In this Apostolic Reformation I've declared that God is raising
up a new breed of leader. The apostles and prophets coming forth in this
reformation will be strategic (see Strategy
vs Tactics). As an officer in the Navy I studied the principles of
war and I found that each of the major principles is Biblically based and that the major principles never changed.
Gathering intelligence on
your adversary is essential in developing a good sound strategy for the war
you are engaged in. This is the first step in developing a sound
strategy for a war. In 2 Corinthians 2:11 The apostle Paul says we are not ignorant of the
enemies devices. But the question is, what is the enemy's specific
strategy in your city or in your area?
The principles of security
deals with hiding intelligence from your enemy while the principle of surprise
deals with gathering intelligence on your enemy. We can gather spiritual
intelligence via prayer, prophetic words, prayer walks, research (spiritual
mapping) etc.... In order to develop the overall picture of what is going on
in our area of responsibility (AOR) we must be good stewards of the reports
people provide us, otherwise, we'll waste good intelligence. This is the
purpose of CONECT. It is an example of Prophetic
Administration. It is a tool that coordinates increasing prayer (intercessors),
establishing a watch (watchmen), and then
stewarding the reports generated by increased prayer.
These reports are like the information that is gathered
by intelligence organizations in the military.
The information must be gathered, interpreted, and sifted; and the
important findings must be displayed or communicated in a quick concise manner
so the staff can begin to develop strategies and employ tactics with which to
complete their assigned mission. Therefore
it is important to be aware of the disposition of the enemy forces, their
weapons, their intention, their plans for war (their location and movement,
etc). With this information in
hand an organization can begin to devise plans to accomplish its assigned
mission.
| Please note that all
references to war, warfare, battle etc. are referring to spiritual
warfare. We must not confuse battle against demonic forces with
people. We must demonstrate our love towards people just like
Jesus did as well as pray and act as He did. |
There is a similar pattern in the Bible.
What did Moses do before the children or Israel entered the Promised
Land? He sent 12 men in to
spy out the land. What did
Joshua do before they took the first city in the Promised Land?
He sent 2 spies in to spy out Jericho (Josh. 2).
When did God give Joshua the strategy for taking Jericho (Josh. 6:2) ?
Did God have Gideon spy out the Midianites camp prior to his attack?
Did God give Gideon the specific tactics and strategies he was to use
to attack after he spied out the camp (Judg. 7:8-19)?
The answer is yes to both questions.
Why did God have them spy out the land, the city, and the
camp when He knows everything and is every where?
Why does God give the strategy after the people gathered the
information? I don't know.
But it is a pattern and it is the same pattern followed by military
commanders through the ages.
So what are the principles or strategies that military
commanders have used through the ages to plan and execute war?
 |
The
Principle of Objective |
|
The
Principle of Offense |
|
The
Principle of Mass |
|
The
Principle of Mobility |
|
The
Principle of Surprise |
|
The
Principle of Communication and Supply |
|
The
Principle of Security |
|
The
Principle of Simplicity |
To
view these lessons on warfare sign up for our course on Biblical Principles
and Strategies the Art of Corporate Spiritual Warfare. You can access a
course overview on the War College. Just click the button at the top of
your page.
Why should we as Christians study them?
Our God is called Lord of the Hosts
245 times in the
Bible. That is Lord of the Armies.
Do you recall how blessed the church was when the truth came out that
God's name was Jehovah-Jireh (Gen. 22:14) The Lord Shall Provide?
God is only called that name one time.
Yet, look what happened in the body of Christ when we received that revelation
that revealed a portion of His character and will. What will happen when we realize that He is called Lord of the Hosts
almost 3 times more than any other name that He is named? I
believe that we as the body of Christ will begin to take on and exhibit more
of those aspects that express that portion of His character.
As
leaders and the church begin to understand that He is called Lord of the Hosts
(armies) I believe that we as the church will begin to act more and more like
an army. There will come a greater understanding of the honor, loyalty,
discipline, and respect for authority, strategy, and a teamwork like we've never
seen before. Leaders will display all the excellent characteristics of
servant leaders who lead by example. We've always heard about putting on
the armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18 but I believe that there is coming one
more article of clothing that will cover us and that is "zeal as a
cloak" (Isaiah 59:17).
As a naval officer I had the opportunity to study the
principles of warfare. I have
discovered an amazing thing. These
principles and strategies have been studied and employed for thousands of
years. It is because they work.
I happen to believe it works because each principle has a biblical
basis. Biblical principles
work for anyone when that person applies them.
That is why the military has used them for thousands of years.
It just works. Therefore, I
believe that every leader in the Body of Christ needs to study these
principles.
Have you ever heard of Moshe
Dayan, hero of the Six Day
War of June 1967? He later became
the Defense Minister of Israel. He
was reported to be a student of archeology and Old Testament battles.
One of his teachers in military science was a British Army Intelligence
Officer, Captain Orde Charles Wingate.
"Wingate was among the
earliest of Dayan's teachers in the science of warfare.
Wingate was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and knowledgeable in
the Scriptures."
"Dayan is said to have
observed Wingate's tireless efforts to identify historical sites from their
Biblical descriptions and is said to have himself utilized military routes
(long thought erased by the ravages of time) to ambush the enemy in a modern
version of an old historic account."
How could Dayan employ maneuvers used thousands of years
before in a modern day battle? The weapons are so different.
Why do professional officers habitually study a Chinese general like
Sun Tzu (500 B.C.), Flavius Vegetius (300 A.D.) a Roman General, Maurice de
Saxe (1700's) a French General, and Napoleon (1800's) a French General?
This list could go on and on for professional officers never stop
learning. So why do these officers
study? It is because:
Strategies never change, only
the weapons change.
It
does not matter if the weapons are swords, spears, and
bows or M 16 rifles, M1A1 Abram tanks, or F 14 Tomcats, or even prayer,
fasting, miracles, and preaching. Weapons
change and the tactics to employ the weapons change, but the strategies (major
principles of warfare) used to 
engage an enemy never
changes.
Therefore, we must study old battles and learn from them.
As Christians, we should also study engagements with our adversary as
well; past and present. History is
a marvelous teacher if we will learn from others mistakes and successes.
Note:
Strategies never change like water in a river never changes.
The water flows down the river, never to pass the same way again, nor
will each molecule of H2O be next to nor associated with another molecule
of H2O in exactly the same fashion again as it goes down river. It
is evaporated into the air gathers in clouds and rains on the earth.
Though it is always changing in its location and consistency, it is always
H2O. So likewise, though the strategies (major general principles of warfare)
never change, the way in which the strategies are combined and employed at any
one time are constantly changing. While
we need to study these principles, we must always go and inquire of
the Lord as to how He wants us to engage the enemy in each specific engagement.
While the principles will never change, the combination of the specific biblical
principles of warfare will always change in each war or engagement.
Look at Jesus.
There are biblical principles of healing but we never see Jesus healing
someone exactly the same way. One
time He spit and made clay and put it in the man's eyes and at another time He
simply spoke a word and a man was healed. Jesus'
was unpredictable. This kept the
adversary off balance. It is harder
to defend if you do not know what your enemy will do.
The primary advantage that Jesus had, was that He was in constant
communication with our Father.
That is how we need to employ
these strategies. We need to
learn the principles but always rely upon the direction we receive from our
Father as to which strategies He wants us to combine at any one time.
Tim
Taylor
R.B.
Thieme, Jr. The Christian Warrior (1975), pg. 24.
R.B.
Thieme, Jr. The Christian Warrior (1975), pg. 24.
