By: Dale Weckbacher
Ephesians 6:12
For we[d] are not fighting
against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the
unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil
spirits in the heavenly places.
(NLT)
God created this world as a pristine place of beauty. However, Satan the deceiver was also present
in the pristine Garden of Eden and as he always does, used his deception to
tempt Adam and Eve, leading to their disobedience and eviction from the
pristine garden. Fortunately for us all,
before their eviction God promised Adam and Eve a savior would be born of the
woman and provide salvation (Genesis 3:15).
One of Satan’s greatest strategies is one of
distraction. He uses this strategy to
take our focus from the one who has the solution to the challenges we encounter
in life and instead causes us to focus on the problems. In Ephesians 6:12, Paul is encouraging the
embattled church in Ephesus to refocus on the real enemy in our world. He then goes on to list the weapons of
spiritual warfare God has given us (Ephesians 6:13-17) thus changing the focus
to God who has given us victory over Satan through Jesus’ finished work on the
cross (John 19:30).
Unfortunately, a splintered and divided church has been
rendered ineffective in fulfilling its mission of spreading the Gospel around
the world (Mark 16:15). However, the
good news is that it is never too late for the body of Christ to unite in its
mission and on June 11, 2017, an event is occurring giving the church an
opportunity to unite and give people the opportunity to accept God’s free gift
of salvation. This event is occurring in
my home city of Phoenix Arizona at the University of Phoenix stadium and is
called Harvest America.
If you live in the Phoenix Area, I encourage you to make
plans to attend. If you do not live in
the Phoenix area, do not fret for you have an opportunity to attend online by
hosting the event either in your church or even in your home. Details of the event can be found at https://harvestamerica.com/event-details
and details about hosting the event if you do not live in the Phoenix area can
be found at https://harvestamerica.com/host-the-simulcast.
While events like this are great, they are only a door
providing people an opportunity to begin the journey of a life serving Jesus as
their savior. The wonderful thing about
this event is that it involves local churches both in the area in which the
event occurs as well as local churches and communities remotely hosting the event. This event has the unique ability to unite a
splintered church through technology, fulfilling the vision of Christ of a
strong united church (John 13:35).
In preparation for this event, I encourage those reading
this to,
1)
Pray – We are in a spiritual war for the souls
of men and women around the world. Satan
knows he was defeated at the cross and does not want people to know Jesus has
provided salvation for their sins through his death, burial, and
resurrection. We therefore must pray for
those we know that do not know Christ, praying that any obstacles Satan places
in their path that would prevent them from attending this event are removed.
2)
Invite – People are not just going to
miraculously show up for this event and must be invited. Many reading this are probably uncomfortable
sharing the gospel directly with their friends or family so this event is a
tremendous opportunity to invite them to hear the Gospel from someone
else.
3)
Bring people with you – Unless distance prevents
you from doing so, I encourage everyone to not just invite people to this event
but to take them with you either to the event or to a location hosting the
event.
4)
Serve – There are opportunities to serve either
at the event in Phoenix or at locations hosting the event. If you will be attending the event in
Phoenix, you can sign up to serve at https://harvestamerica.com/serve
or get with the person or church hosting the event in your community and ask
how you can serve.
Our lost and dying world must see a church united in
spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Let us use this event as a springboard in beginning this unification
process.
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