We Are at War

Well, praise the Lord, once again I made it all the way up here, now we got to get the button taken care of, then we're good. Well, I'll tell you, the Lord is good to us, isn't He? I appreciate His faithfulness. You know, I've often said on Sundays where we have a men's meeting that all I had to do was just play what was said at the men's meeting. I'm just trusting that the Lord, you know, will help me to say what's been on my heart. I don't know how long this is going to take, not necessarily all that long, but we'll see. But an awful lot of common ground. And if I had to put a title on this, it would be a simple one, we are at war. I think just in the natural realm that we can see and experience, we see the world is certainly awful close, it's just coming apart at the seams, the hatred, the conflict, you see the devil working on all sides. And we just are aware that things are getting worse, the things the Lord has told us about are unfolding before our eyes. The people of the world are more and more just giving vent to things that are not of God and yet God's also reaching out. So there's both going on and I thank God, but that's exactly what we've been told to expect at the end of the age. But as we, the Lord has helped us to refocus in the last while, we understand that's not the real war, is it? Because we see the symptoms of what's going on behind the scenes. The war that we're talking about is not about politics. And even though you may favor one over the other, the reality is the devil uses both sides in different ways to keep the conflict going and to stir things up and tear things down. But I'll tell you, God will hold it together as long as it needs to be. But we need to be aware. And I feel like it's awfully easy to have a course like we did about the unseen war and then to sort of file it away on the shelf and go on and say, yeah, I know that.

And it just sort of becomes a mental thing. And I sense that God wants us to be more in tune with what's really going on and in tune with Him. And that certainly was a theme this morning because we are well aware of what Paul says, that we don't fight against flesh and blood. This is not the war. Human beings are not our enemies. We have an enemy that is the one that rebelled against God at the beginning and led ultimately about a third of the angels to follow Him. And there has been a war over the human race ever since. But we also know that God has a plan from the foundation of the world, that nothing is happening by happenstance, nothing that He hasn't foreseen, nothing that He hasn't purposed. So God has a reason why He's allowing all of this and certainly involved in it is man's will. He's not going to just, you know, as we've said many times, He's not going to make robots out of us. He wants sons and daughters who will surrender their hearts and choose Him and put all their eggs in one basket, to put it in the way we ... the common expression. But you know, when you really understand that this is what the world is about, it's not about the issues of the world, which country you're a part of, what political party, what's, you know, how much money you have, how much ... what do you have, what are you experiencing in this world? None of that matters. This world exists for one thing, for God to gather a people and get us ready and then do away with all this because it's full of corruption. I mean, even physically, we see things decaying and death and so forth as a part of it. So when you think about it, when we think about even our lives, what else matters? We have earthly responsibilities and all of that, and that has a part. But the main thing that should occupy our hearts and our attention is not what's going

on in the physical world. I mean, you can watch the news and get all upset. And you know, I watch it for information, but I know what's going on. It doesn't, you know, I see all the craziness. I know what's behind that. I'm not going to sit here and say, oh, it shouldn't be that way. We've got to fix it. Well, we could be a light in this present world, but we're not going to fix it. We are here for one reason and one reason alone, and that's to cooperate with what God is doing. But one thing that has brought this to my mind is that it just seems like ... Every time I hear about somebody lately, or have heard about them, and this certainly includes Wednesday night, you get the sense that people are under attack. There have been all kinds of attacks of every kind, and people come in and say, boy, I just had a hard time this week. I'm tired. I can't get, you know, I'm oppressed in my mind. This is wrong. I'm concerned about this. And it's just one thing and another. We are under attack. And God wants to learn how to deal with that. And I think sometimes we tend to look at our circumstances and say, that's the problem. If we could just fix that circumstance. And we don't realize that in everything that happens that is a trial, what we call a trial, there is someone behind that. We're not just dealing with circumstances. We're not dealing with people. The devil loves to pit us against one another over circumstances. We have a common enemy, and that is what's going on behind the scenes.

