The Battle Is Won

Isaiah 54: 4

Fear not for you will not be put to shame; neither feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced.

This week you are receiving many of my favorite scriptures. I haven’t used many of them for the Word of the Day and even those I have used I haven’t written about in a long time. But this is like a walk down memory lane for me because several of this week’s verses come from Isaiah. Not only is the book of Isaiah my favorite Old Testament book but it is also the book that got me through a time of intense spiritual warfare. These verses helped me to stand when there were attacks from every quarter. If you are having one of those periods in your life, let me encourage you. Have no fear, nor feel ashamed or humiliated. Your Dad is going to make it right. The truth will be seen. Those people who are lying about you – they are the ones who will be put to shame. Believe me, I know. I have been there. The good news is that I have been “through” it. I didn’t pitch a tent and stay there. God doesn’t expect you to set up camp in the valley of the shadow of death either. He has strong weapons of warfare and mighty warriors. He intends for you to win.

I just love Old Isaiah and when I get to heaven I am going to tell him how much I appreciated his book. He had a revelation of warfare. He knew then that the devil was going to get in our faces. He also knew, however, that God had foreseen it too and prepared armies and weapons of His own. There is no battle that you can’t win. Think about it, this was even before Jesus came and won the victory for us. You see, Dad never left His kids out in the cold. He always had plans for our protection and our welfare.

So if you are under the gun right now do not fear. There are scores of angels, legions even, at your beck and call. You have the power of God in the person of the Holy Spirit. And you have the victory medal from Jesus’ campaign. Do not fear! Do not take the trouble into your heart. Your Father will stand for you. Just hang out in the Lord’s presence until the battle is won.

Humpty Dumpty

Isaiah 54: 17

No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.

This passage always reminds me of my former pastor. Some years ago when I was being challenged on almost every front he reminded me of this verse during a telephone conversation. Sure, I knew this verse before then or I should say, I knew of it but after we hung up I got out my Bible and read it anew. Something went off in me that day and I gained an entirely new perspective on my situation. I saw the verse perhaps for the first time and it changed my experience. From that time the parade of challenges began to recede. I got a revelation that I did not have to be trod upon by every wind of misfortune. I had something to say in these situations and even more importantly, my Father had already spoken. Nothing has authoritative power over us except the authority we give it and I chose to take back my power.

Jesus has already conquered every challenge, demon and obstacle. He has already won! He defeated every single weapon the devil had. The thing I so love about the prophet Isaiah is that he had such clear vision of the coming Messiah. He understood that no weapon formed against us could prosper because he knew that all authority in heaven and earth was given to the son. Father is our refuge but Jesus is our defender. He is our advocate and he will reveal the truth about those who accuse us. When someone speaks ill of you, back bites you or condemns you they have just signed their own prosecution. Since I have come to understand this verse I actually sometimes feel sorry for people who say bad things about me because I know what is coming. The conclusion is already written in the physical and spiritual laws of the universe. They are like Humpty Dumpty who had a great fall. You can see it coming; you can hear the plop as they hit the pavement.  Dad doesn’t even have to do anything.  It is already pre-programed.  Any weapon that is formed against you, that is pointed at you will back fire. It is going to blow up in the enemy’s face. You’ve just gotta feel sorry for the fools sometimes. Well, we can pray that they get a clue and step into the grace that Father has prepared for us all.

So, if someone has a bazooka leveled at you right now, just grin. Get out your book of Isaiah and read to them. Carry your 3 X 5 card with you so that you can deflect those shells all day long. They have no power over you. You have already won. Now that is what I call Good News!

Warfare Made Easy

2 Chronicles 20: 15, 17

Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.   You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed.

How easy is a war that you don’t even have to fight in and yet you prevail? That is exactly what happened for Jehoshaphat and Judah. They were living peaceably when three nations rose up against them. Do you know what they did? They prayed, yeah, that was their great strategic ploy. Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, stood before the assembly and magnified God and sought God’s solution. And God answered, “Don’t worry about it. This battle isn’t yours. I will fight it for you.” And that is exactly what He did. The next morning as the three armies rose against Judah God moved and the three invading armies ended up killing each other. When Judah arrived there were bodies strewn all over. Among the slain soldiers were weapons, clothing and “articles of value” (v. 25). In fact, there was more booty than they could carry.

Sometimes people wonder what relevance the Old Testament has for modern Christian believers. Well, here you go. This is the model for spiritual warfare. You face battles almost every day. Think about it. How often do you feel like you are fighting an uphill struggle? Well, no longer. Today God is giving you a battle strategy. Wisdom recommends that you read the prayer that Jehoshaphat prayed before the assembly. It will probably inspire your thinking and your prayer. Next, assemble your crew whether that be your family, your office, your employees, your church or your team. Whoever will be impacted by the result of the battle should congregate with you. Then you, as the leader, stand in the name of the Lord and pray the prayer of faith. Let God and everyone else know upon whom you rely. Then just cast the entire problem into His hands. In the example from today, the Holy Spirit alit upon one of the assembled who prophesied telling the nation of Judah what it should do. Today’s verse is taken from that declaration. The next thing you do is to follow God’s instructions. If He says march around the city, do it. If He says get out your guitar and sing, do it. His ways are not our ways and we do not need to question His logic. Just accept it and obey. And if it sounds a little bizarre, it probably is God because the spiritual realm operates in an almost diametrically opposed manner as does the worldly realm. Part of the beauty of the assembly is that if you have doubt you can take the pulse of the crowd. “Did that resonate in your spirit as the instruction of God?” I would ask this question too; if the instruction you receive sounds odd like going and washing in the river what would it hurt you to do it? Marching around Jericho had to sound pretty nuts to Joshua but they won the city without a fight. 

