“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” Ephesians 6:10

What does it mean to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might? This was the question I was asking myself the other day when I was reading this passage of Scripture. So often we read a passage of Scripture without really grasping the significance of what is being said, and for me this passage was one of them.

The real battle taking place here on planet earth is the battle between God and Satan, good versus evil. To me this is one of the first things we need to recognize – this is God’s battle; His reputation, His honor and glory are at stake, and because of that He will not lose.

We must realize that He and He alone is the head, He is the brains, He is the originator, He is the one who is above all. But because this is God’s battle we do not say, like some would say, “Let go and let God,” as if we have no responsibility, nothing to do. No, this is not the case. We are fighting in this battle, but it is not a personal battle as we so often make it. Sometimes it sounds like ‘us against them.’ We are here in this conflict and have been given a sphere that we are to work in and this is where we fight using the weapons and armor that God has provided for us.

Like King Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20) we come to see that the battle is the Lord’s and not ours. We understand that the Christian life is not something that we have ‘to do.’ It doesn’t mean that we don’t have anything to do, but it is God working in us and through us and we are to work along with Him. We are not to go ahead of Him, or lag behind, but to go with Him.

We are never to forget that we are individual units in a great army. We are not fighting some personal, private war. That is not our position at all. We are simply individual soldiers in a great army fighting in a great campaign. In other words, the real, the ultimate issue is not so much my fight with the devil, as God’s fight with the devil. That is the way to look at it.

Looking at the matter in this way immediately gives you great strength. So it is very important for us to understand this truth. We see the conflict and we forget that it is God’s battle and beginning to feel sorry for ourselves, pity ourselves, beginning to think that we are alone in this great conflict. And we forget that God is constantly planning and working things out for His purpose and for His plan.

Secondly, God created angels to be ministering spirits to those who are heirs of salvation. Scripture is filled with instances where angels were at work on behalf of God’s people in carrying out the will of God. I am afraid that most of our angels are unemployed.

Some years ago I was preaching in Finland and while preaching I sensed a presence. After the service, a man came to me and said that while I was preaching he saw standing on each side of me two gigantic angels.  “The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” (Psalms 34:7)  We see that angels are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. They are here to minister to us because of who we are to God. It is for this that we must realize that the almighty power of God is working for us. The angels of the Lord are around us and this is part of being strong in the Lord.

To be strong in the Lord and the power of His might we need to understand the church as to what this means. In his letter to the believers at Ephesus Paul tells us that the church is the body of Christ. It is not a building or a denomination, but the Body of Christ. In Ephesians 1 we are told that the Body of Christ is high and lifted up above all principalities, powers, etc. “But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ — from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Ephesians 4:15-16

We encourage one another to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. How does this work out in practice? Sometimes we find that we have a desire to pray over a situation that just came into our mind, or to visit someone. Often my wife will be grocery shopping and she senses within her a need to go and speak to someone in the store. When I am having my quiet time many times I have a desire to write a letter to someone. In any case, when this desire comes – I respond. It is God working in us.

Sometimes we might be reading the Word and a particular verse (Rhema word) jumps out at you. This is God speaking and bringing His Word home to you. This is part of us learning that we do not live on bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

REMEMBER: THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S AND HE WILL WIN – THE VICTORY IS HIS!

Jeremiah 4:22 “For My people are foolish, they have not known Me. They are silly children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.”

In chapter 4 the prophet Hosea brings out a charge that God has against His people. He says: “there is no truth or mercy (faithfulness) or knowledge of God in the land.” This is interesting when we consider what follows next as we go through this chapter when there is no truth or mercy, faithfulness, or knowledge of God. When these attributes are absent we see that it brings into our culture all types of evil.

Going through this chapter we see a number of things coming out such as swearing, lying, killing, stealing, adultery, bloodshed and how the land is mourning because of it. We find that the priest as well as the prophet have no real word (direct revelation) from God, and so not only the priest and prophet stumble but also the people. The bottom line is in verse six: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

We read that they have forgotten the law of God. When I think of our own culture of how there is such a desire to get rid of the Ten Commandments – the law of God – from any public institution we see the results of this today: there is no truth or mercy (faithfulness) at work in these public arenas. Or, like Isaiah said: “And the right is turned back, and righteousness is far away: for good faith is not to be seen in the public places, and upright behavior may not come into the town.” Isaiah 59:14 (BBE)

Because of this lack of knowledge we find that we tend to gravitate more towards idols (anything that replaces God) and therefore find ourselves more enslaved. In other words, we find that we are losing our freedom. When I look at my own country I find that this is a completely different country than what I knew as a young man.

