I used to wonder, why when God gave Joshua such promises of victory, were there any left who opposed God in the land promised to Moses and Joshua? God said to Joshua –

Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. – Joshua 1:2-5

God Himself gives the answer to this question at the end of Joshua’s life –

Now these are the nations which the LORD left, to prove Israel by them, even as many of Israel as had not known all the wars of Canaan; Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof; – Judges 3:1-2

Every generation has to learn for themselves how to defeat the enemy. It is not enough to just hear stories of the battles and victories, they must be experienced. As one saint has said, “God has no grandchildren, only children.” Each generation must overcome for itself and each individual must taste the victory personally. It is what Jesus meant when He told Nicodemus, “You must be born again”.

But, who is our enemy? There are many who will tell you the enemy is a Muslim, or a homosexual, or communists, or some other race – but they would be wrong. The Apostle Paul tells us who our enemy is – 

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. – Ephesians 6:12

It is Satan and his forces. “Like a roaring lion  your adversary the devil walks about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Each believer is called to this battle and we have the encouraging promise that we cannot lose –

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” – Revelation 12:10, 11

But no one sends a soldier into the battle without first being trained. This is where family and parents are so important. It is their joy and responsibility to train and equip their children for the battles to come.

But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. – Hebrews 5:14

Ladies and gentlemen, the kingdoms of this world are going to become the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that includes the United States! No caliphate, nor empire will stand before Him.

All the political maneuvering, lies, accusations, bribery to get political favor will be exposed for what it is – man’s vain attempt to build his own kingdom. While we have been encouraged by our founding fathers to “prefer and elect” Christians as our leaders, only those endeavors built upon the foundation Christ laid will last.

The truth is, Satan has a well organized army that is mobilized to defeat Christ and all who believe in Him. Though his minions are puffed up with their own importance and power; they may fine us for having Bible studies in our homes or expel us from school for daring to quote God’s word. Political forces may mock us for believing Biblical principles of righteousness and honesty but they are only following their leader, Satan. There are no political parties that want the truth of Christ to be their ruling standard because they really don’t believe in Him, even though they may profess themselves to be Christians.

Remember that both Republican elites and Democrat liberals criticized the Reverend Franklin Graham for praying in Jesus’ name at President Bush’s inauguration. It does not matter, we win in the end! They are like the grass that flourishes for a season but soon withers away. The Prince of Peace has come, and of the increase of His government there is no end. Its increase is an unstoppable force and soon He is coming back to claim His throne. God’s advice to the nations in Psalm 2 is “kiss the Son while you may lest His anger is kindled and you perish in the way.”

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. – Isaiah 9:6, 7

How is His kingdom increasing? – in judgment and justice. Those who follow Jesus the Christ are having their senses exercised to discern good and evil. The Holy Spirit is training us to judge every situation, every temptation by holding it up to the light of His Word. When we choose God and His standards, true justice is established.

We are not only cleansed by the blood of the Lamb but it also gives us judgment, the act of discerning between the good and evil. When we testify of the good, the truth, (and that means act on it) God’s justice is lifted up like a light in the darkness. When we give place to no fear but the fear of God – we overcome. Our prayer rises like sweet smelling incense to God. But, remember –

Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour. – Ecclesiastes 10:1

Now the devil knows this, so he tempts us to listen to things we shouldn’t, to look at things we shouldn’t, to act in ways we shouldn’t because he knows that “dead flies in the ointment” gives a foul smell to our prayers so we can’t do the work of the Lord! God wants to reveal to us what He is doing and how to overcome the enemy’s attacks against us, but we must have a spiritual insight to see and hear it. If we feed the natural man, it will grow so strong that we cannot be spiritual. We have to judge the ‘dead flies’ in our ointment, call them sin and turn from them.

I challenge you to prepare for the battle of the ages, so that you too may experience the joy of hearing Jesus say, “Well done, thou faithful servant! Enter into your reward.”