There is a text found early in the book of Joshua that I found puzzling in the past. After forty years in the wilderness, the second generation of those whom Moses led out of Egypt had finally crossed the Jordon and begun the conquest of the land God had promised to Abraham and his descendants. Their first challenge was the walled city of Jericho. Forty years earlier, the spies that Moses had sent into Canaan has brought back a report that the land was, indeed, fertile and rich but, “the people who live there are powerful and the cities are fortified and very large” (Num. 13:28). Jericho was one of those cities and the first significant test for the Israelites.

On the eve before Israel was to attack Jericho, Joshua encountered an unknown man. The text says, “Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’ ‘Neither,’ he replied, ‘but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’ Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, ‘What message does my Lord have for his servant?’ The commander of the Lord’s army replied, ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.’ And Joshua did so” (Josh.5:13-15)

The puzzling part of this text is the way in which the man who, was the commander of the Lord’s army, answered Joshua. Joshua asked whose side he was on. I expected the angel of the Lord (or possibly Jesus before his incarnation) to say that he was on Israel’s side and had come to assure their victory. However, he did not respond in that way but instead said that he was neither on Israel’s side nor the inhabitants of Jericho. He then simply identified himself as the commander of the Lord’s army. His response seems peculiar but only because of our mindset.

Ultimately, I think this is the point. God doesn’t line up with us, we must line up with him. If we want him to fight for us, our first step is to align ourselves with him. We join him…he doesn’t join us. When we think God is on our side because of our affiliations, we miss the point. Achan was an Israelite, but his sin cost Israel a battle and cost him and his family their lives. Although he was a Hebrew, his misalignment with the Lord caused him to be rejected. Rahab was a prostitute and part of the community who lived in Jericho. However, when she believed God and aligned herself with his promises, she was accepted and she and her family were saved.

God is not particularly interested in our affiliations – whether we attend First Baptist or Mid-Cities or Gateway. He’s not impressed with whose preaching we follow most or to whose praise music we gravitate. He is not even concerned if we are Republican or Democrat, American or Russian, or what neighborhood we live in. What he is concerned about is whether our hearts are aligned with his heart. He doesn’t join us – we are to join him. He doesn’t take up our agenda – we are to take up his. That was the message of the man Joshua encountered that night. God would fight for whoever joined him. It is clear that Joshua took up the Lord’s agenda because there was no other reason to march around Jericho once a day for seven days and then seven times on the last day blowing trumpets and shouting. That makes no earthly sense. But once Israel aligned themselves with God’s will and his ways, victory was assured.

Too often, I expect God to pick up my agenda and my desires and give me the victory that I have planned. The Spirit, however, expects us to adopt the agenda and the desires of God that he reveals to us. Remember, Jesus modeled life for us and he said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (Jn.5:19). When we discover that model, then we will see the power of God at work in our own lives.

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Hebrews 2:14-15

The writer of Hebrews declared that Jesus, through his death, has rendered the devil powerless. The word that is translated powerless, means to make insignificant or ineffective. Too often, those who are involved in spiritual warfare give the devil too much credit and, in their minds, give him too much power. Paul wrote, “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, ‘When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.’ In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions of the earth?  He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things’” (Eph. 4:7-10).

Not only did Jesus render the devil powerless but he also descended into hell and either set those who had previously been held captive by the enemy free or brought enemy captives with him as trophies – figuratively or literally. Either understanding is possible. The probable picture Paul is painting is that of a Roman general coming home from war after securing a victory. Victorious generals were given a “triumph” by the Senate, which was essentially a tickertape parade through the streets of Rome. As he entered Rome, he would be riding in a chariot pulled by four horses. His chariot would be followed by prisoners that he had taken captive as a display of his power and his authority. After the prisoners, came all the spoils that had been taken from the enemy. Then the general’s soldiers and other dignitaries would come behind. After the parade, which sometimes took more than a day, the general would often throw a huge banquet, giving away gifts and providing food paid for by his part of the spoils of war.

This picture of Jesus confirms that by his sinless life, his willing death, and his resurrection he was completely victorious over the enemy. He rendered Satan ineffective and irrelevant for those who are in Christ. After the cross, the only power that Satan has over God’s people is the power we give him through sin, unbelief, fear, and agreement with his lies and deception. Ultimately, we are in the same condition Adam and Eve were in while living in the Garden. In the Garden, Satan could not assault them, kidnap then, take their lives, or even harass them until after they agreed with his lies and surrendered their authority to him.

Today, as believers, we also give him the authority to harass us and afflict us by coming into agreement with him. Apparently, Satan has the ongoing right to tempt us and cause others to persecute us because we are told to beware of his schemes and that persecution will come to the righteous. But, he does not have the legal right to constantly afflict us, take our lives, or harass us year after year unless something in our lives or the lives of those we are attached to has given him power. When those things are submitted to the blood of Christ and realigned with God’s truth, his authority is revoked again.

I like what Jonathan Welton says about this. “ I do believe demonic forces are at work in the world, but not in the way many think. Most true spiritual warfare takes place in the arena of truth versus lies. The devil is a liar, and he uses his craftiness to get us to lay aside our identity and authority. Our battle must be understood as a battle to maintain our identity, because the authority we have been given as believers is contained in our identity. Many Christians have reached a point emotionally where they feel as though they have been stripped of their armor. They have been beaten to a pulp. They have been chained and are being dragged behind the devil’s chariot as his spoils of war…The truth regarding our identity is that we have been put into Christ. ‘In him we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:28). We abide in Him and he in us (Jn.15:4). We have been seated with him in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6)…If we understand that we abide in Him (which also means that we abide in his authority), then our spiritual warfare is very different: we are not fighting for victory, we are fighting from victory” (Jonahtan Welton, The School of the Seers, DestinyImage Publishing, p.155).

