We have all heard the expression, “Peace through strength.”  The idea is that peace comes when you are strong enough that others hesitate to pick a fight with you. On the world stage, that means that your military might acts as a deterrent to anyone who might be thinking about attacking your nation. The Kingdom of Heaven has peace as a core value but we are also instructed to put on armor every day and wield divine weapons in an ongoing battle with an enemy that will not make peace. He only comes to kill, steal, and destroy and he will not surrender or go away until he is eventually cast into a lake of fire.

One of Satan’s most effective strategies over the last forty years has been the feminization of the church.  This movement has effectively made men apologetic for being men.  The movement has condemned the aggressive, competitive, pugilistic, side of men and has called on them to become nurturing, passive individuals who should endeavor to become more like women in every way.  However, Genesis clearly states that God made them male and female. God intends for there to be clear and unique differences between the sexes.  The feminization of the church has, in many ways, taken the fight out of the body of Christ because we have condemned the very traits that make an individual a great warrior.

In many ways our faith has become passive, non-aggressive, and non-combative at every level. Certainly we are to display the fruit of the Spirit in our relationships with one another, but we should be stirring up masculine traits when it comes to spiritual warfare.  In that arena you cannot be passive or placating. Instead of eradicating those traits from the church, we should simply train our children and our adults that those are God-given traits to be used in spiritual warfare by both men and women.

In an effort to make men gentle and soft-spoken, we may have declawed the lion. Why did the “culture leaders” in America try to make men more like women and guilt trip them about their toxic masculinity rather than attacking women for toxic femininity? Although some good things have certainly come from that movement, I also believe the movement has been used by Satan to take the fight out of the church. Undoubtedly, women are extremely capable, strong,  and should have significant roles of leadership in the church.  But I believe that God appointed men to lead their families and lead significantly in the church as well.

God has placed a mantle on men that Satan wants to remove.  Statistically, if a child comes to the Lord, the rest of the family will follow suit in very low numbers – less than 5%.  If a mother comes to Christ, about 40% of those families will follow suit. But if a father comes to Christ, over 90% of those families will also follow the Lord. Take the masculinity out of man and you remove that mantle. Take the godly masculinity out of a man and he will abandon his family.

Most women find the male compulsion to shoot guns, blow up things, and kill innocent animals puzzling.  They may find the tendency of most boys to play with toy guns, swords, and GI Joe toys alarming as well.  But what if God made men for war? What if men watch movies about war because something God placed in them calls them to bravery and sacrifice against all odds?  What if they are called to war every day against the unseen enemy for the sake of their families and their nation? If we squelch the very traits that make us effective in war, we are setting ourselves up for defeat.  What we need now is a generation of warriors and spiritual ninja’s who will take the battle to the enemy and aggressively push back the borders of darkness.

Certainly aggressiveness and competitiveness can be misplaced and abused.  That doesn’t mean we should condemn those qualities but rather, those qualities should be redirected in godly ways.  The church at Corinth abused spiritual gifts about as much as they could be abused. The apostle Paul addressed the abuse rather strongly but did not forbid or discourage the exercise of those gifts. Instead, he simply taught them how to exercise the gifts in godly ways.  We should do the same with aggressiveness, boldness, and combativeness.

King David proved that the qualities of a warrior can exist side by side with the qualities of a poet, an artist, and a shepherd. David was a man who could write beautiful psalms, weep at the loss of a friend,  but also cut the head off of a giant.  Sensitivity and ferocity are not exclusive.  So…lets not be afraid to put on the armor and swing a sword – both men and women and let the church regrow her claws.

Clearly, not every obstacle in life is a demonic attack.  Jesus said that in this world we will have trouble.  But Paul also said that we should not be unaware of the devil’s schemes.  Here are some indicators that you or others may be under spiritual attack if these conditions are prolonged.  (Adapted from a teaching  by Jentezen Franklin as well as some additions of my own).

The devil is most effective when these conditions come on us slowly so that we begin to feel that they are arising out of natural conditions. If we were to experience these things suddenly, we would probably see it as spiritual attach.  When these things creep up on us over a period of months, we begin to think it is just our “new normal” and begin to simply live with it rather than fight it.

