UNITED WE STAND – DIVIDIDED WE FALL
OR
SPIRITUAL BATTLE STRATEGIES
SUNDAY NOV. 24, 2019
Scripture To Consider:
“Then one was brought to Jesus who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, ‘Could this be the Son of David?’ Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, ‘This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.’”
“But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them; ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or home divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judge. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.’”
“He [or she] who is not with Me is against Me, and he [or she] who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit [Holy Spirit] will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him [or her]; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him [or her], either in this age or in the age to come.” Matthew 12.22-32
Something To Consider:
Jesus, in our Scripture to consider stated for the record, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” In other words, “United we stand – divided we fall!” This is one of the oldest and best kept secrets ever to be established according to Jesus and the many lessons of a lifetime that history teaches us.
This prediction of Jesus remains true whether it applies to a nation, a state, a city, a house, a business, a team, a place of worship, a place of learning, or a relationship. Division is a battle strategy that by its existence causes subtraction. Division, by its mere existence creates desolation. And yet division is everywhere and on the increase!
According to Jesus, the true gospel message of enduring to the end, abiding or continuing in Christ, the command to take up our own cross and to deny ourselves creates division even among so-called Christians. Also, according to Jesus, “He [or she] who is not with Me [in agreement with all the teachings of Jesus] is against Me.”
And again, according to Jesus, “And he [or she] who does not gather with Me [does not help in the teaching of others to observe all things Jesus taught] scatters abroad.” There is no middle of the road or simply going along to get along with the world if our goal is to follow Jesus and to obey His commands and teachings, according to Jesus. Following Jesus demands our commitment to Christ’s Word, not a water-downed carnal version of a false gospel created by religious hirelings.
We are either involved in the enlarging of the kingdom of God according to the Word of God, or we are working against Christ and the things of God by our complacency! If we are united in Christ and governed by His teachings then we are in good standing. If we are divided over the teachings of Jesus we will fall. There simply is no escaping the truth of Jesus’ teaching on this subject or on any biblical subject taught by Christ.
Something Else To Consider:
Yes, divide and conquer is the battle cry of the war strategist. The dividing of true believers and their spiritual efforts has been Satan’s battle strategy since his entering the Garden of Eden to do evil. Therefore, let us post a spiritual sentry at the entrance of every heart to guard against enemy invasion or spiritual slumber on our part. Let us keep a sharp lookout posted at all times to combat the behind the scene plans to divide.
Otherwise, the enemy will seize an opportunity to surround us and bombard us with his fiery darts of deception, doubt, and disbelief. Paul warned us in Ephesians 4.14 by admonishing, “That we should no longer be children tossed here and there and carried about with every wind of doctrine [false doctrine] by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting.”
Jesus, in Matthew 24.4, warned us as 21st century end time true believers, by His cautioning; “Take heed [be warned, beware] that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name [as if Christian], saying, ‘I [Jesus] am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.” And in these end times Christian pretenders will create divisions among the body of Christ. Therefore, united we stand, but divided we fall as individuals, as a family, as a nation, and as a church!
Something More To Consider:
Jesus declared, “Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods; unless he first binds the strong man?” As leaders and leaders in training in the kingdom of God, our first battle strategy should be to seek God’s blessing in His binding the strong man Satan. Prayer and the diligent study of the Word of God is our best offense!
If we are to plunder from the enemy those imprisoned by darkness and despair, God must first bind the enemy from having any further influence on those who await being rescued and restored by the power of God. In the end, united we stand, while divided we fall prey over and over again to Satan’s battle strategy of divide and conquer. And if we are allowed to be divided, we will fall!
Paul instructs us enduring to the end saints in Ephesians chapter 6 verse 11, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles [schemes] of the devil.” He also declared, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Therefore, there is a spiritual battle being waged whether the moral or immoral majority believes it or not!
A Few Final Words:
Paul continued in his exposing the battle strategies within the kingdom of God by further instructing us in verse 13 of Ephesians chapter 6, “Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand [endure to the end] in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Enduring to the end can be summed up by our having done all to stand up for Christ, that in the face of opposition or the threat of death, we continue to stand for Christ and for God’s kingdom!
Will there be times when we fall prey to fear, doubt, disappointment, despair, anxiety, and or frustration? Yes! Will we fail Christ and our own desire to remain a faithful representative of and for Christ? Yes! But what we do after our failure, what we do after our lapse of carnal action is most important. In the end we must stand and having done all to stand firm in Jesus Christ we must continue to stand in His righteousness, totally forgiven after confession and repentance of our sin.
An enduring to the end saint of Almighty God must remember that he or she is not perfect or without sin. An enduring to the end true believer in Jesus must be willing to be found wrong and in going to God in and through Jesus Christ, find their surrendering position at the foot of the cross. Jesus declared to His 1st century disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
With that said, can we agree with Jesus in our Scripture to consider, “He [or she] who is not with Me is against Me, and he [or she] who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” Will there be moments in our lives when it appears that we are not with Jesus or gathering with Jesus due to our speaking hate-filled words or acting in a manner that betrays our Christian duty and responsibility? Yes! But we must rise from our knees and from our place of prayer for forgiveness and once again stand firm!
Divide and conquer is an age-old battle strategy that has a subtracting affect if not properly defended against before implementation. According to Jesus, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” As true enduring to the end believers we should become and remain in the standing firm in Christ business of life. And when we fail, and we will fail, thank God we have a biblical process made available to us in and through Jesus Christ!
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, may you bind the spiritual strong enemy of our souls, while releasing to us and in us the power of new life in Christ. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 