The Battle is Real, But God is Winning

This morning I felt like reading from Ephesians 6:10-17 NIV:

[10] "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. [12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. [13] Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. [14] Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, [15] and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. [16] In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. [17] Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

As I was reading these familiar verses today I was reminded of the fact that our real battle is against the evil one, and his schemes and plans.  It is interesting how confused we are about our real foe, and how seldom we as a church seem to be able to defeat his strategies and plans at present, at least here in America.  We are letting the enemy have a field day with us, winning victories in many areas where we should be strong, seeing ourselves being labeled and maligned and not having the ability to stand our ground.  The good news is that is not the case world-wide, and in many places the church is rapidly expanding and growing stronger and Lord is clearly winning.

As I read these verses this morning, I was reminded of the fact that first and foremost we must rely on the Lord and His strength and power.  We aren't fighting a battle on a battlefield that we naturally understand or can see.  We are fighting a spiritual battle, and we need His power and strength, His armor to protect us.  If we look at the basics of His armor, it based on the Truth (His Word), His righteousness applied into our lives, the Gospel of peace (His Kingdom real and present), faith in Him, salvation from Him, and the sword of the Spirit, which is His word, the word of God.  All of this comes from Him, and is applied into our lives.  We are participants in dressing ourselves in this armor, but it all comes from Him.  We must understand that unless we are in relationship with Him, we have no armor, and no ability to stand.

If we are fighting a spiritual battle but have no spiritual armor or weapons, our battle will be brief and defeat is assured.  Make no mistake the enemy understands that each of us is important, and just like in any battle if you defeat all of the soldiers individually, then victory is assured. We must, each of us, learn to apply the armor of God to our own lives, and learn to encourage others in the application of their armor.  We must encourage each other in daily relationship with the Lord, in the understanding of the spiritual realities, and mostly in the reliance on the Lord's strength and power.  One person fighting alone is easily overcome from behind, but two individuals fighting back to back can withstand a sizable force.  How much more could a small group of individuals working in unison, fighting together and protecting one another be successful in battle!

The enemy has worked hard to try to separate us from one another through disagreement and division.  He has tried to paint our efforts and our faith as weak and powerless.  He has tried to color us as stupid, and bigoted, angry and judgmental.  If we look around (in the western church) we see the strength of the church weakening, and our message becoming marginalized.

When I look at this situation, it seems to me that we are looking at the wrong indicators and are being convinced of our defeat or weakness, because we are looking at our own strength and abilities.  The truth is that God is fully in charge, has all power, strength and authority and He hasn't weakened one bit.  He has already won the victory, already defeated the enemy and we should be looking at Him and His power and strength, not our weakness and inability.  God's armor is sufficient to allow us to stand our ground against all of the enemies schemes and tactics.  His strength and power are far superior to our enemies' and if we step into His strength and power and join ourselves to Him and one another, we will also be superior to the enemy.

When Paul wrote this letter the enemy was hard at work attacking the church with division, heresy, persecution and confusion. He was throwing everything he had at the church, and Paul and the apostles continued to expand the church and see more and more people join its ranks.  The enemy had the government on his side, had tons of people from other religions and faiths all trying to destroy the church and in the midst of all of that the church was winning.  Make no mistake the church continues to grow around the world and as an example China is on pace to become the nation with the most Christians by 2030 ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10776023/China-on-course-to-become-worlds-most-Christian-nation-within-15-years.html), and the church is rapidly expanding in places like Mozambique, Brazil, and Mexico. In fact the number of Christians worldwide has quadrupled in the last 100 years ( http://www.pewforum.org/2011/12/19/global-christianity-exec/) and is spreading rapidly to areas that historically had few Christians.

It is also interesting to note that in Europe and America the church is losing members, and in reading these verses from Paul today, I believe part of the reason was that the church, feeling herself strong, grew lax in maintaining her vigilance for the schemes and attacks of the enemy.  We allowed the enemy to infiltrate the media and our education systems and start to turn people's hearts and thoughts away from the Truth.  We should have been aware of his tactics and schemes, but we were apparently asleep or unconcerned.  We have turned our hearts and minds to our own ideas, desires, and programs and lost our reliance on the Lord's power and strength.  Lord help us to return to You!

So this morning, I am encouraged to learn to be strong in the Lord and in His power!  I am encouraged to learn to put on His armor.  I am encouraged to learn to stand my ground and recognize the schemes and tactics of the enemy.  I am encouraged to trust in the Lord and in His ability, not in mine!  I am encouraged to find like-minded brothers and sisters in the Lord who can encourage me and stand in battle with me.  I am encouraged that the Lord has already defeated the enemy and not only is He winning, He already won!

Amen!