Pastor Yon's Blog

Battle Ready!

4 Mins read

Battle Ready!
Exodus 13th Chapter
17When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead
them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For
God said, "If they face war, they might change their minds and return to
Egypt." 18So God led the people around by the
desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for
battle.

As allies join America in the fight against terrorism, I submit one question to
the body of Christ – "Are we ready for war?" I know that the news sources
have speculated on how the war is going to be fought and how it should be fought,
but again I ask the body of Christ – "Are we ready for war?" Enemies
of the United States of America have proclaimed this as "JIHAD" which
means holy war. Well, if it is holy war, then Christians need to be ready for
a holy war.

In Exodus 13:17 we see God move His people out of Egypt, but we also see Him
move them away from war because they weren’t ready. In this verse God speaks
and says of the Israelites, "If they face war, they might change their
minds and return to Egypt." It’s not like they didn’t have enough people
to wage war. As a matter of fact, in earlier scripture Pharaoh was concerned
for this very reason:

Exodus 1st Chapter
9"Look," he (Pharaoh) said to his people,
"the Israelites have become much too numerous for us. 10Come,
we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and,
if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country."

The 18th verse of our text also tells us that the Israelites were "armed
for battle." So what was missing? You’ve got the numbers. You’ve got the
hardware. What was missing? The most important element of a war – spiritual
warfare. They could not go because they were not ready spiritually. However,
just a few short chapters away, the same God that sent them away from war allowed
them to enter into it.

Exodus 17th
     8The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites
at Rephidim. 9Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our
men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the
hill with the staff of God in my hands."
     10So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered,
and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11As
long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he
lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired,
they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held
his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained
steady till sunset. 13So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.
     14Then the LORD said
to Moses, "Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make
sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of
Amalek from under heaven." 15Moses built an
altar and called it The LORD is my Banner. 16He
said, "For hands were lifted up to the throne of the LORD. The LORD will
be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."

Let’s focus on is the 11th verse. As long as Moses held his hands up, the Israelites
were winning but as soon as he put his hands down, they began to lose. Now back
to the question at hand — Is the body of Christ ready for war? Are we ready
to stay out of our comfort zones from now until the return of our Savior, or
are we ready to get back to normal? I tell you, one of the scariest things to
see Christians do is, "Get Back To Normal." There should be no more
normal for the body of Christ. If "holy war" has been declared, then
there is no doubt that we’ve got to tap into the "Holiest" source
in existence. We need to lift our hands to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
on behalf of our country and keep them up until the victory is attained.

There is no excuse for our country to ever go into war without adequate spiritual
warfare. James 5:16 states, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous
man availeth much" and we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ
Jesus. (2 Corinthians 5:21) We must lift our President up in the name of Jesus
and pray that our leader hears from God clearly and concisely. We need to pray
that God gives our military leaders clever and cunning war tactics that will
use minimal force yet attain maximum results. We must also lift our military
families (soldiers, spouses, mothers, fathers, siblings, relatives, and friends)
before the name of Jesus. Pray for the protection of those who will go on the
physical battlefield and for a spirit of sound mind for those who await their
return. We pray that every member of our military families get exposed to the
Gospel of Jesus Christ and their eternal destiny will be sealed with His blood.
We pray for justice – not vengeance – justice and we know that justice will
be served because in Isaiah 61:8 the Lord states, "I the Lord love Justice."
(NIV) We pray for a spirit of confusion over those who continue to plot terrorist
acts to do others harm. We pray that confusion overtakes them so severely that
they flee even when no one is chasing.

Proverbs 28:1 – The wicked flee when no man pursueth:

And as we keep our hands lifted before the most high God in thanks, praise,
and worship, we pray for each other?s strength to keep those hands lifted. We
no longer are islands isolated for our own causes and purposes. Instead, each
of us has become the other?s Aaron and Hur keeping each other?s hands lifted
when we are tired, hurting, or under attack. We?ve been armed for battle a long
time, faced with battle recently and ready for battle since the resurrection.
We’ve seen the heart of hell manifest plans of evil into reality; now through
spiritual and physical warfare we shall undoubtedly in due season see the goodness
of the Lord in the land of the living.

Psalms 27th Chapter
12Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies:
for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty.
13I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness
of the LORD in the land of the living.

We shall not faint nor shall we forget that we are battle ready!

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