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Love.Listen.Live.

8/9/2024

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The multitude of believers was one in heart and soul. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they owned. With great power the apostles continued to give their testimony about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And abundant grace was upon them all.
There were no needy ones among them, because those who owned lands or houses would sell their property, bring the proceeds from the sales, and lay them at the apostles’ feet for distribution to anyone as he had need.
Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (meaning Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. Acts 4:32-37

Love.

    At the end of Acts 3 we find the church, alive, thriving, growing and reproducing.  It is in absolute unity.  They are one in heart and soul.  They are listening and actively obeying the Apostles’ teachings on the Word of God.  They are in koine  with one another, sharing generously all that they have because they are in common equality with one another in the gospel. Because of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice to bring fallen humanity back into a loving relationship with their Creator God, the Church had become a return to the paradise of God, the Garden of Eden—the Garden of Delights.  It is what God has made us for—an equality and love with one another that shares and gives out of love.  Everything in this Garden is for the common good of all.  Their attitude toward one another is “how can we ensure that each of us is thriving and rejoicing in God’s goodness?” 
     The Church was a new creation.  It was a new beginning, where the old, dead, stony heart of people was replaced with a living heart: one that wanted to love and please God; one that was willing even to lay down one’s own life for one another. 
     While the one command in the Garden to humanity was “do not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,” God knew that the very reason we chose to disobey that command was a lack of love for God.  As a result, God gave a new command, the greatest command of all.  It was one that would give us a reason to choose to walk in obedience: love for God. 
     This command the Israelites were to recite every morning and evening.  It was to be their first thought before starting their day and their last upon ending it:
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Listen, O Israel: The Lord our God [plural\, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your physicality [nephesh\ and with all your everything [me'od\. 
​Deuteronomy 6:4-5

     Because God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are One, we are to be one in our unity and love.  The Church was now obeying God’s command to love Him and love their neighbor with all their heart, all their soul and all their strength, unified in its focus.  When we love, we automatically choose to do things that are in line with God’s laws and commands because genuine love comes from God and aligns with His purposes for His people.  Like God, we naturally start to choose what would be good and best for others, even at our own cost.
     God wants our whole, entire selves—our hearts, everything that we feel and make decisions on; our nephesh (often translated souls, it more accurately is our physical body), every part of our physical humanity, desires and appetites; and our me’od, our ability in every circumstance to be wholly and completely given back to God in complete love and trust for our Creator. 
     While we find ourselves drawn to stay in this delightful fellowship of the Church, into this perfect Garden we see the plot begin to thicken: 
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Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds for himself, but brought a portion and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and withhold some of the proceeds from the land? Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”
On hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. And great fear came over all who heard what had happened. Then the young men stepped forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
Acts 5:1-5

Listen.

     Cue the villain.  
     Into this Garden, this New Creation, this paradise of love and goodwill and kindness, we find evil creeping in. 
   The Serpent is back. 
    The very Hebrew letters used to spell out the serpent’s name, nachash נָּחָ֑שׁ, describe the kind of adversary we face continuously: 

נָּ nun: life/son/heir/seed
חָ֑ chet: divide/cut/separate
שׁ shin: teeth/two/devour/consume
"One who devours an heir in order to divide and cut off life"

his name, satan שָּׂטָ֛ן, is similar in meaning: 

שָּׂ shin: teeth/two/devour/consume
טָ֛ tet: basket/surround/ensnare
ן nun: life/son/heir/seed
"One who surrounds life in order to ensnare and devour it."

     The serpent's plan not a new scheme; it’s a very ancient one.  In fact, he must have thought, ‘it worked last time!’  

    In fact, that ancient serpent has been waiting to devour life from the beginning and continues even now.  But he will never win!
​

...And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne,...Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Rev. 12:4-11

     Listening, as the Greatest Command says, involves more than just allowing the sound or voice or someone to enter our ears.  It encompasses hearing, understanding, and taking action that follows through with the intent of the speaker.
     The Bible tells us that we become slaves or servants to the one we listen to and obey:
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​Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient servants, you are servants of the one you obey—whether you are servants to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
​Rom. 6:16

​     The serpent roams around seeking to find people to listen to his voice, to become his slaves, so that he can accuse us before God.  In Acts 5, Ananias wasn’t listening to God’s command to love.  His motivations for participating in the selling of his property, inaccurate donation and lies were all rooted in a desire to gain something for himself rather than serving the crucial needs of those around him. Just as Eve listened to the voice of the serpent and saw that the fruit was “good for success,” he wasn’t just withholding some of the value of the land.  He was withholding himself from His Creator.  What he was bringing to God was representing the value that he placed upon God and his relationship to Him.  His giving was only as a show to everyone else.  Barnabas had given out of the gratitude and love of his heart; Ananias was giving in order to get something out of them all.  It wasn’t a gift of love. 
     While neither Ananias nor we have an obligation to sell all our property and give it all away, when we see people in need our Spirit-filled response should be a desire to ask the Lord how we can give out of the great abundance that He has entrusted to us.  God wants our whole selves, nothing withheld.  He wants us to listen and respond to Him in this love by giving Him our whole selves in every moment, obeying every Word that He speaks to us.  This will often “cost” us, sometimes a great amount.  But it is never even close to the incredibly abundant grace that He has given us.
     In the Garden, the serpent came and deceived the woman, telling her that she would not die.  When she decided to eat the fruit, her body, her nephesh, did not die immediately.  Her spirit, however, did.  When Adam agreed with her to eat, his spirit also passed from life into death. Into their bodies, their nephesh, however, death entered as a slow and inevitable process.
     After they sinned, when they heard God’s voice in the Garden, they were no longer in loving fellowship with God.  As a result, they were afraid and hid from His faces (panim). 
    In Hebrew, the word for “hide” is chabah חָבָא. 

חָ chet: divide/cut off/wall off
בָ beit: house/household/family
א aleph: ox/strong leader/God the Father/first

    In choosing to hide from God and wrapping themselves in fig leaves, trying vainly to cover up their own shame and sin, they were effectively causing themselves to be cut off and divided from the household of their loving, heavenly Father.  This was exactly what the serpent had intended: to ensnare and to cut off life and the heirs from the inheritance of the Father. 
    However, at the voice of God, Adam and Eve together made a decision to come out of hiding.  They presented themselves before God the Father and confessed to Him what they had done.  The Word in Hebrew, “confess,” (todah יָדָה) means to cast or throw down something, to be lifted up to enter through the door and behold. It is an accurate accounting, a numbering of our sins according to how we have transgressed the loving commands of God. Conversely, the word also means to give thanks or praise.  In essence, when we confess our sins to our Father, we are doing it in gratitude that He has provided forgiveness and justification through the Door, His Son, Jesus.  We are casting away our sins, the ones that ensnare and enslave us, and throwing our thanks at His feet in humble gratitude as we are brought back into the household as a family member.
​    In response to Adam and Eve's confession, in His grace God provided a covering for their clothing.  A blood sacrifice was made so that humanity could be covered, symbolically representing the sacrifice of Jesus’ blood that would be given to cover over our sins for all eternity. 

     Sadly, Ananias did not have a heart that would receive this grace. 
    Ananias.  His name means, “Grace of God.”  It is what God intended and willed for him, but not something he chose to receive for himself.    
     The Apostle Paul makes it clear in Romans how we should not take God’s grace lightly, as if it is not costly.  It is precious and extremely valuable.  It is the blood of our Savior given for the world.  When we continue to live a lifestyle of practicing sin without listening and obeying God, we trample the grace of God under our feet:
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Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?  Certainly not!
Romans 6:1 
​
Or do you show contempt for the riches of God’s kind grace, forbearance and mercy, not realizing that it is his kind grace that leads to repentance?
 Romans 2:4 

​     This kind of contempt for God’s grace is the kind of evil that comes when people want the free blessings of God but are only using the Church as a way to gain for themselves selfishlessly.  They think that God will not see, but He certainly does.  Just as He saw Adam in the Garden, hiding, He also sees the true heart motivations of all of us.  None of us can hide from the eye of His faces.   
     Ananias’ response to the extreme grace and kindness of God was to despise it, to withhold from God His very self, and to lie instead of to confess and thank God for His grace.  As a result, he stayed hidden, separated and cut off from the family of God.  

About three hours later his wife also came in, unaware of what had happened. “Tell me,” said Peter, “is this the price you and your husband got for the land?”
“Yes,” she answered, “that is the price.”
“How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
Acts 5:7-10
​

​     Sapphira. In Hebrew, her name means “scribe,” or “accountant.”  A saphar סָפֵר was one who would render an accurate accounting of the saphan סָפַן: the treasures that had been covered and hidden. The scribes were entrusted with the task of ensuring that the hidden, covered treasures in the storeroom or the message of the word of the king would be accurately relayed to the people. 
     In this part of the passage, the word “price” or “valuation” comes up repeatedly.  The word is Tinos, and it means value, weight or honor.  Agreeing with her husband, Sapphira purposely and inaccurately rendered an account of the value or the land.  God also had given her a part, one who would accurately call to account the treasures He had entrusted to them for the benefit of His people.  She, in her own turn, would choose to willfully turn away from listening and obeying God’s voice because she also lacked love for God and others. 
     In the advent of the Church, the spiritual rebirth and resurrection of God’s people, the deaths of both Ananias and Sapphira would represent physically the spiritual death that was already inherent inside of them.  Their outward death only mirrored their inward death. 
    Ananias and Sapphira’s deaths were merely a physical representation of their spiritual, inward reality.  They were already dead in their spirits.  They had chosen to listen to the voice of the Serpent.  It wasn’t about who messed up first, it wasn’t about whose idea it was.  It was that they both agreed to be unified in their disobedience to God. 
            In addition, God wanted to be very clear about our individual responsibility to listen and obey His voice.  In the Garden, God reprimanded Adam because he “listened to the voice of [his] wife” instead of to God’s voice.  To some, the curse and the fall feels like it lands unfairly on humanity because of the woman’s choice.  God is setting the record straight:  this time it the choice is first the husbands, followed by his wife’s agreement. 
            Both of them, however, in each case, are listening to the voice of the Serpent. It goes both ways.  The point of this reversal is that at the heart of it all they are listening and obeying the voice of the serpent.
 
Woman
         Man
            Serpent
         Man
Woman
 
    They both alike despised the grace of God and refused to render a just account, a correct confession of their wrong before God. In turn, God could no longer listen to them: 

Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God [plural\ and your sins have hidden His faces from you, that He will not hear. Isaiah 59:2
  

     Rather than coming out of hiding in truth before God, they remained hidden by their own sins, remaining disconnected and divided from the family of God.
     Feet. Another word that keeps coming up in this passage is feet.  It the beautiful feet who are bringing the good news of the resurrection of Jesus.  It is at the feet of the apostles that the Church is laying down their rights to their physical possessions.  Conversely, it is at Peters’ feet that Ananias and Sapphira fall and die, and it is the feet of the young men, no longer bringing good news, that are standing at the door to take her away to her burial. 
    There is another who stands at the door, the door to our heart, the seat of our affections and love.  He pleads to us to listen to His voice and live:
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Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone listens to my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
Rev. 3:20-22
​

     While this is a sad story, it is also crucial to understand that this time the serpent loses.  This time, the life of the Church remains uncorrupted.  The true Church remains in completely unity and fellowship with their Creator.  This time, the evil cannot destroy and ensnare the life of the Church—yes, perhaps some were choosing to listen to the voice of the serpent, but the Church, the living Church of God, cannot be overcome.  Instead, glory is given to God.  Instead, we conquer in Jesus’ name.  Instead, there is complete oneness and unity as The Son sits on the throne of the Father and we sit with Him on the same throne.  It’s about fellowship, oneness, and love. 

 And great fear came over the whole church and all who heard about these events.
The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and with one accord the believers gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade. Although the people regarded them highly, no one else dared to join them. Yet more and more believers were brought to the Lord—large numbers of both men and women.
Acts 5:11-14

Live.

