I believe one of the main reasons many Christians become casualties in the spiritual war of this world today, is that they’re not even aware they’re in a war. Most followers of Jesus are completely oblivious that there’s a war raging all around them and that as a follower of Christ, they’re right in the middle of it. Regardless of whether you’re a fan of this war or not, if you follow Christ today, you’re on the battlefront. But before you go retreating from the frontlines in fear and panic, you have to be confident and rest well in one major fact. It’s not you that will be doing the fighting today, it’s in much more capable hands…the war is in the hands of Almighty God.
“Do not fear them, for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you.” Deut. 3:22
There are numerous verses that deal with the war we encounter daily. The battle though is not a physical one. We do not wield guns and knives to fight this war, this war is fought on another battlefield altogether and as a result, the stakes are much higher.
“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” Eph 6:12
We live in a world today that is apparently mostly from Missouri, the Show Me State. If you can’t see it, it doesn’t exist. We live in a very physical world that does not necessarily believe or rely on things that cannot be seen. But I have a question for you. Do you love someone in this world? Maybe a spouse or a parent or a child? Can you feel that love? Is it real to you? Great, reach out and touch it. You can’t. You see, love is a gift from God, and it reaches deep into that spiritual realm to greatly affect us and touch us. My love for Margie is as real as a beautiful flower in my own backyard. I can see it, feel it, revel in its beauty and it’s mere presence touches me as I know God created it. Folks, God has given us an entire spiritual world and that is how we relate to Him. And it is in this world that we war. It is in this world that evil spiritual forces wage war against the beauty of the relationship we pursue daily with God. And it is in this war that our God prepares us, leads us and fights for us.
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Cor. 10:3-5
Chapter 20 of Deuteronomy today walks us through God’s instructions of war to the Israelites. Now their war here in the Old Testament was indeed a physical one. You see that beautiful Promised land that God was giving them had squatters on it. While the Israelites had been roaming in the desert for 40 years, people moved onto this prime real estate and made themselves at home. But God will move them out. The sinful hearts of these squatters had thoroughly rejected God and His message and instead chose to worship all manner of false god’s. As a result, they pursued their own sinful desires with reckless abandon. The sinful debauchery and immorality that existed in these peoples insulted and disgusted God. And without any inkling of repentance from them, God instructed the Israelites to clear the land of them. And as they followed God, He would do the fighting. And as they did, there were a few key aspects of being a soldier of God that apply directly to our spiritual war today.
1) You must be in God’s army. If you ever hope to be victorious in this spiritual battle you have to let God do the fighting. You can never hope to defeat the attacks of satan, only God can do that. And He can’t fight for you if He’s not your General. Do you follow God? Have you called on Jesus to save you from the destruction of the sin in your life? Folks, this is step one in this battle, you have to be in God’s army and let His supreme strength lead you in the fight. Call upon Jesus today to be the Lord of your life and the General of your battles.
2) You must follow your General. You can’t just call God your General and then go AWOL in the middle of the fight. Any soldier that does this is destined to get lost, hurt or even become a casualty of the war. To follow God, you must be in His Word daily, listening to His instructions for the war. You must constantly be in prayer to Him. Just as soldiers use radios in battle to communicate an effective plan, prayer is your method of communicating with God. You must also team up with fellow soldiers. No one can fight a war alone. You must team up with fellow brothers and sister in Christ and build the strength and camaraderie of an army. Folks, you must use all the tools that God has laid at your feet as you follow Him into battle. As a result, you will be well equipped to handle the attacks that will come your way each and every day.
Today, you will be warring with the world, it’s an absolute. Are you ready? If you go into war unprepared, folks, you will become a casualty. And as the evil in this world wins against you today, you will find that it has, as a spoil of victory, stolen your joy, your peace, your freedom, your purpose and your passion for Christ. But if you line up behind God and follow Him into this battle, it will have a much different result. You will find yourself full of purpose in fulfilling the commands of Jesus. You will find your heart full of joy as you walk closely with Jesus Christ. You will find your heart full of freedom as you walk not in bondage to the sin in your life, but in the victorious freeing blood of Jesus Christ.
Folks, don’t kid yourself and think that the battle will somehow skip you or avoid you today. The attacks of satan envelope this world and all within it, and that means you.
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” 1 Peter 5:8-9
Join with your brothers and sisters in Christ today and follow Jesus directly into the battle. And as you do, you are guaranteed something no other earthly General could ever guarantee…the absolute victory over the enemy.
“today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is He who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.” Deut 20:3-4
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