Praise a Weapon of Spiritual Warfare Part 3

It doesn't seem long ago when Karen and I and the boys were on the farm.  Farm life was good and I loved it.  But farm life is different from regular life in that a farm community's life is so often based on the future, on an uncertain tomorrow.  But that life, while based on uncertainty, has to be lived out in a positive hope-filled today.
Let me explain this because it represents what I want to teach but I'm sure it isn't clear yet. A farmer goes and spends a small fortune on seed. [This summer we met a farmer in Kansas who spent $40,000.00 on seed for just one field.] That farmer takes that seed and he plants it into the ground.  From that time on he has to hope that rain, or sun, devastating hail or plagues of insects do not destroy that field. What a huge gamble it is! But if you talk to the farmer and his humble family they will talk about the crop that they will harvest as though it were already totally grown and at the market. They base their family income on the hope, not the certainty, that that seed will bring an acceptable harvest. They plan on the future even though it is not in. The new computer, the mortgage, the new truck, or barn repairs are all coming out of that crop and they are living in the hope that that harvest comes in. "But it isn't even half grown yet", you might say. They are living now while the crop is still just coming up and spending the money hoping the harvest is good tomorrow.
That is risky business but it's an example of a biblical truth about 'praise.' That farmer is grateful even before the crop is in.  He is talking about what he will do before the crop has even gone to market.  His hope and future is being talked out even before the reapers have hit the field.  It is his 'faith talk'. He is grateful that it is coming, it is going to fill the trucks, it is going to prosper them and bring securty.
What person announces gratefulness before the thing to be greateful for has even come?  Who gives thanks for something before it has even arrived? What army goes to battle singing the victory song before the battle has been won, or what soldier says to his wife we will do this and that with the spoils from our coming victory!
It seems to me that the farmers big hopes and gratefullness or the army singing the victory song before the battle are all out of order. But they aren't, it is their 'faith talk.' Shouldn't you win the battle before the band plays on? Shouldn't you have the harvest money before you begin to think of spending the money?  But the farmer, or soldier or the army gave thanks for what they were about to receive.  They are wearing their 'faith talk.' Their gratitude springs forth before the blessing had arrive, in an expression of trust that it was certainly on its way. Their 'faith talk'  is the exact opposite of the groans of wavering faith and the complaints of discouraged hearts. The 'faith talk'  goes before the miracle!
Praising is actually the most vital thing you can do if you are trusting for a miracle! You need to sing God's praise even before the miracle. You need to be grateful even before the thing has arrived.
So many things God does comes out of our 'faith talk.' If you need a miracle today begin to put on your 'faith talk,' and praise God and trust God and live knowing and believing your harvest, victory or spoils are on their way. Even though you see nothing that resembles an answer, praise Him because God responds to your ''faith talk' called praise!

Praise: A Weapon of Spiritual Warfare Pt #2

Prov 11:25b,

"he that watereth shall be watered also himself'. (KJV)

When we talk about praise we don't always have to talk about it only in the context of us using it to worship. We can also talk about praise as a weapon of warfare.

In our last article I talked about Jehoshaphat and the army of Judah defeating their enemy, the Moabites, when they sang and praised the Lord. It was then that the Holy Spirit moved against the enemy warriors, causing them to turn on each other and eventually destroying themselves. Such a story found in 2 Chronicles 20!  But the long and the short of it is the people began to bless God. 

What I am trying to get you to see is that when the people blessed God, then God turned around and blessed the people back.  Then, they didn't just win the battle, but on top of that they were given the spoils, an over abundance, so much that it took 3 days to gather up all the blessing. They didn't just win the battle, that was their prayer, but they got an over payment. More! Exceeding expectations! Is that kool or what?

Our scripture says, 'He that watereth shall be watered also himself." What that scripture means is when you bless another, there will come blessings for you. When we bless the Lord with the proper heart condition......then.....He can and will bless you.

Let's model this thought with Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah. The people blessed God, honestly to bless Him, and He blessed them in a much bigger way than expected...'He that watereth shall be watered also himself.''  That is how praise becomes a weapon. When you begin to praise God; 'you are watering,' then He begins to bless you; 'those that watereth shall be watered himself,' and when He begins to bless you, the enemy is defeated, troubles begin to get resolved, encouragement begins to flow into your life, the Holy Spirit begins to work on you and your sanctification (goodness & growing to be like Christ) gets to be rich and thick. 
Then get ready for an abundance!