     Fear.  The Hebrew letters give us a better understanding “yarah יִרְאָה .”
יִ yod: mighty work/hand stretched out
רְ resh: head/ruler/source/Prince 
אָ aleph: strong leader/God the Father
ה hey: behold/worship/revelation 

     The first letter is “yod,” which is a hand outstretched to do a mighty work or deed; the second is resh, which looks like a head and signifies one who is a prince or ruler, originator; the third is aleph, which refers back to the Father as our strong leader; and the fourth is hey, which looks like the figure of a person with arms and hands upraised to behold and worship, revealing something to be in awe of. 
     In English, we often think of fear as negative.  Its synonyms are to be terrified, scared, or alarmed. However, Hebrew word describes more the feeling that we get when we behold the mighty deeds of the Prince (Jesus) who has come from the Father.  When we are in fellowship with God, those feelings are awe, amazement, comfort, peace, excitement and relief, worship.  We are full of wonderful feelings that we have a mighty God who comes to rescue us from our enemies. 
     On the other hand, when we are in disobedience to God, when we are using our words, actions and provisions to hurt and abuse others, the mightiness of God becomes a terror to us.  Our feelings can be very negative as we realize that the Judge of all the earth sees and knows everything we do and think and will call us to render an accurate accounting for how we have treated others and how we have treated the grace of His Son.  
   The Church, instead of being overcome by terror and hiding from His presence, the kind of awe and amazement that the mighty work of God in their midst in the judgment of Ananias and Sapphira brought increased growth and a dire warning to those who would, in pretense, seek to join them for evil reasons.  Those who wanted to come out of hiding and take hold of the grace of God for themselves continued to join them and the Church grew mightily.
     For those who chose to be in awe and deep reference and gratitude for God’s mighty works, it created even greater unity.  In a deeper effect, it created a strong purity among the believers.  Though “no one else dared join them,” yet more and more people were truly becoming saved and were being accounted to their numbers. 
    When Adam and Eve came out of hiding, they truthfully confessed to God what they had done.  As a result, they received a promise of an eternal redemption coming in the form of Jesus and a covering for their shame. They were given life for eternity.
      Ananias and Sapphira lied to God.  There was no more redemption. There was no life for their dead spirits. They had abused the abundant grace of God.
     One day we will all give an account, a rendering to God for how we responded to His grace.  Do we receive it with confession and thanksgiving? Do we abuse it, as if we can use it to keep sinning in a lifestyle that says God’s grace is cheap?  Do we give the count the correct value and honor and weight to God’s grace?
     The apostles were preaching the resurrection life in Jesus, both in this hour and in the one to come!  There is no value on earth that can ever come close to the price that Jesus paid for us, to the value of eternal life in Him forever in Paradise!  

"An hour is coming and is now here when the dead will listen to the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen will live!"  John 5:25

     This week, let’s dwell on the sh'ma—to listen to his voice out of a deep love that encompasses our entire selves.  Let’s embrace the life that comes from living in unhindered unity with God through Jesus!
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The Power of Praise

2/28/2024

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    Many of you probably remember the week of Labor Day, 2020.  A haze of smoke covered our valley.  Fires sprang up all around the state.  An eerie, yellow-orange light saturated the air, causing the indoor lights to seem blue in contrast. Ash rained continuously and many suffered from the poor air quality. 
    Like many, we had to be evacuated from our home up in Gates because the wildfires surrounded it, burning down many homes and leaving everything temporarily uninhabitable.  While we were safely evacuated with our family, our home suffered damage. 
    Our kitchen was destroyed and the smoke entering in from left-open windows covered every square inch.  The mattresses, clothing and furniture were permeated with the stench. Thankfully, unlike some, we have homeowners’ insurance.  Unfortunately, like many, our insurance didn’t want to pay for all that we believe are the damages.  They delayed, made excuses and finally just fell far short of the cost of repair, in our opinion.  Finally, after much wasted negotiation, we found an attorney who specializes in bringing insurance companies to court and started the next part of the process. 
    We have finished the arduous process of compiling evidence and are now waiting in queue to bring our evidence to the judge. 
     We hope he will see things the way we see them.  We hope that he will hear us out and be a fair and experienced judge, able to discern and distinguish between arguments and evidence. 
    We hope that he is impartial, not showing favoritism to anyone, and above reproach and corruption.
     It is how our story today starts as well.  In 2 Chronicles 19, we find that King Jehoshaphat very righteously has been about the business of setting up judges to sort through every case, civil and criminal, to judge in the fear of the Lord.  They were to carefully examine the evidence, only giving out consequences to those who had committed a crime against another, and in civil cases to make sure that property continued to be disbursed to those to whom it belonged.
   After remonstrating with the newly appointed judges, King Jehoshaphat exhorts them:

     “Behave courageously, and the Lord will be with the good.”  v. 11

    Little did he know how those words would portend his future and the future of his country!
    Immediately after those days, as the enemy is wont to do when they find that order and righteousness are being restored to God’s people, the enemy joined forces to descend upon all of Judah under King Jehoshaphat:
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It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.
Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said: “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them— here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”


    The  Ammonites and Moabites, those nations descended from Lot, Abraham’s nephew, came against them en masse.  Now God had strictly forbidden the Israelites from messing with their relatives’ land as they came to the Promised Land:  God had apportioned the Moabites their country, and the Ammonites their country.  It was their allotment from God just as the Promised Land was the Israelites’ allotment.  So, on their way from Egypt, the Israelites were not allowed to fight with their neighbors because they were their fellow relatives descended from Lot. 
    At this juncture, however, it is the Ammonites and Moabites who are coming to try to remove the Israelites from their land, repaying evil for good. 
    The only time someone could legitimately be removed from their land and property was 1) if they had illegally taken possession of it or 2) it could be temporarily given away as consequence to pay off a debt or sin of the people for a specified period of time.
    So, in effect, the Moabites and Ammonites were making a claim that the people of the land of Judah had violated God’s law so much that they would have to be removed as consequence of their sin just as the Canaanites had been removed.  This would, in fact, happen eventually.  God often used other nations to bring judgment upon one another for their national sin.  Eventually, Judah’s sin would increase so much that they would be exiled for a time. 
     So, just as the people were to gather in the previous chapter to seek the judgment of the judges for any disputes, now Jehoshaphat and all of Judah, small and great, were called to come to the judgment of God in order to plead their case and defense against this accusation and hostile trespass. (v. 9) 
 
We must act in justice as a community: loving God and people.

    Sometimes the enemy threatens what God has given us to steward. 
Satan’s first tactic is to try to get us to worship idols, to worship what people have; to be obedient to what we have created with our own hands. 
    But Jehoshaphat, in chapter 17, had removed the idols from the land and caused the people to worship God alone. They were loving the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.
    In chapter 19, we found King Jehoshaphat establishing justice and morality throughout the land, making sure that people were held accountable for treating one another right.  They were loving their neighbors as themselves.
    They were walking in obedience to the two greatest commands of God!
     The Bible tells us that we are not unaware of the enemy’s schemes (1 Cor. 2:11). While he has several, he reuses them.  They are identifiable and repetitive.  
     When the enemy cannot get us to worship our own desires and works, his next scheme is to accuse us falsely as if we have.
    He comes against us, our constant legal adversary to the Father, as the Accuser which accuses us night and day before our God (Rev. 12:10). However, if we have been walking in righteousness, he has no legal right or authority because we have done nothing wrong. 
    Now, if we have been unfaithful to God, if we have allowed other things to be first in our heart and life, if we have wronged our brother or sister, then the enemy has a legal standing to take issue with us before our Judge.  In such a case, if we find that we have sin in our hearts, 1 John 2:1 tells us, we have an advocate, an attorney who pleads our case for us: Jesus Christ, The Righteous who always lives to make intercession for us.  If we repent from sins and cry out to Jesus for forgiveness, we have peace with God and the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin so that we can once again come boldly to the throne of grace and find help in time of need.
    If, when examining our hearts with the help of the Holy Spirit, we find that we have kept faithfully to walk in obedience to the Spirit, then, in our legal system, the case becomes what is called a “frivolous lawsuit,” one intended to distract and use up our resources and attention in order to deplete us in an attempt to wear us out and keep us from being successful.
    These kinds of earthly lawsuits can be demoralizing, because even if we know that, given a good Judge, we should ultimately win, the case will be so costly that it could bankrupt us.
     In Jehoshaphat’s case, this was a class action lawsuit.  It involved the entire nation being dispossessed. 
     We saw from Jonathan’s story that if we act in righteousness and boldly walk in the Lord’s victory, there will be a victory accomplished for us.  But if we want not only victory for ourselves, for our families—if we want victory for our communities and our nation and our world, then there must be a turning back to God corporately by God’s people. 
     1 Peter 4:17 tells us that “the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.” If the enemy were to come against our nation, could we as believers, declare boldly to the Lord that His Church here in America has been faithful? Could we say with confidence that we have turned away from sin, that we have worshiped him above everything and that we have treated all alike with the love of Jesus Christ? 

We must send the call out. 

     Here in America our land is under siege.  Our children, our neighbors, our communities are being threatened.  There is so much coming against our nation from the enemy that it is countless.  A couple of weeks ago we talked about what we should be personally doing, in our own lives about spiritual battles. 
     I want to bring us to this corporate battle.  It is the whole church of God around the world, in our nation, against the enemy who wants to dispossess us from being God’s people. 
    King Jehoshaphat called everyone: rich, poor, slave, free, men, women and children.  There was no one who was not necessary to come seek the Lord together.  Every, single person from every walk and class of life was essential and valuable in the commission.
     God declares in 2 Chron 7:14 that: “If my people will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked way, then I will hear from heaven and heal their land.” 
     We, the people of God, must call all to humble repentance.  We, the people of God, must call all to come to seek the Lord with us: small and great, men, women, children and families. 
     We do this by setting an example in front of them of holy, loving lifestyles and by repeatedly inviting and calling out to them to follow us as we follow Christ.  At school, at work, in our neighborhoods, in our families: it’s not a private thing.  It’s not enough to just go into our closets and work out our private, personal salvation.  Yes, that is first.  Yes, that it right.  But if we want to see revival, if we care enough and love our neighbors enough, we will reach out to them to call them back to seek God. 

We must humble ourselves in unity.

     King Jehoshaphat calls all of Judah out to fast.  This is a humbling thing.  To fast and to present themselves in worship to the Lord makes a clear statement:  God is over them as Judge and they are pleading for His mercy.  They are not assuming that they are good enough to be heard for what they have done.  They are throwing themselves at His feet in humble petition, and the King is the one leading this!
    In a court, what happens if you do not show up to the case?  You automatically lose your case.  Whoever shows up and stays there for the duration can be heard out. 
    Fasting puts us in a vulnerable, weak state.  It declares our subsistence, not on physical bread, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of our God, the Judge of all.  When we fast, we deny our own appetites, our own desires, and fully focus every part of ourselves, spirit, soul and body, for a season so that nothing distracts us from waiting on God for His answer.
     We don’t allow anything to prevent us from coming boldly to the throne room to petition our God. We don't allow our case to be thrown out by our failure to appear before the Judge. 
     Corporately, fasting together creates a unity of purpose that focuses our prayer powerfully and effectively.

Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord.
Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”

     God answered with a musical prophet.  These musicians, both men and women, the Bible tells us, would “prophesy” with their instruments and voices in corporate, temple worship (1 Chron 25:1).  It is one of these musical prophets that God comes upon to give them their word from the Lord.
     The wilderness of Yeruel is where God would fight this battle with them.  Yeruel comes from the Hebrew word, “yara,” and means to be unified together and established based upon many, many small substances being brought together in unification.  It has the idea of raindrops converging together to form one substance of a mighty body of water all focused in one direction together. 

     Yara-El: Founded by God in Unity.

     Their corporate fasting and worship had created a unity among them that was powerful and effective before the throne and would soon lead them to a powerful victory through praise!

We must praise the beauty of God’s holiness--Rejoice!
 

And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.
So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:
“Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever.”
Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.

     A lot of times we think of worship as music and praise.  While it really incorporates the entirety of ourselves as a living sacrifice walking in obedience to the Spirit, there is a huge element of worship including fasting, prayer, psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord, both personally and corporately. 
     King Jehoshaphat did a noteworthy thing:  He consulted with all the people.  They helped to choose who would bravely go before them:  those who were unafraid and courageously walking in faith by God's command.  They put the musicians before the soldiers.  These worshipping musicians must have walked in a mighty act of faith, voluntarily weaponless except for the Almighty God who went before them!
     The word, “Rejoice” is built on the word for grace, for the favor that God gives a humble petitioner, already thanking and rejoicing that they know that they will be given what they need before they even ask.  It is a huge act of faith and such an honor to God that His people would rejoice in His goodness to them in front of the world!
     They rejoiced before they won as an act of faith because they fully believed that God’s promise was true. They rejoiced as if it had already happened.
     Jehoshaphat knew that he could appeal to God in this way, because he understood God’s nature as a just and holy Judge. You see, Jehoshaphat’s name means: the Lord is Judge.  He meditated in this concept of righteous judgment and trusted fully in His vindication of judgment from God alone.
     Jehoshaphat knew personally the importance of a judge being just and holy in his judgments.  If a judge was corrupt, then corruption would spread through the land. 
    Meeting together in the Valley of Tekoa, or the Valley of the Trumpet, they praised God for His holiness, high and loud, lifting up their voice and sounding out the proclamation —God is Holy!  God is not a corruptible Judge.  He cannot be bribed.  He will not err in judgment.  God will be faithful to His promise unwaveringly.  He is both absolutely, stunningly holy and as well as abounding in love and mercy. 
    It is this kind of wholehearted, unified abandonment to praise that touches the heart of God.
     In Ephesians we are told that the weapons of our warfare are mighty in God.  We are told that after we have armed ourselves, having done all, to “Stand”, positioning ourselves, praising God for the mighty work He has already completed on our behalf.
     We often get discouraged when we see the enemy mount up against us.  We think it will only bring pain and at the most- at best- we will just survive it. 
     The reality is, that God is intending to use these things for our good.  In Romans 8:28, Paul explains to us as believers that “God uses all things for the good of those who love him, who are called according to His purpose.”  A good judge throws out any frivolous lawsuits and penalizes the offending party for wasting the court’s time and for trying to harm another person vindictively.
     Even more, a good, just judge will also award compensation to those in the right—or as King Jehoshaphat told his judges, “the Lord will be with the good!”
     Once again, we see God positioning Himself to fight for His people. It is His battle.  He will cause our enemies to destroy themselves.  You see, a house divided against itself cannot stand.  Satan’s house never has unity, because he is the author of confusion, selfish ambition, jealousy, covetousness and dissension.  His own house cannot stay united because true unity comes from God alone.  All the enemy can do is create a semblance of fake unity—one focused on a common enemy, while they themselves are also one another’s enemies. In the end they will be routed by the unity of the Church.
 
