Are We There Yet?

“Are we there yet?” If you are a parent, you have heard that impatient question on a road trip. You probably remember asking it of your own mom or dad, ten minutes into a two-hour drive. Lately, I have been asking the same question of my heavenly Father, but I already know the answer: No, we are not there yet. We have not arrived at Destination Peace and Unity, a place Jesus desires for His Church.

The topic for this week is battle strategy. A spiritual battle strategy is needed because we are “not there yet” (i.e. “the new heaven and the new earth.” Rev. 21). If you are like me, I am not a fan of language that confuses and sometimes divides Christians on the very battleground we are talking about here, so bear with me while I offer my own weak definition of the topic.

Battle strategy refers to one’s spiritual plan of action in combating evil (wrongdoings, human state of rebellion against God, and the presence of evil in the world) and in making progress in bringing the Gospel (the Good News of God) to others. It is akin to a military strategy--the Apostle Paul instructs us metaphorically in the Letter to the Ephesians to “put on the armor of God,” which includes truth, salvation, faith, the Gospel, peace--in other words, remember who you are: a child of God saved by faith in Christ Jesus through His death on the cross, instructed to live in love and peace as we share the Gospel, enabled by the Holy Spirit’s power.

We do live in a world of good and evil, of the material and the spiritual, and yes, I believe in angels and demons. But I first and foremost believe that the powers of darkness (demons, Satan) have already been conquered at the cross (“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He [Jesus] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” Colossians 2:15).

Too often, we believers act as if a battle against Satan is still to be fought around every corner. Too often, we ignore the battle in our own hearts and the anger, hatred, resentment, racism and nonsense that line its walls.

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).

Unfortunately, we are not there yet, are we? Every week, it seems, we face a battle of wills--our own, and others--instead of following the battle plan of our Lord.

Here are four “weapons” that wield great power: love, prayer, thankfulness and humility. I fail at these every day and when I am successful, it only comes through the power and grace of God, and by choosing obedience over selfishness.

Regarding love, Jesus said, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them (John 14:23). If we love God and actually obey the Word, we are winning the battle. If we love others, we are winning the battle. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8).

Prayer: 1 John 5:14-15 encourages us, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him.” “With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18).

Thankfulness: Being thankful even in the direst of circumstances defeats hopelessness; it may not change our circumstances, but it changes us. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). Anne Voskamp offers wise words in her book, One Thousand Gifts: “The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world” (p. 58).

Humility: We believers who speak very sincerely about putting on the armor of God, should not forget the set of clothes Paul describes in Colossians: 
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12).

In summary, tools for battle for overcoming the evil one and success as a Gospel-giving Church are believing and proclaiming the name of Jesus; reading, believing and acting on the Word of God; and displaying a unity that so reflects God’s love that the world WILL know that Jesus is real and so is His love. Are we there yet?

JOY of the Victorious Christian by Jenna Vick Silliman

“We shout for JOY in triumph at our victory and in the name of our Lord God we raise our banners high. He will fulfill all our plans…From His holy heaven He will show the strength of His right hand on our behalf.” Psalm 20:5

Our Kingdom Bloggers question of the week is: What is your spiritual battle strategy?

My battle strategy is a victorious mindset and proclaiming triumph accompanied by celebrating with JOY and laughter, singing and dancing in the name of the Lord Jesus. We read in the Scriptures how the battle is already won; the victory belongs to our Lord Who triumphs over sin and death, over the schemes of the enemy, with the finished work of the cross.

We are living in a season of celebration on the other side of the cross. We are like the friends and family of the prodigal son. When the older brother approached his home he heard music and dancing. We are having a party! We are continually enjoying a Holy Ghost party! The angels rejoice all around us in the glory realm. We are rejoicing, rejoicing always, in the Father’s goodness. We are letting our minds dwell on whatever is worthy of praise—and there are SO many things to give Him thanks for!

Our words are powerful and we hereby declare VICTORY in the power endued from on high in the mighty name of Jesus, our Lord and our King. We have been crucified with Christ, raised with Christ, and now we are seated in the heavenlies—actually seated with Christ on His heavenly throne! That’s what the Scripture says. We have a whole new perspective when we awaken to our citizenship in the heavenly kingdom as royalty and heirs of King Jesus.

