This is a continuation from yesterday’s discussion about the Illustrations that the Bible uses to relate to Victory in Christ. Winning in a Sports Game is one such illustration, while today we will learn that Winning in a Battle is another such illustration that the Bible refers to.

In the Old Testament, God’s people (the Israelites) were frequently engaged in warfare, either for survival or as God’s chosen instrument to rout nations and peoples who were warring against God. The imagery of fighting and battle existed still in the New Testament, but as reference to spiritual battles, and not physical ones.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. - 2 Cor 10:3-4

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. - 1Tim 6:12

Christians are also often referred to as soldiers in the Bible.

Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. - 2Tim 2:3-4

to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home: - Philemon 1:2

There are 2 things which God is impressing upon us when victory in Christ is described as winning a battle:

1) We need to be on the offensive.

(I’m gonna hold back here quite a bit, though I am really tempted to write on this extensively, because as a young kid I dabbled pretty much in military warfare, history, strategy and hardware. Even my baptism name, Joshua, had significance in that Joshua was a well-known military commander in Christian history)

The age-old adage, that offense is the best form of defence, does hold true to a certain extent in our spiritual lives and endeavors.

See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them. - Deut 1:8

God did not tell the Israelites to become sitting ducks for their enemies, but rather He told them to go and take possession. Double action words were used in one breath, suggesting that God wanted the Israelites to take action.

In the same way, God may be telling some of us here that we need to get up and get out to take charge, to take on what God is going to give us. God wants us to be eager, to be on the offensive, to seize the initiative. Recall a verse we had mentioned yesterday, Paul said that he wanted to take hold of that which God took hold of him. Meaning Paul wanted to fulfill the purpose that God had for him, for his life. God didn’t have to force it upon Paul; Paul wanted to accomplish it no matter what.

In warfare, an army will have the upper hand if it possesses the initiative. Hence seizing the initiative is the number one priority for any self-respecting combat unit. Take for example, on land, you try to take the higher ground. You try to increase the range of your missiles. In ancient naval combat, you manoeuvre your ships so that a larger surface area of your broadside will face the enemy fleet. Many moons ago, Adam lost the initiative to the devil when he disobeyed God. Man came under the curse of sin as a result and has been on the backfoot...fighting sin, trying to obey God’s laws but failing to do so... living under the curse and penalty of sin.

So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,
"Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.

And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel."

To the woman he said,
"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you."

To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'
"Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.

It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return." - Gen 3:14-19


2000 years ago, God came to personally retake the initiative from the devil, by defeating the penalty and curse of sin on our behalf. As a result Man can be justified before God, can approach the holy God once again, can relate with Him, can call upon His Name and know that He will answer us. Having the confidence of being forgiven and justified.

This is the initiative that God has handed back to us since His dramatic death and resurrection... are we still riding upon it, are we still seizing the initiative given us in our lives? Brothers and sisters, it is war out there, not a physical one but a spiritual one. Our enemy the devil is always prowling and seeking to destroy us, mankind, to lure Man to live a life apart from God. Unless we take hold of that which God took hold of us, we will lose that initiative, we will just ‘cruise’ as a believer, neither affected much, but neither contributing much as well. We cannot wait for things to happen; we have to make things happen. We have to want things to happen. It is up to us, our desire, we seizing the initiative. Failing which, the devil will take ground in our lives, will take back what we had believed in, lure us into unbelief, inaction and purposelessness. Is this what we want? Hence we have to take the offensive.

The LORD said to me, "See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land." - Deut 2:31

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." - Num 13:30

We need to be like Caleb, to speak with faith and act upon God’s promises.

2) We also need to be on the defensive.

While this point seems so counter-intuitive having said so much about being on the offensive, nevertheless the art of defense is very necessary as well in warfare. There are times when we need to stand our ground, dig in, get into the trenches and hold the line. This means persevering, going through the grind, being faithful with the little details, biting the bullet somewhere if necessary. It is especially so after we have gained ground/territory. Defense is needed to safeguard what we have achieved so far. If we slip into complacency as well after gaining much ground, not defending it well, we will end up losing what we have gained. God teaches us also to defend and stand our ground.

Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. - Jer 1:18-19

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. - 1Pet 5:8-9

Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. - 2Tim 1:14-15

Only hold on to what you have until I come. To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— Rev 2:25-26

Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations. – Prov 27:22-24

Conclusion

There is a need to strike a balance between taking the offensive and being on the defensive, to achieve victory in battle. We could always be on the offensive but fail to take sufficient defensive measures, say for example, safeguarding supply lines, training soldiers well, pre-empting enemy manoeuvres, watching out for attacks on our flanks where we could be blindsided. We could take ground, but we could similarly lose them. On the other hand, if we are always talking about defending, we will never score a goal for Jesus. We will not gain new ground, influence more, not be blessing others more. We will become inward looking and not look outwards to many people out there who need to know Jesus, experience more of Jesus, whether they may be pre-believers or lost sheep. Let us plan well, our stratagem, and take and hold ground for Jesus.

Reflection points

Have you been gaining ground for Jesus recently? How intentional was that or it came more by way of chance?

In your personal life or ministry, have you felt that certain ground has been lost? If so, how has that happened and what do you think had led to that?