Deliverance in Faithful Battle
Victory over adversity or opposition is reserved for those who are in fellowship with God, seeking His will and ways and desiring to be more Christ like. This does not mean a person is perfect, nor anything close but it does reflect a heart that relies upon God and not its own strength. Victory in this battle is not the same as being delivered through discipline taking place around you. Please consider the situation of our nation and world before you assume God will perform a miracle and again deliver the victory. It is more likely that discipline is headed our way and the victory will be for individuals, but not in the expected manner.
I do believe God delights in seeing His people victorious in battle. The battle may be literal like Gideon, Joshua at Jericho or David against Goliath or it could be figurative like Paul warring against his own flesh. But whatever the battle, victory comes for the faithful follower not the nominal or carnal believer, a lack of wars around us or the presence of wealth and luxury are not indicators of faithfulness. Faith is a matter of heart as expressed in actions. Please do not mistake your current circumstances as being evidence of favor or disfavor in God's eyes. A good job and a nice house does not equate to Godly favor, many unbelievers have these things. Likewise a lack of material goods does not indicate humility and reliance upon God, many unbelievers are likewise poor. I hope the following examples will help to make this clear.
Israel was suffering under the oppression of the Midianites, and in the midst of this oppression turned to God. In Judges 6:6 it states that “And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.” The people recognized the oppression and turned to the only one capable of delivering them. Most of us know the account of how God called an unlikely hero, timid Gideon, and choose an even less likely army of 300 men with pots and torches to defeat the enemy. The point is that repentance and calling to God does result in victory. But repentance and calling are absolutely necessary, it says that God heard their cries and then responded.
An earlier than Gideon, remember Joshua leading the Israelites into the land after the death of Moses? God very clearly promised the people victory and possession of the land, we see this reiterated in Joshua 1:13 where Joshua tells the people “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.” And in the following chapters where they spied out the land and Rahab testified (Joshua 2:9) of the fear that had fallen on the people at hearing how God had brought victories earlier. It is very clear that God was with His people and through the obedience of the people miraculous victories occured, how else do you explain the walls falling down at a shout except for Rahab’s house? But keep in mind the people had suffered through 40 years of discipline and were now ready to obey and that God had clearly communicated what it was He wanted them to do.
But what about an enemy in front of you and no clear command to fight, what then? Let us turn to David as he sees Goliath taunting the armies of God and God Himself? In 1 Samuel chapter 17 we see David acting out in the confidence that God could deliver this enemy into his hand. David knew God and had experienced victory from God as he stated “The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:37) The outcome was certain for David because he saw an enemy boasting against God and knew God had made a promise to His people Israel to protect them as long as Israel served God. David rested in God’s prior promise and his own relationship with God to fight and defeat Goliath and in doing so praised God Almighty throughout the event.
The battle we fight is not always a physical one, Paul says "I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind" (Romans 7:18-25). He is speaking of the battle between the flesh, our fallen human nature, and the Spirit, our new nature in Christ and how these two are opposed to each other. After reasoning with the Roman believers for seven chapters he comes to a seminal statement, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah! We are saved and freed from sin! Joy and Blessing and peace! But there is a catch, this lack of condemnation is true but it is only manifested in this life for the believer who walks not after the flesh but after the Spirit (Romans 8:1). Our eternal salvation is secure and the condemnation is completely removed but we need to be mindful of the affects of sin in our lives. This point is illustrated back in the book of Joshua.
Victory is not always guaranteed, it is dependent on certain conditions being met, namely being in fellowship with God, that is without sin before Him. Just after the victory at Jericho the Israelites suffered a major defeat at the small city of Ai. Why, what happened in between the two events? There was sin in the camp. (Joshua 7-8) Joshua did not know that Achan had sinned and God was angry with the children of Israel. Achan took spoil from the city of Jericho, he coveted clothes and money and took them and hid them in his tent. This sin caused the whole camp to lose in battle. It is a lesson for the church and the individual, sin may be the reason our prayers are not answered and we are not victorious.
Sometimes national victory comes because of one faithful person who leads others and shows the example. Saul should have been this person as he fought Goliath but he forfeited the right and so another took his place. Upon the example of one young man the whole army was strengthened and defeated the Philistines. Sometimes the sin of one person can affect the whole camp (or in our case church or family). For Gideon, Joshua and David did their initial circumstances or how others saw them indicate favor with God or was their victory an expression of their faith and obedience? Please do not assume that a faithful few will always be enough for God to withhold discipline but do rely upon His prior actions to know He can and will deliver individuals.
