There is a spiritual battle raging for the hearts and minds of humanity. Are we going to sit on the sidelines and watch humanity being slaughtered by the powers of darkness or will we take the armor of God and learn how to be an effective soldier of the cross? You might be thinking, I am too weak from going through my own trials and tribulations to join the ranks of God’s army. You might think that evil has already won opting to wait upon Christ to deliver you from this increasingly powerful and dangerous world. You might think that you are completely ineffective to confront a world that is sinking deeper and deeper into their conspiracy theories, depression, and drug addiction. You might be thinking with the horrific division in the world caused by giving everyone a platform on social media that it’s nearly impossible to reach a consensus on how to stand against the enemy of our souls. With all these thoughts God’s beloved children will get on their knees before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords asking Him to build His true army of the Cross to stand against the powers of darkness that’s destroying the world. I am convinced through heart-felt surrender to our Lord Jesus Christ we will see the one true path forward for building an indestructible army of the Cross.

This one true path forward will shock most and cause many others to rebel against the clear teachings of God’s Holy Word. The first lesson is to learn that the devil has masqueraded himself as an angel of light (II Corinthians 11:14) to lead God’s precious children astray. We see this tremendously in today’s world where most of God’s children have joined the ranks of Satan believing that they are fighting against the powers of darkness. What if I told you both sides are evil, so evil, that the Catholic pope is telling his followers to vote for the lesser of two evils? I will take it a step further and ask why we should vote for any form of evil. Why should we join their ranks to fight against the other side? We need to have a completely different mindset by coming out from both sides and joining the Army of Light as soldiers of the Cross. Last week we wrote about our true defense by becoming a holy sanctuary, today we are writing about our true offense by becoming soldiers of the Cross. We will never defeat evil by joining the ranks of evil. Stop trusting in politics and their leaders to bring forth truth and righteousness, only God can do that through His army of light. So, how do we become true soldiers of the Cross?

Yes, you heard me right. We must move from a defensive posture to an offensive posture. This will be difficult for most, but not impossible by the grace of God. Before we move to an offensive position it’s absolutely imperative that we are a Holy Sanctuary for God through the Holy Spirit sitting on the throne in our hearts. We have the rules of engagement from God. We have both offensive and defensive weapons from God. We have all the Spiritual gifts from God to be used even in our day. We have God’s providence of opening and closing doors. We have the power of God to overcome every obstacle. We have the confidence of God. We will start with the rules of engagement. We will not follow the ways of the world that constantly finds fault in others, nor do we tear them down, or use vulgar language against them, which we see in every opposing political candidate. On the other hand, soldiers of the Cross will confront others with their sin but always in a way that leads them to a path of righteousness and an amazing joy in the Lord. We seek to discover their problems not to tear them down but to help them to overcome their problems with sound biblical counsel and a loving heart (Romans 15:14, Williams). We always speak words of exhortation, love, and encouragement.

As we put on the full armor of God, we immediately recognize both offensive and defensive weapons. Beginning with our defensive weapons we have the helmet of salvation always growing spiritually from one degree of glory to another, then we have our loins girded about with truth keeping us in God’s way as opposed to mankind’s way, which allows us to put on the breastplate of righteousness. With salvation, spiritual growth, and internalizing God’s truth, which allows us to put on the breastplate of righteousness, we will stand firm as God’s soldiers of the Cross. Now we come to the greatest defensive weapon, the shield of faith that quenches the fiery darts of the evil one. The powers of darkness are destroying humanity and the lukewarm church for their lack of faith. When fallen humanity stopped believing the truth that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness (II Peter 1:3), then they opened the door to psychology and the fiery darts of the wicked leading them into a life of bondage, endless counseling, and drug addiction. Until we have fully put on our defensive weapons of salvation, spiritual growth, biblical knowledge written on our hearts, and total faith in God, then the offensive weapons will be most difficult to use causing you to be less effective as a soldier of the Cross.

Now, we turn to the offensive weapons, the Gospel of peace, and the sword of the Spirit. The Gospel of peace does not storm capitals, or divide a nation with civil war, but it does break down the barrier that separates humanity from a loving God. The Gospel of Peace leads them out of bondage to the loving hands of Jesus Christ through repentance and death to self. Memorize the Gospel presentation below that leads to freedom and a new joyful life in Christ. Now, as God leads we take up the sword of the Spirit and brandish it against the evil one working in the souls of fallen humanity. The sword of the Spirit pulls on the Word of God written on your heart to counter every lie concocted by the devil. We wield the sword against every deception, every falsehood, and every scripture quoted out of context to prove a point or win an argument. With every Spiritual gift, we come against every virus, disease, sickness, and demonic possession. We are trusting in God’s providence to deliver everyone according to His divine will. We come against the outrageous lies of preachers, false prophets, and the political elite with all sufficient truth of God’s Holy word. Every time we wield the sword of the Spirit we wait for our all-powerful God to open and close doors. We never attempt to go through a closed door in our own power, but we wait for God to open the door. Many times we may need to simply shake the dust off our feet and move on.

Finally, we have the power and confidence in God to go where no man has gone before. As a soldier of the Cross, God will lead you to do things that you never thought possible. You will see miracles from entertaining angels unaware to seeing food multiplied on a barren table, and from casting out demons to witnessing people, that you have laid hands on, healed by the grace of God. You will see the darkest of sinners repent and grow into the most loving individuals. You will see people set free from the bondage of psychology and drug addiction, by overcoming their old problems and rejoicing in their new life in Christ. The greatest blessings are to see people participate in the divine nature, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and become effective soldiers of the Cross. This is all precipitated by God’s loving providence and through His magnificent power to overcome every obstacle. In the Spirit we see the doors opening for the next miracle of His grace. We feel His power radiate out from us to perform  His amazing miracle to the glory of God. In faith, we have a new sense of confidence never felt before, not in our ability but in God’s power. We can’t, but He can; and if we don’t, then He will. In conclusion, let me encourage you to connect with other soldiers of the Cross reaching out, together touching others, and changing the world for Christ. We are soldiers of the Cross walking in all of God’s blessings to the glory of God. Amen

The Gospel Presentation

We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, which explains the many difficulties that you are currently facing in your life. Well, I have good news, God has solved that problem by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who was born of a virgin to show us the way to a beautiful new life in Christ. God has dealt with all of our sins past, present, and future by having His son pay the debt for our sins. Jesus Christ willingly went to the Cross in our stead by allowing all of the world’s sins to be placed upon Him as a sacrificial Lamb. As Christ hung on the Cross, the wrath of God was poured out on Him to pay the penalty for our sins. Jesus Christ died on the Cross and was buried for three days. On the third day, Christ arose from death to life everlasting. The good news is if we believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then we will be forgiven for all of our sins and receive the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will lead us into all truth helping us in the transformation process of putting off the old life, allowing the old sin nature to die with Christ, and then putting on our new life in Christ by being raised with Christ to everlasting life. You can accept Christ today by confessing your sins to Him through a simple prayer asking Him to forgive you and make you into a new creation filled with the Holy Spirit. If you have done that, then you have just begun the greatest journey of your life that leads to heaven and eternal life. Welcome to the Kingdom.

Get  a  copy  of  my  new  book  by  Clicking  Here