We must gather and bless the Lord.

When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the Lord; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day. Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. So they came to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the Lord. And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.

​     When we are victorious over our enemy, there are the spoils of war. In a large army camp, they would have had huge flocks of animals to feed the soldiers.  They would carry with them other foods, oils, dried fruits, spices.  These all carried a significant value.  They would carry with them all kinds of jewels and gold and treasures that they had raided or brought from home.  They would have massive amounts of weapons and armor and horses and chariots. 
     Sometimes we think that when the enemy mounts up his forces against us, it is really a lose-lose.  Either way, even if we survive, there will be no benefit. We approach these battles with dread, wishing we were never required to go through them.  But God intends these things to bring us greater blessing than we could ever imagine! 
      Jesus echoes this concept in Matthew 5:12: "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
     Instead of just surviving, the provision and blessing of God is multiplied for God’s people as a result of these battles.
     The people of Judah gathered together in the Valley of Blessing to gather home all that God had just provided for them and to bless His Name together, gratefully acknowledging what God had overabundantly supplied for them. 
     When we are victorious in spiritual battle, there is provision for our communities.  There is provision for our weapons and protection.
     Most importantly, the slaves they would have brought as captives to serve them are set free.
     If we want to see our communities set free, the Church must walk in love first to God, then in love and justice toward one another.  We must send out the call and invite all to seek God in humility with us. 
     Finally, let’s rejoice together in the beauty of God’s holiness, because He will only render a good verdict for His people as the Judge of all the earth.  Let’s praise the Lord as if God’s word is really true! Let’s walk in front, boldly marching ahead, confident in His holiness.

Bless His holy name!

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The Battle Belongs to God!

2/4/2024

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    Have you ever felt hopeless?   
   Have you ever watched helplessly as a dear friend or child, or even your spouse walked into damaging choices, and felt like the enemy was simply too powerful and too strong? 
    Have you ever watched as people around you start dividing, fighting, arguing and treating one another as enemies?   
    Have you ever felt like you wanted to fight, but you're not sure who to fight, and you don't seem to have any effective weapons or skills?   
     Have you ever just felt like hiding in a hole, and waiting until it all blows over?   
   What do we do when we are faced with impossible odds, failing leadership, aching needs, horrible oppressions, and a fight that is being forced on us, whether we can handle it or not?   
     A number of years ago Jeff and I faced a business crisis.  We had just completed our taxes, a project I look forward to with a bit of dread and procrastination, and we found that we owed a sum of money that we did not have saved up --$10,000.  With our large family and many pressing needs, saving for an unknown amount throughout the year can be very difficult at times.  We were concerned and looked through out Quickbooks to find any account still owing that we could see if they could pay sooner--but there was nothing.  The days ran into one another continuously until April 15th was upon us, and still there was no money available.  We had waited and prayed and waited again.   
     This is the story we have today.  In 1 Samuel 13, Saul, the new king of Israel, was scared.  As he sat there with his son Jonathan, he was pondering all that he had...and all that he didn't. 
   He had only three thousand men following him, and the people of Israel had been oppressed by the Philistines for many years.  The Philistines would regularly raid Israel's villages, carrying of women and children as slaves and killing their men.  Their enemy would take everything they had worked hard for, loved deeply, and fought like a drowning man to keep alive.  Every time they would come up for air, they would be pushed back down.   They felt like they were struggling just to survive each day, waiting to hear news of another family member or friend who had been taken down by their relentless enemy.   
     In fact, the Philistines were shrewd about their oppression.  They had gone through the land of Israel, killing all the blacksmiths who could create weapons.  Year after year, in order to even have their harvesting tools sharpened, the men of Israel were forced to travel into the land of their enemies to have their tools sharpened—the enemy controlled their harvest, their defenses and their lives. 
    The oppression had carried on for so many years, that the people had lost the concept of freedom. 
   
     The men that were left, trembled.   
   
     And Saul, he had made the wrong choice.  He had thought it made sense at the time.  He had thought it would fix it.  But it only made things much, much worse.   
     The prophet Samuel had told him to wait for him seven days, and Samuel would offer a sacrifice to the Lord asking for his help and deliverance.  But as Saul had watched the men's confidence wane day after day, so had the men themselves.  Saul had noticed fewer and fewer men in the camp, and his captains had reported that more of the men had gone into hiding—holes, thickets, pits, wells...anywhere to hang out until the Philistines went away.   
      But the Philistines weren't going away.  They had crowded day after day into the valley of Michmash until it seemed an impossible number---30,000 chariots, 6000 horsemen, and so many foot soldiers and people that it was like the sand on the seashore, way too many to count.   
   Their enemies started sending raiding parties, three groups of them, toward the Northeast, west and southeast.  Saul knew it was intended to draw him and his men out, but there was no way he could stop them all. 
     So on the seventh Saul had made a decision.  Samuel hadn't come yet, and there was a political crisis.  He would offer the sacrifice himself.   
     But it backfired.  Samuel had come up just as he had finished offering the sacrifice, and had told him that God would no longer establish his kingdom...that God would give his kingdom to a man after God's own heart, and that he, this nameless man, would be commanded by God to be a Commander over His people.  And then he left.   
     Saul was frustrated.  He looked around at the men who had watched his public humiliation, and saw the last vestiges of confidence evaporate from their eyes, leaving only a hopeless despair and terror.  One by one, he watched them slip away from the camp.  By the end of the day, there were only 600 men.  600 weaponless, defenseless, hopeless men.   
     Often in our lives our spiritual enemy, satan, seems to have us cornered.  He attacks and pillages, he goes after our jobs, our income, our homes, our children, our marriages, our churches, our country, and our dreams.  He steals and kills and destroys everywhere he goes.  We often notice how attacks often seem to come against multiple sides at a time.  Perhaps your kid is struggling with bitterness, at the same time as you are diagnosed with a health problem.  Perhaps your boss has laid you off, and you find that your best friend betrayed you.  Maybe your spouse has left you and you're in a losing custody battle.   
     Satan attacks our pastors and church leadership to take them out so that we won't know where to find our spiritual weapons, how to be trained to fight against him to protect our spirits and families from his constant and relentless attacks. He lies to us and convinces that his army is so vast, so numerous, so strong and so completely invincible that we haven't a hope.   
     He goes after our weapons. The Philistines had murdered the blacksmiths, those who were skilled at crafting the weapons. The Bible tells us that the weapons of our warfare are mighty in God to the pulling down of strongholds, to make every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
     What is our number one weapon? The Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God! The enemy goes after our time in the Word. He convinces us that knowing God’s Word is not all that important. He interrupts our quiet time with the Lord, the time when we have space to listen to the voice of the Spirit. He convinces us that sports, tv, work, yard work—everything that demands our attention—is more important than investing in knowing God’s Word with our families. He does everything he can to take out those who would teach the Word of God, to discourage, to steal their time, their finances and their health. All because the Word of God is powerful. It is a mighty weapon that advances against his agenda and pushes back on the gates of hell.  
    Samuel seemed late. The enemy tries to point out that even God is late to this battle because God doesn't care and won't make time to help us.  We wait, and wait, and wait...and when we don’t see God coming, we panic.  
    We don't know what to do, so we try to fix it ourselves.  Saul had an identity problem.  His courage, morale and obedience to God's word would go up with the people's approval--and down with their disapproval.  More than anything--more than God Himself, Saul wanted people to think well of him.  To like him.  To support him.  And when he saw that they were scattering, he chose to directly disobey God to win back people's approval.  The Apostle Paul addresses this in the New Testament, "Am I now," Paul asks, "trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ!" (Gal. 1:10).  If we only do what it is right because other people will validate it, then when the time comes when it is crucial for our marriages, our families, our own spiritual relationship with God, we will sell out what is most important for what can never please God or give us victory over our enemy!
     We don't know what to do, so we hide.  We hide in our streaming movies, we hide in our video games, we hide in our alcohol, our drugs, our fleeting friendships or intimate relationships.  We hide in our sports, jobs, ambitions and goals.  We hide in a monumental list of tasks that we hope will make us feel like we are going somewhere good.  We hide in the praise and popularity of people who don't even know the real us hurting inside. We do these things to distract ourselves from facing the enemies that are amassing.  
     But God sees us hiding.  He knows our pain, he sees what the enemy is doing, and he hears our crying at night when we think nobody can see our break down.   
     And not only does God see, know and hear, but He also has a plan and people who will fully follow Him!   
​

Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, 'come, let us go over to the Philistines' garrison that is on the other side.' But he did not tell his father.  And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron.  The people who were with him were about six hundred men.  Abijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord's priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod.  But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.  1 Samuel 14:1-3 ​

 
    Now I want us to notice what it's saying in this passage.  Prince Jonathan knows that his dad is not dealing with the situation.  In fact, in our story, only Jonathan and Saul have weapons. They know God’s Word! They both have power to fight. But Saul sits still, apathetically refusing to use what God has given him to restore the kingdom of God to His people. Jonathan has seen the way his dad appealed to his own fleeting popularity and charisma with the people instead of to God, and the result of that disaster.  And now his King Saul is just sitting.  He has no plan, he has no defense, no attack, and no direction from God because he has lost favor.  The priest he is using to gain insight and direction from God is from Priest Eli's house, whom God had already rejected due to the embraced violence and immorality in the priest's household.  So the priest isn't hearing from God, and neither is Saul.  So when Jonathan and his armorbearer sneak out, they are going without a plan, without public, family or royal approval.   
 
     But Jonathan sees the need and values his own life less than the protection of his people.  He values his own reputation less than the reputation of God.   
 ​

'Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the other side.  And the name of one was Bozez {slippery|, and the name of the other Seneh {Thorny| Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, 'Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us; For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.' v. 4-6   ​

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     Jonathan and his armorbearer are facing this very deep and craggy ravine.  On the other side is the Philistines' garrison.  They have heavy armor and a sword and shield, and Jonathan is proposing to mountain climb.  On one side, it was very slippery, and the other side hurtful.  In order to get to the Philistines, they will have to be in pain, carry everything they have while perhaps painfully climbing down one side and risking a slippery fall up the other.  There is nothing about this situation that speaks of human wisdom, experience or expertise.   
 
     But Jonathan's focus is not on the challenges and impossibilities, it is on the need and the great God who can fill it.  You have to notice his wording here to his armorbearer—he doesn't say that God told him to do this.  He doesn't say that God gave him this plan.  He doesn't say that God has told him He would help him. 
 
     He just knows His God.   
 
    He knows how merciful and powerful God is.  He knows that God's favor rests on the righteous.  He knows God's deep compassion for those who are broken, hurting and oppressed.  He knows that God is so vast and His power so unlimited that it makes absolutely no difference how much “help” God receives on our end, it is enough.  And he knows the inheritance that he had already received as a gift from God to God’s people. The land of promise was theirs already. 
     So he says, “It may be that the Lord will work for us.  For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.”   
     Is there a ravine in your life?  Do you see an enemy stronghold, an impregnable fortress?  Does the enemy taunt from across the chasm, “Look, this chasm is too deep, you are too clumsy, you aren't strong enough, you don't have the right equipment, you don't have enough people, you don't have enough experience, you don't have a plan, you haven't heard that God will help you this time!   
     If you cross that chasm, you can see that you risk falling.  You can see that it will be painful.  And you can clearly see that the enemy's fortress is indestructible to you.   
     But where is your focus?  Is it on your failings?  Is it on your weakness?  When the enemy taunts his lies in your head, do you look at yourself and say, “yes, I'm puny.  I'm weak.  There's no way I can cross that chasm.  There's no way I can have victory over that sin.  It's too hard.  It's too deep.  I'm going back to my hole.”   
 