Posted November 27, 2011
I do believe God delights in seeing His people victorious in battle. The battle may be literal like Gideon, Joshua at Jericho or David against Goliath or it could be figurative like Paul warring against his own flesh. But whatever the battle, victory comes for the faithful follower not the nominal or carnal believer, a lack of wars around us or the presence of wealth and luxury are not indicators of faithfulness. Faith is a matter of heart as expressed in actions. Please do not mistake your current circumstances as being evidence of favor or disfavor in God's eyes. A good job and a nice house does not equate to Godly favor, many unbelievers have these things. Likewise a lack of material goods does not indicate humility and reliance upon God, many unbelievers are likewise poor. I hope the following examples will help to make this clear.
Israel was suffering under the oppression of the Midianites, and in the midst of this oppression turned to God. In Judges 6:6 it states that “And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.” The people recognized the oppression and turned to the only one capable of delivering them. Most of us know the account of how God called an unlikely hero, timid Gideon, and choose an even less likely army of 300 men with pots and torches to defeat the enemy. The point is that repentance and calling to God does result in victory. But repentance and calling are absolutely necessary, it says that God heard their cries and then responded.
An earlier than Gideon, remember Joshua leading the Israelites into the land after the death of Moses? God very clearly promised the people victory and possession of the land, we see this reiterated in Joshua 1:13 where Joshua tells the people “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and hath given you this land.” And in the following chapters where they spied out the land and Rahab testified (Joshua 2:9) of the fear that had fallen on the people at hearing how God had brought victories earlier. It is very clear that God was with His people and through the obedience of the people miraculous victories occured, how else do you explain the walls falling down at a shout except for Rahab’s house? But keep in mind the people had suffered through 40 years of discipline and were now ready to obey and that God had clearly communicated what it was He wanted them to do.
But what about an enemy in front of you and no clear command to fight, what then? Let us turn to David as he sees Goliath taunting the armies of God and God Himself? In 1 Samuel chapter 17 we see David acting out in the confidence that God could deliver this enemy into his hand. David knew God and had experienced victory from God as he stated “The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:37) The outcome was certain for David because he saw an enemy boasting against God and knew God had made a promise to His people Israel to protect them as long as Israel served God. David rested in God’s prior promise and his own relationship with God to fight and defeat Goliath and in doing so praised God Almighty throughout the event.
The battle we fight is not always a physical one, Paul says "I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind" (Romans 7:18-25). He is speaking of the battle between the flesh, our fallen human nature, and the Spirit, our new nature in Christ and how these two are opposed to each other. After reasoning with the Roman believers for seven chapters he comes to a seminal statement, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah! We are saved and freed from sin! Joy and Blessing and peace! But there is a catch, this lack of condemnation is true but it is only manifested in this life for the believer who walks not after the flesh but after the Spirit (Romans 8:1). Our eternal salvation is secure and the condemnation is completely removed but we need to be mindful of the affects of sin in our lives. This point is illustrated back in the book of Joshua.
Victory is not always guaranteed, it is dependent on certain conditions being met, namely being in fellowship with God, that is without sin before Him. Just after the victory at Jericho the Israelites suffered a major defeat at the small city of Ai. Why, what happened in between the two events? There was sin in the camp. (Joshua 7-8) Joshua did not know that Achan had sinned and God was angry with the children of Israel. Achan took spoil from the city of Jericho, he coveted clothes and money and took them and hid them in his tent. This sin caused the whole camp to lose in battle. It is a lesson for the church and the individual, sin may be the reason our prayers are not answered and we are not victorious.
Sometimes national victory comes because of one faithful person who leads others and shows the example. Saul should have been this person as he fought Goliath but he forfeited the right and so another took his place. Upon the example of one young man the whole army was strengthened and defeated the Philistines. Sometimes the sin of one person can affect the whole camp (or in our case church or family). For Gideon, Joshua and David did their initial circumstances or how others saw them indicate favor with God or was their victory an expression of their faith and obedience? Please do not assume that a faithful few will always be enough for God to withhold discipline but do rely upon His prior actions to know He can and will deliver individuals.
Posted November 27, 2011
