Take The Offensive For God!
By Wesley L. Duewel
It was never God's intention that Israel keep sitting on the banks of the Red Sea singing day after day: "Rolled away, rolled away, rolled away; every burden of my heart rolled away." It was not God's intention that Israel wander in circles in the wilderness for 40 years. God brought them out of Egypt to make them conquerors over Canaan. He wanted them to attack, to possess the promised territory, to drive out their foes. God intended for every closed gate to open before them or else for the walls of opposition to be crumbled to the ground and smashed to bits before His own victorious, advancing army.
God called Moses to attack the enemy, not to defend Israel. The call of God to Joshua was to attack, not to defend. God promised Moses to go before Israel, to send the fear of God on their enemies, and to help them to advance as mighty conquerors. David was surrounded by Philistines who wanted him to be kept busy fighting a defensive warfare. God told him to wait for the sound of the movement of God's own angelic host (2 Sam. 5:24) and then to attack: and David drove the enemy from city to city till the enemy was banished from the country.
Jesus Christ is Captain of God's host – not to defend the church, but to lead the church onward conquering and to conquer. The Holy Ghost was given on the day of Pentecost, not just to keep the church blessed, but to enable the church to advance for God to every nation, tribe, and creature.
The weapons with which God supplies us in our spiritual warfare are for our right hand and our left (2 Cor. 6:7), that is, not merely for defense (the left hand), but for attack (the right hand). The weapons of our warfare are mighty through God to the pulling down of Satan's strongholds (2 Cor. 10:4). We are called to cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God (v. 5).
What do all these scriptures mean? We are to advance for God against every stronghold of Satan. We are to challenge each locked door, to batter down each opposing wall. We are to move mountains from our way and cast them into the sea (Matt. 17:20; 21:21). Christ even suggests that the very gates of hell will not be able to prevail, that is, hold out against us (Matt. 16:18); and immediately in the next verse mentions placing the very keys of the kingdom of heaven in our hands! It was not just Peter who had use of the keys. Thank God Peter did, in a very special way. But holy men and women of God are still unlocking doors in the face of the devil. This is suggested in Matthew 18:18-20, where Christ repeats the same theme of binding and loosing, and states that this is based upon two or three agreeing upon something which they ask in prayer, for where two or three gather together in His name He is always present.
Oh, how far short we have been coming of all that God intended for us to do in this world! What tremendous privileges and powers the Holy Spirit places in our hands, and yet we have hardly learned the ABCs of what He longs to teach us. We are so thrilled when God answers a prayer or two for us, and are content to testify about it and cherish its memory for months afterward.
God wants us to realize that this is but a sample of all He longs to do for us. He wants to lead us constantly in His procession of triumph (2 Cor. 2:14-16). He wants us to be triumphant in every place. He wants us to see miracles of His transforming grace repeatedly. He wants us to be more than conquerors – not just in our own personal experience, but in the spreading of the Gospel.
Why did Christ pray hour after hour, day after day? Was it just to pray for Himself? For whom was Jesus weeping? For Himself? No! For perishing hard-hearted Jerusalem! For the fields white unto harvest! God forgive us for spending so much time praying for ourselves and not launching out into a prayer battle for cities and nations. God forgive us for so readily accepting Satan's "NO's" for our answer, for reconciling ourselves to limitations which Satan, and not God, has placed upon us.
God is calling us to personal total surrender, total obedience, and total sacrifice. God is calling us to lift our eyes beyond ourselves, our problems, our needs, and our desires. God is calling us to take the world upon our hearts. God is calling us to total spiritual conquest. This is the day for advance. This is the day for miracles. This is the day for holy offensive warfare for God!
– Reprinted by permission of Wesley L. Duewel, from God's Revivalist and Pillar of Fire.