Do Not Be Afraid

As those in the church look around them, they may be just as tempted to quake at the forces arrayed against them as ancient Israel was when the considered the "iron chariots" of the Canaanites, the unbelievers have governments and armies and police and universities and lawyers and corporations and the media and false religion and demons and a myriad of temptations, they might say "how can we possibly compete against that?"

What do we have? We have God! We too know we are on the winning side, for our Lord Jesus Christ has triumphed over all the powers that stood against us: Col. 2:15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Romans 8:37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

So as Calvin put it, "The sum, therefore, is that, amidst the very clang of arms, they must not be in such confusion as not to recognize that they are under the guardianship of God, or to lose the confidence they will be safe in reliance on His power"