Indicators:

1. Your spiritual passion and desires have subsided. You find yourself without the desire to read the Word, pray, worship, attend church, or even serve in your calling without any appare reason.  You are marked by apathy and indifference and can’t seem to shake it.
2. You are experiencing a season of physical and emotional exhaustion even though you are being reasonably responsible toward your health. Maybe you are experiencing lingering illnesses that are not clearly diagnosed and for which treatments have not been affective.or that treatments have not been affective
3. You are experiencing a “lack attack” in which everything is breaking down at once or one thing right after another, unexpected expenses keep draining your accounts, unexpected job loss, etc.
4. You experience constant disruptions and distractions when you try to pray.
5. You are in a prolonged season of feeling overwhelmed by your circumstances and feelings of hopelessness are beginning to creep in.
6. Old iniquities and temptations begin to surface again that you have not had to deal with for months or years. The enemy will attack from the last place he had success in your life.
7. You find yourself pulling away from godly people in your life and feel drawn to people who aren’t committed to Jesus or old friends who are not believers. You find yourself becoming cynical and critical of the church and you are having thoughts that life before Jesus was better than life with Jesus
8. You find yourself being drawn to things of the world more than things of the kingdom…not things that are sin in themselves but sports, recreation, travel, hobbies, etc. so that those things are getting much more time and attention than the Lord.

When these things are going on you should suspect that you are under demonic attack.  When you sense an attack, take action.

• Have others stand and pray with you. See Ecc.4:12 / Lev.26:7-8 / Matt. 18:19 / James 5:16
• Remember that you have been made to outlast the storm because you stand on The Rock.
• Remember who you are in Jesus. Return to confessing your identity.
• Begin to confess victory again and speak the word of God over your life.
• Exercise your authority over demons and circumstances. Luke 10:19
• Get mad at the devil not at God. God’s plan is to bless you while the enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.  Matthew 11:28-30

This is one of those “so familiar” verses that we often read right through it, assuming that we fully understand it.  Those are the verses in which it is often best to slow down, read word by word, and ask the Spirit to give you an additional revelation.  So I wanted to do that myself tonight.

The first phrase is an emphatic invitation.  Many Greek concordances translate it with an exclamation point next to it.  It might be translated, “Come to me now!!!  The word “come” can also be translated as “follow.”

The ultimate goal of most of us…especially as we grow older is to find peace, rest, or renewal in our lives.  Over the months and years, the world nibbles away at our souls.  If we are not careful there will be an accumulation of stress, anxiety, regrets, losses, and a longing for something we have not yet found that robs us of peace and joy. Life and even ministry can become a burden.

Jesus recognizes that condition with the words weary and burdened.One suggests the tiredness and exhaustion that comes from a long march or days of hard labor with little to show for it. There is a sense that those who are weary are on the verge of quitting.  Remember, Paul tells us to not grow weary in doing good because eventually there will be a harvest (Gal.6:9).  He is encouraging believers at Galatia not to quit or give up because they have labored hard but have not yet seen any harvest. His call is to keep going because God has promised a harvest that will surely come if we keep believing. Sometimes staying faithful seems like labor.  You serve, you pray, you cry out and have yet to see a breakthrough. You begin to question the promises of God or your own faith because no fruit , no answered prayer, is yet discernable.  Those can be hard days.

The word burdenedcalls to mind a heavy load. Some translations call it “heavy laden.”  Caring for a special needs child or a spouse with a long-term disability can begin to feel like a heavy burden where the responsibility weighs you down.  Maybe a child torn by addictions or a marriage in which you feel like the only one trying can bear on your soul. On those days, the road seems too long before you get a break.

Jesus has a remedy for the labor and heavy burdens. He calls it rest.Rest can b translated as relief, recovery, renewal, or restoration. Remember David’s 23^rdPsalm where he says that the Lord restores his soul by making him lie down in green pastures and leading him beside still waters.   This is the same thought.  I think it is closely akin to peace.

Jesus declares that this rest is available, but he is the only provider.  Come to me!!! He declares and no one else. You come, you follow, and I will give it to you. The promise implies relationship. You can’t just drop by the corner pharmacy and get a box of tablets that make you feel better as you continue to live for yourself and follow you.  That is where the emptiness comes from in the first place.  It is only found in him.

He then describes the process of gaining rest.  It is not sitting down and ceasing to serve but it is yoking ourselves to him and learning how to live in the abundance and peace of the kingdom. Yokes tie two animals together, who then labor together.  The untrained animal would learn how to pull and plow by being yoked to the one who was already trained for the task. Simply doing what he saw and felt the other do trained him.  Being yoked with Jesus in a relationship and as a co-laborer in the kingdom teaches us how to live and how to trust in kingdom resources to get us through hard times. Trust is the forerunner of rest.

Jesus doesn’t train us with a whip and harsh words.  He encourages us and brings us along at the pace that fits us. He is gentle and humble and even though he is King he will not lord it over those who come to him. His yoke is easy and his burden is light because he shoulders most of the weight.  Once again, scripture reveals God as a God who wants to partner with his people, co-labor in the kingdom, and grow close by doing great things together.  Intimacy and training in how to live in the kingdom while still on planet earth is what restores our soul.

Too often when we have labored long and carried a weight, we want to run away from the call God has on our lives.  We want to ditch our responsibilities ands chase the promises of the world that offer peace, love, and significance at a minimal cost…but those things truly only come through Jesus. The key to rest is to press in, not to pull away.  In fact, weariness and burden bearing are hints that we have already drawn away and are trying to face life in our own strength. When you feel the weariness and the burden, remember the words of Jesus – “Come to me…I will give you rest!”