Here in the USA and in the Western countries we hear a lot about this ‘cultural war’ that we are in. But what does this mean? It seems to come down to the conflict between a traditionalist with conservative values and progressives with liberal values.  But when do we mean by “conservative values versus progressive values?” What values are these? Probably the best definition would be the values that express the attitude of social groups as a whole.

But both those who hold conservative values and those who hold progressive values, I believe, want the same thing and that is freedom, a chance for prosperity with as little suffering as possible, healthy children, crime free streets (think of Chicago!) etc., but the question is, and this is where the war or conflict comes in: What is the best way to achieve these things?

Progressives believe in the government to achieve these goals of equal opportunity, equal outcome, alleviating needs or social ills and for the government to solve these problems. On the contrary the conservatives believe in personal responsibility, a limited government, free markets and individual liberty and benevolence. I know that this is a very simple explanation for the difference in these two points of view, but this is where the cultural war comes in.

I would like to add that looking at this from a Scriptural background that the real battle is between God and Satan, or Good versus Evil. This scenario is being played out in what we call the cultural war and we are in it.

A charge that God had against the children of Israel was that they had no knowledge of God and like Jeremiah said: “For My people are foolish, they have not known Me. They are silly children, and they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.”

So how do we get a knowledge of God? It is through His Word and when we put it into practice we begin to experience the presence of God. In a day of deceit, lies, etc. we need the truth. But what is truth? Jesus said “I am the Truth!” But we also see in John that He is known as the Word. We have the Word of God, or Bible, in our hands, on our book shelf (where many have it just gathering dust). The Bible is the ultimate Truth, and our values and laws must be validated by the very Word of God.

Paul told a young man: “Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another — showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way.  Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (from THE MESSAGE)

LET US BE STUDENTS OF GOD’S WORD!

When we think of Adam’s sin what comes to mind? Is it that he ate of the tree of good and evil that the Lord forbid them both not to eat from? Or is it that he asserted his own will instead of God’s will? I think it is the latter.

We read in Scripture that at one time there was only God’s will and therefore there was peace, joy, harmony; all God’s blessings. We read in Isaiah 14 about an angel, called Lucifer who said: “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation, on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.”

From that time on there has been war, a conflict taking place in the world because of Adam and Eve doing their own thing and not the will of God, and from them every child that is born wants to do their own thing. We know that a conflict is a clash between two wills and with billions of wills today on planet earth it is amazing to me that we have had as much peace as we’ve had!

We know that a day is coming when “the LORD shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall there be one LORD of all.”

We are to pray “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10

That will be a great day when no one can dispute Jehovah’s rule. There will not be any favoritism or double standard, no difference in law, or will, or rule, but all will be in harmony, unity and agreement. This is what the Millennial Rule of our Lord Jesus Christ will be and the peace that it will bring upon the earth and in the heavens. So we pray for His kingdom to come and for His will to be done. The two go together.

The reason we have no peace or rest in the world today, as well as in families, is because there is more than one will striving to lead and control. More than one will by necessity brings conflict and confusion. We sometimes hear of “Dual Control,” but it is a delusion and something that exists in words, not reality.

The one thing that we all long for is peace and rest, and the secret for this is ONE WILL: God’s will. As long as there are two opposing wills there can be no peace, but when our will is subject to God’s will we have rest and peace.

We see the example of the Lord Jesus Christ when He walked the earth as a man with the rest and peace that He exhibited. We read how He found rest in the midst of hatred and suffering; rest in the midst of John the Baptist’s doubts about Him; rest when that generation rejected Him, and how he found rest when the cities that saw His greatest works did not believe that He was who He said He was.

“At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.”

At that time He turned to His weary disciples and said: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

“Come to Me” is the invitation. Let His will be done – is the request, and the result is rest for our weary souls. Do we want rest, peace and joy? We find it in doing the will of God.

Luke 19:44 “They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

“Because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” To me this is a warning. I need to make sure that I recognize God’s timing. Ecclesiastes states that there is a timing for everything. I need to be aware of His timing. Opportunities come by, but they do not linger and if I do not take advantage of them they pass on.

Mark 13:33 “Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.”

Luke 12:56 “Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?”

One of the complaints that Jesus had with the people of His day is that they did not recognize signs of the times and His coming. What was true in Jesus day is also true in our day as well. Do we recognize what is taking place all around us locally as well as globally?

I read many articles written by Bible scholars telling us that we are in the last days; that this is the last generation and I believe that they are right. We see the alignment of nations according to Ezekiel 38 and 39. We see how the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey is re-emerging. One could go on and bring out many other things taking place today, but I wonder if we see what the Lord is doing in opening doors for us (the Body of Christ) to evangelize the world to finish the task that He gave us two thousand years ago.