And I believe God wants us more aware and more engaged. I can certainly say that about myself. And so what we call trials are not just chance. All adversities that come into our lives are attacks of the enemy. And I believe God wants us to recognize that and deal with it according to what He has given us, which is kind of like everything, like we just sang, praise God. And a lot of, most of what, almost everything I've thought about and thought about saying, there are things we know. But yet, how many of you have been through a circumstance, and when I say all these things, oh yeah, I know that. But how much of it is lived out in our everyday experience, in our attitudes, in our actions, our reactions? You think maybe we got a little bit to learn and room to grow? Yeah, I certainly do. And so I believe God wants to encourage us to get our eyes where they need to be and to look to Him in a very particular way. But we know one thing, the devil cannot do a single thing without God's permission. So if something has happened to you, God allowed it. Now do you think He did that because He's mad at you, or there's something wrong? Or do you think maybe, just maybe, He actually has a reason? And a good, loving purpose, that He's a Father who wants to take us further in Him and experience more of Him? Anybody here need to kind of be reminded of that? Yeah, I think we all do. Because we are so attuned, as we've said so many times, we are so attuned to the physical world and what's going on and the people in it and our experiences and how we feel and all of those things, that we forget what it's really about and how God wants us to react to it. And of course, we know the examples that we've referred to many times of God's permission being necessary.

What about Job? He was a man who lived with what knowledge he had of God, which was pretty much hand-me-down, but it was genuine. He really, genuinely from his heart wanted to serve God and the devil had, for whatever reason, I don't understand all the circumstances, but anyway, there was a communication between the devil and God and God's the one who pointed out Job. You suppose the devil's ... I mean, the Lord's ever done that to one of us? Said, hey devil, come here, you see so-and-so? And what did the devil say? Well, sure, you blessed him, you put a hedge around him, I can't get to him. I know how human beings work, you let me at him and I'll show you. And of course, we know how the story unfolded, where Job just suddenly lost everything and came to a place where he struggled. And yet, we saw how God used it in the end. But one of the points that I wanted to make was the devil is the one behind the adversity. When we see what happened to Job, who was behind that? We see a storm come up, if I remember correctly, and destroy a house where his children were and they all died. Where did that storm come from? Did storms just happen? I remember more than one time hearing testimonies of people ... you know, we remember how Jesus stilled the storm. I'm not saying we can just go out and do that to every storm, but there are circumstances where, man, there's a ... demonic force behind it for a demonic purpose and God wants people to stand up. I have heard many, a number of testimonies in my lifetime of people who have actually commanded storms to stop and seen them stop. I remember hearing the testimony of, was it Nikki Cruz who was speaking at a huge outdoor stadium, I think it was in South Africa if I remember correctly. And there he was and all of a sudden this torrential rain came out, came down. Everybody was just getting soaked. Somebody said, Nikki, you want an umbrella? He said, no.

And finally the Lord led him to say, Jesus, stop the rain. And the rain stopped. You think the Lord maybe was just a little bit behind that? He allowed the devil to do something that he thought was going to stop what was going on, the testimony of Jesus. And God turned that whole thing around and used it to demonstrate who he was. And boy, do you think the people might've listened a little bit more after that? Yeah. But the point was that you saw the devil behind some physical manifestation. And you see all the other things that happened where all of a sudden these raiders came and took off his flocks and took off his herds. And I forget all of the different things that had happened, but where do you think the inspiration for that came from? Folks, we need to recognize that when things happen that we find difficult in life, we need to realize number one, the devil's behind it, but God is behind all of that for a good purpose. And so wherever you're at today, lift up your eyes and your heart. God's still on his throne. Praise God. And of course, you remember how Peter just referred just briefly to this at this point, but Peter was warned. He just said, everybody's going to deny me. He said, I'll never do that. Well, what did the Lord say? I think it was in Luke 22, if you want to look it up somewhere, sometime. The Lord said to Peter, Satan has desired you that he may sift you like wheat. Oh, what a wonderful word the next one is. But, but I have prayed for you. And to paraphrase, when you come out of this and you get, you get everything right again, strengthen your brothers. See the devil had a very real purpose to try to undermine this, this man that he sensed God was going to use this guy. I got to do something. I got to do something. Lord, can I, can I get at this guy? He said, sure. Well, look at how Peter turned out. Just a few weeks later on the day of Pentecost, he was the one who stood up and with great anointing, gave up the gospel, wrote the two letters, was a leader in the church. And, and did he strengthen his brothers? He sure did. God had a reason for what was happening. Praise God. And of course, you know, we've referred many times to Paul's experience of where he thought things were, were going wrong and they weren't, they were, but where, where did that come from? It says in so many words, you can argue what the, what the circum, what the specific circumstance was, whether it was health or something else, but it was a spirit that was sent to him, a messenger of Satan to do what? To buffet him. Any of you had messengers of Satan buffet you lately? Yeah. And you, you just, you feel this pressure in your spirit and there's just, you know, just something that you're trying to deal with.

