“The Christian should always be aware that the devil’s master strategy against us is to destroy our power to wage spiritual warfare! And he has been succeeding, we must add.
The average Christian these days is a harmless enough thing, God knows. He is a child wearing with considerable self-consciousness the harness of the warrior; he is a sick eaglet that can never mount up with wings; he is a spent pilgrim who has given up the journey and sits with a waxy smile trying to get what pleasure he can from sniffing the wilted flowers he has plucked by the way.
Such as these have been reached! Satan has gotten to them early.
By means of false teaching or inadequate teaching, or the huge discouragement that comes from the example of a decadent church, he has succeeded in weakening their resolution, neutralizing their convictions, and taming their original urge to do exploits; now they are little more than statistics that contribute financially to the upkeep of the religious institution.
There can be complete victory for us if we will but take the way of the triumphant Christ, but too many have accepted the low-keyed Christian life as the normal one. That is all Satan wants. That will ground our power, stunt our growth, and render us harmless to the kingdom of darkness—and we sons of eternity just cannot afford such a thing!” ~A. W. Tozer, That Incredible Christian
Too many Christians are, by and large, generally ignorant of the severity of the warfare they have enlisted themselves in when they accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord. However, on the other hand, there are many believers who are keenly aware of the spiritual battle they encounter every day. But, it has become a sad case that many believers (including the ones who are aware) have made little of themselves in regard the fierce conflict waging around them. They know well enough that the Devil is seeking to destroy them. That they are sure of! They have read 1 Peter 5:8 enough times; they know John 10:10. The reality of the Attacker is most readily acknowledged but their attitude toward him has become all but germane.
The issue is that they really don’t understand that the passivity they have allowed to creep into their lives by becoming too familiar with their faith has been a “game changer.” Little do they realize they have laid their weapons down thinking that if they can just bar up their doors tight enough and believe with all their strength that life will be good and that the Devil will not be able to get to them. But in that process they are mistakenly deceived by thinking they ought to simply evade the Enemy and that the ultimate aim of their faith is to achieve a better life—one that is less disturbed and troubled as though Jesus’ mission was to offer his followers power so life would be easier and more pleasant. They do not step out to meet the Challenger but would rather be defensive and just play it safe. They talk a lot about pursuing the name of prosperity and being peaceful and comfortable in life (as though that was the goal of the gospel) rather than pursuing the name of victory and being fearless and bold as a conqueror. This notion is sad but true even among seasoned Christians.
A Christian’s aptitude is typically a product of their Christian community ethos. If they are molded to be tamed and sit within a little six-sided box like the rest of the crowd, they will grow-up with braces on their legs and shackles on their hands limiting all their mobility. Nothing is more toxic, more noxious, and more deleterious to the battle composure of a believer than the influence of an insipid church. Troubling as it is, most groups of believers would never admit that they have become innocuous. Actually, they probably can’t tell because they cannot honestly examine themselves from the outside and any report they may hear is dismissed. For them, it is like trying to look over the side of a raft at the water and attempt to determine whether it is you who are moving or the water around you. If you think you are floating down the river, you would likely say that you are the one on the move, but the reality is that you ran aground on a rock at some point earlier in your journey and have not moved an inch in who knows how long!
The quiet and subtle discouragement that comes from a stagnant church that has run aground does much to destroy the passion of a believer pursuing their calling. It douses the flame in the heart of the believer with the grim of conformity and loyalty. How can they be outfitted for war as elite soldiers in Christ’s army and prepared for intense battle if they never hear a war cry, or if they are forever defending an antiquated castle that has out-run its course, or if they are never genuinely encouraged to rise up with passion and fire in their soul and face the Enemy head-on to make new ground because that would change the one battle strategy that has always been sanctioned?
Too many Christians are stunted in their service and their ability to truly inflict the harm on the kingdom of darkness that they are capable of doing. A soldier’s potential is quelled when their squadron leader restricts their terms of duty when the soldier knows desperate help is needed on the battlefront but is not permitted to rise to action. The point is not that a soldier ought to be insubordinate, but if a higher ranking officer is calling for the soldier, he or she is obligated to discard their former position and execute the charge delivered to them by the Commander.
We must raise our eyes to Christ, our great Commanding General, who leads God’s army, and hear his beckoning call to come to the front lines of the battlefield ready to assuage the Enemy and expand his kingdom. The triumphant way of Christ will be the way that excels you toward your calling, does the maximum damage to the forces of our Enemy, and brings more victory and glory to our Lord than ever thought possible. This war is fought together, but we all have not been called to fight identically. We must realize that fighting together does not mean we fight the same way. If we let ourselves be constrained to a single strategy under the pretense of unity, the Enemy will find its weakness, and it will be exploited to the detriment of God’s people. Fight with the strategy you have been called to carry out, not a strategy you are supposed to just comply with.
Be all you can be for Christ and no one else! If he is the Head, then let the Body follow his orders and not anothers. ~JW
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
