Ephesians 4:11-13(NKJV) 11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
Yesterday we looked at 1 Corinthians chapter 10. This scripture tells us that what happened to Israel in the Old Testament happened as an example for us. The principles Moses applied at the Red Sea are not only for winning Old Testament wars. They also apply to us and our wars. However there is a difference between the move of God in the Old and New Testaments.
When Jesus came into the earth he changed the emphasis from the nation of Israel to individual people. The only nation Jesus is building is the Kingdom of God. This relates to the application of the Red Sea principles in a similar way to what the first generation of Israelites faced as they were on the brink of entering the promised land. Moses could not win this battle for them. They were going to have to fight and they were going to have to apply these principles themselves. They could not do it.
This is true to an even greater degree for us. We are not a nation. Moses was, in effect, the King of Israel. The people did what they were told. They followed him. He was the focus and his faith was what mattered most. That is not the case with the Body of Christ. We have no kings in the church. We have one Lord who we follow above all others.
Does that mean we do not need leadership? Does that mean that we don’t respect leadership? The New Testament teaches us just the opposite. We are to honor leaders, we are to respond to them in a way that will not cause them grief. We are to submit to those that God has given authority over us because they give account for our souls. (Hebrews 13)
The difference is in the role that they play in our lives. They are not there to be a “Moses” to us. Leaders in the body of Christ cannot live our Christianity for us. They are there to help us grow in Christ. They are there to provide a place for us to fulfill our destiny. They are not there to fight our battles for us.
I believe God wants us to win some wars in 2011. What does that really mean? It means that we are going to win some battles in such a way that we won’t fight those battles again. We will always have battles, but I believe God wants us to resolve some issues this year. He wants us to overcome some things for the last time. He wants to set some things in order in such a way that we will not see them get out of order again. For this to happen we need to apply the Red Sea principles, fear not, stand on the promise and be ready to go forward.
There are two types of wars to be won. We all have some individual wars that need winning. We all know that there are things in our lives that have held on for far too long. There are some sins that we shouldn’t still be struggling with. We know that there are areas of our spiritual lives in which we should be teachers and instead we are still only learners. This is the year to finally get there, at least in some areas.
We also have corporate wars to win. The Kingdom of God in the earth is a very unique entity. It is not an organization so much as an organism. An organism is organized. It has the capacity to function in an orderly manner much like and organization. The difference is that an organism is alive while an organization is not.
We have a calling as the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have been given the great commission to preach the Gospel and make disciples of all nations. We are called together to win people to Jesus. As we do, we will affect the world. However we do not do it through the efforts of great leaders. There have always been great leaders, but the focus is not on them. The focus is on individuals.
As a body, in order for the church to win its wars we must all do our part individually. Just as in any organism, it takes “each joint supplying” what it was designed to supply in order for the whole to work. (Eph 4:16) If we are going to win our corporate war, we each must take our place and win our personal wars. The focus is not on leaders, but leaders have been given so you can be what God made you to be.
You must apply the Red Sea principles to your own battles and wars. If you do you will win, but more than that you will be in the place you need to be to help us win as the Church. We need you in the fight.
We do not have any Moses or even any Joshua. What we have is Jesus. We are his body in the earth. We are capable of all that he was capable of. We can win our wars as he won his. In essence we are Moses and Joshua. Our weapons are the Word of God, the Love of God and the power to impact individuals for the Lord. That is the only way the earth will really change.
That is the power of our fight and why it cannot be stopped. We are not winning wars over governments, economies or cultures. We are not trying to take ground for the Lord, we are winning hearts. No one can stand against that. It is how the Church has changed the world since it began on the day of Pentecost.
Get in the fight. Win your wars this year. Fear not, stand firm on the promises of God and we will go forward. Individually we will see a greater future and corporately we will fulfill our destiny in this generation.
Practical Wisdom from the Word of God 