The fight is on- the trumpet sound is ringing out,
The cry "To arms!" is heard afar and near;
The Lord of hosts is marching on to victory,
The triumph of the Christ will soon appear!
The fight is on- arouse ye soldiers brave and true!
Jehovah leads, and victory will assure;
Go buckle on the armor God has given you,
And in His strength unto the end endure.
The Lord is leading on to certain victory,
The bow of promise spans the eastern sky;
His glorious name in every land shall honored be,
The morn' will break - the dawn of peace is nigh.
The fight is on O Christian soldier,
And face to face in stern array,
With armor gleaming, and colors streaming,
The right and wrong engage today!
The fight is on, but be not weary-
Be strong and in His might hold fast;
If God be for us, His banner o'er us,
We'll sing the victor's song at last!!
(hymn by Lelia N.Morris, 1862-1929)
I love this hymn, it's one of my favorites! We sing it often at our church
and it is very rousing, which is precisely why I shared it with all of
you today. This song clearly emphasizes the reason why we need to wear
the armour of God - THE FIGHT IS ON! As a matter of fact, Ephesians 6:12 explains
further why we must put on the armour of God...
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places."
I don't know about you ladies, but I personally never enjoyed watching
the sport of wrestling in high school. I thought it was silly. I didn't
understand the scoring or the strategy behind each move and I thought
it was ugly to watch two strangers battle one another so aggressively.
Little did I know then that I would be engaging in wrestling the rest
of my life after becoming a Christian!
Webster's 1828 dictionary defines wrestling as: "to strive with arms extended,
as two men, who seize each other by the collar and arms, each endeavoring
to throw the other by tripping up his heels and twitching him off his
center."
Ladies, this is exactly what Satan sets out to do to God's people! No
matter how many pleasures the devil offers you, his ultimate intention
is to ruin you. Your destruction is his highest priority! He desires
to get us off track by tripping us up with his deceitful ways. The devil diligently
strives to bring an imbalance into our lives, thereby enabling him to
easily bring us down and then quickly overcome us
completely. We are engaged in hand to hand combat with our enemy on a
daily basis as He harasses us and causes us distress. He is strongly
opposed to the advancement of Christians. Hence, if I am to succeed in
the Christian life, I must now consider myself a wrestler - and so must
you! A wrestler is first one who wrestles, and secondly, is one who is
skilled in wrestling... A wrestler must be able to anticipate his opponent's
moves to avoid becoming tripped up and then eventually pinned once he
has been brought down to the ground. Wrestlers struggle, strive and contend
to overcome their opponent, while at the same time carefully trying not
to be overcome themselves in the process! It involves both mental and
physical energy combined together to wrestle against flesh and blood.
The Bible says though, that as Christians, we are not wrestling against
an opponent that we can see! We are fighting against invisible foes...
An even more complicated wrestling match, amen? You see ladies, it is
a wrestling match against principalities (high ranking hierarchy of demonic
authority), powers (invested with authority), and rulers (revolting against
God) we are involved in. Yes, God's people face an army of invisible
wicked spirits - all superior beings to man! How does it make you feel
to know you are fighting against such superior invisible beings?? It
ought to cause you to humbly realize that you desperately NEED the whole
armour of God, that you must depend completely upon the strength of the
Lord to overcome such principalities and powers. This is not a Sunday
school picnic we are attending - the fight is on O Christian soldier!!
So dear lady, how often are you engaged in spiritual warfare?
Have you realized that you need to consider yourself a wrestler now, even
though you might not be desirous of such a position? If you don't, you
will be overcome of the devil and His wicked helpers as they use darkness
to further wicked causes in your life, darknesses like ignorance and lies
that pull you off the center mark and cause you to fall. The devil never
sleeps, and your flesh is very much alive! Better prepare yourself for
battle, for surrounding you are enemies that never rest... By not engaging
wisely in battle, by not buckling on the armour God has given you, you
are going to go down! Many Christians think this side of Christianity
is too "charismatic" for them, they prefer not to think about such issues
as taking on the devil and his cohorts. Frankly, many are not mature
enough to even handle such warfare... However, this does not excuse us
from the patriotic duty that God has called His people to in entering
into the battle. I say it's time God's people took spiritual warfare
seriously and prepared for it by learning how to stand our ground against
our enemy Satan and live victorious Christian lives! There is no reason
for retreat or even dodging the Christian draft altogether, for by His
death, Christ made it possible to conquer, disarm and strip our enemy
of his power....
Colossians 2:15, "And having spoiled principalities and
powers, he made a shew of them openly, truimphing over them in it."
1 Peter 3:22, "Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God;
angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him."
There is no time to lose.... In Ephesians 6:13 scripture says:
Vs. 13, "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may
be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
"Wherefore take unto you", meaning because of the superior capabilities
of our spiritual enemies, YOU need to promptly respond! God expects it
of you... Strive for the mastery! Don't monkey around anymore by taking
this fight lightly or ignoring it altogether. Don't just sit indifferently
on the sidelines watching others engage in the fight. Put on that whole
armour of God that has been supplied YOU for your personal wrestling match
with the devil! Then go out and do your part Christian soldier!
What can Christians dressed in the full armour of God expect? According
to this verse, we can expect to withstand in the evil day! We can expect
to win the wrestling match each time the devil and His cohorts come against
us to get us off balance, trip us and pin us.
Phillipians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth
me."
While recently watching a movie about the Civil War, it was alarming to
me after the battle had been fought and the smoke of gunfire had cleared
the air, that nobody was left standing! Scores of dead bodies were laying
everywhere... It doesn't have to be that way in the Christian fight!
When the smoke of battle clears the air, God's people can be found not
only having withstood all the fiery darts of the wicked, but can also
be found still STANDING! Yes, we have the ability to oppose, resist and
stand in the face of our enemy! That is the purpose of our armour - that
we may hold our ground firmly, completely, gloriously, and victoriously!!
Our purpose is to be sure that we are doing all we possibly can in this
fight - "and having done all". Satan has battle plans - do you?? Have
you honestly been doing your part, dear lady? The day is evil, the enemy
is evil, but by faith we need to accept what God gives us to fight victoriously,
and then go out to meet the foe! The fight is on - arouse ye soldiers
brave and true!!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
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