The enemy and all his workers have been defeated! Whoohooo!!! If the worm tries to pull any little thing, we know where to tell him to go. He hates it when we laugh; so when he tries to distract us with his garbage, or tells us lies, let's just laugh at him. Hahaha! We know what Jesus taught us to pray. Your Kingdom, Lord, has come to this earth and now only Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! We declare and decree it and we celebrate the victory that is already ours.

This season was prophesied by Jeremiah. In chapter 31 we read the Lords command to sing aloud on the heights of Zion and be radiant with JOY over the goodness of the Lord. The Lord says, Go forth in the dancing of those who make merry…the maidens, the young men and the elderly, all rejoice together in the dance for I have turned your mourning into JOY! I fill your mouths with laughter. I cause your lives to be “like a well-watered garden.” He says, I created My people to be a rejoicing people and My people will be satisfied with My goodness.

When we delight ourselves in the Lord, He gives us the desires of our hearts. We are like the tree in Psalm One. We are firmly planted in Him, we have roots that go down deep and drink from His refreshing waters, we have branches and leaves that are flourishing, and do not wither even in times of drought, and we are constantly bearing good fruit. We are blessed, happy, delighting in His every promise, meditating on His Word day and night.

The JOY of the Lord is our strength. When we gather we testify of all our victories and triumphs, our testimonies of walking day by day and hand in hand with our Lord, abiding in Him, one with Him, and co-reigning with Him. When we gather, even two or three of us, He is present in our midst. My very favorite verse in the Bible says: “In His Presence is fullness of joy.” (This verse is found in the Bible in two places—Psalm 16:11 and Acts 2:28.) One of the fruits of the Lord’s Holy Spirit is joy. The Lord promises He never leaves us or forsakes us. He constantly gives us reason to rejoice. When we gather let’s raise our flags (or banners) high in celebration!

Just as Jesus for the JOY set before Him endured the cross, we too can continually set JOY before us. The Lord says, “Well done faithful servant, enter into and share in the JOY of your Master.”

We Fight

As I have thought about this week's offerings, I could not help but think of the quote from Lord of the Rings

Aragorn: Stand your ground, stand your ground! Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers! I see in your eyes, the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come, when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends, and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves, and shattered shields when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight!

I love that quote - I've used it sermons and other blogs. I love the imagery of not letting fear take hold of us and carrying on. But what are we fighting? That's the big question. The scripture tells us that we do not fight against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12)- in other words, we do not fight other people. We fight against spiritual forces. Of course, then we must ask, what does that mean? At different times in my life, my understanding has been different and my answers would have been different. But this is not today's topic.

Several years ago I was at a prayer meeting. One woman who I barely knew at the time but is now is one of my dear friend, arrange to have two other women pray with me. I was struggling in a lot of areas, and while I didn't know the other two women, I trusted that my new friend would not steer me wrong. One of the first things that was said by my friend was she saw me in a war room - she saw me standing over a battle layout. I'd seen a lot of old war movies so sort of pictured a large version of the game board for Risk - the conquer the world game. I saw canons and military armament and generals pouring over it, looking at strategies.

I think she saw the same thing. She said, "Joyce, I don't see you as a general, but you are a strategist. YOU know the strategy that the other's can't see." She went on to say I was not being heard. That seemed very true to me. So many times I offer what I can see, or what I know and no one listens to me.

I've learned a lot more about myself and what makes me tick since that day in Connecticut. I see more and more that I do understand strategy. I see a bigger picture than most. Because I do, I understand our battle differently. I understand that the best way to defeat the enemy is to love your enemy.

That's radical - that's hard. That's the hardest way to win a battle. It is counter cultural. It causes us to die to self and to esteem others more than ourselves. Even the "other" - that one that doesn't look like us, smell like us, or think like us. It means we go as the body of Christ in incarnational solidarity with them. You know, just like Jesus did.

Now that's scary, isn't it? It just goes against everything we've thought before - that's the call of Christ. This brings us back to the quote from Lord of the Rings... the fear in our hearts. The fear to love. The fear to show mercy. The fear to go where people live and love them as your neighbor. To embrace your enemy... That's scary - that's more scary than picking up a sword or gun. It's standing totally defenseless with nothing but love in front of your "enemy."

There is a place for spiritual warfare, I understand that. But as I think of it, I am reminded of the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 -
 

1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;[a] but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

 8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages[b] and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.

 11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.[c] All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

 13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

My strategy is love.