"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong."
". . .Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. . ." from the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln.
". . . I have not yet begun to fight! . . ." John Paul Jones
". . .We have met he enemy and they are ours.. . ." Oliver Hazzard Perry after the battle of Lake Erie
"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from failure" Colin Powell
". . . War is hell. . ." William Tecumseh Sherman, Atlanta, Ga.
Great military quotes, all of them. Whether it was before, during or after the battle, they were meant to encourage and strengthen the warrior. Or to just make a declaration, as General Sherman did. And all aptly apply to the Christian life.
We are engaged in a great spiritual battle, one that rages without ceasing, testing us daily to see if we will endure or not. Our enemy, the devil, prowls continuously, never resting, always looking for a chink in our armour, ready to rip and tear at us at any given moment.
Our Scripture is written with the military mindset. It needs to be read and acted upon in that manner. Matt 11:12 states that ". . . the kingdom of God is advancing forcefully and forceful men take hold of it . . . " A military attitude using military words "advance" and "force". Therefore, Paul gives advice in a military manner.
"Be on guard . . . " Watch your back, be alert. Never relax for a minute. The enemy is always waiting and watching to ambush us. The demons of hell delight in catching us unaware at any given time. We must be ever mindful of what is happening around us and ever ready to defend our position in a Christian manner. Spiritual warfare is a 24/7/365 job with no time off. Stay in the Word, keep a close relationship to Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you.
". . . stand firm in the faith . . ." This phrase is used 35 times in Scripture. Stand firm in your faith and you will be saved. Give ground and you will lose. The only way to overcome the power of the enemy is to "stand firm", trusting in the name of the Lord. In a military action, the order is given: "Dig in men, give no quarter!" In the spiritual realm, the order is the same: give no ground to the enemy. If you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Master, you will never back down!
". . . be men of courage . . ." we must be men and women with the strength of purpose to rely on the presence and power of God and a commitment to His commands. It takes courage to stand up for Christ in an ungodly world. It takes strength of purpose to follow the commands of Jesus Christ in the face of mockery and abuse. And the longer we train in the Lord's Army, the stronger we become, and our courage becomes encouragement to all the new believers coming up behind us.
". . . be strong." Be firm, uncompromising. We, as saints of God, are not to conform to the world, but the world is to conform to God. There can be absolutely no compromise in this arena. We cannot twist the Scripture to it our purpose, but we must align ourselves with the Word of God. When we compromise anything, anything at all, that thing becomes weakened. Therefore, to compromise the Word of God in my life weakens me spiritually and I am susceptible to spiritual attack.
Can you hear the kids singing: "I'm in the Lord's arm-eee. I'm in the Lord's arm-eee." Yes, we certainly are. How are you coming along in your training?
"Lord Jesus, you who are my shield an rampart, strengthen me for the battle. Arm me with the weapons of love and truth and teach me the proper way to use them. Send your angels before me and guard me in all my ways. You are my light in the darkness, my calm in the storm and my victor in war. Praise be the name of Jesus. Amen."
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