Wednesday, March 24, 2010

For Those Who Have Ears, Let Them Hear, For Those Who Have Eyes, Let Them See

Anonymous said...
PART ONE
We, like Israel of old, are up against something bigger than ourselves and
our options are to go out with a lot of noise or line up with the God of the universe.
America needs a David today every bit as much as Israel did when they faced Goliath. For as we try to advance against the immorality of our day, we find ourselves at a standstill, very much like King Saul’s army at Socoh in Judah.
Each morning for forty days Israel drew up their battle lines to face the Philistines, but for forty days they gained no ground. They took their positions as servants of Saul, and that was no little thing. Many of those soldiers had seen amazing victories under Saul, even against immeasurable odds. They had come so far with their leader. When they started with Saul there were only two swords among all of them, now there they stood, a regular, bonafide army. As the first hint of morning came over the hill and the camp began to stir, you would have been proud as you watched the soldiers prepare for battle. They strapped their swords to their sides, grabbed their shields, and marched out to their battle positions shouting the war cry all they way.
If we could make up a transparency of what we call ‘Christian America’ and lay it over this scene, it would match perfectly, because we too have drawn up our battle lines. We have drawn them up on moral issues. Issues that ought to be defended. We believe in faith and family; sanctity of life; personal responsibility. It is on these doctrines that we have drawn up our positions to face the enemy. These values have become our war cry, but we have found that a war cry alone is not enough to bring the victory home.
Israel’s war cry rang out every morning for those forty days that they lined up to face the Philistines. Eighty times Goliath came out to meet them, and eighty times the army of Israel trembled in terror at his threats. Usually we look down on this army and call them a faithless, fearful bunch. However, we should give them some credit because the very next morning they would be right back out there again shouting the battle cry. But in truth, as hyped as they were when they drew their lines, they accomplished nothing. If they ever meant to win, they eventually would have to combat the enemy. Just as we will have to combat the enemy if we hope to win our nation back to God- not the Philistine Giant that Israel faced, or even the ferocious contenders we hear of who assassinate Christians. No, the enemy we must defeat is the friendly arms wide-open sin ridden world that so willingly would welcome us as one of them.

March 24, 2010 7:31 PM
Anonymous said...
PART 2
Twice a day Goliath’s threat rang out, “Why do you come out to line up in battle formation?” he’d ask. “Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have them come down against me.” 1 Samuel 17:8
Sun Tzu, who authored the ancient manual, “The Art of War”, notes that to be successful in war there are two things you must know. You must know your enemy and you must know yourself. This is where Israel failed. This is where Goliath ultimately failed. This is where we will fail if we don’t make corrections. This is where David knew victory.
Notice again what Goliath said, “Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul?” Does that sound right to you? It sounded right to Israel. “Sure, he’s a Philistine, a champion too, and we’ve been serving Saul for how long now?”
David, however, didn’t belong to the army. He wasn’t accustomed to their way of thinking. He sat out in the wilderness with a bunch of sheep. He had a relationship with God that was independent of Saul, the army, religion, or politics. Not only was the Spirit of God on David to give him the strength to tear lions and bears apart with just his hands, but the Spirit also gave David the ears to hear differently.
This is why David responded the way he did. “Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 1 Samuel 17:26b.
David knew who Goliath was, just a man that had no part in the promises of God, in other words, fair and easy game. He also knew that the soldiers of Israel weren’t just servants of Saul, but they were the army of the living God. This changed things dramatically.
Goliath was insulted when he saw David, just a youth, with no armor and no sword. David’s response was (paraphrased) ‘Today I’m gonna kill you, cut off your head and feed you to the birds.’ And he adds, “Then all the world will know that Israel has a God.” vs. 46.
The Philistines knew when they woke up that morning that Israel had a king. By the time the sun went down, they knew that Israel had a God.
Now here we line up again in the churches, in the political scene, standing behind our own beliefs, but having very little impact on our nation. Do we really know who we are, or do we allow the world to define us? Do we let them tell us what we can do and say, which sins we should dare to challenge and which we had better let be? Are the ways of sin so strong and overwhelming that we cannot call each other to rise above it? Or have we forgotten who God is, Almighty, reigning supreme over every power in Heaven and Earth! How long will we line up, state our opinions on the matter, and then back down?
The army of God does not respond in a safe, prescribed way, as if the underdog. The army of God has trained ears that hear the way God hears. The army of God responds the way God responds.
The whole world is watching us. They have known for a long time that we in America have a church. They know we have a ‘radical right’. They know we have religion. Lets wake up to who we are and let the world know we have a God!

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