In our own lives, when Satan shows up, we need to remember who Christ is and who we are in Him. We need to take a personal inventory and inquire of the Spirit to see if anything or anyone is giving the devil a key to our front door. If we find something, then we should immediately deal with it through faith and the blood of Christ. Having done that, we should reassert our authority as those who speak for Christ and represent him on this planet. When we command the enemy, we should do so with full confidence that we have the authority to do so and that he must comply because he that is in us is greater than he that is in the world (1 Jn. 4:4). James tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from us. The first step to resistance is remembering who we are and what Jesus has accomplished for us. When we remember and stand in that truth by faith, the battle is essentially over and the devil will beat a hasty retreat.

We already have the victory over Satan because Christ already has the victory. We should have no fear of this enemy who has been rendered powerless, but rather he should fear us for we sit in judgment on him. If we want to be effective in spiritual warfare we must maintain that mindset. When we go onto the field to face the enemy we should walk on with the swagger of those who already know that the game and the victory is theirs. It is that swagger in Christ, the certainty of who we are, and the total confidence that victory is already ours that intimidates demons and causes the devil to flee.

If we walk onto the field fearing defeat, being unsure of our Captain, and thinking that the enemy looks bigger, stronger and faster than we thought, we will be ineffective. We will empower and embolden the enemy by forgetting who our Captain is and who we are in him and we will not win the lopsided victory that was ours.

David is our model for facing the enemy. When he stood before Goliath, his mind was not contemplating his own strength but the strength of God Almighty. Goliath had taunted him and had pointed out how hopeless David’s efforts would be because Goliath had vast superiority in physical strength and experience. But David looked beyond Goliath’s taunts and intimidation. In his mind, the battle was already won because God was with him and God cannot lose. With his faith that God was with him, he declared victory over Goliath and charged him with a few stones and a slingshot. The rest is history. It never entered David’s mind that Goliath could win because David was representing the God of Israel. How much more confidence should we have because God is not only with us but in us and our commander cannot and will not lose.

We will face the enemy this year but he is defeated and rendered powerless in our lives when we remember who we are and whose we are. Like David, we have the right to declare victory in the name of Jesus and to charge the enemy. As we do, he will flee. Be blessed immensely and victorious in every skirmish with the enemy in this year to come.

When speaking about false prophets, Jesus said, “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them” (Mt.7:15-20).

This warning about false prophets suggests than men will come into the church with hidden agendas and, typically, try to draw followers after them for financial gain or to introduce heresies into the church. Jesus suggested that the fruit they bear will indicate whether they are from God or not. These false prophets apparently are intentional about their deception. Their fruit will be a watered down gospel, division in the church, immorality, and an unbiblical view of Jesus and salvation. These men must be recognized, warned, and dealt with by church leadership in order to protect the flock.

Sometimes, however, parts of the body of Christ have been too quick to label someone with whom they disagree as a false prophet who needs to be immediately run out of town. More often, the church has experienced well-meaning people with poor theology which they came by honestly. Lets face it, most of us were introduced to our view of scripture (theology) by those who brought us to Christ and by leaders in the group that became our initial spiritual family. Because we knew very little or no Bible, we received their teaching without any critical evaluation. We also held these preachers and teachers in high esteem because those with whom we had relationships held them in high esteem. If they taught something that we questioned or that seemed to contradict something we had read in scripture, we typically ignored our objections and accepted their theology because “they knew so much more Bible than we did.” That happens in generations of Christians who trust their teachers who trusted their teachers who trusted their teachers, and so on.

What we need to understand is that poor theology can be passed on by well-meaning and good-hearted people and that we can question their theology without questioning the faith or sincerity of those who hold it. I believe that a great deal of poor or inadequate theology has been passed down from generation to generation in the church and that one of the ways we can evaluate theology, like prophets, is by its fruit.

One of the major theologies that concerns me (okay – aggravates me) today has been around for a couple of hundred years but has really gained prominence among evangelicals in the past fifty years. It is the theology that states that the signs of the end times include the worsening of the world and the inevitable weakening and ineffectiveness of the church.   Embedded in this theology is the idea that this weakening and worldwide persecution of the church is God’s plan and is, therefore, inevitable. Since it is inevitable and since we are surely in the end times, we must simply resign ourselves to the decline of the church and the increase of evil until Jesus returns. Those who accept that premise, tend to give up on redeeming nations and cultures for Christ and settle for getting a few more into the kingdom of God before the end while mostly bunkering in and protecting what we have.

The fruit of that theology has been a defeatist attitude, pessimism, and a fatalistic approach to reclaiming our own nation. Many Christians feel helpless and weak in the face of culture and “big moves” of the devil. The only news that is reported about the church is decline and apathy and so many believers are bunkering in and waiting for the end. There is a problem with that view. Just because something is being reported by anti-Christian media outlets does not make it true or the whole story. The church is flourishing worldwide. Secondly, it is not an acceptable attitude for those who are more than conquerors. I was scanning Bill Johnson’s new book, God is Good, and appreciated what he had to say about that mindset. I thought I would share it with you.

