War Zone

You've probably been sitting in a service when the preacher compared the work of the Lord to warfare. Heck, I remember a preacher at seminary who compared the Lord's churches to divisions of His army who are under orders to be on the offensive.

The Bible compares living our faith and doing God's work as warfare also.

1 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;

2 Timothy 2:3-4 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of [this] life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

So, the scriptures also compare the work of the Lord to warfare. If we are to war a good warfare, as Paul wrote to Timothy, there are some parameters we have to identify. First, and foremost, is the enemy.

I have spoken to many Vietnam veterans. One of the most frustrating parts of fighting in that war was that you didn't know who your enemies were. The villager who is helping and supporting you by day may very well be in VC uniform fighting against you at night. Rice bags were booby-trapped. The VC rigged explosives to small children then sent them to American soldiers to ask for candy. As the soldiers would give the kids candy, the explosives were detonated, killing both soldier and child. You never knew who your enemy was.

As we wage war for Christ, we need to remember who the enemy is. It is not the church planters, traditionalists, pre, mid or post-tribbers, contemporary singers, hymn singers, progressives, conservatives, elderly pastors or young pastors... it is Satan (I Peter 5:8).

I fear that too often, we have misidentified our enemy and we are spending all of our energy fighting battles with our brothers, friends and allies that should have never been fought. I'm not saying we shouldn't debate, or stand for Biblical truth, I am just saying that in some cases, there are those who plan to ambush their brethren with more carefully planned attacks than the
Battle of Cowpens. I'm not making this up. I spent a significant amount of time in my early ministry defending myself against false accusations and misrepresentations by other preachers. Granted, these men were hardly the cream of the ABA crop, but still... these were battles that should have never been fought.

No, the enemy we war with is Satan. We should be fighting him, not each other.

Another parameter we must identify is the battlefield. I once heard a preacher say, before entering the sanctuary for morning worship, "Let's go do battle." "Battle," by and large, is not waged in the sanctuary during worship... at least, it's not supposed to be. Battle is not supposed to be waged in business meetings either, because the sanctuary is not the battlefield.

The battlefield is the hearts and souls of the people who live in our cities and countrysides. Sometimes, the battlefield is in our own hearts. We war with Satan so that we may win the souls and hearts of the lost and that we may keep our hearts clean. This is something that has been pressed on my heart as I have worked with some of the people in Brownwood and Coleman.

Now that we have identified our enemy and battlefield, we need to learn how to wage warfare. I remember watching the movie, "We Were Soldiers." Col. Hal Moore, played by Mel Gibson, was given his orders to attack Viet Cong forces in the Ia Drang Valley (translation: The Valley of Death). He was to lead the first major engagement of U.S. Forces in Vietnam. His orders were simple, "Find the enemy, and kill him."

As simple as those orders were, they were not easy. Col. Moore had to plan the attack, and do so in a way that would minimize American casualties.

Our orders are also simple, Preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). As simple as those orders are, they are not easy. To fight the battle on the battlefield, and win, we must be able to preach the Gospel to the lost in a way that they can comprehend it, accept it, and grow in their faith. Such requires planning and training. Such requires daily sword drills and range practice (a.k.a. Bible study). Such requires communication with mission command (prayer). Such also requires obedience, as disobedience on a battlefield can cost a soldier his life.

Right now, Mission: Brownwood is at war, but we are in the early phases where we have dropped covert special forces behind enemy lines, hopefully to prepare the way for the infantry who will land at the Lord's order. We know who our enemy is, and where the battlefield is. We are currently preparing and engaging in combat.

May God bless you on your battlefield.