Praise: A Weapon for Spiritual Warfare, Pt#1 of 3

The New Testament unquestionably tells us that a Christian is involved in a battle, a struggle, a veritable war. We are told that we fight, not human forces, but spiritual principalities and powers that inhabit the atmosphere around us.  Furthermore, we are encouraged or more emphatically, exhorted to clothe ourselves with the armour of God, in order that we might be able to effectively withstand the attacks of the evil one(Ephesians 6:8-10).
Spiritual victories are won through a variety of methods such as intercessory prayer or the confession of God's Word.  But there is another form of spiritual warfare most believers fail to consider and that is praise and worship!
This theme of praise as a form of warfare can be traced throughout the scriptures, beginning back in the book of Exodus.  Imagine the scene after the Israelites' crossing of the Red Sea.  Egypt's army had just drowned in the rushing waters, and the people were safe on the other side.  Miriam grabs a tambourine and leads the women in singing, "I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumped gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea"(Exodus 15:1, KJV).  On one occasion Moses and all Israel sang a tremendous song of triumph unto the Lord, and within that song is contained an exciting revelation: "The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name" (Ex 15:2 KVJ). The NIV says, "the Lord is a warrior."
After seeing how God dealt with Pharaoh and his armies, the Israelites knew they had witnessed a great battle strategist in action. 
Joshua was given a similar revelation of God's character. As he was about to lead Israel into Canaan to conquer Jericho, a man appeared to him with a drawn sword.  "Joshua went up to him and asked, 'Are you for us or for our enemies?" 'neither,' he replied, 'but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come' (Joshua 5:13:14).
The Lord was, and still is, a warrior, and Commander-in-Chief of heaven's armies.  Someone might tell us that that was an "early" picture of God, and he has progressively revealed Himself throughout history so that now we know him as a kind, gracious, loving heavenly Father. Yes, during the church age He has been seen as a God of grace, peace and love, but when we see Him after this time, which we all believe is coming to an end, we see Him again as a God of war.  And also remember this, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  He hates sin and goes to war against it. So long as His enemy is loose in the earth, God will be known as a warrior.
The next article will be on the power of Praise in our spiritual warfare.  But I wanted to show you God's relationship in warfare first.
Come join us this Sunday, here at 'The SUB,' @ 10 o'clock for a three-week special on, 'Praise: A Weapon of Spiritual Warfare', or you can catch my blog or hear it from the web page.

Git'er done

Larry the Cable Guy always sayz,  'git'er done.' That's his way of saying he wants to accomplish what he set out to do and he wants to complete that job right.  Many Christians want to be used of God.  For them it is not enough just to know they are on the Christain pathway, they want to be faithful and effective. The question for them is How? Where do we start? What is involved to 'git'er done'? The first answer can be found by looking at the life of Philip, who introduced the Ethiopian official to Jesus Christ in Acts 8:26-38.
There are five easy "to see keys" as to how he did it. Lets look and see:

First, He trusted God. God SOVEREIGNLY worked out all the details involved in Philip's effective witness to the Ethiopian. He will do the same for you.
Second, Philip's LIFE witnesssed to Jesus Christ.  He was chosen as a worker in the early church because of his character (Acts 6:3-5).  A good life not only glorifies God but is a powerful witness to the world.  Our lives should demonstrate that we know Him.
Third, we find the HOLY SPIRIT vitally involved in Philip's life and ministry.  "The Spirit told Philip, 'Go to that chariot and stay near it'" (Acts 8:29). The Holy Spirit is the One who makes our lives attractive (Galatians 5:22-23). He is our Teacher and Guide.  He gives us boldness and courage to witness.  Our responsibility is to be yielded fully to all the wonderful resources of the Holy Spirit.  Philip was led to someone already prepared.
Fourth, look at the important part the SCRIPTURES play in telling another person about Jesus Christ. The Ethiopian was reading Isaiah 53 and asked Philip to explain the passage.  Philip took the same passage, which deals prophetically with the crucifixion, and "told him the good news about Jesus" (Acts 8:35). Philip knew the Scriptures and was prepared to explain the good news of the Gospel.  If we are going to be effective Christians, we too must gain a working knowledge of the Scriptures to help others.
Fifth, the Bible is a record of God working mightily in and through the lives of ordinary people.  Our responsibility is to step out in FAITH and trust God to use us.
So there you have it.  This might help you to go out there and , 'git'er done'.

