Mission Control
Mission Control
We battle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)
The scroll of History is the record of the conquest of the Kingdom of Christ over the kingdom of man. Christians serve in the Army of the all-powerful and sovereign God. Our Lord has the power to convert the world with a word; yet, in His divine providence, He has ordained that the means by which the world shall be saved is by the painfully slow and gradual spread of the Gospel through the preaching of men and the irresistible quickening of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the elect. He drafts us not because He needs us, but for His glory. By His Spirit the outcome is assured, and all of His people will be brought into the Kingdom. They in turn become Crusaders themselves. God brings victory through taking broken vessels and making them whole. He converts sinners through the preaching of sinners. He uses the weak to overcome the strong.
We live in occupied territory. This world belongs to Jesus Christ, definitively, yet the forces of Satan have barricaded themselves in strongholds in order to try to delay the inevitable advance of the Kingdom. They are fools. One by one these strongholds shall be rooted out and brought under subjection to the Word of God. He whose word is true has promised.
Through the eons of time each family that is brought into the Kingdom works their entire life to take dominion over a little bit of the world. Inch by inch, the Kingdom moves forward relentlessly. From the perspective of our short lives, however, the progress is not always visible. Nevertheless, the battles around us are real, and often painful, and we can feel their impact in our lives.
Through the Covenant that God has established with not just individuals, but with families, we see the command and control structure for the Crusaders. God has established the Man to be the head of Woman, and Christ is the Head of Man. The Family is the smallest unit in the Army of God, a platoon, if you will. In the course of life, there are two primary things you can do to advance the Gospel in the world: convert the heathen, and raise up godly seed. Evangelical Christianity has specialized in trying to convert the heathen but sadly we see a failure to raise up godly seed across the board in all denominations. It is true that we gain ground with every heathen convert, but if each convert raises up four heathen children, then we have failed at our mission. The victories are real, but short-lived. We not only have to take ground, we have to hold ground against the enemy. The Family is where that battle takes place.
Our mission as parents is to raise up godly seed and see them marry in the Lord and then raise up their own children to love and fear God. It seems simple enough, but the enemy has mined the field in which we labor. Rebellion, fornication, drunkenness, and adultery are four chief sins among many into which the Enemy seeks to tempt us. When a parent or a child falls into one of these sins, it is like stepping on a land mine. Someone gets their leg, or their arm blown off, while those who remain weep.
The Church is the command center as well as the field hospital for these Crusaders. First, when we gather to renew covenant, we gather in the context of peace and rest. The Lord's Day is our r and r. Though mortars fall all around us, we cannot be touched. But it is more than that. It is also our vision of the victory. We rest by entering into the fullness of time, by entering into the consummation of the kingdom. In the worship of our Lord the troops also receive our mission from the Word. We are briefed as, through the faithful preaching of the Word, our commander gives His instructions for the next day's, the next week's battle.
The Church should be a refuge for the battle weary, refreshing our souls and lifting our spirits to go back to the front lines and fight for our Savior. Through the counseling and teaching of the Word, those who have destroyed their lives and relationships through sin have hope for healing and restoration. The Church ministers to God's people by tending their wounds, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, and binding up the brokenhearted. (And sometimes by court-martialing the recalcitrant.)
Our weapons are the Word of God and prayer. Our Captain, the Rider on the White Horse, has a sword that comes forth from His mouth and slays His enemies. That sword is His Word, and by it His enemies are slain and reborn as new creations. Our balm is the promise of the gospel, the wisdom of the law, the surety of the promises of the covenant. We are healed because He has promised, if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Press onward, Christian soldiers, and take the ground that your Lord has placed in front of you! Fear the God who sends you, and not the men who fight you. Men, protect and cherish your wives and children, leading them in the Word of Truth to live righteous and holy lives in service to God. Women, serve and submit to your man, whether he be your husband or your father, and take pride and joy in the nurture of your children, raising them in the admonition of the Lord. Children, obey your parents in the Lord and seek to grow in wisdom and strength to serve the God who made you. And one by one, the strongholds of darkness will fall to the light.