God wants us to realize where that's coming from and that he is actually going to turn them around for good, for a loving purpose. What about Jesus? I mean, how many times have we pointed out that here's the son of God sent to accomplish the purpose of the ages. Everything we stand for here today comes from what he did, what he finished, what he did for as a perfect work upon which we can stand. Praise God. Praise God. But even Jesus had to go out in the wilderness. Why? To be tempted by the devil. That was part of the preparation work for Jesus to do what he did. Do you think that was just a for show? No. He went through that as part of being able and ready to help all of us. And of course he's been through everything and more that you and I could ever do. So we, we got a place to go and we got somebody who understands and is able to help us. Thank God. So everything that happens that is is adverse, comes from the enemy, but it has a loving purpose behind it. Well, obviously, you know, we tend to say if something's happening, we tend to ask the question, why? Why is this happening to me? Nobody ever thinks that way, right? You know, in case you run into somebody, you'll know what to say. But anyway, we all tend to ask that question. But here's the thing, the devil, when he does all of it, when he causes the circumstance, he doesn't stand back and say, well, let's see how they react. The devil is invested in what he is doing. How many of you, when you have something negative happen and you're starting to question why, start having thoughts come into your head? And what's going on, I think we pointed this out many times, is the devil's going to explain it to you. He's going to come up with his explanation of why this is happening, what's the purpose, how you should act and what you should do, and it's their fault, it's your fault, you did something, God's upset with you, you need to do this, you need to do that. There's going to be a thousand and one reasonings that come into your head, and that is exactly how the devil works, because all he's got to work with is his ideas, and his ideas, are they true?

They are lies, they are designed, even when he takes something that is true and lifts it out of the scripture, he will misapply it and take all of the heart, take all of God's heart out of it and try to use it for his own purposes. Has anybody here, I won't ask you to lift your hands, but has anybody here gone through that with some of your battles lately? You didn't just have the experience, you had all kinds of thoughts that were trying to invade your mind to explain it. You know, that's the real battle. Like Paul said, we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but there is some wrestling going on. We have to deal, not just with the circumstance and the fact that it's difficult, and we would prefer that it didn't happen, but we also got to deal with all these ideas that want to flood in our minds and take over, and boy, we know what happens when you start believing those things and acting as though that's the truth. Where does that put you? In bondage, not a good place, is it? You think maybe that's why the devil, why these things have been happening? God's allowing them, but God doesn't dictate the outcome, we make choices, don't we? May God help every one of us to get to a place where we're willing to recognize what's going on. There is the warfare that's coming from the other realm, when stuff oppresses you and there's explanations that come in, we need to be able to hold them up to the standard of God's Word and God's truth and God's heart, and make the choice that God wants us to make. Praise God. The devil seeks to steal, to kill, destroy, to sidetrack, defeat, discourage, compromise, you name it. Whatever he can do to undermine, do you think God wants to do things in this hour? That was a major theme in the men's meeting this morning. God has things that He is unfolding, that He is doing in the earth and He wants us involved. So the devil works through lies.

He causes things to happen, but then he explains them, explains the reasons to us, his reasons. If we listen and agree, we give him ground in our lives. But let's go back to this fact, how did he get to do that in the first place? Did the Lord just go to sleep and he's just watching to see what's going to happen? The Lord allowed him, allowed that to happen. You know, I'll throw this in there, I probably mentioned this in the past, but some of you will remember that many years ago, you know, the Lord was kind of opening the eyes of some to see this unseen realm. There was a prayer gathering, probably in a home I'm guessing, because it was a small circle of people. And the one whose eyes were open saw a ring of light around the group. And outside that ring of light was a very ugly figure, not something physical, nobody else could see it, but just wringing his hands, trying desperately, oh, I wish I could get in there. And then there was a moment in time when all of All of a sudden, there was an opening in the ring of light, and that figure just dashed toward that opening. And just before he got there, it closed up, and he was shut out. Boy, I tell you, we need the Lord, don't we? These things are real, even though we can't see them with our natural eyes. I'll tell you what, God ... I'll come back to this, if God allowed that devil to come and oppress you in whatever the circumstances are. He's got a reason. Why do you think he wants to do that? Do you think maybe he wants us to grow? You think maybe he wants us to gain experience and knowledge that we can't get any other way? He's trying to transform us into his image, but while we're in the process of doing that, he wants to make himself known through us. It's not just to us, it's through us.

