WHEN YOU ARE UNDER ATTACK
Dr. D. K. Olukoya
Isaiah 59: 19 says, “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” Many people do not understand this Scripture because they do not read it correctly. It is the Spirit of the Lord that shall rise like a flood, not the enemy. People usually say, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” But the original version says, “When the enemy shall come in, like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall raise up a standard against him.” That is our working verse in this message.
WHY DOES A PERSON COME UNDER ATTACK?
A person comes under attack because the enemy wants to conquer him.
A person comes under attack because the enemy wants to suppress him.
A person comes under attack because the enemy wants to contend with his destiny.
A person comes under attack because his existence is threatening the existence of another person.
A person comes under attack because his destiny is an eagle destiny.
A person comes under attack because he is trying to escape from the hands of a slave master.
A person comes under attack because somewhere somehow some persons, powers or personalities do not want to see him around.
Two years ago, I prayed with a man who was completely down. As he continued to pray, the Lord showed him a vision of himself the day he was born and was taken to a herbalist. Like the practice of many tribes in this country, his parents took him to a herbalist where they enquired about his future and the herbalist said, “This one is the saviour of the family. All of you without exception will benefit from him. You shall bow down to him. He will be your anchor in the family.” Unfortunately when the herbalist was saying this the other seven wives of his father were around. His mother was the last wife. His battle started not because he had offended anybody but because of his divine destiny.
Of all cities in the world, none has been so frequently attacked like Jerusalem. Why is it so? It is because the place has a prophetic destiny. So, as a child of God, in case you are seriously under attack or you are wondering why you are sweating and struggling, it means that there is something in your destiny that the enemy does not want to happen. The enemies dealt with this man; he spent 14 years in the primary school and eight years in the university to get a degree that usually takes four years. They bombarded him right, left and centre. He could hardly feed when he was the angel who was supposed to feed his family. His family was very poor, until God showed him that vision, and he started praying that all the agents of the enemy that were present when his destiny was being proclaimed should lose the information from their memory, in Jesus’ name. Then he began to possess his possessions.
The problem is that at the baby stage, there is nothing a baby can do. People would come and say, “Let me carry the baby, let me put the baby here, let me give the baby food,” and little by little, they would be destroying him. So as this man started praying, God started blessing him. All the attacks he had were not his fault. His destiny was proclaimed in the presence of his enemies.
Beloved, be rest assured that you will be under attack from time to time. Jesus was under attack most of the time. Many Christians make the wrong decision when they are under attack. As Christians, our decisions should be based on some principles when we find that we are under attack.
1. Our decision must be based on what the Holy Spirit is prompting us to do.
2. It must be based on the word of God.
3. It must be based on biblical principles.
Any time a person comes under attack and he does not listen to the Holy Spirit, he would have problems. If you do something outside the word of God, you will have problems. If you do something contrary to biblical principles there would be problems. When people come under attack, they sometimes forget these principles. In Exodus 14, we see a beautiful example of how somebody can be under attack. The Israelites marched out of Egypt. An angel and a pillar of fire went back and forth to lead them. When the pillar wanted them to move, it would move and when it did not want them to move, it would stay. There was also an angel attached to their camp and something happened. The angel and the pillar led them to a place where they could march no further, where there was no door of escape. In front was the Red Sea, by the sides were walls of rock which they could not surmount and at the rear was their deadly foe with a deadly rage, pursuing them. It was a time when all hope should be lost. The attackers were ready to devour. Every true child of God, at one time or the other in life, can find himself in this situation I have just described. For many years the devil had kept the Israelites in Egypt moulding bricks and all of a sudden, their eyes opened and they escaped. But before they knew it, fresh terrors had gathered around them again. What do you do when you are under this kind of attack? The most costly mistake that people make usually occurs during the first few moments of any attack. Once you make that initial mistake, you get into trouble. The enemy uses the weapon of fear.
WHEN YOU ARE UNDER ATTACK WHAT DO YOU DO?
1. Do not panic: Be calm. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” Do not panic, rather praise the Lord. Panic will always lead to trouble. There is this testimony of a woman who did not know that the man next door was a satanic agent. Her child was convulsing and she was praying for the child. She did not know that the man had a nail in the wall and anytime he banged the nail the convulsion would start but as she prayed, the nail would come out of the wall. Whenever the nail came down, the boy would recover. The man would take the nail again and bang it in the wall and the convulsion would start. This went on for five hours. When the herbalist saw that the nail kept coming out, he took a bottle of concoction and knocked at the door of the woman, saying, “Madam, any problem?” The woman answered, “No problem.” The man said, “But something is happening here.” He gave her a container and said, “Give the child this medicine to drink.” She rejected it. If she had accepted it the child would have been well but another problem would have been planted in him. So, when there is an attack put your ear in the neutral position and listen carefully to the inner voice of the Holy Spirit.
