Under Siege
By Pastor Jim May
On May 23, 1863, nearly 30,000 Union soldiers were camped in a semi-circle around one of the most unlikely places in the country. Just 35 miles north of where we are right now there was a fort built on a high bluff overlooking a sharp bend in the Mississippi River. From the earthen walls of that fort bristled a multitude of cannon, most of them aimed at the river itself. Nearly 7000 men called that fort home. Their mission and purpose was to keep the river open for the Confederacy. The river was the main artery into the heart of the South and it must remain free at all costs.
For 48 days the siege went on. Day after day, artillery would rain down on the defenders. Time and again waves of blue uniformed men would throw themselves against the defenders of Port Hudson, but they never penetrated the walls.
After many days, the defenders became weak because of lack of food. They were forced to eat anything that they could find including dogs, horses, mules, cats and even rats.
Their last stand was made at a point of the defenses called Fort Desperate.
Finally, the siege came to an end as Vicksburg fell. The defense of Port Hudson was no longer important.
I know that not all of you like Civil War history and perhaps you tire of hearing about it but I went to that area this week with my grandson’s class from school. I was reminded of the price that many have paid as they made their last stand for what they believed.
The soldiers, from both sides of this siege, knew what their objective was and they were prepared to pay the price.
There are stories of men who made their last stand throughout history and nearly every one of them have given us the names of heroes that live on beyond their lifetime. Men like Davy Crocket at the siege of the Alamo and General McAuliffe at the siege of Bastogne in World War II. When the German’s surrounding the 101st Airborne in that little French town demanded that the American’s either surrender or die, McAuliffe’s answer was short but pointed. All he said was, “Nuts”. That “eloquent speech” forever wrote his name in history.
Why do I being these things to your attention? It’s all because of something that the Holy Ghost inspired Paul to write in his letter to the Ephesians.
The city of Ephesus had once been a great city. It was called “the light of Asia”; the largest center of population in this part of the region; it was the very center of worship for the idol goddess Diana; and it was a place of great superstition and idolatry of all sorts, worshipping every god but the True God.
Inside its walls great orators, philosophers, men with great wisdom and the educated elite spoke and taught the ways of the world to people would gather at every opportunity to learn some new thing. It was a city that had been once known for its great wealth and power, and had flourished with trade among the nations of the world.
But this great city of Ephesus has been reduced to a poor, desperate little village. It has fallen to its own demise because of the corruption that filled its people and it’s place in history as a grand city was forever lost.
But God had plans for this once great city. Ephesus would be one of the focal points of God’s plan for the spread of the gospel and the establishment of His Church. But God had revealed to Paul that the church at Ephesus would also be a church under siege from the moment it was founded.
From Ephesus false teachers would rise among the ranks of the church, spread their interpretations of the Word of God and lead many astray.
Paul knew that the greatest danger to the church was not from the attacks that came from the idolaters and philosophers. Worldly powers, demonic attacks, and the forces of hell are powerful enemies, but their greatest danger to the church doesn’t come when they try to invade from without. Their greatest danger is when they have infiltrated the church itself and then, through charisma and flowering speech, persuade Christians to follow them, bringing destruction from within.
Paul’s purpose in writing to the Ephesians was to encourage them to stand in the face of the onslaught from hell. They would be surrounded by the forces of evil, besieged by the false teachers and idolaters around them, and would often feel like they were alone in the fight for right. Though they would have false teachers and false prophets that would hurt the cause of Christ, they could still stand.
But Paul also knew that they would never fall. He remembered the words of Jesus that had been passed on to him from Peter, “… this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
These things can also be said of the church today. Never in history has there been so many false prophets and false teachers in the church. There are many whose voices no longer proclaim the gospel, the only message that has the power to save. The message of the church today is one of wealth, popularity, good relationships, meeting the needs and desires of the flesh. But these messages don’t have the power to transform lives and save souls.
Paul knew the weakness of men to fall into false doctrines. That’s why he so closely guarded his relationships with men to stay focused on the right thing.
