The Battle Belongs to the Lord

Freedom is God’s great gift to us. Everyday we exercise our freedom to choose. Freedom to choose God or Satan; freedom to choose life or death. Freedom to choose words of life or words of death. Freedom to choose to be bound in sin or to be free from the snares of the devil.

Freedom to choose to believe and to trust in God’s promises or to hear Satan’s lies. Freedom to choose not to let the encroached sin come into our lives to destroy us when we lose our spiritual perspective and focus. Freedom to exercise our spiritual gifts received from God and His power to serve Him and the church.

We all know in our hearts, believe and feel in our souls and spirits and see in our minds that there is a true and living God. Indeed, Scriptures tell us that there is the Almighty Creator God who loves us so much; who brings light unto our souls casting out darkness and dispelling doubt and fear. Who made himself to be the only way to the Father; who through the Spirit leads us into all His truth and reminds us everything the Lord has taught us. Who gives us strength and power each day to do His will. Who promises never ever to leave us orphans nor abandons us fatherless.

Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Emmanuel, God is with us. He is yesterday, today and forever the same. Jesus has come to give us life and life more abundantly in Him and through him, through His power of the blood, the redemptive works and the victory at the tomb. In Christ, we are overcomers and more than conquerors. In Christ, we are to love God, to worship and to praise Him. In Christ we are to love others as we are to love ourselves.

However, there is the Devil who loves to deceive people; who is a father of lies; who comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). He causes physical injury, brings emotional pain, hurt, mental hopelessness, despair, physical and spiritual death to the world of unbelief. He uses lust, greed and power to seduce us to bite.

When we fall into his temptations, we allow anger, rage and wrath to dominate our minds and thoughts and to cause us to lose our focus on God. We are in big trouble. We must be well-aware of his cunning schemes yet were deceived sometimes by his lies and accusations made before the throne of heaven. Job was accused, harassed and almost destroyed because of Satan’s jealousy, rage and destructive power.

Though the world is under the rule of Satan, we, the people of God, don’t have to subject ourselves under his rule. He is no match, however, for Jesus, the Son of God, who comes to destroy the works of the Devil.

Spiritual warfare is real. It’s very intense. We have got to know and be aware of his schemes and devices (II Corinthians 2:11). Lest we are caught unaware or fooling ourselves that he cannot harm or hurt us. We are not to fear him. We are to humble ourselves before God and to resist him. We don’t want to become his easy victim, someone he would devour in a second when we put down our guard.

Jesus prayed for Peter that he would remain strong, that after he learns his lesson he will strengthen the brethren (Luke 22:31-32). Jesus is interceding for us; he is praying for us so that we will know who Jesus Christ is, what he did for us on the cross, what he has given us at our disposal, who we are in Christ, and what he wants us to do while we are still on earth.

We don’t just merely exist. We are enlisted in His spiritual army. We are foot soldiers engaged in a spiritual battle daily under the banner of Jesus Christ. The battle belongs to the Lord. He will fight for us.

Are we hearing the voice of our Good Shepherd? Are we obeying the clear commands of our Commander in Chief Jesus Christ to march forward? What does Jesus want us to do today? Are we ready for battle?

Is the church, His bride, ready to meet Jesus Christ when He comes in glory?

Pastor Linh