Rules of Engagement , livre ebook

© 2006, 2012 by Derek Prince Ministries–International
This book was compiled from the extensive archives of Derek Prince’s unpublished materials and edited by the Derek Prince Ministries editorial team.
Published by Chosen Books
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.chosenbooks.com
Chosen Books is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Ebook edition created 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4412-5998-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified NASB are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations identified NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified TLB are from The Living Bible , copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identified KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
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Cover design by Kirk DouPonce, DogEared Design
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Introduction 7
Part 1 Building a Soldier’s Character
1. Our Struggle with Obedience 11
2. Who Will Qualify? 21
3. Requirements for God’s Army 27
4. Finding Inner Harmony 35
5. Testing vs. Chastening 43
6. The Hardest Test of All 57
7. Denying the “Old Man” 65
8. The Role of Worship 71
9. Victory in Praise 79
Part 2 Holy Spirit Training
10. Know Your Guide 91
11. Letting the Holy Spirit Lead 99
12. No Place for Hypocrisy 107
13. The Holy Spirit and the Word 115
14. Taking Up the Spiritual Gifts 125
15. Developing Spiritual Fruit 135
Part 3 Battle in the Heavenlies
16. Understanding Our Enemy 145
17. The Spirit of Antichrist 153
18. Angelic Intervention in Human Lives 163
19. Warfare in Heavenly Places 171
20. Principles of Spiritual Protection 177
21. The Weapons of Our Warfare 185
22. The Climax of the Conflict 195
Part 4 Enduring to the End
23. Humanism: Forerunner for the Antichrist 205
24. Will Satan Ever Be Reconciled to God? 211
25. Opposition to Jesus’ Return 219
26. Learning from Balaam’s Mistakes 227
27. Preparing to Reign with Christ 235
28. Character That Stands the Test 241
29. The Quest for Character 253
30. Finishing the Course 261
About the Author
Back Ads
Back Cover
Introduction
Derek Prince reached the zenith of his visibility and vigor well before the current era of the media ministry “star.” Nevertheless he stands as one of the truly extraordinary Bible teachers and theologians of the twentieth century.
A British citizen born in India, Prince was Eton educated and Cambridge trained, a contemporary and acquaintance of C. S. Lewis. For a time prior to his dramatic conversion experience, he held a prestigious fellowship in ancient and modern philosophy at Cambridge. But once his amazing intellect was submitted to Christ and illuminated by the Holy Spirit, he became a formidable force for communicating the truths of Scripture. As a classically trained philosopher and unabashed charismatic, he was that too-rare confluence of academic rigor and openness to the supernatural. The Word and power. Truth and Spirit.
Across the better part of nearly six decades, in countless cities on six continents, Derek Prince taught, preached, encouraged, proclaimed, imparted and inspired. And all along the way, he wrote. It would be difficult to overstate the impact and influence this humble, self-effacing teacher has had around the world.
In the autumn of 2003, Derek Prince died in his beloved Jerusalem, his home for nearly twenty years. He was 88. He left behind some wonderful gifts. To those who had the privilege of knowing him, he left an inspiring example one of yieldedness to God, love for the Church, a heart for Israel and a roaring passion to see God’s people walk in the fullness of the freedom and authority Christ purchased for them. To all of us he left an astonishing volume of teaching in books, articles, sermons and letters.
You now hold in your hands a unique fragment of that treasure. Between 1993 and 2003, Derek generated scores of “teaching letters” written expressly for his friends and partners in ministry. These ministry letters represent some of the deepest and richest teaching you will find on important but neglected topics such as personal character, true worship and the power of the Word of God. It is our pleasure to present some of the finest of these in this collection.
It is especially appropriate that we do so because, on more than one occasion, Derek expressed his strong desire that his ministry continue beyond his homegoing. Few things meant more to him than the knowledge that the truths he spent his life proclaiming would continue to be proclaimed to the saints.
In life he poured himself out to see God’s people grow to maturity in the Word. May this collection be an extension of that legacy in your life.
The editors of Chosen Books

1 Our Struggle with Obedience
Each of us is engaged in the spiritual battle between God’s forces in the universe and the forces of our enemy, the devil. The Spirit of the Lord is moving to and fro throughout the whole earth looking for a certain type of person to serve in God’s army one whose heart is perfect toward God. Whenever the Holy Spirit finds such character in a soldier, He delights to show Himself strong in that person’s behalf, openly manifesting His power and approval in that person’s life and ministry.
But let there be no mistake: Even though the rewards are many, the prospect of fighting spiritual battles is never easy. The desire to serve Him with a perfect heart takes all a person has to give. The Bible tells us that Abraham was that kind of soldier. And Job. Scripture says that they had just such a heart. They accepted the challenges facing them and reached the climax of spiritual growth.
But wait! you say. First things first. I am not Abraham or Job. How can I possibly have a heart that is perfect toward God? If that is what it takes to prepare for my role in spiritual battle, if the rules of engagement can be embraced only by one whose heart is perfect toward God, I might face defeat before I even start!
No, you are not Abraham, but you can accept a fresh challenge from God. And you are not Job, but you can have a right attitude toward God and a right attitude toward evil. You see, we will discover that there is no neutrality in perfection toward God. A soldier in His army does not compromise with anything that is unpleasing to Him; you must be absolutely committed to obedience no matter what it costs. And be reminded, as every soldier knows, it does cost something to be approved of God!
We are all coming to the point of the consummation of the purpose of God for the ages. And the message of God for every person who is going to take his place in what God is doing is this: “Walk before Me and be perfect.” This is how we will fulfill our roles in the spiritual battle day-to-day trials now and greater battles to come .
For more than fifty years, I have tried to help people with innumerable problems in their lives. Eventually, I have come to a surprising conclusion: Our basic problem as human beings is that we do not realize how valuable we are. As we will discuss further in the next chapter, we need to focus more on the way God sees us than the way we see ourselves. We often miss the call to join in the great battle because we think that we cannot make the grade.
Consequently, we make the most tragic mistakes. We are like a person who is legally heir to a vast fortune, but we sell off our entire inheritance for something incomparably less valuable: a night of sex, a venture into the world of drugs, a drunken party, a crooked financial scheme.
Or we may value ourselves a little higher, perhaps seeking some prestigious position in politics or the entertainment world, or even some high ecclesiastical office. Yet for all its prestige, it does not compare with the value of our inheritance which we give in exchange for it.
God wants to move in power in our lives. He wants us to move victoriously through the years ahead, learning more about Him and learning more about ourselves. Thus, we will cover a lot of ground as we take our places in the spiritual battle raging around us. We will learn how a soldier’s character is developed and what to do when facing tests. We will enter the training camp of the greatest teacher and helper on earth the Holy Spirit. Then we will move