US Army Field Manual 3-0 is the end-all guide to combat operations upon which our National military strategy for ground forces was developed. It defines in a concise way what is absolutely necessary in order to prosecute a war, and tells us how to achieve it. Although the Bible must be our end-all standard for the prosecution of spiritual war against our adversary, we can gain some important principles through the undertaking of a study on the principles outlined in the Army field manual.
Field Manual 3-0 outlines five elements of combat power. I believe that each of them has a clearly discernable spiritual parallel that we can learn from if we are willing to undertake some study of the topic. Combat power is the ability to fight. In traditional military endeavors, commanders combine the elements of combat power- maneuver, firepower, leadership, protection, and information- to meet constantly changing requirements and defeat the enemy. In our spiritual endeavor, we can combine the elements of spiritual combat power in order to maintain our victory, prevent deception, and expand the kingdom in accordance with the orders that we receive from King Jesus.
Maneuver: Maneuver, in carnal warfare, is the process by which forces are moved in order to achieve an advantageous position with respect to the enemy. Maneuver is the tool that commanders employ in order to ensure that the appropriate troops are in the right place at the right time to deliver bad news to the enemy and achieve victory.
Core Competency: Be in constant communication with the commander, King Jesus, through an intimate relationship and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
The most important factor involved in ensuring that maneuver is achieved on the battlefield is, without question, communication between the commander and the troops. Soldiers must know where to go, how to best get there, and which direction to face when they arrive. Many people forget that the common foot soldier doesn’t possess the “big picture” knowledge that his commander has, and that he needs to be given instructions in order to function according to the overall tactical plan.
In our spiritual army, our commander in chief, Jesus, possesses the only fully outlined battle plan. As a result, we must each approach him directly and be available to receive combat orders at a moments notice. We know the phenomenon of superiority of maneuver as “divine appointment.”
I once heard a Pastor talk about a restaurant that he really disliked. In fact, he hated to eat at this restaurant so much that he would never consider driving to the establishment of his own free will. One day, while praying, the Pastor felt an unction from the Lord to go to the restaurant. The Pastor, fully engulfed in disgust, nearly disobeyed the Lord and refused to dine at the restaurant, but after a few moments of grumbling relented and climbed into his truck.
When he arrived at the restaurant, the Pastor was surprised to meet a woman who he had worked with in a past job. The woman was crying, and the Pastor offered her comfort. The two dined together, and the Pastor had the opportunity to lead the woman to the Lord. Had he refused his assignment, or had he not been available to receive an assignment at all, he would have missed this divine appointment.
Or, if you prefer biblical examples, take the story of Philip:
“But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)
So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship,
and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.
Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.”
Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:
“HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER;
AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT,
SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.
“IN HUMILIATION HIS JUDGMENT WAS TAKEN AWAY;
WHO WILL RELATE HIS GENERATION?
FOR HIS LIFE IS REMOVED FROM THE EARTH.”
The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?”
Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.” (Acts 8:26-35)
Philip, in this awesome biblical story, heard from the angel of the Lord that he was supposed to get up and go to an abandoned desert road. Although it may have seemed absurd at the time, Philip was obedient to the voice of the angel of the Lord. You can clearly see that his obedience resulted in an opportunity for a man to be added to the kingdom.
Obedience, as important as it may be, is only part of the equation required to establish superior maneuver in spiritual warfare. The aspiring warrior must have something to be obedient to. He must be able to receive the direction of the Lord for the moment. This can manifest in several ways: through personal communication with God, by receiving prophetic revelation from other sources, or through interpreting circumstances, etc.
“The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” (John 10:3-4)
Knowing the voice of the Lord will allow us to be in the right place at the right time provided we respond to His voice without delay. To the extent that maneuver is dependent upon hearing the Lord, the enemy will devote resources to obscuring the Lord’s voice in an attempt to confound our deployments. We can rest assured that if we can tune in the voice of the Lord and tune out the attempts of the enemy to distract us, we can walk in foreknowledge of the events to come. It’s our destiny as a prophetic people.
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” (John 16:13)
