Going to War

Reading from 1 Corinthians 15, starting at verse 24. Then comes the end when he, Jesus, delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

The last enemy to be destroyed is death. After destroying every rule and every authority and power, for he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. Most of us feel somewhat uncomfortable actually trying to think of ourselves as Christian soldiers marching us to war, as an army going into battle.

It just doesn't seem to fit in with what we're really experiencing and what we're doing and not doing. I mean, it didn't cost us very much to get here. Really, it didn't, even with the bad weather.

Nobody's going to put us in jail for being here. And when the service is over, we'll have a little something to eat and have a nice afternoon, hopefully. So where's the war? The reason we have difficulty perceiving the war as something actual and not just theoretical in our Christian jargon is because most of us have grown up with two severe misconceptions.

First, a misconception about the world in which we live. And second, a misconception about who Jesus is. First, we have a misconception about this world in which we live.

We still think of it, and most of us have thought of it from childhood, even if we came up through difficult and hard childhoods. And even though we see the world is full of all kinds of injustice and evil and ugliness and absurdity, still we, in our day-in and day-out living, want to think of the world still as a rose garden. I mean, if you mind your own business and stay out of trouble, you get along.

And if you use your brains a little bit, you might even succeed. But even if you succeed so well that you have your own rose garden, surrounded by iron fence and every kind of electronic surveillance, inside your wonderful rose garden, there will be a serpent. In the Garden of Eden, there was a serpent who managed to conquer Adam and Eve.

And every time Jesus describes the world in which we live, he does so by pointing to the existence of an enemy. Reading from Matthew 13, verse 24, another parable he put before them, saying, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.

So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the householder came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds? He said to them, an enemy has done this. Reading from John, chapter 10, verse 10, Jesus is speaking.

The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd.

The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hiring and not a shepherd whose own the sheep are not sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees. The wolf snatches them and scatters them.

And so there's a serpent in the garden. There's an enemy who sows weeds among the wheat. There's a thief that comes to steal and to kill and to destroy.

There is a wolf that snatches and scatters the sheep. See, when we're talking about evil, we're not talking merely about the absence of good, like cold is the absence of heat. When we're talking about evil, as Jesus talks about evil, we're talking about radical evil, evil that has roots and life of its own.

We're talking about evil, which is intelligent, personal, well-organized. And the means by which this personal evil, this whole system of evil that runs like a triangle from Satan down, manages to get possession of the mind of men and women, is primarily by means of the law. Deceit.

Did God say that you can't eat of the trees of the garden? God didn't say that. He knew it. And he says, well, no, he didn't say that.

He says we can eat of any of the trees except for this one. Oh, well, why can't you eat of that? Well, God said, if we eat of that, we'll surely die. No way.

The only reason God won't let you eat from that tree is because he knows if you do, you'll become as smart as he is. And so the story goes all through history. All we have to do is look back on our own past, right up to the last five minutes, perhaps, and we can see the scars in our own lives of how many times we've succumbed to the temptation to either be drawn in by false hope, something that feeds our vanity, or paranoid fear, running from something that really doesn't exist or chasing after something that doesn't exist.

And you can walk down Verna Highway or the street where you live, and you can see the evidence of this all over the place. There is an enemy. And the bottom line is that eventually, each of us in this place either conquers that enemy or gets conquered.

The second misconception that most of us grew up with and still have clinging to our minds is a distorted view of Jesus. Many of us still see Jesus, really see him, as that gentle, he is gentle, but weak, passive fellow who sits in the middle of the rose garden with the children talking about the buttercups. The middle class Jesus of churchianity for the last hundred years, he wouldn't hurt a flea.

But the real Jesus of Nazareth is anything but that. He is the humblest of men that ever walked this earth. True.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I'm meek and lowly of heart. You'll find rest of your souls. True.

But from the time Jesus emerged from the Jordan River at his baptism until he broke out of his tomb on Easter, he was involved in war. And he still is. There's a battle going on.

It's not a rose garden and it's not a little football game. It's a battle for eternal stakes. Remember, he comes up out of the River Jordan, receives the Holy Spirit, and he's immediately driven by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan.

And that temptation was not just some routine he goes through on the surface. That was a war. That was a battle.

