Isaiah 42:13...........13 The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man;
He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war.
He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud;
He shall prevail against His enemies. NKJV
A mighty attack against the enemy, God sent His Son. He came to stir us up to life and living eternally. He sent His Son to the world so we could be saved from the wrath to come. What a beautiful love story and how His Son prevailed against satan.
Jesus fulfilled the promises to Israel and brought light of revelation to the Gentiles. Truly we were the captives set free from sin and to give glory that belongs to God alone.
Psalm 144:1-2..........Blessed be the LORD my Rock,
Who trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle--
2 My lovingkindness and my fortress,
My high tower and my deliverer,
My shield and the One in whom I take refuge,
Who subdues my people under me. NKJV
Like David, we too can use our hands as the warrior. Whether for battle against the enemy or soothing King Saul of the spirit that gave him grief, we can know and use the works of our hands and fingers to give praise to God. As David worshiped, danced and raised hands to the Lord, we too, can lift holy hands to worship and expect to see change. When we read about David, we see him use the harp to ease an embittered soul in King Saul.
In David's case, he could wield a sling shot with the expertise of a champion. With many military men looking on, David, truly brought down the giant that faced Israel in defiance. But David's skill also took him into the rooms of a palace to play music to a king who could not be consoled to peace in any manner.
I think it is interesting too, that David was out with the sheep. When the prophet Samuel came looking for him, David was out tending the sheep. His brothers stood together in the house when the prophet came calling with the horn of oil for anointing. We too, should consider that while all his other brothers were military men trained for battle with bows and arrows and battle axes as well, David too was probably different in that he was of small stature. Could he have been the son of a different mother than the rest of the other sons? Could Jesse's pride been just in the sons with the "look" of military might?
Like David out with the sheep, we can see everything is tested in the "wilderness". Like David, I too, think our hearts are measured in that place like I believe David's was tested.
God always comes to check our motives, our devotion, faith, our relationship with Him and with others. David's skill came from what he used in the "wilderness" of what he had on or in his hand. He had to lean on God alone!
What skills do we hold in the "wilderness" area? Do we voice praise and worship or something else? What do we seek within our home when no one is watching us? Do I search the Bible for answers to a problem or do I seek the channel changer to be entertained? Do I think I can run from a situation that should be addressed, but choose to ignore it hoping it will just go away?
I think of people going camping when I think of David out in the field with the sheep. I think of the great beauty of stars that blanket the black sky in array of twinkle lights that sparkle on without delay or burnout till daylight breaks. How dark it can be in the "midnight" hour with no electricity to turn on, but that which only comes from the starlight sky. And then there is this "quiet" that seems to surround you and embrace you and then invade our body, to the core our being, that brings a most uncomfortable feeling of being alone in a "big world".
The quiet of the dark night seems to penetrate to the core of our being when standing or seated out on a dark night to watch the parade of majestic stars parade along for our viewing. Only those sounds that inhabit the night watches are heard. They either delight us or make us fear.
Whatever came to visit David and those sheep in the field during those night watches certainly had their idea of what they came for at the time, the dark of night, and the specific hour.
And David proved ready when we see what he speaks in
1 Samuel 17: 34-37.........
1 Samuel 17:34-37...................34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep his father's sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me,
I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God." 37 Moreover David said, "The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you!" NKJV
It takes more than the prowess of a strengthened body and muscles twice the size of a weight lifter to prove the worth in battle. But ultimately, we face an enemy who works in the spirit world. We have to be trained in the Word that is "spirit and truth".
David said, "I caught it by its beard and struck and killed it." NOW THAT IS A WARRIOR IN ACTION THAT IS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL!
To take on the enemy, we must know who the adversary is and how to handle him.
Ephesians 6:12-19...........12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-- 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Our strength to walk everyday is in knowing God and His ways and thoughts. We are to be clothed with that which looks like "the Christian soldier". We are to contend with faith that our trust is in God and His plan. We look expectantly to victory for He is our courage, and all the promises He has for us are in Him and Him alone!
As we know, the devil does not show up in a red suit and tail to dance around us, but he certainly works in darkness and to practice the ambush he wants to set to destroy man. Like he came to Jesus in the "wilderness' time after the water baptism, he too, can come and tempt with the eye gate and ear gate. He always comes to people, not in a repulsive form but with some enticing temptation to allure to his way of sin and deceit. He comes with an invitation to entice one to the pleasures of the world.
Any darkness can represent sin, and ignorance. We are to be those Christian soldiers who as warriors wage the war on the enemy. We are to light the way with God's Word and declare what He has done through His Son Jesus. We are those to stand against pride, ambition and of course, against any revenge against another person. Jesus taught what His Kingdom was and we are to operate within that kingdom. We are stand against anything that speaks crosswise to the Word of God.
Reading the Word of God is paramount and when we put on our righteousness, we are standing ready with the Word for battle. We are the warriors, who have put on truth in our hearts, and being sincere to speak knowing it is what our Father God speaks as well. It is the Light of God's word that will dispel the darkness.
As we continue to stay joined to truth, His measure of faith in us and His love poured into our hearts gives us the cover of the breastplate for safety.
Our preparation includes that His peace takes our steps where they are ordered according to the Word spoken. We can stay in His peace as we war with the devil and not by taking sides with the devil.
That shield of faith is put in front of us and is much like a door the size on a house is before us in the "spirit". It is the size of an oblong door. Some say the measurement is close to 4 feet long by 2 1/2 feet wide and not the shield size the Roman soldiers used in their parades. No this shield is a big shield to hide the soldier behind.