“Vision starts with identity and purpose. Through a revolution in our identity, we can think with divine purpose. Such a change begins with a revelation of Him. One of the tragedies of a weakened identity is how it affects our approach to Scripture. Many, if not most, theologians make the mistake of taking all the good stuff contained in the prophets and sweeping it under the mysterious rug called the Millennium…I want to challenge our thinking and deal with our propensity that puts off those things that require courage, faith, and action to another period of time. The mistaken idea is this: if it is good, it can’t be for now. A cornerstone of this theology is that the condition of the church will always be getting worse and worse; therefore, tragedy in the church is just another sign of these being the last days. In a perverted sense, the weakness of the Church confirms to many that they are on the right course. The worsening condition of the world and the Church becomes a sign to them that all is well. I have many problems with that kind of thinking, but only one I will mention now – it requires no faith! We are so entrenched in unbelief that anything contrary to this worldview is thought to be of the devil” (Bill Johnson, God is Good, p.54-55. DestinyImage Publishing).

Can any theology that bears the fruit of futility, hopelessness, and weakness in the Church be good or healthy theology? How can our biblical identity of being sons and daughters of a triumphant King who has all authority in heaven and on earth, walking in power, doing greater things that he did with a co-mission to go out and make disciples of all nations (not just a handful of people within a nation), fit into that defeatist view of our times?

Jesus does not cower and hide away because the world is bleak. He has overcome the world. We are more than conquerors. Proverbs says that as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. As the church thinketh in her heart so is she. What a coup for the enemy that he has introduced a theology into a large part of the church that accepts decline and defeat for the church as God’s perfect and irresistible plan. The kingdom of God does not retreat. The Kingdom of God does not shrink. It is not the nature of Christ to cower. Whatever happened to the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church? Much of the church seems to be like Israel who hid in their tents when Goliath would come out to challenge them. In their own eyes they were defeated before the battle even started. What we need is a church full of David’s who envisioned holding the head of the giant in his hands because his God was way bigger than any Philistine strong man.

Isaiah declared of Messiah, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end (emphasis added). He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” (Isa.9:6-7).

I see no parenthesis in the increase of his government. I do not see this occurring only in the Millennium. If that prophecy is confined to the age to come, then Jesus is not yet on the throne of David, not yet Prince of Peace, not yet Wonderful Counselor, and so forth. We can evaluate theology by its fruit and make biblical adjustments without calling those who promote it false prophets. If they are preaching their best current understanding of scripture with sincerity, they are not false prophets. They are simply men and women who need to reconsider their theology apart from the orthodox status it has among their denominational leaders. By the way, most of the churches who hold this pessimistic view of a languishing church in the end times are also cessationist churches that believe that God no longer performs miraculous feats on behalf of his people. Powerlessness, of course, breeds despair.

If you have felt despair and hopelessness in your life and your world because of this theology, you have my permission to reconsider your understanding. Anything that works against faith, hope, optimism, and a conquering spirit but instead produces fear and doubt cannot be of God. If the fruit of that view has produced good fruit in your life and church them hang on to it. If not, do some more study with a different set of eyes.

If we know who we are in Christ – sons and daughters, priests and kings, the temple of the Holy Spirit, seated with Christ in Heavenly realms, more than conquerors, ambassadors of Christ, healers, prophets, those who trample on snakes and scorpions, and those who will do even greater things than he did – then we cannot accept a theology that negates everything we are.

From time to time we need to examine what we really believe and what beliefs or theologies are influencing us. What has the fruit been in your life? If your theology or your church’s theology has been Christ-centered, empowering, encouraging, hopeful, demon-kicking, and transformative then you are in a good place. First of all, those qualities reflect the character and Spirit of Christ and any truth from him should bear that fruit in us. If, however, you are discouraged, fearful, dreading the future, and exhausted…that is not from Christ for we have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love, and a sound mind.

Check the fruit not only of prophets but also of theologies. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth and give you a greater understanding of who you are and who He is in these present days. After all, that us part of his job description and no matter what is happening around us, he that is in us is greater than he that is in the world. Our Lord has already overcome this world and we already share in that victory… so be encouraged and blessed in Him today.

As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23:7 ( KJV)

Most of us are familiar with the proverb quoted above. In contemporary language, it means that a man typically lives up to his self-image – the view he holds of himself. If he sees himself as small and insignificant, incompetent and failure prone, he will accomplish little in life because he will attempt little. He will never see himself as a leader and, therefore, will not step into that role even if it is offered to him. He will settle for lesser jobs than he is capable of because he doesn’t believe that he is capable and will settle for lesser relationships because he will feel he doesn’t deserve more. It’s not just men who are crippled by a small and insignificant self-image, women fall into that trap as well.

I am the convinced that the church has fallen into that trap as well. The church, typically, has a much smaller view of herself than God does. The enemy has done an outstanding job convincing us that the words of Christ are not really true when he said that the gates of hell shall not prevail against his church.

Somewhere, Satan planted a distorted interpretation of certain passages in the Bible that has become a prevalent theological view, especially in the past 50 years. The view is that in the last days, evil will abound more and more and that the church as well as goodness will dwindle and become week. The idea is that things will get so bad and the church will be so down trodden that Jesus will simply pull his people out in moment called the rapture. Basically, this view declares that Jesus will have to evacuate his people from a lost cause. Of course, then after the tribulation, he will return with his saints and establish his millennial reign. Scriptures do say that the world will get darker in the last days but light always shines brighter in the darkness. The question is how do we respond to this growing kingdom of darkness. Does the church find herself helpless to push back or do we walk in the authority of the King and take planet earth back in his name?

Many prophecies declare just the opposite of this view that in the last days the church will seemingly have no power against the darkness. Isaiah declares, “In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore” (Isa.2:2-4).

