(Ep17) Perimeter Defense, Part 2

In this episode, we look at the 3 unique elements of defense that every perimeter needs to be successful.  These elements are stand-off, a secured inner area, and dedicated reserve forces.  As believers, this means that we practice separation from the in our behavior, we maintain our doctrinal strength, and we have believers among us that encourage and help create an atmosphere of hope. Built off of our basic characteristics of defense, these 3 elements create a position that is not easily surprised or overcome by the enemy.

Transcript

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Hello there and welcome back. As usual, get comfortable and settle in with us as we continue episode 17 of Joining the Fight, part two of our conversation on perimeter defense. I'm Kyle Clark from Standing Word Ministries, a Christ-centered ministry dedicated to equipping believers with solid biblical truth and practical training. We create scripture-based curriculum and resources like our workbook, Joining the Fight, to strengthen discipleship, deepen our understanding of scripture, and help others live with purpose as we stand firm in truth and carry the message of Christ forward. If you want to explore more teachings or grab the workbook, head over to standingword.com. Last time we laid the foundation for our church castle, our shared perimeter defense as a believing community. Today we go deeper beyond those basic characteristics to the elements that every successful perimeter defense must incorporate on top of those basics. These are three mission critical elements to effectively resist the enemy, to allow those five basic characteristics to work more successfully. And those are our standoff, a secured inner area, and centralized reserves. Think of it as our outer clearance, our protected core, and what our ready response team looks like. These aren't just military theory, they are how we together keep the light burning bright while darkness continues to try to press in. And first, we create that breathing room every stronghold needs to be successful. When we look at adding these additional elements, our perimeter defense must have standoff. What this means, it must have a clearance around the perimeter for visibility. Distance from the enemy gives our eyes time to see the threat coming. It allows our towers, our watchtowers of awareness to work better. 2 Corinthians 6.17 alludes to what this means for us. It says, Therefore, come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. We are supposed to live separately from the way the world practices. Our behavior must make us distinct as a Christian community. And that starts with having a holy identity, just like it is talked about in 1 Peter 2, verses 9 and 10. Because we are chosen people, a holy nation. That identity isn't a source of pride, it's actually protection. When we live distinctly as God's own, the world's patterns stand out to us as red flags. We can see deception before it gets too close and becomes a part of our perimeter. We must distinguish ourselves as a holy people, as belonging to God. We must follow his ways and not the world's ways. And on top of this, we must maintain that distinction. First Thessalonians 4 1 through 12 talks about this. We shouldn't imitate the patterns of the world's behavior, the world's dress, the world's methods. We live differently, not to judge others, not to be made to feel self-righteous, but to stay alert, to shine, and to carry Christ's message forward without any of those debilitating characteristics that go along with operating like the world. This separation sharpens our witness and keeps the perimeter clear. We must not copy the patterns of this world. The church shouldn't be run like a worldly corporation. It shouldn't be run like a worldly business. It should be stewarded and shepherded and cared for the way God desires us to. A clear field around a fortress lets centuries spot trouble early, and only our holy distinctiveness does the same for us. And this week, to help us do this, we must do the following. Choose one deliberate step to come out and be separate that honors Christ and strengthens our shared ministry of our shared witness. Pray first Peter 2 9 over your church family by name this week with all of these things in mind. Standoff may give us the eyes to see, but we must also lock down the heart, the core of our defenses. We must secure the inner area. This means that as a church body, we must have unified beliefs and a unified sense of commitment. Our defenses are only as strong as their center. Acts 4 32 points to this. Listen to this real quick. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship. This is what Acts 4 32 tells us. And when we look at how we as believers secure our inner area on top of those five basic characteristics, what this means is we must have doctrinal strength within our church. First Corinthians 12, Titus 1, verses 6 through 9, we must constantly renew our minds in clear biblical truth and test every idea we are given against Scripture. This unity of belief prevents division and keeps us anchored when culture shifts around us. We must maintain doctrinal integrity. We must have strong teachers, strong members of our church who are pursuing understanding the gospel more, and we must use that as a strength. They must not only know what Scripture says, they must be able to teach it to the rest of the body. We must strengthen each other. And on top of that, we must be a unified community in purpose. When the inner area is secure, our hearts align around Christ in his word. Infiltration becomes almost impossible, and we stand as a unified body, each part caring for the others. It's not enough to be doctrinally strong. You must