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BATTLE-READY MIND (Judges 6:1-8 KJV) "And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. {2} And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. {3} And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them; {4} And they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass. {5} For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it. {6} And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD. {7} And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of the Midianites, {8} That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage." God's people have been moving from crisis to crisis. It is time to move from Glory to Glory. Why do you go to the Lord? Why do you want to hear from God? Why do you reject the Word of the Lord if it does not fit your circumstance? God wants us to come to Him and to serve Him because we hunger and thirst after righteousness, not because of CRISIS!! Vrs.1 - The Lord delivered the children into the enemies' hand. WHY? Because they did not obey the Lord. Stop praying for God to deliver you from your circumstances. Stop living depressed, oppressed, and suppressed. Do what God says to do and YOU WILL BE FREE!!! Vrs.2 - Israel hid themselves. Notice what they were hiding in - their strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:4 tells us the only way to be strong and mighty is to pull down strongholds, not to dwell in them. -stop hiding in religion and do what the Lord wants for you. -stop hiding behind the church and get that glory into the world. IT IS TIME FOR THE CHURCH TO COME OUT OF THE CLOSET! Vrs.3 - The enemy wants to take all you have to make you ineffective. The enemy wants to devour you - HOW? AMALEKITES = flesh MIDIANITES = contention with others EAST = past (Hag 1:6-9 KJV) "Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. {7} Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. {8} Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the LORD. {9} Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house." What is the house of the Lord? YOU! There is more Word today than ever before; yet people do not take it to heart and adhere to the conditions that God is speaking to us about. Everything that is happening, both in the church and outside, is to prepare the house of God. Believers must prepare for the Glory of God - the power; while non-believers must turn and seek the Lord for their salvation. Vrs.6 - they became greatly impoverished. Until we heed the Word of God we will continue a downhill slide and things will get worse and worse. But when you give in to the leading of the Spirit, any time you choose, you will be turned around - now how far down the hill you are at the time that you choose to come back up will require you the effort and the work to get there. It is a hard climb. The farther away you get from obedience, the greater the cost to get to where the Lord wants you: (2 Peter 2:21)"For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them." [look at 2 Peter 2:18-22 -last days deception] Vrs.7 - greatly impoverished, their carnality, their contentions (argument because you are not satisfied with yourself) produced great hordes of demons with evil destructions. {You can't ignore evil - you must confront it - by calling out to God.} Vrs.8-10 - Don't fear the old nature - your flesh that you have lived with all these years. God has delivered you from other areas and brought you this far along, He will do it again by His Spirit!!! But how did he do it? Vrs.11 - He used a nobody. Vrs.12 - But to this nobody, the Angel spoke of God's potential, not his own human inferiority. God is wanting to speak to our spiritual worth, not our skills or fleshly abilities. His mercy and goodness and grace are being poured forth so he can use us when we rise up in obedience. Vrs.13 - Gideon said "Prove it!" Where are the miracles to show us that you mean business? GET READY FOR THE BREAKTHROUGH! Vrs.14 - Go in this thy might - it is already inside you. You've got it! Vrs.15 - Gideon said - "Forget you, I'm a nobody." AND THIS IS WHAT IS HOLDING BACK THE CHURCH RIGHT NOW! All your situations have made you feel like a nobody; that is exactly what the enemy has been doing. And if you stay there, he will have been successful!!! Chapter 7:2 - As the story continues, the Lord proves Himself to Gideon, until the Spirit of the Lord came upon Him (are you yet filled?) Then we come to the test. The Lord says - that is not the way I want to save you or the people. 1. Too many people - you must get free of the carnal comparisons. Stop thinking about what you can't do and relying on others. Nothing is impossible with God in YOU. 2. Still too many - get rid of the negative "What ifs." The key to your deliverance will be "A BATTLE-READY MIND." Everything that you are experiencing is to prepare your mind for the victory in the battles ahead. God is in the business of saving; the devil destroys. The negative impulses, actions and responses are destructive. The work of the enemy this day has sown skepticism, cynicism, negativism, criticism, and all of those will destroy REVIVAL. Chapter 8:4 - here is your choice - right now - many feel faint, weary. Will you go on? Gideon didn't stop in weariness. The devil's not out to hurt you, he wants to kill you. DON'T STOP!!! IT'S TIME TO LET GOD BE GOD. The charismatic revival is the only revival that did not change the nation. Instead the morals got worse, holiness became less, and godliness decreased. The cost is too great to turn back. Don't lose your confidence at this point. Stop talking about giving up. (Acts 19:9-10 KJV) "But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. {10} And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks." God has a set period of time to change His people. God will do as much as we will allow Him to do in His set time. During this time, the church continued to grow and become powerful. God is looking for disciples who will stand firm. He is looking for those who are willing to help do the work. Those who come in will not have what you have and they must see that you have overcome and have something to offer. This work is beyond our imaginations. 85% of all converts come through personal contact, not by TV or radio. America has the greatest need of all. 50% of all drugs are used in America where only 5% of the people live. We have become the most lawless people in the world. A farmer can't have just one harvest. It must continue - the planting, the spraying, the weeding, then the harvest. The things that are happening with our lives are absolute evidence that God is ready to use us. God's people are ready for the POWER! IT WILL REQUIRE UNREMITTING LOVE - love that doesn't slack up because you don't like what happens. conclusion: WHO ARE YOU RELYING ON TODAY? IN WHAT DO YOU PUT YOUR HOPE? In Acts 12, we have the story of James and Peter in prison. James is beheaded because of his ministry. How do you think his family felt? Peter gets delivered by a prayer meeting. Maybe James wasn't good enough!! NO, God decides. What we see happening today can't be explained - there are no simple formulas, no guarantees. When Peter gets to Mary's house, he knocks and Rhoda comes but doesn't believe what she hears. Do we believe what we hear? Are we ready for the power of God to be manifest? Peter kept knocking. Jesus is still knocking. Revival is ready if we lay down our agendas. Gideon didn't get to do it his way. Neither can we. THE ANSWER IS KNOCKING AT THE DOOR. IT IS TIME TO OPEN THE DOOR AND RESPOND. Every organization in the world, including our government, is desperately looking for what we have. If we don't give up our agendas and simply respond, we will usher in the Antichrist who will offer the solution that will destroy multitudes. Remember, we are in a battle for the lives and souls of mankind. Everything we have been through is to bring us to this place - to think and to act and to live as overcomers ready to bring others into this glorious light and salvation. Become people of power; think Godly thoughts; have a "battle-ready mind;" be prepared to be used of God when you least expect it. - Pastor Steve
March 1996 Newsletter | Battle-Ready Mind | Pastor's Journal March 1995 Our Confessions | Preparing and Prepared part 3 of 4 Revised: June 25, 2008. |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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