It was exhausting and it was dangerous. He overcomes Satan at the door of his own heart, proceeds then into the life of Israel to overcome Satan among his people. And he overcomes Satan by speaking truth against the lies they've been hearing all their lives.

He disarms. He sets the people free. He breaks the chains of Satan by healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons.

But it's not a one-sided battle. All the time he's involved in these things. The enemy is setting him up for his final defeat.

And Pontius Pilate and Judas Iscariot and Herod and the Sanhedrin and all the other people involved are pawns in a war. Jesus is arrested away from the crowd at night. He's brought to a hasty trial, found guilty, turned over to Pilate.

Pilate tries to release him. No way. And finally, he hangs from this cross.

And while he hangs from the cross, the powers and principalities of this world, Satan and his kingdom, are drooling. We got him. And at the moment when they expect to have their victory, when he breathes his last and dies, comes the big surprise.

There is an earthquake. The veil of the temple is torn in two from top to bottom. And the Spirit of the Lord pierces through into the Holy of Holies, the presence of God, opening the way back for the human race, breaking the curse.

And on the third day, when he comes forth from his tomb, he has death under his feet. But the battle continues. That was the decisive battle.

But the war goes on. And to follow Jesus is not to be saved, wrapped in cellophane, waiting for some rapture that's going to take you away from all difficulties and dangers. To follow Jesus in this world is to be engaged in war.

A battle. And it's a real one. It's one you could win or lose.

You'll win it for sure if you're in Jesus. Only if you're in Jesus. And so we read in Ephesians chapter 6, Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. We're all of us involved in war.

And we're out to overcome, to conquer evil, Satan and the kingdom of evil. And we conquer in four ways. We conquer by being strong in the Lord.

We conquer by being clothed in the armor of God. We conquer by directing our fire, not at the symptoms of evil, but at the causes, the beginnings of it, their sources. And we conquer by opposing evil, not with evil, but with good.

We begin by being strong in the Lord. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. How many times we get up in the morning, like perhaps today, to look out the window? It's like, oh no.

You know, here are the righteous ones who made it, you know. We're okay. And think of all the ones that went back to bed or whatever it was.

But seriously, you know, how many times we get up and we look out the window and we think of all the things that we face, the problems I can't cope with. And the only logical thing is to go back to bed, pull over the covers, and never wake up again. They call it depression, and every one of us knows what this is.

You know, and if we try to come against those days and those circumstances that face us all at certain times in our own strength, we're done. You know, and the answer we're given here is that it is not necessary to try to face it in your own strength. Do it in the strength of the Lord.

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life.

Of whom shall I be afraid? God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.

They shall mount up on wings as the eagles. They shall walk and not be weary. They shall run and not faint.

Run and not be weary. Walk and not faint. Okay, I was afraid you'd get it.

Oris would get me on that one. Be strong and of good courage. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

It's a matter of exercising our faith and entering into the strength of the Lord. You look out the window, you see it, whatever it is, you think of the things you face and you move forward. Even though you don't know how you're going to do it, your knees are shaking, but you keep going in the strength of God, whose strength is made perfect in our weakness.

Secondly, we overcome evil. We conquer evil by putting on the whole armor of God. Inwardly, God's strength.

Around us, the atmosphere of his protection. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. We're talking about protection.

I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God, and whom will I trust? Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noise and pestilence. He shall cover thee. People talk about a covering.

That's your covering. With his feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust. And so we're exhorted by Paul to put on this armor, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Therefore, take the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day. And having done all to stand, stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication.

To that end, keep alert with all perseverance. Specific things. Loins girded with truth because Satan's weapon is the lie.

Breastplate of righteousness. Jesus' righteousness, but one to which we now conform and get rid of the things and repent of the things that are unrighteous and perverse. Feet shod with the gospel of peace.

We walk in peace. You know, we war against Satan, but we don't fight flesh and blood. Shield of faith by which we quench those darts that come against us.

Helmet of salvation, knowing in my mind that I am God's by the blood of the Lamb. I'm His. Sword of the Spirit.

God speaks to me, and now I speak that same word, and with it I conquer. Prayer. Staying alert with all perseverance.