1 Corinthians 2:2 For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
He knew that the wise men and philosophers of the world didn’t have the answer. Those among the church who embraced the wisdom of the world would never be true ministers of the gospel. Their teaching couldn’t save souls. Souls can only be won by the preaching of the gospel, not through seminars that soothed itching ears.
1 Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
Paul knew that the only message to preach was Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The message of the Cross and the shed blood of Jesus, and the Love of God that reached out to fallen man was the only message with real power to change men’s hearts.
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
But the church was going to lose that message if it wasn’t careful. The soothing words of false prophets and teachers, wolves in sheep’s clothing, would utterly destroy the effectiveness of the church.
The church would be under siege. Christians who determined to stand for the gospel and stand for Christ would be under siege. Those of us who desire only to preach the gospel of salvation would become a minority, while the ranks of those who followed after false doctrines would grow ever larger. The teachings of false doctrines in these last days are rising like a Tsunami over the church.
But, like the church at Ephesus, we must stand through it all. We must not be overcome. We must hold fast to the truth of the gospel without wavering. We must send the message back to the devil, “Nuts”, we will not surrender. We will not fall. And you cannot defeat the church for we are still founded upon the Rock, Jesus Christ.
Therefore it will be important for us to read the final instructions of Paul to this church at Ephesus that will have to go through the times of siege, and still be victorious in the end. It is important for us to know just how we are to be overcomers. It is important for us to remember that it isn’t our strength that will bring the victory, but it is the blood of Christ. We will never be defeated if we stay founded upon the Rock, Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 6:10-13, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
It’s not your strength that you must depend upon, but God’s strength. It is God’s power and His might that will bring the victory. But if we are going to have God with us to help us stand against every attack of the enemy, then we must be prepared for the siege.
You can pray, study, be faithful and do all you can do to fight this spiritual warfare against the powers of hell, but when its all said and done, the battle isn’t yours, it’s God’s.
When your prayers don’t seem to penetrate the sky and make it to the Throne Room of Heaven, just stand in faith anyway.
When your times of studying the Word of God seem fruitless, just keep on studying, keep on standing upon the Word anyway.
When you have been faithful in your service and still everything seems to go wrong, stay faithful anyway.
When you’ve come to the end of your rope and the knot is slipping loose, and you’ve reached your wit’s end, hold on anyway. YOU CAN DO IT!
When you have done all you can do, then all you can do is just “Stand”. Be faithful anyway. Be trusting anyway. Just stand there and let God take the load for you.
But you won’t be able to stand unless you are ready for the siege.
For nearly three months, from January 21 to April 8, 1968, the U. S. Marines were under siege on a hill near a little village known as Khe Sahn. The siege ended in an American victory as the marines were never driven from their defenses but they endured many days of nearly constant bombardment and ground assaults. Casualties were heavy on both sides but it was tenacity and constant resupply, reinforcements brought in under heavy fire, and constant artillery and air support that won out in the end.
But none of the marines would have survived had they not been dressed for battle and prepared to fight. Helmets, boots, sand bags, flack jackets, faith in their ability to win, and a fighting spirit, along with defensive weapons are al that stood between them and annihilation.
Likewise, for the church we must be properly equipped for the battle. The church is under siege today, and each of us who are a part of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, are under siege as well.
Just look around you. Where is one place around you where Satan does not have his forces on the move? His fiery darts of temptation come from every direction at the same time. If there is a weakness in your armor, he will find it. If there is something that will cause you to stumble and fall, the devil will keep probing your defenses until he finds a way into your heart life. All it takes is one weak point and you will be in for the fight for your very soul.
When I was in Vietnam, I was assigned to the Headquarters Unit of the II Field Force Artillery. We had artillery firebases scattered all through the I Corps around the southern half of the country around the Mekong River delta and up to the Cambodian border. I thank God that I was never on the “front lines”, even though there never was such a thing as a “line” anywhere. No place was safe. No place was secure from attack at any time due to infiltration of our lines by the enemy.
