American Sniper: Lessons in Spiritual Warfare

This is an except from my latest book American Sniper: Lessons in Spiritual Warfare.

The main character of American Sniper is a Texas-born redneck named Chris Kyle. The film opens with a scene of Kyle perched on a rooftop in the city of Fallujah, Iraq. U.S. troops have been told that the city was ordered to be evacuated and any military-aged men they find are assumed to be enemy combatants, until proven otherwise. Kyle is checking out the path of a U.S. military convoy through the scope of his sniper rifle. He sees a man on a rooftop in the distance talking on a cell phone. The man appears to be watching the convoy, which Kyle reports to his command through his headset. The man then disappears from the rooftop and a few moments later, a woman and a young boy exit the doorway of the same building and begin walking toward the convoy. Kyle reports the woman and boy to command, and notes that the woman is not swinging her arms as she walks and that she appears to be carrying something. Kyle watches through the scope as the woman removes something from her cloak and hands it to the boy and he realizes it’s a grenade. He reports what he sees and again gets the green light to shoot, but his marine guard warns him that he’ll be sent to prison for shooting a child if he's wrong. The film then cuts away and the next 20 minutes are vignettes of Kyle growing up as the son of a religious father who stressed the ever-present threat of evil, the virtues of aggression, and the supremacy of the hunt.

As a child, Chris learned to watch over his younger brother, Jeff. When someone picked on him, Chris came to his defense and in one scene, he gave the bully a beating he wouldn’t forget. As an adult, he spent most of his time riding bulls, drinking beer, chasing pretty girls and getting into fights.  In the same way that Chris drifted from one misadventure to another, many Christians find themselves drifting, spiritually. We go to church on Sunday, read our Bibles, and try to avoid getting into trouble, but inevitably, trouble seems to find us. We wrestle with various problems and seem to make little progress, no matter what measures we try.

The first seven years of my life as a Christian I traveled down a dozen different paths leading nowhere. Though I felt at the time I was a passionate believer, I had very few victories over the enemy. I lost more spiritual battles than I won. And perhaps more importantly, I never felt a great sense of significance; I felt like I was just another believer. In many ways I was drifting spiritually, with no real course or destination in mind, other than getting into heaven when I died.

No child dreams of growing up to be insignificant. We all want to do something great. God doesn’t create us to be ordinary. He’s placed a desire for significance in our hearts—a desire to do something to change the world for the better. It’s apparent early in the film that Chris Kyle knew he was destined to do something extraordinary.

The film cuts away to a scene of Chris and his brother watching TV. They saw the news of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. Chris was infuriated that U.S. citizens were being attacked and felt compelled to do something about it. His anger over the attacks compelled him to visit a Navy recruiter’s office. The recruiter suggested he might be interested in the SEAL program and handed him a pamphlet, but Kyle remarked that he wasn’t much of a swimmer. The recruiter took the pamphlet out of his hand and said it wasn’t for most men. Kyle grabbed the pamphlet back and proudly replied “I’m not most men.” He didn’t envision himself in a routine job as a sailor. That would be too safe. He set his aim high and endured the brutality of Navy SEAL training.

A new Christian has very little that they bring to the spiritual battlefield from the world. We learn all kinds of ways to defend ourselves and attack our enemies as we go through life, but the Apostle Paul taught that the weapons of the believer’s warfare are not like the weapons and tactics of the physical world. Spiritual weapons are spiritual in nature and it’s only these weapons that can be used effectively against spiritual strongholds. Because spiritual weapons are so different from the weapons we’re familiar with, they require special training and practice before they can be used effectively. My introduction to spiritual weapons was illustrated by the following dream:

Dream
In the dream, I drove my car to a pawn shop with my children. I took some old things that I owned into the pawn shop and traded them in for a strange type of handgun. My kids waited a long time for me to come out. I left the shop with my new gun, but didn’t want my kids to see it, so I walked around behind my car, then took it out and examined it. The gun had a laser sight built into it. It was wide, with a round bulge that seemed to be for the ammunition, though it wasn’t a revolver and it didn’t have a magazine. I didn’t know how the ammunition was loaded. I began trying to figure out how it worked and decided to aim it across the street at a vacant lot. The gun fired two rounds, which I wouldn’t have known, except that I saw puffs of dust rise from the ground where I pointed the gun. It made no sound and didn’t seem to have a trigger, but seemed to fire by my thoughts. I put it in the trunk of my car and that was the end of the dream.