This is a picture of the church that has been exalted above earthly governments and the nations are drawn to the wisdom and glory of the church. Isaiah says that this will occur in the last days. In Acts 2, Peter declared that the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost marked the “last days.” Many theologians refer to this period as the church age. We are still in those days and believe it or not, many leaders of nations around the globe are meeting with God’s prophets in private meetings in search of wisdom and problem solving for their nations. They are already coming to the church for answers and finding those answers just as Isaiah prophesied.   Entire nations such, as Honduras, are inviting the church in to preach and share the gospel in schools, universities, and even police stations because they sense we have the answer to something they desperately need.

Habakkuk also prophesied, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab.2:14). Later, Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations because he had been given all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt.28:18-20). In recent years, the church has decided that Jesus meant for us to make a few disciples in every nation rather than to make disciples of entire nations. We have settled for less.

In the Book of Acts, Peter preached, “Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah appointed for you, that is, Jesus, who must remain in heaven until the time of universal restoration that God announced long ago through his holy prophets” (Acts 3:19-21)

What restoration is Jesus waiting for? Could it be the restoration of the church to its intended glory – the bride of Christ, strong and radiant, and reigning on the earth so that she is a glorious bride waiting for her glorious groom? For centuries, Christians believed that they had a hand in the return of Jesus and that when they had preached the gospel to every creature under heaven he would return. Now, many Christians believe that the trigger point for his return is when the world inevitably gets bad enough and the church inevitably gets weak enough that we must be rescued. With that view, who would even try to redeem culture or nations? Who would even try to cover the earth with the knowledge of God, disciple nations, and draw world leaders to herself? Even if a believer has a desire to do those things, he or she is told that it would be futile because it is not God’s plan. But what if Jesus is waiting until the church restores the glory and leadership of God’s people that he always intended? What if he is waiting for the church to restore glory to the Kingdom so that nations come to us as in the days of Solomon when kings and queens travelled to Jerusalem to seek his wisdom and see his glory?

Much of the church today does not see herself as the glorious bride of Christ triumphing in victory over the enemy and bringing in a harvest of nations for her king so that God’s intent – that his children will rule this planet as his representatives – will be restored and then Jesus will return. We are like the Israelites who saw giants in the land and saw themselves as grasshoppers in comparison. Even though God had promised them that he would give them the land and every place they set their foot, as grasshoppers, they saw no point in even making the effort.

At this point, most of the church is suffering from a poor self-image – the bride of Christ, weak and worn, tarnished and looking desperately to escape this planet rather than winning the war. It is true that Jesus came the first time as the meek and submissive Lamb of God who would not lift a hand to defend himself against the enemy. But he rose as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Rider on the White Horse and the Commander of the Armies of Heaven with all authority in heaven and on earth. It is not his nature to role over and give the earth to Satan after he died to take it back. It is not his nature to retreat when he declared that the gates of hell would not prevail against his church and it must not be the nature of his church or our nature, as followers of the King, to retreat or see ourselves as weak and helpless either.

As the church thinketh in her heart so is she. We need to redefine our view of the church and with that to redefine our view of ourselves as those who make up the church. There are sports teams who have a tradition of winning and confidence that they will continue to win. When they walk on the field or the court they see themselves as the victors before the game even begins and they walk with a certain swagger that intimidates their opponents. Even when things get hard in the game they still believe they will win in the end because, in their hearts, they are champions. We need to believe that we are champions because the leader of our team cannot be defeated and that leader lives within each of us.

The Lord tells us that we are more than conquerors, that we can do all things through Christ, that we have been given power and authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy, that we can make disciples of all nations, and that Satan himself will flee when we resist. How does that add up to a desperate church waiting to be evacuated from the planet their King died to redeem?

If I know I am part of a winning team, then I can see myself as a winner. If I know I am on a championship team then I can see myself as a champion. As we define the church, we define her members. We define ourselves. We need to begin to speak and prophesy victory rather than defeat, glory rather than insignificance, and exaltation rather than humiliation. We are the body of Christ in this world and Jesus doesn’t lose. As you go out today, walk and think like a champion because that is who you are in Christ.

Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 1 Corinthians 6:2-3

Whenever we engage in spiritual warfare we must first remember who Christ is and who we are in him. Everything else rests on that foundation. In the New Testament, we are told that Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that he has all authority in heaven and on earth, that he has a name that is above every name, and so forth. We cannot enter into spiritual warfare with an expectation of winning if we do not already know that Jesus has already won the victory and that we are only enforcing what has already been determined. As many have said, we are not fighting for victory, but from victory.

The battles we fight in the spiritual realm today are parallel to the battles Israel fought when entering the Promise Land. The land had already been promised to the descendants of Abraham. In essence, God had already deeded the land to his people. It was his to give and he had given it. His people had a legal right to the land they were about to take. Suddenly, those who had been inhabiting the land were trespassers and Israel’s first task was to evict those who no longer had any claim to the property that was the inheritance of God’s people.

The irony of God’s gift to his people was that although it had already been given to them, they still had to take possession of what had been given. I know men and women who have been given land by parents or grandparents with an expectation that they would live on it someday and, perhaps, raise crops or herds on it. Sometimes the land had been developed but at other times it had not. The land belonged to them but they still faced the daunting task of clearing rocks, brush, and acres of mesquite trees. Wells had to be dug and fences erected. Unwanted critters had to be dispatched and others tamed. Hindrances to life and productivity had to be removed. Enemies, in all their forms, had to be uprooted and removed.

