05/20/2014
God’s Holy Spirit is stirring His people! The King of Kings is awakening warriors to take their place, to join the victorious, joyful band of believers known as the overcomers, those who stand strong for King Jesus and carry His glory and love throughout the earth (1 John 5:4)! Aroused to stand strong, bold and brave in the confidence that through Christ Jesus we are unstoppable invincible steadfast and unshakable (see Romans 8:37).
As followers of this glorious King, each one of us is called and commissioned by the Spirit of God to become mighty warriors of God. What is a warrior? One who has experienced many battles and has defeated every enemy. One who succeeds without fail! The warrior, however, is not a common soldier. Warriors demonstrate nobility and honor, bravery and fearlessness, and, above all, radical devotion to their leader. Warriors will die for their king!
You may well be asking, Me? A mighty warrior? Yes, you! Does this calling sound impossible? It is! Is this beyond your strength and ability? Absolutely! God’s mighty power is released through our dependence on Him.
Depend Upon Christ, Our Warrior Within
Our identity as warriors of God is only possible because we, in ourselves, are now dead! We have been crucified with Christ. We no longer live: our lives have been bought by His Blood at Calvary. Christ now lives as God's Warrior in and through us!
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20).
During these perilous, dark days, we can be fearless champions because Christ, living within and through us, has already "overcome the world" (see also Joshua 1:7). We don't have to overcome Christ already has. He is the mighty Lion of Judah! He is the King of Kings! Remember His promise: “Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). The apostle Paul reminds us that we are NOW more than conquerors in and through Christ Jesus (Romans 8:37).
Believing and acting on this precious truth Christ the King within us will empower us to stand boldly before all, fearless in the face of any difficult circumstance, and confident in the Lord’s Presence, no matter what personal loss, family disappointment, sickness or poverty threatens our lives, the lives of our loved ones, or the lives of those who cross our path. We are called to carry His Kingdom of love everywhere we go, defeating His enemies every step of the way!
Warriors Believe The Word - To The Point Of Action!
How exactly do we allow Christ the King to fight our daily battles? It's very simple! As His warriors, we simply choose not to look at "the things which are seen" but to fix our heart and mind on the greater, unseen reality of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God and the Spirit of God living and reigning within us. Through Christ our King we are unstoppable and invincible. He promises that no weapon formed against us will work (Isaiah 54:17): no sickness, no depression, no confusion, no fear, and no lack!
If all of this is indeed true, you may be wondering, then why is it that most believers don’t feel victorious warriors? The reason is very clear: it is a mistake to walk by our own thoughts, emotions and perceptions of "reality." If we pay attention to this natural realm, we will fight the enemy in our flesh and soul not by God's Spirit and Word and thus lose every battle. We must walk by faith standing on His Word and living in His Spirit and expect the Lord to "make good" on His promises. Fix your eyes on Jesus, call on His Name, stand on His Word, and every battle will be won!
Warriors Deny Themselves
This shift from living through our soul (our own will, carnal mind and natural emotions) to living by His Spirit and Word is the necessary path and true cost of discipleship: each one of us must die to ourselves and live for Christ. We must choose to yield to His Spirit and Word (renew our mind), deny ourselves and declare His truth over ourselves and our circumstances: “Let the weak say, ‘I am strong’” (Joel 3:10). In the Psalms, we hear mighty words of victory:
Through You we will push down our enemies. Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us. (Psalm 44:5)
Our call is not to give ourselves over to fear, doubt and unbelief, but to His righteousness, peace and joy within us. We are called to be upright in all we do, rejoicing always, and bold as a lion (Proverbs 28:1). Of course this is the call of God's grace. We cannot change ourselves, but we must have confidence in the grace and power of Christ working within and through us. He is the one who will transform us from carnal Christians who live by the flesh, who give credence to their carnal minds and unsanctified emotions, to warriors who "live and move and have our being" in Christ as dread champions of God's unconditional, matchless love and warriors for His Truth, who stand without compromise. As for me and my house we will serve the LORD (Joshua 24:15)!
Stand strong knowing your divinely given authority and power. Let this be the season of overflowing victory in every area of your life. Declare that this will be a time of God’s magnificent favor and amazing grace, upon you and your family (Psalms 84:11)! Amen! Arise, mighty warriors!
The Spirit of God will grant each of us virtue to wait upon Him for His grace and guidance. The word “wait” speaks of wrapping one’s self in the promises of God and not looking anywhere else; it involves keeping our focus firmly fixed on Him. He is the Source of true confidence and strength (Isaiah 26:3).
God has promised that His grace will equip us for any task. Do you believe this? Paul reminds us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). God is faithful to release an awesome anointing for every assignment that He gives to us. He would never give us a task without releasing a divine touch to carry out the mission. Scripture tells us the power of the Holy Spirit is for the purpose of making Christ Jesus known through the entire earth (Acts 1:8).
Are you letting the Holy Spirit’s power flow through you? Paul admonished us in Colossians 1:11 to be “strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power.” It’s God’s power in us that brings change in us and in the world around us.
Now is the time to be lionlike in our stand against sin and Satan. Now is the time to be brave and bold in our witness of Christ and His Kingdom.
As we stand on the threshold of entering into a new level in our Christian walk, we are about to be launched into new frontiers. We must decide to remain pure and to let His Spirit rule over our souls so that He will flow through us in divine boldness. Let the command given to Joshua ring loud and long in your heart:
No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
—Joshua 1:5–7
The promises of these passages are endless. God said that no one would be able to stand before His servant, Joshua, which meant that by God’s power, every opposition must fall. God promised to be with His servant, which brings great confidence—the promise of the abiding presence of God’s Spirit.
God Himself commands us to stand bold and brave. The courage to stand doesn't come from self-confidence but rather from a confidence borne of knowing and doing God’s will. The boldness we should exhibit comes from a heart filled with Christlike love. Remember, Jesus told us the meek would inherit the earth. The boldness we display is not a brassy, aggressive, or arrogant attitude; instead it is a gentle, patient, and unpretentious spirit.
No matter what gift God has given us, we are to speak the truth in love. If we cannot walk in love, then we are just making noise and we won’t communicate God’s will to the hearts of humankind.
Paul’s teaching about the power gifts being made manifest in our lives is found in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14. It is no happenstance that sandwiched between these two chapters is the outstanding teaching concerning the importance of operating in God’s love (1 Corinthians 13:1–10).
In closing, I want to echo Joshua’s address to God’s people:
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
—Joshua 1:9
Never forget God’s promise of His enabling presence abiding with us. Know that it is God who works within us, both to will and to do His good pleasure. Be confident in Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27).
Amen! Arise!
