Good morning. This is but a story. It isn’t true, is it?
As long as anyone could remember, there was a war. The Kingdom battled the Principalities. The Kingdom was dedicated to saving all who were at risk from the powers of the Principalities, and the Principalities were dedicated to destruction and tyranny, crushing freedom, subjugating and scorching as they moved forward.
The Principalities gained ground steadily and it seemed as though all was lost. But then the great King sent a new, young, general into the fray, and immediately He turned the tide. At great personal risk He charged deep into enemy territory, saving those who were thought to be lost and bringing them home to the King.
Within days of His great victory the general had to leave. He was called to return home to Kingdom headquarters, and He bid farewell to His troops. Before He did so, He promoted His most faithful lieutenants, leaving them in charge of the battlefield. He left them with two great tools and promised that if they faithfully used those gifts, they would ultimately know victory. The first tool was a two-way radio with which they could be in constant contact with headquarters and the great King. The second was a procedures manual that would instruct them and give them the King’s commands.
For years those tools were put to good use and the enemy continued to be beaten back. But when those original leaders promoted by the general passed from the scene, things changed. New officers were promoted, the radio was lost, and the manual of instruction and command was set aside. The Kingdom began to lose ground once again.
“We need new tactics!” cried the newer officers. “We need to fashion our army more after the structure that our enemy is employing.” said others. So, the radio was gone and the manual was all but forgotten. The new divisions designed by the new officers became the standard for the Kingdom’s army.
But soon, without a manual to guide them or any way to speak with the King, the new divisions turned on each other. Each proclaimed themselves as the most correct and the most important. Arguments turned into greater conflict until at last, it was a new kind of war. The battle waged on, and the Principalities were definitely winning, but they no longer needed to fire a shot. The Kingdom’s divisions were still at war, but now they were fighting each other. The great King and His mighty young general wept for those who were lost and would not be saved.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:4
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12May we claim the weapons given to us by our mighty General, and may we never forget the identity of our true enemy.
Vern