Israel faced the same dilemma, but instead of rocks, trees, and brush they were called to remove hardened enemies who lived in walled cities and who had experience with war. Some of them were “goliath-like” in size and temperament. And yet, the Lord promised to go before them and guarantee the victory if they would step out in faith and obedience. God was asking them to fight from victory rather than striving for victory. Israel failed to take the Promise Land when they first came to the Jordan River because they continued to believe that they had to fight in their own strength. They were not convinced that God would be strong and victorious for them. Israel still had the identity of slaves rather than sons of God. They still anticipated that the God who had defeated Pharaoh with plagues and ocean water would abandon them in the face of inferior forces.

We can also drift into that same mindset, thinking that God may or may not be there for us when we face the enemy. We can drift into the mindset that although God gave us the victory yesterday, we are not sure that he will do the same today. We know we are in that place when we pray or command out of a sense of hoping that God will come through rather than operating in a firm expectation that he will come through. We know we are in that place when we feel that we are facing the enemy in our own strength and skills rather than in the strength and authority of the Commander of the Armies of Heaven.

We are not slaves. We are not servants. We are sons and daughters of a God who does not change, does not abandon, does not sleep, and who never loses. We may exercise the power and authority of heaven because of who we are in Christ. It is not about our righteousness, our wisdom, or our performance. We are who we are because God has placed us in a position of favor, authority, and rule because of what Jesus had done.

What we need to remember is that we have exceptional standing with the God of Creation. We are sons and daughters, friends of God, the temple of the Holy Spirit, co-heirs with Christ, ambassadors of heaven, appointed and anointed, seated with Christ in heavenly realms, and so forth. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6 that we have such standing that we will sit with Christ, judging both the world and angels, when the curtain comes down on this age.

When we begin to clear the spiritual land that God has given us, we need to spend a moment remembering who our Lord is and his immense, infinite power that he is always willing to wield on our behalf. We also need to remember who we are in Christ. We need to remember that because of a cross and an empty tomb, the victory has already been won and both the Father and Son have agreed to go into battle with us because they will never leave us or forsake us in any circumstance. The Spirit goes with us as well because he lives in us.

As we remind ourselves of who Jesus is and who we are in him, we should also remind the enemy of those two things as well before we pray, declare, or command.   Our confidence in both creates fear in the enemy. If we doubt who we are, the enemy is emboldened. Who we are does not change from day to day based on our spiritual performance that day. We are who we are in Christ. Even on bad days, our position allows us to call on the power of heaven to destroy the works of the devil because the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than the best hell can offer. As you pray for healings, command spirits to depart, or declare God’s promises over “impossible situations,” take a moment to remember who you are. You are one of God’s chosen, who will judge the world and even angels and, through Christ, you are to exercise that authority even now. Be blessed today and know who you are.

Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’ “ Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful. ”After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: “Give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever.” As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.”

During the reign of Jehoshaphat, a vast army came up from Edom against Israel. They were clearly greater in numbers and power than the forces of Israel, so Jehoshaphat cried out to God, saying, “For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you” (2 Chr. 20:12).

There are times in our lives that we simply don’t know how to respond to the event or the dilemma before us. There are truly things against which we have no power and no answers. Jehoshaphat recognized his dilemma when three kings combined their armies against Israel. He showed wisdom in two things: (1) He acknowledged his own limitations, and (2) he acknowledged that God has no limitations. He then simply declared, “Our eyes are upon you.” There are times we must choose to trust God and see what God will do on our behalf. Our faith falls on the nature of God and who he is for us – his chosen people. Every crisis, every dilemma offers the opportunity to discover more of who the Father is for us. We look to see what will he do out of his nature and his love for us.

Sometimes, we are taken by surprise. Jehoshaphat was stunned that God had even allowed these armies to form and conspire against Israel, but they were, in fact, marching briskly toward Jerusalem. The text says that all the men of Judah, with their wives and children, stood before the Lord and waited for a response. In that moment, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, the priest, who declared to the king and the assembly, “This is what the Lord says to you, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours but God’s…take up your positions, stand firm, and see the deliverance the Lord will give you” (2 Chr.20:15-17).

We need to understand that Old Testament battles are our blueprints for spiritual warfare. In the face of overwhelming news, the Lord reminded his people that they did not fight out of their own strength but out of his. They were to take up their positions, but primarily to witness what God would do for them. Their part was to show up for the battle but then to begin to praise and worship the Lord. As they began to turn their hearts toward Jehovah and lift up praise, he began to set ambushes. The three armies that had combined their forces against Israel were suddenly afraid, confused, and turning on one another. They slaughtered one another without Israel wielding one weapon in the natural realm. All that was left was to pick up the plunder left behind by these defeated armies.

Satan loves to intimidate and send forth a spirit of fear when he moves against God’s people. Sometimes we can overcome the enemy with the divine weapons and strategies God has already given us. At other times, what he has shown us in the past seems inadequate for the present. In those moments he is preparing to show us something new. Our part is to trust him to be who he is for us. God is unchanging. Every example of battle in the Old Testament records victory for God’s people when their hearts were turned toward him. God, by his very nature, is victorious. He cannot be anything else and he always wants to be that for his people.

Secondly, we must take up our positions and stand as children of the King, soldiers of Christ, and the faithful who have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind – a mind in harmony with the mind of Christ. We are to take up our positions with our eyes on God, waiting to see the victory and the good that God will bring out of inexplicable tragedies. It is the nature of God to create good – to create victory out of the very things Satan means for harm.