     Or is your focus on the strength and character of your God?   
 ​

“So his armorbearer said to him, 'Do all that is in your heart.  Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.'  Then Jonathan said, 'Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them.  If they say thus to us, 'Wait until we come to you,' then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them.  But if they say thus, 'Come up to us,' then we will go up. For the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.”  v. 7-10   ​

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     So here's Jonathan's plan.  Because he doesn't know if God's going to help them, he has decided that the best way for God to give him a sign that they will have victory is to go all the way to the bottom of the ravine, stand there, and make sure the Philistines can see them.  They are losing the element of surprise.  They are giving their enemy the hilltop advantage.  Jonathan is basically turning their situation into the worst military move you can make and giving God the opportunity to gain as much glory as possible out of the situation.  And if the Philistines respond with a desire to fight with their advantage, that's God's sign that He is going to give the Philistines into their hand.   
      And while it seems that Jonathan is going into this without any promise at all, there is one promise that is hidden to us, but fully present with him.  He walks with this promise.  The whole meaning of his name is infused with this promise:   
 
     Jonathan.  “The Lord has given.” 
 
    It is a statement of fact.  Jonathan knew the inheritance that God had given him, and the Philistines had no right to be on their land. God had given them this inheritance, God had given the responsibility to His people to protect and guard it, and it was God’s job to establish His kingdom.  Jonathan knew intimately and walked in his identity as a child of God, a Prince of Kingdom that could never be taken away or revoked.  His kingship had been revoked by the actions of his father.  But his place in the kingship of God could never be revoked.  
     Jonathan walked in faith positioning himself on the free gift of God already and irrevocably granted him.  The gift of God, the inheritance given to the people of God had nothing to do with their ability, strength, or worth in comparison to others. It had everything to do with God’s glory and love for all of mankind. 
 
     There is a free gift of God that has been given for you.   
 
    The Bible says that “while we yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  It says that the consequences of our sin are eternal death and bondage to an evil and oppressive enemy, but that “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.    
    When Jesus died on the cross, he set you free from the power of the enemy.  The Bible says that if we repent and turn away from practicing sin, declare “with our mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead, we shall be saved.”   
     It says that God showed His own love for us by giving us His very own son to rescue us from the power and bondage of sin and give us an indestructible and eternal inheritance in God's family forever! 

     When we walk in faith by positioning ourselves on the free gift of God in Christ, we can claim back the strongholds of sin and destruction in our lives.   “Sin no more has dominion over us.”  (Rom. 6:14)    

     Not only that, but God has a plan for the world to see His glory, for our families, our workspaces, our communities and neighbors to see His glory and to come to the free gift of Christ! 
 
     Let's go back to our story and we what God does with a person who stands on God's character and inheritance:

“So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines.  And the Philistines said, 'Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden!.'  Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said 'Come up to us, and we will show you something!' Jonathan said to his armorbearer, 'Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.  And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armorbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan.  And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them.  That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within half an acre of land.  And there was terror in the camp, in the field, and among all the people.  The garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great trembling.  Now the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and there was the multitude, melting away; and they went here and there. Then Saul said to the people who were with him, 'Now call the roll and see who has gone from us.' And when they had called the roll, surprisingly, Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there.  And Saul said to Ahijah, 'Bring the ark of God here (for at that time the ark of God was with the children of Israel).  Now it happened, while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase; so Saul said to the priest, 'Withdraw your hand.' Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to the battle; and indeed every man's sword was against his neighbor, and there was very great confusion.  Moreover the Hebrews (Israelites) who were with the Philistines before that time, who went up with them into the camp from the surrounding country, they also joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.  Likewise all the men of Israel who had hidden in the mountains of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, they also followed hard after them in the battle.  So the Lord saved Israel that day....” v. 11-23a   ​

     God gives Jonathan and his armor-bearer great strength to battle, and then sends an earthquake, terror and confusion to their enemies!  No longer is it God's people who are trembling, it is their enemies.   
    All the terrified Israelites jump out of their hiding spots.  All the Israelites who are in the Philistines' camps, whether traitors or captives, join in to fight on the Lord's side!  Everyone can see that the battle has been decided.   
     And what about them being weaponless and unskilled in war?  God has that covered too!  He causes the enemy to use their own swords against one another in their great confusion and terror. 

     God doesn't need what you don't have—he wants you to give everything you've got.   
 
     The battle against our enemy is already decided.  There is already victory that has been decided in your favor.  God's Word tells us that we as believers in Christ have already been given everything that has to do with life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).  
     We don't wrestle against flesh and blood---people aren't our enemies, the devil is.  Evil is.  Sin is.  It says in 2 Cor 10:3, that though we walk in our bodies, the weapons that we fight with in this war aren't physical weapons.  They aren't fighting words.  They aren't manipulations.   
    They are spiritual weapons and armor---truth, salvation, the Word of God, prayer, the gospel, Jesus' righteousness.  It says that these tools of our warfare are “mighty in God for the purpose of pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God by taking every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ.”   
     The battle is to win our minds, thoughts, and hearts.  It is to win the minds thoughts and hearts of our families, of our spouses, of our friends and neighbors.  
     When we were facing our business crisis, when we owed money we could never raise in time, God came in time.  As the date approached, I felt in my spirit that we were to pay the money anyway.  We wrote out our checks to the state and the IRS for $10,000, addressed and stamped them, and sent them in the mail, praying as we let them go into the blue, mail slot.  
     On April 15th, I walked to our post office and input the vintage combination lock into our slot, reached in and pulled out a check, written out to our company, for $10,000.  It had never been in our accounts because it was a retention check---one that would be retained for an extra length of time, in our case, for a year.  For whatever reason, it had not been entered into our books or billed out. 
    God is not slow concerning his promises, as some counter slowness, but He is patient toward us (2 Peter 3:9).  If he seems to wait, wait for Him.  If He seems absent, cry out to Him.  Examine your heart, walk in obedient faithfulness!  He will come.  God always keeps His promises.  

​    What do we do when we are faced with impossible odds, failing leadership, aching needs, horrible oppressions, and a fight that is being forced on us, whether we can handle it or not?   

We...
     Know our God 
     Focus on the Size and Character of our God 
     Give Everything We Have 
     Position Ourselves on the Free Gift of Jesus Christ and our Inheritance with His people 
     Pull Down the Strongholds so We Can Walk in Freedom! 


 ​
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40 Days with Goliath - Final

7/1/2021

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For forty days the Philistine came forward
every morning and evening and​
​took his stand.

1 Samuel 17:40-54

Picture
      This week we took our fluffy, white puppy to a geology camp with our kids. They got to learn about dinosaurs, handle real fossils and petrified dinosaur eggs, be awed by a plethora of fluorescent rocks, and dig in the dirt to find their own fossils.
     The owners of the camp had three large Great Pyranees, who nightly scouted their 180+ acre farm in the desert of Washington for grizzlies, wolves and cougars who regularly frequented the ranch. Last fall, their pyranees had attacked and treed a cougar on the property.
     During the day, as we watched from a distance, our small bundle of fluff, about the size of an Australian Terrier, would crawl on her belly toward these giant dogs. Her nose running along the ground, she would inch and pause, inch and pause, positioning herself as close as she dared to them. As soon as she reached them, she would flip her belly into the air, pleading for their mercy, and then snuggle up close for their protection.
     Bedtime, however, was another story! As we would settle in for the night, spanning the length of a log bunkhouse with our kids, we would give our dog her food next to her crate on the porch. Next to us, she had all kinds of courage. In her mind, though not in mine, we were much more powerful than these pyranees! As the other dogs would advance, tails wagging, to check out the smell from her dog bowl, she would bristle, bark, and growl at them. It was hilarious to watch her challenge them from the vantage of the porch, with her family behind her!
     As I watched her take courage based on her faith in our abilities, it reminded me of little David's courage as he fought Goliath. A courageous faith, that, unlike our dog's, was not misplaced.
     In Part 1, we studied the place and stance of our fight, and who our Goliaths are. In Part 2, we looked at some of the first problems David encountered before he even had to stand up to his Goliath, and how he rooted himself firmly in his identity and future. In Part 3, we focused on how David negotiated closed doors, discrimination, and how to maintain an effective defense in a new battle situation. Today, I want to dig in to the Covenant relationship we have with God, how to gather our resources, estimate the cost, and how to turn the enemy's weapons against himself!
​

COVENANT
Let's declare our loyalty and love for God above all!​

     Goliath appeared “morning and evening,” when the Shema was to be declared. The Shema was Israel's affirmation of faith in God as their Covenant King--the Covenant authority Goliath was trying to replace by usurpation:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord [YHWH\ our God [Elohim, plural for God\, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 
​You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 
Deut. 6:4-7 NKJV
​

     God's people were commanded to declare vocally that the Lord was their God, in all of His triune, plural Godhead. They were to declare the command to love God with everything that was in them. Morning and evening, they were to rise and make these declarations over their lives and that of their families and nation. It was and is the quintessential statement of their faith in God.
    It was their enemy's goal to make Israel, God's people, omit this affirmation of faith and to  transfer their faith and obedience to his mastery over them.
     Our enemy wants to take God's place in our lives in order to imprison and destroy us. It has been his goal from the very beginning, when he challenged the Godhead! (Isa. 14:12-21)
But God has not left us without resources.
​

COMPILE
Let's gather what we need!
​

Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself 
five smooth stones from the brook,
​and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had,
and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
1 Sam. 17:40

     As a shepherd, these are the typical things David would have already been using regularly. David gathered his staff, his bag, and his sling. The staff he brought to the fight would have been a smaller, blunt, club-like stick. This stick was different than the rod, or shepherd's crook, that he would have used to guide, discipline and rescue the sheep.  This particular staff would have been what David used to beat away predators, wild dogs, lions, and bears. The sling would be slung with a stone at a predator from more distance: efficient and deadly.
     God wants us to be resourceful. While He is the God who creates everything out of nothing, He still chooses to participate with us so that we can join Him in the pleasure and reward of victory!
      What do we have in our hand today? It is enough. 
     It is enough because we have a God who multiplies. He multiplies our time, energies and resources. He just wants a willing and giving heart. “For if there is first a willing mind, [the gift] is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.” (2 Cor. 8:12)
     It is enough because He is the One who is our strength. He is the God of angel armies. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him (2 Chron. 16:9a).
     David gathered five stones.
    At first glance, the five stones seem like backup plans. If the first stone failed, he would have more to try again. But that wasn't the purpose. Just as Jesus died once for all, (1 Pet. 3:18) so David would defeat the giant with one blow.
Picture
     No, these extra stones were a preparation for David's future. You see, Goliath had four more brothers, all giants. They ruled with the Philistines, their allies, in the five cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Gath, which was situated within the southeastern shore of Israel's border along the the Mediterranean Sea.1
     These giants were descended from Anak, of the giant ethnic group of the Nephilim, which began pre-flood, but whose lineage continued post-flood. The descendants of Anak had settled in the best, most fertile land of Canaan, in the mountainous and well-watered region of what would be called the land of Hebron. (Gen. 6:4; Deut. 9:2; Josh 15:3)
     God knew that His people would be tempted to fear the giants. God never denied that His people are unequal to the giants. Rather, He wants to change our perspective to see the giants in juxtaposition to His own might!
     