So, today the battle is yours. The hard part is not in battling the enemy. The part that challenges us is standing up as a leader and doing what we should do. “Dare I pray in front of my whole family or my employees?” Well, this is why many of us do not live in the victory that Jesus bought for us. There are still things that we must do that challenge us on the inside. But Jesus will help us to grow and accept these new responsibilities with grace. The first prayer might just have to be, “Jesus, help me.” He will be with you all the way and you will win every battle because Jesus has already overcome. Now, we just have to stand in the power that grace has provided. Go win your battles today in the might of the Lord.

Down but not Out

2 Corinthians 4: 8 – 9

[W]e are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

No matter what hardships come against us, we are never defeated because of the love of the Father, and God who always picks us up and provides us all the tools and weapons for defense and victory. We never have to live even one day in despair because we have a Father who is loving and kind. Moreover, he is able to care for us. He is always there for us. Even if some event knocks you down, do not despair. Your Father will not allow you to be defeated. You may say with all confidence that although you have suffered a blow, you will be back in greater form than ever before. God is not willing that any of us should suffer defeat. Put your confidence in His faithfulness. We are never forsaken. Not even when it looks like we have been. 

There is a destroyer (John 10: 10). He doesn’t have any real power. He is just a renegade and a trickster. He will try to convince you that you are forsaken, that God has turned His face from you. This is the only weapon he really has, deception. This is what he did to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He fooled them, tricked them into thinking things were one way when they were really another. So, don’t believe the lies of the devil. Don’t even believe your own eyes. Believe the Lord, our God. Jesus is the truth. Believe him. You cannot be destroyed as long as your eyes are fixed on Jesus and you deny the lies of the evil one. God bless you.

The Winning Blow

Ephesians 4: 32

And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Do you really want to put a cramp in the devil’s style? Take a hint from this message from the Apostle Paul. Be kind to each other. Do not speak to one another with harshness. Be forgiving and patient. You can really see the work of the devil these days in the lack of patience and kindness people show one another. Just get out on the roads for any amount of time and you will see the personality of the devil demonstrated rather than the attributes of the Father. We yell at old drivers rather than humbling ourselves and respecting our elders. We almost run over people rather than wait two seconds for our turn. You would think the whole of the world depended on our arriving at our destination in the next minute. One more minute might spell the doom of the world.

Let us, instead, endeavor to show a little human kindness; a little of our father in us. Let us try to be a little less self-oriented and self-important and see others and their journeys as significant and as important as ours. Let us speak kindly and go out of our way, if need be, to help someone else. If we start with the way we speak to others, the rest will naturally follow.

Suit of Armor

Ephesians 6: 11

Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.

In the book of Ephesians, Paul gets a chance to teach us how to withstand the plots of the devil. The first thing that I noticed is that Paul did not use the word attack or assault relative to the devil’s activity. The first thing the devil does is to plot and scheme. He roams around trying to find someone he can devour. Then he starts scheming. We want to make ourselves unattractive as targets. Then using the teachings of Paul and Peter we proceed to thwart the devil’s schemes.

Paul goes on in this chapter to detail the armor God has provided us. There is first truth and righteousness. Then there is the preparation which is in the Word of God. Then we take up the shield which is faith and the culmination of our armor is salvation. Having put on the full armor of God we are able to withstand the “flaming missiles of the evil one” (Eph. 6: 16). This armor is our defense. This is the protective covering God has given us so that we will not be victims of the devil’s schemes. God has provided the means for our protection, defense and security.

God has also given us a weapon. It is the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The Word is your weapon. It is the tool which you use to strike back at the devil. He hates to hear the Word quoted to him. It defeats all the lies of the devil.  

Lastly, Paul instructs us to “pray at all times” and “be on the alert” (Eph. 6: 18). That sounds very similar to the teaching of Peter. Keep on the alert knowing that there is an enemy out there who would like to take you out if he can. Pray keeping yourself built up in your most holy faith. The shield of faith will “extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one” (Eph. 6: 16).

Resistance is Warfare

1 Peter 5: 9

8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

9 But resist him firm in your faith . . . .

Yesterday we read verse 8 wherein the Apostle Peter gave advice for us all to remain on alert for the machinations of the devil. In today’s verse, he tells us how to do that. We must remain firm in our faith. Our faith in the prowess of our father is our protection and defense against the evil one. There is no power on earth or in the heavens that can overcome the power of our Lord and Father. When we have absolute faith in God’s supremacy and his faithfulness, then nothing is able to touch us. Our faith in him is our guard. God is a bubble of safety around us. The devil is roaming around seeing whom he can devour. Not many animals will attack an elephant. They have to be pretty desperate to take a chance on trying to overwhelm an elephant. There is easier prey for them to hunt. In the same way, we want to be clothed in the armor of our father so that the enemy realizes it is not worth the bother.