May I ask.. what are you facing right now? Has it been pretty rough lately? Feel like you've been through a war?
Let me just say that those people around you are really worth fighting for.
Yes, the battle is the Lord's, but we still have a part to play so to speak. We have a part to pray in it. So what's our part about? It's about earnestly responding to the Holy Spirit on our knees, it's about hearing His voice in worship of Jesus, and then it's about boldly standing up to obediently act upon God's Word no matter what others might think.
Therefore righteously choose to fight the good fight of faith in the Lord and live what we profess to be.
Lives are at stake and it's too early to quit.
Perhaps you've heard this many times before. If so, please let these words serve as a gentle reminder.
Listen, there can be no neutrality in biblical spiritual warfare. I'm not talking about overcoming the enemy by volume in shouting into the heavens at made-up names of fallen angels. They might do this on TV, but what I'm talking about is not at all about the volume of your voice per se. And the weapons that we are to use in this war are not at all carnal, but they are still mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. They are spiritual weapons for spiritual conquest, so please, please, please don't throw away your confidence of faith, believer.
"Great grief prays with great earnestness. Prayer is not a collection of balanced phrases; it is the pouring out of the soul. What is love if it be not fiery? What are prayers if the heart be not ablaze? They are the battles of the soul. In them men wrestle with principalities and powers.. The prayer that prevails is not the work of lips and fingertips. It is the cry of a broken heart and the travail of a stricken soul." ~ Samuel Chadwick
"Many of us are hunting mice while lions devour the land." ~ Leonard Ravenhill
Persevere by believing prayer instead of by human will power. Persevere in faith even when others say that your wayward son or backslidden daughter are just too hard-hearted, just too rebellious, just too closed-minded to the truth, and they will never return to the Lord. Nothing is impossible for the Lord and no one is too lost or astray for Him to work with. Preserve even if they all say that you'll never find a growing believing Christian spouse after God has already called you to one day be married. Don't be anxious, antsy, or even presumptuous but keep seeking the Lord..your first love..and seek His will for you in a practical way, instead of seeking out a spouse and then just wait on Jesus. Preserve even when lame leaders are in power and people say you'll never land a decent job in your country, or say that you'll never see a harvest from your faithful witnessing with the Word.
Currently, in my Land (the USA) only 47% of Americans have a full-time job (..it didn't even need to be this way with the slowest recovery ever due to low-information misinformed voters etc.), and those who don't have full-time work are finding it increasingly out of reach for them. But the out-of-work believers that I know are not fretting, cursing, or gripping. They are just praying more fervently and God is somehow providing for them. And some are finding work after prayer.
Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning. It ain't over until it's over..even if it already looks like it's over.
Keep believing, keep advancing, and keep sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those lost people around you. Keep on steadfastly keepin'-on by faith in the God of the Bible. We certainly don't want friends who were open to hear the truth before, to bring up our name at the Judgement Bar of God before they go enter hell wondering why we never shared Christ and our personal testimony with them while on earth. Yes, contrary to popular PC belief, there is a Great White Throne ahead, and God will judges non-repentant unbelievers. So sad! This is why I am writing you now. Don't put off calling out to Christ for His free forgiveness. You don't need to try and clean up yourself first to get caught by Him. Come to Him and He will clean you up.
Yes, I so want to encourage you in the Lord with all that's in me. Believer, make the most of your days for Jesus.
Yes, shout your victory cry. Done deal.
Plead, persuade, explain what the Bible says. And expect God to intervene..to literally persuade the veracity of the Gospel to the unpersuadable and seemingly deaf people.
We are to declare our biblical faith. Don't just make stuff up, no, believe what God has said in His Word - that's what faith is about. I'm not talking about name-it-claim-it presumption - that blab-it-grab it jive.
The enemy will indeed be vanquished and you will win in Christ as you surrender and trust Him.
The victory is already given. The promise is Iron-clad, but you and I must claim His Bible promise, and confess that promise.
What are you facing today? Get in God's Word and let God's Word get in you...in your shoe leather too. Be a doer of the Word. Think about what was told to Joshua before he went to war. The Bible says...
"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 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." (Josh. 1:8 nkjv).
"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper." (Ps. 1:1-3)
"We. are locked in a battle. This is not a friendly, gentleman's discussion. It is a life and death conflict between the spiritual hosts of wickedness and those who claim the name of Christ." ~ Francis A. Schaeffer
"Our God is Jehovah of hosts, who can summon unexpected reinforcements at any moment to aid His people. Believe that He is there between you and your difficulty, and what baffles you will flee before Him, as clouds before the gale." ~ Frederick Brotherton Meyer
Never forget, Canaan land is not representative of God's holy heaven as many old hymns declare. It typifies victorious Spirit-controlled n filled life. Sure, we won't need fight battles after we arrive in heaven. And the wilderness wanderings typify many believer's defeated floundering, but Jesus needs to be Lord of you and me daily. And He intends for us to fight the good fight of faith down here on earth, instead of by punching it out with physical fists. Gangbangers and headbangers ..whatever you feel you are.. please turn and trust in Jesus. God has something better for you that will take some guts. We war not fighting against flesh and blood people, nope, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. facebook.com/shareJesus
