Principles Of War - "Strategy for Group
and Individual Evangelism" continued.....
V.
Security
"The act of retrenchment...shall serve
the defender NOT to defend more securely behind a
rampart but to attack the enemy more successfully."
Clausewitz
Therefore take the whole armor of God, that
you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having
done all, to stand." Ephesians 6:13.
The subject of security may be divided into three parts:
- Intelligence of the enemy.
- Continual protection against the enemy;
- Final stand against the enemy.
Before we can secure from attacks from an
enemy we must know there is an enemy. The nation that
has no enemy is very secure. The nation that has an
enemy but does not think so is very insecure. That nation
could be surprised, completely unprotected.
Intelligence of an enemy ensures knowing who
he is, his intentions and his methods of operating.
This prevents deception and surprise. In physical warfare
this intelligence in gained by listening to everything
the enemy says and reading everything he writes. Since
the enemy does not want his opponent listening in on
everything he says, he establishes safeguards: fences,
guards, soundproof rooms, security checks to expose
spies or traitors, and encryption of his radio and telephone
communications. In order to gain this intelligence the
opponent sends in spies, breaks down fences, steals
safes, bribes or kills guards, taps telephone wires,
and practices cryptanalysis.
Thus, to be secure from the enemy, one must gain
access to his communications while safeguarding all
of his own communications.
In the early months after Pearl Harbor, our carriers
were operating in the Southwest Pacific, our battleships
were out of action, and the Japanese were moving a three-pronged
striking and invasion fleet toward Midway Island and
the Aleutian Chain. There would have been no stopping
this force if it had not been for intelligence of the
enemy. Through cryptanalysis, the U.S. Navy cracked
the Japanese code and moved more planes and submarines
to Midway. The Japanese lost four carriers to air action
while we lost one carrier and one destroyer. This,
the turning point of the war in the Pacific, illustrates
the absolute necessity of intelligence of the enemy
to ensure security.
So it is with the spiritual war. Our enemy is Satan.
We must know who he is, what he does, his intentions
and methods. We can read his history in the Bible and
observe his victories and his defeats in his action
with men. We can also read of his contact with the Son
of God, his failure in the Temptation in the Wilderness
and his defeat at Calvary.
We find that Satan is neither omnipotent nor omniscient
and that he has very definite limitations. Apparently
through ignorance of God's "plan of attack," Satan perpetrated
the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ by blinding
the religious and political leaders of 2,000 years ago.
The Bible says: "...none of the princes of this world
knew (the wisdom of God): for had they known it, they
would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (I Corinthians
2:7,8). This failure of Satan to discern God's plan
was a factor in his defeat, for through the Cross God
wrests men from Satan's group and enlists them into
His eternal Kingdom.
Neither are we omnipotent and omniscient, but we have
access to power and knowledge of which Satan knows nothing.
Christ has revealed to us the wisdom of God, though
it is "hidden" from the world. He also endows us with
His power. Christ said to the apostles: "All power is
given unto me. Therefore go."
There are many things Satan does not know and cannot
do. Let us find out his strength and weakness factors.
"Lest," as Paul says in II Corinthians 2:11, "Satan
should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant
of his devices." Let us discover the information which
is key to our spiritual security.
Intelligence of Satan permits us to set up our defense,
with the reasons for each part of our "armor." Before
we put on the armor we must be strong in the Lord's
strength and power (verse 10). Verses 11 to 13 put the
emphasis upon the whole of the armor and 14 to 20 speak
of the separate parts of the armor and their uses.
Our combatants are not flesh and blood but "principalities,"
"powers," "rulers of the darkness of this world," "spiritual
wickedness in high places" (verse 12), and they are
masterminded by the Devil himself (verse 11). Like
any general, Satan will not attack a strong point if
weak points are available for a breakthrough. He is
a good strategist. We need not fear his strength so
much as his "wiles" (verse 11). The Scripture tells
us twice to put on the "whole armor of God" so there
will be no weak points.
A wall around a city may be strictly defensive, but
armor by definition is not. Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
says of armor: "that conceived of as an offensive or
defensive weapon." A soldier does not cover himself
with armor because he intends to read a good book in
front of his fireplace. He is going off to battle. He
has every intention of going into harm's way. He is
looking for and expecting a fight. Sun Tzu said:
"The good fighters of old first put themselves
beyond the possibility of defeat and then waited for
an opportunity of defeating the enemy."