     Just as God's people were to cross over to occupy the Promised Land, God gave them this promise:

Hear, O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the descendants of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?’ Therefore understand today that the Lord your God is He who goes over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord has said to you.
​Deut. 9:1-3

     When the twelve spies were sent by the Israelites before they were to go into conquer the land, only two men, Joshua and Caleb(from the tribe of Judah), came back with a good report of the land.
     After 40 days of spying out the land—40 days of seeing the goodness of what God had promised to give them and 40 days of witnessing the intimidating power of the giants—Caleb and Joshua alone saw the power of the giants in relation to God. They saw the immense benefit of the land. The rest of the spies could only focus on the giants in relation to themselves: We were as grasshoppers in their sight!” (Num. 13:33)
     As an old man, it was Caleb of the tribe of Judah who would ask to inherit the specific region of the giants, Hebron, that he might drive them out. Many years later, it would be in Hebron that David would first occupy as reigning king (2 Sam. 5:3).
     David knew that once he took on this fight with Goliath, it would necessitate an all-out war against the rest of the giants in the land of Philistia (2 Sam 21:18-22). David was making a commitment with the Lord to participate fully in walking in victory over everything that God had promised him. The gathering of stones was an act of faith--not only for this day of battle, but for a lifetime with God.
     Like his aged ancestor, Caleb, the youth David wanted to have complete victory with God. At either spectrum of weakness, they two showed us the power of God to empower us in our weakness!
   What are those battle areas in our lives that we know will follow on the heels of victory? Where are the strongholds that you can identify today, that you know you will need to deal with in the Lord-- Those places of defeat, of family history, or intimidation?
    While God doesn't ask us to fight every battle all at once, we can still make some preparation now. What steps can you take in faith now, to prepare for when those battles will come to you?
​

COMPARE
Let's assess the situation from a right perspective!
​

So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.
1 Sam. 17:41-47 NKJV
​

     David took stock. He inventoried what his enemy had, and of what he himself had. His enemy had formidable, real, and powerful weapons and stature. He himself had the Name of the God of angel armies. David compared the two, and declared his side to be the more powerful. He knew that the One within us is greater than the enemy (1 John 4:4).
     Jesus showed us in Luke 14:28-32 that as His disciples, He expects us to first sit down and weigh the cost of discipleship. Is our God big enough? Is the reward worth it? Are we willing to invest all that we have?
     Since the investment of ourselves in this battle is very costly, God wants us to know that this battle is important enough to Him to commit all that He has to the battle with us.
     There are two reasons why God is committed to work with you to defeat your giants:
    God wants to be glorified in the entire earth as the only true and all-powerful God, with nothing and no one comparable to Him.
     God wants all the people who know you personally to have a deeper understanding of how God works for His people. He wants them to respond to Him in faith in their own lives.
     Once we have weighed the balances, once we have made up our minds whose side we are on, there must be no hesitation. It is the time to run into the battle!

CHARGE!
Let's wield the weapon the enemy uses with confidence!
​

So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
​1 Sam. 17:48-54


     David didn't start into the fight with a sword to kill Goliath--it was the sword Goliath carried that David used to kill him! It would be the sword that David used again and again throughout his fighting battles against the Philistines and any who would encroach upon the territory he was commissioned to guard (1 Sam. 21:9).
     Goliath's sword stands for the Word of God (Eph 6:17). It is the Sword that the enemy uses to accuse us to God night and day, morning and evening (Zech 3:1; Rev. 12:10). God's Word contains the law of commandments, the handwriting of ordinances, under which we, as lawbreakers, stand condemned before God as the Righteous Judge.
     The devil uses God's own words to declare us guilty—to declare that we have no help from God because of our sin. It is that same Word of God that we must use to shut down the voice of the enemy. We can acknowledge the accusation---”Yes, by God's standards I was guilty of that sin. Yes, by God's Word I had no standing on my own with God because of that guilt. But that is why the blood of Christ was so important. He paid the penalty for me, and I have been brought near into covenant relationship with God through the blood of Christ (Eph 2:13)!
     This Sword, the Word of God, also contains the Promises of God for us as the People of God. The devil tries to use the Promises of God to derail us from our purposes in the Will of God.
     In Jesus' temptation in the wilderness after His baptism and anointing by the Spirit--Jesus' own battle with Goliath--we see three Promises of God that Satan wielded to try to derail Jesus from His purpose in Luke 4:1-13:

“God promised to provide for you.”
“God promised to give you the kingdom.”
“God promised to protect you.”

     In each of these temptations, there was a legitimate and real promise of God found in Scripture for God's people that Satan tried to persuade Jesus to obtain outside of the Will of God. In each temptation, Jesus wielded the Word of God back to the devil to declare the larger and more complete purpose of God.  Because Jesus had a complete understanding of God's greater plan of redemption, Jesus left these promises unfulfilled in His earthly life. Even though Jesus had the actual power to make these promises happen physically at that time, He chose to give them up to God's better will for His life in order to bring us into His joy along with Him.
     Jesus gave up His provision (Matt 8:20), his kingdom (John 18:36), and His protection (Matt. 26:53) in a temporal setting in exchange for a lasting and eternal Promise (Phil 2:6-11).
     Ultimately, as Jesus died on the cross, he fulfilled the promise of redemption for us from the enemy found in Genesis 3:15 AMP “And I will put enmity (open hostility) between you[the devil] and the woman, and between your seed (offspring) and her Seed [Jesus]. He shall [fatally] bruise your[the devil's] head, and you shall [only] bruise His heel.”
     Just as David used the sword of Goliath to render the enemy in his life powerless, so Jesus used the very weapon Satan tried to use against Himself to destroy the devil and to render him powerless. Jesus' own death resulted in Satan's destruction: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction!” (Hos 13:14)
     It was this laying down of Jesus' rights under the Word of God for our sake that reconciled us to God:

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities[all evil spirits\, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Col. 2:13-15 NIV


     When you take courage and find these battles in your life, people around you will see that God is able to deliver them. Many of them will take courage and come to the battle as well. Not only did the Israelites join with David in the battle, but they were also able to plunder the Philistines, securing their border and taking home a reward.
     David, however, knew that there was something else he must do. He must place physical reminders--memorials--of the victories he had with God, in prominent locations. The head of the giant went to Jerusalem, and the armor David placed in his own home.
     These memorials would be not only be for the present, placed in his current dwelling place, but also in Jerusalem: the future of where he would ultimately reside as King of Israel, and the location where Satan's head would, one day, be crushed by Jesus Himself as Jesus gave His own life on the cross.
     What can you do to establish memorials pointing to the victory of Christ for yourself and for successive generations?
     How will you point to your reminders and tell your story?

Reference:
Palestine-David-Solomon.jpg (912×1600) (britannica.com)1
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40 Days with Goliath - Part 3

6/3/2021

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For forty days the Philistine came forward
every morning and evening and 
​took his stand.

Picture
     This week we went to family camp at a Ranch up in a rural Washington Native American Reservation. It was beautifully situated, with the desert bluffs rising steeply above the river.
     They had many activities for the kids to be entertained, including kayaking, archery and pony riding, but, by far, the most fun were the new puppies.  Fluffy. White. Adorable.  By the end of the weekend, our children were bribing us with promises of chores, training, and sleepless puppy nights.  
     In the end, the child with the most commitments to the worst parts of puppy training got the privilege of having the puppy and naming her--"Confetti."  I wondered how he would handle this much responsibility.  Of all my kids, he can be most distracted.  Having the constant care of a complex live animal may have its challenge for him. 
     It has been amusing to watch him navigate puppy bathroom breaks during the night, barking, and general training.  He has been a diligent owner, though, and the puppy is quickly learning to obey and get along with everyone in the house. 
     In my mind it is perfect training for fatherhood.  I love watching how God takes the little things of our lives, the hard things, the joy-filled experiences, and uses them to shape who He wants us to be for His purposes and our ultimate pleasure!
     We see this in King David's life as well.  The little battles became bigger battles, and with them, bigger victories.  
    In ​Part 1, we studied the place and stance of our fight, and who our Goliaths are. In Part 2, we looked at some of the first problems David encountered before he even had to stand up to his Goliath, and how he rooted himself firmly in his identity and future.  Today, we will focus on how David negotiated closed doors, discrimination, and how to maintain an effective defense in a new battle situation.  
Fight as a Representative


31Now when the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul;
and he sent for him. 32Then David said to Saul,
“Let no man’s heart fail because of him;
your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
​1 Sam. 17:31-32

     Since David was Saul's armor bearer, he would not have been expected to go into war unless King Saul himself was going into battle. Furthermore, David would not have had the authority to fight Goliath without permission from King Saul. At the point of David's assertions to the soldiers, the door was currently closed to the possibility of his serving the people in this way. 

     When we speak declarative words of victory through Christ, God will make sure that those who have the ability to open doors you need are moved to action. 
​
      If David had offered to fight as his own representative, for his own glory and achievement, Saul likely would not have allowed him, and God would not have aided Him. David knew that the only way to fight with authority and dominion would be as a spiritual representative for the glory and kingdom of God by serving as Saul's earthly representative.  
     One question we should ask ourselves as we are preparing to fight our spiritual enemies, is “whose kingdom and glory are we pursuing?” Is it our own, or the Lord's? Are we fighting for our own selfish ambitions, or to bless others? (James 4:3) Sometimes there can be subtle differences in our motivations that may seem Godly or unselfish, but in reality are primarily to build something for our own kingdoms and desires that fail to put God's kingdom first over all. 
     If we are representing the mission and desires of the will of God, we will not fail to have His support, resources and aid. 

Tell Our Testimonies 
​

And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” 
1 Sam. 17:33
​

     "You don't have experience. He has been fighting this fight from the beginning. You are too young, too naive, too weak, too alone to be successful in this fight." We have all heard advice that seems wise, but in reality weakens our confidence in a living God who is really the one who will be fighting our battle on our behalf.
​     For me, this sinks home as I navigate creating a space for my in-laws to live, and what that would look like in our home, with relationships, and with our time and energy resources.  It is a new and rather daunting transition for us, but David's attitude really spoke to my heart to encourage me.  
     Let's take a look at David's response to Saul's assertions of his inadequacy: 
​

34But 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, 35I 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. 36Your 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.” 37Moreover 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.”
1 Sam. 17:34-37 
​​

     David told about his experience. It may not have been giants or war, but he had been faithful to depend on God in the areas that he had been placed. He equated this new battle with the previous battles, and the God who had delivered him before from the lion and bear would be the same God who would deliver him again this time. 
      When we are preparing for a new battle that we have not faced, with an enemy that seems to have the upper hand in strength, experience, and bravado, we should retell our testimonies for others to hear of how God has proved faithful in our lives in the past. We should retell and meditate on our stories for the good and encouragement of our own hearts. It is not about our strength, talents, or experience, but rather about the same God of armies who lives presently and will fight for us in this next new battle. ​
     In this next season for our family, I may not know everything that may come up or how to deal with each new transition, but I know that God has given us grace and help in each past experience, with new wisdom and energy for every new day.  
​
​Spend Our Normal Days in Watchful Courage 
​
     Previously, David had watched over the sheep of his father to deliver them from predators. He had spent his normal days protecting his father's sheep. Protecting Israel, the flock of God, his heavenly Father, would be no different. His close, personal combat against the lions and bears would have taken great courage. 
     We often have a deceptive idealic picture of a peaceful, pastoral setting of a shepherd with his sheep. The reality, though, is a constant watching. A guarded alertness, regardless of the immediate appearance of peace. Since a predator would most likely sneak in and attack at an unsuspecting time upon the weakest of the sheep, the shepherd would need to keep his eyes and ears alert, scanning the hills, crevices and hidden places for any sign of attack. 
      Once an attack ensued, it would call for immediate action, a sprint at full speed toward the lion or bear who would have been running away with the bleeting lamb in its jaws. Overtaking it, David would have struck the predator, causing it to drop its prey in shock and pain.
     Sometimes that would be enough to send it running away. If the predator was more than usually bold or hungry, it would attack David. David's response was not to back down, but to catch the animal by its beard, initiating face to face combat, and striking it until it was dead. It would be an intimate, intense, and adrenaline permeated fight to the death. 
     Often, though, shepherds were not so careful. The consequences were sadly destructive. If they let down their guards or became distracted, it would be too late for the lamb that would then be carried off. Even if the shepherd managed to fight the predator, the lamb would likely already be torn apart: "...The shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear....”(Amos 3:12) 
     If we, as we shepherd God's people, our families, and neighbors, are not watching carefully, not on guard, if we are sleeping or wandering, then we may not be fast or close enough to run at the enemy in time. Even a shepherd brave enough to fight would lose the lambs if he were negligent, careless, or distracted.
     Like David's lambs, people are also helpless, in need of under-shepherds to watch and keep guard over them: Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people. Proverbs 28:15 (NIV) Because of this, the Apostle Paul warns Timothy, a youthful pastor/apostle, to be on his guard in caring for the needs of his flock, his church: “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” 2 Tim. 4:5 The Apostle Peter mirrors this instruction: “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers;” (1 Peter 4:7) and “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). 
​     This week I was greatly exhorted and inspired to an increase in watchful prayer by Spurgeon's devotional in Streams in the Desert, June 1 Morning: 

“Perhaps there is no more subtle hindrance to prayer than that of our moods. Nearly everybody has to meet that difficulty at times....What shall we do when moods like this come to us? Wait until we do feel like praying?....If you were in a room that had been tightly closed for some time you would, sooner or later, begin to feel very miserable—so miserable, perhaps, that you would not want to make the effort to open the window, especially if they were difficult to open. But your weakness and listlessness would be proof that you were beginning to need fresh air very desperately—that you would soon be ill without it....When we are listless in prayer, it is the very time when we need most to pray. The only way we can overcome listlessness in anything is to put more of ourselves, not less, into the task...If I feel myself disinclined to pray, then is the time when I need to pray more than ever.” CHARLES H. SPURGEON 

     We become sleepy when we close our windows and doors through prayerlessness and prevent the rich, energizing oxygen of the grace and power of God to enrich our lives. We see this listlessness, this drowsy sleepiness and lack of discernment of the times, come heavily upon the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus went to pray to His Father to prepare for the greatest trial they would yet encounter—His own crucifixion. 
     Our drowsy lack of discernment of an impending spiritual attack should not determine our watchful alertness in prayer. 
​     Jesus came to His disciples three times during the course of His prayer time, urging them to stop sleeping and to pray, “so that they would not enter (join in unity into) temptation” Matt 26:41). They must, indeed, suffer the temptation, but watchful prayer would be their means of securing from their heavenly Father all the grace they needed to endure it in the Spirit, with grace and holiness and faithfulness. We do not always know what the next temptation, giant or betrayal may be, so we must be watchful in all things. 

