Trojan Horse

As I read Amanda’s contribution for September, I am amazed how Holy Spirit is reinforcing this message through various avenues.  I worked through John Bevere’s curriculum “Good or God?” which is a similar message and just yesterday my pastor shared a message about God not just opening doors, but also closing doors, in order to protect us from exactly this…Trojan Horses… designed to distract, blind-side and derail us.  Let us be vigilant and prayerful, as we negotiate the perilous times we are living in.  Be blessed!

Trojan Horse, by Amanda Byliefeldt

This month’s blog came into being because of a word I received in my Spirit, early one morning. The phrase “Trojan Horse” just popped into my spirit.  I had no reason to consciously think of this, so I wrote it down, to meditate on it.

My understanding about this phrase “Trojan Horse” started to grow. This word was more prophetic than it was about the history of it. What follows is not a feel-good and fuzzy message. I discerned that this is a NOW word, a word of guidance to the body of Christ. It is a call to action and alertness.

Let’s consider the history of the Trojan Horse:

Most of you probably know the history of the Trojan Horse. Here is just a short recap, for those who are unfamiliar with it. 

The Greeks were at war with Troy (City) and in order to win the war they needed to overpower the city of Troy. Unable to breech the city wall, the Greek army came up with a plan to build a huge wooden horse, large enough to house some troops on the inside. They would present the Horse to the people of Troy as a “victory prize” and when they least expect it, they would then attack from inside the walls of the city. The Greeks pretended to retreat, by sailing away.  The Trojans opened the gate and received the gift, oblivious to what they invited into their city. 

The ships that sailed away during the day returned during the dark hours of the night, the Greek soldiers inside the horse got out and opened the gate for the Greek army.  The city’s defences was breeched from the inside.

The first weakness in the Trojans strategy was that they were only looking to the natural – in other words, they only considered what they could perceive with their natural eyes. They became short- sighted and only saw what their enemy wanted them to see.

Their second weakness was that they trusted their enemy because of the “gift” that was presented to them.

Golden Rule number 1:  NEVER trust the enemy…Trust ONLY in God.  God is faithful and true. He is not a man who would lie. Numbers 23:19

Our fight is not against flesh and blood; this is made clear in the Word of God (Ephesians 6:12). We have a different fight on our hands, against an enemy that is unseen and that loves to lie, steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).

First, I need to break down the Prophetic Symbolic layers of the Trojan Horse as I received it from the Holy Spirit:

The city of Troy symbolizes our lives and our minds.

The Greek army symbolizes the enemy; Satan and his fallen angels.

The Horse symbolizes those things that look good on the surface, but are rotten to the chore.

The Trojans had watchmen on the walls and they did see the enemy retreat, but they were not discerning the eminent danger that was lurking. They trusted in what they saw. They were not ready or prepared to be invaded in a cunning way like this.

We are called to have watchmen on the walls. Firstly, to watch for the Bridegroom, returning for HIS bride. Secondly, we need to be watchmen on the walls to warn of approaching danger, just like we read in Ezekiel 33.  We need to sound the trumpet to warn the body of Christ of approaching danger.  Those who disregard the warning do so out of their own will. We are given free will, free choice.

We need to take a new look at 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”  If we are not sober and vigilant, we will be caught by the enemy. Our discernment may be questionable, but it is definitely one of the most important gifts to have in the times that we live in. Our spiritual awareness needs to be sharp, we need to be wise and well prepared.

We know that the enemy is always cunning in his ways. He will do anything to lie to, steal from, kill and destroy the sons and daughters of the Most High God. He will keep you busy, in order for you to be so absorbed with the flesh or the world, that you miss the opportunities to get ready, like Jesus instructed.

Jesus taught the people through a parable to be wise; to be ready and prepared.  Read: Matthew 25:1-13 about the parable of the 10 virgins. Five virgins were ready and waiting, they were well prepared. Five virgins lacked preparation.

 Benjamin Franklin said: “By failing to prepare, you preparing to fail.” 

How do we prepare as Sons or Daughters?  We need to read the Word of God and spend more intimate time with Father God. We need to know HIS voice. Spending those precious moments with Father God enables our discernment to be sharpened, so that we would be able to detect the enemy. Spending time in the presence of God, seeking HIS face and HIS plan, will make us confident and courageous.

If we are sober, alert and well prepared, we will notice more than the natural, more than what is right in front of us. We tend to look at the natural and we tend to make decisions based on what we see, instead of being Holy Spirit led. (2 Corinthians 5:7 “for we live by faith and not by sight”).

We often ignore our God-given gift of Discernment. The Word of God teaches us that there is a constant conflict between the flesh and the natural and that which is of the Spirit. Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want”. What we need to do is tune out the flesh and tune into the Spirit, so that we can perceive that which is good and of God.

The enemy has tried multiple times to disarm my discernment through doubt and I am pretty sure that you can attest to that.  We start to doubt our discernment and then we fail to detect the enemy on our “discernment radar”. When we fail to detect him, we allow him access. Just like the Trojans accepted the gift – the Horse – and then was overcome by their enemy the Greeks, likewise we accept those things that is put in front of us as a “gift”, without discerning the origin of the “gift”.

The Trojan Horse symbolizes anything that looks good on the outside, but has bad fruit.  This could even be someone who pretend to be your friend or someone who is “good” on the surface, pretending to be godly, but their fruit is bad. The Word of God says that a good tree cannot produce bad fruit (Matthew 7:18). Even a television program that you love to watch or a movie can become a Trojan Horse, a means of opening yourself up to attack. We open our minds to receive things that are not of God, because we lack good and sharp discernment. We invite those things into our lives before we truly discerned its origin.  We don’t look at the fruit of it, and we open ourselves to it.  When it is inside the walls (mind) and the enemy attack, we are dumbstruck, not knowing where the enemy came from or how it happened. We live our lives unprepared and we unknowingly invite the enemy in because of our lack of discernment and because we are spiritually dull.

We are now living in a time such is this, where we need to have our discernment sharpened every day, by spending more time in the Word of God.  We need more intimacy with Father God and we surely need more guidance from Holy Spirit.  We need to hear the Shepherd’s voice, calling us. We cannot go through this world by just coasting along, hoping to make it to the end.

You were born for such a time as this… arise to fight the good fight.  Arise and be vigilant.  Arise and be a watchman. Arise with a sharpened discernment.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.       Isaiah 60:1

 Pray this prayer if you lack discernment:

Father God, I come to You today.  I lay myself down at Your feet and humbly come into YOUR presence. Lord, I have a need and YOUR word says that YOU will meet all my needs. My need Lord, is to have a more sharpened discernment, I need my ears to hear what YOU want me to hear and my eyes to see what YOU want me to see. Father, I believe in YOUR SON Jesus Christ who overcame this world and all I have to do is receive it and live it. Help me to trust the gift of discernment I have received from YOU. Help me to keep it sharp so that I will be able to use it accordingly. Help me to be wise, vigilant and sober. Help me through YOUR Spirit to bring Glory to YOUR name.  Blowing the trumpets to warn my brothers and sisters in Christ. In Jesus Mighty Name I pray. Amein.