Preparing for War – WEEK 8
We begin with the eighth week of our 9 week basic training course on “Preparing for War”.
ONE - OBJECTIVE: utter destruction of enemy forces… and the will to take every thought captive to Christ.
TWO – Offense/Defense: Sometimes a good offense is a Stronger defense. The strength is our confession that Christ is the son of God.
THREE – Mass: Concentrate our forces to overwhelm our enemy. Open our eyes to see the Lord’s army around us. We cannot do it on our own.
FOUR – Economy of Force – ‘The sword of the LORD and me!’ we do that with wisdom.
FIVE – Maneuver – Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage in your going out and your coming in. Fight the Good Fight.
SIX – Unity of Command – One unified purpose creates one unified effort provided by one unified commander.
SEVEN – Security – Put on the whole armor of God.
Surprise – strike the enemy at a time or place or in a manner for which he is unprepared.
Acts 3:12 11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. 12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.
a. Judges 3:24
When he had gone out, Eglon’s servants came to look, and to their surprise, the doors of the upper room were locked. So they said, “He is probably attending to his needs in the cool chamber.” a. 25 So they waited till they were embarrassed, and still he had not opened the doors of the upper room. Therefore they took the key and opened them. And there was their master, fallen dead on the floor. 26 But Ehud had escaped while they delayed, and passed beyond the stone images and escaped to Seirah. 27 And it happened, when he arrived, that he blew the trumpet in the mountains of Ephraim, and the children of Israel went down with him from the mountains; and he led them. 28 Then he said to them, “Follow me, for the LORD has delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand.” So they went down after him, seized the fords of the Jordan leading to Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross over. 29 And at that time they killed about ten thousand men of Moab, all stout men of valor; not a man escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest for eighty years.
b. Judges 7:13
And when Gideon had come, there was a man telling a dream to his companion. He said, “I have had a dream: To my surprise, a loaf of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian; it came to a tent and struck it so that it fell and overturned, and the tent collapsed.” a. 14 Then his companion answered and said, “This is nothing else but the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! Into his hand God has delivered Midian and the whole camp.”
c. Judges 14:5
So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him. a. 6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.
d. 2 Kings 7:5
And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. e. 2 Chronicles 13:14
And when Judah looked around, to their surprise the battle line was at both front and rear; and they cried out to the LORD, and the priests sounded the trumpets. f. Jeremiah 48:41
Kerioth is taken, And the strongholds are surprised; The mighty men’s hearts in Moab on that day shall be Like the heart of a woman in birth pangs. Football – superbowl saints on side kick.
War
h. Pearl harbor
December 7, 1941 – “A day that will live in infamy.”
At 7:55 on the morning of December 7 – a Sunday – the United States Pacific fleet moored in Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Air Force.
The surprise attack lasted for two hours and twenty minutes. Nineteen naval vessels – including eight battleships and three destroyers – were sunk or severely damaged. One hundred eighty-eight aircraft were also destroyed or damaged. Worst of all, about 2,400 Americans were killed, including 68 civilians. More than 1,100 were left wounded.
The same thing was true on September 11, 2001. Who could have known? Who would have thought that terrorists would fly airliners filled with jet fuel and live passengers into the World Trade Center and even the Pentagon? Now, because we know something about the strategy and tactics of the enemy, it seems so wickedly strategic. But then it seemed implausible, even mad.
It is difficult to predict the enemies’ strategy and tactics.
one thing is sure…
Sooner or later the enemy will strike you by surprise.
What do we do…
“When Surprise Attacks Come”
may I suggest five things that we need to know and do in order to survive a spiritual Pearl Harbor
Know your enemy.
a. Matthew 13:24, 37-39 NIV “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away…The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil…”
b. Our enemy is the devil. And what is an enemy?
c. not bound by any “code of honor.” Jesus said of him:
d. John 8:44 NIV “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies”
Know that we are in a state of war
a. Ever since Eden we have been at war with the devil. God declared war on him after the Fall of Man:
b. 75% of Americans don’t believe Satan is real.
c. There is no way to win this war if you don’t believe that the devil is real or that Jesus is divine.
Don’t be ignorant of his strategies and schemes.
- Gathering information and intelligence is one of the most effective ways of preparing for an attack from the enemy. This is why the apostle Paul said…
- “…We would not be outwitted by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his designs.” (2 Corinthians 2:11 ESV)
- The KJV says, “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
- The N. T. in Modern English says, “We don’t want Satan to win any victory here, and well we know his methods!”
Don’t be ignorant of his devices!
He makes evil look good. “Greed is good.”
He makes good look evil. “Don’t be such a prude!”
He works on the emotions. “If it feels good, do it!”
He offers immediate gratification. “I want it all, and I want it now.”
Understand that you can’t win this war with defensive weapons only
1. “Put on the full armor of God
2. Three times Jesus countered with “It is written.” S word
3. Do you remember the battle scene in Mel Gibson’s movie Braveheart prayers/arrows
Be constantly on high alert. 1. The enemy is audacious. He attacked the very Son of God. He thinks nothing of attacking us
- In his Farewell Address to the nation, March 4, 1837, Andrew Jackson said:
“But you must remember, my fellow citizens, that eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty…”
My fellow Christians, that is true today as well in the spiritual realm. The liberty we have in Christ came at a high price. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
3. 1 Peter 5:8, 9 “Be sober. Be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”
4. Childhood fight
1. The devil is not really afraid of you. But he is afraid of the One who stands by your side to defend you.
2. Having the presence and power of an Advocate on your side will embolden you to take it to the enemy.
3. When you are aligned with Jesus, and resist the devil, he will flee from you.
Deuteronomy 1:40-42 (New King James Version)
40 But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.’ 41 “Then you answered and said to me, ‘We have sinned against the LORD; we will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.’ And when everyone of you had girded on his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the mountain. 42 “And the LORD said to me, ‘Tell them, “Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; lest you be defeated before your enemies.”’
Joshua 8:3-5 (New King James Version)
3 So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai; and Joshua chose thirty thousand mighty men of valor and sent them away by night. 4 And he commanded them, saying: “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you be ready. 5 Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city; and it will come about, when they come out against us as at the first, that we shall flee before them.
Ezekiel 7:13-15 (New King James Version)
13 For the seller shall not return to what has been sold,
Though he may still be alive;
For the vision concerns the whole multitude,
And it shall not turn back;
No one will strengthen himself
Who lives in iniquity.
14 ‘ They have blown the trumpet and made everyone ready,
But no one goes to battle;
For My wrath is on all their multitude.
15 The sword is outside,
And the pestilence and famine within.
Whoever is in the field
Will die by the sword;
And whoever is in the city,
Famine and pestilence will devour him.
Ezekiel 38:7
“Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them.
Luke 1:16-18 (New King James Version)
16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’[a] and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
e Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant
luke 12 35 “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; 36 and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. 38 And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and[d] not allowed his house to be broken into. 40 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” 41 Then Peter said to Him, “Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?” 42 And the Lord said, “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. 45 But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
1 Peter 3:14-16
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.”[a] 15 But sanctify the Lord God[b] in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. Satan attacks
Jesus return
2 Timothy 4
Preach the Word
1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at[a] His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
