Now that our H4U Ozamiz is already done and is now a part of our church history, never think for a moment that the warfare we are engaged in is over. For life as a whole, much more the Christian life is a life of warfare! We are called to a battle, not to a life of ease; to a battle, to a warfare, to a wrestle, to a struggle” (see Ephesians 6:10-12Ephesians 6:10-12
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. flesh…: Gr. blood and flesh spiritual…: or, wicked spirits high: or, heavenly  

WP-Bible plugin). The word which Paul uses here actually refers to wrestling. It’s the kind that you see in a high school or college gymnasium, the kind where two guys are entwined with one another and are trying every kind of move that they can think of to pin the other guy to the ground. It’s the kind of battle where you have extremely close contact with one another. And yes, sometimes, if not most of the time, the struggle hits close to home…it’s very personal.

We cannot afford to put our guard down. We need to be in constant look out in prayer of the fiery darts that the enemy throws at us. Our enemy is relentless looking for opportunities at our weakest point to attack us. And one of the most dangerous places and times for temptation, for the Devil to attack is when we feel comfortable, successful, easy and light – just like King David’s fall when he was feeling secure, successful and comfortable! Of course, our ultimate rest from it is when we finally see Jesus face to face, but until then, we are engaged in a spiritual battle – whether we like it or not; whether we accept it or not! That’s the hard reality of life!

So how do we face this? Paul wrote, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” (Eph.6:10). The human will does not generate this strength. It is not mere resolve, determination, or self discipline. While all of these are inherent in spiritual life, they are derived from true strength. There is a human attempt to be strong. We have all tried this. However, there is no ability in us to be strong in the face of a spiritual warfare. The strength is from the Lord. We have no sufficient strength of our own. All our sufficiency is of God. It is not our strength that equips us to stand; it is God’s strength invested in us when we submit to God.

To be strong in the Lord is to surrender and fully submit our heart, mind and will to Him. That is why James 4:7-8James 4:7-8
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.  

WP-Bible plugin tells us that the power of resisting is found through submitting to God (“Submit to God, resist the Devil and he will flee from you”). The devil does not flee from your power, but from God’s power within us that overcomes him. We have the promise that when we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. Resistance is no longer measured by our strength, but the strength of God who draws us out of temptation.

So, beloved, as Jesus said, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” Always be in prayer mode and know that His strength is our strength!

Have you ever had a vacation interrupted by unexpected events? Maybe a phone call caused you to cancel your plans. Perhaps a deadline made you delay your departure. These past weeks, we’ve seen how many people’s vacations in Lebanon were interrupted by events they could not control. Many visiting Lebanon for business or pleasure found themselves trapped in a war zone, forced to evacuate on cruise ships and aircraft carriers.

The Bible warns us of one who is intent on interrupting our spiritual journey with Jesus. His itinerary doesn’t include rest and relaxation; he wants us to experience as many detours and delays as possible. His ultimate goal is to cause people to depart from the faith. The warning is clear: Watch out for Satan’s efforts to intervene and interrupt God’s plan for your life.

In his letter to Timothy, Paul predicted that some would follow this sad, satanic itinerary. The Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:11 Timothy 4:1
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
4 ¹ Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;  

WP-Bible plugin). Beloved, stay in the Word, be in fellowship, stay in tune with God through prayer. Beware of distractions that tear you apart and pull you away from what matters most – our relationship with Jesus Christ. Pray for those who have been caught up with the cares of life, the deceitfulness of riches that they stop following the Lord. Be careful yourself that your presence may be here this morning but your heart is so far away from Him.

My prayer is that rather than taking a spiritual detour, you will continue to follow the Lord, to persevere, run the race until we reach the finish line. The time is indeed near. He is coming very soon. And as you follow Christ, may you lead others to the comfort and rest that is found only in Him.