Clean Transcript

A Fighting Spirit

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• Zechariah chapter 10, Zechariah chapter 10, and we're going to read verses 3 through 5. However, our emphasis is going to be upon verse 5. The title of the message is "A Fighting Spirit." So notice, if you would, the book of Zechariah right before Malachi. Zechariah chapter 10, beginning there verse 3, God says this: "Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle. Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together. And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them."

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• "And the riders on horses shall be confounded." Note that phrase, "and they shall fight because the Lord is with them." It seems as if we live today in a day of what I would simply call pansies, sissies, and mediocre men. I mean, I heard this morning about one man who said he did not know what he would do if his wife was being attacked. I thought to myself, I'm just thankful I'm not his wife. You know, but anyhow, I'm just simply pointing out the fact that most today do not have a fighting spirit. That fighting spirit, of course, is applicable in many, many areas as well. But you're going to ask, what in the world is a fighting spirit? Well, according to, I think, a summary of the Word of God, a fighting spirit would be courage and determination expressed in a willingness to fight and to struggle. It's a determination to hold fast to that which is true and right and just. And it is also a determination not to put up with that which is wicked, evil, and ungodly.

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• I would also say it's closely related to what you and I would call a combat mentality. And if you've never heard that message or haven't heard it in a long time, I would encourage you to listen to the message I preached many years ago on Captain Jonathan Davis and a combat mentality. But to show you where we are today, there's a hymn that used to be sung on a regular basis. You never, ever hear it in the average church today. The title of that hymn is "Onward, Christian Soldiers." Now, I want you to listen to the words. "Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before."

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• "Christ, the royal master, leads against the foe. Forward into battle, see his banners go." And then the second stanza goes like this. Listen carefully now. "At the sign of triumph, Satan's host doth flee. On, then, Christian soldiers, on to victory. Hell's foundations quiver at the shout of praise. Brothers, lift your voices loud, your anthems raise." Ah, this third one, "Like a mighty army, moves the church of God. Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod. We're not divided. All one body. We, one in hope and doctrine, one in charity."

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• "Onward then, ye people, join our happy throng. Blend with ours, your voices in the triumph song. Glory, laud, and honor unto Christ the King. This through countless ages, men and angels sing." But I thought this was just absolutely appropriate. When you stop and think, "Like a mighty army moves the church of God." And then he goes on to say, "We're not divided, all one body. We one in hope and doctrine." Wouldn't that not be absolutely wonderful if we really were one in hope and in doctrine as well?

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• There are so many scriptures in the Bible that actually describe Christians as soldiers. In fact, the Bible in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verses 3 and 4, Paul told Timothy, "Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." And he said that "no man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." The truth of the matter is, most Christians have basically gone AWOL. We've deserted our post. We've discarded our military equipment. We've thrown away our swords, and we've basically settled down in a bed of ease.

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• We thus brought upon ourselves the curse of God. Let me show you. I want you to hold Zechariah 10, but turn back, if you would, to the book of Amos. Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Look at Amos chapter 6 and verse 1 and hold that passage because we're going to come back and read another verse or two from it. But look at Amos chapter 6 and verse 1 where the Word of God says, "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!" Now, first of all, he says, "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion." In other words, we've settled back, we've done that which is easy, that which is relaxing, that which is comfortable for us. Now he also tells us why. Because he says, "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria." The mountain of Samaria refers to the capital of Samaria. Let me say it another way: it refers to the civil government in Israel.

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• In other words, they did not trust in the arm of the Lord. They were trusting in the arm of the flesh. So if you would hold Amos 6, but look back in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Jeremiah, chapter 17, Jeremiah 17. And let's begin reading there with verse 5. And I want you to notice here is a contrast between the arm of the flesh and the arm of the Lord. So he says, Jeremiah 17 in verse 5, "Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord." In other words, you can't trust in your own flesh, in your own power, in your own strength without departing from the Lord. And then he says, here's the curse that's going to be upon him.

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• "For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited." Now here's the contrast. "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh."

