Hit him! (Or, the Christian Life is a Fighting Life)
Quit letting the devil beat you down. Fight back!Resist him!Resist him!Resist him!Contrary to what a lot of you learned in Sunday School, Christianity is a worldview that calls you to fight. So don't just stand there, fight. Fight back. Listen to Scripture:
Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith... 1 Peter 5:8-9
That's a command! Full of firm faith in God and his gospel, fight back. Resist your adversary the devil. Why are you standing there, bleeding and shy?PUNCH BACK!Stand on the Word of God, and hit back. The Christian life is a fighting life.Did you hear what the text says? The devil prowls around "like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." You have an enemy. He's like a hungry lion wanting to destroy you and people you love. What are you going to do about? Don't just stand there and take it. That's not Christianity.Stand up, get a hold of your Bible, and fight back. Hit him! Hit the starving lion until he runs away bruised. Hit him so hard that he knows where your punches are coming from--you're a person full of faith in God and his Word. Make use of your Romans 8 uppercut, your Psalm 23 jab, and your Revelation 21 hook.Brothers and sisters, f you want to be used by God, Satan will attack you. Satan hates you. Good. Now that you know you have an enemy, now that you know someone hates you and is out to destroy you, you've got permission to fight back.Everything changed in my Christian life when I realized that fighting is central to the Christian life. I learned that my passion for fighting, the football field, competition, hating injustice, and standing up for what's right didn't have to be shelved so that I could be a nice Christian boy who tucks in his shirt and wears Dockers. Men and women (and I'm especially talking to you men), that fighting fire you feel in your gut is to be on full display in your Christian life. You have an enemy. Jesus commands you fight back, to resist your enemy, to cock back your right arm and hit him.Hit him!Hit him!Hit him!Listen to pastor E.V. Hill inspire us to "hit him!"