And somebody says, well, if I do all those things all the time, every day, I'll be a fanatic. Hallelujah. Amen.

And that's exactly. Better to be a fanatic and conquer than to be what they call normal and sink. So let's be fanatics all of us.

Put on the armor of God. It's possible. It's within our power and we're expected to do it.

And if we only could see the how serious the issue is, we wouldn't mess around. Thirdly, we conquer evil by directing our fire, not at the symptom, but at the cause, at the source. Many times, you know, we think it's that foreman.

He's making he's driving me crazy. You know, it's impossible. And people who are in those situations, it's no fun.

Or maybe somebody feels they have a wife who's forever nagging, or a husband who's lazy as all get out, never does anything. Or maybe it's those people over there. They pick on me.

I'm the minority where I work, and they give me a hard time. Or whatever it is. And those things that people have to live through are not funny.

They're serious, and they're hard, and they're painful, and they're difficult. But what Satan wants us to believe is that this foreman is your enemy. You know, and you can spend your whole life fighting against him, and dissipating all your strength.

He is the symptom of the evil, and he's being exploited, perhaps, by Satan. But he's not the enemy. Four, Paul says, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness and heavenly places.

It's necessary that we see through and beyond flesh and blood, and see where the source is, and that's where we aim. And it makes a tremendous difference when we begin to see this, and then do battle. And we do battle, finally, by overcoming evil.

Not by setting evil against evil, by conquering evil, rather, with good. And we read from Revelation 12, 10. I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ have come.

For the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, for they love not their lives, even unto death. They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, by loving not their lives, even unto death, by spending their lives, pouring them out.

Jesus conquered by his blood, by his spoken word, and by pouring out his life. His followers in his day, in the apostolic age, and beyond, did the same. And we do the same.

We conquer first by the blood of the Lamb. In the 20th century, that seems so far out. But it's the central reality.

It's the source of our power. It's the place where the curse was broken. And when we cover ourselves in that blood, and put our confidence in that blood, and plead that blood, we go anywhere.

And the evil around us begins to shrivel, and shrink, and draw back. It actually does. I don't understand it.

Who understands it but God? Satan doesn't understand it. But it's the truth. It works.

It's fact. And by the word of their testimony. Many times we have a gospel in our hearts.

Praise God for that. But it's the gospel which is spoken, which has power. Grant thy service to speak thy word with all boldness.

You don't just keep it to end up in here. Well, that's not my gift. You know, I do other things.

You know, praise God. Pray. The basic work we all do is pray.

You know, but nobody's off the hook. Every one of us. I don't care what our impediments may be.

Every one of us is called to speak it. They overcame by the word of their testimony. Start talking.

And amazing things happen when we begin to speak that truth. And they overcame him by loving not their lives, even unto death. They spent themselves, poured themselves out.

In our world, the name of the game is get, acquire, accumulate, hold, keep. But the economy of the kingdom is the opposite. It's give, pour it out, spend it.

The more you do, the more comes in. We're about to receive the body and blood of the lamb to come to his table. And he says, this is my body given for you.

This is the blood of the New Testament. My blood shed for your sins. He poured himself out.

And as we eat this food, we're refreshed by his life. But as we eat this food, we are joined to him. And we are making a commitment to become in him and with him.

Broken bread, poured out wine for the world. And we overcome evil by beginning to spend ourselves, pour out our lives. You know, not in just the dramatic things we plan to do five years from now, but in day in and day out, giving of ourselves, spending of ourselves in the name of Jesus.

Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. This world is not a rose garden.

And even where it looks like a rose garden, there's a serpent. And the enemy is not playing games. We either conquer him or he conquers us.

Jesus is not gentle Jesus, meek and mild with the lovely shampoo and the sunlight dancing off his hair in the garden. He is Jesus, the lamb of God who conquers. And to be his followers is to be in a war.

We conquer evil, radical, personal, intelligent, organized evil, Satan and his kingdom by being strong in the Lord, by wearing the whole armor of God, by directing our fire at the source and not wrestling with flesh and blood. And by opposing evil with good, we overcome him by the blood of the lamb, by the word of our testimony, and by loving not our lives even unto death.