Bible Study Will you take a stand?

[SillySeth]

Today I was reminded of the battle we, as followers of Jesus Christ, are in. As I walked down the halls of my high school, I saw the fate of humanity without Christ; I saw the world. It was in this moment, that I came to the outstanding realization, Satan has power. My friends, if you believe in Jesus Christ and you want to serve Him, you are in battle. The battle didn’t just start, but it has been going on since Eve ate of the apple. Talk about a long war! And we have people complaining about Iraq! (Ok… that was supposed to have a little humor in it.)

This is something to ponder. People are always spitting out the numbers of causalities in Iraq and World War 11, Vietnam, and the Civil War. What about the biggest war going on? How many people have died, and lost in this battle versus Satan? I’m assuming the numbers are beyond our intelligence. The numbers are so big, we wouldn’t even know how to start! So what? You ask. Well, I don’t want to lose. No, I want to live in the light, I want God to be my Savior, I want to serve the Everlasting God and not lose against a fallen angel! What about you?

Where do you stand on the battlefield? I hate to say this, but if you are not fighting and you are not concerned about this, then you might have already lost. Satan has already won. So stand up! Fight! God is looking for people who will serve Him, put Him first, and will fight against the devil.

How? Well… that’s pretty easy. It’s you. Satan wins when He gets you to turn your back on your commitment to God. Satan wins when you sacrifice the cross for friends. Satan wins when you (guys) watch a girl walk past you and you turn your head “check her out.†Satan wins when you (girls) decide to spread a rumor around about your best friend. Satan wins on a daily basis, through little, minute things. They may seem to be little to us, but these things add up, the build, and before you know it; the darkness has taken over. That is what I saw today walking down the hallways of my high school. I saw Satan winning.

This is my challenge. Let’s stop and let’s fight! I’m not suggesting we hide or we stop being in the world. No! Christ calls us to be in the world but not of the world. So don’t think I’m some radical monk who wants us to hide and prevent living. NO! That is not what I am saying. I am saying that we live in this world, but we live to a higher standard. When Satan comes tapping at our shoulder we will turn and say “Get away from me, Satan!†I’m suggesting we take the love of Christ and share it in this dark world. I’m suggesting we look at the darkness around us, and we extinguish it with Christ=light.

Yeah, I probably haven’t said anything that is theoretically new or something that you haven’t already heard, but I want to remind you that we are in battle. The battle is real. Satan is real. He isn’t joking around. If we want to live for Christ, if we want to have an authentic relationship with Christ, we can’t simply stand around and watch Satan ruin over our generation! No! We must take a stand and fight! Fight with love! Fight with salvation! Fight with Christ has your mission, goal and purpose!

Are you willing to fight to save your generation? Are you willing to stand on the sidelines and watch Satan wipe out your friends? Are you going to stand there and watch your friends become depressed because they don’t know the solution and you do? The call is urgent. The battle is real. It is here.

 

[BFSmith764]

Today I was reminded of the battle we, as followers of Jesus Christ, are in. As I walked down the halls of my high school, I saw the fate of humanity without Christ; I saw the world. It was in this moment, that I came to the outstanding realization, Satan has power. My friends, if you believe in Jesus Christ and you want to serve Him, you are in battle. The battle didn’t just start, but it has been going on since Eve ate of the apple. Talk about a long war! And we have people complaining about Iraq! (Ok… that was supposed to have a little humor in it.)

This is something to ponder. People are always spitting out the numbers of causalities in Iraq and World War 11, Vietnam, and the Civil War. What about the biggest war going on? How many people have died, and lost in this battle versus Satan? I’m assuming the numbers are beyond our intelligence. The numbers are so big, we wouldn’t even know how to start! So what? You ask. Well, I don’t want to lose. No, I want to live in the light, I want God to be my Savior, I want to serve the Everlasting God and not lose against a fallen angel! What about you?

Where do you stand on the battlefield? I hate to say this, but if you are not fighting and you are not concerned about this, then you might have already lost. Satan has already won. So stand up! Fight! God is looking for people who will serve Him, put Him first, and will fight against the devil.

How? Well… that’s pretty easy. It’s you. Satan wins when He gets you to turn your back on your commitment to God. Satan wins when you sacrifice the cross for friends. Satan wins when you (guys) watch a girl walk past you and you turn your head “check her out.†Satan wins when you (girls) decide to spread a rumor around about your best friend. Satan wins on a daily basis, through little, minute things. They may seem to be little to us, but these things add up, the build, and before you know it; the darkness has taken over. That is what I saw today walking down the hallways of my high school. I saw Satan winning.

This is my challenge. Let’s stop and let’s fight! I’m not suggesting we hide or we stop being in the world. No! Christ calls us to be in the world but not of the world. So don’t think I’m some radical monk who wants us to hide and prevent living. NO! That is not what I am saying. I am saying that we live in this world, but we live to a higher standard. When Satan comes tapping at our shoulder we will turn and say “Get away from me, Satan!†I’m suggesting we take the love of Christ and share it in this dark world. I’m suggesting we look at the darkness around us, and we extinguish it with Christ=light.

Yeah, I probably haven’t said anything that is theoretically new or something that you haven’t already heard, but I want to remind you that we are in battle. The battle is real. Satan is real. He isn’t joking around. If we want to live for Christ, if we want to have an authentic relationship with Christ, we can’t simply stand around and watch Satan ruin over our generation! No! We must take a stand and fight! Fight with love! Fight with salvation! Fight with Christ has your mission, goal and purpose!

Are you willing to fight to save your generation? Are you willing to stand on the sidelines and watch Satan wipe out your friends? Are you going to stand there and watch your friends become depressed because they don’t know the solution and you do? The call is urgent. The battle is real. It is here.

It is very true that we (Christian) are in a battle; the longest battle that any one has ever waged. But the truth is though, only God's people are fighting against Satan. The rest of humanity have been captured/deceived by Satan, and we too were deceived into Satan’s war against God, His people.

Satan has already loss this battle; it’s just a matter of time for us to see that reality with our eyes. The vast majority of humanity that have died without being saved, are not doomed; they too are awaiting there resurrection from the dead. But there resurrection will not be a resurrection into immortal life. There resurrection will be back to there former state of existence. The Bible says that all those that are in the grave will hear His (Jesus) voice and come forth. The scripture indicates that when one dies, saved or not is in some unknown place. The righteous are separate from the unrighteous, but they are able to see and communicate with each other.....they are dead to us, but not to God. The scripture tells us that when human beings die (this includes the saved and the unsaved) there spirit (the spirit in man) goes back to God. It does not say that it goes to heaven; it simply says it goes back to God.

Scriptures else where tells us that the dead with out Jesus will be saved, at least the vast majority will accept salvation, after they are brought back from the dead in what the Bible calls the second resurrection. Some few will chose not to and will be destroyed at the end, when God will create the new heaven and earth. This is not a second chance as some might call it.....they were never given a first chance to begin with. Remember that Jesus said that no one can come to Him unless the Father that sent Him calls him. God has to act on someone's mind in order for that individual to want to seek God.