When there seems to be no adequate response to the enemy then, the most powerful weapon we can roll out is the weapon of praise and worship with our eyes fixed on the Father, the Son and the Spirit. When we worship we defy the enemy who has tried to intimidate us and take away our hearts. When we worship we remind ourselves of who God is and who he is for us. When we worship, we increase the presence of God against whom the enemy cannot stand. When we worship in the face of overwhelming odds or tragedy we can be sure that God is setting ambushes in the spiritual realm, confusing the enemy, and turning demons against one another. We then will claim the victory that Satan had once claimed. A cross and three spikes is the ultimate example of God drawing incredible good out of what seemed to be inexplicable tragedy and loss.

When we feel overwhelmed and are left with no discernable response to something that has happened, then we are to set our eyes on the Father, take up our positions in anticipation of seeing who the Father will be for us, and then worship. God will take care of the rest.

There is nothing like a championship game, won in the final seconds when your team was down and victory seemed impossible. Suddenly, the opposing team, who seemed to dominate the entire game, begins to falter. Your team begins to surge and in the last moment the unbelievable pass to the end zone or the three point shot from the edge steals the victory when all seemed lost. God specializes in those wins. It seems to take the heart out of the enemy even more than if we always dominated. It also allows us to cheer louder for our Great King who always comes through because that is who he is. Wait, praise, and see what God does. You will be amazed.

There seems to be a lot of discouragement in the Christian community these days. In the past few months we have lost cultural and legislative ground as the Supreme Court redefined marriage after thousands of years of cultural and legal precedent that marriage is a union between a man and a woman. Washington and the courts have declared homosexuality to be a civil right and Christians are now under the gun if they do not serve homosexuals or honor homosexual marriage in their businesses.   The “war on Christianity” is ramping up all around the world and very few public voices are pushing back against the tide.

The question is simply do we stand up or give in? Do we stand up against the giants in the land or simply decide that they are too big for us so we must hide or at least keep a low profile. I’m talking to way too many Christians who feel hopeless about the situation and their only prayer is “come quickly Lord Jesus.” That’s not a bad prayer. In fact, it is a biblical prayer that was offered in the Book of Revelation. We all long for Jesus to come and set things right on the earth but just remember that when he returns those who have not yet named Jesus as Lord may be eternally lost. Those individuals may be some who are near and dear to you.

Secondly, those of us who feel so discouraged in the United States about the current state of the church need to look outside of the U.S. to see what God is doing in the world. Millions are coming to Jesus in unprecedented numbers in Africa, Asia and South America. God is saving, healing, and even raising the dead in numbers never seen before. When Jesus said that those who believe in him would do even greater things than he had done was speaking of this day. We can take heart in the fact that God is pushing back darkness all over the world and can still push back the darkness in America.

One of the things that seems confusing to many, however, is that some voices in the church are declaring that America is going down like the Titanic with no rescue in sight. They are declaring that we live in a post-Christian world that will now simply get worse and worse without remedy until the Lord returns. Others are declaring that God is going to release awakening or revival in the U.S. and everything will be glorious again. So which is it? I believe both may represent potential futures. I know that is not satisfying but remember that many prophecies and promises in scripture are conditional.

In Deuteronomy 28-30, God promised both peace and prosperity or oppression and hardship depending on Israel’s response to him. He declared that if Israel followed his commandments and loved him, then they would be blessed, prosperous, and at peace. If they rejected his ways then war, drought, and financial disasters would follow. Both futures were prophesied and Israel was given the responsibility to determine which it would be.

Faith also determines outcomes. God had deeded and promised Canaan to his people if they would trust him enough to enter into the land and take it from the tribes living there. One generation chose unbelief, chose never to face the giants, and never received the promise. Another generation entered by faith and took the land – giants and all. Jesus said, “May it be done to you according to your faith.” What God’s people have faith for is a determining factor in just about everything – even in America’s future.

America is not lost. If the nation “goes to hell in a hand basket” it will be because God’s church never took possession of the hand basket. Remember, our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers that are pulling the strings of presidents, judges, and congressmen. But Jesus said that the gates (authority) of hell would not prevail against his church. When David stood facing Goliath, in the eyes of the onlookers, David had no chance. But by faith he prophesied the outcome based on how he viewed his God. He declared to Saul, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1Sam.17:37). David then prophesied once again when he stood before his massive enemy. David shouted to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands (1 Sam. 17:45-47). Then David did just what he declared he would do by the power of God.

We face a swaggering, boastful giant with multiple heads. But we serve the same God that David served and should now be declaring victory for the church (i.e. the righteousness of God and exaltation of Christ) in America in the name and power of the Lord as we pray and speak. By faith we should declare God’s sovereignty and victory instead of declaring doom and defeat over God’s people. We must bless the church and not curse it with predictions of failure. We have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind (2 Tim.1:7). The fear that we feel is not from the Lord and we must reject that spirit. We should not fear the enemy, he should fear us because Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, has all authority in heaven and on earth, and is willing to exercise that authority when his people ask, declare, and stand in faith.

America will be retaken for Christ in the courts of heaven before we see it manifested in the courts of men. That will happen when we offer up bold prayers of faith and declare God’s victory over evil in this nation and do so until we see that victory with our own eyes. Don’t be afraid; be bold. Remember that Jesus said, “I have overcome the world,” and in him we too are more than conquerors. Be bold and confident today. Pray boldly, speak with confidence, and live like one who has the eternal, all powerful God dwelling in your heart!

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom.8:35-39)

Paul finishes this section of his letter, which translators have dubbed Romans 8, with a theological volley. It reveals the mindset of a spiritual warrior and a mindset that we must all adopt as we move into a probable season of persecution in the world and our nation. There is definitely a war on Christianity and Judaism unfolding all around the globe and we would be naïve to think we will escape it. The spirit of Anti-Christ is certainly on the move.

