Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship News

The 2011 SBMF Encampment

Erev Shabbat Preaching At:

CrossPoinTempe Church

June 10th, 2011 

This Year's Theme Was: Spiritual Warfare

The following is only a summary of the Erev Shabbat Preaching. 

Below is the sample of the teaching that Brother Ric preached during the Erev Shabbat Service.  I pray that it blesses and encourages you.

Many pastors, pastor's wives, chaplains, missionaries, ministerial leaders,, not to exclude congregational members, have had very bad and serious health issues, family issues, job issues, financial issues and others this past year.  The frequency of these attacks has been multiplying day by day.  We receive prayer requests for situations that could discourage anyone in ministry.  As I reflect on the spiritual attacks that I have witnessed against the saints that I know, I revert to my training and professional experience.  Please don’t loose heart in these troubled times.  This is spiritual warfare and we who are fighting the good fight will be attacked.  Not all things are spiritual attacks, but be prepared to identify them when they come. 

Not all of the situations reported to us are related to the attacks of Satan.  However we do believe that there is a pattern developing here.  Frequency and seriousness of these tribulations against those who have been successful in their ministry service to the Kingdom of Christ have been obvious.  

Spiritual Warfare 

“...  for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” [Revelation 12:12 KJV]

And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 1 Corinthians 12:25-26  NASU

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of G-d has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.  [Romans 5:2-5 NASU]

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. [Ephesians 6:12 NKJV]

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.  [2 Corinthians 4:16-18]

Principles Of Spiritual Warfare For The Church

This is a time when we should all muster up to answer ready for the war that G-d has charged us to fight.  The United States Military Principles of War can be a good example for us. We are at war.  If you don’t believe me, please turn on your TV.  Our Principles of war could go something like this. 

1.  Unity of command: L-rd Jesus is the supreme commander of all Christianity.  We must build bridges to the other Messianic fellowship and all denominations and group dos Christians to serve under one Supreme Commander, Jesus and to the glory of His Kingdom. 

"These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."  [Revelation 17:14]

And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."  [Revelation 19:16]

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. [John 14:6]

He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.  [1 Timothy 6:15-16]

"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."  [Acts 4:12]

2.  Objective: Our objective is intersession.  Lead the lost to Jesus to win the war against satan.  This is Kingdom business and not an individual effort.  No one group should be looking for credit in the winning of the objective.  God is a warrior and He is fighting a war against satan.

Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to G-d for them is for their salvation. [Romans 10:1]

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.  [Matthew 28:19-20]

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  [Mark 16:15]

3.  Offensive: Teach proactive evangelism to all our saints so they will go out into the mission fields to tell the Good News of Jesus to all. Encourage each individual to get up and go out and preach the Word of G-d.  Proactive means to go out and find the unsaved and preach the Word.  We should not wait for the unsaved to come to us in our churches.  We must go out and look for them.  G-d will send them to us if we are on the offensive.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of G-d for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of G-d is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith."  [Romans 1:16-17]

Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.  [John 4:35]

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.  [Matthew 28:19-20]

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  [Mark 16:15]

For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning. [Isaiah 62:1]

But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.  [2 Timothy 4:5]

4.  Mass:  Gather the troops together in this common war we wage against our common enemy.  There is strength in numbers.  When those who are called by G-d, gather together, in worship to G-d our goals become common in great numbers.  As Paul tells us, our spiritual service of worship is to “do the work of an evangelist”.  We must fulfill our ministry and we must be of one Body one mind, one Spirit and one purpose. 

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. [Hebrews 10:23-25]

Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? [Luke 14:31]

For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. [Romans 12:4-5]   

But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. [1 Corinthians 6:17]   

5.  Economy of Force: As Christians we must build relationships with other Christian groups so the ones who have the best ability to fight the particular battle will be deployed to the task at hand.

Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;  if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. [Romans 12:6-8]

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.  But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.  [1 Corinthians 12:4-7]

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. [Ephesians 4:16]

6.  Maneuver:  The saints in Christ have different gifts, specialties and ways to communicate the gospel.  Each one of us has the ability to reach different people groups with the Good News of Jesus.  We don’t all speak in a language and way that all people groups will understand.  The ones who are local should be resourced to fight the particular battle they encounter.  We must be willing to help in each cause that we have the ability to deploy.

And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, and to have authority to cast out the demons. [Mark 3:14-15]

7.  Surprise:  We must not advertise our battle plans.  Advertisement is how we tell the other side what to do and how to stop or hinder our mission.  Publicity can be our worst enemy.

So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, "YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU"; just as He says also in another passage, "YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK."  [Hebrews 5:5-6 NASU]

Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?  Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.  Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. [1 Corinthians 5:6-8 NASU]

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.  [Ephesians 2:8-10 NASU]

8.  Simple:  We should keep the plans as simple as we can.  All solders in our army should be trained up to do the work.  They should be practiced up so their actions and responses will be a natural reaction.  They should know the Supreme Commanders purpose and the objective should be clear.

This is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. [2 Thessalonians 1:5]

The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me. [Psalms 116:6]

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.  "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  [Matthew 11:28-30]

9.  Security:  The Bible tells us that we in Christ are all watchmen.  Our base objective is to pray.  A dear brother recently reminded me that: Where there's much prayer, there's much power. Where there's little prayer, there's little power, and where there's no prayer, there's no power.

To be filled with life we must be filled with food from the Tree of Life, the Word of God.  We are what we eat.  If we read the Word every day and encourage the saints to read the Word every day, we will all be filled with ammunition to fight this war against Satan and his army.

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. [Revelation 1:3]

We must put on the armor of G-d every day keep that armor shined up and ready for action.  We must all be watching the backs of our fellow saints, covering each other against attack from any side.  Solders throughout the ages have implemented the back to back method of defense.  Each one intercedes to the rear of each other.  Thus gaining a 306 degree defense against any attack.  Accountability is paramount.  The attacks against the active saints seem to be at an all time high.   

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;  in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. [Ephesians 6:10-17]

Security is going out, finding and fighting the battles in the fields rather than waiting for the battle to us.  Action is more effective than reaction.  Proactiveness is more efficient than reaction.  Reaction is defensive.  We should be on the offensive and not the defensive.

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. [1 Timothy 6:12]

“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)  And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”  [Heb 10:23-25  KJV]

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to G-d. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the L-rd Jesus, giving thanks through Him to G-d the Father. [Col 3:15-17  NASU]

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. [Ephesians 6:12 NKJV]

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.  [2 Corinthians 4:16-18]

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; 20 do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. [1 Thessalonians 5:16-22]

 I thank my G-d always, making mention of you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the L-rd Jesus and toward all the saints;  [Philemon 4-5  NASU]

Prayer, Prayer and More Prayer

“Peter Deyneka Jr., founder of the Slavic Gospel Association often reminded believers that where there's much prayer, there's much power!. Where there's little prayer, there's little power, and where there's no prayer, there's no power...” (Pastor Dan Fritz)

Read The Word Of G-d.  Be filled with food from the tree of life.

Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and he delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts. [Jeremiah 15:16  NASU]

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. [Revelation 2:7; 2:11; 2:16; 2:29; 3:6; 3:13; 3:22; 13:]

Be healthy, be blessed be strong.  Be found in Yeshua.

Your brother in Christ, servant and fellow bond-servant in the L-rd.  Ric Worshill

The L-rd bless you, and watch over you; The L-rd make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you;  The L-rd lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.   [Numbers 6:24-26]

 Shalom Alechem   =   Peace be with you   =  

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