Blind To The Battle (2 Part Message) Series

Blind to the Battle (Parts 1 & 2)

October 6 & 20 2024

Dr. Bradford Reaves

Crossway Christian Fellowship

2 Kings 8-17

The bloodiest Day in U.S. history was Sept. 17, 1862, when about 4,700 Union and Confederate soldiers died in the Civil War battle of Antietam. Pearl Harbor killed 2,388 Americans, and the first Day of the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, killed 1,465. September 11 killed 2,997 people. (Mark Hensley, Sermon Central)

Operation Overlord, as the invasion of Normandy has been called, was the largest amphibious invasion in history, involving 12 allied nations using eight different navies comprised of 6939 vessels. In addition, it involved 13,000 fighter bombers and transport aircraft, 5700 tons of supplies, and nearly 1,000,000 men. It was the beginning of the end for the Nazi Reich. (Billy Crone, Get-a-Life Ministries).

September 11th, 2001, was a beautiful Tuesday. People living on the East Coast woke up that morning doing their normal routine, unaware that anything was about to happen. Reality sank in as the four airliners crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, PA. The result of 9/11 would be a complete reshaping of the way Americans live our lives, two decades of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the realization of major intelligence failures in our government. The 9/11 Commission Identified several key factors that contributed to the loss of nearly 3000 American lives:

1. The lack of intelligence sharing between intelligence agencies due to bureaucratic infighting,

2. Missed opportunities to thwart the hijacking plot in the 1990s,

3. The failure to add the key al-Qaida militants to terrorist watch lists and,

4. Underestimating the threat of US enemies.

Nearly all of us have heard of the Battle of Normandy. Most of us have lived through the fateful Day of September 11th. But even with the stories of heroism on 9/11 or the immense bravery and fortitude of the men who stormed Normandy beach that fateful Day in June 1944. The losses of these battles pale to the reality of the spiritual battle happening all around us and the casualties of Satan’s army agaiGod’sod’s people.

The reality is that most Christians live in spiritual blindness, which is like the intelligence blindness that led to the destruction of 3,000 lives on 9/11. Churches look at each other as competitors instead of allies, we miss opportunities to stop the schemes of the enemy before they happen, we don't look at the demonic forces as threats. We therefore are unaware of their schemes, and we underestimate the power and influence of Satan over our lives. The Bible says that spiritual blindness is not only dangerous but unnecessary.

Once, when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 But the man God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man God told him. Thus, he used to warn him, so he saved himself there more than once or twice. 11 And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” 14 So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city. 15 When the servant of the man God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:8-17)

I. There is an Enemy at War with You

The first thing we need to understand is that most Christians are not aware they are at war. The enemy God is the enemy of every man and woman. The moment you become a Christian, the intensity of that fight increases. Too many Christians are fighting a defensive or a reactive battle against the enemy. We are fighting from an inferior position, giving us an unnecessary disadvantage. God has given us all the intelligence, weaponry, and armor we need to withstand the enemies’ attacks but be overcome.