Prepare for Opposition

"Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews. He spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy men of Samaria and said, 'What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones?' Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, 'Even what they are building—if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!'” - Nehemiah 4:1-3

As a Christian, whenever you begin to do any kind of work for the Lord - whether it's getting your own life together, engaging in some form of ministry that honors the Great Commission, or teaching people to follow Christ - you will inevitably come under fire. The Bible is clear that "the whole world lies in the power of the wicked one" (1 John 5:19). This world and the influences that saturate it are at war with God. As a believer, you are in occupied territory, wearing the uniform of a detested enemy. And if you take that role at all seriously, you will be attacked, just as any human army would immediately attack and to try either kill or capture the soldiers of an opposing force that had entered their territory. It's not a question of 'if', but 'when'. It will begin with ridicule and then progress to direct opposition. But then most wars of men progress in this way, don't they? The propaganda starts long before the shooting does.

"So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry. All of them conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it." - Nehemiah 4:6-8

It's important that this be understood. Many who try to live for God often wonder why it seems that everything in their life goes wrong, and why they can't overcome addictions, emotional problems, and other "hang ups." The western church as a whole has been remiss in teaching about the reality of spiritual warfare beyond one's personal struggle against sin, and even this has been reduced to a mere consideration of the flesh. Satan has been largely reduced to a figurehead, an ethereal placeholder for whatever we find disagreeable, more of an idea than an actual person. He is, in fact, intelligent, powerful, and a wonderful organizer. He was created to be one of the chief administrators of creation, and while he has fallen and evil has dimmed his understanding, he is not to be taken lightly. In the words of Martin Luther:

"His craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate.
"On earth is not his equal."

If you're a disciple of Christ, and serious about following Him, understand that you are in a real war with a real enemy who will attack you in very real ways, drawing on thousands of years of experience in dealing with human beings. Fully 1/3 of Jesus' ministry involved direct confrontation with Satan's kingdom, and are we to believe that he and his hosts have simply gone away since then?

     Study the Bible to understand how your enemy works. Do not be "ignorant of his schemes" (II Corinthians 2:11). Do not think that you "wrestle" only with "flesh and blood" (Ephesians 6:12). And do not think that religious works, counseling, and man-made programs are sufficient to withstand the enemy. The modern approach to spiritual warfare has largely amounted to holding self-help classes in the middle of a battlefield. No wonder we're seeing so many casualties. Again, in the words of Luther:

"Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing..."

Christ must be our never-ending focus. We should have a proper understanding of our enemy, and maintain a healthy respect for what he is capable of, but always in light of his defeated state. As Luther put it, we have the "right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing":

"Dost ask who that may be; Christ Jesus it is He!
"Lord Sabaoth His Name, from age to age the same.
"And He must win the battle."

How, then, are we to respond? How do we engage with this enemy?

"...this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." - 1 John 5:4

Hold fast to Christ, no matter what. Do not let the battles you face dim your faith. An army that loses confidence in its commander and begins to fight as each soldier sees fit will be slaughtered in the face of an organized foe. This is why Satan comes against our faith, first and foremost: to separate us from Christ, whom he knows he cannot defeat.

     Further, respond with the Word of God. This is what Jesus did when He was personally confronted by Satan in the wilderness. In response to each temptation, His reply was: "It is written..."

     Get into the Word. Memorize those passages that have to do with victory in Christ, and repeat them often when you face hardship: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31); "We are more than conquerors," (Romans 8:37); "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world," (1 John 4:4); "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil..." (Ephesians 6:10-18), etc. Command the enemy to leave you in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Learn how to apply the victory that Christ has already won on our behalf.

"That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
"The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
"Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
"The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
"His kingdom is forever."

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony." - Revelation 12:11

Further resources: 

- "Basics of Deliverance": http://youtu.be/Ec_NgpvS2os
- "Release from the Curse": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkQn30Qt1Cc
- "They Shall Expel Demons": http://www.amazon.com/dp/0800792602/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

- sword image courtesy of Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Scottish_claymore_replica_(Albion_Chieftain)2.jpg)

It's Time to Make Up Your Mind

"Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, 'I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.' And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it...And Shaphan read it before the king [Josiah]...Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded...'Go, inquire of the Lord for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.'

"So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess...And they spoke with her. Then she said to them, 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, 'Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants—all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read—because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched.’ But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'Concerning the words which you have heard—because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,' says the Lord. 'Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place.' So they brought back word to the king." - II Kings 22:8, 10,11-13, 14-20

There are two great lessons for us in this passage.

First, the sins of an entire land may be so great that God loses patience with it and judgment becomes inevitable. At this point, the people as a whole have no interest in repenting, regardless of what their leaders may do for a time:

"Then the Lord said to me, 'Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth.'" -Jeremiah 15:51.

In II Kings 23, we read how king Josiah made war against all of the Canaanite religions that had infected Judah, restoring true worship; and although we also read that the people agreed with him, after his death things quickly reverted to the previous condition. The people as a whole did not want God, so God gave them up to their enemies; and although a remnant later returned to Judah, the kingdom was never the same as before.
     I pray that America has not yet reached this point, but I fear that we have. There are no signs of anything turning around for the better. Just the opposite is true. We have reached a point where we no longer merely tolerate evil in our midst; we celebrate it, and those who speak out against it are hated and vilified. This is a terrifying development. We've not only closed the door against God, as a people we're nailing it shut, signifying to Him in no uncertain terms that we have no intention of letting Him back in. As a nation, we might as well be sealing the door of our own tomb.
     Second, we see some good news: for those whose hearts are touched, and who humble themselves before Him, God is yet full of mercy, just as He was toward Josiah. Sorrow for one's own sins, as well as the for the condition of one's people, is not lost on God. He will deliver those turn to Him, no matter what the culture as a whole does and what fate befalls the nation:

"Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, 'Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand.' And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer’s inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar.
"Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; and the Lord said to him, 'Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.'
"To the others He said in my hearing, 'Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.' So they began with the elders who were before the temple. Then He said to them, 'Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!' And they went out and killed in the city.
"So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, and said, 'Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?'
"Then He said to me, 'The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!’ And as for Me also, My eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head.'” - Ezekiel 9:1-9

Even in the midst of calamity and judgment, God will set a seal on those who mourn over the sins of the land. The question of the hour for us all then is: what will we do? Will we go the way of the rest of our culture and pay the inevitable price, or we will turn to God in sorrow for our own sins and those of our people?
     We don't like to talk about judgment these days, but justice is just as much a part of God's nature as love is, and we do no one any good by sparing them the truth now only for it to come back and bite them later. Let the truth be told - the whole truth - and let men do as they will. Judgment is coming, and only those who draw near to the Lord will be afforded His protection. Those who reject Him now, He will reject then. 
     Don't play games with God. Don't listen to those who teach prosperity and "everything's gonna be all right," who never warn you to examine yourself before God or to repent and get serious about following Christ. Things are far from all right, and those who refuse to teach the whole Word of God (including the warnings about judgment) are not doing you any favors. Where there is danger, the only correct thing to do is to warn people to see to their safety. Whether they listen or not is up to them, but time is fast running out for all of us to decide whether we will be a Josiah and turn to God while there is time.

"For He says: 'In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.' Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." - II Corinthians 6:2



- clock image courtesy of "Sun Ladder" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2010-07-20_Black_windup_alarm_clock_face.jpg