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Spiritual War: Our Objective, part 3 of 3 - Decisive Points

 

A decisive point is a place where, if a battle were fought and won there, it would be a decisive victory, one that influences the whole war.

In the war for souls, the battles must be fought in every location on earth because our Lord Jesus Christ sent us everywhere.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28:19).

“He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem’” (Lk. 24:46–47).

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

However, some places in particular are decisive points, and taking them will get the message to all places faster. If we want to reach the whole, then we should know what sort of places to concentrate on. Two questions determine whether a point is decisive: 1) Is it important? 2) Is it feasible?

Here are two biblical examples. First, in Ephesus:

“Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:8–10).

In Thessalonica:

“You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath” (1 Thess. 1:6–10).

These two cities were important and feasible, and they were therefore decisive in the effect they had on Asia, Macedonia, and Achaia.

Many years ago when praying about where to minister, I knew I wanted to go to a decisive point. There was no question in my mind that taking New York City would be decisive. If it could be taken it would mean that Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Broadway, NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News, and ten million people would be saved. It would shake the world. It would be the greatest revival in history. However, I did not have the resources to bring the principles of war to bear on this stronghold of Satan. In other words, New York City could have been decisive, but it was not feasible. Without feasibility, a point is not decisive.

The Lord led me to small towns with major universities. The university makes such a place important. The small town makes it feasible. These are decisive points in any given state. Every student generation moves throughout the state and even the country upon graduation, and they can carry the message of Christ with them as they go. As in Ephesus, the battle can be fought in one place and win the whole state.


*Excerpted from Weapons & Tactics. To purchase, visit ccmbooks.org/bookstore.

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