Tuesdays are major prayer days for me. Over the last few months I have devoted them especially to praying for the five components in the Year of the S. With the first week of February coming quickly, you can easily imagine how the 05 Snow Retreat dominated my thoughts today.
For as much fun as the 05SR is guaranteed to be, it is crucial to remember that it is also just as certain to be a battle - a spiritual battle. As we study the truths that set sixteenth century Europe on fire we can only hope to upset the “religious quo” of our own day. As we consider the reformers who turned their worlds upside down, I am praying that God will bring reformation where it is needed today. This isn’t going to happen without a fight.
Consider Paul in Acts 19, speaking boldly and reasoning and persuading those in Ephesus about the kingdom of God. The reaction was stubbornness and unbelief and slander of the Way (Acts 19:8-9). On the other hand, many did listen and confess and repent so that “the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily” (cf. vv.10-20).
That story got me thinking about the fight we are about to enter. Actually, we are always in this fight and will continue to be during this period of redemptive history. The 05SR is just one engagement in the war. Think through it with me:
- we are in a battle against unbelief. Many who heard Paul “continued in unbelief” (Acts 19:9) and this is sadly the natural reaction.
- we are in a battle against wickedness; we are wrestling against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).
- we are in a battle against the flesh (1 Peter 2:11).
- we are in a battle against the world and its lusts (1 John 2:15-16).
- we are in a battle against pride and stubbornness (Acts 19:9).
- we are in a battle against fear of men, wanting to please them and have them be happy with us (cf. Galatians 1:10; 2 Timothy 4:3-4).
- we are in a battle against slander (again Acts 19:9)
- we are in a battle against triviality and flippancy.
- we are in a battle against a desire for ease and comfort and laziness.
Christians and non-Christians alike are susceptible to any one of these opposing forces.
In this battle we fight:
- in faith. The battle has to be fought in faith because we do not have the necessary strategy, the necessary equipment, or the necessary perseverance without dependence on God. It is, after all, the fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12).
- by the power of the Spirit. Our battling must be with all His energy that He powerfully works within us.
- with the truth of the Word. The word of God is our offensive weapon, the “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17).
- for the glory of God. In particular the glory of God we’re most concerned with here is seen in savlations and in sanctification and culminating in praise. To put it another way, we fight for the display of His infinite impressiveness in repentance, faith, obedience, and again - in the praises of His people.