You know, I had a very simple thought, that anyway, you can't ... Here's what it is. It's real growth in our lives. Real growth comes not from a classroom, but from a battlefield. I believe the Lord has given us a lot of classroom time. There are a lot of things that we know and we agree with. We know what the word teaches, we believe it, but we will never be soldiers in the kingdom of God just sitting in a classroom learning facts. You don't take a soldier and teach them in the classroom and expect them to go out and be skilled fighters. There's going to have to be some real outdoor battlefield experience. I believe with all my heart, that's one of the things God is doing in our lives right now. He's giving some of you battlefield experience. We need to recognize what we need to do in those circumstances and look to God and agree with God instead of agreeing with the devil. Let's agree with what God says and let's say, God, I thank you for what you're doing in me. Isn't that what Paul came to do finally? He listened, he had a heart that reached out after God and God finally told him and helped him to understand because the reality is God sees things in you and he sees things in me that we don't see. We can sit here and say, oh God, use me, use me Jesus, use me Lord today and mean it. But how usable are we for the things that God wants to set before us? Paul thought he was in a great place. Man, he'd had all these revelations and he was geared up to serve God and all of a sudden this devil comes around bothering him. God, get rid of this thing. You know, I would like to think that it wasn't just that. I know Paul had enough of a knowledge of God to understand that yeah, this couldn't have happened if God hadn't allowed it, so there must be a reason.

I believe there was a part of Paul that wanted to know, Lord, you're not answering, this is going on, why? Help me to understand. Wouldn't that be a good thing? Lord, open my eyes. I know this is happening for a reason and I know that you can teach me what that reason is if I'm willing. Do you and I have ears to hear? Do we have hearts to respond? Do we have, is there something in us that reaches out and say, God, I know you love me. I know you care. I know that you want to teach me more about myself. That's what Peter had to learn. Peter had to discover that Jesus was right and he was not ready, but boy did he discover some things you couldn't discover in a classroom. He discovered the grace and the mercy and the love of God that was willing to lift him out of all that failure, the utter failure that he'd experienced and bring him right back up and say, Peter, I took you through that because it's not about you and what you can do, it's what I can do in you. You just stretch forth your hands, let me gird you, let me take you where you don't necessarily want to go, but I got a plan for your life. Do you think that God actually has a plan for your life here now that we're not here by accident? We said these things a gazillion times, but do you really believe that? Do I really believe that? We're not just here to mark time. We're not here to keep the tradition. We're not here to show up and go through the form. We need the Lord in our midst right now.

You know, I talked about how the devil uses lies. He'll bring circumstances to bear in our lives by God's permission, and he'll go to work explaining them. What do we need? I need more than words on a page. I need a living Savior who's able to talk to me in that moment and lift these words off the page and breathe life into them. Man does not live by bread only, the natural sustenance, but we live by the word, every word that sits on the page, wait a minute, every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. You think you and I, maybe right now, need the Lord to speak to us and help us and speak out the word that I need today? Do you really believe he cares that much about that, that invested in you and your future? I do, and I believe God wants to give us a fresh sense of what he's seeking to do in and through us. The Lord is seeking to transform us into his image. I made that point. But what did he do? What makes us any different from anybody else? What makes us any different? When Jesus, you know, Jesus used the word sanctify, and he prayed that we would be sanctified. What does that mean? Set apart, set apart. This one is, you're putting this over here in a different category, different purpose. These are ones that I have, there's the mass of people, but I'm pulling this one out. This one's set apart. Does that mean, oh, I'm better than everybody else? I'm so holy, I'm so, people have turned, have twisted that into a religious form that is worse than the Pharisees of Jesus' day, so many of them. But when Jesus prayed in John 17, he said, sanctify them, Father, sanctify them, how?