Fight with Spiritual Defenses ​
​

And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!” 38So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 39David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them.”
So David took them off. 
1 Sam. 17:37-49

     Saul had fought with this armor, but had not even experienced consistent victory using it. The victories that Saul had experienced in the Spirit had taken place before Saul had obtained armor and weaponry. Additionally, Saul was a very tall man, a full head and shoulder taller than his fellow Israelites. As David was both a youth and probably average height, he would not have fit this armor.
     Not only this, but it was a system of defense that he had not used before. Rather than enable David, it would only slow him down and create confusion between his muscles and mental coordination where he did have prior experience. The offer of armor was simply another method of distraction brought by the devil in order to entice David to place his trust and defense in the king's armor, rather than in God who would help the weak. 
     Sometimes leadership or friends may offer well-meaning advice and support, but it is unintentionally unhelpful. It may or may not have worked for them, or perhaps, as in Saul's case, they only thought it was helpful, while it never did change their outcomes. Regardless, whether it's new technology, equipment, systems or mind manipulations, these can have no true value or benefit when they are not a tool given to us by the Holy Spirit.
     Some may try to claim that if you would only teach your children through a certain type of school, then they would love Jesus. If you would only get rid of all media, tv, digital devices, then you would not be subject to temptation. If you would restrict your diet to this or that discipline or food or exercise, then you would remain free of disease and physical ailments.
     While these life changes may actually be what God is calling you to personally, more often they may be what God has used as tools in their lives, but have no value intrinsically, in and of themselves, in controlling wrong appetites or in giving delivery and victory, 
     Only when both given and used through the Holy Spirit in His power and His abundant grace can physical tools be a means to help with victory in any given area. 
     Instead of focusing on methods and tools, we should focus on the power of the Name of Jesus and the individual way and means that the Lord has used in our past regardless of our physical resources. These methods that the Holy Spirit has used in our lives previously to bring about victory are primarily the ways that He will give us victory over larger and intimidating enemies. In the book of Galatians, the Apostle Paul writes to the Galatians because they are being led astray by the false hope that as Gentiles turning to the obedience and Covenant of the Mosaic Law they would find salvation, rather than through the blood and Covenant of Christ and obedience to the Law of Love:

2This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— Galatians 3:2-5 

     When we are to face off against a giant that is larger than we have encountered, for which we have but small experience, though indeed, it is experience, however belittled by some, we must continue to fight against these giants with the very same Spirit, authority and grace through which we have had our victories in the past. Do not be fooled by false rules, regulations, technologies, systems, media, popularity, political correct speech or any other tactic that seems in worldly wisdom to be effective, but has no real value in conquering evil in our lives: 
​​

These practices indeed have the appearance [that popularly passes as that] of wisdom in self-made religion and mock humility and severe treatment of the body (asceticism), but are of no value against sinful indulgence [because they do not honor God]. Col 2:23 AMP ​

Rather, as the Apostle Paul stated, 
​

“3For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.4The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.5We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Cor. 10:3-5 ​

      What about you?  What giants are you currently facing?
    How might you navigate the giants in your life?  In your unique situation, how might you represent your heavenly Father?  Do you believe that He will provide the means and resources you need as you fight for Him?  
   Do you know anyone who is afraid of their giant, who needs to hear your words of encouragement, who needs to hear how God has been faithful to handle your problems in the past?  Who can you share your story with?  
    Perhaps this season has become one where life seems to drag, and prayer and intimate relationship with God seem far away.  How might you pursue a deeper prayer life?  
      Have you encountered any areas where a physical means to fight or fix your problem seems to present itself, but your spirit doesn't have a real peace about pursuing that way of dealing with it?  What other ways have you experienced God helping you might you pursue instead?  
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40 Days with Goliath Part 2

5/26/2021

1 Comment

 

For forty days the Philistine came forward
every morning and evening and 
​took his stand.

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​     My husband is very athletic.  As he wraps up his long, wearying day on multiple jobsites, he keeps going with the thought that when he gets home, he will get to exercise.  The longer the hours of sitting in the car, the more intense the workout that he wants to pound out.  For him, the thought of increasing strength and endurance, of being ready for any emergency and need, is what drives him on. 
     Goodness, it's not mine.  
     My motivation looks more like a hot cappuccino in a pretty mug just to get out of bed in the morning.  The longer the day, the more I look forward to sitting with a warm blanket and a good book.
      But when we are in the thick of it, when our day isn't just a normal, messy craziness, but there is an extra weight to it, a deprivation, an urgency and trauma, a vulnerability and testing--and these are the markers that come back day after day unresolved, then we need to recognize that we are facing a goliath--and that there are exciting things ahead.  
       In ​Part 1, we studied the place and stance of our fight, and who our goliaths are.  In today's study, let's look at some of the first problems David encountered before he even had to stand up to his Goliath, and how he rooted himself firmly in his identity and future.  These are problems that are unavoidable in every life of victorious faith for a believer in Christ, and yet are embued with the presence, power and promise of the Holy Spirit to deliver and reward!  

12Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah, whose name was Jesse, and who had eight sons. And the man was old, advanced in years, in the days of Saul. 13The three oldest sons of Jesse had gone to follow Saul to the battle. The names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14David was the youngest. And the three oldest followed Saul.
​15But David occasionally went and returned from Saul [ministering to Saul with the lyre\ to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
1 Sam. 17:12-15

     As background, we need to understand why we are given the information about David’s brothers. Earlier, in chapter 16, when David was about to be anointed by Samuel.  In front of the entire village and its elders, David had been neglected—uninvited--at the feast for which he himself would be the guest of honor, known only to God. His father and brothers had not considered him worth calling. Of course, they presumed, Samuel would choose one of Jesse’s oldest sons: they were the strongest, handsomest and most charismatic.
     God, however, did not see it that way. Instead, in front of the whole village, God told Samuel to tell them that Eliab was not chosen by God, but rather rejected, because God could see his heart. Down the line went Samuel, through the six sons of Jesse, each in turn, rejected by the Lord because their hearts were not right.
     Samuel got to the end of the line. Turning to Jesse, he asked him if he had any other sons. “There remains yet the youngest,” Jesse replied, “and there he is, keeping the sheep.” (1 Sam. 16:11). After bringing his youngest son, David was anointed by Samuel “in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” This anointing and pronouncement was followed by a feast, given in David’s honor.
     After this event, David was given a job in the palace playing his lyre, an instrument similar to a harp, for an unsuspecting and now replaced King Saul, for whenever Saul would be distressed by an evil spirit (1 Sam. 16:16).
     So here was David, still in charge of keeping his father’s sheep, but also in Saul’s employ as a musician, traveling regularly back and forth to keep up with his responsibilities. David was anointed by God as the king-elect, so to speak, close to the throne in proximity, but with many lessons to learn before receiving it physically.
     Just as Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit at His baptism in the presence of His brothers and then led by the Holy Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil, so would David start his public ministry—with a 40 day test in the wilderness:
          

"For forty days the Philistine came forward
every morning and evening and took his stand."
1 Sam. 17:16​

      Here, we see Goliath coming out every single day to mock, revile, and test the Israelites. Both morning and evening the entire armies of the Israelites and Philistines would gather on their respective hills, face off across the valley, and hear the challenge and mockery yet again: “And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.” v. 24
      Now in the Bible we see a pattern of 40 days. The rain fell for 40 days while Noah waited in the ark; the people of Israel traveled 40 years in the wilderness, 1 year for each day the spies spied out Canaan; Moses stayed for two sets of 40 days on Mt. Sinai, fasting, and receiving the commandments of God; Joshua, who waited partway down the mountain for Moses, also fasted; Aaron, simultaneously, waited the 40 days down in the desert with the people, followed by creating the idolatrous golden calf for them to worship; Elijah fasted for 40 days while he went through the wilderness, Ezekiel lay on his right side for 40 days, bearing the iniquity of the people; and Jesus was led by the Spirit for 40 days in the wilderness, fasting, to be tested by the devil.
     Each of these 40 day periods was a time of extreme testing, deprivation and temptation. It would involve feelings of weakness, shame, vulnerability, fear, exposure, worthlessness, wastedness, and futility. These feelings would come, whether the person gave into the temptation or not. The feelings would assault them, even if they refused to sin.
     For those who gave themselves over to the temptation, as in the case of Aaron and the people of Israel, there were sad and painful consequences as they became enslaved to the desires for which they lusted.
                        
When we remain faithful in the testing,
​there is the promise of an increase of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
     ​
 
     The scriptures say of Moses that, after enduring his time of fasting on Mt. Sinai with the Lord, “when Moses came down from Mount Sinai….Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him.” (Ex. 34:29-30) Furthermore, the scriptures say of Jesus, that after he returned from his fasting and temptations, that “he returned in the power of the spirit,” (Luke 4:14) for further and effective ministry.
     A time of testing, a time of temptation, a constant barrage of accusations, lies and enticement to do evil: these are not sin. Rather, they are a common occurrence in the spiritual journey of every believer. There will be Goliaths in our lives. There will be those 40 days of suffering and deprivation. There will be times when we wait and wait for the Lord to deliver us, wondering when this season will be over.
     Sometimes we are tempted to believe there must be something wrong with us that we would even be in the middle of such a difficult test of our faith and commitment to self-control. Sometimes we can feel like we must already be guilty because of the temptations and accusations that the enemy calls out to us.
      In reality, though, it may simply be the effect of a calling or anointing on your life by God. These ministries must be preceded by an encounter with the enemy, for which you must solely depend by faith on the deliverance through the blood of Christ. It is in the crucible of your wilderness with Goliath that you come to understand intimately how deeply the blood of Jesus can deliver you from every sin, temptation and evil.
       God is faithful. He has always and will always be faithful to deliver us from “every evil work and to preserve [us] for His heavenly kingdom” (2 Tim. 4:18). Listen and meditate on the promise of God for these seasons of our goliaths:
     
  “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. But God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” 1 Cor. 10:13

     There is nothing—no emotion, no temptation, no terror-- that isn’t common to us all in some way or fashion. As children of God, He is just to discipline His children—not in the same way, but to the same end: to bring each of us to a full maturity in Christ.
     It is these Goliath seasons that provide the discipline and hardship that bring us into that state of maturity. 

