The war that Christians find themselves in is not like any other war that you can read about in history books.  It isn’t like anything that is studied at West Point or taught in the military…because it is a spiritual war.

Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) — 12 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.

 The war that I am talking about you are engaged it at this very moment.  Sure, you cannot see the bullets or hear the bombs necessarily…but, that doesn’t make this war any less real.

It’s being fought in your home.  That’s why Christian marriages are falling apart at a record rate, and why Christian children are rebelling against the authority of their parents.

It’s going on in your mind.  That’s why even ministers and leaders are falling prey to the trap of pornography and adultery.

It’s being fought in your heart.  That is why all of us have to wade into combat each day to do the right thing rather than the wrong thing.

If you don’t believe there’s a war going on, just check your news feed on social media and you’ll see the results of this war in things such as murder, rape, prostitution, abortion, terrorism, drug addiction, and child molestation.

These are the rotten eggs that are hatched by this terrible war.

Notice that Paul says in v.12: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood…”

Every Christian has been drafted.  Every Christian has to fight.  There are no deferments, no exemptions, and no conscientious objectors in Christ’s army.

If you are a Christian you better get ready to rumble; you’re in the army now.

Let me tell you something.  When you give your heart to Jesus you don’t necessarily get into a life of fun–you get into a fight.  God not only puts salvation in your heart, He puts a sword in your hand.

When Paul came to the end of his life he said in:

2 Timothy 4:7 (NKJV) — 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

He exhorted Timothy, who he was discipling:

1 Timothy 6:12 (NKJV) — 12 Fight the good fight of faith…

I say again, the problem is we’ve got too many soldiers that have gone AWOL and too many Christians have waved the white flag of surrender without firing a shot.

And honestly, some of you reading this perhaps have no idea what I am talking about because you have never become engaged in this spiritual war.

Could it be that you have gone the way of the world?

The devil isn’t going to cause any problems with you…The reason why you haven’t run into the devil is you’re both traveling in the same direction.  The moment you turn around and go the direction God has called you to, I promise…you will run into him.

You cannot straddle the fence in this war. You cannot be like Switzerland; you cannot be neutral.  You’re either on one side or the other.

C.S. Lewis once said, “There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch, every split second is claimed by God, and counterclaimed by Satan.”

So at every waking moment you had better be on your guard, because there is a war that’s going on and the stakes are high!

In the next blog post we will talk about how to identify your enemy!

James Merritt once told that during one of the darkest periods of World War II, after the collapse of France and before America got involved, Winston Churchill wrote that the question in the minds of both friends and foes and it was this:  “Will Britain surrender too?”

At the time he made a speech that contained this sentence: “What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over.  I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin.  Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization.”

If you are reading this and you are a Christian…you are at war, too.  You are in a battle.

In this battle the peace in your heart, the joy in your marriage, the wellbeing of your children, the influence you have in your community are all at stake.

You are involved in spiritual warfare. 

Don’t yawn.  Don’t brush this off.  Don’t act like this isn’t some big deal.  It is.

One of the biggest problems is that many Christians, perhaps most, do not even realize it.  They have gone AWOL from the front lines and are asleep in the barracks.

The reason why many Christians are losing their battle with the devil, day-by-day, is because they’re not even showing up for the war.  In fact, I believe that most Christians try to fool themselves into believing that a war isn’t being fought.

And far too often Christians are going to war against each other and not the real enemy!

Someone has said, “Much of the church’s warfare today is fought by blindfolded soldiers who cannot see the forces ranged against them; who are buffeted by invisible opponents and respond by striking one another.”

Douglas MacArthur, one of our greatest generals, once said, “In war there is no substitute for victory.”

That statement is true in physical war, but doubly true for spiritual warfare.

Make no mistake about this: If you are a Christian: In your war, God wants you to be victorious. 

The people of God need to stop retreating and begin attacking.

To illustrate this, let me share a story that has been used in many sermons as an illustration, but is valuable for our discussion:

The story of a football player who graduated from college, and the coach asked him if he would like to come on staff and be a scout and try to find other good football players. 

He said, “Sure coach, what kind of a player are you looking for?” 

He said, “Well, there’s a kind of guy that when you knock him down he just stays down.” 

He said, “We don’t want him do we, coach?” 

The coach said, “No, we don’t want him.  But then there’s the kind of guy that when you knock him down, he gets up.  But if you knock him down the second time he just stays down.” 

The man said, “We don’t want him either do we coach?” 

The coach said, “No, we don’t want him either.”

He said, “But there’s the kind of guy that when you knock him down he gets up; you knock him down and he gets up; you knock him down again and he just keeps getting up.” 