Through your word, or through your truth, your word is truth, anyways. Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth. That's the thing that you and I need in every circumstance of our lives. We need God's truth to prevail. It will be the truth about ourselves, the truth about circumstances, the truth about what we need to be doing. Do you think God actually wants to communicate with his people, or do we just come and practice religion? Which is it? He wants a people that he can talk to, that are willing to say, Lord, I can't do anything. I'm nobody. This isn't about who I am and what I can do, but Lord, you have a purpose. You have a reason that we're here. None of this is by accident. Praise God. Anyway, I mentioned how Job's experience, he came to know God personally, not from a hand-to-down knowledge. Peter learned about himself and God's mercy and forgiveness and became an important leader of the church. Paul learned to thankfully lean on God's grace and remain humble. He didn't think he needed that, but God knew he did. Do you suppose, maybe, just maybe, there might be one or two here that God has a purpose for your life, but there's something you don't know about yourself and God does. And if he doesn't deal with it, it's going to get in the way and hinder his purpose. Yeah, oh, I thank God for his mercy. Praise God. And Jesus was fully tried and prepared for the most important work in history. I'm going to turn to one little scripture. I thought about this in a general sense, and it seemed like there were a couple of ideas that I never really paid attention to.

They're being right close. I guess the fancy word is juxtaposos, well, whatever. Anyway, they're put close together. I can't even think how you pronounce that. Juxtaposed, is that it? Anyway, there are a couple of ideas that you find together. And I think they're there for a reason. You know, you go to verse 8 of 1 Peter 5, is where I'm at, familiar scripture, where we're told to be alert and of sober mind. We need to live with an awareness that we are in the midst of a war. We are at war. Or there is another realm, and the stuff that happens comes from that realm and we need to recognize it. And there needs to be an alertness. Now here's the thought that I had. If you get a word like that, you've got a bad enemy. There's a lion out there that wants to eat you. You better be aware. You better be alert. What kind of reaction do we naturally have to that kind of information? Fear? Anxiety? Yeah. But do you think that's how the Lord wants us to be in all of this? Look at what he said right before he said be alert because there's a lion out there. Picturing the devil as if he were a lion. He says cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Ever put those two ideas together? How in the world can we be alert to a lion that wants to eat us and not be afraid? Wow, what a miracle God has for every one of us.

How in the world can I live with this knowledge, oh God, there's a devil out there and I've got to be aware and I've got to know what's going on and yet be at peace and rest and not be afraid. Oh my God, is he going to win? What's going to happen? God wants to take that off of our shoulders. That's a burden that we choose to carry. And God wants us to learn to say, like we said last week, I believe, I'm handing this one over to you. What an interesting order of thoughts right there. On top of that, he's got the humility that goes before that because God opposes the proud and shows grace to the humble, favor to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore unto God's mighty hand that he may lift you up in due time. I'm so thankful that I'm in God's hands and not the devil's. That's what we gain through Christ. He can wipe away the guilt of our sins and come to live as Lord and Savior on the inside and absolutely set us on track for heaven, for heaven's glory. Praise God and beyond heaven. I mean, how many of you know, I've said this before, how many of you know that heaven's not the final destination? Anybody here not know that? It's not about just going to heaven one day. It's about being ready to occupy a brand new creation as sons and daughters of God. Praise God. He's going to put everything under our hands and we aren't going to mess it up because he's fixed us. I sure need fixing. Thank God. So anyway, but you have these ideas. And by the way, who wrote this?

This is the same guy who said, I don't even know who that guy is. You were one of them. No, I'm not. I swear to God, I don't, never met the man. And then the cock, then the rooster crowed and he remembered the words of Jesus and he went out and wept bitterly. If that had been you, how would you have felt? Oh Lord, it's over. I really blew this. Oh God, what's he going to do with me now? Look how I said I was going to serve him and stand up for him and I did the exact opposite. Oh God. And then he comes to and sends the message to his disciples. Tell my disciples and Peter, I want to make sure that Peter knows he's in on this, he's included. And he reached out to Peter and told him to feed my sheep. When you were young, you girded yourself, you went where you wanted to go. When you're old, you're going to stretch forth your hand. Another is going to gird you, get you all ready and send you where you don't want to go. It's not about human desire and all of that. It's about being part of the purpose of the outworking of God's kingdom. Thank God. What an interesting mix of ideas. But God wants us to have that sense of confidence. That would be another way to put it. I want to be alert and able, more able as I go along to recognize that this is actually the devil and he's trying to say this and I know it's not right and I resist it. He wants me to be able to do that and at the same time have a peaceful confidence. Because I know I don't stand on my own ability.

