Have you heard the warriors call today? Turn to Ephesians 6:10 (READ 10-18)
There is a renewed call to arms in the land. 1 Corinthians 16:12 says, "Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be men of courage; be strong."
The church must be united and built up for the inevitable battle that will be fought, that is currently being fought, with the forces of evil. The question becomes, are you personally ready to fight?
A great fact about our faith is this, the victory has already been won. That’s good news, but even though the final victory has been secured through Jesus death, burial and resurrection, there are still battles that remain to be waged and won. Are you ready to rumble?
We live in a violent society today. One cannot naturally cocoon him or herself against the violence which has surround us. I want to address the spiritual battles that is about us, and then in the next weeks speak on the armor God has provided to make us victorious.
The Bible teaches that Satan is the god of this world, and Jesus came into the world to save those who were lost in Satan’s false realm. Satan’s kingdom was established when Satan went against the sovereignty of God, rebelled against God’s authority and set up his counterfeit kingdom here on earth, and don’t kid yourself, he does have power.
Jesus came to bring light into the darkness, deliverence to those who are being held captive. When Jesus came, he insulted Satan and broke his power through His death on the Cross and ultimate resurrection from the tomb. Backed into a corner, Satan did not take this lying down, but responded violently, both on earth and in heaven. That is why Matthew 11:12 states, "The kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force"
As a result, there are two different postures a Christian can take, and in this room today, I am sure both choices have been made by different ones of us. The first is to draw back and protect ourselves in a defensive posture, where we circle the wagons and hope the spiritual attack will not come, and in this defensive posture we look at ourselves more as victims rather than warriors.
The second is to move forward aggresively in an offensive position, taking back the land the devil has stolen.
It is easy to draw in and say, I don’t want to know. Don’t ask, don’t tell. Remember I had said a few weeks ago, God is bringing His people off the fence and into making a decision. There is a revolution taking place and you have to choose, it’s time to prepare for battle.
Leif Anderson, in his book a church for the 21st Century speaks to the rural churches in America. He states, "Rural America has undergone extraordinary changes in the 20th Century, but more changes are on the way. Towns of under 2,500 population are an endangered species. Many small towns have already lost their schools. It is estimated that the United States will close the century with less than half of the school districts as in 1900 because of consolidation..." Anderson goes on to states, The same thing is happening and will happen with churches in small towns. Recently our family drove through a rural Kansas town early on Sunday morning. The sign read, ’Population 131’ On the right siee of the road sat a lovely church building with red brick walls and stained glass windows. It represented fine early twentieth century church architecture. The sign in front read, "City Hall and Community Center. My guess is that the church went of of business because the town didn’t have enough people and money to support it. My second guess is that in another ten years the building will be completely closed because there will be a population of less than 131-to small to support a city government of less than 131."
Anderson goes on to write, I’ve seen a lot of rural America lately. While some areas flourish, others languish. Many stores are boarded up. Downtown areas are deteriorating. The economy is tough. Most of the jobs to be found are in the cities.
Church, it is part of an intensified battle. Is it that rural America doesn’t need churches? Is is that Ione doesn’t need churches? Is there not people who need to be saved? That is not the situation at all! The church has taken a defensive posture. It has circled the wagons, stopped up the gaps and is trying to protect and maintain the numbers of those inside the encampment without being aggressive. And the enemy is picking off those inside the circle, one at a time, throwing firey darts which are penetrating the gaps between the wagons. It is time to get aggressive, it is time for a spiritual revolution.
Spiritual warfare, a revolution for Jesus Christ, is not something to be taken lightly. It is not fun and games for Satan and his demons are real beings, warped in their personalites, wicked in their ways and malcious in their intent. They are more powerful than human beings, but not anywhere near as powerful as God, and you need to understand, just like you and I, they are creations of God, not creators. They have limited power and through Christ we have power over them, but that power is not to be taken with overconfidence, we need to be wise in our approach of the battlefield or else we might find ourselves victims rather than victors.
Ephesians 6:11 instructs us as believers to put on the full armor of God several times, giving instruction on the armor and the weapons of our warfare and then in verse 18 Paul instructs us to Pray in the Spirit in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests, with this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
From this, I could safely conclude prayer to be important, couldn’t you? And if prayer is so important, which we would acknowledge it is, than what is your prayer life like?
Luke 18:11 Men ought always to pray and not to faint
Mark 9:29 And He said unto them, this kind can only come forth by nothing but prayer
James 4:2 Ye have not, because ye ask not
Luke 18:1 They ought always to pray, and not to faint
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