In the face of his own battles with this spirit, we should notice Paul’s emphasis in this section. It is not so much on power as it is on love. His great hope is the love of Christ and the devil’s inability to sever us from that love. As you look at this part of Paul’s letter, you realize that this love is a sustaining love. If you don’t watch the context, you might assume that Christ’s love keeps us from trouble in this world and just moves us from blessing to blessing as we live the good life above the fray. The context does not suggest that and Jesus never promised that either. In fact, what he did promise was persecution and trouble (see Matt.5:10-12 and John 16:33). He also promised great reward for those who did not abandon their faith in the midst of that trouble.

I have noticed an essential difference between our brothers and sisters in places like China and the Middle East and American believers. Those coming to Christ in “non-Christian” countries expect and even invite persecution and hardship for the sake of Jesus. They pray for strength to endure while we in America pray for God to deliver us from any hardships and almost take offense when they come.

Paul makes no promise that God’s umbrella of protection will keep us from struggles. To the contrary he uses words like hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword, death and slaughter to describe the potential Christian experience in this world. Paul’s hope is not in a life of ease and blessing in this world but in the love of Christ sustaining him in seasons of hardship as he presses toward the next life.

Many believers see hardship as evidence of God’s indifference or abandonment. Paul saw hardship as the normal course of the believer’s life while we push back against the dominion of darkness. But in the midst of that he experienced the love and faithfulness of the risen Lord. In fact, it is in the midst of battle and struggle that we truly discover the goodness and faithfulness of God. Because of that he saw himself as more than a conqueror. The Greek word means to “completely prevail” and is actually a verb declaring that we live in a state of absolute triumph. The “indicative mood” of the verb makes it clear that Paul sees this state as an actual rather than a potential or figurative view of the believer’s life. The paradox is that we truly are more than conquerors even while sitting in a “Chi-com” cell in a re-education camp outside of Beijing or in a hospital room watching a loved one fight a losing battle with cancer. Only an eternal and relational view of our faith makes that possible.

Ultimately, for our faith to endure we must believe that God is, that God is always good, and that God is always motivated by his love toward us. We must also believe that the “norm” is this world is hardship at some level. We live in fallen world. We still live in enemy territory. We still have bodies subject to aging and our own bad choices in diet and exercise. Hardship comes in the form of persecution, broken relationships, damaged genes, internal struggles against temptation, demonic attack, and more. (Don’t think about it or you won’t want to get out of bed in the morning.) It is the rare believer and, probably, the one who keeps a low profile on the devil’s radar that doesn’t encounter significant battles in this world.

The victory comes in knowing the ultimate outcome of every struggle and every encounter with the enemy. The victory is often apparent in this world but at other times it won’t seem so apparent except that the “big win” is always being with Jesus. In the movie, Saving Private Ryan, Captain John Miller (played by Tom Hanks) told his men that his primary objective in the war was to get home to his wife. Our primary objective must also be to get home and our primary mindset must be that this world is not our home. How often do we find believers who are angry at God because some saintly person they knew died. If our primary goal for ourselves and others is to be with Jesus then we should not be angry when those we love reach that goal – maybe envious but not angry.

Paul’s celebration was not about “the good life” on earth but that no person, no demon, and no circumstance can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. No doubt there will be seasons of blessing in this life but there will also be seasons of battle. In all of that, the love and grace of God is assured and we can take heart in that. We will never be alone and his grace will also be sufficient. Knowing that, we can live without fear as those whose ultimate triumph is absolute and absolutely assured. Be of good courage.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom.8:28-31)

As we continue moving through Romans 8, Paul continues to reveal God’s purposes in our lives. God is a loving father and loving fathers have hopes and dreams for their children. They also have wisdom that will direct their children to green pastures and still waters if the children will listen. As we move though this entire chapter we are reminded over and over of how much God wants the best for us and how much he works in our lives to bring us into his best. The problem is that we often resist his best and stubbornly continue to go our own way. The devil also wants to derail the Father’s plans for our lives. Because of that, God often finds himself salvaging something good out of a smoking pile of debris.

If you watch much of HGTV or similar channels there are always shows tracking the adventures and misadventures of people who have chosen to remodel old homes. The problem is that the contractors are continually finding issues where do-it-yourselfers, incompetent builders, or corner-cutting contractors have done things that are not up to code or are just jig-sawed together in dangerous ways. The remodelers then have to tear out what has been done poorly and repair the structural damage incurred to do it right at much added time, expense and effort.  God has to do that in our lives from time to time because of our own bungling or someone else’s but he is committed to making all things work together for good. If we cooperate the project goes much better. His effort, beginning with the cross, is spent on those he has called and those who love him.

After saying that, Paul roles out some big theological terms and concepts – foreknowledge and predestination. In simple terms (the only kind I can understand), God knows what our choices will be before we ever make them (foreknowledge) and then works with our choices to make us more like Jesus which is God’s ultimate plan for every believer. The predestination part of the equation is simply ordaining opportunities for us for to perform good works, express faith, and become more like our King. Knowing what someone will do is not predestination in the sense of making the choice for him or her or giving them no real choice. When we go to our favorite Mexican food restaurant in Midland, I already know what my wife will choose from the menu. I could call ahead and have the order waiting for her and I would not be forcing her to eat the Cheese Chile Relleno with everything on it, although I predestined the opportunity for her to choose that item. She could refuse what I arranged and choose something else but since I know her so well, I know she will choose the relleno.

