Heb. 13:17 NAS
Obey your leaders and submit to them,      
for they keep watch over your souls as
those who will give an account.
  Let them do this with joy and not with grief,
        for this would be unprofitable for you.

Reading: II Chronicles 18:2-20:30 

Authority in the kingdom is delegated by God,
an undeniable scriptural foundation,
basic and obvious to those with a heart for God.
 

KINGDOM RULE
 

There is no spiritual conquering
without a spiritual army.
The kingdom of God is a
militant organization meeting ever
encroaching enemies.

There is no army without ordered ranks,
assigned positions and chain of command.

The rebellious object on "moral principle"
to the structure of kingdom authority.
Their so-called "principle" takes them into
the ranks of the enemy as his dupe to be
the very foe of God,
Soon they find that God is at wars with them.
 

ORDER IN THE RANKS
 

An army without authority is not an army.
Independent rebels are never sent into places
of strategic importance by a commander.
Such are maneuvered into safe corners and
innocuous desk positions and most are
rejected from service.

Commanders trust only the obedient
with crucial positions of battle.

Only those who understand
the necessity for authority,
the wisdom of rank,
and the protection of positioning,
are part of the Spiritual Army of God.
 

THE BASIS OF VICTORY
 

The great chapter on warfare - the model for
spiritual victory - is II Chronicles 20.
But that story, so often taken out of context as
a strategy and pattern for spiritual warfare,
cannot be separated from its beginnings.
The real story, and the underlying principle of warfare,
actually begins in II Chronicles 18:28.

There is no strategy or formula set out by God.
As in the military God directs step by step.

A KING PREPARED FOR WAR

When Jehoshaphat went to war
without orders from the Captain of Hosts,
he let Israel's King Ahab persuade him to fight
a battle to which he was not called.
By alliance with Ahab he was almost killed,
surviving only by God's intervention
in answer to his cry for help.

Israel was defeated and its king-in-disguise
was wounded by a random arrow
of God's sending.

And Jehoshaphat learned how NOT to war.
 

BOWING TO THE CAPTAIN
 

Returning to his house in Jerusalem,
Jehoshaphat was confronted by Jehu the seer:

Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord?
Therefore the wrath of the Lord is upon you. Nevertheless good things
are found in you, in that you have removed the wooden images from the land,
and have prepared your heart to seek God.
II Chron. 19:2, 3 NKJ

Chastened by God, in some way experiencing
His just wrath, Jehoshaphat meekly
"dwelt at Jerusalem."
He stayed in his place until he understood.

Because he set his heart to seek God, he came to
comprehend some basics:
- obedience is a matter of authority and disobedience can get you killed;
- warfare is not a matter of fighting or might;
- the battle had better rest on long and disciplined obedience.
 

ORDER BY AUTHORITY
 

And Jehoshaphat began to set up his kingdom
in the structure of delegated authority.

First this king appointed judges, "city by city."
With specific instructions to them, he instituted
civil government to rule in the entire nation.

He said to the judges, "Consider what you are doing,
for you do not judge for man but for the Lord
who is with you when you render judgment.
Now then let the fear of the Lord be upon you;
be very careful what you do, for the Lord our God
will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality
or the taking of a bribe."
II Chron. 19:6, 7 NAS

True authority in the kingdom is built first
on the fear of God by virtue of accountability.
Second, authority is a conscious commitment
to His righteousness to live in everyday integrity.

Next Jehoshaphat established priestly order
for spiritual government.
His instructions to the priests:
"You shall act in the fear of the Lord,
faithfully and with a loyal heart."
(II Chron. 19:9 NKJ)

In a vivid picture of the Kingdom of God,
Jehoshaphat made specific, named
appointments.

The king made it clear that Amaziah was
chief priest "over all matters of the Lord,"
and Zebadiah, "for all the king's matters."
(II Chron. 19:11)
 

RANKS AND POSITIONS
 

New Testament order follows a prescribed
order of authority in the church:

1 Cor. 12:28 NAS 
"And God has appointed in the church,     
first apostles, second prophets,
   third teachers . . . ."

Authority is
the foundation for battle
and preparation for war -
the foundation of any army of merit.