I certainly don't stand on my own worthiness. I stand because of Jesus and what He did at the cross when He declared it was finished, it was finished. And God bore witness by bringing Him out of the grave and He became the conqueror of death on my behalf. To Him alone be the glory. That's how I can have rest at the same time I'm being alert for this enemy that I've got to deal with. Praise God. I just sense that, as I say, that God wants us to be more aware and maybe this is just a word that we need right now because of what people are going through. God wants you to lift up your eyes and recognize what's going on, but recognize also that God loves you, He's made every provision for you, He cares about you, and He has a purpose for you, and He knows, and He's the only one who does know, what's going to happen. The devil makes plans, but God has a purpose that is un-immutable. No one can stop Him from what He's doing. And God has a purpose that He wants to set before us as a people. Not just about us today, it's about where are we going? What is our purpose? How are we going to fulfill, take our place in the kingdom? Does this sound like the men's meeting? Yeah. This is exactly what the Lord's been laying on my heart. And I believe God wants us to stand together, to be alert, to encourage each other, to seek God that we might fulfill our purpose. If you're going through a battle right now, lift up your eyes and say, God, there's a reason for this, show me my purpose and give me the faith to step into it. I don't have to see the results, and I'm going to add my voice to listening to that testimony of Alex Kendrick. If you've enjoyed any of his movies, you will love this because he'll take you through the

whole story of how it all came to pass. Man, that was a powerful testimony. Don't miss it if you can possibly be here. But I'll tell you, God knows everything that will happen. Is that true? Does God know everything that He has set down on your path? He's marked out the path that we're supposed to run. Does He know about that? Well, with a God like that in the heart that He has, do you think He just might be wanting to get us ready for things that He knows about and we don't even think about or can't even imagine? This means yes, yeah. He loves us enough to get us ready. And so what's going on in your life right now? That's what it's about. All we can do is live one day at a time and learn how to trust Him in that day. But I believe God wants us to move forward with that alertness where we're more conscious of what's really happening, what the real conflict is. At the same time, we learn how never to let that burden of anxiety and whatever the devil tries to make out of it, when he's interpreting it to you, we don't allow that to hang around. We can hand that off to the Lord and say, Lord, I'm in your hands, not the devil's. I may not know what tomorrow is bringing, but my tomorrows are in your hands. But here's a simple thought, and I'll just finish with this. Everything happening today in your life is God's, it's part of God's preparation for every tomorrow. Let that one sink in. Everything happening in your life right now is part of God's preparing you for all of the tomorrows to come. Wouldn't it be good if we just looked to God and said, Lord, open your heart to me, open your eyes, open my eyes, do whatever it takes so that I can be part of what you're doing

in the earth, and not just sitting here warming a bench and practicing religion. We are meant to be the living body of Christ, however else is he going to do anything in the earth that he doesn't live in and through us. I thank God for every other one. I believe God wants to tear some walls down. I believe he wants us to relate to people not based on, well, you don't agree with my doctrine so I'm out with you. I believe God wants to help us to connect based on those who have truly given their hearts to him, and he's come in to live and to reign. That's the only foundation of any relationship because we're either with Christ or we're with the spirit of antichrist that's ruling in this world, and it's taking deeper and deeper hold, but I believe God can teach us. We don't have to be anxious about that. We just say, Lord. I'm with you today, Lord, teach me what I need to know, and I'll wait till tomorrow and then trust you with that too, and just praise you every single day, but I'm resting on what you have done, but I also want to be part of what you're doing. I know you're helping me to do it, and so I trust you and I love you. Praise God. I'll tell you, is God doing something in your life? Do we recognize that everything that is happening is happening because of His love and His purpose? Then why don't we just say thank you and Lord teach me what I need to know, and show me what I need to do, and give me the faith to do it when the time comes, to you be the glory. Praise God.