It is important to understand that we, the church, have been in a war and have sustained insurmountable losses. The word insurmountable means, “too great to be overcome.” That definition in itself sounds hopeless from man’s perspective and if we continue with the man-made church, it will be hopeless. For hundreds of years, generation after generation, the church has tried to overcome our enemies in their own strength and by their own hands, which is futile and only makes matters worse. The church even formulated doctrines and theology to justify what their hands have made. This required changing scripture and giving new meaning to the word of God so as to appease their own appetites. Romans 16:17 “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.” And during all this time, the church has become comfortable sitting in the darkness, captives of their enemies, and powerless, all the while claiming that they are serving God but too deceived to repent so that God would actually come near as they say He is. Micah 3:11 “Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.” Amos 5:14 “Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. 15 Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.”

    With man’s own strength, defeating our enemies is impossible, but with God everything is possible for him who believes. They brought a boy to Jesus that had an impure spirit. Mark 9:14 “When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. 16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked. 17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.” 19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” 20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” 25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” 26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up. 28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” 

    Today’s church has a prayer and belief problem and therefore a power problem. Jesus had cleared the temple of all those selling things, Mark 11:17 “and as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” This also mean the church has an anointing problem, meaning there is no power. Take this same situation to almost any church, even charismatic, and this boy would not be healed. In many churches people will be worse off that they were before. 2 Corinthians 11:14 “And no wonder, for satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” James gives us a parameter for the healing power of the church. James 5:14 “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Healing and casting out demons is not happening as it should be. Don’t be  deceived by the charismatics who say that happens on a regular basis. 

    Man has created a man-made church and is very proud of what they can do with their own hands, but when it comes to casting out demons and healing the sick, they are thankful for the hospitals and institutions to help heal, even though they do not come close to the power of God. Matthew 9:35 “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” Mark 6:12 “They (disciples) went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” The church has been like those who disobeyed in Numbers who thought they could go out in their own strength. The spies who spied out the land came back with a report of fear. Numbers 13:31 “But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” Numbers 14:1 “That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” The God said, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, 22 not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.” Only Caleb and Joshua would see the land. 36 “So the men Moses had sent to explore the land, who returned and made the whole community grumble against him by spreading a bad report about it— 37 these men who were responsible for spreading the bad report about the land were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord.” 

    Here is the part that the church has been doing for generations. In their presumption, they think they are actually going out in the name of the Lord but in reality, they have disobeyed and rebelled just as these people did. Even though God had said no man would stand against them and everywhere they set their foot would be theirs, they viewed the land and the enemy with human eyes and with human power and it seemed insurmountable in their eyes. And yes, it was insurmountable but not with God. After Moses told them what God said, Numbers 14:40 “Early the next morning they set out for the highest point in the hill country, saying, “Now we are ready to go up to the land the Lord promised. Surely we have sinned!” 41 But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed! 42 Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, 43 for the Amalekites and the Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword. 44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.” 

    You cannot rebel against God and expect Him to be with you. This is why the church is not seeing the power God has available to all who believe and the church will do as Jesus did. If the church was obeying, our enemies would not prevail against us just as Jesus told Peter. Matthew 16:15 “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.” Many read scripture thinking this will happen, but at the same time they refuse to obey and follow other gospels. If we did obey, the church would do as Jesus did and have the power described in scripture. The power that the church was supposed to have could be seen when a vast army came against King Jehoshaphat. 2 Chronicles 20:3 “Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.” He said 12 “For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” Then the Spirit of the Lord said, 15 “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you. 20 Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” The enemy proceeded to destroy each other. 29 “The fear of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.”

    We saw this kind of power when King Sennacherib attacked Jerusalem. Isaiah 37:1 “When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord.” They sent word to the prophet Isaiah and said Isaiah responded. 3 “This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. 4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives. 5 When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. 7 Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’” When an army like Sennacherib’s has you surrounded, that would be insurmountable but not with God. Isaiah said 31 “Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. 32 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. 33 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: “He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. 34 By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city,” declares the Lord. 35 “I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!” 36 Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!” Insurmountable, yes, but not with God.

    The church today has decided to fight in their own strength and with their own hands but still remain in darkness and captivity. The power of God that we see all though the Old and New Testaments is the same power available to the church today. If the church turns from their wicked ways, we will once again have the power to destroy our enemies.