Lifestyle Warfare

Gen 2:17
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (KJV)

Living in the Tree of Life

Gen 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (KJV)

In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had a choice between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Day in and day out they lived in the life of God and with God, until the serpent came to Eve and tempted her.  God had expressely warned Adam and his lovely wife Eve that they could eat of every tree but not of the tree of good and evil.  While they were in the garden they enjoyed the tree of life. But God had warned them not to eat of the tree of good and evil because it would expose them to something they were totally unable to comprehend...Evil!

Well, along came the Serpant to Eve and began to work on her concerning the tree of good and evil. She probably resisted many attacks but in his persistance she finally gave in.  She made that choice to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil even though God told her expressly not to do so. That decision brought about events that tore their lives and the lives of other people apart.

Every day "WE" also have choices between tree of life decisions and tree of good and evil decisions. Living in the tree of good and evil means making choices that causes you to filter everything through a value system of evaluating what is good and what is evil.  This is a very dangerous road to travel because we don't always see things clearly or objectively. As you know, some things look great on the outside but behind it is a disaster waiting to happen.

If you're an "expert" on what is good, you will judge yourself and others from a pride and arrogance point of view, or maybe self-righteously, and then you become so harsh that it brings death to you.  If you're an expert on evil, corruption will creep into your heart and cause you considerable harm. You can't win! Knowledge of good and evil always has the same result - your death. Why? Because every single person who makes a decision thinks it's a good decision!

 Making tree of life decisions, brings life, peace and spiritual health to us.  
Why do we praise God? Because it stimulates life in our lives.  Why do we treat people with kindness? Why do we forgive?  Why do we turn the other cheek, etc.? Because it stimulates His life in us and others. In the tree of life we always do things that brings life to people, including us. The enemy hates when we make tree of life decisions.

Channel 4 for Chick?

I went to our favorite Chick-Fil-a today and I had to wait 40 minutes to get served.  The parking lot was full, the line went around the block and people were waiting outside to get in.  The place was jammed! I was so excited about it. I am looking on Facebook and I see restaraunts and people who had to wait an hour or two to get in. If that would have happened to me on any other day whether it was Chic-Fil-a or anywhere else, I swear, I would never go back there. Ever!  But here I am sitting in a line for 40 minutes to get my lunch and I am happy about it. On top of that I am thinking about going there for dinner as well.  I might even get to eat 2 hours after I get in line- if they have any food left. WOW! How perspective changes things. 

I want to talk about perspective for a minute as referring to our freedoms.  Do you notice how this great land of freedom of experession and freedom of choice has suddenly become a land of treacherous discrimmination and LACK of freedom? The Mayor of Boston jumps on a podium and admits, and insanely tells everyone he's discrimminated against Chick by not allowing restaraunts there in Boston. From his perspective it was ok to abandon all the rights he and we enjoy about freeedom but he would not extend those same rights that he enjoys to Chick-Fil-A.

The Hitlerite councilwoman from New York admits she is bullying Chic-Fil-A (on official letterhead) and she is standing arrogantly at a mic in the Big Apple telling all the world that she is discrimmating against Chick. Even the mayor of Pgh. comes out against them. They think that it is politically correct to trounce on Chick's  freedom.  Who is next on their blackball list? I always heard it was illegal to black ball someone.  I guess it has changed in New York, Boston and Pittsburgh! Is this a free country? Has the perspective of this great nation changed?

I do know this....the only reason I was not upset about the 40 minute wait was that I was in line not so much for food, I was in line for a purpose.  That purpose made time irrelevant.  The purpose was a non-violent protest and it changed my perspective on the time it took to get my food.

Others are mobbing Chick, planning protests and bulliing them, because they believe differently.  I wander if Channel 4 which has plastered the air waves with the bullying theme for the past year, has at any time acknowledged that this restaraunt chain has been bullied. Have they given any air time to tell Pittsburghers that an injustice is being done; a company which is upstanding is being bullyied.  I challenge that great news network, to stand up for Chick-Fil-A and publically denouce the bullying and proclaim a Chic-Fil-A day to thank that wonderful company for the jobs, integrity and commerce they bring to Pittsburgh.