Have you ever seen a football player tackle his own teammate who is running the ball? Sadly, I have. A team was on defense trying to stop the opponents from scoring in the redzone. The offense ran the ball around off the tail of the tight end, got hit, and fumbled the ball towards the outside of the play. The outside linebacker scooped up the ball and began running with all he had… the wrong direction. With all the stands screaming at him, the cornerback came and tackled his own player to prevent him from giving up any more yards or a quick safety.

The problem came when the player switched from defense to offense. His natural instinct was to run the way he came from. Nothing is going on behind the offense, everything happens in front of the offense in his mind, so he went that way.

You never want to be confused about what side of the ball you’re on. When it’s not defined or laid out, people get confused. The same goes for the church. There is a battle raging strong and you are either on one side or the other. We need to circle up the wagons and stand in defense against the enemy… right? No. The problem with us thinking we are on defence is… everything. Salt penetrates, light expels, fearlessness doesn’t wait, life interjects, hope causes action.

In Matthew 16:18 Jesus declares that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church.

Now when was the last time you saw someone running into a battle wielding a gate as a weapon? Never. A gate is a defensive tool. You know what Jesus is saying here? The Church is on offense. Sometimes we look really confused about being defensive or offensive. Your spiritual gift is your weapon. We are on offense, you have a gift, wield it in service, and lets launch an offensive.