I Samuel 13:17-23

When the sun rose over Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, it seemed like the most unlikely place to start a war.  The weather was perfect.  Light winds.  Cool temperatures.  Blue skies dotted with puffy clouds.  The birds had begun to fill the morning air with the songs given them by their Creator.  Families had begun to get ready for morning church services.  Sailors had prepared for what they believed would be another day of routine tasks.  But abruptly at 7:55, 190 attacking Japanese warplanes shattered the picturesque morning calm.  Using the art of surprise to perfection, six aircraft carriers had moved within striking distance of America’s South Pacific fleet.  In a superbly coordinated attack, wave after wave of Japanese planes strafed and bombed the harbor and airfield.  Supporting them were a number of two-man subs that had silently entered the harbor.  When the attack was completed, 2,330 American servicemen lay dead or dying.  Another 1,145 had been wounded.  Five battleships lay on the bottom of the harbor.  Two destroyers had been reduced to gutted hulks.  A third was badly crippled.  Many other warships were severely damaged and the airfield was virtually destroyed.  The Japanese had found a people unprepared for battle.  By the time the American forces realized that they were under attack, their defenses had been crippled.  As the last Japanese plane disappeared over the horizon, they left behind a fleet that had been effectively destroyed.  [Read a wonderful story of forgiveness between a U.S. and Japanese Soldier.] 

As Christians, we have an enemy that is no less ruthless or cunning.  Every day, he executes carefully crafted plans aimed at our destruction.  Throughout the centuries, he has launched countless Pearl Harbor style attacks aimed at crippling the churches of Christ.  But 2 Corinthians 2:11 states, "We are not ignorant of his devices."

There are four common strategies that Satan employs in his attack against Christianity.  He will try to:

Disarm us – to strip us of our power.
Distract us – to lead us from our purpose.
Disable us – to impair our productivity.
Destroy us – to completely neutralize our potential.

The first is illustrated by 1 Samuel 13:17-23.  Saul is in his second year as king over Israel.  Things could not be going much worse.  The Philistines were camped just four miles from Saul’s capital in Gibeah.  According to verse 5, their army included 30,000 chariots, 6000 mounted cavalry, and a large host of infantry.  Saul had only been able to gather 3000 men, and when they began counting tents in the Philistine camp, over two-thirds of Saul’s force deserted.  Saul was vastly outnumbered. 

To make matters worse, Saul’s army was also seriously outgunned.  In the entire Israeli Army there were only two swords – one each for Saul and Jonathon.  The remainder of the army was armed with clubs and farming tools.  The reason for this, we are told, is that the Philistines had disarmed the people of God.  They had stripped the land of Israel of her weapons and denied her an effective fighting force.

Satan has used the same strategy against the church for centuries.  In 2 Corinthians 10:4, Paul mentions the weapons of our warfare.  When Jesus Christ organized His church, He equipped us for battle.  He did not leave us powerless.  He armed us for conflict.  But many today have allowed the devil to strip them of their weapons, leaving them to fight their spiritual battles with inferior arms.

Satan has nullified the message of the Gospel.  Ro 1:16.  Believing has always been the one requirement of salvation.  Romans 4:3 & Galatians 3:6-9 reveal that  Paul’s aim is to show that the requirement for salvation is the same – simple faith.  When we replace the element of believing with any other condition or combination, our witness becomes powerless.

Satan has neutralized the church.  Ephesians 4:11-16
The purpose of church ministry is: (Verse 12)
a. To mature the saints
b. Mobilize them in service
c. So that we can multiply our outreach

Through the teaching of the Word of God, we can:
a. Help people deal with their problems in a Biblical way
b. Help families build stronger homes
c. Confront the problems of society

Through the fellowship of the saints, we can build relationships and enjoy our worship of God.  These things aid us in achieving our purpose, but they are not the primary purpose of the church.

Today there is widespread confusion over the purpose of ministry.  We need to know the answer to the following questions:
- "Why does our church exist in our community?"
- “Why do we meet together as a local body of believers?”

It is not so we can be entertained.  It is not so we can establish friendships.  These things are wonderful by-products.

The reason God established the local church is so we can come together to be matured in our faith and equipped to serve God for the building up of our local church through outreach and evangelism.  Maturity leads to service and service to evangelism.   The Church is also called to be salt and light in our society.  We are not being salt and light by simply attending church.  This happens by us being seen and heard.  We have been distracted from our purpose if all we do is attend church and help people solve their problems and lead happier, more prosperous lives.

Satan has nullified our effectiveness.
Today, we are very familiar with the subject of disabilities.  We understand that different things, such as blindness and crippling diseases, may cause a person to be disabled.  Often we have no control over these things.  They may be inherited or the result of an accident.  But our enemy Satan deliberately puts things into our paths that are meant to cripple us in our Christian walk.

He uses things like:
Sins of neglect – a failure to pray or study the Bible.
Sinful habits – produce guilt, bring shame, and discredit our witness
Sinful attitudes – a love of money, bitterness towards other people, prejudices, etc.

Today there is widespread confusion over what it means to behave as a Christian.

God never intended for the Church to be isolated from society.  But He does intend for the church to be separated from secular values and practices.  God designed the church to stand out and be distinctly different from the world in which it exists.  God wants to show us off to the world!

One of the most serious disabilities afflicted upon the church today is that the unsaved can look at our churches and our homes and see little difference between their lifestyle and the Christian lifestyle.  In other words, it appears that our beliefs make very little difference in our behavior.  According to Gallup, many Christians watch R rated movies and the non-Christian watches R rated movies - no difference.

Some say that Christian homes break up just about as often as non-Christian homes - no difference.

Conflicts between Christians occurs just as often as conflicts between non-Christians - no difference.

Instead of converting the world, the church has been crippled by the values, philosophies, and practices of the world.

The ultimate desire of Satan for every church and Christian it so destroy us and neutralize our effectiveness.  Like the Philistines in I Samuel 13, he amasses his forces for the purpose of complete destruction.  He is not content to disarm, distract or disable us.  He wants to destroy us.  We can prevent that by maintaining our defenses –
- Not letting him strip us of our power, especially in terms of our message.
- Not allowing him to lead us from our purpose.
- Being careful that we are not disabled as individuals or as a church.

The only way we are able to stand against the schemes of the Devil is by always being prepared for the battle - mentally and spiritually and most defiantly continually.  We must be sober and vigilant because our adversary walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.  Let us not be a people unprepared.

Perhaps the message for the contemporary evangelical church of today is "wake up from our spiritual slumber".  Romans 13:11 and 2 Timothy 2:26.