As I was reading in a book today called, Cultivating a Life for God by Neil Cole, he brought up an interesting point. He started discussing the church and how it is going to face opposition. That is a fact. “One sign of a healthy church is that she faces hostility from hell” (119). So often I think we get discouraged when we face all kinds of opposition and as a church body, we don’t react in the right way. In Matthew 16:18, shortly after Peter’s confession of faith to Jesus, Christ is blessing Peter and tells him that he will build his church upon this rock. Jesus then goes on to say that “the gates of Hell will not overcome it. Cole brings up an interesting point as to thinking about what a gate is. “Police don’t pack loaded gates. Postal works don’t go crazy with semi-automatic gates. Terrorists don’t hold victims at gate point. Dogs don’t run loose with little signs around their necks that read “Beware of Gate” (119). This is because a gate is a defensive mechanism. We usually picture a gate within a wall surrounding a city or a fortress. Often times as a church or even in our personal lives we spend way to much time on the defensive side of things, trying to defend ourselves from the gates of hell. But we are commanded to take an offensive stand. Ephesians 6:11: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” James 4:7: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.” We need to not only prepare ourselves with the armor of God, but we must be ready to fight. To resist the Devil and whatever he throws at us. Each new day that God blesses us with; the Devil is going to be waiting and ready to tempt us. This can encourage us in that if we are facing opposition within our church as well as within our own lives, then we are walking in the right direction. "If you wake up in the morning and don't run into the enemy head on, then maybe you're going in the wrong direction" - Unknown Pastor. I know this really encouraged me to look for opportunities to use the weapons that God has given me, and take a stand for him rather than just trying to defend myself. I definitely believe that we need to take that step and prepare ourselves for those opportunities that are thrown at us. We serve an awesome and a powerful God, through whom we can do all things.
In Christ,
Matt Spangler
In Christ,
Matt Spangler
