The Battle Without

Now here is the great news – none of this takes the Lord by surprise, none of it is ‘worse’ than the evils that afflicted Roman society at the time of Jesus, and He has power to break every chain. The only problem is when we do not see these things as seriously destructive to the people of God or their ability to stand in the final day when the battle is most fierce. Our obsession with only being told that which is loving, affirming and ‘kind’ means that we are beginning to lose the radical tough love of Jesus that is the only way to live His life here on earth. The battle without has clearly hotted up, even in moderate Britain, and militant atheism has become far stronger. There is absolutely no need for fear, because Jesus described how the world would look before His return in Matthew 24, and then in Luke He says ‘When you see these things happening look up, for the kingdom of God is near’ (Luke 21:31). There has never been a more challenging or a more exciting time to be alive in the kingdom of God!

An Inspiring Story

After the Battle of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington was asked by a wealthy benefactor to nominate one man who exceeded all others in terms of courage and valour during the battle. He chose Lt. Col. James MacDonnell who, with 1200 men, held the tiny Chateau and farm of Hougoumont all day against 12,000 French troops seeking to break in and consolidate their position. If this strategic place had been lost the Battle of Waterloo would almost certainly have been a French victory. My favourite battle story of all time concerns the moment when James MacDonnell looked into the courtyard of Hougoumont and saw a tall, axe-wielding Frenchman smash open the gates, and the enemy begin to pour into the courtyard. With a roar of outrage MacDonnell called another officer and with a tiny band of four or five men, charged the gate, rammed it shut somehow against the mass of bodies, and held it until the iron crossbar slammed into place, before they turned to capture the enemy within. Hougoumont was held all day until victory was declared.

What Should We Ask God For?

I believe we should ask God for three things in our time: The first is for an increased vision of Jesus, for a longing to meet with and know Him in a way we have never known Him before. Not so much a longing for personal ministry as for Presence.

The second is to ask for a holy outrage such as James MacDonnell had, so that we might together ram shut the breaches in our defences both individually and in the church, so we may deal with the enemy within.

The final thing to ask Him, in terms of the battle for our time, is not that we may stand defending our gates – not at all! Jesus says that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church (Matthew 16:18). Our request should be that we may take ground in the hearts of men, our cities and nations, for our mighty Captain & Commander, our Lord Jesus, while we have life and breath, until the shout goes up that the King has returned.

(Part three of a three-part series).