We Are Warriors

What makes a good warrior?  When we think of a warrior, what usually comes to mind is the physical profile.  And we usually think of men.  However, we know that physique does not make you a warrior, nor does gender.  The Bible is full of women, but did you know we were ranked among some of the best of the warriors for God?

We have:

Ø Sister Rahab: a prostitute who took in the Hebrew spies and hid them so they could escape from the men of the town.

Ø Sister Deborah: a prophet and a judge turned leader in battle.  She led the Israelites during battle against the Canaanites. God helped them by sending a storm that swept away some of Sisera’s men and the mud caused the enemies chariots to get stuck in the mud which aided in their defeat… all but Sisera-the enemy’s leader…now we welcome

Ø Sister Jael: a housewife, who allowed Sisera into her home as he fled for safety, only to meet his death by means of a tent stake being driven into his skull

Ø Sister from Abel-beth-maacah: a townswoman who walked towards the attack on her town while everyone else ran around in a panic. She negotiated an agreement with Joab, the commander of David’s army, to hand Sheba over. Convincing the townspeople to behead Sheba, led to the safety of her city.

Ø Sister from En-Rogel: a wench or servant girl, who acted as a spy for David’s spies when his son Absalom was trying to seize the throne.

Ø Sister from the village of Bahurim: another housewife, who noticed David’s spies slipping into her well. She covered the well to thwart the efforts of Absolom’s servants that were chasing them.

Ø Sister from Thebez: a townswoman whose town was under siege. As the town gathered to a roof tower for safety, Abimelech was preparing to burn it down. She found a millstone and threw it… God guided that stone and killed him.  David ain’t the only one that can defeat an enemy with a stone.. OKAY!

These were ordinary women, just as you and I, who suddenly found themselves needing to step up and show courage, bravery, the ability to think quick, be creative and resourceful.  They were willing to serve as the situation called for them to serve, without acknowledgement for their acts of courage. I’m sure we can all come up with many of times we had to step up and serve as the situation called for, in our homes, on our jobs, in our families….

I googled “What makes a good warrior” and my search listed the following attributes:

·       A Good Warrior is Courageous- A spiritual warrior has courage. Martial artist Bruce Lee said, “Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one ... Courage is the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand fear or difficulty.        

·       A Good Warrior is Disciplined- Discipline can also mean simply staying on the path. The good warrior knows there will be obstacles on the journey. The good warrior is able to identify challenges that try to hinder our spiritual growth and navigate through whatever roadblocks the enemy puts in our way.

·       A Good Warrior is a Server- A warrior is willing to lay down their life. He gives freely to those in need. He gives to those who ask. He is not selfish. His life manifests the true spirit of giving through time, energy, and resources.

·       A Good Warrior is Brave- Having or showing mental or moral strength to face danger, fear, or difficulty.

·       A Good Warrior shows Honesty & Integrity- The commitment to moral and ethical principles, and the ability to uphold honor and honesty in all actions. 

·       A Good Warrior has Perseverance- The warrior mindset is a state of mind that allows you to face challenges and adversity ... A warrior never gives up, no matter how tough things get. They are persistent, and they never give in to defeat. We find out our true character when we face adversity.

If you notice, none of what is listed for what makes a “good warrior” has anything to do with physical fighting. Nor does it list how skilled the warrior is with the weapons used in fighting in a war or battle. While we will not be taking on any physical battles, we must embody the warrior spirit that God has placed in us.  Understand that God has placed in us everything we need to be warriors, but we must train to develop and strengthen what He has begun in us.  We do this with a battle strategy.  We know that every good warrior has a strategy for battle that he/she goes in. We must have the mind of Christ when we go into our battles. Knowing that the enemy is thinking we will fight the battle one way, but we will confuse him and fight the battle the way the Lord has us to.

So, what does that strategy look like:

·       STUDYING THE WORD OF TRUTH-we should hold God's truth close to us and allow it to surround us. When we remain in His Word, we can distinguish what is true from what is untrue.

·       BEING READY WITH THE GOSPEL OF PEACE-this allows us to be ready to share God with others at all times.  It also means being constantly vigilant and ready to face the enemy with firm-footed stability. 

·       DAILY RIGHTEOUS LIVING-Righteousness, is simply being “right” with God. No one is right before God in and of his own merit, but our faith in Jesus has put us in right standing with God. Just as God said to Abram in Genesis 17:1 “ I am the Almighty God: walk before me, and be perfect.”