The Christian warrior who obeys Ephesians
6 has done just this. This soldier employs the various
parts of the armor to put himself beyond the possibility
of defeat. He surrounds himself with truth, he puts
on the breastplate of righteousness, he takes the shield
of faith and dons his helmet of salvation. Then with
the power of the Lord, the preparations of the Gospel
of Peace and the sword of the Spirit, he defeats the
enemy.
If the great objective assigned to us by Jesus Christ
is to "preach the gospel to every creature," then the
smallest whole number of that objective is one single
person. Each individual, like the rest of his fellows,
is an enemy of God in his mind by wicked works (Colossians
1:21). We are surrounded by these enemies. We read their
literature, hear their conversation and participate
in their community. In effect, the prince of this world
and his servants are taking the offensive against the
saints continually. One way to keep from being attacked
would be to keep no company with the wicked. But I Corinthians
5:9-11 tells us that "then must ye needs go out of the
world." Jesus prayed to the Father, "not that thou shouldest
take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest
keep them from the evil" (John 17:15). It is His will
that we be exposed to attack but not defeated. Our divinely
ordered armor provides effective security.
Lt. General William K. Harrison, Jr., in a message
given in Yokosuka, Japan, drew attention to Romans 13:12-14
which says, "let us put on the armor of light," and
"put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision
for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." This indicates,
General Harrison said, that putting on
the armor is putting on Jesus Christ. When we
put on the armor of Ephesians 6 we are putting on Jesus
Christ. He is the truth (John 14:6), He is our righteousness
(I Corinthians 1:30), He is the author and finisher
of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), He is the Gospel (Mark
1:1), He is our Salvation (Exodus 15:2), and He is the
Word (John 1:1).
In physical war, if a nation were continually under
attack and on the defensive we could prophesy ultimate
defeat, surrender and destruction. To prevent this there
must be a final stand. The initiative and the offensive
must change hands before victory could come to the defenders.
This stand is called the defensive-offensive.
In World War II there were four main turning points
which gave the offensive to the Allies. All of these
were great defensive-offensive battles where the defenders
won and afterward took the initiative. Two of them have
already been described in brief. The first battle of
Alamein at the Alam Halfa ridge turned the tide in North
Africa. It is briefly described in Chapter 3: "Concentration."
The Battle of Midway mentioned earlier was the defensive-offensive
battle that reversed the positions in the Central Pacific.
In Europe the crown for defensive-offensive strategy
goes to the Russians [and Chechnians!] in the Battle
of Stalingrad. When it became clear that the city
would not fall the Germans should have called a retreat.
This was not done and the German Sixth Army was annihilated.
The fourth example is the defense of Port Moresby
in New Guinea which resulted in the annihilation of
the Japanese Detachment at Buna.
If there is no turning point the defender will be defeated.
There will be no turning unless a stand is made in a
defensive-offensive battle. Yet, seemingly, in the minds
of many Christians, a defensive position in the spiritual
life is considered a virtue and an offensive position
a sin. Defense is associated with the innocent party,
as though we expect only the wicked to take up the offense.
For this reason the virtuous pride themselves on being
defenders, instead of taking up a powerful personal
witness. This sometimes results in the pathetic situation
of the virtuous enjoying defeat. Let us never forget
that without an eventual offensive, defense only anticipates
ultimate defeat.
The defensive-offensive applies to both individuals
and groups of believers. Have you been only a defender
against sin and sinners? Perhaps it is time for a stand,
a defensive-offensive.
"Therefore stand," and thus make your security sure.
[Be sure to click on "Local church evangelism" and then
on "How To Bring People To Jesus" to access an incredible
resource that will enable you to shift your whole congregation
and any individual Christian within your congregation
from a defensive stance to an offensive
witnessing stance.]
VI.
Surprise
"One belligerent must surprise, the other
be surprised. Only and when the two Commanders play
these respective roles will a battle lead to the annihilation
of one Army."
