You Are Invited To Join The "vsw"

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At the onset, I must make in perfectly clear that what I am about to share with you is not to be misinterpreted as an invitation to hypocrisy nor a license to judge others. Both of these activities were strongly condemned by the Lord (see Matthew 7:1-5). If this discourse is misunderstood, it will probably be disturbing to the reader, and rightly so. Please keep in mind that the enemy is Satan, not those persons who have been oppressed by Satan’s deception, and not even those who are under the influence of Satan. Please remember also that Satan uses the law to condemn humanity while God seeks to redeem, and that God has sent an advocate, Jesus Christ, to stand between Himself and the law (see John 8:1-11 Romans 8:33-34). This is so very important!

Jesus himself neither judged nor condemned those burdened by sin. Jesus said, “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person, for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world” John 12:47 NIV. The natural law, God’s word, by which all that exists is called into being and which sets limits by which all that exists continues to exist (see Genesis 1), indicts all who violate that law, and we have all sinned in this manner, but we have an advocate who stands between us and the law, that advocate being Jesus Christ who paid our sin debt with His own life. God does not wish for anyone to perish, and has therefore provided us with a plan of salvation, the blood of Jesus Christ.

Not only does Jesus stand between us and the law in the final judgement, He also protects us in this life. He spoke out harshly when confronting the Pharisees and other hypocrites, the reason being that He was seeking to protect those who were being abused spiritually by these people. Jesus said to these abusers, “Woe to you…experts in the law! … You weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load” (Luke 11:46 Berean Study Bible). God, you see, is love, and anyone who perverts His redemptive purpose is very much in error and has allowed himself to become a servant of Satan.

That having been said, and I cannot emphasize enough what has just been said, let us begin with our declaration of war against Satan in our effort to liberate those whom Satan oppresses.

On Veteran's day we honor all those who have served their country in the military. Typically such veterans are members of the American Legion or the VFW. I'd like to suggest today that we broaden the scope of those we honor and make a special effort to honor the VSW, the “veterans of spiritual wars”, and if you are not yet a member of the VSW, I would certainly encourage you to join.

Not all veterans, you see, have served in the military. There are other battles being fought daily. Members of the VSW have stood against an unseen enemy for many years and have sacrificed in their efforts to protect you from the hand of that enemy. They have stood watch over the ramparts of the church which protects God’s spiritual family, and have been vigilant, always ready to go to battle. It’s a good organization to be a part of, and I hope you will consider joining.

America has many enemies domestic and foreign who are constantly looking for ways to weaken our nation. There are even more enemies of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of our Lord is in a constant danger of attack by enemies domestic and foreign and I hope that each of you are ready to fight in defense of this kingdom, ready to bleed for it, to sacrifice for it, and that you will have the zeal and confidence to triumph over the enemies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This may come as a surprise to many persons, but, while there are many enemies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, there is one instigator behind it all, that instigator being Satan. Satan’s biggest trick, someone once said, is that he has convinced so much of the world that he does not exist. In fact, it is harder to believe in Satan than it is to believe in God because Satan deliberately disguises himself in contrast to God who seeks to reveal Himself. Jesus warned that Satan “does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him….for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44b).

In 2 Corinthians 4:4 we read, “the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Satan is not to be underestimated, first in his cunning and ability to deceive, and secondly in his maliciousness and intent to do us harm. Satan has set himself up as a false God and has become the God of this world blinding the minds of all but relatively few to Light of the Gospel.