The Goal is Christlikeness, Not Warfare

In this season of my Journey, I was abruptly reminded of the battle that surrounds us each and every day and with that, I pulled out of my library a book called The Three Battlegrounds by Francis Frangipane. In it, I came across this excerpt that I would like to share:

THE GOAL IS CHRISTLIKENESS, NOT WARFARE

There is a time, which we will speak of later in this book, when the Lord will call us to pull down the strongholds of hell over our churches and our communities. There is another time, however, when to engage in much spiritual warfare is actually a distraction from you obedience to God. Jesus defeated Satan in Gethsemane and the cross, not by directly confronting the devil but by fulfilling the destiny to which He had been called at Calvary. The greatest battle that was ever won was accomplished by the apparent death of the victor, without even a word of rebuke to His adversary! The prince of this world was judged and principalities and powers were disarmed not by confrontational warfare, but by the surrender of Jesus Christ on the cross.

There are occasions when your battle against the devil is actually a digression from the higher purpose God has for you. Intercessors and warfare captains take note: there is a demon whose purpose is to lure one`s mind into hell. Its name is Wrong Focus. If you are continually seeing evil spirits in people or in the material world around you, you may actually be fighting this spirit. The ultimate goal of this demon is to produce mental illness in saints who move in deliverance. Listen very carefully: we are not called to focus on the battle or on the devil, except where that battle hinders our immediate transformation into Christ`s likeness. Our calling is to focus on Jesus. The work of the devil, however, is to draw our eyes from Jesus. Satan`s first weapon always involves luring our eyes from Christ. Turn to Jesus and almost immediately the battle vanishes.

Job 16:20 My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God;
Job 16:19-21 (in Context) Job 16 (Whole Chapter)