronounces a judgment or

sentence upon him, saying, "I sentence you to

twenty years in the state penitentiary.'' It would be

wonderful if that alone took care of the

punishment, but it doesn't. The bailiff—a

courtroom police official—handcuffs the convicted

criminal, puts him in a police vehicle and takes

him to the penitentiary where he is incarcerated

and begins to serve his term.

This act by the bailiff is the execution of the

judgment that is written. The judgment or sentence

by itself will not do the job. Someone must see to it

that the judgment is executed or carried out.

What if in that same courtroom there was no

bailiff? Do you think the convicted criminal would

voluntarily check himself into the penitentiary as

someone would into a hotel? Could you envision

him arriving at the front gate saying, "I have a

reservation for the next twenty years"? No, without

a bailiff, the convicted criminal is going to run out

of that courtroom, never to be seen again.

Spiritually speaking, a judgment and a sentence

have been pronounced on the devil. The Word of

God declares that Satan and his works are beneath

our feet (Rom. 16:20). It declares that all his power

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EXECUTING JUDGMENTS

has been spoiled. But this is just the pronouncing

of the sentence. That sentence, or judgment, must

still be executed.

We, the church, are the bailiffs in God's great

courtroom, the earth, where He sits as judge. With

our praise we bind the devil just as a police official

would handcuff a criminal. With our praise we

incarcerate him. The praises of God have divine

power to execute the judgment He has declared on

the enemy.

The devil is a convicted criminal, and God has a

warrant out for his arrest. What are we going to do

about it? Let us as the church of God arise with

praise in our mouths, as we execute His judgment

upon the powers of hell.

At the end of Psalm 149 we read, "This honor

have all his saints" (v. 9). What honor is the

psalmist talking about? The honor of executing

God's judgment and vengeance on the powers of

the air. Warfare praise is not a toilsome thing. It is

an honor that God has bestowed upon you and me.

It is done with joy in our hearts as we celebrate the

victory of our Lord.

I once wondered why God didn't cast the devil

into hell immediately after his rebellion. His

punishment was rather to be confined to the earth

to be punished by the church. We now have the

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

honor of binding him. We have the honor of

executing God's judgment and destroying Satan's

kingdom.

Knowing this can change the way we view what

the devil tries to throw across our paths. When we

are confronted by the enemy, we have the privilege

one more time of showing the devil who we are in

Christ and who he is not. We then lift up our

hands, raise our voices in song and dance before

the Lord as we acknowledge Him as the mighty

man of war who is mighty in battle through us!

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FOUR

BEAT YOUR PLOWSHARES

4

INTO SWORDS

Proclaim this among the nations:

Prepare for war!

Rouse the warriors!

Let all the fighting men

draw near and attack.

Beat your plowshares into swords

and your pruning hooks into spears.

Let the weakling say, "I am strong!"

Joel 3:9-10, NIV

oel gives a good picture here of the army of the

JLord in the last days. God is instructing us to

prepare for war and to rouse the warriors, and then

He tells how: "Beat your plowshares into swords."

There is an important revelation in this verse that

the body of Christ needs to hear. Let's not miss it.

The prophet Hosea declares, "Judah shall plow"

(10:11). The name Judah means "praise." Thus, the

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

prophet is saying, "Praise shall plow."

At some time you might have heard this

statement in church: "Let's praise the Lord and

prepare our hearts to receive the Word of God." I

used to get a little upset about that phrase because

it seemed to de-emphasize worship. But that is a

very scriptural statement. As we praise the Lord,

we plow and prepare our hearts to receive the

incorruptible seed, the Word of God. Any farmer

knows that before he plants seed he must first

prepare the soil by plowing. Before we can plant

the incorruptible seed of the Word of God, we

must first plow the ground, our hearts, in which it

is to be planted.

Praise and worship act as that plow. That's one

of the reasons they come before the teaching and

preaching of the Word rather than after it. Seed has

a greater opportunity of bearing fruit if it's planted

in plowed soil. Again, Judah (praise) shall plow.

But then notice what the prophet Joel says

about your plow: "Beat your plow into a sword." I

believe the Spirit of God is saying, "Make your

praise a weapon of war." How do we do this?

Revelation-knowledge is the hammer we use to

beat our plows into swords, to make praise a

weapon of war.

It is rare that any spiritual experience can be

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BEAT YOUR PLOWSHARES INTO SWORDS

entered into without a revelation for appropriating

it. Hearing the Word brought revelation for

appropriating our salvation. Hearing the Word also

brought revelation for appropriating the infilling of

the Holy Spirit. Likewise, to be able to use praise

as a weapon of war, we must first have a revelation

that God has ordained our praise for such a

purpose.

There Is a difference between celebration and

having a revelation of your celebration. Praise and

celebration without a revelation of its power have

little effect in the realm of the spirit.

Let me give you an example. We could take a

drunk man off the street and bring him into church.

This man could say the sinner's prayer simply by

repeating what he was told. But if there was not

first a revelation of the lordship of Jesus and the

fact that God raised Jesus from the dead, that man

would go away just as unsaved as he was before he

said the sinner's prayer. Why? Because he said

words without understanding and revelation.

Unfortunately, much of the church is like that.

We come to church and praise the Lord with no

understanding and revelation of the power God has

put in our praise. Consequently, nothing happens.

The solution is to receive a revelation of what

the Bible has to say about praise and worship,

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

particularly in its application as a weapon of war.

Then when we come together to praise and

worship the Lord, there will be a release of power.

We will then affect the spirit realm.

I will gather all nations, and will bring them

down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and

will plead with them there for my people

and for my heritage Israel (Joel 3:2).

This verse has great significance to us as the

inheritance and the people of the Lord.

Jehoshaphat's enemies were defeated by the praises

of God in the valley of Jehoshaphat. (A later

chapter will deal with this in more depth.) This

account is found in 2 Chronicles 20. When faced

with insurmountable odds, Jehoshaphat appointed

singers and musicians to go out at the head of the

army to praise the Lord. As they praised the Lord,

God brought confusion in the camp of the enemy,

and they rose up and destroyed one another. So we

could say that the valley of Jehoshaphat is the

place where praise ascends.

This sheds new light on this Scripture verse.

Where does God enter into judgment? The valley

of Jehoshaphat, the place where praise ascends.

Where are God's judgments executed? The valley

of Jehoshaphat, the place where praise ascends.

God's judgments are executed on our enemy, the

devil, when praise ascends, just as in the day of

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BEAT YOUR PLOWSHARES INTO SWORDS

Jehoshaphat.

The Word of God declares that all the things

that were written in the Old Testament were

written for our example. The story of Jehoshaphat

was not penned by the Spirit of God so that we

would have another good Bible story to tell our

children. Rather it was written so we could be

"followers of them who through faith and patience

inherit the promises" (Heb. 6:12). This was written

so that we can see with our physical eyes what our

praise does in the spirit realm.

Another verse in Joel 3 reiterates the same

thing.

Let the nations be roused; let them advance

into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I

will sit to judge all the nations on every side

(v. 12, NIV).

I believe the Spirit is calling the church in this

hour to become a radical, militant people who are

warriors in the Spirit. Don't use the old excuse,

"Well, you know, that's just not my personality."

Being a warrior has nothing to do with your

personality. It has to do with the family you belong

to. If you are born of God you are a warrior

because His seed is in you and He is a warrior.

Hallelujah! You have been drafted into the army of

the Lord. Don't go AWOL. Get in the fight as God

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

leads us into victorious battle.

Beat your plowshares into swords and your

pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling

say, "I am strong!" (Joel 3:10, NIV).

We sing several songs that contain this phrase:

"Let the weak say, 'I am strong.' " The location of

this verse is very interesting. In the context of

Scripture, it refers to people who are getting

themselves ready to go to war. It is an exhortation

for those who feel too weak to go out and fight to

rouse themselves by declaring that they are strong!

This was a Scripture passage given for warriors.

As a matter of fact, the word translated strong is

the Hebrew word gibbor. It means "warrior" or

"tyrant." The verse actually says, "Let the weak

say, 'I am a warrior.'" The Spirit of God is

prophetically telling the body of Christ to declare,

"We are warriors."

I like that word tyrant. A tyrant strips all rights

and privileges from his subjects. We need to be

tyrants in the spirit! We shouldn't give the devil an

inch. Rather we need to strip all rights and

privileges from him that he has stolen from us. It is

time for us to take our stand in the spirit.

To some people, speech like this may sound as

if I am a mean person. But my natural personality

is not that of a fighter. I was in only a few fights in

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BEAT YOUR PLOWSHARES INTO SWORDS

all of my school years. They were very short—the

guy hit me, and I hit the ground. The fight was

over. But what I am saying is that we must become

violent when it comes to fighting devils. Jesus said,

"The violent take it by force" (Matt. 11:12).

Before we leave the subject of beating your

plowshares into swords, let me share the "flip side"

of this. Micah 4:3 states:

He will judge between many peoples and

will settle disputes for strong nations far and

wide. They will beat their swords into

plowshares and their spears into pruning

hooks. Nation will not take up sword against

nation, nor will they train for war anymore

(NIV).

This appears to contradict Joel 3:10, but

actually it does not. Let me share some different

points about this passage for your consideration.

• The church, for the most part, has never

beat its plow into a sword. We will not

beat our swords into plows until we first

beat our plows into swords. A day will

come after all our enemies are defeated

and crushed when we will beat our swords

into plows. But all our enemies have not

yet been subdued. There are still giants

that must be slain. Until all our enemies

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

are subdued, we must use our swords. A

warrior doesn't lay his weapon down until

his enemy is slain.

• This Scripture passage pertains to God's

settling disputes between nations. God is

not going to act as a peacemaker between

us and the devil. As a matter of fact, Jesus

said, "Occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13).

Occupy is a military term that literally

means "to take possession of." I believe

this term can be paraphrased to say, "Run

the devil out of town and subdue what I

have given to you until I come." Our

attitude with the devil is to be "show no

mercy and take no prisoners."

• We don't beat our swords into plows until

after all of God's judgments have been

executed A day is coming when there will

be peace on earth, and we will not train for

war anymore. But that day is not here yet.

During the millennial reign, we will rule

and reign with Jesus here on earth for a

thousand years. There will be peace as the

kingdom of God is finalized. Our enemy,

the devil, will be locked up in hell. But

until then we must take up our weapons of

war and blast him off the earth.

I believe the Spirit of God is crying for the

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BEAT YOUR PLOWSHARES INTO SWORDS

church to arise in strength and maturity. It is time

for us to run to the battle with our weapons of war

without looking back. We must be like Gideon's

army. The Bible says they were "faint, yet

pursuing" (Judg. 8:4). When you begin to feel

faint, take a dose of the Word of God. "Let the

weak say, 'I am strong.'" Rouse yourself and take

up your sword and wield it against your enemy.

Let your praise become a weapon of war as you lift

your voice to Him!

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FIVE

MIGHTY MAN OF WAR

5

The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.

Pharaoh's chariots and his army

he has hurled into the sea.

Exodus 15:3-4, NIV

The Lord will march out like a mighty man,

like a warrior he will stir up His zeal;

with a shout he will raise the battle cry

and will triumph over his enemies.

Isaiah 42:13, NIV

I saw heaven standing open

and there before me was a white horse,

whose rider is called Faithful and True.

