Developing an adversarial Mentality with evil
“Be alert and on your guard: stand firm in your faith (your conviction respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, keeping the trust and holy fervor born of faith and a part of it). Act like men and be courageous; grow in strength!” 1 Cor 16:13 (AMP)
Now, Timothy, my son, here is my command to you: Fight well in the Lord’s battles, just as the Lord told us through his prophets that you would.
1 Tim 1:18 (Living)
I do not believe that a man is born as a “ready-for-battle” warrior, either in the martial or spiritual context. It is rather a process of becoming, it is the fruit of the passionate desire and determination in the heart of a man, to prepare himself and to perfect himself for the stance against evil for the purpose of serving others. I believe this passionate desire was Divinely programmed into the DNA of the masculine gender to serve families, communities and nations. I call this “the warrior spirit” and I often refer to this process as being “Jesusesque”, because it describes what Jesus did for mankind, as well as the critical challenge before us.
We were all born males, however, while all men are males, all males are not men. I have encountered countless males 18-50 years old, and even older, who were still “boys” in their immature thinking and actions. However, in this year before us I believe there is a fresh call from God for His men to stand and be counted, even as our two above scriptures would testify to. If this be so, then we can expect spiritual warriors to begin to emerge. I see them already, Godly men with a warrior spirit, fully prepared and equipped to resist and contend with the demonic forces as described in 2 Corinthians 10:2-5. May the Holy Spirit help us to more fully understand and embrace the reality, necessity, purpose and application of spiritual warfare in the year ahead.
Moreover, in the spirit, I hear the blasts of the shofar, calling men to assemble just as in the Old Covenant when all males were required to assemble three times each year. The year ahead, 2025, is a crucial year “a day of battle”, and of preparation for battle. As such, it is a time for many men to come out of hiding in much the same way Gideon was called out in Judges 6:11-15. Even though Gideon was fearful and not wanting to face the enemy, the angel addressed him as “mighty warrior” and assured him by saying that surely the Lord would be with him. Men who have not been engaged with the enemy or felt the sting of battle must come forth and be prepared to “act like men and be courageous”. They must face the cultural and societal forces and influences which threaten their family, their Faith and which often mock their God much as Goliath did in 1 Samuel 16-17.
The journey to developing a warrior spirit is a demanding one—it is costly, even painful (to the flesh) yet it is a journey a man must decide whether to take or not. I do not believe that this is a well understood concept. Perhaps equally misunderstood is the necessity to develop a warrior spirit in the spiritual man today. Therefore, we will review a classic example of this process and discover how to make applications today. I believe this will assist us in improving our own spiritual battlefield effectiveness (SBE) against a ruthless, diabolical and determined enemy. We can and must have victory over this enemy, which Jesus spoke of in John 10:10, Paul in Ephesians 6:11, and Peter in 1 Peter 5:8. I believe it is imperative that we prepare to posture ourselves to stand and fight “a good fight” even as James 4:7 declares, “resist the devil and he will flee from you”. Pause a moment to consider that fact!
12 Keys to Developing the Warrior Spirit from the Life of David the Shepherd, 1 Samuel 16-17
- Demonstrating a pure heart. 16:6; 17:42
- Possessing notable character. 16:18
- Submitted to authority, committed. 16:19; 17:20
- A desire (passion) to be of service. 16:22
- At peace, alert and prepared. 17:23
- Represent the master he serves. 17:26
- Confident rather than arrogant. 17:34-36
- Loyal and obedient. 17:37
- Tactically proficient, discerning. 17:40
- Not controlled by emotion…by faith. 17:45
- Purposeful, conquest minded. 17:48-49
- Seek to channel all honor and glory to God. 17:47
There is a great need in the American Church today for such a re-birth evidenced by the active discipleship of men, the operation of the warrior spirit, and for basic concepts, such as spiritual warfare, to be in common usage in our church life. Our communities and our cities cannot be won with technologist and manager archetypes anymore that these models can succeed in a violent 21st century urban battle with Jihadist. The spiritual forces the Church faces are formidable, are manifested in many ways, and affect every community in some way. Paul often used martial type metaphors such as “enduring hardship as a good soldier”, (2 Tim 2:3), “weapons of our warfare”, (2 Cor 10:4), “putting on the whole armor of God”, (Eph 6:11), and “put on the armor of light”, (Rom 13:12). Apparently, his message was intended, in some significant measure, to establish a faith-filled adversarial mentality with evil.
Our consummate example of warrior spirit is Jesus Christ, the apex spiritual warrior. It was He who said, “not My own will but Yours’ Father”, it was He who spent time with children, it was He who cared for the needy, it was He who spent time with men and “made” disciples, it was He who found time to pray, to seek His Father’s will and then do it, it was He who forcefully drove the money changers from Papa’s House, it was He who loved His mother, it was He who walked miles and miles, and finally it was He who conquered that hill. He saw Calvary looming ominously out there in the spirit before He saw the physical mount, yet He was undaunted. Our Lord traveled light carrying but a CROSS, which He endured, despising its’ shame and He captured that hill. Instead of planting a flag on top, He planted Himself on an old rugged cross—a symbol of true VICTORY for all ages—and now He is seated at the right hand of our Father God.
Occasionally Jesus stands up. We know this because Stephen, the first deacon, saw Him “standing” (Acts 7:56) as he was being stoned to death. It seems to me that our brother Stephen acted with such confidence and courage that our Lord “stood up” in recognition of Steven’s sacrificial service. Steven, in fact, made the journey we spoke of earlier and carried the warrior spirit to glory, a living example of the two scriptures we began with. We are born males but becoming a man who follows Christ is a choice that each individual man must make. May there be such sacrificial acts of courage by men in our day that Jesus would stand and say to Papa, “behold your sons”.
John R. “Barney” Barnes, CDR USN (Ret), 12-05-2024, Former Promise Keepers
National Ambassador for the Military and Prisons