“Wars are not won by evacuations”
2 co 2:9The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven--if there was anything to forgive--I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
In the summer of 1940, Hitler dominated Europe from the North Cape to the Pyrenees. His one remaining active enemy—Britain, under a new prime minister, Winston Churchill—vowed to continue fighting. Whether it could was questionable. The British army had left most of its weapons on the beaches at Dunkerque. Stalin was in no mood to challenge Hitler. The U.S., shocked by the fall of France, began the first peacetime conscription in its history and greatly increased its military budget, but public opinion, although sympathetic to Britain, was against getting into the war. The Germans hoped to subdue the British by starving them out. In June 1940 they undertook the Battle of the Atlantic, using submarine warfare to cut the British overseas lifelines. The Germans now had submarine bases in Norway and France. At the outset the Germans had only 28 submarines, but more were being built—enough to keep Britain in danger until the spring of 1943 and to carry on the battle for months thereafter.
In a war that was to involve the whole world the British troops had landed in Europe. They found themselves out numbered and outmanned so they made a massive retreat back across the English Channel on May 26, 1940. It involved taking 330,000 troops across the waters in private owned ships. The people rejoiced that they had been successful in doing this. It did not spell out victory but only avoided defeat. On June 4, 1940, Winston Churchill came to the House of Commons to proclaim that no victory could be claimed. He said with great emotion, “Wars are not won by evacuations!” Some said it was the finest speech given in 1,000 years. In the end he said, “We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the sir, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” It was in two weeks that Hitler invaded England. Churchill said this, “Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. This was their finest hour.” Wars are not won by the fainthearted, fearful, scared but to those who face the enemy head on in a fight. Paul said it in Eph. 6:13 “For this reason, take up all the armor that God supplies. Then you will be able to take a stand during these evil days. Once you have overcome all obstacles, you will be able to stand your ground.”
Martin Luther put it this way when he had to take a stand, “My conscience is captive to the Word of God….. Here I stand, I cannot do otherwise.” If we are to fight right we must take to heart JM 4; 7, 1 PT 5:8, 9. This war is not won by evacuations. We must resist every temptation that pulls us away from God. Let us look at three ways to lead us to spiritual victory in this world we live.
1. WE MUST Resist the Devil without delay
If we are going to win timing is everything. We are to resist what comes our way immediately. When Jesus met with the Devil he did not ignore him, He did not debate theology with him, he did not bargain with him. He answered him sharply with no delay. Resist as used in James means to stop or hinder the progress of an enemy. Resist means to stop the attempts to destroy us before we are harmed. We are only fooling ourselves if when we are attacked we can sit back and do nothing. Temptations do not go away if we sit back and do nothing. We are to stand firm against the methods of the devil. When it seems we are under a lot of pressure to do wrong we need t o just say “NO?” The longer we linger or listen to the tempter the greater the possibility of giving in. A good story of this is about the little three year old boy with a Tootise roll pop, who came up to his mom and asked, “Can I eat it now?” The mother said, “No, it is too close to lunch time and we can eat it after lunch. Why not put it away and eat it for dessert?” “I promise I will keep it in my pocket.” As the mother was talking with a visitor she noticed the boy taking the pop out and holding it to his nose. “What are you doing?” “I’m just seeing what it smells like.” “Do not eat that sucker.” He put it the wrapper back on and put it in his pocket. A little later the boy had the pop out holding it to his tongue. “What are you doing?” I’m just seeing if it will be good?” She warned him and he wrapped it up and put it back in his pocket.
Then for a third time the mother looked he had the wrapper off and it was in his mouth with saliva dripping out of his mouth. “I told you not to eat it!” I’m just keeping all the juice in it.”
First a look, then a sniff, and then a taste and no matter that it is wrong the whole thing is in our mouth. That is called rationalizing, offering excuses for our sin. Then we get caught and it is to late then to resist. Eve would not have eaten if she would not have carried on a conversation with the devil. We have suggestions that come to us in our time of temptation such as these: God would not like for me to be unhappy. Why fight the feeling? Everyone is doing it. This will not lead to anything else. It will be just this once. This is no big deal. No one will ever know. This will not hurt anyone but me. I can just confess it and it will be like I never did it. God will stop me if He does not want me to go any farther.
Now as to whether you will lose your salvation I am not here to argue but I do know that you will the power of God in our live. You will lose the enjoyment of fellowship with God. You will not be at peace You will lose opportunities to serve God.
When we do not resist right away we run into the Bible’s LSD which is LUST, SIN AND THEN DEATH. However you want to interrupt that it is not good for the spiritual life.
First e need to resist the devil immediately.
Pro. 21:4 “Arrogance and pride—distinguishing marks in the wicked— are just plain sin.
2. WE MUST Use Scripture purposefully. When being fired upon we need to counter attack with a superior fire power. I have always like what Jesus used, “IT IS WRITTEN!” As we look in the Bible we find the one offensive weapon that we have to use is God’s Word. The only supernatural weapon that we can use to defeat a supernatural power is the Holy Word of God. 2 CO 10:4. Christ did not use a magical power or superstitious formula. He did not carry on a conversation with the devil. He pulled out the Word of God and thrust it into his chest. The devil left. Now sometimes the devil comes to us when we are not in church. There are times he comes when we do not have our Bibles on our laps so we must have the Word in our heart and mind and the principles to guide our words and actions. You can have five Bibles in your house lying on the shelf but they mean nothing if they are not used. It was during the reign of Elizabeth in England that England became a people of the Bible. It was read at home at church and when it was read it kindled a startling enthusiasm. The effect was most noticed in the changing of the character of the people. The whole of the nation was changed. What could this do for our church our town? The sword of the Spirit is called the rhema which means the specific written Word of God. When we are in the heat of battle it is the Holy Spirit that draws the Word of God in our mind so we can resist spiritual entanglements. It has been said the reason so many Christians fall into sin is because they do not know the Word of God. You can not use a weapon that you have not tested and practiced with. Like the football team that I heard of that practiced twice a year and lost all 11 games. We will lose if we do not keep our weapons in good use. A sharpened axe does much better than a dull one. It takes time to keep an axe sharpened.