We stand in preparedness with the faith that conquers.
1 Peter 5:9-11.................9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while,
perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. NKJV
Whatever the devil may bring, as to his darts of temptations or to wrath, lust, revenge or despair are stopped by the Word of God we speak. We are the over-comers of the world and its devices. (1 John 5:4) And we overcome the prince of the air, satan, (1 John 5:18)
And
take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Take, [dexasthe (NT:1209)] - different Greek from Ephesians 6:13,16. 'Receive' the helmet provided by the Lord-namely, "salvation," appropriated already, as 1 Thessalonians 5:8, "helmet, the hope of salvation;"
We guard our head, which is the seat of our mind.
The head is among the principal parts to be defended, as on it the deadliest strokes might fall, and it's importance to command the whole body. ( we can see today the importance for those who ride bikes or motorcycles to keep the head covered while riding out of doors on one)
The head is the seat of the mind, which, when it has the sure "hope" of eternal life, will not receive false doctrine, or give way to satan's temptation to despair. God, by this hope, "lifts up the head"
Psalm 3:3............3 But You, O LORD, are a shield for me,
My glory and the
One who lifts up my head. NKJV
Sword of the Spirit-i.e., furnished by the Spirit, who inspired the writers of the Word (
2 Peter 1:21).
The Gospel word is "the power of God" to the believer (Rom 1:16; 1 Cor 1:18). The two-edged sword, cutting both ways (Psalm 45:3,5), some with conviction and conversion, others with condemnation. That cutting will cut off what is not needed in our lives. It is important to take that "
power capsule" of the Word everyday!
Christ's use of it in the temptation is our pattern of how we are to wield it against satan (Matthew 4:4,7,10). Matt 4:4-10..........4 But He answered and said,
"It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' " 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
'He shall give His angels charge over you,'
and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.' "
7 Jesus said to him, "
It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.' " 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me." 10 Then Jesus said to him,
"Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.' "NKJV
We ARE TO always remain facing forward toward the enemy. ( I believe David faced the giant and kept his focus where that stone needed to fly to hit that big object of wrath which was against the Lord and His plan for David.) We never turn our back to him.
Luke 9:62.....
62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." NKJV
Yeah, remember Lot's wife............looking back is not good!
And then as a warrior, we are to be praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.
Always, [en (NT:1722) panti (NT:3956) kairoo (NT:2540)] -
'in every season:' implying opportunity and exigency: the mind being always ready for prayer (Col 4:2).
With all-i.e., every kind of; implying the earnestness, being determined and serious about it, of one leaving nothing untried.
We are to be watchful and not sleeping but observing, keeping guard, inspecting, all that is before us.
Remember about Saul, that it was while Saul slept that his spear and cruse were taken. It was while Samson slept in Delilah's lap that his locks came off his head. Sisera's head was indeed nailed to the ground (a type of those fastened to earthly things) while sleeping in Jael's tent. Or remember Jonah sleeping in the storm, those spiritually asleep shall only awake to be plunged in destruction. Yikes!
And then the most profound thing for us, is to be given a mouth that boldly declares the mystery of the Gospel! We would do well to having courage to open and speak about the Lord and His goodness. Amen!
Like Paul, we too, are to look for utterance to be given us and not to depend on the natural or acquired power.Our earnest prayer is to be for that God would open for us "a door" and be ready to open our mouths, so as to avail ourselves of every opportunity to speak to others about the Lord. Remember the Psalms written by David and know he had some conflicts to arise, but he met them head-on, not running but facing the enemy and had testimony after testimony of how great God is, was, and is to come!
Father, Your word is promises to me and those who pray this today. We go to possess in the name of Jesus. In His name we pray today and say that we are willing to take the chance, to take the risk and get back to the good fight of faith. Oppression and destruction will not come near us as we take up the armor of God and we stand enjoined with You for the purpose You have for our lives. We offer up thanksgiving to You Who has called us to be fellow workman.....laborers together with and for YOU! We have on the breastplate of righteousness that protects our love walk. We will not draw back or shrink in fear, then Your soul would have no delight or pleasure in us. We rejoice today that You delivered us out of darkness and drew us to Yourself. We are transferred into the Son of Your love. We confess and praise You, O Lord our God with our whole heart; we will glorify Your name for evermore. We pray that we always and in every season, embrace opportunities to pray and confess the Word as the warrior. Today we commit to put aside our own desires and conveniences. We yield to Your leading and take our place in putting on the armor that qualifies us for a good future against rebellion and stubbornness. Anoint our ears to hear, and eyes to see, We stand with feet shod with the Gospel peace. As our steps are ordered by You ( Psalm 85:13) righteousness will go before You O God, and shall make Your footsteps our pathway. We stand in readiness to receive Your instruction today. We pray for the saints, and endure with patience. We ask for a character that produces and sounds like a joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. We are free and our desire is to forget those things that lie behind us and we strain forward to what lies ahead. We press forward toward the goal to win the prize to which You in Christ Jesus are calling us upward. The past no longer will control our thinking patterns or our behavior. We have the mind of Christ and His wisdom is formed within us!
In the name of Jesus, we withstand the devil. We are firm in our faith. We are rooted established, strong, immovable and determined. We cease from human labor and are zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter into the rest of God and that we will know and experience that for ourselves. Father, thank YOU that Your presence goes with us and You give us rest. Amen.
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