The Battle of the Ages
- Billy
Graham wrote the following about spiritual battle in his book Angels:
We live in a perpetual battlefield ...The wars among the nations
on earth are mere popgun affairs compared to the fierceness of battle in
the spiritual unseen world. This invisible spiritual conflict is waged
around us incessantly and unremittingly. Where the Lord works, Satan's
forces hinder; where angel beings carry out divine directives, the devils
rage. All this comes about because the powers of darkness press their counterattack
to recapture the ground held for the glory of God...
Since the fall of Lucifer, that angel of light and son of the
morning, there has been no respite in the bitter Battle of the Ages. Night
and day Lucifer, the master craftsman of the devices of darkness, labors
to thwart God's plan of the ages. We can find inscribed on every page of
human history the consequences of the evil brought to fruition by the powers
of darkness with the devil in charge. Satan never yields an inch, nor does
he ever pause in his opposition to the plan of God to redeem the "cosmos" from
his control.
- It is this "Battle of the Ages" that I refer
to when I write of spiritual warfare. Each battle fought is one part of a larger campaign
which is part of a war, and it is the war that I am focused upon fighting and winning, not merely my own internal struggle with my flesh
or even individual battles with spiritual forces. Certainly, just as a soldier
must endure physical fatigue and survive hand-to-hand combat with the enemy
in order to play a continuing role in the larger war, Christian disciples need victory
in close quarters battle as well. In the closing paragraphs of Angels,
Dr. Graham gave this testimony and reveals the key to personal deliverance:
As I look back over my life I remember the moment I came to Jesus
Christ as Savior and Lord. The angels rejoiced! Since then I have been
in thousands of battles with Satan and his demons. As I yielded my will and committed
myself totally to Christ - as I prayed and believed - I am convinced
that God "put a hedge about me", a hedge of angels to protect me... Thank
God for the ministry of His blessed angels! (emphasis added)
- I humbly join him in praising our Father for
the ministry of angels and I am sure that we couldn't survive without their
interventions. But, just as when Dr. Graham has shared the Gospel with live
audiences totaling over 210 million around the globe, the primary source
of victory in the Christian's warfare which he advocated in the above passage
is Jesus
Christ. It is the work of the Son of God throughout the ages — before
the foundation of the earth, when He walked among men, when He hung on the
cross bearing the sin of all mankind, as He rose from the grave defeating death, and today as He sits on the right side of the Father interceding for the saints! All creation waits for the day when Jesus will return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Amen!
- We must submit our
will and commit ourselves totally to Jesus as our Savior and Lord. That fundamental step in Christian Discipleship is the key to winning the spiritual warfare our Lord has committed to
His Church. Our lives should imitate and manifest the life of Christ.
Our churches should imitate and manifest the ministry of Christ.
Next: Spiritual Warfare Scriptures
