This week I have come face to face with the realities of how fragile a family can be and how quickly everything can be taken away. In a circumstance where a family has gone through infidelity (no, you don’t know them), everything that was so good fell apart in an instance.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.”
– Genesis 1:28
God’s assignment to man was to be fruitful and increase in number. His assignment to man was to create family. There is an enemy out there known as the anti-Christ, which means anything that Christ is for, the anti-Christ is against. Therefore, the anti-Christ is against family – waging war against anything that builds, uplifts, and protects families.
Here at Lifespring, we have understood that part of our assignment is to be a KINGDOM FAMILY. As we align to our Kingdom assignment, we are in direct opposition to the anti-Christ and he will want to destroy this alignment. The Lifespring Family is precious because it is a taste of heaven on earth. But as the story above shows, it can quickly be devastated.
Donna taught us this past summer on spiritual warfare. She helped us see, through the Scriptures, how to respond to the enemy’s tactics and schemes. We often think of warfare as shields and swords – we are to gather more strength and push back harder! But Donna showed us how to deal with Satan.
But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
– Jude 1:9
Michael, the archangel, is the angel in charge of heavenly warfare. He is the general of all things warfare and in response to a dispute with the devil he did not raise a sword or lift a shield. He did not use warfare in the sense that we would think warfare should be done. He simply told the devil, “The Lord rebuke you!”
Being a son, a husband, a father; being a pastor and father of the house of Lifespring; I can personally say with confidence that family is worth fighting for. There are so many ways and tactics that the enemy will use to try to disrupt and destroy families – but I want to encourage the family to be people willing to fight for your own family and this church family.
We don’t need to be warriors. Instead, we need to respond in the way Michael, the warrior angel, responded – with prayer. Whenever you recognize the enemy trying to steal, kill, and destroy the family – pray against it. Give the battle to God, “the Lord rebuke you!”
Father God, amazing and powerful King, we come before you as a church family recognizing how amazing it is to be aligned to your will. Your favour and goodness over us is more than we could have ever asked or imagine. We know that being a Kingdom Family is your assignment and recognize that there is enemy trying to steal, kill, and devour us. We speak against every strategy and spirit that is against us, we speak against the spirit of enticement, of adultery, of covetousness – to everything that is against family, we say “THE LORD REBUKE YOU”! The battle is not ours, the battle is yours, Father God. Would you bring a spiritual dominance over this house so that the world will see and the world will have a safe place to find family here on earth.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.