Pastor's Part 3

I have never considered myself to be a prophet, but my comment to e-mom was correct. We did get part 3 this Sunday. Pastor went right back to last week's text: II Chronicles 20:15-28. The focus was a somewhat different from 1 and 2, so I guess it could be a stand alone sermon.

Again, rather than duplicate his message, I'll just give you the basic idea. After he read the text and gave a few introductory remarks related to the sermon of last Sunday, he titled the message:"The battle is not yours."

When a child is abducted from a rich family, the motive is to extort money from the parents. It is not to have a child to feed, clothe, and care for. The kidnappers do not ask the child for money, they demand it from the parents. The child is taken as a means to get to the parents.

Abusive people often hurt the people closest to them. Much of the time, the people they hurt actually have little to do with the conflict within the abuser. The victim simply is in the presence of the abuser when he/she commits the acts of violence.

The devil is not really interested in mankind at all, except as a means of getting to God. Yes, he is jealous that man can be saved and become a permanent resident in heaven. Yes, he knows that one saved person can put a thousand enemies to flight. Yes, he desires to sift believers as wheat. But that is not his driving force. He wants to hurt God. Knowing that it is impossible for him to over-ride God in any way, he chooses to afflict God's creation. He is much like a spoiled child; willing to do anything to gain attention for himself even if it is the wrong kind of attention. Christians are merely targets in satan's war-games.

Ultimately, we win! How frustrating that must be for old beelzebub. It further aggravates him when he finds us rejoicing in the midst of our trials. Praising God brings confusion into his ranks. The noise of exalting our Savior deafens his forces. When we worship the Almighty it sends the devil into a blind rage.

Deaf and blind, just what are the chances of them making a direct hit? And what if they do? Is it not merely our flesh that suffers? The Apostle Paul put it this way, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Satan can not take true life from us. In his efforts to destroy us, he inadvertently drives us closer to the Life-Giver.

Somewhere along the way, Pastor elaborated on the fact that the devil does not have to kill us to accomplish his purpose. Many times he advances more through trampling on Christians, tarnishing our witness, and tainting our message. We must not be moved by the aggression of our enemy. Should we fall, we must get back up and into formation.

The Church must set herself in battle array in a united front. She must be poised regardless of the nearness of the skirmish. She must follow the orders of the Captain of the Hosts. When it is time for her to engage, He will direct her every move. In the meantime, she must PRAISE! While she is praising, He is setting the ambushments. The battle belongs to the Lord.