God with us...

"When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God , who brought you up from the land of Egypt is with you."--Deuteronomy 20:1.  Moses, reminding the people to remember that even when they are outnumbered God is with them when they go in battle.  Of course the stipulation is that they do as God commands.  It's always a comforting thought to know that even when we are outnumbered, God is with us.

God with us.  Now I am aware that the verse above refers to the physical battles Israel would fight in taking possession of the Promised Land.  However, much of the reason God would allow one nation to conquer another in the pages of Scripture is because of the sinfulness of that particular nation.  Therefore, even though the battles were very much physical, because God had a hand in bringing it about, there was also a spiritual aspect to the battle.  Even in spiritual battles, God is with us when we are doing His will.

God with us.  This concept of a spiritual battle is reiterated over and over in the New Testament.  One of the more famous passages regarding this fact is Ephesians 6:12 which states that as Christians our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realms.  Ephesians 6:10-17 tells us to equip ourselves with the armor of God in order to fight this battle. But the point is that when we are doing His will God is with us.

God with us.  The longer I have been in the ministry, the more real it has become to me that we are indeed in a spiritual battle.  In addition to this, like the physical battles of the Israelites, many times it seems that faithful Christians are more than outnumbered by the ones that the book of Jude calls mockers (Jude 17-18) who mock those who hold to the teachings of Christ as handed down through the apostles and prophets.  The mockers seem to outnumber those of us who are contending for the faith (Jude 3).  While it is true that faithful Christians are outnumbered by these mockers, we must remember that God is with us.

God with us.  That is the encouragement I wish to leave you with this morning.  Contend earnestly for the faith or the teachings that have been handed down by Christ through the apostles and prophets and remember that when we are being faithful to what God has said in His Word, God is with us.  If God is with us, who can be against us?  I would encourage you to read Jude 1-25 and 2 Peter 2:1-22 which describe pretty accurately what we are up against.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!