One night one of our firebases came under attack, but the men on the guard bunkers couldn’t see it coming. The night was dark, overcast and rainy. Even night vision scopes, a new technology for the 1960’s didn’t seem to help very much. Most of the time the defenders along the perimeter were given strict orders that they were to not fire until given permission.
In this camp there was a small dog, the camp mascot. Normally he was quiet, but this night he began to act crazy. He would run back and forth along the barbed wire and rolls of concertina wire barking and growling. This went on for a while until the officer of the guard finally gave permission for the guard towers and bunkers to rake the perimeter with machine gun fire. The guns began to fire and for about 10 minutes the bullets and tracers could be seen disappearing into the darkness of the night. Screams could be heard in the darkness, but no one could see a thing. The firing continued until there were no more sounds from the darkness. When light finally came, there was nearly 30 bodies of enemy soldiers lying all along the perimeter. That little dog was given a hero’s parade.
What was the enemy doing along that perimeter? He was probing for a weak spot. Just one place where the guards weren’t watching; just one little opening where the wire wasn’t as thick or as high; just one place where a single soldier could slip through unnoticed and plant a bomb that would open the way for the enemy to flood inside. Once inside, he would be hard to drive out.
On one such occasion when they did break through, 15 U. S. soldiers died trying to drive them out.
We can’t afford to let our guard down. What will happen to your children if the enemy gets inside? Which member of your family, or which member of this church, will be the one who pays the price for our lack of vigilance? Let’s keep our armor on and be ready all the time.
You will need your ammo belt. What good would a rifle do without bullets? It’s nothing more than a stick. And don’t forget your flack vest, it protects you heart and your vital organs.
Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Truth is your ammunition. Nothing can stand against the Truth of God’s Word. No lie can defeat the truth. And when you have the Truth and you live according to that Truth, you will be made righteous in Christ. That righteousness means that your heart is right with God, made righteous through the blood of the Lamb. When you know you are right with God, the weapons of the devil won’t be able to penetrate your heart. There’s no room for anything in your heart because Jesus fills it.
Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
When we walked the trails of Vietnam, one of the things that you had to watch carefully for was booby traps. The enemy was good at laying traps to cripple or kill. Our boots had steel soles to try to stop foot injuries although they weren’t all that successful, they did help some.
But your feet need to be covered before you can walk the battlefield of this spiritual war that you are facing. You need to make sure that you are walking the paths where Jesus leads you and don’t go choosing your own way. The best way to walk through a minefield is to follow the footsteps of someone who has made it through, and make sure that you put your foot in right place. Don’t get off even a little or it may be the last step you ever take.
Jesus is the only One who has walked through the minefield that Satan lays before us and lived to tell about it. He knows the way. He knows which steps to take. Only Jesus has the key to eternal life. We must be prepared with the gospel to bring peace to the hearts of men.
Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
The best way to make through a battle is to be surrounded by the thick steel plates of a tank or armored vehicle, provided the armor is thick enough. Even the weakest soldier can defeat a machine gun nest if he is inside a tank. Make sure that your faith is good and strong.
Jude 1:20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Make your shield thick and strong to withstand any darts that come your way. Let them bounce off of your faith like bullets off an Abram’s Tank.
Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
The Helmet of Salvation helps you to keep your head and to think right in the midst of the battle. If Satan can get to your mind and confuse your thoughts, causing you to doubt and fear, then you will become an ineffective soldier in the Lord’s Army and you may wind up as a casualty of the war, crippled for life, with a ruined testimony, and only memories of what could have been. Hold on to your salvation. Don’t lay Jesus aside. Don’t leave him at home and go do your thing, not even for a moment. Guard what comes into your mind and pray like David prayed in Psalms 51:10-12, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit."
Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Finally, don’t forget that you are not in this battle alone. We are all in this together, and we need to support one another. Pray for one another; not just once or twice; but all the time. Persevere on behalf of your brother or sister in the Lord who are facing the battles.
You may feel like you are under siege today, but look up; your redemption is getting closer every day. You are part of a victorious church and it won’t be long until we all celebrate together in Heaven. Are you ready for the battle? Do you have your armor on? Do you know Jesus? The siege will soon be over. Will you be on the winning side?
