The Advent of Power – December 5, 2013

Suggested Reading: Luke 2:8-15

As we draw near to Christmas, we often see nativity scenes and sing songs that reflect on little baby Jesus. There is nothing wrong with drawing up beside the manger and gazing in wonder at God wrapped in the skin of a helpless, human baby. It is good and right that we wonder at His humility and this miracle.

But there is another side to this story.

The miracle of the incarnation is a moment of incredible power. It was a decisive event in the destiny of the universe, the turning point of history.

When Christ emptied Himself of His divine power and knowledge, He performed a deed of breathtaking heroism. His submission in the incarnation was a heroic act of faith, and a dramatic step in the war in heaven.

The Apostle John was given a vision of what was happening on a cosmic level in the birth of Jesus. He records his vision in the 12th chapter of Revelation. John saw Satan, the enemy of God and of man, trying to prevent the birth of the Christ child and to destroy him, but God preserved the baby's life and Satan was defeated. Notice that he was defeated at the birth of the child.

The birth of Jesus was a military victory in the battle between good and evil.

Is it any wonder that when the angels ambushed those unsuspecting shepherds they were armed for battle. Luke describes the shepherds as being scared by the appearance of one angel, but imagine their terror when the sky is opened and they were suddenly confronted by a massive contingent of the heavenly army. One messenger angel was terrifying; I can't imagine the fear inspired by an angelic war host.

The Christmas story is not just about a humble carpenter and his virgin bride in a stable in Bethlehem. There is much more going on there than the simple surroundings would indicate.  This is a momentous occasion of great cosmic importance. The armies of heaven were literally present in Bethlehem that night. Only the shepherds got to see them, but they were there.

The lonely couple far from home, giving birth to this little baby, and laying him in a feeding trough were playing their part in one of the most powerful and pivotal moments of all time.

I wonder what is going on right now. I wonder what God is doing around us and through us if we could only see it?

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Questions:

Have you considered that you are part of a spiritual war?

What might your assignment be as one deployed on behalf of God’s Kingdom?

Where do I get my magic sword?

A battle of epic proportions is raging around us.  A life or death struggle.  People have left their families behind, have suffered privation as they dedicate themselves to the fight. Every day people are paying the ultimate price in the struggle for victory against an ancient foe, laying down their very lives.  We listen for the orders from our commanders to plug this hole in the line, free those prisoners, or to take that distant hill.  We throw ourselves into the fight.  Some are the commandos dropped in behind enemy lines.  Some are the infantry slogging it out in the trenches.  Some are the stretcher bearers and healers.  Some provide air support or strategic planning.  But, all of us have a role in the battle.

My role these days is mostly air support or, more clearly, prayer support.  I believe that God has called me to devote myself to intercession.  It is difficult for me to watch the battle raging and to see the enemy taking shots at our people.  I once was down in the trenches and I miss the gritty day to day fighting.  These days I fight differently, in the quietness of my secret place of prayer.  Even so, I am filled with emotions: anger, distress, sadness, and rage as I see the enemy of our souls fighting against my compatriots.  I see his lies.  I see the way he tricks us into friendly fire, or ambushes us with the sins that so easily entangle.  I wish that I could grab him by the throat and throttle him.  I find the intangible nature of this warfare terribly frustrating.

In the stories, when a huge and nefarious beast appears on the battlefield, the hero reaches for his magic sword, strides forward into battle and slays the hell spawned creature.  I desperately wish that the spiritual battle was that easily won.  I want my magic sword.  I want to destroy the schemes of the enemy, to free the prisoners, to heal the sick, to raise the dead.  I want to see the banner of the Lord lifted high over the battlefield and to hear the righteous battle throng sing the victory hymn to Our Father, Our King.  Paul says that we do not fight as the world fights, but that we have been given divine weapons that demolish strongholds.  The problem is that I don't know how to wield these divine weapons.  I believe that I am learning, but oh how I want to learn more quickly and to wield the weapons more effectively!  I need the King, the Captain of the Host to train my hands for battle!

This is war

I stand on a battlefield.  Around me I see my friends, my brothers, my comrades-in-arms.  We stand together against a foe that we can't quite see.  An enemy that seems to materialize where we least expect him and then fade back into the darkness, lurking always lurking, looking for a weakness, probing for an opportunity to strike.

I see the wounded bodies of my comrades.  Bloodied and broken in the fight they pile up around me.  As I move among them, some wounds seem self-inflicted but others bear the cruel markings of the enemy.  Vicious attacks that tore them from their places in the firing line.  Unprovoked, unjust, and unrelenting assaults against those who would dare to stand against the encroaching evil and even to throw it back.  To bring light into the darkness, to bring hope to the hopeless, to set the prisoners free.

This is a rescue mission.  We have joined up to free the captives.  But the captives have been captive so long that they can no longer imagine real freedom.  Instead, they often willingly, even gladly, join in resisting "the invaders" who would set them free.  They view their liberators as the enemy while their true enemy eggs them on from within and smiles at their tortuous acts of self-destruction.  All the while creeping among our ranks to find a weakness in one of more of us to exploit.

My role is primarily to encourage the troops.  I move among them whispering words of hope and exhortation.  I administer first aid to those who have been wounded and sometimes aid in getting them more help.  I counsel with the leaders, and seek counsel from the Leader.  Sometimes I take an active role in the battle calling in air support or slogging through the trenches, but most days I find myself among the wounded.  I offer them compassion and pray for healing.  I understand their plight because I have been wounded to.

I hate our enemy.  I love our Lord.  I often puzzle as to why He doesn't simply end this war once and for all.  It seems sometimes that the darkness is gaining ground, but I trust our Commander.  I know that He has things well in hand through all appearances to the contrary.  I have seen Him turn the tide in battle before.  I have seen prisoners set free against all odds.  I have been on successful rescue missions.  I remember being rescued myself.

And so, I stand on the battlefield still.