With justice he judges and makes war.

Revelation 19:11, NIV

he Bible reveals that part of God's character is

Tthat of a warrior. Both the Old and New

Testaments testify of this. As members of the body

of Christ and to engage successfully in spiritual

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

war, we need to have this revelation of God's

character.

Paul told the Ephesians to be "imitators of God"

(Eph. 5:1, NIV). And to be imitators of God, we

must have a revelation of His whole character. Not

only is He a God of love, peace and joy, but He is

also a warrior. Paul said, "Behold therefore the

goodness and severity of God" (Rom. 11:22). Paul

is saying we can see the whole character of God by

looking at the whole counsel of the Word of God.

If we emphasize one aspect of the character of

God, then we get a distorted picture of who God is.

For the past couple of decades a great deal of

teaching has come forth on the goodness and love

of God. I thank God for all we have learned. But it

seems as if we have had little teaching on some of

the other attributes of His character. One of those

is the attribute of warrior.

Why is it important to teach this attribute? First,

what you reach in God will be in direct proportion

to your revelation of Him. Someone who does not

have a revelation of Jesus as Savior cannot receive

Him as Savior. Someone who does not have a

revelation of Jesus as healer, Jehovah-Rapha, will

not get healed. Likewise, without a revelation of

Jesus as warrior, the Lord of hosts, we will not be

able to wage successful, spiritual warfare. God

moves on our behalf according to our faith and

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MIGHTY MAN OF WAR

knowledge of Him.

A second reason for teaching on this attribute of

God's character is so we will know in what

atmosphere the Lord manifests Himself as a

warrior. This is where praise and worship enter the

picture. As we study the following Scripture

portions, we will see that Jesus arises as a mighty

man of war in the midst of praise and worship.

Something about praise stirs the heart of God. As

we praise, He rises up with a zeal and vengeance

against our enemies.

Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from

the ends of the earth, you who go down to

the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and

all who live in them. Let the \ desert and its

towns raise their voices; let the settlements

where Kedar lives rejoice. Let the people of

Sela sing for joy; let them shout from the

mountaintops. Let them give glory to the

Lord and proclaim His praise in the islands

(Is. 42:10-12, NIV).

Here we see an exhortation for people to praise

the Lord. By the Spirit of God, Isaiah instructs

them to raise their voices, rejoice, sing a new song,

shout, sing for joy, give glory to God and proclaim

His praise. The next verse tells us what happens

when people express their praise to the Lord:

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SILENCING THE ENEMY

The Lord will march out like a mighty man,

like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a

shout he will raise the battle cry and will

triumph over his enemies (Is. 42:13, NIV).

What happens when we praise the Lord? The

Lord marches out against our enemies. As we lift

our voices to the Lord with shouts of joy, His zeal

is stirred. As we glorify God with heart, soul and

strength (spirit, soul and body), the battle cry

arises, and He triumphs over our enemies.

The original Hebrew language contained no

Punctuation marks. All punctuation has been

Placed there by the translators. Without changing

the words, I would like to take the liberty of

changing a few punctuation marks. I believe this

will enable us to see this verse in a different light.

The Lord will march out like a mighty man,

like a warrior. He will stir up his zeal with a

SHOUT! He will raise the battle cry and will

triumph over his enemies.

What is revealed to us is that the zeal within the

heart of God is stirred with shouting of praises. We

could even read it like this: The Lord will march

out like a mighty man, like a warrior. His zeal will

be stirred with shouts of praise.

To substantiate this as a scriptural principle,

here are some other Scripture passages that say

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MIGHTY MAN OF WAR

essentially the same thing:

O clap your hands, all ye people; shout unto

God with the voice of triumph. God is gone

up [ascended] with a shout (Ps. 47:1,5).

God has ascended amid shouts of joy (Ps.

47:5, NIV).

Every stroke the Lord lays on them [the

enemy] with his punishing rod will be to the

music of tambourines and harps, as he fights

them in battle with the blows of his arm (Is.

30:32, NIV).

The emphasis is on the connection between our

praise and God's battle with our enemy. As we

rejoice and shout, God arises in our midst and

scatters our enemies.

May God arise, may his enemies be

scattered; may his foes flee before him (Ps.

68:1, NIV).

When God arises, His enemies are always

scattered. The devil is no match for almighty God

and His church. The key is having Him arise in our

midst.

So how does He arise? Psalm 47:5 says He

arises amid shouts of joy. Isaiah 42:13 declares

that His zeal is stirred with a shout, and in the

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midst of that He raises the battle cry, triumphing

over His (and our) enemies. Isaiah 30:32 says that

every stroke the Lord lays on our enemy is done

"to the music of tambourines and harps" as He

fights them with the blows of His arm. That's the

reason the psalmist could say:

His right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten

him the victory (Ps. 98:1).

The psalmist had a revelation that God would

fight on our behalf as we praised His name. He had

a revelation of the Lord as the mighty man of war.

He knew that the Lord would march out on our

behalf if we would shout His praise in faith.

The psalmist David was "a man after [God's]

own heart" (1 Sam. 13:14, NIV). I used to think it

was because David was a lover of God. After

further study of David's life, I do not believe that

was the only reason he was referred to as "a man

after God's own heart."

David was a man who had a reputation in the

kingdom of Israel. Saul asked his servant to find

someone to play the harp before him. Let's observe

what the servant ascribed to David (1 Sam. 16:18):

He knows how to play the harp. He is brave. He is

a warrior. He speaks well. He is fine-looking. The

Lord is with him.

Knowing how to play a harp and speak well and

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being fine-looking would not make you a man after

God's heart. But notice what the testimony about

David also said. He was brave, and he was a

warrior.

Nobody else in Israel was jumping at the

chance to face Goliath, except David, the warrior

—the man after God's own heart. No one else in

Israel was willing to risk his life to fight a lion and

a bear for a sheep, except David, the warrior—the

man after God's own heart. When Saul told David

that he could marry his daughter if he brought Saul

one hundred Philistine foreskins (1 Sam. 18:25),

David slew enough Philistines to double the

requirement: David, the warrior—the man after

God's own heart.

Yes, David was a worshipper and a lover of

God, but he was equally a warrior, a man of war.

David knew his God and did everything within his

power to be like Him.

David was a warrior, but there was one who

was an even greater warrior than David. His name

was Jesus. He warred against sin, sickness,

religious traditions of men, hypocrisy and many

other things. In Matthew 21 we can see one of the

greatest demonstrations of this aspect of God's

character: Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem on

the back of a donkey.

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Say to the Daughter of Zion,

See, your king comes to you,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey...

A very large crowd spread their cloaks on

the road, while others cut branches from the

trees and spread them on the road. The

crowds that went ahead of him and those

that followed shouted,

"Hosanna to the Son of David!"

"Blessed is he who comes in the

name of the Lord!"

"Hosanna in the highest!"

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole

city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?"

The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the

prophet from Nazareth in Galilee" (vv.

5,8-11, NIV).

Let's examine what was happening. Meek and

gentle Jesus was riding into Jerusalem on a

donkey. On His way to the temple a large crowd

began to have an outdoor praise celebration in

honor of Him. Many were taking off their cloaks

and laying them in the road for Jesus to pass over.

Others were cutting down branches from trees and

laying them in the road. All of them were shouting

praises so loudly that the "whole city was stirred."

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MIGHTY MAN OF WAR

When Jesus arrived at the temple, something

happened:

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out

all who were buying and selling there. He

overturned the tables of the money changers

and the benches of those selling doves. "It is

written," he said to them, "'My house will be

called a house of prayer, but you are making

it a den of robbers'" (vv. 12-13, NIV).

The blind and the lame came to him at the

temple, and he healed them. But when the

chief priests and the teachers of the law saw

the wonderful things he did and the children

shouting in the temple area, "Hosanna to the

Son of David," they were indignant. "Do

you hear what these children are saying?"

they asked him. "Yes," replied Jesus, "have

you never read,

'From the lips of children

and infants you have ordained

praise?' " (vv. 14-16, NIV).

I want you to see what motivated Jesus to go

into the temple and drive the money changers out. I

do not believe it was merely the activities of the

money changers, because Jesus had seen them

before at the temple. It was not the selling of the

doves, for this had been going on for years, and

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Jesus had never done anything about it.

What caused Jesus to arise with righteous

indignation in a violent assault against these men?

It was the shouts of praise that were coming from

the people.

When Jesus first entered Jerusalem, He was

meek and gentle. But as He rode through town

toward the temple, there was a metamorphosis. As

the shouts of praise were lifted to Him, His zeal

was stirred just as Isaiah 42:13 declared. At no

other time in the history of His walk on earth had

there been such an open demonstration of praise,

worship and celebration in honor of Him. The Lord

was getting ready to "march out like a mighty

man" as He heard the praises of the people.

Upon arriving at the temple, having been stirred

by the shouts of praise, He made a whip out of

some cords (His punishing rod) and proceeded to

drive out the money changers. He then began to

overturn the tables of the dove salesmen.

In chapter 1 of this book we saw that God is

restoring the tabernacle of David for a purpose.

That purpose is to possess. We learned that the

word possess means to drive out the previous

tenants. "Jesus entered the temple area and drove

out all who were buying and selling there" (Matt.

21:12, NIV). In the midst of a praise celebration

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MIGHTY MAN OF WAR

Jesus drove out the previous tenants (the money

changers) and then declared, "My house will be

called a house of prayer." In essence He was

saying, "This is My house, and you can't have it!"

He possessed what was rightfully His.

Verses 15 and 16 of Matthew 21 reveal an

interesting event. The chief priests and teachers of

the Law, the religious leaders of the day, were

indignant when they heard the children shouting

praises to the Lord. Demonstrative praise and

worship always upset religious spirits. Demons of

pride hate shouting and dancing because it is not

"dignified."

Those in leadership in the body of Christ today

must not mimic the response from the religious

leaders of Jesus' day. They did not get upset with

Jesus about the miracles He did that day or the fact

that He had just caused a big ruckus in the temple.

They got upset because people were praising

demonstratively! They tried to get Jesus to tell the

people to stop.

But Jesus told them, "If these should hold their

peace, the stones would immediately cry

out" (Luke 19:40). In other words, "you cannot

stop the praises that belong to Me."

The people who were throwing their cloaks in

the road and cutting down branches were never

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accused by Jesus of being "in the flesh." There is

no place in the Bible where it says to take off your

coat and throw it in the road in praise to the Lord.

Neither is there any place where it says to cut

down branches and throw them in the road in

praise to the Lord. Yet the people did that, and

Jesus never rebuked them. As a matter of fact, you

cannot find anywhere in the Bible where Jesus ever

rebuked people for praising and worshipping God.

He encouraged and defended the ones who did.

A lesson can be learned from this. Anything

you can do to glorify God, as long as it does not go

contrary to Scripture, do it! If you can glorify God

with a laser light show, then do it! If God can be

glorified through dance presentations, then do

them! He is not opposed to our using creativity in

our worship expression.

The only people who discouraged and

condemned demonstrative worship were religious

leaders. As these teachers of the Law heard the

children praising Jesus, they asked Him: "Do you

hear what these children are saying?" (Matt. 21:16,

NIV).

