Learning to Attack

18And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18

Too often, in our Christian walk, we are expected to behave in a certain way. We are not to be confrontational, not be the aggressor, be merciful and kind. Is this biblical? Is this true for all circumstances? I beg to differ. I believe we need to be the aggressor and on the attack against the satan and sin. How did Joshua take possession of the promised land? It certainly was not by being defensive. Israelites had nothing to defend. As they crossed over to the Jericho into Gilgal, they attacked, and God gave them victory. I like to draw your attention to Joshua 10. Joshua made a treaty with Gibeonites in the previous chapter without consulting God. When surrounding kings heard about it, they decided to attack the Gibeonites, and Joshua now had to honor the peace agreement and go help the Gibeonites. Joshua prayed to God, and he was assured of the victory against a coalition of 5 kings.
Joshua attacked and captured the five kings, and he commanded his soldiers to put their foot on their neck. Some may say how cruel and insulting. Why did Joshua not show mercy and put them in prison? Why humiliate them and hang them on the tree? But, Joshua teaches us critical lessons regarding spiritual warfare. There are multiple references in the Bible regarding our battle against Satan and his army. In Ephesians, we are urged to put on the armor. When does the soldier put on the armor? When he is ready to go in battle. The Christian walk is a constant battle against satan and sin. We read in 17th verse five kings were hiding in the cave. Many of us hide sin in the same manner, we figure if we hide it from others or deep in our heart no one will find out. But, Like Joshua, who dragged those kings out in the open, we must bear all our sins and bring them to the foot of the cross. Secondly, in Verse 24, Joshua orders his officers to put their foot on the neck of the kings, and their bodies are hung on the cross. Such humiliating death illustrates the complete victory over sin.
Some of you might say to Christian walk is not of the fight but a walk of faith. Are you certain? Complete surrender is not enough. We must declare all-out war on everything sinful in our life, and only then will we have total victory. We need to put our feet on the neck of every sin in our life, on the neck of pride, on the neck of jealousy, on the neck of the harsh tongue, on the throat of fear and worry, and once we do that, hang it on the tree. The tree of calvary can give you victory over every sin in our life. We may think the act of surrender to Christ is a one-time event, but if I may suggest it is a permanent change in attitude till the day you die.
Yes, your sins are forgiven. Yes, you are washed in the blood of Christ. Yes, you are on your way to heaven, but if there is sin in your life which has not been dragged out from the cave, confessed and judged by you, your testimony will not be compelling. If we don’t completely deal with that harsh tongue, critical tongue or pride or lustful thoughts, desire for self-glory, yes, these are forgiven, and there is no condemnation, but at some point in your life, they will dash out of the cave and cause you to stumble in your Christian walk. It may cause you to be critical, unkind, act lustfully, and suddenly Satan has got you.
Like Joshua, we need to learn to take possession of the promised land. It may seem strange, but promised land is full of warfare and battles. The victory is ours in the blood of Christ, but we need to learn to conquer and possess the blessings in the power of risen Christ. Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail. What are gates for? They are there for defense and to keep the enemy out. Now, if Jesus is saying they will not prevail, it means we are to attack those gates and snatch people away from the clutches of hell. Too many of us think we are secure behind the gates of heaven but in reality, we are behind the gates of hell and it is our job as Christians to attack those gates and free people from the bondage of sin. Like Joshua, we must learn to attack from all fronts to defeat Satan. Take notice there was no battle until Joshua took the initiative and attacked. In the power of Christ, we should never be defensive but always on the offensive. To live a victorious life, we must not hide from satan but take the fight to him. Too many times, we as Christians have our heels dug in the ground and standing tall ready to defend against attack, but folks, we need to be like warriors, our sword raised running full throttle toward the enemy ready to conquer. We need to be the aggressors. David attacked Goliath, Abraham attacked the five kings to free Lot; Joshua attacked to take the possession of the promised land. And most importantly, our Joshua Jesus Christ came on this earth and attacked Satan and defeated him on the cross. It is in that cross we have the power to attack and conquer. As Paul tells us, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Learning to attack is a fundamental lesson we must learn as we walk victoriously, claiming our blessings. Let us declare total war on everything in our life, which is sinful, and if we do that like Paul, we can say, “I have fought a good fight.” Amen.