Derek Smith
Lead Pastor
Judges 3:1-2
Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. 2 It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.
Of the past 3400 years of recorded history the world has been at peace for only 268 of those years, or just 8 percent of the time. At least 108 million people were killed in wars in the twentieth century alone, and estimates for the total number killed in wars throughout all of human history range from 150 million to as much as 1 billion people. In 2021 the nations of the world spent 2.1 trillion dollars in defense, which amounts to almost 4 million dollars spent every minute. Every day we wake up there is a conflict going on somewhere in the world due to the depravity of mankind. The sad reality is Scripture tells us this will continue until Jesus comes again, and it will actually increase as we get closer to His return.
There is also another battle we are engaged in every day, but it is not physical it is spiritual. Scripture tells us we have a real enemy named Satan, and he and his demons have a strategic plan to try and destroy our lives, our families, and our churches every day. The good news is the Devil is a defeated foe! Through Christ’s shed blood and resurrection power he has been defeated for all time. Daily, it is simply a matter of us walking in the authority Christ already has over the Devil. The weapons of our warfare are the Word of God and prayer, and we must become master specialists in the usage of these against the Devil. Pleading the blood of Jesus and declaring the power of His name are also weapons in our arsenal to push back the darkness. Every day we must engage in the battle if we want to walk in the victory Christ has already won for us. So, soldier for God, today pick up your weapon. Stand a post. Put on the whole armor of God. Pray and plead the blood of Jesus over your family. Speak the name of Jesus over your circle of influence. Fight the good fight of faith.