You weren't born to sit on the couch, you were born to fight! You were born for conquest!
In 1 Timothy, Paul tells Timothy, and us, to fight the good fight of faith - to lay hold of the eternal life to which we were called. We were born for the fight!
In Numbers 13, the children of Israel faced a crossroads. God had told them that He was giving them a land of their own - a good land, flowing with everything they would need! He said that the land belonged to them, but they were going to have to fight for it. Have you ever gone into a fight with a guaranteed win? Cause that's what God was offering them. But they would have to fight.
The problem is that when they sent the spies into the land, only two of the men came back ready to fight. The rest had allowed fear to put their bladders in a vice grip. Joshua and Caleb are jumping at the chance to go and fight Giants and claim the land God is giving them, while the other spies are changing their underwear.
We have two fights going on as we face forward, and look to what God has for us. The fight inside, and the fight outside.
The fight inside is all about fear, conflict, and insecurity: What will happen to me? What about my secret struggles? What will people think of me?
The faster we deal with the inside fight, the faster and more equipped we will be to fight the outside fight. Private battles lead to public victories.
I say "faster" because I think we spend way too much time on the inside fight. And most of that time isn't fighting, but whining and complaining. We let the enemy keep us wrapped up in fighting the same fights over and over again. I am so afraid that there are too many people who are going to come to the end of their life, having just figured out how to deal with the inner fight, with no time left to fight the outside fight.
As the leader of The Brand, I am committed to not dealing with sin week after week in the lives of our students. I am committed to teaching them who they are in Christ, and why they have authority over sin, and why they can be dead to the ruling of sin. We make mistakes, yes, but we don't let ourselves get stuck. We confess our sins to the one who is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Then we continue moving in the identity and purpose that Christ has put inside of us, so that we can bring the Kingdom of God OUTSIDE of us!
The public fight is a serious one. The enemy is working hard to destroy meaning and purpose. God has placed meaning and purpose inside all of us, and the devil works hard to steal that. One of our public fights is to restore identity and meaning in the lives of those around us.
The enemy also works hard in the area of violence. Our world is seeing a rise like never before in the realm of gang violence, human trafficking, the drug war, and even the growing epidemic of bullying.
And of course, there is the constant fight of whether or not we will allow ourselves to be desensitized. Especially in the realm of sexuality. We are constantly fighting to keep our eyes clean, and our minds pure. It's a difficult fight when you feel like "up" is the only direction you can look in order to keep the garbage out. The truth is that while we can't keep birds from flying over our heads, we can keep them from nesting in our hair. We may not be able to control everything we see, but we can control our response. We can choose purity, we can choose life, even in the face of impurity all around us.
Sadly, the enemy is more constant in his attacks then we are as the body of Christ. But we still fight on the winning team, and we still have the power to tear down his kingdom. 1 John 4:4 is still true - "Greater is He that is in YOU, than he that is in the world."
So we fight. We were born for war. We were born to take the land.
Mighty Hero! The Lord is with you! You were born for such a time as this! You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. So put on the full armor of God, that you may stand against the schemes of the devil. Love one another as Christ has loved you. And fight the good fight of faith!
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