I realize that some of you will not like this, especially in our “anything aggressive is bad” culture, but I believe there is a time when you have to fight. I raised my kids with the mentality that they’d better not start any fights when they were in school or there would be severe consequences at home. However, I also taught them there may be times when they might have to to protect themselves or others. In these cases, I told them that it was OK to fight…even necessary. If they ever found themselves in this type of situation, I told them I had one rule; “When you have to fight, you fight to win.”
As followers of Jesus, we are engaged in a spiritual war with the enemies of darkness. Whether or not you want to be in a war is irrelevant. The word of God tells us we’re in one. Look at what the word of God says.
I Peter 5:8 “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (NLT)
Eph. 6:10-12 “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (NLT)
Seems pretty clear to me that we have an enemy who is attacking us…attacking our marriages…attacking our kids…attacking our churches…and attacking our communities. Men and women, there is a time to fight and that time is now! The efforts of the enemy are going to be relentless. What do our efforts look like in response?
Growing in our understanding and application of prayer is one critical way we engage our spiritual enemy. Choosing to pray is a choice to fight in the spiritual realm. Choosing not to pray is a path of spiritual cowardice. I realize that sounds harsh, but the stakes are high and the causalities are real. It’s time for believers to make the choice to fight and fight to win.
We have a great opportunity to grow in our ability to fight well this weekend at our Prayer Conference. Hopep I see you there!
Fighting to win for His Kingdom,
Pastor Dale
