He finally said it.  Nearly five years after the September 11, 2001 attacks, President Bush said last week that we are at war against “Islamic fascists.”    This came after the plot to blow up 10 American jet liners was foiled.  Until now, the President has been calling it the war on terror.  Terror and terrorists is a pretty generic term that passes political correctness muster.  If the leader of the free world is finally prepared to call this what it is, perhaps some real progress can be made toward victory.

   For most Americans it doesn’t even feel like a war.  Our lives have not been substantially affected.  Most of us don’t personally know anyone who was killed in the World Trade Center or in the war in Iraq .

   It’s also difficult for us to understand the Muslim mindset.  Even Christians in America usually keep their faith in a neat little part of their life that’s only pulled out on Sundays or special occasions.

   But Muslims do not differentiate between the sacred and the secular.  Islam teaches that worship of Allah will one day be world wide. This will be achieved by Jihad (Holy War).  In other words, they will kill as many of us as necessary to make it happen.  Muslims also do not differentiate between soldiers and civilians; to them, everyone is part of the struggle.  This was clearly seen in the Hezbollah/Israeli war.

   Until Americans believe this is a real war against real people who hate us and want to destroy us, we are not going to have the political will required to defeat this enemy.  The same thing happened with Adolph Hitler in the 1930’s.  British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain is now viewed by history as a weak, naïve buffoon because he did exactly what many American politicians are doing today. 

   These politicians and political pundits are complaining that the lives of 2000 soldiers are too high a price to pay.  They say we should stop insulting these poor Muslims and be nice to them so they will leave us alone.  It’s the same thing they said about Hitler.

   It eventually required the deaths of nearly half a million American soldiers to stop the Nazis and Imperialist Japan.  Had we not used the atomic bomb, that number would have been substantially higher.

   Islam is the only world religion started and perpetuated by violent aggression and war.  Within 100 years of Mohammad’s first vision, his followers had murdered hundreds of thousands of innocent people.  They conquered all of the Middle East , North Africa , and Spain and were marching across Europe .  Had it not been for Charles Martel, King of Gall (France), they would have likely conquered all of Europe in the 8th century.

   Islam has never been a religion of peace.  Anyone who says that is either deceived or a liar.

   One more important point about Islamic belief is the anticipation of a great leader called the “Mahdi.”  Devout Muslims believe this messianic-type leader will restore worship of Allah and rule the world.  Iranian President Ahmadinejad is a firm believer in this apocalyptic teaching.  He will consider using a nuclear weapon against Israel as a great honor that will elevate him to hero status.  There is no question that Ahmadinejad will use a nuclear weapon if he gets one.

   This is a real war.  It’s a war against Islamic fascists.  The longer it takes America to wake up to this truth, the higher the cost will be.

   The message of the Kingdom of God resonates with people.  Christians and non-Christians alike understand that God is concerned with more than just the activity that takes place inside church buildings.

   Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God a lot.  In the gospels alone, Jesus mentioned it over 100 times compared to only two references to the church.  The church (people, not buildings) is part of the Kingdom of God, but there is much more.

   Most days here in Grove, you can find ladies filling bags with food to give to the poor.  There are also volunteers taking meals to elderly shut-ins, Boy Scouts working on community service badges, youth groups painting houses and neighbors checking on someone who is ill. 

   The Kingdom of God can been seen in drug rehabilitation homes, clinics helping unwed mothers, sports programs for underprivileged kids and church services conducted in nursing homes.  Volunteers who serve in the hospital, mentors helping school children learn and even societies rescuing unwanted pets are part of doing the Will of God.

   The Kingdom of God is big.  It’s the good side of the ages old struggle between good and evil.  Anytime God gets what He wants, His Kingdom is advanced.  Jesus taught us to pray that God’s will would be done here on earth the same as it is in heaven.  When that happens, Jesus said the Kingdom had come to earth (Matthew 6:10).

   When a hungry child is given food, the Will of God is done.  In fact, in almost any situation we encounter in life, we can ask the question “what does God want here?” 

    For example, suppose you were standing in the check out line at the store and the clerk appeared very frustrated and upset.  What would God want to happen?  A kind word, a smile, and any form of encouragement would be God’s prescription.  When God’s Will is done, God’s Kingdom is established.  Little things like that can be momentary and certainly don’t qualify as eternal transformation, but they are significant nonetheless.  The ultimate advancement of the Kingdom of God is the redemption of an eternal soul.  The Bible calls this event salvation or being born again.  When that happens, an individual’s eternal destiny is changed from hell to heaven.

   For the past century or two, most Christian groups have majored on redemption and minored on benevolence.  In some cases, they ignored benevolence altogether.  The reasoning was that any help given was only temporary compared to salvation which was eternal. 

   But thankfully, most believers today are seeing the fallacy of that thinking.  God is not only concerned about the here after, He is also concerned about the here and now.  Jesus said it this way, “if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward (Matthew 10:42).”

   The beautiful thing about advancing the Kingdom of God is that anyone can do it.  It takes no special skills to help the poor or minister to the sick.  And many times, the temporary love leads to eternal transformation.

Pastor Steven G. Dyer