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• "But her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." And in other words, when God in Amos chapter 6 places the curse upon those who trust in the mountain of Samaria, they are actually trusting in what government can do for them. And that's exactly where we are today. We have all kind of governmental subsidies and benefits and that kind of thing. And of course, the reason so many people do not speak out against the wickedness and tyranny of our own government is because they certainly do not want to upset or offend their God. You have to remember, it was Jeroboam I in 1 Kings chapter 12 that built those two golden calves.

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• And he is the one who said, "These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt." And he wanted everyone to worship those two gods. And the reason he made those golden calves was very simple. He said, "If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah." So he was basically interested in himself, his kingdom, his power, his position. Interestingly enough, God also had promised Jeroboam if he would be faithful, if he would obey him, that God would establish him a kingdom. But Jeroboam did not wish to trust in the Lord. He could care less about the promises of God and in reality, he could care less about the people of God. He just simply wanted to establish his kingdom and prolong it. When you read the scripture there, you'll find a lot of the people then in the northern kingdom left and went to Rehoboam in the southern kingdom. So Jeroboam was saying, "There's no need to go down to Jerusalem."

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• "There's no need to worship at the temple as God demanded. There's no need to have the priests, the Levites. No, no." He said, "I've got it all right here. You don't even have to worry. Just worship here now." So these people then, some of them had fled down to Solomon. And now, of course, he's saying that these people up in the northern kingdom are at ease.

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• Now, let me show you. Skip down to verse 3 in Amos chapter 6. He says, "Ye that put far away the evil day," in other words, no evil is going to come upon us. "Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near." So they could care less about how they acquired what they acquired. So look at verse 4. Here's what they do since they're at ease.

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• "That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; that chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David." They don't have anything else to do. "That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments."

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• Watch, "but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph." So that's basically where we are as Christendom today. We've become so materialistic minded, so engulfed in satisfying the flesh, so selfish and so luxury loving that we've basically forgotten God and we've forgotten His people. We're only interested in ourselves and our own comfort. We want ease and not excitement. We want calmness and not contention. We want peace and not war. We want comfort and not fighting.

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• In fact, the truth of the matter is, we don't wish to upset anyone or confront anyone about anything. Isaac Watts, the great hymn writer, wrote a hymn, and the title is "Am I a Soldier of the Cross?" We should listen to the words. "Am I a soldier of the cross, a follower of the Lamb, and shall I fear to own His cause, or blush to speak His name?"

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• I love this second one. "Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease, while others fought to win the prize, and sailed through bloody seas? Are there no foes for me to face? Must I not stem the flood? Is this vile world a friend to grace, to help me on to God? Sure I must fight if I would reign; increase my courage, Lord. I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, supported by Thy word."

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• And listen to this fifth stanza. "Thy saints in all this glorious war shall conquer, though they die; they see the triumph from afar, by faith's discerning eye." In fact, the truth is we no longer really and truly want to fight for anything, not even for the Lord Jesus Christ. And, you know, we are being basically overwhelmed today with deception, with wickedness, with evil of all kinds. And we do nothing. I mean, we don't even moan. We don't groan. We don't sigh. We have come to the place as Christians, and as the Christian church in this country, where we not only tolerate evil and wickedness, we basically condone it.

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• And certainly we're not praying those imprecatory prayers. If you read those prayers through the Bible, David prayed many times, "Break their teeth in their mouth, O Lord; break their arm; cast them down, that they rise not up again." He would say, "Arise, O Lord, and show Thyself; make bare Thine arm. Let them know that Thou alone art God, and they are but mere men." But we are not even praying against the wicked. We're not praying against those who are bent on evil. Think about Klaus Schwab. Think about that Yuval Noah Harari, which I mentioned before. He said the resurrection of Jesus Christ was a myth and that Jesus Christ is not God.

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• And in other words, his faith is in artificial intelligence. And he also pronounced most people as useless eaters. They don't need us any longer because they're going to have the artificial intelligence to do their bidding and do their... So I'm just simply saying we're finding ourselves basically surrounded in evil. And we also find ourselves as being helpless and powerless. And it looks as if the enemy has the upper hand and they are the head and we're the tail. And we don't know where to turn and we don't know what to do. And someone says, "Well, what we need is a leader." And that is true. But we need a leader who is more than just mere man. Let me show you what I'm talking about.