2. Analyse it by the wisdom of God: Ecclesiastes 7:14 says, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider." We should know that any working system would occasionally develop crises. So, sit down to analyse it and see what you have learnt from what has happened.
3. Seek for godly counsel: Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where no counsel is, the people fall; but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” So, ignorance is destructive. Don’t neglect knowledge. Somebody somewhere will know something that would help you to survive. Try and reach out for people with such information.
4. As a child of God, expect the power of God to move: It is easy to sit down and believe that all hope is lost. But, as a child of God, if you read your Bible well, you will find that anytime the devil was preparing his soup, it was usually scary but by the time the God who delivered Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego arose, He would just take the enemy’s pot of soup and smashed it to the ground. Expect the power of God to move. Adversity is the enemy’s reaction to your progress. It is the enemy’s attempt to steal your approaching blessing.
5. Fight back: James 4:7, a very popular verse says: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” When you say resist, a lot of things are involved. To resist means to fight. Somebody cannot just stroll into your sitting room and carry your T.V. set, video machine and all you have in the room and walk out. You have to resist him. To stop him might require that you fight. The Bible says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” This means that if the devil is not fleeing from you, you should check whether you are really resisting him. What some of us call resistance is to stand up and start praying when you have a bad dream. No. You should pray before the bad dreams come. Satan loves very fearful people but real fighters intimidate him.
6. Use your spiritual weapons: 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.” The weapons of our warfare are: The word of God, the fire of God, the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, praises, testimonies, prayers, etc. Learn how to use them.
7. Soak yourself in the Scriptures: When some people have one or two problems, they stop reading their Bibles. Some people would say to them, “Since you have been reading it what have you got out of it? Don’t waste you time.” Psalm 119:92 says, “Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine affliction.” Your mind is like a garden, it would grow any seed you plant there, good or bad. Plant words spoken by God in your heart, then you have sown energy, life and hope in your spirit. Be a Scripture addict.
8. Remember that seasons change: Psalm 30:5 says, “For his anger endureth but a moment, in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Know that as a child of God the attack will not last forever. People change, so also circumstances. Therefore, expect God to change things on your behalf.
9. Be spiritually tough: Life is a battle and the violent takes it by force. God is in control and is bigger than whoever you are dealing with. He is stronger than any enemy you are fighting with. Hebrew 13:5-6 says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have; for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”
10. Guard your mind with all diligence: You will never be defeated as long as you are victorious in your mind. But if you are defeated in the battle of the mind, you will lose all the battles everywhere. Isaiah 26:3 says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Everybody ought to memorize this scripture. The only people God would keep in perfect peace are those whose minds are stayed on Him.
11. Never give up: 2 Timothy 4:7 says, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” He did not give up. Luke 9:62 also says, “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” So, your perseverance destabilises the enemy. Therefore, other people stone of adversity will just be your stone of promotion. If the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Paul is your God, you will certainly overcome.
12. Pray to locate and fire your arrow at the unprotected forehead of your enemies: No matter how strong your enemy is, he must have some weak points. You pray to locate those points and then fire at them.
I counsel you to read through this message again. Then tell the Lord to forgive you for the various ways you have failed when you were under attack. When you are supposed to be the David to kill the Goliath, the Goliath was boasting all over the place because your strategy was wrong. Talk to God to forgive you. I want you to pray with the spirit that believes that your God is a God that knows no impossibilities. There is no situation that is beyond His power, no matter how strong it may be. The battle is not greater than the One described as the Almighty. The battle is not higher than Him who is the highest. The following prayer points are powerful and effective. Pray them aggressively.
PRAYER POINTS
1. Every arrow fired into my destiny this year, backfire, in the name of Jesus.
2. Every power that stole my destiny when I was a baby, return it by fire, in the name of Jesus.
3. I possess all my blessings for this week, in the name of Jesus.
4. Every wall of Jericho standing against my progress, fall, in the name of Jesus.
5. Every hidden authority and stubborn pursuer that is following me, I command you to die, in the name of Jesus.
6. Every garment of wickedness and shame, be roasted, in the name of Jesus.
7. The glory of the protection of the Almighty shall be upon my life, in the name of Jesus.