Jesus began His reply by saying, "Yes, have

you never read...?" Let me point out here that it

would do many people good to read what the Bible

teaches about worship. Jesus went on to say,

"'From the lips of children and infants you have

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MIGHTY MAN OF WAR

ordained praise.' " Of all the passages on praise

that Jesus could have quoted, He chose Psalm 8:2.

From the lips of children and infants

you have ordained praise

because of your enemies,

to silence the foe and the avenger (NIV).

Note how the verse concludes. "Because of

your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger."

Jesus was defending the children's praises, but He

was explaining everything that had just happened

in the temple area. He was saying, "This is why I

came into the temple and drove out the money

changers. This is why I overturned the tables of the

dove salesmen. God has ordained praise like that

from these children because it causes Me to rise up

against My enemies (the money changers) and put

them to silence." Hallelujah!

We have heard it said, "If Jesus healed then, He

is still healing today. If Jesus delivered then, He is

still delivering today." These statements are true.

But let me propose this to you. If in the midst of

demonstrative praise Jesus arose as a man of war

then, He is still arising today. He is the same

yesterday, today and forever. Our God is a warrior!

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SIX

IN THE PRESENCE OF THE

6

LORD OF HOSTS

But thou art holy,

O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

Psalm 22:3

The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become

my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him

an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.

The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.

Exodus 15:2-3

I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will

show forth all thy marvellous works. I will be glad

and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name,

O thou most High. When mine enemies are turned

back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.

Psalm 9:1-3

ost Christians have probably heard at one

Mtime or another that God inhabits the praises

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of His people. Before a worship service begins, a

pastor will often exhort the congregation: "Let us

come this morning and allow the presence of God

to be manifested as we praise Him. The Word of

God declares that God inhabits the praises of His

people. Allow the Lord to inhabit your praise as lift

your voice in song to Him."

But lack of knowledge or religious "mind-sets"

have hindered us from understanding the nature

and work of God who inhabits our praise.

For most Christians the only revelation of God's

character is that of a loving, merciful Savior.

Thank God we have that revelation. If it were not

for the love and mercy of God, we would all be

lost and without hope. But God's character is more

than just love, grace and mercy, as wonderful as

those attributes are.

We learned in the previous chapter that our God

is a man of war. He is a warrior. The Bible also

refers to God as the Lord of hosts. The word hosts

is the Hebrew word tsaba. This word means "a

mass of persons organized for war." So when the

Bible refers to the Lord as the Lord of hosts, it is

referring to the Lord of armies or the Lord of

people organized for war. As a matter of fact, the

Bible refers to God as the Lord of hosts in 244

places. This is five times more than any other

descriptive or redemptive name ascribed to Him.

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IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD OF HOSTS

In the New Testament God is referred to twice

as Lord of Sabaoth. The word sabaoth is the

transliteration of the Hebrew word tsaba meaning

"armies." Strong's concordance defines this Greek

word as "a military epithet of God." God wants us

to know that He is Lord of a fighting and warring

people.

After the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea,

God displayed His mighty power in the destruction

of the Egyptian army.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out

thine hand over the sea, that the waters may

come again upon the Egyptians, upon their

chariots, and upon their horsemen. And

Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea,

and the sea returned to his strength when the

morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled

against it; and the Lord overthrew the

Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the

waters returned, and covered the chariots,

and the horsemen, and all the host of

Pharaoh that came into the sea after

them...and Israel saw the Egyptians dead

upon the sea shore (Ex. 14:26 28,30).

God spoke to Moses to stretch out his hand over

the sea so that the Egyptians would be drowned.

The waters collapsed on the Egyptians, and they

were totally annihilated. The Israelites saw dead

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bodies scattered along the seashore. At this sight

Moses told them to strike up the band.

Then sang Moses and the children of Israel

this song unto the Lord, and spake saying, I

will sing unto the Lord for he hath

triumphed gloriously: the horse and the rider

hath he [God] thrown into the sea (Ex. 15:1).

On seeing the enemy destroyed, Moses decided

it was time to celebrate. They began to sing a song

of praise to the Lord, most likely in an antiphonal

manner. (An antiphonal song is carried out in

responsive, alternating parts. Usually the worship

leader sings a short phrase, and the congregation

then echoes it.) They rejoiced and danced for the

mighty victory that had just been wrought. In fact,

they praised the Lord for killing the Egyptian

army.

Visualize this for a moment: The Israelites had

just crossed the Red Sea, and now there were dead

Egyptian bodies lying on the shore. As the

Israelites sing, Miriam the prophetess takes a

tambourine and begins to lead all the women in

dance there on the seashore. They were rejoicing in

song because the judgment of God had been

executed upon their enemies.

Many of us have sung "The Horse and the

Rider" as a nice, joyful, praise song that is fun to

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sing. But actually we are praising the Lord for

destroying—killing—the Egyptian army.

As Moses and the children of Israel were

celebrating, they sang, "I will prepare him an

habitation" (Ex. 15:2). How do we prepare a

habitation for God? Psalm 22:3 says that God

inhabits the praises of His people. We prepare a

habitation for God with our praise. Our praise

creates a place where God can dwell and manifest

His presence The Bible tells us that God inhabits

or is en throned in three places: in heaven, in our

hearts as believers and in our praise.

We want to concentrate on the third—God

being enthroned in our praise. Knowing that God

inhabits our praises, we then proceed to find out

the character and nature of Him for whom we are

preparing a habitation. We have already

established that the Lord is a warrior and that He is

the Lord °f hosts. Our God is militant. Our praise

prepares a habitation for the mighty warrior, the

Lord of hosts. Moses had a revelation of this.

Immediately after saying, "I will prepare him an

habitation," he said, "the Lord is a man of war: the

Lord is his name" (Ex. 15:3).

The manifest presence of God is the tangible

(sensed or felt) manifestation of God's character

and nature. At one time or another, all of us have

probably sensed His presence in our lives.

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Since God's character and nature are multi-

faceted, so is the presence of God. When you sense

the peace of God in a worship service, you are

sensing a manifestation of Jehovah-Shalom. If you

sense a healing anointing, God is manifesting

Himself as Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord our Healer.

These more familiar manifestations of the presence

of God may have been the extent of our revelation

of God's character and nature. God responds to us

in accordance to our faith.

Jesus said, "According to your faith be it unto

you" (Matt. 9:29). We have had limited faith to

receive the presence of God except as love, peace,

joy, healing and deliverance. God's presence will

be manifested according to our revelation of His

character and nature.

The Spirit of God is saying to the church in this

hour: "I will not stay in the box you have built for

Me with limited revelation of who I am. I am

bringing revelation of My character and nature that

will allow Me to flow freely as I desire to manifest

My presence with might and great power. I want to

manifest My presence as the mighty man of war,

the lion of Judah and Lord Sabaoth; the Lord of

hosts who is mighty in battle."

God has a purpose for His manifest presence.

First of all, God desires to minister to us with His

presence. The Bible says, "In thy presence is

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fullness of joy" (Ps. 16:11). We are to be a joyful

people.

Second, God desires to minister through us with

His presence. When God manifests His presence as

Jehovah-Rapha, we should pray for others to

receive their healing. I equate this to the story of

the angel who troubled the waters at the pool of

Bethesda. Whoever stepped in first was healed

(John 5:4). When God's presence is manifested in a

healing anointing it is easier to get people healed.

At that time, as colaborers with God, we need to

step out and minister to one another.

Finally, God wants to destroy our enemies with

His presence. God's presence is manifested for the

purpose of spiritual warfare. Psalm 68:2 says, "Let

the wicked perish at the presence of God." David

said in Psalm 9:3, "When mine enemies are turned

back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence."

God doesn't manifest His presence just to thrill us.

He has objectives to accomplish.

As Moses declared, we prepare a habitation for

the Lord who is a man of war. If we prepare a

habitation for the Lord who is a man of war, then

God desires to show Himself to us in that manner.

A man of war fights. Our praise prepares a

habitation for the Lord to manifest Himself as the

mighty man of war and rise up and fight against

our enemies.

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We are colaborers with God, working together

with the Lord. When we sense the presence of

Lord Sabaoth, the Lord of hosts, the Lord is

actually sounding the battle cry for His army to

follow Him into battle.

We may sense a "spirit of warfare." This is

when God's Spirit prompts us to enter with our

weapons of praise into spiritual warfare against the

spirits of darkness. This is the presence of God.

As you read the story of David meeting Goliath,

you can see that David had a revelation of the Lord

of hosts. After the giant threatened him, he

declared prophetically the fate of Goliath.

Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a

spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee

in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of

the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied

(1 Sam. 17:45).

David was saying, "It is not my sling and stone

that will kill you, but it is my God, the Lord of

hosts, who will serve as my weapon." Goliath

came against David with natural weapons, but

David was armed with the revelation that the God

he served was the Lord of hosts. It was David's

trust in that revelation that caused his sling and

stone to be empowered by God.

Likewise, that revelation of the God who

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inhabits our praises will give power to our praises.

We will be able to say with David, "[My enemies]

shall fall and perish at thy presence" (Ps. 9:3).

God's presence is not manifested to give us a

spiritually euphoric experience. We must know

that the One who inhabits our praises is almighty

God, the mighty warrior, the Lord of hosts. Not

only is there fullness of joy in His presence, but

there is also complete victory, as the Lord Sabaoth

leads us into battle, and His enemies perish at His

presence.

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THE POWER OF THE SHOUT

7

Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God

with cries of joy...God has ascended amid shouts

of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.

Psalm 47:1,5, NIV

Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them

also that hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven

away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the

fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

Psalm 68:1-2

The Lord will march out like a mighty man,

like a warrior he will stir up his zeal,

with a shout he will raise the battle cry

and will triumph over his enemies.

Isaiah 42:13, NIV

here are many different ways the Bible tells us

Tto express our praise to the Lord. Shouting is one

of those ways. Exactly why God desires us to shout, I

do not know. But nonetheless He has told us to shout

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to Him. He has also laid out in the Word of God

spiritual principles for the shout.

To the natural mind, shouting to God seems

silly. After all, God is not hard of hearing and does

not need us to speak a little louder. But the Word

of God reveals that the shout releases something in

and through us. God established the shout of praise

for our benefit.

The word shout is the Hebrew word ruwa. It

means "to split the ears with sound; to mar

especially by breaking." God has put power in

shouting. When we shout, we split the devil's ears

with praise. We mar and break up his kingdom.

The fortresses the enemy had built begin to

crumble and fall as we shout praise to the Lord.

In chapter 5 we examined the account of Jesus'

triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In the midst of this

praise Jesus arrived at the temple and drove out all

the money changers and dove salesmen.

In the account of the triumphal entry we see a

demonstration of a spiritual principle. Psalm 47:5

declares God arises amid shouting. In the King

James Version we read, "God is gone up with a

shout." The word gone is the Hebrew word alah.

One of the definitions for this word is "stir up." So

we could read that verse like this: God is stirred up

against our enemies when we shout His praise.

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We see this spiritual principle demonstrated in

the triumphal entry of Jesus and the cleansing of

the temple. Let's look at it from a little different

angle. Psalm 68:1 says, "Let God arise, let His

enemies be scattered." How do we let God arise?

We have already established that God arises or is

stirred up with shouting. The Hebrew word

translated arise in this passage is defined as "to

rise. rouse up, stir up." .