In my last blog I talked about the dangers of compromise in our spiritual lives.  I referenced Solomon in that blog but I think he deserves a closer look than we were able to give him then.

By all accounts, Solomon stunned the world as the King of Israel.  His wealth, his wisdom, his knowledge, and his strategies were legendary even in his own day. He was the son of King David and God had promised David that there would always be one of his descendants on the throne of Israel as long as those descendants followed the commands of God. When Solomon was a young king, he experienced a visitation from God who told him he would grant whatever request he offered.  In a moment of brilliance, Solomon asked for wisdom to rule God’s people.  Because he asked for wisdom rather than wealth, power, or long life, God graciously promised him all those things as well as wisdom.  In a sense, the words of Jesus were fulfilled that if we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all the other things needful for life will be given to us.

Solomon began his reign in a stellar fashion.  He secured the kingdom from his enemies, he built the magnificent temple for God that his father David had envisioned, and he built his own palace that amazed all who saw it.  His wisdom was known throughout the Middle East and other kings came or sent envoys just to ask him questions.  God gave him victory in every battle and eventually peace on his borders.

One famous visitor was the Queen of Sheba who said, “The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise be to the Lordyour God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness” (1 Kings 10:6-9).  She was amazed at everything she saw and, as it should be, his giftedness directed her to give glory to his God.

Solomon surpassed every expectation that anyone could have ever imagined for his reign.  And yet, he died as a failure. The text says, “King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women… They were from nations about which the Lordhad told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love. He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lordhis God, as the heart of David his father had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lordcompletely, as David his father had done. On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.  The Lordbecame angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command” (1 Kings 11:1-10).

The question for us becomes, “How could the wisest man in history who had two personal visitations from the Lord and who knew well the promise that God had made to David about faithful sons, lose his way?”

First of all, Solomon asked for wisdom to rule Israel.  That may not be the same as spiritual wisdom.  We can ask God to give us wisdom for business, creativity for the entertainment industry, a best selling book, a mind for science, and many other things that will advance us in this world, but spiritual wisdom to know how things operate in the heavenly realm can be another thing. One type of wisdom is tied to the affairs of this world while the other is tied to the eternal realm.  The silence and submission that promoted Jesus in heaven, got him crucified on earth.

Secondly, years of amazing success and people bowing before you can cause anyone to forget God…I don’t care who you are. Somewhere in Solomon a seed of self-sufficiency and pride was planted, watered and grew.  The time came when he didn’t fear God or see him as the only true and living God.  Many great spiritual men have fallen because they became “stars” and “celebrities” within the church.  They believed their own press and refused to be accountable to others.  David made some huge mistakes but he still had men and prophets who would speak into his life to warn him and even confront him. Solomon seemed to have no one who could speak to him.

Thirdly, he eventually surrounded himself with unbelieving wives which opened the door to Solomon himself being demonized to the extent that he worshipped the most perverse of the pagan Gods…even those to whom children were sacrificed. The word of God clearly prohibited taking foreign wives and making foreign alliances. And yet, Solomon ignored those laws.  Paul declares the same for us in 2 Corinthians 6 when he commands us not to be yoked together with unbelievers.  Solomon had a weakness for women but excused it and fed it until it consumed him.

We need to be honest with ourselves about our weaknesses and vulnerabilities and we need to build guardrails around ourselves in those areas with prayer, confession, and accountability to some people we trust and respect.  These people must always have our permission to ask questions and give correction when needed.

To excuse, minimize, or justify those weaknesses is an open door to the enemy and if we play the game long enough, we will be deceived.  I am certain Solomon himself fell into that trap. I’m sure he didn’t give into the pleadings of his foreign wives at first.  He most likely tried to evangelize them and point out the greatness of his God for years.  But if we surround ourselves with unbelievers long enough, they will inevitably wear us down and we will be drawn to their way of life…little by little…. but drawn, all the same. One good apple placed in a barrel with rotten apples, will not make them healthy, but the one placed there will become rotten as well. Jesus hung out with sinners as ministry, but surrounded himself with those seeking God the rest of the time.

I’m also confident that Solomon’s wealth and success convinced him that God was all right with his foreign wives and foreign alliances.  That can be the danger of success and we all need to be aware of that danger. God is longsuffering, but his patience should not always be taken as approval.  We need spiritual wisdom to know the difference.

So pray for spiritual wisdom more than wisdom to succeed in this world. Be honest with your vulnerabilities and build guardrails for yourself including some who know what is going on in your life. Watch your relationships with unbelievers and do not open the door for the enemy.  If you find one open, shut it because even Solomon in all his glory finished his life as a failure.