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• Look in your Bibles, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 59, Isaiah 59. And let's begin reading there with verse 12. You want a good picture of where we are today in America? Isaiah 59 pretty well describes it. In fact, I would say Isaiah 59 pretty well describes where most countries in the world are. So look at Isaiah 59, beginning there with verse 12. "For our transgressions are multiplied before Thee," and certainly ours are. He says, "and our sins testify against us: for our transgressions are with us; and as for our iniquities, we know them." Only about to look around at the gay pride parades and the transgenderism and forcing all kind of things upon our children. Yeah, our transgressions are with us and our iniquities, we know them. Look in verse 13, "In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood." Now, what is the result of all of these sins? Look in verse 14. "And judgment is turned away backward."

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• "And justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter." That which is right cannot enter. "Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey." In other words, if you stand for righteousness, you leave wickedness, and you don't stand with the wicked, then you make yourself a prey. Watch verse 15 in the middle, "And the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no judgment." Look in verse 16, "And He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor." In other words, look at all the wickedness, look at all the sin, look at all the evil, and no one is concerned. He said, "Therefore His arm brought salvation unto Him; and His righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon His head; and He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak." Now look at verse 18, "According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; to the islands He will repay recompense."

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• Now here's the verse. "So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." I hope you see that this portion of scripture pretty well and accurately describes where you and I are today.

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• Justice, that is biblical justice, is far off. Truth is falling in the streets. And as citizens and Christians, we've actually become prey. And you look around and you see that the enemy, the adversary, has flooded every area of our lives, our homes, our churches, our families, the schools, the government, everywhere. So we need to think about this. It is time for God to work. You know, I love a verse that's found in Psalm 119, and it's verse 126. There the Bible said, "It is time for Thee, Lord, to work: for they have made void Thy law."

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• And so when God's law is being despised, it's time for God to work.

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• Now, I want you to note this. He says in verse 19, "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." So the illustration that you and I can conceive in our minds is that of a bedraggled and disarrayed, disoriented, defeated army. And all of a sudden, someone looks around and sees the army standard on the ground and he picks that standard up and hollers back to those men, "Follow me, boys." And the men get up and follow him and they go head on to the enemy and overcome the enemy and win. And that's the picture that is given here when the enemy comes in like a flood. The Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against them. Here's the interesting thing.

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• The Hebrew word for standard literally means to put to flight and to drive away hastily and to cause to disappear. So when God fights, when the Holy Spirit picks up His standard, He puts all of His enemies to flight.

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• Now, there are several truths I want to point out just from verse 19. "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." The very first thing we should remember is this, that God is a warrior. We've forgotten that truth, but the Bible says in Exodus 15 in verse 3, "The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is His name." And if you'll read Deuteronomy chapter 4, you'll find that one of the ways that God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt was by means of war. God made war against Egypt. He made war against the false gods. That's why in Isaiah 42 and verse 13, the Bible says this, "The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, He shall stir up jealousy like a man of war."

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• "He shall cry, yea, roar; He shall prevail against His enemies." Why? Because God is indeed a man of war. See, God not only fights, but the truth of the matter is God also equips and leads His people in the fight. May I remind you that David, the man that everyone knows, was a man after God's own heart, was also a man of war. In fact, he was a man of war from his youth.

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• He was a mere teenager when he killed Goliath. And when he was being recommended to King Saul, here's the recommendation in 1 Samuel chapter 16 and verse 18. "Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him." This was even before David was the man who led in and out the armies of Israel. Now he's already being recognized as a man of war. So let me ask a few questions for you to consider. Since David was a man after God's own heart, and David was a man of war, from where did David learn his martial skills? I mean, who taught David to fight? Now, we know that he killed a bear and he killed a lion. When the bear and the lion came for the flock, we understand that. And here's another question. Why was David always victorious?

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• Why was he always successful in his battles? Well, you have the answer in Psalm 144 verses 1 and 2. Psalm 144 verses 1 and 2. I want you to listen. Follow it. Look at it. Psalm 144 verses 1 and 2. David says, "Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: my goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and He in whom I trust; who subdueth my people under me." So David said, it's God who taught my hands to fight. It's God who taught my fingers to war. It's God who subdues the people under me. So the very first implication in this is that God is indeed a man of war. The second implication is this.