put that doctrine into practice, just like Acts 4.32 says, that you must be a unified community in commitment. You must not have 10% of your church stepping up to volunteer for things. You must have 50 and 75% of your church being actively involved, and you must allow them to as well. We as a community must be committed to one another to secure that inner area. Because well-guarded walls around the keep protect the most precious things inside. Those new believers, those children, those teens, those people walking in, hurting, needing us to be what the gospel calls us to be. Our shared commitment to truth and love does exactly that for the church, provides for all of those people in need. And as you go throughout this week, I would like you to pick one core belief, salvation by grace, the authority of scripture, or something else that resonates with you and talk about it with another believer in your church community, in your immediate Christian community. Encourage each other to live this core belief out boldly and ask each other, where is our fellowship drifting from Scripture right now? And pray for realignment. And as we secure that inner area, we must now look to the force that is ready to respond at a moment's notice to any breach that appears amongst our church castle. So our centralized reserves, building on top of our surrender to God, our centralized reserves, our reactionary force of tangible believers in our church must be a force of encouragement. Every defense needs a ready, steady team that rushes to the point of attack with strength and hope. Listen to this. For this to be successful in a church defense to guard our Christian community, we must have a reactionary force that responds to trouble with encouragement. That means building each other up and providing mutual support to each other to instill a resilient fellowship, a resilient community. When we talk about building one another up, we look at 1 Thessalonians 5.11. We speak life, we remind each other of God's promises, and we lift one another up when weariness hits. This is our tangible reaction force to others, encouragement on demand in our church. And when we look at how we provide mutual support, we can look again at Hebrews 10, 24 and 25, but also Ecclesiastes 4, 9 through 12, talking about genuine fellowship, regularly gathering together, providing practical support that keeps us from becoming isolated, that keeps the devil outside of our perimeter, and doesn't allow him to gain a foothold in the lives of those people in our church. Two are always better than one, and a cord of three strands is not easily broken. Reserves stationed at the center of our church, a group of people that we understand that we have committed to having there as encouragement and providers of hope for when others have times of trouble. These reserves stationed at the center can sprint to any part of the wall, any part of our fellowship under fire. And our leadership, our teaching, and our brotherly love make all of this possible to defend our church. This week we should do the following when it comes to our reserves. Decide right now to be someone else's reserve. Send a text, make a call, or meet for coffee specifically to encourage and pray for another brother or sister who's been carrying a heavy load, who you notice through your empathy, commit to one consistent gathering with that person every week, every month. Maybe it's inviting them to a small group, maybe it's a time of prayer with them, maybe it's coffee just before church that builds up resilience within your circle and within your own Christian community. Now, before we wrap everything up, let's close in prayer. Father, thank you for making us a community, not lone soldiers. Give us the courage to maintain our standoff, to live holy and distinct so we can see clearly the enemy's traps for us. Secure our inner area with unified belief and a wholehearted commitment to your word. Raise up a central reserve force among us. Make us quick to encourage, quick to build up, quick to run to another's side. Keep the enemy from finding our gaps. Let us plug those gaps in your name. Let our perimeter shine with your light, our core stand firm on truth, and our fellowship be a source of unstoppable strength for those around us. We defend together because Jesus has already won the war, and in his name, amen. Here is our simple daily rhythm for the church castle this week. Maintain your standoff, secure your inner area, and keep those reserves ready. We don't defend alone, we defend together under the leadership of the one who is building his church, and the gates of hell will never prevail against him. When pressure comes, we don't scramble, we return to these three elements, and we watch God move in our lives and we watch him hold the line for us. In our next episode, we're going to look at how a strong primitive defense becomes a launching point for advance and what types of operations this defense is designed to support. But before we wrap everything up, take a quick moment with us to look and reflect about these challenges for the week. When it comes to your standoff, where do you need to create clear separation from the world so our shared witness stays bright? Look back to 2 Corinthians 6.17. When it comes to the secured inner area, what biblical truth do I need to renew in my heart and discuss with a fellow believer? Look back to Acts 4.32. When it comes to centralized reserves, who needs my encouragement right now and what's one step I will take to build them up? Think back to 1 Thessalonians 5 11. Thank you so much for sitting with us today. Keep that perimeter strong. Keep encouraging one another. And remember, we are in this fight together. See you next time on joining the fight. God bless.