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Waging And Winning The
War
How To Wage War and Win
Ken Weliever, The Preacherman
There is a war raging today. It is
intense. Aggressive. And intrusive. It affects all of us.
None of us are exempt from the
attacks and assaults we are facing today that impacts our lives on all fronts.
Now, the war is not what you may
think it is.
I’m not talking about the battle over
Supreme Court Nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. Or the confrontations in Washington
between Republicans and Democrats.
Nor the contentiousness between
President Trump and the Press, whom he calls “the enemy of the people.”
The war we face and the battle we are
fighting is well described in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
“For though we walk
in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of
our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinions raised against the knowledge of
God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
The war that should concern all of us
is the spiritual struggle that we wrestle with daily. It is a battle faced by
the young and old alike.
It is fought in the marketplace. In
our educational institutions. In the political arena. In our culture.
And it is not confined to one
geographical location. It is worldwide.
Too often we think that our war is
fleshly and can be won with fleshly weapons.
If we can “drain the swamp” in
Washington. If we can get a conservative on the Supreme court. If we can
overturn Roe v Wade. If we can return to a respect for decency. Morality.
And God’s marriage laws. Then life
will be better. And our future more secure.
While all these goals contain some
merit and offer some positive benefits, the real issue is the spiritual
corruption in the hearts of people.
Sin is the problem. And the gospel is
the answer.
The command to “fight the good
fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12) speaks to higher motives, nobler goals, and eternal
rewards.
Our strength is
found “in the Lord and the power of His might.”
The enemy is the devil. And the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but spiritual.
The Christian armor involves Truth,
righteousness, and faith founded in the gospel message.
Its ultimate aim is the salvation of
the soul. And it is predicated by prayer. (Ephesians 6:10-17)
But there’s something else implied
here, though not specifically stated. The battle is for the hearts of men and
women.
And it is the struggle we all face
within our own hearts.
Jesus warned, “For
out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications,
thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew 15:29).
That’s why the wise
man instructed: “Keep your heart with diligence for out it spring the issues
of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
Satan is seeking to control your
heart. To cloud your mind. To corrupt your feelings. To compromise your values.
To curb your appetite for spiritual things. And to contaminate your soul.
The war within us is a battle
against ignorance. Satan wants us to
blind us to the truth. Keep us in spiritual darkness. And to remain unlearned
and illiterate regarding God’s will and Word.
The war within us is a battle
against immorality. Lust that
foments in the heart will finally express itself in unrighteous actions.
The war within us is a battle
against wrong attitudes. Envy, jealousy,
pride, and selfishness are sins of the heart that ultimately are acted out in
ungodly actions.
The war within us is a battle
against deceit. The devil is the
great deceiver. We can be deceived by others. But the Bible also warns against
self-deception.
The war within us is a battle
against apathy and indifference. Our hearts can grow cold and our ears become dull of
hearing Bible teaching and gospel preaching.
To win the war, we must begin within
ourselves. Our hearts must be right with God.
And then the battle is really for the
hearts of lost souls.
Winning outward and secular battles
may make us feel good, but they are not the supreme reason why we are here on
earth.
Never forget this. God’s cause will
win. The devil will be defeated.
And those whose hearts are cleansed
by the blood of Jesus will live with Him forever.
Ken Weliever has been preaching the gospel for over 50 years.
He began as a High School student preaching on an appointment basis in Central
Indiana and continued during his years at Florida College and the University of
South Florida.
Ken and his wife, Norma Jean,
celebrated 50 years of marriage in August 2018, have lived in 7 different
states and worked with 9 congregations: Park Ave Church, Hillsboro, Ohio;
Kettering Church, Kettering , Ohio,; Palmetto Church, Palmetto, Florida;
Skyview Church, Pinellas Park FL; Eastland church, Louisville, Ky; Jackson
Heights Church, Columbia, TN; North Blvd Church, Tampa, FL; Hickman Mills
Church; Kansas City, MO. And the West Main Church, Lewisville, TX, where he
recently ended full-time work in May of 2018. In addition, their
travels and ministry have taken them to 49 states, as well as Canada, Mexico,
England, Sweden, Denmark, Kazakhstan, Greece, Italy, France, Spain, The
Bahamas, Central America, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.
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