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• When the Bible says, when the enemy comes in like a flood, then the Holy Spirit will lift up a standard against the enemy. That means here that you and I then are obligated to follow the Lord even into battle. And you know, I thought about this as I was looking at that passage. Who would not want to follow the Lord into battle? I mean, if the Lord is leading a battle, obviously the outcome is going to be victorious. Because He is omnipotent. He is omniscient. He is omnipresent.

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• He's the sovereign God of heaven and earth. So, when it comes time, the Bible says, when the Spirit of the Lord raises up that standard against the enemy, and God is leading His people, we cannot hold back, even in the day of battle, even in the day—and I'm not just talking about physical fighting, but spiritual fighting as well. We cannot hold back. In fact, I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, to Jeremiah chapter 48. I want you to see this. Jeremiah 48. Look, if you would, at verse 10. Here's an interesting thing. Jeremiah chapter 48. Look in verse 10. And, of course, this is the battle. Jeremiah 48 verse 10. God says, "Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood." In other words, once there is fighting, God says you cannot do the work of God deceitfully, whatever that work is. And he said, if it is fighting, you're cursed if you hold back your sword from blood.

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• In other words, God leads his people. Now, listen to me. Here's the truth. I understand that we are to be merciful. I understand that we're to exercise pity, but there is a time when mercy is over and pity is ended. There's a time when you can no longer be merciful. You can no longer be piteous.

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• Now, before I get telephone calls and emails and letters, I'll show you the scripture because I didn't make that up. That is in the word of God. So if you look in your Bibles, first of all, to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 20, Deuteronomy chapter 20, and begin there, if you would, with verse 10, look what God says. Deuteronomy chapter 20, and we're going to begin there with verse 10. God says, "When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it."

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• That is merciful, that is exercising pity. "And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee." In other words, you've offered the mercy, you've offered them pity, and they open and say, yes, we want that mercy, we'll take that pity. Look in verse 12. "And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it: and when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: but the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the Lord thy God hath given thee."

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• And you can read the rest of it down there. But here's what God says, all for mercy, all for peace. But if they don't want the mercy, if they don't want the peace, if they want to fight, then God says you do not turn back. Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 2. It's not just one passage. Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 2. Know what God says.

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• And he's talking about these seven nations that were greater than Israel. He said, "And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them." Now skip down to verse 16. "And thou shalt consume all the people which the Lord thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee." Wow. Now if you'll go back in your Bibles to the book of Zechariah, look in chapter 11 and verse 6. Zechariah chapter 11 and verse 6, for look what God says, "For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord." What? The most, the person with the most pity is God. The person with the most mercy is God. And God says, "For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord."

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• "But, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour's hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them." So, even God Himself says there's a time, there's no more mercy, there's no more pity.

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• Now, the Bible says in the book of James, chapter 2 and verse 13, "For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment." Now, listen to that. "For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy." So God is saying that if you and I want mercy, we should be merciful ourselves. And He taught His people to be merciful. But however, there does indeed come a time when that mercy and when that pity is over.

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• When it's rejected, when it's refused, it is over. Now, in the time of battle, God does protect us. David understood that. And David said in Psalm 140 and verse 7, "O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, Thou hast covered my head in the day of battle." So we must understand that God is indeed a warrior. And yes, he does lead us into battle.

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• Now, there are three truths I want you to see. I want you to look at these and think about these three things. First of all, the Bible does indeed teach us very clearly that God fights for His people. I could give you scripture after scripture, but look in your Bibles. Start with Exodus chapter 14 and look at verse 14. Exodus chapter 14 and verse 14. Here's a clear statement. Exodus chapter 14 and verse 14. The Word of God says, "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." The Lord shall fight for you.

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• God's going to do the fighting. Just sit still, be quiet, and let Him do it.

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• Now turn right over to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 1, and look, if you would, please, at verse 30. Deuteronomy 1, verse 30. Here it is again. Deuteronomy chapter 1 and verse 30. "The Lord your God which goeth before you, He shall fight for you, according to all that He did for you in Egypt before your eyes." Look in Deuteronomy chapter 3 and verse 22. Deuteronomy 3 and verse 22.