The man said, “Now that’s the guy we want, right coach?” 

The coach said, “No, we don’t want him either.  What I want you to do is find the guy who’s knocking all these other guys down, that’s the guy I want.”

Well, I believe it’s high time that many Christians begin to knock down some of these strongholds that they have allowed Satan to place in their lives.

“Too many Christians are limping into heaven as defeated saints, when they need to be leaping into heaven as victorious soldiers.”

The next few blog posts I will be sharing with you how you can have victory for yourself daily in your spiritual war.

Charge!

As we continue to look at Elijah taking a stand against his culture in his day, (which is very much like ours in America today) I want to remind us of what has happened so far:

Israel at this point was drowning in sin, the leaders were self-serving and wicked and integrity was nowhere to be found.  Sound familiar?

And in that time when right was wrong and wrong was right, Elijah, a man who stood for righteousness and the one true God was considered not only politically incorrect but also an enemy of the state!

Elijah has confronted the false prophets and the people in their worship of a pagan god.  He challenged them to a duel–they set up an altar with a sacrifice and they would see who the true god was by who answered by fire.

The false prophets and worshipers of Baal could not get a response from their god no matter how hard they tried.

Elijah then had the sacrifice and altar absolutely soaked in water.

Remember: These false prophets had worked all day for hours and hours trying to get their god to answer and they were absolutely exhausted.

The prayer that Elijah prayed took, giver or take, less than 15 seconds.  Here is what he said:

1 Kings 18:36–37 (NKJV) — 36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”

All he was asking for was for God to be glorified and that is exactly what God did.

Here are the results:

1 Kings 18:38–40 (NKJV) — 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” 40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.

Don’t miss what happened.  When the people saw the true God go into action they did what they should have done.  They fell at His feet and worshiped Him and surrendered their lives to Him!

Do you notice that the false prophets still did not?  They had so hardened their hearts to the true God that even with this “proof’ before them, they would not accept it.  They died in their stubborn rejection of the true God.

Here is what I want you to take away from this:

In this day and age that we are living in, God is still looking for His people to face the culture of our day with the truth about who He is.

 

There is nothing that will move an unsaved person who has no relationship to God into taking the steps he or she needs to take to have a right relationship with God…

Like seeing those of us who do have a relationship with God,

• Showing it in the way we live
• Showing it in the way we trust
• Showing it in the way we obey God…

And that could be the biggest difference that we can make in the lives of lost people and in the culture today for our country.

 

May God’s people in this age, trust and obey God like never before.

Thanks to Dr. Ronnie Floyd and his church Cross Church for putting this recap together:

In Elijah’s day the one true God was being completely ignored and forced out of public life. Much like today. To confront this culture, Elijah believes in a “put up or shut-up” theology, so he proposes a test.

1 Kings 18:20–24 (NKJV) — 20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23 Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. 24 Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.”

You absolutely have to love Elijah…he is facing down 450 of Baal’s prophets, not to mention all of the people had forsaken God, and he isn’t the least bit intimidated. He was willing to step out in faith and to step up his faith and to show he really believed what he said he believed.

There is no doubt at all in my mind that if we actually lived like we believed what we said we believed as Christians, more people would believe what we believe!

A contest is set up between Elijah, the true prophet and the prophets of Baal, and more specifically between Baal and God.

Elijah, being the nice guy that he was said, “You go first. You pray to your God and then I’ll pray to my God and the god who answers by fire, he is God.”

Don’t pass over this: Elijah is in no way, shape or form afraid of their false gods or the prophet’s prayers to this false god.

One of the arguments that people use against having prayer in the public schools is that if you are going to have prayer, then you have to let everybody pray. You would have to let the Buddhists pray, the Muslims pray, and the Hindus pray.

Can I be candid with you and share my response? Let them.

Why should we ever be afraid of a false prayer to a false god?

The Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 45:20 said this about pagan people:

Isaiah 45:20 (NKJV) — 20 …And pray to a god that cannot save.

You can’t really miss what happens in verses 25 through 29, because I really think it is quite funny:

1 Kings 18:25–29 (NKJV) — 25 Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” 26 So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. 27 And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.

Can you just see these prophets praying, crying, jumping, dancing, mutilating themselves, trying to get their god to answer?

Of course, there was no answer.

I have to admit; I love to see this little mean streak in Elijah. He doesn’t show any mercy. He begins to make fun of them and make fun of their nonexistent god, “Maybe your god needs to put a hearing aid in. Maybe he left on a trip and forgot his phone. Maybe he is napping and you need to wake him up.”

After they give up, he takes his turn.

1 Kings 18:30–35 (NKJV) — 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. 31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32 Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” 34 Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.