It is our goliaths that take the theory of our theology
​into the intimacy and power of relationship.
​

17Then Jesse said to his son David, “Take now for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers at the camp. 18And carry these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers fare, and bring back news of them.” 19Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. 21For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. 22And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. 23Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. 24And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. 25So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.”26Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 27And the people answered him in this manner, saying, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.”
​1 Sam. 17:7-27
​

​     Notice David’s response. He questions their fear, their terror, at a mere man, when the people have the very living God on their side. “What shall be done,” David asks again and again, “for the man who kill this Philistine and takes away the reproach (the mockery, the shame) from Israel?”
​
     As servants of our King, we have the “armies of the living God” waiting to go out to battle with us. Armies that do not quake with fear or run, afraid of the voice of the giants. Armies that are supernatural; hosts of heaven waiting on the King’s command.
​
      What shall be done for the man or woman who fights for their King, defeats the giants who come against them, and takes away the shame from God’s people? This is Jesus, your King, says to you: “He who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations—….and I will give him the morning star” (Rev. 2:26-28).
   Sometimes when we are fighting our goliaths, we are only considering escaping the severity of slavery or of death.  Seeing past the battle to the victory, and even to the reward, can seem presumptuous and perhaps past what our minds can seem to take in in the moment. 
    In our story, though, David shows us how to live faith in the testing:  Focus on the reward.  Not on the giant.  Not on the fearful soldiers.  Not on the valley of depression.  Not on the escape.  The reward.  We see the same outcome with Jesus when He focused on the reward set before Him:  
   ​
 
​1Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
​despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The Discipline of God3For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.
Hebrews 12:1-4   

     When the reward is great enough, and we truly believe that it is waiting at the end of our pain, our actions will reflect that faith in endurance. 
      In all of David’s bold and courageous questioning, though, there was one man who was not impressed with his assertiveness---Eliab:
​

28Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.”
​1 Sam. 17:28

​     Eliab turns against his brother, and, seething in rage, jealously and vindictiveness, accuses David's faith and courage of being really a presumptive pride and an evil desire to watch a battle that was none of his business.
     Eliab burned with anger—because he himself had failed to step up to defeat the giants in his life. Anger is often a response of guilt in our lives, especially when directed at someone who is suggesting that there is a way to not sin—to live in victory. He had already in his heart given himself over to the slavery of the fear, lies, and shame. As indicated by God’s rejection of Eliab as king, Eliab had heart issues with which he had not dealt.
     In fact, the very two accusations he leveled at David were a few of his own pitfalls—pride and wickedness. It had been his pride that had been injured when he was refused as king. It was he who had presumed that God would validate him, without the righteous obedience that accompanies a clear conscience and loving heart. It was the wickedness of his own heart that now sought to accuse God’s Anointed.
     He was angry that David would imply that there was another choice. People who have given themselves into obedience to slavery want to feel and believe and be validated in the belief that they had no choice: it just happened to them. They “couldn't help it.” It was a “disorder”. It was their “personality.” They choose to believe that God never had another way for them to choose.
     When others successfully choose to live in victory, it only serves to make them feel the shame of their choice, and their response can be to lash out at those who have success in the area, accusing, trying to make it seem like it is nothing more than pride and evil to assume that there is a better way that God will make victorious. Even when it is those very people who are offering them a better way to live, a rescue from their own enslavement.
      Just as David was implying that each one of them could have chosen to defeat Goliath--could still choose to defeat him, each one of us continues to have a choice in our lives. None of them were helpless, they were simply choosing to let Goliath take control through their lack of faith in God. None of us are helpless, either. We have a constant choice about our actions, thoughts, and even feelings.
       Friends, like David we should be declaring God’s absolute power to free and deliver us from the Goliath’s. From pride, bitterness, hatred, greed, lust, jealousy, gossip, destructive criticisms, addictions, immorality, and depression. But know for sure that when you declare this, your Eliabs--perhaps family members or other Christians, perhaps unbelievers or co-workers, perhaps even your church leadership and yes, your own thoughts--your Eliabs will try to shut down and oppose the idea that there is deliverance and victory with God over the giants that we face.
      But how did David respond to Eliab? Did he accuse back? Justify his position? Declare the anointing and calling that God had on his life? No. He simply asks some questions, and turns away:

29And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?” 30Then he turned from him toward another and said the same thing; and these people answered him as the first ones did.” 1Sam. 17:29-30

     ​Like David, when we are confronted and opposed about the truth of God’s deliverance, by ourselves or someone else, we can simply ask the question: “What is exactly wrong with saying that this giant (insert: lust, deceit, depression, etc.) has no right to mock our God by claiming that He is too small to give us victory in this area? Isn’t this a big enough deal that we should talk about what God can do?”
     Secondly, rather than argue, debate, or convince, turn away from those who maintain their anger...keep declaring our God's power to deliver over these things. You may never convince your Eliabs, but you can keep declaring God’s faithfulness to the next person…and the next…

​...and the next.

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40 Days with Goliath -Part 1

5/12/2021

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For forty days the Philistine came forward
every morning and evening and 
​took his stand.

Picture
       Have you ever found yourself in a place where frustrations are mounting, tensions are building, and the desire to fix your situation in a less than God-honoring way seems more and more appealing?  Many times we come to spiritual battles where victory and relief seem distant.
          We have prayed, sacrificed and suffered. We have done all that we know to do, but the pressure keeps on us day after day.  The unique elements of our situation come up as reminders morning and evening, flaunting their continued presence in our lives, and mocking the faith and trust we have in a God who can deliver us. 
         They tell us that since He hasn’t gotten rid of that problem, that debt, that desire for drugs, that vindictive urge, that propensity to criticize, that it is just our personality, our genetics, our particular weakness.  We may see victory in other areas, but this one defeat is ours to keep.
          While many of us see David’s fight with Goliath as a one day event, it was not.  The victory he would ultimately have against this particular enemy of his soul was preceded by a series of choices that ultimately led, not only to his own victory, but victory for his family and nation as well.  His choices during his 40 days with Goliath would set a foundation for a life of victory—not only against one giant, but against them all. 
          It may seem like our story starts with David, a man who trusted God, but it does not:  it starts with a place.  A position:       
​    ​

Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered at Sochoh, which belongs to Judah; they encamped between Sochoh and Azekah, in Ephes Dammim. 2And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and they encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in battle array against the Philistines. 3The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. 1 Sam. 17:1-3
​

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        Before we can even look at decisions and choices that may affect the outcome of our battles with our giants, the first thing for us to be aware of is our position.  Our place. 
        The first location named was a place village called Sochoh, which referred to a hedge, as one might plant around a vineyard so as to protect it from destructive animals or people.  These hedges were often thorny, and enclosed the vineyard completely. 
   The next location, Azekah, referred to digging about, or tilling, as a preparation for planting, perhaps a vineyard or another crop.
          The Israelites were encamped in the Valley of Elah, which means "low," or, literally "valley."  But its root word means to make low, humble, humiliated, dejected.  They lived temporarily in a place of depression.  Every morning they would have to climb out of their camp and go take their stand on the hill opposite Ephes Dammim in their battle array.  
           The fourth location, on which the Philistines were encamped, was called Ephes Dammin:  

            Boundary of the Bloods.          

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       Israel was God’s chosen people.  Jesus likened them to a vineyard, which the master had tilled, planted, and hedged about, and from whom He expected to receive fruit. (Matt 21:33) The vineyard owner would plant a tall, thorny hedge around the vineyard property, in order to keep out animals who would ruin the vines or steal the fruit.  The spike-laden bushes would prevent chewing through, and the density would mitigate crawling between. 
      For the Israelites, encamped in the Valley of Elah, the depression, degradation and humiliation in which they were living day after day was only serving to make them feel like there was nothing left for them but defeat.  They would get up every day, take their stand for a few moments, and then run away back to their camp---in the depressed lowlands. 
           As Christians, “grafted in” as God’s chosen people, we are also His vineyard.  Jesus has a loving, watchcare over us as His people, and a hedge of protection against the enemy, both in a spiritual sense, as well as in a physical sense.  In Job’s case, Satan could do nothing to hurt Job without getting express permission from God:
​

Have not you made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he has on every side? you have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.  Job 1:10
​

       Most importantly, there is a “boundary of bloods,” poured out for us by Jesus’ death on the cross.  When Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice for our sins, he laid an impenetrable boundary across which no thief, enemy or captor had any right or ability to cross.  Only our choice to walk over and hand ourselves into the captivity of the enemy yelling across the boundary could ever enable him to gain mastery over us. 
      
          It never stops him from trying, of course.  
​

4And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5He had a bronze helmet on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. 6And he had bronze armor on his legs and a bronze javelin between his shoulders. 7Now the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his iron spearhead weighed six hundred shekels; and a shield-bearer went before him. 1 Sam. 17:4-7


​      In modern terms, Goliath was approximately 9 feet, 9 inches tall, with a coat of mail that weighed between 126-200 pounds, bronze armor that weighed around 30 pounds, and even an iron spearhead that alone weighed between 15-25 pounds.  In all, Goliath would have been carrying from 170 to 255 pounds of armor or more! 
 
          To all watching, Goliath looked impervious, indomitable, and invincible.
 
        Don’t our giants look that way?  Giants of lust, pride, lies, addictions, disrespect, depression, rebellion, bitterness….the list goes on and on.  They rear up, and our necks crane back painfully as realize just how large they are.  
      We are reminded of our failures by our children, spouses, friends, and co-workers.  Our own thoughts race, in a circular pattern, down through the long night hours.  They spiral down when there is nothing left to distract us, no one to contradict them.  We haven’t beaten that giant in the past; by all experience and evidence it is unbeatable.  
          In a sense our goliaths gain a type of victory over us when we simply stay in the depression.  When we live, day after day, with that sense of defeat and impending failure.  Sometimes it is all we can do to put on our armor and walk up the hill for a few minutes--long enough to hear him shouting out his taunts---before we run back to our place of humiliation.       
          Satan would always rather we give up without a fight. He knows that if we are in Jesus he no longer possesses the ability to control, enslave or defeat us by force. Instead, his chief weapons against us are fear, intimidation, deceit and manipulation. 
          Nearing the cross, Jesus acknowledged three things to His disciples:  1) Satan temporarily had a princely rule and domination over the world; 2) Because of Christ’s sinless perfection, Satan had absolutely no claim or authority over Christ; and 3) through Jesus’ sinless sacrifice on the cross, Satan, the reigning prince over the world, would be cast out, disarmed, and triumphed over:  

I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has no claim on Me. John 14:30
 
Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. John 12:31
 
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Col. 2:15
​

​          Because of Jesus’ blood, we are planted, nurtured and protected from the Evil One.  As long as we remain in Jesus, in His vineyard, the enemy cannot force us to submit to him any longer.
  
          However, the enemy does not fight fair.  Not only does he try to impress us with his great strength, but he also has another tactic. 
 
          Shame. 
 
        Goliath’s name means to uncover, strip naked, make exiled, and make captive.  It is a picture of the captivity and exile of slaves who were conquered, stripped naked, tied, and led away as slaves from their homeland into a foreign land.  It denotes abject shame, mockery, helplessness, hopelessness, despair and lifetime enslavement. 
 
          Hear the mockery in his voice as he shout to them across the valley:

 “Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” 10And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” 11When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. 1 Sam. 17:8-11
​

      Now what is really interesting is that the Hebrew word for “Defy” means to reproach, blaspheme, shame, mock, make naked, expose.  It is the same word used for winter, denoting the time after crops and leaves stripped bare.   In this context, it has the idea of a reproach, a mocking, because of a vulnerability, helplessness and weakness due to nakedness.  It implies shame and mockery heaped upon an already defeated captive.  Does this sound familiar?  It is the very purpose of Goliath's name. It is who he is and what he does.  
    Goliath was mocking the armies of Israel.  He was declaring their shame, vulnerability, helpless and inevitable enslavement, and he was mocking them for it as if it was already true.  He was declaring that their God, the living God, could have no power to save them from his strength and ability.  
         The enemy does this to us.  Our giants say that we are too weak, too vulnerable, to stand a chance.  They declare that we are naked, ashamed and entirely too guilty to win.  They seek our absolute and utter enslavement along with our obedience to whatever evil desire comes up as a temptation. 
         
       The goliaths in our lives come to us as impressive, terrifying addictions, problems, and sin-issues that seem impossible to defeat.  They make us feel ashamed, even in the temptation, as if we have already become their slave.  
 
          They tell us that we can never defeat them, that we are destined for a life of defeat, and that there is absolutely nothing that we can do about it.  To fight would only be worse.  They say we might as well give up and accept the inevitable, because it will be less terrible than the destruction they would inflict if we fight.   
          Their goal is our enslaved obedience.  That whatever lust or pride or selfishness that we are tempted with, we would follow, helpless to control our thoughts, appetites, emotions and actions.   
          However, the truth is that through repentance and faith in Jesus, we are clothed in His own, perfect righteousness.  There is a beautiful word picture of this transaction in Zechariah that I love:
          

“And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan was standing at Joshua’s right side to accuse him. The LORD said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.” (Zechariah 3:1-4 KJV)

       It may seem like there is only a negative when our goliaths come against us.  Without the giants, it seems "normal."  That getting rid of the giants brings us back to "normal."  This is not how Jesus views each victory that we have, though!  With each goliath that we gain victory over, there is an increase in power, in abundant life, in joy, that we never had before. 
       Rather than view this opposition with terror and dread, if we are living in obedience to Christ as our king we can know that not only does He have a plan, but that He is positioning us for a victory through His blood that will result in an increase of freedom for our families, churches, communities and nations. 
         As we walk through the story of David's victory of the Goliath of their time, we will see exactly how David conquered him and brought freedom and joy back to his people. 

       But for now, realize your position: 

      You are a child of God, loved, protected, watched over.  There is a hedge, a boundary of Jesus' blood that no enemy can cross over.  Position yourself on your hilltop with an expectation that He has a plan for your victory.