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• Again He says, "Ye shall not fear them: for the Lord your God He shall fight for you." Then if you'll look in Deuteronomy chapter 20 and verse 4, Deuteronomy 20 and verse 4. Again, he says, "For the Lord your God is He that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you." Wow. And then, of course, let me just quote this one in 2 Chronicles 20 and verse 17. God says, "Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you." And, of course, God just simply destroyed all the enemies. They did not need to fight. So, in light of this truth, let me emphasize one thing. Since the Scripture teaches over and over and over, and I just selected a few verses, that God does fight for His people. Do you see the absolute insanity as well as the absolute wickedness in Israel in 1 Samuel chapter 8 when they wanted a king to rule over them, a man to rule over them instead of God? And here's why they said in verse 20, "That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles."

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• Really? May I remind you when Sisera and the host came against the people of God, the Bible says the stars in heaven fought against Sisera. That is God used creation against him. Many times when the children of Israel were fighting against their enemies, what did God do? He sent great hailstones. And the Bible says more people were killed by the hailstones than by the sword. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather have the sovereign, omnipotent God of heaven and earth fighting for me than some man. And so they were willing to trade God for a man. So God does indeed fight for His people. Here's the second truth. God also fights with His people. Hmm. And I don't mean God and the people, but God is with the people when they are fighting.

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• I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Chronicles chapter 13. 2 Chronicles chapter 13. And let's begin reading there verse 12, because in this passage, Abijah happens to be the king of Judah, and Jeroboam is the king of Israel, and they are about to fight. And the interesting thing is, Abijah is coming against Jeroboam with 400,000 men, and Jeroboam has 800,000 men.

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• So they're outnumbered two to one. Moreover, Jeroboam is very devious and while Abijah is offering peace and mercy, Jeroboam is causing an ambushment to come out behind them. Okay? I'm not going to read all of it, but I want you to look, if you would, beginning with verse 12, 2 Chronicles 13, Abijah has basically offered peace to Israel. He said, "And, behold, God Himself is with us for our captain."

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• "And His priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper." Now here's the mercy, here's the pity. "O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper." Don't do this, he's asking. Verse 13, "But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them. And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind: and they cried unto the Lord, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their hand. And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed."

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• Why? "Because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers." So God was fighting with Judah. He was fighting with those who were proclaiming His Word, who was offering peace and mercy. He fought with them. If you would look back in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 23, here's another good illustration of how God often fights with His people. In 2 Samuel 23, in this passage, you have a listing of David's mighty men. And notice if you would, beginning there with verse 8, 2 Samuel 23 and verse 8, "These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains."

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• "The same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time." And of course, that doesn't mean that he slung his spear once and it went through 800 men. No, it just meant he killed 800 men in battle with that spear. Well, the Lord had to be with him, obviously. Now watch verse 9, "And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away: he arose, and smote the Philistines," watch, "until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword."

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• "And the Lord wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil." Eleazar now has fought until his hand was weary, and his hand clave to the sword. What's that mean? They had to take and prise his thumb and his fingers away from that sword. He could not even turn it loose. The interesting thing is, the Bible says in this verse, "and the Lord wrought a great victory that day." How did God work such a great victory? It was Eleazar who was fighting. Who was enabling Eleazar, who was strengthening Eleazar, who gave him the power? It was God. Look, if you would, please, in verse 11. Here's another one.

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• "And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines. But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the Lord wrought a great victory." So here's another man that's fighting and God gives him this tremendous victory and God works in and through and with him. So God not only fights for his people, God fights with his people when they're fighting against God's enemies.

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• May I remind you of Joshua chapter 10. In Joshua chapter 10, Joshua and Israel defeated five kings in one battle. It was a tremendous battle. It was a hard-fought battle. But when they defeated these five kings in Joshua chapter 10 and verse 25, Joshua called his men together and said unto them, "Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight."

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• In other words, God has done this. God gave us the victory. God fought with us. So God not only fights for his people, he fights with his people. Here's the third one. God also fights through his people. He not only fights for us and with us, but also through us. So let me put it to you this way. Here are two words that you should know how they're used theologically.

