Warring a good warfare. Having church is a strategic move to help us stay on the firing line. The Word causes the devil to tremble. A song about God makes the devil take a step back. We can stop praying some prayers; they have been answered. For some we need to keep praying. Answers are not always in the affirmative. We’re in warfare and need to keep praying. When we became a Christian we stepped onto the Lord’s side. The devil became our adversary more than ever.
I Timothy 1: 18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; 19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck.
Right off the bat Paul says “son Timothy” I’m giving you a charge. It’s the highest honor there is to be a child of God, but in this world that puts us in warfare. We need more than a request. We need the charge from God as our Commander and Chief. Jesus is the Captain of our Salvation. They give us the charge to war a good warfare.
There is a difference in battles and wars. A war has two opposing sides clashing against each other to win. In any given war, leaders don’t know how the war will end until it’s over. However, in this war we know that God is victor. The devil will not win. To be on his side is to be on the losing side. That’s why he fights us so hard. He wants to take away and ruin the purity of our life in the Lord. Many have fallen aside as causalities of war.
Paul said to make it a good warfare and flee the things of the devil. He said to fight a good fight of faith. This is a good fight. It’s worth fighting. Even though we experience it, we don’t have to let it get to us. Make it a good fight. Be glad you’re on the right side—the winning side—and make it a good warfare. We are equipped to fight. We have the gear. Ephesians 6 calls it the armor of God. Paul said we fight spiritually dark forces. The devil works through people, through governments, through our old nature, and through troubles of life. Any way he can go against us he will. We are equipped to stand against his wiles. When we have done all we can, when we have prayed as hard as we can, we can still stand. We have 360 degree, 24/7, 365 days a year armor that’s good for every battle we’ll ever fight. It is strong enough to repel the fiery darts of the devil. We can’t manufacture this armor. God made it. It was manufactured from heaven. We get hung up on the various pieces sometimes, but the bottom line is that we have truth, righteousness, and gospel preparedness. Truth is sincerity and honesty. We show ourselves truthful to God. We have assurance of salvation. We have the Bible. We can win the battles with our armor. Winning battles is how you win the war. Faith is the shield that protects us. Believe God and his Word regardless of what comes toward us. Jesus in our heart is reactive armor. Throw up the shield of faith and blow the devil to pieces.
Romans 13:12 says the night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. As a soldier, you vets had to have weapons. You had combat gear. It had to be in shape and all polished up. We need to keep God’s armor polished because it is the armor of light. The light of the Lord scares away the darkness of this world and the devil.
The devil comes at us from all sides so we need to wear the armor correctly. It needs to be polished up in good shape so that from whatever side we receive an attack from Satan we are protected. Pray always. When the devil tries one way and then another, the armor will work and do its job. The devil wants to hurt and destroy us. No matter what he does, nothing can separate us from God. Because God is the winner of this war, if we stay on his side and move forward, if we keep wearing the armor and hold our head high, we will find victory.
Our armor identifies us to God and each other. It’s not our job to destroy those on the other side; it’s our job to rescue them. Once I was on the losing side and someone called for me to come over to the other side. Let’s do the same in order to see more break ranks with the devil and come to the winning side.
It’s worth it to fight the good fight and war a good warfare.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 