Now Elijah makes sure that all the people understand that whatever is about to happen is because of God, not because of him.

• That is why he rebuilt the altar,
• that is why he offered a sacrifice,
• and that is why he poured water on the wood.

Because he wanted all the people to know that this was not about him and it wasn’t about them. It was all about God.

This must have brought a smile to the face of God, because Elijah was really saying, in effect,” I believe in my God so much I am not going to gasoline on this to help it burn…I am going to pour water on it to make it more difficult. My God is a God of fire.”

2 Chronicles 16:9 (NKJV) — 9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him…

I believe with all of my heart God wants to do so much more in us, through us, with us, by us and for us, but the reason He doesn’t is because we just don’t trust Him and act like we trust Him.

Remember: When you truly step out for God, He steps up for you. God responds to our faith.

How are we to stay true in this day and age where God seems to be mocked by so many…and almost anything can be “tolerated” rather than Christianity?

1 Kings tells us about a wicked king named Ahab:

1 Kings 16:33  …Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

Wow.  How would you like to be remembered like that?

This verse tells us that out of all of the wicked leaders that Israel suffered through up until that point, Ahab was the most corrupt and wicked of them all.  Like many “leaders” even today, Ahab talked a lot about religion and spirituality. However, the god that he served certainly was not the one found in the Bible.

Israel at this point was drowning in sin, the leaders were self-serving and wicked and integrity was nowhere to be found.  Sound familiar?

And in that time when right was wrong and wrong was right, Elijah, a man who stood for righteousness and the one true God was considered not only politically incorrect but also an enemy of the state!

1 Kings 18:17  Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”

The trouble maker for Israel was its sin and wicked leadership.  And you have to love the way Elijah speaks up:

1 Kings 18:18  And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals.

Elijah was “telling it like it was.”  Something that most likely wasn’t happening very often.  He then continues:

1 Kings 18:19–21 19 Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” 20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.

Elijah tells the people something that all believers in the true God are obligated to tell everyone: Nobody can serve two gods, but everyone will serve one!  Elijah is demanding a response to the question, “Which god are you going to serve?”

That was a shocking question then and it still is now.  If you want to cause people to go into feigned shock at your “intolerance,” tell them that they must choose which god to serve…and then tell them that there is really only one choice and one God!

But regardless of how people react we must stand for the one true God and stand against the false gods of this age.  Do not be deceived-you cannot stand for Jesus and not stand against anything else.  So many believe that lie.  When you are following Christ, you will be swimming upstream against the currents of today’s secular humanism, materialism and idolatry.  Like the old preachers used to say, “If you don’t run into the devil, it’s because you are running with him!”

When Elijah confronted the people, they were shocked.  They had spent so much time listening to false prophets that told them what they wanted to hear which made them feel better about worshiping false gods that they did not recognize the truth or a true prophet when they met either.

 

Please understand that I am not saying that we should ever be unkind or ugly, but if we are going to stand with Christ on the Word of God, we have no choice but to speak out against false gods.

Just because you are a witness for Christ and His unique ability to save, you are taking a stand against the idolatry of today.

 

Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court to strike down laws passed in the state of Texas that would affect abortions in that state and the health of the women involved is yet another reminder of the cultural collapse that has happened in America.

Dartmouth Professor, Jeffrey Hart, said in a speech reported by the Wall Street Journal several years ago:

“A great many things happened all of a sudden in this country in the very recent past.  Without going through the right or wrong of every case I list them objectively.

Within living memory, abortion was a felony in virtually every state in the nation. Today, abortion is commonplace in America.  Demands that it be federally funded are alleged to be rooted in the Constitution.

Within living memory, hardcore pornography was largely kept out of sight, usually by rough agreement between sellers and authorities.  Now the hardcore stuff is available on your computer screen and even your smart phone.

Within living memory, school children recited the Pledge of Allegiance every morning and in many schools simple prayers.  At Christmas time, they sang Christmas carols.  Suddenly, all of this is taboo.

Within living memory, homosexualality was for the most part discrete.  Now, we find demands of public legitimization of their lifestyle, staged parades and demands of representation on governing bodies as a legitimate minority.

Is there any question that a revolution has in fact been imposed upon an unsuspecting nation?”

That above quote is from the 90’s…I cannot help but wonder if the “revolution” that he mentions has in fact been mostly completed.

We all know that today if you stand for Biblical values and you do not tow the politically correct line, that you will be seen as a racist, homophobic or (gasp!) the worst of all: intolerant.

Over the next few blog posts we will be looking at 1 Kings 18 and the story of Elijah who confronted a corrupt culture that truly wasn’t that much different than today’s.  We are going to learn how we are to respond to a corrupt culture and how God responds to us when we do!