The Battle For Hearts And Minds
The Battle for Hearts and Minds - Part 1
What must be done to win the fight for the hearts and minds of the world?
'The tools of our trade aren't for manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.' 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (The Message).
Over recent months, the world watched with a mixture of horror and hope the conflict in Iraq.
Many people would say it was inevitable, that something had to be done about the butcher of Baghdad. Others who claimed to detest Saddam and his ways, opposed war on philosophical or pragmatic grounds, saying that there must be other ways to deal with the threat he represented. And, of course, the after-war process is still an unfolding story.
Whatever your view of the war, you cannot have remained unaffected by the constant stream of pictures and reports coming out of Iraq. Journalists imbedded in active military units saw firsthand what was happening as the battle progressed and reported their view of events to a world hungry for the most up-to-date information.
Unless you were living on the planet Xafod, you've been hearing a lot of names that were previously unknown to you. Names of places that until recently you'd never heard of, but which you now recognise as central to the unfolding story of this conflict. Names like Basra, Tikrit, Mosul and Baghdad.
During the invasion of Iraq, these cities took on a special importance, and not just because they were centres of population or industry. These cities were important to both sides because they were strongholds. A stronghold has been defined as, 'a centre set up in support of a cause.' Even those who opposed the war recognised that these cities were centres defending the regime of a dictator in the face of attack.
As I followed the events of this conflict in Iraq, I was reminded of some of the things it will take for us to really impact nations with the gospel.
Whatever your view of the war, I ask you to suspend judgement here just for the purpose of an illustration. When it comes to using war as a picture of spiritual truth, I feel I'm on safe ground, for Paul often did the same. Even Jesus used military metaphors.
What must we do to impact cities and nations with the good news about Jesus?
1. Stop Behaving Like a Defending Force, Start Acting Like an Invading Army!
For centuries, the Christian church influenced every part of life in the Western world (politics, arts, education, everyday lives of people). But we are no longer the 'ruling power' in the West. We are outsiders in a territory that was once our own. Now, we need to win it back! We need to stop playing defence and go on the attack.
A stronghold is, by nature, set up for defence, not attack. Strongholds are immobile and entrenched, so they're not much use to an advancing army bent on conquest. Strongholds are only of use to a state under siege. If a stronghold exists, someone somewhere is expecting an attack. If the enemy has strongholds, he's the one expecting to defend something - not us!
Satan only has one cause: to prevent people from hearing the gospel and learning to live in God's power. He has set up centres that support that cause. These centres are often attitudes that have been produced in people through their mental and emotional conditioning, and which Satan uses to his advantage.
Many Christian leaders start out with a holy fire in their belly and a passion in their bones; but along the way they get frustrated, disappointed, disillusioned and cynical. They come to see themselves as representatives of their culture instead of agents sent from God; living epistles of a safe life instead of radical apostles of abundant life.
Some settle for church politics instead of world reform. They settle for small amounts of status when God has called them to large amounts of influence.
2. Identify Our Real Goal in the Fight
When a stronghold comes down, there's always a power vacuum to fill. Once the enemy had been deposed in Iraq's stronghold cities, looting often broke out and lawlessness increased. We were all reminded that there's not much point winning the war if you can't then restore the peace. When you take on strongholds, you'd better have a powerful vision of what you want to take their place.
Many Christians focus on the fight. They make it an end in itself. They think that by shouting at the devil and naming his demons they can change a city… All they do is put on a show for the demons to watch.
The fight is just a means to an end. The goal isn't to tear something down, but to build something up, not to defeat the enemy, but to make God's name great.
Warfare is about lifting high the name of Jesus; when you're making God famous, the process is just as important as the end result - because the process itself makes God famous. In Egypt, the children of Israel couldn't understand why they went through all the oppression they suffered at the hands of Pharoah.
Why did God continue to allow Pharaoh to harden his heart, and put even more pressure on Israel? Later, though, throughout the challenging days of their exodus and the conquest of Canaan, they would often look back and remember that theirs was God who would not share his glory with another; a God who could challenge not only the greatest kings of men, but the gods those kings devised. Theirs was a God who could get you through anything!
3. Realise Our Ultimate Victory
Strongholds are not always as powerful as they first appear. The invading coalition forces were surprised by the lack of resistance they faced in most places.
They had endured the bullying words, strong threats and powerful accusations; but when it came down to it, there was very little fight behind the fury. Even when they felt outnumbered, their victory was sure because their weapons were vastly superior to those of the enemy.
The enemy makes his accusations and his threats to harass us, but his cause is already defeated and strongholds must come down! God has revealed the future and the future is the Kingdom of God.
© Mal Fletcher 2003
|
