Starboard bow ahoy!

— ‘Men at War’ at Harvest Bible Chapel exposes truth of every man’s battle

Two points off the starboard bow we see a faint shadow of the enemy frigate. Its gun ports are open and firing at almost point-blank range. The fight is for sexual purity among the men of God in the modern church. The war is raging and several hundred men met this last weekend to rally against the threat.

We discovered the enemy has many tactics, and the battle is fierce. What is remarkable is hearing the songs of victory from men who have faced the enemy undaunted, though not without scars.

Dr. James MacDonald challenged the men to wake up for battle. He identified five signs of spiritual slumber from which we must arise:

1. Spiritually sleepy people prefer warmth over warfare
2. Spiritually sleepy people become angry at the light
3. Spiritually sleepy people are always thinking of comfort (i.e. private comforts like a pillow)
4. Spiritually sleepy people resist the alarm (i.e. snooze – tune out God’s word)
5. Their heart is at rest (no excitement)

As I reflect on my experience this last weekend and the lessons learned from my own battles, I approach Ephesians 6 (battle armor) with more practical appropriation of armour. The commentator E. K. Simpson wrote:

“For this internecine conflict not partial equipment will suffice. The spiritual warrior must be armed cap-a-pie, or his accoutrement rests incomplete. It comprises in all a sevenfold panoply, the first draft of which had already been sketched in 1 Thess. 5:8 and Rom. 13:12. For he will have to dispute every inch of the ground with an adversary unrivalled in crafty ruses as well as open assaults. No constituent part of this divine armour-of-proof for all conceivable exigences can be safely omitted” (Commentary on the Epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians, p. 143)

Our enemy is cunning, and he navigates the waters in his nefarious frigate. But those in Christ belong to heaven’s man-of-war, and the strength of the Almighty empowers us to victory. We must wake up from our slumber, open our eyes to the tactics of our opponent, and “lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:1b-2a). Amen.