·       FAITH-We must keep our faith strong in the Lord by being confident that God is who he said he is, and he will do what he said he would do. 

·       SALVATION-Meditate day and night on the One who can keep us from stumbling and present us before His glorious presence without fault and with immense joy.

·       KNOWING AND SPEAKING GOD’S WORD-Our words against the attacks of the enemy are not enough.  Satan cannot refute God’s word.  When we speak of God’s word we use the word RHEMA-which means: an utterance.  Jesus spoke the Word of God directly to Satan. After each temptation, he said, “It is written,” and proceeded to speak the Word of God to Satan. This is how you fight back against the enemy. You must use and speak the Word of God. You cannot be silent in battle if the word rhema means utterance. 

The battles we face at times can seem insurmountable, but with God, we have victory. When we put all the training into practice, we are confident in knowing we fight from a place of Victory, because we do not fight alone.  II Chronicles 20:15  says “He fights for us”.  And we all know HE has never lost a battle.  Romans 8:31 says “If God be for us who can be against us?”  Look at II Kings 6:16… Elisha’s servant was afraid of the host of soldiers and chariots that surrounded them, but Elisha could see the Army of God with them.  In which “he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” Elisha could see in the spirit what the servant could not.

In 1 Corinthians 1:25 “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men “, Paul was saying that people considered God's actions to be foolish and weak. But really, it is evidence of people's weakness when they think they are wiser than God and when they cannot even recognize God's power.  God’s ways are not our ways; neither are His thoughts our thoughts… We want to fight our battles in the physical realm, but who and what we are fighting is in the spiritual.  II Corinthians 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds”. And the way we fight these battles requires uncommon weapons or uncommon strategies.  We learn in scripture, that the way God has us fight is uncommon to those who are not anchored in Christ.

·       PRAISE:  Psalm 144: In the opening verse, David acknowledges God's guidance and instruction, saying, Praise be to the Lord my Rock, LORD trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle. II Chronicles 20:22: The men of Judah began singing praises to God and as they sang, God set ambushes against the Ammonites, the Moabites and Mount Seir.  Do you know that your praise is a war cry?  It is designed to confuse and confound the enemy. We are not supposed to be singing praises when we are going through… at least that is what the devil would have you think.  When we send up praises, we usher in the Spirit of the Lord.  And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty!

·       WALKING AROUND WALLS: Joshua and the battle of Jericho- Joshua and the Israelites conquered Jericho by marching around the city walls for six days and seven times on the seventh day; the walls collapsed and they took the city.

·       HOLDING OUR PEACE: David had many opportunities to take King Saul out, but David believed God alone would judge Saul. He refused to give his men the ok to harm him.  God moved Saul and his son Ish-bosheth out of the way for David to take his place on the throne, at God’s appointed time.

·       DECREASING THE SIZE OF AN ARMY: Gideon already was the weakest in his family and was from the weakest clan, God decreased his army from 32,000 to 10,000 and then to 300.  Yet, God gave them victory over the Midianites.

·       USING A STONE TO KILL A GIANT: We all know the story of Goliath’s defeat. The victory is in that David used what he had been trained to use.  It didn’t matter that the size of the stone didn’t compare to the size of the target.

·       BE STILL: II Kings 19:35, The Angel of the Lord slew 185,000 soldiers without any of Judah’s soldiers raising a sword.

·       FALLING ON OUR KNEES IN PRAYER:  Acts 16:25-26 Paul and Silas prayed and that prayer brought about an earthquake that shook the foundation. Not only did it break the prison doors, but it freed them from their chains.

Ephesians 6:11-1711 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Our fight is not of flesh and blood or against what and who we face day to day, but against powers and evil forces in the heavenly realm. The battle is for our souls. It is an unseen battle. Our enemy is camouflaged. He’s disguised as our spouse, our children, our co-worker, the diagnosis from the Doctor, the loss of a job, loss of our home, loss of a loved one.  And he is not after your marriage, your child, your health, your job, but your peace, your salvation. 