InterpretationIn the dream, I traded in a bunch of things I had obtained from the world for a new, spiritual weapon. I believe this speaks of acquiring a new way of thinking and living. I had to leave behind the way of thinking I had acquired from the world and learn the way of thinking used in the kingdom of God. I also had to learn how to defend myself and wage an offensive attack differently. I had no idea how my new gun fired. I didn’t yet understand how spiritual weapons operate, though I had obtained one that could be used effectively, once I was trained to use it.

You can read more by clicking the link to American Sniper: Lessons in Spiritual Warfare, or click on the image below.

Rob's Story

I was working when my sister called. She left a message. "Call mom as soon as you can. We have bad news about Rob." The bad news; my younger brother Rob had just been diagnosed with cancer. But it was worse - the cancer had already spread past the point of being treatable. The doctors felt chemotherapy at this stage would be no use. Their prognosis was that he would die quickly.

I broke the news to my wife. She cried herself to sleep that night. I've already lost my father and one brother to cancer. She's afraid it will eventually come after me. While working the following day we made plans to fly to North Carolina. Our main objective - to heal my brother.

A couple of friends dropped by before we left. Todd reminded me not to pick a fight with the enemy. David reminded me that I was on business for the kingdom. They prayed over me and left for their own assignment. On the flight to Charlotte, Todd showed up in a vision. He taught me how to wage war. He spoke to the disease like he would anyone else. He wasn't angry. He didn't make accusations. Emotionally, he was unmoved.

In the vision Todd taught me patience in dealing with disease. I sensed no fear in him. Fear is one of the enemy's greatest weapons. As I watched him talk with the disease, I learned that confidence in who I represent is a key to victory.

After picking up the rental and checking in, we met my family at their house. They had a plan. I have a large family. One of us would stay in Rob's hospital room each night to help with his care. Since I was only staying 2 days, tomorrow would be my turn. We got caught up on what they knew about his condition, then turned in for the night.


I spent most of the next 24 hours at the hospital, the majority of it with Rob. I read his chart. His symptoms began 5 months earlier but he didn't seek medical treatment until it was too late. He had small - cell carcinoma of the prostate with metastasis to the liver and possibly the pancreas and bladder. He also had DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulopathy) which causes both excessive bleeding and abnormal clotting. Rob was in a lot of pain, which they managed well.

I prayed as led by the Spirit for most of the morning and afternoon. I usually close my eyes and God shows me the problems then I pray accordingly. I saw tumors, blood clots, cellular structures, demonic beings, damaged organs and many other things that needed repair. Finally I saw a bright, golden ball of light traveling through his body from his head to his feet. I believe it was the glory of God.

In the evening I prayed against depression, pain and despair. It seemed as if Rob's emotions were under attack. I prayed as led by the Spirit. He woke up once every hour. I asked if he was in pain. He always said 'yes', so the nurse gave him morphine.

When Rob was admitted, one of his doctors asked if he was a Christian. Rob replied that he was an agnostic. During the times he woke up he was too sedated for a real conversation. But he did understand simple commands. I told him I had an important thing for him to do. I said, "Jesus is looking for you. I need you to find him." He said, "OK, I'll look for him."