If you are in Christ, then God in his foreknowledge knew that your heart would turn to Jesus and so he called you. God tilled the soil of your heart before anyone planted the Word there but then he put someone in your path to share the gospel with you while the Spirit opened your understanding. You said, “Yes, ” to the invitation. Having been called, you responded, not as God forced you to but as God knew you would. Once you responded he justified you. He declared you sinless in the courts of heaven and, having done that, he glorified you. In the mind of God and the eyes of heaven you are already a glorious son or daughter of the king adding more glory as you serve him and embrace opportunities to do more in the name of Jesus.

This whole chapter chronicles the efforts of God to draw you to himself, save you, make you like Jesus, glorify you, establish an eternal destiny for you and get you home in one piece. And yet, many believers still doubt God’s commitment to them and feel weak and helpless when they find themselves in the crosshairs of the devil. Of all people, we should live with an optimism and a confidence in our purpose and our future. Once again Paul is building up to his thematic declaration, “If God is for us who can be against us?” Many kings and nations have determined to stand against the purposes of God but even those with vast armies at their disposal have been unable to stall his will. Ask Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod, Caesar, and a host of others who commanded the greatest armies in the world. Each fell before the purposes of God and we can be sure that those who stand against the purposes of God in our own lives will fall as well if we persist in faith.

I watched Seattle come back against Green Bay this past Sunday after being sixteen points down at the half. By all odds, they should have lost but came back late in the fourth quarter to tie and then won on their first drive in overtime. If you were a Seattle fan the game was amazing, exciting, and memorable. I have to admit that God often waits until late in the fourth quarter to deliver us from our enemies but deliver he does if we continue to remember who he is and who we are in him. Even in death we win. As Paul said, “To be out of this body is to be with Christ” (2 Cor.5:8). Take courage in every circumstance for God is with you and he is certainly for you. Your victory has been predestined.

I was watching (for the fourth time) the 1995 historical docudrama, Apollo 13, a few evenings ago. It’s a great movie about our aborted attempt at a third moon landing in 1970. Tom Hanks played the mission commander Jim Lovell. The movie was made with as much attention to accurate detail as possible. We forget what amazing things NASA did while the computer age was still young. I have heard that you have more computerized technology in your iphone than they had on the entire Apollo 13 rocket. When things go bad, everyone starts grabbing for their slide rule or pad and pencil rather than a computer.

The mission begins with a sense of the ordinary. Space had become so familiar to the American public that hardly anyone watched the launce. With a sense of “everything is under control” and “everything will be fine,” three astronauts were blown into space and hurtled toward the moon with a business as usual feeling. Somewhere along the flight path, however, Jack Swigart, the backup commander for the mission, hit a switch to stir the fuel tanks and an explosion rocked the ship. Suddenly, business as usual turned into an amazing drama. As the crew turned the ship to return to earth they had no idea what was still functional and what was damaged beyond repair.

As the movie moves ahead, one thing after another becomes questionable and life threatening. Although they had enough oxygen the CO2 scrubber which took the carbon dioxide from the cabin atmosphere ceased to function. It had to be rebuilt from plastic bags and duct tape on board. Most of the battery power that would run their basic computers for reentry and deployment of the parachutes for the reentry capsule was lost. They had to turn off all heat and lights in the ship to preserve precious amps to operate the computers at the last moment.

In addition, there were serious questions about the reentry angle and the heat shield that would keep them from incinerating when they entered the earth’s atmosphere. No one knew the full extent of the damage from the explosion. As these three astronauts approach reentry the Houston control room begins to take on a sense of despair about their chances. All the families are huddled together at the Lovell home watching the news minute-by-minute and wondering if they would ever see their husband or father again.

When reentry occurred there was an expected three minutes of silence when no communication was possible. If they survived the flight; if they didn’t bounce off the earth’s atmosphere; if the heat shield was intact and the parachutes deployed they might survive. No one would know for three long minutes. After three minutes there was still no communication. Three minutes passed, three minutes thirty seconds passed, and the four-minute mark rolled by in silence. Families began to weep softly. The control room at Houston was silent with fear. And then unexpectedly, a voice crackled over the radio – “Houston, this is Odyssey.” In that moment hopelessness and despair exploded into triumph and joy.

As I watched, engineers and mathematicians in the control room jumped like children and cheered like fans at the Super bowl with tears drizzling down their cheeks.   Families and friends erupted into hugs and joyful laughter.

At that moment, I thought how much like the Apollo 13 journey was Christ’s journey to the grave and back. As we watch Jesus and his followers at the end of the Passion Week, it seems that everything is going their way. The crowds have cheered Jesus into Jerusalem. He is gaining followers daily. The disciples are anticipating that he will soon establish the kingdom in power before their very eyes. But then thing things go bad. Betrayal. Arrest. A kangaroo court. The death sentence. Crucifixion. A dead Messiah placed in a tomb. The followers of the King of Israel are shattered and disbelieving what has happened. Fear and hopelessness settle over the apostles and other disciples. No one knows what to expect or what is coming. Those who speak, speak only in whispers.

Then suddenly, Jesus reenters and appears in their midst. He is alive and well. Life can go on. The mission can continue. As I watched the control room and the home where the families of the astronauts were gathered explode into triumph and joy, I thought how much that moment must have paralleled what that small group of believers felt in there hearts when Jesus appeared to them again. I wondered if even the angels had been holding their breath for three days wondering what would become of their king. It seems that in our worship and in moments of communion we should find that same triumph and joy in our hearts. Jesus faced every impossibility, weathered the storm, faced the fires of hell, and when we had all given up hope immerged the hero – our hero. Blessings.