Phalanx: Battlefield Formation (revised)

(The pictures below are of a phalanx formation. This formation was one of the most successful military formations. Perhaps the church could learn a thing or two about this)

Becoming the Phalanx:


                           
There is a call to action and a call to prayer for the body of Jesus Christ. I think it is time for the Christians to rise up! It is time to suit up for battle. It is time for us to put aside our petty agendas and minor differences and lock arms with fellow believers so we can become the true Body of Christ and do battle with the TRUE enemy of our soul. Our enemy is not fellow believers who may see things a little differently, it is satan. He has done such a fabulous job keeping us busy fighting with each other over baptism, communion, worship style, interpretations of scripture, what we wear, etc. If it is flesh and blood it is not our enemy, it is either our brother and sister in Christ or our mission field.


BUT Our battle is not against flesh and blood. (so remember: if you cut it and it bleeds, it is not your enemy)


Our weapons are not of this world. Our weapons have divine power. They are able to destroy strongholds, and blow up every argument and everything that pretends to be bigger than God. We are able to control our thoughts and make them line up with the word of God which is Christ. (2 Cor 10:3-5)

We need to be intentional to get dressed daily in the armor of God. (soldiers would not go into battle without putting on their armor)
We need to be certain of our salvation by guarding our mind with the helmet of our salvation.
We need to be certain of our right to stand before God because we are right with God through Christ's sacrifice if we believe it and receive it.
We need to KNOW the Word/ the TRUTH which is Jesus Christ "word became flesh
We need to be saturated in the word and immersed in all that God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is. Our belt is the truth which helps us recognize lies from the enemy.
We need to know what we believe, and what we truly believe is our faith. That becomes our shield which will put out the fiery arrows thrown at us by our enemy.

We come back at the enemy with the word of God which is our offensive weapon the sword of the Spirit. (Ephesians 6:13-17) Our salvation guards our mind, our righteousness guards our heart, and the truth guards our gut or the seat of emotion if we will not act on our feelings but rather measure our feelings according to the word of God.

In Gen 15:6 and Gal 3:6 the scripture says that Abram/Abraham believed the Lord and He credited it to him as righteousness. How do we know that he believed God, because the scripture writes of his actions being that which the Lord had commanded him to do. That is obedience - appropriate actions that follow a command.

According to Romans 10:9-10, if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved. For with the heart a man believes and is made righteous or justified, and with the mouth he confesses and is saved.

So our righteousness (being able to stand before God rightly) comes through believing God. We should not say we believe God unless we obey Him. If our actions oppose His commands, do we truly believe Him? Ephesians 2:8 By grace we are been saved, through faith.

Therefore if we choose to believe Him and His word, we must study the word so the Word of Christ will dwell in us richly Col 3:16
But do not merely study the word or just listen to the word, so that you deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS James 1:22 In other words, don't just listen, DO IT!!!!

Be a word doer!!!!!

The way we will be able to do this is not by our own merit, ability or determination. We will be able to do this as we dwell on Him, and invite Him to be Lord of our lives. As we surrender to Him and allow Him into our lives, we will grow in LOVE for Him and the Love will enable us to obey Him. It will motivate us. John 14:15 (If you love me, you will obey me)

We purify ourselves by obeying the truth and that enables us to love others deeply, and as we crave spiritual milk we will grow up into our salvation. 1 Peter 1:22 - 2:2

As we reveal our love and devotion to one another in the body of Christ, ALL the world will know we are His disciples John 13:35

You see in Christ the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. Ephesians 2:21-22

So once we are maturing in our salvation, being fully convinced by His word, we then need to GO and make disciples of every nation, immersing THEM in all that GOD is as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We need to teach them to also obey His commands. Matthew 29:19-20

We need to daily choose to put on the armor, to love one another in the body. Our shields are to lock together as we stand arm in arm. We go to battle in the spiritual realm together. Many will be able to seek refuge and heal in the safety of our temple that Christ is building up.  But people: we have to choose to get on our armor every day not just for ourselves but also for one another. We have to choose to walk in unity with the WHOLE body.  A house divide will not stand. The church is SO divided that it cannot stand against the real enemy for warring within its self. We must recognize the tactic the enemy has used on us all and stop allowing him to do it. We need to wake up, wise up and become the sanctuary we are intended to be for the weary soldiers that are on the front line.  These are our missionaries, pastors, pastors wives and children.  These are our teachers, the person that sits beside you on the pew. The weary soldier may be the person who cannot even bring themselves to the physical church. Perhaps they are the hard working single parents trying to keep their heads above water.  Sometimes it is you or me in need of refuge and healing.  We need to allow Christ to join us together as He intended and stand once and for all against the REAL enemy. The destroyer. The one that comes to steal, kill and destroy unity in the body, testimony of the believer, and joyful life along with much more. He is the one that hates us deeply.

I can just see those weary believers seeking a place of rest and healing under the umbrella of those shields of faith as each of us warriors stand over the weak and fallen. I see the shields of faith joined together by Christ to provide the weary soldiers an opportunity to be strengthened. We must remember when they seek this sanctuary, not to be turning on them and piercing them with your own sword.  Let's become the healing place for the weary.

I pray that as you read the blog today, you were able to see the beautiful picture of the body's phalanx creating a dome like structure for weary soldiers to seek rest. Also, I pray you see that Christ is the glue that holds each shield together to create the unity within the body. Just as with Nehemiah who had the Israelites in Jerusalem to build and/or repair a portion of the stone wall, each of us in the body can be responsible for our part of the spiritual wall within our the body of believers. If we will all take the time to get dressed in our armor and train to use our weapon and shield, we will be joined together by Jesus Christ with others who do the same. We will become the church that Christ refers to as the church He will build and the gates of hell will not overcome it. Matthew 16:17-19

Remember, the battle is on no matter whether you get dressed or not. The battle is raging whether you bring your sword and shield or not. The enemy is not going to go easy on you if you do not have it.  On the contrary, you will become his primary target. The choice is not will you go to battle, the choice is will you be ready!!!!!

This is a revised version of the attached link How We Ought to Live.