“Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” Revelation 3:10-11 NKJV
“Any dead fish can go with the flow’”. Have you ever heard that saying? As funny as it may sound, I believe it might be the best description of where the Church today finds itself in respect to the world around us. I don’t believe there is any passage in the Bible more applicable to the Church right now than this verse from Revelation where Jesus commends and instructs the Church at Philadelphia. It describes perfectly the situation the Church today finds itself in with regards to how the world views it, especially as they attempt to change God’s laws and punish those who choose not to conform to their agenda.
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! “ Isaiah 5:20 NKJV
“Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed” Isaiah 10:1 NKJV
I must confess that I am not at all surprised that at this time, especially in this country, believers are beginning to come under attack for their faith and be vilified and persecuted for choosing to acknowledge God’s laws as the standard for our beliefs and actions. Never in my memory can I recall such a time as we as believers face right now, where the world considers us to be an intolerant, prejudiced people. The level of vitriol and hate speech focused on Christians today is alarming to say the least, and the speed in which this world is becoming more and more like the days of Noah is breathtaking. Fortunately for us, this is a subject God had much to say about.
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you." John 15:18. NKJV
“It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man.” Psalm 118:8. NKJV
“Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” 2 Corinthians 6:17. NKJV
“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.” 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NKJV
For those who follow sports, an ongoing argument that many participate in surrounds the debate “do great teams win with offense or defense"? I'm sure most would say both, but it is a question that many fans enjoy arguing about, simply because there are those who love watching a great offense and others who would rather watch a great defense. In the fight against Satan which all Christians participate in, God tells us exactly how we can win and that is with a good defense.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:10-13 NKJV
One of the most important points Paul makes here is in verse 11 where he tells us that what is expected of us as believers is simply to "stand". He repeats this in verse 13 where he tells us that after doing everything, we stand firm. In his way, God is telling us through Paul that all He expects from us is to play defense. We next see in verse 14 that we are told we can stand firm if we remember those parts of God's armor we have already put on when we made the decision to follow Christ. Those parts were reminding us of the truth of Christ in which we believe, remembering our position before God thanks to the righteousness of Christ, and resting in the peace that is ours from the knowledge of the first two which was promised to us in the gospel of Christ.
“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;” Ephesians 6:14-17 NKJV
In verse 16 Paul introduces us to the most practical piece of our armor, the one that we will need to use the most, and that is the shield of faith. Now personally I like this picture because to me, it realistically illustrates what Satan is trying to do to us as believers, and the way he tries to attack. An arrow is not all that large, and if one is coming straight at you I expect it is pretty hard to see. Also, arrows fly at an extremely fast speed and are pretty quiet. You can look at an arrow as the first of the stealth weapons, because the first time you hear them is when they hit you, and obviously by then it's too late to do anything about it. Most important, though, is the kind of arrow Satan uses. It's not your everyday arrow, but a flaming arrow which not only wounds you, but starts a fire that will continue to burn until put out.
As a result, God tells us that we need to take up the shield of faith. Have you had the opportunity to watch a movie that illustrates the use of a shield to defend against an attack by arrows? I know I have seen a few that have done a great job showing what it must have been like to be in a battle like that. You have an army marching forward, carrying their shields which are almost as big as they are tall, and the opposing army launching their arrows. As soon as they fire, the opponent kneels down and hides behind their shields as thousands of arrows fall from the sky. As the attacking army continues to fire their arrows, the defending army simply waits behind their shields until the advancing army is out of arrows, and then they begin their attack. God tells us something in verse 16 that I think is very critical for us to remember. He says that if we take up the shield of faith we “will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one”. Not some, ALL. This is what most of us would consider to be a winning defense!
Since we know we can win with God's help, it is also important to understand what these arrows will look like so we can recognize the "stealth" attack by Satan. I think the clue is in how God describes them when He says they are "flaming". Obviously a flaming arrow will start a fire, which then burns until put out. How does Satan "burn" us inside? I think these arrows will have two characteristics no matter what form they may come in. Remember they are coming from Satan, and we already know his method of attack. Satan wants us to doubt the truth from God in which we have believed, so first of all these flaming arrows will come out of our own thoughts. It's a sneak attack that seems to come from nowhere when we begin to doubt what we believe in.
Also, they will attack our position in Christ, the faith in Him that we have, which has already been described in the first pieces of armor we put on. You see, the key to overcoming a good defense is to first create doubt in the mind of your opponent that he is capable of defending himself. That works in any sport you can think of, as well as our fight against Satan. The trouble with doubt is that if you allow it to have its way with your mind, the effect will be to make you turn away from the conflict. Sadly though, many do not understand that running away from a conflict only makes you a better target!
What is important to us to understand is the difference between what we believe, and the shield of "faith" which we are instructed to take up. What is faith? The best answer I can give you is that faith is "acting" on your belief. You see, belief is one thing, but taking action by making the decision to stand fast, demonstrates your faith. Faith is always action. The fact that you may have doubts proves that you have faith. So apply your belief to everything, every situation you find yourself in, and you will be demonstrating faith and defeating Satan and his arrows. We need to be "active" believers, Christians DOING not just believing, and we can best do this by standing firm in our belief in God and His commands.
Most of what I have read in the past few months agrees with the idea that this fight is only going to get worse. Individual Christians, and the Church as a whole, must choose to either stand for the faith, or go with the flow. I truly believe God is orchestrating the events we see as the world fast approaches the time of His return for the Church. Fortunately, we have Jesus’ promise that He is “coming quickly” to take us away before the judgment of the world. The question for us all is will we stand and fight? God’s command to us as believers is to “hold fast” rather than going with the flow.
If you are reading this today and have never made the decision to allow Jesus Christ to come into your heart, and accept the free gift of eternal life He has offered you, I urge you to do so right now. You can do that by simply praying this prayer and accepting the gift of eternal life God has offered all of us by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. Amen.
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