The last prayer of Jesus before His crucifixion tells us a lot. It’s recorded in John 17 and mentions our world nineteen times. It’s obvious Jesus knew the world we live in is the seat of Satan’s power and that every man, woman, and child rescued from the kingdom of darkness would have to remain here in this world controlled by the devil. “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15).
The good news is, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14). In other words, we were rescued although our feet didn’t change locations. What changed is our heart and allegiance.
Let’s think about this militarily: Believers are living behind enemy lines. We’re not spies — we’re converts (we changed sides). And as you would expect, the king of darkness isn’t happy about losing people to Jesus, so he created specific tactics to keep them from being a threat to him.
Scared & ashamed Christians
These are those hiding behind fig leaves (so to speak) because someone told them they were naked and un-useable by God. They fell for the devil’s lies so they stay in the background feeling timid and inferior.
I was once in this group. I was so happy to be saved but I didn’t know my authority in Christ. I doubted myself which unintentionally caused me to doubt God and His love for me.
Hurt & wounded Christians
These are the ones leery of speaking up too much for fear of being attacked again. They aren’t hiding but very cautious. Their unsaid motto is: “hurt me once, shame on you, hurt me twice, shame on me.”
They know what they believe. They’ve read God’s Word and seen His faithfulness but are still wounded. They haven’t figured out this truth yet: “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” (Ephesians 6:12).
Ignorant Christians
I’ve been in this group too and it’s probably the worst of the three. These are those who fell for the lie that it’s okay to simply blend in with the world and wait for the sweet by and by.
It’s tempting to stick our head in the sand and not get involved. Ignorance is two-fold: it can mean a lack of knowledge or to ignore. Both are dangerous.
The sad truth is that ALL three groups describe defeated Christians– and this is the the greatest oxymoron that has ever existed. Jesus didn’t save us to leave us defeated.
Last week, I used a chess board as an example. Think about this again. If we could visualize God as the ultimate chess player and we, as obedient children, moving when He says move, pausing when He says pause, and so forth, we would actually STARTLE HELL and BLESS HUMANITY!
In other words, we would walk in victory and help others find the same!
God has given us the victory!
Defeat should never be associated with the Christian, but it happens because of a lack of understanding…
When God’s children misunderstand (or are misinformed concerning) His Word, resulting in disobedience or inactivity, we become vulnerable pawns in this game of life, and sadly, there are way too many casualties.
Thankfully we have a HELPER. The Holy Spirit is God’s Helper on the earth, giving instructions to His children, inspiring us for battle, and correcting us when we err so we can avoid being captured or wounded.
2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “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.” If we continue looking at this militarily: God is our commanding officer and the Holy Spirit is our sergeant. To be loyal is another way of describing a person’s trustworthiness. And some weapons God has prepared are reserved for mature soldiers who have passed the test of responsibility.
Just like a military has sergeants, lieutenants, and generals, we are designed to grow and mature in the things of God with specific purpose. We can’t sit idly by. And we certainly don’t need to remain ignorant of Satan’s devices (2 Corinthians 2:11). What we really need is to understand these truths and live ready.
Next week, we’ll talk about BOOT CAMP– something every believer needs.