We see that when God arises or is stirred up,

His enemies are scattered. The word scattered

means "to dash in pieces or break." Now let us put

it all together and see what's actually being said:

God is stirred up against our enemies with

shouts of praise. As He is stirred up, or

arises, His enemies are dashed into pieces,

and their kingdoms break and are destroyed.

This brings us back to the original definition of

shout, which is "to mar by breaking."

As mentioned earlier, the accounts and stories

written in both Old and New Testaments were

written for our example (1 Cor. 10:11) and to

demonstrate spiritual principles. Let's look at some

that demonstrate the principle of the shout. One of

the most familiar accounts is that of Joshua at

Jericho, found in chapters 5 and 6 of Joshua.

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he

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looked up and saw a man standing in front

of him with a drawn sword in his hand.

Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you

for us or for our enemies?"

"Neither," he replied, "but as commander

of the army of the Lord I have now come."

Then Joshua fell face down to the ground

in reverence, and asked him, "What message

does my Lord have for his servant?"

The commander of the Lord's army

replied, "Take off your sandals, for the place

where you are standing is holy." And Joshua

did so (5:13-15, NIV).

Then the Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have

delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its

king and its fighting men. March around the city

once with all the armed men. Do this for six

days. Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams'

horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day,

march around the city seven times, with the

priests blowing the trumpets. When you hear

them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have

all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of

the city will collapse and the people will go up,

every man straight in" (6:2-5, NIV).

The story unfolds as the commander of the

army of the Lord approaches Joshua. Interestingly

enough, Joshua does not recognize who it is. He

has never seen the Lord like this. The Lord is

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standing with a drawn sword. Joshua has known

the Lord as deliverer, provider and sustainer but

not as warrior. The Lord appears to Joshua to give

him a fresh revelation of who He is so that he can

carry out the mission of God.

He then receives battle instructions from the

Lord—a divine strategy. The Lord instructs Joshua

to march around the city of Jericho one time each

day for six consecutive days. On the seventh day,

they are to march around the city seven times.

Then the priests are to sound a long blast on the

trumpets, and the people are to "give a loud shout."

At this, the walls will fall.

Joshua then instructs the people and proceeds to

carry out the battle plan.

On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak

and marched around the city seven times in

the same manner, except that on that day

they circled the city seven times. The

seventh time around, when the priests

sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua

commanded the people, "Shout! For the

Lord has given you the city!"...When the

trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at

the sound of the trumpet, when the people

gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so

every man charged straight in, and they took

the city (6:15-16,20, NIV).

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As all the people gave a loud shout, the walls

collapsed. Again, we have to ask why this story is

in the Bible. Of course, one reason is because it

was a historical event that actually happened. But

Paul declared that these things were written for our

example. So what are the principles and truths God

wants to reveal to us in this story?

One is simply the blessing of obedience. But a

spiritual principle governed even the practice of

obedience. I believe the principle was that of the

power of the shout!

Another truth is that of the necessity of a divine

strategy. But then why did God use the strategy of

offering up a shout? Could this be used again, or

was it just an isolated incident? It was to be an

example for us to follow.

God was demonstrating the mighty weapon of

the shout through the Israelites. God arises amid

shouts of praise, and His enemies are scattered. As

Joshua and the Israelites shouted, their enemies'

defense was destroyed. When we shout unto God

with the voice of triumph, the defense of our

enemies is destroyed, and we are able to go in and

spoil his goods. We can go up and possess what

rightfully belongs to the church. Hallelujah!

The account of Gideon and the Midianites

demonstrates another great victory involving

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shouting.

Dividing the three hundred men into three

companies, he placed trumpets and empty

jars in the hands of all of them, with torches

inside. "Watch me," he told them. "Follow

my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp,

do exactly as I do. When I and all who are

with me blow our trumpets, then from all

around the camp blow yours and shout, 'For

the Lord and for Gideon.'"

Gideon and the hundred men with him

reached the edge of the camp at the

beginning of the middle watch, just after

they had changed the guard. They blew their

trumpets and broke the jars that were in their

hands. The three companies blew the

trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the

torches in their left hands and holding in

their right hands the trumpets they were to

blow, they shouted, "A sword for the Lord

and Gideon!" While each man held his

position around the camp, all the Midianites

ran, crying out as they fled (Judg. 7:16-21,

NIV, emphasis added).

Once again we see how shouting is used in

warfare. As the Midianites heard the trumpets and

the shouting, they ran in terror. The Bible goes on

to tell us that the men of the Midianite army turned

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on each other and began to kill one another.

Confusion was brought into the camp of the enemy

through the joyful sound. As the Midianites heard

the shout they scattered.

In the book of 1 Kings, we find another

interesting account concerning two of David's

sons. One was named Adonijah; the other was

named Solomon. As King David lay dying, a

question arose as to who would be king in David's

place. Adonijah decided that he would take

advantage of the situation and usurp the throne to

be king. He gathered men around him who would

agree to his plot, and he proclaimed himself as

king.

Nathan the prophet, upon hearing of Adonijah's

uprising, told Bathsheba, David's wife and the

mother of Solomon. He instructed her to make

David aware of Adonijah's rebellion. She was to

remind David of his promise to make Solomon

king. When David heard of Adonijah's behavior,

he instructed Nathan the prophet and Zadok the

priest to get Solomon and anoint him king over

Israel. Then he said, "Blow the trumpet and shout,

'Long live King Solomon!'"

So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet,

Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and

the Pelethites went down and put Solomon

on King David's mule and escorted him to

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Gihon. Zadok the priest took the horn of oil

from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon.

Then they sounded the trumpet and all the

people shouted, "Long live King Solomon!"

And all the people went up after him,

playing flutes and rejoicing greatly, so that

the ground shook with the sound (1 Kings

1:38-40, NIV, emphasis added).

These passages picture an inaugural celebration.

All the people shouted and rejoiced until the

"ground shook with the sound." Can you imagine

this? The intensity of sound in the Super Dome

with a capacity crowd may not have been as loud

as it was on that day.

Meanwhile, Adonijah was feasting with all his

friends, probably talking about the changes he

would make now that he was king. While they

were feasting across town, they heard the noise.

Jonathan, son of Abiathar the priest, ran in to tell

Adonijah and his guests the reason for the

celebration. After the announcement was made,

all Adonijah's guests rose in alarm and

dispersed (1 Kings 1:49, NIV).

As a result of the people's rejoicing and

shouting "Long live King Solomon," Adonijah's

men were gripped with fear and scattered.

Adonijah was so afraid that he took hold of the

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horns of the altar and would not let go until he got

word that Solomon would not kill him.

As the people shouted, the usurpers were

scattered. They rose in alarm and dispersed. When

Satan hears the shouts of God's people proclaiming

Jesus as king, he and his demonic powers flee in

alarm. We terrorize the devil with shouts.

The home-field advantage in sports competition

also demonstrates the principle of the shout.

Playing at home gives a team an advantage

because more people will cheer—shout—for the

home team. These shouts can demoralize the

visiting team and sap its enthusiasm, zeal and

energy.

These shouts cause the home team to play more

aggressively, with a greater degree of confidence.

You may ask how this relates to Christians. In one

sense, we are in a competition. It's Jesus and the

church against Satan and his demonic powers.

We have the home-field advantage. The Bible

says that the "earth is the Lord's, and the fulness

thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein" (Ps.

24:1). The Lord owns the stadium in which the

church competes. The devil is the visiting team.

Having been kicked out of heaven, the devil is

visiting earth on his way to hell.

Church members and heavenly beings fill the

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stadium. As they cheer and shout, someone many

times greater than the best National Football

League quarterback enters the playing field. Our

quarterback, Jesus, calls the plays as He instructs

the church in what to do. His plays are prophetic

insight, revelation, activation and demonstration.

The devil does not have a chance as the people in

the stadium shout praises and cheer for Jesus.

I use this analogy only to help you understand

what power God has invested in the shout. We are

not trying to compare Jesus with famous earthly

quarterbacks. There is no comparison. These

analogies deepen our understanding of the

principles God has ordained in His Word.

A fellow minister related a story of an exercise

he participated in while in the U.S. Air Force. The

exercise involved hand-to-hand combat with pugil

sticks. During the exercise his opponent struck him

with a forceful blow to the abdomen, knocking the

breath out of him. He then fought back, landing

several good blows.

At that point, his comrades began to shout and

cheer at a deafening level. The shouts stimulated

the rush of extra adrenaline and strength, resulting

in the defeat of his opponent.

Once again a shout stirred up zeal. This is a

spiritual principle that God has put into operation,

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and it applies even in natural things.

Several years ago I was leading worship in a

church that was holding a prophetic conference.

Little did I know that God was going to teach me

firsthand the power of the shout.

The conference began on a Tuesday evening

and ended on Sunday evening. I sensed one of the

most oppressive atmospheres I had ever been in as

we began the conference. I was tired from a day of

travel and thought perhaps that was why I felt as I

did; it would be different in the morning.

But the next morning a heavy, oppressive spirit

still hung over the church. Worship never took off.

No one was praising the Lord, and no spiritual gifts

were being manifested.

Forty-five minutes of worship seem like an

eternity when a sense of freedom and God's

presence are not evident. At the end of the service I

analyzed the situation. Maybe it's just that it's a

morning service, and people are not fully awake

yet, I thought. Tonight we'll have a real

breakthrough.

The Wednesday evening service came, but no

breakthrough came with it. By this time I was

becoming very concerned. This is going to be a

really long conference, I thought, if things do not

change fast. I sought the Lord about how to break

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through this oppressive spirit.

As I led worship for the fourth time in the

conference, the same pattern repeated itself. In the

middle of worship, the Spirit of God spoke to me

and said, "Have everyone shout, and tell them not

to stop until you tell them to." So I told the

congregation what the Lord had spoken to me. We

shouted for twenty minutes. About ten minutes into

the shouting something broke open in the spirit

realm, and the oppressive spirit left.

In the midst of the shouting, the Lord gave me a

vision of the heavenly host coming forth in pursuit

of a demonic army in retreat. God was routing the

enemy as we were shouting unto the Lord with the

voice of triumph. God arose, and His enemies were

scattered.

From that point on, there was freedom in the

services. The worship was exciting as people

entered into praise during each service. The gifts of

the Spirit were manifested as people were healed,

delivered and set free. But the release came as a

result of the twenty minutes of shouting we did on

Thursday morning.

I would like to close this chapter with the words

of a song.

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SHOUT, YE PEOPLE OF ZION

Shout, ye people of Zion,

Shout your praise to the King.

Shout, ye people of Zion,

As He leads us in victory;

For we are the army of God

With His praises upon our lips.

We are trampling down His enemies

As they become His footstool.1

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JEHOSHAPHAT'S REVELATION

8

n 2 Chronicles 20 we read the account of what I

Icall Jehoshaphat's dilemma. Three different

armies had gathered together against Judah.

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, was faced with

insurmountable odds. He was a "dead duck" unless

God moved on his behalf.

"Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of

the Lord" (v. 3, NIV). He decided it was time to

"seek the Lord while he may be found" (Is. 55:6,

NIV).

As the people of Judah sought the Lord, the

Spirit of the Lord came upon a temple musician

named Jahaziel who prophesied the word of the

Lord.