3. we must Worship God absolutely. The Bible tells us we are to worship God only. Jesus knew that God demands our absolute devotion and exceptional worship of Him. God will have no rivals. Nothing is to be placed before Him. Not any person, possession, pursuit, philosophy or recreation can be in front of our worship to God. So someone has said, “There are only two groups of people in this world, true worshipers and false worshipers. Those who worship God and those who worship gods. In taking our stand if we are to win we must worship God.
In taking a stand let us do the following that we will be what God wants us to be.
BE ALERT! The Bible says, “Be on the alert. Your adversary the devil, prowls about… seeking to devour.” So where ever you go or what ever you decide to do be alert. Be like a soldier who is walking through a minefield. Every step must be carefully placed. One false step and it means disaster.
BE DISCERNING! Recognize that he is out to attack you. You are not special in his sight but one whom he wants to destroy. That is why Jesus spoke these words, “Keep watching and praying.” Spot temptations before they come. Then watch out for the devil will come from a different angle to try to catch you off guard.
BE SPIRIT-FILLED. The battle belongs to the Lord and so we must fright in His strength and not our own. The song writer wrote, “Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing.” “Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.” “There is more that be with us than be with them.” To be Spirit-filled we only have to ask God to fill us.
be armed! When we put the armor of God which piece comes first? The belt of truth, which is a commitment to fight on God’s word. Then comes the breastplate of righteousness which is living in the holiness that God calls us to. Our feet are to be shoes of peace which is the carrying of the gospel to others. The shield of faith helps defray any of the enemy’s fiery darts and shows our trust in God for protection. The helmet protects our minds from things that are wrong for our thinking. We have talked about the sword as the word of God to put the truth in the devil’s face so he will flee from us. The weapons of our warfare are not human intellect, skill, ability or cleverness but the power of God. As we are armed we can do battle and win. There are many battles that we have heard of and read of when the enemy was more in number and more powerful but the battle was won by the lesser foe because they were armed better and were skilled in the little that they had.
BE PRUDENT! Jesus told us to pray. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. If we pray that then we should not put ourselves in places that would cause us to fall. You see there are some who pray that they would be delivered and they are but turn around and walk right back into where they were tempted. This is not a toy to be played with. We can not expect God t o help us if we keep going to places of evil or doing things we know are wrong. Good sense tells us to stay away from some things and not to get involved in questionable activities.
BE PRAYERFUL! We must seek God more than anything else in prayer to keep us pure. We can not make ourselves pure. If we stay away from Him who is true holiness we will not be holy for the influences of other things will make us impure. How much does prayer play a part in your life? I find that I am extremely dependent on the power of God to keep me pure and not give into the desires of the flesh. It is prayer that unleashes the Spirit’s power to enable me to live the life God wants me to live. James put it this way, “You do not have because you do not ask.”
NEVER say I wish I had someone to love me
God loved you before you were born
You can only be one that is lovable
While God holds you in His loving arms.
NEVER waste energy on worries and woes
There’s troubles wherever you may go
Worry wastes more energy than anything
Let smiles overtake and your heart sing.
NEVER gripe about decisions to make
Asking for God’s help is NO mistake
He gives a choice of right or wrong
To make it through whatever comes along.
NEVER complain of what you don’t have
God gives more each day than we’re due
For each day is a blessing to be alive
Monetary gain won’t make a heart survive.
NEVER say, I’m bored with nothing to do
There’s plenty to do if you’ll look around
There’s dreams waiting to be found
Lying underneath Satan’s messy frowns.
NEVER
NEVER count your troubles and sorrows
Count your blessings and look unto tomorrow
Your life can be what you want it to be
If...you’ll have Faith and look unto Thee.
NEVER sit around and cry for sympathy
Decisions are too important to leave to chance
Most of the answers you need are within you
Wipe the tears and your life you’ll enhance.
NEVER look back on yesterday
Look forward to Heaven Eternally
Remember a little love goes a long ways
To stay fit for God’s kingdom someday.
NEVER take things too seriously
Life’s treasures are people, not things
A cheerful heart is the best medicine
To resolve all life’s bitter stings.
NEVER be sad if you don’t get what you want
Sometimes it’s a wonderful stroke of "luck"
For God planned your life long ago
It’s written in His Holy Plan...so LOOK UP!
NEVER is a negative word; NO treasure
Used much to often in life beyond measure
Happiness is often found in giving each day
To receive God’s Heavenly bounty someday.
NEVER allow NEVER to enter your mind
There’s a zillion things you can do
To win in this life and find Happiness
Until your life on earth is through.
NEVER say NEVER
Say YES to God’s callings
you have a purpose here on earth
YOU are one of life’s Blessings!
NEVER allow Satan to tempt you copyrighted and written by... Mary Scott Beaty
NEVER let your Faith grow dim
Now...go be a blessing for Jesus
And live each day for Him.