At 2 in the morning I felt like the warfare was done. Each time I went back to Rob's bedside to pray, I saw nothing to pray into. I began worshiping God and rested in His presence. At 4 am Rob awoke. I asked if he was in pain. He said, 'no'. I asked again and got the same answer. To make sure he understood the question, I asked if he wanted morphine, he said, 'no'. He refused morphine the rest of the day. Somehow his pain was gone

Rob's wife came to see him around 9am. When I told her Rob didn't want morphine, she didn't believe me. Everyone who asked that morning got the same answer. He wasn't in pain. Brothers and sisters came and went. I got lost in the blur of activity. I sensed my mission was done, so I went to the house to meet my wife and the rest of my family.

I gave them a report on what happened overnight (without the details of my prayer time). I was full of faith and confident Rob would be healed. We left for the airport and arrived early. I was exhausted, so I dozed in the terminal, but I slept better on the airplane. During the flight I had another vision.

I saw Rob lying quietly with his eyes closed. As I watched, he slipped into a dark body of water. Then he was gone. My heart sank. I knew what it meant.

The next morning, while at work, I received the phone call I feared. It was my mother. "Rob died a few minutes ago. Ellie is a wreck. Keep her in your prayers."

The Rest of The Story

While discussing Rob's condition with my older brother Richard, I learned something. Rob had already accepted his death long before I got there. "Rob already said his goodbye's. He's OK with dying now. He's ready for whatever comes next."

When the doctors told him there was no treatment and he would die shortly, Rob accepted death without a battle. Most of us have heard stories about soldiers who sustained injuries that were survivable, yet they died because they believed their wounds to be fatal. We also know of soldiers who have been ripped in half and shouldn't have survived, yet they did. Our will to survive is critical in the realm of both medicine and divine healing. It's almost impossible to keep a person alive, once they've decided it's their time to die.

The same day Rob died, (November 9th, 2010) we posted the testimony of a man who was miraculously healed of liver and bladder cancer. That story was set up to post two weeks in advance. When his doctor told him he had an aggressive form of cancer this was his response: "I have a relationship with the greatest healer in the world. He name is Jesus Christ and he will heal me." This man pursued his healing and was miraculously healed a short time later.

Surprise Healing

While talking with my brother Richard, I also talked with his wife Karen. I heard she'd been hospitalized with blood clots in her leg and asked her to explain it. She's had vascular disease in her lower leg for a long time. "My foot has been ice cold for as long as I can remember. There's almost no circulation. The doctor's aren't sure what to do about it."

I asked if she wanted to be healed. Her eyes lit up. "Yes!" I commanded the blood vessels to be healed and the spirit of sickness to leave. I spent about 10 minutes in all praying over her leg and foot. She didn't feel any immediate evidence of healing, but the next morning her foot was warm. Later in the day she told me her foot was cold again. I explained the nature of the spiritual battle and how the enemy tries to convince us we aren't healed. She smiled with understanding. I put my hands on her leg and commanded it to leave again and told her to do the same thing if it came back in the future. Two weeks after I prayed over her foot, she posted a message on my Facebook page telling me her foot still "feels wonderful".

While I was praying for my brother, my wife had another assignment. She had a friend who was in the other hospital in the same town we were in. Her friend had been hospitalized with problems related to anorexia, something she's battled for 30 years. My wife just happened to arrive at the other hospital at exactly the right time for visitation. She needed a password to be admitted to the mental health ward but didn't have it. One of the employees had mercy on her and allowed her in.

As they talked, my wife asked if she could pray with her friend for healing. As soon as she said this, her right hand began to vibrate with power. She placed her hand on the friend's abdomen. They both felt power going into her body. We've been in touch with her friend several times since then. She seems to have made a lot of progress and has a more confident attitude. She now believes she can win the battle.

Observations

I learned a few things from this experience. One is that healing is indeed warfare, whether we see it that way or not. It's warfare on a level most of us can't fathom yet.

On the same day that my brother died of cancer, a different man's healing testimony for the same disease was published. I can't help but think that our response to disease has a major impact on our survival. The Israelites heard two reports about their odds of beating the Caananites. The majority report saw what was possible with man. The minority report saw what was possible with God. Those who believed the bad report paid for it with their lives.