And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye

inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king

Jehoshaphat. Thus saith the Lord unto you,

Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this

great multitude; for the battle is not yours,

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but God's. Tomorrow go ye down against

them: behold, they come up by the cliff of

Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the

brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. Ye

shall not need to fight in this battle: set

yourselves, stand ye still, and see the

salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and

Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed;

tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord

will be with you.

And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with

his face to the ground: and all Judah and the

inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord,

worshipping the Lord (2 Chron. 20:15-18).

Jahaziel prophesies battle instructions to the

nation of Judah. He prophesies that they will not

need to fight because God has a different plan of

warfare for them. He also prophesies that they are

to march out against the enemy on the next day.

As Jehoshaphat receives the prophetic strategy

from the Lord on the following day, he gives the

people a little pep talk.

Early in the morning they left for the Desert

of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood

and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of

Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God

and you will be upheld; have faith in his

prophets and you will be successful" (v. 20,

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NIV).

Then Jehoshaphat does one of the most

unorthodox things ever done by a commander-in-

chief of an army.

After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat

appointed men to sing to the Lord and to

praise him for the splendor of his holiness as

they went out at the head of the army,

saying: "Give thanks to the Lord, for his

love endures forever" (v. 20:21, NIV).

Can you imagine this? He puts the band and the

singers at the front of the army. Either God was

going to do something great, or there would be no

more music in the nation of Judah!

People volunteer to be on our church worship

team. I wonder how many volunteers Jehoshaphat

had that day. Their lives, in fact, depended on their

worship. If it didn't prove to be successful there

would be no second chance. What faith in the

prophecy from Jahaziel these men had.

Then they proceeded to march out against their

enemy with the praises of God in their mouths.

As they began to sing and praise, the Lord

set ambushes against the men of Ammon

and Moab and Mount Seir who were

invading Judah, and they were defeated. The

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men of Amnion and Moab rose up against the

men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate

them. After they finished slaughtering the men

from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

When the men of Judah came to the place that

overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast

army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the

ground; no one had escaped. So Jehoshaphat

and his men went to carry off their plunder, and

they found among them a great amount of

equipment and clothing and also articles of

value—more than they could take away. There

was so much plunder that it took three days to

collect it (vv. 22-25, NIV).

A mighty victory was wrought as God's people

sang praises unto the Lord. Singing praises unto

the Lord causes confusion to come into the camp

of the enemy. According to Bill Hamon, founder

and president of Christian International Network of

Prophetic Ministries, prophetic praise is God's

jamming device to confuse the demonic spirit

communication channels, thereby causing their

destruction.1 Jehoshaphat had a revelation of the

Power of praise.

It is interesting that they praised the Lord for

His mercy and love. To be truthful, I could never

understand why they would sing about the mercy

of God. I asked the Lord about this, and He

showed me Jehoshaphat's revelation.

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Jehoshaphat's revelation of mercy was different

from ours in the church today. We see mercy in the

light of the cross and our redemption. Jesus had not

come to the earth yet when Jehoshaphat lived.

Therefore, his revelation of mercy was different

from ours. The song the nation of Judah sang as

they went out against their enemy gives us some

insight into his revelation.

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good:

for his mercy endureth forever. O give

thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy

endureth forever. O give thanks to the Lord

of lords: for his mercy endureth forever.

To him who alone doeth great wonders:

for his mercy endureth forever. To him that

by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy

endureth forever. To him that stretched out

the earth above the waters: for his mercy

endureth forever. To him that made great

lights: for his mercy endureth forever: the

sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth

forever: the moon and stars to rule by night:

for his mercy endureth forever.

To him that smote Egypt in their

firstborn: for his mercy endureth forever;

and brought Israel from among them: for his

mercy endureth forever: with a strong hand,

and with a stretched out arm: for his mercy

endureth forever.

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To him which divided the Red sea into

parts: for his mercy endureth forever: and

made Israel to pass through the midst of it:

for his mercy endureth forever: but

overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red

sea: for his mercy endureth forever. To him

which led his people through the wilderness:

for his mercy endureth forever.

To him which smote great kings: for his

mercy endureth forever: and slew famous

kings: for his mercy endureth for ever: Sihon

king of the Amorites: for his mercy endureth

forever: and Og the king of Bashan: for his

mercy endureth forever: and gave their land

for an heritage: for his mercy endureth

forever: even an heritage unto Israel his

servant: for his mercy endureth forever.

Who remembered us in our low estate:

for his mercy endureth forever: and hath

redeemed us from our enemies: for his

mercy endureth forever. Who giveth food to

all flesh: for his mercy endureth forever. O

give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his

mercy endureth forever (Ps. 136).

Sung in responsive, alternating parts, this

antiphonal song praises God for His love and

mercy. Interestingly enough, over one-fourth of the

song praises God for destroying the enemies of the

people. Verses 10,15 and 17-20 praise God directly

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for destroying their past enemies. Verses 11-14 and

24 praise God for His deliverance which resulted

or culminated in the destruction of their enemies.

Their revelation of God's mercy was that He would

destroy their enemies. Their understanding of

mercy was that their enemies did not have a

chance.

The psalmist David had this same revelation

and understanding of mercy when he wrote:

And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and

destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am

thy servant (Ps. 143:12).

David knew that God's mercy in action would

be the destruction of all his enemies. Jehoshaphat

realized God's mercy was militant.

Let me give you a natural example of mercy

and love. We have a swing set in our backyard on

which my children play. If a mean dog were to

come into the yard while my children were playing

and attack them, I would not try to discuss

anything with the dog. Like any other father I

would run outside and yell at that dog! I might

even have something in my hand to "execute my

judgment" upon that animal. And if I had to, I

would kill the dog.

My actions against that animal are the result of

showing mercy to my children. Because of my

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love for them I get angry when I see someone or

something hurting them. I would be an unmerciful

and unloving father if I did not act in this manner.

Jesus said, "If ye then, being evil, know how to

give good gifts to your children, how much more

shall your Father which is in heaven..." (Matt.

7:11). If we would destroy an animal that attacks

our children, how much more will our heavenly

Father war against the enemies of our souls?

Much of our understanding of mercy is not

wrong; it is simply incomplete. I thank God for the

cross and the blood of Jesus. But the revelation that

Jehoshaphat and the children of Judah had was

different from ours. We need to add Jehoshaphat's

understanding of mercy and love our own. Then,

when we sing about the mercy God, we will see

the same results they experienced. It is the

understanding and revelation we possess that allow

God's power to be released as we sing. There is no

power in singing without biblical understanding

and Holy Ghost illumination of what is being sung.

The Bible records another account of a mighty

victory that was won as a result of singing praises

to the Lord.

And when they had laid many stripes upon

them, they cast them into prison, charging

the jailer to keep them safely: who, having

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received such a charge, thrust them into the

inner prison, and made their feet fast in the

stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas

prayed, and sang praises to God: and the

prisoners heard them. And suddenly there

was a great earthquake, so that the

foundations of the prison were shaken: and

immediately all the doors were opened, and

everyone's bands were loosed (Acts

16:23-26).

As Paul and Silas praised the Lord, two

noteworthy events occurred. First, the foundations

of the prison were shaken. This has great spiritual

significance. The devil desires to put people in the

Prison of darkness, despair, oppression, sickness

and sin. After Paul and Silas sang praises, an

earthquake shook the foundations of the prison.

When we sing, the very foundations of the

kingdom of darkness are shaken.

Second, after the foundations were shaken, the

prison doors flew open, and everyone's bands were

loosed. In the midst of Paul and Silas's singing of

praises, people were set free. God's power is also

manifested when we come together and sing to

Him.

In May 1991 I was leading worship at a

Christian International Conference in Pensacola,

Florida. During one of the services a man's deaf ear

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popped open as we sang the second song. No one

had laid hands on him or prayed for him. Thank

God that in the midst of singing and rejoicing his

"bands were loosed."

In January 1992 I was conducting a Prophetic

Warfare Praise seminar in Columbia, South

Carolina. We had dedicated the last night of the

conference to waging war in the heavenlies with

our praise. We had a tremendous breakthrough that

night as we sang warfare songs. Many people gave

their lives to Jesus as their "prison doors flew

open" and their "bands were loosed."

And he hath put a new song in my mouth,

even praise unto our God: many shall see it,

and fear, and shall trust in the Lord (Ps.

40:3).

As the people heard the praises to God, they put

their trust in Him. The spirits that had blinded them

to the gospel were pushed back as praise allowed

their hearts to be wooed by the Holy Spirit.

Looking once again in 2 Chronicles 20 at the

story of Jehoshaphat we see two statements by

Jahaziel that we still hear in churches today. One is

found in verse 15: "The battle is not yours, but

God's." Some say it this way, "The battle belongs

to the Lord." The other is found in verse 17: "Stand

ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord." Many

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think these verses mean to do nothing. That is not

correct. Immediately after Jahaziel prophesied that

the battle was the Lord's, he said in verse 16,

Tomorrow go ye down against them."

Also, after he told them to stand still, he said in

verse 17, "Tomorrow go out against them." The

Spirit of God was saying to the nation of Judah that

they were not going to have to fight with natural

weapons of war. This battle was not going to be

won by the sword, but by a different kind of

warfare.

Likewise, we must realize there is a fight to be

fought, but not with natural weapons. God has

given us weapons of praise that have power against

principalities and the devil. As we go forth singing

the praises of God, our enemy is turned back in

confusion.

If Jehoshaphat and the nation of Judah had not

marched against their enemies singing praises unto

the Lord, there would have been no victory.

As one minister says, "God is a fair checkers

player. You move, and then He moves."

Unless we take up our weapons of praise, God

cannot arise on our behalf and destroy our

enemies. Let us go forth and sing the praises of our

Lord as He brings confusion to the camp of the

enemy, resulting in great victory.

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9

SERPENT

e have received a lot of teaching and read

Wnumerous books on our position with Chris

Jesus and our spiritual authority over the enemy.

The Word of God declares that all things are under

our feet (1 Cor. 15:25). It also declares that evil

principalities and powers are spoiled (Is. 33:1). If

all of this is true, why do we have to fight? Why do

we have to war against a defeated foe?

First of all, we must understand the difference

between legal position and living reality. Legally

and positionally the devil has no authority over any

child of God, yet he has caused oppression,

sickness and sin. But that does not change the truth

of God's Word.

We must learn to acquire that which is legally

and positionally ours, bringing it into a living

reality that we can experience. The same apostle

Paul who wrote that "all things are under your feet"

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also wrote that we are to fight, war, wrestle and

take up weapons of war. Although he wrote that

principalities and powers are spoiled, he also wrote

that we are still wrestling against them (Eph. 6:12).

None of this will make sense to us until we realize

the difference between legal position and living

reality.

Our spiritual position in Christ Jesus enables us

to bring forth the living reality of His victory.

Praise, worship, prayer and the Word of God are

the tools and weapons we use to bring positional

truth into living reality.

In Romans 16:20 Paul writes, "The God of

peace will soon crush Satan under your

feet" (NIV). As I meditated upon this verse, I

began to understand there is a difference between

the devil's just being under my feet and his being

crushed under my feet. I don't want the devil just

under my feet; I want him crushed under my feet!

How do we crush the devil under our feet?