--General Waldenmar Erfurth
The Old Testament hero Gideon learned the
principles of war by revelation from God, and one of
them was "Surprise." The account in the seventh chapter
of Judges tells us that the amassed armies of the "Midianites
and the Amalekites and all the children of the east
lay along in the valley like grasshoppers." This force
consisted of 135,000. Less than 15,000 got away. We
can say that Gideon with 300 men surprised the enemy
and won a battle of annihilation.
There are only a few elements with which surprise
can be effected: time, place, and method, or any combination
of the three.
However, surprise also depends upon two additional and
essential factors, namely, ignorance on the part of
one commander, and intelligence on the part of the other.
This ignorance may be natural (e.g., incompetence or
inadequate security) or it may be induced (deception).
Gideon's victory, Hannibal's victory at Cannae, the
German invasion through the Ardennes in 1940 and the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor were all aided by the
ignorance of the surprised nation. In the first two
cases deception helped immensely in the execution of
the surprise, and in all four cases the surprising belligerent
kept his intentions and plans secret.
The surprise of Gideon was one of time (night) and method
(lamps, torches, voices, trumpets) and place (three
sides of the camp). The attack on Pearl Harbor was a
surprise of time and place; the weapon was not unusual.
The United States' surprise at Hiroshima and Nagasaki
was primarily one of weapon, although the time and place
were a part of the surprise.
In the spiritual warfare we may use any or all of these
elements of surprise. Surprise can be very effectively
used in evangelism, whether mass evangelism (strategic
surprise) or in personal evangelism (tactical surprise).
In the spiritual war there are two commanders, God and
the Devil. One of them is the Creator, the other is
a created being. God is omniscient, Satan is not. Since
surprise depends upon the ignorance (natural or induced)
of one of the commanders then it becomes obvious that
God cannot be surprised. God is omniscient. He has no
limitations in His intelligence, nor can He be deceived.
This is not true of the Devil. He has been surprised
before. God did not deceive Satan. He just withheld
information from him. The Bible speaks of it over and
over as a mystery. Notice I Corinthians 2:7-8. "But
we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden
wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our
glory: which none of the princes of this world knew:
for had they known it they would not have crucified
the Lord of glory." Our greatest surprise is in the
message itself.
"For when we were yet without strength,
in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely
for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure
for a good man some would even dare to die. But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6-8).
Surprise in warfare means more than "to cause
wonder or astonishment or amazement because of something
unexpected." It means "to attack or capture suddenly
and without warning." The above passage from Romans
5 clearly tells us that the love of Christ expressed
in His death for us is unexpected. If the message is
used with people who are dependent on their own effort
or relative goodness they will be "amazed." If the messenger
catches that man with his defense down he will be "amazed"
and surprised. In other words he will be captured suddenly
and without warning.
Surprise may be increased even more if we combine
the message with a surprise in time and place. To hear
the gospel in a Sunday evening evangelistic church service
is no surprise. It is even possible that the message
itself will surprise no one in the audience. On the
other hand, a personal testimony of the saving grace
of Jesus Christ backed up with the Word of God will
be an effective surprise when it comes from a line officer.
It will surprise tellingly when this occurs in the Officers'
Club, at a cocktail party, in the office, in the field,
aboard ship, or in combat.
It is much easier to be vocal in an evangelical church
than it is in the above places. It is always easier
to train for combat than it is to engage the enemy in
a fire fight. The reason is simple: in the evangelical
church, as in military training, there is no enemy.
The presence of an enemy means fear and knots in the
stomach, even though we have the opportunity to take
the initiative and catch him by surprise.
On the defensive we have no choice but to fight. But
when we have the opportunity to surprise the enemy,
the decision to fight is ours. We would hardly pass
up such an opportunity in physical combat, though it
means fear and the possibility of death. Likewise let
us press our advantages in the spiritual warfare despite
the problems and fears. Do not reject surprise in time
and place.
To forewarn the enemy is to ask for strong resistance
to any attack. The principles of surprise is one of
the prime means of thwarting such resistance. This principle
applies equally in personal evangelism. If we give men
the chance, they will hide, cover up and defend sin.
They will do the same with their ignorance. They will
make a last stand defending sin even if it is only a
bluff. Let us catch men with their guards down. Give
them as little opportunity as possible to hide or defend
sin.
Above all use the Word of God: "For the word of God
is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints
and marrow and discerning the thought and intentions
of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden,
but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with
whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:12,13). This is our surprise
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