God's plans are not always clearly mapped out. But his promises are availablel to those who will receive them. Someone you expect to be healed may die. Someone you don't expect may be healed. Ask around. You never know who is waiting for the Master's touch.

Finally, I'd like to share my views on the diagnosis and prognosis:

I don't have a problem with doctors giving a patient a diagnosis. That's their job. But it's not their job to predict the future and that's what a prognosis really is. We turn ourselves into prophets; forecasting a patient's demise in a certain time frame. Patients see us as experts. They take our prognosis seriously. When a patient is told there is no hope, that often excludes the miraculous as a possibility. But the miraculous is always possibile. Perhaps the prognosis of "no hope'" ought to be changed to something like, "There is no medical treatment that will cure you, but a miraculous healing is always possible."

We owe it to our patients, friends and family to speak hope, however small it is, into their lives.

A Season of Warfare

It's been almost 1 year since the MIPU was born. I plan to post a survey in a few days, asking for your opinions, suggestions and a few other things that might help make this a better blog. I'd appreciate your help in gathering information about you, my readers.

I have some testimonies coming up that are a little different. We'll be hearing from people who claim to have been resurrected from the dead. They'll tell about what they saw and heard between their death and their resurrection....fun times!

The month of December came and went, here in Olympia. I had great expectations that God would do something extraordinary. I received a promise that He would visit our city and pour out His spirit upon us. I was expecting something like what Kansas City is experiencing; a lot of miracles, signs and wonders.

Instead, when the Lord came to town, He began to stir us up for battle. Many people were provoked to anger against the enemy. It was manifest in different ways. Some of us became outraged at the killing of police officers, some at the untimely death of friends. Some have been provoked by social injustice, others by financial hardship. Some of these things affected me, but what made me realize that God was leading us to battle was a change in my dreams.

I haven’t had a lot of dreams involving the theme of warfare, but that’s been the subject of many of my dreams since the holidays. It took a while for me to understand what God was saying. When the messages were decoded, I found myself thrust into a season of equipping, training and learning the strategies of spiritual warfare. So did a lot of people I hang out with. We began having discussions and saw evidence that God had stirred up a small army to lead into battle.

A few weeks ago I heard the Lord whisper to me these words: “An outpouring of My Spirit is a season of celebration after a season of warfare”.

That revelation helped me a lot. God has plans to bring healing, deliverance, evangelism, miracles and many other blessings to my city. But before that happens, He has asked us to remove the powers of darkness.

Everyone involved is approaching this with caution. Most of us have had painful experiences in waging war against the enemy. There is universal agreement; nobody wants to do this unless God leads and protects us every step of the way.

In a recent dream I saw teen-age prophets being used to transform the spiritual darkness over our area into an atmosphere of light. In that changed atmosphere, many people were coming to the knowledge of God.

Great things are coming to our region. As I look around I see people being stirred for battle. The Spirit is moving in many different places. As we intercede for our regions and follow the Commander, darkness will be driven out and the light of God’s glory will shine forth.

This is an addendum to the original post. Several hours after this message posted, I learned that another police officer in Washington was ambushed. A Washington State Patrol trooper was shot in the head early Saturday during a confrontation in the southwest Washington town of Long Beach. Here is an account of the incident from channel 12 news in Portland, Oregon:

Trooper Scott Johnson was taking inventory of a car waiting to be towed on State Route 103 near 12th Street when a man walked up to him. There was a short verbal exchange between the man, a tow truck driver and Johnson before the man pulled out a small caliber handgun and fired two shots, police said.

Johnson suffered two gunshot wounds, one of them to his head, a police spokeswoman said in a news release. He was able to return fire, but it's unknown if the man was hit.Paramedics rushed Johnson to Ocean Beach Hospital and then to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

In a statement Saturday morning, Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste said Johnson was "ambushed while performing what should have been a simple law enforcement task."

"I'm exceptionally thankful that Trooper Johnson is doing well," Batiste said.

Please continue in prayer for our friends in law enforcement.