Attack In Formation

This post is related to the one I did on the sword of the Spirit. When I taught that lesson, I included some brief thoughts on the subject which I want to consider in this post. I want to develop that idea more fully here.

  Our spiritual warfare is not an individual effort alone. We are not to be lone rangers or commandos alone behind enemy lines. By nature we tend to be self absorbed. Sin keeps us from fighting together in the church and it causes us to fight each other. But God knows we are stronger together. We weren't made to live alone.

  The best armies of this world are those that fight in formation and in a unified strategy. The Roman army's success was due in part to its discipline and ability to fight in formation. The phalanx of Alexander's army helped lead him to his many conquests. The British squares gave Napoleon his waterloo at the battle of Waterloo. Armies like these were able to work together for victory. They could use the different kinds of units in the army to their greatest advantage. These principles of warfare are also true in the Christian's war.

How wonderful it would be if the church would fight together in battle formation. While I would like to see this among all churches around the world, the focus of this blog will be on the local church. Each local church should learn to have an army mentality. Lone ranger Christians are dead Christians or at least a hindrance to themselves and to others.We need to look at each Christian in our church as a fellow soldier fighting a common enemy. Think of what a church could do if they would only learn to fight together.

 The devil understands the importance of unity and cooperation in the local church. He spends much of his time trying to divide churches. His tactics can vary, but there is one sinister purpose in all of them: divide and conquer. The devil will try to keep us focused on ourselves, never opening up about our struggles, never trusting others. Getting Christians into different groups and cliques is another way to divide and conquer. When Christians fight and argue about petty differences, then the devil has us where he wants us. He will try to keep us from being at church or from using our gifts in the church. Sadly while the devil is committed to total warfare with God's people, the church is often distracted and fighting among themselves.

 In an army there are different roles and different kinds of soldiers. This diversity when used together for a single purpose will often achieve victory. The same is true for the church.While we have different gifts and personalities, we have a common salvation, a common king, a common battle plan and a common destination. Now we need to act on these truths. We are stronger together. Attack in formation!

-Brad

P.S. This is the 100th blog post we have done. So, to celebrate we are giving away two books. Both are by John MacArthur. The first is called, "Hard To Believe" and the other is called, "The Truth War." If you want the books, leave a comment on Facebook or on this blog's comment section. We will randomly pick two winners in a weeks time. Thanks for reading. Our prayer is that God would bless this blog for the sanctification of His people.