Reveille

"And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18

A few weeks ago, as I thought upon all that is happening in this pandemic, all the half-truths, outright lies, personal and political agendas, and the real spreading of misinformation by those possessing these agendas, I wrote down in my prayer journal, "We're (the church) being called to war. We've always had that call, but we've been too comfortable to answer it. The enemy is boldly attacking, but its the church that has been called to the offensive." We're to attack the gates of the devil's strongholds, each and all of them representative of hell itself. And we're promised that in our offensive, those gates, those strongholds will not prevail. So the question for us is; what is our strategy, how do we carry off the assault?

Some think that we attack by going out into the streets, demonstrating, demanding, confronting. We are to confront darkness, but too often, if we do, we do it in the wrong and worst way. We try to fight the darkness with the weapons of darkness, one of which is anger. His Word says that the anger of men will never accomplish the righteousness of God, but we have such a difficult time believing or living that. Yet we are to assault hell's strongholds, and I believe His Word gives us the weaponry to do so. Here are three that I've gleaned over the years, and each of which the enemy has no defense for.

The first is that we, the church, embrace radical holiness as a lifestyle. It's time for us to stop fearing and avoiding the word "holy." We need to stop fearing that people will get uncomfortable and angry if we use it. They will, but we are called to be a holy people. Not holy in what we do or don't do, but in who we are, how we live, and the depth of His presence in our lives. He said we're to be holy as He is holy. This means that we enter into the fullness of His life, and that all that seeks to block His life in us is surrendered, rejected, turned away from. It means the end of compromise and half-hearted faith. We reject looking like a cleaned up version of the world, and embrace looking like a child of the King. Holiness of life has got to come out of the closet.

Secondly we enter into lifestyles of intercessory prayer. We pray for the advancement of His Kingdom, in the church, in His people, and upon the world. We pray that He be lifted up, and that all that is against Him is torn down. We pray that those in darkness behold His Light, that those trapped in death receive His life, and those held in captivity to anything, find freedom all because they are held in His grip. His grip of love. We begin by praying that all of this takes place in us first. Our intercessory prayer is ceaseless.

Last, we answer the lies of the surrounding culture with His Truth. This may be the most difficult of all because so many of the enemies lies have found their way into the culture of the church. We seem to be accepting ever more false doctrines and heretical teachings than ever. God's Word isn't seen as the final authority on many things, and for some, on anything. The power of the lie is growing. Left unchecked, it will wreak havoc everywhere. It is already doing so, but His Truth is eternal. It is all powerful, and no lie of the enemy's can stand against it. A church armed in it will always prevail over the most powerful gates and strongholds the enemy can erect, starting with those abiding in a heart. Even our hearts

The horns calling us to battle are sounding. They've been sounding all along, but we've chosen not to hear them. We can still choose to do so, but we'll be crushed if we do. The gates Jesus spoke of are right before us. Do we do what we've been doing; turn over and go back to sleep? Or, do we hear His reveille, and rise up, get out of our beds, and take those gates in the name of Jesus? What will you do? What will I?

Blessings,
Pastor O