The enemy knows that if he can keep us focused on our problems we'll miss the opportunities that God is placing before us; but when we keep our focus to on God's promises and begin to see the potential that he sees in us, we begin to see our challenges in a new light.  The challenges become opportunities for growth that deepen our faith and our witness of God's power at work in our life. The devil fears that….he fears us.  He fears our potential, Ephesians 2:10” for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

1 Peter 5:8 “the devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. His approach is to attack us in the earthly realm so that he can attempt to destroy us in the spiritual realm.  He attempts to distract us from the call of God on our lives with the stuff of this world.  He attempts to push us to the point of giving in to sin or giving up on the path that God has ordained for us.  He makes attempt after attempt. 

Let us not allow the devil to cause us to shrink back when he attacks. These are the flaming darts that Eph 6:16 talks about “In all circumstances take up the shield faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.

 He keeps aiming weapon after weapon.  But in the words of our beautiful Co-Pastor last year… “I wish a weapon would”. 

How can we say this so boldly?  Because I got a BUT GOD, a FEAR NOT, or a DON’T BE AFRAID for every single one of his weapons. Do you know how many times one of those phrases are in the Bible? Each BUT GOD, each FEAR NOT, or each DON’T BE AFRAID indicate God’s Divine intervention following moments of pain, sorrow, crisis or despair. Those BUT GOD moments is God showing us His Mighty Power, His Divine Deliverance, His Grace and Mercy.

John 14:27 ”Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

This peace isn't the absence of trouble. It is a peace within you, because you know who is in control even in the midst of the storm.  The key to the verse “no weapon formed against me shall prosper” is that they will not prosper in the destruction that they were set out to do.

Ø Daniel was still put into the lion’s den

Ø The 3 Hebrew boys were still put into the fiery furnace

Ø Joseph was sold into slavery and then jailed

Ø The Ultimate example is Christ’s crucifixion.  He endured the cross. But He won the victory over sin and death

The devil fears your God given potential. He knows, that when you embrace your identity in Christ, you become an unstoppable force in this world and God gets the glory. Eph. 2:10 “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before-hand, that we should walk in them.” God created each of us with intent and purpose… equipping us with our own unique gifts and talents. The devil is the prince of darkness, and he is afraid of your gifts bringing light to this dark world.  So, when we are faced with attacks, he wants you to doubt yourself, and that God is working all things for the good. He wants you focused on the problems, the failures, your limitations rather than your possibilities with God working through you. With God working through us, the problems and failures become strengthening tools for our character; and the limitations only exist when we do things in our own might.  The size or number of the attack(s) are an indication of the calling on your life.

The devil fears your testimony. Your story of faith and resilience is a testament to God’s faithfulness. Your testimony can ignite faith in others, and expand God’s kingdom. Rev. 12:11 “And they overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony..”  When we share God’s work in our lives, it strengthens the faith of those around you. It shows that they can trust in God, even in their darkest moments. Our testimony is not for our benefit, but for those watching and listening, that they may see God being glorified in your life. Don’t let shame of your past, or fear of criticism, stop you from sharing.  Your story may be meant to strengthen and encourage someone going through a similar situation.  Your story has the power to:

a.      Heal bodies, hearts, spirit

b.      Break the chains of addiction and soul ties

c.       Shine light in the dark places

His attacks are not meant to kill you, but to distract you from being a living testimony.

The Word of God is filled with history of how God has defended and delivered, protected and provided, supplied and strengthened. Multiple verses that tell us to “Fear Not” and those words are backed up by all the “But God” testimonies that we all have.

English writer and philosopher Aldous Huxley said “Experience is not what happens to you; it’s what you do with what happens to you”.  What happens to us makes us stronger. Our journey of faith is marked by battles but also by victories. So, I ask the question again “What makes a good warrior”?

Ø One who has been battle tested

Ø One who praises God through the struggle, because it is in the struggle that she has found her strength

Ø One who accepts the challenge of the war, because she is ennobled by her scars

Prayer: by heartlight.org

Dear Father, my Warrior against all evil,

May I put on the full array of battle gear that you supply that I may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil, the commander-in-chief of all evil spirits.

Help me understand that our warfare is not just against flesh and blood, against mere men. It is against the principalities, the powers, the rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual armies of wickedness in the heavenly places. It is there that they do battle against my soul, against You and Your Son, against the heavenly armies, and against all Your holy people.

Therefore let me take up all the equipment which you have given me, that I may be able to withstand Satan's attacks in the evil day, and having done everything You want me to do, to stand!

In the name of Jesus, my Defender, my Protection, my Shield, I pray. Amen.