It seems that there are seasons that our world breaks out in chaos. I write this in the aftermath of what seems to be one of those times, Policemen in Las Vegas were murdered, people in my hometown have been murdered, drug problems and crimes are making the daily headlines in droves, and people are dying, and I won't even touch whats going on in our government. A sheeple can look at the world in chaos and be afraid, throw their hands up in the air and decide that this must be the end times and just hope their way to heaven. But God commands us over and over and over again in the bible "Do Not Fear". How do you not fear the chaos? Face the chaos! Anyone look at the world in these storms and not be afraid. God is first and foremost our protector but he also calls us to protect - to defend the defenseless. You want a for instance I suppose - the current school curriculum is set up with an anti bullying campaign - teaching our children that if they see bullying occur to make a difference and help. I commission us as adults to open your eyes and see that the devil is the bully - and it is our time as warriors to rise up and put an end to his powerless threats. He is a defeated foe, but there are so many that are still living under his threats. If you have reached your promised land where you know how to subdue him - don't just live there when there are people in your sphere of influence that need what you have attained. Why be a warrior? Why potentially put ourselves in harms way for the sake of someone else? Isn't that forming a true reflection of our savior? To lay our lives down before our friends is the greatest act of love that could be performed in this earth isn't it? The only way to shorten the time before true heaven on earth can occur is by training ourselves, and empowering and protecting others from what the enemy wants to destroy. Our acts for God's kingdom do not go un-noticed by our heavenly father either.
The blessing of Heaven is something that we all want to have, but God is not in the welfare system of just handing things out. Yes he has the blessings at the ready for us, but sometimes we have to go through some hell just to get it. Look at the perfect theology of Jesus - He wanted all of us in heaven with him for eternity - I'm sure God could have used his heavenly power to just squash out the devil, but instead, Jesus left his majestic throne in heaven, to reside here on earth for 30+ years - and if that wasn't hell enough, he actually went into the pits of hell to defeat the enemy for good, and then back here to say his aideus and then - THEN the amazing glory of heaven was opened for him. If Jesus had to go through all of that, and we were made in his image, then that too makes us warriors, able to storm the pits of hell that come in waves against our lives, and in the lives of those we are called to protect. Psalm 144 explains why being a warrior in his kingdom is so necessary. The beginning of this Psalm starts out by praising the Lord for training David up in battle, but the end slice explains the benefits of being a warrior - our children will be blessed and strong, we will have abundance of food, there will be no distress in our streets, we will be blessed - and in that blessing, we will be bringing more of heaven to earth!
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| Anointing the Warrior |
Psalm 144 - English Standard Version - courtesy of www.biblegateway.com
Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
2 he is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples[a] under me.
who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
2 he is my steadfast love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples[a] under me.
3 O Lord, what is man that you regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
4 Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.
or the son of man that you think of him?
4 Man is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.
5 Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!
Touch the mountains so that they smoke!
6 Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;
send out your arrows and rout them!
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,
from the hand of foreigners,
8 whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
Touch the mountains so that they smoke!
6 Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;
send out your arrows and rout them!
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,
from the hand of foreigners,
8 whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 who gives victory to kings,
who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me
from the hand of foreigners,
whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 who gives victory to kings,
who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me
from the hand of foreigners,
whose mouths speak lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 May our sons in their youth
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace;
13 may our granaries be full,
providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields;
14 may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;[b]
may there be no cry of distress in our streets!
15 Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
be like plants full grown,
our daughters like corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace;
13 may our granaries be full,
providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields;
14 may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;[b]
may there be no cry of distress in our streets!
15 Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
David, in this Psalm - like any natural human, cries out for God to rescue him. Every single one of us has a prince who has come to rescue us - just as in a fairy tale where he swoops the princess on his beautiful horse and whisks her away to his kingdom; Jesus did that for us! We have already been rescued! So why does it feel like we still have a battle at our feet? When Jesus came to rescue us, he had already locked up the devil and opened the door for our freedom. Sometimes the greatest battles in our lives come from taking those steps out of our cells and into the life that he has called us to live. What did Cinderella do? She KNEW her prince was coming, but she was locked in the tower by her wicked stepmother... But she summoned her mouse friends to steal the keys back - she started warring - she didn't sit in her locked room crying in despair, she got angry and began to fight in the only way she could at the moment. Once the keys were in hand she burst out of her room and ran down the stairs to an awaiting prince, but her enemy was still there. Cinderella's prince and his men were there waiting for her - and they defended her against her enemies - she was fit to wear the kingdom and off they went, leaving her hell behind.
Can you think of someone that is still a prisoner? There are many out there that need you to step up and be the warrior that God is putting in your heart to be.
In the end of Psalm 144, David lists one of the blessings of being a warrior as having strong children... Can you imagine a society full of strong and confident children that don't fall prey to violent relationships or cyclical poverty? Imagine a world full of strong, whole, healthy people, that raise strong, whole, healthy people - I see a nation full of power when that comes to pass; I see heaven on earth coming when we all become warriors and can start a revolution just by raising ourselves up one at a time. And once raised... Raise up another - be the helping hand that gets someone else out of their miry clay. Another blessing that David mentions is having abundance of food. I have heard more than a few people say that our world may come to a time when food will be scarce - but this picture in Psalms makes me think otherwise - that warriors are going to have rule of the land and have abundance. Which if you think of it - really makes sense. Because when the enemy has no domain over our territory, theres nothing to worry about. The enemy has come to steal, kill and destroy - but Jesus came so that we could have life in abundance (John 10:10). So if Jesus came so that we could have abundance - why would we ever settle for anything less than what he is offering us to have? Jesus wrote the end of the story - and there is no hunger, there is no poverty or pain... so really, isn't becoming a warrior what will make the greatest difference in the earth?
Daddy, Thank you for making us in your image. Open our eyes to see you more clearly as we look at our reflection. Draw us more into who we are supposed to be. Bring revelation to us Jesus as we step out of who we were and into who we are called to be. I pray empowerment for everyone reading this that they are blessed with a warriors heart. Lead them and train them up daddy in the way that they should go, so that when they are old they will not depart from your teachings. You are the perfect teacher, thank you for leading us to opportunities to learn from others you have already trained, and for growth. I pray old mindsets be left at the cross today, never to be picked up again. That only kingdom mindsets from this day forward will be with your people. Shake off what is old and show us our armor. Remind us daily daddy to put our armor on. Thank you for your many blessings to come daddy as we follow hard after you. In Jesus name Amen
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