Bill Yount and Andy Sanders: "A Word to Intercessors: Don't Go Pickin' a Fight with the Devil"

From the desk of Steve Shultz:

This is a most excellent word and teaching by Bill Yount and Andy Sanders. I applaud them for taking on such an important spiritual matter that needs to be taught about more and more.

Their title says it all: "Don't go pickin' a fight with the devil." Amen to that!

Sometimes, many times, we bring unnecessary warfare on ourselves trying to take on every fight we can with the enemy...even battles that are not ours...OR aren't battles at all!

Discerning a battle is key and hearing God's voice in a matter is vital.

Enjoy this word by Bill Yount and Andy Sanders and please pass it on to your intercessory friends and family...it really helps us all get a good God-perspective! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List go here.)

Bill Yount: Have you ever rebuked the enemy for several days and he wasn't listening to you? You found out later that God was in control of the situation the entire time. There have been times when I have rebuked the devil and I heard the Lord say, "It's not the devil; it's Me."

I have fought and lost some battles because they weren't my battles to fight; they were the Lord's. There isn't a demon behind every locked door; sometimes it's God's timing to keep the door closed a little while longer. The enemy's big trick is to make intercessors believe that if they are not fighting satan constantly they are not doing their job.

Jesus already did His job at the Cross when He said, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). The mindset the Lord wants us to have concerning the devil is: "Don't go looking for him, but if he shows up, take him out properly!"

I will never forget these words the Lord spoke to me many years ago at the height of much spiritual warfare in my life. He said, "Son, don't go picking a fight with the devil. I totally defeated satan on the Cross. If you think you need to fight satan one-on-one to defeat him, you will start believing that My victory wasn't enough. If you go looking for him, he will come looking for you."

I believe we pay too much attention to the enemy and satan loves it! I regret that I wasted so many years fighting the devil when I could have been worshiping the Lord and exalting Him above all my enemies. There's a time and a place to take authority over the devil, but it's not 24/7 (24 hours a day). Had I worshiped God more, I think I would have won more of my battles.

"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16).

Andy Sanders: When I was a youth pastor years ago, I decided to claim the church property for His glory by anointing it with oil. This is common in my circles now but not back then. Being the "fighting warrior" that I thought I was at the time, I set out on a hot summer day with my Dockers dress pants, treading through the thick, weedy brush (Dockers and brush don't blend well). Within a few steps into the thorny weeds and while dripping oil all over, I walked right into a hornets' nest. They followed me from the time I started till midway through the whole ordeal.

I wasn't stung, but my attention and "fighting" was against the bees and not the principalities, so I thought. Unfortunately, that day I had no idea that I just awakened the "spiritual hornets" of that region. I was young—the new hire of the traditional church, and not properly covered there at all. I really kicked the spiritual nest in that region hard! Though I had permission to do what I was doing from my pastor, it should have never come through me alone and not at that time. I hadn't been there long enough; I had barely moved into my home! (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

I became an instant enemy in the spirit realm there and an unnecessary target was placed on my back that day by the "spiritual hornets" of the land. Great intentions do not win spiritual battles – spiritual authority does! Spiritual authority comes through endurance.

"We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 1:3).

A Word to the Intercessors
by Andy Sanders

Before I was born again, I once picked a fight with an older kid in high school. How I even got into the situation was totally ridiculous. A close friend of mine at the time invited me to a community area where there were going to be some fights. I wasn't able to be there, so I got the later, one-sided story of how it all unfolded. There was a person on the other side of our group who decided to pick a fight with one of my friend's friends and it wasn't fair.

We all decided to retaliate a few weeks later, and some of my friends (not even the person whom we were fighting for) went looking for the enemy fighter on the other side. When we found him, I jumped into the fight, a fight that wasn't even mine to begin with, and I got a broken nose out of it. The funny thing was back then I didn't even know the person I was fighting for; I didn't even know his name. To this day, I have no idea what he looked like, and none of us are even close friends.

Intercessors are sometimes kicking up dust, all in the name of a great fighter's prayer meeting, instead of really bringing God into the center equation of the situation. The person who comes out of the prayer room doesn't have to look as if they just gave birth and wrestled a lion at the same time. Too many intercessors come out of prayer meetings ready to pounce on the next unsure thing that walks into the church that night. There is a time for this, but there is also much more!

We must move beyond just "intercessory fighting" in the spirit. I believe some of the battles that we fought and got our tails kicked weren't because of God; instead, it was because of our inability to understand the authority to walk out a situation beneath God's feathers (see Ps. 91:4).

Word of the Lord to the intercessors: "I am bringing you into global intercession. I am flying some of you up out of your regional post and into global authority—the aerial view of My heart, eyes, and thoughts. On this day you (intercessors) are being promoted by My mighty hand. You must learn to pick the dance and not just the fight. The fight is won through the dance.

"I am going to teach you how to win global battles and wars through the power of the simplest prayers, through the actions of the obedient dance. It is not empty words that move My heart; it is the motive (spirit and compassion) that moves through the heart of the person's prayer that moves Me."

We Were Born to Worship God
by Bill Yount

"You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent" (Psalms 91:13 NIV).

Our enemy is really not that big; he can fit underneath our feet. That's all the bigger he is. But if you focus on the enemy, he will give you something to cry about. If you focus on the Lord, He will give you something to shout about. (Photo via Max Pixel)

David was a full-time worshiper, part-time shepherd. The bear coming against his flock of sheep didn't realize it was about to interrupt David's worship. Anything that interrupts you worshiping God has to die; God will kill it. Many fighting the giants in the land have not yet faced the bear or the lion to prepare them for their Goliaths. All of David's battles were first won by learning the key to surrender through worship. The core of David's heart remained consistently humble, and this is why God continued to place His hand upon David's life. The core of spiritual intercession is intercessory worship—the passion and flame of God within the heart of a humbled person. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List go here.)

"Shout for joy to God, all the earth!" (Psalms 66:1)

Bill Yount
Blowing the Shofar Ministry
Email: theshofarhasblown@juno.com
Website: www.billyount.com

Bill Yount has been a member of Bridge of Life in Hagerstown, Maryland, for the past 36 years where he is now an elder and a home missionary. He is currently an advisor at large for Aglow International. Bill faithfully served in prison ministry at Mount Hope for 23 years and now travels full-time, both in the U.S. and internationally, ministering in churches and Aglow circles. "Humility and humor" characterize his ministry as he brings forth a fresh word that is "in season," proclaiming the Word of the Lord! The shofar (or ram's horn) is often used in his meetings, breaking the powers of darkness over regions, churches, and households. The shofar represents God's breath blowing into the nostrils of His people, reviving them and awakening the lost. Many of God's messages, which Bill ministers prophetically, come out of his everyday life with his family and friends.

Andy Sanders
5 Fold Media, LLC
Email: andy@5foldmedia.com
Website: www.5foldmedia.com

Andy Sanders had an encounter with God just before his high school graduation that altered his life forever. He has since devoted his time to preaching the Gospel, writing, and developing authors. He co-authored the Capturing the Supernatural series (www.capturingthesupernatural.com). Andy has a BA from Central Bible College and carries a masters and doctorate in Christian education from Freedom Seminary, graduating with honors. His family resides in Syracuse, NY.

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