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” Amen. 

For example, the turmoil in the Middle East today is also being used of God to bring many Muslims to the Lord. Those who have been working among these people say that more Muslims are coming to the Lord than during all of the other centuries put together. Do we see the open door?

We are told that people are not apt to change unless motivated by some sort of pain. Could this be what the Lord is doing today with so many upheavals that we are reading about, taking place all over the world?

Decades ago my wife and I were on the O.M. Ship Logos in India when war broke out between India and Pakistan and a new country called Bangladesh was born. It used to be East Pakistan with over 100 million Muslims, the third largest Muslim country in the world. It all started when a tidal wave in the Bay of Bengal swept into East Pakistan killing thousands. This led to a war with West Pakistan and ten million refugees fled into the Calcutta area of India. This was costing the Indian government almost one million dollars a day and so India decided it would be cheaper to go to war with West Pakistan and see East Pakistan become a free country. Hence, out of the fire of the war Bangladesh was born and because their lives had been shaken many Bangladeshis were opened to the Gospel.

I was getting ready to speak (I forget what country it was that I was speaking in), but before I was called to the pulpit I was writing down all of the countries that I had been in over the past few years where there had been war, riots or some sort of uprising and how many people were killed in the process. It numbered in the millions.

Yes, we can look at this and say ‘the time is at hand for the Lord’s return’ and I would agree, but my main question would be: do we recognize God’s timing when it comes to evangelizing a people, a nation, or even our neighbor? Because we did not, or do not recognize what the Lord is doing, how many opportunities have we missed in not seeing God’s work being done?

There is a great need for the anointing the sons of Issachar had: “of the sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command.” (1 Chronicles 12:32)

I wonder how many opportunities did I miss because I was lazy, sleeping when I should have been awake, busy with worldly pursuits, not attentive to God and the move of the Holy Spirit, busy building my own kingdom or reputation, etc.? I do not know, but one of these days I will see. Will I be ashamed?

“Father, give me eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to understand the signs of the times and have a knowledge of what to do. I ask this in Jesus Name. Amen.”

James 2:5 “Be rich in faith.” Why does God want us to be “rich in faith?” From what Jesus said, faith that is as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. So often we want to be rich in gold, silver, money or any other material thing, but we know that these things do not last and they soon fly away as we are told in the book of Proverbs that “he who trust in his riches will fall.” (Proverbs 11:28) But the man who is rich in faith has his needs met. He has rest, as well as peace in his soul, because he knows, as we are told in first Peter, that we have an inheritance waiting for us that will last throughout all of eternity. However, do we believe?

In first Peter chapter one, Peter is describing our inheritance that has been laid up for us in heaven that is incorruptible, undefiled and does not fade away. In reading this passage of Scripture a question came to my mind: What is faith? I know that when we ask that question we often go to Hebrews 11:1, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not seen.” But when I asked that question immediately God brought into my mind that faith is simply acting and obeying what He says in His Word. God says it! That does it!

I was ministering to a brother who was experiencing great fear that had descended upon him. We know that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 2:7) In ministering to the brother I brought out my own testimony of when God was calling me to go and preach. I thought that God had made a terrible mistake since the one thing that I hated in school, perhaps more than anything else, was public speaking and yet, here was God calling me to a ministry of preaching.

However, I took God at his word, quit my engineer schooling and went away to a Christian college in order to gain some understanding of the Word of God. I had many opportunities to go and preach, but I turned them all down using the excuse that I was not ready. God had given me the promise in Matthew 18:20 “I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” I sensed in my spirit that the next opportunity that God gave me to preach – I had to obey. This I did and I still remember after all these years sitting in the chair waiting to be called to the pulpit and constantly saying to myself, “Father you said you would be with me, you said you would be with me.” If He was with me I could certainly not feel it. When the call came I went to the pulpit in obedience and when I open my mouth it seemed as if the Holy Spirit had taken over. I sat down thinking that was probably the shortest sermon that congregation ever heard, but was surprised to find that 45 minutes had gone by.

The verse that God gave me to help me overcome this fear of public speaking was first John 4:18 “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” The phrase “perfect in love” spoke to me. Jesus said, “If you love me then keep my commandments.” In other words, BE OBEDIENT!

Perfect love – perfect obedience goes together like the two sides of the same coin.

It wasn’t until I obeyed God going to the pulpit and then opening my mouth to speak that God took over. My fear of public speaking was conquered. I learned how faithful my God is when I am faithful to simply obey. I learned about His love for me in that what He calls me to do – He will help me do it. God does not want me to fail or to think that He’s left me on my own. He’s our perfect Father.