“But for you who revere my name, the sun

of righteousness will rise with healing in its

wings. And you will go out and leap like

calves released from the stall. Then you will

trample down the wicked; they will be ashes

under the soles of your feet on the day when

I do these things," says the Lord Almighty

(Mal. 4:2-3, NIV, emphasis added).

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This Scripture verse refers to leaping like calves

released from the stall. This is an analogy used to

describe the way we are to rejoice before the Lord.

If you have seen a rodeo, you can understand this.

When the gate of the stall is opened, the bull jumps

and leaps.

Malachi is prophesying that as we begin to leap

and dance before the Lord in praise to His name,

we will trample down the wicked. To trample

something is to put it under our feet. We don't use

our heads or hands to trample. We trample with

our feet. So we trample the wicked (the devil)

under our feet as we go out and leap like calves

released. Webster's dictionary defines trample as

"to crush as by treading heavily upon." The devil is

crushed beneath our feet as we go forth with

rejoicing and dancing.

Malachi goes on to say that the wicked "will be

ashes under the soles of your feet" (v. 3). From this

verse I believe we can see that we can do spiritual

warfare with our feet as we leap and dance before

the Lord. When we dance before the Lord, there is

a purpose for doing so. We don't dance because it

is the charismatic thing to do. We dance before the

Lord because the Bible tells us to, and we crush the

head of the serpent as we do so. We are dancing in

celebration of the victory that we have won in

Christ Jesus. Psalm 149:3 says, "Let them praise

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his name with dancing" (NIV).

This is not the only method we use to crush the

enemy. But dancing and rejoicing are scriptural

means by which we can conduct spiritual warfare,

thereby bruising the serpent's head.

In Ezekiel 28:11-19, we find a prophecy to

Satan. God declares, "I will bring thee to ashes

upon the earth" (v. 18). How is God going to bring

the devil to ashes? I believe the church is the

instrument God is using to accomplish this.

According to Malachi 4:2-3, we will make the

wicked—the devil—as ashes under our feet, as we

go out and leap like calves released from the stall!

As we go forth rejoicing and dancing we will see

the devil brought to ashes.

Let us look at another Scripture passage

concerning the relationship of praise and the

treading down of our enemies.

Mine anger was kindled against the

shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the

Lord of hosts hath visited his flock the

house of Judah, and hath made them as his

goodly horse in the battle...And they shall be

as mighty men, which tread down their

enemies in the mire of the streets in the

battle: and they shall fight, because the Lord

is with them, and the riders on horses shall

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be confounded (Zech. 10:3,5, emphasis

added).

We know the name Judah means praise. Thus

we see that God will make the people of praise, the

house of Judah, like His royal horse in the battle.

We are the horse that the Lord of hosts rides into

battle. This passage goes on to state that the Lord

and His people of praise will be like mighty men

who tread down their enemies. As we praise God

with our feet, they become instruments of war to

tread upon the enemy's head.

For some reason the area of dance and

expressive worship receive a lot of criticism from

people who do not understand it. Some have

created controversy with terms like "dancing in the

Spirit" versus "dancing in the flesh." Being from a

Pentecostal background, I understand what is being

said. Most Pentecostal churches teach that you are

not to dance before the Lord unless the "Spirit

moves you." To dance deliberately as an act of

your will is considered by many to be "in the

flesh." Choreographed dance is equally thought to

be "in the flesh."

I have never understood exactly why the feet

get picked on. Perhaps it's because the enemy

wants to keep us blinded to the power that is

released as God's people praise Him with dancing.

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In the book of James, the Bible refers to the

tongue as the most defiled member of the body.

Yet I have never heard anyone accused of "singing

in the flesh"! How do we sing? We look at the

words of the song, open our mouths and begin to

sing without any prompting by the Holy Spirit. If

we can do this with the most defiled member of the

body, how much more can we deliberately, as an

act of our wills, begin to dance before the Lord?

A religious spirit can cause a critical,

judgmental attitude that accuses others of being in

the flesh with their worship and praise. These

kinds of accusations do not edify the body of

Christ; they only foster confusion. God has called

us to liberty (2 Cor. 3:17). Michal, Saul's daughter

and David's wife, looked out on David as he

danced before the Lord and disdained him for it (2

Sam. 6:16). The end result for her was barrenness.

Our own ministries can become barren and

unfruitful if we look at the praise and worship of

others with a critical eye.

Michal was on the wrong side of the window.

Instead of looking out on her husband, David, she

could have been out there with him.

We find something very interesting in the

account of Gideon's victory over the Midianites.

After Gideon and his army blew the trumpets,

broke the pitchers and gave up a shout, the

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Midianite army ran in terror. Some of the

Midianite soldiers rose up against each other and

killed one another.

When the three hundred trumpets sounded,

the Lord caused the men throughout the

camp to turn on each other with their

swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah

toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel

Meholah near Tabbath (Judg. 7:22, NIV).

The part of the army that fled ran as far as the

border of Abel Meholah. In other words, final

victory was realized at Abel Meholah. The name

Abel Meholah means "meadow of the dance." As

we go forth dancing and rejoicing before the Lord,

our enemy, the devil, is crushed beneath our feet.

We, the church, are a great army that is on the

offensive. The devil is on the run. Let us pursue

him to Abel Meholah and there trample him

beneath our feet with rejoicing, dancing and praise!

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EVERY STROKE WILL BE TO

10

THE MUSIC

The voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria;

with his scepter he will strike them down.

Every stroke the Lord lays on them

with his punishing rod

will be to the music

of tambourines and harps,

as he fights them in battle

with the blows of his arm.

Isaiah 30:31-32, NIV, emphasis added

hat a powerful Scripture passage! In this

Wchapter I would like to examine the role of

prophetic music in spiritual warfare. We have been

taught that prophecy edifies, exhorts and comforts.

We've had similar teaching that anointed music can

minister to both the spirit and soul of man. I

believe God wants us to see that the prophetic

voice of the Lord and anointed prophetic music are

weapons of war to be used against our enemy.

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When God called Jeremiah, He said,

Now, I have put my words in your mouth.

See, today I appoint you over nations and

kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to

destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant

(Jer. 1:9-10, NIV).

Notice that four of the six things the word of the

Lord will do are destructive. The prophetic word

comes not only to edify and exhort us, but also to

uproot, tear down, destroy and overthrow the

kingdom of darkness. The same word that blesses

us destroys the enemy. The prophetic word has

power to destroy the works of the enemy. That's

why Paul told Timothy to war a good warfare with

the prophecies spoken over him (1 Tim. 1:18).

Obviously, Paul had a revelation of using the

prophetic word in spiritual warfare.

With this in mind, let's look at the prophetic

song.

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to

debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns

and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in

your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks

to God the Father for everything, in the

name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph.

5:18-20, NIV).

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Paul lists three different categories of songs:

psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. I would like to

focus on the last one— spiritual songs. The literal

definition of a spiritual song is "ode of the Spirit"

or "song of the Spirit." These are songs of praise,

prophecy, warfare, healing and deliverance. They

are prophetic in nature in the sense that they come

forth spontaneously in an inspirational manner.

They are also prophetic in the sense that God is

singing through His church, expressing His mind,

purpose and will. I can see six different types of

prophetic or spiritual songs found in the Bible. I

would like to discuss each one individually, paying

particular attention to the last two.

SONG OF THE LORD

The first is called the song of the Lord (2

Chron. 29:27). The song of the Lord is, literally,

prophecy in song. It is "thus saith the Lord"

coming forth through a song. It has the same

purpose as prophecy, which is to edify, exhort and

comfort (1 Cor. 14:3).

The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is

mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over

thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will

joy over thee with singing (Zeph. 3:17).

This reveals that the Lord will rejoice over us

with singing. Many do not realize that our God

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sings. He desires to sing to His church. In Psalm 91

we have an example of the song of the Lord. In the

beginning of this psalm, the psalmist praises the

Lord and declares that God is our fortress. But as

he reaches the end of the psalm, the person singing

changes.

"Because he loves me," says the Lord, "I

will rescue him; I will protect him, for he

acknowledges my name. He will call upon

me, and I will answer him; I will be with

him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor

him. With long life will I satisfy him and

show him my salvation" (Ps. 91:14-16,

NIV).

Notice that it says, " 'Because he loves me,' says

the Lord." The psalmist begins by singing to the

Lord, but the Lord ends the psalm by singing to the

psalmist. God declares prophetically to the

psalmist through song what He will do. It is the

Lord singing to His people.

SONG OF THE LORD (DIRECTED TO THE FATHER)

The second type of prophetic song is also the

song of the Lord, but it is directed to the Father

rather than to the church. This is an inspired

prophetic song of praise, worship and adoration.

Some call this the singing of a new song.

He says, "I will declare your name to my

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brothers; in the presence of the congregation

I will sing your praises" (Heb. 2:12, NIV).

The verse refers to Jesus as He sings praise to

the Father in the midst of the congregation. How

will He do this? Through His body, the church.

SONG OF THE BRIDEGROOM

The third type of prophetic song is called the

song of the bridegroom. In Revelation 19:7 the

Bible refers to the church as the bride. The

bridegroom is Jesus. We have a beautiful picture of

the song of the bridegroom painted in the Song of

Solomon. Most Bible scholars will agree that the

Song of Solomon typifies the relationship between

Christ and His church.

We see a picture of the bridegroom serenading

His bride. The song of the bridegroom is much like

the song of the Lord but is usually a love song to

the bride and is then followed by the song of the

bride.

In the towns of Judah and the streets of

Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by

neither men nor animals, there will be heard

once more the sounds of joy and gladness,

the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the

voices of those who bring thank offerings to

the house of the Lord saying, "Give thanks

to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good;

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his love endures forever" (Jer. 33:10-11,

NIV, emphasis added).

SONG OF THE BRIDE

This brings us to the fourth type of prophetic

song called the song of the bride. This is a

spontaneous prophetic song of love and adoration

in response to the song of the bridegroom. This

type of prophetic song is usually responsive in

nature as the bride expresses to the bridegroom her

love for Him. It is also usually intimate in nature

and enables the church to express by the Spirit of

God the depth of love it has for the bridegroom,

Jesus.

SONG OF DELIVERANCE

The fifth type of prophetic song is called the

song of deliverance. This is a prophetic song of

healing, deliverance and restoration. It is much like

a word of knowledge in song.

Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt

preserve me from trouble; thou shalt

compass me about with songs of deliverance

(Ps. 32:7).

This type of song releases instantaneous

manifestations of healing, miracles and

deliverance. It is where the voice of the Lord,

through song, begins to destroy the work of the

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enemy.

In June 1988 I was ministering in a Sunday

evening service in Griffin, Georgia. After teaching

on praise and worship I began to play the keyboard

and lead the church in worship. As we worshipped,

I sensed the Spirit of God prompting me to sing a

song of deliverance. I mustered up enough faith

and stepped out and sang, "There is someone here

who was in an accident and misaligned the

vertabrae in your neck. You have continual pain in

that area. But now the hand of the Lord is upon

you, and you are being set free and healed by the

Power of God."

I wasn't sure if I was right or not. I was acting

on a slight impression of what I sensed in my spirit.

At the end of the service, a woman in the back of

the auditorium came to the front and shared with

the pastor's wife what happened to her. She later

told me the same story.