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• When we use them in the English language, generally, they have a different meaning, but in theology, they have a special meaning. And those two words are immediately and mediately. So when we say that God works immediately, that means God does something without the use of means. So if there were a lot of God's enemies standing out in the yard, and God sent a bolt of lightning and wiped them all out, that would be God working immediately. But when God works mediately, that is, He works through the use of means. And sometimes God does indeed work through His people. And usually that is the way God works, not all the time, but usually.

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• So I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 41, Isaiah 41. And let's begin reading there with verse 13. Isaiah 41 in verse 13. Watch this carefully. Isaiah 41 in verse 13. God says, "For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee." That's pretty good for God to hold our hand and encourage us. Then he says, "Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel." What did God say?

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• "I'm going to make you a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth, and you're going to thresh the kingdoms for me. You're going to beat them small. You're going to make them as chaff." Then if you'll look in your Bibles, turn over to the book of Jeremiah chapter 51 and verse 20. Jeremiah 51 and verse 20. This may surprise you. Jeremiah 51 and look if you would please at verse 20. God says to his people, hmm, let's read verse 19 so you'll see it.

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• "The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the Lord of hosts is his name." Look what God says to his people. "Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; and with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider." So God says, "Thou art my battle axe, and thou art my weapons of war." So he's talking to his people. And many times God does indeed not only fight for his people and with his people, but also through his people. Now, you're going to say, "But these promises were given to Jacob. These promises were given to Israel." We are the Israel of God. That's what the Bible says.

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• Galatians 3 and verse 29, "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." But if that's not plain enough, if you will look in your Bibles to Psalm 149, go back to Psalms, Psalm 149. And look, if you would beginning there with verse 5, Psalm 149. And let's begin reading there with verse 5. Look at this. Psalm 149, verse 5, "Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds."

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• "Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand." Now, wait a minute. If we're praising God, why do we need a two-edged sword in our hand? Here's why. Verse 7, "To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord." "This honour have all his saints. Praise ye the Lord." Now, listen to me.

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• It is true that down through the ages, Christians have suffered. Christians have been persecuted, prosecuted, martyred. And I'm certainly not denigrating any suffering that God's people have done or have gone through. But here's what I want to point out. Don't overlook the fact that many times God did indeed give absolute victory to God's people in the direst of circumstances. So let me show you. Look in Hebrews chapter 11, beginning there with verse 32. I want you to see. Here's a multitude of illustrations wrapped up in these few verses. He says in verse 32, "And what shall I more say?"

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• "For the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon," remember how Gideon won a victory? "and of Barak," Barak won a victory. "and of Samson," Samson won many victories. "and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets." He said, I'd run out of time if I kept telling you all the victories that God gave these men. What all did some of these men do?

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• Look in verse 33, "Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection."

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• All of these are great and glorious victories. So it's not just the fact that down through the ages God's people have been persecuted. That is true. But also down through the ages, God's people have been given victory after victory after victory after victory. So. What would be an application of having a fighting spirit? I want you to think with me. I do not think any of you would disagree with what I'm about to say. If you do, you just have not been looking around.

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• The Church of Jesus Christ is anemic, weak, fearful, despised. Why? The answer is, one of them, because we've lost our fighting spirit. We don't fight against sin. We don't fight against wickedness. We don't lift up our voice anymore. Or we don't march on City Hall. We don't march against the County Council meeting. We don't do anything. In fact, the truth of the matter is we have not only tolerated evil and wickedness, we have actually condoned it. We don't even cry out against governmental tyranny. And the reason most Christians do not cry out against governmental tyranny, they don't even know the limitations that God has placed upon government. How can you recognize tyranny if you don't even know what the limitations of government happen to be?

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• How can you cry out against something that you're absolutely, totally ignorant concerning it? And what we've developed into in this day and time is sissy, gutless, spineless, backboneless characters. I mean, we think somehow that we're to be merciful to everyone. Do you know something? Do you realize here's someone that's hungry? The first question I want to know is why is he hungry? I do not mind helping anyone who is hungry because he can't find work or because he's sick and unable to work. But when someone is so absolutely lazy, he will not work. The word of God said, "If any would not work, neither should he eat." I'm not going to have pity on someone who will not work if he has the ability to work. You see, the problem is somehow we've developed the attitude that all God demands of us all the time is that we be merciful and we be pitiful. We are pitiful, that is for sure. Piteous might be the better word. In other words, all we're supposed to do is have pity upon people and have mercy upon people and that's it.