               Because of the Boundary of Blood.
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A New Thing

5/3/2021

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,     ​For my birthday I always love to receive flowering plants.  Growing up we had a beautifully landscaped yard, filled with Egyptian iris, roses, and many other pickable, long-stemmed flowers.  I looked forward to going out in the yard to see what kind of flower arrangement I could come up with for the house.  Each one was unique; every week a new creation of beauty.
     At our new home, however, I have to start over.  To be sure, it is a beautiful setting with the woods and mountains, but it started out with very few flowers.  So for my birthdays I ask my family for flowers and more flowers to plant.  Yesterday they brought me home a beautifully variegated dapple willow, sunset and white roses, along with a Japanese plum tree.  I couldn’t be happier!   
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    Right now they are sitting in my living room, awaiting their new home. That home, though, is my next issue.  It is all clay and highly acidic soil here.  With clay, the plant roots become encased in a sun-baked pot of dirt which doesn’t drain or receive the water well.  When watering, the water streams off and doesn’t sink into the ground.

      The hard soil rejects the life-giving water.

     In order to survive and thrive, I will need to dig out the old clay dirt and start over with fresh, nutrient rich topsoil that can receive the nurture and care necessary for the plants to thrive and rebloom. 
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     I was encouraged by my Bible app devotional for today, as it explained that the Hebrew word, “bara,” means to fashion or create (always with God as the subject) of heaven and earth, of man, of new circumstances of conditions, transformations, birth, something new, miracles.​
     Our God was and is and shall always be a creating God.  It is why we, as His image-bearers, find joy and pride in our gifts of creativity, whether that’s art, music, writing, building, gardening, or any number of work or hobbies. But while we always must use something He created to reform something of our design, He always makes something new and entirely good.
     From the beginning of our relationship with Jesus, He recreates us into a new and entirely good creation…completely NEW dirt from which to grow and bear fruit:

“I will give you a NEW heart and put a NEW spirit in you!
I will remove from you your heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel 36:26
 
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
the new creation has come: The old has gone,
The NEW is here!”
2 Corinthians 5:17
​

     When we come to Jesus, we are broken, defeated and enslaved by our choices and past.  Our lives are a mess.  For too long we have rejected the life-giving Water that Jesus freely gives. Without Him and His transformation, the goodness of God hits our lives and runs off, unable to penetrate and bring healing and refreshment from the harshness of life.
     When we repent and put our faith and trust in Jesus, our lives are reset, rebirthed. We start to drink in that Water of Life, and we see immediate transformation!  The inward change is dramatic, but the outer actions and habits take more time...a lifetime. 
     Even after receiving Jesus as our Savior, we sometimes find ourselves sinking into habits that have been formed in every area of our lives, old habits that don't fit the new lifestyle of freedom and joy and love. In those habits we at times continue to follow ruts back to old lifestyle choices that only brought pain and destruction. 

     But Jesus, He makes all things new. 

     Every part of our lives.  He starts with our very foundational spirit, and makes it alive with all the essential ingredients necessary. He starts with our dirt.  But then?  Then He creates new habits, new ways of thinking.  Here he reforms our actions of service with a new and intimate knowledge of Him as our humble Servant.  Over there He transforms our words of habitual criticism to life-giving words with our knowledge of Him as our Life-creating Word.  In this section of our garden, He renews our hope to rise up again in a new day, because He is “The Sun of Righteousness [who arises] with healing in His wings,” Malachi 4:2.
     It can be difficult not to think on all our mistakes, failures and regrets, and to trust that God is yet even forming new life in our future.  The enemy would like nothing better than to cause us to halt and wallow in our past failures and broken rhythms.  By focusing backward, he knows that we will re-choose the choices that hurt us and others before. The enemy doesn't want us to live in the reality that Christ has set us free from those and given us the power and grace to make new and good choices through His death and resurrection to new life! 

     Praise God, we can look forward to a New Day in Jesus today!
​​

​"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
Behold!
I am doing a NEW thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a Way​ in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19

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     If what you are facing in your life seems like a wasteland---wasted choices, wasted relationships, wasted finances, wasted health,  wasted time---

     Look to Jesus! 

     Behold our God!

   He is creating a NEW thing today!


​“Behold! I am making all things NEW!”
Rev. 21:5

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Our Stone of Help

1/19/2021

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   My youngest daughter looked at the floor and collapsed in tears. Clutching one of my shirts for comfort, her thumb sought her mouth.  She inhaled slowly and deeply the scent that lingered in the blouse, and I watched her eyes glass over. As I have watched so many times before, she retreated deep inside her soul to escape the inevitable task before her.

    Breakfast smells were wafting up the stairs, and the sound of kids stirring about the house getting ready for the school day reached us.

   In front of her lay the contents of her entire dresser, dirty laundry, and toy chest. The bookshelves also had had their contents strewn about the floor. Since the first task of the day in our home is to tidy our rooms before heading down to breakfast, she knew that there was no getting out of the project. And yet it overwhelmed her.

    Sitting down with her, I let her lean against me for a few moments, burying her face and escaping reality for a little longer.

    In the land of Israel during the time of the Judges, the people faced a similar dilemma, but with much more serious implications. They had just been defeated before their enemies the Philistines. Contrary to wisdom, they had brought the Ark of God into the battle, and what they thought would be His forced Presence and victory. But since they had been refusing to change their actions in repentance, God would not hear them.

    Instead, the Philistines routed the Israelites, captured the Ark, and jubilantly carried it away. In chapter 6, we see that because of the Philistines' own sin and idolatry, maintaining the Ark in their land only brought judgment, so they sent it back to the land of Israel on an ox-led cart.

    When the Israelite men of Beth Shemesh found it, they were so curious that they wanted to look inside it, totally disregarding the Law (Numbers 4:15). When they did so, God struck down 50,070 people. They responded:

“Who is “Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And to whom shall it go up from us?” So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kirjath Jearim, saying, “The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord; come down and take it up with you.” Then the men of Kirjath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and consecrated Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord. So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.1 Samuel 6:20-7:2

   They knew God was powerful. They knew what he required. But rather than getting rid of the things that caused His righteous judgment so that they could have His Presence and help, they became afraid of a God who had that much power. They went from disrespect for His holiness to terror, deprivation and separation.

                                        Sin leads us to oppression, terror, and despair, and separation.

    Over twenty years' time, though, God was still working on their hearts. Oppressed by their enemies, depressed by their constant defeat and captivity, their hearts began to long for the saving Presence of the only One would had the power to change any of it.

   In Hebrew, the word, “lament,” means to wail and groan. They were finally coming to a sincere acknowledgment of their sin and need for the Lord to have their full hearts. They were now recognizing their need to be “heard by God.”

    In 1 Samuel 1, we find that God had already started the process of redemption when he gave Hannah a little boy who she named Samuel, which means, “God has heard.” God always anticipates repentance with a calling. He knows how to bring repentance about, and He anticipates that by calling those who will be ready to show the way back to Him when we are ready. Samuel, who had walked in obedience to God from boyhood, was ready to call them to the freedom, blessing and Presence that he had experienced throughout his life: 

Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, there put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only. 1 Samuel 7:3-4

    What is interesting to me here, is that the very idols they were serving and trusting in were the idols of their enemies that they were being oppressed by, the Philistines. In those times, and I think this is true today, they felt that if there was dominating military or economic power, it was due to their gods giving them success. So in fear or in desire for prosperity, they would try to mimic the worship of the idols of whatever nations were prospering, especially if if was an enemy of whom they were afraid.

   When we come to Jesus Christ to ask for salvation from our enemy, sin, death and the devil, we can't be heard by God until we put away our worship of those very things. For us, idolatrous worship of our enemies looks like serving our lusts and appetites so that we can be successful in possessions, secure in finances, reputation or job positions. It looks like reacting out of fear of death or suffering or rejection by choosing sin to gain this security and relationship. Lies, treachery, divorce, slander, theft, drug use, adultery, fighting, these are ways that we dishonor God and prevent Him from hearing us and giving us victory over the very things we fear and are enslaved to. The result is that we lose will not hear us: “If I regard sin in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” Psalm 66:18

   In 1 John 1:9, though, we find the promise that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Because of Jesus' death on the cross for our sins and resurrection from the dead for our new life in Him, “through death He [destroyed] him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release[ed] those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Hebrews 2:15

   What beautiful gospel news! We can choose to despise and disrespect God, and live without Him in captivity to sin and death; we can choose to fear God and judgment, and remain in our sin and terror; or we can choose to turn away from useless idols that cannot save or hear to the living God who wants to both hear us and save us from our bondage and fear!

                                              The good news of repentance through Jesus
                            frees us to dwell in relationship with a God who hears and saves.

   But the good news is not the end, there is still some “house cleaning” that God wants to get done before we are ready to face our enemies on the battlefield.  God doesn't just want to bring us into relationship with Him, He wants to restore us to abundant and victorious living!  

   After a few moments of sitting with my little girl in her messy room, we got up together and I stayed with her. I had never expected her to clean the entire mess on her own. At her age level, I knew she needed my constant help to not give up and to know how to sort it all out. We worked together to put the toys away. The books got sorted and put on the shelves, ready to be enjoyed again.

   Since she enjoys smelling things so much, I gave her the job of smelling and examining the clothing to see where it would belong—the dresser or the dirty laundry pile. We took the load of laundry down, washed it, folded it, and put it back into the dresser.

   Why did we do all of that work? Why not just leave the dirty clothes on the floor? As parents the answer is easy, but our kids still need to learn it: When it is washed and folded and put away properly, it is ready to be used.

   Samuel knew this too. Even though the people had put away their idols, there was still so much that had not been resolved in relationship with one another that needed to be sorted out, disciplined, and reset for living together in righteousness and healing.

   And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah. 1 Samuel 7:5-6

   During the time of the judges in Israel, there was no king or standing army to enforce the judgment that Samuel was doing. In addition, with his judgments, he would be giving out consequences for wrong behavior and requiring those who were guilty to restore to their victims what had been ruined. The people were voluntarily submitting themselves to the Lord's correction and discipline.

    When we come to know Jesus as our Savior, He also must become our Lord and Judge. This process or submitting our whole lives under His scrutiny is sanctification. When we finally let Him be in charge, He sorts through our lives gradually, allowing us to “smell our dirty clothes,” and to get them ready to be used for good again, the way He originally intended us to be: “for by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Hebrews 10:14

                                   Our submission to Jesus' Lordship and sanctifying work
                                                              gets us ready to be used!

    When we come to God, His goal is not just to get rid of what is bad, but to restore to His original intention for us in His creation! He wants to bless us, and to cause us to be a blessing (Gen. 12:2):

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:1-10

    You may have been living in defeat and despair in areas of your life. Maybe it was a relationship that you kept failing in. Or perhaps in your thought life that you faced continuous defeat. Sometimes they are addictions that make us feel hopeless. It could be a pattern of destructive criticism that you can't seem to break out of on your own.

    While we live in submission to sin, appetites and fear, the enemy is not afraid of us. It is when we place our lives under the Lordship of Christ that the enemy gets terrified and feels he has to stop us:

When the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had gathered together at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it,they were afraid of the Philistines. So the children of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Then Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord heard him. Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and drove them back as far as below Beth Car. Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. Samuel continued as Israel’s leader all the days of his life. From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places. 1Samuel 7:7-16

    When their enemy had heard of their repentance, the Philistines knew the God of Israel would hear His repentant people and start giving them victory. This battle was a last ditch effort to make the people of Israel afraid of obeying God. The Philistines thought that if they came en masse and showed a big, scary front, the people of Israel would do what they had always done before: cower, submit, and go back to captivity. But this time, the people of God's repentance and faith were complete.

                                                              Under Jesus' Lordship,
                           we should expect opposition, victory and complete restoration.

    Because of Israel's determination to trust God and rely on Him to help them defeat their enemies, God gave them a complete victory in the very place where they had previously taken their debilitating defeat. As Ebenezer was the place of their defeat, so Ebenezer became their place of victory.  Their Stone of Help.  

    Over the course of Samuel's lifetime, God gradually restored everything to His people that had been previously taken, restored peace to their land, and restored justice and righteousness in their country.

     In our lives we have seen God restore broken relationships, addictions, families, churches and finances. We have seen Him heal hearts, bring freedom, joy and peace, and save us both in our problems as well as out of our problems. When we have cried out to Him from a place of submission, we have seen His hand work to deliver us again and again. We record these times as our "Stone of Help," memorials to show our children of the faithfulness of God to save.
​
    I pray that you will trust in Christ to be both your Savior and your Lord.  I pray that you submit yourself to His authority and judgment.  And I pray that as you do so He will give you complete victory and restoration in all of your territory.   

​   I look forward with joy to seeing your "Stone of Help," and to hearing your story!

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, 
but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, 
that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 
Hebrews 4:15-20
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    Halley Faville lives with her husband and children in their mountain home in Oregon. 

    ​As a homeschooling mother of 7 children, she enjoys spending her free time in  language arts, music, art, and outdoor activities.  

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