"I was in an automobile accident," she said,

"and misaligned some vertebrae in my neck. I had

continual pain to the point of having to take heavy

medication to be able to cope. As you began to

sing that song, it felt like warm hands were placed

on the back of my neck. Something popped in my

neck, and every bit of pain left me

instantaneously."

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The pastor was in one of our conferences later

that year in October. We were riding in a van

together when he asked me if I recalled that service

with the lady who was healed. I told him yes. He

said that the lady had experienced no pain since

that night. Hallelujah! The voice of the Lord

shattered the work of the enemy. The song of

deliverance had accomplished its purpose. It

brought healing and deliverance from the

oppression of the enemy.

PROPHETIC SONG OF WAR

The sixth and last type of prophetic song is

called the prophetic song of war. This song

declares our victory in Christ Jesus. Its purpose is

to wage spiritual warfare against principalities,

powers, rulers of the darkness of this world and

spiritual wickedness in the heavenly realms. It is

directed toward our enemy and at times will even

call out the name of a particular demonic power. It

is a prophecy that is sung to demonic forces.

And you will sing as on the night you

celebrate a holy festival; your hearts will

rejoice as when people go up with flutes to the

mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel. The

Lord will cause men to hear his majestic voice

and will make them see his arm coming down

with raging anger and consuming fire, with

cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail. The voice of

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the Lord will shatter Assyria; with his scepter

he will strike them down. Every stroke the Lord

lays on them with his punishing rod will be to

the music of tambourines and harps, as he

fights them in battle with the blows of his arm

(Is. 30:29-32, NIV, emphasis added).

This passage records that the Lord causes His

voice to be heard in the midst of singing and

rejoicing: "You will sing," and "your hearts will

rejoice." In the midst of praise God will "cause

men to hear His majestic voice."

Then Isaiah tells us what the voice of the Lord

will do. "The voice of the Lord will shatter Assyria

[the enemy]." As you read these verses together,

you see a picture of God's voice being released

through the prophetic song.

Let's explore this a little more. The King James

Version reads like this: "For through the voice of

the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten down." Then

Isaiah says by the Spirit of God that "every

stroke...will be to the music" (v. 32, NIV). In other

words, the prophetic voice of the Lord strikes and

beats down the enemy as it is administered through

music (or song).

He is talking about the prophetic song. The

word beaten is the Hebrew word chathath. It

means "to prostrate" or "to break down by violence

or by confusion and fear." This is what Isaiah

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declares the voice of the Lord will do. As we sing

prophetically, strokes are laid upon our enemy. We

bring confusion to the camp of the enemy through

the prophetic song. Demonic forces are terrorized

as we declare in song what the Spirit of God is

saying.

I recall a particular service in which I was

leading worship. It seemed as if no one was

entering into the praise. Something seemed to be

binding the people from praise. There was no

liberty or freedom. I asked the Lord what to do. I

sensed Him telling me to "sing prophetically."

"But, Lord, I don't have anything to sing

prophetically," I replied.

"Open your mouth, and I will fill it," God said.

So I opened my mouth and sang, "For the Spirit

of the Lord would say," and I proceeded to sing a

prophetic song. Words flowed forth from my spirit

as I acted in faith on what God had spoken to me.

As the prophetic song came forth, the binding

spirit was "beaten down." Freedom came into the

service. The worship service ended with everyone

praising the Lord with wild abandonment. It was

glorious.

When God took Ezekiel to the valley of dry

bones (Ezek. 37), Ezekiel saw the power of the

prophetic word. God spoke to Ezekiel to prophesy

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to the bones. As he prophesied to them, the bones

came together, muscle came on the bones, flesh

came on them, and they stood up. He then

prophesied for the wind to blow upon them, and

they came forth as a great army. The prophetic

word of the Lord has resurrection power! You may

think your congregation is dead, but I guarantee

that it's not as dead as Ezekiel's congregation was

that day. The word of the Lord can breathe life into

your worship service.

In another service Dr. Bill Hamon had called a

special warfare praise and intercession service at

Christian International. The ministry had come

under the attack of a major principality. Jane

Hamon, copastor of the Christian International

Family Church, had prophetically received the

name of the principality that was bringing the

attack against us. The name was Rahabar.

At one point in the praise and worship we said

corporately, "Rahabar, you are bound, and now

you're coming down." We repeated this statement

over and over with vehemence as the music

played. We ended with a victory shout. The attack

of the enemy ceased. We had stopped the enemy in

his tracks, as we recited prophetically and sang to

this principality with a revelation of what we were

accomplishing.

Paul spoke of this in the third chapter of

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Ephesians.

His intent was that now, through the church,

the manifold wisdom of God should be

made known to the rulers and authorities in

the heavenly realms (Eph. 3:10, NIV,

emphasis added).

Notice that it is through the church that the

wisdom of God, or His word, is to be made known

to the rulers in the heavenly realms. God has given

us, the church, the responsibility of declaring His

Word prophetically to demonic powers and

principalities for the purpose of destroying their

kingdom.

Let's look at the familiar story of David and

Goliath. As David went out to meet the Philistine

giant, he said to him:

You come against me with sword and spear

and javelin, but I come against you in the

name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the

armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

This day the Lord will hand you over to me,

and I'll strike you down and cut off your

head. Today I will give the carcasses of the

Philistine army to the birds of the air and the

beasts of the earth, and the whole world will

know that there is a God in Israel. All those

gathered here will know that it is not by

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sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the

battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of

you into our hands (1 Sam. 17:45-47, NIV,

emphasis added).

I do not believe this was a faith confession. I

believe something rose up inside David, and he

began to prophesy to the giant. Notice he said,

"This day..." David got specific. There is no

margin for error when you get that specific. But I

thank God that David had the word of the Lord for

the giant.

The Philistine giant is a type of the enemy we

face. God wants us to arise and prophesy to the

demonic "bully" that is trying to push us around.

Even though the battle was the Lord's, David still

had to go out and face the giant, sling the stone and

cut off his head. God causes us to triumph, but,

like David, we must go out and fight!

We can derive another mighty truth from this

story. As David declared, "The whole world will

know that there is a God in Israel." When would

the world know? After he slayed Goliath! Do you

know when the world is going to know there is a

God in the church? When we arise in the power of

the Spirit, as the great and mighty army that

Ezekiel prophesied about, and slay the spiritual

giants that are trying to rule the earth.

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We must remind ourselves that people do not

believe in Jesus because they have been blinded by

demonic spirits (2 Cor. 4:4). Spiritual warfare

should precede the preaching of the Word; people

will be saved when they are no longer blinded by

evil spirits.

A New Testament example of this is found in

the book of Acts. Paul and Barnabas had traveled

to the island of Cyprus. Upon reaching the island

they traveled from one end to the other. Arriving in

the city of Paphos, they met a Jewish sorcerer and

false prophet named Bar-jesus. This man was an

attendant of the proconsul Sergius Paulus. The

proconsul wanted to hear the gospel, so he sent for

Paul and Barnabas. Bar-jesus was obviously not

thrilled about this and opposed Paul and Barnabas.

Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled

with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,

and said, O full of all subtlety and all

mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy

of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to

pervert the right ways of the Lord? And

now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon

thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the

sun for a season. And immediately there fell

on him a mist and a darkness; and he went

about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

Then the deputy, when he saw what was

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done, believed, being astonished at the

doctrine of the Lord (Acts 13:9-12).

Bar-jesus represents the spirits of false religion

and the antichrist. Paul looks at him and prophesies

the word of the Lord to him. The Spirit of God

arose within Paul, and he pronounced a prophetic

judgment upon Bar-jesus.

Again, we see the principle of prophesying to

demonic principalities and powers. This man Bar-

jesus was practicing the same thing that the "New"

Age false prophets are propagating today. We can

expect to see some of the same things happen to

them that happened to Bar-jesus.

I would like you to see the results of this

prophetic word: "Then the deputy when he saw

what was done, believed" (v. 12). Paul's prophetic

declaration resulted in a demonstration of the

power of God which made a believer out of the

deputy. He knew that almighty God was with Paul.

Recall what David said to Goliath: "I am going to

kill you today and 'the whole world will know that

there is a God in Israel.'"

Another example of prophesying to wicked

principalities and powers is found in Exodus 5.

Pharaoh is a type of the enemy that holds people in

bondage.

And afterward Moses and Aaron went in,

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and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God

of Israel, Let my people go, that they may

hold a feast unto me in the wilderness (5:1).

Here we see Moses and Aaron going before

Pharaoh and giving him the word of the Lord. I am

giving all these scriptural examples to establish the

validity of the principle of prophesying to demonic

powers. Many times in our worship services we

have sung prophetically to demonic principalities.

In these songs we executed the judgment that was

written upon them (Ps. 149:9).

We have seen great things happen as a result of

the prophetic songs of war. At times, these songs

come forth in an antiphonal, or responsive,

manner. Military squads march to antiphonal

singing. The word antiphonal is derived from two

words: anti and phonal. Anti means "against," and

phonal means "sound." In prophetic antiphonal

singing we literally sound against the principalities

and powers of the air.

God desires to speak, and He wants His voice to

be heard. The apostle Paul said, "Covet to

prophesy" (1 Cor. 14:39). The Spirit of God would

not have conveyed this through Paul if it were

something we could not do. Let us release the

voice of the Lord through the prophetic song. The

church will be edified and blessed, and the

kingdom of darkness will be terrorized and

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depressed. Let us move into the prophetic song

with confidence and faith, realizing that God's

Spirit will be released with power as we do so.

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THE PURPOSE OF WARFARE

11

SONGS

very move of God has produced new songs

Eand choruses that declare what is being

preached and taught. We are in the midst of a

prophetic move of God. He is bringing forth in this

hour a great company of prophets and prophetic

songwriters. The trumpet is sounding, and the

troops are assembling as they hear the word of the

Lord. Spiritual warfare is one of those messages.

I believe in having a purpose for everything I

do. Without it I accomplish nothing. When I first

began writing songs, I wrote aimlessly. I would

write whatever came to me in moments of

inspiration. As I continued, the Lord was faithful in

teaching me how to write. He also spoke to me

about stirring up the prophetic songwriting gift

within me. Since then I've written several hundred

songs.

Now not only has God shown me His purpose

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for me at this time—to write warfare songs—but

He also shows me the purpose, or purposes, of

each song.

Why do we need to sing aggressive,

confrontational, militant songs? Why can't we just

sing sweet songs about the love of Jesus? These

are valid questions which I will try to answer from

the Bible and give some personal experiences and

observations.

Colossians 3 contains the first two purposes for

warfare songs:

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in

all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one

another in psalms and hymns and spiritual

songs, singing with grace in your hearts to

the Lord (Col. 3:16).

The first purpose is to teach us biblical truth

about spiritual warfare. Warfare music usually

contains verses that speak of spiritual warfare,

including some that may be unfamiliar. They

declare our victory in Jesus Christ, while at the

same time making us aware that we are still

wrestling and fighting against demonic forces.

Warfare songs speak of the army of the Lord going

out to battle against our enemy. An army's purpose

is to fight.

Warfare songs may challenge a person's

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religious indoctrination. Every warfare song I have

written can be validated with numerous Scripture

verses. We should first investigate the whole Word

of God, not just selected verses.