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• Listen, you cannot be more merciful than God. You cannot be more piteous than God. And you know what God says in, for instance, Proverbs chapter 1, He said, "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer." Said the Lord. Wow, what about that one in Proverbs 29 verse 1, "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."

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• I mean, there's a time when God's mercy ceases. There's a time when He's no longer pitiful upon people. And so I'm just simply saying we cannot be more merciful than God. We have to understand there are some people that you cannot help. And there are some people that will not be helped. But we must still maintain a fighting spirit.

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• So let me ask you a question. How is it possible not to have a fighting spirit? When you understand that God is a man of war and that He is King of kings and Lord of lords and God of gods. And when you understand that He is omniscient, He is all knowing. So you can't slip up on His blind side because He doesn't have a blind side. You can't surprise Him.

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• In fact, the scripture says He knows our thoughts even before they come into our minds. You can't defeat Him. He's omnipotent. You can't somewhere hide from Him because He's omnipresent. He's everywhere at once in the totality of His being. He's eternal. He's infinite. He's immense. Why would we not have a fighting spirit when we understand that God is absolutely sovereign? And He's our captain. He's our leader. Wow.

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• Let me tell you something else. We must understand that the Bible does not teach pacifism in any way whatsoever. We're not to be pacifists. Here's a truth. Usually those people who are pacifist, those who are unwilling to fight even physically for themselves, their families, their neighbors. Of course, they're violating the law of God because God commands us to defend, but those who are unwilling to defend and fight even for friends and family and themselves probably will not even fight spiritually.

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• And may I remind you that the Christian life and the Christian walk is a battle. That's why Paul told Timothy, "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life." If God did not intend for us to fight, why would He give us all the armor in Ephesians chapter 6? He gives us battle garments. Ah, I'm just simply pointing out the fact. If God did not intend for us to fight, He would not have given us all the armor, all the encouragement, all the help. "I'll hold your hand. You just stand." Wow.

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• So how have we fallen? We've lost that fighting spirit. We have given up, given in, given out, settled down on our couches, and God says, "Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion." A fighting spirit is a determination that we're not going to give in, we're not going to give up, we're not going to give out, we're not going to quit, we're not going to back down. Sin is still sin. I don't care how legal sodomy is, it's still wrong. I don't care how legal theft is, it's still wrong. I don't care how legal murder is, it's still wrong.

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• And we have to say so. And we have to do more than just simply say so. I'm just simply saying, a fighting spirit means that we continue with our courage and our determination, and we're going to stand for that which is right and holy and true. And whether the world likes it or not, and whether Christians like it or not, Jesus Christ is still King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and God of Gods, and He comes with His army. Read Revelation 19. And we are supposed to be His army here on earth. We're the ones supposed to be standing. "Like a mighty army moves the church of God." Wow. If that were so, the world would be a different place. America would be a different place. Each state would be a different place.

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• We must understand that one of the reasons we are so despised by the world is because of our cowardice, our impotence. And I will show you, Lord willing, next week, one of the main reasons why we are so absolutely powerless. What we need is to ask God to give us a fighting spirit so that we can fight for truth and righteousness in our own lives, in our own families, in our own churches, in our own communities. And we have to make sure that we do not give in, we do not give up, we do not give out. Truth is truth. Right is right. Wrong is wrong. And God says, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil."

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• We can't change things around. God is the one who tells us right and wrong. Let's pray. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, help us to understand that our Lord does have an army. An army consists of fighting men. We must know how to fight, when to fight, where to fight, against whom to fight, and with what weapons we are to fight with, because Lord, Thou and Thou alone art our leader, our captain. As Thou didst say to Joshua, when he asked, "Art Thou for us, or for our adversaries?" He said, "Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." "Take thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy." Thou art not just simply the captain of our salvation, but the captain of our lives and the captain, Lord, of Your host, which is Your army.

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• Give us grace, Lord, that we may indeed have the attitude of "Onward, Christian Soldiers," because Christ, the royal master, leads us against the foe. Give us Your grace, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T23:10:15Z