First we must discover God's appointed
leaders, then we are tested by the chastening
of obedience to God's delegated authority.
These are military disciplines of
the spiritual realm.

All military training is based on the
issue of the leader's power of position.
And all rebellion is exposed in us by
that same rank of leadership.

Those who will not accept God's order
as His established way,
will never serve in the true battle,
nor see a personal triumph.

Civil government is necessary. We accept that.
But spiritual government is kingdom order and
this is the order most believers will not tolerate.

Luke 19:14 NAS
But his citizens hated him and        
    sent a delegation after him, saying,   
       "We do not want this man to reign over us."

Authority established by God, for God,
is the absolute foundation
of the Kingdom of God.
The Almighty is uncompromising
about in this matter because it
represents the holy way of executing
His highest will.
 

UNITY FOR BATTLE
 

When several kingdoms rose
"to battle against Jehoshaphat"
his kingdom was able to function as a unit
because authority had been fully established.

Judah gathered together to ask help     
from the Lord and from all the cities of Judah
they came to seek the Lord.
II Chron 20:4 NAS

Jehoshaphat had learned
the discipline of obedience and
had abandoned his thoughtless warrings.
He had learned God's authority and
as an obedient ruler, he established authority.
So his nation was ready to meet
the assault of masses of enemies.
 

SECRET STRATEGY
 

Authority is the secret of spiritual victory.
There is no formula of winning that can
claim God's victory without
following His governing.

Judah, under Jehoshaphat, prayed, fasted, marched and worshiped as a unified front.
The amazing answer came from God:

II Chron. 20:17, 18 Amp. Bible
  You shall not need to fight in this battle;       
take your positions, stand still and
see the deliverance of the Lord Who is with you,
O Judah and Jerusalem.
Fear not nor be dismayed.
Tomorrow go out against them,
for the Lord is with you.

And Jehoshaphat bowed his head
with his face to the ground, and all
Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem
          fell down before the Lord, worshiping Him.

POSITION FIRST
 

Position is everything in spiritual warfare.
"take your positions . . . ."
All of Judah knew their positions.
They who had already functioned by obedience,
could follow God's ways in the face of war.

Position must be within the order of
spiritual authority established by God,
not by humanity.

God has an order of authority always
but not a method or formula.
Every war and every battle demands
new comprehension and fresh orders.
But the issue of "position" is ever the
prerequisite for battle.
 

WAR WITHOUT FIGHTING
 

Judah saw a miraculous defeat from God's hand.
The enemies turned inward and killed themselves -
"they were self-slaughtered."
Without so much as a small battle,
the victory was won by the under-girding
of a practical daily training in authority.
That practiced obedience caused
Judah to obey every step laid out for them
by the prophet who spoke for God. 

And when Judah came to the watchtower     
of the wilderness, they looked at
the multitude, and behold,
they were dead bodies fallen to the earth,
      and none had escaped!

Judah took vast spoil and riches from
the fields of their enemies' total demise.
(II Chron. 20:24, 25)

Such victory as this is rarely seen but
still possible - and currently happening -
to true warriors in the real order of the
Kingdom above all other kingdoms.

Before there is war,
there must be a prepared military.
And there is no army that does not
1.  recognize the right and power to command
     those under its banner and
2.  demand obedience as the very most basic foundation of a fighting force.

Our enemy operates by rebellion, by lawless
disregard of God's order and His ways.
And never can this master of rebellion be
defeated by the rebellious. Never! 

Only the submissive,
only the reverent,
only you who - as Jehoshaphat -

"set your heart to seek God       
        (with all your soul's desire)"
II Chron. 19:3b Amplified Bible

will come to fear God,
see the revelation of
spiritual order and authority,
will be able to go to the battle,
and win over the spiritual beings of the air.

Copyright © 2003 Martha Kilpatrick