A second purpose for warfare music is to

admonish one another. The word admonish means

"to put in mind." In other words, once we are

established in the truth of spiritual warfare, we

then stir up our remembrance as we sing our songs.

We put these truths in our minds through the

singing of warfare songs. Notice what Peter said:

Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you

always in remembrance of these things,

though you know them, and be established

in the present truth (2 Peter 1:12).

Once you are established in the present truth of

spiritual warfare and warfare praise, you must still

have your memory stirred up. Singing of warfare

songs accomplishes this.

A third purpose for warfare songs is to exhort.

To exhort in the Greek means "to call near" or "to

call for." It also means "to give a charge." As we

sing these songs, we call for the army of the Lord

to come forth. We call near all the warriors.

Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for

war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting

men draw near and attack (Joel 3:9, NIV).

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We, the church, are not a bless-me club. We are

an army that is in a war against the devil and his

demonic forces. An army assembles its troops.

I know of many intercession groups that play

prophetic warfare praise tapes before they pray.

The music stirs them up to war in the spirit. Thus

we see how warfare music exhorts.

The fourth purpose for warfare songs is to

release people in praise to the Lord. One of the

main Hebrew words translated praise is halal. This

word means "to declare, to make a show, boast, to

be clamorously foolish." When we sing a song

such as "Mighty Man of War," we declare that our

God is a warrior. That is praising the Lord. Songs

that speak of our victory in Christ or of

overcoming the devil are praise to the Lord.

When we say the word praise, most people

think of the book of Psalms. It is very interesting to

read some of the psalms that the warrior David

wrote by the Spirit of God. Some of those psalms

praise God for killing wicked kings—even calling

them by name! Many of the psalms contain

statements that beseech the Lord to destroy people,

break their teeth, cut off their seed, strike people

with terror, clothe them with shame or bring coals

upon their heads. The warfare songs we have

written today are actually mild compared to some

that David wrote. Yet no one would dispute that

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those psalms can be used to praise the Lord.

Warfare songs praise the Lord. God is glorified

as we sing what is contained in His Word. A song

does not have to be a vertical song—one directed

to God—to be praise to Him. Songs that speak of

who we are as the army of the Lord and what that

army is doing are praise.

A fifth purpose for warfare songs is that they

unite us against a common enemy. During the Gulf

War and Operation Desert Storm unity in the

United States seemed to be high. A common

enemy and a common goal will always rally and

unite people. We are exposing the enemy as we

sing warfare songs. Instead of using the sword on

our brothers or sisters, we realize that our swords

have the devil's name on the blade.

Although the United States and the former

USSR were diametrically opposed to each other,

they became allies against Nazi Germany during

World War IL When a common enemy exists,

differences no longer matter. During the Gulf War

we saw a nation considered to be predominantly

Christian—the USA—join forces with several

Islamic nations to fight against another Islamic

nation—Iraq. The only thing that made this

possible was the common-enemy principle. As we,

the church, come into this revelation of a common

enemy, we will see greater unity and victory.

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Warfare songs play a key role in developing this

unity.

A sixth purpose for warfare songs is the release

of corporate warfare.

That the communication of thy faith may

become effectual by the acknowledging of

every good thing which is in you in Christ

Jesus (Philem. 6).

I believe the key phrase in this verse is "may

become effectual by the acknowledging." The

acknowledging of biblical truths causes them to

become effective. That is a spiritual principle that

applies even to salvation. It is the acknowledging

of Jesus as Lord that causes salvation to become

effective in the heart of the believer (Rom.

10:9-10). It is the acknowledging of your sin and

Jesus' blood that cause forgiveness of sins to

become effective (1 John 1:9).

As we corporately acknowledge the Lord as a

warrior, that character attribute of God becomes

effective in our lives. He rises in us as the mighty

warrior. Along with that, in the spirit realm angelic

beings go forth and fight as they hearken to the

"voice of his word" (Ps. 103:20).

As we acknowledge the warfare taking place in

the spirit realm, our spiritual warfare through

praise becomes more effective. A corporate force

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is released into the heavenlies, pulling down

strongholds and scattering demonic principalities.

The last purpose for warfare songs is to declare

in song what the Holy Spirit is saying to the

church. In the prophetic movement, the church has

figuratively crossed over the Jordan and entered

the promised land. Now is the time to kill the

giants in the land. Jordan has rolled back behind

us, and there is nowhere to go but forward! The

manna has ceased, and now we must go milk the

cows and rob the beehives in order to have milk

and honey.

The prophets are calling for the army of the

Lord to come forth. The prophetic words are

declaring that we, the church, must take up our

weapons of war and fight.

I have purposed in my heart to write what the

Spirit of God is declaring today. He wants us to

sing forth His words. As we do, we will see the

release of God's power and anointing through the

church and the destruction of the kingdom of

darkness.

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TWELVE

ADVANCE AND OCCUPY

12

e have seen repeatedly how praise was used

Was a weapon of warfare. Throughout God's

Word the Spirit of God demonstrated to us that

praise and worship are more than words and music.

Our praise has power to destroy and demolish the

kingdom of darkness.

What is written and declared in the Bible is

there for our admonition and instruction. The

accounts that we read are there for us to follow.

God has given the church a powerful weapon of

war. That weapon is the high praises of God in our

mouths.

It is time for the church to arise out of passivity

and move into a dimension of militancy against the

powers of hell. With the praises of God on our lips

we take possession of what God has declared is

already ours. We drive out the demonic

principalities that have subjugated our rightful

possessions and proceed to advance and occupy

our land.

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With our praise we silence the enemy. His plans

fail as he lacks the power to carry them out.

Uninhibited worship torments the enemy of our

soul. The joyful sound of praise causes shock

waves to be felt throughout the kingdom of

darkness.

With our praise we execute the vengeance of

our God upon the head of our enemy the devil. The

principalities and powers that Jesus spoiled are

bound with chains and with fetters of iron (Ps.

149:8). The judgments that almighty God has

declared in His Word are enforced as His glorious

praise goes forth.

Our plowshares are beaten into swords as we

receive the revelation of the Spirit. Our praise then

becomes a mighty sword we wield against our foe.

No longer do we worship without purpose, but we

worship with a revelation of the power of our

praise. We sing with purpose and authority while

understanding who we are as the body of Christ.

In the midst of our praise, the mighty man of

war arises. He fights with us as we extol the

greatness of His name. His zeal is stirred against

our enemies as we shout joyfully to Him. He

marches out to battle, like a warrior sounding the

battle cry, as the sound of exaltation comes forth

from His people.

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ADVANCE AND OCCUPY

God has declared that He inhabits the praises of

His people. His presence is manifested in the midst

of a worshipping priesthood of believers. He has

revealed Himself throughout His Word as the Lord

of hosts. He is the Lord of warriors. This mighty

warrior is enthroned in our praises. In that

habitation of praise He fights with and for us.

Every expression of our praise has a purpose.

Every act of praise affects the realm of the spirit.

For every action there is an equal and

corresponding reaction in the unseen realm. We are

not just making a lot of noise.

As we shout to God with the voice of triumph,

God arises and His enemies are scattered. Satan's

strongholds are broken up. The kingdom he has

built is marred by the high praises of God that are

released with shouts of joy.

Confusion and destruction are released into the

enemy's camp as we go forth singing the songs of

Zion. As Jehoshaphat and the people went out

singing about the mercy of God, God's mercy was

manifested in the destruction of their enemy.

Likewise, as we sing with revelation, God

manifests that revelation in our lives.

God is the creator of music. He is the original

designer of musical instruments. His most

beautiful angel, Lucifer, was created with musical

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instruments built into his body. Because of pride,

Lucifer fell, and his music became perverted. The

responsibility of filling the heavenlies with

anointed music is now in the hands of the church.

David, the man after God's own heart, created a

multitude of musical instruments. As we play upon

musical instruments in praise and honor of our

Lord, the force of God's anointing and power is

released, causing the enemy to run in terror.

God's voice is released and heard through

prophecy as people praise Him. For every

acceptable sacrifice of praise there is always a

divine response. God responds to our worship by

speaking to us by way of the prophetic word. God's

voice is often released through the prophetic song

as He rejoices over us with singing. The enemies

of God are shattered as His mighty voice is heard.

Healing, deliverance and restoration take place as

the prophetic song is brought forth.

It is time for us to sing the war songs of Zion.

The church has not been called to sit idly among

our blessings, but rather to raise up a standard

against the forces of darkness. We have been

called to show forth His praises. Our songs should

reflect our militant stand against the devil. As we

sing strong, militant, warfare songs, corporate

warfare is released in the heavenly realms. We

admonish one another to be strong in the Lord and

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fight the good fight of faith.

This is not the day to retreat. This is the day to

advance. We are not just holding on, but we are

possessing. We will not just survive, but we are

taking over. We are subduing the kingdom of

darkness by declaring the kingdom of God. Let us

take up all the weaponry that God has laid at our

disposal, including the weapon of praise. We have

been called to the kingdom for such an hour as this

to silence the enemy.

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NOTES

FOREWORD

1. Bill Hamon, Prophets and the Prophetic

Movement (Shippensburg, Pa.: Destiny Image

Publishers, 1990).

CHAPTER 7

1. Robert Gay, "Shout, Ye People of Zion,"

copyright © 1988, Prophetic Praise Ministries.

CHAPTER 8

1. Bill Hamon, Prophets and the Prophetic

Movement (Shippensburg, Pa.: Destiny Image

Publishers, 1990).

137

For more information

on resource products, such as

teaching tapes, worship tapes,

sound tracks and music,

or for ministry scheduling,

write or call:

Robert L. Gay

Prophetic Praise Ministries Inc.

1610 Rhode Island Ave.

Lynn Haven, FL 32444

(904) 265-1889

Document Outline

- Silencing the Enemy

- Copyright

- Contents

- Foreword

- Introduction

- 1 God's Prophetic Purpose for Praise

- God Has a Purpose

- An Example of Possessing

- 2 Out of the Mouth of Babes

- 3 Executing Judgments

- 4 Beat Your plowshares Into Swords

- 5 Mighty Man of War

- 6 In the Presence of the Lord of Hosts

- 7 The Power of the Shout

- Shout, Ye People of Zion

- 8 Jehoshaphat's Revelation

- 9 Crushing the Head of the Serpent

- 10 Every Stroke Will Be to the Music

- Song of the Lord

- Song of the Lord (Directed to the Father)

- Song of the Bridegroom

- Song of the Bride

- Song of Deliverance

- Prophetic Song of War

- 11 The Purpose of Warfare Songs

- 12 Advance and Occupy

Table of Contents

Silencing the Enemy

Copyright

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

1 God's Prophetic Purpose for Praise

God Has a Purpose

An Example of Possessing

2 Out of the Mouth of Babes

3 Executing Judgments

4 Beat Your plowshares Into Swords

5 Mighty Man of War

6 In the Presence of the Lord of Hosts

7 The Power of the Shout

Shout, Ye People of Zion

8 Jehoshaphat's Revelation

9 Crushing the Head of the Serpent

10 Every Stroke Will Be to the Music

Song of the Lord

Song of the Lord (Directed to the Father)

Song of the Bridegroom

Song of the Bride

Prophetic Song of War

11 The Purpose of Warfare Songs

12 Advance and Occupy