Jump Start # 1389

2 Corinthians 10:5 “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ”

  The setting of our passage is combative. The verses leading up to this well illustrate this. The apostle states, “we do not war according to the flesh,” (3); “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh” (4). This language is sprinkled throughout the N.T. Timothy was told to “fight the good fight of faith.”

Some thoughts from our passage today:

First, Christians travel through enemy territory. The culture, the world, society is not friendly toward God’s people. There is a strong leaning toward the wrong side of things. This was true in the first century and it remains true today. I hate snakes. I hate all snakes. I don’t go to the reptile parts of the zoo because they have snakes. Some of our readers will tell me that certain snakes are good. Not in my book. The word “good” and snakes only belong in the same sentence if the snake is GOOD and dead. The other day I discovered a snake skin by my air conditioner. That means one has been there. Every time I go by there, I’m looking. He may be there somewhere. I hate snakes. As a Christian, we must realize that we are journeying through hostile land. It’s dangerous to our faith. Satan has many, many missiles in his arsenal. He’ll use fleshly temptation. He’ll disguise error as pretty looking truth. He’ll use friends and family to pull us from Christ. He’ll try to scare us, chase us and corner us until we give up. The voices of wrong are loud and everywhere today. We must be watching. We must be careful.

Second, Christians are on the offense. That’s the tone of our passage. We are destroying…we are taking every thought captive. We are on the move. We are not hiding in bed with a blanket over our heads. We are not looking for a white flag to wave. We are taking charge of the situation. We wear our spiritual armor. We are marching under the banner of Christ. We know the outcome, Christ wins. The Lord said do not fear the one who can kill the body and do no more. Satan is limited in what he can do.

Third, Christians are winning. The tone of the passage illustrates that. We are destroying, we are taking captive. Ground is being won by Christians. We are not being destroyed, rather, we are destroying what the enemy holds. Now, we might question that in these times. Rainbow flags are flying as a mockery to what God says about marriage. Courts are allowing same sex marriages and ordering courthouses to remove Ten Commandment monuments. God is out and sin is in. Modern churches are afraid and are caving in to the loud demands of a few hell-bent and hell-bound radicals. The media has caved in. Corporate America is caving in. The modern church has caved in. Politicians have caved in. Yet, across this land, there are, as in Elijah’s days, thousands that have not bowed their knees to Baal. There remains thousands who take their orders not from the White House, but from Heaven’s house. They continue to preach, teach and walk with the Lord. Folks living on Main Street are shocked, sickened and tired of liberal agendas. They do not work. It has proven to be a failed and flawed system. Folks are tired of churches being everything but a church. Shallow preaching, empty worship services, lifeless classes are not helping nor answering the problems that families are facing today. Christ remains the answer. He always has. And one by one, folks are turning to Christ. Across this land, nearly every day, someone is being converted to Christ. Sins are washed away, hope is restored, and another person says “No,” to the world and takes up their cross to follow the Lord.

Fourth, the battle is engaged on the spiritual arena. There is no physical pushing, fighting or tearing down of things. This is a spiritual battle. As Revelation shows the battle between Christ and Satan, so is our battle. The greatest tool is the word of God. The greatest defense is knowledge of that word. When some want to get physically aggressive, walk away. That’s not our battle. We do not come with swords, but rather, with the word of the Lord. Shouting matches do little good. Pointing fingers and accusing doesn’t change things. What works is getting into discussions. Prove your point. Who gives you the right to define marriage? Start there. Who makes the rules? How do you know there is no God? It’s the spiritual engagement that wins the battle. Prove your point. Prove all things.

Fifth, these battles involve Christians defending Christ. These charges and attacks were raised up against Christ. It is not against us personally, but against Christ that we defend. We are in this for the Lord. He is our God and our Savior.

There is a hymn that begins, “Troublesome times are here.” Yes, they are. They have been here since Christ left. The Lord told us that men would love darkness rather than the light. He said that men would be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. He said that we would be hated because of Him. Indeed, it’s troublesome. However, we know the outcome and we know what is expected of us.

Onward we march. When we hear things that are wrong and offensive to the Lord, we bring them captive to the obedience of Christ. We don’t go along. We don’t try to build bridges that take us the wrong way. We continue on with the Lord.

This is why Bible classes and worship can be such an oasis and relief for the child of God. They are a rest park for our souls as we continue on our journey. It is at worship that we see others. We are not alone. It is at worship that we get refreshed, reminded and taught. It is at worship that our hearts learn of our loving Lord and the battle that others have made through the act of faith. Fellowship is not about hotdogs, basketball and gyms, but rather, encouragement, hope building and souls being strengthened. Fellowship is about prayers and hymns sung and the word being preached. It is about connecting with one another on a level that the world will never understand. It’s sharing tears and hope and realizing the good that is being done. It is about compassion and kindness.

Those that come to worship just now and then have a hard time understanding all of this. They have one foot in the world and they don’t see all the fuss with things that are wrong. They are missing. They are weak. They will not last long in a spiritual battle. They are more likely to drop the word and run. Be strong were the apostle’s words. Act like men. Be immoveable. Be like Christ.

Our homes and our worship times ought to be safe houses for us. It is in these places that we can find rest for our souls and strength to go on. We need spiritual homes. We need spiritual hours of worship. In every battle, some soldiers fall. In this battle, it’s those who do not recognize the enemy nor understand what is at  stake.

We are at war, but someday, this will be over. Live as if one foot is already in Heaven.

Roger